Past and present of the city of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois, Part 24

Author: Collins, William H. (William Hertzog), 1831-1910; Perry, Cicero F., 1855- [from old catalog] joint author; Tillson, John, 1825-1892. History of the city of Quincy, Illinois. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1228

USA > Illinois > Adams County > Quincy > Past and present of the city of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois > Part 24

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A special consus ordered by the city coun- «il, in connection with the public school mat- ters, and very carefully taken by I. O. Wood- ruff. gave a total population on the 16th of May, of 5,896; white males. 2,953, white fe- males, 2,841 ; blacks, males, 52. females, 49.

The winter of '47-48 was long, but mild. A great deal of snow fell early, often and late, affording almost uninterrupted good sleighing throughout the winter. There was as late as March 6th, the day of the election on the new constitution, a snow storm of unusual severity.

The first steamboat hull constructed in Quiney was during this year. It was set up at the foot of Delaware street, and was lanneh- ed on the 18th of March. The advantages of Quincy, as a steamboat building point, with the convenient harbor of its "bay," had been in earlier times nich dwelt upon, and hence this launch was quite an affair and attracted a large concourse of people. The hull was successfully set afloat, and towed down to St. Louis, to be completed and receive its ma- chinery.

Telegraphic communication with the ontside world was established in the summer of this year. It had been much delayed by a con- troversy between the O'Rielly. and the Ken- dall & Smith interests, which had extended all over the west. Quincy was called upon for a subseription of $10.000. At a publie meet- ing held on the 26th of February, $7.200 was subscribed. Soon after the full amount was made up. On the 8th of July the wires were brought into Quiney. The first formal mes- sage transmitted was from Sylvester Emmons. at Beardstown, to the Quincy Whig, to which a reply was sent, as the Whig mentioned it. "Quick as lightning." On the 12th. the line was completed from Beardstown to Spring- field, making a connection with St. Louis.

The Quincy Library. now in the seventh year of its existence, reported having on its shelves thirteen hundred volumes, and also the

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possession of a valuable philosophical ap- paratus.

The first "directory" of the city now made its appearance. It was a crude affair, as con- trasted with those of later days, but answered the wants of the time. It was gotten up by a Dr. Ware, also a stranger in the city. He was an eccentric man. He projected about this time, what he called a "Mutual Political Journal." It was to be a novelty in this way. One-half was to be edited by a Whig, and the other by a Demoerat, so that the parties could fight their battles on the one field. The proj- et died about the time that it was born. There had before this, been two attempts at making up a directory, but they were trifling. and this one of Ware's may be fairly called the first complete one, such as it was.

Quincy had as yet, no railroad facilities, or "railroad felieities," as it was ignorantly but felicitiously expressed by a blundering member of the Legislature, who did not realize his own apt perversion of language when he thus styled them. The only railroad in actual operation in the state at this time was that completed portion of the Northern Cross Road (now the Wabash) between Springfield and Naples, which was all that had cropped ont from the great Internal Improvement system of 1836. This magnificent plan which was to have spider-webbed all Illinois with iron, and upon which millions of money had been wasted. was now dead. beyond all resurrection, and with it had sunk the credit of the state, but a fever- ish feeling was everywhere prevalent that the interior resonrees of the state outside the range of lake and river navigation should be reached after and developed. Railroad meetings had been held here in December, 1847, and in January and later in the year 1848. These movements culminated soon after in the build- ings of the C. B. & Q .. and afterward, the Wa- bash to Quiney and the commencement of our great railroad bond indebtedness. The state sold its unfinished railroads; and that portion of the "Northern Cross" west of the Illinois river, upon which some hundreds of thousands of dollars had been expended, was purchased by parties in Adams and Brown counties for $8,000. The company commenced work. but not very successfully, and finally merged their ownership and interests with the city by whose large subscription mainly the roads were constructed.

The city council with an eye, that it has al- ways had, sometimes with more zeal than judgment, towards advancing the material gen- eral prosperity of the city, appropriated $500 towards the improvement of the harbor con-

citioned on the citizens subscribing an equal amount. The appropriation stood, but the in- dividual subscriptions were laggard. At their May meeting the council, acceding to the re- quest of the city council of Alton, passed reso- tions of remonstrance against the action of the city of St. Louis in the building of a dyke from Bloody Island to the Illinois shore, thus foreing the Mississippi into the narrow channel that it now has between this island and the Missouri shore. This was the commencement of a controversy between Illinois and Missouri interests, which lasted, and controlled our leg- islature for the following fifteen years. The issne was, that all public improvements in Il- linois shonkl be for the benefit solely of points in Illinois, and not for places in either of the states on onr eastern of western boundary. That is all forgotten now.

