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Bement

Federal Land Sales

in Bement Township

1835 - 1854

Introduction

Our nation’s beginnings are well documented and well versed. A lessor known albeit

important heritage is how our nation became established on a local level. This booklet

explores the public lands, transferred from Federal to private ownership, which would

become the Village of Bement and eventually Bement Township.

Local history abounds in local lore and Bement’s beginnings are no different. Anecdotal

recollections, which by default became fact, appear almost word-for-word in successive

publications chronicling the settler era of village and township. Today’s unprecedented

ability to research and compare multiple sources not only highlights certain discrepancies,

but also flushes out little known information, nuances completing what had been a partial

understanding of events shaping this period.

To avoid the question of local lore, records of land transactions as recorded by the Federal

Government, State of Illinois, and Piatt County were used when compiling the stages of land

ownership. In writing the commentary, single-source or conflicting-sources of information

were weighed for both accuracy and relevancy before inclusion. The omission of popular

lore does not imply that those events did not happen, but simply that they are best left for

discussion elsewhere. You will find however, that the result of this endeavor provides a rich

detail of the land we call home.

For information on how the data was compiled, or how to write a similar work of your area,

contact us at:

The Bryant House

100 East Wilson

Bement, IL 61813

email: [email protected] All material contained in this pamphlet with the exception of the material on pages 4, 6, and 21, is copyrighted by Patrick Hunter on July 11, 2016,

with all rights reserved. No reproductions of any kind are allowed without prior consent.

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mailto:[email protected]

Index

Lineage of Piatt County ...................................................................................... 1

Bement Township ...................................................................................................... 2

Village of Bement ………………………………………………………………………………………. 2

Federal Land Patents ………………………………………………………………………..……... 3

Military Bounty Land Warrants ............................................................... 5

Bement Township Land Acquisitions

Land Acquisitions through 1837 ……………….……………............................ 7

Map Legend ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7




Village of Bement Land Acquisitions

Bement Township Land Acquired by Henry P. Little …...... 11

Village Land Acquired from Henry P. Little ………………………..... 12

Bement Township Land Acquired by James Millikin ….….. 13

Village Land Acquired from James Millikin ……………………….…. 14

Bement Township Land Acquired by Joseph Bodman .….. 15

Village Land Acquired from Joseph Bodman …………………….…. 16

Bement Township Land Acquired by Lucius B. Wing ….... 17

Village Land Acquired from Lucius B. Wing …..………………….... 18

Reading a Survey Map …………………………………………………………………………….. 19

County Road Designations .………………………………………………………………….. 19

Suggested Reading and Research Sources ……….........................… 20

1822 Survey Map ………………..………..…………………………………………………………….. 21

Although Bement Township was not established until 1859,

it is referenced in this booklet in the present tense in order to

orientate the reader to current boundaries and landmarks.

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Lineage of Piatt County

The land comprising Piatt County has undergone many name changes. Knox County, first

recorded in 1790, covered an immense area of land throughout Ohio, Michigan, Indiana,

Illinois, and Wisconsin. As population densities/needs warranted, counties would be

divided; the existing county name staying with the more developed area. The influx of

settlers redefined territories as well, bringing statehood to Illinois in 1818, and moving its

border fifty-eighty miles further north than originally proposed, (the original border ran

just north of present-day Yorkville). By 1859, all Illinois land was divided into the present-

day counties.

Lineage of Piatt County starting when the French occupied this area:

New France / Province of Canada late 1600’s – 1717* Province of Louisiana 1717 - 1763

British Rule Indian Territory 1763 – 1774*

Province of Quebec 1774 – 1783*

Virginia Territory* Illinois County 1778 – 1783*

United States Rule Virginia Territory 1783 – 1784 Illinois County 1783 – 1784

Northwest Territory 1784 - 1800 Knox County 1790 - 1801 Indiana Territory 1800 - 1809

St. Clair County 1801 - 1812 Illinois Territory 1809 - 1818 Madison County 1812 - 1814

Edwards County 1814 - 1816 Crawford County 1816 - 1819

Illinois State 1818 to present

Clark County 1819 - 1821 Fayette County 1821 - 1827

Territory attached to Shelby County 1827 - 1829 Macon County & territory attached to Tazewell Co. 1829 - 1830 Macon and McClean Counties 1830 - 1839

Macon and DeWitt Counties 1839 - 1841 Piatt County 1841 - present

* Ambiguous records exist citing several versions and dates.

