Rockford Township (part 7 of 11)

The church enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity for several years. In 1853 it was proposed to build a more comfortable place of worship. A lot was purchased on the corner of Chestnut and Church streets, and generous subscriptions were secured. Mr. Windsor was sent east to solicit contributions from the Unitarians of New York and Massachusetts. Mr. Windsor went to New York early in the spring of 1854 to collect the promised money, and never returned. Work was begun on the new church in the same spring. The plan of the edifice was that of the Episcopal church in Beloit, with some changes and better workmanship.

In the autumn of 1854, when the pulpit had become vacant, the society, through Mr. Starr, began correspondence with John Murray, who had just graduated from Meadville. This gentleman was engaged as a stated supply for six months from the first of October, with a view to a call to the pastorate if it should be mutually agreeable. Mr. Murray began his labors at the time stated. Mr. Crawford, the contractor, had agreed to have the new church ready for occupancy early in October. On the strength of this promise, the old church cradle had been previously sold to the Presbyterians, possession to be given December 1st. The church kept its promise, but the contractor did not; and the services were held in Dr. Haskell'sschoolhouee for a time. Before the expiration of the six months Mr. Murray had accepted an invitation to remain a year. Upon the completion of the church, the Rockford Amateurs gave a vocal and instrumental concert in Warner's hall, to aid in its furnishing. About one hundred and fifty dollars were realized. A Unitarian church in Chicago sent two massive chandeliers, pulpit and gallery lamps, a pulpit sofa and a Bible. A melodeon had been previously purchased.

New Church Dedicated

The church was dedicated April 18, 1855. Friends came from Chicago, Geneva and Belvidere. Rev. Rush R. Shippen, of Chicago, preached the dedicatory sermon. On Sunday, May 6th, a Sunday-school was organized, with twenty-five scholars, with Rev. H. Snow as superintendent. On Sunday, July let, the Lord's supper was celebrated, after a long interval. In December a new declaration of faith and purpose and articles of organization were adopted.

Rev. John Murray's pastorate closed on the last Sunday in March, 1857. The pulpit was supplied by Rev. Addison Brown, Rev. W. W. King, and Rev. L. B. Watson. The latter two were Universalist clergymen of Chicago.

June 8, 1857, a call to the pastorate was sent to the Rev. Augustus H. Conant, of Geneva, Illinois. Mr. Conant, though highly esteemed in his parish, had given offense to some by his radical utterances against slavery. He therefore promptly accepted the call, at a salary of one thousand dollars, with certain privileges of vacation for missionary work Sunday afternoons during a part of the year. Rev. Conant began his pastoral work July 12, 1857. The congregation then numbered about seventy. He purchased a home of Mr. Cosper, on the corner of Green and West streets, for three thousand and five hundred dollars. This residence is still the home of his daughter, Miss Coretta Conant, and his granddaughter, Miss Louise Conant, instructor in art and history of art at Rockford college.

Mr. Conant enjoyed an extended personal acquaintance among distinguished representatives of the Unitarian faith, and other cotemporaries. Among these were William Ellery Channing, Theodore Parker, James Freeman Clarke, Horace Greeley, 0. B. Frothingham, Margaret Fuller, Fred Douglas, and Robert Collyer. Among Rev. Conant's guests at his Rockford home were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Prof. Youmans, Bayard Taylor, Tom Corwin, John Piorpont, a,nd T. Starr King. James Freeman Clarke, in his Autobiography, refers to Rev. Conant as a "saint and an apostle."

Augustus Hammond Conant was born October 16, 1811, at Brandon, Vermont. When a young man he left his native state and settled as a farmer on the Des Plaines river, in Cook county, Illinois. His parents were members of the Baptist church, and he was baptized into that fellowship before he came to Illinois. One day he entered the store of the Clarke Brothers, in Chicago, where he saw a copy of the Western Messenger. He became interested in the paper, and he was given several copies to take home. These Clarkes owned a book-store in Chicago, and were brothers of James Freeman Clarke, who was then the editor of the Messenger. Upon reading these papers, Mr. Conant resolved to consecrate his life to the ministry. Mr. Conarit kept a journal of his daily life as a pioneer farmer from January 1, 1836, to the latter part of May, 1840. It presents in brief a vivid picture of life on the frontier, as lived by an ambitious young man who was obliged to make his own way in the world, and at the same time prepare himself for the ministry. Brief quotations will tell the story. Under date of September 28, 1836, and later, he writes : " Worked at shoemaking ; made a coffin for H. Dougherty; plastered my house; dressed pig and calves torn by wolves; dug a well; killed a badger; killed a wolf ; corn half destroyed by blackbirds ; set out shade trees ; read Cowper ; took up a bee- tree to hive for honey ; hunted a deer ; snow a foot deep; attended a Christmas party."

Mr. Conant returned east May 25, 1840, and began study at the Cambridge divinity school, under Prof. Henry Ware, Jr. After finishing his course Mr. Conant began his ministry in 1841 at Geneva, Illinois, where he preached sixteen years. A pamphlet entitled Fifty Years of Unitarian Life, gives a pleasant picture of Mr. Conant's pastoral life at Geneva. The pamphlet is a record of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Unitarian church at Geneva. His journal kept during this time is a revelation of the man and of his time. Under date of January 7, 1842, and later, he writes: "Read Neander; made a chair; worked on a sermon ; drew straw ; Read Neander; horse died; mended a pump; read Bushnell; read the Methodist discipline; helped my wife to wash; worked on a sermon ; made benches for the school ; finished sermon; made soap."

The church at Rockford prospered under Mr. Conant's ministry for a time. He was a man of high ideals and noble enthusiasms, and was filled with the missionary spirit. Rev. Robert Collyer said of him: "He was as quick to leap to the appeal of a crippled cobbler, and as strong to save him, as if the Master had come out of heaven to bid him do it, and had told him he should have for his deed an endless renown, and the praises of all the choirs of heaven." But there came a serious declension in the financial and numerical strength of the church. In July, 1861, the reliable income of the society had fallen to four hundred dollars a year, and six months' salary was due the pastor.

Some of the former members had removed from the city, and others had been overtaken with financial reverses. Under these circumstances, Mr. Conant tendered his resignation to take effect the first Sunday in July, 1861.

The civil war had now begun, and Mr. Conant enlisted in his country's service immediately after his resignation. He went to the front as a chaplain in the Nineteenth Illinois volunteer infantry. Among the privates of this regiment was Thomas G. Lawler. Mr. Conant had so me controversy while in camp at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, with Dwight L. Moody, who had been sent out by the Young Men's Christian Associatian of Chicago. At Nashville, February 8, 1863, Mr. Conant passed from earth to "bathe his weary soul in seas of heavenly rest." His death was due to exposure and over-exertion at the battle of Murfreesborough. His death was universally lamented. He was one of those rare souls whom every one loved, and who had never incurred an unkind feeling from any one. At his death a soldier in the ranks paid him this tribute: "The brave and noble chaplain, who never turned aside for bullet or shell, but where balls flew thick and fast sought out the wounded and ministered to their wants, is dead. Never while I live can I forget him as I saw him on the field, with his red flag suspended on a ramrod, marching fearlessly to the relief of the suffering; appearing to the wounded like a ministering angel. When we said, 'Chaplain, you must rest or you will die,' he. always replied, 'I cannot rest, boys, while you suffer; if I die, I will die helping you." His remains were buried at Geneva, and Rev. Robert Colly er, then of Chicago, preached the funeral discourse. Dr. Collyer subsequently wrote a biography of Mr. Conant, with the title, A Man in Earnest. Mrs. Conant died March 20, 1898, in her eightieth year. Her remains were taken to Geneva for interment.

After Mr. Conant's resignation, services were maintained with some regularity ; but the church gradually declined. Fred May Holland began pastoral labors January 4, 1863. Differences arose. The conservative element became dissatisfied with the pastor on account of his radical or "Parkerite" tendencies. Mr. Holland was succeeded by William G. Nowell, who was ordained April 14, 1864. Mr. Nowell left the church in June, 1865. Thelast pastor was Rev. D. M. Reed, a very scholarly gentleman. Mr. Reed wished some recognition of his denomination in the name of the church. In accordance with his request, the name was changed to the United Unitarian and Universalist church. The name, however, in legal matters was simply Unitarian. The church was subsequently sold, and in 1890 the proceeds were divided pro rata among the original subscribers. The late Melancthon Starr was known to have contributed four thousand dollars. Many of the members of the church united with the Church of the Christian Union, and others became identified with the Second Congregational church. The old church was last used as a furniture warehouse.

The history of American Unitarianism has been unique. Its birthplace was Boston, and the time about 1812. It was a natural reaction from the stern Calvinistic theology. The golden age of American letters was cotemporary with the rise of Unitarianism. Its influence in literature is attested by the names of Channing, Margaret Fuller, Alcott, Dwight, Elizabeth Peabody and Emerson. In criticism are the names of Whipple, Ripley, Ticknor and Lowell. In history are Palfrey, Bancroft, Prescott and Motley. In statesmanship and oratory are the elder and the younger Adams, Daniel Webster, Ed ward Everett, Charles Sumner, and George William Curtis. In poetry there are Bryant, Lowell, Longfellow and Holmes. Notwithstanding this remarkable list of men and women of genius, the Unitarian church has always been weak in numbers. In Chicago there are only three churches, while there are more than one hundred of the Methodist faith. The Unitarian church has been a leavening rather than an original constructive force. It has not been too intellectual, but it has been too exclusively intellectual. The final test of a religious faith or creed is its inherent spiritual energy. The dynamic force of religion is devotion to a Person. Perchance the contribution of Unitarianism to religious history is in its illustration of the truth that the purest religion is not merely a system of ethics, however noble; but an enthusiasm, a passion. Many Unitarian leaders have realized this truth, although the rank and file of the laity have not done so. In integrity and high character, the Unitarian church of Rockford was a worthy representative of Unitarianism; but it shared the fate of many of its sister churches.

