USA > Illinois > McHenry County > History of McHenry County, Illinois : together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns : educational, religious, civil, military, and political history : portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens, also a condensed History of Illinois > Part 28
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Music by the Band.
Prayer by Rev. Joel Wheeler.
Vocal Music-"Star Spangled Banner."
Address-Hon. L. L. Mills, State's Attorney of Cook County.
Music by the Band.
Address-Chas. Whitney, Esq., State's Attorney of Lake County.
Vocal Music-"Old Friends and Old Times."
Poem -- By Dr. S. F. Bennett, of Richmond.
Music-Military Band.
Address-Hon. Geo Gage, of McHenry.
Address-Hon. James Pollock,
Voluntary Addresses.
The address of Mr. Mills was a masterpiece of eloquence and logic and no one present would dispute, after listening to him, all that is claimed for him as being one of the most eloquent and talented orators in the State. No synopsis we could give would half do him juetice, and we therefore give below his address in full : Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen :
Under the venerable forest growth of this beautiful region we meet to-day to celebrate a jubilee. Here are gathered the young and old to think and talk of earlier days, the former to learn and the latter to teach, and all to rejoice because of a great history and the happy survival in our midst of those brave men and women who were among the early settlers.
It is well that we are here, and that Lake and McHenry counties have adopted the institution of the Old Settlers' picnic. Thus
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history is kept alive ; the living lips of the fathers tell to the sons the accurate story of a memorable past, whose record, truer than tradition, is repeated by the very men who made it. Fortunate it is for the youth of the State that the past, filled with endeavors and events, is so near its present that they can learn a great his- tory by converse, and that, for their own living, they can draw an inspiration from the very presence and words of the enterprising, judicious and intrepid pioneers of Illinois.
As time advances, history becomes more intense. The sixty- seven years of Illinois as a State of the Union are crowded with a historical significance to which centuries of a remoter epoch could offer no comparison. In 1818 its population was 50,- 000; in 1880 it was over 3,000,000; in 1859 its corn production was 115,000,000 ; in 1879, 326,000,000 bushels ; in 1859 its wheat production was 24,000,000, in 1879, 51,000,000 bushels. Its me- tropolis, Chicago, with a population of over 600,000, is the product of fifty years.
Your beautiful Woodstock and MeHenry began as late as 1836, and Waukegan was known as such no earlier than 1847, when the distinguished jurist, loved by his neighbors and honored by his country, the Hon. Henry W. Blodgett, suggested the new name in place of that of The Little Fort, then more than a century old, a relic of the earliest day. No generation of men ever witnessed a grander growth in industry, enterprise and civilization ; no his- toric era in ancient or modern days exhibits such rapidity and sta- bility of progress.
Fifty years ago this was a wilderness, without roads, except Indian trails; with forests deep and dark ; with prairies of tall grass ; with only jealous savages to welcome, and a cabin of logs for the home of the immigrant. Here, then, came and began this intense history of development, the young pioneer. He had. journeyed from New England, or neighboring places; his con- veyance was a rude wagon ; his companions, the young wife and children ; his weapon of defense, the implement of his industry, the ax with the honest blade.
Every age has its type of manhood ; the ancient sculptured beauty and the philosopher ; the Middle Ages painted the battles of rival countries and placed their hero-making art in the gallery of time. The hero of the nineteenth century is the pioneer. He seeks discovery all round the world. He is Livingstone in Africa, the Arctic explorer, foolish or wise in the enthusiasm of his time, 20
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facing the freezing storm to find the open sea ; above all, he is the sturdy youth who cleaves the forests, wins lands waiting with fertility, builds towns and cities and creates great States.
The old settlers of Illinois are of the class whose type is the heroism of the age. They laid the foundations of the State. Their spirit and toil none even now can fully know; the Western wilds of a half century ago are beyond our horizon ; the Indian seems almost like a figure in a romance ; the log cabin is sup- planted; the ax and the plow are minor implements compared with recent inventions. The vicissitudes of the pioneer, his hard- ships in forest and field, his unfailing pluck and spirit and his in- domitable industry are a heritage for youth and an inspiration for the generations hereafter.
