Bill Text: IL HR1110 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Honors the Sheldon Peck Homestead in Lombard.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)
Status: (Passed) 2010-04-14 - Resolution Adopted [HR1110 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2009-HR1110-Introduced.html
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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to honor the Sheldon Peck Homestead | ||||||
| 4 | in Lombard; the popular museum and tourist destination is | ||||||
| 5 | recognized as the first local landmark in Lombard; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Sheldon and Harriet Corey Peck were pioneers in | ||||||
| 7 | 1837, moving from Vermont and New York to Illinois
to settle | ||||||
| 8 | "the west" prairie lands of Illinois; Sheldon Peck is | ||||||
| 9 | nationally famous for his folk art portraits, which are now in | ||||||
| 10 | major art museums like the Art Institute of Chicago, the New | ||||||
| 11 | York Folk Art museum, the Illinois History Museum, Colonial | ||||||
| 12 | Williamsburg, and others; in the early 1800s, portraits were | ||||||
| 13 | necessary since cameras had not yet been invented; his first | ||||||
| 14 | portraits were of his family; today the Smithsonian archive | ||||||
| 15 | lists 50 known Sheldon Peck portraits; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Sheldon Peck was a self-taught artist whose only | ||||||
| 17 | signature was "rabbit track" prints on the portrait; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, The Peck family was active as conductors in the | ||||||
| 19 | Underground Railroad movement to help slaves escape from the | ||||||
| 20 | south to freedom in the north; as members of the Methodist | ||||||
| 21 | church, the Peck family felt it was their religious | ||||||
| 22 | responsibility to help end slavery; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Sheldon Peck was listed as a political leader of | ||||||
| 2 | the Illinois Radical Abolitionist Party; his sons, John and | ||||||
| 3 | Charles, were also known abolitionists; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Sheldon Peck died in 1868; after his wife died, | ||||||
| 5 | Frank, the youngest son, inherited the family house; the Peck | ||||||
| 6 | house remained where it was built, and has continuously been | ||||||
| 7 | owned by Peck descendants until great-grandson, Allen Mertz, | ||||||
| 8 | donated the house to the Lombard Historical Society for use as | ||||||
| 9 | a pioneer museum; the historic home was dedicated as a local | ||||||
| 10 | museum in 1999; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Today over 7,000 people visit Lombard's two | ||||||
| 12 | museums to attend events, take tours, and participate in | ||||||
| 13 | special
programs; the Sheldon Peck Homestead museum site, which | ||||||
| 14 | is owned and managed by the Lombard Historical Society, shares | ||||||
| 15 | Peck's story with visitors, stories of his famous portrait | ||||||
| 16 | paintings, his work as an abolitionist and underground railroad | ||||||
| 17 | conductor, his early Illinois farm life, and his effort to | ||||||
| 18 | start the first school in Babcock Grove for his and neighboring | ||||||
| 19 | children; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, The Village of Lombard and the Historical | ||||||
| 21 | Commission officially recognized the Sheldon Peck Homestead as | ||||||
| 22 | its first local landmark in 2008; therefore, be it
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| 1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 2 | NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 3 | honor the Sheldon Peck Homestead and its historic significance | ||||||
| 4 | to the State of Illinois; and be it further
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| 5 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 6 | presented to the Lombard Historical Society and Lombard | ||||||
| 7 | Historical Commission as a symbol of our respect and esteem.
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