USA > Illinois > Union County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 40
USA > Illinois > Pulaski County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 40
USA > Illinois > Alexander County > History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois > Part 40
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123
Assembly, 1826-28-George Hunsaker, Sen- ator, and Alexander P. Field, Representative.
1830-32-John Grammer, Senator, from Union, Johnson and Alexander Counties, and Joseph L. Priestly, Representative from Union.
1832-34-John Dougherty, Representative from Union.
1834-36-John S. Hacker, Senator, Brazil B. Craig, Representative.
1836-38-John Dougherty, Representa- tive,
1838-40-John S. Hacker, Senator, and Jacob Zimmerman, Representative.
1840-42-John Dougherty Representative.
1842-44-John Dougherty, Senator, and John Cochran, Representative.
1846-48-John Dougherty, Senator, Mat- thew Stokes, Representative.
1848-50-John Cochran, Representative.
1850-52-Cyrus G. Simmonds, Repre- sentative.
1852-54-John Cochran, Representative.
1856-58-John Dougherty, Representative. 1858-60-W. A. Hacker, Representative.
1862-64-James H. Smith, Representative. 1864-66-W. H. Green, Senator, H. W. Webb, Representative.
1868-70-John Dougherty, President of the Senate; Lieutenant Governor.
1872-74-Jesse Ware, Senator, M. J. Inscore, Representative.
1880-Sidney Grear, Representative.
In the Constitutional Convention of 1847,
Samuel Hunsaker represented Union County. In the Convention of 1862, W. A. Hacker represented Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties. In the Convention of 1870, W. J. Allen represented the same counties.
The following letter will be read with universal interest, and is an admirable illus- tration of the ideas of a government as entertained by our fathers. It is from the Hon. Samuel Hunsaker, and was written while in attendance at Springfield upon the Constitutional Convention of 1847, and is ad- dressed to Judge T. Hileman.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., July 17, 1847.
DEAR SIR: I received your kind letter of the 10th inst. on yesterday, and will proceed to give you all that I have of interest, though it is but little. We are moving along but slowly in framing a constitu- tion for the people. I am entirely disappointed in my calculations, knowing as I did that I had but one motive in coming to this convention, and that was, to do the will of the people in making such changes as would be conducive to their interests and promote their future welfare. I reasonably con- cluded that at least a majority of the members would feel a like disposition, but, sad and strange to tell, it appears entirely different, for whenever any- thing is brought up that looks like retrenchment it is jumped on by lawyers and doctors and young politicians and strangled instantly. We have gone through the executive and legislative reports in committee of the whole, made some changes, but if we can get them through the convention as they are, I think they will do some good, though they are not according to my mind. The Governor is to be elected once in four years, salary, $1,250, appoint his own Secretary, with a salary of $800; the num- ber of members in the Legislature, seventy-five in the House and twenty-five in the Senate, with $2 per day for the first forty-two days, and $1 per day after that; 10 cents per mile for travel; elections to be on the first Monday in November, which we of the south are entirely opposed to, and will use every exertion to have changed. The report of the Committee on the Judiciary will come up on Monday, which I presume will occupy at least a week ; it is very ob- jectionable, I think, in some of its features; it creates three Supreme Judges and twelve Circuit Judges, the Supreme Judges to receive $1,200 and Circuit Judges $1,000 per annum. I suppose the
13
316
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.
salary would not be much too high, but their num- ber is too great; it also provides that one term of the Supreme Court shall be held yearly in each Judicial Circuit, the Judges, Clerks and all, to be elected by the people. I have no idea now that we shall get away from here before September, and when I look forward and see the amount of business before us, and look back on what we have done, it appears as though we would not get through in twelve months, but I still hope for the better. I still think they will get tired after awhile, and become willing to do things up and go home. I think that I shall never have any desire to be in such a body again, but I will try to perform my duty faithfully, to the best of my abilities this time. I am enjoying reasonable good health. I have lost no time from the House. Give my respects to all, and accept for yourself my true friendship. (Signed) SAMUEL HUNSAKER.