It is well that we meet these pioneers ; they teach a thousand lessons. They were brave enough for Western wilds, persistent enough to make long and wearisome and dangerous journeys through a strange land and to a strange destination. They had the breadth of vision to know the limitless possibilities of the West, the spirit to develop them and the courage and persistence of succese.
From this beautiful place of Nature they look abroad to-day. Every eye is clear to see the grand result-great, wide-spreading farms, with homes of comfort ; barns filled with cattle, and grana- ries accustomed to splendid harvests ; the dark woods made beau- tiful for pleasure ; the school-house in every hamlet and the church beckoning the hearts of men to higher things.
The enjoyment of the old settlers inspires us who are younger ; by toil and bravery and manly character they won this day and have the right to claim its triumph. To us the lesson comes that enterprise is the true spirit of the time, bravery the honoring characteristic of the American, patient industry the foundation of his success, and the school and church the climax of his civiliza- tion. In the atmosphere of this celebration we learn that there is no maxim higher than manhood, no adage superior to industry and courage, and no success greater than a community composed of men and women who love labor, erect homes, and in law and peace are friends together under the protecting and guiding guardian- ship of religious sentiments.
To Lake and McHenry counties we may say your beginnings were made by splendid men, your woods were hewed by their in- dustrious forestry, your fields were tilled and made fallow for the
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HISTORY OF MO HENRY COUNTY.
future by tlicir toil, your schools and churches were builded by their sentiments.
And in all the story of this magnificent growth no fact is a greater continuation of the pioncer's endeavors than the patriot- ism of these counties. How many hundreds rushed to the de- ense of the flag in those sad days when the nation's life was threatened. Regiments went forth from Lake and McHenry, and in them to-day there is not a graveyard where a soldier does not lie, dead from his country's battle. There is scarcely a home from Waukegan to the western limits of McHenry County that does not mourn a boy or man who died for his nation.
Thus the spirit of the pioneer expressed itself in the heart of the patriot son ; and the sentiment of the ax and the plow in the early advances of the first settlers, to make a State, was proclaimed again by the voices and sustained by the stout arms of the farmer boys who fought for and saved a nation.
Old settlers of Lake and McHenry counties, it is indeed to me an honor to speak to you among whom live great men-Blodgett, McAllister, Upton, Haines, Murphy and men like these-you, who, likewise great, have helped to make the State and placed upon its shoulders near the lake the decoration of your industry and patriotism.
To you, ladies and gentlemen, we doff our hats and give the tribute of praise and say : " Long life to one and all."
The next speaker introduced was the Hon. Charles Whitney, of Waukegan. His remarks were based, not upon the written but unwritten history of McHenry and Lake counties, and were ad- dressed more particularly to the younger portion of the assembly. He is an easy, polished speaker, and his remarks were listened to with the closest attention by all.
The next in order was the poem, written for the occasion by Dr. S. F. Bennett, of Richmond, author of the "Sweet Bye and Bye." To those who know Dr. Bennett and have read his produc_ tions, we liave no need to say it was good. He prefaced his poem by stating that he came to this part of the country when a small boy, something over forty years ago, and consequently knew per- sonally of some of the trials and vicissitudes the early settlers were obliged to undergo, and had intended to commence in his poem at the beginning and follow them down to the present time, but for want of time had been obliged to stop after getting the log house built and the mammoth chimney on the outside. He would
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HISTORY OF MC HENRY COUNTY.
have liked to have followed on and given his hearers a regular old- fashioned Methodist meeting, a pioneer wedding, etc., but his time had been so limited lie had been unable to do so. However, the Doctor, as usual, did honor to the subject and occasion, and, like the addresses reported above, we cannot do it justice in any other way, so give it in full :
THE PIONEERS.
INVOCATION.
