Rockford Township (part 2 of 11)

Winnebago; w s. Jasperson Chas. miller; r 514 Union; e s. Jasperson J. bds Peter Freeberg ; Park ; e s. Jeanmaire Paul, watchmkr ; r 606 Rock ; e s. Jeffrey John, mechanic ; r 304 S. Sixth ; e s. Jenkins A. carp ; r 306 N. First ; e s. Jenkins Wm. H. r rear 813 Pecatonica. Jens N. barber shop, 312 W.State ; r 708 Elm.

Jeratt Win. r 202 N. Second ; e s. Jilson Whipple, fanner; r 316 N. Avon. Johnson Aaron, coopr ; r 502 S. Seventh ; e s. Johnson A. emp Emerson, Talcott & Co. ; r 410 S. Sixth.

JOHNSOX A. Superintendent of the Forest City Furniture Co., Woodruffs Addition, coi-ner of Railroad av. and Seventh St. ; residence on Eighth St., Woodruff's Addition; born in Sweden, Aug. 16, 1836 ; came to Chicago in Oct., 1854; removed to St. Ciiarles, Kane Co., 111., in Dec, 1854, and came to Rockford June 10, 1855; was engaged in the business of carpenter and cabinet maker until 1864, when he engaged in the manufacture of sash, doors and blinds; engaged in the furniture business in 1869, and has continued in that line to the present time ; became connected with the Forest City Co. in 1875; he married for his fir-it wife Mary Howkanson, of Sweden; she died Jan. 5, 1860; they had three children, all now living; Hilda Sophia, Theodore and Caroliue; present wife was Hilma Augusta Zelen; married June 4, 1874; they have one daughter, Alma Olivia; Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are members of the Lutheran Church.

JOHXSON FBANKIilX, residence over 123 W. State st. ; born in Alabama, Genessee Co., N.Y., Nov. 1,1837 ; removed to Madison, Wis., in 1853; lived there two years; then came to Rockford in 1855; married Almira E. Thayer, of Schuyler

Co., N. Y. ; they have one child, Nettie L., born Jan. 1, 1865; Mr. J. served two years in Co. C, 15th I. V. I.; enlisted as private, mustered out as Corporal.

JOHXSON W. House, Sign and Carriage Painter and Grainer, 514 E. State St. ; residence 209 N. Fourth st. ; Mr. Johnson deals extensively in Paints, Oils, Varnishes, Glass, Brushes, and painters' materials of every description.

JONES J. HERVA, Sup't Emerson, Talcott & Co. Manufacturing Works ; residence 710 S. Main st. ; born in Canandaigua, N. Y., Aug. 20, 1827; lived in Rochester, N. Y., until 19 years of age; came to Byron, Ogle Co., 111., in 1846; when only 12 years of age, he commenced work in machine shops, and has continued to work in different mechanical departments ever since; he removed to Rockton in 1847, where he remained until he came to Rockford in 1863; since 1869 he has superintended the entire works of the firm with which he is now connected; in 1854 he invented the first hand corn planter which was ever made, M'hich remains a staple planter at this time, being extensively manufactured by Emerson, Talcott & Co. ; he is the inventor of very many other implements, machines and improvements, among which may be mentioned. Self Rakes, attached to the Manny Reaper, Broadcast Seeders, Riding, Combined and Walking Cultivators, Horse Power Equalizers, Horse Corn Planters, improvements on the Marsh Harvesters, etc. ; he is one of the Directors of the Public Library; was Co. Supervisor of the 5th ward in 1873 and 1874 ; married Paulina P. Austin, daughter of Sewell Austin, of Shirland, who came here in 1840 ; they have one son and one daughter.

JONES J. PRYNNE, Attorney at Law ; office over Rockford ISTational Bank ; residence 206 S. Main st. ; East Side ; born in Warren, Ohio, Aug. 14, 1852 ; came to Rockford in June, 1876; admitted to the bar at Boonsboro, Iowa, in Jan., 1875 ; admitted to the bar in this state in 1876.

Jones, Woodruff & Co

Manufacturers of the celebrated IXL Wind Engines and Iron Pumps; Deep Well Pumps with the " Mills Patent Cylinder" a specially; Office, No. 119 Court St., west of Court-house square.

ALLSTRAND C. A. painter; bds 513 E. State. Kalistrand Charles, room. Kane John, r 320 W. State. Kasten Gust, r 723 N. First; e s. Kastholm E. L. stone-cutter ; r 504 Mulberry. Katzung Jos. butcher ; r 1010 S. Church ; s s. Kaufman Albert G. r 1411 Charles; e s. Kaufman A. D. cigar maker; r 1114 Charles.

KAUFFHAN AUtmST, Proprietor Meat Market, 820 S. Main st. ; South Side; residence cor Church and Moniague sis. ; born in Germany, Aug. 31, 1834; came to Rockford in 1854; he has been engaged in present business about 18 years; married Elizabeth Katzung; they have five children : Louisa, Anuie, Edward, Charles and Minnie ; they have lost one son.

KEEIiER NORMAN A. Dealer in Fashionable Millinery, Patterns, etc., 208 W. State St. ; residence same No. ; born in Farmington, Ontario Co.,*N'. Y., Sept. 26, 1833 ; came to Rockford in 1874 ; he came to Dclevan, Wis., in 1840 ; married Maria E. Peels, Aug. 26, 1858 ; she was born in Pike, N. Y., Aug. 26, 1836 ; they have two children: Minnie, born in LaGrange, Mo., April 11, I860; Harry B. was born in Delevan. Wis., Jan. 16, 1864; Mr. and Mrs. Keeler are members of the M. E. Church.

Holland House. Keogh Richard, watchmaker. Kern John M. tailor; r 512 Hill; e s. Kerr Andrew R. lab ; r 107 Peach ; w s. Kerr J. B. r 518 N. Church; w s. Kerr Rev. Dr. T. pastor Christian Union ; r

518 N. Church. Kerr Wm. painter ; r 608 S. Fourth ; e s. Kessler Aaron H. elk City Hotel ; r same. Kessler George, r 110 Mulberry. Kessler Henry, blacksmith; r 110 Mulberry.

KE$$SI.£R JERRY, With F. K. and W. H. Dunshee ; residence 308 N. Fourth St., East Side; born in Centre Co., Pa., Jan. 26, 1838 ; came to this Co. in the fall of 1870 ; married Eliza Jane Morey, Jan. 12, 1868; was in the army during the rebellion about two years and a half; served four montlis in Co. E., 141st Regt. I. V. I. ; balance of the time in Co. A., 147th Regt. I. V. I.; Mr. Kessler is a member of Winnebago Lodge, JHo. 31, I. O. O. F., also of Rockford Encampment, No. 44, I. O. O. F.

KfxO GEORGE E. Assistant Cashier Second National Bank; residence cor. West and Elm sts. ; born at Wappinger's Falls, Dutchess Co., N. Y., Aug. 30, 1844; came to Rockford in May, 1856; was with his father, Wm. G. King, in mercantile business until 1864, when he became connected with the Second National Bank, and has continued with it ever since ; married Alice E. Fisher, daughter of Henry Fisher, who was one of the prominent business men of Ruckford from the time the railroad reached here until his decease, in ; Mr. King has one daughter. Alma E., who was born Oct. 22, 1871.

KIRK EEII^HA A. Capitalist; resides at 305 N. Second St.; born in East Nottingham, Chester Co., Pa., March 9, 1819; in 1824 his father moved to Dixborough, near Ann Harbor, Mich. ; about the year 1825 or '26 his father built the first mill west of Detroit; they moved to Branch Co., Mich., in 1826; came to Guilford, in this Co., March 6, 1837; engaged in farming pursuits ever since he came here; for twenty years very largely engaged in the grain business in Rockford, but at the same time farming extensively; married Rachel Dennis; she w.as born near St. Thomas, Canada; they have three children, Josephine Marion, now Mrs. Samuel Kerr, Emeline Elizabeth, and Henrietta Theresa; Mr. Kirk and family are Universalists.

KXO^VLTOX W.ll. A. Manufacturer of Knowlton's " New Manny " Combined Reaper and Mower; by careful manufacture and honest effort, Mr. K. secured the reputation to the machine known as the "New Manny;" because that name is now used by others, he will hereafter call his " Knowlton's Reaper and Mower;" valuable improvements recently made ; he also manufactures Knowlton's Patent Ratchet Beam Cultivator, "Dexter, Junior;" also tlie "Eclipse" Riding Cultivator, and Knowlton's Hay Rakes - the " Knowlton Rake" and the "Paddock Rake;" residence 302 N. Main St., West Side.

Koplin C. C. fireman; r 715 S. Winnebago. Koplin J. L. engineer; r 206 S. West. Kouright Geo. carp; bds City Hotel. Krone J. P. mechanic ; r 708 S. 7th ; W. A. Kruz A. mechanic; r 510 Kishwaukee; e s. Kullbom Otto, carp ; r nr S. Park ; e s.

liAKE .JOHIIir, Whose portrait appears in this work, was bom in England, March 27, 1821. Came to this country in the summer of 1837. Settled in Rockford, Winnebago County, 111., in December of the same year, and has resided here till the present time. Has represented the Second Ward of the city of Rockford in her Common Council, as Alderman, from May 2, 1804, to May 5, 1873; has also served as Supervisor of same ward some SIX or seven years. Was extensively engaged in the lumber business from 1850 to 1873.

