USA > Illinois > DuPage County > History of Du Page County, Illinois 1876 > Part 9
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The college building, here, is one of the best struct- ures in the county. The purpose of the institution is to prepare young men for teaching. The course of study is thorough and complete. Some 250 teachers have graduated-most of whom are now teaching in the west and south.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BLOOMINGDALE.
Silas Meacham, Lyman Meacham and Harvey Meacham were the first settlers of this town. They came here together, and, clearing away the snow from a spot selected for the purpose, pitched their tents on land now owned by Hon. E. O. Hills, on the eleventh day of March, 1833.
The Indians, who were numerous at that time, were their only neighbors during the first year. There were no settlers nearer than King's Grove, on the east branch of the DuPage ; none on the Chicago and Galena road,
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BLOOMINGDALE TOWNSHIP.
and none on the Fox River above Green's mill. Their Indian neighbors were generally peaceable and quiet, but filled with all manner of superstitious and savage peculiarities. Soon after the settlement commenced, a dog was discovered in the grove, hanging from a limb, to which it was fastened, with a piece of tobacco tied to each foot. The settlers afterward learned from Lawton, an Indian trader, that the Indians had had some bad luck, and the dog was offered as a sacrifice.
The grove was known among the Indians as Penneack grove and received its name from a root found in it resembling a potato. It grew in such abundance that the Indians came for it and carried it away in sacks on their ponies.
The Indians were generally trusty, and, on the whole, proved themselves good neighbors. The settlers placed great confidence in them. They frequently came to the settlement to borrow, and were always prompt in return- ing, thereby offering an example which many "white folks" think it too much trouble to follow in all cases. Harvey Meacham once loaned his valuable rifle to one of them for several days, on the promise that he would return it a certain time. The Indian, faithful to his word, brought it back on the appointed day.
The wife of Lyman Meacham died in the fall of 1833. The coffin was made of boards taken from a wagon box which was brought from the East. The next death in the settlement was that of a young mechanic, who came into town with Major Skinner, in 1834. He was buried in a coffin made of planks split from a log in the grove.
A small addition was made to the settlement in 1834.
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
Among the settlers of that year were Harry Wood- worth, Noah Stevens, David Bangs, Elias Maynard and Major Skinner. The Meacham brothers, during the first year, built a log house for each of their families, broke and planted forty acres of prairie, and fenced it in, to secure it from their stock, which grazed upon the open fields.
At the end of the year 1834, the settlement had increased to twelve or fifteen families. Many trials, incident to the settlers of a new country, were experi- enced by these first pioneers. We are informed by one of them that it was no uncommon thing for a man to take his plow-share and mould-board, weighing some sixty pounds, upon his back, and trudge away to Chi- cago, a distance of twenty-four miles, to get it sharpened.
The precinct of Cook County, in which this settle- ment was included, extended over a large part, if not all of Cook County west of the Des Plaines river.
The first election in this precinct was held at Elk Grove, eight miles north-east of Bloomingdale. Lyman Meacham was elected Justice of the Peace. The first pathmaster went as far south as Warrenville, ten miles distant, to warn out the settlers on the highway to per- form their road labor.
The claim difficulty to which allusion has been made, occurred in this town. It is thought that no correct history of this horrid transaction has ever appeared. The statement of this affair, given in the life of George W. Green, the banker, who committed suicide in the Chicago jail, is very erroneous. The compilers have been at considerable pains to obtain a brief, and as they
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THE KENT TRAGEDY.
believe, an impartial account of the transaction, which is commonly known as the Kent Tragedy.
