The History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion history of the Northwest, history of Illinois Constitution of the United States, Part 60

Author: Kett, H.F., & co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Chicago : H.F. Kett & co.
Number of Pages: 878

USA > Illinois > Jo Daviess County > The History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion history of the Northwest, history of Illinois Constitution of the United States > Part 60

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MISCELLANEOUS.

The City of Dunleith was first incorporated under the general laws of the state in 1856. The first election for town officers was held on Wednesday, April 8, of the same year, when the following named citizens were chosen to the several offices :

Trustees .- Charles Bogy (brother of the late U. S. Senator Bogy, of Mis- souri), James A. Campbell, John Smith, William E. Boone, and James Currie.

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HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.

At the first meeting of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Bogy was chosen president; Charles Wheeler, clerk ; James Garnick, treasurer and assessor, and William Pittam, marshal and collector.

Up to 1865, the City of Dunleith belonged to Menominee Township, which covered an area of forty-five sections of land. On the 2d day of March, of that year, a petition was presented to the Board of Supervisors, signed by numerous citizens of Menominee Township, praying for a division of the township, and the erection of the Township of Dunleith out of the western part of Menominee. The petition provided that the dividing line should commence at the state (Wisconsin) line at the corner of fractional sections 14 and 15, town 29 north, range 2 west, thence running due south on section lines to the Mississippi River, at the southeast corner of section 3, town 28 north, range 2 west, and that all that part of Menominee lying east of that line should continue to be called Menominee, and that all west of that line, to the Mississippi River should be known and designated as Dunleith Township.

The petition was accepted, when Mr. Marfield moved to lay the petition on the table until the afternoon session, but the motion was lost. Mr. Gear then moved that the prayer of the petitioners be granted. The ayes and nays being called, the vote stood as follows :

Ayes .- Messrs. Bennett, Duffy, Heinlen, Stratt, Lorrain, Brendel, Switzer, Furlong, Napper, Jewell, Woodworth, Mars, Gear, Tyrrell, Haws, Wier, Deeds, Campbell, Edgerton Ginn-20.

Nays .- Messrs. Gray, Marfield, Luning, Laird, Morse, Townsend, Green, Wingart-8.

So the prayer of the petitioners was granted, and the Township of Dun- leith established.

From the date of the completion of the railroad to Dunleith, June 1, 1855, to the completion of the tunnel and bridge in the Fall of 1868, there was a pretty steady increase of population, and the citizens-those interested in busi- ness-felt the need of a better system of local government than that provided by the general laws of the state for the incorporation of towns and villages. Public meetings were held, and the matter thoroughly discussed. Finally, in pursu- ance of a resolution of the Board of Trustees, A. Switzer, with the legal assist- ance of Attorney Weigley, of Galena, drafted a charter which was submitted to the Legislature through Representative Platt, and in February, 1865, the charter was approved and granted, since when the city has been subject to its pro- visions, Mr. Switzer being chosen first mayor thereunder. He was re-elected in 1866, and again elected in 1868-serving, in all, three terms. He was also the first supervisor elected from Dunleith Township after it was set off from Menominee in 1865.

DUNLEITH LAND COMPANY .- What was known as the Dunleith Land Company succeeded the Proprietors of Dunleith in 1863, their articles of incor- poration being filed July 20, of that year. This company was composed of Jonathan Sturgis, E. Bement, John H. Thompson, George Griswold, Theodore A. Neal. Theodore A. Neal, president, and R. E. Odell, secretary. The old company, known as the Proprietors of Dunleith, had been dissolved, and the property (unsold) divided. Four members of the new company had been members of the original Town Company, and when the new company was organized the remaining property was divided into six equal shares, four shares of which were held by the four members of the old company. The other two shares were held by Dubuque parties-one of whom was Charles Gregoire, who transferred his interest to R. E. Odell and C. S. Burt. The other one sixth interest was held by Hon. George W. Jones, who has since sold off the larger share thereof, and now owns but a very small interest. In February, 1868, the Dunleith Land Company sold their entire interest to C. S. Burt, who retains the property and its management.

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HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.

When the town was first laid off, the Proprietors of Dunleith failed to record that part of the town plat north of Sinsinawa avenue, but made sales of sundry lots along the base of the bluffs, as well as upon their sides and sum- mits, a negligence that involved the proprietors in some litigation, in 1856, when the corporate authorities brought suit against them for a violation of the laws in such cases made and provided, resulting in a finding and heavy costs against the company.

