History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 100

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358

USA > Missouri > St Louis County > St Louis City > History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men > Part 100

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James Francis Geary, local reporter of the Leader, and Elihu Hays died on February 24th from injuries received at the fire, making the entire number of deaths twenty-one. A meeting of citizens to provide for tlie burial of the dead and the relief of the wounded was immediately called. Col. Thornton Grimsley presided, and committees were appointed to provide for the interments and to obtain subscriptions for the survivors. Twelve of the dead were buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery, their remains being fol- lowed to the grave by the largest procession ever seen in St. Louis. The survivors, so far as they could be discovered, were handsomely cared for and assisted.

walls built, but the scheme languished, and in 1859 it was scriously proposed to divide the property into lots and sell it. This was not done, however, and in the early part of 1860 the company obtained from the Legislature an act exempting its property from city and county taxation for ten years. New life was infused into the project, and Thornton Grimsley, John A. Brownlee, George Knapp & Co., Henry T. Blow, John J. Anderson, Charles McClaren, Robert K. Woods, B. M. Runyan, Belt & Priest, and Taylor Blow associated themselves together to finish the hotel. The work was resumed, and continued with long and frequent intervals of delay until 1865. The hotel fronted on Walnut, Fourth, Fifth, and Elm Streets,-on Walnut Street, two hundred and seventy feet ; Fourth and Fifth Streets, one hundred and thir- teen feet six inches each ; and on Elm Street, sixty feet, and was six stories high, in the Italian style of architecture. On Dec. 6, 1865, it was opened with a ball, with Messrs. Theodore Laveille, Charles P. Warner, and George W. Ford as proprietors. It was sold in August, 1866, to Col. Robert Campbell.

The hotel was destroyed by fire early on the morn- ing of April 11, 1877. The fire was discovered at twenty minutes past one o'clock in the basement of the hotel. The inmates were aroused as far as possi- ble, and an alarm was sounded through the agency of the district telegraph. This brought out the salvage department, but the key of the fire-alarm telegraph- box having been lost or mislaid, it was ten minutes before the city fire department could be notified. On the first call six engines and two hook-and-ladder companies responded, but, the fire gaining rapid head- way, two subsequent alarms were sent in, calling out the entire department. To the natural progress of the flames was added the flood of gas from the large pipe used in supplying the hotel, and it was soon found impossible to save the building, which was totally destroyed. When the department reached the scene the flames had gained such headway that the efforts of the firemen were directed particularly to saving the lives of the inmates. Of these there were several hundred, including a number of female do- mestics, who slept on the sixth floor of the hotel. The fire was first discovered in the store-room, which was in the basement near the passenger elevator, and the flames, ascending through the elevator shaft, spread immediately over the two upper floors, and filled all of the halls and corridors above the ground- floor with dense smoke, which rendered escape a mat- ter of the greatest difficulty. The loss of life was ex- clusively among the occupants of the fourth, fifth, and

The Southern Hotel .- Early in 1857 efforts were made by public-spirited citizens to erect a fincr and larger hotel than any that St. Louis could then boast of. Meetings were held, propositions submitted, a company formed, a charter obtained, and subscription books opened. A site was purchased and the cellar | sixth floors, who, their means of escape being cut off

1447

INSURANCE, TELEGRAPH, POSTAL SERVICE, GAS, AND HOTELS.

by the fire, either fell or jumped into the streets and were killed. Many, however, were saved through the agency of the fire department and citizens by means of ladders, and there were scores of rare instances of heroism on the part of rescuers, whose efforts were rendered peculiarly dangerous owing to the height of the burning building and the inaccessibility of the upper floors.

The conflagration was made the subject of an inves- tigation by the proper authorities, the jury consisting of John McNeil (foreman), Sylvester H. Laflin, Walter C. Carr, Jacob Tamm, Charles W. Irwin, and George Bain. Ninety-two witnesses were examined, and in rendering their verdict the jury said, " As to the cause of the fire, we have no testimony sufficient to base an opinion on, but from the dryness of the woodwork and the inflammable material in the storc- room, wine-room, and carpenter-shop, all situated in the basement of the hotel, it would have required only the slightest spark in a very few minutes, if not discovered, to have caused a fire of such magnitude as to be beyond ordinary control."

The victims of the fire were George F. Gouley, of St. Louis, secretary of the Grand Lodge A. F. and A. M. of Missouri, who was killed by falling from a fourth-story window on the Walnut Street side.

