History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 181

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 181

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).

In the wake of the " General Pike" marched a long procession of boatmen and boys, after whom followed a model, drawn on wheels, of the steamer " Laclede," then considered to be one of the finest vessels on the Mississippi River. The "Laclede" was named for the founder of St. Louis, and was built in that city. After this model eame the mayor and city offi- eers, two and two, followed by the various eompanics of the fire department in uniform and in the order of their incorporation, which was as follows :

1st. The Central Hose Company, preceded by their officers, with flags; next their engine, drawn by four black horses.

2d. The Union, No. 2, Hose Company, their hose dressed in blue, corresponding with the uniform of the men, and their engine, drawn by the company.

3d. The Washington Hose Company, and the en- gine, drawn by four gray horses, bearing a banner, on which was the likeness of General Washington ; dress, yellow.

4th. Tiger Hose Company, which was attached to the St. Louis Engine Company, in scarlet uniform. They earried with them a triangle and gong, " with which they saluted the public as they passed."

5th. The Missouri, preceded by their banner. Fol- lowing this were a number of Indians in full costume ; then the hose company, and the engine, drawn by four gray horses.

1 This vessel, commanded by Capt. Jacob Reed, arrived at St. Louis in July, 1817. The miniature representation was about twenty feet long, and its hull was that of a barge. The wheels were exposed, and she was propelled by a low-pressure engine, with a single chimney and a large walking-beam. The crew were supplied with poles, and when the current was too strong for the vessel's steam-motor they used the poles to assist in pro- pelling her. The model was mounted on wheels and drawn by eight horses, and was manned by a crew of steamboat captains. Capt. Throckmorton paced the deck, telescope in hand, and di- rected the movements of the little vessel. From the log-book of the "voyage" it appears that the crew was made up as fol- low8 :

J. Throckmorton, master; George Ransom, mate; Thomas Nelson, pilot ; Charles La Barge, stcersman ; J. C. Burkinbine, starboard deck hand; Charles Connoyer, larboard deck hand; John Lee and N. J. Eaton, firemen on the first watch; and Hugh Campbell and John Shaw, firemen on the second watch.

6th. The Liberty, preceded by their banner. The carriage was dressed with flowers, and the men wore handsome uniforms. The engine was drawn by six dun horses.

7th. The Phoenix, preceded by a banner provided for the occasion. On the front was represented the landing of Laclede. He occupied the foreground. To his left was a surveyor, who had drawn a plot of the town, and was exhibiting it on the ground. Be- hind him stood a number of hunters and trappers, and in the rear was the rocky bluff that once showed itself along the shore. On the left the disembarkation of the goods and effects of the pioneers was going on, and in the rear an interpreter was endeavoring to make friends with the Indians. In a scroll above was the name of Laclede, and below the date of his land- ing. On the reverse of the banner was a phoenix rising from its ashes, with the name of the company and the date of its incorporation.

8th. The Franklin, preceded by a banner with the portrait of Franklin upon it. The hose company and members made a fine appearance, their yellow fire-hats and blaek capes with gilt letters making them very conspicuous. Their engine was drawn by four bay horses.

Next in order was the Hunting Club, all the mem- bers being in full hunters' costume, and provided with horns, buck-tails, and double-barreled shot-guns. Capt. Macdonough's horse supported on his head a large pair of buck's horns. The club was headed by the president and viee-president, Capt. Cohen and Green Erskine, respectively. Following the Hunting Club came the Hibernian Society, preceded by a band of music, and wearing green sashes, and carrying their banner, the harp of Erin. To this organization succeeded a procession of maskers, in earriages and on horseback, wearing grotesque costumes. Next eame an omnibus drawn by four horses and filled with citizens. The omnibus was followed by Henry Dolde's ear, heavily laden with bread, and next in order were the public schools. School No. 3, under D. Arm- strong, headed the line. It was followed by the Sixth Ward school, and the rear was brought up by School No. 1.