Chapter Xxxix

UNDER the first constitution of Illinois, the commissioners, sheriff and coroner were the only constitutional county officers. The latter two were elected every two years. The other county officers were created by statute. They were filled by appointment made either by the county commissioners' court or by the governor. Previous to 1835 a recorder for each county was appointed by the governor; and a surveyor was chosen by the commissioners' court. The statute of 1835 made these officers elective on the first Monday in August of that year, and every fourth year thereafter. Previous to 1837 county treasurers and clerks of the commissioners' courts were appointed by said courts. An act approved February 7th of that year made these offices elective on the first Monday in the following August, on a corresponding day in 1839, and in every fourth year thereafter. Up to 1837 a judge of probate was appointed for each county by the legislature. An act of March 4th made this office elective, with the title of probate justice of the peace, on the first Monday in August of that year, on a corresponding date in 1839, and in every fourth year thereafter. Under an act approved February 27, 1845, the tenure of office of probate justice of the peace, recorder, clerk of the county commissioners' court, surveyor and treasurer was reduced to two years. This law took effect on the first Monday in August, 1847. Under the constitution of 1848 the term of office of the county and circuit clerks was extended to four years. August 1, 1836, occurred the first general election in Winnebago county. The choice of county officers was given in a preceding chapter. On that day there were also elected a member of congress and two representatives in the state legislature. Under the apportionment of 1831 the state was divided into three congressional districts. In 1836 the third district, which included Winnebago county, extended from the Wisconsin boundary to a line below Springfield, and entirely across the state from east to west. The northern half of the state was sparsely settled, and comprised one congressional district. At the first election in this county William L. May, the Democratic candidate for congress, received seventy-three votes, and John T. Stuart, forty-four votes; a majority for May of "twenty-nine votes. Mr. May was elected and served two years. His home was at Springfield.

Previous to 1840 the senatorial district of which Winnebago formed a part, included the entire Rock river valley, as well as a large tract below the mouth of Rock river. This vast area, extending from Dubuque almost to St. Louis, was entitled to one senator and two representatives in the legislature. The first election in Winnebago county for representatives resulted as follows : John Turner, seventy-four votes ; Charles R. Bennett, seventy-three; Elijah Charles, thirty-four; James Craig, forty; L. H. Bowen, eight. JamesCraigand Elijah Charles were elected.

Under an early statute, presidential elections in Illinois were held on the first Monday in November. At the presidential election in 1836, only one hundred and fifty-eight votes were polled. This was an increase over the August election of thirtyeight votes. The Harrison electors received seventy votes, and the Van Buren electors, eigh ty -eight ; a Democratic majority of eighteen.

In ] 837 Harvey W. Bundy was elected recorder, to succeed Daniel H. Whitney, of Belvidere, who had become a resident of the new county of Boone. Herman B. Potter was elected county commissioner to succeed Simon P. Doty, of Belvidere. Charles I. Horsman was elected probate justice of the peace. Milton Kilburn had served as judge of probate the preceding year, under appointment. Nathaniel Loomis was chosen clerk of the commissioners' court; Robert J. Cross was elected county treasurer.

At the general August election in 1838, John T. Stuart, of Springfield, was the Whig candidate for member of congress. His Democratic opponent was Stephen A. Douglas, who was also of Springfield. Mr. Stuart received a majority of ninetythree in Winnebago county, and was elected. Mr. Stuart was perhaps the first prominent man to recognize the genius of Abraham Lincoln, and by the loan of books he had encouraged him to study law. Mr. Lincoln, after his admission to the bar in 1837, became the law partner of his benefactor. When Mr.

Presidential Campaign Of 1840

Stuart began to receive political honors, he necessarily gave less attention to his profession. Thus the conduct of the business largely devolved upon Mr. Lincoln.

Winnebago county forged so rapidly to the front that in 1838 it was conceded one of the representatives in the general assembly, and Germanicus Kent was elected. Hon. James Craig was re-elected. Isaac N. Cunningham was elected sheriff of the county; Cyrus C. Jenks, coroner; Don Alonzo Spaulding, surveyor; Elijah H. Brown, commissioner.

The presidential campaign of 1840 was one of the most exciting in American political history. The hero of Tippecanoe was the idol of his party, and no leader ever received a more enthusiastic support. Winnebago county had now become a Whig stronghold, and the party waged an aggressive campaign against the Loco-Focos, as the Democrats were then called. April llth the Whigs held a convention at Rockford, and nominated a full county ticket. Among the local leaders of this party were Selden M. Church, Jacob Miller, H. B. Potter, G. A. Sauford, Isaac N. Cunningham. Democratic principles were championed by Jason Marsh, Daniel S. Haight, Henry Thurston, P. Knappen, J. C. Goodhue, H. W. Loomis,C. I. Horsman. Boone county had been organized from the eastern portion of Winnebago, and the western two ranges had been transferred to Stephenson. In the August elections the Whigs polled six hundred and thirty-seven votes, and the Democrats, two hundred and eighty-five. The total vote was nine hundred and twenty-two, with a Whig majority of three hundred and fiftytwo. Thomas Drummond, of Jo Daviess, and Hiram Thorn ton, of Mercer, both Whigs, carried the county by good majorities for representative, and were elected. I. N. Cunningham was elected sheriff ; Alonzo Platt, coroner ; and Ezra S. Cable, commissioner.

The presidential campaign overshadowed local issues. Mr. Thurston, in his Reminiscences, gives this interesting sketch of the stirring incidents of that year : "The sparseness of the population, the limited amount accessible of the current literature of the day, to which some of the settlers had been accustomed ; the almost entire deprivation of the pleasures of social life among the older people, caused them to enter into a political or local contest with a vim which almost invariably became personal before it was decided. When the fight was ended, the passions cooled down, and 'sober second thought' had resumed its sway, it frequently happened that both parties joined in a general pow-wow and celebration. It was so in 1840. The Whigs of this locality imitated the tactics so successfully practiced throughout the union. They had no cider, either hard or sweet, but they did possess in abundance all the paraphernalia used by the party in the populous parts of the country. They put up a log cabin in regular pioneer style, on the southeast corner of State and Madison streets, for political headquarters, profusely decorated with coon-skins and other regalia pertaining to the times ; imported speakers from Galena, Chicago and intervening points ; got up processions, and with Frank Parker blowing an E flat bugle, and China Parker a clarionet - neither of them having the slightest knowledge of music, and each blowing with might and main in a vain effort to drown out his companion - marched about the village wherever they could secure a following. The village drum was in possession of the Democrats, and consequently not available for Whig celebrations."

Jacob Miller was the most popular among the local Whig orators. He was familiar with the vernacular of the westerner, and drew his illustrations from their daily life. At the close of a harangue he would sometimes produce his fiddle and scrape the "Arkansas Traveler." The whole assembly joined in a general break-down, and theoratorof the day was borne in triumph on the shoulders of his friends to the nearest bar.

The presidential election occurred in November. The Whigs cast seven hundred and sixty-eight votes in the county, and the Democrats, three hundred and twenty-one; total, one thousand and eighty-nine ; Whig majority, four hundred and forty -seven. Abraham Lincoln was one of the five Whig candidates for presidential elector in Illinois. The facilities for communication were so meagre that the official vote of the state was not known in Rockford until late in December. A messenger from the capital, with the official vote of the state, passed through Rockford ten days in advance of its publication in the Chicago papers, and communicated, it is said, the news to the prominent men of the Democratic party, in each village, for betting purposes. Illinois was one of the seven states that elected Van Buren electors. This vote may have been intentionally kept back by the Democratic officials at Springfield.

Dea Th Of President Ha Rrison

Through a technicality in an alleged non-compliance with the law, the legality of Mr. Cunningham's election to the office of sheriff in August was questioned ; and he again appealed to the voters at the November election, and received an emphatic endorsement.

The Mock River Express of December 4th published this advertisement in display type: "For Salt River, the steamboat Van Buren, only four years old, will leave on the 4th of March next, for Salt River. For freight or passage, apply to the White House. Hypocrites will be in attendance to amuse the passengers free of charge." The local campaign closed with a "Harrison ball," at the Washington House, February 9, 1841. On the evening of March 3d the Democrats gave a Van Buren ball "in honor of the able and enlightened administration of Martin Van Buren."

April 4, 1841, just one month after his inauguration, President Harrison suddenly died. The event filled the country with sorrow. At a meeting of the citizens held in Rockford on the 19th, a committee, which represented both political parties, was chosen to submit resolutions on the death of the president to a mass-meeting of the citizens. These resolutions wereunanmously adopted.

In the spring of 1841 a bitter local fight was made on the election of justices of the peace in Rockford precinct. The candidates were Dr. Haskell, Peter H. Watson and John T. Shaler. Two justices were to be elected ; but to satisfy all aspirants, it was proposed to elect later a third justice for the precinct. The business did not require another justice, but it was thought such an arrangement would be politically convenient. The court, however, held that the election of Mr. Watson was illegal, and no third justice was ever elected in the precinct.

A congressional election was held in August, 1841, instead of the preceding year. The candidates were John T. Stuart and J. H. Ralston. Winnebago county cast four hundred and ninety-three votes for the former, and two hundred and twentythree for the latter. Mr. Stuart was re-elected. William Hulin was elected county commissioner.

