"The village of Sangamo was incorporated and the plat laid on June 1, 1824 and recorded on the same date. The records show that the County surveyor was James C. Stevenson and the Recorder was C.R. Matheny. Charles Boradwell owned the land where the town was located."
"When Sangamo, or Sangamo Town (as it was best known by the earlier settlers), became extinct, Sangamon County and Illinois lost to view one of its most historic spots, so J. Linden Roll, 825 Henrietta Street, Springfield, Illinois will undertake to restore it to its proper place and dignity. This ancient village was located seven miles northwest of Springfield, on the banks of the picturesque Sangamon River. From the fact tat it is one of the bright spots in the early life of our most illustrious citizen 'Abe Lincoln' (as he was familiarly known by his associates of those days) I have collected the following facts. This narrative however, would not be complete, without the mention of the Roll family, as they were among the earliest settlers of the town in a business and social way."
"In the spring of 1828, William Roll and his brother Jacob Roll and Pearson (Pierson) Roll, a son of Jacob, emigrated from Green Village, Madison Co, New Jersey and settled in Sangamo, Sangamon County, Illinois. Two years later in the spring of 1830, there came from the same locality in New Jersey, the son of William Roll, John Eddy Roll and a son-in-law of William by the name of Alfred Riley and settled in Sangamo Town. A brief sketch of John E.Roll who was so intimately associated with Lincoln in 1831 and some of his stories and observations concerning his acquaintance with the great Emancipator, I think will not be out of place in this narrative."
"John Eddy Roll was born June 9, 1814 in Madison County, New Jersey, the son of William and Mary Eddy Roll. Mr. Roll resided in Springfield until his death on March 31, 1901. He, with his family of brothers and sisters started westward April 29, 1830. The party consisted of ten person, with two, two-horse covered wagons for their accommodation. Their route was by way of Menham and Easton, Pennsylvania, on the Delaware, thence by Allerton to Harrisburg and Pittsburgh where they sold their teams and wagons and boarded the steamboat 'Highlander', voyaging thence down the Ohio River to Louisville, Kentucky, where they reshipped below the falls of the Ohio, on the steamboat 'Huntsman' for St. Louis, which was reached on June 4, 1830. There they crossed the Mississippi to 'Illinois Town' now East St. Louis. There Mr. Roll and Mr. Riley 'took to their feet and walked every step of the way to Springfield' arriving June 7, 1830. Having relatives in Sangamo they continued on to that point. Mr. Roll became acquainted with Mr. Lincoln in the following spring, where he assisted Lincoln in building the famous flatboat of historical interest."
"When William Roll settled in Sangamo he became interested in farming. His brother Jacob was a store keeper and Pearson Roll took up land on the opposite side of the river from the village and engaged in farming. He had to ford the river to reach the village and to this day the crossing is known as 'Roll's Ford'. It is one of the most picturesque spots on the river, only a short distance from Camp Colgan, the resort of the Catholic Boy's Brigade. Other residents of the village, as recalled by Mr. Roll were Jacob Carman, the tavern keeper; Charles Carman his son; Dr. Abbott, physician; Benj. Dunn, merchant; Gillett, a store keeper; James and Joseph Sheppard who operated a grist mill; Charles Broadwell who operated the saw mill; Benj. McElwain who ran a carding machine and a man by the name of Sweringen."
"At the time John E. Roll located in Sangamo it was a more pretentious town than Springfield, but was finally overwhelmed by the more enterprising and energetic citizenship of the latter tow. John E. Roll visited the former location of the town sixty-one years after he had worded there with Lincoln on the flatboat, and this was his first visit there after half a century. Without much trouble he located the scene of the once thriving village, which is now completely obliterated, and the exact spot on the bank of the river, where the flatboat was constructed and launched. An old saw mill stood there and was used in sawing the lumber for the boat. The spot on which the mill stood seems to have been washed away. It was a low, flat strip of land along the river on which the work was done and the stream made great inroads on it. At low water sixty years before, a tree stood on the bank, but high water brought it near the middle of the stream. It was from this tree that Lincoln rescued three of his companions. The tree is gone and Mr. Roll found that the river, having cut away the bank, now runs over the place where the tree stood. Not a trace of the old town was Mr. Roll able to find, except an occasional brick used in the construction of some of the buildings."
"Mr. Roll was unable to find in the neighborhood any of the survivors of the town. He did, however, find John Lacy, whose father walked from St. Louis to Springfield with Mr. Roll and Alfred Riley in 1830. Mr. Lacy owned a farm near the site of the village. Mr. Roll says he wrote down the names of about 50 persons who lived at the place at the time he was there, but he was the only survivor of Sangamo on November 12, 1892. 'My first acquaintance with Lincoln', says Mr. Roll, 'was in the spring of 1831. Lincoln at that time was about 22 years old. He was tall, gaunt and bony, and as homely as he has ever been pictured to be. He was the rawest, most primitive looking specimen of humanity I ever saw, his clothing all too scant for him. His trousers lacked four or five inches of reaching the ground, usually with the legs stuffed into big rawhide boots. At this time he wore an old roundabout far too short for hi, so that when he stooped over he showed four or five inches of his suspenders. His hat, drab colored, small crown and broad brim, was well worn. He was a general favorite of all with whom he came in contact, and with his story telling and genial spirit he soon made friends and became the life of the village.'"
