Scammon was apparently active in the Underground Railroad , although he never publicly admitted as such . When he was accused of working to help slaves escape from law officers , he was asked what he would do if called upon to be part of a posse to capture fugitive slaves . Scammon replied , " I would certainly obey the summons , but I should probably stub my toe and fall down before I reached him . " In 1863 , when the Chicago Astronomical Society determined to build an observatory affiliated with the University of Chicago , Scammon offered to pay for the construction of the observatory tower and dome as long as the observatory was named after his wife , Mary Ann Haven Dearborn . The group took him up on it and named the building the Dearborn Observatory . Scammon also paid the director 's salary until he hit financial difficulties following the Great Chicago Fire in 1871
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
J. Young Scammon