Tonti township was named from the Chevalier De Tonti, a contemporary of
Joliet, and was one of the early French explorers of Illinois. It is north
of Salem and its survey numbers are town 3 north, range 2 east. It has no
towns within its borders and is crossed in the southeast corner by the
Chicago branch of the Illinois Central Railroad, having one station, Tonti,
a hamlet of four or five houses, a store, a saw-mill and a fruit warehouse.
The first settler of Tonti township was William Pursley, who settled
on section 14 in 1820, but did not enter any land until 1823, in which year
he entered the west half of the northwest quarter of section 14. He deeded
the land to his wife, who was Miss Lydia Little. She was the heroine of the
rescue of Thomas Higgins in his desperate encounter with the Indians. The
following is an account of the fight as given by Governor Reynolds in his
pioneer history of Illinois:
"Thomas Higgins was born in Barren
county, Kentucky, in 1790. He came to Illinois with his relatives in 1807,
and located on Silver creek, near the Bradsley's. He received a very limited
education, as his parents were in humble circumstances, and he himself was
not much in love with a school-house. He possessed a good mind, but would,
in defiance of danger or anything else, employ himself in harmless mischief,
yet he was as brave a man as ever existed. He was in his manhood, very
strong, muscular and active. He was not so very tall, but compactly formed
for great strength and activity. During the whole War of 1812 he was
actively engaged on the frontiers in defending the settlements. I personally
knew him to be a member of the company commanded by Capt. William B.
Whitesides, in most of the war. In 1814 he joined another company and was
one of the party under command of Lieut. John Journey at Hillsfort, situated
six or eight miles southwest of the present town of Greenville in Bond
county. Journey had eleven men in his corps, and on the 20th of August,
1814, Indian signs were discovered near the fort, and next morning at
daybreak, Journey and party mounted and went out to reconnoitre the country.
They had not marched far before they entered an ambuscade of a large party
of Indians. The warriors fired on them and Journey and three of his men were
killed instantly, William Burges and John Boucher wounded, Boucher slightly.
The horse of Higgins was shot in the neck and fell to the ground, but soon
rose again. Higgins remained a moment "to get a pull at them," as he said.
He took deliberate aim at an Indian and shot him dead. He then mounted his
horse and was about to return to the fort, when a familiar voice hailed him
from the grass, and said, "Tom, you won't leave me?" Higgins hollowed out to
him to "come on." "I can't, my leg is smashed to pieces," answered Burges.
Higgins dismounted instantly and was getting the wounded man on his horse,
but the horse scared and ran off. Higgins told Burges to limp off on three
legs and he would protect him. Burges crawled off through the grass and
saved himself, while Higgins was left behind to fight the most bloody and
terrible battle that ever the same number of men three Indians and one white
man were engaged in. Higgins had loaded his gun, as soon as he had killed
the Indian, and was ready for the enemy again, but all at once three Indians
made their appearance near him. He saw a small ravine close to him and ran
for it, so he could defend himself against so many Indians. While he was
running, he discovered for the first time that his leg failed him; he was
wounded at the first fire but did not know it at the time. One of the
Indians was a very large and stout man as large as Higgins. The others were
small and not so courageous as the large one. Higgins was satisfied he must
receive the fire of the large Indian, and attempted to dodge it, but the
bullet lodged in his thigh, and he fell, but rose instantly. By this time
the other two had also fired at him, and both balls hit him. He fell, badly
wounded, but soon again was on his feet, with his loaded gun in his hand.
The Indians threw down their guns as they had not time to load them again
and rushed, whooping and yelling on Higgins, with their spears, tomahawks
and knives. When they advanced near him, he presented his gun at them and
that kept them off a while. Higgins often told me that the large Indian was
as brave as a lion, he could not daunt him or intimidate him in the least,
but when the two small ones came near him they quailed under his furious
looks. They could not look him in the face, "but the large Indian could look
the devil in the face," as Higgins expressed it. The bold Indian was rushing
on him, and he shot him dead. It is supposed that the large Indian did not
believe Higgins's gun loaded, or he would not have rushed on certain death.
The Indian had a great soldier (Higgins) to contend with. When the other
Indians saw their main man killed, it made them more fierce. They raised the
war whoop louder and rushed with greater vigor on poor wounded Higgins, who
had in his body four Indian balls, and had lost much blood, was weak and
almost exhausted, had an empty gun and no other weapon. He was near many
Indian warriors besides the two pressing on him, who were armed with spears,
tomahawks and knives, and were strong, having lost no blood, nor were they
wounded as Higgins was. They gave Higgins many flesh wounds, as his shirt
and body were literally cut to pieces. One of the Indians threw a tomahawk
at him, cutting his ear nearly off, and laid the bone of his head and side
of his neck entirely bare. This blow knocked him down, and when they rushed
on him with their spears, he kicked them off. When one of the Indians
presented his spear at the breast of Higgins, while he was stretched on the
ground, he caught the spear and the Indian pulling it, raise Higgins up by
it. Then it was that he took his gun and literally knocked the brains, out
of one of the Indians. This blow broke the skull of the Indian and likewise
Higgins's gun. It was shattered to pieces, and the barrel was bent. Then he
had but one Indian to fight, but he was nearly exhausted. During most of
this fight, it was in sight of the fort, and a woman, a Mrs. Pursley, became
excited, and said she could not stand to see so brave a man as Higgins
murdered by the Indians. She mounted her husband's horse, and started to his
rescue. The men in the fort could not see a woman go alone and followed her.
