A Memory: My Tooth by Hook!

During the 1950s, I grew up next door to my grade school in Mundelein, Illinois. Lincoln Elementary School was the first public school to open in the area in 1894. Originally, it contained only two classrooms. Over the years the building had a few additions, but the original stone-front building is still there. A little background, but that isn’t what my story is about. 

Late 1890s - my white house in middle and school to the right.

Lincoln School with the bell tower - 1905.

There was a wonderful old janitor who seemed to love us kids. He seemed to always have a good day and was always joking around with us. We never saw him angry…well, maybe a few times. I think his name was Mr. Dietz, but it has been so long ago, I might not have that right. Anyway, he was a large man who had a hook hand and often we would ask him if he had a wooden leg because we had all been told about Treasure Island’s Captain Flint. He never exposed either leg, so we never knew for sure. I thought he lived in the basement under the old school. As a little girl with a wild imagination, I figured it was the only place he could have lived. I never saw him come to school in the morning or go home at night. There was only one conclusion…he lived in the basement of the school in the dungeon!

Well, in the dungeon of the original two-room school was the janitor’s office. That part of the basement was dark, damp, and dingy. The walls were made from big old gray stones and mortar which were covered with coal dust from years of using an old coal furnace. There was a dimly lit, narrow stairway leading from the side of the school’s front door. It led down to what I thought could only be the “dungeon.” That stairway was a shortcut to the lunch room. We had to pass through the dungeon, past Captain Flint, to get our lunch. Usually at lunchtime Mr. Dietz would be having his lunch at his desk; in back of him was a darker area used to store coal. When I took the shortcut to the lunchroom, I would hurry pass the old man behind the desk, he would look up, reach out over the front of his desk and snap his hook all the while having a devious smile…just to give me a fright. I would squeal and dash as fast as I could to the door leading to the safety of the brightly lit lunchroom. I could hear him chuckling.

What first grader didn’t fiddle with a loose tooth? One school day I fiddled with mine. I don’t know about you all, but I do know that nowadays this wouldn’t ever be tolerated…. that could be distracting to the class and especially the teacher. It was that day. Did she send me home with my troubles — and hers? No. She sent me down to Captain Flint – to extract the tooth! Did he use a pliers like my dad would have done? No. Did he tie one end of a string to the tooth and the other to a door knob? No! He came over to me and said, “Open up and show me your loose tooth.” Shaking, I tilted my head back and opened wide. Before I knew it, he stuck his HOOK into my mouth and yanked the tooth out!

Old Lincoln School as we know it today. No tower. 

The original school: front three side windows.

George R. Whaples: TRIES TO SET FIRE TO HIS PRISON

I came across a newspaper clipping about Bob's great great uncle George Reuben WHAPLES. This article intrigued me somewhat and I wanted to share what I have found. 

I wouldn't call George the "black sheep" in the family, but that clipping from the Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1922) proved to give me a second thought. This article caught my eye as I was cruising through the online information. It was a little over 123 years ago on January 10, 1896 ... TRIES TO SET FIRE TO HIS PRISON.

A similar electric car coming into Oak Park. Photo found on
Oak Park River Forest Historical Museum website.

Great great uncle George was "drunk and disorderly" on a "west-bound Cicero and Proviso electric car"; the police officer walked him to the police station. On the way George took it to another level and  "whipped out a long knife and made a thrust at him [the officer], severely cutting his right hand, the little finger being nearly severed. Whaples, raving and kicking, was finally placed in a cell and the door closed."

George's prison caper continued..."he was working industriously trying to pry the bars from the window with a chair." It's interesting what he did next... the chair was "broken into splinters and he piled the pieces, with some newspapers, on the floor and set fire to the pile."

George cried out to attract attention. "A stream of ice-cold water was turned on the fire and Whaples. The former was extinguished. The latter was sobered." I am glad both were saved. The charges before the Justice of Peace was for "assault with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct." Not good for George. He was suppose to appear before Justice Smith that same day.

