Woodstock Sentinel 80th Anniversary Edition Newspaper, March 13, 1937, Section 2

Woodstock Sentinel 80th Anniversary Edition Newspaper, March 13, 1937, Section 2

1937-03-13

en-US

Text

Eightieth Anniversary Edition Woodstock Daily Sentinel
McHENRY COUNTY'S LEADING NEWSPAPER—PUBLISHED DAILY, EXCEPT SUNDAY—ESTABLISHED EIGHTY YEARS AGO.
Woodstock, McHenry County, Illinois, Saturday, March 13, 1937
Entered as Second-Class Matter August 21, 1921, at the post office at Woodstock, Illinois, under the Act of Mar. 8,1879.

SECTION TWO Eightieth Anniversary Edition. PAGE TWO WOODSTOCK DAILY SENTINEL McHENRY COUNTY'S LEADING NEWSPAPER—PUBLISHED DAILY, EXCEPT SUNDAY—ESTABLISHED EIGHTY YEARS AGO. Established 1856—Eighty-first Year. WOODSTOCK, McHENRY COUNTY, ILLINOIS
WOODSTOCK'S CENTENNIAL YEAR NOT UNTIL 1944
First Newspaper Attempted In 1846, Woodstock Sentinel established Ten Years Later
WOODSTOCK STARTED WHEN COUNTY SEAT WAS LOCATED HERE
WOODSTOCK'S CENTENNIAL IN 1944. "Woodstock's earliest date at which it can rightfully celebrate a Centennial will be in 1944, as the records do not show that there were any habitations here before that year, except a log cabin built in 1843 by Bradford Burbank, which was later removed. The town was laid out in 1844 by Alvin Judd. Judd sold the plat to George C. Dean, who had it recorded in June, 1844. This all followed a movement started in 1842 to move the county seat from McHenry to a more central location. McHenry had been made the county seat in 1836, when, the county was first established and then included what is now Lake county. The government surveyors were then working in the county and the geographical center of the county was ascertained by careful measurements. John Brink, later of Crystal Lake, was one of these surveyors. He was a great uncle of the Brink family in Woodstock, and McHenry county's first county surveyor. Unlike most of the cities and villages around us, which, like Topsy just grew, Woodstock was a tailor made town, carefully planned, platted and surveyed into lots and blocks, before any settlers came to take up a residence here. It all followed the decision to locate the county seat in the center of the county, otherwise there might never have been a city built where Woodstock is now located.
WOODSTOCK'S EARLIEST HISTORY
Our main object in issuing this 80th anniversary number of The Woodstock Sentinel is not only to give the world an idea of what a busy, enterprising city this is, but to show its antecedents and thus give you an idea of what kind of material this city was constructed—what elements of sturdy manhood entered into the warp and woof of our city's growth and development, and to prove that the man was "way off his trolley" who remarked seriously: "It matters not what you were, but it's what we are today," for both what we were and what we are are inseparably linked as elements in the building of a splendid community, neither of which can be overlooked in a review of nearly 100 years of splendid history—a history full of romance, full of earnest endeavor, full of joys and sorrows and full of all those things that constitute life in the aggregate. The Sentinel wants to assert that Woodstock was founded on those solid elements of character that lead to greatness, that we have had citizens whose loyalty to the flag and to the better things of life has been noteworthy and that among our citizens were and are men of fine character who made and are making their mark in the big country of which we are a part. For this reason the retrospective is probably as important as the prospective, and a review of life in the concrete in the earlier days of the city and a bit of introspection may be of great advantage and satisfaction to the third generation that has appeared on the scene since The Sentinel was established in the turbulent days that immediately preceded the Civil war in which so many of her sons offered their lives and so many had their lives laid upon the altars of their country. In this number we shall attempt no rhetorical pyrotechnics, but shall endeavor to make plain statements of facts, as briefly as may be and yet strictly to the point, not intentionally omitting any enterprise or person connected with the well-being and advancement of the city. It is intended that this shall be a faithful and reliable chronicle of Woodstock and all her constituent parts, without prejudice or partiality, and with such a purpose honestly in view, we crave the indulgence of the public.
What Is Woodstock? Woodstock is the county-seat of McHenry county. It is 51 miles from Chicago, 85 miles from Milwaukee, 35 miles from Waukegan, 40 miles from Rockford, via Belvidere, 40 miles from Janesville, 12 miles from Harvard, and 8 miles from Crystal Lake. It has population of about 6,500. Woodstock's early history commenced from the session of the Legislature of 1842-3, which passed the bill authorizing the county to vote on the question of removing the county-seat from McHenry. At the election which followed it was located at this point the geographical center of the county— although at that time there was not a house within two miles of here, and all was forest and swamp lands. The land on which the county-seat was located was owned by Alvin Judd, who at once formed a joint stock company and commenced the sale of town lots. A public square of two acres was presented to the county, in the center of which a court house was immediately commenced and was finished and accepted in September, 1844. On the 23rd of that month J. H. Johnson, the clerk of circuit and county courts, took possession of the new quarters, bringing with him the county records. The first private dwelling erected in the place was the east part of the Exchange hotel, and it remained in a good state of preservation for many years as the residence of I. A. Austin until his death, and the site has since been devoted to business enterprises, at the corner of East Jackson and Jefferson streets. The first store was opened by Oscar L. Beach, who kept a small stock of dry goods and groceries combined. It was later occupied by Fred Renich's cigar store, but the first real genuine establishment of importance was opened by Lyon & Fuller (Fuller & Lyon), in the building that stood on the corner of the lot now occupied by the city hall, which was destroyed by fire on Oct. 9, 1871. The cost of the first court house was $1,200, jail included (even then jails were used). On the 4th of July, 1855, while patriotism ran high, the poor old court house was laid low— in other words, it was burnt to the ground. The present building, which before the burning of the old one had been projected, was soon commenced and pushed to completion and by the 1st of January, 1857, McHenry county boasted of one of the best court houses in the state, at that time, built at a cost of $50,000. After the burning of the old court house and before the completion of the new building the county officers were housed in the old Rathole building, thus named through the acrimony of politicians of that day.
First Called Centreville. After the removal of the county-seat to this point from McHenry the village was called Centreville, it being the center of the county, but, at the suggestion of Joel I. Johnson, how-(Continued on page three)
The present McHenry county court house was built in 1857, eighty years ago. The above picture of the Woodstock city park and the court house was taken soon after completion of the court house. The park was laid out in 1844, and for a number of years was occupied by a wooden structure—McHenry county's second court house, which is described elsewhere in this newspaper. This building was of frame structure, cost $1200 and was destroyed by fire prior to the erection of the present brick structure. McHenry county's first court house was located at McHenry. Note how small the trees in the park were at this time. Also note the large three story building north of the court house. This was the Neill Donnelly general store. Next to it is a smaller building, which stood where Cass street now extends through to Throop street. The building to the extreme right with the awning is now Hoesley's Bakery. When the city was first platted there were no streets leading from the four corners of the park. The streets on the north-east and north-west corners came later, the one at the south-west corner came only recently with the building of the new federal post office, and at the south-east corner there is yet only a walk for pedestrians. The above picture shows the buildings along part of Benton street, on the east side of the park. The first building from the left is the old Exchange Hotel, which stood where the Murphy block is now located. This includes the First National Bank, Koblentz, Thorne & Son and Newman stores. Next to, across the street from the Exchange hotel was the old "Rathole" building, where some of the county offices were located before the court house was built. The State Bank is now located on this site. The buildings beyond included various lines of business. This block was destroyed by fire much more recently. The above picture was taken by the late John S. Medlar from his studio on the third floor of the Hoy block. It is probably on a Saturday afternoon, when there were many farmers in town. These were the real horse and buggy days, with all the problems of alternating dust and mud which went along.
McHENRY COUNTY'S EARLIEST NEWSPAPERS
Although the Woodstock Sentinel is the oldest newspaper in McHenry county, it is not the first newspaper established in Woodstock. In fact the first newspaper was established in 1846, only two years after the town was first platted. Country weeklies at that time carried very little local news and had hard going. Small town editors had not awakened to the knowledge that it is their proper function to serve their communities with the local news, leaving to the metropolitan papers the function of covering national and world news. The first newspaper established in Woodstock was the Illinois Republican. Josiah Dwight was the editor. Over a period of ten years Mr. Dwight struggled against great odds to succeed in publishing a newspaper. Suspensions and changes of name followed until 1856, when the newly established Woodstock Sentinel was launched by Mr. Dwight and others and became a successful venture. Other newspapers attempted before the Sentinel was launched were the Woodstock Democrat, edited by F. D. Austin, an accomplished and able writer, the Republican Free Press and the Woodstock Argus, published by M. L. Joslyn and E. W. Smith. No copies of these earliest newspapers are now to be found, and many interesting facts in their history are thus irretrievably lost.
SENTINEL'S FIRST YEAR
The Woodstock Sentinel, "devoted to politics, agriculture and general intelligence," made its bow to the people of Woodstock and McHenry. county on July 17, 1856. Its owners and publishers were George L. Webb and Thomas F. Johnson. The columns were fourteen picas in width and there were four pages—in other words, it was a seven-column folio in size. The first page was devoted to stories, the first story appearing being headed, "Many Littles Make a Mickle." At the head of the second page, known as the editorial page, were the names of John C. Fremont for president and William L. Dayton for vice-president and the full list of nominees of the Republican party for state officers— governor, William H. Bissell; lieutenant governor, Francis A., Hoffman; secretary of state, O. H. Hatch; auditor of public accounts, Jessie K. Dubois; treasurer, James Miller; superintendent of public instruction, William H. Powell. The third and fourth pages contained a few small advertisements and general miscellany and there was no local news worth mentioning. The salutatorial editorial was as follows, entitled "The First Gun": The First Editorial. "We present to the public this week the first number of the Woodstock Sentinel. In doing so we do not wish, our readers to take the present number as a sample for those that shall succeed it, for we labored under many disadvantages in preparing it for publication, among which the inability to possess ourselves of that variety which is pleasing to the country reader, in consequence of not having yet an exchange list, to cull therefrom. Indeed we should not now be before the public were it not for the courtesy extended to us by the proprietors of The Argus, who kindly offered us the use of their press for the occasion, our own not having yet arrived. We believe the opinion generally prevails that the first issue of a journal should be, like the proof-impressions of a copper plate, superior in point of it reappearance to its successors; but such is not the case, as we hope satisfactorily to demonstrate by each succeeding number of The Sentinel. We issue the present number of our paper as a specimen copy; and request all those who feel disposed to aid us in our undertaking to send in their names, together with their post office address, before our next issue." To show the temper of the people in the pre-Civil war days in which The Sentinel was launched, we quote the editorial following:
Opposed to Slavery. "We publish in this week's Sentinel the platform, adopted at the Philadelphia convention. It is a plain, unmistakable document, and fairly and unequivocally comprehends the issue of the November election. The main question involved is whether Slavery shall be restricted to its present limits, or whether the curse of its inhumanities shall extend over territory now free. Besides our settled conviction of morality, we have too recently been afforded its natural political aspect, as exhibited in blood and civil war in Kansas, to lack judgment to pronounce upon it. Let every friend of Freedom lend a strong arm and a willing heart to the great and good cause. To do this, unity of concerted action is necessary. We notice with pleasure that some of our friends have organized Anti-Nebraska clubs, and are holding regular meetings, at which intense enthusiasm prevails. This is as it should be. We need organization. Let every school district in McHenry county organize its club, to kindle the fires of the Republican Liberty of '76. Bring out the orators of your workshops, your farm houses and professions, who know how and dare to speak for Humanity and the Freedom of Speech. Unite every element that can appreciate the common danger, that threatens our dearest and most sacred rights, and old McHenry County will speak in tones that can not be misunderstood for 'Free Speech, Free Soil and Fremont." Other editorials were headed: "Freedom vs. Slavery" and "Freedom's Martyr," referring to the killing of E. P. Brown in Kansas by slavery sympathizers. On the editorial page also were telegraphic reports from Congress, foreign news clippings from exchanges and a "Record of Ruffianism in Kansas," which was then the battleground of slavery and anti-slavery forces. The third page of the paper contained the proceedings of the board of supervisors, with Samuel Richardson as chairman and Neill Donnelly representing Dorr.
Many Advertisers. Advertisements in small type represented the firms of Wm. Coker and F. W. Hill (Boston Cheap Store); A. W. Tappan, lots for sale; L. Burtchy, Jr. (Woodstock Cheap Store); H. B. Burton's bazaar, clothing and shoes; Oak Hall Clothing Store, by I. Newitter; New York Hardware Store, by William D. Runyon; Bunker & Stevers, groceries, hardware, etc.; and many "ads" by A. W. Tappan & Co.; Dr. A. S. Smith, surgeon dentist; George M. Sylvester, jewelry.
The business directory listed the following:
Yost Andrews, boots and shoes; Cooper & Hill, Boston Cheap Grocery; (Continued on page two)

PAGE TWO WOODSTOCK DAILY SENTINEL, WOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS Eightieth Anniversary Edition
SENTINEL STARTED TO OPPOSE SLAVERY AND ITS EXTENSION
(Continued from page one) R. A. Clark, harness and carriage trimmings; Jacob A. Davis, hardware;J. F. Hamilton, M. D.; Joslyn & Van Winkle, attorneys and counsellors; George W. Pooler, sign painter; A. W. Tappan & Co., general dealers; I. C. Trowbridge, boots and shoes; the Woodstock House, by B. S. Patty; Excelsior Drug Store, conducted by R. Willson, M. D.; the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac railway, open to Harvard, trains leaving Chicago at 8 a. m. and 4 p. m. and reaching Woodstock at 10:55 a. m. and 7:45 p. m.
No Local News. The fourth page of the paper was all miscellany, and there was no local news whatever on any page. An item in the second number of the paper said: "After the misfortune of having the third page of our first number knocked into 'pi' on its return from Chicago, where we were compelled to send it to have it printed, we again present ourselves before our readers, hoping henceforth to greet them every Thursday evening without fail."
For Fremont and Freedom. The following item in this issue showed the trend of political affairs in the days when the new Republican party was a-borning: "For Fremont and Freedom.—H. C Nixon, formerly State Representative from this county and the strongest and most influential Democrat in the county, is out for Fremont, and is making awful work for the Democracy. Nixon says he has had strong party prejudices and affinities, but he cannot go for Buchanan on that Cincinnati platform, and it is of no use to try to bamboozle him into its support. Nixon is a working man, and has taken a proud stand for Freedom of Speech and against further extension of Slavery; and our friends of the Sham Democracy might with propriety look suspiciously at the cause which has so alienated its strongest and best supporters. C. M. Willard, Esq., one of the Scott electors of 1852, and a Henry Clay Whig, is out for Fremont, and will do good service on the stump this fall for the Republican cause. The work goes bravely on in old Mc-Henry!" This issue of the paper gave an account of the dastardly attack on Senator Charles Sumner, apostle of freedom, who was lying at death's door; told about the draft of Buchanan on the postmasters of the country, who were ordered to contribute to the campaign funds of their party, and gave figures to show that the weather was the hottest that had been experienced in many years. Issue No. 3 advised parents not to allow their children to eat everything they wanted and as much as they wanted, in an article headed "Have Mercy on the Children"; stated that The Sentinel was now permanently established and prayed the support of the public.
Sentinel Asks Support. Issue No. 6 noted the appearance or the Marengo Journal, new supporter of the Fremont campaign, with Edward Burnside as editor, and gave a list of the delegates to the congressional convention, with Geo. L. Webb, editor of The Sentinel, as the delegate from Dorr and the entire delegation instructed for E. B. Washburne for congressman. There was also an apology for being two days late in issuing the paper, due to the arrival and installation of a new power press. An item in No. 7 read as follows: "The bill which passed both branches of Congress last week, regulating the salary of members of the house, does away with $8 a day system, increased the salary of each member to $3,000 per session, provided against paying members during absence, compels them to pay from their salary for any books they may vote themselves and riot printed by Congress, and does away with the pernicious practice of pairing. The bill applies to the present Congress, the per diem of which for the session amounts to about $2,000 for each member." No. 7 shows large increase in advertising, and especially legal notices.
County Fair Announced. This number announced the sixth annual county fair for Oct. 8 and 9, with the following named on the committees: Malachi Church, John H. Pool, J. T. Bradley, A. A. Gates, L. Ellsworth, Josiah H. Giddings, J. W. Smith, George Harrison, M. W. Hunt. E. A. Thomas, W. H. Stewart, Chas. Tryon, Henry Sherman, Wm. M. Jackson. J H. Giddings, Charles S. Sloan. J. F. Hamilton, W. S. Allaben, Thomas Wray, C. Hastings, John Stewart, Thomas Carr, Richard Vasey, H. T. Rice, H. M. Wait, R. W. Stewart, S. S. Gates and J. H. Johnson, and Mmes. Wm. H. Stewart, J. H. Pool, H. D. Bates, John Stewart, J. H. Johnson, Chas. M. Willard, Neill Donnelly, A. C. Belcher, A. W. Fuller, Cornelius Quinlan, L. S. Church and L. D. Rich. No. 9 tells of a campaign meeting to be addressed by Geo. L. Webb, A. T. Wheeler, Lawrence S. Church and others, and contains the complete proceedings of the board of supervisors. No. 10 relates the marriage of A. W. Tappan and Abbie V. Hunt on the 23rd of September by Rev. R. K. Todd, who did most of the marrying those days, and the paper said: "The happy couple will please accept the printers' thanks for rich and plentiful supply of cake received with above notice. We wish them all the happiness in the future that they anticipate." This cake-sending stunt was very common in newspaper offices until a few years ago. No. 12 tells of the result of the Republican county convention, which nominated Geo. T. Kasson for circuit clerk, John Eddy for sheriff, Lawrence S. Church for representative in the General Assembly and Najah Beardsley for coroner. Amos B. Coon was chairman of the convention.
