Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 143

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

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VIRGIL TOWNSHIP.

As St. Charles is the center of the eastern tier of townships, so Virgil is in the center of the western tier. It adjoins DeKalb County, which was once a part of Kane and, while that condition existed, was in Sycamore Pre- cinct with its voting place at Lysander Dar- ling's house. The township now consists of Town No. 40 North, Range 6 East. Soon after the government surveys were made, marking the township lines, its few inhabitants voted to call it Washington Township, but at a town meeting held April 30, 1842, the name was changed to Franklin and so continued until 1839, when it was changed by the State Com- missioners to Virgil, as heretofore stated in the sketch of the county.

Several small streams have their sources well toward the eastern line of the township, and with scarcely enough fall to make any percepti- ble current, they converge and unite near the center line dividing Sections 21 and 20, and

722

HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

form one of the branches of the Kishwaukee, whose waters are carried to the distant Rock River. The eastern portion of the township along the sources of these drains was low prai- rie, covered with a luxuriant growth of coarse vegetation, which, in the early days, was not inviting to the pioneers. The land was too wet for convenient cultivation, and too damp and cold for the production of good crops. The rank slough grass threatened fearful prairie fires in the late fall and early spring, and the low land was the abiding place of malaria with its attendant fever and ague, and during the summer and fall it swarmed with mosquitoes. And so, like the low prairie east and west of the Des Plaines timber, these lands were passed by the majority of the first pioneers and, for a number of years after the opening of the government land sale, on January 30, 1843, there was public land subject to entry in this township. Cultivation and drainage soon removed these objectionable features, and the fine farms of this township have long been held as among the very best in the county. Its rich alluvial soil, the accumulated deposit of this luxuriant vegetation through countless centuries, had become almost exhaustless in fertility, and productive of abundant crops and the most nutritious grasses. Virgil town- ship is one of the very finest stock-raising and dairy regions of the State.

Luther Merrill, John B. Moore, James Out- house, Milton Thornton and Daniel Mckinley appear to have located claims on land now with- in the township in 1836. Merrill was probably the first, and he claimed all the land in sight. His absurd pretensions probably retarded set- tlement; for it is said that Moore "jumped" a part of the vast tract "claimed" by Merrill, and was ready to fight for it if attacked; and that Outhouse, rather than fight, gave Merrill his choice of $100, or a fight for the 200 acres he selected, and that Merrill sensibly chose to ac- cept the money. Quite a number of settlers who came in 1837 and '38 gave Merrill some- thing for his "claim" rather than contend with him. Joshua Read, Joseph Gray, William H. Robinson, Daniel Smith, Henry and Lyman German, Eleazer Pattee, Harrison Chambers, Charles Jackson and John Mckinley came in 1837-8. Milton Thornton, William H. Robinson and Joshua Read and his many sons and daughters were unusually public-spirited, enter- prising people. Outhouse was a son-in-law of

Mr. Read. These pioneers rest in honored graves, but the influence of their good works in the land they began transforming from an uncultivated wilderness to a fruitful garden, remains, and their descendants have been and are occupying many positions of usefulness, trust and honor. George Baker was an early and very highly respected settler in the north- east corner of the township, near the Griggs and Lee settlement at Chicken Grove; also L. S. Ellithorp, Orson Kendall, the Warfords and McEwens. It is said that Joshua Read built the first frame house in the township. All the timbers in the framework were hewed with the broadaxe. Previous to about 1850 the light balloon frames (as they were first called), now in use, were unknown, and the frames of build- ings were of solid hewn timbers, mortised and tenoned, and held in place by hardwood pins. They were framed into firmly fastened "bents," as they were called, which were raised to a perpendicular position by hand, using ropes and "pike poles" for that purpose. To erect these heavy "bents" at the ends of the building and across it between the ends as desired, and to put in place and secure the "purlin plates" that bound them at the top from end to end of the structure, was a heavy and somewhat dan- gerous job, and required the united strength of the neighborhood, directed by a cool and ex- perienced head. The "raising bees," so common in former days, were to put up these heavy frames. To "score" the logs properly and then to hew straight and true to the line, is an al- most forgotten art which was well known to the pioneers; and occasionally one of these solid old frames is still standing.

The first notable dancing party, probably, ever given in kindly recognition of assistance at the "raising," was held in the house of Joshua Read, and in it occurred also the first. marriage in the township-that of Maria Read and Orson Kendall in 1839-"Esquire" West officiating. Probably the first birth in the township was that of a daughter born to Mr. and Mrs. Merrill, in the summer of 1837.

