Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. I, Part 7

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors
Number of Pages: 856

USA > Missouri > Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. I > Part 7

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Allen, Thomas, was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, August 29, 1813, son of Jona- than and Eunice Williams (Larned) Allen. He obtained his carly education in the village academy of Pittsfield and was fitted for college at the Berkshire Gymnasium. In 1829 he entered Union College and was graduated from that institution in the class of 1832. Im- nicdiately afterward he began the study of law at Albany, New York. He was admitted to the bar in 1835, and the same year was honored by Union College, which conferred upon him the degree of master of arts, and by the "Phi Beta Kappa" Society of New York, which made him an honorary member. He began, in August, 1837, the publication of a paper called "The Madisonian," in Washington, D. C., which took strong ground against the sub- treasury scheme supported by President Van Buren's administration. He had supported Mr. Van Buren in 1836 as a presidential can- didate, making his entree into politics as a

ALLEN.

public speaker and writer in that campaign. In 1840, however, he supported General Harrison, and, as editor of an influential news- paper, was brought into an intimate relation- ship with the successful presidential candi- date of that year. In 1842 he removed to St. Louis, and at once became a factor in the in- auguration of measures which tended greatly to advance the material interests of the city. He opened a law office there, but soon became so absorbed in other affairs that his mind was diverted from professional labors, and he achieved fame as a railroad builder, banker and financier, instead of the peculiar distinc- tion which he would doubtless have gained at the bar had he continued the practice of law. In 1848 he delivered his first public ad- dress in favor of the building of a railroad in Missouri, and from that time forward he was intimately associated with the leading rail- road men of the West and conspicuously ac- tive in promoting railroad development. In 1849 he formulated resolutions favoring the building of a railroad to the Pacific Coast, which were adopted at a large meeting of the citizens of St. Louis and subsequently in- dorsed by the Missouri Legislature. In Oc- tober of that year he also addressed a national convention held in St. Louis to consider the enterprise, and was designated to prepare an address to the people of the United States and a memorial to Congress bearing on the sub- ject. When this enterprise finally assumed tangible form and the Pacific Railroad Com- pany was organized he was elected first presi- dent of the company and inaugurated the work of construction. Four years later he resigned the presidency of this corporation, after thirty- eight miles of its road had been completed and one hundred miles more put under contract. In 1858 he founded the banking house of Allen, Copp & Nisbet, in St. Louis, and soon afterward negotiated the sale of nine hundred thousand dollars' worth of guaranteed Mis- souri bonds in aid of the Pacific Railroad, an important financial achievement at that time. After the war he again turned his attention to railroad matters, and in 1867 purchased the Iron Mountain Railway, which had been sur- rendered to the State of Missouri, and of which eighty-six miles had been completed. This road he extended one hundred and twenty miles, to Belmont, in 1869, and during the years 1871-2 he built a branch of this road from Pilot Knob into Arkansas. In 1872 he

and other gentlemen purchased the Cairo & Fulton Railroad, and during that and the year following completed the line to Texarkana, a distance of three hundred and seventy-five miles. In 1874 four lines of railway, con- trolled by different corporations, of cach of which he was president, were consolidated, the new corporation controlling them becoming known as the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company. Six hundred and eighty-six miles of railroad were brought under the control of this corporation, and the system which was thus perfected by Mr. Allen, made tributary to St. Louis, in a commercial sense, a vast area of territory in the Southwest, and at once added not less than a hundred million dollars annually to the city's trade. He retained a controlling interest in this splen- did railroad property until toward the close of the year 1880, when he sold his stock and in- terests to Jay Gould for a cash consideration of two million dollars. He was not only the father of one of the principal railway systems of the Southwest, but was also the author of a plan for State aid of railroads, which, al- though not adopted at the time he proposed it, was later put into operation. He also secured for the Pacific Railway Company, the pioneer railway of Missouri, a loan of two million dol- lars from the State, which was a most impor- tant factor in advancing the construction of that railway. The vast fortune which he ac- quired after he came to St. Louis was utilized in many ways to benefit the city, and one of the splendid monuments to his memory is the Southern Hotel, which he rebuilt after its destruction by fire in 1877. In 1875 he ob- tained a charter for a double-track railway in St. Louis and constructed and equipped the Cass Avenue line within ninety days there- after. His acts of beneficence were numerous, and both his adopted city and his native town profited by his generosity. He endowed the Allen Professorship of Mining and Metallurgy in Washington University, St. Louis, and es- tablished a free library in Pittsfield, Massach11 - setts, erecting a building for its accommoda- tion at a cost of fifty thousand dollars. While serving as a member of the Missouri Board of Managers for the Centennial Exposition, held at Philadelphia in 1876, he found him- self embarrassed by the failure of the State to provide funds for the erection of a suitable building, and at his own expense erected the building in Fairmount Park which became

ALLENTON-ALTAMONT.

