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Gc 977.3 J631 1753042
M. L
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00868 1832
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
http://www.archive.org/details/illinoisinfiftie00john
Illinois in the Fifties
OR
A Decade of Development
1851 - 1860
BY
CHARLES BENEULYN JOHNSON, M. D. Author of Muskets and Medicine
Illinois Centennial Edition
There are no days like the good ol The days when we were youthius; When humankind was pure of mind, And speech and deeds were truthful. -- Eugene Field.
Flanigan-Pearson Co., Publishers Champaign, III. 1918
563
1753042
Illinois in the Fifties
Lincoln in the Fifties. (From historical collection of H. W. Fay, DeKalb, III.)
, TO THE MEMORY OF THAT DEVOTED BAND OF ILLINOISANS, WHO IN THE FIFTIES, UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, STEADFASTLY OPPOSED THE FURTHER EXTENSION OF HUMAN SLAVERY, THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR.
-
FOREWORD
One hundred years ago Illinois became a State and began making history. In that history no period is of more interest and importance than the Fifties, which in the fullest sense was a decade of devel- opment. During that decade in wealth and population the State advanced from eleventh to fourth place among her sister commonwealths. Meantime railway construc- tion increased more than tenfold and finally the total mileage in operation in Illinois was exceeded by Ohio alone. In 1860 the Prairie State distanced all rivals in the production of corn, wheat and oats.
But beyond and above all this in that remarkable decade Illinois became the arena upon which was staged one of the world's great forensic contests-the Lincoln- Douglas debate of 1858.
In this volume the author has endeavored to describe things, people and conditions as he saw and knew them in the Fifties.
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS, 1918. C. B. J.
.
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I .- THE PIONEER AND HIS ENVIRONMENT
11- 26
II .- A PROGRESSIVE PIONEER AND THE EVOLUTION OF
A HOME
27- 35
III .- THE GOLD SEEKERS OF THE LATE FORTIES 36- 48
IV .- THE STAGE-DRIVER, STAGE-COACH. STAGE-HAND AND AN ORIGINAL DR. JEKYL AND MR. HYDE_
49- 57
V .- A COUNTRY STORE IN THE FIFTIES
58-67 V
VI .- CHURCHES, CHURCH PEOPLE AND PREACHERS IN THE FIFTIES 68- 75
VII .- SPORTS, AMUSEMENTS AND SOME OTHER THINGS 76- 84
VIII .- THE VILLAGE LYCEUM AND SOME LOCAL PETTI- FOGGERS 85- 89
V
IX .- AN OLD-TIME WATER-MILL
90- 96 V
X .- SCHOOLS, SCHOLARS AND TEACHERS
97-107
XI .- IN AND ABOUT AN ILLINOIS CORNFIELD IN THE FIFTIES 108-116
XII .- BOOKS, PERIODICALS AND OTHER READING MAT- TER IN THE FIFTIES 117-122
V
XIII .- THE VILLAGE DOCTORS
123-134
V
XIV .- RAILROADS AND OTHER METHODS OF TRAVEL AND
TRANSPORTATION
135-141
XV .- ELECTIONS, PARTIES AND POLITICS
142-148
XVI .- SLAVERY AND THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATE. 149-175
.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Lincoln in the Fifties
FACING PAGE: Frontispiece
Weaving on a Hand-Loom 16
Old-Time Spinning Wheel
16
Type of Log House Common in the Early Fifties
26
Pioneer Fireplace, Cooking Utensils, Etcetera 26.
Franklin House (Stage-Stand), Greenville, III. 50
Stage-Coach
50
An Up-to-date Church in the Mid-Fifties 68 Visit to the Hive 74
Brown's Mill
90
Pioneer Log School House
98
Slab-Seat Used in Pioneer Schools 98
Pocahontas School House ("Academy") 104
Prairie-Plow
116.
Iron Kettle, Ash-Hopper, Etcetera 116 A Mid-Nineteenth Century Ideal Milk-Maid 130
Grain-Cradles, Reap-Hook, Etcetera 140
Early McCormick Reaper and Mower
140.
Type of Frame House Common in the Late 50's.
148
Bedstead, Trundlebed and Other Articles of Utility
148
Senator Stephen A. Douglas 162:
CHAPTER I. THE PIONEER AND HIS ENVIRONMENT.
No past is dead to us, but only sleeping.
-Helen Hunt.
Wondrous and awful are thy silent halls,
O kingdom of the past!
-James Russell Lowell.