I have no idea if he was convicted or if any what his sentence was. I think if he were sentenced it wasn't for long. I have not been able to find anything more on this subject. I have written letters of inquiry, searched the internet, and local historical society to no avail. If the information comes my way, I will update this posting.

Too much to drink can cause problems for anyone. Bob said he "couldn't be in my family!"  Yet he is Bob's great grandfather Judson's brother.

ABOUT GEORGE
George was the son of Bob's great great grandparents Reuben and Margaret Jane [Spitzer] WHAPLES. He was born 30 Sep 1850 [Oak Ridge, Cicero Township now Oak Park]; the sixth of nine children. 

George Reuben Whaples died 25 Feb 1917 in Oak Park. He is buried in Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, Illinois [Find A Grave Memorial #55129903]. 

Obituary: — Oak Leaves (Oak Park, IL), 3 Mar 1917, pg. 17

PIONEER IS GONE

George R. Whaples, Born Here in 1850—Related to Prominent Families of the Community

George R. Whaples, a pioneer resident of Oak Park, entered into rest last Sunday morning at Oak Park hospital. He was born in Oak Ridge (now Oak Park) September 30, 1850, and, excepting the few years that he resided in Kansas, his whole life was spent here.

Two daughters, Mrs. Frederick S. Nye of Oak Park, and Mrs. C. W. McCullagh of North Yakima, Wash., survive him. He was a son of Reuben Whaples and Margaret Jane Whaples, who were the second settlers here; and a brother of Judson L. Whaples, Mrs. J. W. Tope, Mrs. Delos Hull, Mrs. W. F. Furbeck, Mrs. J. W. Kettlestrings, Mrs. James Spickerman and the late Mrs. T. M. Hull.

Funeral services were held at the residence of his sister, Mrs. J. W. Tope, 927 Lake, on Tuesday afternoon, Dr. William E. Barton of the First Congregational church officiating.

The music consisted of two beautiful songs rendered by Ernest Peacock of the Chicago Mendelssohn club. Interment was at Forest Home.

[Note: Dr. William E. Barton was a Congregationalist minister and historian of Abraham Lincoln. He was the cousin to Clara Barton founder of the Red Cross. For more info: Oberlin College Special Collections]

At least by early 1875, George went out to Kansas and did some farming. I found him on the Kansas State Census:

Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, Kansas; 1875 Kansas Territory Census; 1 Mar 1875 Howard Township, Labette County, Kansas   Post Office: Parker, Kansas Geo R Whaples   25   b. 1850  farmerJohn Gnarling   21

On 1 Oct 1876 in Labette Co., Kansas George married Amanda J. ELLIOT, age 17. She was born about 1859 to Alfred and Lydia (Johnson) Elliott possibly Clark County, Illinois where I found the family in 1860 census. She passed away in 1882 at the age of 23. 

In six years of marriage, George and Amanda had three daughters; first daughter Margaret Belle was born in Edna, Labette County, Kansas Oct. 1877 and the two other girls, Grace b. about 1879 and Mary Louise b. about 1881 were both born in Oak Park, Illinois. 

In 1882 George bought 160 acres of land in Labette County, Kansas. That's the year Amanda died. I'm not sure if he returned to Oak Park shortly after her funeral or not.

From what I know, after Amanda died, George didn't remarry. He came back to Oak Park and was a contractor of various kinds. I don't know what he did with the land, but I would think he sold it.

The July 27, 1890 Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1922) had a "News and Gossip" column called OUTSIDE THE OLD LIMITS and one of area towns written about was Oak Park; it said "Building operations have been energetically pushed here. Among the new structures are Mr. Katenbach's two-story and basement hardware store and flats on Lake street, George Whaples' two-story and basement brick business block on Oak Park avenue."  

So Bob and I went to the Oak Park River Forest History museum to find out some more about where George had his building. We found nothing there in the short time we had, but online I found something interesting... a listing of all the buildings, owners, architects, addresses, and a short description of the property/building. We found out that George lived on Kenilworth Ave. and his brother, Bob's great grandfather, Judson lived on S. Maple [that's another look-up for later]. George's building was a "store"; the architect William J. Van Keuren; description: double store, adjoining Goelitz block, flats above.