Mr. Lake has traveled in all parts of the United States, visiting California in 1872. Showing that he is a keen observer and a fine delineator of the scenery for which California is so famous, I insert an extract from a letter written to a friend, and by

" We will go by way of Stockton to the Valley. About forty miles from Stockton we strike the foot-liills of the Sierra- Nevada Mountain range, and for a distance of one hundred miles we cross a series of mountain chains that are grand beyond any description I can give you. In this distance we ascend to an elevation of at least ten thousand feet above the starting point, at which point we are on the edge of the Yosemite Valley; and now in a distance of two miles we descend four thousand feet into the Valley. It is difficult to give a description or to find compai'isons to give an impression of the grandeur of the scenery, or of the lofty precipices surrounding this valley. Seek the highest mountain in England, cleave it in two to the level of the sea, and you will scarcely get one half the depth of this valley, and yet it is but about six miles long, and will not average over half a mile in width. Its sides are bare granite; in places are depressions, and the granite rotten or decomposed sufficiently to admit of vegetable growth; in such phices we find huge pines growing, the roots seeking support in the crevices ot the rock. The bottom of the valley is a beautiful meadow; through the length of the valley runs the Merced river; some parts are covered with a heavy growth of timber; the meadow is covered with luxuriant grasses and a variety of flowers. The height of the surrounding rocks and waterfalls is wonderful. Cap of Liberty is 4,600 feet high. This rock is almost a bare granite, and nearly vertical on all sides except to the east. I ascended it alone; no one in tlie party had the courage to try it with me. When at the top, I was amply paid for the toil. Laid out before me was one of the finest panoramic views that I ever set my eyes upon. On every hand mountain peaks covered with snow,their bases presenting a growth of mammoth pine, spruce and balsam. Inspiration Point is 3,200 feet high ; with a Dr. Highway, of Cincinnati, I ascended tills point of rocks, jutting out into the Valley - at its extremity not more than four feet wide. We took our seats on this, our feet hanging over the sides, and partook of our refreshments - wnne and cake. A slip of a few inches would have carried us 2,000 fei't into the valley below."

Mr. Lake has retired from active business, and in his beautiful home is enjoying tlie accumulations of j^ears of toil in his eai'ly manhood. He is the present acting Grand Master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for the State of 111.

LAKIX JOHX T. Ot the firm of Perr}^ & Lakin, Lumber Dealers, corner State and Third sts.. East Side ; Mr. Lakin resides at 1109 West State st. ; he was born at Dresden, Ohio; came to Rockford in the fall of 1860.^

L.ASi'BIK" JOHX, . Manufacturer and Dealer in Boots and Shoes, 412 E. State st. ; residence 705 Kishwaukee st. ; born in Sweden, Oct. 10, 1839 ; came to N. Y. City in 1864; resided there one year; removed to Rockford in 1865; married Johanna Anderson, Nov. 13, 1866 ; she was born in Sweden; they have five children; Mr. Landin and family are members of the Swedish Lutheran Church.

t A5fE DK. ROBERT P. President Second National Bank, cor Main and State sts. ; residence 508 N. Church st. ; born in Bedford Co., Penn., Feb. 21, 1818; came to Rockford in 1851 ; the Doctor was one of the parties who organized the Water Power Co. in 1853, and was most active in its development ; was first Treasurer and Manager nnd for many years President; he organized the Second National Bank in 1864 ; he has been President of that institution since first organization ; he also organized the Rockford Insurance Co. in 1866 ; has been Treasurer of that Company ever since that time ; the Doctor has always been prominently identified with the general business interests of Rockford since he first came to the place, in 1851.

liARGEXT JACOB P. Of the firm of Hazlet & Largent, dealers in Boots and Shoes and Rubber Goods, 402 E. State st. ; residence 204 S. Main st.. East Side ; born in Fayette Co., Penn., Dec. 14, 1832 ; came to Rockford in Nov., 1854; engaged in grocery business until 1867 ; since then in present business; married Maggie Hazlet, May 9, 1860; she was born in' Maryland; they have one son, Clinton, born Sept. 18, 1868; Mr. and Mrs. L. are members of State St. Baptist Church.

I-AWIiER THOS. G. Milling Business ; Mill on water power at east end of dam ; residence 208 Kishwaukee st. ; born in Liverpool, Eng., April 7, 1844; came to Rockford in 1854 ; married Fannie A. Rodd, Dec. 24, 1866 ; she was born in Canada, Sept. 22, 1845 ; Mr. Lawler eidisted as a private in Co. E, 19th I. V. I., June 8, 1861 ; was in the service 3 years and 3 months ; mustered out as Sergeant, Brevet First Lieut. ; was in the battles of Stone River, Chicamauga, Mission Ridge, Bailey's Cross Roads, Mallard Creek, Resaca, and all other engagements of this Regt. until close of the campaign ; Mr. L. is Post Commander of Nevius' Post, No. 1, G. A. R. ; has been for 8 years ; he is also First Lieut, of Rockford Rifles.

liEE B. F. County Clerk; r 405 N. West; born in Owen Tp., this Co., April 19, 1842; married Mary Urquhart, Dec. 16, 1874; she was born in Rockton Tp., this Co., March, 1853 ; Mr. Lee was Clerk of the Board of Supervisors from June 24, 1809, to Sept. 16, 1873 ; was Collector of Owen Tp. two years, 1866 and 1867; he has served as County Clerk since Dec, 1873 ; served three years and ten mouths in Co. L., 8th Regt. I. V. C. ; enlisted as private, mustered out as Second Lieutenant; lost left arm in the fight at Ft. Stevens, D. C, in July, 1864.

L.EED!>$ RICHARD C\ Agent for White's Sewing Machines, 217 East State St.; residence 308 Walnut st. ; born in Canaan, N. H., Jan. 3, 1815; came to Roscoe, this Co., in 180:^; came to Rockford in 1864 ; married Mary P. Rice ; she was born in Windsor, Vt. ; they have three children, Helen A., now Mrs. J. D. Durell; Lizzie M., now Mrs. John P. Zimmerman; and Delia C.

lilNCOIilN' t-JEORCiE, Engaged in the business of Buttling Foreign and Domestic Ales, Porter, Beer, Wines, etc. - orders by letter or otherwise solicited - bottling establishment, No. 408 S. Main St. ; residence at 406 S. Main st., West Side; born in Lowell Co., Mass., Aug. 4, 1833; came to Rockford in May, 1855; married Martha Adeline Matthews; she was born in Lowell, Mass. ; they have one child.

I.I5fDJSAY JOHN, Dealer in Groceries, Flour, Feed and Provisions, 823 S. Main st. ; residence 907 Loomis st. ; born in Ireland, Oct. 8, 1840; came to N. Y. State in 1853; lived there until he removed to Rockford, in 1866; married Caroline Dodge ; she was born in Glenn, Montgomery Co., N. Y. ; Mr. and Mrs. L. are members of the South Rockford M.E. Church; Mr. Lindsay served two years in Co. B, 32d N. Y. V. I.; participated in everj^ battle that regt. was engaged in ; was Color Sergeant sixteen months, and for eight months of latter part of service was Orderly Sergeant.

I^ITZELLE J]«0. C. Physician and Surgeon ; office 316 East State st. ; residence 408 Kishwaukee st. ; born in Sweden, March 9, 1825 ; came to Rockford in 1871; tlie Doctor received his medical education in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden; has been engaged in the practice of his profession since 1851.

firm of Lockwood & Lyman, Wire Works, on Water Power; resicles at 809 Mulberry St. ; born in Niagara Co., JST. Y., Oct. 12, 1837; came to Laona, this Co., in 1839; engaijed in farming until he came to Rockford, in 1862, when he went into the Hardware store of Israel Sovereign, and remained with him until 1872, wlien he engaged in present business; married Louisa M. Koyl, Aug. 21, 1861 ; she was born in Michig^in, May 30, 1839; have three children ; Iva Blanche, born April 1, 1868; J. Ralph, Aug. 6, 1872; Pearl, Oct. 6, 1874; Mrs. Lockwood is a member of the M. E. church.

L.OCj}UE WJH. Undertaker, 502 E. State St. ; resides 409 Sixth st. ; born in Manchester, Eng., Oct. 14, 1820; came to Patterson, N. J., June 7, 1847; remained there two years, and then moved to Chicago, where he lived four years, and moved to Rockford in April, 1853 ; he is a cabinet maker by trade ; has been engaged in the business of Undertaking here 16 years; married Jane Aspden, in England; have five children living; lost two; Mr. and Mrs. L. are Protestant in religion.

L.OVE JNO. Of the firm of Savage & Love, Mill St., on the Water Power ; residence 410 Morgan st. ; South Side ; Pattern and Model Makers; General Work and Jobbing in Wood, Iron, Brass and Steel done, and satisfaction guaranteed; ample facilities for doing all kmds of work in their line, upon short notice ; Mr. Love was born near Chambersburg, Franklin Co., Pa., Oct. 21, 1835; came to Rockford in 1844 ; married Anastasia Young, Oct. 16, 1858; she was born in Jeft'erson^ Cambria Co., Pa., Nov. 29, 1835 ; have two sons.

liUKDGREX C. A. 301 S. Main, West Side; House, Sign and Decorative Painter; Frescoing and all kinds of Painting in the best style of the art ; Mr. L. was born in Sweden, Aug. 22, 1829; in 1851 he came to N. Y. city; lived there 7 years, then removed to Minnesota, where he resided most of the time until 1861, when he went to Europe and spent a year; in 1863 he came to Rockford ; he has had extensive experience as a painter, both in Europe and this country ; married Carrie P. Gilson, Nov. 4, 1866; have three children, Frank G., Fred. L., and Ethel.

ton, Mas8., April 18, 1820; came to Rockford ia the spring of 1858; the Ur. is a graduate of Jeflerson Medical College; also a graduate of Amherst College; in 1848 he became lustructor of German and French Lauguages at Amherst College ; ill 1850 he was Professor of Mathematics in Oglethorp University, in Georgia; married Lucy Depue; she was born in Ilainesville, N. J.; they have five children; the Dr. IS President of the Board of Education; he is Examining Pension Surgeon-, has been acting as such since 1868.

liYMAX ]¥. E. President Peoples Savings Bank ; residence 504 N. Court st.. West Side ; born in Rnshtord, Allegheny Co., N. Y., Nov. 17, 1834; came to Rockford in 1873.

