6. St. Geneviève, on the west side of the Mississippi, and
about one mile from its bank, upon Gabarre Creek.
These are among the oldest towns in what was long known as the
Illinois country. Kaskaskia, in its best days, under the
French regime, was quite a large town, containing 2,000 or
3,000 inhabitants. But after it passed from the crown of
France, its population for many years did not exceed 1,500
souls. Under the British dominion the population decreased to
460 souls, in 1773."
_J. W. Monette,
History of the Discovery and Settlement
of the Mississippi Valley,
volume 1, pages 167-168._
"The population of the French and Indian villages in the
district of the Illinois, at the period of which we write, is
largely a matter of conjecture and computation. Father Louis
Vivier, a Jesuit missionary, in a letter dated June 8, 1750,
and written from the vicinity of Fort Chartres, says: 'We have
here whites, negroes, and Indians, to say nothing of the
cross-breeds. There are five French villages, and three
villages of the natives within a space of twenty-five
leagues, situate between the Mississippi and another river
called (Kaskaskia). In the French villages are, perhaps,
eleven hundred whites, three hundred blacks, and sixty red
slaves or savages. The three Illinois towns do not contain
more than eight hundred souls, all told.' This estimate does
not include the scattered French settlers or traders north of
Peoria, nor on the Wabash. It is stated that the Illinois
nation, then dwelling for the most part along the river of
that name, occupied eleven different villages, with four or
five fires at each village, and each fire warming a dozen
families, except at the principal village, where there were
three hundred lodges. These data would give us something near
eight thousand as the total number of the Illinois of all
tribes."
_J. Wallace,
History of Illinois and Louisiana under the French Rule,
chapter 16._
ILLINOIS: A. D. 1763.
Cession to Great Britain.
See SEVEN YEARS WAR.
ILLINOIS: A. D. 1763.
The king's proclamation excluding settlers.
See NORTHWEST TERRITORY OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1763.
ILLINOIS: A. D. 1765.
Possession taken by the English.
"The French officers had, since the peace, been ready loyally
to surrender the country to the English. But the Illinois, the
Missouri, and the Osage tribes would not consent. At a council
held in the spring of 1765, at Fort Chartres, the chief of the
Kaskaskias, turning to the English officer, said: 'Go hence,
and tell your chief that the Illinois and all our brethren
will make war on you if you come upon our lands.' … But when
Fraser, who arrived from Pittsburg, brought proofs that their
elder brothers, the Senecas, the Delawares and the Shawnees,
had made peace with the English, the Kaskaskias said: 'We
follow as they shall lead.' 'I waged this war,' said Pontiac,
'because, for two years together, the Delawares and Shawnees
begged me to take up arms against the English. So I became
their ally, and was of their mind;' and, plighting his word
for peace, he kept it with integrity. A just curiosity may ask
how many persons of foreign lineage had gathered in the valley
of the Illinois since its discovery by the missionaries.
Fraser was told that there were of white men, able to bear
arms, 700; of white women, 500; of their children, 850; of
negroes of both sexes, 900. The banks of the Wabash, we learn
from another source, were occupied by about 110 French
families, most of which were at Vincennes.
{1695}
Fraser sought to overawe the French traders with the menace of
an English army that was to come among them; but they pointed
to the Mississippi, beyond which they would be safe from
English jurisdiction [France having ceded to Spain her
territory on the western side of the river]. … With Croghan,
an Indian agent, who followed from Fort Pitt, the Illinois
nations agreed that the English should take possession of all
the posts which the French formerly held; and Captain
Stirling, with 100 men of the 42d regiment, was detached down
the Ohio, to relieve the French garrison. At Fort Chartres,
St. Ange, who had served for fifty years in the wilderness,
gave them a friendly reception; and on the morning of the 10th
of October he surrendered to them the left bank of the
Mississippi. Some of the French crossed the river, so that at
St. Genevieve there were at least five-and-twenty families,
while St. Louis, whose origin dates from the 15th of February
1764, and whose skilfully chosen site attracted the admiration
of the British commander, already counted about twice that
number, and ranked as the leading settlement on the western
side of the Mississippi. In the English portion of the distant
territory, the government then instituted was the absolute
rule of the British army, with a local judge to decide all
disputes among the inhabitants according to the customs of the
country, yet subject to an appeal to the military chief."
_G. Bancroft,
History of the United States
(Author's last revision),
volume 3, pages 151-152._
ILLINOIS: A. D. 1765-1774.
Early years of English rule.
"Just before and during the first years of the English
domination, there was a large exodus of the French inhabitants
from Illinois. Such, in fact, was their dislike of British
rule that fully one-third of the population, embracing the
wealthier and more influential families, removed with their
slaves and other personal effects, beyond the Mississippi, or
down that river to Natchez and New Orleans. Some of them
settled at Ste. Genevieve, while others, after the example set
by St. Ange, took up their abode in the village of St. Louis,
which had now become a depot for the fur company of Louisiana.
