USA > Illinois > Kendall County > History of Kendall county, Illinois, from the earliest discoveries to the present time > Part 23
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25
Over the face of the quarry run veins that seem to have been glued together, and stand out in sheets as thick as sole leather; in some places an inch from the surface. These are supposed to have been caused by thin crusts of sandstone having been impregnated with a strong solution of oxyde of iron, or rust of iron, while the rock was deposited by the water.
The surface markings, or lines, are probably wind marks.
The sand itself is pure silica, nearly as white as snow. It is composed of rounded, transparent grains of crystal- line quartz, and is found in such inexhaustible quanti- ties in Kendall and LaSalle counties, that we might man- ufacture all the glass for the United States. It under- lies Fox River above Millington, and juts out on the other side in a tongue of white sandrock, between two limestone quarries.
It was known to the early settlers, and brought long distances for plastering sand, although it does not make
397
WHITE SAND QUARRIES.
as firm mortar as common sand, the grains being too smooth. Teams came from Aurora, Naperville, Plain- field, and even from still more distant points. The land in which the present quarry is worked was first entered by Charles Royal, more than forty years ago, except a piece on the east end, which was entered by Chris. Mis- ner. Both parties afterwards sold to Thomas Serrine.
The quarry is now worked by a Chicago company. They ship several car loads a week-mostly to Ohio glass factories. The price is eight dollars a car load, of ten or twelve tons, the purchaser paying freight. One man can fill a car in half a day, if he can get sand. It is in a rocky mass, and is blasted with powder to bring it down. The men are careful to get in no earth, or pieces of the metallic veins, or yellow sand-though the latter is only colored by rain and will wash white. The deposit is supposed to be about fifty feet thick, and extends along the face of the hill by the railroad for a considerable distance. In this hill, a quarter of a mile east of the quarry, a spring of cool water gushes out of a large crevice in the rock, and flows away over a bed of sparkling white sand. Close by, in a ravine, another spring issues from a tiny cavern in the sandrock, and one can hear the musical trickling of the water inside, as it falls on the stones. Between those springs and the quarry is a romantic looking waterfall, half hidden by wild grapes and ivy. No stream runs over it, but a deep channel is worn in the rock, showing that it has been in use sometime. And perhaps in the forgotten past more than one Indian Minnehaha met her dusky lover there and exchanged vows to the music of the tinkling waterfall.
398
HISTORY OF KENDALL COUNTY.
But to-day, reality instead of romance rules the hour. The tiny cataract, affrighted, shrinks back and perishes, and we dig down the hills of primordial sand that have been crystallized once in Nature's fire, and crystallize them again in our own.
Our white sand is a true sand rock, though soft, and we have an abundance of lime rock or
LIMESTONE,
carbonat of lime the chemists call it, and in all the various styles, from the sediment in the tea kettle to the deposit in the quarry. Natural limestone is the product of shells and corals, and is a mute witness of that far off time when the deep sea rolled its billows where prairie flowers now bloom. Without that time of watery deso- lation our possessions would have been very incomplete, for what could we have done without limestone ? It is among rocks what iron is among metals. Bridge build- ers say the crushing weight of limestone is four hundred and ninety tons to the square foot, while sandstone is but two hundred tons, and brickwork thirty tons. There- fore its value as building stone. There are some dozen quarries in the county.
We have also in many places a good quality of
BRICK CLAY.
There either are or have been brick yards near each one of our older villages, and by the same token there could be again, so far as the supply of clay is concerned. Most of the ancient bricks were sun dried, and on the alluvial plains of Egypt and Babylon were mixed with straw, as they had none of our tenacious clays. Bricks
399
POTTER'S CLAY AND WOOD.
become red in baking, from the quantity of iron in the clay. We also have
POTTERS' CLAY.
It was tried by Isaac Grover, in his "juggery," forty years ago, and proved a success ; and probably the mound builders used it before him for those bowls of which the pieces are being found and saved to-day.