Henry Hazen, of New Castle, Pa., assistant engi- neer Missouri Pacific Railroad, killed by falling from a third-story window.

Mrs. Abbie Moran, Mary Dolan, and Kate Reilly, all domestics employed in the hotel, killed by falling from a fifth-story window of the south wing.

Rev. A. R. Adams, vicar of the parish of Stock- ross, Berkshire, England, killed by falling from a fourth-story window on the Fourth Street side.

Mrs. Jennie Stewart, wife of W. S. Stewart, of St. Louis, killed by the breaking of an improvised rope while being lowered by her husband from a fifth- story window.

Charles A. Tiernan, a well-known St. Louis sport- ing man, killed while forcing his way into the burning hotel to rescue the inmates.

Andrew Einstman, of Teichmann & Co., St. Louis, killed by falling from an improvised rope while de- scending from the fifth floor at Fifth and Elm Streets.

H. J. Clark, formerly of North Adams, Mass., an ex-railway conductor, found in the ruins after the fire.

Mrs. Abbie E. Clark, wife of H. J. Clark, and child, found in the ruins after the fire.

In addition to the above, the body of an unknown man was found in the ruins, and William F. Munster, of England, committed suicide a few hours after escaping in safety from the hotel.

Two policemen reported that during the earlier progress of the fire, while engaged in rescuing people from the burning building, they heard two pistol-shots, and on entering the room where the reports came from saw the dead bodies of a man and woman. There were also several persons missing who were never successfully traced, but whose death at the time of the fire has never been clearly demonstrated.

The hotel building was owned by Robert Camp- bell, who estimated his loss at three hundred and seventy thousand four hundred and twenty dollars, which was ninety-two thousand dollars above the total insurance.

The blackened ruins and the crumbling walls re- mained a ghastly memento of this awful disaster for two years, when, through the untiring energy and perseverance of the prominent members of the Mer- chants' Exchange and other leading business men and citizens, chief among whom was George Knapp, senior proprietor of the Missouri Republican, a pro- ject for rebuilding the hotel took definite shape, and was speedily urged to a successful termination. Hon. Thomas Allen assumed the leading part in the movement, and to him more than to any other per- son was due the erection of the present magnificent building. For the construction of the hotel building, Mr. Allen engaged Messrs. George I. Barnett and Isaac Taylor, architects, to carry out his plans, and selected his son George W. Allen as general super- intendent of the whole work. The Southern Hotel occupies the block between Walnut and Elm, two hundred and twenty-six feet, and Fourth and Fifth Streets, two hundred and seventy-five feet, has three fronts of stone on Walnut, Fourth, and Fifth Streets, and is six stories high, with an additional basement as highly finished as any floor of the house.

Mr. Allen obtained possession of the block on the 21st of May, 1879, when the preliminary work was commenced, and the building was begun in August, 1879. Mr. Allen's first and most solicitous object was to erect a thorough fire-proof house from base- ment to roof. To this end he bent all his energies, and enlisted the ingenuity of the architects and builders. On the principle that a building is only as strong as its weakest part, he resolved that there should be no weak place, and was constantly on his guard against a flaw. Enough of the heaviest rail- road iron to lay seven miles of track was used as support for the floors, which are laid on solid cement. Besides the interior brick walls necessary to give strength to the structure, the apartment partitions are of gypsum, sand, cement, and pulverized coke, with no particle of wood in them. The doors, window-

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HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

frames, and other necessary wood-work are of gum, cypress, and ash, hard wood, and of the finest finish. Should fire occur in any of the rooms it would neces- sarily stop with the furniture and upholstery of the one room, as there is no chance of its eating through or crawling out. There is no exception to this thorough fire-proofing in any part of the building. The builders pronounce the Southern the most thor- oughly fire-proof hotel structure in the world.

Among the additional features of special interest are two engines, basement fixtures, running machinery for elevators, electric light, and the latest improved

vators, two for passengers and three for freight and other purposes. It will thus be seen the means for ingress and egress are abundant.

The rotunda hall, extending from Walnut to Elm Streets, is two hundred and twenty-six feet long and sixty feet wide ; the cross hall, from Fourth to Fifth Street, is two hundred and seventy-five fect long and twenty-six and a half feet wide, and the rotunda ter- minates in a skylight at the roof, the several floors being guarded by balusters. A terrace-garden on the roof over the grand dining-hall is ninety-eight by fifty- eight feet in extent, and safely guarded by an iron

EL DEL

J. H. Breslin, President. C. P. Warner, Vice-President. Thos. Breslin.

THE SOUTHERN HOTEL.

