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 33
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was organized on the 10th day of July, 1878, the lineal descendant of the Stephenson County Medical Society. The latter was established in 1865, and for some few years its affairs were conducted regularly. In time, the attendance became small, duties were neglected, and the society, being unable to rally suf- ficient members to constitute a quorum, lapsed into forgetfulness.
In June, 1878, the question of reviving the old society or creating a new organization from its wreck, was generally canvassed among the profession throughout the county, which ended in the convening of meetings to take meas- ures looking to the latter object. At the date above mentioned, a meeting was held in the Supervisor's office, court house building, Dr. C. M. Hillebrand presiding, Louis Stoskopf officiating as Secretary, when a constitution and by-laws were adopted after debate, and the following officers elected and mem- bers signed the roster of membership : F. W. Hance, M. D., President ; L. A. Mease, M. D., Vice President ; Louis Stoskopf, M. D., Secretary and Treas- urer ; Drs. Charles Brundage, Buena Vista ; L. A. Mease, F. W. Hance, and Louis Stoskopf, Freeport ; I. P. Fishburn and S. K. Martin, Dakota ; E. A. Carpenter, Baileyville : C. B. Wright Florence, and T. L. Carey, Lena.
The present officers are : Louis Stoskopf, M. D., President ; L. G. Voigt, M. D., Vice President and B. H. Bradshaw, M. D., Secretary and Treasurer.
The membership is now stated at fifteen, and meetings are held quarterly, at such place as the President shall designate.
STEPHENSON COUNTY FARMERS' CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION
was organized at a meeting of agriculturists, held at the court house on August 3, 1875, and incorporated soon after under an act of the Legislature providing therefor. The objects of the association are stated to be those of buy- ing, manufacturing and selling such articles and implements as are used or needed by the farmer ; also to sell, ship or exchange their products in the mar- kets of the world. The capital stock was placed at $6,000, represented by six hundred shares, and the duration of the corporate existence was limited to ninety-nine years.
At the first election of officers, Ira Crippen was chosen President, H. S. Blakeway, Treasurer, and J. M. Chambers, Secretary, with Ira Crippen, H. S. Blakeway, W. P. Miller, J. F. Strunk, and Hiram Snyder as the Board of Directors, and at a meeting convened October 6, 1875, the business of the county Grange, similar in character, was purchased by the Farmers' Associa- tion. The latter's officers took possession of the Grange warehouse, at the southwest corner of Adams and Stephenson streets, obtained a complete supply
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of agricultural implements, and opened business with a flattering promise of success.
So abundantly was this promise realized, that the capital stock was increased to $16,000, and other steps taken to accommodate the increase of business. About this time, the owners of the premises occupied insisted on an advance in the rent. The association declined to accede to this demand, and decided to erect a building adapted to the uses of its trade. Accordingly, a lot on the southeast corner of Adams and Stephenson streets was purchased of J. H. Haines for $5,000, and the erection of the present edifice commenced early in the spring of 1877. Before its completion, however, their lease expired, and the business of the society was transferred to the " curb," where it continued until May, when possession of the new quarters was taken, and where the farm- ers, co-operatively inclined, have sold and purchased from that date to the present time.
The building is a substantial three-story brick, 60x110, finished in a neat but inexpensive manner, and cost an aggregate of $11,000. The ground floor is occupied as an office and warehouse, the upper floors by an agricultural implement exhibition hall, 40x50, also a society hall of the same dimensions, equipped and furnished, and a commercial school.
The present officers are: Ira Crippen, President ; Daniel Musser, Vice President ; J. M. Chambers, Secretary ; William Bear, Treasurer, and John Hart, Agent. Annual meetings are held in January, when the election of offi- cers is had, also meetings of the Board of Directors, which are convened quarterly.
The corporation own property worth $20,000, carry stock valued at $25,000, and hold stock of the organization representing a valuation of $30,000.
STEPHENSON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY,
an association which, up to very recent date, has been prominent in the county, was organized as a private corporation, in 1852, by a number of agri- culturists and horticulturists, who believed in the encouragement of their sev- eral arts. Immediately preparations were concluded for the holding of a county fair, which was held and attended with so gratifying a success that the experi- ment was repeated annually until 1861. That year, and in 1862, its grounds were occupied for the quartering of troops, which monopoly prevented exhibi- tions being given, and the society remained quiescent. These were resumed, however, in 1863, and have been continued with varying success until the present season.