A letter from Jonesboro, published in the Cairo Bulletin, of December 9, 1870, tells of an episode that throws much light on the long-drawn struggle of rivalry between the towns of Jonesboro and Anna. The letter, among other things, says: "Yesterday was a day of intense excitement in Jonesboro and Anna. It is known that a spirit of opposi- tion and rivalry exists between the two places. Two years ago an effort was made in our State Legislature to submit the question of the removal of the county seat from Jones- boro to Anna to a vote of the people of Union County. This effort failed through the schemes, etc., of certain parties. The County Court, at a recent session, ordered Mr. Keonig, County Surveyor, to prepare plans and specifications for building a new jail. The people of Anna, etc., were opposed to building a jail until the location of the county seat had been decided by the people at the ballot box, and prepared a petition, very numerously signed, to be presented to the County Court. Yesterday was the day appointed to receive the report of Mr. Keo- nig; whereupon Charles M. Willard, Esquire Bohanan and Mr. Lence came over from Anna, appeared before the court and asked
permission to present their petition. Per- mission was granted, and Mr. Willard read it. Soon as he concluded the reading, the County Judge fined Messrs. Willard, Bo- hanan and Lence $50 each, and ordered them to remain in the custody of the Sheriff until the fines were paid, for contempt of court. The Deputy Sheriff immediately marched them to the jail. Upon arrival at the gloomy, desolate and filthy old stone hut, Mr. Wil- lard, on account of ill health, concluded not to pass its iron grates, and paid his fine. Bohanan and Lence, on the contrary, marched into the felon's cell with a firm step and a determination to await their fate. When Mr. Willard returned to Anna and gave an account of the affair, the excitement beggared description. 'Let us go over and tear down the jail and liberate Bohanan and Lence,' said one. 'Oh, what an outrage,' said an- other. 'Did not our fathers fight the Revo- lution for the right of petition ?' was fre- quently asked. Attorneys left immediately for Cairo with a petition to Judge Baker for a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of the pris- oners."
Of course these martyrs in the " old stone bastile " were in the end liberated-the ex- cited people of Anna slept off their anger and " grim-visaged war smoothed his wrink- led front," but the rivalry and opposition of the two towns have kept their fires still burn- ing brightly upon the watch-towers. In the matter of moving the county seat, Jones- boro is in possession, and with the "nine points of law," she has been able to thwart the plans of Anna thus far.
A little incident in the office of the County Clerk is deemed worthy of mention: Andrew Deordoff succeeded Davie as County Clerk in 1841, and served one term. He was suc- ceeded by Wilcox, who served one term. Randolph V. Marshall was then elected
317
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.
Clerk, and had served one term, and was so popular that he was re-elected, and just after he had entered upon his second term he ran away, and was never heard of again. Judge Hileman appointed Wesley Davidson to fill out his term until an election was held, when Thomas Finley was elected to the office, in which he remained until 1861, when A. J. Nimmo was elected, and the next term James Evans was elected, and the Governor refused as long as he could to issue Evans' certificate of election, because he deemed him disloyal. Evans' disloyalty, it seems, consisted in be- ing the Democratic editor of the county at one time, and a strong and vigorous writer; he had lashed without mercy the Belknaps, Babcocks and Dorseys of the other party, and therefore he was disloyal. Nimmo was elected Clerk again in 1869, and at the end of his term William Hanners was elected, and continued in the office until 1883, when the present incumbent, J. H. Hilboldt, was elected.
The circumstances attending the sudden disappearance of Marshall were somewhat singular. He was a man of pleasant address and great piety, a leading member of the church and Sunday school His morals were considered most exemplary. In some way or other he came into the possession of a coun- terfeit $20 bill. He had passed it once and it was returned to him. He had offered it to a Jonesboro merchant, who judged it to be counterfeit. He then passed it upon a preacher, who was a book agent, who sent it to , Baltimore, when it was returned and marked "counterfeit," and again it confront- ed Marshall. By this time the grand jury was about to assemble, and Marshall fled.
