USA > Illinois > Ogle County > The history of Ogle 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, general and local statistics history of the Northwest, history of Illinois etc > Part 53
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The occasion marked a new era in the history of the pioneer settlement of the Northwest, and the day was long to be remembered.
The following copy of a letter, written by Rev. Mr. Borien to Rev. T. S. Hfitt, soon after this occasion, indicates the interest that was felt in this, for that day, great undertaking. For his efforts and labor in its behalf he had received a donation of eighty acres of land, to which he refers :
CHICAGO, July 9, 1839.
BRO. H. : I know you were all disappointed on the " Fourth." Clark, I presume, was not there to address the people, and your letter requesting me to prepare and speak on that occasion, did not come to hand until the evening of the 3d of July, and I was then preparing to speak the next day in our city. You have no idea how I regret the way matters have turned out. I had engaged my services for the " Fourth" long before, even before I heard of your intention of laying the foundation on the " Fourth." I would have given much to have been present ; first, because I never witnessed the like ; second, because I want to watch closely the progress of the " Institu- tion," through every stage of its being, until it takes its stand among the first institutions of the country. I hope, however, that the day passed off in a manner better than was expected. I thank you and your two brothers, Capt. Swingley, and all concerned, ten thousand times for my land. * * You must pardon this scrip, for I am sick with a cold.
P. R. BORIEN.
During the Summer and Fall of 1839, a portion of the prairie around the building in process of erection was surveyed and platted by D. Fletcher Hill, and the embryo town was named Mt. Morris. The Rock River Register, in 1842, stated that the town was named in honor of Bishop Robert Morris, and this is the prevailing impression among the present survivors of that day. Pro- fessor Pinckney states, on the authority of Horaee Miller, Esq., of Kishwaukee, that he, Miller, gave this town its name in honor of Mount Morris, Genesee County, New York, his former residence. Mr. Miller was a prominent and influential member of the Methodist Church at Kishwaukee, who had been active in his efforts to secure the location of the Seminary at that point. He had failed, but he was still deeply interested in the enterprise ; was one of the first trustees of the institution, and, under the circumstances, it is very natural to suppose that he might have been permitted the honor of naming the town where it was located. It seems probable that both may be correct. Judge Miller, having suggested the name of his old town, the Methodist Elders at once adopted it, because it was in honor of Bishop Morris as well.
The first meeting of the Board of Trustees of which record now exists occurred November 18, 1839. Present, Rev. John Clark, Rev. B. Weed, Rev. Thomas S. Hitt, John Wallace, Horace Miller, C. B. Artz, Dr. J. J. Beatty, Capt. N. Swingley and S. M. Bowman. Rev. John Clark was elected Presi- dent, Rev. B. Weed, Vice President, Samuel M. Hitt, Treasurer, and S. M. Bowman, Secretary.
Grant Goodrich, George D. H. Wilcoxon and James Johnson were elected members of the Board.
The salary of the agent was fixed at $500 per annum, and contingent expenses.
471
HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
At this meeting, Rev. Thomas S. Ilitt, who had been appointed agent of the institution, and who was its agent for a long time afterward, and to whom was largely entrusted the management of its affairs, reported the amount of contributions that had been pledged, and was authorized to raise money upon the sale of scholarships-for one year, $25; for two years, $50; for four years, $100; perpetual, $500. In conjunction with the Building Committee, he was authorized to negotiate a loan of $4,000, and clothed with power to call future meetings of the Trustees. In an historical sketch of this institution, written a few years ago hy Robert R. Hitt, Esq., it is remarked, "The facility with which this institution glided into debt was a marked characteristic in its history." It simply followed the universal custom of running in debt which has been a great drawback upon the prosperity of the American people and American institutions.
At this November meeting, it was resolved to apply to the next Legislature for an act of incorporation, and a committee, consisting of Rev. John Clark, Hon. Thomas Ford and C. B. Artz, was appointed to draft a charter to be sub- mitted to the General Assembly of Illinois.
Another committee, consisting of Revs. John Clark, B. Weed, Thomas S. Hitt, James J. Beatty and Horace Miller, was appointed to employ a Principal and teachers.
A special meeting of the Board of Trustees was held in Oregon City, January 27, 1840, at which John Clark, Thomas S. Hitt, C. B. Artz, N. Swingley, M. Reynolds, John Wallace, Thomas Ford and Horace Miller were present. At this meeting, the following resolution was adopted :
Resolved, That a circular be drafted and addressed to the several Presiding Elders of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the northern part of Illinois, and the Territories of Wisconsin and Iowa, setting forth the present condition and ultimate design of the Rock River Seminary, and earnestly requesting them to use their influence with the several traveling and local preachers and others in their respective districts to take up, as soon as practicable, collections in small sums from all individuals who may be willing to contribute to the erection of said Seminary.