In 1842 Judge Thomas Ford was elected governor by the Democrats. That party in Winnebago county nominated the following ticket: Senator for Winnebago and Ogle counties, James Mitchell ; for representative, John A. Brown, editor of the Rockford Pilot; sheriff, John Paul; commissioner, Spencer

Post ; coroner, Nathaniel Loorais. The Whigs nominated Spooner Ruggles for senator; George W. Lee, reprsentative ; G. A. Sanford, sheriff; Isaac M. Johnson, commissioner; Harvey Gregory, coroner. Mr. Lee withdrew, and Darius Adams, of Pecatonica, was substituted. The official vote of the county for senator, representative and sheriff was as follows : Ruggles, four hundred and sixty-nine; Mitchell, four hundred and ninety; Adams, five hundred and forty; Brown, three hundred and seventy-six; Sanford, five hundred and fifty-nine; Paul, one hundred and twelve. Spooner Ruggles, Darius Adams, Spencer Post, G. A. Sanford and Nathaniel Loomis were elected to the respective offices.

By the act of March 1, 1843, the state was divided into seven congressional districts. The first election under this apportionment was held on the first Monday in August of the same year. Under this apportionment, Winnebago and Hancock counties were in the sixth district. Hancock county was the seat of the Mormon settlement, under the leadership of Joseph Smith. The Mormons generally voted the Democratic ticket; and with their support, Joseph Hogue, of Galena, was elected member of congress. His Whig opponent was Cyrus Walker, of McDonough county. At the county election Ezra S. Cable was elected commissioner; William Hulin, recorder; S. M. Church, clerk; Bela Shaw, probate justice; Ephraim Wyman, treasurer; Volney A. Marsh, school commissioner; Duncan Ferguson, surveyor.

The presidential election of 1844 was scarcely less exciting than that of four years previous. The Whigs carried the county for Henry Clay, the idol of the party. The Whig ticket received five hundred and forty-six votes; the Democratic, three hundred and sixty-eight; a majority of one hundred and seventy-eight for Mr. Clay. In August Mr. Hogue was re-elected member of congress, over Martin P. Sweet, of Freeport. TheRockford forum of August 14th denounced the apportionment act, which placed the Mormon stronghold in this district, and thus legislated it into the Democratic ranks. Anson S. Miller was elected member of the legislature ; Anson Barnum, sheriff; Artemas Hitchcock, coroner.

In 1846 Thomas J. Turner, of Freeport, Democrat, was elected member of congress over James Knox, of Knox county. Wait Talcott received two hundred and twenty -six votes as the candidate of the Liberty party. Anson S. Miller, of Winnebago,

Colonel Edward D. Baker

After the Mormons removed from Hancock county the district again became Whig, and in 1848 the party elected Edward D. Baker, of Galena, member of congress. Colonel Baker was born in London, England, February 24, 1811. He came to the United States at the age of five years, with his father, who died in Philadelphia. The son removed to Springfield, Illinois. He arose rapidly to distinction, and in 1844 he was elected a member of congress. He served his adopted country with signal ability in the Mexican war ; and upon his return to Illinois he settled at Galena. After serving one term in congress, he settled in San Francisco, California, in 1852. Colonel Baker was a brilliant orator. His speech on the death of Senator Broderick, of California, who fell in a duel with Judge Terry, in 1859, isoneof the masterpieces of American oratory. For an hour the homage of tears was paid to Baker's genius and to Broderick's memory. His closing words are remarkable for their noble pathos: "The last word must be spoken, and the imperious mandate of death must be fulfilled. Thus, 0 brave heart! we lay thee to thy rest. Thus, surrounded by tens of thousands, we leave thee to thy equal grave. As in life no other voice among us so rang its trumpet blast upon the ears of freemen, so in death its echoes will reverberate amidst our mountains and our valleys until truth and valor cease to appeal to the human heart. Good friend! true hero! hail and farewell ! "

Colonel Baker was subsequently elected United States senator from Oregon. His debate with Breckinridge in the senate in 1861 attracted national attention. "In the history of the senate," says Mr. Blaine, "no more thrilling speech was ever delivered. The striking appearance of the speaker, in the uniform of a soldier, his superb voice, his graceful manner, all united to give to the occasion an extraordinary interest and attraction." Colonel Baker left his seat in the senate and entered military service. He was killed while commanding a brigade at the battle of Ball's Bluff, October 21, 1861.

In 1850, Thompson Campbell, of Galena, was elected member of congress. At the same time Richard S. Molony, of Belvidere, was elected to represent the adjoining eastern district, which then included Chicago.

Chapter Xl

1"HE Northwest Territory bad been consecrated to freedom by the Ordinance of 1787. This principle was reaffirmed by the first constitution of Illinois. When the state had become a member of the union, however, and was thus given control over its own internal affairs, a desperate effort was made to introduce slavery. This effort was partially successful, and the famous "Black Laws" gave the commonwealth an odious reputation at one time.

Only one man ever lived in Winnebago county as a slave. His name was Lewis Kent, although he was more familiarly known as Lewis Lemon. In 1829, when Germanicus Kent was a citizen of Alabama, he purchased of Orrin Lemon a colored boy named Lewis. He was born in North Carolina, and had been taken by his master to Alabama. He was about seventeen years old at the time he was sold to Mr. Kent for four hundred and fifty dollars in cash. When Mr. Kent decided to remove north, he proposed to sell Lewis; but the colored man preferred his old master. Mr. Kent made an agreement with Lewis when they arrived at St. Louis. It was in substance that Lewis should pay him for his freedom at the expiration of six years and seven months, the sum of eight hundred dollars, with ten per cent, interest. Lewis obtained his freedom, however, in four years and four months. On the 6th of September, 1839, Mr. Kent executed and placed in the hands of Lewis a deed of manumission. At a session of the county commissioners' court held in March, 1842, Mr. Kent filed for record the instrument which officially proclaimed Lewis Kent a free man. The transcript of this document, which is on file in the county clerk's office, is the only evidence in Rockford of the existence of slavery, and that one of its victims here found freedom and a home. The following is the text of this document :

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

To all to whom these presents shall come, GREETING : That whereas the undersigned, Germanicus Kent, of Rockford, Illinois, did in the year A. D. 1829, being then a resident of the state of Alabama, purchase of Orrin D. Lemon, since deceased, a colored boy named Lewis, then about seventeen years of age, as a slave for life; and whereas, upon the removal of the undersigned, from said state of Alabama, to said state of Illinois ; now this is to certify that said Lewis by my removing him to said state of Illinois, and his residence there ever since, did become free and emancipated from all services due to me as a slave, and that he is, and by right ought to be, free forever hereafter. And this is to further certify that said Lewis was born a slave of said Orrin D. Lemon, then residing in Wake county (N. C.) from whence he removed to Madison county, Alabama, where I purchased said Lewis of him. The said Lewis is aged about twenty-seven years; in person he is five feet, eight inches high, well built, rather stout, and weighs about one hundred and seventy pounds; his features are good, dark yellow complexion, open and frank countenance, mouth prominent and large lips.

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

Given under my hand and private seal (there being no official seal provided) at Rockford, this llth day of March, A. D. 1842. [SEAL.] SELDEN M. CHURCH,

After his manumission Lewis obtained some land, and earned his livelihood by the cultivation of garden produce. He died in September, 1877. His funeral was attended by members of the Old Settlers' Society.

Chapter Xli

EVENTS of local interest occasionally have their historic background in national and even international affairs. A notable instance was the celebrated Polish claims made in 1836 to a portion of the territory which now comprises the townships of Rockford and Rockton. It is one of the most interesting chapters in the history of Winuebago county. Local histories have briefly referred to the incident, but no complete statement of the affair has previously been written.

The checkered career of Poland furnishes the historic background. The reader of history will recall the Polish rebellion of 1830-31. Previous to that time her territory had been partitioned between Russia and other powers. The impulse to this uprising of 1830 was given by the French, and was begun by a number of students, who proposed to seize the Grand Duke Constantine in the vicinity of Warsaw. The city and the troops enlisted in the movement, under the command of General Chlopicki, a veteran of the wars of Napoleon. Upon the suppression of this uprising in the following year, the leaders were sent into exile. They naturally sought refuge in this country.

The forlorn condition of these exiles enlisted the sympathy of the American people, and congress rendered them some assistance. An act was approved June 30, 1834, which granted to these Polish exiles, two hundred and thirty-five in number, who had been transported to this country by the order of the emperor of Austria, thirty-six sections of land. These sections were to be selected by them, under the direction of the secretary of the treasury, in any three adjacent townships of the public lands, surveyed or unsurveyed, in the state of Illinois or the territory of Michigan. After this land had been surveyed, it became the duty of the secretary of the treasury to divide the thirty-six sections into equal parts, and to distribute them by lot among the exiles. They were to reside upon and cultivate these lands for ten years, and at the expiration of this time they were to obtain their patents upon the payment of the minimum price per acre.

The exiles arrived in America in 1835, and their committee, at the head of whom was Count Chlopicki, arrived in Rockford in the autumn of the following year. The Count was an elderly gentleman, well informed, and apparently an excellent judge of land. Upon his arrival in the Rock river valley, he selected townships forty-four and forty-six, range one east. These are Rockford and Rockton. The intervening township of Owen was not taken, and thus was violated one of the provisions of the grant, which stipulated that the land should be selected in three adjacent townships.