McAFFKE WM. D. Physician and Surgeon, 106 W. State st. ; resides at same number; born in Towanda, Pa., May 26, 1838; came to Mt. Carroll, 111., in 1858; removed to Rockford in the spring of 1867 ; married F. Viola Seymour ; she was born in this State ; the doctor is a graduate of the Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, class of 1861 ; during the rebellion he served about one year as Quarter Master, and acted as physician and surgeon in the Army of the Tennessee ; the Dr. and his wife are members ot the Church of The Christian Union.

State st; residence 605 Horsman st. ; born in Gettysburg, Pa., Jan. 1, 1816; came to Owen Tp., this Co., in 1844; was engaged in farming until he removed to Rockford, in 1855 ; he was engaged in lumber business until 1857; was Town and City Collector in 1857 and 1858; in 1858 he went to Mo., where he remained until 1861, when he returned to Rockford and engaged in grain business, which he continued until 1870 ; then he went into the grocery trade and has continued in it ever smce ; his first wife was Matilda A. Waller; she died in 1848; they had three children, two of whom are now living, Leroy C. and Mary A. ; present wife was Mercy L. Nichols ; she was born in Genesee Co.

McPHERSOX JAS. residence 707 Elm St. ; born in Scotland, Aug. 28, 1851 ; came to Canada when about five years of age; lived there until the fall of 1860, when he came to Rockford.

MAXARD & BRO. Plumbers, Gas and Steam Fitters, and dealers in Gas and Kerosene Fixtures,Puiiips, Mantels, Grates, Awnings, Tents, etc., etc., Post-office Block ; Alpheus B. Manard resides at 708 W. State St.; boru in Canada, in March, 1837; came to Rockton in 1856; to Rockford ten years later; was Deputy (:/'ounty Recorder six years; married Alice Z. Wright; she was born in England; they have three children : Emma Rosalie, Robert and Sidney T.

3IA5f ARD JAMES W. Boards at Hardy's Hotel ; he was born in Canada, Jan. 15, 1835; came to Rockton in Nov., 1855 ; came to Rockford in 1874 ; married

St. ; born in Madison, Ind., March 12, 1839 ; married Hattie E. Case, April 4, 1870; she was born near Utica, N. Y. ; they have two children : George H., born Aug. 27, 1872, and one infant child ; Mr. Manlove enlisted with the Rockford Zouaves in 1861, the first call for 75,000 three-months men ; reenlisted in Waterhouse Battery from Chicago, First Regt. 111. Art., Co. E; was wounded at Shiloh, April 6, 1862 ; served until Dec. 25, 1864.

MANKfY JOHN P. Manufacturer of Mowers and Reapers, on water power; residence 433 N. Main St., West Side ; born in Amsterdam, Montgomery Co., N. Y., March 8, 1823; came to Stephenson Co., 111., in 1842; was engaged in farming until 1849, when he commenced making mowers and reapers in Stephenson Co. ; in 1835 he came to Rockford, and from that time until 1856 he was associated with J. H. Manny in the manufacture of mowers and reapers ; in 1856 he manufactured the John P. Manny Combined Machine, that being the first two-wheeled combined machine manufactured ; N. C. Thompson manufactured these machines largely after 1862, but Mr. Manny is now the exclusive manufacturer; he is one of the Directors of the Winnebago National Bank, and is President of the Rockford Cemetery.

Source changes here: from History of Rockford and Winnebago County, Llinois, from the First Settlement in 1834 to the Civil War, by Church, Charles A, published 1900; 146,457 words in this source stream.

Introduction

IN the day - of ancient Rome Janus was the guardian deity of gates. As every gate turned either way, so Janus was represented with two heads. One was of a youth, to indicate beginning ; the other was of an old man, suggestive of the end. The first looked toward the future; the second, toward the past. The student, like Janus of old, surveys the past; and only from this point of view can he intelligently interpret the present, and in some measure forecast the future.

As a community becomes older, and the habits of its people become fixed, the study of local history receives attention. A movement was recently begun in this state for the purpose of creating popular interest in state and local history ; and these subjects will doubtless receive more attention than formerly. This volume does not claim infallibility; but it does purport to be a thorough and conscientious effort to present in miniature the life of this community during a period of twenty-seven years from its first settlement. It is primarily a history of Rockford ; but no history of the city would be complete unless considerable attention were given to the county, as a background. Nearly all the early settlers have passed away. This fact makes the fund of reminiscences smaller than might be desired. It is believed, however, this volume contains a larger number of local facts than were ever before presented in a single work. This is due to the fact that the author has been fortunate in obtaining access to sources of information that were not available to any of his predecessors. It is hoped that the treatment of all available material has been such that no future historian of Rockford will be obliged to go over the ground in order to substantiate the facts herein set forth. The Roman poet, Ovid, made Janus say: "Everything depends on the beginning." The author hopes that upon this foundation a later historian will rear the superstructure of a complete history of the Forest City to the close of the century.

Clio, the muse of history, is represented as wearing a wreath of laurel, and holding a half-open parchment roll, upon which she has inscribed the deeds of heroes and the songs of love.

Clio and her sister-muses were nymphs of the springs that bickered down the sides of Helicon and Parnassus, the waters of which were supposed to possess the property of inspiration. Thus the historian of the old school painted ideal heroes and their exploits, with the grouping made very largely according to the taste of the artist.

This age demands a sterner realism. The modern historian is a patient plodder and a delver after facts. He must clear and arrange the buried fragments of the past, and so far as he may reconstruct the shifting tableaux of human life, " so that king and subject, wise and simple, high and low, rich and poor, capital and labor, virtue and vice, crown and spade, crook and plow, sword and pen, and all that makes the thought and act of life, may be to the present what they were to the past." The inventive genius of Rockford has produced a machine that will paint a portrait of high artistic excellence, with comparative ease. The next wonder may be a device to grind out history, with neither sweat of brow nor weariness of brain.

The author has received the cordial co-operation of the officers and executive and historical committees of the New England society. He is indebted to many friends for valuable aid in personal reminiscences. He has received the utmost courtesy from early settlers and others interested in the work ; and to them is due, in large measure, whatever success may attend its publication. He is especially indebted to collections of manuscripts gathered some years ago by the late Hon. E. H. Baker and the late H. H. Silsby. Lewis F. Lake, M. A. Norton and H. C. Scovill have placed the records of their respective offices at his disposal. The clerks of the several churches have loaned their records; and the early records of Rockford seminary have been frequently consulted. The author is also indebted to Mrs. Harriott Wight Sherratt, Mrs. Katherine Keeler,Mrs.E.P. Catlin, Chas. H. Spafford, Hon. Wm. Lathrop, S. J. Caswell, and H. N. Starr, for the loan of family manuscripts and valuable information personally given. The splendid resources of the public library have been utilized, and without them this volume could not have been prepared upon it present scale.

Chapter

THE territory now comprised within the state of Illinois first nominally formed a part of Virginia. The primal rights of the native Indians were never recognized by the explorers from the old world. The English crown, by virtue of discoveries made by the Cabots and the colonies planted by Sir Walter Raleigh, took formal possession of that portion of the new world known as Virginia. This name was given the new possession by the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth, in honor of herself. In 1606, early in the reign of King James I., two companies were formed for the colonization of America. Virginia was divided into two parts. To the London Company the king granted South Virginia, which extended from Cape Fear, in North Carolina, to the Potomac. To the Plymouth Company he gave North Virginia, which stretched from Nova Scotia to Long Island. The region between 'the Potomac and the Hudson was left as a broad belt of neutral territory. Under the revised charter of 1609 these grants were to run in straight zones across the continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They included "all the islands lying within one hundred miles along the coast of both seas" aforesaid. So little was then known of the geography of North America, that it was believed the continent at this latitude was no wider than in Mexico. Hence England made extensive grants of land on this continent in utter ignorance of its extent arid configuration. This charter was subsequently annulled by quo warranto, and special commissions issued, in which the king declared that the charter was abrogated for the benefit of the settlers; but that it should not affect their private or civil rights, but only the political rights of the company at home.

The English colonists in Virginia, however, did not penetrate far into the interior. Thus the royal claim to the "land throughout from sea to sea we«t and northwest" did not secure the title of the English crown to this vast domain. The French were the first actual settlers in the great Mississippi valley. During the latter part of the seventeenth century Father Marquette, Joliet, LaSalle, Tonti and others explored the shores of the Father of Waters and his tributaries, and believed they had found a terrestrial paradise. LaSalle descended the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. He named the country Louisiana, in honor of his king, Louis XIV. By virtue of these explorations France made formal claim to the territory lying on either side of the Mississippi. Possession is said to be nine points in the law. According to this doctrine France, and not England, was the first European power to establish its claim to the Illinois territory by actual occupation. Between the years 1695 and 1705 colonies from Lower Canada founded the villages of Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Vincennes. The French government united its possessions in Canada with those in Louisiana by a chain of posts, fromQnebecto New Orleans; and Le Grande Monarque made numerous grants to his favorites. The large number of grants of land made during this period indicate that Illinois even at that early day had attracted general attention. Thus, with English colonies on the coast, and French occupation in the valley of the Mississippi, it was only a question of time when there would come a final struggle for the possession of this vast territory.

This crisis came with the French and Indian war, the issue of which committed the destiny of the west to the Anglo-Saxon civilization. By the treaty of Paris, in 1763, Great Britain obtained all the French territory east of the Mississippi, with the exception of the island of New Orleans. France ceded New Orleans and all of Louisiana west of the Mississippi to Spain. In all the great continent of America, France retained not a foot of ground.

