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The Scottish American History Club Newsletter
October 1994
James Earl Fraser
James Earl Fraser died on October 11, 1953, at the age
of 76 at Westport, Connecticut. Born in Winona,
Minnesota and raised on the plains of the West, he had
become one of America's most noted sculptors.
At the age of eight, James Earl started carving things
out of stone from a nearby quarry. His father wanted him
to be an engineer, but he received such praise from
railroad officials about his art that his father finally
relented. At the age of 15, James Earl was sent to study
at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Before he was 17, a model of one of his most celebrated
works was completed. His "End of The Trail" statue
showing a weary Indian slumped down over his rack-ribbed
horse had been copied around the world. It is often
regarded as the best-known sculpture in America.
In 1895, James Earl Fraser won a scholarship to study in
Paris. It was here that he attracted the attention of
Augustus St. Gaudens, with whom he immediately began to
work.
On the north pylons of the Michigan Avenue bridge across
the Chicago river is the large limestone depiction of
The Pioneers and Discoverers by Fraser. Other works
include the statue of Theodore Roosevelt as a Rough
Rider in front of the American Museum of Natural History
in New York City. His statue of Alexander Hamilton, for
the Department of the Treasury in Washington is regarded
as one of the best works of those practicing in the
Saint-Gaudens tradition.
In 1913, James Earl Fraser designed the Indian head and
buffalo nickel.
More information can be found at the
Bronze Gallery.
Naper Avenue
 In
Chicago, Naper Avenue runs 6600 West from 5900 North to
6258 North.
The street was named for Captain Joseph Naper, a man of
Scottish descent. He founded Naper settlement in 1831,
now known as Naperville, Illinois.
Joseph Naper and his brother sailed to Chicago to
deliver a sailboat and then moved on west to the
Naperville area where they ran a sawmill. During the
Black Hawk War in 1832, he took command of the first
militia in DuPage County. The women and children of the
settlement had previously been sent to Fort Dearborn in
Chicago.
In the 1830's Naper Settlement was larger than Chicago
and actually became the first town chartered in Cook
County. In 1839, while serving in the Illinois General
Assembly, Joseph Naper proposed legislation that created
DuPage County, separating it from Cook County.
Naperville was the original county seat, but it was
later moved to Wheaton.
Does anyone in Naperville know of the burial place of
Joseph Naper?
More about the history of DuPage County can be found
at
A History of The County of DuPage Illinois
Highland, Illinois
Highland is located just 30 minutes from St. Louis and
is one of the oldest Swiss settlements in the U.S. The
city was founded in 1831 by hardy Swiss pioneers from
Sursee, Switzerland. The town was platted in 1836 by
General Joseph Semple, a Scot, who convinced the
settlers that the area resembled his native Scotland
and, thus, the name Highland was chosen. Starting in
1884, it was the home of Pet Milk.
 Daniel P. Cook
Someone You Should Know
Daniel Cook was born in Kentucky in 1795 of Scottish
parents. He came to Kaskaskia, Illinois, in 1815 and
began to practice law. Believing his future lay in the
nation’s Capitol, he moved to Washington and in 1817 was
sent to London to bring back John Quincy Adams. Adams
was being requested to serve as Secretary of State under
President Monroe.
He soon tired of Washington and returned to Illinois
where he purchased a newspaper from another Scot by the
name of Matthew Duncan. Cook became an ardent supporter
of statehood and using his newspaper, The Western
Intelligencer, began to influence the Territorial
Legislature. When the legislature convened on December
2, 1817, there was an immediate move to make Illinois
the twenty-first state. Not only would Illinois be
ratified as a state through the efforts of Daniel Cook,
it would be a slave-free state.
In 1819, Cook was elected to Congress as the sole
representative from Illinois. He served four terms being
finally defeated by Joseph Duncan, another Scot. In
Congress, Cook served on the committee on Public Lands
and later on the Ways and Means Committee. He secured a
grant of government lands to aid in the construction of
the Illinois-Michigan Canal. In 1824, he had as sole
congressman from Illinois cast the vote of the state for
Adams, thus practically deciding the decision.
