From County West by Jim Ridings
Union Hill is a town of about 66 people in Section 1 of Norton Township. The population has not varied much over the years. The first man to homestead the land in that area was Cornelius Schobey.
It was his brother, John E. Schobey, who is credited with founding the village of Union Hill.
John Schobey (1819-1893) was born in Cayuga County, NY, to John and Rachel (Buelew) Schobey. He moved to Racine, Wisc., in 1849 and worked in the hardware business until 1852. He then moved to Chicago and worked in hardware for another two years. He moved to Essex Township in 1854, and bought land there the following year. He eventually owned 630 acres in Sections 35 and 36 of Essex Township and Sections 1 and 2 of Norton Township.
Mr. Schobey established a post office on his property in 1861. The Civil War had started, and he wanted to have the word “union” in the name of his settlement. Union Grove was proposed, but postal authorities in Washington rejected it since there already was a town in Illinois with that name. Union Hill was substituted, almost humorously, since there was thought to be a slight elevation on the flat prairie.
In 1882, the Indiana, Illinois and Iowa Railroad (The 3-I) was built through his property in Norton Township and a town started to be built. Mr. Schobey opened a general store and owned a dairy herd. Other stores, a mill and an elevator were built later.
The Schobey farm was known as a haven for travelers crossing the lonely prairie in those early years.
John Schobey married Sarah Quick in Penfield, NY, in 1841. She was the daughter of Aaron and Elizabeth (Rich) Quick. John and Sarah had three children: Carrie (1856-1920), Theodore (1857-1933) and May Schobey (1858-1927). Theodore married Jessie Hawker (1868-1945) in 1906. Theodore ran the store and the dairy herd before retiring to Kankakee.
William McKinley (1880-1919) was the first African-American resident of Union Hill. He was killed June 28, 1919, when a train hit the handcar he was piloting. Born in Savannah, Ga., William McKinley and his wife moved to Union Hill from Kankakee several months before the accident. He and his wife used a gasoline-powered “speeder” handcar to go to Kankakee to do some shopping. She returned to Union Hill by train, and William decided to return by handcar. He was a section hand for the railroad, but was not supposed to have access to the handcar. William had been drinking and did not see the approaching train that hit him, just east of Union Hill that late night. He was buried in Coleman Cemetery in Norton Township.
Union Hill farmers formed an elevator corporation in March 1922. Directors were John Houghton, Fred Wepprecht, Louis Siemering, William Bruner, John Wepprecht and John Fritz.
Corn War At Union Hill (from the Dec. 19, 1903 Kankakee Daily Republican).
“Corn was king in Union Hill Friday, when the little village on the Three-I experienced a corn war that furnished more excitement than the place has known in years.
It was as though the village had been turned into an open air board of trade, rival dealers raising the price of the cereal at jumps from 31.5 to 37.5 cents a bushel, while the farmers gleefully haggled for the highest figure they could get.
The town was crowded with farmers’ wagons all day. It is said that one of the elevators contracted for 30,000 bushels of corn before the sun went down.
The soaring of the price of corn was due to a rivalry between the two elevators at Union Hill, the Bartlett-Spencer-Patten & Co., and the one owned by A.G. Smith.
It was not long before the news of the contest spread over the county and farmers drove from points as far distant as Herscher. While other towns were paying 31.5 to 33 cents, the farmers were receiving 37.5 cents at Union Hill, which offset the disadvantages of a longer haul. The roads were in good shape, though, and there are no saloons in Union Hill in which to spend the corn money, so the farmers say it was a double gain.
One farmer upset his bob load of corn in a ditch, in his eagerness to get to town.
“The village is holding an election today to decide whether or not it shall become an incorporated town.”
James Sexton farmed 320 acres in Sections 34 and 35 of Essex Township, northwest of Union Hill. He was born in 1835 in Canada and came to Essex Township in 1864, purchasing 80 acres. He and two other men drove 1,100 sheep from Michigan to Essex Township. All his money was invested in the flock, and he lost nearly all the sheep to disease. Another time, he lost more than $1,000 when a bank failed.
John Vanalt was born in Germany in 1828 and came to America in 1856. During the Civil War, he served with Co. A, 39th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. John Vanalt married Mary Ruder in 1860. They had six children: Charles, Caroline, John, Emma, Henry and Joseph. In 1867, he bought 80 acres in Section 26 of Essex Township, near Union Hill.