Hon. Thomas Ford and Rev. Thomas S. Hitt were appointed to draft the circular.
The Agent reported that he had " obtained a loan of John Sanburn of four hundred dollars, to be returned 1st April, A. D. 1840, in Land Office money " -gold.
At the regular quarterly meeting of the Board, April 20, 1840, at Mt. Morris, the Agent was authorized to endorse the notes of J. B. McCoy (con- tractor), for $2,500, payable September 1, 1840, this amount to be a part of the loan of $4,000, and the Board were to responsible for the endorsement. He subsequently reported that he had endorsed only $60 of Mr. McCoy's paper. In anticipation of the opening of the school, it was ordered that the price of board for students under 15 years of age should be $1.50 per week ; over that age, $1.75. The prices of tuition were also established, and it was agreed that John Wallace should act as Steward of the Seminary.
The efforts to raise money were energetically continued through the Winter of 1839-40, with considerable success, and the originators of this bold scheme to establish a seminary in the wilderness began to feel confident of success.
At an adjourned meeting of the Board, May 30, 1840, the committee re- ported the engagement of Prof. Joseph N. Waggoner, of the Genesee (N. Y.) Wesleyan Seminary, and an arrangement was made with him to allow him $30 for his traveling expenses to this county, and $20 per month for his services as teacher, for three months, from June 1st.
472
HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
A survey of the seminary ground was ordered, and Rev. John Clark, S. M. HFitt, N. Swingley, G. D. H. Wilcoxon, John Wallace, M. Reynolds and S. M. Bowman were appointed an " attending committee," to instruct the surveyor.
At this meeting, Rev. Alexander Irvine, an earnest and active Methodist preacher, was appointed to visit Chicago, to solicit donations. At a subsequent meeting, Mr. Irvine reported that he had obtained subscriptions amounting to $186.75, including a stove from Mr. J. K. Botsford, of Chicago ; whereupon the Board voted that Mr. Irvine should have the stove and his stage fare, $35, as compensation for his services and expenses. Traveling by stage was ex- pensive in those days.
The seminary building was not ready for occupation on the 1st of June, and Mr. Waggoner taught school during the Summer in the log school house, near Prof. Pinckney's present residence, where Mr. Allen had first wielded the birch.
July 3, 1840, the agent reported that Mr. McCoy (contractor) had been paid $4,190.
Mr. S. M. Bowman, Secretary of the Board, then a merchant at Dixon, since of San Francisco and New York, was appointed to write the history of the Seminary, for publication. Mr. Bowman was subsequently the author of a volume of European travels, but his history of the Seminary was never pre- sented to the public.
The annual session of the Rockford Conference was appointed at Mount Morris, in the Fall of 1840. It was expected that the Seminary building would be so far completed that the meeting could be accommodated beneath its roof. But in this the people were disappointed ; the plastering was not done, and they held a camp meeting in the grove, about two miles northwest of the unfinished edifice.
At the session of the Rock River Conference, at Mount Morris, September 2, 1840, the following Board of Trustees for Rock River Seminary was ap- pointed, viz. : John Clark, Samuel M. Hitt, John H. Rountree, J. B. Crist, Anthony Pitzer, Nathaniel Swingley, Leander S. Walker, James Mitchell, John Sinclair, C. Burr Artz, Thomas Ford, Bartholomew Weed, Thomas S. Hitt and James J. Beatty, and on the evening of the same day the new Board organized by the choice of John Clark, President, and Thomas S. Hitt, Secre- tary.
Judge Ford and Elder Clark were requested to draft and procure the pas- sage of a charter at the next session of the Legislature.
October 2, 1840, Rev. John Sharp was appointed Steward ; T. S. Hitt, John Wallace, Anthony Pitzer and John Sharp were appointed Executive Committee. Thomas S. Hitt was appointed to make a final settlement with Mr. McCoy. Mr. Waggoner's wages were continued as first agreed upon until the commence- ment of the first term, when his salary was to be fixed at $300 a year.
October 28, 1840, the Board resolved, "with the permission of J. B. McCoy, to take possession of the Seminary edifice as tenants during one session, to close in April next."
The first term of the Rock River Seminary commenced on the first Friday in November, 1840, and continued twenty-two weeks, with a goodly number of students when the fact is remembered that the country was very sparsely settled. The first Board of Visitors consisted of Rev. John Clark, of Mount Morris; Rev. John T. Mitchell and Rev. Hooper Crews, of Chicago; Rev. S. H. Stock- ing, of Rockford, and Rev. B. Weed, of Plattville, W. T. Board of Instruc- tion-Prof. Joseph N. Waggoner, Principal and Professor of Languages ; Rev.
