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 87
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L. E. Hay came to Sandwich with his parents in 1854. He subsequently read law with S. B. Stinson, attended the law department of Ann Arbor Univer-
sity, and was admitted to the Bar. Remaining in Sandwich some eight or ten years, he attended to active practice in connection with other business. He moved West some years ago.
Frank E. Stevens was born in Dixon, Ill., in 1855, and is the son of Capt. John Stevens, also a lawyer, and who was a soldier in the late war and killed in battle. Frank was educated at Dixon, studying law with Mr. Treusdale, and was admitted to the Bar in in 1877. He is now a banker at Huron, Dakota.
The Bar at present (1885), will compare favorably with that of any other period.
In Sycamore there are C. A. Bishop, Geo. Brown, D. J. Carnes, G. H. Denton, G. W. Dunton, J. J. Flannery, L. S. Hodge, H. A. Jones, W. C. Kellum, J. H. Kenyon, Chauncey Ellwood, J. L. Pratt, C. D. Rogers, G. S. Robinson, J. B. Stephens, Luther Lowell.
In De Kalb, E. B. Gilbert, Thos. M. Hopkins, W. L. Pond, Wm. W. Rathbun, I. V. Randall, D. E. Reed.
Sandwich is represented by E. G. Coe, C. G. Faxon, W. W. Sedgwick, S. B. Stinson, J. I. Mont- gomery.
Kirkland is represented by Wm. B. McDowell.
Sketches of the greater number of these men will be found in this work.
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Criminal
Record.
INCE the days of Cain crime has existed in the world. While the county of De Kalb will rank with any other in the State as a law-abiding community, yet there have been some law- less characters among the greater number of law-abiding men and wo- men. In the early day of the coun- ty's existence it was cursed with a gang of horse-thieves whose presence was very undesirable. Possessors of valuable horses never felt secure in possession of their property. For some years it was necessary either to employ faithful watchmen or to keep horses under a strong lock. Horses once stolen were seldom recovered, the organization of the thieves being so perfect that stolen animals were quickly taken long distances.
Following we give an account of all the murders committed in the county, with the final disposition of the murderers so far as the court records show.
The Driscolls .- Brodie's Grove, in Ogle County, was a resort of the gang, and doubtless headquar- ters, Brodie being regarded as one of the chiefs of the gang. South Grove was generally considered another rendezvous of the gang, David and John Driscoll being thought to be engaged in the nefari- ous business. Gleason's house, in Genoa, was also thought to be a safe place for the thieves. Lynch- ing parties `were formed in this and adjoining coun-
ties, and suspected parties were ordered to leave the country within a specified time.
Among those ordered to leave by the Lynching Club, were the Driscolls at South Grove. John Long, of Stillman's Run, was Captain of several combined companies of lynchers, and was proprietor of a large saw-mill. The banditti sent him a threat- ening letter defying the society to combat them, and threatening him with personal violence. Being intim- idated by these threats, Mr. Long resigned, and John Campbell, of White Rock Grove, Ogle County, was elected Captain. The Club, headed by Campbell, visited the Driscolls and ordered them to leave within twenty days. To David Driscoll it is reported Campbell said : "If after that time you are found east of the Mississippi River, we will brand your cheeks with R. S., and crop your ears, so that none shall fail to know your character as a rogue and a scoundrel wherever you may be seen."
This threat aroused the passions of the banditti and they determined to resist. They held a meeting at which this was resolved. Says Boies, in his history of the occurrence: " On the Sunday morning follow- ing this meeting, old man Driscoll was seen about the premises of Campbell. He walked around the grounds, passed up to a clump of bushes, closely observed the location and then went away. He might that night have easily gone home, but he did not. He stayed at a neighbor's without any apparent reason, and slept there. Was it because he knew a foul crime was about to be committed and wanted to prove an alibi ? It was so supposed. That evening,
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DE KALB COUNTY.
just at dusk, Captain Campbell, who had returned from attending church at Rockford, was passing from his dwelling to his stable, when he was accosted by two men who enquired the road to Oregon. His wife heard him call out "Driscoll," and immediately after there was the report of a gun, and as she rushed toward him he fell lifeless in her arms, shot through the heart. The two men immediately and delib- erately walked off in the direction of Driscoll's Grove. The brave son of Campbell, a lad of thir- teen years, seized his father's gun and rushed toward the retreating murderers and snapped it at them three times; but the effort to avenge the murder was unavailing: the gun would not go off. The murder- ers disappeared in the distance, and the grief-stricken family was left alone with its honored dead."
