1882 History
Chapter 19 - Fillmore Township
BOUNDARIES — FIRST GROWTH — PIONEERS — MILLS — SCHOOLS — CHURCHES, ETC.
“To the West, to the West, there is wealth to be won;
The prairie to break is the work to be done —
We'll try it, we'll do it, and never despair
While there's light in the sunshine and breath in the air;
The bold independence that labor shall buy,
Shall strengthen our hands and forbid us to sigh
Away, far away, let us hope for the best,
And build up new homes in the land of the West."
— Mackay.
By G. N. Berry
THE great rapidity with which certain portions of the Western States have been explored, mapped out and settled, and the numerous changes that have been made by bringing the vast fertile prairies, but a few years ago the roving grounds of savage Indians and vast herds of deer and buffalo, into cultivation, furnishing happy homes for hundreds of the restless population of the South and East, have excited the wonder and admiration of the entire country. Especially is this true of that portion of Montgomery County to which this chapter is devoted; although settled in a very early day, it is, comparatively speaking, a new country. Fillmore is situated in the southeastern part of the county, and extends from Witt Township on the north to Bond County on the south, a distance of ten miles. Shelby and Fayette Counties form its eastern, while East Fork Township forms its western boundary. It is drained chiefly by the East Fork of Shoal Creek, a stream of some size, flowing in a southerly direction, near the western part. A stream of considerable importance has its source in Section 10, and flows in a south-easterly direction, chaining that part of the township. Hurricane Creek and Dry Fork are the principal water-courses in the southern portion, and along which the first settlements of the county were made. The surface is undulating and gently rolling in the northern half, while along the course of Shoal Creek the land is more broken, being considerably hilly in some localities. The soil like that of the greater part of the county, is a rich, dark loam, sand mixed in certain places near the streams, and very fertile. Clay underlies a great deal of the surface, making it easily drained. Gravel beds and sand banks of considerable extent are found in the vicinity of Shoal Creek and other water-courses, sufficient for building roads and all other practical purposes. The southern part was at one time covered with a dense growth of deciduous timber, among which was a very large proportion of walnut, maple, oak, hickory and other valuable varieties. Much of this was used for rails, and destroyed by the early settlers in clearing their lands, as they then had no adequate idea of its value. Some years since, many thousand feet of black walnut were exported annually, besides immense quantities of oak, maple and sycamore lumber. There is still a good supply left, which, by judicious management, will supply all demands for lumber for many years to come.
The forest productions in Fillmore are not excelled in quantity or quality by any other township in Montgomery County.
The principal crops to which the farmer looks for his maintenance are wheat, to which the soil seems peculiarly adapted; corn, rye, oats, hay, vegetables, fruits — in short, all the productions common to Southern Illinois.
The first settlements in what is now known as Fillmore Township were made by a small band of pioneers from the State of Kentucky, as early as the year 1817. The previous year had been spent by them within the present limits of Bond County, although at that time there were no civil divisions, Illinois being a Territory.
Being considerably harassed by Indians, they were compelled to fortify, which they did by building a block- house, where the entire company took refuge. Several attacks were made at different times on this fort, but so obstinately was it defended by the brave little garrison that the savages, finding they could accomplish nothing by their hostility, finally withdrew, and gave the settlers no further trouble. Parties from this little settlement passed through the southern part of the present township of Fillmore in one of their hunting excursions, and, being favorably impressed with the appearance of a tract of land on Hurricane Creek, induced the company to locate there, which they did in the spring of 1817. This was the first settlement by white men in Montgomery County. Among this little band of pioneers were Harris Revis, Henry Hill, Levi Casey, Aaron Casey, John Lee, and a number of others whose names have faded from memory. Their little cabins were built in a group around a large spring, from which each family obtained its supply of water. The Indians at that time had undisputed sway, but caused the settlers no annoyance after they located in this locality. Bears and wolves infested the woods in great numbers, proving very destructive to the live stock, which had to be closely watched to insure safety. It required will, nerve and a determined resolution to successfully grapple with the many serious obstacles presented; yet, despite all the hardships and trials through which they were called to pass, the pioneers flourished and were happy. As time passed, the different members of the little community selected the lands destined for their future homes.
Revis located his claim on Dry Fork Creek, near the southeast corner of the township, where he lived until the year 1840, at which time he died. Several grandchildren are living in Fillmore and adjoining townships. Henry Hill entered a piece of land adjoining that on which Revis settled.
Both of these places are now owned by Samuel Hill, a grandson of Henry Hill, and one of the well-to-do citizens of Fillmore.
John Hill improved a farm in the vicinity, which is still in the possession of his descendants.
