Women Business Owners in Holland’s Directory

In honor of Women’s History Month, let’s take a look at the woman-owned businesses that were listed in the 1886 Holland’s Directory. At least seven are identified with a “Mrs.” proprietor and two shared an ad page, Mary Lindemann and Eva Blake. 

Holland’s says Lindemann’s general “store may be found on the south-side of Jefferson avenue west of Main street,” which would put it approximately where Everdine’s Grilled Cheese now operates. “Dry goods, groceries, confectionery and a fine assortment of cigars and tobacco are the chief articles in which she deals, and in each, standard goods are the rule,” the directory continues, and notes that she has been in business since 1872. 

According to Illinois marriage records, a Mary Auguste Dehnike wed John F. Lindemann on November 23, 1974. If this is the same Mary Lindemann, she was already working the counter years before her marriage. Unfortunately, no other information has been found about her, neither census, burial, nor birth records.

More details are available for Eva Blake. She married Anthony (“Andrew” in some records) in 1866. Anthony had been wounded twice during the Civil War and became ill with “chronic diarrhea.” Regardless, the young couple became the parents of daughters Annie, Mary, Emma, Marie, Maria, Matilda, Christina, and Marguerite.  

Unfortunately, Anthony Blake died in 1882, leaving Eva with their eight children to support. How she started her millinery business is unknown, but Holland’s notes that “being left a widow several years ago with only eight daughters [Their italics!] dependent on her efforts for support, she went to work with a will and constancy that has been admirable and commendable.”

Another woman business owner listed in the directory was Caroline Fuchs. Her husband, Fred, ran a saloon in town, and when he died in 1886, Caroline continued to manage the business while raising two boys, her three-year-old son and her ten-year-old step-son. She later remarried and gave birth to nine more children! 

Researching women can be a bit more difficult because of names changes and the fact that they didn’t hold office or were noted in newspapers as often as men, so learning about the other women in Holland’s Business Directory will have to wait for another time. Still, to celebrate Women’s History Month, here’s a shout-out to those business owners:

Dress makers:

• Mrs. E. A. Earnest
• Mrs. J. Harter
• Mrs. E. G. Martin
• Mrs. Harriet Millington
• Mrs. A. Saylor

Millinery shopkeepers:

• Mrs. D. C. Butler
• Mrs. C. V. Steward

H.C. Daniels & Son in Holland’s Directory

At the time when Holland’s Business Directory was published in 1886, Dr. Hamilton Daniels and his son William operated a drug store on Washington Street. This was about where Tapville Social now sits, although the building was replaced by the Frederick Kailer Block in 1897. 

On the Sanborn Map, you can see a structure labeled “Drugs” next to a structure labled “Print’g.” Elsewhere in the Directory Daniels elaborates: “It is located on the east side of Washington street, south of Jefferson avenue, next to the Clarion office,” which no doubt refers to the “Print’g.” Naperville, at this time, was not yet using street numbers for identification.

Dr. Daniels was a graduate of Rush Medical College of Chicago, served as coroner for twenty-five years, and also treated patients in an office at his Greek Revival home on Washington Street. That house was moved to Naper Settlement in 1974, although it isn’t historically restored or open for visitors. 

This Washington Street drugstore was Dr. Daniels second shop. The first, on Jefferson where Ted’s Montana Grill used to be, he operated with druggist Frank Morse. They sold that store to Dr. John A. Bell and pharmacist William Wallace Wickel. Wickel’s daughter and son-in-law took over the business and passed it along a few generations to become the Oswald and Anderson business empires. 

Dr. Daniels and his first wife, Laura, had five children, but she died of typhoid fever in 1952 at the age of 31. Their last baby, also named Laura, died the following summer. 

A fellow Naperville physician, Dr. Erastus George Hough, fell ill with cholera and died in 1849. He was only 25 and left behind a young wife and a little daughter. His widow Caroline and Dr. Daniels married in 1953 and went on to have seven more children together. 

While several of the Daniels boys went into the pharmacy business, it was one of Caroline’s boys who is the “Son” in “H.C. Daniels & Son.” William started as a drug clerk at age seventeen and at the time of the Directory publication, he would have been about twenty-four years old. In the description of the business, it says: 

"The store is principally managed by the son, whose eight years’ experience and study have made him very proficient, while the fact that he is a native of the village has given him a large acquaintance and many friends, hundreds of whom are constant customers."

