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The first entry of lands in Fayette County, as
recorded, was made by Horace BEMIS, who entered the northwest quarter of ne
quarter of Section 5, Twp 92, Range 8 (Smithfield Twp) Jan 17, 1847. The was
the claim of William ORREAR and James BEATTY, and was the extreme northern limit
of the surveyed lands in the county. William Anderson and Chauncey BROOKS
entered land in the twp in 1848.
John P. MOYNE made the next entry, of
east half of southwest quarter of Section 17, Twp 92, Range 7 (Fairfield
Township). Horace BEMIS, Hiram BROOKS and John BROOKS entered land in Fairfield
in 1848 and Jared TAYLOR, Palmer F. NEWTON, Jesse BROOKS and Martha HUNT in
1849.
Robert ALEXANDER entered the southwest quarter of of Section 26,
Township 93, Range 8, July 9, 1849. Several other entries were made on the same
date. John W. LANE and Horace ANDRUS entered during 1849.
John W. LANE
entered part of Section 30, Township 93, Range 7 (Illyria Twp) July 16, 1849.
George CULVER entered parts of Sections 22, 26, and 27, by land warrant, June
25, 1849. Andrew HENSLEY entered Section 19, Oct 13, 1849.
David DOWNS
entered the northeast quarter of Section 5, Twp 94, Range 9 (Windsor Twp) Sep
8, 1849, and J. R. EDDY entered land in the same township, Nov 21, 1849.
William
WELLS made the first entry in Township 94, Range 8 (West Union Township) of the
northeast quarter of Section 17, Dec 5, 1849.
Thomas WOODLE entered
part of Section 13, Twp 93, Range 9 (Center Twp) Jan 16, 1850. Philip HERZOG
made an entry in the same township shortly after.
Samuel CONNER entered
part of Section 14, Twp 94, Range 7 (Pleasant Valley Township), Nov 26, 1849.
Gardner
WATERS, Sep 23, 1850, entered parts of Sections 4 and 5, Township 95, Range 9
(Auburn Twp).
Francis P. ROSIER, L. ROSIER, Jacob K. ROSIER, George N.
ROSIER and Thomas TURNER made first entries in Township 95, Range 8 (Dover
Township) Sep 28, 1850.
Henry D. EVANS entered part of Section 27,
Township 95, Range 7 (Clermont Twp) Dec 27, 1850.
James AUSTIN entered
part of Section 35, Township 95, Range 10 (Eden Twp) Jan 27, 1851; and on the
same date the same man entered the north half of the northwest quarter of
Section 2, Twp 94, Range 10 (Bethel Township)
Henry MAYNARD entered the
southwest quarter of Section 14, Twp 92, Range 9 (Harlan), Mar 18, 1851.
William
A. SIMS entered the southeast quarter of Section 21, Twp 91, Range 10 (Oran Twp)
Nov 3, 1851.
James Nelson PITKIN entered part of Section 35, Twp 91,
Range 9 (Jefferson Twp) May 9, 1851.
John C. FOLSOM entered the west
half of northwest quarter of Section 25, Twp 91, Range 7 (Putnam Twp) Nov 4,
1850.
Theodore WILSON entered part of Section 30, Twp 93, Range 10
(Banks Twp) Jan 6, 1852.
Thomas RAND entered parts of Sections 31 and
32, Twp 92, Range 10 (Fremont Twp) Jan 16, 1853.
Peter L. MOE entered
the south half of northeast quarter of Section 1, Twp 91, Range 8 (Scott
Township) Oct 10 1854.
In November, 1848, snow fell to the depth of
eighteen inches, and remained until April, 1849. It was a cold, hard winter for
the settlers of Fayette as well as other sections of the state. In 1848-49,
before the surveys were completed, and before the lands were in market, the
settlers organized a Claim Society for the purpose of mutual protection against
claim jumpers.
April 23, 1849, William WELLS, from Monroe, Greene
County, Wisconsin, came to Knob Prairie and purchased the claim and cabin of
David SMITH, near the southwest corner of Section 17, occupied the premises and
built a substantial log house. . . . In May, Henry F. SMITH and Stephen BAILEY
settled near "Knob Prairie." Smith built a cabin on the sw corner of
Section 9. In July, Gabriel LONG and Joshua WELLS located in the vicinity.
Oliver A. BROWN settled in Township 94, Range 9, in May of the same year.
Thomas WOODLE, Thomas DOUGLASS and Thomas B. STURGIS came and selected claims
near the geographical center of the county, on and near Section 13, Twp 93,
Range 9, in 1849, and near "Gamble's Grove," and returned for
permanent settlement in the spring of 1850, when M. V. BURDICK, Peter OSBORN,
John HANNA and Phineas F. STURGIS settled near them. In the spring of 1849
Harvey LIGHT and Erastus A. LIGHT made a settlement on Section 13, Twp 93, Range
8, where Lima now stands, and built a saw-mill that year, also a sort of
grist-mill or corn-cracker, and commenced grinding corn the next year."
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