History of Madison County, Illinois With biographical sketches, Part 86

Author: Brink, W.R. & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Edwardsville, Ill. : W. R. Brink & co.
Number of Pages: 698

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third is the frame house on Main Street in which Mrs. Sido now lives. Paris Mason occupied this house as a residence in 1818. Palemon H. Winchester, once lived in it.

EARLY MAILS.

The residents of Edwardsville, sixty years ago, were content to receive their letters once a week. In 1823 the mails all arrived and departed during the latter part of the week. The eastern mail arrived every Friday morning at nine o'clock, and fifteen minutes afterward de- parted for St. Louis. Returning from St. Louis it reached the town at ten o'clock Saturday morning and proceeded east with little delay. The western mail arrived Friday afternoon at five o'clock, and departed the next morning at half-past six. A mail from the south arrived Saturday noon. One left for Carrollton every other Saturday, and returned the following Tuesday.

In 1824, a weekly mail for the southern part of the state left Edwardsville, meeting at Belleville the mail from St. Louis to Shawneetown. In September, 1824, the time of the departure of this mail was changed from Thursday to Saturday evening, of which the editor of the Spectator com- plains as the new arrangement deprived him of his facilities for supplying his sub cribers in the southern part of the state with their papers. In 1824, the mail between St. Louis and Vandalia, known as the great Eastern mail, by which the main bulk of matter for the post office reached Ed- wardsville, passed through the town, going east, on Thursdays and westward on Saturdays. About this period general complaints were made about the irregularities of the mails. Sometimes newspapers were months in reaching their desti- nation. The mail bags were frequently surcharged with numerous public documents and blanks of various descrip- tions, which it was the practice of the goverment departments to forward in this manner to public offices in the West. The Spectator observes that great and important improve. ments in the mad establishment are contemplated, the pro- position having been made to convey the mail by stages three times a week cach way instead of making one trip on horseback.

On the first of April 1820, the Edwardsville postmaster, David Prickett, advertised that there were letters re- maining in the office uncalled for, for one hundred and sixty-two parties. The town, then the location for the land office, was the common point of destination for emigrants from the East, many of them on their arrival scattering to the settlements on the northern frontier and this may ac- count for the large number of uncalled for letters.

In 1×32, a line of four horse coaches between St. Louis and Springfield was established. Leaving St. Louis every Thursday and Sunday at six o'clock in the morning, a stop was made for dinner at Edwardsville, and Springfield was reached at two o'clock in the afternoon of Friday and Mon- day. The stages left Springfield on Thursday and Sunday mornings ; the passengers had breakfast at Edwardsville the next morning and arrived in St. Louis at two o'clock in the afternoon. The fare was five cents per mile.

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

EARLY SCHOOLS.

In the Spectator of 1820, Madame De Jerome announces that she has opened an academy of science in which all will be taught the French language, geography, with use of globes, history, drawing and arithmetic. She also professes her readiness to teach young ladies the art of embroidery and needle work. Instruction was given to children in the rudiments of the English language. The school was open every day in the week, excepting Saturdays and Sundays, from nine to twelve in the morning, and from two to five in the afternoon. In her advertisement, which is dated October 10th, 1820, Madame De Jerome states that it' parents or guardians, disposed to favor her school, should doubt her ability to teach the branches named, she is willing to submit to an examination as to her qualifications. This was doubt- less the first school of the kind in Edwardsville. Ordinary subscription schools, in which the common English branches were taught, had previously existed.

One of the early teachers was Joshua Atwater, who taught a couple of years previous to 1820, when he relinquished the avocation of a teacher and opened a store. Don Alonzo Sparkling, during six months of the year 1819, taught school in E Iwardsville. The first schools were mostly "loud schools," in which all the pupils studied their lessons aloud, so that they could be heard at some distance away. The earliest schools were all taught by men. . When the directors were urged to employ a young woman, who had come from the Eist, the reply was that a lady would never succeed in managing the boys. The experiment was tried, however, and it was found that the young lady, Miss Hastings, had no trouble in controlling the boys, and maintained an excel- lent school.

