USA > Illinois > Winnebago County > Rockford > History of Rockford and Winnebago County, Illinois, from the first settlement in 1834 to the civil war > Part 17
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Another early lawyer of the village was Grant B. Udell. His name is occasionally found on old legal documents ; but he seems not to have been generally remembered.
Anson S. Miller was a prominent lawyer and politician half a century ago. He was elected state senator in 1846, was post- master of Rockford under appointment of President Lincoln, and probate judge from 1857 to 1865. Judge Miller was one of the presidential electors in 1864, and was chosen by the electo- ral college to carry the vote of Illinois to Washington. Judge Miller was one of the old-school characters, dignified, slightly pompous, with a fund of good stories which he could relate ad libitum. Judge Miller died January 7, 1891, at Santa Cruz, California. For twenty years preceding his death he had resided in California. Judge Miller was eighty-two years of age. His father was Luther Miller, a native of Connecticut.
Cyrus F. Miller, a brother of Judge Miller, was born near Rome, New York. He came to Winnebago county in 1839 or '40, and was for many years a well known member of the local bar, and justice of the peace. Mr. Miller removed to Chicago in 1871, directly after the great fire. He practiced law in that city until 1876, when he returned to Rockford. His death occurred June 4, 1890, at Beatrice, Nebraska, and his remains were brought to Rockford for burial. Mr. Miller was about seventy- five years of age. Luther L. Miller, an attorney in Chicago, is a son; and Mrs. Israel Shoudy, of Rockford, is a daughter. Asher Miller, another brother, now a resident of California, was also an early settler. The father and three sons came to Rockford about the same time.
Daniel Dow is a native of Perthshire county, Scotland. He came to Rockford in 1841, and opened a boot and shoe store, and later he carried a general stock of merchandise. He purchased goods at St. Louis, and his first trip to that city was made by team to Galena, thence by the Mississippi to his destination. Mr. Dow continued in business until 1859, when he retired and traveled extensively. Upon his return to Rockford he began
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HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
dealing in grain. Mr. Dow served the Third ward as alderman for six years. He is the owner of the valuable Dow block on South Main street.
Lewis B. Gregory is a native of Seneca county, New York. He was born in 1820, of New England ancestry. His father was Rev. Harry Gregory, a Methodist minister. Mr. Gregory acquired a seminary education. He came to Rockford in 1843, and began teaching the same year. Mr. Gregory is probably the oldest living teacher in the county. After teaching several terms, he became interested in business on the old water-power on the east side of the river. He was a nephew of Samuel and Eliphalet Gregory, settlers of 1835. Mr. Gregory was married in Rockford to Miss Lucy E. Spafford, a daughter of Dan and Julia Spafford, who settled in Rockford in 1844. Mrs. Gregory died July 2, 1888. Their children are: Mrs. George N. Safford, Edward S. and George B., of Rockford; Carroll S., of Beloit ; and Louis L., a physician of Chicago. One son, Charles, died in infancy. Mr. Gregory's present wife was Mrs. Stanbro, form- erly of Memphis, Tennessee.
George Tullock is a well-known citizen of Scottish birth. He was born in 1815, and came to Rockford in 1841. At Chicago Mr. Tullock hired his passage with a teamster ; but the roads were so bad that he started ahead on foot, and arrived in Rock- ford three days ahead of the team. Mr. Tullock was employed by Daniel Dow nearly four years as a shoemaker. He then became a farmer.
In January, 1843, a party of Pottawatomie Indians camped in the woods east of the town for several weeks. They were on their way to Milwaukee. They were straight, fine-looking Indians, mostly dressed in skins. There were about one hun- dred of them. One deeply scarred veteran claimed to be one hundred years old.
The winter of 1842-43 is known in local history as "the hard winter." The early settlers of the northern part of the state remember its first snow-fall, which began November 7th, and continued until the 10th; the extreme cold of the long winter, the scarcity of food for stock, and the loss of many cat- tle from hunger and cold by reason of the scarcity of barns and sheds for protection. The country was new; the settlements were sparse; and it was often miles across the dreary stretch of snow-covered prairie between settlements. Many of the houses
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THE "HARD WINTER."
of the settlers were poor and open, without a tree or shrub to protect them from wind and snow. During this "hard winter" the snow averaged thirty inches in depth. It fell before the ground had frozen, and lay in such a body that the ground did not freeze at all, except in occasional places. The snow drifted to a height even with the top of the rail fences, and then froze so hard that it bore horses and cattle on its surface. During that winter great slaughter was made among the deer. The dogs, borne by the frozen snow, caught such numbers that the forests were cleared of them.