Much of this land was already in possession of American citizens when the Count arrived upon the scene. They had only a squatter's title, inasmuch as there was then no pre-emption law that would apply in this case, and the government had not placed the land upon the market. The settlers had enclosed their farms and made such improvements as they were able. Moreover, the several Indian "floats" in these townships might have precedence over the claims of settlers or exiles. But these facts did not disturb the plans of the doughty Count. He disregarded the squatter rights of the settlers, and made a formal selection of their land, and reported his choice to the secretary of the treasury.

While in this section Count Chlopicki had been a guest of Germanicus Kent. That gentleman explained the situation to his visitor, and the latter declared that the settlers should not be disturbed. He thus set their fears at rest in a measure. But these assurances were not entirely satisfactory, and after the Count's departure a sum of money was raised and Mr. Kent was sent to Washington to make further inquiry. The anxiety of the settlers was increased by the fact, as already stated, that they held no titles to the land upon which they had settled. Upon Mr. Kent's arrival in Washington, he found that his apprehensions were well founded. The Count had not kept his word ; he had chosen the very townships he had promised Mr. Kent he would not select. Mr. Kent went directly to the land office and made his complaint before the commissioner; but he was told that every settler in the county was a trespasser, and that he had no legal right to a foot of the land which he had so unceremoniously taken. It is said facts are stubborn things. Mr. Kent and the settlers knew that the commissioner was correct, but they did not become alarmed. Perhaps they thought that in union there was strength. The secretary of the treasury did not, however, order the subdivision of the lands, because their selection by the Polish agent was not in compliance with the law, and thus the matter rested for some years.

The selection of these lands by the Polish agent, while squatter's possession was held by the settlers, complicated the whole question of titles. The settlers had certain rights in equity, but inasmuch as no pre-emption law was then in force that would bear upon the case, the government did not at that time formally recognize their claims. In view of this fact, it is not a matter of surprise that the Polish count, in his desire to select good lands for his exiled countrymen, should disregard claims that the government did not recognize. Moreover, this section of the Rock river valley had been framed in the prodigality of nature. Its soil was good, its atmosphere invigorating, its scenery a perpetual delight. The possession of such land always promotes domestic happiness and commercial strength. The lands in this vicinity belonged at that time to the Galena land district, and with the exception of Rockford and Rockton, were opened to sale and entry in the autumn of 1839. These townships, which included the thirty-six sections in controversy, were withheld from sale for nearly eight years after they had been surveyed.

Matters continued in this unsettled condition until 1843. In the meantime the land office had been removed to Dixon, through the influence of John Dixon, who settled there in 1830, and after whom the town was named. In 1840 Mr. Dixon went to Washington, and through the influence of General Scott and other army officers, who were his personal friends, he secured the removal of the government land office from Galena to Dixon. The settlers in Rockford and Rockton could not procure patents of the lands which they had occupied for some years. The attention of congress was repeatedly called to the situation. The settlers addressed petitions to that body until their grievance received attention. The Polish agent had forfeited his claim in not selecting his lands in three adjacent townships. The exiles had also forfeited their rights in not making an actual settlement on the lands. Congress therefore, April 14, 1842, passed another act, authorizing the entry and sale of these lands in these two townships. This relief was due in large measure to the efforts of Hon. O. H. Smith, of Indiana, Hon. Robert J. Walker, of Mississippi, and Hon. Richard M. Young, of this state, senators in congress.

Land Sale At Dixcw

When the settlers had been finally delivered from their dilemma by a special act of congress, they began to make preparations to perfect their titles to their lands. The inhabitants petitioned the president for a public sale. Fifteen months elapsed before their petition was gran ted, and October 30, 1843, the land in these townships was offered for sale, and was sold November 3d. It was the most notable land sale that ever occurred in the district. Rockford had been incorporated as a town four years before. Daniel S. Haight had platted the East side, north of State as far east as Longwood, and south of State east to Kishwaukee. A portion of this had been platted as early as 1836 ; and Mr. Haight had sold the lots to the settlers and given them quit-claim deeds to the same several years before he had obtained his own patent from the government. When the land was finally offered for sale at the land office, Mr. Haight was authorized to go to Dixon and bid in the entire tract for the settlers. A committee, appointed for this purpose, prepared a list of names to whom the deeds should be given after the sale. This committee consisted of Willard Wheeler, David S. Penfield, E. H. Potter, of Rockford, and Nathaniel Crosby, of Belvidere. This, committee was in session several days, passed upon every lot in the town on the East side, and decided quite a number of disputed claims. Mr. Crosby was not present, but it was understood that a majority should have power to act. Thus a number of the first settlers of East Rockford purchased their land twice. The first purchase, of town lots, was from Mr. Haight; the second was made through Mr. Haight as agent, from the general government. Inasmuch, however, as the land office took no notice of the fact that the land had been platted, it was sold at the usual price of a dollar and a quarter per acre. The second purchase was therefore more of a formality than an additional burden. WithtNe land sold in bulk, at a dollar and a quarter per acre, the second purchase of a town lot, from the government, was at a nominal price, merely its relative value to an unplatted acre of land. This second purchase, however, perfected the title.

At this point it may be necessary to state that Mr. Haight's first sales of land were perfectly legitimate transactions. The purchasers knew at the time that a second purchase would be necessary to procure a perfect title. There was recently found among some old papers of the late Francis Burnap a list of the town lots in East Rockford and the names of the persons to whom the deeds should be given after the land sale. The document comprises seventeen pages of legal cap, and is perfectly preserved. At the same sale at Dixon the land on the west side of the river was bid in for the settlers by Ephraim Wyman. The West side committee was composed of G. A. Sanford, Derastus Harper, and George Haskell. The certificates of title were turned over to Mr. Wyman by the committee. When Mr. Wyman went to California, about 1850, these certificates were left in a trunk, in charge of G. A. Sanford. During Mr. Wyman's absence they were totally destroyed by rodents; and these facts are set forth with grave precision by Mr. Wyman, in a certificate, duplicates of which are on file in the abstract offices of the city.

Thus for a period of nine years from Mr. Kent's settlement were the early residents of Rockford and Rockton unable to obtain titles to the lands which they had selected and improved, by reason of the illegal intrusion of an exiled Polish count. The sequel is one of those facts that is stranger than fiction. Only one of those exiles ever subsequently appeared in Rockford or Winnebago county. He was employed for a time as a cook, in 1837, by Henry Thurston, the landlord of the old Rockford House. The later history of the exiles is unknown.

Mr. Haight's plat of East Rockford was filed for record November 7, 1843, four days after the land sale. The east part of the original town of Rockford, west of Rock river, included all that part of the city lying south of a line drawn from the Beattie residence west to the Horsman estate, and east of a line drawn from the latter point to the west end of the Chicago & Northwestern railroad bridge. It was platted by Duncan Ferguson, November 9, 1843, and filed for record by Ephraim Wyman, November 28, 1843.

J. W. Leavitt's town plat included all that part of West Rockford situated between Wyman's plat on the east, and Kent's creek on the west and south. This plat was made August 17, 1844, and filed for record October 5, 1844.

Chapter Xlii Pioneers In Local Journalism

THE first newspaper published in the county was the Rock River Express. Its publication began in Rockford May 5, 1840, by B. J. Gray. In politics it was Whig of the most radical type. There was a scarcity of local news. In a village of perhaps three hundred inhabitants, there was very little of a local nature that could be published. The primary purpose of the paper's existence seems to have been to promote the election of William Henry Harrison to the presidency. Its ambition was satisfied ; but after it had been published one year, the press and printing material were sold and removed from the village. A file of this paper, nearly complete, has been preserved in the public library.

The Rockford Star was founded in the autumn of 1840, as a Democratic paper. The printing material was owned by Daniel S. Haight, Daniel Howell, and Adam Keith. The office was located on the southeast corner of Madison and Market streets, in the building erected by Mr. Haight, for religious, court and other purposes. This old building still shelters one of the craft, William G. Conick, on North First street. The editor, Philander Knappen, was simply a tenant. J. H. Thurston was the "devil" in the office, a role which, according to his own statement, he was eminently qualified to fill. He also became quite an expert compositor. Mr. Thurston subsequently obtained employment on John Wentworth's paper, the Chicago Democrat, on the strength of a letter of Mr. Knappen, to the effect that he was a rapid compositor, could set a clean proof, and could sometimes make sense from Kna.ppen's own manuscript.

April 28, 1841, the editor of the Star was married to Miss Eliza Simons, of Harlem. Mr. Knappen extended a general invitation to his friends through his paper to attend a social party in the evening at the Rockford House. This unique invitation was in part as follows: "To all our friends, without respect to political sentiments. . . We anticipate the pleasure and honor of meeting a respectable representation of our friends, both Whig and Democrat (for there are no party prin- ciples involved in matrimony), from Newburg, Belvidere, Kishwaukee, Harlem, Winnebago, Roscoe, Pekatonik, Beloit and a77 the surrounding vicinity. We had intended to issue a card on this occasion, but on more mature reflection we thought it possible that some persons might be overlooked, and thus we have the appearance of making flesh of one and fish of another. As we are no 'respector of persons,' and wish the notice and invitation to be general, we have chosen to give notice through both the Express and Star." Mr. Knappen had sent a special invitation to "Long John" Wentworth to be present. Mr. Wentworth had already started on one of his frequent trips to Rockford; and he expressed his congratulations by following the bride and groom all the evening with a tallow dip in his extended band, which reached nearly to the ceiling.

