USA > Illinois > St Clair County > History of St. Clair County, Illinois. With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 54
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"No," replied Goforth, "I am not the man you wish to see. You must find my brother." Dr. Goforth carried the knife for a long time, but finally met a man from Madison county, to whom
189
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
it was awarded. He took to drinking : reformed and delivered addresses on the subject of temperance, but again fell a victim to his old habits. He was a reckless rider, and one day when intoxi- cated, was thrown from his horse just outside of town and killed.
Dr. William Heath, one of the early physicians, was a Virginian by birth. He was a Methodist minister also, and preached at oc- casional intervals. He held that a physician must live, and when practice was light he charged high fees, and vice versa. He had the reputation of making long prayers and big bills. He charged the Mcclintock family one hundred and twenty dollars, a large sum in those days, for his services during one season's sickness. He moved to St. Louis, and died at Alton.
Dr. Francis J. Crabb was one of the early practitioners of medi- cine. His first wife was a daughter of Edward Mitchell, and his second wife was an Ogle. A physician named Dr. Woodworth settled in Belleville soon after 1820, practiced medicine for a num- ber of years, and then moved away.
Lewis W. Myers opened the first hat store in Belleville. Jeffer- son Goforth and David Miley also, each kept a hat store subse- quently. Myers remained in that business for a long time; Goforth and Miley, only a short space of time. At one time the tanning of leather was carried on here quite extensively ; among those en- gaged in the business were Richard Chandler, who had an exten- sive yard and the machinery necessary for tanning, on the five lots now in part owned and occupied by Mr. Heckel as a planing mill and sash factery. The tannery was afterwards carried on by dif- ferent persons, among whom may be mentioned Talbott, John Eck- ert, Brooks, Beard, and lastly, David Swyer. The saddlery and harness manufacturing business was also carried on somewhat ex- tensively by John D. Hughes, afterward county judge, who em- ployed a large force of journeymen. He supplied a large territory with saddles, bridles and harness, for everybody rode on horseback then, both male and female (carriages not having come into general use at that time). Among the journeymen who worked at that bu- siuess for Mr. Hughes, was Samuel B. Chandler, and there are those now living who remember him as a most excellent mechanic. Tailoring was also an important branch of business, and Theodore Gray, a man named Spilliard, John Blackwell, Robert Hughes, a man named Lyons, and others, supplied the demand in that line.
Large quantities of light coopers' work were also made here in early days. Arthur Ellis filled many contracts, but he sold most to Nathan Cole, who was a heavy beef and pork packer at Illinois- town, or East St. Louis as it is now known.
Mr. Fleishbein opened up the first brewery in Belleville. Shortly afterward George Busch erected the old Anderson brewery, and the erection of others followed in rapid succession.
Cooking stoves w ere first brought into use here about 1834. Be- fore then, the old chimney-corner log furnished the only conve- nience for cooking known to the western settlers.
In 1830 Joseph Scott erected a carding-mill at Belleville, which he operated during the winter season of each year.
FIRST FIRE COMPANY .- A book of constitution and by-laws of the Belleville Fire Company, published in 1841, gives the roll of the officers and privates of the company. It will be seen that the list embraces the names of several prominent gentlemen, some of whom have since become distinguished citizens of the state :
William McClintock, President; John Ward, Vice-President; D. W. Hopkins, Secretary; Samuel B. Chandler, Captain ; Alexander Rainey, 1st Lieutenant; Augustus Hasel, 2d Lieutenant ; Joseph Sturgis, 1st Engineer; James L. Davis, 2d Engineer.
Engine Men .- William McClintock, John Ward, D. W. Hop- kins, N. Pensoneau, J. R. Nolen, T. H. Kimber, John Flanagan,
A. Hildenbrandt, Joseph Meyer, Gustav P. Koerner, John A. Sum- merville, Alex. N. Green, Lyman Trumbull, A. T. Terrill, T. J. Burnett, J. L. D. Morrison and C. Tittmann.
Hose and Water Men .- Alexander Rainey, William C. Kinney, John Mace, Jacob Knoebel, James Affleck, R. P. Hughes, J. B. Lyons, Jos. Smith, N. B. Atherton and E. Tittmann.
