USA > Illinois > Whiteside County > History of Whiteside county, Illinois, from its first settlement to the present time, with numerous Biographical and Family Sketches > Part 44
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WINFIELD S. WILKINSON was born in Skaneateles, Onondaga county, New York, September 11, 1812. In 1834 he went to Georgetown, Kentucky, and remained there until 1837, when he came to Jacksonville, Illinois, and was em- ployed at that place, and at Springfield, as civil engineer in the service of the State, until October, 1839, when he came to Como, Whiteside county. Mr. Wilkinson was married November 10, 1841, at Como, to Miss Francis Elizabeth Sampson, daughter of Capt. Henry B. Sampson. Their children have been: Mary C., born at Como, April 14, 1843; Alfred E., born at Skancateles, On- ondaga county, New York, December 6, 1846; IIenry B., born at Como, April 8, 1849, and Frank, born at Sterling, March 11, 1857. Mary C. married Charles H. Cogswell, May 20, 1869, and resides at Clinton, Iowa; children, Francis E. and Charles H. Alfred E. married Miss Annie Oldham, of Gainesville, Texas, November 4, 1875, and resides at Sherman, Texas, where he is engaged in the practice of law, and now wears the judicial ermine; one child, Henry. Henry B. resides in Chicago. Frank died at Morrison, November 21, 1860. Mr. Wil- kinson resided in Como until September, 1856, when he moved to Sterling, and in 1858, at the removal of the County Seat, came to Morrison. Probably no man in Whiteside county has taken a more active and prominent part in its af- fairs than Mr. Wilkinson. His peculiar qualifications for an able and honest discharge of the duties of a public trust, were early recognized, and for more than a quarter of a century his fellow citizens freely conferred these trusts upon him. When the lands upon which Como is situated were placed into market by the government, he was one of three gentlemen selected by the
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
claimants to bid them in, and for the lands in Hopkins township he was the only one selected to make the purchases. In 1842 he was elected County Sur- veyor of Whiteside county, and held the position five years. In 1844, and while still County Surveyor, the people of Whiteside called upon him to repre- sent them in the General Assembly of the State, which he did, greatly to their satisfaction, and to the interests of the State, for a term of two years. When the County Court which superseded the County Commissioners' Court in all county affairs, was first organized, he was elected one of the associate justices, and in 1853 was again elected County Surveyor, holding the position until 1857, when he became County Clerk, the duties of which office he conducted with signal ability until 1869, a period of twelve years. At the conclusion of his term, the Board of Supervisors, for whom the County Clerk is ex-officio clerk, passed a resolution highly complimenting him for the able and faithful manner in which he had discharged the multifarious duties of his office, and sincerely regretting that he had coneluded to retire from it at the close of his term. He has also represented the township of Mt. Pleasant in the Board of Supervisors. In 1870, upon the adoption of the new Constitution, he was elected a Senator to the General Assembly from the district then comprising the counties of Whiteside and Lee, and served a term of two years, during which time he aided materially by his sound judgment, discriminating mind, and close attention to legislative duties, in properly completing the laws of the State so as to make them conform to the newly adopted Constitution. The labors of the General Assembly when he was Senator were made nnusually arduous and exacting on account of the conflict of the then existing laws with the new Constitution, and it required the utmost care and ability on the part of the members of both Houses, to remodel the former so as to make them conform to the latter with- out rendering them nugatory by reason of unconstitutionality. Mr. Wilkinson gave the new fundamental document the closest study, and by that means, aided by a comprehensive and systematic mind, was enabled to readily discover the objectionable features in a bill proposing the remodeling of an old law, or the creation of a new one. At the close of his Senatorial term, Mr. Wilkinson re- tired from publie and political life, as well as from active business cares. He is the owner of a large farm near Como, a fine residence in Morrison, besides other property, and surrounded by friends, is passing the days of the sere and yellow leaf with that ease and contentment which a well spent life always brings to the happy possessor.
