History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from its earliest settlement to 1908, Vol. I, Part 36

Author: Davis, William W
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago : Pioneer Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 706

USA > Illinois > Whiteside County > History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from its earliest settlement to 1908, Vol. I > Part 36

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ODELL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM.

An idle hour I dream away, Alone among my books today .-- The Westminster.

Gladstone or Macaulay would revel in this quiet retreat on Grove street, not far from the Whiteside hotel. It is a gem in arrangement and material. About 4,000 volumes, large enough for the population, and twenty-five to thirty new books received every month to keep abreast the current thought of the world. There are three tables, containing magazines for reading and books for reference. It is well patronized, in the winter season of clubs and study, 100 books sometimes taken out. Besides the well selected volumes on the shelves, are cases of curios in the form of shells and coral, Indian skulls and arrows, a variety of mineral specimens. In a show case are rare books like Homer's Iliad, London, 1721, English Reader, 1813, Natural History, 1715, U. S. History, 1811. Some choice pictures on the wall, Execution of Nathan Hale, a bird's-eye of Morrison in 1885, a frame of copper coins, the circle of American authors. But the most entertaining is a large group of Morrison people of all ages and sizes, old and young. A local photographer gathered the faces taken in his studio for thirty years, and put them side by side. As the children then have grown to manhood and womanhood, their baby features arc here embalmed. It is a sort of Egyptian immortality. A gallery for coming generations.

The building is the old Congregational church adapted to its present use. The books and minerals belong to the early Morrison Literary and Scientific Association, who in 1879 received the house and $8,000 from J. Odell, a gen- erous citizen, for the benefit of the public. The property is now in charge of the city which levies a tax for its support in addition to the interest derived from the endowment. There are nine trustces according to the state law. Patrons and visitors are sure of courteous treatment from Mrs. Frank Rob- inson, custodian.

A former Sterling boy has shown decided capacity for business. In 1879 Samuel H. Ladd entered the jewelry store of Clark & Giddings to learn the trade, came to Morrison in 1886, and has now the finest establishment in the city, his operations extending to kodaks and musical instruments. His store is on the north side of Main strect.

MORRISON PUBLIC LIBRARY

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

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THE AUDITORIUM.

Halls on second stories are tiresome and dangerous, and in her spacious place of amusement on the first floor, Morrison has set an example worthy of imitation. The auditorium is on Grove street, built of frame in 1900 at a cost of $15,000. There are seats for seven hundred people, and 1,200 can be accommodated. A stock company, thirty-three share holders at fifty dollars a share. E. A. Smith is president, A. J. Jackson, secretary. and treasurer.

Across the street is the armory, built several years ago, whose ample floor space permits the evolutions of a company of troops.

The city receives its illumination from an electric plant established in 1889, H. S. Green, president and treasurer, L. R. Ramsay, secretary. There are 130 incandescent lights, furnished at $19.50 a year, and three arc lights at $75 apiece. The price of gas is $1.25 net per thousand feet. The office is on Main street.

The Whiteside, the leading hotel, brick, three stories, was erected in 1865, and is the headquarters for lawyers, judges, jurymen, and other limbs of the law in court time. The block of the First National, opposite, was put up in 1864. A central situation, the street just east leading to the station.

WHITESIDE FARMERS' TELEPHONE COMPANY.

This was incorparated May 18, 1903. The capital stock is $20,000, divided into eight hundred shares paid up, with a par value of twenty-five dollars each. The object of the company is to build and maintain telephone lines or exchanges or both in Whiteside and adjoining counties, state of Illinois, with such extensions or connections with other telephone lines as may hereafter be decided, and to furnish telephone communications over its lines at a mini- mum cost to its stockholders.

The switch board fee $2.50 per share, per year, payable semi-annually in advance.

Single communications limited to five minutes on party lines, and three minutes on trunk lines.

There are seven directors. The officers are :

President, C. H. Mason.

Vice-Pesident, H. L. Ewing.

Secretary, C. E. Johnson.

Treasurer, R. E. Cochran.

TIIE GREENHOUSES.