The following references to all the laws passed by the Illinois Legislature in refer- ence to Union County, may prove a valuable aid to any one desirous of looking up or in vestigating these subjects:
County to share in proceeds of Gallatin Salines; L. February 16, 1831, 14; borrow money to complete county buildings; L. Feb- ruary 1, 1840, 75; A. Deardoff, acts as Coun- ty Clerk, legalized; L. February 26, 1845, 295; management of school fund; Id. March 3, 321; taxes of 1844 remitted in part. ac- count of loss by high water; Id. February 21, 353; borrow $1,000 to repair court house; L. February 11, 1853, 234; borrow $2,500, to build jail; Pr. L. March 4, 1854, 167; bor- row $5,000 to build court house; Pr. L. Janu- ary 19, 1857, 25; Sheriff discharged from liability for failing to collect land tax; L. March 27, 1819, 300; Isaac Worley indicted for murder, change of venue; Pr. Laws, Jan- uary 24, 1827, 17; road, America to Vanda- lia, re-location, L. January 7, 1831, 141; ex- amination of said road between Jonesboro and county line south, Pr. L. December 20, 1832-33, 199; same, Jonesboro to Snider's Fer- ry, a State road, L. February 13, 1835, 122; same, Manville's Mills to Saratoga, and Jones- boro to Fredonia, locations, L. February 20, 1843, 252; Champion Anderson, $28.17, for selling bank property, L. February 7, 1835, 78. School lands, Town 12-3, sale of; L. De- cember 19, 1835-36, 130. Saratoga changed to Western Saratoga, L. January 21, 1843, 297. Hygean Spring at West Saratoga chartered; L. March 1, 1845, 113. County charcoal road chartered, Pr. L. February 23, 1817, 160. An- drew Deardoff, $32.67 repaid; Id. February 24, 181; Union Turnpike Co., chartered, Pr. L. February 12, 1849, 104; Jonesboro Plapk Road chartered, Pr. L. February 13, 1851, 112; Amended, Pr. L. February 14, 1855, 467; County Agricultural and Mechanical Society chartered, Id. Jannary 30, 110; Va- cated, Pr. L. February 9, 1857, 310; Rand J. Stacy convicted of larceny, restored; L. February 24, 1859, 18; Joseph G. Webb re- stored to citizenship; 2 Pr. L. February 21,
318
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.
1867, 812; J. H. McElhaney robbed of $9,363.68; time of payment extended, L. March 13, 1869, 337; D. Gow released from judgment, on recognizance, Id. April 7, 340.
The total vote of Union County, 1880, was 3,418. In 1882 it was 3,160. Hancock's majority in the county for President, 1880,
was 1,120. The total vote of the precincts were: Anna, 577; Cobden, 473; Alto Pass, 415; Dongola, 523; Jonesboro, 575; Mill Creek, 109; Rich, 218; Stokes, 181; Preston, 42; Union, 152; Saratoga, 201; Meisen- heimer, 112. In the election for Congress- man, 1882, Murphy (D.) 1954; Thomas (R.) 993; McCartney (Pro.) 86.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE PRESS-FINLEY AND EVANS, AND THE FIRST NEWSPAPER -" UNION COUNTY DEMOCRAT "- JOHN GREAR -THE " RECORD," "HERALD" AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS-HOW THE TELEGRAPH PRODUCED DROUGHT - DR. S. S. CONDEN - PRESENT PUBLISHERS AND THEIR ABLE PAPERS - ETC.
"A cheil's amang ye, takin' notes." -BURNS.
THOMAS J. FINLEY and John Evans were the first men that had the nerve to start a newspaper here away back in 1849- the Gazette. It was a modest, seven-column, long primer, Democratic weekly paper. Finley was the writer, it seems, and Evans the practical business man. When first is- sued, it attracted some attention, and those who could read at all looked through its well- filled columns with a curious interest, and a good many people had the enterprise to be- come regular subscribers, but the most of them, we are told, made their subscriptions very short-timed, as they had no idea it could possibly live more than a few weeks, and they only cared to get the first few copies in the expectation of laying them away, and after awhile they would have a curiosity to show the people of what a rash attempt Evans and Finley had made to establish a paper in these wild woods. But these print- ers did the most of their own work, and lived along in the most economical way and kept
the paper alive-generally getting it out each week, but when their paper failed to come, or the 4th of July came in their way, or Christmas, and sometimes the circus and such distracting accidents and incidents, would cause them to miss a week or two, but they would rally and make ample amends by flooding their readers with resounding edi- torials and anecdotes and quips and italic lines and exclamation points, that would put to shame the most hardened grumbler. The county paper of thirty years ago and now differed in many respects. There was very little of this modern, personal journalism that is so common now. Papers then were more given to long, dry, moralizing and heavy editorials on metaphysical subjects and were quite indifferent, compared with papers of to-day, in the enterprise for news, or scan- dalous sensations. The appetites of readers then had not been whetted for much of the prurient stuff that is now wired all over the world for the delectation of newspaper read- ers. Publishing papers thirty-five years ago Was not so nearly a distinct profession as it
319
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.
