The History of Will County, Illinois : containing a history of the county a directory of its real estate owners; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; general and local statistics.history of Illinois history of the Northwest, Part 27

Author:
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Chicago : Wm. Le Baron, jr. & co.
Number of Pages: 980

USA > Illinois > Will County > The History of Will County, Illinois : containing a history of the county a directory of its real estate owners; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; general and local statistics.history of Illinois history of the Northwest > Part 27

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JOEL MANNING.

Another valuable addition to our population, for which we were indebted to the Canal, was Joel Manning, who was appointed Secretary of the Canal Board at its organization in 1836. He was at the time a practicing lawyer at Browns- ville, Ill., having come into the State some years before. He was born in October, 1793, and was a graduate of Union College, of the class of 1818. On the opening of the Canal office at Lockport, he removed to that place, where he continued to reside until the few last years of his life, when he came to Joliet to reside with his son-in-law, Henry Fish, Esq. Mr. Manning was a prominent and active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a warm-hearted and consistent Christian, whose sympathies were not confined to his own denomina- tion. He passed through all the trials of the hard times which followed the suspension of the Canal, and when Canal scrip was at a low ebb, and would hardly support his family with the most rigid economy, he invested some of it in Canal lots in Chicago, which in time became very valuable. He was called to pass through " great tribulation " in the loss of children, and. finally in that of his wife. He died January 8, 1869, universally respected, and

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leaving behind him the odor of a consistent, active Christian life and ex- ample.

CHARLES E. BOYER.

We suppose it was also the Canal which first brought another citizen to Lockport, a young man of great enterprise and energy, who engaged as a con- tractor in its construction, and in this and in other like enterprises accumulated a comfortable fortune. We refer to Charles E. Boyer. He was elected to the Legislature in 1862, and was a candidate for the State Senate at the time of his death, which occurred September 21, 1868, of typhoid fever. Mr. Boyer married a daughter of Armstead Runyon, who still survives him.

JOHN B. PRESTON.

Still another valuable citizen of Lockport and Will County was brought here by the Canal, John B. Preston, a son of the venerable Isaac Preston, who settled in Hadley in 1836, and now resides in Lockport. He was born in Washington County, N. Y., in 1817, and was educated for the profession of civil engineer. He came to Will County, in 1837, and took the position of Assistant Engineer on the Canal, and served in that capacity until the work stopped. On its resumption, he took the position of Resident Engineer, in charge of the south half of the work, and continued until its completion. In 1850, at the age of 33, he was appointed Surveyor General of Oregon, where he resided four years in prosecuting the work of that State's survey. In 1854, he took the position of Superintendent of the Canal, and took up his residence again at Lockport, remaining in this position ten years. He was afterward Secretary of the Chicago & Joliet Railroad (now a part of the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis), and secured for the road the right of way between Joliet and Chicago. In 1864, he became a member of the firm of Mattcson & Preston, in the whole- sale commission business at St. Louis, and it was while on a visit from there to his parents at Lockport that he met with his accidental death, in the prime of life, at the age of 48. Mr. Preston was a man of rare qualities and powers, of strict integrity, and foremost in every good enterprise. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the Government during the war, and of every measure for the enlisting of men and the relief of the disabled. The beautiful public school house of Lockport might almost be called his monument, as he was one of the most active in its erection. The writer well remembers the 15th of April, when the first intelligence which reached Joliet in the morning was that of his sudden death, intelligence which would have sobercd and saddened the com- munity for more than a day, had it not been almost immediately overshadowed by news which sobered and saddened the nation.

LORENZO P. SANGER.

Another valuable citizen (now deceased) must be credited to the Canal, Lorenzo P. Sanger, who was one of the old 1836 contractors, and also subse- quently one of the firm of Sanger & Casey, who built the Penitentiary, and

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of the firm of Sanger & Steele, who so largely developed our stone in- dustry. He was one of the most driving, energetic, enterprising men we have ever had. During the war, he threw all the weight of his political influence, which was not small, on the side of the Union, and would himself have par- ticipated actively in it had not the weight of years been too much to allow it. He died in Oakland, Cal., whither he had gone for his health, in March, 1875. His body was brought home for burial, and rests in Oakwood, beside his wife, who died some few years before him.

