Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume II, Part 6

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

USA > Illinois > Winnebago County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume II > Part 6

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

9 .- C. P. Brady, N. Wilder, Wm. Peters, B. F. Cunningham, C. I. Horsman, O. E. Lamb, A. Corey. Rev. Jno. Morrell, John Spafford, S. S Richards 10 .- A G. Spalding, W. Twogood. P. S. Doolittle, H. W. Loomis, M. H. Regan, T. B. Talcott, H. Richardson, J. R. Jewett, J. C. Waterman, G O. Holmes

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

to do all kinds of work, to remain with me from one month to twenty-four months."

CLAIMS LOCATED.

Both Kent and Blake located claims. Mr. Kent's claim comprised a tract of land which included the Tinker estate and the water-power, and extended south to Montague's Addition; on the west it included the estate now owned by the family of the late Judge Church, and ex- tended north to half section line; the eastern line followed the bank of the river. Mr. Kent, however, only held temporary squatter's posses- sion of this tract, and he obtained full legal title to only a small portion of it. Mr. Kent's name does not appear prominently in the real estate transactions of his time, except as the agent of others. Sections 21, 22 and 27, which include a large portion of West Rockford, were Indian "floats," to which reference was made in a pre- ceding chapter. These sections were sold by their respective owners to Daniel Whitney, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, for $800 each. The deeds were executed February 12, 1840. Mr. Whitney gave power of attorney to Charles S. Hemp- stead, of Galena. Mr. Hempstead, through Kent and Brinckerhoff as agents, sold the greater part of these sections to Isaac N. Cunningham, Abiranı Morgan and Richard Montague, who became, in a sense, the proprietors of the cor- responding portion of West Rockford.

Mr. Blake's claim included parts of sections 20 and 29. A claim was made in the autumn of 1834 by Mr. Kent for an English gentleman named John Wood, of Huntsville, Alabama. Mr. Wood, however, did not take possession of this claim until the following spring. The first work done by these pioneers was the erec- tion of two log cabins. Mr. Kent's cabin was on a site directly east of Mrs. Tinker's brick house, and was removed when South Main street was opened. Mr. Blake's cabin was built in the grove on the claim which he had chosen.

PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.

During the autumn and winter Mr. Kent made' trips to Chicago and Galena. He employed a number of workmen, who had come from Galena, in various kinds of work. Among these was the construction of a dam and a

sawmill on Kent's Creek. The timber for the mill was cut from the grounds now occupied by Rockford College. In the following January, when the ice was 16 inches thick, a sudden thaw swept away the dam. To this day the observer will notice that the rock at the bottom of the creek, near the Swiss cottage, shells off, and the force of the water and ice made a deep hole in the bottom of the creek. The stream was then twice or three times its present width, and its current was proportionately stronger. Such was the fate of Rockford's first dam, which was built very near the spot where Hon. Robert H. Tinker's suspension bridge spans the stream. Early in the following spring work- men began digging the race; the construction of the second dam, just below the first, was undertaken in June, and the mill was com- pleted in July. When the dam was completed the water arose so as to make a 12-foot head, and covercd the land now occupied by the several railroads as switch-yards. The water sometimes backed nearly to State street. Sev- eral years later the citizens determined to remove this damn, because they believed it bred malaria ; and this resolution was executed with- out due process of law.

Besides the cabins already noted, Mr. Kent began the erection of another and better log house, in the fall of 1834, which was completed the following spring. This structure consisted of an upright and a wing, and was considered an uncommonly good house for those days. Mr. Kent's family probably came from Galena in May, 1835. Mr. Blake boarded with the family for two years, and only occupied his own cabin in the grove when he found it more convenient to do so while tilling his land. The business of the settlement during the first years included a general store, a blacksmith shop, sawmill, a primitive hotel, a crude system of banking, and mail facilities of a private sort. All these were under the general proprietorship of Mr. Kent.

PANIC OF 1837.

It may be safely said that few men in trade, commerce or manufacturing survived the finan- cial crash, and the depression which swept over the country in 1837 and later. Mr. Kent was poorly prepared for the storm. His ready capital had become exhausted, and he was now in debt for money, merchandise and property.

