St. Stephen Cemetery well has been recreated near the old St. Stephen Church Pioneer Cemetery in Carol Stream formerly the settlement of Gretna, Illinois. (Photo: Courtesy of Daily Herald 9/22/2022)
The following article was posted and printed in the Daily Herald newspaper on Thursday, September 22, 2022. Kevin Davis and his wife attended this event on August 18 2022.
Thursday, Aug. 18, was a beautiful summer day at St. Stephen Cemetery and Prairie in Carol Stream. John Monino, representing Milton Township’s Cemetery Authority, dedicated a rebuilt well in the name of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet. The story of how the well came to be refurbished goes back almost a year.
At the annual St. Stephen Family Day and Mass last September, board member Jeff Castle noticed what he thought was dangerous concrete rubble until he further investigated. He realized that the rubble covered a well.
At the time, Castle had the vision to “take something little and make it beautiful.” He thought he could do better than that. So, he started doing some research on German wells, since the settlers of Gretna, the original name of Carol Stream, were primarily of German descent.
He made plans for the well, building up smooth river stones capped by a ledge of stone. He then used white oak for the structure, with fragrant redwood to line the shingled roof. A wooden bucket on a winch completes the authenticity of the well from the late 1800s. Rebuilding the well is to honor the memory of immigrants who built the community.
Accepting the proclamation of dedication document for the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois was Eric Holloway, the diocese’s director of Catholic cemeteries.
Learn more about the history of St. Stephen Cemetery and Prairie or Friends of Pioneer Cemeteries at this link.
I have used newspaper extensively throughout my research. News items posted in neighborhood sections of the newspaper provide a wealth of detailed information that is not available in official primary source government documents including the United States Census. Newspapers provide details on the whereabouts and events of our ancestors. They can also provide information on the growth and changes in communities as we shall see in this post.
The DuPage County Genealogical Society of Illinois (DCGS) provides information on their website to individuals searching for their ancestors with DuPage County Illinois roots. One of the projects they have worked on for years is to publish excerpts from the Wheaton (IL) Illinoian newspaper. Microfilm copies of the paper (1885 to 1939) are available at the Wheaton Public Library during Library open hours.
Here are four (4) items the DCGS volunteer transcribers uncovered in the Wheaton Illinoian related to DuPage and the Winfield Illinois area:
#1 Item from the Wheaton Illinoian: 14 February 1907: The Mary Beecher farm consisting of 315 acres directly south of Winfield had been purchased by Chicago parties and is being subdivided into smaller tracts.
Mary Jerome Beecher was the sister of Col. Julius Warren the founder of the City of Warrenville Illinois. Beecher owned a large tract of land in and surrounding Winfield. Here is more information on the Mary Beecher Farm property, referenced in the above article, excerpted from Louise Spanke’s book Winfield’s Good Old Days: A History.
At the death of the last of Colonel Warren’s sisters, Mrs. Jerome Beecher, the Warren lands went on the market in 1908 as Winfield Farm, and Winfield was finally free to grow. Vandercook and Skidmore, Chicago realitors, handled the sales from an office near the [Winfield Railroad Train] station. Lots were priced from $300 to $1000, or $200 to $600 per acre. They were promoted for poultry farm or market garden, for permanent or summer homes, or for investment. They were sold for all of these uses, and a diverse group of new residents soon ringed the close-knit community. . . . .
To circle back and connect this newspaper excerpt back to the Daleiden family I was able to obtain two Deeds from the Office of the DuPage County Recorder of Deeds showing that Christopher Daleiden purchased land from the “The Mary Beecher Warren Home” a parcel (lot number 3 in section 13) in the Plat of Frederickburg (Village of Winfield). Here is the handwritten “Quit Claim Deed” dated 6 June 1900.
1904 Plat Map of the Village of Winfield – Platted as Fredericksburg.
Christopher Daleiden in June of 1909 purchased additional property within the Winfield Farms subdivision.
