Alton Township (part 1 of 3)

Alton Township

,HE first settlement on the site of the present city of Alton, seem-j to have been made about the year 1783, by a Frenchman named Jean Baptiste Cardinal. The evidence of this rests on the report made in 1813, by the Board of Commissioners appointed to examine the claims for land within the district of Kaskaskia. The Commissioners state that about thirty years previous Cardinal lived at Piasa, five or six leagues above Cahokia, that he there built a house and resided with his family, but was taken prisoner by the Indians, when his family were obliged to abandon their frontier location and retire to the village of Cahokia There was no proof before the Commissioners that he had placed any land under cultivation. Cardinal appears to have conveyed his claim in the year 1793 to John Edgar, then a prominent and wealthy citizen of Kaskaskia, who was largely interested in the land speculations of the time. The deed was witnessed by La Violette in September, lTi)5, and acknowledged before William Morrison five months afterward. Cardinal affixed his mark to the deed, but Edgar, to show the fairness of the transaction, produced a letter from Cardinal, dated July, 1795, ofiering Edo-ar the land, which letter was signed by Cardinal himself in a very good hand. These facts made the Commissioners suspicious of the transfer, and they recommended that, should the claim (for a tract of land four arpents in front by forty in depth) be confirmed by congress, " the confirmation be to the said Cardinal, or his legal representatives, as the title papers of the said John Edgar appear not to be regular." It is altogether probable that the Piasa where Jean Baptiste Cardinal made this settlement in 1783 was on ground now covered by the city of Alton. While five or sis leagues fdll short of the real distance from Cahokia, a matter of not so much importance when we cDnsider the inaccurate way in which distances were computed at that time, still there could scarcely have been any other Pjasa than at the locality where was depicted upon the rocks the famous Piasa bird, an object of great interest to the French from their first exploration of the countr.v, and the story of which was one of the most familiar of the Indian legends.*

*The figures of the Piasa bird were painted on the face of th' rocky bliiff, just above the city. They are first referred to by Mai quette, who descended the Mi.-wissippi in the summer of 1673. He says : ''As we coasted along rocks frightful for their height and length, we saw two monsters painted on one of the roek«, which startled us at first, and upon which the boldest Indicin dare not gaze long. "They are as large as a calf, with horns on the head like a deer, a frightful look, red eyes, bearded like a tiger, the face somewhat like a man's, the body covered with scales, and the tail so long that it twice makes the turn of the body, passing over the head and down between the leg?, ending at last in a fish's tail. Green, reJ and black are the colors employed. On the whole the.se two monsters are so well painted that we could not believe any Indian to have been the designer, as good painters in France would find it hard to do as well. Besides this lliev are painted so high upon the rock that it is hard to get conveniently at them to paint them." Traces of these figures were visible till some

The tradition connected with this rock existed among all the aboriginal inhabitant-iof the West. No Indian passed up or down tlie river without discharging bis arrow at the painting, and after the Indians became accustomed to lire-arms bullets were substituted for arrows. Tlie marks of ten thousand bullets were on the clifl". Sometimes the Indians left their canoes and proceeded to the bluffs where they held a .solemn war council, concluding the whole with a splendid war dance, manilisiing all tlie while the most exuberant joy in the recolleclion of their deliverance from this great mon-^ter.

Tlie legend of the Piasa is told as follows : " Many thousand moons before the arrival of the pale faces, when the great raegalouyx and mastodon whose bones are now dug up were still in this land of green prairies, the numerous and powerful n.ation called the Illinois, inhabited the state which now bears their name, over the greater portion of which their hunting grounds extended. For many years they continued to increase in numbers and prosperity, and were deemed the bravest and most warlike of all the tribes of the great valley. At length in their most populous districts near the residence of their greatest chief, there appeared an enormous animal, part beast, and part bird, which took up its abode on the rock and banqueted daily upon numbers of the people, whom it bore off in its immense talons. It was covered with scales of every possible color, and had a huge tail, with a blow of which it could shake the earth. From its head which was like the head of a fox, with the beak of an eagle, projected immense horns, and its four feet were armed with powerful claws, in each of which it could carry a buflalo. The flapping of its enormous wings was like the roar of thunder, and when it dived into the riverit threw the waves far up on the land. To this animal they gave the name of the bird of the Piasa, or bird of the evil spirit (according to some, " the bird which devours men). In vain did the Medicine men use all their power to drive away this fearful visitor. He would be satisfied with nothing but human flesh, and day by day the tribe diminished to feed hia insatiable appetite. Whole villages were desolated, and consternation spread through all the tribes of the Illinois.