After this time, however, William becomes difficult to trace. He lived for a time in Oak Park, Illinois and was married in 1893 to Amanda Solfisberg (sic) in Kane County. When the Biographical Record of Kane County, Illinois was published in 1898, then entry for Jacob Salfisberg (sic) says his daughter “Amanda, wife of W.C. Daniels, by whom she has one child, Viola May now resides at South Evanston, Illinois.” Jacob died in 1921 and his obituary puts his daughter, Mrs. W.C. Daniels, in Great Falls, Montana. Figuring out where William and his family traveled continues!

Dr. Hamilton Daniels, however, stayed in Naperville. He died in 1897 at the age of seventy-six and he is buried in the Naperville Cemetery along with both of his wives and several of his children. 

From the 1874 DuPage Atlas – C.W. Richmond

If you do any research into DuPage history, at some point you will read A History of The County of DuPage Illinois by C. W. Richmond & H. F. Valette which was published in 1857. An engraving of C.W. Richmond’s “res & nursery” also shows up in the 1874 DuPage Atlas. So who were these guys?

 

Charles W. Richmond seems to have been born in Massachusetts in 1822 or possibly 1830. As his wife Ida was also born in Massachusetts, it seems they arrived in Illinois as adults. The History of the County of DuPage says that "C.W. Richmond of Great Barrington, Mass." was appointed principal of the Naperville Academy sometime during the early 1850s and this is further confirmed by the 1854 Massachusetts Register which lists Charles W. Richmond as an instructor at the Great Barrington Academy. 

 

Once Charles and Ida arrived in Naperville, they became very involved with the community. Charles served as both principal and teacher at the Naperville Academy and later as a School Commissioner and the County Superintendent of Schools. The 1860 census identifies his profession as “teacher” and lists two children, also named Ida and Charles, which makes the research a bit confusing. Two more daughters may have been born later. 

 

For several years, the Richmonds also operated a nursery along the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad tracks, as seen in the 1869 bird’s eye map of Naperville. Nurseries were a big business in Naperville. Lewis Ellsworth ran one on property now owned by North Central College and the Ernst Von Oven family oversaw a large nursery operation at Oswego Road and the Green Acres subdivision.

 

In 1857, the Village of Naperville was incorporated and Lewis Ellsworth commissioned Richmond to research and write the village’s early history as it hadn’t yet been recorded. Henry F. Valette is listed as a co-author, although only Richmond is mentioned in the Naperville Centennial publication that relates the story.

 

Valette grew up in Wheaton and wanted to be a lawyer, but had no access to education. Through the years, he studied at home, farmed, attended private school, studied with an Aurora law firm, farmed some more, and taught school. By 1848, he was married, settled in Naperville, and finally finishing his law studies. He formed a law practice with partner H.H. Cody. How exactly Valette and Richmond worked together is unclear. The partnership with Cody was dissolved in 1869 and Valette moved his practice into Chicago.

 

Richmond seems to have been quite community-minded. He served in leadership positions at St. John's Episcopal Church and was a member of the committee that purchased Naperville's first fire equipment. He was also one of the organizers of a “Masonic and Odd Fellows celebration” held in 1858 on St. Johns Day. Still, it appears the family did not remain in town. The elder Charles and Ida are both buried in Forest Park.

Although neither Richmond nor Valette has descendants in Naperville today, local historians can’t help but bump into both of them constantly while researching! 

From the 1874 DuPage Atlas – Joshua Erb

Joshua Erb was born in 1803 in Pennsylvania Dutch country. The “Dutch” is actually a reference to “Deutch,” the German word for “German” and the Erb family emigrated from Switzerland several generations previously. A number of religious communities in early Pennsylvania followed guidelines such as plain dress and conscientious objection to war, including Quakers from England and Mennonites and Brethren from Germany. The Erbs were mainly Brethren.

In 1847, Joshua Erb arrived in DuPage, intent on buying land. He bought about 1200 acres between the DuPage River and Mill Street, some of which he sold to other relatives and friends while retaining a portion for his own family. By 1848, Joshua, his wife Sarah, and their four children were settled on their Naperville farm. Two more children were later born in Illinois.

