USA > Illinois > Stephenson County > The History of Stephenson County, Illinois : containing biographical sketches war record statistics portraits of early settlers history of the Northwest, history of Illinois, &c. > Part 25
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
County, say those who were here in those days, but reserved for their benefit twenty years later, when the East and West were threatened with financial ruin by the monetary difficulties which overran the country in 1857.
A cursory review of the situation in the county, from the day when William Waddams came into what was then a part of Jo Daviess County, to the organi- zation of the county by legislative enactment, not five years after, reveals a condition of affairs as changed as they were singularly wonderful and encour- aging. During that period the number of inhabitants had increased in a remarkable degree. Wild and untrodden prairies had been resolved into farms under a comparatively high state of cultivation. Houses had been built of a more imposing character than Mr. Waddams believed would appear in the ensuing decade, forests had been felled, roads surveyed and towns laid out ; the water power applied to beneficial uses and "internal improvements " contem- plated, which should appreciate the value of property, increase the attractions offered immigrants and accomplish the greatest good for the greatest number. This was the situation when spring opened in 1837, and active operations were begun by the people.
The first marriage to occur in the county is a question involved in doubt. Some maintain that the ceremony took place in Ransomburg during the year 1836, while others assert it was postponed until a year later. The couple united at Ransomburg is said to have been a Mr. Gage and Melindy Eels. The fact, however, is claimed by old settlers about Winslow, that the marriage of Dr. W. G. Bankson to Phobe Macomber took place in the fall of 1836, and if any wedding had preceded that in the county they are unfamiliar with the contracting parties. A colporteur or Squire Waddams officiated upon this latter occasion, but who attended in a similar capacity at the marriage of Mr. Gage and Miss Eels, is not susceptible of proof.
The first death is quoted as occurring the same year, also the first birth. The former was a son of Lemuel Streator, in the township of Winslow, and the latter, as already referred to, was Amanda Waddams, the date of her com- ing being during the month of February.
All of these events came to pass prior to the separation of the county from Jo Daviess, to which they properly belong, and are only mentioned in this connection as evidence of the fact that life, marriage and death visited the homes of settlers, and that grief and joy, pleasure and sorrow, were as freely distributed as in the days which have followed.
With the advance that had been made in the five years mentioned, the peo- ple were proud. Though few in number they thanked God for it; they thanked Him that their lives were cast in such pleasant places ; they felt that their homes were established, whence they would not depart from until the summons came to join the innumerable throng marching to that mysterious realm in the dim land of dreams, and, with quiet, genial, loving promptings, united in a common cause, they contemplated the future, not as children con- template the darkness of the night, but full of hope for the days that were yet hidden in its unfathomable depth.
Up to the spring of 1837 there was no civil organization among the settlers, the territory, as has been stated, being under the jurisdiction of Jo Daviess County, though, as one of the chroniclers details, but few of them knew it. The differences arising between them, when any occurred, proceeding from the disputes engendered regarding the boundaries of claims. How these were dis- posed of when arbitration failed of adjustment is known, sometimes summarily but without litigation. Industry, frugality and hospitality were the ruling
P. Manny
FREEPORT.
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
maxims among them, and they lived together in peace. Though without many of the accessories of civilization, or the comforts of life, many live to-day who regret that those days of trial and adventure are past, and the rude cabin with. the rifle hanging above the entrance, possess a charm for them unspeakable.
On the 4th of March, 1837, the Legislature, then in session at Vandalia, passed an act providing for the organization of the county, as follows :
SECTION 1 .- Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly, That all tract of that country within the following boundaries, to wit : commencing on the northern boundery of the State where the section line between sections three and four, in town twenty-nine north, range five, east of the fourth principal meridian strikes said line, and thence east on the northern boundary of the State, to the range line between ranges nine and ten east, thence south on said range line to the northern boundary of Ogle County, thence west on the northern boundary of Ogle County to and passing the northeast corner of the county, to the line between sections thirty-three and thirty-four, in township twenty-six north, range five east to the place of beginning, shall form a county to be called Stephenson, as a tribute of respect to the late Col. Benjamin Stephenson.
