The Courage of Mary Fuller

Mary Fuller was one of twelve children born to Jacob and Candace Fuller of Broome County, New York. In 1834, Benjamin, the oldest son in the Fuller family, discovered promising land west of Chicago and convinced his large family to relocate to this area the following year. In 1835, the Fullers departed for their new home in Brush Hill, Illinois, with two of the Fuller daughters making the journey by steamship through the Great Lakes instead of by horseback and wagon, the manner in which the rest of the family traveled.

After arriving in the area as new settlers, the family built a cabin and cleared land for farming. As desirability of this area became known, other pioneer families subsequently followed. Mary soon became the settlement's first schoolteacher, walking between cabins to teach the area children accompanied by two large dogs named Pedro and Nero, which protected her from the numerous wolves that were present at that time. Fuller family oral tradition suggests that Mary's dogs were German shepherds, although this breed was not formally recognized as being present in the U.S. until the early 1900's. Local well-known historians state the following about Mary and her dogs:

Sandra Bennett Williams specifies in Hinsdale that Mary was accompanied by "two dogs to protect her from wolves that roamed the area";

Hugh Dugan writes in Village on the County Line that Mary "went by foot from the house of one pupil to that of the next, always accompanied by two large dogs, Pedro and Nero, for protection against the wolves that often roamed through the high prairie grass that grew in the fields at that time";

George Ruchty states in The Fullers of Fullersburg that before James Vallette was formally hired as the first schoolteacher in Fullersburg that Mary "travelled from house to house to teach the children. She was accompanied by two large dogs named Pedro and Nero to protect her from wolves that inhabited the outlying area."

While we do not know exactly what kind of dogs protected Mary as she walked between the settlers' homes to teach the children, primary historical sources indicate that the amount of wolves in the area was problematic for the settlers, who organized regular wolf hunts to reduce the risk to young families and their livestock. Dugan states that "'whole flocks were destroyed and scattered by them in a single night.'" The hunts took place on an annual basis during the 1840's with the armed settlers moving inward in a circular pattern from established positions until the animals were surrounded and killed by sharpshooters.

Mary's teaching career ended when she married Barto Van Velzer, who had also settled in the area after arriving from New York. Barto was instrumental in constructing the old plank road that connected Chicago and Brush Hill (which became Fullersburg, named after founder Ben Fuller). Barto served as the tollkeeper for this road. Mary and Barto had several children, adding to the popular local legend that the residents of Fullersburg were either a Fuller or married to one. We commend Mary for contributing to the success of the Fullersburg settlement during its early years, demonstrating her courage as she walked between cabins to teach children despite the danger posed by the numerous wolves in the area.

Sue Devick, M.A.