Lake County History

A picture is worth a thousand words.

In the case of Frances "Fanny" Hinkston, her photo was my starting point for uncovering a forgotten life.

Fanny Hinkston Bacon (1831 - 1858)

Photo circa 1855. Collections of Lake County Discovery Museum

It was difficult to research Fanny due in part to her short life, and that women's lives tended not to include activities that made it into the public record. If not for this photo—so carefully placed by students in the York House School history (written in 1918) and preserved in the museum's collections—we may never have known of Fanny's existence.

Fanny Hinkston was born in New York in 1831. The date of her arrival in Lake County is unknown, but her relations were here as early as 1836. One of the county's most distinguished settlers—Lorenzo Hinkston (1819-1905) was related to Fanny. Lorenzo settled in Waukegan Township in 1836 in the company of Leonard Spaulding.

According to the York House School history, Miss Fanny was its teacher in 1849. This would have been during the spring/summer school term. It was generally believed that female teachers could not handle large farm boys, so they taught during the spring/summer term when boys were needed most on the farm and did not attend school.

The one-room York House schoolhouse was located in Waukegan Township on the southeast corner of today's Greenbay Road and Yorkhouse Road (near Bairstow Avenue).

York House School as it looked in 1855. (LCDM Collection)
The plain rectangular building with no embellishments was typical of Midwestern one-room schoolhouses.
The school was first built in the early 1840s as a log cabin. This frame structure may have been
built by the time Fanny Hinkston taught there in 1849.

In October 1850, Fanny was residing a couple of miles south of the schoolhouse with Hannah Hinkston Spaulding (Spalding) and her children. Hannah was the wife of Allen Spaulding and sister of Lorenzo Hinkston. She and Fanny were most likely cousins.

Among Fanny's pupils were Hannah's daughter, Mary (1842 - 1910), and their neighbor (and relative) Emily Hinkston (1844-1931), daughter of Eber Hinkston, Jr.

Emily Hinkston Moulton started attending the York House School
when she was five years old in 1849. She is pictured here about 1865.
(LCDM Collection)

Fanny's other pupils included: Thomas, Jerry and Oliver Brown; John, Charles and Elisa Miller; Minerva Buell, Mary Emmons, Augusta Phillips, Lily Putnam, and Mary White.

According to historian, Wayne E. Fuller, in the one-room schools, it was said that "no school, no matter how well equipped, was better than its teacher." The teacher was a one-person show, setting a good moral example for the students, in addition to teaching Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, and taking on janitorial and administrative duties.

During her time as a teacher, Fanny met farmer James Bacon. The Bacon family had moved from New York to Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin (just over the stateline).

On May 10, 1855, Fanny Hinkston married James T. Bacon, the son of Peter and Clarinda Bacon.

Three years later, in 1858, Fanny died. There is no record of the cause of death, but she may have died in childbirth.

Tombstone of "Fanny wife of James T. Bacon" at Union Cemetery, Waukegan.

(Photo by Pence on FindAGrave.com)

At just twenty-seven years old, Fanny's hopes and dreams for a life with James had come to an end. Her family's grief is reflected in the symbolism on her tombstone: a weeping willow tree for their sadness, and a tree stump for her life cut short.

The story of James T. Bacon's life after the loss of Fanny will be discussed in a future post.

~ ~ ~

Sources:

Waukegan Township York House School History, 1918. Lake County Discovery Museum.
One-Room Schools of the Middle West: an Illustrated History by Wayne E. Fuller. University Press of Kansas, 1994.
1850 U.S. Census. Ancestry.com
Illinois, Marriage Index. Ancestry.com
FindAGrave.com

In the early winter of 1834, citizens of the village Hannibal, New York were stirring about the prospect of moving west.

James Bacon, who was just a toddler, did not understand the great fuss of the "western enthusiasts" who included his uncle Hudson Bacon.

By February 1835, a small group of men, including Hudson Bacon, and led by John Bullen, Jr., formed an investment company—the Western Emigration Company. The goal was to establish a "colony" in which its members would aid one another and "mutually share profits and losses in the enterprise."

This was the start of James Bacon's noteworthy and tragic life.

The settlers sent a small group ahead to explore sites. In June 1835, a claim was made on the north side of Pike Creek in today's Kenosha, Wisconsin.

About fifteen families from Hannibal and Troy, New York arrived in the new settlement via the Erie Canal and Great Lakes. Among the settlers was five-year old James Bacon and his father, Peter Bacon, mother Clarinda Trowbridge Bacon, and sister Jane.

The Bacon family were one of the first settlers in Kenosha, Wisconsin. They witnessed the great surge of emigration to Kenosha and Lake Counties in the 1830s and 1840s. Ships arrived daily with passengers both American and foreign born. Like the vast majority of settlers, the Bacon family took up farming.

In late 1850, twenty-year old James Bacon purchased property in Lake County, Illinois, striking out on his own as a farmer.

Isaac Winter and Samuel Miller at the site of their 1830s mill pond, Newport Township Section 33.

This mill site was down the road from James Bacon's homestead.

(Browe School History, Lake County Discovery Museum)

Soon after settling in Lake County, James became acquainted with Frances "Fanny" Hinkston, the sister of prominent Lake County citizen, Lorenzo Hinkston. (read previous post on Fanny Hinkston).

James and Fanny wed on May 10, 1855.

In April 1856, James purchased 80 acres from Tryphena Bingham north of Yorkhouse Road and west of Delany Road in Newport Township (part of today's Waukegan Savanna Forest Preserve). Newlyweds, James and Fanny, settled there. In October, James purchased 19 acres in Warren Township from DeWitt Spaulding.

1861 map showing James T. Bacon's property (highlighted left of center) where he and Fanny lived.

Allen Spalding's property (below right) is where Fanny Hinkston lived with her sister's family
before marrying Bacon. York House School where Fanny taught is also highlighted.
(1861 Lake County plat map)

The first tragedy in James's life occurred on April 15, 1858, when Fanny died. She was only twenty-seven. Her ornate tombstone at Union Cemetery is a living witness to James's grief. After his wife's untimely death, James continued to farm the Newport Township property, but also spent time with his family in Kenosha.

By the fall of 1863, James had re-married. He and his new wife, Maria C., made their home in the same house he had shared with Fanny.

The Civil War was raging, but James did not enlist until January 14, 1864. Nathaniel Vose of Newport Township recruited him into Company I of the 17th Illinois Cavalry.

While he was away at war, James's mother died, and his health began to decline. On May 31, 1865, he mustered out of military service due to illness.

There was one bright spot the summer he returned home—his wife gave birth to a baby boy, Elliott Parker Bacon, born July 8.

James's happiness again was interrupted when his wife Maria died on January 16, 1872. She was buried at the Spaulding Corner Cemetery (today's Union Cemetery), on Grand Avenue in Waukegan.

Grave marker for Maria C. Bacon (1833-1872), second wife of James T. Bacon.

Union Cemetery, Waukegan, Illinois. FindAGrave.com

Following Maria's death, James made his way to Indiana where his father was living. There he met the widow, Mary Pugh Freligh (1839 - 1917).

James married Mary in 1875, and the couple returned to Lake County with James's son Elliott, and Mary's children, Hattie and Charles. The family settled in Wadsworth, and a son, Joseph Blaine Bacon, was born on August 28, 1877.

Five years later, James and Maria sold their property and moved the family to Thayer County, Nebraska. James continued in farming, but appeared to suffer greatly from "paralysis contracted" since his military service.

The last ten years of James's life were difficult as he struggled with poor health.

In 1886, James was considered an "invalid" (probably due to the paralysis) and admitted to the Western Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Soldiers' homes were established to care for the great number of Civil War veterans, who had returned from the war missing an arm or leg, or suffering from wounds that would not heal, or post traumatic stress disorder (which was entirely misunderstood). These homes were a great relief to families who could no longer care for their veteran.

In 1888, James was transferred to the Northwestern Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (now the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center). It is unclear how long James remained at this facility.

Historic buildings of the former Northwestern Branch of the National Home for Disabled Soldiers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where James T. Bacon lived. (Photo by James Rosenthal from the nps.gov website)

James Bacon's deteriorating health became public knowledge when on May 31, 1895, the Lake County Clerk issued a "command" to the County Sheriff George H. Brown to "summon James T. Bacon if he shall be found in your County," to appear before the court.

Mary Bacon filed an application for the appointment of a conservator for the care and management of her husband's real and personal property.

Notice regarding James T. Bacon published in the Waukegan Gazette, June 1, 1895.

James Bacon appeared in court in Waukegan on June 15, 1895. His attorney made the following statement: "James T. Bacon... is of sound mind and fully able, fit and competent to properly manage and control his properties."

The court determined that Bacon was a "distracted person." This terminology was commonly used to describe mental illness. Charles A. Partridge was appointed as Bacon's principal conservator. Partridge was also a Civil War veteran, having served with the 96th Illinois.

James returned to the soldier's home in Milwaukee where he died on December 22, 1895. The cause of death was meningoencephalitis, a condition caused by a virus, bacteria or parasite.

Entry for James T. Bacon in U.S. Burial Register Military Posts and National Cemeteries. Ancestry.com

James Bacon was buried at the Spaulding Corner Cemetery with his first two wives, Fanny and Maria.

Mary J. Bacon died in Waukegan in 1917 and was buried in Indiana.

James T. Bacon's gravemarker at Union Cemetery, Waukegan, Illinois with recognition

of his service in the 17th Illinois Cavalry. FindAGrave.com

Special thanks to Ann Darrow, Waukegan Historical Society, for her Bacon Family genealogy, and Al Westerman for land purchase research.

Sources:

Lake County Recorder of Deeds, Waukegan, Illinois.
Newport Township Browe School History, 1918. Lake County Discovery Museum.
Waukegan Township York House School History, 1918. Lake County Discovery Museum.
1861 Lake County plat map, L. Gast Bro. & Co. Lith., St. Louis, Missouri.
The History of Racine and Kenosha Counties, Wisconsin, Western Historical Company, 1879.
Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War, Brian Matthew Jordan, 2015.
Lake County Court Probate records, James T. Bacon, 1895. Ancestry.com
"James T. Bacon" U.S. Burial Register Military Posts and National Cemeteries, 1862 - 1960, Ancestry.com
Veterans Affairs National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers: https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/veterans_affairs/Northwestern_Branch.html
"Union Cemetery" FindAGrave.com

For museums, an object's story is essential to preserving and telling a community's history. And sometimes an object has more than one story to tell.

Take for instance, "The Bain" wagon donated to the museum in 2011. The wagon's story encompasses that of an immigrant farmer, local dairy industry, and Libertyville and Kenosha businesses.

Simon Roppelt's "The Bain" wagon, 1910. (2011.18.1)

Simon Roppelt (1876 - 1931) was born in Bavaria, Germany to Christian and Margaret Roppelt. In 1893, at the age of 16, Roppelt set sail for a new life in America on the SS Darmstadt. Shortly after his arrival, he settled in Lake County, Illinois.

On October 5, 1900, Roppelt became a naturalized U.S. citizen at the county courthouse in Waukegan. John Hertzing and John Bauer (husband of Margaret Herzing) were his witnesses. Both witnesses were also German immigrants and probably related to Roppelt.

On February 17, 1906, Simon Ropplet married Elizabelth "Lizzie" Herzing (1878 - 1946). The couple settled on acreage in Sections 11 and 12 of Fremont Township to farm the land and raise a family.

In 1910, Roppelt decided to make the important purchase of a new farm wagon. For many American farmers, the choice was clear: "The Bain" produced by the Bain Wagon Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Bain Wagon advertisement, 1916.

The Bain Wagon Company was one of the most recognized and respected wagon makers in the United States. It began in the late 1830s as Mitchell & Quarles. Edward Bain and George Yule worked for the company. In 1852, Bain took over the Kenosha factory and established the Bain Wagon Company, and promoted Yule to superintendent.

George Yule, had worked his way up from wagon maker in 1842 to president and owner of the Bain Wagon Company in 1911. Yule had emigrated from Aberdeenshire, Scotland to Somers, Wisconsin with his father and siblings in 1840. A number of family members settled in Millburn, Lake County, Illinois, including George's brother James Yule.

For Simon Roppelt, the closest Bain dealer was the Schanck Hardware Co. on Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville.

The Schanck Bros. store is at the far right in this circa 1907

photo postcard view of Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville. The Schanck building

can still be seen today on the northeast corner of Cook and Milwaukee. (M-86.1.649)

Mundelein native, George Schanck (1837-1915), established his hardware store in 1870. The original building burned in Libertyville's fire of 1895. Schanck rebuilt in brick on the same site.

"The Bain" wagon purchased by Simon Roppelt has
advertising for Schanck Hardware painted on the seat.

Like all Bain wagons, Roppelt's came with the company's name stenciled on the side.

The Bain Wagon Company painted its logo

on the side of "The Bain" wagons.

Simon Roppelt used "The Bain" wagon to haul milk cans to the Soo Line Railroad "milk stop" at Harris Road in Grayslake (today's Prairie Crossing depot) for shipment to Chicago. Milk production was a big industry in Lake County and supplied a growing need for milk in Chicago. Daily "milk trains" took dairy farmers' filled milk cans to Chicago in the morning and returned the emptied cans in the evening. Each farmer had a number that was painted onto the milk can for identification.

Simon Roppelt with his team of horses and John Deere sickle mower, circa 1910.
The mower was also donated to the museum (2011.18.11).

Roppelt's "The Bain" wagon was used from 1910 - 1928. The wagon was never repainted and retains its original color and advertising.

Sources:
Simon Roppelt, 1893, New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, Ancestry.com
Simon Roppelt, 1900, U.S. Naturalization, Ancestry.com
"Prairie Farmer's Directory of Lake County," 1917.
"Portrait and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens in Racine and Kenosha Counties," 1892 (Chicago: Lake City Publishing Co.)
Lewis Miller's Mitchell Collection blog
"George Yule and the Bain Wagon Company" by David Sneed

Caught up in patriotic fervor to preserve the Union, George P. Shatswell enlisted with the 15th Illinois Infantry in May 1861. When Shatswell left Waukegan, he was a strong young farmer, but on his return he could barely do a day's work.

George P. Shatswell (1842 - 1904), circa 1864. Ancestry.com

George Shatswell was born in Avon Township, Lake County, Illinois on March 23, 1842. His parents, Richard Shatswell and Margaret Sluman, had migrated from Massachusetts in 1840, and were among Avon Township's earliest settlers. In 1846, the family re-settled in Waukegan Township.

In the summer of 1859, a seventeen-year old George Shatswell went to work on Allen Spaulding's 140-acre farm. The farm was located on the east side of Greenbay Road just south of Blanchard Road in Waukegan, Illinois.

The relationship Shatswell and Spaulding forged would create a lifelong bond.

Allen Spaulding (1807 - 1901), circa 1880 LCDM 2011.0.124

Allen Spaulding and his wife, Hannah Hinkston, were among the first settlers to Waukegan Township. They came from Oneida County, New York in 1839. (Hannah's sister—Fanny Hinkston Bacon—was featured in a previous post). Allen and Hannah had three daughters living at home: Sarah Jane (born 1839), Mary (born 1842) and Julia Ann (born 1845).

In 1860, Shatswell again worked for Spaulding during the summer. He probably would have spent a third summer working there if not for the world-changing events of the spring of 1861. News of the fall of Fort Sumter and the start of the Civil War ignited a fierce patriotism in George. He became one of the first young men in Lake County to respond to President Lincoln's call for troops

George enlisted with the 15th Illinois Infantry, and mustered in at Freeport, Illinois on May 29, 1861.

Heading to war with dreams of crushing the Rebellion were soon dashed when Shatswell contracted typhoid pneumonia in October 1861.

