There is much to be said of our ancestors who suffered so bravely as
they helped make our country become what it is. We pupils should feel proud that
we are able to honor them in some small way.
For over one hundred years
our County of La Salle has made much progress in many ways. Our forefathers must
have suffered much as they endured the many hardships before them. Still we like
to hear about the first years they spent in this part of the country.
I
have enjoyed seeing, and learning about old relics kept in the older homes. Some
articles I was shown were made by the first settlers in this part of La Salle
County. One was a navy-blue and white bedspread or coverlet which has been kept
for over ninety-four years. It is still in very good condition. The pattern is a
very beautiful one. Great skill is shown to be used by the makers. It is hard to
believe that this spread was not made by some expensive machine similar to those
used today. A white fringe sewed around the edge is torn, but the coverlet is
very strong.
In the early days the girls were taught to spin and knit
garments for the whole family. Often the young girls were busy making clothing
to be worn during the cold winter months. The many labor-saving machines now
used in La Salle County make much easier work and show much progress.
The yarn used to weave this spread was spun from pure carded wool in Orleans
County, Kendal, New York by a twelve year old girl named Susan Nelson.
Susan was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nels Nelson who came to America from
Norway on the ship "Restoration." This group set sail on July 4, 1825, and
landed in New York October 9, 1825, a period of 97 days.
The
"Restoration" was a three-mast sailing vessel weighing forty tons, and carried
fifty three passengers.
The bedspread which I write about was woven by
an aged lady known in Orleans county, New York, as Grandma Greene. She wove
articles for a livelihood.
There was much to the art of spinning by
hand. The carded wool was spun into strands, measured, wound into balls, and
colored. After having completed these processes, it could be knitted or woven.
Much of the clothing used was not colored.
The spinning wheel which Miss
Nelson used is kept as a relic in the home of her daughter, my teacher's mother.
The frame still stands and could be used with good results if one wished to.
At the age of twenty years, Susan Nelson, with her parents and other members
of the family came from New York to Illinois and settled in Miller township. In
1850 she was married to Charles Donelson. After living in Dayton for a short
time, they resided in Ottawa, Illinois until 1853. At that place Mr. Donelson
worked as a wagon builder. Later they moved to their farm situated two and
one-half miles northeast of Seneca, where they lived the rest of their lives.
Other relics I have seen beside the spinning wheel and the bedspread are
a spool rack and a book of songs.
The spool rack is well made of hard
polished wood. It was given to Mrs. Donelson when she was a child at the age of
five years. It has been kept exactly one hundred one years. Now it is considered
an article of real importance.
The book of songs copied by this same
person is dated January 19, 1845 at which time she was nineteen years old and
was attending a night singing school for young folks. Some of the songs included
are: "Cold Water Army," "All is Weil," "New Missionary Hymn," "The True Yankee
Sailor," "Come, Come Away," "The Orphan Girl," and "Independence Day." I am sure
these young folks enjoyed learning such songs which perhaps were some of the
best numbers because many are the same ones printed in song books now.
It is very interesting to learn much about old relics. They are lasting because
they were made of the best material and by great workmen. The lives of the
people are so much like the old relics because they are not forgotten after we
learn something great about them. Let us always honor our parents and ancestors
by trying to do only the good in the best way we can.
Extracted 06 Jun 2015 by Norma Hass from Stories of Pioneer Days in La Salle County, Illinois, by Grammar Grade Pupils, published in 1932, page 79.
Extracted 08 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from Stories of Pioneer Days in La Salle County, Illinois, by Grammar Grade Pupils, published in 1932, page 79.
| Lee | DeKalb | Kane |
| Bureau |
 |
Kendall |
| Putnam | Grundy | |
| Marshall | Woodford | Livingston |