Change In Ownership. The first change was noted in the ownership of The Sentinel, when G. L. Webb disposed of his interest, leaving Thos. F. Johnson in charge and installing Josiah Dwight as editor. The county fair on the 8th and 9th or October was declared to have "very far exceeded anything of the kind which has heretofore taken place among us." No. 13 appeared on Oct. 16 with Thos. F. Johnson as sole owner and Josiah Dwight as editor. Nobody turned out to a Buchanan meeting at Crystal Lake to be addressed by Hon. J. M. Strode and M. L. Joslyn, Esq. No. 14, issued on Oct. 23, showed that Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio voted Republican, a good augury for the coming national election, the first in which the Republican (Union) party was represented.
In No. 14. Oct. 16, the Woodstock Banking and Exchange office made this announcement: "We hold ourselves individually responsible for deposits and other liabilities of the firm." It was signed by A. W. Fuller, Neill Donnelly, L. S. Church, Joel H. Johnson, C. B. Durfee and G. W. Bentley.
Perry W. Murphey, dentist, had this unique "ad": "I would not do it! Oh, how vain! Destroy the nerve to ease the pain! But draw your teeth with care and ease-That is the way to stop disease. Yet, true, there is a better way— Just have them filled—arrest decay: And here the secret is disclosed— The nerve must never be exposed. When teeth arrive at such a state They can't be filled, then have a plate. As you're aware, 'tis my profession To give the mouth a fine expression; Then all who need my skill will find they work well suited to their mind. Then recollect that No. TWO, The Old Rat Hole's the place for you."
Unique Advertisements. In the same issue the paper referred to one of its advertisers as follows: "We would call attention to the advertisement of Neill Donnelly, which appears in our columns today. Mr. Donnelly, in addition to the charms of new goods in an endless variety, has a new and elegantly furnished store of his own, which commands a very high position adjoining the new court house, and is a great ornament to he place." That was where the sheriff's residence is now located. As indicating the custom of some professional men of this day regarding dictating but not reading their letters, Millard Fillmore, former president of the United States, added this postscript to a letter to southern friends: "I write in haste, without 'line to copy or correct." An urgent appeal to the voters was made, ending as follows: "Be early and be late; do all you can and try to do more, and then quietly leave the rest to the God of battles." Every issue of the paper contained long poems by noted and local writers. There was a sarcastic account of a democratic meeting addressed by Judge Joslyn and Neill Donnelly, with 13 present, at the Lawson school house at Crystal Lake—and sarcasm was the leading element in all political matter that was published. No. 15 was the last issue before the national election, in which Fremont was pitted against Buchanan for president, and it was devoted largely to political stuff in comparison with which later-day political chaff was mere patter, for there was a great issue at stake and warnings were issued to look out for frauds of all kinds, which evidently were common when every man could make out his own ballot.
Election Result. No. 16 announces some of the results of the most important election in the history of the country, except the one four years succeeding. Figures indicated the election of Buchanan over Fremont, as he had 138 sure electoral votes against 129 for Fremont, with 149 necessary for a choice, and Fillmore received 29, with Kentucky and Maryland in doubt. Every town in McHenry county went Republican except Hartland, which the Democrats carried by a majority of 178. The Republican majority in the county was about 2,000, every county candidate of the Republican party being elected, as they have been, without exception, during the 80 years that have since intervened. Editor Dwight commented as follows: "Whatever be the general result of the presidential contest, we have gained three victories—nay, four, which will be a steady consolation under any disappointment we may meet. We have conquered the Woodstock Ruffians beyond the hope of a rally. We have taken 3,000 out of 4,000 votes polled in the county. We have elected a Governor that will be a match for any despot the South may put upon the throne of the United States, and lastly, fourthly, but not by any means, leastly, we have buried Stephen A. Douglas so deep that all the spades and picks on all the railroads in Illinois can dig him out no more, forever. That one thing is so well done that it never can be undone, and thereby we feel very much gratified and somewhat relieved. McHenry County has not been behind in her share of the duty, and hereafter we think she may be very safely trusted in any emergency."
Roast Opposition Paper. The roast of The Argus, Democratic organ, was a sizzler. The issue of Nov. 13 stated that the election showed Buchanan elected president, and that Illinois went for him by from 6,000 to 12,000 votes. The Republican state ticket was elected, with 39 Republicans and 36 Democrats in the house and 12 Republicans and 13 Democrats in the senate; making a joint majority of two votes against the re-election of Stephen A. Douglas as United States senator. The celebration of the election at Marengo resulted in the death of Orson Bates by the premature explosion of a cannon. The steam flouring mill being erected by Lake & Quinlan was about completed and expected to begin "flouring" the coming week. It was located a short distance northwest of the railway station and in later years, after its abandonment, was a great resort for hoboes. The election, it was said, showed the need of a vigilance committee in Algonquin and other places of the county, but the skulduggery did not effect the general results.
More Local News. The issue of Nov. 20 stated that 19 new rooms had been added to the Woodstock house, Warren E. Johnson opened a new store, and local news appeared in larger quantity than heretofore. The paper of Nov. 25 stated, that, hard freezing weather had been succeeded by warm rains, and that "Fremont has a larger electoral vote, with California, than any defeated candidate ever had, and Mr. Buchanan has a smaller proportion of the whole popular vote than any man who was over chosen president by the people; New England gave her entire vote to Washington and now gives it to Fremont. No presidential candidate intervening shares the honor with them." In advocating the establishment of a Young Men's association "to engage popular and talented lecturers" it was remarked that "as a village we have heretofore been remarkably free from entertainments which carry the mind and heart above the hands and heels." The report of the meeting of the board of supervisors showed $4,300 now due on payments for court house; on Feb. 15, 1857, $700; various other times in 1857, $16,500; on completion of the court house, Jan. 1, 1858, $3,600. The finance committee, headed by Neill Donnelly, made this report. On Dec. 2 the most violent snow storm ever known in these parts appeared—roads blocked, railroad at standstill, business places "lowly," undisturbed and desolate places of business." "
Liquor Issue Prominent. Drunkenness was rampant on the streets and the paper said the "Fire engine ordinance," granting for a consideration "licenses to all manner of men to sell all kinds and quantities of liquor, is doing its perfect work, citing several instances of flagrant debauchery on the streets. The Dec. 11 issue stated that the snow blockade lasted from Tuesday until Sunday, the four passenger trains came to a full stop between Lawrence and Chicago, and the assertion was made that the superintendent of the railway "got no mud. on his boots this time" as he attempted to get to Chicago. Item from Rock River Democrat: "Look out for your clothes line. Several have been robbed lately. We have no fear of ours, for they are so ragged that if there was any wind they would whip the thief to death; who would attempt to appropriate them." It was reported that. Charles Sumner's "amendment" is very gradual, and it will be a long time, if ever before he will have sufficient strength for the duties and excitements of the Senate." On Dec. 18 the paper stated, under the head of "Expedition," that "the report of the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States shows that the Federal Government is now costing the people about sixty millions of dollars annually, besides the payments on account of the public debt, which average about ten millions a year." A Dec. 18 item regarding a Republican banquet at the Tremont house in Chicago prophesied "one more turn and, it will be the party in power', and the prediction proved accurate. On Dec. 25 it was said that The Argus, Democratic paper, made its first appearance since Nov. 19. A threatened slave insurrection was anticipated in the southwestern states. B. C. Durfee, of this place, an old musician of considerable celebrity, proposed to meet old folks and young folks once or twice a week at Durfee's hall, preparatory to an "Old Folks' concert" to be given at some future day, and he organized in a room close* to zero in temperature.
First Christmas Issue. 'This is the day we celebrate,' as the pig said to the turkey on the morning of Christmas." And that was about all that was said concerning tne observance of this great religions festival. Lorenzo Parsons and Mary J. Parks "were married on the 17th, and Dr." M. F. Irwin and Mrs. Susan J. Tew on the 23rd. The Jan. 1, 1857 issue had this notice: "The boys, in their eagerness to get out last week's paper in season to have Christmas all to themselves, neglected to give us a chance at the 'proofs' before the paper went to press. The consequence was that we were made to use words and utter sayings which would make a sensitive man 'crawl all over' or ought to if he didn't. We make this much of an explanation for fear someone might think that we had just then been contributing our mite 'towards the purchase of a fire engine." The word "boys" was starred, and they slipped in this line in small type below the notice: "Would like to know where you get your men" and it was signed Printers' Devil."
Sentinel Needs Money. In the same issue the notice appeared: "The subscribers to the stock of the Woodstock Sentinel are requested to take notice that the final instalment upon said stock is now due, and in order fully to perfect the arrangement entered into it is necessary that it be paid at once. By order of Central Committee." Weather comment: "Rain and sleet. The sleighing is as good as can be, and some hundreds of acres on the east side of the village, covered with ice, are being daily improved by skaters, old and young." Married on Dec. 27, Hovey Chittenden and Margaret F. Mitchell, both of, Crystal Lake. Jan. 8, 1857, issue said that a lyceum for general literary purposes, organized by M. C. Johnson, Esq., under name of "Mite Society," exacted dues of five cents per member per week. It was said that a fund of $70 was in somebody's keeping that was to have been appropriated towards the purchase of books for general village use, and could be easily transferred to any literary society that may come up with a good honest purpose." Doubtless this was the incentive for the later Woodstock Literary and Library association that finally eventuated in the present public library.
Ladies With Hooped Skirts. Suggestion: Speaking of snow, the paper said that "the paths for gentlemen are soon opened, but in some of the larger towns they are talking of special appropriations for shoveling them out wide enough to admit the free passage of the ladies with hooped skirts, and with switching-off places at intervals, so that when two skirts happen to meet they can pass." There was no Sentinel on Jan. 22, because of disappointment in procuring paper, "as we anticipated." There was no quorum at the meeting of the village board, so they could not increase the corporation tax about one-third, and it was suggested that the proceedings of "this tax-gathering board, published verbatim et literatum, would excite the admiration of many who have not yet opened their eyes." There was a bill before the Legislature to incorporate the village of Marengo and to repeal the charter heretofore granted the village of McHenry, followed by a "roast" of Woodstock village trustees that was sharp end pointed. Marriages: Dayton B. Truax and Mary E. Gregory on the 18th; Lyman Shelton and Mary Deitz on the 7th. A religious directory appeared mentioning the Presbyterian church, with Rev. R. K. Todd as pastor; Methodist, Rev. E. Brown; Baptist, Rev. E. F. Gurnet; Universalist, Rev. T. H. Taber; Episcopal, Rev. S. D. Pulford; Roman Catholic, Rev. B. O'Hara. Officers of the newly-organized Literary society, given in issue of Jan. 29, were C. M. Willard, M. L. Joslyn, G. W. Bentley, E. W. Smith, M. C. Johnson and M. F. Irwin.
Local Flour Mill. A sample of flour received from the new flouring mill of Dake & Quinlan induced advice to the public to patronize this new local industry. Extension of the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac railroad to Oshkosh, Wis., was assured by J. H, Johnson, acting director, thus making 600 miles of railroad under this organization. Issue of Jan. 29 said, that the Illinois House refused to print 20,000 copies of Governor Bissell's message, reducing the number to 10,000 in English and 5,000 in German. Item: "The roof of our village school house is settling so rapidly as to render the further occupation of the house unsafe. The school is, for the present, dispersed." A village ordinance was passed prohibiting use of billiard and card tables to the use of boys under 18, and it was suggested that "a juvenile saloon be immediately established for the benefit of the youth thus proscribed, and that they be confined exclusively to milk punch as a beverage, until they shall have escaped the tutelage of this sumptuary law. One or two trundle beds might not be amiss." Marriages: Dr. J. F. Hamilton and Fidelia M. Belcher on the 29th, both from Woodstock, and the bride a sister of A. C. Belcher. According to the paper of Feb. 5, a petition tor the repeal of the Woodstock village charter had been referred to the judiciary committee of the Illinois house.
Shortage of Fuel. Papers from various places reported a shortage of fuel during the severe weather that was prevailing. Feb. 12: There were freshets and many bridges went out—at Toles' and Morse's mills in Greenwood, at McHenry and Algonquin on the river, and Crystal lake was nearly up to the road. There had been failures of the potato and sugar cane crops, and war prices' were being paid for these products. Silk worms had also given out, making silk high in price. A donation party for Rev. Pulford was postponed because of the weather, and Lumbard Brothers were to appear in singing stunts. Feb. 19: Extremes of severe cold, deep snow and high water were quite unparalleled all over the country. A new postoffice had been established at the crossing of the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac and Fox River Valley roads, called Dearborn; the Hartland office had been re-established, with Daniel Blair as postmaster, and C. M, Goodsell had been appointed postmaster at Greenwood. Feb. 26: Several important amendments to the village charter were massed at the recent session of the Legislature.
Plenty of Whiskey. Item under head of "Statistical": "It appears from the figures at the railroad office that the amount of whisky and other spirituous liquors received by the railroad during the past year from Woodstock was 25,000 gallons, and there were 17,000 gallons sent in by express." Subscriptions to the Rockford and Kenosha railroad had reached $350,000 and the contract for grading would soon be let. A. Baldwin and Mary D. Joslyn were married, in Chicago on the 17th. March 12: Editors Smith and Joslyn bad entirely withdrawn from The Argus newspaper and left it in the hands of Mr. Edson, former superintendent of the mechanical department of the same. The inaugural address of President Buchanan was published in full and commented upon. Criticism was made by a contributor concerning the construction of the new court house in course of construction, or recently constructed. Francis M. Clark and Susan R. Ellis were married on the 9th, G.J. Dresser and Ella S. Slocum on Feb. 22. Mar. 19: Freezing nights and snow storms were frequent, but no March winds or mild weather or singing birds. The village of Marengo voted to incorporate, 130 to 93. E. S. Joslyn entered upon his duties as district attorney. Mar. 26: The postoffice was moved from the drug store to the building on the northeast corner of the public square, formerly Greehleaf's furniture store, and Mills & Dodge took the quarters vacated.
Town Clock. April 2: The town clock had once more been started and was again keeping time "quite an accommodation to those poor mortals who are not able to own a 'ticker.'" Twenty thousand persons witnessed the execution of Alfred Countryman at Rockford for the murder of John F. Taylor, sheriff of Winnebago county. J. W. Franks & Son became publishers of The Sentinel, with Josiah Dwight as editor, this making the second time within the first year that The Sentinel had changed hands, indicating that publishing a newspaper in a village the size of Woodstock was no easy job. The new publishers must have been very demure and quiet gentlemen, as no mention was made of the change except the placing of their names in place of Thomas F. Johnson's. April 9: Village officers elected on the 6th: M. B. Baldwin, M. W. Hunt, E. M. Lamb, Erastus Richards, Chas. Schryver, P. B. Enos, Linsley Joslyn, C. W. Craig and Ira Slocum. Trustees of the Presbyterian church elected: Mustoe B. Given, M. W. Hunt, Charles H. Sloan, Eugene Wood and James Scott. April 16: The district school was to commence for the summer on the 1st of May, with Mr. Parrish (probably John A.) as teacher and Misses Smith and Hartlett as assistant teachers. "Our Siberian winter" had not yet abated, and it had snowed nearly every night for two weeks, with plenty of ice and icicles. April 23: The teachers' institute, under the direction of Asa W. Smith, school commissioner, was largely attended, with a good, program. April 30: A committee of the village council recommended the abolition of all saloons and that no licenses be issued except for the sale of intoxicating liquors in quantities of one gallon or more.
Court House Brick. Doubt was expressed as to the durability of the brick used in the construction of the court house and a thorough investigation was to be made by members of the county board before work would proceed thereon. May 7: This item was published: "We have a board of trustees at least who have some respect for themselves, and thereby respect for others—some public spirit and a generous, just pride, which very naturally inclines them to attend first, to restoring peace, quiet, good order, civil behavior, and all sorts of comfortable things to a people who, by the total absence of such small things for a year past, had nearly become outlaws in their own town." It was really a startling indictment of conditions that had prevailed for some time. A writeup concerning the fire engine then in use shows the great advance that has been made in fire-fighting up to this good day of 1936. Market, quotations: Wheat, $1 to $1.12; rye, 60 to 70; barley, $1 to $1.25; oats, 45 to 48; hay, $7 to $9; hams, 11 to 12; eggs, 10 to 12; turkeys, 9 to 10; chickens, 15 to 18; lard, 11 to 12; potatoes, 65 to 75; butter, 18 to 20; wood,' $3; dressed pork, $7 to $7.50; common siding, $17; dressed flooring, $25; cedar posts 18. May 14 item, "A Wink Is as Good as a Nod to a Blind Horse.' We have been requested to say to the person who took some five dollars' worth of tallow from the slaughterhouse of Mr. J. C. Choate last Saturday night, that if he will return it there will be no questions asked, but if: not, he will be apt to find that 'Jordan is a rough road to travel. Albert H. Deitz and Anna M. Crawford were married on April 29. Reject Fire Engine. The fire committee and company refused to accept the new engine, as "it would take a force of about ninety able-bodied men to get around with it in fair weather, and in mud times ten or twelve times that number." "Our old townsman, Ira C. Trowbridge," had returned to open a store for the sale of a full assortment of leather ware. May 21: The first serious accident "of its own making" occurred on the new railroad, when an empty gravel train ran over several cows that came suddenly upon the track "about two miles out." Crops, and especially winter wheat, were looking fine—and that was the principal crop at that time. "As to corn, who ever knew it to fail?" the paper said. May 28: The trees were putting on their new "garb," after an extremely hard winter. An article dated at Elysium (Virginia Settlement), near Ridgefield, dwelt on the cause of music as handled by Mr. Tower, of Greenwood. June 4: Those in charge decided that the walls of the new court house were all right to proceed with the second story.