1

Bement Township

Piatt County was initially divided into three electoral precincts: Monticello, Sangamon, and

Okaw. Two precincts were added as population in the county increased: Liberty in 1851 and

Bement in 1858. Precinct or Commission government is based on county - wide governing

rather than localized township rule. The precinct system ended soon after adoption of

township organization on November 8, 1859. The townships formed were Bement, Blue

Ridge, Cerro Gordo, Douglas (Unity), Goose Creek, Liberty (Willow Branch), Monticello,

and Sangamon. Although the second Illinois Constitution of 1848 granted the option of

township organization, several Illinois counties still use the precinct system.

The Enabling Act of 1818 specified that land sales within section 16 of each survey township

be set-aside for school funding. State records show that in November of 1856, the land in

section 16 was sold for $5600.

Village of Bement

The town plat and village name of Bement were recorded on January 1, 1855, by Josiah

Hunt, Chief Engineer for the Great Western Railroad. Hunt, along with a group of investors,

was involved in establishing several towns along future railroad lines. Mattoon, Litchfield,

Fairmont, Catlin, and Bement are examples where Hunt played a prominent role. Street

names in Cerro Gordo reflect those involved in the platting of that town - Durfee and Wait,

as well as those involved with the railroad - Hunt and Carter. Josiah and his wife Maria

purchased the 75-3/4 acres upon which Bement was platted from lands belonging to

Henry P. Little, James Millikin, Joseph Bodman, and L. B. Wing. Land allocations for streets,

alleys, a church, schoolhouse, and public square were donated by the Hunts to the village.

With the exception of Railroad Avenue (now Wilson), the streets retain their original

names. Bowyer was spelt Boyer (both spellings appear in various court records), possibly

named after A. G. Boyer, the County Judge who witnessed Hunts village plat filing. On

March 7, 1855, Hunt sold 7-1/2 blocks of village land to T. J. Carter, Vice-President, and

Superintendent of the Great Western Railroad, of which Edward Bement was Secretary.

The town was surveyed by Piatt County Surveyor James Bryden on the third and fourth of

April, the plat filed April fifth.

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Federal Land Patents

Land on the Western frontier seemed endless. 270 million acres of land, not including the

original 13 colonies, was transferred into United States ownership with the signing of the

Treaty of Paris in 1783. In response to the growing demand for land, the General Land

Office was created in 1812, becoming the Bureau of Land Management in 1946.

When public lands were sold, land ‘patents’ or deeds were issued. Transferring land

ownership from a sovereign (the U.S. Government) to a buyer, patents were the first records

of title to Public Domain Lands. Patents were signed by the President of the United States

until 1833, after which a designated official signed on his behalf. The earliest patent, dated

March 4, 1792, was signed by President George Washington, countersigned by Secretary of

State Thomas Jefferson.

Public Domain Land sales in Illinois were recorded by the State at the time of sale. Receipt

of a Federal Patent could take months, some cases years, after the original sale.

The Patent on the adjacent page was issued to James Milliken.

Certificate Number: 15355

Patentee Name: James Millikin of Vermillion County, Illinois

Land Office: Danville

Legal Land Description: The Whole of Section Eighteen in Township Seventeen North of

Range Six East in the District of Lands subject to sale at Danville, Illinois, containing Six

hundred and Eleven Acres and Seventy-nine hundredths of an Acre.

The body of the document continues; ”… to have and to hold the same, together with all the

rights, privileges, immunities, and appurtenances of whatsoever nature, therefore

belonging, unto the said James Millikin and to his heirs and assigns forever. In testimony

whereof, I, Franklin Pierce President of the United States of America, have caused these

Letters to be made Patent …”

Signatures and Date: First day of March, in the Year of Our Lord one thousand eight

hundred and fifty-five, and of the Independence of the United States the Seventy-ninth. By

the President: Franklin Pierce, H. E. Baldwin Assistant Secretary, J. N. Granger Recorder of

the General Land Office.

