The following “History of Quincy”, 1870 book is in the processes of being scanned and saved. Note that original typos and misspellings are preserved. Changes since the last update include:
- Added page numberings that were in the original
- Pages 10-11 were accidentally left out and are now included.
- A few typos that I added have been cleaned up.
- Pages 26-129 have been added.
- The index, pages 301-302, has been added.
Any comments are welcome.
Roy Osborn
St. Louis, MO
HISTORY OF QUINCY,
AND
ITS MEN OF MARK
OR
Facts and Figures exhibiting its Advantages and
Resources, Manufactures and Commerce.
—
BY PAT. H. REDMOND.
—
QUINCY:
HEIRS & RUSSEL, BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS, WEST SIDE WASHINGTON PARK.
1869.
Page 2 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
<BLANK>
Page 3 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
PREFACE.
After devoting a large share of time and labor to this work, the author offers it to the public not as a complete history of Quincy, but as the best that he was enabled under the circumstances to compile. The effort to furnish a detailed review of the commerce and manufactures of a city of Quincy’s size, is necessarily attended with greater difficulty and labor than would such an undertaking in the great cities of the Union, where Boards of Trade flourish, and where statistics of the manufactures and sales of every department are annually prepared and preserved for reference. Yet, notwithstanding, the want of such facilities for obtaining information has been seriously felt, and added materially to our labors, we have still, through the assistance of our leading business men, obtained accurate statistics of the transactions in most of the important departments, and submit them to the citizens of Quincy and to our readers generally, as an evidence of the prosperity which has been wrought by the energy, enterprise and determination of our business men.
For much, and in fact most of the information hero submitted, we are of course indebted to the old residents of Quincy, who have grown with it, and whose industry, ability, and public spirit carried it safely through all the vicissitudes, from a frontier settlement to a prosperous and wealthy city.
The biographies here given to the public will be recognized by many as truthful sketches of leading and influential citizens, who by their sagacity and perseverance carved out their own fortunes, and will enable those not familiar with the progress of Quincy to form an idea of the men to whom she is indebted for her present position as a commercial and manufacturing center.
Page 4 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
<BLANK>
Page 5 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
HISTORICAL.
—
There is perhaps no city of Quincy’s size and population in the Union of which there has been so little said or published, and around whose early history cluster so many recollections and events worthy of being perpetuated. In the rush and turmoil of business our citizens have always had a leisure moment to give to every enterprise that promised to advance the religious, educational or commercial interests of Quincy; but it seems seldom to have occurred to them that by liberally and judiciously heralding the beauties and advantages of their “Model City” our population could be largely augmented and every department of business vastly benefited.
What we have failed to do in our own behalf, others very naturally have left undone, until we find that it is only within a few years that the outside world has formed any adequate idea of the important interests centered here. The flourishing City of Quincy, when it boasted a population of 20,000 was comparatively unknown and it was not until that population had increased to nearly 30,000 souls that we commenced to loom up in the eyes of the commercial world, and began to attract a small degree of attention. But while we exhibited enterprise in every other respect, it was not to
Page 6 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
our enterprise in this line that we owed the first discovery of our importance as a thriving business community by the world at large. With a singular want of sagacity, we allowed our city, with all its advantages and attractions, to slumber quietly on the bank of the great Mississippi, without sounding its merits to the thousands of thrifty emigrants who were journeying westward from the densely populated east, and the other thousands who came with every breeze across the broad Atlantic to find homes of peace and plenty.
Other points, although perhaps not less modest than ourselves, with a wondrous degree of enterprise in this particular role, advantaged themselves of the lethargy that pervaded Quincy and Quincyites, and sang the virtues and ‘vantages of their respective localities in most alluring strains. They pictured in the brightest colors their rivers and lakes, their hills and vales, their prairies and forests, and all else that went to make up “The Promised Land of the West,” while we reclined here upon the lofty banks of the grand old “Father of Waters,” in the midst of the famous “Military Tract,” which stretched out a vast expanse of undulating hills and prairies, diversified with stately forests and meandering brooks, that made up the “fairest picture the sun ever shone on.”
But while we employed none of the arts of bold speculators to advance the interests of our city or its inhabitants, fate determined that we were not to sink into oblivion, but rather forced upon us a brighter destiny.
The wheels of commerce cycled round, and Quincy, with a firm elastic step marched on in the line of prog-
Page 7 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
ress. With scarce an effort in her own behalf, prosperity seemed to settle upon her as a favorite spot, and every enterprise to which she gave birth speedily became a success, and resulted handsomely to the originators.
Not one of the would be rivals of the “Gem City” that vauntingly raised their heads as rivals twenty years ago, now presume to contend with us. Hannibal, Keokuk, Peoria, &c., all yield to Quincy the palm for superiority and eminence in population, manufactures, and commerce, and in the great State of Illinois, Chicago alone, the metropolitan wonder of the century, leads our thriving city.
The progress of Quincy has been steady and unimpeded from the day the first white man trod its prolific soil to the present; and considering the utter absence of ostentation or display regarding our achievements in science, commerce and manufactures, it is not strange that our city has not been better known throughout the Union, and awarded its proper rank among the leading manufacturing and commercial centers. But while we realize that other cities have taken lead of Quincy in parading their advantages to the world, we also recognize the fact, that within a few years we have commenced a system of advertising that promises not only to introduce our city to the country at large, but insures us speedy communication with the outside world. Under the lead of wise and sagacious business men we have turned our attention to perfecting the system of railroads that centers here, and which has been such a powerful ally in developing the resources of the country surrounding us, and thereby building up
Page 8 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
our city. In substantial enterprises of this nature, which promise permanent advantage to Quincy, our citizens have ever been active and energetic; and this after all is the truest index to the character of any people. Judging our population then in this light, they have shown a world of zeal and public spirit in building here a city of as magnificent proportions and beautiful arrangement as Quincy. Not alone have they profusely expended capital and labor in the construction of its railroads and other facilities of commerce; the erection of its stately business edifices, elegant residences, costly churches and noble educational institutions; but with commendable pride, they have kept an eye to its beauty as well as prosperity. Its broad streets are laid out with faultless regularity, its parks are genial and inviting; its costly mansions and bumble cottage are surrounded by capacious yards, modeled after comely designs to enhance the beauties of nature; and everywhere are to be found the evidences of that refined taste and delicate skill, whose exercise has won for Quincy such appellations as “Gem City,” “Model City,” &e. Added to the natural beauties of location, and the artificial embellishments wrought here by enterprise and skill, Quincy stands pre-eminent among her sisters of the great west for the extent of her public improvements, salubrity of climate, facilities of education, and general eligibility of location as a place of residence.
Our object in issuing this work, has been to better introduce this favored city to those who are seeking a home, where industry and energy are a sure guarantee of prosperity and success: and in doing this we have endeavored to dissemminate abroad only correct in-
Page 9 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
formation as to her advantages, growth, size, resources and wealth.
It is not our aim or expectation to do full justice to the subject, but simply to enumerate a few of her present and prospective advantages as a manufacturing and commercial point, and to give a brief account of her mercantile and manufacturing interests at the present time.
However, before detailing the operations in business and commerce of the year about to close, it is proper that we should trace Quincy from its first settlement, through the various stages of its existence up to the present time, when it puts forth its claims to metropolitan dignities, and stands erect a full fledged city of 38,000 inhabitants.
“Quincy was originally selected as a town site in the year 1821 by the Hon. John Wood, Ex Governor of the State, who visited this neighborhood in the fall of that year, in company with two others named Moffit and Flinn, in order to look for and examine some land belonging to the latter, and which is now within the city limits. He was so impressed with the beauty of the spot, and so well satisfied that from its geographical position it must become the great point of outlet for the immense productions, which must speedily follow emigration to this and neighboring counties, that be determined in his own words to “settle here for life.” He returned in the fall of the succeeding year and erected the first house within the present bounds of Quincy. It was a primitive structure built without the aid of nails or sawed lumber, but unpretending as it was, the associations hanging over it, the almost miraculous
Page 10 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
changes that have taken place in the face of the country surrounding it, and the marked vicissitudes attending the fortunes of the adventurous pioneer who constructed it, invest it at this day with a halo of interest peculiarly its own, and the mind loves to linger upon it as the germ planted in the wilds of the West, from which has sprung the present vigorous growth of our Model City.
In the spring succeeding Mr. Wood’s arrival, Major Jeremiah Rose, a native of New York, came with his family and shared his cabin, Mrs. Rose being the first white woman, and her daughter, now Mrs. George W. Brown, the first white child, residing in Quincy. The next house was built in the spring of 1824 by Mr. Willard Keyes, a native of Vermont, and a former acquaintance of Mr. Wood, and the third in the following fall by John Droulard, a Frenchman. At this time there was no white settlement in the Military Tract north of Gilead, a point sixty miles south of Quincy, (then called Cole’s Point) near the centre of Calhoun County, and but two other white men, by name Perigo and Lile, in the bounds of what now is Adams County, and U. S. Troops were stationed at Fort Edwards, the present site of Warsaw, a point forty miles north of Quincy, for the protection of the frontier from the depredations of the Indians who lived in large numbers in the neighborhood. Our pioneers were obliged to go forty miles to mill, but a Dr. Baker, who settled in the fall of 1824 on the creek two miles south of Mr. Wood’s house, in order to obviate this inconvenience, with Yankee ingenuity, constructed a machine for pounding corn, the motive of which was water. Placing the grain in a mortar,
Page 11 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
an industrious pestle soon reduced it to a state suited to manufacture into very tolerable “hoe cakes.” A tragical incident connected with the history of this “the first grist mill in Quincy,” should not be omitted. One night when “der machine” was in active operation, au unsophisticated coon instigated by the gnawings of hunger, or perhaps by motives of curiosity, attempted to penetrate into its hidden recessess. The descending pestle gave him a forcible intimation that his presence was undesired, and knocking him into the mortar, it continued to pound him with hearty good will until morning, by which time we may conclude that his spirit of exploration was effectually subdued. The condition of the “grist” may “be more easily imagined than described.”
Previous to the establishment of the white settlement, an Indian village of the “Sauk” tribe occupied the site of Quincy, and for several years after its establishment the original natives remained in the vicinity, hut as a general thing were not troublesome neighbors.
In the fall of 1824, John Wood inserted in a newspaper printed at Edwardsville, called the Edwardsvitle Spectator, a notice that application would be made to the next Legislature for the establishment of a new county, defining its boundaries. In accordance with this application, by an act approved January 13, 1825, the Legislature provided for the organization of Adams County, fixing its boundaries as described in the notice, and as they now exist. Three commissioners were appointed to locate the County Seat, Seymour Kellogg, of Morgan county, Joel Wright, of Montgomery county, and David Dutton of Pike county, who after traveling
Page 12 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
through and attentively examining the county, decided upon this spot as the one best calculated for the future convenience and accommodation of the people. They christened the new town Quincy, in honor of the President, and, although the ceremonies were not of the most imposing character, thenceforth the city of three log cabins rejoiced in a name.
The first election of officers for Adams County was held on the second day of July, A. D. 1825, when forty votes were polled. Willard Keyes, Levi Wells and Peter Journey were elected County Commissioners, and at their first meeting, during the same month Henry H. Snow was appointed Clerk. This gentleman, pursuant to an order dated November 9th, 1825, was employed to survey and draw plats of the town, and two hundred and thirty lots, ninety-nine by a hundred and ninety-eight feet were laid off. Much of the subsequent prosperity of the place may be ascribed to the wisdom and taste displayed in this survey. Streets were laid off sixty-six feet wide, all but Maine Street, which is eighty-two and a half feet wide, and crossing each other at right angles. A space four hundred feet square was reserved in the center of the town for a public square, now called Washington Square, and the enclosure which is now Jefferson Square was set apart for a public Cemetery.
The first sale of town lots took place on the thirteenth day of December following, when fifty-one lots which had previously been advertised in the St. Louis and Edwardsville papers, were sold at public auction by the County Commissioners, the major part of which were purchased by the commissioners themselves, the
Page 13 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
sheriff and other citizens of the County, very few being sold to outside speculators, and thus the curse which has weighed so heavily on other western towns was avoided.
From the close of the year 1825 until the beginning of the year 1835, the growth of Quincy was not rapid. A variety of causes combined to produce this result. Many miles distant from mills, and from any point where provisions or supplies of any kind could be obtained, her residents were obliged to dispense with many of those articles, which are considered, in older communities, as among the “necessaries of life.” Their coffee was a decoction of okro seed, an herb cultivated by them for that purpose, and which they sweetened with wild honey, found in great abundance in the neighboring woods. Their nearest blacksmith’s shop was at Atlas, forty miles distant, where they carried their plows to be sharpened, swung upon a horse’s back. These, and other privations incident to pioneer life, together with several visitations of epidemic disease, during the interval mentioned, prevented any great improvement.
In the spring of 1826, Mr. Asher Anderson arrived with a stock of goods from Maryland and opened the first store, and in the fall of the same year a Court House was built of hewed logs, on the corner of Maine and Fifth streets, and in this building the first school was organized and kept.
In 1828 Charles Holmes and Robert Tillson arrived and established themselves as merchants, and in the succeeding year, 1829, they erected for their accommodation the first frame building in Quincy.
During this and the succeeding year several other
Page 14 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
stores were opened by different individuals, and the first steam flour mill was erected by Mr. J. T. Holmes, and put an end for a time to the importation of flour.
In the year 1832 the Black Hawk War broke out, but its chief effect upon Quincy was to increase the number in military titles, as “Colonel,” “Major,” &c., which it bestowed upon the citizens with a liberal hand.
In 1833 the first regular church was organized, numbering fifteen members.
In June, 1834, the town was incorporated, and Messrs. A. Williams, Jos. T. Holmes, S. XV. Rogers, Levi Wells, and Michael Mast were elected trustees. From this period may be dated the rapid advancement of Quincy in population and wealth. In the year 1835 she contained about seven hundred inhabitants, with the following establishments, professional men, &e.:
10 stores, 1 pork merchant, 1 bonnet store, 3 cabinet shops, 3 cooper shops, 5 carpenter shops, 2 wagon makers, 3 brick makers, 4 tailors, 2 butchers, 1 silversmith, 1 chair maker, 6 physicians, 1 U. S. land office, 2 saw mills, 1 wool carding machine, 2 drug stores, 2 bakeries, 1 coach maker, 4 saddlers, 3 plasterers, 2 boot and shoe makers, 3 blacksmiths, 1 wheelwright, 6 lawyers, 1 printing office, 1 land agency, 1 steam flour mill, 3 taverns, 1 gunsmith.
Up to this year a large portion of the bacon and flour for home consumption had been imported, but from that date until the present, large and annually increasing amounts have been exported. The value of these exportations from July, 1834, to July, 1835, amounted to $40,000.
Page 15 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
In 1837, the population had increased to 1,653, and produce was shipped as follows: Pork $85,000, Flour $19,500, Wheat, $8,000 worth.
Our space will not admit of a detailed enumeration of the advancement from year to year. Passing over the interval between 1838 and 1841, we find that the population in the latter year amounted to 2,686, and that the sale of merchandise of all sorts footed up to $329,800. Shipments of produce were as follows: – Wheat, 275,000 bushels, Corn, 95,000 bushels, Oats, 50,000 bushels, and during the same year 12,000 hogs were packed.
In 1849 the population had increased to 5,500, and there were in the city
26 retail variety stores, 2 hardware stores, 2 book stores, 3 drug stores, 2 foundries, 3 machine shops, 3 printing offices, 2 hotels, 9 physicians, 13 churches, 5 private schools, 5 dry goods stores, 10 ware houses, 4 steam flour mills, 2 steam saw mills, 7 pork houses, 4 lumber yards, 5 brick yards, 15 lawyers, 2 public schools.”
Having thus only prefaced the early history of Quincy, we will in proper order enlarge upon the important events transpiring during the various stages of her progress, and give them due prominence.
MANUFACTURING AND COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF QUINCY.
In most instances the best means of judging of the advantages of any locality, is by the extent of its commerce and manufactures. Occasionally we find this
Page 16 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
rule a poor one to apply, as we meet with cities and towns, which without any real advantages as commercial or manufacturing points, bloom into a sort of mushroom prosperity, and exist for a time with the same apparent indications of stability put forth by cities of a more substantial and permanent growth. But there has been no sudden or unaccountable growth of Quincy. From the first every step of its advance has been steady and unfaltering.
Admirably located on the high and healthy bluffs of the Mississippi river, 160 miles above St. Louis, and almost immediately at the foot of the “rapids,” with a vast territory in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa, and the country farther west tributary to her, it required no prophetic eye to discern her future. Now the base of supplies for the vast regions above named, the wheels of commerce roll on with wondrous velocity to meet the constant demands for goods of all kinds. However the commercial success of Quincy was guaranteed at the outset by the surroundings of which she was the center. The fertility of the soil of the great “Prairie State,” as well as the rich farming sections of Missouri adjacent to us, insured Quincy a large measure of prosperity without recourse to the other advantages that have made that prosperity loom up into such grand proportions in the past few years.