Shatswell was sent to the Sister of Charity's Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. After two months, he was ordered to Benton Barracks, a Union Army military encampment. There, Shatswell "became so disgusted with treatment and quarters" that he rejoined his regiment without having fully recovered.

Benton Barracks, St. Louis, 1862. A. McLean Lithograph

George fought at the Battle of Shiloh April 6 - 7, 1862, until his "strength failed." Captain John S. Pratt ordered him to the hospital boat, and gave him his presentation sword for safekeeping.

Captain John S. Pratt (1837 - 1920), Company I, 15th Illinois Infantry

Instead of reporting to the hospital, Shatswell traded Pratt's sword to an Iowa soldier for a gun and accoutrements. Shatswell then "hunted up" his company, and "did all I could to thin the rebel ranks till the end of the battle."

After the battle, Shatswell's health declined and he was sent to hospital. Like so many soldiers who contracted camp disease and other ailments, Shatswell's health issues would cast a long shadow on the remainder of his life. (Disease caused more deaths in the Civil War than battles).

In June 1862, Shatswell was given 20 days furlough to go home to recover. When he arrived back in Lake County, his father and siblings did not recognize him because he had lost so much weight.

In Waukegan, a doctor recommended extending his leave, but George insisted on returning to his regiment. The following year, he fought in the Siege of Vicksburg, May 18 - July 4, 1863.

George P. Shatswell in his 15th Illinois uniform, circa 1864. Ancestry.com

In January 1864, George was joined in the 15th Illinois by his father Richard and brother William. The men remained with the regiment until they were captured at Ackworth, Georgia on October 4, 1864. They were sent to Andersonville Prison.

Confederate Canteen used by Richard Shatswell, his sons William,George and John,
and comrade George W. Noble while prisoners at Andersonville (Fort Sumter). Ancestry.com.

In George's words, they "starved for six months and fifteen days." Fortunately, the Shatswell men survived and were paroled at war's end.

Ever industrious, before George mustered out on May 30, 1865, he secured a position at the grocery store of J.H. Porter in Waukegan. He worked there until June 1866 when he left for Washington, D.C. to "settle with the Gov't" where E.B. French, Auditor of the U.S. Treasury, "made mine a special claim."

Shatswell then made his way to California where the dry, warm climate did his health good. He settled in Yuba County, California (north of Sacramento) and worked as a shipping clerk for Walker Moore and Company.

In May 1867, he received a letter from Allen Spaulding, reviving the connection they had formed years before.

To George's delight, Spaulding asked him to return to Waukegan to "take charge of his farm." And offered to "give [George] his daughter to help manage" the farm.

Portrait in charcoal of Julia Ann Spaulding Shatswell (1845 - 1893), circa 1867. LCDM 57.2.5

The daughter in question was Julia Ann, known as "Ann," who had been sixteen the last summer George worked on the Spaulding farm. Apparently, Ann was amenable to this arrangement or it is doubtful her father would have suggested it.

George later recalled: "I accepted the invitation (who wouldn't)."

George Shatswell's description of events, in his own hand, leading to his return to Waukegan in 1867.

(Original filed at Lake County Clerk's office, Waukegan)

With the death of his son in the war, Allen Spaulding faced a dilemma. He was 60-years old, and had no son to take over the family farm. Clearly, his impression and rapport with George Shatswell led him to the decision to create a stronger bond by having George marry his daughter Ann and take over the farm operations.

George Shatswell arrived home on June 10, 1867, and he and Ann were married on June 18.

Unfortunately, George's war-related health issues returned. "The strain proved too severe for my constitution. My lungs began to trouble me again worse than before... I was completely prostrated and put under the treatment of Dr. John Row Bullock of Waukegan. I was not able to perform any manual labor for about a year."

George and Ann's first child was born in July 1869. The joy of the birth of their son Fredrick was overshadowed by George's continued ailments. In the fall of 1869, Dr. Bullock advised George to "go west and get away from the Lake region."

George headed to Grand Island, Nebraska and settled on a Homestead Act claim. It is assumed that he brought Ann and their baby boy with him.

Homestead certificate of eligibility for veteran George Shatswell, Grand Island, Nebraska, 1874. Fold3.com

George's health improved enough for him to labor on his farm in the summer months. He could "not endure outdoor work in winter" and found a position teaching school. By the summer of 1873, he had given up on his farm and rented it. In the spring of 1876, he went back to work on his farm, telling Ann: "I would stick to it till she planted my bones on the hill."

George and Ann continued their lives on the Nebraska farm until Ann's mother, Hannah Hinkston Spaulding, died in fall 1878. With Allen Spaulding alone on the Waukegan farm, George and Ann were called back to Illinois to "superintend" the farm.

The couple and their young family lived with Allen Spaulding on the farm. In 1879, Allen Spaulding married his wife's older sister, Onor Hinkston.

Shatswell was only able to work on the Waukegan farm in the summer "about half the time" and "in the winter keeping pretty close to the house."

In 1884, he applied for a veteran's disability pension from the U.S. Government, stating that: "I did not apply for a pension before... because I did not wish to embarrass the Government until it was abundantly able to pay me what I consider I am justly entitled to. The time has now arrived."

George's forthright statement made under oath before the county clerk in Waukegan was sent to the Pension Office in Washington, D.C.. In his summation George wrote: "If you think I am not entitled to a pension after this statement of what I endured to save this grand Nation from ruin and destruction, please give me a situation in your department and I will be satisfied."

Indeed, he did become a "pension claim agent," advocating for veterans, and a Justice of the Peace. He was also active in the Grand Army of the Republic, Waukegan Post No. 374, including serving as its commander.

George and Ann had three children: Frederick (b. 1866), Nellie (b.1875), and Hattie (b.1877).

Ann passed away on February 17, 1893. On October 6, 1904, George died suddenly while in Burnett, Wisconsin.

Sources:

George Shatswell's Civil War veteran's pension statement of December 8, 1884, provided most of the detail for this post. (Copy of handwritten statement LCDM files).
"Past and Present of Lake County, Illinois," Elijah M. Haines, 1877.
"A History of Waukegan Township Lake County Illinois 1835-1850," Al Westerman, 2013.
Ancestry.com (census records, city directories)
Fold3.com (pension files)

Map of Lake County, Illinois 1861.

The Lake County, Illinois map of 1861 was the county's second official map. An earlier map was commissioned by the County in 1841, but no copies are known to exist.

Lithographers Leopold Gast and Brother of St. Louis, Missouri were hired to publish the Lake County map. By 1861, the American map making industry was in full swing. The lithographic process was more cost effective than copperplate engraving, allowing lithographic map publishers to make good maps at a low cost, even in small publishing runs.

Detail from map of Lake County, Illinois 1861.

To ensure the map's accuracy, the surveys of County Surveyor, George Hale, were used along with the records of the Clerk of the Circuit Court/Recorder of Deeds, Josiah M. Truesdell. The map was a useful resource for farmers, businessmen and government officials.

Libertyville Township (partial) from 1861 Map of Lake County, Illinois.

As an historical record, the map is a snapshot of Lake County’s agricultural heritage, and settlement and immigration patterns prior to the start of the Civil War (1861 - 1865). In 1860, Lake County's population was 18,257.

An original 1861 map in the collections of the Bess Bower Dunn Museum was in need of conservation. A grant from the Signal Hill Daughters of the American Revolution funded the map's conservation by the Book Restoration Company of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Detail of the 1861 Lake County map before conservation.

The paper map had significant cracks, flaking, and the shellac coating had aged to a dark color. Its conservation treatment included, but was not limited to soaking the map in milk alkaline solution to relax flat, de-acidification, removal of shellac varnish, and mounting map pieces onto okawara paper and then onto Irish linen.

After conservation, the map is now stable and able to be exhibited for short periods of time.

Full view of 1861 Lake County map after conservation. (BBDM)

The map contains information on landowners and farms, locations of churches, dwelling houses, schools, businesses, roads and natural features. It also includes census data, a view of the public square in Waukegan, and business districts for Waukegan, Antioch, Half Day, Wauconda, Long Grove, Lake Zurich, Deerfield, Forksville (Volo), O’Plain Bridge (Gurnee), Diamond Lake and Barrington.

Public Square in Waukegan showing Recorders office (left) and courthouse.

Similar to county atlases that included artist's renderings of farms, and county histories with biographical sketches of prominent citizens, the 1861 wall map promoted the county's civic pride and was a useful source for finding ownership of parcels of land.

Today, the 1861 Lake County map is considered an invaluable genealogical and historical record.

To view the map online (and other county maps) visit Lake County, Illinois Maps Online https://maps.lakecountyil.gov/mapsonline/.

Special thanks to the Signal Hill Daughters of the American Revolution for funding the conservation of the Dunn Museum's 1861 Map of Lake County.

In the mid-1800s, Great Lakes shipping was key to the economic boom of the newly settled Midwest. Port cities big and small, such as Chicago, Milwaukee, Waukegan and Kenosha thrived from abundant commerce and growing populations. Farmers shipped produce to market via the lakes, and settlers and businesses benefited from shipments of lumber and goods.

A ship's patent log in the Dunn Museum's collections embodies Lake County's connection to Great Lakes shipping. Patent logs are mechanical logs that measure a vessel's speed/distance through water. The log belonged to Captain Hanson Minskey, and became my starting point for researching four generations of Minskey family sailors and ship captains.

Ship's patent log used by Captain Hanson Minskey on the Great Lakes, circa 1855. (BBDM 70.80.1)

In 1835, brothers, Hanson, Robert and John Minskey headed west from Baltimore, Maryland on horseback to Lake County, Illinois. They were part of the westward migration into the Midwest, following the opening of the Erie Canal and treaties with Native American tribes. (see my post on the Treaty of Chicago).

The brothers were the sons of Samuel Minskey (1778 - 1819) and Ann Merriken (1776 - 1828). Samuel Minskey (or Dominski) was a cabinetmaker in partnership with Edward Priestly (1778 - 1837). From 1801 to 1807, Minskey and Priestley produced bookcases, secretaries, card tables and dining tables.

The Minskey brothers grew up in Baltimore near shipyards and amid a vibrant trade culture, and understood the economic potential of the Great Lakes. Hanson Minskey (1809 - 1881), who had been in the U.S. Navy, wanted to pursue a career as a ship's captain.

Captain Hanson Minskey (1809 - 1881).

By summer 1835, the Minskey brothers had settled in Benton Township, Lake County, Illinois along Sheridan Road. Three years later, Hanson married Charlotte E. Porter (1822 - 1881), the daughter of Jeremiah and Atossa Porter of New York.

Hanson and Charlotte purchased 90 acres on the northwest corner of today's Sheridan Road and Route 173 in Zion. Though Hanson's occupation was as a sailor, the family had additional income from farming the land.

Hanson and Charlotte Minskey farm (underlined in red). Benton Township, 1861.

Located northwest of today's Route 173 and Sheridan Road in Zion.

Beginning in the early 1840s, Hanson Minskey became a ship builder in Waukegan, and a ship's captain. While Hanson pursued a career on the lakes, brother Robert settled down to farming, and brother John returned to Baltimore. The family's history notes Robert also being a sailor, but no supporting information could be found. Robert's son, George J. Minskey (1846 - 1930) was a sailor and ship's captain.

View of Little Fort (Waukegan), showing piers, schooners and sidewheel steamer, 1848.

("Little Fort" R.N. White, Chicago)

In 1848, Minskey became the captain of the newly built two-masted schooner, the James McKay. The ship's home port was Waukegan, where there was a considerable business in ship building. The ship was named in honor of one of its owners, Scottish-immigrant James McKay, who was a businessman and county sheriff. (see my post on James McKay).

Two-masted schooner representative of ships Minskey captained on the Great Lakes.
In the 19th century, schooners were the workhorse of Great Lakes commercial shipping.

Hanson Minskey was captain of the schooners: James McKay (1848), Liverpool (1855), Two Charlies (circa 1866), Two Sisters, Gazelle (1870), and Eclipse (1875). These were the ships and dates found with an association to Minskey.

Early in his career, Minskey introduced his sons to sailing. Jeremiah "Jed" (1843 - 1925) and Samuel (1855 - 1932) both began sailing with their father at a young age and became ship's captains.

Captain Samuel N. Minskey (1855 - 1932)

In 1867, at twelve-years old, Samuel began sailing the Great Lakes. Initially, he accompanied his father on voyages to Manitowoc and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, transporting goods.

Samuel Minskey was captain of the schooners: Gazelle (1879), Delos DeWolf (1892), and Magnetic (1905). These were the ships and dates found with an association to Samuel Minskey.

Captain Samuel N. Minskey sailed the schooner Delos DeWolf in 1892.

This rare sailor's folk art of the Delos DeWolf (found online) was used for the cover of

"The American Cruisers Own Book." Kahn Fine Antiques and Works of Art website.

In 1892, Samuel's ship brought the first load of paving bricks to upgrade Genesee Street in Waukegan from a dirt road to a paved road.

In 1902, while captaining a ship in the Gulf of Mexico, Samuel's wife Emma and their eight-year old son Lauren joined him. The family nearly lost their lives when the ship went down, presumably due to an accident. They were saved by a "hair's breath," but the ship and its' contents were lost. After this experience, it is not surprising that son Lauren, did not follow his father or grandfather into a life of sailing.

Jeremiah "Jed" Minskey was captain of the schooners: Two Charlies (1868), and Barbarian (1885); and the steamers: C.W. Elphicke, R.R. Hayes (1893), City of Genoa (1898), R.L. Ireland (1905-1909). These were the ships and dates found with an association to Jed Minskey.

Captain Jed Minskey transitioned from sailing schooners to steamers.

Shown here is the steamer R.L. Ireland (right, covered in ice) which transported coal on Lake Superior.

Maritime History of the Great Lakes maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca

Sailing on the Great Lakes in the 19th century was dangerous work. Each captain and his crew had to know the location of every island, barrier, and lighthouse. When storms approached they had very little time to find safe harbor before being bombarded by powerful winds and the quick succession of waves.

Navigating a schooner took years of experience to master. The epitaph of "master mariner" on Samuel Minskey's gravemarker was a testament to his accomplishment.

Captain Samuel N. Minksey's gravermarker.

Timber Ridge Cemetery, Catoosa, Oklahoma. FindAGrave.com

Life on the open waters—away from home for months at a time—with cold, wind, rain and ice battering the ship and its crew, took its toll on sailors.

After four decades on the lakes, Captain Hanson Minskey's health had deteriorated. He retired in 1878, and he and his wife sold their farm and moved to Waukegan. In an effort to regain his health, in 1880, Hanson removed to Wharton County, Texas. Texas had become known for health resorts that attracted "lungers," people with weak lungs or tuberculosis.

The following spring, Hanson sent for his wife and sister to join him in Texas. Charlotte was suffering from "paralysis of the brain," a 19th century term often used for cerebral palsy.

Sadly, the new climate was not enough to restore their health. Charlotte died on September 19, 1881, followed by a grief-stricken Hanson on September 21. Two days later, Hanson's sister Harriet died. Their remains were brought back to Waukegan for burial at Oakwood Cemetery.

Four generations of Minskeys were found to have sailed the Great Lakes from the 1840s to 1930s: Hanson Minskey, sons Jed and Samuel, nephew George, and great grandson Jeremiah J. Minskey.

Ad from News Sun June 26, 1935. Three generations of "transportation history."

Captain Minskey's patent log was donated to the Dunn Museum by Samuel's son Lauren, who survived the sinking of his father's ship in 1902. The patent log is on exhibit in the Museum's "An American Frontier" gallery.

