History of Chicago. From the earliest period to the present time, Part 39

Author: Andreas, Alfred Theodore
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 1340

USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > History of Chicago. From the earliest period to the present time > Part 39

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By the close of 1835 the town had grown to such proportions, nearly all built of combustible material, that more elaborate provisions were deemed necessary. On November 4, 1835, the Fire Department was re-or- ganized under a most formidable ordinance. Like a most celebrated and historic confession of religious faith, it contains thirty-nine articles. In October, 1835, a hook and ladder company was formed, and the city equipped it with four ladders, four axes, and four saws. December 1, 1835, the first fire engine was purchased of Hubbard & Co. for $894.38, and the fire company, known as Engine Company No. 1, was organized.

CEMETERIES .- No stated place for the burial of the dead was located until 1835. In early times each inter- ment was made on or near the residence of the friends of the deceased. Later, the settlements about the forks had a common acre on the west side of the North Branch, where the dead were buried. The dead from the fort were buried generally on the north side of the main river east of Kinzie's old house, near the lake shore. There John Kinzie was buried in 1828 .* The soldiers who died of cholera in 1832 were interred near the northwest corner of Lake Street and Wabash Avenue. Early interments were made all along the borders of the two branches, wherever settlements had been made and deaths had occurred. In later days the forgotten ggraves were often opened in excavating, which has led to much speculation as to whom the disinterred remains belonged. As late as March 12, 1849, the Daily Demo-

. His wemans were taken to the North Sule Letuetery in 18; and agam. in 1842, to Lincoln l'ark Cemetery, where they now rest.

142

HISTORY OF EARLY CHICAGO.

crat records the fact that during the spring freshet, "two coffins were seen floating down the river. sup- posed to have been from some small burying-ground on the North Branch in the Wabansia addition." August 15, 1835. the town surveyor was ordered to lay out two tracts suitable for cemetery purposes; sixteen acres on the South Side and ten acres north of the river. These two lots, the first established cemeteries in Chicago, were located as early as August 26; on the North Side, near Chicago Avenue, east of Clark Street; on the South Side near the lake shore and what is now Twenty-third Street. These lots were fenced in September, and burials forbidden elsewhere within the town limits.

TOWN CREDIT .- The Town Trustees, in the adminis- tration of affairs were as a rule economical, even to the verge of parsimony. They did not repair either bridges or streets unless the Collector and Treasurer showed sufficient funds on hand. They voted to bor- row sixty dollars-the first authorized loan on the faith of Chicago-October 2, 1834. The records do not show whether or not the money was borrowed. In 1836 there were general complaints in the newspapers as to the horrid condition of the streets, sidewalks, and bridges, and a move, endorsed by large and strong petitions from the citizens, was made for more bridges. One was specially wanted across the South Branch on Ran- dolph Street, and a reward of twenty-five dollars was offered for the best plan for a draw-bridge at that point -the length of the draw to be forty feet. To John Brown, on February 10, 1836, was awarded the prize. February 13, "all the bridges were declared to be in an .unsafe condition, and no funds on hand." In fact the town had outgrown its fiscal facilities. It had, dur- ing the past year, besides ordinary expenses, incurred some extraordinary liabilities. It had built an engine house costing $200, paid $29,63 for an outfit for a hose company, and agreed to pay in two yearly installments, for a fire-engine, $894.38. It was evident that if further improvements were to be made to keep pace with the rapid strides of the town in population, that the day for trying the credit of the corporation had arrived. July 28, 1836, the Trustees resolved " that it is necessary and expedient for this board to effect a loan not exceeding $50,coo, to be expended in public improvements," and the president was instructed to apply to the State bank 'Chicago branch) then the only bank in the town, for a loan of $25,000 redeemable in two years. August 5, notice was received from the bank refusing the applica- tion. Whether the refusal showed most the poor credit of the town or the weak condition of the bank is a ques- tion. William B. Ogden was thereupon made fiscal agent for the town, to negotiate the loan, which he suc- ceeded in doing; and credit being established the im- provements began. That the town hegan to spend the money without any unnecessary delay appears from the records one week later, August 13, at which time Mr. Ogden was ordered to purchase two more fire-engines, and a new street was projected, from the town to the fort.