In 1839 a log school house was built on the Joseph Woodman farm on Section 24, and the school held in it that winter was taught by Simeon Bean. This building was also used for the first religious services by the Rev. Mr. King (probably of King's Mill in Campton), a Bap- tist clergyman, as early as 1840; and in that year a settler on the northeast corner of Sec-

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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

tion 17-probably on the Stacy P. Kenyon place-hung out a tavern sign. One of the frontier wayside inns had this original sign: A small gate made of puncheon staves, was hung upon two tall posts over the entrance, and upon the four cross slats was rudely painted :

"This gate hangs higlı And hinders none; Refresh and pay, And travel on"-

surely an indication of hospitality and a hu- morous landlord. About 1844, Mrs. Graves opened a little store near the tavern, and in 1845 Joseph Jenkins started a blacksmith shop. These are some of the "beginnings" in this prosperous township.

The Iowa division of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad was constructed on an airline from the southeast corner of Section 35 to the northeast corner of Section 31, and to com ply with contracts requiring the road to be in operation as far west as the county line by January 1, 1853, the ties were laid upon the level but ungraded frozen ground, rails spiked upon them, and the first train slowly moved to this point on that day. Here at the county line and upon Sections 30 and 31, the village of Lodi

was platted and surveyed by Andrew Pingree tor Messrs. Loren Heath and Zacharialı Ha- thorn, on March 20, 1854. This charming place is the only incorporated village in the township. Its beautiful location attracted a population of about four hundred residents within a year and a halt after it was platted. The Chicago Great Western Railway enters the township near the center of Section 13, and crossing on an airline passes out a little south of the cen- ter ot Section 6. Richardson, near the north- east corner of Section 7, is the station on this road, Lily Lake station being about six miles easterly. A highway is laid near and along its southern line across the township, three others, at about equal distances, cross above it, and still another lies between it and the Bur- lington on the town line. It is also equally well provided with cross roads, and all these roadways are constructed and maintained in admirable order. These numerous highways indicate the intelligence, enterprise and activi- ty of the people, and a ride in summer time over either of them, among the highly culti- vated farms with their pastures filled with well-bred dairy stock, and past the beautiful tarm homes with spacious, well arranged barns and out-buildings, is as charming a drive as can well be imagined.

POPULATION OF KANE COUNTY

By Townships, Cities and Villages, as shown by United States Decennial Census Reports ( 1850-1900).

1850

1860

1870

1880

1890

1900

Aurora Towuship

1,895

6,011

2,038

2,286

2,571

3.069

Batavia Township

892

1,621

3,018

679

749

771

Big Rock Township

496

911

829

963

808

879

Rlackberry Township

725

1,080

1,173

1,212

706

814

Burlington Township.

664

886

919

883

310

920

Campton Township.

875

1,027

957

956

938

1,040

Dundee Township

1,374

1,889

2,079

1,017

1,099

1,170

West Dundee

585

873

1.348

East Dundee

849

1.150

1,417

Carpentersville

318

754

1.002

Elgin Township-

2,359

3,341

1,298

1,270

1,360

1,354

Geneva Township

911

997

1,829

407

338

660

Hampshire Township

759

1,050

1,049

1,003

922

929

Plato Township

813

1,008

1,004

982

1,114

1,144

Rutland Township

848

1,013

960

1,033

1,140

956

Gilbert's Village

222

St. Charles Township

2,132

1,822

2,281

986

988

1,031

Sugar Grove Township

734

969

787

808

816

823

Virgil Township.

634

1,209

1,273

972

994

933

Maple Park Village

385

382

391

Total

16,703

25,906

39,091

45,148

65,061

78,629

According to Moses' History of Illinois, Page 1138

30,062

44,939

64.572

City

11,162

11,873

19,688

24,147

City

2.639

3,543

3,871

Elburn Village

City

5,441

8,787

17,823

22,433

City

1,239

1,692

2,446

Village

483

696

760

Kaneville Township

592

1,072

999

970

833

818

City

1,533

1,690

2.675

Moses gives the population in 1840 as 6,501, and in 1845 as 12,721, page 548.

584

606

724

HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

PLATE SHOWING: The First Division of old 36 mile Square County, into Voting Precincts and Justice Districts, and later Division into Congressional Townships.

DE KALB CO.