At length Owatoga, a chief whose fame as a warrior extended even beyond the great lakes, separating himself from the rest of his tribe, fasted in solitude for the .space of a whole moon, and prayed to the Great Spirit, the Master of Life, that he would protect his children from the Plasa. On the last night of his fast the Great Spirit appeared to him in a dream, and directed him to select twenty of his warriors, each armed with a bow and pointed arrows, and conceal them in a designated spot. Near the place of their concealment another warrior was to stand in open view as a victim for the Piasa, which they must shoot the instant he pounced on his prey. When the chief awaked in the morning he thanked the Great .Spirit, returned to his tribe, and told his dream. The warriors were quickly selected and placed in ambush. Owatoga offered himself as the victim, willing to die for his tribe; and placing himself in open view of the bluff, he soon saw the Piasa perched on the cliff eyeing his prey. Owatoga drew up bis manly form to its utmost height ; and, placing his feet firmhupon the earth, began to chant the death-song of a warrior. A moment after, the Piasa rose in the air, and swift as a thunderbolt, darted down upon the chief. Scarcely had he readied his victim when every bow was sprung, and every arrow sjjcd to the feather into bis boily. The Piasa uttered a wild, fearful scream, that resounded far over the opposite side of the river, and expired. Owatoga was safe. Not an arrow, not even the talons of the bird had touched him ; for the Master of Life, in admiration of his noble deed, had held over him an invisible shield. The tribe now gave way to the wildest joy, and held a great feast in honor of the event, and to commemorate it, painted the figure of the bird on the side of the rock on whose summit the chieftain stood.'' railwaj' depot now stands, and was used by the French as a place for trading with the Indians. It was constructed of loose rock, without mortar, and its roof was a covering of elm bark. The early American settlers could not tell how long it had been standing, and it i.s possible that here may have been the original location of Jeau Baptiste Cardinal.

The first to recognize the advantages of the site of Alton as the place for a flourishing town seems to have been Col. Rufus Easton, of the neighboring territory of Missouri. He was born at Litchfield, Connecticut, on the fourth of May, 1774 ; studied law in Connecticut, and after practicing \\\i profession a couple of years in Oneida county, New York, came to St. Louis in the year 1804. He enjoyed the friendship of Gideon Granger, Aaron Burr, and other influential men of that day, and through their influence was commissioned by President JeflTerson, Judge for the territory of Louisiana. In the year 1808 the first post office wa^ established in St. L)uis, and Rufus Easton was appointed postmaster. From ISH to I8l8 he was delegate in Congress from Missouri territory. On the organization of the state government of Missouri in 1821, he was appointed attorney general for the State, and held that office till 1826. He died at St. Charles, Jlissouri, on the fifth of July, 1834. He had fine executive and administrative ability. His son, Alton Rufus Easton, whose Christian name was given to Alton, commanded a regiment, known as the St. Louis Legion, in the Mexican war, and is still a resident of St. Louis.

Col. Easton obtained possession of land in the vicinity, and early in the year 1817 laid out a town which, in ftonor of his son, Alton R. Easton, he called Alton. It is also said that Langdon, George and Alby streets were named after some of his children. The town was laid out on fractional sections eleven and fourteen, of township five north, range ten west.* The old town plat, or Easton's

^ The following is a list of the lands included in the limits of Alton, showing when and by whom each quarter and fracliimal section was entered, together with the number of acre^ in each. These lands are comprised in sections eleven and twelve, and fractional sections ten, thirteen and fourteen, all in township five north and range ten west of the third principal meridian :

27, 181-^. S. W. quarter section eleven, containing 154 28 acres, was entered by William Russell, April 27, 1815. N. W. quarter .section ten, containing 29.13 acres, was entered by Dennis Valentine, April

28, 1815. East half S. E. quarter section 12, containing 80 acres, was entered by James Smith, September 27, 1816. West half ,S. E. quarter section twelve, containing 80 acres, was entered by James Smith,

Alton, extended from Market street on the west to Henry street on the east, and iroin the river north to Ninth street- The firrft step which C.)l. Edston took towards building up the town was tlie establishment of a ferry. As early as the year 1806 a f<rrry was in existence on the Mississippi, just above the mouth of Wood river, conducted by Eli Langford, who carried passeng-TS to the opposite shores of both the Miseissippi and the ilissouri. A man by the name of Piper had a ferry across the Mississippi at the mouth of Hop Hollow, above the site of Alton. This ferry afterward came into the possession of Michael Squire and a man named Smeltzer, and at the time the town of Alton was founded was known as Smeltzer's ferry For much of the time the landing place on the Illinois side was several miles above Alton. Sjneltzer built a brick house on the Missouri side witli brick ma<le on the Illinois side of the river. This house gave the name to the " Brick House Bend," and was in existence till 1SG6, in August of which year it fell down. Smeltzer was a great miser. He was accustomed to ride with a tow-string bridle. Once when sick he told his brother-in law that he had a barrel of silver dollars buried, but died finally without telling where the money was hidden.