GROWTH OF THE TOWN .- The town, although in its last days it came to grief from the collapse of the speculative bubble, had a most marvelous growth, which was not entirely attributable to speculation. Its popu- lation increased in a ratio from year to year never known before in any country. In 1833 there were, perhaps, 200 bona fide inhabitants ; in the spring and early summer of 1834 it had come to he a village of Soo, and, during the fall its population was estimated at from 1.600 to 2,000. In 1835 a school census showed a population of 3,279 ; and in 1836 varied from 3,500 to

4,000. July 1, 1837, the first census was taken after its organization under its city charter, and was as follows :

WARDS.

Under § years of age.

Over 5. under 21 years.

21 and over.

Persons of Color.

Male.

Fem.

Male.

Fem.

Male.

Fem.

Male.

Fem.

First

109

135

444

218

Second

120

ILS

630

262

Third

Fourth

IOI

Fifth

135

Sixth

IOI

120

207

Totals.

513

S31

2645

Males and females, 21 and over . . 2,645

Males and females over 5 and under 21 years. 831

Males and females under 5 years of age. 513

Total white.

3,989

Total black.

Total .

4,066

Sailors belonging to vessels owned here. 104

Grand total. 4, 170

There were within the city limits at that time ; 4 warehouses, 398 dwellings, 29 dry-goods stores, 5 hardware stores, 3 drug stores, 19 grocery and provision stores, 10 taverns, 26 groceries, 17 law- yers' officers, and 5 churches.

In material growth the town had made no less re- markable progress. It is shown in the following ex- cerpts from the American. On August 15, 1835, that paper said :

" There are now upward of fifty business houses, four large forwarding-houses, eight taverns, two printing offices, two book- stores, one steam saw-mill, one brewery, one furnace (just going up), and twenty-five mechanics' shops of all kinds."

Under the head of " Improvements in 1836," Decem- ber 10, is the following :

" Most prominent are Steele's block of four-story brick stores on Lake Street ; Harmon and Loomis' block of four-story brick stores on Water Street ; the Episcopal Church of brick, which. when finished, will vie with many of the best East: some ten to twenty twn to four-story brick stores in various parts of the town; about twenty large two to three-story wooden buildings; a steam flouring mill ; and from one hundred to one hundred and fifty dwellings."

And on November 19, 1836 :

"Chicagn has 100 merchants, its many mechanics, its well employed laborers, its 30 lawyers, its 20 physicians ; its stately blocks constantly rising to view, and yet, a great scarcity of money."

October 3, 1835, in reply to an inquiry as to the time for getting goods from the Atlantic cities to Chi- cago, the American replied, "from twenty to thirty days.'

As appears from the American December 31. 1836, Chicago had become a distributing point for the whole settled country. An advertisement of unclaimed pack- ages at Hubbard & Co.'s express office, showed the fol- lowing destinations : Joliet ; Elkhart, Ind .; Goshen : Mishawaka; Independence, Iowa; Terra Haute, Ind .: Galena; Clinton, Iowa; Michigan City; Danville, Mil- waukee. Constantine, Otsego, Portage, Warsaw, Three Rivers, Schoolcraft, Wisconsin Territory ; Frankfort. Iowa.

July 9, 1836, the American said :

"A store on Lake Street, which sold for SS.(o, rents for $1,000. Many goods are sold to interior merchants at whokrak at good profit. The average cost of transportation from the Last is $1. 50 per 100 pounds. The time on the way is generally about

- -

2.44

269

381

450 ISOO

845 1800

244

3SI

143

CHICAGO IN 1833-37.

one month. But the brig 'Indiana' recently arrived, bringing goods from New York in 1712 days. Store stands are generally in good demand. Sales are generally made for casb."

On December 31, 1836 :

" The merchandise sold last year in Chicago would amount to $1,000,000, and the trade is constantly increasing. The goods are bought principally in New York, and are shipped to this point via Hudson River, Erie Canal, and the lakes."

