In between posting these letters, it seems there are other parts of Stephen Sherwood's life to include as well. I never know where this blog is going and admit it is far too easy to be distracted. Following Stephen Sherwood is like going on an adventure of my own.
There are brick walls to climb over when we do family history, and I highlighted this in a recent post (Friday Funny). Shortly after that post, I learned Stephen Sherwood actually sold bricks from his brickyard to build brick walls.
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| The old Sherwood house, Lake Villa Ill. |
Stephen Sherwood started his brickyard to build his own
brick house in about 1850. There is a school there now.
Bricks from that brickyard were used in the following structures as well
The original bill of sale dated November 1856 says that Jake Strang purchased a total of 75,000 bricks for $4.50/thousand bricks. About half of the bricks were used for his brother, Robert Strang's store. These structures are located in Millburn, Illinois about six miles from "Sherwood Corners" where the brickyard was located.
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| Robert Strang store (right hand side) built 1856 |
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| John "Jake" Strang house built 1856-1857 |
The top enclosed area is where the Strang brothers owned property in Millford
The lower enclosed area is "Sherwood Corners" (now in Lake Villa)
Source: "Mixed Brick Construction: A Case Study in Millburn, Illinois," by Sarah E. Polster.
Gives a whole new meaning to the concept of "Brick Wall Ancestors," now doesn't it! ;)
ReplyDeleteHow are Stephen Sherwood and the Strang brothers related to you? I'm guessing in the area of great-grandfather, or maybe 2 x great?
ReplyDeleteWhat catches my eye is $4.50 for $1,000 bricks. Today it would probably be at least a thousand times as much. These pictures are amazing -- I can make out, to some degree, the different colors and patterns of the bricks. The photo of Stephen Sherwood (?) shows a strong character.
Stephen is my great grandfather. I'm not related to the Strang brothers.
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