of Menard and Mason Counties
By T.G. Onstott
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CHAPTER XXXV Page 331 When the first white people came to Kilbourne it was then a part of Sangamon county. A few years later is was in Menard county and still later it was in Mason. Mrs. Blakeley and Dr. Field, among the oldest settlers, say that they lived in three counties without moving their residence. The first resident of Kilbourne township was Absalom Mount. He was from that portion of Sangamon, now Menard, where he had built a mill on Clary's Creek. He came here in 1831 and settled in the southeast part of the present town of Kilbourne and there built a mill on Crane Creek. The next settlement was made by Gibson Garrett. He is supposed to have come from Virginia in 1836. He has long been dead. Jesse Baker came in 1836 and located in Morgan county. He came from Illinois in 1816. John Close and Charles Sidwell came a year or so after Garrett. Close was from the south, probably from Kentucky, and was an old man. He died many years ago. His descendants are still living in Crane Creek township. Sidwell came from New York. He had one child, who married and went to Texas. The Fields and Blakeleys came in 1836. They are mentioned in the history of Bath township. Drury S. Field entered a large amount of land. He built the third frame house in the county. His son, Dr. A.E. Field, lived in Kilbourne at its formation. James Blakeley came from New Jersey and first settled in Sangamon county, seven miles from Springfield and then crossed the river. He bought a cabin, on which ground the village of Kilbourne now stands. In this cabin he lived nine years and then moved to Havana township, where he died. He married a daughter of Aaron Scott. Thomas Martin and Joel Garrett came in 1837. Martin was from Kentucky. Henry Norris came from Kentucky and pitched his tent in the north part of the township. He built the third cabin in the vicinity. Jacob Cross may be called an early settler, but belonged to the floating population and did not remain long. He borrowed a span of horses, but neglected to return them. He was followed several hundred miles. The horses were recovered, but Cross was not located. John Young was from Kentucky and came in 1838. He had a large family. His sons were Anderson, John, William and Mitchel. The elder Young died in 1847. The Daniels came in 1837 and were from Virginia. They consisted of G.W. Daniels and four sons. The Craggs were early settlers, but lived in that portion taken from Bath. Rev. Elisha Stevens was one of the early preachers and came from New York in 1839. He was a Methodist preacher. He died in 1855. John Pratt was from New York and located in 1838. He died after living here forty years. David Pratt came soon after. They had been living in Cass county. Moses Ray and his son, Aaron, settled on the present site of Kilbourne in the fall of 1838. James and Hiram Ray, sons of Moses Ray, came two years later. Moses Ray, the elder, died in December. John Crockson and John Lamb were from Posey county, Ind., the land of hoop poles and pumpkins. Crockson moved to Missouri. Lamb was a Dutchman and had a family of eleven children. They ranged in weight from one hundred and sixty to two hundred pounds. Dr. Mastic was an early settler and was from Ohio. He was the first doctor in the township. William McDaniels came in 1838 and died in 1854. James Ross moved in 1840 from the south. Abraham Williamson was from Kentucky. He came from Morgan county. William Morgan also came from Morgan county. Michael Ott, another Pennsylvanian, settled in 1841 and was an old man when he died. The Tolley Brothers came from Kentucky in 1842. These were the early settlers until 1845, when the pioneers began to pour in with great rapidity. Among the arrivals were J.M. Hardin, John Ransom, Edward Gore, Joseph Groves, John McLain, A.H. Neal, James Angelo and Samuel Cannon, who made up the bone and sinew of the town. Dr. O'Neal came into the town at an early day from Bath. John B. Gam, one of the largest land holders, came from Petersburg. If any of the settlers of Bath or Crane Creek should find some errors in their location in the different townships, they must bear in mind that Kilbourne was made out of other townships. The first preacher was Moses Ray, a hardshell, who could sing and preach at the same time. He always had the A.H. at the same time. The Rev. M. Shunk, the Methodist preacher, was a Dutchman, a short, thick, heavy person. His descendants are still alive. Bro. Shunk preached in the cabins of the pioneers. The Baptist Church is always strong in any new county. He was the first school teacher. The schoolhouse was built by contribution and also served for a meeting house. An old gentleman by the name of Lease built a cabin, in