History of Marine, Illinois
Madison County ILGenWeb Coordinator - Beverly Bauser
Marine Settlement
Permanent settlement
in the Marine prairie was made in 1813 and 1814 by Major Isaac
H. Ferguson, his brother-in-law John Warwick, John Woods, George
Newcome, Joseph Ferguson, Absolom Ferguson, Aquilla Dolahide,
Abraham Howard and Joshua Dean. In 1815, the settlement was
increased by the arrival of Chester Pain, Thomas Breeze, Richard
Winsor, John Campbell and John Giger, and in the following year
came Henry Scott, John Lord, James Simmons, Henry Peck, Andrew
Matthews Sr and Andrew Matthews Jr., Lefford, French, James
French, and Abram Carlock.
In 1817, Rowland P. Allen and
Elijah Ellison came to Illinois to explore for their sea-faring
friends, for the purpose of founding a settlement. Arriving at
Edwardsville with their families, they traveled to the Marine
prairie in 1818, choosing the area lying between Silver Creek
and the middle fork or Peck’s Branch of Silver Creek. The next
year, 1819, a colony of sea-farers settled on this prairie,
including Captain Curtis Blakeman, Captain George C. Allen,
Captain James Breath, Captain De Selhorst, Captain David Mead,
and their families. These men had seen years of service on the
ocean and had come to the West to engage in agriculture and rear
their families. They came from New England, New York, and New
Jersey. This settlement soon took on the name of Marine
Settlement, and intelligent, enterprising, and prosperous men
made it their home.
Captain Curtis Blakeman was one of the leading men of this
colony. He came with considerable wealth, while the others had
been mostly driven to Illinois either by poverty or a desire to
obtain wealth. Blakeman was a candidate for county commissioner
in 1820 and was elected to represent the county in the
legislature in 1822. For a number of years, he filled the office
of Justice of the Peace. His son, Curtis Blakeman Jr., was a
prominent citizen of Madison County, and was elected a
representative in the legislature in 1842.
Rowland P.
Allen was one of the first to build on the prairie and was
laughed at for his willingness to haul building material,
fencing, and firewood so far – a distance of half a mile. But in
a few years the older pioneers realized the advantages of a
residence on the prairie, and began to leave the gloom of the
woods and build in the sunshine.
A post office was soon
established, with Major Ferguson and Rowland P. Allen
alternating as postmasters. The first tavern was kept by Eben
Twiss in section 11, in 1820, and the first ox-tread mill was
built by Captain Blakeman in 1823.
In 1820, John Anderson settled in Marine. He was born
in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1793. During the War of 1812, he
offered his services and was
accepted as drummer boy. In 1822 he married Susan S. Creamer,
and together they had twelve children. After the death of his
first wife, he remarried April 23, 1868, to Margarett L.
Creamer, by whom he had two children. Anderson was successful
and amassed considerable property. He owned houses, barns,
orchards, etc. He died April 11, 1875. He was a man of
unquestioned integrity and had good business sense.
The
Contemplated Town of Madison
The building of a town in Marine
Township was contemplated by the early pioneers. The town was to
be named “Madison,” and 100 town lots were offered for sale in
the Marine Settlement, Illinois. The auction was to be held
November 18, 1820, at the home of Rowland P. Allen. The lots
were situated on the prairie, with thirty improved farms located
to the east, south, and west. Curtis Blakeman, Rowland P. Allen,
George C. Allen, Pierre Teller, Adrian Hegeman, Abraham Beck,
Nehemiah Allen, W. M. O’Hara, Justus Post, and Theophilus W.
Smith were the proprietors of the land. This sale of land did
not succeed, and the “paper” town of Madison in Marine
Settlement was never fulfilled.
The Founding of Marine
In 1834, the town of Marine was laid out by George W. Welsh,
James Semple, Jordan W. Jeffress, and Abram Breath. The first
stores were kept by Jordan W. Jeffress, George W. Welsh, and
Abram Breath. The first physicians were Drs. George T. Allen and
P. P. Green.
The village of Marine was incorporated March
8, 1867 and re-incorporated under general law on April 23, 1888.
It was an important station of the Illinois Central Railroad.
Businesses of Marine
The Cable Mill was built in 1866 by
Curtis Blakeman Jr., John B. Parker and Jacob Spies. It had but
three run of stone, but after Charles Valier and Jacob Spies
took over the mill in 1876, the mill was enlarged into a
four-story brick building with numerous frame additions and a
cooper shop.
