History of Grant County, Wisconsin, Part 60

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1044

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In November, 1821, when the charge of the lead mines was transferred from the General Land Office to the War Department, no mines were known to be worked in any of the mining districts under leases or legal authority, although many were known to be worked without authority, especially in Missouri. This statement is made in the sense of United States author- ity, for it was only by obtaining the authority and friendship of the Indians, either by marriage with squaws or by presents, that operations could be carried on with impunity by white men.

THE FIRST WHITE WOMAN.

In 1821, Thomas H. January located on "La Pointe." He brought his wife and one child-a son. This must be accepted as the first known presence of a white woman in the lead region. Mrs. January died in a short time after her arrival, and her remains were taken back to Kentucky, her former home, in 1826. Mr. Jannary was a former resident of Maysville, Ky., where he lost his fortune. He moved to the new country for the purpose of retrieving his financial condition. He died November 29, 1828, and was buried with Masonic honors, accord- ing to the Miner's Journal, a paper he doubtless helped to establish.

THE FIRST AMERICAN HISTORY.

In 1822, this extreme western frontier settlement had become sufficiently well known to have a place in the literature of the day. A book called The Gazetteer of Illinois and Missouri was published that year. The Galena River, called frequently "Fever River," was also known as "Bean River," because the French traders had styled it " Riviere au Feve," meaning bean. The Gazetteer contained the following:

"Bean River (Riviere au Fove, Fr.), a navigable stream of Pike County, emptying into the Mississippi three miles below Catfish Creek, twenty miles below Dubnque's mines, and about seventy above Rock River. Nine miles up this stream a small creek empties into it from the west. The banks of this creek and the hills, which abound in alluvium, are filled with lead ore of the best quality. Three miles below this, on the banks of Bean River, is the trader's village, consisting of ten or twelve houses or cabins. At this place the ore is obtained from the Indians, is smelted, and then sent in boats either to Canada [by way of the Wisconsin to the Portage, then down the Fox River to Green Bay] or New Orleans. The mines are at present exten- sively worked by Colonel Johnson, of Kentucky, who, during the last session of Congress (winter of 1821-22), obtained the exclusive right of working them for three years. The lands on this river are poor, and are only valuable on account of the immense quantities of mineral which they contain."

In the same work, Chicago is simply mentioned as a "village of Pike County, containing twelve or fifteen houses, and about sixty or seventy inhabitants." It is very evident that there was a "traders' village " on or near the present site of Galena in 1822, and that it was a point of more importance, commercially, than Chicago at that time. The statement is confirmed by

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HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.

a letter from Capt. M. Marston, then commander at Fort Edwards, to Amos Farrar, Fever River, dated April 12, 1822, in which appears the following: "The Johnsons, of Kentucky, have leased the Fever River lead mines, and are about sending up a large number of men. It is also said that some soldiers will be stationed there. If this is all true, the Foxes, and all the trading establishments now there, must remove."

An explanation of the foregoing, and a confirmation of historic assertion, is found in official documents. If the lead mines attracted traders, they naturally attracted miners also. Espo- cially so since the Missouri mines were known to be fields wherein depredations could be, and were, carried on. It followed in logical sequence that the Fever River district should not be left in exemption to the rule. Possibilities soon become probabilities and actualities.

Leaving the Indian's and unlawful white man's attempts out of further mention, it is found that the first regular operations of which records speak were those carried on by James Johnson, of Kentucky, who is named in the foregoing extracts from the Gazetteer and letter. Mr. John- son is spoken of as a brother of the historic Col. R. M. Johnson, famous as the accredited slayer of Tecumseh-a disputed point in more recent history, however, but one foreign to this chapter. The date of Johnson's arrival at La Pointe must remain forever in obscurity, unless some records not now discovered are hereafter brought to light. Capt. Marston's letter, quoted above, is supplemented by a letter written by Dr. H. Newhall, dated "Fever River, March 1, 1828," in which the Doctor speaks of the Buck lead as having been " worked out by Col. John- son while he was at these mines in 1820-21." J. G. Soulard, who passed up the Mississippi in 1821, as already mentioned, also speaks of Johnson. He says the latter's boats were seen float- ing down the river loaded with lead. He did not see Johnson, however. It is believed that Johnson first came to the district in 1819-20 as a trader. In 1820-21, it appears probable that he mined without Government authority, but under purchased permission from the Indians. At that time the Land Office, and not the War Department, had control of the matter, and a very vigorous exercise of authority was neither possible nor attempted. It is barely supposable that Johnson was there engaged merely in smelting, and did not mine at all until legally empowered to do so.

