Full Text of HR1110 96th General Assembly
HR1110 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 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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| 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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| WHEREAS, Sheldon Peck was a self-taught artist whose only | 17 |
| signature was "rabbit track" prints on the portrait; and | 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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| 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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| 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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| 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 | 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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| 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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| 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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