USA > Illinois > DeKalb County > Past and present of DeKalb County, Illinois, Volume I > Part 15
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The census of 1855 shows Sycamore as having a population of eight hundred, in 1856 De Kalb five hundred. in 185% Cortland one hundred and eighty-six. The census of 1855 shows the following population: Gonoa. eight hundred and ninety-five : Kingston, eight hundred and seventy-
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four: Franklin, eight hundred and thirty-seven; South Grove, four hundred; Mayfield, eight hun- dred and thirty-five: Sycamore, sixteen hundred and forty-six ; Pampas, eleven hundred and eighty- two; De Kalb, fifteen hundred and eighty-eight : Pierce, six hundred and twenty-seven; Squaw Grove, five hundred and fifteen; Clinton. eight hundred and sixty-seven ; Shabbona, nine hundred and sixty-six : Paw Paw. nine hundred and forty- four; Victor. three hundred and ninety-nine : So- monauk. eleven hundred and twenty-one: total. thirteen thousand, six hundred and thirty-six.
In 1856 after considerable agitation the board of supervisors appointed a committee to solicit subscriptions from the citizens of Sycamore for the erection of a county jail. reported no success in their mission and recommended that the county proceed to build a jail without their aid. After a heated discussion and considerable filibustering in opposition the board appropriated five thousand dollars for this purpose and appointed John S. Brown. Dr. James Harrington and Alonzo Ell- wood a building committee. Those voting in fa- vor of this proposition were G. H. Hill of Kings- ton, J. S. Brown of South Grove. William Patten of Somonauk. I. W. Garvin of Genoa. W. T. Kirk of Franklin. H. S. Champlin of Pampas. James Parker of Mayfield. C. M. Humiston of Pierce. and James Harrington of Sycamore. Those op- posed were T. S. Terry of Shabbona, and Alonzo Converse of DeKalb. The work was started at once and after a period of twenty-one years De Kalb county had its first jail. Prisoners had been allowed and encouraged to escape if the crime of which they were guilty was not of much conse- quence, and in many instances when the county had a criminal charged with murder. forgery or some other heinous crime. the sheriff or his deputy was compelled to sleep with him, having the hand of the criminal tied to that of the sheriff.
William Fordham, drainage commissioner, re- ported that he had sold lands to the value of twenty-three thousand. seven hundred and eighty- three dollars and seventy-six cents and received in cash fourteen thousand. five hundred and seventy-five dollars and eighteen cents. and in notes nine thousand. two hundred and sixteen dol- lars and fifty-eight cents. The committee report that they are satisfied with the course of Ford- ham in the matter.
The town of Vietor was organized with its pres- ent boundaries in 1852, Afton in 1853, Pierce in 1853, Malta in 1856 and Milan in 1857. Added to the calamity of 185; one of the wet seasons, which seemed to have appeared every seventh year, set in, and before the planting season arrived floods of rain drowned vegetation, enveloped the country in seas of mud and rendered it almost impossible to conduct farming operations with any degree of profit. Wheat which was raised that year was not very marketable and the crop that had sold the previous year at one dollar and a half a bushel now fell to forty and fifty cents.
The Agricultural Society held its fair north of the village of Sycamore on land now owned by Frederick Tomlin. These exhibits began to at- tract considerable attention and were great oc- casions in this county. It is stated that five or six thousand people attended on special occasions. The December session of the board of supervisors changed the name of the town of Aetna to Malta. The proposition for erecting a fireproof building for the court records was voted down.
The True Republican, a publication still in ex- istence, was published for the first time in 1858. The De Kalb Times came into existence in 1859 and the Prairie Home was published at Sandwich. These papers were edited by men of ability and became prominent. It was found that during those stirring times there was no place for the neutral paper and in time all of them became identified with a party. During the year 1858 a tornado swept over the northern portion of the county during the month of April and destroyed broad belts of timber and much property. but no lives were lost. The total tax of 1858 was sixty- nine thousand. nine hundred and five dollars, of which seventeen thousand was state tax, seven thousand school tax. eight thousand county tax and thirty-eight thousand town, road. bridge and other taxes. The total value of property of the county was three and a half million.