Better than a Watch Dog: from the Kankakee Daily Gazette, Oct. 21, 1898. “George Van Voorst, a Union Hill merchant, comes to the front with something new. He doesn’t keep a watch dog at his house, for his ducks answer the purpose fully. He says there can’t a horse or dog or any living animal, brute or human, set foot on his premises without his flock of ducks setting up a squalling that would almost wake the dead. The night Schobey’s safe was opened he was aroused by a terrible stir in the duck pen. He didn’t pay much attention to it, but he is now inclined to think that someone intended to break into his house, but were deterred by the rude clamer of the ducks.”
Two Chicago teens were arrested in Union Hill on Dec. 2, 1920. They stole an Overland car in Joliet and drove it to Union Hill, where they put it in a garage and stayed the night in a boarding house. The next day they were unable to start the car, and their suspicious behavior alerted George Van Voorst to call the sheriff. Sheriff William Riley came to Union Hill and arrested the boys. Another pair of escaping crooks were caught in Union Hill on Jan. 4, 2005. They were attempting to steal chemicals from the FS facility north of Herscher, and police chased them to Union Hill. One was caught in a field and another was caught in a house he had broken into.
W.H. Bradford of Union Hill pleaded guilty in Kankakee County court on March 23, 1927, on charges of operating slot machines. He was fined $25. Bert and J.W. Johnson of Reddick pleaded guilty the same day of operating punch boards, and were fined. Some unhappy gamblers in their area complained to the authorities.
Thieves broke into the George Van Voorst furniture store on Aug. 19, 1914, and stole $350 in gold and cash. The burglary happened while the store was closed for the noon hour. Cecelia Clodi was the clerk at the store, and she locked up at noon and discovered the theft when she reopened at 1 p.m. A window had been broken by the thieves to gain entrance.
The estate home of Jacob Dittus, built in the 1860s along Route 17 at Union Hill, burned down on Nov. 19, 1940. It was a Union Hill landmark. The Franklin Clodi family was the tenant in the home at that time.
David Ruder was seriously wounded when he was accidentally hit with a shotgun blast while hunting rabbits on the family farm near Union Hill on Nov. 24, 1990. He was hunting with Ben Leiser, Dale Tobey and Derek Piper. He recovered from his wound.
Fire destroyed the house and several farm buildings on the farm of George Van Voorst on May 20, 1934. The Van Voorsts were visiting friends in Indiana at the time. Another fire destroyed the home of his son Gilbert Van Voorst on Aug. 13, 1941. Omar Wepprecht spotted the blaze and turned in the alarm. Firemen were able to save the Percy Cook house next door.
A fire gutted the airplane hanger at the Union Hill home of Hugh Van Voorst on July 10, 1984. A twin-engine Cessna 340 valued at $150,000 was destroyed and $50,000 damage was done to the hanger. Another fire was started by the Van Voorst’s annual fireworks display on July 2, 1994, destroying a van owned by the family.
Frederick and Dora Siemering were the first of their family to come to America. They came from Hanover, Germany, in 1870 and settled on a Norton Township farm. Frederick and Dora Siemering had eight children: Helena, Henry, Fred, Mary, William, Louise, Louis and Emma. Louise Siemering (1877-1976) married George Appel (1876-1952) The Appel family is on page 251.
Henry Siemering (1863-1955) bought his farm in Section 11 of Pilot Township in 1890. He married Sarah Herscher in 1888. Sarah (1867-1902) was the daughter of Lorenz and Catherine (Imhauser) Herscher, who farmed near Goodrich. Henry and Sarah lived near Union Hill for two years before buying their Pilot Township farm. Henry and Sarah Siemering had six children — Lorenz Siemering, Amanda Winterroth (1891-1992), Walter Siemering, Harry Siemering (1895-1925), Edward Siemering (1898-1990) and Hattie Giertz. Amanda married Louis Winterroth and had two daughters, Lucille Bauer (1917-1966) and Dorothy Guimond (1921). Sarah died in 1902, and Henry married Amelia (Warmbir) Ziebold in 1903. Amelia was the daughter of Michael and Minnie (Wurdel) Warmbir.