As soon as the Indian fighting Higgins saw the rangers coming, he fled. They
found Higgins prostrated on the ground, nearly dead, cut and mangled, and
almost torn to pieces.
Governor Reynolds states that Higgins never
fully recovered and that he received a pension to the full amount of the
law. Such a woman was the first white woman to live in Tonti township. Some
of her descendants still live in this county. In 1823 William Marshall
settled in the east part of Tonti township. He was a farmer, teacher,
Justice of the Peace and a fiddler. It is told of him that he would walk to
the home of a bride-to-be, perform the marriage ceremony, and then take his
fiddle, play all night for the wedding dance and often the fee was not more
than "two bits." Marshall was the first County Surveyor. In 1838 he moved to
near what is now Fairman in Carrigan township, where he died. John Eddington
also came to Tonti in 1823. William Nichols also settled in the northwest
part of the township in 1823. He owned one slave and moved to Missouri in
1826. William Marshall bought his place, which afterward was owned by John
S. Martin, who was an enterprising, intelligent man of considerable means
and who owned at his death about two thousand acres of land in the
neighborhood of this farm. The Nichols land is still in the Martin family.
John S. Martin was the father of Gen. James S. Martin, who commanded the One
Hundred and Eleventh Illinois Infantry in the Civil war. John S. Martin died
at Alma in 1865. Thomas Allmon came from Tennessee in 1827. He was the
founder of the Allmon family in this county and from him is derived the name
of the Allmon peach, noted in this county, as one of the most perfect of
cling peaches. John Davidson was a settler in 1828 and lived in this and
Carrigan township many years. Robert Nichols improved a farm in this
township in 1823 and lived on it until he died in 1836. He was the eldest of
eighteen children, several of whom lived in this county.
Britton
Smith came to Tonti in 1827. When he came to the township, there were only
seven families in the township, he making the eighth. They were the Widow
Pursley, a sketch of whom is given above, William Marshall, Thomas Allmon.
John Eddington, Ross Jones, John Davidson and Robert Nichols. Mordecai and
Britton Smith came to Salem in 1829 and their father, Abraham Smith,
followed them to Marion county in 1831 and settled in Tonti township, where
he died in 1854. Britton was a stage driver on the Vincennes and St. Louis
route a long time. He afterward married and settled on section 5, where he
died. Israel Jennings moved from Walnut Hill and settled on section 31 about
1831.
James Black, of whom mention is made in the county section,
settled on section 17, in 1831. He raised a family of ten children and the
Blacks and their descendants are allied to many of the best families in the
county. Charles Purcell came from Tennessee in 1832 and settled on land in
section 2. He died here in 1846. He raised a family of eight children, five
sons and three daughters, one of the sons, Thomas, still living on the old
home, enjoying in old age the fruits of a well spent life.
J. D.
Gray, a Methodist minister located on section 17 in 1840 and was the first
minister settled in the township. Lemuel Ballance came in 1836 and was the
founder of the Ballance family of this township of whom there are but few
left. Gen. Josiah Woodward came from Ohio in 1840 and settled in Tonti, but
afterward went back to Ohio. His son, Charles, who died a couple of years
ago, lived on the place until about 1902 or 1903. William Woodward, of
Salem, and Jay Woodward, of Tonti, are the grandsons of General Woodward.
The first school-house was a log, structure built in the heavy
timber on section 10. William Marshall was the first teacher. The Baptists
built the first church near the school house quite early in the forties. It
was of logs and was long since replaced by a neat frame church known as
Fredonia. Cubbage Chapel, a neat frame church, was built afterward on the
Fredonia road by the Methodist people. Both have good membership and have
exercised a wholesome influence. Moriah church is also in this township and
has exerted a good influence in its neighborhood. It also is a Methodist
church, but when not in use like the others is open to any respectable
minister.
The Borden farm in this township is one of the notable
things of the county. Mr. W. L. Borden, son of Gail Borden of condensed milk
fame and a successor to his father in the business, purchased a tract of
about one thousand acres of land and improved it with fine buildings as a
sort of summer home. Here he built dwellings for himself and for his help;
built barns, mills, poultry houses, carriage houses, etc., so that
approaching one thinks he is surely coming to a village. Mr. Borden spent
over one hundred thousand dollars beautifying the Borden farm and as he once
said to the writer, "just for the satisfaction of having a place where he
could retire for a few months each year and rest and be free from business
cares." The place is still kept up by his heir.
During the building
of the Illinois Central Railroad through this township, a sensation was
caused by finding, the dead body of a man hid in a shock of fodder, by a
farmer. The circumstances were these: During the winter the farmer had
occasion to haul out fodder to feed his stock. Approaching a shock of fodder
he observed a pair of boots sticking out from under the shock and thought
some one had hidden them there and was congratulating himself upon finding a
good pair of boots. Imagine his horror upon pulling them out of the fodder
to find the dead body of a laborer. The dead man was supposed to have been
killed by other laborers on the railroad and hidden in the fodder. The
mystery was never cleared up.
Extracted 27 Mar 2020 by Norma Hass from 1909 Brinkerhoff's History of Marion County, Illinois, pages 158-162.