Shabbona Township (part 3 of 5)

Banditti

The history of DeKalb county in those early days is not unlike that of other sections of our country. The lawless element always seeks the frontier, as they are generally freer from detection, and are brought to justice with greater difficulty than in older settlements. In this section of the country in the later '30s and early '40s all through this state and eastern Iowa were organized bands of thieves. Some of these were desperate men, who were driven from their homes in the east because of crimes committed. As there was but little property in those early days and horses were extremely valuable as a means of travel, and in fact were the only means of communication, the desperadoes work partook of the nature of horse stealing. It is due largely to the men of DeKalb, Ogle and Winnebago counties that this rascality was brought to a close east of the Mississippi valley. The story has been frequently told and it is with considerable care and after personal investigation that we state the facts that appear below. Great injustice has been done in the different accounts of the stories of the banditti which has been a severe infliction to those who survive and were entirely innocent of the crimes committed. Mob law is never justifiable and in this case had the law taken its course and the men put on trial their innocence could have easily been established. As it is, even the excitement of that time when prairie pirates were thirsting for blood, no real proof was ever established against the men, so hastily and cruelly executed at Washington's Grove, June 29, 1841. Tn Brodie's Grove, which is west of the present township of Malta was a ren- dezvous for the banditti. Mr. Benjamin Worden, one of the early pioneers of DeKalb county discovered, what was known as the "sink hole," while in search of some cattle. Into this the horses were taken and secured during the day and at night were removed to stations further north, as the horse thieves found an excellent market for their stolen property in the lumber districts of Wisconsin. The line of travel was usually from Brodie's Grove to Gleason's at Genoa. Henpeck now Old Hampshire Ln Kane county, thence north through McHenry county into Wisconsin. Mr. Boise in the ln-iory of DeKalb county gives the following: "Walking over the prairie in search of cattle. Mr. Worden suddenly found the ground -ink beneath lus feet and he precipitated Into a large cavity which had been carefully excavated, then covered with planks and soil and carefully turfed over with growing grass and no trace of excavation could lie -en. Although no property was then in the cavern, yet the purpose for which it was destined was evidenl and i t> proximity to the residence of the Brodies indicated the origin and owner-hip of brought a pair of line horses to this country in L836 and much against his will felt forced to adopl the prevalent custom of concealing in the barn to guard them. The elder Brodie discovered that be made this practice and innocently asked why. lie answered promptly and significantly that there were many thieves and he feared he should have them stolen. The old man answered him thai he had taken a fancy to him and that liis horses should not be stolen. The old man had the reputation of being one of the chiefs of the gang and Worden, confident of his sincerity, considered them -ale a- if guarded with bars of steel. The Brodies were continually seen going and coming and almost every time were upon a new horse, usually a very line animal ami people were generally suspicious of them. John Brodie's borne was situated in the grove that now bears his name, from the fact of his being the first settler in that immediate locality, lb' cam.' there from Franklin county, Ohio, and was about fifty-five years of age when he built his cabin. In physique he was rather under medium <ize. a very low forehead, still' Mack" hair, small black eyes, set deep in bis head. and in every particular bad a very repulsive, piratical look. His three sons. John. Stephen and

Hugh, were of romantic, unsettled natures, of wreckless habits and indifferent to all social amenities and void of all respect for the material relation-. They were accounted dare devils generally ami were both feared and despised. Hugh Brodie was a very large man and had nerves of steel and never knew the sensation of fear, and from all evidence- thai could lie collected, n wa- Hugh Brodie that was one of the two who stood by the side of the assassin of Captain Campbell. It can lie said for the Brodies, however, that, they were companionable and true to their friends and had many admirable qualities, ft was sometimes very difficult to detect the parties who were in sympathy with the banditti. In almost every instance when ihe\ were brought to trial they had representatives who were on the jury and conviction seemed almost impossible. After several trials, with th? thefts of horses increasing, the citizens who were law-abiding organized themselves into what is known as the Regulators or Lynching clubs. Oni wa- organized in Sycamore and many of Sycamore's leading citizens were members. There were the Walrods, Watermans, Henry Furness, John B. Hamlin. Marshall Stark. Carlos Lattin and many others well-known to this community. Another organization wa- in the northern part of DeKalb county. There were t wo or three companies from Ogle, one from the vicinity of Dixon, several in Mi llenrv and two in Winnebago county. These regulators or lynchers were often injudicious as no doubt every band of persons, organized for that purpose, usually i>. even up to the present day. One of their victims, especially a person by the name of Daggett, who resided near Greenough"s Ford, was seized and upon declaring his innocence and begging for leniency was allowed for the moment to escape, but finally the horse for which the Regulators were hunting was found and one of the regulators claimed to have -ecu Daggett riding it. Daggett was again sought for. caught, stripped and brutally whipped with ninety-six lashes on his hare back. It was supposed by manv that he was entirely innocent and consequently the feeling of hatred increased between the regulators and the banditti. Anonymous letter- were frequently resorted to and on them w-ere inscribed the skull and i ross bones. Such a condition of affairs could not last long without being brought to a head and trouble occurred. A man by the name of Long, captain of the White Eock company of regulators had a mill near Stillmams Run and was asked anonymously to resign his position, which he refused to do. A few days later the mill was burned to the ground and he immediately resigned his position to a man named Wellington who took his place. Mr. Wellington was not equal to the emergency and upon' receiving a letter on which the skull and crossbones were inscribed he resigned, and John Campbell, a Scotchman and devout Presbyterian, was chosen as his successor. In the early part of the '40s a challenge was sent to the regulators to meet a company of bandits in a duel at South Grove, and the White Pock Company to the number of one hundred and fifty marched to the place chosen and on their approach discovered a number of the ruffians armed as if inviting an attack. When within a half mile they baited to complete arrangements for the duel. Then it was determined to send some members of the band of regulators to the bandits for a parley. The bandits informed them that if they would give them a little time to go>txf- Sycamore and get other members of their organization they would be ready for the struggle. The regulators immediately camped on the ground awaiting the return of the horse thieves. At three o'clock in the afternoon the party from Sycamore returned but instead of bringing his company of confederates he brought Sheriff Walrod, Esquire Mayo and Judge Lovell. These gentlemen inquired the nature of the strange gathering and in reply Mr. Campbell made a decided and effective answer, every word of which fell with a powerful force against the dozen men suspected of being guilty of horse stealing. He told why they were there, for what purpose they had come and what they intended to do and perhaps injudiciously told some of the crimes committed by the Brodies and by the Driscolls. Enough so that he secured their everlasting enmity. Before the party from Sycamore returned they informed the White Pock Regulators that if they needed help to crush the organization that was destroying their property they could rely upon at least a hundred good and willing men who belonged to the Regulators here. The White Rock company served notice on the suspected horse thieves to at once leave the state. This they refused to do. About this time the bandits, who had been brought to trial in Ogle county and bad been confined in the jail at Oregon and tried in the new courthouse thought they would teach the law and order party a lesson and burned the courthouse to the ground. The citizens immediately appeared and the jail was saved and the prisoners did not get away. The trial of the suspected parties was proceeded with and the evidence was found to he complete and conclusive but as usual one of their confederates bad secured a place upon the jury. He would consent to no verilh t of guilt. Then a novel method of securing a verdict was adopted. The eleven honest jurors seized the refractory twelfth and threatened to lynch him in tin- jury room unless he gave his consent to a verdict of guilt. The rascal gave up bis opposition, the verdict of guilty was received and the three criminals were sentenced to imprisonment for a. year. Willi the assistance of the gang i hev ':ill.: however, got out of jail and escaped shorth atleAyard. From all evidence gathered from the Mulfprds they were quite certain that one of the party convicted of arson was an accomplice of the Brffdies'to secure the seven hundred dollars in gold from the Mulfords shortly after the burning of the courthouse. One of the members of the banditti was severely flogged by orders of Captain Campbell so that the wrath of the element soon broke upon his head. A meeting of the banditti was called in what is now South Grove township and it was there resolved to put Captain Campbell out of the way. In the summer of 1841 Captain Campbell bad been in Rockford to attend religious services and had remained over night. He returned to his Ik in White Rock about noon

Sunday. During the afternoon he attended church at a schoolhouse a mile west of his residence, from which service he returned about five o'clock. After supper Annas Lucas called on Mr. Campbell, remained about an hour and then started for home. Mr. Campbell was lying down on a lounge to rest when he rose and started for the barn which stood across the lane from the house. In the lane a little south of the crossing between the barn and the house there was a copse or bunch of hazel brush which was in full leaf, thick enough to hide his murderers. His assassin rose up from behind the bunch of hazel brush and said: "We want to go to the burned mill," meaning the "Long's" mill, "hut we have lost our way." Mr. Campbell turned toward bis inquisitor and said,