CHANGES WROUGHT BY THE CANAL.

The construction of the Canal of course destroyed McKee's water-power, and made his mill useless for the purpose for which it was intended, and being adjacent to the Canal was taken possession of by the State. McKee recovered damages for the loss of his water-power to the amount of $17,655 and costs. The Haven boys bought the machinery, and set it up in their mill below. The construction and opening of the Canal also wrought great changes in the phys- ical aspect of the region along the route. The west bank of the Des Planes, which, before its construction, was beautifully bordered with trees and shrubs, all through Joliet and below, was now denuded, and a stone wall and a rubble bank given us instead. Our compensation was found in the increased facilities for business, and in the increased population of the towns and country. The Canal also brought into our county great numbers of men whose boast it was that they were from the Emerald Isle, without whose assistance it seemed to be conceded no canal or railroad could be constructed. Many of these laborers became permanent citizens, both in town and country. These have acquired property as mechanics, merchants and farmers. Some have even consented to hold office and positions of responsibility. The town of Troy is largely settled by Irishmen and their descendants, and this nationality furnished its fair pro- portion of volunteers in the late war.

BACK TO EARLY TIMES AGAIN.

The history of the Canal has carried us a little forward in our annals, and we return to note some things of an earlier date. And first, let us correct a correction which was made in " Forty Years Ago" in relation to an important event-the first Fourth of July celebration. We have ascertained since, that beyond any question this was held in 1835. In order not to get two great events on the same day, and to render our statement credible that Dr. Bowen read the Decla- ration and attended the first wedding, we shall leave that first wedding entirely out of this history. It probably will not invalidate the marriage. We are satisfied, also, that we did not do justice to the military display. Maj. Cook was the Chief Marshal, and was dressed in full regimentals, and Judge Jonathan Barnett was Assistant Marshal, and wore a red sash, and both had real swords. Both rode Indian ponies, and experienced great difficulty in keeping near the procession on account of the music. This evil was remedied in a measure by

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the fact that " Uncle Dick" Hobbs also commanded, on foot, using instead of a sword a crooked stick, which probably answered just as well. These points are settled beyond controversy by S. W. Bowen, our ex-Mayor, who was then a boy, and, I am sorry to say, such a graceless youth, that he, with Cal Zarley and others, lay on the ground and laughed at the cavorting of the Marshals, or, rather, their horses. The writer is also satisfied that he did not do justice to the oration. Cal Zarley says that he well remembers that when the neigh- bors gathered together at his father's to talk over the celebration, they were enthusiastic in their praises of the effort. All agreed that it was a big thing. The only dispute was as to whether the young orator was a preacher or a lawyer. Mrs. Hadsall, the good old Methodist sister, was sure nobody but a Methodist preacher could talk so good ! Our own private opinion, however, is that the only merit the production had was the fact that it was the first in Will County. It ought also to be noted' that we had one Revolutionary soldier present. This was the father of Maj. Cook, who was re-interred on the last Decoration Day, over whose remains our gifted citizen, Capt. Phelps, uttered some of his finest periods.

We have an interesting contribution to our history from the veteran Hopkins Rowell, which we will bring in here. We do so with especial satisfaction, as it also indorses our Fourth of July effort-a matter on which we are very sensitive.

