USA > Illinois > St Clair County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of St. Clair County, Volume II > Part 19
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Clerk Beineke's annual report showed the to- tal receipts of the city to have been $70,217.85 for the year over and above taxes. The report of Treasurer Hartman showed a cash balance in the treasury of $24,949.45. The annual ap- propriation ordinance for $148,063.44, to be dis- tributed among the various funds, was passed.
The citizens of Belleville voted 2,042 to eighty-two, at a special election held July 31, 1906, to annex a strip of land 3,000 feet in width and seven miles long, extending from the western limits of Belleville to Fekete Ave- nue, in Edgemont, on the Rock Road. If the validity of the previous proceedings of the Rock road annexationists and the Council of Belleville is upheld by the Circuit Court at the September term, the section of the Rock road annexed will be entitled to all advan- tages at present held by the people of Belle- ville. It is claimed that this act will add 4,000 to the population of Belleville.
The Rock road to Edgemont will be made a boulevard, and building, it is estimated, will increase rapidly in the territory annexed. The fare on the electric railway from Bellevue to Edgemont, which is now ten cents, will be re- duced to five cents under the provision of the ordinance under which the railway is now operating in Belleville.
The St. Clair Country Club will be in the Belleville city limits, and the three cemeteries on the Rock road, where East St. Louis has for years buried its dead, will also be in the limits of Belleville. The saloons in the an- nexed territory will be compelled to pay Belle- ville a uniform high license of $500, and the saloons west of Fekete Avenue, Edgemont, will come under such restrictions as may be im- posed by East St. Louis, for they will be within the prohibited two-mile limit.
CITY FIRE DEPPARTMENT .- Belleville has a fire department, efficient and well equipped. It is
officered and manned as follows: Chief, Frank Dinges; Assistant Chiefs-Oliver J. Hartnagel and Charles Wade; Firemen-Henry Kunz, Martin Keck, Thomas Bosworth, Walter Graeber, William Bader, Sam Merker, Frank Mayer, James Bosworth, Louis Miller, Charles Dau- bach, Conrad Lauf and Philip Voegtle. There are few towns of its size that have suffered less from fire than Belleville has. In part this is doubtless attributable to the use of stone-coal for fuel, but it is, perhaps, in greater measure due to the fact that Belleville is a town oť real estate owners-house and shop owners-and not a town of careless and irresponsible tenants.
In this connection, it is in order to make a brief reference to the list of officers and pri- vates of the "Belleville Fire Company," as the same appears on the roll of said company, in a book of constitution and by-laws, published for them, at the Advocate office, by Robert K. Fleming, in 1841. The following constitutes a roll of the company, and among them will be found the names of distinguished men:
William McClintock, President; John Ward, Vice-President; D. W. Hopkins, Secretary: Samuel B. Chandler, Captain; Alexander Rea- ney, First Lieutenant; Augustus Hasel, Sec- ond Lieutenant; Joseph Sturgis, First Engi- neer; James L. Davis, Second Engineer. En- gine Men-William McClintock, John Ward, D. W. Hopkins, N. Pensoneau, J. R. Nolen, T. H. Kimber, John Flanagan, A. Hildenbrandt, Jo- seph Meyer, Gustavus Koerner, John A. Sum- merville, Alex N. Green, Lyman Trumbull, A. T. Terrell, T. J. Burnett, J. L. D. Morrison and C. Tittmann. Hose and Water Men-Alex. Rea- ney, William C. Kinney, John Mace, Jacob Knoebel, James Affleck, R. P. Hughes, J. B. Lyons, Joseph Smith, N. B. Atherton and E. Tittmann. Hook and Ladder Men-Augustus Hasel, Henry Johnson, Nelson Green, C. Wes- termann, R. G. Affleck, Enoch Luckey, George W. Hook, Christian Kaysing, Christopher Vierheller, George Eckert and Charles Knoebel.
The first engine used by the Belleville Fire Company was bought by Gustavus Koerner while a member of the company, in the city of Baltimore. The engine was called the Dep- ford. It went, eventually, to South Belleville, and there long did good service.
POSTMASTERS .- Following is list the names of those who have served as Postmasters
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
at Belleville, with the year in which each as- sumed the duties of the office:
James R. Estes, 1811; Richard Graves, 1819; William Graves, 1820; John Ringold, 1822; James Mitchell, 1823; Charles Sargent, 1839; James M. Reynolds, 1840; James Mitchell, 1841; William H. Snyder, 1845; James Mitchell, 1849; Champness Ball, 1853; James W. Hughes, 1858; Sharon Tyndale, 1861; Hugo Wangelin, 1865; Francis M. Taylor, 1875; Henry A. Millitzer, 1877; John B. Hay, 1882; Adolph Engelman, 1886; James A. Willoughby, 1890; Irvin H. Wangelin, 1894; John E. Thomas, 1902.