But the great problem, upon the solution of which depended more than all else the future of our city has been solved by the establishment and successful operation of the extensive mills, factories &e., that make up our manufacturing interests. Although we had much to expect from the ordinary mutations of commerce,
Page 17 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
it was hardly to be expected, even with our excellent location and surroundings, that we could build up an important city without drawing upon other resources. It is self-evident then that the key note of our greatest and most permanent prosperity was sounded when the sagacious men of the city determined to make this not only a commercial stronghold, but also an important manufacturing center. That resolve was carried out in good faith, and the days of experimenting with manufactures here gave way to the period when each year adds numerous extensive establishments to those that already tower up in every part of the city. Colossal tobacco factories, mammoth foundries, stately mills, extensive machine shops, planing and saw mills, boiler shops, and commodious edifices devoted to every department of manufacture are met with through the city. The busy hum of industry and enterprise is heard on all sides: and at evening the operatives and sons of toil from these establishments throng through our streets in hundreds, wending their way homeward after a day of labor.
That Quincy has many advantages as a manufacturing site over other western cities those who will give the subject proper consideration will be convinced. Although the enterprise started about a year ago, which promised to discover and develop inexhaustible coal mines in the very heart of the city, has not met with the success it was hoped would attend it, we still have vast coal mines connected with us by railroad, and are abundantly supplied by enterprising companies who furnish coal of excellent quality and at lower rates than is paid for the same by Chicago manufacturers and con-
Page 18 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
sumers. Should we succeed in finding coal in or near the city limits as many anticipate, the saving of cost of transportation would give our manufacturers still another advantage, and would give such an impetus to manufactures as would speedily place us in rivalry with Troy, Pittsburg, and other points, and soon swell our population to 100,000.
Besides having abundance of coal at fair rates we have an almost inexhaustible supply of wood for fuel in the vast forests on both sides of the river adjacent to the city. Here too, hard timber is obtained at a comparatively trifling expense, and saw mills convert it into lumber for use by the manufacturing establishments of the city.
Pine lumber from the great lumber districts of Wisconsin is brought here annually, and a supply equal to the necessities of the city is kept constantly on hand by our dealers.
Notwithstanding that most of our buildings are brick edifices the amount of lumber used here annually is enormous. When we consider however that over 500 buildings were erected in Quincy during the year 1868, it is not surprising. The amount of lumber shipped from here annually is also very large, and with the completion of the three new railroads now organized, and preparing for work, Quincy is destined to become an important lumber mart.
With the completion of these railroads comes as a matter of course, a large influx of laborers, mechanics and business men to swell our population and increase the local demand. Many too will be attracted here by the beauty and healthfulness of location, the compara-
Page 19 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
tively small expense of living, the rare educational advantages offered, and the guarantee of liberal remuneration for labor in every field.
The position of Quincy upon the Mississippi River enables her readily to import the raw material which goes to supply her manufactories. In addition to this great natural advantage which affords cheap and reliable means during three-fourths of the year, for the distribution abroad of manufactured articles, as well as for the reception of materials, railroads are projected or built to the north, south, east and west, which when completed, which will be in a very short time, will prove an inestimable advantage to her manufacturing interest. On the west lies a country of unsurpassed fertility, of great extent, and rich in mineral resources, that must become tributary to her, if her citizens continue to push forward her railroad enterprises in this direction with the energy heretofore displayed, and she will thus be put in possession not only of a large and profitable trade, but of a plentiful supply of the products necessary to feed her work shops and factories.— Of these roads we propose to speak more in detail in a subsequent portion of this work. They are too important to pass over with a cursory remark, and are of vital interest to Quincy, not only as they relate to her manufacturing and commercial character, but in connection with every other department of social and industrial advancement. The facts which have been briefly stated, are a few of the peculiarities of position which enables Quincy to manufacture with such cheapness as to compete successfully in their own fields with such cities as Pittsburg, Cincinnati and St. Louis, each of
Page 20 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
which she is gradually supplanting in places heretofore dependent upon them for their supplies. They are sufficient to establish that her resources as a manufacturing city are unexcelled, so far as facilities for production are concerned. With regard to means of distribution she is equally fortunate. When we speak of her commercial facilities this will be apparent, for the same circumstances which favor the distribution of her wares, conduce to render her commerce extensive and valuable.
Under the head of “Railroads” and “River Commerce,” we shall have occasion to note many items that argue the advantages of Quincy as a commercial and manufacturing center, and argue a future for her brighter than the anticipations of her most sanguine friends.
MERCANTINLE AND MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.
In detailing the operations in the various mercantile and manufacturing departments of Quincy, we have used our utmost endeavors to obtain accurate figures and statements with a view to present our city in its proper light, as well to the capitalist as to the producing and laboring classes. In some cases we have been unable to procure as full statistics as we had hoped for, owing to the objections of many business men to making their operations and transactions public. With our leading manufacturing and business firms no such objection has been raised, and we give a full and accurate report of the business of the year, which will in most instances be found less than an average of their annual
Page 21 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
operations. The cause of the discrepancy this year in many departments of trade and manufacture as compared with previous years is not that we have been less enterprising or more sorely afflicted with “hard times” than other localities, but may be readily traced to the general depression of business throughout the country the present year.
In many departments of trade however, business has increased rather than decreased, and our leading manufacturing interests have prospered to a degree that far exceeded the anticipations of the most sanguine.
The year just closing has added a number of colossal establishments to the mercantile interests of Quincy, and also several extensive manufacturing houses.— While other points have felt the severity of the times, there has been comparatively little complaint here, and our business men have done handsomely. This is the more gratifying when it is understood that on all sides it is conceded business must vastly increase from this time forward, and even in a greater ratio than in years past. Our hopes in this respect are not ill-founded, for with the completion of the four railroads now projected and guaranteed, Quincy must rapidly advance in population, wealth, and commercial importance. The best indication of our prospects however, is to be found in the daily augmentation of our population, and the fact that shrewd business men from all sections of the country are arriving here and establishing themselves in the various departments of trade. That they find inducements here not offered by any city of like size in the west, all who have visited Quincy and posted themselves in regard to her advantages and resour-
Page 22 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
ces will readily admit. To those who have never troubled themselves to inquire into the present position and future prospects of our city, we submit the facts and figures contained in this little volume as evidence of our commercial, manufacturing, and social status, confident that the exhibit will not be even approximated by any city of 40,000 inhabitants in the west.
Page 23 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
MANUFACTURES.
__
FLOUR.
To no department of her manufactures is Quincy more largely indebted for the enviable reputation she has achieved as a manufacturing center, than to her milling interests. The manufacture of flour was commenced early in her history, and the embryo “grist mill” established in 1824, by a shrewd yankee named Dr. Baker, has grown to be one of the most important manufacturing interests centered here.
In this department a vast amount of capital is employed, and the annual product of our milling establishments is large. But not alone we have we a reputation for the quantity of flour annually produced here, but the quality is such that it ranks with the famous brands of the country. Everywhere the demand for it is greater than the supply, and in Liverpool and other European markets it is known almost as well as in our home markets. But the success that has crowned our manufactures in this line is not surprising or unaccountable. Besides the vast capital engaged in building up this interest, and bringing it to its present pre-eminent position among the great flour marts of this country, the time, talent and labor of many of our most enterprising citizens has been devoted to the same work for
Page 24 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
a score or more years. The costly and extensive establishments employed in the manufacture of flour that tower up in Quincy now, were not all built in a day.— When Osborn, and Bagby and others who have been largely instrumental in making Quincy a great flour mart commenced that arduous work, they operated in no such noble structures as the present “Eagle,” “Tellico,” or “Castle” mills, but were confined to more modest and less capacious establishments. However, with such men, no matter how humble their beginning, success was only a question of time. Ripe with sagacity, full of energy, and alive with enterprise, each year witnessed some new improvement, some needed addition to their establishments, until almost unperceived, success was achieved, and they found themselves at the head of colossal mills, not surpassed by those of the great cities of the east. There was no longer any question as to the feasibility of profitably manufacturing flour in Quincy, and many embarked in the enterprise. We have now ten establishments engaged in its manufacture, most of them model concerns, with all the improvements which experience has recommended. Several of these mills, the Eagle, Castle, Tellico, City, &c., have a capacity of 300 barrels per day, and all of these are almost constantly kept running.
A magnificent area of wheat country surrounds Quincy, and the quality of the wheat raised is of the very best. Much excellent wheat is also brought here annually from Minnesota and Wisconsin by the river at a moderate cost of transportation, and is converted into flour by our mills.
The demand for Quincy flour comes from all quarters,
Page 25 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
and is always in excess of the supply, and while much of it in the transmutations of commerce finds its way to the seaboard and across the Atlantic, other large quantities of it go westward over the plains and to the Rocky Mountains. In Salt Lake City this flour is largely consumed, and is reported to give better satisfaction than any that is offered to the saints and prophets of that remarkable place.
The manufacture of flour is now carried on by the following firms, who have met with merited success.— They are among the most energetic and enterprising of our citizens, and the future cannot but add to their prosperity and success.
NAME OF MILLS FIRM CAPACITY PER DAY. Eagle Mills W. H. Osborn & Co. 350 barrels. Castle Mills Bagby & Wood 300 ” Tellico Mills Dick Bros 350 ” City Mills C. E. Whitmore 300 “ Star Mills Wheeler & Cruttenden 100 ” Quincy Mills Monning Bros 100 “ City Springs Mills W. Hunerwadel 100 “ Centre Mills Allen & Whyers 300 ” Farmers’ Mill Crockett & Mason 160 ” Royal Mills Osborn & Naylor
The past year there has been less done by our mills than any season for ten years previous, and we therefore refrain from publication of the year’s operations, as it would not be anything like a fair average. They have however given employment to 130 hands, and have done a profitable business. The capital invested is about $400,000.
Page 26 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
EX- GOV. JOHN WOOD, “FATHER OF QUINCY.”
In the sketch we are about to give of Ex-Governor John Wood, who is appropriately called the “Father of Quincy,” we are well aware that we will not do full justice to that venerable citizen, to whom more than any other Quincy is indebted for all she is and expects to be. But while we may not fill the measure of expectation in the minds of our readers, it will require little effort to lay before them a sketch replete with interesting facts and remarkable events in the life of one, around whose name cluster so many glorious recollections and memorable associations. Although we know that we could do him no greater displeasure than publish his virtues and great deeds to the world, it is a duty we owe our readers who venerate and love the man, to award a prominent place in this work to the founder, friend, and “Father of Quincy.”
Few men have passed through a more eventful career than the Hon. John Wood. Born in 1795, in the State of New York, he had scarcely passed the age of maturity, when we find him tracking across the great wilds of the north-west to the sparsely settled Valley of the Mississippi. In the fall of 1821, he arrived in the neighborhood of the now populous City of Quincy, with two companions, one of whom owned some land in the vicinity. At once impressed with the beauty of
Page 27 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
the spot, and its admirable geographical position, he resolved, in his own words, to “settle here for life.”— The succeeding fall he returned, and erected the first house within the present bounds of Quincy. In the spring following, Mr. Wood was joined by a family from New York, and shortly after Willard Keyes and John Droullard, a Frenchman, were added to the little settlement. At that time there was no white settlement within sixty miles of Quincy on the south, or forty on the north.
In 1825 through the efforts of John Wood, the county of Adams was organized, and the little settlement was fixed upon as the County Seat, and christened in honor of the President, “Quincy.”
Thus early John Wood manifested an untiring zeal for the advancement and prosperity of the young settlement, and from that time until now, his zeal for the improvement and success of Quincy, has not abated the least.
In the spring of 1844, John Wood was elected Mayor of the city, and so efficiently and faithfully did he serve the city in that position, that he was elected for three successive terms following. In 1852, he was again called to the helm of city affairs, and in 1853 was re-elected. Three years having elapsed he was again called by the people of Quincy to the mayoralty, and administered the affairs of the city with the same success and satisfaction for which he was proverbial.
But the reputation of John Wood was not confined to Quincy alone, for throughout the State he was recognized as one of its greatest and best citizens. Being an ardent Whig in 1856, he was nominated on the
Page 28 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
ticket with Gov. Bissell, for, Lieutenant Governor, and elected. The former dying, the duties of’ Governor devolved upon the latter, and he performed them with signal ability.
At the outbreak of the war in 1861, Gov. Wood being an ardent advocate of the cause of the Union, was appointed Quarter Master General of the State of Illinois. His devotion to the soldiers of Illinois, and his efforts to alleviate their sufferings on the field and in the hospitals of the country, are a part of the records of Illinois patriotism.
But, unimpeachable as has been the public life of Gov. Wood, his private life has been pregnant with noble deeds and generous works that are not paled by his most distinguished services in behalf of the city, state, or nation.
Eminent for his great qualities of head and heart, his munificent donations to the charitable institutions of Quincy, and his liberal encouragement of every worthy enterprise, are household words in the city.
Advanced to the ripe old age of 74, with a constitution still vigorous and active, Gov. Wood has the proud privilege of witnessing the growth in beauty, wealth and dignity of the city that he, with wondrous sagacity, planted nearly fifty-eight years ago. A man of sterling integrity, and a radical advocate of right, Gov. Wood is kind and affable in his disposition, and in his declining years enjoys the friendship and veneration of all who know him.
Page 29 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
TOBACCO MANUFACTOIRIES.
Among the most prominent features in the manufacturing list is that of Tobacco. Four large establishments are at present in active operation, employing an actual capital of $345,000, with gross sales exceeding $1,300,000, as well as giving constant employment to 560 hands. The tobacco manufactured in these establishments reaches every market in the Union, commanding the highest prices, owing to the admirable adaptation of this climate to that particular business, as well as the superior business qualifications of the proprietors, whose thorough knowledge of the business has been gained by long experience and close application, allowing no improvement to escape them, regardless of trouble or expense, and hence their great success.— Hundreds of little boys and girls find constant employment in these establishments, thus enabling them to earn not only a living for themselves, but also to furnish food and raiment for their widowed mothers and smaller brothers and sisters, who would otherwise be thrown upon the cold charities of the public, and would of necessity suffer not only for food, but also from the chilly blasts of winter.
No less than two of these establishments have agents in the Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky tobacco markets, whose business it is to purchase the very best of tobacco sold in these markets. Therefore they are en-
Page 30 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
abled to supply their customers with the very best brands that can be found in any market in the Union.
The following are the factories now in operation and the names of firms operating the same.
FACTORY. FIRM.
Eclipse Tobacco Works J. R. Harris & Co.
Empire Tobacco Works Harris, Beebe & Co.
Liberty Tobacco Works Binkert Bros. & Ware.
Gem City Tobacco Works Thos. H. Collins & Co.
National Tobacco Works H. E. Jansen & Co.
Besides the above named, which are devoted exclusively to the manufacture of plug tobacco, we have in our city two factories engaged in manufacturing smoking tobacco.
Page 31 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
HON. THOS. JASPER, VICE PRES. 1ST NAT. BANK.
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
Few of the prominent business men of Quincy have had so uninterrupted a career of prosperity as the subject of this sketch.
Hon. Thomas Jasper is a native of the State of Kentucky, and came to Quincy from that State in 1837, being then a young man, just starting in life. Like most of the now “solid men” of our city, Mr Jasper’s capital on his arrival in Quincy consisted of a vigorous constitution, a brave heart and a determined spirit, and with these he began the conflict of life. Shortly after locating here he was elected constable, and filled that position until 1840, when he was elected sheriff of Adams county. At the expiration of his term of office as sheriff, he invested what funds he had accumulated in a stock of groceries, and opened a store. For ten years he devoted himself to merchandising, and then retiring from mercantile business, bought an interest in the distillery on the Bay, known as “King’s.” On the death of Mr. King, Mr. Jasper succeeded to the ownership and management of the entire business, and as was invariably the ease, with whatever he was connected, it yielded handsome profits.
Page 32 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
In 1860, Mr. Jasper was elected Mayor of Quincy, and in 1868 was chosen as one of the representatives in the State Legislature from Adams County. We have above traced briefly some of the steps in his life in Quincy, but much more remains to be said that might be better said by an abler pen. Through his entire career as officer, merchant, manufacturer, mayor or legislator, he was ever active and faithful, and retained the confidence of the entire community. Now one of the wealthiest of our citizens, he is indebted alone to his own exertions for what he possesses, and none contribute with a more liberal hand to any enterprise that promises to improve the status of Quincy, socially or otherwise. An earnest advocate of railroads, his time and means have been liberally given to forward them, and for the past few months it is well known that he has worked with a zeal surpassed by none in behalf of the proposed new roads. One of the founders of the Quincy Savings Bank, now the First National, he is at present Vice President of that solid institution.
In personal appearance Mr. Jasper presents a fine type of the substantial business man. With an open inviting countenance, a massive forehead and a piercing eye, his face indicates the man—frank, generous and. determined, a genial gentleman, an irreproachable citizen, a steadfast friend, such is the Hon. Thomas Jasper, than whom Quincy boasts no better man.
Page 33 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
MACHINE SHOPS.