With the advent of the early fifties the real pioneer days in Illinois were nearing their end. The one-room log cabin was giving place to the frame dwelling of one, two, or more rooms. The water-mill had nearly, or. quite, displaced the last horse-mill.
The slow, but always dependable, ox-team and heavy ox wagon, were fast disappearing before the approach of the quicker moving horse-team and lighter horse wagon. The wooden mold-board plow was being rele- gated to fence corners, and in its place was a much lighter and more sightly implement made largely of iron and steel.
In lieu of the hoe, which many had used for the cul- tivation of growing corn, a bright, well-scoured "dia- mond-plow", drawn by a quick-stepping liorse, made relatively rapid and easy work. In place of the reap- hook and "cradle" for cutting grain, and the scythe for mowing grass, a combined reaper and mower did the work of ten men.
Perhaps a brief description of the cabin which the frame house was rapidly displacing may interest the reader who today lives in the modern home with its
EL. (11) (11)
12
Crude but Useful
steam-heat, electric lights and a thousand and one con- veniences which money and inventive genius have brought within the reach of the average American.
The pioneer's heat-plant was simple in the extreme, though its fireplace and hearth made of flat stones oc- cupied a no inconsiderable portion of one end of his one-room cabin. The chimney was made of split sticks of wood and clay and ran up on the outside of one end of the building. The clay was first made into a kind of mortar, and with this the sticks were freely plas- tered. The fireplace was so large that backlogs for it had to be rolled in at the door, instead of being carried in by hand. The forestick and other pieces of wood rested on "dog-irons" and were thus kept about four inches above the hearth level.
At one side of the fireplace, on pegs driven in the logs, hung pots, kettles, skillets, pans and various other utensils used by the good housewife in cooking. There, also, stood the cupboard made of smoothly dressed wal- nut boards, and which contained knives, forks, spoons and the blue-edged dishes which adorned the table at meal time. In the corner was a rude shelf resting on oak pegs, and upon this was a wooden bucket filled with water for drinking and cooking purposes. Hanging on a peg beside the water bucket was a gourd, the pioneer's drinking vessel. Next came the dining-table, with both leaves folded down, standing snugly against the wall out of the way.
On the other side of the fireplace, six feet from the floor, just beneath the ceiling and resting on wooden hooks, was the long-barreled, flint-lock, Kentucky squir- rel rifle. The stock ran the whole length of the barrel, was made of white walnut and from much use, added
13
The Pioneer's Rifle
to the polishing of the gunsmith, had become as smooth as ivory. The mounting was all of well-finished brass. Near the butt of the stock and sunk in it, was a cavity one inch in width, one inch deep and five inches in length, covered with a brass lid which opened by one spring and was held in place by another. It was used for carrying tallow with which to lubricate the "patchen" that was made to cover the bullet when loading the rifle. Hanging from one of the hooks on which the gun rested, was the bullet pouch and powder horn. The pouch was made of strong leather, usually buckskin, and had two or three pockets for carrying bullets, cloth for patchen and such other articles as a hunter might need. The powder horn was made from a cow's horn and had the larger end securely closed; in the smaller end was fitted a stopper that could be easily removed and put back in place. Both the bullet pouch and powder horn were supplied with straps for throwing over the shoulder when it was desired to carry them. Hanging from the other wooden hook was a large horn open at botlı ends, but with the smaller of these smoothed and beveled so it could be placed to the lips for the purpose of blowing. This the hunter used to call the hounds when they went beyond the sound of his voice.
Leaning against the wall in the corner under the butt of the rifle was a double-barreled shotgun. from the muzzle of which hung a powder-horn and shot-pouch; the latter containing supplies of shot of various sizes and also a box of percussion caps. The shotgun and its equipment were more especially for the boys in the family, pater familias preferring the rifle. Against the wall near the shotgun was a candle-stand, a little table with a top about two feet square, under this a drawer,
,
14
Bed Furnishings
all supported on slender, turned legs and made of wal- nut. On the candle-stand was a large Bible and a "this- year's" Almanac. Above the candle-stand was the one window in the cabin, which contained six 6 x 6 panes of glass.
A little distance from the window was a door which swung on wooden hinges, fastened with a wooden latch, and raised and lowered by a strong leather string. which passed through a hole and left the free end hanging outside. Of nights when the pioneer wished to lock his door, he had but to pull in the string; when morn- ing came and he desired to unlock his door, he had but to pass the string through the hole just above the latch. Hence the origin of the pioneer phrase, "The latch- string is on the outside"-the equivalent of saying: "Come in; you are welcome !"
