Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 135

Author:
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago: Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 950

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Men held different views then as now. Mr. B. and Mr. R. were neighbors and friends, liv- ing in the same school and highway district, and both were usually school and highway offi- cers. At the school meetings B. insisted sev- enty-five cents per week, and "board round," was sufficient compensation for the young women teachers, while R. contended they should receive at least $1 per week. B.'s scraper was used just one week upon the roads, and he brought in a bill of $6 for its use. R. declared it too much, and B. said that "scrapers cost money" and that the charge was reason- able, to which R. replied: "Well, B., you have very strange ideas; you think a woman capable of teaching your children and mine is worth less than one-sixth as much as your confounded old scraper."

The method of establishing and maintaining the highways has been changed by State and county legislation to the present system, which

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

places the whole process in the hands of the Township Highway Commissioners, with pro- vision for appeal from their rulings, and pro- vides for carrying a specific percentage tax for the construction of the roads and bridges. Un- der the statutes, however, option is granted to townships as to this change; and some of those in which but few and small bridges are needed, and consequently little need for cash expendi- tures exists, prefer to remain under the old system. The necessity for delivering milk daily and promptly at the factories and ship- ping stations, imperatively required a radical improvement of the highways, and fortunately nearly every road district in the county has banks of excellent gravel, with which it is pos- sible to construct the very best road-beds. The very general-even though brief-popularity of the bicycle greatly stimulated the improvement of the roads, and the more recent introduction of the automobile will strongly tend in the same direction. Every one of the "old State roads"-a designation once very significant but now alinost obsolete-which means nearly all the main thoroughfares running northwesterly from the river towns, are well drained and heavily piked with gravel, as also are very many of the cross roads. The principal high- ways of every township are now in fine condi- tion-rain or shine, in summer or in winter- and it is very doubtful if there is a county in tlie State with better roads than Kane.

RAILWAYS .- The first railway train to enter the county came over the spur-track, which branched from the track of the old Galena & Chicago Union Railroad line about three miles Forthwest of Turner Junction, now West Chi- cago. It rolled proudly up to the depot at St. Charles on December 12, 1849-a memorable day in the annals of the county. The railway station was some forty or more rods soutli- easterly of the present elegant high school building, and a part of the old engine house near it still remains. This track was soon after extended to Geneva, and the old long building east of Bennett's large flouring-mill served as the depot and freight-house. From its plat- form Stephen A. Douglas addressed a large asemblage of people from all parts of the coun- ty in the early 'fifties. The operation of these lines ceased about 1857. In February, 1850, a train of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad first reached Elgin. (The careful reader will note that Galena was the important point and

Chicago secondary.) It was a gala day, ob- served with appropriate public exercises. About two years was required to accumulate suffic- ient financial strength for its extension, and during that time Elgin remained the busy, hust- ling western terminal.

The "Aurora Branch Railroad" was built in 1850-51, from Turner Junction,via Batavia, to Aurora, and after consolidation with other sim- ilar corporations, finally became a part of the great Chicago, Burlington & Quincy System, and in 1855 was extended to the Mississippi River. Soon after the direct line to Chicago was con- structed and opened for traffic.

The "Dixon Air-Line" Division of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad was constructed through Geneva in 1853, and in that year work was commenced on the "Fox River Valley Rail- road," connecting Elgin with Geneva Lake, Wis., in order to reach the pine lumber region. This enterprise moved very slowly. As a bit of road-bed was graded, it was covered with widely separated ties upon which wooden stringers were placed, instead of the "T rail" of today, and a flat bar of iron spiked to these stringers, called "strap-rail," was the temporary and dangerous beariug prepared for the wheels to roll upon. The ends of these strap-rails, be- coming loosened, would occasionally be caught upon the upper side of a rolling wheel and come crashing up through the car-floor. They were called "Snake-leads," and were a terror to the few passengers on the line; although by reason of the slow movement of the trains not many serious accidents occurred. These were the pioneer roads; wood was the fuel used, and the earlier coaches consisted of a single apartment with no retiring rooms what- ever. Yet these trains were considered mar- vels of comfort and speed. Now the lines of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy pass through the townships and towns of Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, Sugar Grove and Big Rock and the vil- lage of Montgomery, The Iowa Division of the Chicago & North-Western passes through the townships and towns of Geneva, Batavia, Au- rora, St. Charles, Blackberry, Kaneville and Virgil, and the stations of LaFox, Elburu and Maple Park; the Chicago Great Western through the townships and towns of St. Charles, Campton and Virgil, and the stations of Wasco, Lily Lake and Richardson; the Illinois Cen- tral runs through the townships of St. Charles, Elgin, Plato and Burlington, and the villages