The special claim made by Virginia to the Illinois territory was based upon the bold conquest of this region by Colonel George Rogers Clark. In 1778 Colonel Clark conducted a series of brilliant campaigns against the military posts at Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Vincennes. These posts and those upon the lakes were in possession of the British, under the command of Henry Hamilton, whose headquarters were at Detroit. From these posts the Indians were supplied with munitions, and were thus enabled to harass the settlements in Kentucky with their cruel guerrilla warfare. The French villages, the only settlements in the region, were seats of British power. If these posts could be taken, and the capture of the British soldiers effected, the entire region would be won for the Old Dominion. This result could only be effected by force ; and the scheme appealed to the bold spirit of Colonel Clark. He presented the matter to Patrick Henry, who was then governor of Virginia. Henry's ardent soul quickly caught the flame, and he secretly rendered such assistance as came within his power.

The outcome justified Colonel Clark's most sanguine expectations. His brilliant exploits constitute one of the most romantic chapters in pioneer history. The results were very great, and doubtless prepared the way for the purchase of Louisiana. If Clark had failed to conquer and hold the Illinois and Viucennes, there is reason to believe that the Ohio river would have been the boundary between the American and the British possessions. The colonial charters furnished color of title ; but the American claim actually rested on the conquest and occupation of the west by Colonel Clark and the backwoodsmen. Thus the west was won by the westward movement of the backwoodsmen during the Revolution ; by the final success of the Continental armies in the east ; and by the diplomacy of Franklin, Jay and Adams in the treaty of Paris. Failure at any one of these points would have given the British the possession of the west. Colonel Clark spent his last years alone in poverty, in a rude dwelling on Corn Island, until he went to the home of his sister. When Virginia sent him a sword he received the compliments of the committee in gloomy silence and then exclaimed : "When Virginia wanted a sword I gave her one. She sends me now a toy. I want bread." He thrust the s word into the ground, and broke it with his crutch. His grave is in Cave Hill cemetery at Louisville, marked by a little headstone bearing the letters, G. R. C. It is said that not half a dozen persons in the United States can point it out. Fortune was unkind to him, and republics seemed ungrateful; but history must pay its just tribute to his genius, his patriotism, and his prowess.

Virginia assumed the title to this extensive territory, first by right of her charter, and secondly by the conquest of her own arms. These claims, though challenged by the other states, were successfully maintained by the Old Dominion; and the territory was at once organized into a county called Illinois. This word is derived from the Algonquin word Inini, or Illini, which means a perfect and accomplished man. The Illinois were an Indian tribe of the Algonquin nation, who occupied a portion of the state which now bears their name. These events occurred during the administration of Patrick Henry as governor of

By the treaty of Paris in 1783, which terminated the Revolutionary war, the Illinois territory passed forever from the control of Great Britain. It was not clear, however, to whom the title was transferred. Daring the war four states had made claims either to the whole or to parts of this domain. They were Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Virginia. The first two colonies had received royal permission to extend from sea to sea. But Virginia was the lordly Old Dominion, which had actually conquered and held the disputed territory.

At this juncture Maryland arose to the occasion in 1777, with a novel and practical suggestion. As a condition of ratifying the Articles of Confederation, Maryland insisted that the four claimant states should surrender their claims to the United States, and that the latter should create a domain which should be owned by the confederacy in common. In 1780 congress recommended to the several states such cession of their several claims, and the creation of a national domain. Thus there were planted the fruitful seeds of national unity.

In pursuance of this recommendation Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York surrendered their claims, which were more or less shadowy. The magnanimity of Virginia was genuine. The Old Dominion made a complete surrender of the magnificent territory of which she was in actual possession. In this concession she was greatly influenced by Thomas Jefferson. October 20, 1783, the general assembly passed an act which authorized the delegates of the state in congress to convey to the United States, on certain conditions, her entire territory northwest of the Ohio river. One of these conditions was that the ceded territory should be formed into states not less than one hundred, nor more than one hundred and fifty miles square or as near thereto as circumstances would admit. Accordingly on March 1, 1784, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee and James Monroe, the delegates for the commonwealth in congress, presented to the United States a deed of cession of the territory northwest of the Ohio river. By the Ordinance of 1787 congress provided that not less than three nor more than five states should be formed from this territory, as soon as Virginia should alter her act of cession and consent to the same. Virginia, by her act of December 30, 1788, promptly ratified the act of congress of the preceding year, "anything to the contrary in the deed of cession of the said territory by this commonwealth to the United States notwithstanding." Thus was accomplished the transfer of this public domain to the United States.

By the act of congress of May 7, 1800, the Northwest Territory was divided. That portion east of a line drawn from the mouth of the Kentucky river to the British possessions, was called the Ohio Territory. The remainder, west of this line, was called Indiana Territory, and comprised the present states of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. William Henry Harrison was appointed governor. Indiana Territory was divided by act of congress approved June 11, 1805, and that portion corresponding to the present southern portion of Michigan was set apart, under the name of Michigan Territory. In 1809 the Indiana Territory was again divided. That portion lying west of the Wabash river and a line from that river due north to the British possessions, was constituted a separate government, under the name of Illinois. This area included the present states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and peninsular Michigan. The seat of government was fixed at Kaskaskia, where a territorial legislature, which consisted of the governor and the judges, convened in June, 1809. Thus the machinery of the first grade of civil government was put in operation in Illinois Territory.

In 1812 the Territory of Illinois was advanced to the second grade of territorial government. This organization continued until 1818. In January the territorial legislature petitioned congress for admission into the union as a sovereign state. A bill for this purpose was presented in congress in April, and through the influence of Nathaniel Pope, the territorial delegate, the northern boundary was extended from the line indicated in the petition to latitude 42° 30'. The reason for the change of the northern boundary line will be more fully explained in a subsequent chapter. The act of congress of April 18, 1818, provided for the admission of Illinois into the union. In August of the same year the Illinois convention adopted a constitution and ordinance accepting the terms of admission prescribed by congress. The final act by which Illinois attained its present geographical and political status was a resolution of congress, adopted December 3, 1818, which formally declared the admission of the state into the union.

Chapter Ii

THE Geological Survey of Illinois Volume V. furnishes the most complete information concerning the geology and topography of Winnebago county. This work was published by the authority of the legislature of the state. The article devoted to this county was contributed by James Shaw, and many of the facts given in this chapter were taken therefrom.

The geology of Winnebago county is simple in character. There is first the usual quaternary deposits, which consist of sand, clays, gravels, boulders, subsoils and alluvium. Then follow the three well-known divisions of the Trenton limestone, which outcrop along the streams and hills, and show themselves in railroad cuts, wells and quarries in different parts of the county. These divisions are the Galena, Blue and Buff limestones of the western geologists. A perpendicular section, as near as could be constructed, exhibited the following strata: Quaternary deposits, average depth about fifteen feet; Galena limestone, ninety-six-feet ; Blue limestone, thirty -five feet ; Buff limestone, forty-five feet. These measurements of the limestones were made at actual worked outcrops. At the time Volume V. of the Geological Survey was published no evidence of the St. Peter's sandstone had been discovered, although it was then believed that it came near the surface at Beloit and Rockton. In 1885, however, when Rockford began boring artesian wells, the St. Peter's sandstone was discovered. Its upper surface was irregular, varying from one hundred and seventy to two hundred feet below the surface of the ground. This strata varies from two hundred to two hundred and fifty feet in thickness. Mr. Shaw gave it as his opinion that the Trenton limestones were at the time of his survey the only ones that had been exposed or excavated in the county.

The surface geology comprises alluvial deposits, loess, and the drift proper. The usual alluvial bottoms exist along the Rock, Pecatonica and Sugar rivers. These are from one to five miles wide. On the latter two the deposit is deep, black, and rich, and supports in places a heavy growth of timber. The deposit along Rock river is not so rich, and is composed more of sands and clays, with occasional strips of better soil. A number of the bluffs along Rock river are composed in part of loess clays, in which no fluvatile shells were noticed. This formation is of quite limited extent.

The drift proper is very largely developed. It is composed of loose detrital matter, which is often of considerable thickness, brought from long distances, and deposited over large areas of the county. This material is thought to have been brought from the metamorphic regions of the north by the action of water. The railroad track from Beloit to Caledonia cuts at intervals through long, undulating swells of land. These swells are pure, unmodified, uustratified drift. Other railroads exhibit the same beds along their tracks, though in a less marked degree. Every township in the county has these gravel beds, and their underlying associate deposits of clay and sand.

Two-thirds of Winnebago county is underlaid by the Galena limestone. It is a heavy-bedded, yellowish, dolomitic limestone, compact and irregular. There are several notable quarries and outcrops. The first heavy outcrop of the Galena limestone on Rock river in this county is about three miles above Rockford. All the cuts on the Galena division of the Chicago & Northwestern railway, which runs across the southern part of the county, show the lead-bearing rocks. One of the heaviest outcrops is east of Harlem station, on the railroad running from Rockford to Caledonia. The strata are massive and solid, and furnish splendid material for railroad masonry.

The Blue limestone succeeds the Galena in the descending order. It is largely developed in the northern and northwestern portions of the county. It is a thin-bedded, bluish-gray limestone. The first two cuts east of Shirland, made by the Western Union in its excavations for a track, are perhaps the best exposures of the Blue limestone.

Only a limited portion of the county is underlaid by the Buff limestone. The chief outcrop of this formation is at the village of Rockton, where it is forty-five feet in thickness.

The county is not without resources in economic geology. The three formations of the Trenton rocks, previously noted, furnish building stone of good quality. Age does not affect it, and buildings erected sixty years ago are still well preserved. This is especially true of the Galena limestone. The quarries at Argyle, Rockford and at other points north and south of Harlem supply material for railroad masonry. The Buff also furnishes stone of good quality for ordinary mason-work, and is easily quarried and worked. At present there is only one quarry of the Blue limestone in the city.