Sources:
Partridge, Charles A. History of Lake County, Illinois. Chicago: Munsell Publishing Company, Publishers, 1902.
Lodesky, James D. Polish Pioneers in Illinois 1818 - 1850. Bloomington, Indiana: Xlibris Corporation, 2010.
Westerman, Al. An Early History of Benton Township, Lake County, Illinois. 2010.
Kirtley, Alexandra Alevizatos, "A New Suspect: Baltimore Cabinetmaker Edward Priestley." Chipstone.org, http://www.chipstone.org/article.php/405/American-Furniture-2000/A-New-Suspect:-Baltimore-Cabinetmaker--Edward-Priestley
Maritime History of the Great Lakes maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca
Burns, Chester R., "Health and Medicine," Texas State Historical Association. https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/smhzc
U.S. Census records, Ancestry.com
Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County, Donor Files.

On July 14, 1918, a homeless terrier on the streets of Paris, France was rescued by two American soldiers of the First Infantry Division. Named Rags, the dog became a war hero and mascot, and spent two years living at Fort Sheridan.

First Division Rags at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, New York, circa 1930. Courtesy of Grant Hayter-Menzies.

Late on that Bastille Day evening—one hundred years ago—soldiers Jimmy Donovan and George Hickman bumped into a stray dog on their way out of a cafe. The men gave the little dog a scrap of food and pat on the head, and the smart little terrier took a chance and followed Donovan down the street and into history.

Moments later, Donovan was picked up by Military Police for staying out past curfew. On the spot, he scooped up the dog and named him "Rags," claiming he had been sent to find the division's mascot. Rags charmed the MPs and was allowed to return to camp with Donovan.

Rags loved soldiers and was trained by Donovan to salute them on parade. Courtesy of Grant Hayter-Menzies.

Just four days later, the French terrier—now officially the First Division's mascot—was on his way to the war front with his new companion. Animals were key in the war effort for transportation, to convey messages and to track the enemy. Donovan taught Rags to salute soldiers on parade and utilized him for carrying messages. On his own, Rags learned how to find damaged communications wire that Donovan, as a member of the Signal Corps, repaired.

At the Battle of Soissons, July 18 - 22, 1918, Rags and Donovan along with 42 infantrymen were surrounded by Germans. Donovan attached a message to Rags's collar and sent him off to military command, which resulted in an artillery barrage and reinforcements who rescued them. News that Rags had saved the day spread through the division.

At Soissons, France, Rags began to make a name for himself as a "war dog." Soissons in ruins by William L. King, 1919. Library of Congress.

Rags and Donovan participated in the final American campaign of the war, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which began on September 26, 1918. This was the largest American-run offensive and the bloodiest operation of World War I for the American Expeditionary Force.

On October 2, Rags carried a message across the battlefield amid falling bombs and poison gas. The swift delivery resulted in an artillery bombardment leading to the capture of the Very-Epinonville Road, and saved the lives of American soldiers.

Days later, on October 9, Rags and Donovan were caught in heavy enemy shellfire. Rags was injured on his right front paw, right ear and right eye from shell splinters and he suffered effects of gassing. Donovan was also seriously wounded and the two were taken to a field hospital together. Rags's health improved quickly, though he lost sight in his right eye. While Donovan convalesced, Rags was allowed to stay under his cot and was occasionally placed next to Donovan on the cot.

Donovan suffered from a severe case of mustard gas poisoning, which damaged his lungs. The best care for him would be at the U.S. Army post at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, where the hospital staff specialized in the treatment of gas and shell-shocked patients.

Fort Sheridan's tower overlooking parade grounds covered in temporary wards for Hospital No. 28, circa 1919. BBDM 95.32.1

During the journey from France to Fort Sheridan, Donovan and Rags were separated due to military procedures, but many compassionate individuals ensured the two would be reunited, including Col. Halstead Dorey. Colonel Dorey had recognized Rags as the "little hero of the Argonne campaign," and smuggled Rags onto the hospital ship in one of his bags. Animals were not allowed for fear of contagion, and were euthanized if found.

Jimmy Donovan and Rags arrived at Fort Sheridan in late 1918. Donovan settled into one of the wards at Hospital No. 28, later re-designated Lovell General Hospital. Rags was allowed into the hospital once medical staff realized he was no ordinary dog, but a war hero. Rags visited Donovan daily, which did wonders for both their morale.

(For more on poison gas treatment at Fort Sheridan see my Chemical Warfare post).

Postcard view of a ward at the Fort Sheridan hospital, similar to the one where Rags visited Donovan. BBDM 92.24.236

When Rags was not at Donovan's side he was exploring the fort. He soon sniffed out the best mess halls where cooks would feed him. He also found lodging at the post's fire station.

Fort Sheridan's fire station where Rags lived, shown here circa 1919. BBDM 92.24.361
The building (with an addition) is now a private residence.

Despite the care of the hospital's highly skilled staff, Donovan died, leaving Rags without his closest companion.

Donovan had been concerned about who would look after Rags. Thankfully, Rags had become a celebrity at the fort. His brave deeds had followed him from the battlefront and many took pride in having such a unique war hero in their midst.

Rags had spent so much time charming new acquaintances that he had become the "post dog." He also became attached to Major Raymond W. Hardenbergh, his wife Helen, and their daughters, Helen and Susan. Rags moved into the Major's bungalow at Fort Sheridan, which became his first true home.

The family quickly learned that Rags loved sweets, playing with the major's daughters and wandering the fort, but hated loud noises. Apparently, he was shell-shocked like so many of the veterans at the fort's hospital.

When Major Hardenbergh received orders for his new post, his wife and daughters gained the support of the fort community for bringing Rags with them. After all, they had given Rags his first home and, "It wasn't fair to make him homeless again."

Rags sledding with Susan Hardenbergh at Governors Island, New York, circa 1926. Courtesy of Grant Hayter-Menzies.

First Division Rags lived out his remaining years as a member of the Hardenbergh family. His war scars and fame followed him wherever he went.

Though Rags was one of millions of dogs, horses and other animals utilized during World War I as "military mascots," Rags had endeared himself to a generation of soldiers.

Rags's gravemarker at Aspin Hill Memorial Park, Maryland, placed by Lt. Col. Raymond Hardebergh.

Epitaph: "Rags War Hero 1st Division Mascot WW I, 1916 - 1936." Courtesy of Grant Hayter-Menzies.

Rags saved the lives of innumerable American soldiers, and was a companion to Jimmy Donovan and the men of the First Division. Because of his bravery and the respect soldiers had for him, Rags was smuggled to the United States where he would live for eighteen years to the delight of the Hardenbergh family and thousands of men and women stationed at Fort Sheridan and army posts throughout the U.S.

Rags at Governors Island, circa 1929. Courtesy of Grant Hayter-Menzies.

For the full story of this remarkable war hero, read From Stray Dog to World War I Hero: The Paris Terrier Who Joined the First Division, by Grant Hayter-Menzies.

The American frontier of northeastern Illinois posed many challenges for settlers leaving behind established communities in the eastern United States and Europe. Here they faced the task of forging a new life in a land they perceived as "wilderness."

One of the greatest threats in that "wilderness" were wolves and coyotes, who preyed on their livestock.

"Hunting Prairie Wolves in an Early Day." Published by Wm. LeBaron & Co., Chicago, 1877.

The first county bounties (cash payments) for wolves' scalps were issued in 1838. By 1874, the Lake County board offered "twenty dollars for the scalp of a wolf slain." The bounties were to encourage the extermination of wolves, coyotes and even crows—which were all felt to impact a farmer's livelihood.

Predators were hunted year round, but mainly in the winter months when they were easy to spot on the snowy landscape, and their pelts were thicker and more valuable. Hunters presented scalps for the bounty and retained the pelts to use or sell.

In 1854, farmer John Herrick (1806 - 1890) of Half Day (now Lincolnshire), announced he was offering a bounty of $8 for each "old" wolf and $1 for each "young one." Much of Herrick's farm was within the heavily forested Des Plaines River valley, which at the time was "much infested with wolves" that had committed "many depredations."

By the 1860s, sheep farming had increased to the point that Lake County was ranked third in the State of Illinois in number of sheep. In 1865, the county boasted 82,382 sheep. The more sheep, the more enticement for predators.

Nelson Landon's farm, Benton Township, 1885.

Illustrated Atlas of Lake County, Illinois. H.R. Page & Co., Chicago.

In Benton Township, to curb the wolves being "very destructive among the sheep," a "great wolf drive" was held on March 14, 1868. Hunts typically involved hundreds of men, in this instance 350, walking in a line "with guns." The day-long hunt ended at the sprawling sheep farm of Nelson Landon (1807-1884). In all, only three wolves were killed, but a "large number" broke through the lines and escaped.

While most hunts were undertaken by men, women settlers also did their part to protect family and livestock. Maria Randolph Sibley (1821-1901), who had come to Lake County from Massachusetts with her husband and young children in the 1850s, tracked a wolf that was getting their cattle. The incident may have occurred while her husband was enlisted in the 64th Illinois during the Civil War. Sibley went into the family's grain field with her gun, and a wolf came "bounding over the shocks" of cut grain-stalks, frightening her so much that she was unable to shoot. The wolf saw her, "turned and trotted away."

The last known large-scale wolf hunt took place on January 27, 1930.

The Lewis A. Mills "wolf" hunt with plane hired from Palwaukee Airport, January 27, 1930.

Gordon Ray Collection, Dunn Museum (95.28.42)

Modern times called for modern measures, and sheep farmer, Lewis A. Mills (1894-1986), hired a plane from Palwaukee Municipal Airport (today's Chicago Executive Airport) in Wheeling to search for wolves from the air. For two years wolves had "ravaged sheep and poultry flocks of the county without check." Mills's flocks and that of business magnate, Samuel Insull (1859-1938), whose estate (today's Cuneo Museum) was adjacent to Mills had been "among those suffering heaviest from the wolves."

Hunters and bystanders posing with the kill. Left to right: Bill Poulton, Leroy Kane, Donald Poulton,

Bob Rouse, Gordon Ray, Lewis Mills, Clayton Tiffany (police chief of Mundelein), and Gordon K. Ray.

Chicago Tribune, February 4, 1930.

Assisting in the hunt from the ground were Gordon Ray (1893-1987) and Bob Rouse (1892-1963). Rouse shot and killed one of the wolves. When the plane landed to pick up the wolf, it overturned in the snow making it necessary to get another plane from Palwaukee. In the second round, the plane "chased" a wolf to a fence line, and Gordon Ray and Lee Kane shot it.

The hunters described their prey as "wolves," but in actuality were coyotes.

January 27, 1930. Gordon Ray Collection, Dunn Museum (95.28.44)

According to Gordon Ray, whose wife Marie Schanck Ray is seen at right,

the hunt "caused considerable excitement, even making the Chicago papers."

Gordon Ray Collection, Dunn Museum (95.28.45)

Though these farmers identified their prey as "wolves" they were actually coyotes. This is one example of how accounts can be misleading. In researching historic wolf hunts unless details were given such as "large,""big," or "gray," it's unclear whether the animal was a wolf or coyote. To add to the historical confusion, pioneers commonly used the term "prairie wolf" for coyote.

While wolf sightings have been rare in Lake County for a century, coyotes have successfully adapted to development and changes in their environment.

The Lake County Forest Preserves encourages everyone to learn more about coyotes and the important role they play in the ecosystem. Check out frequently asked questions about coyotes. Homeowner groups and other Lake County organizations can book a free informational presentation about coyotes by contacting Allison Frederick at afrederick@LCFPD.org.

Sources:
Past and Present of Lake County, Illinois, Elijah M. Haines, 1877.
History of Lake County, Illinois, John A. Halsey, 1912.
"Wolves in Chicago Now," E. Hough, January 27, 1901, Chicago Tribune.
"Farmers of Two Counties Unite to Kill Wolves," January 2, 1928, Chicago Tribune.
"Farmer in Plane Trails Wolves; Two Are Killed," February 4, 1930, Chicago Tribune.
"Gordon Ray recalls the wolf hunt back in '28 on the Lewis Mills farm," Kathy Rosemann, February 2, 1984, Mundelein Review. [Ray, who was nearly 90 years old when he gave this interview, mistakenly noted the hunt taking place in 1928.]
Gordon Ray His Life and Times (1893-1987): An Autobiography, edited by Gordon K. Ray.
Dickertown School and Benton Township History, 1918. School History Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County.

Dr. Eugene P. King, M.D. (1893-1961), or "Ole Rex" as he was affectionately known, dedicated himself to the communities of Waukegan, North Chicago and Zion through his medical practice, and sponsorship of community gardens and the Rexes and Rexettes athletic teams.

Dr. Eugene P. King with a patient at St. Therese Hospital in Waukegan, circa 1950.

From the archives of the Convent of the Holy Spirit, Northfield, Illinois.

King was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1893 and raised by his grandmother, Winnie C. Koons (1833 - 1916). At a young age he was adopted by the King family for whom he took his surname.

King attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and taught vocational classes at the Lincoln Institute in Lincoln Ridge, Kentucky.

In early 1917, after the United States officially entered World War I, Eugene P. King was accepted for officers' training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. As part of an elite group of African American men, he went through technical and physical training and graduated as a lieutenant. The success of King and his comrades laid the groundwork for change, ultimately leading to President Harry Truman's executive order of July 1948 abolishing racial discrimination and segregation in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Detail of "5th Provisional Company officers reserve training Camp Ft. Des Moines, Ia."Library of Congress.
Eugene P. King graduated from this military camp in 1917.

King served with the American expeditionary forces (AEF) in France under General John J. Pershing (1860-1948). He worked in army intelligence, led units of African Senegalese (French troops), and was wounded while fighting on the Western Front.

Following the war's end in November 1918, it took months for the millions of American soldiers to return home due to arranging ship transport and concerns about the 1918 influenza pandemic that ultimately infected one-third of the world's population and killed an estimated 50 million people. Sadly, while King was still in France his adopted father, W. Nolan King (1865-1919), died of double pneumonia from "Spanish Influenza."

After his honorable discharge in September 1919, King traveled the globe on a tramp steamer. On his return to the United States he attended Rush Medical College in Chicago.

King graduated at the top of his class in 1924, completing the five-year course in three years. Because of his outstanding record, Dr. Frank Billings (1854-1932) personally presented King's certificate of graduation. Dr. Billings had served as Dean of Rush Medical College and president of the American Medical Association. By 1928, King opened a medical practice in Waukegan and wed Vyvien Porres.

His affinity for sports and commitment to community betterment led him to begin a tradition of sports excellence by sponsoring youth teams. All were welcome to play on Dr. King's Rex Athletic teams, and in particular young adults who were barred from playing at local schools because of their race or background.

Y Rex Athletic Club motto:

To make better men and women out of boys and girls

through clean wholesome athletic sports.

'Y' Rexettes basketball team, 1951.

First (bottom) row: Jean Anderson, Inez Davis, Dr. King "Rex Himself." Francis Thomas, Vivian White

Second row: Genevieve Pearson, Subrette Dupuy, Ardell Pearson, Barbara White, Ann Payne, Christine Springer, Marion Maxwell, Mrs. Florence W

Third row: Della Steele, Bertha Robinson, Barbara Belcher, Geraldine Evans, Lillie Vaughan.

Emblem from Rex Athletic Club girls' youth baseball jacket, circa 1950.

2019.1 Dunn Museum Collections

Dr. King purchased distinctive orange and black uniforms for his teams, and wore a jacket emblazoned with "Rex Himself." His teams played throughout the Chicago area and won 50 championships.

His own athletic ability brought him awards and even national recognition. In 1929, he was given a Daily News trophy for "Most Popular" area basketball player, in part for his impressive "one-handed set shots." In 1954, Sports Illustrated noted him as one of the "oldest active" athletes in the nation. He was 61.