In 1871, the society became incorporated under the State laws, changed its title to the "Stephenson County Agricultural Board," and received sub- scriptions of stock to the amount of $8,000. The grounds were enlarged and improved, the buildings thereon located being reconstructed and redecorated, and every effort made to conquer a success of the undertaking. Regular exhibits were given until 1877, when the grounds were appropriated to the uses of the State Fair Expositions, and again in 1878.
In 1879, a fair was held on the Taylor Driving Park, and, though begun under the most favorable auspices, was so seriously interfered with by rain that the society was unable to liquidate the demands of exhibitors entitled to premi- ums. In addition to this, an indebtedness had been created by improvements made in 1875, and, being without funds, the grounds, consisting of about thirty acres, located in the southwestern portion of the city, were disposed of by sale, Jere Pattison and Capt. William Young becoming the purchasers.
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
The society to-day, is without a home of its own, but, as soon as the circumstances will warrant their doing so, the stockholders design effecting a re-organization.
The present officers are William Young, President ; Godfrey Vought, Vice-President ; Jacob Krohn, Treasurer, and William Trembor, Secretary.
STEPHENSON COUNTY PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY.
This association of agriculturists, for mutual protection and improvement, was formally organized about the 20th of February, 1874, though granges now tributary, had been in active operation previous to that date. The charter offi- cers were Daniel Musser, President; W. P. Miller, Treasurer, and J. M. Chambers, Secretary.
At present the grange consists of thirteen working lodges, with a total membership of 260, and the following officers : Daniel Musser, President ; F. B. Walker, Treasurer, and A. A. Stamm, Secretary. The initiation fee is $3 for males, and 50 cents for females, with annual fees of $1.20.
The headquarters of the grange are at Freeport. The subordinate lodges meet monthly, the County Grange quarterly and annually.
OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION.
On Thursday, December 16, 1869, a meeting of old settlers was held at the court house in Freeport, to take measures for the organization of a society of old settlers residing in Stephenson County, and to provide ways and means for a social re-union of those who became citizens of Stephenson County prior to 1850.
D. A. Knowlton was called to preside, and L. W. Guiteau officiated as Secretary. After a general interchange of views, a committee, consisting of the following gentlemen, was appointed to make arrangements for the re-union, as also to further the object for which the meeting had been convened, after which, an adjournment until Saturday evening following, was carried : James Turn- bull and Samuel Gunsaul, Winslow; Levi Robey and Samuel K. Fisher, Waddams; Luman Montague and Thomas French, West Point; Williard P. Naramore and Jacob Gable, Kent; Andrew Hinds and Bissell P. Belknap, Oneco ; John H. Addams and James M. Smith, Buckeye; Robert Bell and William B. Mitchell, Lancaster ; Calvin Preston and Samuel Chambers, Rock Grove; S. E. M. Carnefex and Stephen Seeley, Rock Run; John Brown and Harrison Diemer, Dakota ; A. J. Niles and D. W. C. Mallory, Ridott ; Charles H. Rosenstiel and Fred Baker, Silver Creek ; Conrad Van Brocklin and Anson A. Babcock, Florence ; Ralph Sabin and John Lamb, Loran ; Samuel Hayes, Jefferson ; Pascal L. Wright and Perez A. Tisdel, Harlem ; Thomas Kaufman and Alanson Bacon, Erin ; E. Ordway, William Smith, W. G. Waddell, Thomas C. Gatliff, Benjamin Goddard, O. W. Brewster, Jere Pattison, George Purinton and Isaac C. Stoneman, Freeport.
At the meeting on Saturday evening thereafter, a committee, consisting of George Purinton, L. W. Guiteau, M. Hettinger, D. A. Knowlton and W. S. Gray, was appointed to make permanent the organization, draft a constitution and by-laws, and arrange for future meetings.
Finally, the society was organized on the 1st of January, 1870, at a meet- 1 ing held on that day, and the following officers elected: Levi Robey, Presi- dent; W. H. Eels, B. P. Belknap, Charles T. Kleckner, John Brown, William B. Mitchell, A. W. Lucas, H. P. Waters, F. Baker, Benjamin Goddard, Pascal Wright, C. Van Brocklin, Luman Montague, Hubbard Graves, Jacob Gable,
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Samuel Hayes and Alanson Bacon, Vice-Presidents ; George Purinton and D. H. Sunderland, Secretaries, and L. W. Guiteau, Treasurer.
