ELLERY PRECINCT

ELLERY PRECINCT

Transcribed by Laurie Selpien from Edwards County Sesquicentennial 1814 – 1864

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Ellery Precinct as such did not exist in early history as a precinct but was included with Albion. That area now known as Ellery was, however one of the early settlements in Edwards County. Birk’s Prairie which Flower visited and was astounded to find the owner, Captain Jeremiah Birk sitting in the yard without a stitch of clothes cooling himself after a trip to the mill at Princeton, was located in Section 29, where Henry and John Huston also settled. Walter Anderson reportedly settled in section 30, and here planted the first orchard in Edwards County. Records show that he also purchased land in Section 7 along with Robert Anderson. A. S. Anderson entered land in the next section to the south as did S. Spring. Rollin and J. Lane along with Hugh Collins settled nearby. To the north in Section 31, Alexander West purchased land while Uriel Emmerson settled Southwest of this farm. John and William Woodland came here in 1817 from South Carolina but remained only a short time before they left with the Mormons. John Hunt moved to section 17 but died here in 1820 leaving quite a family of children. These early settlements were made prior to the settlement of Albion. John Woods and family arrived here in the fall of 1819 and purchased the Birk Place, the Hugh Collins place and the Samuel Anderson place where in 1880 his grandson, Henry Woods located the east side of Ellery.

DIXON PRECINCT

This area south of Albion was known as Boltinghouse Precinct for some years but was renamed for John Dixon who was a prominent settler here in 1841. First man to venture into this neighborhood was Joseph Boltinghouse who came here from White County in 1816 with a drove of hogs. He established a camp and allowed hogs to forage in the Big Creek Timberlands. Some time later his severed head was found on a pole near his camp. It is reported that a wandering band of Shawnee Indians responsible for his death were in turn killed by a group of Rangers. Daniel and James Boltinghouse, brothers of the deceased, settled in section 26 township 2 south Range 10 east in 1817. Another settler arrived the same year was Isaac Morris who came from a southern estate and settled in section 5. he reared a large family in a one-room log cabin. William Brown came from Maine in 1818 and in 1828 entered a quarter section in section 10. Others arriving in 1818 included William Everly, Charles Birks, James Kenedy, Thomas Sloan, and James Jordan. Thomas Harper came from a southern state and moved to section 3 in 1822. The Thread family also came from England and located in the north part of Dixon. An important event in the precinct was the arrival of Joel Churchill, son of a wealthy English manufacturer and ship owner in 1821. He settled on the Southwest Quarter of Section 34 and the first school in this community was founded on his farm in 1824 with Daniel Bain as teacher. First mill in the area was a horse powered grist mill erected by john Elder in Section 4, in 1840. First blacksmith shop was founded by John Smith in Section 10. First Church building in the precinct was built in Section 10 by the Methodist in 1849. Joseph Shaw opened a store in 1846 in Section 10.

FRENCH CREEK PRECINCT

French Creek was among the first areas settled in Edwards County, possibly because it was adjacent to Grayville, a port on the Wabash River. First land entry in Edwards County was the Northeast Quarter of Section 34, Township 2 South, Range 14 west October 26, 1814, by John Grayson. First known settler in the precinct was Clem Martin who was located in Section 33, in 1817. Edward Coad came to Carlyle, Illinois in 1812 and in 1812 purchased a farm in the north part of the precinct. George Woodham came to Wanborough in 1818 and in 1830 purchased a farm in the west part of this area. John Cowling came from England, located in the north part of the precinct and married Mary Coad. David Thompson arrived from Scotland in 1818 and settled in section 21 while Caleb Dickinson entered land in Section 17. Other arrivals included John Massey, Isaac Butler, John Mather, Andrew Hunter and James Hean. The Heans settled on what is now known as the Albert Jack place east of Route 130. A Thomas Travner and D. Thompson entered land just east of the Hean and Cowling farms. A water mill was placed in operation on the Grayson place in 1830 and a school was opened in what is now the north side of Grayville in 1831. Peter Kershaw and Asa Turner arrived later, soon after 1830.