Totten Prairie, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Totten Prairie or Totten's Prairie was a small settlement in Cass Township
, Fulton County
, Illinois
, just to the southwest of the present Smithfield, Illinois
. It was named after William Totten, who was the first to settle there in 1823. There is a small cemetery still existing in that location.
Cass Township, Fulton County, Illinois
Cass Township is one of twenty-six townships in Fulton County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2000 census, its population was 642.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, Cass Township covers an area of ; of this, or 0.37 percent is water....
, Fulton County
Fulton County, Illinois
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 37,069, which is a decrease of 3.1% from 38,250 in 2000. Its county seat is Lewistown. Canton is the largest city. Both cities are southwest of Peoria, and the county is considered...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, just to the southwest of the present Smithfield, Illinois
Smithfield, Illinois
Smithfield is a village in Fulton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 214 at the 2000 census. The village is named in honor of Dr. Joseph N...
. It was named after William Totten, who was the first to settle there in 1823. There is a small cemetery still existing in that location.
- "When the red man was sporting over the prairie of Illinois and when the wolves were prowling through the forests, William Totten placed his family and effects in a one-horse cart in Ohio and found his way to Kentucky, thence to Indiana, and finally to Fulton Co., where in 1823 he settled on the well-known Totten's Prairie. It would require a large volume to recount all the incidents of his frontier life in Fulton Co. Mr. Totten was remarkable for retaining peace with the Indians. When on the war path they would visit him, trade and sport with him and leave peaceably. He was the first settler in Cass township, and settled on sec. 27. The widow of William Totten still lives on the old homestead with her son John Totten at the age of 84 years. John Totten followed the occupation of hunting for many years, raising such grain as was needed for family use. He was married in 1847 to Barbary Baughman. Their son, Michael P. Totten, was born in Fulton Co., Oct. 18, 1850; was educated in the common schools of this county; is a well-to-do farmer. Miss Almira, daughter of John Totten, is but 13 years of age, and is a remarkably good scholar for her age. Mrs. Totten was educated in Ohio, and came here with her parents in 1832. P. O., Smithfield."