USA > Illinois > Lee County > Recollections of the pioneers of Lee County [Illinois] > Part 25
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There was so many hams that Mr. DePui's little son, who saw them hanging in the unfinished chamber, was utterly dismayed, and told his mother they "would have to eat ham all the rest of their lives." After all had departed and the family were preparing for the night, a loud rap sounded on the back door; on opening it they found the last donation, but no sign of the donor. It was a wash tub, wash board and broom.
Farther down on Main street was a house where lived one of the best of the "Old Settlers"-one who has robed for the first and the last time, more of our fellow-citizens than any other one person-Aunt Sally Her- rick. . She persistently refuses to be made the heroine of any 'story"- but "her works do follow her," and she will be lovingly remembered as long as Dixon has a history. She went among the sick and afflicted, dressing a child here, making a bed for a weary sufferer in another place, carrying gruel and broth to those who had poor appetite (or little to sat- isfy it), calling the attention of the well-to-do to the needs of the poorer, and all so quietly that it was as if it had been done by some unseen hand. Not infrequently she stood by the sick bed while Dr. Everett went out to get suitable bedding to make a comfortable place for a sufferer, and then leaving him she would go home, or elsewhere, for fresh underwear for the patient, and, perhaps, for a poor, unwelcome baby. One old settler says: "If any pioneer woman deserves to be mentioned it is Aunt Sally Herrick, for she went among the rich and poor, night and day, without thought of herself until it seemed as if the people could not have lived without her." She lived first in a house on Main street, but soon after her husband bought a shop (he was a carpenter) and she begged to be allowed to "fix it up." He said it "was all right now," but before he realized what she was doing, she had whitewashed walls and ceiling, par. titioned it with white cloth, and made of the old building the most tidy,
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cheery home imaginable. "And I was the proudest woman you ever saw!" Aunt Sally says. Here they lived until Mr. Herrick built the house now owned by Mrs. Worthington; from there they moved to the home where Aunt Sally now lives on West Third street, which was so far out in the country that her husband thought she would not be so completely at the call of all the new babies and recent mourners. The first night in the new home he felt quite a sense of security but before midnight there was a rap, and a request to go to a friend; the second night there was another call, and the third still another, so Mr. Herrick finding there was no safety in distance, like a wise man held his peace.
To Mr. Herrick the town owed its first hearse. In the earlier days the coffins were carried upon a bier, by the bearers, up the long sandy road to the cemetery. Then they used a light open wagon, but Aunt Sally said she "got so tired seeing the corpses she had dressed with such care, shook up in that wagon" that she gathered funds from all possible sources for a hearse. When it came it had no trimmings or curtains, so slie added these lierself and fitted it up in the most becoming style. It must have been a comfort to others beside Aunt Sally to see the bodies of dear friends carried in the more suitable vehicle,
Up the river Col. Johnson built the house now known as the Van- Arnam place, but called in early days the "Steamboat Hotel" because it was built with a long central room, with bedrooms each side, after the manner of steamboats Col. Johnson also set out the beautiful row of naples along the river bank below his place, which add so much beauty to our autumnal landscape. His daughter was the wife of Dr. Nash, who came here the same year his sister, Mrs. Sally (Nash) Herrick did, 1142. Dr. Nash practiced medicine here for some years, but finally, in company with Silas Noble built the Union Block, in which he opened a drug store, which he kept for several years and sold to B. B. Higgins. Dr. Nash built the house in which D. W. McKenney now lives, and Silas Noble the one owned for so many years by Mrs. Ruth Porter.
Col. Johnson did not stay here very long, and the next occupants of his house were a couple to whom Lee county, indeed Northern Illinois, owes much-the Rev. and Mrs. Luke Hitchcock. As pioneer preacher and presiding elder, Mr. Hitchcock travelled all through these parts. Always a devoted Christian, an intelligent citizen and a faithful friend, there are men and women scattered abroad over many states who will rise to bear witness to the noble record of Luke Hitchcock and his wife.