Old Cemetery Location. Citizens were requested to meet and consider the condition and needs of the Woodstock cemetery, then located on the grounds on South street where the Avery residence was later erected. Asa W. Smith, school commissioner, published this notice to whom it may concern: "The undersigned does not deem it proper to take official notice of anonymous letters concerning the reputation of any individual. Please sign your names and your communications will receive due attention." June 11: It was hoped to have the new court house in readiness for the October term of the circuit court. Hall & Sears opened a new bakery in Woodstock. June 18: The McHenry County Agricultural Board met and reorganized on the 13th. Mention was made of Woodstock stores and "the continuous stream of business that was constantly pouring into our village." The Kenosha and Rockford railroad had been located, the line to run through Genoa and the village of Alden. The village of Richmond was given due notice, ending with the remark: "Verily, this county of McHenry supports an enormous amount of trade." The Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac rairoad was building fences abutting its lines and setting poles for its telegraph line. The Sentinel boasted of the quality of the new postoffice in "Johnson's Row, opposite the end of Excelsior block." June 25: Nearly 900 miles of the Atlantic cable were reported laid by officers of the steamship Europa. It was called the Atlantic telegraph.
Big July 4 Celebration. Twenty cars had been engaged to bring the crowds from Chicago for the 4th of July celebration in Woodstock, which was to be on a grand scale, with the following named serving on the committee in charge: H. H. Hildreth, B. S. Patty, D. C. Joslyn, C. W. Craig, G. D. Greenleaf. John Donnelly, Neill Donnelly, M. H. McCahill and A. W. Fuller. July 2: The speech of Hon. A. Lincoln in reply to Judge Douglas, delivered in the house of representatives at Springfield was published in this issue, and Judge Douglas' speech was also published; That was a celebrated debate. July 9: It was thought that the seasons were getting later year by year "as the world grows older,", as roses, currants and strawberries were very late in blossoming and maturing. The fire department held its first annual ball on the 3rd. Horse thieves were troubling owners very much in the vicinity of Marengo and few of the stolen animals had been recovered.
The Mormon Problem. United States troops were being sent into Utah on account of the spread of slavery and the immigration of the Mormons. The Great Eastern circus was billed to show in Woodstock and had the largest "ad" in the paper that it had carried throughout the year. The dates were the 16th and 17th. July 16: The Woodstock Argus, Democratic newspaper, expired, and the remains were to be taken to Bloomington for interment. It had had a tempestuous career and Democracy was on the wane. The telegraph was in full operation in the raidroad office, making its first appearance in Woodstock, a great advance. July 22: The obituary of The Argus, published in this issue, showed that it was first published in the spring of 1856, in opposition to the Woodstock Democrat, which finally succumbed to The Argus, which also bought out the Free Press, then the only Republican paper in the county, so The Sentined came upon the scene and had the field to itself in about a year. As the board of supervisors refused to make a small appropriation for the purchase of permanent grounds for the agricultural fair, it was not probable that a fair would be held the coming fail.
HE NAMED WOODSTOCK JOEL H. JOHNSON [photo]
Was born in Woodstock, Windsor county, Vt., March 17, 1817, of old Puritan stock. He came to Illinois in September, 1836, and located in what was then Cook county, but in the winter of 1836-37 was detached from Cook county and called McHenry county. He was then twenty years of age. He held various offices in the county from the beginning, such as clerk of the various courts, sometimes several at once at a time when there were no salaries, only small fees. When the county-seat was moved from McHenry to Woodstock in 1844 he moved as well and became one of the first settlers in the new town, which was first called Centreville, but through his influence was changed to Woodstock, the name of his home town in Vermont. In June, 1849, the subject, of a railroad began to be discussed, and Mr. Johnson and others secured the location of the new line being built from Chicago to the Northwest through Woodstock. In October, 1854, he was elected a director of the company and placed in charge of the work of securing subscriptions and right of way, attending to the settlement of land damages and other matters pertaining to the buildINg of the new railroad. The writer remembers that old timers told him years ago that Mr. Johnson became so closely allied in the new venture of building a railroad through Woodstock that his personal finances became involved, he lost heavily of his life accumulations and his inherited fortune was sacrificed to the cause. Tn 1857 he retired from the railroad venture and devoted his time to the practice of law, in 1878 was elected as Police Magistrate and in the late eighties became postmaster under appointment by President Grover Cleveland serving from 1887 to 1891. John H. Higgins of this city served as his deputy. Mr. Johnson died in the nineties, after a long and useful life in this city, which he helped to build and to which he had rendered such valuable service.
EDWIN WHITSON [photo]
This is an old time picture of Edwin Whitson, taken in the earlier days of his active life in Woodstock. He was born July 29, 1843, in Boston and came with his parents West in 1848, when they settled first at Waukegan, moving to Woodstock in 1854, when Edwin was eleven years of age. He spent his life in the hardware business established by his father, Thomas Whitson, whom he succeeded as the head of the business. He died Jan. 17, 1908. For many years he was a member of Company G. L. N. G., serving as First Lieutenant with Charles H. Donnelly as captain. He was an ardent Mason and for 20 years filled the office of Royal Arch Captain in Woodstock Chapter. R. A. M. He was never married, but lived with his sisters, Miss Emily Whitson and Mrs. Ida (A. W.) Wagner. In those days the name Whitson as identified with the hardware business was a familiar by-word in every household in McHenry county. Edwin Whitson lived an active life in the progress and growth of this community over more than a half century. His love for friends and his liberality toward all forms of charity and his honesty in business transactions, were all things done without display or ostentation.

Eightieth Anniversary Edition WOODSTOCK DAILY SENTINEL, WOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS
PAGE THREE (Continued from page one) over, at that time the circuit and county clerk, a bill was put through the Legislature in the session of 1854-55 changing the name of the place to Woodstock, in honor of Woodstock, Vermont, the native home of Mr. Johnson and some other early settlers.
After the removal of the county-seat the first county officers were elected as follows: Judge of the probate court, Enos J. Smith; clerk of circuit and county courts, Joel H. Johnson; recorder, William H. Beach; sheriff, Henry M. Wait.
The first judge of the circuit court was Richard M. Young, and the first state's attorney was Wm. A. Boardman; first county commissioners, Andrew J. Hayward, Hosea B. Throop and Carlisle Hastings.
Alvin Judd First Settles.
In giving the early settlers of Woodstock and vicinity we begin with the name of Alvin Judd, who came to the county in 1836 and removed to the city in 1844. Joel H. Johnson also came into the county in 1836 and to the city in 1844. James M. Judd came same years both to the county and city. William E. Dean came to the county in 1843 and to the city in 1844. Robert Metcalf came to the county in 1837 and to the city in 1844. E. I. Smith—county, 1838, and city, 1844; Neill Donnelly—county, 1837, city, 1848; John Donnelly — county, 1837, city 1853; Abel W. Fuller, who died in 1868—county 1845, city 1846; Wm, H. Beach—county 1837,. city 1844; Levi Sherwood—city 1845; Oscar L. Beach—county 1837, city 1845; Josiah Dwight—county 1837, city 1847; George H. Griffing—county 1837, city 1848; Lindsey Joslyn and three sons (M. L., Col. Ed. and F. C.)— county 1838, city 1848. The first lawyer in the town was D. C. Bush, and the second Wm. Sloan, both of whom came in 1844. The first doctor in the place was A. W. King, who died at Vicksburg. The first teacher was David Richardson, who kept school in the court house and in the court room.
Rev. Todd First Minister.
The first minister was the Rev. R. K. Todd, who was pastor of the Presbyterian church, their first edifice being erected in 1848, and which is now a part of the buildings of the Dacy Lumber Co. The next church building was the Baptist, erected in 1857, and later used by the Methodists and the Universalists and as a skating rink. It was sold to the Methodists in 1866 and the Baptists erected their present structure. The Methodists started their new church, later destroyed by fire, at the south end of Throop street, in 1870, and it was nearly wrecked by a windstorm after the framework had been completed. The erection of other early churches is mentioned in our review of events of the period from 1856 to 1870 elsewhere in this edition of The Sentinel. Woodstock is nestled in the bosom of the greatest agricultural and dairy section in the United States. While it has but one line of railroad, the fact that this line is one of the greatest of the North-Western system gives splendid accommodations to those who desire to travel in any direction. Fast trains carry the traveler to the great metropolis in but a fraction over an hour, giving its citizens advantages not possessed by denizens of more strictly inland cities and villages. The person so minded can board the train at Woodstock, and, without changing depots, the trip to Portland, Ore., or other parts of the country, can be made with comfort and luxury not dreamed of by the founders of the city.
Paved Highways
Paved highways leading out of the city also afford easy transportation to near and distant points—a method of transportation that has developed to its fullest extent during the last 30 years of the life of The Sentinel. According to the official census figures of 1900, the population of Woodstock was 2,502, but the growth of the city has been so marked and steady since that time that it can now be safely counted as 6,500 or more. This marked growth was due to many things, but principally to the fact that, during the last years of the 19th century, public-spirited citizens united in an effort to obtain for the ciiy those manufacturing industries that are so essential to the growth of cities in America. First of all came the Oliver Typewriter factory, which was moved to Woodstock from Epworth, Iowa, by the patentee of the machine. Rev. Thomas Oliver, who, in conjunction with the local improvement association and the citizens generally, gradually developed the enterprise until, with an increase of capital 'and a change of personnel, it employed more than 1,500 people and boosted the population at a tremendous rate. Success marked the progress of this enterprise from the first, in its later days under the direction of its superintendent, John Whitworth, lately deceased, who was an Englishman by birth and who became one of the most loyal supporters of his adopted country—a far-seeing, astute and capable citizen of the republic at all times.
The Typewriter City.
Until the days of the World war the Oliver establishment throve and prospered immensely, its product being shipped to all points in the world where typewriters were in use, but as much of the product of the factory found a market in the countries at war beyond the seas, the progress of that war marked the decline of the Oliver, whose machinery during that war was used in the manufacture of ammunition and other things necessary to the prosecution of the war as far as the United States were concerned. Previous to that conflict "to make the world safe for democracy" other far-sighted citizens saw the need of another factory in order to maintain the growth of the city already attained and to safeguard those who had made their Homes here while the Oliver was in its ascendancy, and so another typewriter factory was secured after a more or less hectic struggle, and the Emerson shop was transferred from Momence, Ill., to Woodstock, and, after various managements more or less successful, the name of the machine was changed from the Emerson to the Woodstock and since those days the Woodstock has provided employment for several hundred people and its product has found a ready market all over the country in the face of the competition provided by other typewriters of well-known names and successful reputations. In the success of this plant the names of A. C. Roebuck and Richard M. Sears stand out conspicuously.
Alemite follows Oliver.
The machinery of the Oliver was sold to parties in England and the plant was idle for a time, but for several years it has been occupied by the Alemite company, which manufactures a number of appliances used in the manufacture of automobiles and other articles of public utility, and is employing a large number of people. While the Oliver factory was in operation another factory was opened a short distance north of the Oliver plant for the manufacture of articles in brass and other utilities, and during most of the year provides employment for a sizable payroll. It is now managed by Charles E. Low and Mac Marsilitis as the Woodstock Metal Products Co., well-known local citizens, and is on a substantial basis of operation. Another institution of note is that of R. O. Andrew & Co., who occupy the site so long filled by the plant of the pickle factory that was started many years ago by Heinz, Noble & Co., as a processing plant and where this product of the fields was handled many years by Norman Frame and others of well-known reputation. All of these and others of lesser note have provided the impetus for the growth of Woodstock and furnish employment to many people.
A Stalwart Citizenship
The population of Woodstock is made up of the dominant nationalities of the world. The early settlers hailed from New England, New York and Virginia, but there came representatives of the German empire and of France, sons of the Emerald Isle, pilgrims from the land of King Oscar, and the sturdy sons of Brittania, all intermingling and mixing to produce a sturdy type of manhood. None of the representatives of the pauper races of the old world have flocked here, so we have a truly representative citizenship, stalwart of body, vigorous of mind and brawny and thrifty, among whom the visitor finds pleasure in association. Strangers have often remarked upon the fine quality of our citizenship, and a representative of a huge mercantile house in Chicago only a short time ago stated to the editor of The Sentinel, that in all his travels (and he was an extensive traveler) he had not found a more truly American city. It is proper to mention here that previous to the securement of the Oliver typewriter factory the local committee secured the establishment of the Wheeler & Tappan company, manufacturers of steam pumps, but this establishment, located originally in the first buildings taken over by the Oliver, did not survive long and proved a great disappointment to the promoters of the same.
City Well Located.
The location of Woodstock is to its advantage. The greater portion of the city is elevated above the surrounding country. We are 954 feet above sea level and 373 feet above Lake Michigan, the climate is healthful and delightful, the air in winter being pure and bracing, crisp and exhilarating, while the heat of summer is often tempered and rendered agreeable by refreshing breezes from Lake Michigan 30 miles away that are of common experience. It is estimated that the death rate of this city is below the average of the United States. The infectious and contagious diseases so prevalent in other sections of the country are almost unknown here, one or two sieges of diphtheria and scarlet fever being all that have been recorded in our history, while of consumption and kindred ailments there is very little.
The water supply of the city is pure and healthful. For many years the people had free access to a mineral spring at the southwest corner of the public park, especially during the summer seasons, and later local enterprise engineered the drilling of several fine artesian wells more than 1,000 feet deep, from which an apparently unlimited supply of water of purest quality was pumped to supply the homes and institutions of the city, but later a change was made that is narrated under the heading of "Water and Light."
Light and Water Plants
The city of Woodstock owns and maintains this electric light and water plant, which is the finest in northern Illinois, in the establishment of which several hundred thousand dollars have been expended and to which additions have been made as the needs of the people have demanded them. This system furnishes to the people, at a minimum of cost, arc lights for street illumination, incandescents for the homes and business places, and an abundance of pure water for household use and as a protection against fire making the rates of fire insurance very low, when compared with some of the cities of the state.
In recent years this plant has been conducted at a profit to the municipality, proving the wisdom of those who have always contended for the public ownership of the enterprise, one of the outstanding examples of successful municipal ownership in the country, and the pride of those who were interested in its establishment, among them being the late John D. Donovan and E. C. Jewett and many still living.
The streets of Woodstock, which, in the early days, were quagmires of mud and at times almost impassible, are now nearly all paved, many of them with brick that has withstood the neatest amount of travel possible, especially those surrounding the public perk and some of the outgoing thoroughfares. Some of these streets are parts of much-traveled state highways, and the stream of traffic through Woodstock, especially from Chicago and from Wisconsin, is almost bewildering on some days of the week and especially on Saturdays and Sundays, as metropolitanites traverse them on their way to weekend places of pleasure and the lakes of the north and east for a bracing swim, Geneva and Delavan lakes being the nearby focal points for such pastime.
The forestry of the city is noteworthy to all visitors, as the streets are beautifully lined with luxuriant shade trees of splendid growth and make this the most beautiful inland city in the middle West. The people of Woodstock are of a high order of intelligence, as can be demonstrated from their patronage of the free public library of several thousand volumes and the fact that a number of literary and reading circles have been regularly maintained and generously patronized, their readings being fully up to those of the most advanced reading circles in the country.
City of Homes
This is a city of homes—beautiful homes, wherein are reared loyal sons and lovely daughters, the prophecy of the country's happy future —homes that are made better because of the presence of good school and church facilities, nearly every denomination of the latter being represented by active working organizations. The cost of living, the reasonableness of taxes for a growing town and the advantages of citizenship here are being increased by wise improvements executed by conscientious public officers. Its splendid climate, its accessibility to the great marts of trade and sources of thought, its pure water and vitalizing air, its elegant homes, worthy churches and substantial public and business edifices, all combine to make this an ideal place for residence and business purposes, as well as for manufacturing. Being located in the center of a great agricultural and dairy district, surrounded, as it were, by the very fat of the land, the blessings of good crops are nearly always ours to enjoy. Total crop failures have never been known in McHenry county. Even the past year, when there has been less rainfall than for many years, some of the crops have been above the average for other portions of the state and country, and the farming element, which is an important factor in our prosperity, is in fairly good condition and enjoying blessings that are for the time being denied less fortunate agriculturists. The diversity of our crops is such that if one crop fails, another will be large and thus our farmers do not know what is meant by absolute failure of crops.
ALFRED J. SHURTLEFF
Alfred J. Shurtleff, father of our Circuit Judge Edward D. Shurtleff was a prominent resident and business man of Marengo. Older residents will re member Mr. Shurtleff as he lived in and near that city from 1870 to the date of his death. He was born in the East October 14, 1828, was married twice and our Judge Shurtleff is one of four children of the second marriage. A sister living now at Geneva, Ill., is the only member or the family still living.