Since that date the society has been in active existence, meeting annually on the last Wednesday in August, and numbering upon its roster of members all who have been identified with the early settlement and subsequent building up of Stephenson County.
The officers elected at the meeting convened in 1879, were: Levi Robey, President ; S. Chambers, Rock Grove; M. Gift, Oneco; H. Eels, Winslow ; R. Baysinger, West Point; W. Dively, Waddams; John H. Addams, Buck- eye; George Walker, Dakota; Elijah Clark, Rock Run; Thomas Bell, Lan- caster ; Aaron Kostenbader, Harlem; J. W. Pickard, Erin; L. W. Mogle, Kent; S. Hayes, Jefferson ; Reuben Babb, Loran ; John Aspinwall, Florence ; Fred Baker, Silver Creek; W. G. Woodruff, Ridott, and J. B. Smith, Free- port, Vice-Presidents ; W. Wright, Treasurer, and Jackson Richart, Secretary.
CRIMINAL RECORDS.
The Crossen Murder .- A horrible murder was committed on Sunday, March 23, 1856, at Craine's Grove, by an Irishman, named John Crossen, the victim being his helpless wife. It seems that Crossen had been celebrating the holiday (Easter Sunday), and became intoxicated. Immediately upon the departure of a companion who had indulged a similar weakness and left the premises, Crossen began a brutal attack upon his wife, beating her most unmer- cifully with a poker, and inflicting wounds from the effects of which she died before assistance could reach the scene of the tragedy. When the officers who were summoned reached the spot, they found the poor woman dead, her back and limbs beaten to a jelly, and her arm horribly fractured by the blows she had endeavored to prevent reaching her head. Crossen was at once arrested and confined in jail in Freeport, utterly indifferent to his fate ; he admitted he beat his wife, but denied that his intention was to kill her, having frequently beaten her much more severely without serious results.
The records are silent as to the disposition of the case.
The Lauber Murder .- About three o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, June 7, 1859, a German named William Lauber was stabbed by a man named Lauth, of Elkhorn Grove, and died almost instantly. The affair happened near where the "Branch " crosses the railroad track, just below the machine shop. The deceased, commonly known as " Butcher Bill," claimed that Lauth owed him, and for some time previous had been persistently dunning him. During the forenoon of the day upon which the homicide occurred, Lauth had made threats and exhibited a butcher-knife which he carried, as was inferred from his remarks, to aid in his attack upon deceased. When first noticed, the latter was demanding his pay from Lauth, to which reply was made " Keep away, and leave me alone." The dispute waxed warm, until finally Lauth drew a knife and plunged it into the heart of his antagonist. Lauber died instantly, and Lauth was arrested and held on a charge of murder.
The accused pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the September term, 1859, of the Circuit Court, and was sentenced to the penitentiary for eight years.
The Arnd Tragedy .- During the summer of 1859, a German named Peter Arnd, accompanied by his family, consisting of a wife and four children, settled in this county on a place belonging to George Boardman, five miles above Cedarville. He was employed by Boardman as a field-hand, and generally regarded as a capable, responsible man. No attention was paid to his domestic - affairs, nor was it believed that any difficulty existed in that quarter, his wife
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being an industrious woman, and his children, though all of tender age, requir- ing but little care.
On Tuesday morning, July 26, 1859, he proceeded to work, but returned about ten o'clock on account of a sore hand, and sent his wife to do the work assigned him. She worked until noon, when she returned to the house to care for the children and provide dinner, remaining but a short time ere she resumed work in the field. When night came on she ceased from her labors, and once more returned in the direction of her home, another woman accom- panying her thither. As they reached the house and were passing an open win- dow a most horrible sight met their gaze, transfixing them with terror, and for the time incapacitating either of them from sounding an alarm. Her four children lay upon the floor weltering in their blood, and manifesting no sign of life. The father stood by, an ax in his hand, with which he had done the deed, gazing in a senseless manner upon the upturned faces of his dying sons and daughters, but making no efforts to escape. By this time the witnesses of this dread result made an outcry and caused the murderer's apprehension. He was committed to jail, after an inquest had been held, at which a verdict in accord- ance with the facts was rendered, and held for trial.
During his confinement he exhibited signs of mental weakness, and within two weeks from the date of his incarceration died from softening of the brain, superinduced by sunstroke, and confirming the belief that he was not respon- sible for his acts when he committed the deed.
