Robert E. Stanley

  Noted events in his life were:

• Property: a large maple orchard and made maple sugar. Panthers had their lairs in adjoining swamps, and the neighborhood was wild and unsettled.

• elected: Commissioner or Highways: Grant Township. GRANT Township Town of Goodale "This is likewise one of those fractional Townships upon the western boundary of the County, being only 4 miles in width. It is bounded on the north by Antioch, on the east by Avon, on the south by Wauconda, and on the west by McHenry Co. As we have before remarked, it takes its name from Deveraux Goodale, Esq., one of the early settlers. It is watered by Fish Lake, Wooster lake, Sullivan's lake, Mud lake, Duck lake, Long lake; part of the Pistakee Lakes, and some 2 or 3 smaller ponds not named; also by Squaw Creek which passes through the northern portion. It contains an area of about 15360 acres of which about one fourth part is covered with water. It has therefore the smallest population, and least wealth of any of the towns of the County.
Among the early settlers, were Harley Clark, Rufus Willard, Robert Stanley, Chester Hamilton, Deveraux and Henry Goodale, T. D. and D. C. Townsend and Timothy B. Titcomb.
The first house was erected by Harley Clark, near Fish Lake in the summer of 1839.
The land was originally mostly timbered land, or woodland, with the exception of a small skirt of prairie, extending up into the south east corner of the Township. It is however well adapted to farming purposes, especially to the raising of stock; and affords many thriving and industrious farmers.
The Lake and McHenry Plank Road passes through the south east part of the Town, on Section 36.
The only Post Office in this Town is Fort Hill. Orren Marble Postmaster, which office as we have before remarked, was originally established in the Townships now known as Freemont.
The first Town meeting was held at Goodale's Tavern, at which the following persons were elected Town officers: Chester Hamilton Supervisor, D. C. Townsend, Town Clerk; Jehiel Campton, Assessor; Orren Marble, Collector; Cornelius Smith, Overseer of the poor; Calvin Clark, Rufus McWay and Robert Stanley, Commissioners of Highways; Chester Hamilton and A. S. Maltby, Justices of the Peace; L. P. Barnes and Orren Marble, Constables.
The valuation of property for 1850, including both rent and personal, was $33868. The amount of tax computed on the same, for collection was $472.56."

• migrated, fall of 1836, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA. In the fall of 1836, the family migraated westward by way of the lakes to Michigan, which they crossed, and went to Chicago by boat. Chicago at that time consisted of a few log cabins on a wet prairie. Robert Stanley settled at Avon township where they broke land for a man anmed Churchill Edwards. They then built a log cabin measuring 16 x24 feet with a puncheon floor, on the peninsula southeast of Fox Lake. The land was purchased from the government and they paid 25% interest on the money. Afterward, he lost all 160 acres of land.

Hardship and privation was their lot in those early days. During the first year wolves made it dangerous to go out unarmed.