In opposition to Smeltzer a man, in the interest of Col. Easton, established at Alton a ferry, which he called the Fountain Ferry. The landing place was at the mouth of the Little Piasa, or as the ferry-man called it, "Fountain Creek." It is likely that the name of "Fountain" was given to the creek and ferry on account of the well-known cave (or fountain) spring in wliich the cave has its source. A few log cabins were soon afterward built, one of which was used as a ferry house to accommodate travelers crossing the river at this point.

The first year gave the town no brilliant promise of future growth. Its conditi iii in the year lrfl8 is thus portraytd by the Rev. Thomas Lippincctt : "In a few days after my arrival in St. Louis I was employed for a little while to do some writing for Rufus Easton, Esfj. One of the jobs executed by me for hira was making a fair copy of a plat, or map, of Alton, a town which he had laid out the previous year, on the banks of the Mississippi, in Illinois. The map was designed for exhibition in the East in order to aflect the sales of lots. I took some pains to make it look well, and, I believe, gave satisfaction. After a few months spent by me as clerk in a store, Col. Easton proposed to me that I should take a stock of goods, in partnership with him, and keep a store at Alton or neighborhood, and accordingly I became a resident, as before said, in Illi-

September 27, 1816. N. W. quarter section eleven, containing 160 acres, viraa entered by Bufus Easton, September 30, 1816. N. E. quarter section ten, containing 149.60 acres, was entered by Abraham Prickett, July IS, 1817. By reason of tbe diagonal course of the streets it is difficult to give the e.\act boundaries of tliese sections. Section eleven includes the central p.art of the incorporation north of a line drawn east and we.^t through the intersection of Market and Sixth streets. Fractional section fourteen is immediately souih of it, including the business blocks. Section twelve is east of eleven, frac tional section ten immediately west of it, while fractional siction thirteen is east of fourteen and south of twelve.

nois - now become a State - on the first of December, 1818. It wa? not in Alton that my store was opened. Alton was in embryo. When Col. Easton brought me first in his gig to see the place, there was a cabin not far, I think, from the southeast corner of the penitentiary wall, or corner of State and Short streets, occupied by the family of a man whom the Colonel had induced to establish a ferry in competition with Smeltzer's ferry, a few miles above. I have forgotten the name of this ferryman, but his habitation was about as primitive and unsightly as I had seen anywhere. I do, not think he was overworked by the business of his ferry at that time, for the old east and west road passed north and out of sight of the Fountain Ferry, and it was not easy to persuade travelers to try the new one, even if they ever heard of it, which was probably rather seldom."

At a very early day a cabin was built on Shields' branch by James Shields who lived in it a number of years. From this circumstance the creek received its name.

Hunter's Spring, on the northeast corner of Second and Spring streets, is said to have been discovered in 1804 by James Preuitt and James Stockden, who at the time were living on the bluft', below what is now known as Alton junction. On a hot Sunday in summer, taking their rifles they traveled up the river to explore the country. Becoming thirsty at noon they followed up a small stream till they came to its source in the rocks, and there discovered the famous spring, since known as Hunter's spring.

In the year 1818 William G. Pinckard, William Heath and Daniel Crume settled on ground now comprised within the city of Alton. Pinckard's and Heath's families each consisted of a wife and one child, and Crume was their brother-inlaw. They emigrated from Springfield, Ohio, and arrived at what is now known as Bozzatown on Shields' branch, on tbe loth of October, 1818. Four weeks were occupied in makitig their journey. On their way westward they occasionally met emigrants eastward bound who declared that if they (the Pinckard party) went to Alton they would all die> as the country was very unhealthful and the " graveyard of the West. " On their arrival at Shields' branch they took possession of a " half-faced " camp, as it was called, in which the whole party lived for nearly two months. The room,

* In the latter |iart of ISIO Price and Colter built a log cabin on the hill above the spring and cleared a small tract of land in the bottom. Near the fame, June 20, 1811 , they were in the field at work. Price hoeing corn. Colter was plowing ; they discovered two Indians approaching. Price said " I will go to the cabin and get the gun. " The Indians came up pretending to be very friendly, the larger one gave his hand to Price, at the same time seizing the gun and holding Price while the other Indian ran up behind Price and shot him in the back, being so near that the powder burned a hole in his shirt as large as a person's hand. Colter seeing what was going on mounted his hor.^^e to escape but received a shot in the leg. He succeeded in giving the alarm. Solomon Preuitt and two of his brothers with others gave pursuit until coming into the heavy timber in Wood River bottom, night coming on they gave up the pursuit. The ne.xt day they found that the Indians had taken refuge under a large tree that had been blown d )wn and escaped.