These are at the southeastern edge of the city, and reached by a contin- uous sidewalk. A delightful stroll on an October morning. Two firms close together. In the front show window of Davis Bros. a bright display of car- nations and chrysanthemums at our visit recalled Lowell's poem on the dandelion :

Thou art my tropics and mine Italy ;

To look at thee unlocks a warmer clime.

Several greenhouses, the longest 400 feet.

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The larger establishment is that of the C. D. Gallentine Co., which has grown from onc house 140 feet long, nine years ago, to twenty-nine glass- covered roofs averaging 220 feet in length. The main crops are cucumbers, two crops a season, and tomatoes, one crop. A pretty sight, the tomatoes and cucumbers climbing on wires to the roof. Markets are found east and west, Chicago taking the bulk of the product. To destroy fungus and insects, the ground before planting is sterilized by infusion of steam through a multitude of pipes. To secure a balmy temperature during the wintry months, 3,000 tons of soft coal are consumed. The seed of cucumbers and tomatoes are sown in broad trays, transferred to pots, then planted in the large beds. Cucumbers bear in two months from seed, tomatoes in three. The day tem- perature is kept at 85 degrees, night at 65.

GROVE HILL CEMETERY.

Princes, this clay must be your bed, In spite of all your towels The tall, the wise, the reverend head, Must lie as low as ours .- Isaac Watts.

A charming spot, a sacred resort. It lies along the northern edge of the city, and the open gateway invites you to enter. Arbor vitae, singly and in clusters, seems to be the favorite evergreen, with its delicate leaves, giving an air of cheerfulness to the solemn retirement. The turf is soft and velvety, the lots are kept trim and fresh, and there is a sad satisfaction in walking up and down the avenues, and reading the names of so many who once took part in the busy affairs of the world. It is like taking -a Morrison directory of the last generation. Here they all come at last: Snyder, Sholes, Gray, Wilson, Duffin. Eli Upton, 1811-1900. Dr. H. C. Donaldson, 1825-1896. Coroner, kind physician, awhile in Sterling. Charles Spears, 1814-1884, and Rebecca Spears, 1822-1895, have a monument of light red granite. Leander Smith, 1889, aged seventy. Baird, Mason, Wood, Wallace, McAllister, Whitcomb, Jackson, Baker, Ely. Here is a granite memorial that recalls a family sorrow. Burritt E. Phinney, 1883, only 25, and M. Loyal Phinney, 1887, only 24, just ready to begin their promising career. Loyal C. Twitchell, Vermont, 1812-1903, and Mary H., 1814-1892. Charles Shirk, 1815-1904, and Sarah, his wife. There are three Vennum tombs, and at cach the writer expected to see the name of the notable centenarian, Mrs. Phebe, but in vain. Edward Vennum, 1842-1897, soldier. Two Robinson monuments, one simply "Rob- inson," the other S. W. Robinson. John S. Green, 1831-1888. Wm. Spears, 1872, aged 59. This couplet over a humble grave:

Rest, mother, rest in quiet sleep, While friends in sorrow o'er thce weep.

Burr, Brown, Fellows, Farrington, Boyd, Bent, what associations! The death of his daughter, Charlotte, was a blow to Prof. H. E., which saddened his remaining days. Nancy Kingsbury, 1873, age 64. Levi Beach, 1810- 1893. Sampson, Savage, Lane, Baum, Winfield S. Wilkinson, 1812-1893, and his wife, Frances E. Sampson, 1814-1890.

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How life-like thro' the mist of years, Each well remembered facc appears.

A large tract has been added to the cemetery on the north with a vault at the foot of the slope, and already many handsome monuments liave been erected. On a long solid block is the name "Jennic Jackson, 1842-1901, the first of her family to depart this life."

