RICHLAND TOWNSHIP (Shelby County)
SO named in consequence of the richness and fertility of its soil, is one of the finest portions of land in the county. It contains thirty-six sections; the whole of town 11, range 5 east. It is bounded on the north by Windsor; west by Shelbyvill
e; south by Prairie; and on the east by Ash Grove township. Two railroads pass through the township -- the I. and St. L., and the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific. Its territory is well drained by Richland and Poe creeks. This is one of the early settled
localities of the county, and well did the hearty pioneer make choice of a home. The only impediment here in early times was milk-sickness. The most of the township is prairie land, slightly timbered along the margin of the streams, with a beautiful gro
ve here and there, dotting the landscape on the prairie.
David Elliott was the first to settle here; he came in 1825, from Clay county, in this state, and in the spring of the same year he built his cabin on the west side of Richland creek, cleared out a little patch in the timber, and raised a crop of corn the
following summer. In the fall of the same year, 1835, his brother Jacob, who now lives in Holland township, came in and started an improvement, where he lived until 1837, when he moved to where he now resides. David Elliott in early days had a horse mi
ll and still-house, and at that time this place was quite a rendezvous for the settlers. The early Nimrod would often of a morning shoulder his trusty rifle and tell his confiding wife that he must kill a deer,
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and as soon as the door was closed he would strike a bee line for the above place, where he would spend the day, and in the evening wend his way homeward and tell his wife the deer were getting scarce. About twenty years ago David Elliott went down into C
lay county to buy stock, where he was taken sick and died.
E. Harper, from Indiana, settled near where the town hall now is, in the fall of 1825. He afterward moved to Shelbyville, where he operated a horse mill for a number of years.
Wm. Weger, in the spring of 1826, located in the Richland creek settlement; his oldest son, John, who was a married man, also settled here at the same time. Julia Ann and Jane Weger, twins, were born to John and Ann Weger in Richland township, July 4th,
1826. The neighboring Indians made for them a double papoose cradle, which is retained in the family. The Weger families only lived in this township about two years, and then moved into the Sand creek settlement, in Okaw. John and James Renshaw, native
s of Tennessee, came from Kentucky into the Richland creek settlement in 1826. They brought with them a drove of hogs from White county, Illinois. They started with 150 hogs. The wolves were very troublesome on the route, and caught all the smaller one
s, and when they arrived in Richland they had only about 75. The Renshaw brothers walked and drove the hogs into this settlement, and received a warm welcome by the few residents. James Renshaw immediately returned to White county for his family, and Jo
hn, who was then a single man, remained at the camp they had located, and cut logs for a cabin. He drew the logs together with a single ox that he borrowed of E. Harper. Renshaw soon became tired of the ill provided camp he was stopping at, and took boa
rd with Mr. Harper at one dollar per week. Renshaw sold Harper dressed hog meat at $2.00 per hundred. Renshaw says it was high board at $1.00 per week, for all they had to eat was boiled corn and pork; and before his arrival, Harper lived wholly upon boi
led corn, as he was no hunter, and devoted his entire time to clearing out his place. When James Renshaw returned he brought a team of horses and wagon. They built their cabin on section 22, a short distance east of where the Union church now stands. T
his cabin was erected in April, 1826. They lived together about two years, when John improved the place where he now resides. James afterwards moved to Shelbyville, and subsequently to Decatur.
John Richardson settled on Section 20, west side of the creek, in 1826 or 1827.
John Cox, Bolen Reems and Obadiah Wade settled on the west side before 1827.
Joseph Robinson improved a place and built a cabin on the east side of the creek about 1827. Kinsey Robinson, his brother, came in 1833.
In 1827, James Rather and his widowed sister, Mrs. Wheat, came into the Richland Creek settlement. Rather only remained about two years, when he returned to Kentucky. Mrs. Wheat afterwards married here and lived in the settlement until her death.
