History of Saint Louis City and County, from the earliest periods to the present day: including biographical sketches of representative men, Part 43

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 43

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From New Orleans to Sierra Blanca, Texas. 1080

Other Divisions .. 312

Statement of mileage as operated by divisions, June 1, 1882 :

Miles.

New Orleans Division, New Orleans to Shreveport, La .... 335

Southern Division, Shreveport, La., to Sierra Blanca, Texas. 745 Jefferson Division, Marshall to Texarkana Junction ...... 69

Transcontinental Division, Texarkana via Sherman to Fort Worth 243

Total length of road 1392

During 1881 seven hundred miles of road were com- pleted and equipped, and on the 1st of January, 1882, a junction was formed with the Southern Pacific Railroad of California, at a point five hundred and

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twenty-three miles west of Fort Worth, and on the 15th of the same month the road was opened for traf- fic to El Paso, and a through line established from St. Louis to San Francisco via the Iron Mountain Road. On the 21st of June, 1881, the Texas and Pacific was consolidated with the New Orleans Pacific Railway, extending from Shreveport to New Orleans, a distance of about three hundred and thirty-five miles.

The total earnings of the Texas and Pacific Rail- way for the year ending May 31, 1881, amounted to ($6208.62 per mile) $3,201,777.08; expenditures ($4929.78 per mile), $2,608,021.32; total assets, $44,609,589.03 ; capital stock, $14,814,700 ; bonded debt, $27,460,000.

By a general law of Texas the road, in common with others in the State, is entitled to a land grant of sixteen sections (10,240 acres) to the mile. The land earned upon the mileage constructed up to May 31, 1881, was 10,225,462 acres.

The officers of the company are : Directors, Frank S. Bond, Philadelphia, Pa .; John C. Brown, Pulaski, Tenn. ; Jay Gould, Russell Sage, E. H. Perkins, Jr., T. T. Eckert, A. L. Hopkins, New York ; James P. Scott, Charles O. Baird, Philadelphia, Pa .; E. B. Wheelock, New Orleans, La .; B. K. Jamison, Phila- delphia, Pa .; W. T. Walters, Baltimore, Md .; W. C. Hall, Louisville, Ky .; William M. Harrison, Jeffer- son, Texas ; R. S. Hayes, St. Louis, Mo. President, Jay Gould, New York ; Vice-Presidents, R. S. Hayes and John C. Brown, St. Louis ; General Manager, H. M. Hoxie, St. Louis.

The active and directing mind of the Texas and Pacific Railway since its inception has been Hon. John C. Brown. Governor Brown was born Jan. 6, 1827, in Giles County, Tenn., and was the son of a farmer in moderate circumstances. His parents were of Scotchi blood, and he was the youngest of nine children. He received his earliest training in the old field school-house of that day, and then received the best education which the times afforded at Jackson College, at Columbia, Tenn. He finished his course in 1846, and then engaged in teaching while pre- paring for the bar, to which he was admitted in Octo- ber, 1848. He opened an office in Pulaski, where his diligence, integrity, and ability secured him a large and lucrative practice, to which he mainly devoted himself until the civil war. His devotion to his pro- fession did not interrupt his private studies of general literature; and having the means and the leisure, he supplemented his studies with a journey abroad in 1858-59, visiting the country of his forefathers and then making the tour of the Continent, Egypt, and the Holy Land.

Up to 1860 Mr. Brown had strictly devoted him- self to his profession. He never sought office, and although a zealous and pronounced Whig avoided pol- itics as a pursuit. In 1860, however, lie was chosen an elector on the Bell and Everett or Constitutional Union ticket. As a consequence of Mr. Lincoln's election the Southern States determined to secede from the Union. The State of Tennessee was in a condition of intense political excitement, during which Mr. Brown took the stump and made a vigorous and fearless canvass in favor of the Union and in opposition to secession. But when Tennessee separated herself from the Union and began organizing her troops for the Confederacy, as a " son of the South" John C. Brown did not hesitate, but joined the Confederate army as a private, was elected captain of his company, became colonel of the Third Tennessee Volunteers, and as senior colonel commanded a brigade and par- ticipated in the defense of Fort Donelson. When the fort surrendered he became a prisoner of war. After his exchange in August, 1862, he was promoted to be brigadier-general, and was assigned to duty with Gen. Braxton Bragg. In the campaign in Kentucky he participated in the battle of Perryville and other actions. After the battles of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge, and the actions incident to Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's retreat (in all of which he par- ticipated), he was promoted to be major-general. He finished his active military career at Franklin, Tenn., where he was so severely wounded as to be unable to rejoin his command until a short time before the surrender of Johnston's army at Greensboro', N. C., where he was assigned to the command of one of Johnston's best divisions. In his relations with the army he was a strict disciplinarian, and always at the post of duty. No trespassing on private property was tolerated, and marauding was severely and promptly punished. He was several times severely wounded.

