Libertyville Township

Libertyville Township

Much that pertains to the early history of this township has been given in a previous portion of this history, under the head of the county at large.

Among the early settlers of this town were Richard Steele, Henry B. Steele, Tobias Wynkoop, A. B. Wynkoop, William, Robert and Christopher Irwin, Ransom Steele, William Crane, D. C. Steele, Horace Butler, Dr. J. H. Foster, Charles H. Bartlett, William and James Lloyd, E. Tingley, James Bartlett, Levi Hutchinson, Ira Waugh, Solomon Norton, Lewis G. Schenck, Thomas and William Kellam and Levi Baxter.

This town was named by the Commissioners, in accordance with the wishes' of the inhabitants expressed at an election held in the township for that pur¬ pose, January 12, 1850.

The vote on the subject of a name was as follows : For Liberty ville, 37 votes ; for Bern, 32 votes ; for Burlington, 3 votes. Bern was the name of a Hungarian General which had passed into note in this country about that time, from the struggle occurring a short time previous under their leader, Kossuth.

The first organized public meeting held in what is now the county of Lake, for any purpose, was held in this town. It was a general meeting of the settlers for the purpose of adopting regulations and forming a compact for the purpose of protecting each other in their rights as claimants on the public lands, a reference to which has been made in a previous portion of this history.

At this meeting, resolutions were passed and regulation^ adopted, defining the rights of settlers and providing for the organization of a compact. The following are the proceedings of this meeting, together with a copy of the reso¬ lutions and regulations, as published officially by the compact :

" At a numerous meeting of the inhabitants on the Upper Des Plaines River, held, pursuant to notice, at Independence Grove, on Friday, December 2, 1836, Samuel Brooks, Esq., in the Chair, and George Kimball, Secretary, a committee, consisting of Nelson Landon, Samuel Brooks and Willard Jones, was appointed to present resolutions and regulations. The following, on being reported, were unanimously adopted :

" Whereas, The unsurveyed Government lands situate between Indian Creek and the north boundary of the State, lying on and in the vicinity of the

Des Plaines River, have, within the last three years, become thickly settled, and< fresh settlers are daily coming in and seeking a residence and locating in the same neighborhood - many unwilling to encroach on the hitherto respected boundaries of older settlers, others, with a too manifest intention of occupy¬ ing land for the sole purpose of speculation, and some who seem desirous of re¬ taining for their exclusive advantage a large proportion of woodland and prairie than appears necessary for a fanner on the largest scales of calculation.

u Many new settlements, under similar circumstances, have adopted resolu¬ tions for the purpose of defining the extent of land which each settler may hold, and for protecting others in the quiet possession of their claims, and for this purpose have entered into mutual compact and agreement to carry such resolutions into effect.

" It appears to your committee, upon reading the notice for convening this meeting, that no time should be lost in pursuing such measures as the present situation of the settlement seems to demand, as well for the maintenance and promotion of harmony in the neighborhood as for the encouragement of re¬ spectable and actual settlers among us.

" 1. Resolved , That it is expedient and necessary to adopt measures by which the settlers in this section of the country may be protected from en¬ croachments, and their claims upon lands better defined - to encourage and protect those who wish to come and reside among us.

" 2. Resolved , That it is expedient to protect individuals from taking up and holding larger claims on land than themselves and families can cultivate, and that no one individual shall hold more than one section of land.

" 3. Resolved , That it is necessary for the advancement and well being of this settlement to prevent the holding claims on land solely for the purpose of speculation.

" 4. Resolved , That the country in the vicinity of the Des Plaines River, between Indian Creek and the north boundary of this State, be divided into three sections, viz. : The first section commencing at Indian Creek, and ex¬ tending northward to Independence Grove, inclusive ; the second section ex¬ tending from Independence Grove to Mr. Lovejoy's Tavern, inclusive ; the third section extending thence northward to the north boundary of the State.