Sands and clays for economic purposes are found almost everywhere along the banks of the rivers, and may be obtained from thickly strewn drift deposits. For some years a fine molding sand was obtained north of School street in Rockford, but this supply is now exhausted. About two miles northeast of the city there is a large surface of molding sand, which has been used by all the foundries in Rockford for the past ten years. There is also a quantity of molding sand in the vicinity of Rockton. Lime of excellent quality is obtained in large quantities in and around Rockford. Near Brown's creek there is a bed of white clay; and good red brick is obtained from the clay in other parts of the county.

There is also a supply of good building sand. Limestone for rubble masonry abounds in almost unlimited quantity about Rockford. Large footing stone is obtained, but nothing for ornamental purposes. There is no available sandstone in the county. There is a general uniformity with the geological formation of the Rock river valley. Bog iron exists around many of the springs, but this deposit has no economic value. The ground is impregnated with iron, which is soluble in water, so that it disintegrates lime mortar in the foundations to the extent that it is necessary to use cement in place of lime for foundations. The county possesses very little mineral wealth. The deposits of peat are not of great value. The peat is not available for fuel, and can only be used as a fertilizer. Copper in its pure state has occasionally been found ; but there is no deposit of the metal.

The topography of the county may be briefly noted. It is well watered with fine streams. Rock river enters the county about six miles from its northeast corner, at Beloit, runs nearly due south to Rockford, then bends gradually to the west and enters Ogle county. It affords water-power at Beloit, Rockton and Rockford. Pecatonica river enters the county from the west, eight miles from its southwestern corner, and flows in a general easterly and northerly course about twenty miles, and empties its turbid waters into Rock river near the village of Rockton. Sugar river enters the county from the northwest, and flows into the Pecatonica near the village of Harrison. Other streams are Kishwaukee river, and Killbuck, Kent's, Keith's, and Kinnikinick creeks.

The Indian names of these streams have their significance. Pecatonica means the "crooked stream," or "muddy water." Siuissippi, the Indian name of Rock river, signifies "the rocky river." Kishwaukee means "clear waters." The name Winnebago is translated "fish-eater."

A considerable portion of the county was covered with timber of various qualities. There was much scattering timber and brush-land in the northwestern portion along Sugar river and its tributaries, and on portions of the northern bank of the Pecatonica. This area is interspersed with occasional swampy tracts. In the southern portion of the county, along and near the Kishwaukee creeks, the face of the country is rough, hilly, brushy, and was covered with an occasional growth of timber. A few miles below Rockford, along the northern bank of Rock river, and extending north and west from the same, there is a tract of barrens covered with brushwood, and a light growth of white oak and other timber. The other portions of the county are chiefly prairie, interspersed with small and beautiful groves. For agricultural purposes the county is not considered equal to Stephenson on the west, nor "Little Boone," its eastern neighbor.

Chaptek Iii The Mound-Builders And The Winnebago Indians

PROF. J. W. FOSTER, in his Pre-historic Races of the United States, says : "The subordinate valleys of the Rock river, the Fox, Kankakee and Illinois, show abundant evidence of former occupancy by the Mound-builders, and whilst the mounds are inconspicuous, they are not destitute of relics, and the human remains are indicative of a race whose skulls are marked by peculiarities which distinguish them from the red man."

Three classes of mounds were found in Winnebago county. There was the common round mound, from ten to thirty feet in diameter, and from two and a half to five feet high. These mounds were. quite numerous along the banks of the Rock, Kishwaukee and Pecatonica rivers. The oblong-shaped mound is much less common, but is frequently remarkable for its great length. One was found within the present limits of Rockford which measured one hundred and thirty feet in length, twelve feet wide at the base, and three or four feet high. Mounds of the third class have a fancied resemblance to some form of animal life, and are called "effigies." The most common forms of these are called Bird and Turtle mounds, and are found in many localities in the county. Some fine specimens of this class, as well as the round and oblong mounds, are still carefully preserved on the grounds owned by the Misses Beattie and Mrs. Clara G. Sanford, north of the city water- works, on the west side of the river. The round mounds were frequently constructed for the purpose of sepulture, the elongated for circumvallation or as "game-drives," while the effigies were probably ceremonial.

A number of archaeologists believe that the builders of these mounds were a, race inhabiting this country before the American Indian; and in the absence of any information concerning their origin, they are denominated "mound-builders." Other recent authorities incline to the opinion that the mounds were constructed by the ancestors of the Indians. Their earth-works are found in large numbers in Rockford and vicinity ; there are probably not less than five hundred within the limits of Winnebago county. These earliest inhabitants had no beasts of burden, and naturally their travel and traffic were largely by canoe up and down the rivers. Their settlements, therefore, and their monumental mounds were uniformly located near or upon the river banks ; and in the vicinity of the confluence of streams these united evidences of a dense population are generally abundant. Near the mouth of Kishwaukee river more than one hundred have been surveyed by Prof. T. H. Lewis, and probably as many existed near Rockton before their demolition during the progress of railroad construction and other improvements. When the cut was made in East Rockford in grading for the Galena & Chicago Union railroad in 1852, many mounds were destroyed ; and gruesome evidence of the sepulchral purpose of some of them was given by the fragments of human skeletons disinterred.

Wiunebago county does not figure prominently in Indian history. The Winnebagoes occupied it as a portion of their reservation at one time. The earliest Winnebago traditions relate to their residence at Red Banks, on the eastern shore of Green Bay, in Wisconsin, where they traded with the French. This tribe was first met by the Jesuit fathers near the mouth of Fox river, at the head of Green Bay. Confusion may arise from the fact of two rivers with the same name in the same state. One stream rises in Waukesha county and flows in a general southerly direction and enters the Illinois river at Ottawa. The other rises near the southern boundary of Green Lake county, flows westward to Portage City, thence northward until it expands into Lake Pacawa ; after a tortuous course it enters Lake Winnebago, issues from the northern end of this lake, flows northeastward and enters Green Bay. These streams are distinguished respectively as Fox river, and Fox river of Green Bay. The latter is always understood whenever the name is mentioned in connection with the history of this tribe.

The Winnebagoes belonged to the Dacota or Sioux nation. During the era of authentic history they wandered to southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois and Iowa. In 1812 the Winnebagoes of Illinois occupied a section, of which this county formed a part. To the south were the Illinois tribes, and the disputed territory between the two shifted north and south as the fortunes of war favored the one or the other. In time, however, the Winnebagoes were driven well back within the present limits of Wisconsin, and were subsequently regarded as a tribe of that state. The territorial claims of these contestants were not finally settled until 1825. By a treaty negotiated at Prairie du Chien August 19 of that year between the United States, the Winnebagoes, the Sacs and Foxes, the Pottawatomies and other attending tribes, the boundaries of the Winnebago country were finally determined. Thus wa.s peace established after a nearly continuous warfare of almost two centuries.

The records of the interior department at Washington show not less than twelve treaties negotiated between the United States and the Winnebagoes, during the period of fifty-one years from 1816 to 1867. The most important treaty was negotiated at Prairie du Chieu, August 1, 1829, by which the Winnebagoes ceded to the United States certain lands in Illinois, of which Winnebago county west of Rock river was a part. The consideration was "eighteen thousand dollars in specie, annually, for the period of thirty years; which said sum is to be paid to said Indians at Prairie duChieri and Fort Winuebaygo, in proportion to the numbers residing within the most convenient distance of each place respectively; and it is also agreed, that the said United States shall deliver immediately to said Indians, as a present, thirty thousand dollars in goods ; and it is further agreed, that three thousand pounds of tobacco and fifty barrels of salt, shall be annually delivered to the said Indians by the United States for the period of thirty years."

Caleb Atwater was one of the commissioners on the part of the United States government in negotiating this treaty. In a book in which he gives an account of the proceedings of .this council he takes occasion to remark at considerable length on the beauty and force of Indian oratory as displayed on that occasion. He says their persons are the finest forms in the world. As he stands erect, with eyes flaming with ardor, and a mind laboring under an agony of thought, the Indian is a most impressive orator. When he speaks before his assembled nation on some great national subject, he shows most forcibly that he feels an awful responsibility in what he attempts to advocate in behalf of his people. Mr. Atwater relates that he has seen a chief, when he approached the sale of his country in his speech, turn pale, tremble with fear, and sit down perfectly exhausted in body from the effect. In council on such occasions, on either side of the speaker, sit all the chiefs and warriors of his nation; behind him, within sound of his voice, sit the women and children. His subject then becomes of the highest conceivable importance to himself and his entire nation. In such a position the character of his eloquence is easily conceived. It abounds with figures drawn from every object which nature presents to his eye. He thanks the Great Spirit that he has given them a day for holding their council without clouds or with few, as the case may be; that the several paths between their homes and the council fire have been unattended with danger; and hopes that during bis absence the beasts may not destroy his corn, nor any bad bird be suffered to fly about the council with false stories. Thus far the speaker may have proceeded without enthusiasm ; but should he touch upon the sale of his country, his whole soul is in every word, look and gesture. His eye flashes fire, he raises himself upon his feet, his body is thrown in every attitude, every muscle and nerve is strained to its utmost tension. His voice is clear, loud, distinct; and commanding. He becomes, to use his own expressive phrase, a man. Then he recalls, with deep pathos and genuine eloquence, the time when his ancestors inhabited the entire continent, and how they have been driven by the white man from river to river, and from mountain to mountain, until they now have no home in which they may live in peace.