In the year 1835, or thereabouts, Ebenezer Peck bought the undivided half of Dr. Meacham's claim. While they held it jointly, they leased it to Milton Kent. Before the lease expired, Dr. Meacham sold his half to Mr. Peck, and moved to the O'Plain river, previous to any difficulty with Kent. The trouble respecting the claim commenced soon after Mr. Peck became the sole owner. Mr. Kent's lease expired in the spring of 1837, and the claim was sold to George W. Green, of Chicago, who came on to occupy it, but Mr. Kent would not allow him to take possession ; whereupon, a suit at law was brought, which, after several years' litigation, resulted in giving Green a title to the whole property. In the mean time Mr. Kent had built a house and barn suited to the business of tavern keeping, near the east end of the claim, and upon a piece of land which he and his friends said, Dr. Meacham gave him for a tavern stand. Near the first of March, 1840, Mr. Green and family, accompanied by Daniel M. Green, the sheriff of DuPage county, came on to the ground and demanded the pos- session of the entire premises, tavern stand included. Mr. Kent was very unwilling to go, but notwithstanding his reluctance, he was forced to remove his household effects from the house he had built, and quit the prem- ises on which he had invested all he had. His furniture was removed to a shanty. which had been hastily con- structed of boards upon the claim, at a little distance from the house. The sheriff notified him to leave the claim immediately, but at the old man's earnest request
10
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
that he might remain over the Sabbath, it being then Saturday night, it was provided that he could do so upon the condition that he would depart early on Monday.
Old Mr. Kent was a man of iron will, and determined still to have the property, and stake everything on the effort, preferring even death itself, to being conquered. After preparing a quit claim deed, the following plan, as revealed by those concerned in it, was adopted.
The old man, accompanied by his son, son-in-law, a friend, who afterward married into the family, and a hired man, making five in all, were to go to the house of Mr. Green late on Sunday evening, decoy him to the door, seize him, carry him off and force him to sign the deed. When the time arrived, they went to the house. Four of the number were on foot, and took their station at the side of the door, to seize Green when he came out while the fourth, who was on horseback, rode up in front of the house and called loudly for Mr. Green ; but, instead of going to the door, Mr. Green answered him through the window of the room in which he was sleep- ing. The horseman told him that he wished to stop there over night, to which Mr. Green replied that the house was no longer a tavern ; that he could obtain lodg- ing a little further on. He had scarcely said this, when the outside door was broken in with a loud crash. In an instant the four men who had been stationed at the door appeared in his room. He had prepared himself with arms for his defense, should he be molested, and seizing his rifle, fired in the direction of the assaulters. The ball passed through the collar of old Mr. Kent's coat, and escaped through the window frame. He then
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THE KENT TRAGEDY.
snapped his pistol, the muzzle being against the breast of one of his assailants, but the collar of his coat caught in the lock in some way, and it missed fire.
The room was very dark, and, therefore, Green had the better chance to defend himself. In entering the room a table of dishes was overturned, and two of the number sprang upon the bed, seizing Mrs. Green, whom they mistook for her husband. Finding their mistake, they left her unharmed, and went to the assistance of their comrades. In the meantime, Green seized a large butcher knife, and commenced making desperate thrusts with it at all who came in his way. A son of Mr. Kent succeeded, at length, in grasping Green tightly around the body, in such a manner as to give him but little use of his arms; but he soon regretted his rashness, for it was not long before he felt the sharp point of the knife entering his back, and making an awful wound. He cried murder, implored Green to spare his life, and his comrades to come to his assistance.
Old Mr. Kent advanced, and was about to lay hold of Green, when he (Green) drew the knife from the body of the young man, and struck the old man a mortal blow under the left arm, at which he raised his hands, gave a dying shriek, left the room unobserved, walked a few paces from the door, and fell to the ground dead.
Young Kent was now released from Green's grasp, and, notwithstanding he had received, as he supposed, a mortal wound, he still determined to conquer, and the party rallied, with all their strength, to make one more effort to secure Green. A furious onslaught ensued, and Green was at last overpowered, although he fought
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
desperately. He was knocked down, and beaten with merciless severity upon the head with a horse pistol, and afterward taken, in a senseless condition, from the floor and carried, without clothing, save his shirt, across the fields to the shanty. When he had recovered his senses, he was there required to sign the paper, and the young man whom he had so severely wounded with the knife remarked that " he must do it d-n quick, too, for he wanted to see it done before he died, and his boots were then overflowing with blood." Expecting that his life would be taken in any event, Green signed the papers in presence of the daughters, and then importuned them to let him die at once, upon which he was taken back across the field, and left, in an almost helpless state, near his house, which he succeeded in reaching soon after.
Mrs. Green, after witnessing the brutal treatment of her husband, and being left alone in the house, suffered the most intense alarm, supposing he would be killed, and that a similar fate awaited herself. She stood at the door crying murder, in a voice not above a whisper. The death of old Mr. Kent was not known to his son until after the papers were signed.