The fire department, which Quincy has al- ways had reason to pride itself on, took its best start this year. Its inception was in 1838 when the town bought four ladders, twelve buckets and six firehooks, which led at once to the formation of a hook and ladder com- pany. This was followed in 1839 by the pur- chase of a fire engine at a cost of $1,125, and the organization of Fire company No. 1. It would be amusing now to read the list of the now "grave and revered seniors." Wells, Bull, Stone. Morgan, Green and others, the young bneks of that time who "ran with the machine." Another engine, a second-hand one from St. Louis, the "Marion," was purchased by the city for the sum of $600, a company, No. 2, formed of similar men to those above named and from the emulation that sprang at once came the high efficiency and repute which this department of the city institutions has always maintained.

The annual fiscal statement for the year end- ing April, 1848, exhibited a much larger reve- nue than that of any of the preceding eight years, and also a corresponding increase of ex- penditure. The total expense record of the city was $15.794.05. and as showing how and where the money went, among the larger items of account were for salaries, $1,547.86: streets, $2,600; schools, $1,841.88; poorhouse and pan- pers, $1,142.46; publie landing, $635.65; inter- est on debt. $1,498.90; fire department, $258.88. There was received from taxes, $6,271; wharf- age, $1,147.31: licenses, $2.656.97.

The bonded debt at this time was compara- tively small and the interest was regularly met. The credit of the city was good, vouch- ers generally passed at a little less than face value, and it was not until some years later that they declined to the ruinous rate of dis-

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count under which they weakened for twenty years or more. It was a costly after-page in the city history, when for many years, its war- rants and vouchers bore a depreciated value of from thirty to forty percent, causing an equiv- alent addition to the cost of every publie im- provement or expenditure and adding just so much more to the increasing pecuniary bur- den. The usual tax levy was ordered of 12 of one per cent for general and 1s of one per cent for school purposes. The schools were now in a prosperous and improving condition. An attempt was made by the colored citizens to obtain a separate public school. Several meet- ings were held and the council was petitioned in that behalf, but the matter was deferred and nothing came of it.

The past experiments of the city in running the ferry had never given satisfaction and it was now licensed to the charter owners for $61 per month.

The winter business of 1847-48 figured up fairly, the price of hogs ran from $1.75 to $2.15, and 19,906 were reported as packed, the largest number yet known. Wheat through the season averaged about 75 cents. The mills reported in the fall about 3,000 bushels ground daily. Quite a loss to the place occurred on the 18th of September in the destruction by fire of Miller's woolen factory, which had been well operated for the past two years. A se- vere tornado struck the city on the 21st of June, destroying several buildings and doing a good deal of general damage.

Another weekly newspaper made its appear- ance on the 13th of September. It was called the Quincy Tribune and Free Soil Banner, edited by an association of gentlemen. It was as its name indicated, an anti-slavery exten- sion or "Wilmot proviso" journal and sup- ported the Van Buren and Adams electoral tickets. It was spieily conducted during the campaign, but the publication ceased in the following year. On the first of December was issned the Western Law Journal, edited by Charles Gilman, reporter for the Illinois Su- preme Court. It was the first legal journal of its kind in the state and continued in monthly publication until the death of its editor a year or two later.

At the August election, the last which was held in that month, the new constitution hav- ing changed the time to November. Wm. A. Richardson was re-elected to congress withont opposition, and the democrats carried the county by majorities varying from 200 to 350. O. C. Skinner, J. Marritt and Jonathan Dear- born were elected to the house over B. D. Stev- enson. JJ. Irwin and Hans Patten, the district embracing Adams and Brown counties; H. L.

Sutphin was chosen state senator from Adams and Pike, beating Archibald Williams five votes in Adams and much more in Pike. There was a good deal of interest over the election of circuit clerk and recorder. It was the first time this office had become elective. Abraham Jonas was the whig candidate and Peter Lott, 1. O. Woodruff and C. M. Woods were in the field as democratic candidates. The day be- fore the election the latter two withdrew in favor of Lott, who was thus successful over Jonas by 323 majority.

