USA > Illinois > Kane County > The past and present of Kane County, Illinois : containing a history of the county a directory war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion statistics history of the Northwest etc., etc > Part 38
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390
HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
German Evangelical Association .- In 1855, Rev. Mr. Logschute, a mis- sionary of the German Evangelical Association, visited Elgin and preached twice at the house of Henry Runge. Later in the same year, Rev. A. Schnacke addressed congregations of Germans in the city, and was followed by Rev -. Authis, George Vetter, G. V. Lechler and Ragatz, during whose preaching camp meetings were held and a number of souls converted. The meetings were much disturbed, at first, by certain of the rabble and nondescript vagabonds who are always found about the streets of cities ; and, on one occasion, an at- tempt was made to burn the preacher's stand, upon the camp ground ; but these annoyances disappeared as their numbers increased. In 1859, under the pas- torate of Rev. H. Hintze, a house was purchased of B. W. Raymond and D. Hewitt for $300, and fitted up for a church. This meeting house stood opposite the Congregational Church, on Center street, had previously been occupied by other religious denominations, but had passed into the hands of private owners. Revs. E. Schneider, Mussulman and Carl Gaztstadter followed, and afterward came Rev. C. Wagner, from 1863 to 1865, under whose pastorate the Sunday school was organized. Revs. John Kiest, V. Forkel and E. M. Sindlinger suc- cceded, the ministration of the latter extending from 1867 to 1869, followed by Christian during the two following years. The Free Methodists having mean- while erected a house of worship for which they were unable to pay, it was ex- changed, in 1870, with the Evangelical Association for their small building and $3,000. The pulpit has since then been filled in succession by Revs. M. Stumm, B. C. Fehr, T. Alberding, who was retained for three years, and F. Busse, the present Pastor. Membership, 150.
Episcopal .- There are no records in existence stating when church services were first held by the Episcopal denomination in Elgin. The parish was or- ganized on Ash Wednesday February 17, 1858. Rev. J. H. Waterbury, now of Boston, was the first Rector, remaining with the parish for eighteen months. and the first services after the organization were held in the Free Will Baptist Church. Rev. F. Esch was next employed, and, after a vacancy extending over a short period, was followed by S. D. Pulford, who remained until 1860. A vacancy in the pastorate then occurred, until 1866, when Rev. D. C. Howard officiated for a few Sabbaths, but left during the year. From that date until 1870, the church continued to decline, but during that year aroused, tem- porarily, and employed Rev. George Wallace as Rector, who remained only until 1871. S. J. French officiated from 1874 to 1875, when, after a short interval. Rev. W. W. Estabrooke, the present Rector, succeeded. Number of communi- cants, eighty.
German Lutheran Evangelical, St. John's .- This church was organized upon the 1st of October, 1859. Revs. Winder and Muller were the earliest of its preachers in Elgin. On the 26th of February, 1860, the first election of Trustees took place, L. Schneidwend, John Long and Frederick Fehrman being selected to fill the important position. The building formerly occupied.
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
by the Free-Will Baptists was purchased for $550, and was used until 1876, when the brick edifice now used was ereeted upon the same ground, at a cost of about $10,000. The old house of worship is still standing and used for Sabbath . schools and business meetings. The names of the Pastors who have succes- sively addressed the congregation are: Revs. F. Renecke, R. Dulon, Chas. Israel, W. Buhler, F. W. Richmann and H. F. Fruchtenicht, the present Pas- tor, who has officiated since 1875.
German United Evangelical, St. Paul's Church, separated from the above organization, in Elgin, on the 1st of October, 1875. Preparations were im- mediately made to erect a house of worship, which was commenced the same year, and finished upon the 23d of July, 1876. It cost, with the lot, $10,000. The membership has increased since its organization, from seven to thirty. Rev. R. Katerndahl was the first Pastor, followed by Rev. Gustav Koch, who still officiates.
Free Methodist .- In the Fall of 1865, Rev. C. H. Underhill, organized a Free Methodist Church, in Elgin, with four members, and, subsequently, con- tinued his labors in the city until the Spring of 1867. Meanwhile, an elegant church building was erected on a lot purchased at the corner of Milwaukee and Center streets. This house was 40x60 feet, and building and lot cost about $7,000. The membership had been increased at that time to forty-five, and the society continued to prosper during several successive administrations. In 1870, Rev. D. M. Sinclair was appointed to fill the pastorate, and, in con- sequence of his mismanagement, the church greatly declined, resulting in the final disposal of their building in exchange for the one formerly occupied by the German Evangelical denomination. The present membership is about twenty.
