USA > Indiana > Lake County > The First Hundred Years (1938) > Part 3
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 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
On one occasion, my brother, Jefferson Woods, helped Alfred Hayward drive his cattle to the stock yards in Chicago. On the
-26-
way home with the wagon, it rained hard and Jefferson got thoroughly soaked. Then the weather turned cold and his clothes froze on him. The result for my brother was such a serious cold that he had to take a trip to California for his health. He had somewhat of a cough all through his life and the credit or blame for it goes to that Chicago trip.
Another of our early business experiences comes to my mind. One day Jeff and I picked a load of apples. The next day we packed them in the wagon and started for Tolleston where we intended to sell them. We were about twelve or fourteen years old at the time. Along the way, we sold some of our load to the families who lived in the vicinity of the Tolleston Gun club. Sell- ing was slow in Tolleston and we had to take less for our apples then we had charged the fellows who lived near the gun club. When we again passed the club on our way home that evening, we found our first customers lined up along the road, apples in hand. They stopped us and demanded their money back. They had heard, it seemed, that we had charged them more than we had the folks in Tolleston. One of the fellows held the horses while the others were telling us what we had to do. The one holding the horses evidently got interested in the confab and came up to put in his bit. When he let go of the horses, we hit them and they sprang away, leaving the irate apple purchasers shaking their fists at us.
Before the advent of the J. H. Hammond Slaughter house, there were no towns north of the Calumet river except small hamlets along the railroads where the men who worked on these lived. Hessville was an exception. It seemed able to survive without a railroad. The outstanding figure in Hessville at that time was Joe Hess, political generalissimo of the north Calumet section. He was storekeeper, saloon keeper and township trustee, all combined. Then, everything north of the Calumet river be- longed to North Township and it was a much simpler matter to get the vote there than it is now. What vote there was in that section, Joe Hess controlled. If a candidate rated with him, and if Joe was in at that time, the aspirant for office could feel secure.
A man, now dead, once told me of his experience in running for a county office in that early day. At the time of his candidacy, he told me, he was a youth with ideas of his own on what con- stituted right and wrong and the proper behavior for a young man in his station. He did not believe in going into saloons and "setting them up" in order to gain favor. But the practical politicians told him that he must go to see Joe Hess. An appoint- ment with the political "boss" was arranged for Saturday evening
-27-
when the voters would all be gathered in the town saloon, awaiting the office seekers and their free drinks and cheap cigars. He kept the date and played the part of the good fellow well-met, much to the satisfaction of the voters, who showered him with their good wishes and told him what a wonderful fellow he was- until a candidate who would buy more drinks or better enjoyed their company came along. The young man in question was a regular attendant at church and Sunday school, but the day after his electioneering experience, he felt so ashamed of himself that he did not go to church. He tried to withdraw from the race, but the big politicians wouldn't hear of it. So he stayed in the game, but lost the election. Perhaps, if he had had no conscience and could have been all things to all men, he might have been more successful as a politician.
I heard a young man who ran for a county office a little later say, "If I had known before I began what I had to go through to be elected, I never would have run". But he evidently got used to the way things were done, for he became a very success- ful politician, being elected to office after office.
Before the railroads were built through the section north of the Calumet, it was a veritable wilderness. There was a stage coach running through with a hotel on its route to accommodate the passengers. The Michigan Central built its road across this region in 1852, the Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne in 1861, and the Chicago and Grand Trunk in 1881. The Joliet cutoff was built in 1856. Lake Station, now East Gary, was the first railway ac- commodation station in the county.
After the Joliet cutoff was built, Ross station became a prom- inent place. There was a large grain elevator there or rather, a large storage building, the elevating all being done by a large bridge which reached almost to the top of the structure. The loads of grain would be driven to the top of this bridge, unloaded there, and then be driven down the other side. Oftentimes, the ox teams would get a notion that they didn't like the looks of the bridge and it would be no easy task to get them up on it. In those early days, farmers from all over Lake county would come to the Ross elevator to unload their grain. Many a time the freight yard would be filled with teams, more than half of which were oxen, waiting to take their loads up.