Item #2 Wheaton Illinoian: 5 July 1907: Mrs. Marion Ashley had been appointed manager of the Winfield Rest Farm. Miss J.P. Forsythe, the owner, has taken charge of her sister’s rest home in Chicago. The sister having died a few weeks ago.
Item #3 Wheaton Illinoian:23 August 1907: The new St. Johns church at Winfield was dedicated Sunday with appropriate ceremonies. Archbishop Quigley of Chicago had charge of the services assisted by priests from neighboring parishes. Many people from Wheaton were in attendance.
St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church Winfield Illinois. The original church had burned in August 1906. Bishop Quigley came to town to bless the new building one year later in August 1907. Note this photo and how wide open the property surrounding the Church was at the time.
Item #4 Wheaton Illinoian: 10 July 1908: At 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, June 30th, the Rev. Peter J. Muldoon came to Winfield where he was met at the depot by a procession formed by the congregation headed by a band. Bishop Muldoon confimed a class of 180 and delivered a sermon which was well received.
Bishop Peter J. Muldoon, the first bishop of the new Diocese of Rockford in Illinois (December 1908 to 1927)
The Church Rev. Bishop Muldoon was visiting in 1908 was St. John’s Roman Catholic Church in Winfield. Muldoon was the The Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. The area of Dupage County was still under the control of the Chicago Archdiocses in 1908. Today it is within the control of the Diocese of Joliet. Here is some background on Bishop Muldoon from Wikipedia:
On 25 July, 1901, Pope Leo XIII appointed Muldoon as titular bishop of Tamassus and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago. He was consecrated on July 25, 1901 by Cardinal Sebastiano Martinelli at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.[5][1] After his ordination, Muldoon was assigned as an assistant pastor at St. Pius Parish in Chicago. After noticing Muldoon’s abilities, Archbishop Patrick Feehan appointed him as his secretary. His appointment raised jealously among many local priests and German priests resentful of Irish clergy. Some of these discontented priests engaged in character defamation against Muldoon – one of them was ultimately excommunicated by Feehan for these actions.[1] Muldoon was appointed as vicar-general of the archdiocese.[6]
I had the pleasure to meet Mr. McCullough on several occasions following speaking engagements and during book signings. I have a complete autographed collection of all of his writings. Here is alink to his publisher’s page Simon and Schuster. He was an excellent narrative historian. He made history come alive. McCullough was a devoted family man and husband to his wife Rosalee. She passed away two months ago.
My most prized possession is a letter Mr. McCullough wrote to me in his own hand on his own personal stationary regarding the importance of public libraries to our American way of life.
To read more about David McCullough and his work as a historian visit a previous post on this blog at this link.
One valuable document genealogists/family historians need to find and review are the probate files and Probate Court records for their family members. The DuPage County Clerk’s Office was a rich source of family history information on the Daleiden family. One file in particular was very revealing and un anticipated.
Christina Daleiden lived a very short life. For a previous posting in this blog on Christina and her father see this link. Here is the Wheaton Illinoian’s description of the incident leading to her death.
Wheaton Illinoian covered the tragic death of Christina Daleiden the daughter of William T. and Susan (Elsen) Daleiden’s daughter. Christina was Christopher Daleiden’s grandaughter.
Christina Daleiden in a photo taken during the time of her 1st Communion at St. John’s Church in Winfield Illinois.
Solarine was the cleaning solution used by Christina Daleiden on the day of her death due to burns on her body.
William Daleiden and his family were seeking some closure regarding his daughter’s death. One avenue that was pursued was a claim suit filed against the Solarine Co. Solarine was a metel polish used by Christina that caused her death. The Probate filing of claim (dated May 19, 1910) states:
Due chose an action consisting of a claim for damages against the Solarine Co. a corporation by reason of an explosive or combustion or ignition of a polishing compound prepared by said corporation and which results in the death of the said testatee. Said claim being for the sum of $10,000.