Walter Siemering (1894-1981) married Alma Jensen Frieling (1894-1969) in 1927. Alma was born in Denmark to Mr. and Mrs. Paul Jensen. Alma had a daughter, Elvera (1916-1997) from her first husband, Louis Frieling (1891-1917). Elvera married Leo Witheft. Walter Siemering was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after shooting a Halloween prankster in 1933. Four youngsters overturned the outhouse on his farm west of Chebanse. As the boys sat in their car eating apples taken from his orchard, Siemering came up to the car and recognized one of them. Siemering asked “Peanuts” if that was him and a boy said yes. Siemering then fired a shotgun blast through the back window, and Milton Campe, age 20, took 36 pellets to the head and chest, and lost an eye.
William Siemering (1872-1962) married Marie Groebner (1891-1981) in 1914. Marie was born in Germany. Their daughter Eleanor (1917-1961) married Ralph Blau (1916-1980) of Union Hill in 1954. Eleanor Blau was the organist at Trinity Lutheran Church for many years.
Ralph and Eleanor Blau had two children, Christine and William. A tragedy devastated the family in 1962. William Siemering, with his wife and two grandchildren as passengers, was driving north on Park Road in Herscher when he failed to stop at the sign at the intersection with Route 115. His car was struck by a westbound car driven by Francis Green of Cabery. William Siemering and his six-year-old grandson William Blau (1956-1962) were killed in the crash. Seven-year-old Christine Blau was in critical condition. Marie Siemering and Mr. Green also were injured. Christine Blau recovered from her injuries. She married Ronald Noon in 1979 at Trinity Lutheran Church, Herscher.
Farmers Telephone Co. started in 1904, bringing service to Union Hill and the surrounding rural area. It later became known as The Union Hill Telephone Co. and was sold to Illinois Bell Telephone in 1950.
A telephone book from 1909 is instructive in showing who was there at the time, and just how many people had phones. Included are a few Essex and Bonfield places, which were part of the Union Hill phone company.
The 1909 book has listings for: Dr. J.W. Allison (Essex), Fred Bamberg, Bartlett & Patten Grain Co., A. Beauclerc, Gust Berger, L.C. Berger, Bonfield Grain & Lumber, Arthur Bossert, Charles Bossert, Ed Bossert, Will Bossert, John Braughman, John Bruner, William Bruner, Henry Buente, John Cashen, Frank Chester, Charles Cook, Depot, M.A. Daly, August Dasen, Theodore Dasen, H.W. Dickman, Michael Diefenbach (Bonfield), Fred Dittus, Jacob Dittus, Jennie Dittus, William Dittus, Emil Dornberg, John Dunn, David Dwyer, A.T. Dyer, Michael Emling, Ed Fecke, John Fecke, Henry Frieling, Dr. Furlong (Bonfield), Henry Gaus, Peter Gaus (Bonfield), Peter Geiger, Michael Guhl, Fred Haack, John Hansen, Theodore Hellmund, L.P. Henry, A.M. Hertz, Irvin Hertz, Joe Hertz, John Hertz, O.A. Hertz, William Hertz, Nick Hines, Hixon Bros (Bonfield), J.T. Houghton, P.L. Jarvis, Mike Joyce, William Keerbs, Fred Kemp, Fred Kirchner, Herman Kirchner, Martin Kirchner, Samuel Kirchner, S.B. Kirchner, Charles Kirkman, Michael Kline (Bonfield), Joseph Kral, John Kroesch, C.C. Kukuck, Isaac LaPierre, Fred Ledezke, George Lehnus, William Licht, Rev. C. Marth, Fred Merrillat, Gust Meyers, Rev. J. Meyer (Goodrich), William Meyers, B. Milling, Rev. Mueller, J. Mulligan, Henry Nehls, Paul Nehls, William Nehus (Bonfield), Frank Noffke, William Nordmeyer, Frank Obrecht, John Obrecht (Bonfield), Oesterle & Obrecht (Bonfield), Allen Orwig, Oliver Orwig, A. Palmer, Wilhelm Piper, John Rathman, William Riegel, Charles Ritter, John Robbins, A.F. Ruder, Charles Ruder, F. Ruder, Ambrose Schaal, Frank Schaal, Henry Schmidt (Bonfield), North Schreffler, F.C. Schultz, John Schultz, Will Schultz, George Seeger, Margaret Seeger, George Seek, James Severe, N.P. Shreffler, Louis Siemering, E. Siegert (Bonfield), William Siemering, A.G. Smith store, Bert Smith, William Snyder, Mrs. Soucie, Albert Stehr, Fred Stehr, Henry Stehr, Andrew Steyers, Henry Steyers, J.G. Steyers, Charles Swartz, Will Swartz, F. Sweeney (Bonfield), Van Voorst Furniture, G.M. Wagner, Simon Wagner, William Walters, Fred Wepprecht, John Wepprecht, E.J. Weseman, George Weseman, Henry Wingert, Louis Wingert, D. Wingert, A. Yeates, Zimmerman, Rev. Zohl (Bonfield).
