History of Grundy County, Illinois, Part 18

Author:
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago, O. L. Baskin
Number of Pages: 506

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houses, and went to the Governor for his approval. This was the eritieal point, as it was understood that Governor French had assured the eanal trustees that he would veto the measure. Mr. Reddick, who had been of considerable service in the pa-sage of a bill championed by a brother of the Governor's wife, at onee proposed to see Mrs. French, who had the reputation of being a good deal of a politician, and no mean power behind the Governor's throne. The bill was already in the hands of the Governor, and a veto was feared in the morning. So, late as it was in the evening, Mr. Reddick proceeded to the gubernato- rial mansion. The Governor's salary was then $1,500 a year, and Mrs. French was her own door-girl. Recognizing her guest, she congratulated him on the passage of his railroad bill. " I am afraid we are not ont of the woods yet," he responded. "Why so?" said Mrs. French, "I read in the Register this morning that your bill had passed both houses and gone to the Gover- nor for his approval." "True," replied Mr. Reddick, " but we are informed that Gov- ernor Freneh will veto it." Springing to her feet, and looking Mr. Reddiek straight in the face, she said, stamping her foot to enforee her words, " But Governor French shall not veto this bill! " The next morn- ing the bill was returned approved.

The provisions of this charter which authorized the construction of a railroad from Roek Island " by way of Ottawa and Joliet to Chicago," and changed the name to " Chieago & Rock Island R. R. Com- pany," were peculiar, and explain its success in the Assembly. It was skillfully drawn to "eateh votes" and served its purpose. It provided: 1. That the road should pay

toll to the canal board upon all freights carried, with the exception of (a) all live stoek; (b) on freight carried after the elose of eanal navigation; (e) on freight earried during the cessation of eanal navigation caused by any casualty or otherwise; (d) on freight received from or destined to a point on said road twenty miles west of the southern termination of the canal. 2. These tolls should eease when the interest and payment of the $1,600,000 should be paid. 3. That the canal trustees should grant the right of way free of cost. 4. If the trustees should refuse their assent to this pro- vision on the first Monday in June after the passage of the aet, the tolls imposed should be remitted, and the company have the right to construet the road untrammeled. It was further required that the road should be built within a year. It is needless to add that the canal board made a virtue of necessity and yielded. The aet was passed February 7, 1851, and the work begun with energy. The ronte was surveyed in the early summer and before the following January the whistle of the locomotive was heard in Grundy County. At the time this charter was granted, there were only abont one hundred miles of railroad in the State, and the " Kingdom of Grundy," as it was jocosely ealled, considered itself on the royal road to prosperity and fame. This road follows the general line of eanal through the county, and has 106,747 feet of main track, 106,747 feet of second main track, and 8,015 feet of side track in the county.

The Chicago & Alton road is the second railroad of the county in importance and in the order of construction. It was built in response to a demand for a closer connee-

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tion between Chicago and St. Louis. It crosses the southeast corner of the county, and affords an outlet for the coal found in that region, which, however, was discovered subsequent to the construction of the road. It was opened in 1854,and has 106,737 feet of main track, 63,641 feet of second main track, and 15,102 feet of side track in the county. In 1874 the Chicago & Illinois Valley Railroad was laid to within a few feet of the Mazon Creek in Braceville Township, and in the following year it was continned through the county by the Chi- cago, Pekin & Southwestern Company. These roads are separate in their organiza- tion and are likely to become the prey of more important roads. The former has 39,230 feet of track, and the latter 76,992 feet. The Kankakee & Seneca Railroad is one of local interest, connecting these two points and crossing the county diagonally through the southwestern part of the eoun- ty, having abont 107,000 feet of track in the county. The Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad appears on the tax dupli- cate as having 26,740 feet of track in Green- field Township, the Wilmington Mining & Manufacturing Company some 6,000 feet of track, used to reach the mines of this company in Braceville Township, and the Milwaukee & St. Paul about a mile of traek for the same purpose. The railroad inter- est of Grundy County, however, centers in the two leading roads.

