Rockford Township (part 6 of 11)

An act approved February 18, 1847, provided for the incorporation of the Cedar Bluff Cemetery Association. E. H. Potter, Willard Wheeler, Bela Shaw, Selden M. Church, Hollis H. Holmes and Lucius Clark and their successors were made a body politic and corporate for this purpose. The Association was not fully organized , however, until November 28, 1851. Twelve acres in section twenty-three were purchased from Bela Shaw, for four hundred dollars, subject to the dower of Rebecca Shaw. The tract was surveyed by Duncan Ferguson, April 3, 1853. It remained the only burying-ground on the East side until the organization of the Scandinavian Cemetery Association.

Love that survives the tomb has been called the purest attribute of the soul. This love finds an expression in the monuments erected over the graves of the dead. Moreover, the cemeteries of a people are in a measure an index of their religious hope. The funerals of today have less of the gruesomeness that characterized such occasions thirty years ago. Likewise, our cemeteries have been made more beautiful by the cultivation of the artistic sense, and by a deeper realization of the truth that death is but the doorway to a ''freer air and a broader view," and an infinite expansion of sanctified power. The cemeteries of Rockford are worthy of the character of its people.

Chapter Xxx

THE attempt in 1836 to locate the county seat had proven a failure. The county business had been transacted in the meantime in various places in the village. The proprietors of Winnebago did not consider the refusal of their deed of cession to the county, noted in Chapter XII., as a finality. On that very day began the famous controversy over the location of the county seat, which was continued for seven years with great spirit, and not a little bitterness on all sides. The proprietors of Winnebago had expended considerable money in their town plat, and they were anxious to have the county buildings commenced at once, and thus settle the question. A favorable decision would insure increased value and ready sales of their town lots. On the other hand, the county commissioners opposed the site of Winnebago, and placed every obstacle in the way of such location. Various propositions were made by the proprietors during this and the succeeding year to induce the commissioners to take some action that would secure them in the location that had been previously made. All these overtures were either refused or evaded. The persistent refusal of the county commissioners led to state legislation.

By an act of the general assembly, approved March 2, 1839, the question was submitted to a popular vote. It was made the duty of the clerk of the county commissioners' court to give notice of an election to be held on the first Monday in May, 1839. The law provided that if it should appear that within one hundred of a majority of all the votes cast were in favor of the town of Winnebago, that town should remain the permanent county seat. But if any other place, after the first election, should receive a majority of all the votes given, such place should be the seat of justice. If more than two places received votes, and no one place received a majority, there should be an election held on the first Monday of each succeeding month, dropping off at each election, the place receiving the smallest number of votes, until some one place should receivea majority of all the votes polled.

Six Aspirants For Court House

These provisions gave Winnebago a decided advantage; but even then the town was unable to win the prize. At the election six aspirants received votes, as follows : Rockford, three hundred and twenty ; Winnebago, seventy-five ; Roscoe, two ; Willow Creek, five ; Pecatonica, one ; Scipio, one. Total vote cast, four hundred and four, of which Rockford had a majority over all of two hundred and thirty-six. In commenting on this election, the late Judge Church said : "Whether there was any Osawattomie [evidently another form of the word Pottawatomie] voting at that election, I am unable to say, but one thing is certain : there were two hundred more votes polled than at the general election in August following."

The prospective village of Winnebago reached the highest point of all its greatness on the day when its ambitious claims were rejected by the county commissioners' court. Like Cardinal Wolsey, it fell like a bright exhalation in the evening. From that time it began to decline. In April, 1844, many of the lots were sold by the sheriff to satisfy delinquent taxes ; and in 1847 the plat was vacated by a special act of the legislature.

Some years later Mrs. Campbell, widow of Major Campbell, by her attorney, appeared in Rockford, and made a claim for dower interest, on the ground that when her husband took the benefit of the bankrupt law, he assigned his interest in the Winnebago village property without her consent. Some were intimidated into paying these claims; and others successfully contested them.

Charles Reed was an excellent judge of land, and traveled from Fox river to Apple river, selecting and making claims. Mr. Reed was a native of Virginia. He served in the war of 1812, and was taken prisoner at Detroit, when Hull surrendered. He again enlisted, and was in the battle of the Thames, when Tecumseh was killed. Mr. Reed first settled in Illinois at Joliet. He was one of the commissioners to locate the county seat of Ogle county in 1836. Mr. Reed was influential in securing the passage of the act for the organization of Winnebago county. From Winnebago village he removed to Rockton, where he died August 26, 1863, at the age of seventy-nine years. Mr. Reed was highly esteemed as a citizen, neighbor and friend.

In pursuance of the popular vote in favor of Rockford, the county commissioners, on June 8, 1839, selected the public square on the east side of the river as the site for the court house. Anson Barnum and Daniel S. Haight were authorized to accept stone and other building material. A large quantity of brick and lumber was contributed by the citizens. This material remained on the public square fora longtime, because the county had no money to continue the work. At a special session held June 17, the court selected the southeast corner of block nine as a site for a jail. This is the site now occupied by the Rockford Gas Light and Coke Company. No jail, however, was built upon that location.

At the session of September 28, 1841, a proposition was submitted to the commissioners' court, to furnish a suitable jail and quarters for the county offices in West Rockford until permanent buildings could be constructed. This proposal was signed by Messrs. George Haskell, Charles I. Horsman, Abiram Morgan, John W. Taylor, David D. Ailing, Nathaniel Loomis, Ephraim Wyman, Horatio Nelson, Derastus Harper and Isaiah Lyon. Upon executing a bond in the penal sum of one thousand dollars, this proposition was accepted. December llth these gentlemen reported to the commissioners' court that the building for the county offices was ready for use, and the same was accepted by the court. This was a frame structure on the southwest corner of Main and Chestnut streets, opposite the Hotel Nelson. This building was occupied by the court until a court house was built, and only recently torn down to make room for a brick block. The donors, at this December session, were given an extension of five months to complete the jail. This was a log structure, about twelve feet square, with plank door, and window barred with irons set into the logs above and below. It stood east of the present court house, in the same block. Whenever a desperate character was confined therein it was necessary to station a guard. Previous to the erection of this primitive prison, the nearest jail was at Galena. When I. N. Cunningham was sheriff, he owned a substantially built house a short distance from town, and his brother William once prevented a prisoner from escaping at night by fastening one end of a chain to his ankle and the other to the ankle of the prisoner, and both were secured to the strong puncheon floor. Sixty years ago William Cunningham was a dangerous man to resist. The old log jail did duty after a fashion until the brick jail was completed.

About this time a controversy arose concerning the precise meaning of the statute under which the election of May, 1839, had been held. That portion of the third section of the law enclosed in parenthesis was ambiguous. The point at issue was whether the law actually authorized an election to select a seat of justice, or merely to decide the general question of removal. This question was before the commissioners' court at its September session in 1841. Each commissioner held a different opinion. William Hulin held that the county seat had been removed from Winnebago, but had never been relocated. Ezra S. Cable maintained that all the provisions of the law had not been complied with, and therefore the county seat remained as originally located. William E. Dunbar believed the county seat had been actually removed to Rockford. This deadlock must be broken before progress was possible. May 10, 1842, the commissioners' court requested the bar of the city to submit opinions in writing concerning the legal effect of the popular vote. Opinions were prepared by Anson S. Miller, Francis Burnap, Thomas D. Robertson, JamesM. Wight and Jason Marsh. Mr. Miller's opinion was quite elaborate. The attorneys were unanimous in the opinion that the county seat had been changed from Winnebago to Rockford, in accordance with the evident intent of the law. At the session of July, 1842, the commissioners' court authorized the judges of election in the several precincts to take the sense of the voters at the August election on the question whether the county buildings should be permanently located in East or West Rockford. Several precincts did not vote on the question ; but the general result was favorable to the West side, inasmuch as the temporary location of the county offices on that side had already given it a degree of prestige. This vote had no legal effect, however, because the law had given the commissioners' court full power in the premises. But it did have a certain persuasive influence.

In April, 1843, Daniel S. Haight, E. H. Potter, Hollis H. Holmes, Laomi Peake, Daniel Howell and John A. Brown, of the East side, submitted a proposition to the county commissioners to build a court house and jail, to cost four thousand dollars. This proposal was considered, but complications prevented its acceptance. A few days later, April 22d. citizens of West Rockford made a similar proposition. On condition that the commissioners select the site on the West side, the citizens agreed to erect such buildings as the county commissioners should direct, and according to such plan and finish as the commissioners should furnish for a court house, county offices and jail, the said buildings to be commenced before the first day of

June next, and the jail to be finished before the first day of January, 1844. The remainder of the said buildings were to be finished by the first day of November, 1844. The donors were to perfect and convey to the county a good title to the land on which the said buildings should stand, to the amount of two and a half acres. This proposition was signed by Messrs. George Haskell, Charles I. Horsman, H. W. Loomis, M. Burner, Charles Hall, Thomas D. Robertson, George W. Dewey, David D. Ailing, H. R. Maynard, Alden Thomas, S. Skinner, George Barrows, John Fisher, Derastus Harper, Daniel Dow.

