Roscoe Township Historical Society Mission

 Laura McAffee Zwart is a life-long resident of the Roscoe area, attending Roscoe schools and Hononegah High School. She lives east of Roscoe with her husband Brian and their two boys. Currently serving as Senior Financial Analyst with OSF HealthCare, she has worked for the past 25 years with a focus on hospital reimbursements and budgets. She was previously a member of the North Boone School Board of Education for eight years where she chaired the business committee and community involvement committee. Laura is a charter member of the Roscoe Historical Society Board.

On her mother’s side, Laura is a descendant of the Ransom/Worden/Schoonover family. On her father’s side, Laura is the third-great-granddaughter of Robert J. Cross, Roscoe Township’s first settler.  

Philip Rhymer has been a resident of Roscoe Township since 1986. He and his wife, Kerry, have been married for 42 years; they have 2 children and 3 grandchildren. Phil worked professionally for the Village of Roscoe Public Works. As a volunteer he served youth baseball and football and was project manager for the Lights On project of the Roscoe/Rockton Lion’s. As a result, he was able to spearhead donations to fund stadium lights and new bleachers for the field at Riverside Park. In addition to his RTHS board responsibilities he serves as project manager for the restoration and preservation of the Robert J. Cross Homestead. In the spring of 2021 he was elected as a Trustee for Roscoe Township. Phil’s vision is to serve his community, helping to build a Better–Stronger Future for all.

Dawn and her family have been Roscoe residents since 1995. Originally born in Rockford and raised in Cherry Valley Township, she settled here after living in Mesa, Arizona for 15 years, where she became interested in genealogy and history. She is married, with 3 grown children, and one grandchild in the area.

She studied accounting, with emphasis on cost accounting and inventory control management in a manufacturing atmosphere but ended up making her career as a computer technician, installing mainframes in accounting environments. She owned and operated Certified Computer Service for 12 years in Roscoe before retiring. She currently works part time as the Assistant to the Roscoe Township Supervisor. Her hobbies include genealogy, macramé and silver/turquoise jewelry making.

Tracy Terry has been a Roscoe resident since 1976, moving here with her family from Wisconsin. She attended Kinnikinnick Grade School and graduated from Hononegah High School in 1983. Tracy has been married to her husband, John, since 1990. Together, they have 2 children. She developed her love of family history while spending the summer of 1976 with her Grandmother, Margaret Worden Schoonover. In 1985 she became a certified genealogist and spent many years researching not only her own family but has done countless genealogies for others, as well. She has been the Children's Christian Education Superintendent at the First Congregational Community Church in Roscoe. In 2021, she received her degree in Children and Youth Christian Education. Tracy is a descendent of the Jenks, Ransom, Worden and Schoonover families of Roscoe.

Elizabeth Lindquist has resided in Roscoe for seventeen years. She is a Roscoe Township Trustee and an oncology pharmacist at SwedishAmerican Hospital. She grew up in Arlington Heights where all of her family were members of the Arlington Heights Historical Society. One of her first personally meaningful experiences with history was joining the Mayflower Society as a junior member in elementary school (after her mother did years of research at Newberry Library in Chicago; this was before the internet made genealogy so easy). She is looking forward to helping make Roscoe's history as accessible to community members as the local history was in her hometown. 

Jim McAffee is a life-long resident of the Roscoe area, attending Roscoe schools and Hononegah High School. He currently lives in Rockton with his wife, Jeanna. He’s retired from the Sheet Metal Workers’ Union, a former member of the Rockton Township Historical Society and a current member of the Rockton Boat Club. 

Jim is known for his extensive research on founding father, Robert J. Cross. Jim is also a descendant of Roscoe's first families. On his mother’s side, Jim is a descendant of the Ransom/Worden/Schoonover family. On his father’s side, Jim is the third-great-grandson of Robert J. Cross, Roscoe Township’s first settler.  

 Doris Hunter Tropp is the Administrative Assistant at Roscoe United Methodist Church, President of the Village Nursery School Board of Directors, and Secretary of the Beloit Civic Theatre. Doris grew up in Roscoe with an appreciation for local history, which was fostered by her mother, local historian and author, Dorothy Hunter. Together they produced the most recent of the Roscoe history books for the Images of America series by Arcadia Publishing. In her spare time she enjoys directing and acting in plays, sewing and costuming, and helping to bring up her grandchildren as the newest generation of history-loving Roscoe citizens.  

 
Larry Rowlett is a life-long resident of the area, growing up in South Beloit and graduating from South Beloit High School. He and his wife, Jennifer, have been married for 21 years and have two children who attended Rockton Schools & Hononegah Community High School. In 1999 he was accepted into the Inside Electrical Apprenticeship Program and served a 5-year apprenticeship, graduating in 2004 as a Journeyman Wireman for IBEW, Local Union 364. He was appointed to Business Agent for Local 364 in January 2015 and again in November 2018 to his current position of Assistant Business Manager.

As a volunteer, Larry served many years as both Assistant Coach and Head Coach for the Stateline Youth Association’s Baseball & Softball Programs. He is a current member of the Rock River Valley Pantry Board of Directors, helping to provide area families in need a place to receive high quality, healthy foods and produce free of charge. He’s looking forward to working with RTHS board members and others in the community to provide a place where we can showcase the varied history of Roscoe to not only our residents, but to all residents throughout the surrounding communities, making it an enjoyable destination spot for families to spend their day.    

 
Ted Thayer has recently relocated to Roscoe from the Chicago suburbs to be near family. He works as a Product Specialist for IIOT and next generation automation products for Phoenix Contact and teaches part-time at a Christian Engineering College . He graduated from NIU with an Engineering degree and several minors, including history and military science He has been married for over 20 years and has 2 children in college.

Ted has been interested in history since learning his family history can be tracked to Scottish settlers landing on American shores 30 years after the pilgrims, and to brothers from Amsterdam who came to fight in the American revolution. Her also learned that his family line founded the town of Stockton, IL. This interest has culminated in trips to Scotland and Colonial Williamsburg to visit places that figure in the family history.

While a new resident of the Rockford area, Ted has been a member of the Midway Village Museum for many years, and is also now active with Macktown Living History.