Missouri headquarters. In consideration of his distinguished attainments Union College con- ferred upon him the degree of doctor of laws, and he was also honored by election to fellow- ships in the American Academy of Design and the American Geographical Society. He served four years as a member of the State Senate of Missouri, and in that capacity ren . dered exceptionally valuable services to the State in the matter of extending internal im- provements. During the Civil War he es- poused with his customary ardor the Union cause, and in 1862 was a candidate for Con- gress on the "Unconditional Union ticket," but was defeated. In 1880, responding to a pras- tically unanimous sentiment within his party, he became the Democratic candidate for Con- gress from the Second Congressional District of Missouri, and received a majority of more than two thousand votes over a very popular competitor. He entered upon his term of service in December of 1881, but soon after- ward become seriously ill, and died in the cap- ital city, April 8. 1882.

Allenton .- A village thirty-two miles west of St. Louis, on the Missouri Pacific and St. 1.ouis & San Francisco Railroads, which was laid out by Thomas R. Allen, in 1852.

Allenville .- An unincorporated village on the Belmont branch of the Iron Mountain Railroad, in Cape Girardeau County, one mile from Delta Junction and fourteen miles south- west of Jackson. the county seat. It has a hotel, a few stores and other business places. Population, about 200.

Allsman, Andrew, whose name is con- spicuously connected with the "Palmyra Mas- sacre," as it is called, was a citizen of Palmyra and an active and zealous Unionist in the Civil War. At one time he belonged to the Third Missouri Cavalry, and was detailed as special provost marshal's guard, in which capacity he was called upon to give information about the loyalty and disloyalty of persons, and this made him offensive to Southern sympathizers. On the occasion of the Confederate Colonel Joseph Porter's raid into Pahnyra, in October. 1862, he was seized and carried off. Shortly afterward General John McNeil, commanding the Federal forces in northeast Missouri. cap- tured a number of Porter's men, and gave no- ice on the 8th of October that, if Allsman was

not returned unharmed to his family within ten days, ten of these prisoners would be shot. No reply was made to this notice, and it was asserted that Porter never saw it, and the ten prisoners were shot to death at Palmyra. Alls- man was never heard of after his seizure, though it was said years after the close of the war that a few surviving members of Porter's command were cognizant of his fate. It is probable that he was killed.

Alma. - A village in Lafayette County, on the Kansas City Division of the Chicago & Alton Railway, twenty-two miles southeast of Lexington, the county seat. It has a public school and a bank. In 1900 the population was estimated at 350.

Aloe, Albert S., merchant, was born in 1841, in the city of Edinburgh. Scotland, and died in St. Louis, January 30, 1893. While still a child he came to America, and in 1856 left New York City on a sailing vessel bound for the Pacific Coast. He sailed before the mast around Cape Horn, and at the end of this long voyage arrived in San Francisco. where he remained one year. At the end of that time. in quest of further adventure and more profitable employment, he went to South America, and, having considerable knowledge of mechanies and much Scotch ingenuity and tact, he secured employment there as a me- chanical engineer and was placed in charge of the construction of a sugar mill. He com- pleted this work successfully, accumulating what seemed to him at the time a small fortune as the reward of his enterprise and mechanical skill. Returning to this country in 1862, he came to St. Louis and established himself as a dealer in optical goods and built up an insti- tution which became one of the most famous of its kind in the West. He married, in 1863. Miss Isabella Prince, who was born in Belfast. Ireland, and whose grandfather was governor of one of the islands of the West Indies. Mr. Aloe is survived by his widow and four sons. Sidney, Louis, David and Alfred Aloe, of whom the three sons first named are in business in St. Louis, while the youngest is serving in the United States Army as sergeant of Troop E. of the Eighth Cavalry.

Altamont. - AAn incorporated village in Daviess County, eight miles from Gallatin, in Liberty township. It has a public school.

ALTON-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF MASTERS AND PILOTS.

