Tragedies and Cyclones, Wyoming Township, Illinois
With all the appearances and
disappearances of horse thieves, in the early day, Wyoming was
free from tragedies. They came later.
In 1863, a peculiar tragedy was enacted.
The city marshal of Mendota, accompanied by Daniel Mizenbaugh,
William Mizenbaugh and another man called up John Britton,
during the night with the request for his assistance in
overhauling a couple of horse thieves, named Horton and Raymond,
who then were driving towards Paw Paw. Britton and his two sons,
John and William, joined in the pursuit. Near the then Hosea
Town place the thieves were overhauled and the marshal,
Mizenbaugh and the older Britton faced the fleeing thieves and
demanded a surrender. Horton's reply was a fusillade of shots at
Britton, one ball passing through his hat. At the Four Corners,
the robbers' route was lost. The Paw Paw road was selected and
at the bridge near the creamery the team was overtaken; it had
run astride a sapling. Horton had been hit and was dying. His
companion escaped. Immediately Britton and his son, William,
surrendered themselves to Squire Colvill at Paw Paw who
discharged them.
The horses later, were claimed by a
woman from Wisconsin, calling herself Hames. Mr. Britton, the
senior, at the next term of court asked the grand jury to indict
him for the act, but that body declined. While at the home of a
friend, he was taken ill and died.
The Conant case was one of the most
exciting criminal cases of the day, 1866. In the fall, a furious
rough and tumble fight occurred between William A. Conant, his
father, Elihu C. Conant, and William Barber, his wife, and
Christopher Srygley and Roderick Kavanaugh. As a matter of fact
about all the older Conant did was to look on and do a little
bossing while poor William, his son, single-handed, fought the
field, and when nearly overpowered and exhausted, he shot
Barber, who died nine days later. It was a fearful fight and
regarding the trial from this distance it was nothing short of
disgraceful to find him guilty and sentence him to eight years'
imprisonment and the father to six years. True, pardons came,
one to William in two years and nine months and one to the
father in four years and four months. But pray, what
compensation is a pardon after a man has been ruined?
The story is a long one; condensed it
was thus: E. C. Conant bought a farm the previous spring and
sold the south half to William, and rented him the other on
which were located the buildings. Later, notwithstanding the
transactions, the old man, against the protestations of the son,
rented the premises to a widow named Kavanaugh. At the son's
legitimate objections, the old man flew into a rage. Like a
decent sort of a son, he confined his protestations to Mrs.
Kavanaugh. Barber asked to rent the eighty on which the
buildings were located. Conant Sr., promised to lease it to him
if he did not dispose of it. Meanwhile Barber and his wife went
to board with Mrs. Kavanaugh.
Old man Conant went to O. W. Bryant, a
justice, to make the lease to Barber agreeably with his promise,
but Barber did not appear and so the deal with the son was
consummated.
Without right Barber began fall plowing;
he was looking for trouble. William ordered him off, and he in
turn put two teams to work and Barber ordered them off. On Nov.
13th, the deeds and papers between the Conants were executed
formally at Paw Paw. On the 14th old man Conant served on the
widow a notice to vacate. Barber and wife were absent. On the
19th Mrs. Barber was present, and when Conant, Jr., appeared to
serve the notice on Barber, she hurled a volley of billingsgate
at the young man.
While awaiting the appearance of his
father the son began picking up odds and ends and piling them
up. Mrs. Barber then came at him, ordered him off, tried to push
him off and then tried to remove the pitchfork from his hands.
Failing, she started to the woods for her husband.
Knowing him to be reckless, Conant
crossed to his house, got a revolver and resolved to stand his
ground. To see that it was ready, he fired one chamber. The two
hired men, Gordon Sanford and Frank Adams, were called from
their teams to hear the conversation as witnesses.
Presently Mrs. Barber and Srygley came
without Barber and the hired men were sent back to work. Then
old Conant arrived, but the son, desiring to remove him from a
scene of possible excitement, sent him to haul away the stuff he
had piled up.