Hook and Ladder Men .- Augustus Hasel, Henry Johnson, Nel- son Green, C. Westermann, R. G. Affleck, Enoch Luckey, George W. Hook, Christian Kaysing, Christoph Vierheller, Geo. Eckert and Charles Knoebel.
All are now deceased except William McClintock, J. R. Nolen, Gustav P. Koerner, Lyman Trumbull, J. L. D. Morrison, James Affleck, R. G. Affleck and Christoph Vierheller.
The first engine used by the company was bought by Gustavus Koerner in the city of Baltimore, and was called the Depford, and afterward passed into the possession of the South Belleville Fire Company. It cost about one hundred and fifty dollars, and was shipped by water from Baltimore to New Orleans, and thence to St. Louis.
CHOLERA .- In 1832 and 1833, and again in 1849, the cholera was prevalent in Belleville. The first death in Belleville from the disease occurred in 1832. The victim was a man from Washington county who had passed through Belleville on his way to St. Louis, had spent two days and nights in the city, and, returning, camped out three miles west of Belleville. He was taken with the cholera, and was too unwell to reach town. He came to Belleville the next morning. None of the hotels or boarding houses would receive him, and he died in the court-house the succeeding night. Dr. William Mitchell was the attending physician. The deaths in 1833 ex- ceeded those of the previous year. When any one was taken with the disease death was considered certain. A man named Sa- muel Crane, a bricklayer, who had just commenced building a mill for Richard Raper on the present site of Hinckley's mill, was one of those who died. His coffin was made and taken to the house in which he lay sick, before he was dead, and within one hour after his death he was buried. Another victim was Thomas Kelley. At noon he was working in the harvest field, and at night he was buried. Among others who died were an old man named John Vaughn, Mrs. Berry, and the wife of James Tannehill. The death of Gov. Ninian Edwards occurred from cholera on the twentieth of July, 1833. The town was again visited with the cholera in 1849, and in that year the deaths were numerous. More than fifty cho- lera victims were interred in the Belleville burying ground. After that year there were no further interments in the old graveyard, which was deeded by the Edwards family to the city of Belleville.
CHURCHES .- Belleville has nine churches belonging to the Methodist, Episcopal, Baptist, Presbyterian, German Methodist, Lutheran, Evangelical, Roman Catholic, Colored Methodist and Colored Baptist denominations. A Protestant Episcopal church was also organized in 1880, but no church building has yet been erected.
The Catholics have parish schools in connection with their church, and also a young ladies' seminary, known as the Institute of the Immaculate Conception, which occupies a fine and spacious building.
St. Agnes Orphans' Asylum is a charitable institution under the management and control of the Roman Catholics. It occupies a building, erected in 1880 at a cost exceeding eight thousand dollars.
Six newspapers are published in Belleville, two in the German language. Both German papers issue daily and weekly numbers. The English papers are published weekly.
190
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
The city has been fortunate in escaping serions injury from fire; a fact which may be in part attributed to the solid and substantial character of the buildings. At present there is no regularly-or- ganized fire department. The city owns two first-class steam fire engines, each of which is placed in charge of an engineer, fireman, and three hosemen, who are paid according to actual services ren- dered in case of fire.
