USA > Illinois > Menard County > Petersburg > Record of the restoration of New Salem, New Salem State Park near Petersburg, Illinois, 1932-1933 > Part 4
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
The office of postmaster passed from Hill and later returned to him again. However he ". . took more interest in selling whiskey and his other goods than he did in handing people out their mail and many were the women who were required to wait while Hill supplied some customer with liquor. This habit of Hill's aroused the ire of the female patrons of the office and, through their influence, a petition was circulated and signed asking for the appointment of Abe Lincoln as postmaster . 7.37 Lincoln accepted the appointment and carried on the duties of the office in this store.
Hill is known to have sought the hand of Ann Rutledge and accord- ing to Reep when Lincoln arrived at New Salem (1831) .. . . . he found Ann Rutledge being courted by John McNeil (Note-Whose real name was MeNamar) the partner of Hill. It also would appear that MeNeil had opposition; that he had his partner, Hill for a rival.
The following quotations are of general interest and also establish facts regarding his financial status and methods of doing business. All of which has an effect on the general character of his residence and store.
"Across the street from the Tavern stood the Hill-McNeil (McNamar) store. It was the principal place of general merchandise in the town when Lincoln arrived there and seems to have remained so to the end. During much of the time the post office was located there. Samuel Hill served for the two terms as postmaster. It was used again for that purpose for a time when Lincoln served in that capacity. It
36 Reep, Lincoln at New Salem, l'. 11.
37 Reep, Lincoln at New Salem, P. 57.
38 Reep, Lincoln at New Salem, 1. 49.
39
had for its proprietors probably the two most able business men in New Salem and it carried a very considerable stock of goods."39
"That Samuel Hill was a thoroughgoing business man was proved by the success of every enterprise into which he entered, not only in New Salem, but later in Petersburg, where he established and operated the woolen mills, but neither his build nor temperament fitted him for the heroic role in that pioneer town. His temper was a somewhat testy and unpleasant one, and such characteristics required a certain protec- tion in that day of rough justice. There is a tradition to the effect that the strong arm of the great Scotchman, John Ferguson, was once employed for that purpose, the protagonist being no other than the redoubtable Jack Armstrong, and the recompense a set of blue china dishes. He had been the unsuccessful suitor of Ann Rutledge, the fair hand of that maiden being given instead to his partner. John McNeil (McNamar), but, nothing daunted, he had wooed and won that excellent young woman. Parthenia Nance, and had built for her a home beside the store on Main Street. If the rivalry over Ann ever troubled the harmony of the business affiliations of the two partners history has not recorded it."40
"But the man whose hopitality afforded him a place of audience. however, there on the porch of the Hill-McNeil (McNamar) store is treated to no such kindly neglect by Cartwright. . . It is said that he repaid the dislike which he had, by some chance, awakened in Samuel Hill by anmsed contempt, taking actual pleasure in annoying him and sometimes making him for hours the helpless victim of his wit. Once. according to Onstot, he discussed his spiritual welfare for the benefit of a delighted audience: 'He said he had some doubts whether Hill had a soul. until one day he put a quarter of a dollar on his lips, when his soul came struggling up to get the piece of silver.' "+1
T. G. Onstot sums up with ". . . This is the place ( Hill- McNamar's Store) where all persons congregated. Hill came at an early day and was an important personage as long as Salem lasted. He ·made a trip to St. Louis in the spring and fall. First going to Beards- town; he would then take a steamboat to St. Louis and would stay a week or so. A stock of goods in those days would be a curiosity now. His standard goods were blue calico, brown muslin. and cotton chain for the weaver. No luxuries were indulged in. There was no canned fruit then. no dried fruit. as the farmers brought in dried apples and peaches. Hill's store was headquarters for all political discussions. The farmers would congregate there and discuss the questions of the day. Peter Cartright, who was a politician then as well as a preacher, would spend hours on the porch, and by his wit and sallies keep the audience in an uproar of laughter, and the man who undertook to badger- Uncle Peter always came out second best. Cartright was a frequent visitor at Salem and had not then risen to the zenith of his fame as a preacher. '12
39 Chandler, New Salem : Early Chapter in Lincoln's Life, Journal, Illinois State Ilistorical Society. P. 525. handler, New Early Chapter in Lincoln's Life, Journal, Illinois Stale Historical Society, P. 525. +1 Chandler, New Salem : Early Chapter in Lincoln's Life, Journal, Illinois State Historical Society, P. 527-528. 42 T. G. Onstot, Lincoln and Salem, P. 152.