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

His goods had been sold on credit, and collec- tions were impossible. His property was de- preciated and unsalable, and embarassment and failure were unavoidable. Mr. Kent made the best settlement of his affairs possible under the circumstances, and honestly surrendered every- thing. His capital which he brought with him, his buildings and improvements, his plans and preparations, and even his prospects were gone ; and he saw no star of hope in the Rockford which he had founded and helped to build; no opportunities which he might retrieve. And so in 1844 he bade her a long and sad farewell and went to Virginia, where he made his home the remainder of his life. He engaged in trade in Craig, Fayette and Montgomery counties. Mrs. Kent died in Blacksburg, Virginia, May 26, 1851. Mr. Kent lived with his daughter, Mrs. Mary Irby Black, the last five years of his life, in feeble health, in Blacksburg, where he died March 1, 1862. This man will ever stand fore- most in the history of Rockford, in point of time and early events. In his character and life there are elements that arrest and fix atten- tion, and which merit grateful remembrance. Kent school, in South Rockford, Kent's Creek and Kent street are named in his honor.

Fortune was more kind to Mr. Blake. He resided on his farm until 1851, when he re- moved into Rockford and engaged in real estate business. For two years preceding his death Mr. Blake operated extensively in timber lands in Wisconsin. Mr. Blake died October 8, 1880. Mrs. Kittie Bean, widow of Clarence Bean, of Little Rock, Arkansas, is an adopted daughter. Evans Blake, former United States consul at Creffield, Germany, now of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a brother, and Hon. E. B. Sumner is a nephew. Mrs. Blake died October 26, 1900.

The first settler of what is now East Rock- ford was Daniel Shaw Haight, who arrived April 9, 1835. Mr. Haight came to Illinois from Bolton, Warren County, New York. A year or two previous to his appearance on Rock River he had selected a claim near Geneva, Kane County. He sold this claim, and in company with two or three men came to Rockford on a tour of inspection. He selected a tract of land, which comprised a large part of what is now the heart of East Rockford. Mr. Haight went back to Geneva for his family, and in May he returned to Rockford with his wife and child; Miss Carey, who was Mrs. Haight's sis-

ter, and a hired man. Mrs. Mary Haight and her sister were the first white women to settle in the county, as it is supposed they preceded by two or three weeks the arrival of Mrs. Kent. Mrs. Haight appears to have been equal to the duties and trials of pioneer life. She had no acquaintance with books or literature; but she possessed a good mind, and was alert, shrewd, and affable to strangers. Mr. Haight was a rugged, roistering pioneer, and a shrewd man of affairs.

Upon his arrival Mr. Haight put up a tent under a large bur oak tree, which his family occupied until his cabin was completed. This dwelling, built in the summer of 1835, was the first structure on the East side. It was built on the eastern part of the lot which now forms the northeast corner of State and Madison streets. This spot was at the brow of the table-land, from which the descent was rapid toward the river. The house was built in regular pioneer style, without the use of a single nail. The main part was about 18 feet square, built of oak logs. It had a puncheon floor, two windows and a door. The cellar was simply an excava- tion under the centre. "Such a house," says Mr. Thurston, "may be built with an axe and an auger, and is a warm, comfortable dwelling. Haight made an addition in '36, with a space between 10 feet wide and roofed over, which had a shingle roof and floor of sawed lumber." Mr. Haight's second house was on the northeast corner of State and Madison streets. It was a frame structure, and .completed in 1837 by Thomas Lake and Sidney Twogood. This house was divided and a portion removed to the north- east corner of Walnut and South Second streets, where it stood for many years. When it was razed about 1906 it was the oldest frame struc- ture in Rockford.

The first public religious service in Rockford was held the second Sunday in June, 1835, at the house of Germanicus Kent, and was con- ducted by his brother, the Rev. Aratus Kent, of Galena. It has been said that on that day every soul in Rockford attended divine worship. The audience comprised Mr. and Mrs. Kent, Mr. and Mrs. Haight, Miss Carey, Thatcher Blake, Albert Sanford, Mr. VanZandt, who was Mr. Kent's millwright, a man in the employ of Mr. Haight, and two other persons whose names are unknown. Thus it will be noted that in early June, 1835, there were less than a dozen persons

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

in Rockford. This small number may be ex- plained by the supposition that several work- men, who had been temporarily employed by Mr. Kent, had removed from the settlement.

ADDITIONAL EARLY SETTLERS.

It is impossible to give the name of every settler in what is now Rockford Township at the close of the first year after Mr. Kent's ar- rival. In the autumn of 1834 Mr. Kent solicited a number of his southern friends to settle in the rising colony. One gentleman who thus re- sponded was James B. Martyn. He was a native of the County of Cornwall, England, and had emigrated to Huntsville, Alabama, where he had made the acquaintance of Germanicus Kent. Mr. Martyn arrived in Rockford late in the sum- mer of 1835. He subsequently removed to Belvi- dere, where he engaged in the milling business. James Boswell and James Wood also came from the South about this time. Mr. Boswell settled on a claim about half a mile north of State street, on the west side of the river, immediately above Dr. Haskell's orchard. The next year Mr. Boswell traded with Mr. Spaulding for property directly opposite, on the east side of the river.