"What did you say?" at which time David Driscoll raised his rifle and aimed at the object of his wrath and sworn vengeance, shot Campbell in the body near the heart. After he was shot Campbell re-entered the gate, proceeded fourteen feet, blinded by approaching death occasioned by the shot, and fell a lifeless corpse. The bandits had kept their word. After the shooting the murderers turned and started in a southeasterly direction, leaving the house a little to their left. As Campbell fell, his wife ran to him, and as she reached his lifeless remains she called after the assassins and said: "Driscoll, you have murdered John Campbell." A- Mr-. Campbell uttered this exclamation Hugh Brodie made a temporary halt and pointed his nil'' toward her. but lowered it at the suggestion of David Driscoll without tiring and the two resumed their retreat from the scene of blood. In the meantime Martin Campbell, aged about thirteen years, ran around the house, seized a double barreled shotgun and aimed at the fleeing murderers, pulled the trigger and both caps snapped. The gun was doubly charged with buckshot, inn having been loaded for some time and exposed to damp ami wet. tailed to go off, and thus the murderers goi away. Annas house at the time of lie- firing, hearing the report of the gun and suspecting trouble, returned and on his way met three men. whom he recognized as Taylor and David Driscoll and Hugh Brodie. The three men held a hurried conversation and Lucas for a time feared that trouble was in store for him. but it is now surmised that they thought they had made trouble enough and would stop their murderous work by killing simply the captain of the band of Regulators. Mr. Lucas assisted Mrs. Campbell in caring for her dead husband, and, being a carpenter, made a casket, in which he was buried two days later. June 29. 1841, after the assassinal ion.

News of the murder spread rapidly and the Regulators were roused to fever heat. Upon the burial of Mr. Campbell the Regulators met and were on the lookout for the perpetrators of the crime. The air was full of threats of vengeance against them, and nothing but the lives of the murderous element could pay the penalty. The people from Sycamore, Oregon and Rockford hurried to the scene, and it has been stated that Rockford and Sycamore were more like deserted villages than hustling little towns, which they were at that time. A little after sunrise on Monday morning after the murder, John Driscoll, father of David ami Taylor Driscoll. was arrested in Ogle county by the sheriff, at the home of his son David near Lynnville, and during the day he was taken to the jail at Oregon. David had made good his escape. The band of Regulators next appeared at the home of William Driscoll in South Grove and arrested him and his younger brother, Pierce, and took them to Campbell's home in White Rock. When William Driscoll was captured at his home in South Grove the Regulator burned tin- home, and Mrs. Driscoll, who was afterwards known as Aunt Peggy, she being compelled to live in one of the outbuildings, and suffered greatly in consequence of this rash act. No excuse i an be offered for thus depriving this innoeeiii woman and her children of a home. The Regulators went to Oregon, and against the protestations of the sheriff and the admonitions and warnings of Judge Ford, took John Driscoll from jail and hurried him across the river and started toward Washington Grove. It has been stated that at a meeting of the bandits in South Grove it was decided to kill Phineas Chaney and Captain Campbell, and it is true that the party of bandits visited the home of Chaney the night before the murder of Campbell, but were frightened away by the dorrs and Chaney was now ready to meet his premeditated murderers. At Daysville a temporary halt was made and there Obed Lindsay and Phineas Chaney interrogated the old man. He admitted that he had led rather a dark career in Ohio, but had been guilty of no crime since coming to Illinois. The night of the murder John Driscoll remained all night at the home of Benjamin Worden and said that he wished to be away that night, and from this fact it was supposed he had guilty knowledge of the premeditated murder of Campbell and Chaney. The horse ridden by John Driscoll from Wordems to the home of bis son David near Lvnnville had a broken shoe. The tracks which it left in the mud made him easily traceable to that point. The Regulators, with William and Pierce Driscoll, soon arrived at Washington's Grove. About five hundred men were present. John Driscoll has been described to us ,i- a man of considerable height, over six feet.

Past And Present Of De Kale- County

slightly inclined to corpulency, and weighed about two hundred pounds. He was all muscle and sinew and in every way the most powerfully built man in all that crowd of a half thousand men. His face was repulsive, this being occasioned by a part of his nose having been bitten off some years before. His hair was heavy and shaggy and his face smooth from recent shaving. He was cool and self-possessed in the face of his executioners. He was not an ignorant man nor did he avoid generosity and charity. There were many kind acts placed to his credit in the neighborhood where he lived. In one instance he and his sons finished plowing and planting corn for the wife ami mother whose husband had died in the midst of planting season. Those who knew him say that he might have been an influential and useful citizen in any community, but he chose otherwise, and in the eyes of the people became an outlaw and renegade and met premature death.

William Driscoll, the other victim of the Regulators, was one of the first settlers in what is now South Grove township, and for years the grove was called. DriscolFs Grove, until after the organization of the township, when it was called South Grove because it was south of the large woods of Franklin and Kingston townships. At the time of his death he was about forty-five years of age. rather above the average height of man, of heavy build and very muscular and probably weighed about one hundred and eighty pounds. His features were firm and presented a peculiarly heavy appearance. He was of that type of man that could face any ordinary danger without the least fear, but in the presence of these five hundred resolute men, determined to hold him to an account for the crime of which he was not guilty, and the memory of wife and little children left behind, he was awed into the most terrible fear, and every lineal of his face showed evidence of torture. As soon as the Regulators gathered at Washington Grove a lawyer named E. S. Leland, since a prominent judge and resident of Ottawa, was selected to conduct the trial. The Regulators were ordered to form in a circle around a large black oak tree. One hundred and twenty of them thus formed, when Mr. Leland suggested that if there were anv men that were in that circle that were objectionable on any account that challengers be selected to point them out and have them removed. Hnder this ruling the number was reduced to one hundred and eleven men. Chairs were placed within the circle and occupied by the prisoners, justices of the peace, etc. The witnesses were sworn by one of the justices present and the prisoners arraigned for trial. William Driscoll was arraigned first and asked by Leland if lie had ever instructed his brother David to go to Captain Campbell's at twilight in the evening, pretend to be lost, then shoot him down as they did in Iowa on a certain occasion, and saying "d - n them" (meaning the Regulators), "they will all run as they did there." The accused answered in positive language that he did not. The trial of William Driscoll was a farce in every respect, and had it not been for some hasty language used by him shortly after the murder of Captain Campbell, it is doubtful if he had ever been arrested. The old man Driscoll was next arraigned and questioned. The broken horse shoe track mentioned previously was charged against him, and though he could not explain how the horse got from the home of Benjamin Worden to that of his son David near Lynnville, it must be said to the credit of John Driscoll that no evidence in the crime of which these men were charged was substantiated. It was supposed that he had guilty knowledge of the tragedy and that he had gone to the home of Mr. Worden so that he might easily prove an alibi. The men who were in that circle of one hundred and eleven men were mainly from Ogle county and many were unacquainted with the Driscolls. After the trial had lasted about an hour Leland put the question, -'What say you, gentlemen; guilty or not guilty?" Guilty was the unanimous response of the one hundred and eleven men composing the jury before whom John and David Driscoll had been tried, and they were sentenced to be hanged. No evidence could be found against Pierce Driscoll and he was released. When the sentence was announced the condemned men begged that it might be changed, and that they might be shot instead of being hanged like dogs. A motion for change of sentence was submitted to the men who pronounced them guilty and the request of the Driscolls was granted with but few dissenting voices. It has been stated by men who were present and with whom we have conversed on the subJ ject that a little distillery was not far from the scene of the trial and that a barrel of whisky was brought mit for the men, and that under its influence to a large extent the hasty verdict was brought about, and in that whisky drinking age it is mil improbable that the firewater added largely tn the flame of prejudice that turned against the Driscolls. At this point of the proceedings the old man Driscoll was taken aside by Jacob Marsh oi Ogle county for consultation and confession. At the end of the conversation Marsh announced that Driscoll had no confession to make, and he 1 that the crowd be not too hasty in the premises and that time he allowed the men to prepare for death. A respite of one hour was granted for that purpose, which was prolonged for fully two hours. Two ministers were present and prayed with tin' convicted nun. to one of whom it is said William Driscoll showed signs of penitence, but In- never made any confession of the crime, and so far as is known died an innocent man. At the expiration of the linn granted the Regulators from Sycamore who were well acquainted with William Driscoll began to clamor for full remission of the penalty. While some others favored the plan to remand them to the custody of the officers ami thus end the responsibility they had taken upon themselves. In tin- midst oi thesi clamors ami suggestions one of the Regulators from Winnebago county made an address. saying that nothing but blood would palliate the es thai had linn committed, and that as long as the outlaws were permitted to remain upon earth the community would not he free from their depredations and crimes. He also stated that the I >i iscolls, if not the centers and instigators of tlm untold robberies and murders that had been committed in the country, were at leas! accomplices and shared in the plunder. He maintained that the people were justified in taking the course they had and that their safety demanded n : that the murder of Campbell must lie avenged and that those who planned the foul deed must suffer in their stead, and urged the immediate execution of John Driscoll and his son William. As the majority of the Eegulators were unacquainted with the men convicted of the crime, and the weakkneed were overpowered, and finally threats were made to any who dared to express their belief that the Driscolls were not guilty and should not be executed. The party of one hundred and eleven men were divided into two companies. One was detailed I" the execution of the old man and theother to the execution of William. The old man was led forth first, his eyes were bandaged and he was made to kneel upon the earth. Without any fear, perfectly calm and cool, he met his fate, and at the signal to tire, fell to the earth riddled and shattered to pieces with the charges of fifty-six rifles. William's late came next. In the last hour fear overcame him and the recollection of his wile and family of small children no doubt made iiini tear the fati that he was about to meet.. but the discharge of the other fifty-five rifles soon put an end to hi- existence. Spades ami >lm\els were procured, a rude grave was dug on the spot where they were killed, and. unwashed ami uncoffined, ghastly and gory, their bodies wen mil,., I into on,- gTavi together and covered oyer. It has been stated that six weeks later their bodies weretakeii up by their friends and given a decent burial. As to this we cannot say, but there is one person who stated that In-, with one of the rela- -. two days after tin- execution removed theof William Driscoll to his farm in Smith Grove and buried il there. It has been stated by people who lived near Washington Grove that the bodies were afterward taken to the cemetery at Payne's Point, but this question will perhaps m vei be settled. David Driscoll and Bridge made their escape, and when the Regulators went to the houseof Taylor Driscoll he was hidden in an excavation underneath it. When the Regulators had gone he left his home and went south to the Illinois river in Mar-hall county, and it is said thai he took refuge with a man named Redden. The officers i,\ some means go! on his track and chased him to his hiding plan- and found him concealed in Redden'- house, where he was arrested and brought hack, lie was taken before William J. Mix, justice of the peace, for examination as being an accessory to the crime, but for want of sufficient eviwas discharged. Taylor Driscoll was again arrested some years later and brought to Ogle county, where he was indicted for the murder of John Campbell. A change of venue was granted and the case sent to McHenry county. On the first trial the jury disagreed and a new one was granted. In the second trial the counsel for the defendant, Mr. Barry, found upon cross-examination that Mrs. Campbell was sure that Taylor Driscoll was the man who had shot her husband..