Closely following the advent of the first railroad in Morris came the pioneer news- paper, the harbinger of democratic civiliza- tion. This was in 1852: arriving in the village on the verge of winter, accompa- nied with an almost helpless wife, and pos- sessing barely enough material to answer

the requirements of his modest office, J. C. Walters began the publication of an anti- slavery paper, the Morris Yeoman. The citizens recognizing the value and impor- tance of having an "organ " contributed such support as they could, and about Oct. 1, 1852. the first number appeared. It was a seven column folio, printed on a sheet 24 by 36 inches in size, and dealt in general topics of news and politics. The "office " was in an adobe hut (an old mud-house is the name by which it is referred to now); the stands and other furniture were home made, and the old " Franklin press," shipped from Ann street, New York, struck off the edition. The editor was unique in appear- ance, surroundings, and in his literary style. He wore long hair and a cadaverous counte- nance emphasized by a pair of very dark eyes; his old fashioned press was surmount- ed, it is said, by an Indian's skull, the eye socket of which served to hold a tallow ean- dle; and his editorials-" philippies " his friends ealled them-were full of such per- sonal attacks as only the untutored taste of that day could admire. In 1854, the paper passed into the hands of Buffington & South- ard and the name changed to the Herald. Subsequently, Mr. Buffington retired and Mr. Sonthard continued its publication un- til March 30, 1864, when he was called away and sold the paper to C. G. Perry, who subsequently took Mr. Turner in partner- ship. On Southard's return after about a year's absence, the proprietors of the IIer- ald, having accomplished some political ends in which they were interested, offered to sell the paper to him again. This was agreed upon, but when the transfer was about to be made, a political consideration was attached to the bargain which defeated

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the sale. Angered at this turn of affairs, some of Mr. Southard's friends insisted on his starting up a new paper, and the Morris Advertiser was started with Southard as editor and proprietor. It did not take long to demonstrate which was the "fit- test," and in accordance with Darwin's formulation ofa natural law, the Herald sold out, and the two consolidated were con- ducted by Mr. Southard under the name of Herald and Advertiser. It had in the meanwhile been enlarged to a nine column folio, and its name simplified to the Herald alone. In October, 1874, the paper was purchased by General P. C. Ilays, an Ohio editor of ability, but a native of an adjoin- ing county, who conducted it alone until July 1, 1876, when Mr. Fletcher was added to the firm. It is now a seven column quarto.

The Morris Gazette was a six column folio printed on a sheet 21 by 29 in size. It was begun by Andrew J. Ashton in July, 1853. It was Democratic in politics, and of a sharply personal character in all its ef- fusions. The projector of the paper had little or no means, and depended upon party friends to establish the paper. The paper did not succeed, but in 1835, the material was sold to the Herald, leaving a deficit to be paid by those who had aided in its es- tablishment. Another paper of the same political faith was established about 1860 by Matt. Parrott, but it was not a success, and failed in a few months. The next pa- per was the Reformer, started in 1872, by " Joe " Simpson. This paper was anti- Republican, principally Democratic, but considerably tinctured with greenbackism. In 1876, this paper passed into the hands of A. R. Barlow, but soon coming back to

Mr. Simpson it was closed out. Again, in March, 1880, Col. Blackmore revived Dem- ocratie journalism in Morris by issuing the Morris Democrat. The paper added a con- siderable vigor to the campaign of that year, but its energies were soon spent and it died before the issue was decided. It seems to be simply a question of demand and supply, and there being no demand, any paper of pronounced Democratic tendencies gluts the market and necessarily fails.

The Independent is a semi-weekly pa- per, independent in matter as well as in name. Its first number was issued March 1, 1878. It was established by Messrs. Perry, Crawford & Kutz, who leased the material of the Edwards' Directory office, Morris. It started as a seven column folio, but was increased one column in March, 1SS1. The business has fallen into the hands of J. A. Kutz, the other members having dropped ont. It is the only semi- weekly paper in the Congressional district.

The other papers of the county are the Gardner Weekly News, Braceville Miner, and The Independent. The first named is a weekly paper published at Gardner, an S-column folio, printed on a sheet about 26 by 40 inches. It was established Sep- tember 29th, 1881, by C. M. King, when the "boom" in coal promised a rapid growth to the village. Mr. King, the editor and proprietor, is a busy, energetic man, and publishes editions of his paper adapted to the locality where issued, for Essex, Reddick and Braceville. The Braceville Miner is one of these editions, and was begun in 1882. It is the same size of The News, but is devoted especially to the interests of the miners, who form the leading part of the paper's patrons. It is

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Republican in sentiment npon all political matters, but aims more particularly at fur- nishing the families of this part of the county with the connty news. The office of these publications at Gardner is well equipped with material and presses. The Independent, a 6-column folio, printed on a sheet about 22 by 32 inches, is published at Gardner by J. H. Warner. It was es- tablished about 1880, as an edition of the paper at Braidwood, in the adjoining conn- ty. It aims at local news, and serves its purpose with success.

