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I * * »0*4.. lt;...» '»,•lt; ■*•.! .:'»*• lt;AV -Si •»V*V Ji V ••*«*.. • lt;f{- .«•' -,V..,»'■ «'4 .iCOtmtER, MARCH IB, 1884.MiSCRAPS QF HISTORY.Being the Result of Interviews with Old find Prominent Citizens ofMorgan County,Whose Knowedge of Affairs, 1 and Present, will be of Ad van tag^ to the Rising Gen*oration.W. LATHltOP.“In what year did you come to Jack*sonville?”“In the year“When did you commence business?” “I commenced as a clerk in a drygoods store in Connecticut in 1832 anil two years afterwards had charge of the store, then I came west with Mr. J. Kibbe, bringing with us a stock of drygoods from New York and Philadelphia/* “How were your goods brought here?” ‘‘By steamboat from New York to Philadelphia; canal boat from there to Pittsburg, thence to St. Louis by steamboat.”“How long a time did it require?”“Mr. Kibbe and I came in 42 days; our goods were out 30 days longer ai hough shipped from Philadelphia fby ‘Fast Line’ which meant in plain Englisn, as fast as the horses drawing the canal boats could walk. We came by ‘packet’ that being the most rapid mode oftransit over the Alleghany Mountains, tiie passengers being drawn up on the east side and let down on the west side ofthe summit by means of a stationary engine on the summit. Ten miles out from Pittsburgh the canal was frozen over and the ooat containing our goods was frozen in. Mr. Kibbe was “completely discouraged and proposed to return to Connecticutfand abandon our goods until the opening of the canal in the following May, as we were bound for Galena, Illinois, that being at that time a better business place than Sc. Louis, of which very little was known at the East. Galena was the great attraction at that time and there we were intending to settle. By dint of hard work I persuaded Mr. Kibbe not to back out then, told him we could walk out and break the ice in the canal and get our goods through to Pittsburgh and sell them. We got rails and broke the ice and got the boat to Pittsburgh. There a new difficulty met us square in the face. All boats but one had left for southern rivers to Jspend the winter. The steamboat Troy, Captain Johnson, was the only boat bound for St. Louis and it was to sail Sundav morning. We w**nt to the captain and asked him if he could not wait until Monday morning, Mr. Kibbe saying to him: ^Captain. we would like to go with vou, but Mr. Lathroo and I areV from Connecticut and do not like to travel on Sundav.Well, said the captain, the river will close up to-night and I must get down below the gorge, or I shall have to lav here until spring. Mr. Kibbe said: *Weli, captain, do you ever have any racing on your boat, if you do I do not like to risk myself and all our goods on the boat/til we reached St. Louis, although the river was filled with fliaoting ice about 10 inches thick. At a place called the “8teamboat Graveyard, we passed three large ^teamers sunk to the hurricane deck.The first persons we saw’ in Missouri were a small patty of Indians who passed us as we were tied up on the Missouri shore to put new planks in our wheel/a good supply of wnich Capt. J. had the foresight to procure before reaching St. Louis.The next human beings we saw were thirteen splendid large Indian warriors, standing on the bank of the Mississippi about where Carondolet now is. They were highly decorated with feathers, wampum, blankets and buckskin breeches, covered with beads and the claws of wild animals.Arriving at St. Louis we got our goods ashore and stored them with Messrs. Warburton King, | afterward Doan, King Co. Mr. Doan was the father of Messrs. F. M. and H. Doan, now of this city. St. Louis was then a very small place compared with its present size, but a good point for business, and every building was occupied, so that we could not rent a store in which to open our goods. We could have sold them for city lots, and were ofFered lots on Fourth street, north of Locust, at $125 for corner lots and $100 for middle lots, which in 1872 and 73 were held ait as many thousands. On Fifth and Sixth streets voung oaks were growing, and where the tJnion Depot now stands, Cobire’s White Lead works and many other large structures are located, was then Choton’s pond.As we could not get to Galena until May, and could not rent a store in St. Louis, we decided to come to Jacksonville and visit Prof. J. B. Turner and wife, who was a niece of Mr. Kibbe, and in order to get here, left St. Louis on a NViggin’s ferry boat for Illinois Town, as the present East St. Louis is called. We had to carry our own heavy iron frame leather trunks up the muddy levee to a hotel, where we remained over night to take the stage for this place; fare, $ti. In the morning at 6 o’clock we had our breakfast, consisting of corn-dodgers, fried bacon and wild turkey, roasted in the ashes, and coffee. At daylight we started for Alton, arriving there about 9 i\ m., where we had supper, and left for this place, where we arrived Sunday morning.While we were in St. Louis Henry Clay, of Kentucky, came