Eliphalet Gregory was born in Danbury, Con- necticut, April 23, 1804. He came from New York in June, with his family. His claim ex- tended east one-half mile from Kishwaukee street, and south from State to his brother Samuel's claim. His first log house was near Keith's Creek, between Sixth and Seventh ave- nues, and west of Seventh street. A part of his later grout house on Charles street was torn down about eight years ago to make room for a flat. Eliphalet Gregory died February 16, 1876. Samuel Gregory arrived in Rockford De- cember 8th. His claim was approximately bounded by what are now Sixth and Fourteenth avenues, and Ninth street and Churchill Place. His log house was on Seventh avenue, by Keith's Creek, between Ninth and Tenth streets. Mr. Gregory spent his last years in Pekin, New York, where he died in May, 1886. His sons are: Stephen D., John Clark, Homer, and James B. There were also four daughters: Mrs. Delia A. Johnson, deceased; Mrs. Addie S. Witwer, of Chicago ; Mrs. Edna J. Hulbert, deceased; and one who died in infancy. Stephen Gregory died in Rockford September 1, 1915, after a resi- dence in the county of seventy-nine years.

Ephraim Wyman arrived in September. He was a native of Lancaster, Massachusetts. In 1824, when he was fifteen years of age, he re- moved to Keene, New Hampshire, and from there he came to Rockford. He followed the business of baker from 1835 until 1850. In the latter year he went to California, where he re- mained three years. Mr. Wyman owned and platted a tract of land in the heart of West Rockford, to which reference will be made in a subsequent chapter. A street on the West side bears his name. Mr. Wyman was county treas- urer and assessor in 1844-5. In his last years he was afflicted with blindness. Mr. Wyman was a worthy gentleman, and is kindly remembered. He died in the autumn of 1893.

FIRST RESIDENT PHYSICIAN.

Levi Moulthrop, M. D., had the distinction of being the first resident physician in Winnebago County, as now organized. Dr. Whitney had probably preceded him at Belvidere, which at that time was included in Winnebago County. Dr. Moulthrop was descended from Mathew Moulthrop, who settled at Quinnipiac, now New Haven, Connecticut, April 18, 1638, and who was one of the original signers of the Planta- tion Covenant, ratified June 4, 1639. Dr. Moul- throp first came to this county in the autumn of 1835, and permanently settled here in the following spring. He was born near Litchfield, Connecticut, November 1, 1805. He received his early education in his native town, and com- pleted a course of medicine and surgery at Fairfield College, in the state of New York. In the spring of his arrival in this county, he set- tled upon a claim of several hundred acres near Kishwaukee, now in New Milford Township, and began the practice of medicine. On June 30, 1840, Dr. Moulthrop was married to Miss Margaret, eldest daughter of Sampson George, and died after a brief illness, September 12th of the same year. Dr. Moulthrop is said to have brought the first copy of Shakespeare into the county. He was a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, a Democrat in politics, and a communi- cant of the Episcopal church.

Richard Montague came July 1, 1835, from Massachusetts, and purchased a tract of land near the city. A street in South Rockford, an island in Rock River and a ward school bear

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

his name. Mr. Montague died July 16, 1878. His son, S. S. Montague, became an expert rail- road surveyor. Adam Keith came from Indiana. He was born in Pennsylvania, in 1795. From there he went to Ohio, thence to Indiana. His name was given to Keith's Creek. Mr. Keith removed from Illinois to Wisconsin in 1846. He died at Beaver City, Nebraska, in 1883, at the age of eighty-seven years. William E. Dunbar settled in what is now South Rockford, and was a leader in the organization of the county. Mr. Dunbar served as county recorder from 1839 to 1843. He died October 16, 1847. P. P. Churchill was born in Vermont in 1804. He pre-empted a farm of 160 acres east of the city. Mr. Churchill died January 11, 18S9. He is remembered for his simple ways, kind heart and upright life.

Among other settlers in Rockford Township during the year were : John Vance, John Caton, Joseph Jolly, Charles Hall, Lewis Haskins, Mil- ton Kilburn, William Smith, Luke Joslin, Israel Morrill, D. A. Spaulding, Lova Corey, Alonson Corey, Abel Campbell, Ezra Barnum, Anson Barnum, James Taylor, William Hollenbeck, John Hollenbeck, V. Carter, Joseph F. Sanford, Jonathan Corey, Daniel Beers, Mason Tuttle, and Mr. Noble. The following were also em- ployed by Mr. Kent during the year: Squire Garner, Gaylor, Perry, Norton, Phineas Carey, Jefferson Garner, Nathan Bond, Charles J. Fox, James Broadie and wife. All these were not within the present city limits, but they were residents in the vicinity. They made the ham- let their place of trade, and assisted in its growth.