In August or September, 1821, Amos Farrar was managing a trading-post on Fever River, as agent for the American Fur Company, and was living there with his Fox wife. This fact is established by the existence of a letter addressed to him at the " Lead Mines, Fever River," from Major S. Burbank, commander at Fort Armstrong, dated October 14, 1821. The letter was sent " by favor of Mr. Music," and tendered Mr. Farrar " my old black horse, if it will be of any service to you." A letter dated at Fort Armstrong, November 21, 1821, signed "J. R. Stubbs," a blacksmith, was addressed to " Amos Farrar, Fever River, and introduced the bearer of the letter, Mr. Symmes, who is accompanied by Mr. Connor and Mr. Bates." These were, probably, B. Symmes and James Connor ; but whether it was David G or Nehe- iniah Bates, is uncertain. The documents preserved show that Mr. Farrar was, for at least two years before and up to July 22, 1821, in the service of Louis Devotion, as a trader on the Mississippi, located at Fort Armstrong, and receiving his goods, via Green Bay, from Canada. About the date referred to, he left Devotion's service and located at Portage, on Fever River. In 1823, he had a trading-house on the bank of the river near the center of what is now Water street, Galcna. On the first of June, 1825, Mr. Farrar received a permit, signed Charles Smith, acting Sub-agent of the United States Lead Mines, permitting him to occupy five acres of United States land for cultivation, and to build a cabin thereon, situated near the Portage. He was compelled to comply with all the timber regulations. Mr. Farrar had three children by his Fox wife, but who are now dead. About two years before his death, he married Miss Sophia Gear, sister of Capt. H. H. Gear. He died of consumption July 24, 1832, at his house within the stockade then existing.

THE CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT.

In November, 1821, the jurisdiction of the lead mines was transferred from the General Land Office to the War Department, and January 4, 1822, leases were granted to T. D. Carniel and

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HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.

Benjamin Johnson, and to Messrs. Suggett & Payne, all of Kentucky, for one hundred and sixty acres of land to each of the two parties to be selected by them, in the northern part of Illinois or the southern part of the then Michigan Territory, now Wisconsin. Lieut. C. Burdine, of the United States Army, was ordered to meet them in the spring at the Great Crossings of the Kentucky, proceed with them in exploring the country, assist them in the selection of their lands, protect them with an armed force, and mal ? surveys of the ground for the information of the Government. Subsequently, leases were granted to other parties. The absence of records in the West-though probably such reports as were made can be found in the archives of the War Department, if one is desirous of gaining positive knowledge-leaves the precise movements of Lieut. Burdine in obscurity. It is presumable that he obeyed the orders of his superiors, how- ever, and made a more or less careful survey. April 12, 1822, Capt. Marston, at Fort Edwards (Warsaw), wrote to Amos Farrar, at Fever River, that " the Johnsons, of Kentucky, have leased the Fever Lead Mines, and are about sending up a large number of men." It is prob- able that under their lease they selected land to include the Buck lead; and a little later, in the same year, James Johnson and a Mr. Ward (probably, D. L. Ward) eame from Kentucky, bring- ing with them a number of negro slaves. It was thus that human slavery was introduced into the lead district. The statement is authoritatively made that the leaders were accompanied by several young white men, whose names are not now remembered. Johnson had his furnace on the site of McClosky's store, on the levee. He worked the Buek lead, and raised a large amount of ore. David G. Bates and A. P. Van Matre worked a vein of mineral on Apple River, near Elizabeth (Georgetown), but smelted their ore at Fever River. The number of miners at work at this period (1822) is not known.

During 1822, Dr. Moses Meeker visited the lead region on a tour of observation. Un- questionably others visited Fever River the same year for the same purpose, as the extraordinary deposit of mineral had become knewn in the old settlements south and east.

Maj. John Anderson, of the United States Topographical Engineers, was stationed as Government Agent at Fever River in 1822, probably, although the exact date is not shown. He occupied a shanty on what was known as " Anderson's Slough" (now Harris' Slough), about two and a half miles from Galena.