John Prendergast was the Attorney appointed to represent the family in the claim case. On 5 June 1911 one year later a settlement was recorded in DuPage County Court in Wheaton:
That through your petitioner’s said attorney he has been able to procure an offer of settlement from the Solarine Company. That said company offers to pay the sum of Twenty-five Hundred Dollars ($2,500) and has deposited a certified check for that amount in escrow subject to the permission of your Honorable Court to settle said cause of action for this sum.
Francis (Frank) Joseph Schlick was born on August 28, 1910 and died May 15, 1993. If he were alive in August 2022 he would have celebrated his 112th birthday!
One of the photos that I keep in my family archive is an oval shaped photo of my grandfather as an infant. Frank was the father of my mother Louise Eleanor Schlick Davis. The photo was taken around 1911 within a year after his birth. He is most likely dressed in his christening gown when he was baptisted into the Roman Catholic faith at St. John the Baptist Church in Winfield Illinois. This was the same church where his parents (Casper and Susan (Daleiden) Schlick in 1906) and grandparents (Christopher and Margaret (Weidner) Deleiden in 1867) were married.
The oval shaped convex glass that once covered this photo was broken quite some time ago. The original photo was printed on a cardboard stock and is in very poor shape. “Although oval and round picture frames make up less than 5% of all picture frames produced today, this has not always been the case. Over half of the picture frames produced in America by some the largest picture frame factories in the late 1800’s up to about 1940 were oval, round, octagon or other unusually shaped picture frames. Most of these frames were used to display family portraits with convex glass. Many attics and basements are home to these family heirlooms framed in antique frames and often broken convex bubble glass” (Source Accessed August 5, 2022: Over Crest Co.). The gold painted oval wood frame is still in good condition after 111 +/- years. In 1983 I brought the original photograph to Marshall Fields at the Oakbrook Shopping Center Mall in Oakbrook Illinois. My father George Davis worked at Sears at the same mall from the time the Mall opened in1959 until the time of his retirement. At the time Fields was providing a promotion via their downtown flagship store on State Street via their Marshall Fields Photo Studios and offering photo restoration work. For the price of $48.50 I splerged and had the photo reproduced, retouched and restored. Additional details within the photo emerged – his crop of thick black hair in the middle of his head and the design on the pillow for instance.
The Marshall Field Photo Studio restored photograph of Frank Schlick.
Frank grew up and lived all of his life in DuPage County within Winfield Township and in the Village of Winfield and the City of Warrenville in Illinois. Frank and Mae Hodous Schlick never ventured far from their homes. They never took extended vacations. This may be rooted I surmise in their committment to the daily needs and demands of farm life and frugality learned while growing up during the Great Depression. They were honest hardworking and simple people. Frank was the farm manager at St. James Farm from the mid 1950s to the time of his retirement. St James located in Warrenville Illinois was the former dairy and esquestrian estate farm of Brooks McCormick the CEO of International Harvester Co. of Chicago. It is now part of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County Illinois.
Frank Joseph and Mae (Hodous) Schlick on their wedding day 1932. For more information on their life check out this blog posting from this blog. This photo was taken at the Kohli Photography in Wheaton Illinois.
This is a handdrawn sketch portrait of “The Schlick Home – St. James Farm – Warrenville Illinois”. The artist is D.S. Castro. This was given to my by my brother Robert Davis as a Christmas present. The Schlicks lived in this home on St. James starting in 1957 until my Grandfather Frank’s retirement in 1985. Unfortunately the home was torn down by the Forest Preserve District of Dupage County in 2008.
The Dupage County Forest Preserve District (Illinois) recently posted a history of the “East Farm” of Brooks McCormick’s St. James Farm. Frank Schlick, my Grandfather, was the Farm Operations Manager for many years. This blog includes a nice aerial photo of the farm during the seventies. In one photo the Schlick home can be seen including Frank’s red colored International Harvester pickup truck that he used when running errands.
Aerial View of St James Farm circa 1970s. The Indoor Arena is show in the center bottom of this photo. Across the street and to the left is the Schlick Home. Grandpa Frank Schlick’s red IH truck is parked in front of and to the left of the house.
Marie Sittler sitting on the lap of her Uncle Joseph Schlick circa 1910 in Burlington, Illinois.