KANE CO.

DUNDEE

HAMPSHRIE

RUTLAND

No. 4 LAKE

No .. 5

N.O ._ 6

KISHWAUKEE Voting Place Levi Lee's

PLEASANT GROVE Voting Place John Hamilton's

Voting Place T. H. Thompson's

PLATO

ELGIN

BURLINGTON

No distance stated

No. 3 SANDUSKY Voting Place James Herrington's

River

No. 7 SYCAMORE

Voting Place Lysander Darlings

CAMPTON

ST. CHARLES

West Line of Co.to East Line of Sandusky

GENEVA

KANEVILLE

BLACKBERRY

BATAVIA

No. 2

FOX RIVER Voting Place S. McCarty's'

BIG ROCK

SUGAR GROVE

AURORA

West Line of Co.to East Line of Fox River

of the County

No. 9

Now in Kendall Co. Voting Place John Zebra's

SAMONAC PRECINCT

No. 1 ELLERY Voting Place Ephriam McOmbers

In No's 1-7 and S the starting points and lines are designated by local objects .

The dotted lines show old Precinct Boundaries The black lines show Townships.

FRANKLIN CO.CHI.

¡Bend in Kishwaukee

VIRGIL

Brush Point

South of McCulloms

No distance stated

No. 8 ORANGE PRECINCT Voting Place Eli Barnes

All balance

725

HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

CHAPTER XVIII.

CITIZENS OF KANE COUNTY.

The verdict of mankind has awarded to the Muse of History the highest place among the classic Nine. The extent of her office, however, appears to be, by many minds, but imperfectly understood. The task of the historian is com- prehensive and exacting. True, History reaches beyond the doings of court or camp, beyond the issue of battles or the effects of treaties, and records the trials and the triumphs, the fail- ures and the successes of the men who make history. It is but an imperfect conception oť the philosophy of events that tails to accord to portraiture and biography its rightful position as a part-and no unimportant part-of his- torical narrative. Behind and beneath the activities of outward life the motive power lies out of sight, just as the furnace fires that work the piston and keep the ponderous screw revolving are down in the darkness of the hold. So, the impulsive power which shapes the course of -communities may be found in the molding influences which form its citizens.

It is no mere idle curiosity that prompts men to wish to learn the private as well as the public lives of their fellows. Rather, it is true that such desire tends to prove universal brotherhood; and the interest in personality and biography is not confined to men of any particular caste or avocation.

The list of those to whose lot it falls to play a conspicuous part in the great drama of life is comparatively short; yet communities are made up of individuals, and the aggregate of achievements-no less than the sum total of human happiness-is made up of the deeds of those men and women whose primary aim, through life, is faithfully to perform the duty that comes nearest to hand. Individual influ- ence upon human affairs will be considered potent or insignificant according to the stand- point from which it is viewed. To him who, standing upon the sea-shore, notes the ebb and flow of the tides and listens to the sullen roar of the waves as they break upon the beach in seething toam, seemingly chafing at their limit- ations, the ocean appears so vast as to need no

tributaries. Yet, without the smallest rill that helps to swell the "Father of Waters," the mighty torrent of the Mississippi would be lessened, and the beneficent influence of the Gulf Stream diminished. Countless streams, currents and counter-currents - sometimes mingling, sometimes counteracting each other -collectively combine to give motion to the accumulated mass of waters. So is it-and so must it ever be-in the ocean of human action, which is formed by the blending and repulsion of currents of thought, of influence and of lite vet more numerous and more tortuous than those which form "the foundation of the deep."

In the foregoing pages is traced the begin- ning, growth, and maturity of a concrete thing -Kane County. But the concrete is but the aggregate result of individual labor. The acts and characters of men, like the several faces that compose a composite picture, are wrought together into a compact or heterogeneous whole. History is condensed biography: "biog- raphy is history teaching by example."

It is both interesting and instructive to rise above the generalization of history and trace, in the personality and careers of the men from whom it sprang, the principles and influences. the impulses and ambitions, the labors, strug- gles and triumphs that engrossed their lives.

In the pages that follow are gathered up, with as much detail as the limits of the work allow, the personal record of many of the men who have made Kane County what it is. In each record may be traced some feature which influenced, or has been stamped upon, the civic liťe.

Here are pioneers, who, "when the fullness of time had come," came from widely scattered sources, some from beyond the sea, impelled by diverse motives, little conscious of the import of their acts, and but dimly anticipating the harvest which would spring from their sowing. They built their little cabins, toiling for a present subsistence while laying the foundations of private fortunes and future advancement.