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

of Coleman, East Plato, Plato Center and Bur- lington; the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul passes through the townships of Elgin, Plato, Rutland and Hampshire, and the stations of Elgin, Almora, McQueen, Pingree Grove, Sun- set and Hampshire; and the Freeport & Lake Geneva lines of the Chicago & North-Western pass through the townships of St. Charles, El- gin, Almora, Gilberts, Dundee and Carpenters- ville. Except the two last mentioned, these are great trunk lines running frequent and fast trains. Over these tracks, rushing from ocean to ocean, roll the solid vestibuled "flyers," pro- vided with every known appliance to insure safety and speed, and equipped with every possible provision for elegant comfort that has yet been devised. Marvelous, indeed, has been the transition within the memory of many still living.

There are over 166 miles of steam railway main-track within Kane County, and they reach every township in the county. There are also about sixty-eight miles of electric railway in the county, and, beside the frequent up and down the river trips, Aurora, Batavia and El- gin have a regular half-hour service with Chi- cago over their lines, with a maximum single fare of fifty cents, and a round-trip for seventy- five cents. Every city and village in the county is connected by telegraph with stations in all parts of the world, while a net-work of tele- phone lines brings the homes of both town and country residents into close relation with all the business and social needs and pleasures of life.

POST ROUTES .- The first mail carrier, other than the regular four-horse stages, in Kane County, was familiarly known as "Daddy Wil- son," who in 1837-38 made a trip once in two weeks from La Fox (Herrington's Ford) to Naperville, carrying the mail in his hat or pock- ets. A little later the people of St. Charles hired a man to convey the mail to and from Elgin, where the daily line of stages made con- nection with Chicago. In the same way the people af McCarty's Mill had, for a time, ob- tained their mail from Naperville. As offices off these stage lines were established, their pa- trons and postmasters made arrangements for conveying the trifling-as to amount, but in- tensely interesting-mail to and from the of- fices on the stage-routes.

Soon after the transfer of the mail transpor- tation from the stages to the railways, the

Postoffice Department arranged many of these short lines throughout the country-from the railway station offices to interior offices-into groups called "star routes." A "star route" fre- quently included a score or more of short lines, some of which were hundreds of miles apart. The transportation of mail over each of these groups was let to the lowest bidder in sealed proposals, and the successful bidder sublet the carrying to local contractors. The short lines in Kane County were so grouped, and frequent- ly-if not always-let to the contractors of whom our people never heard, but who, through the Department and the postmaster, arranged with the local carrier and paid him for his ser- vices, the contractor himself never appearing. If the plan was not conceived in iniquity, it de- veloped much fraud and brought great shame upon the Department.

The free-delivery of mail began about 1887, and Aurora, Batavia and Elgin now have fre- quent deliveries each day. The first rural de- livery route in the county was authorized in 1902, and this great convenience now reaches nearly every township. To those who can still recall the expense, delay, uncertainty, incon- venience and sometimes severe hardship in- curred by the pioneer in sending out and receiv- ing their small amount of mail-when a jour- ney of a whole day and far into the night, over a roadless, unsettled country, was cheerfully endured for the sake of obtaining precious let- ters from the old home, and where the wages of a day's labor were paid for postage-the mar- velous change to the certainty, celerity and cheapness of the present postal service reads like a fairy tale.