William Adney and wife were also in the place, Adney had been a soldier, and arrived here that spring. Mrs. Adney was the only white woman at Fever River when the Ohio eolony arrived, which caused the statement to be made that she was the first white woman to settle in in the district. The facts already mentioned eoneerning Mrs. Thomas H. January's arrival in 1821, and her death a short time later, show that Mrs. Adney must have been the second white female settler. Mrs. Adney's remains were disinterred and taken to her former home in Ken- tucky in 1826.

Mr. Shull removed to what is now La Fayette County, as is fully shown in the history of that county proper.

These few cabins and smelting-furnaces constituted the abodes of the white population in the entire region, but the bottoms, ravines and hill-sides were thickly dotted with the wigwams of the Sacs and Foxes. They were peaceable and treated the whites kindly. The greater portion of the meats consumed by the settlers was furnished by the Indians. The squaws and old men, who were too weak to hunt, were made to raise the mineral from the mines. The Winnebagoes and Menomonees, although living in what is now Wisconsin, used to trade with the whites on Fever River.

In 1823, large and important accessions were made to the population of the then remote pioneer settlements on Fever River, and the history of the mining region begins to emerge from the obscurity and uncertainty theretofore surrounding it. The testimony of reliable, living wit- nesses was obtained in 1878, by the Western Historical Company. Capt. D. S. Harris and Hiram B. Hunt, then surviving, and, indeed, the only survivors of the emigration of that year, and a few persons who came in 1824, contributed to the interest and value of the history of the region published in 1878,

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HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.

MOSES MEEKER'S COLONY.

In 1823, there transpired an important event. Dr. Moses Meeker, who had prospected on Fever River during the previous year, organized a colony and embarked on the 20th day of April on the keel-boat " Col. Bomford," at Cincinnati, Ohio, for " the mines." There were thirty men, besides the women and children, in the party, and seventy-five tons of freight, con- sisting of a complete mining outfit merchandise and provisions, sufficient to subsist the party a year after their arrival. Among the passengers, and all whose names can now be recorded, were : Dr. Moses Meeker, James Harris, his son, Daniel Smith Harris, then fifteen years old ; Benson Hunt and his wife, Elizabeth Harris Hunt ; his two daughters, Dorlesca and Dorcina, and his son, Hiram Benson-aged respectively, six, four and two years; John Doyle, wife and child ; Maria Bunce and her brothers, John and Hiram; Maria Rutherford ; Thomas Boyce ; Israel Garretson ; John Whittington, the steersman; William Howlett, and a man named House.

At St. Louis, James Harris left the boat and purchased a herd of cattle, which he drove overland, arriving two or three weeks later than the main party.

ne " Col. Bomford " reached Fever River June 20, after a safe passage of sixty days,

whi was considered remarkably quick. The Mississippi was very high, and bushwhacking had to be resorted to frequently. Just below St. Louis, the steamer " Virginia," bound for Fort Snelling with supplies for the troops, passed the pioneers. This was the first steamer to make the trip of the Upper Mississippi, above the mouth of the Illinois River. The " Virginia " touched at Fever River, being the " first arrival " at that "port," landing in June, 1823. Her speed was but little superior to a well-manned keel-boat. The " Col. Bomford " reached haven on Sunday, June 20, and ran up the small creek known as Meeker's Branch, where a landing was effected on the south bank, not far from the main stream.

The arrival of Dr. Meeker marked a new era in the history of the mining district, and gave an impetus to the growth of the little outpost, which was then scarcely more than an Indian vil- lage, almost unknown except to traders. It required enthusiasm, energy, bravery, perseverance and patient endurance of toil and privations, not experienced in later years, to venture into the Indian country and there make permanent settlement. Dr. Meeker possessed all those charac- teristics in a remarkable degree, as did also James Harris, his foreman, confidential counselor and friend. The two men became the head and soul, so to speak, of the new settlement, and to them, perhaps more than to any others, it owes its rapid development, until, six years after their arrival, a town was laid off by the United States authorities. Mrs. Meeker died December, 1829, aged thirty-nine years. Dr. Meeker removed to Iowa County in 1833, and his history will be found in the chapters devoted specifically to that locality. Mr. Harris lived but a few years to witness the results of his labors, as he, too, died in 1829, suddenly. He sleeps beside his former companion, in the cemetery at Galena. His children and descendants are among the respected residents of Galena and the mineral district at the present time.