Other
businesses by 1882 included physicians Peter S. Weidman, Peter
Fischer, Henry L. Judd. Valentine Mill, John G. Goerke, Henry
Hoppe & Company, Henry Gehrs, and the Blanke Brothers operated
General Stores. Fred Wentz and Kold & Richardson opened hardware
stores, and L. A. Richardson and Porter G. Parker owned
drugstores. A hotel was operated by H. H. Elbring. John M.
Hettel ran a stove and tinware, and Charles Adler, John Koch, V.
Deibert, and Michael Ford operated blacksmith and wagon shops.
Henry A. Hoyer was a wagon maker and bridge contractor, and Fred
Webold was carpenter and bridge builder. Julius Busch was a
wagon maker and millwright, and George Gravins and Henry Ortmann
were furniture dealers. Barbers included William Apffel and John
Weber, and John Deibert & Son owned a clothing and furnishing
goods store. Harness and saddlers included Henry Brandes and
William Koeh. Charles Lewis Varwig and Edward Frey owned cigar
stores. Charles Pfister ran a bakery and confectionery, and
Catherine Nemnich, Mrs. Mary Ellison, and Mrs. William Koch
owned millineries. A meat market was owned by Henry Schmidt and
Jacob Weder, and the local watch maker was Andrew Volk. Shoe
makers included Herman Vanderstein, Peter Harnist, and Henry
Ackermann.
Early Schools of Marine
The first school
in Marine Township was taught by Arthur Travis in 1814 in Major
Ferguson’s smokehouse. Another of the early schools in the
Marine Settlement was a building made of logs, consisting of two
departments separated by a log partition. The first department
was a stable, accommodating several horses, and the second was a
crib or granary, utilized for scholastic purposes. The only
entrance to the schoolroom was through the stable, and teacher
and pupils were compelled to climb six feet of the log partition
to enter. “The conductor of this school,” wrote one of the
pupils of those days, “was a little effete, old codger, the most
ignorant and illiterate creature I ever knew as a teacher of the
youthful mind. We were instructed to always call the letter ‘Z,’
‘Izzard,’ and in spelling Aaron, to say, ‘Big A, little A,
r-o-n, Aaron.’ The next teacher who attempted to teach at Marine
was Mr. Giles Churchill, the most bashful and awkward of men. He
had studied English grammar in Webster’s spelling book, and said
he could teach it if anybody wanted to learn. Nearby in the
woods was a whisky distillery, and the teacher would sometimes
rest at this point and imbibe too freely of corn-juice for the
successful advancement of education. One way or another, he did
manage to teach the young minds.
In 1819 a young man
from New Haven, Connecticut opened a school in an empty cabin
that stood between Captain Blakeman’s and R. P. Allen’s. In
1821, a substantial Union Church house was erected, which was
likewise used for school purposes. It is believed to have been
at the time the best building devoted to educational purposes in
the county, as it was a frame building with clapboard siding,
supplied with split shingle roof and glass windows.
In
1874 a two-story, five room brick schoolhouse was erected, with
five teachers. The cost of the building was $10,000.
Early Churches in Marine
The first sermon in Marine Township
was preached at Major Ferguson’s home in 1813 by Rev. Samuel
Lindley, a Baptist missionary. A Union Church building was
erected in section 33, in 1821. Another church was organized
November 2, 1834, with Roswell Brooks as preacher, succeeded by
Robert Blake. After about three years the church became vacant,
until 1840, when T. Lippincott became preacher. After a revival,
twenty-seven were added to membership. Original members included
James Breath, Elizabeth Breath, George C. Allen, Mary Allen,
James M. Nichols, Elizabeth Nichols, George W. Walsh, John R.
Kerr, William Anderson, Eunice A. Anderson, Gertrude Anderson,
Zilphatt Parker, George Foster, Hannah N. Foster, Rebecca L.
Breath, and Mary A. Breath. In 1851 a frame church was
constructed.
On April 7, 1860, the Marine Church of
Christ was established at a place then known as the Reid
schoolhouse. Elder William Birge acted as minister. Original
members included A. W. Jeffress, Mary A. Jeffress, J. W.
Jeffress, D. W. Biggs, Catherine Biggs, Elisha Stapleton, Mary
Stapleton, Curinda Stapleton, Anna R. Farghuharson, Mary E.
Parker, Margaret Graham, Adaline O. Bacon, Ella Stocton, Harriet
Weidman, and Ella Bocsinger. In 1871, a church was constructed
at a cost of $2,500.
By 1882, there were five churches
in town – the Roman Catholic, German Lutheran, and Christian
(all with brick buildings), and the Presbyterian and Methodist
(with frame structures).