The Swedish Evangelical Church was organized in January, 1870, and, in September, 1871, purchased the church formerly owned by the Presbyterians, at the corner of Dexter avenue and Center street, for $3,000. The member- ship, which was at first forty-five, has now greatly increased.
African Baptist .- One hundred gentlemen and ladies of color arrived in Elgin from the sunny South, in the Autumn of 1862, and their number was largely increased by arrivals in subsequent years. In 1866, the Second, or colored, Baptist Church was formed, Rev. A. J. Joslyn ministering as Pastor for some time. A portion of the old Methodist Church was purchased, fitted as a house of worship and occupied until it was destroyed by fire, on the 28th of March, 1875, since which time the Court House has been used for the same purpose. The present membership is-about thirty.
The Illinois Northern Hospital for the Insane is situated in Section 23, about a mile southwest of the business portion, but within the city limits of Elgin; and the farm connected with the institution embraces 510 acres, of which 150 were donated by the citizens of Elgin, and the remainder purchased by the State. The buildings stand upon an elevation 3,000 feet from the river
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
bank, and seventy above the water level, thus affording a pleasing view from the upper portico of the river bend upon the east, the railroads following either bank, the smoke clouds rising from the manufactories of South Elgin below, and the clustering spires and dwellings of the more ambitious town on the north. The slope to the river bank is very gradual, and the scenery in the vicinity is of the quiet and cultivated cast so often met with in this State. The main river road passes through the farm in front of the hospital. The ground plan of the entire edifice includes a main or center building, occupied by the officers and employes, two irregularly shaped wings, of which one is occupied by male, the other by female patients, and a rear building for the domestic department and machinery. The entire frontage of the building, including the wings, is 1,086 feet ; that of the main building, sixty-two feet. The main structure is four stories, the wings three stories, and the material is Dundee brick, with stone caps and sills, which give the whole an imposing appearance. There are twenty- four wards-twelve in each wing-light and airy, and supplied with bay win- dows and conservatories for flowering plants, while the entire hospital is equipped with all modern appurtenances for convenience, safety and health, including hot and foul-air ducts, fire apparatus, railways, and dumb-waiters for the distribu- tion of food, dust-flues, speaking tubes, double-bladed iron fans, for forced ventilation, etc. The outline and arrangement of the Government Hospital for the Insane, in Washington, universally acknowledged as one of the best in the world, has been carefully observed in the construction of the Asylum at Elgin. The buildings were originally designed for the accommodation of only 300 patients ; but, when completed, it was found that they were amply sufficient for the demands of 500, as shown by a recent report of the Trustees. In 1869, the Legislature made the first movement toward the establishment of the Hospital, by enacting a law providing for the necessary appropriation. A commission of nine persons, to wit: Samuel D. Lockwood, of Kane County; John H. Bry- ant, of Bureau ; D. S. Hammond, of Cook ; Merritt L. Joslyn, of McHenry ; Augustus Adams, of DeKalb; Benjamin F. Shaw, of Lee; William Adams, of Will; William R. Brown, of Massac, and A. J. Matteson, of Whiteside, was appointed by Governor Palmer, in accordance with the provisions of this statute, for the purpose of selecting a suitable location for the proposed North- ern Hospital.
Various towns of the northern counties having been visited, a careful con- sideration of the advantages offered by each resulted in the selection of the site now occupied. The inducements offered by the citizens of Elgin included 160 acres of land, valued at $16,000, a spring valued at $2,500, and freightage over the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad to the amount of $3,000. Three Trustees were now appointed by the Governor, to adopt plans for the buildings, and superintend their erection. The original board consisted of C. N. Holden, of Chicago ; Henry Sherman, of Elgin, and Dr. Oliver Everett, of Dixon. In 1873, Hon. C. W. Marsh, of Sycamore, was substituted for Dr. Everett, and
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
in 1875, Edwin H. Sheldon, of Chicago, was appointed in the place of Mr. Holden. The north wing was completed first, and was opened, to receive patients, April 3, 1872, after a public and formal inspection on the 2d of Feb- ruary, when the Governor of the State and many distinguished guests were present, and were regaled with a complimentary dinner by the ladies of the city.