In August, 1841, there was a sudden change in the post- master at Rockford. Edward Warren had been appointed in May to succeed Daniel S. Haight. Mr. Warren was a brother of Mrs. Charles H. Spafford. He built the upright part of the house now owned by Dr. Daniel Lichty, on the corner of Third and Walnut streets. Mr. Warren was succeeded in the summer of 1841 by Selden M. Church, who, in turn wasfollowed by Charles H. Spafford, through Mr. Warren's influence, it is said. Mr. Warren and Mr. Church were Whigs. Mr. Warren subsequently went to Paris, and was a student in the Latin Quarter during the revolution of 1848.
In the autumn of 1844, Nathaniel Crosby, of Belvidere, con- veyed to the "General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions," by deed, lots in blocks five, seven, eight, nine, twenty-eight and forty-nine, the whole of block forty-six, and south park lots two and six in East Rockford. These lots were considered a generous gift.
The files of the Rock River Express and the Rockford Pilot show a creditable line of advertisements. In the Express of March, 1841, are found the cards of Tinker & Johnson, tailors ; G. Haskell & Co., dry goods and groceries; John W. Taylor and C. Hitchcock & Co., also dealers in dry goods. In the issue of March 6th S. M. Church makes this announcement as assignee: "All persons indebted to Germanicus Kent are requested to call and adjust the sameimmediately." The Pilot of January, 1842, publishes an advertisement for Volney A. Marsh, who kept a general store in the north wing of the Win- nebago House; the professional cards of T. D. Robertson, A. S. & Cyrus F. Miller, Charles F. Latimer, Grant B. Udell and Francis Burnap, attorneys; F. M. Putney, proprietor of Rock- ford House ; David Paul, Washington House ; Wyman & Hough- ton, clothing; Chicago Democrat and Godey's Ladies' Book.
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CHAPTER XXXIV.
ORGANIZATION OF AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY .- THE FIRST FAIR.
ZT'S early as August, 1840, a committee was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws for the Winnebago County Agricultural Society. This committee deferred its report until the next March term of the county commissioners' court, in order to avail itself of the privilege of organizing the society under the statute "to incorporate agricultural societies," which was passed March 28, 1839. The act required the county commissioners to give due notice of the intention to form such society at that special term only, and precluded a legal organ- ization in this county at an earlier date, under the provisions of the statute.
The Agricultural Society was organized April 13, 1841. Dr. Haskell was elected president; Robert J. Cross, vice-president ; George W. Lee, secretary; Charles I. Horsman, treasurer ; Hor- ace Miller, Richard Montague, P. M. Johnson, James S. Norton, Newton Crawford, I. N. Cunningham, Jonathan Weldon, direct- ors. An adjourned meeting was held July 5th, when President Haskell delivered an address, which has been preserved in full. September 8th a meeting of the officers was held to complete arrangements for the first cattle show. It was decided that the fair should be held annually in Rockford, alternating on the east and west sides of the river; that all the available funds of the society be distributed in premiums, and that the premiums be paid in agricultural publications.
The exhibition was held on the 13th of October. Thestock was exhibited in the grove near the northeast corner of First and Oak streets, which was known as the Oak Openings, where the ground was covered with a beautiful tuft. A few splendid specimens of the primitive oak trees remain in the vicinity. Cattle and horses were tied to the trees; the sheep and hogs were confined in rail pens. The display of domestic articles and garden produce was made in the hall of the Rockford House. Charles I. Horsman exhibited a squash weighing one hundred and twenty-eight pounds. There were several loads of grain standing in the street in front of the Rockford House.
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PREMIUM LIST.
At two o'clock the society and visitors formed a procession, under direction of Jason Marsh, the marshal of the day, and marched to the court house, on the East side. Rev. Joel B. Potter offered prayer, and Dr. Goodhne delivered an address. He was eloquent in his prophecy of the future which awaited the farmers of this fertile valley. After these exercises dinner was served at the Rockford House. At half past five the com- mittee on awards made its report. The premium list was brief. There were seven premiums offered for horses, six for cattle, four for hogs, and two for sheep; one for the best cultivated ten acres of land, one for the best twenty-five pounds of butter, one for the best cheese weighing over fifteen pounds, one for the best ten yards of flannel manufactured in the county, onefor the best fifty skeins of sewing silk manufactured in the county, and one for the best ten pounds of sugar from the beet manufactured in the county. Thus was held, in a single day, the first cattle show in northern Illinois.