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Great excitement was aroused and detachments were sent out to scour the country and capture the guilty pair. John Driscoll, the father, was captured, and the house of David Driscoll burned and his family left shelterless upon the prairie. Afterwards William Driscoll and his young brother, Pierce, were taken into custody. William Driscoll had been the first to tell the story of the murder to the settlers at the grove. Conscious of his own innocence, he felt sure of acquittal. He was told by the party taking him into custody that they only wanted him to go before Mrs. Campbell, that she might see if he was the man who killed her husband. 'Toward evening they arrived at the residence of the late Captain of the lynchers, when Mrs. Campbell unhesitatingly stated that neither one was present at the murder. The party having the prisoners in charge were excited and determined to avenge the death of their leader upon some one.
The next day the Driscolls were taken to White Rock Grove, in Ogle County, which had been selected as a place of rendezvous by the lynchers. The three Driscolls were carried in one wagon with ropes around their necks. A form of trial was gone through with and Pierce Driscoll was discharged, but John and William Driscoll were sentenced to death, not because they were thought to be guilty of murder, but because they were believed to be of the gang of horse-thieves. Efforts were made to have the sen- tence changed to banishment from the country, but without avail. The old man was first led out, blind- folded, and made to kneel upon the grass. The
lynchers then drew up in a long line, with guns in their hands. The fatal one, two, three was called and a hundred guns were discharged, and the lifeless body of the old man fell over. William Driscoll was then led out by the side of the old man and he, too, shared the same fate. Only a portion of the guns of the lynchers were loaded with balls, the remainder being with powder only, that no one might know who fired the fatal shot.
It is due to the relatives of William Driscoll to say that few people ever believed him to be one of the gang of horse-thieves, but he was a Driscoll, and the community had a prejudice against the name.
Asa Baldwin lived in Belvidere, Boone County, but owned a farm in the northern part of De Kalb County. Early in 1862 he went to the farm to inter- view his tenant in regard to some matters in dispute. He failed to see him, but met a young man named McGinnis, who was working for his tenant. With him he had some words, which so angered Baldwin that he shot him. He was arrested, an indictment was found against him and he was brought before the court for trial. A change of venue was asked for, granted, and the case was removed to Boone County. After a trial, in which he was prosecuted by A. B. Coon, assisted by William Brown, now a Circuit Judge, and defended by Gen. Hurlbut and Mr. Thompson, he was acquitted.
Robert Moles .- On the night of August 29, 1864, Robert Moles, living in the north part of the county, was killed by being thrown into a well, and with sticks and clubs kept under the water till death ensued from drowning. Pat. Whalen and Ann Moles were indicted by the grand jury for the com- mission of the crime. No record was ever made as to the disposition of the case, but it is asserted they were taken before the Judge of the Circuit Court on a writ of habeas corpus and discharged.
Henry C. Atwood, was a young man, residing in the village of De Kalb. He had been married but a short time to a woman of whom it was said that he was somewhat jealous. On the 18th day of December, 1865, he was at home engaged in cleaning a revolver, while his wife was engaged in her household duties. In some way the revolver was discharged, the ball penetrating the abdomen of his wife, causing her death. Atwood was arrested, indicted, tried, found guilty and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary.
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After the expiration of two years, he was pardoned by the Governor. He claimed that the killing was accidental.
Sylvester P. Taylor .- Sylvester P. Taylor and Amos H. Chase had a dispute in regard to the possession of certain lands near the village of De Kalb. Taylor, who was in possession, loaded a horse pistol and ordered Chase not to come upon the premises. Regardless of the threats of Taylor, the latter attempted to enter the premises, when he was shot by the former. This was June 2, 1869. Taylor was arrested, indicted, tried, and the jury disagreed. Pending a new trial, he was admitted to bail. When the case was next called, a continuance was had on the ground of absence of material witnesses. A continuance was had from time to time on the same ground, until the patience of the court was exhausted and the case was stricken from the docket.
George Shaw, a constable, in company with E. Stone Abbott, went into Sliabbona Township, for the purpose of serving, for the latter, a writ upon William Unwin, on the 24th day of August, 1871. Unwin, becoming enraged, attacked Shaw with a pitch-fork, when the latter shot him. Shaw and Abbott were jointly indicted, tried and acquitted upon the ground of self-defense.