Presently Barber and Roderick Kavanaugh,
the widow's son, appeared, running their horses. Barber
attempted to ride over William. William grabbed the bridle and
prevented it, at the same time, displaying his pistol.
Conant, Sr., Mrs. Barber and Srygley all
appeared, the woman with a club with which she struck the elder
Conant a blow, at the same time saying she would kill him.
When the old man demanded that she be
taken away, as he did not want to fight a woman, Srygley drew
her away and Barber sent her into the house. Old Conant, talking
excitedly, approached. Barber turned on him, pressed him against
a wagon wheel and was about to strike when the son drew and
threatened to shoot. Barber paused. In the words following, Mrs.
Barber stole up behind and struck William's pistol hand, at the
same instant Barber sprang on his back. Kavanaugh joined him and
the next instant Srygley jumped onto William's head and
shoulders. A thousand things happened in an instant. In the
midst of it, with three men murderously pounding him, William's
pistol went off and Barber was shot. Besides imprisonment, the
widow got a judgment for $5,000. A change of venue was taken to
Whiteside County.
On March 12, 1879, William E. Rosette,
over at East Paw Paw, insanely jealous, made a murderous assault
on his wife with a potato fork. When the poor woman fell, the
husband fled and drowned himself.
Civil War
Wyoming Township was generous with its
sons during the Civil war. Company K, Seventy-fifth Illinois
Volunteers, was recruited almost exclusively from Wyoming,
largely through the instrumentality of Col. George Ryon and
James H. Thompson. In the list of Lee county soldiers. Company K
will be found in full.
Storms and Floods
On Aug. 19, 1851, rain began to fall and
continued without cessation for three days and nights. The
frenzied clouds ablaze with lightning led the superstitious to
fear that the day of judgment had come. Nobody left his house.
Provisions ran out. John Britton's invitation to ''help yourself
to my potato patch,'' was accepted later. Crops were destroyed.
Stocks were a total loss. Creeks were swollen inordinately and
became roaring torrents. Fields were submerged for miles and
great suffering followed.
Cyclone 1890
(From Lee County Times, Paw Paw, Friday,
June 27, 1890, kindness of Ed. F. Guffin, editor.)
This storm cut a swath through Lee
County, Friday, June 20th.
''The first account of this frightful
visitation is from a point twelve to fifteen miles, a little
south of west from the village of Sublette, at what is known as
the Blackburn Herd, where a number of cattle were killed; from
there it took an easterly direction, a little north in a zig-zag
course, from twenty to forty rods wide, mowing everything before
it.
''Among the buildings destroyed are
those of William Shaw, Daniel Haley, William Reeves, William R.
Long and John R. Hatch, leading farmers in that section west of
the Illinois Central track. No fatalities reported from that
section.
''The tempest crossed the Illinois
Central at Sublette, tearing down and destroying eight or ten
buildings on the outskirts of that village. One old lady, Mrs.
Bittner, was killed and fifteen to twenty people were more or
less injured.
''From here the course pursued was a
little north of east. Some buildings four miles south of West
Brooklyn were crushed into kindling wood. Frank Schmitz lost
everything in the way of buildings; his family took refuge in
the cellar; but three of the children were blown out of the
cellar and tossed about in the whirl; they were considerably
injured, but will recover. The buildings on Valentine Bieser's
place near Schmitz were also totally destroyed. The family went
into the cellar and escaped unharmed.
''In Brooklyn Township about four miles
south of Compton, John Faulk and Daniel Miller lost each a bam.
Leonard Blass' house and bam were both destroyed; Fred Bachman's
orchard was completely demolished, but his house escaped with a
few shingles torn off. The course of the storm from Faulk's to
Bachman's was northeast, but it then went due east nearly two
miles following the road. John Palitsche's farm was the first
reached; here the force seemed concentrated, and utter
destruction followed; the large house and bam are gone, with
only here and there a splinter to tell the tale. Mr. Palitsche
saw the approach-ing wrath and with his family went into the
cellar. He says the house raised up, moved north and was lost to
sight; he did not see it go to pieces; for the moment, there was
so much debris flying that he did not dare move from the wall.