GEORGE H. WOODRUFF, EsQ. :

Perhaps I can contribute an item to your early reminiscences of Will County. You might properly include among the early pioneers of Joliet the late Judge Barnett, H. A. Cagwin, Sr., and myself. In the Autumn of 1834, we together journeyed from Clarkson, N. Y., and explored on horseback much of the West and Northwest as far as Dubuque. We passed twice through Joliet, which then had a name, but not many habitations. A few miles east of this. prospective city, at Van Horne's Point, we found Cornelius Van Horne, subsequently a Joliet magistrate and its first Mayor. He was at this time drawing fence-stuff with an ox-team and " Sucker wagon." as he called it. This wagon was the product of his own hand, from the rough forest timber. The wheels were sawed off from a round oak log. They were about three feet in diameter, being smoothly beveled from the rim to the hub, where they were about one foot through. It did good service (or answered a good purpose). On the well-known " Linden Heights," just southeast of the city, we visited Maj. R. G. Cook and his father, John Cook, an old Revolutionary soldier, formerly from Clarkson. The old veteran occasionally indulged in a little of the "ardent," which invariably led him to " fight his battles over again" in so grotesque a manner as greatly to amuse the by-standers. The remains of both him and his son, the Major, are interred in Oakwood Cemetery.

All three of our exploring party made purchases at this time in Joliet. Cagwin and Barnett remained in this vicinity, while I returned to Clarkson, N. Y. The next Summer (1835), I returned to Joliet, attended the public land sales at Chicago, and through Mr. Van Horne, who " bid in" the lands of all the settlers, secured the three eighties, just east of the city, that I still retain. The "claim" to the gravel-mound eighty I had previously purchased of the " veteran" John Cook.

I give a little episode of the land sales. Many moneyed speculators were present, threatening to bid against the claims of settlers. Hundreds of the latter, with sleeves rolled up and faces frowning defiance dark as a thunder-cloud, surrounded the officers' stand on all sides, ready to visit summary vengeance upon any presumptuous speculators. All of these were intimidated

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save one. A powerful, gigantic Scotchman, about seven feet high, dared to bid against a settler, when in an instant lightning struck him in at least twenty places, and he gladly escaped with his life.

A CHANGE OF EPISODE-SOME RED-SKINS.

At that time there were about three thousand Pottawatomie Indians in two encampments-one . upon the Des Planes River, and the other upon the Kankakee, a few miles above their junction- awaiting removal by the Government to Western reservations. After the land sales, I had some business requiring a horse-back journey to the Mazon River. My route lay through the wild and trackless region between these two encampments. Before this I had seen many Indians, but 3,000 wilder, more uncouth and repulsive human beings can hardly be imagined. Their weird, unkempt hair, and nudity, save a frontal patch tied on, more diminutive than the fig-leaf aprons of Adam and Eve, formed a scene never to be forgotten. It is not surprising that I got lost en route to the Mazon, in the midst of such a wilderness of Indians and trackless prairie combined. Neither is it strange that I was somewhat nervous at occasionally meeting detached squads of these villainous fellows during my embarrassed efforts to regain my course, especially when I knew they had occasionally gobbled up solitary white men. Finally I resolved to steer for the forks of the rivers and get a white settler there to pilot me on my way. Having a pocket compass, I was enabled to take my bearings and "strike a bee-line." Two or three miles' travel on this course, brought me in contact with three Indians; two of them passed me civilly enough, but the third being fuller of bad whisky, which they had obtained at "the forks," sprang like a tiger to seize my bridle-reins, brandishing a huge knife in the air and shouting like a hoarse demon, " Money ! money !" Being on the alert, I instantly spurred my spirited steed Blackhawk, and "by the skin of my teeth ' cleared him at a single bound, and then (wheeling) facing him, with my effective peace-maker leveled at his head, exclaimed, "Take this money, you devil !" He slunk away like a sneaking prairie wolf, but every hair of my head seemed stiff as a Russian bristle. Permit me to add that the first season in 1834, I assisted in raising the frame of the first house in Joliet, and when a bent fell, one man getting his scalp peeled and Dr. Bowen dressed the wound. The first Joliet Fourth of July celebration was had in 1835, on the then open prairie near the jail. You were orator of the day, and though young, a very good one, while.Dr. Bowen and myself had the honor of presenting the follow- ing toasts :

By Dr. Bowen-" Illinois-The prospective Empire State, as her great and varied resources will one day demonstrate." .