Horace Grover .- There was a young man living near the village of Shabbona named Horace Grover. He was a student of the military school at Fulton, Ill., and was home on a visit in 1870. Hearing that William Stimpson had made remarks derogatory to one near and dear to him, he visited the latter in his blacksmith shop at Shabbona, and after talking with him a while shot him through the head and heart, and also split his skull with a blacksmith's chisel. After committing the deed, Grover fled, was cap- tured, and tried at the following term of the circuit court at Sycamore. Pleading guilty, and the exten- uating circumstances being made known, he was sentenced to three years in the penitentiary. He re- mained in prison but a few days before receiving a pardon from the Governor.
John Reed, a young Irishman, was in love with Johanna McCormick, and sought her hand in mar- riage. He was refused with scorn, and determined that he would have revenge upon the young lady for the slight offered him. About the Ist of July, 1871, he asked her company to attend a Fourth-of-July
celebration at De Kalb, and was refused. On the 3d of July, lie went to a neighbor and borrowed a gun, on the pretense of wanting it to shoot some wolves that had been committing some depredations in the neighborhood. On the evening of that day, while the McCormick family were at supper, he slipped up to the house and discharged the gun twice through a window, the first charge passing into the brain of Johanna, killing her instantly. The second cliarge passed over the head of a younger sister' and was buried in the wall. A few days subsequently he was arrested and made a full confession, saying that he had contemplated the deed for one year, and only awaited a good opportunity to do the act. He said that the second discharge of the gun was for the pur- pose of ending his own life, and failing in this he returned the gun and obtained some poison from the family, which he ate, but the dose was too large and he threw it up. He then tried to escape. An in- dictment was found against him, but before a trial could be had he broke jail and made good his es- cape. No clue has ever been obtained as to his whereabouts.
Mrs. Bowler .- Timothy Bowler, his wife Mary and their family lived a miserable life. The par- ents were addicted to liquor. On the night of July 31, 1872, the old man was killed, his head being al- most severed from his body, which had many wounds upon it, inflicted with an ax. Mrs. Bowler was ar- rested, charged with the commission of the crime. On her trial it was proven that the couple had had anything but a pleasant time for weeks previously, the old man sleeping much of the time out-doors to escape the wrath of his wife. She was found guilty and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary.
George Alexander, a colored man, living at Syca- more, married a white woman, of whom he was ex- ceedingly jealous, so much so that finally the woman could no longer live with him, and, leaving him, went to reside in De Kalb. Some time in 1878, Alexan- der borrowed a shot-gun, went to De Kalb, visited the house where his wife was stopping, and, calling her out, shot her through the neck, killing her in- stantly. He claimed that the discharge of the gun was accidental; that in some way it got caught in a hedge fence, and in pulling it away it discharged, the gun bursting and throwing him several feet. He was arrested, and at the June term, 1879, was tried,
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convicted and sentenced to death. The scaffold was erected and every preparation made for his execu- tion, when the Supreme Court interfered and granted him a new trial. The second trial was held in June, 1881, when he was sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of 25 years.
Floyd Givens lived at Malta with his parents. Some time in the fall of 1879, he met a cousin on the streets of that city, charged him with the commis- sion of a certain crime, and then shot him. He was arrested, indicted, a change of venue was had to Kane County, where he was tried and acquitted.
Walter Upstone was a native of England, and of a family of 12 children. He was a blacksmith by trade and had resided in or near the village of Fielding for about 15 years. He was a married man, and had a family of three children, one daughter being married. His mother was insane at the time of his birth, and he had two or three brothers and one sis- who were said to be insane; also two aunts on his mother's side. Walter had been intemperate for some years, and when under the influence of liquor was ex- ceedingly violent. Peter Melson was a boon com- panion of Upstone, and the two were often together. About the first of February, 1882, the two went to Monroe, a small village west of Fielding, where they procured some liquor and became intoxicated. Re- turning to Fielding, on Sunday morning, February 5, the two went into Upstone's blacksmith shop, shut the door, and it is supposed drained a bottle of alco- hol. About noon Willard Crill went to the shop, when Upstone offered him a drink, but the alcohol was so strong that Crill refused to drink it. Upstone then tried to get Melson to drink; but the latter was too drunk to take any more. Upstone raised his head from the floor on which he was lying and placed a coat under it. Crill left the shop. The next thing known was between one and two o'clock. George Clark, a young lad, was riding by the shop, when Upstone came to the door, singing and wav- ing back and forth a small hammer which he held in his hand. Seeing him, he called out, "George, look here." Upstone turned and struck the body two or three blows with a sledge hammer, then told George to go and tell some one that a dead man was there. The boy went down the street and gave the alarm. Several men hastened to the shop and found Up- stone striking the body with a scoop-shovel. Up-
stone stopped beating the body and then commenced talking in a maudlin manner: "Pete, come home with me;" "Pete; this don't look like Pete, but them's his boots;" "this looks like Pete, but them ain't his boots."