In the line was borne a banner prepared for the occasion, and presented to the schools by the Board of School Directors. It was decorated with a paint- ing of Minerva, goddess of wisdom, and appropriate emblems and inscriptions. After the schools came the lodges of Masons and Odd-Fellows, both orders being in full regalia, and bearing a number of hand- some banners. The Odd-Fellows numbered three hundred, and were under the command of their chief

1829

PROMINENT EVENTS.

marshal, C. M. Valleau. The city lodges marched in the order of seniority, as follows: Excelsior, No. 18; Missouri, No. 11; St. Louis, No. 5; Germania, No. 3 ; Wildey, No. 2; and Travelers' Rest, No. 1. Next came the encampment, under the immediate control of the Most Worthy Grand Chief Patriarch, Gerard B. Allen. Lastly came the Right Worthy Grand Lodge. The Most Worthy Grand Master, Isaac M. Veitch, brought up the rear.

The Odd-Fellows were followed by a deputation of brewers, the firms of Lemp, McHose & English, G. Snyder and Winckelmeier being represented. At the head of the procession was a mammoth cask, drawn by four gray horses, on which was seated a representation of the king of Flanders and Brabant, the reputed inventor of beer, bearing a pitcher of the foaming beverage. There were also three large casks surrounded by the implements of brewing. Behind the brewers marched the coopers. At the head of their linc was an immense cask on a car drawn by four horses. Seated on the cask was a master- cooper, and several coopers walked on either side holding ribbons attached to the cask. After them marched along line of coopers, bearing implements of their trade. Next followed a wagon belonging to D. Colver's brewery, and behind it came the free school of St. Louis University, numbering scven hundred pupils, which, in turn, was succeeded by the students of the university. Following these was Mr. Wyman's High School, numbering one hun- dred and seventy-five scholars, and bearing several handsome banners, one of which had been presented by the pupils of " Edgewater Seminary." Then followed the Evangelical German Lutheran School, and a printing-press in a car, with several boys engaged in printing and distributing an ode composed for the occasion on behalf of the Typographical Association by John P. Shannon. Following the press came a long line of printers, including the St. Louis Typo- graphical Association, after whom marched the Society of Saddle, Harness, and Trunk-Makers, Oscar F. A. Scruggs, marshal. They were followed by the St. Cecilia Society in carriages, and by citizens in car- riages and on horseback.

The procession moved from Fourth, along Market, into Fifth Street, down Fifth to Carondelet Avenue, where it wheeled into Second Street ; up Second Street to Spruce, along Spruce to Fourth, up Fourth to Washington Avenue, along Washington Avenue to Fifth, up Fifth to Franklin Avenue, along Frank- lin Avenue to Sixth, down Sixth to Washington Avenue, along Washington Avenue to Fifth, down Fifth to Chestnut, along Chestnut to Fourth, where

the line was countermarched. When the head of the procession, on its way down Fifth Street, reached the centre of the block between Chestnut and Pine, the rear was at the hospital, corner of Fourth and Spruce Streets. After marching as far as practica- ble, for it was soon evident that the width of the street did not admit of the whole line making this evolution, the procession was dismissed.

The Washington Band then played the " Marseil- laise," after which the pupils of School No. 3, who had occupied a position in front of the speakers' stand, sang an ode written for the occasion and set to the tune of " The Old Granite State." The band then rendered a march specially composed for the celebra- tion.

A stand had been erected on the sidewalk on the east side of Fourth Street, fronting the court-house. An immense assemblage filled the street from Market to Chestnut Strects, and back to the court-house and the court-house yard. On the platform were seated among others the four Indians who constituted Mr. Chouteau's body-guard. When the music had ceased, the grand marshal, Col. Thornton Grimsley, intro- duced Wilson Primm as the orator of the day.

Mr. Primm began his address with a historical re- view of French conquest and colonization in the val- ley of the Mississippi, and then proceeded to describe the cession of that country's territory in the valley to Spain, and subsequently to the United States, the surrender of Fort de Chartres to England, and the settlement of St. Louis, and narrated at length the political and economic history of the city.

After the oration the committee of arrangements, the invited guests, the marshal and his aids and as- sistants, and a number of citizens assembled at the Planters' House, where a collation had been prepared. At the table the following officers presided :

Gen. John Ruland, President.