In 1864 he was married to Miss Childers, an accomplished lady of Murfreesboro', Tenn., and a niecc of Mrs. James K. Polk, widow of the ex- President. Mrs. Brown has contributed a woman's share in promoting her husband's fortunes, and has borne him an interesting family of four children.

At the close of the war Governor Brown returned to the practice of his profession at Pulaski, and con- tinued in full practice till 1869, when he was elected delegate to the convention which, in January, 1870, met and framed the present Constitution of Tennessee, and was chosen, without solicitation, president of that body. In 1870 he was unanimously nominated by the Democrats of Tennessee for Governor. The issues in this canvass were of a character that seriously affected

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the honor and prosperity of Tennessee. The war had greatly wasted the resources of the State. An enor- mous public debt had accumulated, and default had · been made in payment of interest. The public credit was low and the resources for eurrent expenses almost exhausted. Governor Brown took the statesmanlike ground that the public debt could be and must be paid. He was elected by forty thousand majority to the office of Governor, an office to which his eldest brother, Neill S. Brown (now living in Nashville), had been chosen in 1847 over Aaron V. Brown, one of the most popular Democrats of his day. The in- fluence of Neill S. Brown, who was a central figure in State and national politics, was sensibly felt in the Presidential campaign which resulted in the election of Gen. Taylor, and Mr. Brown was subsequently tendered the post of minister to Russia, which he accepted.

In 1872, Governor John C. Brown was unani- mously rcnominated, and re-elected, and during his ad- ministration (1871-75) the bonded debt of the State was reduced from about forty-three million dollars to a little more than twenty million dollars, a large floating debt was paid, and the State re-established its credit by resuming the payment of its current interest after funding its past-due obligations at par. He retired from office after having won the general approval of the people of the State.

In November, 1876, a new career opened to him with the offer of the vice-presideney of the Texas and Pacific Railway. This great highway from the At- lantic seaboard, through Texas and Mexico, to Califor- nia, a route unexposed to snows and frosts, had been projected before the war. Such a system of railways, connecting the Mississippi River with the Pacific slope, was intended to attract the trade of California and the trans-Cordilleras to the great waterways of the United States, and at the same time open the too-long neglected commerce of the republic of Mexico to our enterprising merchants. This Texas route, south of the isothermal line of snow blockades, had been projected, a small portion of it built, and valuable franchises sccured before the war. An immense grant of land from the State of Texas, which owned her own public domain, had been secured, and favorable treaties with Mexico for the right of way were in progress of negotiation, when the secession of the Southern States stopped the work. When the war had ended the Southern States found their Mississippi River commerce dc- stroyed and their great transcontinental railway still a paper scheme, while the North and West had made rapid progress in the building of the Northern and

Central Pacific Railroads towards the Pacific slope. Governor Brown accepted the office of vice-president of the Texas Pacific, with the enlightened views of the statesman and publicist. He saw clearly if the South was not to have her ante-bellum river traffic there was in the projected railway through 'Texas and Mexico, with its liberal franchises yet preserved and its land subsidies, a ready means of reaching the trade of California and the sister republic, and he entered heartily into the project. As vice-president of the company, lre issued an appeal to the people of the South, elaborating his views in relation to the enter- prise in a statesmanlike, sagacious, and practical pamphlet which deserves a leading place in the rail- way literature of a period that was prolific of great enterprises. He also delivered numerous addresses, in which he appealed to the Southern States to lay aside all questions of sectional political strife, and urged them to address all their efforts to the im- provement of their country; the fostering of educa- tion, and the ereation of wealth-producing facilities. For three consecutive ycars he remained at Washing- ton, appearing before congressional committees and pressing upon them the claims of his great work. His labors were onerous and difficult, but owing to the opposition of rival interests they were not fully successful. Nevertheless, he performed them to the emi- nent satisfaction of Col. Thomas A. Scott and the capi- talists who were interested in the enterprise, and who, pending the appeal to Congress, had gone on with the work. Ultimately Governor Brown was authorized by Col. Scott to proceed to New York and effect negotiations which had been invited by Jay Gould and other capitalists. These negotiations were satisfactorily accomplished in January, 1880. Gov- crnor Brown was then continued in his confidential position, and in September, 1881, he accepted the position of general solicitor for the consolidated sys- tem, which includes the Missouri Pacific system, with the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway connections, the Iron Mountain, Texas and Pacific, New Orleans and Pacific, and International and Great Northern, and continued in charge and superintendence of the construction of the Texas Pacific from Fort Worth to El Paso, with headquarters in St. Louis, until the line was completed in the winter of 1881- 82.