Article V. of the treaty at Prairie du Chien granted sections of land to certain Indian descendants of mixed blood who did not wish to migrate with their tribe. Thirty-six of these descendants were given one section of land each ; two received two sections each ; and three received two sections jointly. The total grant was forty-two sections, divided among forty-one grantees. These grants were unlocated or "floating" lands. From this fact came the word "float," by which these sections were popularly known. The grantees were allowed to select a section, and their choice was to be approved by the Indian commissioner and by the president of the United States. There were several of these ''floats" in Rockford township. The east half of section fourteen and all of section thirteen west of Rock river, containing six hundred and thirty-seven acres, were located for Catharine Myott. Further reference to this tract will be made in a subsequent chapter. Section twenty-one was located for Therese Leciier, child of Mauh-nah- tee-see; section twenty- two was selected for James Leciier ; and section twenty-seven for Simon Leciier. These sections now comprise the most populous and wealthy portions of West Rockford, with its thousands of beautiful homes. There were other "floats" located in this immediate vicinity, some of which may be noted. Section eleven in Rockford township was claimed by Domitille, child of John Baptiste Pacquette. Besides the section above mentioned, Catharine Myott was given another section, of which the west half of section ten forms a part. One section in Winnebago county was given to Brigitte, the child of Hee-no-kau. These lands could not be sold without the consent of the president of the United States. The Indians were the wards of the nation, and the approval of the president was required by the treaty for their protection from dishonest speculators; but this precaution was not always successful. There is no evidence of local record that the transfer of Brigitte's claim by the original grantee has ever been approved by the president. A full list of these "floats" located in this county may be obtained from the Tract Book in the office of the circuit clerk.

Upon the close of the Black Hawk war, by the terms of the treaty negotiated by General Scott, September 15, 1832, the Winnebagoes ceded their lands lying east of the Mississippi, in Wisconsin, and accepted a reservation in Iowa, designated as the Neutral Ground. The Winnebagoes were loth to emigrate, and their removal was finally effected by the goverment in 1837. By another treaty, concluded November 1, 1837, they finally ceded all of their lands lying east of the Mississippi river. By the terms of this treaty they were to remove west of this river within eight months thereafter. Their reservation was subsequently changed several times, until in 1865 they were permanently located on their Omaha reservation in Nebraska. In 1890 there were twelve hundred and fifteen Winnebagoes on this reservation ; and nearly an equal number were scattered over Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan, where they now live chiefly by agriculture, with a strong predilection for hunting.

The Winnebagoes were men of good stature and dignified bearing, with the characteristic black hair, black, glistening eyes, and red skins of the Indian race. They maintained the position of a tribe of independent feelings and national pride. The claim made for them of considerable mental capacity is sustained by the cranial measurements made some years ago at the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia. In these examinations their crania were shown to have an average internal capacity of eighty -nine cubic inches, and a facial angle of seventy-nine degrees.

For many years after the Win nebagoes had removed from this section, small companies would occasionally return to visit their former hunting-ground. As Israel could not sing the songs of Zion in a strange land, so these red men of the forest could not forget their early home. The love of country and kindred is the same in subject or in king. It is a universal passion that makes the wide world kin. The Creator hath made of one blood all nations of men.

The Winnebago has given a name to a lake, afort, a village and a county in Wisconsin, and to a village, a township and a county in Illinois. The Wisconsin Indian village is the present city of Beloit. Fort Winnebago is a historic spot. Its site is within two miles from the present city of Portage, Wisconsin. The fort was built in 1818-29, at the solicitation of John Jacob Astor, of the American Fur Company, to protect his trade from the Winnebagoes. Jefferson Davis was one of the first lieutenants in the original garrison.

Chapter Iv The Black Hawk War

I HE Sauk or Black Hawk war directed the attention of eastern settlers to the Rock river valley. The history of this outbreak also has a local interest from the fact that this famous Indian warrior, in his flight from Rock Island, followed the general course of Rock river through this county, into Wisconsin territory, where he was defeated and captured.

Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah, or Black Hawk, was a chief of the allied tribes of the Sacs and Foxes. He was born at the Sac village, on the site of Rock Island, in 1707. About 1833 a book was published at Rock Island, which purported to be an autobiography of Black Hawk. Subsequent editions of this work have been published. Governor Ford, however, in his History of Illinois, places libtle value upon this work. He says it was dictated by Colonel Davenport, an old Indian trader, and Antoine Le Clair, a United States interpreter for the Sacs and Foxes, and edited and published by J. B. Patterson. Governor Ford believed that Black Hawk knew comparatively little of this alleged autobiography, although it has been recognized as authority by reliable writers upon this subject.

The Sacs, according to an Indian tradition, were first placed by the Great Spirit in the vicinity of Montreal. Their enemies conspired to drive them from their home to Mackinac and other points, until they built a village near Green Bay, on what is now Sac river, a name derived from this circumstance.

The Foxes were first found on the northern shore of Lake Ontario. From there they were driven to Detroit, thence to Mackinac, and from there to the river which bears their name, at a point near its entrance into Green Bay. The Foxes subsequently abandoned their village, and formed a treaty of alliance with the Sacs. Neither tribe was sufficiently strong to successfully meet its enemies. Hence they became one nation, and the bond of friendship was never broken. This allied tribe belonged to the Algonquin nation.

Treaties With The Sac Chiefs

The Sacs and Foxes remained for some time in the vicinity of Green Bay. But as early as 1718 they had obtained a firm footing on Rock river. A party of young men descended the Kock to its mouth, and upon their return they presented a favorable report of the country. The en tire tribe then migrated to the southwest, drove the Kaskaskias from the country, and founded a village on the point of land at the confluence of Rock and Mississippi rivers. At the beginning of this century the Sacs and Foxes occupied lands in northwestern Illinois lying between the Winnebagoes and the Mississippi river.

In 1804 a treaty was negotiated at St. Louis between William Henry Harrison and five chiefs of the Sac and Fox nation. Mr. Harrison was then governor of the Indiana Territory, and of the district of Louisiana, superintendent of Indian affairs for the district, and commissioner plenipotentiary of the United States for concluding the treaty. By this treaty the Sacs and Foxes ceded their land on Rock river and territory elsewhere to the United States. The treaty provided that the Indians should retain these lands until they were required for settlement. During the war of 1812 with England, through the influence of Colonel Dixon, a British officer at Prairie du Chien, a portion of this tribe allied itself with the English. This faction was called the "British Band," and Black Hawk was its acknowledged leader. The other portion of the tribe remained peaceable during the war, and reaffirmed the treaty of 1804 at Portage des Siouxs, in September, 1815. The hostile warriors professed repentance for their violation of good faith, and at St. Louis, in May, 1816, they confirmed the treaty of 1804. A small party, however, led by Black Hawk, persistently denied the validity of the treaty of 1 804 as well as all subsequent agreements. He contended that certain chiefs, while at St. Louis in an intoxicated condition, were induced to sell the Indian country without the consent of the nation. Competent authorities have differed concerning the equity of the treaty of 1804; but the Sacs and Foxes as a nation never disavowed it. On the contrary, they reaffirmed it in the treaties of 1815 and 1816.

Amicable relations existed between the Sac and Fox nation and the United States from the close of the war with England until 1830. In July of that year Keokuk, another Sac chief, made a final cession to the United States of the lands held by his tribe east of the Mississippi. According to this treaty, his people were to remove from Illinois to the country west of the

Mississippi, and they quietly removed across the river. This treaty was negotiated without the consent of Black Hawk, and he determined to resist the order of the government for the removal of his tribe west of the Mississippi. This resistance brought affairs to a crisis.

During the winter of 1830-31 Black Hawk and his tribe left their village, as usual, and crossed the Mississippi on a hunting expedition, to procure furs wherewith to pay their debts to the traders, and buy new supplies of goods. They re-crossed the river in April, and on their return they found their village in possession of the pale-faces. The United States had caused some of these lauds, which included the chief town of the nation, to be surveyed and sold. A fur-trader at Rock Island had purchased the very ground on which their village stood. Black Hawk ordered the settlers away, and destroyed their property. A truce was arranged, but it did not permanently settle the difficulty; and May 18 eight settlers addressed a memorial to Governor Reynolds, in which they stated their grievances. The governor immediately communicated with General Gaines, of the United States army, who was then in command of the military district. General Gaines repaired to Rock Island in June, with a few companies of regular soldiers. Upon ascertaining the critical situation, he called upon Governor Reynolds for mounted volunteers. The governor honored the requisition, and in response to his call fifteen hundred volunteers from the northern and central counties rallied to his support at Beardstown, and were placed under command of General Duncan, of the state militia. This army, after a few days' march, joined General Gaines below Rock Island, where the two generals formed a plan of action. General Gaines took possession of the village June 26 ; but Black Hawk and his band had quietly departed during the night in their canoes for the western shore of the Mississippi, where they raised the white flag of truce. They subsequently re-crossed the river, and thus claimed protection. June 30 General Gaines negotiated a treaty with Black Hawk and his chiefs and braves, by which they agreed to remain forever on the western side of the river; and never to re-cross it without permission from the president of the United States or the governor of the state. Notwithstanding the treaty, in the spring of 1832 Black Hawk attempted to re-assert his right to his former territory.

Defeat At Stillman'S Run

re-crossed tbe Mississippi, under pretense of paying a visit to his Winnebago friends in Wisconsin. The manifest purpose of this visit was to form an alliance with the Winnebagoes in offensive warfare. General Atkinson, who was then in command of Fort Armstrong, sent messengers to warn Black Hawk to return. The warrior did not heed the warning, but continued his march until he reached Dixon's Ferry, where his braves encamped. The news of Black Hawk's return to Illinois reached Governor Reynolds, who raised a force of eighteen hundred men, under command of General Whiteside. This army arrived at Dixon on the 12th of May. Meanwhile Black Hawk had departed and encamped on Rock river thirty miles above.