Nothing had been done on the East side toward erecting county buildings with the material which had been contributed ; and the proposition from the West side citizens was accepted, with five conditions. These were : first, that security be given to the acceptance of the commissioners or any two of them, in term time or vacation within twenty days; second, that the security be a bond for twenty thousand dollars, and the buildings be worth not less than six thousand dollars ; third, that said bond be placed in the hands of the clerk of the court within three days from its acceptance ; fourth, that the subscribers to the proposition, or a majority of them, enter into a contract in writing within twenty days to erect the buildings as offered in their proposition; fifth, that the contract be placed inthehands of the clerk of the court within three days from its approval. The commissioners ordered that block twenty-five in West Rockford be the site of the buildings.

Thus closed a contest which had continued for seven years. An opinion prevails to this day that the cession of the mile-strip to Boone county insured the location of the county buildings on the west side of the river ; and that the voters on the strip, if they had remained in this county, would have held the balance of power, which would have been exercised in theelection of two commissioners from the east side of the river. The official records are clearly against this tradition. The county seat was permanently located in April, 1843 ; whereas, the election on the mile-strip did not occur until the following month. The result was due to a single citizen. William Hulin was elected a county commissioner in 1841, while a resident of Rockton, on the east side of the river. During his term of office he removed to West Rockford. Mr. Hulin's friends claim that his sympathies were always with the West side; while others maintain that this change of residence was quite naturally followed by a

An Erroneous Tradition

It is quite certain, however, that the cession of the mile-strip had been regarded with favor for years by the citizens of the western part of the county. It is even alleged that the scheme was deliberately planned in West Rockford, to reduce the voting strength on the east side of the river. The citizens on the strip petitioned the legislature to be annexed to Boone; and as early as December 24, 1840, a bill was introduced in the senate, for a change in the boundary line of Boone county. December 30th, the bill was read the third time and passed. The bill came before the house January 13, 1841. It was subsequently amended and referred to a select committee. The Rock River Express of January 16, 1841, published a brief but vigorous protest against the proposed cession. The bill, however, was lost. Had it passed that session, it would doubtless have had its influence in the contest over the county seat. But the bill did not become a law until two years later. In the meantime the question had been settled in a different manner.

The brick jail was completed and occupied January 1, 1844. The court house was finished in July of the same year, and was accepted by the county commissioners. Derastus Harper and John Beattie were the architects. It was one story, about fiftysix feet long, thirty-five feet in width, and seventeen feet high. The court room was fifty-four by thirty-three feet ; nine feet in the rear of the bench was partitioned off into jury rooms. Two rows of slips made in the style of those erected in the churches, filled the room outside the bar, and accommodated three hundred persons. The entire edifice, including the pediment and four fluted columns in front, was built in the Grecian Doric order of architecture. The public square, jail and court house were furnished by the citizens of West Rockford without the outlay of a dollar by the county. The stone building in which the county records were kept, was built in 1851. All these buildings have been removed from the square.

The first term of court held in the new building was in August, 1844. The presiding judge was Thomas C. Brown; James Mitchell, clerk; G. A. Sanford, sheriff. Many bright stars in the legal firmament of that day practiced in Winnebago county. Belvidere, Freeport, Galena and Chicago sent their best talent. The famous "Mat." Carpenter, of Wisconsin, came to Rockford on professional business half a century ago.

Chapter Xxxi Plan Of Secession And Proposed Annexation To Wisconsin

SIXTY years ago Winnebago county figured prominently in a movement of secession from Illinois, for the purpose of annexation to Wisconsin. The few surviving settlers of northern Illinois will recall the prolonged controversy over the northern boundary of the state. This agitation covered the entire period between the admission of Illinois in 1818, and the admission of Wisconsin thirty years later. The story forms one of the most interesting chapters in the history of the commonwealth. The final adjustment is a perpetual witness to the prophetic genius of Nathaniel Pope, the territorial representative of Illinois in congress. In the light of subsequent history, it was nothing less than genius that enabled this man, alone and unchallenged, to add fifty miles to the northern boundary of Illinois; and thus make her, with her commercial metropolis on the lake front, the keystone in the magnificent arch of great western states. As a statesman and patriot, Nathaniel Pope is worthy to be placed at the head of the illustrious column which includes Lincoln, Douglas, Grant, Yates and Logan.

This movement was widespread, and the feeling at times was intense, and even bitter. The war cry of "fifty-four forty or fight" did not more thoroughly arouse the enthusiastic Democracy over the Oregon boundary line fifty-six years ago, than did this inter-state controversy enkindle the sectional prejudices of the settlers in the disputed territory. The village of Rockford played quite a part in this struggle. There was brought to light in this city about a year ago a copy of the official proceedings of a mass meeting held in Rockford July 6, 1840. This convention was composed of delegates from the northern fourteen counties of the state. Its purpose was secession from Illinois and annexation to the proposed new state of Wisconsin.

Reasons For The Movement

apparent motive was a restoration of the boundary line as originally established between the two states that might be formed of the territory north of an east-and-west line running through the southerly bend of Lake Michigan. This line, it was claimed, had been arbitrarily and unfairly extended fifty miles north when Illinois became a state.

The real reasons for this movement were two : First, the settlers in the northern and the southern portions of the state had little or no interest in common. The northern portion was settled principally by people who had come from New England and New York. They were industrious, thrifty and progressive. They built towns and cities as by magic. The southern part of Illinois was settled by emigrants from the slave-holding states. They were generally poor, as the well-to-do people did not emigrate. In those days the poor man in the south was scarcely above the Negro in the social scale. This class came into southern Illinois from slave-holding states to escape the limitations of their former poverty. Between the people of the southern and the northern portions of the state was a great gulf fixed. Each misunderstood the other. The Illinois and Michigan canal was opposed by the people of southern Illinois for fear it would flood the state with Yankees. This conflict of interest and opinion was a continuation of the struggle between the civilizations of Plymouth and Jamestown. The Puritan and the class distinctions of the cavalier had entered the western arena, where a few years later Lincoln and Douglas fought the historic battle of the century.

The second reason for this sectional divorcement was the desire of the northern people to escape the burden of the enormous state debt, which had been created by the gigantic scheme of internal improvements. In 1840, during Governor Carlin's administration, the total debt of the state, principal and interest, was fourteen million six hundred and sixty-six thousand five hundred and sixty-two dollars and forty-two cents. The treasury was bankrupt; the revenue was insufficient; the people were not able to pay high taxes, and the state had borrowed itself out of credit. The state never repudiated its debt, but it simply could not pay it at that time. Moreover, the state had little to show for this vast expenditure. Southern Illinois dominated the state, and the people in the sparsely settled northern counties were not responsible for the creation of the state debt.

Such was the condition of affairs when the mass convention was held in Rockford in the summer of 1840. In order to more fully understand the historic situation at that time, it will be necessary to briefly refer to the document which gave a plausible pretext to the separatist movement. This was the ordinance for the government of the Northwest Territory, adopted in 1787. This ordinance provided for the division of this vast area for territorial purposes, which of course had no bearing upon the present matter. It further provided that not more than two states should be formed from the territory north of an east-and-west line running through the southerly bend of Lake Michigan.

In 1818 Illinois Territory petitioned congress for admission into the union on an equality with the original states. The petition defined the northern boundary of the state in accordance with the provisions of the ordinance of 1787. When the petition came before congress, Mr. Pope was instructed by the committee to report a bill in pursuance of the petition. Before the bill became a law it was amended by the extension of the boundary line from the southerly bend of Lake Michigan to forty-two degrees thirty minutes. Thus was added to Illinois a territory fifty miles from north to south, which now includes the northern fourteen counties of the state. These important and radical changes were proposed and carried through both houses of congress by Mr. Pope, entirely on his own personal responsibility. The territorial legislature had not petitioned for them, but the great and lasting advantage was so apparent that the action of Mr. Pope received the unqualified endorsement of the people.

When Wisconsin began to aspire to statehood, it was upon the language of the ordinance of 1787, above quoted, which was declared a compact to remain forever unalterable, that our northern neighbor based her claim to the territory north of the original line.

This question of boundary became an issue in local politics, and it was not until 1848, when Wisconsin became a state, that all hope of the restoration of the original line was abandoned.

In accordance with this widespread movement, which is said to have begun at Galena, a mass meeting was held at the Rockford House, in Rockford, July 6, 1840. One hundred and twenty delegates, who represented the entire territory in dispute, were in attendance. Among the supporters from Rockford and the immediate vicinity were Dr. J. C. Goodhue, William E. Dunbar, Jason Marsh, Thomas D. Robertson, Horace Miller, Dr. Levi Moulthrop, Alonzo Corey, John W. Taylor, and Germanicus Kent, of Rockford; Daniel H. Whitney and James M. Loop, of Belvidere; arid Martin P. Sweet, of Freeport. Dr. Goodhue was chosen permanent chairman of the convention.

One committee was appointed to prepare an address to the people of the disputed territory. A second committee was instructed to report resolutions declaratory of the right of Wisconsin to the territory in dispute. The preamble declared that it was the general if not the universal belief of the residents of the tract of territory in dispute, that the same by right and by law is a part of the Territory of Wisconsin; and that their interests would be advanced by the restoration of the original line, as defined by the ordinance of 1787.

The resolutions declared first, that it was the opinion of the meeting that the intention of the framers of the ordinance of 1787 for the government of the Northwest Territory, was that if congress formed one or two states north of theeast-andwest line above mentioned, that the states south of the line should not extend north and beyond it; second, that congress, in thus extending the northern boundary of Illinois, transcended its power and violated the provisions of the ordinance.