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Federal Land Patents

4

Military Bounty Land Warrants

During the Mexican - American War, Congress offered 160 acres of land as an

incentive/reward to privates and non-commissioned officers serving at least one year. The

Scrip Warrant Act of 1847 was titled: “An Act to raise for a limited time an additional

military force, and for other purposes.” Military Land Districts were not created for the

Mexican - American War, the Scrips could be applied to any Public Domain Lands.

The Scrip Warrant Act of 1850 titled: “An Act granting Bounty Land to certain Officers

and Soldiers who have been engaged in the Military Service of the United States”, set aside

land for those with previous military service. Land was not offered for military service after

1855.

The Land Warrant on the adjacent page reads as follows:

Name of Serviceman: Jordon Solomon, rank of private

Served in: First Regiment of the Tennessee Volunteers. This regiment served in the Mexican

American War from 1846 to 1847.

Document Number: 76484

Assignee: Joseph Bodman

Land Office: Springfield

Legal Land Description: The North West quarter of Section twenty-four, in Township

seventeen North, of Range five East, in the District of lands formerly subject to sale at

Danville, now Springfield, Illinois, containing one hundred and sixty acres.

The body of the document continues; ”… to have and to hold the said part of said section of

land, with the appurtenances thereof, unto Joseph Bodman and to is heirs and assigns

forever. In testimony whereof, I, James Buchanan President of the United States of America,

have caused these Letters to be made Patent …”

Signatures and Date: The first day of May in the Year of Our Lord one thousand eight

hundred and fifty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-first. By

the President: James Buchanan, (G.?) Jones Secretary, J. N. Granger Recorder of the General

Land Office.

Although Bodman purchased this land in 1854, the Federal paperwork was not issued until

1857, causing some confusion as in the meantime another individual also claimed title to the

land.

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Military Bounty Land Warrants

6

Bement Township Land Acquisitions through 1837

Clearing and improving a farmstead without legal claim to the land was a risk many early

settlers faced, as public land could not be sold until the Federal Government was given the

rights to do so. This was an obstacle for those living in the Illinois Territory until an Act was

passed by Congress in 1813, granting pre-emptive rights to the early settlers who made

improvements to the land such as tillage or erecting buildings. The earliest recorded land

sale in Bement Township occurred in 1835.

Map Legend:

Each section of land is numbered, starting with 1 at the upper left corner and ending with 36

in the lower left corner. Shaded areas indicate purchased properties. The small rectangle at

the intersection of sections 13, 18, 24, and 19 represents the original plat of Bement.

The heavy dotted line represents the railroad.

Township Land Sales 1835 Through 1837

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Sales resume after a twelve-year lapse. Three events contributing to renewed interest in the

prairie are recovery from the financial crisis of 1837, expansion of the Illinois Central

Railroad, and design improvements to agricultural implements made by John Deere.

Waterways, a primary source of moving goods to market until Illinois railroads were

established, limited population growth to areas around major rivers. The Illinois Central

Rail Road provided access to markets from previously unsettled areas deep within the

prairie. ‘Inland’ towns, those not served by a railroad or waterway floundered, many failed.

Not realizing the wealth of nutrients in prairie soil, many were hesitant to set-up a

homestead in prairie regions, believing the area could only grow grass. Prairie plows were

difficult to use and offered limited results. Design improvements made by John Deere in the

mid 1850’s were pivotal to establishing farmsteads on prairie soils.

Township Land Sales Through 1852

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Confidence in land sales continues to grow in the interior regions of the State as settlers seek

a new life on the frontier. Settling the area has brought changes to the prairie ecosystem: soil

that had not been disturbed is cultivated; prairie fires, a governing factor in limiting

invasive plants and refreshing wildlife habitat, are contained; and native wildlife is seen as

either a food source or a threat that needs to be eliminated. New plants and different

animals populate the area, houses and barns are built, raw prairie becomes farmland.

A reoccurring phrase used when describing a parcel of land being purchased is that “no

improvements have been made”. This seemly trite detail carries a lot of weight. As

mentioned on page 7, if a person made any type of ‘improvement’ to a parcel of land,

perhaps a cabin, fences, or cultivation, then they had first rights to purchase the land when

it became available. “No improvements have been made” meant that the land was free of

prior claim or occupation.


