Winnebago County, Illinois - The whole text, 1877 (part 7 of 17)

The trial of Oliver excited the people of Winnebago County as they had never been excited before, and as they have seldom been excited since. When the case came on, the court house was crowded to its utmost capacity. Thomas C. Browne was presiding judge of the district at that time. Jas. L. Loop was district attorney, and was assisted in the prosecution by nearly the entire legal profession of Rockford - Jason Marsh, James M. Wright, Anson S. and Cyrus F. Miller and Thos. D. Bobertson. The prisoner was represented by M. P. Sweet, of Freeport, and M. T. Johnson, of Galena. Oliver was bold and defiant. The robbery of Mulford had been so carefully planned and secretly managed that he felt sure of acquittal. The only witness to be feared was Stearns, and he imagined himself secure from his testimony by reason of his imprisonment in the Michigan penitentiary, never suspecting that measures had been taken to secure his pardon, presence and appearance in court as a witness against Itim. But Jason Marsh, who, from the time of the Mulford robbery, had been actively engaged in working up the case and ferreting out the robbers, b^fl accomplished this important end, and had Stearns in Rockford when the court came on - a fact unknown to the prisoner until Stearns, when his name was called with that of other witnesses - G. A. Sandford, Jas. B. Martyn, C. H. Spafford, Anson Barnum, D. Howell, Dr. Searle, A. Rice and others - appeared at the clerk's desk to be sworn. The testimony of Stearns was so direct and conclusive that the cross examination failed to weaken it in the least, and Oliver was sentenced to the penitentiary for eight years. At the end of ^five years, he was par- doned out and rejoined his wife and family in New York. A few years later, he visited Rockford and mingled quite freely with the people among whom he had once been so popular, and to some of whom he explained why the gang had not robbed more of them. To Goodyear A. Sandford he said: "The boys often wanted to go for you (as county treasurer), but I wouldn't let them, because you was such a cleveV fellow." McDowell was convicted a little later in the course of time, and was also sentenced for eight years, but, like his old leader in crime, was pardoned at tlie end of five years and went to work as a carpenter at Alton, where he so conducted himself as to win the respect of the people, and where he was still living at last accounts. Bridge took a change of venue to Ogle County, where he was also convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary. After his release, he went to Iowa, where, reports say, he fell into his old vices and was finally killed by a sherift', whom he was resisting. Mr. Loop, the prosecuting attorney, was a young man, and his management of the case for the people is still highly praised, and a bright and honorable career as an attorney was predicted for him, but he lived only a few years to enjoy the fame he earned on that occasion. Of Mr. Marsh it was said, "tees large and liberal might have been his to defend Oliver and McDowell, both of whom had accumulated considerable means, and whose counsel he had previously been, but he chose rather to lend his ability and legal knowledge towards freeing the country from the presence of the desperadoes and outlaws that had so longinfested it." And his efi:brts in that direction were not without reward. The conviction of Oliver and McDowell in the Winnebago court, and the arrest and conviction, and in some cases, the execution, of the other members of the gang, either frightened their unarrested associates in crime out of the country or turned them from their evil ways.

Of Thomas D. Robertson, another of the Ruckford lawyers who assisted in the prosecution, it is said that "though young in years and in the practice of his profession, he acquitted himself admirably, fully sustaining the hopes of his friends." He is now the president of the Winnebago National Bank.

The jury before whom Oliver was tried was composed of the following named gentlemen- Giles Maybee, Asa Farnsworth, E. C. Tracy, Calvin Haskell, Edward Bradley, Asa Crosby, Joshua Heath, Jr., iVlbert Tuttle, Phiueas Howes, Harvey Higbee, Geo. Dixon and Andrus Corbin. Of these jurors, all are dead but Mr. Howes, who still lives in Rockford.

For the first two or three years either Haight's private residence or the Rockford House served as a court house or for the sessions of the county commissioncis, etc. Then came the building of a frame house for the use of the county, schools, churches, and public meetings, and such other occasions as the occurrences of th% time demanded. For the first five years these buildings answered very cleverly for the many uses to which they were applied, but the rapid increase of population and public business demanded something better and more commodious.

In April, 1843, Daniel S. Ilaight, E. Hubbell, Potter Hollis, H. Holmes, Loami Peake, Daniel Howell and John A. Brown, all of the East Side, made propositions to the county commissioners to build a court house and jail, to cost four thousand doDars. Some preliminary arrangements were considered, and the site for the court house and jail selected, but some complications arose that interfered and prevented the proposition from being consummated. At a special meeting of the Board of Commissioners held on the 22d of April, 1843, C. I. Horsman, for himself and others, presented the following proposition:

"That the undersiii-ned citizens of flockford a^ree to erect such buildings as the county commissioners shall direct, and according to such plan and finish as the commissioners shall furnish for a court house, county offices and jail, the said buildings to be commenced before the first day of June next, and the jail to be finished before the first day of January, 1844. The remainder of the said building or buildings to be finished bv the first day of January, 1844, and to perfect and convey to the county a good title to the land on which the same buildings shall stand, to the amount of two and a half acres. Provided: The commissioners select the site of the buildings on the west side of E,ock Kiver, and to give satisfactory security to be filed with the county clerk as soon as the commissioners accept the proposition. Signed, George Haskell, Charles I. Horsman, H. W. Loomis, M. Burrows, Charles Hall, Thomas D. Robertson, Geo. W. Dewey, David D. Ahing, H. R. Maynard, Alden Thomas, S. Skinner, Geo. Barrows, John Fisher, D. Harper, D. Dow."

This proposition was accepted, and entering into bond in the sum of $20,000 for the faithful performance of their undertaking, Messrs. Haskell, Horsman, and their associates were paid ten dollars by tiie commissioners to "bind the bargain," and the contract to build the court house was let.

The site selected for the county buildings is that now occupied. The undertaking was completed in good faith, as specified in the proposition. The jail served its purpose until 1ST3, when it gave place to the present structure, and the court house for just thirty-three years, but at last the primitive structure,jwhich bears the date of "1492," is overshadowed by the walls of one ol the grandest county buildings in the state. Its style of architecture is known as the French Venetian with American treatment. But of this magnificent structure, and the terrible catastrophe attending its erection, more anon. The stone building in which the county records are kept and business transacted was built in 1851.

The ancient date borne by the old court house - 1492 - is the work of one of Rockford's wags, and had its origin in this: The completion of the Rockford Central Railroad, running from Rockford to Rochelle, was signalized by a railroad jubilee - that is to say, the people of Rockford extended an invitation to "all the world and the rest of mankind" to come and see them on that occasion. Ample preparations were made to entertain their guests. The city put on its best. Public and private buildings were handsomely decorated - all but the old court house. Frank Peats was the Sheriff, and by virtue of his office had charge of the public buildings. Some inquiries were made why the local temple of justice was not decorated, and Sheriff" Peats was reminded of his duty as a public officer - that as it was to be a gala day he should not neglect the opportunity or the occasion to dress up the court house in a style becoming the spirit and pride of the people of Winnebago County. "Enough said." By trade, the Sheriff' was a painter, and procuring a pot, brush and ladder, he erected the latter against the front of the old temple, and painted in large black figures "1492," representing the year in which Christopher Columbus discovered America. This inscription has never been erased. It has been the . subject of many a hearty laugh to some, and of indignation to others. To one man in particular, in middle life, in good circumstances, was it a subject.of annoyance, to say the least. Some of his friends from the East had come to visit him, and, as in duty bound, he was showing them around Hockford. During their perambulations, they passed in front of the court house. His eyes caught the inscription - 1492. He suddenly stopped, and looked. "Why," said he, when he recovered himself sufficiently to find his voice, "what is that? What does it mean? 1492? That's the year Columbus discovered America. That's outrageously sacriligious. I was christened in that building." And such was the fact, and he has not gotten over it vet - we don't meau the christening, but the knowledge of the fact that a sacriligious hand had so defamed the Winnebago court house.

Ante-Wae Records

Turning again to the old records of the County Commissioners' Court, we come to a document that is not without interest, particularly so as it will carry the mind of the reader back to ante-war times - to the time when human beings were bought and sold like cattle - when husbands and fathers were torn from wives and children, manacled and driven wherever it pleased the speculator in human flesh - when children were sold from parents, and the separation made as final and irrevocable, and more terrible in torture, than if death, the king of terrors, had come and taken them away. But we need not dwell on this poisonous plague that once ruled in triumph over one part of our common country, for, at last, outraged humanity and civilization could endure it no longer, and it was washed out in blood.

Germanicus Kent was born in Connecticut. When quite a young man he went to Virginia, where he remained some years, and then removed to Alabama. In those states he made the workings and influences of slavery an especial study. In Alabama he became associated in a business way with James G. Birney, the first candidate ever nominated to the presidency by the Abolition Party. Associated together for a number of years, Messrs. Birney and Kent had ample opportunities for investigation and interchange of opinions on the one subject - slavery - that was not only uppermost in their minds, but afiecting and poisoning almost every commercial, social and political interest of the country, and they determined to quit the section that fostered and protected it the first favorable opportunity that offered for disposing of their business interests. The time came; their property was disposed of, and they struck out for the north - the home of the free - Mr. Birney went to Ohio, and Mr. Kent, as already known, coming to Illinois and Winnebago County.