The Rexes had a "reputation of being one of the speediest teams of the north shore."

December 22, 1939, Daily Herald.

King's philanthropic efforts were not limited to the African American community, but anyone in need, including children of Armenian and Italian immigrants. He worked through Barwell Goodfellowship Settlement in Waukegan (founded in 1915 to help the poor and sick), and was known to provide free medical service, clothing and college funds to those in need.

In addition to sponsoring athletic teams and serving as physical education program director at the S. Genesee Street YMCA, King developed community gardens to teach youth about cultivation and hard work. King planted 10,000 tulip bulbs in his personal flower garden at his home on S. Genesee Street, making for spectacular spring blossoms for everyone to enjoy.

In 1971, the Waukegan Park District created the Dr. Eugene P. King Park to honor King's legacy as a "constructive force" in the community.

The 2.7 acre Eugene P. King Park on South Avenue includes a softball diamond,
playground, and flower bed/green house--all tributes to Dr. King's legacy. Waukegan Park District.

As an anonymous admirer said, Dr. Eugene P. King's "life was one of dedication to humanity, to his community, to his people, and to his profession. Everything he did -- he did for others."

Sources:
"Wheeling Aces Downed 78-58 by Waukegan Rexes," December 22, 1939, Daily Herald.
"Doctor's Spare Time Labor Pays in Beauty," May 1, 1957, Waukegan News Sun.
"Dr. King... Symbol of Brotherhood," Jack Hagler, February 22, 1961, Waukegan News Sun.
"Lighting the Way for Many: Barwell Goodfellowship Settlement," Bernice Just, June 26, 1965, Waukegan News Sun.
"Tribute in name," July 15, 1971, Waukegan News Sun.
"Dr. E.P. King candidate for Waukegan Hall of Fame," Vincent Bulter, August 10, 1976, Waukegan News Sun.
"Lake County had its own Dr. King," Diana Dretske, August 20, 2000, Daily Herald.
"King for a day... every day," Jim Berklan, unknown date, Waukegan News Sun.
"W. Nolan King," Kentucky, Death Records, 1852-1965, Ancestry.com.
"Eugene P. King," Lists of Men Ordered to Report to Local Board for Military Duty, 1917–1918, Ancestry.com
"Black Officers at Fort Des Moines in World War I," Iowa Pathways blog www.iptv.org.
"Frank Billings, 1854-1932," Chicago Area Medical Archivists.blogspot.com.

The Reverend William B. Dodge (1783-1869) of the Millburn Congregational Church was an outspoken abolitionist and leader in Lake County's anti-slavery movement.

Rev. William B. Dodge (1783-1869), shown here in 1860.

Image from: The First Hundred Years: the Story of the Millburn Congregational Church 1840-1940.

Dodge was 61-years old when he came to Millburn in 1844. His roots in New England, where he worked in education and the anti-slavery movement, set the stage for his leadership role in Lake County.

Dodge was born in Rowley, Massachusetts in 1783, the son of Revolutionary War veteran, Phineas Dodge, and Lucy Nelson Dodge. In early 1807, Dodge married Sarah Dole (1781-1870) and the couple moved to Salem, Massachusetts.

In Salem, Dodge opened the city's first Sunday School, and was an educator in the public schools for over thirty years. In 1827, he was appointed chaplain of the city almshouse, a position he retained for 17 years.

Salem, Massachusetts in 1839. Engraving by J.W. Barber.

In 1834, the city established an elementary and high school for African American students. Although Salem's schools were integrated, the free African American community still faced adversity. William B. Dodge was hired as the school's principal due to his reputation as a teacher and anti-slavery activist.

One of Dodge's pupils was Robert Morris (1823-1882), who became one of the first African American lawyers in the United States. As an attorney, Morris worked on cases regarding African American education and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

Robert Morris (1823-1882), lawyer and abolitionist. (John J. Burns Library's Blog)

Dodge was invited by his former students to return to Salem for a visit (around 1861), and Robert Morris was one of his hosts. Morris recalled that Dodge was responsible for his education and had ensured he was "treated justly, and even kindly."

The entire Dodge family was active in the anti-slavery movement, and abolitionists on the Underground Railroad. The family used their home on North Street to harbor individuals escaping from slavery.

In 1834, Dodge's wife, Sarah Dole Dodge, and daughters, Lydia Little Dodge (1811-1848) and Lucia Nelson Dodge (1815-1845), became founding members of the Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society.

Sarah Dole Dodge (1781-1870), wife of William B. Dodge. Photo circa 1860.

Robert Miller Collection, Ancestry.com

The society's constitution stated: "That slavery should be immediately abolished; that people of color, enslaved or free, have a right to a home in the country without fear of intimidation, and that the society should be ready to acknowledge people of color as friends and equals."

Ledger entry from the Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society regarding a meeting held at the William and Sarah Dodge home on January 10, 1838. Original ledger in collections of Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum.

Online collections Congregational Library and Archives www.congregationallibrary.org.

By 1842, Dodge retired from teaching and became the "antislavery agent" in the churches of Massachusetts.

Around this time, part of Dodge family headed west to settle on the frontier, including daughter Hannah Little Dodge (1819-1884) to Millburn, Lake County, Illinois, and son Samuel D. Dodge (1809-1875) to Peoria, Illinois.

In the spring of 1844, William and Sarah Dodge set out "to settle among [their] children" and arrived in Millburn on May 14. They purchased 120-acres on the southwest corner of today's Route 45 and Sand Lake Road in Avon Township.

Millburn Congregational Church circled in red (top center). William B. Dodge farm denoted by red star (bottom center), and Dodge Schoolhouse across from the Dodge farm, circled in red. Map of Lake County, Illinois, 1861.

While William and Sarah undoubtedly wished to be near their children, uprooting themselves to begin anew on the "frontier" was a remarkable undertaking. More than likely Dodge understood the opportunity this provided him to continue his work in the anti-slavery movement.

Within a few months of his arrival, Dodge was asked by the congregational community to become their pastor. His official installation was held at the dedication of the church's new meeting house on June 1, 1847. (From 1840 - 1847 the congregation met in a log structure).

Reverend Dodge became known throughout the county as "Father Dodge." He spoke at meetings and celebrations across Lake County and "entered heartily into all reforms as they claimed his attention and support."

By the mid-1840s, northeastern Illinois was the strongest area of anti-slavery sentiment in the state. This was in part due to the large concentration of settlers from New England (such as the Dodge Family), who brought anti-slavery sentiments with them.

Dodge aligned himself with people of like mind, and soon distinguished himself as a leader. In 1846, he co-founded the Lake County Liberty Association which denounced the notorious Illinois Black Laws (1819-1865) that restricted the civil liberties of African Americans.

Dodge continued to take a great interest in education and in 1854 supported a tax levy to build a new schoolhouse. Neighbors met at his home and voted to approve the school, which was named Dodge School. The schoolhouse was built by William Bonner (see previous post on Bonner) and located across the road from Dodge's homestead. The first teacher was Dodge's son, James M. Dodge (1812-1887).

The community of Millburn, though small, was very much engaged in national affairs. Of particular interest was the growing divide between North and South over the issue of slavery. The news of radical abolitionist John Brown's impending execution after his failed raid at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, October 16-19, 1859, brought the Millburn congregation together for a special meeting.

On December 2, 1859, the congregation passed a resolution that read in part: "That we will do good to those who have escaped from bondage as we have opportunity by supplying their present wants and aiding them in their flight."

Excerpt of the resolution passed by the Millburn Congregational Church under the leadership of

Reverend "Father" Dodge, December 2, 1859.

Original in the archives of the Millburn Congregational Church.

This resolution was in direct opposition to the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which required that all "escaped slaves" be returned to the South and that citizens of free states cooperate or be fined and jailed. Involvement in the Underground Railroad was dangerous and illegal, and therefore very secretive, making the open defiance of Reverend Dodge and his congregation quite extraordinary.

In 1862, due to deteriorating health, Reverend Dodge resigned his position.

From letter of Anna White to David Minto, November 1862: "I believe we are to have a new minister at Millburn before a great while. Mr. Dodge is to be released from the church next Tuesday. There seems to quite a difference of opinion in regard to which they shall have presbyterian or a congregational minister but I presume it will come out all right."

Minto Family Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County (BBDM 93.45.502.2)

Though Dodge gave up his duties as pastor, the door to his home was always open. William and Sarah Dodge welcomed their neighbors with a cup of tea and comforting words.

During the Civil War, Dodge's support of his neighbors remained unwavering. A number of young men from Millburn enlisted, including two of Dodge's grandsons: Samuel W. Dodge (1838-1909) and George C. Dodge (1842-1904), who served with the 96th Illinois Infantry. On the home front residents worked tirelessly for the war effort by making quilts and bandages, and writing letters to the "Soldier Boys."

Following the war, the congregation's membership had grown and a new church was needed. When the church was dedicated in January 1867, "Father Dodge" had the honor of addressing the congregation in the old church. With his aged Bible in hand, Dodge walked alongside the new pastor, Reverend Bross, followed by a procession of the membership to the new church.

Reverend Dodge led a procession from the old church to the new Millburn Congregational Church (shown above),

on January 20, 1867. Photo circa 1880.

Photo courtesy of Historic Millburn Community Association www.historicmillburn.org

Reverend "Father" Dodge died on April 1, 1869, leaving a legacy of good works and selflessness. He was steadfast in his anti-slavery activism and concern for the oppressed, and was "greatly revered for his knowledge and for his great goodness of heart."

Sources:

Ancestry.com
Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County www.LCFPD.org/museum
Congregational Library and Archives, Boston, Massachusetts. Online collections www.congregationallibrary.org "Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society."
Dodge Family Association www.dodgefamily.org
Historic Millburn Community Association www.historicmillburn.
John J. Burns Library, Boston, Massachusetts. https://libguides.bc.edu/Burns. This library is the repository for books from the personal library of Boston lawyer, Robert Morris (1823-1882).
WikiTree. William Bradford Dodge. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dodge-2227
Boyle, Elizabeth A. "Mobility, Migration, and the 1855 Philadelphia National Convention: Robert Morris." (2013) Colored Conventions: Bringing 19th-Century Black Organizing to Digital Life. http://coloredconventions.org/
Centennial Historical Committee. The First Hundred Years: The Story of the Millburn Congregational Church 1840-1940. (Millburn, Illinois, 1940).
"Dedication of the New church at Millburn,"Waukegan Gazette, January 27, 1867. www.historicmillburn.org.
Genealogy of the Descendants of John White of Wenham and Lancaster, Massachusetts : 1638-1900 : in Memorials of Elder John White, One of the First Settlers of Hartford, Conn , and of His Descendants, Almira Larkin White, Haverhill, Mass., Chase Bros., printers, 1900-09.
Halsey, John J. A History of Lake County, Illinois. (Chicago: R.S. Bates, 1912).
Hefferman, James. "Robert Morris: A Man of Energy and Will." John J. Burns Library's Blog jamesburnslibrary.wordpress.com.
Johnson, Reinhard O., The Liberty Party, 1840-1848: Antislavery Third-Party Politics in the United States. (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2009).
National Park Service. African American Heritage Sites in Salem: A Guide to Salem's History, (Revised edition, 2008).
"Obituary: Rev. William B. Dodge,"Waukegan Gazette, April 10, 1869. www.historicmillburn.org
Portrait and Biographical Album of Lake County, Illinois (Chicago: Lake City Publishing Co., 1891).
Turner, Glennette Tilley. The Underground Railroad in Illinois. (Newman Educational Publishing Company, Glen Ellyn: Illinois, 2001).
Wilson, Cynthia. "Robert Morris Sr. (1823-1882)," March 25, 2018. www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/morris-robert-sr-1823-1882/.

Irish immigrants, William Logue and Bridget Collins Logue, brought their young family to Lake County, Illinois in 1844.

The Logue home was one of the longest inhabited log structures in Lake County, and came to represent a romantic ideal of the county's settlement and the American frontier.

Logue family log house, circa 1844 - 1903, Zion, Illinois. (BBDM 2001.3.15)

Researching these settlers was difficult due to the scarcity of information left behind. But the search was all the more satisfying when bits of their lives were found in government records, the occasional written history, and photographs.

After immigrating from Ireland, William and Bridget Logue lived in the borough of Manhattan in today's New York City. This was a tough environment for poor immigrants, and the prospect of owning land on the newly opened frontier brought hope for independence and a fresh start.

While still in New York, William acquired 96 acres in today's Zion, Illinois.

Land patent for Logue's purchase in August 1844 while living in New York County, NY. General Land Office Records glorecords.blm.gov.

Logue purchased 80-acres directly from the Federal government at $1.25 per acre costing him $100 ($3,449 today). Sixteen additional acres were purchased from Jeremiah Eaton at $25.75 per acre costing $412 ($14,210 today). The cost for the 16-acres seems unreasonably high. Or was it?

Historically, a high sale price indicates that the property had been improved. At this early date of settlement that would mean a structure had been built, likely a cabin. William Logue would have purchased the property knowing of the improvement and willing to pay more to have a shelter for his family when they arrived from New York.

Further research indicates that a log house was built by Clark G. Corser, who had purchased the land in March 1844 and sold it at a slight profit to Eaton a few months later. This was Corser's first land purchase in Lake County, and as such he built a small cabin to live in. Eaton, who came to the area in the late 1830s, had built his family homestead elsewhere, and therefore would not have built the structure on this parcel.

In the fall of 1844, William, Bridget, their six-year old daughter Margaret (Maggie), and William's brother Edward arrived in Lake County. This was a world away from Manhattan's population of nearly 500,000. In Lake County's Benton Township where the Logues' settled, there were only a few hundred inhabitants. The entire county had a population of 8,236 in 1845.

Logue property in Benton Township shown on 1861 map of County, Illinois. Note two residences delineated as squares above "Logue." William's brother, Edward, is shown as the property owner.

The 1861 Lake County map shows two residences on the property (above). The square on the left is a house built by William Logue, and the square on the right may be the log house built by Clark G. Corser that the family initially lived in. Perhaps these two buildings were brought together to form the double-wide house seen in historic photographs.

The unusual construction of the Logue house has created much speculation on when and how it was built.
Some historical data suggests Clark G. Corser built one half in March 1844 and William Logue the other half in autumn 1844. The two structures could have been used as separate residences until brought together (possibly after 1861) to form the double-wide log house. The house was located southwest of Salem Boulevard and Galilee Avenue in today's Zion. Photo circa 1900. Dickertown School History, Dunn Museum 2003.0.9.

An approximate location of the Logue log house (outlined in red) west of the McClory Bike Path along Galilee Avenue.

T. Arthur Simpson (1869-1954), county superintendent of schools and a neighbor of the Logues, recalled that the double-wide log house was located "west of the North Shore's Skokie line tracks." In 1963, the North Shore Line closed and became a trail which was later named the Robert McClory Bike Path. Based on Simpson's account and historic maps, the double-wide log house was situated west of the bike path and southwest of the intersection of Salem Boulevard and Galilee Avenue. (above)

Detail of the house where the two halves meet. The protruding logs at the corners define the shape of each section of the building, adding to my suspicion that the house was originally two separate residences. Photo circa 1900. Dunn Museum 94.34.639.

Circumstances interfered in the family's prosperity. Less than five years into life on the frontier, William Logue died (prior to March 1849). This left Bridget with two daughters: 11-year old Maggie and one-year old Mary Ann. (Four other children died in infancy). Edward took up the bulk of the farm labor until his death on October 1, 1860.

By 1870, William's widowed sister, Rose Ann Kane, came to live with Bridget and her daughters.

The 1870 U.S. Agricultural Census provides a glimpse into the women's lives. Bridget, then fifty-years old, was listed as "Keeping House" for her family. Maggie, Mary Ann, and Rose were listed "At Home," which according to the Census Office could include domestic errands or family chores, but was not considered an occupation. The Logue women relied on their farm for income.

