( Most recent revision
for this page: 30-JAN-2005 )
OPENING STATEMENT
La Salle County is found in the central
part of Illinois, a Midwestern state of the United States of
America. As a state, Illinois has had a rich and storied history.
As a county of that state, La Salle has had much to do with
that state's history.
If there is any truth in the statement
that Illinois is the heart of the Midwest, then it might also
be equally true that LaSalle County is the crossroads of Illinois.
This website, Ancestral Footsteps In the Sands of Time,
attempts to trace the genealogy of a family whose various branches
either started in, came to, traveled through, lived in, and/or
died in LaSalle County, Illinois. To a large degree, the history
of those various family branches reflects the changing economical
and social scene of Illinois, and specifically, LaSalle County.
Conversely, understanding the early history of LaSalle County
and its home state will go a long way towards helping you, the
reader, to understand the motivations, accomplishments, and
the dreams of the members of this family genealogy. Since the
early history of LaSalle County is more thoroughly described
elsewhere in commercial publications, this overview will simply
attempt to highlight pivotal events in the state and nation
that might have affected the members of this genealogy.
THE COUNTY"S TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY
What is true of the bounties of Illinois
is to a great degree true of the bounties of La Salle County.
Here is a state
which, at the very heart of the "Corn Belt," contains
fields as fertile as any to be found anywhere in the world,
and yet under its richly productive soil lie bituminous coal
reserves greater than those of any other state. Nature has placed
Illinois at the center of the waterways represented by the Great
Lakes and the Mississippi River system...1
La Salle County is comprised of thirty-two
townships totaling about 1,152 square miles in area. The county
is situated in a central position
in the north half of the State of Illinois. As its parent state
is known as the "Prairie State" and/or the "Land
of Lincoln", it will not surprise the reader that La Salle
County is composed of a great deal of prairie land. But the
county's most dominant feature is the Illinois River, "which
intersects the county near the centre, running nearly due west..."2.
Early settlers to the area may have
been confounded when they first experienced the prairie environment.
Lacking trees, the prairie was one of tall grasses which grew
to a height that reached over a man's head. It was not unusual
for the landscape to be blackened by the ashes of lighting-caused
fires. But unlike other counties in Illinois, that of La Salle
was blessed with tree growth along the banks of the many streams
that flowed into the Illinois River. Many early settlers found
themselves gravitating towards the magnet of these tree shaded
waterways.
The influence of the Illinois River
on the activities of settlers to La Salle County will be touched
upon in greater detail, later. For now,
understand that, along the entire length of the river, it only
has a "twenty-eight feet fall in a distance of nearly 200
miles."3 This translates into a river that
has a speed that permitted travel upstream as well as down.
It is within the confines of the borders of La Salle County
that the fall line of the river appear. That fall line occupies
the central position of the county near the present day city
of Ottawa, the county seat.
Citizens of La Salle County have taken
advantage of the blessings of mineral wealth that were, and
to some extent still are, available to them. This list includes
coal, limestone, clay, sand, gravel and silica sand. Silica
sand remains an important resource that is marketed worldwide.
Coal is one of the minerals that no longer has an economic significance
within the confines of La Salle County.
While the coal industry was once a
major employer in La Salle County, the only remains of that
industry are the visible reminders (but usually ignored) of
both the strip-mining and deep-shaft mining that had occurred.
The scars of both types of mining provide daily reminders to
those who drive past them. Many Europeans immigrated to Illinois
for the express purpose of finding employment in that coal industry.
The large family of James
P. Keating was one of those to do just that. Of the eleven
children born to James and his wife, Alice, six of the sons
who immigrated to the Streator area were employed in coal mining.
Even the husband of the one daughter was a miner. One
of the sons eventually worked his way to mine superintendent,
in which capacity he was the first to direct the cutting of
coal from Streator's second vein. Another
son gave not just sweat and tears, but his life, to the
mining of coal. It might be said that at one time "Coal
was King", and the Keatings were some of the king's servants.
While it may be true that the present
and future generations will "...never witness in its native
wilderness and beauty the fairest scenery that uncultivated
nature ever presented to the view of man"4,
it is still good advice to "... husband our resources and
save while we can, having at least a thought for the future"5.
This is an easy sentiment shared by most people who have an
interest in genealogy - a hobby that is based upon the premise
of husbanding resources and having thoughts for future generations.