Mary F. Higby, second wife of Alfred J. and mother of Judge Shurtleff, survived her husband by many years dying in 1910. Mr. Shurtleff took a keen interest in civic affairs and found time from his farm work, and stock buying to become president of the town board and serve upon the Board of Supervisors of McHenry county. He departed life at Marengo on June 8, 1895.
JAMES ALLEN
Thomas Allen, father of James Allen and Henry Allen, was born in the year 1797, in England. With his wife, Mary, and four children he left his native land, sailing for America on the vessel, Eliza Warwick, in 1837. The two youngest children, aged 2 years and 6 months, respectfully, died at sea and were buried in the waters of the Atlantic. The trip took six-weeks. After landing in America the family spent two years at Peterborough, N. Y., where Mr. Allen was employed by Garret Smith, the noted abolitionist. In 1840 the family again moved; this time on its way to Illinois. They came on a canal boat to Buffalo and then by schooner around the Great Lakes, to Chicago and finally to McHenry county, the land of their dreams. They purchased land from the government about five miles south of Woodstock, where they acquired four farms, two of which have never gone out of the family. Two sons were born in America, Henry and Frank, each acquiring a farm as well as James and the father. James Allen was J2 years old when he came with his parents to America. He owned what is now known as Pleasant Valley farm of 200 acres, which was sold some years ago. The father, Thomas, and brother, Henry, lived and died on the old homestead. Of the Allen farm, Harry, son of Henry, is today a progressive farmer on the farm once his father's. The old home of Thomas and Mary is now occupied by the youngest daughter of Henry, Mr. and Mrs. George Pugh. These farms have been in the Allen family since 1840, 96 years. Dr. E. H. Allen, son of James Allen, is a prominent dentist at Cresco, Iowa, while Mrs. Florence Allen Miller is our beloved friend and neighbor in Woodstock, a prominent and active worker in all good deeds and a loyal member of the M. E. church and all its various social organizations. A third child, Stella Allen Gleason, resides in Copemish, Mich.
WILLIAM H. SHERMAN
Was a native of New York, where he was born April 9, 1836. Came to Illinois in 1844, locating first at Richmond and in 1852 moved to Woodstock. He was a brother of Marvin and Burnham Sherman, also long time residents of Woodstock, and was employed as a carpenter and builder. He served in the Civil war as a member of Company A of the 15th Illinois, enlisting in May, 1861. Previous to his enlistment he was a member of the Woodstock Light Guards. He served first as a sergeant in his company and was later promoted to second and then first lieutenant, his entire service continuing for a period of 1,125 days. He was a typical Union soldier, always wearing a mustache and goatee, was straight and erect in his bearing and manly in his every activity. He died Jan.31, 1900, aged 64 years. One son, Willard H. Sherman, is a well known resident of Woodstock.
ROSTER OF COUNTY OFFICERS
Among the names of those who have served the county in elective capacities are found those of many of the men who were the builders of the county, and a perusal of the list will revive memories of other days in the minds of citizens of today. During all of these years of the county's history there has been a uniform faithfulness in the discharge of the people's business and bondsmen for the respective officers have always been secure. Only a few instances have appeared in which, there have been adjustments necessary and these have been made without resort to criminal prosecution.
In the following list we have endeavored to give the terms of service of the various officers, and as the task was an arduous one, there may be a few unimportant errors, but in the main the dates are correct.
Those who have served in the various capacities are named as follows:
County Commissioners
1837— Charles H. Bartlett (resigned Sept. 27), Matthias Mason, Solomon Norton, Sherman (Dec. 37).
1838— Solomon Norton, Ransom Steele, William Jackson.
1839— B. B. Brown, Gideon Colby, Robert G. White.
1840— B. B. Brown, R. G. White. Daniel W. P. Tower.
1841— R. G. White, D. W. P. Tower, Hosea B. Throop.
1842— D. w. P. Tower, H. B. Throop, Bela H. Tryon.
1843— H. B. Throop, B. H. Tryon, Andrew J. Hayward (after these three men were named three parallel streets in this city).
1844— Same as previous year.
1845— H. B. Throop, Andrew J. Hayward, William A. McConnell.
1846— H. B. Throop, William A. McConnell, Carlisle Hastings.
1847 and 1848—William A. McConnell, Carlisle Hastings, Dexter Barrows.
County and Probate Judges
Amory Thomas, 1839-40. Andrew J. Barnum, 40-1. Joel H. Johnson, 41-2. E. J. Smith, 42-8. Lindsey Joslyn, 48-9. Joseph Golder, 49-54. J. M. Strode, 54-8. Theodore D. Murphey, 58-62. William Kerr, 62-6. Lawrence S. Church, 66-70. Benjamin N. Smith, 70-82. Orson H. Gillmore, 82-90, 97-06. Charles H. Donnelly, 90-97 (resigned to accept circuit judgship.) David T. Smiley, 06-18. Charles P. Barnes, 18-26. Charles T. Allen, 26-36 (died in office.) Henry L. Cowlin, 36, (incumbent).
County Clerks Hamilton Dennison, 1837. Joseph Wood, 37-9. Ziba L. Beardsley, 39-43. Joel H. Johnson, 43-48. Enos W. Smith, 48-53. Elam M. Lamb, 53-8, 62-5. William H. Stewart, 58-62. Marma Duke Hoy, 65-72. Peter Whitney, 72-82. William Avery, 82-94. George F. Rushton, 94-10. Guy E. Still, 1910-30. Raymond D. Woods, 1930-36 (incumbent).
Circuit Clerks and Recorders Seth Washburn, 1837-8. Archimedes B. Wynkoop, 38-9. Isaac G. Wilson, 39-40. S. Wills, 40-4. Joel H. Johnson, 44-56. George T. Kasson, 56-60. Charles H. Russell, 60-4. Josiah Dwight, 64-8. John M. Southworth, 68-72. Austin Badger, 72-6. Erastus E. Richards, 76-85. Webster P. Morse, 85-96. George B. Richards, 96-04. Theodore Hamer, 1904-20. Charles F. Hayes, 1920-8. Will T. Conn, 1928-36 (incumbent).
Sheriffs Henry B. Steele, 37-9. Andrew B. Cornish, 39-40. Christopher Walkup, 40-3. Henry M. Wait, 43-6. Thomas M. White, 46-9. Neill Donnelly, 49-51. John Brink, 51-3. Carlisle Hastings, 53-5. George W. Bentley, 55-7. John Eddy, 57-8. Edwin E. Thomas, 58-60, 64-6. Lewis Ellsworth, 60-2. Benjamin F. Church, 62-4. John M. Southworth, 66-8. Austin Badger, 68-72. Malachi Church, 72-6, 80-2. Daniel A. Stedman, 76-80. Asad Udell, 82-6, 90-4. George Eckert, 86-90, 94-8. Henry Keyes, 98-02. Monroe W. Lake, 1902-6. Charles Wandrack, 06-10, 14-18. Andrew H. Henderson, 10-14. Roy J. Stewart, 18-22. Lester Edinger, 22-6, 30-4. Cyrus Sanford, 26-30. Henry A. Nulle, 34-36 (incumbent).
State's Attorneys Alonzo Huntington, 37-40. Edward G. Regan, 41-3. James Curtiss, 43-5. William A. Boardman, 45-9, Alonzo Platt, 49-50. P. W. Platt, 50-2. Amos B. Coon, 52-3, 61-3. M. M. Boyce, 53-7, 64-70. Edward S. Joslyn, 57-61. Charles Kellum, 70-3. Joseph P. Cheever, 73-6. Ira R. Curtiss, 77-84. Albert W. Young, 84-8. Adelbert B. Coon, 88-96. Vincent S. Lumley, 96-00, 16-24, 27-36 (incumbent). Lorenzo D. Lowell, 1900-8. David R. Joslyn, 08-16. Alford H. Pouse, 24-27 (resigned). Wm. M. Carroll, 36, incumbent.
County Treasurers Andrew S. Wells, 37-8. Lewis W. Shanks, 38-40. Thomas R. Chunn, 40-3. S. S. Greenleaf, 43. Peter La Dow, 43-7. Joseph Golder, 47-8. James T. Pierson, 49-51. Charles McClure, 51-3. Gilbert B. Dake, 53-5. Abel W. Fuller, 55-7. Samuel Richardson, 57-9. William Hart, Jr., 59-63. Fred J. Mansfield, 63-7, Alexander S. Stewart, 67-75. James Nish, 75-86. William H. Stewart, 86-90. James B. Perry, 90-4. Henry Keyes, 94-8. Frank F. Axtell, 98-02. Emilus C. Jewett, 1902-6. William S. McConnell, 06-10, 18-22. Arthur R. Crissey, 10-14. Lynn W. Richards, 14-18. Roy J. Stewart, 22-6. Frank J. Hendricks, 26-30. Harry F. Peteit, 30-4. Lester Edinger, 34-36 (incumbent).
Superintendents of Schools Carlisle Hastings, 41-4. Peter W. Deitz, 44-6. Major F. Irwin, 46-8. Phineas W. Platt, 48-50. Rev. Richard K. Todd, 50-4. M. F. Hutchinson, 54-6. Asa W. Smith, 56-60. Alvin Brown, 60-2. Theodore Mead, 62-4. Thomas R. Ercanbrack, 64-6. Adoniram J. Kingman, 66-70. Gardner S. Southworth, 70-4. William Nickle, 74-8. Albert W. Young, 78-82. S. D. Baldwin, 82 (died in 83). Henry R. Baldwin, 83-4. Lester Barber, 84-90. William E. Wire, 90-02. George W. Conn, Jr., 02-10. Addison M. Shelton, 10-22. Hattie C. Dake, 22-25 (died in office). Mrs. Ethel C. Coe. 25-36 (incumbent).
County Surveyors C. E. Moore, 37-8. A. S. Barnes, 38-42. John Brink, 42-52, 56-84. William N. Willis, 84-8. Charles H. Tryon, 88-08 (died in office). Lester Barber, 08-12. Charles L. Tryon, 12-16. George L. Tryon, 16-36 (incumbent).
Coroners Michael C. McGuire, 37-8. A. B. Cornish, 38-40. B. F. Bosworth, 40-2. Nathaniel Smith, 42-4. Neill Donnelly, 44-6. M. L. Huffman, 46-8. Jesse Slavin, 48-52. William Pratt, 52-4. C. H. Shapley, 54-8. William G. Smith, 58-60. B. A. Wade, 60-2. Perry W. Murphey, 62-4. Daniel Blair, 64-6. D. P. Conklin, 66-74. John W. Groesbeck, 74-6. William E. Smith, 76-7. John S. Cummings, 77-8. Howard L. Pratt, 78-80. William W. Cook, 80-4, 88-92. Charles E. Cook, 84-8, 92-6. Spencer O. Wernham, 96-00. Joseph S. Maxon, 1900-12-34. Charles O. Peck, 12-20.
Dr. Emil Windmueller, 20-23. Edward H. Cook, 23-36 (incumbent).
Chairmen of Supervisors Josiah H. Giddings, 50-1. Abraham Reynolds, 51-3. Alvin Judd, 53-4. William A. McConnell, 54-5, 67-76, 78-83. John Sibley, 55-6, 57-8. Samuel Richardson, 56-7. William M. Jackson, 58-9. Cornelius Lansing, 59-62. C. W. H. Card, 62-3. Thomas S. Huntley, 63-4. E. A. Thomas, 64-5. Peter W. Deitz, 65-6. S. K. Bartholomew, 66-7. Orson C. Diggins, 76-8. Ira R. Curtiss, 83-6. Herbert S. Williams, 86-8. Charles F. Dike, 88-9. Robert J. Beck, 89-91. George H. Garrison, 91-2. George B. Richards, 92-4. John H. Gracy, 94-6. Frank F. Axtell, 96-8. William A. Cristy. 98-00. F. E. Stevens, 1900-01. Luna E. Mentch, 02-5. James Lake, 05-8. Henry M. Turner, 08-9, 18-19. William Desmond, 09-11. Homer E. Whipple, 11-13. Fred I. Perkins, 13-15. Nahum Brotzman, 15-7. Louis B. Covell, 17-19. Delos M. Wright, 19-20. Stephen H. Freund, 20-1. Fred A. Walters, 21-2. Robert E. Haeger, 22-3. Alva H. Hale, 23-4. Ed. F. Kuecker, 24-5. Charles H. Ackman, 25-6. Harvey G. Durkee, 26-7. John Conley, 27-8. Frank B. McConnell, 28-9. Volney E. Brown, 29-30. Charles M. Palmer, 30-1. Louis A. Stockwell, 31-2. Earl C. Hughes, 32-3. John E. Harrison, 33-4. Nathan B. Clawson, 34-5. Paul Rosenthal, 35-6, John G. Stevens, 36 (incumbent).
Judges of the Circuit Court
Members chosen from McHenry county were as follows: Theodore D. Murphey, 62-78. Charles H. Donnelly, 97-20 (resigned because of ill-health). Edward D. Shurtleff, 21-36, (died in office).
Masters in Chancery
We have been unable to ascertain from the records who were the masters in chancery of the circuit court prior to 1882, but since that date they have been as follows: Amos B. Coon, 82-9. Merritt L. Joslyn, 89-98. Lorenzo D. Lowell, 98-00. Albert W. Young, 1900 (resigned because of illness after a few months of service). George W. Field, 1900-05. Calvin J. Hendricks, 05-16. Edwin H. Waite, 16-20. Arthur J. Mullen, 20-23. James F. Casey, 23-25. Fred B. Bennett, 25-7, 29-33. Floyd E. Eckert, 27-29. Henry L. Cowlin, 33-36.
Members of The Legislature, Lower House
McHenry county has been one of the several counties that have constituted the senatorial district since the organization of the county, and the major portion of the time has been associated with Boone and Lake counties in the 8th district. The following named residents of this county have represented us in the lower house of the Legislature since the organization of the county: Richard Murphy, 38-42. William M. Jackson, 42-6. James T. Pierson. 46-8. John F. Gray, 48-50. A. H. Nixon, 50-4. Westley Diggins, 54-6. Lawrence S. Church, 56-62. Thaddeus B. Wakeman, 62-4, 66-8. Merritt L. Joslyn, 64-6. Peter W. Deitz, 66-70. William A. McConnell, 70-2. Richard Bishop, 72-4. Ira R. Curtiss, 70-2. Flavel K. Granger, 74-82. Orson C. Diggins, 80-2. James Thompson, 80-2. Charles H. Tryon, 82-4. Gardner S. Southworth, 88-90. John C. Donnelly, 90-4, 98-00. Robert J. Beck, 90-6. Edward D. Shurtleff, 1900-20. James H. Vickers, 20-2. Charles H. Francis, 20-2. Roy J. Stewart, 24-6. Thomas A. Bolger, 28-36 (incumbent). William M. Carroll, 30-36. For length of service and for prominence in that body perhaps none of those mentioned exceeded Edward D. Shurtleff, who was speaker of the house during several sessions and acquired a record for square-dealing that made him a conspicuous figure and reflected great credit on an admiring constituency. For several years Mr. Shurtleff was one of the judges of court of this judicial circuit.
State Senators: George Gage, 54-8. Cornelius Lansing, 62-6. Merritt L. Joslyn, 76-80. Ira R. Curtiss, 84-8. Flavel K. Granger, 96-00. Albert J. Olson, 08-16.
Members of State Board of Equalization: William A. McConnell, 68-72. Orson C. Diggins, 72-6. Herbert S. Williams, 84-92. George W. Eldredge, 92-6. Constitutional Conventions
McHenry county was represented in the constitutional convention of 1847 by John Sibley and Peter W. Deitz; in that of 1862 by Peter W. Jackson; and in that of 1870 by Lawrence S. Church.
GEORGE ABBOTT
Born May 30, 1820. Came to McHenry county from Ohio in 1844, located on an original claim from the government in the west part of McHenry township at or near the Greenwood line, on what is now Rt. 20. In those early years he and Squire A. C. Thompson built one of the first cheese factories in McHenry county, later converted to a butter factory. This was known as the Ostend factory and still stands on Route 20, now used as a garage. Mr. Abbott was interested in cattle and hog raising, breeding Polled Angus cattle, a black variety, raised for beef quality. Had three sons. Francis, died in 1908; Truman Adelbert, aged 86, lives with his daughter, Mrs. C. C. Clark, in Greenwood township, and Charles JT. Abbott of Woodstock. Died December 26. l889,

PAGE FOUR WOODSTOCK DAILY SENTINEL, WOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS Eightieth" Anniversary Edition
BRIEF PARAGRAPHS REPRINTED FROM OLD FILES
July, 1857 to 1858
Up to this point the compiler of this historical review has devoted considerable space to details of the first year of The Sentinel, during which time the ownership of the plant changed hands twice after its founding by Webb & Johnson, as it was the first year that the Republican party attained the dignity of a winning organization. In the review of the succeeding volumes we shall attempt to hit only the high spots in each succeeding week's narrative of the news, as lack of space and time forbids more minute elucidation. Our object is to delineate "the march of time" in an intelligent and graspable manner, and we crave the indulgence of our readers as we strive to do the job in a manner satisfactory to our thousands of interested readers.
Volume two began on July 29, 1857, with the names of Franks & Son as the publishers and Josiah Dwight as editor, the same Josiah Dwight who was one of the pioneers of the region and one of its first businessmen. The paper was still a seven-column folio, with the first column devoted to an old-fashioned directory of professional and business houses.