In 1829 John York Sawyer taught school in a frame building, which still stands on Main street, on a lot adjoin- ing the jail property. This building then faced another direction, and stood further back from the street, on the brow of the hill. Sawyer taught till he became the editor of the Spect itor. He was succeeded by Thomas Atwater, a brother to Joshua, and by an Englishman by the name of Seandrit, whose speech was strongly marked by a British aecentuation. Mrs. Stearns subsequently kept a school in the house which afterward became the residence of Matthew Gillespie, and in which Dr. Ficgenbaum now lives. Some of the older children used to attend, between 1830 and 1340, a school taught by John Barber, three miles south of the town. Barber was a man of superior education and an excellent teacher.

The Elwardsville Female Academy was established in May, 1831, through the efforts of James Mason, William P. MeKee, Dr. B F. Edwards, John Adams and other leading citizens. B. Y. Messenger was the secretary of the board of trustees. The tuition was from two dollars and fifty cents to three dollars and fifty cents per quarter. The school was held in a frame building, erected for the purpose, on Third street. Miss Alden came from the East to take charge of the academy, but her connection with the school was severed by her marriage to the Rev. Mr. Jenney, a Presbyterian minister of Alton. The next principal was Miss Chapin,

who became the wife of the Rev. Mr. Hale, a Presbyterian elergyman of Springfield She was succeeded by Miss Loomis, daughter of a Baptist minister. She married Cyrus Edwards The school had a good patronage but the rapid changes in the faculty, occasioned by the marriage of its principals, destroyed its usefulness. After the academy was discontinued, the building was used for a time for a public school, but was afterward removed to the corner of Third and Purcell streets, and is now occupied by T. C. Clark as a grocery store.

A Presbyterian minister named Young, taught a parochial school for some years, which was attended by children be- longing to families connected with his congregation. Samuel Allard taught school several years in the old academy build- ing He afterward became a teacher in Shurtleff College. In 1838, a man by the name of Gibson, who was said to be a minister, taught school. He drank whisky, ate opium, and preached an occasional volunteer sermon. Among subsequent teachers were Messrs Dwight, Potter and Terry.

CHURCHIES.

The carliest religious organization in Edwardsville was a Presbyterian Church, which was formed on the seventeenth of March, 1819, with fifteen members. There was preach- ing at occasional intervals ; but in a few years the society became extinct. It was revived by the Presbytery of Alton about 1828. The Rev. James Ewing was pastor from 1845 till his death in 1848. The congregation used the Baptist church during this time. In 1856 the Episcopal church was lea-ed. The latter year the Rev. L. P. Bates became pastor. He died in 1859.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized December, 1827. The original class-book shows that the members of the class were Richard Randle, Rev. Washington C Ballard, Elizabeth Ballard, Thornhill Ballard, Mary Brooks, Rebecca Atwater, Joel Neff, Sarah Wright, Josias Randle, Heiress Baker, Marilda Wilder, Samuel A. Walker, Mary Ballard, Alexander Miller, Aletha Ballard, Agnes II. Ballard, Eliza- beth Gibson, Alworth Baker, Mary Adams, William Galli- gher, William P. M . Kee, Sarah H. M. Kee, Hail Mason, Grace Mason, Joshua Atwater, Ann M Randle, William Mil- ler, Katherine Miller, Alexander White, Susannah Kendall, Julia Ann Atwater, Sarah Cotter, Elizabeth Randle, Hosea Armstrong, Samuel MeNeal and Roland Ballar:1. The church membership having increased in 1830, it was de- termined to build a house of worship. James Mason gave the congregation a lot, on which was erected in 1831, a plain frame building, forty by sixty feet in dimensions. This gave place to the present brick building, which was constructed in 1854.

The Baptist Church was organized at the house of Dr B. F. Edwards, in 1828. The R.v. Mr. Bradley was pastor for some time during the early history of the society. The first church building erected by the congregation is now used as an engine-house.

St. Mary's Catholic Church was regularly organized in 1843, and a frame church edifice erected. Previous to this Catholic services had been held in Edwardsville at irregular

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

intervals. The Rev. Mr. Reiss was one of the early pas- tors. St. Boniface's church, a congregation of Catholic Germans, was formed in 1867, and a church building erected that year.

St. Andreu's Protest int Episcopal Church was organized in 1841. A commodious frame church building was soon af- terward erected, in which services were held for a number of years.

The German Methodists held religious services in Ed- ward-ville as early as 1847, and in. 1860 the congregation at Elwardsville was made a separate charge.

INCORPORATION AS A TOWN.

A meeting of the citizens of Edwardsville was held on Saturday, the thir ieth of May, 1837, at the court-liouse, at which a vote was taken on the question of whether or not the town should become an incorporated place, under the general law of 1831. James Wilson was chosen president, and William T. Brown, clerk. Fifty-seven votes were cast in favor of the incorporation, aud seven iu the negative.