Christian, Methodist Episcopal and Evan- gelical Churches, a newspaper, the "Index," two hotels and about twenty miscellaneous stores, shops, etc. Population, 1899 (esti- mated). 300.

Alton .- The county seat of Oregon County, located in the central part, sixteen miles northeast of Thayer, the nearest railroad point. It was laid out in 1859 and made the seat of justice of the county. A courthouse and jail were built, and both were burned dur- ing the war (1863), with nearly half of all the other buildings in the town. A new court- house and jail were built after the war. The town has two churches, a good school build- ing, bank, flouring mill, sawmill, about half a dozen stores, and two newspapers, the "South Missourian," formerly published at Thomas- ville, and the "Oregon County Democrat." Population, 1899 (estimated), 650.

Altona .- A village in Bates County, twelve miles northeast of Butler, the county seat. It has a church, built by the Missionary Baptists, and also used by the Methodists, a public school and a mill. It was platted in January, 1860, by William Crawford. Popu- lation, 100.

Alum Cave .- In the Belleview Valley, in Washington County, is a small cave where, in the early history of the State, alum was found. Reference to this cave is made by Schoolcraft in his notes on the minerals of Missouri.

Alumni Association of Missouri Medical College .- An association of the graduates of this college, organized in 1893 for the purpose of maintaining friendly relations between those who have been students of this institution, and to aid also in the advancement of the interests of the college. Regular meet- ings of the association are held, at which scientific papers are read and discussed. At one of these meetings, held in 1895, the "X-Ray" discovery was first introduced to the medical profession of St. Louis by Professor C. O. Curtman. At the end of 1898 the as- sociation had a membership of about five hun- dred.

Alumni Association of St. Louis College of Pharmacy .- An association composed of those who have attended the Col-

lege of Pharmacy, organized by twenty stu- dents in 1875. Its purposes are to work for the interest of the college and to promote fra- ternal feeling among those who have gradu- ated from that institution. The association numbers between four and five hundred men- bers, a large proportion of whom are residents of St. Louis, although its representatives are to be found in all parts of the country.

Alumni Association of St. Louis College of Physicians and Surgeons. A society composed of the graduates of St. Lonis College of Physicians and Surgeons, which was organized in 1878. It was re- organized in 1892, but soon afterward passed out of existence.

Amazonia .- A thriving town of 400 in- habitants, in Lincoln Township, Andrew County. It was laid out in 1857 by P. S. Rob- erts, Joshua Bond and others. In 1878 it was incorporated, but the charter was forfeited in 1882. The village stood on the bank of the Missouri River, but a shifting of the channel made a "cut-off," which placed it a mile from the stream. There are four churches, Metli- odist, Christian, German Reformed and Epis- copal. It is an important shipping point.

Amelia Home for Children. - This home was started in St. Louis, in 1889, by A. R. Olmstead, under whose sole management it has been conducted. The purpose of its es- tablishment and continuance is to provide a home for such little ones as may not have a haven elsewhere. Those who receive its bene- fits are chiefly children of working people, orphans and half-orphans. The home was self- supporting for the first four years through the small charges asked, but as many were unable to pay these, a little help has been received of late years through charitable contributions.

American Association of Masters and Pilots .- A national association com- posed of the masters and pilots of steam ves- sels, represented in forty-seven ports of the United States. It is both a social and bene- ficiary organization, death benefits being paid to the families of its members. A branch of the association was formed in St. Louis on the 4th day of November, 1892, which has taken the name of Harbor No. 28. This harbor had eighty-six members in 1898. The officers are

AMERICAN BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION-AMERICAN FUR COMPANY.

entitled captains, pilots, etc., nautical terms being used altogether in this connection. The Grand Harbor of Masters and Pilots of the United States was formed by representatives of local harbors, who meet in Washington, D. C., in 1898.

American Benevolent Association.

A fraternal and beneficiary association, organ- ized in St. Louis, in 1894, by William R. Eid- son and others, and chartered under the laws of Missouri. Its objects are to provide sick, accident, funeral and death benefits to its ment- bers and beneficiaries. In 1898 it had issued over 13.000 certificates and had local assem- blies in most of the Southern and Western States.