It happened, however, that she was mistaken in this. It was proved beyond question that she could not identify Pierce Driseoll, whom she had seen a few weeks before, and the jury decided that if she could not recognize Pierce Driseoll after she had seen him but a few weeks previous, she might possibly be mistaken in the identification of Taylor Driseoll, whom she claimed she had not seen since the death of her husband, and the jury gave him a verdict of acquittal. From all that we can learn, however, from such men as Annas Lucas, Martin Campbell, son of John Campbell, who was present and could have identified David Driseoll had he been at the trial, it is quite evident that David Driseoll and Hugh Brodie were the men detailed to kill Campbell, and that it was a shot from the rifle of David Driseoll that sent Campbell to his fate. David Driseoll left the state and was never seen here afterwards. It has been stated that he went to California and there lived until a few years ago. A short time after the execution of Driseoll, the Kockford Star, edited by Mr. P. Knappen, under date of July 1, 1841, said : "A short time since we received through the postoffice a copy of the proceedings of the Ogle county lynchers up to the latest date, embracing the following resolutions : "Eesolved, that the proceedings of the Volunteer Company be published in the Eockford newspapers once a month. Now be it known to all the world that we have solemnly resolved that the proceedings of Ogle county or any county volunteer lynch company cannot be justified or encouraged in our columns. The view we take of the subject does not permit us to approve the measures and conduct of the said company. If two or three hundred citizens are to assume the lynch law in the face and eves (if the laws of the land, we shall soon have a fearful state of things, and where, we ask, will it end if mob law is to supercede the civil law? If it is tolerated, no man's life or property is safe. His neighbor, who may be more popular than himself, will possess an easy and ready way to be avenged by misrepresentation and false accusation. In short, of what avail are legislative bodies and their enactments? We live in a land of laws, and to them it becomes us to resort and submit for the punishment and redress as faithful keepers of the law, and thus extend to each other the protection and advantages of the law. Would not this course be much more satisfactory and agreeable in a Christianized country than to resort to mob law and repulse every attempt to deprive a fellow citizen of the precious privilege granted in every civilized country - namely, the right to lie tried by an impartial jury of twelve good men of his county ? but perhaps, it will be argued by some, that we have in this new country no means or proper places for securing offenders and breakers of the law. To it we answer, then build them. The time already spent by three or four hundred men in this, De Kalb and Ogle counties, at three or four different times and from two to four days at a time this season would have built jails so strong that no man or dozen men on earth, deprived of implements with which to work and confined in them, can ever escape, and guard them sufficiently strong by armed men outside to prevent assistance from rescuing them from the arm of the law. We wash our hands clear from the blood of Lynch law."

In the same number of the Star from which the above is quoted there appeared two communications - one, signed Vox Populi, taking a strong ground against the action of the Eegulators and pronouncing them a banditti. This writer says: "Banditti like, after organization, these fiends in human shape commenced to traverse the country for plunder, not perhaps of valuable goods, but the liberty and lives of their fellow citizens. Every one who happened to fall under suspicion of one or more of this gang was at once brought before their self-constituted tribunal, where there was no difficulty in procuring testimony for convicting him of any crime named, when he was sentenced and men appointed to inflict the adjudged punishment which in the embryo existence of the 'clan,' from twenty to three hundred lashes were laid on." The article further states: "No man pretends that John and William Driseoll had committed murder, nor can they say they merited the punishment they received. Even had they been found guilty by an impartial jury of their countrymen of the crime alleged by the mob. Nor had unimpeachable testimony been brought to prove them guilty of that for which circumstantial evidence was horribly distorted to convict them, the punishment would have been but three to five years in the penitentiary. Has it come to this, that in a land of civilization and Christian- ity. blessed with as wholesome a code of laws as man's ingenuity ever invented, that a few desperadoes shall rise up and inflict all manner of punishment, even death, upon whomsoever they please? Shall our civic law be sacrificed and trampled in the ilust at the shrine of mobocracy? Shall the life and property of no one receive protection from the civil law. but both be subject to the nod of an inconsiderate and uncontrollable mob ?" The Star editorial already quoted and the communication of Vox Populi only maddened the Regulators the more, and a few evenings after this article was issued the office was entered by unknown parties and the type in forms and cases pied - that is, turned out on the floor promiscuously - and the entire office reduced to a pile of ruins. Knappen's hopes were blasted and he shortly afterward sold the wreck to John A. Brown, and the publication of the paper called the Piloi was commenced.

The crime committed at the home of William Mulford, heretofore mentioned, is now supposed to have been perpetrated by a man named Oliver and one of bis accomplices. Irving A. Stearns, who was found in Michigan in the penitentiary, was released, brought home and turned state"s evidence, and Oliver was sent to the penitentiary for live years. He afterward rejoined his wife and family in New York. \\ e learn from a party who lived in New York that after Oliver returned to his old home he came west, and it is supposed brought home with him an immense amount of gold. There are parties who believe that this gold was taken from DriscoU's Grove, now South Grove, and after the execution of the men a party traveling through the woods found the place there where the ground had been freshly dug and marks on four trees indicating that the spot had been marked for some purpose. Oliver lived a rather peculiar life, but was never guilty of any crime so far as is known, and at his own request he was buried in his every day clothes, a hat on his head and pipe in his mouth. He was known all over that section of the country for his many peculiarities. A family of Aikens was supposed to belong to the bandits, and one of the sons, with Burch and Fox. were afterwards appiehended, tried and convicted of horse stealing and sentenced to death in Warren county. It is said that Aiken went west, located far up the Missouri river and settled down to industrial pursuits, and to all appearances led an honest life. Fox and Burch were in some respects the most cunning and vicious criminals that ever lived in the Mississippi valley. They were guilty of the murder of Colonel Davenport, were arrested and both escaped, and it was never known what became of them. So much has been written on the trial of the Driscolls and so many statements have been given that seem to be contradictory, that we have with great pains ferreted out as carefully as any one can the circumstances.