" II. That there be three Commissioners appointed for each section (to serve for one year, and until a re-election shall take place), who shall have full and exclusive power, and whose duty it shall be, at the request of any one, to establish and protect each and every settler in his, her or their just and equita¬ ble claim or claims on lands, and decide all difficulties concerning the same, and to establish the lines and boundaries thereof.

" III. That the decision of said Commissioners, or two of them, shall be final, unless within two days an appeal be made by either of the parties to the inhabitants of the section in which the claim may be, in which case it shall be the duty of said Commissioners, or either of them, immediately upon notice of such appeal, to convene a meeting of the settlers resident in such section for the purpose of obtaining their decision on the matter in dispute.

" IV. That the inhabitants of each and all the said sections shall be bound at all times to carry into effect the orders or decisions of said Commissioners, or any two of them, concerning any claims or rights of persons relating to any claim or claims.

" V. That if any person shall neglect or refuse to assist when required to carry into effect any order or decision of said Commissioners, or any two of them, or to carry into effect any final decision after an appeal, he shall be considered inimical to justice and good order, and shall be treated accordingly.

" VI. That there shall be a Clerk appointed for one year (and eligible to re-election), to keep a book to register the proceedings of this meeting and the claims of each claimant within the three sections, which shall be kept for the inspection of any person, at all times.

" VII. That it shall be the duty of each claimant to procure a certificate of the Commissioners, or any two of them, residing in the section where the said claim may be, and file the same with the Clerk for registration, and then and there only shall his, her or their claim be established.

" IX. That the said Commissioners be at liberty to demand and receive for their services for establishing each claim, including the corner posts, not less than two and not more than five dollars.

" X. That every one wishing to avail himself of the benefit of the forego¬ ing resolutions and regulations shall subscribe his name to the same, and, omitting to do so, shall derive no advantages resulting from the provisions thereof.

" XI. Resolved, That all who hold claims at the present time shall reg¬ ister them within two months, and that all new comers shall register within three months after making their claims."

The place mentioned as Lovejoy's Tavern, in the fourth resolution, passed at the preceding meeting, was afterward known as the Oplain House, on the east side of the river, at the place now known as the Oplain Bridge, in the town of Warren.

Independence Grove, from this time forward, became the general center for public gatherings of all descriptions. It was here that schemes were laid and plans matured for dividing the county of McHenry, and locating the county^ seat of the new county of Lake.

A master spirit in these movements was understood to be A. B. Wynkoop, who came to the Grove about the first of the year 1837. He was a young man of good ability, but of rather an angular disposition. He had come west with an ambition to acquire distinction by engaging in politics. He was

In this connection, it may be here mentioned that Liberty ville, in the early his¬ tory of the county, has produced more marked men and notable characters than Any other town in this county. Among the number, Tobias Wynkoop, before mentioned, is entitled to a passing notice. He settled in the Fall of 1835, at the point where the Milwaukee road crosses the creek, north of Libertyville, afterward known as Wynkoop'* Creek; He had expansive ideas as to the size of a farm he required. He declared that a quarter-section of land would only answer him for a garden spot. He claimed nearly the entire breadth of prai¬ rie on the west, extending westward about three miles. His boundaries were defined by laying down a single rail around it, in the form of a Virginia fence. When the land sale came, he was unable to purchase the land, and it passed into other hands.

Horace Butler, who settled at Libertyville in 1837, was the second lawyer who came to the county, but was really the first who practiced his profession. He was a man of ability, and one of the main supporters of the interests of Libertyville in all its early contests. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of this State in 1847, and was, for one term, a Representative in the Legislature 'from Lake County.

Dr. J. H. Foster, who likewise settled at Libertyville at an early day (August, 1837), was the first physician who settled and practiced in the county. He was a man of public spirit, of earnest convictions, and among the most tenacious adherents to the cause of Libertyville in its local contests.