From the census we know that the farm consisted of: 40 acres of improved land (60 acres unimproved), 6 dairy cows, 6 cattle, 4 hogs, and 10 sheep. The farm produced 36 bushels of spring wheat, 200 bushels of Indian corn, 20 bushels of oats, 30 bushels of buckwheat, 40 pounds of wool, 50 bushels of Irish potatoes, and 12 tons of hay.

Not listed in the farm's inventory were horses or oxen. These animals were valuable to a farm's operation, but also expensive. An average workhorse cost $150 ($3,072 today), plus harness and feed. In 1870, the farm's total value of income from livestock and crops was $620 ($12,242 today).

To manage the farm without a hired man, Bridget may have rented a portion to a neighboring farmer. The women also churned milk from their dairy cows into 600 pounds of butter. In 1870, butter cost on average 15 cents per pound.

On February 26, 1876, matriarch Bridget Collins Logue died. She was buried in the newly established St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Waukegan.

Gravemarker for Bridget Collins Logue (1820-1876) at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Waukegan. FindAGrave.com.

Bridget left the farm of 100 acres, 8 cattle, 23 sheep, and household furniture to her daughters. Before the estate could be settled, Mary Ann died in May 1883. She was also buried at St. Mary's Cemetery.

Probate record for Bridget Logue Estate filed with County Court by Margaret Logue in May 1876. Ancestry.com

The former Logue property outlined in red on a 2018 aerial. For reference: Lewis Avenue (left), Salem Boulevard (top), 27th Street (bottom), and Shiloh Park Elementary (bottom far right).

The diagonal property line followed the old New York House Inn and Southport Road, which had been laid out in March 1840. The road ran northeast from the Inn near the intersection of York House and Green Bay Roads and onward to Sheridan Road in today's Winthrop Harbor. Most of this road was vacated by 1860.

About 1900, a photo of Margaret "Maggie" Logue was taken outside the family's log house. She is seated in a doorway wearing a gingham apron and holding a potted flower.

Photo of Maggie Logue taken by John M. Latto (1873-1915), brother-in-law to T. Arthur Simpson. Dunn Museum 94.34.639.

By this time, cousin Thomas Healey had joined Maggie Logue and Rose Kane on the farm. Healey took over the bulk of the farm labor.

The Logue log house with Maggie Logue seated in doorway. Both sections of the house were likely built at the time of settlement in 1844. Photo by John M. Latto, circa 1900. Dunn Museum 94.34.639.

Maggie Logue lived here from 1844 to 1903, making this the longest continuously inhabited log house in Lake County.

This homestead was built at the time of settlement and the only upgrade appears to have been enlarging the house by bringing two structures together. Generally, families upgraded theses houses by covering them with stucco or clapboard siding. The log houses were hidden from view until torn down decades later to reveal (to everyone's surprise) the house's true origin.

The fact that the Logues' did not put siding over the hand-hewn logs made it a charming curiosity to locals. Knowing the hardships the family faced, it may also indicate they lacked the means to make cosmetic improvements to the structure.

In April 1903, Maggie Logue sold the family farm (consisting of 83 acres), to John Alexander Dowie, the founder of the City of Zion. She was paid $9,550 ($280,724 today).

The Logue house being razed, and the large oak tree already gone. Date unknown (post-1903). The fence was built after the property was sold to Dowie and was the type used to pasture horses. Dunn Museum 94.34.640

Maggie retired to Waukegan where she lived until her death on May 19, 1920.

Margaret "Maggie" Logue's signature on receipt in probate record, 1899. Ancestry.com

Sources:

Ancestry.com
Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County, School Histories Collection
FindAGrave.com
Lake County (IL) Recorder of Deeds
Lake County Maps Online https://maps.lakecountyil.gov/mapsonline/
U.S. Census, "Logue," 1850 to 1920.
Bomberger, Bruce D, "Preservation Briefs: 26 - The Preservation and Repair of Historic Log Buildings," National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. (Sept 1991) Accessed March 16, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/tps/how-to-preserve/briefs/26-log-buildings.htm
Census Office Department of the Interior. Ninth Census, United States, 1870. Instructions to Assistant Marshals. Act of May 23, 1850. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1870. Accessed March 16, 2020. https://www.census.gov/history/pdf/1870instructions-2.pdf
Halsey, John J. History of Lake County, Illinois. (Roy S. Bates, Publisher). 1912.
National Park Service. "1870 Catalogue of Goods." Accessed March 16, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/teachers/lessonplans/1870CatalogueofGoods.pdf
"Worth Mentioning: Early Cabin of Margaret Logue," C.H., News Sun, August 18, 1950.

A French illustration of a young consumptive from Le Journal Illustré, No. 34, October 2-9, 1864. Library of Congress.

In the 19th century, waves of epidemics such as cholera, smallpox, and the measles came and went, but tuberculosis—then known as consumption—remained ever-present.

The infectious disease had plagued human kind for thousands of years. In the 1800s, tuberculosis reached epidemic proportions killing "one out of every seven people in the United States and Europe." (Centers for Disease Control)

The disease was thought to be hereditary, unavoidable, and possibly caused by "bad air." The slow process with which people suffered and died was often characterized as "sinking into the grave." Its' true cause, a contagious bacterium—Mycobacterium tuberculosis—was not discovered until 1882. Advancements in treatment followed with diagnostic skin tests, chest radiographs (x-rays), and in 1921, a vaccine for use in humans.

One of the earliest known deaths from consumption of a Lake County resident was Elizabeth Boyd McKay in 1845.

Elizabeth was the wife of Scottish immigrant James McKay (1808-1887). In 1841, the couple and their 1-year old son moved from Chicago to Waukegan (then known as Little Fort). The family gained in prestige as James became influential in the city's growth by building hotels and taverns, and his election to public office. (see my post on James McKay).

When Elizabeth became ill she returned to Chicago, perhaps to be near family. She took residence at the Sauganash Hotel where the town's finest accommodations were available. It is unknown how long she suffered from consumption, but generally it was a slow death taking many months.

Elizabeth Boyd McKay's death notice published in the Little Fort Porcupine, August 6, 1845. Newspaper Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum.

In the spring of 1850, young married couple Olive and William H. Gipson died in Waukegan from the dreaded disease. Both were born in Maine and had recently settled in Waukegan where William worked as a merchant.

The 1850 mortality census lists William as having been ill with consumption for 150 days before his death. For a time, he may have continued to work at his business, unwittingly infecting customers and neighbors just by speaking to them and releasing droplets of the TB bacteria into the air.

While caring for her husband, Olive contracted the disease. She died 30 days from the start of her symptoms. William died a month later at age 35.

The U.S. Federal Census of 1850 included a "mortality schedule" with a list of individuals who had died within the previous year. The 1850 mortality schedule for Waukegan included Olive and William H. Gipson (shown here). Ancestry.com

The classic appearance of a consumptive included flushed cheeks, pale skin and red lips (due to a constant low grade fever), shiny eyes, a chronic cough, and spitting up of blood. Victims also suffered from chills, fatigue, and loss of appetite. The person wasted away and was virtually "consumed" by the disease.

Without a cure, people tried a variety of remedies including fresh air, vinegar massages, cod liver oil, and inhaling hemlock or turpentine. (Centers for Disease Control). Others found a way to make money off those who suffered by selling tonics that falsely claimed a "cure" for ailments including consumption.

An advertisement for one of the many tonic "cures" for consumption, circa 1890. Advertisement Collection (2013.0.97), Bess Bower Dunn Museum.

From a letter by Edwin P. Messer (1838-1915) of Libertyville dated April 19, 1860, we learn of the death of a young friend. Messer wrote to William Minto of Loon Lake (Antioch Twp.): "I suppose you have heard of the death of Mary Abbott she died about the middle of March."

Though Messer did not mention the cause of death, through genealogical research I found that Mary had died of consumption after being ill for three months. She was 18 years old.

1860 mortality schedule listing "Maria E. Abbott" dying of consumption in March 1860 in Waukegan. Ancestry.com

Mary E. Abbott was born on the family farm near Millburn in September 1841 to William Abbott and Elizabeth F. Barry Abbott.

Messer's letter indicates that he and William Minto (1837-1919) were acquainted with Mary. Since Messer did not live near Minto and Abbott in the Millburn/Loon Lake area, I wondered how the three became acquainted. From correspondence in the museum's Minto Family Collection I knew that Minto and Messer had attended the Waukegan Academy together. I suspected that Mary Abbott might also be connected to them through the Academy.

Waukegan Academy on Genesee Street. Printed in the Waukegan Daily Gazette, March 22, 1915. The Academy operated from 1846 to 1869.

As the first institution of higher learning in Lake County and with abolitionist-leanings, the Waukegan Academy attracted male and female students from throughout Lake County and also Wisconsin, New York and Australia. (see my post on the Waukegan Academy).

A review of Academy catalogues confirmed that Mary Abbott attended in 1857 along with Edwin P. Messer and his twin brother Erwin B.

Wauekgan Academy Catalogue for 1857, listing students Mary E. Abbott (top right) and Edwin P. Messer (bottom right). School Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum.

Young adults, such as Mary Abbott, were particularly susceptible to consumption, although anyone could contract the disease. In the following decades, another group would suffer from the disease at high rates—Union veterans of the Civil War.

Historian Brian Matthew Jordan noted that Union soldiers returned to their homes "prematurely broken down." Their bodies were "atrophied by years spent exposed to the elements and disease in unsanitary army camps." This led to veterans succumbing to consumption, and heart and kidney diseases at much higher rates than the general population.

Union veterans at the dedication of the Civil War monument in Waukegan, August 1899. Civil War Collection (64.39.2), Bess Bower Dunn Museum.

William Monaghan (1841-1871) of Wauconda mustered-in with Company B, 96th Illinois Infantry on September 5, 1862. He was the son of Irish immigrants, Eliza and James Monaghan, who came to Lake County in 1837 and settled on property within today's Singing Hills Forest Preserve.

William was considered "an excellent soldier" and served with the 96th Illinois until the end of the war. The regimental history noted him as being 6 foot 4 inches tall and having "a powerful frame," which made it all the more difficult for his family to accept his death from consumption not long after the Civil War.

By the late 1800s, the best cure for TB was thought to be fresh air and good nutrition. The growing realization that TB was likely an infectious disease led to isolating patients in hospitals and sanitoriums. With improvements in socioeconomic conditions, nutrition and living standards, public health initiatives, and the use of sanitoriums, a path to controlling the disease was on the horizon.

Lake Breeze Sanitorium was established for TB sufferers in 1909 on a 16-acre parcel east of Green Bay Road on Grand Avenue in Waukegan. Tuberculosis Collection 77.20, Bess Bower Dunn Museum.

Public health initiatives such as this American Lung Association poster, educated people on disease prevention. Circa 1925. U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Lake County's Tuberculosis Sanitorium was established on Belvidere Road in Waukegan in 1939. In addition to providing the latest in diagnosis and antibiotic treatments, the facility had patient rooms that opened onto private balconies for fresh air. (see my post on the TB Sanitorium).

Nurses's station at TB Sanitorium in Waukegan, circa 1940. Tuberculosis Collection 77.20, Bess Bower Dunn Museum. Today, tuberculosis remains a public health concern in part to a rise in drug resistance. The disease has re-emerged as a pandemic killing 1.5 million people worldwide each year. However, in the U.S. the number of new cases continues to fall steadily. For more information visit the Centers for Disease Control https://www.cdc.gov/tb/.

For centuries, the origin of tuberculosis was not understood and contracting it was thought to be unavoidable. With the advent of germ theory and the discovery of the bacterium that causes TB, people began to understand how to control the spread of the disease through isolation, and eventually prevent it through antibiotics.

Telling the stories of Lake Countians who died from tuberculosis or worked to treat those with the disease is possible because official records and archival materials have been preserved and made available for research. Today, we are experiencing a struggle that is similar to the one our 19th century counterparts endured. To understand this moment in time, museums around the world—including the Bess Bower Dunn Museum—are collecting stories and photos related to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Historians and researchers 10, 20 or even 50 years from now will benefit and find perspective from the stories we archive today.

Please consider sharing your experience with the COVID-19 pandemic through the Bess Bower Dunn Museum's COVID-19 Documentation Project.

Sources:

Ancestry.com - 1850 and 1860 U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, Lake County, Illinois.
Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County.
Centers for Disease Control https://www.cdc.gov/tb/ and https://www.cdc.gov/tb/worldtbday/history.htm.
Manoli-Skocay, Constance. "A Gentle Death: Tuberculosis in 19th Century Concord."ConcordLibrary.org. Accessed May 22, 2020.
https://concordlibrary.org/special-collections/essays-on-concord-history/a-gentle-death-tuberculosis-in-19th-century-concord.
"Died."Little Fort Porcupine and Democratic Banner, Little Fort, Lake County, Illinois, August 6, 1845. Newspaper Collection. Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County.
Jordan, Brian Matthew. Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2014.
Partridge, Charles A. History of the Ninety-Sixth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Chicago: Historical Society of the Regiment, 1887.
Murray, John F. "A Century of Tuberculosis." Accessed May 28, 2020. ATSJournals.org.

https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.200402-140OE

Guest post by Steve Ferrigan, Collections Digitizer for the Dunn Museum

When the Dunn Museum staff were told to shelter in place back in March and work remotely, one of the first things collections staff did was to take digital photos of diaries in the Minto Family Collection in order to transcribe them from home.

It turns out you can learn a lot more than just about your own family by being cooped up at home for months. Sometimes you can learn about farm life in the early 1910s.

The diary I was tasked with transcribing was Susie Minto’s from 1912. Every once in a while, very rarely, something happens in a Minto Diary. Between the days listing who is working where and on what; between the small trips to nearby towns for supplies or new equipment; around the brief recounting of church services attended and occasional church events; the greater world and its events and characters reaches through and touches the lives of the Minto family.

In 1912, the family living at the Minto homestead included Susie and David J. Minto, daughter Una Jean, and son David Harold and his wife Mildred and their two daughters. (See Diana Dretske's Minto post for a history of the family).

Susie Smith Minto and daughter Una Jean Minto photographed about 1898. Minto Family Collection, Dunn Museum, 93.45.89.

One such diary entry occurred on Monday, August 12, 1912: "Una rec’d her mail today a letter from Jane Addams of the ‘Hull House.’”

Throughout her diary, Susie Minto (1839-1914) of Antioch/Loon Lake, then in her early 70's, makes mention of her daughter Una Jean (1876-1963) gathering flowers from the family’s garden to send to Hull House. They sort and tie bunches late into the night and box them up to be sent with the milkman on the earliest Wisconsin Central line train to Chicago.

By 1911, Hull House had grown to a 13-building complex in Chicago. In 1912, Hull House added a summer camp, the Bowen Country Club in Waukegan (today's Bowen Park). V.O. Hammon postcard.

Jane Addams (1860-1935) was a pioneer in the settlement movement of the late 1800s. Hull-House, opened in 1889 by Addams and Ellen Gates Starr (1859-1940) soon emerged as a vital tool for immigrants, children, and the poor of Chicago. They provided childcare, an art gallery, a library, and classes in English, citizenship, job finding, art, music, and theater.

Jane Addams photographed at her writing desk about October 30, 1912. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

Susie’s diary entry continues: “[Jane Addams] kindly thanked Una for sending the lovely flowers & said ‘the size of bunches did not really matter although the small bunches such as came yesterday seemed to give particular pleasure to the small children in the Mary Crane Nursery which is housed in one of the Hull House Buildings. The flowers were in splendid condition with much appreciation of your kindly thought of us & the courteous letter, I am sincerely yours.’ The above is a partial copy of letter rec’d by Una [and signed] Jane Addams Aug 12, 1912."