which was about sixteen feet square, had a clap-board roof with a hole in it through which the smoke of the fire escaped. About one-half of the floor was cos'ered with puncheons, while the balance served as kitchen and fire-place. Here was spent some of the coldest and most disagreeable weather of that winter. Soon after their arrival. Major Charles W. Hunter, proprietor of what was afterward called Hunterst>wu, made an offer of town lots to the party if they would establish a pottery ou his land. The proposition was partially agreed to, and Pinckard and his comrades built a cabin of rouud logs on Shields' branch, about one hundred yards above where the covered bridge now stands. It had only one room, sixteen feet square, with hewed puncheon floor, clap-board roof, and was chinked and daubed. Into this comfortable cabin the families moved one week before Christmas, 1818. For some days previous the weather had been very cold. Ou Christmas day the men found a fine bee tree on the branch, and the honey contributed greatly to the enjoyment of the festivities of the day.

During the winter of 1818-19 William G. Pinckard and Daniel Crume made a contract to build a house for Col. Eiston. This house was built of hewed oak logs. It had two large rooms with one open space between them over which a roof was thrown. This bouse was long the stopping-place, or hoel, of the villago of Alton. For many years it was occupied by Thomas G. Hawley. It stood near the corner of Second and Piasa streets, and when torn down in 1868 the logs were found to be as sound as when placed in position. Some of these logs came into the possession of H. G. McPike, and are now in a small building erected on his premises as a memento of the early days of Alton.

Although small cabins had been erected previously this was the first structure which could be called a house built upon the site of the city of Alton.

In 1819 William T. Pinckard, assisted by Crume and Heath, built for Major Hunter, a frame house which was the first frame building erected in Hunterstown. This house stood on Second street.

About four hundred yards above the bridge over Shields' branch, Pinckard, Heath and Crume built a large log cabin intending to start a pottery, but their plan was not carried into execution. The cabin remained in at) unfinished condition, and for many years afterward, in fact as late as 1830 or 1831, was used in warm weather as a meeting-house for the Methodists. William Heath built a cabin for himself on Shields' branch, just below the covered bridge in which he lived till August, 1829, when his wife died.

Joel Finch became a resident of Alton in 1819. He was a carpenter and began building houses. During the year 1819 he built a house for Major Hunter, in which Hunter moved the same year, and in which his wife died not many months afterward. In this year a row of small teaements was built under the brow of the bluff, extending along where Second street now is, west of Piasa.

Milton, in the forks of Wood river ; and it was found indispensable to build a bridge over Shields' Branch. A frame bridge was accordingly built by Joel Finch, under contract with Col. Easton, who agreed to pay him two hundred dollars at the store of Thomas Lippincott in Milton. This bridge was constructed very near the site of the present covered bridge, and the original was succeeded by one or two structures of a similar kind, at or about the same place, before the bridge which now spans the Branch was erected. At first the road wound partly through the bottom, but was soon made, as now, along the slope of the bluff.

There were about this time (1819) two families residing between Wood river and Alton. Ou a farm adjoining Wood river, the Widow Meacham had resided from a date previous to the war of 1812. Near Alton lived James Smith, whose daughter became the wife of Jubilee Posey, one of the pioneer settlers in the neighborhood of Troy.

In the columns of the Edwardsville Spectator of the 18th of April, 1820, appears the following advertisement. The buildings referred to are, doubtless, those we have already mentioned to have been erected during the year 1819 by Joel Finch and Pinckard, Crume and Heath : "The subscriber has just finished large and commodious buildings, suitable for public entertainment, in the town of Alton, on the bank of the Mississippi, near Fountain ferry, on the main road to Boone's Lick and Salt river. lie is disposed to let them on moderate terms, when suited with a tenant. From its local situation, there can be no doubt of its becoming one of the best stands in the State. CiiAS. W. Hunter."

In the same number of the Spectator, Matthias P. Ringer & Co. advertise, that " Any quantity of good, unslacked lime may be had for 25 cents per bushel at Alton, on the Mississippi," from which it would seem that the manufacture of lime was begun in this vicinity at an early day.

On the same page of the same paper is a notice, dated February 23d, 1820, in which Eneas Pembrook calls the attention of the traveling public to the fact that "The subscriber has caused the roads leading to and from Fountain ferry to be put in good repair ; and he has an excellent set of boats and hands." Lest travelers " be not misled nor otherwise delayed," he gives the following directions : " On leaving Milton for the river, keep the left hand road to the foot of the bluff. It is level and dry. lu travelling to the east, from St. Charles to the State of Illinois, take the right hand road, when you get within about a mile of Smeltzer's, where you will observe the marks of a sign board knocked down. In passing this way, you will not be ddained by high ^vinds."