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HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
Lyman Catlin, Professor of Mathematics, and Miss Cornelia N. Russell, Pre- ceptress.
The second term commenced the first Friday in May, 1841, with the same Board of Instruction and a primary department in charge of Mrs. Fanny Rus- sell. This was the town school, under the charge of the Seminary, and of course increased the number of students. The primary department was discontinued in 1843.
December 29, 1840, the following resolutions were adopted :
Resolved, That lots be donated to applicants applying until the Ist of June next, who shall build a house of stone, brick or frame not less that 16 by 24 feet, 1} stories high, to be fit for occupancy by the Ist of January, 1842, or sooner.
Resolved, That all lots in the town of Mount Morris be deeded with the proviso that houses of ill fame, gambling and retailing of ardent spirits be prohibited
January 3, 1841, the Seminary was formally dedicated, the address on the interesting occasion being delivered by Samuel N. Samples, Esq., a lawyer, of Oregon.
January 4, 1841, J. Clark, T. S. Hitt and N. Swingley were appointed to finish the " surveying and platting of Mount Morris," and the following action was taken :
Whereas, D. F. Hitt, Esq., proposed to the agent to do all the necessary work in surveying on the Seminary lands, such as laying off the town of Mount Morris, the Botanical Gardens* and the grave yard, and give a level, compass, chain and necessary fixtures for fitting out an engineer- ing and surveying department in the institute, in consideration of a.certificate of perpetual schol- arship The above proposition laid before the Trustees was accepted, the instruments received, the certificate given and a part of the work accomplished.
Rev. Luke Hitchcock was appointed as an additional special agent to assist Mr. Hitt, whose health had become impaired.
By act of the General Assembly of Illinois, approved February 18, 1841, the Rock River Seminary was incorporated. The corporators named in the act were John Clark, Leander S. Walker, Thomas S. Hitt, Jacob B. Crist, C. Burr Artz, Samuel M. Hitt, John Wallace, Nathaniel Swingley, Anthony Pitzer and James J. Beatty. The number of Trustees was not to exceed twelve, ex- clusive of the Principal, or presiding officer of the Seminary, who was made, ex officio, a member of the Board.
At a special meeting of the corporation, April 29, 1841, the charter was unanimously accepted ; and on the 6th of May, J. Clark was elected Chairman ; T. S. Hitt, Secretary, and A. Pitzer, Treasurer.
April 14, 1841, Mrs. Fanny Russell was employed to take charge of the primary department at two dollars per week and board.
At the close of the first school year, October 7, 1841, the order of exercises was as follows :
GENTLEMEN.
I. Music.
2. Prayer.
3. Music.
4. Stability of our Republic. John B. Cheney, Boonsboro, Md.
5. Man a Social Being. Henry Madden, Belmont, W. T.
6. Freedom. Jesse S. Pitzer, Ottawa.
7. Music.
8. Beauties of Nature. James D. Turner, Freeport.
9. Intellectual Culture. Ephraim Ingals, Palestine Grove.
10. Music.
Il. Formation of Character. Elias M. Hammond. Sycamore.
12. The Art of Printing. Samuel M. Fellows. Dixon.
13. Independence. Benjamin G. Stephens, Apple River.
14. Music.
*The Botanical Gardens included a large area south of the town, between it and the " grave yard."
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HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
15. True Greatness. Charles Dement, Dixon.
16. A Superintending Providence Manifest in the Affairs of Nature. Geo. A. Ingals, Pales- tine Grove.
17. Music.
18. Benediction.
LADIES.