We Genealogist people love a mystery. We love to dig into the stories of our family members who appear in old family photos. One intriguing story my wife and I unraveled was the story of Mary Anne Armbrust Schlick’s niece Marie Sittler.
Mary Anne’s sister was Caroline Armbrust Sittler. Little Marie Sittler is shown in the above photo taken near the porch of Joseph and Mary Anne Schlick’s home at Main and Water Street in downtown Burlington Illinois. Marie is adorable little girl in a white dress with a large bow in her hair sitting on her Uncle, Joseph Schlick’s, lap. Why is Marie in this photo with all of her older extended family members? Where and why isn’t her mother in the photo? Why is she at her Aunt Mary Anne’s home?
The Joseph and Mary Anne Schlick Family of Burlington Illinois (Circa 1910). Here are the names of everyone shown in this photo: Front row: Martin Armbrust (father of Mary Anne Armbrust Schlick; Mary Anne Schlick, Emma (Schlick) Umbdenstock holding William Umbdenstock, Jr.; Rose (Schlick) Weberpal, Marie Sittler on the lap of her Uncle Joseph Schlick (Marie Sittler is the daughter of Caroline Armbrust); Marie (Schlick) Schneider sister of Joseph Schlick, Sr.; Martin Schlick (standing behind Marie Schneider his aunt; left of Martin and continuing to the left of the second row is John Rieser (Husband of Odelia Schlick); Lorena Umbdenstock, Tillie Schlick (Sister of Anthony Seyller); William Umbdenstock, Sr. (Husband of Emma Schlick); Anthony Seyller (Husband of Anna Schlick); Joseph Schlick, Jr., Anna (Schlick) Seyller, Caroline Umbdenstock, Susan (Daleiden) Schlick wife of Casper Schlick, Casper Schlick and Odelia (Schlick) Reiser.
Caroline Armbrust Sittler is the first person in tbe above photo to the far right. She is shown with her Father and Mother Martin Armrbust (second from the left) and Anna Mary (Munsinger) Armbrust (Second from right). Her sister Mary Anne Armbrust Schlick (first person front row on far left), wife of Joseph Schlick. Caroline’s four brothers are in the second row (left to right) Joseph, Anthony, Louis and Frank.
The Martin and Caroline (Armbrust) Sittler Family as recorded in the 1900 Census Wheaton Illinois Milton Township DuPage County Illinois.
The Oswald Sittler property (243.78 acres) is shown as being located in the Milton Township plat map dated 1904. What is today known as Naperville Road runs along the east side of the property. In all probability this is the property that the Sittler family (including Marie Sittler) was living on and farming.
Caroline Armbrust Sittler died on the fourth of July in 1906 after giving birth to her daughter Marie Sittler. The Sittler’s lived in Wheaton Illinois. She had been in a very delicate state of health for several months during the pregnancy. It is uncertain what affliction Caroline was suffering. I have not yet seen a death certificate. The birth was being viewed with “grave apprehension” by her family. The Armbrusts attended St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Wheaton. Her father Martin was one of the founders of the church. Caroline was buried at St. Michaels Cemetery in Wheaton. Her funeral services resulted in a large turnout of mourners. Caroline and her husband were the parents of ten children.
The July 13, 1906 issue of the Wheaton Illinoian contains the obituary for Caroline Armbrust Sittler. Caroline was the only sister to Mary Anne Armbrust Schlick.
Following the death of her mother and per several oral history interviews with family members Marie lived for a period of time with her Aunt and Uncle Joseph and Mary Anne (Annie) (Armbrust) Schlick in Burlington, Illinois in their home located at Main and Water Street. This explains the young toddler on the lap of Joseph Schlick in the above Schlick family photo.