Through the efforts of the Hon. William A. Rodenberg and other influential citizens, Belle- ville is to have a Government building, to ac- commodate the postoffice, Federal Courts, etc. The cost of the building and its site is limited to $75,000. The specified size of the lot is 120 by 130 feet. Bids were opened at the office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury at Washington City, recently, for sites for public buildings in eight Illinois cities. Competition was lively, as shown by the number of bids received. A special agent of the Treasury De- partment will be sent out to look over the various sites offered for the buildings, and the location and its advantages, as well as other matters, will be taken into consideration, along with the amount of the bid, in making the award. The following bids for the Belleville site were submitted:
Kronthal Liedertael, corner Main and Breese Streets, 120x148 feet, $15,000; John A. Brenner, corner Illinois. and A Streets, 60x110 feet, $12,- 000; E. M. Irwin, corner Spring and A Streets, 157x119, $12,000; Charles R. Lewis, northeast corner Spring and Third Streets, 166x146 feet, $8,000; E. Thomas, corner High and A Streets, 120x150, $15,000; Same, 120x130, same location, $12,000; Charles B. Fleischbein, corner Church and A Streets, 140x120, $8,500; Same, 140x165 same location, $10,000; Catherine Knoeblock, corner High and B Streets, 132x190, $11,000; Same, 132x120, same lot, $8,000; L. A. Weis- mantel, corner Spring and D Streets, 130x120, $8,500; C. H. Hemfelden, southeast corner West First and Spring Streets, 110x99, $18,000; W. J. Stoltz, corner Illinois and D Streets, 110x150, $12,000; Same, corner First and Oak Streets, 120x150, $10,000; L. A. Weismantel, B and Spring Streets, 170x99, $7,500; W. J. Stoltz, corner Main and Carles Streets, 112x149, $20,-
000; Edward F. Schott, southwest corner South First Street and Spring, 165x121, $14,350.
THE PRESS OF BELLEVILLE .- The Belleville "Daily Advocate" was established in 1898, and the "Weekly Advocate" in 1839. These papers are edited and published by the Belleville Ad- vocate Publishing Company. Much that is in- teresting concerning the "Weekly Advocate" will be found under the head of Newspapers in this volume.
The "Morning Record' was established in 1895. Michael Munie is its editor, and George Meyer its publisher.
The "News Democrat," an evening daily, was established in 1883. The "Weekly News-Dem- ocrat" dates from 1857. George W. Thebus editor, and the News-Democrat Company, pub- lisher. The weekly edition of this paper has an important history, which is given quite fully elsewhere in these pages.
The "Post and Zeitung," a German evening paper, is edited and printed by the Post and Zeitung Publishing Company. The "Post' was established in 1884, and the "Zeitung" as long ago as 1849. The early history of the latter is given in another chapter.
The "Tageblatt and Arbeiter Zeitung" (week- ly) and "Der Treu-Bund" (Sunday) were es- tablished in 1884; Fred W. Krafft is editor and publisher.
The "Illinois Royal Arch" is issued semi- monthly in the interests of the Royal Arch. It first appeared in 1902. John J. Davis is its editor and publisher.
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS .- The following named monetary concerns, now doing business in Belleville, are duly considered in the chap- ter entitled "Banks and Trust Companies," else- where in this volume, viz .: Belleville Savings Bank, First National Bank, and Belleville Bank and Trust Company.
PROFESSIONAL MEN OF THE PRESENT TIME .- Lawyers: August Barthel, James A. Farmer, Oscar Becherer, Edmund Burke, James M. Dill, William U. Halbert, James M. Hamill, Frederick J. Tecklenburg, H. R. Heimberger, Charles March, Louis Klingel, Frederick H. Kruger, F. A. McConaughy, F. B. Merrills, James O. Miller, H. M. Needles, Albert B. Ogle, Frank Perrin, W. H. Pfingsten, George Reb- han, R. W. Ropiequet, M. W. Schaeffer, H. E. Schaumleffel, Frank C. Smith, Charles E. Thomas, Charles W. Thomas (lately deceased),
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
L. D. Turner, L. D. Turner, Jr., Louis Wangelin, Webb and Webb, M. W. Weir, William Winkel- mann, August Baer, L. P. Zerweck.
