USA > Illinois > Adams County > Quincy > History of the city of Quincy, Illinois > Part 32
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In Adams county and adjoining the political changes were few and very nearly offset each other. Wm. A. Richardson was renominated for congress at the democratic convention after a long and stubborn contest between several other aspirants, and Archibald Williams was brought out by the opposition. The other democratie candidates were, for state senator. Wm. H. Carlin : for representatives, J. M. Rud- dle and Eli Seehorn. and Wilson Lane for sher- iff. Opposed to these were Peter B. Garrett for the senate: for the house. I. V. Sullivan and Wm. B. Gooding. regular nominees, and Wm. C. Harrington, independent, and B. M. Prentiss for sheriff. It was at this election that a small local cause brought about the elec- tion of the first republican E. S. senator from Illinois, which has already been mentioned in these sketches.
A curious feature connected with the organ- ization of this legislature, before alluded to. with its meagre majority of one. and being the first anti-democratie legislature in the state since the formation of that party, is worth men- tion. It is not local to Quiney or Adams county, but is a part of the general politieal history of the state and nation, and cansed the Adams county representation in the general as-
sembly to play a much more important part than it otherwise might have done. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen T. Logan, the two most eminent men in that section. were elected by several hundred majority as the anti-Nebraska members of the house from Sangamon county, Mr. Lincoln very much against his wish, be- cause he was recognized as being the candidate of the party for election to the U. S. Senate. When it was ascertained that the anti-Nebraska party had the control of the legislature by a clear majority of at least three, Mr. Lineoh resigned. every one supposing that Sangamon county would choose as his successor a man of the same political stamp. But the democrats laid low, and quietly organizing a "still hunt." run in a Mr. MeDaniel, a very obscure man, and completely reversed the 600 or 700 major- ity of the month before. This left the balance of strength so close that half a dozen anti- Nebraska members, formerly democrats, con- trolled the situation and they demanded that an anti-Douglas democrat, rather than an old whig. should be elected as the successor of General Shields in the U. S. Senate. They suc- needed, and after several days' balloting. where Mr. Lincoln came very near snecess, Judge Trumbull was chosen by one vote more than the vote given to Matteson, the Douglas can- didate. llad Mr. Lincoln not been a can- didate for the legislature, some other man like him in opinions would have been chosen with Judge Logan, and Mr. Lincoln would have been elected senator. Ilad he not resigned the result would have been the same. But if Abra- ham Lincoln had gone into the United States Senate in 1854, would he there have achieved that distinction which he afterward acquired, and would he four years later. in 1858, have fought the great debate with Douglas, which laid the foundation of his elevation to the pres- ideney and eternal fame?
A private "High School" was opened by Prof. M. T. Root on the 6th of October, which may perhaps properly be called the first of its kind, since it was the only institution claiming such a character that was sustained for any great length of time. This school was popular and prospered under the management of Mr. Root and of those who succeeded him, until about the time when, several years later, the public high school, of like scope, and affording equal advantages, such a one as it had been unsuccessfully proposed to establish in the spring of this year. was engrafted upon the city school system. Mr. Root, beside being an unusually well educated instructor, and a de- cided though gentle disciplinarian, possessed that other valuable trait in a teacher of sym- pathetic association with his pupils. Ile added
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to the attractions of his school by the organiza- tion of a military company From among his students. This. the "Quiney Cadets." with its simple, tasteful uniform, and a drill proli- cieney equal to the average, soon became one of the popular institutions of the city. One of its officers. Lieutenant Shipley. afterwards a lieutenant in the 27th Ilinois Infantry, was the first commissioned officer From Quincy who was killed in the civil war. at Belmont, Mo., in 1861.
Another effort was made to establish a public Free school For colored children by an appropri- ation of the council of $150 towards building a school house "whenever the property was bought and paid for." This project. like that proposed in the early part of the year, was a failure.
The Westminster church. December 24, 1853. representing the old school branch of the Pres- byterian church, with the Rev. Wm. MeCandish as its pastor, began service in a small building on Sixth street between Maine and Jersey. Soon after they erected a church on Hampshire near Ninth, which they occupied until they re- united with the other Presbyterians about thirty years later.
