Martin & Zelda Capehart Genealogy Website

Rock Island County, Illionis

Rock Island county is bordered by Clinton County, Iowa to the north; Henry County, Iowa to the east; southeast, Mercer County, to the south; Muscatine County, Iowa to the north; Scott County, Iowa to the north and Whiteside County, Illinois to the east.

The Sac and Fox Indians inhabited the county before it was discovered by the white man. They were descended from the great Algonquin family and these tribes were known to the old French missionaries and traders as the Saukies and Cutagmies. The earliest written information on the Sac and Fox in this area is found in the journal of Lieut. Zebuon Pike, US Army, who sent an expedition up the Mississippi River in 1805. The Sacs had three villages then. One on the west bank of the Mississippi, one above the Lower Rapids and another on the opposite side a little further up. This third and prinicipal village was on the banks of the Rock River, located about three miles from the mouth. The Foxes also had three villages. The first was situated above the Upper Rapids, on the Illinois side of the Mississippi; the second was on the Iowa side, back of the Dubuque lead mines, and the third on the same side near the mouth of the Turkey River.

The United States acquired the area of Rock Island County by treaty made at St. Louis on the 3rd of November, 1804, by William Henry Harrison, then Governor of the Territory of Indiana, and the chiefs and head men of the Sacs and Foxes of the Rock River.

Col. George Davenport, a member of the Fort Armstrong garrison was the first white man who came to this county as a settler. He built his house on the lower end of the Rock Island. For about thirteen years he and his family were the only white persons, aside from the soldiers and officers of the garrison, in this vicinity.

As early as 1824, Russell Farnham, founder of the town of Warsaw, Illinois came to Rock Island and formed a partnership in the fur trade business with Colonel Davenport. In 1826 they built the house which became known in the county as the "house of John Barrell". This became the first county seat of Rock Island County.

Rock Island, Illionis

The City of Rock Island is located on the Mississippi River, approximately 175 miles west of Chciago. It is a major city in what is known as the Quad Cities, a region with a population approaching 400,000 which includes Rock Island, Moline, and east Moline, Illinois and Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa. The city is the home of the Rock Island Arsenal, the largest govenment-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the US. The original Rock Island from which the city gets its name is the largest island in the Mississippi River, now called Arsenal Island

Black Hawk, the great Sauk warrior lived here when the U. S. Army secured the upper Mississippi for white settlers. Fort Armstrong, which was built on what is now Rock Island, was both a trading post and military installation. The fort attracted more white settlers and lead eventually to the fall of Black Hawk and the eventual migration west by the Sauk and Fox Indian nations. Growth of Fort Armstrong was due to its strategic location in a a shallow area of the Mississippi River, making access easier for riverboats. The small town across from the trading post became a thriving and growing frontier river town. The original City plat which was filed on July 10, 1835 was named Stephenson, but renamed Rock Island in 1841.

Rock Island National Cemetery

Map http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&GRid=2892806&CRid=109441&

The cemetery was begun as a burial ground for Union guards from the Rock Island Prison Barracks and "galvanized Yankees". These were Confederate prisoners who choose to take the Oath of Allegiance to the Union and serve as Union soldiers rather than return to the South. It was orginally located farther west on Rodman Avenue now the Arsenal Golf Course, across the street from the Memorial Park. The cemetery was moved to its current location on the east end of Arsenal Island at the request of General Thomas Rodman, second commander of the Arsenal. At the same time the cemetery was moved, several soldiers were also moved from Oakdale Cemetery in Davenport, IA to the new National Cemetery. Some graves were also moved at this time from the old Fort Amrstrong Post Cemetery.

To reach the cemetery, enter the Rock Island Arsenal from either the Davenport or Rock Island gates. From the Davenport gate head east on Rodman Avenue for several miles, passing the Arsenal buildings as well as the Confederate Cemetery. The National Cemetery is on the right hand side of Rodman Avenue, near the Moline Gate. If entering by the Moline Gate, the cemetery is almost immediately on the left hand side of Rodman Avenue, just past a golf driving range.

The Rock Island National Cemetery is located on a federal military installation with requisite security. All vehicles are subject to search while on the island and visitors over the age of 16 must provide photo identification at the entrance gates and be issued a visitor pass for their vehicle. If you plan to visit any other attractions on the island such as the Arsenal Museum, the Davenport House or Lock & Dam 15, be sure to inform the sentry, so that all locations can be added to the visitor pass.

Sources: http://rockisland.genwebsite.org/; http://www.rigov.org/index.aspx?NID=99 http://www.rigov.org/index.aspx?NID=9; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Island,_Illinois