Thomas, Benjamin Worden, John McAlister, John Beedle, Ephraham Vaughn, Justus Merrifield, Elias Vaughn, John Adams, Israel Eobertson, and George \V. Kinney, indictment, for murder. The case was called for trial at the same term of court, Judge Ford presiding, at which the indieiraent was found. Seth B. Farwell appeared for the people and Messrs. Peters, Dodge, Champion and Caton, afterward a prominent judge, for the defendants. The jury before which they were tried was composed of S. S. Beatty, S. M. Hitt, James C. Hagan, Elias Baker, William Carpenter, John Shoffstalt, James B. McCoy, George Swingley, Eichard Mc- Lean, William Eenner, Justin Hitchcock and Hiram Weldon; S. M. Hitt, foreman. When arraigned for trial the defendants pleaded not guilijr and the trial proceeded. Most of the time occupied in the disposition of the ease was consumed in calling Uie names of the defendants. Several witnesses were called on the part of the prosecution, but no direct evidence was adduced, and after a brief address by Prosecutor Farwell for the people and Caton for the defendants, the case went to the jury, and without leaving their seats the jury returned the verdict not guilty. The effect produced by this execution upon the lawless element was salutary, for they began to realize that the Regulators were in earnest and if the courts would not do justice they would take justice into their own hands. Looking at it from this distant point of view, after the most rigid examination of all evidence, and after interviews witli persons interested, one can readily see the mistakes made by both parties. The Regulators were too hasty in inflicting punishment before positive proof was obtained, and, as there were many of them, some of them perhaps were decidedly arrogant. No apology, however, can be made for the banditti, who rapidly disappeared from this section of the state shortly after the execution at Washington Grove. It has often been asked who was the real murderer of Captain Campbell. As has been stated, Taylor Driscoll was put on trial and cleared by the jury of McHenry county citizens, but no doubt David Driscoll was guilty of the crime committed. One reason, perhaps, for connecting the Driscolls with the banditti was the fact that Driscoll married one of the Brodies, and that they were frequently visiting back and forth, but so far as is known William and John Driscoll were innocent men, and every one who has taken pains to investigate the questions knows this to be a fact. The death of Martin Campbell, the thirteen year old son of John Campbell, who stood by his father when he fell at the hands of the assassin, occurred last year. The facts connected with this circumstance were fully recounted and substantiates the facts as we present them.

The winter of 1841-2 was known among the old settlers as one of great severity. The first snow fell on the 8th of November and remained on the ground until April 14. With the exception of the usual January thaw the sleighing was excellent. The thermometer fell to about forty degrees below zero on one or two occasions. For a winter of such severity sufficient provision had not been made and forage for the stock became very scarce and hundreds of horses, hogs and cattle died o! starvation. At this time it will be remembered that most of the young stock was allowed to run out during the winter and they secured their living on dried prairie grass and around stacks of straw. Hay this year sold at twenty dollars per ton and money was exceeedingly scarce. As has been mentioned previously in the article on gam^, in the early days when snow was deep deer were easily entrapped and could be slaughtered with axes and clubs. After the January thaw a crust froze over the snow, which would support a man or a dog, but the sharp hoof of the deer would break through and they could make little progress when pursued by dog, man or wolf. They came in large numbers to the barnyards and would feed with the stock or gnaw the barks of trees. It :s said that five hundred deer were killed in the northern part of this county during that winter. While this was a severe lesson and the most of the people subsequent to 1841-2 built better houses and were generally quite prosperous, so that thereafter in the county's history no great suffering has been occasioned by extreme cold. The year 1842 opened bright and prosperous and crops were sown in good season and produced abundantly at harvest time. For the first time in the history of Illinois the steel scouring plow came into use and proved one of the most important implements ever invented for the prairie farmer. Previous to this time the ground had been "buggered over"' with an old east iron plow or some strange contrivance which served as plow share. These tools could not be scoured, but must be cleaned every few rods, so that they were quite ineffective for the vork required of them. Nothing but the fertility of the soil on the prairie enabled the settlers to and crops with such culture. The prairie began to be taken up quite rapidly and with the exception of four townships mure than half of the prairie ana was occupied by claimants. "During this year E. L. Mayo was certified to be a man of !_r'»nl moral character and was admitted to the bar. He has s 'fen a leading lawyer, lias held many public offices and was a man who contributed largely to the welfare of Sycamore." Under of .March 11. 1>4"2. i- the following official record: '"This day. in pursuance of an act entitled an art permanently to locate the seat of justice of the count; "t I'e Kalb. approved January 30. lS4o. the commissioners of said county has - I 1 on2 hundred and sixty acre- of land for county pur- -. bounded as follows, to wit: From a point which bears X. 54% degrees W. in R. 21 linkfrom the S. W. corner of M. YValrod's dwelling house and S. "" degrees east 4 P.. 22 links from S. E. corner of Carlos Lattin's house, running thenci K". 9 degrees E. 80 I,', thence S. 81 deg E. 160 R. thence S. 9 degrees W. 160 R. thence V 81 degrees W. 160 R. thence X. 9 deg E. v" R. to the place of beginning, containing 160 acres. J. S. Waterman, Surveyor."

Lysander Darling as treasurer of I>e Kalb county presented the following account which is interesting as showing the amount of taxes then collected :

Ti illustrate clearly how poor the people of this county were at that time and how difficult it was to raise taxes and how little money was then in the country we will append below the list of property in district No. 2, including the present townships of Cortland. Sycamore. De Kalb. Mayfield and parts of Genoa and Kingston and assessed by Evans Wharry in 1839:

The number of property owners who served on juries and had bills against the county paid their taxes with county orders. This was about the time of the failure of the State Bank, which occurred m February, 1848, and had spread devastation and ruin. Governor Ford, when entering upon his duties as executive of the state, found it impossible to pay the interest of the state debt In currency. People of the eastern states and foreign countries who had bought some of the bonds taunted this state as a repudiator and indeed there was a large part of the population in favor of repudiating the state debt. It is said that when IllinoLjians were traveling in the eastern states they were ashamed to acknowledge the state from which they came.

-'Mr. John E. Hamlin, who held the offices oi clerk of the county commissioners court, recorder and postmaster and out of the whole of them managed to make only about enough to pay his board - cheap as boarding was - at the June term of the county commissioners court of this year, was granted the privilege of advancing twelve dollars to purchase a book for records, with the promise that it should be paid out of the first money Teceived into the treasury. Mr. Hamlin, always a gentleman of genial, kindly temper, a universal favorite, subsequently became a wealthy merchant of Chicago, and still later removed again to this county, where he became an extensive landowner, but it is reported that about this time he was accustomed to travel through the county to collect deeds for record and urge upon those who had deeds the necessity of having them placed upon record, and it is said that for convenience and economy he often went barefooted. But current rumors are not alwavs true. Certain that all of these offices at that time were not enough to give one man a living. A dozen years later the recorder's office alone constantly employed four or five men and was reported to be worth eight thousand dollars a year to the fortunate holder. Such facts, better than any array of figures, give an idea of the remarkable growth and increase in the population and business of the county. The elections at this period in the history of the county were generally held at the residence of some citizen centrally located in the precinct and right glad was he after a year or two of experience of the annoyance and trouble of such gatherings to procure the removal of the place of election to some other location. The place of election in Orange precinct was at this term changed from the residence of W. A. Fairbanks to Calvin Colton's spacious and comfortable hotel, and in Franklin precinct it was changed from the mill of Henry Hicks to the residence of Theophilus Watkins. Martin M. Mack was reelected county commissioner at the August election of this year, and D. W. Lamb was made county surveyor, an office which he held with occasional intervals during the next twenty-two years.

"The chief matters of record of the county commissioners court still continued to be the location of the new roads, but about this time their breadth, which had hitherto been only fifty feet, was enlarged to sixty-six, and in some cases to eight,' feet. The Oregon state road was laid out one hundred feet in width. The circuit court this year held but one session and that in September. It was presided over by John D. Caton, one of the justices of the supreme court. S. B. Farwell was stale's attorney, J. C. Kellogg, clerk, and Morris Walrod, sheriff. Among the leading practitioners at its bar were T. Lyle Dickey, E. L. Mayo, B. F. Fridley, W. I). Barry, N. II. Peters, W. R. Crothers and A. J. Brown."

The elections this year, as previously, w-ere held in private houses. No public buildings of any nature were found sufficient for this purpose. One change that was made that was notable was the place of election in Orange precinct was changed from the residence of W. A. Fairbanks to Calvin Colton's comfortable hotel, which at that time was one of the best buildings between Chicago and the Mississippi river. In this election Martin Mack -ivas re-elected county commissioner and Daniel W. Lamb was made county surveyor, an office which he held for nearly a quarter of a century. The work of Daniel Lamb will ever remain as a monument to his skill and accuracy. At the tim-i of his work as surveyor he perhaps knew every section of land in the county. He was a man .-f probity, of good sense ami was one of the most useful citizens of that territory. The county commissioners court were still busy locating new roads and an inspection of their records still showed that about three-fourths of all their business pertained to the making of roads and road districts. This year they widened the roads laid out from fifty to sixty-six feet and as a general thing the loads of this county to this day are of that width. In one or two cases, notably the road from Ottawa to the state line on the north, was eighty feet in width. The Oregon state road, of which State street is now a part, was laid out this year and was made one hundred feet in width and the fact that this street was laid out in such proportions caused other streets to follow their example, so that at the present time Sycamore has as wide streets as any city in Illinois.

