CEDAR TOWNSHIP

Extract from the 1870 Atlas Map of Knox County, Illinois
James Dawdy & Co's Mills, Abingdon, Ills, built in 1869

(Extracted from the History of Knox County, Illinois by Albert Perry, Vol. I, pgs 448-449,
submitted by Janine Crandell)

Within the limits of Cedar Township, there is quite an area which was originally covered with timber. Brush Creek enters along the west side of the township for quite a distance, and the land along the creek with its tributaries, was covered with a fine quality of timber. There were sugar maple, various kinds of oak, walnut, wild cherry, elm, ash, basswood and hickory. The abundance of the wild cherry gave to the township the name of Cherry Grove, but this name proved a duplication of the name of another town and elsewhere within the state, and the people selected the name of Cedar in its place.

There is more or less of coal and building stone found within the township.

The first settlers were Azel Dorsey, on section 18, and Rev. Hiram Palmer, a Methodist minister, on section 7, both of whom came in 1828. In 1829, A. D. Swarts, the founder of Abingdon and Hedding college, settled on Section 17. The first sermon heard in the township was preached by Rev. Mr. Palmer. The first members of the Latimer family that reached here, were Joseph, and his son, George. Jonathan Latimer and Jacob West settled upon Section 28 in the following year. Then came John C. and Alexander Latimer, their sister, Mrs. Richard Boren and their brothers-in-law, U. D. Coy and Israel Marshall.

The settlers were compelled to go to Ellisville for milling purposes, and at times were compelled to wait for their grist, but were served in turn according to the time of their arrival. In 1833, Joshua Bland built a horsepower corn cracker on Section 16, which was warmly welcomed by the pioneers.

Robert Bell taught the first school in Cherry Grove settlement, and the second school in Knox County.

Cherry Grove seminary was founded by Jonathan Latimer and the other members of the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination, and was located on Section 29. From the records of the Presbytery, it is established that the school opened prior to 1840, under the charge of Rev. Cyrus Haynes, a minister of that creed. The seminary was abandoned in 1866, the Cumberland Presbyterians having established a college at Lincoln, Illinois.

Indian Point and Cedar, prior to 1850, were known as the Cherry Grove voting precincts. On January 14th, 1850, by the order of the county judge, Cherry Grove was separated from the other townships.

The township was organized in 1853, and elected a full line of officers. This election was held at what was then known as Louisville, a small group of houses about three miles north of Abingdon, on section 17. A vote was taken for the place of holding the next election, and this resulted in favor of Louisville, which was laid out by John S. Garrett. It was platted September 30th, 1836, and was quite a town for a time. The growth of Abingdon, however, killed it, and all that is left to mark the site is a district school house. Elections have ever since been held at Abingdon. Churches were established very early in the history of Cedar and will be found treated in other portions of this work.

Farming and stock raising have been the chief industries of the township and some as fine stock has been raised there as could be found anywhere upon the market. Large herds of Shorthorn, Hereford, Galloway, Angus, Holstein and Jersey cattle, have been bred in the township.

Cedar has always maintained a high degree of patriotism. It is said to have furnished 225 volunteers for the Civil War, and of the old settlers there are seventeen soldiers of the War of 1812, four of the early Indian wars and two of two Mexican wars, found in its cemeteries. Forty-nine soldiers of the Civil War are also buried within the township limits.

(Extracted from the History of Knox County, Illinois by Albert Perry, Volume I, pages 419-423,
submitted by Janine Crandell)

The city of Abingdon is located on a very high rolling ground and covers a portion of Section 33 in Cedar Township and a portion of Section 4 in Indian Point township. The original town, comprising sixteen blocks, was laid out on Section 33 in Cedar Township in 1836. Frederick Snyder's Addition to Abingdon, located upon Section 4, Indian Point township, was laid out in 1849. The city is named after the city of Abingdon, Maryland, the birthplace of A. D. Swartz, the founder. His wife was a Carroll, related to one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

In the early days of the town it did not make a very rapid growth. In 1855 it had acquired about five hundred inhabitants, but between 1855 and 1860 when the colleges, Hedding and Abingdon college, were located there, the population increased very rapidly. At the outbreak of the Civil War it was in a very flourishing condition and it furnished its full quota of men, who entered the service of the United States, and notwithstanding the progress of the Civil War, the town continued to grow in numbers and it reached a population of one thousand to twelve hundred people. Its growth has been steady all along. In later years it became more rapid in consequence of the location of certain manufacturing enterprises that came to this city or were originally started there, and the population today is about three thousand, many, however, claiming three thousand five hundred.

The original inhabitants were very largely from Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland and Tennessee and they naturally sympathized with the southern idea in regard to the institution of slavery. As time passed on, however, these sympathies changed, especially with the men, and they gradually became anti-slavery in sentiment and some of them even became agents of the famous underground railway. Jonothan Latimer, father of the writer of this brief history, was among those who sought a better and brighter light upon the side of freedom. The women did not change their minds quite so rapidly, and his wife, who, noticing with regret the gradual change that was coming over her husband, said to him one day, "Jonothan, if you are determined to go to the devil yourself, don't take all the boys with you". This good mother, however, was as large-hearted as any of her southern sisters and it will do the reader good to search further on the generosity of soul within her by reading the article in this history on the subject of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Cherry Grove seminary. It can be said, however, if to warm the heart with thoughts of freedom is equivalent to going to the devil, Jonothan Latimer's sons all sought the august presence of that somewhat mythical being.

This institution was chartered in 1857 under the name of Hedding Female College. It received its name from Bishop Hedding of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was suggested by Mr. J. B. F. Chesney and heartily endorsed by other interested parties. The name was afterwards changed to Hedding College, and both boys and girls were admitted to its halls upon equal terms.