The Desens family has long been a part of the Union Hill community. Through marriage, the family includes the Berger, Witheft, Nowack, Elmhorst, Armstrong, Ruder, Gaus, Dickman, Kruse families and more.
Carl Desens (1840-1924) was born near Polzen, Germany, and came to America in 1866. He married Caroline Behnke (1846-1926) in 1868 in Kankakee. They lived in Union Hill, where Carl was a blacksmith. They had nine children — Minnie, Emma, Edward, Paul (1880), Martha, Anna, George, Leo and Caroline.
Minnie Desens (1871-1950) married Fred Wulff, who was a section foreman for the Illinois Central Railroad in Kankakee. The Wulffs had five children: Arthur, Alfred, Ray and Earl, and Alma Jensen. Ray Wulff became a top executive for the New York Central Railroad in New York.
Emma Desens (1875-1969) never married. She lived in Union Hill, where she kept house for her brother Leo.
Paul Desens (born 1880) and family moved to Iowa and farmed there.
George Desens (born 1886) was married with children when he went by train from Union Hill to Kankakee in the 1920s to take eggs to market. He never returned and no one knows what happened to him. Many years later, while tearing down horse stalls at the old fair ground on the north side of Kankakee, police found a human skeleton under wooden floors. The family speculates that this could have been George, who may have gone there to see horse races and was murdered for his egg money.
Leo Desens (1885-1957) was postmaster in Union Hill from 1923 to 1954. He lived with his sister Emma. Neither of them were married. Leo also served in World War I, and was known in Union Hill as a fun-loving banjo player.
Martha Desens (1882-1954) married Henry Elmhorst Jr. in 1900. The Elmhorst branch is detailed in the Norton Township chapter on pages 110 and 111.
Anna Desens (born 1884) married Harry Dorweiler, moved to Minnesota and had four children. Harry started a bank in Hamel, Minn. When an armed robber was forcing everyone into the vault, Harry grabbed a revolver from a shelf and shot and killed the robber. Harry — who had a glass eye and a wooden leg — saved his employees’ lives because there would have been no one outside the vault who knew the combination.
Caroline Desens (1890-1973) married Ed Baker Jr. (1888-1960). He was one of 10 children of Edward Baker (1850-1927), a native of Germany, and his wife Rosa (Wille) Baker, who settled in Indiana.
Caroline graduated from West Bend College in Iowa, then taught school in the Union Hill area.
Ed Baker Jr. worked as a farm hand before becoming a telegrapher and station agent for the New York Central Railroad in Union Hill, where he met his future wife. Ed Baker was the station agent in Hamlet, Ind., from 1934 to 1937, then worked in Momence from 1937 to 1954. Caroline did not like dogs, so she kept geese to keep hobos out of her yard.
Ed and Caroline Baker had three children: Kenneth (1911-1970), Vera (1916-1992) and Claude (1922). All three children were born in Union Hill.
Kenneth Baker married Louella Gaus (1913) in 1933. She was the daughter of Peter and Emma (Kirchner) Gaus of Bonfield. Kenneth was media director at Kankakee Community College. Kenneth and Louella Baker had three children: James Baker, Carol Eggleston and Bonnie Sanders.
Vera Baker married Rollin Johnson Jr. (1918-1987) and they had four children: Rollin, David, Janice and Nancy.
Edward Desens (1877-1964) married Alma Smith (1887-1971). She was the daughter of A.G. Smith (1858-1921), a prominent Union Hill merchant. Edward Desens continued operating the Smith store. Ed and Alma had seven children: Carl Desens, Caroline Dolly Townsend, Elinore Lombard (1909), Arletta Jessup, Wilbur Desens, Sherwin Desens, and Althea Patchett.