There were at this time eighteen religions societies in Quiney having churches for regn- lar worship. Of these. thirteen conducted services in English, viz. : Two Methodist Epis- ropal, one Protestant Methodist, one Christian (or Campbellite). two Presbyterian (Old and New School), two Congregationalist, one Epis- copalian, one Unitarian, one Universalist and one Catholic : and five in German, two Evan- gelical, one Lutheran, one Methodist Episcopal. and one Catholic. The Catholic societies were by far the largest of any of these. Their in- crease in this section for a good many years had been rapid and extensive. A public state- ment made abont this time reports the Catholic diocese of Quiney to embrace 52 churches. 39 stations, with a church attendance of 42,000.
Much the most comprehensive annual re- view of the city that had as yet appeared was prepared and published at the close of this year. It is too lengthy and detailed for repeti- tion here, though some of its principal state- ments may be shown. The gross amount of business reported displays a decided increase over any past year. The value of "agricul- tural exports" was as recited, $1.171,258. Among the leading items scheduled were 48,000 barrels of flour, valued at $312,000; of hay, 1,325 tons. $17.225: wheat. 22.294 bushels, $24 .- 633: oats. 192.839 bushels, $61.710: corn. 76 .- 416 bushels, $32,190; to this last article the compiler says should be added the 178,514 bushels that it took to make 624.800 gallons of
whiskey, worth $206,184, all of which was made and shipped from here. The total mim- ber of hogs packed was 23,000, an advance on the previous year, and the value of the manu- facture $296.144. Beef packing summed up a value of $49,149. Shipments south were made of 301,560 pounds of hides, valued at $15,078; 62,200 boxes of soap, $15,500; 4,215 boxes of candles, $25,440 : 3,000 barrels of crackers, $15,- 000. Of brick 6,000,000 were mannfactured. worth $21,000, and marble and stone work to an equal amount was done. Cabinet work amounted to $106,390. The cooper shops, 21 in mumber, turned out 55.400 Hour. 10,750 pork and 14,550 whiskey barrels, and other work amounting to $63,362. The 15 wagon and plow shops and the 2 carriage factories reported a business of $179,315; 2 planing mills and 18 carpenter shops $152,211: 1 steam saw mill $50.000: 5 machine shops, $77.450; 4 foundries (2 of them stove), $165,520; 5 saddle and har- ness shops. $77,030: 5 humber yards received 5,000,000 feet of pine lumber worth $100,000, 230 licensed stores of all kinds are reported as transacting business to the extent of $1.279.500. The compiler says in reference to the last amount above stated that he is disposed to consider it as possibly $200,000 too small. but that he had sedulously through his entire ex- amination, from fear of over-estimation. kept his figures down as much as possible.
This statement of the leading industries of the city was compiled by a quaint, earnest old gentleman, now deceased. who was from very early times and for nearly half a century one of the notables of the place, and of whom and his oddities a characteristic anecdote fol- lows. He was an excellent. benevolent man, defectively educated, but a singular compound of shrewd intelligence and eccentrie action, a most ardent whig. and opposed to innovation of old theories, political. medical or anywise. having an especial distrust of whatever new- fangled thing began with "anti" or ended with "isms." What the worthy captain pre- cisely meant by hydropathic inventions, he only could explain. He considered some med- ical quackery, or maybe a lurking pin on the sound of the first syllable of the word hydro- pathic. as the story below. one of a thousand such as might be told about him. illustrates :
At a social gathering, where the captain was present, during the time, many years ago, when animal magnetism. mesmerism. spiritnalism and such like perplexities were new, but per- vading the country, and as little understood then as now, the subject of transcendentalism became a topic of talk. It was a new idea and. a strange word to the captain, and kept him unusually silent for awhile. "Transcendental-
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ism," thought he to himself for awhile, all in a puzzle. Part of this word sounded familiar, but altogether it was too long and too deep for him. when suddenly some expression used in the discussion threw at once a flood of apparent light upon his mind. "Oh," said he, "I see what you're talking about: it's a religious fixin' it seems. I didn't know before what transdentalism meant. I thought it was some new fangled ism about the teeth!" And then he dived into the discussion as fearlessly, as learnedly, and no doubt as heidly as any of the other disputants. The subject was one which calls for more tongne than sense; and is well described by a satiric oll Scotch phil- osopher as the fairest of all themes for con- troversy, "because. dyje see. it's an equal for baith parties. for the mon who talked didna ken what he meant, and the gude folk that listen dinna ken p'en all of his fool elatter."