FLOODS .- Dunleith has been three times visited by disastrous floods. Wisconsin Avenue comes down a narrow ravine from the north, which, in times of heavy rains, quickly becomes a rapid, roaring current. About four o'clock on the afternoon of September 9, 1875, a tremendous rain storm passed over this section, falling in torrents, and quickly filling every little channel upon the hillsides, these little channels, or sluice-ways, carried the water into Wis- consin Avenue, which soon became a resistless sea. Gathering force from the steep bluffs, it dashed on, sweeping every thing before it, and plunging into Switzer's store room, filled the interior above the counters, tearing down the shelves, overturning boxes, sweeping down packages and piles of goods and threatening general destruction. Maguire's store, on the opposite side of Sinsinawa Avenue, at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue, and the stores above, on the west side of the last named thoroughfare, shared in the same visitation of destruction. By this flood and a subsequent one in 1876 Switzer lost about five thousand dollars' worth of goods, wares, etc., and Mayor Maguire lost very nearly the same amount.

March 10, 1876, another calamity of the same character was visited upon Dunleith, doing serious damage to every thing within its reach. At Hazel Green, Wisconsin, a few miles north of east from Dunleith, this rain storm was accompanied by a terrific hurricane or tornado, that killed nine persons, besides doing incalculable damage to property. Houses were lifted from the ground, carried up into the air and then dashed to pieces against the earth. A wagon and a pair of horses were taken up and carried high into the air, almost out of sight, and hurled to the earth a mass of debris and lifeless carcasses.

The night of July 4, 1876, a third flood rolled down upon the city and startled the people from their slumber and rest. The same night, Rock Dale, on Catfish Creek, Iowa, only a few miles to the south west of Dunleith, was over- whelmed by a rush of waters, forty-two lives destroyed and many houses washed away, and many others dashed to pieces. On the morning of the 5th, desola- tion and mourning filled the little valley village, which, on America's Centen- nial Day, had been so full of life and bustling activity.

These three floods have seldom had their counterpart or equal in volume and destruction in any part of the country, and never in Northwestern Illinois.

School Directors of Different School Districts in Dunleith Township, Town 29, Range 2 West of the fourth Principal Meridian, 1877-School Dist. No. 1, John Buckley, Charles S. Burt, John B. Chapman; D)ist. No. 2, Sylvester Long, Harmon Brummer, Renier Schermann; Dist. No. 3, Francis Kruse, David Foltz, Sterns D. Platt; Dist. No. 4, Henry N. Frentress, Henry Lutters, John Shulting.

Teachers Employed in Township, 1877-Robert Hayes, Dist. No. 1 ; H. P. Caverly, Carmine Daggett, Katie Paul, Julia Joy, Philip Maguire, Dist. No., 2 ; James Maguire, Dist. No. 3; Maria E. Culton, Dist., No. 4.

School Treasurer, 1877-Thomas Maguire.

Dunleith Township Officers, 1877-Supervisor, Charles S. Burt; Town Clerk, Charles Mayer; Assessor, Henry Smith ; Collector, James Farnan ; Com- missioners of Highways, Merritt Platt, Henry N. Frentress, Herbert Rees ; Constables, John Buckley, Anthony Dames; Justices of the Peace, John Staudenmayer, Henry Smith.

Dunleith City Officers, 1877 .- Mayor, Thomas Maguire ; Aldermen, George

HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.

555

Most, William Quinlan, Joseph Whatmore, Anthony Thielen; Marshal, John D. Clise; City Treasurer, William P. Ennor; Street Commissioner, Theophilus Dames, Sr.

SCALES MOUND.

In 1826, when the tide of immigration was drifting towards the lead mines of northwestern Illinois, a party of men, consisting of two brothers, named Watson, Joshua Streeter and three sons, John Wood, a Mr. Brigham, Mr. Blane and a few others, discovered the mines of the upper East Fork. They stopped there, built cabins and mined for four or five years. These men can not properly be considered as settlers of Scales Mound Township, as they left their families at other places, to which they would make frequent trips, and seemed to regard these mines as but a temporary location.

In 1827, Mr. Conrad Lichtenburger came from Pennsylvania, with his family, and settled in that vicinity. In 1828, the second permanent settler, Elijah Charles, also with a family, built a house at the base of the mound .*

The first agricultural pursuits were followed in this township by these two pioneers. Among other early settlers were Wm. McMath and Abel Proctor, who built cabins near Mr. Lichtenburger, in 1827. Mr. Proctor was one of the prominent residents of the county for many years, holding at times the offices of County Commissioner and Justice of the Peace. He is now a resident of Iowa.