It was to be expected that in a city devoted so largely to manufactures as Quincy, there would be establishments for turning out the machinery and implements demanded in every branch of manufactures. That expectation has however been more than realized, for not only have we extensive machine shops, but we have also mechanics, whose skill and genius have made them famous wherever steam is employed as a motive power, or wherever the steam engine is found. More than this, our machine shops are now and have been for years shipping to all parts of the west their machines and implements. Nor are we to wonder at the demand for Quincy work in this line. All the establishments devoted to this branch of manufactures are models in every respect, provided with every facility and improvement, and managed by master mechanics. But while our machine shops have performed a noble part in building up our city and in supplying localities all thro’ the west with the means of forwarding their development and growth, they have not rested there. Not content to shape and build that which the minds of others had conceived, Quincy genius has itself been active in the field of invention, and from our dusky workshops have sprung inventions and improvements in mechanism to which humanity is indebted for their time, labor and life saving character.
The celebrated “Automaton Steam Governor,” patented by Robert W. Gardner, Esq., of this city, and
Page 34 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
which is used all over the continent, may be cited as no ordinary achievement in mechanism.
In the same connection may be mentioned the famous “Iron Barge” for transporting grain in bulk, invented by John Williams, Esq., of Quincy, and which was awarded the first prize by the committee of old and experienced shippers and steamboat men at the great St. Louis fair of 1868, a score or more contestants being present.
So well is the reputation of our machine shops established that they are kept constantly busy with large forces of men, supplying the steady and increasing demand for work in their line. This demand comes from almost every section of the states west of us, and even Chicago and St. Louis draw on Quincy for steam engines, &c., occasionally. All work in this department is turned out in the best possible style, and will compare in strength, durability, and finish with any from the oldest and best establishments of the east,
At present the following firms are engaged in manufacturing machinery and doing a general machine business :—John Williams & Co., Gardner & Robertson, S. G. Tyler, M. T. Greenleaf, Worrell, Bert & Co., W. Hagen, J. Schaffner, P. Schwebel. These establishments employ constantly about 360 hands, and do a business of $1,050,000 a year. The capital invested in this branch of manufactures is $240,000.
Page 35 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
FOUNDRIES.
We have in our city several extensive foundries, but most of them are connected with machine shops, and properly come under that head. Others are separate and distinct, and all are managed by experienced and skillful mechanics. They are prepared to turn out all classes of work in iron and brass, and in the best possible style. In this line improvement has been more marked than in perhaps any branch of manufactures, and there is scarcely any article or implement used in mechanism that cannot be obtained here. Brass molding is now extensively carried on at these establishments, and is executed in a high order of workmanship and finish.
It is only within a few years that our mechanics have attempted work of this class, but they have been so successful in the undertaking that they have enlarged their facilities, and gone into it on an extensive scale. They have already built up a large trade, and we have now in successful operation an extensive establishment for the sale of machinist’s supplies, iron and brass finishings, &c. Here, everything needed in the largest manufacturing establishment can be had at more advantageous rates than in larger cities, and the prospect is fair to make Quincy the base of supplies for goods in this line of a vast section of the west.
The following firms are now carrying on foundries, but as much of the products of their establishments has been estimated under the head of Machine Shops,
Page 63 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
it is not deemed necessary to restate the amount of work turned out by them :—John Williams & Co.; M. T. Greenleaf; Smith, Hayner & Co.; Worrell, Bert & Co.; E. Sien; P. Lally.
These firms employ a large number of hands, most of whom have also been included in the estimate of those engaged in the manufacture of machinery.
STOVES.
In the manufacture of Stoves and Hollow Ware Quincy ranks second to no city west of Pittsburg for the amount of work annually turned out. The establishments devoted to this branch of manufactures are built on an extensive scale, and are provided with all the improvements and appurtenances that long years of skillful management have suggested as most desirable. The best mechanics that the country affords are employed here, and receive handsome wages for their labor.
The vast territory that seeks Quincy for supplies in this line has necessitated a yearly increase in the amount of stoves manufactured, and our foundries have repeatedly enlarged their facilities for supplying this demand. We have now one of the largest stove foundries in the Union, and all in operation here employ large forces of hands. The success that has attended our manufactur-
Page 37 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
ers in this department is more than flattering, and the future promises even brighter results than have yet been achieved. Trade continues to enlarge annually and stoves from this market are now shipped to all points in the Mississippi Valley and in the states and territories west. Wherever they have been introduced, satisfaction is guaranteed, and a foothold once gained, a permanent trade is established.
Quincy owes much to the enterprising proprietors and managers of these extensive establishments, as they have been vastly beneficial to her, and have been second to no other interest in building up our city, and increasing its wealth and power. Besides the large amount annually paid out to mechanics, and thus distributed through the channels of commerce, this branch of manufactures has added material wealth to Quincy in the colossal establishments erected by the enterprising men engaged in it. Few even of our own citizens have an idea of the extent of this business, and we therefore give some items of information below.
This year the stove foundries of our city employed 314 hands and manufactured 36,400 stoves, which at an average of $13 a piece amounts to $473,200. The following are the firms now engaged in this branch of manufactures :—Comstock, Castle & Co.; Bonnet & Duffy; Excelsior Works, (co-operative,); Thomas White.
Page 38 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
HON. WILLIAM A. RICHARDSON,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
Quincy has had a large share in shaping the destinies and administering the affairs of the nation, and many of her citizens have rendered eminent service in her councils of state. Of these none have had so extended and eventful a career as the Hon. Wm. A. Richardson.
Born in Kentucky in 1811, he came to Illinois in 1831, and thus early commenced the practice of law, in Shelby County, although not quite out of his teens. His success at the bar was so marked that in 1834 the Legislature elected him to the responsible position of State’s Attorney. This position he resigned in 1836, on his election to the Legislature from Schuyler County. In 1838 he was again sent by his constituents to the Legislature, this time as a member of the Senate, where he served four years. Two years having expired he was a second time elected to the House of Representatives, and upon its organization was elected speaker. The same year he was one of the Presidential Electors on the Democratic ticket.
On the breaking out of the war with Mexico Mr. Richardson, although just at the spring-tide of political preferment, with the honors and emoluments of office within his grasp, resolved to espouse the cause of his
Page 39 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
country on the field of strife. Raising a company, he at once went to the front and did noble service. Devoted to his men, a brave and humane officer, on the field of Buena Vista he was for gallant conduct promoted to the position of Lieutenant Colonel by the unanimous voice of his regiment.
Returning home with the laurels of the field, exalted honors awaited him, and he was promptly elected to Congress to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Judge Douglas. Re-elected in 1848, and for three successive terms immediately following, Col. Richardson continued in Congress until 1856, and was a recognized leader of his party in that body. On his retirement from Congress, he was nominated by the Democracy of Illinois for Governor, but was defeated by Gov. Bissell, the majority of the latter being only 3000.
The administration of President Buchanan coming into power, he was in 1857, appointed by the President Governor of the then territory of Nebraska. This position however he retained only one year, when he again returned to Quincy. Here in 1860 he again received the nomination, and was again elected to Congress where he served until 1863, when he resigned to accept a seat in the United States Senate to which he had been elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of the lamented Douglas. The political complexion of the State and Nation having undergone a great change, and the Republican party being in the ascendant in both, at the expiration of his term in the Senate, Col. Richardson sought the retirement of his home in Quincy.
Page 40 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
Although this remarkable man has passed through the eventful and distinguished career here briefly sketched, he is still vigorous in mind and body, and is destined to yet do valuable service in the interests of the nation. A man of warm and generous impulses, of powerful intellect and bold ideas, Col. Richardson has at all times wielded a giant influence with the masses, and has found few equals as a stump orator, while in the great councils of his party his native eloquence has been no less potent. Few men have had more devoted followers in the arena of politics; and of all the great men with whom he has mingled, none have been more steadfast to principle and party than the Hon. Wm. A. Richardson.
Page 41 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
BREWERIES.
With the large German element of Quincy it was not unnatural to suppose there would be an active demand for beer. Such is the fact, but it is a question whether the Germans, or other nationalities of Quincy consume the most. One fact is apparent, that all classes of our citizens enjoy this beverage as heartily as those of Teutonic extraction. But as the drink is decidedly, and by common consent German, Quincy with almost half its population German, could not well exist without a fair share of breweries for the manufacture of the same.— We have these then in abundance, and all are model establishments, one or two of them not being second to any in the west, in capacity and facilities for making beer. In quality Quincy beer ranks with the best article manufactured, and hence the great and growing demand from abroad. All points on the railroads diverging from here, and also for a considerable distance up and down the Mississippi obtain their supplies from our breweries, and as far west as St. Joseph and Leavenworth the foaming beverage from Quincy establishments is sold. Each year witnesses an increase in the demand, and a consequent increase of the supply. Several of our breweries have been compelled to add to their capacity annually for several years, so constantly has their trade augmented. The manufacturers in this line need make no exertion whatever to dispose of their beer, as almost invariably towards the close of the
Page 42 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
season they are compelled to husband their supply in order to fill their orders. This trade moreover is destined to be permanent, for the men engaged in the business are of the energetic and enterprising type, who will not fail to maintain the reputation they have already established for the product of their breweries.
The following are the firms now engaged in this branch of manufacture.
Dick Bros.; Eber & Hoering; C. Fischer; A. L. Luthor; J. Luther & Co.; Ruff Bros. & Co.; H. Rupp.
These employ an aggregate capital of $335,000, and manufacture annually 207,000 kegs of beer. One hundred and seventy hands also find employment in those establishments.
PAPER.
One of the youngest enterprises in Quincy is the manufacture of paper, which is carried on successfully. Within a few years two extensive factories have been erected at an enormous expenditure of money, and fitted up with the best machinery and equipments to be had in the country. These factories have facilities for manufacturing all qualities of straw, wrapping and newspaper, and have, in the short time they have been in operation built up a splendid trade. Only one is now in operation, although the other is ready to commence running at any time. In this trade our manufacturers
Page 43 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
find it an easy matter to compete with eastern houses, as they manufacture equally as good paper, and can supply points at the west at more advantageous rates. The past year has not been an active one in this branch, but with a few seasons of successful work, our mills will establish a reputation for the products of their establishments that will attract the trade to Quincy, and make it a leading paper mart. There is every reason why it should be, as material and labor are obtained here cheaper than at rival points, and the facilities for manufacturing on the river bank are such as to induce others to embark in the enterprise. One thing alone is necessary to make the manufacture of paper profitable, and that is capital sufficient to run a mill steadily.
The two mills now located here are model ones in every respect, and are owned and managed by men of business skill and enterprise. The firms are H. A. Geise & Son, and Woodruff & Boyd. At present, one of these mills being idle, no estimate of the amount of annual work done by them can be obtained.
Page 44 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
HON. O. H. BROWNING
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
A history of the bar of Quincy would form an interesting volume, and to do full justice to the eminent men whose achievements in jurisprudence have shed lustre upon that distinguished body, would be a work worthy the most gifted pen in the land. Here many of the ablest and most erudite lawyers of Illinois won their first laurels, and began the conflict of life in which they have won renown, reflecting credit and honor alike upon themselves and their chosen state.
Pre-eminent among these chieftains of the bar whose fame has become national stands Hon. O. H. Browning, the subject of this sketch. As early as 1831 Mr. Browning left his native state, Kentucky, and armed with his license, located in Quincy as a member of the bar. With a clear mind, full of industry and energy, he was not slow in merging into prominence, even among the great intellects who were accustomed to make the tour of this circuit—which then embraced Quincy, Chicago, Galena, &c. His reputation once established, a lucrative practice rewarded his fidelity and industry, and political honors sought him.
In August, 1836, he was elected to the Senate of Illinois, and served four years in that body. About this time Nehemiah Bushnell, his present law partner, arrived in Quincy, and in 1837 the law partnership was
Page 45 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
formed, which has continued 32 years, and still exists. In 1842 Mr. Browning was again elected to the State Legislature, serving two years as a member of the House. He however allowed nothing to divert his attention from his law practice, but devoted himself assiduously to the interests of his clients. With the intermission of making unsuccessful canvasses, as the Whig candidate for Congress, Mr. Browning, figured but little in the political arena from 1844 to 1861.
Upon the death of Judge Douglas, Governor Yates selected Mr. Browning as the fittest person to succeed that lamented statesman in the Senate of the United States. Retiring from the Senate he opened a law office at the National Capital, associating himself with Senator Cowan of Pennsylvania. He continued there until 1866, when President Johnson reorganizing his Cabinet, called Mr. Browning to the responsible position of Secretary of the Interior. This position he retained until the close of Mr. Johnson’s term, administering its voluminous affairs with signal success. Returning home, Mr. Browning had determined on a period of retirement and rest, after the arduous labors devolving on him while a Cabinet Officer, but his old friends and fellow citizens again made a requisition upon his time and talent by electing him a member of the Constitutional Convention of Illinois.
Thus briefly we have noted some of the events in the life of one of the distinguished men of the country.— Quincy may well be proud of so eminent a citizen, who having filled the most exalted stations in the gift of the State and Nation retires the acknowledged peer of the greatest statesman of his time.
Page 46 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
THE ORPHANS
THEIR CARE AND EDUCATION—WOODLAND HOME—ST.
ALOYSIUS ASYLUM.
In matters of public enterprise and public charity the citizens of Quincy have been as liberal as in private affairs. Nothing that has been introduced to the notice of our citizens that directly or indirectly promised to advance the interests of the city but what has received their cordial encouragement and support, and in like manner they have with Christian liberality, responded to the calls of charity.
Every city that has attained the size and importance of our own, finds within its borders numbers of young and helpless children who, without parents or friends, are obliged to seek protection and assistance at the hands of the public. This being the case, our citizens, with a liberality proverbial in them, several years ago turned their attention to the cause of the orphans.
ST. ALOYSIUS SOCIETY.
Something over eleven years ago a society was formed among the members of the German Catholic Church in this city, and by an act of the Legislature it was incorporated under the name of St. Aloysius Orphan Society. The society at once set to work with a zeal
Page 47 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
peculiar to the people, and after accumulating a large fund from annual picnics and entertainments, two years ago began the erection of an Asylum devoted to the orphans of Quincy without regard to clime or creed. The building was speedily completed and the society at once engaged a band of Sisters belonging to the order of “Sisters of Notre Dame” to assume control of the same. They began their work four years ago, and since that time have devoted themselves to the good work of caring for and educating the orphans placed under their charge. The Asylum is located on the corner of Twentieth and Vine streets, is a plain but large and commodious structure, three stories high with a fine basement, and has a lot of 300 feet square surrounding it. It contains fourteen rooms which are respectively reception room, parlor, work rooms, play rooms, refectory, school room, chapel, dormitory, &c.
The reception room is neat and convenient, —the parlor is large and airy and the dormitories are spacious and well ventilated and are furnished with neat and comfortable single beds for the use of the orphans.
The work room is devoted, we may say, exclusively to the use of girls, and they are taught here the use of the needle, and also gain an insight into household affairs. The room is appropriately furnished. A school room, where they are given an ordinary English education, is an other interesting department of the asylum, and here the orphans, both boys and girls, are collected each day for intellectual training. The result is that when they leave the institution, even though they have no immediate friends, they are prepared to battle through life and hew out a destiny for themselves. A
Page 48 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
splendid refectory is also a feature of the St. Aloysius Asylum, and here the little orphans are served with plain and substantial food, prepared by the good sisters. That they are amply provided, no better evidence is needed than the hearty appearance presented by them as they circulate through the building.
Two dormitories are provided, one for the boys, the other for the girls. Tiers of single beds range through them, and as they are each surrounded with tidy curtains, they present a pleasant appearance. There is also a Chapel where the ceremonies of the Catholic church are daily held, and though orphans of every clime and creed are admitted to the asylum they are not obliged to profess the Catholic faith to receive its benefits, yet they are required to attend the services in the chapel each day in order that they may not interfere with the discipline of the establishment.
As we have said the asylum was erected by the St. Aloysious Orphan Society, but that society has been aided in its work of charity by the citizens of Quincy without regard to sect or nationality. Every one of our Citizens have added their mite to the munificent sum expended by this society in the erection and maintenance of this institution that has been such a source of good in the community. The labor of conducting the establishment has devolved upon the Sisters in charge, who at present number seven, under the superiorship of Sister Mary Hypollita. These Sisters have devoted their lives to the work of protecting and educating the young and helpless, and are zealously giving their time and talents to the cause. Whatever may be the opinion of the people in regard to the sect and or-
Page 49 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
der to which they belong, the Sisters of Notre Dame deserve great praise for the self-sacrificing spirit they display in the cause of charity.
WOODLAND HOME.
Although we have devoted considerable space and time to the Sisters de Notre Dame and the Asylum under their control, still they have not been alone in the good work, nor is theirs the only one of the kind in our flourishing city. Woodland Home was incorporated by an act of the Legislature of Illinois, on the 14th of February, 1855.