The session "I the circuit court was held this year and was presided over by Judge John D. Caton, one of the justices of the supreme court. S. B. Earwell was state's attorney, dosse E. Kellogg circuit clerk and Morris Walrod sheriff. Among the leading practitioners a1 the bar were T. Lyle Dickey, E. L. Mayo, who came to Sycamore thi< year, B. F. Fridley. \\ . P. Barry. X. H. Peters from Kane anil La Salle counties, and the first two lawyers to locate in our county were AT. K. Crothers, who lived at Coltonville, and A. J. Brown, who came to Sycamore in 1841 and became the first lawyer of the county.

In 1842 a brickyard was established on w7hat is now the Nelson farm in Sycamore and the first brick houses in this town were built in 184G. Th-J Mayo house, which stood on the present site of th° Congregational church, was the first brick house built in what is now this town. In 1842 Mrs. Boswell Dow, who came to Sycamore to make her home, speaks of it as a village of about a dozen or fifteen houses with three good wells. The Congregational people of this locality had a regularly established minister this year by the name of "Wells, and the mill at St. Charles was finished, so that people instead of going to Ottawa, a distance of forty or fifty miles, could now get their

In 1843 the finances of this countv were still in a deplorable condition. The county had about nine hundred and seventy-two dollars in outstanding orders. The taxes to be collected would pay about half of them, leaving the county in debt for the balance. While this is a small amount now ?t was a troublesome load for the young county to carry and more complaint was made of this four hundred dollars than was made at a later day when the countv became indebted to the amount of two hundred thousand, and it can be said that the latter amount was paid with greater ease than the four hundred dollar indebtedness of sixty-five years ago. A tax of one and a half per cent was ordered for the ensuing year and the county clerk, Mr. John Waterman, was able to collect nearly all of i lie tax, but the most of the amount was in juror-' certificates and county orders.

"-The land in the central towns of the county came in market during this year. This was an important era in the affairs of the settlers. Many had for years previous been hoarding the monev that they had been able to save, in anticipation of this important event. From the old stockings and secrel recesses of their log cabins the glittering was drawn out and they started in a strong company for the land sale in Chicago. The land was sold oil' at auction and from each neighbor- property as it was offered, while the remainder -t ] around, armed with clubs and a most ferocious aspect, ready to knock down and execute summary vengeance upon any speculator who should dare to bid for lands that had been claimed and occupied by any of their party. Few were bold enough to attempt it. One unlucky fellow, who committed this offense through mistake, thinking that he was bidding upon another piece of land, was seized in an instant by the crowd of excited squatter-sovereigns, hustled away and nearly torn to pieces before he could explain the occurrence and express his readiness to correct the mistake. But the settlers on this occasion suffered more from the depredations of pick-pockets than from anything else. Such a crowd furnished a harvest field for these gentry and several of our citizens who had come with pockets well lined moneyless and landless. It was a severe loss. 5 ears of labor would be required to replace it. and before that time they would lose their land and the improvements which they had spent years in effecting. Simultaneously with the land sale a number of new claim associations were formed throughout the county to prevent persons who moved in from purchasing from the government lands which those then living near chose to claim by plowing around them. They were no doubt useful in preventing many from entering farms to which the expense of improvement and long occupation gave the squatter an equitable title, but I hey were also in many cases a means of injustice. .Men banded themselves together in such organizations in order to keep by the force of mob law other settlers from occupying and holding lands, while they themselves held tracts of enormous extent and paid for none of it."

During the year 1843 several mills were established in the northern part of the county along the Kishwaukee, but were used only for sawing lumber. The threshers were used in the county quite generally this year and the crops on the whole were very good, but the thresher instead of being like the ones we have at present was simply a cylinder and did not separate the grain from the straw. The one hundred and sixty acres upon which the county seat stood had been located. winch was to be divided into lots, now came in the market subject to entry. This land had been pre-empted but had never proved up its pre-emption right. It had solemnly bound itself in giving deeds to the lots, to acquire the deed as soon as the land came into market, but now that this time had come it found itself destitute of money and utterly unable to borrow. Any speculator was at liberty to buy and take the best of titles to the town by paying the amount of a dollar and a quarter an acre for it. Pew of the settlers at this time had money enough to enter their own claims and none were willing to lend money to the county, and in this dilemma three of Sycamore's loyal citizens - Jesse C. Kellogg, Carlos Lattin and Curtis Smith (who was prominent years afterward in the county and who had land near the city) - furnished the necessary funds, entered the land in their own name and promised to wait for repayment until the time in which it was supposed the county would be able to return the money. This was a great relief to the finances of the county and to the inhabitants of Sycamore and it is a notable fact that the county failed to get back the titles of some of the parties to which lands were sold and finally lost a part of the land.

About this time the county had a suit with Amos Harman, of whom it required to open the Ottawa state road, and was defeated. The damages assessed against the county were thirty-five dollars and this little amount nearly bankrupted the treasury, and again some of the loyal citizensof the county stepped forward and provided for the deficiency.

The election of justices this year brought some new men into prominence - George H. Hill, of Kingston; Isaac Cumpton, Abner Jackman,. James Byers, Aaron Kandall. Kimball Dow, George Flinn. Russell Huntley and Z. B. Mayo. The election of county commissioners this year followed at tlie usual date, when Sylvanus Holcomb was elected. During the year H. M. Perkins built a- fine large hotel in Genoa, which was afterward a famous resort for balls and parties,, and many notable events transpired there. Some of the people who now live here remember someof these events.

At this time also a new frame schoolhouse was built in Genoa, which at that time was the best one in the county. It still remains and is used as a part of a livery stable. After the building of the sawmills more frame buildings were erected and the homes of farmers were made more comfortable. Prices of hard wood lumber at that time were about one-fourth what is now charged for pine lumber. During this year Eeuben Pritchard,. John R. Hamlin and B. F. Hunt were appointed commissioners of the state to lay out the Chicago and Grand-de-Tour state road. This road passes in the north part of De Kalb and Malta townships to the west line of the county, where other commissioners of the county laid out the road through that county and so on to the river.

During the year 1843 the first bridge was built across the Kishwaukee, which was considered a great convenience for the people living north of Sycamore, for during the wet seasons there were times when they were unable to ford the streamsand in eases of necessity people would drive as far as the river and then use a boat to the other side to g^l their produce and return. Some who are still living and reside in what is Mayfield township remember well how they hauled their grisl to the bank on the creek, ferried across and then had another wagon to meet them on the other side and take the grist to mill.

1S44 was a season of floods in the early part of the summer and during the harvesl season rains fell almost continuously. Some men cut and bound their wheat when they were compelled to stand ankle deep in water and then carry it out on the high knolls to dry before stacking. When they took their grist to mill over almost bottomless niads they had to drive four yoke of oxen to draw the small load. Cattle and horses feeding on the prairies became mired and numerous calls were made for teams to attach long ropes and chains to them and draw them out. All the bridges which had been erected over the streams wire carried away by the floods. The Mississippi river was never known to be higher and steamboats passed through tin- streets of St. Louis. Kaskaskia and other cities along the river. In many instances when the water subsided the laud was covered with sand and mud so that it ruined the land for cultivation for a time. Added to this difficulty many of the grist mills of Illinois were swept away and there was great destitution of meal and flour.

The county election this year showed the democracy a winner. Carlos Lattin was chosen county treasurer, Marshall Stark school commissioner, E. L. Mayo recorder, A. J. Brown probate justice. In later vears the probate justice became known as countv judge, but it was not necessary that the county judge be a regularly admitted lawyer. Morris Wain id was collector of the county and W. H. Beavers was elected as clerk of the county commissions - i ourt.

In is ll tin- democracy seems to have firmly regained its hold upon county affairs and Polk received two hundred and forty-two votes, Clay. whig, one hundred and forty-two votes and Birney. free <,,il. one hundred and thirty-one votes. An analysis of this vote shows that the free soil candidate received a heavy vote from Brush Point settlement, from the precinct of Wooster. now Genoa, and from Somonauk. Emigration in the later '30s and early '40s was largely from the eastern states. The Scotch Presbyterian people were strong antislavery people, as were the people from Brush Point, who came from southeastern Xew York. and the people of Genoa were also of Xew York origin.

During this time but little strife was made for county offices, as the salary was scarcely enough in some instances to buy a suit of clothes. During this year settlers began again to come into the state, and as the timber land was generally owned at this time by sett lei,- already here the new- 1 1 miers were compelled to go to the prairie. Many felt that it was a great sacrifice to be so far away from the timber, but in this time has proven that the settlers on the prairie became the most prosperous and in time their land became more valuable than the timber land.

