History of Olive Township, Madison County, Illinois
Madison County ILGenWeb Coordinator - Beverly Bauser
Olive Township (Township 6, Range 6) was
named in honor of the Olive family, who were early settlers. The
township is bounded on the north by Macoupin County, on the east
by New Douglas, on the south by Alhambra, and on the west by
Omphghent Townships. Silver Creek flows through the eastern and
central part of the township.
The first settlers of the
township were Abram Carlock, John Herrington, James Street,
James Keown, Thomas Kimmett, Samuel Voyles, David Hendershott,
and Samuel McKittrick. They settled there between 1817 - 1819.
Abram Carlock was the first. Carlock settled on section 34 in
1817, where he lived a few years and then moved. His cabin stood
near a spring on the north and west sides of Silver Creek. He
made a small clearing east of the cabin. An old settler stated
that in 1833, saplings as large as a man’s arm had grown on
Carlock’s homestead.
The next settler was John Herrington
Jr. He built a large cabin in section 7, in 1817. It had no
opening for light except the door. The door was made of heavy
puncheons, and swung like double barn doors. When securely
closed, the cabin was inaccessible. In 1819, he sold out to
Samuel McKittrick, who entered one of the first tracts in the
township on August 18, 1819 – 45 acres in section 6. That same
day, James Street entered 80 acres in section 36. Mr. McKittrick
planted an orchard in 1819 or 1820, and in 1882, one of his
trees had a circumference of 8 feet, 8 inches. In 1827, Ephraim
Best, a native of North Carolina, bought the McKittrick place,
where he lived until his death in 1876. Best and his wife raised
ten children. He was Constable for several years, and for a
period of time, the Methodists held their meetings at his home.
James Street settled on section 36 as early as 1818. He was
one of the first land holders in the township. Street made
powder and combs – two articles that were needed by the
pioneers. After a while, he sold out and left.
The first
settlements in the northeast part of the township were made by
Samuel Voyles and David Hendershott, in 1818. They built cabins
near each other on section 13, on the west side of Silver Creek.
Voyles was from South Carolina, and raised a large family.
Hendershott lived there only a short time, then moved to Iowa.
Thomas Kimmett, an eastern man, settled in section 12 in
1819, where he lived a few years and then returned to the east.
James Keown Sr., a half-brother to John Keown, settled on 80
acres in section 35, as early as 1819. He later moved to Smart’s
Prairie, where he died in 1861. He was a soldier in the War of
1812, and fought in the battle of New Orleans.
Wiley
Smart located south of the Vincent place, a short distance, in
1819 or 1820.
Isham Vincent moved from North Carolina to
Kentucky, and from there to Madison County in 1817. He first
stopped in Troy, where he taught one of the early schools. After
3 years, he came to Olive Township, and settled on section 36.
He erected a cabin on the north bank of a stream. His house
stood due north of where the graveyard now is. His home was on
the Hillsboro and St. Louis wagon road, and for years this was a
general stopping place. He kept a barrel of whiskey in his
cabin, and was always ready to supply travelers with a drink. He
had a horse mill for a number of years, and made a good quantity
of flour. He was a “Hard-Shell Baptist,” and for many years
meeting were conducted at his home. Vincent was a Justice of the
Peace, and died on February 26, 1846, at the age of 77. His wife
survived him only 11 days, leaving a family of 8 children –
Elizabeth (married Peter Long), Mary (married John Keown),
Barbara (married William W. Pearce), and Martha (married Isaac
W. Pearce and then William Eves). The cemetery south of the
Vincent homestead was established by this family. A son, Edwin,
was the first buried there in about 1824.
James S. Breath
settled in section 36. He lived there for some time, than moved
to the Marine settlement.
John W. Keown came with his
brother, Andrew, in 1825. He married Polly N. Vincent, daughter
of Isham Vincent, and settled in section 25, where he lived
until his death. He raised a family of 4 children – Larkin C.,
Isham, Margaret (married Matthias Pearce), and John.
Thomas Porter Keown settled east of his brother, John, on
section 25, where he lived until his death in 1867. Previous to
this time he lived in Alhambra Township. His children were:
William H., Margaret (married Jesse Olive), Alfred, Sinai
(married Joseph Ricks), and Mary (married Thomas Tabor).
Robert Keown settled in the edge of the timber, southwest of
Lewis Ricks place, in 1829, where he resided until he died in
1856. He had two children – Hester (married S. H. Farris), and
Robert.
The Keowns all came to the township on pack
horses. Robert and his wife came in the dead of winter. They
were a young married couple. After Robert’s death, she married
Lewis Ricks. Her death occurred July 1, 1875.
Tobias
Reaves, a native of North Carolina, came to the township in
1828, a bought a small farm from a man named Ringo, in section
36. Reaves lived there many years, and died at his son’s home in
New Douglas, October 1876. He and his wife had raised 19
children.
Peter Long farmed in section 25. He was a
Baptist minister, and was married four times. To later moved to
Old Ripley in Bond County.
Elisha Sacket was an early
settler of Olive Township. He never owned land, but lived in the
township until about 1850. Joe Ricks and his wife, Ellen, came
to the township in 1829 and settled on section 34, where they
lived until 1845. He then joined the Mormons and moved to Utah.
Lewis Ricks was born in North Carolina in October 1800. His
father, Jonathan Ricks, moved to Kentucky in 1802, where he
lived and died. Lewis married Mary Anderson in Tennessee, and in
1833 came to Madison County. The following year he built a cabin
on section 26 of Olive Township. He was twice married, and
raised 10 children by his first wife. For many years he was
Deputy County Surveyor. He taught school at an early day, and
was a Representative in the State Legislature in 1857.
Abel Olive married Elizabeth, a sister of Joe Ricks, and the
brothers-in-law came to Olive Township together. Olive located
northeast of Ricks, where he resided until his death. His
children were: Jesse, Joel H., Jonathan, Frank, William, and
Charity (married Henry Tabor). Abel Olive was a Justice of the
Peace. John Olive, his brother, was also an early settler, but
lived there only a short time. James Olive came to Alton in 1833
at the age of 16. The following Spring, he moved to Olive
Township, and married the widow of James Tabor. After the
marriage, he farmed on his wife’s place in section22, where he
lived until 1845 or 1846. They moved to Hancock County,
Illinois. When the Mormon trouble began, he returned to Madison
and lived in Olive Township. He lost his wife in April 1864,
then remarried Mrs. Mary Shumate, widow of Michael Shumate. He
served as Justice of the Peace and Supervisor of the township.
John A. Wall, settled in the township in 1830 or 1831. He
then sold to James Keown, who lived there until his death.
Other early settlers in Olive Township include John Hoxsey,
Mr. Sackett, Jarrett Cudd, and John Coleson.
The first
cemetery on the north side of section 34, on the William Olive
place, was established in 1834. The first grave there belonged
to George W. Olive, son of Abel Olive.
The Early Schools
A schoolhouse was constructed on section 26. John W. Reynolds
was the first to teach, and later Lewis Ricks taught in the
school. The first school on the west side of Silver Creek was
taught in an abandoned cabin on section 34, by Matilda Thompson.
The Early Churches
The Methodists held their meetings at
the homes of Ephraim Best and Tobias Reaves. Among the early
preachers were Ballard, Renfro, and Collins.
The Baptist
held their meetings in the home of Isham Vincent. William Jones,
Thomas Ray, and James Street were the early preachers.
The Christian Church was erected in 1862 on section 34. The
Lutheran Church was built in 1870 on section 18.