Grundy County IL Archives History - Books .....Chapter 6 1882 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com April 29, 2006, 3:34 pm Book Title: History Of Grundy County IL 1882 CHAPTER VI.* MORRIS CITY—INTRODUCTORY—ITS LOCATION—FIRST BEGINNINGS—ORIGIN OF NAME—COUNTY HONORS—EARLY COMMUNITY—BIOGRAPHICAL. HE who would attempt to "revive the memories of tbe past and with feeble pen portray them" in the hope of giving such a chronicle of events as will meet the approval of all, will find his undertaking is a difficult—indeed an impossible one, especially so, if he attempts to write up contemporary history. What to one seems of importance, to another seems trivial, whilst others are born chronic fault-finders. Fully appreciating these difficulties, and with a desire to show charity to all—malice to none—we shall endeavor to give a faithful narrative of the leading events and incidents connected with the township and city of Morris from their inception down to the present as we now remember them. In our effort we may, indeed we must from the nature of human events and human weakness, omit many, many important incidents and events, and make many mistakes in dates and coloring of those we attempt to describe. We are relying largely upon our memory, indeed we have little other resource to draw from; and as our recollections are most vivid on those events with which we were personally interested, our readers will be charitable enough to excuse what may smack of egotism. Should any of the living who have been participants in the events we shall describe, feel themselves * By Hon. P. A. Armstrong. aggrieved at our omission to favorably mention what part they performed, or should the descendants of any of the early settlers of Morris who have "gone before" feel that we have wounded their sensibilities by statements that may be construed to reflect upon the character or habits of the deceased, we in advance disclaim any malice or intention of injuring the reputation of any one. Nor shall we fail to give the habits, customs and characteristics of our early inhabitants, nor "spoil a good tale for relationship." In this way only can we write history whose use, according to Tacitus, "Is to rescue virtuous actions from the oblivion to which a want of records would consign them, and that men should feel a dread of being considered infamous in the opinions of posterity, from their depraved expressions and depraved actions." Morris (for such is the name given to the county seat of Grundy County), is located on the north or right bank of the Illinois River, some twelve miles below the junction of the Kankakee and Desplaines Rivers, which form the Illinois. Nettle Creek, a considerable stream of pure water approaching from the north, passes through the city and flows into the river about a half mile southwest of the court house. From the south approaches the Mazon, which, in the Algonquin or Indian language, means "River of Nettles," and empties into the Illinois directly south of the public square. The Mazon is sometimes called a creek and other times a river. It is a short stream, with decidedly uppish notions. In times of drouth it is an humble creek, but in the spring and fall it is a roaring river. The Illinois & Michigan Canal passes through between the city and the river, at a distance of about forty rods from the river, and runs nearly parallel with it, the general course of the river at this point being nearly from east to west. From the bank of the river, running north to the distance of about one half mile, the surface of the land in Morris gently rises—the apex being some forty feet above the river bank, thus forming a natural drainage into the canal. From the apex north the surface descends for a distance of about one hundred rods to a ravine running southwesterly into Nettle Creek. Sandy loam is the predominating soil, which is admirably adapted to gardening purposes and the raising of fruit, especially grapes. Originally, nearly the entire plat of Morris was studded with forest trees, oak and hickory predominating, with here and there a hazel or plum thicket. Notwithstanding the timber, and many of the trees were giant oaks, there were bowlders scattered over the surface, mute witnesses of the glacier period, and of its great antiquity. Morris is located midway between the cities of Joliet on the east and Ottawa on the west, and sixty-one miles southwest of Chicago. It spreads over parts of four sections of land, viz.; three, four, nine and ten, in township number thirty-three north, range seven, east of the third principal meridian. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railroad, which is one of the foremost railroads of the continent, passes through Morris a half mile north of the court house, thus giving both rail and water highways for the transportation of grain and stock. With our facilities of travel, Chicago is but two and a half hour's ride from Morris by rail. Few cities are more pleasantly located than Morris. Sheltered on the south and west by heavy groves of timber, with an undulating surface, in the midst of a fine agricultural country, it is no wonder that the Mound Builders, that mysterious yet intelligent prehistoric race, selected the site of Morris for their principal city and cemetery, away back of the historic period. That here was the abode of a large number of these wonderful people is attested by nineteen separate, distinct mounds or cemeteries, for each mound is but a cemetery, pyre, or charnel house, at the center of whose base lie the cremated ashes of their dead. These mounds were constructed in a line on the second rise from the river, and some forty rods to the north of the river bank. The largest of them was located near the south east corner of the present court house square, and was about fifty feet in diameter and ten feet high. There were no moats or ditches surrounding these mounds, hence the material used in their construction must have been carted or carried from a distance. They were constructed of sandy loam, free of clay or gravel. From whence the Mound Builders came, the period of their existence and the cause or causes of their extermination have not yet been satisfactorily settled. Enough of their history has been delved out of their mounds to establish many very interesting facts, and the ever restless spirit of inquiry and research may yet fix the date of their existence and account for their disappearance. From the knowledge we now have relating to these mysterious people, we deduce among other things: First: They were a very numerous people as evidenced by the great number of tumuli or mounds found in the United States, reaching far beyond a hundred thousand already discovered. Secondly: They built cities and surrounded them with fortifications. Thirdly: They were a religious people and offered up sacrifices. Fourthly: They were an intelligent people and well skilled in some of the arts. Fifthly: They had a knowledge of the use of metals, especially copper, and to some extent of iron and steel. Sixthly: They were experts in the manufacture of earthenware and brick, and used the latter in walling in their cities and in the erection of fortifications. Seventhly: These people must have been as numerous throughout the valley of the Mississippi as the inhabitants along the banks of the Nile or Euphrates in biblical times, with cities rivaling those of Mexico in the days of the