Author: Candace W

Civil War Draft Registration List of Young Men From Dayton

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Unidentified soldier in Union uniform

Unidentified soldier in Union uniform

Enrollment Record of Names Between the Ages of 17 and 20 Years
in the 6th Congressional Dist., State of Illinois.
Sub Dist #19
Residence: Dayton

Name                                    Age        Occupation         Birth date                            Birth place

Ames, James                      18           Farmer                  3 May 1846                        N. Y.
Buckalen, John S.              17           Farmer                  4 Feb 1847                          Penn
Bidgood, Chas W.             18           Farmer                  30 Aug 1848                       Ohio
Brown, Perry                     18           Farmer                  28 Oct 1848                        N. Y.
Conley, William                  18           Farmer                  15 Aug 1846                       N. Y.
Carlon, James M.               17           Farmer                  24 Jun 1847                        Ireland
Carton, John Thomas        19           Farmer                  24 Dec 1845                       Ireland
Calloway, Alonzo               19           Farmer                  29 Apr 1845                       Illinois
Collins, DeKalb                   17           Farmer                  10 Jun 1847                        Illinois
Curtis, Wm H.                     19           Farmer                  6 Mar 1845                         Illinois
Clark, George L.                 18           Farmer                  25 Oct 1845                        Ohio
Deweese, John                   19           Farmer                  29 Dec 1845                        Penn
Donlevy, Francis                 18          Student                  19 Jul 1846                         Mass
Donahue, Matthew            17           Farmer                   10 May 1847                     Ireland
Feely, James                       17           Farmer                  Oct 1846                              Ills.
Grove, David                      18           Farmer                  14 Apr 1846                       Ohio
Greenless, Wm A.              17           Farmer                  16 Nov 1846                       N. Y.
Hinkey, John                       18           Farmer                  1 Oct 1846                          Germany
Hays, Jesse                          18           Farmer                  Nov 1845                             Ills
Kain, Simeon C.                  17           Farmer                  8 Jun 1847                          Penn.
Marvin, George                 19           Farmer                  16 Aug 1845                       Penn
Nelson, Lewis                    18           Farmer                  Dec 1846                             Norway
Parr, Francis M.                  19           Farmer                  10 Jun 1845                        Ills
Ruhl, Peter                          18           Farmer                  1 May 1846                        Penn
Smith, George                    18           Farmer                  30 Aug 1845                       Ills
White, Matthew                  17           Laborer                 4 Mar 1847                         Ireland
Yeager, Francis                   17          Farmer                  10 June 1847                     Ills
Miller, Gottzeni                  17           Farmer                  18 Apr 1847                       France

These records are found in the Ancestry.com database U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863-1865, Illinois, 6th Congressional District, vol 5 of 5, image #36.

Jesse Green’s 73rd Birthday

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Yesterday was the seventy-third anniversary of the birthday of Jesse Green of Dayton, and to properly celebrate that event his relations from far and near gathered to wish the old gentleman and his estimable wife a happy New Year and many pleasant returns of the day and consequent similar gatherings. Including the relations in Dayton and from abroad, the residence of Mr. Green was crowded but all present enjoyed themselves to the fullest extent. After all the guests had assembled, Thomas E. MacKinlay in behalf of the company, presented Mr. Green with a very handsome easy chair and Mrs. Green with a table. Mr. Green was taken completely by surprise, but managed to express his thanks. An elegant dinner was served, and a fine time was had by all present.

Those from abroad were Attorney General McCartney and wife of Hutchison, Kan.; Ed. Jackson, Cincinnati; Joseph Jackson, Millington; L. C. Robinson and wife, Rutland; N. M. Green and wife, Serena; Kent Green, Chicago; Mrs. Craig, Jacksonville; Mrs. John Crum, Mrs. Joseph Harris and Mrs. L. Matlock, Misses Ray Harris and Mertie Crum, Yorkville, and T. E. MacKinlay and wife, C. B. Hess and wife, H. B. Williams and wife, T. H. Green and wife, W. N. Bagley and wife. Will and Don MacKinlay, Ed. Hess and Theodore Strawn, of Ottawa.1

  1. The above unidentified clipping, found among other Green papers, can be dated to 22 Dec 1890, as Jesse Green was born 21 Dec 1817. Assuming it came from an Ottawa newspaper, it probably appeared in the Ottawa Free Trader. The Fair Dealer did not begin publication until 1901. The Free Trader microfilm is missing the issues for this period, so the paper cannot be firmly identified.

A Thriving Dayton Business

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On July 12, 1879, The Ottawa Free Trader had this to say about the paper mill at Dayton:

The paper mill of Williams & Co., situated at the lower end of the manufacturing portion of the town, is one of the best in the state. Their products are so favorably known that running night and day the year round they are unable to supply the demand.