Susie Minto's diary entry for August 12, 1912. Minto Family Collection, Dunn Museum 93.45.289.

After seeing this routine mentioned numerous times, and after seeing the thank you letter Susie describes, I decided to do a little investigating to find out what the flowers were used for.

I quickly found some Chicago Tribune articles covering the Hull House and mentioning flowers for the children. From the Chicago Tribune on November 1, 1891:

“In the dining-room is the ‘advanced’ class, absorbed in the mysteries of cutting and putting together in a logical fashion muslin underclothes. On the sideboard is a great shining tin dish-pan filled to the brim with marigolds, and geraniums, and sweet old-fashioned mignonette—an explanation, perhaps, of the presence of some of these light-hearted, carefree little daughters of Italy, to whom a whole afternoon of serious application to anything but play must be irksome to a degree. But all the children love flowers—none more than these.”

Illustration of Jane Addams distributing flowers at Hull House. Chicago Tribune November 1, 1891.

The small bouquets in this illustration are similar to the ones Una and Susie Minto had worked so tirelessly to gather and send.

Susie Minto in her flower garden. Minto Family Collection, Dunn Museum 93.45.77.7

The Tribune article continued:

“And after the sewing is all folded neatly away, the awkward thimble and troublesome needle safely hidden in the depths of the sewing-bag for another seven days; when all the hats and coats have been given to their rightful owners, then that dish-pan is moved out into the hall and every child receives from Miss Addams’ hands a bunch of flowers for her very own. It is worth traveling a long distance just to see this distribution, the joy in it is so evident. With a funny compromise between a bow and a curtsey, a 'thank you, teacher,' and a face wreathed in smiles, each child receives the bit of bloom and fragrance."

After reading Susie Minto’s diary and day after day of chore lists and weather reports, discovering this small glimpse of the larger world as seen through the Minto lens was a beacon of sunlight on an otherwise gray page. It made me start reading closer and looking for even more details connecting these early 20^th century rural farmers to larger world events.

Reading old script can be difficult, but by transcribing these diaries the Dunn Museum can make them more accessible to researchers and the general public to enjoy and to make their own discoveries about the past.

~ ~ ~

The Bess Bower Dunn Museum's Minto Family Collection is available online through the host site Illinois Digital Archives.

Women's Army Corps member at Fort Sheridan, circa 1943. Fort Sheridan Collection, Dunn Museum 92.24.1112

In September 1939, Americans were in the tenth year of the Great Depression when war broke out in Europe with Hitler’s invasion of Poland. As the warfront expanded throughout Europe and Asia, the U.S. needed to increase the strength of its’ military to prepare for the possibility of war. These preparations included discussions on the prospect of a women’s corps.

Along with men, women wanted to do their part to fight the threat of fascism and many lobbied for a role in the U.S. military mobilization. At the forefront was U.S. representative Edith Nourse Rogers (1881-1960) of Massachusetts, who introduced a bill in Congress in early 1941 to establish an auxiliary corps to fill non-combatant positions in the army.

The bill stalled until the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 propelled the United States’ into war. Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, foresaw a manpower shortage and understood the necessity of women in uniform to the nation’s defense. Not only were women needed in factories, but also in the military.

With the support of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and General Marshall, on May 15, 1942, Rogers’s bill (H.R. 4906) passed into law creating the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). As an auxiliary unit, the women were limited to serving with the Army rather than in the Army.

The purpose of the WAAC was to make “available to the national defense the knowledge, skill, and special training of the women of the nation."

Women taking the oath as officer candidates in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps at army headquarters, Chicago. Four of the women pictured were African American, including Mildred L. Osby (top left), who would command an African American Women's Army Corps unit at Fort Sheridan. Chicago Tribune, July 12, 1942.

The first WAAC training center was at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. On July 20, 1942, one hundred and twenty-five enlisted women, and four hundred and forty officer candidates arrived for training.

Of the four hundred and forty women selected for officer candidate training only 40 places were allotted for African American women, reportedly based on “the percentage of the population.” Mildred L. Osby (1913-1953) of Chicago was one of the African American women selected for officer training. Her fellow candidate, Charity Adams Earley, described them as “the ambitious, the patriotic, the adventurous.”

Lt. Mildred L. Osby recruiting women for the WAACs in Washington D.C., November 1942. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Army post at Fort Sheridan received its first 150 auxiliaries on December 30, 1942. The WAAC detachment arrived from Fort Des Moines by train at the Fort Sheridan depot. Commanded by Captain Edith M. Davis, the women were the first company of WAACs assigned to the Army Service Forces’ Sixth Service Command (Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan) headquartered in Chicago.

First WAAC detachment arriving at Fort Sheridan on December 30, 1942. Mary Jane (Lett) Lucas aka "Jane" is right of center holding large duffel. Chicago Sun Staff Photo / Fort Sheridan Collection, Dunn Museum 95.32.23.

Among the first detachment of WAACs at Fort Sheridan was Mary Jane (Lett) Lucas (1921-2014), who recalled that the women auxiliaries were given a warm reception. She noted that the army “didn’t know what to do with us,” and was given a job as an usher at the post’s theater. The army quickly figured out how best to utilize the extra "manpower." Duties for the women’s corps included: clerks, stenographers, commissary, photo analysts, surgical assistants, lab assistants, mechanics, and chauffeurs.

On July 3, 1943, the auxiliaries were officially given “active duty status” with the passing of the bill to create the Women’s Army Corps. All auxiliaries (WAACs) were offered the choice of an honorable discharge and return to civilian life or joining the U.S. Army as a member of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). Seventy-five percent of the women enlisted.

This new designation was important as it gave women full military rank and benefits for service injuries and allowed them to serve overseas. It also gave them protection as soldiers and if captured were eligible for rights given to prisoners of war.

WAC Mary Jane (Lett) Lucas, bottom right, with Sixth Service Command Laboratory soldiers and WACs, circa 1944. Lucas met her husband, Colonel Charles J. Lucas (1923-2011), at Fort Sheridan’s Non-Commissioned Officers’ club. They married in 1947 and settled in Grayslake. Mary Jane Lucas Collection, Dunn Museum, 2012.20.39.

Lucas was assigned to the Army’s Sixth Service Command Medical Laboratory at Fort Sheridan, driving officers from the lab, and checking in thousands of samples. This laboratory received more than 66,000 food and water samples from 1941 to 1945. The laboratory’s principal activity was the chemical and bacteriological examination of foods, including large quantities of canned evaporated milk, dried powdered milk, and cheese procured for the Armed Forces. At the lab, Lucas also worked with German prisoners of war, but was not allowed to speak to them.

In November 1943, an African American WAC unit was posted to Fort Sheridan under the command of 1st Lt. Mildred L. Osby (promoted to Captain in January 1944). At the time of her enlistment in July 1942, Osby was married, living in Chicago, and employed at the social security board. She had graduated from Officer Candidate Training at Fort Des Moines, served as a WAAC recruiter in Washington, D.C., posted to Fort Custer, Michigan, and WAC Company B commander at Fort Sheridan.

Capt. Mildred L. Osby, date unknown. Photo from FindAGrave.com, Arlington National Cemetery.

The seventy-five African American WACs under the command of Capt. Mildred Osby were assigned to duties in the Recruit Reception Center. Soldiers on furlough also passed through the Fort where their service records were checked and instructions given for the length of furlough time they had at home.

Soldiers and WACs worked in the Rotation Section, which had a "graveyard shift" to accommodate the great numbers of soldiers passing through and to "speed overseas veterans through." (The Tower, August 11, 1944).

WACs Pvt. Ruth Mays (right) showing records to Pvt. Florence Brown while working in Fort Sheridan's Rotational Section. Mary Jane Lucas Collection, Dunn Museum, 2012.20. The Tower, August 11, 1944.

Twenty-six of the original company of WACs at Fort Sheridan on their two-year roll of honor, December 1944. Mary Jane (Lett) Lucas (top row, red star). Thirty of their WAC comrades had been transferred overseas where they were serving in New Guinea, Egypt, England and France. The Tower, December 29, 1944.

Details of the celebration at Fort Sheridan marking the 2nd anniversary of the creation of the Women's Army Corps. Chicago Tribune, May 15, 1944.

During World War II, nearly 150,000 American women served as soldiers in the Women’s Army Corps. In 1948, for their superb service during the war, President Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act allowing a permanent place for women to serve within the military in regular, peacetime forces.

The Women's Army Corps disbanded in 1978 and all members were fully integrated into the U.S. Army.

The Dunn Museum is celebrating those who served with a new temporary exhibition Breaking Barriers: Women in the Military through January 16, 2021.

Sources:

Bess Bower Dunn Museum (Fort Sheridan Collection 92.24/95.23; Mary Jane Lucas Collection 2012.20)

"Twenty-One Illinois Women Who Are in the Army Now," Chicago Tribune, June 12, 1942.

"War Training - First Contingent of WAACs Arrives at Fort Sheridan," Chicago Daily Tribune, December 31, 1942.

"Twenty-five WAACs Win Promotion to Second Officer," Chicago Tribune, January 3, 1943.

"American Women at War - Lt. Mildred L. Osby," Chicago Tribune, November 28, 1943.

"American Women at War - Capt. Mildred L. Osby," Chicago Tribune, January 30, 1944.

"WACs at Fort Sheridan to Observe Anniversary," Chicago Tribune, May 15, 1944.

"'Graveyard Shift' Hastens Rotation Men Home," The Tower, August 11, 1944.

"WACs Celebrate Second Anniversary Here," The Tower, December 29, 1944.

"On the Record with Mary Jane Lucas," Lake County Journal, May 27, 2010.

Earley, Charity Adams. One Woman's Army: A Black Officer Remembers the WACs. Texas A&M University Press, 1995.

Treadwell, Mattie E. United States Army in World War II, Special Studies: Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1991.

Ancestry.com

FindAGrave.com. "Mildred Lavinia Osby," Arlington National Cemetery.

George C. Marshall Foundation Blog: https://www.marshallfoundation.org/blog/marshall-75th-anniversary-wacs/

The Women’s Army Corps: A Commemoration of World War II Service, Judith A. Bellafaire
https://history.army.mil/brochures/WAC/WAC.HTM

Battle flag of the 102nd U.S. Colored Troops (1st Michigan), presented to the regiment by the Colored Ladies Aid Society on January 5, 1864. Henry McIntosh served in Company G. Image source: capitol.michigan.gov.

Henry McIntosh (1843-1915) of Lake Forest, Illinois, served with the 102nd U.S. Colored Troops (1st Michigan) from February 1864 to October 1865.

McIntosh was born enslaved on a plantation in Kentucky. When war erupted on April 12, 1861, he was made a horse wrangler for the Confederate army, but wanted no part in the South’s fight to save the institution of slavery. After several months, McIntosh saw a chance for freedom and crossed the Ohio River into a bordering free state.

Gateway to Freedom: International Memorial to the Underground Railroad by Ed Dwight, Sculptor. Dedicated in Detroit, Michigan on October 20, 2001.

According to his family, McIntosh made his way via the secret network of abolitionists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. Many freedom seekers who headed north continued onto Canada, but McIntosh stopped in Detroit, Michigan where there was an established African American community.

On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation took effect, freeing all enslaved people in the Confederacy. The intention was to cripple the Confederacy’s use of this labor source to support their armies and home front; something that Henry McIntosh had experienced firsthand.

In July 1863, U.S. Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, authorized the State of Michigan to “raise one Regiment of colored Infantry.” The order stated that these men would not receive a bounty for enlisting, but would be paid “ten dollars per month.” They would also be “commanded by white officers.”

Between August 1863 and February 1864, a total of 895 men from across Michigan signed the rolls for the new regiment. The unit received its commission into the service of the United States as the First Michigan Colored Infantry on February 17, 1864. Its' designation changed to the 102nd U.S. Colored Troops/Infantry (USCI) on May 23. Henry McIntosh served as a private in Company G.

McIntosh was particularly proud that the 102nd USCI were part of the forces supporting Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea (November 15 - December 21, 1864), a campaign that led to the eventual surrender of the Confederacy. The 102nd served on picket duty, built fortifications, destroyed rail lines, and engaged the enemy.

After the war's end in Spring 1865, the process of Reconstruction began to redress the inequities of slavery and help the South become part of the Union again. Federal troops, including Henry McIntosh with the 102nd USCI, were sent to Charleston, South Carolina to keep order.

The presence of African American soldiers caused provisional governors of Southern states to complain that “the black troops are a great nuisance & do much mischief among the Freed men.” The uniformed and armed African American troops made for a powerful image, undoubtedly generating pride in Freedmen and fear in Secessionists.

Pressure from the governors prompted the War Department to muster-out the Black troops and send them home, essentially removing their presence from Southern states. The 102nd mustered-out September 30, 1865. They arrived in Detroit, Michigan on October 17 and received their final pay and discharge.

Shortly thereafter, Henry McIntosh made his way to Lake County, Illinois, seeking new opportunities, and settling in Lake Forest. One attraction to the area was the number of African Americans living there. This is likely where he met Sarah Martin, whom he married in 1869. According to the 1870 Census, there were eight African American households, totaling 30 people, in Shields Township/Lake Forest.

View of 1870 U.S. Census data for Henry McIntosh, misspelled "Mackintosh" and his wife Sarah. Ancestry.com.

Henry McIntosh was an active community member, and became one of the organizers of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Organized in 1866, the church was constructed in 1870 at the present corner of Maplewood and Washington Road. McIntosh had a lifelong association with the church.

Notice from the The Lake Forester August 1, 1903, showing Henry McIntosh as superintendent at the Bethel A.M.E. Church. McIntosh is credited as one of the organizers of this church.

McIntosh worked as a laborer, and later as a coachman and gardener on a private estate. Sarah and Henry had no children. Sadly, on May 30, 1884, Sarah died.

Over one year later, on July 14, 1885, Henry married Fannie Davis Freleigh (1867-1960).

Fannie was born in Missouri in 1867 to Sarah and Charles Davis. Her father was a plasterer by trade, and in the late 1870s he moved the family to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. As the oldest of eight children, Fannie helped the family by working outside the home as a house servant for the Earle Moses family. Moses was a buyer and seller of wood in Oshkosh’s lumber industry.

Between 1880-1885, Fannie came to Lake Forest and was employed in the household of Rev. Daniel S. Gregory (1832-1915), the president of Lake Forest University.

Henry and Fannie lived on Washington Road and had nine children: William W., Etta (Mrs. Andrew Smith), Clarence, Peter, Euphemia (Mrs. Henry Walker), Arnett, Lillian, Lutie E. (Mrs. William Slaughter), and Wayman H.

Photo from the collections of Bess Bower Dunn Museum, 64.39.2.

The above photograph from the Dunn Museum's collections was taken on August 29, 1899, at the dedication of the Lake County Civil War monument in Waukegan. This cropped image shows an African American Civil War veteran. Is this man Henry McIntosh?

Another view of the photograph of veterans at the dedication of the Civil War monument in Waukegan. The veteran, possibly Henry McIntosh, is right of the drummer and marked by a red star. Dunn Museum 64.39.2.

There is no list of names for the men in this photograph, making it difficult to ascertain their identities. Of the African American men who lived in Lake County and are known to have served in the Civil War, McIntosh was the only one alive at the time of this photo.

As a veteran, McIntosh was a member of the Lake County Soldiers and Sailors Association. He was noted in the Association's records as attending the August 1913 reunion in Waukegan. From this record, we know that he participated in veterans' reunions, adding to the mystery of whether the man in the commemorative portrait is McIntosh. The museum would be grateful for any information to help identify this man. Please email museum collections staff LCHA@LCFPD.org.

