USA > Illinois > Whiteside County > History of Whiteside county, Illinois, from its first settlement to the present time, with numerous Biographical and Family Sketches > Part 60
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413
BIOGRAPHICAL.
ment was made August 6th, and confirmed by the Senate the next day. He was placed on duty at Washington, made payments on the Potomac, and at his own request was transferred to the West, with headquarters at St. Louis. He continued in the service four years and four months, when he was honorably mustered out with the certificates of non-indebtedness signed by the Second Auditor and Second Comptroller of the Treasury. During his term of service Col. Wilson disbursed $7,000,000, and paid over 100,000 men. On the 10th day of May, 1875, he started upon the tour of Europe, visiting the points of interest in her Majesty's kingdom, and then inspected the cities and scenes of the Continent. He was absent 112 days, the expenses of the trip being $750.00.
THEO. H. MACK has grown up with the county, having when a mere boy come to this county with his father, in 1839. He was married to Harriet M. Emmons, December 8, 1859. Their children have been : Myra, Charles T., Harriet and Elizabeth. Elizabeth died February 3, 1869. Mr. Mack spent several years in school at Brooklyn, Pa., and later acquired the trade of a cabinet maker at Montrose in that State. In 1855 he returned to Sterling and was engaged in the furniture business and working at his trade. In August, 1862, he threw down his tools and enlisted as a private soldier in Company D, 75th Illinois Regiment. He remained with his regiment about one year when he was dis- charged for physical disability. In the spring of 1868, he, in connection with his brother, C. M. Mack, started a newspaper in Sterling and named it The White- side Chronicle. He afterwards purchased his brother's interest, and in 1870 changed the name of the paper to the Standard. The leading feature of the Standard is its advocacy of temperance and no licensing of saloons. Chas. M. Mack, brother of Theo. H. Mack, also came to Whiteside with his father's fam- ily, in 1839, and was married to Etta Coleman of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, in 1867. Their children are : Persis Mary, Ada Stella, Mabel and Mand-twins, and Annie Etta. Mr. Mack was a soldier during the war in Company B, 13th Illinois Regiment, and was severely wounded at Chickasaw Bayou. He learned the printer's trade with Wm. Caffrey of the Sterling Republican, and has been engaged in the business constantly except during his term of service in the army. He is now a resident of Wisconsin.
JOHN C. TEATS was born in Aurora, Erie county, New York, September 8, 1822, and came to Whiteside county in 1836, settling first in Portland, where he remained six years, and then moved to Erie, and afterwards to Lyndon. In 1855 he came to Sterling, and has resided there since that time. Mr. Teats married Miss Clymena A. Pratt, daughter of John C. Pratt, in June, 1845. There was one child by this marriage, Alice, born April 4, 1846, who married William Emmitt, and lives in Harmon, Lee county. Mrs. Teats died in Jan- uary, 1847, and in February, 1853, Mr. Teats married Miss Ellen Coburn. The children by this marriage are: Dora, born August 4, 1857; Mabel, born Septem- ber 6, 1860; and Clymena, born February 16, 1867. They are all living at home. Mr. Teats followed farming until 1850, when he became a dentist, and afterwards a photographer. In 1866 he discontinued the latter business, and entered into Fire Insurance business, which he has followed since. He has been Assessor of the township of Sterling, and for four years past City Clerk of the city of Sterling. For the past eight years he has also been policeman in Sterling, part of the time as regular policeman of the city, and part as mer- chant police. His brother William, and three sisters, came to Whiteside with him. William, and two of the sisters, are dead. The remaining sister is now Mrs. Harvey Sage, and lives in Pekin, Illinois; her first husband was William Farrington, of Lyudon.
414
HISTORY OF WHITESIDE COUNTY.
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF STERLING.
