Back in 1915 and 1916, well over one hundred years ago, a resident of Dundee, Illinois named Frederick Hall (born in Dundee in 1873), interviewed numerous "Pioneer" families who had moved to Dundee and Carpentersville back in the beginning, during the 1830s, ‘40s and ‘50s.

For thirty weeks, starting in January of 1916, the DUNDEE HAWKEYE (the local newspaper of the time), ran a section in the paper titled "Memories of Our Neighbors." Each week explored the history of one of the Pioneer families that Mr. Hall had interviewed.

The articles were then published into a “limited-edition” book. The book was also titled, Memories of our Neighbors. Sadly, this book has been out of print for over 100 years. The stories recorded in the paper and the book included remarkably detailed accounts and amazing histories. These stories have long been lost and forgotten by the general public. That is, until now.

Through the extensive research on microfilm, Philip A. Aleo has located every article included in the newspaper, and then the book, and has restored and digitized each and every one, thereby bringing the stories back into the limelight, preserving them for our current generation and for generations to come.

The new book’s title is “Memories of Our Town’s Pioneers.”  The name has been changed because those who shared their memories were alive and well over a century ago, but unfortunately, they are no longer our neighbors. They are now our town’s pioneers —  many going back as far as the 1830s and 1840s.

Every account has been reprinted exactly as it was originally printed in 1916. In addition, Philip A, Aleo has expanded the history of each family with additional facts, details, as well as archived newspaper articles and photos. With this new book, our town’s earliest history comes to life again.