The unusual early spring flood, continuing throughout the summer, suddenly subsided in the late fall months, leaving an almost unpre- cedented low stage of water. On the middle of November thirty inches of water was reported in the river channel, and much floating ice thus early appeared. This shallow channel and ob- strueting ice continued throughout the coming winter, but at no time did the river freeze fast. Boats with difficulty made occasional trips from St. Louis to Keokuk all through the win- ter months.
There was much financial distrust and busi- ness embarrassment during this year all over the west. and especially in Illinois, growing out of the weakness of the state stock banking sys- tem. Illinois was flooded with bank paper se- cured by pledge of the uncertain and declining bonds of other states, and rivalry and competi- tion among the banks and brokers brought about some failures and created a general dis- trust towards all bank paper, yet the average prosperity continued, and in Quiney especially so, making this year, 1854, the most hopeful period in all its history to date.
CHAPTER XXXIII. 1855.
THE BAY A PLACE FOR WINTERING STEAM- BOATS. VOTING ON A TEMPERANCE LAW. SKINNER ELECTED JUDGE OF SUPREME
COURT. SIBLEY ELECTED JUDGE OF CIR- CUIT COURT. FISCAL STATEMENT. STREET IMPROVEMENTS. HOSPITAL GROUNDS PUR- CHASED. RAILROAD IMPROVEMENTS. WOOD- LAND ORPHANS' HOME. QUINCY AS A PORT OF ENTRY. A CITY DIRECTORY. U. S. LAND OFFICE MOVED TO SPRINGFIELD. REVIEW OF ITS HISTORY. THE NEWSPAPERS. MILI- TARY ORGANIZATION. PROSPERITY.
Business during the winter season was good. The pork production, at that time the best in-
dex of business prosperity, amounted to $35,- 000, which with the occasional steamboat ar- rivals, made activity and kept other occupa- tions active. The river continued to keep open throughout the early part of the winter, with more or less running ice, and an average of about three feet in the channel. It shut down on this uncertain navigation by freezing solid on the 25th of January. The last steamer which left here on the 22nd of Jannary was nearly a week on her passage to St. Louis. The river opened for the season on March Sth, and main- tained a good stage of water until its final freeze on the 24th of December. Some half dozen large steamers were laid up for the win- ter. painted and repaired, in the "bay," which made quite an addition to the business appear- ance of the place. This making use of the "bay" for the wintering and repair of boats during the winter, had been for a few years common, and after this time continued, but for some reason it has been abandoned. There is no place on the upper Mississippi so fitting in all respects as the Quiney Bay for "putting in ordinary" of steamboats in winter, and for several years it was not unusual to see half a dozen or more of No. 1 crafts there, among them sometimes, a large New Orleans steamer.
Two important elections were held during the summer of this year, one of them general, embracing the entire state. and the other, which occurred on the same day. June 6th. con- fined to the central section, including Quincy. where it aroused especial interest and feeling. The first was over the ratification by popular vote, of a stringent temperance law which had been passed at the preceding session of the legislature, subject to approval of the people. The law was largely fashioned after the Maine liquor law, and the contest over it was quite stirring, prodneing an unusually large vote (about 170,000), an increase of more than 30 .- 000 on the state vote of the previous year. No politieal lines were drawn at this election, which was the first of the kind held in Illinois. but action on the law was strongly sectional, it receiving general support in the northern counties, while in the southern section it was as uniformly opposed. It failed of ratification by about 14.000 votes. Quiney gave against it a majority of 105, which was increased in the county to 978.