Most have passed away, but not before they beheld a development of business and popula- tion surpassing the wildest dreams of fancy. A few yet remain, whose years have passed the allotted three score and ten, and who love to recount. among the cherished memories of their lives, their reminiscences of early days in Kane County.

726

HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

Among these early, hardy settlers, and those who followed them, may be found the names of many who imparted the first impulse to the county's growth and home-likeness; the many who, through their identification with general agricultural pursuits, dairying and stock- raising, aided in her material progress; of skilled mechanics, who first laid the founda- tions of beautiful homes and productive in- dustries; and of the members of the learned professions-clergymen, physicians, educators and lawyers-whose influence upon the intel- lectual life and development of a community it is impossible to over-estimate.

Municipal institutions arise; Commerce spreads her sails and prepares the way for the magic of Science that drives the locomotive engine over iron rails. Trade is organized, stretching its arms across the prairie to gather in and distribute the products of the soil. Church spires rise to express, in architectural form, the faith and aspirations of the people, while schools, public and private, elevate the standards of education and of artistic taste.

Here are many of the men through whose labors, faith and thought, these magnificent results have been achieved. To them, and to their co-laborers, the Kane County of today stands an enduring monument, attesting their faith, their energy, their courage, and their self-sacrifice.

[The following items of personal and family history, having been arranged in encyclopedic (or alphabetical) order as to names of the individual subjects, no special index to this part of the work will be found necessary.]

CHARLES L. ABBOTT, attorney, Elgin, Ill .; born in the city where he now resides, April 7. 1865; educated in the public schools of Elgin and read law in the office of Frank W. Joslyn ; admitted to the bar in 1896 and immediately entered into practice; served as City Attorney two years, and was City Alderman from 1901 to 1903; appointed Assistant State's Attorney in December, 1900, and is still serving in that capacity. Mr. Abbott married, May 1, 1890, Mary Schmidt of Elgin.

EDWARD H. ABBOTT, M. D., physician and surgeon, Elgin, Ill., born Nov. 6, 1866, in Elgin, Ill., son of Frank U. Abbott; received his lit- erary education in the Elgin city schools, and his professional training in Rush Medical Col-

lege, from which he graduated in 1895. At fourteen years of age he began life for himself as a worker in the Elgin Watch Factory, re- maining there for the ensuing twelve years. While in the employ of the Watch Company he completed a high school course with additional branches. He then entered the Medical College in March, 1892, and, having already studied with Dr. Tefft, he was able to shorten the course by a year, completing the full course in three years, and immediately after graduating began practice in Elgin. Dr. Abbott is a mem- ber of the American Medical and the Illinois State Medical Associations and of Fox River Valley Society. At the time of the Spanish- American War he was active in the organization and became Surgeon, with the rank of Major, of the John B. Hamilton (or Sons of Veterans) Regiment, an organization which, though pro- visional, had the reputation of being the best organized of the provisional regiments of Illi- nois. He now holds a commission as Surgeon and Major ( unassigned ) in the Illinois National Guard, and a complimentary commission from the State Legislature of Illinois. He is a Royal Arch Mason, an Odd-Fellow, and Medical Director of the Archaan Union, a fraternal insurance order. Dr. Abbott was married in 1901 to Miss Ethelyn M. Wells, of Elgin, and they have one son.

WILLIAM H. ABEL, retired farmer and mer- chant. Batavia, Ill., was born in Dutchess County, near Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Sept. 3, 1827, son of John and Miranda Abel. He was brought up on a farm and educated in the public schools. In New York State he followed agri- cultural pursuits until 1858, when he left there to come to Illinois. For fifteen years thereafter he was engaged in the lumber, live-stock and wool trade in Sandwich, Ill. Afterward he was in the lumber trade in Chicago for a time. In 1878 he came to Kane County and was engaged in farming near Batavia until 1892, when he retired from active business and established his home in the city of Batavia. Besides his farming and other interests already mentioned. he has been a stock-holder in the Metropolitan and First National Banks, of Chicago, for many years, and in the first quarter of the year 1903 received his eighty-third dividend on this stock. He married, in 1852, Miss Elizabeth Vail, daughter of Joseplı Vail, of Dutchess County, N. Y.

