Susan (nee Daleiden) Schlick is my great grandmother. Susan was born on her father Christopher Daleiden’s homestead farm on December 25 1877. The farm is located on Mack Road between Winfield and Illinois Route 59 on the banks of the West Branch of the DuPage River in Winfield Township DuPage County in Illinois.

For a short period of time prior to getting married Susan worked for the Forsythe Rest Room in Winfield as a housekeeper. The Forsythe Rest Room would later become the Chicago Tuberculosis Sanitarium and supported by the Jewish Charities in Chicago Illinois. This Sanitarium was located on the property now owned by Northwestern Medicine and called Northwestern Central DuPage Hospital.

Susan married Casper Francis Schlick on October 10, 1906. Casper and Susan moved onto her father’s farm located on Mack Road near the West Branch of the DuPage River circa May 1910. The young couple had previously been farming on Casper’s father Joseph Schlick’s Burlington Illinois (Burlington Township Kane County Illinois) farm.

Susan and Casper had four children. Their first child was a girl (Mary). Mary unfortunately did not survive childbirth and was buried at St. Charles Borromeo Cemetery located outside Hampshire Illinois (Hampshire Township Kane County Illinois). Their oldest son (this blogger’ grandfather) was Francis (Frank) Schlick. Albert and John were other sons.

Susan per an oral history interview with my mother Louise Eleanor (nee Schlick) Davis was a loving person. My mother recalls how kind she was when my mom visited with her on the farm and that she was a great cook. Susan was a very active person and hard worker to help Casper to keep the family farm running. In general and to put this in historical context the midwestern farm wife was an active participant in the running of a farm. Susan for instance had a substantial vegetable garden just east of the house facing Mack Road. She also canned vegetables and cared for the chickens on the farm. The farm per my Grandpa Schlick was very self sustaining. On occasions the Schlicks would drive in town to West Chicago to the A & P Grocery Store (located at the corner of Illinois Route 59 and Main Street in West Chicago) and to do banking (depositing egg money) at the 1st National Bank of West Chicago Illinois.

Susan died in the home in “the same room in which she was born” (Obituary page 1 The Daily Journal November 12 1945). My mother recalls as a young girl going to the front parlor of the Mack Road farm house to the wake where parishioners of St. Irene’s Catholic Church recited the Rosary at 8:00 p.m. the evening prior to the funeral and requiem mass being held at St. Irene’s Church in Warrenville Illinois. The family then drove her remains to St. John’s Cemetery on Gary’s Mill Road in Winfield Illinois to be buried. Reverend Aloysius Stier was the priest that officiated at the funeral.

Casper would outlive his wife for many years – passing way at the age of 91 – on February 6, 1970.