The editor of the Rockford Pilot referred to the event in this unique specimen of primitive journalism: "The cattle show came off yesterday in good style. The day was fine, the women were fine, the pigs were fine. The display of stock certainly exceeded our anticipations. Surely we live in a wonderful age. Mobs, miracles and morality are developing in a manner that would have bothered the brains of ourforefathers. Here we are in a country that six years ago lay in the precise state in which it was moulded in the palm of the great Builder-not a tene- ment had ever been erected in this precinct to cover the head of a white man. Yesterday we saw a thousand people collected for the great object of improvement in the science of agriculture, and a display of domestic stock that would have been credita- ble to any portion of the United States. We saw silk that had been manufactured by the hands of the ladies of our place, and a variety of products that show the rapid strides that we are making toward perfection in the noble science of agriculture."
This society kept up its organization and annual exhibits for some years, when it ceased to exist. In 1852 another society was formed, out of which the present organization has devel- oped. The latter was organized under a general law, approved in 1855. Until 1858 the society held its exhibitions on leased ground. In that year, twelve acres of land were purchased of C. I. Horsman, for six hundred dollars per acre. Later purchases were made, which increased the grounds to twenty-two acres.
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE REIGN OF TERROR .- THE BANDITTI OF THE FRONTIER.
TI "HE frontier is always the prey of the banditti. From 1837 to 1845 the Rock river valley was infested with a notori- ous gang of outlaws. Among the leaders of this band were: John Driscoll, William and David Driscoll, his sons; John Bro- die, and his three sons, John, Stephen and Hugh; Samuel Aikens, and his three sons, Richard, Charles and Thomas; William K. Bridge, Norton B. Royce, Charles Oliver, and Charles West. Besides these chiefs of the robber confederacy, there were a large number of subordinates scattered throughout the country.
The leaders of this gang were among the first settlers, and thus had the choice of locations. John Driscoll came from Ohio, and settled near Killbuck creek, Monroe township, Ogle county. William Driscoll settled at South Grove, in DeKalb county. David Driscoll resided a short distance east of the old village site of Lynnville, in Ogle county. John Brodie lived in a grove of timber in Dement township. Samuel Aikens and his son Charles and William K. Bridge settled at Washington Grove, and Thomas and Richard Aikens and Norton B. Royce at Lafayette Grove, scarcely half a miledistant. Charles Oliver settled at Rockford, and made his home at the Rockford House. He had agood address, and was given four thousand dollars by his father when he left the parental home. About 1837, while he was an unknown member of this band of outlaws, he came within a few votes of being elected a justice of the peace, over James B. Martyn. Charles West made his home at Inlet Grove, in Lee county.
The operations of this band extended through the western and northwestern states. Along the entire line there were con- venient stations, in charge of men who, to all appearance, were honest, hard-working settlers. Such was William McDole, a quiet, industrious resident of Rockford. Under this arrange- ment, a horse stolen at either end of the line or elsewhere could be passed from one station to another, and no agent be absent
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JUDGE FORD'S ADVICE.
from his home or business for more than a few hours at a time ; and thus for years they remained unsuspected. At that time few counties were sufficiently organized to enforce efficient police regulations. This section was sparsely settled ; the pioneers were poor, and money was scarce. There were few jails, and these were scarcely worthy of the name. For several years after the settlement of Winnebago county, the nearest jail was at Galena. There is a story to the effect that the sheriff of this county ouce took a culprit to Galena, and upon his return to Rockford his late prisoner was among the first to greet him.
This primitive condition of society was the opportunity of the border outlaw. Counterfeiting, horse-stealing, robbery and even murder were of such frequent occurrence that the settlers were driven to desperation. They resolved to adopt radical measures for relief; for if these outrages were continued, prop- erty was insecure, and life itself was in constant jeopardy. In the spring of 1841, a delegation of reputable citizens of White Rock and Paine's Point, in Ogle county, called upon Judge Ford, who was then holding circuit court at Oregon, for con- sultation. Judge Ford was a fearless man, and naturally well equipped to meet the peculiar conditions of pioneer life. Judge Ford knew that the settlers were at the mercy of the banditti, and that it was useless to invoke the civil authorities. He therefore advised them to organize a company, which should call upon the men whom they knew to be lawless, take them by force from their homes, strip them to the waist, and lash them with a blacksnake. He recommended thirty-six lashes as the first chastisement, and sixty for a second offense ; and that the leaders should be given ten days in which to leave the country.