BELLEVILLE SAENGERBUND AND LIBRARY SOCIETY .- After the Napoleonic wars, the German people, having risen to defend the thrones of their native princes, expected to live in the enjoy- ment of more liberal laws than were accorded to them during the last century. But the thirty-seven princes, unmindful of their sacred promises, oppressed the people more and more, until the tyranny became so great and intolerable, that the well-minded citizens began to feel the salvation of their country was possible only by a general overthrow of the existing dynasties. A conspi- racy of the patriots, known under the name of the " Black Leagne," extended over all parts of Germany, uniting citizens of all classes, old and young. When the cry of "Liberté, Fraternité et Egalité," resounded from the hanks of the Seine, proclaiming the second re- public in France, the patriots on the right bank of the Rhine be- lieved the time had come for them to proceed to action in the " Fa- therland." Mass meetings were held and speedily dissolved by the police, the leaders were incarcerated, and a general despotismn pre- vailed. In the spring of 1833 several revolts broke out in the Pa- latinate and other parts of Germany, but proved unsuccessful; and many of the participants, to avoid imprisonment and capital pun- ishment, were forced to flee from their native soil. At that time the first direct news of our young republic had reached the old world, and, excited by the hope of leading a more congenial life in the wildernesses of the Hudson, Ohio and Mississippi, the unhappy victims of misrule and despotism turned their backs on Europe and came to the United States. Their first intention was to form colo- nies in the West, but discord among the members soon led to the abandonment of these schemes. A little band of these Germans settled in St. Clair county. They were mostly men of letters, not used to wield the plow and axe, and their success as farmers was consequently but moderate. Yet they had not in vain received a classical education; their love of study and good books did not die among the daily labors of the farm, and after the first struggles for the necessities of life, they bethought themselves how they might form a collection of the books which were scattered among the several families, and how they might angment the same. Many of the settlers had upon their arrival here made it their business to study the laws and institutions under which they were to live, and the desire to own " Jared Sparks' Life of Washington," led to the first step toward founding the German Library of St. Clair county.
One Sunday afternoon, July 17th, 1836, sixteen of the German settlers, Edward Hilgard, Fritz Wolf, Fritz Hilgard, Fr. Th. En- gelmann, Sr., Theo. Hilgard, Jr., Juli us Scheve, Gustavus Koerner Anton Schott, Hermann Wolf, George Bunsen, Wilhelm Decker, Joseph Ledergerber, Adolph Renss, Otto Hilgard, Adolph Berchel- mann, and J. C. Hildenbrandt, met at the house of Anton Schott, for the purpose of taking the necessary steps toward collecting the scattered books and founding a library. Anton Schott read a me- morial setting forth his views upon the subject. He closed his remarks with the following sentence : "Thus, in the course of time, a considerable library may be formed, which may, perhaps, be useful to our posterity in inciting them to scientific research, and aiding them in mental culture." Each one of the above-named six- teen gentlemen subscribed $3.00 toward the purchase of " Life and Writings of Washington," and this organized the St. Clair County
Library Association. Anton Schott was unanimously chosen libra- rian, and George Bunsen and Gustavus Koerner directors. At a subsequent meeting, in the summer of the same year, a constitution was adopted, and the association received its charter by the next session of the legislature.
At first, the number of books increased but slowly, but when the following years sent more Germans hither, the members, and conse- quently the means for augmenting the library, increased. The meetings were held semi-annually at the houses of the several mem- bers, and united the families of the settlement. These meetings partook more of the nature of picnics, and singing and dancing, and other social amusements, were the order of the day.
Until 1852 the library was kept at the house of Anton Schott, when it was removed to the Odd Fellows' Hall in Belleville, and Carl Rau succeeded Mr. Schott as librarian. He in turn was suc- ceeded by Joseph Kircher in 1855, until, in July, 1859, steps were taken to consolidate the association with the Belleville Saenger- bund, an organization founded 1855 for the culture of vocal music and sociability. The negotiation between the two associations lasted for over a year ; a charter was obtained in 1860, and Anton Schott chosen president, Frederick Reiss treasurer and secretary, Gustave Kellermann librarian, and Jacob Weingaertner and Bernhard Wiek directors. In 1861 Henry Raab was chosen librarian ; he still holds the office to-day.
The library, having been founded by Germans, contains the most select productions of German literature, principally works in history, geography, natural sciences and fiction; nor are the standard Eng- lish works in these branches of literature wanting. The Greek and Roman classics, mostly donations of the founders, give evidence of the predilections of these men. Senators and representatives from Illinois have contributed freely to its treasures. The principal pe- riodicals, both English and German, are kept on file, also a com- plete set of congressional documents graces its shelves. The library now numbers upwards of 6,000 volumes. The number of members is about 110.
THE MASONIC ORDER
Obtained a strong foothold in Belleville in 1843, by the organization of St. Clair Lodge, No. 24, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. The lodge was organized on the fourteenth day of December. John C. Theil was the first master. Archimedes Masonic Lodge, No. 377, received its charter on the eighth of October, 1863. Theodore Jorg was the first to fill the chair of worshipful master. On the fourth of October, 1867, Belleville Chapter, No. 186, of Royal Arch Masons, was instituted ; the first H. P. was John N. Ryan.