What a difference there is between those small engines that pulled those early trains and the modern giants we saw at the transportation building during the last World's Fair in Chicago ! I recall that many men found work when the railroads first crossed Indiana cutting cord wood and selling it to the railroads
-28-
to be used for fuel in the engines. It has only been in the last fifty years that coal has been extensively used in this country.
If we or one of our neighbors wanted to go to Chicago then, we would board the train at Ross station and go to Lake station where we would change to the Michigan Central. When the Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne road was built in 1861, Hobart and Liverpool were made stations. One could go directly to Chicago from either. Our station was Liverpool. That was where the Joliet cutoff and the Pittsburgh and Fort Wayne routes crossed. A jolly Irishman by the name of Flaherty had charge of the first station there. From a small shanty about eight by ten feet in dimensions, he executed the combined duties of station master, policeman and general boss in fine fashion. With our large family making frequent visits to our Chicago relatives and they returning these visits to us on the farm, Mr. Flaherty was kept quite busy, especially in the summer time, and our team and light wagon could often be seen on the road between the station and our farm. When the Grand Trunk was built, a station was established at Lottaville, which was just south of our farm. This gave us excellent accommodations both for traveling and for freight. Lottaville, by the way, was named in honor of my sister.
Along about 1885, I began to ship a few cans of milk to Chicago on an evening train. This business of shipping milk to Chicago seemed to bring about as much profit as anything else I had tried on the farm so when I was in the city one time get- ting my milk check, I went to the Grand Trunk officials and ask- ed them to put on a regular milk train to accommodate us farmers. They said they would consider it if I would go out among the farmers in our neighborhood and find out how many cans of milk a day the railroad could plan on having shipped. The net result of a thorough canvass of the farmers between Lottaville and Valparaiso was that they would promise no more than sixteen cans a day for shipment. Fearful that my plea would be turned down, I took my report back to the railroad people. I explained to them that farmers were very slow to change their ways of liv- ing and doing things. I was sure, however, I said, that if the milk train were put on, the farmers would soon catch on to this new way of doing business and the railroad would, before long, be shipping plenty of milk. Much to my surprise, the Grand Trunk officials told me that since Valparaiso also wanted an ac- commodation train, they would put one on and give the thing a trial. The train was soon running and the milk business picked up so rapidly that it wasn't long before it was carrying two full cars of milk each day. This milk train made its daily trips for
-29-
more than forty years, only failing once to run, when it was stalled in a snow drift at Lottaville for two or three days.
My brother William, who is five years older than myself, re- calls an incident which occurred when he was but a child.
He, with an older sister, was out west of our house caring for a baby who was in a home-made baby wagon. A band of Indians riding their Indian ponies could be seen coming along the road. When they got up to where the children were, two of them got off their ponies and came over to talk with the youngsters. They were very curious about the white baby. After they had talked about it and laughed over it for a while, they mounted their ponies again and rode away. Brother Will tells me that I was the baby who so interested the Indians, but, of course, I don't remember anything about it.
Will also remembers quite vividly Father's return from the Republican national convention in Chicago which nominated Abraham Lincoln for President. Father saw our neighbor, Henry Hayward, and his family coming down the road in their wagon. He hurried out to the front of the house and gave the passers-by a grand salute, shouting "Hurrah for Abraham Lincoln". Then he went down to the road and told the occupants of the wagon all about the convention.
IN THE DAYS OF AULD LANG SYNE First Free Soil Meeting in Lake County.
(Was written by Bartlett Woods for Ball's 1884 History of Lake County.)
The War was over. Mexico as a basis of peace ceded a large area of territory. Should these new acquisitions be slave or free ? The time had come to make a determined stand against the ag- gression of slave power. The year 1848 opened with ominous fore- bearings of a struggle. The Democratic party had become the mere instrument of Calhoun and the Southern leaders. The Whig Party made no decisive blow for freedom, was trimming and vac- cilating, dominated by the spirit of concession and compromise. Neither of the old parties represented the anti-slavery sentiment and so a new party sprung into existence-the Free Soil Party. "No more slave territory, no more slave States"-was the answer of this new party to the demands of slavery. The excitement was intense. Earnest citizens from both parties, Whigs and Democrats, joined in the movement. Free soil, free speech, free labor and free men was their campaign cry.
