Biographical information on Charles W. Burch is now available here or under BIOGRAPHIES above.
Counterfeiters, Thieves, and Outlaws
Nathaniel Proctor ran the general store in Dayton in the late 1830s. Jesse Green’s memoir has this story about his time in Dayton:
Proctor had a very nice and amiable family, and was apparently a high minded and honorable man, he had a great faculty for gaining friends and did a very successful business for a year or two. One cold winter day father went from the mill up to his store, and put his feet up against the stove to warm them, having his pocket-book containing between five and six hundred dollars wanted for buying wheat in his pants pocket. Returning home he soon discovered he had lost it, and thinking it might have dropped out of his pocket at the store, he returned immediately to look for it, but not finding it, he offered Mr. Proctor’s boys five dollars if they would find it for him, saying he must have lost it between the mill and store; seeing they made no effort to find it, he concluded they had found it, and that probably he would see no more of it.
Not long after this occurrence Mr. Proctor went to St. Louis for some goods, and on his return, and probably in St. Louis passed some counterfeit money, and learning by some means that he was liable to be arrested, he never returned to Dayton. Father being security for him to the amount of twelve or fifteen hundred dollars, and other creditors gobbling up his goods, it fell to fathers lot, to take his book accounts and notes, nearly covering the amount he was held for provided collections could be made. They were scattered over a great extent of country. It was afterwards learned that he had dealt quite heavily with members of his gang of outlaws, that infested the whole north western portion of the state.
His book accounts and notes were put in legal shape for me to collect and I was sent out with his books in a pair of saddle bags, and calling one night on one of his principal creditors, who was keeping a Hotel on the Pickamesoggin not far from Belvidere, I found a crowd of ruffians, all armed with pistols and bowie knives, and I could scarcely make up my mind, which would be best under the circumstances, to try and find another stopping place for the night, or boldly face the trying ordeal which I felt sure I was doomed to for the night. I finally concluded that if they might have any intention to rob, or molest me, they would do so in either event, and I determined to put on as bold a front as it was possible for a little boy of 18 and concluded to seek no farther. When I went in and threw down my saddlebags containing the books, there were a dozen fierce roguish eyes cast upon me, which almost made the hair on my head stand on end, and young and defenseless as I was, my situation can be better imagined than I can tell it.
I concluded to retire to bed soon after supper, as my company did not seem at all entertaining to me, and about twelve o’clock at night the landlord brought up a great burly fellow and put him in bed with me, he first laid a big pistol under his pillow, and then a large bowie knife. My sleep from then on until morning was somewhat disturbed, as they all knew my business, and I had a bill of $250.00 against the landlord, they would naturally suspect that I had collected some money, such thoughts as these kept crowding upon me before I could sleep, in fact I do not think I did sleep any that night, the more I would think of my situation as it occurred to me, among (as I thought) a den of thieves, the more would I think, that they probably would destroy my books and possibly me too. So my stay there was anything but pleasant, but fortunately no demonstrations were made or harm done and next morning as soon as I heard any movements below, I left my bedfellow pretty early sleeping soundly on his arms, and after breakfast had a settlement with the landlord. He gave me no money, but I took his note with which I was more than glad to leave him, but his note was never paid. I suspect that most of Proctor’s customers in that far away region were members of the gang of outlaws called the bandits of the prairies, and the Driscols who were summarily punished near Mount Morris in early times were of the same gang.
Whilst invoicing Proctor’s goods, his dies for making bogus coin were discovered, and secretly laid aside until going home at noon when it was the intention to secure them; but when they put their fingers upon them, like the Irishman’s flea, they were not there, removed by his clerk probably. In digging out a cellar to the store, he [the new owner] found father’s old pocketbook minus the money lost with it. A little later the old store building was torn down, and inside the plastering was found a ten dollar copper plate on a Michigan bank for making counterfeit money. All sympathized deeply with the disgraced family, who remained in Dayton but a short time after this unfortunate circumstance. But where they went and their subsequent identity, we never learned as they probably were no longer known by the name of Proctor.
