Groups rededicate Revolutionary War fifer's gravestone
In a sleepy cemetery, tucked away near the intersection of Arlington Heights Road and I-90, lie the graves of Cook County's only known Revolutionary War veterans, Aaron Miner and Eli Skinner.
On Sunday, representatives from three lineage organizations - Sons of the American Revolution, Daughters of the American Revolution, and Children of the American Revolution - met in Elk Grove Cemetery to rededicate Skinner's 19th-century grave.
In recent months, the three groups collaborated to have Skinner's headstone righted and set in new concrete, after noticing it was listing badly to one side from standing for more than 150 years.
Sunday's ceremony, they said, honored Skinner's patriotism and service as a fifer in the Revolutionary War, beginning at age 14.
"These are the only two Revolutionary War patriots that we know of buried in this area," said Mary Helfrich, of the Eli Skinner Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. "And to us, that means a lot."
Members of the historical groups read a brief biography of Skinner, recounting how he had enlisted shortly after the battles of Lexington and Concord, generally acknowledged to be the first military engagements of the Revolutionary War. Skinner would ultimately enlist two times during the war before working as a blacksmith in Massachusetts, while raising a family of nine children.
It wasn't until 1848, at the age of 88, that he moved west, to live closer to some of his children. Their homestead was at the same intersection where the cemetery is located.
Skinner and his descendants, along with those of Miner's, were among some of the earliest settlers in the area. But it was their unconditional service to their country, in advancing the cause of independence, that local historians remembered Sunday.
"The unequaled liberties enjoyed in America today, are the legacy of these brave, strong patriots," said Palatine resident Burton Showers of the American Bicentennial Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution as he led the group in prayer.
On hand for the rededication service were distant descendants of Skinner's, including Linda Stengele of Fox River Grove, who can trace her lineage back seven generations to a brother of Skinner's father, and Elizabeth Thompson of Rolling Meadows, a descendant of Skinner's mother's family.
Holly Petersen of Palatine, president of the Aaron Miner Society, also spoke. The society is a local chapter of the Children of the American Revolution, named for the other Revolutionary War veteran buried there in 1849.
"To think that there is this little piece of history here, in the midst of all this suburban technology, is amazing," Petersen says. "It just makes you realize that you have this direct connection to such an important piece of our history."