Early in September, bills were posted all over this county stating "All those opposed to the further extension of slavery and
-30-
who are in favor of the admission of California as a free state are asked to meet at the court house in Crown Point on Saturday, September 16, 1848." The day for the meeting came and the big court house was well filled. Many were there who have escaped my memory. Judge Clark, Alexander McDonald, Wellington Clark, Alfred Foster, Doctor Pettibone, Luman A. Fowler, Wil- liam Pettibone, John Ward of Deep River, Bartlett Woods, Jonas Rhoades, Samuel Sigler, David E. Pettibone and Dr. Wood of Lowell were there. I think all I have named were present. Judge Clark was named chairman and Wellington Clark and Bartlett Woods secretaries of the meeting. The meeting was quite en- thusiastic. Speeches were made and a committee appointed who planned a series of meetings throughout Lake County. The fol- lowing is copied from one of the original notices, now in my pos- session and shows something of the feeling of the men who first started the free soil movement in Lake County.
"The undersigned will address the citizens of West Creek on the issue of Free Soil and Equal Rights against Slavery and Aristo- cracy at the Methodist meeting house on Thursday the 5th day of October next-of Cedar Creek at the house of Leonard String- ham on Friday the 6th-of Eagle Creek at the place of holding elections on Saturday, the 7th-Of Winfield township on Friday, the 14th at the place of holding elections-and of Ross township, at the house of S. B. Straight in Centerville, on Saturday, the 15th, at each place at 1 o'clock p. m. Now come. Come one and all, and see what a horrible demon that free soil principle is. You will not be injured. Come and learn whether it be Me- Donaldism or the Republicanism of 1776.
Bartlett Woods, A. McDonald.
Sept. 20, 1848.
The meetings were held and were well attended and at the Presidential election in November the free soil vote showed plainly that the issue had been met and that a new era had begun in our national politics.
From that time on Lake county's free soil idea grew in strength. It was the germ from which the Republican Party sprung. Its large Republican vote attests this. Its vote for Free- mont, for Lincoln, and for Grant and Colfax and for Colfax all through his congressional career, gained for it the honor of be- ing one or the banner Republican counties of the state.
The first meeting in the old Log Court House left its mark and was not held in vain.
Note-The court house of that day was built of logs, two
-31-
stories high, the lower part used for a jail when needed, the upper part used for a "Court House". It stood on the south- west corner of the present Court House Grounds.
April 9, 1937.
Mr. Sam B. Woods, Griffith, Indiana.
My dear Sam :
Of course I want your book. I want one of the first copies and I want it autographed by yourself, and when I read it I'll know that the facts discussed will be just as you see them with- out fear or favor.
I am really glad you are going to publish this illuminating volume.
Sincerely, V. A. Place.
-32-
LETTERS FROM THE ARMY
These letters written at the time of the Civil War were an exchange between Bartlett Woods and his son, Edmund B. Woods who was a soldier in the Army. Soon after these letters were written Edmund took sick and died and was buried at Nashville, Tenn.
The one written by Charles was a brother of Bartlett Woods who wrote the letter to his brother, William, and he forwarded it to Bartlett Woods.
Letter of Edmund B. Woods, dated August 19th, 1862, at Camp Rose, South Bend, Indiana, written to his father Bartlett Woods.
"Camp Rose, South Bend, Aug. 19, 1862 Dear Father :
.
We are under marching orders so thought I would write home before we start. We are to be all ready and into line at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning, bound for Indianapolis. As soon as I heard we were going, I got a pass and went down town, and got my like- ness taken and I think you will consider it very good, only I was sorry that we did not have all of our uniform. Our blue pants shows white in the likeness. I sent it by Mr. Firestine from Cen- terville, Lake County, Indiana. He said he was going home to- day. So you can send to Centerville and get it.
This makes the third letter I have sent to you, and I have not received any. Now I want some of you to write. This is the last until I hear from you.
