History of New Douglas Township, Madison County, Illinois
Madison County ILGenWeb Coordinator - Beverly Bauser
New Douglas Township (Township 6, Range 5)
is located in the northeast corner of Madison County. It is
bounded on the north by Montgomery County, on the east by Bond
County, on the south by Leef Township, and on the west by Olive
township. Silver Creek, including the Dry Fork Branch, runs
through the township.
The first settler of the township
was Daniel Funderburk, a native of South Carolina. He was born
in 1786, and served in the War of 1812 under General Smith. He
located on section 7 in the Fall of 1819. For several years, he
was the only resident of the township. In 1823, he taught the
first school in a small cabin built near his residence. The
students lived in the adjoining township. Mr. Funderburk lived
there until his death on December 11, 1838. He had eleven
children: Sarah, Thomas, John, Elizabeth, Martha, Henry, Daniel,
Julia A., Emily, Samuel, and Edward.
John L. Carlock
came to the township in about 1831. On December 14, 1833, he
entered the first tract of land in section 19. He improved a
40-acre farm, then moved to Adams County. The Methodists held
their early meetings at his residence. Cornelius Wood, Carlock’s
brother-in-law, located southwest of Carlock on section 19 at
about the same time. He had a small farm, and was Justice of the
Peace. He later moved to Bond County, where he died.
Robert Greening came to the township in 1830, and located south
of Cornelius Wood on section 19. He lived there until his death.
He was a member of the Baptist Church, and meetings were held at
his home for many years.
Jackson Allen, a native of
Virginia, came to the county in 1837, and settled in the
township on section 17 in the Spring of that year. He lived out
in the prairie, where he improved a good farm. He lived there
until the death of his wife in 1862, then lived at his
daughter’s nearby until his death in 1870. He raised seven
children: Andrew, George, Abraham, Isaac, David, Thomas, and
Mary (married Andrew Jackson).
John P. Lindsey settled
on section 20 in 1840. He was the second pioneer to settle out
on the prairie in the township.
John Funderburk, son of
Daniel and Mary Funderburk, was the first born in the township.
He was born September 3, 1822. The first death was that of Mary,
wife of Daniel Funderburk, which occurred August 7, 1838. The
first marriage was in 1834, between Aaron Voyles and Sarah
Funderburk.
The Town of New Douglas
Alonzo Foster came
to Madison County in 1819 with his father, Oliver Foster. Oliver
settled in Salu near Upper Alton, and later at Fosterburg, where
he died. Alonzo came to New Douglas Township in 1857. He was
born in Maine, and was three years of age when his father
settled in Madison County. Alonzo settled on section 16 in 1857,
where all the land around him was an open prairie. He laid out
the town of New Douglas on September 5, 1860, on section 16. The
original town contained twenty acres. Foster and Owen laid out
an addition later on the west side of the road, and other
additions have since been laid out. In 1860, Costen Sawyer built
the first business house, and a blacksmith shop.
To read more of
the history of the town of New Douglas, please click here.
The First
Schools
Daniel Funderburk taught the first school in a small
cabin built near his residence on section 7. The students who
attended the school came from the adjoining township.
The second schoolhouse, a log building erected in about 1839,
stood on the west part of section 18. Nelson Sparks was the
first teacher.
The First Churches
The Methodist held
their early meetings in New Douglas Township at the home of John
L. Carlock on section 19. The Baptists held their meetings at
the home of Robert Greening on section 19.
The Methodist
South Church was erected in 1867. It was destroyed in the
tornado of 1876, and rebuilt in 1880.
The Baptist Church
was constructed in 1869.
In 1874, the Lutherans erected a
frame church that was destroyed by the tornado. It was
immediately rebuilt.
The Catholics erected their church
in 1870.
The Methodist Church, a brick building, was
erected in 1877.
The Christian Church was erected in
1878.