SIMON FELLOWS is a native of Sandwich, Carroll county, ( formerly Straf- ford county, ) New Hampshire, and was born November 20, 1815, and lived there until he came to Illinois in September, 1834. He first located in what is now the township of Palmyra, Lee county, where he remained until 1850 when he moved to Round Grove, Mt. Pleasant township, Whiteside county. Mr. Fellows was married to Miss Elizabeth Deyo, July 10, 1836, the marriage taking place in a little log cabin without any floor, situated in the northeast part of the pres- ent township of Jordan. Miss. Deyo was born March 12, 1816. The children of this marriage were : Oliver E., born June 12, 1837; Albert, born April 16, 1839; Charles, born May 25, 1841; Margaret, born January 27, 1843; Eleeta, born June 6, 1845; Edward S., born September 22, 1848; Elizabeth D., born March 31, 1851; Em- eline S.,born February 3, 1854; Ernest, born June 14, 1856, and Omar D., born October 10, 1860. The children have all been married except Edward and Omar. Oliver E. resides in Palmyra, Lee county, Illinois. Albert served three years in the 4th Illinois Cavalry, and died February 1, 1866. Charles wasalso in the army, and served three years in the 75th Illinois Infantry; he now lives in Mt. Pleas- ant township. Margaret resides in Calhoun county, Michigan; Electa resides
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at Round Grove, Whiteside county; Edward S. resides in Mt. Pleasant township; Elizabeth D. is a resident of Morrison; Emeline S. lives in Branch county, Michigan ; Ernest, and Omar, both live in Mt. Pleasant township. During the winter of 1834-'35 Mr. Fellows taught the first school in Buffalo Grove, near Polo, Ogle county. The school was kept in the house of Oliver W. Kellogg, and among the patrons of Mr. Fellows were Mr. Kellogg, John Dixon, better known as Father Dixon, and Joseph Smith. In the same winter, his brother Samuel Fellows taught the first school in Elkhorn Grove, at the house of John Ankeny. In November, 1836, Mr. Fellows served as Clerk of Election in Cherry Grove Precinct, Jo Daviess county, and made return of the poll book to Galena, a distance of forty miles. Mr. Fellows held the office of Justice of the Peace of Mt. Pleasant township for twelve consecutive years, dating at 1856, his first commission being signed by Hon. Joel Matteson, the then Governor of the State. He has been Postmaster twice, the first time when he received his commission from Hon. Amos Kendall, then Postmaster General, and the second time receiv- ing his commission from Hon. Montgomery Blair, Postmaster General.
J. DANFORTH ODELL was born in Petersburgh, Rensselaer county, New York, June 9, 1815, and came to Whiteside county in 1839, arriving the day before the last, or September election for the location of the county-seat. He was married to Miss Elsie Ann Peters in North Adams, Massachusetts, June 10, 1839. They have had two children, both of whom died in childhood. When Mr. Odell first came to Whiteside he purchased a claim, with a cabin and some small improvements, of Dr. William Price, situated in the southeast corner of what is now Fenton township, known as the Lyman Bennett claim, and took possession iu the December following. The Winnebago Indians still lingered around their old hunting grounds, and it was both natural and desira- ble on the part of new-comers to obtain all the information possible of their habits and characteristics, and the advice was not to feed them. After a few days domicil Mr. Odell was obliged to seek some supplies, which would require the absence of the entire day, leaving Mrs. Odell at home alone; and soon after his departure an Indian stealthily opened the door, glided to the fire, and silently surveyed the premises. Seeing a strange squaw he inquired, " Where Moconder? " (medicine man). "Puckagee to O-hi-o," replied Mrs. Odell. Ile then asked for food, which she would not understand until he had made the de- mand a third time, accompanied by a dramatic flourish of his tomahawk, which brought to her recollection enough of the Indian dialect as to hurriedly furnish him food to his satisfaction. Having used Winnebago dialeet in her first an- swer, he knew her to be no uneducated squaw. These Indians often visited their old homes in after years, and, being treated with kindness, property was more safe while surrounded by them than it is now with our doted civilization. Mr. Odell continued to cultivate the rich soil of the Rock river bottom for thirteen years, when he moved to Lyndon, where he clerked in the general merchandise store of Marcus Sperry for about two years, and until Mr. Sperry's death, when he entered into partnership with F. K. Powell and W. W. Gilbert, under the firm name of J. D. Odell & Co., which continued for nearly two years. Lyndon at that time sold more goods than any other town in the county, and one of the partners of the firm, who furnished no part of the capital, drew at the rate of $150 per month as his share of the profits. The firm was mutually dissolved while in the height of prosperity, and at a great sacrifice, as was then supposed. But Mr. Odell has often said afterwards it was the most fortunate move of his life, financially, as the firm was then indebted to New York and Chicago par- ties to the amount of nearly $12,000, and the firm were enabled to close up their liabilities about the time of the great financial crisis of 1857-'58. Mr.
