Solomon Dunham
Having relatives who fought in the Battle of Saratoga (some of which was fought on the Dunham Estate) during the Revolutionary War, Solomon Dunham ( born 1794 in Stillwater, Saratoga County, NY), was surrounded by family who had lived out the reality of the stories of historical significance found in our history books. The talk around the dinner table that a young Solomon easily could have heard, and the chaotic beginnings of the American experiment which required creative solutions, clear thinking and steely resolve, built into him the drive and determination necessary to take his rightful place in the adult life he was to live.
Solomon was educated at home and while a teen, his father died. Determined to learn the engineering trade, he began a formal study of mathematics, paying his way by rafting lumber from the Upper Hudson River to New York. Having completed his studies to become a surveyor, he moved around 1816 to Western New York, near Buffalo. In 1819 he married Lydia Ballard and began rearing his family. When the opportunity to claim land in Northern Illinois opened up following the Black Hawk War, Solomon packed his wife and 8 children in the moving wagons in April of 1835, making their way to Fort Dearborn in a small village along Lake Michigan called Chicago. Leaving them at the Fort, he located a claim on the east border of the Little Woods in St. Charles Township and brought the family there in May of the same year. Building his permanent home at what is now the SE corner of the intersection of Army Trail and Dunham Roads, Solomon settled in to creating a farm of 300 acres on the rich soil of Illinois. Since the Government had not done official surveys in that area, the rights of the settlers were only preemptive. This situation caused a great deal of confusion and the only guarantee to the land title against potential 'claim jumpers' was simply the strength and courage of the rightful owner. Solomon became known for his strength of character, good judgement and honest dealings and became a force to be reckoned with in the politics of Northern Illinois. Once he made a decision, he was fearless and outspoken, forming organizations to protect owners from claim jumpers, assisting in the creation of Kane County, Illinois, and becoming a member of the first board of county commissioners. His civil engineering and surveying skills were in constant demand as more people moved into the area and when the opportunity to bring the railroad west of Chicago was presented, he not only was one of the surveyors on the project, but wisely donated some of his land as well for the right of way for the railroad. In 1849 'Wayne Station', as the area was named, grew as Solomon arranged for an inn, a general store and a house to be built east of the tracks and soon he became station agent and postmaster.
Three more children were born into the Dunham family and as Solomon's older children grew up, married and began their own families, his youngest child, Mark, took on the responsibility for the running of "Oaklawn Farm" as the family farm was called. By the time Mark was fifteen years old he was overseeing its management.
Solomon Dunham, a man who had earned the respect as an effective pioneer in the settling of the Midwestern region of the United States, passed away on April 2, 1865 and is buried in the Little Woods Cemetery in Wayne, Illinois.
Samuel Durant, Commemorative Records, 1888 pgs. 546-549
Solomon was educated at home and while a teen, his father died. Determined to learn the engineering trade, he began a formal study of mathematics, paying his way by rafting lumber from the Upper Hudson River to New York. Having completed his studies to become a surveyor, he moved around 1816 to Western New York, near Buffalo. In 1819 he married Lydia Ballard and began rearing his family. When the opportunity to claim land in Northern Illinois opened up following the Black Hawk War, Solomon packed his wife and 8 children in the moving wagons in April of 1835, making their way to Fort Dearborn in a small village along Lake Michigan called Chicago. Leaving them at the Fort, he located a claim on the east border of the Little Woods in St. Charles Township and brought the family there in May of the same year. Building his permanent home at what is now the SE corner of the intersection of Army Trail and Dunham Roads, Solomon settled in to creating a farm of 300 acres on the rich soil of Illinois. Since the Government had not done official surveys in that area, the rights of the settlers were only preemptive. This situation caused a great deal of confusion and the only guarantee to the land title against potential 'claim jumpers' was simply the strength and courage of the rightful owner. Solomon became known for his strength of character, good judgement and honest dealings and became a force to be reckoned with in the politics of Northern Illinois. Once he made a decision, he was fearless and outspoken, forming organizations to protect owners from claim jumpers, assisting in the creation of Kane County, Illinois, and becoming a member of the first board of county commissioners. His civil engineering and surveying skills were in constant demand as more people moved into the area and when the opportunity to bring the railroad west of Chicago was presented, he not only was one of the surveyors on the project, but wisely donated some of his land as well for the right of way for the railroad. In 1849 'Wayne Station', as the area was named, grew as Solomon arranged for an inn, a general store and a house to be built east of the tracks and soon he became station agent and postmaster.
Three more children were born into the Dunham family and as Solomon's older children grew up, married and began their own families, his youngest child, Mark, took on the responsibility for the running of "Oaklawn Farm" as the family farm was called. By the time Mark was fifteen years old he was overseeing its management.
Solomon Dunham, a man who had earned the respect as an effective pioneer in the settling of the Midwestern region of the United States, passed away on April 2, 1865 and is buried in the Little Woods Cemetery in Wayne, Illinois.
Samuel Durant, Commemorative Records, 1888 pgs. 546-549