In 1859 at the county convention held during this summer Hiram Ellwood was nominated for county treasurer. N. S. Greenwood for school com- missioner and J. W. Reid county surveyor. Mr. Roswell Dow was a candidate for the nomination at that time and his friends discredited the meth- ods adopted by that convention and urged him to become an independent candidate. Up to that
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time this was the most sharply contested election ever known in county politics. Ellwood received nine hundred and eighty-five votes and Dow nine hundred and sixty-two.
The year of 1850 witnessed the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law and the growing opposition to slavery. Then the underground railroad began to be operated and a chapter bearing on this subject is thought not to be out of place at this time.
UNDERGROUND RAILROAD.
The history of the underground railroad in this county was never written and, in fact, it would be difficult to secure a good history of the movement, as all of its operations were supposed to be generally conducted in a secret manner. Synopsis of the underground railroad. "It was a strange road. It had neither locomotive nor cars : it ran in the darkness and was invisible. Its op- erations were so secret that people called it the underground railroad. The friends of this mys- terious railway declared that its charter came from God and that it ran from the northern por- tion of the southern states to Canada. Its officers were largely volunteers and its route was that which afforded to its passengers the greatest safe- ty-salary, time. if not paid in this world will surely be in the next ; running expenses donated. Il is true that the present generation knows but little of the meaning of the term, underground railway, and we have been surprised to hear peo- ple who have attained their majority ask if there really was a railroad that ran under ground. It is not such a strange question in view of the fact that we may have so many city railways that are now operated under the surface of the earth. The work of this road was simply to aid the fugitive slaves of the south to Canada, where freedom was assured. A conductor on one of these roads not only jeopardized his life but subjected himself to a heavy fine and imprisonment under the fugitive slave law in Illinois, and if one will refer to the statute books that were printed after the adoption of the new constitution of 1848 they will find heavy fines and long terms of imprisonment for those convicted in aiding negroes from slavery to freedom. Some of the citizens of De Kalb county who aided in this movement were the Beveridges. of Somonauk township; Deyco, of South Grove;
David West, of Sycamore; Starr Gregory, of Genoa : Nickersons, Townsends and Nicholses of Mayfield. There may have been other places and perhaps many, but these homes became well-known and have been remembered by the people who lived at those times as the principal places where this business was carried on. The only passengers using the underground railway were the negro people then in slavery and it had been running years before Lincoln's famous proclamation was signed and it might be well to state here the feel- ing of Abraham Lincoln when he attached his name to that immortal document. After he had drafted it and laid it aside for reflection it was brought to him to sign. He lifted his hand to the place of signature and then it fell by his side. Again he lifted it and again it fell. Then turning to some one near him he said, "I have been shaking bands with the people all day and my hand is very weak and shaky. If I should tremble as I write my name on this paper, which will be handed down in history, if any deed of mine is, all the world will say 'he hesitated.'" He lifted his hand once more to the place of signature and steadily and firmly wrote the A. Lincoln, with which all the world is now familiar. Then leaning back satis- fied he said, "that will do." Its principal stations were through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio-the route that afforded the passengers the greatest safe- ty-and lay through the anti-slavery portions of the three states mentioned. The homes of aboli- tionists whose aim was to carry fugitive slaves from one station to another with safety were the stations used. It must be remembered that it was not without fear and trembling that many of the escaped slaves, who started on their perilous jour- ney, for if they were captured the usual penalty was to sell the escaped slave further south. The home of Deacon West, one of the early pioneers here, whose latchstring was always out, es- pecially to the poor slaves of the south, came to be known as one of the most ardent abolitionists in this section of the country. The old covered wagon shown in the picture was made by him and used as a car in the running of the underground railroad. The son standing beside it was occasion- ally pressed into service as conductor in his younger days. The wagon and its history is known all over the immediate country. It is now past active service but still stands on the premises as
