Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume II, Part 5

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Rogers, Thomas H; Moffet, Hugh R; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago : Muncell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 972

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END OF WAR.

The further details of this war will be briefly noted. Black Hawk retreated up Rock River into Wisconsin, and was hotly pursued. The army trail, made in following Black Hawk's band to the head-waters of the Rock, passed through the First Ward of Rockford. Stephen Mack was the guide. This trail met the river bank above the city at the dry run which is now bridged on North Second street, near the resi- dence of Mrs. Carolyn Hamilton. In July Black Hawk determined to try to save himself by crossing the Mississippi River. He was over- taken at Blue Mounds, on Wisconsin River, by General Henry's division. A battle ensued on the 21st, in which the Sac chief lost fifty war- riors while crossing the river. Black Hawk continued his retreat after the battle until he was again overtaken August 2, near the mouth of the Bad Axe River, in Wisconsin. In the battle which followed nearly the entire remnant of Black Hawk's army was killed or drowned in attempting to cross the river. Black Hawk fled to Prairie La Cross, a Winnebago village, where he surrendered to Chaetar and One-eyed Decora, two Winnebago chiefs, who delivered him to General Street, the Indian agent at Prai- rie du Chien, August 27. The campaign had lasted seventy-nine days.

The speech of Black Hawk, addressed to Gen- eral Street, at Prairie du Chien, after his de- feat at the battle of Bad Axe, is a splendid specimen of Indian eloquence, and reveals a patriotism unsurpassed by the "noblest Ro- man." Eloquence is born of strong passion, and is never a trick of rhetoric nor a mere intel- lectual feat. The following, from this humil-

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

iated savage, is worthy of Burke or Webster:

"You have taken me prisoner with all my warriors. . . . I fought hard. But your guns were well aimed. The bullets flew like birds in the air, and whizzed by our ears like the wind through the trees in the winter. My warriors fell around me; it began to look dis- mal. I saw my evil day at hand. The sun rose dim on us in the morning, and at night it sunk in a dark cloud, and looked like a ball of fire. That was the last sun that shone on Black Hawk. His heart is dead and no longer beats quick in his bosom. He is now a prisoner to the white men ; they will do with him as they wish. But he can stand torture, and is not afraid of death. He is no coward. Black Hawk is an Indian. Farewell, my nation! Black Hawk tried to save you, and avenge your wrongs. He drank the blood of some of the whites. He has been taken prisoner, and his plans are stopped. He can do no more. He is near his end. His sun is setting, and he will rise no more. Farewell to Black Hawk !"

On September 10, 1832, the Indian prisoners were taken to Jefferson Barracks, below St. Louis. From there Black Hawk was sent to Washington, where he was presented to Presi- dent Andrew Jackson, and on April 26, 1833, he was sent to Fortress Monroe, where he re- mained until the 4th of June, when he was per- mitted to return to his people. Upon his return he was restored to his tribe as a chief subordi- nate to Keokuk. Black Hawk died October 3, 1838, at the age of seventy-one years. He was dressed for burial in a uniform presented to him when in Washington by the president. The body was placed in the middle of the grave, in a sitting posture, on a seat constructed for this purpose. On his left side, the cane given him by Henry Clay was placed upright, with his right hand resting upon it. Many of the old warrior's trophies were placed in the grave.

Black Hawk was free from many of the vices that others of his race contracted from their as- sociation with the white people. He never used intoxicants to excess. As a warrior he knew no fear, and on the field of battle his feats of per- sonal prowess stamped him as the "bravest of the brave." In social relations he was affable and true. His devotion to his wife, with whom he lived more than forty years, was strong and manly. In the home he was an affectionate husband and father.

LINCOLN'S COMMENT ON THE WAR.

The Black Hawk war made no military repu- tations; but Zachary Taylor and Abraham Lin- coln bore an humble part. Mr. Lincoln never alluded to it as anything more than an inter- esting episode in his life. In satirizing the military pretensions of another, he said: "Do you know, Mr. Speaker, I too am a military hero? I fought, bled and came away. If he saw any live fighting Indians, it was more than I did; but I had a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes."