The Erbs were instrumental in founding Naperville’s Church of the Brethren along with some other families, including the Netzleys, who also have strong roots in town. They started by gathering in each other’s homes, but by 1860, they had raised enough money amongst their members to build a meeting house. Joshua Erb donated a piece of his farm for it, as well as land for a small school and a cemetery. 

Son John and his family of seven girls and one boy took over the farm operations in the latter part of the 1800s. Joshua passed away at age 86 in 1893 and wife Sarah followed him the next year. In the early 1900s, John was also ready to retire and he handed over the farming duties to his own son, also named John. 

This John struggled to run the farm during the Great Depression, but he was able to hang on by selling off a tract that became Cress Creek Commons. In addition to farming, he also expanded into construction. A couple of his sons followed him in both careers and son Marshall seems to have been the last one to farm the Erb homestead. Marshall died in 1989 and by the 1990s, construction had begun on the land to develop what is now known as Century Farms, a nod to the long line of Erb farmers. 

While there isn’t an Erb farm in Naperville today, there are still Erbs farming elsewhere in Illinois. Also, the Erb legacy with the Brethren continues. 

In 1907, the Brethren meeting house was disassembled and moved from Joshua Erb’s farm. It was rebuilt on Benton Street and enlarged or remodeled several times over the next few decades. In 1968, the Brethren erected a brand new building on Jefferson Avenue near the DuPage River that included a preschool which is a mainstay in town to this day. The Benton Street church is also still in use, currently as a food pantry. 

Joshua and Sarah, as well as other members of their family, are buried in the old Brethren cemetery that used to be behind the meeting house. The house was moved, but the cemetery remained. It lies along West Street on the border of the Century Farms subdivision.

From the 1874 DuPage Atlas – William Henry Hillegas

While William Henry Hillegas built an upstanding reputation in the Naperville community, it’s his son that the guides on the ghost tours talk about. We’ll get to that later, but first, let’s give William his due.

Joseph and Mary Hillegas arrived in Illinois in 1857 and started farming. The family experienced several tragedies including the deaths of two sons before the move, two daughters after the move, and the death of Mary just a few years after their arrival. William and his two sisters, however, settled comfortably into the Naperville community. 

William worked downtown at the hardware store of Andrew Friedley. Friedley’s name pops up all over the early city council records for providing nails and similar items for community infrastructure maintenance. His Lemont store is a national landmark and he died in Lockport, but the family tomb, an impressive pyramid, is in the Naperville Cemetery.

In 1862, William married Maria Hartman. The Civil War was already underway and William joined the 156th Illinois Infantry in 1864, serving until the War’s end. Their first child, Ida, was born in 1863 before William enlisted, Charles was born in 1867, and Harvey in 1869.

Eventually, William took over Friedley’s hardware store, partnered with Louis Reiche. Their establishment was on Water Street, now part of Chicago Avenue, in the building that currently houses Features Bar & Grill and Frankie’s Blue Room. Their names and the date when their store was erected, 1882, are still visible at the roofline.

In addition to working at the hardware business, William was also elected Trustee of the Naperville Village Board, served as a Mason, and was extremely active both with his church and with the local G.A.R. organization. Apparently, he was of particularly strong character, even during trying times, as his obituary in The Naperville Clarion reported:

[He faced] financial trials which test men's courage and powers of endurance and frequently leave physical wrecks and shattered fortunes on the shores of time. That he weathered the storm, maintained his integrity and met every obligation was due to his faith in God, backed by an unconquerable determination to win. And when he did, maintaining to the last the unbounded respect and confidence of every man who knew him.    

William suffered a heart attack in 1906 at the age of 65 and was buried in the Naperville Cemetery. His widow continued to live in the family home, which still stands across the street from Meiley-Swallow Hall. At the time, Meiley-Swallow was the Grace Evangelical Church, but it has since served as a theatre for North Central College. 

So now let’s get back to William’s son, Charles. His gruesome story is a favorite ghostly legend, making it perfect for this time of year. 

Charles was one of many who heeded the “go west, young man” advice during that era. During his travels, he met an English girl named Jessie Robateene Massey and married her in Montana in 1901. 