Daniel Cook always suffered from poor health and died
October 16, 1827, at the age of 33. Four years after his
death, a county in Illinois was named in his honor. He
probably never visited the area we call Cook County.
Ninian W. Edwards, the son of the first territorial
governor of Illinois said “...it should be a matter of
pride with the citizens of Chicago that so eminent and
illustrious a man as Daniel Cook is thus honored. In
respect of his high character, his great ability, his
honorable name, and of the inestimable service he
rendered to our great commonwealth, the County of Cook
should erect a monument in his memory.”
Not only did Chicago never build a monument to Daniel
Cook, it is doubtful that many have ever heard his name.
The location of his grave remains unknown, but is
thought to be somewhere in Kentucky. His legacy lived on
through his son, General John Cook, who fought on the
side of the Union during the Civil War.
The Memoirs of the late Daniel P. Cook can be
downloaded or read at the
American Libraries site.
Whatever happened to the 1967 Heather Queen Laurie
Drummond?
Have you ever visited Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.; Glasgow,
Illinois; Glasgow, Kentucky; Glasgow, Missouri; Glasgow,
Montana; Glasgow, Pennsylvania; Glasgow, Virginia; or
the Glasgow (Abbottsingh) Airport?
Would the person from Naperville who sent the copy of
The Arbroath Herald please call me.
We have a partial copy of The British News November 26,
1938, “the only British society news medium in
Illinois.” It was published semi-monthly in Chicago. Do
you have any information as to where the archives are
stored, or does anyone have other copies?
Does anyone know John Logie Baird and what he is famous
for inventing?
Thomas McDonough, Captain in the U.S. Navy, achieved
success on Lake Ontario against the British. His
accomplishments are said to equal those of Oliver Hazard
Perry. The opposing commander was another Scot, Robert
H. Barclay. This significant victory ended fears of a
British invasion and is said to have been the first time
since its creation that Britain had lost an entire
squadron. (Ancestor of Mary Ellen McDonough Rethford).
John Rodgers, born in Maryland, 1771, son of a Scots
colonel of militia, fired with his own hand the first
shot in the war with Great Britain in 1812.
Edinburgh’s Scottish-American Memorial
John McLean emigrated to America from Scotland as a
young man and settled in Chicago. At the outbreak of the
Civil War, he enlisted as private in the 65th Illinois
Volunteer Infantry. By the end of the war he had risen
to the rank of Sergeant-Major, but his health was
broken. Returning to Scotland, he married and soon had a
family of three children. The times were difficult, his
health was poor, and the family was never properly
supported. When he died he was buried in a pauper’s
grave.
In 1890, his widow approached Wallace Bruce, U. S.
Consul in Edinburgh, for help in getting his pension.
Bruce, a sensitive man best known for his poetry, was
appalled to learn that John McLean was buried in a
potter’s field.
Returning to the United States, he began to raise money
for a proposed memorial. Donations came from such men as
Waldorf Astor, Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt,
William Rockefeller and J. Pierpont Morgan. The Illinois
Saint Andrew Society made its contribution through
Robert Clark, Jr., President.
The monument was dedicated on August 21, 1893. It was a
rainy, windy day. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
marched from the Castle to Waterloo Place at the east
end of Princes Street. This Guard of Honor numbered 250
persons. It was to be an impressive ceremony in spite of
the inclement weather.
The monument was draped in the Union Jack, the Scottish
Standard and the Stars and Stripes. Around the platform
was an edging of heather. The highest officials from
Edinburgh were present including the Lord Provost. Many
American veterans from both sides of the war were in
attendance.
Mr. Lincoln stands life-size on a large pedestal with a
freed black slave kneeling at his feet. Carved in
Aberdeen granite are the words of Lincoln, “To preserve
the jewel of liberty in the framework of freedom.”
The remains of John McEwen and five other veterans are
buried beneath the monument; their names and regiments
are also recorded in the Aberdeen granite. Just to the
left of Lincoln stands the circular tower designed by
Robert Adam and is the burial place of David Hume, the
great historian and philosopher. Others buried in this
small cemetery include: John Haig, William Blackwood,
and Robert and Thomas Stevenson, grandfather and father
of Robert Louis Stevenson.
