Biography - Andrew Tunnell
Andrew Jackson Tunnell was born in Greene county, Illinois, June 28,
1837. He is the thirteenth child of Hon. Calvin and Jane Tunnell, who had a
family of fourteen children, nine of whom are yet living. Mr. Tunnell was
born in North Carolina October 4, 17791, and was one of a large family of
William Tunnell and Mary Massey, who were married in 1771, in Fairfax
county, Virginia; their ancestors being formerly from England. When their
son Calvin was only four years old, Mr. Tunnell and wife moved to Anderson
county, Tennessee, locating on a wild tract of land there, where he made a
farm; and it was in that county and state that Calvin was educated, his
learning being such as the schools of that day afforded. Quite early in life
he became inured to the toils and hardships of frontier life. On the 25th of
August, 1811, he was married to Miss Jane Addair, a native of Western
Virginia, born July 28, 1795. After his marriage, Mr. Tunnell started out in
life on his own account, continuing to reside there til 1817. He then
removed, with his wife and two children, to Madison county, Ill., where they
stayed until late in the fall of 1818, and early in the spring of 1819 came
up to Greene county, Ill. Here he located on a piece of land and made an
improvement, and was one among the early settlers of the township where he
resided. A portion of that farm constitutes a part of that comprised in the
farm now owned by his son, A. J. Like the majority of the pioneers of this
county, he came here very poor. He had hardly any money, and but three head
of horses, and they died before he was able to make any improvement; and in
order to break up his first piece of ground, he found it necessary to work
for a neighbor by the day to get his first team of oxen to plow with. A few
months previous to making a settlement here, he came and selected his piece
of land, and by some it has been said that he split the first rails north of
the Macoupin creek. Though the fact of his coming here poor was not enough
to dishearten him at the early period when he became a settler in this
state, even with considerable capital, it was found a not very enviable
life; yet these hardy pioneers seemed to enjoy it. Mr. Tunnell, in his
business enterprises, was successful, and in mentioning his starting-point
in life, our object was to draw a contrast between his humble beginning and
the subsequent success which he achieved. Mr. Tunnell and wife had fourteen
children, nine of whom are yet living, and are married and comfortable
settled in life. Not many years after they came to Greene county, Mr.
Tunnell and wife joined the Baptist Church. He also preached a few sermons
in the earlier part of his pioneer life. Soon after coming to the county,
he, with a neighbor – Mr. Colwell – found it necessary to drive their cattle
down to the Illinois river bottom to graze them, as the vegetation around
the locality where he lived had been burned by the autumnal fires started by
the Indians, thus depriving their cattle of the necessary means of
subsistence. After picketing their cattle, Messrs. Colwell and Tunnell would
start out in the adjoining grove to hunt bee trees, the grove being in close
proximity to where Mr. Drayton subsequently settled. We give his version of
the incident that occurred: "Mr. Colwell proposed to me to let the cattle
rest an hour while we should look about the forest in search of bee trees. I
had not yet learned the art of finding bees. We hitched our horses, and he
went to the hills south of the branch, while I took a southeasterly course
along the hillside, and over the deep hollow, while I traversed around and
formed almost a circle, and was coming back toward the cattle. I was walking
along slowly, as bee hunters generally do, when, on turning my gaze
downward, and to the left, I for the first time discovered a panther of the
largest size. He was lying ten or twelve feet from me, with his feet all
under him, and seemingly feeling the ground and getting ready to make a
spring upon me. Three or four feet would bring me on a direct line with him;
I suppose he was waiting for me to arrive at that point before making the
attack. When I first saw him he was looking me in the eyes. His vast
proportions revealed to me a mass of nerve and muscle, to which I had been a
stranger. He had evidently been watching me with a great deal of interest,
and now that I had come within his reach, he was able, at one short leap, to
pounce upon me; and his ponderous weight and impulsive muscle, together with
the force of such a leap, was sufficient to crush me to the earth in a
moment. His great, yellow eyes, with their horrid glare, were fastened upon
me, and were scanning me through and through with piercing darts, as if he
intended to look me down, and so soon as he would see me quail under the
keenness of his eyes, pounce upon me, and thus make me an easy prey. I saw
that the 'impending crisis' had come. With the accustomed coolness and
precision of the old hunter, I raised my rifle and shot the panther dead."
The above description is mostly in the language of Mr. Tunnell himself in a
letter to his granddaughters in Virginia, describing the above event, which
occurred February 14, 1819. In retuning more directly to his life, we find
that he had rather a filial regard for the soil, and as a stock grower and
farmer he was successful. He used considerable efforts in order to give his
children the benefits of a good common school education, and as they married
he gave them some little start in the world. In his politics, he was
identified with the democratic party, and for a man with his opportunities,
was quite well versed in the principles of politics, and was considered
quite a logical reasoner. For a few years he was judge of Greene county. Mr.
Tunnell was elected a representative from Greene county to a seat in the
legislature while the seat of government was located at Vandalia, and was a
member after it was moved to Springfield. Lincoln and Douglas were both
members at the same time, and with both of those men he was intimately
acquainted. When he made his last visit to his friends in Virginia, in 1866,
the democratic convention which convened at Carrollton presented his name
for re-election, but he declined the honor. Mr. Tunnell was a gentleman who
had the warm appreciation of the citizens of Greene county. He possessed
many of those qualities which eminently fitted him to cope with the
thrilling events of pioneer life, and had he received the benefits of a
thorough education, he probably would have made one of the leading men of
this portion of the state. Mrs. Tunnell died at their residence August 30,
1858; Mr. T. survived the death of his wife until April 7, 1867. Such is but
a brief account of one who participated in the earlier events of this
county.
Andrew Jackson Tunnell was educated in the schools of this county. His
occupation has always been that of a farmer. On the 9th of September, 1861,
he was married to Miss Caroline Purl, daughter of Thomas C. Purl of Greene
county. After his marriage he continued to farm the old homestead, and has
added considerable to it, and now he has a farm of upwards of six hundred
acres, situated about two miles south of Carrollton. Mr. Tunnell has been
successful in his business enterprises, and he now ranks among the opulent
agriculturists of Greene county.
Extracted 05 Jan 2017 & 06 Jun 2018 by Norma Hass from Atlas Map of Greene County Illinois, 1873, pages 38 and 39.
