Past and present of the city of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois, Part 7

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 7

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amusing features. The "height of the style," as now seen, will well pass for a patent seare- crow forty or fifty years hence, just as a street or party exhibition of the full-dress garb of a generation past, would cause the fair fashion- ables of to-day, with an "'oh! merey !" shock and shudder, to pull back and train out yet further in very defense.

A brief description of a handsome. conseious rustic Adams county belle, as she appeared when dashing up to the meetin'-house door on horseback, some fifty odd years ago, is thus told by a lady observer. She had been a belle also in the rural region from which she came to the West, and brought with her some rem- nants of her former finery, styles, even then passed out of fashion. Dark grey woolen stock- ings, cowhide brogans, with leather shoe- strings, a very short. sky-blue silk skirt, some- what faded; a black silk waist or sleeveless jacket. also much worn and furnishing its own fringe in the fray of its edges ; enormous white puffed leg-of-mutton sleeves: a square muslin cape, with a broad, unstarched ruffle. a huge white leghorn, sugar scoop bonnet, with a long black feather and parti-colored ribbons promis- «uously bestowed thereon. Would not such an apparition now-a-days induce our neatly dressed church-goers to say "oh. Moses?"

Equally primitive with the dress and per- sonale of our "old settlers" was the contracted and most home made furnishings of their homes. As the succeeding year marked the commencement of more pretentious construc- tions, with their natural accompaniments of increased comfort and style, it is worth the while to look briefly into these old-time house- holds which depicted modes of life and usage, the same throughout the entire community, such as just then were about to begin passing away, and such as this section will never be- hold again. The houses, as has been stated, were all built of logs, generally the round log with the bark left on. the interstices " chinked " with strips of wood driven between the logs and then mortared with clay, making thus a thiek, warm wall, impervious to wind or damp. The door was fastened by a large, wooden lateh on the inside : the latch raised by a string which passed to the outside through a hole in the door. the string being pulled in at night : it turned on wooden hinges, which were of two kinds-either a huge imitation of the great gate hinges of to-day, or more commonly a straight upright stick, the height of the door, fastened to its back end. having dull pointed ends above and below to revolve in a hole in the floor and one in the frame above.

The floor was carpetless, and why! First,

PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.

because there were no carpets to be had, and next for the reason that carpets would have had a short existence on the puncheon floor. These puncheons were made by splitting through the center, logs of from eight to ten feet in length and from twenty to thirty inches in diameter, and laying them along side each other, the flat side up and the lower or round side partially imbedded in the ground. Such floors were often convenient to the housewife when sweeping, since part of the dirt would drop through the interstices, and so much less remained to be swept out of the door. Bed- steads were easily made in the corners of the room ; the walls constituting the head and one side, the other side and the foot being supported by a single leg or post. Wooden pegs were driven into the walls, on which hung cloth- ing. Near the fireplace, a half dozen rough shelves for holding dishes, these usually covered by a cloth in place of a door. A broad, long board was above the great fire-place, on which would be placed all sorts of things, rarely omitting the bottle of bitters (roots or "yarbs" in whiskey), the universal panacea to keep off the periodical "shake." It is very surprising to know how broadly prevalent in those days was the "fever-an-ager." Indeed, not to be subject to it, was the sanitary exception rather than the rule.

Additional to the furnishings above named was the table, home-manufactured, heavy and strong, about three feet square (more often less) for the two-fold reason that there was but little spare space for it and that there were not enough dishes to go around on a larger one ; also three or four stools, a bench and some- times a couple of split-bottomed chairs; the water bucket, or in its place the piggin, these were the sum total of the cabinet ware of the house. Cloths suspended from the rafters by strings, sometimes surrounded the heds, mak- ing them more private; but this was not usual.

For the needs of cooking and eating, no great variety was required. It will be remembered that all cooking was then done either in the fire- place or over coals on the hearth. Cook stoves had not yet come into use; even the inven- tions so prized, which immediately preceded the introduction of the stove. these were the tin coaster and tin baker-had not made their ap- pearance. The spider, a utensil now com- paratively little used, was then of universal use for baking purposes. It was a large, flat iron skillet with four short legs, an iron cover, con- cave on the top. This, when filled with dough was placed on a bed of coals, the top profusely filled with the same, and most excellent was the bake. Boiling was done in a large iron

kettle, suspended over the fire by a hook which hung in the huge chimney. Occasionally, an iron erane, turning on a hinge and attached to one side of the chimney, took place of the hook, but these were not common.