SEC. 2-An election shall be held at the house of William Baker, in said county, on the first' Monday of May next, for one Sheriff, one Coroner, one Recorder, one County Surveyor, three County Commissioners, and one Clerk of the County Commissioner's Court, who shall hold their offices until the next succeeding general elections, and until their successors are elected and qualified; which said election shall be conducted in all respects agreeable to the provisions of the law regulating elections. Provided, That the qualified voters present may elect from their own number three qualified voters to act as judges of said election, who shall appoint two qualified voters to act as clerks.
By a further provision of this act, the counties of Stephenson and Boone con rived to form a part of the county of Jo Daviess until their organization, and they were also afterwards to be attached to Jo Daviess in all general elec- tions, until otherwise provided for by law.
In pursuance of this act, an election was accordingly held at the house of William Baker on the first Monday of May, 1837, at which James W. Fowler, Thomas J. Turner and Orleans Daggett were selected as judges, with Benjamin Goddard and John C. Wickham as Clerks. The total number of votes cast was 121. William Kirkpatrick was elected Sheriff; Lorenzo Lee, Coroner ; Oestes H. Wright, Commissioner's Clerk and Recorder ; Lemuel W. Streator, Isaac S. Forbes and Julius Smith, Commissioners, and Frederick D. Bukley, County Surveyor. Of these, the first officers of Stephenson County, Fred- rick D. Bukley alone survives, the remainder, it is believed, having crossed over the river, are resting beneath the trees that line its banks. On the 8th of May, the County Commissioners' Court convened according to law, at which the officers elected the week previous qualified, after which the Court proceeded to lay off the county into election precincts and dispose of other business de- manding its attention. During the session of the Court, a drunken man who was noisy and pugnacious was arrested by Sheriff Kirkpatrick and locked up in William Baker's root house, where he was kept until the liquor had spent its force, when he was discharged. If to-day an inebriated warrior in pursuit of trouble and gore should collide with an officer of the law, he would be furnished with quarters in the calaboose, and when sober charged for his accommodations at rates that would astonish the economical tipstaff of 1837.
Among other orders entered on the Commissioners' book upon that memor- able occasion, was one prohibiting inn-keepers from charging more than 37} cents for a meal, 12} cents for a night's lodging, 25 cents for a measure of oats, and the same price for a horse to hay over night. That order, it is believed, has never been repealed, but is never enforced and has become a dead letter. The electoral precincts, as then laid off, were as follows :-
Rock Grove Precinct began at the northeast corner of the county and ran south six miles, thence west nine miles, thence north to the State line, thence
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
on the line to the place of beginning. Jonathan Cora, J. R. Blackamore and Eli Frankeberger were appointed Judges.
Silver Creek Precinct commenced at the southeast corner of Rock Grove Precinct and ran south to the south line of the county, thence seven miles west, thence north, striking the line of Rock Grove Precinct, thence east to the place of beginning. Horace Colburn, N. Salsbury and Philo Hammond, Judges.
Brewster Precinct commenced at the northwest corner of Rock Grove Pre- cinct, running south six miles, west eleven miles, north to the State line and east to the place of beginning. L. R. Hull, John M. Curtiss and N. C. Ran- som, Judges.
Central Precinct commenced at the northwest corner of Silver Creek Pre- cinct, ran south five miles, west thirteen miles, north to the southwest corner of Brewster Precinct, thence east to the place of beginning. Ira Jones, Levi Lucas and Alpheus Goddard, Judges.
Waddams Precinct commenced at the northwest corner of Brewster Precinct, ran south to the south line of the county, thence west on the county line to the west line, north on the line to the north line of the county, and east to the place of beginning. John Garner, William Waddams and Othniel Preston were appointed Judges.
Freeport Precinct began at the southeast corner of Central Precinct, ran south to the south line of the county, west to the east line of Waddams Pre- cinct, north to the south line of Central Precinct, and east to the place of begin- ning, with Seth Scott, A. M. Preston and L. O. Crocker, Judges.
