Fraser farm’s place in Sandwich history

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The Fraser Family Farm, located on Sandwich Road, was recently recognized by the Illinois Department of Agriculture as being one of the Sesquicentermial Family Farms in the state of Illinois.

It was settled by William (1816-1892) and Mary Faxon Fraser in 1848.

Mr. Fraser’s ancestors arrived in the new world in 1739 with a group of immigrants from the area of Argyleshire, Scotland. Mary Faxon’s ancestors arrived in Massachusetts in the early 1600's from England.

In 1848, they arranged to meet with a land speculator by the name of Jones. They drove their ox drawn wagon to meet him by the banks of the Somonauk Creek which crosses the present day Fraser Farm. There they contracted to purchase 300 acres of land, including the present day 100 acres of pristine, virgin timberland.

In 1849, William Fraser built his first home on the property, a log cabin, which remained standing until 1956 when it was torn down and replaced by a two story garage and workshop. The present Fraser home was built in 1856 and is basically the same structure today.

However, the old cook stove, the wooden sink, and the wood box were removed when their great grandson, our father and mother, John and Veronica Berkes Fraser moved there with their family in 1954. The only other change made was when John Fraser converted the old attached woodshed into Fraser Realty. The Chicago to Dixon Stage Coach Route crossed the Fraser timberland along the creek which would have been the west side of the property. This was the early stage couch route from the lead mines of Galena to Chicago.

In the early years of the Fraser Homestead, the information that was passed on to the family was that an Indian tribe camped to the west of the farm along the Somonauk Creek. In fact, it has been said they even had a burial ground out there in that area.

William and Mary had 13 children, ten of whom survived to adulthood. Their son, Ira Fraser, died in the Civil War on his second tour of duty in Memphis. The Fraser Family told of how the entire family watched Ira Fraser walk down West Sandwich road until he was out of sight when he reported for duty. During the Civil War, soldiers were given leave to go home and plant the crops in the spring and pick the crops in thefall. The second time Ira Fraser left the farm to report back to duty, the Fraser Family stood in yard and watched Ira until he was out of sight and there wasn’t a diy eye amongst the family. They somehow sensed they would never see Ira again and they were right as he died during the Civil War. Ira is remembered at the Oak Ridge Cemetery on the rock at the entrance. On this rock lists all ofthe Sandwich soldiers that died in all of our past wars.

The youngest of the 13 children, which were all bom in the present Fraser home, was Arthur (1865-1949), whom married Elizabeth Duggan Devine and remained on the family homestead and fanned it. Arthur and Elizabeth were great grandparents of Mary, David J., and Joseph Fraser.

Arthur and Elizabeth had two children, Isabelle and Oliver Red Fraser. Isabelle died several months after the child birth. Arthur’s mother Mary lived with them until her death in 1916. Arthur purchased the farm from the estate.

Elizabeth Devine Fraser would periodically catch the train in Sandwich and would ride into Central Station to shop in downtown Chicago, especially at Marshall Field’s.

Their son "Oliver Red" Fraser served in World War I.

Oliver married Edna Betz in 1918. Edna was the daughter of Louis and Lilly Betz who had owned a well known butcher shop in Somonauk, today the site of Miller’s Groceries.

Oliver "Red" use to tell the family how the Ku Klux Klan use to actually burn crosses in his front yard of the farm because he was Catholic. This was during the period in our history when the Ku Klux Klan were powerful entities.

Oliver and Edna had one son, John L. (1923-1977). John served in World War 2 and was a decorated veteran of the Battle of the Bulge. John L. Fraser received two bronze stars for his actions in the Battle of the Bulge, as well as military honors.

After the war, John married Veronica Berkes in 1947. Veronica had been a teacher in Sandwich schools.

Veronica to this day has continued on with Fraser Realty at 1200 East Church street, Sandwich as broker manager since 1977.

John Fraser started his Real Estate business at the Fraser Farm. In the part of the old house that was once the wood shed that they needed the wood to bum for heat, Jack converted into his Real Estate office. He worked out of that office until the new office was built in 1973 .

To this day John’s oiiice is still the same as it was when he died, in 1977.

They were also very active in politics and upon John’s untimely death in 1977, he was president of the Dekalb County Board which he was a member of for 15 years.

John and Veronica had three children. Mary E married Thomas Hodmii. David J. Fraser married Bobbie Sue Hutson Fraser David is a retired ponce oflicer and U.S. Army veteran. le in the military, David served on a Special Ops unit, an anti-terrorist team Ansbach, Germany. He also is with Fraser Realty and is the police commissioner for Sandwich Joe Fraser is a pilot with Northwest Airlines and owns Olde Timers Antique Centre in Sandwich.