Welcome to Madison County ILGenWeb
Madison County ILGenWeb Coordinator - Beverly Bauser
BRIEF HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY
Named after James Madison, the fourth President of the United
States and father of our Constitution, Madison County was
established in the Illinois Territory on September 14, 1812 from Randolph and St. Clair Counties. At the
time it was established, Madison included all of the modern
state of Illinois north of St. Louis, as well as all of
Wisconsin, part of Minnesota, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. In
1814, the formation of Edwards County removed almost half of the
eastern part, and the final boundary change came in 1843, when a
small portion on the northeast corner of Madison County became
part of Bond County.
On September 19, 1812, Illinois Territory Governor Ninian Edwards appointed Isam Gilham as the first Sheriff of Madison County, with William Rabb, John G. Lofton, and Samuel Judy as judges; and Josiah Randall as Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas. Josiah Randall was named Recorder, and Robert Elliott, Thomas G. Davidson, William Gilham, and George Cadwell were appointed Justices of the Peace.
Edwardsville, the county seat, was laid out in 1815 on the site designated by Governor Edwards in his proclamation organizing the county. It was named in his honor, and later became his residence.
GUARD
TAKEN PRISONER AT ALTON STATE PRISON
March 9, 1858
On
March 9, 1858, a prisoner in the Alton State Prison by the name
of Hall, from Chicago, was serving a second term for murder.
After eating breakfast, no other guard was in the hallway
surrounding the cells except for Clark C. Crabb, a family man
living in Alton who worked as a prison guard. Hall knocked Crabb
down and hit him in the head, stunning him insensible. Hall then
dragged Crabb into one of the cells, tied his hands behind his
back with strips of his blanket, and fastened the cell door
closed with a piece of wood. Hall was armed with a large knife.
Colonel Samuel Buckmaster, warden of the prison, and
some of the other guards, went to talk with prisoner Hall, who
threatened to kill Crabb if any attempt was made to open the
door. For over an hour, Colonel Buckmaster and his guards
watched for an opportunity to shoot Hall, but there was only one
small opening in the door, and Hall kept Crabb between him and
that opening. When Crabb rose tried to get up to open the door,
Hall cut him severely on the hand.
Hall demanded that he
be given a revolver and ammunition, a full suit of clothes,
$100, and to be driven out of town in a closed carriage,
accompanied by Crabb. Buckmaster refused to give in. The warden
obtained a pardon for Hall from the Governor, to be used at his
discretion. All day and all night the guards were on watch to
shoot Hall if they got the opportunity. The entrance to the cell
was very narrow, and the door was made of plate iron, with a
small grating at the top for ventilation. The door opened
inwards, and was strongly fastened, so it was impossible to
break it down.
At 9:00 a.m. on March 10, 1858, the State
Prison Superintendent, Colonel Friend S. Rutherford, and Warden
Colonel Samuel Buckmaster, came up with a plan. They brought
breakfast to prisoner Hall, but in larger containers than
normal. Hall refused to open the door until the hallway was
cleared, however Rutherford, Buckmaster, and a few guards were
on each side, out of sight and motionless. Hall slowly opened
the door just enough to grab the food containers, and when he
did, the hidden guards used a crowbar to block the door open.
They shouted out for Crabb to fight for his life, and he sprang
towards the opening. Crabb was eventually dragged through the
door, but not before he was stabbed by the convict nine times in
the back and twice on the arm. Hall immediately barred the door
once again. The warden gave Hall a few minutes to reflect on his
situation, and when he refused to submit, Hall was shot by
Warden Buckmaster. The ball struck the skull just below the left
ear. Hall’s body was drug out of the cell while he was yet alive
and talking, and placed on a mattress in the hallway. Two knives
were found on him – one eight inches long and doubled-faced, and
the other four inches long. He exhibited no regrets or remorse,
but that he hoped God would forgive him. He sent for one of his
fellow-prisoners, and advised him to behave and not do as he had
done. He was attended by a physician, but died later that day in
the prison.
Prison guard Crabb was taken to the hospital
and treated by Drs. Williams and Allen. The left lung had been
perforated twice by the knife. His wife came to visit him, and
he talked freely. It was doubtful that he would survive, given
the severity of his wounds, but he did recover. Crabb later
worked as a guard at the Joliet, Illinois, prison.
In
July 1912, fifty-four years later, during the process of
cleaning up the cellar at the George A. Sauvage cigar store on
Piasa Street, a skull was found. It was determined to be that of
prisoner Hall, the six-time murderer who tried to escape from
the Alton State Prison by abducting prison guard Crabb. John
Buckmaster formerly owned the cigar store, and inherited the
skull from his father, Colonel Samuel Buckmaster, who was warden
of the penitentiary at the time. Buckmaster kept the skull as a
memento, and for years it served as a container for balls of
twine. George Sauvage, when he purchased the cigar store, put
the skull in the cellar. It is unknown why the skull was
separated from the body of Hall, where the rest of his body was
buried, and what happened to the skull after its discovery in
1912.
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