Levi Casey settled on the place since known as the Briggs farm. He sold the place in 1837, and. with his family, moved to Shelby County, where he afterward died.
Aaron Casey, a son-in-law of Revis, settled on a part of the Samuel Hill farm, which was his home for twenty-three years. A portion of this place was improved by John Lee, also, who purchased it about one year after its settlement by Revis. Joseph Wright was one of the little community. The place which was selected for his home is now owned by his son, Jarrett Wright, a prominent citizen of the township. A part of the Wright farm was improved by Henry Piatt, who came to the State in the year 1818. He was an upright, honorable man, and one of the leading citizens in the community. He became the possessor of a considerable tract of land, and a number of his grandchildren are now living in the county. One of the most prominent pioneers of Fillmore, and one who did as much, if not more, than any other man to advance its material interests, was Newton Coffee, father of Cleveland S. Coffee. Identified with the early history of the county, his life demands more than a mere passing notice. He was born among the hills of Kentucky, where were passed his youth and early manhood in those rugged out-door pursuits which so well fitted him for a pioneer. When he came to Illinois, the territory now embraced in Montgomery County wan a wilderness, into which but few white men had penetrated. The one small settlement already referred to was the only spot within its borders cheered by the presence of civilization, and of this little community he had no knowledge until nearly one year passed away. He built a little cabin in the timber near the Bond County line, and lived there for several years, with no neighbors nearer than eight miles. This was in the fall of 1817. After locating his place here, he went farther north and entered the land where Hillsboro now stands, twenty acres of which he afterward donated for the county seat. He died in the year 1 8 lit. at a good old age. The place where he settled lies in Section 18, South Fillmore, and is at present owned by his son, Cleveland S. Coffee. A number of early settlers located in the vicinity of the Coffee farm in 1819 and 1820, among whom were Easton Whitten, Colbert Blair. Thomas Beck and Stephen White. They were all Kentuckians. Whitten bought a tract of land on Dry Fork, which he improved the year after coming to the State. The place is now in possession of his son, Thomas Whitten. Beck settled an eighty-acre lot lying just north of Coffee's farm. This comprises the early settlement of the southern part of the township, as far as we have been able to learn its history. Other early settlers there probably were whose names properly belong to the foregoing list, but in our research we have been unable to obtain any particulars concerning them. The northern part of the township was settled by emigrants from Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina, but it was a number of years after the settlements already referred to were made. Among the first to locate and improve farms in North Fillmore were James Card, T. J. Todd, John Alexander and M. Mason.
The oldest settler now living in the county is Cleveland S. Coffey. He was fifteen years of age when his father came to this part of the State, and for sixty-five years has been a resident of Fillmore Township. He is still a vigorous man for his years, and in possession of all his mental faculties. The writer will always remember the pleasant hours passed under the hospitable roof of this stanch old pioneer while gleaning the facts of history contained in these pages.
For many years during the early history of this section of the country, the lives of the pioneers were not enviable ones. Their trials were numerous, and the hardships they were called upon to encounter would discourage the bravest-hearted of the present day. Hard as was the life in the wilderness, it had its seasons of recreation, when the pioneers would meet, recount various incidents, talk over old times, and thus relieve the monotony of their isolated situation. Light hearts, good health and clear consciences made the toilsome hours pass pleasantly, and old men now living whose youth was passed amid the stirring scenes of those times look back with pleasure to the old days as the most enjoyable period of their existence. The nearest market where groceries could be obtained was St. Louis, then but a mere village, fifty-five miles distant. Flour aud meal were obtained at Pad's Mill, about ten miles nearer. Many of the early families manufactured their own meal. Cleveland Coffey gives the following description of a primitive hand-mill used by his father: “The top of a solid hickory stump was hollowed out to the depth of about eight or ten inches. Over this was suspended a heavy iron wedge made fast to a pole, after the manner of an old-fashioned well-sweep. By working this up and down with considerable force, the corn in the hollow could be crushed and a very good meal obtained." Wild meat of all kinds was plenty, on which the pioneer's family fared sumptuously. Tanned deer-skins formed the wearing apparel of the men, while the women clothed themselves with a coarse cloth manufactured from cotton, of which each settler raised a goodly patch. The first mill in Fillmore was erected in the year 1825, by John Beck. This was merely a tread-mill, which the proprietor operated with a yoke of oxen, and. although an insignificant affair, it answered the purpose for which it was intended, and for a number of years did all the grinding for the entire neighborhood. New machinery was afterward supplied, and, altogether, the mill was in operation about twenty years. Benjamin Rose built a little horse mill in Section 18 about the year 1838, and operated it ten years, when he sold it to a man by the name of Austin. Austin kept the machinery running several years, and did a very nourishing business.
