Kendall County, Illinois - Schools and Churches, 1877

Schools and Churches

rEARLY seven hundred persons died of cholera in Chicago during the year 1848. It was a " cholera vear." The Illinois and Michigan Canal was completed from .Chicago to LaSalle, and was regarded as one of the greatest achievements of skill in the world. It had certainly been a triumph over immense financial obstacles. But the year is best remembered as the date of adoption of our second State Constitution. It was adopted by a very large majority, and went into operation April 1st. By it the counties of DuPao^e, Kendall. Will and Iroquois constituted the fifteenth representative district and the twenty-first senatorial district. At an election held the first Monday in September, T. Lyle Dickey was elected Circuit Judge for six years, William S. Fowler was elected Sheriff, and following is a list of all our Sheriffs to the present: R. D. Miller, C. D. Townsend, M. Beaupre, H. M. Day, Jonathan Raymond, Wright Murphy, Dwight Ladd, A. D. Newton, J. A. Newell, Jonas Seeley, J. D. Kern. At the Presidential election one thousand three hundred and seventeen votes were cast in the county. About that time country towns in this part of the West had attained to their greatest prosperity, just before railroads entered to divert the trade from points where the grandfathers settled to other points which the grandchildren founded. There were two taverns and half a dozen stores in Newark; three taverns and nine stores in Oswego, and a proportionate number in our other villages, and all doing a good business.

In Little Rock as many as two hundred and seventy teams have passed on one road in one day, most of them going to or returning from Chicago with produce. The tavern at Little Rock village was kept by Ephraim Buck, and was a noted point. It was first kept in 1838 by Mr. Inscho, then successively by Arnold Dodge, Wareham Gates and Robert Matthews.

Oswego drew considerable trade and machine work from Aurora. The bridge across Fox river was built that year, and N. A. Rising's saw mill, opposite the grist mill. Mr. Rising ran two mills and his store for several years, until he sold to Mr. Parker in 1852.

At Lisbon the Methodist Church was built. Followinor are the names of the subsequent pastors : William Royal, D. Fellows, Mr. Sudduth, W. P. Golliday, W. P. Wright, N. Keegan, George Wallace, Joseph Eames, C. S. Macreading, J. Borbige, R. Wake, J. W. Phelps, G. W. Hawks, Thomas Cochran, W. R. Hoadley and Mr. Winslow. The church became a station in 1857.

The Oswego Baptist Church A Primitive Marriage

M. Forbes, Nahum Parkhurst, Giles Doan, Delany Smith, Mary Lyons, Frances Ives, and Sibyl Lee. The church building was erected in 1856. The following is a list of the pastors : Ambler Edson, L. P. Ives, R. A. Clapp, F. Kent, Edwin Bruce, S. A. Estee, Charles Button, Mr. Storrs, E. H. Sawyer, E. A. Ince, J. T. Green, J. H. Sampson, and Alfred Watts. At Plattville, John Boyer gave to the town the piece of land on which the cemetery is situated. Mrs. Sylvester Slyter was the -first one buried there. That year the Plattville school house, east of the village, burned down. No one knew it until the ashes were seen in the morning. In Little Rock village a new school house was built.

William Glasspool was the first school master in the first log school house, in 1839. One year before, one cold winter's night, by the light of an open fireplace, he was married to Polly Cook, by Wm. Mulkey, Justice of the Peace. And the marriage was as happy a one as if silks and kids had greeted the occasion. The log house was destroyed by fire in 1840, since which time school has been kept in a room fitted up for the purpose. The second department was added in 1858. The early teachers were Wm. Glasspool, Susan Lamson, Mahala P. Fay, Harriet Leigh, Hannah Tenney, Sarah A. Frink, Miss S. Densmore, William Knickerbocker, Ira A. W. Buck, Leonard Benjamin, and Miss 0. N. Todd.

The following schools date from 1848. In the Foster school, Little Rock, the early teachers were Prof. G. B. Charles, Mary Ann Carver, and Hannah Tenney. The house is not now used.

Sarah Raymond, Edward and Esther Bullard, Mary Van Osdel, and Lois Marston. Two years previously a log building was donated to the district by James Murrray, and school held in it - taught first by Kate Fleming.