The foregoing list, however, did not comprise the total population of the county. Settlements had been made in nearly all the townships. In June, 1S60, Judge Church delivered an historical address before the early settlers. At that time Judge Church gave the following list of settlers in what are now the different townships, in September of 1835: New Milford: Samuel Brown, William R. Wheeler, Richard Hoga- boom, Phineas M. Johnson, John Adams, John B. Long, Mr. Paddleford, James Campbell ; Guil- ford : Henry Enoch, William E. Enoch, J. A. Pike, Abraham I. Enoch, John Kelsoe, Mr. Rex- ford, Colonel James Sayre, Abel C. Gleason, John Brink, William G. Blair; Butler, now Cherry Valley : Joseph P. Griggs; Harlem : Wil- liam Mead, Chauncey Mead, Zemri Butler; Ros- coe : Robert J. Cross, Robert Logan, Elijah H.

Brown, William Brayton; Rockton: Thomas B. Talcott, William Talcott, Henry Talcott, John F. Thayre, Isaac Adams, Pearly P. Burnham, Darius Adams, David A. Blake, Ellison Blake, John Kilgore, John Lovesse; Owen: James B. Lee, Richard M. Walker ; Burritt : Isaac Hance, John McIntosh, A. M. Sherman, John Manches- ter and family, Elias Trask, Alva Trask; Lysander, now Pecatonica : Ephraim Sumner, William Sumner, Mrs. Dolly Guilford, Elijah Guilford, Thomas Hance; Elida, now Winne- bago : David A. Holt; Howard, now Durand : Harvey Lowe, Nelson Salisbury, who made claims in 1835, but did not occupy them until the spring of 1836.

These, with their families, property, houses, and other improvements, made that first short period determine all the future. They possessed and enjoyed the land. Others were following close behind. The future seemed promising, and they had only to prepare for it. Considerable ground was broken for cultivation; but the newly broken soil was of little use until its turf had rotted and mellowed. There was thus prob- ably little raised that year in crops, except pos- sibly sod corn, potatoes, vines and garden vege- tables. Winter wheat, however, was sown for the following spring.

PIONEERS OF 1836.

The tide of emigration, which may be said to have begun in 1835, continued for several years. When the Rockford Society of Early Settlers was organized, January 10, 1870, its constitu- tion provided that male residents of the county who settled therein previous to 1840 were eligi- ble to membership. In this and the preceding chapter is given a partial list of those who came previous to and including 1836. Succeeding these will be published an incomplete roster of settlers of 1837-39, inclusive. According to the Old Settlers' standard of eligibility to membership, these names belong to the historic roll of honor.

One of the first emigrants of this year came from the old world. Thomas Lake was a native of Blackford, in the Parish of Selworthy, Coun- ty of Somerset, England. He sailed from Bris- tol in 1832, and arrived in New York after a voyage of seven weeks and three days, just as the cholera was beginning its westward march with such alarming fatality. Mr. Lake's remi-

COL. E. F. W. ELLIS Lieutenant Colonel, Fifteenth Illinois Infantry

W. W. BURSON Inventor Burson Knitting Machine

COL. G. L. NEVIUS After Whom Nevins Post Was Named

JOHN NELSON Inventor of Knitting Machine

SELDEN M. CHURCH Pioneer and County Judge

CHARLES WILLIAMS War Mayor of Rockford

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

niscences of the time between his arrival in New York and his settlement in Rockford four years later, are a vivid picture of the hardships of pioneer life. Soon after his arrival in Chi- cago in October, 1835, he met an old acquaint- ance, Sidney Twogood, from Cleveland. Mr. Lake also saw Dr. J. C. Goodhue, whom he had called to see Mrs. Lake, who was ill. The Doctor advised Mr. Lake to settle in Rockford. He and his friend Twogood accepted this advice and arrived in Rockford, and for a time they followed the carpenter's trade. Mr. Lake also took up a claim, which was subsequently known as the Willis Smith farm, and later owned by P. Byron Thomas. Mr. Lake died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Jane Lake, in Guilford, in the autumn of 1886.