Dr. Wm. Crane is remembered as one of the prominent characters in the early history of this town. He was a man of more than ordinary capacity, although circumstances conspired to affect his reputation, in some degree, for a time, yet, after all, he was much respected by his neighbors ; as an evidence of which it may be mentioned that he was elected as the first Supervisor of the town, under township organization, with little or no opposition.

Henry B. Steele, whose name has been before mentioned as the first Sheriff of Lake County, was among the first settlers in this town. He was noted for his large proportions and heavy weight, and as a jolly good fellow. No man was more popular in his day than Henry B. Steele.

About the year 1837, there came to Libertyville a man of the name of Stoliker. He was from Canajoharie, N. Y., and was of that class known as Mohawk Dutchmen. He was a fiddler by profession (or, as it would be called in this day, a performer on the violin). He was the first of this profession who came to Lake County. Hereupon an era of life and excitement commenced at . Libertyville and the country around not enjoyed before. Stoliker was in de¬ mand almost nightly, at every log house where the floor was sufficiently even and the size sufficiently large to accommodate a company for a social dance. But Stoliker had acquired the habit of drinking strong drink ; but it was said of him that his natural talent as a fiddler was such, that no matter how much in¬ toxicated, his nerves never failed him in holding out with his music to the end of the dance - that even if exhausted so much that he would fall asleep, still the music went on with as complete regularity in all respects as if he had been awake.

The county seat was located at Liberty ville in June, 1839, and removed to Little Fort in April, 1841. At the time of the location at Libertyville, there was considerable condemnation of the act of the Commissioners in locating the county seat at this place, but it came in general from sources interested in other points. The better opinion seems to be, that most men of fair judgment and disinterested motives would at that time, under like circumstances, have reached the same conclusion.

It was supposed that the road from Chicago to Milwaukee, by the way of Libertyville, could never be superseded, but, on the contrary, must continue to increase in importance, until it would become one of the greatest thoroughfares in the Western country. It was therefore considered that the interest of the inhabitants of the county required the location of the seat of justice upon this thoroughfare, in view of which Libertyville was considered to be unques¬ tionably the most favorable point. Upon the east side of the Des Plaines River it was, as yet, but thinly settled, and the prospects for a dense popu¬ lation in that portion of the county seemed not at this period to be very flattering.

The first town meeting in this town was held at Libertyville village, on the first Tuesday in April, 1850, and the following persons were elected town officers :

William Crane, Supervisor; H. C. Hutchinson, Town Clerk; John Locke, Assessor ; E. H. Hall, E. H. Mason and R. Drew, Commissioners of High¬ ways ; S. P. Statton, Overseer of the Poor ; S. C. Brown, Constable and Col¬ lector ; and D. C. Steele and C. F. Apply, Justices of the Peace. The num¬ ber of votes cast was 125.

The assessed valuation of property for the year 1850, including both real and personal, was $88,899.00, and the amount of tax computed upon the same was $1,178.13.

The first school house in this town was built at Independence, in the Fall of 1836, as has been stated in a previous portion of this history.

The village of Libertyville is a flourishing and delightful place, situated in this township on the east side of Independence Grove. It contains a hotel, several stores, and various mechanics found in a country village. It has a good public school house, a town hall, and a fine church edifice.

The first church in this township was built in this village, in 1844, by Dr J. H. Foster and James Hutchinson, and donated by them, with the lot upon

A church edifice was built here by the Congregational Church, originally formed at the house of Alfred Payne, at Mechanics1 Grove, in 1838, as has been stated in the history of the township of Fremont. This was discontinued as a house of worship and sold to the town for a town hall, and continues to be occupied as such, a house of worship in its stead having been built at Dean's Corners, in the town of Fremont.

After the burning of the Methodist church, as before stated, the several denominations of Methodists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Baptists and Universalists joined and erected the present church edifice, in the village of Liberty ville. It was completed in the Summer of 1 868.