Governor Brown's identification with the interests of St. Louis was heartily welcomed, for his knowledge of the law, and his abilities as a speaker, trained in the sharp school of exciting debate and in the calmer methods of inquiry, his experience in the command of men and in the management of the most important

1881

LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF & NOIS.

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RAILROADS.

affairs, his careful examination and knowledge of the carrying trade and its auxiliary interests, had emi- nently combined to fit him for leadership in the gi- gantic schemes that are radiating from this ecntre into the undeveloped regions of the great South west. Each year of his present high responsibilities but adds to the reputation for talent and usefulness which hc ineontestably enjoys in the judgment of those best qualified to determine.

The Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad .- On the 20th of September, 1865, the " Union Pacific Railway Company" (Southern Braneh) was incorpo- rated for the construction of a railroad, to be one hun- dred and eighty miles in length, from Junetion City to Chetopa. When the road was completed to Em- poria, it passed into the hands of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company, which was organized April 7, 1870, and which at the same time absorbed the Neosho Valley and Holden, the Labette and Seda- lia, and the Tebo and Neosho Railroad Companies. The lines from Sedalia to Parsons and from Holden to Paola were then constructed, and being the first to reach the Indian Territory, the company became en- titled to construct its road through the Territory. The progress made was so rapid that in January, 1873, the Red River at Denison was erossed and the Texas railroad system united with. Failing in the effort to obtain the control of the Missouri Paeific in 1872, by which arrangement St. Louis would have become the eastern terminus, the managers effeeted (April 29, 1872) the purchase of the St. Louis and Santa Fé Railroad, extending from Holden, Mo., to Paola, Kan., and (in 1874) of the Hannibal and Central Missouri Railroad, by which connection between Hannibal and Moberly was obtained. In 1873 trains were running from Hannibal to Denison. The road was leased to the Missouri Pacific Railway Company, Dec. 1, 1880, the rental paid being the net earnings of the road.

The International and Great Northern Rail- road was organized Sept. 22, 1873, by the consolida- tion of the International Railroad Company, chartercd Aug. 17, 1870, and the Houston and Great Northern Railroad Company, chartered Oct. 22, 1870. In 1881 the company's road and property were purchased by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company.

Ohio and Mississippi Railroad .- The Ohio and Mississippi, Marietta and Cincinnati, and Baltimore and Ohio Railroads form a great highway of com- merce and travel between the Mississippi River and the Atlantic seaboard, and between St. Louis and Baltimore. Practically under one management, they illustrate the genius and ability of one man and the enterprise of two great cities. To John W. Garrett,

of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, is due the honor of having linked St. Louis and Baltimore together by this great railroad line, thus making each city the complement of the other in all that relates to trade and commerce.

The Ohio and Mississippi Railroad was incorporated by the State of Indiana, Feb. 14, 1848, its charter authorizing the construction of a railroad from Cin- einnati via Vincennes to St. Louis, and providing that the direetors be taken from the citizens of Cineinnati, Vinecnnes, and St. Louis, and one or more from each county along the line of the proposed work. The directors named in the charter from St. Louis were Bryan Mullanphy, Ferdinand Kennett, Robert Camp- bell, George K. McGunnegle, and William Carr Lane. The St. Louis directors met at the Planters' House, St. Louis, on the 24th of March, 1848, Mr. Camp- bell in the chair, and Mr. Mullanphy acting as seere- tary.

.On motion of Col. Ferdinand Kennett, it was

" Resolved, That the citizens of St. Louis have heard with pleasure of the public-spirited efforts in the State of Indiana preparatory to the construction of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, in which they most heartily concur, and trust that at an early day a charter from the State of Illinois will enable St. Louis to connect itself with that great contemplated under- taking ; that in the mean time they feel assured that the citizens of St. Louis will cheerfully aid in all preliminary steps, and subscribe liberally for the establishment of a communication so important to the whole West.