Montezumas. Eighthly: They must have been an agricultural and pastoral people, as their cities were too large to subsist on fish and wild game. Ninthly: They well understood the arts of war and civil engineering. Tenthly: They were a wealthy people as well as numerous, or they could not have built the mounds and fortifications which mark their existence and bear testimony to their skill and wonderful works, like those on the Muskingum in Ohio, and Cohokia in Illinois—works in whose construction years of labor and millions of treasure would be required even with the art and skill of the nineteenth century. Eleventhly: They understood and appreciated the precious metals in ornamentation, if not as a circulating medium. Twelfthly: There were at least three separate races of them, Lilliputian, Medium and Giant. Thirteenthly: They were fine judges of soil and natural advantages of locality; always selecting the best lands and most eligible sites for their cities, with a view to natural drainage, abundance of wood and water, and points which could be readily fortified against the attack of an enemy. Fourteenthly: They were probably the descendants of the Israelites, possibly of the lost tribes described by Esdros. Fifteenthly: They were crematers and buried the ashes of their dead, and erected over them tumuli instead of monuments of marble—grand landmarks to point out where their eternity began. Some of them as in Licking County, Ohio, and St. Clair County, Ill., covering acres in area, and rising to the astonishing elevation of one hundred feet; and lastly, and most strangely, they were speculative Masons, as evidenced by finding in their mounds miniature squares, compasses, levels and plumbs cut out of sea shell or imprinted on pieces of pottery. (This last discovery is but quite recent and may not prove general. Hon. William McAdams of Jersey County, Ill., and the writer, vouch for the correctness of the last statement from personal discoveries near Naples, Ill., and Glen-Elder, Kansas.) But as the editor, Mr. Battle, has dwelt at some length upon this subject, we shall simply add that there can be no reasonable doubt but the present site of the city of Morris was once the site of a great city of the Mound Builders, and from specimens of their handiwork found beneath the surface of the prairies we are led to the conclusion that the vast prairies of Illinois were at one time the growing fields of this wonderful race of people whom we only know as Mound Builders. The numerous human skeletons we find near the surface of these mounds are those of Indians, deposited there probably thousands of years after the mounds were built. The Indians utilized these mounds because they were dry, as burial places for their dead. How many different tribes of Indians have made this their principal village sites is not and never will be known. La Salle found a large one here, on his first trip up the Illinois, in 1679. Prior to the organization of Grundy, La Salle County embraced, in addition to the present large territory, all of Grundy and a portion of Kendall Counties. Ottawa, the county seat of La Salle, is located on Sections 3, 4, 9 and 10, T. 33, R 3, or just twenty-four miles west of Morris; and as Morris is twelve miles west of the east line of Grundy County, persons living on the eastern side of La Salle County prior to the formation of Grundy would be compelled to travel about forty miles to the county seat; these people soon became dissatisfied, and discussed the feasibility of the division of this monster county as far back as 1836, and in 1839 petitions for the organization of a new county were prepared, and circulated for signers by L. W. Claypool and others, and were very generally signed by the inhabitants of the territory of the proposed new county. The General Assembly (under the State Constitution, adopted Aug. 26, 1818) convened on the first Monday in December in each even numbered year, hence the first session after the commencement of obtaining signatures to said petition would be the first Monday in December, 1840. During the summer of that year the new county movement received the aid of Hon. Geo. W. Armstrong and his brother, William E., the former then living where he now resides, near the dividing line between La Salle and Grundy, with part of his farm in each county; the latter residing in Ottawa. Wm. E. was a man of great energy and positive character—quick to perceive and prompt to act. Whatever he attempted to do he did, if good management and well-directed efforts could accomplish it. In this movement he saw the necessity of a division of La Salle County, and the erection of a new one, and beyond this he saw an opportunity of making money. Having first surveyed the general topography of the country, out of which the new county was proposed to be organized, his mind settled upon the place where Morris is located, as the most eligible point for the seat of justice. He next conferred with the late John P. Chapin, who then owned the southeast quarter of Section four, T. 33, R. 7, which eventuated in the purchase of an undivided half interest in the south portion thereof, contingent upon the organization of the new county. This done, he pressed forward the petition for the division of La Salle County, with energy and success, and when the Legislature met that fall he went in person to press through his bill for a new county, suggesting the name of Grundy in honor of Tennessee's greatest criminal lawyer and statesman, Felix Grundy. This bill became a law Feby. 17, 1841. Among its provisions are the following: "That all that tract of country lying and being in the county of La Salle, in townships thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, and thirty-four north, of ranges six, seven, and eight, east of the third principal meridian, shall constitute a new county to be called Grundy. "An election shall be held at the house of C. Piney, on the fourth Monday of May next for the purpose of electing one sheriif, etc., etc., and the said county of Grundy shall be organized so soon as the said officers shall be elected and qualified. "Ward B. Burnett, Rulief S. Durwyea, and William E. Armstrong be appointed in conjunction with the commissioners of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, to locate the seat of justice of the said county of Grundy. "It shall be the duty of the said commissioners to locate the said seat of justice on the line of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, on canal lands, and they shall set apart for this purpose any quantity of the canal lands, not exceeding (10) acres, and after doing so shall proceed to lay off the said land as a town site, embracing lots, streets, alleys, and a public square, in such manner as they shall deem proper. They shall divide the said lots in equal number between the State and the said county, and shall allot to the State and the county alternate lots of equal value, or as nearly so as may be practicable. "It shall be the duty of the canal commissioners to require of the said county, and the inhabitants thereof, in their corporate capacity, shall be liable to them for the payment of a sum equal to ten dollars per acre for one- half of the whole quantity of land to be located as aforesaid, upon the payment of which sum the canal commissioners shall certify the fact to the Governor, who shall thereupon issue a patent to the county commissioners of said