Month: February 2020

The Randolph Society Foundation Board is pleased to announce that Thomas Mather, a celebrated business owner and statesman with a keen sense of social responsibility, will be inducted into the 2020 class of honorees.

Thomas Mather, a descendant of the famed New England family of ministers and scholars, was born in Connecticut in 1795. As a young man he moved to New York to embark on a mercantile career, partnering with a Manhattan-based merchant who had property interests in Illinois. Inspired, Thomas moved to Kaskaskia in 1818. The new state capital had a robust and growing economy, as well as a prized location with easy river access for shipping goods. For a young merchant like Thomas, the territory offered exceptional promise. He joined a mercantile community that already included William Morrison’s bustling dry goods firm and Pierre Menard’s fur trading enterprise. With three fellow eastern transplants, Stacy Opdyke, Edmund Roberts, and James Lea Lamb, Thomas established a new mercantile business, Mather, Lamb, & Co. The firm not only supplied goods locally but also sent merchandise as far as New Orleans.

Thomas was also drawn to another prominent aspect of life in Kaskaskia: politics. In 1820, he was elected to represent Randolph County in the Illinois General Assembly. He would go on to serve multiple terms as both a state representative and state senator, including a term as speaker of the house. In 1822, pro-slavery advocates attempted to call a constitutional convention, planning to fully legalize slavery in Illinois. Thomas was firmly allied with Governor Coles and the abolitionist faction that opposed a convention. He supported anti-slavery publications like the Edwardsville Spectator both publicly and financially, and he was a key leader for his cause in the General Assembly. In 1824, Illinois voters rejected a call for a constitutional convention, ultimately paving the way for the end of both slavery and indentured servitude in the state.

In 1825, Thomas resigned his seat in the state legislature to take on a new challenge. He was appointed by the Adams administration as one of three commissioners tasked with making an official survey of the Santa Fe Trail, a trading route that stretched across the western United States to Mexico. The commission journeyed through Missouri and Kansas, platting and surveying the road itself as well as making treaties with native tribes, like the Osage and the Kansas, whose lands were crossed by the trail. Thomas kept a detailed journal during the mission; the entries are full of wonder at the natural world he saw, including animals like bison, wild horses, prairie dogs, and wolves, tall grasses and sand hills, beautiful rivers and springs, and violent prairie thunderstorms.

After the survey was complete, Thomas returned home to Kaskaskia, where he married Hannah Gibson Lamb, the sister of one of his business partners. The mercantile firm thrived, opening a store in the new settlement of Steeleville and expanding to a river landing south of Kaskaskia. Thomas and his partners joined with Samuel Smith to purchase land along the Mississippi riverfront. Eventually Smith’s wife, Jane, named the new settlement after her English hometown: Chester. Along with a new store, Thomas’s firm constructed a warehouse at the corner of Wall and Water Streets. The building, which has since been expanded, now houses the St. Nicholas Landmark. Chester was important to Thomas throughout his life. In 1839, he donated land for the construction of a local school, and in the 1850s, he was part of the group that helped support the building of a new court house.

In 1835, Thomas and Hannah decided to leave Randolph County, moving to the up-and-coming city of Springfield. There, he diversified his business interests. He was named president of the newly-established State Bank of Illinois and invested in railroads. He also became a trustee of Illinois College. The Mathers’ circle of friends grew to include Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln; they worshiped alongside the future president and first lady at First Presbyterian Church in Springfield. Their home also became a social center, hosting dignitaries like social reformer Dorothea Dix amid the busy group of nieces and nephews that lived in the house.

Thomas died in 1853 during a business trip to Philadelphia. He was remembered for his impressive accomplishments in the field of business, his benefactions to his church and educational institutions, his love for his family, his strong abolitionist convictions, and his service to his government. After his death, the Mather property in Springfield was sold, initially as a possible burial site for President Lincoln. The land that had belonged to Thomas Mather, who spent years of his life working on behalf of the people of Illinois in their state government, ultimately became that government’s permanent home: the site of the sixth and current Illinois State Capitol Building.

Click here to read a more detailed biography of Thomas Mather.

 

The Randolph Society Foundation Board is pleased to announce that Marie Rouensa, the Godmother of Kaskaskia, will be inducted into the 2020 class of honorees.

Marie was born around the year 1677, likely in the Grand Village of the Kaskaskia in present-day LaSalle County. She was the daughter of Rouensa, the chief of the Kaskaskia. Marie’s early life coincided with a period of considerable change and upheaval for the Kaskaskia people and the larger Illini Confederation. The Kaskaskia were regularly threatened with violence by other tribes, including the Iroquois, whose warriors attacked the Kaskaskians’ village when Marie was around three years old. She also grew up during the first period of contact between the Kaskaskia and European settlers and explorers. Father Jacques Marquette established a mission in the village in 1675, and French priests, soldiers, and traders became regular fixtures in the area during her childhood.

