George Flower was a co-founder with Morris Birkbeck in establishing a colony of English settlers in EdwardsCounty, Illinois in the years, 1817-18
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FLOWER, GEORGE (April 17, 1788-Jan. 15, 1862), Illinois pioneer, was born at Hertford, England, the eldest son of Richard Flower [q.v.]. in 1814 he accompanied Morris Birkbeck [q.v.] on a three months' tour through France. In 1816 he visited the United States, traveling west to Illinois and south to Tennessee, and spending a good part of the following winter at Monticello with Jefferson, to whom he brought a letter of introduction from Lafayette. He joined Birkbeck at Richmond in the spring, and conducted him and his party to Edwards County, Ill. On the way both fell in love with Eliza Julia Andrews, daughter of the Rev. Mordecai Andrews and a friend in England of the Birkbeck family. She declined Birkbeck's proposal and was married to Flower at Vincennes, Ind., with Birkbeck present at the ceremony. The two men decided to colonize a large tract of prairie land in Edwards County, and while Birkbeck remained on the spot Flower went back to England to publish Birkbeck's account of their journey and to raise money and settlers. When he returned in 1818, bringing his parents, brothers, and sisters with him, he found that Birkbeck would have nothing to do with him and that necessary business with him must be carried on through an intermediary. This breach damaged their project hopelessly and produced a luxuriant crop of gossip. At the time of his death in 1825 Birkbeck was probably seeking to effect a reconciliation. Flower never lost an opportunity to speak well of the character and achievements of his former partner. He laid out the village of Albion, imported good breeds of sheep and cattle, and would sell land only to actual settlers. These he also sought to help with pamphlets such as The Errors of Emigrants (London, n.d.) and The Western Shepherd . . . Containing Instructions for the Breeding and the Proper Management of Sheep, and their Pastures (New Harmony, Ind., 1841). To the Lowell (Mass.) Courier, he wrote a letter descriptive of the prairies, which was translated into Norwegian and probably did something to encourage Norwegian emigration to the West. At Albion he had to contend with drought, poor soil, intractable English immigrants, and the rough element on the frontier, to whom his good manners and good education were an inexcusable offense. When he joined the movement to prevent the legalized introduction of slavery into Illinois he was pursued with threats and insults, and finally a ruffian murdered his eldest son, Richard, and was triumphantly aquitted by the jury. In 1849 he crossed the Wabash and settled at New Harmony, Ind. His once considerable fortune was gone; all that he had left was the household furniture and the family plate. His last years were nevertheless serene and not without honor. He lived with his various children, and while residing at Mt. Vernon, Ind., wrote a history of the English settlement in Edwards County. It and some other papers were presented to the Chicago Historical Society. He and his wife died on the same day at the home of their daughter in Grayville, Ill.
[Flower's Hist. of the English Settlement in Edwards County, Ill. (Chicago, 1882), edited by E. B. Washburne, is the ultimate source of most information about him. The Chicago Historical Society has portraits of him and his wife.] G. H. G.