Mrs. Hitchcock's sister, Mrs. O. F. Ayres lived in a small house, still standing, just above the home of our venerable ex-drayman Dan Bresna-
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han, and her boys used to run across the hill to play with the "Judson boys" when the Rev. Philo Judson lived in another little house, back of Col. Johnson's. Mr. Ayres was also a minister, but owing to feeble health never took charge of a church in the west. However, if the rec- ords were searched, they would doubtless prove that he married more couples and attended more funerals than any minister in Dixon. Mrs. Ayres survived her husband many years, and has been much interested in the gathering of these "Recollections," and we hoped would add something to these pages.
The announcement of her death as I near the completion of this paper brings to mind the last time we met. It was a pleasant evening party at the home of her son D. B., and as a group stood about her she most feelingly referred to pioneer days, when she had known the mothers of many present. As we said "good night" she said "good nights would be sad, were it not for the thought of good mornings" and one added "yes, 'good mornings' in the Father's House."
I have spoken of Judge Wood's house in another place, but Judge Wood himself should have more extended notice, since he was one of the first lawyers in Dixon, and held almost continuously some legal office, from the time he came here in 1842 till his death a few years since. His first wife was a sister of Alonzo Maxwell, a beautiful little woman and the mother of four children. His second wife was a true second mother to them and a woman of most lovely character. Her death, near the time of business reverses left him a saddened and broken-spirited man, so it is hard for those who knew him in late years only, to realize his true worth.
Daniel and Christopher Brookner came here in 1837. Daniel lived in a small house not far from the Washington house, now occupied by Mrs. Hayes, and he, with his wife and son were among the victims of the chol- era epidemic. Christopher had a cabinet and furniture store. He came to this country from Germany in 1834 and to Dixon in 1837. He is said to have sought the comfort of domestic life rather than the strife of public contest, hesitating to push himself into prominence, but his industry, re- liability and integrity gained him the respect and esteem of all who knew him. In 1846 he married Miss Jane Robinson, who had recently come here from Oberlin, Ohio, with her sister, Mrs. Chas. Weed. They were married in the house where they afterward lived, where the bride then boarded with Mrs. Alonzo Mead. The wedding was early in the morn- ing, for the bridal party were to drive to Rockford in a sleigh. One of Mrs Mead's family remembers how in the efforts of the children to get a
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peep at the ceremony through a stove-pipe hole, somebody nearly fell through, and how "old maid Cuminins" (as the veteran school ma'am was called when her back was turned) vainly tried to restore order and quiet. Mrs. Brookner remembers that there were only two or three houses on the north side of the river, and that she had seen deer skip from the south bank to the island through the clear, shallow water.
Mr. and Mrs. Brookner lived in a small cottage where Mr. Gaffney's livery stable now stands on East Main street. They built their pleasant home in North Dixon in 1861.
Up to 1849 or '50 there were no houses, except those named heretofore, the old log "block house" (about where Mr. Schatzinan's house is now) in North Dixon, and an old "store" a little above. About that time Mrs. Baker built her house, and Judge Eustace, one of the most promising young men of the town, the house now owned by Jas. B. Charters, and then North Dixon grew rapidly. From one of the family we have the following:
"This chapter would not be complete without a brief mention of the McKenney family, of which eleven children, (ten sons and a daughter) with one exception made Lee county their home. The first arrival here was D. B. McKenney, who came in 1835. In the spring of 1836 his father, Peter McKenney, came from Canada to join him, bringing with him his wife and two daughters, Eliza Ann and Catherine. 'Aunt Rhoda,' his wife, was one of the most amiable and kind hearted women ever known. She is said to have had a kind look and pleasant word for all, and no old settler refers to her without some term of respect and affection.
The next fall Daniel, Robert, John, Frederick and James came, bring- ing their families, excepting the last two. Frederick soon after married Catherine Clute in Schenectady, N. Y. "Uncle Fred," and "Auntie Fred" were the endearing names by which they were well known; both are now dead, leaving two sons and two daughters to monrn their loss. James was married on New Year's Day, 1840, to Harriet Whitney, a daughter of Col. Nathan Whitney, of Franklin Grove. He died many years since, leaving four daughters. Frederick and James carried on a grocery business until 1849. They used to tell many interesting stories of their trips to Chicago to buy goods -of sloughs with no bottom, and streets in Chicago where they had to have help to pull their wagons out of the mud with great chains. With the family of Robert McKenney came Dan- iel, Eliza and Caroline Davis and two helpers, Susan Alway and Wilmot Brown, both of whom found husbands and settled in Dixon, Eliza Davis died during her first year here, being too frail to endure pioneer life.