" Resolved, That we will respond to any allotment of labor that may be imposed upon us towards promptly effecting the foregoing objects."

On motion of George K. McGunnegle, it was

" Resolved, That we will, if it shall be judged proper by the directory, attend to the opening of subscription books in St. Louis, and to tbe obtaining subscriptions to stock in said rail- road, and in conjunction with the public-spirited citizens of our sister State of Illinois, attend to all details necessary or proper to the procuring such cbarter, privileges, and powers as may be necessary to the extension of said railroad to the State of Mis- souri."

On motion of Dr. William Carr Lane, it was

" Resolved, That the period of construction of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad bas now arrived, in the opinion of the most cautious and practical business men in the community, and that it cannot fail, so soon as completed, to realize and exceed the most sanguine anticipations of its enterprising projectors."

On the 29th of March, 1848, a meeting of the di- rcetors of the company was held at Vincennes, at which Abner T. Ellis was elected president, John Ross treasurer, and Benjamin M. Monroe secretary. At the same meeting it was resolved that a thorough survey of the route from Cineinnati to St. Louis, to be made by a competent engineer, was necessary, and that a sufficient sum should be collected for this purpose.

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HISTORY OF SAINT LOUIS.

The directors in St. Louis, Vincennes, and Cincinnati were appointed a committee for their several towns and counties to receive subscriptions for this purpose.

On the 15th of March, 1849, the road was char- tered by the Legislature of Ohio, and on the 28th of the same month an " Ohio and Mississippi Railroad mass-meeting" assembled in the rotunda of the court- house in St. Louis to consider a proposition to loan the city's credit for five hundred thousand dollars to the proposed road. The mayor, Hon. J. M. Krum, was called to the chair, and J. M. Field appointed sec- retary. James J. Purdy, William M. McPherson, Archibald Gamble, D. D. Page, and William M. Campbell were appointed vice-presidents. The chair- man explained the objects of the meeting, and an- nounced his intention to sustain the proposition and to vote for the loan. After an address by Professor O. M. Mitchell the following gentlemen were appointed a committee to prepare an address to the people of St. Louis in favor of the railroad loan : Thomas Allen, Frederick Kretchmar, John McNeil, Willis L. Wil- liams, Samuel M. Bay, Isaac N. Sturgeon, Samuel Hawken, Trusten Polk, Daniel D. Page, L. V. Bogy, A. L. Mills.

The committee reported an address, after the read- ing of which Judge Mullanphy addressed the meeting. The question was then put upon the adoption of the address, and it was carried unanimously.

L. V. Bogy offered the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted : " That the chairman appoint ten delegates to represent the city of St. Louis in the proposed convention to be held in the town of Salem, in the State of Illinois, on the second Monday in May next, the appointments to be made hereafter, and the names of the delegates to be published in the city papers." On his further motion, it was

" Resolved, That the chairman appoint a committee of vigilance, to consist of ten in each ward friendly to the proposition, to attend the polls on Monday next and secure the favorable consideration of the subject."

The election referred to in the last resolution was for the purpose of deciding whether the city should lend its credit to the extent of five hundred thousand dollars for the construction of the road. A large majority was returned in favor of the proposition. The vigilance committee appointed in accordance with Mr. Bogy's resolution was composed of:

"First Ward, Thomas Allen, R. J. Collins, S. Pilkington, Sol Smith, - Renick, C. Campbell, Edward Haren, J. McHose, H. D. Bacon, D. B. Hill.

"Second Ward, Isaac A. Hedges, Charles Kribben, Ellis Wainright, Fred Kretschmar, Thornton Grimsley, Patrick Walsh, Hiram Shaw, Edward Tracy, J. C. Barlow, J. C. Maigne.

"Third Ward, C. G. Henry, John Largee, Charles Keemle, L. V. Bogy, A. L. Mills, T. B. Targee, J. H. Lucas, H. E. Bridge, J. F. Darby, Joseph H. Conn.

"Fourth Ward, Austin Piggott, L. M. Kennett, William Rohb, J. L. Finney, Charles M. Vallé, T. Barnum, Amadee Vallé, T. W. Hoyt, J. A. Eddy, J. H. Lightner.

" Fiftlı Ward, Samuel Hawken, Charles Dean, William Black- more, Conrad Doll, John Sigerson, Trusten Polk, Samuel Gaty, T. F. Risk, Dennis Marks, Conrad Fox.

"Sixth Ward, W. H. Belcher, Thomas Gray, W. G. Clark, E. Dobbins, J. L. Garrison, J. R. Hammond, R. B. Austin, Charles M. Pond, J. M. Wimer, L. Perkins.