(Source: Johnson, Allen, and Malone, Duman, DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY, NY:Charles Scribner's Sons, 1931, p. 478-IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, Internet Archive (archive.org)
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FLOWER, GEORGE (April 17, 1788-Jan. 15, 1862), Illinois pioneer, was born at Hertford, England, the eldest son of Richard Flower [q.v.]. in 1814 he accompanied Morris Birkbeck [q.v.] on a three months' tour through France. In 1816 he visited the United States, traveling west to Illinois and south to Tennessee, and spending a good part of the following winter at Monticello with Jefferson, to whom he brought a letter of introduction from Lafayette. He joined Birkbeck at Richmond in the spring, and conducted him and his party to Edwards County, Ill. On the way both fell in love with Eliza Julia Andrews, daughter of the Rev. Mordecai Andrews and a friend in England of the Birkbeck family. She declined Birkbeck's proposal and was married to Flower at Vincennes, Ind., with Birkbeck present at the ceremony. The two men decided to colonize a large tract of prairie land in Edwards County, and while Birkbeck remained on the spot Flower went back to England to publish Birkbeck's account of their journey and to raise money and settlers. When he returned in 1818, bringing his parents, brothers, and sisters with him, he found that Birkbeck would have nothing to do with him and that necessary business with him must be carried on through an intermediary. This breach damaged their project hopelessly and produced a luxuriant crop of gossip. At the time of his death in 1825 Birkbeck was probably seeking to effect a reconciliation. Flower never lost an opportunity to speak well of the character and achievements of his former partner. He laid out the village of Albion, imported good breeds of sheep and cattle, and would sell land only to actual settlers. These he also sought to help with pamphlets such as The Errors of Emigrants (London, n.d.) and The Western Shepherd . . . Containing Instructions for the Breeding and the Proper Management of Sheep, and their Pastures (New Harmony, Ind., 1841). To the Lowell (Mass.) Courier, he wrote a letter descriptive of the prairies, which was translated into Norwegian and probably did something to encourage Norwegian emigration to the West. At Albion he had to contend with drought, poor soil, intractable English immigrants, and the rough element on the frontier, to whom his good manners and good education were an inexcusable offense. When he joined the movement to prevent the legalized introduction of slavery into Illinois he was pursued with threats and insults, and finally a ruffian murdered his eldest son, Richard, and was triumphantly aquitted by the jury. In 1849 he crossed the Wabash and settled at New Harmony, Ind. His once considerable fortune was gone; all that he had left was the household furniture and the family plate. His last years were nevertheless serene and not without honor. He lived with his various children, and while residing at Mt. Vernon, Ind., wrote a history of the English settlement in Edwards County. It and some other papers were presented to the Chicago Historical Society. He and his wife died on the same day at the home of their daughter in Grayville, Ill.
[Flower's Hist. of the English Settlement in Edwards County, Ill. (Chicago, 1882), edited by E. B. Washburne, is the ultimate source of most information about him. The Chicago Historical Society has portraits of him and his wife.] G. H. G.
(Source: Johnson, Allen, and Malone, Duman, DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY, NY:Charles Scribner's Sons, 1931, p. 478-IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, Internet Archive (archive.org)
George Flower was a co-founder with Morris Birkbeck in establishing a colony of English settlers in EdwardsCounty, Illinois in the years, 1817-18
************************************************************
FLOWER, GEORGE (April 17, 1788-Jan. 15, 1862), Illinois pioneer, was born at Hertford, England, the eldest son of Richard Flower [q.v.]. in 1814 he accompanied Morris Birkbeck [q.v.] on a three months' tour through France. In 1816 he visited the United States, traveling west to Illinois and south to Tennessee, and spending a good part of the following winter at Monticello with Jefferson, to whom he brought a letter of introduction from Lafayette. He joined Birkbeck at Richmond in the spring, and conducted him and his party to Edwards County, Ill. On the way both fell in love with Eliza Julia Andrews, daughter of the Rev. Mordecai Andrews and a friend in England of the Birkbeck family. She declined Birkbeck's proposal and was married to Flower at Vincennes, Ind., with Birkbeck present at the ceremony. The two men decided to colonize a large tract of prairie land in Edwards County, and while Birkbeck remained on the spot Flower went back to England to publish Birkbeck's account of their journey and to raise money and settlers. When he returned in 1818, bringing his parents, brothers, and sisters with him, he found that Birkbeck would have nothing to do with him and that necessary business with him must be carried on through an intermediary. This breach damaged their project hopelessly and produced a luxuriant crop of gossip. At the time of his death in 1825 Birkbeck was probably seeking to effect a reconciliation. Flower never lost an opportunity to speak well of the character and achievements of his former partner. He laid out the village of Albion, imported good breeds of sheep and cattle, and would sell land only to actual settlers. These he also sought to help with pamphlets such as The Errors of Emigrants (London, n.d.) and The Western Shepherd . . . Containing Instructions for the Breeding and the Proper Management of Sheep, and their Pastures (New Harmony, Ind., 1841). To the Lowell (Mass.) Courier, he wrote a letter descriptive of the prairies, which was translated into Norwegian and probably did something to encourage Norwegian emigration to the West. At Albion he had to contend with drought, poor soil, intractable English immigrants, and the rough element on the frontier, to whom his good manners and good education were an inexcusable offense. When he joined the movement to prevent the legalized introduction of slavery into Illinois he was pursued with threats and insults, and finally a ruffian murdered his eldest son, Richard, and was triumphantly aquitted by the jury. In 1849 he crossed the Wabash and settled at New Harmony, Ind. His once considerable fortune was gone; all that he had left was the household furniture and the family plate. His last years were nevertheless serene and not without honor. He lived with his various children, and while residing at Mt. Vernon, Ind., wrote a history of the English settlement in Edwards County. It and some other papers were presented to the Chicago Historical Society. He and his wife died on the same day at the home of their daughter in Grayville, Ill.