At a meeting of the trustees of “Woodland Home for the Orphans and Friendless,” held at the First Congregational Church, Quincy, Illinois, at 8 o’clock P.M., on the 1st day of July, 1859:
Present—John Wood, Willard Keyes, Frederick Collins, Joel Rice, Hiram Rogers, Newton Flagg, Elijah Gove, John Wheeler, and Orville H. Browning.
On motion, Hon. John Wood was called to the chair, and O. H. Browning appointed Secretary.
Being thus organized, a constitution for the government of said corporation was unanimously adopted.
Deciding afterwards to make the care of orphans and friendless women a speciality, they changed the name in 1855, to the Woodland Home for Orphans and Friendless Women.
From that time to this, regular meetings have been held, and each month one lady has devoted herself to the care and interests of the Home. A very efficient
Page 50 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
corps of ladies has managed the charities of the Society. Its operations have been carried on amid great vicissitudes and discouragement. For years they had no building for a Home, and boarded their children in families where kind people could be found to care for and look after the moral and physical wants of the little ones.
Many times the hindrances in their path seemed insurmountable, but a way was always made for their feet when the time came to go forward. Now, after nearly sixteen years of arduous labor, they wish to testify to the care of God, and the sympathy and aid of the community. Though often brought very low, the barrel of meal was never quite wasted, and the garment has always been supplied which was needed to secure comfort or covering. It was, and still is the intention of the Society, to erect on the five acre lot purchased of Hon. John Wood for this purpose, suitable buildings for the Woodland Home. Hiram Rogers, Esq., recently deceased, generously bestowed $5,000 to the Society, and they have been repeatedly placed under obligations for evidences of liberality towards the Home.
Unable at present to erect such buildings as they deemed adequate to the wants of the Society and worthy of Quincy, they purchased in 1867 the residence of the late George Brown, situated on Fifth and Washington streets, at a cost of $15,500. Here there is a large, commodious and well ventilated building, with 14 rooms and a yard 200 feet square.
The Society has at all times had more or less orphans and helpless friendless persons under its control. These children are all educated, and their moral training is
Page 51 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
well provided for. Each Sabbath they attend the Congregational Sabbath School, and there are early imbued with the truths of religion.
These two institutions are and should be the pride of our citizens as they are living monuments to our christian enterprise. They are the trumpets that speak the fame of a people, who out of the abundance of their possessions give to the friendless and destitute orphans, and who, in building hereupon the banks of the mighty Mississippi a great city, have not forgotten the teachings of religion and humanity.
Page 52 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
HON. MAITLAND BOON,
OR “MEN OF MARK IN QUINCY.”
Though one of the youngest of those whose names appear in this work on account of their efforts in behalf of Quincy and Quincy enterprises, the subject of’ this sketch stands second to none as a citizen of enterprise, energy, and public spirit.
Maitland Boon was born in Watertown, New York, in 1834, and there, after leaving college began his experience in business. He first entered a drug house, and devoted himself to that business for two years, when an opportunity offering he accepted the position of discount clerk in the Union Bank of Watertown.— His time in this position was however brief, and at the expiration of two years he was called by the management of the bank to the important and responsible position of cashier. This position Mr. Boon filled with credit to himself and profit to the institution, until 1856, when he decided to cast his fortunes with the growing west. It was in this year that he came to Quincy and located. Tendered the position of cashier of the Bank of Quincy, he accepted, and during his connection with the same managed its affairs with a judgment and ability that stamped him as an able financier. Retiring from the bank, Mr. Boon established himself in the saddlery and harness business, conducting one of the most extensive manufactories of this
Page 53 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
kind in the west. During the war he did a mammoth business in the manufacture of army equipments, filling large contracts for the government. In 1865 the office of mayor of Quincy becoming vacant, Mr. Boon, then an alderman from the second ward, was appointed to that position. So ably did he fulfill the important trust confided to him, and so satisfactorily discharge its duties that in the following spring he was elected by an overwhelming majority to the mayorality. The last year he officiated as executive of the city with even greater success than the first, and won enthusiastic encomiums from citizens of both parties for his admirable management of city affairs.
Although a large share of his attention while mayor was unavoidably absorbed by city matters, Mr. Boon did not during that period neglect his own affairs, but did an extensive business in the manufacture and sale of harness, saddles, &c. Soon after the expiration of his term of office, Mr. Boon, feeling in common with many of the citizens of Quincy the necessity of having in our city a first-class hotel, obtained a lease of the famous Quincy House, then unoccupied, and after furnishing it in elegant style, and improving it in every department, opened it to the public. For two years he has managed this house in admirable style, and won golden laurels as a successful and popular landlord. Although but 35 years, of age Mr. Boon has had a varied career as a business man and financier. A man of warm and generous impulses, of a genial and social nature, Maitland Boon is also a man of untiring energy and enterprise, making at once the valuable citizen and popular gentleman.
Page 54 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
DISTILLERIES.
Before the war several extensive distilleries were almost continually in operation and turned out annually immense quantities of highwines, besides feeding great numbers of cattle and hogs. Even after the war had commenced, and the revenue system had been introduced, two of these establishments continued to operate night and day, consuming vast quantities of corn, and employing a large number of hands. The operation of the revenue system, however, working disadvantageously to them, they were finally compelled to cease work, in order to save themselves. Dishonest manufacturers multiplied so rapidly throughout the country, and frauds upon the revenue were so extensive, that to manufacture highwines honestly, and at the same time make it profitable, was an impossibility. Our distilleries, that had been paying the government as high as $150,000 a month tax, therefore closed. Since the reduction of the taxes and the perfection of the revenue system, they have occasionally operated for a short time, but have not run steadily or to their full capacity. This is the more unfortunate at the present time, as it not only robs our farmers of a splendid market for their corn, but also throws a number of hands out of employment. One of the most important manufacturing interests of our city and one in which a vast amount of capital is invested, it has added large material wealth to Quincy.
Page 55 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
Both of the firms now owning distilleries here are comprised of solid and enterprising citizens, who will not allow their establishments to remain idle long, when they can afford to operate them.
These firms are: Charles H. Curtis & Co., and Cramer & Brockschmidt. Very little work has been done this year, and we therefore make no estimate.
CARRIAGES.
This is another department of Quincy manufactures in which the superior skill and workmanship of our mechanics have won an enviable reputation for themselves and the city. It is but a few years ago that some of our shrewdest citizens then engaged in the manufacture of carriages, concluded to retire from it, feeling that it was next to impossible to compete in this branch with eastern cities, where the work had been, through long years of experience, brought to a high degree of perfection. Notwithstanding this, other indomitable spirits engaged in the enterprise, and followed it through years of experiment and uncertainty to the pinnacle of success. Now it is one of the important branches of our manufactures, and has done as much as any one thing to introduce Quincy favorably to the outside world. Wherever carriages bearing the brand of our factories are sold, and they are to be seen almost everywhere west of the Mississippi, and in the
Page 56 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
cities and towns adjacent to it, they are known for their strength, durability and high style of finish. This business has now become a marked success here, and carriages, buggies and vehicles from this market compete successfully with those from the famous factories of New Haven, Rochester, and Philadelphia. A large business is now also being done by our manufacturers in this line, in building coaches for the stage lines of the west, and also omnibusses. In this particular they have achieved splendid success, and orders have been received from localities far removed from us for vehicles of this kind. For enterprise and activity, as well as thorough business skill, our carriage manufacturers yield the palm to no city in the Union, and are destined to build up an extensive trade all through the west. At present they are doing a large business and are kept actively at work with large forces of mechanics. The firms now engaged in this branch are :—E. M. Miller & Co.; Hynes & Moore ; Grotenhoff & Behrens; Koenig & Weiler.
These employ 93 hands, and turn out annually $269,140 worth of work.
Page 57 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
HON. JAMES M. PITMAN,
OR “MEN OF MARK IN QUINCY.”
Of all the leading men whose energy and ability have been active in building up the flourishing city of Quincy, and advancing its interests, it is fair to say none take rank before the Hon. James M. Pitman.
Born in the then territory of Missouri, in 1813, at the age of 22 he came to Quincy, and at once interested himself in not only carving out his own success, but also in forwarding our city commercially and socially. Obtaining an interest in a saw mill, he operated that for a time with decided success, and in 1844 had so commended himself to the voters of Adams County that he was elected Sheriff. So admirably did he perform the duties of the office the first two years that he was chosen by his constituents for a second term, and continued in the responsible position until 1848. On retiring from the office, he embarked in the lumber business, with Amos Green, Esq., as a partner. Success attended the firm, and in its career both members accumulated wealth with comparative rapidity.
In 1850 Mr. Pitman was elected as a representative to the Legislature, and in 1852 was returned to that body. While there he devoted himself assiduously to the interests of Quincy and Adams County, and by his
Page 58 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
industry secured much legislation that has been of vast advantage to Quincy. Among other items he obtained a charter for a Gas Company, a Mississippi River Bridge Company, and also the charter under which the great Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was built.
Scarcely had his labors in the councils of the State ended when he was called to the mayoralty of Quincy in 1854. Managing the affairs of the city with the same skill and success that had characterized his own private matters, be was re-elected in 1855, and retired with an enviable reputation for integrity and ability as an executive officer. Only a short period of relaxation followed his retirement from the municipal government of Quincy, when other responsibilities devolved on him. In 1858 he was elected by the Legislature warden of the State Penitentiary. His success in this trying position, was if anything more marked than in any of his preceding offices, and the State owes him a debt of gratitude for the valuable services rendered while managing the Penitentiary.
From the close of his term as warden until 1867, Mr. Pitman mingled little in polities or public affairs, but in the latter year his fellow citizens again elected him to the office of mayor of Quincy, in the hope that his rare judgment and foresight might extricate the city from the many embarrassments that were overwhelming it. Devoting himself for one year with the usual success to the work of relieving the city from the great burden of debt and taxation, he retired from the mayoralty, and at the same time from public life, preferring the ease and retirement of home to the bustle and din of political strife.
Page 59 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
Possessed of large wealth, a man of genial and generous traits, enjoying the esteem and friendship of all who know him, his declining years are pregnant with unalloyed pleasure, and the worst wish that his fellow citizens harbor is, that he may long continue in the enjoyment of the happiness his industry, energy and ability have wrought for him.
Page 60 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
BOILERS AND SHEET IRON WORKS.
We have said in a previous part of this work that in the manufacture of all kinds of machinery, Quincy took front rank among western cities, and as her boiler and sheet iron works are a part of this branch of manufactures, we claim the same superiority for them. Managed and superintended by experienced and skillful mechanics, all work from their establishments is turned out in a style unsurpassed anywhere. The most difficult work known to the trade, has been done successfully here within the past few years, and those who had been in the habit of sending east for extra heavy work, under the impression that it could not be turned out in the west, are now having the same done in the most workmanlike and satisfactory manner at home, and at a vast saving of price and freight.
The very best mechanics are employed in this line, and the most liberal enterprise is displayed by those engaged in the business. From the territory west of’ the Mississippi a constant demand is made upon them for work, and this demand increases so rapidly that even in the dull season now about closing, they have been taxed to their full capacity to keep pace with it. Moreover each winter another heavy demand is made upon these establishments by the steamers that lay up here at the close of navigation. There are a large number of these, and all require more or less repairing and new work, which they can have done here in a more
Page 61 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
satisfactory style and at more reasonable figures than at any point on the river. The St. Louis & Keokuk Packet Company, which owns and manages a large number of fine steamboats, long since discovered the advantages offered by Quincy in this respect, and annually harbors its steamers here through the winter to have them overhauled and repaired. The work done yearly by this company alone is an item of no small importance, and foots up handsomely.
Two establishments are now engaged in this branch of manufactures, and are owned and operated by the following firms:— John Williams & Co.; Oerter & Michelmann.
These firms employ together 85 hands, who turn out $18,000 worth of work per month, or $216,000 per year.
Page 62 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
J. K. VANDOORN MANUFACTURER & MERCHANT
OR “MEN OF MARK IN QUINCY.”
There is perhaps no city in the west whose leading citizens so early began to shape its moral course to an elevated standing, as Quincy. Her early settlers were men who came here to build up a model city, and with this object constantly before their minds, they aimed at the beginning to place the moral and social status of our city at the highest standard.
To this commendable work none have devoted more time or money than John K. VanDoorn and there are none in the community, but award him credit for earnest efforts in this noble cause.
Coming from his native state, Massachusetts, in 1838, Mr. VanDoorn, then twenty-four years of age, commenced the manufacture of chairs with Mr. Mellen, they being the two partners in the humble establishment known as the “chair factory.” Continuing at this for some time, he accumulated funds sufficient to purchase the saw mill on the river bank from E. B. Kimball. Soon after, he built a new mill on the site of the “Kimball Mill,” and continued to operate it successfully, turning out a large quantity of lumber and building timber annually, until 1858, in which year it was destroyed by fire. Previous to its destruction, however, he had purchased an interest in the extensive saw mill on the bay, and became a partner in the same with James Arthur,
Page 63 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
Esq. About this time also, he established himself in the lumber business, on Hampshire street, and made that also a success.
But while Mr. VanDoorn has been energetic and active as a manufacturer and merchant, and has achieved great pecuniary success, he has, as we have said, always had time and money to spare in behalf of every enterprise, promising to improve or elevate the moral and social status of Quincy.
An uncompromising advocate of temperance, he has been untiring in his opposition to license laws and the sale of intoxicating liquors. His convictions in this respect are the same to-day that first impressed his mind, and as the present Grand Worthy Secretary of the Good Templars of Illinois, he is doing herculean work in the cause. Also the first outspoken Abolitionist in Quincy, he continued earnestly and actively to advocate the emancipation of the slaves of the South, until that work was accomplished.
A man of strong convictions and determined character, he espouses whatever cause he engages in with a vigor and energy that at once indicates the rectitude of his purpose. Ever actuated by principle and yielding his convictions of right to no power or party, but boldly and persistently advocating them against all opposition, such a man is John K. VanDoorn, one of Quincy’s most enterprising and valuable citizens. Through all his experiences as a business man and leading manufacturer, thorough integrity and honorable dealing have characterized him, and now, after a residence here of over 30 years, he ranks second to none in the esteem of his fellow citizens.
Page 64 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
GAS—ITS INTRODUCTION INTO QUINCY.
OPERATIONS OF THE QUINCY GAS LIGHT & COKE COMPANY.
Those who are constantly consuming gas will perhaps be interested in a history of its introduction into our city and the operations of the Quincy Gas Light and Coke Company since its organization. The enterprise of lighting Quincy with gas and furnishing our citizens with this valuable illuminating article, like all new projects, was long discussed before any positive action was taken in regard to it. In 1853 a company was organized and a contract entered into by the corporators, John Wood, Lucius Kingman, Samuel Holmes, Thos. Redmond, Jas. D. Morgan, Samuel W. Rogers, Thos. C. King, Robert S. Benneson and William H. Carlin, with Messrs. A. B. Chambers and Thos. Pratt, of St. Louis, who, in consideration of $75,000 of the capital stock of the Quincy Gas Light and Coke Company, agreed to purchase suitable grounds, furnish all the materials and construct works of sufficient capacity to manufacture and store 55,000 cubic feet of gas daily, lay 3 1/2 miles of street mains, provide the necessary meters, and erect 50 public lamps. At the same time a contract for fifty additional lamps, and in relation to extension and the right of way in laying street mains, was entered into. On the first of December, 1856, the contract for the erection of the works having been completed, and Messrs. Chambers & Pratt having purchas-
Page 65 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
ed and erected 14 more lamps and furnished meters, seven pipes and other materials not specified in the Contract, they were allowed an additional $5,100 in stock for extra labor and material. The whole stock of the company thus amounted to $80,100, and it commenced operating with one bench of three retorts, 64 public lamps and 139 private consumers. With the growth of the city the demand for gas has rapidly increased, and the company is now working eight benches of three retorts each to their full capacity, lighting 334 public lamps, supplying 750 private consumers, and has over eight and one-half miles of street mains. In 1867, a new gas holder 60 by 22 feet, with a capacity of 62,000 cubic feet was completed at a cost of $21,516.58. Since then the retort capacity of the company has been doubled, consisting of twelve benches of three retorts each, the old purifiers five feet six inches square, have been replaced by new ones ten by fourteen feet, and the old center seal of six inch capacity has been replaced with a new seal of ten inch capacity. The six inch street mains have been replaced by ten inch pipe, and the change has added materially to the pressure and flow of gas. The last mentioned improvements have cost the company $20,729.14, most of the work being done by Quincy mechanics.
The past year, the company with commendable enterprise, have run an eight inch pipe from the ten inch main on Hampshire street, along Seventh street to Broadway, and continued down the last named street with a six inch pipe to the levee. This work was done to accommodate patrons on Front street and the levee, who had suffered considerable inconvenience for want
Page 66 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
of a proper flow of gas, and while it cost the company $5,509, it added only one consumer.
The improvements at the works this year have been the introduction of new ten inch condensers with an exhauster and engine, at a combined cost of $6,610.76. The old gas holder was also repaired at a cost of $1,153, and is to be replaced the coming year by a new and improved one. Other improvements during the same period, including building, &c., aggregated $1,741.10.