Three children were killed outright ; the fourth survived his injuries sev- eral days.
The Shooting of Mrs. George Whitney .- About 11 o'clock on the morn- ing of Saturday, August 8, 1866. Dakalb Walton, a soldier in the three- months service attached to Capt. Crane's company, shot and instantly killed Mrs. George Whitney, wife of a soldier in the Fifteenth Regiment. The affair occurred directly opposite the Stephenson House, and Walton, after he had inflicted the fatal wound upon his victim, attempted suicide by shooting himself.
According to the evidence elicited at the coroner's inquest, deceased and her would-be assassin had been living together at Oneco for some time prior to the tragedy, or since her husband, who was Sergeant of Company A, Fifteenth Regiment, had enlisted. On the Saturday of the killing, Walton and Mrs. Whit- ney had visited the brewery and drank beer, after which the former disclaimed his ignorance of what had passed until he realized consciousness in jail. The jury directed his imprisonment on a charge of murder, to await the action of the Grand Jury.
The defendant was tried at the April term, of 1864, of the Circuit Court, and acquitted on the ground of insanity.
The Schmidtz Mystery .- About the 30th of April, 1869, thebody of a man named Henry Schmidtz, a former resident of Freeport, was found lying by the side of a slough in the town of Lancaster, in an advanced state of decompo- sition, and bearing marks indicating that he had met his death by violence. The body was recovered by Thomas S. Leach and William Peters, and taken to Freeport, where an inquest was held and evidence elicited tending to show that he had received $300 a short time previous to the discovery of the body, and when last seen was in the company of a man by the name of Casper Stoffels, whom he had employed to assist him in his business, being that of peddling.
A verdict of murder at the hands of persons unknown to the jury, was returned.
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY.
The Wood Murder .- Between the hours of 1 and 2 o'clock, on the morn- ing of June 7, 1872, a shooting affray took place at the Kraft House, opposite the Western Union Depot, resulting in the death of Frank Wood, at the hands of John L. Thompson. Both had been together since the Thursday previous and up to the time of the affray, consorting with a pair of disreputable women named Rosa Bell and Flora Kennedy, and all drinking to excess. The quarrel began about these women, both of whom accompanied Thompson to the hotel a short time prior to the tragedy, followed by Wood. An altercation succeeded Wood's arrival at the house, during which the latter struck Thompson in the face, at the same time accompanying his blow with threats and insulting epithets. Thereupon Thompson drew a revolver and fired at his assailant, inflicting wounds from which death resulted immediately. Thompson was arrested.
He was placed on trial, at the December term, 1872, of the Circuit Court, convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to the penitentiary for one year.
The Thompson Defalcation .- During the month of May, 1874, rumors were rife throughout Stephenson County that George Thompson, ex-County Clerk, had, while in office, falsified the records, forged numerous county orders, and re-issued others that had already been redeemed by the County Treasurer.
The facts which led to the discovery of these frauds first came to the sur- face on Saturday, May 7, 1874, when Thompson called upon Aaron Wolfe and offered for sale an order dated September 14, 1871, payable to himself, for $1,220.05. The order bore an indorsement by the County Treasurer that the same had been "presented for payment and registered by me, this May 2, 1874 -0. P. McCool, County Treasurer," misleading Wolfe, who purchased the security. Subsequent reflection induced the holder to investigate the facts, tending to trace the paper into the possession of Thompson. After an exami- nation, it was ascertained that an order of a similar tenor and date had been paid in 1872, and so reported to the County Clerk for cancellation by the Finance Committee. As the investigation progressed, the fraud and decepti on practiced by Thompson became more apparent, and his victim impressed with the position in which he had been placed.
In the mean time, Thompson left the city and proceeded to Chicago, whence he returned to Freeport, however, and redeemed the order purchased by Mr. Wolfe. After the discovery of his frauds, others, who had become the holders of similar property as collaterals, repaired to the records and found that spu- rious orders, representing a face valuation of about $4,000, had been disposed of as collaterals and by transfer of ownership, to Knowlton & Sons, the Second National Bank, Joseph Emmert, First National Bank, James Mitchell & Co., and others. The public were naturally exercised at these discoveries, and con- siderable excitement prevailed throughout the county. Thompson had enjoyed universal confidence in the political, social, financial and Christian circles, had been a leading spirit in Sabbath-schools and church organizations, and was gen- erally regarded as one whose daily life had commended him to general respect. The Finance Committee of the Board of Supervisors made an investigation into ยท the charges alleged against Thompson, and found that, imposing on the credulity of the public, he had been able to swindle that too confiding unknown quantity out of about $5,000. A warrant was at once issued for his arrest, but before he could be apprehended the accused absconded and its service was prevented. He fled to Canada, thence to California, where he established a ranche, mean- time paying off the liabilities he had left unsettled in Freeport, and remaining absent until the fall of 1878, at which time he returned to the scene of his crime, pleaded guilty to one of the number of indictments that had been returned
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against him, and was sentenced to the penitentiary. He remained in Joliet two years and was pardoned, returning to California, where he now is.