As warmer suns with fervid glow
Succeed the Winter's frost and snow,
To dormant Earth once more to bring
The blessed miracle of Spring ;- As through the leafless branches plays A promise of the flowery Mays, Until the pulses of the grove
To Nature's heart-throb rhythmic move, And tiny leaf, and blossom show The stirring life the mold below, So shine, O Sun of Poesy !
So breathe, O breath of melody, Into this heart in harmony! O warm it with thy fire divine, O stir it with that breath of thine,
Until the hand that writes this hour
Shall move obedient to thy power; Until these lines shall, happly, be The perfect flowers of poesy!
The blooms of Spring, the Winter's rime, Attest thy charity, O Time! Thy changing seasons, each in turn,
New blessings bring to fill life's urn, And every new-born mystery Survives for aye in memory.
To thy most sacred precincts turn, And ope, O heart of mine, that urn,
Where, sacredest of all, appears The record of the pioneers! Brave stalwart men, born Nature's kings,
True hearted women, Nature's queens,
Commissioned by a power divine To conquer even deathless time,
And leave a name that erst shall shine With brighter, purer ray, While age on ages come and go, And heaven shall smile, and earth shall glow, And all around, above, below, Shall greet Millennium's day !
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HISTORY OF HENRY COUNTY.
From piny woods of rock-bound Maine, With hearts of oak, the heroes came ! Undaunted by regrets or fears, Vermont sent fortb her mountaineers; The Empire State, too, swelled the train, And Massachusetts greeted Maine; From valleys smiling in the sun, From streams that, hasting, seaward run, From lakes, like mirrors framed in hills, Wbose bosky summits felt the thrills The morning song-bird sings and trills, Rejoicing to be free; From orchards wbich a father's hand Had planted in an untried land, With faith in God and courage grand, And thoughts of liberty ; From homes their hardy hands had reared; From gardens that to tbem appeared The gates of Paradise; From altars where the voice of prayer Had floated on the morning air . Away to fairer skies ; The toil before him each one spurned, With faces blithely westward turned- The fatbers, mothers, girls and boys, Sought homes in glorious Illinois.
Not then, as now, the iron rail Stretched o'er tbe hilltop, through the vale, And bore tbe steed whose thews of steel No pining of fatigue can feel. The wbite-bowed wagon lumbered through The virgin forest, treacherous slougb, And, while the morns to evenings wore, The household gods and treasures bore. 'Twas toil, but toil with pleasure blest; The evening brought its boon of rest, Although the roof they yet could see Was only heaven's canopy. Perchance the night bird's cry of fear, Or wolf or panther prowling near, Might sometimes blunt their pleasure's zest, And break a space the sense of rest ; But morning, with its gladsome call, Restored the light of hope to all. The days wore on to weeks, but ills Could not subdue their iron wills; A feast of game the day begun, Supplied by trusty dog and gun ; Tbe streams gave up their finny prey To grace the meal at closing day ;
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HISTORY OF MO HENRY COUNTY.
The landscape's ever varying view Brought, hourly, pleasures ever new; The air, untainted, sweet as when Earth first became the home of men, Secured to each that priceless wealth, The bounding pulse and glow of health.
But home at last-a Western home, Amid McHenry's stretch of bloom, Or where Lake's prairies wide and fair With perfume loaded all the air! The prairies, seas of living green, With groves of beauty set between; Bright lakes that sparkled in the sun, And slept in peace when day was done; Sweet streams whose singing Nature's bars Had set to music of the stars- A heritage, O land most fair, The very sons of God might wear! Italy's sunny vales might be To other eyes more fair than thee ;
Thy purple vineyards, lovely France, To some might richer, seem, perchance; The Emerald Island's slopes of green Are charming in the summer's sheen ; Old England's gardens' sweet surprise
May seem the fields of Paradise,
Or earthly heaven, to English eyes; But oh, to us no land so fair As Lake and blest McHenry are! No other land, to mortal view, Smiles under skies so heavenly blue! No other land such blessing bears Of healthful and enchanting airs ! Not e'en the Switzer's silvery lakes The prize of beauty from us takes! No land, not e'en the Land of Dreams, Has purer, brighter laughing streams! O Land of Beauty-this our pride! We would no other land beside!