county for that portion of the lots by number, which shall be allotted to the county; provided always, that the moneys to be received by the canal commissioners by virtue of this section of the act, shall be applied in aid of the construction of the Illinois & Michigan Canal." The seat of justice should be located on the line of the canal and on canal land, thus restricting the location virtually to two land points, viz.: Section T or 9, T. 33, R. 7; section 9 is centrally located be¬tween east and west lines of the conntv: section 7 is two miles west of the center; both lie on the Illinois river; only a small fraction of 9 lies north of the river, whilst nearly all of 7 does. The lay of the land on the north side of the river at both of these points is high and well adapted for village or city location, and on the south side, low, flat, and subject to overflows in the spring and fall. Only ten acres were to be laid out for the seat of justice, of which the country was to have one half upon the payment to the canal fund of the sum often dollars per acre, or fifty dollars for one half of the county seat. But this was not the real consideration on the part of the State. It was the expectation that the locating of the county seat on canal land would enhance the adjacent land in price. Here, then, were two conflicting interests. The one in favor of section 7, the other for section 9. The canal commissioners having the interest of the canal fund only in view were strongly in favor of section 7, whilst the great mass of the people of the county and the other three commissioners were in favor of section 9. The people, however, could not vote upon this question, hence the vote upon the location was a tie, and a dead-lock ensued. Great credit is due to General Ward B. Burnett for the stand he took on this question. He was chief engineer of the construction of the canal, in the employment of the State, and subject to removal by the canal commissioners; but he was too much of a man to be swerved or controlled in his action as a commissioner to locate the county seat by fear or favor, hence he stood manfully with Messrs. Durwyea and Armstrong for section 9 first, last and all the time until it was accomplished. Yet, be it said, with shame, that not even a street in the entire city of Morris bears the honored name of Burnett, the gallant soldier and finished gentleman. From the time of this disagreement between the commissioners on the county seat question, which was probably in the forepart of June, 1841 (we have no record of their meeting), up to April 12, 1842, when the plat of Morris was acknowledged by Isaac N. Morris, Newton Cloud, R. S. Duryea and Wm. E. Armstrong (See Book "B," page 39, of Deed Records of Grundy County), Grundy County presented the anomaly of being a fully organized county without a county seat. Mr. Armstrong moved his family from Ottawa, Ills., soon after the passage of the act creating the county, and occupied the log cabin erected by Cryder and McKeen for John P. Chapin in 1834. This cabin stood near the spot where the residence of Judge A. R. Jordan now stands, and contained but one room 16x20 feet. On the 14th of June, 1841, the Board of County Commissioners, consisting of Henry Cryder, Jacob Claypool and James McKeen, held the first meeting for the transaction of county business at this cabin. Among other business transacted at this meeting they approved the official bonds of L. W. Claypool, recorder of deeds; James Nagle, clerk of the county commissioners' court; and Joshua Collins, probate justice of the peace. When this meeting of the board was through with their business they adjourned to meet "at the house of Wm. E. Armstrong, on section 4, July 21, 1841." At this meeting it was "ordered that the Circuit Court be held in the house of Wm. E. Armstrong." Mr. Claypool resigned his office as one of the county commissioners, and Salmon Rutherford was elected to fill the vacancy; and the next meeting was held at the house of Mr. Rutherford, at the village of Dresden, nine miles east of Morris. This was held Sept. 6, 1841, and adjourned to meet at the house of Mr. Armstrong, on section 4, T. 33, R. 7. At this meeting the precinct of Grundy was formed, which embraced what are now the towns of Morris and Saratoga. In the meanwhile Messrs. Chapin and Armstrong proceeded to lay off a village plat, embracing what is now known as Chapin's addition to Morris, but gave it no name, nor did they file it for record. It was, however, generally known as Grundyville, or Grundy, and Mr. Armstrong erected a large frame building upon the spot where the Hopkins House stands and opened it as a hotel under the name of "Grundy Hotel." A petition for a post-office at this point, with the signatures of fully half of the voters of the county, had been forwarded to the Post-Office Department in the fall of 1841, under the name of the "Town of Grundy," but the prayer was not granted because it was not a county seat, and the receipts of the office (though postage was then 25 cents per letter), would not defray the expenses of carrying the mail. In the spring of 1842, General Wm. F. Thornton, one of the canal commissioners, was succeeded by Hon. Isaac N. Morris, of Quincy, Ill., when another conference of the County Seat Commission was held—probably about the 1st of March. After inspecting the two competing points, Grundy, on Sec. 9, and Clarkson, on Sec. 7, and conferring with the county officials and people, Mr. Morris cast his vote in favor of Grundy, or Sec. 9. The vote standing as follows: For Sec. 9, Messrs. Morris, Burnett, Durwyea and Armstrong, 4. For Sec. 7, Messrs. Cloud and Fry, 2. Pleased at the independent and manly action of Mr. Morris, and wishing to honor him, the name of the Town of Grundy was changed, first to Morristown, but it was found that there was already a town of that name in the State; Morrisville was then suggested, but to this name Mr. Morris objected, as it suggested a mere village. It was finally named MORRIS, and the survey was begun (according to the diary of L. W. Claypool, Esq.) March 7, 1842, by Leander Newport, surveyor, with Perry A. Claypool and George W. Armstrong, chainmen. Thus did Grundy County, after months of doubt and uncertainty, obtain her county seat and give it a name. Sometime afterward the Board of County Commissioners attempted to change the name to Xenia, but could not agree upon the orthography of the word; hence they did not make the change. That the log cabin before referred to as the residence of Mr. Armstrong in 1841, was the first building within the present corporate limits of Morris, there is no doubt, but whether it was built by Mr. James McKeen, who died here only last year, or by John Cryder, who occupied it immediately after it was erected, seems to be in doubt. That it was built for Mr. John P. Chapin, now deceased, is conceded by all, as he was the owner of the land, although the title thereto was then in Mr. Julius WadswOrth, who held it for Mr. Chapin, and for whom John Cryder obtained a pre-emption. Mr. McKeen has frequently told the writer that he built it while Mr. Zachariah Walley, who still survives, is equally positive that Mr. John Cryder built it. We deem it safe to say that both are right, i. e., that each assisted in its erection in the spring of 1834. Mr. Cryder, after moving into said cabin, fenced and broke some ten acres of land lying west of the present Wauponsee