During the years that Mr. Kent lived in Alabama, he had become the owner, by purchase, of a colored boy named Lewis Lemon, for to be without the ownership of a slave in any of the Southern States in those days was to ostracise one's self from business and social recognition. Mr. Kent bought Lewis, when he was seventeen years of age, from Orris D. Lemon, a slave dealer, to whom he paid $450 in gold. According to the statement of Lewis, he was born in North Carolina, but had been sold from time to time, until he passed into the ownership of Lemon and then to Kent. When the latter concluded to come to Illinois, Lewis chose between coming along and buying his freedom from Mr. Kent, and being sold again into the hands of southern slave speculators. At St. Louis, in 1834, while they were en route to Galena, Mr. Kent and Lewis entered into an agreement as to the price which the latter was to pay for himself in work at $15 per month, the stipulated price being $800, bearing ten per cent, interest - time, six years and seven months. Both parties religiously kept the faith of the agreement, and in four years and four months, Lewis M^orked his way into freedom and independence. At the March meeting, 1842, of the County Commissioners' Court, the following document, relating to this transaction, was entered of record:

Be it remembered that at the present term, March, A. D. 1842, of the Couaty of Winnebago, State of Illinois, Lewis Lemon, a free man of coloi-, presented the evidence of his being a free man by the following writing of Germanicus Kent, of said county, which being duly acknowledged by him, is ordered to be hied and entered on record:

To all to whom these presents shall come. Greeting: That, whereas the undersigned, Germanicus Kent, of Rockford, Illinois, did, in the year A. D. 183!), being then a resident of the State of Alabama, purchase of Orrin D. Lemon, since deceased, a colored hoj named Lewis, then about seventeen years of age, as a slave for life; and whereas, upon the removal of the undersigned from said State of Alabama, to said State of Illinois; now this is to certify that said Lewis by my removmg him to said State of Illinois, and his residence there ever since, did become free and emancipated from all services due to me as a slave, and that he is, and hj right ought to be, free forever hereafter. And this is to further certify that said Lewis was born a slave of said Orrin D. Lemon, then residing in Wake County (N. C.) from whence he removed to Madison County, Alabama, where I purchased said Lewis of him. The said Lewis is aged about twenty.seven years ; in person he is five feet, eight inches high, well built, rather stout, and weighs about one hundred and seventy pounds ; his features are good, dark yellow complexion, open and frank countenance, mouth prominent and large lips.

State of Illinois, Winnebago County, ss: This day before me, Selden M. Church, Clerk of the Countjr Commissioners' Court of the said County, came Germanicus Kent, known to me to be the real person described in, and who executed the within instrument of writing, and acknowledged that he executed the same for the uses and purposes therein expressed.

And it further appearing to the satisfaction of the said Court, that said Lewis Lemon has resided in the State of Illinois as a man of color since the month of August, A. D. 1834, and that he has demeaued himself as a sober and honest person, this Court doth therefore order tliat the clerk ot the Court shall certify under the seal of the Court the facts aforesaid, and that said Lewis Lemon is a free person of color, entitled to all rights and immunities as such.

Thus was Lewis Lemon made an independent man. It is the only document of record to remind the peoj^le of the county of the former existence of slavery, and that one of its victims here found freedom and a home. In August, 1877, Lewis Lemon, at the age of about sixty-five years, ended his earthly pilgrimage, and was called to meet his kindred who had gone before him to the land of the leal.

Plank Koads Eiver Improvements Railroads

Ten years in the passage of time marks wonderful changes and improvements in any country - among any people. But in no country, among no people, perhaps, did that period of time bring greater changes than to the country of the Winnebagoes and the Winnebago people. In the early summer of 1835, every soul living in the county could have been comfortably seated in a 12x14 cabin. Ten years later settlements had reached to all parts of the county. The wild prairies of a decade before had been reduced to cultivation and remunerative tillage. Foundations for competence and independence had been laid, and were being successfully carried out. A large surplus of farm produce was being raised for which a market abroad must be found. There was little demand at home - almost everybody raised enough and to spare. Hitherto the only means of transportation was by ox or horse teams; the only means of travel by lumbering four-horse stage coaches. Something else, something faster and something better was demanded, and the people began to think and plan. A plank road between Rockford and Chicago had been discussed. An estimate on the probable cost per mile had been made, and was set down at $3,860.37, or an aggregate of $313,731.29. A convention had also been held at Sterling to consider the improvement of Rock River so as to make it navagable. In 1843 a survey was made between Joliet and Aurora to determine if it were possible to supply the Illinois and Michigan canal from Fox River. The report of the surveyors and engineers was highly favorable to the scheme. The bed of the Fox River at Aurora was found to be forty feet higher than the summit level of the canal, and the report set the people of the Rock River valley, especially in the vicinity of Rockford, all agog.

"Indeed," said the report, "there are but two places on the whole line that would require anything like heavy excavation. The deepest cut is about fifteen feet, and the distance about twenty rods. The maximum cost of a feeder with a tow path, and to answer all purposes of navigation, is estimated at $200,000. * * * Should the plan be carried out, but one further step remains to be taken. If a favorable route can be found, the work will be extended from Aurora to Rockford. The interest of the company demands it - the city of Chicago, the farmers of Rock River, the mineral region of Wisconsin, and the people of the state, all have an interest in the undertaking." This undertaking was discussed for a time, but like the plank road and kindred schemes was finally abandoned. At last, in 1845, the people settled down to the consideration of railroad enterprises, and on the 28th of November of that year the initiatory meeting was held to devise ways and means to interest the people in the building of a railroad leading to Chicago. Anson S. Miller was chairman, and Selden M. Church, secretary, and Hon. M. P. Sweet addressed the meeting. The following resolutions were adopted:

Besolvcd, That those counties interested in the construction of a railroad from Galena to Chicago be recommended to meet in convention at Rockfock for the purpose of taking measures for constructing said road at the earliest possible period.

Jason Marsh, T, D. Robertson and William Hulin were appointed a committee of correspondence to carry out the spirit of the meeting; and Horace Miller, A. C. Gleason, Reuben Barrett, Harvey Gregory, Robert J. Cross, Asa Farnsworth, Stephen Mack, Thomas B. Talcott, Simon Pettibone, Guy Hulett, Snyder J. Fletcher, Alonzo Hall, Daniel Baker, E. S. Cable, Harvey Woodrufi", Joseph Manchester, George Haskell, Willard Wheeler, E. H. Potter, Newton Crawford, J. C. Goodhue, S. M. Church, Anson Miller, Jason Marsh, and Thomas D, Robertson, were appointed to address the meeting on the importance and necessity of the undertaking.

In all the counties from Chicago to Galena meetings were held and delegates appointed to attend the Rockford Convention. Cook County sent Isaac N. Arnold, J. Y. Scammon, J. B. F. Russell, Mark Skinner, Thomas Dyer, E. W. Tracy, Jno. Davlin, Stephen F. Gale, Wm. H. Brown, Walter L. Newberry, WiUiam E. Jones, Bryan W. Raymond, F. C. Sherman, Wil-

The following named gentlemen were chosen as permanent officers of the meeting: President, Thomas Drummond, of Jo Daviess; Yice Presidents, William H. Brown, of Cook; Joel Walker, of Boone; Spooner Ruggles, of Ogle; and Elijah Wilcox, of Kane. Secretaries, T. D. Kobertson, of Winnebago; J. B. F. Knssell, of Cook; and S. P. Hyde, of McHenry.

It is proper to remark in this connection that in 1836 a charter had been obtained by New York parties under the name and style of the Galena & Chicago Union Kailroad Company, for the purpose of building a railroad from Galena to Chicago. This company had also secured a tract of 1,000 acres of land on DuPage Kiver, and in 1838 had done some grading on the prairie west of Chicago. This much accomplished, the undertaking was left in abeyance. Some time in the latter part of 1845, Messrs. Ogden and Jones, of Chicago, negotiated with Messrs. Kevins and Matteson, of New York, for the purchase of this charter, and the DuPage land, etc., for which they paid $20,000.

Resolved, If a satisfactory arrangement can be made with the present holders of the stock of the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad Company, that the members of this convention will use all honorable measures to obtain subscriptions to the stock of said company.

An animated and spirited discussion followed the introduction of this resolution, which elicited a full history of the charter, its great powers, and the happy results that would follow its purchase, and the completion of the road under it, etc., after which the resolution was unanimously adopted.

Previous to the adoption of this resolution, a committee of one from each county had been appointed to draft a series of resolutions expressive of the views of the convention on the subject under consideration. That committee consisted of the following named gentlemen, to wit: J. Y. Scammon, of Cook; George T. Kasson, of McHenry; C. S. Hemsted. of ' Jo Daviess; M. G. Dana, of Ogle; James S. Waterman, of DeKalb; W. H. Gilman, of Boone; John A. Clark, of Stephenson; A. B. Wells, of Kane; S. M. Church, of Winnebago.

Resolved, That the wants of the farmers and business men of Northern Illinois, require the immediate construction of a railroad from Chicago to Galena ; that the value of farms upon the route would be doubled by the construction of the road, and the convenience of the inhabitants immeasurably promoted thereby.