Much of what we know about Marie’s life, and the lives of the Kaskaskia during this time, comes from the letters and journals of Catholic missionaries. She was one of a large number of Kaskaskian women and girls who enthusiastically converted to Catholicism, taking the French name “Marie” after her baptism. Historians believe that Kaskaskian women were drawn to the new religion in part because it offered them more agency and autonomy than their own social structures. Kaskaskian society was patriarchal and polygamous, and women had virtually no power in choosing their spouses.

Marie developed a close friendship with Father Jacques Gravier, one of the Catholic missionaries. In his letters, he describes her as a gifted and intelligent young woman with sharp communication skills and an excellent memory. She absorbed the lessons he taught her and skillfully shared them with other members of her community. Though she was young, Gravier wrote in 1694 that Marie’s “discretion and virtue [gave] her marvelous authority” within her village, “especially over those to whom she speaks of prayer.”

When Rouensa, Marie’s father, arranged a marriage for her in 1693 with a French voyageur, Michel Aco, Marie staunchly refused. She argued that she had dedicated herself to God and did not want to share her heart with anyone else. When Gravier refused to order Marie to marry Aco, conflict developed between the tribe and the mission. Rouensa ordered his people not to go to mass, and attendance dwindled. After much self-reflection, Marie made the decision to marry Aco, not because she wished to obey her father, but because she wanted him to lift his prohibition on worship. As part of the bargain, Marie’s parents also agreed to convert to Catholicism, an act that led many more Kaskaskia to seek out baptism as well. Marie’s decision had far-reaching and unintended consequences, ultimately leading to the end of the tribe’s traditional cultural and social norms – not through decimation by disease or war, but through integration into French colonial society.

The Kaskaskia moved from their village near the Illinois River in 1700, settling first near the Mississippi in present-day St. Louis, and then three years later relocating to the banks of the Kaskaskia River in Randolph County. Marie and Aco had two sons, and after his death, she remarried and had six more children, some of whom have descendants living today. She also acted as godmother to many other French and Kaskaskian children born in the village, which took the name “Kaskaskia” from the tribe who helped to settle it. When she died in 1725, the parish priest at Kaskaskia honored Marie with burial beneath her pew in the church, a rare tribute to her religious commitment.

Without Marie’s conversion, and her commitment to the conversion of others, it’s possible that the Catholic mission would never have been able to sustain a presence within the Kaskaskia tribe. While we no longer look upon the colonial project of the Jesuits and their conversions of the Kaskaskia as unquestionably positive acts, we must acknowledge Marie’s pivotal role in establishing the community that became one of the most important settlements in early Randolph County history. Marie’s character – her keen intelligence, her strength of conviction, and her insistence on her own agency within a society that refused autonomy to women – paved the way for the development of a new community that was both French and Kaskaskian. Marie Rouensa was not only the godmother to many children in her parish but also the Godmother of Kaskaskia.

Click here to read a more detailed biography of Marie Rouensa.

The Randolph Society Foundation Board is pleased to announce that Percy Clerc, the bard of historic Prairie du Rocher, will be inducted into the 2020 class of honorees.

Percy Clerc, who descended from some of the earliest French settlers of Randolph County, was born in Prairie du Rocher in June 1902. He was the eldest of five sons born to Charles and Germania Clerc. From the start, he was integrated into the agricultural, religious, and social communities of Prairie du Rocher. Baptized and confirmed at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, he became a devoted life-long member of the parish. After finishing the eighth grade, he left school to help his father work on the family farm, a job that became even more important after the death of his mother in 1918.

From an early age, Percy learned the stories and songs of old Prairie du Rocher from his grandmother, Sarah Louvier Albert. He composed some of his own lyrics to these folk melodies, learning French to help him better represent and understand the town’s colonial past. He published two books of songs and poems inspired by her stories: “La Chansonnier de Prairie du Rocher” and “Echoes of Old Prairie du Rocher.”

As a child, Percy began participating in one of the most unique Prairie du Rocher traditions: the annual singing of La Guiannee. A group of costumed singers and musicians gathers in the small town every New Year’s Eve and travels from house to house, serenading local residents. The song, always sung in French, extends wishes for a happy new year and then asks the residents for refreshments. After partaking, the group heads to the next home to sing again for both good wishes and good food and drink. Percy’s father, Charles, had been singing the Guiannee since he was a child in the 1870s, and he introduced his sons to the tradition.

Percy felt a keen sense of responsibility to help keep traditions like La Guiannee alive. After his father retired as one of the group’s leaders, Percy took over the task, leading the singing and keeping time with the tapping of his cane. His unique corn husk costume made him instantly recognizable. During his time with the group, their singing was preserved on a recording, now held in the Library of Congress. Percy and the Guiannee singers often performed at folk festivals, and on one occasion, they even entertained a government representative from France. His influence was felt throughout the community as he also helped revive traditions like the annual Twelfth Night Ball. Percy was a key part of keeping the history of the community alive. One of his nieces believes that “had it not been for his dedication to save [La Guiannee], it likely would have ended.”

