1885 History of Greene & Jersey
Early Settlement
The subject of the early settlement of a county, a state, or a section of our country, possesses an interest for all, but to the keen student of men and events, it presents itself as the source of much thought and investigation. Upon the characteristics of the first settlers in any land, upon their early training and general ways, upon their religious beliefs and methods, depends, in a great measure, the future life, prosperity and even form of government. The stern, unyielding Puritan, who settled on the almost sterile shores of rocky New England, has left his hard stamp upon the whole of that quarter of our beloved republic, just as much as the jovial, hospitable Cavalier who first made his home in Virginia ground lives again in his descendants, or the French Huguenot of the Carolinas in the easy, polite and cultured people of the southern states.
Most of those who came to Greene county in an early day came from ‘neath the genial skies and from warmer clime of the “Sunny South,” and the well known hospitality of that favored land was transported to these pristine wilds. Some immigrants, however, came from the New England and Middle states, and these two diverse elements becoming amalgamated here, has added to the warm-hearted, generous disposition of the sons of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, or the Carolinas – the hard-headed, cool, calculating common sense of the Yankee, making the best combination possible. With these ideas in our minds, it is with more than ordinary interest that the subject of the early settlers of Greene county is entered upon, and the native heath and training of each is brought to view, seeing the men from so many diverse sections of this country, and the kingdoms and empires of the old world, seeking a home in this earthly paradise, and all mingling in one homogeneous mass, come one united people.
Pioneers of Greene County
To say, at this late day, who was the first to settle within the limits of Greene county, is well nigh impossible. No doubt there were people here as early as 1813 or 1814, but if there were, they left no trace. In 1815, when the trees were just beginning to put on their many hoed autumnal foliage, six men, Daniel Allen, his three sons, and James and Paul Harriford came to the northern part of Jersey county and made a settlement, as detailed in the history of that county. In the latter part of 1816, Daniel Allen, Sr., and two of his sons, Daniel and James, moved about six miles north and west of their first location, into what is now Greene county, and settled on land now owned by his grandson. E. W. Allen. John Allen, another grandson of Daniel's, settled also in Kane township. Thus the
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Allen's are the first known settlers in this county.
During the year 1816, Samuel Thomas, who had passed through this
county on his way back and forth after the Indians, when he was
in the ranger service, came to Greene county, and crossing the
Macoupin creek, selected a place on which he intended to locate
and make a home. He cut and stacked a considerable quantity of
hay, and made some other preparations toward taking up his
residence. He returned to his home on the Wood river, but his
back had hardly been turned ere the redskins burned his hay and
destroyed all trace of his labors. Two years longer he and his
young wife lingered in the settlement around the forks of Wood
river, but in the summer of 1818, he set out with John Huitt and
Thomas Carlin for this beautiful land. In August the three
adventurers came to the Macoupin creek, crossing which they
ascended the bluffs, and here the most glorious panorama spread
out before them. Mr. Thomas selected a spot on Sec. 33, T. 10,
R. 12, for a home. A beautiful grove and a clear spring of water
were among the attractions that fixed his choice. Here Mr.
Thomas killed a deer, cut a bee-tree and engraved his name on
the bark of a monarch of the forest, to indicate that the land
was claimed. He also built a cabin, made some other
preparations, and returned for his wife and household goods.
With these loaded upon an ox cart he arrived at his new home on
the ninth day of November, 1818, and thus became the first
settler in Greene county north of Macoupin creek.
Thomas Carlin pushed further north, inclining a little more to
the east, and chose for his home a fine piece of land, including
that on which the city of Carrollton was afterward built. His
cabin he erected in the southern portion of the present
corporation, and occupied it late in 1818, or the spring of
1819.
Thomas Allen settled in what is now White Hall township in 1818,
among the first in the county. Here he lived until his death,
which occurred in April, 1874.
Mathew Dayton made his appearance in Greene county in 1818, and
the next year made a settlement in Woodville township, where he
lived until Oct., 1872, when he died.