An Ohio Marriage
1
John Green and Barbara Grove were married in Licking County, Ohio on March 28, 1813. Barbara was the daughter of John Grove and Barbara Lionbarger. In his memoir, Jesse Green described his grandfather Grove: “John Grove, the head of the Grove family was of Dutch or German descent and was a large powerful man. He could pick up a barrel of flour under each arm and toss them upon one of those old fashioned Virginia wagons with ease. He was so large that his descendants long preserved one of his vests to show his unusual girth about the breast.”
The original 1929 party that came from Ohio to Illinois, to the rapids of the Fox river, included many members of the Grove family – Barbara Grove Green, David Grove, Emma Grove DeBolt, Samuel Grove, and Joseph Grove. After the death of John Grove, his widow, Barbara, also came to La Salle county, in 1838, to live with her son Joseph.
Further information on members of the Grove family may be found at http://www.genealogycenter.info/search_grove.php
- “Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013,” database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZH2-KNR : accessed 18 August 2015), John Green and Barbary Grove, 28 Mar 1813; citing Licking, Ohio, United States, reference v1,p.23; county courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 384,300.
Walking on the Desks
Maud Green told her memories of school life in Dayton in the 1870s and 1880s. The school would not have been as isolated as the one shown above, as it was right in the heart of the village.
The desk tops were hinged and when the boys walked on them mischievously they sometimes dropped unexpectedly with disastrous results. A bench ran around three sides of the room to accomodate more pupils. The other furniture consisted of the teacher’s desk and a small organ. There was always something extra for Friday afternoon. One teacher read us chapters of “The Swiss Family Robinson” each week and we spoke pieces and sometimes had a treat. Once it was oyster soup! We all had slates instead of tablets and our slate pencils came covered with gold or silver paper. Once we girls put boards over the corner of the fence to make a play-house at school & we all took rag-dolls to play with at recess. Our best “play house” at home was when the oats-bin was empty in what we called the “little barn” north of the house. Of course we all wore sun bonnets.
The Dayton Literary Society
The Dayton Literary Society was founded in February of 1881, with Isaac Green as President, Charles Green as Secretary and Harry Green as Librarian. Harry was the librarian because the library, all one hundred volumes of it, was housed at his store. You paid a monthly fee and then you could borrow any book. This label, found in every book, listed some of the rules governing the library:
ART. 4. The Time of Keeping a Book shall be Two Weeks, and any person failing to return said book inside the specified time, shall be fined the sum of 5 cts. for each day until returned. Also, any person returning a book unnecessarily soiled, shall be fined the sum of 10 cts.
ART. 6. The Librarian shall not issue Books to any person who is known to be in arrears of monthly dues or fines.
ART. 7. No person shall be allowed more than ONE Book at a time.
Unfortunately, no record of the complete “Rules to Govern Library” has survived. Did it contain guidelines for what books to include? Were books purchased, or donated from town residents? What was the most popular subject matter?
Shopping at the Dayton store
This piece of glass was purchased at the Dayton store about 1880. It was made by the La Belle Glass Company of Bridgeport, Ohio. The company was founded in 1872 and its Queen Anne pattern, of which this piece is an example, was first being advertised in the trade journals in the fall of 1879. It would have been one piece of a fairly extensive set. This piece is a spooner, used on the table to hold dessert spoons. They often resemble short-stemmed goblets or vases. Some have handles, as this one does, but some do not. Other pieces in the set might have been a butter dish, cream and sugar, salt cellar, celery vase, and of course, plates and goblets. Harry Green, the proprietor of the Dayton store at that time, obviously made an effort to have the most up-to-date stock. In the Ottawa newspaper’s account of the wedding of David Green’s daughter, Ada, in 1881, among the gifts received was a set of glassware from her cousin, Harry Green. There’s no way of knowing if it was a set of this pattern, but it might have been, as it was a new and popular pattern then.
Miss Emma Clementine Fraine
In 1952, Miss Emma Fraine retired after fifty years of teaching, most of them at the Dayton school, where she taught grades one through four. The class lists shown above include only those students whom Miss Fraine had taught, so not all of the members of the upper grades are included. Her classroom was a single large room, on the first floor of the school. Each grade had its turn at recitation, with time to prepare for the next lesson while other classes were reciting. If you listened to the recitations of the classes ahead of yours, you could get a head start on the next year’s work. She was a firm believer in teaching reading by means of phonics and when phonics fell out of favor, she asked the school board to allow her to continue her existing ways, which they were glad to approve.