And finally, though coal mines are on our borders, we have
WOOD
at our doors. On our two hundred thousand acres of land we have twenty-five thousand acres of timber ; not in a dense body, but in generous strips along the streams and in those beautiful upland groves which charmed our early settlers.
CHAPTER LIV.
..........
OUR INVENTIONS.
UR COUNTY can boast of its full share of worthy inventors who have aided in the wonderful advance of the last quar- ter of a century. And in nothing is this advance seen more than in agricultural machinery, especially harvesters and PLOWS.
Forty-two years ago the plow had a wooden mould- board, hewed out of a slab, and tipped with an iron shear. For breaking plows it required a slab six feet long. Daniel Webster's breaking plow, made by him- self in 1837, is thirteen feet long, and the mouldboard is covered with wrought iron strips.
About 1839, mouldboards were made of boiler iron, cut into the right shape with cold chisels. The Grand Detour plow was of this kind. Then followed cast iron mouldboards.
About 1847, right width mouldboard iron came into the market, from which plates could be cut as they were wanted. Next, the cast steel plows came in, which we are using to-day. Fletcher Misner, at Millington, is our oldest plow manufacturer.)
401
PATENTS IN KENDALL COUNTY.
Riding plows are the fashion to-day, and are manu- factured successfully at Millbrook and other points. In 1873 James C. Carns took out a patent on the mode of attaching the plow to the frame, by which the draught is lessened.
In the department of
CULTIVATORS
we have five patents. Jacob Zimmerman, Oswego, 1855, improved cultivator. Parley F. Freeland, Newark, 1859, a machine designed to answer equally well in killing the weeds and pulverizing the soil.
F. & P. A. Misner, Millington, 1860, a double culti- vator with protecting wings, designed to work both sides of the row at one operation.
Nelson Messenger, Newark, 1860, Messenger Gopher ; blades fifteen inches long, attached to the machine by a patent angle. This has proved to be a superior imple- ment, and has been extensively manufactured at the Millbrook Works, where the patent is now owned.
Mr. Wilkinson, Plattville, 1877, improved gopher shovel.
Ezra McEwen, Lisbon, 1864, riding gopher, adjusta- ble blades, to run deep or shallow ; also, reversible, to throw the dirt away from the corn the first time through, being attached to the tongue by a flexible joint. About sixty were made at the Lisbon shop.
Nelson Messenger, 1876, improved gopher, manufac- tured at Ottawa. The appellation "gopher" is a local name referring to the peculiar shape of the blades or shovels. They are certainly the best implements for working corn, as they destroy the weeds without cutting
402
HISTORY OF KENDALL COUNTY.
the corn roots, and many claim thereby to produce ten bushels more corn to the acre.
HARROWS.
George Cook, Bristol Station, 1862, a jointed harrow, designed to prevent clogging.
Isaac Harris, Pavilion, 1877, riding harrow. By this invention the farmer is freed from the last necessity of soiling his boots from the time the first furrow is plowed to the time when the last sheaf is gathered.
REAPERS.
The Hussey reaper, Virginia, was the first one made with sections for the cutting edge, and from it McCor- mick undoubtedly got his idea. The successful manu- facturers are very rarely the original inventors. Wil- liam Hoag ran a Hussey reaper in 1844. In 1845, the McCormick was introduced. Mr. McCormick himself came around and solicited farmers to take them. J. R. Bullard and Zenas McEwen each took one. In 1846, Ezra McEwen manufactured an improved reaper at Lis- bon, and was followed by Keith & Stevens in 1847.
In 1848, several were made at a shop at Long Grove, on the Oswego road, southeast of Yorkville. In 1846, the self-rake was introduced by Smith of Batavia, but the machinery was too complex to work well. In 1853, Messenger & Preshur built twenty reapers at Newark, after Green's patent, Ottawa, and they did good work. The following year Lot Preshur made some on his own account after the plan of Rugg's machine, Ottawa, which went before the horses ; but this was soon changed, and the team placed ahead. Some of Rugg's reapers cut a swath ten feet wide.