The presidential election in 1848 was marked by the earnestness and excitement which always attends these contests, but it possessed a peculiar interest from the presence of a third factor in the field. This was the free soil party, with Martin Van Buren and Charles Francis Adams as its candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency. This movement operated powerfully in the north- eastern states and to a lighter degree in the west. but it ent sufficiently into both of the two great parties everywhere to shadow the result with uncertainty. The close completeness of this canvass and the vote drawn out, is shown by the fact that at the state election in August the highest total vote cast in Adams county (now consolidated by reunion with Marquette) was 3,329; while three months later in No- vember, at the presidential election, these fig- ures rose to 4,488, out of which Cass, the demo- eratie nominee, received 203 more than Taylor, the whig candidate. This majority was all made in the city, the county vote outside of Quiney being an exaet tie between the two. Van Buren's vote was 261. The election lay undecided for several days, and it was not until late on the night of Friday after the day of election, that the telegraph brought the re- turns from three southern states assuring the victory to the whigs.

The city was made lively at once, but the result had been so long in doubt and each side was so hopeful that for awhile both parties were on the hurrah, and it took some time for them to unmix and the beaten ones to go to bed again. An odd little incident oc- eurred in connection with this election. It was the first election by ballot that had been held in the state, and the writer, with another, started out the day before to distribute the printed whig tickets at several precinets in the county, and voted at one of them on the day following. It happened that there were no Van Buren tickets there, and several sturdy democrats were present who had long looked to Mr. Van Buren as their political leader, and were desirons of voting for him. No one knew the names of the free soil electors, and we

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were called upon, but could only remember the two leading names. These we gave, and a ticket was written out, headed with Van Bu- ren's name and these two eleetors only, which received some ten or fifteen votes. These were counted and canvassed, no exception being taken, a procedure that would not go through anywhere nowadays, unless in Chicago.

The first fireman's parade, of which the eity has since had so many, came off on the 4th of July. It was a successful event. The two Quincy companies and a visiting company from St. Louis formed the procession and par- ticipated in the contests. A pleasant episode occurred on the 26th of October, on the occa- sion of the retirement of Judge Purple from the bench where he had so popularly presided for several years. It was the presentation of an address and resolution of regret to which the Judge feelingly responded, which was fol- lowed by a farewell banquet given by the members of the bar.

CHAPTER XXVII.

1849.

TAXATION OF CITY PROPERTY FOR COUNTY

PURPOSES. PUBLIC READING ROOM. FE- MALE SEMINARY ESTABLISHED ON MAINE STREET. FINANCIAL. CHOLERA. CALIFOR- NIA EMIGRATION. J. M. HOLMES. THESPIAN SOCIETY. PICKETT, THE FAMOUS CONFED- ERATE GENERAL, AN AMATEUR ACTOR. POP- ULAR LECTURES, LIBRARY. SLANDER SUIT OF BROOKS AND BARTLETT. RAILROADS AGAIN, CHANGE IN COUNTY GOVERNMENT.

The vexed matter of the taxation of city property for county purposes became a matter of consideration and conference between com- mittees of the city council and the county eom- missioners, but there was no result reached. At the November election the question of adopting township organization for the county was submitted and carried by a vote of 1754 to 453, every precinct in the county voting for the measure except Quincy, where the vote stood 228 for to 276 against, the Quincy vote being largely influeneed by the belief of many that if the city became a township it would in- jure its chanees of remaining as the county seat. This was unfortunate. Heretofore the estrangement between city and county had been caused by the county seat quarrel. Now, and for nearly forty years after, there was added to this the issue of unequal taxation. That the Quincy people had some foundation for their fears is shown by the faet that in De- cember an effort was made to re-open the old county seat matter through an application to the county court to have the case reinstated. It did not, however, prevail.

The cause of most of the diseordance be- tween the eity and county was an article in the first eharter, passed by the Legislature. in 1840, exempting "the inhabitants of the city of Quincy * * *

* from any tax for eoun- ty purposes, except for the completion of the county jail, now being erected in said city." This puerile provision quietly interpolated into the charter with the thought perhaps that something might be gained thereby, attracted but little attention at first, but soon after proved to be a "Pandora's box" of evil and dissension. It was unnecessary, as subsequent history has shown, but it long served as a source from which prejudice, jealousy, per- sonal interests, and political demagoguery voukl always make material for discord and strife. This is to a great degree now allaved, but it was throughout the lifetime of a genera- tion and a half an ever festering sore.