Her parents were Charles and Clemence Fraine, who were married 11 May 1878 in Ranrupt, France. They immigrated to the US and came to Dayton by 1882, where they raised their family: daughters Addie, who married Richard Thompson, 31 Dec 1901; Jennie, who also taught school in Dayton and surrounding towns; and Emma, and son, Jules.
The Great Dayton Bridge Affair
The new iron bridge at Dayton, opened in 1887
In 1885 a new bridge was needed at Dayton. It was estimated to cost $10,000 and the county would pay half the cost. As the bridge connected Dayton and Rutland townships, the share for each was $2500. Rutland balked at paying this, so Dayton agreed to pay $3500, but even this offer met with resistance, as shown in the newspaper extracts below. The bridge was built eventually and it was noted that one of the first to make use of the new bridge was one who had most vehemently opposed spending the money for it.
Dayton Bridge. –
The people of the town of Rutland vote next Monday, Aug. 31st, on the question of taxing themselves $1,500 towards building a good bridge at Dayton. The bridge is to cost $10,000, Dayton agreeing to pay $3,500 towards it, the county paying the other half. Considering that the bridge will be really a convenience to a larger proportion of the people of Rutland than of the town of Dayton, the offer of Dayton to bear so large a share of the expense is a very liberal one and ought to be met by Rutland in a spirit of like liberality. There is no point on the Fox River in this county where a bridge is so pressingly needed as at Dayton. The ford there is so precarious and unavailable most of the time that not only are Rutland people cut off from the advantages of the mills at Dayton, but to many of them the distance to Ottawa, Wallace, Utica, &c., is increased from two to half a dozen of miles. It does look as if Rutland could not afford to let this chance go by of getting a permanent bridge at Dayton at so small a cost.1
Dayton, Sept. Sept. 16. – At last it is settled that we are to have the bridge! The Board of Supervisors yesterday by a vote of twenty-seven to nine granted county aid to the amount of $5,000, and appointed Supervisors Anderson and Bubeck to look after the county’s interest. The bids will be opened next Monday and the contract let so that work may commence at once. The citizens are greatly rejoiced at the result and hope nothing serious may interfere with the completion of the work.2
Dayton, Sept. 23. – Our town was full of bridge men last Monday, and every bridge company in the west and a few eastern companies were represented. Nineteen bids were handed in. The board of commissioners, consisting of Messrs. Nichols and Grove, of Rutland, and Messrs. Dunavan, Brown and Green, of Dayton and the county represented by Supervisor Anderson, of Adams, met in the afternoon at the office of A. F. Dunavan & Son, and examined the numerous bids, but were unable to reach any conclusion by evening, so adjourned. The contract for the stone work was then let to John Joslyn, of Batavia, for $7.20 per cubic yard, and the superstructure to the Chicago Bridge and Iron Co. for $5,490. The superstructure will consist of three spans of 121 feet each, and the whole bridge when completed will cost about $10,000. The time for the completion of the work is Dec. 21st.
Bridge Notes
The Batavia man who has secured the contract for the stone work says he has plenty of stone on hand and will commence work on the piers immediately.
There was quite a lively competition between the Joliet and Batavia stone men, but the latter took the “persimmons” this time.
Landlord Timmons says he furnished forty-seven meals for bridge men Monday.
The river is low now and in good shape for laying the foundations for the piers.