By H. Rowell-" Joliet-In July, 1834, not known ; in July, 1835, a city in embryo."

In 1847, I introduced here the first McCormick reaper, Messrs. Stephens, Wheeler and Higginbottom being the purchasers. And although I did not move my family to Joliet until 1857, I was frequently back and forth, and had sent two different parties with teams and outfit to make improvements on my Joliet property. As to Judge Barnett, he died ten or twelve years ago at Kankakee, while Cagwin is or was in California.

JOLIET, October 8, 1878.

H. ROWELL.

When elected Recorder, the writer was a clerk for Mr. Demmond, and opened the office in the Demmond Block. But, as illustrative of the strife be- tween sides, of which we have already spoken, we would say that the boys over the river soon began to complain that the Recorder's office was not kept at the county seat, as the law required. The point was well taken. Demmond had laid off his town as " West Juliet." He scorned the idea of being an addition to " that slough over yonder." West Juliet was not then, part of the county seat. But an escape from the dilemma was quickly found. The school section ad- joined the town on the south, lying on both sides of the river, and this had been recorded as an addition to Juliet. A little building about 16x16 was pur- chased on the school section at no great distance, a little below Porter's brew-

CH'F. FIRE DEPT. JOLIET

Hiram Crowley CHICAGO FORMERLY OF HOMER TP.

alonzo Leach JOLIET

June O. Andlow (DECEASED) JOLIET

OF TUS

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

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ery. (N. B .- The brewery was not built then, and therefore had no influence in the selection.) Here the office was opened and kept until a better one was built. Jenks, who had been appointed County Clerk, also made that his office until the Commissioners rented the upper story of the Wilson store.

The first Circuit Court was held in this room (the Wilson store) in October, 1836, by Hon. Thomas Ford, afterward Governor. The entrance to the second story was by a staircase on the south side. The door has been since walled up. The Court was constituted by appointing Levi Jenks, Clerk, and Uri Osgood, State's Attorney. Fenner Aldrich had just been elected Sheriff, having hero- ically stepped forward to fill the gap caused by Bob Stevens' refusal, and he rang out the "O-yez, o-yez, the honorable Circuit Court of Will County is now in session," for the first time in our history, and with a rhythm and a roar which I do not believe have been surpassed during the succeeding ages. Impressed with a sense of the importance and gravity of the occasion, his voice trembled a little and his chin quivered. But this only made the scene more im- pressive. But this was not all the Court. A grand jury had been summoned and were now called. The following was the original panel :

Armstead Runyon, Thomas Reed, Edward Poor, Thomas H. Rickey, Ralph Smith, Reason Zarley, Isaiah Treat, Joseph Cox, Peter McCarty, Wm. Sheriff, Justin Taylor, Charles Goodwin, John I. Davidson, Harry Boardman, Ezra Goodhue, Richard L. Wilson, Samuel Holcomb, George Beckwith, Joseph Shoemaker, Elias Brown, Aaron Moore.

Five of these did not put in their appearance, and the Sheriff, as is usual now, we believe, was ordered to fill up the vacancies from the loafers hanging around. George H. Woodruff, William Gougar, Richard Hobbs, Jonathan Barnett and E. S. Sill were scooped up. Reason Zarley was chosen Foreman. We offer this (as finally constituted) as a sample grand jury. They indicted one man for keeping a gaming-house, two others for selling an estray, and three for a riot. As to the petit jury, that being, as the name implies, a com- paratively small affair, we shall not record their names, although our present worthy citizens, Rodney House and H. N. Marsh, formed a part. J. C. New- kirk, Esq., now one of the most prominent and substantial citizens of Hudson, N. Y., and a Judge, defended the rioters and got them acquitted. C. C. Van Horne and Abram Van Horne and another were the rioters. It was a claim dispute and no riot.

