This is the smallest township in the county, containing only twelve full sections, although there are several fractional ones joining the Illinois river and Sugar creek, which form the eastern boundary line. The greater part of the land is in T. 1 N. R. 1 E., with that part of T. 2 N., R. 1 E, that is west of Sugar creek as far north as the south line of section 7. Its greatest length is about ten miles and the greatest width three and a half miles. It is bounded north, east and south by Browning township and the Illinois River respectively, and west by Bainbridge and Rushville. The surface is broken, with the exception of a narrow strip of Illinois bottom. The soil is rich and productive. In the census of 1880, it is credited with having 38 farms and 490 population including the town.

Military Claims

These lands were all subjected to military claims, by the soldiers of the war of 1812, and the following are a few that was located in T. 1 N. R. 1 E.: December 3, 1817, Halzen Richardson, N. E. 1/4 section 6, and William Bartlett, N. W. 1/4 of a section 6 on the same date. December 17, 1817, Francis Hutchison, N. E. 1/4 of section 18; January 27, 1818, William Aanderson, N. W. 1/4 of section 9; August 4, 1818, Stephen Page, N. W. 1/4 of section 17, and March 24, 1818, John Glass, S. W. 1/4 of section 14.

Early Settlers

The first settler in the township was James Lanny, an Irishman. He located about half a mile northwest of Fredericksville in 1825. He had a wife and three children. In 1826, his wife died, and it is related that this was the second death in the county. He stopped here but a few years, and moved to Arkansas. Andrew Vance located where Fredericksville now stands about the same time. His old log cabin stood there for many years, as a witness of his settlement. Timothy Harris was also an early settler. Edward White and his son-in-law Doolittle, came at an early date and located in the northern portion of the township. White settled the Darnell place on section 6, and Doolittle settled the Brines place on section 31 of T. 2 N. 2 R. 1 E. It was through this township that most of the early settlers passed on their way into the county, after crossing the river at Beardstown, and quite a number stopped within its limits for a short time, until they became acquainted with the country. That being the case, it is a difficult matter for us to learn the names of many who first located here. There are but few very old settlers in the township, the earliest of those having located here as late as 1834, nearly ten years after the first settlement was made, and they know but comparatively little about the first arrivals. Abraham Hollingsworth was among the earliest settlers who became a permanent resident of the county. He located on section 6 April 7, 1827. He was a native of Maryland, born in 1767, and came to Illinois with his family in 1824, locating in Morgan county, where he remained until his advent here. He lived on his improvement in Frederick about two years, and then entered land and moved north of Rushville, settling on a small stream which has ever since been known as Hollingsworth branch. He was one of the early Justices of the peace, and died in 1837. He had a family of six sons and three daughters, all of whom had families, and lived to a good old age. Gabriel B., residing in Browning, at the age of 71 years, is the only one of the family now living.

John D. Wren, a Kentuckian, settled just north of Pleasant View in 1829, and became an early settler in Frederick. Lyman Utter came early in the thirties, and settled in T. 1 north, R. 1 east. He died several years ago, and had but one child, a daughter, who became the wife of Jesse Darnell, but died a few years after her marriage. Samuel Heaton settled the Bellomy place, and had lived there a number of years, when he sold out to Mr. B.

Jesse Darnell, a native of Ohio, came in 1834, and is still residing on section 6, one of the old and respected citizens of the county.

June 22, 1832, Anthony Messerer, a native German, came to the county and entered the greater part of section 6 of T. 1 north, R. 1 east, and immediately located on it. He also purchased a claim of a man named Saucer, who was then living on the place, and had a cabin and an acre or two cleared. Messerer reared a small family, and two of his children are now living in the county--Elizabeth, wife of H. M. Deane, in Fredericksville; and Louise, wife of B. F. Redman, on the old homestead. He died in April, 1859, and his wife survived until 1881.

Another German, Jacob Jacoba, located on the outskirts of the village of Fredericksville in 1833; he died there in 1844, and his widow still survives. Andrew, a son of his, was one of Fredericksville's merchants, and others of the children are residents of the county.

Thomas Bellomy, a native of Virginia, emigrated to the county, landing in the spring of 1835, and, as stated above, bought out Samuel Heaton in section 6, where he settled and remained until his death in 1876. He had a family of thirteen children, nine of whom are living, and all but two in the county. Josiah F. resides on the old homestead.

Roswell Brines, who is a pioneer of 1827, located on his place in T. 2 north, R. 1 east, at an early day, and is still living. The first years that he spent in the county (1827-'28) were in the Chadsey settlement, with Acel, his brother, and James Stillwell, who came with him to the county. He married Delila, a daughter of John Norton, who came to Schuyler as early as 1830, and remained about one year. She is also living. Brines has seven children living.

Walter A. J. Black, a Virginian, came in 1837 and settled in Bainbridge. In 1852 he moved to Fredericksville, where he still resides. He had an early mill on Crooked creek, ran a ferry from Beardstown to Fredericksville in 1848-'49, and has served several years as supervisor of this township.

John Utter deserves mention in this work as an early resident of the state. He is a native of New York, and came with his father, Henry Utter, to the Illinois territory in 1815, settling in what is now Wabash county. He was born in 1810, being five years of age when he came to this country. He has lived in the most eventful period of our nation's history, and has seen the state that was then a wilderness, transformed as it were by magic into a great and populous commonwealth. He purchased the place he now resides on in 1838 of William Skirven. It had been pre empted by a man named Miller, and a man named Ruby had also lived on the place before he became owner.

We have thus sketched a few of the earliest and most prominent settlers in the township. There was no school-house built until the one at Fredericksville was erected, and there never has been a house of worship in the township. Schuyler City was the name of a little place laid out on Sugar creek, in section four, some years ago. There was a landing made and a warehouse built at the mouth of the creek, and some goods were sold there, but the place is now a thing of the past.

Board of Supervisors

We append a list of the supervisors who have represented Frederick township:
1854 - Anthony Messerer
1859 - Jesse Darnell
1860 - W. A. J. Black
1866 - Charles M. Grimwood
1869 - Jesse Darnell
1872 - Emanuel Hinderer
1875 - Walter A. J. Black
1876 - Jesse Darnell
1881 - John Hinton
1882 - Herman C. Schultz

Excerpted from The Combined History of Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois, 1882
Transcribed by Robin Petersen for Schuyler County ILGenWeb

Copyright 1999, 2000 Robin L. W. Petersen; all rights reserved. For personal use only. Commercial use of the information contained in these
pages is strictly prohibited without prior permission. If copied, this copyright must appear with the information.
 
 

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