In connection with the fact th .t Smeltzer was running a ferry in competition farther up the river, the rea.son for these directions is very obvious. Pembrook adds, that ho also keeps a tavern at the ferry for the accommodation of travelers. Whether this Eneas Pembrook was the same person who started the Feuntain ferry in 1817, it is impossible to ascertain.

Bjck's Gazetteer of Illinois and Mis-souri, written in 1821, thus speaks of Alton : " Alton, although yet small, possesses natural advantages rarely equaled. Situated, as it is, at the junction of three large and navigable rivers; possessing a fine and commodious harbor and landing for boats at all seasons of the year ; surrounded by a fertile country, rapidly settling, it bids fair to become a populous, wealthy, and commercial town."

The superior advantages of the town came to be recognized by some of the leading men of the state, who obtained possession of a claim to the land on which the town had been laid out adverse to that of Col. Kiifus Easton. Among the opponents of Easton were such men as Niniau Edwards, (the territorial governor), and Nathaniel Pope, who for many years sat on the bench of the United States District Court. Easton had the wealth, legal talent and experience of influential adversaries to contend with. Meanwhile, as no clear and undisputed title to property could be given, persons who would have become purchasers were driven away, no permanent improvements were made, and the town languished. This difficulty was final'y compromised by a division of the land. Among the portion allotted to Edwards, Pope, and their associates, were some blocks in the northeastern part, now partly included in what is called Middletown.

By an act of the State Legislature, in session at Vandalia, approved February loth, 1S27, Shadrach Bond, William P. McKee, and Gershom Jayne, were appointed commissioners to select and procure a suitable site for a penitentiary on the Mississippi river, at or near Alton, in Madison county. They were directed to see that the title be secure, and were authorized to cause the erection of buildings with the necessary cells, guard houses, work shops and other apartments. The funds for defraying the cost of the building and other expenses were to be obtained from one-half the proceeds of the sales to be made by James Caldwell, the commissioner appointed to sell certain lands within the Saline reserve of Gallatin county. During the summer of IS'ii) the commissioners selected about seven acres on the bluff which William Russell ceded as a site for the penitentiary. The contract for erecting the building was let by the Board of Inspectors to a man named Ivory, who brought on some mechanics and worked on the building for some time, but by reason of some misfortune, failed, and left the country. The contract was then re-let to Joel Finch, who completed the wood work, and to Laurence Stone, who constructed the masonry. Work was begun late in the year 1830, but little was done till the following spring, when the construction of the build ing was rapidly carried forward.

In June, 1828, biock one, bounded by Front, Second, Alby and Market streets, was purchased from William Russell, who had succeeded to the interest of Col. Rufus Easton, by Gershom Flagg, who a few days afterward sold a portion of the block to William Miller, who had recently moved from Edwardsville. Mr. Miller occupied the ferry house, kept a small grocery, and acted as agent for William Russell, who resided in St. Louis and visited Alton at occasional intervals.

There was at that time an old frame building on a portion of the ground now occupied by the mill of D. R. Sparks & Co., which had been previously used by some old Indian traders. This building in 1829, and for .some time afterward, was occupied by Winthrop S. Gilman as a warehouse. It was subsequently replaced by one larger and more substantia ly built of stone, which was the base of operations for the firm of Godfrey, Gilman & Co., so widely and favorably known among the early business men of Alton. Beside this old frame house and the ferry house, there were only a few log cabins to constitute the old town. These cabins had been inhabited occajionally by transient residents for ten years previous. Corn was growing on a portion of the land between the Little Piasa and the bluff, and on the north and east there was a heavy growth of timber. Along the slope of the bluff wild grape vines grew luxuriantly, while in the forest, east of the creek, the underbrush was so dense that the river could scarcely be seen ten rods distant. In Hunterstown resided Major Charles W. Hunter, and a few others, among whom were a man named Taylor and his sons-in-law. Oiler and Million. Of these last, their chief occupation and delight was bee-hunting, and they certainly feasted on corn-bread, milk and honey. They were not of that class of men who yield gracefully to the requirements of civilization, and it was not long before they sought wider freedom in a location farther out on the frontier.

