Month: January 2018

John Green’s Last Will and Testament

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John Green

John Green

Last   Will & Testament of John Green deceased
Filed June 3rd 1874

Know all men by these presents that I, John Green of the Town of Dayton in the County of LaSalle and State of Illinois considering the uncertainty of life, and being of sound mind and memory, do make declare, and publish this my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills, I give bequeath and devise my real Estate and personal property, as follows that is to say,

First I desire that all my debts be paid of whatever name or nature, to be made out of my Personal property, first, and balance if any from my real estate hereinafter devised and bequeathed unto my three sons Jesse Green, David Green, Isaac Green and my daughter Rebecca Trumbo.

Second I desire that my beloved wife Barbara Green shall have three hundred dollars per annum during her natural life (if she requires it) to be paid equally by my three sons above named, who are required to pay for her use quarterly the sum of twenty five dollars each, and it is hereby expressly understood that the said Barbara Green is to have her bed and bedding, and to make her home with my son Isaac Green.

Third I give, bequeath and devise unto my son Jesse Green and to his heirs and assigns, the following real estate Viz:- the South half of the East half of the North West quarter of Section twenty nine (29) and the North half of the East half of the South West quarter of section twenty nine (29) and the East fraction of the West half of the North East quarter of section thirty two (32) containing Sixty five and Sixty five (65 65/100) one hundredths acres lying and being in the North part of the West half of the North East quarter of section sixteen (16) also village lots one (1) two (2) and three (3) in Block numbered nine (9) and lots No one (1) two(2) three (3) four (4) and five (5) in Block No Eight (8) all in the original Town plat of Dayton, all the above and foregoing lands and lots lying and being in Township No thirty four (34) North of Range four (4) East of the third Principal Meridian in LaSalle County and State of Illinois, to have and to hold the same together all the rights priveleges and appurtenances thereunto belonging.

Fourth I give, bequeath, and devise unto my son David Green and to his heirs and assigns that portion of the West part of the South East quarter of section twenty nine (29) Town 34 North of Range four (4) East of the third P.M. and bounded as follows Viz: on the North by lands heretofore deeded to Jesse Green and David Green, (and since by them to John F. Nash assignee of J. Green & Co) on the East by Fox River, on the South by the section line dividing Sections twenty nine (29) and thirty two (32) and on the West by the Feeder to the Illinois and Michigan Canal, containing Eight (8) acres be the same more or less together with my entire potion of the water Power Secured and reserved in a certain Deed or release given to the State of Illinois and bearing date June 5th 1838 and not heretofore disposed of, also subject to the restrictions and conditions of said Deed or release to the State aforesaid, also Vilage lots No one (1) two (2) and the North half of lot No Seven (7) and all of lot Eight (8) in Block three (3) and lots three (3) and four (4) in Block No one (1) in the original town Plat of the Vilage of Dayton LaSalle County Illinois: Also eighteen and Seventy-nine (18 79/100) hundredths acres of the North End of the South half of the East half of the South West quarter of section (29) Township thirty-four (34) North of Range four East of the third 3rd principal Meridian in the County of LaSalle and State of Illinois: To have and to hold the same together with all the rights, priveleges and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any wise pertaining.

Fifth, I give bequeath and devise unto my son Isaac Green and to his heirs and assigns the North half of the East half of the North West quarter of section twenty nine (29) and all of that part of portion of the fractional North East quarter of section twenty nine (29) which lies West of Fox River, except that portion heretofore deeded to Jesse Green and David Green as shown by deed duly recorded in Book Eleven (11) Page four (4) of County Records; also all that portion or part of the West part of the South East fractional quarter of section twenty nine (29) lying West of Fox River and bounded as follows, on the North by the half section line of said section twenty nine (29) on the West by the half section line of said section (29) on the South by Washington Street as Shown by the original Town Plat of the Vilage of Dayton, on the East by the Feeder to the Illinois and Michigan Canal be the same more or less To have and to hold the same together with all the improvements and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any wise pertaining, all of the above and foregoing lands lying and being in Township thirty four (34) North of Range four (4) East of the third principal Meridian in LaSalle County and State of Illinois.

Sixth: I give devise and bequeath unto my daughter Rebecca Trumbo and to her heirs and assigns Lots one (1) two (2) and three (3) in Block No fourteen (14) also fractional lots two (2) three (3) and four (4) in Block No eleven (11) all in the original Town Plat of the Vilage of Dayton, to have and to hold the same together with all the improvements rights, priveleges and appurtenances thereunto belonging.