Street Improvements
Petitions were presented to the village council for a sidewalk on the east side of Benton street, for the continuation of Benton street from the public square through to Clay street, for laying out a new street on the east side of the railroad on lands belonging to Otho Callahan, E. I. Smith, H. Trowbridge and Wm. Right, for abrogation of the east end of South street, for the construction of a sidewalk in front of lots on Washington street, and for the extension of Tryon street south from South street to the Woodstock and Dundee road.
In noting opening of a new volume The Sentinel admitted the need of a newspaper at Marengo and that there had been three newspapers in Woodstock up to this time and thanked the public for generous patronage while asking still greater support in that line. Lawrence" S. Church and Charles M. Willard dissolved their law partnership. The third page was devoted almost exclusively to legal publications, many of them chancery notices and a large number of sheriff's sales as the people were suffering a deep depression. Crops were declared better than for many years, but it was feared that the surplus would result in much lower prices. This month was to determine the success or failure of the laying of the Atlantic cable, the first to be laid. The bakery deserted by Hall & Sears had been reopened by Dugall McVean, and it was hoped that he would be successful. Dean street was extended south across South street. Writing had been excluded from the public school, as "the rooms are too crowded for such an exercise and the desks too high." On Sept. 8 twenty feet were taken from the public square in order to widen Van Buren, Johnson and Cass streets.
Aldermen Are Fined
Village councilmen were fined $1 for being late or absent from meetings of the trustees. Messrs. Emms took over the bakery from Mr McVean. The old court house and jail was declared unsafe and quarters for prisoners were ordered prepared in the new building. Cyrus S. Dufield and Frances M. Sawyer were married on the 16th of September, she being the Grandma Lockwood who reached the age of more than 90 years. Calvin Pike, Dr. M. F. Irwin and George H. Griffing were chosen directors of the school district on Oct. 5. Allen Giles and Mary A. Wetherly were married on the 3rd of October. A meeting of local merchants was called to draft a more permanent system of trade. A Republican county convention was held on October 19, when candidates were selected as follows: County judge, T: D. Murphey; treasurer, S. Richardson; county clerk, W. H. Stewart; school commissioner, Alvin Brown.
The Sentinel office was moved to a stand next door to the postoffice. The Republican ticket was successful at the county election, T. D. Murphey leading with a majority of 600 for county judge. There were only 11 members of the board of supervisors in attendance at their Nov. 16 meeting. Legal lights in Woodstock, among whom there had been many changes throughout the years, were named as follows: Church & Kerr, Joel H. and M. C. Johnson, M. L. Joslyn, Mr. Van-Winkle, T. D. Murphey, H. S. Hanchett, Asa W. Smith and Enos & Slavin. George L. Sherwood and Emily A. Wait were married on the 1st of December. Daniel T. Owen, the original Owen at McHenry, was killed by a runaway team in that village on the 12th, aged 80 years.
Completing Court House
The new court house was so nearly completed that the sheriff was occupying rooms therein and the other officers of the county would take their quarters during the week of the 21st of December. The estimated population of Chicago was 130,000. Up to Jan. 13, 1858, the weather had been so mild that it could not really be called winter. A new state's prison was being constructed just outside the city limits of Joliet. Owing to the stringency of the times, The Sentinel went onto a cash basis as to subscriptions. A new sidewalk, "with post and handrail," was ordered laid on the west side of Johnson street, in front of the court-house. It took more than a column of space in the Feb. 3, 1858, issue to tell about the new court house and appointments, completed and in use.
Enos Sr. Swartwout opened a tannery "at the foot of Washington street." Charles M. Willard and J. H. Slavin formed a partnership in law. Timothy Crowley and others prayed for a sidewalk on the south side of Jackson street. J. C. Choate purchased from John S. Pierce four hogs that averaged 506 pounds and more that averaged 450 pounds. In March, 1858, a great scrap was on concerning the coming town election, and The Sentinel demanded moral and financial reform. The village total receipts and expenditures the past year were $1,419.10, and they were "in the red." Black rules were placed with an article telling about the death of Thomas H. Benton, celebrated Missouri statesman, for whom our Benton street was named. The firm of Mills & Dodge became Geo. F. Mills & Co., jewelers. In the issue of March 3, 1858, the name of Josiah Dwight disappeared from the editorial page, but no mention was made of his leave-taking. A beautifully executed lithographic map of the town of Woodstock had just been published, selling for $1. Frequently, the word Kansas headed editorials, showing that the question of the extension of slavery into that territory was troubling the public mind—a burning issue.
Farmers Sell Grain
In the issue of May 5 an article headed "There's a Good Time Coming" read as follows: "The farmers of McHenry county have apparently come to the conclusion that it will be better to send on their grain and pay their store and other indebtedness, than to held it for higher prices. Almost every day there are large freight trains going to Chicago, loaded principally with wheat. One firm in our town sent, on an average, thirty carloads per week, the most of which they have received on payment of debts for goods. This is right, if the farmers adhere to this plan, it will not be long before we hear of 'good times.'" The board of supervisors appointed Judge Murphey as their agent to go to Washington to look after the interests of the county in regard to swamp lands situated within the county, of which there were many great stretches. The Baptist church was in process of construction near the corner of Jefferson and Calhoun streets. A complete set of lightning rods were placed on the new court house. R. G. Schryver, grandfather of the present Austin sisters, purchased the furniture store of G. D. Greenleaf. The June 9 issue noted the copiousness of the rainfall terminating in a flood on the 3rd that washed out nearly every bridge in the county. The Republican state convention at Springfield on the 16th endorsed Abraham Lincoln for United States senator to succeed Stephen A. Douglas, whose term was to expire the following March. Arrangement had been made by the Marengo Journal to have The Sentinel sent to its subscribers the remainder of the year 1858, The Journal having quit the field.
July 1858 to July 1859
Rev. R. K. Todd was engaged in a controversy with one "Accomac" concerning the attitude of the Presbyterian church towards slavery—and was it "hot stuff?"
Allen Giles purchased the interest of his brother in the news depot. The Sentinel claimed a circulation of 1,200 copies. The Atlantic cable was successfully finished, July 29, 1858, and would be in use as soon as connected with land lines, and there was electrical connection between President Buchanan and Queen' Victoria, who exchanged congratulations over the new line as a great achievement in communication between the old and the new world. The Woodstock Democrat again made its appearance under new colors, evidently published by Donnelly, Baldwin and Austin. Miscellany and stories were banished from the first page of The Sentinel and more space was devoted to correspondence from readers, letters and news matter of a local nature. The new Baptist church was dedicated on Aug. 26. The Marengo Weekly Press made its appearance. The county fair was again established, to hold exhibitions Oct. 12 to 14.
The Republicans nominated Lawrence S. Church for representative, E. E. Thomas for sheriff and W. G. Smith for coroner. The Democrats nominated Willson M. Jackson for representative and George Wooster for sheriff. A contract for the grading and fencing of the public square was let to George Tyler. The audience room of the court house was filled to overflowing on Oct. 6 to hear a speech by Congressman E. B. Washburne, candidate for re-election. L. S. Church, H. W. Blodgett, H. W. McLean, T. D. Murphey and other speakers were filling dates in the Republican campaign in all parts of the county.
Sentinel Changes Owners
On Nov. 10, 1858, J. W. Franks & Son (both Josephs) sold The Sentinel, materials, good-will and business, to A. E. and W. E. Smith, who took possession the following week as editors and proprietors and made their united bow. In announcing the sale, Franks & Son said: "Messrs. A. E. and W. E. Smith come to us well recommended, as young men of energy and perseverance, and The Sentinel, while under their control, will advocate, as earnestly as ever, the great principles of human liberty and justice embodied in the platform of the Republican party." The Franks had been in possession for 18 months. More attention was to be paid to local matters by the new editors. Evidently the Smiths were newcomers to the village, but later each held the office of postmaster and was influential in political and other matter pertaining to the community and the state. The Republican state ticket was elected in November by about 5,344 majority for the head of the ticket, with congressman and county officers ail Republican, after a hectic campaign. A little more than 3,000 votes were cast by all parties in the county. Lincoln seemed to have been defeated for United States senator. A plea was made for wood on subscription, as cold weather prevailing quickly reduced the pile of such fuel. Query: "What is the matter with the Presbyterian church clock? Ever since we have been denizens of this place that clock has pointed to the same hour. The world moves, but the time, according to that clock, never! We hope the proper officers will take the necessary steps to have the only public time-piece in the town placed in good order." That clock was in the old brick church on Jefferson street, now used by the Dacy Lumber Co.
Penitentiary at Alton
The sheriff was taking prisoners from this county to the penitentiary at Alton. Special mention was made of the large piles of wood that were being placed along the railroad tracks, as the engines all used wood those days for fuel. Buffalo robes and snow shoes were in order, as winter had set in in earnest, said the paper of Dec. 1, 1858. Chickens were a drug on the market at 8 and 10 cents apiece.' Hand sleighing down Griffing's and Burying Ground Hill was furnishing pleasure for the children and some of their elders. And there was good skating on the ice fields just east of the village. Sealy & Medlar were the proprietors of the photograph gallery in Excelsior block over Fuller's store where J. S. Medlar continued for many years. Advertisements specially mentioned in the issue of Dec. 22: A. W. Tappan & Co., J. F. Hatch & Co., Neill Donnelly, B. Carter & Son, J. H. Durfee, Bunker & Austin, J. M. Harper, A. H. Sellers, R. G. Schryver, Baldwin & Stone (only drug store in town), W. E. Rose, Harper & Parsons and J. D. Saunders. The first train of cars which ever departed from the West Division of Chicago for the East, left on the morning of the 25th of December, carrying United States mail to the seaboard. Local news was rapidly increasing in quantity under the new make-up of the paper—a feature that was sadly lacking in the previous two years. The committee appointed for the purpose had selected permanent fair grounds on lands just east of town, owned by I. C. Trowbridge, and there the fairs were held for more than 50 years.
Read This One
Five marriage notices were published in this issue, with the comment added: "We publish the above, not because we consider ourselves under any obligation t0 do so, but out of courtesy to the officiating clergymen who handed them in for publication. When the justice officiates free of charge, the clerk furnishes the certificate gratis, and the clergyman receives nothing for his benediction, we shall be willing to insert marriage notices without remuneration, but not till then. The above couples are the last 'dead heads' we shall publish." How's that for high? Senator Douglas was re-elected by the Legislature, defeating Lincoln by 54 to 46 on joint ballot. Excitement was created by the discovery of gold at Pike's Peak—that was in 1859—and many started for the field in all sorts of conveyances and with much hardship along the way. Charles Parsons and Isabella Harper were married on Jan. 17, 1859. The next national election (1860) was attracting the attention of newspapers and the people, for it was to be a momentous one. Rev. R. K. Todd had decided to institute an institution of learning about the first of the coming April and the item stated that he "at present Instructs a select class at his residence." The Woodstock Musical union proved to be a failure. An Episcopal church, named St. John's, was organized in Woodstock and a hunt was being made for a rector for the same. Martin Haas was erecting an icehouse on the little lake east of town to furnish the people with "pure ice equal to that from Crystal Lake." Oregon was admitted to the Union, the vote of the house being 114 to 103. Item: "No bottom to the mud in our public thoroughfares can be reached with anything shorter than a ten-foot pole!"
Newspapers Scrapping There was a scrap on between The Sentinel and The Democrat in which some strange and sulphuric language was used. James Tower and Emma J. Gates were married on April 26. Speaking of the work that was being done on the public square, the paragrapher said that "we hope that measures will be taken for planting around it a number of trees, which in course of time would add much, to the looks of the square." That was prophetic of the umbrageous trees that now abound, to the delight of all citizens. The commissioners were ordered to open South, street according to the village plat. Three of the village trustees were authorized to purchase not less than 10 nor more than 20 acres of land within one mile of the village limits for a cemetery—which was probably the present Oakland. Rhubarb, a new plant, was just being brought into the market in Woodstock. It was originated in England "and is deserving of particular notice and general cultivation." Root & Hutching, two young men, opened a new meat market in the village. The Smiths, editors of The Sentinel, were sued for libel by the publishers of The Democrat. The campaign was furious between these two offices.
Vol. 4—Aug. 3, 1859, to July 25, I860
The Sentinel declared itself "the only paper in McHenry county," since its last competitor, The Democrat, died a natural death on July 17, and The Sentinel published a heartless obituary that was very touching. It had lived to the fifth year, and "was regretted by none," the paper said. The size of the type was reduced much with the beginning of the issue of Aug. 17, especially the local news department. Cummins & Lemmers were doing the carpenter work on the new brick school house that was being erected at Greenwood. Every month in the year up to this one (September) there had been a showing of frost and its work. The paper said: "Altogether we are having a hard run with the frost and the drouth." Peter Martin and Wealthy A. Tanner were married on Sept. 4, and Enos W. Smith and Charlotte A. Davis on the same day. Fire broke out in the building on the southwest corner of the square, occupied by James McMahon as a grocery, and several other families. The blaze was extinguished with only $300 damage. It originated in a barrel of tobacco. Republican nominees for county officers: Treasurer, Wm. Hart, Jr.; school commissioner, Alvin Brown; surveyor. John Brink. The eighth McHenry county fair was attended by 3,000 people and took in $1,000. There was an excursion on the C. & N. W. railway to Oshkosh, Wis., on the completion of the line to that place. The Democrats nominated Elam M. Lamb for treasurer, Asa W. Smith for school commissioner and Adam Given for surveyor.
Ladies Wear Bloomers
Item: "Bloomers — On Thursday morning we saw on the fair grounds two females with 'breeches' on. We think that any lady who saw them must be effectually cured of any ambition in that direction." "Time marches on!" At the township election on Oct. 10, William Walkup, Jesse Slavin and A. W. Fuller were elected trustees, each by one majority. All Republican county officers were elected on Nov. 8 by majorities ranging from 247 for Hart for treasurer to 936 for Brink for surveyor. Hartland gave a Democratic majority of 238, and there were less than 200 voters in the township. It was reported that the previous June, Benjamin Hanaford, although 83 years of age, walked eight miles and hoed 1,000 hills of corn in one day, and in October following he dug 1,000 hills of "spuds," picked them up and carried most of them in. The editor was begging to have some one bring in a turkey for Thanksgiving and two were brought in by R.'W. Rouse. Woodstock had only three church edifices and five were needed. The Methodists were talking of building. "Old John Brown" was to be hung on Dec. 2 in the Old Dominion. His (Continued from page five)
MAIN STREET PICTURES
The above is a picture of the buildings which were located on Main street where the Olgadon Restaurant and Schmidt's Market are now located.
THE WAVERLY HOTEL
The above is a picture of the old Waverly Hotel which stood on Main street on the site now occupied by the Slavin & Merwin furniture and undertaking establishment. The Waverly was a popular hostelry in the years before it was destroyed by fire forty odd years ago. W. H. "Harry" Hobbs was the last manager of this popular hostelry. We can almost imagine that we can recognize Harry in the picture.
For More Than Half a Century Thorne's Has Served the Buying Public.
Charles F. Thorne, the founder of Thorne & Son,, was born April 19, 1848, at Tunbridge, Vermont, where he was raised on a farm. On Sept. 22, 1872, he was married at Sharon, Vt., to Flora A. Hunt, also a native of Vermont. In 1883 Mr. Thorne moved with his family to Woodstock, Illinois, where he soon afterwards purchased the boot and shoe business of E. C. Jewett. This store was located in the Murphy block on Benton street, on the east side of the public square, where the business has continued without interruption in the same location up to the present time. Mr. Thorne gave close application to business, devoting long hours and a careful study to the problems of meeting the needs of his customers. He soon added to his stock of goods a complete line of men's clothing and furnishings and by square dealing and reasonable prices built up a prosperous and successful business. In the years that followed Mr. Thorne brought his son, William S. Thorne, into the business with himself and the firm name was changed to Thorne & Son, as it has continued ever since. The father died Jan. 22, 1925. After more than half a century in business at one location, the name Thorne & Son has become closely associated with fine clothing, shoe's, hats, shirts, underwear and men's furnishings and is now a household word in Woodstock and throughout McHenry county. With the changing world of styles and modes this popular firm has attained a position in the minds of the buying public symbolizing stability, square dealing, quality merchandise, reasonable prices and friendly service. In Woodstock when men want to buy clothing, a new hat, shirts, shoes or other wearing apparel, they naturally go to Thorne's, where they have dealt for years. Likewise the wives and mothers go to Thorne's, where they know they will receive helpful suggestions and courteous service in the selection of whatever they may be seeking to buy for their men. The quality of the goods is dependable, the service is friendly and the prices are as low as good merchandise will permit. That's why Thorne's has always been a favorite place to trade. That's why Thorne's is not alone a place to trade, but is recognized as an institution of service in Woodstock.
CHARLES F. THORNE [photo] WILLIAM S. THORNE [photo]


Eightieth Anniversary Edition WOODSTOCK DAILY SENTINEL, WOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS PAGE FIVE
(Continued from page four) offense was in opposing slavery, and "his soul went marching on." The postoffice named Romeo, in this county, was discontinued.