James Stone and his wife were also settlers of the year 1818,
coming in the early winter of that year. They settled, at first,
near where the town of Carrollton was afterward laid out, on the
farm now occupied by William and Charles Ward. From there he
removed to Woodville township, and located on the northeast
quarter of Sec. 6, T. 9, R. 12, which, by hard work and rigid
economy, he succeeded in saving the money to enter. He died
there about 1854.
Luther and Calvin Tunnell came to this county in 1818, and made
a permanent settlement. Both of these gentlemen were prominent
in the affairs of the county. Luther located in Linder township
on coming here, and Calvin in Carrollton township, on the farm
now owned by Jackson Tunnell.
Dr. H. Clay Thaxton, a native of Virginia, came to this county
in 1818, and settled in the Apple creek bottom. He was born Aug.
5, 1799. When the land was open for entry, he entered 80 acres
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of land on section 20 of what is now Wrights township, where
he is still living.
William Speaks, in company with the Allens, Morrows and others,
who were relatives of his, came from Tennessee, where he had
been living, to what is now White Hall township, north of Apple
creek, in the late fall or early winter of 1818. On arriving
there it was too late to build a house, so they camped out by
the side of a large log. To such straits were the early pioneers
of this country put. While enduring the inclemency of the
weather that winter, a son was born to Mrs. Speaks. Mr. Speaks
died at Greenfield, of cancer in the face.
William Allen settled at what is well known as Belltown, in
1819, where he lived until April 4, 1875, when he was called
onto pay the debt of nature.
Zacheriah Allen, also, came at the same time, and made a
settlement on Sec. 3, T. 11, R. 12.
Thomas Rattan made a settlement north of Apple creek, in 1819.
With him came also Levi Reader. Rattan did not live here long,
but moved to Carrollton, where he kept the first tavern.
John Allen and Isaac Hill, attracted by the settlement north of
Apple creek, in 1819, located in that part of the county.
Thomas Hall, a native of North Carolina, came to Illinois in
1818, and after a year spent at the Wood river settlement, in
1819, came to Greene county, locating on the northwest quarter
of Sec. 32, T. 10, R. 12. His wife, formerly Mary McVeigh, was
born in South Carolina, but they were married in East Tennessee,
in 1815, from which state they came to Illinois. They lived on
this farm some 15 years, when he moved his house to another
quarter of the same section. He died here, March 18, 1854.
Benjamin Ogle made a settlement this same year, 1818, south of
the present county seat, in Carrollton township. Abraham Clark
entered the land and sold it to Ogle, who was to pay for it by
digging out two grindstones from palezoic or lost rocks, which
he did. He had settled on this land, but not having the money to
enter it at the first entry, Mr. Clark did so, but the neighbors
feeling outraged, he sold it to the settler as above.
William Costley, his son, also William Costley, afterwards known
as the Major, and Robert Means, came to the neighborhood south
of the Macoupin creek, in Kane township, in 1819, where they
made a settlement. The elder Mr. Costley died the following
year; his son was for many years a leading and influential
citizen of the county. He died in 1869.
John Greene made a settlement south of Macoupin creek, in 1819,
on the northwest quarter of S. 20, T. 9, R. 11. Here he remained
until his death. Mr. Greene was very prominent in the affairs of
the county, and in common with nearly all of these pioneers, is
noticed at length in their proper place elsewhere.
Francis Bell came with his family to this county, in 1819, and
settled on Apple creek prairie, north of the creek. He was a
native of Tennessee. He died in 1866, at Talula, Ill.
Joel Johnson settled upon a farm on section 21, of Linder
township, in 1819.
Robert Whitaker came to the county in 1819, and made an
improvement in
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what is now Wrights township. Whitaker's creek is named after
him.
Thomas Allen, one of the prominent figures in the history of the
early days, came to what is now New Providence or Belltown,
1819, where he built a mill, and resided until he died, about
1833.
Elam Bowman came to Greene county from Ohio, in 1819. He was, at
the time a young man, but afterwards married here, and later
removed to California, where he became quite rich. He was the
father of two sons, who became quite prominent on the Pacific
slope.
Jesse Morrow made a settlement in Greene county, during the year
1819, and resided here until his death.