We don't know exactly where this building was, but we do know it has to be just south of Lake St. on Oak Park Ave. There are many older store buildings on the "Avenue" which could have been his.

George lived in various places in Oak Park over the years he was back in town. 

According to the Oak Park Vindicator, Friday, December 2, 1898, George "spent Thanksgiving at home. He returned to his business on the road in Iowa next day."

I found George in the 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1910 US Census for Oak Park, and the 1875 Kansas Territory Census. I have yet to find him in the 1900 US census enumerated June 1, 1900, not for the lack of trying. I think he may have been out of touch –– "on the road" maybe.

According the the Oak Park Reporter Thursday, December 13, 1900, George "started Monday on a trip to the Pacific coast cities." My first thought was what cities? Then I remembered his daughter Grace had moved to Hood River, Oregon, but she was still in Oak Park for the birth of her daughter Margaret. He might have gone out there to look at land for his daughter and son-in-law to purchase. Then I checked who else in the family might have lived out there...Gilford Dudley WOODWORTH, Jr. son of Bob's 3x great uncle Gilford Dudley, the brother of Bob's 3x great grandfather John Burton Woodworth. That is a possibility of the reason he went out there.

So much for great great uncle George. I have spent too much time searching. It is time for me to move on and get going on posting more on others in my family and Bob's. If there is anyone out there who can add to this, please don't hesitate to contact me.

WOODWORTHs - New England "Planters" in Nova Scotia

I believe my husband Bob’s 6x great grandfather Silas Woodworth was one of six Woodworth “Planters.” Thus beginning the Woodworth’s in Nova Scotia.

THE PLANTERS
The migration of the New England Planters was the first significant migration to the Atlantic colonies in British North America. In the wake of the deportation of the Acadians in 1755, newly cultivated lands opened up in Nova Scotia, which needed to be populated. Roughly eight thousand men and women from New England came to settle in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia, and in the Upper St. John River Valley of present-day New Brunswick, between 1759 and 1768. They left a legacy that can be found in the social, religious, and political life of Atlantic Canada.

The first move towards settling the newly vacated lands after the Acadian Deportation was made via the Proclamation by General Charles Lawrence to the Boston Gazette on 12 October 1758, inviting settlers in New England to immigrate to Nova Scotia. The agriculturally fertile land in Nova Scotia would be a driving force in enticing the emigrants, but the New England colonists were wary. Lawrence sent a second Proclamation on 11 January, 1759 stating that in addition to land, Protestants would be given religious freedom, and a system of government similar to that in New England would be in place in the Nova Scotia settlements. 

According to an article on the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 website [pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/the-forgotten-immigrants-the-journey-of-the-new-england-planters-to-nova-scotia-1759-1768] by the Western University’s MA Public History Program Students - The Forgotten Immigrants: The Journey of the New England Planters to Nova Scotia, 1759-1768

Red flag shows the area of King’s County, Nova Scotia which sits on the shores of the Bay of Fundy.

In the autumn of 1758, therefore, under instructions from England, the Council adopted a proclamation relative to settling the vacant lands. The proclamation stated that by the destruction of French power in Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, the enemy who had formerly disturbed and harassed the province and obstructed its progress had been obliged to retire to Canada, and that thus a favorable opportunity was presented for "peopling and cultivating as well the lands vacated by the French as every other part of this valuable province". The lands are described as consisting of "upwards of one hundred thousand acres of interval and plow lands, producing wheat, rye, barley, oats, hemp, flax, etc." "These have been cultivated for more than a hundred years past, and never fail of crops, nor need manuring. Also, more than one hundred thousand acres of upland, cleared, and stocked with English grass, planted with orchards, gardens, etc. These lands with good husbandry produce often two loads of hay per acre. The wild and unimproved lands adjoining to the above are well timbered and wooded with beech, black birch, ash, oak, pine, fir, etc. All these lands are so intermixed that every single farmer may have a proportionate quantity of plow land, grass land, and wood land; and all are situated about the Bay of Fundi, upon rivers navigable for ships of burthen".