Resolved, That in order to accomplish the object of this convention, it is indispensably necessary that the inhabitants and owners of property between Galena and Chicago should come forward and subscribe to the stock of the proposed railroad, to the extent of their ability ; and that, if each farmer upon the route shall take at least one share of the stock ($100), the completion of the road would be placed beyond contingency.

This embraces the history of the beginning of the Illinois railroad system, and was the nucleus around which has gathered so many accomplishments of that character - from which have grown similar undertakings, until there is scarcely a county or county town in the entire State, that is not accessible by railroad communication.

Several subsequent meetings were held in Rockford, to promote the interests of the undertaking, urge subscriptions, etc., at which meetings the magnitude of the undertaking, and its interests and benefits to the community were presented by Messrs. Ogden, John Warner, Charles Walker and others. John A. Holland, then residing in Rockford, but now deceased, was an active advocate of the enterprise, and largely contributed to its success. In 1S48, T. D. Robertson, now of the Winnebago National Bank, Mas elected a director of the road, in which capacity he continued to serve until the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad interests were consolidated with the Chicago and Northwestern, in 1864. He also served as director in that Company until July, 1867.

Aug. 20, 1852, the Galena and Cliicago Union Railroad was completed to the east side of Rock river; and to the west side of the river, by the erection of the necessary bridge, in August, 1853.

The next railroad undertaking was the organization of a company to I'uild what was first known as the Rockford Central Railroad, intended to run from Rockford to Mendota, on the Illinois Central railroad, and to extend northward up Rock river to Beloit, Wisconsin, and other points in that direction. This company was organized on the 7th of March, 1855, with the following officers:

The object of this road was to afford Rockford direct communication with the coal fields in the southern part of the State, and the lumber districts of Wisconsin. Other enterprises coming on about that time, operations were never commenced on this line, other than mere temporary surveys.

The project of building a road over this same route was again revived in the spring of 1871, under the name of the Rockford Central R. R., and several thousand dollars were expended in grading in Rockford and between Rockford and Rochelle, and substantial stone piers for a bridge across Rock river, just below the dam, were constructed; but this enterprise also fell through for lack of funds and want of confidence in the chiet manager, E. F. Hollister. In the summer of 1874, the project was again revived, under the management of F. E. Hinkley, of the C. & I. R. R., and under his manfigement, in 1875 the Rockford division of the C. & I. R. R. was completed and began running between Rockford and Rochelle. The road is a valuable auxiliary to Rockford manufacturing interests, as it opens up a close communication for that interest with the southwest, by means of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R., in whose interests the C. & I. R. R. is largely operated.

The third railroad enterprise inaugurated by the Rockford people, was the Rockford and Kenosha line. A company to build this road was organized in November, 1856, and the following named gentlemen chosen as oflicers : was under a different management, and governed by a charter granted by the legislature of Wisconsin. Although work was commenced on this road in the early spring of 1857, its progress was slow, and in the fall of that year, in consequence of the financial revulsions that paralyzed all industries for the time, work was almost entirely suspended. In August, 1858, the company had become so crippled,- that they found it necessary to apply to the City Council for a loan of the city credit to the amount of $50,000, which was granted by a vote of the people by a majority of five hundred. This is the only instance in the history of liockford, where the credit of the city was loaned in aid of a railroad, and from the results that followed this experiment, it will pi'obably be the last.

In JSovember, 185!), the road was completed beween Kockford and Harvard, and on the 21st of that month an excursion train arrived from Chicago, bringing a number of guests from that city and intervening points, and a grand banquet was held at the Holland House, the same evening, in honor of the completion of the undertaking. The completion of this road opened a competing line between Rockford and Chicago, under the management of the Chicago and lISTortliwestern railway company, by which the new road has continued to be operated. Until the last namedroad obtained control of the Galena and Chicago Union, the benefits of this competition to Rockford interests were very marked, the rivalry became very sharp, and at one time, passenger fare between Rockford and Chicago was reduced to one dollar,

Agricultural

July 5th an adjourned meeting of the Society was held, when an address was delivered by the president, after which the following resolutions were passed, and an amended constitution adopted:

''Resolved, That this Society tender their thanks to the president for his address, and that Jason Marsh, James S. Norton and Jonathan Weldon be a committee to confer with the president and request a copy of his address for publication.

"2. That this Society regard with great interest the dissemination of useful agricultural information among the farmers of this region ol country; . and would therefore recommend the Union Agriculturalist to the people of this county, as a paper adapted to their wants, and which promises to be of important service to the cause of agriculture in Illinois.

"8. That as the soil and the rolling character of the lands in Winnebago County render this district one of the most eligible in the West for wool-growing - that from past experience in raising sheep among us, it is found" that they are less liable to disease than in most other sections of our country, this Society regards the growing of wool as among the most certain, easy and profitable productions; one which, when the home market shall be supplied, can be transported to a distant market for a small percentage of its value; and theretore we would earnestly recommend persons from abroad who contemplate remoying to this region, and our own farmers,

"The annual meeting of the Society and Cattle Show will be on the second Wednesday in October, when premiums will be given on the following articles. The amount of the premiums will be governed by the funds of the Society on hand at that time. "Where nothing more substantial is awarded, a certificate will be given."

The preuiium list was a small affair, only occupying forty-six lines (newspaper measure) of minion type. Seven premiums were ollered on horses, six on cattle, four on hogs, two on sheep, one for the best cultivated ten, acres of land, taking into account the condition of the land and. the amount of the crop; for the best twenty-five ^pounds of butter, for the best cheese weighing fifteen pounds and over, "for the best ten yards of Hannel manufactured in the county, for the best fifty "skeins of silk manufactured in the county, and for the best ten pounds of beet sugar manufactured in the county."

The announcement further added: "Premiums may be given for other articles not specified in the list, which may be presented at the fair, and which may be considered worthy of a premium. * * * ^g the great object of the Society is im^^rovement, it is hoped all who have anything wort/iy of exhibition will present it at the Cattle S/iow.''''

That the annual fairs be held at Rockford alternately, on the east and west side of the river, commencing the present season on the east side."

That all the available funds of the society be distributed in premiums on the day of the cattle show, and that the premiums be paid in agricultural publications."

That with a view of extending the benefits of the Winnebago Agricultural Society, of enlisting the combined efforts of the farmers of this county in sustaining the society, J. Weldon be appointed our agent to obtain members of the society, and to collect the moneys for the same, which shall be devoted to the payment of the premiums at the ensuing cattle show."

That the society meet at two o'clock p. m. on the 13tli day of October, and form a procession under the direction of Jason Marsh, Esq., Marshal of the day, and march to the place appointed for the delivery of the address."

That D. S. Haight, Dr. Goodhue, and C. I. Horsman, be a committee of jwrangements to prepare a place for a show, and to make all the necessary preparations for exhibitions, rent a room for the delivery of an address, and for facilitating the passage over the ferry."

I. K. Cunningham, J. W'eldon, and Lebbeus Wilson, were appointed a committee on horses; Milton Kilbourne, Horace Miller, and Samuel Hayes, on cattle: Isaac M. Johnson, J. S. JSr()rton, and Ezra S. Cable, on sheep; 0. I. Horsman, Alonzo Carey, and Jason Marsh, on cultivated lands; B. T. Lee, Peter B. Johnson, D. S. Haight, P. H. Watson, and James B. Martyn, on hogs; H. Leach, Henry ^Thurston, and W. E. Dunbar, on domestic articles.

According to the Rockford Pilot, of the 21st of October, the show was considered a brilliant success, being "generally attended by our farmers, and many persons of distinction from the neighboring counties appeared as spectators and participants."

"The various committees met at 11 o'clock a. m. and proceeded to the grove adjoining the village (east side) where they made their examinations." Tiie society had nothing but rail pens for the accommodation of stock. While the committees "were examining the stock, "the exhibition ot domestic articles was open at the hall of the Rc>ckford House. By two o'clock, the several committees had completed the duties assigned them, and under the direction of Jason Marsh, marshal of the da3% the spectators and exhibitors were formed in procession, and marched to the court house, where a large number of ladies and gentlemen had already assembled, and where the address was to be delivered. The meeting was opened with praj^er, by Kev. Mr. Potter, and the address delivered by Dr. J. C. Goodhue, which was listened to with great attention and interest. The address was both practical and illustrati\'^, and contained just the lessons which, if put in practice by our farmers, would secure happier results to their agricultural labors. He dwelt with great effect and eloquence upon the bright prospects which await- the farmers of this fertile valley, and with a just severity upon their laxity in not introducing the strict principles of mental economy into their agricultural occupations, and presented a practical knowledge of his subject, which showed that he had not studied alone in the school Esculapius."

Hors^es. - Best stallion, J. S. Norton; best three years' old stallion, Samuel Brown; best two years' old stallion, Adam Keith; best broodmare. H. P. Reddington; best yearling colt, L. O. Wallem; best two years' old colt, Samuel Brown.

CattU. - Best bull, of any age, B. T. Lee, for his "Duke of Wellington," imported with his dam on the ship "Splendid," Captain Proal, from Liverpool, in 1836; best two years' old bull (three fourths Durham), J. S. Norton; second best same, Jared Ilickox; best cow, of any age, with calf ten months' old, sired by "Duke of Wellington," Horace Miller; best heifer under two years, Horace Miller; best heifer calf, P. H. Watson.