POST OFFICES .- As accurately as can be as- certained, the dates of establishment, discon- tinuance and changes in the postoffices of the county, with the names of the first postmasters, have been as follows:

La Fox-December 31, 1836, Henry A. Miller, P. M .; changed to Geneva.

Aurora-March 2, 1837, Burr Winton, P. M. Elgin-July 19, 1837, James T. Gifford, P. M. Waterville-November 23, 1838, Horace Ban- croft, P. M .; changed to St. Charles.

Deerfield (in Rutland)-December 3, 1838, Alfred Standish, P. M .; discontinued August 18, 1841.

Acasto (in Big Rock)-February 9, 1839, Or- son Brooks, P. M .; discontinued November 12, 1849.

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

St. Charles ( from Waterville)-February 28, 1839, Horace Bancroft, P. M.

Lily Lake-November 5, 1839, John Scott, P. M .; changed to Avon.

Udina-December 30, 1839, Asa Merrill, P. M .; discontinued November 9, 1868; reestablished January 29, 1869, and again discontinued.

Blackberry-April 8, 1840, David Wheeler, P. M .; changed to Elburn.

Avon (in Campton )-April 20, 1840, Milton S. Cline, P. M .; late Lily Lake.

Berkshire (in Plato)-June 13, 1840, John Griggs, P. M .; discontinued July 6, 1857.

Batavia-February 6, 1841, Isaac Wilson, P. M.

Hampshire-February 27, 1841, Enoch O. Gar- land, P. M.

Dundee-September 3, 1841, George W. Hoit, P. M.

Little Woods (in St. Charles)-May 28, 1842, E. W. Brewster, P. M .; changed July 7, 1853, to Wayne, DuPage County.

Rees (in Kaneville)-September 27. 1845, Al- fred W. Churchill, P. M .; discontinued August 16, 1849.

King's Mill (in Campton )-December 22, 1845, Thomas E. Dodge. P. M .; changed to Gray Willow.

Canning-May 26, 1846, Samuel Worcester, P. M .; discontinued October 5, 1848.

Burlington-May 28, 1846, John W. Ellithorp, P. M.

Schneider's Mill-December 28, 1846, John Peter Schneider, P. M .; discontinued Novem- ber 7, 1848.

Grouse (Sugar Grove)-September 13, 1847, Marcus White, P. M .; discontinued September 27, 1858; reestablished, January 10, 1859, Will- iam Thompson, P. M .; again discontinued.

Jericho (Sugar Grove)-December 8, 1847, Isaac S. Fitch, P. M .; discontinued November 12, 1849; reestablished, January 8, 1850, Isaac S. Fitch, P. M .; discontinued May 11, 1886.

Montgomery-January 20, 1848, Ralph Gray, P. M.

Pingree Grove-March 6, 1848, Andrew Pin- gree, P. M.

Banner (in Rutland)-July 28. 1848, John Mckay, P. M .; discontinued.

Kaneville-August 10, 1848, Nicanor N. Rav- lin, P. M.

Fayville (St. Charles Township)-January 18, 1848, Rice Fay, P. M .; discontinued Septem- ber 25, 1851.

Swinton (in Campton) -July 24, 1849, Henry Warne, P. M .; discontinued August 1, 1854.

Collamer (in Virgil)-August 16, 1849, Mil- ton Thorne, P. M .; changed to New Virgil.

Geneva (from La Fox)-April 9, 1850, Albert W. Glass, P. M.

Big Rock-May 23, 1850, Robert Summers, P. M .; discontinued January 23, 1855; reestab- lished March 23, 1855, Joshua Rhodes, P. M.

Winthrop (Sugar Grove Township)-August 12, 1850, Samuel S. Ingham, P. M .; discontin- ved May 16, 1865.

Clintonville-September 26, 1851, G. M. Wood- bury, P. M .; changed to South Elgin. .