Editors In Court
The Sentinel editors were tried in justice court for assault in removing an objectionable individual from their office, and the trial proved "a travesty of justice." Mr. Kellogg and Squire Bunker had erected large and fine residences, one of brick, and John J. Murphy a fine frame dwelling "at the head of Judd street." A. W. Cumins was teaching phonography (shorthand) at $4 for twelve lessons. He was a veteran of the Civil war later and in 1879-80 was editor of the New Era in Woodstock. Mercury reached 25 below on Jan. l, 1860. "The Woodstock Parsonage Institute," managed by Rev. R. K. Todd, was destroyed by fire, with a loss of $3,000. A donation was made to the loser within a few days to help him recoup his loss. T. D. and F. S. Murphey dissolved partnership as a law firm on the 23rd. The Sentinel adopted steam as the motive power for its presses on Feb. 13, 1860, "the first steam printing in Woodstock." Feb. 22 was the 138th anniversary of Washington's birth, "which, we trust, ere long, will become a national holiday," said the paper. Fires had been numerous for six weeks and incendiary work was suspected. The last fire of the group was just south of the old Rat-Hole, and there were three buildings destroyed on Main street. Governor William H. Bissell died in the governor's residence in Springfield on March 18. The Sentinel put the names of William H. Seward and Cassius N. Clay at the head of its columns for president and vice-president to be named by the Republicans. The paper was urging that McHenry county be 'honored in the selection of a candidate' for Congress in the person of Lawrence S. Church, which has been done but once in 80 years. Most of the Dorr township officers elected on April 3 were Democrats, headed by Ira Slocum as supervisor. All of the village officers elected were also Democrats, headed by Neill Donnely as president. Richard Yates, Sr., was nominated for governor at Decatur by the Republican convention.
Lincoln Nominated
Lincoln and Hamlin were nominated in May at the Chicago convention for president and vice-president—Lincoln on the third ballot receiving 354 votes of the 486 possible in the convention and Hamlin on the second ballot. The Sentinel issued extras during the convention. The circulation of The Sentinel was claimed at 1,104 copies. The Democrats were badly split in their fight for president and two tickets had been nominated, one headed by Douglas and Johnson and the other by Breckenridge and Lane. The Sentinel was reduced in price to $1.25 per year for subscriptions. The McHenry county Republicans in session declared for Lawrence S. Church as their candidate for congressman.
July, 1860 to 1861
The Chicago Times was purchased by C. H. McCormick, the great reaper man. E. B. Washburn was nominated for congressman at the Rockford Republican convention, defeating Lawrence S. Church, of Woodstock, and several other candidates. The Woodstock Light Guards were organized, with L. D. Kelly as captain, and the Wide Awake club was organized, all in anticipation of the coming Civil war. The census marshal, Dr. M. B. Baldwin, estimated the population of Woodstock at 1,500, Marengo at 1,150, and the population of the county at 23,000. Cassius M. Clay, eloquent Kentucky Republican, was billed to speak at Woodstock on Aug. 31. Someone stole The Sentinel's flag from its staff in the night hours, while Congressman Washburne was addressing a mass meeting in town. Kerosene "the beautiful oil" was fast taking precedence over all other articles in the way of light. A. W. Cumins had a severe fall while working on a barn for Thomas Whitson. Burlingame & Salisbury was the name of a new firm at No. 2 Phoenix block, selling dry goods, etc. About 500 Wide Awakes were expected to participate in the Cassius M. Clay parade on the night of Aug. 31. Frank Church bought out Wm. E. Rose's harness shop. Woodstock entertained about 8,000 people on the occasion of the visit of Cassius M. Clay to the city on Aug. 31, and there was a great torchlight parade. Amos B. Coon was nominated for prosecuting attorney of the 13th judicial district. About 300 passengers were drowned by the collapse of the "Lady Elgin" in Lake Michigan on the 8th of September. Democratic Douglas nominations for county officers: Representative, Richard Bishop; circuit clerk, Joel H. Johnson; sheriff, Carlisle Hastings; coroner, Henry B. Burton. Republican nominations: Representative, L. S. Church; clerk, Chas. H. Russell; sheriff, Lewis Ellsworth; coroner, Benjamin W. Wade. Rev. G. C. Lyon was the new pastor of the of the M. E. church.
Lincoln Elected
The paper contained two full columns of "hurrah"—cuts of all sorts—celebrating the election of Lincoln in November, 1860. He had a majority of 28 over all in electoral votes; 17 states had majorities for Lincoln, 11 for Breckenridge, 2 for Bell and 1 for Douglas. On Dec. 5, in an editorial, it was stated that "every state in the South threatens to secede unless their candidate is chosen president. "If they are in earnest, let them do it now," said the paper. And states in the South were moving along that line. H. H. Hildreth succeeded B. S. Patty as proprietor of the Woodstock house. Buchanan's last message to Congress was published in full, and The Sentinel, in an editorial, said: "We congratulate ourselves that this is the last message (for four years at least) that will emanate from the chief magistrate of this nation, in which reason is insulted; humanity outraged, and common sense defied in order to bolster up and defend the 'inquitous system of human slavery." Item: "During the past week we have printed checks for the use of business men in this and other towns of the county, representing change to the amount of $600, and more are still wanted. They are a great convenience." This illustrates the stress to which the business men were put in the matter of money. The Methodists were complaining that their church was not large enough to accommodate the crowds under the ministry of Rev. Lyon and a new church was needed. The new bell in the Baptist church, under the ministry of Rev. Lyon, was louder than the school bell, but it was not satisfactory and a new bell had been ordered. It was disclosed that there were more slaves than whites in the states of South Carolina, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi. The popular vote in the 1860 election was but a trifle more than 4,000,000, of whom Lincoln received 1,786,480, Douglas 1,354,423, and the rest for Breckenridge and Bell. We were in the midst of exciting times—an explosion in the president's cabinet, position of Major Anderson at Sumter, secession conventions at Charleston and other places, and doings in the Illinois legislature. All pointed to the beginning of hostilities with arms.
Flag Fired On
The American flag was fired upon by South Carolina troops, Jan. 9, 1861. There was argument on both sides of the question of abrogating the village charter, the proponents claiming it would save taxes. The United States senate voted 36 to 16 on the question of admitting Kansas to the Union. The population of Illinois was 1,723,633. Diphtheria, "a new and strange disease," was creating havoc in many homes, there being many victims all over the county. With corn selling at only 20 cents, there was big profit in raising pork at $5.50 to $6 per hundred. On account of an infection of the throat, Rev. R. K. Todd was talking of resigning his pastorate in the Presbyterian church, where he had served for 13 years. It was to his credit that he had constructed the new brick church. There was agitation as to the need for a new school house, the old one being declared to be "too uncomfortable," and a mass meeting had been called to consider the matter. A wild cat was killed near Marengo that measured three feet and eight inches. There had been 30 deaths, mostly of children, during the past winter near Crystal Lake, diphtheria being responsible.
Jeff Davis Inaugurated
Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the Confederate States of America on Feb. 18, 1861, and he had appointed part of his cabinet and some other government officials. A bill to incorporate the Woodstock university passed both houses of the Legislature, Several attempts to assassinate President-elect Lincoln were encountered as he traveled on his way to take the office. The official electoral vote announced was: Lincoln, 180; Breckenridge, 72; Bell. 39; Douglas, 13. Lincoln was peacefully inaugurated present of the United States on Mar. 4, 1861. On March 25 the people of the school district voted 80 to 18 to construct a new school house, using a loan, bonds and tax to raise the money. There was sort of a bank panic throughout the country, and 31 Illinois banks were "thrown out." Abraham E. Smith was appointed postmaster of Woodstock, and announced that he would conduct the office in connection with his duties as editor of The Sentinel. The salary of the postoffice job was about $650 to $800. It was stated that "shinplasters have had their day" etc. M. L, Joslyn was elected village president, J. B. Church, police magistrate; C. B. Durfee, treasurer; H. Hathaway, constable and collector; for repeal of the charter, 45 for and 10 against; trustees, Charles Crawford, Geo. H. Griffing, John C. Choate, A. S. Johnson, L. H. Davis and A. W. Fuller. President Lincoln issued his call for 75,000 volunteers and gave the rebels 20 days to disperse in, and it was said that 500,000 would answer the call within 10 days. So the war was about to commence, the paper of April 17 announced. Fort Sumter had surrendered to the rebels, according to a special from Charleston. The new postmaster, Abraham E. Smith, took his office on April 16.
Woodstock Light Guards
The Woodstock Light Guards were the second company in the state to volunteer for service under Lincoln's call, and they were listed as follows:
L. D. Kelly, capt., D. C. Joslyn 1st Lt., James A. Rider, Frank Wheeler, Wm. B. Austin, G. A. Austin, John Brown, Peter Brasso, A. W. Cumins, Bela Darrell, John Day, W. M. Friend, Mark Hathaway, Frank Hanaford, L. H. Jones, James McCawley, John Mullen, A. G. Murphy, B. B. Reynolds, Wm. Sherman, Jacob Samler, Wm. H. Sanford, Fred Smith, Gilman Chase, Phineas H. Kerr, L. S. Church, Andrew J. Ingersol, Asa W. Smith, Job Hewlahd, R. K. Todd, Thomas Noonan, August Hildebrant, J. D. Short, F. H. Fowler, J. K. Sanborn, Albert Webb, Wm. Love, Martin Fritsch, L. H. S. Barrows, Frank McGuire, Morris Dickerson, Joseph A. Bird, Washington Newman, Newman Ellsworth, Isaac C. Perkins, E. E. Richards, James Weaver, Walter Ames, Robert C. St. Clair, Charles M. Ross, A. M. Kent, C. H. Fairchild, Stephen Van Camp, John Nemore, James Gallager, Wm. W. Wills, C. D. Ramsay, Fred Horn, Harvey T. H. Fry, J. B. Wayne, George W. Noble, Geo. H. Evans, Andrew Lascelle, L. P. Shelley, Albert T. Delong, Samuel Mallory, Charles Irish, David L. Groat, Francis Sullivan, D. M. Howland, G. T. Freeman, G. T. Freeman, C. N. Howland, Robert Wheeler, Sylvester Rice, Joseph Miner, A. F. Salisbury, C. L. Church, Dewey Thompson, Ebenezer D. Calkin, Daniel Barrows.
Public Donations
Thirty-four leading citizens contributed from $50 down to $5 for the volunteers, the total being about $850. They were expected to be called out within a week, and left on May 11 for camp. The Sentinel had leased a brick building at No. 8 Phoenix block for a term of years, to use the same for an office and the postoffice. Wm. B. Astor, New York millionaire, gave the government $4,000,000 and offered to loan the government eleven million more to aid in prosecuting the war. McHenry county Republicans offered Theodore T. Murphey as a candidate for circuit judge, but he was not successful in the convention that succeeded.
Another Company Organized
The Woodstock Rifles were organized, with M. L. Joslyn as captain, Wm. H. Stewart and O. S. Johnson as lieutenants and a full company of men. They were sent to Freeport with nine other companies on May 15. The McHenry county board of supervisors appropriated $3,000 to each of the companies from McHenry county, they being from Woodstock, Algonquin and Marengo-Riley-Union. Willis ("otherwise A. W. Cumins) was contributing interesting letters from the seat of war, as were several other Woodstock soldiers. Stephen A. Douglas died, after "a long illness, on June 3, and the column rules of the paper were turned.
Two Sentinel printers—Marcus D. Giles and Albert T. DeLong—-enlisted for service in the war.
Plenty of War News
The paper each week was full of war news from all fronts, and local matters were somewhat neglected. All kinds of money, called "stump-tail," were quoted at $1 down to 40 cents on the dollar. On June 13 the last rail was laid on the railroad on the Kenosha division. Medlar added photography to daguerrian business in his gallery. Congressman Washburne, as the oldest congressman in Washington, swore in the new speaker of the house. The disastrous defeat of the Union army at Fairfax Station was reported.
July, 1861 to 1862
Paper was full of war news, mostly defeats for the Union army. Mac Church sold his livery stable at the Exchange hotel to Van Curen & Bowman, the former his brother-in-law. Willis was writing from St. Charles, Mo., where the 15th Illinois/ McHenry county-volunteers, was-encamped, having been the second-company to go from this county. The Woodstock Rifles were ready to go to the war, and a cavalry com- (Continued on page six)
WINTER SCENE ON MAIN STREET
The above is a winter scene on Main street taken following a big snow storm. On the left is a building which stood where the Miller Theatre is now located, while in the center you can see the trees which still stand in front of the Kappler property. The building with the two chimneys is the old passenger depot, which now serves as a freight depot.
HALL & ECKERT Lumber, Coal and General Building Materials Woodstock, Ill. TELEPHONE 158



WOODSTOCK DAILY SENTINEL, WOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS Eightieth Anniversary Edition Page Six
RUMBLINGS POINT THAT A CIVIL WAR WAS IN MAKING
(Continued From Page Five)
pany was urged in order to get more volunteers. A new Union paper was started in Woodstock, with one Hodder in charge, who later was a Kane county publisher. Two preachers in Woodstock were trying to crush The Sentinel. The McHenry county cavalry was in camp at St. Charles, Ill. Democrats and Republicans called a union convention to nominate candidates for county officers. Watrous & Gates were conducting a hardware store in Excelsior block. The Woodstock Democrat expired on Sept. 24. The roster of the Woodstock Rifles was published in the Oct. 9 issue. The railroad had been extended to Appleton, Wis., 20 miles from Green Bay.
Troops Pass Through
Wisconsin and Minnesota troops passed through Woodstock on their way to the front. The Woodstock Rifles were reported in trouble and their dissolution was threatened, because of the actions of their captain, who was later vindicated of all charges of misconduct. At the union county convention Wm. Kerr was nominated for county judge, Wm. Hart, Jr., for treasurer, Theo. Mead for school commissioner and Wm. M. Jackson for delegate to the constitutional convention. M. W. Hunt bought out the lumber business of E. A. and J. J. Murphy. Edgar Richards, aged 22, a member of the band of the 15th Illinois, brother of E. E. Richards, gave his life for his country, dying of fever, and his funeral was from the Baptist church, according to the paper of Nov. 6. The entire union county ticket was elected at the election on Nov. 5, without opposition. John B. Brown, of the Light Guards, died at Warsaw, Mo., on Oct. 31, of typhoid fever, the second McHenry county victim of the pro-slavery rebellion. The first snow fell on Nov. 23. M. D. Hoy, of Alden, advertised for "lost heifers." Letters that were sent out from the Woodstock postoffice for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 1861, numbered 7,322. The captain of the Woodstock Rifles was being tried by court martial. The sleighing prevailing had never before been equalled.
Home on Furloughs
Ten members of the 15th Illinois were home on furloughs, among them Bela Darrell. Three children of J. C. Button died of diphtheria.
There were Good Templars organizations all over the county and they were very active, appearing in every paper. An express was organized by The Sentinel for the purpose of delivering papers at Belden, Union, Huntley, Harmony, Coral and Marengo, leaving Woodstock at 10 every Wednesday morning. Interesting letters from the front were being received, and the deaths of McHenry county men were appalling, to say nothing of the wounded. Results of the township elections were mixed, as all parties were more or less disorganized because of the war.
M. L. Joslyn, from the Rifles of the 36th Illinois, was home from the front because of ill health, and Capt. Harley Wayne was among the fallen. The rebels were attempting to draw the Union troops further South in the hope that yellow fever would decimate their ranks. On May 5, 1862, the village board levied a tax of two and one-half mills to pay for the new cemetery and fixed saloon licenses at $50 per year. J. J. Philbrick opened a new dry goods store next to the postoffice. Farmers reported that they had plenty of help, despite the war. A mail route was established between Belden and Ostend, via Woodstock, with A. Martin as carrier. Holmes & Martin took over the drug store at No. 1 Excelsior block. Throupe & Falvey were in town, purchasing horses for the government. Editor Abraham E. Smith left for a trip to Washington and said: "Any lack of interest in the editorial conduct of The Sentinel for the next few weeks may therefore be attributed to this fact!"
July, 1862 to July, 1863
T. D. Murphey announced himself a candidate for circuit judge. Item: "$100—this is the sum in cash paid to every volunteer on being mustered into the service of the U. S.— more than a man makes clear from a whole year's work as a farm hand." Colonel Lansing, of Marengo, was elected for the third time as chairman of the board of supervisors. Lieut. A. H. Sellers, 36th Ill., returned home, having resigned his position in Co. H. Recruiting was going on at a lively rate, the prospect of a draft having enlivened enlistments. A terrible tornado passed through southeastern McHenry county on the 4th of July, with four lives lost and $30,000 damage done. Franklinville and Marengo were hard hit. Lincoln announced that he was opposed to arming freed slaves into the Union army.
More Companies Organized
Wm. H. Stewart was organizing a company for the war, he to be captain of the same. Assessors of the county were getting the names of those liable and eligible for the draft, which began on Sept. 3. Theodore D. Murphey was elected circuit judge by 98, majority, the counties of McHenry and Boone being for him and DeKalb for Amos B. Coon. Capt. Charles H. Tryon's company of the 95th Illinois was composed almost entirely of members of the Order of Good Templars.
William E. Smith's name was deleted from the head of the editorial page of The Sentinel, leaving A. E. Smith to go it alone, as W. E. had enlisted for service in the 124th Illinois as adjutant. McHenry county Republicans in convention decided on John F. Farnsworth as their candidate for congressman, and he was nominated at the convention at Marengo on Oct. 1.
