Portrait and biographical album of DeKalb County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 84

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Bros.
Number of Pages: 888

USA > Illinois > DeKalb County > Portrait and biographical album of DeKalb County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county > Part 84

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. Ebinger was married at Sandwich, April 8, . 1869, to Louisa, daughter of Gustave and Elizabeth

Miller, a native of La Salle Co., Ill. They have had six children : Lydia was born June 11, 1870; Wal- ter, Dec. 21, 1872; Benjamin, June 19, 1874; Will- iam, Feb. 18, 1877 ; George, Feb. 14, 1881 ; Ida, Aug- 19, 1883. Mr. and Mrs. Ebinger are members of the Methodist Church.

on. Edward L. Mayo, deceased, a former resident of Sycamore, was born April 7, 1807, in Moretown, Washington Co., Vt. He was the son of Leonard and Thyrza (Marcey) Mayo. His father died when he was a child of six years, and he was placed in charge of a far- mer in Moretown Township named Ebenezer John- son, and he was brought up on the farm, attending common school in the intervals of labor. He was studious by nature, and while his hands performed the required duties, his mind was eager to explore the realms of knowledge, and even in youth he was accustomed to take his book to the field with him to study while he worked. He taught winters after he reached a suitable age and degree of acquisition, and devoted his earnings to fitting himself for college by attending an academy at Montpelier.

He studied law with Hon. E. Prentice (afterward United States Senator) at Montpelier, and was there admitted to the Bar in 1835, and initiated his pro- fessional career at Morrisville, Vt. He came to De Kalb County in 1841, and opened his office at Syca- more. He entered at once upon a popular and suc- cessful practice. His genuine traits of character and method of conducting his business recommended him to the confidence and trust of the people of whom he was one, and in 1849 he was elected County Judge. On the expiration of his first term he was re-elected, and served two terms successively. Subsequently he was again elected for another four years. In 1854 he was the Democratic candidate for Congress, and if the question had rested solely on merit he would have been elected; but the district is one of the most strongly Republican in the State. He was at one time connected with the press of De Kalb County, and for some years edited the Sentinel, at Sycamore, Illinois.

He was united in marriage, in November, 1837, to

755

DE KALB COUNTY.

Lettice A. Holden, who was born in Springfield, Windsor Co., Vt., and lived but fourteen months after her marriage. Judge Mayo was again married Sept. 17, 1840, to Emily K. Holden, a cousin of his first wife, and they had ten children. Four are now living : Edward L., M. D., practicing his profession at De Kalb (see sketch) ; Lettice A., wife of Captain J. W. Burst, of Sycamore; Emily Matilda, and Kate A.

Judge Mayo died Nov. 16, 1877, at De Kalb, Ill., aged 70 years.

dward L. Mayo, practicing physician, res- ident at De Kalb, was born in Sycamore, this county, June 16, 1843. He lived, with his parents and attended the public schools of Sycamore until 21 years of age. On attaining his majority he entered upon the study of med- icine, first under the instruction of Dr. Bryant, and later with Dr. Garvin.

In 1864 he matriculated at Rush Medical College, Chicago, and followed the curriculum of that institu-

tion for four years, when, in 1868, he graduated and received his diploma. He at once entered on the practice of his profession at Malta, this county, and continued in practice at that place for seven years, meeting with success.

In 1875 Dr. Mayo changed his residence to De Kalb, where he has since followed the practice of his profession, and where he is meeting with success in the increase of his business and the treatment of his cases.

Dr. Mayo was married to Miss Alice L. Ballou, Jan. 1, 1872. She was born at Springville, N. Y., Oct. 18, 1853. She possessed in an eminent degree those qualities of mind and heart so requisite to make a woman what she was-a most kind and loving wife and mother, a true friend, having many friends and no enemies. They lived most happily until her death, Sept. 27, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. Mayo were the parents of two children-Ross E. and Alice L. The former was born May 10, 1875, and the latter Sept. 6, 1880.

Dr. Mayo was again married Dec. 10, 1884, to Miss Irene Robinson, who was born in Malta, Ill., in 1862.

HISTORICAL. 7

DE KALB COUNTY.