Campton-October 27, 1851, Elbridge Walk- er, P. M .; discontinued December 27, 1860; rees- tablished December 11, 1865, William A. Lind- say, P. M .; changed to Lily Lake.

Hibernian (in Rutland)-June 21, 1852, Den- nis Ryan, P. M .; discontinued July 6, 1853.

Lodi Station-March 31, 1854, Zachariah Hathorne, P. M .; changed to Maple Park.

New Plato-January 7, 1854, Stephen Archer, P. M .; discontinued November 7, 1870.

New Virgil (from Collamer)-January 7, 1854, William H. Robinson, P. M .; discontinued August 2, 1864.

Rutland-January 7, 1854, John B. Eakin, P. M .; changed to Gilbert's.

West Burlington-January 27, 1854, Amos A. Brown, P. M .; discontinued November 14, 1854.

North Plato-April 6, 1855, Freeman Temple, P. M .; discontinued May 6, 1867; reestablished April 26, 1869, John Eastman, P. M.

East Campton-April 28, 1862, Edward W. Miller, P. M .; discontinued January 21, 1865.

Carpentersville-February 4, 1863, Julius A. Carpenter, P. M.

East Burlington-April 1, 1865, John Green, P. M .; discontinued.

Gray Willow (from King's Mill)-September 20, 1869. Philo Plummer, P. M .; discontinued 1887.

North Aurora ( Schneider's Mill)-January 18, 1869, Alex H. Stone, P. M.

Riverside (late Fayville)-July 27. 1870, Thomas Alexander, P. M .; changed to Silver Glen.

Gilbert's ( from Rutland)-August 26, 1870, John Martin, P. M.

Plato Corners-September 30, 1870, George H. Thompson, P. M .; discontined December 5, 1871.

Silver Glen ( from Riverside)-November 7,

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1870, Thomas Alexander, P. M .; discontinued July 9, 1873.

Holstein (in Hampshire)-July 6, 1876, Lucy J. Whiting, P. M .; discontinued July 7, 1884.

South Elgin (from Clintonville)-December 22, 1876, Mary O. Farrell, P. M.

Plato Center-May 18, 1877, Louisa J. Han- son, P. M.

Maple Park (from Lodi Station) -February 18, 1880, Norton Snow, P. M.

Padel (in Elgin Township)-September 28, 1881, Albert Gilbert, P. M .; changed to Spring Valley.

Spring Valley ( from Padel) -Albert Gilbert, P. M .; changed to Almora.

Almora (from Spring Valley)-December 16, 1885, Albert Gilbert, P. M.

Sunset (in Rutland)-April 30, 1883, Philip Hemrick, P. M.

McQueen-March 9, 1885, John A. McQueen, P. M.

Elburn ( from Blackberry )-February 26, 1886, Milton S. Cline, P. M.

Lily Lake (from Campton)-June 6, 1887. Morton J. Springer, P. M.

Wasco-September 1, 1887, George Bergland, P. M.

Richardson-February 11, 1888, E. C. Connor, P. M.

East Plato-1889, A. H. Fairchild, P. M.

Youngsdale-1889, Smith Young, P. M.

The Presidential and money-order offices in the county, with salaries of incumbents, are: Aurora, $3,100; Batavia, $2,500; Dundee, $1,- 600; Elgin, $3,200; Geneva, $1,800; St. Charles, $2,100; and Hampshire, $- ---. The next class, also including money-order offices, are: Big Rock, Burlington, Carpentersville, Elburn, Lily Lake, Maple Park, Montgomery, North Aurora, Pingree Grove, South Elgin, Sugar Grove and Wasco. The offices not authorized to issue money orders are: Almora, Bald Mound, East Plato, Gilbert's, Kaneville, McQueen, Plato Center, Richardson, Sunset, Virgil and Youngs- dale. Each of the thirty offices transmits reg- istered mail. The cash receipts of the Elgin Office for the year ending March 31, 1903, were $113,774.54, the third largest in the State, as the receipts of the Chicago and Peoria offices alone exceeded that amount.