It was also resolved that if the governor of Wisconsin Territory should issue a proclamation for an election of delegates to a convention for the formation of a state government, under the resolutions relating to the southern boundary, approved January 13, 1840, the citizens of the territory in dispute should elect delegates to the convention, according to the ratio fixed by the resolution.

The sixth resolution provided that a central committee of five be appointed to carry into effect the resolutions of the convention, and to inform the executive of Wisconsin of the status of public opinion. It was finally resolved that a copy of the proceedings of the convention should be signed by the president and secretary and forwarded to the governor of the Territory of Wisconsin.

Other boundary conventions were held in various parts of the district. A convention at Oregon City, January 22, 1842, adopted resolutions similar to those approved at Rockford eighteen months earlier. The delegates even went to the point of declaring that the ordinance of 1787 should not be changed

A meeting was held in Galena, March 18, 1842, of which Charles S. Hempstead was president. Strong resolutions were adopted. One declared that the annexation of the district to Illinois was an unlawful, arbitrary proceeding, and a dangerous precedent.

In June, 1842, the commissioners' court of Winnebago county submitted this question to a popular vote of the county at the August election. The returns were as follows: Forannexation to Wisconsin, nine hundred and seventy -one; opposed to annexation, six.

A meeting of the citizens of Belvidere was held September 7, 1842, when it was decided to call a special election for the fourth Monday in September, in pursuance of the recommendation contained in the proclamation of Governor Doty, of the Territory of Wisconsin. Such an election was held , with a result similar to that in Winnebago county.

This prolonged agitation accomplished no result. The movement suddenly lost its momentum and became a spent force. The esssenLial principle involved in the resolutions that were adopted at Oregon City was whether the congress of the United States under the constitution, had no power to amend a prior act of confederated states. In view of the subsequent evolution of the federal idea, under the splendid leadership of Webster and Marshall, it seems surprising that such a preposterous claim should have been seriously considered.

The beneficent results arising from the policy of Nathaniel Pope and the failure of the separatists are incalculable. No reflections are cast upon those who desired separation. They acted from worthy motives, but they could not foresee the future. Time has shown their error to have been that of judgment rather than of heart. The people of Wisconsin, however, have never been fully reconciled to the situation. From the standpoint of state pride, it may be said that in the collapse of the movement was the magnificent city of Chicago, "the queen of the north and the west," saved to Illinois. The wealthiest, most populous and progressive counties were preserved to our commonwealth, which has become the pride of the nation. In 1840 the people of northern Illinois were more in sympathy with the ideas and institutions of Wisconsin, because they had a common origin in the east. With the lapse of time the two

Illinois A Pivotal State

Moreover, there were national reasons why Illinois should not be dismembered. In all previous confederated republics there had been danger of dissolution. Illinois, by reason of her geographical position, is a pivotal state. With a port on the chain of lakes, her western shore bounded by the Father of Waters, and her southern and eastern borders drained by the Wabash and the Ohio, the commercial power of the Prairie State extends southward to the gulf, and eastward to the sea. Mr. Pope foresaw that none of the states in the west could venture a dissolution of the union without the assistance of a state which nature had planned should be large and powerful.

Nathaniel Pope belongs to the roll of forgotten statesmen. The sphere of his activity was limited. He did not in his day receive the recognition to which he was entitled. He builded wiser than he knew. He foresaw possibilities which his generation did not fully comprehend. In the clear light of today, that shines from the grandeur of the Prairie State, it must be said that Nathaniel Pope was a constructive statesman of the first rank.

Chapter Xxxii Rockford'S Attitude Toward Repudiation Of State Debt

THE history of the bonded indebtedness of the states begins with the period from 1830 to 1840. At the beginning of that decade the aggregate debt of the several states amounted to only thirteen million dollars. Then began an era of extravagance in which certain states made enormous expenditures for internal improvements, and for funding their debts, negotiated large loans on long time. Within the twelve years succeeding 1830 the aggregate debt of the states had arisen to more than two hundred millions, an increase of more than sixteen hundred per cent.

As a relief from this burden, several states repudiated their debts. The constitution of the United States prohibits a state from passing laws "impairing the obligation of contracts;" and the supreme court had repeatedly affirmed that this clause includes cases to which the several states may be parties.

These decisions, however, indicated that the value of this contract clause depends upon other laws which provide for the enforcement of contracts. If a state owe a debt, her obligation depends upon existing laws for the enforcement of contracts against the state. If there are no such laws, the contract, though legal, may be practically worthless, if the state chooses to disregard its provisions. Under these circumstances, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Georgia, Arkansas, Tennessee and Virginia actually repudiated their debts.

Illinois narrowly escaped the odium of repudiation. At this critical period Thomas Ford became governor. On this point he says in his History of Illinois: "It is my solemn belief that when I came into office, I had the power to make Illinois a repudiating state." After July, 1841, no effort was made to pay even the interest on the debt; and her bonds declined to fourteen cents on the dollar. Ford was elected governor in 1842 ; and his title to fame securely rests upon the fact that he stemmed the tide, so that the larger portion of the debt was actually paid during his administration.

Governor Ford

Notwithstanding the fact that the citizens of Winnebago county desired annexation to Wisconsin, in part by reason of this debt, there was no attempt made to repudiate the debt so long as they remained in the state. On the other hand, the citizens took an unequivocal position against such a ruinous policy. A call was issued for a meeting February 5, 1842, to consider the condition of the public credit. This call was signed by S. M. Church, S. D. Preston, George S. Haskell, Germanicus Kent, D. S. Haight, G. A. Sanford, Francis Burnap and others. It had been surmised that Illinois would refuse to pay its debt. This call was endorsed by a vigorous editorial in the Rockford Pilot, which closed with these words : "As this is a question of vital consideration to every citizen, we trust that a full attendance will be had on that occasion - that by your presence and your voices you may show to the world your opinion in regard to these surmises. Think not that your individual credit is independent of that of your state and nation. All power and all public acts emanate directly from the people, who are the sovereigns of the republic ; and whatever honor or shame falls to your state, must be shared among you." The citizens' meeting was in sympathy with this editorial comment ; and the moral influence of Winnebago county was thus placed on record against a repudiating policy that would have brought the state into everlasting disgrace.

Governor Thomas Ford, whom the people of Illinois should ever hold in grateful remembrance, was born at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1800. He held various civil offices in his adopted state. In 1841 he was assigned as judge to the sixth judicial circuit, and while serving in Ogle county in this capacity, he received notice of his nomination for governor by the Democratic convention. He was elected in August, 1842, and was inaugurated in the following December. Governor Ford's History of Illinois is a readable and entertaining book, and will increase in value with the lapse of time. Governor Ford died at Peoria, November 2, 1850. The abject poverty of his last days was declared by the Mormons to be directly due to the curses pronounced against him by their prophet, Joseph Smith. Like many other illustrious men, Governor Ford combined intemperate habits with a high sense of official honor.

Chapter Xxxiii

THE lyceum was one of the popular institutions in the early days. The lecture bureau was unknown, and the opportunities for intellectual improvement were limited. A celebrated Frenchman said that when he wanted a new book, he wrote one. So the earlier residents of the village were dependent upon their own resources for literary entertainment. In this day the debating club is usually a feature of the district school; but sixty years ago the professional men of the village found recreation and profit in the arena of debate. Among the questions discussed in the winters of 1841 - 43 were the following: Is the British government justifiable in waging the present war with China? Would a protective tariff be sound policy for this government? Are we morally bound to abstain from all intoxicating drinks? Is Rock river a young river? The membership of the lyceum included Dr. Goodhue, Charles Latimer, James M. Wight, Anson S. Miller, Francis Burnap, Jason Marsh, J. A. Brown, William P. Dennis, Cyrus F. Miller, S. M. Church, Charles I. Horsman, T. D. Robertson, W. E. Dunbar, and other representative citizens. During the winter of 1840 - 41 James M. Wight delivered a lecture on The March of Mind, and Mr. Burnap gave two addresses on The Rise and Progress of Law.

The Whig Hill Lyceum considered its organization of such importance as to have it entered on the records of the county commissioners' court. At a meeting held at the home of Milton Kilburn, there was a debate on this grave problem : Which is the better citizen, the thief or the liar? The question never seems to have been authoritatively settled, and it is said the two classes are known to still exist.

Another society was the Mechanics' and Artisans' Institute. At one meeting it wrestled with the problem : Ought the congress of the United States to enact a general bankrupt law? After a lapse of more than half a century, and with the light of several experiments, it is still an open question, from a moral point of view.

La Wters Of Earl T Forties

Orrin Miller came to Rockford in 1843, and engaged in the practice of law. He was a brilliant and able attorney. Mr. Miller married a daughter of Willard Wheeler. About 1871 he removed to the Pacific coast. His death occurred at Pomona, near Los Angeles, in February, 1891. He was about seventy years of age. His remains were brought to Rockford for interment. Mr. Miller was a cousin of Mrs. William Brown.

Another early lawyer of the village was Grant B. Udell. His name is occasionally found on old legal documents; but he seems not to have been generally remembered.

Anson S. Miller was a prominent lawyer and politician half a century ago. He was elected state senator in 1846, was postmaster of Rockford under appointment of President Lincoln, and probate judge from 1857 to 1865. Judge Miller was one of the presidential electors in 1864, and was chosen by the electoral college to carry the vote of Illinois to Washington. Judge Miller was one of the old-school characters, dignified, slightly pompous, with a fund of good stories which he could relate ad libitum. Judge Miller died January 7, 1891, at Santa Cruz, California. For twenty years preceding his death he had resided in California. Judge Miller was eighty-two years of age. His father was Luther Miller, a native of Connecticut.

