"David Henry Dean, Early Settler

It is not known why David Henry Dean selected Warren, or the exact date of his location in it. It is probable that Mr. Dean settled in Warren around the year 1858, for he married Lucretia Victoria Heydon, Daughter of George Heydon, in Warren, on January 1, 1859. David H. Dean got, by this marriage, six brothers-in-law in Warren, for Mrs. Dean's sister, Mary E. Heydon, married Col., Thomas E. Champion, Attorney; Sophronia married Horace H. Peckman; Emily married Alvin Stowell; Hester married Charles Whitmore; Ruth married Wm. Lathrop; and Martha Heydon married Dr. W. H. Mills. Dean's brother-in-law, George W. Heydon married Jennie Hector, of Warren. With such a large family connection, David H. Dean felt content to remain in Warren until 1893, when he moved to Ackley, Iowa. In 1900 he went to Galveston, Texas, so as to be near his children, Willis, Chester, Alfred and Hattie. There her daughter Anna B. Dean married Albert Liefort, and they settled at Pilot Rock, Tex., where Anna died in about a year. The parents, too, had gone to Pilot Rock The year 1900 saw the great disaster in Galveston, where millions of dollars worth of property and hundreds of lives were lost by the tidal waves and tropical storm. All the Deans left that city, having escaped with their lives. Hattie had located in Houston, with her Husband, Ernest E. Kuhnel, and thither the parents went in 1902 and remained until their deaths, Mrs. Dean, on Sept. 8, 1907, and Mr. Dean on Feb. 18, 1913.

David Henry Dean was born in Buffalo, N.Y., on August 22, 1830. His life from this birth until he appeared as a skilled wagon maker in Warren in the 1850's, is unknown to his children, who, when little, did not interest themselves in family matters, and thus, have lost much data of value to them. This failure of children to grasp the significance of family history is characteristic of most of the young people of the Middle West, for, in my extensive correspondence with descendants of the Early Settlers, I find that some do not even know the names of their grandparents. How can we profit by the triumphs and failures of ancestors unless informed about them? This imperfect world would be tremendously handicapped had we no history to guide us and warn of failures. Our rich heritage is stored in the treasurer house of the past.

The Deans, while cherishing memories of happy days in Warren, never regretted their move into the balmy South, as Mrs.. Dean's health was benefited, and Mr. Dean enjoyed the mild temperatures.

Warrenites will recall the thrill that was experienced, at short intervals, when a new wagon was drawn up Main Street by two prancing steeds, the wagon fresh with its red, yellow and green paints, and proudly bearing the name, on the rear axle, "Made by D. H. Dean, Warren, Ill." The factory was located at the south-east corner of Main and Water streets and, on Main St. In front of it, was the "Town Pump" and its well. This well afforded fire protection for the business district, and relieved the thirst of man and beast. Old settlers will recall the mountain of ice surrounding this pump throughout the long winters. It was only a dug and blasted well, about five feet deeper than the bed of the stream near by. Why we Warrenites escaped typhoid epidemics in those days can be attributed solely to a watchful providence.

Mr. Dean was of a kindly nature and disposition. One who knew him intimately for many years, said "He was never known to speak ill of any one." He has left, in the evergreens or pines about his home on Water street, monuments of his foresight and thoughtful consideration. In the early days, when the creek near his shop was a bigger stream, and at times when he was not too busy, he caught fish from the branch, and I have heard many accounts of the enormous size of the catch. Generally, stories get accretions with age and repetition.

Mrs. Dean was born at Cold Water, Mich., in 1839, married Jan. 1, 1859, and died Sept. 8, 1907. She bore eight children, as follows:

Dora Dean, born in Warren on Oct. 3, 1859, completed her studies in the Public School and then became an assistant in the Photograph Gallery of Samuel L. Buser, where she remained until 1884, when she took a similar position in Wichita, Kan. She died, at the home of her aunt, Mrs. Horace H. Peckham, in Wichita, of Typhoid.

Elmer E. Dean, the second child, died on July 15, 1861 at the age of three months.

Willis Henry Dean, known as "Will", left Warren for Galveston, and thence for Seattle, and, later, for Los Angeles. He married Dora Evans in Los Angeles, and died there in Feb. 1922, aged 59 years. Will "had a wonderful smile and lovely disposition, and was liked by all who knew him." Gifted with no mean order of musical talent, he devoted his life to cornet playing in theatrical orchestras. His widow survives, as do his daughter (Mrs. W. Gardner) and two sons in Los Angeles.

Chester Luther Dean was the fourth child. He is known as "Chet." He married and has five married children. He is a barber in Los Angeles.

Albert Dean, the fifth child, died in Warren on Sept. 7, 1870 aged 2 years, 3 months and 2 days.

The sixth child, Hattie Dean, joined "Will", her brother, in Galveston, in 1893, and married Ernest E. Kuhnel. After the disaster in Galveston of Sept. 1900, they moved to Houston, Tex., where they reside at 614, Bayland Ave. She has a son, E. E. Kuhnel, Jr., engaged in the automobile business in Hutchinson, Kan.

Alfred Dean, the seventh child, is married and lives at 6209 S. Figneron Street, in Los Angeles. His son, Alfred, Jr., is married , as is also, his daughter, Hazel, and she has two children.

Anna Benelle Dean, the youngest child of D. H. Dean, married in Galveston in Dec. 1900 and moved to Pilot Rock, where she died in about a year."

Contributed by Catherine Coats --- Biography from "Warren Sentinel", Warren, Jo Daviess Co., IL, Date unknown (after 1922) by Jay M. Whitman