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This is the last year of rapid land sales with most of the remaining land held by the Illinois

Central Railroad. The Federal Government granted close to three-million acres of land in

Illinois to the ICRR, which was then sold to provide the capital needed to fund construction.

The ICRR was the only land-grant railroad in Illinois. The land-grant concept held that as

the railroad was developed, the remaining Federal land would bring a higher price. This did

prove true, as sales of surrounding lands more than offset the value of the grant. Future land

prices far exceed the $1.25 per acre - some parcels selling for as much as $8.00 an acre.

Land sales were fueled by investors as well as frontiersmen; it was estimated that half of the

farmland was rented. Due to poor drainage, some land was considered useless except for

pasture. Unable to cultivate their entire tract of land, many farmers planted fruit orchards

and hardwood groves, which flourished in the prairie soil. Some orchards contained

hundreds of trees - hardwood groves, thousands of trees.


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Bement Township Land Acquired by Henry P. Little

Henry P. Little was born in 1806, in Williamsburg, Massachusetts. His father died when

Henry was 14, leaving him to manage the family farm. He continued working the farm for

most of his life, joined by his daughter and her family in his later years. Toward the end of his

life, Henry moves into Williamsburg proper and remains there until the date of his death,

November 11, 1887. He marries Clarissa Bartlett (1811 – 1879) of Williamsburg, circa 1830.

They have three children: Charles, Ellen, and Henry D. The Little farm is in close proximity

to the Bodman families and in the same general area as where L. B. Wing had lived.

Henry is 48 years old when he ventures into this area with Wing and Bodman to claim land

south of Monticello. After his purchase, Little returns to Williamsburg and continues

farming. His sons eventually settle in the Rockford/Joliet Illinois region. Ellen marries and

later in life lives on the family farm. The 1910 township plat does not record any of this land

as being owned by Little’s heirs.

Township Land Sales - Henry P. Little: 160 acres

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Village Land Acquired from Henry P. Little

Henry P. Little purchased 160 acres in Range 5 (see map on previous page) paying $1.25 in

cash per acre, as recorded by the State of Illinois on March 21, 1854, and the Federal Patents

issued March 1, 1855. Of this, 10 acres were sold to Josiah Hunt for $50 cash, as recorded at

the Piatt County Courthouse on January 4, 1855, and filed February 13, 1855. Hunt

allocates approximately 9-1/8 of the 10 acres to the platting of Bement, comprising 12% of

the original village land. This parcel and additional Little land now comprise 16% of the

current village. Little does not purchase any additional Federal land in the area, nor is it

known of him being involved in the village other than his initial land purchase. The future

Chicago and Paducah Railroad will run along the western border of his property.

Original Town of Bement - Land Acquired from Henry P. Little: 9-1/8 acres

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Bement Township Land Acquired by James Millikin

James Millikin (also recorded as Milliken) was born on August 24, 1827, in Ten Mile,

Washington County, Pennsylvania. Settling in the Danville area circa 1850 as a livestock

dealer, he moves further east to Decatur in 1856, living there until the date of his death,

March 2, 1909. He marries Anna Aston (ca 1833 - 1913) on January 1, 1857. Anna, also from

Washington County, had moved with her family to Decatur in 1855.

James is 27 years old and already a large landowner in Illinois and Iowa when he ventures

into this area to claim land south of Monticello. By 1860, he sells of all his landholdings and

with $75,000 in cash ventures into the banking business under the name of “James Millikin,

Banker”, eventually establishing the Millikin National Bank, now a part of Regions Bank.

He was also part owner of the Union Iron Works in Decatur, which produced agricultural

implements. The Milliken’s are best known for establishing the Milliken University in

Decatur.

Township Land Sales - James Millikin: 932 acres

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Village Land Acquired from James Millikin

James Millikin purchased 932 acres in Range 6 (see map on previous page) paying $1.25 in

cash per acre, as recorded by the State of Illinois on May 10, 1854, and the Federal Patents

issued March 1, 1855. Of this, 73 acres were sold to Josiah Hunt for $300 cash, as recorded at

the Piatt County Courthouse on October 30, 1854, and filed December 9, 1854. Hunt

allocates 41 of the 73 acres to the platting of Bement, comprising 54% of the original

village. This parcel and additional Millikin land now comprise 35% of the current village.