The main or center building was finished in April, 1874, and the south wing was ready for use in the following July; but, owing to a neglect on the part of the Legislature to appropriate a fund for the support of the patients, it was not opened until April, 1875. The present census of the Hospital is 500, equally divided between the sexes.
The following is a list of the officers :
President-Hon. C. W. Marsh, Sycamore.
Trustees-C. W. Marsh; Frederick Stahl, Galena ; I. C. Bosworth, Elgin. Secretary-R. W. Padelford, Elgin.
Treasurer-Hon. J. A. Carpenter, Elgin.
Resident Officers-E. A. Kilbourne, M. D., Superintendent ; Richard S. Dewey, M. D., John J. Crane, M. D., Assistant Physicians ; C. H. Woodruff, Clerk ; Mrs. F. M. Porter, Matron ; Edward Wellinghoff, Lizzie Dougherty, Supervisors.
THE ELGIN AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
is a stock company, organized in the Fall of 1869, with a capital of $10,000. Forty-two acres within the city limits were immediately purchased, and inclosed by a fence eight feet high. The floral hall is one of the finest in the State, and the race-course and amphitheater are in an excellent condition, while the fairs, which are held annually, have always proved successful. At present the com- pany is composed of about 300 members.
BOARD OF TRADE.
The first attempt to establish a Board of Trade in Elgin was inaugurated by Dr. Tefft during a meeting of the Northwestern Dairymen's Association, assem- bled in that city. A committee was appointed, at his suggestion, composed of three persons, viz. : Dr. Stone, Mark Dunham and C. C. Church, to meet at Dunham's house and form a constitution for an association, whose object should be the trade in dairy products. Twenty-seven cheese and butter factories in Kane County, and a still larger number in adjoining counties, now dispose of their products through this channel ; and the organization is well known both in this country and in Europe. The sales during the year 1877, to December 12, as obtained from Dr. Tefft, who has been the President since the commence- ment of the organization, amounted to $1,059,000.
MANUFACTURES.
We now approach the great industries of Elgin, to which her prosperity is due. Prominent among these, though one of the more recent in the date of its
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
establishment, is the Elgin National Watch Factory. Several residents of Chicago organized, in 1864, a joint stock company, called the National Watch Company, and acting under a charter granted by the Legislature. The citizens of Elgin, being informed of these proceedings, and learning that no location for manufacturing had been decided upon, appointed a committee to ascertain the inducements necessary to secure the establishment of the buildings in their city. The committee consulted with B. W. Raymond, the President of the company, and always, as heretofore seen, the friend of Elgin ; an examination of grounds about the place followed, resulting in the conclusion that those at present occu- pied would be satisfactory, and the offer by the company to locate thereon, if thirty-five acres were donated and $25,000 of stock taken in Elgin. Consider- able difficulty was experienced in meeting these conditions, but it was at length surmounted through the wise liberality of Henry Sherman, Benjamin F. Law- rence, Walter L. Pease and Sylvanus Wilcox, and in 1866 the company moved into the new establishments, which comprised a central building three stories high, with basement 40x40; a two-story and basement south wing, 28x87 ; a west wing of the same height, 28x100; a one-story west wing, extending from the south wing, 25x35, for a dial room, and a one-story wing on the west, opposite the dial room, 30x65, for the engine and boiler room: A west wing was added to the front, 28x100, two stories, with basement, in 1868, and two years later the south wing was extended, 28x100, two stories, with basement. The build- ings were again greatly enlarged in 1873-74. During five years and ten months from the date of the charter, the company manufactured their machinery, erected their buildings and placed 42,000 watches in the market. In five years from the commencement upon the first watch, 125,000 were manufactured, and a world-wide reputation attained. Six hundred hands are employed, nearly one-half of whom are ladies.
A Woolen Mill was erected in 1844, five stories high, 80x34 feet, and for three years employed a large force of operatives. In 1856, it was sold to Harvey & Renwick. The latter then became the sole owner, and for some time previous to 1866, it had been on the decline. In that year it was purchased and enlarged by the Fox River Manufacturing Company, which has since then employed from forty to fifty hands, and made from 300 to 500 yards of cloth per day. The machinery is valued at $100,000. A brick block, 50x80 feet, was erected by the Company in front of the factory, in 1870, and is used for stores and newspaper offices.