Ledger entry noting Civil War veterans, including Henry McIntosh (bottom), who attended the Lake County Soldiers and Sailors Association reunion in August 1913. McIntosh was 70-years old. Dunn Museum 74.19.16.

Henry McIntosh's service during the Civil War inevitably inspired his children and grandchildren to serve their country:

Son, Clarence Nathaniel McIntosh (1889-1963) served as Sergeant Major with the 351st Field Artillery during World War I; son, Wayman Hillis McIntosh (1900-1982), an athletic trainer at Lake Forest College, volunteered as air raid warden during World War II; grandson, Henry Nathaniel McIntosh (1923-1980) served as lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War; and grandson Clarence Pearson McIntosh (1925-1999) served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy.

Henry McIntosh's grave marker at Lake Forest Cemetery. Findagrave.com.

Henry McIntosh died on August 3, 1915, leaving a legacy of service to his community and the nation.

Special thanks to Laurie Stein, Curator, History Center at Lake Forest-Lake Bluff, for research assistance. lstein@lflbhistory.org

Sources:

Ancestry.com (1870, 1880, 1900 to 1940 U.S. Census; World War I and II registration cards, Lake Forest city directories).

FindAGrave.com.

Bess Bower Dunn Museum. Lake County Soldiers and Sailors Association Collection, and G.A.R. Photo Collection. https://www.lcfpd.org/museum/collections/.

History Center at Lake Forest-Lake Bluff www.lflbhistory.org.

Detroit Historical Society www.detroithistorical.org.

Michigan in the War web.archive.org.
https://web.archive.org/web/20030724204008/http://www.michiganinthewar.org/infantry/1colora.htm

"Lake Forester Deserts Confederacy, Marches With Sherman's Army to Sea." Uncited, July 27, 1961.

"African American History in Lake Forest: A Walking Tour," Lake Forest College, 1997.

"DAVIS."The Oshkosh Northwestern, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. July 2, 1931. Roy Davis obituary, brother of Fannie McIntosh.

"Revival of Democracy." Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Mississippi, June 14, 1942. Lists air raid wardens in Chicago's Division 8, including Wayman McIntosh of Lake Forest, Illinois.

Robertson, Jno. Michigan in the War. Lansing: W.S. George and Company, State Printers and Binders, 1882. Michigan's Adjutant General's Department reports. https://archive.org/details/michiganinwar00mich/page/n7/mode/2up. Accessed February 12, 2021.

Dobak, William A. Freedom by the Sword: The U.S. Colored Troops, 1862-1867. Washington, D.C.: Center of Military History United States Army, 2011.

Arpee, Edward. Lake Forest Illinois: History and Reminiscences 1861-1961. Lake Forest, Illinois: Rotary Club of Lake Forest, 1963.

Halsey, John J. A History of Lake County, Illinois. Illinois: Roy S. Bates, 1912.

Lake County (IL) Genealogical Society. “Lake County, Illinois Marriages 1881 to 1901,” Volume III. Libertyville, Illinois.

Grace Garrett Durand with her cows. Crab Tree Farm, circa 1910. lflb.passitdown.com

Grace Garrett Durand (1867-1948), founder of Crab Tree Farm in Lake Bluff, Illinois, was one of the most forward thinking dairy farmers of her day. Through her philanthropic nature and society connections she advanced children’s health and the production of clean milk.

Durand was born in Burlington, Iowa to Martha Rorer and William Garrett. Grace’s ties to the Chicago area likely began with her brother’s marriage to Miss Ada Sawyer in 1884. Ada was the daughter of one Chicago's “pioneer druggists,” Dr. Sidney Sawyer.

In February 1888, Ada Sawyer Garrett and her mother, Elizabeth Sawyer, gave Grace an “elegant reception" at their home. This may have been Grace’s formal introduction to Chicago society. In the following years, Chicago’s Inter Ocean newspaper would note Dr. and Mrs. Sawyers’ travels with Miss Grace Garrett as their guest.

Society page notice of the reception in honor of Grace Garrett. The Inter Ocean, Chicago, February 5, 1888.

Grace had quickly become the darling of social circles for her “sweet winning face and vivacious manner.” The Sawyers took her to New York where they stayed at the Windsor Hotel, and wintered together at the famed luxury resort, the Hotel Alcazar—today’s Lightner Museum—in St. Augustine, Florida.

On news of her mother’s declining health, Grace returned home to Iowa to care for her. Martha Garrett died in February 1893.

In April 1894, Grace married wealthy sugar broker, Scott Sloan Durand of Lake Forest. Their wedding was held in Burlington, Iowa “in the presence of a brilliant assemblage of invited guests.” Grace’s maid of honor was the famous watercolor artist and illustrator, Maud Humphrey (1868-1940) of New York. Today, Maud is better known as the mother of Hollywood legend, Humphrey Bogart.

Sketch of Grace Garrett for an article titled, "Two Fond Hearts United," on the occasion of her marriage to Scott Durand.

Inter Ocean, Chicago, April 6, 1894.

The Inter Ocean reported that the bride wore a “Queen Louise gown of white satin… and a white veil trimmed in duchesse lace.” At this point in her life, Grace was considered a “lady of fashion.” Within a few years, newspapers would spend less time talking about her clothes and more about her leadership qualities.

The newlyweds returned to Lake Forest. In 1896, they built a new home on 20 acres at the northeast corner of Sheridan Road and Crabtree Lane. When Lake Forest held its first election for the Board of Education (May 1897), Durand was motivated to run. This was also the first time Lake Forest women residents were allowed to vote. Grace Durand and Miss Mary Neimeyer were elected to the board.

At the turn of the century, Durand shifted her focus to dairy farming as she became aware of infant mortality rates in Chicago linked to contaminated milk. Impure milk was a problem that had been combatted with varying success for centuries, but with the rapid growth of cities the problem was exacerbated. Inspired by her mother’s example of helping others, Grace saw a desperate need to provide children with clean milk.

In 1904, Durand established Crab Tree dairy farm on her Lake Forest property. However, her neighbors were not enamored of having a dairy herd in the neighborhood. Some complained of the “odor and flies” and that the herd’s “bawling” kept them awake at night.

Artist's fanciful illustration of Grace Durand astride one of her dairy cows. Washington Herald, November 28. 1915.

In 1906, the Durands’ purchased 256-acres, formerly owned by Judge Henry W. Blodgett, on Sheridan Road north of Lake Bluff. Grace marched her cows up the road to the new farm. Her model dairy farm was celebrated in newspapers across the nation. TheNew Castle Herald noted that Durand sold: “the purest of milk… at a profit in air tight silver jugs.” Grace even enrolled in a farmer’s ten-day course at the Wisconsin University College of Agriculture in Madison, WI.

An article in Pearson’s Magazine explained how Grace’s visit to the “tenement district [Chicago] revealed… most of the infant mortality was due to the want of nourishment, which meant good milk, and that good milk was a rare commodity, difficult to procure, even at exorbitant prices.” Durand used the profits from selling milk and thick cream to Chicago’s most select hotels, restaurants and tea rooms, to support needy children.

In 1910, several buildings on her farm were lost to fire. Durand "tearfully" sold her herd, because she could not get barns built before winter. The Durands commissioned Chicago architect, Solon S. Beman (1853 - 1914) to design her new ideal model dairy farm. It was the only farm complex Beman designed.

Crab Tree Farm buildings designed by Solon S. Beman and Durand's new herd of cows, circa 1911. Private collection.

Durand was known to pamper her cows and referred to them as her "pets." She enlisted the unusual method of playing opera music while the cows were milked. Grace claimed the music made the cows happy and consequently their milk tasted better and was more nutritious.

With her success in raising standards in dairying, Durand began to be called the “dairy queen.”

The "Dairy Queen's" success had dairy farmers eager to learn her methods at the Farmer's Institute in Edwardsville, IL. Mantoon Journal Gazette, February 17, 1910.

She became a popular lecturer at farmers’ institutes across the Midwest, sharing her experiences in dairy work, and belief in hygienic and systematic methods to enhance dairy products. Her “charming manner and decisiveness impressed” all who heard her.

Unfortunately, Durand had setbacks in her dairy operations. In fall 1915, her herd was confirmed to have Foot and Mouth Disease, a highly infectious viral disease of hooved animals. Crab Tree farm was one of many in the region suffering from the disease. Durand fought the diagnosis through litigation, but lost her legal battle in the Illinois Supreme Court. Consequently, the herd was destroyed.

In addition to dairy farming, Durand supported the prevention and treatment of Tuberculosis. She was one of the incorporators of the Lake County Tuberculosis Institute in October 1908.

In July 1932, the Durand family made news when their stepson Jack Durand received a note threatening to kidnap his 2-year old daughter unless he gave them $50,000 (nearly $1 million today).

Grace Durand outwitted criminals in a plot to kidnap her grandchild.

The Times, Streator, Illinois. July 12, 1932.

The police were notified of the threat and waiting at Jack Durand's home. However, the would-be kidnappers went mistakenly to Grace Durand's home at Crab Tree farm and asked for him. A "quick thinking" Grace told them that Jack would be home in a few minutes and had them wait on the porch while she phoned police.

Grace was also a Temperance advocate and member of the Lake Bluff chapter of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. It was more than a little embarrassing when her husband Scott Durand was indicted for selling 30 million pounds of sugar (from 1929 to 1932) to persons who used it to manufacture liquor.

Grace Durand as featured in Harper's Weekly, May 9, 1914.

Grace Durand died on February 26, 1948 and dairy operations ceased. During her lifetime she was recognized as one of the “most powerful leaders in the milk crusade.”

Following Durand's death, William McCormick Blair (1884-1982) and his wife, Helen Bowen Blair (1890-1972), purchased Crab Tree Farm. The Blairs association with Durand had begun in 1926, with the purchase of 11-acres of the farm overlooking Lake Michigan.

Since 1985, Durand’s Crab Tree Farm has been owned by the John H. Bryan family. The property is still a working farm, and the original historic buildings have been renovated and now display collections of American and English Arts and Crafts furniture and decorative arts.

Special thanks to Laurie Stein, Curator at the History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff for additional research and enthusiasm for this topic.

Sources:

Ancestry.com

Findagrave.com

History Center of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff https://lflbhistory.org/

“Garrett, Timothy M.” Chicago City Directory, 1882.

“Past Pleasures.” The Inter Ocean, Chicago, Illinois, February 5, 1888.

“Matrimonial.” The Inter Ocean, Chicago, Illinois. September 9, 1888.

“Durand—Garrett.” The Daily Leader, Davenport, Iowa, April 1, 1894.

American Druggist and Pharmaceutical Record, Vol. 25. 1894.

“Lake Forest Dames Vote: Five Run for Office and Two Win at the Ballot.” Chicago Daily Tribune, May 9, 1897.

“Arrests Nip Durand Baby $50,000 Kidnapping Plot.” Chicago Daily Tribune, July 13, 1932.

The most famous cavalry officer to be stationed at Fort Sheridan was George S. Patton Jr. (1885-1945). Though the cavalryman-turned-tanker had a relatively brief stay at Fort Sheridan (1909-1911), he made an indelible impression on all who encountered him.

The U.S. Army post at Fort Sheridan (est. 1887) became known as a cavalry post with the arrival of the 7^thCavalry in 1892.

The Fort’s unique terrain was a welcome challenge for cavalry training. Cavalrymen tested their own and their horses’ skills by descending the bluffs to the sandy beach, and traversing acres of uneven ground.

Cavalry descending a bluff to the beach at Fort Sheridan with photographers documenting their training. Circa 1925. Fort Sheridan Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum 92.24.2658

After graduating from West Point in June 1909, a 24-year-old George S. Patton Jr. took a commission as a 2^nd lieutenant with the 15^th Cavalry and was stationed at Fort Sheridan.

15th Cavalry officer, George S. Patton Jr., at Fort Sheridan, circa 1910. Fort Sheridan Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum 92.24.1966.

Partial lists of "officers present and absent" at Fort Sheridan, September 1909. George S. Patton Jr. (#52) is noted as having returned from leave on September 12. Ancestry.com. Returns From U.S. Military Posts, 1800-1916. Original data from National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 94.

On May 26, 1910, Patton married his childhood friend and sweetheart, Beatrice Banning Ayer of Boston, Massachusetts.

Lt. George S. Patton Jr. and Beatrice Banning Ayer on their wedding day, May 26, 1910. WikiTree.com

Wedding details as published by the Boston Globe on May 27, 1910. Newspapers.com

After a month-long honeymoon, the newlyweds made their home at Fort Sheridan. The Boston Globe, May 27, 1910. Newspapers.com.

As a married officer, Patton was assigned to new quarters in Building 92 on Leonard Wood Avenue. On March 19, 1911, the couple welcomed their first child, Beatrice Ayer Patton, who was born at Fort Sheridan.

Building 92 on Leonard Wood Avenue where Cavalry officer, George S. Patton Jr., his wife Beatrice and baby daughter Beatrice lived on the north side of this duplex. Fort Sheridan Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum, 95.32.68.

A story relayed by the Ray Family of Diamond Lake is that Patton would come for Harriet Rouse Ray's famous Sunday chicken dinners at the Ray's Lakeside Cottage. Patton arrived on horseback and dressed in uniform, of course.

According to biographer, Ladislas Farago, Patton and his wife were known as the "Duke and Duchess" at Fort Sheridan. Patton was independently wealthy, and the couple enjoyed dressing up for dinner, driving expensive automobiles, and were both equestrians. Chicago Tribubune, October 25, 1964.

Lt. George S. Patton Jr. on the porch of his Army residence at Fort Sheridan (Building 92), circa 1910. Fort Sheridan Collection, Bess Bower Dunn Museum, 92.24.2020.

At Fort Sheridan, Patton impressed his superiors and was known as a hard-driving leader.

In late 1911, he was transferred to Fort Myer, Virginia, where he would come to know many of the Army's senior leaders.

Patton (right) fencing in the 1912 Summer Olympics held in Stockholm, Sweden. He finished fifth overall in the modern pentathlon. Swedish Press photo, public domain. Wikipedia.

In 1917, Patton joined General John J. Pershing's staff for the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in World War I. While in France training American infantry troops, Patton became interested in tanks. His new military path quickly developed as he advocated for the development of a tank corps. When the 1st Tank Brigade was created, Patton was placed in charge. Along with British tankers, he and his men achieved victory at Cambrai, France, during the world's first major tank battle in Nov-Dec, 1917.

During World War II, Patton was the Army’s leading strategist in tank warfare. He commanded the Western Task Force in the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942, the Seventh Army during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and was given command of the Third Army in France in 1944.

An imaginative, shrewd, and often undiplomatic military commander, Patton is remembered as one of the most brilliant and successful generals in United States history. While his military genius in tank warfare was put to the test on Europe's battlefields, Fort Sheridan will always be Patton-the-cavalryman's first Army post.

Hello Lake County History Blog Followers,

The Feedburner email subscription service is being discontinued in July 2021. As a result, Blogger's email subscription widget will be turned off.

The new email subscription service for the Lake County History Blog is follow.it.

Current and future blog subscribers will receive notices of new posts from the email subscription service follow.it. You may also be asked by follow.it to confirm your subscription.

My apologies for any confusion.

Thank you!

This handsome portrait of Levi H. Mead, from the collections of the Bess Bower Dunn Museum, prompted me to research his life in Newport Township, Lake County, Illinois and his service with the 65th Illinois during the Civil War.

Levi H. Mead (1839 - 1864), circa 1862

(BBDM Collections)

Levi's roots in Lake County began about 1840 when he was just a baby. His family came to Lake County from Ohio. They first settled in Benton Township and then in Newport Township on the west side of Greenbay Road just south of today's 21st Street.