Cyrus F. Miller, a brother of Judge Miller, was born near Rome, New York. He came to Winnebago county in 1839 or '40, and was for many years a well known member of the local bar, and justice of the peace. Mr. Miller removed to Chicago in 1871, directly after the great fire. He practiced law in that city until 1876, when he returned to Rockford. His death occurred June 4, 1890, at Beatrice, Nebraska, and his remains were brought to Rockford for burial. Mr. Miller was about seventyfive years of age. Luther L. Miller, an attorney in Chicago, is a son; and Mrs. Israel Shoudy, of Rockford, is a daughter. Asher Miller, another brother, now a resident of California, was also an early settler. The father and three sons came to Rockford about the same time.

Daniel Dow is a native of Perthshire county, Scotland. He came to Rockford in 1841, and opened a boot and shoe store, and later he carried a general stock of merchandise. He purchased goods at St. Louis, and his first trip to that city was made by team to Galena, thence by the Mississippi to his destination. Mr. Dow continued in business until 1859, when he retired and traveled extensively. Upon his return to Rockford he began

Lewis B. Gregory is a native of Seneca county, New York. He was born in 1820, of New England ancestry. His father was Rev. Harry Gregory, a Methodist minister. Mr. Gregory acquired a seminary education. He came to Eockford in 1843, and began teaching the same year. Mr. Gregory is probably the oldest living teacher in the county. After teaching several terms, he became interested in business on the old water-power on the east side of the river. He was a nephew of Samuel and Eliphalet Gregory, settlers of 1835. Mr. Gregory was married in Rockford to Miss Lucy E. Spafford, a daughter of Dan and Julia Spafford, who settled in Rockford in 1844. Mrs. Gregory died July 2, 1888. Their children are: Mrs. George N. Safford, Edward S. and George B., of Rockford ; Carroll S., of Beloit ; and Louis L., a physician of Chicago. One son, Charles, died in infancy. Mr. Gregory's present wife was Mrs. Stanbro, formerly of Memphis, Tennessee.

George Tullock is a well-known citizen of Scottish birth. He was born in 1815, and came to Rockford in 1841. At Chicago Mr. Tullock hired his passage with a teamster ; but the roads were so bad that he started ahead on foot, and arrived in Rockford three days ahead of the team. Mr. Tullock was employed by Daniel Dow nearly four years as a shoemaker. He then became a farmer.

In January, 1843, a party of Pottawatomie Indians camped in the woods east of the town for several weeks. They were on their way to Milwaukee. They were straight, fine-looking Indians,' mostly dressed in skins. There were about one hundred of them. One deeply scarred veteran claimed to be one hundred years old.

The winter of 1842-43 is known in local history as "the hard winter." The early settlers of the northern part of the state remember its first snow-fall, which began November 7th, and continued until the 10th ; the extreme cold of the long winter, the scarcity of food for stock, and the loss of many cattle from hunger and cold by reason of the scarcity of barns and sheds for protection. The country was new; the settlements were sparse; and it was often miles across the dreary stretch of snow-covered prairie between settlements. Many of the houses of the settlers were poor and open, without a tree or shrub to protect them from wind and snow. During this "hard winter" the snow averaged thirty inches in depth. It fell before the ground had frozen, and lay in such a body that the ground did not freeze at all, except in occasional places. The snow drifted to a height even with the top of the rail fences, and then froze so hard that it bore horses and cattle on its surface. During that winter great slaughter was made among the deer. The dogs, borne by the frozen snow, caught such numbers that the forests were cleared of them.

In August, 1841, there was a sudden chauge in the postmaster at Rockford. Edward Warren had been appointed in May to succeed Daniel S. Haight. Mr. Warren was a brother of Mrs. Charles H. Spafford. He built the upright part of the house now owned by Dr. Daniel Lichty, on the corner of Third and Walnut streets. Mr. Warren was succeeded in the summer of 1841 by Selden M. Church, who, in turn was folio wed by Charles H. Spafford, through Mr. Warren's influence, it is said. Mr. Warren and Mr. Church were Whigs. Mr. Warren subsequently went to Paris, and was a student in the Latin Quarter during the revolution of 1848.

In the autumn of 1844, Nathaniel Crosby, of Belvidere, conveyed to the "General Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions," by deed, lots in blocks five, seven, eight, nine, twenty-eight and forty-nine, the whole of block forty-six, and south park lots two and six in East Rockford. These lots were considered a generous gift.

The files of the Rock River Express and the Rockford Pilot show a creditable line of advertisements. In the Express of March, 1841, are found the cards of Tinker & Johnson, tailors ; G. Haskell & Co., dry goods and groceries; John W. Taylor and C. Hitchcock & Co., also dealers in dry goods. In the issue of March 6th S. M. Church makes this announcement as assignee: "All persons indebted to Germanicus Kent are requested to call and adjust the same immediately." The Pilot of January, 1842, publishes an advertisement for Volney A. Marsh, who kept a general store in the north wing of the Winnebago House; the professional cards of T. D. Robertson, A. S. & Cyrus F. Miller, Charles F. Latimer, Grant B. Udell and Francis Burnap, attorneys ; F. M. Putney, proprietor of Rockford House ; David Paul, Washington House ; Wyman & Houghton, clothing ; Chicago Democrat and Godey'e Ladies' Book,

Chapter Xxxiv

AS early as August, 1840, a committee was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws for the Winnebago County Agricultural Society. This committee deferred its report until the next March term of the county commissioners' court, in order to avail itself of the privilege of organizing the society under the statute "to incorporate agricultural societies," which was passed March 28, 1839. The act required the county commissioners to give due notice of the intention to form such society at that special term only, and precluded a legal organization in this county at an earlier date, under the provisions of the statute.

The Agricultural Society was organized April 13, 1841. Dr. Haskell was elected president ; Robert J. Cross, vice-president ; George W. Lee, secretary; Charles I.Horsman, treasurer; Horace Miller, Richard Montague, P. M. Johnson, James S. Norton, Newton Crawford, I. N. Cunningham, Jonathan Weldon, directors. An adjourned meeting was held July 5th, when President Haskell delivered an address, which has been preserved in full. September 8th a meeting of the officers was held to complete arrangements for the first cattle show. It was decided that the fair should be held annually in Rockford, alternating on the east and west sides of the river ; that all the available funds of the society be distributed in premiums, and that the premiums be paid in agricultural publications.

The exhibition was held on the 13th of October. The stock was exhibited in the grove near the northeast corner of First and Oak streets, which was known as the Oak Openings, where the ground was covered with a beautiful tuft. A few splendid specimens of the primitive oak trees remain in the vicinity. Cattle and horses were tied to the trees; the sheep and hogs were confined in rail pens. The display of domestic articles and garden produce was made in the hall of the Rockford House. Charles I. Horsman exhibited a squash weighing one hundred and twenty-eight pounds. There were several loads of grain standing in the street in front of the Rockford House.

Premium List

At two o'clock the society and visitors formed a procession, under direction of Jason Marsh, the marshal of the day, and marched to the court house, on the East side. Rev. Joel B. Potter offered prayer, and Dr. Goodhue delivered an address. He was eloquent in his prophecy of the future which awaited the farmers of this fertile valley. After these exercises dinner was served at the Rockford House. At half past five the committee on awards made its report. The premium list was brief. There were seven premiums offered for horses, six for cattle, four for hogs, and two for sheep ; one for the best cultivated ten acres of land, one for the best twenty-five pounds of butter, one for the best cheese weighing over fifteen pounds, one for the best ten yards of flannel manufactured in the county, one for the best fifty skeins of sewing silk manufactured in the county, and one for the best ten pounds of sugar from the beet manufactured in the county. Thus was held, in a single day, the first cattle show in northern Illinois.

The editor of the Rockford Pilot referred to the event in this unique specimen of primitive journalism: "The cattle show came off yesterday in good style. The day was fine, the women were fine, the pigs were fine. The display of stock certainly exceeded our anticipations. Surely we live in a wonderful age. Mobs, miracles and morality are developing in a manner that would have bothered the brains of our forefathers. Here we are in a country that six years ago lay in the precise state in which it was moulded in the palm of the great Builder - not a tenement had ever been erected in this precinct to cover the head of a white man. Yesterday we saw a thousand people collected for the great object of improvement in the science of agriculture, and a display of domestic stock that would have been creditable to any portion of the United States. We saw silk that had been manufactured by the hands of the ladies of our place, and a variety of products that show the rapid strides that we are making toward perfection in the noble science of agriculture."

This society kept up its organization and annual exhibits for some years, when it ceased to exist. In 1852 another society was formed, out of which the present organization has developed. The latter was organized under a general law, approved in 1855. Until 1858 the society held its exhibitions on leased ground. In that year, twelve acres of land were purchased of C. I. Horsman, for six hundred dollars per acre. Later purchases were made, which increased the grounds to twenty-two acres.

