Stark County and Its Pioneers

by Mrs. E. H. Shallenberger
Published by B. W. Seaton, Prairie Chief Office, Book and Job  Printer, 1876

This online edition by Nancy Piper and Illinois Genealogy Trails History Group

Chapter I:  A Retrospective Glance (including the various Voyages of discovery by means of which a knowledge of this land was conveyed to the Old World, and Emigration induced to drift hitherward -- Geological Changes -- Carboniferous Period - Formation of our Coal Measures - Character of our Resident Indians, Black Hawk's Incursion, & c.
Chapter II:  Our First Settlers  (Isaac B. Essex - Various Groups of Settlers at Osceola, Wyoming, Lafayette, West Jersey, and Valley Township. -- The Circumstances that Environed them -- Anecdotes -- First Marriage, Birth and Death in what is now Stark County -- Where and how the first Houses were built - Character of our Early Settlers -- The Impression they have left upon our County.)
Chapter III:  The Formation of Stark County (It's first Election, Organization, & c. -- Political Struggles and Maneuvers of the Early Settlers. -- Institution of Courts. -- Natural Advantages -- Geography, Climate, and General Healthfulness of the New County. -- It's Groves and Roads)
Chapter IV:  Public Enterprises (Religious, Education, Benevolent, Military and Business)
Chapter V:  The Fauna and Flora (by T. M. Shallenberger)
Chapter VI:  Our Towns (Toulon, Wyoming, Lafayette, Bradford, Castleton, Duncan. --Their Past History and Present Prosperity)

Part II:  Personal Sketches

Appendix

Chapter II

Our First Settlers - Isaac B. Essex - Various Groups of Settlers at Osceola, Wyoming, Lafayette, West Jersey, and Valley Township. -- The Circumstances that Environed them -- Anecdotes -- First Marriage, Birth and Death in what is now Stark County -- Where and how the first Houses were built - Character of our Early Settlers -- The Impression they have left upon our County.

In the latter part of April, 1829, a solitary, heavily laden wagon might have been seen slowly wending its way from the hospitable home of Mr. French, at Prince's grove, about half a mile north-west of the present town of Princeville, toward Spoon river, probably crossing that stream at a point since known as Boardman's ford, or, as others think, near the seat of Cox's mill, and moving on toward section fifteen in what has since been known as Essex township.

The weather was warm and balmy considering the season.  The prairie burnt over by the Indians in the fall was already green with sprouting grass.  Accompanying this vehicle were, as it might seem a guard of good men, and true; "neighbors" they called themselves, although they must have lived many miles apart, some of them thrity or fourty from the scene of their present friendly labors, having come from LaSalle prairie, from Chillicothe and Peoria. They were neither hunters or warriors, they feared no enemy, and sought not the "spoils of war."

It was a peaceable expedition, and its leader was the occupant of the wagon, Isaac B. Essex, then in the strength of his manhood, and with him came his young wife and infant children to found a home in the wilderness.

The "Neighbors" were Daniel Prince, Stephen French, Simon Reed, Frank Thomas, and two Baptist ministers, Elders Silliman and Allen. The former of these two was the father of our much respected townsman, Minott Silliman, Esq., the first treasurer of Stark county. It is possible there may have been one or two more in the company, but if so, Mr. Essex fails to recall their names after the lapse of so many years. And these men had come so far to raise a cabin! Mr. Essex had been out and made his claim in 1828, and in the fall of that year cut the logs and split the clap-boards for his house, probably all of which were on the north-east quarter of section fifteen. They now proceeded to haul them together and get them in shape on the proposed building site They all camped in the woods the first night, but toward sundown of the second day, the cabin was raised, the roof on, and as Mr. Essex graphically says "we cut a log out and moved in."

This was emphatically The Pioneer Cabin, the first home of civilized man within the present limits of Stark county. Hence we have given it special mention, not that it differed materially either in the style or circumstances of its construction from its successors, but rather that it might serve as a sample of scores that soon nestled in the sheltered nooks for miles around. It was of course rough, and bare of all ornament, we might almost say of all convenience, but still it was a home, the fountain-head of those elevating influences, that are of priceless value to humanity.

Then Mr. Essex was a natural pioneer, "to the manor born," and his wife, if we may judge by subsequent developments, was not wanting in spirit, in that sort of spirit, properly called pluck, a quality that always commanded a premium in frontier settlements. They were contented and knew how to make themselves comfortable in their new abode. The rich prairie sod was soon broken, and they raised a good crop of corn, potatoes, and beans the first year, without a fence. Game of all kinds was abundant. Deer and turkeys supplied them with meat. From the river they got fine fish, often pike weighing twenty or thirty pounds, and fully four foot long. Occasionally they made a visit to Mr. French's family, their nearest white neighbor, a distance of seven miles. The Indians were much nearer, and were not bad neighbors when sober. A remark, we opine, that might apply to many people not red skinned.

The second cabin within our present county limits, was built by John B. Dodge, in the autumn of 1829, on section fourteen, Essex township. Of this we know no particulars. Dodge left this part of the country many years since, dying probably in the new state of Texas. The third was built and occupied by Benjamin Smith, in March, 1839, on the same section with his son-in-law, Dodge. These three cabins, all in Essex township, constituted the only habitations of white men within our present county limits prior to 1831. (For this and many other facts in this chapter we are indebted to General Henderson’s "Address to the old settlers’,' given in 1865)

This year William D. Grant made an improvement where Judge Holgate now resides, and John E. Owings had moved into the settlement, and occupied the cabin built by John B. Dodge. There were in 1831 the following named settlers in what is now Stark county, viz.: Isaac B. Essex, Thomas Essex, Jun., Thomas Essex, Sen., Benjamin Smith, Greenleaf Smith, Sewel Smith, William P. Smith, John B. Dodge, David Cooper, William D. Grant, John C. Owings, Harris W. Miner, David Gregory, and Sylvanus More.