While the year 1845 did not clear up the financial condition in Illinois nor in De Kalb county. still on the whole the people were getting more prosperous and building more comfortable homes, ,md there was less talk of returning to their old home in the eastern Mates. Nearly every settler who came to this county in an early day will speak of the homesickness of those who came from more comfortable homes to settle in the wilderiii--. and many actually died from sheer home- -ii kness.

Schools began to be quite generally established. A number of different schools will be treated of more fully in the township histories. The claim association that was organized in 1835 was still in existence, and they were sometimes unjust in their dealings with those seeking for land. Settlers were also deterred by the acts of the claim organization, who banded together and thxeatem <1 the lives of any who should enter lands around winch any of their gang had plowed a furrow, which constituted the commonly received marks nf a claim. An incident is related which showed the spirit of the times. Two hoys, afterwards well known in the county, jumped the claim of a neighbor and settled down to take possession. The claim organization, to the number of about sixty, captured the boys, formed a ring around them, put them on trial and decided to give them a severe thrashing with green hickory withes, but, seeing that the boys were well frightened and punishment was unnecessary, some of the more generous hearted in the circle decided to give the bovs an opportunity to escape, and while engaged in con- versation allowed large gaps to remain in their lines, and the boys, seeing their opportunity, pulled off their boots and made for the woods, and were not seen for several days. It is unnecessary to state that they never afterwards jumped the claim of a neighbor. Most of the settlers here in 1845 seemed more anxious to leave the country than to remain here. A letter is now in existence, which was written by a homesick family to their old home in the east, stating that if they could get what, little money they had in their property they would return to their old home and remain forever satisfied. All the money they had invested here was two hundred dollars. This same family afterward became wealthy and almost the entire family became prominently identified with the county's history. In even- new country there is an element that moves in, becomes restless and dissatisfied and soon move out. The old settlers whom we now honor as our pioneers were the ones who came and in spite of all the disadvantages of a new country remained to make this county one of the best in Illinois. The taxes collected this year amounted to three hundred and seventy-five dollars, more than half of which was in county orders. Few debtors were prosecuted during these times, for the laws of this state seemed to favor the debtors and render it almost impossible to colic ( t a claim by legal process.

Eighteen hundred and forty-five seemed to he the turning point in the country's financial condition. War is generally a breeder of good times. During the war of 1812, the war with Mexico and the Civil war. prices were high and people received valuable remuneration for their labor. Foreign wars have also been productive of wealth on this side of the water. The prices of produce for several rears previous to 1845 averaged about as follows: Thirty-five cents a bushel for spring wheat, fifty cents a bushel for the best winter wheat, one dollar lo a dollar and seventy-five cents for dressed pork ; cows brought an average of about ten dollars a head and horses were nearly as high as at present, as they furnished all means of communication and were our railroads and telegraph wires and telephones.

In the spring of 1S46 prices advanced materially. Wheat sold from fifty to seventy-five cents a bushel ; hogs brought from two and a half to three and a half per hundred, and all kinds of produce on the farm about doubled in value. In May, 184G, the president called upon Illinois for four regiments of volunteers to proceed to Mexico and support the army of General Taylor. The part that De Kalb county took in the Mexican war will be treated of in the chapter "De Kalb County in War." But it is safe to say that this war was felt very lightly in this section of the country, as it took but few De Kalb county boys, and the war from the very start was one of great and uniform success. At the March term of the county commissioners' court. Paw Paw election district was divided by the creation of a new precinct called Shabbona. It comprised the territory "now contained in the four townships of Shabbona, Clinton, Milan and Afton. Elections were ordered to be held at the home of William Marks. In the fall of this year Austin Hayden, of what is now Cortland township; George H. Hill, now of Kingston township, and Joseph Newberry, of what is now Somonauk township, were elected county commissioners. James Harrington, school commissioner; John A. Waterman, county treasurer; E. L. Mayo, probate justice; Jacob Simons and William Fordham, each served as county clerk. The justices of the peace were about the same as elected two years previously, with the exception of Joseph A. Bilks, Wheeler Hedges, Samuel Stevens and B. F. Johnson.

The good times of 184G continued and increased in 184T, and the indebtedness of the county was reduced and conditions over the state improved accordingly. Banks were established and the people of the state were getting on a firm financial footing. Four years previous the state officers were sometimes troubled to get money to pay their postage, but were now receiving regular salaries, which were promptly paid. Postage up to this time had been twenty-five cents for each letter, but was now reduced to about fifteen cents, and it was felt that almost any one could now write letters. In the early part of the century postage had been as high as fifty cents, and many people living in the early '40s had paid that amount. One of the things that has made it difficult to secure records of the past has been that very few letters were written, but one thing is quite certain, if a person did receive a letter it was a cherished treasure and generally preserved, and in many of the homes of our county today we will find letters written, papers folded without envelopes and closed with sealing wax. and a charge of fifty cents, which has been marked "paid" on the back of the back of the paper, and every available space on the sheet is occupied with writing.

The old canal from the lake to the Illinois river was finished and some of the people in the south part of the county drew their grain to Ottawa and Peru and put it on canal boats, shipping it generally to Chicago, but in some instances to New Orleans. Specie was still scarce and it was a difficult matter to pay a tax of front five to ten dollars, and it distressed people more, those small sums. than to pay forty times that amount at present. The collector would call again and again for the taxes, and then in many instances the property would be advertised and sold for the collection of taxes. During these years roads were lined with teams and wagons loaded with grain and the taverns of that day were crowded. Prices were reasonable. Fifty cents was the regular charge for supper, lodging, breakfast and feed for the team. A few of the number remain who hauled grain in Chicago, and they tell us how the people of the neighborhood would generally start in a procession, of the jolly times that were had along the mad and at the taverns, where they were compelled to remain over night. At the election of this year William Young was chosen county commissioner. William Beavers clerk of the county commissioners' court. Sheldon Crossett school commissioner, E. L. Mayo probate justice, William Fordham recorder, William Shepardson treasurer and E. P. Young county recorder.

During the year 1847 the first allowances for the care of paupers were made, and although this county had so little wealth it is a notable fact that previous to this time no paupers in the county had been reported.

The year 1S48 was one of general prosperity for the state. The constitution made at (.he organization of the state in 181S had proved inefficient and a new constitutional convention was called. George H. Hill, of Kingston, represented this county in the constitutional convention. In the fall of that year it was submitted to the people and carried by a large majority. The county was divided into more election precincts and justice districts. Settlers were rapidly taking up the land and the population of the county was increasing. The old courthouse, which had been built in 1839, was a shabby, two-story building, which stood until recently opposite the present one, and was the only building in the city for public use. The county eked out its petty finances by letting it for various use-, a charge of twenty-five cents generally being made for each evening. The Congregational and Universalist societies held religious services there, it was occupied during the week for select school, which was taught by Boswell Dow, and the Sons of Temperance held evening meetings. Although the county demanded better buildings and better protection for its records, a gnat deal of opposition was encountered when the subject of a new building was discussed. People had just escaped from an indebtedness which had been a great burden and were wholly unwilling to take upon themselves a new one. During this year churches were built in various parts of the county and religious services, which had previously been held in private houses, were generally transferred to the school houses, which were now being erected quite generally and were usually frame building.-. Schools at this time were very large and the districts averaged about three linns the size of those of the present day.

In 1848 the Mexican war had been closed gloriously and the United States had added a half million square miles to its territory. The people were proud of the veterans of the Mexican war, and when Zachary Taylor was entered as the whig candidate for the presidency against Lewis Cass,, the democratic candidate, and .Martin Van Buren, the free soil candidate, the military hero again triumphed, for in the history of our country the '-uccessful hern of a successful war is always sucei' - fill in a political contest before the American people. The presidential vote in this county is as follows: Cass, democrat, three hundred and seven ly- four ; Taylor, whig, two hundred and twentythree; Van Buren. freesoil, four hundred and twenty-seven. In this election Martin Van Buren car-ied a majority of the precincts of the county, and beieafter the opponents of slavery were generally in the majority.

Threshers used this year were called separators, for they now separated the straw from the grain and instead of threshing one hundred bushels a day, as with the old thresher, which was simply a cylinder, fanners were now able to thresh five hundred bushels per day. and consequently "their fields of grain rapidly increased in size. Reapers came into general use this year and were very crude affairs. They were very heavy, drawn by four to six horses, or in some instances three or four teams of oxen, but they were able to cut about five or six acres per day. One man rode the machine and raked off the gavels rapidly enough for four men to hind. In the early days one hinder followed one cradler. so this was a vast improvement over previous conditions.