Martin and Young Wood made a settlement in this county in 1819.
Young Wood was afterwards the sheriff of the county.
Captain James Whitlock came to Greene county in 1819, and
settled in what is now Kane township, where he entered some 900
acres of land. In 1850, he started for California and died on
the way, of cholera.
Cyrus Tolman came to Greene county in 1820, and located upon 120
acres of land near White Hall, where he resided several years.
He died in Jersey county in 1876.
Ransom, Jesse and Edward Flatt came to Greene county the same
year, and pitched their tents upon land which they settled in
Bluffdale township, and became permanent residents of the
county.
In 1820, John Drum located near Carrollton, where he lived
several years. He afterward removed to Rubicon township, where
he resided some years. He is long been numbered with the dead.
Hartwell Hunnicutt located in what is now Bluffdale township, in
1820, among the first in that section of the county. He was a
resident here until his death.
Benjamin Smith came to Greene county in 1820, and made a
settlement on section 12, in White Hall township. He was a
native of Connecticut, born in 1799, and came to Alton in 1818,
where he resided until coming here.
Charles Kitchen, afterward a Baptist preacher, Lewis Roberts and
John Thompson, came to this county in 1820, settling in T. 12,
R. 12, in what is now White Hall.
Among the settlers of 1820 was William Kincaid, who settled in
Rockbridge township, one of the earliest in that neighborhood,
where he resided until called on to cross the dark river. These
summons came to him in 1876. Andrew Kincaid settled the same
year. The place of their settlement was known for many years as
Kincaid's point, an angle of timber projecting into the prairie
at that place.
Daniel Henderson came to this county in 1820, and settled in
what is now Wrights township, on section 7. He lived in this
county until his death.
Carrollton township received several settlers during the year
1820, among the more prominent of whom were James and Andrew
Pinkerton, Peter Dodgson, M. Bowman, and William Pinkerton.
These all made permanent improvements, and long resided in this
county, being largely identified with its growth and
development.
Thomas Lorton, one of the pioneers of Greene county, came here
from Cumberland county, Ky., in 1820, and be-
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coming the owner of some land on section 8, in Wrights
township, built there his cabin, and resided on that spot until
his death, in 1863.
Among the pioneers of the year 1820 was Davis Carter, with his
family, who came from Edwardsville, but who was a native
Tennessean. He located in what is now Bluffdale township, then
moved to Walkerville, where he lived until 1847, when he died.
A man by the name of Swanson made a settlement in 1820, within
the territory now embraced in Patterson township.
Elijah Little came to Greene county, and located in the same
neighborhood, in the same year.
George W. Clendennen, a Virginian, settled in what is now
Woodville township in 1820, taking up a farm on section 27,
where he lived the balance of his life. He was quite prominently
identified with the early history of the township, having been
the first justice of the peace therein. He died in 1841.
William Potts, in 1820, located in White Hall township, on
section 33, and lived here until 1862, when he died.
John Dodson, a native of England, came to America in 1820, and
coming direct to Greene county, made his settlement in
Carrollton township the same year. In 1848 he died in this
county.
Robert, Charles and Solomon Baines made settlements in White
Hall township, north of Apple creek, during this eventful year,
and resided here for the balance of their lives.
James Caldwell and Thomas Crane, looking for a home, came to
Greene county in 1820, and in the fall of that year had their
cabins built east of Carrollton, in Linder township.
David Hodges settled in 1821. He kept a store on Apple creek
prairie; also built a mill. He afterward went to Galena. He is
now dead. Mr. Hodges was a party in the first marriage that
occurred in the county after its organization.
David Heaton came to Greene county in 1821, and selected land in
Wright's township on which to make a home, where he lived for
many years.
Martin Burt made a settlement in 1821, in what is now Rubicon
township, making improvements.
Charles Gregory, afterward so prominently indentified with the
history of the county and state, made a settlement in White Hall
township in 1821, where he resided until taken from here by
death in 1845.