street and north of Washington street. He resided there until the fall of 1838, and then went to Beardstown, Cass County, Illinois. The next residents of the town of Morris were John and Thomas Peacock, Englishmen and brothers. They built a small cabin on the north front of S. 1/2 of section 2, just west of the present Morris cemetery, and kept "Old Bach" during the winter of 1834- 5. They purchased this land at the land sale in 1835, married and raised families. Many of their descendants are still living there and elsewhere in this county. In the early spring of 1838, Peter Griggs erected a cabin near where the aqueduct now is and moved into it. His widow still survives and is a second time a widow. He left several children who are still living: Jacob, John, Mary, Priscilla and Wilson. Jacob is the only one now living in Morris. On the 3d of July, 1839, all the available force of this section of country assembled at the west branch of Nettle Creek on the west side of the city, to raise what has ever since that time been known as "shaking bridge." The territory, now in Grundy County, was at that time very sparsely settled. The bridge was constructed of green oak logs, and hence they were extremely heavy. Nearly every able-bodied man then in the limits of this county was there. Hayes, Peacocks, Claypools, Warren, Holloway, Tabler, etc. In bridging this stream the people were in hopes of inducing Frink & Walker, who ran a line of stages from Chicago to Ottawa, via Lisbon, to change the line so as to follow the course of the Illinois river, and pass through this locality. That object was not accomplished, however, until 1846, when O. Husteed & Co. became the successors to Frink & Walker in the mail contract between Chicago and Peoria. During the summer and fall of 1841, several new buildings were erected here, but as pine lumber could not be obtained short of Chicago, the greater portion of them were merely log cabins. The first one was probably built by James Nagle, Clerk of the County Commissioners'Court. It was a large sized, heavily built log cabin, and stood near the old Kinsted homestead, on the S. W. 1/4, section 3, near the N. W. corner thereof. In this cabin Mr. Nagle kept his office containing the books, papers and archives of the county. He was a highly educated Irishman, which means one of Nature's noblemen, for as a general rule, an educated Irishman is a finished gentleman. He was a most splendid penman and very agreeable man. An invalid, he fell a victim to that fell destroyer—consumption—in the spring of 1843. James Hart, father of John Hart, Esq. and widow Reynolds, of this city, built a small house near the Indian pole, and occupied it for a residence and saloon. He was a partner with Mr. Armstrong in one or more contracts to dig the canal. Andrew Kinchella, a man of energy and means, built and occupied a log cabin near the present residence of L. P. Lott, Esq. He afterward purchased and improved a farm near Minooka, and died several years since, leaving quite a property. Anthony Horan, who always appeared in white pants and vest on St. Patrick's Day, no matter what the weather was, built and occupied a cabin near where the present fine residence of L. W. Claypool stands. In a fit of anger at his wife he is said to have set fire to it in 1846. Whether this was true or not, the cabin was burned, and he was arrested for the incendiarism, but as we had no suitable jail, Deputy Sheriff P. Kelly started with him in a buggy for the Ottawa jail. On reaching a point this side of Marseilles where the road approached the Illinois River, he complained of being thirsty and asked permission to get a drink. Having the darbies on, Mr. Kelly deemed it safe, and accompanied him to the river's edge. Horan laid down and drank heartily, but while lying there he worked his hands through his hand cuffs, and as he rose to his feet he sprang into the river, swam across to the other side, and made good his escape, and stayed away until after the next term of court, at which no indictment was found, as his wife refused to go before the Grand Jury to testify against him. She died soon afterward, and Anthony returned to Morris, where he remained until some years afterward, when he went to the State of Pennsylvania, and was living at last advices. Perry A. Claypool built a cabin about where Ray's store now stands, in 1842, and occupied it with his family for about a year, when Samuel Ayres and family took possession of the cabin and kept boarders. During the residence of Mr. Ayres here he held the office of coroner and deputy sheriff. He was a capital good fellow and had an interesting family. He left about the year 1848 and went to Texas, much to the regret of our people. With full confidence that this point would ultimately be the county seat, Mr. Armstrong, of his own volition and at his own expense, commenced the erection of a frame building near the northwest corner of the public square, for a court house, in the winter of 1841-2. This building was probably 20x40 feet, two stories high. As there was no pine lumber to be had short of Chicago, and then it would have to be hauled by teams, he used hardwood lumber. It was an old fashioned heavy frame, thoroughly braced, with oaken floors and siding. The siding was undressed and hence could never be painted. This siding was sawed from a very independent kind of trees and had a decidedly snarlish disposition, and little regard for the confining influence of nails; hence, the clapboards or siding turned up their noses or heels in the most provoking manner—resembling somewhat the bristles of the hedgehog. This building was virtually accepted by the county commissioners as and for a court house in the fall of 1842, and forty dollars were paid to Mr. Armstrong as part pay, and in June, 1843, they paid him another county order for $310.06, making a total of $350.06. This was for the building, before it was lathed and plastered. That cost $175.30, making the total cost of the court house $525.36. Rather a cheap building for such a purpose, yet it served the purpose for which it was erected until superseded by the present fine stone one in 1856, a period of thirteen years. The lower story was done off for a court room, with a door on each side near the center and opposite each other, for ingress and egress, and the upper story was divided into three rooms of nearly equal size, with stairway at southeast corner. In the upper story were the offices of the clerks of the Circuit and County Commissioners' Courts and recorder's office, but not used as such.