CHAPTER IV.

EARLY SETTLERS.

STEPHEN MACK-FIRST PERMANENT SETTLER-NA- TIVE OF VERMONT-CAME TO WINNEBAGO ABOUT 1829-MARRIED AN INDIAN-RETIRED TO WEB- BER'S ISLAND DURING BLACK HAWK WAR- -FOUNDER OF MACKTOWN-BUSINESS ENTER- PRISES - POLITICAL HONORS - LEGALIZES HIS

INDIAN CHILDREN-FIRST WIFE DIES IN 1847- SECOND MARRIAGE IN 1848-DEATH OF MACK- OTIIER PIONEERS -GERMANICUS KENT - THATCIIER BLAKE-EMIGRATION STIMULATED- EXPLORING ROCK RIVER VALLEY-PRACTICAL MEN - CLAIMS LOCATED - PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS - PANIC OF 1837-CLOSING YEARS OF THESE MEN OF ENTERPRISE-DANIEL SHAW HAIGHT-FIRST WHITE WOMEN IN COUNTY-FIRST PUBLIC RELIG- IOUS SERVICE-ADDITIONAL EARLY SETTLERS- FIRST RESIDENT PHYSICIAN-SETTLERS IN OTHER TOWNSHIPS IN 1835-PIONEERS OF 1836-EMI- GRATION IN 1837-NEW ENGLAND TYPE PREDOMI- NANT-ENGLISH STOCK FOUNDERS OF CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS-THEIR AIMS AND CHARACTER- LATER PIONEERS OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY-PROM- INENT EARLY PHYSICIANS-DR. JOSIAH C. GOOD- HUE-DR. ALDEN THOMAS-DR. A. M. CATLIN-DR. GEORGE HASKELL-EARLY BUILDING ACTIVITIES -HARVEY H. SILSBY AN EARLY CONTRACTOR- NOTED MEN IN WINNEBAGO HISTORY-JAMES MADISON WIGHT-JASON MARSH-FRANCIS BUR- NAP-DUNCAN FERGUSON-THOMAS D. ROBERT-

THATCHER BLAKE Germanicus Kent and Thatcher Blake Were the First Settlers of Rockford. They came from Galena in the Summer of 1834.

WAIT TALCOTT Early Manufacturer

DR. GEORGE HASKELL Pioneer Physician

COL. JASON MARSH Lawyer and Colonel Seventy-fourth Illinois Volunteer Infantry

JAMES M. WIGHT Pioneer Lawyer

WILLARD WHEELER First Mayor of Rockford

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

SON-A PIONEER CHURCH SERVICE-THE BAKERS -MRS. PENFIELD-OTHER NEW ENGLAND EARLY SETTLERS-A COBBLESTONE HOUSE AN OLD LAND- MARK AT ROCKFORD - THE HERRICKS - THE SPAFFORDS - MORE FAMILIAR NAMES - LAOMI PEAKE AN EARLY CAPITALIST - FIRST PUBLIC HALL IN ROCKFORD- THE BARNUMS - HORACE MILLER - OTHER PIONEERS - SETTLERS IN THE FORTIES-ABLE LAWYERS-PEOPLE OF STERLING TYPE - MARSHALL H. REGAN - THE CLARKS - FIVE BROTHERS PHYSICIANS OF NOTE - FIRST BOOK STORE AT ROCKFORD - JUDGE WILLIAM BROWN-HIRAM H. WALDO - OTHER NOTABLE MEN-EARLY BANKERS-THE FIRM OF THE LAW AND THE GOSPEL-JOHN EDWARDS-ARGONAUTS FROM ROCKFORD TO CALIFORNIA IN 1849-50.

STEPHEN MACK.

Stephen Mack was the first white man who made a permanent settlement in Winnebago County. The exact date is unknown, but it was probably about 1829. It is also quite certain that he was the first settler in the Rock River valley. The student of local history is referred to the late Edson I. Carr, who has given in his "History of Rockton" the best information con- cerning this adventurer; and the author is in- debted to Mr. Carr's work for many of the facts given in this chapter.