These two articles were the necessities and answered most of the needs of all. A small amount of crockery was sometimes seen, but limited in quantity. Tinware was common and applied generally to all sorts of uses. The great chinmey and its broad, cheerful fire-place, whether open and elean-swept in summer, or bright with the blaze of its huge crackling logs in winter, was an essential feature of the house ; giving ventilation at one season and warmth and light during the other. Occupying with the fire-place usually half of one end of the house, it was built up outside of and against it. It was mostly made of sticks, completely covered and imbedded in clay. This would after awhile sometimes burn ont, but with attention it was very durable. Now and then the lower part of the chimney and the inside hearth were made of flat stones mortared with clay.

These houses, though small, usually about six- teen feet, rarely over twenty, square and seem- ingly cramped, had a singular capacity for accommodating many, and if constructed with ordinary care. were very comfortable and healthy at all seasons.

The brief descriptions above apply to the more crude and earlier structures, and more especially to those in the country, yet it was such as these that were still by far the most common. There were a few more spacious and pretentious habitations built according to the means and tastes of their owners with greater care and regard to appearance. The frames of such were of square hewn logs, the four corners of the house sawed off evenly, the heighth sometimes sufficient to have a sort of half story attic above, with a clapboard floor- ing. The ascent to this attic was by a ladder from the corner of the room below. In these better built cabins occasionally would be seen a floor of split boards, and perhaps a breadth or two of rag carpeting, and a small cupboard, burean, or rocking chair brought from the former home, or other articles of similar kind. The families who first settled here encumbered themselves on their long journey with as little weighty or bulky furniture as possible, and the younger families made up in the West could as yet find neither the articles nor the where- with to buy.

The best of the houses were the double cabins, joined by a common roof, with the inter- vening space usually about fifteen or twenty feet in width, left unenclosed at one end, with

PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.

doors opening on opposite sides into either honse. As more room came to be required an additional eabin would be attached wherever it appeared most handy, without any anxiety about architectural rules so that in the course of time, the group of buildings presented as irregular and as rough an appearance as a cluster of oysters. Thus looked Quincy from ontside and within over a half century ago. The survivors of those times to whom it is a personal remembrance are but two, Mrs. Levi Wells, whose husband was one of the first three county commissioners elected in 1825, and who eame to the county in 1824, and a few years later moved into the village, and Mr. Robert Tillson, who arrived here early in 1829, are the only living residents now here who were of matured years and can recall the appearance of the place prior to 1830.

The oldest living person now residing here, who was born in Quincy, and was born before 1830, is Mr. Daniel C. Wood, eldest son of the Jate. Gov. Wood.

The descriptions above given may seem need- less on account of their being not unfamiliar appearances to many at the present day, but they form an essential part of these current sketches and must somewhere have a place therein.

CHAPTER XI.

1829.

SLOW PROGRESS. FIRST MECHANICS. FREEING SLAVES. THE ROWDY.

There was little to attract settlement in the aspect of a ragged looking hamlet containing less than two hundred people, and composed of about a dozen log cabins strung along the river shore, uninviting in appearance, with the ex- ception of the Keyes' cabin at the foot of Ver- mont. This was improved in the fall of this year by a little frame addition, a ten or twelve foot square room, being the second frame strue- ture in the place. Wood's cabin at the foot of Delaware. the first one built, now, however, had received some log extensions. There were also on the hill, scattered irregular around, and near the public square, about a seore of similar cabins.

As vet no frame or brick house had been built, and lath and plaster were yet to come. The place was little more than a steamboat landing for the boats that passed occasionally,

on their trips to and from Galena and St. Louis. Often these passed by without having occasion to stop, having neither passengers nor freight to deliver, and not being signalled to receive either. It was these occasional appearances of steamers, of which three or four plied between the two points named, making a trip once in three weeks, which, whether they landed or not, gave a temporary life and stir to the village and caused the only break in its every day monotony.