—L. W. C. - Our sheriff, Mr. Armstrong, had charge of the court room, and being a very liberal man in his religious views, this court room was always free for religious services, no matter of what denomination. It was equally free for temperance meetings, singing schools, Sabbath schools, lectures, legerdemain, or for the exhibition of learned pigs, bears, natural monstrosities, or that greatest of humbugs, mesmerism. During the winter and spring of 1841-2 Robert Peacock erected a small frame building for a hotel on the spot where the Clifton House now stands and christened it the "Plow Inn." His sign was the representation of a plow painted upon a board, and underneath the letters "Inn." Mr. Peacock was a man of fair education, honest and fair but slightly addicted to gossip; hence he was very liable to be occasionally duped. He was a justice of the peace and a good one. In the absence of the coroner, a justice of the peace of the precinct where a dead body may be found was required to hold an inquest. In the summer of 1842 P. P. Chapin (a natural wag) was running a brick yard near where the Gas Factory is located on the bank of East Nettle Creek. An English family, of the name of Bandly, with three or four daughters, ranging from six to fourteen years of age, lived near by his brick yard. These little girls had an enormously large rag doll baby, and while playing on the bank of the creek which is very abrupt and high, either by accident or intent, they let this doll fall into the creek, and as they could not reach it to pull it out, they left it floating down stream. Mr. Chapin rescued it from its watery grave and carefully laid it out to dry upon a large stump close by. Here was a rare chance for "Pete" (as he was called, although his Christian name was Paschal) to gratify his ever ready wit and propensity for fun, even at the expense of friendship. A couple of elderly maidens lived "all alone" in a cabin near by, with whose reputation the busy tongue of scandal was dealing insidious inuendoes—though in all human probability very unjustly. It was therefore an easy matter to start the inference of infanticide in that locality, and Squire Peacock—good, honest soul, would be among the very first to jump at a conclusion from the most obscure hint or gesture. With a serious countenance he approached the Squire, and in a solemn voice informed him of the corpus delicti. How his attention was attracted to the creek by the high bluff, near the residence of these old maidens; how he saw the dead body of a babe in the water; how he had carefully drawn the body out all dripping with water, and carefully laid it on a stump awaiting an inquest. All confidingly the Squire was entrapped, exclaiming, "I told you nothing good would come of those two women living there alone." He consulted the statute relative to holding inquests, and then proceeded to summon a jury. L. W. Claypool and Samuel Ayers had been let into the secret by Chapin. The former declined to serve on the jury, but the latter wanted to see the fun. Having obtained his jury of twelve "good men and true," he repaired to the stump to examine the corpse, when lo! there was nothing there but a bundle of rags. The Squire laid up a hickory in oil for Chapin's use, but really never got quite even with him. On the 15th of April, 1842, having reached the age of nineteen, with all our worldly goods and possessions, consisting of a few home-made clothes and Blackstone "done up in two volumes," all ensconced in a "cotton bandana," with two Spanish quarters in our pocket like "Japhet in search of a father," we struck out from the paternal nest in the town of Deer Park, La Salle County, Illinois, and "on foot and alone like the girl that went to get married" we wended our way to the new town of Morris, with great expectations of achieving a fortune and of building up a name that would be the envy of the old and the emulation of the young. We toiled along cheerily and manfully for the first half of the road—some fifteen miles. From thence on, those ponderous words of Blackstone, or the amount of paper used to print them, grew in weight step by step until each seemed to outweigh a common sized anvil. Night spread her sable wings over woodland and prairie long ere we reached our goal. On striking the point where Messrs. Kenrick & Kennedy now live we gave completely out. The roads were in a horrid condition and the mud was half leg deep. The arguments of the legal sage were too heavy for us and hence we deposited them in a hollow oak tree and covered them over with leaves and mud, to be exhumed at a more convenient season. At about nine p. M., we reached the Grundy Hotel, though it was then far from being finished. Here we received a hearty welcome, with many proffers of a drop of whisky, with the assurance that it would do us good. We received the welcome without the whisky. Morris had been located and christened just three days before we cast our lot within its precincts. We have been inseparable companions since that time and have grown old together. It has grown larger, stronger and better. We, too, have grown larger, but alas, weaker and more wicked. Hope deferred for forty years, and still our expectations seem no nearer realization than when we came. Some days after our arrival here we returned to the hollow tree for our books. They were safe and uninjured. Our first day in Morris as a citizen was full of adventure and decidedly discouraging. We came here ostensibly to keep the books of account of the firm of Armstrong & Hart, who were canal contractors and built the canal through Morris, but our main object was to study law, and as we were informed before coming that the bookkeeping would occupy but a small portion of our time, we expected to literally absorb the contents of Blackstone. We were to board at the Grundy Hotel, of which Mr. Armstrong was proprietor. On the day after our arrival we were placed in charge of said hotel as well as of the books of the firm, while Mr. Armstrong and family started to Ottawa for a short visit. Early in the day we were informed by the cook of the boarding house for the canal hands that he was "out of meat," and as none could be obtained short of Dresden, we mounted a horse and went thither and made a purchase of several barrels of pork from Antoine Peltier and returned towards evening. There was a cubby-hole under the stairway of the hotel in which was stored a barrel of cheap brandy, the door to which we locked and put the key in our pocket During our absence some thirsty soul broke open this door to get at the brandy. Having taken a few drinks he imagined that he was the owner of the entire barrel. Soon it was known all over the village that brandy was free at the Grundy Hotel. Once fairly started, brand was carried in pails, dippers, pitchers and tin cups to the men on the work, and as a natural result a sober man was the exception and fighting was general. As we approached the hotel the engineer in charge of the construction of the canal and the boss carpenter on the erection of the court house were stripped for a fight, each insisting that he would knock the other over the Alleghany mountains if he could only get a fair lick at him. They had a scratch across the road, which they vainly endeavored to toe, but were so drunk that when they attempted to straighten up, they lost their equilibrium, and were forced to step back, so a collision was impossible, so long as they respected the road mark. We had seen but little drunkenness thus far, and were horrified and pained at the sight. Here was a man of intellect and education, a first-class gentleman, so muddled with the accursed liquor that he forgot who he was and what he was trying to do. By the joint use of persuasion and physical strength we got the engineer in bed, when he soon went to sleep, and came out the next day humiliated and humble and eschewed cheap brandy ever after, as a beverage. Having thus disposed of the engineer, we started in search of a sober man, but failed in the effort. As we left the hotel a fight was in progress between Mat Catlin, the plasterer, and Johnnie May, a teamster. They were of the banty order and fought lively with the advantage in favor of May, who soon got Catlin down and was pummelling him in the most approved style. We went