Kendall County, Illinois - Chapter 32, 1877

Chapter 32

SOMETIME about 1840 the Oswego scholars gathered in a new school house near the site of Oliver Hibbard's shop, where school was afterwards kept for eight or ten years. Mr. Tarr, Mr. Thornton, C. G. Martin, Norman Sexton, Frank Cables, Miss L. Swartout, and Julia Applebee were among the teachers. In 1850 the stone school house was opened, with Chester Hammond as the first teacher. After him came the following principals : E. N. Lewis, H. H. Haff, James Allison, Albert Snooks, John McKinney, Warren Wilkie, Philander Brown, 0. S. Wescott, J. H. Gano, Mr. Pearsall, Edward and E. P. Whiting, F. H. Metcalf, J. Thorp, Daniel Yoorhees, D. H. Taylor, L. Van Fossen, J. E. Brown, Milo L. Mason, and C. C. Duffy. The following names of primary teachers, also are especially worthy of being mentioned : Dorcas Schram, Lizzie Moore, Fannie Porter, Florence Childs, Libbie Murphy, Anna Brown, Amanda Weeks, Josie Forbes, Mattie Farley, and Pau-

The Piano cemetery was opened in 1840. Oscar Ryan, four years old, son of William Ryan, was the first buried in it. The same year the " Sandy Bluff" school, in the Alonzo Tolman district, Little Rock, began with a log school house. Alonzo Tolman, Jeannette Leigh, Franklin B, Ives, Lucinda Ryan, and Marilla Tolman taught in it.

In the new school, built in 1845, Davis Rogers and Harriet Hyde were the first teachers: also, Benj. Darnell, Amaretta Lincoln, Ann Sly, John A. Armstrong, Bryant Walker, Enos Ives, and Sarah Matteson.

The Stebbins school, in what is known as the " Cement District," Little Rock, was the successor of the Young school, dating from 1840. Solomon Stebbins owned the place now owned by L. C. Gorton, and the school was opened in a log house, James Teaby, Emily Bean, Carrolton Hunt, teachers. It was succeeded by the Charles Raymond school, taught by Anna Lowry, R. M. Pendexter and Gilbert B. Lester. While the latter was teaching the house burned down, and he took his school into a part of Mr. Hunt's house. That was in 1849, and the cement school house was opened two years afterwards. The following were early teachers : Mr. Chittenden, Mr. Hough, Mr. Whitman, Mr. Cummings, H. C. Beard, Minnie Todd, Mary, Lizzie and Georgiana Smith.

Indian Burying Ground

opened by Frederick Rush, who then owned the place. The graves are in a row on the brow of the river bluff, which at that place is steep and high. The skeletons were found in a good state of preservation. In one grave was found a loaded rifle and a brass kettle with beans in it. The rifle was taken to Robert Casler's blacksmith shop in Yorkville, and being put into the fire in order to take it apart, the charge exploded. The grave was probably that of a chief or distinguished warrior, who was thus provided with food and ammunition for his long journey to the spirit land.

Eighteen Hundred And Forty-One

was the birth year of Kendall. The matter had been privately discussed for some time, and during the previous fall a petition to the Legislature was prepared and circulated by Mr. Duryea and others. It received a large number of signatures from the LaSalle people on the south side of the river, and a smaller number from the Kane county people on the north side. A majority in Kane, however, were opposed to the movement, believing their county not too large, and a remonstrance was circulated among them and numerously signed, protesting against the division.

November 23rd, 1840, the twelfth General Assembly of the State of Illinois convened at Springfield, and on January 4th, following, the Kane County Remonstrance was presented and read by Abram R. Dodge, Representative from LaSalle county. It was referred to the Committee on Counties, who decided adversely to it ; and on January 16th, the chairman of the committee, Milton as the new county was proposed to be called. It was to be eighteen miles square, beginning at the north-east corner of the township of Oswego, and to include three townships of Kane county and six of LaSalle. Three days afterwards, January 19th, the bill came up for its second reading, the title only being read this time. On motion of Ebenezer Peck, of Will county, the name of the county was changed from Orange to Kendall. This was a political firebrand thrown into the House, for Amos Kendall was an Andrew Jackson man, his Postmaster General, and Jackson was the most berated President we ever had. The amendment, however, was carried by a vote of fifty-one to thirty-four. Abraham Lincoln and Lyman Trumbull were members of the House, and voted in the affirmative. When the vote was announced, Joseph Gillespie, of Madison county, who voted in the negative, moved to further amend the bill by inserting the words "Honest Amos" before the word "Kendall." But the motion was laid on the table, and lies there yet. The further progress of the bill was as follows :