761

INTRODUCTORY.

SIME is ever moving on. A half century has passed away since the first settle- ment was effected by the white men in what is now the county of De Kalb-a period of time in which more important events have transpired than in any five hundred years of the world's history. In the record of events De Kalb County has per- formed no inconsiderable part, as the pages of this history will testify. Within that time a wilderness has been transformed into a cultivated region of thrift and prosperity by the untiring zeal and energy of an enterprising people. The trails of hunters and the wily red men have given place to rail- roads and thoroughfares for vehicles of every de- scription ; the cabins and garden patches of the pion- eers have been succeeded by comfortable houses and broad fields of waving grain, with school-houses, churches, mills, postoffices, manufactories, and every convenience that could be asked for by civilized man.

The record of this marvelous change is history, and the most important that can be written. For one half century the people of De Kalb County have been making a history that for thrilling interest, grand practical results, and lessons that may be perused with profit by citizens of other regions, will compare favorably with the history of any county in the great Northwest. Take, for instance, the record of the county in the great war of the rebellion. Where were

braver men than those forming the quota of De Kalb ? There were few only of the battle-fields of the South but what were moistened by the life-blood of her sons. .In the matter of useful inventions, few counties can boast of labor- saving articles more universally adopted than those that came from the brains of the men of De Kalb. The names of Marsh, Glidden, Whitney, Ellwood, Adams and others will always be classed among the world's benefactors.

The question is often asked why men leave the comforts and pleasures of civilized lands and strike out into a new and almost unknown country bearing the toils and privations which are unavoidable. Not more from choice than from necessity, did the old pioneers bid farewell to the play-grounds of their childhood and the graves of their fathers. One generation after another had worn themselves out in the service of avaricious landlords, or to eke out a miserable existence upon barren or worn out land which they called their own. From the first flashes of the morning light until the last glimmer of the setting sun, they had toiled unceasingly on from father to son, carrying home each day upon their aching shoulders the precious proceeds of their daily labor. Money, pride and power were handed down in the line of succession from the rich father to his son, while unceasing work, continuous poverty and everlasting obscurity were the heritage of the work- ing man and his children. For the sons and daugh- ters of the poor man to remain there was to follow and never to lead-to be poor forever.

Without money, prestige or friends the old pioneer drifted along seeking the garden spot, the place where he might establish a home, where he might educate

762

DE KALB COUNTY.

his sons and daughters, giving them privileges never enjoyed by himself. The broad prairies and the beautiful groves of De Kalb County in that early day were indeed inviting to those seeking a home in a more favored land, and here planted their stakes, many of whom the present generation have reason to rise up and call them blessed. To secure and adorn the homes desired by the pioneers, more than ordinary ambition was required, greater than ordinary endurance demanded. How well they have succeed- ed let the broad cultivated fields and fruit-bearing orchards, the flocks and the herds, the palatial resi- dences, the places of business, the spacious halls, the clattering car-wheels and ponderous engines all testify.

There was a time when pioneers waded through deep snows, across bridgeless rivers and through bottomless sloughs, more than a score of miles to mill or market, and when more time was required to reach and return from market, than is now required to cross the continent or the Atlantic Ocean. These were the times when their palaces were constructed of logs and covered with " shakes " riven from the forest trees. These were the times when children 'were stowed away in the night in the low, dark attics, amongst the horns of the elk and the deer, and where through the chinks in the " shakes " they could count the twinkling stars. These were the times when chairs and bedsteads were hewn from the forest trees, and tables and bureaus constructed from the boxes in which goods were brought. These were the days when all were required to work six days in the week and all the hours in a day from sunrise to sun- set. Now all is changed. In viewing the blessings which now surround us, we should reverence those that made them possible, and ever fondly cherish in memory the sturdy old pioneer and his log cabin.

Value of Local History.

