DURBIN-LOGSDON SETTLEMENT DOWN IN

____________CHRISTIAN COUNTY_____________________

Article taken from Decatur Daily Review,Monday Evening, June 10, 1912

In passing though the country to thesouthwest of Clarksdale in Christian County, IL,one finds a certain piece of land that excitescuriosity, since the timber thereon does notconform with the natural growth in that vicinity.The place is covered with trees of large size,some two feet through their body. Whilewondering why this fifteen acre patch isdifferent from the neighboring woods, one mightfind a few fragments of broken pottery. There isnothing on the market today that resembles theplace. One is reminded of mound builders orcliff dwellers. This place is two miles fromClarksdale and about the same from Palmer,near Bear Creek. Investigation shows that histimber was once a “clearing”, a farm and thetimber has grown thereon since it had fallen intodisuse for agricultural purposes.ONCE A HOMESTEAD This fifteen acres was the original homesteadof the Durbins, who settled there at a date thatmust be several years in advance of the setting-up of Illinois. Records written only in memory,transform into tradition with the next generationand therefore the most interesting part of thestory must be omitted for lack of factsconcerning the earliest settlers of Illinois. The curious looking patch of timber was wherethe Durbins saw fit to locate, but there wouldseem to be no particular reason why aseverything must have been woods alike, andthis place would have been in what was thenheavy timbered land on all sides. An openingmay have been there, but most likely theDurbins cleared the place of timber in buildingcabins, fences, etc. All trace of buildings hasdisappeared beyond the memory of the present

generation and the forest has reclaimed thetract so many years since that huge treesoccupy the once cultivated land.TRACES OF INDIANSA crude watermill was operated in the vicinityof Bear Creek where fragments of the dam andmillstones were in evidence many yearsafterward. It is known that Indians traded atthis place and nearby is where Black Hawkcamped on his march to Starved Rock. Inconnection with this, a long string of Indianbeads were plowed up at that point aboutthree years ago which is believed to havebelonged to the Black Hawk warriors. Theyare now in the possession of Q. S. Simpson ofPalmer.BACK TO 1776 Still in evidence are fragments of a log cabinwhich was in ruins with the first recollection ofthe oldest inhabitant and a cemetery are near.There, gravestones bear inscriptions, rudelycut, dating back to 1776. Among the earlysettlers were the Lees, Boyds, Vandeveres,Simposons, Hewitts, Clarks, Murphys, Taylors,Logsdons and Durbins, but it is claimed thatthe Durbins and Logsdon families were manyyears in advance of the other families. Bringing the story down to a more recentdate, we must give the Logsdons a place sinceour story is of the Durbin-Logsdon settlement.“Aunt Betsey” Logsdon of Taylorville, nowninety years of age, but with faculties fiftyyears younger, is the living monument of theolder generation of Durbin-Logsdon familiesof which we have any record.BACK 200O YEARS The connection of the two families musthave started at an early day, since we find onrecord in Baltimore, MD., that ELijah Logsdonand Nancy Durbin were married nearly 200years ago. Going on down through the

records, we find that Dan Cupid rarely everyventured outside of the two families to make“two hearts to beat as one.” Josephus Durbin, born on Bear Creek ninety-three years ago, was wedded to a Miss Logsdon,taking, it is said, the first marriage license inthose parts. On down the records we find theLogsdons marrying Durbins and the Durbinsmarrying Logsdons in amazing regularity. Acomplex relationship that in some cases wouldbe difficult to untangle. It is claimed by somethat the two types, Logsdons on one side andDurbins on the other, are so prounounced thata stranger might segregate the two families.MILL WAS OLD LONG AGO Daniel Durbin was probably the first white manto locate here, but the date is lacking. “AuntBetsey” Logsdon played about the Mill whenshe was eight years old, that is eighty yearsago, and the Mill was then very old and aboutpast its usefulness. Daniel was then quite anold man. The two families were very prolific, bothDurgins and Logsdons, rearing large familiesand strong ties of friendship always existed tothe extent that any unusual occurrence, such asa dance or a butchering was a signal for allmembers of both families to be present. Onthese occasions a delegation from anothercommunity, a sort of branch of the same family,would attend, coming in several wagons fromnear Owaneco, several miles across the prairie. While these people had some unusual traitsthey were a kind-hearted, honest family, and itis said that they have contributed to the up-building of the community in many ways andperhaps more abundantly that any other of theearly settlers.ALL JOHNS OR WILLIAMSOne characteristic trait of the family is that ofmaking a namesake of every male child borninto these families. Each of the many familieshave their “John” and their “William”, Durbin orLogsdon as the case may be. So many of thesenames are used that it becomes absolutelynecessary to use a second name or letter or