Hogs. - Best boar (thorough bred Berkshire), Horace Miller; second best same, Wilson, Byron, Ogle County; best sow (Irish graziers), J. S. Norton; two best pigs, Willard Wheeler and Spaiford Marsh.

Domestic Articles. - Cheese, Milton Kilbourne; butter, John Straw; silk, Asa Crosby; cocoons, superior quality, exhibited by Messrs. Morgan and Horsman and Dr. Haskell; China tree corn, C. L Horsman; Baden same, D. S. Haight; White Dent same, J. Paul; round pink-eyed potatoes, H. Enoch.

The second annual Cattle Show and Fair of the "Winnebago County Agricultural Society" was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 11th and 12th days of October, 1842, and, according to the Pilot and the Prairie Farmer of those days, was a most gratifying success. The premium list was much larger and embraced a much wider range than the previous one. Of this fair, the Pilot of October 13tli, the day after the fair, said:

"The weather was beautiful, as if ordered expressly foi- the occasion. The attendance was large, and the show of stock, etc., highly creditable to the enterpriseof the farming community. -^ * * Yesterday was really a grand gala day, and will be remembered with pleasure by us, who, in all probability, have looked for the last time upon a gathering of the people of this section of the country. A goodly sight it was, indeed. The farmer was tho^re, in his independence, as the foundation of all; the mechanic was there in his pride of genius, showing the power ot mind in the apj^lication of bodily power to accomplish results. The women were there -

"At 12 o'clock M., the Congregational Church was crowded by a concourse of citizens, and an address deliv^ered by Anson S. Miller, Esq., that, though the speaker was sutfering from recent illness, was such a masterly elfort that it was requested for publication. Mr. Miller spoke without notes, yet he was so thoroughly impressed with his subject that his eloquence commanded the undivided attention of his large and intelligent audience for more than an hour. After the address, the throng of people were formed in procession and marched out to the grove west of town, where a most elegant free dinner was provided, and to which everybody was invited. The tables were tastefully arranged, and supplied with the choicest viands the country afforded."

This society kept up its organization and annual exhibitions for several years, when it went down under the pressure of the times. In 1852, another organization was accomplished, and out of which the present proud, enterprising, influential and well-managed Winnebago Agricultural Society has grown. The present society was organized under a general law of the Legislature, passed in January, 1855, and becoming operative in February following. The first officers of the new society were:

President - H. P. Sloan, of Winnebago; Vice President - H. Starkey, of Cherry Yalley; Treasurer - H. E.. Enoch, of Kockford; Secretary, R. Ogilby, of Rockford; Corresponding Secretary - E. W, Blaisdell, of Kockford; Recording Secretary - Thomas Y. Kirkpatrick; Directors - R. J. Cross, Koscoe; Milton Kilbourne, Rockford; Lewis O. Owen, Owen; R, H. Saunders, Fecatonica; Horace Miller, New Milford. A few years later the number of Directors was increased to six, and the time of holding the annual business meetings, election of officers, etc., changed from January to February.

Until 1858, the society held its exhibitions on leased or rented grounds. Its buildings and other accommodations were temporary and poor. Its floral hall was a huge canvas tent, and its rental to other counties was one of its sources of revenue - Boone County at one time paying fifty dollars for its use for their fair. In 1858, the society purchased of C. I. Horsman, for $600 per acre, twelve acres of ground, since when other purchases were made, increasing the grounds to twenty-two acres. Immediately after the first purchase from Horsman, permanent improvements were commenced, and have been continued from time to time, until now the Winnebago Fair grounds are the most complete and convenient in the state. In February List (1877), the real estate and improvements were valued at $40.- 976.67. The indebtedness was $7,979.27, leaving the assets of the society* at $32,997.40 above its liabilities.

The present officers of the society are: President - H. "W. Carpenter, Eockford; Vice President - John Lake, Rockford; Secretary - ^Henry P. Kimball, Rockford;- Treasurer - G. A. Sanford, Rockford; Directors - Lawrence McDonald, Seward; Lucien B. Williams, Harrison; James R. Bartlett, ISTew Milford; John Smith, Harlem; A. E. Cutter, Rockford; Selden M. Church, Rockford; and E. S. Bartholomew, ex-officio.

In 1875, Mr. Henry P. Kimball, the secretary of the society for seventeen years, by authority and consent of the Board of Directors, extended an invitation to Jefferson Davis to be present at the annual exhibition in September, and deliver the annual address. This invitation and its acceptance stirred up such o. furore of excitement among the people of JMorthern Illinois as to induce Mr. Davis to withdraw his acceptance. The correspondence thus necessitated became a matter of national notoriety, and as such is made to form a part of the history we are writing, and is therefore included.

Hon. .Jefferson Davis, Ex-President of the Southern Confederacy, Memphis, Tennessee: - In behalf of the Oflicial Board of the WinnebagoCouuty Agricultural Association, I have the honor to invite you to deliver its Annual Address, September 16th of the current year. As a partial remuneration for your . services and incidental expenses, 1 herewith offer you the sum of Five Hundred dollars. I also guarantee you a convention of forty thousand of the representatives of the industry, culture and progress of the great Northwest, who will receive you with courteous civility, unless, indeed, I have greatly misinterpreted the clemency, thospitality and Christian magnanimity of our people.

The wisdom, propriety and justice of my invitation are established upon the immutable principles of our holy Christianity and the diviner qualities of our humanity.

Ten long years of political feuds and sectional antagonisms have passed away since our victorious Armies furled their battle-flags, and with triumphal marches and crowned with garlands of victory, passed through the Gates of our National Capitol to their Northern homes.

Gradually have the jealousies and animosities engendered by so severe a contest died away. The South, by the most bitter and unparalleled reverses, has been compelled to accept the verdict of our invincible arms. Struggling in her weakness and destitution to rebuild the ruined palaces of her Industry, and develop her natural resources by free and intelligent labor, she stretches forth her arms of hospitality and welcome, and appeals for assistance to the capital and philanthropy of tlie North. She opens the gates of her borders to the East and the West; and to the very men, who, by the continued agitation of the Emancipation Measures, precipitated the conflict, she tenders the olive branch of peace and strews their advent with flowers.

The Government, by the prerogatives of its high tribunals, has long ago adjusted the measures of reconstructioii and the rights of citizenship. It beccmies no part of the duty of a private citizen, in the exercise of a spirit of revenge, to interfere with the enactments of Congress, or the judgments of our Supreme Court. To our Sovereign States, united under the constitution and protection of the General Government, the highest incentives are now presented, in view of the grand posibilities of our nation's future destiny, to cultivate amity and fellowship with each other, and, by friendly intercourse and commercial exchange, to co-operate to re-establish our former Union.

Underlying my invitation to your excellency, is a higher significance than what may be involved in a mere business engagement. It is my spl/it and purpose to recognize the accomplishments of genius and the qualities of brilliant statesmenship, wherever existing, whatever may have been the errors and misjudgments of the past.

Hoping that you will honor our Association with an early acceptance, and, personally, desiring that a beneficent Providence may crown your advancing j^ears with peace, honor and prosperity,

Mr. Davis' Letter Of Acceptance

H. P. Kimball, Secretary, &c. - Bear Sir: Yours of the 1st inst. has been received, and I have the honor to accept the invitation to address the patrons of the Industrial Association of Winnebago County at their meeting in September next, and, unless prevented by some unforeseen cause, will be with you on the 14th proximo, the commencement day of your exposition.

Your previous letter on the same subject would have been replied to but for the uncertainty which existed then and until several days past as to the probability of arranging some business matters so as to permit my absence at the time specified.

I have long desired to revisit your county and witoess the wonderful development which has been made since I left it. It was then a wilderness, occupied by savages. The courteous invitation extended to me is therefore doubly welcome.

In the time of the Indian trouble throiiiS;h this country Jeif. Davis, with other men of that day and generation, helped subdue them. Later, however, he became the representative man and leader in the attempt to establisli an independent confederacy out of the slave States, and, although unsuccessful, the horrors of the war that followed were not forgotten. When his promised attendance was announced, the memories of war times were kindled anew in the loyal heart, and a cry of opposition was raised that was soon borne to the ears of the Confederate chieftain, giving him to know that his presence would be offensive almost beyond toleration. In giving shape to this opposition the G. L. JS"evins Post, G. A. E., of Rockford, were the lirst to move, and caused to be issued the following protest :

" Whereas, We learn, with regret, that Jefferson Davis has been invited bv the Board of Directors of the Winnebago xigricultural Society to deliver the annual address at our county fair; and whereas we look upon it as an insult to the loyal citizens of Winnebago County to invite the archtraitor, Jeff. Davis, to address the relatives and surviving friends of thirteen thousand men murdered at Andersonville alone, by his orders,

^'I^esolved, That while as an organization we have nothing to do with politics, yet, as loyal citizens and former soldiers, we feel it our duty to speak in behalf of the memory of our fallen comrades, who are no longer able to speak for themselves.

" 2. That we protest against the action of the Board of Directors, and pledge ourselves that we will not attend the fair, nor contribute anything toward making it a success, if the Board of Directors persist in bringing forward this arch-traitor and coward.