The annual consumption of coal at the Gas Works is 77,763 bushels, and of lime 2,957 bushels. The pay roll proper amounts annually to $14,000. This company has now been in operation thirteen years, and although a majority of the stock is held in St. Louis, it has always been managed by Quincy men, who, while they have an interest in the pecuniary success of the company, have still a larger interest in operating it to the satisfaction of our citizens. Thus while they have acted in good faith as directors and managers, they have never failed to add such improvements as seemed in their judgment demanded by the city and their patrons.
In this particular therefore Quincy has a decided advantage. The capital stock now amounts to $101,650.
The enterprise exhibited by the company the past two years in laying new street mains and increasing its manufacturing capacity, is an earnest that they are determined to keep pace with the wants of the community, and supply our citizens with an article of gas not excelled any where. In this connection it is proper to state that there has been decided improvement.
Page 67 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
The officers of the company at present, are :—J. D. Morgan, President; W. H. Corley, Superintendent and Secretary; H. R. Corley, Assistant Secretary; C. M. Pomroy, Treasurer; Directors, J. D. Morgan, W. H. Corley, C. M. Pomroy, Thomas Redmond, S. W. Rogers, R. S. Benneson, J. M. Pitman, L. Kingman, of Quincy, and Thomas Pratt of St. Louis.
Page 68 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
H.V. SULLIVAN, ESQ.,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
It is a well established fact that the greatest lever for good or evil in any country is the press. The same is true doubtless of cities, for the press in municipal as well as national affairs possesses a power which if exerted for the right, is of vast benefit to a community. Nor is it venturing much to say that every city owes its progress in a large measure to its press. Newspapers are at once the evidence of civilization and enlightenment, and the means of heralding the virtues of every people, and the beauties of every locality to the world. But to wield their proper influence, and serve the community, newspapers require in their conduct able management and rare judgment. In this respect Quincy was superlatively fortunate in the acquisition of Henry V. Sullivan, Esq., one of its pioneer newspaper man.
Mr. Sullivan was born at Vincennes, Indiana, in 1816, and at the age of ten years moved to St. Louis. At sixteen he engaged as a printer in the office of the St. Louis Republican, and continued there for five years.— In 1836 he came to Quincy, and two years later commenced the publication of the Quincy Whig, although then only twenty-one years of age. At first the paper was owned by a stock company, but in a brief space of time Mr. Sullivan, associating with him S. M. Bartlett,
Page 69 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
bought up the stock, and run the establishment under the firm name of Bartlett & Sullivan. Nehemiah Bushnell and Andrew Johnson, volunteering their services as editors, managed that department for eight months, when Mr. Bartlett assumed the duties of editor. On the death of Mr, Bartlett, in 1851, Mr. Sullivan managed and conducted the paper alone for one year, when he associated with him John T. Morton, and continued thus two years. On the 1st of January, 1857, he commenced the publication of the Daily Republican, under the firm name of H. V. Sullivan & Co., and continued for about 13 months.
While connected with the press, Mr. Sullivan was appointed Register of Lands, elected several times- to the City Council of Quincy, and also to the Legislature of Illinois; in all of which positions he acquitted himself in such a manner as to win the admiration and retain the confidence of his fellow citizens.
At the outbreak of the war Mr. Sullivan received the appointment of paymaster, and gave his time and attion to the same while the strife lasted, when he returned to Quincy.
The publication of a newspaper in our city to-day may not be considered a herculean work, but in the days when the Quincy Whig began its existence, the struggle between life and death was a determined one; and had a less resolute or less judicious manager than Mr. Sullivan undertaken the work, the probability is that it would have flourished but briefly. As it was, the paper prospered, and gradually grew strong enough to be of vast use in building up the city that gave it
Page 70 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
birth, and nurtured it into strength. With Mr. Sullivan as its manager, it gave an earnest and vigorous support to every move in the interest of Quincy, and was instrumental in advancing the city morally, socially and commercially.
Although Mr. Sullivan has now virtually retired from business, he is still by no means on the decline of life, but on the contrary presents a hearty and healthy appearance, and is an active, enterprising and public spirited citizen, whose place could not well be filled in Quincy.
Page 71 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
WAGONS, PLOWS, &c.
Early in our history, the manufacture of wagons, plows, and agricultural implements was commenced, and while it has steadily increased, it has also been marked by constant improvement. The reputation of our establishments in this line has long been first-class, and while their wagons, plows, &e. have been highly prized at home for their strength and durability, they have also been in demand in Missouri and regions west of the Mississippi. Near Quincy the best of timber for work in this line is to be had, and with the excellent mechanics who are drawn here by the inducements offered in wages and location, there could be no question of success for those engaged in the business.— Wherever anything of this kind is to be found, satisfaction follows, and hence the growing trade. Many of our most energetic and enterprising citizens are engaged in this department, and have in the course of their experience accumulated handsome fortunes, besides building up an extensive and permanent trade. Some of them began on a small scale it is true, but by close attention to business, and a liberal display of’ enterprise, have succeeded beyond their own anticipations. There is no difficulty in selling any article or implement turned out by them, and they have consequently flourished with remarkable success. At present the following firms are engaged in this line, and while several of these are modest concerns, there are also a number of extensive manufacturers, who employ each a large number
Page 72 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
of hands :—W. T. & E. A. Rogers ; T. Beatty ; Bolinger & Grussenmeyer ; Brinkkoeter & Benhof ; W. Herlemann ; G. Keller ; H. Knapheide ; F. Meise ; H. Nolkemper ; L. Otten; T. Otto ; A. C. Root ; Schefer & Ledig ; L. Schmitt ; F. Tafelski.
Those firms are all doing a handsome business, and employing skillful mechanics are almost daily introducing some now improvement, that gives them a further hold upon their numerous patrons. This year these firms have turned out over 700 wagons, besides plows, &e. The capital invested amounts to $260, 000.
PLANING MILLS.
Quincy now boasts establishments prepared to turn out almost any article or implement used in mechanism or commerce, and she is, if possible, better prepared with materials for building purposes. Although our city is built up almost exclusively of brick, yet we keep a large number of planing mills busy supplying doors, sash, and flooring. They also manufacture largely for the Missouri and western trade, and are constantly shipping large quantities off by river and rail. We have now in operation three large and capacious planing mills, which are ably managed by skillful and experienced business men, and are doing handsomely.— Besides those which are immediately in the city, we have still another, owned and operated by citizens of Quincy, but located on the west bank of the river. This has been recently established by Bradford, McCoy & Co.
Page 73 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
Those establishments all turn out first-class work, and are run in model style. They are owned and operated by the following firms :—Bradford, McCoy & Co.: Gould & Williams ; Schmitt, Mulliner & Co.; Menke, Grimm & Co.
Those firms employ an aggregate force of 116 men, and manufacture annually $310,600 worth of doors, sash, flooring &c. Capital invested, $180,000.
BRICK.
The manufacture of brick is necessarily carried on very extensively in Quincy, as the great majority of our buildings are built of that material. There is perhaps no city in the Union where there is such a preponderance of brick over frame buildings—hence the great security here from fire. At all our yards they turn out excellent brick, as they obtain splendid clay for that purpose in all quarters, and have the very best chance for making them equal to the finest brick found anywhere. During the summer these yards employ a large number of hands, and thus are of a double benefit to the city. Brick are sold here at reasonable rates, and buildings of this kind are built at a small increase over frame buildings.
This season the following firms have been engaged in making brick :—J. H. Konefes ; Brinkhoff & Forke ; A. J. Casebeer ; G. Damhorst ; S. Damhorst ; F. W. Freese ; F. Hagerman ; Honor & Holtmann ; J. A. Hummert ; J. H. Koch ; H. Landwehr ; J. Menne ; C. L. Prante ; J. H. Sander.
They employ upwards of 300 hands, and sell annually $616,000 worth of brick.
Page 74 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
GEN. JAMES D. MORGAN,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
During the late war the patriotism of Quincy shone out with a luster that oven the protracted and desperate nature of the conflict failed to dim. Many of her sons, young and old, sprang to the front at the first alarm, and remained there steadfast in defense of the Union, or fell in the cause. Of these none achieved greater eminence, or rendered more valuable service, than Gen. James D. Morgan, whose record as a soldier is a bright page in the history of the war.
Born in Boston in 1810, in 1834 he cast his fortunes with Quincy, and worked at his trade as a cooper, Edward Wells, Esq., being employed in the same shop. The following spring, in connection with the last named gentlemen, he rented a shop that stood where the jail now stands, and they thus commenced the cooperage business for themselves. We next find him engaged in the confectionery business under the Quincy House. About this time his military experiences began, and being captain of a militia company, he was ordered to Hancock county, the scone of the Mormon excitement. In 1846 he volunteered for the war with Mexico, and went immediately to the front, as captain of “A” Company, 1st Reg. Ill. Vol., commanded by the
Page 75 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
gallant Hardin. Returning to Quincy at the close of the war, in 1847, at the breaking out of the late war, he promptly enlisted in a company then being raised here, and, with a modesty proverbial of the man, accepted the position of orderly sergeant, though tendered and urged to accept a more exalted rank. Proceeding to Cairo with his company, he was at once called by the unanimous voice of the famous 10th Reg. Ill. Inf, to the position of lieutenant colonel. On the promotion of Gen. B. M. Prentiss, its colonel, to the command of a brigade, Gen. Morgan was at once advanced to the colonelcy. His regiment soon after took the field, and began its glorious career of five years service, during which time the valor and endurance of its men were tried on many an ensanguined field and weary march. Bird’s Point, New Madrid, Corinth, Mission Ridge, Chicamauga, Berton’s Hill, &c., are inscribed upon its banners, and attest the determined courage and confidence of these heroes, when led by their “old commander.” At the last named place Gen. Morgan was brevetted major general for gallant conduct. He also participated with his regiment in Sherman’s famous march to the sea, and retired from the army with a record that will bear comparison with any of the veterans, whose achievements have inscribed their names upon the roll of honor, and won the admiration of the nation. For over four years Gen. Morgan was with his regiment all the time, asking for no leave of absence and accepting none, but ever present with his men, devoted to their welfare, and zealous in their behalf. No commander was ever more beloved and idolized, and none ever reciprocated that affection more generously than he.
Page 76 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
These were the achievements of war; but successful as has been Gen. Morgan in military affairs, his civil career has been not less marked and interesting. A partner for twenty-five years in the firm of C. M. Pomroy & Co., doing an extensive business in packing pork, he also took an active interest in the progress of the city, and has given generously of his time and wealth to advance many of our public enterprises. One of the first to enlist our citizens in the project of introducing gas into the city, also a moving spirit in building the great “Rink,” and the stately Opera House, he has been no less active in behalf of others of a more extensive character, such as railroads, steamboat lines, &e.
A man of genial temperament, quiet, but energetic and confident, Gen. Morgan has no superior as a business man, while as a part of the social and moral element of Quincy, he is invaluable.
Page 77 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
ST. MARY’S HOSPITAL.
Hospitals are perhaps the last institutions in the world that people in the course of their wanderings would dream of visiting. There seems a natural aversion upon the part of humanity to gaze upon others in distress or sickness, or witness the operation of ills, to which they are heirs. Of the native instinct that bids us to keep aloof from the sick and distressed, we are not to speak, but, on the contrary, our object is to speak of an institution, in the success of which all our citizens have an abiding interest, and which is a noble monument to the cause of charity.
A little over two years ago a small delegation of Sisters of Charity visited Quincy from a neighboring city for the purpose of determining the feasibility of erecting here a hospital where the sick and distressed of every clime and creed would find a home in their troubles, and be cared for and nursed by kind Sisters, who, self-sacrificingly, had devoted their lives to this charitable work. A brief visit satisfying them that our people, ever generous and open-hearted, were charitably disposed, they at once decided upon erecting here a hospital equal to the wants of our flourshing city. Ground was at once obtained at a reasonable price on Broadway, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets, on the south side, and after the good Sisters of St. Francis had, from donations and collections received
Page 78 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
here and elsewhere, accumulated a sum sufficient to encourage them in the success of their enterprise, they at once began the erection of the building.
Plans were advertised for, and one best suited to the tastes and ideas of the proper committee, was fixed upon as the model for the building. The present structure is the result of the designs. Its exterior appearance surpasses almost every other building in the city, and we doubt whether the State furnishes an edifice constructed for a like sum that presents half as imposing an appearance. Three stories high with cut stone basement under the entire building, and a Mansard roof surmounting the whole, it towers up grand and lofty on Broadway, one of the most desirable streets in the city. Before describing the interior we will state that it was built at a cost of $35,000, which considering the style and dimensions of the structure, was very cheap.
The interior of this, like all institutions of its kind, is the most interesting feature as we are thus enabled to observe the practical operations to which it is devoted.
The first floor of the hospital is divided up into seven spacious apartments: the first of which that attracts the attention of the visitor, is the neat and pleasant reception room immediately to the right of the entrance; a few steps further on, and we find a pair of comfortably but not gorgeously furnished parlors—a drug store and reading room, also occupy a portion of this floor, and are each model departments. Besides these are rooms for the sisters, and a few apartments for the sick.
The second floor is almost exclusively used for patients.
Page 79 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
On the third floor the arrangements are somewhat different from the second, owing to the fact that it is devoted to the use of female invalids. In addition to the ordinary apartments there is on this floor a large and well ventilated room, which is used as a sewing department.
The fourth floor, which is under the Mansard roof, is a fine airy story, and is divided into wash rooms, baggage rooms, &c. Every floor has a neat and well arranged bath room, with all the modern appliances and improvements and water closets.
The basement contains the kitchen and dining rooms and is also high and airy. A furnace for heating the entire house with hot air is also located here. In every story and every department the hospital is complete, and with its neat and cosy furniture, its sanded floors and polished paint tells of the industry and taste of the sisters in charge.
Although the institution is under the immediate control of the Catholics, and has a chapel for the use of those who profess that faith, still, of the occupants of the institution there are Episcopalians, Methodists, &c., and those professing no faith. They are all furnished with good moral reading, but no undue influence is brought to bear upon patients to convert them to the faith of the sisters in charge.
Page 80 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
SADDLES AND HARNESS.
There is scarcely a street in Quincy that does not boast an immense saddle and harness establishment; and large numbers of men are employed here in this line of manufacturing. The goods turned out are of the best material, and manufactured in a style that for workmanship and durability is not to be excelled. A large section of the west is supplied from these establishments, and orders come here constantly from the most extreme Southern States. During the war an extensive business in the manufacture of army equipments was carried on here, and our colossal factories and shops were alive with employees—several firms having as high as two hundred hands at work. With the close of the war business again sought its legitimate channels, and a consequent reduction in employees followed at all these establishments. Since then a fair trade has been carried on, and the prospect is encouraging for a rapid increase from this time forward.
At present the following firms are engaged in the manufacture of saddles, harness &e. :—S. L. Taylor ; Boon & Tillson ; Campbell Bros.; H. Head, Sr.; B. Koch & Son ; H. Messerschmidt ; X. Neumann ; Scheiner & Kreitz ; Smith & Starling ; Henry Steinkamp ; Taylor & Co.; A. B. Wilhelm; Jacob Metz ; T. H. Musser.
These firms employ 180 hands, and do an annual business in manufacturing of $233,400.
Page 81 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
ENOCH COMSTOCK, LEADING MANUFACTURER,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
Eminent as has been the success of’ our citizens in commerce, finances and statesmanship, it was reserved for her to reach the acme of her fame through the achievements of her manufacturers. While her extensive factories, dusky foundries, and stately mills have added largely to our wealth as a city, they have also been the scenes of the struggles and triumphs of many of our most valuable citizens.
Prominent among those who have devoted themselves successfully to building up our manufacturing interests, stands the subject of this sketch, Enoch Comstock, Esq.
A native of Massachusetts, in 1837 Mr. Comstock came west, and located in Quincy, opening a small tinshop on the site of the handsome block recently erected by I. V. W. Dutcher, Esq. Three hundred dollars comprised the capital with which he commenced business. The spring following, Allen Comstock, a brother, arrived from the east, and together, under the name of Comstock & Co., they commenced the stove and tinware business. Continuing in this business until 1850, Mr.
Page 82 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
Allen Comstock embarked in the enterprise of manufacturing stoves, opening a foundry, with Frederick Collins, Esq., as a partner. This arrangement was however of short duration—the foundry and store soon consolidating, under the proprietorship and management of the original firm of Comstock & Co. The business was operated thus until 1860, when the loss of over $30,000 by the revulsions of 1857-8, made it necessary to increase the capital in order to operate profitably and successfully. Messrs. F. Collins, T. H. Castle, and C. H. Winn were then induced to take an interest, and the business was again continued under the firm name of Collins, Comstock & Co, and under the same able management. This firm was dissolved by limitation on the 1st day of February, 1869. Re-organizing the firm at this date, with Enoch Comstock as senior member it continued the extensive and increasing business with the same skill and sagacity that characterized its predecessors; and to-day, it is if possible more prosperous and active than ever. With a foundry equal in size to any in the west, and not surpassed any where for accommodations and conveniences; with a force of nearly two hundred hands constantly at work, and with a vast territory to supply with the products of their establishments, we venture little in stating that few firms anywhere have as brilliant prospects before them as Comstock, Castle & Co.