403
PATENTS IN KENDALL COUNTY.
In mowers, we have one patent, that of John F. Stew- ard, Plano, 1876, device to tilt forward the edge of the cutter bar while passing over uneven ground.
HEADERS
are intended to cut off the heads of grain, leaving the straw in the field, and were popular when wheat fields were large and the straw was of no value. The first introduced was Esterley's, from Whitewater, Wisconsin, 1845. They were push machines, and the curving reel brought the grain to a stationary knife, where it was sheared off. About the same time, Ezra McEwen pro- duced one of his own invention that operated with a sickle and did good work, and he manufactured them in 1848 at Lisbon.
Keith & Stevens, in 1848, also manufactured a num- ber of the Haines' Headers. At present, however, both reapers and headers are being supplanted by
HARVESTERS,
on which the grain is bound as it is cut.
The Marsh Harvester was begun at Plano in 1860, and at least five of the patents which cover it belong to this county. N. H. Kennedy and F. J. Coddington, 1877, two patents, both on the elevator, designed to sim- plify the process. Coddington & Steward, 1876, raising and lowering device, used extensively. John F. Stew- ard, 1876, adjustable reel, used on all Plano harvesters. The same, 1876, device for retaining the binder's plat- form on a level, whatever the adjustment or dip of the harvester.
McEwen's Harvester, Lisbon, was patented 1873. His improvements were : First, the first stationary bind-
404
HISTORY OF KENDALL COUNTY.
er's platform. In all previous machines the platform was raised and lowered with the cutter bar. Second, graded belts in the elevator, by which the butts of the grain are moved faster than the heads. In previous machines the heads came up first. Third, an upper self- adjustable elevator, by which the grain, whether light or heavy, is kept in place on the lower elevator. They are manufactured at Sheridan.
The latest advance in harvesting machinery is auto- matic
ยท
BINDERS.
J. Heath, of Warren, Ohio, 1850, was the first inventor. He bound with twine. A. Sherwood's machine was the first to bind with wire. Paper and straw are also used, though not with the same success.
The Gordon binder is manufactured at the Plano . works, and two thousand are being built for next season. No less than ten patents which cover it belong to this county, and have been granted within two years. E. H. Gammon has two patents for general improvements, and two others for the same, in connection with R. H. Dixon and J. F. Steward. Mr. Steward has two patents for general improvements. Also a device for delivering the grain into the automatic binder, one patent; a device for adjusting the position of the band upon the bundle, two patents ; a device for more perfectly twisting the wire after it has passed around the bundle. The last is an important and profitable invention.
We have three inventions in the way of
HORSE RAKES.
Sylvester E. Ament, Fox, 1864, revolving horse rake,
405
PATENTS IN KENDALL COUNTY.
four improvements. S. E. Ament, 1867, horse rake on runners, thirteen improvements. Edward G. Ament, Newark, 1875, horse rake still further improved-re- markable for the simplicity of its arrangement and per- fection of its work.
DITCHER AND SCRAPERS.
Albert Keith, Lisbon, 1862, grading and excavating machine ; made adjustable to greater or less depth, and to uneven ground. Jacob Zimmerman, Oswego, im- proved road scraper. Frederick Post, Little Rock, 1868, riding scraper ; the load can be carried any distance. E. G. Ament, 1876, barn yard scraper ; designed to clean up barn yards and cow yards without gouging the sur- face, and to save its cost once in cleanliness and once in manure each year.
WIRE FENCE.
Elbridge Gale, Yorkville, 1872, portable wire fence, made in sections and looped together. A. V. Wormley, Oswego, 1873, barb fence ; the barbs are worked in with a patent twist between three small wires, making a barbed cable. Considerable quantities are manufactured. Ham- ilton Cherry and Sheldon H. Wheeler, Na-au-say, 1877, improved barb fence. G. G. Hunt, Bristol, 1877, im- proved barb fence. He has four separate kinds, all jointed and made in sections of any length : (1) Two wires, twisted, and wire barb; (2) four pointed barb and single wire ; (3) twisted wire and steel barb ; (4) single wire and two steel barbs.