The Bridge Co. says we will have the prettiest and most substantial iron bridge on the river.3
Dayton, Nov. 11. – The piers of the new bridge are progressing slowly, one being about one-third up and the other about two-thirds. The weather has been fine for putting up stonework and it is to be regretted that the work could not be done more rapidly.4
Dayton, Feb 3. – Our bridge is having rather bad luck. One span was swung just in time to avoid all danger from the thaw of Jan. 22d, but the trestle work of two spans was carried out by the ice and two iron floor beams were dropped into the river. The water has been so high and do much slush ice floating that work on the bridge has been practically stopped. It is hoped that the present cold weather will continue, so that work may be resumed and the bridge completed.5
Dayton, Ill, April 1st, 1887. – Our bridge is finished at last and open for public travel. It is a very fine three span iron bridge, the neatest one on the river, and is a fine addition to our village. Of course every one will use it now that it is constructed, and it was noticed that about one of the first to use it was one who had fought the hardest.6
1. The Ottawa [Illinois] Free Trader, August 29, 1885, p. 4, col. 4
2. Free Trader, September 18, 1886, p. 5, col. 3
3. Free Trader, September 25, 1886, p. 8, col. 3
4. Free Trader, November 13, 1886, p. 8, col. 1
5. Free Trader, February 5, 1887, p. 8, col. 2
6. Free Trader, April 2, 1887, p. 4, col. 6
Floods – Tornadoes – There’s Nothing New Under the Sun
Dayton, June 19, 1879. – Our town and the surrounding country was visited last Saturday by a terrible strong wind and rain storm, almost a tornado. Old residents say it was the hardest storm that has visited our place for many years. Trees by the score were blown down, fences demolished, and a general confusion ensued, The new residence of Mr. Wilkie, almost completed, was moved six or eight feet off the foundation. Mr. W. happened to be on top of the building at the beginning of the storm, and judging his position to be too perilous, got inside when without a word of warning his building commenced sailing off. It is needless to state that our teutonic friend was somewhat frightened. About one half of our centennial flag pole was broken off and blown down into the street. Three or four large cherry trees and as many apple trees, on the Stadden property, were broken down. But the most destructive feat of the storm was the almost entire destruction of a crab apple grove on Mr. Jos. Barnes’ place southwest of town on the lane leading to Ottawa. Here large trees were broken and hurled with great force across the pasture, over the fence to the other side of the road. Mr. Barnes had a great deal of fence blown down and eight or ten nice large trees on his place broken off. Mr. Eisenhuth’s barn south of town was completely demolished, not a stick left standing. Nearly all of the roof of Mr. Stadden’s barn east of town was blown off. In fact from all accounts our place seems to have been in the centre of the tornado.1
1. The [Ottawa, Illinois] Free Trader, June 21, 1879, p. 8, cols. 1-2
The Temperance Movement in Dayton in 1842
Temperance Meeting at Dayton1
Pledge
We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, being thoroughly convinced that the use of intoxicating liquors is pernicious to health and good morals, therefore pledge to each other, in the presence of God, and our country, our most sacred honor to abstain, in all time to come, from the use of all intoxicating liquors, except as a medicine; and that we will use our influence, on all proper occasions, to cause our friends to unite with us in this pledge.
Wm Stadden Lars Harrison
C G Miller Isaac Miller
W L Dunavan Morris Laupher
Joshua Fairchild James Thompson
Z H Baxter Lars Larson
Jesse Green Isaac Hayes
Jacob Leavens Stephen Donohoe
David Green Elizabeth Miller
Peley Frink L W Abbot
A T Marr Mrs Elvira Laupher
John Lewis Jefferson Weatherford
E G Janes Mrs Mary Weatherford
Z A Kelly Francis Weatherford
Z Preston Rachael Weatherford
Uriah Miller Rebecca Green
Joseph Green Elizabeth Jacobs
John A Quick Isaac Green
Jonathan Stadden Mrs. Mary Ann Fairchild
Albert Dunavan Mrs Eliza Dunavan
Hardin Weatherford Emma Dunavan
H Fairchild Mrs E Baxter
J M Laurence Mrs Eliza Miller
John Miller Mrs Tobitha Bockorn
John Combs Chilson McKurley
1. The Illinois Free Trader, February 25, 1842, p. 2, col. 6
The School Playground
Shirley Walleck and Judy Jackson are sitting on the merry-go-round, which is unusually stationary. The more normal state of affairs was to have several children pushing it madly around, while others clung to the bars and screamed. This picture was taken around 1949, at a school picnic held in the schoolyard.