During the last nine years, their trade has grown to magnificent proportions, and the demands upon them have been so heavy and constant, that they have been compelled to make repeated additions to their foundry, and enlarge its capacity, until the present time, when
Page 83 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
we find the company prepared to melt with ease 1,800 tons per year.
Nor has this been all; while this company has brought success and wealth to those who organized it, it has also accomplished much for Quincy. Bringing here hundreds of citizens, and affording them employment at liberal wages, it has also been the means of introducing us abroad, and thus attracting many to Quincy as a base of supplies. Here too has been built up one of the great stove markets of the country, for which we are indebted to the energy and enterprise of the Messrs. Comstock, who have struggled for years to accomplish that desired consummation.
Although long years in the traces, and ever active and industrious as a business man, still Mr. Comstock is to-day a comparatively young man, full of life and energy, and destined to long service in the extensive business he has been so prominent in building up.— Genial and sociable, enterprising and public spirited, Quincy has no more estimable and valuable citizen than Enoch Comstock.
Page 84 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
ICE.
The ice interest of Quincy has within a few years loomed up into magnificent proportions, absorbing a large amount of capital, and giving employment to a large number of men every season. Upwards of twenty firms are now packing or dealing in ice at this point, and a commendable degree of activity is displayed in the business. The quality of the ice packed here is equal to any furnished in the country. It is cut principally in Quincy Bay, which shoots off from the Mississippi, and extends north about one mile, where the “Crystal Springs” pour their limpid and translucent waters into it. In the vicinity of these springs are built the principal ice houses of the city, and here the most extensive packing is done. The ice cut in this vicinity is usually from sixteen to twenty inches in thickness. No clearer, purer, or more solid ice than is taken out here is to be found, and being packed in an admirable manner, it meets with a prompt sale at good figures. The amount annually packed is upwards of 50,000 tons; and this business, which a few years since was monopolized by a single house, employing a dozen hands, and two or three teams, has grown to colossal proportions, absorbing a vast amount of capital, and employing hundreds of hands and teams. Much of the ice put up here is shipped south during the summer, and our southern patrons find it superior to any that reaches them. The men engaged in this enterprise are all active and energetic, and are destined to still greater success than they have yet achieved.
Page 85 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
HENRY ROOT, ESC., PRESIDENT UNION BANK,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
It is perhaps fortunate for Quincy, that none, or at least but few, of her prominent citizens acquired their wealth, or any portion of the same, by inheritance.— With scarce an exception, all those who have made their mark in law, commerce, or finance here, commenced the struggle of life with energy, industry, and a fair share of ability only, to guarantee them success in the strife for fortune and happiness.
Of this class was Henry Root, Esq., now President, of the Union Bank of Quincy, one of our wealthiest and most influential citizens. A native of Canada, at the early age of twenty he decided to make the United States his home, and came to Chicago in 1836. From there he went to St. Louis, and to Palmyra, Mo., and in 1840 arrived in Quincy, with a capital amounting to a little less than one dollar. Having however good credit, he at once embarked in the mercantile business, selling goods also at auction. Continuing in this line for a short period, he associated with him James Fisher, and went into the regular mercantile business, under the firm name of Root & Fisher. Disposing of
Page 86 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
his interest in the firm in 1847, Mr. Root accepted the sutlership of a regiment raised for the United States army in Mexico, commanded by Col. E. W. B. Newby, and proceeded with it to Santa Fe. Returning to Quincy in 1848, in 1849 he went to New Orleans, and made a heavy purchase of sugar and molasses, which was shipped up the river, and arrived at St. Louis just in time to be destroyed by the great fire of that year.— Effecting a compromise with the insurance companies, by which he secured one-half the insurance money, he again returned to Quincy, and resumed the mercantile business, with N. T. Lane as a partner. At the expiration of two years he purchased the interest of Mr. Lane in the establishment, and conducted it alone through an uninterrupted career of prosperity until 1865, when he disposed of the same and retired from mercantile life.
In 1867, Mr. Root purchased one-sixth interest in the Illinois State Penitentiary, and subsequently acquired four-sixths of that institution, but the same year surrendered his entire interest to the State.
Realizing in common with many leading citizens the necessity for greater banking facilities in Quincy, in 1869 Mr. Root, in connection with other capitalists of our city, established the Union Bank of Quincy, of which he was elected President, and which commenced operations under the most favorable auspices the present year. A man of ripe sagacity and rare judgment, thoroughly versed in the finances and commerce of the country, Quincy affords no citizen better calculated to manage the affairs of a bank with mutual satisfaction and profit to patrons and stockholders.
Page 87 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
As a citizen, Mr. Root has been second to none in public spirit and enterprise, and after a business career of nearly thirty years, he enjoys the friendship and esteem of the entire community. Pleasant and inviting in conversation, generous and genial in appearance and disposition, his social qualities are as marked as his business sagacity.
Page 88 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
THE RINK.
FINEST BUILDING OF THE KIND IN AMERICA.
Some eighteen months ago Mr. J. B. Thompson, of the firm of Hervey, Johnson & Co., patentees and sole builders of Hervey’s Patent Skating Rink, arrived in Quincy, with a view to enlisting our citizens in the enterprise of ‘erecting in this city a skating rink, to exceed in size and magnificence any similar establishment in America. He knew the reputation of our citizens for pride, ambition and energy, and knew how to present the matter in a form that would most probably secure favorable consideration from those who could provide means to make the enterprise a success. At first he had some difficulty in securing the earnest attention of our capitalists, but at length they were satisfied that the rink was an institution neeped by the public, and that it would pay. When this conclusion was arrived at, it took no time at all to secure subscriptions of stock to the amount of $15,000. The stock holders at once formed a permanent organization by the election of Gen. J. D. Morgan, President, C. H. Bull, Vice President, and Thomas T. Woodruff Secretary and Treasurer. These gentlemen, together with Messrs William McFadden, C. E. Whitmore, E. J. Parker, J. B. Thompson, Col. Chas. H. Morton, and Gen. Wm. A. Schmitt, constitute the present Board of Directors. In the election,
Page 89 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
which was held one hundred and sixty shares were represented in the vote. The Board having appointed the President and Messrs Bull and McFadden a building committee, they, the committee, proceeded at once to secure a site for the building, and succeeded in leasing on good terms the property on Ninth and Jersey streets, and contracted with Messrs. Hervey, Johnson & Co., for the erection of a suitable building. The work was commenced at once, and progressed rapidly and steadily under the immediate supervision of Mr. J. H. A. Hervey, by whom, also, the very handsome rinks at St. Louis, Chicago and Cincinnati were erected. The build-ing is located 105 feet from the corner of Jersey street, and is two hundred and forty feet in length by eighty-five in width, and forty-eight in height. The floor or ice surface is 178 by 71 feet, giving about 13,000 square feet of ice. The ice bed a perfectly smooth and level surface of blue clay. The wells on the ground together with the springs on the high ground in the vicinity of the rink furnish an ample supply of water at all times. The water is conveyed from the springs in pipes. By this arrangement they are able to flood the whole building with water at a few moments notice. When the ice is once formed it lasts a long time, a single inch of ice on a blue clay bed furnishing good skating to hundreds of persons for sometimes six weeks at a stretch.
The arrangements for light, ventilation, &c., in the building are very complete. On each side there are two tiers of windows, the lower tier having thirteen windows, with twelve lights in each. The upper one in the cupola has the same number of windows, with
Page 90 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
twenty-four lights in each. In the front are twelve windows with twelve lights each, and four circular windows, making in all twelve hundred panes of glass in the building. When illuminated on a winter night with one hundred and forty jets of gas, the building presents a gay and most animating spectacle. In the center of the east end of the edifice there is a gallery of appropriate dimensions for the use of the musicians. Around the entire room is a promenade seven feet in width. Two rows of seats are arranged along this fine walk, capable of accommodating at least six hundred people. The ice bed is about three feet below this, access thereto being afforded by means of a stairway at each corner. The main apartment is indeed a grand room, lofty and spacious, and with something of the sublime in the vast and beautiful arched roof, quite unobstructed by unsightly beams and timbers, the vast space being spanned only by a few iron rods, which are not really necessary, but are put there to gratify the imagination of the people, and allay any fears as to the strength and safety of the roof.
The principal entrance to the rink is on Ninth street by a large double door. The entrance hall is twelve by eight feet, upon one side of the Director’s room and ticket office with two windows. Next to that is the ladies’ parlor, which is twenty-two by twelve feet in size, and is elegantly furnished. Adjoining this is a dressing and wash room, supplied with all things necessary for arranging the toilet. The gentleman’s parlor is the same size as the other.
The outside of the building is covered with two coats of drab paint, and is ornamented by a rich cornice.
Page 91 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
The roof is a perfect arch, the spans supporting it being two semi-circles, eighty-four feet in diameter.
In the lower part of the sides of the building are the windows or doors for ventilation or freezing the air, passing through them under the promenade, and into the main hall under the ice, thereby making the temperature the same in all parts of the room,
The grounds were leased to the association for five years, at a rental of six per cent, of the value of the ground which is $35 per foot, with the privilege of purchasing at these figures any time within five years.
Thus by the spirit and enterprise of a number of our leading citizens, Quincy secured a place of resort for the young and old of our city, where the exhilarating pastime of skating is indulged with every security of life, and also with a management that provides such restrictions and regulations as will guard the moral and social atmosphere surrounding the same. We know of no institution better calculated to enhance the pleasures of life in Quincy than this, and therefore mention it with pride.
Page 92 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
CHARLES A. SAVAGE, PRES’T Q. M. & P. R. R.,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
Quincy is vastly indebted to her railway system for much that she is and expects to be. True, she had the grand old Mississippi flowing before her to the sea; but this great artery of commerce, while it is invaluable as an auxiliary to prosperity, was not sufficient to advance our city with the rapidity that has attended its growth. Our railroads have without doubt been the most potent in forwarding our city in commerce and manufactures, and we naturally turn to the men who have been prominent in conceiving and constructing them.
Foremost among them stands Charles A Savage, President of the Quincy, Missouri & Pacific Railroad.
A native of Maine, Mr. Savage after graduating at Bowdoin College, in 1837, and being admitted to the bar at Bangor, in 1839; came to Quincy in the latter year, being then 24 years of age. Admitted to the bar here, he promptly set to work, and soon after received the appointment of Illinois agent of the Munn Illinois Land Company, in which capacity, and in a general land agency, he continued to a recent date.
In the year 1848, the old State Bank of Illinois hav-
Page 93 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
ing closed up its business, and there being no institution furnishing banking facilities on the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Mr. Savage, in company with Newton Flagg and I. O. Woodruff, established a banking house, and continued in that business for many years. A man of powerful mind, and great foresight, he early saw the importance of making Quincy the center of the railroad system that was seeking connection with the Mississippi. One of the original movers in the project of building the Quincy & Toledo, Quincy & Palmyra, and the Quincy & Chicago railroads, he was for a number of years President of the first, Director of the second up to its consolidation with the Hannibal & St. Joe, and for a long period treasurer of the third.
With others Mr. Savage organized the Meredosia Bridge Company, to bridge the Illinois River for railroad purposes, and was president of that company.— With other prominent citizens of Quincy he also took the initiatory steps in the organization of the Quincy Railroad Bridge Companies of Missouri and Illinois, and was one of the first Directors. After their consolidation he was chosen Secretary of the Company, and continued as such until the final completion of the grand structure which now spans the Mississippi River at this point.
Such is a brief record of the activity displayed by Charles A. Savage, in enterprises that have now become successful, and are monuments of his sagacity and foresight; but in others now being projected, with the most encouraging prospects of early completion, he has been if anything more active and zealous than in the former.
Page 94 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
Within the past two years he has filled the position of Secretary of the Quincy & Warsaw Railroad; has been President of the Quincy, Alton & St. Louis Railway Company, has acted as Director of the Toledo, Wabash & Western, and is now as we have said, President of the Quincy, Missouri & Pacific Railway.
Moreover, Mr. Savage, although devoting much of his time to enterprises such as the above, has been second to none in his zeal for the moral and social advancement of Quincy. A christian gentleman of the noblest type, he has munificently aided the charitable, educational and religious institutions of our city, and has at all times been the friend of science and art.
Of pleasant and affable address, of rare judgment and thorough business qualifications, a deep thinker and sagacious observer, he wields a large influence with the leading men of Quincy, and is admired and esteemed by all who know him.
Page 95 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS.
Where such an extent of rare farming land is to be found, the manufacture of agricultural implements and machines, ought certainly to meet with success, and be carried forward on a large scale. We regret to admit that in this respect Quincy has not developed her energies as rapidly as in other departments of manufactures. True, those engaged in this branch are among the most enterprising and active of our manufacturers, but there are not enough of them to give our city eminence as a manufacturing mart for agricultural machines and implements. Whatever is undertaken here is energetically carried on, and those who have embarked in this branch of manufactures have been successful beyond their most sanguine anticipations.
We have now three firms engaged in turning out work in this line, and they find little difficulty in competing with other localities. They employ annually a large number of hands, pay liberal wages, and turn out work that for finish, durability and use are not excelled anywhere.
These firms are Joshua S. Wood & Co.; W. T. & E. A. Rogers; and Battell & Collins.
The two latter firms do an extensive business in the manufacture and sale of all kinds of plows, and are busy the year round filling orders.
Page 96 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
The firm of Joshua S. Wood & Co. is engaged in a specialty; manufacturing only the celebrated Vandiver Corn Planter. In this they have been vastly successful. Commencing work in 1865, their sales in that year amounted to only 550. In 1866 they increased to 800, in 1867 to 1,100, and the present year it will require over 2000 to fill their orders.
This firm employs a capital of $50,000, and works 80 hands.
Page 97 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
HON. C. A. WARREN,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
The bar of Adams County, it is well known, has been prolific of great legal minds: but of all the gifted and erudite lawyers who have been prominent in our courts, none have been more eminent for ability and versatility than the subject of this sketch.
Hon. Calvin A. Warren was born in New York, in 1807, and first saw the light of day in a Court House, his father being sheriff of the county; which, considering the events since transpiring, and the ardor with which he has devoted himself to the law, to say the least, forms a singular coincidence. Receiving a common school education, at an early age he entered a printing office in the capacity of “devil,” and continued in that position until he perfected himself in the art, and was rewarded with a case. Soon after he obtained employment in the Spectator office, at Salem, New York, and there for several months worked side by side with Horace Greely, of the New York Tribune, who has since, won such fame as an editor and politician. While following the vocation of printer, Mr. Warren devoted himself also assiduously to the study of law, and in 1828-9, retiring from the case, he proceeded to Hamp-
Page 98 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
shire, N. Y., and assumed the editorial management of the Hampshire Sentinel and Farmers’ Journal. Here he remained until 1830, when in connection with his brother, A. Warren, he published the Palladium, at West Troy, N. Y. An uncompromising democrat, he soon after removed to Ballston Spa, Saratoga County, and established another paper in the interest of that party; but the entire establishment being destroyed by fire, in the following spring, he associated with one of the proprietors of the Spectator, and established a paper at Belchester, N. Y. In 1833, after a varied career in the newspaper business, he entered Transylvania Law University, at Lexington, Kentucky, where he graduated with high honors in the latter part of 1834. He received his first diploma the same year from the Supreme Court of Ohio, and commenced the practice of law at Batavia, in that State, with Thomas Morris, (father of Hon. I. N. Morris, of this city, and afterwards United States Senator from Ohio,) as a partner. Resolving to seek a home further west, in 1836 Mr. Warren came to this city, and after practicing law one year, removed to Warsaw, where he remained until 1839, when he returned to Quincy, and formed a law partnership with James H. Ralston, which continued some two years.— Almeron Wheat, Esq., then associated with the firm, which now flourished under the style of Ralston, Warren & Wheat. Upon the dissolution of this firm, Mr. Warren associated with Hon. O. C. Skinner, continuing with him until that gentleman was elected Supreme Judge, when he formed a partnership with George Edmonds, Jr., of Hancock County. This partnership lasted for several years, when Mr. Edmonds moving to
Page 99 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
Hancock County, Mr. Warren associated with Hon. Alexander E. Wheat, his present partner. An almost unprecedented career of success has attended this firm, and they have been engaged in most of the celebrated cases that have transpired in our courts for a number of years.
Returning to the time Col. Warren lived in Warsaw, we find that he owned one-third of all the land on which that city now stands; also owned and controlled the first hotel and livery stable, and started the first brick yard there. He also conducted a large store, supplying not only the citizens of Warsaw and the surrounding country, but also the Indians for many miles around, with goods, amunition, &c. Abont this time he also chartered a steamer at Cincinnati, and loading it with an assorted cargo, made a successful trip around to Warsaw. Buying a large farm, he also managed that, but several bad seasons blasted his hopes in this line.