Chapter Xxxv

THE frontier is always the prey of the banditti. From 1837 to 1845 the Rock river valley was infested with a notorious gang of outlaws. Among the leaders of this band were : John Driscoll, William and David Driscoll, his sons ; John Brodie, and his three sons, John, Stephen and Hugh; Samuel Aikens, and his three sons, Richard, Charles and Thomas; William K. Bridge, Norton B. Royce, Charles Oliver, and Charles West. Besides these chiefs of the robber confederacy, there were a large number of subordinates scattered throughout the country.

The leaders of this gang were among the first settlers, and thus had the choice of locations. John Driscoll came from Ohio, and settled near Killbuck creek, Monroe township, Ogle county. William Driscoll settled at South Grove, in DeKalb county. David Driscoll resided a short distance east of the old village site of Lynnville, in Ogle county. John Brodie lived in a grove of timber in Dement township. Samuel Aikens and his son Charles and William K. Bridge settled at Washington Grove, and Thomas and Richard Aikens and Norton B. Royce at Lafayette Grove, scarcely half a mile distant. Charles Oliver settled at Rockford, and made his home at the Rockford House. He had a good address, and was given four thousand dollars by his father when he left the parental home. About 1837, while he was an unknown member of this band of outlaws, he came within a few votes of being elected a justice of the peace, over James B. Martyn. Charles West made his home at Inlet Grove, in Lee county.

The operations of this band extended through the western and northwestern states. Along the entire line there were convenient stations, in charge of men who, to all appearance, were honest, hard-working settlers. Such was William McDole, a quiet, industrious resident of Rockford. Under this arrangement, a horse stolen at either end of the line or elsewhere could be passed from one station to another, and no agent be absent from his home or business for more than a few hours at a time ; and thus for years they remained unsuspected. At that time few counties were sufficiently organized to enforce efficient police regulations. This section was sparsely settled; the pioneers were poor, and money was scarce. There were few jails, and these were scarcely worthy of the name. For several years after the settlement of Winnebago county, the nearest jail was at Galena. There is a story to the effect that the sheriff of this county once took a culprit to Galena, and upon his return to Rockford his late prisoner was among the first to greet him.

This primitive condition of society was the opportunity of the border outlaw. Counterfeiting, horse-stealing, robbery and even murder were of such frequent occurrence that the settlers were driven to desperation. They resolved to adopt radical measures for relief; for if these outrages were continued, property was insecure, and life itself was in constant jeopardy. In the spring of 1841, a delegation of reputable citizens of White Rock and Paine's Point, in Ogle county, called upon Judge Ford, who was then holding circuit court at Oregon, for consultation. Judge Ford was a fearless man, and naturally well equipped to meet the peculiar conditions of pioneer life. Judge Ford knew that the settlers were at the mercy of the banditti, and that it was useless to invoke the civil authorities. He therefore advised them to organize a company, which should call upon the men whom they knew to be lawless, take them by force from their homes, strip them to the waist, and lash them with a blacksnake. He recommended thirty-six lashes as the first chastisement, and sixty for a second offense ; and that the leaders should be given ten days in which to leave the country.

Judge Ford's advice was followed to the letter. A decree from the bench could not have been more faithfully executed. In April about fifteen citizens met at a log schoolhouse at White Rock and organized a company known as the Ogle County Regulators. By-laws and rules were adopted, and the membership increased to hundreds in Ogle and Winnebago counties. Ralph Chaney, then in his twentieth year, was an active member of this organization. Mr. Chaney is now a retired citizen of Rockford ; and to him the writer is indebted for information of those stirring experiences.

John Earle was the first victim of this savage justice. It was proved that he had forced or induced a young man under twenty years of age to steal his neighbor's horse. Earle's coat and vest were removed, and his arms pinioned. Six or seven men were chosen from the company to administer five lashes apiece. Mr. Cbaney relates that a deacon of the church inflicted the most vigorous strokes. The result was quite unexpected. At the next meeting of the Regulators, Earle applied for membership, was admitted, and became a good worker.

The second instance occurred in the afternoon of the same day. The culprit's name was Daggett. Before coming to the west he had been a Baptist minister. He was not a shining example of the perseverance of the saints, a distinctive doctrine of that church; for he had fallen from grace with a dull, sickening thud. The Regulators were not agreed concerning his punishment; although his guilt was generally believed. A bare majority of one or two voted to release him. That night, however, the minority tied Daggett to a tree and gave him ninety-six lashes. Dr. Hobart examined him occasionally, to prevent fatal injury. This chastisement was denounced by the more conservative Regulators.

Soon after their organization, John Campbell was chosen captain of the Regulators. A short time after they had begun their work of extermination, Mr. Campbell received an epistle from William Driscoll, in which he offered battle with the most terrible oaths. The Regulators were challenged to meet him Tuesday, June 22d, at his home in South Grove. Mr. Campbell was generally recognized as the right man to lead such an organization. He was a devout Scotch Presbyterian, who had come from Canada.

At the appointed time one hundred and ninety-six men, armed with rifles and muskets, responded to the challenge. They were mounted on good horses; with the stars and stripes unfurled to the breeze, and a bugle, they formed in line, two abreast, and began the march to the field of battle. When they arrived at South Grove they found seventeen members of the gang in a log house, barricaded for defense, armed with fiftyfour guns of different kinds. The Regulators halted just outside of gunshot and held a council of war. Before making an attack, it was resolved to send a messenger to the house, to ascertain the plans of the inmates. Osborn Chaney volunteered to beard the lions in their den. When within forty rods of the house the men broke through the door, and ran away; and Mr. Chaney did not get an opportunity to speak with any one of them. Soon after Mr. Chaney returned to the company he was fol- lowed by a man named Bowman, who said he had a message from John Driscoll, to the effect that if the Regulators wished to confer with him, he would receive the message from Bowman, and from no one else. William Driscoll also sent word by the same messenger that he had three hundred allies at Sycamore, and that they would meet the Regulators on the prairie two hours later. The latter repaired to a level piece of ground, examined their guns, and awaited developments. In due time Driscoll arrived, with the sheriff of DeKalb county and two other officials, who wished to know the meaning of the demonstration. Captain Campbell stood in a wagon, and in a vigorous speech gave them the desired information. Meanwhile Driscoll sat on his horse about four feet distant. He was silent, but in a terrible rage. Mr. Chancy says he heard the grating of his teeth, and believes that then and there Campbell received his death sentence from Driscoll. The officials from DeKalb county expressed their sympathy with the Regulators, and the Driscolls promised to leave the state within twenty days. The Regulators disbanded for the day, and went home. The Driscolls did not keep their word. On the contrary, a meeting of the desperadoes was held on the following Saturday night at the house of William Bridge, at Washington Grove, where the murder of Campbell was planned.

On Sunday, June 27th, David and Taylor Driscoll, who had been chosen to murder Campbell, accomplished their purpose. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell had just returned from church at the log schoolhouse at White Rock. While going from the house to the barn about twilight, he was shot through the heart by David Driscoll. Ralph Chaney was making his home with his brother Phineas about three-quarters of a mile distant. He heard the report of the gun and the cries of the family. He and Phineas immediately went to the assistance of the Campbell family. Mr. Campbell walked aboutforty feet, and fell dead.

News of the tragedy spread quickly to Rockford and other towns. Mrs. Campbell was a witness of the murder, and there was no doubt about the identity of the assassins. On Monday the sheriff of Ogle county and a posse arrested John Driscoll at the home of his son David, near Lynnville. Mr. Chaney gives this incident of the arrest : "When he was arrested he said : 'I always calculate to hold myself in subjection to the laws of my country.' A daughter who was stopping there, a woman grown, large and strong, when the sheriff announced that he was a prisoner, turned and faced her father, and their eyes met, and there was that kind of a look I can hardly describe, passed between them, and as she held his eye she nodded her head to him. Nothing said, but such a look I never saw in the world."

The sheriff and his posse then went to South Grove in search of William Driscoll. The elder Driscoll was seated in a wagon between two guards. A company from Winnebago county had preceded them, and had arrested William and his younger brother Pierce. The sheriff took his prisoner to Oregon and lodged him in jail.

About nine o'clock Tuesday morning a party went to the jail, and with heavy timbers battered down the door. They took John Driscoll from his cell, put a rope around his neck, and dragged him to the river as rapidly as possible. The sheriff pursued, but before he could overtake them, they had entered a boat with their prisoner and were soon on the other side of the river. There they met a man from Washington Grove, who told them there was a party at that place who had taken the two sons, William and Pierce. They then proceeded with John Driscoll to Washington Grove, where they met the Rockford division. By this time, about ten o'clock in the forenoon, the crowd had increased to about five hundred. Nearly every class of people was represented. The horsemen dismounted, secured their horses, and stacked their arms around a tree. They formed a hollow square around the tree, and brought the three Driscolls into the centre. Among the lawyers present was E. S. Leland, who acted as the leader, and conducted an examination of the prisoners. A mob court was instituted. The senior Driscoll was asked how many horses he had stolen in his time ; to which he replied that he supposed he had taken as many as fifty. "Could you not say a hundred?" asked an inquisitor; and the old man, with a faint smile, said: "Itmight be." He confessed that he had paid young men from fifteen to twenty-five dollars to steal a horse from a neighbor, simply to satisfy a grudge, when he received no pecuniary reward from the theft. William Driscoll was similarly interviewed. Pierce Driscoll was examined, but no evidence was found against him, and he was given his liberty.