In 1833 ROBERT STANLEY left New England with his wife and son to make a new home in the west. He had heard of the forests, the lakes, and the rivers in this new land. The east no longer had a place for the woodsman, and he decided to move on.
The Stanleys traveled by horse and wagon on the long trail west. They stopped for a time at Oneida, N.Y., where a son, Robert E., Jr., was born. They reached Chicago in 1835. Robert, Sr., worked as a carpenter there before he decided to make his home in the virgin forests around the Pistakee Lakes.
He built a log cabin near Big Hollow, trapped, and farmed in a small way.
In 1850 the new township of Goodale was formed, and Robert Stanley was elected a road commissioner at the first township election in April.
Some years earlier he built a log lodge on the shore of Nippersink Lake, to accommodate hunters and travelers who came that way. He and his sons trapped fur. A muskrat pelt was worth seven cents. Robert received $80 for his work.
Robert, Jr., had grown to become a carpenter and boat builder. The design and construction of his boats won favorable mention in a national sportsmen's magazine at a later date.
In 1857, young Robert built a house of milled lumber for John Sayles on the site where the family of John's wife, Betsy, had lived in a log cabin for many years. Robert received $80 for his work.
The house stood on a hill near the site of the (old) Fox Lake Village Hall. This house was rebuilt shortly before Mrs. Hattie Schmidt lived there (in 1957).
By this time the Stanleys were building and selling hunting and fishing boats. They were serving as guides, and hunting, fishing and trapping and were becoming very well established.
Robert Stanley, Sr., had six sons. Monroe was a blacksmith who established himself east of Squaw Creek in a trap building and fur business. Rosmond raised horses. Robert Jr. was the carpenter and boat builder. Owen built a home on Point Comfort and in later days ran the post office in his home. (The names of the two youngest sons Walsh did not learn.)
Young Robert served in the Union army during the Civil War. After the war he married and took over the resort business.
His parents and the two youngest boys took off for Nebraska, where they had other relatives and where there was more elbow room. The region about the Pistakee Lakes was getting too crowded for them.
In the Pistakee Lakes area, young Robert attracted many sportsmen to his resort. Guiding sportsmen and building boats was a paying business.
Like other resort owners, he cut ice on the lakes in winter and stored it in large sheds under protective layers of swamp hay which kept the ice through the summer. Large quantities of fish and game were hung in the ice houses for guests and friends to take home at the end of their stays.
Robert Jr. had three sons and a daughter, all skilled in the life of hunter and trapper, and in the art of guiding sportsmen through the still wild country. Game abounded. The waters were full of fish, and in autumn flocks of ducks and geese darkened the skies.
The Stanley resort burned to the ground in 1885. Robert and his sons built a small frame hotel with a pavilion where dances were held. About 1895 this place was sold to Otto Muehrke and (the Stanleys) moved to a house on Point Comfort.
Otto Muehrke built a large addition to the small hotel, which soon became known as the Muehrke Illinois Hotel, a place famous for years. It stood until the 1930s, when the hotel was torn down, and the land was turned into a resort park by a Mr. Lowing.
Robert Stanley's son Bert had married and lived near the Elgin Waltonian Club on the shore of Fox Lake. About 1900 he built a home at the top of the hill on Forest Ave. he continued to build boats, and kept rooms for his friends who came to hunt and fish.
He established his parents in a house nearby, which in 1916 became the home of Clarence and Addie Ostrander. Bert Stanley shot ducks for the market. He packed them in barrels and shipped them to the big Chicago hotels.
Bert's sister, Minnie, married Hank Jackson of Grass Lake, and their son Henry lived (1957) in McHenry. Bert's children were Edythe Bridges and George Stanley, who lived at nearby Brandenburg Lake, and Robert, who lived in Chicago.
This story of the Stanleys is offered here because their history represents best, perhaps, the life of the early pioneers, and because it portrays so clearly the changes through which the country of the Pistakee Lakes has passed

• Moved, 1826, Erie County, New York. Robert worked the land on an Oneida Indian Resrvation.