HE great dread of man from remote ages has been to be forgotten. The means em- ployed to prevent this and to perpetuate his memory has been in proportion to the amount of intelligence he possessed. It has been conceded now by scientists that the prin- cipal object of the Egyptians in building their pyra- mids was to perpetuate the name and deeds of their

great leaders and rulers. The walls in the extensive apartments beneath those huge stone monuments are covered with paintings illustrating the deeds, both in peace and war, of her illustrious princes, and in chronological order. These colors are as bright, apparently, as when they were first laid on, and the work shows great skill and artistic design. The ex- humations made by the archeologist of Egypt from buried Memphis indicate a desire of these people to perpetuate the memory of their achievements. The walls of the palaces found buried here are decorated with historical emblems representing the lives and deeds of these people. In Memphis they displayed a higher art. They carved out in marble elegant and life-like statues of their distinguished princes, accom- panied with hieroglyphics, illustrating their deeds. The erection of those great obelisks were for the same purpose. Coming down to a later period we find the Greeks and Romans erecting mausoleums and monuments, and carving out statues to chronicle their great achievements, and carry them down the ages. It is evident that the' mound-builders, in piling up their great mounds of earth, had but this idea, to leave something to show that they had lived. All these works, these representations, though many of them costly in the extreme, give but a faint idea of the lives and character of those whose memory they were intended to perpetuate, and scarcely notli- ing of the masses of the people that then lived. The great pyramids and some of the obelisks remain, ob- jects only for scientists or curiosity seekers; the mausoleums, monuments and statues are crumbling into dust. The monuments, statues and other relics are being gradually conveyed to the different muse- ums of the world, and soon there will nothing remain in these countries to illustrate the lives of the people who once dwelt in them.

Generation after generation come and go like the leaves of autumn. Nations have been born, have had their rise and fall, and then passed away, leav- ing scarcely a riffle on the great ocean of time to show that they ever existed, so imperfect and muta- ble has been their means to perpetuate their achieve- ments. It was left to modern ages to establish an in- telligent, undecaying, immutable method of per- petuating this history ; immutable in that it is almost unlimited in extent, and perpetual in its action; and this is through the art of printing. Nations may be- come disintegrated and pass away, monuments and

DE KALB COUNTY.

763

statues may crumble into dust, but books will live. This art has been rapidly advancing from its first in- ception until now it would seem that there were no longer any further ground for improvement. This is pre-eminently an age of printing, an age of books.

To the present generation, however, are we in- debted for the introduction of the admirable system of local history and local biography. By this system every man, though he has not achieved what the world calls greatness, has the means to perpetuate his life, his history through the coming ages; so alike has every community.

We come now to the work before us: To our patrons, we say, that the scythe of Time cuts down all ; nothing of the physical man is left ; the monu- ment which his children or friends may erect to his memory in the cemetery will crumble into dust and pass away; but his life, his achievements, the work he has accomplished, which otherwise would be for- gotten, is perpetuated by this book through coming ages. Shakspeare has said :

The evil men do lives after them ; The good is oft interred with their bones.

Our aim in this work has been only to preserve the good. We sought to gather from the best sources of information obtainable, the conditions and incidents of the early pioneer life, and to present that, together with the present development of the county. Many of the pioneers came into this beau- tiful country without a dollar in their pockets, but with the unflinching determination to carve out their fortunes and build up a community. With undaunted hearts, and a courage equal to that of the great he- roes of our history, they began life.

How Our Fathers Lived.

IONEER life at the present time is not to be compared with that of fifty years ago. dely In this day the great railway corporations build railroads into and through such country as they may think in time will become profita- ble to the settlers and themselves, and the pio- neers enter palace cars and are conveyed 10 their destination at the rate of thirty miles an hour, and from the beginning have a market for their produce

at their very door. All this was different in the early days of De Kalb County. Then, when one desired to remove from the far East, it required long and extensive preparations, their conveyance generally being an ox team hitched to a heavy lum- ber wagon. The route lay through a wild and rough country ; swamps and marshes were crossed with great exertion and fatigue ; rivers were forded with difficulty and danger, nights were passed in the dense forests, with mother earth for a couch and the trees and foliage for a shelter; long weary days and weeks of travel were endured, but finally their eyes were gladdened and their hearts beat faster when a vision of their future home burst upon them.