10
Samuel Hill purchased the cabin in Clary's Grove. moved it to New Salem. re-erected it, and used it as a store. The following para- graph taken from a letter to the Division of Architecture and Engineer- ing by JJ. Colby Beekman, relates in detail the early history of this store building: "George Spears, Jr., settled in Clary's Grove in 1824. In 1827 he began the construction of a large brick house and into which he moved on New Year's day of 1829. Sometime after this he sold the cabin he had built in 1824. and in which my grandmother was born in 1825, to Samuel Hill, who moved it to New Salem and occupied it there. presumably as a store, until the abandonment of that town, when it was moved to the new town of Petersburg, where it stood until bought by Hiram Hurd, probably in 1855, as he came to Illinois from New Hampshire in that year, who moved it to the west 16 of the N. W. 1/ of section 14. Township 18, Range ?, being 80 acres he bought. There it stood until it rotted down and the descendants of Hurd finally taking what remained of the logs and building a feed rack for cattle there- from". Mr. Beekman goes on to say that-"I have an uncle seventy odd years old and he well remembers that his mother. my grandmother. had told him the history of the old cabin, as I have told it above."
Nothing to our knowledge has been recorded regarding the plan of this store and we base our restoration entirely on the excavated site and its discoveries.
The excavations show that the basement of this store was 14' east and west and 16' north and south, measuring from the outside of the foundation piers. The building walls were supported by six piers. three on the west side and three on the east side. These piers were constructed of stone and laid in natural lime mortar. The continuous foundation walls were employed in the restoration for the reasons described in the explanation of the Hill Residence and the Dr. John Allen's Residence.
In view of the fact that this store was the most important one from the point of business transacted, it is quite evident that the little 14' x 16' room was not ample to take care of the business. Hence. we feel that a small room was built on the west side. This would give a long porch on the south with the fireplace on. the east wall.
The excavations show that the earth to the west of the basement is not virgin earth but has been filled in at some time. It is quite possible an extra room was added to the main portion of the building on this side, and since this store was the largest and most important. this extra room would have been necessary to properly house the large stock of goods they carried. There was no evidence to show a fireplace occurred on the west wall of either the main room or the addition. and since chimneys invariably were placed at the gable end, the chimney of this store was placed on the east wall of the main room. This seems contrary to the prevailing customs but when one considers that the west room served to protect the main room from the cold west winds, it appears possible that the fireplace might have been located on the east side.
No evidence of an outside entrance to the basement was discovered and an interior trap door has been provided. None of the store build- ings seemed to have outside cellar entrances, excepting Clary's .Grocery'. possibly for the reason that it created another opening to keep locked.
41
ROBERT JOHNSON'S RESIDENCE
"Robert Johnson, the furniture maker and wheelwright, lived in the west part of New Salem, south of Main Street. He made looms. spinning wheels, tables, chairs and other furniture. Theirs was a Christian family. They were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and regular attendants at the Rock Creek Camp Meetings. His children were Nannie, Armanda and Robert. Mrs. Johnson during Camp Meeting would usually have the "shakes".43
Onstot adds that, "Mrs. Johnson was very religious and was subject to the "jerks", which was worse than the shaking ague. After a severe spell she would be sick for several days."44.
It is not definitely known just when Robert Johnson arrived at New Salem, or when he left. However, he probably arrived sometime during 1831 and left probably during 1838 or 1839. (Onstot knew him quite well. Since Onstot was a boy when he left New Salem. Johnson would probably have remained in New Salem until the dates referred to above.) It appears he did not go to Petersburg to live.
The excavations disclose that this residence had a basement or cold cellar, about nine feet north and south, and ten feet east and west. There were no indications of walls surrounding this cellar and it is quite probable that this excavated portion occurred in the center of the cabin. The cabin walls were evidently supported on stone piers, traces of which have long since disappeared.