The prices current November 19, 1836, were given as follows :

" Flour, $12 per bbl .; pork, $25 to $2S per bbl. and scarce; hogs, 10 to 1212; butter, good eastern, 38 to 50, very scarce; beef, fresh, sold by butchers, 8 cents per pound; corn meal, none in market : potatoes, 50 to 75 cents per bu."

The result of the first Presidential election, at which the residents of modern Chicago voted, November, 1836, showed 354 votes thrown for Harrison and Granger (Whig), and 348 votes for Van Buren and Johnson (Democrat`-a total vote of 702. This, according to the modern accepted ratio of voters to population-one to five-would give a resident population at that time of 3,510.

The strait cut was made so far that vessels could enter the river in 1834. The establishment of Chicago as a port of importance dates from then. The Ameri- can, December 10, 1836, said :

"The first arrival this season was on the 18th of April. From then to December I the arrivals comprised 49 steamers, 10 ships, 26 brigs, 363 schooners, and § sloops. The SS ships, steamers, etc., will average 250 toos : the 353 schooners, 100 tons cach. In 1835 there were 250 arrivals-tonnage, 22.500 ; in 1833, four arri- vals-tonnage, 700."

The canal project, which had been a project only for many years, was now an apparent certainty. Favor- able legislation, both State and National, had placed the enterprise on a footing which warranted its ultimate success. The building of the canal had been actually begun. July 4, 1836, had witnessed the first breaking of ground at the Chicago terminus, and despite the shadow of hard times, the work was going on. The State was inaugurating a system of internal improve- ments which it was hoped would avert any serious calamity, and a strong faith was prevalent in the town that all would be well.

The city of Chicago superseded the town organiza- tion under a charter granted by the State Legislature, March 4, 1837, under which the citizens organized, by the election of city officials on the first Tuesday of the following May, which was the birthday of the most wonderful city that has ever appeared upon the earth.

The new city was built mostly along the south side of the main river. Lake Street was well built up from State Street to Franklin. The streets running north and south from the river were well sprinkled with build- ings. A court-house, a jail, and an engine-house adorned the present square. There were seven hotels and seven churches. No church had a steeple, and, as one approached the city either from the lake, or south, out of the oak woods, no structure rose above the height of the chimneys of the town. The city lay low down on the marshy ground, many feet below the present grade, and was, altogether, to the sight of the new-comer, a most unsightly place to live, or even die in. One good bridge over the main river at Dearborn Street and a dangerous and dilapidated log structure over the South , Branch, were the only means of escape to the open coun- try on the north and west. The speculation which had been rampant for the past three years was gone. but a grim determination showed in the lineaments of each true Chicagoan's face, which meant that although fort- unes had fled Chicago was still left.

RICHARD JONES HAMILTON, the first Circuit Court Clerk of Cook . County, was born near. Danville, Mercer Co., Ky., August 21, 1799. His parents were James L. and Sarah Jones Hamilton. James 1 .. Hamilton was born in England, but his parents cmigrated when he was only a year old, and settled on the Savannah River. on the South Carolina side. At the age of twenty he went north- ward into Kentucky and, having married Miss Sarah Jones, settled near Danville. In 1803 he removed to Shelby County. where Richard J. spent his childhood and youth and received his early education, chiefly at the Shelbyville Academy, then in charge of in- structors of some eminence, among others the Kev Mr. Gray, and the Rev. Mr. Cameron. At the age of seventeen young Hamilton was placed as clerk in a store at Shelbyville, and afterward in a similar position at Jefferson, devoting some fifteen months to these pursuits, which seem not to have possessed much attraction for him. In 1818, he went to Louisville, where he studied law until IS20, when he removed to Jonesboro. Union Co., Ill .. in company with his friend Atner Field. They owned a horse jointly, made the journey in alternate stages of riding and walking, and sold the ani- mal which constituted their sole property. on their arrival. Here Hamilton taught school for some time, while continuing his law studies at intervals under the guidance of Charles Dunn, who was admitted to the Bar August 31, 1820, afterwards achieved distinc- tion in the State, and still later became Chief Justice of Wisconsin Territory. The Second General Assembly of Illinois, at its session of IS20-21. established the old State Bank. At the first meeting of directors at Vandalia, a branch at Brownsville, Jackson County. was authorized, and Mr. Hamilton was appointed its cashier. In 1822, he was married to Miss Diana W. Buckner, of Jefferson County, Ky., but then residing near Jackson, Cape Girardeau Co., Mo. She was a daughter of Colonel Nicholas Buckner. of the historic Kentucky family of that name. Mr. Hamilton was confirmed as Justice of the Peace for Jackson County by the Gen- eral Assembly January 14. 1826 ; and was admitted to the Bar March 31, 1'27. In 1829 he is on record as one of the itinerant lawyers who rode the circuit of the southern counties, deriving :L meager and precarious subsistence from the few and scattered clients who fell to his share in those early days of Illinois, when the cases were rare and fees were small. The Brownsville branch bank choused its career about this time. Mr. Hamilton retaining 10 the last, as far as known, his position as cashier, the duties (.f