The Sittler Family of Wheaton Illinois as recorded on the 1920 U.S. Census. They live along Naperville Road in Wheaton Illinois Milton Township DuPage County Illinois. The father Martin Sittler name does not appear on the 1920 Census. Martin was born 21 Nov 1853 and died on 23 Jan 1919 one year prior to the census being taken. The second eldest son Peter or “Pete” is carrying on as “head of the family”. Frank, the eldest brother is listed as a ” partner” to the “head” of the household. Frank and Peter were both assisting to oversee their younger brothers and sisters (Helen (28), Lucy (17) and Edward (15). Marie is the youngest (13) is living (in 1920) with her brothers and sisters.
The 1928-1929 Directory for Geneva lists Marie Sittler Living at 132 Nebraska Street in Geneva, Kane County Illinois. She was employed at the Community Laundry. Marie’s name is listed within the above Directory shown below. This source is located at the Geneva Public Library reference section.
City Directories are another rich source of information on family members. They can be used to located where family members were living between U.S. Census years. For instance in the Geneva City Diretory for 1928/1929, “Miss Caroline Sittler” is listed as “emp” (employed) at the “Community Laundry” and her ‘h” (home) is located at 132 Nebraska.
The home where Miss Marie Sittler once lived in 1928 – 1929 (132 Nebraka Street, Geneva, Kane County Illinois) is still standing.
Marie Sittler in the 1930 U.S. Census is shown living on her own with the LaPlant family owners of the Community Laundry in Geneva Illinois on State Street (now Illinois Route 38 Roosevelt Road / Lincoln National Highway Route). Marie is now 23 years old and living as a “boarder” working as a “mangler” for a “laundry” shop. A “mangler” is a person that wrings our the laundry after it has been washed.
Marie Sittler Lycke Obituary died July 15, 1996. She was living in Wheatland Missouri at the time of her death.
Marie Sittler Lycke is buried with her second hushand Lee Lycke at the Hermitage Cemetery in Hickory, Missouri
Marie married (Morace)Lee Lycke. Lee’s first wife Clarabelle Kramer died in 1953 in Batavia Illinois and is buried at the Batavia River Hill Memorial Cemetery in Kane County Batavia Illinois. Lee and Clarabelle were married ( per FamilySearch.com) in Boone County Iowa on 18 February 1922.
(Morace) Lee Lycke’s obituary. Lee was Marie Sittler’s second husband. Marie met Lee while she was living in the Fox River Valley towns of Geneva and St. Charles Illinois.
Marie Sittler’s parents, Martin and Caroline Sittler’s grave headstone at St. Michael’s Cemetery in Wheaton Milton Township DuPage County Illinois. (Photo Source: Find a Grave.).
In June I went to the DuPage Recorder of Deeds Office in Wheaton Illinois in DuPage County. The staff was very helpful and patient.
The main research objective in visiting the Recorder’s Office was to find original deeds recording the earliest land acquistion transactions made by the Daleidens in DuPage County Illinois.
Upon review of the Deeds we gain and understanding of the expansion of the Daleiden family land holdings along Mack Road and within the Village of Winfield.
In 1864 Michael and Christopher Daleiden made their first purchase of property in Winfield Township on 4 May 1864. The total acreage purchased from Col. Julius Warren (founder and resident of Warrenville Illinois) was for forty acres for $ 520. This is the first recording of a Daleiden brother’s property purchase in their new home land following their immigration from Germany to the United States. This specific piece of land is located south of Mack Road and east of the West Branch of the DuPage River.
The above documents is a land Warrenty Deed. The Deed records the sale of property along Mack Road to Michael and Christopher Daleiden. The grantor (seller) is Colonel Julius M. Warren. The date of the Deed is 4 May 1864. The price of $ 520 for “forty acres more or less.” The legal description: ” The southwest corner of the northeast quarter of Section 27, Township 39 [Winfield Township], Range 19, East of 3rd Prime Meridian . . .”. The top view of the Deed is an expanded view of the top portion of the same Deed.
Michael Daleiden is shown as paying his taxes for his property on Mack Road. This is from the DuPage County Accessor’s Office.
Col. Julius Warren is the founder of the City of Warrenville Illinois in Winfield Township. He sold land to the Daleidens.
The 1865 Illinois Census shows Michael and his family members (represented by hashmarks by age category) living in Winfield Township.
