USA > Illinois > DuPage County > Hinsdale > Village on the county line ; a history of Hinsdale, Illinois > Part 4
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The troops, considerably reduced by disease, soon were moved to an encampment on the Desplaines at the site of Riverside, for convales- cence, and with orders to proceed northwestward as soon as the men were able to travel. Scott, with three members of his staff, immediately proceeded in two wagons over the road we call Ogden Avenue. They arrived at Fort Paine (Naperville) by sun-down. While spending the night there Scott wrote a letter, of which this is an excerpt: "I am hastening via Dixon's Ferry and Galena to Prairie du Chien, or, with three officers, to join Brig. Gen. Atkinson. Colonel Eustis and all the well men will follow nearly in my route in three or four days. The cholera had, on my leaving Chicago this morning, nearly subsided." (Note the trip from Chicago to Naperville, with doubtless a stop at the encampment on the Desplaines River, was made in one day.)
When the main body of troops was able to move, it marched north- ward on the east side of the Desplaines to a point corresponding with present-day Maywood. There it forded the river and took a trail through Wayne and on to Beloit, Wisconsin. A few young farmers in the Du Page district served as teamsters for Scott's force. One of these was Robert N. Murray, who, fifty years later was Judge of Du Page County.
Over the years we have heard the legend in Hinsdale of "Scott's army passing through Fullersburg," and possibly some of it did pass this way on the return journey after Black Hawk was defeated; but the force did not return as a unit. As often happens after military opera-
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BLACK HAWK'S THREAT
tions, Scott's army came back in disconnected groups. In fact, a few of the soldiers who retained their health did not return at all. They decided to settle in Wisconsin or in Illinois.
Those families from the Desplaines valley who went to Fort Dear- born for protection had a disagreeable time of it. The Fort was so crowded that most of them camped out, in the vicinity. The Clybourns, a pioneer Chicago family, and others, furnished the refugees with food while they were there, but as time went on, the refugees began return- ing to their settlements, especially when Scott's troops arrived with the cholera.
The question might be asked: "How did General Scott know, in those days before the telegraph, what the situation was out on the fron- tier, and what direction he should take in pursuit of the enemy?" The answer is found in a small group of fleet-footed scouts who surveyed the field for the General, way beyond the Fox River, and returned to headquarters before the army began to move.
The news they brought was most reassuring. Black Hawk's band was in full retreat, and was in fact crossing the Wisconsin border, with Generals Dodge and Henry in pursuit, at the time Scott's force began its march. On August 2nd at the battle of Bad Axe in southern Wiscon- sin, which almost degenerated into a massacre, the last serious obstacle to white settlement in the Middle West was voided.
Thus the Black Hawk uprising, for this neighborhood, was a threat rather than a war. The conflict is remembered for the turmoil it caused, and for certain participants who were, or later became, prominent. Aside from Winfield Scott and Henry Atkinson, there were these among the Federal troops and volunteer militia: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Zachary Taylor, Robert Anderson, and Henry Dodge. A resident of Brush Hill, (later called Fullersburg, and now a part of Hinsdale) was a member of Joe Naper's volunteer Du Page Company. His name was Sherman King. A relative of General Scott now lives in Hinsdale, in the person of Mrs. Willis L. Blackman.
Before leaving that episode, which had its bearing upon the history of this locality, there is one tribute that cannot be over-looked, a recognition of the services of the Indian Shabbona .* Let the tribute be given by Gurdon Hubbard, one who knew him well: "- - - From my
* But for him, Black Hawk's threat could have been a stark reality, especially for those in this neighborhood where the Pottawattamie dwelt in such large numbers.
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VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
first acquaintance with him, which began in the fall of 1818, to his death, I was impressed with the nobleness of his character. He was ever a friend to the white settlers, and should be held by them and their descendants in grateful remembrance."
Chicago Historical Society Photo
He kept trouble away from Robert Strong, Thomas Covell, and their neighbors.
Evidently the photographer thought it appropriate for Shabbona to be holding a bow and arrow, a weapon his generation had discarded.