The following secret societies exist in Belleville :
Masonic .- St. Clair Lodge, No. 24 ; Archimedes Lodge, No. 377 ; Belleville Chapter, No. 106, R. A. M .; Tancred Commandery, No. 50, K. T.
Independent Order of Odd Fellows .- Belleville Lodge, No. 338; Enterprise Lodge, No. 369; Pride of the West Lodge, No. 650; St. Clair Encampment, No. 92; Belleville Encampment, No. 169; (West Belleville.)
Druids .- Illinois Grove, No. 1 ; St. Clair Grove, No. 29.
Knights of Honor .- Belleville Lodge, No. 429; Arminius Lodge, No. 582; Washington Lodge, No. 1180.
Knights of Pythias .- Cavalier Lodge, No. 49; Lessing Lodge, No. 71.
Independent Order of Mutual Aid .- Friendship Lodge, No. 2.
Ancient Order United Workmen .- Belleville Lodge, No. 108; Gerstaecker Lodge, No. 138.
Royal Templars of Temperance .- St. Clair Council, No. 41.
191
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
Treubund-Teutonia Lodge, No. 5; Ruetli Lodge, No. 21; Freundschaft Lodge, No. 35 ; Columbia Lodge, No. 34.
Harugari .- Hermann Lodge, No. 286; Freiligarths Lodge, No. 415.
Order of Sons of Hermann .- Standhaft Lodge, No. 22. Belleville Working Men's Society.
The St. Clair County Agricultural Board holds an annual fair commencing on the second Tuesday in October. The capital stock is $7,500. The grounds, which are located in the northern portion of the city of Belleville, embrace twenty acres, and are well shaded and well improved. The exhibition hall is 150 by 60 feet in di- mensions, and cost $8,200. It was built during the years 1864, 1868 and 1872. Two amphitheatres, built at an expense of $3,400, adjoin the ring. This society was first organized in 1853, and was reorganized in August, 1872, under the name of the St. Clair County Agricultural and Mechanical Society. The name of the St. Clair County Agricultural Board was adopted in February, 1881. The recent annual fairs have been well attended and successful, with a particularly good display of agricultural machinery.
PRESENT OFFICERS.
PRESIDENT
JOSEPH REICHERT.
VICE-PRESIDENT
J. H. ATKINSON.
TREASURER.
F. H. PIEPER.
SECRETARY GUSTAVUS F. HILGARD.
GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT.
JEFFERSON RAINEY.
MARSHAL OF THE RING.
JOSEPH PENN.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
JEFFERSON RAINEY,
JAMES H. ATKINSON,
CHAS. T. ASKINS,
JOSEPH REICHERT,
SIDNEY SHOOK,
ISAAC N. SHOOK,
THOMAS WINSTANLEY,
JOSEPH PENN,
JAMES A. BORNMAN,
FREDERICK GLASER,
F. H. PIEPER.
THE GREEN MOUNT CEMETERY ASSOCIATION
Was organized July, 1873. The managers of this enterprise have succeeded in making this cemetery attractive and beautiful. The cemetery is situated two miles east of Belleville, and is accessible from the Mascoutah plank road by the Freeburg plank road, and also by the Louisville and Nashville railroad. The grounds com- prise 160 acres. The officers are :
PRESIDENT
WILLIAM C. BUCHANAN.
SECRETARY AND TREASURER FREDERICK H. PIEPER.
SUPERINTENDENT
THEOPHILUS HARRISON.
DIRECTORS.
THEOPHILUS HARRISON, D. H. MURRAY,
WILLIAM C. BUCHANAN,
JOHN J. THOMAS,
FREDERICK H. PIEPER.
THE WALNUT HILL CEMETERY,
Southeast of Belleville, is owned in part by the city. The ceme- tery grounds are large, and nature and art have combined to ren- der this a fit resting place for the dead. Many of the prominent men who have had their homes in Belleville are interred-here. The grounds are under the care of a sexton appointed by the city.