• Family Origin. ⁵³² Fox Lake, Illinois Tales Tales of the Fox Lake, Lake County, Illinois Area. These stories contain historical and biographical information that we think is essential to understanding the character of the people who settled here, and therefore the history of the area. In 1833 Robert Stanley left New England with his wife to make a new home in the west. He had heard of the forests, the lakes, and the rivers in this new land. The east no longer had a place for the woodsman, and he decided to move on. The Stanleys traveled by horse and wagon on the long trail west. They stopped for a time at Oneida, N.Y., where four sons, including Robert E., Jr., was bor n. They reached Chicago in 1835. Robert, Sr., worked as a carpenter there before he decided to make his home in the virgin forests around the Pistakee Lakes . He built a log cabin near Big Hollow, trapped, and farmed in a small way. In 1850 the new township of Goodale was formed, and Robert Stanley was elected a road commissioner at the first township election in April. Some years earlier he built a log lodge on the shore of Nippersink Lake, to accommodate hunters and travelers who came that way. He and his sons trapped fur. A muskrat pelt was worth seven cents. Robert received $80 for his work. Robert, Jr., had grown to become a carpenter and boat builder. The design and construction of his boats won favorable mention in a national sportsmen's magazine at a later date. In 1857, young Robert built a house of milled lumber for John Sayles on the site where the family of John's wife, Betsy, had lived in a log cabin for many years. Robert received $80 for his work. The house stood on a hill near the site of the (old) Fox Lake Village Hall. This house was rebuilt shortly before Mrs. Hattie Schmidt lived there (in 19 57). By this time the Stanleys were building and selling hunting and fishing boats. They were serving as guides, and hunting, fishing and trapping and were becoming very well established. Robert Stanley, Sr., had six sons. Monroe was a blacksmith who established himself east of Squaw Creek in a trap building and fur business. Rosmond raised horses. Robert Jr. was the carpenter and boat builder. Owen built a home on Point Comfort and in later days ran the post office in his home. (The names of the two youngest sons Walsh did not learn.) Young Robert served in the Union army during the Civil War. After the war he married and took over the resort business. His parents and the two youngest boys took off for Nebraska, where they had other relatives and where there was more elbow room. The region about the Pistakee Lakes was getting too crowded for them. In the Pistakee Lakes area, young Robert attracted many sportsmen to his resort. Guiding sportsmen and building boats was a paying business. Like other resort owners, he cut ice on the lakes in winter and stored it in large sheds under protective layers of swamp hay which kept the ice through the summer. Large quantities of fish and game were hung in the ice houses for guests and friends to take home at the end of their sta ys. Robert Jr. had three sons and a daughter, all skilled in the life of hunter and trapper, and in the art of guiding sportsmen through the still wild country. Game abounded. The waters were full of fish, and in autumn flocks of ducks and geese darkened the skies. The Stanley resort burned to the ground in 1885. Robert and his sons built a small frame hotel with a pavilion where dances were held. About 1895 this place was sold to Otto Muehrke and (the Stanleys) moved to a house on Point Comfort. Otto Muehrke built a large addition to the small hotel, which soon became known as the Muehrke Illinois Hotel, a place famous for years. It stood until the 1930s, when the hotel was torn down, and the land was turned into a resort park by a Mr. Lowing. Robert Stanley's son Bert had married and lived near the Elgin Waltonian Club on the shore of Fox Lake. About 1900 he built a home at the top of the hill on Forest Ave. he continued to build boats, and kept rooms for his friends who came to hunt and fish. He established his parents in a house nearby, which in 1916 became the home of Clarence and Addie Ostrander. Bert Stanley shot ducks for the market. He packed them in barrels and shipped them to the big Chicago hotels. Bert's sister, Minnie, married Hank Jackson of Grass Lake, and their son Henry lived (1957) in McHenry. Bert's children were Edythe Bridges and George Stanley, who lived at nearby Brandenburg Lake, and Robert, who lived in Chicago. This story of the Stanleys is offered here because their history represents best, perhaps, the life of the early pioneers, and because it portrays so clearly the changes through which the country of the Pistakee Lakes has passed.

Robert married Huldah King, daughter of John K. King and Sarah Anna Betsy Hawkins, on 26 Feb 1826 in Hartford, Connecticut.⁵³⁰ (Huldah King was born on 22 May 1804 in Hartford, Connecticut and died in 1851 in Lake County, Illinois.)

  Marriage Notes:

Shortly after they were married they moved to Erie County, New York where Robert worked on an Oneida Indian Reservation, he worked the land. He owned a large maple orchard and made maple sugar. Panthers had their lairs in adjoining swamps; the neighborhood was wild, and unsettled. In the fall of 1836, the family migrated westward. They traveled by crossing the lakes into Michigan. From Michigan they traveled to Chicago, Illinois by boat. Chicago, Illinois was a wet prairie with a few log cabins at this time. Robert Stanley settled on Avon Town where they broke land for a man named Churchill Edwards. They built a log cabin 16x24 foot with a puncheon floor, on the peninsula southeast of Fox Lake. The land was purchased from the government and they paid 25% interest on the money. Robert Stanley lost all of 160 acres of land. Hardship and privation were their lot in those early days. During the first year wolves made it dangerous to go out un-armed. The oldest brother (Monroe K. Stanley?) had to make a trip. To protect himself on this journey, he placed a hogshead (barrel) upon the sled and called to the oxen from the bunghole. He took along a dog to keep the wolves from the cattle. He was able to make it back home unharmed.

Their closest neighbors were Indians. The Indians taught them how to make holes in the ice. The children fished and their father sold the fish in Chicago. It was a three day trip by sled to Chicago. They were so poor they put straw on the ice to keep their barefeet from freezing, while they fished

Married in Hartford by Rev. Joel Linsley