Millikin’s sale to Hunt included the following stipulation, “provided the Great Western Rail

Road Company shall establish a depot near the center of the south line of the premises

herein conveyed.” This explains the location of the original depot and railroad grounds.

Millikin also sold 80 acres adjoining the west side of the village to the Great Western

Railroad for one-dollar.

Original Town of Bement - Land Acquired from James Millikin: 41 acres

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Bement Township Land Acquired by Joseph Bodman

Joseph Bodman was born on September 20, 1819, in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, where he

lived until moving to Piatt County in 1855. Never married, Joseph spends his later years

living with his nephew Sereno’s family until the date of his death, April 20, 1897. Beginning

with Elam in 1853, all five Bodman brothers purchased land in Piatt County. The Bodman

homestead in Williamsburg was in close proximity to the Little farm and in the same

general area as where L. B. Wing had lived.

Joseph is 35 years old when he ventures into this area with Little and Wing to claim land

south of Monticello. He commissions erection of the first village structures in 1855 - housing

for local workmen and a business building. On his farm, Bodman raises a relatively new

breed of dairy cattle, Holstein-Friesian. Known today simply as Holsteins, they were

valuable enough for Joseph to make provisions in his will for each of Sereno’s children to

receive one female from his herd. The 1910 township plat does not record any of this land as

being owned by Bodman’s heirs.

Township Land Sales - Joseph Bodman: 1440 acres (1280 in original purchase)

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Village Land Acquired from Joseph Bodman

Joseph Bodman purchased 1280 acres in Range 5 (see map on previous page) using Military

Bounty Land Warrants, as recorded by the State of Illinois on March 21, 1854, and the

Federal Patents issued January 10, 1855, April 2, 1855, and May 1, 1857. Of this, 3-1/2 acres

were sold to Josiah Hunt for $25 cash, as recorded at the Piatt County Courthouse on

December 6, 1854, and filed December 9, 1854. Hunt allocates the 3-1/2 acres to the

platting of Bement, comprising 5% of the original village land. This parcel and additional

Bodman land now comprise 15% of the current village. Bodman sells a right-of-way width

of 66 feet through his properties, to the Great Western Railroad on January 17, 1855 for $50

cash. He buys 2-1/2 blocks of village land from Hunt for $100 cash, as recorded at the Piatt

County Courthouse on March 7 1855, and filed April 10, 1855. Joseph purchases an

additional 160 acres of Federal land using Military Bounty Land Warrants as recorded by

the State of Illinois on July 23, 1857, and the Federal Patents issued April 17, 1860.

Original Town Of Bement - Land Acquired from Joseph Bodman: 3-1/2 acres

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Bement Township Land Acquired by Lucius B. Wing

Lucius Bliss Wing was born on November 11, 1822, in Windham, Vermont. Moving with his

family to Charlemont, Massachusetts in 1837, he eventually settles in Newark, Ohio, in

1853, living there until the date of his death, February 1, 1902. He marries Mary Mayhew

(1834 - 1917) of Charlemont, on May 31, 1855. They have three children of which two

survive to adulthood: Charles and Mary. Lucius is a livestock dealer and once lived in the

same general area as the Little and Bodman families.

Lucius is 32 years old when he ventures into this area with Little and Bodman to claim land

south of Monticello. Although he never established full time residency here, for a time his

son Charles did. Together they raised registered shorthorn cattle at their Bement farm.

Later in his life, L. B. Wing becomes a trustee of Ohio State University for 21 years, serving

14 of those years as chairman of its executive committee, and twice as president of the Board

of Trustees. The 1910 township plat does not record any of this land as being owned by

Wing’s heirs.