But deeper than all these elements, more important than markets, or railroads, or newspapers, the foundation of social prog- ress, is the church and school. Whatever success the individual laeking these influ- ences, may achieve, a community can never prosper without them, and much that Grundy County may be proud of is due to these benign forces. The early settlements were considerably scattered, and it was for years a difficult matter to get more than two families together for religious services. The pioneer preachers were men of slender education and homely address, but were wonderfully effective in their self-denying earnestness. They visited from cabin to cabin, exhorting, counseling, reproving, as the occasion might demand; they became in every house a welcome guest, and many a weary heart and feeble hand was stayed by these simple hearted servants of the cross. Among the earliest names familiar to this vicinity were those of Adam and Aaron Payne, Stephen Beggs, William Royal and Isaac Scarrett. These were all of the Meth- odist church which established an early mission at the month of Fox River, in La Salle County. It was from this point that

the Rev. Searrett was brought to solemnize the first wedding within the present bound- aries of Grundy County-that of James Galloway to Martha Matilda Stype, at the house of Mr. Isane Hoge. The introduc- tion of a considerable Irish element here brought with it the Catholic church and its earliest representative, Father Duponta- ris, who was a worthy man and proved him- self an efficient shepherd of a wayward flock. Ile was at any time ready to administer "extreme nnetion" or quell a riot, and did either with equal skill. The Mormons were also represented by their itinerants, but the people of Grundy did not seem to take kindly to their peculiar doctrines and gave them little encouragement. In the mcantime, while the country part of the county was being molded and modified by these influences, the principal vil- lage was rapidly gaining an unenviable notoriety for its boisterous incivility and it required no little moral and physical eour- age for the first ministers to attempt to hold services in the old Court House. Ser- eral ministers were broken down by the rude participation of the audience in the proceedings of the meeting and left in dis- gust. The Rev. James Longhead, who founded the first Protestant church in the county, was attracted to Morris, principal- ly by a missionary spirit. On his first en- trance into town his vehicle was assailed by a huge foot-ball kicked into it by a boister- ous erowd of men and boys who occupied the main street for their game, while ruder oaths from every side assailed his ears. It was the ronghest town he had met on his travels from the East, and most in need of gospel influence. Thirty-five years of such influence have wronght great changes; "this

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was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes."

Hand in hand with the church is found the school. The early library was made up of the Bible, Pilgrim's Progress, the Columbian Orator and Webster's Speller. Out of these the members of the family too young for service in or out of doors drew mild draughts of mental exhilaration. Reading eame by the devotion of odd mo- ments from the mother's otherwise erowd- ed life, and once in possession of this magic

power, the trials and triumphs of Christian with the eloquence of the "Orator" proved both entertainment and instruction. There were very few private schools in the county before the establishment in this county of the " District Schools," about 1831. Since then there has been a rapid development of school facilities and Grundy County with the rest of the State may pride itself on the possession of educational advantages second to nonc.

CHAPTER V .*

GRUNDY COUNTY'S SHARE IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION-THE LOYALTY OF HER MEN-THE DEVOTION OF HER WOMEN-THE REPRESENTATIVES IN THE FIELD.

T THE war ! What memories, at that magie word, erowd the mind !

" Of most disastrous chances,

Of moving accidents by flood and field;

Of hair-breadth 'scapes i'the imminent deadly breach ; Of being taken by the insolent foe!"

of woman's devotion, and of all the nation's sacrifice during those woeful years ! And yet, how our faney fails. Time's kindly touch has dulled the anguish of those days ; fame's "ineffectual fire" is but a misty halo in the intervening shadows, and children read with proud surprise of gallant deeds on unfamiliar fields.