In the 1880 census, twelve people were listed as associated with the paper mill –
owner H. B. Williams, age 40
Arthur Dunavan, 12
Mary Coleman, 15
William Ryan, 17
Emma Geduldig, 17
Frank Benoit, 19
William Rust, 24
James Lanegan, 25
George Smith, 30
John H. Lyle, 34
Charles Burch, 34
John G. Dunavan, 42

For comparison, in the same census the paper mill at Valparaiso, Indiana, where Charles Burch received his training, had a staff of 7, all male.

There should have been one more worker at the Dayton mill, 15 year old Fred Green, but 3 days before the official census day, he was seriously injured through being caught in the machinery. His left arm had to be amputated and he lost the first joint of two fingers on his right hand. Luckily, he survived and went on to an interesting life, including such experiences as directing brick makers in the Rocky mountains, suffering malaria fever in the Louisiana bayous and superintending several hundred laborers in ceramics work at Knoxville, Tenn.

The Time of the Big Snow

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snowdrifts

Since there are no pictures of the 1830 deep snow, here is a newer one.

THE “TIME OF THE BIG SNOW”

Sixty five Years Ago Great Suffering Was Caused by the “Beautiful”

Old settlers who were little boys and girls in the winter of 1830-’31 tell of the “big snow” with as great emphasis as does the old time Irishman of the “big wind” that is popularly, though erroneously, supposed to have assisted St. Patrick to “shoo” the snakes and frogs off Irish soil. An old settler says of the “time of the big snow:’

“About Christmas time, 1830, and continuing at short intervals from that date until late in January following, a snow storm raged in Central and Northern Illinois which the settlers called the “Deep Snow.” No such snow had fallen before that time within the memory of the white settlers and no such snow has fallen since. It formed an epoch in the history of Illinois, and men were accustomed to refer to it as fixing the time for occurrences which took place long afterward. Old settlers even now occasionally refer to it. The snow began falling after noon on the day before Christmas. Prior to that time it had rained for a considerable time, and the ground was saturated with moisture. The corn had little of it been gathered; the cattle and hogs had until that time managed to get most of their feed in the woods. The corn meal, then the chief food of the settlers, was getting low, but not low enough to cause any particular uneasiness. Fuel was plenty in the woods but little was at the houses. The settlers, accustomed to the open winters of preceding years, saw nothing to cause alarm, either in their exposed condition, or in the lack of fuel and provisions.

“The storm continued with slight intermission until it was, on a level, about three feet deep all through this part of the country.

“After a few days of snow, the rain fell enough to wet the top of the snow, which then froze, forming a crust which was strong enough to bear up a wolf or a dog, but was not strong enough to bear up a horse, and in places was not strong enough to bear up a man. The deer were unable to run on the snow, as their sharp hoofs would cut through and the animal would then be wallowing helplessly in three feet of snow, unable to get out. The consequence was the wolves destroyed multitudes of them. The deer were almost all of them exterminated in that way. Perhaps the worst consequences were felt by the early settlers. Their corn was not much of it harvested, and it was impossible to harvest it then, or at least, not enough could be harvested to feed cattle or hogs.

“A man could by hard work gather enough to feed himself and family, but the question of supplying any fire wood, to cook or keep warm, became serious.”1

  1. The Ottawa Free Trader, December 27, 1895, p. 3, col. 3

One Hundred and One Years Ago Today in Dayton

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Green-Lattimore

            A large number of Ottawans went to Dayton today to attend the wedding of Miss Evelyn Gladys Green, only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rush Green, and Julian M. Lattimore of Ferguson, Mo., which occurred at 1:30 o’clock this afternoon at the Green residence near Dayton. Eighty guests were in attendance. The Christmas idea was carried out in the decorations, Christmas greens and red being used in very effective manner.

The wedding service was read in the living room by Rev. H. P. Lawler, pastor of the First Methodist church.

Miss Mildred Masters of Dayton acted as the maid of honor, and W. R. Cornell of Cottonplant, Miss., served as Mr. Lattimore’s best man.

The bride wore a gown of white crepe de chine, made over white satin and a long tulle veil, which was held in place with orange blossoms. She carried a formal bridal bouquet of white sweet peas.

Miss Masters also wore a frock of white crepe de chine and carried white sweet peas.

At the close of the wedding service a two-course wedding dinner was served in the dining room. In keeping with the Christmas season, red and green decorations were used on the tables.

Mr. Lattimore and his bride left this afternoon for a honeymoon trip, the destination of which they are keeping a secret from their friends.

They will make their future home in Jackson, Miss.