American Fur Company .- This was not an organization of Western origin, though its last headquarters and the place where it passed out of existence was St. Louis. John Jacob Astor, the great New York fur trader and merchant, was the author of it, the char- ter for it having been granted to him by the New York Legislature in 1809. Mr. Astor knew something about the value of the fur trade in what in his day was regarded as the far West, having gained knowledge of it through the operations of the Chouteaus. Gra- tiots, Berthold, Sarpy, and other enterprising traders of St. Louis ; and he knew also that the United States government desired to se- cure the benefits of it to its own citizens. The securing of the charter of the American Fur Company was the first step in a scheme con- ceived by him for establishing a line of trad- ing posts along the Missouri and Columbia Rivers to the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia. The chief trading post was to be on the Pacific, and the entire trade with the Indians in the interior was to converge at that point. Once a year a ship sent out from New York, loaded with Indian goods and sup- plies, was to sail around Cape Horn and land its cargo at the post. take on the packs of furs collected during the year and cross the Pacific with them to China. There the furs were to be sold and the proceeds invested in Chinese goods and products, laden with which the ves- sel would return to New York. It was an en- terprise worthy of the sagacious merchant who planned it, and, but for the succession of disasters it encountered at the outset, might have brought the full measure of success upon

which he counted. Astor submitted his scheme to President Jefferson, who warmly approved it, and encouraged him with the assurance of the protection of the government. Fortified with these promises, he sent out a ship, which landed in the mouth of the Colum- bia River, and Astoria was founded, seventy- five miles northwest of the site of the present city of Portland, in 1811. About the same time an expedition, under charge of Wilson P. Hunt, of New Jersey, was organized at St. Louis to go overland to the new post, estab- lishing relations with the Indian tribes on the way, and preparing the field for friendly and successful trade. This expedition encoun- tered great hardships and difficulties which had not been expected and prepared for, and reached Astoria broken and dispirited; the chief agent at Astoria acted so strangely in vielding to the claims of the Northwest Fur Company of Montreal as to excite suspicions of recreancy to Mr. Astor's interests; and, in addition to these discouragements, the War of 1812, between the United States and Great Britain, came on before arrangements for con- ducting the fur trade with the Indians were completed, and Astoria fell into the hands of the British in 1813. However, when the war ended Astoria was given up by the British and came into possession of Mr. Astor, and for many years thereafter was the seat of a large and prosperous trade carried on by the American Fur Company with the Indians in the Northwest, on the west side of the Rocky Mountains. During these same years the Missouri Fur Company of St. Louis was con- ducting equally vigorous and prosperous trad- ing operations in the region east of the moun- tains, and when the two companies met on common ground in the pursuit of trade it was natural that they should agree to unite and act together under one organization. This was done; the Missouri Fur Company passed out of existence, and the St. Louis traders thenceforth conducted their operations with Mr. Astor under the American Fur Company until the withdrawal of Mr. Astor. Then the American Fur Company fell into the hands of Pierre Chouteau, Jr., and he continued to pros- ecute the still prosperous business for thirty years thereafter, enjoying a complete monop- oly of the business south of the region con- trolled by the Hudson Bay Company. Grad- tially, as the Northwest became settled, the trade became broken up into the fur and peltry

AMERICAN GUILD-AMERICAN PARTY.

business, divided among a number of inde- pendent dealers, and about the year 1863 the American Fur Company passed out of exist- ence.

American Guild. - See "Progressive Endowment Guild." 1199596

American Legion of Honor .- A fra- ternal and benefit order, organized in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1878, regularly incorporated in 1879, and having in 1897 a membership of 26,000 in the United States. The govern- ing body of the order is the Supreme Council, which has its offices in Boston. Subordinate bodies are Grand Councils and Subordinate Councils. The order was introduced into St. Lonis, June 14, 1880, when the first council was instituted by Michael Brooks, a represen- tative of the Supreme Council. September 19, 1881, the Grand Council of Missouri was instituted, with the following named charter members : Michael Brooks, Andrew B. Bar- bee, Wilber B. Cook, Thomas S. Hogan, James S. Hannan, Asa B. Ecoff, James J. Dockery, Edward F. Schultz, WV. Wardoff, M. Tuhbbasing, Charles J. Wendling, John C. Rivers, John M. Collins, and Edward W. Dewes. There were twenty-two lodges in the State of Missouri in 1897, with a membership of about 1,800, all in St. Louis, except one council at Crystal City. The order admits both men and women to membership.

American Medical College .- A med- ical educational institution, founded under the auspices of the eclectic school of medicine, in 1873, by Drs. George C. Pitzer, John W. Thrailkill, Jacob S. Merrell, Albert Mer- rell and W. V. Rutledge. The institution first occupied a building at the corner of Seventh and Olive Streets, but later removed to its own building at 407 South Jefferson Avenue. It has been developed into one of the leading medical colleges of the eclectic school in the United States, and has graduated in all more than seven hundred physicians, representing all parts of the country.