John and William Driscoll were then told that David and Taylor had been identified as the murderers of Campbell ; also that the evidence had proved them to be accessories in the plot at Bridge's house on the preceding Saturday evening. After further deliberation, Mr. Leland called for an expression of opinion upon the guilt of the prisoners, by the uplifted right hand. The decision was almost unanimous against them. The vote upon their punishment was equally decisive that they should be hung, then and there; and they were given one hour in which to prepare for death. The condemned men implored their executioners to change the method of death from hanging to shooting. This request was granted by a unanimous vote. The senior Driscoll had stood in the meantime with the rope around his neck, and he asked Mr. Chaney to remove it.

The arrangements for the execution occupied about an hour and a half. Jason Marsh, of Rockford, was present, and proposed to Charles Latimer, as an additional formality, to defend the prisoners, and present their case before the mob court. Mr. Marsh then made the opening plea for the prisoners; "and I must say," writes Mr. Chaney, "he did himself credit, and full justice to the prisoners in his speech. Latimer followed in behalf of the people, and made a very able speech." There were several ministers of the gospel on the scene, who spent the time allowed the prisoners in prayer and conversation with them. It was an occasion of great solemnity. Righteous wrath was expressed in the resolute and orderly execution of mob justice.

When the hour for execution arrived, about one hundred and twenty men were drawn up in a line, in single file. This line was divided in the center. John Driscoll was led out by Captain Pitcher, in full view of his executioners. He was made to kneel ten paces in front of the west half of the line. His eyes were blindfolded, and his arms pinioned behind him. At the signal, every gun, save one, was fired in a single volley. John Driscoll fell forward on his face without a struggle or groan, or the apparent movement of a muscle.

William Driscoll was then brought out and placed at the same distance before the center of the other half of the line. He was blindfolded, pinioned, and made to kneel upon the ground. As Judge Leland counted three, the volley of more than fifty guns was as the sound of one. William Driscoll was dead. The father and son fell about forty feet apart. A grave was dug between them, about two and one-half feet deep, and four feet wide. The old man was first taken and placed in the grave, without coffin or shroud ; and then the son was laid by his side. Their caps were drawn over their faces, and thus they were buried, without the presence of a. mourning friend. Mr. Chaney assisted in carrying the elder Driscoll to the grave, and discovered that the bones of his head were literally broken to pieces, and the region of the heart perforated with bullets. In William DriscolFs vest front were found forty bullet-holes. After their execution one of their guard stated that William Driscoll in his prayer confessed he had committed five murders, and prayed to be forgiven. It is said that just before he was led out to die, William called his brother Pierce and said : "They are going to kill me, and I want you to take that money of mine that is hid and give my children a liberal education, and spend it for their support until they become men and women and grown. There is a plenty of it." Pierce expressed his willingness to do so, but said: "I don't know where your money is; you have never told me." William tried to tell him, but exclaimed : "0 my God ! I can't do it ! "

A strange sequel occurred many years later. The farm that had been owned by William Driscoll became the property of a man named Byers. One day in autumn, while he was threshing, three men carne on horseback and entered the grove west of the house. After surveying the premises, they located a spot and began digging. Byers ordered them to stop, but he was confronted by a revolver and an order to return and mind his own business. After their departure, Byers went to the spot and found a hole which they had dug in the ground, and beside it a small empty box, and at the bottom of the hole the mark and place from which the box had been dug. No explanation was ever found. A reward of five hundred dollars was offered in August, 1841, for the capture of David and Taylor Driscoll, by a committee of the citizens of Ogle county.

David Driscoll never returned. It was reported that about two years after the murder of Campbell, he was shot dead in Iowa by a sheriff who was attempting to arrest him. Taylor Driscoll was indicted for the murder of Campbell, and kept in different jails nearly two years; and by changes of venue and confusion of witnesses, he was at length given his liberty.

Throughout these strange proceedings the Regulators were sustained by the ablest lawyers and best citizens throughout the country. "Doctors and scholars, ministers and deacons" regarded this terrible example of lynch law as a public necessity. One notable exception to this general public sentiment was the Rockford Star. In its issue of July 1, 1841, its editor, Mr. Knappen, denounced the lynching in severe terms. He also

A Famous Indictment

Some months after the execution of the Driscolls, the matter was brought before the attention of the grand jury in Ogle county. Judge Ford then resided at Oregon, and it is said this action was taken at his suggestion. At the September term of the circuit court, indictments were found against one hundred and twelve citizens. Among these were four Chaney brothers, Richard, Phineas, Osborn and Ralph, three of whom became residents of Rockford ; and Horace Miller, Jason Marsh and Charles Latimer, of Winnebago county. The case was called for trial at the same term of court. Judge Ford presided, and Seth B. Farwell appeared for the people. Some of the jurors were under indictment for complicity in the affair. Several witnesses were called, and pleas made ; and without leaving their seats the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty." No one expected a conviction ; but it was considered desirable to have the matter settled according to the regular form of law. Thus closed the trial of the largest number of defendants ever indicted under one charge at one session of a grand jury known to the judicial history of this section.

Chapter Xxxvi

THE execution of the Driscolls was only the beginning of the work of extermination ; although it was the sole instance where such desperate measures were considered necessary to accomplish their purpose. Robberies and murders continued, and the people lived for years under a literal reign of terror.

September 19, 1843, the store of William McKenney, near the site of 318 East State street, in Rockford, was robbed of a trunk containing nearly twelve hundred dollars. Bradford McKenney, his brother, who slept in the store at the time, gives a vivid account of the robbery in Mr.Thurston's Reminiscences. The narrative, in its use of adjectives and interjections, requires some revision in order to make it conform to the canons of good literary style. The robber, in his hasty flight, left eight dollars in silver, in the trunk. The next day several dollars were found at another place ; and the next spring James Gilbert found sixty-two dollars only a few rods from where the trunk was rifled of its contents. A reward of two hundred dollars was offered for the apprehension of the thief and the recovery of the money ; but he was an expert, and eluded capture.

The community was startled two weeks later by another bold depredation. Monday evening, October 2, one of the fourhorse coaches belonging to Frink, Walker & Co. was robbed four miles from Rockford, while enroute to Chicago. It is said the baggage of the passengers was stolen from the rear of the coach while in motion, and that the fact was not discovered until its arrival in Newburg. The next morning the trunks were found a few rods from the road. They had been broken open and all property of any value had been taken. A plan had been laid to secure a large amount of money which had been on deposit in the land office at Dixon, and this was the object which it was intended to accomplish by the robbery of the stage coach at this time. It was known that a considerable sum of money, which had been received from the sales of public lands, was on deposit at Dixon, and was about to be removed. A leader of the banditti had asked the receiver when he intended to go to Chicago, where the deposit was to be made. The receiver was a prudent man, and his suspicions were aroused. He therefore replied that he would leave Dixon one week later than he really intended to start ; he thus baffled the plot of the robbers. The Rockford Forum, in commenting on this affair, said: "What renders these transactions still more exciting is, that they are performed by those who are perfect scholars in the business movements of the, town/' No immediate clue to this robbery was obtained .

In November, 1844, William Mulford, residing on his farm in Guilford, four and a half miles east of Rockford, on the Cherry Valley road, was robbed of five hundred dollars in money. It had been falsely reported that Mr. Mulford had received about fourteen thousand dollars a short time before ; and this rumor had reached the robbers. October 28th a man who gave the name of Raines called on Mr. Mulford and professed to be in search of employment. His real purpose was to obtain money by other means than honest toil ; and he had come to look over the premises. On Saturday, November 9th, abouteight o'clock in the evening, three masked men, armed with pistols, knives and clubs, forced an entrance into the house. The leader ordered Mr. Mulford to sit down. He then took the candle from the table, cut it into three pieces, lighted them, placed one in each of the two windows, and with the third he began his search of the house. With the most direful threats the family were forced to submission. The keys to the bureau drawers were demanded. They were told that they were in the stable behind the horses. This wa,s a ruse to give Mr. Mulford an opportunity to reach his rifle in another part of the room. When the men went to the barn he attempted to reach the gun, but another man, who had been stationed at the door, held a pistol close to his head and ordered him to desist. The robbers could not find the keys in the barn, and returned in a rage to the house. They swore they would "chain the old devil," and set the house on fire, and by that time they would tell where the keys were. Mrs. Mulford imagined she heard the clanking of chains, and told the robbers where the keys could be found. They unlocked the drawer and found the money in an envelope, just as it had been taken from the bank. One of the gang was identified as Haines, who had called in search of employment. It was subsequently learned that two men, armed with rifles, stood outside, and for their benefit the candles were placed at the windows.

The long period of border brigandage reached its climax in the murder of Colonel Davenport. On the western shore of Rock Island, overlooking the main branch of the Mississippi, and facing the Iowa side, fifty-five years ago stood a beautiful residence. For more than thirty years it had been the home of Colonel George Davenport. He was generally esteemed for his generous impulses and social qualities. His wealth had been acquired as an Indian trader. Governor Ford gave him the credit of being the author of the life of Black Hawk which purported to be the Autobiography of the old warrior.