In the year 1829 a frame building was erected on the site of the present Presbyterian church on Market street. The workmen were brought from St. Louis. It was two stories high, about thirty feet in length, and was occupied by Beal Howard as early as November, 1829. This is said to have been the first frame dwelling on the original town site. lu September, 1829, Gershom Flagg sold the east half of block one to Charles Howard, who on the southeast corner of the block put up a small log dwelling. It stood just opposite the place occupied afterward so many years by the Alton House. In 1829, a few days after the arrival of the Howards, a Mr. Jlintony became a resident of the town. He purchased a piece of ground, about two roods in extent, west of the Little Piasa creek and south of where Third street now is, for the sum of one hundred dollars. Upon this ground he built a steam saw mill, which stood a littl' way east of the present machine shop of George D. Ha; den. After running this mill about two years, Mr. Mintoi _ sold it to Ninian Edwards. It then came into the management of J. S. Lane, a son-in-law of Gov. Edwards, who leased it for a time to Don Alonzo Spaulding, who had previously resided some years in the vicinity of Edwardsville. With the exception of a cooper shop, carried on by William Miller, this was the first step in the way of establishing manufactories in Alton.

PROSPEROUS GROWTH. - 1831-36. The vigorous and healthy growth of the town began in the year 1831. The previous year a few permanent settlers were added to the place, but in 1831 the tide of immigration began to flow in more strongly, mercantile houses were established, and several important business enterprises set on foot. Among those who came that j-ear were : Samuel Avis, Edward Bliss, Robert M. Dunlap, Dr. William Emerson, Mr. Fleshman, Stephen Griggs, Benjamin I. Oilman, William Haydcn, Elijah Hayden, A. C. Hankinson, Jonathan T. Hudson, William Manning, Mark Pierson, Jacob D. Smith, and Samuel Wade.

Edward Bliss erected a frame building and opened a general store in the spring of 1831. This store was at the north side of Second street west of Little Piasa creek. William Manning, a former resident of Boston, who arrived in Alton April, 1»31, soon afterward opened a store on Second street, opposite the present city hall. For several years he kept the largest stock of goods, and had the most extensive trade of any of the Alton merchants. He was assisted in the store by his brother-in-law, Samuel Avis, and by Mark Pierson. He died in October, 1855. Mr. Fleshman was a merchant of considerable means, and for some "time was actively engaged in making building improvements. He erected a two-story brick store, the first substantial mercantile building in the place. It stood on the south side of Second street, west of the Pia.>^a, and was destroyed by fire. Early in the year 1831, Elijah Hayden purchased from William llussell the land from where the present building of Topping Bros, now stands, to one lot west of State street, and from the levee north to Third street. This purchase included the Fountain ferry privilege. He disposed of a large portion of the tract of ground for as much as he had paid for the whole, and then turned his attention to the ferry which had been discontinued for several years. He had a fine opportunity, as the boat at Smelter's ferry had sunk, and the emigration to Missouri and points westward was very heavy. He went to work with energy, and put tlie ferry in good order, securing a fine boat, horses, and fixtures. Under his management the Fountain ferry became a source of profit to the owner and a benefit to the town. At times the throng of emigrants was so great that many were compelled to camp out and await their turn. A horse boat was first used which was afterward replaced by one propelled by steam. After running the ferry three or four years Mr. Hayden sold the boat and ferry privilege to Eli and Isaac J. Foster. Subsequently the ferry was kept in operation only at intervals till its permanent establishment in recent years.

Dr. William S. Emerson was the pioneer of the medical profe.ssiou. He was the first physician to locate in the town. His professional attainments were superior, while toward every one he manifested a kind and gentlemanly demeanor which gained him the good-will and respect of the community. He was a member of the town Board of Trustees as early as 1834 ; in a few years he returned to the East.

Jonathan Trumbull Hudson was the first lawyer who opened an office in Alton. He was a member of the first Board of Trustees of the town, of which, except in the year 1834, he was president during the four or five years of his residence in that place. In 1832 he built a two story dwelling near the corner of Second and Henry streets. He had fine natur.il abilities and a good education. His manners were genial, and he was well fitted to become a popular and successful leader. Thomas G. Hawley and Andrew Miller had become residents of the place previous to the year 1831. The Rev. John M. Peck in his " Guide for Emigrants " written in 1831 thus spoke of Alton as it was at that date : "Lower Alton is thought by many to present superior advantages for commerce and business to any other spot ia the State. It is at the place where the curve of the Mississippi penetrates the farthest into the interior of Illinois. It is within one mile of the mouth of the great Missouri, sixteen miles below the mouth of the Illinois, and at the junction where the business and commerce of the widespread regions of the northeast, north, and northwest, must arrive. The great road from all the northern portions of Illinois, and from the counties that extend along the eastern side of the Illinois river, in the direction of St. Louis, and the mouth of the Ohio, passes through this place. The Legislature of Illinois, at its last session, memorialized Con^ gress to have the great National Road, now being constructed through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, to the seat of government in Missouri, pass at or near this place ; and, many are sanguine in expectation of this result. If it crosses the Mississippi aioue the mouth of the Missouri, Alton lies directly in its route. It has the best landing for steamboats on the east bank of the Mississippi, having a solid rock of level surface, of suitable height, and to which boats at any stage of water can come and discharge and receive cargoes. It has been selected as the site of the state penitentiary, which is now building ; and it is thought by many that it will yet become the seat of government for ths state. "

