Waddams Township, Stephenson County, Illinois
Encyclopedia
Waddams Township is located in Stephenson County
Stephenson County, Illinois
As of the census of 2000, there were 48,979 people, 19,785 households, and 13,473 families residing in the county. The population density was 87 people per square mile . There were 21,713 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The population was 807 at the 2010 census, down from 872 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated communities of McConnell
McConnell, Illinois
McConnell is an unincorporated community in Waddams Township in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. McConnell is southwest of Orangeville, Northeast of Lena and Southeast of Winslow. McConnell has a post office with ZIP code 61050.-History:...
and Damascus
Damascus, Illinois
Damascus is an unincorporated community in Harlem and Waddams Townships, Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. Damascus is located at the junction of County Routes 5 and 26 west of Cedarville....
are located in the township, and once New Pennsylvania was located here also.
On March 6, 1848 the Illinois State Constitution was adopted and went into effect on April 1, 1848. In the new constitution was an "Act" providing for a county, upon majority vote, to develop township governments. On November 5, 1849 Stephenson County voted on the "Act" and passed it with a vote of 973 to 99. In December three commissioners were appointed to divide the county from its six precinct form of government to sixteen townships. The commissioners were Levi Robey, Robert Forster and Erastus Torrey. On November 5, 1850 the supervisors for the township were elected.
Waddams was one of the original sixteen townships. Michael Lawver was its first supervisor. Some of the areas earliest settlers lived in the vicinity of the newly formed section. The first settlers in the township were Levi Robey and his wife Almira (Waite). He claimed about one half of a section of land in the northwest part of the township. He first arrived in the county with his parents and siblings at Brewster's Ferry in November of 1834. After making his claim he proceeded to build a double log cabin on the west side of the river. He cut logs for the cabin on the east side of the river and then pulled them across the frozen river by horse. The family moved into their new home on Valentine's Day of 1835 and lived there for twenty years. The site of his first cabin is at the foot of a hill at the present Robert Kleckler Farm on North Stubbe Road. He later built a new house ½ mile southwest of the first. That house still stands at the northwest corner of Fisher and North Stubbe Roads. When he settled in the area in 1835 his only white neighbors were his family at Brewster's Ferry, William Waddams and John Dixon (living at the present site of Dixon, IL). Also a man named Kent who lived in the area that is now Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
, and a man named "Mack" who married an Indian woman and lived at the mouth of the Pecatonica River.
Many firsts are attributed to Levi Robey. He was the first Justice of the Peace for the county. He conducted the first marriage ceremony in Stephenson County which after its formation required a marriage license. The couple he married were Eunice Waddams, (daughter of William), and George Place, wed on July 4, 1837. Robey was also the first chairman of the Old Settlers Association and on the executive committee for the Soldiers Monument.
Hubbard Graves arrived in 1835 and was also a notable figure in the history of Waddams Township. His wife Cynthia, sister of Levi Robey, accompanied him. Graves was the county's first tax collector. His total tax collected was $96.00. He was also a county sheriff in 1838 and was in state legislation serving Stephenson and Carroll Counties from 1842 - 1844.
Pells Manny came to Waddams Township in 1836 and settled in the west-central portion. He is best noted for the invention of the "Manny Header" and "Manny Reaper
Manny reaper
John Henry Manny laid the foundation for the reaper business of Rockford, IL. At the time of the invention of his reaper, he was farming with his father, Pells Manny, in Waddams Township, Stephenson County, Illinois, near McConnell, Illinois. They had a large crop of wheat and wanted a machine to...
". His factory was located at the mouth of Waddams Creek near the mill run by William Soladay and Benjamin Sheckler. The location is approximately one mile south of McConnell. A Post Office was moved to the location in 1840 from Waddams Grove for the convenience of its customers. Manny's son, John Henry Manny
John Henry Manny
John Henry Manny was the inventor of the Manny Reaper, which was an early version of a horse-powered combine harvester.-Life:John Henry Manny was born November 28, 1825 in Amsterdam, New York. His father was Pells Manny and mother was Sarah Swart...
, started a plant in Rockford to manufacture the reaper. In 1856 Pells started a plant in Freeport. He later moved to Freeport. The Post Office closed on March 11, 1857. A law suit was filed by Cyrus McCormick
Cyrus McCormick
Cyrus Hall McCormick, Sr. was an American inventor and founder of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which became part of International Harvester Company in 1902.He and many members of the McCormick family became prominent Chicagoans....
against Manny's patent right for the reaper. Manny prevailed in the suit, with an opinion by Supreme Court Judge John McLean
John McLean
John McLean was an American jurist and politician who served in the United States Congress, as U.S. Postmaster General, and as a justice on the Ohio and U.S...
.