G. W. Allen, Secretary and Treasurer. W. R. Allen. Chas. P. Warner, General Manager.

smoke-consuming furnaces in the basement and kitchen, which also make drafts for carrying off all impure air. There are three hundred and fifty rooms for guests, connected with the office by a system of elec- tric bells, and there is hot and cold water throughout the house. The building is heated with steam, and, besides, there are fireplaces and grates in every room for coal- or wood-fires. The public parlors are also thus supplied.

There are three main stairways of iron and slate, extending from the ground-floor to the upper story, for the use of guests, and two iron stairways for servants. Besides these there are five hydraulic ele-

railing. The garden is laid out with paths and prom- enades, and flowers and shrubbery watered by foun- tains. The furniture was ordered and selected wholly by James H. Breslin and Robert M. Taylor, and the entire outfit, including carpets, drapery, silverware, etc., cost two hundred and twenty-five thousand dol- lars. On May 11, 1881, the Southern Hotel was formally opened with a ball and banquet. Hon. E. O. Stanard, chairman of the committee of arrangements, introduced Hon. Thomas T. Crittenden, Governor of Missouri, who made a brief address. On the following day the new "Southern" began to receive guests. The first non-residents to register were Governor and

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BENCH AND BAR.

Mrs. Crittenden. The entire block was owned by Thomas Allen.

The Southern is managed by the Southern Hotel Company, as follows: James H. Breslin, presi- dent ; George W. Allen, secretary and treasurer ; Charles P. Warner, W. R. Allen, Thomas Breslin. Of these, James H. Breslin and Charles P. Warner were identified with the management of the old " Southern," and have a wide public acquaintance. The various departments are in charge of the fol- lowing persons: W. M. Bates, general manager ; John E. Mulford, private office and head book-keeper ; E. V. Williams, cashier, late of Tift House, Buffalo, N. Y .; M. W. Quinn, chief room clerk ; Charles E. Myers, room clerk, Tift House, Buffalo ; F. W. Lee, key clerk ; William A. Gilbert, key clerk ; William Patton, night clerk ; Horace M. Clark, steward. W. M. Bates, general manager, was placed in 1859 in a responsible position in the office of the famous St. Nicholas, New York, where he remained for years. Then he connected himself with the Ocean House, Newport, R. I., when he subsequently became a partner in the business. In 1877 he leased Congress Hall, Saratoga Springs, under the firm-name of Bates, Rogers & Farnsworth, and since has been connected with the Fifth Avenue, New York, and the Ocean House, Newport, R. I.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

BENCH AND BAR.

IN a large sense it may be said that the history of a community is written in the records and traditions of its courts of justice. If it has grown rapidly, and from small beginnings ; if difficulties have beset its path, and a stirring, energetic people wrought great things with courage and foresight ; if, above all, diverse elements of language and society have min- gled and struggled there, the bench and bar will in- evitably reflect these characteristics and meet thesc needs, it will be strong, brilliant, and original, offer- ing high prizes to genius, but little place for medi- ocre talent. A glance at the political history of Upper Louisiana, from which Missouri was carved, shows that to this battle-ground young giants of the law found their way. Its ownership first by France, then by Spain, and afterwards again by France, introduced into its colonial practice peculiarities of both the Spanish and the French codes, and formed customs which in later times had to be interpreted and regu- lated by the principles of English law. When, in March, 1804, at St. Louis, Commandant Delassus