Mack was born at Poultney, Vermont. He was for a time a student at Dartmouth College, but it does not appear that he was ever gradu- ated. His love of adventure was shown in early life. Soon after the war of 1812 he came to Detroit with his father, who held a position under the government. The younger Mack subsequently joined a government expedition around the lakes from Detroit to Green Bay. While there Mack learned from traders that the Rock River country presented favorable op- portunity for a trading post. He accordingly made the journey with an Indian pony, and arrived at a point near the site of Janesville ; thence to Turtle Village, near what is now Beloit. While there he learned of an Indian camp to the south, at Bird's Grove, about a mile and a half from the mouth of Pecatonica River, and he started for that point. He lost the trail and descended the Rock until he came to a Pottawatomie village at Grand Detour. where he remained several years. Mack estab- lished trade with the Indians, and took their

furs in exchange for merchandise. His jour- neys to and from Chicago were made by Indian ponies. During this time Mack married Ho-no- ne-gah, a daughter of the Pottawatomie chief. This alliance, however, did not establish a per- petual bond of friendship between Mack and the tribe. He incurred the enmity of the red men because he refused to sell them whisky and firearms. While on a trip to Chicago a plan was laid to murder him and take his goods. His faithful Indian wife discovered the plot. She mounted a pony, met him a considerable distance from the camp and gave him warning. Together they started for the camp of the Win- nebagoes at Bird's Grove. There they were made welcome and given protection, and there they made their home. Ho-no-ne-gah, though born of a savage race, exhibited traits of a more refined womanhood. She was a true wife, and thoroughly devoted to her home and chil- dren. Her husband's tribute of devotion was sincere. She was modest and disliked to appear conspicuous. She knew the remedies which the Great Spirit had spread before her in nature, and with these she visited the sick. The needy were also blessed by her gracious ministry. Ho- no-ne-gah always wore the habit of her race. Only once was she known to don the dress of her white sisters. But she felt so ill at ease that she soon cast it aside, and ever afterward appeared in the attire of her tribe.

Upon the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, Mack was living at peace with his Winnebago friends. Black Hawk visited this tribe in his flight up Rock River, and attempted to induce the warriors to accompany him to Wisconsin. Mack opposed this alliance, and thereby in- curred the displeasure of the Sac chief. The Winnebagoes remained at their old camp, and Black Hawk proceeded without them. But the feeling was so strong against Mack during this visit of Black Hawk that the chief of the Win- nebagoes advised him to leave the camp for personal safety. There is a story that he sought seclusion on what is now called Webber's Island, where he was supplied with food by his wife until the storm had passed. It is not cer- tain whether this is history or romance.

FOUNDER OF MACKTOWN.

Mack foresaw that a speedy settlement of the Rock River valley would follow the Black

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

Hawk war. The Pecatonica was then con- sidered a navigable stream for 100 miles from its mouth, and the Rock for 150 miles into Wisconsin Territory. Mack believed that the bluff at the mouth of Pecatonica River was an available site for a town. Acordingly in the autumn ot 1835 he took possession of this tract, upon which he resided until his death. He planted a village, which was called Macktown. The place still retains this name, although the promising settlement of sixty years ago, save the old substantial farm house, has disap- peared. Mack had a bold policy of expansion, and valued a corner lot near his store at one thousand dollars. When he was told that his land was too uneven for a town, he replied that "it is far better than Milwaukee."

Mack engaged in various business enterprises. He kept a general store and did a successful business. He brought his goods from Chicago on Indian ponies, before the advent of wagons. In 1838 he established a ferry across Rock River, which was managed for a time by Wil- liam Hulin. It was then purchased by Jesse Blinn, who carried on the business under a license issued by the county commissioners' court. About 1842 Mack built, mainly at his own expense, a bridge in the place of the ferry, the first bridge across Rock River in the state. This structure was carried away by a freshet June 1, 1851. Another bridge, which had been built previous to the freshiet one mile farther down the river, changed the course of travel and Macktown fell into decline.