This protest was signed by one hundred and twenty-six members of the Post, and a printed copy thereof forwarded to Mr. Davis, upon the receipt of which he addressed to Mr. Kimball the following

Letter Of Revocation

Hy. p. Kimball, Secretary Winnebago County Agricultural Society, Rockford, III. - Dear Sir: I, yesterday, sent to you a telegram annouucing my revocation of the coaditioned acceptance ot the invitation to address your Association at tlie annual meeting in September next.

The long period that has elapsed since the receipt of your first letter, and the considerate courtesy which has marked your correspondence, makes it a dut^^ to the Board and to myself that a sutHcieut explanation should be given of this change of purpose.

Three objects mainly induced me to accept the invitation: First, the hope that personal intercourse might remove some of the prejudices which had been generated b}^ partisan fictions, and nurtured by individual and sectional hate. Anxious now, as iu former years, to promote the interest of our great Valley of the Mississippi, and believing that, with mutual confidence and co-intelligence, much could be done for their advancement, I only delayed my acceptance of your invitation until it became reasonable that it could be met.

The productive capacity of the JSTorthwest needs for its development cheaper and safer transportation to the markets of the Southwest, and also to those of foreign countries. In England, especially, earnest attention has been directed for several years past to a more direct and economical trade with the Mississippi Valley. In this connection there was a desire to confer with the patrons of husbandry in your rich and prosperous section. To discuss with them the questions involved in securing better means of transporting your farm products to the most favorable markets, and of providing agencies which should insure larger returns to the producer, and, by such conference, to learn the views of our men of the family of the Mississippi Valley A family the chief interest of all the members of which is agriculture, but cultivators of such various crops as to make the trade among themselves extensive and lucrative, while it stamps upon each and all the same interest and the same policy as their foreign trade.

To render such a conference efl'ectual, there must needs be a disposition to attend to the subject under consideration, surely not a purpose to smother it by the interposition of matters having no just relation to it.

The second object was to recognize the courtesy of your Board, and I was encouraged to believe that your reception of me would be beneficial, rather than injurious, to your Association. This was the more supposable beause several other agricultural societies of Illinois had, in like manner, invited me to address their annual meetings.

Yesterday, I received a printed paper, being the protest of a number of your fellowcountrymen against the action of your Board in their invitation to me to make the annual address at the county meeting. Thereupon I sent to you the telegram withdrawing my acceptance of the invitation, under the conviction that it would not be useful nor agreeable to participate iu the meeting, and I now hope that neither your Association nor the Directors will sutter harm by the delay in procuring an orator, or by the correspondence which has caused it.

The third object was to gratify a wish, long entertained, to see in its cultivated dress a country known by me as a trackless wilderness; but, that being merely a personal gratification, it may be indulged at my convenience, or postponed indefinitely. I can well believe that the cause which has changed my purpose was unforeseen by you, as by me, and you may be assured that I feel no dissatisfaction toward the Directors or yourself, and have suffered no personal " embarrassment " from the event. As the invitation was unexpected, and only accepted as the expression of general good will, so my only regret is the loss of opportunity to promote a public interest with which the welfare of your community is identified.

Again expressing the hope that neither the Directors nor yourself may sufi'er injury or annoyance, and thanking you for the kindness and consideration you have manifested, I am respectfully yours, Jefferson Davis.

Whatever may be said about the policy of extending the invitation to Mr. Davis, it had the eifect to advertise the Winnebago exhibition for 1875 as no society was ever advertised before, and probably never will be again. The controversies it engendered were not confined to Winnebago County, or the State of Illinois. It spread all over the country, and at St. Louis grew so furious as to end in a challenge to mortal comlDat between two editors of St. Louis papers - Colonel Emory S. Foster, of the Journal, and Major John N. Edwards, of the Dispatch. Major Edwards had been a member of Jo Shelby's famous rebel brigade from the time it was organized until the war closed, after which, with a large number of his comrades, he sought exile in Mexico, rather than to surrender with the remainder of the rebel army, and remained absent for a period of two or three years, but linally returned to St. Louis. When the protest of the jSTevins Post, G. A. R., reached St. Louis, Edwards made it the subject of a very malignant editorial article, not only reflecting upon the Illinois soldiers, but upon the women of the State as well, intimating very plainly that in many of their homes there M'ere pianos and other articles that had been stolen from Jeff. Davis' Southern neighbors. Foster had been Colonel of a Federal regiment during the war, and he at once espoused the cause of the soldiers and the women of Illinois, especially those of the Winnebago country, and, through the columns of the Journal^ repelled the insinuations of Edwards in a way to arouse his old war spirit. He regarded Foster's retort as a personal insult - a base reflection upon his honor, and at once determined to demand redress according to the code duello - in former years a prevailing practice of settling personal difiiculties among the Southern chivalry. Foster and Edwards dad met on more than one field of battle during the war, and had reason to know each other's mettle. Edwards sent a challenge to Foster, which was accepted. The details of the necessary arrangements were referred to their respective friends. And, as the difficulty had grown out of the Winnebago invitation to Jeff. Davis, the fair grounds here were chosen as the place where it should be settled. The time fixed was Saturday, September 4, 1875. On the morning of that day the principals, their seconds, a friend or two, a surgeon, and one or two ubiquitous newspaper reporters, arrived from Chicago, and took rooms and dinner at the Holland House. In the afternoon the terrors of Illinois laws against dueling began to haunt them, and the fair grounds were abandoned for a place a little more remote from officers of the law. Hacks were engaged, and the belligerents and their respective attacJies were driven up toward the Wisconsin State line, as far as Brown's Creek, in Owen, where they halted, a little before 5 o'clock. A spot was selected a short distance off the main road, the distance agreed upon, staked ofl", and positions chosen. Both men were cool, calm and collected - Foster all the while smoking a cigar. Time was soon called, and the men came to the scratch like old soldiers. At the words "one, two, three," there was a simultaneous discharge and report of two pistols, but neither one of the combatants were scathed. Edwards wanted another trial, but Foster did not. As the challenged party, his honor and courage had been vindicated, and he sought nothing else. Shaking hands, the parties separated, and started for home - Edwards and his party going up through Wisconsin, and Foster and his friends going in another direction. And so ended what promised to be a bloody and murderous combat - that is, if the heroes ( ? ) were in earnest and their weapons loaded with balls or cartridges.

Some time afterwards, Governor Beveridge issued a requisition upon the Governor of Missouri for the rendition of Foster and Edwards to the authorities of Winnebago County, but for some cause never fully or satisfactorily explained to the public, the rendition was never accomplished.

In 1877, Mr. Kimball invited another representative man of the south - Governor Wade Hampton, of South Carolina - to attend the exposition and deliver the annual address. While this invitation and its acceptance elicited some expressions of disapproval, the dissatisfaction was not so general as' in the case of Mr. Davis, and the large audience that greeted Governor Hampton's appearance on the Winnebago Fair Grounds, on

Thursday, Sept. 13, 187T, and the marked attention 2:iveu to his address, gave evidence that the bitter memories engendered bj the war had well nigh died out. As shown by the number of tickets sold that day, 17,000 persons were in attendance. At the hour of two o'clock in the afternoon, the time set for the delivery of the address, nearly the whole of this vast congregation of people had assembled in front of and around the speaker's stand, presenting an audience such as few public men ever addressed. Governor Hampton was introduced by Hon, William Lathrop, Republican member of Congress from this district, in a few brief, but well chosen, remarks, and if there had been any doubts entertained as to how the speaker would be received, they were quickly dispelled by the hearty demonstrations of welcome and good-will that greeted him as he appeared at the front of the stand. His address was a very happy and felicitious one, and frequently interrupted by loud applause.

In a work of this character, the re-production of Governor Hampton's address would be out of place, but there were some parts of it so full of wisdom, so appropriate to the condition of the times, as to demand preservation. In that part of it which we quote below, there is a lesson that every one may study with profit. Referring to the vast extent of Illinois, to what the people of the State had accomplished in times past, and to what they might accomplish in time to come, Governor Hampton said :

" I would like to talk to you, if I had time, of your great State. I may not live to see it, but many of you will live to see these fertile valleys filled up. A part of your State is called ' E»yj)t.' Why could you not be as prosperous as the Egypt of old ? We are told by ancient writers that along the Nile there were in a space of ten or twelve thousand square miles twenty thousand cities and towns and eight millions of people in them. You in. Illinois have over fifty thousand square miles. What would it be if your population was in the same proportion ? You have a soil as rich as that on the Nile. You have a climate far better, and above all, you are peopled by the younger races of the world, and the grandest destiny that was ever offered to a people is in your hands. Think what the Mississippi Valley is. Think that it reaches from the Blue Mountains on the east' to the Rocky Mountains on the west, and that it runs from the tropics to where perpetual snow shines in the sunlight. Think of the hundreds of millions of people that could be supported here, and then think of the glorious destiny that must be yours; and when you think of what may be that glorious destiny, forget not what was the destiny of the people of Egypt. Rich and cultivated as thej were, with science, education and everything but religion, they have died, leaving only stupendous pyramids as burial places for their dead, and the ruins of splendid temples that were dedicated to the worship of apes and crocodiles. You have the great problem to solve that the people of all times have had to solve. The great problem of the relations of labor to capital, the great problem ot the relations of people and States to the general government, and that problem is made more difficult by the infusion of universal sufirage. But I believe that we can solve that question if we devote to it one half the energy that we do to material pursuits. We can do it by education; and when I say education, I do not mean the mere improving of faculties so that one can read and write. I mean the education of the heart and soul, as well as the mind. When you have succeeded in doing that, when you will make a man learn that all learning is foolishness in the light of God, when you can teach him that, and make him look to God for hfe and freedom, then we will be on the high road that leads to peace, prosperitj' and happiness."