CHAPTER IV Settlement Under Way
To this new land, like a new sun They came in days now long since gone And like the silver spears of light That drive the sable hosts of Night They ushered in Du Page's dawn.
-From Ode to Old Settlers of Du Page County
A S MIGHT BE EXPECTED, the close of the Black Hawk up- rising heralded a flow of migration to Cook County, including as it then did, Du Page, Will, and Lake counties. The danger had gone, the land was fertile, climate agreeable, and Chicago was just beginning to give indication of its commercial potentialities. An inviting land finally was opened to eager immigrants.
At first the newcomers arrived mostly from other states, largely from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, in the order given. Soon, this interstate migration was supplemented by those coming from foreign lands. The foremost countries from which they came were Germany, England, France, Ireland, British America, Sweden and Norway, Switzerland, Scotland, and Denmark.
The first settlers to be recorded in Downers Grove Township, the township in which Hinsdale is situated, were, according to Richmond's History of Du Page County, Pierce and Stephen Downer, a Mr. Wells, a Mr. Cooley, and Horace Aldrich. In addition, there was John J. Monell, "a land speculator and settler" who purchased from the Gov- ernment in 1830 the original tract that now comprises most of Claren- don Hills.
With a rapid increase in population from this time forward, the economy of the area, its centers of population, and its political align- ments began to take form. Soon after Naperville, the settlements of Warrenville, Brush Hill (Fullersburg), Downers Grove, Winfield, Du Page Center (Glen Ellyn), Babcock's Grove (Lombard), Addison, Cass, Cottage Hill (Elmhurst), and Bloomingdale, in the approximate order of their settlement, came into being. Then Itasca, Western Springs, Hinsdale, Roselle, Clarendon Hills, and Bensenville started to grow. Each little community had its reason for being there, these
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VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
reasons relating to fertility of the soil, attractiveness of the surround- ings, or transportation facilities. Proximity to transportation in most instances, however, was the locus casus of nearly all these towns. Brush Hill and Naperville were on the southwest highway. Bloomingdale and Addison found the northwest highway convenient. Elmhurst, Lom- bard, and Glen Ellyn grew up on the old St. Charles Road. When the railroads were built, the four lines, now running suburban trains through the county, roughly paralleled old highways, serving villages already established, and brought new towns into being along the rails.
For many years the first settlers to arrive here, and throughout northern Illinois, were plagued with troubles concerning the claims to their land. Most of the land had not been surveyed before the home- steader arrived and the survey at the time of making claim often was crude and inaccurate. So many a family found, after having lived on the property for a year or two, that its claim overlapped the claim of an- other, or vice-versa. This state of affairs was further aggravated by the presence of numerous speculators or "land sharks" throughout the frontier. Claim protection societies were organized in the county in order that their members might protect themselves in their claims until the Government surveys were completed. The foremost of these was the Big Woods Claim Society. These groups did much to bring order out of chaos in the matter of title to the surrounding land.
Later, a county agricultural society was formed, "to promote a friendly intercourse among the citizens, as well as improvement and enterprise in the cultivation of the soil, the raising of stock, and the manufacture of useful farming and household utensils." This organi- zation sponsored county fairs, the first two of which were held at Naperville, the third at Wheaton. Its minute book now rests in a glass case in the Wheaton Court House.
The first arrivals built their cabins along the fringes of the woods, and near a stream too, wherever such combined advantages could be found. Timber was useful as fuel, for fence building, furniture, and many other purposes. The sinking of wells was not easily accomplished during those early years, and water was needed for both the household and the live stock. Prairie land was the least wanted, but it too was claimed, after the more desirable sites had been occupied. The first settlers in this county were representative of the typical American pioneer; honest, hard working, close to the soil. The frontier for many
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SETTLEMENT UNDER WAY
years was rugged, unpoliced, and lonesome, but not entirely devoid of amusements and community events.