The next mill of which we have any knowledge was a steam-mill, built by John Hill, near where the village of Van Burensburg now 6tands, in 1840. The mill had but one buhr, and was kept running almost constantly in order to supply the increasing demand for its products. It was sold to Harris Wright and James Kirk in 1842, and by them operated until the year 1846. It was torn down a number of years ago. The first lumber manufactured in the county was sawed by hand with a whip-saw, and used in the construction of Newton Coffey's dwelling house. Some of this lumber can still be seen in the kitchen of Cleveland Coffey's residence.
A saw-mill was built by John Fuller, in Fuller's Grove, about four miles west of Van Burensburg, in the year 1840. It was in operation a little more than one year, when it was sold and removed from the township. A steam saw-mill was built on Shoal Creek, near where the Vandalia road crosses that stream, many years ago. It was in operation but a very short time. A great amount of lumber has been sawn in the forests skirting the several creeks, by portable mills, at different times. Several of these mills are in operation at the present time, and the lumber business still continues to be an important industry.
In educational matters, Fillmore is not behind her sister townships in the county. Her citizens have always taken special interest and pride in the public schools, which have been well sustained and patronized. Its school history begins with the year 1825, or with the advent of Mr. Hatchett, the first teacher. This gentleman taught school in a little log house that had formerly been used as a residence by the family of Aaron Casey. It was situated in the southeast corner of the township, on Hurricane Creek.
The following winter, Benjamin Bobbins taught school in a cabin that stood on the east bank of Shoal Creek, near the eastern boundary. Josiah Whitten was one of the pioneer teachers of the county, having taught several terms in the southern part of Fillmore, when the early settlements were in the infancy of their existence.
In these early schools, nothing but the simplest elementary instruction was imparted, as many of the first teachers were men of limited intellectual attainments. Reading, writing, spelling, and the rudiments of arithmetic, comprised the sum total of branches taught.
The first schoolhouses were built of round logs, undressed, with chunks in the cracks and daubed with mud. Puncheon at the bottom and split sticks at the top were the chimney material, with pounded dirt jambs and packed mud hearths. No floors were laid; the earth being smoothed off by constant use, became in time very compact.
There were puncheon and plank seats, without backs. A long window around the room, with a rough writing-desk against the wall, complete the picture of one of these primitive college buildings. This may be taken as a sample and general description of the condition of the schoolhouses in this part of the county from the year 1820 to 1845.
The first frame schoolhouse was built about the year 1845, near the little village of Van Burensburg, and was known as the Easley Schoolhouse. The township has a number of good, substantial frame schoolhouses, all well furnished with patent seats and desks, globes, maps, charts, and other necessary requisites to education. The old cramped ideas of instruction have long since been abandoned, and the schools are now enlivened by an invasion of fresh ideas and methods, which have been well received throughout the township. Near the Dry Fork of Hurricane Creek, a burial-ground was staked off in the year 1821. This graveyard is the site of an old battlefield, where at one time, many years before, an encounter took place between a detachment of United States troops and a band of hostile Indians. Many human bones, musket balls, spear-heads, knives, etc., have been brought to the surface at different times, while graves were being digged. The first interment in this cemetery was that of Stephen White, who died in the summer of 1821.
The first marriage in what is now Fillmore Township took place in 1822, the contracting parties being John Revis, son of Harris Revis, and Patsey, daughter of Newton Coffey. The ceremony was performed by Squire Levi Casey.
A daughter of John Beck was the first white child born in the county. This birth occurred in 1819, the same year that the family came to the State.
As the country increased in population, good roads became a necessity, and many of the old crooked by-ways were abandoned. The Vandalia road, which passes through the township in a southeasterly direction, was the first regularly established highway. A county road was surveyed and established through the southern part of the township in an early day, the exact date of which was not learned. Many other roads were laid out and improved as the settlements increased, but, as none of them were roads of much importance, a further description is unnecessary.
Van Burensburg is a small village, situated near the southwest corner of the township, about fifteen miles from the city of Hillsboro. It was founded by Joshua White, in the year 1842, who kept a store there for several years. There are now one store, post office, blacksmith shop and two churches. The post office was established about the year 1837, with Benjamin Roberts as Postmaster. The second Postmaster was Robert White. It is kept at present by a man by the name of Bookstrock. One of the first stores in the place was kept by a Mr. Eddy, whose stock of merchandise consisted of groceries, a few dry goods and a plentiful supply of whisky. A man by the name of Nathan Harmon was killed at this place shortly after Eddy started his saloon, under the following circumstances: It appears that Harmon was a dissipated, worthless character, and, when under the influence of whisky, very quarrelsome and abusive. Upon the occasion referred to, he had been drinking rather freely, and, seeing a stranger pass the door of the saloon, made some insulting remark to him. To this speech the stranger paid no attention, but kept on his way, whereupon Harmon became very furious, and started in pursuit, for the purpose, he said, of killing the "damned scoundrel.'' The stranger tried hard to avoid having any difficulty with the drunken man, but Harmon, with many fearful oaths, sprang upon him. Calmly the stranger met him, turned aside his high, wild thrusts, and, in return, struck him several well-directed and crushing blows on the chest and head. Harmon fell, and in a short time expired. The citizens regarded it as a just punishment, and no arrest was made.