A public reading room, which had been started late in the fall preceding, on quite an extensive scale, flourished well through the early part of this year. Its rooms were on Fourth street, between Maine and Jersey, and it announced as having on its files over 60 newspapers. It was popularly patronized for a brief time, but, like several other institutions of the same kind in the past, its life was brief, scarcely reaching into the second year.

Educational interests were roused by the coming to the city of Miss Catherine Beeeher, of the well-known Beecher family, who had de- voted herself to the establishment of female schools. Under the stimulus of Miss Beeeher's prestige and presence much interest was awakened and at a publie meeting on May 31 the project was set on foot to establish a first- class female seminary, many of the leading people giving favor to the enterprise. It con- templated an expenditure of $10,000 in ground, buildings, ete. The sehool was located on Maine, near the corner of Sixth street, and commenced with high expectations. It was superior to any that had preceded it, but it finally went the way of the others, after a duration measured more by months than by years.

The annual fiseal statement for the year end- ing April 1, 1849, gave a elearer idea in its de- tail and summary of the financial condition of the city, than had been usually made in these periodical exhibits. From that it appears that the receipts into the treasury, from all sources had been, during the year. $12,718.92; while the expenditures during the same period were $12.217.88. The liabilities of the city were plaeed at $35.834.65, a large portion of which was the outstanding vouchers. The debt of

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the city, as summarized in this statement, was: Treasury orders, $246.92; bills payable, $25,- 056.19; vouchers in circulation, $1.927.39: to- tal, $27.230,50. It was an important period in the financial record of the city, for the reason that during this year there came the first large demand for the payment of the outstanding and matured eity bonds, which now had to be paid or provided for in some way, and with this came also as the necessary consequence- Quincy's first experiment in "refunding." This became now a necessity and it was at- tended to later in the year, as will be told in its time and place, but it struck at a time when the city credit was at a very low ebb, and, of course, we had to pay for it. The current ex- penses of the past year were not large. The street appropriations were very small com- pared with those of earlier years, being but $2,711.15 : the ferry, always an annoyance and expense, had cost $1,552.86; and the fire de- partment had needed $1,124.21. To these, add the interest account of $1,293.12, and all the chief items over $1,000.00 of expenditure are recited. Yet there were many minor expenses which swelled the total of expenditure to an equality with the receipts, leaving nothing wherewith to meet the acerning debt.

Mr. Conyers, who was chosen mayor now for the third time, having been elected in 1842 and 1843 and a candidate for the same in 1844. lle was a man of much personal popularity and usefulness as a public citizen. Beside the serv- ice he had rendered the city as mayor, he had formerly been one of the town trustees, and had also held other positions of publie trust. It was his fate to die of cholera three months after his election, honored and lamented. He was the first mayor who died in office. There has been but one like occurrence since, W. T. Rogers died in 1880, near the close of his see- ond term. The office vacated by the death of Mayor Conyers was filled at a special election, on August 20, when Samuel Holmes was chosen. Mr. Holmes had just been removed from the position of register of the publie land office which he had acceptably filled. Ile was an enterprising and popular man, though an extreme partisan. No opposition was made to his election.

The change of administration by the elec- tion of Taylor as President in 1848, made the usual official changes here, whigs easily ad- justing themselves to the seats that had been for years past filled by democrats. Abraham Jonas became postmaster, sueeeeding Dr. S. W. Rogers, Archibald Williams was appointed United States District Attorney for Illinois. Dr. Iliram Rogers and Samuel Holmes, Re- ceiver and Register of the publie land office,

were succeeded respectively by II. V. Sullivan and Henry Asbury.