January 20th it was reported as correctly engrossed. February 1st, the title was read the third time and the bill was passed. February 12th, passed by the Senate. February 19th, reported as correctly enrolled, and on the same day approved by the Council of Revision.

was to create Grundy county, the other was to promote the welfare of our colored people, by requiring them to be registered at the circuit clerk's office ; and even that did not secure them from being claimed and sold as slaves. A board of commissioners, consisting of John H. Harris, of Tazewell county, Eli A. Rider, of Cook county, and William E. Armstrong, of LaSalle county, were appointed to locate the county seat. They met at Yorkville in June, and with a party of citizens proceeded to several points in the county, finally fixing on Yorkville, as perhaps they foresaw they should from the first. April 5th an election was held in the different voting precincts, and J. J. Cole, Levi Hills and Reuben Hunt were chosen as the Board of County Commissioners. The following were members of the Board up to the abolition of the office in 1849 : Ansel Kimball, L. D. Brady, Samuel Jackson, J. W. Chapman, C. Henning, S. G. Collins.

The remaining county officers in 1841, were J. A. Fenton, County Clerk ; A. B. Smith, Circuit Clerk. Kendall was in the Ninth Judicial District. Thomas Ford, afterward Governor, was Circuit Judge. Ten counties were included in the circuit ; court time in Kendall being the fourth Mondays in August and May.

Eight Justices of the Peace were elected, viz : Lancelot Rood, D. E. Davis, Solomon Wells, Albert Bush, S. G. Collins, George B. Hollenback, T. L. Broughton and S. B. Craw. Almon B. Ives was elected Probate Justice ; Norman Dodge, Titus Howe, and Royal Bullard afterwards filled the office in succession.

N. Austin, Godfrey Stevenson, old Mr. and Mrs. Misner, and Israel L. Rogers. The latter is now one of our wealthiest farmers : owns a thousand acres of land and is worth $100, 000. Mr. Austin was County Surveyor for a time. But perhaps the most illustrious family among the settlers that year was that of

Horatio Fowler

He was a Canadian, and being concerned in the rebellion of '37, had spent two years in prison, and was finally liberated through the able intercession of his wife. She was a very smart and talented woman. He was a relative of Lyman Smith and came to Newark in search of a new home, finding which, he sent for his family. He lived a while on Thuneman's corner, and then bought a piece of land of Mr. Stowell, on the creek, and built a rude dwelling there. He afterward built his house on the hill, now occupied by Isaac Lott. Huldah, the oldest daughter, died after they had been here a year. Two brothers and one sister remained. Henry became a physician, and is now somewhere west. Fowler Institute is named after him. Charles studied for the ministry; was a pastor several years, then President of Evanston Univertity, now editor of the New York Christian Advocate, and is a leading spirit in the Methodist denomination. Jane married Rev. W. C. Willing, and is herself acquiring a national reputation as a speaker and writer. A prominent characteristic of the entire family is " push," and they have pushed themselves from the little cabin by the creek, where the floor was overflowed at every freshet, up to positions of honor and usefulness.

First Term Of Court

The first public record in the new county of Kendall was a sale of land from John Gilman to Clark B. Alford, April 15th, 1841. In June, Archibald Sears, county surveyor, laid oiF ten acres in Yorkville for a court house square. The land was owned by Rulief S. Duryea and Henry Carrington. Before the final transfer was made, in August, Mr. Carrington disposed of his right to Jas. S. Cornell, and by the latter and Mr. Duryea it was deeded to the county. The first term of Court was held in May. Following is the list of the grand jurors : Daniel Ashley, L. C. Gorton, Daniel Hubbard, Joel Warner, James Stafi'ord, Benj. C. Burns, Horace Moore, H. S. Misner, Wm. Burns, R. W. Cams, John Litsey, J. W. Mason, Geo. Van Emmon, Archibald Sears, C. B. Ware, Lancelot Rood, H. W. Williams, Abbott Bush, F. F, Winchell, Jas. McClellan, R. S. Duryea, Lyman Bristol, and Richard Drury.

The following additional names were either new settlers or had been here some time : Big Grove - George Bushnell, Oscar Barstow, Robert Rowe, J. S. Wittington ; Seward - George E. Harrison ; Oswego - Samuel Pyatt, David and Reed Ferris, Peter J. Lestourgeon, Edward Simons ; Kendall - Joshua Hallock ; Fox - Joseph B. Lyon, Samuel Morse, J. S. Van Kleut ; Bristol - Chas. Lake ; Little Rock - Frederick Rush, Andrew Shonts. The started in 1841. The first house was built by each neighbor putting in from three to five logs each. Jehiel McCrary was the first teacher ; then Thomas Ervin, Hannah Moore, Ebenezer Scofield, Mr. Davis, Amanda