This is a reprint of a “From the Local History Room” column that first appeared in Aug. 2014, before the launch of this weblog.
Margaret Wilson Young’s pioneer narrative
By Jared Olar
Library assistant
Several of the pioneer settlers of Tazewell County left written memoirs of varying length that provide us with valuable information on the early years of the county. For instance, the writings of Nathan Dillon tell us much of how the land that was soon to become Tazewell County was settled, while the diary of Jacob Tharp is one of the earliest and most important sources for information on the founding and early history of Pekin.
Another pioneer whose memories of Tazewell’s early years fortunately were written down was Margaret L. Wilson Young (1818-1901), daughter of Tazewell County pioneers Seth and Sarah Wilson. “Grandma Young,” as she was known, is buried with her husband John Stillman Young (1816-1880) in Haynes Cemetery (also called Rankin Cemetery) in Cincinnati Township.
Not long before her death on Dec. 27, 1901, a narrative of her life on the central Illinois prairie during the 1820s and 1830s was obtained. At the time she was the oldest living pioneer in Tazewell County. Her memories were published by Ben C. Allensworth in his 1905 “History of Tazewell County,” pages 699-701. Following are excerpts from her narrative.
“I was born in Green County, Ohio, Jan. 14, 1818, and am a little older than Illinois is as a State. My father was Seth Wilson. I came to this county in the fall of 1820 with my parents, when I was two years of age. We came to Sangamon County in 1820 and in February, 1825, we moved from Sangamon to this county. The first night after we reached the county we stayed at Nathan Dillon’s. The house we built was near the residence where Peter Unsicker now lives. Finding, however, that we had located on a school section, father came to where I now live, Section 17, Elm Grove Township, and built a second house which has been moved to the spot where I now live. Father made rails with which he fenced in ten acres of ground, and raised corn enough to last us through the season until the next crop should come in. We had to go to Elkhart and to Springfield for our dry-goods. . . . There was no money in those days; there was merely an exchange of those things which other people had and we did not have. We made our clothing from flax and linen which we raised ourselves. We had no leather shoes, we went barefooted most of the time. We got along the best we could. Father was a saddler by trade and could have made us shoes, but there was no leather to be had. . . .
“The families of John and George Cline were our nearest neighbors, they moved by us when we came from Sangamon County. George lived near where the Sugar Grove school house now is, and John lived about half a mile from where Leslie now is. . . . There were no doctors closer to us than Peoria at that time. When people got sick they doctored themselves. I remember a man by the name of Turner, an entire stranger, stopped at the house of Francis Cullom, who then lived where John Summers now lives, and taken seriously sick. A doctor was sent for to come from Peoria, and upon arrival wanted to know of Cullom why he had sent for him to see a dying man; and Mr. Cullom replied that the man was a stranger and they thought it no more than right they should do their best to save his life. The doctor laid down and, some little time later, when the sick man became aroused from a stupor and showed some signs of life, the doctor was called and they seemingly recognized each other as members of some fraternal order. The doctor then took off his coat and proceeded to do all he could to save the man’s life. His efforts were successful, and Turner, who lived for a number of years afterwards, was a Justice of the Peace in the neighborhood. This was before the deep snow.
“I remember very distinctly the time of the deep snow. The weather before this had been cloudy for some days, and I and my brother and sister went to the school house by John Cline’s place. The snow commenced falling in the morning in the latter part of December, 1830, and must have been 18 inches deep before night. Father came after us, but missed us on the road. Snow kept falling until it was three feet or more on the level, and the tops of stakes on the rail fences in many places could just be seen. It occasioned great inconvenience. The crops had not been gathered; people had to take horses with a sack and ride in the corn field and husk out corn enough to supply present needs. . . .
“There was a great deal of wild game when we first came here, but there was not very much after the deep snow. Wild turkeys could get nothing to eat, and neither could the deer, and they perished in great numbers. Father used to chain his dogs to keep them from slaughtering the deer – the dogs could run on top of the snow crust, while the deer with sharp hoofs would sink through and become an easy prey to the dogs that might be loose. . . .
“In July 1834 there was a serious epidemic of cholera. Seven out of Mr. Haines’ family went with the cholera, and seven from Thomas Dillon’s. A man by the name of Hiner went to Pekin, and said if there was any cholera there he was going to see it. He saw it – he died.
“When we first came here there were a great many Indians here. The Indians were scattered all around over the country, they had no particular place at which the staid any length of time. They did their trading at Wesley City. A trail ran right along the west side of our farm from Wesley City to the Mackinaw. They were the Pottawatomie Indians. They were peaceable. An Indian by the name of Shimshack was their chief. I do not know where they had their burial grounds. They had some trouble among themselves at Wesley City, which resulted in the death of a squaw. They took her over into Peoria County to bury her. They put her in the ground in sitting posture with the top of her head just even with the surface. Jonathan Tharp said that he saw her three times while the body was frozen in that position. They buried a butcher knife, a piece of dried venison and a bottle of whiskey with her.”
