My grandfather, William Reid, came to Chicago in 1840. At that time,
although a mere village of 4,479 inhabitants, it was in the midst of a
speculative fever and was even then speaking of its certain future
greatness and of Lake Geneva (Big Foot Lake) as a probable summer
resort for its citizens. My grandfather came of a well-known family
whose ancestor with his tenants fought at the battle of Bothwell
Bridge, June 22, 1679, under the flag “For God, King, and Covenant,”
and who inherited through him the estate of Kilbryd, situated near
Glasgow, Scotland. William Reid inherited wealth which he, as a
barrister, increased, so that at about middle life he made up his mind
to retire. Unfortunately for his family his investments proved
unsuccessful, and after the loss of the greater part of his fortune he
came to America and started anew. When he came to Chicago he had a
relatively large sum of money, which, if invested in Chicago, might
eventually have increased to great wealth; but he was stricken by the
Lake Geneva fever and went there with his family, locating at the head
of the lake. He invested largely in land by the lake and on Big Foot
Prairie, buying a large tract of land on the higher ground and about
seventy acres along the lake.
[Illustration: HOUSE OF WILLIAM REID AT THE HEAD OF LAKE GENEVA
From a water color in the Wisconsin Historical Library painted in
1842 by Mrs. James Drew]
My grandmother, Mary Drew, came of a cultivated family which was
distantly related to the family of the Duke of Hamilton. Her niece was
the first wife of William Gladstone, the English statesman. Mention is
made of these things to show the change from the ease of their former
mode of living to the vicissitudes which locating on the frontier
entailed.
My grandparents had nine children, five boys and four girls, part of
whom were born in the log house at the head of the lake. This house
stood about two hundred feet from shore at the bottom of a rise of
ground known as the Potawatomi Indian burial ground, upon which site
the electric railway depot now stands. I remember as a boy digging
Indian relics out of this hill. The house was neatly built of logs and
had two large wings; in the center of one room was a fireplace
suitable for burning large logs. Among the early settlers in the
neighborhood at this time who had land and houses at the head of the
lake were the Van Slykes,[84] the Mohrs,[85] the Russells,[86] and the
Douglasses.[87]
Here the children grew up with the ordinary opportunities of farmers’
children and had no better advantages; and years later my cousin,
Jessie (Reid) Donaldson, my brother, Will, and I used to come here to
enjoy the beautiful surroundings of grandfather’s place. Will and I
had a little pony called Jenny and a wagon which we used to drive to
The Corners for mail. Whenever Jenny wanted to go into the barn or
whenever we took her to the blacksmith’s to be shod, she had a funny
trick of rapping on the door with her feet.
I remember the Baptist people used frequently to come down to the lake
in front of my grandfather’s house, and that the minister would there
duck the women under the water, according to their custom. My aunt,
with great sympathy, would lead the women into the house, where they
could change their clothes.
South of the house, where a stream ran through the inlet into the
lake, was a marsh, in the center of which was an island. Here in those
early days deer were often to be seen. Prairie chickens were plentiful
on Big Foot Prairie, and in the spring wild pigeons, now extinct, flew
over it in countless numbers. Woodcock, ruffed grouse, and squirrels
were also numerous. In the lake there was a large quantity of game
fish, among which were the cisco. These were seen only during the last
days of May or the early days of June when they came from the depths
of the lake to the shallow water to feed on the May flies and to
spawn. Of the wild life existing at that time, only a fraction now
remains.
Matthias Mohr owned the old sawmill on the rising ground at the south
end of the marsh. The race was fed by a large brook that emptied into
the marsh. This beautiful spot, surrounded by bushes and trees, was
often visited by me. The old wheel was still, but it was pleasant to
listen to the sound of the clear, cold water of the brook as it rushed
over the dismantled wheel to its outlet in the marsh. This brook was
afterward dammed up and used for raising brook trout.
Numerous beautiful springs were to be found running from the higher
ground to the lake. About half a mile north of the house was a small
schoolhouse where I remember being spelled down by a little girl. The
house was afterward occupied by an English laborer by the name of
Blackwell, and I have his son Bill in pleasant remembrance. The road
past the schoolhouse at the foot of a high bluff ran south by
Douglass’ Mill and north to the farm belonging to my grandfather. From
Douglass’ Mill,[88] which was built by C. L. Douglass and first used
as a sawmill and then as a gristmill, we used to go on up a very steep
hill to the road going west to The Corners, about three miles from my
grandfather’s house, where at that early day the mail was obtained.