is now. There were fewer readers, but they were more select, and their tastes were not vitiated as now. They studied over the market columns, knowing they were from a week to a month old, with great interest and satisfaction, never dreaming that many of them would live to see the day that the markets and weather reports would some time be reported instantaneously to every village and hamlet in the land. In those days people waited to see what George D. Prentice had to say about a subject before they would come to a conclusion. There were two or three editors in the country whose names were a great power in the land, and their printed opinions in their papers were a potent influence upon the country. And scholars were content to wait the coming of the Quarterly Reviews for their mental pabulum on the questions of the day. The country editor was an institution but little, if any, below, in importance, wisdom, and all knowledge upon all subjects, the village schoolmaster. He was in the eyes of many a master of the " black art," a magician. In the highest work of mankind-the building up of civilization-the press is the one su- preme factor. The post office, bookstore and news stand are places where you may go and see, and measure the ratio of intelligence among the people. Men without thought say, "look at our schoolhouses and churches!" While back and beyond and more potent than all these combined are the books, periodicals and papers, of which the post office and book store tell the story. A country print- ing office is a dingy place, yet in the hands of a mai. of an intellect, understanding his responsible place in life, it is the home and resting-place for genius, where it pauses and plumes its feathers for those inspired and dazzling flights that attract and awe mankind.
When the late war closed, there had been
completed a revolution in the newspaper pub- lishing business. The telegraph had been utilized, and men had been taught to look for news, and not for the opinions and fine writings of certain individuals. The business of writing for the paper had to adjust it- self to the change of circumstances, and short, crisp editorials, and the news of the hour, and, instead of the long "thundering leader," came the wit, that largely consisted of slang and bad spelling. The metropol- itan press, through the telegraph, and the perfected Hoe press, began to absorb from the country, first, its talent among writers, and then to monopolize the business itself, until the country paper found no other avenue to walk in except the purely local news, gossip, and chit-chat of its immediate lo- cality. The result has been the deteriora- tion of quality of the writing in the country press, and improvement in the mechanical department, and somewhat better edited Sheriff sales and tax lists.
The solitary county newspaper antedates the railroad in this county. Finley & Evans started their paper in 1849, and the railroad came in 1855. Can you imagine what Fin- ley's rather sharp and trenchant peu was doing for his subscribers when it had failed to scrape off such ignorance as is told of in another part of this work, where they were going to tear down the telegraph wires because they concluded it took all the elec- tricity-thunder and lightning-out of the county, and thus produced the great drought of that year? The people were suffering for rain, the crops were burning up, and the sufferers called upon the learned pundits and the preachers and big farmers, and they issued their " Pope's bull against the comet," and in the firm conviction that God had ab. dicated, mostly in their favor, they were going to regulate the heat, the cold and the
320
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.
weather. Such egotism and ignorance was never excusable, and it was the high duty of the local paper to have exposed it, and held it up to the ridicule and contempt of all men. There was no paper published here in the early forties, and probably not two subscribers to any papers or paper published in the world, when F. H. Kroh's father startled the county by bringing and exhibit- ing the first matches ever seen here. He had been away off traveling, and had been 'shown some matches, and he secured a few, and arrived in Jonesboro with them. He told the astounded people what he had, and they wanted to see him "strike fire" with them. He told them to assemble in the pub- lic square after dark and they should see the marvelous exhibition. The word passed around, and the population gathered en masse. Kroh ascended a platform where all could see, and scraped the match, and the bright blaze flashed upon the astounded people. They looked on in awe and terror. The luminous mark made where the match was scraped was felt and smelled and exam- ined by all who could get near enough, and it was pronounced, sure enough, lightning. Mr. Kroh only burned two or three-they were too precious to waste, and the few were enough. The sulphurous smell, the luminous track it left on the wall, the bright and hot blaze of the sulphur and wood, all combined, warned the people of the angry artillery of heaven, the lurid lightnings of the storm, and the thrice heated and flaming lake of fire and brimstone that was so often preached in ragged thunderbolts at their heads from the Sunday pulpits. And the public made up their minds that matches were a danger- ous, forbidden and unholy invention, and there must not be any more brought to Jones- boro, either to sell or for the purposes of exhibition. They could see nothing but evil
in thus mixing the lightning and brimstone, and Kroh was admonished in his future travels to bring no more matches with him, but to leave them to the ungodly and the ignorant.
