USA > Illinois > Winnebago County > Rockford > History of Rockford and Winnebago County, Illinois, from the first settlement in 1834 to the civil war > Part 26
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The president, on taking the chair, addressed the meeting on the great importance of the outcome to northern Illinois and the northwest, and expressed the hope that all their tran- sactions might be characterized by an intelligent view of the situation. J. Y. Scammon, of Cook, offered a resolution that a committee of one from each county be appointed to report resolutions which would express the views of the convention. The chair appointed the following committee: J. Y. Scammon, of Cook; George T. Kasson, of McHenry; Charles S. Hemp- stead, of Jo Daviess; M. G. Dana, of Ogle; James S. Waterman, of DeKalb; William H. Gilman, of Boone. John A. Clark, of Stephenson; A. B. Wells, of Kane ; S. M. Church, of Winnebago; L. G. Fisher, of Wisconsin Territory. Walter L. Newberry, of Chicago, offered the following: "Resolved, If a satisfactory arrangement can be made with the present holders of the stock of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad Company, that the members of this convention will use all honorable measures to obtain subscriptions to the stock of said company."
An animated debate followed ; and after a full discussion of the powers of the charter and possible benefits, the resolution was adopted by an overwhelming vote.
The following resolutions, presented by J. Young Scammon, in behalf of the committee appointed for that purpose, reported the following resolutions, which were adopted without a dis- senting vote :
"Resolved, That the wants of the farmers and business men of northern Illinois require the immediate construction of a railroad from Chicago to Galena. That the value of farms upon the route would be doubled by the construction of the road, and the convenience of the inhabitants immeasurably profited thereby.
"Resolved, That in order to accomplish the object of this convention, it is indispensably necessary that the inhabitants and owners of property between Galena and Chicago should
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SUBSCRIPTION BOOKS OPENED.
come forward and subscribe to the stock of the proposed rail- road, to the extent of their ability; and that if each farmer upon the route shall take at least one share of the stock (one hundred dollars), the completion of the road would be placed beyond contingency."
This action enkindled enthusiasm along the entire line, but before the necessary subscriptions had been secured, Messrs. Townsend and Mather, who owned the original charter, offered the same, together with the land and such improvements as had already been made, to the citizens of Chicago, for the sum of twenty thousand dollars. The terms contemplated the pay- ment of the entire sum in stock of the new company ; ten thou- sand dollars immediately after the election and organization of the board of directors, and the remaining ten thousand dollars on the completion of the road to Rock river, or as soon as dividends of six per cent. had been earned. This proposition was accepted. The purchasers subscribed from their own means for the expense of the survey on December 6, 1846, and the following year the work was begun, under the supervision of Richard P. Morgan.
It was decided to open subscription books at Chicago and at Galena, as well as the several settlements through which the road was to pass. The task of canvassing among the farmers between the proposed termini was undertaken by William B. Ogden. J. Young Scammon solicited funds in Chicago, but the subscriptions came in slowly. Only twenty thousand dol- lars were obtained at the outset from all the real estate men and others who might have been supposed to have been espec- ially interested. Certain business men in Chicago opposed the construction of the road on the ground that it might divert business from Chicago to other points along the line. Mr. Ogden met with better success in the rural districts. Even the women were willing to undergo many privations of a personal charac- ter, that they might assist in the construction of an iron high- way, which they believed would prove of great benefit to the succeeding generations. The citizens of Rockford and farmers in the adjoining districts made liberal subscriptions to stock. John A. Holland and T. D. Robertson were the most active local promoters of the enterprise.
The original plan was to secure as large a local subscription to the capital stock as possible, and then apply to eastern cap- italists for such advances, either in the form of subscriptions to
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HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
capital stock or loans, as might be found necessary. The inter- est in the enterprise, however, was such that by April 1, 1848, one hundred and twenty-six subscribers had taken three hun- dred and fifty-one thousand and eight hundred dollars' worth of stock. It was therefore concluded that the road should be con- structed and owned by residents of the territory through which it was to pass. It was determined, however, to interview friends of the project in the east, to obtain such suggestions as their experience in railroad matters might enable them to give. Eastern capitalists advised the construction of the road as far as the subscription might be available; and later, if money were needed, it might be obtained in the east. There was another factor in the problem. Illinois was burdened with an enormous debt, and repudiation had been imminent. Eastern capitalists were therefore not prompt in response to calls for loans to be expended in internal improvements.