American Minute Men .- A patriotic beneficiary and military organization, incor- porated under the laws of Missouri, Novem- ber 22, 1895. It takes its name from the "minute men" of the American Revolution.

Among the founders were Dr. James McClure, H. A. Thomson, George J. Hagard, A. L. Sea- man, H. G. Beedle and Charles E. Sargent. It admits to membership male American citi- zens between the ages of eighteen and fifty- six, and those past fifty-six may be received as social or honorary members. The objects of the society are to extend financial aid to its members, to instill regard for American insti- tutions, protecting them from all encroach- ments of any church or ecclesiastical power, to advance the interests of the free public school system, to prevent the appropriation for and the diversion of any public moneys to sectarian purposes, and to teach that the allegiance of citizenship is incompatible with political partisanship. Under a cer- tificate of the State Insurance Depart- ment, the society is authorized to do business as a fraternal beneficiary asso- ciation. The governing bodies consist of a Supreme Garrison, Board of Survey, De- partment and Co-ordinate Garrisons. They have also a uniform rank for military drill, and military terms are used throughout the organ- ization, the officers of the Supreme Garrison bearing the title of general, and the next in command lieutenant general. Four garri- sons are organized in St. Louis, George Wash- ington Garrison No. 1, Lincoln Garrison No. 2, Paul Revere Garrison No. 3, and Martha Washington Garrison No. 4. A ladies' de- partment of the society is known as the Co- ordinate Degree of the American Minute Men, and Martha Washington and Lincoln Garrisons of St. Louis are composed of women. The supreme headquarters of the American Minute Men is permanently located in St. Louis, where the order had its origin.

American Osteopathic Society .- A society organized April 10, 1897, by Dr. A. T. Still, of Kirksville, and others, for the furtherance of the science of osteopathy and the advancement and protection of the inter- ests of osteopathic practitioners. In 1900 it had a membership of nearly 1,000.

American Party .- A political organi- zation, which first made its appearance in this country in 1853, and almost immediately gained great strength in Missouri, as in other Western States. Its candidate for Congress defeated Thomas H. Benton in the St. Louis district in 1854, and in the spring of 1855

AMERICAN PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION.

elected the mayor of St. Louis. It was at first a secret political organization, the chief object of which was the proscription of for- eigners by the repeal of the naturalization laws of the United States and the choice of native Americans only for office. It was espe- cially hostile to the Catholic Church, and in many places its adherents came into violent conflict with the members of that church. Its narrow views and intolerant spirit were in- compatible with the genius of American in- stitutions and it passed out of existence at the end of a brief and altogether inglorious ca- reer. A second political organization bearing this name was born in St. Louis in May of 1897. On the 25th of that month, in response to a call issued by Colonel E. H. Sellers, a lawyer of Detroit, Michigan, a small number of persons, whose places of residence made them, in a sense, the representatives of nine different States, met in Druids' Hall, at the corner of Ninth and Market Streets, and en- tered upon the work of forming a new party. Its sessions continued two days, much of its work being done behind closed doors. Little interest was taken in its proceedings by the general public, and the most notable incident of the conference was the election to the secre- taryship of the national committee of the new party of Frederick Carlisle, of Detroit, Michi- gan, who had acted as secretary of the con- vention which had met at Jackson, Michigan, in 1854 and inaugurated the movement which led to the organization of the Republican party. The result of the labors of the con- vention was the adoption of the name "Ameri- can Party" for the proposed new organization, the adoption of a party emblem and platform of principles, and the appointment of a na- tional committee to take charge of the party's interests. The platform consisted of thirty-nine declarations, among the most im- portant being those endorsing a tariff for rev- enue and the establishment of reciprocal trade relations with foreign countries ; the demone- tization of both gold and silver and the substi- tution of metallic tokens for minor coins ; the issuance of all currency in the form of treasury notes, and the withdrawal of all other forms of currency notes from circulation ; the issuance of low-interest-bearing savings certificates, ex- changeable at all times for non-interest-bear- ing notes of the United States ; the opening of the United States mints to the free "assay- ing, refining and casting of all gold and silver

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Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. I, Part 7

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n Publication date: 1901 Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors Number of Pages: 856

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors
Number of Pages: 856