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a souvenir of those dark days. Soon after their arrival in Illinois in the early morning the West children had their first sight of a colored person. He was in the house only long enough for his meals and was on the alert every moment as this was his second attempt to escape. During the day he hid in the cornfields and slept in the barn at night. Finally Mr. West took hi- wagon and put in some bags of wheat, covering them up, with the negro hidden somewhere in the load. started for the next station near St. Charles. On the way he was stopped and asked to see what he had in his load. He told them that was his business and whipped up his horse. soon turned in a new road and heard
nothing more from the man following him. 1 man, woman and three small children were brought there. The children were kept upstairs most of the time. The baby was taken sick, however, and the children were sent down stairs to stay in the kitchen. They were rather unruly but seemed to be in mortal fear. If they saw any one ap- proach the house they would ask if they were after them and if they were told yes, they would fly under the bed quick a- a flash and remain as quiet as mice. After that Mrs. West knew how to man- age them. They were taken on as soon as possible. Mr. West had no trouble conveying his passengers to the station beyond him but could not always trace them to their journey's end-Canada. Once there were seven grown men brought there and Mr. West was away from home. They hid through the day but Mrs. West got a little nervous over so many and started her son off with them about mid- night. reaching the next station before daylight. and from there they were passed on. One negro told how he rubbed onions on the bottom of his shoes to fool the hounds but this had to be re- peated many times in order to break the scent. Often they would wade in streams for a mile or more. or. if possible, steal a mule and ride for some distance. All this tended to baffle the dogs in pursuit. Once the presence of two runaways bid fair to make it more than usually interesting for Mr. West. as a southern sheriff was on his trail and the pursuit was active and determined. One day the sheriff appeared in Sycamore and posted a bill. describing the two slaves, and upon it was an offer of ten thousand dollars for their apprehen- sion. He came to the house and questioned Mr. West very closely but he had grown skillful in giv-
ing evasive answers if he chose and the man went away no wiser than when he came, Later the men were taken on. It can be stated at this time that prominent men of Sycamore were anxious to re- ceive part of the ten thousand dollars reward of- tered and tried in every way possible to assist in the capture of the two valuable negroes, but upon being informed by Sylvanus Holcomb that Deacon West was skillful with a rifle and could hit the eye of a deer at long range, they thought best to re- turn to Sycamore and give up the matter of secur- ing the ten thousand dollars for the capture of the negroes. Strange as it seems to us now nine- tenths of the people of DeKalb county in the early '50, were opposed to the plan of the underground railway, Once in the early '50s two negroes ap- peared at the home of Mr. Deyen of South Grove. who was a well-known conductor on the under- ground railway and he thought best not to be caught in transporting slaves to Canada, so he secured the services of his hired man. Mr. James Purcell, now a resident of South Grove, and some time during the night started him for the home of Joshua Townsend, of Mayfield, with these direc- tions, "Look neither to the right nor to the left. Do not look behind you or you will become a pillar of salt, but drive directly to Joshua Townsend's house and back up to his cellar door." Appearing there some time after midnight he found Mr. Townsend awaiting him according to the directions of Mr. Deveo. and the load was taken out and hid- den in the cellar and Mr. Purcell invited to break- fast. At another time Mr. Deveo sent Mr. Ed. Becker. now a resident of South Grove, to the home of William Nickerson with runaway negroes to be sent on to the station near St. Charles. In the city of Chicago a Dr. Dyer was a well-known conductor of the underground railway and he wa- attacked by an assistant United States marshal. and a bloody battle ensned on his doorstep. Dr. Dyer was wounded but he killed the officer and wounded another. Excitement ran high but the sentiment by this time had grown rapidly in favor cf anti-slavery and he escaped withont punish- ment. Many of the negro men and women that appeared at the homes of these abolitionists in DeKalb county were covered with stripes from head to foot and had suffered untold agonies in slavery. After the publishing of Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe. anti-slavery sen-
R
VEHICLE USED BY DEACON DAVID WEST TO CARRY ESCAPED SLAVES FROM HIS HOME TO THE ST. CHARLES STATION.
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THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATION&
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timent grew apace and perhaps more than any other factor this book secured the organization of a party that was opposed to the further extension of that relie of barbarismn-slavery.