Returning to the year 1823, it is seen that Dr. Meeker built a cabin on what was called Meeker's Branch, now on the east side of Main street, Galcna. Hunt built a cabin a little north. Directly across the road from Meeker's cabin a well was sunk. This well still remains, although unused, to prove the identity of these pioneer cabins. Fifteen or twenty feet north of the well, Benson Hunt built a blacksmith-shop, and there did the first regular work of the kind done in the district. Harris and his son also put up cabins not far from Meeker's.

During the early years of settlement, Fever River was really an arm of the Mississippi, and the first settlers attempted to make a harbor there, with considerable success, as is shown by the early legislative proceedings.

When Dr. Meeker arrived, in June, 1823, he found less than one hundred white men in the entire region. Prominent among them were Dr. Samuel C. Muir, who was practicing medicine and was highly esteemed by all ; Thomas H. January, Amos Farrar, Jesse W. Shull, François Bouthillier, A. P. Vanmatre, D. G. Bates, John Conley, John Ray, James Johnson, Nehemiah

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Bates, James Connor, B. Symmes, E. Rutter, John Burrell, Joseph Hardy, Robert Burton (not the smelter), Montgomery Wilson, Stephen P. Howard, Martin Smith, Israel Mitchell (a sur- veyor), John Armstrong, Cuyler Armstrong, William Thorn and others.

The War Department's Report for 1823 shows that the only persons engaged legitimately in mining and smelting in this district under Government lease were James Johnson, James Connor, B. Symmes and E. Rutter. This was in September. Dr. Meeker put up a furnace that year, but his name was not returned in the reports until 1824. During the latter year he culti- vated land, and planted the first orchard in the district.

THE FIRST MARRIAGE.

In the fall of 1823, Israel Garretson and Maria Bunce were married in the Meeker cabin, by an army officer whose name is not preserved. Probably it was Maj. John Anderson, then stationed at Fever River as Government Agent. There was neither minister nor magistrate in the district at that date. Miss Rutherford and William Hines were married at the same time. These, so far as is known, were the first marriages of white people solemnized in the district.

THE FIRST DEATH.

About this time, a General Schimerman, whose name does not appear in other records obtainable now at this point, was taken sick and died at the village, which was the first death after the arrival of the Ohio colony.

John S. Miller and family came to the mines in 1823, and opened the first public house, in a double log-cabin, on the present northwest corner of Branch and Dodge streets. Galena.

In 1824, James Harris began the cultivation of land at Anderson's Slough, which was the second farm-Meeker's being the first-in the district. It was believed until as late as 1830, that crops could not be successfully grown so far north.

Dr. Meeker's keel-boat returned in 1824, with another load of immigrants.

August 18, 1824, Lieut. Martin Thomas was appointed superintendent of the lead mines of the Upper Mississippi, and authorized to grant leases and permits to smelters and miners, and to farmers, provided they did not interfere with the mining interests.

THE FIRST BIRTHS.

In October, 1824, a son was born to Benson Hunt and wife. The old family Bible con- tains the following entry, which is almost illegible: "James Smith Hunt, born at fifteen minutes past 1 o'clock P. M. on the 9th day of October, 1824." Soon after this event, Mary S. Miller, daughter of John S. Miller, was born. These were the first white children born in the district. Both were born within the present city limits of Galena.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT.

Following the history of settlement, and reserving the narrative of the mining operations until later, it is recorded that 1825 witnessed a large arrival of white settlers. John Foley, who became the first Sheriff of Jo Daviess County, came that year. Among the more prominent men were Capt. William Henry ; Capt. James Craig, whose wife was a grand-daughter of Daniel Boone; Col. Henry Gratiot and his brother, John P. B. Gratiot, and others. The Gratiots came in a light wagon, accompanied by three hired men, with a complete outfit. They struck mineral and made their first settlement in the valley between Hinckley's and Waddell's Mounds. Subsequently, the Indians made large discoveries fifteen miles from Fever River, in what is now La Fayette County, and the Gratiots located there, as is fully shown in the history of La Fayette County.

In 1826, Charles Gear came to the district, with his family and many other persons. He was an enthusiastic Freemason, and his influence can be seen in the organization of Strangers' Union Lodge, No. 14, the first Masonic society instituted in the mining district. It was char- tered by the Grand Lodge of the State of Missouri.

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HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.

Sophia Gear, sister of Charles, taught the first school presided over by a woman in the district, in 1827. She afterward married Amos Farrar.

Capt. Allenwrath, the discover of the Allenwrath lead, came to the mines in 1826, and soon after made his fortunate discovery.