About the year 1821, James H. Whiteside, who had been living in
what is now Jersey county, since 1817, moved to Apple creek
prairie, in White Hall township, in this county, where he lived
until March, 1862, when he died.
David Pierson came from the state of New York in 1821, and cast
his lot among the pioneers of Greene county, selecting a farm
north of Carrollton, where he lived for several years, when he
removed to Carrollton, where he is now living. He has been for
many years connected with the mercantile and banking interests
of the county.
Rev. C. J. Gardiner came to Greene county in 1821, locating in
what is now Kane township.
In the spring of 1821, Richard Robley came to Greene county, and
taking up his residence in what is now Bluffdale township, lived
there until in the fullness of time he was called "home."
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Asahel North located upon a farm on a farm on section 8, in
what is now White Hall township, in 1821, and became one of the
early settlers of the county. He died here in 1846.
John Morfoot and Richard Ward were among the band of pioneers
who came to Greene county in 1821. They located in Carrollton
township.
John Johnson made a settlement in 1821, in a part of section 3,
Linder township, which he had entered. He was a native of North
Carolina, and a veteran of the war of 1812. He died in this
county.
Ward Eldred and a cousin left their home in New York state, in
1818, and journeyed on foot to Greene county, in search of a
home. They remained all the winter, and in the spring returned
to their eastern home. In 1821, William, Elon and Ward Eldred
came to this county, and took up their residence here, becoming
permanent settlers. The name of Eldred is quite a prominent one
in the annals of the county.
Alexander King was among those hardy pioneers of 1821, who came
to this county. He settled in Linder township, where he resided
until 1872, when he died, full of years.
Thomas Meek made a settlement in what is now Carrollton
township, in 1821, casting in his lot with the pioneers of this
section of the state.
Absalom Frames and William Hudson came to the same locality, in
1821, and made a settlement.
Redmond Strickland made a settlement in T. 12, R. 11, during the
summer of 1821. He died a resident of this county, in 1849.
David Williams was a settler of the year 1821, locating on
section 11, in the eastern part of Kane township, where he died
in Nov., 1828.
William J. Brown, in 1822, made a settlement in what is now
Carrollton township, about two miles south of the county seat,
where he lived until 1846, when he removed from the county. Nov.
3, 1853, he returned to this county, and now resides in section
16, in Linder township.
Edward Prather came to this county in 1822, and settled in what
is now known as Athensville township, the first in that section
of the county. There he resided for some years.
During the year 1822, Archibald Lee and an uncle came to this
section of the country, in search of a home, and returned to
Hamilton county,
Ill., that fall. In the spring of the following year, he and his
young wife came here and settled on Cook's prairie. Later he
removed to Greenfield and engaged in mercantile pursuits, where
he died.
Lindsey H. English came to Greene county about the year 1822. He
was a native of Kentucky, and was a son of Elisha English. When
but a young man he came to this county, where he afterward
became quite prominent in the development of this section of the
state. He probably worked as a farm hand on coming here, but
subsequently became an auctioneer and trader. The first office
he ever held was that of district constable. When the Black Hawk
war broke out he was serving as deputy sheriff, hut immediately
went to the front. After the war he built a substantial building
in Carrollton and became the successful proprietor of the Greene
County House. For the greater
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part of his life he lived in Carrollton. His first wife was
Arabel Turney, whom married in 1828, but who died in 1864,
leaving 11 children. In 1870 Mr. English married Emily Brunk,
and removed to Springfield, where he died in 1880, in affluent
circumstances.
Benjamin Smith came to Greene county in 1822, and settling upon
a farm southeast of where White Hall now stands, opened up a
farm, where he lived until Aug. 7, 1879, when he died. His widow
still survives him.
In 1822, quite a colony of English people, men, women and
children left their homes on that island and came direct to
Greene county, by way of New York. Their names were — Elizabeth,
Peter, John, Thomas, Mary, Robert, James, and C. F. Hobson,
David, William, Thomas, Margaret, John, and Elizabeth Black,
Isaac, Ruth, Jeremiah and Elizabeth Richardson, and George Baty.
They settled in what is now Carrollton township. Many of them
became quite prominent in the history of the county, as a
perusal of these pages will show.