Governor Hampton was followed by Gen. Sam. F. Carey, of Ohio, the great Buckeye temperance apostle, a former member of Congress, and the greenback candidate for Vice-President in 1876. His speech on this occasion was one of the best of his life, and well adapted to the times and full of progressive ideas. Commencing with the time when he was a boy, wearing tow-linen shirts - and it made his back itch now to think of them - he noted the great improvements that had been made in farm machinery, and everything else that renders the American people the wonder, admiration and envy of the rest of the civilized world for their great achievements in the arts, sciences and all else that makes a people' proud, prosperous and happy. Full of sound, practical sense, happily illustrated by humorous anecdotes of the prejudices entertained by the people of the not very long ago against temperance, the common-school system, the railroad, the telegraph, and kindred enterprises, particularly in some parts of the south, He'kept his vast audience enchained by his eloquence for nearly two hours.

The hi St agricultural address delivered in the county was rendered before the original society - the one organized April 13, 18-11 - by Dr. George Haskell, in July of that year. A copy of the address was solicited for publication at the time, but for reasons satisfactory to himself, the request was not honored. In after years, when Winnebago County and Rockford, whose growth he had watched and fostered from their earliest beginnings, had attained prosperity and prominence, he removed to Yineland, New Jersey, where he died in 1876. A year or two before his death, while visiting his daughter, the wife of Henry P. Kimball, Esq., he presented to Mr. Kimball the original manuscript of the address referred to, together with the correspondence that ensued between him and the committee appointed to sohcit it for publication thirty-six years ago, with the request that the papers be preserved among the other agricultural records of the county. Among the early settlers of the county, a warm and ardent friend of the -tillers of the soil, of quick perceptions, a deep thinker and ardently attached to agricultural pursuits as the basis of all wealth and prosperity, his address of that day is full of merit and as worthy of preservation in the history of the county he and his descendants helped to make as any of more modern date, and will no doubt be read with great interest. It is herewith appended.

- As you have requested me to address you on the present occasion, I have consented to do so from a sense of duty; not that I feel competent to do justice to the subject for the consideration of which we have assembleil at this time, but if I can impart any information that will benefit my fellow-citizens, or direct their attention to matters in which all are deeply interested, I shall feel that my labor has not been in vain. It is not the farmer alone who is to be benefited by the formation of agricultural societies, and the improvements which such societies may be the means of making in the community, but the mechanic, the manufacturer, the merchant, the professional man, and in fact every member of society, whatever may be his condition or calling, is interested in agricultural improvement.

and comfort. To man has been consigned, bj a beneficent Providence, the capacity and dut}^ of cnltivatinf^ the soil, and of rendering those elements subservient to our wants and our highest enjoyments. And it has been wisely ordained tliat our temporal reward shall be in a measure proportioned to the fidelity with which we perform our high duties to ourselves, our fellow men and our Creator. The cultivation of the earth was the primitive employment of man. It is still the great business among all civilized nations, and particularly in our own country, and it must ever remain so, as it is alike necessary to our wants, our happiness and our existence as an independent people. All other arts and employments which distinguish civilized life are dependent upon agriculture for support and existence. If the cultivation of the soil were to cease, and the earth to withhold her contributions, all the arts, trades and professions would fail, the world would become a wilderness and man a savage. Where do we find society in its most enlightened, refined and improved condition? Take a survey of the present condition of this globe, and you will find that nations and people are enlightened and prosperous in proportion to the improved state of their agriculture, and that the other arts of useful industry prosper or decline as this parent art is productive or unproductive. As proof of this I will refer you to the history of Egypt, of Greece, Asia Minor, Italy and Spain, which in turn have been the granaries, in a measure, of the civilized world, which have risen and declined with the condition of their agriculture. While that flourished, commerce and the arts flourished among them and they were prosperous and powerful. But as the agriculture of those countries declined, or was destroyed by the inroads of hostile armies, by the arbitrary sway of despotic power, or the corrupting influence of comiiiercial cupidity and extravagance, the physical and moral energies of those nations were broken down, and they became impotent and servile. Some of their once fairest portions have been made desert by the violence of men; commerce and the arts have fled to countries where agriculture flourished, and their population has degenerated into a miserable set of poor, ignorant, enslaved human beings, objects of pity and Christian benevolence.

" Kow look at those countries where agriculture is most prosperous, where the greatest attention is paid to the cultivation and improvement of the soil, and there you will find the moral and intellectual condition of the people the most elevated, and human rights most respected. Where the mental and physical powers are so happily combined and employed on objects so useful to themselves and to society as those embraced by agricultural labor, there is little inducement, little temptation, to immoral habits; but there is a strong disposition in the inhabitants to maintain a healthful state of morals and preserve in full vigor all the relative and social virtues, which constitute the main ingredients in our cup of happiness. Pauperism and crime are generally the fruits of indolent habits of body or of mind, which agriculture neither encourages nor permits. As productive labor is the source of moral healtii to the body politic, it should be honored that it may more abound. Agriculture has, and ever must have, an important bearing upon our political destinies. The farmers of our country will be the last class to be corrupted by the bribes and blandishments of power - the last class to part with republican habits, to degenerate under the baleful and enervating influences of extravagance, dissipation and fashion.

stronger his inclination mid his influence in perpetuating the virtues of our revohitionary fathers, and in maintaining in their purity the institutions which they estabhshed, and defending them from foreign and domestic foes. Whether, therefore, we regard agriculture as a necessary branch of industry, indispensible to our wants, and adapted to the development and useful employment of our physical and mental powei^s, or in its influence upon the moral, social and political aspect ot society^ we find in it abundant claims to our highest regards and warmest support.

" It has been said that in fixing on a location for life, the grand requisites to comfort are: pure air, good water, and a healthy, fertile soil; yet these seem incomplete, at least as regards comfort, without the additi(tn of good neighbors - and therefore it is for the interest of everv individual to do what he can to improve the condition ot those around him.

" A man, whatever may be his honest business, is profited by the prosperity of his neighbor, whether tiiat neighbor be a farmer, a ^mechanic, a merchant, or engaged in some professional calling.

"It is a bad trait in the human character, and one which generally defeats its object, but which is, nevertheless, too conspicuous, that many seek to elevate themselves by depressing those around them - as if the poverty and misfortune of the one added to the virtues and merits of the other.

"Xot only philanthropy and Christianity, but self-interest enjoin that when we have provided comfortably for ourselves and our own, we should render all the assistance in our power to our brother who stands in need of our aid. The selfish being who lives but for himself may, by amassing wealth, enjoy his hour or his day of fancied greatness, but he can never realize the pure, the elevated pleasures which flow from a life of active benevolence to the human family.

" Society is in some measure a joint concern, at least so far as relates to the producing classes ; the more these earn hj their labor, the greater is the accession of substantial wealth to the community. Whatever tends to increase and improve the products of the soil serves to auginent the common stock and enables the grower to supply the market with more and better products, and to buy more liberally of the other classes in return.

"The merchant, the mechanic, the manufacturer and the professional man have all as deep an interest in promoting the improvement of agriculture and horti6ulture as the farmer and gardener have. The farmer virtually provides lor the other classes, and is at the same time their principal patron and customer ; and although his labors are too often held to be low and menial, by those who cannot and will not appreciate their value, his condition affords the best criterion to judge of the welfare of those around him. No country can long flourish or preserve its moral and physical health whose agriculture is neglected and degraded. Every class of the community, therefore, has a deep interest in promoting the improvement of the soil, and all should willingly contribute their aid towards enlightening, honoring and rewarding those who are honestly employed in its cultivation. On the old continent, some men are born to rank and privilege, and others are born to ser\ile labor. Arbitrary laws have prescribed, to a great extent, a man's condition in life ere the infant breathes the vital air. Arbitrary power has perverted the laws of equality which were intended for the human family, and has enacted artificial distinctions which industry and genius can hardly surmount, nor hereditary raid^ hardly sink below.

tlie hereditary distinctions conferred by birth nor wealth. In our country, merit is the reward of individual effort, and distinction the price of intelligence, industry and virtue; and the competition is open to all. We are all endowed with natural capacities for improvement, like the soil we cultivate; and our reward, like the harvest, will ))e greater or less in proportion to the measure of our self-improvemejit. But, as with the rich soil, where nature has done most man generally does least, so with the mind ; where the expectations from parental aid are the greatest, the offspring seem least anxious to exert themselves to fulfil the high obligations imposed upon all. Poverty and want are often the strongest stimulents to physical and mental exertion; and when a laudable ambition is awakened to excel in any useful pursuit, it seldom stops at mediocrity. Adversity more than prosperity is the school in which men learn wisdom. There are high responsibilities resting on the farmer and mechanic, which should stimulate them to mental and moral exertion. They constitute the physical and political strength of our country. If they are ignorant, poor and dependent, they are very liable to become the tools of demagogues and the corruptors of public morals. If they are intelligent and prosperous, they will be exemplary in their habits, strong in their influence, and independent and patriotic in the bestowment of their suffrages. With these incitements to improvement, and these duties and responsibilities before them, the farmer and mechanic have abundant cause to put forth their best exertions, to study the principles of their business, and to profit by the genius and talents and discoveries of others who excel in their respective callings; for however high a man may be naturally gifted, or however successfully he may call his physical and mental powers into action, he may learn much from the skill and practice of others.