Gronberg. Bierman & Co., commenced the manufacture of agricultural im- plements on River street, near Division street, in 1870. Their specialty is the National Combined Reaper and Mower, but a large amount of general casting and repairing is likewise done.
In the same year, O. Barr & Son commenced the making of agricul- tural implements on the same street, and have won a deserved celebrity for the manufactured articles.
-
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
The year 1870 seems to have been unusually productive of manufacturing establishments, which brought wealth and a name to Elgin, for aside from the above the Elgin Iron Works were established during that year, and have since employed about thirty hands regularly.
The Elgin Butter Company also dates from 1870, and has made an aggre- gate of 144,000 pounds of butter and 190,000 pounds of cheese per annum. The former commands the highest price in market.
The Milk Condensing Factory commenced operations four years earlier, under a company of which Gale Borden, whose name will be handed down to posterity as the inventor of the process, was President. In 1868, Mr. Borden and his associates in New York purchased the stock, and the company name be- came "The Illinois Condensing Co." The same Company controls the Borden Condensed Milk Company, the New York Condensed Milk Company-both in New York-and the Borden Meat Preserving Company, at Borden, Texas. The factory at Elgin is the largest of these establishments, employs thirty men and twenty-six women, and pays out $8,000 per month.
Mr. Borden died in 1874. His biography will be found upon another page.
The vast proportions which the dairy business has assumed in Elgin have given employment to several companies, established for the manufacture of dairy goods, viz .: vats, engines, boilers, cans, churns, pails, etc.
The Elgin Packing Company, established in 1870, is devoted to canning . fruits and vegetables, and employs about one hundred and fifty men, women and boys during the packing season.
Besides thesc, there is a great array of manufactories of various products, some of them extensive, but which our limited space will prevent us from more than merely mentioning. Among them are two tanneries, one of which employs from eighteen to twenty hands ; the boot and shoe manufactory of Russell Weld, established by Groce Brothers & Co. in the Fall of 1873, and which employs ten workmen ; a number of large wagon and carriage shops ; three flouring mills, and minor shops in almost endless variety. In fine, there are few cities, large or small, which possess so many institutions as Elgin calculated to bestow a universal fame. Her streets are well paved, and lighted by the Elgin Gas Company, her business blocks imposing, her schools and churches an honor, her opera house, erected in 1870, unusually good for a place of the size, while no less than four fire companies and a police force protect her property. Sev- eral secret societies furnish social enjoyment for the few, a number of the more public associations form resorts for the many, a military company, and last, but not the least important, three good cornet bands delight the ear with music.
No accurate census reports of the population can be referred to, but it may be safely estimated at between 7,000 and 8,000.
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
DUNDEE TOWNSHIP.
Joseph Russell and Jesse Newman, from La Porte County, Indiana, accom- panied by the wife of the latter, who acted as their cook during the journey, came to Fox River in October, 1834, and at length found their way to land, now farming a portion of the township of Dundee, where they took up a claim. After remaining a few days, they retraced their steps to the Hoosier State ; and, having spent the Winter there, returned about April (1835), with their families, thus becoming the first white settlers of the township. While preparations were being made for building a house, the families lived in a tent pitched on a tract of land near Carpentersville, upon which the residence of Mr. Marshall was erected in later years.
Mr. Jesse Miller, who settled in 1834, in Cook County, and now resides in Algonquin, McHenry County, states that he assisted Newman in raising a log cabin upon that tract during the Spring of 1835, and that there was then not another house in Dundee. There were wigwams, however, and they were still inhabited when the Oatmans arrived, a year later, as will hereafter appear. Some time after Newman's habitation had been completed, Mr. Russell built a log cabin upon the East Side, which remained until within three years, a few rods below the brick yard. Newman died after a residence of a few years. Like a majority of the other settlers, the Newmans and the Russells were in only moderate circumstances at the time of their arrival, and had left civiliza- tion with the hope of bettering their condition. They, therefore, experienced most of the inconveniences incident to new settlers, but possessed an advantage over some, from the fact that they owned teams and a few cattle; both families were scions of the " Old Dominion " stock.