Day before yesterday the Colonel granted furlough to 25 of our men. Yesterday as they had got all ready to go, and about to leave the order was countermanded, and they could not go. Uncle Charley was going home but now I guess he will go to In- dianapolis first. He is right by my side writing to Henry this morning. Him and I are going to send our letters together.
Mr. Cramer is here, he has $20.00 for you that I sent, we got our bounty money last Sunday, and they said we would get our advance wages this week. I sent you orders for two county orders this morning. Was offered one for $5.00 and paid for it. If you
-33-
cannot turn one of them in for taxes, perhaps you had better let one of the neighbors have it. It is just as good as money to pay taxes.
Dr. Teegarden (of LaPorte) gave our company all $1.00 apiece for being Company "A". (That is to say the first to fully enlist 100%.)
I allmost forgot to tell you of the picnic dinner that the people of St. Joseph County gave us last Saturday. It was a splendid dinner, just the best they could afford, said the tables were 1200 feet long. They were built in a square, and our com- pany marched all the way around and at the head of our company there was a cake about 18 inches high, and all coated with red, white and blue in sugar, and a flag in the center. It was splendid. There were about two thousand of us.
This is as far as I got when I heard my name called off by Sergeant Fry, and he had three letters for me, one from you and one from Uncle Wellington Griffin. He saw the letter I wrote grandma, and he wrote a long one to me. I was glad to hear from him, and one letter was from Wat Braley. I was glad to hear from home, and sorry to know the crops were so bad, but keep in good spirit you can live through it. I sent you $20.00 in money, and $20.00 in orders, and you can use it for anything you want. I would like to invest my county money in a good young colt, and the rest you take as your own.
Do not reserve any of the $20.00 because I will send you more before long. We are to get $15.00 this week. The scythe that you could not find I put in the grass just on the southwest corner of where we mowed, by the colt shed if I remember right. We have two regiments here the 73rd and 87th.
I went to see Dr Henriecks, and he had gone to Joliet, Il- linois. Mr. Colfax is in our camp every few days, but he never inquiries for me, so I suppose there is no chance to get into the quartermaster's department. They are very busy there, and I should like to be in it. One night Colfax came out to camp and the Jasper boys invited him down to their quarters and entertained him with some music, and singing, and I stood right by his side and talked with him as much as any of them, but I did not ask him anything about getting into that position, or anything about whether he got your letter.
Your affectionate son,
Edmund Bartlett Woods,
-34-
Letter of Edmund B. Woods, dated Sept. 14, 1862 written to his father from Camp Buell, Ky., near Louisville.
"Camp Buell, Ky., Sept. 14, 1862.
Dear Father:
I received a letter from you and Henry Muzzall last Thurs- day night. Very much pleased to hear from you and Henry. I am glad you all keep in good health. Whether you are in good spirits or not I cannot say. It is enough to discourage the stoutest heart to see the situation the country is in. They will not leave enough men at home to take care of the property that is left be- hind, besides the way we have been served since we left South Bend.
In the first place, why was we sent out of Indiana without arms or drilled in the least. All of our officers thought that we would stop at Indianapolis not less than ten days to three weeks and get a little drilled and receive our equipment and them as good as any other regiments have received.
Lt. Col. Bailey said that he would never have left Indian- apolis without our just dues if he had been colonel. He is a noble man, and he is liked by the whole regiment. But the old colonel receives many curses from the men. When he was at Lexington some of the men was sick in Co. E, and they heard there was some chees owned by an old planter in sight of the camp, so the boys went over to buy some but the old fellow would not sell them a pound though he had twenty large ones. They came back satisfied he was a rebel, and the cheese was for the rebel army, so the next night the boys went out and killed a hog, two sheep and all of the chickens there was, and he complained of them, and the Old Colonel chimed right in with him, and gave orders not to take even a rail. There they were, all secessionists around us, at least they proved themselves so, after we left.
That was great generalship sending us 130 miles south of the River and then retreat back on the double quick, many of the men falling by the roadside exhausted. Some fell senseless and had to be brought to with spiritous liquors.