The village located where the mill once stood has since been called
Fontana.[89]
Later we went to Walworth for the mail, taking the road running south.
The town of Walworth was founded in 1836 by James Van Slyke who made
his residence at the head of the lake. The only residents there about
1840 were Christopher Douglass and sons, Marcus Russell, James Van
Slyke, Matthias Mohr, and William Reid. Matthias Mohr purchased 50
acres in the town of Walworth in 1840, and in 1843 he purchased 38
acres more. In 1840 William Reid purchased 960¼ acres, in 1840 Marcus
Russell purchased 80 acres, and in 1841, Christopher Douglass
purchased 480 acres, all in the town of Walworth.
The village of Walworth had a store, a blacksmith shop, the Red Lion
Hotel, and the Brick Church. In the Brick Church cemetery are buried
today the remains of my grandfather and my grandmother and a number of
their children. The Red Lion Hotel was used by many people passing on
the main road from town to town in Wisconsin.
A short distance to the north of grandfather’s house was the sugar
bush. This was at the bottom of the high hills going north up to
Russell’s. Near the place stood the old Potawatomi village and
cornfields which Mrs. Kinzie in her book _Wau Bun_ speaks of visiting
in 1831.[90] I well remember seeing the Indian trail back of the house
leading up to the higher land in the sugar bush.
The country at the head of the lake was filled with large butternut,
walnut, hickory, basswood, ash, sugar maple, white-, black-, and
burr-oak trees. The sugar bush, through which a clear, cold brook ran
murmuring to its outlet in the lake, was notable for its many
butternut trees and was one of the most beautiful spots that could be
seen anywhere about the lake. I remember well the large oak tree near
my grandfather’s house in which a canoe had been placed holding the
remains of a relative[91] of Big Foot,[92] an Indian chief after whom
Big Foot Prairie was named. The wood of the softer trees near the farm
was used by the Reid family for the rails from which snake fences were
made. I remember my father and driver taking stakes from a snake fence
and putting them in the mud for my mother to stand on.
In the early days my father and mother in going to Lake Geneva had to
go by wagon. When the railroads were built, they took a train to
Turner Junction (now West Chicago) located thirty miles west of
Chicago, and from there took a wagon to Lake Geneva. Later they went
by the same railroad (the Northwestern) to Harvard Junction and from
there by wagon to the head of the lake.
At Harvard was located a hotel owned by Elbridge G. Ayer,[93] the
father of Edward E. Ayer of this city. This hotel was a few feet from
the track and its dining-room furnished meals to the people traveling
on that road. This dining-room was known all over the West, for at
that time there was no other that could compete with it. All the
vegetables, meat, poultry, and pastry were cooked in the most
appetizing manner and the products furnished for the table came fresh
from Mr. Ayer’s farm. My father and mother, my brother Will, and I
have often taken meals at this hotel on our way from the Junction to
the lake. The village of Harvard was afterward beautified by Mr.
Ayer’s son, Edward E. Ayer, who planted fourteen hundred trees about
it. Most of these are standing today and are an evidence of the public
spirit of the donor, which is seen in Chicago in his activities in
behalf of the Newberry Library, Field Museum, and other
institutions.[94]
My grandmother’s brother, James Drew, a wealthy barrister from London,
England, and his wife visited his sister at the head of the lake in
1842. At this time Mrs. Drew made a small water-color drawing of the
house and its vicinity which has recently been placed in the Wisconsin
Historical Library.
My recollections of Geneva go back to the early fifties. I can
remember going with my uncle in a rowboat from the head to the foot of
the lake, some eight miles. At that time there were no steamboats on
the lake and an unbroken forest covered its shores. The high ground
bordering the lake was about 175 feet above the beach line. The depth
of the lake has since been found to be from 80 to 181 feet. The lake
is eight miles long and from one to two miles wide. It empties into
the Fox River by a deep creek at the east end.
My mother, Ann Hamilton Reid, daughter of William Reid, was born in
Glasgow, Scotland, October 23, 1823. She was married to my father,
George Manierre, after whom I was named, in Detroit in 1842.
[83] The author’s reminiscences of the Manierre family have
been printed in Volume 8 Number 3 of the Illinois State
Historical Society _Publications_.