….That a hundred acres of wild wood land would be given each head of a family, and fifty acres additional for each person in his family, young or old, male or female, black or white, subject to a quit-rent of one shilling per fifty acres, the rent to begin, however, not until ten years after the issuing of the grant. The grantees must cultivate or inclose one third of the land in ten years, one third more in twenty years, and the remainder in thirty years. No quantity above a thousand acres, however, would be granted to any one person. On fulfillment of the terms of a first grant the party receiving it should be entitled to another on similar conditions.

From: The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Heart of the Acadian Land, Giving a Sketch of the French and Their Expulsion, And a History of the New England Planters who Came in Their Stead, with Many Genealogies, 1604-1910 – Arthur Wentworth Hamilton Eaton

LITTLE ABOUT THE RAYNEs

I started out looking at Bob’s g-g-grandparents Robert Weir and Martha Louise (WOODWORTH) RAYNE. I don’t know why I became interested in my husband’s ancestors, I have plenty of my own to look at. I like learning about historical events and as it turns out I got unexpected early New England/Nova Scotia history as well as family history along the way. So why not look a little further? 

Robert Weir was born in Nova Scotia as was Martha Louise. I decided to look up the RAYNE family on Ancestry.com and FindMyPast.com to see what more information I could find. I didn’t come away with much more than the usual which I also had, so I switched to finding more about the WOODWORTHs. And with that, the story started to interest me. Granted there is more to this research, but I would have to go up to Nova Scotia or out to Boston to research at the New England Historical Genealogical Society’s research center. So for now, I am relying on just the findings on the internet since travel is out of the question at this time. [image came from Bob’s family book]

Martha immigrated to Boston, sailing on the SS Acadia; arrival date 29 Apr 1854; she was 19. Her occupation was “Servant.” 

The Raynes were married in Roxbury, Massachusetts, 9 Apr 1856, two years after Martha arrived in U.S.A. By 1860, Martha and her family lived in Freeport, Illinois next door to her father John B., mother Martha, brother [Robert] Knox, and sister Florance. All born in Nova Scotia. Both Rayne children were born in Illinois – Bessy 3, Lula 10 months. The Raynes most likely moved to Illinois sometime in 1857 or shortly after they married.

The Woodworths we find in Freeport, Illinois, two years after John immigrated. I don’t know exactly when the rest of the family came to U.S. presumably shortly afterward. You can see below the red X is the Rayne family and red arrow is Woodworth family.

WOODWORTHs

This image of John Woodworth came from Bob’s picture book. It has his birth year as 1796, but I have seen him in other documents as being born in 1797 or 1798. Yet, the 1858 ship manifest has him at 62 years, and the 1860 passenger list has him at 62. The 1860 US census has him at 63 years old. Does it really matter?

He was married three times: 1. Eunice Amelia Calkin / one child; 2. Martha Knox / three children; 3. Louise Lugrin / two children. John died in Freeport, Illinois 1869, Martha died November 1860. She could have been very ill which would make him come back home in August 1860.

I would love to know what type of “merchant” he was. What was he selling? His son-in-law, at one time, was a coffee salesman. Could that be what John was into? 

The John B. Woodworth family is found on the 1851 Nova Scotia census. There are no names other than head of household: four males and one female under age of 10. I can only identify one male [Robert] Knox and one female Florance [sic]. There is a mark for one female from 10-20 years of age. I have no name for her. There is one male and one female age 20-30. No name for the male, Martha Louise is the female. There is one male and one female age 30-40. No name for male, female could be John’s wife, but the next slot has one male (John?) and one female (John’s wife?). I can’t read the last column where John should be. (Identity is based on the individual ages I found on the 1860 Freeport, Illinois Census / above.)

While doing a little more research on John, I found online, a reference book “North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000” which contained the family genealogy of the Woodworths going back to Colonial America, in particular Scituate, Massachusetts; Little Compton, Rhode Island; and Lebanon, Connecticut. A lot of the information hasn’t been proven; I am using it as a guide. Much of the information coincides with my independent research and what Bob’s father had done years ago.