February 10th, 1853, the town was again incorporated by special aet of the Legislature, which provided that the cor- porate powers and duties of said town shall be vested in five trustees who shall be elected on the first Mouday in April of each year. This organization existed until Oct. 23d, 1872, when it was organized as a city under the general law.

INDIAN TREATY AT EDWARDSVILLE.

In early days the Kickapoo Indians visited Edwardsville to obtain their annuities from Ninian Edwards, who then aeted as Indian agent. Traces of their camps in the vicinity of the town, and the peculiar marks made by their stripping the bark from trees, were visib e for many years afterward.

On the sixth of August, 1819, the commissioners on the part of the government of the United States and the chiefs of the Kickapoo tribe, negotiated a treaty by which the United States purchased an extensive tract of land, covering the central part of the state, and estimated to contain ten million of acres, bounded by a line comencing at the mouth of the Illinois river, and running eastwardly by the old purchase live to the line dividing the state of Illinois andl Indiana, thence north to the Kankakee river, and thenee down said river and the Illinois to the place of be- giuning. The United commissioners were Benjamin -

Stephenson and Auguste Chouteau .*

* The treaty is as follows :

ARTICLE 1. The undersigned chiefs and warriors, for themselves and their said tribe, for and in consideration of the premises and stipulations hereinafter made, do hereby cede and relinquish to the United States .forever all their right, interest and title of, in and to the following tracts of land, viz : All their lands on the southeast side of the Wabash river, inclu linz the principal village in which their ancestors for- merly resided, consisting of a large tract, to which they have had from time immemorial, and now have a just right that they have never heretofore ceded, or otherwise disposed of, in any manner whatever, also all the land within the following boundaries, viz: Beginning at the Wabash river at the upper point of their cession, made by the second article of their treaty at Vincennes, on the 9th of December, 1809, running thence northwestwardly, to the dividing line between the

EARLY MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES.

The first step in the way of manufacturing enterprises in Edwardsville was the old water mill of Thomas Kirkpatrick. This mill passed into the hands of Paris Mason, who carried it on for some years till the floods in the Cahokia caused such frequent damage that its maintenance was no longer profitable. About the year 1818 Josias Randle, the first county elerk of Madison county, constructed an ox mill near his residence which, after his death, was carried on by Josiah

states of Illinois and Indiana, thence along said line to the Kankakee river, thence with said river to the Illinois river, tbence down the latter to its month, thence with a direct line, to the northwest corner of the Vincennes tract, as recognized in the treaty with the Pianke- shaw tribes of Indians at Vincennes, on the the 30th of December, 1805, and thence with the western and northern boundaries of the ces- sions heretofore made by the said Kickapoo tribe of Indians, to the beginning of which last described tract of land the said Kickapoo tribe claim a large portion by descent from their ancestors, and the balance by conquest from the Illinois Nation, and uninterrupted pos- session for more than a half century.

ARTICLE 2. The said tribe hereby confirm all their former treaties with the United States, and relinquish to them all claim to every portion of their lands which may have been ceded by any other tribe or tribes, and all and every demand which they might have had in consequence of the second article of the treaty made with the Pottaw- attomie Nation of Indians at St. Mary's on the 2d of Oct. 15IS ( pro- claimed Jan. 15th, 1819).

ARTICLE 3. The said tribe acknowledge themselves now to be, and promise to continue, under the protection of the United States of America, and of no other nation, power or sovereign whatever.

ARTICLE 4. The said tribe release the United States from all obli- gations imposed by any treaties heretofore made with them.

ARTICLE 5. The United States in lieu of all former stipulations, and in consideration of the cessions of land heretofore made by the said tribe, promise to pay them, at their town on the waters of the Osage river, two thousand dollars in silver, annually, for fifteen suc- cessive years.

ARTICLE 6. Alterel so as to read Article I, of treaty July 19th, 1820.

ARTICLE 7. The United States promise to guarantee to the said tribe the peaceable possession of the tract of land hereby ceded to them and to restrain and prevent all white persons from hunting, settling, or otherwise intruding upon it. But any citizen or citizens of the United States being lawfully authorized for that purpose, shall be permitted to pass and repass through said tract, and to navigate the waters thereof, without any hinderance, toll or exaction from the said tribe.