Later in the Summer of the same year, Thomas Deweese, living in McLean County, Illinois, left his home without any previous preparation, informing his wife that he was going bee-hunting. Days and weeks passed before he returned, and then he appeared as suddenly as he left, and told of adventures which he had had in an unsettled part of the country several days' journey to the North, whither he had resolved to immigrate. This unsettled region was the present township of Dundee; and before Fall he had removed all of his effects there. Few men figured more extensively in the early settlement. He was exceed- ingly enterprising ; possessed of an adamantine constitution and all the hardy qualities which contribute to form the successful pioneer ; but his friends say that he was unscrupulous in many of his proceedings. Arriving early, as has been seen, he laid claim to a vast extent of territory, embracing all the best claims in the township, upon which he erected, or pretended to erect as proofs of his ownership, a log house, a majority of which could not have been used as habitations by any forms of animal-life, requiring more extensive shelter than the native wolves or gophers. He then surrounded himself with a gang of
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
pugilists, plug-uglies and nondescript vagabonds, who obeyed him in all things ; and, with their aid, expelled from his claims any man attempting to settle thereon without first having purchased of him. This custom gave rise to many broils and fights, but by far the greater number of the settlers preferred to buy of him rather than defy his wrath.
In May, 1835, Mr. A. R. Dempster located on the East Side, on a farm now owned by George Giddings. Mr. Dempster is still one of the most re- spected residents of Dundee Village, and we are indebted to him for some of the incidents of pioneer life which follow. He states in an article entitled . " Reminiscences," which recently appeared in the Dundee Record, that after crossing Fox River, at Ketchum's Woods, the first man whom he met was Mr. Newman, and that the names of the settlers within three or four miles were Mr. Russell and wife, son Joseph and son-in-law Jesse Newman, John Jackson, Dr. Parker, Mr. Moore, Mr. Burbank and George Taylor on the West Side, while upon the East Side were Benjamin Trick, Mr. Van Asdell, Jesse Miller, at. Miller's Grove, and the Hawleys, a little north of that point. Thos. Deweese, already mentioned, came that Summer, as did Gen. McClure, who became the first Postmaster, at McClure's Grove, in 1837, and John M. Smith, to the north of him.
The post office took the name of the grove, and the Postmaster's record may be found in the annals of the last war with Great Britain. At Hoosier Grove, southeast of Dundee, there were several settlers at this time, among them the Hammers, Branhams and others, from Indiana.
Prominent among the Pottawattomie Indians, who still lingered, in meager numbers, along the river, was a chief by the name of Nickoway, who, with his followers, inhabited a cluster of wigwams a little below where the brickyard now lies. This once powerful tribe had dwindled to an insignificant hamlet of hucksters and beggars. They visited the whites almost daily, bringing honey, game and fish, which they willingly exchanged for flour, rum and tobacco, gen- erally giving the settler a good bargain. But they were no less importunate when they had no articles of exchange, and deemed beggary as honorable as trade.
Mr. Jesse Oatman, who will receive further notice in the sketch of Dundee Village, relates a curious incident of a visit which he and several of the other settlers made to the Indian wigwams, shortly after his arrival. They found the families comfortably situated, for Indians, with four or five acres of land in cultivation, about eighty rods below the brickyard. There were six huts and perhaps twenty-five Indians. As the strangers entered the dwelling of the principal warrior, the mother of the family was engaged in plucking the feathers from a sandhill crane, which one of her relatives had shot. This operation was quickly performed as she merely pulled the larger feathers from the wings and tail. She then poured a few beans into a kettle of water, doubled up the bird, without any further dressing, and with head, smaller feathers and entrails
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HISTORY OF KANE COUNTY.
in their natural position, placed it upon the beans, to stew, and hung the kettle over the fire. This was the first Sunday dinner which Mr. Oatman saw pre- pared in Dundee, and it is scarcely necessary to add that he took occasion to leave before it was cooked, regardless of the earnest solicitations of the hospita- ble squaw that he should remain and eat.
Another settler states that, upon stopping, at a somewhat later date, at the Indian settlement, a younger and fairer Pocahontas was busy making corn bread. The dough was placed in the pan or kettle, and as it was not sufficiently moist to be readily moulded into a smooth surface, the tidy maiden spat upon her hands and thus worked it into the proper shape. Each of these anecdotes is fairly illustrative of the real domestic habits of the many Minnehahas im- mortalized in song ; while, for a true portrait of " Lo " himself, a darker chap- ter would be required than can be given in a History of Kane County.
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