Physicians: Frank Auten, William Bahren- burg, Louis Bechtold, A. B. Gunn, J. G. Gunn, W. H. Harris, George E. Hilgard, C. R. Hug- gins, Frank Huwatcheck, E. M. Irwin, A. M. Kohl, George Loelkes, J. G. Massie, B. H. Portu- ondo, E. P. Raab, C. G. Rayhill, Henry Reis, Sr., Henry Reis, Jr., A. L. Reuss, H. Schaeffer, A. M. Scheel, T. Smirl, Charles Starkel, Charles Stewart, Twitchell and Twitchell, Gustav Vet- ter, Hugo E. Wangelin, S. F. Wehr, Washing- ton West, and Washington West, Jr.
SOME NOTABLE EVENTS IN BELLEVILLE HISTORY. -An event of the pioneer period that will al- ways have a place in the annals of Belleville, was the Stuart-Bennett duel. The following account of it, from the pen of James Affleck, who lived in Belleville when the duel was fought, was written for the Illinois Historical Society and published in its "Collections":
"The duel was fought here in Belleville, Feb- ruary 8, 1819, on a vacant common near where the Snyder mansion is located. The alleged quarrel between the two men grew out of a very trivial matter-the trespassing by Tim- othy Bennett's horse in the corn-field of Al- phonso Stuart. The horse was a breachy animal, and frequently into
broke Stu- art's field of corn, which greatly enraged the latter, and he told Bennett that if he did not keep the horse out of the field, he would shoot the horse. The threat had no effect, and the horse continued to break into the field, until one day Stuart carried his threat into execu- tion-that is, he induced his hired hand to shoot the horse with a load of coarse salt, which he did, and the horse ran home bleed- ing and smarting with pain.
"Bennett became greatly enraged over the shooting of his horse, and when he learned that Stuart was responsible for the shooting, he was disposed to seek revenge. l'he animal was a great favorite with Bennett, and the more he thought about how it had been treated, the more his anger grew. While in this frame of mind, he met with Jacob Short and Na- thaniel Fike, a pair of young bacchanalians who made their haunt and hibernated at Tanne- hill's tavern, which then occupied the site now occupied by the National Hotel.
"Short and Fike, thinking to have some 7
sport out of the affair, advised Bennett to seek satisfaction from Stuart by challenging him to mortal combat. They told him that Stuart had grievously injured and insulted him, and that the only course for him to pursue was to challenge Stuart to fight a duel. Bennett readily assented, and the challenge was sent.
"In the meantime Short and Fike saw Stu- art, and told him of their plans to have some sport out of Bennett, and they at once ar- ranged for a sham duel. Short and Fike, who were to act as seconds, promised that their guns should be loaded with powder only. Al- though Stuart understood that it was to be a sham duel only intended to enliven the mo- notony of life in the then small village, Ben- nett did not so understand it; and with him it was to be no mockery, as the sequel proved.
"The arrangements for the duel were made in the court-house where the parties all met. The court-house was then located on the south- west corner of Main and Illinois Streets, in front of the tavern (now National Hotel) owned and conducted by James Tannehill, with whom the writer was then living, and for eight or nine years after.
"The young men of the village were disposed to tease and plague Bennett by telling him that he would get the 'buck ague' and couldn't shoot with accuracy; and Bennett, to show that he was a sure shot, took his rifle and shot the head off a chicken that was in the yard close by.
"After the parties had made all arrangements and were pretty well filled with Tannehill's whisky, they repaired to the 'shoot' ground, which was located about midway between the Snyder mansion and Main Street. The ground in that vicinity was all vacant then, with only a few scattered trees. The principals were placed about twenty-five steps apart, and just as the word 'fire,' which was agreed upon as signal, was uttered, Bennett fired and Stu- art fell face downward to the ground, shot in the region of the heart. He fell on his gun, and expired immediately. Fike, his sec- ond, went to him, and turning him over took the rifle and discharged it into the air; so that it was never known whether it contained a ball or not. There was a suspicion with many that the crack of the gun was that of one containing a ball.
"Bennett and both seconds were arrested im-
1
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
mediately and committed to jail-the latter, however, soon being released on bail.
"The State had but lately (in 1818) been ad- mitted into the Union, and it appears from the records that the State had neither law nor officials to try prisoners in St. Clair County. The Legislature being in session at the time, proceeded at once to enact laws for the emer- gency, and to appoint officials. A special term of court was called, and a bill of indict- ment was returned against all three for mur- der.