The bride has a large circle of friends both here and in Dayton. She attended the Ottawa High school and was graduated from there in the class of 1919.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Lattimore of Ferguson, Mo. He was raised in that city and is a graduate of the University of Missouri. Since finishing school he has been making his home in Jackson, Miss., where he is engaged as a dairy herdsman.

Among the guests from a distance also attending the wedding were Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Green of Peoria and Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Holmes of Chicago.1

  1. The Ottawa Free Trader, December 20, 1922, p. 4, col. 1

A Family Reunion at Christmas

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John Green
Barbara Grove Green
Barbara Grove Green

Mr. and Mrs. Green came to Dayton from Licking county, Ohio, in 1829. Mrs. Green died in 1886 at the advanced age of 93 years, having been preceed[ed] by her husband some six years. Up to the last Grandma Green could delight the young members of her family with her accounts of the Black Hawk war and many thrilling incidents and personal experiences in her life as an early settler.

Rebecca Trumbo
Jesse Green
Isaac Green

Yearly family reunions have been the custom for some time and have been continue[d] since the death of the old people. Many of their descendants have scattered, but Christmas cheer and the good things of the earth are bountifully dispensed at these family reunions. Those present at the reunion on Wednesday were Mrs. O. W. Trumbo and daughter and Messrs. Jesse and Isaac Green, sons of the deceased, with their children, grandchildren and a few other relatives, exceeding fifty in number. Three other daughters – Mrs. Albert Dunavan, Mrs. Wm. Dunavan, and Mrs. Geo. Dunavan – are living in the far West.

Nancy Dunavan
Eliza and Wm Dunavan
Eliza Dunavan
photo of Katherine Green Dunavan
Katherine Dunavan

from The Ottawa Free Trader, January 3, 1891, p. 3, col. 4.

On this day in 1901

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CORRESPONDENCE
DAYTON

Basil Green spent Monday and Tuesday in Chicago.

The Q. bridge carpenters have been repairing the bridge here.

Jesse Green has been visiting old acquaintances here for the past few days.

Archie Fleming, now of DeKalb, is visiting his brother, Wm. Fleming, for a few days.

Mike Helffrich of Ottawa, dispenser of fresh meats, is now doing our town every Friday.

Ed McClary has just purchased some of the finest potatoes, shipped direct from New York.

Nothing billed on the boards here this week except the raffle of a watch on Saturday night.

Monday was a very agreeable day for the teamsters hauling props, ties and cord wood, it being pay day.

Deputy Sheriff Ole Benson was here on Saturday summoning witnesses in the Channel v. Merrifield suit.

Arthur Ladd who has been acting as operator for the Q. R. R. at Leonore is visiting his family for a few days.

Jennie Barends who has been visiting her sister, Mrs. Winn Green, at Joliet for the past three weeks, returned home on Sunday.

Dr. Shaw of Ottawa was called by ‘phone on Sunday morning to attend Ed Emmons, who has been on the sick list for a few days past.

One of Uncle Sam’s Government Inspectors called on our postmaster and found everything in first class shape, after having edited all the accounts.

The weather here on Sunday was like a raffle, very uncertain. Rain in the morning, sunshine at noon, and a good old-fashioned snow storm in the afternoon.

Clarence Barnard, general relief agent for the Q road, came from Oswego on Monday, to fill the place made vacant by Mr. McBrearty being called to Ottawa on court business. Mr. McB. is now back attending to his duties again.

The good people of our little hamlet know a good paper when they read it. Another new subscriber handed in her name for the daily Free Trader and more to follow. Keep up the good work and you will be sure to get all the news in La Salle Co.

The Merrifield v. Channel controversy, which was called for trial in the circuit court on Monday afternoon, Nov. 25, was of short duration, the jury being out only twenty minutes. Verdict: No cause for action.

John Gibson, son-in-law of Basil Green, now a resident of Chicago, was stricken down on Monday with a paralytic stroke, and immediately taken to the hospital, where the doctors have no hope of his recovery.

Miss Maud and Ralph Green and G. G. Galloway, were initiated into the Mary E. Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, at the Masonic Temple, Ottawa, on Tuesday night, Nov. 26th. Mrs. G. G. Galloway, who has been a member for sometime, witnessed the ceremony.

Charles Burch, while handing down 12-inch tile from the top of one of the kilns at the tile mill, accidentally let one drop, striking George Wolf squarely on the foot, causing a painful though not serious injury. George was compelled to lay off for a couple of days and is limping around, but expects to be all right in a few days.

