Events

1888 East Dundee First Election

On Tuesday, April 17, 1888, the Village of East Dundee held its first annual spring election for village officers. Voters chose one President of the Board of Trustees, six Trustees, and one Police Magistrate. The polls opened at 8 o'clock in the morning and closed at 7 o'clock in the afternoon. A total of **114 votes** were cast. The election was held at the Engine House — the village's newly acquired firehouse.

Primary Source

Handwritten pages 62-63 of the Record Book, recording the April 17, 1888 election results and the April 18, 1888 tie-breaking match drawing — Pages 62–63 — The April 17, 1888 Election Results — click to zoom in

Pages 62–63 — The April 17, 1888 Election Results

East Dundee, April 17, 1888. At the annual spring election held April the 17, 1888 for one President and 6 Trustees the following Candidates where duly elected: Charles Bethke received 108 votes for President Frank Steinwart " " 109 " " Trustee Chas. Duncker " " 66 " " " Fred Roehl " " 56 " " " John Bruhn " " 56 " " " Georg Banning " " 70 " " " Henry Wendt " " 76 " " " Joe Klein " " 85 " " " James O'Connell " " 105 Police Magistrate The Total amount of votes cast in the election was 114. There being a tie between Fred Roehl and John Bruhn, each candidate receiving 56 votes. They where notified by the Clerk to appear before the board of Trustees Wednesday April 18th 1888 to settle the matter. Charles Duncker, Clerk. East Dundee, April 18, 1888. Special Meeting. There was a motion made by Chas. Duncker sec. by Frank Steinwart that the two candidates shall draw matches, the one drawing the last match shall be the loser. Motion carried. The candidates then proceeded in this game of chance. The result of the drawing was in favor of John Bruhn, Fred Roehl drawing the last match. John Bruhn was then duly declared Trustee of the Corporation of East Dundee.

Handwritten pages 66-67 of the Record Book, recording the first meeting of the newly elected Board of Trustees on April 23, 1888 — Pages 66–67 — First Meeting of the Elected Board, April 23, 1888 — click to zoom in

Pages 66–67 — First Meeting of the Elected Board, April 23, 1888

East Dundee, April 23, 1888. First meeting of the board of Trustees elected April 17, 1888. After the President and board of Trustees where duly sworn in by James O'Connell the Police Magistrate, the President called the meeting to order. Present: Chas. Bethke, Frank Steinwart, Joseph Klein, Georg Bruening, John Bruhn, Henry Wendt, Chas. Duncker. The President then appointed the following committees: Finance Committee. Georg Bruening, John Bruhn, Chas. Duncker Road Commissioners: Frank Steinwart, Henry Wendt, Joseph Klein (Fr. Steinwart to be Chairman of this committee.) Committee on Health: Chas. Duncker, G. Bruening, John Bruhn There was a motion made by Joseph Klein, sec. by Georg Bruening that Frank Steinwart shall be the Treasurer of the Corporation, his bond to be Three thousand dollars. Motion carried. There was a motion made by Henry Wendt, sec. by Georg Bruening the Liquor License for the ensuing year shall be $250.00, to be paid in three installments: first of months $150.00, second $50.00, third $50.00. The motion prevailed.

Date: April 17, 1888 (tie-breaker: April 18, 1888) Location: The Engine House, East Dundee, Illinois Source: Village Record Book of the Corporation of East Dundee, pages 62–63 (original ledger)

Overview

The public notice calling the election was dated March 28, 1888, signed by Charles Duncker as Clerk, and a copy was pasted directly into the village record book alongside the election results.

Results

For President:

Charles J. Bothke — 108 votes (elected)
John H. Swarutz — 1 vote
Toomy Funke — 1 vote
W. Lasheres — 2 votes
F. Fisher — 1 vote

For Trustee (six seats):

Frank Steinwart — 109 votes (elected)
Georg Brenuing — 76 votes (elected)
Henry Wendt — 76 votes (elected)
Joe Klim — 85 votes (elected)
Chas. Lonky — 66 votes (elected)
John Bruhn — 56 votes (elected — see tie below)
Fred Roehl — 56 votes (lost tie)
Joe Stephan — 55 votes
W. Wagner — 38 votes
W. Helzman — 31 votes
John Rart — 5 votes
Fred Buchert — 1 vote

For Police Magistrate:

James O'Connell — 125 votes (elected)
G. Taylor — 1 vote
G. B. Kelly — 3 votes
Chas. Roehl — 1 vote
John Washer — 2 votes
John Miller — 1 vote

The Tie and the Match-Drawing

Fred Roehl and John Bruhn each received exactly 56 votes for Trustee — tied for the sixth and final seat. The Clerk notified both candidates to appear before the Board of Trustees on Wednesday, April 18, 1888 to settle the matter.

At that Special Meeting, the board adopted a motion (made by Chas. Duncker, seconded by Frank Steinwart) that the two candidates would draw matches: whoever drew the last match would be the loser.

"The candidates then proceeded in their game of chance. The result of the drawing was in favor of John Bruhn, Fred Roehl drawing the last match."

John Bruhn was then duly declared Trustee of the Corporation of East Dundee.

This is the recorded account of East Dundee's first contested election being settled by drawing matches from a pile — a common frontier-era tiebreaker that left the outcome to chance rather than further deliberation.

Name correction, 2026-07-17: the winner's name was previously given as "John Bamborough Jr." The full verbatim transcription of Vol. 1 found the name written clearly as "John Bruhn" in six separate meeting entries over the following four months (committee rosters, attendee lists), against only one low-confidence "Bamborough" reading in the original election announcement — see `docs/name-spelling-register.md`.

First Meeting of the Elected Board

On April 23, 1888, the new President and Board of Trustees were sworn in by Police Magistrate James O'Connell. Charles J. Bethke presided as President. The board immediately set about organizing committees and setting the liquor license fee for the coming year at $250.00 annually (paid in three installments: $150, then $50, then $50), up from the $150 1887 rate.

Figure correction, 2026-08-22: this section previously gave the fee as "$500 annually... up from $100 per quarter." The primary-source photo now embedded above this page (pages 66–67) reads $250.00 for the year, split $150/$50/$50 — corrected to match.

Frank Steinwart was appointed Treasurer, with a bond of $3,000.

Context

This election followed a period of informal village governance dating to at least June 1887, when the Record Book opens with the village already operating as "the Corporation of East Dundee" under President Fred Buchert. The April 1888 election formalized the structure under an elected President — a role that had previously been filled by appointment or informal consensus.

John H. Funke — the attorney who drafted all of the village's founding ordinances in 1887 — had "ceased to be a member of the board by removing out of the voting precinct" before the election took place. His departure was noted at the April 2, 1888 Regular Meeting.