Consternation filled the minds of the settlers at such a tragedy transpiring in their midst. A sight never to be forgotten was the lifeless body of that old man, as it lay there upon the ground, his hair, white like the frost of winter, gathering around his icy temples, and ruffled by the passing breeze, as it moaned among the branches of the grove. His countenance was fresh as though life
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THE FATE OF GREEN.
yet lingered in his veins, but his limbs were stiff and cold in death.
Green delivered himself up to the proper authority, and went before the grand jury of DuPage County, con- fessed the crime he had committed, and was discharged.
Mr. Green remained in the place some three years, but was in constant fear of his life. He never left his house without being armed, and always slept with weapons within his reach. The opinion prevailed among the settlers that he was a dangerous person, and few tears werc shed when he sold his claim and left the neighborhood. His subsequent career of crime, which terminated in self-destruction, is familiar to all. He removed to Chicago, where he amassed considerable wealth in the banking business. In 1855 he was con- victed of the crime of murder, in poisoning his wife, and lodged in the Chicago jail. Soon after his conviction, and while confined in jail, he was found dead in his cell, having taken his own life, rather than undergo the exe- cution of his sentence. Thus, we have endeavored to present a brief and impartial statement of the Kent affair, about which so much has been said and written. This, as we have already intimated, was the only serious claim difficulty in this county ; but volumes might be filled with the most thrilling tales of conflicts between settlers, respecting their claims, in other parts of the west. Were the government to survey its lands before they are settled upon, a portion, at least, of the diffi- culties now incident to new settlements would be avoided.
Bloomingdale is not excelled by any of its sister towns in healthfulness of climate, fertility of soil, beauty
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
of scenery, variety of products, nor in attention to agri- culture. Meacham's grove is in this town, and embraces. about 1,200 acres of fine timber. The trail made by Gen. Scott's army in passing from Fort Dearborn to the Mississippi, is about a mile and a half south of the grove. The trail was visible when the first settlers came, and has always been known as the army trail road. The source of the east branch of the DuPage river is from low land about half a mile south of the grove. The west branch rises in a slough, a few rods in width, situated in the north-east corner of the town of Wayne. The town is well watered by springs and small streams, it having but one stream of any size. A branch of Salt Creek runs in an easterly direction through the town, uniting with the main branch at Duncklee's grove, in the town of Addison. This stream furnishes water power at some seasons, and a saw-mill has been erected upon it.
The Chicago and Pacific Railroad passes through the northern portion of this town. Meacham's Station, and Roselle, villages commenced since the building of this road, in 1873, are places of considerable business.
The village of Bloomingdale was settled in 1839. It now has some fifty dwellings, and is well supplied with churches and schools, stores and shops of all kinds.
The Baptist Society was organized in March, 1841, through the instrumentality of Rev. Joel Wheeler and Rev. A. W. Button. There were, at first, seventeen members, among whom were Noah Stevens, Ephraim Kettle, Asa Dudley, F. R. Stevens, Orange Kent, J. D. Kinne, Philo Nobles, Silas Farr, and William Farr.
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THE TOWN OF WAYNE.
For several years the society was without a settled minister, during which time preaching was sustained by Rev. Joel Wheeler, Rev. A. W. Button, Rev. Mr. Smith, Rev. Mr. Edwards, and Rev. Mr. Dickens. The first settled minister was Rev. P. Taylor, who became pastor in 1848, and continued until 1855.
The Congregational Church was organized in 1840, by Rev. D. Rockwell, assisted by Rev. F. Bascomb. W. Dodge, A. Buck, Elijah Hough, A. Hills, E. Thayer, E. H. Meacham, and J. P. Yalding were among the first members. Rev. D. Rockwell was ordained in 1840, and continued as pastor until 1842.
HISTORY OF TIIE TOWN OF WAYNE.
This town is in the north-west part of the county. It was first settled in May, 1834. The first family here was that of John Laughlin. Several families settled in different yarts of the town during 1834 and the follow- ing year. Among these were Capt. W. Hammond, R. Y. Benjamin, Ezra Gilbert, J. V. King, W. Farns- worth, James Davis, Mr. Guild, Joseph McMillen, Isaac Nash, Daniel Dunham, and Ira Albro. The first post- office in town was at McMillen's Grove. Here, also, the first dwelling and the first school house were erected.