Judge Ford's advice was followed to the letter. A decree from the bench could not have been more faithfully executed. In April about fifteen citizens met at a log schoolhouse at White Rock and organized a company known as the Ogle County Reg- ulators. By-laws and rules were adopted, and the membership increased to hundreds in Ogle and Winnebago counties. Ralph Chaney, then in his twentieth year, was an active member of this organization. Mr. Chaney is now a retired citizen of Rock- ford; and to him the writer is indebted for information of those stirring experiences.
John Earle was the first victim of this savage justice. It was proved that he had forced or induced a young man under twenty years of age to steal his neighbor's horse. Earle's coat
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HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
and vest were removed, and his arms pinioned. Six or seven men were chosen from the company to administer five lashes apiece. Mr. Chaney relates that a deacon of the church inflicted the most vigorous strokes. The result was quite unexpected. At the next meeting of the Regulators, Earle applied for mem- bership, was admitted, and became a good worker.
The second instance occurred in the afternoon of the same day. The culprit's name was Daggett. Before coming to the west lie had been a Baptist minister. He was not a shining example of the perseverance of the saints, a distinctive doctrine of that church; for he had fallen from grace with a dull, sick- ening thud. The Regulators were not agreed concerning his punishment ; although his guilt was generally believed. A bare majority of one or two voted to release him. That night, however, the minority tied Daggett to a tree and gave him ninety-six lashes. Dr. Hobart examined him occasionally, to prevent fatal injury. This chastisement was denounced by the more conservative Regulators.
Soon after their organization, John Campbell was chosen captain of the Regulators. A short time after they had begun their work of extermination, Mr. Campbell received an epistle from William Driscoll, in which he offered battle with the most terrible oaths. The Regulators were challenged to meet him Tuesday, June 22d, at his home in South Grove. Mr. Campbell was generally recognized as the right man to lead such an organization. He was a devout Scotch Presbyterian, who had come from Canada.
At the appointed time one hundred and ninety-six men, armed with rifles and muskets, responded to the challenge. They were mounted on good horses; with the stars and stripes unfurled to the breeze, and a bugle, they formed in line, two abreast, and began the march to the field of battle. When they arrived at South Grove they found seventeen members of the gang in a log house, barricaded for defense, armed with fifty- four guns of different kinds. The Regulators halted just outside of gunshot and held a council of war. Before making an attack, it was resolved to send a messenger to the house, to ascertain the plans of the inmates. Osborn Chaney volunteered to beard the lions in their den. When within forty rods of the house the men broke through the door, and ran away; and Mr. Chaney did not get an opportunity to speak with any one of them.' Soon after Mr. Chaney returned to the company he was fol-
*{ ND A IC LA
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SECOND NATIONAL BANK BLOCK
Built about 1843 by Nathaniel Loomis, on the south-east corner of State and Main streets
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W. G. CONICK'S RESIDENCE
Built in 1838 by Daniel S. Haight, on the present site of the American House. Sessions of the circuit court for November, 1839, and April, 1840, were probably held in this house
177
MURDER OF JOHN CAMPBELL.
lowed by a man named Bowman, who said he had a message from John Driscoll, to the effect that if the Regulators wished to confer with him, he would receive the message from Bow- man, and from no one else. William Driscoll also sent word by the same messenger that he had three hundred allies at Syca- more, and that they would meet the Regulators on the prairie two hours later. The latter repaired to a level piece of ground, examined their guns, and awaited developments. In due time Driscoll arrived, with the sheriff of DeKalb county and two other officials, who wished to know the meaning of the demon- stration. Captain Campbell stood in a wagon, and in a vigorous speech gave them the desired information. Meanwhile Driscoll sat on his horse about four feet distant. He was silent, but in a terrible rage. Mr. Chaney says he heard the grating of his teeth, and believes that then and there Campbell received his death sentence from Driscoll. The officials from DeKalb county expressed their sympathy with the Regulators, and the Dris- colls promised to leave the state within twenty days. The Regulators disbanded for the day, and went home. The Dris- colls did not keep their word. On the contrary, a meeting of the desperadoes was held on the following Saturday night at the house of William Bridge, at Washington Grove, where the murder of Campbell was planned.