There were two stores, those of Anderson and of Tillson & Ilolmes, which sold everything that was needed, and took as pay anything in trade, and there were some half a dozen groceries which dealt in one single staple ar- tiele, and did therein a more inspiring, if not a more lucrative business than did the general stores, and were far more popular.

This year came the second physician, S. W. Rogers, and the first lawyer. Archibald Wil- liams. There were several mechanical occupa- tions represented, each singly, thus having the entire monopoly of the town trade in their own line. There was the saddler, L. B. Allen, with his shop on the south side of Maine, nearly on the highest point of the bluff; east of him, on the same side of the street were Michael Mast's tailor and Justus Ensign's hatter shops, and nearly opposite, the store of Asher Anderson. On Front, near York, was the tannery of Ira Pierce and Jeptha Lambkin's pottery. Col. Freeman, blacksmith, was northwest of the square, and Asa Tyrer and Samuel Seward had a blacksmith and wagon shop southeast of the town. Dronlard's shoemaker's shop was at his cabin near where the gas works now are. These cover most of the mechanical occupations which were here at the commencement, though others came during the year. Strange it may seem. and yet not so, because there was nothing yet for them to do, there was neither a carpenter nor a mason in the place.

The circuit clerk at this time was H. II. Snow, who held this and nearly every other clerical local office in the county-probate judge, coun- ty clerk, surveyor, etc .- for nearly ten years, from the date of its organization. Another long lived official at this period, was Earl Pierce, who held the office of sheriff by successive elec- tion, six terms, from 1826 to 1836: the last term, however, being broken by his sudden departure for Texas in 1837-faithfully, it is said, ad- hering to the charge and possession of a goodly amount of the county funds, which he probably thought it unsafe to leave behind him. Offiees did not change hands so frequently in those days as since, probably for the two reasons that they paid but little, and there were but com-

PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.

paratively few who were qualified by education to fill them. The county commissioners, who were until 1834 (when Qniney was ineor- porated as a town) its sole anthorities, were George Frazier, Samuel Stone and James White. Descendants of all these are now resi- dents in the county or city. Philip W. Martin, long a prominent citizen of the county and a captain in the Black Hawk war, was elected County Commissioner in the place of James White in September, and at the same time Charles Holmes, who died in St. Louis in June '89, from whose recollections much of these sketches is derived. was chosen county treas- urer. An auction of a portion of the unsold town lots which had not been offered at pre- vions sales, and of such as had been sold and the purchaser failed to pay for, was had on March 4th, with but small success, and no seem- ing advance on former prices. The village settlement was still very slow, although county immigration was pouring in fast, especially to- wards the eastern seetion in the Clayton and Camp Point neighborhood.

Among the well known old time settlers of the city and county who were here before, and who came in this year were Nathaniel Sum- mers, Robert Tillson, W. P. Harrison, George Chapman, Archibald Williams, Dr. S. W. Rogers of Quincy, S. S. Meachan, Thaddeus Pond and Samuel Ferguson of Burton, Reuben Doty. Peter Felt. Obediah Waddell. Jacob Wag- ner of Melrose. J. Il. Anderson, Thos. Crank. Wm. M. Kirkpatrick, W. Il. Wade, Peter Orr. Wm. Pryor of Lima. James Thomas, John Thomas, John Lierle of Columbus, John P. Rob- bins, and Lewis, Duncan, Sterne of Ellington ; Wigle, Yeargain, White and Walby of Gilmer.

A jail was contracted for to be erected at a cost of $200. Ferry rates were established the same as the year before, and the exclusive ferry license was given to Hugh White for the nomi- nal sum of $2 a year. Among the publie notices of the time was what would appear singular at this later day. the manumission of some slaves by John W. Stern and JJames Anderson. These had been brought from Kentucky by their masters, and under the existing laws of the state. it was requisite that if freed the master must give bonds for their conduet and that they should not become dependent on the publie for support, and mmst make official an- nonneement of this, which was done by hand- bills and posters, there being no paper here then published.

The social and business aspeet of the place had now but little changed from what it pre- sented in 1825-changed it may be said in no real respect except that there was more of it.