No incident occurred in the early settlement of this town but such as are common to the settlement of all new countries. But little more grain was raised during the first few years than enough to satisfy the demands at home. Prices were extremely low for all kinds of produce, and market was a great way off. The proceeds of a load of corn taken to Chicago were hardly sufficient to defray the expenses of the trip. One of the first
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
settlers informs us, however, that he realized three dol- lars and twelve and a half cents from the sale of one load of forty bushels, which he took to Chicago in 1836, after using twenty-five cents for necessary expenses.
There were no difficulties respecting claims in this town, and every claimant received his full quantity of land at the time of the land sale.
The surface of the town is generally uneven, consist- ing of rolling prairie. Wheat, oats and corn are the chief agricultural staples. Probably, no town in the county is better adapted to the culture of grain.
Fruit is cultivated to a considerable extent in this town, especially the more hardy kinds. Apple trees grow well ; but fruit is rendered an uncertain crop on account of insects and the severity of our winters. Frequent attempts have been made to raise pears, peaches, plums and cherries, without much success. The red English cherry, being most hardy, does better than any of its class. Mr. Luther Bartlett, of this town, has been more persevering in his efforts to introduce choice kinds of fruit than any other person in this part of the county. Some years since, he procured at great expense, from eastern nurseries, and by importation from Europe, about five hundred dwarf pear trees, and set them out on his farm. The first two years the trees did well, and gave promise of coming fruitfulness ; but, during the summer of 1856, which followed an unusually hard win- ter for this latitude, they began to exhibit signs of decay. The cold weather of the winter of 1857 was also unfa- vorable, and nearly completed the work of destruction commenced by the former season.
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THE TOWN OF WAYNE.
This town is not well supplied with wood and timber. The " Little Woods," just over the line in Kane County, are chiefly owned by the inhabitants of this town, and afford convenient supplies of both fuel and timber. Good water is abundant. The west branch of the DuPage rises in the east part of the town. Streams of less note, and many living springs of pure water are found in all parts of the town.
The farms throughout the town present unmistakable evidence of thrift and industry ; the dwellings display neatness and taste, and the barns are constructed on a plan commensurate with the great and growing demand of the harvest fields.
A Congregational church society was formed in 1842, or thereabouts, and worshipped in the school house in the centre, uutil 1849, when it united with the school district in erecting a building suitable for a church and school house. The society soon after bought out the interest of the district, and became vested with the sole ownership. The Rev. Mr. Foot was the first pastor.
The Congregational church at Wayne station is a substantial frame building, and the society is in a pros- perous condition.
The first church bell ever rung in this town, hangs in the belfry of this church. The building was erected in 1872, at a cost of about $1,500.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WINFIELD.
This town was settled in 1832, by Erastus and Jude P. Gary. They came in just after the close of the Black Hawk war, and settled in the east part of the town. Among the settlers, at the end of 1834, were Messrs.
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
M. Griswold, J. M. Warren, J. L. P. Lord, A. Churchill, A. E. Carpenter, Alvah Fowler, Ira Herrick and Ezra Galusha.
The town is six miles square; is well supplied with wood and timber ; is watered by the DuPage and sev- eral smaller streams ; has a productive soil and healthy climate, and ranks among the first in wealth and pop- ulation.
The first efforts toward establishing a religious organ- ization in Winfield, were commenced at Warrenville, by a few members of the DuPage Baptist church, as early as 1834. February 4th, 1836, preparatory measures were taken to organize a society. At a meeting held at that time, after some discussion, the following preamble and resolutions were adopted :
"WHEREAS, in the providence of God, we are located in this part of God's moral vineyard, and at a considerable distance from the mother church, or any other church of the same faith and order,
RESOLVED, That we organize ourselves into a regular Baptist Church, to be located at Warrenville, and to be called the Second DuPage Baptist Church.
RESOLVED, That we send letters to sister churches, inviting them to send their pastors and deacons for the purpose of giving us fellow- ship as a sister church."