In October 1868 Michael and Christopher added on to their landholdings by purchasing an additional ninety acres near the West Branch of the DuPage River. They purchased the land from Thomas and Helen J. Pelham of Warrenville Illinois. Here is an 1863 map showing thei property property prior to the Daleidens purchasing the property from the Pelhams.
Thomas and Helen J. Pelham property near the Mack Family on Mack Road. This property was sold to Michael and Christopher Daleiden in October 1868.
Thomas Pelham, the property seller, was born in 1835 in England and died in Jan 1914. The Pelham family were part of the first wave of east coast “yankee” settlers claiming property in DuPage County prior to the Irish and German immigrants moving into the County.
This Deed dated 20 October 1868 on file at the DuPage County Assessors Office documents the transfer and sale of ninety acres from the Thomas and Helen J. Pelham to Michael and Christopher Daleiden. The sale price was $ 500.
On December 19, 1881 Michael Daleiden purchased forty acres of land from James Fairbank (a widower) to add to his growing land holdings along Mack Road near the West Branch of the DuPage River. The Fairbank family were original landholders dating back to the 1830s. Their land spread out west of what is now Illinois Route 59 and extended east along the west and east banks of the West Branch of the DuPage River north of Mack Road.
The above Deed dated 19 December 1881 shows the transfer of forty acres from James Fairbanks to Michael Daleiden for the price of $ 1,500.
The 1874 map (below) records the initial forty acres expanded to 80 acres along Mack Road. This is Section 27 in Winfield Township in DuPage County Illinois.
In November of 1881 Christopher Daleiden added an additional piece of property to his landholdings. The new property addition was along and hugged the east bank of the West Branch of DuPage River along Mack Road. This was a key property acquistion by the Daleidens. This provided their family and farm animals with direct access to then fresh and clean water of the DuPage River. The brothers were now both married, they now owned their own separate farm properties and at have been raising their families. The 1880 U.S. Census documents the growth of their families.
The U.S. 1880 Census lists the family members of Michael Daleiden and his brother Christopher living on Mack Road in Winfield Township. My Great-grandmother Susan Schlick is four years old.
The Deed dated 7 December 1881 documents the transfer of several acres for $1,241.10 from landowner Sarah (Mathers) Roberts and her husband George D. Roberts. This property had been inherited by Sarah from her father Israel Mather upon his death.
This 1904 Winfield Township map records the two brothers land and farm holdings along Mack Road. Compare this map with the 1874 map shown above. The Daleiden’s purchase of property from Col. Julius Warren, the Pelhams, Fairbanks and the Mather families were combined into four properties with a total of over 150 acres. The puchases had taken place over a span of forty years (1864 to 1904). The purchase price for the acreage was over $3,761. One footnote: notice that Mack Road now conveys over the West Branch of the Dupage River. The ‘dogleg” of the road goes past the Daleiden farm home, barn and proprty. Much later in time this dog leg would be straighten with a smooht cover that one travels along today as we drive west toward the traffic lights at the Mack and Illinois Route 59 intersection.
The map shown below dated 1904 is marked with the properties owned by Christopher Daleiden or his son Michael T. or property that eventually would be owned by his grandson Michael B. Daleiden. Christopher by the late 1890s and early 1900s may have begun contemplating future and his plans to retire or at least downgrade his active involvement with his farm along Mack Road. Christopher was looking toward retirement in his house near St John’s Church in Winfield.
Christopher and Margaret Daleiden eventually purchased lots in Section 14 near St. Johns Church along John Street (now Church Street) in Winfield. The ‘Store‘ shown in Lot 3 in Section 9 was the Bluebird Billard and Confectionary Store managed by William B. Daleiden. William and his wife had purchased a home in Lot 6 in Section 8 down and across the street from the store. Christopher purchased a large lot at the end of Frederick Street (now Beecher Street). This large lot according to my grandfather Frank Schlick was “Grandpa Daleiden’s hay field“. Margaret and Christopher would live in a home built on lot 3 in Section 14.