David Wooley, a native of New York, with his family, traveled by
team from Washington county, to Olean, in that state, at the
head waters of the Alleghany river, and building two flat boats,
floated down that river into the Ohio, and thus to Shawneetown.
From there they moved to Hamilton county, and from there here.
They settled, at first, in 1822, on Sec. 21, T. 10, R. 13, where
they resided until March, 1826, when they removed to Bluffdale
where Mr. Wooley lived until 1860, when he died.
William Hart settled on Lorton's prairie, in 1822, where he
lived some 30 years. He moved to Piatt county, Ill., but in his
later years came back and died here.
William Crane was among the early settlers of what is now known
as Linder township, coming there in the spring of 1823.
Anthony Stewart Seeley, afterward so prominently identified with
the official and business life of the county, came to Greene
county, in 1823, and located in Patterson township, where he
lived until the fall of 1885, when he was called on to put on
immortality.
Reuben Martin settled in the same township the same year.
During the summer of 1818, John W. Huitt, and his brother,
Hiram, came to this part of the state, locating in what is now
Ruyle township, Jersey county. He was a native of Franklin
county, Ga.; his wife, Rosanna (Harriford) Huitt, of Tennessee.
The brothers entered a half section of land at that place, where
they remained until 1823. In the spring of that year, John W.
purchased 80 acres of land in Linder township, where he removed,
and where he resided until 1878, when he removed to the city of
Carrollton. It was in this latter place that his death occurred,
April 21, 1880.
David Norton was among the settlers in Carrollton, in the year
1823. Here he took up a farm and made some fine improvements.
Jesse Stout, a native of New Jersey, and a veteran of the last
war with Great Britain, moved to Tennessee at the close of that
conflict, but afterwards removed to Madison county, Ill. In
1823, he came to this county and settled in
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Wrights township, where he died, in 1854.
Samuel Gates settled on section 21, Bluffdale township, in 1823.
He was a native of Maine, but came here from Ohio. He died here
in 1836. He was a man of family, and raised two sons and four
daughters. Two live in Morgan county, one in Scott, and one in
the state of Iowa.
About the year 1824, Jesse White located in Kane township, where
he died at a later day.
Chuza Bushnell and William McAdams settled in Bluffdale
township, in the year 1824, and took an active part in the
developement of that part of the county. Mr. Bushnell was a
local preacher, and raised a large family.
James Kincaid came to the county in 1823, and located in Rubicon
township. He was always quite a prominent figure here.
Linder township had another settler in 1824, in the person of
A.J. Johnson. He went to Eureka springs in Aug., 1884, for
health, he having a cancer, and died there in that month and
year.
John, James, William and Edward Hardcastle, came to Greene
county in 1824, and locating at the village of Carrollton opened
a cabinet and carpenter shop. They also had farms which they
tilled. They were all largely identified with the growth of the
county.
Dudley Brannan was a settler of 1824, in Wrights township. He
resided in Kentucky previous to his coming here, although he is
believed to have been a Virginian by birth. He resided here
until his death.
Samuel Martin, a native of Kentucky, settled in what is now
Woodville township, in 1824 or 5, under the bluff. He died while
a resident of the township.
Ephraim and Temple Nix, Henry Cook, John Barnett and others made
a settlement in the eastern part of Linder township, in 1825.
All these parties are numbered with the dead.
Among the settlers of 1825, was George Meldrum, who located,
with his family, in Linder township. He lived here until
December, 1841, when he was called away by death.
Jesse Rogers, in 1825, came to this county and settled in what
is now Bluffdale township, where he died in August, 1838.
Joseph Buck, the same year, made a settlement in the
northwestern part of the county, in Patterson township.
Charles Gooding came to Carrollton township in 1825 and made a
settlement, where he died in 1834.
William Lee, another old settler, came to Greene county, in
1826, and made a settlement in Carrollton township.
Elisha Stout, a native of Pennsylvania, came to this county from
Ohio in 1826, and made a home in Linder township, where he
resided many years.