At an election held in August 1831, there were in six townships of Stark county, then included in "Old Putnam," thirty-three votes polled, and as the election was a very important one, probably every voter was out. in reference to the poll of that election, shows that since 1831 the following additional inhabitants had settled in the territory referred to, viz.: Jason Hopkins, Jesse W. Heath, John P. Hays, Pardon B. Dodge, James Holgate, A. Baker, John Megill, James MeClennahan, Robert McClennahan, Elijah McClennahan; Sen., Elijah McClennahan, jun., Elias Love, John Love, Hugh Montgomery, T. Leeks, Thomas Winn, Charles Pierce, Hugh White, Peter Miner, Lewis Sturms, James Morrow and Minott Silliman.

At an election held in August, 1836, there were in the six townships before referred to, fifty-four votes polled, and from the names recorded upon the poll book, the following persons seem to have settled within their limits, say from January first, 1834, to January first, 1836, viz.: General Samuel Thomas Captain Henry Butler, S G. Worley, Henry Seeley, Henry Sturms, Mathias Sturms, W. E. Buckingham, William Mahany, Jarville Chaffee, Joseph Newton, Adam Day, Israel Seeley, Simeon Ellis Peter S. Shaver, Dexter Wall, Ira Ward, Cyril Ward, Samuel Love, Henry Sweet, Asher W. Smith, Lewis Perry, Adam Perry, Luther Townsend, Samuel Butler, Eliphalet Elsworth, Daniel Dobbins, Christopher Sammis, Lemuel Dorrance, Richard Dorrance, Henry Breese, Hugh Frail.

In 1865, seven of the last list were known to be dead, while only ten then resided in our county. The last decade has doubtless thinned their ranks afresh, and now in 1875 but a very small number of our old settlers still linger with us. The indifferent reader must pardon this perhaps, wearisome array of names; they can easily be ignored by those who take no interest in them, but these are our pioneers, and we should cherish their memory as such. Of many of them we have but little to record, save their names, so difficult is it, even now, to arrive at the true story of their quiet lives; doubtless could we do so, they might teach us many valuable lessons, for is not biography, history teaching by example?  

At any rate we who enjoy in so large a degree the fruits of their labors and sacrifices, could not deny their names a place in the history of Stark county. Of course as years roll on and settlers multiply, we do not design to record all transient people, mere adventurers, “here today and gone tomorrow.” But of those who came early and brought their families, and have dwelt among us, helping to mould our county and make it what it is, we would not willingly omit one from these pages.

In December, 1835, a number of resolute men had pushed their way from Peoria, to what has since been called Osceola Grove. Among them were Mr. James Buswell, Isaac Spencer,  Thomas Watts, Giles C. Dana, Peter Pratt, and Dr. Pratt. They came out under the auspices of Maj. Robert Moore, who had obtained a map of the lands in township fourteen north, range six east, designating the patent and unentered lands; and he now encouraged emigration hither, with a view to building up a town, which he had surveyed and called Osceola.

Major Moore was an intelligent, active, business man, ever ready to take advantage of circumstances, and fond of adventure. He subsequently went to Oregon with one of the first parties that ever crossed the mountains, whither his family followed him some years after, with the exception of his youngest son, Robert Moore, Esq., who is at this date a resident of Toulon. But at the time of which this narrative treats, Major Moore owned a ferry that crossed the river at Peoria, and to this he gave his personal supervision, and as emigrants crossed, which they did frequently, he would take the opportunity to recommend the Osceola country to them. In this way probably originated the company he led there in 1835.

Quoting Clifford’s history in regard to this enterprise. “The parties above named were all from Vermont - which Saxe says is a good state to come from but a poor one to go to - except Moore, who was from one of the southern states, and Day who was from Massachusetts. When these persons reached the Grove there was no one living there except Henry Seeley, who then had a cabin near where he lives now, and Lewis Sturms.  A portion of the party stopped the first night at Sturms’, and were hospitably entertained.  

It was a dark, dreary, rainy night; they all slept on the floor in the small cabin, and from the day’s fatigue, having come on foot from Prince’s Grove, they soon fell asleep to be disturbed soon after by a loud hallooing outside, occasioned by the arrival of the Sturms family proper, the number of whom our informant was unable to state, further than they filled the little cabin “chuck full”; they were made up of men, women and children, wet, worn, fatigued, and hungry. Our informant says one of the woman came on horse back with twins in her arms, and in a sorry plight from having been “pitched off” her horse in sloughs and gullies concealed by the darkness of the night. Some of the party were taken over to Seeley’s while the remainder filled the floor. The next day the balance of the Peoria party came in from Boyd’s Grove, having lost their reckoning and strayed out of their direction. The whole party then moved west for the purpose of surveying and making their claims.

For one week they camped out in the severest weather of the month of December, that week being the coldest of any during the whole season. The provisions which they had brought with them from Peoria were exhausted and nothing was now left them to sustain life, except corn they bad brought to feed their horses during the excursion. For the last day or two they subsisted entirely upon nubbins of corn burned by the fire, which culinary operation was performed in the morning, each one taking a few burnt nubbins of corn in their pockets for dinner. At night they varied this luxury by burning the corn, pounding it up, and making “coffee” of it.”

Clifford further states that the parties named moved upon their claims in May, 1836. This is certainly a slight mistake as regards some of them.  They probably built cabins as soon as that, or sooner, but some of the families referred to, did not arrive in the settlement till later in the summer, or in the fall. There is no doubt, however, that during some portion of that year many new names must be added to our list of pioneers.

TO BE CONTINUED..................

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