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Pioneers and Settlers
One of the ways to understand the experiences of pioneers and
settlers is to read about their personal stories. Printed below is
a tribute to Avis and Israel, the mother and father of Henry
Blodgett, in Henry’s book, The Autobiography of Henry Blodgett.
These quotes demonstrate his parents' pioneering spirit and
values, and their challenges.
Israel Blodgett
“My father was a plain, unassuming man-a mechanic, from a long
line of mechanics, and he was a good mechanic. He had only such a
common school education as was given the sons of mechanics in the later part of the 18th
century. But he was a reader of good books, and far better informed in most matters of
general interest than that of average men of his occupation. He was an excellent workman,
and, above all, an honest man. Plain and unpretentious in all his ways, he had the courage of
his convictions on all questions of public interest. He was one of the early anti-slavery men,
and courageous in the assertion of his views upon the sin of slavery long before there was
any Abolition or Anti-Slavery Party.”
Avis Blodgett
“My mother, if I do say it, was a remarkable woman-a farmer’s daughter, she was intelligent
beyond most of the New Englanders of her class-a great reader, and one who appropriated
what she read to aid in the duties of her life as wife and mother. She was one of the most
affectionate and care-taking mothers, and took pride in shaping the minds of her children to fit
them for the duties of life. She was also a woman of splendid courage. Few women could or
would have done what she did in starting from central Massachusetts, in the spring of 1831,
with four children, the oldest not ten years, and the youngest a little over six months old, to
make such a journey as she undertook from our New England home to the then wild West,
and yet she bore all the fatigue, danger and discomfort of the journey without a murmur, and
was, I may say, the most cheerful and even spirited person of the party. And when all the
fatigues and trials of the journey were at an end, she moved into a log house, which she
made more comfortable and homelike than any such home I have ever seen.
In the midst of these new surroundings and inconvenience, she found time to teach her
young children and carry their education on, perhaps as well if not better, than it had been
done in the schools we had left behind-and withal no sick neighbor was neglected or went
without care, and no stranger was ever denied food or lodging at our house.”
Israel P. Blodgett
Another son of Israel and Avis Blodgett, Israel P. Blodgett,
had this to say about the journey his mother made with him
as a child, along with his siblings. It gives an idea of travel
conditions during the first half of the 1800s. Times have
changed!
“In May, 1831, we journeyed from Massachusetts to Illinois;
by wagon from Amherst to Albany, by way of canal boat to Buffalo, then steamboat to Detroit,
and by wagon to Chicago, taking about six weeks on the road to make the trip.”
One of the ways to understand the experiences of pioneers and
settlers is to read about their personal stories. Printed below is
a tribute to Avis and Israel, the mother and father of Henry
Blodgett, in Henry’s book, The Autobiography of Henry Blodgett.
These quotes demonstrate his parents' pioneering spirit and
values, and their challenges.
Israel Blodgett
“My father was a plain, unassuming man-a mechanic, from a long
line of mechanics, and he was a good mechanic. He had only such a
common school education as was given the sons of mechanics in the later part of the 18th
century. But he was a reader of good books, and far better informed in most matters of
general interest than that of average men of his occupation. He was an excellent workman,
and, above all, an honest man. Plain and unpretentious in all his ways, he had the courage of
his convictions on all questions of public interest. He was one of the early anti-slavery men,
and courageous in the assertion of his views upon the sin of slavery long before there was
any Abolition or Anti-Slavery Party.”
Avis Blodgett
“My mother, if I do say it, was a remarkable woman-a farmer’s daughter, she was intelligent
beyond most of the New Englanders of her class-a great reader, and one who appropriated
what she read to aid in the duties of her life as wife and mother. She was one of the most
affectionate and care-taking mothers, and took pride in shaping the minds of her children to fit
them for the duties of life. She was also a woman of splendid courage. Few women could or
would have done what she did in starting from central Massachusetts, in the spring of 1831,
with four children, the oldest not ten years, and the youngest a little over six months old, to
make such a journey as she undertook from our New England home to the then wild West,
and yet she bore all the fatigue, danger and discomfort of the journey without a murmur, and
was, I may say, the most cheerful and even spirited person of the party. And when all the
fatigues and trials of the journey were at an end, she moved into a log house, which she
made more comfortable and homelike than any such home I have ever seen.
In the midst of these new surroundings and inconvenience, she found time to teach her
young children and carry their education on, perhaps as well if not better, than it had been
done in the schools we had left behind-and withal no sick neighbor was neglected or went
without care, and no stranger was ever denied food or lodging at our house.”
Israel P. Blodgett
Another son of Israel and Avis Blodgett, Israel P. Blodgett,
had this to say about the journey his mother made with him
as a child, along with his siblings. It gives an idea of travel
conditions during the first half of the 1800s. Times have
changed!
“In May, 1831, we journeyed from Massachusetts to Illinois;
by wagon from Amherst to Albany, by way of canal boat to Buffalo, then steamboat to Detroit,
and by wagon to Chicago, taking about six weeks on the road to make the trip.”
Israel Blodgett and Samuel
Curtiss, another early
settler, took oak logs and
pulled 6 yoke of oxen,
(12 oxen in total) over the
Old Indian Boundary Road
to create a wider road. They lined it with
sugar maples which they planted on
either side of the dirt road. Several local
historians have stated that Avis Blodgett
and Samuel’s wife marked where the
trees were to be planted. They chose
sugar maple trees since they enjoyed the
autumn color and wanted to provide rest
in the shade for travelers. This road is
now called Maple Avenue in Downers
Grove. Many people to this day enjoy the
brilliant colors of the fall leaves, and
some of those trees the early settlers
planted still survive!
There is a man in
DG who has a large
collection of ploughs,
some from before the
Civil War. Contact us if you
wish to visit with school groups
or to see his collection at his site. He is
happy to share his plough collection.
The plough has an interesting history with
regards to Israel Blodgett. It is said that
he was the first person to develop the self-
scouring plough that helped settlers to
farm the prairie.
Curtiss, another early
settler, took oak logs and
pulled 6 yoke of oxen,
(12 oxen in total) over the
Old Indian Boundary Road
to create a wider road. They lined it with
sugar maples which they planted on
either side of the dirt road. Several local
historians have stated that Avis Blodgett
and Samuel’s wife marked where the
trees were to be planted. They chose
sugar maple trees since they enjoyed the
autumn color and wanted to provide rest
in the shade for travelers. This road is
now called Maple Avenue in Downers
Grove. Many people to this day enjoy the
brilliant colors of the fall leaves, and
some of those trees the early settlers
planted still survive!
There is a man in
DG who has a large
collection of ploughs,
some from before the
Civil War. Contact us if you
wish to visit with school groups
or to see his collection at his site. He is
happy to share his plough collection.
The plough has an interesting history with
regards to Israel Blodgett. It is said that
he was the first person to develop the self-
scouring plough that helped settlers to
farm the prairie.
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