Quiney was as yet but little more than the trad- ing point for this section, business made up from its two stores and two or three groggeries and the visit of an occasional trading boat, such as formerly had been common on the upper Mis- sissippi and Illinois rivers, but now had disap- peared. The stocks in these stores were neither large nor various. Merchandizing consisted mainly in the retailing at round profits of a few dry goods and groceries with farmer's tools, powder and lead. These were generally paid for in money, of which there was but lit- tle in the country-most of it being brought in by the immigrants, and soon passed into the possession of the merchants and by them soon taken away in payment for their goods, thus keeping but little money in general circulation. Few articles of farm production were taken in exchange for goods. these exchanges consisted almost solely of peltries, tallow and beeswax. The latter was especially a choice substitute for cash.

Barter of farm prodnets, which some years later became the main feature of mercantile business in the west, had not as vet come into vogne for the reason that there was but little comparatively raised beyond the home wants of the farmer, and also that the outside mar- kets were few and distant, and would not war- rant the merchant in the risks and delay at- tending the return of his investment in such lines. But a small portion of the sales were on credit, but these, however, with the 100 per vent profit on eastern bought articles and 25 per cent on groceries, and a 12 per cent inter- est allowable and customary on notes and ac- counts at the time gave a handsome margin of certain profit for traders who waited for their pay. The financial situation of the country was as bad as conll be. The times were hard. The state was going through one of its many experi- enees of State Bank money. The issues of the State Bank, chartered in 1820, passed at 25 cents on the dollar. Yet with all this, the peo- ple got along in comfort and cheer, as the wants and wishes were simple and few. If the busi- ness bearings appeared hard. the social show- ings were very much harder. The place was thoroughly frontierish on its surface.

Society was not highly refined, but not tame. Court met twice a year. there was the annual Angust election, the oreasional preachings, per- iodically, brought in a large representation of the country people, others were drawn in by business postponed for these occasions, by legal demands, curiosity and all sorts of personal in- ducements, proper and not so proper. These wore the stirring seasons of the year, rare, brief but full of action. Trades were made, property

PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.

changed hands by swop. Equine excellence on the hoof and human superiority in the run, jump, wrestle or fist was settled with as much interest and attraction (though on a minor scale) as the race at present for the Derby. A redeeming feature of these old-time petty con- tests was that they were honest and unfero- cions. Each locality was supposed to have its best man or rather its best fighters, each of them ambitious to extend their fame and whip the neighboring boss or bully, and the publie days were the occasion for settling all this.

Between these times the village enlivement depended mainly on itself, and upon the quaint characters who strayed in from the country, or were always loafing about the stores and grog- geries. There were enough of these oddities- the old-time "half horse, half aligator" stock. which was so numerous sixty years since all along the Mississippi and which is to a partial degree exemplified now in the southwestern "cowboy."

They, especially those from the country, were a class of, not exactly rowdies, but, either peri- odical or constant carousers, who, without often making much of mischief in serious disturb- ances, always succeeded whenever they chose in giving a carminal tint to the town of the most original and ruddy hue. A development of a few nights later of the peculiarities of the place is told by Mr. Holmes.

A week or two after his arrival. he was roused after midnight from sleep by a racket in the street, and looking out saw some of the "true breed of dogs" as they were headed by two men, one of whom he had a few days be- fore become acquainted with, as one of the leading county officials, parading about the square with a candle box and in it several pieces of lighted candles, shouting : "Rouse ye neighbors, behold us, we are the lights of the world." There were those from the south part of the county, who invariably when they came to town, left it in more if not better spirits than when they came in. They were good fellows, queer fellows, such as are not seen nowadays, each with his eccentricities. There was one, John Thomas, a very worthy, kind-hearted man, who invariably when he became full enough to go home, made it his final point to invite every- body to "keam eout and see me. I'll treat ve keindly if ve come and shoe ye the suy keartie."

Another witty oddity, used to periodically parade on his big horse Boleway, and announce his set speech, which was "I'm Mike Dodd-in a minute. I'm built from the ground up like a muskrat house, and I don't beg potatoes of a negro." These, and such as these were the types of a general and common character, and

they and such as they, gave an early coarse and gross coloring to the social showing of the place. but they were slowly passing away and their peculiarities with them.