[Flower's Hist. of the English Settlement in Edwards County, Ill. (Chicago, 1882), edited by E. B. Washburne, is the ultimate source of most information about him. The Chicago Historical Society has portraits of him and his wife.] G. H. G.
(Source: Johnson, Allen, and Malone, Duman, DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY, NY:Charles Scribner's Sons, 1931, p. 478-IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, Internet Archive (archive.org)
************************************************************
FLOWER, GEORGE (April 17, 1788-Jan. 15, 1862), Illinois pioneer, was born at Hertford, England, the eldest son of Richard Flower [q.v.]. in 1814 he accompanied Morris Birkbeck [q.v.] on a three months' tour through France. In 1816 he visited the United States, traveling west to Illinois and south to Tennessee, and spending a good part of the following winter at Monticello with Jefferson, to whom he brought a letter of introduction from Lafayette. He joined Birkbeck at Richmond in the spring, and conducted him and his party to Edwards County, Ill. On the way both fell in love with Eliza Julia Andrews, daughter of the Rev. Mordecai Andrews and a friend in England of the Birkbeck family. She declined Birkbeck's proposal and was married to Flower at Vincennes, Ind., with Birkbeck present at the ceremony. The two men decided to colonize a large tract of prairie land in Edwards County, and while Birkbeck remained on the spot Flower went back to England to publish Birkbeck's account of their journey and to raise money and settlers. When he returned in 1818, bringing his parents, brothers, and sisters with him, he found that Birkbeck would have nothing to do with him and that necessary business with him must be carried on through an intermediary. This breach damaged their project hopelessly and produced a luxuriant crop of gossip. At the time of his death in 1825 Birkbeck was probably seeking to effect a reconciliation. Flower never lost an opportunity to speak well of the character and achievements of his former partner. He laid out the village of Albion, imported good breeds of sheep and cattle, and would sell land only to actual settlers. These he also sought to help with pamphlets such as The Errors of Emigrants (London, n.d.) and The Western Shepherd . . . Containing Instructions for the Breeding and the Proper Management of Sheep, and their Pastures (New Harmony, Ind., 1841). To the Lowell (Mass.) Courier, he wrote a letter descriptive of the prairies, which was translated into Norwegian and probably did something to encourage Norwegian emigration to the West. At Albion he had to contend with drought, poor soil, intractable English immigrants, and the rough element on the frontier, to whom his good manners and good education were an inexcusable offense. When he joined the movement to prevent the legalized introduction of slavery into Illinois he was pursued with threats and insults, and finally a ruffian murdered his eldest son, Richard, and was triumphantly aquitted by the jury. In 1849 he crossed the Wabash and settled at New Harmony, Ind. His once considerable fortune was gone; all that he had left was the household furniture and the family plate. His last years were nevertheless serene and not without honor. He lived with his various children, and while residing at Mt. Vernon, Ind., wrote a history of the English settlement in Edwards County. It and some other papers were presented to the Chicago Historical Society. He and his wife died on the same day at the home of their daughter in Grayville, Ill.
[Flower's Hist. of the English Settlement in Edwards County, Ill. (Chicago, 1882), edited by E. B. Washburne, is the ultimate source of most information about him. The Chicago Historical Society has portraits of him and his wife.] G. H. G.
(Source: Johnson, Allen, and Malone, Duman, DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY, NY:Charles Scribner's Sons, 1931, p. 478-IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, Internet Archive (archive.org)
Inscription
GEORGE FLOWER
APR 17 1788
JAN 15 1862
Gravesite Details
The original gravestone was donated to the Edwards County Historical Society.
Family Members
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