The first child known to have been born in this frontier settlement was Mary M. Lichtenburger, on April 4, 1828, and the first death occurred in the same family, March 29, 1831, when Harriet Lichtenburger died at the age of seventeen years.

In 1830, Samuel H. Scales purchased the claim and cabin of John L. Sole, who had lived there nearly two years, and built a public house near the base of the mound, which is now known by his name. This tavern was on the his- torical "Sucker Trail" over which, afterwards, passed the Chicago & Galena stage line, and it was kept, in succession, by Scales, Moffett, Cowgill and Mop- pin. For many years after the village of Scales Mound was built, on the rail- road, nearly a mile from the old tavern. the mound was generally distinguished by the name of " Maupin's Mound." It has now, however, reverted to its old title.

The name of Jesse W. Shull is prominent in the record of this county. He came to the mining regions in 1819, and roamed with Indians for many years. In 1831, Mr. Shull settled on a farm near the mound and continued to live there, raising a large family of boys. Though he had for years been on the most intimate terms with the Indians, he proved a true friend to his white brethren when the settlement was obliged to seek protection in the fort, during the Black Hawk War.

MINES .- In June, 1835, Mr. Lichtenburger discovered a rich vein of lead which soon became of considerable note in the county. On account of the gambling miners who flocked there, they were soon known as the " Black Leg Diggings," a name which they continued to carry. This, with the East Fork leads are the only mines which have been successfully worked in the township. In the Summer of 1836, one range of the Black Leg Diggings yielded nearly two mil- lion tons of mineral. A small village soon sprang up at this place, to which was given the high-sounding name of " Veta Grand." A tavern was opened by a Mr. Bonus ; goods were sold by Mr. Hovey and Mr. Dixon, although Bennett & Shin started the first store. In 1845, a school house was built and afterwards a Methodist Church. With the decline of the mines the village became depopu-

* This mound was ascertained by the civil engineers of the Illinois Central Railroad, to be the highest point of land in the state.

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HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.

lated, though the Scales Mound minister has continued to hold services in the church. Hon. H. S. Magoon now operates the East Fork mines, which yield about 5,000 pounds of mineral per month.

But to return to an account of the pioneer farmers. They soon found need for a school house, and in 1831 the first one was built near the state line, and was opened to the children by George Cubbage, as teacher. In the same year divine services were held at the house of Elijah Charles, by Rev. Thonias, of New Diggins, Wisconsin, who thereafter preached occasionally in the new school house.

Before the adoption of the township system, the precinct elections were held at the house of F. C. Maupin. When the township system came into operation, the voting place was changed to the village.

In the Fall of 1852, the people of Jo Daviess voted to adopt the township system. At a subsequent session of the county court, Messrs. Charles Bennett, G. N. Townsend and David T. Barr, were appointed Commissioners, for the purpose of dividing the county into townships and defining their several bound- ary lines. At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors, in 1855, some alterations were made in certain boundary lines, and a new township created, called Scales Mound, in honor of Samuel H. Scales, who was an enterprising and influential citizen, and who died in the Fall of 1877. The boundaries of this township were defined as follows :

Commencing on the state line at the northeast corner of section 13, town 29, range 2 east, thence west along the state line four miles to the northwest corner of section 16 ; thence due south on the section line, to the southwest corner of section 33 ; thence east, along the township line four miles, to the southeast corner of section 36; thence due north to the state line, or place of beginning, to be called Scales Mound.

The first supervisor elected in this township was F. C. Maupin, Esq.

SCALES MOUND VILLAGE .- In 1848, a man named Dunning entered the land on which the village stands. It was laid out in September, 1853, by Josiah Conlee and B. B. Provost. When the railroad passed through, in 1854, Sher- man Eddy established a store for the supply of railroad employes, miners and farmers. This was followed by a few houses, among them a blacksmith shop, by Thomas Davy. In 1854 and 1855, the Methodist Church was built, and in the next year the school house was erected. In 1859, George Allan started a general'store, which was continued until his death, in 1864, and has since been continued by his brother, James Allan, who also does a produce shipping busi- ness. In 1873, Joseph Tangye established a general store, and in 1875 another one was opened by Thomas McNulty. These constitute the principal stores of the village.

The first hotel was built in 1856, at a cost of $6,000, by Dunston, Pryor & Roberts, and was managed by Henry Roberts. There are now three hotels. In 1857, Joseph Conlee erected, just northwest of the village, a tall, round, stone wind-mill, but it proved a poor speculation and has been vacant for many years.