Mr. Knappen had been in Rockford but a short time when the Driscoll tragedy occurred. He did not understand the temper of the people ; and his strong denunciation of the summary execution of the outlaws aroused intense indignation. The citizens proceeded to punish the editor. Soon after the issue of the paper the office of the Star was entered in the night and the type reduced to pi. When the editor beheld this "wreck of matter," he stirred the pi with a stove shovel, and mixed the fonts of type in every case in the office. Mr. Knappen turned over the subscription list to Mr. Howell, of the Rockford House, where the office force boarded, and abandoned journalism in this unappreciative village. Mr. Howell did not realize anything from the assets placed in his hands. Thirty years later Mr. Thurston divulged the fact that D. S. Haight, Charles Latimer and Adam Keith were the perpetrators of this mischief. The Democratic luminary had been side-tracked in its orbit.

The Rockford Pilot began its brief career July 22, 1841. Mr. Thurston says he helped distribute the Star pi, and with this material assisted in issuing the first four numbers of its successor. The Pilot was published as a Democratic paper until October, 1842 ; it could no longer steer clear of the rocks. The editor, John A. Brown, had been defeated for representative ; the Democrats had sustained a local defeat of their entire ticket ; and on the 30th of October he published the following requiem : "With this number the Pilot dies. Its death is a natural and quiet one. No violence from enemies or overburdening by friends has hastened its dissolution. It dies from the want of proper support. In a land groaning under the burthens of superabundant harvests, and smiling in the light of the richest blessings of a bounteous Providence, it died of want. . . Grief is not wordy, and its requiem must be chanted by others. To the friends who assisted it in life we tender our heart-warm thanks. We are not conscious that it had any enemies; if it had, in its name we forgive them all."

During a portion of this time the Better Covenant, a Universalist paper, was printed at the Pilot office. Its editor was William Rounseville.

February 17, 1 843, J. Ambrose Wight began the publication of the Winnebago Forum, a Whig paper, with material which had been used in printing the Rockford Star. Mr. Wight came from New York. He attended the academy at Bennington, Vermont ; and among his classmates were Henry Ward Beecher, and Rev. E. H.Chapin,theeminentUniversalist divine. Mr. Wight was graduated from Williams college in 1836, and immediately thereafter he removed to Illinois. His first visit to Winnebago county was December 11, 1836, in company with Timothy Wight, of Chicago. Mr. Wight thus refers in a letter to that time: "Rockford had not arrived. . .- I remember that there was a beginning of the 'Rockford House,' but the building had gone no further than a cellar, and some timbers hewed and lying on the ground." Mr. Wight proceeded to Rockton, where he was interested in a general store until 1840, when he engaged in farming for a time. Mr. Wight says of his life in that village: "I had not gotten to be very rich in goods at Rockton; but I did get a wife there. . . She was the oldest daughter of Rev. William M. Adams, who died in March, 1842, at Mineral Point." In 1841 Mr. Wight came to Rockford, and read law with his brother, James M. Wight; in the summer of 1842 he was admitted to the bar and began practice. Reserved a short time as deputy postmaster under S. M. Church, in 1842.

Mr. Wight retired from the Forum August 18, 1843, when he sold the paper to Mr. Colton. The terms were easy. Mr. Wight said : "He asked me my price. I told him if he would take it off my hands, we would be square." In April, 1844, Mr. Wight removed to Chicago, and became editor of the Prairie Farmer. The paper during his management of thirteen years achieved great success. In 1849 he was also associated with William Bross, in the editorial management of the Herald of the Prairie, the western organ of the Presbyterian and Congregational churches. He purchased Mr. Bross' interest in 1851, and two years later he sold his own interest. In 1856 Mr. Wight entered the ministry, and became pastor of the Presbyterian church at Olivet, Michigan. He remained in this pastorate until forced by ill health to resign, in 1863. The next year he was an editorial writer on the Chicago Tribune. In 1865 he accepted a call from the First Presbyterian church of Bay City, Michigan, where he remained until 1888. Mr. Wight was an able minister and a brilliant newspaper correspondent. His alma mater conferred upon him the title of Doctor of Divinity in 1871. Mr. Wight died November 14, 1889, at Bay City, at the age of seventy-eight years.

Austin Colton was more successful than his predecessor in the management of the Forum. He was a native of Northampton, Massachusetts. He had learned the printer's trade in the office of the Massachusetts Spy, and was subsequently employed for a time in Harpers' publishing house in New York. Mr. Colton came west in April, 1839, and arrived in Rockford in the following month. He was employed in the pioneer's vocation of log-building, fencing, and farming about four years, when he "purchased" the Forum. Mr. Colton continued the paper under the old name until the close of the first volume in February, 1 844, when he re-christened it the Rockford Forum. Under his management the Foium became the first successful newspaper in Rockford. Its circulation increased from two hundred to six hundred. After Mr. Colton had "written for glory and printed on trust" for ten years he concluded to retire from the business. In December of that year he sold his plant to E. W. Blaisdell, Jr. Mr. Colton became a farmer, and continued in this vocation until his retirement from active life. This veteran editor died November 2, 1893, at the age of seventy-six years. Mrs. Colton still resides in Rockford. A. Lincoln, Albert L. and Royal F. Colton are sons. Miss Miriam Colton is a daughter.

Mr. Blaisdell took his brother, Richard P. Blaisdell, into partnership. The Republican was published until 1862, when it was purchased by Elias C. Daugherty, and merged into the Rockford Register, of which he was proprietor.

Elijah Whittier Blaisdell was born July 18, 1826, in Montpelier, Vermont, where he resided until the removal of the family to Middlebury. Later his father, who was a printer, removed to Vergennes, where he published the Vergennes Vermonter, which was founded by Rufus W. Griswold, whose "Poets and Poetry of America" is well known. The son succeeded the father as editor of the Vermonter; and while editing that paper, he was appointed postmaster of Vergennes by President Zachary Taylor. Mr. Blaisdell held this office four years. He came to Rockford in the latter part of 1853, and about January, 1854, he began his journalistic career in this city as editor of the Forum, and changed the name of the paper to the Republican. Mr. Blaisdell attended the meeting in Bloomington May 29, 1856, at which the Republican party was organized in Illinois. Abraham Lincoln addressed the Convention ; and Mr. Blaisdell then became convinced that Mr. Lincoln would lead the new party as its candidate for the presidency. General Palmer, in his book, The Bench and Bar of Illinois, says the Republican was the first paper to support Mr. Lincoln for the office in which he won immortal fame. Mr. Blaisdell was elected a member of the legislature in 1858, and voted for Mr. Lincoln for United States senator. After serving his term he studied law, way admitted to the bar, and practiced for many years. Since his retirement from active life Mr. Blaisdell has given attention to literary pursuits. He has written The Hidden Record, a novel; The Rajah, a political burlesque; and a drama, Eva, the General's Daughter, founded on incidents of the Black Hawk war. He is now editing a volume of miscellaneous poems, of three hundred pages. Mr. Blaisdell has been twice married. His first wife, Frances Robinson, died soon after he came to Illinois. His present wife was a daughter of Judge Ville Lawrence, of Vermont, and sister of the late Chief-Justice Lawrence, of Illinois. Another daughter of Judge Lawrence married John Pierpont, who was chief-justice of the supreme court of Vermont. Mr. Blaisdell has five sons: Byron Richard, of Chicago; Elijah Warde, an artist residing in New York City; Henry, George, and Shelley Pierpont, of Rockford.

In September, 1848, Henry W. DePuy established the Rockford Free Press, as a Free Soil or Barnburner organ. It was published until February, 1850, when it was discontinued for want of patronage.

The Hock River Democrat was founded in June, 1852, as a Democratic paper, by Benjamin Holt. David T. Dickson afterward purchased an interest. In 1855 Rhenodyne A. Bird purchased Mr. Holt's interest. The paper was published by Dickson & Bird until May 1, 1864. It was then purchased by Isaiah S. Hyatt, who continued its publication until June 12, 1865, when the plant was sold to the Register Company.

Elias C. Daugherty founded the Rockford Register in February, 1855, as a Republican paper, and a strong opponent of the extension of slavery. Mr. Daugherty continued its publication until June 12, 1865, when the business and that of the Rock River Democrat were purchased by a stock company, known as the Rockford Register Company, by whom the paper was published for many years.

The Rockford Wesleyan Seminary Reporter was begun as a monthly publication in October, 1857. Only four numbers of this paper were issued. It was published by Rev. W. F.Stewart, in the interest of the proposed Wesleyan seminary.

The Democratic Standard was founded October 30, 1858, by Springsteen & Parks, as a Democratic organ. After about a month the Standard was published by Henry Parks alone, until February 5, 1859, when David G. Croly became proprietor. On the 18th of May following the proprietorship was changed to D. G. Croly & Co. The company was John H. Grove. On the suspension of the News, April 30, 1 860, and the retirement of Mr. Croly, the publication of the Standard was continued by John H. Gove and James S. Ticknor for a few months. The paper was then sold to James E. and Joseph H. Fox, who established the Daily News. It was a Republican paper, and the first number was issued December 1860. A few weeks later they began the publication of the Weekly News, which was continued until September 21, 1861. The plant was then sold to E. C. Daugherty, and its publication was discontinued.

The first Daily News was established by David G. Croly, February 8, 1859. The paper was neutral in politics. Its publication was continued until April 30, 1860, when it was suspended for want of patronage.

Mr. and Mrs. Croly won national reputations in journalism and letters after their departure from Rockford. David Goodman Croly was born in New York City November 3, 1829. He was a professor of phonography, and a reporter for the New York Evening Post and Herald before he came to Rockford. After his retirement from the Rockford News Mr. Croly became city editor of the New York World, and later was its managing editor. Mr. Croly's active journalistic career closed in 1878, when he retired from the editorship of the New York Graphic. He was the author of biographies of Seymour and Blair, History of Reconstruction, and a Primer of Positivism. He died in 1889.