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CITY OF MORRISON.
Odell afterwards engaged in the grocery trade in Lyndon for about two years, and in March, 1863, came to Morrison, where he has resided fourteen years, retired from active business life, having seen enough, as he alleges, of the hardships of the frontier to pass the balance of his days in quiet retirement. Mr. Odell was the first Town Clerk of Fenton township, and has been for sev- eral years, and is at present, Treasurer of Mt. Pleasant township. He has con- siderable literary taste and ability, which he has used to good advantage as newspaper correspondent. He was for some time correspondent of the White- side Sentinel, writing under the nom de plume of "Tim Downes," and has con - tributed various articles at other times.
CITY OF MORRISON.
The City of Morrison is situated in the western part of Mt. Pleasant town- ship, on Sections 17, 18 and 19 and near the geographical center of the county. The town was surveyed and laid out in 1855 by W. S. Wilkinson, Surveyor, un- der the management of Lyman Johnson, who had come to the place as a railroad contractor and builder with Mr. HI. S. Vroom, the year previous. In 1851 the line of the present C. & N. W. R. R. had been surveyed through northern Illi- nois, the original line passing some distance north of the present location of Morrison, to the then flourishing village of Unionville. The citizens of that town, not familiar with railroads or their management, were assured in their own minds that the road must pass through that village, and no where else, there- fore they demanded extravagant prices for their lands, and were not disposed to make any concessions to the railway company. As a sequence the line of the road was changed and Unionville left at one side.
The original proprietors of the town of Morrison were men of enterprise and business sagacity, and Mr. Johnson by liberal dealing and good management secured the location of the railway station where it now is, and the future of Morrison was then assured.
The proprietors and incorporators of the town of Morrison were Lyman Johnson, H. S. Vroom, Homer Caswell, John W. Stakes, James Snyder, L. II. Robinson, N. M. Jackson, John J. West and W. II. VanEpps. The land upon which Morrison now stands was originally claimed by John W. Stakes, and en- tered by him and Wm. Knox, but purchased by Johnson, Vroom and the other proprietors from J. W. Stakes, Jeremiah Lenhart, J. T. Atkinson, Porter Rob- ertson, and the Knoxes.
After the surveyor's chain had been run through the hazel brush and scrub oaks, the town, to spring up within the survey, was named "Morrison" by Mr. Johnson, in honor of Mr. Charles Morrison a wealthy merchant of New York. and friend of Mr. W. H. VanEpps. Doubtless Mr. Morrison would have given sub- stantial aid to the town but for the fact that business reverses swept his property away and left him a poor man. The originators of the town were sanguine of the future from its first inception, and invited merchants, mechanics and profes- sional men to come and make their homes in the "new City."
The first house erected was by Lyman Johnson on the site now occupied by Library Hall. It was commenced in 1851, before the town was laidout; subse- quently it was enlarged and used for a "hotel" known as the "Morrison House." Portions of the structure are now doing duty in different parts of the town as dwelling houses.
The following extract from a letter signed "Gotham." and printed in the New York Day Book, March 12, 1855, presents a fair picture of Morrison as it then appeared, and contains a prophecy which has been literally fulfilled :
"The first important station on this road cast of Fulton is Morrison, a new and com-
[39-J.]
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HISTORY OF WHITESIDE COUNTY.
manding place just springing into existence, possessing innate vitality aside from its beautiful central position to warrant the assertion that it will never lag for energy, or in other words want for go-aheadativeness so long as it has a name, and its present propri- etors, Johnson and Vroom (two enterprising citizens from Chicago), with their eastern associates, manage the helm and push forward the contemplated improvements so liber- ally provided for. Within a circle of one mile three fine mill privileges exist ; one known as Jacob's Mill, a fine four story flouring mill ; about three-fourths of a mile below is an equally good privilege owned by Mr. Robertson, with only a saw mill at present; and a short distance still below on the same little Rock river is the third water power to be im- proved. Stone abounds in fine quarries, a fine and quite extensive grove of timber, called Union Grove, immediately north, and adjoining the town of Morrison, with good material at hand for making brick, combining so many essential elements at hand as to require no great foresight in pointing to this place as being, not only the most central in the county, but at no distant day transacting a vast amount of business by capitalists building up a large commercial and inland trade in the very heart of this wealthy new country. No point in my travel thus far has so infatuated me and beguiled my time, as this promising, charming spot. What an opening for a half a dozen of our enterprising young men in your great city to open trade and become great and good in the destined growth of this western town. But two small stores are existing up to this time at Morrison. The Directors of the Air Line Railway have wisely selected this as a fit place to erect an extensive depot and station building, and if my observations are of any worth, a more judicious expenditure could not well be contemplated."
