Village of Huntley unveils new grave marker in honor of founder’s 215th birthday
HUNTLEY — Despite frigid temperatures, on March 27, community members eagerly gathered around the tall, limestone monument located at the Huntley Cemetery, where the village’s founder, Thomas Stillwell Huntley, and members of his family members, have been laid to rest.
The special occasion not only marked Thomas’ 215th birthday but would also be the day that the Huntley History Alliance would be unveiling a new granite gravestone marker that would be placed at the base of the quickly deteriorating Huntley family limestone monument.
“This new grave marker was a project in the making for about 10 years. It started with Tom Conley. He’s been the unofficial guardian angel of the Huntley family plot. He researched for ways to preserve it because it’s really been weathering and he was on a quest for preservation and restoration,” said Lonni Oldham, a board member for the Huntley Historical Society.
Oldham went further to explain that Conley’s focus shifted after a decorative bowl at the top of the limestone monument broke off, leading to it needing to be replaced, which was done so in 2014.
“Around 2020, we saw [a] further deterioration of the stone and saw that it was really becoming difficult to read the inscriptions. There is a narrative on [the left] side that I don’t know if we’ll ever discover what it really says. It’s quite tiny and pretty much gone,” said Oldham. “So, we on the Huntley History Alliance—it’s a group that coordinates Huntley history events for Huntley and it’s made up of representatives of the local history department of our library, the Huntley Historical Society, representatives from the Village of Huntley, and representatives from the park district, at one of our meetings, we decided to take another look at solutions for the deterioration of the stone.”
Upon discovering that limestone could not be restored or preserved, members of the Huntley History Alliance decided that installing a new permanent granite marker would be the next best option to recognize members of the Huntley family that have long since passed away.
Village of Huntley Trustee Curt Kittle then proceeded to read a proclamation commemorating the new gravestone marker.
“Whereas Thomas Stillwell Huntley, the founder of our great community was born March 27, 1807, and whereas Mr. Huntley and his family arrived in this area in 1846 and is credited with the founding of Huntley Grove in 1851 and incorporated in 1872 as the Village of Huntley, and whereas more importantly, Mr. Huntley’s legacy is that he was a loyal and generous man who donated much of his personal estate for the train station, town square, town cemetery, and three churches for the betterment of the community,” Kittle read from the proclamation document. “We encourage the residents of Huntley to continue the legacy in spirit that he inspired that makes the Village of Huntley a community of character, integrity, and most importantly, family.”
After the proclamation was read, John Huntley, the great-grandson of the village’s founder, was invited to say a few words before unveiling the new gravestone marker.
“As a child, I loved coming here every year to maintain [the gravesite]. My father, Thomas Stillwell Huntley III, would pack me up in the car and we’d drive up from Elgin in May for Memorial Day to make sure the plot was attended to,” John told attendees. “So, I am so thankful for what you’ve done to restore this area again because of the history that I had in maintaining it.”
John continued by telling residents a brief history of his family’s roots, which as it turns out, can be traced back to Scotland, where there is also a village named Huntley.
“The bloodline has fought in the Revolutionary War, that would be William Huntley. Charles, who’s buried here, fought in the Civil War. He was captured and ended up in Andersonville, which was a terrible prison,” said John. “He came back here, regains his health, and started stagecoach companies all over the western United States.”
Oldham told residents in attendance that nine members of the Huntley family are buried at the Huntley gravesite. The family members include Thomas, his wife Eliza Fox Huntley, his three sons Charles, William, and Thomas Jr., their daughter Harriet, Thomas’ second wife Annette Brinkerhoff Huntley, Thomas’ grandson William Williams, and Thomas’ granddaughter Annette.
“The stone takes advantage of QR code technology that you’re able to scan and that’ll send you some links for more information about the family,” said Oldham. “It’ll also give you some history of the founding of Huntley and as the weather warms, there’ll be a cement base put here and it will level out and make this stone permanent.”
Conley and his wife Barb, currently own Thomas’ house which is located on Woodstock Street. Conley explained to residents that his family settled in Huntley when his great, great grandfather bought 160 acres of a 640-acre section of farmland that Thomas had purchased in Grafton Township when he moved to Illinois from New York. That area is now the location of Conley Road and Route 47.
“I couldn’t leave this alone. I’ll bet most of you don’t know where the name Stillwell came from. Some of you probably do. Most don’t. Daniel Huntley was the founder’s father. His wife was named Katherine Stillwell. So, that’s where it comes from,” added John as a final piece of trivia to give to attendees of the event.