Jane Cunningham Croly, more familiarly known as "Jennie June," was born in Market Harborough, England, December 18, 1831. Her father came to the United States when she was ten years old, and settled at Poughkeepsie, New York. She married David G. Croly in 1857. In 1860 Mrs. Croly became editor of Demorest's Quarterly Mirror of Fashion, and when that periodical and the New York Weekly Illustrated News were incorporated into Demorest's Illustrated Monthly, she became editor of the new journal, and retained this position until 1887. Mrs. Croly has also been editorially connected with several other New York papers. Mrs. Croly's pen name of "Jennie June" was derived from a little poem written by Benjamin F. Taylor, sent to her when she was about twelve years old by her pastor at Poughkeepsie, with the name underlined, because, he said, "you are the Juniest little girl I know." Among Mrs. Uroly's books are : Talks on Women's Topics, For Better or Worse, A Cookery Book for Young Housekeepers, Knitting and Crochet, Letters and Monograms. In 1856 Mrs. Croly called the first woman's congress; also thesecond, in 1869. In 1868 she founded the Sorosis, and was its president until 1870, and again from 1876 to 1886.

The Daily Register was started by E. C. Daugherty, Junel, 1859, as a Republican paper; but it was discontinued at the end of three months. Its publication was resumed in 1877.

The Rock River Mirror was established September 6, 1859, by Allen Gibson. It was neutral in politics, and was printed at the Register office.

The Rockton Gazette was started in 1857, by Funk & Phelps, Soon after its first issue Mr. Funk retired, and its publication was continued about a year by H. W. Phelps. The paper was not well sustained, and the printing material was removed to Burlington, Wisconsin.

The Pecatonica Independent was established in May, 1859, by J. E. Duncan. Its publication was continued a little more than a year, when the plant was removed to Darlington, Wisconsin.

Chapter Xli1I

THE attempt to utilize the water-power was the first step in the transition of Rockford from a hamlet to a manufacturing city. February 28, 1843, an act of the legislature was approved, to improve the navigation of the rapids in Rock river at Rockford, and to incorporate the Rockford Hydraulic and Manufacturing Company. The corporation was given power to construct a dam across the river, which should raise the water not more than seven feet. The company was also required to erect and maintain such locks as might be necessary for the passage of steamboats drawing three feet of water. At that time the navigation of Rock river was an open question, and the government might assert its control of the river as a navigable stream. Adam would obstruct navigation; hence the company was required to construct locks for the passage of boats, whenever they should become necessary. The law npecified the rates of toll which the company should be entitled to collect for the passage of boats through the locks ; and it was given power to detain such craft until the toll should be paid. Daniel S. Haight, Germanicus Kent, Samuel D. Preston, Laomi Peake, Charles I. Horsman, George Haskell and J. C. Goodhue were appointed commissioners to receive subscriptions to the stock. The capital stock was placed at fifty thousand dollars, divided into five hundred shares of one hundred dollars each. The corporation was given power to increase its capital stock to any sum not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The law expressly provided that the state might, at any time after the construction of the dam and locks, assume the ownership of the same ; the state, however, was to keep them in good repair. All the hydraulic power was to remain absolutely the property of the company. July 22, 1843, books were opened for subscriptions to the capital stock. By an act

The Hydraulic Company

In the spring of 1844 the Rockford Hydraulic Company was fully organized. The dam was located a few rods above the present water-works. Directly above, the main channel of the stream shifted abruptly from the east to the west shore. On the east side, at the site of the dam, the water for two-thirds the width of the stream, was about three feet deep in summer, with eight or nine feet in the channel. This site for the dam was chosen because it was generally believed that if the dam were located at the head of the rapids, the town would be built there. Had the dam been built at the ford, on the rock bottom, it would have required a larger outlay of cash. This article was scarce, while timber, brush, stone and earth were abundant.

Edward S. Hanchett, of Freeport, had charge of the construction of the dam when it was commenced. He abandoned the work, and he was succeeded by C. C. Coburn. Eighty acres of the best timber land were stripped of material to build the dam and repair the breaks. This brush dam was built to a level with the banks. A frame-work was then raised on the brush, to which plank was spiked. The work of graveling then began. The rock and gravel were obtained along the bank of the river from sixty to eighty rods above the dam. There were headgates at either end, built high above the comb of the dam, with gates which opened like the gates of a lock on a canal, wide enough for the passage of steamboats. At each side of these gates were openings to admit the water to the races, which carried it to the mills below. As the water raised on the brush, the fish, coming down the river, would lodge on the dam during the night; and in the morning the people would get sturgeon, pickerel, black bass and ca,tfish. The dam was completed in the autumn of 1845. In its issue of September 24th the Forum said : "As we hear the roaring sound of the falling waters (which can now on a still morning be heard for several miles around) daily increasing in strength and power, as the sheet of water becomes thicker and heavier, as the dam is made closer and tighter, we cannot but realize more forcibly the immense influence which these hydraulic works are to exert upon our town and country if the dam remains firm and permanent."

The mill-race on the East side extended to Walnut street, and was twenty feet in width. At the head of the race Gregory, Phelps & Daniels had a sawmill. At the south side of State street was Nettleton's grist-mill, the first in Rockford, which was started in 1846. Just below, James B. Howell operated carding and fulling machinery. Wheeler & Lyon's sawmill was at Walnut street. The race on the West side was about fifteen rods in length. At the head Thomas D. Robertson and Charles I. Horsinan built a sawmill. Just below, Orlando Clark had an iron foundry in a stone building. It is significant that three of these six plants were sawmills. Pine lumber had not come in to general use, and the only available material for frame dwellings were the trees of the adjacent forests.

April 28, 1846, the west end of the dam went out. About two hundred feet, including the bulkhead, were swept away, and more than an acre of ground was washed out. The Hydraulic Company immediately decided to repair the dam, and the work was completed during the year.

March 20, 1847, the dam gave away at the east end, and carried away the sawmill of Gregory, Phelps & Daniels. About one hundred and fifty feet of the dam were washed out at this time. This break was repaired by Mr. Nettleton. Phelps and Daniels sold their interest in the wrecked sawmill to Lewis B. Gregory and A. C. Spafford, who rebuilt it. The mills then had good water-power until June 1, 1851, when the entire dam went out, breaking away at the west bulkhead. Several changes on the East side then followed. Mr. Howell removed his carding machine to New Milford, where he remained until the next year, when he returned to Rockford, to the West side, just below the Bartlett flouring mills. Wheeler & Lyon's mill was removed across the race near Joseph Rodd's mill, and became a part of his plant.

In February, 1849, the legislature provided for the improvement of the navigation of Rock river, and for the production of hydraulic power, under a general law. It appears by an entry on the county records, that under this law the company filed a certificate of incorporation April 18, 1849, before the abandonment of the enterprise. The organization of the present water-power company, two years later, will be considered in a later chapter.

The high water in 1844 throughout the northwest has a local interest, although this immediate vicinity was not flooded as was the central portion of the state. At and below St. Louis the Mississippi river was twenty miles wide, and flooded the American bottom from three to twenty feet deep. At St. Louis steamboats were loaded from the windows of the second story of the stores on the level. At Kaskaskia a steamboat ran out two miles from the main stream, laid the gang-plank from the deck to the window of a nunnery, and took the inmates aboard. About three hundred miles above Galena a steamer was grounded three miles from the channel of the Mississippi. The machinery was taken out, and preparations were made to burn the hull for the purpose of securing the iron, when the water arose and floated the boat into the channel. In the vicinity of Rockford the roads for most of the summer were impassable for anything but oxen. There has been no such season of continued high water in this locality since that time.

Chapter Xliv

THE early official records of the postoffice department at Washington are very meagre. There are no local records, as these are supposed to be kept at Washington. In 1890 Hon. Robert R. Hitt addressed a letter to Hon. John Wanamaker, who was then postmaster-general, asking for information upon this subject. That official replied that the records were incomplete during the early history of the service, and he could only give the time of appointment and resignation of the first postmaster. The later information has been obtained from the files of the Rockford newspapers in the public library. This is the only source from which the facts given in this chapter could be secured. The research involved considerable time and labor, and it is impossible to give the exact date upon which the commissions were issued.

Selden M. Church was the third postmaster, and served two years, when he was removed. The announcement of this change was made in three lines by the Rockford Forum. In the entire history of Rockford there is nothing more marked than the evolution of its newspapers from the most primitive sort to the present daily of metropolitan proportions.

In August, 1843, Charles H. Spafford was appointed postmaster. There is a tradition that Mr. Church was quite active in obtaining the office; and, to balance the account, Mr. Warren, who was not lacking in influence, used it in securing the appointment for his brother-in-law. Mrs. Spafford recalls interesting reminiscences of those days. She says : "The postoffice business was not large at that time; there were no clerks. The mail came at night, and required the postmaster to get out at midnight or very early morning to change the mail. What seems more strange, the postoffice money was kept at the house in my dressing bureau. Mr. Spafford was accustomed to come home late in the evening, bringing a bag of money. In those times of burglaries all this occasioned me a good deal of anxiety, as I was alone so much of the time when Mr. Spafford was at the office; especially as houses were not securely built in those days. I was not sorry when the robber band that had been committing the burglaries around, were secured and taken to Joliet."

In July, 1845, Charles I. Horsman received the appointment. The postoffice was removed to the West side, nearly opposite the Winnebago House. The office has remained on the West side to this day.