This town is twenty miles north of St. Louis, and sixty miles west from Vandalia. One of the finest bodies of timber in the state surrounds it for several miles in extent. Bituminous coal of a good quality and in common use by the blacksmiths, exists in abundance, and but a short distance from the place. There are inexhaustible beds of limestone of a gopd quality for buildings, and easily quarried, and a species of sandstone, possessing a fine grain, which is quarried and dressed for monuments and architectural purposes. Here also is an abundance of that peculiar species of lime used for water-cement. The population of this place is rapidly increasing, and improvements are going on with great activity."

" Building lots sell from twenty to one hundred dollars, according to situation. The policy of the principal proprietors is to sell lots thus low, but on condition that good buildings shall be erected on them within one year, on penalty of a forfeiture. A large number of these lots were sold a few months past, subject to these conditions. This is the finest place on the river for building and repairing steamboats. Land is reserved for a large boat yard, and a steamboat is contemplated to be built shortly to run between this place and St. Louis."

'- With all these advantages Lower Alton is not without its disadvantages. As my object is to give an impartial statement relative to this place, I shall not pass over them. It is too much confined for a pleasant situation, being surrounded on the west and north with abrupt hills and bluffs.

As the business part of the town will necessarily be about the river and the landing, it will be a confined place. The south and southeast is open; but across the river, an extensive low bottom stretches up the Missouri and alonr; the Mississippi. From these circumstances it will be more exposed to fall fevers than on an elevated and airy situation. St. Louis is within twenty miles - a place admirably located and of great business. It now draws a considerable portion of the trade of Illinois, and will be a powerful rival to compete with. These difficulties leave the future prospects of the rise of a great commercial city shortly at this point, a li tie problematical at the present. Still it is a place that merits the attention of men of capital and business. Three or four mercantile houses are already established, are erecting warehouses, and calculate upon doing a large business in trade with the interior. Eight or ten merchants in the wholesale and retail line, and a suitable number of mechanics and manufacturers, would soon determine the question of a commercial town. Mechanics of almost every trade are wanted here; coopers to supply not only the demand here, but the St. Louis market, in casks, barrels, and firkins. Another large tannery, with shoemaking ; one slaughter house here, now in opera ion, will furnish five hundred hides yearly. A soap and tallow chandler. Cabinet-makers to supply the St. Louis market with furniture. Much of the supply of that market is now brought from Cincinnati. Stone and brick masons, plasterers, carpenters, and joiners are much needed. Hirdly any msehanic, needed in a rapidly increasing country, but might do well at Altoti. We advi e, however, that none but sober, industrious,, and enterprising men come to Alton, either Upper or Lower. The idle, profligate, and the intemperate will find the leading men, and a large majority of the people, combined against them."

" Lower Alton in March last (18S1) had thirty-two families and one hundred and seventy souls, to which there h;is been considerable increase. There were at that time one steam saw mill, one warehouse for packing beef and pork, one carpenter, one wagon maker, one tannery, one cooper with six journeymen and three apprentices, two brickmakers, one brick mason, one stone mason, one blacksmith, two shoemakers, one lawyer, one tavern and boardinghouse, and one retail store There are now in addition, one penitentiary with warden's house and offices, mechanic shops, yard, and twenty-four cells for convicts, three or four wholesale and retail stores, one physician, one week-day and Sabbath-school, several mechanics' shops, and a plan under consideration to establish a seminary of learning in the immediate vicinity. A steam fl curing mill is about being built."

Preparations for building a steam flouring mill were made during the autumn of 1831 by William Manning. This was the first important manufacturing establishment in Alton, and the project of building it excited much interest among the citizens of the town, and especially among the fiirmei'S of the surrounding country, who were anxious to be relieved from the slow and wearisome process of having their grist ground at the old band mills. Work was cimmenced at the mill in September, 1831, but it was not completed and placed in running order till the year 1833. Lewis J. Clawson built the stone work and masonry. A man known as Boss Lee was the first contractor for getting out the frame, but afterward William Hayden superintended the construction of this part of the building. When the frame was ready to be "raised," invitations to attend the raising were sent to all the settlements for several miles round, and on the appointed day not less than one hundred and fifty men were present, gathered from curiosity to see the progress of so great a work, and to lend a helping hand. In raising the first " bent," the following poles broke and down came the massive timbers, fortunately without seriously injuring any of the men. After a few days, during which the damages resulting from this accident were repaired, a still larger number of persons assembled to complete ~the task. A whole day of hard labor was occupied in getting into position three "bents," or about one half of the two lower stories. It was then found necessary to procure an outfit of building rigging with which, and some ten or twelve men, the work of raising was completed. During the latter part of the year 1831, Stephen Griggs became associated in tha enterprise with Mr. Manning. A stock company was afterward organized, called the "Alton Manufacturing Company," which was chartered by the legislature on the first of Fei)ruary, 1833. In this Mr. Manning was a large stockholder. The other charter members were David R., Stephen, Nathaniel, John, and Thomas Griggs, William Manning, Winthrop S. Gilman, Jonathan T. Hudson, Elijah Lincoln, William Miller, Nathaniel R. Cobb, and Aaron D. Weld. The capital was fixed at fifty thousand dollars, with leave to extend to one hundred thousand.