Will wonders never cease, and right in the midst of our little burg! A new five column “medical monthly paper,” known as “The Dayton Banner,” and published expressly for Ed McClary. It contains sure-cures for every ill known to the medical profession and has a two-column ad of Ed’s on the last page. That’s right, Ed, nothing like advertising your stock in trade.1

  1. The Ottawa Free Trader, November 29, 1901, p. 12, col. 1

Pages from the Jesse Green Bible – Births

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His family with his first wife, Isabella Trumbo

Jesse Green
Dec. 21st 1817

Isabella T. Green
Dec 7th 1822

John Byron Green               July 23rd 1844
Rollin Trumbo Green          Jan 31st 1847
Clara Isabella Green           Dec 21st 1849
Newton Mathias Green      May 6th 1852
William Douglas Green       Nov 14th, 1854

His family with his second wife, Hannah Rhoads Green

Hannah R Green
November 26th 1831

Thomas Henry              Jan 9th 1857
Joseph                           Nov. 29th, 1858
James Arthur                 Oct. 20th 1860
Cora                                Sept 21st 1862
Sarah                              July 1st 1864
Frank                             Nov 17th 1866
Jesse Alvin                     Oct 18th, 1868
Kent                                June 9th 1870
Infant Son                      March 2nd 1872
Mabel                             Sept. 23rd 1873

Today is the 231st anniversary of Barbara Grove Green’s birth

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Barbara Grove Green

Died May 5th, 1886, at the age of ninety three years, five and a half months. She had been confined to bed for about two months, and gradually and gladly passed away like an infant going to sleep. It was her desire to cast off this earthly tabernacle and be present with her Lord.

She retained her faculties to the last, with the exception of her sight, of which she had been deprived for the past seven or eight years. She was never heard to murmur or complain of her misfortune, but on the contrary seemed cheerful and happy.

She was born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, November 15th, 1792. At the age of thirteen she, with her parents, removed to Licking county, Ohio, being in the year 1805, and lived there until the fall of 1829, when she and her companion, John Green and family, removed to this county. A few incidents of their journey will show the hardships and privations of those early pioneer days. We quote her own words from statements made by her to one of her grand daughters, who has recorded them:

“We started from Licking county, Ohio, on the first of November, 1829, for the state of Illinois. There were 24 in the company. Father had gone to Illinois the September before we started and bought land. He and three other men rode on horseback around by Cleveland and along the lakes. When they reached Chicago, where there were only two families besides the garrison, father bought some provisions and in paying for them pulled out quite a roll of bills. That night his brother, Wm. Green, dreamed there were robbers coming and woke the others up, but they refused to start out in the night just for a dream, and he went to sleep again only to dream the same thing again, and when he had dreamed it three times he told them they could stay there if they wanted to, he was going to leave; so they all started and soon after they saw three men following for the purpose of stealing they [sic] money.

“When we reached the ‘Wilderness,’ in Indiana, a man who lived on the edge of the woods told us it was impossible to go on, as the mud was so deep, unless we could travel on the wagons already stuck in the mud; but if we were foolish enough to try it, we must leave ‘those two smart little boys’ (Jesse and David), for we would surely freeze to death. But we did go on and the men cut a new road through the woods for sixty miles, about ten miles a day.

“Then, when we got to Cicero river, we had to take the wagons over with bed cords. One wagon, loaded with mill irons and blacksmith tools, was so heavy it tipped over, and we lost a good many things.

“Then the next place we came to was Sugar creek, and it was so high we had to pull the wagons over with ropes again and cut trees for us to walk on. Then there was a swamp next to the creek that the men had to carry the women over on their backs. Between Iroquois and Nettle creek there were five days the horses had nothing to eat, as the prairie was burnt, and they became so weak they got stuck in a ravine and could hardly pull the empty carriage out.

“One evening we had only bread and tea for supper, but that night father came back with corn and beef that he had obtained at Holderman’s Grove, and we were the happiest people you ever saw. We spent the next night at the Grove and the next day home, at what is known as William Dunavan’s farm.”

She lived in the town of Rutland something over a year when she removed to Dayton, being at this place at the time of the Black Hawk war in 1832. Of this war she says: “On the 16th of May, 1832, the girls and I were at the spring, near where the feeder bridge now stands, when Eliza came down on horseback and told us that the Indians were coming, and we would have to go to Ottawa immediately. Then we went to a place a couple of miles below Ottawa and stayed there all night, and the third day returned home again. This was Sunday, and the next day the men made a stockade around the house out of plank. After it was finished they tried it to see if a bullet would go through it, and as it did, they hung feather beds all around. There were about sixty people here at the time, and we were so crowded that they had to sleep on tables, under the beds and all over the house.”

Mr. Green had intended to remain in his improvised fort during the war, but at about twelve o’clock at night, hearing of the massacre on Indian creek, and fearing there might be too many Indians, all those in the fort went to Ottawa. “When we got to Ottawa, there was no fort there, only a log cabin on the south side of the river, but they soon built a fort on top of the hill. We went to the fort, but there was so much confusion there that we had the log house moved up on the hill and lived in it. The next day a company of soldiers from the southern part of the state passed through Ottawa on the way up the river.”