October 19, 1855, the first train was run into Morrison under charge of Mr. John Furlong, now a resident of the City. The next day his "residence" came in upon a flat car all ready to locate. For several weeks Mr. Furlong's family had been keeping house in the shanty upon a flat car, at Round Grove, awaiting the forward move to Morrison. Mrs. Furlong relates that the growth of population in the new town was noticed by the "new lights" that appeared each night in the new shanties springing up amid the brush. At this time one sled was sufficient to convey all the young people of Morrison to the "enter- tainments" then given at Unionville. During this year several residences and small stores were erected, among the first being the residence of HI. S. Vroom, on the corner of Main and Base Streets, where F. C. Woodruff now resides. L. H. Robinson, Rev. L. L. Lansing, and others, also erected dwelling houses, and Mr. Henry Ustick came to the town and opened a small general store.
The same year Mr. Ira Towne, a carpenter, removed from Fulton to Mor- rison; Mr. Thomas McClelland and S. Eshleman started a blacksmith shop, and Mr. Wilcox, of Como, also built a small shop and engaged in blacksmithing. Mr. A. S. Tryon burnt a kiln of brick in the south part of the town. The brick from his yard was used in the walls of the Baptist church which was erected in 1856-'57. This was the first church edifice in the place. In 1855-'56 the inhabitants worshipped at Unionville, where there were three or four churches, and in Johnson's Hall, a room fitted up over a store erected by Mr. Lyman Johnson in 1855. During this year a Dr. Norris, the first man who located in Morrison to practice medicine, built a shanty on the site of the present Universalist church, which he used as an office and residence. Among the physicians who came to Morrison at an early day were Dr. H. P. Roberts, now living in Iowa; Dr. William S. Coe, since deceased; Dr. A. Nowlen, from Unionville; Dr. W. W. Winter, from Milledgeville, Carroll county, in the win- ter of 1857-'58, who moved to Chicago in 1862, where he has a lucrative prac- tice; Dr. S. Taylor, formerly of Erie, in this county; and Dr. H. C. Donaldson, from Como, where he had been in successful practice since 1847. Drs. Now- len, Donaldson and Taylor are still in practice in Morrison.
The first funeral in the town was that of Mrs. B. O. Russell, her grave being the first in Grove Hill cemetery.
On November 30, 1855, the first child was born in Morrison-Miss Minnie Vroom, a young lady still a resident of the town. Charles Morrison Johnson,
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CITY OF MORRISON.
son of Lyman Johnson, was the first boy born in Morrison; he is now a law student.
The railroad depot in 1855 was only a board shanty, yet a large business in shipping to and from this point was done by the company. H. H. Cortright, now General Freight Agent of the Hannibal & St. Jo. Railroad, was the first station agent.
In 1855 John E. Bennett came to the town and engaged in the mercan- tile business, and in 1856, when the postoffice was removed from Unionville to Morrison, was made Postmaster. The feeling between the two towns was in- tensely bitter, and the citizens of Unionville refused to visit Morrison for their mail, but had letter boxes fitted up in a store in the former town, and one of their citizens was deputized to bring the Unionville mail from Morrison to be redistributed. The Morrison Postoffice was denounced as a location unfit for ladies to enter, a place where every bean barrel concealed a whisky jug.
In 1857 the permanency and future of Morrison was assured. Merchants, mechanics and professional men had begun to pour into the town, realizing its great advantages. The rich farming lands on all sides were soon improved by an enterprising class of farmers, and trade increased rapidly in the new town. This year the following firms were engaged in business: John M. Cobleigh, merchant tailor and clothier; R. M. & J. H. Johnson, dry goods; Neely & John- son, dry goods and groceries; Spears & Bro., dry goods and groceries; O. B. Crosby, groceries and provisions; I. Burton, groceries and provisions; S. W. & F. H. Robinson, hardware dealers; W. L. Coe & A. Nowlen, drugs, medicines, paints, oils and glass; S. H. McCrea & Co., dealers in grain and lumber; J. V. Giles & Co., grain and lumber dealers; John H. Brown, produce dealer; Chas. Foster, grain buyer; Edwin L. Johnson, grain and coal dealer; Henry Levett and B. O. Russell, in the hotel business; Vroom & Brokaw, livery stable; Wm. Trauger, groceries; Alphonso Bent, and Laune & Thompson, painters; H. A. & C. J. Johnson, attorneys at law; R. Thompson, auctioneer; L. II. Robinson, Ly- man Johnson, Olmstead & Gridley, and Knox & McCrea, engaged in sell- ing town lots; Win. Finch, groceries and boots and shoes; Thos. McClelland and Sol. Eshleman, blacksmiths; F. W. Chapman, jeweler. John M. Cobleigh is the only one mentioned who is still engaged in the same business in Morrison.