Atherton school, Fox, was first started on the Solfisberg place, Long Grove, in 1848 or 1849 and was taught by Mr. Davis. In 1850 it was moved down to the big knoll, and Geo. M. HoUenback, Sarah and Adelaide Ives, and George Ryan were the teachers. About 1852 it was moved up on the hill, on C. R. Cook's land, and finally, about 1867, it was moved to its present location.

In the Ware school, Seward, the early teachers were Mary Jane Goodhue, William Ely, Miss Berry, Miss Frazer, and Miss R. M. Arthur. The latter tauojht several years. In 1845, school was kept in a log house on Edward Jones' place, by Mr. Maxwell, who afterward became a noted man in Russia.

Bristol Baptist Church

date only from 1848, at which time the church was reorganized ; but the first organization dates from about 1836, when the Pavilion church was transferred entire to Bristol. After some time, it seemed proper for the church to separate and "become two bands," and the Pavilion organization was again resumed. The meeting house at Bristol was built in 1857. Rev. Z. Brooks was the pastor in 1848, followed by Ambler Edson, John Young, and William Haigh. In 1861 the latter went as chaplain in the army, and the pulpit was supplied by William T. Hill and Ebenezer Gale. Mr. Hill was ordained in was marked by another county contest. The Board of County Commissioners, just before their extinction by the elections for Supervisors in the fall, wanted to borrow money for county purposes, but had not the authority without Legislative sanction. For this they applied. But there was considerable opposition to the movement, and seventy names were secured to a remonstrance, which was forwarded to Springfield. It was unsuccessful, however, and the county fathers got their permission to borrow money.

County Officers

beginning with those elected at the above election : County Judges - J. W. Helmer, Benjamin Ricketson and Henry J. Hudson ; Circuit Clerks - A. B. Smith, J. M. Crothers, George M. Hollenback, A. M. Hobbs and L. G. Bennett : County Clerks - J. A. Fenton, Geo. W. Hartwell, J. Cole and Jeremiah Evarts ; Treasurers - J. J. Cole, Asahel Newton, H. S. Humphry, R. W. Cams, J. C. Taylor, M. S. Cornell and T. S. Serrine ; School Superintendents - Rev. Ambler Edson, Ephraim Moulton, John Van Antwerp, John McKinney, G. W. Barnes, W. Scott Coy and John R. Marshall.

lished at Plattville, at the church end of the town, and was the third house there, the other two being Dan. Krouse's little store and Mr. Converse's. The Lutheran cemetery, on the north edge of Big Grove township, was opened. Wier Sjierson, or Severson, as the Americans spell it, and Wier Matre, gave the land.

The Oswego Methodist Meeting House

was begun, but not finished for several years. Following is a complete list of the preachers from the formation of the first class at Daniel Pearce's house, in 1835: William Royal, W. Clark, W. Wilcox, John Sinclair, E. Springer, Rufus Lumry, H. Hadley, Wesley Batchelder, R. R. Wood, S. F. Denning, S. R. Beggs, J. Hunter, Levi Jenks, J. W. Burton, J. Agard, W. B. Atkinson, A. Wooliscroft, C. Lazenby, J. C. Stoughton, S. Stover, David Cassidy, Michael Lewis, J. S. David, W. P. Wright, R. K. Bibbins, C. French, R. Wake, W. H. Haight, C. Foster, Mr. Hibbard, Joseph Cross, J. Davidson, E. D. Gould, Henry Minard, A. D. Mc- Gregor, J. J. Tobias and W. K. Beans.

The Plattville school was built in 1849. The early teachers were : Sarah Krouse, Thomas Cody, Roland Macomber, Miss Gould, Rogers and Clark Alford. The present building was erected in 1875. Kate Cliggett was the first teacher.

Mr. Stephenson was the first teacher of the Chapman school, Seward. Then Mr. Lott, W. A. Jordan, W. W. Roberts, and William, Lyman and Josephus Gaskill. The present building was erected in 1866, at a cost of $2,500. The first teachers were : F. G. Gaskill, Miss Turner and Miss Whittlesey. The Sunday School

First Board Of Supervisors

The Bronk cemetery, Na-au-say, was bought of James Bird by Christopher Stryker and Peter YanDyke, and deeded to the school trustees. Many were buried there, but it is now abandoned as a public burying ground.