Melancthon Smith was commissioned by President Lincoln in 1861. Mr. Smith subsequently enlisted in the service of his country, and went to the front with the Forty-fifth Illinois regiment. He was first chosen captain of his company. The regiment was known as the Lead Mine Regiment, and went into camp at Galena. Upon the organization of the regiment he was chosen major, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenantcolonel. Colonel Smith won distinction at Donelsonand Shiloh. During his absence the postoffice was in charge of Mrs. Smith.

June 25, 1863, Colonel Smith was mortally wounded at the storming of a fort at Vicksburg by General Logan's division. He lingered three days in a state of half-consciousness, and died Sunday morning, June 28th, in the thirty-sixth year of his age. His remains were brought to Rockford for burial. Funeral services were held July llth, at the home of his father-in-law, John Edwards. His remains lay in state in front of the house. The discourse was delivered by Rev. F. M. Holland, pastor of the Unitarian church, of which Colonel Smith was a member.

Sunday afternoon, August 2d, Dr. H. M. Goodwin preached a memorial sermon in the Second Congregational church. Concerning Colonel Smith's Christian patriotism, Dr. Good win said : "The religious character of Colonel Smith partook of the sincerity and conscientiousness which pervaded all his life and actions. Religion was not something one side of his life and character, separated from it by a gulf of silence and mystery ; but it entered into the substance of his daily life, and formed the warp and woof of his whole character. It was a thing of principle, and not of feeling or belief merely. His religious convictions were the result of personal thought and experience, and not a mere traditional belief; were formed and adhered to on the same principle which actuated all his other convictionsfidelity to his own reason and conscience. Before deciding to enter the army, he made the question a subject of devout and earnest prayer, and the decision when made was a religious consecration to the service of his country, expecting never to return, but to die on the field of battle."

After Colonel Smith's death the local politicians supported David T. Dixou as the logical candidate for his successor in the postoffice. A petition, however, was numerously signed by the citizens, asking for the appointment of Mrs. Smith. Melancthon Starr, who was a cousin of Colonel Smith, went to Washington and presented the matter to President Lincoln. The president endorsed her application, and sent a letter to the postmastergeneral, of which the following is a copy :

"EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, July 24, 1863. - Hon. Postmaster-General: Yesterday little indorsements of mine went to you in two cases of postmasterships sought for widows whose husbands have fallen in the battles of this war. These cases occurring on the same day brought me to reflect more attentively than I had before done, as to what is fairly due from us here in the dispensing of patronage toward the men who, by fighting our battles, bear the chief burden of saving our country. My conclusion is, that other claims and qualifications being equal, they have the better right, and this is especially applicable to the disabled soldier and the deceased soldier's family. Your obedient servant, A. LINCOLN."

Mrs. Smith accordingly received the appointment, and completed the term. Mrs. Smith became the wife of General A. L. Chetlain, of Chicago. She is a sister of Mrs. Julia A. Clemens, of Rockford.

Mrs. Smith was succeeded by Hon. Anson S. Miller, who assumed the duties April 1, 1865. He retained the office until 1871, when Charles H. Spafford was appointed. The succession to date is as follows: Abraham E. Smith, Thomas G. Lawler, John D. Waterman, Thomas G. Lawler, John D. Waterman, Thomas G. Lawler. Colonel Lawler and Mr. Waterman have continued their official see-saw for twenty years.

Chapter Xlv Organization Of The Universalist Church

n~"HE Unitarian church did not at first include all the adhe- I rents of a liberal Christian faith. At a meeting held in the brick schoolhouse, in East Rockford, April 24, 1841, a Universalist church was organized by the election of Daniel S. Haight, Ezra Dorman, and Thomas Thatcher as trustees. This election was recorded in the recorder's office, as provided by law. It is not probable that the official records of this church have been preserved. It is known, however, that preaching services were held at the court house on the East side, and at the schoolhouse a portion of the time during the next ensuing few months.

In 1841 the Universalists were sufficiently strong to consider the erection of a house of worship. In those days the citizens regarded any church, of whatever name, as a factor in promoting the general welfare of the village. Hence the name of a generous, public-spirited citizen would be found among the contributors to the support of liberal and orthodox churches alike. The original subscription list for the Universalist church, which is still extant, is an interesting document. Mr. Haight gave a lot which he valued at one hundred dollars ; the same amount in carpenter's and joiner's work; "forty-two sleepers in my wood-lot near Rockford, seventeen feet long, at three cents per foot, twenty-one dollars and forty-two cents;" and fifty dollars in money. Almost the entire subscriptions are in work or material. William Worthington subscribed ten dollars in blacksmith's work; Charles Latimer, twenty dollars, how paid is not stated ; A. M. Catlin, in produce or building material, twenty-five dollars; J. M. Wight, one thousand feet of lumber at Stokes & Jewett's mill, twelve dollars.

On Thursday, July 22, 1841, the corner-stone of the Universalist church was laid on a site near the East side public square. The large assemblage included people of other denominations. Prayer was offered by Rev. Mr. Van Alstine, and a discourse was delivered by Rev. Seth Barnes. This structure was never completed. A stranger, in passing the unfinished building, inquired of Dr. George Haskell concerning its purpose. The Doctor replied that it was an "insurance policy against hell-fire." All the original supporters of this project are gone ; and not even tradition has given the cause for its sudden abandonment. Thus the Unitarian church became the one liberal household of faith.

Strong Universalist churches are rare. These apostles of the "wider hope" have never become a vigorous ecclesiastical body. A few years ago a clergyman of that denomination contributed to one of the reviews an article entitled Confessions of a Universalist. He took an optimistic view of the future of his church; yet he considered with remarkable fairness its apparent limitations. A brief extract from this article is very suggestive. The gentleman said : "We have also suffered, and do suffer, from the presence of a class of easy-going optimists, whose general idea of this life appears to be that a good-natured Creator is coaxing his rabbit-multitudes of creatures easily along toward an infinite cabbage-garden of a heaven, where they will all eat cabbages forever ! These amiable persons mistake their constitutional impurturbability for the serene repose of faith, and are therefore immovable by any instrumentality less powerful than dynamite. A meeting-house full of them can be made as enthusiastic as a half-acre of damp toadstools."

This frank acknowledgement should be balanced by a recognition of the moral worth of the leaders of the old school of Universalism. They were men of strong character and genuine spirituality. They believed that every man, by divine and gracious help, must work out his own salvation. They recognized, in the tragic severity of the retributive laws, the Creator's tribute of respect to the possibilities of his creature. With solemn joy they learned by the return of their deeds upon their heads, that they were under moral discipline. Conversely, these men believed that, as darkness can resolve itself into light, so will the evil be dissolved in the good ; that the eternal streams of goodness will wash away the evil ; that the hand of Omnipotence is able to press the tears of repentance from the heart, though it seem hard as steel. Thus, under the name of Universalism, have been brought together the two poles of a careless optimism, and a sublime faith in the beneficent severity of the moral order of the world.

Chapter Xlvi

TEN years elapsed from the first settlement of the village before Rock river was spanned by a bridge at Rockford. A bill had passed the legislature, approved February 27, 1843, authorizing Daniel S. Haight, George Haskell, S. D. Preston, Charles I. Horsman, and their associates to build a bridge. When completed in a manner so as not to obstruct the navigation of the river, and accepted by the county commissioners' court, it was to be a public highway, and kept in repair by the county. But nothing was done until nearly one year later, when the construction of the county buildings on the West side emphasized this need to the citizens of the East side, where the courts had been held. The entire people felt that a bridge must be built, although few had means enough to conduct their own business successfully. Citizens of the West side, including the country west of the village, had built the court house and jail without a dollar's expense to their neigobors on the east side of the river. But the progressive citizens were willing to assume another burden. At a meeting held in December, 1843, a committee consisting of E. H. Potter, D. Howell, Willard Wheeler, C. I. Horsman and G. A. Sanford, were appointed to solicit subscriptions. A persistent effort throughout the county secured pledges to warrant the construction of an oak lattice bridge. All the money raised at this time was by subscription. The most liberal contributors were Frink, Walker & Co., the stage proprietors. January 22, 1844, the committee let the contract to Derastus Harper. This gentleman was a competent workman. He subsequently went to Chicago, became the city engineer, and designed the first pivot bridge across the Chicago river. The lumber was cut from trees on government land on Pecatonica river, rafted down the Rock, and sawed at Mr. Kent's mill. The covering for the lattice wasbasswood boards, cut from logs in Mr. Blake's grove, and sawed at Kent's mill. C. I. Horsman and William G. Ferguson drew the logs. By August or September, Mr. Harper had sufficient material on hand to commence laying the bridge. This was done nearly in the rear of the Masonic Temple site, on the piece of level bottom. The bridge was of three strings of lattice-work, made from oak planks, fastened with oak pins. There was no iron in the structure, except the nails that held the half-inch basswood boards which covered the lattice when the structure was completed. There were stone abutments on either shore. Christmas night, 1844, the lattice was in place a distance of about seventy feet from the west shore, supported by temporary trestles. Ice formed about the trestles from the west shore. The water arose and lifted the entire structure, including the trestles, when it toppled over with a crash. The pride and fond anticipations of the village went out with it. Such discouragement is seldom depicted on the faces of the entire community. All shared in the disappointment; but the energies of the citizens were not easily foiled. A united effort was made in a short time, and promises were again secured. The abutments, piers and one section were left, and some of the material was saved which had floated down stream. The fallen lattice was taken from the water, and each plank numbered with red chalk ; and excepting a few that were splintered, they were again placed in proper order. After the ice went out in March, 1845, the structure was again raised, without accident. Cheerfulness and hopefulness assumed full sway; and after many discouragements the bridge was open for travel, July 4, 1845. It was a time of great rejoicing. The public-spirited citizens of Rockford felt that Independence Day had been properly celebrated. When the last plank had been laid, E. H. Potter mounted a horse, and was the first man to ride across the bridge. It was estimated that two thousand people crossed the bridge that day. There were two roadways, separated by the centre lattice, which projected about five feet above the planking.