The appointment of Judge Treat as United States district judge for sonthern Illinois made a vacancy in the supreme court of the state in the second district, and Judge Skinner, who had acceptably presided over the Adams and Hancock cirenit, offered as a candidate for that position. Opposed to him were Stephen T. Logan of Sangamon, and Charles H. Constable
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of Wabash counties. Political feeling was not enlisted in this election, but like the election on the liquor question, local sentiment and preference was active and controlling each aspirant receiving the general vote of his own section of the district, and Judge Skinner was easily snecessful by about 10,000 majority. The contest for the circuit judgeship and a sie- cessor to Judge Skinner, was like the above. a sort of triangular duel, and was attended with more of personal bitterness than often at- taches to a purely political contest. The Adams county bar, with a desire to avoid political strife, had almost unanimously recommended for this position George Edmunds, an active and rising young lawyer of Quincy. A per- sonal hostility to Mr. Edmunds brought for- ward an opposition and some severe attacks, which were refuted, but operated upon the elec- tion. Resultant on this was the candidacy of Joseph Sibley and JJohn W. Marsh of Hancock county. the first, as the nominee of a democratic convention, and the latter one of the oldest and most experienced lawyers of the state. sup- ported generally by the whigs of the district. such as had not committed themselves to the support of Mr. Edmunds. It was a close and doubtful election, ending in the election of Mr. Sibley by a small majority. Judge Sibley was three times re-chosen to this office, holding it for twenty-four years, the longest term of ju- dicial circuit service known in the state.
The fall election for county officers excited but little interest. Three officials, treasurer. school superintendent and surveyor, only were to be chosen, and the democrats elected them all. At the city election in April J. M. Pitman was the democratie candidate for re-election to the mayoralty, and was successful with the rest of the ticket by 250 majority over Win. B. Pow- ers. "independent" candidate. This secured the democratic control of the council, which was continued through the three succeeding years, and no changes were made among the official representatives of the city.
The annual "tiscal statement" of the city for the year ending April 1. 1855, exhibited a more economical administration of the city af- fairs than that of the preceding year, when. as per this report, the expenditures had exceeded the receipts by $4,174.37. while by the showing of '54-55 the receipts amounted to $37.476.64 and the expenditures to only $36.993.95, Jeav- ing a balance on hand of $482.69.
A very decided advance in population was told by the state census taking during this sum- mer, 10.754 against 6,901 as returned by the na- tional census in 1850, showing an increase of over 56 per eent within five years. An nn- usnal amount of substantial improvement also
marks the records of this year. Jersey street. making now the seventh completed traversable track between the upper and the river section of the city. was graded from Third to Front street. Maine street was macadamized from Fifth to Eighth and brought to a better level father east. Broadway east of Wood, or Twelfth street. as it now was called, was in- creased in width to 76 feet to correspond with ils western width. Thirteenth nor Fourteenth street was opened from Jersey to Broadway. This opening was the first departure from the original town plan which had heretofore been generally followed, of evenly bounded blocks 24 rods square and streets 4 rods wide; a very judicious arrangement, neatly adapted to the system of the federal land surveys and to the road laws of the state. The innovation in the establishment of Fourteenth street by making a block of double the nsnal length from east to west has since been followed in some other ad- ditions in the eastern part of the city by leav- ing ont each odd mimbered street running north and south. It was growing out of this. and with the idea of regulating the future shaping of the city, that the council, however, not now excepting to this particular measure, made the requirement, under the provisions of a state law to that effeet, that all plots and plans for addition to the city must before be- ing recorded obtain the approval of the city commeil. The chief idea in this ordinance be- ing to ensure that all streets, platted in the outer sections of the city. shall conform in width and alignment to those already existing, even though they may not connect therewith. Orange street. since called Eighteenth, was opened from State street to Chestnut. This was on the line which had heretofore been the most eastern boundary of the city. A large addition was now made. At the January meet- ing of the council a new city charter was pro- posed and the mayor authorized to proceed to Springfield and urge its passage through the legislature. The main feature in the new charter was the enlargement of the city area. It proposed to about double the area of the city, making Twenty-fourth street the eastern and Loenst and Harrison the northern and southern boundaries. The measure passed with some opposition, and was much resented by many parties, who. owning land near the city. were thus forced into citizenship against their wish and made to encounter increased taxation and responsibility for the large past and prospective city deht.