The Senatorial campaign of 1858, with the succeeding Presidential contest in 1860, in which the great citizen of Illinois had been the prominent figure, served to fix the undivided attention of this county, with the rest of the State, upon the political storm which seemed to be gathering with portentions mutterings over the southern portions of the country. It is doubtful whether hope or fear predominated in the minds of the people as the day approached when Lincoln was to be inaugurated, and the universal hope and expectation was that in his grasp the serpent of secession would be strangled, as Jackson had done before in the ease of the "nullifiers." It wasin this state of vacillation between hope and fear,

that the reverberations of Fort Sumpter's guns assailed the ears of the eager North. It was this explosion, eelioing round the world, that united the various elements and made men Union or non-Union. Nieeties of political distinctions were lost sight of at onee, and to the eredit of Grundy County be it said, there was but one party liere, and that for the support of the Union. Fort Sumpter capitulated on Saturday, April 13, 1861, and on the 15th, the Secretary of War telegraphed to the Governor of Illinois, the apportionment of that State nuder the Pres- ident's eall for 75.000 men to put down the insurrection at Charleston. The call was made under the authority granted to the President of the United States to call out the militia when the laws of the general government were opposed and the execution thereof obstrueted, and required the Gov- ernor of Illinois to " detach from the mili- tia" 225 officers and 4,458 men. The mili- tia thus ealled npon had no aetnal existenee in this State. IIere and there through the State were half-filled companies of holiday troops, bnt even these in a majority of eases had no efficient organization or equipment. On the 15th, the Legislature was called to eonvene on the 23d inst., and an order issued from the Adjutant General's office to the various militia officers to hold them- selves in readiness for actual service. On the following day an order was issued for

* By J. H Battle.

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the immediate organization of the six regi- ments called for by the general government. The response from every part of the State was prompt and unanimous, and in ten days over ten thousand men tendered their · services to the government for the defense of the Union. In the meanwhile suel companies as had an organization and par- tial equipment were hurried forward, un- der General Swift, to Cairo. This force amounted to 90S officers and men, includ- ing among others the Ottawa Light Artil- lery from this section of the State. Of the ten thousand men that gathered at Spring- field in response to the Governor's eall, the majority were in company organization, elothed and equipped by the communities which sent them forth. Of these Grundy County sent out the "Grundy Tigers," with W. T. Hopkins; Capt. ; Sam'l Elton, 1st Lieut. ; G. S. Doane, 2d Lieut., and Capt. Hulburd's Company which was mustered in June as Company E. of the Twenty- Third Regiment of Infantry.

The response from this county to the governor's eall, was prompt and enthusias- tie. On the 20th inst., the Board of Su- pervisors voted $5,000 for the equipment of volunteers and the aid of their families, while ladies very soon after organized a "Soldier's Aid Society " which enlisted for the war. The record of the disbursement of the fund thus provided by the Supervis- ors, is quite amusing in the light of sub- sequent events. The people here, as everywhere else, were impressed that the war would be over in sixty days, and that the business in hand was little more than a squirrel hunt in which there might be accidents, or at worst not more serions than putting down a mob. With this view the

country and town was scoured for guns, the men were provided with boots, and the ladies prepared such additions to a soldier's bill of fare, as would make his temporary absence from home less irksome. But the war did not end in sixty days, and the first draft came and found the people of Grundy County relying on their first effort. This was a rude awakening, and from that time to the end of the war, the county was alive to the exigencies of the occasion. In August, 1862, a bounty of $60 was offered, of which one hundred and seventy-six men availed themselves. On December 30, 1863, the Board offered to pay $110.00 ($100 with interest at ten per cent. in bonds payable in one year) to all soldiers " who now, have been, or hereafter may be regularly mustered into the service of the United States, as Grundy County volunteers." Under this resolution eighty- five men were paid as new volunteers, and in 1881, under this resolution, $2,750 addi- tional was paid on old claims. In May, 1864, under the call for "one hundred days " men a bounty of twenty-five dollars was offered and paid to sixty-four volun- teers. The war had by this time be- come a very serious business, and while there was no lack of loyal regard for the cause of the Union, the burden began seri- ously to be felt, and there was less alacrity manifested in volunteering. Those who had lighter claims upon them at home, had either felt some of the severities of soldier life, or were disposed to take their chance of be- ing drafted, while those whose families and business seemed to demand their staying at home were anxious to avoid the necessities of a draft. There was in addition to all this, an unselfish desire to avoid the draft as a reflec-

