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CHICAGO, COLLEGE AND MARRIAGE
A PERIOD OF RAPID AND COMPLEX CHANGES

Many important events happened to the Poot family in the years following
1895. The children were growing old enough to begin to live independent
lives and start families of their own. Family events happened quickly and
in multiple locations. With fewer family limitations, Reverend JW Poot could
follow his restless spirit. JW and Fredericka moved frequently and it is
difficult to trace their lives. There may be some errors in the following
narrative, but most of the details have been verified.

Chicago was a city unlike any the Poots had lived in before. With about
1,700,000 residents, Chicago was the second biggest city in America. It
was the nation's busiest shipping port, even though it was about 600
miles from the ocean. It was a sprawling city with a dense core
surrounded by suburbs from which many people commuted. The city
displayed great extremes of wealth and poverty. The previous cities the
Poots lived in had been very religious. In contrast, only about half of the
people in Chicago attended church. The city's churches were heavily out-
numbered by the brothels. On Sundays there were as many people
drinking in the 6,400 saloons as were in church. Chicago had been
founded with a significant portion of its economy devoted to gambling,
prostitution, drinking, and crime. Chicago had many hard working and
successful people, yet graft, bribery, extortion and crime touched
everyone. For every honest businessman like Marshall Field, there were
several cruel "robber barons" like George Pullman. It was well documented
that nearly every politician and bureaucrat was corrupt. Some city leaders
and politicians were actually crime bosses operating their gambling and
prostitution businesses under city protection!

This dark side of Chicago upset many people who came to the big city
seeking a better life. Dwight Lyman Moody was one of these people. He
arrived from Boston in 1856, at the age of 19, planning to make his
fortune as a shoe salesman. His imaginative and aggressive sales
techniques soon earned him job promotions and seven thousand dollars in
savings. He had become a Christian in 1855 and also devoted his energies
to Christ. He established a YMCA in Chicago and started his own Sunday
Bible School for poor children. Soon the children's parents wanted to
attend church, so Moody built one. The Great Fire of 1871 burned
everything he had built, including his home. Instead of quitting, Mr.
Moody was inspired to expand his efforts. He not only rebuilt larger
versions of the YMCA, the church, and the school, but he also began large-
scale evangelization efforts. In 1873 he was invited to Europe where his
religious revival was a phenomenal success. In 1876, Dwight Moody held
a 3 month long revival in Chicago, and large crowds attended. His total
attendance was 900,000 in a city of then 400,000 people. In his home

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