We moved yesterday afternoon and came about five miles nearer town. We are about a mile and a half from Louisville, encamped on a meadow. The Chicago Board of Trade Battery was camped about 30 rods from us over at the other camp. I have just been after water and found an Indiana Battery from Wayne County and the Board of Trade Battery right near by us again.
-35-
Things look better here now. We are ready for the rebels, let them come, if not we will follow them and make them skedaddle for a change.
Have you got my likeness and do the boots fit I sent you. I have not received any letter from William or Caroline. I got a Tribune this morning, so did Uncle Charlie. He is well and all the boys are well. Today is Sunday, a very different one from the Sunday we were retreating from Richmond.
With my best respects to yourself,
Your afft. son, E. B. Woods."
Letter of Edmund Bartlett Woods to his father, dated Sept. 26, 1862.
"Out on picket. Sept. 26, 1862.
Dear Father:
Received your kind letter of the 20th last night and much pleased to hear from home and to know that you are well. I felt quite well last night. I was out on picket the other night and it was very cold and stormy and I caught a very bad cold, but I have been around all the time and done all I have been called upon to do. I feel some better this morning, but didn't eat any breakfast, I slept until we started on picket, at daylight this morning.
We are still in camp in sight of Louisville, and we are out about a mile and a half from camp. There are ten men in our squad. We have to stand in the day time and too at night.
I will have to stand about an hour at a time in the day, and at night two hours. So you see it is not hard to stand picket. All the boys would rather stand picket than stay in camp. They have kept us at work on the entrenchments nearly all the time since we have been here. We have done some chopping and have felled trees in the principal places around camp.
I was detailed yesterday to chop in the grave yard. We have entrenched it from one end to the other. It looked hard to go in there and dig up the carriage road and the walks all paved with stone a foot deep. Everything was as nice as money and work could have made it. This did not save it from destruction. All of the 73rd had to dig there enough to protect themselves.
After the trenches were dug they cut everything clean. Just
-36-
below is a deep ravine which we filled full of trees yesterday morning.
They have been in a great fright lately about Bragg. Four or five days ago Nelson ordered all of the women and children in Louisville to be ready to leave the city at once. And a great many did leave for Indiana, besides a great number of the military stores.
The sutlur left and the reports are that he went over into Indiana. Business was suspended for several days but was resumed yesterday. We were all in the trenches at the grave yard at three o'clock in the morning, laid there until about sunrise waiting the arrival of Mr. Bragg & Co. But he did not come yet. If he does come we will give him a warm reception. Some of the boys were detailed last night at ten o'clock to go and build breast works for a Battery and worked till 4 o'clock this morning.
If there is anything to do, it does not make any difference, you will have it to do, whether day or night. I hope you will get the wheat threshed, so you will have some winter wheat. Can you not buy some white wheat-do so if you cannot get ours threshed, if it is not later than next month, it will be twice as good as spring wheat if it is late.
We will not get our pay until the first of November, as we were on the ske-daddle when the pay roll ought to have been made or we would have received our pay sooner. Major Krim- bill is quite sick, I lent him $7.00 and I will receive that on pay day. I will send you all the money I can and if you want to spend it you may do so. We have no Indian rubber blankets as yet. We can draw our overcoats as soon as we want them, and will take them.
Soon it is reported that some of Buell's army is here, but I do not know if the 9th and 15th are here. I will soon find out and go and see some of the boys if I can get out of camp, and that is difficult to do. We are under just so stringent orders. We dare not touch anything whether Rebel or not. If we take a potato or a turnip, we are liable to be shot or such other punish- ment as a courts martial may decide. We must buy or go without. We do not get half that we are allowed. The commissary depart- ment is swindling us scandulous. Somehow all we get is hard crackers, beans, sugar, coffee and rice, salt included. We are en- titled to fresh beef twice a week, when it can be had, potatoes, flour and corn meal and tea if I remember right. I forgot to say that we draw pork, but as a general thing it is not fit to eat.
-37-
"We have sent some of the stinking food back to the quarter- master. I would rather be in the ranks than in the quartermaster department, as far as the work is concerned it is very dirty work without you are the clerk, and there is only one.
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.