In September, 1847, a corps of engineers was engaged for surveys, and work was begun. Unexpected obstacles were encountered, and it was impossible for the directors to make the first contract for construction until near the close of the year. Contracts for the grading and bridging of twenty-five additional miles were made in March, 1848. Meanwhile, in February, 1847, an amended charter had been secured, under the terms of which a new board of directors was elected April 5th of the following year. Changes were subsequently made as follows: Thomas D. Robertson, of Rockford, was elected director, vice Allen Robbins, resigned, April 5, 1849; Dexter A. Knowlton, of Freeport, vice J. Y. Scammon, resigned, in 1850.
The canvass for subscriptions made along the line by Mr. Ogden was subsequently supplemented by Charles Walker, Isaac N. Arnold, John Locke Scripps and John B. Turner. In 1848 B. W. Raymond and John B. Turner visited the seaboard to enlist eastern support in the project. The journey was not as successful as they had hoped; yet they reported to Chicago subscriptions for fifteen thousand dollars' worth of stock and the promise of a loan of seven thousand dollars additional. The financial success of the enterprise seemed to be so far assured by this time that the management purchased a limited amount of rolling-stock.
Mr. Ogden, the president of the company, and also a mem- ber of the city council of Chicago, endeavored in the latter capacity to secure the passage of an ordinance giving the com-
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THE ROAD REACHES ROCKFORD.
pany the right of way into the city, with other incidental privi- leges. The ordinance failed to pass, but the road was granted the privilege of constructing a temporary track, in order to facilitate the hauling of necessary material through the city. The first civil engineer of the reorganized company was John Van Nortwick, and in June, 1848, his assistant, George W. Waite, drove the first grading peg, at the corner of Kinsie and Halsted streets.
In September, 1848, the directors purchased two engines from eastern companies. The first, the Pioneer, arrived in Chi- cago October 10th following. They were clumsy in appearance and workmanship; but they rendered efficient service. The Pioneer was unloaded from the brig Buffalo, on the Sunday following its arrival in Chicago. It proved to be a memorable purchase. At first it ran simply as a motor for hauling material for construction ; but December 15, 1848, it started from Chi- cago at the head of the first train which left the city over the four miles of track. In the rear of the Pioneer were six freight cars, extemporized into passenger coaches. The engineer in charge was John Ebbert. As the road developed, Mr. Ebbert was promoted until he became master mechanic of the road. His death occurred in Chicago August 21, 1899, at the age of eighty-five years. The first engineer, however, who ran the Pioneer as far west as Rockford was I. D. Johnson. In 1854 Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Delia, a daughter of Samuel Gregory. To them were born six children, three of whom sur- vived the father. Mr. Johnson died at his home in Chicago, February 24, 1899, and was buried in Rockford. He was a man of straightforward character, and as an engineer he was careful and courageous. The Pioneer was on exhibition at the world's Columbian exposition in 1893, under the charge of its former master, Engineer Ebbert, and attracted great attention as an example of primitive ideas in locomotive construction. It is now an exhibit at the Field Columbian Museum.
The line was extended to Elgin, forty miles west, in January, 1850. Nearly one hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars had been expended for construction up to that time, The rolling- stock was then an object of admiration; but it is now only of interest as a relic of the day of small things. The track was laid as far west as Belvidere in the spring of 1852. On Monday, August 2, 1852, a train on the Galena & Chicago Union railroad arrived in East Rockford. Its advent was signalized by the
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HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
ringing of bells and the firing of cannon. The iron horse was greeted by the populace as the successor of the horse and wagon and oxen and driver and whip. From that day Rockford began to make rapid strides in wealth, population, and commercial importance; and the Forum took the flattering unction to its soul that Chicago and Galena might be soon "looking this way with a jealous eye lest they become eclipsed in greatness by the city of the Rock river valley."
By the year 1857 quite an extension of the line had been completed. A double track had been extended thirty miles west, as far as Turner Junction, and large additions to the roll- ing stock had been acquired. The expense thus incurred increased the total outlay up to that time to nine million dol- lars. Before the close of 1858 the company had extended its main line to Freeport, one hundred and twenty miles from Chi- cago. Notwithstanding the fact that there was no little enthu- siasm in Galena over the extension of the line to that point, Fate decreed that Galena should be connected with Chicago by another line. The Galena & Chicago Union sold its right of way to the Illinois Central. It has been said that had thegreat Central system made a connection with Rockford at that early date, the population of the city would have been materially increased. At the close of 1858 the Galena & Chicago Union company was free from a floating debt; but it had a funded indebtedness of three million seven hundred and eighty-three thousand and fifteen dollars.