Political honors came to Stephen Mack. He was elected associate justice in 1849, and held the office until his death. He was appointed the first township treasurer of the school fund of Rockton. Upon the adoption of township organ- ization in 1850, he was a candidate for super- visor, but was defeated by a few votes by Syl- vester Talcott.

LEGALIZES HIS INDIAN CHILDREN.

Mack had taken Ho-no-ne-gah to be his wife under the Indian form of marriage. In order to fully protect the title of his children to his estate, he and his wife were re-married Septem- ber 14, 1840, by William Hulin, a justice of the peace. This action, however, was probably un- necessary. It is a principle in international

law that a marriage is recognized as legal when- ever it is held to be such in the country in which it was solemnized. This principle would be applied to the marriage rite among Indians and similar races. On the 4th of April, 1840, Mack executed his will. The full text of this instru- ment is given in Mr. Carr's "History of Rock- ton." By this will he divided his property equally among his wife and eight children. Ho- no-ne-gah died in 1847. She was the mother of eleven children, two of whom died in infancy. Louisa and Mary were students at Rockford seminary for a time, but their free Indian nature could not long endure such restraint. Louisa and her husband, according to latest informa- tion, were residing in Chippewa County, Wis- consin. Caroline, the youngest, was a babe when her . mother died.

In 1848 Mack married Mrs. Daniels, of Harri- son. The ceremony was performed at Beloit. His subsequent domestic life was not as happy as it had been with Ho-no-ne-gah. February 14, 1849, Mack executed a codocil to his will. Since the date of the former instrument changes had occurred in his family. Three chil- dren had been born, one child and Ho-no-ne-gah had died, and lie had remarried. The codicil equally divided his estate among his wife and children.

Stephen Mack died very suddenly April 10, 1850. At the time of his death he owned land in several adjoining sections, which aggregated about one thousand acres. He was buried on , his farm beside his Indian wife. Thirty years later, May 19, 1SS0, their remains were removed and buried in the Phillips cemetery, near Har- rison. Many reasons have been given why this educated gentleman of New England should have sought a lite on the frontier, and married a woman of a savage race. It is said death claimed the idol of his first love. Others be- lieve an insidious appetite drove him to this western wilderness. It may have been a keen .. foresight by which he caught a glimpse of the marvelous development of the west. Whatever the motive, he kept his secret until he passed beyond the judgment of men. His career was strange and romantic. He is remembered as dig- nified in bearing, genial and courteous, a kind husband and father, a true friend, and an hon- est man.

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

OTHER PIONEERS.

In the summer of 1833 John Phelps, in com- pany with a Frenchman, started down Peca- tonica River from Mineral Point, Wisconsin, in a canoe, on a voyage of discovery. These men descended the Rock, and made a brief stop at the mouth of the creek where Germanicus Kent and Thatcher Blake located claims a year later. Mr. Phelps and his companion were pleased with the site, and would have located there had it not been for the scarcity of timber. For this reason they continued their journey down the river, and selected a site now occupied by the town of Oregon, in Ogle County.

Neither Mack nor Phelps ever lived within the limits of Rockford ; but a history of the city would scarcely be complete without a record of the facts given in this chapter.

Joseph Kemp was in this section from 1830 to 1840, and again from 1842 to 1844. He has not been in this county since the latter date. Mr. Kemp first came from a point below Rock Island on the Mississippi, then to Rockford by way of Rock River. He did not, however, per- manently reside in what is now the city of Rockford. In July, 1899, he was living, at Michigan City, in his eighty-ninth year, and was seen by the late Charles L. Williams.

EMIGRATION STIMULATED.