144

HISTORY OF EARLY CHICAGO.

which, especially in those later years, were neither exhaustive nor remunerative. He now turned his eyes toward northern Illinois, and was elected by the General Assembly as the first Probate Judge of the new county of Cook, January 29, IS31. His friend Judge Young, of the Fifth Judicial District, appointed him Clerk of Cook County Circuit Court, and Governor Reynolds, who was also speci- ally interested in his welfare, commissioned him as notary public and Recorder. He arrived in. Chicago early in March, being present at the organization of the county on the 8th ; and removed his family from Brownsville in August. He had at this time two chil- dren, Richard N. and Sarah A. Ife was appointed commissioner of school lands in Cook County, in October ; and the school fund remained in his charge until IS40. As an illustration of the back- ward condition of Chicago at the period of his arrival he used to refer to the limited mail facilities, saying that special care was used in reading the older papers first, that they might be properly ad-

MRS. ELLEN (HAMILTON) KEENON.

vised of events in the great world in the order of their occurrence. Hle resided with his family in Fort Dearborn for some time after their arrival, and there his second daughter, Ellen,* was born, in the spring of 1832. In that year he became Clerk of the County Commissioners Court, which office he held until 1837. Besides discharging the duties of his several offices, which, it is easy to see were more numerous than remunerative, he took an active part in temperance work, and in 1532 co-operated energetically with Colonel Owen, the Indian Agent, and other influential men, in keeping the Indians of this section from joining the hostile bands in the disturbances of that year. Ile was the first of thirty-seven volunteers who on May 2, 1832, " promised obedience to Captain Gholson Kercheval and Lieutenants George W. Dole and John S. Hogan, as commanders of the militia of Chicago, until all appre- hension of danger from the Indians may have subsided." Later in the month, with Captain Jesse B. Brown and Joseph Naper and twenty-five mounted men, he scoured the Fox River country to carry succor and encouragement to the scattered! settlements. Un- fortunately they did not arrive at Indian Creek until the 22d, the day after the massacre, where they found thirteen dead bodies of the families of Davis, Hall, and Pettigrew, terribly mangled. The company escorted some of the flying refugees to Chicago, where a much larger number had sought refuge as early as the roth.