THE CITIZENS' HORSE RAILWAY COMPANY,
in 1876 purchased the interests of the Belleville Street Car Com- pany, which was organized in 1874, and has since been operating a street railway between Belleville and West Belleville. A branch also extends to the fair grounds. The officers are :
PRESIDENT.
. JOHN EIMER.
SECRETARY AND TREASURER EDWARD ABEND.
DIRECTORS.
JOHN EIMER,
EDWARD ABEND,
G. A. KOERNER, HENRY DEIDESHEIMER, JOSEPH FUESS.
The following is a statement of the business done at the Belle- ville Post Office, H. A. Millitzer, Postmaster, during the year 1880 :
Kind of Matter.
No. Packages.
Weight, Lbs.
Regular newspapers mailed,
65,000
33,500
Books and miscellaneous mailed,
1,500
760
Transient newspapers mailed,
8,000
798
Unsealed circulars mailed,
5,600
82
Letters mailed,
267,900
7,300
Postal cards mailed,
65,600
438
Letters, postal cards and circulars delivered,
414,400
10,350
Drop letters delivered,
14,200
148
Newspapers delivered :
Published once a week or oftener,
112,000
14,000
Published less than once a week,
16,000
2,500
Transient newspapers,
45,000
5,425
Money Order Department.
Issued.
Paid.
No.
Value.
No.
Value.
Domestic money orders,
2873
$65,467
2992
$60,200
International money orders,
223
2,219
168
2,310
At the West Belleville Post Office, Fr. W. Beineke, Pastmaster, for the year ending March 31, 1881, stamps and postal cards were sold to the amount of $651.64. Stamps and postal cards were can- celled to the amount of $577.20.
Population of Belleville, United States Census of 1880.
First Ward.
1,988
Second Ward
1,533
Third Ward
1.642
Fourth Ward
1,652
Fifth Ward.
1,551
Sixth Ward
1,066
Seventh Ward
1,535
10,967
West Belleville.
2,720
Total.
.13,680
COAL.
The abundance of coal has been one of the main elements in the. prosperity of Belleville. Coal was first discovered in High Prairie, six or seven miles south of the city, and used by Messrs. Smith, Small, and others engaged in the blacksmith business. The first coal mine was opened by William Fowler, in the year 1825. This mine was situated south of Belleville on the bluff where Richland creek strikes the highlands and makes a sharp curve to the left. The coal found a ready sale in Belleville, where it was used as fuel. Since the opening of this mine it has been ascertained that the whole southern part of the state is one vast field of coal. Anywhere in the vicinity of Belleville coal may be found by sinking a shaft. Frequently three different strata are found, one over the other, the lower the best coal, and often eighty or one hundred feet below the surface. The building of a railroad in 1837 from Pittsburg, at the foot of the bluffs, to the Mississippi opposite St. Louis, was an advanced step in the development of the coal mines of St. Clair county, and with the prosperity of the coal interest the growth of Belleville has kept pace.
AUGUST TIEMANN,
192
HISTORY OF ST. CLAIR COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
THE MANUFACTURES OF BELLEVILLE.
Among the advantages of Belleville as a manufacturing point are cheap fuel, superior railroad facilities, close proximity to one of the best markets in the country, and a healthy location and cheap living.
The supplies of coal are inexhaustible and easy of access ; south- east Missouri affords near and abundant deposits of iron ; and in the rapid growth of trade, commerce and manufactures in the cen- tre of the Mississippi valley, Belleville will doubtless secure a full share of the benefits to which she is entitled by her natural ad- vantages.
NOTE .- The following figures in relation to the difference in cost of the manu- facture of iron at Belleville and Pittsburg were prepared by Gen. W. H. Powell, and published by the Belleville Board of Trade :
The development of experiments made by the Carbondale Coal and Coke Company during the spring and summer of 1879, demonstrate that the want of coke to complete the list of all important materials for manufacturing purposes is now overcome by the supply of coke from Carbondale, which is now rapidly working its way into use, displacing the Connelsville coke. Below we give the analysis of the Connelsville, Sewanee and Carbondale cokes :
CONNELSVILLE.
SEWANEE.
CARBONDALE.
Moisture
0.55.
0.90
0.67 per cent.
Volatile matter.
2.20
2.10 2.25 per cent.
