History of Madison County, Illinois, Illustrated, With Biographical Sketches of Many Prominent Men and Pioneers

Published By W. R. Brink & Co., Edwardsville, IL; 1882: Page 91-92:

Submitted by: Judith Weeks Ancell  jancell@micron.net

CHARACTER OF THE EARLY SETTLERS

In territorial days the inhabitants of the county, almost without exception, were of Southern origin. Strong sectional prejudices existed, especially toward the "Yankee," which appellation was given to every man who hailed from the Northern section of the country east of the Allegheny mountains. Before the year 1817 the only representatives of the New England states, who had visited the county were the vendors of wooden clocks and tin ware, and under these circumstances the pioneers could not, perhaps, well be blamed for their first impressions of the Yankee character. An early resident of this county states that there were three classes of society known in the territory of Illinois: First, the white man, born in a slave state, who arrogated to himself the title of the real Westerner; second, the negro, generally a slave; and third the Yankee, from over the Mountains. Traces of this prejudice could be discerned for many years, but among intelligent classes the emigrant from the East soon came to be appreciated for his real worth, and recognized as among the most valuable of citizens of the county. Subsequent to 1817 the county received a large Eastern immigration, in which came individuals whose merits raised them to positions of influence, and who contributed greatly to the prosperity of the county. Especially was this the case of the Marine settlement, at Edwardsville, and later at Alton, whose rapid growth and business prosperity were almost entirely due to Eastern men. The early settlers had great respect for the religious views of others. Although their opinions on theological subjects were very decided and very dissimilar, yet a quarrel on these matters was of rare occurence. The Methodists and the Baptists were the leading denominations. The Methodists camp meetings were numerously attended, and proved influential means of increasing membership of the churches. Although most of the people drank occasionally there were fewer drunkards than might have been expected. The people of those days had a great reverence for the law. The worst characters professed to be law-abiding citizens. No man claimed, that, if he did not like the law, he had the right to set it a defiance. It is claimed that the early pioneers were more moral and free from crime than people of a later day. Thefts were of rare occurrence, and forgery, perjury, and similar crimes were seldom perpetrated. But while the higher cromes were rarely committed the lesser violations of the law were not infrequent. Assault and battery was the most common breach of the statutes. there was much sensitiveness as to personal and moral standing, and any one who considered his honor or respectability impugned would fight in a moment his assailant. On holidays and at elections and musters, boisterous and quarrelsome conduct, induced by the use of intoxicating liquors, was often witnessed. Fort Russell was a place of frequent rendezvous in early times, and riotous scenes often occurred there. It was stated by one of the earliest residents of the county (Mr. S. P. Gilham) that for some years after the first settlement of the county he seldom hear of any greater crime than getting drunk, or fighting. The first punishment of crime he recollected took place in 1819, when a negro was found guilty of stealing some coffee from a boat on the Mississippi rive, and whipped. When the population began to multiply and courts were established, men began to break the law, and were often punished by whipping at the post and confinement in the stocks. The Sabbath was often employed in hunting, fishing, getting up stock, hunting bees, shooting at marks, and horse and foot-racing. It was however, a custom to cease from ordinary labor, except from necessity, on that day, and when a farmer cut his harvest on Sunday public opinion condemned it more severely than present. There was no dancing and but little drinking on the Sabbath. In many localities there were no religious meetings. The aged people generally remained at home, and read the Bible and other books. All kinds of gaming were common. Card-playing was sustained by the best classes. At the sessions of the courts judge and lawyer would frequently spend the night together playing cards for money, though the statutes rigidly forbade such a practice. Horse-racing was one of the most popular amusements. The quarter races were the most common, and at these the most chicanery and juggling were practiced. Gov. John Reynolds speaks of having attended a horse-race, which drew crowds of people, on the 4th of July, 1087, in the American Bottom near the residence of Samuel Judy. The most celebrated and famous horse race in Illinois, in early times, was run in the upper end of the Horse-prairie, in Randolph county, in the spring of the year 1803. The two horses which ran the race were of the same size. The race was three miles and repeat, for a wager of five hundred dollars. The bye-bets and all must have amounted to a thousand dollars and more, in those days considered a very large sum. In 1806 Robert Pulliam, if Illinois, and a Mr. Musick of Missouri, made a bet of two hundred dollars on a race between two quarter horses, of a quarter of a mile, to be run on the ice in the Mississippi river, a short distance above St. Louis. The race came off, and was run without injury to either the horses or riders. Foot-racing, jumping, or wrestling were much practiced. Bets of some magnitude were made on foot-races as well as horse-races. Gov. Reynolds, in his youth, was one of the best in a foot-race, and won many wagers in Randolph county, previous to the removal of the family to Madison. He ran his last race while absent from this county attending school in Tennessee. Shooting-matches occurred frequently. these were generally held on Saturdays, and during the summer, as often as once a week. A beef was usually the prize. A keg of whiskey was usually carried to these shooting-matches, on horseback, and sometimes a violin made its appearance, and the crowd danced for hours. The early pioneers were exceedingly friendly and sociable. A new-comer was given a hearty welcome. The houses were in general small and poor, but the hospitality of the occupants knew no bounds. A visitor at a house toward evening could scarcely get away so much was he importuned to stay over night, which, if he did, he was always treated to the best the house afforded, and never allowed to pay for his entertainment. Orchards and melon patches were looked on as common property, and the man who would charge for apples, or melons, would be denounced for his meanness the whole county over. No charge was ever made for assisting a neighbor at house-raisings, log-rollings, or harvesting. The women were brave and self-reliant, and it was no unusual thing for them to practice with the rifle. They were often left alone, and it was well that they should know the best means of defiance. One of the pioneers of the county (John L. Ferguson) was accustomed to say that his mother could shoot a deer, or an Indian just as well as his father could, and thought no more of it. the widow Carlock, in the Marine settlement, was also one who had the reputation of being able to use her rifle, with equal skill to any man, in shooting game, or dispatching an Indian, as the case required."

