35th Annual Tales Tombstones Tell Self - Guided Tour
Welcome, history enthusiasts and curious minds! We're thrilled to invite you on a virtual journey through time with our self-guided tour of the 35th anniversary "Tales Tombstones Tell." This blog series will take you on a captivating exploration of local history, one gravestone at a time. Each post features the script and an accompanying video recording from a different stop on the cemetery walk, allowing you to experience the rich stories and forgotten tales etched in stone. Whether you're a longtime resident or a newcomer to our community, prepare to uncover the fascinating lives, triumphs, and tragedies of those who came before us. Let's embark on this historical adventure together, as we bring the past to life through the whispers of our Oakwood cemetery.
John Warne Gates (1855-1911)
Interpreters: Dan and Martha Czuba
Stop Six
Dan: Good evening, you have now reached the cemetery plot of perhaps West Chicago’s most celebrated son, me, John Bet-a-Millon Gates.
Martha: Although John was born and raised here in West Chicago, the fame and fortune of our grand lives is more celebrated in my hometown, St. Charles. I am John’s wife; my name is Dellora BAKER Gates, perhaps you know of a few landmarks in St. Charles that bear my maiden name.
Dan: Let us go back a few years to give you some context. My ancestors had been here in the New World since before the United States was formed. In the 1830s my mother’s family was part of a movement of New Englanders that headed west for the open land. They first settled in Big Woods, an area now part of the western portion of Warrenville. In October of 1843 at Gary’s Mill settlement my mother Mary Warne married my father Asel Gates. My father was an Illinois native who was a veteran of the Blackhawk War. My parents were part of the Methodist congregation that centered around Gary’s Mill.
I was one of five Gates children born and raised on our family farm just south of Turner. Our home still stands on the northwest corner of Forest Avenue and Route 59 in West Chicago. As all parents do, my parents had big dreams for us kids but sadly my siblings all died before the age of 20. George, my oldest brother, enlisted in the Union Army at the age of 16 and sadly like far too many was killed in the Civil War in Georgia. My other three of my other siblings also met tragic ends, and I was left to carry on the family name. I was determined to be successful and I’m proud to say I did, as an early salesman of barbed wire who worked my way up to be the largest barbed wire manufacturer and then a steel industry tycoon, I was a leading member of society during the American Gilded Age.
Martha: John made us all so proud and he provided wonderfully for our family. I was happy to support his career and his ambition which took him beyond his hometown of TUrner Junction. After we married in 1874 we first lived above his hardware store at Galena and Main Street, it’s nice to see that building still stands even if it was a meager way to start such an illustrious career. When he started selling barbed wire, he traveled a lot and finally moved our family to Texas. In the south John prospered through his involvement with oil and steel and he really became my equal, you know as I was known as “The Belle of St. Charles.” I was born into my prominence, but John worked hard, took a lot of chances and earned his nickname Bet-A-Millon Gates. As John’s wealth grew he felt it would be nice to purchase this cemetery lot and built this monument in honor of his siblings who had all died in their youth. When his parents died they were laid here to rest. You may hear your city museum speak ill of John, but after he buried his parents here and we moved to New York where we mingled in very high society, it just didn’t seem right to leave his parents here in West Chicago. John had always wanted a grander resting place for our family. Much of our wealth had been invested elsewhere and John no longer felt so close to this community, so we made plans and following both of our deaths a $25,000 mausoleum in the Bronx in Woodlawn Cemetery was built. John’s parents' graves were moved to our final resting place there in New York. Our family fortune was inherited by my brother and our sons. As a proud St. Charles girl, it is wonderful that our money helped build the Norris Cultural Arts Center., St. Charles High School, the Baker Memorial Methodist Church, the Hotel Baker and the former Delnor Hospital.
Dan: I’m sorry if you West Chicagaoans think my fortune should have come here, but you do still get to claim me as your most famous hometown boy. Thank you