to the rescue of Catlin and released him from his perilous condition, and for this kindly act he became highly incensed at us and turned the vials of his wrath upon our poor head. The result was a slight conflict, with a pair of badly- damaged eyes to the plasterer. We then went into the office to post up books when Kurtz, the carpenter, came in and demanded more brandy. We had none to give him if we had wished to do so, as the barrel had been completely emptied before our return from Dresden, and had we had it to give we should most certainly have declined to give him any, as he was still quite tipsy. Our refusal roused him to a towering rage. We ordered him out of the room, to which he replied: "I know you are the boss here, but you are too small for a boss. I will go out if you can put me out, but not otherwise." We thereupon went for him and rushed to the door when he caught hold of the door jambs with his hands. This we expected, but were in no way disconcerted by it. We had seen such tricks before and well knew how to defeat them. We seized him around the legs and ended him over, when he fell on the flat of his back into the bar room. He sprang quickly to his feet and came at us for fight, striking out with both fists wildly. We dodged the blows and gave him a hip lock, landing him across the flared edge of an old-fashioned Franklin stove, which settled him, and at the same time broke one of his ribs, when he was ready—yes, anxious, of being put in his "little bed." Gilman, the teamster, was the next to make trouble. He got up in the night to interfere with the cook whose room was down stairs. We heard him getting up and knew his design. Stealing to the head of the stairway in the dark hall we were ready for action. As he reached the first step we gave him a violent push. He had no time to count the steps or open the door at the foot of the stairs. He stopped very suddenly with his head in the bar room and his body in the stairway. The stairway door, however, was demoralized, and minus a panel. He was satisfied that "the way of the transgressor is hard," and very willingly returned to his bed. When Mr. A. returned from Ottawa, he found the work on the court house suspended and his team idle for want of a driver. Upon inquiring the cause of Mr. Catlin, he was informed that "we got on to a bit of a tantrum, when Picayune like to have kilt the whole of us." This was the way a new name was given to us. Not a very elegant one, but one that stayed by us for several years. Thus we had a busy day, even though it was our first day in Morris. We established our reputation as a "fighter" and have rested since. WILLIAM E. ARMSTRONG, the founder of Morris, was born in Licking County, Ohio, Oct. 25, 1814, and died Nov. 1, 1850. With his mother's family he moved overland from Ohio to Illinois in the spring of 1831, and located near where Lacon now stands, in April of that year. In August, of the same year, the family moved to the present town of Deer Park, La Salle County. A man of great mental and physical strength, he was a born leader of men. In September, 1841, he was elected sheriff, and was re-elected several times thereafter. So great was his influence that he was generally called "the emperor of Grundy." He always had a host of friends, who looked upon him as their leader. Yet he never appeared to seek their leadership. It was accorded him. In energy, perseverance and business tact, he had few equals. He could plan and execute great undertakings, where the common man and mind could see nothing to do. He was probably the ablest man Grundy County ever had. He with his wife and two daughters moved from Ottawa here in March, 1841, and took possession of the Chapin log cabin before described. With him came GEORGE H. KIERSTED, a graduate of South College, Kentucky. Mr. Kiersted was a man of liberal education and magnificent physical form, a man who would attract attention and admiration among a crowd of hundreds of fine looking men. There was a peculiar dignity—yea, majesty in his very step, whilst every motion of his fine form was graceful and easy. About six feet in height, with broad shoulders and powerful limbs, yet he was as active as a cat; even up to the time of his death, which occurred but a few years since, he could turn a handspring on the barn floor. With clear blue eyes, finely shaped head and remarkably pure complexion, he was a very handsome man. Fond of music, poetry and flowers, and a poet himself of no common type, yet too modest to let his poetry see the light of publication. Possessed of a fine tenor voice, and master of the flute, and of great conversational powers, he was a welcome guest and leader of society. His life and history here are parts and parcels of the history of Morris. He was generous to a fault, and acquired money only for its use. Next to Mr. A. no man ever excelled him in influence in Grundy County. He was defeated for the office of recorder by Mr. L. W. Claypool, May 24, 1841, and then accepted a position as assistant engineer on the canal, making his home still here. He married Miss B. Kelley, the accomplished sister-in-law of James Nagle, and upon the death of Mr. Nagle succeeded him as clerk of the county commissioners court, June 5, 1843, which office he continued to hold until the office was changed to county clerk, in 1849. He also held the office of clerk of the circuit court from 1842 to 1853, and postmaster a short time under Polk's administration, but resigned it in favor of the writer in the spring of 1864. He died poor, leaving a large family—all daughters. The eldest, Anna, is the wife of D. C. Huston, Esq.; the second, Abbie M., is the wife of Alexander Burrell, Esq., both of Morris. Both are ladies of fine physique and intelligence. PASCHAL PAOLA CHAPIN, before mentioned, was a brother of John P. Chapin, one of the proprietors of Morris and came here in 1842 to look after his brother's interest. A natural wag, yet handsome and accomplished. We find him acting as, clerk pro tem, of the county commissioners court in the fall of 1842. He was the first clerk of the circuit court of the county and "a hale fellow well met," in all the public gatherings of the time. He went by the name of P'Flora P'Nellie or P. Chapin, and left here about the year 1845 and died in Wisconsin lately. He was "a gay and festive old bach," ever ready for sport and fun. Of medium size, dark complexion, jet black hair and whiskers, he was decidedly handsome. JAMES HART came here with his family in the fall of 1841 and located his cabin near the Cedar Pole on Wauponsee street. He was a giant in size and strength and possessed of good executive ability. In company with Mr. Armstrong he took one or two contracts on the canal, one of them being that portion which passes through Morris. Teams and scrapers in digging canals had not come into use at that time, and if they had, they could not have been obtained, for they were not in the country. The work was done with the shovel and barrow, a very slow and expensive mode of digging a canal. In this slow mode of canal building, Mr. Hart was well educated, and would have made money on their contracts if the State had not gone into practical bankruptcy and paid their estimates in scrip, worth only about 33 1/3 cents on the dollar. Notwithstanding this ruinous depreciation in the funds, Messrs. Armstrong & Hart finished up their contracts at a heavy financial loss. At the regular