727

HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY,

W. W. ABELL, architect and civil engineer, Elgin, Ill .; born at Cummington, Hampshire County, Mass., Nov. 7, 1853; educated in public and private schools in his native State, and, after completing his educational training, be- came assistant to an architect and engineer. His first practical professional experience was with an engineering corps of the Massachusetts Central Railway; was later with a similar party employed by the Inter-Colonial Railway Company of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and afterwards became associated with an architectural and engineering firm at Spring- field, Mass. In 1873 Mr. Abell located in Elgin, Ill., where he became connected as a draftsman

W. W. ABELL.

with the Elgin National Watch Company, con- tinuing in that capacity for eighteen years. In February, 1891, he established private offices in Elgin and Chicago, but three years later discontinued his branch office in Chicago, and has since operated exclusively in Elgin, where he conducts a large and increasing business as a result of thorough preparation, long experience and careful business management, his field of operations extending into nearly every State in the Union. In social relations Mr. Abell is a member of the American Institute of Archi- tects, Illinois Society of Civil Engineers and

Surveyors. Order of United Workmen, Archæan Union, Elgin Century Club, and Elgin Country Club. Mr. Abell's office is at 30 and 31 Home Bank Block, and his residence 527 Laurel Street, Elgin, Ill.

FREDERICK H. ACKEMANN was born at Winzlar, Province of Hanover, Germany, Feb. 2, 1869, son of Henry and Wilhelmine ( Walbaum ) Ackemann, where he attended the public school and afterwards a private school at Pr. Olten- dorf, Westphalia. After leaving school he en- tered the Government service in the Postal Department, from which he resigned in the fall of 1887 and came to America, arriving at Elgin, lil., in November of that year. He commenced work in the dry-goods store of his brother, W. D. Ackemann, where he remained three months, when he was offered and accepted a position in the real-estate and investment office of Hon. William Grote, a life-long friend of the Acke- mann family. Knowing that, in this country, each man was master of his own destiny, he set out with a strong will to make the best of his opportunities and realize his ambition, and his efforts have been crowned with a gratifying success. While devoting his energy to the real- estate and investment business, he became interested with his brothers, Henry and Conrad, in the furniture and undertaking business in 1893, and in the spring of 1894, in company with his brother Henry, erected the large busi- ness block known as the "Ackemann Bros.' Block." The following year he joined in the consolidation of the furniture business and the dry-goods business of his brother William D. under the firm name of Ackemann Bros., and opened up the largest department store in this section outside of Chicago. This business prov- ing a great success from the beginning, they had to add another story to their building, which is now 44 by 132 teet, equipped with electric passenger and freight elevators and all other modern improvements. The firm now occupy over 29,000 square feet of floor space, and, being still crowded for room to take care of their growing business, they contemplate adding one or two more stories to their build- ing. This store is generally known as "Acke- mann Bros., The Big Store." Mr. Ackemann is also interested in the "Courier Publishing Company" of Elgin, proprietors of the leading daily paper of Elgin, of which he is Vice- President. He is also a Director and Treasurer

728

HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.

of the Elgin National Gas and Oil Company, operating in Ohio and Indiana, and a Director and the Treasurer of the Seybold Reed-Pipe Organ Company of Elgin, acting in the capacity of its General Manager. He is a Director of the Masonic Association of Elgin, which is now erecting a handsome new Masonic Temple for use of the various bodies of the order in Elgin. He is also a Director of the Gail Borden Public Library, and in politics an active Republican. During the last Presidential campaign he was Treasurer of the German-American Republican Club. Mr. Ackemann was married in 1895 to Miss Christie Deuchler, of Dundee, Ill., and they have four children: Stella Irene, Walter Frederick, Helen Wilhelmine and George Wil- liam. He and his family are members of the First Church of the Evangelical Association. He is also a Thirty-second Degree Mason and member of Monitor Lodge, No. 522, A. F. & A. M .; the Loyal Legion, Munn Chapter, No. 96, and Bethel Commandery, No. 36, all of Elgin, and the Oriental Consistory of Chicago; also of the Royal League and the Knights of the Globe. Mr. Ackemann is not a member of any club, preferring to spend his leisure hours with his family and in his private library, which contains upwards of 500 volumes of choice literature. He has traveled to some extent, and since coming to this country has visited forty- three different States of the Union, visiting the Atlantic and the Pacific, the Gults and the Lakes. His home on Douglas Avenue is one of the handsomest in Elgin.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Kane County, Part 143

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