The system owned and operated by the Chicago & North- western Railway Company, as it exists at the present time, is a consolidation of not less than forty-five distinct roads. June 2, 1864, was effected a consolidation of the Galena & Chicago Union and the Chicago & Northwestern companies, under the name of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company. The old Galena & Chicago Union had been legitimately built, and was never bonded; and when it was purchased by the Chicago & North- western, the stock held by the old subscribers in the Galena road was exchanged for stock in the new company. The con- solidation was effected by the late Samuel J. Tilden, one of the greatest railroad lawyers of his time. The Galena had been a profitable road; and its consolidation was one of the first in northern Illinois.
CHAPTER LIII.
REPRESENTATIVE ROCKFORD CITIZENS: 1842-50.
M ARSHALL H. REGAN was born in Rochester, New York, and his early life was spent in his native state and in Can- ada. Mr. Regan came to Rockford in 1842. He engaged in the lumber trade, in which he spent his active business life. He was also a contractor and builder, did a large business, and accumulated a competence. Mr. Regan was the architect of the old First Congregational church, on the corner of First and Walnut streets. He was a prominent citizen in early Rockford, and a Democrat in politics. His first wife was Miss Louisa Dewey, whom he married in Rockford in 1845. They had six children. The first Mrs. Eber Carmichael and the late Mrs. O. A. Richardson were daughters. Mr. Regan's second marriage was with Miss Adelaide Stewart, a native of Vermont. Their son, Hon. Frank S. Regan, is an attorney, and astockholder of the Rockford Abstract Company. In 1898, through a local disaffection in the Democratic party, Mr. Regan was elected a member of the legislature as a Prohibitionist. His only prede- cessor of the same political faith in this district was Hon. James Lamont, who is now a member of the editorial staff of the Chi- cago Lever. The elder Regan died in Rockford in 1875.
James B. Howell settled in Rockford November 8, 1843. His business was that of a wool-carder and cloth-dresser. When the first dam was completed, Mr. Howell operated a carding and fulling machine on the south side of State street. He erected a building in 1846, and began business in 1848, and continued therein until the dam went out in 1851. He then removed his machinery to New Milford. Hereturned to Rockford ; and some years later he formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, M. H. Regan, in the lumber business. After Huntington & Barnes' book store was destroyed by fire, Mr. Howell engaged in the book trade. ITis stand was the east store in Metropolitan Hall block, which for many years was occupied by B. R. Waldo, in the same line of trade. L. A. Trowbridge began business as a clerk in thisstore in 1861. Mr. Howell has been treasurer of the
R
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HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
township school fund since 1888. He was preceded by his daughter, Miss Ella, who held the office from 1882 until her marriage in 1887. Mr. Howell was a constituent member of the State Street Baptist church. For many years he has lived a retired life, and in his old age he is highly esteemed by a wide circle of friends. Comparatively few men can faithfully discharge every duty of life without occasionally making an enemy thereby. Mr. Howell has enjoyed the rare good fortune of being an excep- tion to this rule.
Benjamin A. Rose was born in Philadelphia, in 1817. In early manhood he removed to Chemung county, New York, and in October, 1844, he came to Rockford. His first home was next to D. D. Alling's house, on South Main street. In 1848 he bought a lot on North church street, and built a brick house. In 1855 Mr. Rose purchased the Jackson farm on Montague street, just outside the city limits, where he resided until his death in 1883. Mr. Rose was county clerk from 1847 to 1849. He was one of the clerical force in the banking house of Robert- son & Holland, and remained in the bank one year after removing to the farm. Mr. and Mrs. Rose were charter members of the Sec- ond Congregational church. Mrs. Rose died in December, 1896.