The year 1835 saw a mass exodus of the Indians from this area. By treaty, and by persuasion in one form or another, the Pottawattamie and their tribal associates agreed to leave this part of Illinois for lands beyond the Mississippi. On the appointed day, they gathered in large numbers in the vicinity of Lyons. There Colonel J. B. F. Russell met with Chiefs Caldwell, Robinson, and La Fromborse to make final ar- rangements for the journey. The long procession passed through Brush Hill, and after several days, the new home at Council Bluffs, Iowa, was reached. It is interesting to note that these tribes later were removed from there to Kansas where they prospered better than most Indians do on the reservations. Shabbona eventually returned to his grove near Ottawa, and Alexander Robinson to his farm on the Desplaines.
Preoccupation with settlement, the establishment of farms, means of transportation and markets for their produce probably was the cause of a delayed interest in politics and political subdivisions on the part of Du Page and Salt Creek settlers, but as the population increased, these additional precincts were formed:
NAPERVILLE
DEERFIELD
DU PAGE
WEBSTER
WASHINGTON
BIG WOODS
ORANGE
The area of Brush Hill fell within the Washington Precinct.
It was at about this time, before 1840, that the proposal arose of separating this area from Cook and of creating a new county. But there was opposition to the move, in one of the local Precincts at least, as indicated in the following story found in the Daily Chicago American of December 5, 1835:
"A meeting of the citizens of Cook County, convened at the house of Capt. Joseph Naper on the 21st. day of Nov. 1835, for the purpose of considering and acting upon the proposed erection of a new county, to be composed in part from a portion of the territory to be taken from this. Capt. Joseph Naper was called to the chair, and William Smith and George W. Lard, chosen as Secretaries. The object of the meeting having been stated from the chair, it was
Resolved, that a committee of three be appointed by the chairman, to pre- sent to the meeting, resolutions expressive of their sense of the proposed divi- sion of the County of Cook-when Nathan Allen Jr., Stephen J. Scott, and William Smith, were appointed such committee.
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VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
The committee, by their chairman, reported the following preamble and resolutions, which were adopted unanimously,
Whereas, a new attempt is now making to divide the County of Cook, with the view to the erection of a new county, by which the interests and conveni- ence of many of the good citizens of our said County would be seriously and injuriously affected: and whereas the period has not yet arrived, when the im- portant business sites are sufficiently developed to designate the permanent location of the public buildings required by such new organization: and whereas most of us are but planted upon the soil, and upon unsurveyed lands, very illy prepared to contribute beyond the current expenses of our families: and whereas, the public interest does not, in our judgment, in any sense require any new seat of justice in this section of our State, nor any new corps of public officers to administer our laws, or fatten upon our property: and whereas, we are so connected with our present seat of justice by the common and necessary business relations of life, as materially to mitigate the inconveniences and lessen the expenses incident to the discharge of public duties in infant communities: and whereas we cannot but view. this renewed attempt to divide our territory, and draw us away from our chosen and convenient channels for the trans- action of public business, to places unconnected to us by any natural or im- portant business relations, to be premature, and prompted by a spirit of self- ishness, alike regardless of the public good or general convenience. Therefore Resolved, That we firmly and unyieldingly oppose said project by every lawful and honorable weapon in our power.
Resolved, that we will protest against the passage of any law setting off any part of Cook County, as at present impolitic and uncalled for.
Resolved, that we recommend to our fellow citizens of the different precincts, to express their views upon the subject before us.
Resolved that the proceedings of this meeting be published in both the newspapers printed in Chicago."
JOSEPH NAPER, Chairman
W. SMITH 1 Secretaries
G. W. LARD (
Editorially, the Chicago American pronounced the conclusion drawn at the meeting as being "just and satisfactory." The necessity of dividing Cook County was deemed not yet to exist, and it was thought that Cook County, undivided, would have a stronger repre- sentation in the Legislature.
About a year after this protest meeting at Naperville, the Demo- cratic party of Cook County held its first convention. The location of this gathering, remembered as the Flagg Creek Convention, was on the Plainfield Road, near Flagg Creek, at the combined tavern and post office operated by Joseph Vial. It was not far from another tavern, the one owned by Elijah Wentworth, brother of Chicago's first mayor. Delegates came on horseback and in wagons from all over the vast
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SETTLEMENT UNDER WAY
territory then comprising Cook County. The taverns could not have held them all, so it must have been partly a camp meeting. This event serves as evidence that there was quite a settlement to the southeast of us at that time. The settlement later gave rise to the Lyonsville Church, still to be seen at the juncture of Wolf and Joliet Roads. Descendants of Joseph Vial now reside in La Grange.