… At the close of the year 1765, the whole number of
inhabitants of foreign birth or lineage, in Illinois,
excluding the negro slaves, and including those living at Post
Vincent on the Wabash, did not much exceed two thousand
persons; and, during the entire period of British possession,
the influx of alien population hardly more than kept pace with
the outflow. Scarcely any Englishmen, other than the officers
and troops composing the small garrisons, a few enterprising
traders and some favored land speculators, were then to be
seen in the Illinois, and no Americans came hither, for the
purpose of settlement, until after the conquest of the country
by Colonel Clark. All the settlements still remained
essentially French, with whom there was no taste for
innovation or change. But the blunt and sturdy Anglo-American
had at last gained a firm foot-hold on the banks of the great
Father of Rivers, and a new type of civilization, instinct
with energy, enterprise and progress, was about to be
introduced into the broad and fertile Valley of the
Mississippi. … Captain Thomas Stirling began the military
government of the country on October 10, 1765, with fair and
liberal concessions, calculated to secure the good-will and
loyalty of the French-Canadians, and to stay their further
exodus; but his administration was not of long duration. On
the 4th of the ensuing December, he was succeeded by Major
Robert Farmer, who had arrived from Mobile with a detachment
of the 34th British infantry. In the following year, after
exercising an arbitrary authority over these isolated and
feeble settlements, Major Farmer was displaced by Colonel
Edward Cole, who had commanded a regiment under Wolfe, at
Quebec. Colonel Cole remained in command at Fort Chartres
about eighteen months; but the position was not congenial to
him. … He was accordingly relieved at his own request, early
in the year 1768. His successor was Colonel John Reed, who
proved a bad exchange for the poor colonists. He soon became
so notorious for his military oppressions of the people that
he was removed, and gave place to Lieutenant-Colonel John
Wilkins, of the 18th, or royal regiment of Ireland, who had
formerly commanded at Fort Niagara. Colonel Wilkins arrived
from Philadelphia and assumed the command September 5, 1768.
He brought out with him seven companies of his regiment for
garrison duty. … One of the most noticeable features of
Colonel Wilkins' administration was the liberality with which
he parceled out large tracts of the domain over which he ruled
to his favorites in Illinois, Philadelphia, and elsewhere,
without other consideration than requiring them to re-convey
to him a certain interest in the same. Lieutenant Colonel
Wilkins' government of the Illinois country eventually became
unpopular, and specific charges were preferred against him,
including a misappropriation of the public funds. He asked for
an official investigation, claiming that he was able to
justify his public conduct. But he was deposed from office in
September, 1771, and sailed for Europe in July of the
following year. Captain Hugh Lord, of the 18th regiment,
became Wilkins' successor at Fort Chartres, and continued in
command until the year 1775. … On the 2d of June, 1774,
Parliament passed an act enlarging and extending the province
of Quebec to the Mississippi River so as to include the
territory of the Northwest. … Who was the immediate
successor of Captain Lord in command of the Illinois is not
positively determined."
_J. Wallace,
History of Illinois and Louisiana Under the French Rule,
chapter 20._
ILLINOIS: A. D. 1774.
Embraced in the Province of Quebec.
See CANADA: A. D. 1763-1774.
ILLINOIS: A. D. 1778-1779.
Conquest from the British by the Virginian General Clark and
annexation to the Kentucky District of Virginia.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1778-1779,
CLARK'S CONQUEST.
ILLINOIS: A. D. 1784.
Included in the proposed states of Assenisipia, Illinoia, and
Polypotamia.
See NORTHWEST TERRITORY OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1784.
ILLINOIS: A. D. 1785-1786.
Partially covered by the western land claims of Massachusetts
and Connecticut, ceded to the United States.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1781-1786.
ILLINOIS: A. D. 1787.
The Ordinance for the government of the Northwest Territory.
Perpetual exclusion of Slavery.
See NORTHWEST TERRITORY OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1787.
ILLINOIS: A. D. 1809.
Detached from Indiana and organized as a distinct Territory.
See INDIANA: A. D. 1800-1818.
{1696}
ILLINOIS: A. D. 1818.
Admission into the Union as a State.
See INDIANA: A. D. 1800-1818;
and WISCONSIN: A. D. 1805-1848.
ILLINOIS: A. D. 1832.
The Black Hawk War.
"In 1830 a treaty was made with the tribes of Sacs and Foxes,
by which their lands in Illinois were ceded to the United
States. They were nevertheless unwilling to leave their
country. … Black Hawk, a chief of the Sacs, then about 60
years of age, refused submission, and the next year returned
with a small force. He was driven back by the troops at Rock
Island, but in March, 1832, he reappeared, at the head of
about 1,000 warriors,—Sacs, Foxes, and Winnebagos,—and
penetrated into the Rock river valley, declaring that he came
only to plant corn. But either he would not or could not
restrain his followers, and the devastation of Indian warfare
soon spread among the frontier settlements. … The force at
Rock Island was sent out to stay these ravages, and Generals
Scott and Atkinson ordered from Buffalo with a reënforcement,
which on the way was greatly diminished by cholera and
desertions. The Governor of Illinois called for volunteers,
and an effective force of about 2,400 men was soon marched
against the enemy. Black Hawk's band fled before it. General
Whiteside, who was in command, burned the Prophet's Town, on
Rock River, and pursued the Indians up that stream. … The
Indians were overtaken and badly defeated on Wisconsin River;
and the survivors, still retreating northward, were again
overtaken near Bad Axe River, on the left bank of the
Mississippi. … Many of the Indians were shot in the water
while trying to swim the stream; others were killed on a
little island where they sought refuge. Only about 50
prisoners were taken, and most of these were squaws and
children. The dispersion was complete, and the war was soon
closed by the surrender or capture of Black Hawk, Keokuk, and
other chiefs."
_W. C. Bryant and S. H. Gay,
Popular History of the United States,
volume 4, chapter 12._
ALSO IN:
_T. Ford,
History of Illinois,
chapters 4-5._
_J. B. Patterson, editor,
History of Black Hawk, dictated by himself.
Wisconsin Historical Society Collections,
volume 10._
ILLINOIS: A. D. 1840-1846.
The settlement and the expulsion of the Mormons.
See MORMONISM: A. D. 1830-1846; and 1846-1848.
----------ILLINOIS: End--------
ILLUMINATI, The.
See ROSICRUCIANS.
ILLYRIA, Slavonic settlement of.
See BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES:
7TH CENTURY (SERVIA, CROATIA, ETC.).