Colonel * Hamilton was one of the commissaries to supply them with food and shelter ; and was indefatigable in his efforts in their behalf.+ He moved his family into the old agency, house about this time, the fort becoming crowded with refugees, and being occupied after July by the troops newly arrived for the Black Hawk War. In the spring of 1833, in conjunction with Colonel Owen, he employed John Watkins to teach a small school, near the old In- dian agency-house, where he still resided, but which he soon aban- doned for his own house, erected on what is now Michigan Street, between Cass and Rush streets, where he lived for nineteen years. He was one of the voters for the incorporation of Chicago August 5, and for its first board of trustees five days later. He was a sub- scribing witness to the Indian treaty of September 26, and his claim of $500 was allowed .; In October as commissioner of school lands, in compliance with a petition which had " received ninety-five signatures, embracing most of the principal citizens of the town," he authorized the sale of the Chicago school section. In virtue of bis office of Probate Judge he married John Bates, Jr., to Miss Harriet E. Brown, of Springfield, Mass., November 13. He was one of the original subscribers to the first Chicago newspaper, which appeared November 26. In December he advertised $10,000 to loan, which was probably part of the net cash proceeds of the sale of school lands, two months before. In 1834 he was president of the board of school trustees, and labored with his usual energy in the interest of the early schools of Chicago. In conjunction with Hiram l'earsons he laid out 420 acres at Canalport, adjoining what is now Bridgeport, which, judging from the first prelimi- Dary survey, they supposed would be the actual terminus of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, but which the final survey passed by, and left comparatively worthless. In this year, too he lost his wife, soon after the birth of her fourth child, wbo was named Diana B., in memory of her. Mrs. Hamil- ton was highly esteemed as an intelligent and zealous Christian lady, wbose active interest was of recognized service to the Method- ist Church of which she was a member, in its early struggles in Chicago. At this period he became largely interested in outside lands, also being probably the most extensive owner in the county and the whole Northwest. These were often purchased on joint account with non-residents, and perhaps at times with no larger · interest on his part than a commission, for the transaction of the business, but usually made and recorded in his name for greater convenience in transfer and negotiation. He was married. March 25, 1835, to Miss Harriette L. Hubbard, sister of Henry G. Hub- bard, of Chicago. Soon after, he became a candidate for election as Recorder, and published the following card in answer to certain cavilings about his many offices: ".In IS31 I received the appoint- ment of Clerk of Circuit Court, Judge of I'robate and notary public. I then moved to Chicago, and found that no one wanted these offices. Soon after the gentleman holding the position of Clerk of the County Commissioners Court resigned, and I was ap- pointed. The office of school commissioner was then held by Colonel T. J. V. Owen, who resigned. Up to September, 1834, that office has yielded me in all about $200 ; notary fees have not exceeded $50 ; probate fees have not amounted to more than $50. I have not realized from all offices, including that of Recorder, during four years more than $1, 500. The whole number of instru- ments recorded, including a large number of Receiver's certificates for lands purchased at late sales, have h en to July 1, 1835, about 1, 300, at about seventy cents each." He was elected Recorder by 602 votes at the August election, and removed his office toward the end of October to the new building recently erected by the county on the public square. In December he became a director in the Chicago branch of the new State bank. The offices he held at this time were, Judge of Probate, Clerk of Circuit Court, Clerk of Commissioners Court, Recorder of Deeds, notary public, school commissioner, and hank commissioner. He continued to discharge the various duties of these offices, with the help of deputies and clerks in the more exacting ones, as the volume of business in each required. A> Clerk of the Circuit Court, his first deputy was Henry Moore in 1834, succeeded by J. Young Scammon in 1835. Solomon Will, who had married the sister of his first wife, became his deputy in 1$36, and was succeeded by George Manierre in 1837, who gave way to Thomas Hoyne in 1939. All these were lawyers, and nearly all young men, who served as his assistants until the professional business of each successively required his entire attention. Mr. Hamilton was elected a member of the new board of school inspectors for the , city of Chicago May 12, 1837, in recognition of his services and interest in the early schools, and of his position as school commi -- sioner. l'inched by the financial pressure of 1837, he weathered the storm without hecoming bankrupt or failing to meet his pecuni-

* l'his daughter, now Mrs. E. H. Krenon, still a resident of the city. is stated to be the first child of purely American parents born in Chicago, she's certainly the oldest person living, born in the city.

. He had been identihed with the militia of the state for sine years, and his title of Colonel seeins to have been one of rmartesv. doc in that fact.

+ Begge's " West and Northwest," p Ds.

: The d'auns allowed againsi, and' pand in behalt of, the Indians agere- gated $:7 .....