election, Aug. 7, 1843, Mr. Hart was elected school commissioner of the county and qualified as such Sept. 4th, giving a $12,000 bond, which office he held to the time of his death, which occurred in 1844. He left quite a family, of whom Mrs. Thomas Reynolds, Mrs. Wm. Telfer and John Hart, our popular blacksmith, still reside in Morris. MICHAEL DEPRENDEGAST came here from Ottawa in the winter of 1843-4 and built a double log cabin where the First National Bank of Morris now stands. Elected to the office of justice of the peace soon after coming here, he held that office up to August, 1846, when he was elected probate justice of the peace. For him nature did but little, education much. He made a good justice of the peace and by no means a bad probate judge. He had been admitted to the bar, but never practiced as a lawyer. A man of inordinate vanity, he was extremely susceptible to flattery, but his honesty and integrity were never questioned. He built the fine brick block at the corner of Washington and Wauponsee streets, known now as the Bank Block, but during his life-time as the "Pendegrass Block." It was asserted by some that his name when he came from Ireland was Pendegrass and that for style he changed it to "DePrendegast" to make it Frenchy and aristocratic. He died about the year 1870, leaving his widow and one son surviving; both of whom died shortly after, leaving an estate for litigation without direct heirs. LUTHER S. BOBBINS, M. D., moved to Morris from the Sulphur Springs, south of this city, in 1842, and took possession of the Chapin cabin when Mr. Armstrong moved to the Grundy Hotel. Dr. Bobbins was doubtless the first regular physician of Grundy County, having located at the Sulphur Springs, now owned by George Harold, in 1834. He was elected probate justice of the peace in 1843 which he held to the time of his death, April 1, 1845. He was a man of good acquirements with considerable skill as a physician. BARTHOLOMEW MCGRATH came here from Dresden and built the "Morris Hotel" in 1843, which stood at southwest corner of Main and Liberty streets where the Gibbard brick block now stands. A natural mathematician and fine business man, he had been engaged for several years preceding as a canal contractor, and was elected one of the county commissioners to succeed Henry Cryder, Esq., Aug. 7, 1843. This office he filled with credit to himself, and satisfaction to the county for several years, and died of consumption, very generally regretted, in 1846, leaving a widow and three children, two of whom now survive, viz.: Thomas E. and Samuel D. McGrath, the former of this city, the latter a compositor on the Chicago Times. His widow became the wife of Col. James H. O'Brien, and died here in 1850. JOHN MCNELLIS, or black Jack, as he was sometimes called, came here from Ottawa in 1844, and built a frame house, on the spot now occupied by Brown's drug store, for a boarding house and saloon. Unable to read or write, yet nature supplied this defect by giving him a large, well balanced and active brain. He did a good business, and accumulated some means so that when the canal was opened in 1848 he was able to purchase a fine canal boat, and christened it the General Shields. With this boat and the exercise of good judgment in the purchase and sale of grain, he made considerable money. What would have seemed to others a misfortune not unfrequently proved to him fortunate. For instance, on one occasion he bought several thousand bushels of wheat, which were shipped on the General Shields for the Chicago market; while on its way a break in the canal detained the boat some fifteen days, during which time the price of wheat went up several cents per day, so that he nearly doubled his money on this venture. When the canal trustees held their public sale here, Mr. McNellis purchased sixty acres of land, all now within the corporate limits of the city of Morris. He also purchased at that sale several other tracts of land. Honest in his dealings with the farmers he gained their confidence and good will to such a degree, that, other things being equal, he got their grain. Erecting a warehouse where the McEwen warehouse now stands, he did the leading grain business for many years. Having purchased the fine farm lying northwest of Morris, now owned by William Stephens and occupied by his son Charles, he built the fine brick dwelling thereon, and otherwise improved the place so as to make it one of the best farms of the county. A devout Catholic in religion, and feeling the want of education himself, he erected a fine four story brick building, and with ten acres of land surrounding it, he donated it for a "Catholic School forever." Thus was St. Angela's Convent, which is an honor to our city—founded. It was the munificent gift of John McNellis. Nor were his church donations confined to his own church; having also given to the Catholic church two acres of land for a church building and parsonage, he also subscribed and paid $3,000 toward the erection of the splendid Catholic Church edifice, and then gave $250 to the Congregational, $100 to the Presbyterian, $100 to the Baptist,and $250 to the Episcopal Churches of Morris. Donations whose aggregate amount would make a moderate fortune to any individual. But he met with reverses and is now old and poor. Highwines, at one time during the war, went up to a high figure, which induced him to erect a distillery at the Au Sable, some six miles east of Morris. This proved his downfall. Of the practical working of a distillery he had no knowledge whatever. He tried to operate it awhile, but finding it was proving a heavy loss, he then leased it to parties who ran "crooked," when his property was seized by the government and virtually confiscated. What, between litigation and hope of the property being restored to him by the government, he has become broken down, mentally and physically, and is compelled to live on small means and cheaply. No man has done more toward the material prosperity of Morris, than John McNellis. His brother-in-law, JUDGE PATRICK HYNDS, came here also in 1844, built and started a blacksmith shop (the first in the place) on the lot just north of the present residence of his widow. He was elected Justice of the Peace soon after coming here, and such was his fine sense of even-handed justice that he gave very general satisfaction as such. Indeed, his decisions were seldom if ever reversed on appeal. His fine judgment pointed him out as a suitable person to fill the vacancy in the office of County Judge on the resignation of Judge Henry Storr, in 1851. In that year he was elected County Judge at a special election and re- elected in 1853 at the regular election. Notwithstanding the County Court had a common law jurisdiction to the amount of $1,000, and exercised certain chancery jurisdiction, he discharged the duties thereof very satisfactorily to the bar and the people, though he was not a lawyer, nor indeed had he ever read law. He died of consumption in 1860, leaving a widow and three children, all of whom are still living. Judge Hynds was in many respects a remarkable man. He was a warm true friend, of positive character, generous impulses and high-toned honor. What he promised, that he did. There was no halfway business in his composition. His rule of life and conduct were based upon this thought: Whatever is honest must be right—whatever is dishonest is a crime that should be punished. MAHLON