In the corner behind the door was a bed upon which was a huge feather tick and over which were the usual sheets and blankets; but over all a beautiful, home- woven counterpane, usually blue and white, but fre- quently pure white. In the opposite corner was an- other bed, the precise duplicate of the first. and on both were two large pillows in cases or slips, with beau- tifully-wrought and embroidered edges. Under one of the beds would often be a trundlebed, which ran on rollers. When bedtime came the trundlebed was rolled out for the small children to sleep in; and in the morn- ing rolled back under the bed, out of sight and out of the way. Around the exposed sides of the bed would be a valance, or a kind of curtain, which reached from just above the bedrail to the floor. Sometimes the val- ance was made of white muslin and sometimes of some colored material. In the event there was no trundle-
J
15
The "Chist"
bed the space under the bed was always utilized for stor- ing some article or articles. It may have been a trunk, a basket of peaches, or in cold weather, maybe the half of a just-butchered hog might be put there to be kept over night.
Against the wall between the beds was a chest, often called "chist". In this was kept the nicer counterpanes and pillowslips, the women's Sunday clothes and certain articles of men's wear. At one end of the chest, and just beneath the lid, was a little box or till, opening with a lock and key, and in this were kept the deeds and other valuable papers and smaller keepsakes.
In the better cabins the floors were made of evenly- sawed oak boards, but as these became seasoned they grew narrower and left cracks between, through which the cold wind came in winter. In the ruder cabins the floors were made of puncheons-that is to say, slabs flat on one side and rounded on the other. Puncheon floors were always laid with the flat side up. Overhead were strong heavy beams often of unhewed logs. On these beams were rough boards that constituted the ceil- ing of the main room and the floor of the loft, which by courtesy might have been called the attic. The loft was reached by a ladder that started from the cabin- floor and ran up alongside the Kentucky rifle, and reached the loft through a trapdoor. In the loft was sometimes a bed where some members of the family could sleep in case there was company-and here of winter mornings the sleepers would sonietimes waken to find. their beds covered with snow that had sifted in between the shingles, or rather clapboards, of the roof.
Hanging from the rafters would be festoons of dried apples, dried pumpkin, dried peaches, peppers, bunches
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1
16
Weaving, Spinning and Carding
of sage for seasoning the sausage; bunches of penny- royal to "sweat" the sick ones; bunches of boneset to "break the ager"; strings of stuffed sausage; chunks of dried beef; and last, old hats, caps and various other articles that had seen better days. Among the last might be the coat that grandfather, a Revolutionary veteran, wore at the battle of Guilford Court House.
Crowded as was the cabin, it at times had one more thing that took up no little floor-space, namely, a loom for weaving cloth, carpets, etc. The loom of that day was a crude, heavy, awkwardly constructed contrivance, made almost entirely of wood. But, cumbersome and unwieldy as it was, the housewife somehow managed to weave in plenty upon it, jeans for the men-folks of the family, and linsey for the women-folks. Indeed, some of the more skillful, wove pretty coverlets, handsome coun- terpanes and beautiful pillowcases, besides other articles of use and ornament.
Another thing that claimed cabin floor-space was the spinning-wheel, a true running-mate of the loom. This was usually operated by a young woman, and her quick walking to-and-fro and other alert movements, accom- panied by the rhythmical hum of the fast-revolving wheel, are memories that will never pass from the mind of the elderly man or woman.
But before the wool could be spun it had to be carded ; an operation that was generally left to an elderly female if there was such a one in the family. And a picture, which can never be effaced from memory's tablet, is that of a grandmother, her placid features framed in the frill of her cap, seated in a low, split-bottom chair, and in her hand a pair of cards which she was slowly. pull-
1.
1
Weaving on a Hand-Loom. (Courtesy of W. A. Kelsoe, St. Louis, Mo.)
Spinning-Wheel. (Courtesy W. A. Kelsoe, St. Louis, Mo.
17
Plain but Wholesome
ing to-and-fro while the wool between their teeth was working into a roll.
Speaking of caps, in this connection, it may not be out of place to say that in that day most women of forty- five and beyond wore these; they were usually white in color, made of some light cotton material and faced with a frill of some kind of lace work. These caps came down below the ears, were becoming, and grew more and more so with advancing years.