Grandma Green bore all the hardships and privations incident to the settlement of two new countries and lived to see the development of this vast prairie country far, very far beyond her anticipations. When she came here she supposed that in time she might see the country settled around the skirts of timber, but never in her early days did she anticipate seeing the prairies settled up.

Occasional

  1. The Ottawa (Illinois) Free Trader, May 22, 1886, p. 5, col. 2

A Tragic Shopping Trip

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Violetta Henderson

On 16 Nov 1883, Lettie Henderson and her mother set off on a shopping expedition to buy her wedding outfit. They took the Fox River branch of the C B & Q railroad from their home in Wedron, intending to shop in Streator. When the train reached Otter Creek, about 3 miles north of Streator, a coal train stood on the tracks and a danger signal had been posted to warn the passenger train, which came to a standstill. The following freight train, however, was not properly signalled and crashed into the rear car of the passenger train. Lettie and her mother were killed outright, along with two others, and two more men died by nightfall. Seven others were injured.

The Streator Free Press, 24 Nov 1883, p. 1

This clipping mentions Lettie’s engagement to John Green of Dayton. At this time in 1883 there were two John Greens living in Dayton. John, son of Jesse and Hannah Green was only 13 years old, so John, son of David and Mary Green is the more likely candidate. At that time he was 28 years old and unmarried. There is no family record indicating that he was once engaged to Lettie, and the newspaper could, of course, be in error, but he would have known her. Her name appears in the descriptions of the social life of Dayton at the time.

The Ottawa Free Trader, 24 Nov 1883, p. 4

Following the accident, the two were buried in the same grave in the West Serena Cemetery.

The Streator Free Press, 26 Apr 1884, p.1.

After the accident, the railroad company was held liable for the accident and paid monetary settlements to the relatives of the deceased. Mr. Henderson collected $6,000 dollars, $4,000 for his wife and $2,000 for his daughter.

Violetta G. “Lettie” Henderson was the daughter of Alexander S. Henderson and his wife, Atha D. Curyea. Alexander was born in North Carolina about 1835. He came to Illinois in the 1850s, and in 1860 was married to Atha Curyea, a sister of C. J. Curyea of Ottawa.. Their daughter, Violetta, was born November 5th, 1860, in Dayton township.

The Centennial Reenactment

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Covered WagonThe following comes from the hand-written notes of Maud Green about the Dayton exhibit in the La Salle county centennial celebration.

The 24 people who came from Licking County, Ohio in 1829 to La Salle County, Illinois

  1. John Green
  2. Barbara Grove Green
  3. Eliza Green (m Wm Dunavan)
  4. Nancy Green (m Albert Dunavan)
  5. Jesse Green
  6. David Green
  7. Katherine Green (m Geo. Dunavan)
  8. Joseph Green d. 1854
  9. Rachel Green (m Geo W. Gibson)
  10. David Grove
  11. Anna Howser Grove d. 1849
  12. Elizabeth Grove (m. David Conard)
  13. Henry Brumbach
  14. Elizabeth Pitzer Brumbach
  15. David Brumbach
  16. Rezin DeBolt
  17. Emma Grove DeBolt d. 1843
  18. Barbara DeBolt d. 1851 (m David Conard)
  19. Jacob Grove [Grove crossed out in pencil and DeBolt written in]
  20. Samuel Grove
  21. Joseph Grove d. 1858
  22. Jacob Kite
  23. Alex. McKey
  24. Harvey Shaver

Of these 24 – two returned to Ohio.  Of the 22 who remained, only seven died in 41 years.
“Jacob Kite never married.  A sort of Nimrod, he lived by hunting and went West.” (Baldwin)  He is the man who refused to eat when the provisions ran short on the way from Ohio, as he was afraid the women and children would not get enough food.  Thinking to tempt him, they put eatables in a box on the back of the wagon where he was in the habit of walking, but they were untouched.

List of people who represented the 1929 party and rode in a covered wagon drawn by oxen in the Dayton exhibit at the La Salle Co centennial in 1931.