Sterling is beautifully situated on the south bank of Rock river, on sec- tions 20, 21 and 22, of Congressional township 21 north, range 4 east of the 4th Principal Meridian. The portion of it lying along the line of the river from Mulberry street to the eastern limits is somewhat high and broken, and affords fine building sites, many of which have been occupied. The rise of ground, however, in the lower or western part of the city, which commands a fine view of the river, is at present the favorite building locality, and upon it, and facing Third street, are situated some of the most splendid private residences in the city. Many of these residences are palatial in their construction, adornment, and interior appointments, exhibiting in a marked degree not only the opulence, but taste of their owners. Other dwellings of almost equal magnificence are scattered throughout the city, the surface being sufficiently undulating to fur- nish excellent building locations in every part. Added to these natural advantages, has been the work of the citizens in filling up the low places, level- ing the elevations where necessary, properly grading the streets, and more than all, in planting an abundance of shade trees. Many of the streets are rendered truly magnificent by the beauty and luxuriance of these trees. In a sanitary point of view the location of Sterling is unexcelled. The land is sufficiently elevated above the river to prevent overflow even at the highest stage of water. The height also renders drainage facilities easy of accomplishment. Diseases prevalent in many other towns, are unknown in Sterling, and the general healthfulness of the place equal to that of the most favored in this regard, in Northwestern Illinois.
Nature not only gave beauty and healthfulness to the location of Sterling, but added to them a water power of a magnitude rarely excelled. She appar- ently not only designed making the place one of great attraction to the seekers for beautiful homes, but also gave them the facilities for the creation of immense wealth. The advantages afforded by the rapids for manufacturing and milling purposes was early discovered, but the limited means of the settlers at the time prevented them from being utilized to any extent. It did not require a very keen insight into the future, however, to predict that at no distant day the enterprise of man would turn them to valuable account. Such open and undis- guised offers of nature for the production of wealth are not often rejected. When their discovery once becomes known, some pioneer opens the way for their utilization by the construction of a rude dam or race, and builds his mill, relying upon the sparsely settled country around for support. In a few years this rude structure, and even ruder machinery, gives way toa building of larger dimensions, and machinery of later and more improved make. These in turn are succeeded by still more ample structures, and extensive and powerful machinery, until they too give way to the mammoth factory, and the almost human agencies which do their work in the manufacture of the thousand and one articles of merchandise and industry, which contribute so much to the wealth, comfort, and advancement of the human race.
The first white man to take advantage of the power furnished by the Rock river rapids, of which there is any account, was Wyatt Cantrell, who constructed a rude dam, and built a diminutive mill on the north bank of the river at the foot of the present Walnut street, in the city of Sterling. Limited as were his facilities, he did the custom work for the settlers in the eastern and southern parts of Whiteside county, and a portion of northern parts of Bureau and Henry counties, for ten years. Since that pioneer effort, this great water power has been developed to such an extent as to make it available for turning any amount of machinery. Within the limits of the manufacturing district of
415
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF STERLING.
Sterling are three large flouring mills, and nearly a dozen manufactories which derive the motive power for their machinery from this source, and these take only a portion of the power, the Rock Falls mills and manufactories dividing it with them. Most of these manufactories have been built within the past few years, and the number is still steadily on the increase. How many there will be in a score of years from now, human ken cannot foretell. The stately and capacious structures which have already been erected, and the almost ceaseless whirl and hum of their machinery, indicate a constant and growing business in the manufacture of the different kinds of implements and goods carried on within their walls. This must beget competition, as well as induce manufacturers of other staples, and not unlikely luxuries, to seek this favored locality, and erect other and even more pretentious buildings, containing the most powerful and improved machinery, side by side with those which now send forth to all of the States and Territories, and even to many of the foreign lands, articles which equal any of their kind in excellence of make, and beauty of finish. It is not in the nature of things for a power like that at Sterling to keep in motion only the running gear of a limited number of works. It will keep grasping contin- ually for additional wheels, and pulleys, and spindles, and engines, until it is enabled to use all its vast propelling force. Sterling, therefore, possessing this power, cannot fail of becoming one of the largest and most important inland manufacturing points in the great West. The next decade may see the smoke arising from the tall chimnies of an hundred factories, and the citizens of the city daily hear the clang and clamor, the hum and the whirl, that issue from, and witness if they choose the hurry and the bustle that abound in, these hun- dred temples of manufacturing thrift and enterprise. The rich and prolific agricultural country which surrounds Sterling can easily furnish subsistence for the hundreds, or thousands, of mechanics and operatives whose services these factories will require, and the railroad facilities will always be made sufficient to meet the demand for the import of the raw material, not furnished by home supply, and the export of the manufactured article.