July 14, 1877, a meeting was held to consider the propriety of incorpora- ting the village under the general law of the state, at which 38 votes were cast for, and 4 against, the proposed incorporation. The village was consequently incorporated.

The following officers were elected at a meeting held soon after :

Trustees-George Hawk, President ; James Allan, James A. Adams, James Carey, Moses Bushby and H. M. Fowler.

The first Clerk was Edgar Wilkins; Treasurer, A. J. Hawkins.

These officers are still in power, except Mr. Hawkins, who recently re- moved. The vacancy thus created was filled by the election of Mr. Wilkins.

The present Postmaster is H. M. Fowler, the first one having been F. C. Maupin.

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HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.

The township organization is as follows :- Supervisor, Thomas Knucky; Assessor, Robert Robson ; Collector, Thomas Allinson, Commissioners of High- ways, James Carr, Benj. Lyon and Wm. Gummo; Notary Public and Justice of the Peace, John Moore.

Schools, Churches, Etc .- The first school was taught by Joshua Hawk- ins in 1855. The house in which it was held was of that primitive kind which is aptly described by the term " shanty." The present two-story brick building was built in 1855-'6. It embraces two departments which are taught by J. W. Wilcox and Robert Lindsey.

The Methodist Church was built, as has been stated, in 1854-'5. It is of stone, seats about 200 persons, and cost $1,800. Rev. John L. Williams officiated at its dedication, though the first regular pastor was Rev. Summer- sides. The following is a list of pastors, in their order: Rev. James Lawson, Rev. Avermill, Rev. Kellogg, Rev. Devinan, Rev. Cooley, Rev. McCutchin, Rev. Joseph Crummer, Rev. J. T. Cooper, Rev. T. H. Helliwell, Rev. Isaac Springer, Rev. Henry Springer, Rev. Benj. Close, and Rev. F. F. Farmiloe, the present minister. H. Martin was first Superintendent of the Sabbath- school, which was organized in 1855. The present Superintendent is Joseph Tangye. It has a membership of 65, while the church membership numbers 125. There is a good parsonage, costing $600, in connection with the church.

The German Presbyterian Church was purchased in 1860, from a society of Americans, who were unable to longer support and maintain a pastor. Its value at that time was about $1,000. The first elders of the new organization were Geo. Rittweger and John Reteldorf. Its ministers have been, Rev. Kolb, Rev. John Schwartz, Rev. Jacob Liesveld, Rev. J. Funk, concluding with the present pastor, Rev. F. Schwabe.

Their Sabbath-school was organized in 1871, by John Boell, who still re- mains its Superintendent.

The Catholic Church organization was effected in 1853, and continued to be held in private houses until 1868, when a brick store-room, built by Mr. Covey, was purchased and used until 1874. At that time the present brick church was erected on the old site. Father Balley, of Galena, has officiated for them during the past fifteen years.

The organizations of Scales Mound are concluded with their Lyceum, which was established in 1856, by George Allan, John Conlee, J. M. Conlee and Silas Corey. Though it was for a time suspended, its long existence en- titles it to a place in history. Its present officers are : Prest., John Allan ; Vice Prest., Henry Roberts, Secretary, J. W. Wilcox.

NORA.

The first settler was Garrett Garner, who located a claim on section seven, which is now included in the farms owned by Samuel and Tilman H. Dobler. The following year Garner sold his claim to Asher Miner, and removed to Wisconsin, where he died a few years ago. To Asher Miner, the second permanent settler, belongs a large meed of credit for many of the undertakings of the township and the high character it has always sustained. He was a man of sterling worth, and highly esteemed by his neighbors and acquaintances for his clear sense of honor. In early life he was a resident of Ontario County, New York, but subsequently removed to Alleghany County in that state, and after a few years' residence there, emigrated to Jo Daviess county and settled in this township. He died in the village of Nora, October 11, 1867.

To Sarah B. Miner, daughter of the pioneer above named, belongs the honor of teaching the first school in the township. It was a subscription school, and was taught in the log house of her father in the Fall of 1846. This house

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HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.

was the first one built in the township, and a portion of it is still standing at this date, January, 1878.

The first marriage in the township was between Miss Jane Miner, another daughter of Asher Miner, and Sylvanus Crowell. They were married April, 1841. " Aunt Jane Crowell" (as by that name she is best known in Nora, where she resides) is now sixty-two years of age, and beloved and highly respected by all who know her, and to her the writer is largely indebted for the early history of the township. Her memory is remarkably clear and accurate as to incidents and dates, and her mind well informed upon what has transpired since her girlhood days.