Melson's body was removed from the shop to a hotel near by, and Upstone was placed under arrest. He was taken to Sycamore and placed in jail. A true bill of indictment was found against him, and when the case was called a change of venue to Winnebago County was granted. At the February term, 1883, of the Circuit Court of Winnebago County, he was tried, convicted, and sentenced to the penitentiary for 17 years. The case was prosecuted by J. B. Stephens, Prosecuting Attorney of De Kalb County, assisted by C. A. Works, Prosecutor of Winnebago; Charles E. Fuller, of Belvidere, and D. J. Carnes, of Sycamore. Upstone was'defended by John L. Pratt, of Sycamore, William Lathrop, of Rockford, and A. J. Hopkins, of Aurora. The defense was based upon insanity,-that if the deed was committed by Upstone he was insane, caused probably from liquor; it being proved that liquor acted differently upon him from ordinary persons. His actions both before and subsequent to the deed were those of an insane man. The prosecution, admitting that insanity existed in the family, and that Upstone, under the influence of liquor, became frenzied, averred that Upstone was aware of the fact that liquor had that effect upon him, and therefore should have abstained from its use ; that he had the power to refrain, having for one whole year gone without tasting it, and was then a law-abiding and respected citizen.
The defense appealed to the Supreme Court, which sustained the decision of the lower court, and Up- stone received his sentence and was taken to Joliet. From the State's prison he has since been removed to the Insane Asylum at Elgin, the authorities con- sidering him a fit subject for the latter institution.
Hiram P. Allen .-- On the night of Feb. 15, 1880, Hiram P. Allen, of Sandwich, was murdered by some one who was attempting to burglarize his residence. Will Thomas and three others were arrested, charged with the commission of the crime. Thomas obtained a change of venue to Kane County, where he was tried and sentenced to prison for a term of years.
James M. Brogan, Oct. 28, 1881, shot and killed . William Henry in his room at Sandwich. He claimed
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that Henry made an attack upon him and the shoot- ing was in self-defense. He was arrested, an indict- ment was found against him, and he was brought before the Circuit Court at Sycamore for trial. A change of venue to Du Page County was granted, and he was there acquitted. Brogan himself was mysteriously murdered in the winter of 1883-4.
Nicholas Kittle .-- Nelson Hinkston rented a farm of Nicholas Kittle, near the village of Shabbona. While in a saloon in that village one day in August, 1884, the two got into a quarrel about the division of some oats raised upon the land, when Kittle stabbed Hinkston, causing his death. Liquor was doubtless the cause of the crime. Before his death, Hinkston asked that Kittle should not be prosecuted.
Lewis Taylor was a young man in the employ of H. H. Mitchell, in Mayfield Township. On the 13th of August, 1884, the family of Mr. Mitchell, with the exception of his daughter Florence, went to Syca- more. Florence was left in charge of the house, and Alice Dennis, a young lady neighbor, was sent to keep her company. Taylor that morning was engaged in work near the house. From surrounding circum- stances, it is surmised that Florence went out to the barn to obtain some eggs, when she was discovered
by Taylor, who held a grudge against her for her re- fusal to accept his attentions, and was immediately fired upon with a revolver by the latter. The ball not taking effect the girl ran into the house, pursued by the villain, who stopped not until his deadly ob- ject was accomplished and the lifeless body of Flor- ence lay in the cellar. He then sat fire to her clothes, and also attempted to fire the house, and then escaped. All this occurred within the space of a half-hour and before Alice Dennis reached the house. When she arrived she went into the sitting- room and kitchen, calling for Florence. Not finding her, she went to the cellar and discovered the smoke and Florence's body lying cold in death. She rushed out and gave the alarm. Fortunately two men were passing the house, who rescued the body of the girl, and then hurried to Sycamore and spread the sad intelligence. No words can describe the agony of the parents. A large crowd soon gathered and hastened to the scene of the tragedy and to capture the mur- derer. After committing the horrible crime, Taylor fled to the river, and, first taking off his watch and tying it to a barbed-wire fence, waded into the water, placed the revolver to his heart, pulled the trigger and thus ended his miserable life.