Soldiers Want Onions Item:
"The Soldiers Want Onions— The Chicago Sanitary Commission wants onions for the soldiers. Won't the farmers of McHenry county send in a lot? Remember the freight costs nothing." The members of the 95th regiment were paid off and it was expected they would pass through Woodstock for the seat of war the following Monday, but their relatives and friends here were disappointed. The editor announced that no more apples were wanted on subscription, but wood, oats, butter, eggs, etc., would be acceptable. The Methodists were seriously considering erecting a new church, but they finally purchased from the Baptists their edifice for $1,500, and the Baptists were to hold services in the hall over Stone's drug store. Daniel T. Ring opened a shoe shop in Woodstock, for repairing. B. F. Church was elected sheriff, P. W. Murphey coroner and T. B. Wakeman to the Legislature, by the Republicans. Lincoln's last order to Major General McClellan was: "Get out." The railroad had been completed to Green Bay, Wis.—250 miles. J. H. Hodder announced that the Woodstock Union had been consolidated with The Sentinel and had ceased to exist as an entity, leaving only one newspaper in the county. Colonel Farnsworth defeated Neill Donnelly for congressman—12,612 to 4,785. Erastus Richards took over the old Woodstock meat market. Colonel Farnsworth was made a brigadier general. A genuine omnibus appeared in Woodstock for the Woodstock house.
Roster 95th Regiment
Complete muster rolls of all McHenry county companies in the 95th Illinois appeared in the paper, the captains named being Charles H. Tryon, James Nish, William Avery, Jason B. Manzer, Edward J. Cook, John Eddy and William H. Stewart. The subscription price of The Sentinel had been raised to $1.50 per year, due to the advance in the price of commodities. Married, Jan. 1, 1863, Oscar F. Dufield and Francena Frame. The Elgin battery—Lts. Caleb Rich and W. W. Paine—from Woodstock, had left for the South on the 10th of January, 1863. There were many mourning families in McHenry county as a result of the terrific battle at Murfreesboro. Captain Tryon came home from the front with a wound in the left arm. Abraham E. Smith sent a fine write-up of his trip to Washington.
At a special election on June 17, McHenry county voted against the new constitution, by 2,000 majority and the vote of the state was 17,000 against it. John S. Medlar and M. Louise Dake were married on June 18, 1862. Joslyn & Slavin formed a partnership for the practice of law. Letters From War Front The whole front page of the paper was devoted to letters from the war. Drs. Davis and Northrop took over the drug store in the Excelsior block. James L. Martin, last editor of the defunct Democrat, died in Michigan, Mar. 15. Many soldiers who had fallen at the front or had died in hospitals were brought back to McHenry county for burial. William Kerr defeated Ira Slocum for village president and the trustees elected were R. G. Schryver, Geo. N Sherwood, Elam M. Lamb, E. E Thomas, T. F. Johnson and G. B. Watrous. Capt, C. H. Tryon was vindicated for the manner in which he left the service. Martin Haas was constructing a two-story frame building on the square, which induced the paper to say: "There ought to be no more frame buildings erected on the public square," as brick was thought to be safer construction. Oakland, the new cemetery, was being put into shape, ready for occupancy.
A. W. Cumins was home from the war on a furlough. He had written many interesting letters while serving with the 15th Illinois, and was going to return.
Amos B. Coon was appointed provost marshal for the district. William E. Smith, wounded, came home from the war. Much money was being raised and donated to the soldiers at the front in every part of the county. Woodstock celebrated the 4th of July in great shape.
1863-1866
Provost Marshal Coon stated that there were 2,053 persons in McHenry county subject to do military duty, all between 20 and 35 years of age, and all unmarried persons between 35 and 45 years. Everywhere except in Virginia the Union armies were driving the rebels, who were beginning to collapse at various points. Copper cents were greatly needed by the merchants, who were using postage stamps for change. Mercury stood at 102 in the shade on Aug. 16, and there was a slight frost on the 24th. William E. Smith left to rejoin his regiment at Vicksburg, having recovered from his wounds, which were not severe. John Bunker advertised that he wanted to sell out his stock and goodwill. Dr. B. A. Wade, former coroner, moved his office from Chemung to Woodstock. Rev. W. A. Cross was the new Methodist minister for Woodstock and Belden (Franklinville). Work of raising another cavalry company in Woodstock was progressing finely.
Lindsey Joslyn, father of F. C, D. C. and M. L. Joslyn, died in Elgin on Oct. 1, having formerly lived in Woodstock. The total receipts of the county fair were $750, and it was thought that was good.
More Volunteers Called
President Lincoln called for 300,000 volunteers, and McHenry county citizens got busy enlisting. Capt. A. B. Coon, provost marshal, had arrested 48 deserters and sent them back to their regiments. The issue of the Nov. 4 election was "Union vs. Copperheadism." The Chicago Sanitary commission was asking for cabbages and pickles for the soldiers in the fields and camps. The loyalty of county citizens was shown by the election results, with 100 Union and no Copperhead votes in Grafton, 73 Union and 2 copperhead in Dunham, 148 Union and 2 copperhead in Chemung. Total county vote: 1,870 Union and 568 copperhead.
Uriah Cottle, veteran old resident, one of the first settlers in the Ridgefield vicinity, died on Nov. 21, 1863. The county board of supervisors was contemplating offering a bonus to avoid the draft in McHenry county and fixed the amount at $100— "enough to buy a farm," the paper said. On Dec. 3 Allen Dufield and Mustoe Given, both deacons in the Presby terian church, passed away. Both were old-timers. John Kerr, father of William Kerr, prominent lawyer, died on the 13th, aged 78 years. Dr. O. S. Johnson, brother of Joel H. and M. C. Johnson, died on t he 1Sth. He was postmaster under Presidents Pierce and Buchanan. On Jan. 6, 1864, the Fox River Valley railroad was covered with drifts, and no attempts were being made to open traffic. Donation parties for the preachers of the community were common events, and nice sums were raised to keep them fed and clothed. Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, California and Oregon voters indicated a desire for a renomination for President Lincoln. Five-sixth of the converts at the M. E. church revival, "as usual at all revivals" were females. "Old Hank" McLean had enlisted in the army, despite his age. He was a character in the political affairs of the county. P. M. Haas, one of Napoleon's veterans, father of Martin Haas, died on Jan. 26, aged 72 years. Hon. A. H. Nixon, former representative in the Legislature, died at Ringwood. A military ball, in honor of the 36th infantry and 8th cavalry members who were home on furlough, was held on Feb. 12, with tickets at $2. Business at the local railroad station had totaled $1,400 during January.
First National Bank
The First National bank was organized with a capital of $50,000, the directors being Neill Donnelly, M. F. Irwin, L. S. Church, C. B. Durfee, A. W. Fuller and Joel H. Johnson with Durfee as cashier, and there were rumors of another bank starting soon. A great number of the boys in blue were home on furloughs.
Daniel Tripp opened a harness shop in February. F. C. Joslyn and Wm. Hill were licensed as auctioneers. Many local citizens were starting for the gold fields in Idaho. Property assessed for taxation decreased from $3,876,000 in 1862 to $3,343,802 in 1863, as the holders were fearing increased taxes.
Another Bank Started
The Second National bank was organized by W. A. McConnell, P. C. Teeple, T. D. Murphy, A. P. Wells, J. Walkup, M. L. Joslyn, Dr. P. W. Murphey and Dr. B. A. Wade. Malachi Church and Lorraine Harper were married on Feb. 18, it being Church's second experience. Deaths from consumption (not called tuberculosis then) were numerous. The 8th Illinois cavalry passed through Chicago mi route from Washington, D. C, with about 150 McHenry county men in the bunch. The farmers commenced sowing seed the last days of March, 1864. Re-enlisted men in the 15th Illinois were home on furlough. The whole anti-Demoqratic ticket was elected in the South ward and carried the village for president of the board by three majority, and the entire township ticket was a Union victory. Editor Abraham E. Smith whopped it up because he "was a father at last." H. W. Wentworth sold his boot and shoe business to J. L. Hoyt. The streets were invaded by citizens who were looking for butter, the price of which had advanced to 40 cents a pound, and it was said that "money was plen ty, butter scarce." Judd & Austin advertised cane seed for sale, and "raise your own sugar" was the cry. The board of trustees chose J. A. Parrish for village clerk and G. H. Griffing for street commissioner. Alvin F. Davis and Emma L. Button were married on April 14, near Ridge field. Watrous & Gates dissolved partnership in the hardware business and Watrous & Co. continued the business. The village board voted to issue no saloon licenses for the coming year. Wheat was selling for $1.13 per bushel, oats at 61 cents, eggs at 12% cents. Rev. John Blood, acting pastor of the Presbyterian church, returned from his vacation and reported that his son had been wounded while a member of the Connecticut volunteers. Strawberries were selling at $1.50 per quart in Chicago, and the paper advised the people to cultivate carefully such a precious crop. Anxiety was felt for the 95th Illinois, as they had not been heard from in a month after their safe arrival at Vicksburg. The First National bank was paying out its own money. "Isn't Woodstock getting to be 'some pumpkins'?" the paper inquired. Consolidation of various lines in the region made the Chicago & North-Western railroad one of the largest and wealthiest railroad corporations in the country.
Lincoln Renominated
Abraham Lincoln was renominated at Baltimore by acclamation, with Andrew Johnson, "a war Democrat," for his running mate. The Union party nominated Oglesby for governor. The village board changed its mind and concluded to issue saloon licenses. The Fugitive Slave law was repealed by Congress. Disaster met the 95th Illinois infantry at Guntown, Miss., "while under orders from that drunkard, General Sturgis." There had been several deaths and many wounded. There had been no rain in Richmond, Hebron, Alden or Chemung for two months, the paper stated. The Sentinel raised its subscription price to $2 per year, as print paper had raised in price from 8 to 18 cents, and ink from 50 to 75 cents, type and labor proportionately. Capt. W. H. Stewart, who had been wounded in action, arrived at home July 5, not as badly wounded as first thought. Prospects for crops were not good in the county because of drouth, which hurt everything, and it was general throughout the country. Farmers were harvesting what was left of their crops after drouth and chinch-bugs had done their devastating work, and help was scarce at $2 to $3 per day. Lieut. M. F. Ellsworth, a wounded member of the 95th Illinois was back home.
July, 1864, to 1865
The people were crying for peace, but "not at any price," and Lincoln called for 500,000 more men. General Sherman and his army had taken Atlanta on that famous "march to the sea." Fred Joslyn opened a feed store in the Rat-Hole. The first day of August was set as a day of fasting and prayer. E. Emery Richards and Frances A. Wait were married on July 19. Sidewalks of two-inch planks a foot apart, with gravel in between, had been ordered laid from Dean street to the residence of T. F. Johnson on the south side of South street. Wheat was selling at $1.80 in the local market. The Union party nominated M. L. Joslyn for representative, EL E. Thomas for sheriff, Josiah Dw.ight for circuit clerk (on eleventh ballot), and Daniel Blair for coroner. J. H. Finch, a local farmer, had corn 12 feet 6 inches high on his farm, and brought in stalks to prove it.Rev. R. K Todd announced the opening of the Woodstock University had been postponed until Sept. 20. Prices of job work and advertising had been advanced 50 per cent. McClellan and Pendleton had been nominated to oppose Lincoln and Johnson. Wheat rose to $1.90 per bushel. The Democrats nominated Merrill C. Johnson, of Woodstock, to oppose John F. Farnsworth for congressman, which the paper considered a joke. Gold was quoted at 187 to 206, and it was fluctuating.
Church Members Scolded
Rev. John Blood preached his farewell sermon in the Presbyterian church and said a few plain words to the people present—"of their laxity of attendance upon Divine worship and the constant bickerings and coolness between members of the church which paralyzed its usefulness." Eighteen names were drawn on the draft in Grafton and 40 in Hartland— first draft in the county. The Hartland postoffice was discontinued in favor of Woodstock, and also the Belden postoffice. Charles A. Given and Susan F. Rider were married on Oct. 20. President Lincoln was elected for the second time, his majority in Illinois having been 30,000. The Republican majority in McHenry county was about 1,800. All furloughs had been revoked and the provost marshal was ordered to arrest all those found in the district as deserters. Ira Slocum and Sarah C. Davis were married on the 6th of December.
Print Paper Scarce
Print paper had risen to 25 cents a pound, and printing was a hardship. A Young Men's association started a few weeks back was designed as a basis for a Literary and Library association, which finally eventuated, with T. D. Murphey, C. B. Durfee, Neill Donnelly, Abraham E. Smith and C. H. Russell as trustees which was the beginning of our present splendid public library. "Time marches on," said an editorial in the issue of Jan. 4, 1865, proving that the expression is not new at all. Gates & Dodge succeeded Watrous & Co. in the hardware business. Richard Yates was elected senator from Illinois after his term as governor. He had promised to "abate his one fatal habit," the paper said.
Rumors of Peace
"The papers are filled with rumors of peace—the very air seems laden with peace whisperings," was the beginning of an editorial of Jan. 18, 1865. That was prophetic, as later weeks disclosed. Several town boards had voted township bounties and a meeting had been called to consider the same in Dorr. Frank E. Hanaford wrote his father that the citizens of his vicinity who were members of the 15th Illinois "are in good health." Charleston, S. C, the hotbed of treason, has been evacuated. Frank E. Hanaford was met on the streets of Chicago on Feb. 19, after having escaped from a rebel prison in Dixie, along with Andrew Lascelle, J. Sheldon, B. Gardner and D. Burton. It was a heroic escape and the story concerning it was a thrilling one. Dr. Stone sold his drug store in Phoenix block to Dr. Adams. It was proposed to have a hook and ladder company in Woodstock, and the people of Harvard had purchased a fire engine. Mentioned on the program of a concert given in the court house on the 7th of March were Misses Richards and Ellsworth, Messrs. Durfee and Murphey, Miss Salisbury, Mrs. Sherwood, E. E. Richards, Messrs. Choate Buck and Mr. Titcomb. It was called an "amateur concert." President Lincoln was inaugurated for the second time on March 4, the first time in 20 years that a president had succeeded himself. Rev. I. II. Fairchild, after having been expelled from the M. E. church four years past was invited to return to the fold.
Sounds Like Today
"In these times," it was said, "yea, thrice blessed is he who, at this time, is independently poor," as "everywhere, all around, capitalists are failing, quaking in mortal agony as the golden mercury at Wall street slowly sinks to the goal of par." Chas. H. Russell had been appointed to take the census in McHenry county. There was no further draft in McHenry county, as all quotas were substantially complete. No house or room could be rented in Woodstock, as all were occupied. The stars and stripes were waving over the capitol of the Old Dominion, as Richmond had been captured, and the flag also went up over Fort Sumter. Bonfires blazed, bells were rung, guns fired and everybody in Woodstock was enthusiastically patriotic. The 95th Illinois was in the vicinity of New Orleans, the 124th at Fort Gaines and Mobile had been reduced.There was a terrible accident at Marengo when a cannon exploded in celebration of victory in the war. On April 12 the paper said: "Lee has surrendered and the end draws nigh. The largest, the finest and the bravest army of the rebels, has succumbed at last to the prowess of the national troops and laid down their arms."
There was a great demand for brick for building purposes in Woodstock, and the opening of a brick yard was suggested, as there was plenty of clay available.
(Continued On- Page Seven)

GEORGE HERDKLOTZ, MRS. GEORGE HERDKLOTZ [photos]
George Herdklotz, son of Michael and Sarah (Schmidt) Herdklotz, came to McHenry county in 1839, his brother, Peter J., having preceded him one year.
When he first came to this county he was without means, but by industry and energy accumulated a farm on Queen Anne Prairie of 156 acres of the finest prairie land. He was married in 1853 to Effie Kuhn, a daughter of Jacob and Catherine (Neighardt) Kuhn. They had seven children—William, now deceased, married Charlotte Sondericker; George M., deceased, Jacob died in infancy; Sarah, married Fred Schneider; Kate, married John A. Miller; Edward; Ida, married Charles F. Eckert. Of the children, William and George have died, while the others are well known residents of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Herdklotz were highly respected pioneer residents of Greenwood township. The old home farm is no longer in the family, but the children and their descendants are all counted among the worthy citizens or Woodstock. They are as follows: Mrs. Charlotte Herdklotz, widow of William Herdklotz. Wheeler street. Mrs. Sarah Schneider, 411 N. Madison street. Mrs. John A. Miller (Kate), 317 Lake avenue. Edward Herdklotz, 824 Clay street. Mrs. Ida Eckert, 702 Olive avenue.
JOHN A. DUFIELD [photo]
Was for many years a resident of the farm community south of Woodtock, but later sold his farm and removed to Woodstock, where he lived with his daughter, Lillian, and her husband, Milan H. Fisher, on Lake street, and where his wife preceded him in death by about 30 years. Mrs. Dufield was a sister of Mrs. W. E. Fish, her maiden name having been Martha Smith. When Mr. Fisher, the son-in-law. was called to Chicago to pursue his employment Mr. Dufield accompanied the family and there he died on Jan. 1, 1927, aged nearly 85 years, having been born Feb. 6, 1842. Mr. Dufield's only immediate surviving relatives are Mrs. George Goodfellow and Mrs. M. Guthrie, grand-daughters, residents of Chicago. John A. Dufield was a quiet, unobtrusive man, but he had opinions of expressing them. For many years he was a member and part of the time an officer of the local camp of the Modern Woodmen of America. His remains were brought from Chicago and interred in the Dufield cemetery south of town.