STOVES.
Our stove inventor is George G. Hunt, of Bristol Station. His patents are at the foundation of the "Du-
406
HISTORY OF KENDALL COUNTY.
buque," "Dacotah," and other base burners, and he receives an important royalty therefrom. The beginning of his invention was in 1863, while residing at Quincy. This was followed at Bristol, in 1870, by the device for illuminating through mica windows, and in 1871 by the movable coal reservoir. He has altogether five stove patents. Burdett & Smith, Troy, New York, own a one- half interest in them.
John F. Steward is our inventor in
STEREOSCOPES,
having two patents, both dating 1875. First, for ad- justable eye glasses, by which differences in vision are overcome. Second, a revolving stereoscope, capable of showing three hundred pictures. The same, with his brother, Aurelius Steward, has made several improve- ments in
SEWING AND KNITTING MACHINES.
A. Steward. 1867, ruffling attachment for sewing ma- chines, by which the feed bar feeds the cloth faster on one side thau on the other; sold for two thousand dol- lars. Same, 1872, improvement in sewing machines. J. F. Steward, 1867, knot indicator for knitting machines,
WATER WHEELS.
Walter Aitken, Newark, 1862, a current wheel, de- signed to rise and fall with the water. Frederick Post, 1867, water wheel with additional buckets. Same, 1868, adjustable lower wheel on the shaft, which can be regulated according to the amount of water. Walter Aitken, 1863. improved propelling apparatus for steam- ers.
TRANSPORTATION CONVEYOR,
H. W. Farley, Oswego, 1876, continuous transporta-
407
PATENTS IN KENDALL COUNTY.
tion by stationary power, of coal, grain, or other freight. A section with a belt one thousand feet long has been constructed and successfully tested. It can be built for fifteen hundred dollars a mile, and is claimed to move freight for one-fifth the cost of teaming. This is an important invention.
STORE FURNITURE.
Oil Dispenser, David M. Haight, Oswego, 1876. The oil is taken from the barrel without a faucet. Oil Pump and Measure, M. C. Richards, Oswego, 1876. Works on the siphon principle, and measures out the exact amount of oil wanted from the upper side of the barrel.
C. G. Morgan, Bristol Station, 1875, Glycerine Dis- penser, for druggists' use in retailing heavy oils. Can be guaged to half an ounce and upwards at each turn of the crank.
Rope Reel, D. M. Haight, 1877 ; a device whereby rope or cordage is retailed from the original coil without unwinding or tangling.
Thread Show Case, A. Steward, 1868. The spools are placed on inclined shelves, whereby those in the rear supply the places of those removed in front. The case is in general use, and pays a royalty of twenty-five cents each to the inventor.
A. Steward, 1862, combined yard measure and clip- ping scissors for retail merchants.
RAILROAD IMPROVEMENTS.
G. G. Hunt, 1864, device by which car wheels can be removed without disturbing the trucks. Same, 1864, oil reservoir and wick for journal boxes, by which they may run a year without oiling. Same, 1864, steam
408
HISTORY OF KENDALL COUNTY.
valve, adjustable to engines of different power. Same, 1863, smoke burner for locomotive furnaces, by which soft coal makes no more smoke than dry wood. Same, 1864, smoke burner for tubular boiler. Same, 1864, car axle, by which one wheel can turn faster than the other around curves, instead of slipping, as on the old plan.
G. H. Carver, Plano, 1877, device for catching mail bag by fast trains.
I. S. Doten, Bristol Station, 1876, express and bag- gage truck, level with the car floor, by which heavy articles are more easily handled.
MISCELLANEOUS INVENTIONS.
G. G. Hunt, 1855, arrangement of reed board for two sets of reeds in cabinet organs. Same, 1864, double acting churn, by which two dashers move in opposite directions.