Such is the land that blooms to cheer The hardy Western pioneer. No roof awaits him ready made To shelter from the sun or shade; So seize the ax ! The wood of green Is waiting in the sunlight's sheen, With only it and thee between A house as brave as e'er was seen ! The forest monarchs quivering feel The wounding of the gleaming steel, And soon the thunderous echoes tell
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Where one by one the monarchs fell, While patient oxen slowly move The boles to rear a home of love. Notch well the ends with jealous care, That each to each, well fitted, bear The roof anon to shelter there!
Now come the neighbors, stal wart men, And merry in their ways as when, With laugh and shout of careless boys, In Eastern homes they sought their toys. Roll log on log safe into place! The rugged structure grows apace! Its walls of oak will laugh to scorn The onset of the wildest storm, And scoff the gnawing tooth of time, The Summer's heat, the Winter's rime, And, be the need, we well might know 'Twere proof against the Indian foe. Now rear the rafters, saplings tall, To overlook and cover all ! Ah, blithe is he the task who wins To fasten them with wooden pins, And so arrange that they may take The curious shingle called a "shake." Rough is the covering, in sooth, To one who knew an Eastern roof, But competent to shield from rain, E'en though the snows an entrance gain. "Rived" from a tree picked out with care, Like baby boards the "shakes" appear, And, guiltless of the smoothing plane, A work at once too nice and vain, In shaggy "courses" soon they lie Between the family and sky ! No nails must mar the buildings plan- Leave such to less enlightened man ! And fasten them with wooden pin And arrowy sapling, tall and trim. Now split from log of toughest oak The "chinks" each gaping crack to choke, For, use with skill the greatest care,
ยท Between the logs such openings are. And here again the wooden pin Secures the chinking safely in ; The tough clay at the structure's side, Or from the cellar scattered wide, Supplies the mortar, guiltless lime, (Whose use were foolishness sublime) To close each crevice all secure, And make each inmate's comfort sure.
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HISTORY OF MO HENRY COUNTY.
No doors or windows yet have we ! How this dilemma solve ? Ah, see! The gleaming ax once more descends, And through the oak an opening rends, Where soon, ere lies, perchance, the floor, Will swing a massive oaken door, On oaken hinges safely hung, Which shrilly creaks whene'er 'tis swung ! Another opening, wide and high,
Reveals a patch of land and sky, Where, built of skillful masonry, The massive fireplace soon will be; Its walls, of rocks that drifted lay About the fields but yesterday ; Its mantle, massive beam of oak; Its chimney, whose capacious throat Curves outward from the building's side, Is built of sticks, with clay inside. Roll in the back log, two feet through, And lay the forestick just and true; Fill in between with smaller wood, (The pile would make a wagon load), And soon a fire shall hiss and roar To drive the frost beyond the door!
And such the homes of pioneers, The heroes of our new frontier's Whose hardened muscles, used to toil, Subdued the stubborn native soil, And crowned with harvests golden, grand, The bounteous acres of the land.
Heaven bless them, bless them every one, For what they are, what they have done! And as they journey, one by one, To that fair land beyond earth's sun, God grant their Paradise may be A Heaven of glad felicity!
[NOTE BY THE AUTHOR: " The Pioneers" is not a finished poem. Its original plan took in a much wider scope-so wide, indeed, that I did not have time to finish the work in time for the "Old Settlers' Meeting," but had to bring it to an abrupt close. I have since written 280 additional lines, but much more remains to be written, and so I conclude to publish at this time only what was read at the meeting, hoping at some future time to give my friends the whole poem in book form.