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History of Madison County, Illinois, Illustrated, With Biographical Sketches of Many Prominent Men and Pioneers

Published By W. R. Brink & Co., Edwardsville, IL; 1882: Page 89:

Page 276: A photograph is given of the monument with the following information and inscription: William Bates: The first monument erected as a memorial to the victims of the Wood River Massacre was dedicated Sept. 11, 1910. It was placed near the actual location of the massacre, in the ravine just beyond the Hill-Top sales barn and about the spot where Hannah Bates left the group to return to the Abel Moore house. Photo submitted by Gene Prosser. "TO THE MEMORY OF THE VICTIMS OF THE WOOD RIVER MASSACRE JULY 10, 1814 WILLIAM & JOEL AGED 10 & 8 YRS. SONS OF CAPT ABEL & MARY MOORE. JOHN & GEO MOORE AGED 10 & 3 YRS SONS OF WILLIAM MOORE. RACHEL REAGAN & HER CHILDREN ELIZABETH & TIMOTHY AGED 7 & 3 YRS THIS OCCURRED ABOUT 300 YDS IN THE REAR OF THIS MONUMENT DEDICATED SEPT. 11 1910 BY THE DESCENDENTS OF CAPT. ABEL MOORE."

"The new monument was dedicated Sept. 24, 1980 in a more visible spot for public viewing. It is almost directly across the Highway 140 entrance to the Gordon Moore Alton Community Park. Gordon Moore was no relation to the other Moores, however the park was built on the farm of the pioneer Abel and Mary Bates Moore. Abel Moore and Mary Bates Moore are buried where their house formerly stood, just a short distance from the new monument. Photo submitted by Betty Cresswell. [Note: The writing on the new monument is not legible on this Xeroxed copy.]

History of Madison County, Illinois, Illustrated, With Biographical Sketches of Many Prominent Men and Pioneers