While at Dixon an ambitious officer named Stillinan asked the privilege of making a reconnoissance on Black Hawk's camp. It was granted with reluctance, and Major Stillman started with two hundred and seventy-five men on the adventure. When the volunteers approached the camp of Black Hawk, he sent a party of six men to meet them, under protection of a white flag. By some mistake, undisciplined volunteers fired upon them, and two were killed while in retreat. Black Hawk was justly indignant, and he resisted the attack with his usual spirit. The result was the slaughter of eleven volunteers, and the others fled in confusion. This was the first blood drawn in the Black Hawk war. On the following day General Whiteside led his entire force to the scene, near a creek since called "Stillman's Run." To this day the visitor to the little village of Stillman Valley is shown the spot where the eleven soldiers are supposed to have been buried. No stone marks the place, and it is known only by tradition.

The news of the Indian war spread rapidly throughout the east, and the administration sent nine companies to the scene, under command of General Scott. He arrived at Fort Dearborn in Chicago, July 8. The cholera had broken out among his men on the way, and he was thus detained at the fort. As soon as the cholera had subsided General Scott removed his quarters from Fort Dearborn to the banks of Desplaines river. From there he sent the main body, under command of Colonel Cummings, to the site of Beloit, then a deserted Winuebago village. At that point orders came from the general in chief command for the army to march down Rock river to Fort Armstrong on Rock Island, at which place General Scott had arrived by a hasty march across the country by way of Naperville.

The further details of this war will be briefly noted. Black Hawk retreated up Rock river into Wisconsin, and was hotly pursued. The army trail, made in following Black Hawk's band to the head-waters of the Rock, passed through the First ward of Rockford. Stephen Mack was the guide. This trail met the river bank above the city at the dry run which is now bridged on North Second street, near the residence of H. H. Hamilton. In July Black. Hawk determined to try to save himself by crossing the Mississippi river. He was overtaken at Blue Mounds, on Wisconsin river, by General Henry's division. A battle ensued on the 21st, in which the Sac chief lost fifty warriors while crossing the river.

Black Hawk continued his retreat after the battle until he was again overtaken August 2, near the mouth of the Bad Axe river, in Wisconsin. In the battle which followed nearly the entire remnant of Black Hawk's army was killed or drowned in attempting to cross the river. Black Hawk fled to Prairie La Cross, a Winnebago village, where he surrendered to Chaetar and One-eyed Decora, two Winnebago chiefs, who delivered him to General Street, the Indian agent at Prairie du Chien, August 27. The campaign had lasted seventy-nine days.

The speech of Black Hawk, addressed to General Street, at Prairie du Chieii, after his defeat at the battle of the Bad Axe, is a splendid specimen of Indian eloquence, and reveals a patriotism unsurpassed by the "noblest Roman." Eloquence is born of strong passion, and is never a trick of rhetoric nor a mere intellectual feat. The following, from this humiliated savage, is worthy of Burke or Webster :

"You have taken me prisoner with all my warriors. . . I fought hard. But your guns were well aimed. The bullets flew like birds in the air, and whizzed by our ears like the wind through the trees in the winter. My warriors fell around me ; it began to look dismal. I saw my evil day at hand. The sun rose dim on us in the morning, and at night it sunk in a dark cloud, and looked like a ball of fire. That was the last sun that shone on Black Hawk. His heart is dead and no longer beats quick in his bosom. He is now a prisoner to the white men ; they will do with him as they wish. But he can stand torture, and is not afraid of death. He is no coward. Black Hawk is an Indian. . . Farewell, my nation! Black Hawk tried to save you, and avenge your wrongs. He drank the blood of some of the whites. He has been taken prisoner, and

Death Of Black Hawk

On the 10th of September the Indian prisoners were taken to Jefferson Barracks, below St. Louis. From there Black Hawk was sent to Washington, where he was presented to President Andrew Jackson. April 26, 1833, he was sent to Fortress Monroe, where he remained until the 4th of June, when he was permitted to return to his people. Upon hie return he was restored to his tribe as a chief subordinate to Keokuk. Black Hawk died October 3, 1838, at the age of seventy-one years. He was dressed for burial in a uniform presented to him when in Washington by the president. The body was placed in the middle of the grave, in a sitting posture, on a seat constructed for this purpose. On his left side, the cane given him by Henry Clay, was placed upright, with his right hand resting upon it. Many of the old warrior's trophies were placed in the grave.

Black Hawk was free from many of the vices that others of his race contracted from their association with the white people. He never used intoxicants to excess. As a warrior he knew no fear, and on the field of battle his feats of personal prowess stamped him as the "bravest of the brave." In social relations he was affable and true. His devotion to his wife, with whom he lived more than forty years, was strong and manly. In the home he was an affectionate husband and father.

The Black Hawk war made no military reputations ; but Zachary Taylor and Abraham Lincoln bore an humble part. Mr. Lincoln never alluded to it as anything more than an interesting episode in his life. In satirizing the military pretensions of another, he said : "Do you know, Mr. Speaker, I too am a military hero ? . . I fought, bled and came away. If he saw any live fighting Indians, it was more than I did ; but I had a good many bloody struggles with the mosquitoes."

C TEPHEN MACK was the first white man who made a per- ^3 manent settlement in Winnebago county. The exact date is unknown, but it was probably about 1829. It is also quite certain that he was the first settler in the Rock river valley. The student of local history is indebted to Edson I. Carr, who has given in his History of Rockton the best information concerning this adventurer; and the author is indebted to Mr. Carr for many of the facts given in this chapter.

Mack was born in Poultney, Vermont, during the latter part of the last century. He was for a time a student at Dartmouth college, but it does not appear that he was ever graduated. His love of adventure was shown in early life. Soon after the war of 1812 he came to Detroit with his father, who held a position under the government. The younger Mack subsequently joined a government expedition around the lakes from Detroit to Green Bay. While there Mack learned from traders that the Rock river country presented favorable opportunity for a trading post. He accordingly made the journey with an Indian pony, and arrived at a pointTiear the site of Janesville ; thence to Turtle Village, near what is now Beloit. While there he learned of an Indian camp to the south, at Bird's Grove, about a mile and a half from the mouth of Pecatonica river, and he started for that point. He lost the trail and descended the Rock until he came to a Pottawatomie village at Grand Detour, where he remained several years. Mack established trade with the Indians, and took their furs in exchange for merchandise. His journey to and from Chicago were made by Indian ponies. During this time Mack married Ho-no-ne-gah, a daughter of the Pottawatomie chief. This alliance, however, did not establish a perpetual bond of friendship between Ma.ck and the tribe. He incurred the enmity of the red men because he refused to sell them whisky and firearms. While on a trip to Chicago a plan was laid to murder him and take his goods. His faithful Indian wife discovered the plot. She mounted a pony, met him a considerable distance from the camp and gave him warning. Together they started for the camp of the Winnebagoes at Bird's Grove. There they were made welcome and given protection, and there they made their home.

Ho-no-ne-gah, though born of a savage race, exhibited traits of a more refined womanhood. She was a true wife, and thoroughly devoted to her home and children. Her husband's tribute of devotion was sincere. She was modest and disliked to appear conspicuous. She knew the remedies which the Great Spirit had spread before her in nature, and with these she visited the sick. The needy were also blessed by her gracious ministry. Ho-no-ne-gah always wore the habit of her race. Only once was she known to don the dress of her white sisters. But she felt so ill at ease that she soon cast it aside, and ever afterward appeared in the attire of her tribe. Mrs. Jesse Blinn, who still remembers her, testifies to her excellent taste in dress and to her skill in the use of the needle.

Upon the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, Mack was living at peace with his Winnebago friends. Black Hawk visited this tribe in his flight up Rock river, and attempted to induce the warriors to accompany him into Wisconsin. Mack opposed this alliance, and thereby incurred the displeasure of the Sac chief. The Winnebagoes remained at their old camp, and Black Hawk proceeded without them. But the feeling was so strong against Mack during this visit of Black Hawk that the chief of the Winnebagoes advised him to leave the camp for personal safety. There is a story that he sought seclusion on what is now called Webber's Island, where he was supplied with food by his wife until the storm had passed. It is not certain whether this is history or romance.

Mack foresaw that a speedy settlement of the Rock river valley would follow the Black Hawk war. The Pecatonica was then considered a navigable stream for one hundred miles from its mouth, and Rock river for one hundred and fifty miles into Wisconsin Territory. Mack believed that the bluff at the mouth of Pecatonica river was an available site for a town. Accordingly in the autumn of 1835 he took possession of this tract, upon which he resided until his death. He planted a village, which was called Macktown. The place still retains this name, although the promising settlement of sixty years ago, save the old substantial farm house, has disappeared. Mack had a bold policy of expansion, and valued a corner lot near his store at one thousand dollars. When he was told that his land wa«too uneven for a town, he replied that "it is far better than Milwaukee/' general store and did a successful business. He brought his goods from Chicago on Indian ponies, before the advent of wagons. In 1838 he established a ferry across Rock river, which was managed for a time by William Hulin. It was then purchased by Jesse Blinn, who carried on the business under a license issued by the county commissioners' court. About 1842 Mack built, mainly at his own expense, a bridge in the place of the ferry. This was the first bridge across Rock river in the state. This structure was carried away by a freshet June 1, 1851. Another bridge, which had been built previous to the freshet one mile farther down the river, changed the course of travel, and Macktown fell into decline.

Political honors came to Stephen Mack. He was elected associate justice in 1849, and held the office until his death. He was appointed the first township treasurer of the school fund of Rockton. Upon the adoption of township organization in 1850, he was a candidate for supervisor, but was defeated by a few votes by Sylvester Talcott.

Mack had takenHo-no-ue-gahtobehis wife under the Indian form of marriage. In order to fully protect the title of his children to his estate, he and his wife were re-married September 14, 1840, by William Hulin, a justice of the peacet This action, however, was probably unnecessary. It is a principle in international law that a marriage is recognized as legal whenever it is held to be such in the country in which it was solemnized. This principle would be applied to the marriage rite among Indians and similar races. On the 4th of April, 1840, Mack executed his will. The full text of this instrument is given in Mr. Carr's History of Rockton. By this will he divided his property equally among his wife and eight children.