VICE-PRESIDENTS.

John F. Darby.

Asa Wilgus.

H. Von Phul.

Dr. Robert Simpson.

F. R. Conway.

Col. John O'Fallon.

Dr. B. G. Farrar. Wyllis King.

Edward Bates. Col. J. B. Brant.

Col. Charles Keemle, Toast-master.

The sub-committee on the dinner consisted of Col. F. Kennett, Joseph M. Field, Edward Walsh, Henry S. Geyer, John F. Darby, Samuel Treat.

Pierre Chouteau, president of the day, was seated immediately on the right of Gen. Ruland. The vice-presidents presided at the different tables. Prep- arations had been made to seat twelve hundred persons, but owing to the belief that there would be too great an assemblage for comfort, many were de-

116

1830

HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

terred from attending, and there were not more than four hundred persons present. John F. Darby, first vice-president, ealled the meeting to order. After dinner was over, the first toast, " The Founders of St. Louis," was read by Col. Charles Keemle, toast-master, and repcated by D. Armstrong. It was responded to by L. V. Bogy, on behalf of Mr. Chouteau, and Mr. Bogy proposed, in the name of Mr. Chouteau, a toast to the memory of Pierre Ligueste Laeledc, the foun- der of St. Louis. After the toast had been drunk in silence and standing, Mr. Chouteau rose, and in a few remarks in the French language bore testimony to the purity, simplicity, and honesty of the early in- habitants of St. Louis. The band then played the " Laelede March," composed for the celebration.

The toast "Missouri" was not responded to, owing to the absence of Governor Edwards, and Col. Campbell, the Governor's aid, proposed the sentiment " The City of St. Louis,-one of the many instances in which we are indebted to the sagacity of Indian traders for the selection of the site of a commercial eity." G. W. Joncs, of Iowa, responded to the toast " The Union," after which a letter was read from the Hon. R. W. Wells, regretting his inability to be present. Another toast to St. Louis was responded to by William C. Carr and Mayor P. G. Camden. The following toasts were also drunk : "The Orator of the Day," responded to by Wilson Primm ; " The Western Hunter and Trapper," responded to by Hon. Thomas Allen and Mr. Crockett ; "Our Army,-the Volunteers and Regulars," responded to by Col. Fer- dinand Kennett ; and "The Press," responded to by A. B. Chambers. After the toast to " Law and Medi- eine," Mr. Chouteau, the guest of the evening, who was in feeble health, rose to retire, and was greeted with three cheers twice repeated. As he withdrew the band played " Hail to the Chief," and the com- pany remained standing. Edward Bates replied to the toast " Law and Medicine," and the remaining toasts and those who responded were the following : " Public Education," by the Rev. Dr. Goodrich ; " Thomas Jefferson," by Mr. Polk ; " Western Boat- men," by Capt. Eaton; and " The Mothers of St. Louis," by John F. Darby. A letter of regret at his inability to attend, owing to indisposition, was read froni S. Labadie. Col. Thornton Grimsley then an- nouneed that the Laelede banner, made by the ladies of St. Louis, would be presented to Pierre Chou- teau, the only person living who had seen Laelede. Mr. J. S. Robb made a humorous speech, and brief addresses were made by Col. John O'Fallon, Gen. Ruland, who gave the health of Grand Marshal Grimsley, G. R. Taylor, and Mr. Treat, of the Union

newspaper; Mr. Polk, who proposed a toast to the memory of Governor William Clark ; Mann Butler, who toasted the memory of George Rogers Clark ; Col. Brant, the memory of Gen. Henry Atkinson ; Gen. Ranney, the memory of Capt. Reed ; Mr. Field, who proposed the health of "our worthy host," S. Rimmer ; Nathaniel Paschall, who toasted the mem- ory of Col. Auguste Chouteau; Mr. Cady, the health of Nathaniel Paschall, " one of the pioneers of the St. Louis press ;" Mr. Curtis, the memory of Joseph Taylor, the companion of Laelede, and who first built a mill in St. Louis; N. E. Janney, who offered a toast to "Romulus and Laelede ; and J. S. Robb, who proposed the health of Col. Keemle, the oldest printer west of the Mississippi. Dr. Linton and J. M. Holmes also made addresses. The health of Henry Von Phul, the oldest merchant in St. Louis, was drunk with enthusiasm. After several more toasts had been offered the banquet terminated.