The Calton burying ground is located 500 yards east of
the General Post Office at the junction of Waterloo
Place and North Bridge, very near to the railroad depot.
Few people know about the Memorial and sometimes the
gate is locked, but it is well worth the visit when you
are in Edinburgh.
It was the first statue of Lincoln across the Atlantic.
The second statue of Lincoln is located in London,
England.
Several of you have sent pictures recently of
both statues, including Muriel Gelonese who has just
returned from a visit to Scotland and England.
You can read more at the
American Civil War site.
Answers
Several people responded to the questions in
the last issue about golf courses. Joan Hanson, of
Franklin, PA wrote to say that Foxburg, Clarion County,
PA, claims to have the first golf course started in
1887. Clyde M. Clark of Bradenton, FL, called the PGA
who did not want to get into the debate. However, they
also indicated that
Foxburg was the first golf course
and that
St. Andrews golf course in Yonkers, NY is the
second started in 1888. Perhaps Joan Hanson will send us
the entire story of the Foxburg Golf Course. I note The
Highland Games and Gathering Committee of Sarasota, Florida,
advertised that
Sarasota is the “home of the first golf
course in America.” We may never know.
No one sent information about Donald Ross or John
Gillespie.
Donald Ross was born in Scotland and designed
385 golf courses in the U.S. The third hole at Pinehurst
#2 is considered his masterpiece.
John Gillespie was
born in Moffat, Dumfrieshire, Scotland, and in 1886
developed “the first golf course in the Southern U. S.
at Sarasota, FL, and was six times its mayor.” The great
golfer
Bobby Jones was also a Scot.
This 'n That
On June 10, 1994, the Buick Motor Company of America
placed a plaque on Green Street marking the birthplace
of David D. Buick. Colin Ferguson of The Bank of
Scotland sent along The Scotsman, a newspaper
published in Edinburgh, which carried the story. If you
own a late-model Buick you will find the story of Mr.
Buick in the owner’s manual.
Several years ago Don Buik gave me the story of the
Buick automobile and said that his father always
believed that David Buick changed the spelling of his
name when he came to America. Don is Chairman of the
Board of The Roscoe Company and owns a prize-winning
1921, 6-cylinder Buick. It is an opera coupe with a
Fisher body.
William Arrott of Chicago wrote to say that his family
came from Arbroath and that his great-grandfather, James
West Arrott, founded the Standard Sanitary Company (now
American Standard). He had also discovered a process for
binding porcelain to iron to make bathtubs. He was
wondering if there was a connection between his
great-grandfather and David Dunbar Buick, whose family
also discovered a process for making porcelain tubs.
Arlene Auld who was “Queen of the Heather” in 1965 is
now Mrs. Robert L. Kuiken of Tinley Park, IL. She was a
student of Margaret Baikie Johnson.
From the Editor...
This is the third edition of what has become a project
for the entire family, including my grandson, J.R.
Almost every room in our home now contains historical
papers of some description. The dining room table is the
collection point for this mass of information and the
location of my working computer.
There are now 300 subscribers. Cards, letters and
telephone calls have arrived from states as distant as
California, Florida and Arizona. What started out as a
local effort to dispense Scottish information has now
taken on a greater emphasis.
It has been my pleasure this year to speak to several
historical groups in the Chicago area. I have spoken to
groups in Irving Park, Matteson, Midlothian and
Frankfort. The last event this year is in November at
the Lombard Historical Society. It has been most
enjoyable to have had the opportunity to tell the story
of Scots in Chicago and the nation.
We are trying to answer all the mail, but please be
understanding if our response is a little slow. We do
hope you will continue writing and sharing your Scottish
stories. In the process, one letter has been misplaced.
I hope the person who sent the Arbroath Herald will
please call me at (708) 447-5092.
The next edition is January, 1995. Our best wishes for a
healthy and prosperous new year!
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