145

CHICAGO IN 1833-37.

ary obligations. lle lost an infant daughter, named Pauline, August 21, 1839, having lost another of the same name about two years before. Besides these, his only child by the second Mrs. Hamilton was Henry E., who is now (1883) familiarly known as Colonel Hamilton, as it were, by right of inheritance. In 1840 he was nominated Alderman of the Sixth Ward by the Democrats, and elected; and was chosen delegate to the State Democratic conveo- tion at Springfield the same year. Ile appears frequently in the contemporary notices of the Press as an active member in the pub- lic meetings of the period, on all questions of social, political, edu- cational and religious interest: and was frequently chosen on committees of all sorts for the furtberance of public business, being apparently one of that worthy class of men who suffer themselves to be overburdened rather than shirk the responsibilities of active citizenship. He was prominent in the meeting held in memory of President Harrison in 1841, and was no less active in the reception given the same year to Governor Carlin in Chicago. Meanwhile the time had arrived for relinquishing some of his offices, the in- creased duties of which had now made them too unwieldy even for superintendence by one individual. In IS35 he had ceased to be Judge of Probate; in 1837 Clerk of Commissioners Court, and in 1839 Recorder of Deeds. In 1840 William HI. Brown was elected School Agent, an office which entitled him to the care of the school funds of Chicago, which therefore passed out of the charge of Mr. Hamilton with the close of that year. He still retained his position as commissioner of school lands for the county, for he is found to have advertised Section 16, Township 41, for sale August 9, IS41,as such. On the re-organization of the judicial system in 1841 Cook fell within the circuit of Associate Justice Theophilus W. Smith, who appointed his son-in-law, Henry G. IFubbard, to re- place Hamilton, who resumed the practice of law, his clerkship terminating March 12, 1841. February 7, 1842, he lost his second wife, who left but one surviving child, Henry E., already men- tioned; and in 1843 he married MIrs. Priscilla P. Tuley, of Louis- ville, Ky., the mother of the present Judge Tuley of Chicago. He formed a law partnership with J. S. Chamberlaide, which was dis- solved in IS45. In 1846 his firm was Hamilton & Moore, Francis C. Moore being the junior member. In 1847 Mr. Hamilton was again alone and so remained until he retired from practice in IS50. In 1849 he was elected Alderman of the Ninth Ward, upon the re- signation of Samuel Mckay, and in 1850 and IS5t as his own suc- cessor. He was Presidential Elector on the Democratic ticket in 1852, and removed the same year to a new residence he had erected on the West Side, "on Madison, west of Bull's Ilead," afterward the southwest corner of Hoyne. Ile devoted the remaining years of his life largely to beautifying this place, which was then regarded as a suburban home. In 1856 he was candidate for Lieutenant- Governor on the Democratic ticket, which was defeated by the new Republican party. Towards the close of 1860, he became a mem- ber of the South Presbyterian Church, the denomination with which he had most intercourse in early life, and to which his wife be- longed. He died of paralysis, December 26, 1860, in his sixty- second year, leaving a widow and five children, all settled in life. He was buried with Masonic honors on the 28th, having been long connected with the order, and high in its counsels and honnrs. He was an officer in the first grand lodge of Illinois. At a memorial meeting of the Bar held on the 28th Judge Morris said: "There is scarcely a lawyer here now but owes much in his early life to Colonel Hamilton. He took every young practitioner who came here by the hand, and helped him to business and practice." Judge Wilson said: " Mr. Ilamilton was a gentleman remarkable in many particulars; of very high notions as a gentleman, and of unusual sympathies." Judge Manierre reported a series of resolutions, from which the following sentiments are extracted: " Ilis death has removed one of our most distinguished citizens and pioneers, and the oldest member of the legal fraternity; we take pleasure in bear- ing testimony to the high character of the deceased as a man and a citizen. Ilis life was a career of active usefulness. He was fore- most in all public enterprises for the advancement and prosperity of the community. We remember with pleasure the social and

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History of Chicago. From the earliest period to the present time, Part 39

Author: Andreas, Alfred Theodore Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas Number of Pages: 1340

Author: Andreas, Alfred Theodore
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 1340