there on an electioneering tour, and, in my boyhood days, I regarded him and Daniel Webster {is the leading men ofthe nation, and felt a desire to hear Clay speak, and, as I had been told that he was a very homely man, with an ugly-looking mouth, but one which could speak for itself, it is not strange that I should desire to see and hear him. Like other boys, I 'vent early to get a good position to see and hear. There was a large crowd, and Clay was to sjeak from the top of a dry goods box. Imagine my surprise when, instead of the orator from Kentucky, a coarse, ugly, long-haired, red-faced galoot mounted the box with a big whip in his hand and said: “Oh yes! Oh yes! Gentlemen, I will now proceed to sell you as line a lot of niggersriver, and soon after leaving St. Louis the weather turned so severely cold and so much ice was running out of the Missouri river that the boat could not make Alton, and the pilot ran her to the Missouri shore and tied up for the ^inter, and all but the watchmen crossed on the ice to Alton. Mr. Kibbe returned to Jacksonville, and after the weather mod* erated he hired Mr. John Prunty to go down to Alton with a six-horse team to haul our goods to this place, making a three weeks’ job of it, as he and Mr. Kibbe hauled all the goods across the river to Alton on hand-sieds.The sudden change in the weather was in December, 1834, the most correct and full account of which I have ever seen in print was that given by Col. Geo. M. Chambers,and published in one of the papers in this city, nearly every one of his statements therein were fresh in my recollection. 1 was, at the time of the ‘‘sudden freeze.” boarding with Prof. Turner, who lived in a one-story frame dwelling on the lot where now stands flfie tine brick dwelling of Mr. Henry Hall, on College avenue.During the previous night snow fell to the depth of about eight inches, and at sunrise the next morning it was raining and very wrarm and foggy, and continued raining until nearly noon. I spent the forenoon in w riting, and after dinner started to the post-office, which was then in the old brick court house situated on the public square. The snow was completely saturated with the rain, so that in walking my feet went to the bottom of the snow until I passed the Female Academy; then the cold wave struck me, and as I drew my feet up the ice would form on my boots until I made a track that looked more like that of a Jumbo than a No. 7 boot. When I reached the square the ice bore me up, and when I returned to Mr. Turner’s, a half hour afterwards, I saw his chickens and ducks frozen into the ice—some on one leg and some on both.Two young men who were traveling for Philadelphia merchants were frozen to death not tar from Kushville. One of them was found sitting with his back against a tree with his horse’s bridle over his arm and his horse frozen in front of him. The other young man was partly in a kneeling position, with a tinder box in one hand and a tlint in the other—with both eyes o|en, as though attempting to light the tinder in the box —that being the usual mode of lighting a fire before the da vs of friction matches. These young men were here only a few days before, calling on the merchants, and, as was the custom then, traveled on horseback.The only other person who was frozen to death, w’ho was known here, I think was a minister known as Father Brick, then living near (taiena.I think it was the next summer that we were honored by a visit from Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts. A grand barbecue was given in honor of the distinguished orator and statesman. It was a great day for both town and country people. Mr. Webster made a tine speech, and was introduced. 1 think, by Gov. Duncan and J. J. Hardin.One good old Tennessee whig, when presented to Webster, said:*that the proclamation was written by a young Chicago lawyer.The first agricultural fair held in this county was in front of the residence of J. J. Hardin, near where the city hospital now stands.At that time there was no fine blooded cattle, hogs or sheep, and agricultural implements were of a very rude and rough make, and very few wagons that, were painted. The first respectable looking that I saw was brought here from Ohio, by Theodore Stout. The first buggy that I saw here was made in Hartford and a Mr. Sanford Pease and wife rode in it from Connecticut to' Greenville, Bond county, where Mr. Pease soon died, and his wife, a niece of Father Ilale, of Springfield, sent the buggy to us to sell. We* sold it to Capt. John Henry, who then kept a livery stable.The first camp meeting which I attended was held at a place called, then, Robinson’s camp ground, now Sinclair, I think.Rev. Pefer Cartright was what they called the “big preacher” in those days, and just before he gave out his text pulled on his coat, rolled up his sleeves nearly to his shoulders, doubled up his fists, and, stepping forward, said:‘*1 am informed that there are a lot of rowdies here who said they would whip Peter Cartwright if he tried to preach; my name is