Benjamin Walden and his son Hugh located in the north-west part of the township in 1827. They both raised families and were prominent farmers in the county.
Williams Childers and David Fortenberry settled in the Richland Creek neighborhood as early as 1828.
George Parks settled the W.R. Sargent place about 1830; he was from Tennessee; he afterwards moved to Texas.
James Poe, a native of Tennessee, settled on the east side of Section 14; he built a cabin a short distance from the present home of C. Carmain, in about 1830. James Poe, Jr., settled in the south-east corner of Section 1, where J.L.B. Turner lived at th
e same time. Abner Poe married and three years later located on Section 13, where his son John A. Poe now lives. In 1838, James Poe, senr., moved to Texas, accompanied by two other sons not mentioned above.
A man by the name of Schatteen made an improvement west of Look-out Point, as early as 1830. His wife only lived a short time after coming here; and this was perhaps the first death in the township. Look-out Pont is a high elevation of land, and gives a
view of fifteen or twenty miles southward over the prairie.
A Mr. Greer settled on the east side of Section 8, and on the west side of Richland Creek in 1832. He only lived a short time after coming here; his son, James Greer, afterwards moved to Shelbyville township; and subsequently moved to Moultrie county.
LAND ENTRIES
April 14, 1826, John Richardson, E. 1/2, S.W. 1/4, Section 20, 80 acres;
April 24, 1828, Benj. Walden, N. 1/2, N.W. 1/4, Section 5, 82 64.100 acres;
March 4, 1829, Benj. Walden, N. 1/2, N.E. 1/4, Section 6, 85 21.100 acres;
May 29, 1829, David Elliott, E. 1/2, N.W. 1/4, Section 17, 80 acres.
The late George A. Bandy, though not an early settler of this township was, however, one of the leading farmers in Shelby county. He was a native of Breckinridge county, Kentucky, and died suddenly in the latter part of the year 1880. A fine view of his
late residence is shown on another page of this work.
H.C. Shallenberger, now a justice of the peace in Strasburg, is one of the old settlers in Shelby county; his father, Henry Shallenberger, settled near Shelbyville in 1836, when H.C. was in his nineteeth year, -- he has lived in Strasburg four years.
Samuel Whitlach, a native of Ohio, located on Section 29 in 1838. Five of his sons are now farmers in this township.
Tobias Renner, George Rouse, and Abraham Shay, came to the township together, from Ohio, in about 1838.
John Webb, a native of Tennessee, settled on section 13, in 1840. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was in the battle of New Orleans, where he had two fingers shot off; he was three times married, -- his third wife is yet living, and receiving a
pension from the government. Mr. Webb often preached in this vicinity. He died at the old place, in 1869, near the age of seventy-eight. His son, B.T. Webb, lives near where his father first settled.
M.C. Richardson, a native of Virginia, came to Shelby county in 1839; he remained only a short time and returned to Ohio, where he was principally raised, and in 1849 he returned and bought land in the south-west part of this township, where he settled pe
rmanently, and has since resided. He is generous and hospitable, and whoever talks to him is immediately made to feel at home.
Rev. Robert Rutherford settled where John Kiercher now lives as early as 1840; he sold goods there, operated a carding machine and horse-mill, was also a practicing physician, and frequently preached to his neighbors on Sunday.
William Stewardson, sr., a native of Westmoreland, England, emigrated to America in 1841, and settled in Ohio; he lived in that State and Indiana four years and then came to Shelby county; he lived in Shelbyville township one year when he bought the farm
and settled where his son William Stewardson, jr., now lives, on section 19; he raised a family of seven children. He died at his home, in this township, in 1864.
Other early settlers who deserve mention, are James Duncan, J.L.B. Turner, Isaac Stull, Joseph Smart, and William Robinson.
The south-east part of Richland is principally settled by Germans. The first Germans to locate here were: B. Harves, George Stereng, F. Kull, Charles Ostermier, John Kiercher and P. Kueller.
