"THE VAN ARSDALES SETTLE IN A FREE STATE" is a chapter in the family my great aunt Margeret Chadwick wrote called "The Lee Family of Spanish Fork Utah".  The section of her book that about the Van Ar…

And at the time of expiration he was to receive from this employer one hundred dollars, a suit of clothing, and a horse with saddle and bridle. But the man became demented, and Peter had a difficult time. He did not get his schooling, and only with great difficulty did he get one hundred dollars and his horse after putting in seven years of hard work.

 

Typical blacksmith cabin from the early 1800s such as Peter may have built

Thus equipped he was ready in December of 1808 to begin life for himself. His first move was to go to school. He had an intense love of reading and a clear logical mind that made him in great demand later on as legal advisor to his neighbors. During the winter that he attended school he made an agreement with his older brother to lease some land for six years. This property was just out of Harrodsburg, Kentucky - I wonder if he knew Nancy Hanks! - I'm sure his sympathies were with her if he did.

http://here4now.typepad.com/here4now/ohio-history/

inside an 1800s blaksmith shop

In three months time, with a borrowed axe as his only tool, he had a shop built in which he was already doing business, and a cabin prepared for Charity Demaree whom he married immediately thus diluting the Dutch strain a little by introducing some French blood

In four years he had considerable property of his own, employed two men in his shop, and had loaned out $260.00. He says naively in his diary: "I thought that if only I had what was necessary to keep house with convenience I would not want to own land. But I have long since found that I was mistaken for I was no nigher being satisfied when I owned near five hundred acres of land and lived in a good brick house."

 Typical blacksmith shop fro the early 1800s

Having borrowed many of the books he read from a Presbyterian clergyman, Peter's reading took him often into realms of church history, church doctrines, and church organization. He became more and more impressed with the moderate Calvinistic Faith.

John Calvin (1509 – 1564) was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. Calvin's writing and preaching provided the seeds for the branch of theology that bears his name. The Presbyterian and other Reformed churches, which look to Calvin as a chief expositor of their beliefs, have spread throughout the world. Calvin's thought exerted considerable influence over major religious figures and entire religious movements, such as Puritanism, and some have argued that his ideas have contributed to the rise of capitalism, individualism, and representative democracy in the West.

He noted that its adherents numbered among the most intelligent and independent groups in America. He further studied its organization and saw that the government of the nation was practically the same as that of the church. A strong supporter of schools himself, he noted that the Presbyterian Church was establishing many parish schools, so advancing the cause of education. And about the same time, 1814, Dr. Clelland, a famous preacher of that day, came to New Providence and preached some sermons much to Peter's liking. From all his reading and church attendance he came to the conclusion that the Calvinistic Faith was nearest to his interpretation of the Scriptures and most congenial to his ideas. Accordingly he and Charity and four of the older children joined the church. This he felt to be one of the most important incidents of his life

John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was an American abolitionist, and folk hero who advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to end all slavery.

Peter's family increased and multiplied. In rapid succession came along four daughters, one son and then another four daughters. Two of these daughters died in infancy. He was most desirous that his children be reared in a "Good State of Society" and live near a school and a church. Accordingly he bought 197 acres of rocky farm land in New Providence, Kentucky. This place had been nick-named "Rocky Battle." Before long a lively business was going on in his blacksmith shops and the family was comfortable in trim log cabins until he could build a frame, and later, a good brick house. Peter prospered and was held in high regard in the community and in the church.

In 1833, James Birney read a paper signed by several Christian organizations that repudiated the tenets of the American Colonization Society and, instead, called for the immediate abolition of slavery. This, along with life experience and education, brought Birney to the realization that slavery must be abolished once and for all. Inspired by the Lane Seminary debates, he freed his remaining slaves and declared himself an abolitionist in 1834.

John Brown Fort stood on a bluff overlooking the Shenandoah River. In this photograph taken on July 14, 1896, members of a pilgrim party from the National League of Colored Women pose in front of the fort

But about this time the subject of slavery was agitating North and South. Peter listened to many stirring debates on the subject, and read and thought a great deal about it. While sentiment was growing against slavery there were still many in his church and community who upheld it stoutly, so that Peter determined to move his family to a free state. He had formed a close friendship with James Birney, the great abolitionist, and also while attending a Synod Meeting as delegate from his church, he met John Brown and was greatly attracted to him. He planned with John Brown to take some drastic measures against the slave holders.

 The county courthouse in Carrolton(the Greene County seat) was built in 1832, four years before Peter moved the family to Illinois. It was considered the finest courthouse in the state. The town was known for having a newspaper and being the home of Abe Lincoln's best friend. Carrollton had a stove factory, three cigar factories and a vegetable canning factory.  One flour mill ran day and night. A machine shop and foundry made farm tools. A poultry packing business shipped to New York and Boston. Woman entrepeneur, Angeline Varble Underwood, invented the innerspring mattress, and made it in the Underwood Spring Bed Factory in Carrollton.