DE KALB COUNTY.
786
POLITICAL
ANY of the earlier elections were held without party lines being very closely drawn, at least so far as the Democratic and Whig parties were concerned. Up to the time of the or- ganization of the Republican party the county almost invariably went Democratic. Many of the Demo- crats, however, were of Free-soil pro- clivities, and when the Republican party was organized embraced its principles. Early in 1854 the scat- tered Free-soil forces, or more prop- erly those opposed to the Anti-Ne- braska bill, and opposed to the further extension of slavery, began to crystallize. On the 14th day of September, 1854, a mass convention of those holding these views was held at Sycamore to appoint dele- gates to a Republican convention to be held at Au- rora. There were three parties represented in this county-Democrats, Whigs and Free-Soilers. In choosing delegates, representatives of each of these old parties were elected as follows :
Democratic : Horace W. Fay, G. A. Colton, Jo- seph Sixbury, James Harrington and Royal Crossett.
Free-Soilers : Pierpont Edwards, Stephen Town- send, Thurston Carr, David West, James H. Bever- idge, E. S. Gregory.
Whigs : Reuben Pritchard, W. J. Hunt, H. A. Joslyn, William Byers, Dr. E. Rose and John N. Braddock.
From the organization of the party to the present
time De Kalb County could always be relied upon to give a large majority for the Republican party. In a political view, therefore, there is nothing excit- ing for the historian to relate.
Among those who have served the Nation, State or county during the period of its existence are the fol- lowing :
GOVERNOR.
John L. Beveridge was elected to the office of Lieutenant Governor on the ticket with Gov. Oglesby in 1872. He served in that capacity but about ten days, when he succeeded Oglesby as Governor, the latter being elected to the United States Senate. He served four years with marked ability. Gov. Bev- eridge was for many years a citizen of this county. He now resides in Evanston, Ill.
STATE TREASURER.
James H. Beveridge, brother of the above, now re- siding near Sandwich, was State Treasurer from Jan. 9, 1865, to Jan. 10, 1867.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1847.
A convention to amend the Constitution of the State convened at Springfield June 7, 1847, and ad- journed Aug. 31, 1847. George H. Hill represented De Kalb County.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1862.
In this convention De Kalb, together with Kane County, was represented by Stephen B. Stinson and Adoniram J. Joslyn.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, 1870.
De Kalb and Boone Counties were represented in this convention by Westel W. Sedgwick and Jesse S. Hildrup.
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GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
On the organization of the county, De Kalb was part of a district comprising the counties of La Salle, Kane and Iroquois. In the Tenth General Assembly (1836-8) the county was represented by William Stadden, of La Salle, in the Senate, and Henry Mad- den, of De Kalb.
In the Eleventh Assembly, William Stadden . still represented the county in the Senate, while Joseph W. Churchill was in the House.
William Stadden, in the Senate, in the Twelfth As- sembly. The Legislative Directory omits the De Kalb Representative in the House.
In the Thirteenth Assembly, Ira Minard was in the Senate and Henry Madden in the House, repre- senting this county.
Ira Minard, in the Senate, and William M. Jack- son, E. G. Jewell and James L. Loop were in the House, representing this county together with the the counties of Kane, McHenry and Boone.
In the Fifteenth Assembly, Elijah Wilcox was in the Senate, and James Harrington, George W. Kret- singer and James T. Pierson represented the same counties.
Under the constitution of 1848, an apportionment was made, and the counties of De Kalb, Ogle, Lee and Kane formed the Twenty-second Senatorial District, and were represented by William B. Plato, of Kane, in the Sixteenth General Assembly. De Kalb and Kane were made the Fifty-first Repre- sentative District, and were represented in the same Assembly by H. W. Fay, of De Kalb, and E. W. Austin, of Kane.
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