S. FILLMORE BENNETT.]
Hon. Geo. Gage, one of the oldest settlers of the association, was then called for, and made a few very happy and well-timed remarks. He said that as the speakers who preceded him had said about all there was to say, he would be obliged to do as the boy did who went after the cows, viz .: "Scatter." He referred in
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HISTORY OF MO HENRY COUNTY.
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feeling terms to the old settlers who had passed away since our last mecting, and paid a glowing tribute to their memory as be- longing to the army of pioneers who had done so much to make this country what it was. His remarks throughout were both pleasing and instructive, and brought back to the memory of many old settlers the days of long ago.
Hon. James Pollock, John G. Ragan, Mr. Whitmore and others were then called for, who came forward and made remarks, and after music by the brass and martial bands, the exercises at the stand were closcd.
Then came the social part of the reunion. Old settlers renewed acquaintances of forty years ago, and by the hearty shake of the hand and pleasant smile that illuminated countenances on which old Time had left his mark of three score years and ten, one could but know that it was a real pleasure for them to meet under such favorable circumstances and in such a pleasant place, in this year of grace 1884.
To Mr. Slusser the association are under great obligations for the hospitality extended to them, one and all, on this occasion. His beautiful park was thrown open, and nothing was left undone that would tend to the pleasure and comfort of both old and young. His hotel and grounds are the handsomest and best ar- ranged of any summer resort in the Northwest, and all who go there are sure of hospitable treatment and good fare.
To the quartette, Miss Clark, organist, the Antioch Brass Band and the Martial Band the association would return thanks for the splendid music furnished for the occasion.
Thus ended the Old Settlers' Reunion of McHenry and Lake counties for the year 1884. That each one who was with us this year may be spared to meet with us one year hence is the wish of your humble servant.
OLD SETTLERS OF MO HENRY COUNTY.
The following list of old settlers of McHenry County, with dates of their coming to the county, was aken from the secretaries' books of Old Settlers' Association:
O. W. Owen, June 15, 1840: Harriet Owen, May 15, 1848; A. H. Hanly, Susan Hanly, George Gage, Mrs. M. P. Gage, E. A. Beers, M. D., Esther M. Beers; Samuel H. Walker, June 20, 1836; William Hutson, December, 1849; Mark Hickox, Mrs. B. H. Hickox, Job Toles, Samantha Toles, William H. Huffman, Mary
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HISTORY OF MO HENRY COUNTY.
S. Huffman; Joel H. Johnson, Oct. 10, 1836; Maria Johnson, James Robbins; Neil Donnelly, June 15, 1838; J. H. Giddings, June 1, 1832; Levi A. Rairdon, August, 1834; James B. Church, May 17, 1851; J. M. Kimball, May, 1837; Alvin Judd, February, 1836; John Snowden, July 9, 1839; Peter Whitney, May 15, 1849; A. Carmack, May 16,1831; E. E. Richards, June 10, 1852; J. F. Moore, Oct. 14, 1837; D. E. Barrows, Sept. 9, 1839; H. D. Judd, February, 1836; Wm. A. McConnell, Sept. 10,1836; Erastus Rich- ards, June 26, 1852; C. Rhodes, 1842; F. Diggins, July, 1835; Henry Dake, Nov. 15, 1843; C. R. Brown, October, 1844; Russell Diggins, May, 1836; Wm. Moore, June, 1841; John M. Craine, June, 1850; W. Whittemore, June, 1837; A. W. Beardsley, Sep- tember, 1835; John F. Huffman, November, 1838; Sheldon Colyer, July, 1857; O. Willey, March, 1834; E. W. Smith, June, 1838; E. M. Owen, June, 1838; C. M. Pendleton, Oct. 15, 1842; T. S. Carr, June, 1836; Thos. Mc D. Richards, May, 1846; J. Penman, Jr., March, 1849; L. M. Woodard, May, 1843; Lewis Hatch, 1837; O. Beardsley, October, 1835; R. H. Carr, June, 1837; S. S. Chapell, Nov. 5, 1837; Mrs. S. T. Eldredge, October, 1838; J. W. Salisbury, April, 1841; T. J. Richards. November, 1839; Allen Sisson, March 14, 1833; D. H. Bronson, July 6, 1836; Rebecca Howard, July 13, 1839; James Crow, July 4, 1847; Richard Gillilan, November, 1834; Chas. H. Tryon, August, 1837; C. Rich, May, 1843; Adam Mosgrove, 1834; C. Hastings, June, 1839; Chas. Kuhnert, Aug. 10, 1848; Rev. R. K. Todd, July, 1847; C. O. Parsons, March, 1838; Martin Metcalf, May, 1844.