"Agriculture has too generally been considered a business requiring mere physical power, with which the principles of natural science had little or nothing to do. To plow, to sow, and to gather the crop, has been the general routine of farming operations, regardless of the poverty which such a practice was inflicting upon the soil. Thus the richest and most productive lands of the Atlantic States were rendered almost worthless, and the scanty crops, diminishing from year to year, reproached the cultivator for his ignorance and ingratitude. But within the last few years, the attention of the farmers has been directed to the improvement of the soil, and, having called to his aid the light produced by scientiflc investigations and discoveries, he has restoi-ed the soil to its original fertility and realized ample compensation for his labors.

"And are we not practicing as bad a system of husbandry as our fathers did in I*^ew England? Our beautiful prairies, with their rich and productive soil, have presented inducements for too extensive cultivation. Some of our richest lands are already nearly rendered worthless by the slovenly manner in which they have been cultivated. The ease with which the first and second crop, perhaps, have been obtained, has induced many of our farmers to undertake more than they could well perform. The land has been but half tilled - the weeds have been permitted to grow and ripen their seeds, and the winds, the birds and other operators, have distributed them profusely over the land. (Our soil is well adapted to the growth of weeds, and under the skillful cultivation of many of our farmers, produces an abundant harvest.) Tnough our soil is at present productive, and good crops can be obtained without the use of manure, yet without it, the capa- bilities of the soil will be yearly diminisliing. Our lands, rich as they are, will be beneiited by the application of niannre, and those who npply all they can obtain will be abundantly compensated for their labors.

^'Probably the most of those whom I now address, have learned by their own experience, something of the inconvenience, not to say actual loss, they have sustained by half cultivating their land. Let us improve by past experience, and attempt no more than we can well accomplish. Let us avail ourselves of the labors of others, and profit by their experience and improvements. Science and art are now uniting their labors, and are deriving mutual aid from each other on the farm, as they have for some time been doing in the manufactory and in the shop of the artisan. A new era is dawning upon the vision of the farmer; new light is illuming his path, and a new interest and new pleasures are urging him on to improvement. He begins to study the laws which Providence has ordained for the government of improved culture, and he finds in , their application to his labors, the means of increasing profits and high intellectual enjoyment; and the more he studies and is guided by these laws,' the more does he become satisfied of his former errors and his comparative limited sphere of usefulness. Science is probably capable of rendering more important services to husbandry than to any other branch of labor, and presents a wider field of useful study to the cultivators of the soil, than to any other class of society.

"One great obstacle to agricultural improvement, is the subordinate rank to which this employment Jias been consigned, and to which the farmers themselves have contributed, by a want of respect for themselves and respect for their vocation. The wholesome habits of society have been so broken up by the civil and political convulsions of the age and the inordinate thirst for acquiring wealth and fashionable consequence through speculations of various kinds, that honest productive labor has been thrown entirely into the background, and considered not only ungenteel, but menial and servile. Yet he who provides for the wants and comforts of himself and family, and renders some service to society at large, by his mental and physical industry, performs one of the high duties of life, and will ultimately be rewarded in the conscious rectitude of his life, by a greater measure of substantial happiness, than he who makes millions by fraud and speculation, to be squandered in extravagance or wasted in folly by his children or grandchildren.

- "The revolutions constantly taking place in families sufficiently admonish us, that it is not the wealth we leave to our children, but the industrious and moral habits in which we educate them, that secure to them worldly prosperity and the treasure of an approving conscience..

"Not content with the gains which are ever the reward of honest and prudent industry, and which might be greatly increased by the culture of the mind; not content with one of the most independent conditions in society, hundreds of farmers have sought other and new employments, and some of truly menial character, to get rid of labor, the greatest blessing to man, and raise themselves in the imaginary scale of fashionable society; and if they cannot participate themselves in this imaginary greatness, and it is seldom anything more than imaginary, they are anxious to inflict the evil upon their posterity. What class of society have within their reach so many of the elements of human enjoyments as the indej^endent tillers of the soil? 'The farmer,' says Franklin, 'has no need of popular favor; the success of his crops depends only on tlie blessing of God upon his honest industry.' If discreetly conducted on the improved principles of husbandry, agriculture offers the certain means of acquiring wealth, and as rapidly as is consistent with the pure enjoyments of life, or with the good order and prosperous condition of society. It is the golden mean, secure [alike from the temptations of mushroom opulence and the craven sycophancy and dependence of poverty.

'' The success of the farmer in producing profitable crops depends, as far as human means are concerned, in a great measure upon preparing the soil properly for the reception of the seed, in ada]jting the cro]) to the soil, and bestowing upon it the necessary culture. A gi'eat obstacle in the way of improvement is ignorance of the principles or science of agriculture, and a blind adherence to old practices. I wonld not reject a practice that had been proved to be useful and important; neither would I adhere to one merely because it had been sanctioned by age. But I would prove all things, and hold fast that which is good. From the discoveries of science and chemistry, as applied to agriculture, we are taught many important lessons. Why has such signal success attended the practice of som^e of the best informed farmers in our country of alternating their crops? Chemical science answers the inquiry. The elementary matters which constitute the different kinds of vegetables are similar, and exist in various proportions both in the soil and in the products of the soil; and those elements are so combined as to furnish food for one species of plants one season, and that peculiar kind of food having been exhausted, the same species will not flourish on the same soil in successive seasons. Every kind of plant has its peculiar food ada]ited to its support, and hence we see the importance of a rotation in crops in order to obtain complete success. It is true there are some soils e.o abundantly supplied with vegetable matter that they seem for a time inexhaustible. I have known fields on the American Bottom, which is one of the richest portions of the fertile "West, and even of the w^orld, where Indian corn has been raised successfully for more than twenty successive years, and yet the crop is abundant, and the capacities of the soil do not seem to be diminished. But even that fertile soil may be worn out and its stock of vegetable food exhausted under improper cultivation, and a change of treatment may be found necessary in order to perpetuate its fertility. The primitive elements which constitute all animal and vegetable substances, combining in various forms and in various proportions, are oxygen and hydrogen, the constituents of water, nitrogen, which mixed with oxygen forms the atmosphere, and carbon. These elementary matters are found in all the combinations of matter - in a solid form in animals, vegetables, and rocks. By the interposition of caloric, or the matter of heat, they are rendered liquid and gaseous. When they disappear in one form they take another - they are never lost, never annihilated. They perform a constant routine under the fixed and established laws of nature, for the benefit of man and for the order and preservation of the natural world. As soon as the animal and vegetable cease to live, a decomposition, or separation of their elementary parts, commences, if exposed to the agency of heat, air and moisture, and goes on until their organic forms are lost, and their elements are mingled with the soil and fitted again to enter into new vegetable combinations and become again parts of new and living organic matters. Hence we may see the necessity of studying and observing those laws of nature which govern to a greater or less extent the whole business of the farm, and which can never be violated with impunity. And, in order to study those h^ws to the best advantage, we should avail ourselves of all the helps within our reach. We should proiit by the labors and experience of others, as they are communicated in the agricultural journals of the d&y. Every farmer should by all means take some agricultural paper, and store his mind with all that is valuable, and thus have a stock ready for use as occasion may require. Individuals have been benefited hundreds of dollars by the outlaj^ of one dollar for a publication of this kind^ in consequence of the useful information it has given them in the prosecution of their business. And here let me call the attention of this society to the " Union Agriculturalist," published monthly at Chicago. Though there are valuable agricultural papers published in other sections of our country, and which are most al.ily conducted, and in themselves may be superior to that of our own State, yet they are not as well adapted to our peculiar wants as one in which the experience of our prairie farmers is imparted for the benetit of their brethren. The "Union Agriculturalist " is the organ of the State Agricultural Society, and is published by the Union Agricultural Society, and, with a becoming zeal, we should take hold and help sustain it and make it worthy the high destiny of the Prairie State. No one is so poor but he may iind some means to raise one dollar a year to pay for such a periodical. Better divide his means between that and the political journal than to be deprived of its benefits.

" Thus far, in our county the orchard has not received that attention its importance demands. I need not here enumerate the advantages of good fruit. A tree that will produce fruit worth one dollar per bushel occupies no more ground than a tree whose fruit is beneath the notice of the hog. One of the first labors every farmer should perform is to prepare a suitable piece of land and plant his orchard, and let that orchard be selected from the best improved fruit, and in a very few years he will be abundantly compensated for all his labor and expense.

