The Bristol Congregational Church and the Underground Railroad in Kendall County, IL By: Chapel President, Susan Kritzberg
Before the abolition of slavery, a movement known as the Underground Railroad was established throughout the northern states to help enslaved African Americans escape north into free states and onward to Canada.Free black Americans, white Quakers, and other abolitionists were the original organizers of the Underground Railroad.
This system was built on the ability to pass freedom seekers along from one point of concealment to the next until they reached places of safety.Over time, a trustworthy chain was formed - a network of secret routes and safe houses where they were assured of a place to sleep and eat, warm clothing, guidance to the next location and protection along the way, if necessary. The Underground Railroad was made up of communities, cities, and farmhouses where “stations” were located five, ten, twenty, or even fifty miles apart, but all trending in one general direction - north to freedom.
The men and women who operated the organization of the UGRR were ministers, lawyers, doctors, teachers, farmers, and tradesmen - many of them prominent citizens in their communities.Driven by moral and religious convictions, they were steadfast and diligent in their work, but it was a dangerous service.Even though it was a free state, Illinois was far from a friendly place for fugitive slaves.Laws were harsh, feelings between proslavery and antislavery factions were bitter, slave hunters roamed, and it was often hard to know the true feelings of one’s own neighbors.The secrecy of the UGRR protected not only the traveler, but also those assisting the freedom seekers on their journeys.
In Illinois most of the routes led to Chicago.During the height of activity (1840-1861), a large percentage offreedom seekers passing through Kendall County came from Missouri and, to a lesser degree, Kentucky, having entered from the western border of Illinois along the Mississippi River and continuing northeast along one of three “secret” trails starting at St. Louis, Alton, or Quincy. Those trails that converged at Ottawa, in neighboring LaSalle County, generally passed north through Kendall County.From there, all routes continued in a northerly or easterly direction, often passing east through Plainfield, continuing north toward Wheaton and Downers Grove, or following the Fox River through such communities as Aurora, St. Charles, and Elgin.
As early as 1834, a Baptist Church society was founded in what would later become Kendall County, followed by others in 1844, 1848, and 1858.When the Bristol Congregational Church was organized in 1836, it was one of seven Congregational Church societies established in Kendall County between 1835 and 1858.The early settlers who established these Congregational societies came from the East with strong convictions on the sins of slavery and with intentions and plans to colonize the untamed west and establish their religious beliefs. Many were influenced by the religious teachings in Oneida, New York, where revivals were often held, and a training school for evangelists was established. With their Oneida influence, these Congregational Churches served as “the nucleus of the abolitionists, Anti-Slavery Society members, and the heart of the Underground Railroad” in our county. Congregationalists were sometimes referred to as “the stepping stones” of the UGRR.
It was a brave and risky undertaking to escape slavery, and freedom seekers embarked on a long and perilous journey. While the Underground Railroad was neither an actual railroad nor made up of underground tunnels, trains and tunnels might, at times, have been part of an escape route.Wagons and carriages were often modified with spaces for passengers to hide, and homes and barns had secret passages and hiding places, but the heart of the Underground Railroad was, in fact, the network of people - people secretly guiding and helping freedom seekers in whatever manner they could along their journey. These helpers were often referred to as “conductors,” “agents,” or “station-keepers,” and the freedom seekers were known as “passengers, freight, or cargo.”
In most cases, escaping slaves were transported “under the shroud of darkness” by boat, barge, stagecoach, horse and wagon, horseback, railroad, or on foot.Antislavery newspapers such as the Western Citizen in Chicago printed steamship and railroad schedules.All manner of disguises were used to hide the freedom seeker’s identity, and hiding spots included attics, barns, churches, cellars, secret rooms, under floors, in wagons with false bottoms, and in hay stacks, corn shocks, and thickets.Sometimes secret symbols were used to guide them along their perilous journeys.
In Bristol, the Congregational church and the nearby Bristol Baptist church worked together against slavery long before their church edifices were built in 1855 and 1857 along the Town Square just north of the Fox River. While differing on religious views, they worked as one in their efforts against slavery.In July, 1843, the Northern Illinois Association of the Baptists, who held their June meeting in Bristol, sent a resolution against slavery to be printed in the Chicago Western Citizen newspaper; and in 1844, the Bristol Congregational church issued their “Resolutions on Moral Subjects,”renouncing slavery and also sending their proclamation for publication in the Western Citizen.Eventually the two churches merged to form the Yorkville Federated Church in 1920.
While the Bristol Congregational church was always rumored to have been a “stop” for freedom seekers traveling the Underground Railroad - where the shallow cellar served as a hiding place, this original cellar was replaced by a concrete block basement in the 1950’s and no written evidence exists to prove the point.Church history and other resource materials do confirm, however, that church members and early pastors were actively involved in the UGRR in Kendall County.
In his booklet, “A Church and Its History, 1834-1984,” compiled to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Yorkville Congregational church by Richard Munson, he states, “During [the] early years, an ever-present concern of the church was slavery.Many of the church members were involved in the underground railroad and some even suffered physical attacks for their views.” While there were, doubtless, many others who remain unacknowledged, documentation of the following Bristol Congregational and Bristol Baptist church members can be found in various local, county, and state history books.
These individuals were recognized for their involvement with the Underground Railroad or other activities that demonstrated their dedication to the Antislavery cause:
REV. HEMAN S. COLTON (1807-1877) Rev. Heman Swift Colton was the first full-time pastor of the Bristol Congregational church.He was a dedicated and outspoken abolitionist from the East, and became an active member of the Underground Railroad in Kendall County.He was also integral in establishing the Lisbon and Aurora Congregational Churches.He and his wife remained life-long members of the Bristol community following his arrival in 1836.