Among the early and valuable acquisitions to the West Side, in 1835-36, were John M. Wilson and Allen Pratt. They came together and were both from Massachusetts. They had some money and they invested in West Juliet. Both were long and well known here. Pratt built many buildings. He died in 1856. Wilson has become known as Judge Wilson, long a practicing lawyer here, and later a Chicago Judge. Wilson and Charles Clement initiated the grain trade of Joliet. Their warehouse was an old barn which stood where the brick block on Bluff street now stands. We have not the figures of the number

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of bushels they handled, but the profits of one year's operations, when the firm dissolved, were $9. Probably the number of bushels was something less than ar now handled by Carpenter & Marsh, who in one day this season shipped 10 cars of grain. O. W. Stillman was, we believe, the first Justice of the Peace o the East Side, and we need not say he was a good one, although the boys used t say that he had no Bible, and was in the habit of swearing the witnesses on a cop of "Volney's Ruins." The Universalist Church is largely indebted to his effort for the fine church edifice they have. He is now a granger on Maple street.

William Blair was our first tinsmith and stove and hardware dealer. H ultimately moved to Chicago, where he has long been known as an extensiv wholesale dealer, and one of the wealthiest and most honorable of her citizens Deacon Rodney House, of the East Side, opened the first wagon-shop, and Deaco Beaumont soon followed on the West Side with another. Deacon Beaumont buil the house now occupied by Edward Aiken, since re-habilitated (we mean th house), and in this the good, old Deacon lived, using the front room for a sho during the week, and, every Saturday night, cleaning it up and holding meet ings there on the Sabbath, in which he was joined by the good Deacon on th East Side. We remember to have heard one of the Beechers (Edward) preach there. The old Deacon had his peculiarities-some of them perhaps wer faults, as who has not-but there never lived a kinder neighbor, and Joliet ha not had many more earnest and sincere Christians. He always showed hi colors, and was always on the side of justice and temperance and revivals He could have no better epitaph than what was said of him by a simple child who, when she wanted to designate him and did not know or had forgotten hi name, described him as "the man who lived in the church." She had neve been to church or prayer meeting or Sabbath school, that she had not found the Deacon there before her, and she supposed that he literally "dwelt there in the house of the Lord all the days of his life." Our readers will all remember how suddenly he went home in June, 1876, at the age of 73 years and 9 months

George Woodruff, we need not say, is our present well-known banker, one o the men who have stuck to Joliet through thick and thin-and we have had some pretty thin times-and now enjoys the competence he has acquired. Ou names still get mixed occasionally as they used to do in early days. The mos ludicrous mistake is when parties go to George H. to borrow money. Onl strangers do this.

The first public building of the county, which was a Jail and Court Hous combined, was built in 1837. Blackburn and Wilson were the contractors at the price of $2,000. This stood a little north of the present Jail, and was used not only for holding courts but for other public purposes. The first Baptist Church hel their meetings there under the pastorate of Elder Solomon Knapp and others A very powerful revival was enjoyed by this Church during Elder Knapp's pastorate, in which he was assisted by Elder Powell, an evangelist of much ability. This revival was the year subsequent to the one spoken of in "Forty

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ears Ago," under the labors of the Footes. This church was organized by Elder shley, of Plainfield, who preached to it every alternate Sabbath until the ming of Elder Knapp. It consisted of seven original members as follows : lijah Johnson, Deacon Green and wife, Mrs. Higginbotham, Mrs. Chauncey, rs. Cagwin, and Elder R. B. Ashley. The first baptized convert was the on. Henry Snapp. The place used for baptisms was the deep hole below the and. It is hardly necessary to say that this was before the river had been nverted into a sewer, while it still bore some little resemblance to the Jordan. ow many and how varied the scenes which transpired within those old Court ouse walls-County and Circuit Courts, temperance and political meetings, e pleadings both of lawyers and preachers, thrilling trials and solemn charges Judges, the weeping of the condemned and the rejoicings of the acquitted, e groans of sinners and the shouts of the redeemed, all have been heard there- it all are silent now. The voices of Newkirk and .Wilson, of Henderson and oardman, of Fellows, of Osgood and Little are heard there no more. Save e first two, all are silent in death. The building has been razed to its founda- ons. Thus