Unfortunately, Jessie died in 1912, possibly from influenza. At the time, they were living in Seattle, but Charles decided to bring Jessie’s body back to be buried in the family plot in Naperville, a fact confirmed by a short paragraph in The Clarion. 

Within days of the funeral, however, Charles became convinced that Jessie had been buried alive. He was restrained from digging her up several times, but finally giving his watchers the slip, Charles disinterred his wife and brought her back to the family home where he attempted to revive her. 

The sheriff took Charles into custody and the newspaper says he was brought to Wheaton where he was “examined as to his sanity.” This no doubt refers to the DuPage County Home which started out as the County Poor Farm, a place for the old, sick, and mentally ill who could not be cared for elsewhere. The farm was established to be self-sustaining while also providing food for the county jail through the labor of its inhabitants. County Farm Road is a relic of this history. By the time Charles was admitted, however, the Home was evolving to be more like a hospital than a farm and today it’s known as the DuPage Care Center. 

Apparently, Charles remained at the DuPage County Home until his death in 1940. His funeral was in the Beidelman chapel in town and he is buried in the Naperville Cemetery, along with his wife and his parents. 

From the vantage point of time, this may be just a scary story to tell at Halloween, but it’s also a love story as well as a look at how society has historically treated mental illness. For all of those reasons, it’s a story worth retelling. 

From the 1874 DuPage Atlas – Joseph S. Ferry

Joseph Sanford Ferry arrived in DuPage County in 1838 as a nine-year-old when his parents, Sylvanus and Rhoda, moved from New York via Terra Haute. The family lived in Warrenville at first until his father bought his own land. Sylvanus, unfortunately, died not long after. 

When Joseph was sixteen, his uncles helped the family purchase fifty-three acres of farmland. Within a few years, Joseph had sold that farm and bought another more than twice the size. During that time, Joseph married and started a family. Joseph didn’t have access to much education in his youth, but his wife, Sophronia, was a school teacher. In order for the children to attend school, they moved into the city of Aurora a few years later and Joseph sold the farm. 

While the Civil War certainly was an unfortunate influence, Aurora grew rapidly in the mid-1800s, aided by the many factories that were powered by the Fox River. Joseph became a builder and developer while living in the city and “purchased residence property and vacant lots on which he erected several neat dwelling houses.” 

The expansive “farm scene” depicted in the atlas engraving is probably the farm he moved to in 1873 since the atlas was published in 1874. According to a map in the same atlas, Joseph’s acreage was southwest of the town of Naperville. Northwest of Naperville is another plot labeled “M Ferry,” which belonged most likely to Melancthon, Joseph’s brother. Melancthon was married three times and sired a number of children. His family farmed the homestead until the 1970s and inspired the name of Ferry Road. There was also a sister, Louisa, who never married. 

Joseph Ferry only remained on the farm in the engraving until 1890 when he and his wife, Sophronia, moved back into Aurora. Sophronia taught school in DuPage County as well as in Vermont and New York, where she lived before her marriage. Both her great-grandfather, Col. Seth Warner, and her grandfather, Israel Putnam Warner, were Revolutionary War veterans, although Israel was only a nine-year-old messenger and scout during the war. 

http://genealogytrails.com/ill/dupage/bigwoodcem.html

Israel and his wife Esther settled in DuPage County and their daughter, also named Esther, was Sophronia’s mother. In 2008, Israel’s headstone in the Big Woods Cemetery, Warrenville, was rediscovered, restored, and then rededicated in a 2008 ceremony. This was a big deal because, unlike the eastern states, there are very few graves of Revolutionary War veterans in Illinois.

From the 1874 DuPage Atlas – Daniel Strubler

In 1832, George and Salome Strubler emigrated from Alsace, France to Warren, Pennsylvania with their young son, George Jr.. Two more sons, Philip and Frederick, were born before the Strubler family decided to relocated to Illinois, just a few years after the founding of Naper’s Settlement. Son Daniel was born in Naperville in 1837.  

All four of Strubler boys were in livery-related businesses as horses were still required for every form of transportation, including farming. Until the railroad was built in town, brother Philip drove the stagecoach between Naperville and Winfield. 