Seventh, My other Daughters Eliza Dunavan, Nancy Dunavan, Katherine Dunavan and Rachael Gibson have all been provided for, previous to the making of this distribution of my estate.

Eighth should there be any portion of my personal property left after paying my indebtedness as hereinbefore mentioned, I desire that it be divided equally among my three sons Jesse Green, David Green, and Isaac Green.

Ninth I hereby appoint my sons Jesse Green and David Green Executors of this my last Will and testament, in witness whereof I have signed, sealed published and declared this instrument as my will at Dayton LaSalle County Illinois, this 19th day of January A. D. 1874

John Green {seal}

The said John Green of Dayton LaSalle County Illinois on this 19th day of January A. D. 1874 signed and sealed this instrument and published and declared the same as and for his last Will, and we at his request and in his presence, and in the presence of each other have hereunto written our names as subscribing witnesses.

Chas B. Hess
Geo. W. Green
Newton M. Green

Oldest Flour Mill in Northern Illinois

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Green's Mill with house behind

From The Sunday Times-Herald, Chicago, March 27, 1898

OLDEST FLOUR MILL IN NORTH ILLINOIS
Famous Old Structure at Dayton Built in 1830 Is to Be Torn Down
Was Erected by John Green

            Within a short time one of the landmarks of northern Illinois will have disappeared under the march of “improvement” and a most interesting relic of the pioneer settlements will have passed away forever.

This survival of the old regime is the famous flour mill at Dayton, a small village on the Fox River, seventy-eight miles southwest of Chicago. It was known in early days from Fort Dearborn to Springfield as “Green’s mill.” Erected in 1830, while the smoke of Indian teepees yet curled from the opposite bank of the narrow river, it was a rendezvous for settlers within a radius of a hundred miles, and from that day to this, until a few months since, its millstones have ground the wheat of the Illinois prairies.

Its passing is due to the crushing competition of the great roller mills of Minnesota and the country still farther to the west. This spring it will be torn down and a brick building erected on its site, using its present water power to send electricity to Ottawa four miles south.

Settlement of Dayton

            The mill was built by John Green, an Ohio pioneer, who in 1829 with a few of his kinsmen, made the long and dangerous journey to the Fox River and at its rapids, four miles above the mouth, he located the site of the present mill. They were thirty-four days on the road, a distance which can now be accomplished in less than twenty hours. The company numbered twenty-four, nine men, four women and eleven children, ranging from infants up to 16 years of age. Of the men John Green, David Grove, Henry Brumback, Reason Debalt and Samuel and Joseph Grove became ancestors of several of the most influential and respected county families of the present day.

John Green, the leader, was a man of action, and his wife, Barbara Grove, was no less decided. With vigor they set to work on the gristmill, and it was opened on July 4, 1830. That forenoon the flour was ground from which the holiday bread for dinner was baked, and the fifty-fourth anniversary of the nation celebrated with sincerity and patriotism.

Difficult to Erect

            It was not an easy task in those days to build a gristmill hundreds of miles from the nearest settlement. For the millstones the hardest bowlders or “hardheads,” relics of the glacial period from Lake Superior, were selected, worked into proper form, and made to do the work. Later the mill had work for four pairs of “burrs,” and ground all the flour and meal for a wide extent of country. At one time in the early ’30s all the grain of the Fox River settlement had to be brought by flatboat from Springfield via the Sangamon, Illinois and Fox rivers, Ottawa, Hennepin and Peoria being the only settlements between the two places. Some of the Greens conducted this expedition. In 1832 the Indians drove the settlers into Fort Johnson at Ottawa, but did not harm the Dayton mill, although they massacred eighteen whites within twelve miles, the upright dealings of John Green with them undoubtedly saving his property from the torch.

Mr. Green and his sons later built a woolen mill at Dayton, and until 1874 the family ran the flour mill. Then Daniel Green and his sons conducted it until a few years since, when it was bought by M. Masters, who has just disposed of it to an Ottawa man for the power. In 1855 it was enlarged, but is substantially the same as on that July day of 1830 when its first grist was ground.

Dayton School 1945-1946

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Dayton School 1945-46

The downstairs room (grades 1-4) of the Dayton School in the 1945-1946 school year.