Although there was local sentiment, as well as sentiment in Chicago, toward retention of the status quo, as far as county boundaries were concerned, we know that four years later, in 1839, Du Page County finally was set apart as a separate political entity. The reason for this rather quick change of opinion is not clear unless it merely reflected the growth of the region, which was more rapid than had been expected. Whatever the cause, the local people did change their minds, and the petition for division was granted by the Legislature. The Chicago American of May 8, of that year published the result of the first county election, and had this to say editorially concerning the new division:
"We sincerely hope that the new county will learn somewhat wholesome les- sons from its mother Cook, and shun its follies, while it emulates (if any it can find) its virtues. let it avoid if possible, its debts and embarrassments; let it strive to keep its orders in good credit and at par. The law which creates it, secures a good fitting out for public buildings. Under the management of faith- ful and intelligent commissioners, we wish it all desirable prosperity."
The first county election soon followed, and the political parties which presented their candidates to the voters were the Whig Party and the Loco-Foco Party. The offices voted upon were those of Sheriff, County Commissioners (6), Clerk of the Court, Treasurer, Probate Justice, Surveyor, and Coroner. The Whigs were completely vic- torious, carrying the majority for every office. The term "Loco-Foco" was applied to what later became the Democratic Party, or, initially to members of that party. The name had its origin in New York. The Whigs were the forerunners of the Republicans.
News from the surrounding counties was given considerable prom- inence in the Chicago newspapers of those days. Then, there was not so much difference in size between Chicago and other towns, and the tele- graph had not arrived to bring news quickly from more distant places.
Another event in the lives of the pioneers was the "general" wolf hunt, participated in by large numbers of people. Richmond, in his
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VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
history of the county, quotes an early citizen of Downers Grove, giving a description of a hunt which occurred during the 1840's. Parts of the description follow:
"Until within a few years this part of the country was infested with wolves, which were a source of great annoyance to the whole community. The farmers, however, were the principal sufferers by their depredations; for sometimes whole flocks were destroyed and scattered by them in a single night. To rid the country of these mischievous animals it was the custom for all who were able to 'bear arms', to rally once every year for a wolf hunt, which was usually a scene of much amusement, and oftentimes of most intense excitement. These expeditions were conducted in various ways. The general hunt, which was perhaps the most common, was conducted upon the following plan:
"Notice of the time of starting, the extent of country to be traveled over, and the place of meeting, which was usually at the common center of the circle of territory to be traversed, was first given to all the participants in the hunt. At an early hour on the morning of the day appointed the hunters assembled and chose a captain for each company, whose duty it was to station members of the company at short intervals on the circumference of the circle alluded to, and then the game was completely surrounded. At a given time the line of hunters began their march, and when they had approached near enough to the center to close in and form a solid line, they halted and remained sta- tionary, while the captains advanced with their sharpshooters to ascertain whether any game had been surrounded."
We are told that as many as sixty wolves were known to have been ensnared in this way during a day's hunt. Unfortunately, deer too were often among them, and usually were shot, along with the wolves. These hunts were conducted on foot or on horse-back.
No American custom has its roots more thoroughly entwined in our history and tradition than is found in the Fourth of July celebration; and no American locality has observed this day more faithfully or more appropriately than our immediate neighborhood from pioneer times to the present.
The celebrations were different in the earlier period. Fireworks, as we know them, were not manufactured; addresses broadcast over the air were a long distance off; parades, with decorated floats were con- fined to only a few of the larger cities. There were no carnivals with booths and amusement devices. But the frontier Fourth of July was none-the-less an institution for the people who engaged in it, and they gave up the greater part of the day for the observance, because it often involved a journey of several miles to the farm of some neighbor where the celebration was held. Invitations were issued to relatives and
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SETTLEMENT UNDER WAY
friends. Speeches were prepared; and so was a large home-cooked dinner, to be eaten out of doors.