On another occasion seven fugitives, man, wife. and children, eame to the house of Deacon West when he was away. Mrs. West felt some hesi- taney in taking them in in the absence of her husband, but the children urged her to do so. They found one of the seven a white girl. At supper time the old folks were allowed to eat first and the pretty white girl and the children had to wait with the other members of the family. Sup- per over, the problem arose as to how they would keep so large a number. but by making beds on the floor all were comfortably entertained for the night. Morning came, but Mr. West did not, and she sent her son over to Deacon Kellogg, who was also friendly to the cause, and told him how they were situated. He said he would let his eldest son go and take his team and Mr. West's wagon, so the seven were loaded up and started for the next station near St. Charles, reaching Dr. Bart- lett's soon after midnight and went to the door and knocked. Ile came and asked what was wanted and was told that he had seven fugitives. Mr. Bartlett said that he understood they were coming and had made provision for them. After putting up the team he remained all night at the home of Mr. Bartlett, who took the party on to Chicago, where they were placed on a boat and taken to Canada. About a year later a letter was received from the young lady, who was then about twenty years old. In the meantime she had learned to read and write quite intelligently. She said they were happy in their new Canadian home and could not thank us enough for helping them on their way to freedom. The exact date cannot be remembered, but it was sometime in the early '50s. In Mayfield, where a branch of the Wes- leyan church had been organized, one of whose car- dinal principles it was to oppose slavery, there was a large settlement that gave much time and energy in the assistance of slaves on their way to Canada. These abolitionists advocated emancipa- tion of slavery when ministers behind pulpits denounced it. On one occasion Ira Nichols, a pioneer of Mayfield. was on his way to St. Charles with a load of grain. among the saeks of which. was packed a negro about twenty-five years of
age. On the streets of Sycamore was the owner with the deputy United States marshal offering a reward of five hundred dollars for any one who would apprehend the slave and restore him to his master. Members of the two old political parties held freesoilers in contempt for many years, and some of them sneeringly said when they passed the Brush Point settlement that they rode through it as quickly as possible to escape the smell of the negro. This kept up and in fact grew in ef- fectiveness until the war broke out in 1861. After that time no attempts were made by slave owners to follow their escaped slaves into northern terri- tory and the emancipation proclamation which has been mentioned in the beginning of this ar- ticle rather closes the business of the underground railway.
POINTS FROM THE SENTINEL, THE FIRST PAPER PUBLISHED IN DE KALB COUNTY.
H. A. Ilough, on May 31. 1854, in the first paper issued to the people of the county, makes a salutatory address to his prospective patrons, but so far as county news is concerned we find but very little has been given. In it we find some news of congress, some on the Kansas and Nebraska bill and foreign news galore, but so little of county news that the paper is not so valuable as one might think. The county was then nineteen years old and many of the old settlers were still alive, and had the local news been given as fully as now we might have considerable that would be of interest. There are many topics of a moral nature, some of the subjects being Our Home, Solitude. Early Death. Sabbath Reflections, etc.
In the Sentinel of June 21st the opening of the Japanese ports by Commodore Perry is given and a whole column is devoted to the circumstances attending the Japanese treaty. Little did that in- dividual think that in less than fifty years Japan would rise to he of world power. In one of the issues flax culture is encouraged and from the latter '50s until the prairie sod was generally sub- dued flax hecame quite a profitable crop.
In the early '50s cholera swept through the Mis- sissippi valley and in some localities many deaths occurred from that terrible disease. As the coun-
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try became older and better settled so many of the contagious diseases that were so common in the early '50s are practically unknown. In 1854 the Sentinel makes mention of the seventeen- year locusts, which came in large numbers and destroyed considerable vegetation.
The Fourth of July celebration of 1854 was a memorable occasion. We read of Revolutionary soldiers and 1812 soldiers being invited to join the procession, but as no list of those invited ap- pears we presume that in 1854 the Revolutionary soldiers had stopped marching in every part of the Union. A number of toasts were responded to by some of the leading citizens of Sycamore and an address was made by John A. Bross, a prominent republican politician of Chicago. A grand banquet was spread and several hundred sat down to partake of the repast.
In an article of August 1ith the editor, H. A. Hough, made a pilgrimage to the south part of the county. Passing through Cortland he speaks of it as a place destined at no distant date to make a thriving town. He speaks in glowing terms of Somonauk, which at that time contained a depot and perhaps fifteen or twenty houses, and also mentions a new church that is well under way. In passing through Victor and Paw Paw he speaks of the fine farms and the good agri- cultural conditions of the county. When arriving at Paw Paw, presmnedly East Paw Paw, he speaks of several stores, two hotels and shops and from there returns by way of Shabbona Grove, which he mentions as a thriving village. T. J. Carney. of Sycamore, was pastor of the Universalist church, and in the issue of August, 1854, makes an attack upon Spiritualism, which at that time seems to have many adherents. The wife of T. J. Carney was the author of the famous poem. "Little drops of water, little grains of sand."