ARTICLE 8. For the purpose of facilitating the removal of the said tribe to the tract of land hereby ceded to them, the United States will furnish them with two boats, well manned to transport their property from any point they may designate on the Illinois river, and some judicious citizen shall be selected to accompany them in their passage through the white settlements to their intended residence.

ARTICLE 9. The United States will take the said Kickapoo tribe under their care and patronage, and will afford them protection against all persons whatever provided they conform to the laws of the United States, and refrain from making war or giving any insult or offense to any other Indian tribe, or to any foreign nation, without having obtained the approbation and consent of the United States.

ARTICLE 10. The stid tribe, in addition to their above cession, do hereby cede and relinquish to the United States generally and with- ont reservation all other tracts of land to which they may have any right or title on the left side of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Proclaimed January 13th, 1821.

CROSSING.

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OLD COURT HOUSE.

SCHOOL.

WABASH

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PLACES OF PUBLIC INTEREST EDWARDSVILLE, ILL.

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

Randle, and afterwards by George D. and John H. Randle. The Messrs. Randle, with their father in-law, Aaron Arnold, turned this ox mill into a steam mill about the year 1832. This was the first steam mill in Edwardsville, and it stood on the lot in rear of the present residence of W R. Brink. It was destroyed by fire soon after being placed in operation.

The castor oil mill of John Adams was carried on suc- cessfully for several years. It was established in 1825. That year he made five hundred gallons of oil, which soll at two dollars and a half a gallon. The next year the product had increased to eight hundred gallons, and the price had fallen to a dollar and a half. In 1827, one thousand gallons were manufactured. and sold at a dollar and twenty-five cents a gallon, and in 1825, eighteen hundred gallous, which only brought a dollar a gallon. In 1829, a little more than five hundred gallons were made, and in 1830 the production arose to ten thousand gallons. One bushel of the castor bean yielded about seven quarts and a half pint of oil. For the beans, about seventy-five cents per bushel was paid. Before starting his oil mill, Mr. Adams had erected a fulling mill on the Cahokia, which was placed in operation in 1823. For several years this was conducted under the management of George W. Putnam.

The Edwardsville Steam Mill Company was organized in 1×39. J. C. Dugger was president of the company. All the stock came subsequently into the possession of George W. Phillips, who operated it for a number of years.

EDWARDSVILLE INDUSTRIES, MANUFACTURES, ETC.

Edwardsville Mill and Elevator .- This industry was estab- lished by Kehlor Brothers in the spring of 1×79, and is located on Main street, about three blocks north of the court- house. The mill is a brick building, four stories high with a basement. Its size on the ground is 45 x 82 feet. The machinery consists of the latest improved roller process, 33 pairs of rolls and 3 burrs, with a capacity of manufacturing 600 barrels of flour in twenty-four hours. This product is shipped to different parts of the United States and Europe. The elevator is 45 x 60 feet, and 60 feet in height, and has the capacity of elevating 10,000 bushels of wheat daily, and a storing capacity of 110,000 bushels. It is constructed in regular elevator style, and every grain bin is hoppered. The machinery for distributing grain to all parts of the elevator and for changing from bin to bin, is complete. The bran bin is 20 x 35 feet, and 50 feet in height. The elevator building is iron-elad, the better to protect it from fire, and the grain from the driving storms. A warehouse is detached, 100 x 104 feet in size, and capable of storing 7,000 barrels of flour. The engine room is constructed of brick, and in size is 28 x 663 feet. The engine is of the Harriss-Corliss make, 300-horse power, and said to be one of the best of its size in the State. The boilers are four in number and con- structed of steel, being four feet in diameter and twenty-four feet in length. By this enterprise, about sixty men are given constant employment. This includes the cooperage necessary to the business. The estimated capital invested is $150,000.

Ok I'll Rifiring Company .- This factory is located on the N. E. I of the N. W. } of section 13, on the farm of C. M.