On Friday, July 4, 1845, Colonel Davenport's family joined the people of the Illinois mainland, in an observance of the national holiday. While alone in his parlor, Colonel Davenport was assaulted by three men, blindfolded, pinioned and dragged up a flight of stairs to a closet containing an iron safe. The robbers obtained between six and seven hundred dollars in money ; but they were not satisfied, and demanded more. The old man pointed with a feeble hand to a dressing-table. The murderers missed the drawer containing the money, and opened another, in which they found nothing of value. Believing that their victim intended to deceive them, they beat and choked him until he became unconscious. They revived him by dashing cold water in his face, and again demanded more money, with the same result. They then threatened to "fry him upon coals of fire" if he did not disclose the hiding-place of his money. The old Colonel fell back exhausted, unable to answer. After his assassins left he regained consciousness, related the circumstances of the assault, and died about nine o'clock of the same evening.

Thus far the perpetrators of these bold outrages had eluded capture. But Nemesis wa,s on their trail; and in due time she will summon a cloud of witnesses to bring them to justice. In the spring of 1845 Charles West, of Lee county, was arrested for the robbery of a peddler named Miller, and a portion of the goods was found in his possession. West was committed to jail at Dixon, and during his confinement he proposed to turn state's evidence, and disclose all he knew concerning his confederates. It was an instance where "the devil was sick, the devil a monk would be." His proposition was accepted, and West made what he professed to be a full confession, and declared that Charles Oliver and William McDole, of Rockford, were members of the band. He also gave the names of the outlaws who committed the robberies at McKenney's store and Mulford 's farm-house.

This startling intelligence soon reached Rockford, and created great excitement. Upon the strength of West's statemen ts, Oliver and McDole were immediately arrested, and an officer was dispatched to bring West to Rockford, to give his testimony at their examination. Oliver and McDole were given a hearing about the 7th of June. West testified that he was at Oliver's house about a year before, when the plans of the gang were discussed in detail. McDole and Sutton were also present at the same time. McDole and Oliver talked about a pal named Burch in connection with the McKenney robbery. McDole discovered where the money was kept, and Burch entered at the window and obtained the booty. In the proposed raid upon Mr. Mulford, Oliver and McDole were to ascertain the situation of the house, and Burch and one or two others were to get the money.

Such, in brief, was the testimony given by West. His story was generally believed. Oliver and McDole were required to give bail in the sum of fifteen hundred dollars each, for their appearance at the next term of court; in default of which they were committed to prison. A few days later Bridge, one of the leaders of the banditti residing in Ogle county, was arrested and placed in jail at Rockford. A guard was necessary for some time, for their protection.

The trial of Oliver began in the circuit court August 26, 1845. His indictment was for receiving money stolen from William Mulford, in November, 1844. Hon. Thomas C. Brown was the presiding judge. The jurors were : Giles Mabie, Calvin Haskell, J. Heath, Jr., George Dixon, Phineas Howes, Ezra C.Tracy, Asa Farnsworth, Asa Crosby, Andrus Corbin, Harvey Higby. There was an unusual display of legal talent. The district attorney was James M. Loop. He was assisted by Thomas D. Robertson, Jason Marsh, James M. Wight, and Miller & Miller. Martin P. Sweet, of Freeport, and M. Y. Johnson, of Galena, were the counsel for the defendant. Among the witnesses on the stand were: William Mulford, Charles H. Spafford, G. A. Sanford, D.Howell, E.S. Blackstone, William J. Mix, of Oregon,

Charles West, of Lee, and S.C. Fuller, the jailer. The teat named witness testified that the prisoners tried to bribe him tofurmsh ^wi^h brace and bits so that they might effect their escape^ Ea* offered Mr. Fuller fifty dollars at first, and then increased fhTsum to five hundred. Dnringthe trial Oliver was defiant and confident of acquittal. But since his arrest Retributwe Tnstice had been forging another chain of convict.ng evidence. JUCinK tnTsumnfer J^son Marsh had received a letter from the warden of the penitentiary at Jackson - ttitentiary Thus terminated the most e^citmg enm>nalcase ^tried in Winnebago county. The case was managed ^w.th Treat ability on both sides. The argument of James Loop and fhetploitof Jason Marsh have become familiar tradition, of county. When his case was called he plead guilty, and was sentenced to the penitentiary for seven years. McDole's trial began November 26, 1845, and the case was given to the jury December 1st. After an all-night's session the jury brought in a verdict of guilty, with a sentence of seven years in the penitentiary. The attorneys for the state were Marsh & Wight, Miller & Miller, and T. D. Robertson. McDole was defended by John A. Holland, Grant B. Udell, of Rockford, and Martin P. Sweet, of Freeport. The court ordered that one month of the term of imprisonment be spent in solitary confinement.

John Long, Aaron Long, and Granville Young were executed at Rock Island in October, 1845, for the murder of Colonel Davenport. This execution practically completed the work of extermination which had been begun by the Ogle County Regulators on Tuesday, June 29, 1841.

Burch was indicted for the murder of Colonel Davenport. He took a change of venue to another county, and made his escape from jail. The three Aikens brothers died as they had lived, although they escaped the penitentiary. Bliss, Dewey and Sawyer, confederates in Lee county, were sent to the penitentiary. Bliss died in prison. The way of the transgressor is hard.

The Prairie Bandits, written by Edward Bonney, is a stirring tale of those early days. Bonney was a newspaper man, who did some detective work. His book was first printed about fifty years ago, and there have been several subsequent editions.

Chapter Xxxvii

THE early settlers foresaw that this section of country could not become prosperous without improved facilities for transportation. At that time the navigation of Rock river seemed to offer the most feasible solution of the problem. January 11, 1840, a meeting of the citizens of Winnebago county was held at Rockford. There was no newspaper in the town until some months later, and the only report of the convention was published in John Wentworth's paper, the Chicago Democrat, in its issue of February 12th. The purpose of the meeting was to consider the expediency of asking congress for a grant of unsold land in the valley of Rock river, the proceeds to be applied to the improvement of the stream. Dr. Goodhue was chosen president ; George Stevens, George W. Lee and Charles I Horsman, vice-presidents; John C. Kern ble, secretary. Resolutions were introduced by George W. Lee, and unanimously adopted. They were as follows :

Resolved, That the increasing commerce of the lakes and the Mississippi river and the surplus productions of the Rock river country require a speedy action on the part of the numerous population settled throughout the territory lying between Lake Michigan and the upper Mississippi, to effect the removal of the obstructions to steamboat navigation in Rock river.

Resolved, That the interests of the government of the United States, holding in its control the great portion of the unsold lands in the region of Rock river, are essentially connected with those of the people in effecting the navigation of Rock river from the termination of the Milwaukee and Rock river canal to its junction with the Mississippi river; and that such an improvement will increase the value of the public domain in Iowa, by opening to that territory the benefits c an eastern market.

Resolved, That application be made to the congress of the United States for the appropriation of one hundred and fifty thousand acres of the public lands, the proceeds of which to be applied to the improvement of the navigation of Rock river, and that we apply for the same to be selected from the residue of those not taken up by the settlers or other purchasers at the government land sales, and within twenty miles of either bank of Rock river.

Resolved, That a committee of five persons be appointed by this meeting to draft a memorial to congress, embodying the facts necessary to sustain the views expressed in the above resolutions, that said memorial be circulated for the signatures of citizens residing in the vicinity of Rock river.

Resolved, That we earnestly solicit the co-operation of the people of the different counties in Illinois, and those of the territories of Wisconsin and Iowa, who feel interested in opening a water communication (through Rock river) between the lakes and the upper Mississippi, to hold meetings and circulate memorials expressive of their views, and embracing the objects set forth in the proceedings of this meeting, and to forward the same to their representatives in congress.

Dr. Goodhue, George W. Briuckerhoff, and Daniel S. Haight were chosen a committee to correspond with the people of the counties on the river on the subject of the resolutions.

This convention did not lead to any practical results. The agitation, however, was continued for some years. February 28, 1844, the Rockford Forum announced that the steamboat Lighter from St. Louis would ascend Rock river on the opening of navigation in the spring. Patronage was solicited ; and the Forum advised the citizens to make exchanges of grain for provisions. The Lighter arrived in Rockford in the latter part of June. On the 1st of July the steamer made a trip to Roscoe.

The visit of the Lighter renewed the interest in the improvement of the river. July 13th a meeting was held at the court house to consider the subject. Committees were appointed and resolutions adopted. November 22, 1844, a river convention was held at Sterling. Delegates were present from Ogle, Winnebago, Lee and Whiteside counties. William Pollock, who had been employed to make a survey, presented a report. He stated that he had made an examination of Rock river from the mouth of the Pecatonica to Sterling, a distance of about one hundred miles; and estimated that the total cost of removing all obstructions between these points at four thousand three hundred and sixty-six dollars and seventy -five cents. This was an insignificant sum, and was probably far below what the actual cost would have been. The general government had done nothing in response to the petition sent in 1840 ; and the assistance of the state legislature was invoked. February 25,

1845, an act was approved for the improvement of Rock river. Duncan Ferguson, of Winnebago, John Dixon, of Lee, Spooner Ruggles and William W. Fuller, of Ogle, and Theodore Winn, of Whiteside, and their successors were made a body politic and corporate under the name of the "Board of Commissioners for the improvement of the navigation of Rock river." The commissioners were authorized to remove all the obstructions to steamboat navigation between the mouth of Pecatonica river and the mouth of Rock river. For the purpose of creating a fund for making these improvements, it was provided that a tax should be levied for the year 1845, of seven and one-half mills on every dollar's worth of assessable personal property in Wiunebago, Ogle, and Lee counties. In October, 1845, operations were actually begun at Rockford, under the direction of Alonzo Hall. A cofferdam about fifty feet wide wa.s built through the rapids. A wheel at the lower end, propelled by the current, baled out the water. A steamboat channel was excavated in the autumn and winter, and the rock piled outside the dam. The "improvement" ruined the ford; and was absolutely useless for navigation, as the rapids at the mouth of the river in ordinary stages of water would not float a steamer. Similar attempts at improvement were made in the other counties during the year. The money which remained on hand after these expenditures was to be refunded pro raba, as provided by the law, to the counties from which it had been collected.

