Untitled Document

EARLY SETTLERS

The Denison family were the first settlers, locating here in 1827. The Sac and Fox Indians were numerous here then, and they and the whites lived in friendly relations. Here was started the first settlement of the county whose broad prairies. are today dotted with fine farms and beautiful towns.

In 1834 "Wm. Wilson made a settlement. During this year the number of settlers increased so rapidly as to cause great inconvenience in some parts of the country on account of the great extent of territory embraced in the jurisdiction of Warren county

After the Black Hawk war many settlers came into the township, among them the Drurys, S. V. Prentiss, Wililiams, Dr. Thomas Willitts, Johnson Noble, Ephraim Gilmore, John Pratt, Milton L. Willitts, James M. Mannon, Harley Ives, James S. Thompson, John Davis, Alexander Davis, and many others who still have descendants residing in the township.

Johnson Noble settled in the township in this year, 1835. Mr. Ephraim Gilmore was the first assessor and treasurer, appointed April 13, 1835. He was also the first surveyor and first postmaster.

The following settlements were made in 1836. John W. Ditto, Who settled on S. E. J Sec. 27, having previously made the claim in March of the same year. His was the only house out on the prairie except Joseph Denison's on the S. "W". 1/4 Sec. 34, which was built the same spring. John Denison was living in the timber out on the Edward's Flats, having settled there on his return after the Black Hawk Trar in the autumn of 1832. John Pratt, Isaac Lutz, James M. Mannon, Gilbert Ives, and Harley Ives, also made settlements in this year.

In 1838 Isaac Lutz came to this township, and began the erection of a grist mill on Edwards river, on section 1. This mill has been kept up ever since, and is still running and doing good work. It belongs to some of the heirs of Isaac Lutz.

Elias Pullen, E. A. Crapnell and Joseph Alyea, with their families, settled in the towhship in this year. Elias Pullen settled on section 9, E. A. Crapnell on section 14, and Joseph Alyea in town, which at that time contained twelve or fifteen buildings. This was four years after the survey and plat of the town was made; and, although the town was laid out, only a small portion had been subdivided into lots. This, together with the fact that the majority of the proprietors were non-residents and held their property at high figures, partially accounts for the slow growth of the town.

In 1839 Jacob Beard settled on section 9, and Charles and Christian Rader settled on section 27. The settlements up to this time had been located mostly along the rivers Mississippi and Edwards; but from this time forward the settlements increased rapidly in number and take a wider range.

History of Mercer and Henderson County

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Illinois Ancestors

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