A Mr. Shaw and Seth Post came to the county in the Fall of 1836. Post made a claim in the town of Rush, but Shaw did not select a claim until after they had gone back to Alleghany County, New York, and he returned with his family. When they started back to New York, Mr. Post left his two sons, Alonzo and Joseph, in charge of his claim and other property here, and during his absence "the boys " were very industrious in settling the house in order against the coming of their father, mother and the rest of the family, a coming they were destined never to realize.

When the two families were ready to leave New York for new homes in the west, they hired their passage on a lumber raft from Olean Point, which was bound for Cincinnati via Pittsburg. This raft not only conveyed the two families, but all their household goods, and one span of horses and wagon belonging to Mr. Shaw. Shaw was to come overland with his team from Cincinnati, while Post was to come by water to Galena. Arriving in Cincinnati, Post took passage on the steamer Moselle, and just as they were rounding the outer pier, the boiler exploded, killing Mr. Post, his wife and two children. This caused Mr. Shaw to remain until the goods belonging to the two families (which had been shipped on the steamer) could be saved. This delayed Mr. Shaw so that he did not arrive here until late in the Spring, and the duty of imparting to the Post brothers, who were "watching and waiting" for father, mother and little ones, the sad intelligence of the terrible calamity that rendered them parentless, was one that he would gladly have had imposed upon others. But there was no other to discharge that duty, and with a heavy heart and in trembling accents, he related to the griefstricken sons and brothers a full account of the terrible scenes attending the fatal boiler explosion.

After Shaw's arrival, he selected a claim on section 18, now the beautiful and attractive home of his son, J. P. Shaw. Alonzo and Joseph Post, the two sons of Seth Post, made a claim on section 19, just opposite that selected by Mr. Shaw. They have since pushed on "out West," and their whereabouts are unknown.

George W. Wiley, a Tennessean, came to the county in 1827, and after drifting around a while and participating in the Black Hawk War in 1832, made a claim on section 21, in the northeast part of the township, in 1836. The same season he commenced breaking and improving his claim, and in 1838 moved to and occupied it, and has made it his permanent home ever since.

Another economical, prudent old settler is Fordice M. Rogers, who located a claim in section 33, on 1841, built a little log cabin, but which long since gave way to a large and palatial like dwelling. Mr. Rogers was the first supervisor after the adoption of the township organization system, and is now township treasurer, an office he has held for twenty-seven consecutive years.

The four Simmons brothers and their families came to the township almost simultaneously with Mr. Rogers, and settled in the southwestern corner of the township. These brothers have always proven themselves honest, industrious, pushing farmers ; their farms are adjoining each other, and for several years past they have raised large crops of tobacco, which is the principal product of the township.

- VL

d. H. vier

NORA TOWNSHIP.

THE LIBRARY CY THE

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HISTORY OF JO DAVIESS COUNTY.

From 1845 to 1849, immigration was heavy, and however willingly we would give the names of each successive settler, we find it impossible to do so, hence we mention only a few-not because there are none others equally as worthy of public mention, but because we have not the requisite space. There were Austin Warner, father of George and Goodwin Warner, and Cyrus Puck- ett, father of most of the Puckett families of the township. Captain George B. Stanchfield, was also among the early settlers, and was the founder of the Vil- lage of Nora. Not only has Captain Stanchfield been a warm supporter of the public enterprises of the village, but has always taken an active part in all matters pertaining to the advancement of the township of his home. His, to guide, and other kindred spirits to co-operate, has made Nora one of the best townships in the county. Although Mr. Stanchfield has retired from active participation in public affairs, his many good deeds and valuable services are not forgotten.

Among the active political and educational workers, may be mentioned the names T. Clarkson, Puckett, S. K. Miner, Robert M. Wilson and Alfonso E. Ricker. The acknowledged excellence of the high school and the public schools in general, and the brilliant success of the Nora Lecture course, is at- tributed to the energy, intelligence and enterprise of these gentlemen. Mr. Forest Turner, another citizen, has also had the honor to represent this people in the lower branch of the State Legislature, having been elected in 1874.

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The History of Jo Daviess County, Illinois, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion history of the Northwest, history of Illinois Constitution of the United States, Part 60

Author: Kett, H.F., & co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Chicago : H.F. Kett & co. Number of Pages: 878

Author: Kett, H.F., & co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Chicago : H.F. Kett & co.
Number of Pages: 878