 

Daniel was trained as a blacksmith and opened his own shop. Not only did he shoe horses, but he also made and repaired farming equipment and eventually sold wagons and repaired wagons as well. His empire included a series of storefronts along Washington Street, as seen in the atlas engraving. 

 

In 1859, Daniel married Mary Kribill and they shared 53 years together, throwing a big golden wedding anniversary party in 1909. Unfortunately, none of their children lived to adulthood, but he and Mary adopted and reared one of her nieces, Lorena. 

 

The Strubler family was very involved in community activities. Daniel served with the Evangelical church and the local Masonic Lodge and brother Philip was serving as town sheriff the night of Wheaton’s raid on the county courthouse.

 

While Daniel Strubler’s blacksmith and wagon shops have long gone the way of the buggy whip, the family home, which in the engraving is barely visible behind the trees, is still on Washington Street. It has hosted a number of businesses and is currently the location for Karisma Boutique.

From the 1874 DuPage Atlas – The Stolps

Highlighted in this atlas are three farms owned by families named “Stolp.” The name may be familiar to people who have been to the Paramount Theatre or Hollywood Casino in Aurora, Illinois as both of them are located on Stolp Island. It turns out that DuPage and Kane counties have a wealth of Stolps in their histories. 

The Stolp ancestors were originally from Germany and immigrated to New York in the late 1700s, serving in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, before sending roots westward. They had large families and often named their children for parents and grandparents, so it gets pretty tricky to sort them all out. Several times over the past decades Stolp family members have recorded histories, many of which are available online, but there is still some confusion.

Just trying to focus on the DuPage Stolps was a challenge! Of the three that are depicted in the atlas, it seems Henry P. and Chas. W. were brothers, the sons of Frederick. Frederick walked from New York to Naperville in 1833, which is just a couple of years after it was founded. He was 52 years old, a brickmaker by trade, and decided the area around Big Woods was suitable for his needs. So Frederick walked back to get his wife and nine children. 

 

Frederick, apparently a champion walker, lived until he was 91 years old. He was married to Jannetje Peper, (the “P” in “Henry P.” stands for “Peper) who was the mother of all those children, for 24 years. A couple years after her death in 1837, he remarried, sharing 34 years with Amanda Rosier. In the 1870 census, which was taken just before this atlas was published, Frederick is listed as a “retired farmer” with his son Henry in charge. Presumably, this is the farm shown in the engraving. 

 

One of Frederick’s other sons was Charles West, the Chas. W. mentioned in the atlas. He and his wife Sarah had six children and apparently lived their last years in Kansas with daughter Harriet, although they are both buried in Aurora. Alfred, yet another son, is listed on a county land map. His property, west of downtown Naperville, is bordered by land labeled “Thatcher,” which should be explored since Alfred married Roxanna Thatcher. 

 

Peter M. was the son of Johan, Frederick’s brother, and Margaret Marlett, which is his middle name. He was married to Mary Jane Briggs in 1841 and they raised their family in DuPage, but by the time of the 1880 census, Peter and Mary Jane were farming in Crawford County, Wisconsin, which is only a few years after the atlas was published.

 

Another brother of Johan and Frederick was George Stolp. George and his wife Katharine started their family of eleven children back in New York. Some stayed, some moved out to Illinois, and some traveled even farther across the country. Son John was among the first of the family to settle in the area, farming in Naperville, so that’s where his brother Joseph stayed when he arrived. It was Uncle Frederick who secured the island for Joseph.

 

The twenty-five-year-old Joseph was apprenticed in wool manufacturing and was planning to start a woolen mill empire. The island location was perfect because he was counting on the Fox River to power the mill. Joseph was enormously successful, at one point employing 150 people, mainly women. Milling stopped in 1887 and the mill burned down in 1906, but the Woolen Mills Store and the Dye House buildings are still standing on Stolp Island if you want to see them. 

 

This only scratches the surface of the Stolps who were numerous and active. If you do any poking around in local history books, you are bound to find a Stolp! 

From the 1874 DuPage Atlas – W.H. Wright

W.H. Wright’s farm looks tidy and prosperous, but who exactly was W.H. Wright? 