Isaac and Alfred Wood came to the county in 1826, and located in
Rockbridge township. Alfred died here at an early day.
David Miller settled at the same time in the same township.
Among the settlers of 1826, was Absalom Clark with his family,
among whom was his son Joshua. They settled in what is now
Carrollton, on the farm now owned by Jackson Tunnell, where
Absalom paid the debt of nature. Joshua also died in the county
in 1866.
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William and Thomas Finley were also settlers of the year
1826, they coming here and locating in what is now Rockbridge
township in the fall of that year.
James Miller was a settler in what is now hinder township in
1826. He was a resident of that part of the county for many
years and finally died there, full of years.
Thomas Piper was the first settler in what is now Rubicon
township, settling there in 1826, on section 10, where he died.
Benjamin G. Tompkins settled in Kane township as early as 1826,
on a farm on section 28, where he resided until his death in
1878.
John N. Whitlock came from beneath the genial skies of Tennessee
in 1826, and settled in what is now Rockbridge township, where
he made his residence until his death.
____ Howard was also among the early settlers of 1826, locating
at Carrollton. Jordan, Stephen, Eliakim, Tilton, Jane and Katie
were children of this pioneer.
Franklin Witt settled in what is now Kane township in 1826,
where he made his home until his death, in 1851. He was both a
representative and senator in the general assembly of the state,
and is noticed at length in that connection.
Elisha Brown made a settlement in that part of the county now
known as Patterson township, in 1826.
Thomas Sharp was among the pioneers of the year 1826, coming to
the county at that time, and locating in what is now Athensville
township, where he at once commenced making improvements.
Among the settlers of the county in 1827 was Lemuel
Stubblefield, who came from Randolph county, Ill., where he had
been living for some six or seven years, and settled in White
Hall township, arriving there some time in March. He was a North
Carolinian. He died in Greenfield, in 1859.
Thomas Groce, an early settler of Patterson township, located
there in 1827, on coming to this county.
Andrew Hamilton, with his wife, formerly Elizabeth Kincaid, came
to this county in 1837, and settled near the site of the town of
Greenfield. They were residents of Bourbon county, Ky., but Mr.
Hamilton was a native of the British Isles, born June 12, 1776.
Mrs. Hamilton's natal day was July 19, of same year. They died
at the home of their daughter, Mrs. John Hardcastle, in Linder
township.
Jeremiah Hand made a settlement in what is now called Rockbridge
township, in 1827, and made some improvements.
Isaac Landis was also one of the settlers of 1827, locating in
Linder township. He now lives near Carrollton.
William Gough, one of the settlers of 1827, moved to Linder
township that year, and improved a farm on section 15. He is
long since dead.
Leonard Brace, a New Yorker, came west in 1828 and located in
Greene county, on land now included in the town of Carrollton,
where he soon died.
John Russell, one of the most talented men of this section of
the country at that time, came to Greene county in 1828 and
settled under the bluff, at what is called Bluffdale, where he
died, at a later day.
[Page 576]
William Halbirt settled the same year in Bluffdale township,
as did, also, his brother, John. The latter was murdered some
years since by a tramp.
John Stevens, a native of Virginia and a Baptist minister, made
a settlement on Sec. 9, T. 9, R. 11, in 1828. He made this his
residence until his death in 1853.
Henry Brooks came to this county in 1828, making a location
about three quarters of a mile west of Carrollton, where he
lived for many years and finally paid the debt of nature.
Robert Scroggins, with his family, came to Greene county in
1828, and located in Woodville township, where he lived for some
time, when he moved to Carrollton township. He subsequently
removed to Kane township, where he resided some four years, when
he removed to the American Bottom.
William Thomasson, a Tennessean by birth, made Greene county his
home in 1828, settling first in T. 9, R. 12, but later removed
to Bluffdale township. In 1847, after a winter spent in Texas,
he removed to Sec. 18, T. 9, R. 12, Woodville township, where he
died.
James Ashlock made his settlement in Greene county in 1828, on
section 22, Linder township. He died a resident of this place,
April 12, 1862.