THE PRESS .- Not only do the number of churches, schools and libraries indicate the mental activity of the people of Kane County, but the numerous newspapers that have been,

and are now, being issued within its borders, further demonstrates it. We cannot be assured that we have discovered all of them, but we · find eighteen journals to have begun their more or less extended career at Aurora; seven at Batavia; seven at Geneva; twenty-one at St. Charles; forty-seven at Elgin; six at Dundee; two at Hampshire, and two at Elburn-a total of 110. The number now published in different cities and villages are as follows: Aurora, nine; Batavia, two; Geneva, two; St. Charles, two; Elgin, twenty-six; Dundee, two; Hamp- shire, one; Elburn, one-in all forty-five.

The David C. Cook Publishing Company alone issues 1,060,000 weekly copies, and its list of monthly and quarterly periodicals brings the number of regular issues to the immense ag- gregate of 2,500,00v. Beside this vast work, it is constantly sending forth tons, and scores of tons of leaflets, cards and printed sheets of various kinds. In intellectual matter, material, arrangement, illustrations and mechanical ex- ecution, these are, each and all, of the highest ' character, and most perfect type known to the editor's desk and the printer's art. Some of the immense and complicated presses seem al- most endowed with human capacities. The daily and less frequent issues of other publica- tions in the county approximate 50,000 copies.

Who will attempt to portray the brain work -the life force-expended upon publications that have been in advance of the public needs, and have thus failed to receive material sup- port; the high hopes and fine aspirations that have withered and died; the sad disappoint- ments and keen anguish involved? Their pro- jectors were persons of unusual mental endow- ment and sensibility, and their sufferings at the failure of their earnest endeavors were correspondingly keen. All through the early years in the history of Kane County, we had pioneer editors and printers well worthy of long and grateful remembrance. Midway down the line of the vanished years stands the pa- thetic form of Dudley Randall-familiar in ev- ery river town-a genial, talented, generous man, who saw fair visions and dreamed bright dreams that were never to be attained or re- alized. Poor "Dud" Randall! fine type of a class of brainy men who did much to advance the intellectual life of the people, and who passed from sight in poverty and public neglect, amid the ruins of his unattained ideals. Others there were, some of whom are still with us,

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

whose financial fortune has been almost as sad as his; yet neither he nor they have lived and wrought in vain; for old friends still hold them in grateful memory, and their moral and intel- lectual force made large and lasting-even if untraced and unrewarded-impress for good upon the hearts and minds of the people. The impartial historian cannot fail to give high meed of praise to the intellectual, moral and public-spirited persons who have conducted, and who still manage, the public press of the county.

To St. Charles belongs the honor of issuing the first publication in the Fox River valley. In that then frontier hamlet. on the 15th day of December, 1841-while far the larger por- tion of the adjacent lands still belonged to the Government, and a year before these lands came into market in Elgin and many of the other townships-the Revs. William Rounseville and Seth Barnes began the publication of a re- ligious weekly newspaper called the "Better Covenant." Some years later the office was re- moved to Chicago, and subsequently its name was changed to the "New Covenant," and again to the "Universalist." In 1897 it was consoli- dated with another similar periodical, and the office removed to Boston, Mass., where it is now published as the "Universalist Leader." It is an interesting historical fact that that first paper of the county has never missed its weekly appearance, is still a welcome messen- ger to many homes in the county of its birth, and stands upon a broader and more permanent basis than ever before.

CHAPTER XV.

LEGAL AND MEDICAL PROFESSIONS.

ANECDOTES OF EARLY COURTS AND COURT OFFICERS -FIRST JUDGES OF KANE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT -NOTABLE MEMBERS OF THE BAR-PIONEER PHYSICIANS AND THEIR HARDSHIPS-PERSONAL HISTORY AND REMINISCENCES.