The present city of Sterling took its rise from the combination of two towns or villages, known as Harrisburgh and Chatham. Harrisburgh was settled first, the pioneer being Hezekiah Brink, who in early June, 1834, put up a house of logs and rifted lumber in what is now the First Ward of Sterling. This primitive building was the first one crected in the now populous city. Mr. Brink's nearest neighbor at that time was Mr. MeClure, who had made a claim on Rock river, near the present village of Prophetstown. Close to his habita- tion rolled the beautiful Rock river, the Sinnissippi of the Indians, and all around him was the boundless prairie, the only variation in the landscape being here and there along the river bank a narrow belt of timber. The place was desolate enough, and illy portended the growth in a comparatively few years of a large and wealthy city. Mr. Brink was soon afterwards joined by others, as mentioned in the history of the township, and the settlement began its career. In the summer of 1836, Capt. D. S. Harris, of the steamer Pioneer, came up the river with a load of provisions, and landed above the rapids, the settlers as- sisting with their ox teams in towing the boat over them to the landing point. A quantity of these provisions were sold to the settlers, and for payment the Captain took a one half interest in the town, which was then, in his honor, named Harrisburgh. Immediately afterwards Capt. Harris, Elijah Worthington, Hezekiah Brink, and others, had the town surveyed, laid out, and platted, the survey being made by Israel Mitchell, of Jo Daviess county, and the plat re- corded in Ogle county. The town was bounded on the east and north by the city limits; on the west by what is now Vine street, in the city of Sterling, and
416
HISTORY OF WHITESIDE COUNTY
on the south by Roek river. A meeting was held by Capt. Harris and the lead- ing settlers on board the steamer while it was being taken over the rapids, and among other matters discussed was that of establishing a Postoffice in the new town, and it was finally decided that a petition asking for one should be for- warded to Washington, as soon as some other preliminary matters had been set- tled. This petition was sent on in due time to the Postoffice Department, with a request that the name of the Postoffice be Rock River Rapids, and the Post- master Hezekiah Brink. The Department immediately acted upon it, and granted both requests, but Mr. Brink deelined to accept the position, and the Postoffice was abandoned. Some error having been discovered in the first sur- vey, the town of Harrisburgh was re-surveyed and re-platted in 1837, by Jo- seph Crawford, now President of the First National Bank at Dixon. Mr. Swan, an agent of Capt. Harris, built a store that season on the bank of the river, known afterwards as the Richardson House, which was occupied by Worthing- ton & Brink, with a stock of goods. Several dwelling houses were also erected in 1836 and 1837.