which school was taught. I.A. Hurd taught in an early day. The first justice of the peace was Albert Field; the first constable was Aaron Ray. The incidents in the early courts were sometimes ludicrous. The first marriage was that of Jacob Clodfelter of Bath to Mary Garrrett in 1839. They were married by Squire Field. The first death was old Becka, a negress. Old man Lease died early. The first birth was John Pratt. The first postoffice was established in 1859 near John B. Gam's. It was called Prairie and the mail was brought by the coach that ran from Springfield to Havana. The first store was kept by William Gore, who kept about a wheelbarrow of goods. It was about three and one-half miles from the village of Kilbourne. Dr. Mastic was the first regular physician. The early settlers went to mill at Jacksonville, Salem and Robinson. Absalom Mounts built a small mill on Crane Creek in the southeast part of the township and when the water ran dry it was run by horse power. Mounts sold this mill to Sidwell, who made considerable improvement in it. The burrs were a foot in diameter and the lower one turned around instead of the upper. When the burrs wanted dressing, Sidwell would take them on his arm and dress than while walking along. When the mill was running at full speed, he would fill up the hopper, go home and do work till noon and then in the afternoon go to the mill and see how it was getting along. Sidwell knew just how long it would take to grind out a turn. A few years later a mill was built at Petersburg and Sidwell's mill was closed down. In 1873 Kilbourne township was formed out of Bath and Crane Creek townships. Bath was a large township and Crane Creek was nearly as large, so the territory made three good sized townships. Dr. Harvey O'Neal was the first supervisor. Kilbourne is divided on the political issues of the day. First one party and then the other claims the election. During the late war it furnished its quota of troops in advance of the call. Some of the officers credited to Bath belonged to Kilbourne. Kilbourne township was named for Kilbourne Village, and both for Edward Kilbourne, one of the principal men engaged in building the road. The road was completed and trains put on it in 1872. The building of the road was opposed by the Bath interest, who saw in its completion a loss of trade to themselves. When the first settlers came to this section, it abounded in deer, prairie chickens, wolves, wild turkeys and all kinds of wild game. Dr. Field says he has seen one hundred and fifty deed on the prairie at one time and it was almost as uncommon for the people to be without venison as bread. Prairie fires were of frequent occurrence, though no loss of life has been reported, but narrow escapes were of frequent occurrence. The following incident is reported. A couple of men went out to hunt deer and wild honey. They had two wagons with two horses each. On the prairie near Sangamon bottom, the day being calm and but little breeze stirring, they though to set the grass on fire and perhaps scare up a deer. They had a quantity of venison and five hundred pounds of honey in their wagons. They had scarcely set fire to the grass when a breeze sprang up and they were forced to cut their horses loose and flee for their lives. They succeeded in escaping with their horses, but their wagons, venison and honey were burned. The sudden freeze in 1837 is well remembered, but no one in this locality, as far as can be learned, froze to death. In other localities they were less fortunate and deaths were recorded. A great hail storm occurred in 1845, that exceeded anything that ever happened in this locality. When it was over hail lay several inches on the ground, many of them as large as a man's fist. This is the hail storm that Dick Blunt so graphically described (as big as saucers and four inches through). It made a terrible havoc among stock; cattle and hogs were killed by the hundreds, even the trees bore marks of the storm for years afterward. The timid thought the last day had arrived and fell on their knees and went to praying. No human lives were destroyed, but much stock was killed. In early days there was no money in the county, and nothing to sell that would bring money; if they had any surplus product, there was sometimes a chance to sell some to movers. They went to Springfield to buy their clothing and groceries when they had anything to buy with. Kilbourne has the reputation of being a quiet and orderly community. A desperado by the name of Hughs was assassinated, but he threatened the lives of several citizens so the public rested easier on account of his death. No effort was made to find the perpetrators and no one felt disposed to bring them to trial.
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