Kendall County, Illinois - The Mexican War, 1877

The Mexican War

IGHTEEN hundred and forty-six was the year of the invention of the sewing machine, by Elias Howe, of Connecticut ; the 3^ear of the admission of Wisconsin : of the battle of Nauvoo, in Hancock county, and the first jear of the Mexican war. There was much sickness during the summer, so that in some localities it is still remembered as ''the sickly season." Among those who died in this county were John Matlock, Rulief Duryea, and Moses Booth - three of our oldest pioneers. In the spring, the first piece of strap iron was laid on the line of ihe Galena & Chicago Union R. R., the pioneer road of Northern Illinois. The difficulty of getting produce to market kept prices low, and could only be overcome by railroads. In the autumn of 1846, in Chicago, prices were as follows : Wheat, 50 cents ; oats, 17 cents ; corn, 23 cents ; pork, $1.50 ; beef, $2.25 ; lard, 4 cents ; butter, 9 cents ; cheese, 6 cents ; potatoes, 31 cents ; wood, $3.50 ; turkeys, 50 cents ; salt, $1.87. The canal was nearly completed, and was expected to afford much relief. A smaller canal was in anticipation, as a feeder, from Fox river across Kendall county to the Illinois ; but though the route was surveyed, the work was never begun.

Oswego Congregational Church

was organized by Rev. Hope Brown. The constituent members were Josiah Walker, Seth Walker, Orlando Walker and wife, E. Jackman, Paulina Richmond and Mary G. Fenton. The pastors have been : J. W. Brown, E. B. Coleman, Russell Whiting, J. Van Anthrup, Robert Budd, Robert Brown, Mr. Wilhelm, D. J. Baldwin, J. A. Cruzan, Jonathan Waddams and H. D. Wiard. The meeting house was built in 1847. The celebrated of Na-au-say, dates from this year. The house was built by subscription, and was undoubtodly the best school building in the county. The early teachers were: William B. Richardson, Jas. G. Andrews, Sarah A. Andrews, H. S. Towne, A. S. Westcott, Miss Gleason, Theodore L. De Land, Deborah Shepard and Frances A. Whiting.

ston, A. R. Thompson and brother, and Guy C. Wheeler were among the prime originators and supporters of it, and their unswerving energy has demonstrated what can in this line be done in a purely farming community.

Millbrook School

In 1840, Royal Builard built a little house on his place and rented it to Mr. See, an Englishman, who occupied it one year. In 1841, Mr. Builard taught school in it. J. S. and R. K. Bibbins and Levi Brainard were among the scholars. The next year Maria Lester taught the school. In 1846 the school house was built at Millbrook, and George and Daniel Ross, Miss A, Ingalls, Miss Carlton, James Ward and Sarah Ball were among the early teachers.

The Oswego Cemetery

was laid off and donated to the village about 1835, by Morris Gray, L. B. Judson and L. F. Arnold, who owned the land. It was where the Baptist Church now stands. About 1846 it was included in Loucks' and Judson's addition to Oswego, when Mr. Judson opened another burying ground in his grove, which is now used. The remains in the old yard were gradually transferred to the new one, until it was vacated. In 1876, M. J. Richards, who had bought Mr. Judson's farm, conveyed the cemetery to the Oswego Cemetery Association, which had just been formed, and a considerable amount has already been expended in fencing and clearing up. They now propose to add gravel walks.

Election On State Constitution

The Piano cemetery was platted February 5th, 1846, by Almon Ives. The first burial was a son of William Ryan. Mr. Favor was buried about the same time. But that was seven years before Piano was founded.

Federal Officers

The county postmasters in 1846 were: Oswego, W. D. Parke ; Bristol, James Noble ; Penfield, Josiah Lehman ; Little Rock, L. D. Brady ; Newark, Walter Stowell ; Lisbon, Thomas J. Cody ; Aux Sable, Alanson Milks.

August 16th, 1846, an election was held for or against a new State constitution. There was a large majority for it throughout the State, but this county went against it five hundred to four hundred and forty-six. The entire population of the county at the time was about fifty-six hundred, of whom three were colored, and there were two hundred more men than women. Their sawing and grinding was done by fourteen saw and grist mills. The Millington grist mill was built in 1845 by J. P. Black and Samuel Jackson.

commenced early in 1846. A call was issued for fifty thousand volunteers to serve for one year, and thereupon a mass meeting was called in the school house, used for a court house, in Oswego. A. R. Dodge and A. B. Smith spoke, but not many enlisted at first. During the following days, however, some fifty volunteers were obtained, and were known as '' Capt, Dodge's Company." The neighbors volunteered to take them by team to Peoria, from which point they went by boat to Alton, where the company was made up to its full number and marked as Company E, 2nd Illinois. Thence they went by boat to New Orleans, and from there marched overland through Texas. Following are seventeen of the names : A. H. Kellogg, William Sprague. David W. Carpenter, John Sanders, John Roberts, George Roberts, Aaron Fields, Edward Fields, James Lewis, Dr. Reuben Poindexter, William Joyce, Benjamin Van Doozer, William Potter, Mr Tucker, Mr. Hunt, Mr. Hatch and Mr. Sheldon.

