To Mr. William Denison and his son John W. belong the honor of planting the first settlement in the township, as well as in the county. They were Pennsylvanians, and came directly from Wayne county, Indiana, having previously lived for a short time in Ohio. They set tled near the site of the present town of New Boston in 1827, and there lived in close and friendly relations with the Indians who at that time frequented the place. The vicinity offered many attractions to the Indians in the shape of hunting and fishing; and, indeed, at the present time it has more than a local celebrity in this respect.
H. W. Denison, a son of John W. Denison, bom in 1832, was the first white child born in Mercer county. He is still a resident of New Boston, as is also his mother. The elder Denison had several children besides John W., mentioned above. Among them were Erastus, James, Joseph, Ezra, Newton and Elmer. The family of Denisons, individually and collectively, occupied the greater portion of the region bordering on the river, including what is now the town of New Boston.
During the Black Hawk war of 1832, the Denisons left the county, but returned after the close of hostilities. Their being enabled to leave the county uninjured was due wholly to the warning of friendly Indians. the first of these warnings were not heeded, but at last those Indians with whom they were friendly came and told them that, as they seemed determined to stay and be killed, it was thought best to let the friendly Indians kill them decently. The family concluded that they would take an excursion in preference to staving at home, even though the staying would secure "decent" killing by their friends.
The story is told that, after they had left, their Indian friends gathered up all the articles that had been left in the hurry and excitement of the occasion and placed them in the deserted cabin, marking the spot with such signs as would deter other marauding parties from committing any depredations. These articles were found on the return of the family, all in good order and nothing missing. A detailed account of the dangers and narrow escapes is given elsewhere.
Mr. Denison's recollections of the manners, customs and traits of the Indians in this vicinity, are curious and interesting. Though exceedingly cruel after the actual commencement of hostilities, they invariably abstained from any preliminary bloodshedding. When Black Hawk was passing his warriors up the Mississippi, previous to the last campaign of 1832, he came ashore, stopped at Mr. Denison's house, partook of their hospitality, and guarded the house until the last canoe had passed up the river. They were capable of the strongest sentiments of friendship, and held in lasting remembrance any act of kindness, rewarding the same, sometimes, after the lapse of years. They were strictly honest with those whom they considered honest, and though the Denison family lived among them for years they never suffered a loss from theft or other depredation committed by them.
Immediately after the death of an Indian, the family and friends went into mourning for a length of time proportioned to the dignity of the deceased, which continued day and night until the appointed time had expired. When the sick became conscious of approaching death, they usually selected their own burial place, which was located generally on some commanding eminence, thus enabling the spirit to have a commanding view of the surrounding country, with its more or less busy scenes of warfare or friendly intercourse. In burying the dead, a. small amount of food was deposited with the body to last the spirit a year. This was repeated until the relation of body and spirit was sup posed to be totally severed; usually till about the third year. A stran ger was disposed of by being wrapped in bark and hoisted among the branches of some commanding tree. From, this fact doubtless arose the supposition that this style was a mode of burial among some of the tribes.
Black Hawk is described as a short, thick-set individual, who was the war chief, while his associate, Keokuk. was a peace chief. Although knowing the superior power of the whites, he made war relying on the help of the Great Spirit to sustain the right. He was taught by bitter experience, as many another has been, the time when "right shall triumph over might" is still in the future.
From Mrs. Margaret Denison, widow of John W. Denison, who was one of the original settlers at the Upper Yellow Banks, we have derived the following information, here given almost in her own words: William Denison, and his son John W. Denison, with their families, came from Connersville, Ind., to Springfield, Ill., in 1826. In 1827 both families came to this county, arriving on the 20th of April, and made settlement at New Boston. They were the first white settlers in Mercer county.
A week afterward John .Vannatta arrived and located his home on the present site of Keithsburg. His brother Benjamin came two or three years later to the same place. The Denisons pitched their home on the river bank, half a mile below New Boston, where they started and kept a wood yard for supplying steamboats. They lived opposite the old graveyard. "William Denison made a claim in that place, and John Denison took the present site, of New Boston. Until the Black Hawk war they planted their garden close to where Dr. Willits house stands, in rear of the Union hotel. The soil was a rich mold on which vegetables flourished ; but it was blown off by the winds, and is now only a bleak sand ridge.
The Indians called this locality "Upper Yellow Banks." From the time of their settlement here till the spring of 1831. the Denisons lived in perfect peace with the Sacs and Foxes. Only occasionally did a Winnebago Indian show himself in these parts. The men of this tribe were large, tall, broad shouldered, and superior in stature to the Sacs and Foxes, and spoke a different dialect. The Indians dwelt here in great numbers.
In the spring of 1831 the friendly Indians, who belonged to Keokuk's band, told the whites at the Upper Yellow Banks that there was going to be war, and urged them to depart to a place of safety among their own people, or to go with them and they would secure them from harm. Keokuk was living on the Iowa river; he said he was going to build a town, and tried to persuade them to come to his settlement, promising to give them full protection, hut they declined to go, feeling that, if they must leave their homes, it would he better to be among their kindred race.
The only settlers at this place at that time were the Denisons, and Daniel S. Witter and wife, and his hired man, named Twisk A captain coming down the river from Rock Island brought word that an outbreak was imminent, and all these persons were taken on board his steamer and carried to Jfauvoo. After a sojourn there of two months they returned, but found their corn, which was up large enough to be cultivated when they went away, all destroyed, and not an ear was raised that year. Witter and Twist never came back. The latter had taken a claim and was cutting wood.
Concerning the troubles of this year, it is recorded in the Atlas Map of Mercer county, that after the whites had been moved to Fort Edwards, now Warsaw, the friendly or 'pet' Indians assembled on the deserted premises, gathered up all the articles of their friends that had been left in the hurry and excitement of the occasion, stored them safely away in the loft of the house, closed the doors securely, and put a mark upon them well understood by the tribes. When the family returned home not an article was missing.
Against this recreation of fancy stands the trustworthy statement of old Mother Denison, that they left behind a part of their movable effects, as dishes, books, soap, chairs, chickens, and that such goods as they could they buried; but the de'spoilers carried off everything. Her lady's saddle was found with the plush covering taken off and the skirts cut into strips. Mrs. Denison complained to Keokuk of the loss of this, and when he went to St. Louis, he bought another and gave her.
At that time there was not business enough on the upper Mississippi to call for a special class of boats. The furnishing of wood to these boats was a considerable business. About $3 per cord was paid.
The Denisons all conversed readily in the Indian language, having learned it after their settlement on the river. The Indians could talk but little in English.
Early in 1832 a council of war was held at New Boston. This was attended by Black Hawk, Keokuk, and some 3,000 followers. Black Hawk came down the Mississippi, and Keokuk down the Iowa river, on which he was living. New Boston was a central point, and the general rendezvous on grave or mirthful occasions. The council was held on the site of the town, beneath some scattering trees.
The Denisons were present and heard the speeches of the two chiefs. Keokuk spoke first. His counsel was pacific. He told his people that a war with thewhites would be wasteful, hopeless, disastrous; that they were as numerous as the trees of the Mississippi valley, and could not be conquered. Black Hawk sullenly closed his ears with his fingers, and refused to hear what was said. He followed in a speech for war. He said the whites had stolen his land; that his father was buried at Rock Island, and his desire was to be laid among his ancestors.
History of Mercer and Henderson County
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Illinois Ancestors
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