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Caroline married James Benjamin; leaving at her death a family of five children. Uncle Peter and his son D. B. kept the Dixon house, (which they built) for a number of years, selling out to Henry McKenney, who came with Richard from Canada, bringing with him his wife Eusebia Nash, afterward Mrs. Perry. Matthew McKenney also came at this time and died here, many years since. Richard McKenney bought a farm at Hickory Grove, where he died. The other sons, except one, and the daughter, afterward joined the family here and settled in this vicinity.
I cannot close this paper without referring to the deep impression I have received in the talks with the few remaining pioneer women' of Dixon and vicinity, on the subject of their early experiences, many of which are too sacred and personal for even these pages. There is no more convincing proof of the reality of Christian fortitude or the worth of Christian character than the story of their pioneer days. They had little idea of the career of latter-day women, but they had all the elements of character which today would have given them a high rank in any position where circumstances would have placed them. They had the spirit which inspires the true soldier, and though they did not command armies or conquer visible foes, they organized forces far less amenable to disci- pline, they fought desperate battles uncheered by martial music, and conquered enemies more unyielding, gaining for their daughters a peace- able heritage of civilization which these annals will, we trust, enable them to more fully appreciate.
SEPHIE F. G. SMITH.
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1
Our First School House.
BY DR. OLIVER EVERETT IN 1880,
(Inserted by special request.)
N looking over, recently, some old papers, I came across the subscrip- tion paper for building the first school house in Dixon, and have thought that it would not be without interest to many of our readers. This paper was got up in January, 1837, and contains many names famil- iar to the old settlers. The subscription paper read as follows: I
We, the subscribers, agree to pay the sum severally attached to our names, for the purpose of erecting a school house in the town of Dixon. Said school house shall be for the teaching of Primary schools, and shall be open for religious mectings of all denominations, when not occupied by the schools.
Said house shall be one story high and at least forty feet by twenty on the ground, and shall contain two rooms which shall be connected by a door or doors, as may be thought proper.
The subscribers shall meet on Monday, the 20th day of February next, at 6 o'clock P. M., and choose three trustees to superIntend the building of said house. The trust- ees shall have power to collect the money subscribed, contract for and purchase ma- terial for said house, and employ workmen to do the same. They shall see that it is done in a plain, workmanlike manner ; so far as the funds shall warrant.
NAME.
NAME.
NAME.
Jas. P. Dixon,
$25 00
Jobn Snyder,
5 00
Horace Thompson, 5 00
Oliver Everett,
25 00 H Martin,
5 00
Mrs. R. Dixon, 30 00
John Wilson,
25 00 W. P. Burroughs, 15 00
L. D Butler,
5 00
Caleb Talmage,
20 00 John Dixon,
20 00
M L. Dixon,
5 00
J. B. Barr,
10 00 I. S. Boardman,
10 00
Mrs. A. Talmage,
5 00
Samuel Leonard,
5 00
A friend,
5 00
Mrs. M. H. Barr,
10 00
Jacob Rue,
5 00 M. McCabe.
10 00
J. Muphey. 10 00
B. B, Brown,
5 00 Allen Wilcy,
10 00
N. W. Brown,
5 00
Samuel Gatten,
5 00 J. W. Hamilton,
5 00
S. M. Boyman,
10 00
Edwin Hine,
5 00
Geo. L. Chapman.
5 00
John Richards,
10 00
Elijah Dixon,
15 00 W. H. Rowe,
10 00
C.F. Hubbard,
5 00
Hiram P. Parks.
10 00 J. W. Dixon,
10 00
W. W. Graham.
5 00
John Q. Adams,
00 10
E. W. Covill, E. A. Statia,
5 00
John Carr,
5 00
Seth D. Brittain.
20 00 S. W. Johnson,
10 00
George Kip,
5 00
If he settles here.
