| History
of Montgomery
The
following is based on the book Past and Present of Kane County
Illinois printed in 1878 by the Wm. Le Baron Company of
Chicago, and on The History of Montgomery Illinois in Words
and Pictures printed in 1990 by the Montgomery Historical
Committee:
The
earliest
white settler to come to the area that later became Montgomery
was Jacob Carpenter, who came to Chicago from Logan County,
Ohio in November 1832. In December of the following year, having
spent the summer and fall at Naperville, which then contained
some half a dozen families, he took up land and built a log
house on the east side of the Fox River. This house was the
first in Aurora Township and one of the first in Kane County,
and was occupied by Carpenter and his family the week before
Christmas 1833. His wife, Nancy Pierce Carpenter, gave birth
to a son, Elijah P. Carpenter, on May 25, 1834--the first white
child born in Aurora Township.
In
the following April, Elijah Pierce, Carpenter's father-in-law,
also from Logan County, followed him to the new country, and
built a second shanty on the same side of the river and nearer
the bank than Carpenter's. For years this served as an inn for
travelers, although it had only one room that served as kitchen,
dining room, living room and bedroom. William T. Elliott, who
came from Tioga County, NY and took up an adjoining claim in
June 1834, said that he had seen 40 people -- men, women and
children--sleeping on the floor of that room. William Elliott
later married Rebecca Pierce, daughter of Elijah Pierce, on
August 3, 1835. This was the first marriage in Aurora Township.
At
that time, no Government surveys had been made anywhere in the
vicinity. All were squatters, and all were obliged to go to
Ottawa for transaction of any public business.
In
the fall of 1835, Daniel S. Gray, from Montgomery County, NY,
visited the area, where his brother Nicholas Gray had located
the previous spring, on a farm now within the limits of Kendall
County. Pleased with the new country, he made immediate preparations
to settle there, and in the fall of 1836, having removed his
family from NY, he built the first frame house in the Village.
It was located in the south part of what is now Montgomery,
near the west bank of the river, and was about 22 x 38 feet.
The earliest marriage within the original corporate limits of
Montgomery was that of Ralph Gray in 1843. The earliest death
was that of DeWitt, son of Daniel Gray, in the fall of 1844.
Daniel
Gray was a man of much energy and enterprise. No sooner had
he settled in the place than he commenced improvements on a
grand scale. A store, foundry, reaper and header manufacturing
shop over 100 feet in length, a second foundry built of stone,
and one of the best stone grist-mills in the country, appeared
in rapid succession. Mr. Gray was making preparations for still
more extensive business operations, in the establishment of
a manufactory of stationery engines, when he died in October
of 1855.
Daniel
Gray is considered to be the founder of Montgomery, as he purchased
several land grants from the Federal government, and owned large
sections of land. The settlement was called "Graystown"
for several years, but eventually he pursuaded the other settlers
to call the little village "Montgomery" after the
county in New York that he and several other settlers had come
from. He had a good portion of his land on the west side of
the Fox River surveyed and platted in 1853, and he began selling
off lots for building houses. Nevertheless, when Daniel Gray
died in 1855, he still owned the majority of the lots in the
village. His heirs continued selling off these lots and the
village continued to grow.
In
1858, the Village of Montgomery was incorporated, with 30 votes
being cast for incorporation and four against. Ralph Gray, son
of Daniel Gray, was elected Village President. Trustees were
John Lilley, R. L. Davis, Edward Gillett and A.C. Palmer. Miles
Ferguson was appointed Village Clerk. Ralph Gray served as Village
President until his death in June of 1860, and he was succeeded
by Vine A. Watkins, a son-in-law of Daniel Gray.
Watch for more information on Montgomery's history to be added
to the web site in the future.
Return
to Previous Page
|