"'Upon his arrival in the village he made it known that he came from New Salem to build a flat boat for Offutt and Green, for which he was to receive $15.00 per month for his services. Sangamo was selected as the place for the construction of the boat because of the saw mill at that point, and timber in abundance. He had to have help in building the boat and as I was then in my seventeenth year and could do practically a man's work, he set me to work making the pins for the boat. While the flatboat was being built it was a common thing for the men of the village to get together at noon and night and take their seat on a sleek, barkless log which had been fixed for that purpose. Lincoln invariably had a seat with the boys on this log and it was here that he acquired the reputation as a joker and story teller. For years after, the log was known as 'Abe's log'".
"Those assisting in the building of the flatboat were John Johnston (Lincoln's stepbrother), Walter Carman, (a son of Jacob Carman), John Seaman and a man by the name of Cabanis. Mr. Roll says when it was completed it was shoved into the river. 'It was an event that created something of a stir in the town and a crowd of us got onto the boat, with Mr. Lincoln and rode down the river as far a Lemon's Bend, about two and a half miles below Sangamo. At that point we landed and Lincoln and his companions proceeded on their way.'"
"Mr. Roll says he has seen as many as fifty horses and teams hitched in Sangamo. 'One time', continues Mr. Roll, 'I remember seeing Lincoln on the Salem road walking along reading a book with another under his arm. He got tired and sat down on a log to rest and while he rested, continued to read. One time after I moved to Springfield, Tom Lewis and I were standing on the street talking and Tom said, 'John, why don't you run for some office? You have got so many tenants you could make them elect you.' And I told him I didn't want an office 'till Lincoln was elected president of the United States, then I would expect him to give me an office because I had worked with him on the flatboat. Lincoln came along and Tom told him what I had said. Lincoln laughed and said when he got to be President he would give me an office. So I was the first man he ever promised an office to, but I never go it. Oh yes, I guess he would have given it to me, but I was making more money than any office was worth and didn't want any. This was long before Lincoln was ever thought of for President. I remember when he made that speech in which he said the country could not live half slave and half free. He said 'We were all slaves at one time or another, but that white men could make themselves free but the negroes could not. There is my old friend John Roll; he used to be a slave but he has made himself free and I used to be a slave and now I am so free they let me practice law'".
"Regarding Lincoln's views on one's ambitions to make something of himself and attain higher standards in life, the writer of this narrative quotes Lincoln's own words, which are as true and wholesome now as when in his clear wisdom he penned them. He writes: 'Many independent men everywhere in these states, a few years back in their lives, were hired laborers. The present penniless beginner in the world, labors for wages for a while, saves a surplus with which to buy tools or land for himself, then labors on his account another while and at length hires another new beginner to help him. This is a just and generous and proper system which opens to all and consequence energy and progress and improvement of condition of all.' Then after referring to the superior usefulness of men who have risen from poverty through habits of prudence and economy he makes this remarkable and worthy statement. 'That some should be rich, shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who homeless is pull down the house of another, but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when it is built.'
Sangamo Town By John Linden Roll
"Mr. Roll tells of an incident when he and Mr. Lincoln occupied the same seat on the train going to Alton during the abolition excitement there. 'Lincoln was talking and men were standing up around him listening to the conversation. Two men (I think they were Southerners) who were listening asked him if he was going down the river and remarked they would pay his fare down for the privilege of hearing him talk. One of them asked him if he was an abolitionist. Mr. Lincoln in reply, reached over and laid his hand on the shoulder of Mr. Alsopp who was a strong abolitionist and said 'I am mighty near one', thus showing how quick he could turn things to suit himself. Mr. Roll's son, J. Lin Roll, has in his possession a certificate of membership of his father in the Northwestern Freeman's Aid Commission, acknowledging the receipt of the membership fee of twenty dollars, signed by R.W. Patterson, President and J.R. Shiphers, Secretary. The cancellation date on the revenue stamp attached shows date of 1865, Jany. 18th. Mr. Roll was at that time considered a 'black abolitionist'".
"The writer of this narrative remembers many instances when his father befriended negroes and poor whites who were driven from
the south because of their loyalty to the Union. In 1849 when the Lincoln home was remodeled Mr. Roll took in part payment,
for work done on the home, six walnut doors, which he had constructed into furniture, which is now in my possession. He
also has the ledger which shows the transaction dated April 23d of that year. The same ledger shows an account with Lincoln in
March and August, 1850. Mr. Roll's brother-in-law, John F. Rague, was the architect of the old State House (now the County
Court House). A memorandum in his possession shows that Mr. Roll and his brother-in-law, Isaac Smith and a man by the name of
George Leggott had the contract for plastering the building. This memorandum shows the contract price was $3,406.22, expense
of the work $1,096.09. The net proceeds after deducting Leggott's share left Mr. Roll's share $577.53. J.F. Rague has a
grandson living in Omaha, Nebraska, named Lyman Sholes. J.L. Roll has Illinois State Journals of 1849 and 1853 containing
advertisement of the law firm of Lincoln and Herndon, also his father's advertisement as a building contractor."
Copyright © 2004 Harry Wahl. All rights reserved