"The county commissioners appointed Messrs. E. P. Young, Kimball Dow and Jesse C. Kellogg to contract for building a new courthouse. It was to be placed in the center of the public square, to be of brick, sixty feet long and forty feet wide, and to cost not exceeding six thousand dollars. lint this was to be done only upon condition that individual citizens should contribute fifteen hundred dollars of this amount. This they were authorized to pay in notes, two-thirds of which should be paid November 1, 1S49. and one-third November 1, 1850. And the order of the commissioners further states that it is expressly agreed that in case the county seat shall ever be removed, the county shall pay hack to said individuals the amount of said notes with interest. It was ordered that the notes be registered on the court records and be evidence of the liability of the county for the repayment of this advance.

"At the same term another order was passed authorizing the erection of a jail by the same agents at a cost not exceeding fifteen bundled dollars. Nothing seems to have been done under this order. An active canvass of all those who felt an especial interest in the prosperity of the village now rapidly growing at the seat of justice was now commenced and more than the necessary fifteen hundred was subscribed as a free gift toward the erection of the present handsome courthouse. The subscriptions of the principal donors were as follows: Harvey G. Barns, $100 ; Amos Story. $20 : John Maxfielcl. $40; Thomas Wolsey, $20; Kimhall Dow, $50 ; E. P. Young, $150 ; W. H. Beavers, $37 ; W. J. Hunt. $50 : Ellsworth Pose. $25 ; E. Hall, $25 ; Alonzo Brown. $20 ; O. P. White. $25 ; Z. B. Mayo, $50; E. L. Mayo, $50; John Chatfield, $20; J. S. & J. C. Waterman. $150; M. Stark, $50: O. M. Bryan. $30; Thomas H. Wood,

"The agents for building were also authorized to sell the old courthouse anil all town lots owned by the county at auction, and that the proceeds were to be applied religiously to the payment of the forty-five hundred dollars of county orders issued for the erection of the new building. The lots were, however, appraised at prices varying from ten dollars to four hundred." Some of these warrants are still in existence and draw ten per cent interest, and in case the county seat should ever be removed the warrants held and accumulated would lie exceedingly valuable.

The Resurrectionists

Another type of criminality was rampant in the early days of our county's history, and that was the crime of gfaye robbing. This had been carried on -I'm- years in this section of the country and many were the bodies stolen from graves in De Kalh county by men who were called resurrectionists. In the early days no arrangements were made with hospitals for subjects for dissection in medical institutions and they were compelled to resort to the crime of body snatching. The Medical Institution at St. Charles, organized by Dr. George W. Richards, professor of theory and practice of medicine, and formally president of the La Porte (Indiana) Medical School, had established a summer school for physicians in St. Charles. \\\> home was opposite the present Cniversalist parsonage in that city, and the institution in which the dissection was carried on was a stone barn, which has since been torn down. Students in those days came to college poor in purse and were anxious to work to pay their way through school, and as bodies were constantly needed by the Medical Institution they naturally sought remunerative occupation by robbing graves. Two or three graves of honored citizens of this county had been examined and discovered to be emptied of their precious contents. "Many who had recently lost friends commended the painful task of examining their newly made graves, while many friends only refrained from it lest they should find their fears realized and that the outrage so hopeless of redress had been consummated. The irritation and indignation that was caused by this feeling may be readily imagined." In the spring of 1849, three men driving a pair of horses attached to a sprint: wagon stopped for supper at the Lovell tavern, four miles east of Sycamore, on the St. Charles and Sycamore road. While eating their supper the landlord's daughter overheard some conversation which made her suspicious. She reported the conversation to her father, who went out. and found the implements used by the resurrectionists secreted in the bottom of the wagon. Mrs. George M. Km von had been but recently buried, ami they surmised that it was the intention of tin grave robbers to secure her body for the dissecting table, and it was also known that a friendless German had been buried in the south burying ground of Sycamore, now the present site of the Methodist parsonage, and it was supposed that they were also seeking for his body. This news was conveyed to Mr. Harry Joslyn, and he, with Mr. Lorenzo Whittemore, Kimball Dow and a few others, armed themselves and hid near the burying ground, with the hope that the resurrectionists might be caught robbing the grave. Early in tin- evening, not long after dark, three men made their way into the cemetery and immediatelv began search for the grave of the German. As hey approached it. the men in hiding noticed that they were armed. One of their number went to the wagon to secure the tools necessary for digging. At this moment one of the party in hiding was seized with a fit of coughing, which alarmed the grave robbers and they immediately hurried to the wagon and drove into town. The party in hiding followed them into the village and caused the arrest of the resurrectionist party. One was found to be the son of Dr. Richards, president of the Medical Institution at St. ( lharles. Another was a man by the name of John Rude, iiiid the name of the other was unknown. There not being found sufficient evidence of their guilt, they were released. The parties arrested were thoroughly alarmed and their fright was not lessened by Waterman answering their question as to what would be done by them by the promise to shoot them in the morning. It was supposed that after their severe fright that they would make a hasty retreat for St. Charles, but they recovered their nerve, and although they started directly east for their home, they evidently decided that they would not return without something to show for their nighfs work. Mrs. George M. Kenyon was buried in what is now known as the Ohio Grove cemetery, and. dying at the age of but seventeen years, in the bloom of youth, a girl well known, great sympathy was felt for the young husband and her immediate family. After her burial the grave was watched for two nights, and it was supposed that all would be well hereafter. The parties watching the grave of Mrs. Kenyon the third night, left shortly after midnight. Two of her girl friends were impressed by the story of the grave robbers, which had been circulated throughout the country, laid a twine over the grave and fastened it at each side, covering it with dirt, so that if it were molested it could easily be detected. When the relatives arrived at the grave in the morning they still found the string in position, but something made them uneasy, and after hearing the story of the grave robbers being in Sycamore they decided to investigate. Upon digging down, their fears were realized, as the comb of the deceased was found about a foot below the surface. Reaching the coffin, they found it emptied of its contents and the grave clothes alone remained within it. The lid of the casket had been broken in and the body taken hastily away. News of this crime spread over the country like wildfire. Mr. David Churchill, father of the deceased, was a man well known and highly respected, and the circumstance of the young lady's death made the crime seem doubly terrible. It was decided before any action was taken in the matter to have a party go to Dr. Richards at the Medical Institution and demand the return of the body. ITpon arriving at St. Charles they procured a search warrant anil went to the institution, and while on their way found the horse belonging to a Sycamore physician, who had doubtless gone there in great haste to inform Dr. Richards that he had better be on his guard. Upon examining the dissecting room they found fragments of human bodies and skeletons, but none corresponding to the description of Mrs. Kenvon.

As they were about to leave the building Mr. Kenyon discovered upon the stone nagging * a lock of hair belonging to his wife. It was the precise peculiar shade of his lost wife's hair, and he knew it in an instant. It was not sufficient evidence to convince a jury, perhaps, but it satisfied him. He went back and begged piteously for the return of his wife's remains, and it was here that Dr. Richards made his great mistake in inflaming the searching party. He said to Mr. Kenyon in his hour of sorrow: "I have no subjects now, but if you will come again in a few days I will have a lot of them, and from your way, too." The party returned to Sycamore, reported to their neighbors what had transpired, showed the friends the lock of hair belonging to Mrs. Kenyon, told of the insulting remarks made by Dr. Eichards to the grieved husband, and with one accord the citizens of Sycamore and vicinity volunteered to go next day and recover the body or know the reason why. A large part of them were young men, impetuous and ready for trouble, but the older men counseled conservative action. A committee was selected to again visit Dr. Eichards, and was composed of the folowing men: Esquire Currier, of St. Charles; John C. Waterman. William Fordham, Lorenzo Whittemore and Kimball Dow. of Sycamore. They informed Dr. Eichards what they were there for, told of the party that was ready for action, and that it had only been by the intercession of their friends that an assault had not been made at once. They still found Dr. Eichards defiant and impudent, and he denied any knowledge about the body sought for, and said perhaps the students might account for it. They noticed also that Dr. Eichards and some of the students were fully armed and seemed to be ready for trouble in case of an attack. When Mr. Kenyon caught sight of Eude, who had been detected at Sycamore, he took an instinctive aversion to him and could scarcely be restrained from shooting him on the spot. Nothing, however, was gained by this parley. The crowd had increased on the way, so that now about three hundred men stood in front of Dr. Eichards' house, and had so arranged their party that escape was impossible. Seeing that trouble was in store for them, one of the young men of the institution informed them that he had seen a corpse answering the description of Mrs. Kenyon. Upon hearing this David Churchill.