The early Woodworth family was in Massachusetts around 1630-34. His earliest ancestor to arrive in the colonies is Bob’s 10x great grandfather Walter who was possibly from Kent, England. He would have been about 20 years old. Walter died about 1685 in Scituate, Massachusetts. The reason he is suspected to come from Kent is because he lived in the area in Scituate where no one but Kent families lived.

As the colonial lineage goes:

Bob’s 9x great grandfather Walter, b. about 1645 Scituate

            8x great grandfather Benjamin, b. Aug 1674 Scituate and died 1729 Lebanon, Connecticut

                7x great grandfather Ichabod, b. Mar 1691 Little Compton, Rhode Island, and died 1768 Lebanon, Connecticut

                    6x great grandfather Silas, b. Mar 1725 Lebanon, Connecticut, and died 1790 Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, Canada

        

IMMIGRATION TO NOVA SCOTIA

In 1760, Silas moved up to Cornwallis, Kings Co., Nova Scotia aboard the ship Wolfe, with his wife Sarah (English) and three sons one of which was Bob’s 5x great grandfather Solomon. Their daughter was supposedly born at sea. This is where the story became interesting to me. If you remember in 1758 King’s Co., Nova Scotia, was opened up to settling and many New England residents migrated mainly from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Four more Woodworth grantees moved up there to be with Silas:

….The Woodworth grantees in Cornwallis were Amasa, Benjamin, Silas, Thomas, and William Woodworth….

From: The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia, Heart of the Acadian Land, Giving a Sketch of the French and Their Expulsion, And a History of the New England Planters who Came in Their Stead, with Many Genealogies, 1604-1910 – Arthur Wentworth Hamilton Eaton

Circled in red is King’s County, Nova Scotia. Found on en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Township_(Nova_Scotia)

Silas Woodworth’s original land grant. Ancestry.com tree [www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/55087729/person/13771937005/media/f94ee694-806e-4076-b191-99a48151b25d?_phsrc=XUW8&_phstart=successSource]

Solomon’s son Daniel is Bob’s 4x great grandfather. Daniel and wife Debrah Freeman (West) died in Canada possibly Ontario. Daniel’s son John Burton is Bob’s 3x great grandfather. He was born in Cornwallis 1798 and died in Freeport, Illinois, around 1869 at age 71. He lived in Nova Scotia until about 1858 when, I believe, he decided to immigrate to the United States. The earliest passenger manifest I found could be that one. He sailed on Steamer Eastern State of Yarmouth bound from the port of Yarmouth & Halifax for Boston…arrived 25 Jun 1858 / “County of which they intend to become inhabitants" - USA. 

J. B. Woodworth, 62, Merchant, (living in United States) Sailed out of Digby, Nova Scotia; Arrival Date 16 Aug 1860, Boston, Massachusetts on ship George E Prescott. This must have been a quick trip because the 1860 census in Freeport, Illinois was taken on the 19th of July. Could this be our John B. Woodworth? Hmmm...

Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006.

I’m sure there is more to this story, but I have exhausted what I can do right now. If anyone would care to share more, please contact me through my regular e-mail in my profile. Please put “Woodworth research” in the subject field.

Truesdell Bridge Disaster: Bessie Louise Rayne Victim

The Evansville Journal, Indiana, May 6, 1873

“DIXON, May 5. – Yesterday afternoon, about 1:15 o’clock, as the Rev. Mr. Pratt was passing a convert for baptism into the water of Rock River, just below the bridge, on the north side, there being a large crowd of men, women, and children witnessing the ceremony from the bridge, the iron-work gave way, and without a moment’s warning fifty or sixty souls were launched into eternity."