Ho-no-ne-gah died in 1847. She was the mother of eleven children, two of whom died in infancy. Louisa and Mary were students at Rockford seminary for a time, but their free Indian nature could not long endure such restraint. Louisa and her husband, according to latest information, were residing in Chippewa county, Wisconsin. Caroline, the youngest, was a babe when her mother died.

In 1848 Mack married Mrs. Daniels, of Harrison. The ceremony was performed at Beloit. His subsequent domestic life was not as happy as it had been with Ho-no-ne-gah. February 14, 1849, Mack executed a codicil to his will. Since the date of the former instrument changes had occurred in his family.

Mack'S Life A Mystery

Three children had been born, one child and Ho-no-ne-gah had died, and he had remarried. The codicil equally divided his estate among his wife and children.

Stephen Mack died very suddenly April 10, 1850. At the time of his death he owned land in several adjoining sections, which aggregated about one thousand acres. He was buried on his farm beside his Indian wife. Thirty years later, May 19, 1880, their remains were removed and buried in the Phillips cemetery, near Harrison.

Many reasons have been given why this educated gentleman of New England should have sought a life on the frontier, and married a woman of a savage race. It is said death claimed the idol of his first love. Others believe an insidious appetite drove him to this western wilderness. It may have been a keen foresight by which he caught a glimpse of the marvelous develment of the west. Whatever the motive, he kept his secret until he passed beyond the judgment of men. His career was strange and romantic. He is remembered as dignified in bearing, genial and courteous, a kind husband and father, a true friend, and an honest man.

In the summer of 1833 John Phelps. in company with a Frenchman, started down Pecatonica river from Mineral Point, Wisconsin, in a canoe, on a voyage of discovery. These men descended the Rock, and made a brief stop at the mouth of the creek where Gerrnanicus Kent and Thatcher Blake located claims a year later. Mr. Phelps and his companion were pleased with the site, and would have located there had it not been for the scarcity of timber. For this reason they continued their journey down the river, and selected a site now occupied by the town of Oregon, in Ogle county.

Neither Mack nor Phelps ever lived within the limits of Rockford ; but a history of the city would scarcely be complete without a record of the facts given in this chapter.

Joseph Kemp was in this section from 1830 to 1840, and again from 1842 to 1844. He has not been in this county since the latter date. Mr. Kemp first came from a point below Rock Island on the Mississippi, then to Rockford by way of Rock river. He did not, however, permanently reside in what is now the city of Rockford. In July, 1899, he was still living, at Michigan City, in his eighty-ninth year, and was seen by Charles L. Williams.

Chapter Vi Germanicus Kent And Thatcher Blake

IT was stated at the beginning of Chapter IV. that the Black Hawk war was the immediate occasion of the settlement of the Rock river valley. There were, however, remote and more general causes. The peace following the great Napoleonic conflict in Europe had stimulated emigration to this country. President Monroe's administration had passed into history as the "era of good feeling." The Erie canal and the construction of railroads, steamboats and stage lines had created a period of expansion. The great undeveloped northwest, east of the Mississippi river, was then quite well known, and presented a splendid opportunity for capital and enterprise. Illinois occupied a central position. The Illinois and Michigan canal had been chartered, and a large number of railroads had been subsidized by the state. A tide of inflated prosperity was swiftly carrying every department of industry and speculation toward the financial breakers of 1837. Under these conditions the actual history of Rockford began.

Germanicus Kent was born of English ancestry in Suffield, Connecticut, May 31, 1790, nearly one hundred and ten years ago. In early manhood he went from his native state to New York. In 1819 he went from there to the south with testimonials of first-class business ability. He first stopped for a short time in Blacksburg, Virginia. About 1822 Mr. Kent went to Huntsville, Alabama, where he was for some years engaged in the dry goods business in partnership with Preston Yeatman. June 7, 1827, Mr. Kent married Miss Arabella Amiss, who was born in Culpepper, Virginia, April 9, 1808. The ceremony was performed at Blacksburg. Mr. Kent was subsequently a partner in the firm of Patton, Donegan & Co., at the Bell Cotton factory on Flint river, about nine miles from Huntsville. The firm owned a dry goods store at Huntsville at the same time, but Mr. Kent was not personally interested in it. It has been said Mr. Kent was nn abolitionist, but this statement is not fully

First Arrival In Rockford

Mr. Kent went from Alabama to Galena, Illinois, where his brother, the Rev. Aratus Kent, a Presbyterian clergyman, was stationed as a home missionary'. This brother was deeply interested in higher education, and his name will re-appear in this book. At the time Aratus Kent left Hun tsville he possessed an amount of ready money that was considered a competence for those days.

Thatcher Blake was born at Turner, Oxford county, Maine, March 16, 1809. He resided in his native state until 1834, when he started for the west by way of Boston, Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Louisville and St. Louis. At St. Louis he conversed with the soldiers who had been in the Black Hawk war, who gave interesting descriptions of the Rock river country and Galena. The latter was then being rapidly populated by reason of its extensive lead mines. Mr. Blake therefore visited Galena. There he became acquainted with Germanicus Kent. This acquaintance ripened into friendship, and they arranged to explore the Rock river valley.

In June, 1834, these gentleman started from Galena, in a democrat wagon, on their tour of exploration. They went north into Wisconsin Territory to the Pecatonica river, about four miles from what was then known as Hamilton's Diggings, a small mining village operated by a son of Alexander Hamilton. A man named Ransom had settled on the Pecatonica at this point, of whom they procured a canoe. Their purpose was to explore the Pecatonica and Rock rivers with a view of settlement if the country should meet their expectations. Their first landing was at a point now included in the city of Freeport. It was then an Indian camp, known as Winneshiek's Village. Winneshiek was the name of a chief of a band of Indians which numbered from two to three hundred. Mr. Kent went ashore and explored the country some distance from the river. The Indians gathered about Mr. Blake in such numbers that he became alarmed, and was compelled to row from the shore and remain in the middle of the stream, as a precaution against robbery of their moderate supply of provisions. From Winneshiek's Village they continued their journey and made frequent landings to explore the country. They ascended the Pecatonica to its junction with Rock river, and came down the latter until they arrived at the mouth of the small tributary to which the name of Kent's creek was subsequently given. They selected a site on the west side of the river. Rock river was then considered navigable and a waterway to the north and south. The site of Rockford, on a navigable stream, midway between Chicago and Galena, was at once recognized as possessing superior advantages. Kent and Blake then proceeded down the stream to Dixon's Ferry, which received its name from John Dixon, the first white settler of Lee county, who located at that point in the spring of 1830. There they sold their canoe and returned overland to Galena, by the road leading from Peoria which crossed Rock river at that point. This trip covered nine days.

Soon after their return to Galena they prepared for a second journey. They procured supplies, and with a heavily laden lumber wagon and a single span of horses, they started overland for their new El Dorado. There were no roads, nor even Indian trails. Their route was the Galena and Dixon line of travel as far as Chambers' Grove. From this point they took a northeasterly course through an unknown country. Their journey covered four days. On the evening of Sunday, August 24, these pioneers arrived at their destination. The party consisted of Germanicus Kent, Thatcher Blake, a Mr. Evans, and another man whose name is unknown.

The settlement of Rockford was not a romantic adventure. These men wore no badges of eminence. They were not flattering courtiers of a foreign prince, and possessed no commissions or patents. They did not thrust their swords into the virgin soil and solemnly take possession in the name of an alien king. They did not kiss the earth in token of devotion, nor recite to the empty air the purpose of their coming. There were no wintry skies, no breaking waves, nor stern and rock-bound coast. They were not exiles from the land of their birth, nor did they seek the treasures of the mine. Neither did they come in quest of a faith's pure shrine nor freedom to worship God. Kent came to build a sawmill, and Blake was a tiller of the soil. The significance of their coming was in the fact that they came to stay. Thus did Germanicus Kent and Thatcher Blake make the first actual and permanent settlement in what is now the city of Rockford. In this quiet, prosy way did these sturdy pioneers illustrate Goethe's observation that the ideal can only come from the development of the real.

a thoroughgoing man of affairs. With Dante he could say : "In the midway of this our mortal life I found me in a gloomy wood." Mr. Kent was the director and provider of those who were to begin the work of transformation from the "gloomy wood" to the Forest City. Those who came with him were drawing pay, and were without expense. It was otherwise with Mr. Kent. Every day brought its expense, and no income. He had sold his southern home, and his family at Galena was patiently awaiting developments. He could not retrace his steps. He could only look to the future, and trust for the best. Mr. Kent kept a journal, and under date of August 18, 1834, he writes: "Hired Mr. Blake at eighteen dollars per month to live with me on Rock river, to take charge of my business, and to do all kinds of work, to remain with me from one month to twenty-four months."

Both Kent and Blake located claims. Mr. Kent's claim comprised a tract of land which included the Tinker estate and the water-power, and extended south to Montague's Addition ; on the west it included the estate now owned by the family of the late Judge Church, and extended north to half section line ; the eastern line followed the bank of the river. Mr. Kent, however, only held temporary squatter's possession of this tract, and he obtained full legal title to only a small portion of it. Mr. Kent's name does nob appear prominently in the real estate transactions of his time, except as the agent of others. Sections twenty-one, twenty-two and twenty-seven, which include a large portion of West Rockford, were Indian "floats," to which reference was made in a preceding chapter. These sections were sold by their respective owners to Daniel Whitney, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, for eight hundred dollars each. The deeds were executed February 12, 1840. Mr. Whitney gave power of attorney to Charles S. Hempstead, of Galena. Mr. Hempstead , through Kent and Brinckerhoff as agents, sold the greater part of these sections to Isaac N. Cunningham, Abiram Morgan and Richard Montague, who became, in a sense, the proprietors of the corresponding portion of West Rockford.