In various parts of the grounds sleep brave heroes of the wars. Wm. Henry Harrison Hutten, surgeon U. S. M. H. S. 1838-1897. For thirty-six years a faithful servant of his country. H. P. Baker, Co. G, 8th Ill. cavalry. D. J. Quackenbush, Co. B, 34th Ill. infantry. Also G. A. Q., Band of 34th Ill. Milton Morse, Co. B, 140th Ill. infantry. Joseph Myers, Co. B, 34th Ill. J. A. Hulett, Co. A, 12th Ill. cavalry. Jason Booth, Co. A, 1st W. Va. in- fantry. There is a whole row of the gallant dead. Chas. Vorgt, Co. G, 156th Ill. Jacob Alsrod, Co. B, 140th Ill. J. H. Clifford, Co. F 12th Ill. W. A. Stowell, B. H. W., 1819-1899. J. W. Bowser, Co. G, 2nd Mo. S. M. cavalry.

The main driveways are paved with brick, and many of the lots terraced. The good people of Morrison evidently consider Grove Hill as the choicest jewel in their crown.

THE MANSIONS OF MORRISON.

The stately homes of England, How beautiful they stand, Amid their tall ancestral trees, All o'er the pleasant land .- Mrs. Hemans.

New York has Fifth avenue, Boston Beacon street, Chicago Sheridan road, and Morrison her Grove street. Too humble a title for so pretty a thoroughfare. Sheridan Boulevard would sound better and do justice to the situation. On a high ridge sloping to the south stand a succession of villas in various styles of architecture, colonial, Queen Anne, Elizabethian. Here beginning on the west is the red residence of M. V. Card, with its sweeping view of the valley, the buff dwelling of J. B. Markey of the refrigerator fac- tory, the elaborate frame mansion of Ed. A. Smith, banker, the buff villa of Charles Bent and next that of his son, the liome of the Misses Teller, the white frame of Robert Wallace, the brick of Charles Foster, the square brick with portico of Mrs. Smith, widow of Leander. Among the historic people in this aristocratic row are Julia and Mary Teller, sisters of the distinguished Colo- rado Senator, Henry M. Teller. Of eight children, one is dead, Addison and James are in Colorado. The father dicd on the farm in Union Grove, the mother in Morrison. A grandfather's clock from the castern home stands in a corner of the sitting room. No more delightful home than that of Charles Bent with its hospitable hall and spacious parlors. An ideal library in the rear. Low book cases with glass doors along the sides filled with standard authors, one corner devoted to rare volumes of early and later Illinois history. Indian and Mexican vases for the antiquarian. Around the writing table in the center with its fantastic shaded light what deliberations of state, what questions of research, what plans of patriotism. There too, is the Spears

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house, one of the first on the hill. To the east on Genesee street is the large brick residence of Mrs. Taylor, widow of the old physician. Of late years many handsome residences have been erected on the south side, which is · quite level. One of the finest is the splendid villa of M. H. Potter, dealer in lumber, the gray stone, bright roof, and shaven lawn, making a perfect pic- ture. Most are frame but in excellent taste, as those of H. S. Green, Judge Ramsay, J. H. Snyder, A. J. Jackson, Roy Davis, J. W. Steiner. On the lawn of Dr. Hazelton, south of the track, are two primeval relics leaning together which would be a treasure for a historical society. They are the stones, the burrs of the first mill in Whiteside county, at Jacobstown on Rock creek, about 1840 or before.

THE WOMEN'S CLUBS.

A creature not too bright or good, For human nature's daily food ; For transient sorrows, simple wiles, Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles .- Wordsworth.

No city of its size anywhere has so much refinement and intelligence as Morrison. Its good wives and daughters devote their afternoons of leisure to reading and research instead of finding enjoyment in the passing diversions of the hour which leave no permanent profit at the end of the year. The city has at least five associations of ladies who mcet regularly for purposes of im- provement.

One of the oldest is the Fortnightly club, organized in 1894. The officers for 1907-1908, are Mrs. Decima Bent, president; Mrs. Ellen Smith, vice-president; Mrs. Elizabeth Boyd, secretary; Mrs. Hettie Milne, treasurer. There are twenty-one members. A booklet is printed giving the topics for the various meetings. A page is devoted to "In Memoriam" for deceased . members. The motto for the year is from Thackeray: "My good people, it is not only impossible to please you all, but absurd to try." The topics of dis- cussion have a wide range: Confucius, Zoroaster, George Eliot, Women of the Bible, Lady Macbeth, Our Forgotten Foremothers, Should a wife receive an allowance? Readings and songs give variety to the sessions.