Of the 44 victims identified was my husband Bob's great great aunt Bessie Louise RAYNE who drowned at age 15. Bessie was the daughter of Robert Weir and Martha Louise [Woodworth] RAYNE. The family was living in Freeport, Stephenson Co., Illinois on the 1860 Census where Bessie is listed as 2 years old which in 1873 she would have been 15.

from Bob's family album. I am currently trying to secure
an image of her as a teen...if it exists at all.

from Bridgehunter.com of the Dixon Truesdell Bridge before disaster.
You can see the spectators looking at batism being preformed below.

from a postcard found online

from Bridgehunter.com Dixon Truesdell Bridge after collapse.

You can get more information on this disaster at Wikipedia or just "google" it.

Last Payment Plus Was Accepted by Reuben Whaples

Articles of Agreement for Warranty Deed was entered into 17 March 1857 between Reuben Whaples “of the first part” and Henry Mohle “of the second part.”  [Note: Mr. Mohle signs his given name Henri instead of Henry.]

This parcel of land was in what is now Oak Park, Illinois. Lot 12 in Block 1 in Whaples Subdivision of land in the south west part of the north west quarter of section 7 Town 39 North Range 13 East in Cook County: State of Illinois. Bob’s great great grandfather Rueben was a wheeler-dealer in land in the area and we have found numerous deeds and insurance policies for purchases and sales.

This particular deal with Mr. Mohle seems to have created a situation where Mr. Mohle couldn’t pay the full amount of $66 plus interest by the end of the year 1857. Amongst all the papers was a note for last payment. I think it is interesting how Reuben accepted that payment.

Received sixty Dollars on the within contract it being apart of the seckond [sic] payment I’ve agree to take shoes and Boots for the remainder Due on said payment  October 26th 1857   Reuben Whaples

When you come to a fork in the road, take it...

This is an old saying that most of us now-a-days attribute to Yogi Berra the great baseball player, but according to the website Quote Investigator it wasn't.*

Well, whoever it was who said it first gives new meaning when I come across a "fork" in the road. I have several examples where I came across a fork in the road and I "took it" i.e. took a picture of it.

I "took" this fork in the road in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I "took" this fork in the road in a Regensburg, Germany.

I "took" this fork in the road in York, Yorkshire, England.

I "took" this fork in the road in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I "took" this fork in the road back home in Oak Park, Illinois.

I will continue to collect these images as I think they are just fun.

*The earliest evidence of this expression located by Quote Investigator appeared in 1913. The statement was employed as part of a joke exploiting two common meanings of the word ‘fork’.

By 1988 the quotation was being ascribed to Yogi Berra. By 1998 Berra had embraced the saying. In 2009 a biography presented an entertaining explanation.

Notes:

1. 1998, The Yogi Book: I Really Didn’t Say Everything I Said! by Yogi Berra, Page 48, Workman Publishing, New York. (Verified on paper) 
2. 1913 July 31, Fort Gibson New Era, Wise Directions (Filler item), Quote Page 2, Column 6, Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. (NewspaperArchive) 
3. 1913 July 31, Correctionville News, Wise Directions (Filler item), Quote Page 7, Column 6, Correctionville, Iowa. (NewspaperArchive)

One Icy Day in 1965 Mundelein, Illinois

I love living in Chicagoland...today it is high in the 50s. A week ago we were bracing for sub-zero temperatures. Today it is 70 degrees warmer than last week! Tomorrow we will be back to winter... 31 degrees predicted then on Wednesday we can expect early spring with almost 40 degrees with rain and some ice as it cools down. By Friday we should be back to winter again, but not before we experience somewhat of an ice storm.

Seeing the possibility of ice reminds me of a horrible storm in 1965. I was living in Mundelein in my parent's home with my first husband. No one was expecting it to be very bad. We didn't have the advanced notices like we do today. We were without electricity for a while. I don't remember a lot of the particulars except trying to stay warm.

When we walked outside the ice crackled under foot with every step. Our cars were covered with a thin coating of ice. We had to take hot water to the door locks to get them open. Our doggies were slipping and sliding while walking outside to do their business. Nothing was spared.

Maple Street just west of Rt. 45 in Mundelein, Illinois

The back of my parents' home on Maple St. Everything looks do dreary.

Thanks to my brother John for finding and sending me these pictures.