A RAMBLER'S NOTES
Mahala Mills
Canton Weekly Register, 1906
transcribed by Claire Crandell

FULTON COUNTY PIONEER STORY AS TOLD IN 1906

It was nearly 47 years ago that the Canton Weekly Register published a story about Mrs. Mahala Mills, who had come from Ohio to Fulton county in an oxen drawn wagon with her parents. A copy of this paper, issue dated Feb. 8, 1906, was brought us by her grand-daughter, Mrs. George Howard of Abingdon. Mrs. Howard’s mother, Mrs. George Powell, died on Dec. 28, in Abingdon. She was the last of the seven children born to Mrs. Mahala Mills, whose story we have reproduced below from the Rambler’s Notes of the Canton Weekly Register. Another daughter, Mrs. Jesse Baughman of Avon, died in August, 1952.

Mrs. Mahala Mills, widow of the late Abram Mills, of Lee township, is the subject of the present sketch Her maiden name was Mahala Blout and she is a sister of B. B. Blout, of Prairie City, and a daughter of those old pioneers of Deerfield township, Allen and Elitha (Boyd) Blout, who have long since passed from the scenes of their earthly joys and sorrows to their final resting places.

Allen Blout, the father, was born in Wythe county, Va., in 1800, and died in Fulton county in 1888. His remains are interred in the old Virgil cemetery.

The mother, Elitha (Boyd) Blout, was born in Knoxville, Tenn., and died on the old homestead in Deerfield township in 1871. Her remains were at first buried in the Foster graveyard, but were later exhumed and laid beside those of her husband in the Virgil burying ground.

Upon the father’s side, the Blouts are of German-English stock, but the Boyds are of Scotch, Irish descent. The parents were married in Ohio and made that state their home until the fall of 1837, when they emigrated to Illinois and settled in Fulton county. The land at that time, or most of it, was covered with tall prairie grass or an immense growth of timber and was in primitive condition.

A one-room log cabin was built in the woods in Deerfield township, and the work of clearing up the farm and building a new home in Illinois was commenced. The Blout family was a prominent factor in the growth and development of Fulton county, with which it has been identified for a period of nearly 70 years.

Fulton county is greatly indebted for its present wealth and high standing to the sturdy old settlers and their descendants. They have been instrumental in developing its vast agricultural resources and have contributed in many ways toward its material advancement.

The subject of this sketch, Mrs. Mahala Mills, was only a few months over nine years of age when her parents brought her from the land of her nativity, Ohio, to this country. Her early girlhood was passed amid the primitive scenes of pioneer life and she attended school in the rude log school houses of the times. Deer, wolves, wildcats, turkeys and many other kinds of wild animals and game roamed at will in Fulton county in those days and wild hogs were numerous in river and creek bottoms.

The forest trees were cleared away from the land and a productive farm was evolved from the wilderness. County Clerk J. E. Schafer now owns the old Allen Blout homestead, in Deerfield township.

“I was born,” said Mrs. Mills, “in Franklin county, O., June 12, 1828, and am about two years older than my brother, B. B. Blout, of Prairie City. My father had determined upon seeking a new home in Illinois as early as 1836, but was deterred by wild reports of Indian troubles in the state.

“In the fall of 1837 we left the old Ohio home on the Little Darby creek and started overland with ox teams for Fulton county, Ill. I well remember the long and tedious journey. We brought one horse through with us, which was ridden by different members of the family alternately. We were four weeks making the journey from Ohio to Fulton county, but we finally reached our destination and settled temporarily among the Cattrons, Markleys, Weavers, Edmonsons, Athearns, Reeveses and others.

“Yes, I went to school some in Ohio and have some recollection of my early school life on the Little Darby. My first teacher’s name was Relief Hagar. I was never punished in school in my life, but some of the oldtime teachers used the rod pretty freely. The Little Darby was a clear sparkling, pretty stream, and we children would often loiter on its banks and gather wild flowers during play hours. I recall vividly this beautiful creek or river, and looking back through the long vista of years, can see as plainly as I see you the cattle lazily grazing or resting under the branches of the great trees along its banks. The scenes of our childhood are never forgotten and always remain the dearest spots to us on earth.

“I recall one incident of our journey from Ohio to Illinois. Somewhere in Indiana we sought shelter in the cabin of a settler, from a rainstorm, and obtained permission to stay over night. About dark some relatives and friends of our host came in and we were crowded out into the darkness and wild storm. It was a terrible night, but we were finally taken in by a neighbor and cared for; but wet, cold and hungry we traveled for several miles before finding a stopping place.