None of the family were injured. East of the Palitsche house on
the same road stood a schoolhouse; all that remains of its wreck
are a half dozen flooring boards; school had been dismissed a
few minutes and the building was empty; on the same road, east
of the school-house, stood the buildings of George Palitsche;
they were as completely destroyed and scattered as were his
brother Johns buildings; but here the inmates of the house did
not escape. Miss Rice, the teacher of the school, with several
pupils, were near this house when the storm overtook them and
entered for shelter; in a moment they were scattered in every
direction, and everyone more or less injured, some seriously,
one, a child of Mr. Palitsche, died that night, and Mrs.
Palitsche is thought to be fatally injured; one of Peter Eich's
children had his jaw broken, and was otherwise badly bruised and
cut; it is feared that he will die. Miss Rice was not seriously
injured, and went to work at once to find and assist the wounded
children. A rider went swiftly to Compton for aid and it was not
long till a number of citizens were present, caring for the
hurt. They were all taken to the house of Philip Schlessinger,
and a count showed four-teen badly wounded. Doctor Chandler was
with the Compton people, and put in the night with the injured.
Mr. Palitsche was in Compton during the storm and was notified
by the messenger that went there for help. East of Palitsche 's,
on the south side of the road, Louis Knauer's house, occupied by
Henry Arndt, was destroyed; no serious injury to any of the
family, further east Henry Englehart's barn and orchard were
demolished; next G. W. Keen, east of Englehart's was visited;
his orchard was torn up, but his buildings escaped with but
little damage.
''The cyclone now moved in a
northeasterly direction, and reached the premises of James Blee.
Mr. Blee and Henry Potter saw the funnel coming; Blee started
for the house, and Potter dropped to the ground by the side of a
large double corn crib. Blee with his family took refuge in the
cellar; the large house was removed and smashed into kindling.
Mrs. Blee received injuries which are quite serious; his mother
who was visiting him, was unhurt. Potter escaped injury; the
corn crib was not blown away; his team, hitched to a wagon, was
in the driveway of the crib, but became frightened, got out and
started to run away; they became entangled in a wire fence which
held them, and Potter found the rig in this condition after the
storm. The next home invaded was that of Newton Woods, about two
and one-quarter miles northeast. Here the house was torn to
pieces and swept away, with the exception of one room, a sitting
room, occupied by the family; the covering of the room was
removed, and nothing but the sides remained; the family escaped
without injury. About thirty rods north of Woods stood what was
known as the Field's schoolhouse; this seems to have stood
directly in the path of the howling demon of destruction and
here occurred the most distressing and appalling calamity, and
one that for dire havoc and destruction of life is unparalleled
in the history of death-dealing storms.
Miss Maggie McBride, of this place, was
teaching here; school had been dismissed, it was about 4:30 P.
M. As it was raining but few of the pupils had left the house.
Some parents had sent for their children, and one or two had
started out in the storm; seven remained with the teacher,
awaiting an abatement of the rain; they must have heard the
hissing and howling of the tempest as it approached. Undoubtedly
they saw the whirling, snorting, snaking demon as it bounded
over the fields towards them, and huddled about their devoted
teacher who attempted to quiet their fears, but one moment of
this awful suspense, and eight souls were hurled into eternity.
Anxious, agonizing parents, who lived near the line of the storm
and in sight of the school-house, whose hearts yearned for the
safety of their little ones, hurried towards the scene the
moment the tornado had passed; but alas! the schoolhouse was not
to be seen, and their dear ones answered not to their distracted
cries.
''The grim destroyer did not pause a
moment to witness the devastation wrought, but hurried on across
the fields; the road running south from Paw Paw was crossed just
south of Frank McBride's, whose barn, east of his house, was
shattered; the east and west road to South Paw Paw was crossed
between Jack Reams' and the bridge over the railroad. The Reams
house seems to have been on the extreme western edge of the
storm's track; an addition on the east side of the house was
wrecked, and the main building moved six to eight feet south;
further east stood the George Kelly house, occupied by B. T.
Searcy's family; this was smashed, the family escaping injury
save Mr. Searcy's mother, who had a fractured limb and two
broken ribs.