The early pioneers were not derelict in their religious duties, as is proved by the fact that devotional exercises were conducted in the. little settlement on Hurricane Creek the first year in which it was founded. These social meetings were held as often as circumstances would admit, in the houses of different members of the community, and were led by some one selected on account of his peculiar fitness. The first church established was in 1820 or 1821, by the Regular Baptists, who were more numerous than any other religious denomination. This church was organized under the pastoral labors of Elder James Street, a preacher who figures rather prominently in the early church history of Montgomery County. He was a man of strong powers of intellect, to which were added fair scholastic attainments and a persuasive power of oratory rarely excelled. He assisted in the organization of all the early churches of his sect in the county, and of him it can truly be said, “his life was spent in traveling about doing good."
The first congregation was known as the Hurricane Creek Regular Baptist Church, to which nearly all the early settlers on Dry Fork and Hurricane Creek belonged. For several years, public services were held in private dwelling houses, but in course of time a log church was built, which stood until the year 1862. At that date, a frame edifice was erected, in which the congregation has worshiped until the present time. Among the pastors of this church were the following: Henry Sayers, James Street, __ Prather and Jackson Williford.
The Methodists held meetings at several different places in the township during the early days of its history, as did also the Presbyterians. Among the pioneer preachers of the latter denomination can be named Revs. Knight, Barlow and Finley. The Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church was in existence as early as the year 1837. It was organized by the Rev. William Finley, in the little village of Van Burensburg, with a considerable membership. The first ordained Elders were John Blair, James R. Abell and Benjamin Rose. Since its organization, the church has had seventeen ordained Elders. The church was re-organized several years ago, and the place of meeting changed from Van Burensburg to a point about four miles west, where a neat house of worship was erected. The following preachers have ministered to the congregation: Joseph Barlow, Joel Knight, Smith, William Hutchinson, William Turner, J. B. Mitchell, __ Linxwiler, Porterfield, Deatheridge, __ Reppito and T. W. McDavid.
The Methodist Church, known as Fuller's Chapel, was organized at Fuller's Grove many years ago. A house of worship stood a little north of the grove. It was burned in the year 1880, and since that time the congregation have met for worship in different places. The Lutherans have an organization in the eastern part of the township, but nothing was learned concerning this church.
The United Baptist Church was organized by Elder Richard Keel in the year 1860, at the East Fork Schoolhouse. The first members of this congregation were the following: Richard Blackburn and wife, George Blackburn, Cyrus Whitten and wife, Cleveland S. Coffey, Moses Fuller, Malinda Hurd, Anna Whitten and Betsey Evans.
Richard Keel was the first pastor, in which capacity he acted for two years. Richard Gregg succeeded Keel, and preached about eighteen years. He was followed by David Barber, who had charge of the congregation two years. Newton Coffey has preached for the church about six months. Their present church edifice is situated about one mile and a half northeast of Fuller's Grove, and was built in the year 1861.
The Methodist Church at Van Burensburg was organized about the year 1877. They have a good house of worship, which cost about $1,200.
In addition to the churches already enumerated, there are two other organizations in the township, of which no particulars were obtained bv the writer.
Fillmore's war record stands out untarnished. She might risk her reputation on the evidences of loyalty she exhibited during those dark hours when the gallant ship of state was almost stranded upon the rugged rocks of disunion. She furnished her full quota of volunteers, and more. Indeed, Fillmore could not have done otherwise, as loyalty is a ruling passion among her sons. But few firesides were unrepresented where age would permit. Those remaining at home contributed freely and generously of their means, whereby they sought to reward the brave boys who donned the blue. We should be pleased to name each volunteer from this township, and point out his destiny, but space forbids. Broken firesides ever remind us that many a brave boy who responded to his country's call, went, but never returned; and, although no towering shaft nor storied urn marks their last resting-place, a grateful Republic and a grateful people will cherish their memory, and the nation's fame and greatness will be their appropriate monument.
"Their swords are rust; their good steeds dust;
Their souls are with the saints, we trust."
Extracted 14 Jan 2017 by Norma Hass from History of Bond and Montgomery Counties, Illinois, published in 1882, pages 320-326.