V. R. David, Newark, 1857, improved lock.
E. G. Ament, Oswego, 1864, portable capstan, on wheels, with nine improvements.
M. C. Chapman, Oswego, 1865, improved thill coup- ling.
Frederick Post, Little Rock, 1868, pulverizing land roller, made with grooves and movable teeth and marker attachment.
Oliver Herbert, Oswego, improved carriage seat spring.
V. R. David, Newark, improved washing machine.
J. F. Hollister, Plano, 1868, globe joint connecting the pitman with the sickle in harvesters. Extensively used.
409
KENDALL COUNTY PUBLICATIONS.
J. F. Hollister, 1871, improvement in joining the side and end timbers of bedsteads.
J. F. Hollister, 1873, improved machines for cutting and punching leather straps.
Ezra McEwen, Lisbon, 1876, double cylinder corn sheller, with roller to keep the corn on the cylinder. It does not break the cob or cut the corn. Manufactured by a St. Louis firm.
J. B. Poage, Oswego, 1876, combined chair and baby walker ; a fine invention for the little folks.
A. C, Gable, Yorkville, 1876, improved sod cutter.
H. J. Brimhall, Jr., Millington, 1875, cylinder wind mill.
I. S. Doten, 1877, spectacles; revolving glasses with different foci, so that one pair will answer for walking or reading.
Clinton Merrick, Yorkville, 1877, bed spring with raised head for invalids.
Nathan Alden, Bristol, 1877, honey extractor.
E. G. Ament, Newark, 1867, corn shocker. Two men and a team will shock four acres a day and put the shocks close together in rows thirty rods apart, thus leaving the ground free for plowing.
PUBLICATIONS.
From the Mormon press, Plano : Book of Doctrine and Covenants, 1865. Bible and Testament, printed from plates, 1867. Saint's Harp-hymn book, 1870. Book of Mormon, 1874. Hesperius ; book of poems of D. H. Smith, 1875. Discussion, between Rev. Shinn and Elder Forscutt, 1875. Manual and Rules of Order, 1876.
27
410
HISTORY OF KENDALL COUNTY.
Miscellaneous works : Immaterial Elements, by E. D. Sargent, M. D. Bristol, 1873. History of the Thirty- Sixth Regiment, by Lyman G. Bennett, of Yorkville, 1876.
CHAPTER LV.
OUR NEIGHBORS.
T IS not intended in these chapters to give a complete list of all the animals and plants found in Kendall county. It could as well be done as not, for the list is made, but the names alone of every species would more than fill up the allotted space. The object is simply to direct young readers especially to the treasures that lie around them, and incite them to a better acquaintance with their fellow inhabitants of the air and the soil. Hugh Miller began to be a geologist by studying the stones in the quarries where he worked ; and there are few who would not in spite of themselves become enthu- siastic naturalists by studying the weeds and flowers that grow by the roadside, and the living creatures that creep, or walk, or fly in grove and meadow. A few dollars spent in books, and a few hours' study at odd times in mastering the classification and scientific names,
411
THE ANIMAL FAMILIES.
and the rest will be a continuous delight. As each new plant or insect is added to the collection, the cry will be : "Ah, I know you! you belong to such a family." In our enumeration we will begin with ruminants, and with the
OX FAMILY,
of which the bison is our only wild representative. It is commonly called the buffalo, but true buffalos are found only in eastern countries. Bisons were formerly here in immense droves, and forty years ago, in the east- ern part of the county, their bones could be picked up by the wagon load. They are the same genus as the German aurochs.
DEER FAMILY.
The elk, called moose and wapiti by the Indians, dis- appeared from this locality about 1818, but deer are still occasionally found. Our species is the Virginia deer-distinct from the black-tailed deer of Missouri, the stag or red deer, and fallow or yellow deer of Eng- land, the rein-deer of cold countries, &c.
BEAR FAMILY.
Badgers were here in an early day, but are now extinct, while raccoons are as plenty as of old.
DOG FAMILY.