" We build with what we deem eternal rock, A distant age asks where the fabric stood, And in the dust sifted and searched in vain, The undiscoverable secret sleeps."

Perhaps the reader thinks that a pretty large quotation for so small a build- g as the old Court House of forty years ago. We think so, too, but it came indy, and we wanted something that sounded well in this history. The esent Court House was commenced in 1847, and strange as it may seem, this what the Signal said of it in 1848 : " The new Court House makes a magnifi- nt appearance and when completed will be an honor to the county." The rue Democrat (from which the Republican developed) took down its vignette the American bird and substituted a cut of the Court House as an ornament. must be remembered that there were then none of the present surroundings, e Centennial Block and the Aiken Block, with its classic statuary.

JOLIET INCORPORATED.

In 1837, we had reached such magnificent proportions that it became necessary obtain an act of incorporation. We could get along pretty well in every other spect but the matter of taxes. These continued to be ridiculously insignificant, nd it was felt by those who had the prosperity of the place most at heart, that a st self-respect demanded' that we should have more taxes. Accordingly, a ublic meeting was called in March, at "Uncle Fenner's," at which it was ecided by a unanimous vote that we would incorporate. And so we did, by lling an election under the provisions of the general law, for the election of ve Trustees, two of whom were to be on each side (or in each Ward.) And ow came the opportunity for one of the fiercest contests between the two sides. o gain the odd Trustee was an object of transcendent importance. The act

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required that all voters should own real estate within the corporate limits. This simplified and narrowed the field. The town was thoroughly canvassed, and it was ascertained that the West Side had the most property-owners. We think that from the first and all through our earlier history, the West Side had the most money, but the East Side had the most shrewdness and diplomacy. So it was on this occasion. An expedient was found by which the West Side majority was overcome. Even in those early days that great moral institution known as the circus, made us an occasional visit. One happened to be here at that time. The men were invited to become real estate owners and voters. Impressed with a sense of the high honor, they accepted, and thirty-six voters were added to the East Side, by the gift of a lot from Charley Sayer. It was a piece of strategy which has not been surpassed even in modern times. The West Side had no lots to throw away, and no circus handy, and was defeated. The first Board were J. A. Matteson, J. J. Garland, Daniel Reed, Fenner Aldrich and R. C. Duncan ; Dr. William Scholfield, Clerk. But the next year we laid out the East Side, and without a circus, too. It was generally supposed that Dick Wilson's was the fertile brain where this scheme was devised. Dick Wilson ! What old settler does not remember him. "Alas, poor Yorick ! where be your gibes now ? your gambols, your songs ? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table in a roar ? " This Board of Trustees built bridges, which with the act of incorporation made us one town. The bridges went off the next spring, and the "fiat " money with which they were built underwent a slight change-the "i" was lengthened into an "1," that was all. If we were not fully determined not to admit any politics into this history, we should here drop a suggestion that such might be the change that would come over all "fiat money." After playing city two or three years longer, the people concluded that taxes were no great luxury after all; at least, we ceased to hanker after them. The corporation was dissolved by act of Legislature. The era of hard times had come on, and we were willing to dispense with luxuries.

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The History of Will County, Illinois : containing a history of the county a directory of its real estate owners; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; general and local statistics.history of Illinois history of the Northwest, Part 27

Author: Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Chicago : Wm. Le Baron, jr. & co. Number of Pages: 980

Author:
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Chicago : Wm. Le Baron, jr. & co.
Number of Pages: 980