Hall's Haul .-. The defalcation of A. W. Hall should not be forgotten, either. He was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court, and was inducted into office the first in the county under the provision of the constitution abolishing fees and substituting therefor a salary.
Hall refused to recognize the equity of this change, insisting upon it that he was entitled to the fees accruing, and declining to pay them over according to law. The Supervisors instituted suit against him to test the points held by both parties, and obtained judgment. An appeal was taken by Hall, but the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment, and by this time, his term of office having expired, Hall disappeared, defaulter to the extent of $3,184, and has never been heard of since. He was indicted, and his bondsmen liquidated $2,000 of his liability, leaving $1,184 with interest unpaid, which was lost by the county.
The Goodhue Defalcation .- Charles. F. Goodhue, Treasurer of Stephen- son County, was indicted at the December (1878) term of the Circuit Court for embezzlement, as County Treasurer, of the sum of $5,000 of moneys in his possession by virtue of his official position. A change of venue was taken by Goodhue to the Circuit Court of Rockford, Winnebago County, and at the January (1879) term, he was tried, convicted and sentenced to four years in the penitentiary. His attorney, J. A. Crain, appealed the case, by writ of error, to the Supreme Court, and at the September term, 1879, of that tribunal, the judgment was reversed, and the case remanded for a new trial. At the January term, 1880, just one year from the first trial, Goodhue, after laying thirteen months behind the bars of Winnebago County Jail, was again tried, and, under the rulings of the Supreme Court, as applied to his case, acquitted.
At the December term 1879, of the Stephenson County Court, two additional indictments were found against him, one for the embezzlement and another for larceny of jail orders, amounting to $22.12; these, with two other indictments which had been found, one for the embezzlement of $100, and the other for falsifying a public record, came up for hearing in the Stephenson County Circuit Court at the April term, 1880, and Goodhue's attorney took a change of venue on all four of the cases to DeKalb County. At this stage of the proceedings, the Board of Supervisors of Stephenson County met and passed a resolution, instructing the Finance Committee to employ the ablest legal assistance, in their judgment, in the State of Illinois, to assist J. S. Cochran in the prosecution of the case. Clothed with this authority, Mr. H. Lichtenberger, Chairman of the Finance Committee, retained Charles H. Reed, of Chicago, who had been for twelve years the State's Attorney of Cook County, to assist in the prosecution. The case came to trial on Friday, June 25, the indictment on which the test was based being the embezzlement of the jail orders. The defense proved by
Mr. Lichtenberger, one of the witnesses against Goodhue, that he (Lichtenber- ger) had ordered Goodhue to draw the money on the orders, which he did, and placed $600 in each of three Banks of Freeport, and the balance, $412, in the safe of the Treasurer's office. They also proved by Miss Kate Goodhue, who was acting in the capacity of clerk in the Treasurer's office at that time, that Goodhue had paid out every dollar of this money to liquidate authorized claims against the county, thus showing there was no case against Goodhue from a legal standpoint, and on the 1st day of July, 1880, after a week's pro- traction, the trial ended, and the jury rendered a verdict fully acquitting him, and, the other indictments having been abandoned, Charles F. Goodhue once more breathed the pure air of freedom.
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WAR RECORD.
A traveler sailing up the Bay of Athens sees, while yet afar off, the shin- ing splendors of the " Eye of Greece, Mother of Arts and Eloquence." "There are marble palaces and columns, rising white against the vineries and olive groves which deck the mountain landscape with a foliage of endless green. The hum of early traffic mingles with the shoutings of the crews of Alexandrian corn ships hoisting the anchors. Sheer and rugged in the foreground rises the Acropolis. On its summit the citadel, and crowning that the colossal statue of Minerva, her golden shield catching the morning light and flashing it back in brightness that dazzles while still enchanting the eye."
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