It was stated that the Black Hawk war was the immediate occasion of the settlement of the Rock River valley. There were, however, re- mote and more general causes. The peace fol- lowing the great Napoleonic conflict in Europe had stimulated emigration to this country, Pres- ident Monroe's administration had passed into history as the "era of good feeling." The Erie Canal and the construction of railroads, steam- boats and stage lines had created a period of expansion. The great undeveloped Northwest, east of the Mississippi River, was then quite well known, and presented a splendid oppor- tunity for capital and enterprise. Illinois occu- pied a central position. The Illinois and Michi- gan Canal had been chartered, and a large num- ber of railroads had been subsidized by the state. A tide of inflated prosperity was swiftly carrying every department of industry and spec- ulation toward the financial breakers of 1837. Under these conditions the actual history of Rockford began.

Germanicus Kent was born of English ances- try in Suffield, Connecticut, May 31, 1790, 126 years ago. In early manhood he went from his native state to New York. In 1819 he went from there to the South with testimonials of first-class business ability. He first stopped for a short time in Blacksburg, Virginia. About 1822 Mr. Kent went to Huntsville, Alabama, where he was for some years engaged in the dry goods business in partnership with Preston Yeatman. On June 7, 1827, Mr. Kent married Miss Arabella Amiss, who was born in Cul- pepper, Virginia, April 9, 1808. The ceremony was performed at Blacksburg. Mr. Kent was subsequently a partner in the firm of Patton, Donegan & Co., at the Bell Cotton factory on Flint River, about nine miles from Huntsville. The firm owned a dry goods store at Huntsville at the same time, but Mr. Kent was not per- sonally interested in it. It has been said Mr. Kent was an abolitionist, but this statement is not fully established. At one time he owned several slaves, and brought one of them to this state.

Mr. Kent went from Alabama to Galena, Illi- nois, where his brother, the Rev. Aratus Kent, a Presbyterian clergyman, was stationed as a home missionary. This brother was deeply in- terested in higher education, and his name will re-appear in this book. At the time Aratus Kent left Huntsville he possessed an amount of ready money that was considered a competence for those days.

Thatcher Blake was born at Turner, Oxford County, Maine, March 16, 1809. He resided in his native state until 1834, when he started for the West by way of Boston, Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Louisville and St. Louis. At St. Louis he conversed with the soldiers who had been in the Black Hawk war, who gave interesting descriptions of the Rock River coun- try and Galena. The latter was then being rapidly populated by reason of its extensive lead mines. Mr. Blake therefore visited Galena. There he became acquainted with Germanicus Kent. This acquaintance ripened into friend- ship, and they arranged to explore the Rock River valley.

EXPLORING ROCK RIVER VALLEY.

In June, 1834, these gentlemen started from Galena, in a democrat wagon, on their tour of

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

exploration. They went north into Wiscousin Territory to the Pecatonica River, about four miles from what was then known as Hamil- ton's Diggings, a small miuiug village operated by a son of Alexander Hamilton. A man named Ransom had settled on the Pecatonica at this point, of whom they procured a canoe. Their purpose was to explore the Pecatonica and Rock rivers with a view of settlement if the country should meet their expectatious. Their first landing was at a point now included in the city of Freeport. It was then au Indian camp, known as Winneshiek's Village. Winneshiek was the name of a chief of a baud of Indians which numbered from 200 to 300. Mr. Kent went ashore and explored the country some distance from the river. The Indians gathered about Mr. Blake in such numbers that he became alarmed, and was compelled to row from the shore and remain in the middle of the stream, as a precaution against robbery of their mod- erate supply of provisions. From Winneshiek's Village they continued their journey aud made frequent landings to explore the country. They ascended the Pecatonica to its junction with Rock River, and came dowu the latter until they arrived at the mouth of the small tribu- tary to which the name of Kent's Creek was subsequently given. They selected a site on the west side of the river. Rock River was then considered navigable and a waterway to the north and south. The site of Rockford, on a navigable stream, midway between Chicago and Galena, was at once recognized as possessing superior advantages. Kent and Blake then pro- ceeded down the stream to Dixon's Ferry, which received its name from John Dixou, the first white settler of Lee County, who located at that point in the spring of 1830. There they sold their canoe and returned overland to Ga- lena, by the road leading from Peoria which crossed Rock River at that point. This trip covered nine days.