In 1850, the Mead family consisted of patriarch Edward Mead, who had served in the War of 1812, wife Ellen, and children: Sarah, Martha, Amanda, John, William Edward, Margaret, Levi, and George. All the children (except for the youngest) were born in Ohio where the family had spent many years.

In the summer of 1862, with the Civil War still raging, President Lincoln called for 600,000 more troops. In Lake County, James S. Putnam (1829 - 1869) of Waukegan was elected a captain in the 65th Illinois "Scotch Regiment" and set about recruiting men for Company F.

The 6' 1" farmer, Levi Mead, was one of the first to add his name to the company's rolls, joining on February 28, 1862. Levi's older brother John, joined on April 1st, and together they mustered in at Camp Douglas in Chicago on April 26.

The regiment was ordered to Martinsburg, Virginia and was among 14,000 troops under the command of Colonel Dixon S. Miles to hold Harpers Ferry. Unfortunately, General Robert E. Lee's forces were too much for them and on September 15, the Federals surrendered, the 65th Illinois among the prisoners.

The following day, the 65th Illinois was paroled and sent to Chicago.

During this "furlough," Levi married his sweetheart Amelia J. Wells. Amelia was the daughter of English immigrant John Wells. The Wells family had settled in Newport Township in 1843.

The Mead and Wells children were school mates at the Biddlecome School (later known as Lone Oak School), on 21st Street east of Kilbourn Road. It was a log school until 1857, when a new wood frame schoolhouse was built and the old school was moved onto the Shea farm where it was used as a barn. (Source: Biddlecome School History, BBDM)

On the afternoon of December 24, 1862, Levi and Amelia went to Pleasant Prairie, Kenosha, Wisconsin and were married in a "common" ceremony by Samuel H. Thompson, a minister of the Gospel.

It's unknown how long Levi was able to remain at home with his new bride, but in April 1863, the 65th was sent back the front.

By May, the regiment was serving in campaigns in East Tennessee, taking part in the battles around Chattanooga and in the defense of Knoxville. After a severe winter campaign over 1863 - 1864, the regiment reenlisted as a veteran organization.

On April 7, 1864, Mead mustered in as a veteran at Louisville, Kentucky. Afterwards, he and 400 comrades were given veterans furloughs and went home for an extended period.

When the 65th Illinois returned to the field, it joined General Sherman's Atlanta Campaign as part of the XXIII Corps.

"Map of the environs of Pine Mountain, Lost Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain,

and Little Kenesaw Mountain" by G.H. Blakeslee 1864.

(Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington D.C.)

On June 15, after over a week of steady rain, the regiment was brought into a fierce engagement with the Confederates between Kennesaw and Lost Mountains near Marietta, Georgia.

The Rebels fell back and on June 16, the 65th Illinois occupied their works. Over the course of the next few days from June 17 - 19, the regiment engaged the enemy in lively skirmishing.

While on the skirmish line on Friday, June 17, Levi Mead was struck by a musket ball in the throat and killed at Lost Mountain.

U.S. Register of Deaths of Volunteers, 1861-1865.

Levi H. Mead's record is highlighted in red.

On the 20th, the advance was checked by a deep and almost impassable creek - the enemy defending the bridge with artillery and infantry. Volunteers being called for, about 50 men of the 65th Illinois stepped forward and charged across the bridge, driving back the enemy, and holding the position until the remainder of the Regiment crossed.

Description of locality where Levi H. Mead was first buried

"around Kennesaw" Mountain "under a Chestnut tree."

More than likely, Levi's brother John helped to bury him.

(From US Burial Registers, Military Posts and National Cemeteries records, 1862-1960, Ancestry.com).

On June 30, Orson V. Young of the 96th Illinois wrote home to his parents in Newport Township: "I saw Levi and John a few days before Levi was killed. I suppose his folks have heard all about it by this time."(BBDM 92.33.70)

Just twenty-three years old, Amelia Wells Mead was now a grieving widow with no children and no income. She set about making a widow's pension claim to the U.S. Government. This process included getting a certified copy of the public record of her marriage; testimony of her "widowhood" and good character from witnesses Azro D. Hutchins and Elijah Eddy; power of attorney given to Francis E. Clarke (brother of the late Lt. Col. Isaac Clarke of the 96th Illinois); and service and death record of her husband Levi H. Mead.

She further had to declare that she never "engaged in or aided and abetted the existing Rebellion."

In 1866, a program began to re-bury over 10,000 Union dead (including Levi Mead) from Sherman's Atlanta Campaign at the new Marietta National Cemetery.

Entrance to the Marietta National Cemetery.

"Here rest the remains of 10,312 Officers and Soldiers

who died in defense of the Union, 1861 - 1865."

Record of Levi Mead's interment at the National Cemetery.


Levi H. Mead's grave marker, Marietta National Cemetery. Image: Findagrave.com

Levi's brother John, also with the 65th Illinois, mustered out as a sergeant in Chicago on April 25, 1865. Three years later, John married his brother's widow.

John and Amelia had one child, Earnest E. Mead, born in November 1877. The family lived in Shelby County, Iowa; Kenosha, Wisconsin; and finally in Avon Township, Lake County, Illinois.

Reunion of the 65th Illinois, circa 1885, location unknown. John Mead is second from left.

Image credit: http://civilwar.illinoisgenweb.org/scrapbk/65threunion.html

Amelia Wells Mead died in 1920, and John Mead in 1924. They are buried at Avon Centre Cemetery in Grayslake, Illinois.

Image credit: Findagrave.com

~ ~ ~

Grateful appreciation to Patricia Harold for providing confirmation of Amelia J. Wells' marriage to Levi H. Mead, and sharing copies of documents found on Fold3.com. Her connection to these events is through her stepmother, Marge Wells Copley, a g-g-grand niece of Amelia Wells Mead.

Mary Spoor Brand's illustration for Bobby and Betty With the Workers by Katharine Elizabeth Dopp, published by Rand McNally & Company, 1923.

The Golden Age of American illustration (1880 - 1914) gave women unprecedented opportunities to be employed as illustrators. The momentum it created would benefit Mary Louise Spoor Brand of Waukegan, who became a children's book illustrator in the first decades of the 20th century.

Mary Louise Spoor Brand (1887-1985). Ancestry.com volks1wag family tree.

Known as "Mollie" to her friends and family, Spoor was born on March 15, 1887 to Catherine Stressinger (1853-1947) and Marvin Spoor (1839-1927). Her father was an engineer for the North Western Railway, and except for an absence while serving with the 89th Illinois in the Civil War, Marvin Spoor ran a train between Waukegan and Chicago from the late 1850s until his retirement in 1902.

Growing up in Waukegan, Mollie was surrounded by creative individuals, including her family's neighbor, Edward Amet, who was an early motion picture pioneer and inventor. See my post on Edward Amet. Mollie's brother, George K. Spoor, partnered with Amet in the motion picture business. About 1895, George featured his eight-year old sister, Mollie, in a short film of her playing with ducks.

Mollie Spoor on her high school graduation day, June 1905, at the courthouse in Waukegan. Dunn Museum Collections.

In June 1905, Mollie graduated from Waukegan High School with "high honors" and was chosen class valedictorian for scholarship. Mollie was class treasurer and secretary of the school's drama club. The club's play that spring, "Hamlet," was held at the Schwartz Theater in Waukegan. Mollie Spoor starred as Ophelia alongside her high school sweetheart, Enoch J. Brand, who had the leading role as Hamlet.

Waukegan High School's Class of 1905. Mollie Spoor and Enoch Brand are noted with yellow stars.

Yearbook photo courtesy of Waukegan Historical Society.

Schwartz Theater in Waukegan where Mollie Spoor and her high school classmates presented "Hamlet" in 1905.
Photo 1950s. Dunn Museum Collections.

The Waukegan Daily Sun noted that "Miss Spoor has a peculiar ability in executing pretty water colors and drawings, but she has not made any decision as to what she will do in later life." Within a year, Spoor found a path to her future career and enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. There she excelled in illustration and portraits.

Mary L. Spoor's illustration featured in "The Art Institute of Chicago Circular of Instruction" for 1909-1910.

In 1907, Mollie's brother, George Spoor and actor/director "Broncho Billy" Anderson, founded a motion picture studio in Chicago. The studio's name—Essanay—was a play on the founders' initials "S and A."See my post on Essanay Studios.

Mollie Spoor's inlaid wood design for Essanay Studio's logo. In 1961, she donated the piece to the Lake County History Museum

(forerunner of the Bess Bower Dunn Museum). 61.33.1 Dunn Museum Collections.

George asked his artistic sister to design the studio's logo. The distinctive choice of a Native American in headdress was likely George's idea, but the design was all Mollie's. Her framed piece was made of inlaid wood and hung in her brother's studio office at 1333 W. Argyle Street in Chicago.

In June 1910, Spoor graduated from the School of the Art Institute with honors. The Waukegan Daily Sun noted that "In every respect she is the ablest artist this city ever claimed... and has won honor after honor at the Chicago Institute."

Waukegan Daily Sun piece celebrating Spoor's accomplishments at the Art Institute, June 18, 1910. Newspapers.com

After graduation, she participated in a month-long Art Institute sketching class that went to the Eagle's Nest Art Colony in Oregon, Illinois. The colony was founded in 1898 by American sculptor Lorado Taft (1861-1936) and consisted of Chicago artists, many of whom were members of the Chicago Art Institute.

"Bye Bye Bunting" illustration by Mary Louise Spoor, 1917. Seesaw.typepad.com.

Mollie made her home in Chicago and her art career took off. Her skill and professionalism was in great demand in the Midwest's publishing hub, where she found work with Rand McNally, Lyons & Carnahan, and Congdon Publishers.

Jack and Jill chromolithograph by Mary Louise Spoor, 1917. treadwaygallery.com

Decades of technical advances in printing and the falling price of paper fueled the "ten-cent magazine revolution," spurring a demand for magazines such as the Ladies' Home Journal, and also children's books. In the late 19th century, books designed solely for children were brought on by the Industrial Revolution and a growing middle class with an awareness of the importance of preserving children's innocence and the benefits of play and amusement.

At the turn of the 20th century, a burgeoning demand for artists continued, and particularly for women artists as illustrators of literature targeted to women and children.

In the midst of this exciting time for illustrators, Mollie Spoor partnered with fellow School of the Art Institute student, Gertrude S. Spaller (1891-1970). The women became friends and colleagues, and worked together for ten years, even sharing an art studio in the tower of the Auditorium Building in Chicago.

Chicago Auditorium Building from Michigan Avenue. Spoor and Spaller's shared studio was located in the tower.

Photo by JW Taylor. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Spaller and Spoor illustrated children's readers titled, The Easy Road to Reading Primer, for Lyons and Carnahan of Chicago/New York.

The Easy Road to Reading, First Reader. This series was illustrated by Mary Louise Spoor and Gertrude S. Spaller.

Published by Lyons and Carnahan, 1919-1925. Seesaw.typepad.com.

Illustrations by Mary Louise Spoor for The Easy Road to Reading series published by Lyons and Carnahan. Seesaw.typepad.com.

Mollie Spoor also illustrated the stories of Katharine Elizabeth Dopp (1863-1944) for Rand McNally's Bobby and Betty children's books. Dopp was a notable American educator. The Bobby and Betty series featured the fictional children at play, at work, and in the country.

Mary Spoor Brand's illustration of "The Milkman and His Horse" written by Katharine E. Dopp for Bobby and Betty With the Workers, 1923.

During her career as an illustrator Spoor appeared under the name Mary Louise Spoor and after her marriage to Enoch J. Brand in August 1915, she was sometimes credited as Mary Spoor Brand.

In many ways, Mollie was ahead of her time as a career woman. Many talented women illustrators gave up their art careers when they married, a societal norm at the time. According to her wedding notice in the Waukegan Daily Sun, Mollie's art "services were in great demand" in Chicago, so much so that she postponed her wedding until she finished a project for Rand McNally.

Ten years after their high school graduation, Mollie Spoor and Enoch Brand wed in Waukegan.

Waukegan Daily News, August 11, 1915. Newspapers.com

Mollie and Enoch moved to Minnesota and then to Massachusetts for Brand's insurance work. Mollie temporarily set aside her career until her four sons were in school, and then returned to illustrating.

In 1922, the family came back to Illinois. They settled in Wilmette where Spoor became an officer in the North Shore Art League (est. 1924), and continued to express herself through her love of art until her death in 1985.

Mollie Spoor's illustrations charmed a multitude of children and parents in the early decades of the 20th century. Her skill as an artist contributed to children's illustrated books being respected as an art form. Today her work has received renewed interest as vintage children's readers have become collector's items.

Mary Spoor Brand illustration from Bobby and Betty with the Workers by Katharine Elizabeth Dopp for Rand McNally, 1923.

Sources:

"Elect Club Officers," Waukegan Daily Sun, March 22, 1905.

"Earn High Honors,"Waukegan Daily Sun, June 22, 1905.

"Miss Molly Spoor Wins High Art Study Honors,"Waukegan Daily Sun, June 18, 1910.

"Mary L. Spoor Becomes Bride of Enoch Brand Here,"Waukegan Daily Sun, August 11, 1915.

"Marvin Spoor Is Dead After Ailing For Over 25 Years,"Waukegan Daily Sun, 1927.

"Enoch J. Brand,"Chicago Tribune, October 5, 1948.

"Child Film Star' Mary Brand, 98,"Chicago Tribune, October 31, 1985.

- "The Art Institute of Chicago Circular of Instruction of Drawing, Painting, Modeling, Decorative Designing, Normal Instruction, Illustration and Architecture with a Catalogue for Students 1909 - 1910." Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1909.

- Smith Scanlan, Patricia. "'God-gifted girls'": The Rise of Women Illustrators in Late Nineteenth-Century Philadelphia."Nineteenth-Century Gender Studies. http://w.ncgsjournal.com/issue112/scanlan.html

- Goodman, Helen. "Women Illustrators of the Golden Age of American Illustration."Women's Art Journal, Spring-Summer, 1987, Vol. 8, No. 1. Accessed December 1, 2021. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1358335.

- Kosik, Corryn. "Children's Book Illustrators in the Gold Age of Illustration."IllustrationHistory.org.

- Kesaris, Paul L. American Primers: Guide to the Microfiche Collection. Bethesda, Maryland: University Publications of America, 1990.

- Dopp, Katharine Elizabeth. Bobby and Betty With the Workers. Chicago: Rand McNally & Company, 1923.

- Cowan, Liza, ed. "Artist: Mary Louise Spoor."SeeSaw: A Blog by Liza Cowan. February 7, 2012. https://seesaw.typepad.com/blog/artists-mary-louise-spoor/

Special thanks for research assistance to Ann Darrow, Librarian, Waukegan Historical Society www.waukeganhistorical.org; and Corinne Court, Senior Cataloging and Metadata Assistant, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

One-Room School Teacher, Fanny Hinkston

James T. Bacon (1830 - 1895)

The Bain Wagon

George Shatswell, 15th Illinois Infantry

1861 Map of Lake County, Illinois

Captain Minskey's Patent Log

Rags, Hero Dog of the First Division

A Century of Wolf Hunts

Lake County's Dr. King

Reverend Dodge and the Anti-Slavery Movement

The Historic Logue Log House

Sinking into the Grave: the 19th Century's Tuberculosis Epidemic

Flowers for Hull House

Women's Army Corps at Fort Sheridan

Private Henry McIntosh, 102nd U.S. Colored Troops

The Dairy Queen: Grace Garrett Durand

From Cavalry to Tanks: George S. Patton Jr.

Blog Update: Email Subscription Service

Portrait of Levi H. Mead, 65th Illinois

Mary Louise Spoor Brand - Children's Book Illustrator