Robert Murry,
10 00
Wm. Graham,
5 00
Lemuel Huff,
15 00
Sam'l C. McClure,
15 00
Alanson Dickerman
$ 5 00 Mrs. E. N. Hamilton,
25 00
T. L. Hubbard,
5 00
(Expunged)
-
5 00
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It will be noticed that many of the subscribers were persons living some distance in the country, and of those who came to the country dur- ing the next season. The reason that Father Dixon's name was not at or near the head of the list is that he was away that winter in Vandalia, the the capital of the state. It may also be noticed that the matter dragged somewhat, as such enterprises often do, and the ladies took it up, Mrs. Dixon giving the largest subscription on the list and Mrs. Hamilton a generous amount. Again it may be noticed that one John Q. Adams, not our present John Q. Adams, but an unworthy bearer of a great name, in subscribing put two 00 where the dollars ought to have been, making his subscription but 10 cents. When his attention was called toit he said it was just as he intended to have it. His name was dealt with as was fashionable at that time-it was expunged.
The old school house was built during the summer of 1837 of the size and frame specified in the subscription paper, about twenty rods west of the cemetery, on or near lot one, block sixty-nine, now occupied by Harry Smith. It was built perfectly plain, without a cornice, and enclosed with undressed oak siding and a hard wood shingle roof. The inside consisted of two rooms, one six feet by twenty extending across the end of the building, serving as an entrance way or vestibule to the main room, which was twenty by thirty-four feet, with three windows on either side and one at the end of the room opposite the entrance. It was plastered on the inside with a single coat of coarse brown mortar, and was warmed during winter with a wood fire in a large box store. In 1839 it was moved down on to the north end of lot five, block seventeen, on the east side of Ottawa street, just south of the residence of Dr. Nash, now occupied by Daniel McKenney, fronting to the north upon the alley. There it remained for several years, and was used for school house, meet- ing house and court house (the first three terms of the Circuit Court of Lee County were held in it). Elections and political meetings and con- ventions were held in it, and it was always used for whatever other pur- pose the people might congregate.
The old school house was very plain, rough and uninviting to look up- on, but there are many recollections associated with it, which are always dwelt upon by the early settlers with great interest, and should make the memory of it dear to the people of Dixon It was within its rough brown walls that the venerable and revered Bishop Chase, then Senior Bishop of the American Episcopal church, first preached to the scattered members of his fold as were hereabout, and broke to them the bread of the sacra- ment, and where Rev. James DePui, a man of rare culture and gentle
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and genial social qualities, preached for more than twelve months. It was there that the Methodist and Baptist churchies of this place were formed and nurtured in their ipfancy.
The Rev. Dr. Hitchcock and the Rev. Philo Judson, who for nearly half a century have been among the foremost laborers in the great and beneficent organization to which they belong, then in the vigor of early manhood, each preached his two years there. The Rev. Thomas Powell, a devoted missionary of the Baptist denomination, well known among the early settlers of no inconsiderable portion of the state for his indefat- igable and faithful service in the religious interest of the people, then often living remote from each other and either destitute or but poorly supplied with competent religious teachers; often held services in the old school house, and officiated at the formation of the Baptist church of Dixon. Also the Rev. Burton Carpenter, the remembrance of whose la- bors here is cherished by many of the old settlers, and who, in the high standing he afterwards attained in the denomination to which he be- longs, and in a life of great usefulness in another part of the state he has not disappointed the expectations of his early friends; commenced his labors in the ministry and preached about three years in this same old school house. During nearly the whole time religious services were held in the old school house, the Methodist and Baptist congregations occu- pied it alternate Sundays, the Methodist clergyman preaching at Inlet Grove or Sugar Grove, and Mr. Carpenter at Buffalo Grove the interven- ing Sabbaths.
In the spring of 1840 there was a convention of the Whig party of the Jo Daviess representative district, which embraced the whole north- western part of the state, held at the school house, and Thomas Druni- mond, known in this generation as Judge Drummond of the United States Court at Chicago, then a young lawyer of Galena, was nominated as a candidate for member of the House of Representatives in the State Leg- islature. He represented an extent of territory now constituting nearly two congressional districts. Among the teachers in the old school house was the late lamented W. W Heaton, whom the citizens of Dixon have seen rise by his industry and legal acquirements from the school mas- ter's chair to the bench.
In the beginning of the year 1843 the Methodist church was finished and dedicated and the court house was so far completed that the courts were held in it and was used for religious and political meetings, and the old school house fell into comparative disuse.
1
Our Schools at an Early Day.