Published By W. R. Brink & Co., Edwardsville, IL; 1882: Pages 81-82

THE WOOD RIVER MASSACRE

The most startling and cruel atrocity ever committed by the Indians within the limits of Madison county was the Wood River massacre, on the tenth of July, 1814, by which seven persons, one woman and six children, lost their lives. This tragedy took place in the forks of Wood river, between two and three miles east of the present Upper Alton. The victims were the wife and two children of Reason Reagan, two children of Abel Moore, and two children of William Moore. At the beginning of the War of 1812-14, the citizens of the county, who lived at the exposed locations on the frontier, sought refuge in the forts and block-houses; but, as no Indians made their appearance and the Rangers were constantly on the alert, scouring the country to the north and east, the most began to feel so secure that in the summer of 1814 they returned to their farms and dwellings. There were six, or eight families residing at that time in the forks of Wood river. The men were mostly absent from home in ranging service. At the residence of George Moore on the east branch of Wood river, a block-house had been built to which the women and children could flee should danger be apprehended. The massacre occurred on a Sabbath afternoon. Reagan had gone two, or three miles from home to attend church, leaving his wife and two children at the house of Abel Moore, which was about a mile distant from where he lived, and half-way between his house and the block-house. About four o'clock in the afternoon Mrs. Reagan started back to her own dwelling, intending to return to Abel Moore's in a short time. She was accompanied by her own two children, and the four children of Abel and William Moore. A little afterward two men of the neighborhood passed along the road in an opposite direction to that taken by Mrs. Reagan. One of them heard at a certain place, a low call, as of a boy, which he did not answer, and for a repetition of which he did not delay. When it began to grow dark uneasiness was felt at the absence of the Moore children, and William Moore came to Abel Moore's, and not finding them there passed on toward Reagan's, while his wife started in a direct line, not following the road, for the same place. William Moore now came back with the startling that some one had been killed by the Indians. He had discovered a human body lying on the ground which by reason of the darkness and his haste, he was unable to identify. The first thought was to find a refuge in the block-house! Mr. Moore desired his brother's family to go by the road directly to the fort, while he would pass by his own house and take his own family with him, but the night was dark, the road passed through a heavy forest, and the women and children chose to accompany William Moore though the distance to the fort, by the road only one mile, was thereby nearly doubled. The feeling of the party, as they groped their way through the dark woods, may be more easily imagined than described. Sorrow for the supposed loss of relatives and children, was mingled with the horror at the manner of their death, and fear for their own safety. Silently they passed on till they came to the dwelling of William Moore, when he exclaimed, as if relieved from some dreadful apprehension, "Thank God, Polly is not killed!" The horse which his wife had ridden was standing near the house. As they let down the bars and gained admission to the yard, his wife came running out , exclaiming, "They are killed by the Indians, I expect." The whole party then departed hastily for the block-house, to which place, all the neighbors, to whom warning had been communicated by signals, gathered by daybreak. It has been mentioned that Mrs. William Moore, as well as her husband, had gone in search of the children. Passing by different routes, they did not meet on the way, nor at the place of slaughter. Mrs. Moore who was on horseback, carefully noted, as she went, every discernable object till at length she saw a human figure, lying near a log. There was not sufficient light to tell the size, or sex, of the person, and she called over again and again the name of one and another of her children, supposing one of them to be asleep. At length, she alighted, and examined to object more closely. What must have been her sensations as she placed her hand upon the back of a naked corpse, and felt, on further examination, the quivering flesh from which the scalp had recently been torn? In the gloom of the night she could indistinctly see the figure, of the little child of Mrs. Regan's sitting so near the body of its mother as to lean its head, first one side, then the other, on the insensible and mangled body, as as she leaned over the little one said --- "The black man raised his axe and cutted them again." She saw no further, but thrilled with horror and alarm, hastily remounted her frightened horse, and quickly hurried home where she heated water, intending by that means, to defend herself from the savage foe. There was little rest that night at the fort. The women and children of the neighborhood, with the few men who were not absent with the Rangers, crowded together, not knowing but that at any minute the Indians might begin their attack. Seven were missing, and the bodies of these lay within a mile, or two, mangled and bleeding in the forest. At three o'clock in the morning a messenger was dispatched with the tidings to Fort Russell. At dawn of day the scene of tragedy was sought, and the bodies gathered from burial. They were buried the same day, in three graves, carefully dug, with boards laid beneath, beside, and above the bodies. There were no men to make coffins. "The Indians had built a large fire, and also blazed the way to make the whites think that there was a large party. The news soon spread, and it was not long before Gen. Whiteside, with nine others, gave pursuit. Among the number were James Preuitt, Abraham Preuitt, James Stockden, Wm. Montgomery, Peter Wagoner and others, whose descendants now live in Moro and Wood River. The weather was extremely hot, and some of their horses gave out and fell beneath their riders. Gen. Whiteside gave out entirely. His orders was to keep up the pursuit. It was on the second day in the evening, that they came in sight of the Indians, on the dividing ridge of the Sangamon river. There stood at that time a lone cottonwood tree on the ridge, and this several Indians had climbed to look back. They saw their pursuers, and from that tree they separated and went in different directions, all making for the timber. When the whites came to the spot where the Indians had divided, they concluded to divide and pursue the Indians separately. James Preuitt and Abraham took the trail of one of the Indians. James Preuitt having the fastest and best horse, soon came within sight of his Indian. He rode up to within thirty yards of him and shot him in the thigh. The Indian fell, but managed to get to a tree top that was blown down. Abraham Preuitt soon came up, and they concluded to ride in on the Indian and finish him, which they did by Abraham shooting and killing him where he lay. In his shot-pouch was found the scalp of Mrs. Regan. The Indian raised his gun, but was too weak to fire, and had also lost his flint, or perhaps he might have killed one of the pursuers. The rifle is supposed to be in the hands of the Preuitt family yet. It was somewhere near where Virden now stands that the party came upon them. The Indians hid in the timber and in a drift in the creek. Night coming on is all that saved them. It was ascertained at the treaty afterwards at Galena that only Indians escaped, and that was the chief. The Indians bled themselves on account of the heat to prevent them from fainting. Solomon Preuitt, who was not in pursuit, assisted in the burial of Mrs. Reagan and the children. He hauled them in a little one-horse sled to the old burial ground south of Bethalto, where a simple stone marks their last resting place. There is also buried in the same burying ground an Indian girl who was captured by Abraham Preuitt during one of the campaigns in the War of 1812. The Indians had been pursued into the Winnebago Swamps, and Abraham Preuitt hearing firing in a distant part of the swamp concluded to go and see what was the matter. On nearing the spot he found David Carter and one other firing at the little Indian child who was mired and could not get out. He called them cowards and ordered them to cease firing on the little Indian child and brought it home with him. She lived to the age of fifteen, being about six years old at the time of capture. She was always of a wild nature."* [*From an article furnished by E. K. Preuitt.]