Dr. Lucius Clark became a resident of Rockford in 1845. Dr. Clark was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, June 10, 1813. He was the third in a family of seven sons, five of whom became physicians. The Doctor received his education in his native city. He pursued his medical studies at Berkshire Medical Col- Jege, Massachusetts, and at Geneva Medical College, in New York, and received the first diploma given by the latter institu- tion. Mr. Clark practiced at Marion, Palmyra, and Chili, in New York, for ten years, previous to his settlement in Rockford. Dr. Clark was a member of the American Medical Association, and of the Illinois State Medical Society. During the war he was in the field a short time as president of the board of exam- ining surgeons for the state of Illinois. He was for many years a trustee of Rockford seminary. In 1836 Dr. Clark married Julia A. Adams, of Hinsdale, Massachusetts. She died in 1861. In 1864 Dr. Clark married Charlotte M. Townsend, of this city. Dr. Clark possessed rare social qualities. His genial- ity dispelled all reserve, and broke down the artificial barriers of formality and exclusiveness. He had a fine presence, and he was careful to the point of fastidiousness in his dress. Dr. Clark was fond of a joke. On one occasion, after hearing a sermon
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DR. LUCIUS CLARK.
by an intimate acquaintance, the Doctor complimented his friend on his sermon ; but remarked that he had a book at home which contained every word of it. The clergyman, who was naturally restive under this imputation, called upon the Doctor for an explanation, when the latter produced the dictionary. Dr. Clark's home life was ideal, and his religious nature was strong and independent. He ranked high in his profession, and dis- charged every duty of life as a citizen and friend with strict fidelity and reverent sympathy. His death occurred November 5, 1878. Dexter Clark, M. D., followed his brother Lucius to Rockford, where he resided until his death, except the time spent in California, where he went in 1850. Dr. Dexter Clark was for many years a prominent member of the Second Congre- gational church, and superintendent of its Sunday-school. Many of the older residents will remember his noble Christian qualities, his ardent enthusiasm and his generous sympathies. Another brother, Dr. E. N. Clark, settled at Beloit ; and a fourth brother, Dr. Asabel Clark, resided at Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Lucius Clark had two sons who succeeded him in the practice of medicine: Dexter Selwyn, and Lucius Armor. Dr. D. Selwyn Clark died February 12, 1898. No citizen of Rockford had a higher sense of professional and personal honor, and his death was universally lamented. The death of Dr. L. A. Clark occurred July 23, 1899, in the house in which he was born fifty years before. He had a wide reputation as an expert surgeon. Dur- ing his residence on the Pacific coast he was employed as a steamship surgeon for some years, and was a passenger on the first voyage of the Colema, which, after long service, foundered a few years ago. Dr. Clark was also surgeon for the Illinois Railroad Company, which position he held at the time of his death. His wife and one daughter survived him. For more than half a century the Clark family was represented in the medical profession of Rockford. In the death of Armor Clark there passed away the last of this historic family of practitioners.
C. A. Huntington came to Rockford in 1845. He had left his family in July at Racine, Wisconsin, until he could find a desirable place for settlement. November 5th of that year he began his first term of school in Rockford in a building owned by H. R. Maynard, which stood on the site of the Masonic Tem- ple. In the following year L. B. Gregory retired from teaching, and Mr. Huntington succeeded him as teacher in the old court house building on North First street, where he remained until
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HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
the fall of 1848. Mr. Huntington then taught in the old Bap- tist church on North Main street. Among Mr. Huntington's first pupils in Rockford were Capt. E. E. Potter, Leander H. Potter, Carrol Spafford, B. Rush Catlin, E. P. Catlin, Samuel Montague, Hiram R. Enoch, Hiram H. Waldo, Sarah Preston, Adaline Potter, Selwyn Clark, and Clinton C. Helm. In the autumn of 1849 Mr. Huntington was elected school commis- sioner, and served eight years. In that same year he also opened the first book store in Rockford, on the site of the Third Na- tional Bank. He subsequently removed to the corner store in Laomi Peake's block, where the Manufacturers National Bank now stands. There he and Robert Barnes conducted a book store, and a book bindery on the second floor. November 27, 1857, this block was destroyed by fire. Huntington & Barnes carried a stock of eleven thousand dollars, on which there was an insurance of three thousand dollars. Mr. Huntington resided in Rockford until 1864, when he removed to California.