" Tliere has been much written upon the raising of silk within the last few years, and many experiments have been detailed to prove that it may be made a profitable auxilliary to farming operations. The Multicalis speculation has gone by, and those who are supplied with the tree can make the experiment of silk raisinoj for themselves. If it can be made profitable in any part of our country, it deserves a fair trial here.

'- Laboring under the disadvantage of the want of a ready market for our surplus produce, we should direct our attention to those aiticles which will pay the expense of transportation to a distant market, or which can be converted to useful purposes among us. As much as possible, we should aim at being independent; we should raise and produce among ourselves the most of the necessaries of life. Our farmers must raise the materials, and our clothing must be manufactured among us. Where can w^ool be raised with greater ease and more profit than on our fine prairies? Let every farm be M'ell stocked with good sheep, and all the wool which is not manufactured among us will bear to be transported to a distant market, and bring in return those foreign articles which are regarded as necessary, and which are draining the country of the little money there is in circulation. Before we can be in easy and independent circumstances we must revert the present order of things. Instead of sending our money away to procure necessaries from abroad, we must not only produce articles to exchange for those necessaries, but have a surplus to convert into funds for other purposes. The imDrovement of cattle and ho^s demands the immediate attention ot even farmer Some few individuals have directed their attention to such improve ment with laudable zeal, and they will lind themselves abundantly repaid for all trouble. Beef and pork will soon become staple articles ot this country, and the farmer who would obtain the largest proht troni his beet and h'is pork will raise and fatten those animals, which, witli tlie least amount of food, will produce the most meat. If a hog ot one breed, at a criveu ao-e and with the same amount of food and the same attention, will wei-h twice or three times as much as one of a different breed, is it not important that our stock should be improved? And besides, the liog whicli will wei-h 400, will sell in market more readily lor $4.00 per hundred than ll an tShog which weighs 150 or 200 will sell for $2.50 or $3 I will not now specify the best breeds of cattle and hogs. It we should have a lair next Octolier, which we now contemplate, all will have an opportunity ot seeino- and iudgin- for themselves. Such exhibitions are highly important as they excite a spirit of emulation, and important results may be expected from them when properly conducted. _ _

'^Flax is an important article for the farmer to raise; it it can not oe manufactured into cloth at present, it will bear transportation, and the ^ed can be mannfactured into oil among us, and thus save the expense ot ending abroad for that important article. A manutactory tor small rope would do a good business at once and would tind a ready market tor all that rould be produced. Some one should also engage in the manutactnre ot starch, and thus save the expense of sending our wheat to the east to be made into the article, and then go there to procure our supply ._ 11 sugar can be made from the beet profitably anywhere, it deserves a trial here. 1 he ease wUh which the beet is raised, and the high price of sugar, offer strong inducements to the capitalist to engage in its manntacture

-1 have thus endeavored to direct your attention to the importance ot agricultural improvements; and though this society has ^7;^^^;^^ ^^^^^ tions at a time of great pecnniary embarrassments, yet let us not despise the day of Bmall things.^ Other societies have commenced under as unfavorabte circumstancer as this, and they have steadily and persev;.rmg y advanced until their salutary influence has been apparent to all. 1 could name instances did time permit, but I leave that for the Pf «^\^;., .. .^^ . .

''The object of this society is a noble one, worthy the philanthiopist and the patriot; and though you may not reach the goal of your wishes,

^ -The seed which you sow will produce its tens and its twenty told though you may not live to gather the harvest. The work of imP^-oy^-ent which you began will progress and be fraught with blessings on your children and on your State."

Sir.-The undersigned, a committee appointed ^Y ^1- Winnebago^^^^^^^^ Society, respectfully solicit of you the favor of a copy «f y'^ini tS tt mX^^^ of pub- .said society at their last meeting. We are ^1^ f o^"^g ^^^^^^^^^^^ as have the lications on the subject of agriculture pains shou be a^ merit of givim,^ useful information, or of contamingmatte o in eiest toinc u But while we in common with others who were present to heai 5'^"^ 'f ^^'Lr'^ ^spegratified we think you cannot do the cause of agriculture, so impoitant in itselt, ana esp cially so embodying the leading interest of the West, a greater favor than to allow your address to be published, that all who will may read and learn.

Gentlemen: - Your favor of Aug. 21 is before me, and in reply yovi will permit me to say that 1 am not insensible of the flattering notice the society has taken of my address. I feel a deep interest in whatever may be calculated to promote the objects of the Agricultural Society, but upon mature deliberation I am not yet satisfied that the cause of agriculture will be materially benefited by the publication of the addi-ess I read before Ihe society, while so many others, more able, are published. I would, therefore, respectfully decline furnishing a copy for publication. Yours Respectfully,

Mueder Of Sheriff John F. Taylok

After the killing of the Driscolls, the arrest, trial, conviction and sentence of Oliver, McDowell and Bridge, in 184:5, as members of the band of outlaws that held dominion here for a number of years, the community seems to have been peculiarly fortunate in its freedom from outlaws and dishonest personages. From the time West and McDowell were sentenced until ISTovember, 1856, there was but little of a criminal nature to disturb the quiet of the people. What few crimes were committed were, for the most part, of a petty character, and confined to that grade of crimes and evil-doers that are to be found in all communities. When the "Bandits of the Prairie" had been dispersed and banished from the country, the people settled down to hard work, giving but little heed to anything but the improvement of their farms and the general industries of a new countr}-.

In the month of November, 1856, however, an event occurred that threw the entire county into a fever of excitement, the like of which had not been experienced since the cold-blooded murder of John Campbell by the Driscolls and Bridge on Sunday, June 27, 1841. This excitement was created by the murder of John F. Taylor, Sheriff, by Alfred Countryman, and but for the firmness and decision of the more thinking of the citizens of Rockford, Countryman would have received the same summary judgment and execution that hurried the two Driscolls into eternity. The circumstances attending this aftair were as follows:

On the 11th day of November, 1856, Sheriff Taylor had taken Countryman under arrest on the charge of stealing cattle, and was taking him to jail. When approaching the jail door. Countryman broke away from the Sheriff, jumped over the fence on the Elm street side of the square, and lied southward, towards Kent's creek. When at the corner of Elm and Church streets, seeing that he was likely to be retaken. Countryman drew a pistol from his pocket, turned and fired at Mr. Taylor, who was in close pursuit. His aim was good, and Taylor fell to the ground and exj^ired almost instantly. The alarm was at once given, and hundreds of citizens started in pursuit of Countryman, who kept on towards the grove south of Kent's creek, and where he was finally captured. He was brought back to town in a wagon in the midst of the most terrible excitement ever witnessed in the streets of Rockford, and it was with the utmost difticulty that the officers who had him in charge, assisted by some of the more prominent citizens, could prevent the indignant and outraged populace from lynching him upon the instant. But to the good name of the people be it said, better counsels prevailed, and the law was allowed to take its course. Countryman was placed in jail and closely confined, until the February term (1857) of the Circuit Court, Judge Benjamin K. Sheldon presiding, when he was tried, found guilty and sentenced to be hanged on the" 27th of March tollowing.

The case was called on Monday, February 23d, and the entire afternoon was spent in empannelling a jury, which consisted of the following named persons:

The 'jury being thus empanelled and sworn, the court adjourned until 9 o'clock Tuesday morning. The prosecution was conducted by U, D. Meacham, State's Attorney, and William Brown, Esq.; the defence by Orrin Miller, Jr., and T. J. Turner, Esq,

The trial was concluded on Thursday afternoon, February 26th, and the, case submitted to the jury, who returned a verdict of "gnilty of murder as charged in the indictment," when Judge Sheldon proceeded to pass the death sentence as follows:

"Alfred Countryman, you stand convicted of the murder of John F, Taylor, \ our crime was attended with very aggravated circumstances. Mr, Taylor was the Sheriff of this county - he had arrested you for a felony, and was carrying you to the jail, when you broke from his custody and ran; he pursued, and as he was about to retake you, you drew forth from a place of concealment upon your person a pistol, turned upon and shot him, killing him in two or three minutes of time. Continuing your flight, you were seen to reload your pistol, to be prepared, it would seem, to take the life of the next man who approached to take you.

"This deed was perpetrated in the public streets of Rockford, in open day, in the midst of the host of friends of the deceased, to whom he was endeared by his qualities as a man and his faithful services as an ofiicer, several of whom were eye-witnesses of the scene. It could only have been the respect for law, which distinguishes this community, that prevented you from being rent in pieces on the spot, by an explosion of popular indignation.

"To shoot down a peaceful officer of justice, in the quiet execution of his duty, was a wanton, brutal act, an awful manifestation of an abandoned and malignant heart. In the e^^e of the law, no crime is more heinous than to slay one of its officers in the discharge of his duty. The law guards with a strong arm its officers ^vhen performing its own mandates. Your case is a sad instance of the mischief of the barbarous practice of carrying deadly weapons. If you had not liad that weapon of death concealed upon your person, you might have escaped a murderer's doom. In a well-ordered community like this, there is no need, under ordinary circumstances, to carry about such weapons of defence, and when carried they are much oftener used as the weapon of offence than of defence.

"The penalty of your high crime is the forfeit of your life - the terrible punishment the law inflicts not out of vengeance towards you, but for the