In the spring of 1835, William Kirkpatrick, a resident of Sangamon county, Illinois, made a claim and built a cabin in what was afterwards known as Chat- ham. He was then the owner of a mill and a large elaim on Yellow creek, near Freeport, Stephenson county, and the few inhabitants who had made permanent settlements in and around the territory now comprising the city of Sterling, were suspicious that Kirkpatrick was a land shark, basing their opinion upon the fact that the owner of so large a mill elaim needed all his means to take care of and improve it, and whatever else he obtained would be merely for speeu- lative purposes. The views entertained by the settlers were soon made known to him, and he invited a conference. Several meetings were held, which finally resulted in a compromise, Kirkpatrick agreeing to enter into a bond in the penal sum of $1.000, conditioned that he should lay out a town at the rapids of Rock river, the next year. The bond was made and executed on the 16th of Novem- ber, 1835, to Isaae H. Albertson, Simeon M. Coe, Wyatt Cantrell, Solomon Whitman, Ward Storer, Nathaniel Morehouse, John J. Albertson, Harvey Mor- gan, and John Simonson. In the spring of 1836, Kirkpatrick carried out his agreement, had the town laid out and platted, and gave to it the name of Chat- ham. During the summer he built a frame house in the town, hauling his lum- ber from his mill at Yellow creek, a distance of forty miles. This was the first frame house erected in what is now the city of Sterling, and stood on the bank of the river, occupying the site of Col. Boyden's present residence. The orig- inal settlers of Chatham were: Nelson Mason, John D. Barnett, D. C. Cushman, D. F. Batcheller, John Enderton, A. MeMoore, Robert C. Andrews, John Ma- son, and Hugh Wallace. Messrs. Mason and Barnett purchased the interest of Kirkpatrick in the town, put some improvements to the frame house, and filled it with an assortment of dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, hats, caps, cloth- ing, ete., making the stock the first assorted one opened in Whiteside county. The settlers in Buffalo, Elkhorn, and Genesee Groves, and also from Lyndon, Prophetstown and Portland, as well as many Indians then remaining in the Win- nebago swamps, did their trading at this store. The original survey and plat of Chatham was made by Joseph Crawford, but in the spring of 1837 it was found that they were incorrect, and that re-surveying and re-platting was necessary, which was done by Charles R. Rood, now of Garden Plain. About five hundred lots were then platted. The plats of both Chatham and Harrisburgh were made and recorded before any of the townships were surveyed and divided into sections by the Gov- ernment surveyors, and several years before the land was placed into market by the Government. Chatham was bounded on the east by the street now known
417
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF STERLING.
as Cherry street, in the city of Sterling; on the north by the city limits; on the west originally by what is now A street, and on the south by the river. The tier of blocks between Locust and A, and part of B streets, were afterwards va- cated by act of the General Assembly, upon petition of Hugh Wallace, and made a part of his farm. Mason & Barnett were succeeded in 1841 in the general mercantile line, by William and George Adams, who erected a store building for their trade on Third street, the site being now occupied by the residence of Mr. Summy. Some other buildings were put up, but the growth of both Chat- ham and Harrisburgh at that time was very slow.
Lying between Vine street, or the west line of Harrisburgh, and Cherry street, or the east line of Chatham, was a space of ground which remained for some time as neutral territory. This space now covers over six blocks of the present city of Sterling. A survey and plat of this ground was made by Charles R. Rood, his assistants in making the survey being Col. Ezekiel Kilgour, Nelson Mason, John Mason, Samuel Barnett, Andrew Oliver, and Col. W. M. Kilgour, then a boy. The survey was made some time after that of Harrisburgh and Chatham, but before the township was surveyed and divided into sections by the Government surveyors. Mr. Rood had, therefore, to make his starting points at the northwest and southeast corners of the Congressional township, and make his calculations in running his lines therefrom as to what section, or part of sections, this particular piece of ground would be on when the Government sur- veyors located the sections in the township. The survey was accurately made, and the land afterwards found to be on section 22. The plat was recorded in Whiteside county.