REV. JOSEPH ADDISON HALLOCK (1811-1898) As a young minister, Rev. Hallock served as a Methodist circuit-rider in western Pennsylvania, but severed his connection with that denomination at the beginning of the antislavery crusade, choosing to unite with the Congregational church. Rev. Hallock served as minister at the Bristol Congregational church in 1842, and at Aurora in 1843. He was said to have often kept company with such antislavery agitators as Owen Lovejoy and Allen Pinkerton, and he was identified as a participant of the Underground Railroad while living in this area.
REV. CHAUNCEY COOK(1778-1860) Rev. Cook was an early and well-known traveling agent for the Illinois State Antislavery Society in 1838-1839.Following his religious training, he first labored as an evangelist in the East and, later, as one of the leading representatives of the antislavery movement in Illinois where he established dozens of new societies and added hundreds of members to the ranks of antislavery supporters.At the age of 66 years, he became employed as minister for the Bristol Congregational church from 1844-1846.
DR. (and MRS.) CALVIN WHEELER (1805-1876) Dr. Wheeler, born in Hollis, New Hampshire, was one of the earliest residents of Bristol, where he was a respected physician for 40 years, and a valued member of the community.Dr. Wheeler and his wife were actively involved in the Underground Railroad, and their home on East Main Street was known as a station on the route through Bristol.
REV. WILLIAM POOLE KENDRICK (1790-1854) Reverend Kendrick was a “Minister of the Gospel,” and was Dr. Wheeler’s older half-brother.He settled in Bristol a few years after Dr. Wheeler arrived, and served as pastor at the Bristol Congregational church in 1847.Wheeler family history notes that his home also served as a station for the UGRR. DR. (and MRS.) TOWNSEND SEELY (1794-1877) Dr. Seely was a physician, an active member of the community, and a dedicated participant of the Underground Railroad and the Antislavery movement in Kendall County.Originally from New York, he arrived in the area with his family in 1840 and joined the Bristol Congregational church. Several years later, he and his family removed to the Oswego Congregational church.In 1848, Dr. Seely gave money to establish the Aux Sable Grove (Presbyterian) Church near his homestead in Na-Au-Say Township, which was “Congregational” until 1854.Dr. Seely carries the distinction of purchasing the only slave ever auctioned in Kendall County, with his only intention to set him on his way to freedom. Detailed accounts of Dr. Seely’s activity with the UGRR can be found in the “Unsigned letter to Wilbur Seibert, December 17, 1895” written by his son, Edmund Seely, included in the Ohio History Connection digital collection.
FRANCIS T. SEELY and BEULAH McCLELLAN SEELY Francis Seely, son of Dr. Townsend Seely, married Beulah McClellan in 1843.She was the daughter of Deacon James McClellan and the sister of James McClellan, Jr.Francis was a druggist in Bristol, and his home (or store) was listed as a station on the UGRR in “A Bicentennial History of Kendall County” 1976.In 1848, the couple moved to Chicago, where Francis worked as a type setter with his brother-in-law, James McClellan, Jr. on the well-known antislavery newspaper, the Western Citizen.The couple later moved back to Bristol.
JAMES McCLELLAN, JR.(1813-1855) James was a son of the Baptist Deacon from the East, James McClellan - a man who contributed greatly to the development of the Bristol community, purchasing most of the land north of the Fox River that became Bristol, laying out the original town, and building the first frame house there.The McClellans were associated with the Bristol Baptist Church, Deacon McClellan having donated land for the church and serving as its clerk for many years.
James Jr. is mentioned frequently in history resources as an active and dedicated member of the abolitionist community, working tirelessly with Zebina Eastman as co-editor of the Western Citizen newspaper in Chicago, and serving on many boards and committees supporting the antislavery movement.His home was designated as a station on the UGRR in “A Bicentennial History of Kendall County” 1976.
BENJAMIN F. ALDEN (1808-1892) Benjamin Franklin Alden was one of the earliest settlers in Bristol, arriving from Connecticut around 1836, and was a direct lineal descendant of John Alden and his wife, Priscilla Mullins Alden, of Mayflower heritage. Benjamin was a builder, well-digger, rail-splitter, and basket-maker who was also recognized as a station-keeper and conductor on the Underground Railroad in Kendall County.He married and raised his family in Bristol, living in the community until his death.No early church affiliation was found, but he is generally associated with the Baptist church, having later appeared on its membership list in 1874. REUBEN B. JOHNSON (1803-1889) Mr. Johnson was the grown son of Elisha and Philene Johnson from Chautauqua County, New York who were charter members of the Bristol Congregational church in 1836, and he is also mentioned in the records of the Bristol Congregational church. Reuben was a farmer, making his home just north of Bristol at Jericho in Kane County.His farm was listed as a station on the UGRR in “A Bicentennial History of Kendall County” 1976.Historical references identify him as a Methodist, but he donated land and funds to build the Jericho church (Mount Prospect Free Mission Church)in 1855 which was considered to be a Congregational church, although it was occupied by the M.E. society for part of the time.
EDWARD G. AMENT Mr. Ament was associated with the Baptist church in Bristol.He was an early settler whose farm, located southeast of the village of Yorkville on the south side of the river, was listed as a station on the UGRR in “A Bicentennial History of Kendall County” 1976.