I. Prayer.
2. All is not Gold that Glitters. Miss Susan V. West.
3. Attachments to Early Habits. Miss Elizabeth O. Clement.
4. Advantages of Ilistory. Miss Helen M. Judson.
5. Advantage of Strict Adherence to Truth. Miss Emily Young.
6. Perseverance Accomplishes Everything. Miss Amanda Wheeler.
7. Contemplation. Almira M. Robertson.
8. Benediction.
Mr. Catlin, who remained in the institution several years, was a good teacher. Miss Cornelia N. Russell was an accomplished teacher, and a lady whose sweet- ness of character and skill as a teacher will never be forgotten by the hundreds of students who attended during her term of service. Professor Waggoner proved himself to be an able and faithful instructor. He is now, and has been for many years, a prosperous bookseller at Galena. The following extract from a historical sketch, contained in the catalogue of the Institution for 1874, will not be out of place in this connection :
The country was then very sparsely settled-a wide region of far-sweeping prairies, with winding strips of woodland following the course of the streams-the few people scattered here and there were mostly persons with narrow means, working diligently to open farms, living in small, inconvenient, temporary houses, with the pressure of necessity-clothing, food, the improvement of the land, their stock and crops-to divert their attention from the future value of education to their sons and daughters. They generally possessed more individual energy and force of character than is found in the average citizen nowadays, and responded readily to the appeals of the agents of the Seminary and the enthusiastic Methodist circuit riders, who entered upon this cause as heartily as they do upon every other good thing. The students who came were, many of them, crude and awkward beginners ; a few were advanced by previous advantages in the East, but they were generally of good families, and their education in the school. was preceded and supplemented by home and social education, rendering it ten-fold more valuable. They grew up with the spirit of the period upon them, the energy characteristic of a new country, and, as a result, there is a surprising proportion of those whose names occur as students in the cata- logues of those days who have risen to distinction as clergymen, lawyers, merchants, politicians, editors, influential and substantial citizens, or accomplished, useful and honored women. Among those who appeared in the first catalogues were Dr. Augustus H. Ankeny, now a leading and wealthy citizen of Clinton, Iowa ; T. C. Ankeny, Esq., of Viroqua, editor of the Wisconsin Inde- pendent ; Rev. Jno. Emery Clark, a well known Methodist educator ; John B. Cheney, Esq., afterward a brilliant lawyer; Albert Deere, the manufacturer of the Deere plow, at Moline; Prof. S. M. Fellows, long a teacher here, a man of great worth and thorough scholarship ; Richard N. Hamilton, Esq., of Chicago ; James C. T. Phelps, Esq., William J. Mix, Esq., of Oregon ; Rev. Wm. R. Irvine, Hon. James D. Turner, Gen. W. H. L. Wallace, afterward a prominent lawyer, a soldier of distinction in the Mexican war, and in the late war rising to the rank of a General officer, fell gallantly fighting at Shiloh ; Gen. M. R. M. Wallace, brother of the preceding, now at Chicago and Judge of the Cook County Court ; Capt. John F. Wallace, another, brother, who served in the army and died at Galveston, Texas. Among the ladies, Margaret C. Hitt, now wife of Hon. D. J. Pinckney ; Helen M. Judson, now wife of Gov. Jno. L. Beveridge ; Elizabeth Reynolds, now wife of Hon. L. P. Sanger. Scores of others, equally well known and honored, might be mentioned from the 156 names in the first catalogue.
In addition to the above, may be mentioned the name of the author of the above sketelı, Hon. Robert R. Hitt, now (1878) Secretary of Legation at Paris, France ; John W. Hitt, Esq., the present faithful Supervisor of the town of Mont Morris ; Robert S. Hitt, Esq .. of Chicago ; Dr. Benjamin G. Stephens, of Mount Morris; Almira M. Robertson (now Mrs. A. M. Bacon, of Oregon) ; Ann E. Swingley (now Mrs. J. C. T. Phelps, of Oregon) ; John Hitt, Esq., now and for several years past Deputy Collector of Customs at Chicago ; James Martin, afterward a professor in the institution and now Principal of a seminary near Sacramento, Cal.
475
HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
March 16, 1841, L. S. Walker, J. Sharp, John Wallace and Thomas S. Hitt were appointed a committee to manage " the Teaching Department for the present term."
April 8, 1842, Rev. Daniel J. Pinckney, A. B., was elected Principal of the Seminary. He was, when elected, a professor in the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary (N. Y.) Prof. Pinckney arrived at Chicago on the 5th of August, 1842, where the Rock River Conference was in session, and at Mount Morris the Saturday night following. The next day, Sabbath, he addressed the people. Upon his arrival, he found the institution heavily burdened with debt (over $16,000), the building unfinished, and only sixteen students in attendance. From that time until the commencement of the Fall and Winter term in November, he traveled extensively and lectured in the principal towns of Southern Illinois and Wisconsin in the interest of the institution and for secur- ing students. The Fall term opened with one hundred and fifty students, and from that time onward it was successful in its literary and scientific depart- ments, but, for reasons already shown, was much embarrassed financially ; there seems to have been no lack of students, the great difficulty being the want of sufficient accommodations for those who desired to attend. During his administration, a large number of young men received their education at this institution, remaining several years after they entered, until they graduated. Of these, many subsequently occupied and some of them still occupy prominent positions in State and nation ; among whom were Gen. John A. Rawlins, Secretary of War under President Grant; Gov. John L. Beveridge; Gov. Shelby M. Cullom ; Hon. G. L. Fort, now Member of Congress : Hon. James L. Bev- eridge, ex-Governor of State ; Hon. Henry L. Magoon, Member of Congress for the Darlington District, Wis. ; Rev. Dr. Fowler, now Editor of the Christian Advocate and Journal, New York ; Dani I H. Wheeler, afterward professor at Cornell College and in the Northwestern University at Evanston. now Editor of the Methodist, New York ; Hon. Moses Hallett, now United States Judge in Colorado ; John V. Farwell, Esq., now a prominent merchant in Chicago, and many others who since attained distinction in the ministry, as educators, and in other walks of life.