There was other playground equipment – swings, monkey bars, and that favorite of some of us – the giants. Also called a Maypole swing or an Octopus, you’ll never see one on a playground today, but we loved them. As seen in this picture, you ran around the pole holding on to the handles at the end of the chains until the centrifugal force swung you off your feet.
What do you remember about the playground equipment? Leave your stories in the comments.
Early Mail Delivery
Mail Service to Dayton in 1842
Tri-weekly mail up Fox River, via Dayton, Northville, Pennfield, Bristol, Oswego and Aurora to Geneva, arrives every Monday Wednesday and Friday at 8 o’clock, p. m., and departs every Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday, at 3 o’clock, a. m.
The Dayton post office was established in 1837. In 1842, as this mail schedule shows, Dayton was on the Fox River route up to Geneva, in the north. Because of the relative ease of the river route as compared to the overland routes, there were three mail deliveries a week in Dayton, whereas the other routes only provided weekly service. There was no home delivery of mail, so stopping by the post office to get your mail was also a social activity for the exchange of local news.
In 1842, prior to the use of envelopes and postage stamps, letters usually consisted of one sheet, folded, with the charge (paid by the recipient) written in the corner. At this time, the charge for a letter was 25 cents, and often a letter languished at the post office until the recipient could afford to retrieve it. A story is told of a man whose letter lay in the post office for over a month because he could not collect the money to get it. He finally traded the postmaster four bushels of wheat for it and thought he had made a good deal, so anxious was he to hear from the folks back home.
Image from Illinois Free Trader, October 28, 1842, p. 3, col. 2
The Dayton Exchange
CORRECTION: although this building is the same size and shape and on the same location as the Dayton Exchange, this building was built on the site after a fire in 1890 which destroyed the Exchange.
This building, now a private home, was originally the Dayton Exchange, a hotel. In 1870, the building was purchased by George Makinson and Joseph B. Jennings, who advertised that:
[the purchasers] have completely remodeled and refitted it in modern style, and now open it to the patronage of the public, offering all the comforts and conveniences of a first-class hotel. The rooms are comfortable and dry, and particular attention will be given toward providing the table with all the delicacies of the season. A good stable is in connection with this house, where horses will be well and properly cared for.1
A portion of the building was fitted out as a grocery store, for the convenience of the villagers, as well as the hotel guests. in 1880, James Timmons bought the Dayton Exchange and advertised that he had “re-modeled, re-painted and re-furnished from top to bottom, inside and outside”. The hotel catered particularly to fishing parties, frequent visitors in the summer. In 1902, Timmons sold the building and it ceased to be a hotel.
1. The [Ottawa, Illinois] Free Trader, July 16, 1870, p. 2, col. 6
A Tombstone Jigsaw Puzzle
In September 2014, the Dayton Cemetery Association worked with a professional restoration expert to repair a number of monuments which had been damaged by vandals. Our first effort was the Martin Welke stone, seen above. After the middle section was replaced on the base, attention turned to replacing the top.
And here is the reassembled stone:
We repaired seventeen stones that week and plan to continue the work in 2015.
133 Years Ago in Dayton
Our busy little neighbor, Dayton, besides becoming famous for her horse collars, woolen goods, tile and paper, is getting to be quite a popular summer resort. The stream of visitors during the few weeks since the fishing season opened must be enormous, for on every bright day at least the banks of the river are lined with people. As a sample of the size of parties: – Some 25 couples from Streator went up in a special car on Tuesday! Already the campers have begun to put in their appearance, and it is altogether likely that from this time until fall there will be no great diminution in the number of visitors. We should think the citizens would turn this flood of tourists to their advantage; and they certainly could make themselves vastly popular with the people of the Fox River Valley by lending their aid in the suppression of illegal seining in their waters.1
1. The [Ottawa, Illinois] Free Trader, May 27, 1882, p. 6, col. 1
The first Dunavan-Green marriage
Rapids of Fox November 1th 1831
Mr David Walker
Sir I autherise you to Ishue a lison to solemnise marraige betwn William L. Dunnaphan & my Daugter Eliza yours with Esteem John Green
On November 6, 1831, John Green’s oldest daughter, Eliza, married William Lair Dunavan in La Salle county, Illinois. Five days earlier, Eliza’s father wrote his permission for her to marry, as she was only 17. At this time they were living on the east side of the Fox river, in Rutland township; Dayton was laid out on the west side only in 1837. Eliza and William lived on a farm in Rutland township, where they raised a family of nine children, Albert, Emma, John, Elizabeth, James, Rachel, Celestia, Jesse, and Noah. Celestia died in childhood, Rachel at age 11, and Jesse at 26, but the others all lived to at least 65 and Albert died at age 80. In 1881, Eliza and William moved to Denton, Texas, where William died in 1889 and Eliza in 1896.
