Tales Tombstones Tell 2025 - Mary McConnell
36th Annual Tales Tombstones Tell Self - Guided Tour
Step back in time with us for the 36th annual Tales Tombstones Tell — a beloved community tradition that brings local history to life, one gravestone at a time.
Each video in this series features a stop from our Oakwood Cemetery walk, sharing the stories of the people, families, and events that helped shape our town’s past. Whether you’re exploring for the first time or revisiting an old favorite, these tales reveal the humanity, humor, and heart found among the stones.
Mary Thompson Fuller McConnell (1808–1889) was a pioneering landowner and one of West Chicago’s true founding mothers. She and her husband, Dr. Joseph McConnell, platted land north of the railroad junction that became the town of Turner — later West Chicago.
Interpreted by: Maureen
Hello, my name is Mary Thompson Fuller McConnell, and I’m proud to be remembered as one of the founders of what is now West Chicago.
Many towns speak only of a founding father or founding family — but here, I’m honored to be recognized as a founding mother.
I was born in 1808, in south-central New York.
My life began with hardship when my mother passed away while I was only two years old. My father remarried, and I grew up as the oldest of twelve children. I learned responsibility early, helping to raise my younger siblings.
In 1840, I married William Fuller.
Unfortunately, I was widowed just two years later — left alone and childless at the age of thirty-three.
Still, I remained independent.
I managed my finances and land wisely, buying out my husband’s relatives so I could keep and work my farm in Yates County for more than a decade.
In 1853, I married Dr. Joseph McConnell, and a year later we struck out west, arriving here in DuPage County.
I purchased a large tract of land just north of the new railroad junction — and yes, I purchased it. The deed was in my name, thanks to a new law allowing married women to own property.
That land would become the heart of the town we called Turner, which was officially platted with the state in 1857.
Joseph and I believed strongly in building community.
We set aside land for Oakwood Cemetery, where we stand today, and also for St. Mary’s Catholic Church just across the way.
Joseph and I, though, attended and were active members of the First Congregational Church, which once stood on East Washington Street.
We even named the streets of this growing community.
I made sure my beloved sister was remembered with Sophia Street, just off Washington.
And today, the McConnell family name lives on in a street north of Washington, off Fremont — a quiet but lasting reminder of our presence here.
Although I never had children of my own, family was always close to my heart.
My sister Nancy moved west after her husband and eldest son died in the Civil War, bringing with her my nephew, James Thomas Hosford.
James settled here and married Caroline West, our neighbor’s daughter, and together they built a family.
I lived with them after my husband Joseph passed away in 1877.
When James and Caroline welcomed their first daughter, they named her Mary — in my honor.
Joseph and I gave much to this community, though history often gives him more credit.
I was always there beside him — planning, building, and giving.
We hoped to leave a permanent mark, even arranging for a monument here in Oakwood Cemetery.
Sadly, it was never erected.
Still, I take comfort knowing that our names endure in this community — in the very fabric of its streets, its institutions, and its people.
I was never just a wife in the background.
I was a landowner, a town builder, a sister, an aunt — and, I like to believe, a mother to this community.
Thank you.