Hon. William Brown was born in Cumberland, in the North of England, June 1, 1819. His father's family removed to the United States in 1827, and the senior Brown purchased a farm in Oneida county, New York. William Brown began the study of law in Rome, New York, and was admitted to the bar. In 1846 he became a citizen of Rockford. During his first winter in the west he taught a district school. Judge Brown was hon- ored with several public offices. He was chosen a justice of the peace in 1847. In 1852 he was elected state's attorney for the district comprising Stephenson, Winnebago and Jo Daviess counties, and served three years. At the expiration of that time he was elected mayor of Rockford. In 1857 Judge Brown formed a partnership with William Lathrop, which continued three years. He then became a partner with the late H. W. Taylor, with whom he was associated until 1870. In 1864 he was elected a member of the legislature as a Republican. Judge Brown was first elected judge to fill the vacancy caused by the promotion of Judge Sheldon to the supreme bench. He was subsequently elected for three full terms. His career on the bench covered twenty years. Judge Brown and Caroline H. Miller, a daughter of Hon. Horace Miller, were married Septem- ber 19, 1850. Their elder son, Edward W. Brown, has been three times elected mayor of Rockford. At the conclusion of his present term he will have served six consecutive years, the longest mayoralty in our municipal history. Judge Brown's
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HIRAM H. WALDO.
other children are Frank R. Brown and Mrs. H. W. Buckbee. Judge Brown was an able lawyer, a conscientious judge, and a Christian gentleman. By prudent management he acquired a large estate. He was a liberal supporter of the Centennial Methodist church, and was generous in the use of his money in charity and public enterprises. The Brown Building is named in his honor, and a controlling interest is owned by his family. Judge Brown died January 15, 1891.
Hiram H. Waldo was born in Elba, Genesee county, New York, November 23, 1827. He came to Rockford in 1846, when he was nineteen years of age, and completed his early education in the district schools. He studied in summer, and taught in the winter, for several years, until 1851. Mr. Waldo taught in the Redington district, in the old First Baptist church, Cherry Valley, Guilford, Harlem, in the basement of the First Methodist church as assistant to Seely Perry, and as assistant to C. A. Huntington, on Firststreet. While at Cherry Valley he walked to Rockford, a distance of eight miles, to attend a lecture by John B. Gough. Mr. Waldo subsequently spent two years in Chicago, where he secured a clerkship in the postoffice, under Postmaster Dole, and was promoted to the superintendency of western distribution. Mr. Waldo remained a short time under Postmaster Isaac Cook. He returned to Rockford when Charles 1. Horsman became postmaster the second time. Mr. Horsman did not give his personal attention to the office, and Mr. Waldo assumed this responsibility. He paid Mr. Horsman five hundred dollars a year from the earnings of the office, and retained the balance as his compensation. Mr. Horsman, however, gave him a guarantee that he would receive an equivalent to his salary in Chicago. Mr. Waldo opened a book store in 1855, in a frame building which rested on poles, where the Grand Union tea store now stands. He remained there four years, and then removed into his present stand, in 1859, where for forty-one years he has done business without interruption. He is the only merchant now in business of all those engaged in trade when he began. Mr. Waldo, however, was not the only early book dealer on the West side. John M. Perry, a brother of Seely Perry, had a book store on the site now occupied by L. Moulth- rop's dry goods store. Mr. Perry sold this stock to J. W. Seccomb. Mr. Waldo served as school commissioner of Winne- bago county from 1857 to 1859, and again from 1863 to 1865. He took an honest pride in the teachers' institutes, which were
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HISTORY OF ROCKFORD AND WINNEBAGO COUNTY.
attended by all classes of people, instead of teachers only, as at present. Mr. Waldo believes that his efforts in that direction have never been surpassed. In politics Mr. Waldo claims the unique distinction of always having voted with the minority. He was an Abolitionist when there were only seven in the county. His affiliations in later years have been generally with the Dem- cratic party. Upon the failure of the Second National Bank, Mr. Waldo was appointed receiver by Commissioner Eckles, and has paid eighty-five per cent. of the indebtedness. Since the organ- ization of the Church of the Christian Union in 1870, Mr. Waldo has been an enthusiastic supporter of Dr. Kerr. It is said that in the nearly thirty years of its existence as an independent church, Mr. Waldo has never missed a service. Perhaps no man in town is as well known as H. H. Waldo. He has a ready wit, and the range of his information is broad. He is a shrewd observer of men and affairs; and has an inexhaustible fund of reminiscence at his instant command. His knowledge of the social life of Rockford covers more than half a century, and, with one or two exceptions, surpasses that of any other citizen.
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