“A man residing in Delavan, Tazewell county, owned a quarter section of ‘congress’ land, favorably located, and Father traveled there on foot with the purchase money ($200) in silver and bought it. This was the old Blout homestead, and is the southwest quarter of section three in Deerfield township. This farm has since passed successively through the hands of Pat Gahan and M. H. Mitchell and is now owned by J. E. Schafer, of Lewistown.

“I was reared on the farm amid pioneer influences and what education I have was secured in log school houses and on the subscription or pay-school plan. I began my school life in Ohio and ended it in Illinois.

“I have been a resident of Fulton county for nearly 70 years. The appearance of the country has materially changed since I came here.

“We children were supplied with homespun clothing through the efforts of our devoted parents-especially our mother, who, like many another pioneer woman, bore a large share in the burdens with which life here in an early day abounded.

“The attendance of pioneer children at the subscription schools was generally about three months a year. The chief ability of some of the oldtime schoolmasters lay in drinking whisky which was used at that time by almost every family.

“The old master or teacher, would sit on a splint bottom chair while the little urchins stood before him to answer questions, with the expectation of having the big hickory cudgel come down over their shoulders if an error was made.

“When we first settled in Deerfield township we were poor in pocket but were well endowed with good capacity for labor. In those days of pioneer toil we were all worked and generally to good purpose.

“My sister and myself used to walk to church at Wiley when the snow was fully two feet deep and the wintry winds were bleak and cold.

“Lewistown, when we came here was but a hamlet, and Canton was just a building up after its partial destruction by the great storm of 1835. We lived in a cabin built of round logs, neither sawed timber nor nails, if I remember rightly, being used in its construction. The floor was made of puncheon and the boards that covered the roof was rived by hand and held in position by weight poles. Deer, wild turkey and other game were plentiful but bread stuffs were scarce. However, we lived near Ellisville and generally had bread at every meal. Ellisville, at the time of which I speak, was quite a trade center, and we did our trading there. It had its quota of live business men and it was predicted that in time it would become a city. But like many of the pioneer towns of the county it has seen its best days.

“The old Franklin church of Deerfield was organized by the Rev. E. W. Irons, of Ellisville, and he was the minister there for years.

“I omitted to state that the first school I ever attended in the county, was taught by the late Hezekiah Cattron of Young Hickory township. The school house was located just south of his old homestead and we had to walk a distance of 2 ½ miles, over a rough dreary road, to reach it. It was a primitive pioneer school and was taught by a pioneer. It is now called the Markley district, but the present school building does not stand where the old one did. The late Nathaniel Aylesworth also taught in this oldtime school house. But my old teachers are all dead and few, but very few of my old schoolmates are left.

“My parents were very closely identified with the pioneer history of Deerfield township. We raised flax and sheep and both my mother and myself could spin, weave, knit and cut and make garments, and we were comfortably clad in homespun. Wolves were numerous and we were compelled to keep sheep in a pen at night, near the house, to protect them from the ravages of these animals. Father was a good shot and was fond of hunting and we often had wild meat on the table. One time he killed a deer upon Cedar creek and having no knife with him he skinned and dressed it with a sharp-pointed nail.

“During my early life here we depended on Spoon river for milling after they came to use water power, and we sometimes wen tot the old Philip Aylesworth mill, at Babylon. Fairview at one time had an ox-tread mill managed and operated by “Bill” Suydam for grist–and Vanderbilt Van Doren for wood-carding, etc.

“Oh, yes, my father brought down many deer, turkeys, foxes, wildcats and wolves with his trusty rifle.

“With happy hearts and the cheerful laughter of children we used to venture forth in the woods to gather wild flowers, pick blackberries, plums and other wild fruits, and I can never forget those old, old days in Fulton county. I have seen and experienced much pioneer life and know something about the toils and privations of the early settlers of the county-but do you know that the history of pioneer life generally presents only the dark side of the picture? We had our seasons of relaxation-our seasons of fun and enjoyment. We contrived to do something to break the monotony of our everyday life. We had our quilting bees, cornhuskings, houseraisings and logrollings. At night we had our parties and a general good time. The recreation afforded to the young people on the recurrence of these festive occasions was as highly enjoyed, and quite as innocent, as the amusements of the present boasted age of refinement and culture.

“The furniture of the pioneer cabin was as primitive as its occupants. The first settles of Fulton county were a plain, simple, hospitable people, and the latchstring was always hanging out. We were all poor and dependent and were all on an equal footing. Sometimes whole families would be sick at one time and the neighbors would go in and take care of them. The chills and fever seemed to be the worst disease with which we had to contend, and quinine and boneset tea were used in every family. It was a terrible disease and was one of the greatest obstacles to the early settlement of the county.