The college has, in common with all other colleges of the country, had its successes and reverses, but it has steadily maintained a high purpose and determination to reach a final success. At the present time it has an attendance of about two hundred, and there is a strong movement for a greater endowment and larger attendance. The outlook is brighter than ever before. There is a determination on the part of the denomination which is behind it, and the people of Abingdon, to bring it to the front and place it upon an enduring basis.

President Walter D. Agnew has undertaken this work with a spirit that will surely win. He has accomplished his first point, the raising of $50,000 toward the endowment. This added to $50,000 heretofore raised completes the $100,000 required to be held before the end of the year 1912. Rev. Agnew will raise another $100,000 before the end of the year 1916, which, when accomplished, places Hedding upon the basis of a college authorized to confer degrees and claim all rights belonging to a fully equipped college and without which it would have to work upon the grade of an academy.

Abingdon College was opened by P. H. Murphy in 1853 and charter obtained in 1855. Some of the prominent incorporators were William Maxwell, P. H. Murphy, J. C. Latimer, John Miller, George Price, S. H. Richey, Jesse Purdue and others. This was a private enterprise at first. It was afterwards taken up by the Christian church and carried forward successfully for about twenty-five years. At one time it had three hundred or four hundred students, but owing to some local dissensions, it succumbed and the influences of the church took the educational center to Eureka, Illinois.

The various religious denominations have been written up by others under their respective names, but it is probable that the Protestant Methodist denomination has been overlooked. This denomination at one time was very strong in this vicinity. At one time they owned the finest church edifice in the city of Abingdon. They had societies throughout this section of the county and their work was the most militant and progressive of almost any denomination in the county at that period.

It is somewhat difficult to state exactly the cause of the disappearance of this denomination. Their inclination was to erect chapels and other places of worship in the country and this is always at a disadvantage, as the communicants have to go a long distance to attend worship, and it is also true that the members gradually shifted to Congregationalism, and it is quite probable that these two causes finally led to the abandonment of that particular church in Knox County.

We have spoken of the industries of Abingdon which have led it to its growth in recent years. A list of those industries with the number of men employed will indicate very clearly how much Abingdon owes to her industries.

First we will speak of the hand industries that existed here years ago and which have been driven out by the invention and use of machinery. In the '40's and 50's J. B. F. Chesney manufactured plows, which was celebrated throughout this section of the country. Also Jonothan Latimer built carriages and buggies in the early days.

And as an example of an early pioneer store, we cannot think of anything better than that of Jonothan Latimer, afterwards Latimer and Meeks, that was located in the city of Abingdon, under one roof employing shoemaker, tailor and milliner. This store kept dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, hardware, meat cured by themselves, a small variety of drugs; they bought and sold cattle, hogs, sheep and all the products of the farm. There were two ways in which they disposed of their hogs, of which they often owned several thousand take in exchange for goods sold during the year. They would either slaughter them on the farm and haul their carcasses to Copperas Landing on the Illinois River, or drive them on foot to the same shipping point. Generally the return wagons would be loaded with goods to be again traded to the farmer for his farm products, and generally it may be stated that with everything received by these traders from the farmers was disposed of at Copperas Landing, as aforesaid. From there of course they were shipped by boat to the larger cities, mostly St. Louis. In other instances the meat that was slaughtered would be packed in barrels, salted and shipped in this way. At one time there was packed in a store house, standing on the corner of Main and Martin streets, cured meats waiting for disposition. The store house burned down and the entire contents became a total loss, amounting to about $10,000.

The industries which are in existence today are the following:

Abingdon Paving Brick & Tile Co................. 25 men

Abingdon Wagon Co ................................. 165-175

Abingdon Sanitary Mfg. Co......................... 135-150

American Sanitary Mfg. Co.......................... 135-150

Globe Mfg. Co..........................150 men and women

Abingdon Shirt and Overall Co.....50 men and women

Novelty Mfg. Co.......................................... 15

Abingdon Trap Co......................20 men and women

Abingdon Cement Tile Works........8 men and women

Abingdon Silo Co........................................10 men

Spring Handle Co......................................... 8 men

Spies Mfg. Co............................................. 40 men

Cigar Factory............................................... 5 men

Perfection Butter Separator Co...................... 12 men

Blair's Planing Mill....................................... 6 men

Abingdon Ice Cream Co.............................. 6

Abingdon Butter Co.................................... 5

These industries are believed to be in a very prosperous condition, and there are indications of their steady growth. There was a factory known as the Animal Trap Factory which removed from Abingdon to the state of Pennsylvania about six years ago. The building which they occupied has been divided and remodeled and today is occupied by the Abingdon Trap Factory and the Spring Handle Company.

Social and Civic Organizations

Abingdon has a live commercial club which is unceasing in its efforts to advance the interests of Abingdon and all organizations within it designed to make it a greater Abingdon.

The following is a list of the organizations that are active in the city: G. A. R., Odd Fellows, Rebekahs, Modern Woodmen, Masons, Easter Star, Knights of Pythias, Court of Honor, Ladies of Grand Army.

Public Buildings

The Illinois Opera House and the Merchants' Hotel of Abingdon are both fine structures. Probably nothing better in the line can be found in this part of the state in a town of the size of Abingdon.

Cemetery

 Abingdon cemetery contains the bodies of sixteen soldiers who fought in the War of 1812: Jacob West, James Strain, William Crow, Thales Givens, Abraham Swartz, Cannon Basey, Israel Marshall and others, and one that saw something of the Revolutionary War, although small at the time. Joseph Latimer saw the burning of New London, Connecticut, by Benedict Arnold after Arnold went over to the British forces.