The towns of Harrisburgh and Chatham, being in such proximity. were rivals, until a common interest demanded the throwing aside of all personal feel- ing, and uniting to promote the general good. In one thing, however, the peo- ple of both towns agreed perfectly from the start, and that was that Rock river would continue to be a navigable stream, and become the great thoroughfare for the exportation of their products, and the importation of such goods as would be demanded in the market. They looked to St. Louis, and other southern ports, as the points at which they must buy and sell. There was no thought then that the water in Rock river would ever be reduced to such an extent as to preclude navigation, or that the iron horse would monopolize the carrying trade, and di- vert the channel of transportation from the southern cities to the great city on the Lake. Aside from the river, the only method of transportation was the slow and toilsome one, by team. It is no wonder, then, they looked with pride upon the noble river, and hailed the arrival of a steamer with every demonstra- tion of delight. To meet this steamboat traffic the streets running from the river were laid out one hundred feet wide, while those running parallel with it were made much narrower, an order which the people would now prefer to have reversed. The first dwellings, as well as business houses, were also erected on the bank of the river, so as to be near the center of trade. Rock river was navigable at that time, and Congress had so declared, which latter fact, of itself, was undoubtedly sufficient to remove all doubts, if any had been permitted to exist. The steamer Pioneer, commanded by Capt. Harris, came puffing up the river as early as 1836, and the people of the upper town, in the exuberance of their joy, named the place Harrisburgh, in his honor. Other steamers followed, and the prospect was that an era of uninterrupted river navigation had com- menced, the vessels to ply at least as far north as Harrisburgh and Chatham. The rapids opposed a farther ascent of the river, but these could be easily avoided by digging a canal, and in 1839 a contract was let to construct one which would shun them entirely, But "the best laid plans of mice and men gang
[53-X.]
418
HISTORY OF WHITESIDE COUNTY.
aft aglee." The canal was never finished; Rock river threw up the sponge as a navigable stream, and the locomotive came in as the propelling power for trans- portation.
In June, 1837, a Postoffice was established in Chatham, called Rock River Rapids, and John D. Barnett appointed Postmaster. The mail was brought from Dixon by Nelson Mason, who had secured the contract, by horse during the sum- mer, and in the winter in what was called a "jumper." The mail then was taken no farther west than the Rapids Postoffice, Mr. Mason carrying it for a consideration of eight cents per mile. It came tri-monthly, and was received at Dixon from the general mail carried by coach from Peoria to Galena, the route being by way of Dixon's ferry. This mail was carried for a long time by James Dixon, a son of the late well known Father Dixon. The Postoffice was kept in Mason & Barnett's store, a small frame building standing on the river bank, a little south of where Dr. Royer now resides. Previous to the establishment of this Postoffice, the settlers in and around Harrisburgh and Chatham were com- pelled to go to Dixon for their mail. The letters and papers would be directed to Rock River Rapids, but as there was no office at that point, they would be detained at Dixon until called for, and the silver quarter paid for each letter. Mr. Barnett was Postmaster for about a year, when Daniel D. Guiles received the appointment, and moved the office to Harrisburgh, keeping it in a frame building which is still standing south of Lincoln Park, and not far from where John Dunmore now lives. This was a victory for Harrisburgh, and she wore the escutcheon for some time. In 1841, Eliphalet B. Worthington was appoint- ed Postmaster, and kept the office for quite a time in his house, on Main street, in Harrisburgh, the site of which is now occupied by the residence of R. L. Mangan. Mr. Worthington afterwards bought some lots on the intermediate space between Harrisburgh and Chatham, and situated on the street now known as Broadway, upon which he built a house, and upon its completion moved the Postoffice into it. This was considered a good stroke of policy on the part of Mr. Worthington, as it allayed all feeling between the rival towns as to which should have the honor of possessing Uncle Sam's depository for the mail, besides strengthening his tenure of office. Being on neutral ground, and about midway between the points contending for the supremacy, the combatants laid down their armor, and shook hands over the verdant chasm. At this time Harrisburgh was familiarly known as Tinkertown; the neutral territory where the Postoffice was located, Tylertown; and Chatham, Muncey. Simeon M. Coe is said to have been the author of these names. But whether that be so, or not, each had its significance, as every old settler is well aware. These names clung to the lo- calities for some time after the consolidation of the towns.