D URING the first few years after the settlement of the place there were, of course, no schools, as there were not a sufficient number of children to support one, but Mr. Dixon kept up a family school, more or less regularly, for the education of his own children, and em- ployed for this purpose a young lady from Bureau county, by the name of Butler. This was the only school taught in this region until the year 1838. The previous year the citizens here erected a school house on a spot not far from where Mrs. Truman now resides, and the first school was opened in 1838 by Mr. Bicknell. It was small and supported by individual tuition fees. For the next two or three years this school house was used for a variety of purposes, being the only public building in the town.
In 1840 Mr. Bowen was in charge of the school for a short time, but by his own indiscretion shortened his stay. Concerning his ability as a teacher I have been able to learn but little. One incident, however, will serve to show why he did not prolong his term He one day gave notice that he wished his pupils to come early the next morning, as he had a great natural curiosity to exhibit to them. Mr. Bowen then prepared to fulfill his part of the contract, and the next morning he climbed up through the scuttle and located himself there in the character of a bear, making all kinds of grimaces in close imitation of that exceedingly beautiful (?) animal as the pupils entered. Boys were boys then, as now, and ever will be, I doubt not, and were not slow to seize so good an opportunity for some fun. They accordingly pronounced him a bear indeed, and forthwith commenced an attack upon the savage animal with clubs and poles, so that poor bruin was unable to descend and again assume his human form. This gave rise to so much ridicule and sport that Mr. Bowen could never recover his pedagogical dignity, and was finally compelled to abandon the school.
In the winter of 1841-42 W. W. Heaton, then a young lawyer, taught the school, receiving, like his predecessors, compensation for tuition, and this not always in money, as corn, pork, potatoes, or any other product
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that could be used in a family, were gladly given and received for the labors and trials of the teacher. In this time the number of pupils had largely increased, so that in number and efficiency the school was now quite creditable. Among those attending school that year were: Orlando and Jane Ann Herrick (Mrs. H. T. Noble,) George Foot and Mrs. D. B. McKenney.
Mr. Heaton's path seems to have been no smoother than that of the teacher of the present day, and corporal punishment was not discarded then, any more than now, as the following will show. Having severely castigated one of the boys, the father became very much enraged, and made bitter complaints to O. F. Ayres, then one of the school directors, and threatened to wreak summary vengence on "that little stripling up there in that school." Such direful calamity was, however, averted through the intercession of Mr. Ayres, and the exasperated parent has ever since been a firm friend to Judge Heaton. The Judge's disciplinary powers were excellent, as some other of his pupils can testify from sor- rowful experience.
About this time a dispute arose as to the title of the lot on which the school house stood; the party claiming the lot also insisting upon holding the building. This view of the matter was not at all pleasing to the tax payers of the district, and not having the utmost confidence in the promptness or justice of the courts, they sought a solution of thedifficulty by a more summary process. They determined, while night's sable man- tle was drawn over earthly scenes, that, by spiritual or muscular power, or both, they would cause the said school building to remove from this disputed territory to a more secure abiding place. John Hogan, Esq., now ex-member of congress from St. Louis, originated, planned and con- ducted the enterprise, aided largely by A. L. Porter, who as all know, was well calculated to assist in such work. N. G. H. Morrill was on hand to superintend the special work of removal, and then exhibited the same skill in the business that he has shown so many times since. On that memorable night he took some of his first lessons in the business of removals, which he has since followed faithfully to the present time. Mr. Heaton was roused from his midnight slumbers to be present, and see that the business should be done in a strictly legal (?) manner, and many of our citizens yet remember the gentle tap at their windows that night, and the mysterious whisper, "We're all ready!" and with the alacrity of veterans they obeyed the call. The expedition, under charge of the above named officers, and with full ranks, proceeded in the still- ness of the night to the scene of conflict. No rattle of the drum, nor
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roar of cannon stirred the midnight air, as with the firmness of despera- tion they proceeded to accomplish their design. But when the building slid over the line of the disputed lot and was landed securely on undis- puted soil, the evening skies echoed to three hearty cheers from the vic- tors. The morning sun looked down upon the scene and saw the build- ing quietly resting on peaceful soil, where it was used for some time there- after for school purposes. It was afterwards removed to the lot now occupied by S. S. Dodge's jewelry store, and having been used as a gro- cery, hardware and drug store, was finally consumed in the great fire of 1858.
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