The city debt question occupied the atten- tion of the council throughout the first six months of their sessions. At the first meeting on May Ist the subject came up and a resolu- tion passed authorizing a loan of $20,000 and the issuing of an equal amount of bonds bear- ing six per cent interest. Some irregularities in the early proceedings, the death of the mayor and other causes, delayed the consuni- mation of this project, although it was con- stantly before the council until October 26, when the order passed upon which the transac- tion was completed, and twenty "Special Loan Bonds" of $1,000 each, drawing 6 per cent in- terest, were issued and immediately purchased by Page & Bacon, of St. Louis, for eighty cents on the dollar, the council ratifying the sale. At this time ( October) Mayor Holmes officially published the entire corporation debt as amounting to $28,642.03, drawing six per cent interest, that $15,005.70 was now due, and that the city revenue was $13,500. In this state- ment he did not mention the property owned by the eity, which would have fairly footed up to an amount much over its indebtedness. The city was then unquestionably solvent. Propo- sitions looking to economy and limitation of expenditures were made and to some extent carried out. The salary of the mayor and of the city clerk was fixed at $250 each, and like measures taken towards enrtailment. This was an expensive year on account of the chol- era which raged so fatally through the hot months, and the consequent depression of busi- ness and other causes.

This was a gloomy and depressed period for Quincy, as it was for nearly every other place in the west. Pestilence plared its paralyzing hand on all interests with a grasp and weight that can only be realized by those who have felt its dark experience. The conditions of sixteen years before were repeated, when, pre- ceded by two sickly seasons of fever, the Asiatic cholera, deeimated, within one week, the en- tire population of the little village, then con- taining between four and five hundred people. Many of the early settlers still vividly retained an apprehensive recollection of the sad scenes through which they had gone during that brief visitation of this desolating scourge. The smallpox, a more odious pest than the cholera, had in the winter and early spring prevailed to such an extent as to arouse publie alarm and to call for the preventive action of the author- ities, in the preseribing of general vaccination, isolation of the sick, establishing a pest house, etc. Its ravages had nearly ceased, when the more fearful foe appeared. not unexpectedly.

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The uncertainties that surrounded its stealthy coming gave it (aided by its chief agent, Fright.) a greatly increased fatality.

During the preceding year it had swept through the seaboard and lake cities and early in the spring developed itself in the Missis- sippi Valley, eoming upon Qniney like a light- ning stroke. On Saturday, March 17th, five cases were reported, all of which proved fatal during the night and Sunday. Two of them were four miles north in the country, at Mil- ler's or Leonard's Mill. The other three were in the sonth part of the city. Only one more death ocenrred during this month, and none in April, thus giving hope that the blast had passed by, but with a like suddenness it reap- peared on the 13th of May, when five deaths were reported, and before the end of the month seven additional fatal cases occurred : vet on the 1st of June and for the following ten days there were none. But, with a dead- lier stroke it returned for the third time. on the 11th of June, and from that time continued to increase in the number of cases and malig- nancy, up to the 4th week in July. when it commeneed ahating. About the first week in September it finally disappeared.

How it affected public feeling and business is expressed by the Whig, which, in its issue of July 10th, says: "The siekness last week. and the increased number of deaths, seems to have spread a gloom over the city, visible in the countenances of all. It is indeed a trying time in the history of Quincy. All business in a measure is suspended. Our country friends seem to have deserted us. but few visit the city, and those only who are compelled to do so, to provide the necessaries for the harvest. Travel, to a great extent, on the river, is sus- pended for the present, and the packets now plying between this city and St. Louis are probably not paying expenses. How long this state of gloom and despondeney is to last, the Great Disposer of events only knows."

Two hundred and thirty-six deaths from cholera were officially reported as late as the latter part of Angust, when the disease had nearly run its course, but this record is de- fertive, since many burials were unreported. The distinction between deaths from "chol- era" and "other causes" was for reasons that will be understood, usually made to discredit the extent of the epidemic so as to allay appre- hension. An addition of at least one hundred to the above figures would be not far from correct. The heaviest mortality was in the last week in July, when 44 deaths were reported. the total number reported for this month be- ing 142, and the most deaths on any one day being 15 on the 29th.

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Past and present of the city of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois, Part 24

Author: Collins, William H. (William Hertzog), 1831-1910; Perry, Cicero F., 1855- [from old catalog] joint author; Tillson, John, 1825-1892. History of the city of Quincy, Illinois. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1228

Author: Collins, William H. (William Hertzog), 1831-1910; Perry, Cicero F., 1855- [from old catalog] joint author; Tillson, John, 1825-1892. History of the city of Quincy, Illinois. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago, S. J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1228