Finley & Evans found but a meager sup- port for their paper, and often it was close work to find ready ways and means to pay for the little white paper they used. They sold the paper to H. E. Hempstead, who ran it with varying success for about two years. In 1855, it was purchased by John Grear, who successfully conducted it for two years. when it passed, by purchase, into the hands of Gov. Dougherty. The Governor was just then deeply engaged in politics, and the paper had carefully trimmed its sails in ac- cord with the Democratic party, under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas, and when Douglas and Lincoln were arranging the pre- liminaries for the contest for Senator, the paper had begun to skirmish for Douglas, when Dougherty, who was in Springfield, telegraphed to change its course-oppose Douglas, and support the Breckinridge, or " Danite" party. After the election, Dough- erty sold it to a joint stock company. Then Mckinney had the control of it for some time, and just about the time of the break- ing-out of the late war, it again passed into the hands and control of Evans. In 1861. Evans went to the war, and before going, sold out to William Jones, who was making it a very successful paper, when a military donkey named Newbold suppressed it be- cause it was a Democratic paper. It had probably had the effrontery to say it loved the Constitution of the United States, or that George Washington was a great and pure patriot, and this masterly idiot, screeching for free speech, suppressed it for treason. The commanding officer of the district re- voked this order of suppression as soon as it
391
HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.
came to his knowledge, yet the proprietors did not receive it, and for six months the office was closed. It was then purchased and revived by Joel G. Morgan, who made quite a successful paper of it. He continued in possession until 1864, when he was offered the position of editor of the Cairo Democrat, and he sold to J. D. Perryman, and removed to Cairo. Morgan was well calculated to run a successful country paper, and was out of his element on a pretentious daily as was then the Cairo Democrat. J. D. Perryman ran it a short time, and finding it unsatisfac- tory in its returns, left the office and returned to Bond County, his home.
During much of the time of the real life of the paper-of its days of ability and useful- ness-it was under the editorial management of Dr. Sidney S. Canden, the strongest and ablest writer the county has yet had. He wrote and published a great deal of matter during twenty years of his life here. His facile pen ran smoothly over the paper, and, when he cared, he could invest his subject in strong and glowing language, but he was negligent about dates, and this often made some of his best contributions almost worth- less. His death, about six years ago, was most sad and terrible. He had been called to see a patient, and on his way returning he was stricken dead by paralysis, and his body was not found until the next day, when it had been mutilated.
The Union County Democrat was started in Jonesboro as a Douglas paper or organ, intended to counteract the baneful influence of the Gazette under Dougherty, which was anti-Douglas. The Democrat was started in the early part of 1858, by a joint-stock com- pany. The principal stockholders were L. P. Wilcox, W. A. Hacker, Mr. Toler, and other leading Democrats. After the election of 1858, the office was moved to Anna. The
editor of the Democrat was A. H. Marschalk.
Union County Record .- This was a six- column paper, weekly. Was started in Anna in July, 1860, by W. H. Mitchell, and was strongly Republican in politics. This was quite a vigorous party paper, and was edited and managed with considerable ability. Mr. Mitchell, when he ceased publishing a paper in Anna, left Illinois, and is now engaged in publishing a paper in Minnesota.
Union County Herald .- This was venture No. 3 in the way of newspaper enterprises in Anna. This was independent in politics, and its proprietor, Mr. Rich, had been paid a bonus of $500 to establish his paper. Mr. Rich soon sold to Dr. J. J. Underwood, and after a short and precarious existence it died. The office was sold and moved to Cairo.
The Anna Union was started in 1874 by A. J. Alden, a Republican organ in politics. Mr. Alden lived in Cairo, and came to Anna, and when his paper was sold to J. J. Penny he returned to Cairo. Mr. Penny published the paper about six months, when it died.
The Advertiser was published by Dough- erty & Galigher, and was established in 1870-a seven-column weekly, Republican paper. After being published about two years, it was taken to Jonesboro, where in a short time it stopped publication, and the office was sold to John H. Barton, and taken to Carterville, in Williamson County, and then in a short time sold to Mr. Peck, and is now used in publishing Peck's Southern Illinoisan.
Farmer and Fruit-Grower .- Mr. H. C. Bouton's agricultural paper was started in 1877 as a modest little experiment, issued semi-monthly A four-column, eight-page paper, devoted exclusively to the agricultural and horticultural interests of Union County and Southern Illinois. Iu the fall of 1877, it was changed into a five-column quarto,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.