[84] James Van Slyke made the first settlement near the
Potawatomi Indian village in that place which later became
the town of Walworth. He built a cabin and moved his family
there from Geneva in the fall of 1836. Mrs. Van Slyke is
supposed to have been the only white woman who spent that
winter there. Many stories are told of the courage she
displayed in this frontier community.
[85] Matthias Mohr was one of the earliest residents of
Walworth County, settling on part of the Van Slyke claim at
the head of Lake Geneva in 1837. He later went to Kansas
where he died in 1887. Glenwood Springs Park now stands on
the site of his farm.
[86] Marcus and Robert Russell settled at the west end of
Lake Geneva in 1837. Robert Russell later moved to Iowa.
Marcus Russell died in 1875.
[87] Christopher Douglass was born in Connecticut in 1797
and moved to Wisconsin in 1837, settling on Big Foot
Prairie. In 1842 he moved to the town of Walworth, where he
kept a hotel for several years. In 1857 he took up his
residence at the head of Lake Geneva where he died in 1866.
[88] C. L. Douglass, son of Christopher Douglass, was born
in New York November 4, 1827, and came to Wisconsin with his
father in 1837. In 1857 he built and equipped Big Foot Mills
which he continued to operate for thirty years. He died
January 6, 1898.
[89] Fontana, a summer resort at the head of Lake Geneva,
covers the site of the old Potawatomi village and is part of
the old Van Slyke claim. It was purchased of Van Slyke in
1838 by Matthias Mohr, Amos Bailey, and Dr. Henry Clark, who
platted and named the village.
[90] Mrs. John H. Kinzie, _Wau Bun, the early day in the
North-west_ (New York, 1856), 318-22. Mrs. Kinzie in company
with her husband, U. S. sub-Indian agent at Fort Winnebago,
was making the trip from Chicago to Fort Winnebago (Portage)
in 1831 when she visited Big Foot’s village. She describes
the chief as a “large, rawboned, ugly Indian with a
countenance bloated by intemperance, and with a sinister,
unpleasant expression.”
[91] This was Big Foot’s son, who died about 1830. The body
was encased in a rude coffin and fastened to the limbs of a
tree overlooking the lake. Big Foot is said to have given as
his reason for this mode of burial that his son had been
unusually fond of lake scenery, and he would thus enjoy a
fine view of it from the land to which he had gone.
[92] Big Foot was the last chief of his band to rule his
people in their own land. In 1827, when the Winnebago were
on the war path, Big Foot, a sturdy hater of the whites,
tried to incite the Potawatomi to join the northern Indians.
He was prevented by measures taken by Gov. Lewis Cass which
culminated in the treaty of September 15, 1827. Being bound
by former treaties, Big Foot remained neutral during the
Black Hawk War. By the treaty of 1832 the territory of the
Potawatomi and their allies, the Chippewa and the Ottawa,
comprising southeastern Wisconsin, passed to the United
States government. Big Foot refused to sign the treaty until
the other chiefs had done so.
[93] Elbridge Gerry Ayer, born in Haverhill, Mass., July 25,
1813, came to Wisconsin in 1836. In 1847 he moved to
Walworth, going from there to McHenry County, Ill. in 1857,
where he founded the town of Harvard. There for eighteen
years he and his wife conducted one of the best hotels in
the state. During the Civil War they gave without pay food,
lodging, and other assistance to the wounded Union soldiers
detained in that vicinity. On the occasion of their golden
wedding in 1885 Gov. James Lewis of Wisconsin, on behalf of
the Wisconsin soldiers, presented to Mr. and Mrs. Ayer a
gold cup, now in the museum of the Wisconsin Historical
Society. The inscription is as follows: “Presented to Mr.
and Mrs. E. G. Ayer by the Wisconsin soldiers as a token of
remembrance and appreciation of the many acts of kindness
toward them during the dark days of the Rebellion, from 1861
to 1865, Oct. 29, 1885.”
[94] Edward Everett Ayer, of Chicago, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Elbridge G. Ayer, has long been connected with enterprises
relating to arts and letters. He is a director of the
Newberry Library, of the Field Museum, and of the Art
Institute. He himself has one of the finest private
libraries in the United States which contains manuscripts
relating to the early history of North America, the Indians,
Mexico, the West Indies, and the Philippines.