EARLY VISITORS TO THE COUNTY
The history
of Illinois, which now covers more three centuries of discovery,
exploration, settlement and development, is exciting and full
of variety, and its study is rich and rewarding. Her lands have
been occupied successively by Indians, Frenchmen, Englishmen
and Americans of many national backgrounds.6
Since the first whites to make their
presence felt in La Salle County were French explorers and soldiers,
their story is best told by others. Our story will deal primarily
with those who chose to call this county "home" following
the creation of Illinois as a State in 1818.
The history of the county, as a distinct
entity, can be divided into three periods: its settlement in
the decades of 1830 to 1850; its early development from 1850
to 1860; and its improvement from 1860 on to the present. None
of these periods are separate, as each overlaps and flows into
the next. None apply to the county as a whole, as each took
place at slightly different intervals in varying parts of the
county.
Before there even was a county by
the name of La Salle, people had begun to arrive in the area.
Coming from his native State of Virginia and arriving along
the shores of the Illinois River in 1823, "... Dr. Davidson
... became the first American citizen to establish a home in
present day La Salle County."7 Other American settlers
soon followed that lead. While all of my most immediate and
direct ancestral lines (the KEATINGS and the MARTENS) did not
arrive in La Salle County until the last quarter of the nineteenth
century, members of both these family branches married into
families that had arrived in the county many years prior to
1850. A close study of the "notes" linked from those
individuals will reveal when they, themselves, chose to immigrate
to La Salle County.
Settlement of La Salle County was
the egg that hatched the politics of the area. The early settlers,
who may have numbered between 500 and 700, must have been gratified
when their chosen home was recognized at the state level, even
if they believed that recognition was late in arriving. "On
January 15, 1831, the [Illinois State] Legislature made three
counties out of [what was then] the northern Peoria County,
Illinois."8 As a result, where previously only one
existed, the state lawmakers created three : Putnam, Cook and
La Salle.
People from New England, New York,
Pennsylvania and Ohio were the dominant majority of the settlers
of La Salle County in the decades from 1840 to 1850. One of
these settlers was John Applebee, husband of Sally Brooks, who
arrived in La Salle County in the mid 1850's from his ancestral
home in upstate New York. Though John stayed in Illinois until
only 1865, he left here Nathaniel J. Applebee, my maternal
great great-grandfather. Both of these Applebee ancestors may
have been drawn to the area by the rich farm land that was readily
available.
Other nationalities were not denied.9
Those of Norwegian descent are proud of their early heritage
based in the northeast part of the county - that heritage began
in the 1840's. The uprising of 1848 in lands of the European
Germans led to the resettlement of many of German descent in
the 1850's. A large number of immigrants from Ireland arrived
in La Salle County (the construction of
the Illinois-Michigan Canal was largely due to the muscle of
these Irish laborers) as a result of the consequences of the
1846 potato famine in their native land. Homes were sought in
La Salle County by immigrants of Polish descent who were escaping
from what they considered the oppressive rule of Russia, Austria
or Germany following the European Wars of 1860-1870. A distinct
settlement of those of Scottish descent could be found in the
county by 1860. Each group offered their own unique contributions
which were added to the Melting Pot that defines the face of
the county.
LIFE
IMPROVES IN LaSALLE COUNTY
At one time, one of the motivating
factors in the exploration of unknown lands was the desire to
find an all-water route to the riches that could be gained in
trade with the lands of the Orient. Many of these attempts to
find such a route were made by the Portuguese, the Spanish,
the French and the English. It was on one such attempt that
the importance of the Great Lakes and the Illinois River was
first recognized.
As long ago as 1673, the French explorer,
Louis Joliet, "reported that no waterway existed between
the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River."10 What
is significant is the fact that he concluded with his belief
that it would be feasible to make such a connection with a cut
through the site of the Chicago portage, a distance of only
one and a half miles. This dream would not become a reality
for nearly two centuries.
A water connection between the Great
Lakes and the Mississippi River was a dream that did not die.
In his very first message to the Illinois State Legislature
in 1819, the first governor of the new state of Illinois (it
was admitted to the Union of States in 1818) recommended that
a canal be constructed that would connect the Great Lakes region
with the Illinois River. Ironically, the completion of another
canal helped people to more easily move westward to Illinois.
New York City was connected to the Great Lakes, and hence the
northern half of Illinois, with the completion of the Erie Canal
in 1825.
The population of the new state of
Illinois was growing. No longer were the population centers
concentrated only in the southern half of the state. From this
point on, the center of population density would begin its move
northward. An increased population would make the proposed canal
not only economically possible, but necessary. Still, plans
for such a waterway could not get off the drafting tables.