Another is the Monday Evening club. Mrs. Burtch is president, and Mrs. Cornelia Green, secretary. Here, too, the subjects for examination have. a broad field. In 1906 they took up The World's Greatest Short Stories, Irving, Balzac, Dickens, Thackeray, Poe, Hawthorne. A leader is appointed previously on essays or on poems. A passage is read by members in turn, and at conclusion questions are asked. In 1907, English Essays had promi- nence. Bacon, Addison, Swift, Lamb, De Quincey, Carlyle, Emerson, Macaulay, Ruskin, Arnold. One year they considered the great poets, like Shakespeare, Milton, Burns, Coleridge, Longfellow. A delegate is regularly sent to general meetings of women's clubs.

The Daughters of the Revolution have nearly thirty members, and have enrolled many of the prominent ladies of the city. The Regent is Mrs. Mar- garet Lapham Brown; vice-regent, Mrs. Cornelia Green; secretary, Mrs. Val- lie Sholes Green ; registrar, Mrs. Letitia Happer Payne; historian, Mrs. Ab-

ILIERSITY OF

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bietta Porter Wilkinson. The mectings are held once a month. Although the questions are chiefly confined to our own country, the patriotism of other lands is not forgotten. Washington and his administration, the constitution, quotations from American history, historic homes, men and women of his- tory with five-minute talks, war time, the historical novel, political parties, show the character of their work. Readings and papers. The discussions are informal and enthusiastic.

There is a Domestic Science club composed of ambitious housekeepers who aim at excellence in the important and desirable graces of culinary art, meeting at each other's homes from time to time. Practical demonstrations are often given. The topics vary from the "use of salmon" to "preparations from bread dough."

A Progressive Reading circle take up some of the best books of standard or recent literature. For instance, Nov. 4, 1907, at the home of Mrs. Bent, the lesson for reading and discussion was the first three chapters of "The Little Minister."

CITY OFFICERS OF MORRISON.

Mayor, G. H. Kentfield.

Aldermen, A. P. Pelham; A. D. Stone, C. E. Lutyen, F. A. VanOsdol, R. A. Norrish and Wm. Boyd.

City clerk, A. R. Baird.

City attorney, W. A. Blodgett.

Marshal, Chris Welch.

Assistant marshal, A. G. Puddifoot.

Street commissioner, Egbert Buis.

Supt. Waterworks, I. H. Parrish.

Supt. Grove Hill cemetery, H. H. Kelly.

Chief of fire department, Harry Berry.

The population is between 3,000 and 3,500.

The Mystic lodge in Round Grove is thought to be the only one of its kind in the United States that owns the building in which its meetings are held as well as the ground upon which the structure is located. The hall has lately been enlarged to forty feet in length and further improved by the ad- dition of a stage and two dressing rooms, so it may be utilized for social and dramatic entertainments, parties, balls or other gatherings that very often require a suitable room to assemble in a small place as well as in larger towns than Round Grove. The new hall was formally opened and dedicated in 1907.

THE CHURCHES.

Why should we crave a hallowed spot? An altar is in each man's cot, A church in every grove that spreads Its living roof above our heads .- Wordsworth.

On one of the southern streets is the Holland church, the largest society in Morrison, and, doubtless, the latest. There are 115 families, 125 scholars in the Sunday school, three catechetical classes, a young ladies society, and a

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woman's missionary. The sermons arc in Dutch, morning and evening, and the congregation so large that the frame edifice must be enlarged. Most of the people live in the country, and some at so great a distance that they must start soon after seven for morning service. Tlc families are patriarchal, from nine to twelve children often. Very punctual, turning out rain or shinc. Excellent citizens, having brought from the old country the virtucs of tlirift, economy, and neatness, live bountifully, and work strenously .. The sheds for seventy-five teams and the hitching posts indicate the rural char- acter of the worshipers.

