Randolph County ILGenWeb

EARLY SETTLERS of Randolph COUNTY, IL
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A. A. BURLINGAME
The people about Sparta early assumed a leadership in the making of tools and implements used by the settlers. A. A. Burlingame set up to make wagons in nearby Eden. He soon began to make plows and in 1866 moved to Sparta. At that time he regularly employed nine men in his shop. F. R. Crothers had already, 1857, begun the making of plows and harrows in Sparta, making as many as 1200 plows and 200 harrows in one year. He employed eight men. Plows are still made in Sparta.

ICHABOD & GEORGE CAMP
The brothers Ichabod and George CAMP might be termed frontiersmen. In 1782 they came to Randolph County where they settled near the mouth of a creek that now bears their name and opened a small farm. Within a few years they felt that the country about them was becoming too crowded and moved to Missouri. The place of their settlement there became Camp’s Spring.

DAVID CATHCART
When Illinois became a state, large sections of Randolph County were still unsettled. Thus David CATHCART, or CARTHCART, was not in anywise crowded when he came from South Carolina in 1818 to settle near the lower end of Flat Prairie. His nearest neighbors were even then some miles away.

JOHN COULTER
The French name of Grand Cote was given to the prairie in the northeastern part of the county. It was on this prairie that John COULTER settled in 1822. Around his place a small village grew up and for a time was known as Grand Cote. When the town was platted in 1850, the name of Coulterville was given to it. Like Chester, it carries the tradition of an exciting storm. In the spring of 1860 a milder tornado visited the town uproofing many buildings. Its most spectacular feat was the havoc wrought to the rail fences that the settlers had, at much labor, built on the open prairies. Miles of these fences were leveled to the ground and the rails scattered far and wide.

BENJAMIN CRAINE
Large families were not so unusual in pioneer days. One pioneer, upon being asked how he managed to feed so many, answered--”Every mouth brings two hands.” Benjamin CRAINE brought many hands when he came with seven sons in 1802 to settle on Mary’s River about two miles above its mouth.

ECCLES & BRATNEY
Two tanners, Edward ECCLES and Joseph BRATNEY, came to the Evan’s Mill community, now Evansville, in 1839 and built a tanning yard. This tanning yard was in operation for several years and helped to supply the community’s need for leather.

EDMUND FAHERTY
In 1825, Edmund FAHERTY, built a ‘horse band mill’ two miles north of the mill established by William NELSON in 1812. From the large number of such mills, one would conclude that their capacity to produce was rather small or that there were more settlers than available records indicate.

WILLIAM GORDON
The tanning of leather continued for many years to be a local industry. William GORDON who came to the Sparta region in 1820, worked at the tanner’s trade. Robert POLLACK also had a tannery nearby. Two fair-sized tanneries in one locality would seem to indicate a rather extensive cattle growing industry.

JOHN EDGAR
John EDGAR was an officer in the British Navy during the Revolutionary War. He married an American wife who was an able person and much devoted to the cause of the colonists. This attitude on the part of his wife must have greatly influenced Edgar, for we shortly find him helping his wife in her efforts to further the interest of the rebellious colonists. When knowledge of these actions came to the British authorities, EDGAR  very prudently fled, reaching Kaskaskia in 1784. His rather extensive property, excepting about $12,000 which his shrewd and capable wife managed to secure, was confiscated by the British. With this money, she joined him in 1786. EDGAR at once began various ventures and became very wealthy. Among other activities he was a land speculator on a vast scale. Edgar’s taste for mackerel, perhaps acquired while serving in the British Navy, seems to have endured. One of the recurring entries in the books of Morrison, an early merchant of Kaskaskia, is “John Edgar Mackerel”.

DR. FISHER
Though Brewerville has never prospered as a village, it provides a point by which some earlier interests may be located. The lowlands between Brewerville and the Mississippi River once contained some of the finest kind of pecan trees. There were great groves of them, and it was here that many a pioneer gathered a stock of nuts to be eaten by the open fireplace on wintry evenings. Numerous pecan trees are yet to be seen there. It was also to a point near Brewerville that Dr. FISHER came from Kaskaskia to establish his home. Other people, feeling that a location near a doctor would be desirable, settled nearby. This neighborhood became known as the Dr. Fisher Settlement and is even yet occasionally referred to as such. It was here that Dr. FISHER, in 1808, established a pioneer hospital, doubtless the first one in the state. The hospital building constructed by Dr. FISHER was standing until the 1930’s when it was razed to provide materials for a dwelling. It was not until the 1870’s that Thomas BREWER gave his name to the village. Since then the name has again been changed and is now known as Murdock.