The first steps towards the reality
of the Illinois and Michigan Canal were made at the federal level.
In 1822 the United States Congress authorized the state of Illinois
to begin construction of this waterway. However, Illinois was
unable to fund the work, and even the sale of the land granted
by the U.S. Congress (land on both sides of the proposed route,
but extending only ninety feet out) was unable to raise enough
capital. Illinois would need more help.
Finally in 1827, Congress
granted the state alternate sections of land, one square mile
each, all along the proposed canal route. The state could sell
this land (290,915 acres) to settlers and companies as a way
of raising funds. The towns of Ottawa and Chicago were laid
out, and in 1830 lots were offered for sale.11
Actual construction of the Illinois
and Michigan Canal began in 1836. Lack of roads presented early
problems. The state taking on added debt for other internal
improvements was another. And unfortunately, all problems were
compounded by the nationwide Panic of 1837. All these were factors
forcing the state to halt construction in 1842.
Realizing the potential advantages
of completing the canal, the governor of Illinois at the time
decided to risk a toss of the dice. Promising to allow foreign
investors to take possession of state lots in Chicago and Ottawa
as well as the lands of the canal corridor in the event that
Illinois would find it necessary to default on loans, "Governor
Thomas Ford negotiated a loan of $1,600,000 with British investors."12
Work was resumed on the canal in 1846
and completed in two short years. As mentioned
earlier, much of the construction was due to the availability
of a ready labor force. The canal was officially opened on April
23, 1848. Eventually a special canal tax on the citizens of
Illinois and the resulting revenues the state earned following
the opening of the canal allowed the state to repay all of its
debt due to these loans.
The Illinois and Michigan Canal proved
its worth for only twelve years. By the end of the American
Civil War, traffic on the canal was no longer of great importance
to either Illinois or La Salle County. Its death blow was dealt
by the more efficient railroads that took its place. But the
canal had positive results. It encouraged the settlement and
development of lands along its corridor. It provided the first
cheap method used by farmers to transport the fruit of their
labors to more distant national markets, not to mention foreign
ones. It provided the impetus for the rapid and large growth
of cities of LaSalle County that were located along the canal
corridor. That growth was both in industry as well as population.
Though I have no proof, I strongly suspect that my Applebee
ancestors made use of the advantages offered by the canal.
You might be interested in photos
taken in and around Ottawa, Illinois. These photos primarily
pertain to the Illinois and Michigan Canal as it existed in
the early 1900's. CLICK
HERE
Interstate 80 now serves La Salle
County in the same way that the Illinois and Michigan Canal
once did. And the Illinois River, with the construction of locks
and dams, is now navigable to a much greater degree than it
was in the nineteenth century. Both "rivers" - that
of concrete and that of water - have helped keep La Salle County
in an enviable location. Both "rivers" have allowed
the citizens of La Salle County to continue to send the results
of their labors to distant shores.
- Robert M. Sutton, Compiler and Editor,
The Heartland: Pages From Illinois History,
Deer Path Publishing Company: Lake Forest, Illinois, 1975,
page i.
- Elmer Baldwin, History of
La Salle County, Rand McNally & Company: Chicago,
1877, page 10.
- Ibid., page 11.
- Ibid., page 17.
- Ibid., page 25.
- Sutton, The Heartland: Pages
From Illinois History, page i.
- Pastfinder: Journal of the
La Salle County Genealogy Guild, Vol. 9, No. 2, 1995,
page 3.
- Pastfinder: Journal of the
La Salle County Genealogy Guild, Vol. 10, No. 2, 1996,
page 26.
- Ibid.
- Pastfinder: Journal of the La
Salle County Genealogy Guild, Vol. 12, No. 1, 1998,
page 1.
- Sutton, The Heartland: Pages
From Illinois History, page 68.
- Ibid., page 70.
Suggested
Reading List
Baldwin, Elmer. History of
La Salle County. Rand McNally & Company: Chicago,
1877.
Bluemer, R.G. Black Diamond Mines:
A History of the Early Coal Mines of the Illinois River Valley.
M&D Printing: Henry, IL, 2001.
Natta, Larry. Canal Town: Ottawa
and the Building of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. Ottawa
Visitors Center: Ottawa, IL, 2000.
Sutton, Robert M., Compiler and Editor.
The Heartland: Pages From Illinois History. Deer
Path Publishing Company: Lake Forest, IL, 1975.
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