The pastor, Peter John Bouma, was born in the Netherlands, cducated partly at Kampen, H., and partly in Michigan. He has been twenty years in America, and five here. Every year he visits every family, occupying two days every week.

THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL.

On Sunday, May 20, 1906, the Mehodist church was re-dedicated amid great rejoicing. The former edifice was so completely transformed that the present is really a new church on the former site. From the Sentinel of May 17, 1906, we condense the details of the rejuvenated sanctuary. The entire building was raised three feet, and a stone wall laid, making an eight foot basement for dining room, kitchen, fuel and boiler rooms. The main build- ing is 10x60 feet, and the audience room sixty feet square. It is heated by steam. By means of rolling partitions, all of the rooms can be thrown into one spacious auditorium, with ample seating capacity for special occasions. The exterior is painted white, the interior decorated, a stcel ceiling, walls frescoed, artistic electric light fixtures. There are nine handsome memorial windows, costing $700, given by members of the church. The Good Shcp- herd in the east was the gift of Mrs. Lucinda Curtis in memory of her hus- band Cyrus and daughter Eva. On the south, one by J. H. Kennedy, for his father, A. E. Kennedy and his mother, Rachel. Paul preaching on Mars Hill by Charles and Mary McMullen. One by Mark and Pliebe Root for their father and mother, John and Elizabeth. On the north side a window given by the Payne family for William and Eliza Payne, and on the oppo- site one by the Thomas families for G. W. and Mary Thomas. One on the east by Chas. McMullen and the Teller family for Mr. and Mrs. F. C. Wood- ruff, and another on the west for Mr. and Mrs. I. V. Walker. Onc on the north by the Epworth League.

The parsonage is on the north. The first was erected in the sixties, but was sold and removed, and the present attractive and modern residence built in 1903, at a cost of $4,200. Taking church and manse together, no more convenient and complete church property in the county.

Like all Western churches, the Methodists in Morrison had their days of struggle. Rev. James McKean, a missionary, held service in a grove in Mt. Pleasant, in the house of James J. Thomas. In 1836 he formed a class, con- sisting of James T. Thomas and wife, and George O. James and wife, the first religious organization in Mt. Pleasant. Tlic semi-centennial was cele- brated in Morrison, May 1-3, 1887. This M. E. society is really an outgrowth

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of the Unionville church, organized Oct. 8, 1842, Rev. B. Wecd, presiding elder, and Rev. Chester Campbell, preacher in charge. The church belonged to Union Grove circuit, Rock River conference. The circuit included Union Grove, Eric, Winchell's Grove or Kingsbury, Lyndon, Otter Bluffs, Albany, Genesee Grove, Fulton, and Rock River Bend. Among the prominent names we find A. C. Jackson, class leader, D. B. Young, local preacher, - Samuel Slocumb and Luke Abbey, stewards. The services at Unionville were con- ducted in school houses until 1855, when a church was erected, Rev. S. B. Baker, being the preacher in charge. In 1858 came the Morrison church, the first sermon preached in July, 1858, at old Concert Hall, by Rev. J. W. Waterbury. It was on the third floor of the building now occupied by the Green Drug Co., and G. W. Robinson. Here the services were held until the removal of the church from Unionville to Morrison in 1862. At a mect- ing of the society in 1860 at the Baptist church, arrangements were made for the purchase of lots from S. H. McCrea for $300, and the Unionville church for $900, and $100 for the bell which had disappeared. The building was removed and dedicated May 23, 1862. The repair's and removal cost $2,000. In 1858 the Morrison circuit was established, and in 1863 the town was made a station. In 1877 a new church was erected at a cost of $4,808, the old building being remodeled in connection. There was a spire 113 feet high. Rev. H. W. Thomas, D. D., of Aurora, conducted the exercises of dedication, Sunday, Sept 2, 1877.