Between eight and nine o'clock in the evening the ball, with which the celebration elosed, commenced at the Planters' House. There was a very large attend- anee, and the entertainment is deseribed as having been of a most brilliant and successful character.

The managers of the ball were-

Joseph A. Sire, Bernard Pratte, Charles Chouteau, Frederic L. Billon, Amedee Vallé, Michael L. Cerré, Charles Cabanné, William L. Ewing, Joseph Boujou, Henry Von Phul, S. B. Churchill, James Clemens, Jr., H. S. Geyer, G. W. Goode, Jef- ferson R. Clarke, Charles F. Tracy, N. Berthoud, W. H. Belcher, D. B. Morehouse, John H. Ferguson, Richard Brewster, Gen. Milburn, Thomas Andrews, John G. Shelton, David D. Hill, John Withnell, R. M. Parks, John S. Watson, A. B. Chambers.

The sub-committees were-

Sub-Committee of the Committee on Arrangements, having special charge of the preparations for the ball, George Collier, John B. Sarpy, Gen. B. Pratte, E. Charless, J. Clemens, Jr., C. C. Cady, Col. T. Grimsley.

Sub-Committee on Invitations, A. B. Chambers, F. R. Con- way, J. B. Sarpy, II. Von Phul.

Sub-Committee on Finance, Col. R. Campbell, Capt. S. Blood, William Risley, Capt. J. A. Sire.

Sub-Committee on Procession and Oration, Col. Lewis V. Bogy, Asa Wilgus, Col. Charles Keemle, Gen. N. Ranney, Capt. G. Byrne, David Tatum.

1847. In August, Gen. Phil Kearney arrived in the city and received his friends at the Planters' House.

1848. January 21st, a mass-meeting of Germans, for the organization of a society for the furtheranee of the republican cause in Germany, was held at the court-housc. William Palm was elected chair- man, and William D'Oench, Charles Huth, John Kern, L. Braun, Louis Bach, Joseph Pfeiffer, George A. Krug, Dr. Wiebe, and Charles Muegge, vice-presi-

1831

PROMINENT EVENTS.

dents, and Arthur Olshausen, secretary. At a previous meeting, held Dec. 27, 1847, an address had been delivered by Frederick Hccker. Subsequently an address to the German nation was prepared and for- warded to Germany. The following officers were elceted : President, William Palm ; Vice-President, Col. Waldemar Fischer; Recording Secretary, O. Beckendorff; Corresponding Secretary, Dr. A. Ham- mer ; Treasurer, John Kern.

1852. July 12th, many houses draped in mourning for Henry Clay, who died June 29th. At night there was an immense torchlight procession. The officers were: Grand Marshal, Thornton Grimsley; Aids, Col. A. B. Chambers, C. Kribben; Assistant Mar- shals, Henry N. Hart, Isaac H. Sturgeon, Basil Duke, Frederick Kretschmar, Augustus H. Linn, Leo D. Walker, D. T. Wright, J. C. Edgar, Lucien Carr, J. T. Camp, Dr. John Shore.

The procession moved down Fifth Street to the intersection of Fourth and Fifth Streets, up Fourth to Locust, up Locust to Fifth, up Fifth to Washing- ton Avenue, up Washington Avenue to Eighth, down Eighth to Olive, up Olive to the Lucas Place.

The following was the order of procession :

Marshal and his Aids. St. Louis Brass Band. St. Louis Grays, Capt. Knapp. Missouri Jaegers, Capt. Schaeffer. (With their respective banners furled, shrouded in crape.) Bishop C. S. Hawks, Chaplain, and Uriel Wright, Orator. Rev. S. S. Gassaway, Rector of St. George's; Rev. Mr. Leech, Rector of St. Paul's.