transferred the territory to Capt. Stoddard, represen- tative of the United States, the throbbing current of American life flowed unimpeded into the quiet and almost Arcadian communities of Upper Louisiana. A wise policy prevented difficulties and harmonized conflicting interests, but for years Missouri courts had tasks before them which required the utmost tact, judgment, firmness, and acumen. It is easy to see why this should have been so. Three distinct classes of emigration had, previous to 1804, flowed into the Territory, attracted by its fertile soil, its abundant game, its mild laws, and the picturesque simplicity of its customs. From Canada by way of the great lakcs and the network of streams that cross Illinois, or floating down the upper Mississippi, many French voyageurs had found their way, so that in some dis- tricts a French patois was almost the only language spoken. French and Spanish families from New Or- leans ventured the voyage northward, and in some districts the Spanish element predominated. Sturdy Western hunters, trappers, traders, and farmers were beginning to occupy points of vantage and invest in lands, timber, and town property. The rude border life developed a race of plainspoken frontiersmen, who afterwards carried into their innumerable legal battles that necessarily grew from conflicting land grants and titles the same courage and tenacity that they showed in their Indian wars. The able and courageous lawyers who won their way to fame and fortune in the earlier days of Missouri were not only trained athletes of the judicial forum, but their lives were crowded with romantic incident and adventure. It was absolutely essential to professional success that a lawyer should be thoroughly acquainted with the Spanish language and civil law. As Hon. W. V. N. Bay, late judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri, says in his interesting reminiscences of the bench and bar of that State, " A want of knowledge of either unfitted the claimant to legal honors to cope with those who had devoted years of laborious study to their acquirement."

The St. Louis bar was from the first a centre of legal activity in the Territory, and many of its mem- bers won national reputation. Among its character- istic leaders were such men as Benton, the Lucases, Geyer, Easton, Gamble, McGirk, Hempstead, Petti- bonc, Tompkins, Darby, Spalding, the Bartons, Law- less, Bates, Allen, Mullanphy, Leslie, Wright, Blen- ncrhassett, Polk, Gantt, Williams, Bowlin, Leonard, Field, and others who belonged in the same brilliant coterie. The student of the bench and bar of St. Louis in its early days will search long for a parallel in points of force and originality. The lawyers of

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HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

Kentucky, of Southern Ohio, and of Indiana had the same extensive practice in profitable land litiga- tion, and developed the same rough and ready wit, terse, epigrammatic speech, and Western eloquence ; the lawyers of Texas, and at a later date those of the southern portion of California and of New Mexico had to struggle in like measure with the difficulties of the Spanish code and Spanish language ; but only in Missouri were all these complex and varied elements mingled in stormy confusion, in a conflict of diverse creeds, systems, and languages, whose struggle and final harmonious union are written in the pages of court records and legislative enactments of Territory and State.

There werc a few capable and efficient lawyers, mostly French, in St. Louis previous to 1804, and they soon found that the American purchase meant for them only increased business activity and infinitely broader opportunities, which they were not slow to embrace. In many cases the wise policy of the United States retained the former alcaldes as justices of the peace under the new government. The Chouteaus, the Chauvins, the Prattes, and the Leducs were leaders among the French citizens. In 1764, Col. Auguste Chouteau landed at what is now the foot of Market Street, St. Louis, and camped there. In 1799, when a census was taken, both St. Charles and Ste. Gene- vieve exceeded St. Louis in population, and drew much legal talent to their courts. Of the four legal and military districts of St. Charles, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, and Cape Girardeau, no one could in 1804 foresee which would contain the metropolis. In that year Col. Rufus Easton and Edward Hempstead came to the Territory.

At this time the district of Louisiana, in which St. Louis was situated, was attached to the Territory of Indiana, whose courts exercised jurisdiction over the newly-acquired country. The Governor and judges were instructed by the act of Congress of March 26, 1804, to hold two courts a year at St. Louis and enact such laws for the immediate government of the dis- trict as they might find necessary. Accordingly, Wil- liam Henry Harrison, Governor, and Thomas Terry Davis, Henry Vanderburgh, and John Griffin, judges of the Territory of Indiana, adopted a code of laws for the government of the district. The first law in the code established the office of sheriff, the second was one for regulating boatmen, the third established recorders' offices, the fourth was entitled "a law respecting slaves," the fifth was "a law of defalca- tion," and the sixth " regulating the oath of office."

A copy of the Republicam Register, a newspaper published at that period in Rushville, Ky., dated June

20th, contains a letter, dated Vincennes, May 29, 1805, which thus describes the holding of the first general court in St. Louis :