On Sunday, June 27th, David and Taylor Driscoll, who had been chosen to murder Campbell, accomplished their purpose. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell had just returned from church at the log schoolhouse at White Rock. While going from the house to the barn about twilight, he was shot through the heart by David Driscoll. Ralph Chaney was making his home with his brother Phineas about three-quarters of a mile distant. He heard the report of the gun and the cries of the family. He and Phineas immediately went to the assistance of the Camp- bell family. Mr. Campbell walked aboutforty feet, and fell dead.
News of the tragedy spread quickly to Rockford and other towns. Mrs. Campbell was a witness of the murder, and there was no doubt about the identity of the assassins. On Monday the sheriff of Ogle county and a posse arrested John Driscoll at the home of his son David, near Lyunville. Mr. Chaney gives this incident of the arrest : "When he was arrested he said : 'I always calculate to hold myself in subjection to the laws of my country.' A daughter who was stopping there, a woman grown, large and strong, when the sheriff announced that he was
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HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
a prisoner, turned and faced her father, and their eyes met, and there was that kind of a look I can hardly describe, passed between them, and as she held his eye she nodded her head to him. Nothing said, but such a look I never saw in the world."
The sheriff and his posse then went to South Grove in search of William Driscoll. The elder Driscoll was seated in a wagon between two guards. A company from Winnebago county had preceded them, and had arrested William and his younger brother Pierce. The sheriff took his prisoner to Oregon and lodged him in jail.
About nine o'clock Tuesday morning a party went to the jail, and with heavy timbers battered down the door. They took John Driscoll from his cell, put a rope around his neck, and dragged him to the river as rapidly as possible. The sheriff pursued, but before he could overtake them, they had entered a boat with their prisoner and were soon on the other side of the river. There they met a man from Washington Grove, who told them there was a party at that place who had taken the two sons, William and Pierce. They then proceeded with John Driscoll to Washington Grove, where they met the Rock- ford division. By this time, about ten o'clock in the forenoon, the crowd had increased to about five hundred. Nearly every class of people was represented. The horsemen dismounted, secured their horses, and stacked their arms around a tree. They formed a hollow square around the tree, and brought the three Driscolls into the centre. Among the lawyers present was E. S. Leland, who acted as the leader, and conducted an exam- ination of the prisoners. A mob court was instituted. The senior Driscoll was asked how many horses he had stolen in his time; to which he replied that he supposed he had taken as many as fifty. "Could you not say a hundred?" asked an inquisitor; and the old man, with a faint smile, said : "It might be." He confessed that he had paid young men from fifteen to twenty-five dollars to steal a horse from a neighbor, simply to satisfy a grudge, when he received no pecuniary reward from the theft. William Driscoll was similarly interviewed. Pierce Driscoll was examined, but no evidence was found against him, and he was given his liberty.
John and William Driscoll were then told that David and Taylor had been identified as the murderers of Campbell ; also that the evidence had proved them to be accessories in the plot at Bridge's house on the preceding Saturday
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LYNCHING OF THE DRISCOLLS.
evening. After further deliberation, Mr. Leland called for an expression of opinion upon the guilt of the prisoners, by the uplifted right hand. The decision was almost unanimous against them. The vote upon their punishment was equally decisive that they should be hung, then and there; and they were given one hour in which to prepare for death. The con- demned men implored their executioners to change the method of death from hanging to shooting. This request was granted by a unanimous vote. The senior Driscoll had stood in the meantime with the rope around his neck, and he asked Mr. Chaney to remove it.
The arrangements for the execution occupied about an hour and a half. Jason Marsh, of Rockford, was present, and pro- posed to Charles Latimer, as an additional formality, to defend the prisoners, and present their case before the mob court. Mr. Marsh then made the opening plea for the prisoners; "and I must say," writes Mr. Chaney, "he did himself credit, and full justice to the prisoners in his speech. Latimer followed in behalf of the people, and made a very able speech." There were several ministers of the gospel on the scene, who spent the time allowed the prisoners in prayer and conversation with them. It was an occasion of great solemnity. Righteous wrath was expressed in the resolute and orderly execution of mob justice.
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