Front row: Sharon Thomas, Cathie Corso, Joan Lane, unknown, Gary Mathias, Kenny Newtson, Philip Patterson
Second row: Carl Schmidt, Ken Thomas, Larry McGrogan, Gary Allen, Billy Krug, unknown, Bertha Davis, Candace Clifford, Herbie Lane
Back row: ____ Smith, Miss Emma C. Fraine, Harold Winchester, Darlene Winchester, Shirley Patterson, ____ Eltrevoog, unknown, Sharon Newtson

Tourists in the Fox River Ice Gorge

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1875 ice gorge picture

If you look closely at the above picture, you can make out several people sitting and standing inside one of the ice caves created by the 1875 ice gorge. The picture was taken by W. E. Bowman, well known Ottawa photographer. The Ottawa Republican on March 26, 1875, had this to say about the event:

Who, during the past week, has not heard of the Fox river ice gorge? What wonderful stories have been told concerning it, what fears excited, what direful properties uttered. Hundreds have visited it, while thousands have listened, with palpitating hearts and trembling limbs, to the Munchausen descriptions of its magnitude, its reserve power and the awful doom awaiting the city should heavy rains fall before the less destructive rays of a spring sun have time to break the barrier and send the massive blocks of congealed crystals, perforated, unsound and brittle over the dam into the Illinois.

The gorge begins about a mile above the aqueduct, in the bend of the river, not far from Lyman’s Mound, and extends a distance of two or three miles up the river, if not up to Dayton. In some places the solid cakes are piled to a height of fifteen or twenty feet, and extend in width over an area of not less than a quarter of a mile, including the bottom lands and side hills. Throughout this expanse the ice is strewn in every conceivable shape and position, forming hills and valleys, yawning caverns and frightful abysses, which add a wild grandeur to the surrounding landscape, the whole constituting a picture of unsurpassed beauty that must be seen to be appreciated. Near the mound alluded to are debris of the Dayton bridge, and scattered here and there among the cakes are huge stones which were carried from their resting places by the irresistible momentum of the torrent.

But the gorge does not excite pleasurable emotions only. One cannot look over this vast ice field without reflecting upon the immense inherent power it possesses for carrying destruction to property should a sudden rise in the river precipitate it upon the territory in its front. Bridges would be swept away, houses submerged and a vast amount of property damaged and possibly lives lost. A few days like yesterday will, however, render it harmless.

Cold and Snowy

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Maud Green in snow

This picture shows Maud Green in the yard of the Ralph Green home in Dayton sometime in the first part of the 20th century. Snowstorms were a welcome occurrence in early Dayton as snow-packed roads were easier for sleighs than muddy, rutted roads were for wagons. However, the accompanying frigid weather made travel uncomfortable and hazardous.

The Ottawa [IL] Free Trader, January 15, 1881, p. 1, col. 3

Last Sunday night and Monday saw some of the coldest weather of the season – the Mercury in Ottawa standing at about 20 below – thermometers vary more than watches. At Dayton they claim 26 below, and at Streator 24 at 8 o’clock. Anyhow it was cold. The week thereafter was milder. On Thursday for a few hours there was a driving snow storm, drifting badly, however. Ice cutting goes on for private houses, the crop now being some 20 inches thick, and of fine quality.

April 2, 1881, p. 8, col. 1

Dayton, March 30. – The last great snow storm (Saturday, March 19,) has completely blockaded our roads, the lanes and some main roads being filled with snow, covering the fences in many places. By a six or seven miles circuitous our citizens have been enabled to drive from here to Ottawa. Our “oldest inhabitants” say it was the hardest storm for 25 years. It isn’t often we have five months of solid winter. Two months and a half of extremely cold weather and two and a half of deep snow. With farmers the spring work will come on all at once and farm laborers will be in active demand.

February 20, 1886, p. 2, col. 4

Dayton, Feb. 16. – The river is clear of ice here – it went out last Saturday and Sunday, but as it formed a gorge near Howland’s place, the water is backed up quite high here. The heavy mush ice began running on Tuesday morning, and threatened a repetition of the great flood of last year.

The lane leading into town from Ottawa has been full of snow and impassable until the recent thaw, when a road was broken through. It is almost impassable yet, however, and a number of tip overs were reported this week. Dayton people drive to Ottawa via Chas. Olmstead’s.

February 11, 1888, p. 2, col. 4

Dayton, Ill., Feb. 7 – Another fine snow storm has commenced this morning which will make the sleighing still better. It has been excellent this winter, and during the past few weeks the weather has been warm enough to make sleighing thoroughly enjoyable. We have a very fine drive from here to Ottawa on the feeder, and as the ice is about 18 inches thick it is perfectly safe. The young people have been improving the times with sleighing parties in the surrounding neighborhood. They had a very enjoyable party a week or two ago at the large and commodious residence of Lew Robinson, Esq., in Rutland township, and last week they were entertained by Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Williams, of Ottawa.