P. WILSON, whose adz and driver have been heard from early morn to dewy eve for nearly forty years, was the first cooper of Morris. Indeed, we may say the only one, except his brother Alexander, who came many years later. On the 10th of May, 1844, Mahlon P. with his wife and one child moved into the double log cabin erected for a boarding house for canal hands, on the spot now occupied by the fine residence of S. S. Strong, Esq. Here he opened his shop and commenced the manufacture of barrels, firkins, etc., which he has carried on continuously in Morris for over thirty-eight years. In 1845 he erected a small frame house on the spot now occupied by the McCann brick building on Washington street, and moved his family into it and opened a boarding house. This building was but 16 by 24 feet, if we remember aright. When Messrs. LeRoy & Hannah built the brick building, this house was removed and is still standing as a part of the Clifton House (forming the kitchen, we believe). For many years past, his shop has been on Canal street, east of the court house, where from morn till late at night his driver and adz are in constant motion. Industrious, and by no means extravagant, yet he never made a fortune. He, however, succeeded in keeping out of debt, raising and educating a large family. He is now sixty-five years of age, hale and hearty and as slim as a shad, yet tough as sole leather. Though not an Episcopalian, he is decidedly neutral in politics and religion. He never sought nor held an office, and seldom attended a church, but for all that he is a moral man and a good citizen. PATRICK KELLEY, a man of large size and great physical strength, opened a saloon-or grocery as then called—in a shanty on the corner of Main and Wauponsee streets. He was deputy sheriff under Mr. Armstrong, and at the election of 1846 he was elected recorder over Henry Storr, although he received few or no votes outside of the laborers on the canal. In those days the canal vote was by no means an uncertain or doubtful element in elections of county officers in Grundy County. They constituted a clear majority of the legal voters of the county, and when united they "licked the platter clean." In 1846 the canal vote swept the boards, except for sheriff. Mr. Armstrong succeeded in diverting a part of their vote, and was re-elected. Mr. Kelley, by the assistance of Dr. A. F. Hand, managed to do the recording passably well. The doctor in those days was slightly given to the spread eagle, and decorated several pages of the records with counterfeit presentments of that famous bird. Mr. Kelley was a mason by trade and a good one. He died in this city some years since, leaving two highly educated and accomplished daughters. ADAM LAMB, or more generally known as Scotch Lamb, was a canal contractor and came here in 1844 and built what was known as the "Mud House," for a store. This house stood on Washington street nearly opposite the present Normal School building. It was merely an adobe building—the first and last of its kind. The clay would not resist the rain; it simply melted. To protect it a coat of lime and sand mortar had to be spread outside. The cohesion of the mud was insufficient to hold the mortar, hence the latter fell off in patches, leaving the surface irregular and decidedly resembling a clear case of small pox. It stood, however, for many years and was the regular "catch basin" for newcomers to tarry in for a time until they could do better. Its last use was for the printing office of the Morris Yeoman, the first newspaper published in Morris. This was too weighty and the poor old adobe caved in and its debris was hauled away. Mr. Lamb was not only a ripe scholar but a finished Scotch gentleman; at onetime a member of the club of Edinburgh critics. He was a bachelor with jet black hair and whiskers, with fair complexion and symmetrical form; he was remarkably handsome. He left here for Chicago on business, and never returned, leaving a large amount of property and unsettled business. He was free from debt and had considerable money on his person when he started to Chicago. He was heard from in New York city, where all trace of him ceased. It was supposed that he took a sudden notion to return to "Bonnie Scotland" for a visit, but he never reached there; he was probably killed and robbed in the city of New York. This was in 1846, and his brother closed up his business here and sold out the store to the writer. We are uncertain whether this stock of goods or that of Col. Wm. L. Perce, was the first brought to Morris. They were both opened in 1845 and were mere supply stores for the accommodation of the canal hands. COL. WILLIAM L. PERCE took the contract of building the aqueduct across Nettle Creek on the west side of the city, and came here with his family in 1845, occupying a frame house built by Geo. H. Kiersted where the residence of John P. Hamilton now stands. He was an elderly man of considerable means and large experience as a contractor. With him came Charles H. Goold, now president of the Grundy County National Bank, as book-keeper, and Alexander Morrison, now a member of the State Senate of Michigan and a leading capitalist of that State, as foreman. The stone for this aqueduct was quarried some seven miles below Morris, near the river bank and hauled by teams. It was a reddish sandstone of inferior quality and disintegrated so that the aqueduct had to be rebuilt. Col. Perce opened a stock of dry goods in a room in the American House, with C. H. Goold as manager, in the fall of 1845, which was probably the first store in Morris. He left here when the canal was finished and has been dead many years. Passionately fond of euchre he was a good partner if you understood his signs, and a dangerous rival in a four-handed game. He was bald headed and had large ears, which he could move forward or backward at will, and by means of his ears he could indicate to his partner whether he had one or more trumps, and in case the dealer turned down the trump card he told his partner what he desired for trump, by the motion of his ears. To those who did not know of this peculiarity his playing and luck were marvelous. ELIJAH WALKER opened a boot and shoe shop in a log cabin where Alex Miller's residence now stands, in 1841. He was the first president of the board of trustees, under the special charter of the town of Morris in 1853, and served one term as sheriff of the county and was supervisor of the town in the county board. Defeated for re-election as sheriff, by John Galloway, in 1856, he became disgusted with politics and went to Iowa. Additional Comments: HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY ILLINOIS; Containing a History from the earliest settlement to the present time, embracing its topographical, geological, physical and climatic features; its agricultural, railroad interests, etc.; giving an account of its aboriginal inhabitants, early settlement by the whites, pioneer incidents, its growth, its improvements, organization of the County, the judicial history, the business and industries, churches, schools, etc.; Biographical Sketches; Portraits of some of the Early Settlers, Prominent Men, etc.; ILLUSTRATED. CHICAGO: O. L. BASKIN & CO., HISTORICAL PUBLISHERS, Lakeside Building. 1882. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/grundy/history/1882/historyo/chapter610gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 60.2 Kb