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Location: Harlem Township, Winnebago County, Illinois, United States

Surnames/tags: Illinois One_Place_Studies
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Contents |
How to Join
Please contact the project leader Joelle Colville-Hanson or post a comment to the right. If you have any questions, just ask. Thanks!
Goals
This is a One Place Study to collect together everything about Harlem Township, Winnebago, Illinois. The hope is that this study will be a valuable reference point for people studying lines that cross or intersect. The aim is to work back through time, as far as records allow, detailing the lives of the people wherever possible. It is hoped that other researchers who are interested in Winnebago, Illinois, will make similar studies of the Townships, Villages and Towns, which make up the County. A list of these can be found here]
Related Pages:
1835-1860
This study focuses on Harlem Township from its founding in 1835 through 1860. To learn more about Harlem Township beyond this scope see Harlem Township.
Location
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Harlem Township in Winnebago County |
Coordinates: 42°21′56″N 88°59′47″W
Towns and Villages in Harlem Township
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Harlem Township |
- Harlem
- Argyle
- Machesney Park
- Loves Park
Population
In 1850 the total population of Harlem Township was 783. [1] In 1860 the total population of Harlem Township was 871. [2]
History of Harlem Township
Harlem Township is one of the oldest towns in Winnebago County. It was first surveyed in 1835. It was named by early settlers from the Dutch Settlement Harlem on Long Island in New York. [3]
Early Pioneers
- Hiram Wattles was the first resident of the area in 1835.
- Asa Taylor was one of the first settlers who came from Massachusetts in 1836.
- John Greenlee escaped from creditors in Kintyre, Scotland in 1836 and established the Scottish Settlement in Argyle, Illinois.
- Daniel Lewis Andrus was veteran of the War of 1812. He came west from New York and settled in Harlem in 1837. His grandson, Henry Andrus served several years in the Illinois Senate.
- Lewis Fabrique settled here in 1838 and raised sheep.
- Jonas Tofflemire bought 80 acres of land in Harlem for $100 in 1839.
Civil War Veterans from Harlem
- Private Amos Haskins died of Disease in Huntsville, Alabama in 1865.
Churches
Harlem Methodist In 1845 twelve settlers gathered for worship in the schoolhouse.
In 1847 Asa Taylor donated land for a cemetery and a. The Harlem Methodist Church was completed in 1848. Asa, however, died in a farming accident before that and was the first to be buried in the cemetery.
The 1848 building still stands at the Harlem Cemetery but the Methodist congregation has moved to Machesney Park.
Willow Creek Presbyterian Church
The early residents of the Scottish Settlement First net to worship in the home of John Greenlee or Andrew Giffen.
In 1842 they built a log cabin to accommodate the growing numbers of immigrants to the settlement. In 1849, a brick building replaced the log church. In 1858, a frame addition was added. In 1877, the present building was built at a cost of $12,593. [4]
Schools
Cemeteries
There are two cemeteries in Harlem where most of the residents from 1835-1860 are buried:
Harlem Cemetery
- 1810 Harlem Rd
- Loves Park, IL 61111
- FindAGrave #106041
Tripp Pioneer Cemetery
- Paulson Rd,
- Harlem Township, Winnebago County, Illinois
- FindAGrave #2367585
- Category:Tripp Pioneer Cemetery
In 1842 Jonas Tofflemire donated an acre of his land for this cemetery. There are records listed for 27 burials (about 24 listed at Genealogy Trails, there are 27 memorials at FindAGrave but only a few headstones left that have been gathered placed inside a fence.
Sources
- ↑ Statistics of Illinois United States Census Bureau
- ↑ Illinois Statistics Us Census Bureau
- ↑ Harlem Village & The KD Line
- ↑ Our History Willow Creek
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