Fixed carbon .. .82.53
79.65 .84.15 per cent.
Ash
13.72 17.35 .12.93 per cent.
Color of the ash in each, reddish brown and similar.
Sulphur as separately determined -
CONNELSVILLE.
SEWANEE.
CARBONDALE.
1.012 per cent. 0.682 per cent.
0.842 per cent.
Demonstrating conclusively that we have a coke well adapted to blast furnace purposes, here, where we have our own coal and iron ores for all branches of iron manufacturers. A comparison as to cost of making pig iron at Pittsburgh and St. Louis, may perhaps better illustrate what advantage Belleville has as a manufacturing point than any general statement that can be made. We shall, therefore, make the comparison between Pittsburgh and Belleville, on the basis of present prices :
PITTSBURGH.
. 3,360 lbs. of Lake Superior ore at $13 per ton, Cleveland, O ..... $19.50
Freight from Cleveland to Pittsburgh per ton. 3.75
80 bushels of Connelsville coke, 72c. per bushel. 5.60
¿ ton limestone ... .75
Labor and management per ton. 2.00
Ordinary and incidental expenses 1.50
Repairs and interest on capital
75
Cost per ton.
$38.85
BELLEVILLE.
3360 lbs. of iron Mt. ore, at Belleville, $14 per ton. $21.00
80 bushels Carbondale coke, 8c. per bushel. 6.40
¿ ton limestone. .75
Labor, management, etc 2.00
Ordinary and incidental expenses. 1.50
Repairs and interest on capital.
.75
Cost per ton. .$32.40
To the cost of producing a ton of pig iron at Pittsburgh or vicinity, add the cost of $3.00 per ton to deliver in St. Louis, and the actual cost of upper Ohio River Valley pig iron in our market is made $36.85, whilst the cost of manu- facturing a ton of pig iron of unsurpassed quality, at Belleville, would be $32.40. The advantage claimed for Belleville results entirely from close proximity to the ore, the coal mines, and the coke ovens, and that of being near the market with the product.
The Harrison Mills is the lineal descendant of one of the early milling enterprises of Belleville-the ox tread mill of Ringold and Wilkinson, which stood on High street, on ground occupied by the present residence of J. Baker. This mill was built in 1819, and
in 1826 was purchased by Thomas Harrison, who adopted steam as a motive power. This steam mill, which was the first in the county, stood at First South and High streets, where the post-office now is. It was afterward removed to the present location of the Harrison mills on West Main street, in order to secure a better supply of water. The mill was burned down in the fall of 1843. It was full of wheat ; there was no insurance, and the loss was the heaviest that ever occurred from fire in Belleville. The mill was rebuilt in 1844. B. F. Switzer & Co. now operate the Harrison Mills. The ma- chinery is of the latest and best improved pattern, and the mill has done its share toward sustaining the reputation of Belleville flour. The mill is run hy a Corliss engine; it has eight run of buhrs, and a capacity of three hundred barrels per day. Thirty-five hands are employed. Flour is manufactured by the new patent process.
Hinckley's Mill occupies the site of the old Rapier mill, built by Richard Rapier in 1832 and 1833. Rapier disposed of the mill in 1837 to a company composed of James Mitchell, Adam A. Snyder, Charles Sargent, D. B. Reel, and Timothy Hinckley. These gentlemen, after running the mill two or three years, sold to J. Charles Cabhanne, L. D. Cabbanne, and A.G. Edwards, who retained possession till 1847, when the mill was sold to Russell Hinckley, who has owned and operated it ever since. The site of the mill is said to have been au old Indian camping ground. A spring, from which the water gushed in a stream the size of a man's arm, made it peculiarly suitable for this purpose. This spring was the induce- ment which made George Blair choose the place for a residence in 1806. Near the mill was formerly a tan yard, in which John H. Gay, of St. Louis, was once interested. The block on which the mill stands, bounded by Second and Third South streets and Illi- nois and Spring streets, is the only entire block in Belleville owned by one individual. Hinckley's mill is one of the largest manufac- turing establishments in Belleville. It has nine run of buhrs. Its capacity is four hundred barrels of flour per day. The annual pro- duct is seventy-five thousand barrels.
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