Evans township is located in Township 30 North, Range 1 East. It has four towns: Custer, Evans, Porterfield, Wenona.
The pioneer settlers on upper Sandy appear to have been Thomas BROOKS, who built a cabin on the eastern end of the timber in 1824; Patrick CUNNINGHAM, who claimed and built a cabin on the Edward CLIFFORD place; Benjamin DARNELL, whose house stood upon the ground now within the enclosure of Cumberland Church Cemetery; James LARKIN, living with the Darnell family; Joseph SMITH, Horace GAYLORD, Alva HUMPHRY, Abel ESTABROOK, William HART, Samuel HAWKINS and George B. HOLLENBACK.
Mr. DARNELL's family consisted of himself and wife, and Enoch and Benjamin, Jr., his sons, and his daughter Lucy, who sickened and died that season, and was the first interment in Cumberland Church Cemetery.
In the spring of 1830 came Joshua EVANS, who made his claim on the north side of Sandy Creek, near the head thereof, and hired Patrick CUNNINGHAM to build him a log cabin thereon for a mare worth one hundred dollars. The old house was occupied by Mr. EVANS for many years, and until recently was a well-known landmark of the Township.
During the season, also, came James REYNOLDS, Thomas DIXON, John S. HUNT, John DARNELL, Lemuel GAYLORD, John GRIFFITH, Stewart WARD, Kirby and Jeremiah HARTENBOWER.
In 1831, Justus JONES, Ira JONES, Barton JONES, Abram JONES, Thomas JUDD, Mr. RANSBERGER, Mr. SIMPSON and Abram DARNELL.
James REYNOLDS died and was buried in the cemetery, the second interment, and his family moved away.
These constituted the settlers up to the spring of 1832, when
the Black Hawk came with its terrors and rumors of massacre and
murder. One dark and rainy night the residents of the locality
gathered with their wives and children, and met at log house in
Roberts Township, on the place now owned by Mrs. Hutchinson
CROFT, and resolved to build a fort
for mutual protection. The next day each able-bodied man, with
guns, axes and spades, repaired to the farm of Benjamin DARNELL,
now owned by Robert MANN, and dug a deep trench, enclosing
sufficient space, into which were inserted split logs ten feet
high, with port-holes where required for riflemen. A well was
dug in the enclosure, and into this the settlers brought their
families for mutual protection. They were as follows :
Benjamin DARNELL, Joshua EVANS, Thomas BROOKS, Patrick CUNNINGHAM, George BASORE, Mr. HOLDERMAN, from La Salle County, Thomas JUDD, John WARD, G. B. HOLLENBACK, Thomas HOLLENBACK, Alvah HUMPHREY, Jeremiah HARTENBONER, Stewart WARD, Abram DARNELL, John DARNELL, George MARTIN, Justus JONES, and the wife of Thomas DIXON, her husband having gone as a teamster with the volunteers. John DARNELL and George MARTIN promptly enlisted in Capt. Wm. HAWES' Rangers, and afterward John S. HUNT. In a few weeks peace was restored, and the settlers gladly returned to their homes.
In 1833 we find Justus JONES and family on the Edward CLIFFORD farm; Joshua EVANS on the homestead where he first began and ever after resided; Thos. JUDD comfortably started on the place of late years occupied by Alfred Judd; Benjamin DARNELL "holding the fort" or stockade farm; John S. HUNT just across the Putnam County line, then in Evans, now the BECKWITH land; Geo. MARTIN where his surviving widow and children still live. MARTIN married Miss Lucy, daughter of Samuel GAYLORD, an old settler. Their family were Aaron G. and Sylvia MARTIN, well known residents of Sandy. The widow after the death of her husband married James GIBSON, and he too died in 1855. She is the last surviving citizen of Sandy Creek, who arrived after the age of maturity, and still remains a dweller there, the others having all moved away or are dead. Alvah HUMPHREY was then on the farm now owned by David F. GRIFFIN; Horace GAYLORD on the McCALL place, and Thomas DIXON on that of Mr. ADAMS.
Extracted from Records of Olden Time
1890 Map from
Plat Book of Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois, 1890
The following list of names transcribed from the 1890 map may not be complete. As always, we welcome corrections and additions.
___, George W
ALGEE, George
ALGEE, John
ALLEN, A
ALLEN, Abraham, heirs of
AMES, M T
AXLINE, Aron, heirs of
AXLINE, C A
BALL, Jonas T
BECKWITH, _ P, estate
BECKWITH, Albert
BECKWITH, E P, estate
BISHOP, A J
BOND, F
BROWN, Alex
BRUMSEY, Nathan
BURRUS, Richard
CARRITHERS, A M
CHALFANT, Walter
CLIFFORDS, S D
CONNEL, Barney
CROFT, E
CRUTTY, Josiah
CURD, John
DEAN, John
DEFENBAUGH, Peter
DOWNEY, Clark
DOWNEY, John
DUNLAP, Joseph
DUNLAP, William, heirs of
EVANS, Douglas
EVANS, John F
EVANS, Joshua, heirs of
EVERLEY, A G
FABER, George
FORD, Michael
FORSTER, J R
FORT, G L, heirs of
FOSTER, A G
FOSTER, Albert
FOSTER, Benjamin
FOSTER, G E
FOSTER, J P
FOSTER, Lewis
FOSTER, Thomas, estate
FOSTER, Wilbur S
FOWLER, Bernard
FRENCH, M J
GARVIN, Austin
GIBSON, Lucy
GRIFFIN, Charles
GRIFFIN, D F
GRIFFIN, D F, est
GRIFFIN, G W
GRIFFIN, H R
GUDERJAN, August
GUNTZ, Edwin
HALL, David
HAMILTON, W T
HAMILTON, William, heirs of
HANNAH, James
HAWS, William
HELTERBRAN, E
HENRY, Mary A
HENRY, Robert, estate
HINMAN, T B
HODGE, George J
HODGE, J W
HODGE, L J
HOLSTON, J W
HORNER, Delbert
HORRUM, L, heirs of
HUDSON, J B
JAMISON, Nancy
JENKINS, James
JOHNSON, Charles
JORDAN, George C
JUDD, Alfred
JUDD, John F
JUDD, Thomas
JUDD, Thomas, Jr
KANE, John, heirs of
KAYS, C, heirs of
KEMP, Jacob
KEMP, William
KOHLER, D H
KREIDER, Samuel
LAKE, Lewis
MARTIN, A
MARTIN, Michael
MARTIN, Sarah E
McADAM, G G
McALLISTER, John
MERRITT, H P
MILLER, Joseph
MOORE, D
MOORE, David
MOORE, N
MORGAN, C P
MYERS, F M
MYERS, J J
ORE_SCUP, W C
PARKINSON, W
PARKS, George
REIDT, Cris.
REYNOLDS, Joseph
ROBINSON, Mary
RUBEN, John
SCOTT, L
SHIPLEY, B
SHIPLEY, Benjamin
SHIPLEY, William
SPRINGER, C
STATELER, D, heirs of
SWARTS, William
THIERRY, F F
THORNTON, James
TRIMBLE, D
TURNER, A L
TURNER, Benjamin
WALT, Cary
WATKINS, David
WELLS, D B
WHITE, W C
WILSON, David
WILSON, Martin
WILSON, Rosannah
WOLF, H C
WRIGHT, Byant, est
WRIGHT, James
WRIGHT, John
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La Salle |
| Peoria | Woodford |