''The gyrating terror next entered the
grove; its path here was from twenty to forty rods wide, in
which trees were twisted off, pulled up and strewn about.
Seventy to eighty rods from the J. R. & N. railroad, and about
forty rods in the grove, stood the house of Peter Reams; it was
no barrier to the progress of the storm, and was left a
shapeless wreck. The storm passed on through the grove about one
mile and a half, when it apparently became exhausted near James
Harper's place, after tearing down his orchard. Mr. Reams and
his wife were in their house; she in the second story. As he
observed the storm's approach, he called to his wife to come
down stairs at once, as a terrible storm was upon them; she
hastened to get down, but cannot remember that she had taken
more than a step or two down when she found herself on the lower
floor, amidst the ruins of the house. News of the frightful
disaster reached Paw Paw in a few minutes, and numbers of
citizens hastened to the scene. Mrs. Peter Reams was found
uninjured, groping in a dazed manner about the pile of wreckage;
it was thought that her husband was buried in the debris. This
was explored enough to ascertain that he was not there. A search
was then made in the grove, where he was found about ten rods
northeast of the house lying face down, under the boughs of a
fallen tree, dead. It is thought that he was not killed by the
branches that were over him as they were too small. A cat was
found under his head.
The Searcy's were looked after by
others, and the greater number went directly to the site of the
schoolhouse. The scene here was horrible beyond description and
the excitement intense; parents whose children were in the fatal
schoolhouse were frantic with grief. The little brook near the
schoolhouse was swollen by the heavy rain into a creek, and the
water was two to four feet in depth. Men plunged into the stream
and searched for the victims. One by one, their mutilated forms
were discovered, until all were found. The spectacle was
shocking in the extreme. The bodies were nearly nude. What
clothing remained on them was torn into shreds. A number of them
were found in the water. They were cut and bruised and broken in
almost every conceivable manner. The names of the dead are as
follows: Miss Maggie McBride, teacher, Edna Hunt, Jennie Radley,
Minnie Berry, Ada Rudolph, Lena Prentice, Robbie Oderkirk, Carry
White, Jr., children of William Hunt, Arvin Radley, Isaac J.
Berry, Jacob Rudolph, Asahel Prentice, Seaman Oderkirk and Carry
J. White. The dead were removed to their homes as fast as found
and prepared for burial. Five were buried Saturday, and four,
including Peter Reams, Sunday. The schoolhouse stood two miles
south of this place and the Reams and Searcy places about one
mile southeast. The excitement in this neighborhood was intense;
all business was suspended Saturday, and nothing was talked of
but the storm. Owing to the exaggerated reports in the Saturday
morning Chicago papers, people came from miles around to view
the scene. All day Saturday, Sunday and Monday the track of the
cyclone was thronged with visitors from the surrounding country.
An excursion train came from Rochelle, Sunday.
''It is impossible to give all the
details. Eye witnesses differ in their evidence. No two agree in
their accounts, and yet all may be truthful. A liberal allowance
must be made for the excitement of the moment, and then it must
be remembered that a cyclone cloud with its swift forward
movement and rapid rotary motion, charged with trees, boards,
timbers, and all manner of debris, churning, grinding and
revolving in one gigantic swirl, does not present the same
spectacle two consecutive moments. Again, eye witnesses from the
north and south and in front, or at different places along the
line, cannot dispute such others' evidence, for it is impossible
for any two of them to see any portion of the flying mixture in
the same position.
''There are a thousand and one stories
in circulation, most of them more or less exaggerated, but all,
no doubt, containing more or less truth. The report that the
schoolhouse was seen intact three hundred, two hundred or one
hundred feet in the air, rolling and tumbling about, is probably
a mistake. There is no doubt that as a rule, buildings in the
center of such a storm are raised from the foundation and moved
off. This view is supported by the fact that in almost every
instance where people have taken refuge in cellars, they have
escaped death and injury. It is also supported by the
declaration of persons who were in cellars, to avoid the storm.