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tion upon the county's loyalty to the cause, and in September, 1864, the Board of Su- pervisors impelled by these various motives, offered a bounty of $300 to each volunteer under the call of July of that year. Under this action of the Board one hundred and ninety-five persons were paid this bounty at a gross expense of something more than $64,000. The revised enrollment of per- sons in the county subject to military duty, inade January, 1865, placed the number at 1,622. The total quota under the various calls during the war was 1,364 men, of which 1,343 were credited to the county. This would leave a deficit in the number of men required of the county, but in such a vast undertaking, with the necessary official machinery to originate and put in motion, it was impossible to avoid all errors; and while Grundy County appears to have fallen short of her quota by the official records, it is susceptible of proof that she furnished many more than her quota, which were unfortunately credited elsewhere .*

In the matter of bounties it is equally difficult to get an accurate statement of all the county expended in putting troops into the field. The records show, however, that the county authorities expended $112,- 175, and the various townships, in their separate capacity, over $27,000, to which should be added private subscriptions and subsequent payments by the county, which

would bring the total up to the amount of $145,000.

The Soldiers' Aid Society of Morris was auxiliary to the society in Chicago over which Mesdames Hoge and Livermore pre- sided with such efficiency. Every expedient which would bring an honest dollar into the treasury was successfully tried, and the fund thus accumulated was religiously ex- pended here, or sent to the society at Chi- cago for the benefit of the boys in the field. It would be a tedions recital to recall the various expedients resorted to by the ladies to extort the last dollar in aid of their en- terprise. The regular plan was to collect gifts of money, under-clothing, etc., make up a box and send it to some company or hospital. To vary the monotony of this plan, and to approach the public on a more susceptible side, balls were given and fairs held. One of the most important of these iras the "Sanitary Fair," held on the grounds, and in connection with the Agri- cultural Society of this connty. In a spacious dining hall, one hundred feet long, dinner was served to large crowds on each day of the fair. The supplies were contributed by the various townships in- terested in the Agricultural Fair, and the proceeds, beside a large number of the entries, were contributed to the purposes of the society. Canned fruits, vegetables and pickles, were among the donations from the farmers' wives-one lot of twelve half-barrels of pickles coming from the ladies of Minooka. Others gave hay, coal and cattle, which were sold, free of charge, on the grounds, and we may believe the bidding was not less spirited because it was known the proceeds were to be devoted to the army hospitals. But this dry recital does

*In October, 1862, a list of volunteers furnished by the ditl'erent townships of the county was as follows: Erienna, 13; Au Sable, 76; Braceville. 53; Felix, 20; Goodfarm, 52; Greenfield, 51; Highland, 68; Mazon, 91; Morris, 1; Nettle Creek, 63; Norman, 24; Sara- toga, 68; Vienna, 38; Wauponsee, 52; City of Mor- ris-1st ward, 38; 2d ward, 43; 3d ward, 78; 4th ward, 17; a total of 835.

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woman's work during the period of the war scant justice. The value of her moral sup- port and eonrageous self-saeritiee can never be adequately estimated, nor its apprecia- tion plaeed too high.

" The wife who girds her husband's sword, 'Mid little ones who weep or wonder, And bravely speaks the cheering word, What though her heart be rent asunder, Doomed nightly in her dreams to hear The bolts of death aroun I him rattle, Hath shed as sacred blood as e'er Was poured upon the field of battle."

The law provided that in token of re- speet to the Illinois regiments in the Mex- iean war, the six regiments organized under the first call of the President should begin their designating number at seven, and that these regiments when organized should constitute the "First Brigade Illinois Vol- unteers." The Eleventh, therefore, was the fifth regiment organized, of which the Grundy Tigers constituted Company F. This regiment was mustered in at Spring- field, April 30, 1861, and on May 5th was ordered to Villa Ridge, in this State, in the vieinity of Cairo, In the following month the regiment was ordered to Bird Point on the other side of the river, where the regiment served out its terin of enlist- ment in garrison and field duty. While not seeing any active service during this time the regiment, with others assembled at this point, did excellent dnty in warding off the danger which the overwhelming forees of the rebels on the river below threatened, and at the same time gained that discipline which made them sneh efficient soldiers dur- ing the war. On July 30th, its term of en- listment having expired, the regiment was mnstered ont of service, and having re-en- listed for three years, it was on the follow-

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History of Grundy County, Illinois, Part 18

Author: Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago, O. L. Baskin Number of Pages: 506

Author:
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago, O. L. Baskin
Number of Pages: 506