“The agricultural implements used by the first farmers here were great curiosities and we did our cooking before the great fireplace of the oldtime cabins. But why should I call back to mind what that many another has told your columns of your paper?

“We had no markets and the merchants bought all their goods in St. Louis.

“As I stated before, we found many ways of robbing old time of loneliness and the people were more freely and heartily social than they seem to be today.

“Spinning was one of the common household duties of the women and the loom was not less necessary in the cabin home than the wheel, and many women did their own weaving.

“I was married Nov. 28, 1849, to Abram Mills, at the home of my parents, in Deerfield township. My old teacher, Squire Hezekiah Cattron, officiated. Our marriage was one of the social events of the neighborhood and was attended by quite a number of people of the country around. After marriage we moved into a cabin on the Milton Foster place, where we lived for five or six years, when we bought from Mr. Foster, the old Uriah Dixon place, now owned by the son, Matt Dixon, and moved on it. At first we lived in a cabin but later Mr. Mills built a frame house, which is still standing and which I think is occupied by Matt Dixon and family. Some additions may have built on, but the main part is the old Mills house.

“In 1864 we sold out to U. W. Dixon and moved to Lee township and settled on the farm on which myself and daughter Jessie, are still living. The Lee township farm was bought from Abe Moore. The small frame house which was on the place when we bought it was destroyed by fire about 11 years ago and we have since built a commodious new farm residence. The Lee township homestead consists of 160 acres of good prairie land.

“These are the names of the children who have blessed our wedded life: Edgar L. Mills, married Miss Hattie Nickerson, and is farming in Idaho; Emmett S. Mills, deceased; Mrs. Flora A. Myers, wife of J. H. Myers on a farm in Union township; Mrs. Mary E. Louk, wife of John Louk, residing in Iowa; C. S. Mills married Miss Clara Cameron, and lives on a farm in Young Hickory township, near London Mills; Mrs. Eva C. Powell, wife of George Powell, on a farm near Abingdon; Miss Jessie E. Mills, at home.

“My father died at our place, aged 89 years. His family consisted of seven children-three boys and four girls. All but two sisters are living at the present time.

“Both myself and my late husband, who died some four years ago, have been for years members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Mills was an old-line Whig and later a Republican. His remains rest in the Virgil cemetery.

“I remember the very day that we set our faces westward in Ohio with the intention of building up a new home on the soil of the prairie state. When we took up our abode in Deerfield township my father, with the determination of a true pioneer, set to work in earnest and we children did what we could toward improving the farm and building up the home.

“There were no matches in those days and we often had to borrow fire from a neighbor-and we sometimes had to fight fire too, for the prairie fires each fall were something to be dreaded. Fires would visit the great grassy plains every autumn and we had to take great precautions to prevent our crops and buildings from being destroyed. These fires would spread very rapidly and words cannot convey the faintest idea of the splendor and grandeur of one of these conflagrations at night.

“Oh, I used to catch many quails in my traps, but I would never kill them. I always made my brothers do that.

“But I guess I have told you all that I can think of just now. There are not many of us left who came here in pioneer times. I am one of the few, the very few, of the early settlers of the county still lingering on the shores of time, and I am old and feeble and have passed far down the western declivity of life. I often view with dim eyes the scenes around me and think of the trial and misfortunes, the hardships and adventures, of the noble men and women, the pioneers who helped to open up and develop the country from its primitive condition-the noble men and women who left good homes and kindred in the older states and settled in the wilderness, unmindful of perils, self sacrifices and dangers. They were a grand class of people, and we should never forget them. I have only done what I could in a woman’s way, but others have done more, and we owe them a debt of gratitude which we can never repay. We will all soon be gone and perhaps forgotten.”

Although nearly 80 years of age, Mrs. Mills continues to take considerable interest in public, religious and social matters. She has nobly fought the battle of life, is warm hearted and generous, and her many friends and acquaintances recognize the nobility of her character and respect her and hold her in the highest possible esteem. She is a woman whose kind heart, motherly ways and many sterling qualities have gained her general esteem wherever she has resided.

In company with J. J. Melvin of Lee township, the “Rambler” recently visited the old McBeth burying ground in a tangled forest on a high bluff overlooking the “Valley” and Spoon river. The spot where many of the very earliest settlers of Lee township are buried is a wild and romantic one and is on the summit of one of the highest bluffs along the Spoon.

Stephen Rigdon and his wife, the first white people to erect a cabin and make their home in the township, are buried in this cemetery. Rigdon lived in Canton from 1832 to 1834, when he moved to Lee township, where he lived for five months before he saw another white person. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. The McBeths, Bells and other early settlers are interred in this cemetery-or at least some of them are. Quite a number of the other pioneers of the township are buried in the Guernsey and Rigdon cemeteries.

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