The act creating the county also authorized Vance L. Davidson, Isaac Cham- bers and Miner York to locate the county seat, appointing them Commissioners for that purpose; and as soon as their appointment, together with the object, was promulgated, the fun began in earnest as to where the court house should be located. Propositions for the county seat were submitted from all parts of the county where any approach to a settlement had been made, and the advantages offered by the several claimants were no doubt urged with a pertinacity that equalled eloquence. The principal rivalry, however, existed between Cedarville, then in futuro, and Freeport, which by this time contained as many as half a dozen houses, a store, saloon, hotel and other adjuncts of progress. On behalf of the former place its locality was urged as one of the principal arguments. It would, when built up, occupy the center of the county, within easy reach of the most distant citizen. In addition to this, there were other features of excel- lence which were not presented by Freeport or any other mooted point. But the claims of the latter place carried the day, the argument advanced by William Baker being that the site for the court-house should be donated, sup- plemented by the assurance that each of the Commissioners should receive a lot. This inducement, the Rev. F. C. Winslow thought, influenced the judgment of the Commissioners, and biased their decision in making the award. At all events, they concluded upon Freeport as the most available site, and in June, 1837, issued the following proclamation as the result of their deliberations :
We, the Commissioners appointed by the Legislature of the State of Illinois, to locate the county seat of Stephenson County and State aforesaid, have located said Seat of Justice, on the northwest quarter of Section 31, in Township 27, north, Range 8, east of the Fourth Prin- cipal Meridian, now occupied and claimed by William Kirkpatrick & Co., William Baker and Smith Galbraith.
Whereunto we have set our hands and seals this 12th day of June, A. D. 1837.
(Signed,) V. L. DAVIDSON. ISAAC CHAMBERS.
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
When the agony was over the people returned to their usual avocations, and though it was alleged that the Commissioners had acted inequitably in the premises, no one has been found, in the light of subsequent events, to condemn the policy adopted on that occasion.
The next most important event in the history of the times, was the first marriage solemnized according to law after the county was organized, and requiring the issue of a licence to make it legally binding.
The parties to the contract were Eunice, daughter of William Waddams, and George Place. The happy couple selected the anniversary of American In- dependance, 1837, for the celebration of their nuptials, and enlisted the services of Levi Robey, Esq., then acting as a Justice of the Peace. He tied the knot presumably with neatness and despatch, and Mrs. Place yet lives to relate the fact. She says there were no jollifications had upon this memorable occasion ; that she and her consort continued on the even tenor of their way, and never regretted the benediction which made them one. She now lives in the house her father built forty-eight years ago, on the road from Nora to McConnell's Grove, enjoying a ripe old age and all the comforts to which she was then a stranger. On the 24th of the same month James Blair was married to Kate Marsh at the residence of James Timms. William Ensign opened a school in Mr. Timms' residence the same summer-probably the first school taught in the county after it was laid off. On May 24, of this year, Harvey M. Timms came to light in his father's cabin, and is generally distinguished as the first birth. The first deaths reported were those of Thomas Milburn and a man named Reed; who had but recently come into the county, and their tragic ending caused feelings of sympathy and gloom to prevail in the neighborhood where the accident by which they met their fate occurred.
It seems that they were employed in cultivating a corn patch a short dis- tance west of the present village of Ridott, on the opposite side of the Pecaton- ica, which they were accustomed to cross when proceeding to work, by means of a "dug out." One morning in the spring of 1837, the men, accompanied by a step-son of Thomas Crain, embarked in their treacherous ferry and shoved out into the stream. During the passage the unwieldy barque capsized, precipitat- ing the unfortunate trio into the swollen waters. Reed and Milburn were una- ble to swim and sank to the bottom, while Wooten, the young man who started with them, reached the opposite shore, narrowly escaping the end which attended his companions. The survivor hurried to arouse the settlers, who hastened to the scene of the accident, and, after dragging the river without results for sev- eral hours, finally recovered the bodies. The only hearse procurable was a large emigrant wagon, in which, drawn by a yoke of oxen, they were taken to the highest and dryest spot near by, a grave dug, and they laid reverently in. Hazel brush was placed on the bodies, and the grave filled up. A few days after, one who had assisted at the burial, on going to the grave, found that prairie wolves had dug in so far as to bring up a portion of the fustian pants in which one of them was dressed. He procured a block of wood, which he drove into the opening, after which it remained undisturbed, and is remembered as a landmark, visible for a long distance, by travelers on the prairie.
