
Kane County History: Amazing Stories of Batavia’s Thriving Black Community Date Back To 1855
- Editor’s Note: This article is part of a weekly series on Kane County’s amazing history. Today’s article was contributed by Batavia Depot Museum Director Kate Garrett. All photos are courtesy of the Batavia Depot Museum.
In 1965, Jennie White Prince presented her work, “The Negro in Batavia,” to the Batavia Historical Society.
Her writing details the personalities and circumstances of the families she grew up with on River Street in the early 20th century, where her parents had helped establish Logan Street Baptist Church in 1921, and where the Rev. Abraham Hall — a Black man from Pennsylvania who had lived free his whole life — had co-founded the African Methodist Episcopal church in 1855, eight years before Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
We are grateful today that she had the foresight to record this vignette of the neighborhood of her youth, giving us a picture of a thriving Black community of the early 20th century.
Jennie White Prince’s work can be found in full in the Batavia Historical Society’s archive, digitally accessible here: https://bataviahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Historian-Vol-6.pdf
First Settlers

James Watt’s cabin, at the corner of River and Lake Streets. The two men are unidentified. James Watts had two sons, Jim and Mott. Mrs. Prince recalls, “They hunted, fished and worked on the ice. They liked to fight with bare knuckles. Maybe they helped give Gore Street its name.”
“I do not know who the first Negro settler was in Batavia, I only know of the families who my grandfather, John Ozier, knew in his lifetime.
“He came here after the Chicago fire of 1871 by way of Turner Junction, now West Chicago. He told me after that he left behind him four lots in the burned-out area.
“Here he dug in at the corner of River and Gore Streets and built his cabin, as he called it, one room at a time. He then was one of the not more than 15 families, some of whom, like he, had wandered here, coming with other families, or who sought a home free from slavery or with better working conditions.
“All prospered and became owners of what is now valuable property in different sections of the town. They lived mostly on the east side of the Fox River, but one, Mr. Thomas Guyder, lived on the west side. Others owned or had businesses in the downtown area, later three or four families lived south of Wilson Street.”
Remembering John Ozier

Image Courtesy Batavia Historical Society. Pictured standing L to R: Allie Bird, Steve Smith, Robert C. Hollister, John Ozier; seated, L to R: Ann Ozier, Jud Young, Guy Conde.
“John Ozier, my granddad, was gardener, cook, handyman and owned the first candy, tobacco and whatever-he-could-sell store, just outside Laurelwood Park at the time of the park years.
“He was a Civil War veteran. His name does not appear on the Newton Monument in the West Batavia Cemetery because the papers given him for recognition of service came from Rhode Island.

John Ozier, seated, with two unidentified companions.
“He told me often that he was in the battle of Bull Run and remembers filling his canteen with water where a horse had been killed. He drank from it and was glad to get it, and also anything he could get to eat.
“He left his home with the armies that came through Tennessee. He evidently was sold with his mother for he often said that he saw her and other slaves beaten and salt and pepper put in their stripes.
“The Batavia Herald for the week of June 12, 1919 carried an article about him. He died on June 4, 1919, after living to be 100 years and five months old.
“One article that I read in a Kane County History said that Negroes had to have a guardian in Illinois. That is why Mr. Marley, editor of the Batavia Herald, became his guardian. The bowl and some other articles that he used in the Civil War are upstairs in the library. (They are presently on display at the Batavia Depot Museum.)
” … Time has erased from my memory nearly all of the old timers, but good luck to the present group who are making their homes here and may they hold high the torch of success passed on to them in their different fields, be it church, school, hospital or science.
“May the God of all men walk beside them each day to make and keep us a united city.”
About The Batavia Depot Museum
The Batavia Depot Museum opened in 1975 as a joint effort between the Batavia Park District and the Batavia Historical Society. The Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad Depot was the first of its kind built in 1854 and is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.
Inside, the city’s past comes alive through exhibits detailing the history of rail transportation, manufacture of windmills, agriculture, banking, commerce and a brief stay by Mary Todd Lincoln at Bellevue Place. Suggested donation: $5.
Read The Kane County History Series!