The Pennypacker Horse Collar
The celebrated Pennypacker horse collar was a specialty of the Fox River Horse Collar Manufacturing Co., which claimed that the general mechanical construction of this collar “has rendered it the best device of its kind known to the trade. It is so constructed that the draught is close to the horse’s neck instead of back on his shoulders, and thus an easy and comfortable fit is effected.” Their goods were widely known, from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia on the east, to Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri on the west. They used about forty tons of rye straw yearly for filling horse-collars, and the hides of about 2,000 head of cattle were required yearly to supply them with leather. The Seamless Team Collar was a standard pattern, always on hand. They also advertised their willingness to make any grade or pattern to order on short notice. Their collars were for sale by any harness dealer in Ottawa and elsewhere. In 1883 the factory had a capacity of turning out 300 dozen collars per month, which were shipped throughout all of the western states and into many of the eastern states, and even, in 1886, to Sydney, Australia.
A Bit of More Modern History
Thanks to a cousin, Ken Baker, who found this clipping in an old scrapbook.
First row (left to right): Ruth Schmidt, Janet Schmidt. Rachel Schmidt, Barbara McCormick, Phyllis McCormick
Second row: William Milan, Richard Pitstick, John Schmidt, Richard Schmidt, Dale McCormick, Edwin Pitstick, Gerald McCormick
Third row: Charles Clifford (leader), Bob Lattimore, Vincent Pitstick (junior leader), Emmett Baker, Hubert Pitstick, Henry Schmidt.
Please leave comments below about anything you remember about this group, particularly when this might have been taken.
Products of the Dayton Woolen Factory
This woven coverlet is one of my treasured family heirlooms. It was produced at the Dayton Woolen Factory and has been handed down in the family for over 150 years. The pattern is an example of an overshot pattern, where the horizontal yarn shoots over several vertical yarns at a time. The slight discontinuity in the pattern (circled) shows where two lengths woven on a 36 inch loom were joined to make the full sized coverlet.
The factory made many kinds of cloth, as noted in this ad. Satinet was a satin-weave fabric made with cotton warp and wool filling; cassimere, a twill-weave, worsted suiting fabric; flannel, a fabric made in plain or twill weave, usually with carded yarns and napped for added warmth. My great-aunt remembered that the family was always well-supplied with stockings knit from factory yarn and the family clothing, as well as the blankets for their beds, were products of the factory. Fabric was obtainable in many colors, with basic grey, brown and black as well as blue, scarlet, green, and red. I also have another, light-weight, blanket from the factory which is a pale yellow. The products of the factory were of a high quality, as evidenced by the awards they won at cattle shows and county and state fairs, throughout Illinois and other states in the midwest.
Tying Two Families Tightly Together
Among the very early marriages in La Salle county are the marriages of three brothers, William, Joseph, and George Dunavan, with three sisters, Eliza, Nancy, and Katherine, the daughters of John Green, founder of Dayton. William and Eliza were the first to marry, on November 6, 1831. Nancy and Joseph followed on January 26, 1834, and finally, Katherine and George married on June 15, 1837. In later years, Noah Letts, the younger half-brother of the Dunavan boys, reached the age where he was thinking about acquiring a wife. His brother Madison’s wife, who was John Green’s sister-in-law, suggested a Trumbo girl, a niece of hers. Noah, knowing that several Trumbos had also married into the Green family, felt that Dayton was full of his relatives and thought that he would look elsewhere for a wife.
Dayton and the Greens 