In the early part of 1840 Sterling was without a store, Mason & Barnett having gone out of business. Happer & McIlvaine soon afterwards started one, but remained only about six months when they moved their stock of goods to Albany, on the Mississippi river, where they continued in trade for a long time, Mr. Happer being still in business there. Theodore and Elijah Winn then opened a small stock in the upper town, and continued in business until 1843 when they sold to Blanchard & Fuller, but as they did not increase the stock the people of Sterling procured their supplies from Dixon and Albany, the for- mer place being ten miles to the east, and the latter thirty miles to the west. Happer & Mellvaine, at Albany, secured a large share of the trade. Albany and Fulton were the principal shipping points for the products of the county. Wheat was mainly the article of production, and the demand was then at the South. Sometimes there was a surplus of stock over the home consumption, a market for which was found at the Galena lead mines.
419
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF STERLING.
When Whiteside county became fully organized, and the question of the location of the County Seat arose, the people of Harrisburgh and Chatham be- gan discussing the propriety of securing the boon. Neither of theni could expect to get it in the face of the opposition of the other, and yet neither would yield. It was well known that the one which secured the prize would be the town, and the other would lose its name and identity. Local pride rebelled against such an emergency as the latter, and hence strenuous efforts were made to avert it. The towns had been rivals for several years, and each had put forth its best efforts for the supremacy. The location of the Postoffice had given them the first opportunity for a trial of influence and strength, but owing to the office being moved to neutral territory, neither gained any advantage. That was but a slight matter, however, compared to the county seat of such a county as White- side even then promised to become. The people of Harrisburgh reasoned that if the court house, jail, and other county buildings could be located within its bailiwick, the town would speedily become the most important in the county, and but a few years elapse before it would grow to be a large and populous city, and those of Chatham followed the same ratiocination. The inhabitants outside the limits of these towns were equally anxious as those within them, to get the county seat in that locality, believing it would add an impetus to the growth of the town securing it, and thus afford an improved market for their products. Contentions among themselves, and a heavy pressure from without, rendered the state of things anything but pleasant to the citizens of both towns. " What shall we do?" was the question the Harrisburghers and Chathamites asked among themselves. "What will you do ?" was the one propounded without; but what to do remained a mooted point. Finally the proprietors of the two towns seeing that discretion was the better part of valor, agreed to have a meeting and hold a friendly discussion over the important matter. The first convocation did not result in an agreement; neither did several other ones subsequently held. Eventually, early in 1839, it was decided to unite the towns, and then came the question of the name for the consolidated town. On this point Worthington and Brink represented Harrisburgh, and Wallace and Mason, Chatham. Mr. Brink strongly urged the name of Pipsissiway, but the others considered that cognomen way out of the way, and wanted one more civilized in its character, even if it should not be so euphonious. To end the debate a proposition was offered to make Broadway the dividing line, and have coppers tossed as to which side of that street the county buildings should be situated in the event of the county seat being located in the consolidated town, the winners also to have the right of naming the future city. The gentlemen mentioned above were selected as the tossing parties, and upon examination of the coin of the realm as it fell to the floor after exhausting the evolutions given to it by their dextrous hands, it was found that Wallace and Mason had won. These gentlemen then agreed upon the name of Sterling, and the new town was ready to enter the field as a competitor for the seat of justice of Whiteside county. The elections held in 1839, under an act of the General Assembly, to locate the county seat, and other matters pertaining to the subject, will be found under the head of "County Seat Affairs," Chapter IV, pages 71-76, of this volume. The court house in Sterling was ordered by the County Commissioners' Court to be located on Block 57, west of Broadway, and the work upon it commenced in 1842, Luther Bush re- ceiving the contract for the brick and stone work, and plastering; and D. F. Batcheller, A. MeMoore, and William Oliver, for the wood work. Court was first held in the building in 1844. At the time of the removal of the county seat to Sterling, Hugh Wallace was the only lawyer residing in the place. Mr. Smith, from Vermont, settled soon afterwards, but was drowned on the 4th day
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