- 1850-1925 Geneva — When Penmanship Was Mightier Than The Sword
- St. Charles Museum Site — From Serving Gas To Preserving History
- Elgin Puts 3,500 Priceless Photos Online
- Batavia-Inspired Miniatures Thrilled a Nation
- Aurora’s Maud Powell, World Famous Violinist
- Waxing Nostalgic on Geneva’s WGSB, WFXW
- American Doughboys of WWI — in St. Charles, IL
- Experience High-Tech History at April 21 ‘Open Elgin’ Event
- Batavia, IL — ‘Windmill Capital of The World’
- Meet Andy Aurora, Man About Town
- Celebrating The 50th Anniversary of 9-1-1 in Geneva
- Blue Goose And Evergreen Pub — ‘Shop Local’ 90 Years In The Making
- Elgin Is The Apple of Illinois Bicentennial’s Eye
- Nordens Soner And Batavia’s Swedish Society
- Aurora’s Melting Pot ‘Yearning To Breathe Free’
- Candles, Timing Devices, Phonographs And The ‘Life Cup’ — All Things Made in Geneva
- Hotel Baker, The ‘Masterpiece’ of The Fox Valley
- Elgin Celebrates Our Once-Burgeoning Dairy Business
- Reflections of Batavia’s Quarry Beach Pool
- Aurora’s Mabel O’Donnell, Author of “Alice And Jerry’ Books
- As Alice (Davis) Says, ‘Schools Out For Summer!’
- Elgin Watches, ‘The World’s Standard’
- Aurora Silverplate a Symbol of Good Taste
- Women Leaders Played Huge Roles in Geneva
- Nationally Renowned Summer Camp in St. Charles
- The Harrowing Story of William Lynch, Elgin’s Civil War Brigadier General
- Batavia Powered The Aurora, Elgin & Chicago Railway
- Corsets Doing Big Business in Aurora? Scandalous!
- One Block of Geneva Tells 1,001 Fantastic Stories
- St. Charles’ Evergreen Pub — The ‘Before’ Photos
- 1917-18 — When Elgin Artists Went to War
- Thomas Cleveland — Batavia’s Presidential Connection
- Do Your Wurst — Aurora Meat Markets Are ‘In’ Again
- Geneva Is The Place For Graveyards And Ghosts
- Visit Amelia Anderson At St. Charles’ North Side Cemetery
- Calling All Artists! … For a Cobblestone Reflection in Elgin
- Batavia’s 108-Year-Old Gazebo Still Lights The Way
- The Compelling, Tragic Story of Aurora’s Black WWI Hero Frank Boger
- Geneva History Museum Invites Artists To Celebrate Cultural Heritage
- Elgin’s Anson Clark Soared in The Great War … And Life
- What It Meant To Be a Patrol Boy and Louise White School
- ‘Men’s Night’ Christmas Shopping Was a 1950’s Aurora Phenomenon
- St. Charles Remembers Colson’s Christmas-Day Fire of ’33
- The Art of Elgin’s Cobblestone Reflections
- When Suffrage Met Prohibition in Batavia
- Geneva Presents The Art of The Fox River
- Blansford Astronomical Clock Is Aurora’s Treasure
- St. Charles Returns Family Heirlooms From WWII
- Museum Lands Painting By Elgin Artist Albert Kenney
- Cars Still Fixed at Historic Location in Downtown Batavia
- A Bird’s-Eye View of 19th Century Geneva
- Sheldon Peck: Kane County’s Connection To The Underground Railroad
- Elgin High School Celebrates 150 Years of ‘Education For All’
- Batavia’s Incredible Roller Skating History
- The Fabled History of Jewelry Stores in Geneva
- Astonishing Buried Treasure Discovered in Aurora Outhouse
- Lincoln Elementary School in St. Charles Celebrates 90 Years of Education
- Remembering Elgin High Grad, Renowned Composer Daniel Brewbaker, 1951 – 2017
- Meet Batavia’s Sharron Moran, LPGA Star, ‘Most Beautiful Golfer’ of 1966
- The Many Iterations of Geneva’s National Food Store
- The Burlington Zephyr — A ‘Silver Streak’ Through Aurora
- What IS That Thing in Downtown St. Charles?
- 18 Events, Limited-Edition Poster For Preservation Month in Elgin!