Lemon Parker, William P. Tilton, D. B. Morehouse and Robert P. Guyard organized the Galena Mining Company at an early date, and are remembered as having made Ottawa, now Barton's, a place of considerable importance, where boats landed. The company smelted on an extensive scale. They had several "log-furnaces," and dealt largely in miner's supplies.

THE FIRST POST OFFICE.

June 4, 1826, the first post office was established in the mining region. It was called " Fever River," and designated as in Crawford County, Ill. As the tract south of the Michi- gan Territorial line (Wisconsin State line), was in Peoria County, the Post Office Department evidently labored under the impression that Crawford County, Michigan Territory, was in Illi- nois. Ezekiel Lockwood was appointed Postmaster. The service prior to 1828 was, semi- monthly, and irregular at that.

The name Galena first appeared December 27, 1826, in official papers.

In 1826, a large number of Swiss arrived and settled at Fever River. These people emi- grated to the Red River of the North in 1821, under the patronage of Lord Selkirk. They became dissatisfied with their location, and went back to St. Louis in 1823. Three years later, Lonis Chetlain and several of his friends came to the mining district, and, during the summer, nearly all the original colony made their homes here.

Better than any history compiled from the fragmentary statements of after years-better even than unaided memory, striving often in vain to recall the events of fifty years ago, are the letters and memoranda written at that time by intelligent men, who lived here, and knew whereof they wrote. Dr. E. G. Newhall has permitted the following copy of a letter, written by his honored father, Dr. Horatio Newhall, to his brother Isaac Newhall, Esq., of Salem, Mass., to be taken expressly for this work. It will be valuable to the people of this section, both on account of the information it conveys, and because the writer, now passed away, is tenderly enshrined in their memories.

GALENA, FEVER RIVER LEAD MINES, UPPER MISSISSIPPI, SUPPOSED IN ILLINOIS, November 20, 1827.

Dear Brother:

I received, by the last mail brought here by steamboat " Josephine," a newspaper from you, on the margin of which were endorsed the following words: " Write a full account." I was rejoiced to see once more a Massachusetts paper, and presume you meant by the endorsement, a full account of " Fever River." This would puzzle me or any other person on the river. It is a nondescript. It is such a place as no one could conceive of without seeing it. Strangers hate it, and residents like it. The appearance of the country would convince any one it must be healthy ; yet, last season, it was more sickly than Havana or New Orleans. There is no civil law here, nor has the Gospel been yet introduced ; or, to make use of a common phrase here, " Neither law nor Gospel can pass the rapids of the Mis- sissippi." The country is one immense prairie, from the Rock River on the south to the Quisconsin on the north, and from the Mississippi on the west, to Lake Michigan on the east. It is a hilly country, and abounding with lead ors of that species called by mineralogists " galena," whence is derived the name of our town. The lead mines of the Upper Mississippi, as well as those of Missouri, are under the control of the Secretary of War. Lieut. Thomas is Superin- tendent. He resides at Saint Louis ; a sub-agent resides at this place. Any person wishing to dig, gets a permit of the agent to do so, by signing certain regulations, the principal of which is that he will sell his mineral to no one but a regularly licensed smelter. He has all the mineral he can raise, and sells it at $17.50 per thousand (pounds), deliv- ered at the furnaces. Any person who gets a permit, stakes off two hundred yards square. This is his lot so long as he works it, and no one can interfere with his discoveries. Any person who will give bond to Government for $5,000, can have half a mile square, on condition that he employs twenty laborers, and pays Government 10 per cent of lead made from mineral raised on his survey, or sells his mineral to a public smelter. The public smelters, of which I am one, give bond for $20,000, to pay Government one-tenth of all lead manufactured. They buy mineral of any person who has a permit to dig, manufacture it into lead, pay Government one-tenth, monthly, and are the great men of the country. The mineral, lead, and cash all go into their hands. H. Newhall & Co. got their furnace in oper- ation Ist of September, 1827. I made, by the 15th, twenty tons of lead. My men became sick, and I made but 14,000 pounds until 1st of November, since which time I have manufactured about 17,000 pounds every week. I have a store of goods, in Galena, for the supply of thoss with whom I have dealings, and never sell anything for less than 50 per cent advance. My furnace is on the Sinsinawa River, three miles from Galena, a stream navigable for boats to

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History of Grant County, Wisconsin, Part 60

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co. Number of Pages: 1044

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1044