The first thing upon their arrival was to set about building a cabin. While this was being done the family slept in the wagons or upon the grass, while the horses or mules, tethered to prevent escape, grazed on the grass around them. Trees of a suita- ble and uniform size were selected, felled and pre- pared for their places. The day for the raising was announced and from far and near came other pio- neers to assist in the labor. The structure went up, a log at a time, those engaged in the work stopping now and then to " wet their whistles," and soon it was ready for the clapboard roof, which was held on by huge weight-poles. A door and a window were cut where the good wife directed, a chimney built, and the building was ready for its occupants. The space between the logs was filled with split sticks of wood, called " chinks," and then daubed over, both inside and out, with mortar made of clay. The floor was sometimes nothing more than earth tramped hard and smooth, but was commonly made of “ pun- cheons," or split logs, with the split side turned up- wards. The roof was made by gradually drawing in the top to the ridge-pole and on cross-pieces laying the clapboards, which, being several feet in length, instead of being nailed were held in place by weight-poles, reaching the entire length of the cabin:

For a fire-place, a space was cut out of the logs on one side of the room, usually about six feet in length, and three sides were built up of logs, making an offset in the wall. This was lined with stone, if convenient; if not, then earth was used. The flue, or upper part of the chimney, was built of small split sticks, two and a half or three feet in length, carried a little space above the roof, and plastered over with clay, and when finished was called a " cob

764

DE KALB COUNTY.

and clay " chimney. The door space was also made by cutting an aperture in one side of the room of the required size, the door itself being made of clap- boards secured by wooden pins to two cross-pieces. The hinges were also of wood, while the fastenings consisted of a wooden latch catching on a hook of the same material. To open the door from the outside, a strip of buckskin was tied to the latch and drawn through a hole a few inches above the latch bar, so that on pulling the string the latch was lifted from the catch or hook, and the door was opened without further trouble. To lock the door it was only neces- sary to pull the string through the hole on the inside. Here the family lived, and here the guest and way- farer were made welcome. The living-room was of good size, but to a large extent it was also kitchen, bed-room, parlor and arsenal, with flitches of bacon and rings of dried pumpkins suspended from the rafters. These simple cabins were inhabited by a kind and true-hearted people. They were strangers to mock modesty, and the traveler seeking lodgings for the night, or desirous of spending a few days in the community, if willing to accept the rude offer- ings, was always welcome, although how they were disposed of at night the reader may not easily imag- ine.

Character of the Pioneers.

HE character of the pioneers of De Kalb County falls properly within the range of the historian: They lived in a region of exuberance and fertility, where Nature had scattered her blessings with a liberal hand. The forest supply, the fertile, prairie, and the many improvements constantly going forward, with the bright prospect for a glorious future in every- thing that renders life pleasant, combined to deeply impress their character, to give them a spirit of en- terprise, an independence of feeling, and a joyous- ness of hope. They were a thorough admixture of many nations, characters, languages, conditions and opinions. There was scarcely a State in the Union that was not represented among the early settlers. All the various religious sects had their advocates. All now form one society.

Clothing.

HE clothing of the early pioneers was as plain and simple as their houses. Neces- sity compelled it to be in conformity to the strictest economy. The clothing taken to the new country was made to render a vast deal of service. In summer, nearly all persons, both male and female, went barefooted. Buckskin moc- casins were worn considerably. Boys twelve and fif- teen years of age never thought of wearing any- thing on their feet except during three or four months of the coldest weather in winter. Boots were un- known until a later generation.

Wolf-Hunting.

N early days more mischief was done by wolves than by any other wild animal, and no small part of their mischief consisted in their almost constant barking at night, which al- ways seemed menacing and frightful to the set- tlers. Like mosquitoes, the noise they made appeared about as dreadful as the real depreda- tions they committed. The most effectual, as well as the most exciting method of ridding the country of these hateful pests, was that known as the circular wolf hunt, by which all the men and boys would turn out on an appointed day, in a kind of circle comprising many square miles of territory, with horses and dogs, and then close up toward the cen- ter field of operation, gathering, not only wolves, but also deer and many smaller " varmint." Five, ten or more wolves, by this means, would be killed in a single day. The men would be organized with as much system as a small army, every one being posted in the meaning of every signal and the appli- cation of every rule. Guns were scarcely ever al- lowed to be brought on such occasions, as their use would be unavoidably dangerous. The dogs were depended upon for the final slaughter. The dogs, by the way, had all to be held in check by a cord

DE KALB COUNTY.