Hon. Joshua R. Giddings, of Ohio, one of the leaders of the anti-slavery element, delivered an Address at the Anti-Nebraska convention, which has been alluded to in another part of this work. Mr. Gidding's oration was listened to with a great deal of interest. Dr. Madden, of Mayfield. presided over the meeting and introduced the speaker. This meeting marks the organization of the republican party. Stephen A. Douglas de- livered an address to his political adherents in this city in August. 1854. Thus this section of the state early became the political battle-ground
of Illinois. In the issue of September, 1854, a number of extracts are given from the address. His article on the know nothing and the republic- an parties is interesting reading at this late date. The address was delivered in the old courthouse. Later in the year of 1854 the editor resumes his pilgrimage about the county and visits Genoa, which he describes as a truly delightful spot on the face of this earth. Speaks of it as being lo- cated in the east part of the grove near the Kish- waukee. There are twenty dwelling houses in the village, one nice church, which was built this year, three dry goods stores conducted by W. H. Atlen. Israel Dowd and Ball Brothers, two black- smith shops, one carriage and wagon shop, one paint shop, two boot and shoe shops and two ho- tels conducted by H. N. Perkins and H. Durham, one broker's office and one sawmill, which was no doubt located just west of the village on the Kish- waukee, and says it has a population of about one hundred. The shipments of grain from Genoa that year he gives at thirty thousand bushels.
At the democratic congressional convention of 1854 Hon. Edward L. Mayo, of Sycamore, was nominated for congress. James II. Woodworth wa> nominated by the republicans as a candidate of congress and Robert S. Blackwell was the can- didate of the whig party. H. C. Beard, afterward county superintendent of schools, was nominated by the whig party for representative. Charles O. Boynton, of Sycamore, was secretary of the whig convention. He afterward became prominent in the democratic party. The election of 1854. while an off year election, was one of considerable in- terest. Woodworth carried the county for congress by about fifteen hundred plurality. The whig party made a very poor showing and disappeared from the political arena entirely. On November 30 Editor Hough issues a letter to his patrons and to the people of De Kalb county in general appealing for support. He states that "his ex- penses have been six hundred and ninety-six dol- lars and ninety-nine cents. and his receipts four hundred and three dollars and fifty-seven cents. leaving us out of pocket in cash two hundred and ninety-three dollars and forty-two cents. Thus it will be seen that we have worked for glory and are out two hundred and ninety-three dollars and forty-two cents for honors. Now, we have worked for glory so long that it comes perfectly natural. but the latter statement. to say the least, is a
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doubtful one. With our books no one has any business and we shall not at this time make an exhibit of them, but if the above facts produce nervousness in any of our creditors we hope they will call and pay their bills. We are prepared to meet all demands." At this time, however, about seven hundred dollars was due Editor Hough and this it took a long time to collect. Thus it will be seen that the newspapers of the county today pay far better than the pioneers in this field of the early '50s. The editor again takes up his little journeys over the county and visits De Kalb Center, which changed its name from Buena Vista. He speaks of the prosperity of that village, says it has about four hundred people, a large steam mill and a number of stores and mentions quite a number of the business men of that time, such as B. M. Dayton, A. II. Cartwright, Reuben Hi- land, Appleby, Love, G. A. Colton and Dr. Hy- slop. In describing the chief parts of the county he does not neglect his home city, mentions three churches. the pastor of the Congregational being Rev. Darius Gore : Methodist, Rev. D. L. Winslow, and the Universalist church, built the past season, pastor Rev. T. J. Carney. The latter church is to be dedicated January 11, 1854. A brick school- house has been erected. which is the best one in this locality, two brick blocks have been erected, a brick tavern, several dry goods stores, a drug store and three taverns, being kept by Messrs. W. M. Maxfield. A. Edson and Wadsworth. A car- riage and wagon shop is kept by Cobb and Pres- ton, and there is also a blacksmith shop, shingle factory. meat market and seven lawyers' offices.
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