Then came the pall-bearers in twenty carriages. They were Col. Thomas H. Benton, John D. Daggett, Thomas Andrews, Matthew Kerr, Robert Simpson, Gabriel Chouteau, Edward Tracy, F. Dent, P. Chouteau, Jr., J. B. Sarpy, Henry Von Phul, Peter Lindell, Jesse G. Lindell, Beriah Cleland, Maj. Richard Graham, Sullivan Blood, John Smith, Thornton Grimsley, V. J. Peers, George H. Kennerly, Gen. William Milburn, William Waddingham, David B. Hill, John Finney, Col. John O'Fallon, William Finney, Lewis Bissell, Edward Walsh, J. Clemens, Jr., Archibald Gamble, John K. Walker, Peter Ferguson, Hamilton R. Gamble, Phineas Bartlett, H. G. Renard, Charles Chambers, Robert Wash, John Goodfellow, Jaincs J. Purdy, Emanuel Block, Isaac A. Letcher, Andrew Elliott, James C. Sutton, Mar- shall Brotherton, Louis A. Lebeaume, Bernard Pratte, L. A. Benoist, John H. Gay, James HI. Lucas, Henry Shurlds, P. D. Papin, John Simonds, William Glasgow, William Renshaw, Jr., William G. Pettus, Joseph A. Sire, Nathaniel Paschall, Charles Kcemle, Elkanalı English, Michael S. Cerré, Henry Chouteau, John Rice, Samuel Hawken.

Immediately behind the hearse was the American flag, furled and shrouded in crape, and borne by three members of the United Order of American Mechanics, viz .: State Councilor, M. B. Laughlin ; Vice State Councilor, J. L. Faucett ; Score- tary, I. L. Bailey. Afterwards followed the

Funeral Car, drawn by six horses.

Committee of Arrangements.

Mayor.

City Council and Executive Officers of the city.

Judges of all the Courts.

Members of the Bar and Officers of the Courts.

Officers of the Army and Navy of the United States. Union Swiss Guards, Capt. Fry. Lafayette Guards, Capt. Vanhover. Washington Grenadiers. (With their respective banners furled and shrouded with crape.)

Order of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Independent Order of Odd-Fellows. United Order of American Mechanics. Hibernian Benevolent Association. German Benevolent Society.

All other Scientific, Literary, and Charitable Associations, in the order they arrived on the ground. St. Louis Fire Companies,

in the order in which they arrived. Citizens on foot. Missouri Dragoons, Capt. Brinkman. Missouri Artillery, Capt. Almstead. Citizens in carriages. Citizens on horseback.

Besides these were the association of German Gym- nastics, the students of St. Louis University, the so- ciety of steamboat engineers, and various other bodies. A number of transparencies were borne in the pro- cession, among them one by the " St. Louis Printers' Union," T. G. Forster, marshal. Several of the engines and carriages of the fire department were handsomely decorated. On the 13th a large assem- blage gathered in the space in front of Yeatman's Row to listen to a eulogy upon the character of the dead statesman, delivered by Maj. Wright.

In 1848, at a time when excitement ran high over the victories of the American army in Mexico, the intelligence of the revolution in Paris was received with great enthusiasm, and there was a large meeting held on April 19th ; Judge John M. Krum was chosen president, and Alexander Kayser, David Chambers, Judge Bryan Mullanphy, and John F. Darby, vice- presidents, and C. E. Lebcaume, Lewis Cortambert, and Alexander J. P. Gareschè, secretaries. The meeting was largely attended, but it was only preliminary to a general mass-meeting that was in contemplation, for which a committee was appointed to prepare an address and suitable resolutions, consisting of R. S. Blennerhassett, James Lemen, Daniel H. Donovan, John F. Darby, Wilson Primm, James G. Barry, Col. L. V. Bogy, Capt. Deegan, D. A. Magehan, Lewis Bach, Robert Cathcart, J. S. Hall, Reuben B. Austin, P. G. Camden, Judge Schaumburg, Judge Mullanphy, and William Weber. The address at the mass-meeting was delivered by Pierce C. Grace. About the same time the French citizens also held a meeting, at which Dr. John Rivereau presided, and Wilson Primm was secretary.