In 1855 he returned to Quincy and embarked in manufacturing, building an extensive furniture factory near the site where the Union Passenger Depot now stands. Scarcely was this completed when it was destroyed by fire, involving a loss upon the owner of $30,000. Not discouraged, however, he at once proceeded to replace the building consumed, and immediately erected the large building now occupied by Harris, Beebe & Co., on Fifth and Ohio streets. Here he resumed the manufacture of furniture, but the crash of 1857 coming on, the enterprise proved unsuccessful.
Thus have we noted many of the events in the career of Calvin A. Warren, as an editor, merchant, farmer,
Page 100 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
and manufacturer. His achievements as a lawyer have however been more marked, and this profession has been the crowning success of his life.
A man of versatile talent, quick wit and shrewd judgment, he seems molded for success in every department of law—while the same rare gifts have made him also a prominent feature of the social element of Quincy.
Page 101 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
THE QUINCY RAILROAD BRIDGE.
A STUPENDOUS ENTERPRISE—A GREAT ENGINEERING
TRIUMPH.
In view of the great and extending interests of the western trade, the importance of an uninterrupted railway crossing of the Mississippi, which would overcome the difficulties of low water in summer, and of the ice blockade of winter, was long appreciated by the enterprising city of Quincy. Her sagacious business men foresaw the gigantic inter-oceanic trade that seeking an east and west transit on an unbroken line, would tolerate no intermediate department, and would subject to its iron sway the mountain, the desert, and the river. Rising superior to mere local views, and in the interests of universal commerce, as well as to make secure their admirable location on the future highway, they invited public attention to the superior facilities for bridging the Mississippi at Quincy. As early as 1855, a charter for this purpose, drafted by Col. Samuel Holmes, one of the earliest friends of the measure, and pressed by a large number of public spirited citizens, was obtained from the State Legislature. The crisis of 1857, and the absorbing and protracted civil war which subsequently
Page 102 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
intervened, prevented however the prosecution of the project, and the charter was suffered to expire by limitation. Its old friends and advocates, prominent among whom may be named without invidiousness Ex-Gov. Wood, C. A. Savage, N. Bushnell, J. M. Pitman, Col. S. Holmes, and Thos. Redmond, still fondly cherished their enterprising conception, and at the session of 1864-5, Mr. Redmond, at that time a representative from Adams County, succeeded in procuring a re-enactment of the act of incorporation from the Legislature of Illinois. The sanction of the National Government being deemed of the utmost importance, the task of securing it was devolved on Ex-Gov. John Wood, the founder and patriarch of the city, to whose liberality and public spirit it owes a large measure of its prosperity, and to whose national as well as local reputation in connection with the history of Illinois and the war for the Union, his exalted patriotism, sterling integrity of character, and tireless energy in the prosecution of the important trust committed to him, Quincy is indebted for this grand and crowning contribution to her advancement, his great influence, and faithful and persevering efforts having been chiefly instrumental in obtaining the passage of the requisite act of Congress in face of the most formidable and persisteut opposition from rival interests. The incorporators under the act were John Wood, Samuel Holmes, James M. Pitman, and N. Bushnell, and the charter thus obtained, of the amplest character, granting equal privileges to all railroads, present or future, to avail themselves of any bridge constructed under its provisions on just and impartial terms, and also carefully guarding the important interests of navigation.
Page 103 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
The important prerequisite of obtaining both State and National sanction having been triumphantly achieved, the next step was to secure the realization of the project. To this end was invited the co-operation of the three railroads having termini in Quincy—the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Toledo, Wabash & Western, and the Hannibal & St. Joseph, and after several conferences, an arrangement was happily perfected in November, 1866, between the incorporators and the managers of the roads named, under which a union of their joint energies and efforts was effected for the prosecution of the great enterprise. Under this arrangement the Bridge Company was at once organized with N. Bushnell, of Quincy, James F. Joy, President of the C. B. & Q. R. R., Warren Colburn, Vice President T. W. & W. R. W., E. A. Chapin, Gen. Sup’t T. W. & W. R, W., and John Lathrop, Treasurer H. & St. Jo. R. R., as Directors, who at a subsequent meeting perfected the organization by the appointment of the following officers: Nehemiah Bushnell, President; Warren Colburn, Vice President; Charles A. Savage, Secretary; Amos T. Hall, Treasurer, and Newton Flagg, Assistant Treasurer and General Agent.
It was determined by the Company that the bridge they were organized to construct should be a model structure, perfect, solid, permanent, and in every way worthy of its important position on the great thoroughfare of the world’s commerce. To this end the first engineering talent of America was invoked, and after due and careful deliberation, the conception and execution of the mighty work was entrusted to the following able and experienced board of engineers: Warren Col-
Page 104 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
burn, consulting engineer; Thomas C. Clarke, chief engineer; Col. E. D. Mason, first assistant engineer and superintendent of construction; and George Wolcott and H. H. Killaly, assistant engineers.
In devising the plan for the proposed bridge, several important considerations were involved requiring more than usual deliberation, and the employment of the best engineering skill. The river to be spanned was broad and capricious, noted for the general swiftness of its current, which rose to impetuosity during high water, and when concentered within its channel bounds during the low stages, for its immense masses of floating ice and the frequent terrific disruption of vast ice-gorges at the breaking up in the spring, for its shifting sands and for its increasing tendency to abrade and wear away its banks. Of paramount importance moreover, was the necessity of paying due regard to the interests of navigation, and in view of the disasters of which other bridges on the river had been the prolific cause, to use every possible precaution against similar accidents, and by providing ample, easy, and secure passage way for the customary water craft, obviate the well-founded apprehensions which had hitherto existed in the minds of river men in regard to bridging the Mississippi. To accommodate opposing interests, as well as to overcome natural obstacles and impediments, in a spirit of liberality and enterprise which reflects favorably on American railway management, and is well worthy of the great corporations chiefly interested, and of the magnitude of the duty they had undertaken, the Bridge Company gave their engineer corps a carte blanche as to cost, limited only by the accom-
Page 105 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
plishment fully, perfectly, and completely, of all the objects to be attained. With what ability, faithfulness and success these instructions were fulfilled, and with what wise economy in view of the great ends accomplished the work was consummated, the grand structure is itself a noble witness, and may be claimed with just pride by its constructors, as the most perfect and successful enterprise of its class in the United States.
The extreme care in regard to the river interests is evidenced by the location of the bridge with special reference to the steamboat channel, all diagonalism having been avoided and the most perfect and complete parallel to the flow of the current having been established by persistent triangulation. The success in this respect has been marked as well as satisfactory, as proved by the facility with which the largest class of steamboats have made the passage since its completion over one year ago, and, together with the faithful compliance with the act of congress in respect to the height of bridge above the highest known water, the spacious and perfectly manageble draw-bridge, the ample space between the more important piers on the channel side of the river, and the extra span of 200 feet on the east shore especially allowed for rafting purposes during high water in compliance with request, although involving a change of plan after the work was in progress, proved the liberal and accommodating spirit of the company and elicited unanimous and unqualified commendation from every class of the river trade.
In determining upon the important point of the site of the bridge a thorough scientiffic exploration was made of both banks of the river for the distance of two
Page 106 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
miles from the extreme northern to the southern limits of the city, which finally resulted in the present admirable location, the superiority of which, everything considered, has been fully demonstrated in the completion and success of the enterprise. The point at which the great crossing leaves the Quincy side is at the foot of Spruce street, in the northwest part of the city, where the intervention of the bay and island dlvided the distance to be overcome into comparatively easy sections, where the west bank presented the most elevated and eligible point, and where soundings established a solid rock bottom in the channel of the river for the all-important main or pivot pier. The great or main bridge, spanning the river from the island to the west bank, is 3185 feet in length. Its superstructure is of iron of the Pratt Truss, which years of trial has proved to be the best form for strength, durability and lightness. It rests upon nineteen piers of best quality of first class cut stone masonry. The foundation of all the water piers, except the centre or pivot pier, is of piles driven to refusal and cut off eight feet below low water. The foundation of the pivot pier is the solid rock in the bed of the river. The foundation of piles is supported by a filling of concrete to their top, on which is first placed a solid platform of a triple thickness of twelve-inch timbers, laid diagonally and firmly bolted together, on which five feet below the lowest known water, commences the cut stone masonry, the bottom course of 2-foot stone, 12 feet in breadth by 40 feet in length, the second course of 20-inch stone, some 6 inches less in dimension, thence battiring of 7 feet breadth by 20 feet in length to the bridge seat. The foundation of the centre pier
Page 107 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
consists of four caissons of best sheet iron about forty feet long and fourteen feet in diameter, placed within cribs and sunk and scribed to the rock, 35 feet below low water, the sand being dredged out and the cavity filled with concrete to the top of caissons and within 8 feet of low water, whence the regular timber and stone foundation just described. The foundation of the piers are thoroughly rip-rapped beyond possibility of accident from any change in the bed of the river by washing. The foundation of pier No. 1, situated on the west bank of the river, 30 feet from the water edge, was formed by driving sheet piling, tongued and grooved, 20 feet below surface, enclosing a space of 30×40 feet, in the excavation of which the abutment was built. The opposite shore abutment, on the island, has a precisely similar foundation. The distance from first to second pier is 250 feet, thence 181 feet to third or pivot pier, thence 181 feet to pier No. 4, thence 250 feet to pier 5, then two spans of 200 feet to No. 7, thence 11 spans of 157 feet, and concluding with a span of 200 feet, to the island on the east shore.
The pivot is 362 feet in length, with a 30-foot turntable operated by stationary steam power, supported by the main pier, and its ends when open rest on an equidistant outside pier above and below, the upper one of which is protected by an immense ice-breaker. When the pivot is opened, the space on each side of centre pier is 160 feet in the clear. The superstructure is 15 feet wide, accommodating a single track at an elevation of 32 feet above low water, and of 12 feet above the highest known water, as prescribed by the Act of Congress.
Page 108 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
The main bridge is connected with the east bank proper by an embankment across the island of 600 feet in length, elevated to grade, thence by a trestle bridge of 400 feet across Wood’s slough, thence by 500 feet more embankment, thence over the bay by an iron drawbridge of the Bellman Truss 525 feet long, comprising 6 spans, and with foundations and piers of same character as those in the river. A side track on a heavy embankment, commencing on Chestnut street and extending 1800 feet with a curve, connects the grand crossing with the main track of the C. B. & Q., and T. W. & W. roads, on the east side, while a similar embankment of about three-fourths of a mile, completes the grand and unbroken connection with the R. & St. Jo. R. R. on the western bank of the river.
This gigantic enterprise was completed in October, 1868, and thus with the subsequent completion of the great Pacific Railroad, affords an unbroken route by rail from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast; giving Quincy advantages and facilities enjoyed by no interior city of the Union.
The cost of this grand structure was as follows:
Main Bridge $1,150,625 Bay Bridge 165,690 Embankments 149,756 Protecting Shores 33,930
Total, $1,500,000
While many of our leading citizens by constant agitation and untiring efforts did much to secure to Quin-
Page 109 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
cy this great work, we must not omit to award due credit to the management of the three great lines of railroad centering here, who displayed such liberality and energy in its construction, and thus served the double purpose of advancing their own interests and those of our flourishing city.
Page 110 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
HENRY P. JOSEPH RICKER ESQ., BANKER,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
There are few, if any of our citizens, who struggled more persistently or successfuly in Quincy than Henry F. Joseph Ricker, from the time of his arrival here to the present day. None made a more humble start in life, and none have achieved greater comparative wealth and prominence.
Born in Germany, in 1822, he emigrated to this country with his parents in 1839, arriving at New Orleans in December of that year. Remaining there but a few months, he proceeded to St. Louis, where he also tarried a short time, and then continued up the river to Quincy. Arriving here on the 4th day of March, 1840, he obtained employment as an ordinaay laborer from John Wood, Sr., and thus assisted his father to pay for two lots he had purchased from that gentleman.
We next find him clerking in a grocery store under the Quincy House, where he remained three years.— Subsequently he also clerked for S. & W. B. Thayer, Chas. Holmes, and Albert Daneke, until 1849, when he associated with Leopold Arntzen, and opened a dry goods and grocery store. Continuing in this for seven years with great success, he accumulated considerable
Page 111 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
means, and in 1857 embarked in the produce business. In the spring of 1858 Mr. Ricker was elected police magistrate, and re-elected in 1862. About this time he began the banking and exchange business on a small scale, also selling passage tickets to and from Europe. Shrewd and cautious, every thing he engaged in prospered, and wealth came to him surely and steadily. The Illinois banks going down about this period, he bought up considerable of what was then known as “stump tail” currency, the transaction paying him handsomely. Having the confidence of the entire community, his banking business enlarged rapidly, and in 1865, the necessity for greater facilities induced him to buy out the banking house of John Wood & Co., then located on the corner of Fifth and Maine streets. Soon after, taking in Bernard H. F. Hoene as a partner, he removed his banking house to its present site, on Hampshire street, between Fifth and Sixth, where an almost unprecedented career of success has attended the firm.
Possessed of large wealth, wielding a vast influence with the German population of our city, he has done much to develop the resources of Quincy. A man of scrupulous integrity, and untiring industry, no citizen retains the confidence and esteem of the community to a more exalted degree than Henry F. Joseph Ricker.
Page 112 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
SAW MILL.
At present Quincy boasts of but one saw mill, within its corporate limits, but this one is a model in every respect, and capable of supplying a large quantity of timber annually to the market. This large mill is admirably located on the Bay, and is owned and operated by James Arthur & Co. This is one of the most enterprising firms in the city, and they keep their mill in active operation, nearly the entire year, supplying not only the home market, but shipping also largely to points on the various railroads diverging from Quincy. There is scarcely a kind or quality of lumber or timber known to the trade but is here turned out, and our manufacturers in other departments are thus enabled to obtain material at all times, and at the most reasonable rates. The present year Messrs. Arthur & Co. have employed at their establishment 45 hands, whose monthly pay-roll averaged $2,000, and who turned out during the year 1869, about 5,000,000 feet of lumber. $100,000 is the amount of capital employed in this enterprise.
BROOM FACTORY.
One Broom factory flourishes in our city, and its proprietor is doing an excellent business in his line.— Richard Hobart is the owner.
Page 113 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
HON. ALEXANDER E. WHEAT,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
Around the bar of Quincy clusters many recollections of the great achievements of its members, and the memorable events to which they have been witness. Distinguished for their marked talent, many of the legal conflicts in which they have participated, have passed into the casus celebri of American jurisprudence. Men of giant intellects, within the dusky walls of the old court house, and beside the pine tables of less stately edifices in other sections of the state, their acute reasoning and profound logic have met as steel to steel, while the magic eloquence of their voices has on many an occasion stirred populace and jury in behalf of their clients. Beyond doubt, no body of men of equal numbers has given so many master minds to the country. Without wealth or influence, they began their career, and genial spirits as they were, made their profession a labor of love as well as necessity.
Successful has have been many of these able men, none have achieved a more deserved fame than the gifted and accomplished subject of this sketch.
Page 114 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
A native of New York, Alexander E. Wheat passed his young days on a farm with his parents, at the same time receiving a good education. Early aspiring to the law, he entered an office, and at the age of eighteen was admitted to the bar.
Young, ardent, and devoted to his profession, he came to this city and threw his modest shingle to the breeze. Faithful to the interests of his clients, and zealous for success, prosperity dawned upon him, and he soon took rank among the foremost at the bar. In 1857, he was appointed City Attorney, and in 1862, was sent to the Legislature from Adams County, becoming a marked man in that body, although one of its youngest members. Since retiring from the Legislature, Mr. Wheat has aspired to no political honors, although repeatedly urged by his friends and fellow citizens for exalted positions.
At present a member of the City Council, and a partner in the law firm of Warren & Wheat, he ranks as one of the prominent and enterprising citizens of Quincy, notwishstanding he is still a young man. A profound thinker, stout reasoner, and eloquent pleader, Alexander E. Wheat has few superiors as a lawyer, while in the social walks of life, his unassuming manners, ready flow of language and genial qualities, are no less marked.
Page 115 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
PRINTING.
Printing is carried on to a high state of perfection in our city, and nothing in this line can be turned out in better or more workmanlike style than is done at our printing establishments. Early in the history of Quincy a spirit of commendable rivalry began among the members of the craft, and the result has been, that constant improvement and progress has marked this department of manufactures. We have now in operation five printing establishments, all of which are managed by experienced and skillful printers, and as a natural result are meeting with success. The finest work known to the trade can be had here, and at rates below larger cities. A large amount of work is done annually by these houses, not only for Quincy, but also for 8 large surrounding country.
The firms now engaged in this business are :-Gilmore & Skinner; Heirs & Russell; Herald Printing Co.; Whig Printing Co.; T. M. Rogers.
They do all kinds of book, job and newspaper printing, and in every style known to first class printing houses.
HAIR WORK.
Two firms carry on the manufacture of hair work, and are doing handsomely. They are: J. C. Ottenstein and N. G. Pearsons.
Page 116 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
C. M. POMROY, PRESEDINT 1ST NATIONAL BANK,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
The subject of this sketch has had a large share in promoting the success of Quincy, and many institutions of which she may well be proud.