" The first general court in and for the district of Louisiana was opened in the town of St. Louis on Tuesday, the 6th of May inst., at about eleven o'clock A.M. The judges, Vanderburgh and Griffin, being attended by the sheriff and his deputy, the bar, and a respectable number of citizens, proceeded to the house of Monsieur Chouteau. After the grand jury (which was composed of twenty odd of the most respectable citizens) were sworn, his Honor Judge Vanderburgh delivered a charge of some length, in which he congratulated them upon the happiness and pros- perity they would experience from the change of government. The grand jury continued their session from Tuesday until Fri- day morning. They found an indictment against one Davis for murder, without malice, of his father-in-law, and one against one Hunter and Dennis for the willful murder of one Clark, a presentment against the inferior court, and one against John Mullanphy, Esq., as presiding justice of the inferior court of the district of Louis. Hunter, upon traversing the indictment, was acquitted; Dennis was found guilty of manslaughter and punished ; Davis was acquitted, and so was Mullanphy. The Indian prisoner, who was some time in confinement in the gar- rison at St. Louis, in endeavoring to make his escape (a few days previous to the arrival of the President's pardon), was shot by the sentinel, and from the wound he received was enabled to get about six miles, where he was found dead some time after. During the sitting of the court the Sioux nation of Indians brought down a prisoner for having killed two Canadians. There was no confession by which he was justified in the commission of the act. The court, after a session of fifteen days, during which a variety of business was done, adjourned till court in course."

The letter mentions an " inferior court," which ap- pears to have been formed of a quorum of justices of the peace, over which John Mullanphy presided.

Courts of Quarter Sessions, to hold four terms each year, were established for the five sub-districts into which the district was divided, with a sheriff and recorder for each sub-district, the court at St. Louis to meet on the third Tuesday of June, September, De- cember, and March. The first session of this court in St. Louis, as stated elsewhere, was an Oyer and Terminer held Dec. 18, 1804, at the tavern of Emil- ien Yosti. The justices present were Auguste Chou- teau, Jacques Clamorgan, David Delaunay, and James Mackay, and the sheriff was Jamcs Rankin. Charles Gratiot was presiding justice, and Edward Hemp- stead was deputy attorney-general pro tem.

By the act of March 3, 1805, Congress provided for the appointment of three judges, who' with the Governor should constitute the Legislature of the newly-created Territory of Louisiana. These judges were J. B. C. Lucas, John Coburn, and Rufus Easton, who constituted what was known as the Superior Court. Before the new government was organized, however, the Court of Quarter Sessions had held another term, March, 1805, Charles Gratiot presiding.

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BENCH AND BAR.

In addition to those already named, Alexander Mc- Nair, of St. Louis, and Richard Caulk, James Rich- ardson, and John Allen, from the other sub-districts, occupied seats on the bench. In 1806 the judges of the Superior Court were J. B. C. Lucas, R. J. Meigs, and Otho Strader. In June of this year the Terri- torial Legislature provided for a general court to be held in St. Louis twice a year, which exercised the functions of a Court of Appeals or Supreme Bench, and in October of the same year for a clerk of the General Court, Joseph V. Garnier being appointed to the position. In 1807 the Legislature passed an act reconstructing the courts, which provided that judges of the Common Pleas should be appointed by the Governor for each district for four ycars, two being a quorum to hold court. There were to be three terms a year in St. Louis, on the first Mondays of March, July, and November. The act also provided for a Court of Oyer and Terminer (criminal), to consist of the judges of the General Court and the Common Pleas judges of the respective districts when the pun- ishment involved life or death. Other criminal cases were to be tried in the Quarter Sessions, with a clerk for each district. It was further provided that a Supreme Court, called the General Court, should sit in St. Louis on the first Mondays of May and Oc- tober.1

In the mean time the Common Pleas Court had been in active operation. At the March term, 1806, Joseph Browne was presiding justice, with Messrs. Chouteau, Delaunay, and Mackay associates ; Andrew Steel, prothonotary. At the special term of Quarter Sessions, in October of the same year, Jacques Cla- morgan, Bernard Pratte, and William Christy were the justices in attendance. The sheriff at this time was Jeremiah Connor. In June, 1807, Silas Bent as- sumed the duties of presiding justice of the Common Pleas, having been appointed to that position by act- ing Governor Bates. On the 19th of September, 1808, a Court of Oyer and Terminer was held, J. B. C. Lucas presiding, with Judge Chouteau as associate. At the February term in 1809, Judge Lucas' associ- ates were Judges Pratte and Labeaume.

The act of Congress of June 4, 1812, provided that there should be three judges of the Superior Court, to serve four years, and by the act of the Legislature Aug. 20, 1813, the old courts were abolished, and it was provided that three judges of Common Pleas for each county should be appointed by the Governor for four years. These courts were to hold three terms a

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History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 100

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898 Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts Number of Pages: 1358

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1358