George Shatswell, 15th Illinois Infantry

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

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

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

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

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

Allen Spaulding (1807 - 1901), circa 1880. Dunn Museum 2011.0.124

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Confederate Canteen used by Richard Shatswell, his sons William,George and John, 

and comrade George W. Noble while prisoners at Andersonville (Fort Sumter). Ancestry.com, Phillip George Ehemann.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dunn Museum 57.2.5

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

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

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

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

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

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

The marriage announcement for George and Julia Ann. Waukegan Weekly Gazette, July 22, 1867. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

George and Ann had three children: Frederick (b. 1869), Nellie (b.1875), and Hattie (b.1877).

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

Sources:

• George Shatswell's Civil War veteran's pension statement of December 8, 1884, provided most of the detail for this post. (Copy of handwritten statement Dunn Museum files). 
• "Past and Present of Lake County, Illinois," Elijah M. Haines, 1877. 
• "A History of Waukegan Township Lake County Illinois 1835-1850," Al Westerman, 2013.
• "Married." Waukegan Weekly Gazette, July 22, 1867.
• Ancestry.com (census records, city directories)
• Fold3.com (pension files)

The Bain Wagon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bain Wagon advertisement, 1916.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Bain Wagon Company painted its logo

on the side of  "The Bain" wagons.

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

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

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

- Diana Dretske, Curator ddretske@lcfpd.org

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

James T. Bacon (1830 - 1895)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Browe School History, Bess Bower Dunn Museum)

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

James and Fanny wed on May 10, 1855.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Union Cemetery, Waukegan, Illinois. FindAGrave.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

One-Room School Teacher, Fanny Hinkston

A picture is worth a thousand words.

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

Fanny Hinkston Bacon (1831 - 1858)

Photo circa 1855. Yorkhouse School History, Collections of Bess Bower Dunn Museum.

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

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

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

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

York House School as it looked in 1855. (BBDM Collection)

The plain rectangular building with no embellishments was typical of Midwestern one-room schoolhouses.

The school was first built in the early 1840s as a log cabin. This frame structure may have been 

built by the time Fanny Hinkston taught there in 1849.

In October 1850, Fanny was residing a couple of miles south of the schoolhouse with her sister, Hannah Hinkston Spaulding (Spalding), and her children. Hannah was the wife of Allen Spaulding and sister of Lorenzo Hinkston. Although no online family histories connect Frances "Fanny" Hinkston to Hannah and Lorenzo, they were siblings.

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

Emily Hinkston Moulton started attending the York House School 

when she was five years old in 1849. She is pictured here about 1865.

Dunn Museum Collection

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

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

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

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

Three years later, in April 1858, Fanny died. There is no record of the cause of death, but she may have died in childbirth. Fanny's obituary stated that she was the sister of "L. Hinkston," referring to Lorenzo Hinkston.

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

Photo by Pence on FindAGrave.com

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

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

Diana Dretske, Curator ddretske@lcfpd.org

Sources:

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

Mother Rudd's Temperance Tavern

The historic Mother Rudd House stands on the corner of Old Grand Avenue and Kilbourne Road in Gurnee. The building is a testament to Lake County's settlement period and the county's role in the national Temperance Movement.

Mother Rudd House, Gurnee, Illinois. Built in 1843.
Photo courtesy of Warren Township Historical Society. 

Wealthy Buell Harvey Rudd (1793 - 1880), endearingly known as "Mother Rudd," was Lake County's first woman innkeeper, a temperance supporter, and one of the county's best known citizens. She founded the O'Plain House (today's Mother Rudd House), as a temperance tavern in 1843.

Temperance taverns developed in the 19th century out of the Temperance Movement, which initially railed against hard liquor, but soon advocated abstinence from all alcohol.

This social movement was mostly made up of women, who saw the ills of menfolk drinking whiskey, rum and hard cider at all hours of the day. Drinking hard liquor was culturally accepted and widespread, but by the late 1830s, temperance taverns were established as an alternative to public bars where alcohol was served.

The Temperance Movement, which had its start in New England in the early 1800s, was transplanted to the Midwest by settlers. Among those newly settled Lake Countians were Wealthy and Jonathan Harvey.

Wealthy and Jonathan had married in 1813 in the prosperous whaling port of New London, Connecticut. They lived in Litchfield, Herkimer County, New York, and later in Summit County, Ohio before coming to O'Plain (now Gurnee) with their 10 surviving children, aged 6 to 29.