WILLIAM GOING
William GOING was a blacksmith and bell maker who settled in the community known successively as Washington, Horse Prairie Town, and Lafayette; neither of which succeeded in growing into a village. Going was a good blacksmith and bell maker but doubtless would long ago have been forgotten except for his method of advertising. At house raisings, log rolling, muster days and court days he generally appeared in rustic garb and with a number of bells attached to his belt. He would then dance and skip about with noises that may well be imagined. At one time he appeared in the court room at Kaskaskia while court was in session and serenaded the judge. So far as records show, no fine was levied against him for such unconventional behavior. It is recorded that the judge disliked the performance.

MICHAEL HARMON
Because of Indian unrest, only one settler is indicated as coming to Randolph County in 1811. This man was Michael HARMON who established a settlement near Palestine. Though he died within a short time, five sons carried on. This settlement later attracted numerous people and became widely known. It is yet spoken of as the Harmon Settlement.

PAUL HARRELSTON
Paul HARRELSTON came to the county in 1802 and settled near the mouth of Camp Creek. He later became, for a short time, one of the early sheriffs of the county and was influential in local affairs for several years.

JOHN HEARD
When John HEARD settled north of Chester in 1801, he was beyond the established settlements and for some time had no nearby neighbors.

ROBERT HIGGINS
Robert HIGGINS settled northeast of Steeleville in Section 19 in 1812. Since danger of Indian raids was still imminent, he built a two story fort or blockhouse. This fort stood until the 1820’s when farmers hauled the logs away and used them to build barns.

JOHN RICE JONES
There is something about ‘the first’ that sets one apart. John Rice JONES, a Welshman, was the first lawyer in Illinois to practice at the bar. He held various offices and later moved to Missouri where he became a judge of the supreme court.

ELIAS KENT KANE
Elias Kent KANE, a native of Vermont, came to Kaskaskia in 1814. He was influential in the formation of the government of the state and served in various public offices, being a senator from Illinois at the time of his death.

PIERRE La CLEDE
Intending to establish a rather large farming and trading business, Pierre La CLEDE had come to the region of --Fort Chartres in. 1763. Upon his arrival he learned that the territory had recently been given to the English. Not wanting to settle in English territory, he spent the winter of 1763-64 in Fort Chartres and moved upstream in February to found a settlement that became the city of St. Louis.

LaCOMPT
Major LaCOMPT, one of the leading citizens of Prairie du Rocher, kept a store and operated a horse mill for many years. The mill began operating about 1800.

LAFAYETTE
When LAFAYETTE paid a visit to the United States as the guest of the nation, he visited Illinois. His trip to Kaskaskia was doubly enjoyable since it was, perhaps more than any other place visited, the one locality where the language and customs of his homeland were most prevalent. Many of the scenes of his visit have been washed away by the river, but the traditions still linger.

JOHN LIVELY
When John LIVELY came to the county in 1805, he settled on the prairie that has since borne his name. The Lively family has remained a prominent one in Randolph County for more than a century.

La SALLE
La SALLE was never a resident of Randolph County, and yet he is too closely connected with its early history to omit mention of him. It was in this county that he landed at the mouth of Mary’s River on his voyage of exploration. It was here that he was told that the Mississippi emptied into the Gulf of Mexico and not as he had hoped into the Pacific Ocean.

HENRY LEVENS
When Henry LEVENS came to the Horse Prairie Settlement about 1800, he brought a large family of sons and daughters. Though they were good and substantial citizens, they might have been forgotten long ago had they not been in one way a most unusual group. Most of his sons and daughters, as well as the father were accomplished violinists. The LEVENS place became noted as a hospitable and cheerful one where music and laughter were the rule instead of the exception. In 1800 LEVENS was operating a gristmill and sawmill. Most of the timbers for early day flat boats built in the Kaskaskia region came from his mill. He left for Missouri in 1818.

WILLIAM McBRIDE
The blacksmith and gristmill operator were two persons very necessary to the prosperity of a pioneer community. William McBRIDE was blacksmith (1804), and Robert McDANIEL (1816) became miller of the community lying southwest of Baldwin.

JAMES McCLURKEN
About 1816 James McCLURKEN came to Sparta. He settled a short distance southeast of town. McCLURKEN was a rather versatile business man. We find him establishing or interested in numerous ventures: a cotton gin, a woolen mill, a castor bean press, a steam gristmill and a coal mine being some of them. All were in the Sparta vicinity. He seemed to have been reasonably prosperous.

JOHN McCUTCHEON
An increasing number of settlers required some regular means of travel. To fill this need, John M. McCUTCHEON established an early day stage line from Chester to St. Louis by way of Sparta. Carrying passengers and mail, these stages operated on schedule for many years.

STACY McDONOUGH
Stacy McDONOUGH was a venturesome and picturesque figure who came to Randolph County in 1797. He had served with the Kentucky militia against the Indians in several campaigns. He served with St. Clair, “Mad Anthony” Wayne, and Clark in other campaigns. At times he was also a flatboat operator. During the War of 1812, he served as captain of a company of rangers and carried the mail from Shawnee town to Kaskaskia.