Schwarz, about one-half mile from the city limits. The manufacture of sugar and syrup from Northern grown sugar-cane, is a question which has for several years en- grossed the attention of some of the best scientists, and most enterprising manufacturers, as well as the more advanced farmers of the North. It is an industry, which as yet is in its infaney, and has not, until within the last year or two, received even a small per cent. of the encouragement due it. The first sugar-cane grown in this vicinity was by Mr. Schwarz, a member of the above company. This was in 1857, since which time he has made its culture, etc, a care- ful study. In 1880, under the firm name of Belcher & Schwarz, a co-partnership was formed, and the preparation for manufacturing the cane into sugar was commenced. The season of 18>0 was a very disastrous one, and no attempt was made to make sugar, other than in an experimental way, although 6000 gallons of syrup were manufactured, from which the company realized a good profit. In 1881, for the purpose of inducing more of the farmers to become inter- ested iu the cultivation of cane the firm organized a stock company under the name of " The Oak Hill Refining Com- pany of Edwardsville,' with a capital stock of $5.000. The first election of directors and officers was held in the summer of 1881, when the following directors were chosen : Geo. C. W. Belcher, St. Louis; C. F. Miller, Dundas, Minn .; C. M. Schwarz, B R. Burroughs, and F. K. Gillespie of Edwardsville. Officers: Geo C. W. Belcher, President, B. R. Burroughs, Vice-President, C. M. Schwarz, Secretary and Treasurer.

The season of 1881 was also a poor year for the eaue crop, yet 4,000 gallons of syrup were marketed at home, finding a ready sale. This season, 1882, promises well, and there is a large acreage of the product planted. These works have been greatly improved, and their capacity largely increased by new machinery since last year. The present cap city is about 800 gallons of syrup daily. If the company is pro- perly encouraged by the farmers of this viciuity, it is their intention to ereet an extensive establishment near the june- tion of the W. St. L. and P. and the P. C. and St. L. rail- ways.

Carriage Manufactory, Springer & Brothers, Proprietors. This factory is situated on the north side of Vandalia street, one block south of the public square, and was established by 11. J. Springer in the spring of 1570, but is now conducted in the firm name above given. The business occupies a brick building two stories high, and 30 by 65 feet on the ground ; also, a two story frame attached, 50 by 30 feet. The latter is utilized for a painting and trimming room, and repository for manufactured carriages. The machinery is driven by a four horse-power steam engine, and the manufactured product is about fifty carriages annually. The business gives em- ployment to eight men. Connected with the same building is the firm of Gillespie & Springer, engaged in the manu- facture of patent thill couplings. One of the firm of this establishment, F. J. Springer, is exelusively interested in the manufacture of a patent "easy riding spring."

Gessert's Custom Flouring Mill was established by George Giessert, in the fall of 1877, and commenced operations the

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY, ILLINOIS.

January following. It is a frame building, 40x50 feet, in- eluding boiler-room, two stories high, and cost over $5,000. It contains two run of burrs, and has a capacity of grind- ing thirty-five barrels of flour daily, giving employment 10 three men. The machinery is driven by a thirty horse- power engine. The mill is situated on Second, near Union street. It is constructed for both a custom and merchant mill, and has the facilities of manufacturing the patent pro- cess Hour.

Carriage, Wagon and Machine Shop .- This shop is situ. ated on the corner of Vandalia and St. Louis streets. It was built in the spring of 1874 by Michael Desmond, the present proprietor, who has been engaged in the business in the city since 1864. The building is a frame, two stories, and 60x30 feet in dimensions. The bu-iness is mainly con- fined to the repairing of machinery and general work. A building, 40x30 feet, is connected with the shop, for the purpose of doing the wood-work of the establishment. Eight men are given employment. It is run by steam- power.

Cooper Shops, owned and conducted by Martin Dippold and located on the southwest side of the railroad, on St. Louis street, near the Wabash, St L. & P. depot. There is a branch shop situated in lower town. The business was established several years ago, with the purpose of furnishing the Edwardsville flouring mills with barrels to ship their flour. Thirty-eight men are employed, and about 80,000 barrels are manufactured annually.

Wagon and Carriage Manufactory, established by Weber & Son, in the spring of 1873, is located, on Vandalia street, about two blocks southeast of the court-house. The eller member of the firm has been engaged in the business in Edwardsville since 1854 The present building is a frame, 50x80 feet, and two stories high. A one-story frame attachment, 45x50 feet, belongs to the shop, and is utilized for storing wood-work, Jumber, etc. Some scasons of the year from ten to twelve men are employed. The wo. k is all hand made.

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History of Madison County, Illinois With biographical sketches, Part 86

Author: Brink, W.R. & Co Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Edwardsville, Ill. : W. R. Brink & co. Number of Pages: 698

Author: Brink, W.R. & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Edwardsville, Ill. : W. R. Brink & co.
Number of Pages: 698