Their evidence is, that the building raised up and moved off,
though none of them saw any building break in pieces. While this
no doubt is true, it seems impossible that any building could
retain its form ten seconds in a storm of such power as this one
was. The appearance about the schoolhouse grounds, the location
of different portions of the wreck, and the positions of the
victims, all indicate that the house was crushed near the
ground, not far from the foundation.
''The report that the persons in George
Palitsche's house were blown 140 rods into a pond, is untrue.
Most of the, victims were found in the vicinity of the pond, but
the distance from the location of the house does not exceed ten
rods. The trail of the storm presents many curious features.
Trees were pulled up by the roots; some are twisted in two,
leaving the stumps in the ground. Others have the bark pulled
off. Osage hedges are torn up. Chickens and other fowl are found
entirely denuded of their feathers. Dead cats, rats, dogs, hogs,
horses and cattle, in various places. Articles of clothing,
sheets and other things seen hanging in trees; boards, sticks,
splinters and timber, sticking into the ground, hurled from the
passing cyclone. Where buildings were destroyed everything was
lost. Furniture was broken up; hardly a whole piece of furniture
could be found anywhere.
''The trail varies from ten to forty
rods in width, probably averages twenty rods. Preceding the
tornado was an electric storm, with considerable rainfall.
Immediately following was a tremendous downpour. On either side
of the track a heavy rain with thunder and lightning, prevailed.
The rain and mist were so thick that it was impossible to detect
the savage character of the storm, one mile away. Some persons
that distance off and some a greater distance, heard what
appeared like a muffled roar.
''William McMahan, whose house stands
within sixty rods of the northwest line of destruction watched
its approach and passage. It was of the funnel shape, whirling
and bounding along with a hissing or buzzing sound, swooping the
earth and bounding from it alternately. He saw no manifestations
of electricity in the rolling, boiling, steaming cloud. The
portion nearest the earth was very dark; the upper portion
lighter. He could see sticks and other articles on the outer
side, flying about and dropping to the ground.
''Mr. James Blee, whose house was
destroyed, saw the storm at some distance, but could not make
out its character. He was satisfied that it was dangerous, and
sent his family to the cellar. He remained in the cellar door
which faced the coming demon, and anxiously watched its
approach. So full of rain and fog was the atmosphere, not till
within ten rods of him could he distinguish its outlines and
true character. At that distance it enveloped some trees and
apparently broke open, giving him a view of the inside. While
the outside had the appearance of steam and smoke escaping from
the engine, the opening showed great electric disturbance, which
was indicated by a constant emission of sparks and flashes.
Henry Potter, who remained outside near the corn crib,
corroborates Mr. Blee's statement. There was a strong sulphurous
odor during and sometime after the cyclone. It is a curious
feature, that nowhere along 'the track is the grass or grain
removed, nor do they at any place have the appearance of having
been burned or scorched. Another strange feature is the fact
that on neither side of the storm was there perceptible any
greater agitation of the atmosphere than in ordinary thunder
storms.
''It will be many a long year before the
scenes of death and destruction in the wake of this terrifying
phenomenon will be effaced from the memory of those who suffered
from its frightful devastation, or those who assisted in the
work of recovering the dead. But two sentiments seem to prevail
in the community: mourning for the dead, and sympathy for the
living. James Blee probably took a closer view of the cyclone
than any other person on the line. He thinks there was a space
four to four and one-half feet in diameter in the center of the
funnel, a vacuum, around which the cloud revolved. In and across
this pipe as it were, occurred the electric display. After the
cloud had passed, he followed its path to ascertain if what
appeared to be a fact was really true. He could trace in the
center of the damage the distinct mark of the suction pipe,
where a hedge was crossed, and in many places on the ground. In
some places the ground was torn up and in others the grass and
grain were nipped off close to the center where the most energy
was displayed, showed a width as above stated. He noticed, or
thought he did, while the cloud was approaching, that everything
in this center was going up, while around it everything was
revolving. From this apparent condition, he concluded that the
vacuum as above described acted as a suction pipe, and was the
point of greatest energy and destruction. His examination of the
ground afterward seemed to verify this theory.''
Wyoming
Township
Tornado of 1898
Lee County
Townships
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