It is generally believed that Jonathan and Wealthy Harvey arrived in O'Plain around 1842, following Wealthy's brothers, Horatio and Abel Buell.

The settlement of O'Plain was appealing due to its location at the intersection of the Milwaukee Road, and the Fox Lake and Little Fort Road (now Grand Avenue). Innkeepers, grocers, and blacksmiths converged at this point to provide services to travelers and the influx of settlers.

Milwaukee Road and Grand Avenue intersecting at the iron bridge
over the Des Plaines River, circa 1900. Mother Rudd House in distance.

In 1843, the Harveys purchased 77 acres from Isaiah Marsh at today's Kilbourne Road and Old Grand Avenue. (Kilbourne Road had originally been part of the Milwaukee Road). Along with having acreage to farm, the property included a settlement house built by the New York Land Company, which provided temporary housing to settlers.

Shortly after their arrival, Wealthy and Jonathan set about building a new home for their family with accommodations for travelers, across the road from the settlement house. It is probable that part of the original settlement house was used in the new structure.

When planning the new frame structure, a carpenter offered to build it for free if the couple paid for the doors at a rate of $1 for the first door, $2 for the second door, $4 for the third door, and so on. Initially, the Harveys thought this was a good deal until a friend calculated that the last door (there would be 22) would cost them $2,097,152!

O'Plain was not a dry community, and Wealthy took a stand against her alcohol-serving tavern neighbors, by opening her temperance tavern—the O'Plain House. A nearby public bar with one of the worst reputations was Barney Hick's "California Exchange." Hick's place was so raucous that the one-room school situated across the street had to be re-located because "people resented having their children forced to see the drunken men who frequented the tavern."

"Woman's Holy War" an allegorical political cartoon representing the Temperance Movement.The Saint Joan of Arc-styled leader is part of a group of "holy women" destroying barrels of alcohol. (Published by Currier & Ives, New York, 1874. Library of Congress online)

Sadly, on January 22, 1845, Jonathan Harvey passed away. He was 55 years old. 

On November 14, 1846, Wealthy married Erastus Rudd. Rudd farmed the land while Wealthy ran the Temperance tavern, which became known as "Mother Rudd's."

From the start, Mother Rudd's O'Plain Tavern was a place for the community to come together, and was used as a Town Hall for local elections and meetings. At Christmas, Wealthy offered customers elaborate dinners that included oysters and pastries, and entertainment such as sleighing parties.

Intersection of the old Milwaukee Road/today's Kilbourne Road (left) 
and Grand Avenue, showing Mother Rudd House at right. Circa 1910.
Courtesy of Warren Township Historical Society.

During the Civil War, the Rudd's were strong Union supporters. Local legend states that the Rudd's barn, and possibly the tavern's basement, were used to hide enslaved people seeking freedom via the Underground Railroad. 

In 1862, Erastus Rudd was appointed the town's postmaster. This made their home not only an inn, but also the post office.

In June 1870, Erastus Rudd died of dropsy (edema). After her second husband's death, Wealthy dressed in black for the rest of her life, and later added a white lace cap on her head. 

Now in her late seventies, Wealthy discontinued operating her home as a tavern. She lived there until her own death on August 8, 1880.

Wealthy's daughter, Nancy Harvey Mutaw, re-opened the house as an inn, continuing her mother's legacy. According to the Warren Township Historical Society, Nancy operated the inn until about 1894. She died in 1915.

Nancy Harvey Mutaw (1830 - 1915),
daughter of "Mother Rudd," circa 1890. Findagrave.com online

After Nancy's death, the property was sold to the McCann family, who for a time, had a candy store on the front porch.

After a series of owners, in 1984, the Village of Gurnee purchased the historic building and three acres. An agreement was made to partner with the Warren Township Historical Society in the restoration and operation of the house. For over 30 years, the Society has exhibited its historical collections and given tours and programs at the Mother Rudd House, while the Village continues to maintain the building and grounds.

For more information on touring the Mother Rudd House contact the Warren Township Historical Society info@motherrudd.org.

~ ~ ~

Sources:

A History of Lake County, Illinois, John J. Halsey, 1912.
A History of Warren Township, Edward S. Lawson, 1974.
Warren Township Historical Society, Gurnee, Illinois.