Peter Cartwright and 1 am going to preach, and if any of the bullies want to whip me I want them to try it before I start*/ His immense arm andclinched fist, which appeared strong and hard enough to knock down an elephant, had a wonderfully soothing and quieting etFect on the bovs, and 1 think some of• 9them were converted, and have been in good standing since then.When I came to Illinois game was quite plenty. Deer were often seen grazing with the cattle south of the Mound, where Mr. Rice and Mr. Samuel Killam now live, their range being in the timber of Nandv (’reek south, and the Mauvasterre and Inian ('reek north. At one ti— I think in I83S or ’9—1 was riding with J. lt;. King to Manchester, our horses walking leisurely along in the Sandy timber, when, within gunshotat our right, we counted fourteen fine deer feeding quietly upon the early spring grass. (n our return in the afternoon they were still feeding nearer the road, and a part of them crossed the road just before us. Venison was sold at 7oc. to $1 for the loin and two hind quarters; wild turkeys, 2oc. each; prairie chickens, 50 to 7.V. per dozen; quails were usually sold at ‘Joe. per dozen, although 1 have known them sold dozen for 50 cents, and wild pigeons the same price. Potatoes, 12}lt;*.; turnips, 10c.; corn, loe.; pork, 2c.; eggs, 3c.; butter, 8 to 10c.For many years prairie chickens werer •• Ivery abundant quite near town. I have been out to where the Insane Ilospita now is located and shot as many as ! or*4 birds, and got back to seven-o’clock breakfast. I usually shot from mv horse, and never killed more than three at a shot. In the winter of ’3lt; and ’7 thev used to come from what was then called “Duncan’s big field, northwest of town, to the College Grove, and to Elm Grove (as Gov. Duncan then called his residence) to roost. Gov. Duncan, who wasfamily, was terribly frightened’so much so that he could not sleep.The next morning at 9, King rang the bell again for Sabbath school and, just at that time, Haynes was mounting his horse to go out deer hunting, he was frightened worse than before, dropped his ritie, ran his horse to the nearest neighbor, by the name of Darius Ingalls, ana asked him if he had heard the strange noises in the air, and iso, what it meant?Ingalls, who was something of a joker, told him the day of judgment had come, and the sound was to wake up the dead.Haynes believed it, and early Monday morning was in town trying to sell his farm, but would take nothing but gold or silver. He sold out and moved to St. Joseph, Mo., then a new settlement squatted on congress land, and in a few years the town had become so large that churches were built and bells placed upon them.Some i?0 years ago I met on my way to New York a Mr. Levy, formerly a |art-ner of G. A. Dunlap, of this city, who told me that Haynes had just left St. Jo. for Montana, as the Yankees were getting so thick in Missouri, and kept their bells ringing all day Sunday so that it seared the (leer and turkeys all away.In 1849 or ’50. 1 received a letter irom a banking house in Chicago, introducing Mr. Win. Rogerson, who was looking for a location to establish a lumber yard. I thought a lot belonging to Mr. E. Wol cott near where Russel’s lumber yard now is, was the be^t place, and went to see Mr. W. for terms. Mr. W. said he didn’t think it would hurt the lot any to put lumber upon it. but if Mr. R. was a friend of mine 1 had better advise him not to bring any pine lumber here for he could not sell it.The only shade trees in the streets of Jacksonville when I came here were one elm, now standing in front of Mrs. Strawn’s property on College avenue, where Judge Lockwood formerly resid-%»ed, and a row of maples east and north of the store and dwelling of Win, Hamilton, southeast corner of the square.In lS3s I had a row of locusts set out south and west ofthe store of S. II. Henderson, which we then occupied. They grew to good size, but were finally killed bv borers.*The grove of natural forest trees near the Deaf and Dumb Asylum (front and rear) have grown from mere sprouts during the 47 years I have lived here. It * *was a mere plum thicket as late as ls39, when my wife and I sat upon our horses and gathered plums there.All kinds of fruits and berries were abundant and good, especially apples andpeaches.While Major,I. R. Simms owned the Diamond lt;»rove farm he used to send in two-horse wagon loads of splendid peaches, which sometimes sold as high as oO cents, and sometimes as low as 1UA cents per bushel. The Major always rode a line horse and had fine carriage horses and harness. I recollect at one time lie rode in and tried to engage the load before his man, George, got in town. He could not sell them and ordered George to drive home and give the peaches to the hogs, and never bring another peach to Jacksonville.
Newspaper Details
Jacksonville Illinois Daily Courier
Jacksonville, Illinois, US
Sat, Mar 15, 1884
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Patty M.
IL, USA 11 Mar 2018
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