1852. In March, Louis Kossuth, the Hungarian

1832

HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

patriot, visited St. Louis, and not only obtained very substantial contributions in aid of the cause which he represented, but was received with popular and dis- tinguished honors. He was accompanied by Madame Kossuth and a suite of thirteen persons. He was received on March 9th, on landing from the stcamer " Emperor," by a citizens' committee of one hundred, of which Mayor Kennett was chairman, and was escorted by the military and populace to the Planters' House, where he held a reception. On March 12th there was a grand military and civic parade in his honor. During his stay Kossuth was the object of marked attention, and was visited by delegations from the cities of Missouri and other Western States, and invited to visit them also.

1854. In March a prominent event occurred in the history of St. Louis in the reception and enter- tainment by the city authorities and commercial bodies of the Governor, judiciary, and Legislature of Illinois. The banquet was given March 2d in the Mercantile Library Hall, Mayor John How, of St. Louis, presiding. On June 12th, ex-President Mil- lard Fillmore visited St. Louis, and received a grand ova- tion from its citizens. The intelligence of his coming was received on Sunday, the previous day, and prep- arations were at once made for his reception. A committee on reception, escorted by two companies of military, proceeded on a steamboat up the Missis- sippi to meet the distinguished guest. On the arrival at the city, Mr. Fillmore was received by Mayor How and the city authorities, and was escorted by a procession of military and citizens to the Planters' House, where he was formally received and made a speech. The next day he gave a public reception, and was the city's guest until Wednesday, 14th.

April 27th, a terrific hail-storm swept over the city and inflicted considerable damage. A local account asserts that the streets looked as though they had been "paved with crystallized pebbles." The storm was even more severe at Jefferson Barracks, and the destruction of property was considerable. In Bonhomme township fences and out-houses were prostrated in every direction, and at Carondelet some twenty or thirty houses were unroofed or injured in some other way. No lives were lost.

May 14th, the death was announced of the "Soap Grease Man," a local celebrity who earned his liveli- hood by going from house to house and purchasing ·grease for soap. He went about in a wagon, and wore a cockade in his hat and a sword at his side.

1857. In April of this year George Peabody, the banker and philanthropist, visited St. Louis, and was received by the Chamber of Commerce.

1858. May 4th, a number of United States offi- cers arrived in St. Louis on their way to Utalı to sup- press the rebellion there .. Among them were Gen. W. S. Harney, Gen. P. F. Smith, Col. J. E. John- ston, Maj. N. C. Macrea, Maj. J. W. W. Chapman, Capt. A. A. Humphreys, and Capt. A. Pleason- ton.

1859. May 10th, a prize-fight took place near the Abbey Race-Course, between James Smith, alias " Bendigo," of Philadelphia, and Pat Curley, of St. Louis, for twenty-five dollars a side. Eighty-six rounds were fought, and Curley, who was badly pun- ished, threw up the sponge, and the victory was awarded to Smith.

July 1st, Professor John Wise, the famous balloonist, accompanied by John Lamountain, aero- naut, of Troy, N. Y .; O. H. Gager, of Bennington, Vt., who defrayed the cost of the experiment, and William Hyde, local editor of the St. Louis Republican, started from St. Louis in the balloon " Atlantic," with the view of making an aerial voyage to the Atlantic sea- board. The " Atlantic" adventurers werc accom- panied part of the way by S. M. Brooks, of St. Louis, in the balloon " Comet." The " Atlantic" landed on the afternoon of the following day ncar the residence of T. O. Whitney, at Henderson, Jefferson Co., N. Y., having made the trip, eleven hundred miles, in nine- tcen hours and forty minutes. The balloon therefore traveled at the average rate of fifty-six miles an hour. It crossed Lake Erie, a distance of two hundred and fifty miles, in three hours, making eighty-three and a half miles an hour. The ascension was made at five minutes before seven P.M., from Washington Square, corner of Clark Avenue and Twelfth Street, St. Louis, and was witnessed by an immense concourse of spec- tators.

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.

History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 181

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