" The heavy majority," said a St. Louis paper in announcing the result, "cast in favor of the subscription by the city to stock in this road must be gratifying to every friend of the measure. It is now manifest that the citizens of St. Louis are in earnest in their desire to see this work commenced and speedily completed. They have manifested their appreciation of the object and their confidence in its success by the unan- imity with which they have agreed to invest their money in the enterprise.

"This vote may be hailed as a new era in the history of St. Louis. It is the first instance in which she has put forth her efforts to the accomplishment of a great enterprise, and she has come up to the full amount desired with a promptness and a heartiness which evince that she understands her interest in the proposed work. It is due to the success of this enterprise to state that the vote on this question was not controlled, to any considerable extent, by party feeling. A few men may have been actuated to oppose it by the belief that opposition would be popular, but the great body of the voters were governed purely by their own sense of the expediency or inexpediency of the measure, and the probable effect of the construction of the road on business and the prosperity of the city. A few of the more wealthy citizens and large property-holders opposed it, but they were limited in numher compared with those of the same class who advocated the proposition. Efforts were made to rally the holders of leased ground and the owners of small estates into opposition to it, on the ground that it would hring about an in- crease of taxes, but this failed to be successful except with a few persons. The only ward which gave a majority against it was the First. The Third Ward gave an overwhelming vote in favor of it.

" Now that a million and a half of dollars have been secured by the two cities of Cincinnati and St. Louis, and abont eight hundred thousand dollars by the counties of Indiana, the work will doubtless be taken hold of promptly and pushed forward with proper energy. There is no longer a doubt that the road will he built. The only question is, how soon ? This will, to a certain extent, depend on the early action of the Legislature of Illinois."

On the 12th of February, 1851, the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad Company of Illinois was incor- porated by the Illinois Legislature to build a railroad from Illinoistown (now East St. Louis) to connect with the Ohio and Mississippi of Indiana. The in- corporators named in the Illinois charter were Jos. G. Bowman, Sidney Breese, James Hall, Alfred Kitchell, Arthur McCauley, George W. Page, Benjamin Bond, J. L. D. Morrison, A. T. Ellis, John Ross, Luther M. Kennett, John O'Fallon, James H. Lucas, Andrew Christy, Danicl D. Page, John Law, Peter Chouteau, Jr., Benjamin F. Rittenhouse, Samuel B. Chandler,

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John A. McClernand, John S. Martin, Aaron Shaw, William W. Roman, and Green C. Crawford.

In the latter part of March, 1851, the directors of the St. Louis and Vincennes Railroad (the Western Division of the Ohio and Mississippi) met at St. Louis for the purpose of organization. The following gentlemen were present : John A. McClernand, Shaw- neetown ; James L. D. Morrison, Samuel B. Chan- dler, Belleville; Alfred Kitchell, Richland County, Ill .; Aaron Shar, Lawrence County, Ill .; Abner T. Ellis, Vincennes, Indiana ; John O'Fallon, Daniel D. Page, Luther M. Kennett, and Andrew Christy, St. Louis.

The meeting was organized by calling Mr. Christy to the chair and the appointment of Mr. Morrison as secretary. An adjournment then took place until March 24th, when the board again assembled at the Merchants' Exchange, the same members being present. Col. John O'Fallon, of St. Louis, was then elected president of the company, and "it being deemed important for the dispatch of business to have an additional director in St. Louis, Mr. Bowman, of Lawrence County, one of the earliest and most promi- nent friends of the enterprise, tendered his resigna- tion. It was accepted, and Charles P. Chouteau ap- pointed to fill the place. Col. Robert Campbell was also elected to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. Page."

On the 26th of March the directors requested the directors of the Eastern Division to instruct their chief engineer, E. Gest, to prosecute his surveys fromn Vincennes to Illinoistown, and report to them his esti- mate of the probable cost of the road. Mr. Gest re- ported to the board on the 1st of September follow- ing. In the latter part of September the board was advised that the directors of the Eastern Division had adopted the plan of constructing that division by let- ting it to an association of individuals to construct the whole line. The directors of the Western Di- vision concurring in the views of the board of the Eastern Division as to the advantages to be gained by letting the whole line to one set of contractors, adopted the same plan, and a committee was appointed with full powers and authority to negotiate, which concluded a contract in conjunction with a similar committee appointed by the directors of the Eastern Division.

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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 43

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