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Thomas Gray Moved Into Bonpas Creek Area In 1810(Gray Township as taken from i Pnyno, Noah Davis, Mr. ITon-Write County History 1883.)1 he late Charles L. Jonnings. better known as “Done” wrote a very complete history of Gray township, from which pertinent parts have been taken.It is situated in the Northeast corner of White County, 3 miles wide and to miles long, smallest township in the county. Was originally covered with timber,sley, Thomas Matthews.About 182(1, James Gray, a brother of Thomas, came to the locality and platted the town, west of the mouth of Bonpas. lie was the first to erect a cabin in I lie town, assisted by James Thrash, Laban Payne, Noah Davis, and Mr. Hensley. His brother-in-law, Robert Walden, started a trading post and bybut is now clean'd and used ex- i 1830, the town was growing fast, teusivi'lv for farming. ' including Henry Hardin, RichardI he earliest residents settled McKinney, John Bell, Jacob Vin-jn or near whot is now Gra.vville. yard, James Higginson and WI1-B.y the oarh WOO's trappers, In- Ham Ilallam. To the north*lived bum scouts and frontiersmen | Haliam. To the north lived had settled their differences withi Thomas Kellott, in Edwards t ie local Indians, whore once County, and to the south, Rich the 1belligerent Pottawntnmios ard Davis, Bill Crawford, Wm. lived, and fought a war of their Dunlap, Peter Kershaw and Wil-mvn- . liani Martin.in isoa I'bomas Gray, a Vir- Settlers gininn, came to White County vjj1(,and in 1810 moved to Bonpas, a small settlement miles from tlie mouth of Bonpas Creek. He raised lings and took the first boat load to New Orleans. Such names as Jonathan Shelby. Thomas Carney, Jones, Hugh Ronalds, and Caleb Dickinson, all took land grants in this settlement, which was later to lie Grayvillc.Till' log cabins began to spring up, neighbors helping eaeli new settler to “raise the one room cabins, with perhaps a lean-to on one side. Game was plentiful, along with hominy and samp, corn bread, pork, pumpkin and wild honey.living between Gray-lind Carmi, in 1831, wore John Taylor, James B. Davis, Richard Davis, Sam Potter, Josso Lay. Ben Anderson, Abner Driggers, Wm. Whit nail, James Davenport, Samuel Hughes, JackMcCown, James Johnson. Sr., John Hasty, Major Alexander Phillips, John Graham, Walter Higdon, Bradford Rudolph, Aaron Williams, John Jones, and Mr. Gilt's.In 1831 several went to Carmi to hoar A lira ham Lincoln, the Whig elector for the Harrison and Tyler Ticket. In 1832, the Blaekhawk War took men from tlie community, but the Potta-wotamies refused to join Blaekhawk, and returned to their place along tile Wabash.The panic of 1810 hart jts of. feet on tlie economy, and from 1812 to ISM all tlie businesses of Grayville wore practically gone. In the next year tilings begun to improve, and gradually business began to thrive again.tn 1813 there was a religious revival, and people turned to God. Liberty Church, now called Union, was organized in 1833. Baptist Prodestinarian Church organized in 1837, or 1838; Meth-| odist Episcopal about 1837; Cum• Borland Presbyterian about 1830; Christian, about 18-10; Evangelical about 1870, and the Catholic Church in 187-1.Fraternal organizations began to he formed. Shelia Lodge No. 200 A.F, A.M. was chartered in 1830. Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1852 as Opal Lodge No. 09; Sons of Temperance in18 10, Royal Templars of Temperance in 1880. They failed to continue.Business PictureIn two decades, Grayville had grown from one store, to a business district. Picture the community during t tie ten years prior to tlie Civil War.Mr. Aimer Carey, who came to Gravville in 1817, had a saw mill; Mr, Steward. Mr, Lanier-man and Mi. Carey established Mu' Empire Mill in 1855. In 1852 Mr, S. 11. Blood Sr. moved to GravvilM. to join his brother Mr, Addison Blond, head sawyer in a sawmill operated bv Mr. Weed, Mi. Carey and Mr. Jolly. In 1858 J. E. Chute opened the Grayville Picture i ktllorv. Mr, Hugh Blair was engaged in tlie mercantile business and in 1805 Mr. Samuel Blair was steamboating on the Wa bash. In IS I t Lorenzo Boord had a tannery and harness shop. James and Albert Coles ran a livery stable, on Main Street buib in 1855, William Spaulding made buggies and James and Francis Coulter were carpenters, building many frame houses, replacing the log ones.John W. Coulter opened a steam furniture factory, in 185C. Jonathan Eastwood cameto(Continued On Page 2)Grayville GrowsAfter White County was organized, in 1815, Grayville was not officially a town, but was growing. Other names were added to tin; population. George Wohh, Jesse Coulter and wife, Robert Coulter and family, a Mr. Covington, James Thrash, LabanOUR FIRST REAL USEFOR HARDWAREWAS JUST ASTivyrnrtnT n ktt
Newspaper Details
Carmi Times
Carmi, Illinois, US
Thu, Dec 09, 1965
Page 96
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USA 19 Nov 2023
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