Talcott Family reunites, Talcott family Heritage Day recognized by Village of Rockton
Rockton welcomed the Talcott family who reunited on Aug. 3 where they started the day with a visit to the Rockton Township Historical Society (RTHS) that morning. This event was one of many that the family celebrated from Aug. 1-4.
RTHS President Marilyn Mohring recognized special guests including RTHS Board members and gave special recognition to all who helped to make the visit possible.
Mohring introduced Rockton Village Trustee Jodi May, who presented the Talcott family with a special certificate declaring that day to be proclaimed as Talcott Family Heritage Day to be on Aug 3 on behalf of the Village of Rockton.
May said, “Thank you to your family for everything they have done for our little village.
Mohring opened by saying, “Welcome to your hometown.”
She added, “In just four weeks, the Mack family will be having a reunion.”
After being presented with the proclamation, head of the Talcott Family Association, Dexter Talcott gifted a special memento to Mohring.
During the reunion dates the Talcotts went to the Rockton Township Cemetery to see family markers, the Race, Old Stone Church, and Talcott Library in Rockton. In Rockford they visited the Talcott building, in the 300 block of W. State St., and Midway Village Museum, where Adeline Talcott’s wedding dress is on display.
Mohring gave a powerpoint presentation on the history of the Talcotts who were instrumental and highly influential in shaping Rockton.
The first permanent white settlers in Rockton beside Stephen Mack were Capt. William Talcott and his son Thomas B. Talcott.
Traveling to Rockton
In June of 1835 they traveled west from Rome NY, coming all the way by horse and wagon with the plan of reaching Milwaukee Wis.
From Thomas’s journal of July 10, 1835: Left our Indian tavern this morning after breakfast. Came to Rock River south of Milwaukee, after a few miles our horse got mired, and we had to loosen him from the wagon, On July 16, they found their horse after searching for it, headed toward Chicago, walking all the way,
On July 17 they bought another horse to go to the Rock River on horseback.
On July 22 they started toward the Rock River. On July 25, they saw several Indians, one a Pottawatomie, said there were white folks within a few miles. One motioned to follow him leading the men to Stephen Mack’s Indian Trading establishment.
They found they were on the bank of the Rock River, about two miles below the mouth of Pecatonica, six miles south of Wisconsin territory.
The Talcotts stayed with Stephen Mack while making their claims.
Featured on a slide was the first Talcott cabin.
The Talcott Family
By October of that same year, more of the family had arrived, including Thomas’ brother Henry W, who was now living in Rockton. He was one of the original members of the Congregational Church. With his wife and children, they lived in a large stone home at the corner of Chapel and Blackhawk, then Washington St.
He was engaged in various industries with his brothers.
Capt. William went back east to settle his business before moving back with his family in 1837.
Sylvester had been keeping a store in Horseheads NY until he came west in 1936. He was elected as a Justice of the Peace, performing the first wedding in town in 1937.
‘Deacon’ Wait Talcott came to Rockton in the fall of 1838 with his wife and daughter.
Adeline Talcott Emerson married Ralph Emerson presumably in the Talcott home in Rockford. She taught school in Rockton.
William Ariel Talcott was Adeline’s brother who worked with the Talcott Implement Company and Emerson-Brantingham Company.
Prudence Hubbard Talcott was the youngest of 10 children of Captain William and Dorothy Blish Talcott, coming to Rockton in 1837 with her parents and several other family members. She had two stepsons.
A photo featured the Hersey Farm that sat between Rockton and Beloit, on the east side of the Rock River. Clark School was near the farm.
Sylvester Talcott was not required by law to perform military service, and voluntarily at his own expense furnished John W, Whipple of Rockton in the State of Illinois as a Representative Recruit to serve in his stead in the military forces of the Union: “he is in accordance with the foregoing order entitled to this official acknowledgement of his disinterested patriotism and public spirit.”
Sylvester was elected as the first Township Supervisor in 1850. He was also a Trustee in the Congregational Church for several years.
Captain Willian Talcott is said to have been the “father of Rockton.” He was instrumental in forming the Congregational Church, now known as the Old Stone Church in Rockton in 1838. There were 14 members, five of which were Talcotts.
The building was completed in 1850, at a cost of $5,000. In 1854 Talcott donated the bell at a cost of $700 with a weight of 1,400 lbs.
In 1837, he asked the Rev. Wm. Adams to organize the church. In 1935, the church was deemed to have architectural merit worthy of preservation by the Historical American Building Survey. Drawings and photographs were recorded and placed in the Library of Congress.
Waterpower and building the Race
It was said that William Talcott’s main contribution to the area was the development of waterpower for industry. He built the Mill Race and a sawmill and a grist mill was completed in 1938.
He had realized that the drop along the Rock River was right for construction and the race had a greater fall than any on the river. Its flow of water was 12,000 inches with a fall of nine ft. The entire mill race was dug by hand with dirt being hauled away by horse and wagon.
Talcott Library
Talcott Free Library began in 1875 when a Public Library Association was organized in Rockton where each person had to pay a collection.
Thirteen years later in June of 1888 the Honorable Wait A. Talcott donated the Rockton Township to be used as a library.
His donation came with a promise that the town would organize under the laws of Illinois and vote to establish a tax to support the library.
The original building was constructed in 1854 as a feed and grain store. Wait’s son William paid for the repair of the building to become a library including a new roof.
His brother Thomas donated a nucleus of books and W.W. Austin installed electric lights. Talcott Free Library was dedicated on Aug. 22, 1889, and named this because the public no longer had to pay to use the collection.
Rockton Township Cemetery
Rockton Township Cemetery on 10 acres of land was purchased by the village from Wait Talcott at a cost of $870 with surveying costs of $45.91.
A memorial to Thomas B. Talcott, his wife Sophia Willard Talcott and their only child, a son who died when three days old sits in the cemetery.
Thomas was elected as the first county commissioner in 1836, holding that office for five years. He was also among the group of men who organized the County of Winnebago in Aug. of that same year. The original county area included present-day Boone County and Winnebago plus two tiers of townships from Stephenson County. Later Winnebago County was reduced in size to the present 16 townships.
Business ventures
Wait and his brother Sylvester formed a co-partnership With John H. Manny, Jessie Blinn and Ralph Emerson to manufacture the celebrated Manny Reaper, which became one of the largest manufacturing industries in Rockford.
Wait was also a collector of Internal Revenue for this congressional district under President Abraham Lincoln.
He also was one of the original incorporators of Beloit College and the Rockford Female Seminary, now Rockford University, where he was a member of the Board of Trustees. In 1854 he was elected as a state senator.
He represented Boone, Ogle and Carroll Counties for four years. During his term he secured a charter for a railroad from Rockford to Rockton and on to the Stateline. Wait held large contracts for building the Racine and Mississippi railroad from Rockton to Freeport.
Accidental death
In 1870 the news reported the accidental death of Henry W. Talcott on Dec. 9 after being thrown from his buggy. He was found four miles from the scene of the accident in Roscoe.
The Talcott family left an enormous impact on the development of Rockton and surrounding communities leaving a legacy with great benefits for everyone.