Township Land Sales - Lucius B. Wing: 818 acres

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Village Land Acquired from Lucius B. Wing

L. B. Wing purchased 818 acres in Range 6 (see map on previous page) paying $1.25 in cash

per acre and by using Military Bounty Land Warrants, as recorded by the State of Illinois

on March 21, 1854, and the Federal Patents issued March 1, 1855, and April 2, 1855. Of this,

approximately 22-1/8 acres were sold to Josiah Hunt for one-dollar, as recorded at the

Piatt County Courthouse on December 8, 1854, and filed January 22, 1855. Hunt allocates

the 22-1/8 acres to the platting of Bement, comprising 29% of the original village land.

This parcel and additional Wing land now comprise 34% of the current village.

Charles Wing (1858 - 1926) moves to Bement with his wife Alice (1860 - 1925) and

children circa 1883. Alice was a graduate of Agricultural Studies from Ohio State

University, a background that was surely put to use on the Wing farm. While living here,

Charles serves on the Bement School Board. They return to Ohio prior to 1900.

Original Town of Bement - Land Acquired from Lucius B. Wing: 22-1/8 acres

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Reading a Survey Map

The Land Ordinance of 1785 divided the Northwest Territory into survey segments called

townships. Unlike our familiar civil townships, these are based on a grid system of vertical

and horizontal lines known as the Public Land Survey System. The vertical lines are called

Principal Meridians and horizontal lines Base Lines. Township numbers indicate a vertical

distance from the Base Line; range numbers a horizontal distance from the Principle

Meridian. Survey townships are typically thirty-six square miles, six miles long on each side.

Bement civil township lies in Survey Township 17 North of the Centralia Baseline, Ranges 5

and 6 East of the Third Principle Meridian. It comprises 48 sections of land; 42 measuring

one-mile square (640 acres) and six fractional sections (less than 640 acres) along the

western border of Range 6.

Each section of land is divisible into smaller segments, called aliquot parts. The first division

is into quarters (4 parts per section, typically 160 acres each), then quarter-quarters (16

parts per section, typically 40 acres each), and finally lots, which may be any fractional size

not divisible into 640 (an example would be a parcel of 78 acres).

Country Road Designations

Country roads in Piatt County are also based on a grid system. Road names are given as

coordinates starting at the southwest corner of the county and increasing in number as one

travels to the northeast corner. Each mile is given a number value in increments of 100.

Partial numbers, 125 for example, represent fractional parts of a mile (one and one-fourth

miles in this example).

Starting on the southern county line at 000, east-west roads are named ‘North Road’ to

indicate their distance in miles north of the southern county line. Likewise, staring on the

western county line at 000, north-south roads are named ‘East Road’ to indicate their

distance east of the western county line.

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Suggested Reading and Research Sources

Counties of Illinois: Their Origin and Evolution

By: Louis L. Emmerson

Decisive Dates in Illinois History

By: Lottie E. Jones

Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Piatt County By: Francis M. Shonkwiler

History of Piatt County By: Emma Piatt

Illinois: The Origins By: Clarence W. Alvord

Illinois the Story of the Prairie State

By: Grace Humphrey

Past and Present of Piatt County Illinois

By: Charles McIntosh

Perrin’s History of Illinois By: J. Nick Perrin

The Bement Story: The Bement Centennial of 1955 Available at the Bement Public Library

The Good Life in Piatt County: A History of Piatt County, Illinois Issued by the Piatt County Board of Supervisors

Ancestory.com

http://www.ancestory.com

Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States

http://dsl.richmond.edu

Federal Township Plats of Illinois http://landplats.ilsos.net

Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales http://www.ilsos.gov

Piatt County Courthouse: County Clerk’s Office

U.S. Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management http://www.glorecords.blm.gov

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1822 Survey Map of Township 17 North of the Centralia Baseline, Range 6 East of the 3rd Principal Meridian (redrawn in 1857)

Survey townships, consisting of thirty-six sections of land (see page 19, ‘Reading a Survey

Map’) are not always representative of civil townships. The civil township of Bement

encompasses forty-eight sections of land: thirty-six sections in Range 6 (as shown below)

and twelve sections in Range 5 (not included in this map, but depicted in the township maps

inside this booklet).

The village of Bement will be established at the intersection of sections 18 and 19 of Range 6

( ) and sections 13 and 24 of Range 5 (not shown). The free-hand markings on the map are

areas of timber, the Township Cemetery is denoted by a star ( ).

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