Since the organization in 1842, the churches in Unionville and Mor- rison have had 38 pastors, including Rev. M. G. Wenz. At the dedication, May 20, 1906, the sermon was preached by Rev. A. T. Horn, D. D., of Evanston, presiding elder of the Dixon district. On Wednesday, May 23, Rev. A. M. White, of Chicago, former pastor, gave an address. The present . pastor, Rev. M. G. Wenz, is a graduate of Northwestern University and Garrett Biblical Institute, and the flourishing condition of the church owes much to his scholarly taste and carnest effort.

There is a membership of about 250, with numerous societies, mission- ary, ladies' aid, brotherhood, Epworth league, Queen Esther circle. A girl is supported in Porto Rico school. A group of busy workers.

THE PRESBYTERIAN.

On March 28, 1905, this sanctuary was the scene of a solemn and yet delightful celebration. It was the fiftieth anniversary of its organization. Of those who became members in 1855, only four are now living, David Cowan, of Polo; Mrs. Ellen B. Murray, Clear Lake, Iowa; Mrs. Agnes W. Graves, Unionville; and A. J. Jackson, of Morrison. To add interest to the occasion many of the older members were present, Mrs. Leander Smith, Mrs. J. H. Snyder, Mrs. M. S. Heaton, Mrs. W. A. Van Osdol, Mr. and Mrs. Foster, Mr. and Mrs. Matthew. Roses and potted plants threw a freshness and charm over the joyous occasion.

After invocation by Rev. W. V. Jeffries, of the Presbyterian, anthem by the choir, and prayer by Rev. M. G. Wenz, of the Methodist church, an historical sketch was read by Mr. A. J. Jackson, cashier of the bank. He

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has peculiar qualifications for the performance as he is the only member living in the city who belonged to the early organization. From the sketch which was printed in full in the Sentinel we are enabled to glean much valuable information. At Unionville, March 28, 1855, twenty-two persons in all, met to consider the formation of a Presbyterian church. Among them were John and Phebe Vennum, W. H. Lane and Catherine, Henry and Abigail Ustick, N. M. and Harriet Jackson, Wm. Lane, Samuel and Frances Miller, Austin and Fanny Martin. Rev. W. C. Mason and Rev. - W. W. Harsha were the committee from Presbytery to effect the organiza- tion. W. Kier and N. M. Jackson were ordained elders. John Kier and A. J. Jackson were received as members, and the roll was then 24. During the next year nine members were added. For three and a half years, Rev. Jacob Coon acted as stated supply. The first services were held in the Con- gregational church at Unionville, organized in 1844. During the summer of 1855 the railroad located its station at Morrison, and the young congre- gation decided to remove thither, in 1858 erected a building, which was replaced in 1883 by the present structure. Rev. A. H. Lackey served as supply for two or three years, followed at different times by Armstrong, Kelly, E. Erskine, and others, until the spring of 1863, when Rev. George Paull, a young minister from Pennsylvania, came for five months as he had decided to go as missionary to Corisco, Africa. He soon died there, and was deeply mourned. That autumn, Rev. Geo. T. Crissman was called, laboring with high esteem until 1878. An interval of six months was filled by Rev. W. M. Blackburn, and another of two years by Rev. S. H. Weller. Rev. James Frothingham preached for four years, and on his departure in 1886, Rev. J. W. Skinner was chosen pastor, continuing until his removal to Colo- rado in 1902. Rev. W. V. Jeffries filled the pulpit until 1907, when Rev. W. C. Crofts was invited to the vacancy. He is a graduate of McCormick seminary, Chicago, a classmate of Rev. C. G. Richards in Sterling. The membership of the church is 310, with 280 scholars enrolled in the Sunday school, and a C. Endeavor of thirty. The usual missionary and ladies' soci- eties, and a men's brotherhood. William Fraser, elder, in an article in the Monthly Messenger, Fulton, says the present church, occupied in 1884, cost $15,000, and the organ since installed, $1,800. The board of trustees clected in 1893 consisted of A. J. Jackson, Edward Vennum, C. Shirk, Robert Wal- lace, and S. M. Ladd.

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History of Whiteside County, Illinois, from its earliest settlement to 1908, Vol. I, Part 36

Author: Davis, William W Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Chicago : Pioneer Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 706

Author: Davis, William W
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago : Pioneer Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 706