"On the eve of the trial, Bennett succeeded in escaping from the jail, a log structure, by boring a series of holes in one of the logs, which he forced from its place and thus made his way out. Such was the Sheriff's report when directed to bring the prisoner into court. Bennett fled into the wilds of Arkansas Terri- tory and was not heard from by the authorities for two-and-a-half years. At the end of that time, it was learned that he had been in com- munication with his wife, that he was at Ste. Genevieve, Mo., and that he had arranged for her to meet and join him there, having sent a team and wagon for her and the children. A reward was still standing for his apprehension at that time.
"James 'Tannehill and others followed the team and family, and arriving at the river, met Bennett, and, arresting him, brought him back to Belleville. He was again indicted, tried and convicted, and sentenced to death by hang- ing. The execution took place on September 3. 1821, in a vacant field on which a part of West Belleville is now located. The execution was public and was witnessed by one of the largest assemblies ever brought together in this county.
"Poor Bennett! he lost his life for the love he had for his family. He stated on the scaf- fold that he was willing to risk his life for the pleasure of once more greeting his wife and children. He also denied that he had put the bullet in the gun that had killed Stuart.
"Bennett owned a lot and log cabin on North Illinois Street, adjoining the later residence of Mr. Emil Feigenbutz on the north, and was buried there. It was the current opinion, how- ever, that his body had been turned over to the doctors, and had been used to advance knowledge in medicine and surgery.
"Soon after Bennett's escape from jail, the
seconds had their trial, and were acquitted by the testimony of Rachael Tannehill, a girl of nine or ten years, who was looking out of an upper window in the Tannehill tavern at the time the party was starting for the shooting ground. She saw Bennett come around the court-house, distant about seventy or eighty feet from her, and saw him put something into his gun which she and the jury construed to be a bullet. This testimony, together with their own, cleared the two seconds and went to con- vict Bennett.
"Stuart and Bennett were both young men in the prime of life, each having a family. Stuart was a lawyer by profession; but his practice was more frequent at Tannehill's bar than that of Judge Reynolds. He was buried about 100 yards from where he fell, north- west.
"John Reynolds, then living in Cahokia, the metropolis of the West at that time, was the Circuit Judge; John Hay, also of Cahokia, was the Circuit Clerk; William Beaird, a farmer and an old bachelor, was the Sheriff; and Samuel D. Lockwood, Attorney-General of Illinois, was Prosecuting Attorney. All these officials were appointed by the Legisla- ture to try the prisoners. Lockwood, be- fore entering upon the trial, took the follow- ing oath : 'I do solemnly swear that I will, to the best of my judgment, execute the duties imposed upon me by the act for the suppression of duelling, so help me God.'
"Scipio Beaird, the younger brother of Sheriff Beaird, was Deputy Sheriff, and performed the duty of executing poor Bennett, of which I was an eye-witness, and of which I never wish to see the like again."
CHOLERA VISITATIONS IN 1832-33 AND 1849 .- (By James Affleck.)-In 1831 there were fre- quent reports in the papers of the dreadful ravages of the cholera in Asia. It was a long ways off, and but little attention given to it. But in the year 1832, it reached Germany, France and England, and soon after Quebec and Montreal in Canada. It followed General Scott and his army of West Point cadets into Wisconsin and Illinois, in the Black Hawk War. More Indians fell by cholera than by bullets, it was said.
Its march from Asia had been watched with fearful apprehension; nothing else had ever caused so much dread and terror as did the
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
approach of the cholera, whose fatality and march made the whole world tremble. It reached St. Louis in June, and, soon after, our small village. The first person to bring it was a poor man, sad and weary, coming from St. Louis. He stopped in front of the Tannehill House, where a number of persons were seated on the porch. He said he was sick, and thought he was taking the cholera, and wished to stop. Tannehill, the proprie- tor, told him he didn't wish to have him in the house, with his boarders and his family, and directed him to the court-house, where a room would be found and some one to care for him. The court-house then stood on the corner of Main and Illinois Streets, in front of the West Block. He reached there with some difficulty. Enoch Lucky, John D. Hughes, John Chandler and Washington Hook volunteered and went to his aid. They took him upstairs into a jury room, called a physician and did all they could for him; but he sank rapidly and soon died.
In a few days a number were taken with the disease, and several died. The following are some of those who died. Mrs. Tannehill, mother of Abraham Shoupe; Mrs. Berry, mother of Thomas Berry; Patrick Kelly, who worked in the harvest field until noon, and was dead before sundown; and Samuel Crane, who lingered three days before he died. It was said that he took 1,100 grains of calomel. Mr. Crane was a brick and stonemason and had just undertaken a contract to build the Rapier Mill (later the Hinckley Mills), and had part of the foundation made. Thomas H. Kimber and myself made Crane's coffin, and carried it to the house before the breath had left him. As soon as he ceased to breathe, we put him in it and carried him out for burial. Crane lived in the country; but at the time of his death, boarded with the late William McClin- tock, who lived and kept store in the house which was removed to make place for the present court-house. Crane's wife was the sis- ter of the late Mrs. Bowler, of O'Fallon.