C. M. Pomroy was born in Massachusetts, from which State he migrated west at an early age, and located at Cincinnati. There for a short period he engaged in selling groceries, and in 1837 came to Quincy. He at once obtained employment in the pork house of Joel Rice, and continued with this gentleman until 1843, when in connection with Geo. Bond and Jas. D. Morgan he established himself in business as one of the firm of Bond, Morgan & Co. For twenty-four years this firm operated largely in pork, and the eminent success with which its extensive business was managed is a proud tribute to the sagacity and ability of its members. He was among other prominent citizens active in founding the Quincy Savings Bank, now the First National Bank—and it is but just to say that for the unprecedented success that has attended the career of that institution, it is ‘largely indebted to the prudence, judgment, and financial skill of’C. M. Pomroy. One of its first Directors, he has followed its fortunes through every stage of
Page 117 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
its existence, having filled nearly every position within the gift of the Board, and to-day, as its efficient and able President, he can in common with all those who have been instrumental in making this institution a success, look back with pride to the career of usefulness, through which it has passed, to its present pre-eminent position among the financial institutions of Quincy.
While Mr. Pomroy has thus contributed largely to the success of every firm and corporation with which he has been immediately connected, he has not been less active or efficient in promoting enterprises of a public character. Active and untiring in business, in social life he is warm, pleasant and genial, and few of Quincy’s citizens carry with them as large a share of public esteem for great and generous qualities, as C. M. Pomroy.
Page 118 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
PORK PACKING.
In the matter of pork packing, Quincy has been for various reasons retrograding for several years past.— True, there has been a decided falling off in the number of hogs raised during the same time; but this of itself would not have caused so vast a discrepancy between the amount packed this season, and seasons of packing five or six years ago. The great reason undoubtedly is to be found in the direct railroad connection many localities now have with Chicago and St. Louis, that were formerly tributary to Quincy. Both those cities being leading pork markets, it is not strange that with equal railroad and transporting facilities they have succeeded in diverting a portion of our trade in this line. But while this has been the case, we have been recompensed doubly for our loss in this particular by the marked increase in our jobbing trade and manufactures.
This season, considering that money is light everywhere, and pork extremely high, our packers have done remarkably well, displaying more or less activity about their establishments all the time. Thus far in the season they have packed about 25,000 head of hogs, but as the yield is light everywhere this year, it cannot be taken as an average winter’s work.
The following firms are engaged in packing this season :—A. J. F. Prevost ; Adams, Sawyer & Co.; C. Kathman & Co.; C. A. Vanden Boom & Co.: H. Witte, and J. Q. Adams & Co.
These firms have all extensive packing houses and are prepared to do a large business in this line.
Page 119 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
GEORGE ADAMS. ESQ., PORK PACKER,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
The subject of this sketch has not only at all times taken a decided interest in the commercial and social advancement of Quincy, but has contributed largely by his efforts to such a consummation.
George Adams was born in Maryland, in 1814, and there served an apprenticeship as a moulder. Coming to Quincy in 1842, in connection with his brother, Jas. Adams, and Milton E. Worrell, he established the Quincy Foundry, which was built on the site of the present Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Depot. He continued in this business until 1849, when the California gold mania spreading to Quincy, Mr. Adams, with others made the trip overland to the golden shores of the Pacific. After three years experience in the mines of California, Mr. Adams returned to Quincy, and established in connection with James Adams the firm of G. & J. Adams, buying and shipping grain, and also packing pork during the winter season. This firm was afterwards changed to Adams, Sawyer & Co., but under all circumstances, and under whatever name it has operated, it has met with flattering success, and has resulted in large profits to its members. This uninterrupted
Page 120 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
success is attributable to the cautious and able management of Mr. Adams and brother, who at all times directed the affairs of the firm. Mr. Adams is now the senior member of the firm of J. Q. Adams & Co., engaged in the same line, and doing an extensive business.
Devoting himself assiduously to his business at all times, he has also given largely of his time to forward public enterprises—and within the last year has by his efforts done much towards the success of the Quincy, Missouri & Pacific Railroad, of which he is now one of the Directors, and a most ardent friend.
A thorough gentleman. in every acceptation of the term, and one who has bee n a substantial friend of the religious and educational institutions of Quincy, Mr. Adams is the peer of any of oar citizens, in the esteem and admiration of the public.
Page 121 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
RECTIFIERS.
In addition to having here two extensive distilleries, we have also a number of rectifying establishments, which are managed by experienced and reliable firms. They do an extensive business in rectifying and purifying liquors, and employ a large amount of capital in the business. These rectifying establishments are attached to the wholesale liquor houses of the city, and the liquors manufactured thus go to supply the demand from the city and also the adjacent points in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa. The following are the firms now engaged in this line :—
Adamy & Levi; S. Berger & Co.; W. Karp: R. W. Nance & Co.; John Altmix & Bro.; F. W. Hackmann ; John Meyer & Co.; Sengen, Willi & Co.
SODA FACTORIES.
Two factories for the manufacture of soda are in operation here, and turn out a very excellent quality of the same. The firms are :—Durholt & Co,, and Boschulte & Knauf.
In this business capital is employed to the amount of
$18,000.
Page 122 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
JUDGE THOMAS J. MITCHELL,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
Thomas J. Mitchell, present Judge of the County Court of Adams County, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1831. As early as 1835 his parents came to Quincy, and near here young Mitchell passed his boyhood on a farm. Arriving at maturity he embarked in merchandizing, which he pursued successfully until the breaking out of the war in 1861, when he entered the army as a private in the 3d Missouri Cavalry. He was not destined to remain long in a subordinate position however, and we soon find him 1st Lieutenant, then Captain, and finally Major of his regiment. Possessed in a large degree of all those qualities of head and heart that won all with whom he came in contact, Maj. Mitchell in addition to being the idol of his regiment, became at once one of the most popular officers of the army. Devoted to the cause in which he was engaged, he was ever active and faithful in the discharge of his duties. With the exception of being captured at Charlotte Bluff, Mo., in a cavalry charge, he passed through the war unharmed, and retired in 1865 with an enviable reputation as a gallant and humane officer.
Returning to Quincy the same year, he was nominat-
Page 123 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
ed by the Republican party for County Judge, and although the county is strongly democratic, was elected on his great personal popularity. In 1869, his term having expired, he was re-nominated, and although herculean efforts were made to defeat him, his personal popularity again triumphed, and he continues for another term of four years, as County Judge, in which position his uniform kindness, thorough integrity, and faithful discharge of duties, have won for him the highest encomiums.
Page 124 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
FURNITURE.
In no department of manufactures have Quincy mechanics achieved greater success than in the manufacture of furniture. For years we have manufactured extensively in this line, and the furniture turned out at our factories has met with a ready sale in all the surrounding states. Many of the firms now engaged in this branch have been at it for a long period, and while they have made it pay, they have also given universal satisfaction to their patrons. The very best material for this kind of work is obtained here in abundance, and with a large force of excellent mechanics, under experienced management, is all that is necessary to insure success.
The following firms are now engaged in the manufacture of furniture :—F. W. Jansen & Son; F. Duker; Elrott & Jochem; Schutte & Co.; F. Senger; and Henry A. Vanden Boom & Co.
These firms employ 85 hands, and turn out annually $193,600 worth of furniture. The capital invested amounts to $83,000.
ORGANS.
Recently Messrs. Witney & Holmes embarked here in the manufacture of organs, at which they are having decided success. Their instruments are of excellent make, and in tone and finish will compare with those of eastern manufacture. They have already built up an extensive trade.
Page 125 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
WM. STEINWEDELL, LEADING MERCHANT,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
While much has been accomplished for our city by the shrewd and energetic men who came here in-early days from the eastern and middle states, it must not be forgotten that the foreign element has contributed vastly to the prosperity and advancement of Quincy.— German and Irish citizens have been not only active, but also prominent in every department of art and trade, and have by their thrift and enterprise, added wealth and power to our city.
Prominent among the German citizens of Quincy, on account of his thorough business qualifications, and also for the influence he wields, stands William Steinwedell, Esq., of the firm of Bertschinger & Steinwedell, leading hardware and iron merchants. Born in the city of Hanover, Germany, in 1827, he had scarcely passed the age of maturity when he resolved to cross the Atlantic, and in the broad expanse of the new world and the new republic battle for success and prosperity. Arriving in this country in 1849, having had previous experience in the hardware business, he at once obtained employment in this line as a clerk. He did not long content himself as the employee of others, but in 1851 we find
Page 126 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
him established in the same trade for himself as a member of the same firm of which he is to-day an active and honorable member. Managed shrewdly and cautiously, yet with a liberal degree of enterprise, success has attended this firm from the outset, and to it we are indebted for many reforms in the hardware trade of Quincy, among which may be cited that of making the first direct importations from Europe to our city. At present the firm is doing a splendid business, and is a credit to Quincy.
A prominent and influential member of the Republican party, in 1862 he received the nomination for Mayor of Quincy, but the city being strongly democratic he was defeated. However, his aspirations are not of a political but of a business and social character; and while in the former he has made his mark as a sagacious and successful merchant, he is not less eminent in social circles for his rare accomplishments and genial qualities.
Page 127 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
FRUIT AND PICKLE FACTORY.
Within the past few years Quincy has spread into such metropolitan proportions that a great many enterprises that were previously uncalled for have sprung up in our midst, and met with decided success. Among these may be cited the fruit and pickle factory started only a year or more ago, and which is now doing business on an extensive scale. Fruits and pickles of all kinds are put up at this establishment in a style that is not surpassed in the east; and the product of this house will bear comparison with goods from the oldest and most famous establishments in the country. A large section of western country is now being supplied by this firm.
ROPE AND TWINE.
Two establishments are now engaged in the manufacture of rope, twine &c., and employ during the year, on an average some twenty hands. They are owned and conducted by skillful and industrious mechanics, who do excellent work at moderate rates. The firms are :—B. H. Goodno ; J. H. Wavering & Co.
The capital invested in this line amounts to $14,400.
Page 128 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
M. JACOBS, MERCHENT,
OR “MEN OF MARK” IN QUINCY.
Among the Hebrew population of our city are many who have aided largely in the development and progress of Quincy. Many of our leading and most enterprising business men come from their ranks, and of this number is the subject of this sketch.
M. Jacobs, Esq., was born in Prussia, in 1828, and emigrated to America in 1844. He at once embarked in business in New York, commencing in the manufacture of hats and caps. He remained in New York but one year, when he proceeded to St. Louis, and there followed the same line of manufacturing. He soon gave this up and opened a dry goods house, which he conducted until 1847, when he came to Quincy and opened a clothing house. From then until now he has continued successfully in this department of trade in our city, his career having been an honorable and upright one throughout. In 1864, the citizens of the Second Ward recognizing his value as a man, and appreciating his integrity, elected Mr. Jacobs to represent them in the City Council, where he served them ably and efficiently.
A man possessed of thorough business qualifications, and full of enterprise, Mr. Jacobs is both a valuable and influential citizen.
Page 129 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
BOOK BINDERS.
Quincy boasts at present three book binderies, where experienced and competent workmen turn out jobs not to be excelled anywhere for style and use. One of these binderies is not to be excelled in facilities and arrangements for turning out work by any in the State. All work in this line for many miles around is sent to Quincy binderies, and there is no question but what satisfaction follows. The firms are :— Herald Printing Co.; C. Eberhard; G. Hermann.
BOOTS AND SHOES.
We have in this line no extensive factories, although there is little doubt but boots and shoes could be manufactured to advantage in Quincy on an extensive scale, Some forty small establishments, where from two to seven hands are employed do remarkably well, and are yearly having additions of new firms to their number.
<Pages 130 – 300 to be done in the future>
Page 301 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
INDEX
Preface 3
Historical 5
Manufacturing and Commercial
Interests 15
Manufactures
Flour 23
Tobacco 29
Machine Shops 33
Foundries 35
Stoves 36
Breweries 41
Paper 42
Distilleries 54
Carriages 55
Boiler and Sheet Iron Works 60
Gas 64
Wagons, Plows &c 71
Planing Mills 72
Brick 73
Saddles and Harness 80
Ice 84
Agricultural Implements 95
Saw Mill 112
Broom Factory 112
Printing 315
Hair Work 115
Pork Packing 118
Rectifiers 121
Soda Factories 121
Furniture 124
Organs 124
Fruit and Pickle Factory 121
Rope and Twine 127
Book Binders 129
Boots and Shoes 129
Confectioners 133
Marble Works 113
Chairs 137
Engraving 137
Match Factories 137
Tannery 141
Hoop Skirt Manufacturers 141
Horse Collars 141
Blacksmiths 145
Gunsmiths 145
Coopers 148
Baskets 148
Tin and Copper Workers 151
Soap, Candles &c 151
Merchant Tailoring 154
Photographers 154
Cigars 157
Watchmakers and Jewelers 157
Bakers 160
Baking Powder 160
Bags 163
Miscellaneous Manufactures 163
Mercantile
Dry Goods and Notions 167
Grocery Trade 171
Hardware and Iron 174
Drugs 175
Boots and Shoes 177
Books and Stationery 179
Hats and Caps 182
Millinery Goods 182
China, Glass, &c 184
Agricultural Implements 181
Clothing 187
Carpets 167
Coal 190
Coal Oil 190
Fish Markets 190
Flour and Feed 193
Forwarding and Commission 193
Furniture 193
Grain 195
Hides, Furs, Wool &c 195
Leather 195
Liquors 199
Musical Goods 199
Lumber, Shingles, Lath &c 202
Paints, Oils and Glass 202
Paper—Flat, Print &c 203
Salt 203
Seeds 203
Sewing Machines 203
Tinner’s Stock 206
Tobacco Leaf 206
Tobacco, Cigars &c 206
Wall Paper and Shades 206
Miscellaneous 209
Page 302 – HISTORY OF QUINCY.
The Orphans
St. Aloysius Society 46
Woodland Home 49
St. Mary’s Hospital 77
The Rink 88
The Quincy Railroad Bridge 101
Hotels 213
Professional 215
The “Press.” 219
Banking Institutions 225
Educational 230
Religious 236
Fire Department 243
Railroads 247
River Commerce 270
Horse Railway 256
Projected Railroads 270
Cemeteries 276
Executions 281
City Government 289
Conclusion 298
Biographical Sketches.
Ex-Gov. John Wood 26
Hon. Thos. Jasper 31
Hon. Wm. A. Richardson 38
Hon. O. H. Browning 44
Hon. Maitland Boon 52
Hon. Jas. M. Pitman 57
J. K. VanDoorn, Esq. 02
H. V. Sullivan, Esq. 68
Gen. Jas. D. Morgan 74
Enoch Comstock, Esq. 81
Henry Root, Esq. 85
Chas. A. Savage, Esq. 92
Hon. C. A. Warren 97
Henry F. Joseph Ricker, Esq. 110
Hon. Alexander E. Wheat 113
C. M. Pomroy, Esq. 1L6
Geo. Adams, Esq. 159
Judge T. J. Mitchell 122
Wm. Steinwedell, Esq. 125
M. .Jacobs, Esq 128
Louis Buddee, Esq 130
R. W. Gardner, Esq 134
Capt. Michael Piggott 138
A. J. F. Prevost, Esq. 142
F. H. Aldrich, Esq. 143
Col. M. M. Bane 146
N. D. Munson, Esq. 149
Wm. G. Ewing, Esq. 152
Col. J. B. Cahill 155
Col. C. H. Morton 158
Col. K. K. Jones 161
F. W. Meyer, Esq. 165
Robert Tillson, Esq. 169
Hon. Jackson Grimshaw 172
Aldo Sommer, Esq. 176
A. B. Kingsbury, Esq. 178
S. P. Bartlett, Esq. 180
Louis Miller, Esq. 183
Wm. B. Andrews, Esq. 185
Henry Allen, Esq. 188
Col. Joseph G. Rowland 191
Samuel E. Seger, Esq. 194
Gen. B. M. Prentiss 196
Newton Flagg, Esq. 200
Geo. W. Burns, Esq. 204
F. W. Jansen, Esq. 207
R. S. Benneson, Esq. 211
E. K. Stone, Esq. 214
W. H. Johnson, Esq. 217
Jas. Arthur, Esq. 223
Edward Wells ,Esq. 228
Wm. Morris, Esq 234
Chas W. Keyes, Esq. 235
H. S. Osborn, Esq. 237
S. J. Lesem, Esq. 239
J. W. Brown, Esq. 241
Hon. B. F. Berrian 215
U. S. Penfield, Esq. 257
Wendelin Weber, Esq. 265
F. D. Schermerhorn, Esq. 268
J. D. Levy, Esq. 272
Capt. F. S. Lee 273
J. T. Bradford, Esq. 274
Henry Frank, Esq. 277
Austin Brooks, Esq. 279
N. Bushnell, Esq. 283
Hon. J. W. Singleton 285
E. H. Turner, Esq. 288
Hon. Thomas Redmond 292
Hon. O. C. Skinner 214
Amos Green, Esq. 298
Willard Keyes, Esq. 299
Recent Comments