nickname in connection as a means ofdistinguishing them. Where “John B”, “JohnC.”, “John L.”, etc., failed to suffice, asuggestive prefix was used, such as “RuggerJohn”, ”Bee Hunter John”, “Mule Jim”, “PiousJoe,” etc. through a long list of Jims, Johnsand Bills: one Bill got in a little late–one of theyounger set–and failed to connect with aprefix, so he must be content to worry alongthrough life with an affix and be known as“Billy Beans” so as to distinguish him from agrandfather, two uncles, some nephews andabout sixteen cousins. These families, locating in the wood as wasthe custom of early settlers, have alwaysadjusted themselves to the environment andwhile hunting and trapping occupied their timein earlier days, the march of civilization wasgradually brought upon them the necessity ofagricultural pursuits. But their ambition hasnever been such that the accumulation ofwealth would interfere with the enjoyments oflife and while very content with little of thecountry’s wealth, they have always made thebest of their surroundings and kept pace withtheir neighbors in up to date methods. There is considerable talent andprogressiveness in the present generation ofthe Durbin and Logsdon families since theyare weaned from the backwoods ways of theirancestors and it is said that Dan Cupid is nowbeing given more free rein in matching heartsand there is more often marriages with thoseoutside of their own people than formerly.M.S. P. (Author)

JOSEPHUS DURBIN, MENTIONED IN 1912DECATUR DAILY REVIEW ARTICLE-MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER

Josephus Durbin was born 11 Jan. 1818 onBear Creek in Christian County, IL the son ofStumpy John and Elizabeth Betty Oller Durbin.In 1838, Josephus was married to MissElizabeth Simpson by Squire Joseph P. Durbin,magistrate of Bear Creek Township at Palmer,IL. Josephus and Elizabeth had the distinctionof being the first couple to obtain a marriagelicense and marry in Christian County. It wasthen called Dane County. The couple had fivechildren before Elizabeth died about 1868. Josephus married a second time to MargaretPeggy Logsdon Burtle, a widow. Peggy andJosephus had 2 children, William Thomas andSarah Jane, my maternal grandmother. WhenSarah was 5 years old, her mother Peggy diedand is buried in the Simpson-Reisler Cemetery2 miles west of Clarksdale. Josephus married a third time to SarahHinkle Painter, a widow with 3 sons. They had2 children, Isaac and Elizabeth. The photobelow was taken at the marriage of JosephusDurbin and Sarah Hinkle Painter in 1891. Thecouple homesteaded at Lebanon, MO for thenext 10 years, returning to Clarksdale, IL about1900. My grandmother Sarah Jane, age 7 is ather father’s knee with her brother Tom behind.

Josephus was the 14th child of Stumpy Johnand Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Oller Durbin. They wereearly pioneers to Christian Co. arriving fromKentucky about 1818, the year Illinois becamea state. Stumpy John Durbin was born in colonialMaryland in 1767, the son of John Drubin, Sr.and Ann Logsdon. He was known throughouthis life as “Stumpy” because of his smallstature. When KY lands were opened followingthe Louisiana Purchase, the family moved toMadison Co. KY where Stumpy John and hisbrother Tom mined salt near the present dayMammouth Cave in Edmonson Co, KY. beforemoving on to IL. Stumpy John Durbin, my great-great-grandfather, died at Bear Creek Township nearPalmer, IL in 1831. His wife Betty, my great-great-grandmother died there in 1842. They areburied in the Durbin Cemetery, now called St.Joseph Cemetery, Section 15 at Palmer, IL.Their Durbin descendants still reside in thearea today.

Corrections to 1912 Article:1. Josephus Durbin married Miss ElizabethSimpson in 1838, the first couple to wed inChristian County, IL.. His second wife wasMargaret Peggy Lodgson, (my g-grandmother).His third wife was Sarah Hinkle Painter.2. Thomas Durbin, b. England 1651, m. MaryDownes and d. in Baltimore, MD. Wm. Logsdon,b. England and Honora O’Flynn, b. Ireland m. inSt. James Anglican Church 1723, Baltimore,MD. Their daughter Ann Logsdon m. SamuelDurbin. The Durbin and Logsdon families havemarried long before the Revolutionary War. Shirley Waterman Harris, 2008A Durbin Decscendant