father of the deceased, and Mr. Kenyon, her husband, rushed for the door and forced it partly open, when the muzzle of a gun was thrust out and fired. Mr. Churchill pushed the barrel of the gun downward, so that no one was injured. This was followed by a shot from Mr. Kenyon, who was armed with a rifle. He fired blindly through the door, and by the irony of fate his bullet pierced Eude, the guilty resurrectionist, through the hips and he was mortally wounded. An assault followed, and all the windows in the building were broken and several students were wounded and Dr. Eichards was struck twice. As he appeared at the door and made a sign of surrender a stone struck him in the temple and he was carried back senseless. The friends of Eichards feared that another attack would he made and secured the services of an attorney, A. Barry, who promised them the body would be returned, and he instructed Mr. Prescott, a relative of Mrs. Kenyon. to go to a spot two miles south of St. Charles on a farm now owned by Mrs. Harvey Jones, of Sycamore. And it should be stated in passing thai a constable appeared on the scene and ordered the mob to cease firing, and at that juncture Mr. Barry, an attorney, since well known in this county, promised the mob that he would return the body the next morning. Mr. Barn and a student named Harvey, with Mr. Banister and Prescott, of St. Charles, found the remains buried on the banks of the Fox river in a grove, about two feet deep, wrapped in a blanket. The body was taken to the river, washed of the earth that adhered to it, wrapped in some clothing, placed in a coffin and brought back to Sycamore. A second funeral service was held at the Methodist church at Sycamore and a large concourse of people met on that Sabbath day to consign for the second time to the grave the body that had caused so much excitement in all the country around. It has been stated that the body was taken to the home of Mr. Kenyon and there buried under his window, but the bodv was buried in the grave from which it was taken and a tombstone is pointed out to those interested in the early history of the county, and many are the visitors even to this day to the grave which caused so much turmoil and loss of life. An impression seems deeply founded that Dr. Eichards was on the whole a bad man of the criminal type. and thus he has been depicted in the histories of

De Kalli county tn the present time. We will say, however, that l>r. Richards was a very well educated gentleman, and at the time that he was shot ranked as high as any other physician in Illinois. Many were the physicians ol Chicago who sought

i girl ni' ten or twelve years, ami witnessed the shooting ami know Dr. Richards intimately, as he had been thou- family physician for roars, say that his In. mi- was one of refinement, that he had traveled abroad and in many respects was regarded as "in' "!' the most intellectual men of tin- community. It i- needless to say thai this broke up the organized band id' resurrectionists, ami from that day tho visitors, even to this day, to the grave which had been their family physician for years, says that I" this, with one exception, crime of a like nature in this locality has been unknown. Rude died the day following, the students recovered, while Dr. Richards finally died from tin- effects of hi- wounds in- 9i< I'd by the Sycamore mob. We will say, however, thai had it not Keen lor the impudence of Dr. Richards and his students when parties were searching lor the body and for the carelessness with which the remains of the dissected bodies were handled, this trouble would never have occurred. Parties still living remember well how Dr. Richards and his student- threw the remains of human bodies after dissection into the river, which naturally ext iti d a spirit of opposition to their wo.k. The account as we give it is from a conversation held with George M. Eenyon about a month previous to his death, with Mrs. Harvey A. Jones, who witnessed the riot, and from members of the mob, who participated in that event.

in California ami was found in such abundance that people who had been struggling hero to make a livelihood and secure a competency felt that they were going at rather a slow pace, and with dreams of wealth started for California, some across the continent, on foot and with team-, while others wctd to the eastern coast and to tin- citj of New Orleans mi the south and took shipping by way of Panama to California. A great many suffered and a large number died from exposure on these trips, and especially was the tropical climate of Panama fatal to the people of the northern clime. But the stories of the old 'piers are of great interest, and the discovery of gold in California, and the producing of so much wealth, had a wonderful effect upon the business life of this and European countries, while money became abundant and new business enterprises sprung into existence like mushrooms. A large number returned materially enriched by their work in California and invested it in business and in land.-. Some id' the large farms of this county are still in possession of the families of those men who went fo California in 1849, while many of the business enterprises of Sycamore, He Kalb and Sandwich had their beginnings in wealth accumulated by the California gold hunter. On the whole the year of 1849 was one of prosperity. Crops were abundant and farm machinery was materially improved. Little by little the farmers began to move from the timber and running streams to the prairie. Schools were established ami the whole community life took on the an- ..I i i\ ilization of older states. In the election of 1849 Marshall Stark was chosen sheriff, W. II. Beavers county clerk, William Pordham recorder, Sheldon Crossett school commissioner, and E. L. Mayo probate judge. These elections took place early in August and were under the operations of the old constitution, hut the constitution of 1848 having been put into effect, new election- wiiv held in November, ami Martin Mack was made circuit clerk and recorder. V. B. Prescott county clerk. William Shepardson county treasurer and James TT. Beveridge and George H. Hill county justices of the peace. It will he noted that from this time the office which had hitherto been known as probate justice, whose duty if was to probate estates, w-as now called probate judge. and I'.. !.. Mayo, later a man of prominence, was the first to wear the title of county judge. At the fall election seven hundred and fifty votes were casl in favor of adopting the township organization and only one against it. The counties of northern Illinois this year generally voted to !_rive up the county organization, and adopt township organization, so that at present in the state of Illinois there are hut few counties remaining under what is known as county organizations. For many years after this people, especially those from southern sfates. advocated the return to the county or-

Wirick House, East Pawpaw, 1856

The county superintendent of schools, who had formerly been known as the county commissioner, was paid twenty-eight dollars for his services, which consisted mainly in holding three or four examinations yearly. We have some of the questions propounded by the county superintendents of those days for teachers' certificates, and we find that they compare very favorably with many of the questions given at the present time, and, barring the matter of pedagogy, physiology and other things that have been introduced later, they generally demand a fair degree of scholarship in order to pass them. The county judge received seventy-five dollars for the performance of his duties for six months, making a total of one hundred and fifty dollars yearly. The county commissioners at the December term appointed William A. Miller, later of Kingston; Robert Sterritt, later of Somonauk, and William J. Hunt, later of De Kalb, to divide the county into townships in preparation for a new organization under the township organization law. They visited the different sections of the county, heard the statements of thosewho were concerned, and divided off the county into thirteen different townships, named as follows: (Refer to page 19 De Kalb Chronicle Illustrated Souvenir) : Genoa, Kingston, Franklin, Vernon, Liberty, Sycamore, Richland, Orange, Shabbona, Clinton, Squaw Grove, Somonauk and Paw Paw. Most of these names are still retained by the townships to which they were originally assigned, although most of these towns have been diminished in extent by the creation of new townships. Of those names which hav° been abandoned Vernon belonged to the present town of South Grove, Orange to De Kalb and adjoining territory on the south, and Liberty to Mayfield. Richland afterward became Pampas and finally Cortland, and originally included Pierce township. The county tax of 18-49 amounted to two thousand eight hundred and eighty-three dollars. During this year Comb's mill put in the machinery necessary for grinding flour and thus finally flour was produced in our county, and it must be remembered at that time wheat was the principal crop. In 1849 a field of twenty-five acres of corn was considered a curiosity. While oats was raised more abundantly, still the fields of that grain were small and the wheat fields occupied nearly three-fourths of all the cultivated area. Prices of grains and farm produce generally quite materially advanced, and the assessable property of De Kalb county came very near the million dollar mark.

In the spring election held in the new townships designated, school houses were the voting places. Supervisors were elected, and took upon themselves the duties formerly assigned to the board of county commissioners. In many of the townships there was quite a strife to see who should be the first supervisor from the respective townships, and the board was constituted of the following named gentlemen: Henry Durham represented Genoa: John Sheely, Kingston ; Clark Bliss, Franklin ; John S. Brown, Vernon ; Mulford Nickerson, Liberty : James Harrington, Sycamore ; D. F. Finley, Richland ; Thomas R. Hopkins, Orange ; William Marks, Sr., Shabbona; Reuben Pritchard. Clinton ; Abram L. Hemenway, Squaw Grove ; Lyman Bacon, Somonauk; Pierpont Edwards. Paw Paw. Dr. James Harrington of Sycamore was chosen chairman and the first act passed by the board was one changing the name of Orange to De Halb, Richland to Pampas, Liberty to Mayfield and Yernon to South Grove, other towns in the state had already appropriated the firsl chosen names, and to prevent confusion the board of supervisors were authorized and directed to selecl others. Having accomplished this duty, the board at once plunged into the business of auditing bills, ar« raigning delinquent collectors, appointing places of town meetings and all those duties which have -i in i engrossed the attention of that body. The work on the new courthouse had been progressing rapidly, but was nol accomplished at the first session of the board, and their meeting was held in uli:ii i- in,\\ the old Congregational church, which was undergoing repairs. One of the duties devolving upon thai bodj was the refusal of granting ,,i licenses for the sale of liquor. A temperance society had been organized in the county and their representatives were allowed to speak before the board and liquor licenses for taverns was refused by unanimous vote «a< 7,500.

When the county courthouse was completed it was considered a magnificenl structure, being built of brick, sixtj feel long and fort} feel wide, and following the custom thai prevailed at thai time at the inauguration of the new building a publiq ball was given in the new courthouse in February, L857, and was a notable occasion. The company 1 1 Erom all over northern Illinois.