This map of Winfield is taken from the DuPage County 1904 Atlas. The properties marked with a blue “X” are owned by the Daleiden family. (Source: Illinois Digital Archives scanned copy of the 1904 DuPage County Atlas).
The above Deeds document (dated 1886 and 1894) the purchase of several acres of property and lots by Christopher Daleiden in the Village of Wnfield Illinois (Plated as the Town of Fredericksburg).
The William B. Daleiden home at the corner of what is now Beecher and Winfield Roads in Winfield. The home site is now occupied by the Winfield Market Square stores building.
The Margaret and Christopher Daleiden home on Church Street. This home was located just north of St. John Roman Catholic Church in Winfield. The event is this photo is the wedding of Susan (Daleiden) and Casper Schlick in October of 1906.
Six months ago I began my journey to pull together my family’s history on this blog. I have been collecting information since the early 1980s in between finishing college, going to graduate school, changing homes, raising a family and working.
My journey has been both amazing and very revelatory. The stories I have uncovered have been amazing. Some of the stories have revealed triumphs, tragedies, births and deaths. It has been primarily a story of home and places.
I have come to a better understanding of myself, my family, and my own person DNA makeup. We all inherit traits from our family members of the past that can only be revealed via research and then reflection. I inherited a sense of humor and poking fun in jest from my Schlick side. I inherited my anxious and worry side from my mother Louise Davis. I inherited my avoidance of conflict and love of food from my father George Davis. I inherited my belief in God and my faith from my grandmother Mae Schlick. I inherited my love of country from my grandfather Frank Schlick. Our reflection time in looking back increases as we age. I am not the same person I was when I was two or twenty-two or fify or fifty-two and now I look at things much more differently at sixty and now in retirement. Lots of water under the bridge as they say as the river takes us on a journey. We are either carried smoothly along by the flow and course of the river of life’s flow or are washed ashore and grounded with challenges or road blocks. At times we can feel left behind or racing to catch-up with the flow.
The happy and proud father George Stuart Davis at 27W356 Beecher in Winfield Illinois. Kevin (left) and Mary (right) his son and daugher in 1964.
Sandra (Sandy) Davis Summer 1969 with Mary Davis at 27W359 Beecher. The 359 address is where we all moved as we were getting older.
I recently was going through old family albums left behind by my mother Louise Eleanor (Schlick) Davis. Some of the photos were taken when I was an infant or toddler. Some of the photos centered on places, places like home. I grew up at 27W356 Beecher Street. I was too young to remember my first two to four years as I grew up at that home on Beecher. This was the home my Schlick grandparents (Frank and Mae Schlick) built in the 1940s. This was their dream house built with relatives (John Armbrust) and friends who lived in Winfield. I retold the story of the building of this house in a previous blog.
August 1969 St James Farm in Warrenville Illinois and home of Frank and Mae Schlick. Left to right is Robert Davis, Kevin Davis and Mary Davis. The home has been torned down to make way for the visitor’s parking lot for the St James Farm Forest Preserve of the DuPage County Forest Preserve District. The garage (shown on the far right) is still standing.
St James Farm in Warrenville was my second home. A place I find to be my focal point and true north place to catch my breath and to refind my mind and thoughts. This is the place where I spent every Sunday afternoon from the time I was an infant to the time my grandfather Frank retired in 1985 as Farm Manager. Many happy memories. Apple picking in the apple orchard in the fall. Visiting Brooks McCormick’s horses in the red brick stable (still standing). Visiting the chickens and collecting eggs late on a Sunday afternoon with my grandfather. Riding our bicycles around the many roads and paths between my grandparent’s house and the dairy barn (still standing).
Therefore, on this July 4, 2022 weekend I would encourage you to take a space of time to reflect on where you are at and where you are headed. Also, where has your family been. Time to get out the old albums, talk with your relatives about what life was like when they were growning up. We need to do this act to preserve our family history and to be able to pass along the stories to our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. We need to do this before they are no longer part of our life.
Schlick Daleiden Family DuPage/Kane Co. Blog 