Present Officers .- Jehiel Compton, President; J. H. Johnson, Vice-President; Richard Bishop, Treasurer, J. Van Slyke, Sec- retary.
CHAPTER X.
THE HONORED DEAD.
A CHAPTER DEVOTED TO EMINENT AND WORTHY CITIZENS, PIONEERS AND OTHERS WHOSE LIFE WORK IS COMPLETED .- FARMERS, BUSI- NESS MEN, SOLDIERS, LEGISLATORS, EDITORS AND EDUCATORS. - THE EARLY SETTLERS. -- EMINENT MEN OF WOODSTOCK. - OF OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTY .- INCIDENTS IN PIONEER LIFE .- ACHIEVE- MENTS AND HONORS. -
GEORGE B. ADAMS, of Marengo, died in May, 1883. He came to Illinois from Vermont about twenty-seven years before and had resided in Marengo twenty-five years. He was a man of ample means, an earnest member of the Baptist church, and one of the most worthy citizens of the county. He held various local offices and was a usefal man in the community.
SEBRE D. BALDWIN, a young but very able man, died Sept. 23, 1883, aged thirty-three years. He served the county as an educator for seventeen years, and for eight ycars was principle of the Mc- Henry schools. He was elected County Superintendent of Schools in 1882 and discharged his duties with fidelity. He was a man of good character, held in high respect by all who knew him. He was born in Greenwood, March 7, 1850, and educated in the com- mon schools and at the Milton, Wis., College which he attended for a year. He was one of the best teachers in the county.
OSBORN BARBER was born in Harwinton, Litchfield Co., Conn., in 1793; died in Woodstock, Ill., Feb. 13, 1881. He spent some years in Lake County, Ohio, and in 1846 settled in Richmond, Mc- Henry Co., Ill. He afterward removed to Wisconsin, thence back to McHenry County. He passed the latter part of his life in Woodstock. He was a good man and much respected.
GEORGE W. BENTLEY. was born in Dover, Dutchess Co. , N. Y., Aug. 3, 1808, and resided in his native county until 1831. He then married Miss Eleanor C. Hotchkiss, who survives him, and removed to Honeoye Falls, in Western New York where he was engaged in the drug business until 1847. He then removed to (325)
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HISTORY OF MO HENRY COUNTY.
Woodstock, Ill. After his arrival in McHenry County he engaged in the mercantile business for a short time, then went to farming until 1855 when he was elected Sheriff of the county. He served a term of two years, proving a very competent officer. At the ex- piration of his term he again engaged in the mercantile business and followed it a few years. He next purchased a farm and en- gaged extensively in fruit raising. He died Dec. 27, 1879, leaving a widow and four children. He was a man of great energy and enterprise and had a large circle of friends and acquaintances by whom he was inuch esteemed.
AARON P. BOOMER was born in Ellisburg, N. Y., in 1806. He moved to Ohio in 1833, and thence to Nunda Township, McHenry Co., Ill., in 1845. He subsequently removed to McHenry, and a short time before his death to Woodstock. He died June 17, 1882, leaving a widow and several sons and daughters.
JAMES BRYANT was one of the pioneers of Nunda. He emigrated from New Hampshire in 1837, and settled upon a farm where he remained until his death. He was honest, upright, prompt and fair in business, and a muchi-esteemed citizen. He died in 1866, in his seventy-fifth year.
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