We have determined the size of this cabin to be sixteen feet by twenty feet, which is of average size. The house faced north, and being on the south side of the street, the door undoubtedly was on the north side. The fireplace. no doubt, was located on the west side because of the western exposure during the winter season.
Small brick were found in the excavated collar and we believe these were originally used in the construction of the fireplace. For this reason, we believe the hearth, lining and mantel were of brick, but the chimney and exterior lower portion was probably of logs with the chinks plastered.
It was the usual practice to locate the windows close to the fireplace to light the portion of the room which had the greatest use during the day, leaving the wall spaces at the other end of the cabin clear for the location of beds and other furniture. In keeping with this general plan we have located a small window on the north wall between the front door and the northwest corner of the cabin. If the main portion of the cabin was built before the lean-to on the south was added, there probably was another window in the south wall opposite the north window. After the lean-to was added. this window opening probably was extended to
43 Reep, Lincoln at New Salem, P. 118.
4 T. G. Onstot, Lincoln & Salem, P. 154.
42
the floor, making it a door. If. however, the lean-to was built at the same time the main portion of the cabin was erected, no doubt this was a door to begin with.
In view of the fact that the beds were placed in the corners on the east wall, which has a mild exposure, we believe a small window might have been located in that wall in the center between the beds.
In locating the fireplace on the west. this would naturally determine the ridge and the long direction of the cabin both running east and west.
Robert Johnson was a wheelright, and undoubtedly had a room which served as his shop. The logical location would be on the south, hence we have added a lean-to on that side of the cabin.
There were no traces of an outside cellar door and access to the cellar was provided by a trap-door in the floor. The floor of the main room was probably of puncheons, while the floor of the work room was just natural earth.
There is very little known regarding this cabin, and the size and construction details have been determined by the known facts regarding the Johnson family. The simple details of construction, such as doors, windows, roof and floor, were chosen because Johnson never attained the prominence and position in New Salem achieved by Dr. Allen or Samuel Hill.
13
PETER LUKINS' RESIDENCE
It is rather certain that this house was originally built by Peter Lukins sometime in 1831, and later purchased or rented by Alexander Ferguson. The bird's eye view which was made under the direction of R. J. Onstot. shows the first cabin to the west of Dr. Allen's residence to be that of Peter Lukins, while other maps show this same cabin to be occupied by Alexander Ferguson. Peter Lukins left New Salem in 1832 at a time before New Salem had reached its zenith, and it seems logical to presume that Alexander Ferguson, being also a shoemaker, might have moved into Lukins' house and taken over his trade.
"Peter Inkins, the shoemaker, left New Salem in 1832 and went to Petersburg, where he resided until his death. He entered the quarter section on which the town of Petersburg was laid out January 20. of that year. He operated the first 'Inn' or tavern, in the south part of town. and also followed his trade of shoemaker. He was uneducated. but possessed of considerable natural shrewdness. However, like War- burton, he was a slave to strong drink and one morning, after a drunken debauch, was found dead in bed."45
Mrs. Chandler adds that he ". .. . had a shop in his house where he accomplished the complete manufacture of his wares, making. some- times, from a bundle of hides, shoes for the entire family, which he delivered direct to the consumer, happily obviating the middle man."46
In view of the fact that Ferguson. the shoemaker. also lived here. a description of him might be interesting. Reep describes him as ". a man of little education and a typical frontiersman. He made up in quantity for his lack of skill and finish as a cobbler. and the shoes he made were not objects of beauty nor noted for their neatness of fit. Alex was proud of the physical prowess of his brother John, and had he lived in these later days, when fighting has been put upon a com- mercial basis, he no doubt would have been his brother's manager."+7
Onstot adds to the description-"If he had an occupation. it was as a shoemaker. In the fall, farmers who had taken their hides to the tan yard the year before. would bring them to Ferguson with the measures of the whole family. I have seen William Sampson come after his shoes with a two bushel sack and take a dozen pair home. They were very rough and would not be worn now. Alex Ferguson had a brother that was a great fighter. He would fight any man just to show how good a man he was."48
45 Reep, Lincoln at New Salem, P. 117.
46 Chandler, New Salem: Early Chapter in Lincoln's Life. Journal, Illinois State Historical Society, P. 532-3.
47 Reep, Lincoln at New Salem, P. 117.
49 Onstot, Lincoln and Salem, P. 153.
44
The cabin was probably built in 1831 and. since Ferguson did not purchase land elsewhere until 1840, it is probable he remained here until after that date.