Prairie wolves were at first very abundant, then became scarce, and are now becoming more numerous again. They are the coyotes of the Mexicans, and allied to the jackal. The larger gray wolf has been seen here. The red fox burrows here, but they are not numerous. The gray or southern fox also occasionally puts in an appearance.
412
HISTORY OF KENDALL COUNTY.
The wild cat and lynx, belonging to the cat family, have both been known here.
WEASEL FAMILY.
The common weasel is brown in summer and white in winter. The mink is his cousin. The otter was once here, and their slides (they had a practice of sliding down hill) were found on the banks of the streams. The skunk gets his classical name, Mephitis, from his odor. He is in zoology what carbonic acid gas is in chemistry. Skunks are said to be peculiarly subject to hydrophobia, at which times they are unable to emit their odor, but their bite is fatal. Commonly, they are harmless, and even useful in destroying grubs, &c.
The opossum, belonging to the Marsupials, has been found here.
SQUIRREL FAMILY.
The common fox squirrel, the gray or black squirrel, (for the color varies) and the flying squirrel, are all abundant here. The last is most active in the night. The chipmuk is a lively little fellow, known to every- body. The striped prairie squirrel ought to give up his name of gopher, as the true gopher is a larger animal, and is found further west; the same may be said of the gray gopher. They are beautiful animals, with only the one bad trait, of not being able to understand that they should not dig up seed corn. The woodchuck, or ground hog, emigrated here after the whites came. In early days he was accounted good eating, and his hide was made into whip-lashes and purses. . The squirrel and gopher tribe pass the winter in a semi-torpid state. They roll themselves up with the head under the breast,
413
ANIMALS AND BIRDS.
and are as cold as if dead; but heat quickly revives them. The chipmuk alone is said to lay up a winter's stock of provisions. The beaver is a native of our county, but the trappers extirpated him many years ago.
RAT AND MOUSE FAMILY.
The brown rat and house mouse are of foreign extrac- tion, and follow the industrious white man wherever he goes. There were none here when the country was first settled. The muskrat, or musquash, is allied to the beaver, and is still common. The meadow mouse is abundant everywhere. The long haired meadow mouse is less often seen. The white footed wood mouse may be distinguished from the house mouse by its white belly and feet. The jumping mouse has long hind legs, and travels like the kangaroo, by jumps. It lives in the woods. The dormouse lives on trees, and is allied to the squirrels. The
MOLE FAMILY
comprises the mole proper, a soft furred little animal the size of a small rat, that always lives under ground ; and the long snouted shrew mouse. The latter is much the more common.
The bat family is represented by the common black bat and the larger gray bat. Bats and moles live on in- sects and grubs. Of
BIRDS
we have a great variety, and they form one of the most interesting parts of the animal kingdom. They have been divided according to their nests into miners, as the bank swallows; masons, as barn swallows ; cementers, as chimney swallows ; carpenters, as woodpeckers and
414
HISTORY OF KENDALL COUNTY.
nut-hatches ; weavers, as the oriole; tailors, as the blue yellow back warbler; basket makers, as the vireos and red winged blackbird ; felt makers, as the gold finch and hummingbirds ; platform builders, as hawks and pigeons ; ground builders, as ducks, &c. ; dome builders, as the quail and meadow lark ; those which make no nest, as the nighthawk and whip-poor-will, and those which lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, as the cuckoo and cow blackbird. But it is more common to divide them according to their general habits into the following orders :
BIRDS OF PREY.
Of the vulture family, the ungainly and bare-headed turkey buzzard is the only representative that comes to our borders. The falcon family comprise the eagles and hawks. The bald eagle has been known to nest here. The red-tailed buzzard is our common hen hawk. Then we have the rough-legged hawk, with feathered legs ; the band-tailed hawk, black hawk, marsh hawk, pigeon hawk, red-shouldered hawk, swallow tailed hawk, or kite, and fish hawk, or osprey. In the owl family we have the screech owl, or barn owl, great horned owl, long-eared owl, snowy owl, and day owl.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.