History of Madison County, Illinois, Illustrated, With Biographical Sketches of Many Prominent Men and Pioneers

Published By W. R. Brink & Co., Edwardsville, IL; 1882: Page 416

Abel Moore, one of the pioneers, was a native of North Carolina, and migrated to Kentucky in 1804, and thence to Illinois in 1808. He located in section 4, now Wood River township. His family then consisted of his wife, Mary, nee Bates, and two children, William and Joel, then respectively ten and eight years of age, both of whom were among the victims of the Wood River massacre. Eight other children were born at the old homestead in section 4, as follows: John, Nancy, Sarah, Joshua, Rachel, Lydia, Anna, and Franklin. Only three of this large family are now living; Nancy, who resides in California; Lydia, widow of Madison Williams, who lives near Bethalto, in section 2; and Major Franklin Moore, of Upper Alton. The latter has a history as eventful as his father before him, having served with distinction through the entire late war. Indeed, he has the honor of holding the first commission in the state under the "Three-hundred-thousand call." Such were the services he rendered his country on the battle-field, that he received the soubriquet of "Fighting Frank." Able Moore died in 1846, at the age of 63. Mrs. Moore died the day before her husband, aged 61. They lie side by side on the very spot of ground where their pioneer cabin was constructed. In the sale of the old homestead the children reserved this sacred spot as a lasting tribute to their departed parents. The old farm is now owned by George Cartwright. George and William Moore, brothers of Able, came with the latter and their father as far as Ford's Ferry, on the Ohio river, where they separated from Abel, and went to Boon's Lick, Missouri, where their father died. The following year the brothers and their families came to Illinois, and settled, near their brother Abel in section 10. William's family consisted of his wife and two sons, John and George, both of whom were also victims at the Wood River massacre. Two children were afterward born to the family. They all moved to Pike county, Illinois, in 1830. George had no children when he came, but two were born while residing her, Margaret and Walter. The family migrated to Independence, Mo., in 1837. Mr. William Gill now occupies and owns his farm. Both William and George were gun-makers, and followed their trade in the township. The latter also manufactured powder. Ransom Reagan and family came about the same time as the Moores, but we have been unable to glean any satisfactory history of their nativity, etc. A lone apple tree now stands near where their cabin was located, at the time of the death of Mrs. Reagan and her children at the hands of the Indians."