The old basement was excavated and found to be approximately 13' 0" east and west and 14' 0" north and south (measured at the top) and there were no indications of walls or piers supporting the cabin, because the sides of the basement sloped inward toward the center at the bottom. No doubt the cabin walls rested on shallow stone piers outside the basement. Allowing proper distance from the sides of the basement for these piers, the size of the cabin would be 1?' east and west and 18' north and south. Quantities of brick and ashes were found in the north end of the excavation which would tend to locate the fireplace in this portion of the house. This seems logical also because the fire- place as a rule was located on the north and west sides of the cabins.
In our restoration of this cabin, the stone foundation piers were extended down below the frost line in order to insure the settlement would be reduced to a minimum, thereby extending the life of the build- ing. In this manner, the old sides of the basement will be preserved.
General research has proven that most tradesmen had additional rooms to carry on their work, and no doubt the shoemakers who lived here had a separate shop also. The main door was located on the east wall because of the mild exposure, and towards the north because the house is on the south side of the street facing north. The shop was added on the cast. because of the mild exposure and its proximity to the front door. A separate outside door to the shop was not installed. because the one main door would be ample, and an extra door would have been additional work and provided additional exposure.
A small window has been added in the west wall of the large room, lighting the north end, where most of the day time activities were car- ried on. A small south window was added in this room. located between the beds to light up the southern portion of the room. Another south window was installed in the shop. This location would give the most light with the least exposure.
Not much is known of Peter Lukins and his family. and financially it is doubtful whether he equalled Dr. Allen and Samuel Hill. There- fore, we have shown his residence to be constructed along modest lines with notched corners, puncheon floors, and wood mantel with chimney of logs.
45
THE MILLER AND KELSO RESIDENCE
"Joshua Miller, a blacksmith and wagon maker, accompanied by his brother-in-law, John (Jack) H. Kelso, came during the summer of 1832, and Miller bought lots nine and ten, and a tract fourteen rods and six feet north and six rods west, lying north of the west six rods of lot ten, all north of Main Street in the second survey. They built a double residence for their two families, and· Miller set up a blacksmith shop."49
"Joshua Miller, the village blacksmith, was a short, heavy-set man, and well skilled at his trade. He was a member of the Primitive Baptist ( Hardshell) Church, and his home was headquarters for all the preachers of this denomination who came to the neighborhood. Being the only real blacksmith within a large territory surrounding New Salen, he was kept very busy. Wagon making was one of his sidelines, and he usually hired two or three made each year and had them ready to iron whenever he had any slack time. He had a boy named Caleb and a girl named Louise. He left New Salem with Kelso and nothing more is known of him."50
Miller and Kelso married sisters, lived under the same roof and seemingly got along with each other splendidly in spite of the fact that they were opposites in temperament. Miller was a busy man, working hard at his trade. His shop " .... was the busiest place on the entire street. Its ringing anvil made music on the drowsy air all through the summer days and its forge glowed far into the evening hours."51
Kelso on the other hand was a dreamer, fisherman, hunter, and philosopher. ... He had no children and was a jolly, contented - speciman of humanity. He had no trade and was ready to do a day's work if wanted. In summer he depended on his fish hook. He was an expert. He could catch fish when others couldn't get a bite. In winter his trusty rifle always kept him in meat. In the fall he would find enough bee trees to furnish him with honey. His wife was a sister to Miller's wife. He always lived well and was a happy man. In the other end of the house lived Joshua Miller, the village blacksmith."52
Lincoln's first acquaintance with some of the classics of literature came about through Kelso. During their stay in New Salem they grew to be intimate friends. "From him Lincoln learned to appreciate and understand the finer sentiments and shades of poetical expression and so grew in wisdom and .understanding."53
Reep, in describing the period when Lincoln and Berry ran their store, tells of Lincoln spending ". ... his leisure from the duties of