Three times every day a meal was cooked on the stone hearth and over the fireplace. Three times every day the table would be pulled out in front of the fire- place, the leaves raised, a cloth spread over it, and the blue-edged dishes placed upon it in proper order. One of the most useful cooking utensils was the "spider", a skillet with legs and a heavy iron cover the outer edge of which was turned up to hold the red coals that were put upon it in baking. In the center of the rounded top of the lid and part of it, was an open handle, a sort of flattened ring of cast iron into which the poker, or one prong of the tongs, could be pushed for lifting the lid when it was hot, or loaded with coals. Under the spi- der, and between its legs, red coals would be thrust when cooking or baking some article, such as biscuit, bread, pies, cake, potatoes, etc. The tea-kettle was heated di- rectly on the fire, the coffee-pot boiled on coals placed on the hearth; meat, eggs, bacon and ham were fried in a skillet placed on the burning wood-fire. In a much larger spider, called an oven, light wheat-bread and light corn-bread were baked. All old people were of one mind in asserting that food cooked at the old-time fire- place had a taste and flavor that the new-fangled cook- stove could never impart.
1
+
18
Before the Day of Matches
. But stooping over the hearth, with her face and head over the fire, was trying to the housekeeper. Then sometimes a stick of wood would unexpectedly burn in two, and over would turn the tea-kettle; or maybe worse yet, a pot with contents for a boiled dinner ; this would result in water, or meat and turnips, spilling and running over the fire and hearth, a cloud of steam and smoke, and the fire all but "put out".
The fire shovel that stood against the chimney jamb was a much used implement. With it the housewife punched the fire in an effort to encourage its burning; and with it she put coals under, and on, the spider; and on the hearth for heating other vessels. Beside the shovel were the tongs provided with two long arms, with flattened extremities, for picking up burning embers. Hanging against the wall was a pair of pothooks for lifting various hot or sooty vessels.
With the advent of the fifties, matches came into gen- eral use. Previous to this the fire on the hearth was never expected to go out. If it did, some one went to a neighbor's with shovel or tongs and brought back some live coals.
If the neighbor lived at a distance, or the weather was inclement, some powder would be put in the pan of the flint-lock rifle, a piece of cotton held beside it, then, when trigger was pulled, a spark from the flint ignited the powder; it in turn set fire to the cotton, and this while blazing, was hurriedly transferred to paper in the fireplace where a little later a fire would be roaring.
The food was plain and simple. In pioneer days corn bread and salted, smoked pork were the staples. Later wheat bread was added, varied with cakes made
19
The Simple Life
from buckwheat flour. Coffee of mornings, and tea at night, were for the older members of the family. The younger members drank water and milk, and with the latter, all frequently ate corn mush. In winter selected kernels of corn were treated with lye which removed the hull, after which the grains were boiled or fried. This was "big hominy" and was a wholesome, satisfy- ing article of diet. A few paces from the kitchen door was the smokehouse, a roughly constructed building, without ceiling or plaster. It was in this that the newly salted pork was hung to be smoked by keeping under it a smothered fire, preferably of hickory wood. Hams cured in this way had a rare flavor no other curing process could impart. On shelves in the smokehouse thrifty housekeepers had jars of lard and others of pre- serves, pickles and, maybe, a keg of molasses, together with a barrel of flour and possibly a sack of sugar, and other et cetera.
With the coming of early frost one neighbor would kill a hog and divide it up among his friends. Perhaps a little later another would butcher a small beef and divide this up in the same way, all "without money and without price." Thus the circle had a taste of fresh meat which otherwise would have spoiled, as no one thought of putting up ice.
Almost no one had a cellar, and with the open method in vogue for building houses, in cold weather, when the fire went down, things would freeze. Of cold nights water pitchers and other fragile articles were emptied of their liquid contents, otherwise broken vessels were likely to be found next morning.
Apples and peaches were pared, cut into slices and spread on boards, or on low sheds, where they would
20
Some Wild Fruits
dry in the sun after several days' exposure. Thus placed they attracted and were, at times, covered with flies, wasps and other insects. Fortunately, fruit dried in this way, through stewing, or some similar method of cook- ing, was, practically, always heated to a high tempera- ture before going on the table. Pumpkins were not in- frequently peeled, sliced and dried and when winter came, eaten with relish.
The present method of canning fruit and vegetables did not come in vogue till about the middle of the fifties ; and when first introduced was a much more complicated process than it is today. Lack of knowledge and facili- ties for preserving fruit made the use of preserves much more common than now, and in quantities that would not be deemed justifiable today.