Soon after their returu to Galena they pre- pared for a second journey. They procured supplies, and with a heavily laden lumber wagon and a single span of horses, they started overland for their new El Dorado. There were no roads, nor even Indian trails. Their route was the Galena and Dixon line of travel as far as Chambers' Grove. From this point they took a northeasterly course through an unknown country. Their journey covered four days. On

the evening of Sunday, August 24, 1834, these pioueers arrived at their destination. The party consisted of Germanicus Kent, Thatcher Blake, a Mr. Evans, and another man whose name is unknown.

PRACTICAL MEN.

The settlement of Rockford was not a ro- mantic adventure. These men wore no badges of eminence. They were not flattering courtiers of a foreign prince, and possessed no commis- sions or patents. They did not thrust their swords into the virgin soil and solemnly take possession iu the name of an alien king. They did not kiss the earth in token of devotion, nor recite to the empty air the purpose of their com- ing. There were no wintry skies, no breaking waves, nor stern and rock-bound coast. They were not exiles from the land of their birth, nor did they seek the treasures of the mine. Nei- ther did they come in quest of a faith's pure shrine nor freedom to worship God. Kent came to build a sawmill, and Blake was a tiller of the soil. The significance of their coming was in the fact that they came to stay. Thus did Germanicus Keut and Thatcher Blake make the first actual and permaneut settlement in what is now the city of Rockford. In this quiet, prosy way did these sturdy pioneers illustrate Goethe's observation that the ideal can only come from the development of the real. Mr. Kent was the ruling spirit in this enterprise. He was then in the prime of life, and had al- ready proven himself to be a thoroughgoing man of affairs. With Dante he could say: "In the midway of this our mortal life I found me in a gloomy wood." Mr. Kent was the director and provider of those who were to begin the work of transformation from the "gloomy wood" to the Forest City. Those who came with him were drawing pay, and were without expense. It was otherwise with Mr. Kent. Every day brought its expense, and no income. He had sold his southern home, and his family at Galena was patiently awaiting developments. He could not retrace his steps. He could only look to the future, and trust for the best. Mr. Kent kept a journal, and under date of August 18, 1834, he writes: "Hired Mr. Blake at eighteen dollars per month to live with me on Rock River, to take charge of my business, and

Members of the Rockford Society of

EARLY SETTLERS,

(See names next page)

1 .- T Davis, E. A. Herrick, D. H. Ferguson, G. S. Haskell, L. Moulthrop, W. II. Fiteh, W. C. Blinn, J. R. Herring, W. J. Cole, W. A. Taleott. 2 .- S. George.

3 -H. R. Enoch, Robert Simpson, Austin Colton, John Platt, Jesse Blinn, J. P. Sayer, H. H. Silsby, H. Maynard, R. S. Stiles, Homer Denton. 4 .-- R. Montague, R. Barrett, Thatcher Blake, S. M Church, E. Sumner, D. D. Alling. D. Goodhue, L. B. Fuller, M. Brown, Wm. Halley. 5 .- T. J. Jewell, A. S. Miller, T. D. Robertson, Chas. Works, E. Wyman, L. M. Taft, S. Taleott, G. A. Sanford, S. Ruggles, P. Howes. 6 .- H Redington, D. Fish, B. Iloughton, W. Wheeler, D. Ferguson, Jason Marsh, N. Belknap, H. O. Brown, Daniel Dow, Geo. Cochran. 7 .- Elias Martin, Wm. Hulin, I. Lyon, G. C. Hard, D. S. Penfield, A. C. Spafford, Wait Talcott, John Fiteh, J. H. Thurston. P P. Churchill 8 .- John Lake, A. I. Enoeh, E. Il. Baker, C. F. Miller, J. B. Martin, Geo. Haskell. S. Cunningham, A. W. Weldon, Patten Atwood

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume II, Part 5

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Rogers, Thomas H; Moffet, Hugh R; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Chicago : Muncell Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 972

Author: Bateman, Newton, 1822-1897. cn; Rogers, Thomas H; Moffet, Hugh R; Selby, Paul, 1825-1913. cn
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Chicago : Muncell Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 972