Elderly people are quite liable to think "there were giants in those days," and so there

were; but we should not forget that the men and women of today are certainly the peers, and in some respects the superiors, of those of the yesterdays. There have been great changes in methods and requirements, as the inevitable result of experience and develop- ment, and if people have not changed for the better with the advanced methods and improv- ing conditions, then Christianity is a sham and civilization a failure. In those embryonic days the courts had comparatively few guiding pre- cedents, and taking the crude statutes of the Legislature and the fundamental principles of the common law as the basis of their decisions, they marked the legal trail of the frontier State. Each Judge was, in far larger measure than now, "a law unto himself" and unto his court; and at times the early court officers had ways peculiarly their own. One of the first constables, who always buckled upon himself an old sword when attending court or serving processes, furnished an example of the latter, while a sturdy Scotch magistrate. who insisted upon "instructing the jury" in imitation of the Circuit Judge, afforded an illustration of the former. Upon one occasion counsel objected to the method of the aspiring dispenser of jus- tice so vehemently that at length the latter ex- claimed, "Weel, Muster Freedley, sin' ye are sa strenuous aboot et, a'hle note enstruct the juree, but this aa weel say: ye've made a verra bad case o' et."

In another instance two Justices, sitting as a court, found a prisoner guilty of grand larceny, and sentenced him to two years' confinement in the penitentiary at Alton. The constable actually took him a day's journey on the way to prison, when learning the magistrates had no jurisdiction, he turned the prisoner loose. In still another instance, the defendant's coun- sel cited the statute of limitations clearly bar- ring the case; and the Justice replied, "well, Judge, that appears to be the law; but I'll be d-d to h-1 if I don't make that dandy young fellow pay this poor wash-woman," and he did.

Judges Ford, Caton and Dickey. who held the first terms of the circuit court of Kane County, were very able men and sound jurists; and they deservedly rose to high distinction, while T. B. Blackstone, Onslow Peters, Burton C. Cook, and others, who practiced before them, were brilliant lawyers; but as the old custom of the lawyers to accompany the court through the circuit passed away, they were succeeded by

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

men resident in the county who were versatile scholars and able lawyers. John F. Farns- worth, William B. Plato, Sylvanus Wilcox and Benjamin F. Fridley were men of strong per- sonality, incorruptible integrity, and profoundly versed in the law, while many of their early as- sociates possessed great strength in certain lines of practice. Few men are endowed with so brilliant oratorical gifts as Col. E. S. Joslyn possessed, and very few lawyers had such au- dacity and instant keenness in the trial of a case as Augustus M. Herrington.

The other members of the bar who met these men in the sharp contests before the courts, and successfully competed with them for prac- tice in the various communities of the county, were capable and resourceful lawyers, culti- vated gentlemen and leaders in the educational forces in their respective places of residence. Each in his own distinct personality they stand clearly outlined in the horizon of mem- ory, and their names, familiar as household words, appeal almost irresistibly for mention. But with the mighty procession of the ages, they have passed down the ceaseless current of time, and their number forbids the men- tion of each individually. Judge R. G. Montony, Hon. Charles Wheaton and Judge R. N. Bots- ford, who were in active practice within the later years of that generation of lawyers, alone remain actively engaged in their profession; and, with well deserved honor, they are regard- ed as the Nestors of the present able bar. B. F. Fridley and Judge William D. Barry were the most unique characters of the first Kane County lawyers, and while each possessed a peculiar and undefinable dignity, they persisted -consciously or unconsciously-in the speech and manners of the frontier. Innumerable stories are told of their quaint utterances. It was Fridley who said that "he didn't know of any statute law agin a man makin' a blank fool of himself." And, again, when overruled in his contention before the court upon some question of law, and reminded by the presiding Judge of his right to appeal to the Court of Errors, he remarked, sotto voce, yet in an aud- ible tone, that "if this was not a 'court of er- rors,' it would be mighty difficult to find one." The peculiar tone and manner that gave minique pungency to many similar utterances cannot be imitated.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 135

Author: Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Chicago: Munsell Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 950

Author:
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Chicago: Munsell Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 950