A. E. CARPENTER, SARAH CARPENTER,
MARCUS GRISWOLD, SOPHIA GRISWOLD,
MARY LORD, J. L. P. LORD, PHILINDA WARREN, ALFRED CHURCHILL, NANCY WARREN, JOSEPH FISH.
The first pastor was Elder L. B. King. The society worshipped in a private house for some time in its early history, there being no school house in or about War- renville in which to hold its meetings. The first school house built here was occupied by the society, until the
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THE TOWN OF WINFIELD.
old church building was purchased of Col. Warren and fitted up for the use of the society.
A Presbyterian church was organized in the west part of the town in 1836, by Rev. Mr. Clark, missionary, with seven members.
Rev. Washington Wilcox commenced preaching at the Big Woods in 1836, and continued as their circuit preacher until 1839. In June, 1839, the Big Woods church was completed, having been built by the united efforts of the Congregational, Baptist and Methodist societies, who have occupied it alternately since that time.
From 1836 to 1844, the house of John Warne was occupied as a place of worship by the Episcopal Metho- dists living on the east side of the Big Woods. That branch of the society now worship in the Big Woods church.
There is a small settlement at Gary's Mill, near the centre of the town. The first settler here was Rev. Charles Gary, who came in 1837. A saw mill was erected that year. A society of Methodists, seven in number, was formed here, under the labors of Rev. W. Wilcox, in 1837. The original members of this society were, Angus Ross, Elizabeth Ross, Erastus Gary, J. P. Gary, Orinda Gary, Samuel Arnold and Mrs. Arnold.
There are ten and sixty-eight hundredths miles of railroad in this town, on which the villages of Winfield and Turner are situated. The first building at Winfield Station was erected by John Hodges, in 1849, and occu- pied for several years as the depot of the G. & C. U. Railroad.
John P. Doe platted the village in 1853. £ Before the
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HISTORY OF DU PAGE COUNTY.
completion of the C. B. & Q. Railway through Naper- ville, this was the nearest railroad point to that town, and the business of Winfield was much larger than it is at present.
The St. John's Roman Catholic Church, the only church in the place, was built in 1867. The society has increased to more than sixty members.
The village of Turner is situated in a healthy region, some thirty miles west of Chicago. The first house within its limits was built by Capt. Alonzo Harvey, who bought the claim covering the present village site. The government title to said claim was partly secured in the name of Winslow, and partly in the name of Stickney, after which the most of it fell into the hands of Hon. J. B. Turner, the heirs of Mr. Winslow, and Dea. J. McConnell. But no thoughts of a village at this point were entertained by any of the inhabitants, until the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad Company (now the Northwestern) commenced to run a branch of their road from this place to Fulton, which branch was afterward called the Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad. In fact, no effort to build up a village was attempted till the spring of 1856, when Hon. J. B. Turner platted and recorded, according to the statutes of the State, some forty acres, to which C. W. Winslow, Esq., added twenty acres. In the summer following, Dr. J. McCon- nell made an addition of seventy acres.
Repair-shops and rolling-mill of the Northwestern Railroad Company were located here at an early date. They now employ over one hundred men. This Com-
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VILLAGE OF TURNER JUNCTION.
pany pays to its employes from $8,000 to $9,000 monthly.
Sixty-five to seventy trains pass this place daily. A branch of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad connects this place with Aurora. The freights of the C., B. & Q. Road are estimated at $15,000 per month, while the gross earnings of the Northwestern Railroad Company at this point average $25,000 per month. The general direction of the affairs of the Northwestern, at this point, has, for several years, been in the hands of Mr. J. H. Lakey, master mechanic.
In 1873 the village was incorporated. The citizens of Turner have, from the beginning, made liberal pro- vision for the education of their children. A commo- dious frame school building was erected in 1856 ; and, in 1874, a three story brick was built, at a cost of $25,000.
The Congregational Church building was erected in 1869, at a cost of $4,500. The Methodist Episcopal Church was dedicated in 1850. The Evangelical Church was built in 1870, and the Roman Catholic Church in 1870.
There are several stores, three hotels, and a flouring mill in the place.
Warrenville, in the south-east part of the township, is one of the oldest villages in the county, Col. J. M. Warren having settled here in 1833. The Warrenville Seminary was established in 1853. and for many years held high rank as an educational institution.
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