A large business was transacted by the merchants, and considerable quan- tities of grain and other produce were shipped. From July 1, 1856, to July 1, 1857, 175,000 bushels of wheat were shipped from Morrison, the price ranging from 75 cents to $1.00 per bushel. In 1857 the brick stores now occupied by Spears & Son, Spears & Shafer, J. S. Green and Robt. Wallace, were erected by Charles and William Spears, W. L. Coe, John Mc Donald, John Devine, John D. Bartholf, and John Weaver. This was the first brick block erected in Morrison. The same year the railroad company erected a depot building, and a number of residences sprang up in different parts of the town. Good business lots sold at from $150 to $350, and residence locations at from $75 to $100. The strip of table land now occupied by numerous fine residences was laid off and placed in market about this time by Mr. Peter Knox.
On November 3, 1857, the citizens of the county voted upon the question of the removal of the county seat from Sterling to Morrison, the result of the ballot being in favor of the latter town, and the records were removed to Mor- rison May 3, 1858. The county offices were for several years on the second floor of the brick building on Main street now owned by J. S. Green and S. W. Robinson. Court was held on the floor above, in what was afterwards known as Concert Hall. The removal of the county seat to Morrison gave the town a great impetus, and the population increased with wonderful rapidity. An ex-
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HISTORY OF WHITESIDE COUNTY.
cellent class of stores was established, and trade was received from many miles in all directions. Several churches were soon afterwards organized, and a lively interest manifested in schools in the young village.
The first agricultural fair in the county was held at Morrison in the fall of 1856, and was quite successful. This exhibition attracted considerable at- tention to the new town. The Whiteside County Agricultural Society was formed at Unionville, February 26, 1856. The annual exhibitions of the Society were given in Morrison until 1863, when the fair was held at Sterling, in which city it has been annually held since. The Whiteside County Central Agricultural Society was organized at Morrison in 1872, and the first exhibition given on the fine grounds in the south part of the city. October 1st, 2d, 3d and 4th, 1872. The Society has been very successful since its organization.
The following extract from an article published in the Sentinel, January 5, 1860, will give an idea of the growth of Morrison:
" Four years ago Morrison came into existence. At that time there was but one house within a mile, and each settler was obliged to haul his building material from the Mississippi, or Sterling, or Dixon. The year 1859 has been considered a serious year for the West, notwithstanding which our citizens have paid liberally out of their pockets for the good of the county. They have this year expended $40,000 in public improvements, which does not include sums under $200. The annexed figures show a statement of the business for 1859 in Morrison. It does not include matters belonging to the railroad com- pany, or any other business not legitimate to the station: Bushels of wheat shipped, 131,414; bushels of corn, 49,996; bushels of oats, 3,720; pounds of poultry and game, 612,881 ; pounds of rags, 11,855; pounds of pork, 192,112; number of live hogs, 990; dozens of eggs, 62,834; pounds of butter, 39,680 ; pounds of hides, 57,756; No. cattle, 76; No. horses, 22. The amount of freight received at Morrison is as follows: No. feet of lumber, 1,305,041 ; pounds of merchandise, 3,216,436; cars of coal, 40; cars of wood, 25. Four years under mountains of trials have brought us to these figures. In a few years, when the rich prairies that surround our beautiful town shall be improved, who can prop- erly estimate the figures?"
Morrison was incorporated in the spring of 1857. The records pertaining to the incorporation are copied in full, as follows: " Notice: The residents of lawful age of the town of Morrison, Illinois, will meet at Johnson's Hall on Saturday, April 18th, at 4 o'clock P. M., to consider whether the said town shall be incorporated under the statutes in such cases made and provided. A full at- tendance is requested." Signed by Wm. L. Coe, April 8, 1857, with a certifi- cate appended that five copies of the " notice" had been posted in five conspic- uous places.
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