FRANK L. SHORT [photo]
Was the youngest son of Frank and Catherine Short, pioneers of Greenwood township, and was a native son of that township, where he was born and reared to manhood's estate and obtained his education in the common schools. After attaining his majority he continued to follow the calling of a farmer on his own farm of 200 acres in that township for a number of years, ultimately moving to Woodstock and engaging in business. Mr. Short was twice married, his first wife having been Nellie, a daughter of Humphrey Quinlan, a Greenwood pioneer, who lived but six years after her marriage. In November, 1877, he was married to Rose P., a daughter of John A. Kennedy and sister of A. D., William, John A., Frank and Paul Kennedy. Mr. Short was a leading Democrat all of his life and in 1891 was elected to the city council and served until 1893. Mr. Short was public-spirited, a great benefactor of the poor and oppressed, and a kind husband and father. He left a widow, who died recently in Chicago, and five children when he passed away on Feb. 6, 1894, aged nearly 50 years.
SYLVESTER McGEE [photo] MRS. SYLVESTER McGEE [photo]
One of the real pioneers of this region, Mr. McGee was born in Ireland, Mar. 17, 1902; came to McHenry county in 1841, locating on 320 acres of land in the town of Hartland, where he and his devoted wife reared 11 children, all of whom survived him at the time of his death, Mar. 20, 1887, having just passed his 85th milestone of life, but all of whom except one son, Sylvester, have passed to eternal rest. Among the children were Sylvester, who has been making his home for several years in the Cottage hospital at Harvard, where he welcomes the friends of other days. Others of blessed memory were John, Dennis, William, Thomas and Owen and others equally well remembered, and the numerous descendants of this venerable agriculturist are scattered to other homes, although a number reside in Woodstock, Harvard and other places. The biographer at the time of Mr. McGee's death commented as follows: "Mr. McGee was a man of robust health, always hale and hearty, the father of 12 children. The undoubted integrity of these children speaks volumes for the names of father and mother, for they are every inch of them men and women who would be a credit to the most exalted parentage." Mr. McGee was one of those brave, sturdy souls who have made our community what it is, one of the best in the land. Mrs. McGee, the devoted wife, who made her home a place of great hospitality and good cheer, passed to her reward in August, 1884, in her 76th year, after which the bereaved husband made his home until his death with the sons, Sylvester and Thomas, on the old home farm two miles west of Woodstock.


Eightieth Anniversary Edition WOODSTOCK DAILY SENTINEL, WOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS PAGE SEVEN
PAPER FULL 0F WAR NEWS EACH WEEK FROM ALL FRONTS
(Continued From Page Six) Woodstock Celebrates
There was a general illumination on Monday evening in honor of the surrender of Lee to Grant. The square presented a lively and animated appearance, to which the boys added the blaze of a large bonfire. The new circulating library was in full operation. The remnants of the 15th Illinois, so long confined in rebel prisons, had been paroled and were in Vicksburg awaiting transportation home. The men who escaped with Hanaford and Lascelle were recaptured and one of them wounded.
Postmaster Smith was rejoicing that he had served a full term of four years in that office.
Pres. Lincoln's Death
The columns of the editorial page were turned because of the assassination of President Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth in Ford theatre in Washington, an event that was deplored throughout the civilized world. The Sentinel referred to the same editorially as follows: "ABRAHAM LINCOLN Abler pens than our have written eulogies and touching tributes to the worth of the dead statesman whose loss to the nation now deplores. We shall nat attempt it. The genial kindness of his nature—the marvellous acuteness of his intellect—his plain and simple yet apt manner of addressing himself to the people—his wonderful sagacity and practical common sense—the versatility of his genius— find above all, the never failing amiability of the man, are all written on memory's page, seared in by the fearful death he died, and will never be erased from the hearts of American citizens while liberty is enjoyed. "Personally, Abraham Lincoln had no enemies. He died through no personal malice. He fell because he represented his country, as no other man ever did. He died a martyr on the altar of liberty—of his country's unity and glory! Let us then do honor to his name. In honoring him, we honor ourselves. In him were the virtues of the American nation combined. "Peace to his ashes! Honor to his memory! With him life's fitful fever is over; and what an eventful life he lived! Thousands upon thousands yet unborn will hail him as their Father and their Liberator. Farewell, noble Lincoln. Good night to thy form, but good morn to thy fame!" William B. Smith was again wounded, in action in the attack on Spanish Fort in Mobile bay, and was carried from the battlefield to be transported to his home. All buildings in Woodstock around the square, and many homes were draped appropriately in mourning for President Lincoln. Earl D. Thomas, of the 4th cavalry, for four years, which he entered at the age of 14, went to West Point for military training at the request of Congressman Farnsworth. John F. Bunker disposed of his hardware business to Wm. B. Austin and Amos K. Bunker, his son-in-law and son. On May 21 the last army of the rebellion had capitulated and the war was really at an end, and we regret chat more space can not be allotted to a narration of the same. President Andrew Johnson was making a few changes in his cabinet, from which Stanton was about to retire. Rev. John Thomas resigned as pastor of the Presbyterian church. There was a great celebration of the 4th of July in Woodstock, with Hon. J. A. Sleeper, of Chicago, as the orator of the day. Rev. Nathan Jewett sold his drug store at No. 1 Excelsior block to Wm. E. Smith.
July, 1865, to 1866
The attempt to lay the Atlantic cable seemed to have been a failure, and the steamer Great Eastern had gone back to Valentia, Ireland.:
A meeting was called to discuss the question of a new school house. The "present rookery" was declared a disgrace to the school district. The citizens present voted to erect a new building at a cost not to exceed $10,000." The members of the 95th Illinois were aboard steamer bound for St. Louis, ready for mustering out and then home again. A lot of the men reached home on Aug. 21. A new bridge had been completed across the Fox river at McHenry. The road past the new cemetery— Oakland—was straightened. T. B. Thorpe was the new principal when school reopened on Sept. 4. The Union county convention nominated Wm. Kerr for county judge, F. J. Mansfield for treasurer and M. D. Hoy for county clerk. The Democrats nominated Geo. A. Austin for judge, Elam M. Lamb for clerk, Ira Slocum for treasurer, Thos. McD. Richards for superintendent of schools, and Wm. M. Jackson for surveyor.
Temperance People Active
Woodstock had a Temperance restaurant that was moved from the north side to within three doors of the postoffice on the south side. Members of the 153rd Illinois were coming home from Springfield. They were one-year men. There was scarcely an issue of the paper that did not contain accounts of one or more burglaries of business houses or homes. J. J. W. Starr and Frances H. Whitney were married on Sept. 17.
There were no vacant houses to rent in town, and hotel accommodations were very poor. There were 475 more males than females in the county, according to census figures. A meeting was called to decide whether the new school should be of brick or frame. October elections registered great Republican victories. Steps were taken to organize a Congregational church society. Dr. William P. Adams and Mary Virginia Dunning were married on Oct' 17. Smith & Giddings opened a new store. Brick or Wood
People decided three times by two-thirds majority to build a brick building, but the board demurred and finally called a meeting for Nov. 11 for authority to issue bonds for a brick building. Less than 2,000 votes were cast at the November election, of which more than 1,200 were Republican. The Sentinel editor boasted that he had for seven years been connected with the paper, a greater consecutive length of time than any other man ever held that job up to that time. D. W. Dawson offered to take photographs at $2 per dozen. Runaway horses injured somebody nearly every week. The postoffice called Erin in Hartland, was discontinued. A mania of marriage was on, there being several every week. The Congregational society began holding meetings in Phoenix hall. There were 331 pupils enrolled in the public school, and the daily attendance averaged 241—principal and three teachers to handle them. Wm. E. Smith sold the corner drugstore to Giddings & Richardson. President Johnson's message to Congress filled all of first page and two columns on second page. Dr. C. B. Durfee opened a singing school in town, as several mothers, notably Tower, did betimes.
Wood For Fuel
A tight board fence six feet high had been built around the county woodpile at the court house, where people helped themselves. Miss A. A. Smith opened a select school. The Methodist and Presbyterian churches had Christmas trees on the glad day. In the issue of Jan. 3, 1966, Abraham E. Smith bade good-bye to Sentinel readers and the names of Sapp (Frank M.) and Richardson (Geo. B.) appeared at the head of the columns and they made their bows to the public, filling two columns. Both of the new owners were entire strangers to the community. The date of publication was changed from Wednesday to Thursday, and they promised more local news would be the most attractive feature of the paper.
Rev. Hay Comes
Rev. S. C. Hay became pastor of ihe Presbyterian church about this time. Ten marriage notices appeared in this issue, and the licenses issued in 1865 totaled 177. I. T. Salisbury & Bros, asked the people to settle their accounts, as there was to be a change in the firm.
By a majority of 18 erection of the new school house was postponed until necessary funds had been raised by taxation. On Feb. 22 the paper was changed to eight columns, narrower measure, with new headings and new dress. James M. Kimball and Philinda Freeman were married on the 19th of February. M. D. Hoy offered his farm in Alden for sale. The fine sleighing prevailed all winter had turned to mud on March 1 and the mud was up to the hubs of vehicles, as it frequently was those days. Rev. Wm. M. Haigh, of Bristol, Ill., was called to the local Baptist church. The organization of a brass band was urged. Henry Young opened a marble shop.
There was a fire in the school building that did small damage. J. L. Hoyt took a partner in his business in the person of Wm. H. Fuller, of Harvard. The paper said the city was a gloomy place—nothing doing, plenty of mud. In the county there were 11,389 people younger than 21 years, with 1,203 such in Dorr township.
Joslyn Village President
M. L. Joslyn was elected president of the village and William Kerr supervisor of Dorr. The Harvard Independent became a quarto in size.
The paper commented upon the great growth of Woodstock that was apparent. Saloon licenses were raised from $30 to $50 and some of the owners balked. William H. Gregory and Susan F. Murphy were married on April 11. The sugar cane factory of Kasson & Lewis was destroyed by fire. Workmen were enlarging the capacity of the Woodstock house.
In a "hauling bee" stone was being toted for the foundation of the Congregational church, the building that preceded the present structure. On account of ill-health, Rev. S. C. Hay relinquished charge of the Presbyterian pastorate and was succeeded by Rev. T. C. Kirkwood. The paper said: "Although his residence here has been brief, he (Rev. Hay) has by his talents and zeal, secured many warm friends outside of, as well as in, the church, who will regret that any circumstance should necessitate the loss of so capable a minister and so worthy a citizen." Reuben Hurd's farm house was destroyed by fire.
In the week of May 17, Wm. E. Smith became postmaster because of the forced resignation of his brother, Abraham E., who was about to depart to take charge af a daily newspaper at Indianapolis, Ind. Work was started on the foundations of the new brick school house, and bids were asked for moving the old house and its foundations. Complaint was filed against Rev. R. K. Todd for obstructing the north end of Madison street. Bunker & Stevers opened a lumber yard. It was definitely settled to have a foundry in Woodstock, with P. C Teeple and Henry Eckert in charge.
New Baptist Church
On June 7 the foundations were being laid for a new Baptist church just west of the court house, the present structure, which had its spire blown off during a tremendous storm in later years. The Peak family of bell-ringers gave an entertainment—a popular company.
The old Waverly house on Main street was overhauled and made ready for the occupancy of George L. Sherwood, formerly of the Exchange hotel. The town of Seneca was infested by wolves, many heads being brought in for bounties paid by the county. The Masonic lodges of the county celebrated the 25th anniversary of their patron saint, John the Baptist. The Pratt, a really first-class hotel, was opened for business by T. J. Pratt. The old school house was being moved, part of the same to be located cn the Donnelly property, corner of Jackson and Throop streets.
October, 1866 to 1867
Lyman Trumbull, noted politician, spoke in Woodstock on Oct. 24. Patrick & RockWood, of Marengo, had a full-page "ad" in The Sentinel, the first "ad" of those dimensions to appear in a county paper. The Democrats nominated S. Van Curen for sheriff, John Frett for coroner and Col. Wm. Avery for representative. The Sentinel outfit was moved to the northeast corner of the public square, over the corner drug store. The Republicans named T. B. Wakeman for the Legislature, John M. Southworth for sheriff and Dr. D. P. Conklin for coroner. Rev. G. L. S. Stuff became pastor of the M. E. church. Dr. O. H. Crandall (Dem.) was appointed as postmaster to succeed Wm. E. Smith, resigned.
School was opened, with two grades in Union hall and two in Phoenix hall. I. T. Salisbury & Bros, dissolved partnership and the new firm became I. T. & A. L. Salisbury. Joseph Salisbury, the third brother, sought other fields.
New Congregational Church
L. H. S. Barrows had the contract for the carpenter work on the new
Congregational church. About 140 marriage licenses were issued by the county clerk up to July, 1866. Hon. William Kerr, prominent lawyer and holder of county offices, died on July 27. The new mansion of Dr. C. B. Durfee was being erected at Jackson and Hayward streets, which is now a hotel. Dan. C. Joslyn's new brick yard presented a busy scene, with a capacity of 20,000 bricks per day. M. F. Irwin was appointed postmaster on July 19.
Baseball News
First baseball news appeared. Woodstock played Harvard on the fair grounds, with score of 57 to 44. Woodstock players were: W. Hitchoock (pitcher). B. Sherman, E. Johnson, O. V. Davis, P. Hoyt, Geo. Mansfield, A. Murphy, W. Sherman and C. Vining. The second team, the Tigers, was composed of H. Mansfield, E. Hawley (pitcher), E. W. Wilber, J. G. Eastwood, C. G. Thomas, J. B. Medlar, W. Whitson, W. Johnson and W. Kesler. Local churches were renting "slips," proceeds going towards pastors' salaries. The Congregational church was dedicated on Dec. 13, the pastor being Rev. J. J. A. T. Dixon.
Martin Cooney was murdered on Doc. 8 while walking along the rail-
road tracks towards his home in Hartland, being struck a terrible blow on the head, with the assailant unknown. There were three chimney fires in local business houses, and there was no fire protection extant. The new Baptist church was dedicated on Dec. 9. The foundry began operations on the engine room, with Henry Kelly the general operator. At the Nov. 6 election the Republicans polled high vote for 2,700 while the Democrats had a high of 698. Illinois cast 49,000 Republican majority. On Oct. 24 Dr. Wm. H. Buck and Mary Ellsworth were married,' and on-the 22nd Benjamin N. Smith and Addie Dake. A woman, 111 years old, died in Hartland—no name given. Wolves to the number of 26 were killed in the county the previous year, and 26 divorces were granted by the courts, while 232 marriage licenses were issued. Edward Burnside, former editor of the Woodstock Union, died on Dec. 25 at Manchester, Iowa.
Better Mail Service
An effort was being made to secure two mails a day from Chicago. Miss Maria Stark opened a select school on Jackson street. Dr. W. H. Buck, from Richmond, purchased the practice of Dr. J. H.Lewis in Woodstock.
The report of the public school for the first and second grades to Feb. 22. 1867, contained the names of Luman Hoy, Leander Young, Eddie Stone, John Boudish, Belle Russell, Eva Russell, Martha Knutson, Martha Wicker, Julia Solverson, William Murphy, Charles Kelly, Richard Russell, Anna Crosby, Jennie Lemmers, Thomas Russell, Frank Quirk, Libbie Lemmers, Lizzie Johnson, Mary Quirk, Katie Corlett, Roy Hoy and Dora Woodard. Mr. DeClercq was about to start a cheese factory, and a woolen mill was in contemplation. The contract for the new school house was let at $30,000 to a firm from Buslinell, Ill., the first rooms to be ready by Nov. 1, 1867. There was a concert in the Baptist church, given by Hary Harper and Belle Richards, assisted by G. W. Ryder, Mrs: E. E. Sherwood, Carrie Irwin, E. E. Richards and A. R. Murphey. Anderson R. Murphey and Emma L. Anderson were married on Feb. 14. A Prohibition society was organized, with J. J. Murphy as president and M. D. Hoy as secretary, and quite a drive had been started to eliminate the saloons. There were two feet of snow on the level in February, 1867.
(Continued in Section Three)
SLAVIN AND MERWIN TELEPHONE 56
T. B. Merwin Licensed Embalmer and Funeral Director Phone 71
Ambulance Service Phone 56 or 71
Largest Stock of Furniture and Rugs in McHenry County. RUGS AND LINOLEUMS Living Room Suites Dining Room Suites Bed Room Suites Lamps Cedar Chests Breakfast Sets Baby Carriages and Beds OUR MOTOR EQUIPMENT [PHOTO]

PAGE EIGHT WOODSTOCK DAILY SENTINEL, WOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS Eightieth Anniversary Edition
GREETINGS We, the elected officials of McHenry County, take pleasure in extending our congratulations and best wishes to the Woodstock Daily Sentinel
On the anniversary of its 80th year as the leading newspaper of the county. Established in the year 1856 it has continuously and successfully carried on for four score of years, recording the events of Woodstock and the county and battling for what it considered was for the best interests of the citizens. Now, at the end of its eightieth year, it is demonstrating its leadership in the journalistic field by producing this edition, taking its readers back over the years and again calling attention to hundreds of the most interesting happenings which occurred during this extended period. We wish for the Woodstock Sentinel a continuation of its prosperity and civic usefulness.
HENRY L. COWLIN County Judge WILLIAM M. CARROLL State's Attorney LESTER EDINGER County Treasurer ETHEL C. COE Superintendent of Schools HENRY A. NULLE Sheriff WILL T. CONN County Clerk RAYMOND D. WOODS County Clerk EDWARD H. COOK County Coroner