On the 5th of December, 1837, a contract was concluded between the County Commissioners and Thomas J. Turner for the erection of a frame court house and a jail of hewn logs. The timbers were gotten out during the winter, under the direction of Julius Smith, and the premises in part completed the following summer. From 1838 to 1870 the old "justice shop " stood in the square on Stephenson street, and served the purpose for which it was erected, without
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
decay. Twice it was struck by lightning, which splintered some of its timbers, but in each instance repairs restored its safety and left it without a scar. The old building passed through a world of experience in its day, but was finally removed to give place to the splendid structure which now ornaments its site.
An impetus was added to immigration this year, and all the material interests of the county prospered, notwithstanding the dark and troublesome times which were being experienced in more populated communities, where wealth and happiness had given place to actual want, and anticipations yielded place to discouraging realities. These were the effects of the panic.
Indeed, it may be safely said, that in spite of the numerous drawbacks which new corporations inevitably encounter, the year 1837, in many respects, yielded the first intimations received by settlers that good would come out of Stephen- son County in a future not too distant to discourage. A prosperous period it was insisted upon was dawning. The farmers closed their year's labors with a consciousness that these labors had not been altogether vain, and determined to so improve the opportunities offered by the ensuing season that their profits should be liberal. To this portion of the community, at least, the prospect was cheering. The location of the county seat but confirmed to their minds the predictions regarding the future they had ventured. The contracts let for public buildings would create a demand for labor, attract emigration, cause money te be disbursed, create a larger demand for their products and cheapen the price of necessaries. Nor was this all. The county, then devoid of roads, would in a short time be supplied, and farmers would be able to market their com- modities with some assurance that they could go there and return home without exhausting the proceeds of their sales. Nor was this all. The value of lands appreciated, and the sales of claims effected, if so desired, at prices which seemed extravagant ; mail facilities would be improved, and means of communication increased. The accomplishment of these desideratums would do much to dissi- pate the feeling of solitude and desire which come upon the most courageous for temporary change.
Freeport began to assume the appearance of a village, and New Pennsylva- nia, known as Bobtown, but of late years as McConnell's Grove, had been laid out by Dennison and Vanzant. At the former place a number of houses had been put up, and considerable trading carried on at the village store of O. H. Wright. Business there was generally concluded while it was light; when night spread its wings over the scene, merchant and customer, factor and planter, were usually at home, and the "city " was left to darkness and vacancy. Amusements were not indulged. The necessity for labor to provide the staff of life precluded pleasantries of any but a kind seemingly indigenous to new countries-including raisings, quiltings and the like. Schools, with sparse attendance and the most ordinary curriculum, had been established in some portions of the county, and services were held by traveling preachers whenever an opportunity was afforded. Their edifices were frequently "God's first temples," and the congregation made up of residents within a circuit of many miles from the point of occupation. The Rev. Father Mckean, it is believed, preached in Freeport, this year, the first sermon by a regularly ordained min- ister, in the village, and some say that Judge Stone convened court in O. H. Wright's residence, which was in the rear of his store. When the court house was partly finished, it was devoted to religious as well as judicial purposes, its occupation being divided between the various sects then seeking converts, on the ground, and was so appropriated until the several denominations were domiciled in quarters of their own.
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
Among the large number who came into this section that year, there were some who have left the impress of their labors and characteristics so pronounc- edly that they are distinctly remembered after the lapse of nearly half a cen- tury. Prominent among these was Dr. Thomas Van Valzah, who came from Pennsylvania, the pioneer of a class of people, the "Pennsylvania Dutch," who followed in his footsteps, and, purchasing large tracts of land in the county, have attained to wealth and importance by their indefatigable industry, keen foresight, economy and perseverance. As farmers, speculators making investments, heads of corporations, bank presidents, and citizens, they have everywhere commanded the public confidence and a decided success.