Several negroes were carried off by the scourge; some of them were no loss, but their death was rather a blessing to the community. Bill Belt, one of the negroes, was a loss; he was the principal grave-digger here at that time. There were but few Germans here in 1832. I remember making a coffin for a Ger-
man woman, who had just moved here from St. Louis. E. Lucky assisted me in placing her in the coffin, and also in collecting three five franc pieces for the coffin.
There were sporadic cases of the cholera in 1833-34. Governor Edwards died July 20, 1833, and probably some others whose names I can- not recall. I rode to Edwardsville on the night Mr. Edwards died, for his brother, who was a physician; but the Governor was dead before the brother reached him. Major William Orr died of cholera in 1834. There were many other persons who died then whose names I cannot now recall. The physicians practicing here at that time were Drs. William G. Go- forth, Joseph Green, William Mitchell, and Dr. Belt. If I am not mistaken, Dr. Belt fell a victim to the cholera. Mrs. Belt was an aunt of Don Turner-his father's sister.
Physicians in treating the cholera at that time were like the mariner at sea without chart, compass or quadrant-had no books or precedents to guide them. Burials were hast- ened because physicians thought that to de- lay would be injurious to public health, and that it was no time for protracted funerals. It was noticeable that the danger in cholera was less the longer the patient lived under it, and that fear was a great hindrance to the recovery of patients. On one occasion, several corpses were left in the cemetery over night without burial.
In 1849, cholera again visited this region, and many deaths followed. In fact, bodies had to be carried off faster than men could be found to bury them.
THE CONVENT FIRE .- The convent was built ill 1857-59, a T-shaped building; and in 1863, an addition costing $44,000 was built. The building was 180 by 100 feet, with the main entrance on Fourth Street, in the center of the building which connected the two wings. The east wing and the part adjoining were three stories high; the west wing, four stories. The girls' dormitory was in the upper floor of the east wing. The building was lighted by gas and heated by three large furnaces. The con- vent contained twenty-five Sisters of Notre Dame, five novices, and thirty-two children, ranging in age from six to eighteen years.
The night of Saturday, January 4, 1884, was bitterly cold. At about 10:45 that night, some of the sisters were awakened by the fumes of
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HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY.
burning wood. At the same time, August Leve, the night watchman, found a fire under the stairway leading from the main entrance to the basement. He immediately aroused the priests and the neighbors. The alarm was given promptly, and the fire engines came, but too late. The fire had gained rapid headway; the floors gave way, and the walls collapsed. Some of the inmates of the convent, all in night- clothes, jumped from the windows and were killed.
Of all the members of the convent, twenty- six were killed, including Sisters Mary Je- rome (the Mother Superior), Angelia, Edwina and Moderata, and little Virginia Heinzelman, the thirteen-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Heinzelman. The work of finding the bodies and removing them from the burnt timbers took a long while. Many of the bodies were charred beyond recognition, and in some cases could be identified only by finger rings and the like. The part of the building which still stood had to be torn down.
At 9:30, the following Tuesday, Bishop Baltes conducted the burial services of the dead, and the sisters were buried in Green Mount Cem- etery.
AN INNOVATION OF 1863 .- G. F. Kimball, who was editor of the "Belleville Advocate" for a time embracing the year 1863, wrote as follows in some reminiscences which he published in "The Advocate" in March, 1901:
"Not a business house in Belleville then (1863) ran a delivery wagon. Every purchaser of groceries, hardware, dry goods, and other household necessities was expected to take his goods from the store. There were no public school buildings. 'The Advocate' at once began to urge the need of school buildings. There was opposition to this from the first. It was said that taxes were already too high, and that we had put a tax on everything. But the idea gained ground and was favored by the best sentiment of the city and the paper lost no prestige. But when it suggested the use of delivery wagons by the merchants, it stirred up a hornet's nest, especially among the deal- ers in groceries. One immediately stopped his subscription and ordered out his advertise- ment. Others were induced to do the same. It would take all their profits, they said, Probably no one now can understand how so small a thing could create such a racket. It
was the Hartmann Bros. who solved the prob- lem and helped the Advocate out. The younger brother had but recently come from Germany, and the two put up a very fine store on East Main Street, near Church Street, and added a very neatly painted free-delivery wagon. That settled it. Belleville was some times slow; but it was always solid and steadily progres- sive.
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