- Julius Amandus Anderson’s WWI Memorial Trapunto Banner
- Geneva’s Swedish Days Celebrates Its 70th Anniversary
- The Historic Drive To Save Aurora’s GAR Hall
- The Story of St. Charles’ Paddlewheel Riverboats
- Meet Elgin’s Legendary Marshal — Andrew Barclay Spurling
- Jackie DeShannon ‘Put A Little Love’ In Batavia
- Aurora’s William S. Hart, Cowboy Movie Star
- St. Charles’ First Settlers, One Lost, Found Again
- Discover The Elgin Stories All Around You
- Batavia’s WWI French Connection
- Amazing Stories Behind Geneva’s Extraordinary Parks
- Roots Aurora Seeks 2019 Nominations For Aurora Cultural Champions
- Newly Renovated Thompson Middle School Retains Memories of St. Charles High
- Elgin’s Bluff City Cemetery Memorializes City’s Past
- Batavia Connection to 1969 Moon Landing
- Geneva Company Made Huge Contribution to Art Deco
- East Vs. West 1914 — Aurora’s Greatest Football Game
- North, Union Cemeteries Are St. Charles’ Hallowed Grounds
- Elgin Temperance Crusaders Take Hatchet To Beer Fans
- Ever Heard of Clybourneville? (Hint: It’s Now in Batavia)
- Geneva Ghost Stories Rise From Former Hospital Site
- Aurora Tells The Cows To Shut Up
- Baby Face Nelson And 100 Years of St. Charles Boys School ‘Good, Bad And Ugly’
- Behold The Telegraph, Elgin’s First Digital Communication!
- Mary Bailey, Batavia’s Trailblazing Woman Lawyer
- Holiday Traditions, Historic Creche at Geneva History Museum
- Welcome To Thanksgiving Dinner at Aurora’s Tanner House
- St. Charles’ Whiskey Bend Signaled Boom Time For Taverns
- From Elgin Watch Cases To 4.2 Mortar Shells
- Lorraine James’ Art Leaves Lasting Impression on Batavia
- Geneva Remembers The Tornado of 1967
- New Year’s Calling in Aurora
- Newly Digitized Footage Documents Construction of St. Charles Municipal Building
- ‘New Year’s Calling’ in Aurora Was The Online Dating of Late 1800s
- A Woman’s Right To Vote — In Elgin
- How The Household Journal Came To Batavia
- Geneva’s East Side — From Dodson To Dog ‘N’ Suds
- On Leap Year, ‘She-Wolves of Aurora’ Have ‘Gender-Swapping Fun’
- Mary Todd Lincoln, Batavia Resident
- The Women Who Broke Codes at Riverbank Labs in Geneva
- Turn Around in Aurora And You’ll Bump Into a Luxembourger
- Geneva History Museum Offers COVID-19 Journal
- Aurora’s Amazing Family Portrait Exhibit ‘A Brilliant Idea’
- How St. Charles Survived The Spanish Flu in 1918
- Elgin Epidemics — COVID-19 Is Not The First To Bring Suffering, Sorrow
- Geneva Museum Passes Milestone
- Aurora’s African-American Police Officers
- Garner Family Is St. Charles’ Juneteenth Celebration Story
- Notable Black Americans From Elgin, IL
- Black Batavians Played Key Roles in History
- Geneva History Museum Reveals Archive Redesign
- Family Secrets — Historian Finds 1866 ‘I Love … ‘ Message Scratched in Tanner House Window
- Cut Glass Was Booming During Roaring 20s in St. Charles
- Elgin Remembers Devastating Palm Sunday 1920 Tornadoes
- Batavians Find Treasure in 150-Year-Old Privies
- Geneva Hosts Virtual Night at The Museum
- Visit Aurora’s Tanner House — With a Click of The Mouse
- Elgin Cemetery Walk Is Virtual Travel Through Time
- James Prindle Jr.’s Roll Top Desk Returns To Batavia
- 60 Years Ago, Kennedy Campaigned in Geneva
- Aurora’s 1894 Central Station Proud Home of Regional Fire Museum
- Secret Symbolism in Elgin’s Bluff City Cemetery
- Meet The Doctors Who Shaped St. Charles’ History
- Batavia Inventor Paul Hassler And His Arithstyle Adding Machine
- The ‘Background’ on Geneva’s Famous Creche
- Aurora Soldier’s Diary Reveals Gripping Story of War, Love, Pain And Heroism
- St. Charles’ Delnor Hospital — A Thanksgiving Gift in 1940
- Meet Elgin’s Mary Muirhead of The WWI Army Nurse Corps
- Geneva’s Holiday Giving Tradition Continues Despite Pandemic
- Remembering The Days When Aurorans Cut Ice on The Fox River
- Arcada Plans Next Chapter of Its St. Charles Story
- Christmas Memories in Elgin
- A Brief History of The Batavia Historical Society
- Order Your Geneva Home By Mail — Right From the Catalog!
- Aurora’s Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Winter of 1918
- St. Charles’ Response to COVID-19 Sparks Memories of WWII
- Elgin’s Black Soldiers Proudly Served in U.S. Armed Forces
Sign Up To KCC E-Newsletter