David, Joel and Eri Edwards, three brothers, from Vermont, came
to Greene county in 1828, and after a short stay in the
neighborhood of Carrollton, in the fall of 1829, settled on
sections 28 and 33, Rubicon township. There they lived and died
— David, in 1856, Joel, in 1859, and Eri, in 1866.
William Mason, came to Greene county in 1828, and located upon a
farm near Rockbridge, where he lived for 12 years. He then
removed to Macoupin county, and later to Jersey county, but
about 1856, he came back to this county, settling in Kane
township, where he resided until his death, in 1870.
James Curnutt was, also, among the settlers of 1829, settling
for a time in Rockbridge township, but later, he moved to
Rubicon, where he died in 1851.
R. Stoddard made a settlement in 1829, in what is now
Athensville township.
David Hahn came to Greene county, in 1829, and located in the
northwestern part of the county, in that sub-division known as
Patterson, where he lived many years.
Among those who settled in Rockbridge township in 1829, were
Ichabod Valentine, Howard Finley, Joel Grizzle and Herod
Grizzle. Most of these parties lived here for many years.
Louis J. Ballard, a native of North Carolina, but for sometime a
resident of Tennessee, came to this county in 1829, and settled
upon section 7, of Wrights township, where he lived until 1878,
when he died.
William H. Goode opened a farm on section 31, in Wrights
township, locating there in 1829. In 1856, he moved to Davis
county, la., where he died in 1874.
Among the pioneers of Greene county was William Winn, who
located about four miles west of the town of Carrollton, Nov.
12, 1829. Here he lived until his death, Nov. 27, 1866.
J. Harvey Weisner came to this county from Tennessee, in 1829,
and located in Rockbridge township. He was
[Page 577]
a North Carolinian, and died in Greenfield, in 1884.
Marvil Morris became a resident of Greene county, in 1829,
locating upon a farm on Sec. 26, T. 9, R. 12, now Kane township,
where he lived many years.
Jacob Young came to Greene county, and settled in what is now
Rubicon township, in 1829, where he lived until his death, in
1863.
John Reynolds, a native of Washington county, Va., came to
Greene county, in 1829, and made a temporary settlement in
Carrollton township, but afterwards moved to what is now
Rockbridge township. In 1838, he removed to what is now
Woodville township, where he died March 15, 1858.
Elder Stephen Coonrod, in 1829, settled with his family, on the
northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section 33, in
what is now Rubicon township. Here he resided until his death,
in 1872, of small-pox. His wife survived him until 1879.
John Brown, and Elizabeth, his wife, with their family left
Kentucky, in 1829, and came to Greene county, which they made
their home for many years.
Willis Hardwick, with his family, settled in Woodville township,
in 1829, about two miles south of the village of that name,
where Mr. Hardwick and his wife died at an advanced age.
James Wood and family came to Greene county about the year 1830,
from the neighborhood of Lexington, Ky., and made a settlement
in what is now Woodville township.
Solomon Dixon settled in Rockbridge township, in 1830, and lived
there until 1870, when he immigrated to Kansas, where he died.
Isham Adcock came to Greene county, in 1830, and settled in what
is now Bluffdale township.
David Griswold was also a settler of this year, taking up his
residence in what is now White Hall township, on section 9,
where he died in 1876.
William Askins settled in Rubicon township, the same year.
John Mason and G. H. Hopkins made settlements in Athensville
township, where Mr. Hopkins died, in 1866.
Leonard Carriger located in Patterson township, in 1830.
Moses Wylder, an old Revolutionary veteran, with his family came
to Greene county in 1830, settling in Rockbridge township. In
1832, he returned to Tennessee, and there died, in 1839.
Peter M. Brown, in 1830 came to the town of Carrollton and
worked at his trade of carpenter. He was afterwards engaged in
the mercantile trade, but shortly engaged in farming. He is now
in the land of the hereafter.
David I. Brown and his family came to Greene county in 1830.
They were natives of Tennessee, who had immigrated to Madison
county at an early day.
Extracted from History of Greene and Jersey Counties, Illinois, published
in 1885, pages 567-577.