Naperville’s history features a number of Wrights. One of the most community-minded was James Gregson Wright. James was born in England, emigrated to New York, and by 1843, he had settled in DuPage County where land was reasonably easy to obtain. He farmed for a number of years, and then became a banker, launching Producers’ Bank in 1857 with partner George Martin II, the Scot who built the mansion at Naper Settlement. 

 

Continuing to be involved with Naperville, James was appointed postmaster and served six terms in the Illinois General Assembly. He was also the first owner of the farm that is now the site of the Meson Sabika restaurant, but this engraving is not of that farm and James is obviously not W. H. Wright. 

James married Almira Van Osdel, whose father was a noted architect, and they had seven children, one of whom was named William. William also lived a life of public service, but dedicated himself specifically to the G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic), an organization for veterans of the Civil War. The G.A.R. was actually founded in Illinois and grew to be a national organization. 

Captain William had served as an officer in the 156^th Illinois Volunteer Infantry and it apparently had a deep impact on him. Building on his local involvement, William was eventually elected the 66^th Commander-in-Chief of the national organization. He served from 1932 until 1933 when he died in Pittsburgh at the age of 88 years old while attending a G.A.R. encampment. 

 

In 1872, William had married Ida Sleight, whose father, Delcar Sleight, and grandfather, Morris Sleight, were both major real estate developers in Naperville. Delcar donated the land for North Central College and there is a Sleight Street in one of their developments. There is also a Wright Street which was named for William, Delcar’s son-in-law.

But William’s middle name is Parkinson, which was his Grandmother Wright’s maiden name, and he moved to Chicago in 1871, just before the Great Fire, so he can’t be the W.H. Wright of this farm engraving either. 

W.H. Wright is mentioned twice in the 1874 DuPage Atlas. His residence is listed as Naperville Township, Section 17, with Eola as the post office. The other listing is as a “patron” of the atlas, which no doubt means he paid for inclusion, but cemetery, census, newspaper, and other records reveal nothing else about W.H.. 

So the search continues! 

From the 1874 DuPage Atlas – Frederick Long

At sixteen years old, Fred Long emigrated from Stuttgart, Germany in 1853 and was living in Naperville by 1856. There is no record of his parents living or being buried in Naperville, so it’s possible he was alone. Fred worked as a cabinetmaker in town and he prospered, opening his own shop as early as 1861.  

Also in 1861, he married Amelia Beidelman, the oldest of ten children born to William and Eliza Beidelman who arrived in Naperville around 1847. Of course, the Civil War was just starting during this time and Fred was drafted in 1863, serving in the 49^th Infantry, and was mustered out as a sergeant. 

 

Fred and Amelia’s only child, Charles, was born in 1868 and the family enjoyed being active members of the town. Naperville’s fledgling fire department started in the 1870s and Fred became a volunteer of Rescue Hook and Ladder Company in 1875. 

 

The illustration from the 1874 Atlas shows the F. Long storefront with an addition to the side. The Sanborn Map from 1886 describes this addition as a “dwelling,” so it seems the Longs may have lived next to their shop. 

 

During those days, woodworkers made coffins as well as furniture, as described in his advertisement. Fred also served as an undertaker and attended mortuary school in the 1880s to expand his business even further.

 

James Nichols, who was a professor at what was then known as North-Western College, partnered with John Kraushar and Fred to launch the Naperville Lounge Factory in 1893. They hired Nichol’s student, Peter Kroehler, as a clerk. The business – and Kroehler – both flourished. Kroehler became a partner in 1896 and bought the company in 1916.

 

Fred and Amelia’s only son, Charles, died at age 30, married, but childless. One of Amelia’s nephews, Oliver Beidelman, who was already working with Uncle Fred, wound up taking over the furniture and the undertaking businesses, passing both along to other family members. It was Oliver who, along with his son “Dutch,” built the brick Beidelman’s Furniture store that is currently on the corner of Washington Street and Jackson Avenue, replacing the shop pictured in the 1874 Atlas. While the funeral parlor space there is still visible, the Beidelman funeral business moved to another downtown location and one in south Naperville. 

By 1911, Fred’s health was failing and his nephew was running the business. He was cared for by Amelia and her sister Ella until his death in 1912 at age 74. The sisters lived together until Amelia died in 1922 and her Beidelman relations continue their business pursuits in Naperville today. 