This failure, however, stimulated further effort. The promoters of the scheme became more audacious than before. Not only was it decided to make Rock river navigable to the mouth of the Pecatonica; it was now also proposed to seek the aid of the government in the construction of a ship canal which should connect Lake Michigan with Mississippi river. January 1 and 2,

1846, a ship canal convention was held in Rockford. Delegates were present from northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Martin P. Sweet, of Freeport, said this section needed a railroad to the east, and free navigation to the south, so that the people could have a choice of markets. He believed the government should aid in constructing such a waterway. A committee wag

Later Conventions

On Friday, January 2d, the committee presented its resolutions, which were unanimously adopted. It was declared that in the judgment of the convention, the project of connecting the great lakes with the Mississippi river was purely national in its character ; that the cheapest and best mode of effecting this communication was by means of slack-water navigation of Rock river, and by a properly constructed canal connecting it with Lake Michigan; and that the completion of this work in connecting the Atlantic ports on the east with the Gulf of Mexico on the south would form a strong bond which would unite more firmly the north and the south for mutual defense. A committee was appointed to draft a memorial to the proper authorities for the survey of the route, and to present a memorial to congress, praying for the construction of a ship canal. Martin P. Sweet was made chairman. The members of the committee from this county were Jason Marsh, John A. Holland and James M. Wight. A eommitteeof fivefromeach county was also chosen to obtain an expression of public sentiment concerning the project. The members of the committee from Winbago were C. I. Horsman, S. M. Church, William Hulin, Robert J. Cross, Alonzo Hall.

Ship-canals, however, are not constructed by resolution, and the usual results followed. In the winter of 1865-66 the subject was revived, and February 22d a convention was held at Rockford. Letters were read from General Stephen A. Hurlbut, of Belvidere, Hon. JohnF.Farnsworth, and others. Another convention was held at Beloit March 15th. But better railroad facilities had by that time indefinitely delayed, if not forever defeated the construction of an inter-state waterway. Had it not been for the ad-vent of the railroad, the improved navigation of Rock river would in time have been recognized as a public necessity. In the autumn of 1899 the subject was again considered by the citizens of Rockford and those residing along the course of the river ; but up to February, 1900, no definite results had been accomplished.

The improvement of navigation facilities was not the only means by which the settlers sought relief from imperfect transportation. Chicago was the nearest grain market. The only communication with that city was by stage and wagon. In the spring and autumn months, when the deep soil of the prairies was saturated with water, the journeys were slow and tedious. A farmer who had drawn a load of produce to Chicago often received a discouraging margin of profit. A charter had been obtained in 1836 for a railroad between Chicago and Galena. The county, however, was thinly populated, and the people were too poor to make subscriptions. Moreover, eastern capitalists had little confidence in the future of Illinois. The state was burdened with debt ; and many of the people openly advocated repudiation. This uncertainty about a railroad continued more than ten years. Meanwhile the citizens were considering other plans. In 1844 preliminary surveys were made for a plank road from Chicago to Rockford.

A committee of citizens residing on the proposed route was held at Elgin September 20, 1844. This committee had been chosen to collect facts relating to plank roads, and to furnish estimates of cost. J. Young Scammon, of Chicago, and Jason Marsh were members of this committee. Edward B. Talcott, an experienced engineer, was sent by the committee to Canada to examine the plank roads there in use, and to ascertain their cost and manner of construction. On the 19th of November the committee submitted its report, also a detailed statement prepared by Mr. Talcott. He estimated the cost of the road at three hundred and twelve thousand seven hundred and thirty-one dollars and twenty-nine cents. Public meetings were held along the line.

January 21, 1845, the Chicago and Rock River Plank Road Company was incorporated by special act. The commissioners appointed to receive subscriptions in Belvidere and Rockford were Alexander Neely, Lyman Downs, Joel Walker, Daniel Howell, C. I. Horsman and Jason Marsh. Among the commissioners from Chicago was Walter L. Newberry, who became the founder of the magnificent Newberry reference library in Chicago. The corporation was given absolute right of way, with power to institute condemnation proceedings when necessary for the purchase of land. The demand for plank roads became general throughout the state; and in February, 1849, an act was passed for the construction of plank roads under a general law.

Mr. Colton, in his Forum, discouraged the construction of a plank road from Chicago to Rockford. He said eastern capital could not be secured for such a doubtful enterprise ; and predicted that "sooner far could it be obtained for a railroad on the same ground, and we fully believe that one will be built before a plank one will be completed." Public sentiment showed that Mr. Colton was a prophet without honor in his own country; but time vindicated his claim to the gift of prophecy. No plank road was constructed, under the provisions of the charter. The thunder of the iron horse was heard in the distance; the day of the railroad was at hand.

Chapter Xxxviii

A NUMBER of the early settlers from New England were Unitarians of the old school. An effort to organize this sentiment was made as early as 1841. The first meeting for this purpose was held February 3d. A subscription list of this date was found among the papers of the late Francis Burnap. It contained pledges amounting to one hundred and sixty dollars for the support of a Unitarian clergyman. At the same time a committee was appointed to promote this interest. An adjourned meeting was held on the 13th at the West side schoolhouse, and an organization completed. Richard Montague, Isaac N. Cunningham, Francis Burnap, Ephraim Wyman and James M. Wight were elected trustees. A statute of 1835 concerning Religious Societies provided that immediately after an election of trustees, a certificate of the same should be filed for record with the recorder of the county. The filing of such record constituted the trustees a body corporate and politic. The trustees complied with this law. The Rock River Express of February 20th announced that Rev. Joseph Harrington would preach at the court house on the following Sunday.

There is no record of any progress during the next two years, and it may be concluded that there was only an occasional preaching service. Early in March, 1843, Rev. Joseph Harrington, of Chicago, came to Rockford and preached every evening of one week on the distinctive doctrines of Unitarianism. The meetings were well attended, and a new interest awakened. On the following Sunday, March 9th, a church was organized, with the following covenant : "We whose names are subscribed, do unite ourselves together in Christian fellowship to partake of the Lord's supper, and to receive the spiritual benefit that may be derived from membership with Christ's visible church on earth. And may God grant his Spirit to help our manifold infirmities, and lead us in heart and in practice unto him who is the 'way, the truth and the life.' " This language is decidedly evangelical in spirit. It is Unitarianism as interpreted by William Ellery Channing and James Freeman Clarke. It differs little from the progressive orthodoxy of today. The constituent members of the church were : Joseph Harrington, Sarah F. Dennis, Isaac N. Cunningham, Nancy G. Cunningham, James Cunningham, Sarah M. Cunningham, Samuel Cunningham, Emily C. Cunningham, John Paul, R. B. Paul, W. D. Bradford, Catherine F. Goodhue, Ephraim Wyman, James M. Wight, John R. Kendall, Susan Goodrich.

In December, 1844, steps were taken to secure a place of worship. It was proposed to purchase the unfinished Universalist church, which had been abandoned. Several hundred dollars in subscriptions, conditional and otherwise, were raised, besides a sum for an organ. These subscription lists are still in existence. But the project was not successful. Another unsuccessful effort was made to build in 1846.

December 13, 1845, the Unitarian society was organized at the home of Ephraim Wyman. The trustees chosen were Ephraim Wyman, Thatcher Blake, and Richard Montague.

For a number of years little was done. The church had services whenever a traveling clergyman was available. This condition continued until 1849, when Rev. H. Snow volunteered to strengthen the waste places in this branch of Zion. The Unitarians were not sanguine, and at first Mr. Snow received little encouragement. But a new start was made. The church had hitherto held services in the court house; but now they felt the need of another place. The frame building which had been used by the First Baptist church was for sale. This old edifice may well be called a church cradle. It successively rocked the Baptists, Episcopalians, Unitarians and Presbyterians. It was an illustration of the common origin of all believers who belong to the true household of faith. At this time the Unitarians owned a lob on the northeast corner of Church and Elm streets. They had received two hundred and fifty dollars from the American Unitarian Association, and with this they purchased the old Baptist building, which they removed upon their lot. For about a year Mr. Snow preached two Sundays in the month, and the other Sundays at Belvidere. Mr. Snow invited Rev. A. A. Livermore, who was then at Keene, New Hampshire, to act the generous Christian part by presenting; a communion service to the church. The ladies of Mr. Keene's church complied with the request.

Mr. Snow's health failed in the spring of 1850, and he was obliged to resign from his pastorate. He had been faithful in his efforts to lay an enduring foundation. Mr. Snow applied to the American Unitarian Association, and to Dr. Hosmer, an eminent divine and educator, to send a successor. Dr. Hosmer sent John M. Windsor, who had recently graduated from the Unitarian school at Meadville, Pennsylvania. Mr. Windsor devoted his entire attention to the Rockford church, and gave one sermon each Sunday. About this time the accession of Mr. and Mrs. Melancthon Starr inspired the congregation with new energy and courage.