49 Reep, Lincoln at New Salem, P. 13.
50 Reep, Lincoln at New Salem, P. 118.
51 Chandler, New Salem: Early Chapter in Lincoln's Life-Journal of Illinois State Historical Society, P. 533.
52 Onstot, Lincoln and Salem, P. 155.
53 Reep, Lincoln at New Salem, P. 54.
46
keeping store in perfecting his education and in the study of Shakes- peare, Burns, and the current fiction of the day, and he loved to go fishing with Jack Kelso, one of those peculiar, impractical geniuses -- well educated, a lover of nature, with the soul of a poet and all of a poet's impracticability, and who could 'recite Shakespeare and Burns by the hour.' "53
Nature had left Kalso childless ". ... and thus without incentive to accumulate property to leave to his loved ones. His wife was a good housekeeper and ambitious to get ahead. She took in all the transient and regular boarders she could get. Nature had endowed Jack with those peculiar qualities which enabled him to study and understand the habits of fish and wild animals and he used this knowledge in fishing and hunting. He could catch fish where others could not get a nibble, and always in the fall of the year he salted down enough venison for his own use, and some additional to sell. He knew where the wild plums grew largest and the wild grapes thickest, and was an adept at coursing the honey bee and robbing a bee tree of its honey ; and his wife, using honey for sweetening, made jellies and put up the different wild fruits in season. Kelso was a 'jack of all trades', and would work steadily at none, but he earned all the money he needed, doing odd jobs. No one at New Salem lived better than he, nor was any family more forehanded. He led a happy and contented lite."55
He and Miller remained until most of the other families had moved away. The country became too thickly settled for Kelso, his wild game became scarcer and one can imagine the scholarly argument Kelso pre- sented to the practical Miller to convince him that New Salem was no longer the place for them. Since T. G. Onstot knew them, one con- cludes they remained until 1838 or 1839. However, where they went or what became of them, no one seems to know.
This house, then, was six or seven years old when vacated and its fate, like most of the others, is unknown. In fact, there is little known about the house itself, except that it was a double house and Kelso lived in one "end" and Miller in the other. This leads us to believe it had a plan of rectangular shape.
A thorough search on lots nine, twelve and thirteen (Note: North of Main Street, Second Survey) was made for traces of this residence. but nothing was found. The records show that Joshua Miller bought lots nine and ten, and a small tract adjacent to lot ten on the north. and for this reason we located the residence on lot nine, back from the street about the same distance the other cabins were located from the street line. Evidently this house had no basement or cold cellars. They may have had a cave built into the side of the ravine just to the rear of their house. If so, all traces of it have long since disappeared.
It was not uncommon for the carly pioncers to erect log houses on their newly cleared land, consisting of two rooms with an open space between, with a continuous floor and roof. This type of cabin. as described below, seems to be a logical solution of the problem which con- fronted Miller and Kelso.
55 Reep, Lincoln at New Salem, P. 117.
41
"After selecting an elevated spot as a site for building a cabin or log-house-which is somewhat of an improvement upon the first-is erected in the following manner. A sufficient number of straight trees, of a size convenient for removing, are felled, slightly hewn upon the opposite sides, and the extremities notched or mortised with the axe. They are then piled upon each other so that the extremities lock together ; and a single or double edifice is constructed, agreeable to the taste or ability of the builder. Ordinarily the cabin consists of two quadrangular apartments, separated by a broad area between, connected by a common floor, and covered by a common roof, presenting a parallelogram triple the length of its width. The better of these apartments is usually appro- priated to the entertainment of the casual guest, and is furnished with several beds and some articles of rude furniture, to correspond. The open area constitutes the ordinary sitting and eating apartment of the family in fine weather; and, from its coolness, affords a delightful retroat."56
This seems to have been a common type of plan and is also described in detail in "Two Years Residence in the Settlement on the English Prairie in the Illinois Country" by John Woods, published in 1822.
It is known that Kelso lived in the west end, and Miller in the cast. and the blacksmith shop probably was located in a separate build- ing, to the east of this double log house, adjacent to Miller's quarters. The width of this log house has been established at fourteen feet, which seems to be one of the common widths of the cabins at New Salem. and according to the description above, the length was made three times the width, or forty-two feet. The open portion between the two main rooms was made 10 feet.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.