ARCHIBALD McNABB
The name of Archibald McNABB is a prominent one in the early English history of Prairie du Rocher where he settled in 1800, having come from Kentucky. Seeing the need for leather, he established a tannery, and McNabb’s tanning yard was a prosperous business for many years.

JOHN MONTGOMERY
John MONTGOMERY settled near the east bank of the Kaskaskia River about three miles above the village of Kaskaskia in 1780. The group of settlers of which he was one suffered more than the usual hardships and dangers. Many died or left the vicinity, but MONTGOMERY was one of the number that remained.

PIERRE MENARD
Pierre MENARD, with his brothers, Hypolite and Francois, came from Quebec to Kaskaskia in 1790. Hypolite became a successful farmer. Francois became a distinguished trader and flatboat operator on the Mississippi. Pierre remained at Kaskaskia and became a wealthy trader and the idol of the Indians, whose friendship he early won. He was a member of the territorial legislature and was speaker of the house in 1812. When Illinois became a State, he was its first Lieutenant Governor. His home, built in 1802, still stands as one of the noted buildings of the State. He died in 1844, and his grave may be seen on the hill near the ruins of Fort Gage.

JOHN MOREDOCK
An occasional frontiersman seems to have lived for the sole purpose of killing Indians. Such a person was John MOREDOCK, who in the 1780’s saw several members of a party of settlers, including his mother, on their way to Kaskaskia from Pennsylvania killed by the Indians near Grand Tower in Jackson County. MOREDOCK’s stepfather, a Mr. Huff, was also killed a short time afterwards. Influenced by these experiences, young MOREDOCK became perhaps the most deadly enemy that the Red Men of Illinois ever knew. No expedition to punish the Indians would have been complete without John MOREDOCK, seeking opportunity to retaliate against them for old injuries. He became a major in the militia and served during the campaign of 1812.

WILLIAM MORRISON
William MORRISON came to Kaskaskia in 1790 as a representative of Bryant and Morrison of Philadelphia. He was a very capable person and the business he established prospered greatly, though much of his time was given to public service. The extent of his business is indicated in old records, still existent, showing single shipments of furs totaling more than $34,000. These records also indicate that he served as a wholesaler and furnished goods to the other merchants. He seems to have charged as much as he felt the traffic would bear, often selling some staple, like sugar, coffee or tea to an Indian or flat-boatman for three times the price charged a local resident on the same day.

JAMES MUDD
James MUDD, with his father and six brothers, came to Randolph County in 1816. About 1820 he established a water powered gristmill some five miles east of Prairie du Rocher and operated it for many years.

WILLIAM NELSON
Grist mills and distilleries were very convenient combinations, at least, William NELSON found it so when he established this combination near the present town of Red Bud in 1812. A distillery near at hand doubtless lessened the tedium of waiting ones turn at the mill.

JOHN PETTIT
The number of gristmills established at an early date leads one to wonder if there were not quite a number of unrecorded settlers in the nearby area. We find John PETTIT in 1798 with a mill beside the trail that crossed Nine Mile Creek between the regions of Chester and Evansville. In addition to being a farmer and miller, PETTIT was in the ranger service in 1812.

JOHN POLLOCK
James POLLOCK settled near Preston in 1818 and started a tanning yard. He did not find it easy to secure the needed hides and began a meat packing industry to aid in supplying his requirements. Cattle were bought and slaughtered. The meat was shipped by flatboat to New Orleans, and the hides kept for conversion into leather. POLLOCK’s Tanning yard became prosperous. The name of POLLOCK was given to the nearby village.

NATHANIEL POPE
Nathaniel POPE first appeared in Kaskaskia in 1804 but shortly moved to St. Genevieve, Missouri. He returned to Kaskaskia in 1808 and became, by appointment, Secretary of Illinois Territory in 1809. Before the arrival of Governor EDWARDS, POPE, as acting governor, issued a proclamation organizing the Illinois Territory. As territorial delegate to congress, he succeeded in having the northern boundary of the state moved from the line running due west from the southern tip of Lake Michigan to the parallel of 42 degrees, 30 minutes north, thus giving to Illinois the site of the future city of Chicago.

JOHN PULLIAM
John PULLIAM, after living in Kentucky and Missouri, and later at New Design settlement in the adjoining county of Monroe, came in 1799 to open a farm near the village of Washington, a short distance to the west of the Kaskaskia River and some two miles south of Monroe County. After three years he moved to St. Clair County, where he located permanently. President Roscoe PULLIAM of the Southern Illinois Normal University is a great, great-grandson of this John PULLIAM.

RECTORS
Whoever looks at the records of early government surveys in the archives of southern Illinois counties will note the frequency with which the name of RECTORS appears. This is explained by the fact that most of the nine RECTORS brothers who came to Kaskaskia in 1806 were employed in the surveying of the public lands. One brother, John, was killed by an Indian in the northeastern part of Saline County on May 26, 1805. Another brother, William, became Surveyor-General.

Uploaded: October 24, 2003