765

in the hands of their keepers until the final signal was given to let them loose, when away they would all go to the center of battle, and a more exciting scene would follow than can easily be described.

Snakes.

N pioneer times snakes were numerous, such as the rattlesnake, adder, milk-snakes, gar- ter and water snakes, and others. If, on meeting one of these, you would retreat, they would chase you very fiercely ; but if you would turn and give them battle, they would immediately turn and crawl away with all possible speed, hide in the grass and weeds and wait for a "greener" customer. These harmless snakes served to put people on their guard against the more danger- ous and venomous kind.

Bee Hunting.

R ECREATION of this sort was a peculiar one, and many sturdy backwoodsmen gloried in excelling in this art. He would carefully watch a bee as it filled itself with the product of some sweet flower or leaf bud, and notice par- ticularly the direction taken by it as it struck a " bee-line" for its home, which, when found, would generally be high up in the hollow of some tree. The tree would be marked, and in the fall a party would

go and cut down the tree and capture the honey as quick as they could before it wasted away through the broken walls in which it had been so carefully stowed by the busy little bee. Several gallons would often be taken from a single tree, and by a very little work, and pleasant at that, the early settlers could keep themselves in honey the year round. By the time the honey was a year old it would turn white and granulate, yet be as good and healthful as when fresh. This was called by some " candied " honey.

Religion.

HE religious element in the life of the pio- neer was such as to attract the attention of those living in more favored places. The pioneer was no hypocrite. If he believed in horse-racing, whisky-drinking, card-playing, or anything of like character, he practiced them openly and above board. If he was of a religious, turn of mind he was not ashamed to own it. He could truthfully sing

" I'm not ashamed to own my Lord, Or blush to speak His name."

But the pioneer clung to the faith of his fathers, for a time at least. If he was a Presbyterian he · was not ashamed of it, but rather prided himself on being one of the elect. If a Methodist, he was one to the fullest extent. He prayed long and loud if the spirit moved him, and cared nothing for the empty form of religion.

766

DE KALB COUNTY.

Indian

History.

HEN the pioneers of De Kalb County came here to seek a home they found the coun- try inhabited by the once powerful tribe of Potto- watomie Indians, though the country had some years be- fore been ceded to the whites. This tribe came originally from Canada, and as civilization advanced they were re- required to take up their line of march to- ward the setting sun. While there has been much maudlin sentiment written of the " noble red men," yet one cannot help expressing pity as they witness how loth they were to leave the home of their fa- thers. Some writer thus speaks of them : "Like most Indians, they were in person rather above than below the average height of Europeans. The usual expression of their countenance, when in repose, was grave, even to sadness. They had high cheek-bones, faces uncommonly wide below the eyes, retiring foreheads, long, sleek, black hair, finer than a horse's mane, but much resembling it, but no beards, for a beard was considered disgraceful, and untold tortures were endured in plucking out the first faint symptoms of one that sometimes appeared. They were of rugged health, straight and well limbed, and with a stoical indifference to pain that was either a wonderful exhibition of fortitude, or more probably the result of physical insensibility. They were generally sullen, seldom impatient, or hurried into intemperate warmth, except in hatred of

their enemies ; generally feigning a proud indifference to their families, yet often giving evidence of strong attachment to them, and always indolent except in the chase or on the war path." To this general de- scription a local writer added : " This was rather the natural character of the Indians than that which most of them bore at the period of the settiement of this county. The use of intoxicating liquors had at this time demoralized them and destroyed their no- bility of character. They had become more puerile and purposeless, and their most conspicuous traits were their indolence and their disgusting personal habits."

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Portrait and biographical album of DeKalb County, Illinois : containing full-page portraits and biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens of the county, Part 84

Author: Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Bros. Number of Pages: 888

Author:
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Chicago : Chapman Bros.
Number of Pages: 888