They arrived at the seat of war late in the fall, and on February 23d, 1847, participated in the terrible battle of Buena Vista, which lasted all day and resulted in a victory for the American army, and a total loss on both sides of nearly three thousand men. David Carpenter and John Sanders are the only members of that company now living in this county. They were mustered out in Mexico, and arrived home July 17th, 1847.

When their term of service had expired, another company was raised by Mr. Fullerton. Among the names were : James Nelson, Hiram Burdick, James Boss, Joseph Wilson, Vernon Hopkins, " Hickory Bill," D. C. Kennedy, John A. Yeigh. The last two enlisted in Aurora, but are now living in this county. No surviving members of Capt. Fullerton's company, who went from this county, are known. They did not, however, reach Mexico in time to do much fighting, before the war closed, and Uncle Sam had lost some of his boys but increased his farm.

The Year 1847 The First Telegraph

laid the proposition before Congress. It was favorably reported on by our Senator, Hon. Sidney Breese, called forth the encomiums of our Legislature, was the subject of petitions from Michigan, whence the proposed transcontinental railroad was to start, and, indeed, the nation was thrilled. And this, too, without the attraction of the gold mines, then on the eve of being discovered. But the financial winds did not favorably blow, and the project slept.

Early in the winter, the newly invented telegraph tremblingly knocked at our doors for admission, and it was finally granted in "an act granting the right of way to S. F. B. Morse and his associates through this State for his Electro Magnetic Telegraph." Verily, what hath thirty years brought forth !

The convention for the revision of the constitution sat at Springfield from June 7th to the end of August. John West Mason was the delegate from Kendall county.

Augustus C. French took his seat as Governor, in place of Thomas Ford, who could retire saying, "- Without being wasteful, I retire from office poorer than I came in."

Local Excitement

was created early in the year, by an attempt to consolidate Kendall county with Grundy. It originated with the people living along the line of the two counties, but the alarm quickly spread, and petitions with five hundred and fifty-three names attached were sent to the Leg- islature, remonstrating against any change, and so the matter ended. Eternal vigilance was the price of county existence in those days. Toward the close of the year, small-pox broke out about Newark, and carried off several victims; among them, Asahel Lewis, Esq., and Mrs. Henry Newton and child. But it did not spread to any extent into the surrounding country, which was an additional cause for gratitude on December 16th, the official Thanksgiving Day.

A Brewery

in the stone building by the track in Oswego - the first institution of the kind in the county. But the soil was not congenial, and it ran only a few seasons. Ten years afterwards another and more pretentious one was erected on the east edge of town, but that, too, finally became a financial failure, and the building is now occupied by W. H. McConnel as a butter factory - milk instead of barley, and butter instead of beer. And both cows and men are the gainers. There is now neither brewery nor distillery within the limits of Kendall county.

Torkle Henderson, a well known Norwegian settler, made his claim on the prairie east of Nels 0. Cassem's, and became the nucleus for a large number of his Norwegian countrymen. He was not the first, for Nels. Oleson, Chris. Johnson, and one or two others were on the prairie before him ; but from that time the Norwegian settlement dates its growth, until now they are numerous enough to maintain two churches and two or three schools.

Schools And School Houses

school house was built. There had been two log school houses before it. In the first, opened in 1835, Lodemia and Marj Luce, James Butler and James Hubbard taught. The second was built in 1837, and had the following teachers : Almon Ashley, Wesley W. Winn, W. W. Van Emmon, Harmon Minkler, Mary Stockton, Miss Judson, Malvina Ashley, Rosina Morgan, Alice Ashley, Miss Hill, Lizzie Winn, Isila Springer, Hannah Beecher, W. K. Beans, Samuel Kerr, Fred. Church, Mr. White, Mr. McCroskey, Mr. Mason and Mrs. Hoyt. The new frame school has been running thirty years, and the following is a partial list of the teachers : P. C. Royce, Mr. Goodhue, Miss Drew, Miss Walker, Lodemia Morgan, Theodore Hurd, Wm. Minard, John Dodge and Miss Harkness.

The Asbury school is just over the line in LaSalle, but is patronized by Kendall. The house was built in 1847, and was named from the post-office near by. The early teachers were: F. W. Partridge, Elizabeth Fisk, Eugene Coe, Amelia Smith, Mary Bosworth, Mary Brown, Alexander White, Mary Scott, James Mead, Sarah Densmore, John Newman, Angeline Smith, Mr. Kern Jane Knight, and George Corcoran.

At the Bronk school, Na-au-say, the first teachers were Benj. F. Vandervoort, Philander Royce, Joseph Hall, Mr. Holliday, Parker Holden, and James Hunt.

Red School House

in Big Grove, was built in 1847, and lasted twenty-nine years, before it was displaced in 1876 by a better one and sold to the township for a town house. It gave shelter, therefore, to nearly sixty terms of school, besides spelling schools, lectures, shows, exhibitions, festivals, elections, caucuses, Sunday schools, preaching, prayer meetings, singing schools, and all the other public gatherings which usually accumulate during a thirty years' experience in the center of a thickly populated township. The house was the successor of the " Old Log Church,'' that stood near by. The following are the names of a few of its teachers : Miss Day, Wm. Cody, I. N. Brown, Mary A. Brown, Hiram Scofield, and Frank Taylor. The new school house is a fine building, costing $1,200, and is an ornament to the town. It wnll be many years before it draws the sarcasm which the last years of the old one drew.