Orange street continued to be the eastern boundary of the city. The proposed amend- ment to the charter for the purpose of enlarg- ing the city area, although it easily passed
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through the council. met with much opposition in the legislature, where the outside interests could make themselves heard, and it failed to become a law. Two years later, however, at the regular session, the same measure was in- troduced and passed in January, 1857, and at the same session. a month later, another amend- ment to the charter was passed adding to the city what was then known as East Quiney, an area of about eighty acres bounded by Broad- way and Thirtieth. an east and west line about on the extension of Jersey street taking in the old city cemetery, and Twenty-fourth streets. These lines, then made. have not since been -hanged and constitute the present bounds of the city. An order was made by the council that there should be prepared by the city engi- neer a complete plan of the city, showing the grades of all the streets and alleys. their di- mensions, with points of intersection defined and marked, and figures attached, which shoukl be the official record of grades as uniformly established all over the city, the same to be finished within two years. This was a project like that which had been begun in the preced- ing year, but then only partially carried out. Before the two years' limit expired. the addi- tion to the city above mentioned was made and the work extended so as to comprehend its entire area. and this established system of sur- vey and grades remains. with occasionally slight alterations such as the local interest seemed to require. A charter for Quincy water works was obtained from the legislature, but nothing resulted from it. Ten years later a charter for the same purpose passed the legis- lature, but did not receive the executive ap- proval, and it was not until about ten years farther on that an individual enterprise, com- menced on a somewhat limited seale, perma- nently established for the city this essential improvement. Purchase was made by the city of John Wood, for $8.160 in eight year bonds. of what was then called the Hospital grounds (since used for that and other police purposes). a tract of land of about eight acres lying west of Fifth street and south of and adjoining the Woodland cemetery.
An important business arrangement was now coneluded between the city and the railroad company, by which the latter obtained from the city permanent rights in portions of the publie ground belonging to the city, and trans- ferred as consideration to the city the owner- ship of several pieces of property. mostly city lots along the river bank, which the railroad company had obtained by purchase, or had re- ceived in the form of subscription towards its construction. Much of the land which the rail- road company thus obtained and needed for its
uses, that lying north of Broadway, was subject to overflow at a high stage of water, and the grade had to be raised several feet. On this the buikling of an engine house and machine shops. of stone. and a large frame freight depot was begun early in the fall and sufficiently com- pleted for use early in the following year.
A charter was obtained from the legislature in February for the Woodland Orphans' Home. This charity was projected in 1853, when fif- teen philanthropie citizens united for its estab- lishment, each one pledging $100 towards the purchase of a ground site on which to found the enterprise. The land was bought for this amount, $1,500. of John Wood, being the block owned by the "Home" ou Fifth street, east of the cemetery From this time the institut- tion has been successfully conducted, doing much good. It has secured a holl upon the general sympathies of all classes in the com- munity. causing it to become one of the most useful and popular among the public charities of the city.
Among the many notable "first things" of the place, which are always curious, was the direct importation of foreign goods to Quiney. through the medium of no other custom house. thus placing Quiney on a direct trading foot- ing with all the rest of the world, which is told thus: "The first government duties on foreign merchandise received from any of our mer- chants by the collector of the port of Quincy, were paid a few days since by Messrs. L. & C. 11. Bull. on cutlery and files imported by them from Sheffield, England. This house has for some time past imported direct many of the goods of foreign manufacture required for their business, but before Quiney was created a port of delivery, the duties had been paid at the port of entry, New Orleans."
The office had been established at Quincy about two years before, but it was to facilitate the importation of railroad iron. and only this class of freight had been received up to this period. According to the record, the above shipment and receipt was Quincy's first private mercantile transaction with foreign countries.
The very important exchange of property and rights between the city and the railroad com- pany, before mentioned as having been con- summated by the action of the council. has been so often a question of curiosity. and sometimes of legal controversy. that a detail of the prop- erty transferred. is here given. It was a well considered and thoroughly understood transac- tion at the time, supposed to exchange equal equities, permanent in their nature and mutu- ally advantageous.
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