John Green                  40        Lyle Green
Barbara Green             37       Mabel Myers
Eliza                            15         Ruth Mary Green
Nancy                          14        Helen Myers
Jesse                            12        Lewis Myers
David                          10        Kenneth Green
Katie                           7          Ruth Van Etten
Rachel                         3          Ann Van Etten
Joseph                         1          John Van Etten
Rezin DeBolt              23        Floyd Smith
Emma Grove DeBolt  19        Lona DeBolt
Barbara                        3 months
David Grove               25        Henry Grove
Anna Grove                24        Nellie Grove Geen
Elizabeth                     1          & Louise Geen
Henry Brumbach                    Howard Smith
Eliz. Pitzer Brumbach             Myrna McMichael
David Brumbach                     Boy baby
Young men
Joseph Grove                          Billy Grove
Samuel Grove                         Elias Trumbo
Jacob Kite                                Donald Gardner
Alex McKey                             Donald Ainsley
Harvey Shaver                        Howard Shaver
Jacob Grove                            Leon Maynard

The David Green House

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David Green house in 1907

The house pictured above was built for David Green in 1853, the second in a line of three houses, all alike, built by John, David, and Jesse Green in Dayton. For biographical information on David Green, see here.

There surely was a previous house on this site. David bought the land from his father in 1842, at age 22, although he may have continued to live at home for a few years. He probably built a house for his new bride, Mary Stadden, when they married in 1847. In any case, in 1853 the house pictured above was built. It was a nine room house, four rooms per floor in the two-story portion and a kitchen extension.

When they moved into the new house they had 3 children, Alice, George, and Ella. Another seven children were born to them, who grew up living next door to their cousins, Jesse’s children.

An upstairs bedroom in this house produced Dayton’s only newspaper. One of the sons, Charles, had a little printing press and he was editor, reporter, printer & everything and he called it “The Dayton Enterprise”. There is only one known copy.

After David’s death, Mary stayed on in the house until some time in the 1890s. The house was tied up in the estate settlement of the man who had purchased the mortgage to the house. It was finally sold to E. A. Dallam in 1904.

Edward A. Dallam was born in Iowa and moved to Whiteside County, Illinois by age 13 where he worked at farming. He suffered from asthma, however, and gave up farming. He moved to Ottawa and opened a store on Main street where he sold notions, crockery, and tinware. In 1892 his wife, Lucy Ann Sapp, died. Three years later he married Winifred Talbot, in Ottawa, and they lived in South Ottawa, where he kept the store and also worked as a painter.

In 1904, when he bought the house, they moved to Dayton. Winifred was a frequent hostess, entertaining the Ladies’ Aid Society, the Dayton Womans’ Club and many other friends. When the J. S. club picnicked there, dinner and supper were served on the spacious lawn, and the day spent having a rousing good time.

In 1919 they decided to move back to Ottawa and he advertised in the Free Trader on March 5 as follows:

ad for sale of Dayton house

Ralph Green bought it and later gave it to his daughter, Grace, for a wedding present. The pictures below show the house as it was in 1937, when Grace and Charles Clifford began remodeling it.

 

They changed it extensively, throwing the two east parlor rooms into one large living room and moving the staircase from the center of the house to one side. The old kitchen was torn down and a new one added.

The old staircase
and the new.

Grace Clifford kept up the tradition of entertaining — The Dayton Homemakers, the Dayton Womans’ Club, the Ottawa AAUW, and large family gatherings were held here at Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day, and on many other occasions.

The Cliffords sold the house in 2000 and retired to Ottawa.

October news from Dayton

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buckwheat in flower

 

Dayton, Oct. 3d, 1884. – Politics are quiet at present, but our town will show up on the 4th of November with a good Cleveland majority.

The Chicago and Dayton Brick Co. have three large kilns built and are laying foundations for three more kilns. They have just set up a large Eureka Dry Press Brick machine, weighing 18 tons, and will be ready to run as soon as they can get in their new water wheels.

Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Allen and family, of Des Moines, Iowa, were visiting in Dayton the fore part of the week. They took in the sights of Chicago for a few days.

Mrs. Wm. McMillan, of Clinton, Iowa, is home on a visit.

Miss Myrtle Stadden, of Chicago, who has been visiting in Dayton for a few weeks, returned home Friday morning.

Mrs. J. W. Channel and daughter will leave next Monday for the great fair and exposition at St. Louis.

O. W. Trumbo “takes the cake” on small grain. He threshed out 26 ½ bushels of wheat, machine measure, to the acre, and 180 bushels of pure buckwheat to ten acres. Who can beat that? The buckwheat is at Green’s mill where it will be ground and sold out to be made into the most delicious cakes. For good pure buckwheat you must call at the mill.

The Dayton tile are taking the load and the works are overrun with orders.

Quite a number of our young folks are attending the Ottawa High School this fall.