Dr. Van Valzah settled on a claim within the present site of the village of Cedarville, which he purchased of John Goddard, and at once began the erec- tion of a saw and grist mill. These were completed in November, 1837, and were the first of the kind put up in the county. The latter was supplied with one run of stone and a " chopper." The mill was at first operated by hand- power, but within a year of its completion water-power was substituted. The establishment has been conducted since, though the old mill building long since yielded precedence to a handsome structure, at present owned by Hon. John H. Addams.
During the summer, Nelson Martin opened a school in Freeport, and some of his pupils still remember the "deportment " he enforced, more particularly that attending their disobedience of an order issued by him prohibiting the scholars from testing the supporting qualities of the ice upon the Pecatonica when that stream was frozen over in the following winter.
In other portions of the county an imperfect system of education had been introduced, and was attended with beneficial results. In short, this year, as al- ready remarked, was a year in which rapid strides were made in the direction of an independence that only required time to develop fully. In addition to Freeport and McConnell's Grove, there were other settlements which sought the felicity of villages. "Irish Grove," in Rock Run Township, and "Dublin," in the Township of Erin, were sprouting into significance as the Celtic residents of both places made improvements and cultivated the graces of peace, supple- mented by a moderate degree of prosperity. Too much cannot be said of the Irish residents of Stephenson County. None are dependent, while many of them own and cultivate large farms, and all are industrious, law-abiding and reputable citizens. A temperance organization exists in Dublin, which enjoys a generous membership, and wherever this nationality predominates it exerts an influence for good. The sons and daughters are educated to fit them for the duties of life. As one of the early settlers of that race stated to the writer, he was determined that his children should not be deprived of the advantages that were denied him in his youth. Two of the oldest churches in the county were built and supported by them, and the religious influence exerted by the congre- gations is not surpassed by that of any other organization in the county.
The arrivals this year included, among others : Joseph Musser, Isaac Dev- eley, Thomas and Samuel Chambers, William Wallace, a Mr. Moore, Joseph Osborn, Daniel Guyer, Pat Giblin, Miles O'Brien, a man named Corcoran, Hiram Hill, John Howe, I. Forbes, John Milburn and - Reed, whose deaths by drowning in Pecatonica River are related above, Stewart Reynolds, Sanford Niles, John Tharp, Jackson Richart, Saferus Snyder, Joseph Green, Charles Macomber, the Rev. Philo Judson, Cornelius Judson, S. F. M. Fretville, Alfred Gaylord, the Rev. Asa Ballinger, Phillip and Warner Wells, Henry Johnson, Oliver and John R. Brewster, Isaac Kleckner, Ezra Gillett, Joab Morton, James
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
Turnbull, "Father " Ballinger, Hector C. Haight, who became a Mormon, Jacob Gable, Valorus Thomas, George W. Babbitt, John Edwards, Levi Lewis, John Lewis, Rezin and Levi Wilcoxon, Caleb Tompkins, the Farwell Brothers, the Brace family, Garett Lloyd, Harvey and Jeremiah Webster, Sybil Ann Price,. Samuel F. Dodds, Robert T. Perry, Robert and Wm. Lashell, James and Oliver Thompson, Jacob Burbridge, Samuel and Marshall Bailey, Martin Howard, John Harmon, a Mr. Graham, Alonzo Fowler, and some few others. Marriages, births and deaths were more numerous, owing to this increase in the population, there being several of each recorded in the county that year. But there was much to mitigate the inconveniences experienced by those who had come two years before, whose comfort was augmented by those who came after, and com- pensated in a measure for the trials they had been called upon to previously endure.
The old year floated away into the past, leaving behind it pleasant mem- ories of hopes realized by a people who had been more than prospered during its career. The new year bended above the prostrate form of 1837, cast dead flowers over what had passed to nothingness, and; gliding in through the open door scattering blossoms in its way, renewed unto the people the pledges which had already been recorded, but lay buried in the ashes of years.
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