Carl Desens was 18 when he was driving between Union Hill and Kankakee on July 28, 1924. Henry Bertrand, 51, was working for his brother Harry on the the Arthur Mayrand farm, five miles west of Kankakee. Henry was herding cattle across the road, and was going after one stray animal when Desens hit him with his car. Desens — along with Clarence Sanborn and Samuel Cheek, who were driving to work at the Lehigh quarry — put Bertrand in Desens’ car and drove to Emergency Hospital in Kankakee. The car ran out of gas in Kankakee so they switched to another car. The coroner said Mr. Bertrand had died instantly, and it was ruled accidental.
Edward Desens drove his truck into the path of a car driven by Leslie Lehnus on Nov. 7, 1930, on Route 17 near Union Hill. Mr. Lehnus had his wife and four children in the car at the time, and three-year-old Dale Lehnus suffered a fractured skull. Dale died June 30, 1933, at the age of six.
Carl Desens (1906-1963) married Cecelia Finnegan and had a daughter, Geraldine Hassinger (1931). Caroline Desens (1908) married Bertran Townsend and had two children: Patricia Barrows (1932) and Robert Townsend (1948). Arletta Desens (1911) married Glenn Jessup and had two children: Janice Pieterek (1939) and Caryl Jessup (1949). Wilbur Desens (1913) married Inez Allison and had a son, Richard Desens (1947). Althea Desens married Francis Patchett and had three children: Randy Patchett (1945), Sue Richie (1949) and Kerry Patchett (1953).
Carl and Wilbur moved to Janesville, Wisc., where Carl owned a Ford dealership. Dolly and her husband moved to Florida. Elinore and her family moved to Alabama.
Col. Sherwin Desens (1921) had a distinguished career in the U.S. military. He enlisted in the Army Air Corp in 1942 and was leading escort missions for bombers in Europe a year later. He flew 90 combat missions, including leading a squadron supporting parachute and glider drops on D-Day. His P-47 fighter plane was disabled by ground fire three times, forcing him to bail out each time. The third time he was captured and spent nine months in a Nazi prison camp. Col. Desens was awarded numerous medals for his actions, and continued his military career until retiring in 1973. Sherwin married Marilyn Walsh in 1945 and they had two children: Nancy Jacob (1946) and Paul Desens (1949).
Emil Dornburg (1872-1938) was born in Germany. In 1895, he married Emma Weber (1872-1959) and they farmed the Schobey land near Union Hill. Emma was the daughter of Rev. Carl Weber, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Bonfield. Emil and Emma Dornberg had five children: Carl, Melvin, Elsie Ruder, Gladys Williams and Lillie Lapham Van Voorst.
Carl Dornburg (1896-1964) farmed near Union Hill. Carl married Mildred Guest in 1920 and had three children: Dale Dornburg, Jack Dornburg and Helen Conley. The Guest family is on page 160.
Lillie Dornburg married Thomas Lapham. She married Gilbert Van Voorst (1909-1997) of Union Hill in 1989.
Van Voorst Lumber has been an important part of Union Hill for more than 100 years. In an article in American Lumberman magazine dated Oct. 26, 1935, George Van Voorst said, “In 40 years, all the houses that have been built around here I have built or have furnished the materials for them except one, and that one man has been giving me his business ever since.” The writer attributed Mr. Van Voorst’s success to the fact that he knew the needs of the farmers and he knew their farms. He could take farmers to other nearby farms to see what had been built, to help the ideas they already had. Other reasons given for his success: he sells a complete line, he carries a stock he gets at a good price, his customers are always right, he is particular about details, he keeps up with the times, and he is genial and accommodating.
August Desens (1843-1921) was born in Germany to John and Dora (Novke) Desens. His parents never came to America, but his sister Augusta did. She married Henry Hultz of Kankakee.
In 1881, August married Lieste Gresens, the daughter of German immigrants Mike and Kate (Desens) Gresens.
August and Lieste Desens farmed in Limestone Township. Their children were: Emma (1881-1881), Edward (1882), George (1884), Ida (1888-1893), Harry (1893), and Annie.