Occasional1

  1. The Ottawa (Illinois) Free Trader, October 4, 1884, p. 8, cols. 1-2

Image by Inn from Pixabay

The John Green House – the First in Dayton

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John Green built his first house on the hill overlooking the saw and grist mill that had just been built. Three other houses have subsequently been built on that spot. There are no photographs of any of the houses before the 1853 one, but Maud Green described them in her notes on Dayton, written in the 1940s:

The first house in Dayton was on the site of our present home [marked in map above] and was probably not a log cabin as Grandfather [John Green] had put a saw-mill in one end of the flour-mill in the spring of 1830, leaving his family on the farm four miles up the river until the next Fall, in the cabin 18 x 24 where they had spent the first winter.  They were still in the first house in 1832 at the time of the Blackhawk War as they made a fort of it that summer and had sixty people there just after the Indian Creek Massacre.

I never heard how long it was until the second house was built in the hillside, facing the river.  It had three stories with a spring in the basement floor running into a stone trough, parts of which are still in existence.  The spring dried up long ago but I can remember it.  The upper floor was even with the top of the hill.  It had a porch on the east side of at least one floor.  While the men were away at the California Gold Rush in 1849 the Hite family lived in this house and rented the farm, the only time any but the Green family ever lived here (in 117 years).

In the summer of 1853 John Green & his sons David and Jesse built three square frame houses in a row,  John’s where the first house stood.  In these three houses, the Jesse, David & Isaac Green families grew up.  The Jesse Green house was destroyed by fire within the last twenty years and our father’s house was torn down (in 1924) and replaced by the present structure, which is the fourth house on the original building spot.  The David Green house, owned by Charles and Grace Clifford, is the only one still standing of the three built in 1853.

This view of the third John Green house is from the southwest.

This view is from the railroad tracks, looking east.

This shows the house viewed from the end of the bridge – looking west up the hill.

In 1924 when the house was torn down, the old kitchen was moved across the road to make a house for the hired man.

Ralph Green house

This is the fourth house, built in 1924.

Celebrating the End of the School Year – 1944

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graduation cap & books

Friday night, May 26, 1944, the rural schools of districts 204, 208, and 209 (Dayton) held joint graduation ceremonies.

200 at Graduation Program in Dayton Hear W. R. Foster

Eight pupils of the eighth grade received diplomas last night at a combined rural and village school commencement exercise attended by 200 at the Dayton school

Diplomas were presented by County Supt. of Schools W. R. Foster, who made the graduation address. Members of the class were Le Roy Reindel, John Edsan, Jimmie Lambert, Truman Eltrevoog, Naomi Winchester, Edward Patterson, Dorothy McLean and Francis Alvig.

Seventh grade promotion certificates were presented to Elaine Thomas, Ruth Schmidt, Marshall Claude, Dick Thomas and Dale Reindel.

The program was in charge of the teachers of the school combining for the commencement, and was opened by graduates and the audience singing “The Star Spangled Banner” and “God Bless America,” and giving the salute to the flag.

District 208 pupils under direction of Mrs. F. J. Giehler presented a sketch, “The Colonial Time.”

A playlet, “The Story of America,” was given by district 204 pupils directed by Mrs. Edith Miller.

The Dayton school primary department under direction of Miss Emma Fraine staged a skit, “All Out for Defense.” Pupils of Mrs. Naomi Trent’s room at the Dayton school staged a playlet, “Salute to the Flag.” The program closed by all pupils singing “The Victory Polka.”1

 

Two days later, everyone gathered at the school for the annual picnic.

the picnic table

This is a later picnic, but I’m sure the table was just as loaded in 1943.

100 Gather for Annual Picnic at Dayton School

One hundred attended the annual picnic of the Dayton school yesterday at the school grounds.

Dinner at noon was followed by races and other sports. Later ice cream and cake were served.

Winners in races were Carl Schmidt, preschool age; Shirley Patterson, 1st grade; Sylvia Ralrick, second grade; Rosemary Patterson, third; Bobbie Buckley, fourth; Ardelle Taylor, fifth and sixth; Elaine Thomas, seventh; Edward Patterson, eighth; Teddy Mathews, high school; Mrs. Homer Matthews and Mrs. Naomi Trent, married women’s.

Mr. and Mrs. Tony Summons, Mrs. Morris Ponton, Mrs. Mayme Ryan and Miss Elizabeth Ryan of Chicago, and Mrs. Fred Ritzius of Ottawa were out of town guests.2

  1. Ottawa Republican-Times, May 27, 1944, p. 8, col. 1
  2. Ibid, May 29, 1944, p. 8, col. 6

Schoolteachers Cora and Winnie Childs

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Cora and Winnie Childs

In 1882 a two-story frame house with a belfry was built at the top of the hill in Dayton. It served as the schoolhouse until it burned in 1890. The first teachers in that building were Cora and Winnie Childs, the daughters of Franklin P. Childs and Margaret Price.

They were born in Marshall county, Illinois; Cora in 1860 and Winnie in 1863. In 1864, their parents moved to Ottawa to take advantage of the better educational opportunities for their daughters. Cora graduated from Ottawa Township High School in 1879 and Winnie in 1881.