In March, 1845, in consequence of ill health, Prof. Pinckney left the institution, temporarily, in charge of Prof. S. R. Thorpe, his able and efficient assistant, for the remainder of the term. At the end of that term, Prof. Pinck- ney and P. Judson, Secretary of the Board, were appointed to secure the services of Dr. J. C. Finley, formerly of McKendree College, who became Principal and remained in charge about a year, when Prof. Pinckney again resumed his position.
In 1847, Prof. Pinckney was elected a member of the Constitutional Con- vention, and, during his absence, left Prof. Fellows in charge of the Seminary.
August 21, 1847, Rev. Carmi C. Olds was elected Principal of the Seminary, who continued until March 6, 1850, when he tendered his resignation, and Prof. S. M. Fellows was elected Acting Principal for the then present term. May 7, 1850, Prof. Pinckney, J. J. Beatty and E. Wood were appointed a com- mittee to make arrangements in regard to the formation of a new faculty.
June 26, 1850, Prof. D. J. Pinckney was again elected Principal ; but as he could not take full charge of the Seminary until the commencement of the Winter term of 1850-1, on the 29th of July, Prof. S. M. Fellows was appointed Acting Principal for the Fall term of 1850.
The old Seminary building was no longer large enough to accommodate the large number of students who flocked to this institution, which had become the
476
HISTORY OF OGLE COUNTY.
leading literary institution of Northern Illinois, and it was necessary to enlarge it or erect a new one. At a meeting of the Board of Trustees, September 9, 1850, action was taken, and the following resolution adopted :
Resolved, That we advertise in the Mount Morris Gazette to receive proposals for stone and brick work, and other materials, for the walls of a new Seminary building, forty by one hun- dred and twenty feet, four stories high, until the 1st of October, 1850.
Prof. D. J. Pinckney, E. Wood and A. C. Marsten were appointed a com- mittee to make a plan of the building.
At the meeting of the Trustees, Nov. 11, 1850, resolutions of respect and sympathy were adopted on the death of John Wallace, who had been connected with the Seminary from its first organization. At the same session, Daniel J. Pinekney, F. B. Brayton and Enoch Wood were appointed a Building Com- mittee, who were instructed to make a plan and advertise for the ereetion of the new building. This new building was located, by vote of the Trustees, Decem- ber 23, 1850, "thirty-six feet south" of the old structure.
May 12, 1851, the Executive Committee were authorized to close a con- tract with Jacob Myers for the erection of the walls of the new Seminary build- ing, and work was commenced soon afterward.
June 7, 1851, the scholarship system was adopted for the purpose of endowing the Rock River Seminary. The scholarships were to be made per- petual, and sold for $60. Messrs. Pinekney, Crews and Wood were appointed a committee to draft a plan for issuing them, and make the necessary prepara- tions for doing so.
March 1, 1852, it was ordered that the "Botanical Garden, containing thirteen and a half acres, be surveyed, divided into forty-eight lots, and recorded as an addition to the town of "Mount Morris."
December 30, 1852, the Trustees resolved to apply to the Legislature for an aet of incorporation as an University ; appointed Messrs. Pinckney, Fellows and Little to draft a charter, and requested Mr. Pinckney to go to Springfield in the interest of the movement, which he did, and secured the passage of an amendment conferring University privileges upon the institution.
In January, 1853, Mr. Pinckney resigned as Principal, and Prof. George L. Little was elected. He was succeeded by Prof. Spencer S. Matteson, at the commencement of the Fall term, who died in November, 1853; and Prof. Pinckney again assumed aetive control of the school.
The records of the Board of Trustees thus far do not indieate the progress of the new building, but it had been progressing, for on the 28th of June, 1854, it was estimated that $6,000 would be sufficient to complete it, and the following resolution was unanimously adopted :
Resolved, That we raise twelve thousand dollars on well secured pledges, to be appropriated to the payment of the debts of the R. R. Seminary, and to the finishing and furn'sbing of the new building. Provided the said sum of twelve thousand dollars shall be thus pledged and secured by the 20th day of September next.
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