Wild blackberries grew in abundance and were of much better flavor than the cultivated varieties we have now. Wild raspberries were less abundant than wild blackberries and the same was true of wild strawber- ries, but both had an especially fine taste and flavor.
Wild plums, wild crabapples and wild grapes were gathered in the fall, and of these the thrifty housewife made preserves, jam and other toothsome preparations.
Wild grapes grew in two varieties, summer and win- ter. Summer grapes ripened in late summer, were larger and much sweeter than winter grapes. Indeed, the wild summer grapes are said to be the stock from which that staple, the Concord grape, was derived. Both varieties flourished in the timber and their vines sometimes grew to the tops of tall trees. Winter grapes were sour, but after frost became much sweeter and more tempting to the palate.
Anotlier wild fruit that came in after frost was the
21
Persimmons and the Tenderfoot
persimmon. This grew on a tree that equaled in size a medium appletree. In late summer the persimmon attained the dimensions of a small apple, was a rich, beautiful orange in color and presented a most tempting appearance to the uninitiated. But woe to the tender- foot who was so unwary as to bite into its supposedly luscious meat; for instead of the anticipated sweet and agreeable taste, the tempted one would experience a "puckery" sensation that seemed about to draw the mu- cous membrane of his mouth and parts adjacent into a hard knot! After frost the persimmon took on a pink hue and became mellow and luscious to the taste. Freez- ing in some way neutralized the tannin with which be- fore frost the fruit was filled and rendered astringent and puckery to the mouth and palate.
Pawpaws were another wild fruit that grew in the timber and ripened in the fall, but unlike some referred to above, seemed to prefer dense woods. This fruit, however, was not relished by all, though much liked by some.
Going to mill was nearly always done on horseback. A sack of wheat or shelled corn would be put on a horse with the grain divided so there would be an equal amount in each end, and on this a boy would be mounted and started for the water-mill, which was never more than four or five miles away. Arrived there the miller would take the sack in the mill and pour its contents into the hopper, from which it ran in between the two millstones, one of which, connected with a water wheel in the stream beneath, revolved while the other was sta- tionary. Both were sharply grooved properly to crush and grind the grain that passed between them. For his service the miller took toll, that is a certain percent-
22
A Home Product
'age of the grain, or as usually said in this sense, the grist. (See pages 91-95.)
People made their own soap with lye and fat. The lye was made by leaching wood ashes and the fat came through the utilization of all kinds of meat scraps, some of which were sometimes repulsive in both appearance 'and smell. However, the strong lye with which the scraps were mixed corrected all this.
To make lye from wood ashes an ash hopper was necessary. This the pioneer sometimes made from a section of a large hollow log which, with its two ends sawed off square, was placed on inclined boards a little above the ground. In the lower end notches would be cut, and the "ash-hopper" thus made would be filled with wood ashes, water would be poured upon this and in percolating through would be converted into lye, a dark, 'coffee-colored fluid which found its way out through the notches in the bottom and down into a vessel under- neath. This was the pioneer's ash-hopper. Sometimes clapboards would be used and at others a common bar- rel would be utilized by knocking out one head, boring some holes through the bottom, placing on inclined boards, and filling it with ashes.
When a sufficient amount of lye was obtained it was put in the "big kittle", which was placed out of doors and a fire kindled beneath it. When the lye began to boil meat scraps were put in and all well stirred, and in due time the contents assumed a putty-like consistency and had in addition all the other qualities of soft soap, a most useful article in the pioneer household. The iron kettle was an essential in every family in early days and fulfilled various uses, as we shall see later.
Most of the early settlers got their drinking water
1
23
The "Waterwitch"
from springs. Those who came later dug wells, some of which failed to afford the needed supply of water for drinking, cooking and other purposes. After one or two such disappointments the property owner would sometimes call in the aid of the "waterwitch." The water- witch was a man imbued with the belief that a forked stick, called a divining rod, held in his hands, would be drawn down by some mysterious force when over a vein of water. For this purpose a forked piece of witch- hazel was usually selected. With a prong of this tightly grasped in each hand, his arms extended at full length, the point of the fork pointing upwards, the waterwitch would slowly and gravely walk over a spot where it was desired to sink a well.
In the event water was found where the waterwitch directed a well to be dug the fact was seized upon and made much of and heralded abroad as proof of his pow- ers of divination. On the other hand, if the sunken well turned out to be a dry hole in the ground, this fact was passed over and forgotten-so charitable is ever human nature, when the mysterious is on trial.
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