Herman B. Potter was a native of Connecti- cut. He reached Rockford in October. Mr. Potter purchased a farm about two miles south of State street on the Kishwaukee road. Later he came to the city and built a house where the First Congregational church now stands. This home was purchased by Mrs. Chamberlain. Mr. Potter was a prominent citizen in the early his- tory of the county, and was at one time a mem- ber of the county commissioners' court. In 1850 Mr. Potter visited California. In 1853 he re- moved his family to Iowa, where he resided until his removal to Galesburg, Illinois. Mr. Potter died at Galesburg, March 16, 1880, at the age of seventy-five years.

Selden M. Church was a son of New England. He was born in East Haddam, Connecticut, March 4, 1804. His father subsequently removed to Livingston County, in western New York. The son came to Chicago in 1835 with a team ; thence he went to Geneva, in Kane County, where he remained until he settled in Rockford in the autumn of the following year. During his early residence in the township, when the Winnebago Indians made occasional visits to their former hunting-ground, Judge Church fre- quently visited their camp, and obtained such knowledge of their language as enabled him to intelligently carry on conversation with them. From an early date until the time of his death, Judge Church was a notable figure in the official and business life of the community. He filled the offices of postmaster, county clerk and coun- ty judge. The last position he held eight years. In 1847 he was a delegate from this county to the constitutional convention. Judge Church

was a member of the General Assembly in 1862; a member of the state board of charities in 1868; and was one of the commissioners chosen by the government to locate a bridge at Rock Island. Judge Church died June 21, 1892. He builded wisely for the educational and moral welfare of Rockford. Mrs. Church and daugh- ters, Mrs. Katharine Keeler and Miss Mary Preston, resided on the family estate on South Avon street for many years. The title to this property has not changed in seventy years. Mrs. Church died February 9, 1908, at nearly ninety- eight years of age.

Abiram and Mary Morgan left their home in Massachusetts in September on a visit to this western country. They were charmed with the Rock River valley, and determined to settle here. They purchased a quarter section of Nathaniel Loomis, and erected a small log house on almost the exact site of the spacious old Horsman mansion. Mr. Morgan also purchased section 22, which was originally an Indian "float." Mr. Morgan possessed a competence, which became the basis of a large estate for his family. His religious sympathies were with the Baptist church. As soon as Mr. and Mrs. Mor- gan had established their home, they desired that it should be shared by their only daugh- ter and her husband. This daughter, previous to the departure of her parents from Massa- chusetts, was a young school girl attending Charleston seminary, where she formed an acquaintance which led to her romantic mar- riage. Charles I. Horsman was then a young man in business in Boston. It was an instance of mutual love at first sight, and they were married February 10, 1834, when the bride was nineteen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Horsman took their departure from the east soon after the arrival of her parents in Rockford. They came by way of Pittsburg, thence by the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers to St. Louis, thence overland to Rockford. Mrs. Horsman has given a vivid picture of their reception at the parental home. As the shades of night were falling, on the second day of December, they reached Rock- ford, on the east side of the river. They were cold, hungry, weary and disheartened. The river was full of floating ice, so that the ferry was not available; but a man agreed to row them across in a small boat, and they eagerly assented. Then they walked up from the river arm in arm, through the stately oaks, until they

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY

came to the home where the young wife's parents were waiting to receive them. In re- ferriug to that incident iu later years, Mrs. Horsman said that as the door was thrown open to welcome the daughter aud her husband, when the flood of light threw out its rays iuto the night, aud the aroma of hot coffee greeted their keen senses, it seemed as if the gates of Para- dise had been opened to them. On this very site Mrs. Horsman resided uutil her death in 1889. Mr. Horsman died March 2, 1875.

Sampson George, au Euglish gentleman, came to this county in September. In his youth Mr. George had been educated in the profession of the law, in the office of his father ; but he had a decided preference for agricultural pursuits. Mr. George purchased a claim of SS0 acres of land, held by Joshua Fawcett. Five weeks after his arrival Mr. George was taken ill and died October 31st, leaving a widow aud five childreu. He was buried on his farm southeast of the village. Later the remains were removed to the West side cemetery.

Charles Henry Richings, M. D., was the sec- ond resideut physiciau. He followed very closely Dr. Moulthrop. Dr. Richings was born in England, February 26, 1815. He studied medicine in Belgium and was graduated from Rush Medical College, Chicago, in 1849. He settled iu Rockford July 18. The practice of his profession and his investments returued him a comfortable fortune. Dr. Richings was a com- municant of the Episcopal church. His death occurred August 13, 1884. His homestead was on West State street. His son, Dr. Henry Richings, is a well known practitioner.

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Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Winnebago County, Volume II, Part 6

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