From the 1874 DuPage Atlas – Milton Ellsworth

Naperville has named a street, a school, and several other locations “Ellsworth” in honor of two men who were influential in town. Father Lewis Ellsworth brought his family to Naperville in 1837 when son Milton was just eight years old. At first, Lewis opened a general store with Milton assisting, but they were also establishing a fruit tree nursery on land east of town that was the site of a fort built during the Blackhawk War, about where the North Central College athletic fields are now.

The nursery was very successful and both Lewis and Milton gave back to the town in a number of ways. Lewis was one of the founding members of the Masonic community and both he and his son served as Masters of Euclid Lodge. Lewis was also a DuPage County school commissioner as well as one of early Naperville’s village presidents.

After years of partnering with his father in the nursery, Milton also became involved in local government, serving five terms as DuPage County Clerk and working for the Internal Revenue Service. In this later part of his life, Milton moved to Wheaton which had become the county seat after the infamous records raid in 1867. 

Milton was married to a Miss Jane Barber and they had three children, one who died in infancy and twins Lewis and Carrie. Carrie never married and worked for her father in the County Clerk’s office. Her brother Lewis, like his father and grandfather, also became a County Clerk.  

Milton’s brother, another Lewis, became involved in government work as well. He moved out to Denver, Colorado, was elected to the Senate there, and was influential in a number of legislative issues for the fledgling state. Apparently serving the public was an Ellsworth family trait. 

Milton died in 1896 at age 67 of cystitis, an inflammation of the bladder. He is buried in the Naperville Cemetery, along with father Lewis and even the Colorado brother Lewis, near the family obelisk.  

Naperville Parks - Miledje Square

Miledje Square is a pleasant little park in the Miledje Square subdivision. The 80-home community is east of Naperville North High School just off of Mill Street.

The neighborhood has an “official website” at www.miledjesquare.com, but it looks like it hasn’t been updated for a while.

Under their “About” page on the website, it says:

“Mr Miledje (pronounced Mill-Ledge) owned the property prior to Naperville being incorporated back in the late 1800s. His farm 
was called "Miledje Farm" which went from Ogden to 6th, and Mill St to Eagle.”

There doesn’t seem to be any mention of “Mr. Miledje” on either the 1869 or 1874 Naperville maps. Naperville was incorporated more than once:  as a village in 1857 and then as a city in 1890. If “the late 1800s” is a clue, that probably means when Naperville was incorporated as a city.

A search of Illinois data bases on marriages, deaths and land records didn’t turn anything up either. There  are however various spellings that might be of same name. For instance: Mlodje, Miledjie and Milledje. Unfortunately, even those names were listed as living in DuPage County but in Cook County.

It would be interesting to know more about “Mr. Miledje,” but that would take a little more investigative work! If anyone else has more information, please share so we can learn more about this little park.

Naperville Parks - Central Park

When the Napers arrived in 1831, the land was part of Cook County. In 1839, Joseph Naper was instrumental in establishing the county of DuPage with the county seat located here in Naperville. Land was set aside and $5000 raised to build a courthouse with jail cells. Outbuildings were later built for additional offices.

Over the next couple of decades, however, Wheaton’s importance grew while Naperville’s waned. Moving the county seat became a highly contentious issue that was resolved - if not amicably, at least without bloodshed - in 1868.

The courthouse was dismantled and sold as salvage. The outbuildings were taken over by the Fire Department to house their engines. And the rest of the courthouse square was improved to become a well-regarded public park.

Walkways, benches and landscaping were added. Monuments were erected such as a Civil War cannon, both Naperville and DuPage County Centennial markers and both the Soldiers and Sailors and Veterans’ Valor monuments.

Dedication for a new sculpture, a young, laughing Abraham Lincoln, is planned for September as part of Illinois’ Bicentennial.

The Fire Department moved out in 1888 which allowed for even more amenities. In the 1970s, some land was turned into parking spaces and landscaping berms were created. A shady children’s playground on one end is one of the more popular features.

The first band stand was erected in 1889 and has been reimagined several times since. The current concert and rehearsal facility was dedicated in 2003. Free concerts are held every Thursday during the summer.

Bring your family (and a picnic!) to enjoy some old-fashioned fun in lovely Central Park any Thursday during the summer and party like it's 1899.