Cora completed the two year program at Wesleyan Female College in Cincinnati in one year, graduating in June 1880. She taught at several other La Salle County schools and after Winnie graduated in 1881 they came to Dayton together in 1882.

They taught there for two years, until their father moved the family to a farm near Morris, in Grundy county. Cora applied for and was granted a position teaching in the Morris junior high school.

The two years spent in Dayton made many opportunities to get to know the Dayton people, and Cora and Winnie kept up friendships with many of the Green family and others into later life. One of these friendships ended in the marriage of Cora Childs and Harry Green on February 22, 1888. They lived in Morris, where Harry had a bakery and restaurant. After that building burned, they returned to Ottawa where he went to work for the Standard Brick Company, where his brother-in-law, C. B. Hess, was a partner.

In 1892 they moved to Chicago where Harry established himself as an electrical engineer. Cora was very active in various patriotic organizations. She held a number of offices with the DAR, including many years as regent. She was the first regent of the Chicago chapter of the DAC, the Daughters of the American Colonists; was a member of the Daughters of 1812 and many other similar organizations. Cora died February 1, 1951 and is buried in Ottawa, Illinois.

Winnie never married and spent most of her life on the farm near Morris or in the Chicago area. She worked at various times as a stenographer, a reporter and a music teacher. She became an invalid following a fall in1940 and in 1950 was in a private nursing home in Morris. In 1958 she was in Chicago with her niece, Mabel Greene Myers, where she died February 11, 1958.

Comings and Goings – 1928 Dayton Briefs

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Dayton Briefs

Edward Raspillar of Plano, Ill., spent from Saturday until Sunday at the Fraine home.

L. A. Green and sisters, Miss Maude and Mrs. A. P. Masters of Colorado Springs, Colo. and Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Green motored to Mendota Sunday to spend the day at the N. Van Etten home.

John Gracia made a business trip to Aurora Tuesday.

Mrs. Rush Green, Mrs. Gladys Lattimore, Mrs. Addie Thompson, Misses Emma and Jennie Fraine spent Sunday evening at the home of Mrs. E. J. Dallam’s in Ottawa.

Miss Cora Tanner of Aurora spent Sunday with her mother, Mrs. A. L. Tanner.

Mrs. Keenan and Miss Edith Reynolds went to Aurora Tuesday to spend the day.

Mrs. John Reynolds was confined at her home last week. Her daughter, Mrs. A. L. Prager of Marseilles took care of her.

Mrs. Paul Schmitt has returned to her home here, after being ill with the flu at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. Canfield in Rutland.

Mr. and Mrs. Allen Fleming and son, Marshall of Aurora spent the weekend with the former’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Fleming.

Mrs. Addie Thompson attended the wedding of Emmett Burke and Agnes Telpher at St. Columba’s church last Monday.

Mrs. Wm. Ryan and two daughters spent Saturday in Ottawa.

John Garcia, who has been laid up the past three months with a smashed hand, is now employed with the C. B. & Q. railway in Ottawa.

Harry Loomis made a business trip to Champaign, Ill. Saturday.

Mrs. Harold Schilling of Ottawa spent Wednesday in Dayton.

Mr. and Mrs. C. Draper and family spent Sunday at their new home in Wallace.

Mr. and Mrs. M. Keenan motored to Spring Valley Thursday evening to call on Mrs. Sam Nash.

Louise, Mildred and Clarence Thorsen went to Streator Friday to spend a few days with their grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Tobias Thorsen.

Mr. and Mrs. Danny Rieuf and Mrs. Bill Roth and son of Ottawa called at the M. Keenan home Friday evening.

Mr. and Mrs. John Reynolds and daughters, Miss Edith and Mrs. Trayer spent Sunday at the Vincent Smith home, near Ottawa.

A few from here attended the opening dance at Illini Beach Sunday evening.

L. A. Green, Miss Maude Green and Mrs. A. P. Masters called Thursday evening at the Ralph Green home in Ottawa.

Mrs. Edward Miller of west of Dayton spent Wednesday evening at the Fraine home.

Mrs. Mae Fleming and daughter, Shirley Jean of Rutland spent Sunday with Mrs. W. B. Fleming.

Miss Edith Reynolds spent Sunday evening in Ottawa with relatives, returning home Monday.

Mr. and Mrs. Mike Tracy of Streator were callers in Dayton Sunday of last week.

Mr. and Mrs. M. Keenan spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Danny Rieuf of Ottawa.

Elmer Thorsen of Streator called Sunday evening at the Lormis home.1

  1. The (Ottawa, IL) Republican-Times, May 8, 1928, p. 3, cols. 2-3