Perhaps no other public improvement in Rockford ever so tested the courage and financial strength of the community. The burden fell heavily upon the committee. The contract with Mr. "Harper was for five thousand and five hundred dollars. A financial statement made July 15, 1845, showed that only two thousand eight hundred and forty-seven dollars and ninety cents had been collected. The committee had borrowed five hundred dollars on their personal credit, for which they were paying twelve per cent. There was also a balance due Mr. Harper of one thousand two hundred and ninety-seven dollars.

Bridge Tax Levy

The bridge served its day and generation very well, but it was subject to many calamities. The dam broke three times after the bridge was completed. When the west end broke in April, 1846, the pressure of the water on the upper side of the centre and principal pier removed the foundation on that side, and settled the bridge in the center on the up-stream side nearly to the water, and gave it the appearance of being twisted nearly one-fourth around. The bridge stood in this position for some months, when a contract was made with William Ward to raise it into position. The bridge sustained some injury when the eastern portion of the dam broke in April, 1847. On the 25th of February preceding, a law of the legislature had been approved, providing for a special tax to be levied upon the taxable property of Rockford precinct, for the purpose of repairing and maintaining the bridge, and for the payment of the debt incurred in its construction. Newton Crawford, Bela Shaw, Ephraim Wyman and Daniel McKenney were appointed bridge commissioners by the act, and vested with power to declare the amount of tax to be levied, which was not to exceed fifty cents on one hundred dollars. These commissioners were appointed by the act, until their successors should be elected annually at the August election. When the dam went out the third time, in June, 1851, the bridge withstood the rush of waters, although it was wrenched from its position. It reminded one of a cow-path or a rail-fence, and had a very insecure look. Though twisted from end to end, it kept its place very tenaciously until it was replaced by the covered bridge in the winter of 1852 - 53. Its memory should be treated with respect. It enabled people to attend their own respective churches, for nearly everybody went in those days - Congregationalists on the West side, and the Methodists on the East side. Postoffice and county buildings were accessible to all. It proved a bond of union between the two sides.

The first foundry and machine shop was built in the autumn of 1843, or early in the spring of the following year. It stood on the site of Jeremiah Davis' residence, on North Second street. The proprietors were Peter H. and William Watson. Their father's family came from Canada, and settled on a farm in the Enoch neighborhood in Guilford. Peter Watson was at one time assistant secretary of war during the civil conflict, and at a later period was president of the New York and Erie railroad.

The foundry was running in the spring of 1844. The proprietors obtained a contract for large pumps and pipes for raising water from the lead mines at Galena. March 11, 1845, William Watson sold his interest in the business to his brother, and engaged in the manufacture of fanning-mills. Peter H. continued the foundry until August, 1845. His successors in the business at this stand were in turn : R. F. Reynolds, D. K. Lyon, John Stevens, H. H. Silsby, Laomi Peake, and James L. Fountain. The last named proprietor removed the material and patterns to New Milford about 1852. The last year Mr. Silsby conducted the business, in 1849, it was prosperous. People came a distance of forty miles to get their work done. Mr. Silsby was often required to work nights in order to keep up with his orders. James Worsley was the expert moulder during all these years, and he was master of his trade. He was afterward in the employ of Clark & Utter until his retirement from the business by reason of old age.

Orlando Clark, who has been erroneously credited with building the first foundry, came from Beloit in 1847, and established himself in business on the West side race, where he remained until 1851, when he went into business with Mr. Utter on the new water-power. Mr. Clark built the residence in South Rockford which is now the home of Judge John C. Garver.

Chapter Xlvii

WORCESTER A. DICKERMAN was born in Green county, New York, September 10, 1820. He came to Rockford in 1844. Upon his arrival he immediately went into partnership with his cousin, G. A. Sanford, under the firm name of W. A. Dickerman &Co., in the dry goods business. Their store was a two-story brick structure on the old Second National Bank corner. After four years they removed to a building which stood on the site of H. H. Waldo's book-store, where the business was continued for several years. The banking house of Dickerman, Wheeler & Sanford was then founded, which did business in the old building on the southeast corner of State and Main. Mr. Wheeler retired and was succeeded by Dr. R. P. Lane. The firm name was Lane, Sanford & Company, with Mr. Dickerman as the silent partner. This firm did a private banking business until the national banking system was introduced, in 1865. The firm was given the second banking charter, underthe name of the Second National Bank.

Upon the retirement of Mr. Dickerman from the banking business, he devoted his attention to insurance. He was one of the incorporators of the Rockford Insurance Company, and from 1884 to the time of his death he served as examiner in the mercantile department. Mr. Dickerman was school commissioner from 1847 to 1849. In 1847 he was united in marriage with Miss Caroline Thomas, eldest daughter of Dr. Alden Thomas ; and in 1897 they celebrated their golden wedding. Mr. Dickerman was prominent in church work. He was a member of the First Congregational church until 1849, when the Second church was formed. He became a charter member of the younger society, and in his later years he was familiarly known as its senior deacon. Mr. Dickerman was for some time the pur- chasing agent for Rockt'ord seminary. The highest type of gentleman is born; not made. Emerson says: "When private men shall act with vast vievys, the lustre will be transferred from the actions of kings to those of gentlemen." Mr. Dickerman belonged to this class. He was upright and genial ; and probably never made a personal enemy. Full of years and crowned with honor, Mr. Dickerman passed away July 19, 1899. His immediate surviving family are Mrs. Dickerman; Miss Katherine, a daughter; and a son, Harry W.

A short time before his death Mr. Dickerman prepared for this volume a chapter of reminiscences of Rockford as he saw it in 1844. It is a pleasant running commentary on men, places and things. An exact reproduction of his reminiscences would necessarily involve a repetition of statements already familiar to the reader; but the remainder of this chapter is substantially as Mr. Dickerman gave it to the author, although it contains a few slight repetitions of facts previously given.

A ride in an open lumber wagon of about three days, coming from Chicago with Alonzo Corey, who had been in the city with a load of wheat, brought us to Rockford. Though somewhat tiresome, we expected some inconveniences, and accepted them gracefully. To one who had lived among the Catskill mountains, the open prairies had much of interest. Garden Prairie was very attractive. Mr. Corey would say: "Waituntil you see the Rock river country." The State road from Belvidere was principally through wooded land. As we came toBela Shaw's place, unexpected improvements appeared : a row of thrifty young poplar trees set in front, a half circle formed inside, with an avenue from that to the dwelling; also an avenue from the street to the barn. Mr. Shaw was a justice of the peace; very dignified, guarding well the morals of the community. He was an excellent specimen of a Canadian English gentleman. From Mr. Shaw's residence to the village, there were about one and a half miles of prairie, which afforded a very extended view in all directions. The high ground on the east was timber-land, known as "Big Woods." South, west and north the outlook was attractive. Stages in passing were often stopped by request of passengers to take in the beautiful view. There were a few patches of cultivated land and small dwellfngs, but nothing to obstruct the view in any direction. "And now," says Mr. Corey, "this is the part of the Rock river valley of which I have told you." Truly, I had never seen a prettier picture. I think there were no buildings between Mr. Shaw's home and the village, which was completely shut out of view by the forest, and no church spires to indicate its location. Frink, Walker & Co.'s stage barn near the present wateringtrough on Kishwaukee street, was the first building. A twostory building, corner of State and First street, occupied in part by Laomi Peake, a harness-maker, was the best in town. There were then no other shops. Mr. Peake was an energetic, industrious man. A little farther west was the postoffice. Charles H. Spafford was the postmaster. He was a genial, upright, frank-hearted man, well adapted to the business, and very popular. His two brothers, John and Catlin, were on a farm three miles south on the Kishwaukee road. Mr. Spafford's successor under James K. Polk's administration, was Charles I. Horsman, who removed the office to the west side of the river. Willard Wheeler had a store and tin-shop near by. He was a very decided character, sometimes called obstinate; always aiming to head off the West-siders, who were alert and ready to guard their own interests. Near at hand Searle & Worthington had the only drug store in town. Dr. Searle was quite a politician, and the store was a sort of political headquarters. William Worthington was a quiet man, and highly esteemed. He was fond of music, and particularly the drum.

On the south side of State street Lewis Holmes had a shoeshop. The Washington Temperance House came next, kept by so-called Judge Blackstone, a popular landlord. Volney Marsh and Thomas D. Robertson, young married people, were among his fashionable boarders. Across East State street, on the corner, was the Rockford House, known as the stage house, kept by Andrew Brown, a very good landlord. Directly north was the New York store, kept by A. H. H. Perkins, a genial, active business man. He was popular, and had a good trade. On the southwest corner of State and Main, now called Madison, was a two -story brick building. It was the largest in town, with the most complete stock of goods, owned and conducted by E. H. Potter. He was a very decided, upright businessman, prominent in the church and everything that pertained to good citizenship and the prosperity of the village, and particularly East Rockford. He was the father of Mrs. William Lathrop and Commodore E. E. Potter. He built and occupied the brick building now owned by Rev. Mead Holmes as a residence. Mr.