Mr. Horace Aldrich, one of the earliest settlers in this township held such a celebration at his farm house out on Ogden Avenue in the year 1839, and it was reported in the Chicago American on July 19 of that year. This newspaper account is given here almost in full because in its quaint way, it paints such a clear picture of the Fourth celebra- tions of that era:
FOURTH OF JULY DU PAGE COUNTY CELEBRATION
"A numerous company of ladies and gentlemen assembled on the 4th of July, at the house of Horace Aldrich to celebrate that eventful day; and although the notice given was short, the number attending, their smiling faces, the spirited ceremonies, and the cheer of our host, left nothing to be desired.
The company walked in procession to a neighboring grove, where the com- mittee had made arrangements for their reception. The Declaration of Inde- pendence was read, in a style peculiarly fitting that important document, by John W. Walker, Judge of Probate. The oration was delivered by James C. Hatch, Esq., in which he enforced the propriety of commemorating the 'Glori- ous Fourth' by pointing out the lessons it should teach, the advantage gained, and by contrasting and showing our celebration of that day to proceed from causes and principles, to which the celebrations of the most enlightened na- tions, ancient or modern, ought not be compared.
The ceremonies being completed, the company returned in the same order and sat down in the garden to a dinner, the excellence of which was acknowl- edged by the ample justice done by all to the abundance of good things pro- duced. S. M. Skinner, Esq., was President, and N. B. Moreton Vice-President. The following toasts, among others, were proposed.
REGULAR TOASTS
1. The day we celebrate-Consecrated by the noble daring of gallant hearts, in defense of Freedom, Home, and Country, may it ever be observed 3 cheers.
2. The fifty-six Signers of the Declaration of Independence-The heaviest fifty-six the world ever saw; the whole strength of Great Britain could not move them. 6 cheers.
3. Washington the father of his country.
4. The President of the United States.
5. The Congress of the United States.
6. The heroes of the Revolution.
7. Our Country.
8. The State of Illinois.
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VILLAGE ON THE COUNTY LINE
9. The Internal Improvements. The vessel of State, though a staunch bark, and emulous to outstrip some of her elder sisters, has evidently more sail than ballast; let her reef, her top-sail and gib- keep her main-sail to the wind trim ship- have a good hand at the wheel, and there is nothing to fear; she will steer between the Scylla and Charybdis. 6 cheers.
10. The Northeastern Boundary Question-May Queen Victoria not under- take to jump Uncle Sam's claim till she is out of debt. (This referred to the state of Maine's boundary dispute) .
11. The Press.
12. The County of Du Page-Divided in politics, subdivided by interest; may she add virtue to patriotism, subtract envy from interest, multiply unity of sentiment by a desire for the public good, and reduce the whole to practice; the result will be peace and prosperity. 6 cheers.
13. The Fair America.
The Chicago newspaper reported each of the foregoing toasts in full. Only enough of them have been quoted here to indicate the nature of the celebration.
Judging from the general tone of this gathering and from the known population of the county in 1839, friends must have been in- vited from far and wide. Can we not picture the scene as the celebration came to an end: as the sun went down and the shadows lengthened, the
Chester C. Bratten Photo
The Horace Aldrich house as it appears today.
"A numerous company of ladies and gentlemen assembled on the Fourth of July."
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SETTLEMENT UNDER WAY
guests bid good-bye, walked out to a neighboring grove where they had hitched their horses; mounted, or climbed back into their wagons, and were off for home, to arise early the following morning.
See page 36 for a picture of Horace Aldrich's house as it looks today. It is situated on the north side of Ogden Avenue four miles west of York Road.
Throughout the history of the Chicago region there was a continu- ous need of more and better transportation. From 1835 onward, the westward migration of new settlers was a continuous procession. They came, they departed, and many remained. In Chicago, during thirty or forty years of the middle 1800's, the Post Office handled such a large volume of mail for transients, that the newspapers were called upon to publish long lists of persons passing through, or who had not yet settled down, for whom letters had arrived at the Post Office. There were "ladies' lists" and "gentlemen's lists," and these continued until after the Civil War.
This influx of new people meant growth-of towns, farms, factories, and all phases of life. This expansion had to be served by the transport of people and goods from one place to another.
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