CHAPTER XIL.

1835.

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS. SKETCH OF THE

TOWN. COURT HOUSE BURNED. LORD'S BARN.

POLITICAL ATTRACTIONS OF THE MILITARY

TRACT. FIRST NEWSPAPER. VARIOUS

CHURCHES ORGANIZED. MAIL FACILITIES. CURRENCY. UNSOUND MONEY AND INFLA-

TION. LAWYERS OF QUINCY. PHYSICIANS.

STEAM MILL. D. G. WHITNEY. HOLMES FAM- ILY. JOHN W. M'FADON. JOHN TILLSON.

BUILDING OF THE QUINCY HOUSE. SOCIAL

LIFE. ALEXANDER. CONTESTS FOR COUNTY

SEAT. ADAMSBURGH. LA FAYETTE. COATS-

BURG. COST OF LIVING. RISE OF THE RAIL-

ROAD MANIA. ROLL CALL OF NEW SETTLERS.

Our sketch of Quiney now passes over an in- terval of about five years.

How did the little town look in 1834-5? It cannot better be pictured than has been done by a tourist of those days, from whose journal we quote: "There it is, sir," said to us that model captain and thorough gentleman (two unusually united characteristics in those days). Capt. James Whitney, of the elegant, commo- dious, swift-running passenger steamer Orion. "That's it: you'll get off in time for supper. but you'll do better if you don't. Stay and take supper on board. Steamboat fare was not then always attractive, usually quite the reverse, but the Orion was an exception, and our next day's gastronomie experience on the hill convinced us that the Quincy taverns and the steamboats, in the item of table luxuries (?) about paralyzed each other .- as a quaint old settler used to say about his store goods in comparison with those of his neighbors, and we found that we had done wisely in accept- ing the worthy captain's proposition and se- curing a square meal on the Orion. There lay before us. as our hoarse-breathing craft tore sturdily through the yellow 'spring rise' flood of the untamed . Meche seepe,' great water (not father of waters, as popular language has trans- lated its name). Meche is the Algonquin word for great, as. for instance. mechegan (Michi- gan), which means great fishtrap. the ontline of the lake suggesting a weir or trap for fish. Also mechlemackinak or Mackinaw means great turtle, as the island of Mackinaw resem- bles a turtle in shape. Again, the Indian word

PAST AND PRESENT OF ADAMS COUNTY.

seepe. from which comes the English or rather American word seep, signifies water or flow. Thus taken together we find mecheseepe- great flow or great water.

"But we are stopping our steamer all this time, while before us lies under the rays of the declining sun. the heavy grass-green bluff dotted here and there with cabin or tree.

"Sprinkled along the river bank. as if some- body had let them fall and thought it not worth the while to pick them up. were what were called improvements. A little steam mill at the foot of what is now Delaware street, was wheezing away, as if in constant expectation of medical aid or immediate collapse. Near by it lay a couple of somewhat elean looking eab- ins: south thereof was a tangled mass of un- broken tree and brush and vine vegetation; above, along the water's edge, stood some tum- bledown looking structures as far up as Maine street, some used, some used np, and some use- less.

"Yet farther on, a rambling row of log, frame and loose stone building between Maine and Broadway,-and was Quincy. We land at the foot of Vermont street.

"Here, the rock crops ont close to the water's edge. A few dead beat trees dolefully linger as hitching posts for the landing steamer. Right before us stare the sign 'Steamboat Hotel,' at the corner of Front and Vermont. Shall we stop there? Again comes in our good captain's advice. 'Better not; I see a friend on shore who will take you on the hill in his buggy. If von go to the Steamboat Hotel it'll be huggy all night with you, and not much better on the hill, only that you'll get clear of mosquitoes and may not be roused by a street row.' We take our good captain's advice and again profit. Many a grateful and sad memory will often stray towards the name of this noble gentle- man, who afterwards, drawn by the pride of high adventure, threw a rising fortune into the stirring strifes of the Pacific Coast, and earned there as popular a name as he wore when with

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Past and present of the city of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois, Part 7

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