John Ton (born Jan Cornelis Ton; 30 May 1826 in

Akersloot Akersloot is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Castricum, and lies about 9 km south of Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipal ...

North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...

– 4 June 1896 in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

) was a Dutch-born American abolitionist active in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Early life

Jan Cornelis Ton was born in a village in the province of

north of Amsterdam. He emigrated to America in 1849 with a group of Hollanders seeking a better life in America. They settled in an area about south of Chicago which they named "High Prairie," now

Roseland, Chicago Roseland is one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois, on the far south side of the city. It includes the neighborhoods of Fernwood, Princeton Park, Lilydale, the southern portion of West Chesterfield, Rosemoor, Sheldon Heights ...

. Ton settled on farmland further south on the north bank of the

Calumet River The Calumet River is a system of industrialized rivers and canals in the region between the south side of Chicago, Illinois, and the city of Gary, Indiana. Historically, the Little Calumet River and the Grand Calumet River were one, the former ...

that was owned by the Dalton brothers, Charles and Henry. This land is now part of the Riverdale community. In 1853, he married Aggie Vander Syde, another Dutch immigrant, and began raising a family. In 1859, they purchased the land from the Daltons. Eventually, John and Aggie had 14 children who all survived to adulthood.

Underground Railroad

During this time, the country was on the brink of war over the slavery issue. Illinois was a hotbed having a southern border with slave states and leaders such as Abraham Lincoln advocating the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

. Having achieved a better life for himself in America, John joined with other abolitionists in the area including Cornelius Kuyper, Charles Dyer, the Dalton brothers, and others to establish a "link" in the Underground Railroad. Fugitive slaves could be hidden at his farm, away from the settlement of Roseland, until safe passage could be arranged to the next underground safe house in Hohman Bridge (

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. Located along Lake Michigan, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the Li ...

) or possibly with a sympathetic ship captain leaving the Port of Chicago for Canada. In 2000, a community group called the Chicago/Calumet Underground Railroad Effort (C/CURE) was established to research and possibly develop the John Ton Farm site. In 2011, the Jan and Aagje Ton Memorial Garden were established on the grounds of the First Reformed Church in South Holland, Illinois to honor John Ton and all those who supported the underground railroad movement. In 2019, the National Park Service accepted the Jan and Aagje Ton Farm Site to be included in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom registry. Following the War in 1867, John sold the farm on the Calumet River and moved to the north side of Roseland to an area known as Fernwood. He owned of land (8 city blocks) north of 103rd Street and west of Wentworth. He donated the western edge of this land to the

Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and stayed relatively strong throughout the Great Depression and two W ...

to provide commuter rail service to the area from Chicago. In 1893, he built a unique "Dutch Victorian" style home at 316 West 103rd Street.

Ton Family Reunions

Between 1849 and 1865, seven of John's siblings also emigrated to the Roseland area and flourished. Upon his death in 1896, his family including descendants, brothers, sisters and their families held a picnic in his honor. They agreed to make the picnic an annual reunion for the Ton family. In 1911, the Ton Family incorporated for the purpose of ''keeping the family in closer union'' and to assure ''the annual reunions are a permanent and pleasing feature of the Family.'' Descendants from the eight branches of the Ton Family grew to over 1,000LIFE Magazine: ''Family Reunion, Descendants of John Ton Gather in Chicago'' September 24, 1945 pages 122-125 and the annual picnics became a community celebration that lasted for 60 years. According to Life Magazine, it was once the largest family reunion in American history.

Notes

References

* Marie K. Rowlands, (1987)''"Down an Indian Trail in 1849: The Story of Roseland"'' Darwell Press, Oak Brook, Illinois * George A. Brennan, (1923) ''"The Wonders of the Dunes"'' The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis, Indiana, pp. 124-126 * ''"Calumet Area A Slave Haven Records Recall"'', Chicago Tribune, July 4, 1948 * ''"Five Old Residents Tell of Early Roseland"'', Calumet Index, May 13, 1913 * ''"Family Reunion, Descendants of John Ton gather in Chicago"'', LIFE Magazine, September 24, 1945, pp. 122-125 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ton, John 1826 births 1896 deaths People from Akersloot Dutch emigrants to the United States Underground Railroad people