Percy continued to lead the singing of La Guiannee for the rest of his life. In December 1980, he performed for the final time with the group. On January 12, 1981, Percy was at home in his small house on the Clerc family farm when the building caught fire. Seventy-eight-year-old Percy perished in the blaze. Though there’s no way to know exactly what transpired that afternoon, the Clerc family strongly believes that Percy initially made it out of the house, but decided to go back inside to try to save his papers, which included his own poetry and songs as well as historical documents about Prairie du Rocher. Fragments of some of these papers were later discovered in the ashes of his home. His death was felt by many to represent a sort of end of an era for the community. Gerry Franklin, who helps carry on the Guiannee tradition in Prairie du Rocher today, noted that “when Percy died, it was almost like we turned a page here in town.” For the community, Percy was “a stepping stone to the past.”

Though nearly four decades have passed since Percy’s death, his influence is still felt throughout Prairie du Rocher. His contributions to the community continue to be remembered and celebrated today. Percy “felt a duty to his fellow man,” Franklin explains, “and to the world in general. That’s how Percy lived.” Percy seemed to innately understand a major truth about local traditions and history: they’re nothing without the people who work to maintain and cherish them. Historical buildings and artifacts are important, but they need people to breathe life into them and give them meaning. Percy breathed life into the history of Prairie du Rocher for decades. He learned the stories and songs of the past and – most importantly – he shared them with his neighbors and friends. The musical heritage of the community, perhaps one of the most unique and enduring historical traditions in all of Randolph County, lives on, thanks to the efforts of devoted citizens like Percy Clerc.

Click here to read a more detailed biography of Percy Clerc.

The Randolph Society Foundation Board is pleased to announce that William Hayes, who risked his reputation, his property, and even his life to help men and women escape from slavery, will be inducted into the 2020 class of honorees.

William Hayes, a descendant of early settlers of New England, was born in New York in 1795. Raised as a devout Reformed Presbyterian, he was a part of the anti-slavery Covenanter movement from childhood. In 1819, William married Anna Johnston, a woman who was equally devoted to his faith, and the couple began raising a family on a farm in their hometown of Galway. In 1833, the family decided to head west, buying land near present-day Peoria. When Anna contracted malaria, however, they relocated once more, settling near friends who had moved to Flat Prairie near Eden in Randolph County, Illinois.

In Randolph County, the Hayes family became part of the growing Covenanter community of Sparta and Eden, centered around Bethel Reformed Presbyterian Church. The growing faith community was full of abolitionists who were passionate about ending the institution of slavery in America. In Illinois, that also meant putting an end to the legal system of indentured servitude, which was essentially slavery in all but name. Many prominent members of the church were deeply involved in the secret network known as the Underground Railroad, and William Hayes joined in their work. He and Anna sheltered, fed, and clothed freedom seekers, even sometimes transporting men, women, and children on their journey north. The work was perilous, and the Hayes family risked their reputations, their livelihoods, their own freedom, and even their lives with their involvement. None of these dangers outweighed the moral responsibility they felt toward their fellow human beings.

In the summer of 1842, the Hayes family gave refuge to two women and three children who were indentured to Andrew Borders, a prosperous but brutal Randolph County mill owner. Borders was known to physically assault his indentured servants, and he kept them in line with threats to sell them to slaveholders in southern states. Hannah, Susan, and Susan’s three sons, Jarrot, Anderson, and Harrison, turned to William and Anna for help in escaping the cruel treatment they had received in the Borders household. William personally conveyed the five of them north to central Illinois, where he had many contacts in Peoria and Galesburg. While in Knox County, however, the five were apprehended. Though the abolitionist community tried valiantly to free all of them, Borders managed to assert his right to the contracts of all three boys, one of whom later died in his mill. Both Susan and Hannah, however, were eventually emancipated and lived free lives in Illinois and New York.

Borders sought revenge on William for his part in aiding the freedom seekers’ flight. In 1843, he sued William in civil court, seeking $2500 in damages – an amount that would have financially ruined the Hayes family. Although William’s lawyers managed to have the case moved to Perry County, which had a much less pro-slavery population, the jury decided in Borders’s favor, reducing the damages awarded to several hundred dollars. William’s lawyers appealed the decision to the state supreme court, who confirmed the previous verdict. The case was financially damaging to the Hayes family, but perhaps more importantly, it also revealed William’s secret work with the Underground Railroad to the larger community.

Even so, William continued to help enslaved men and women seeking freedom. Until his death in 1849, he remained a vital part of the Underground Railroad in Randolph County. Decades later, he was named in a major history of the railroad as an important conductor in the Sparta area. We’ll never know how many men, women, and children he aided in their quest for freedom, but we can be sure that his bravery helped countless people start new lives. William’s descendants have treasured his legacy for generations, saving valuable correspondence from his time living in Eden. One letter, written to him by a fellow abolitionist, includes a bold reminder of the importance of their work: “My brother, our cause is a holy one.” The citizens of Randolph County can look to William as an example of a man of principle who was willing to risk his life in service to the moral good. His cause, indeed, was a holy one.

Click here to read a more detailed biography of William Hayes.