The building was four stories in height, with a basement of stone. It stood on the site of the present water-works. When built, the bluft", which has since been removed, adjoined it. It was intended to have a side track of the railroad (it was supposed that Alton would have railroad connection with other parts of the state at an early day) extend along the summit of the bluflf to a door in the upper part of the mill, from which the car loads of grain could be carried by spouts to any part of the mill desired.

The mill remained under the management of the st company for some years, and though it was in charr skillful millers and mechanics, and was run with ecoi the profits were only nominal. It was afterward leasea . various parties, among whom were a Mr. Olney, George and Joseph Brown, and McElroy, Tibby & Co. Messrs. S. & P. Wise made important improvements, and ran it with success for some years. The stock of the old incorporation finally passed int(^ the hands of J. J. & W. Mitchell, who added a distillery and for sorpe time carried on a large milling and distillery business. F. J. Shooler was successor to the Mitchells, and was the last occupant. The ground on which the mill stojd about the year 1863, passed into the ppssession of the city, and the mill was taken down and removed.

Jacob C. Bruner, was postmaster in 1832, and for some yeai-s subsequent to that date- William Barrett began the dry goods business in June, 1832. The first newspaper, the

In the " Gazetteer of Illinois," published by Mr. Peck in 1834, we find much of the matter concerning Alton previously printed in the " Guide for Emigrants." The author, however, stated in addition that " the corporate bounds extend two miles along the river, and half a mile back. The town plot is laid out by the proprietors upon a liberal scale. There are five squares reserved for public purposes and a large reservation is made on the river for a public landing and promenade. Market street u 150 feet wide, other streets are one hundred, eighty, and sixty, according to the situation and public accommodation. Lower Alton now contains (July, 1834), sixteen stores, several of which do a large wholesale business, two public houses, and several private boarding-houses, mechanics of various kinds, an expensive steam tlouring mill with four run of stones, owned by an incorporated company, and which cost 8-5,000 ; a steam saw mili in operation and another projected ; a boat yard contemplated, and a dock for the repair of steamboats, and about one thousand inhabitants. There is also a printing office which publishes weekly the Alton Spectator, a post-office, two lawyers, three physicians, one settled minister of the gospel, and preaching by Presbyterians, Episcopal Methodists, Protestant Methodists, and Baptists, each of which have churches organized. The public buildings are the penitentiary. It has the warden's house, guard house, twenty-four cells, and a portion of the wall erected, and the other parts of the work are in progress. A large stone ineetine-house, with a handsome spire, has been erected, and will soon be finished for the Presbyterian church ; the Protestant Methodists have erected a small but neat stone chapel ; and the Baptist church have just commenced building a convenient house of worship. A week-day school, under good regulation, and a large Sabbath-school, are taught here.

-' Landed property in and near the town has risen in value two and three hundred per cent, within three years. Eligible lots have been recently sold for several hundred dollars, and lots on the blufl^s back have exceeded one hundred dollars. The facilities for business of various kinds will draw men of capital and enterprise to this place. The building and repair of steamboats may be made an extensive business, and no place on the western waters offers equal advantages. "With this object in view a foundry for casting and making all kinds of machinery is contemplated. Large quantities of provisions will be packed here, and business of every description must increase to an indefinite extent."

Among the institutions which the active and enterprising business men of that day considered essential to the prosperity of the town was a good hotel, and on the 12th of February, 1835, the Alton Hotel Company was incorporated with a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars. The com])auy designed erecting a large and tine building which would be creditable to the city. The work was begun, but when the financial crisis of 1837 came, like many other promising enterprises throughout the state, the project was abandoned. Portions of the foundation remained for long years after- ward. The building was to extend from State streit east to Belle, about two hundred feet, and from Fourth northward nearly one hundred feet.

The year 1836 was one of prosperity, and in the incorporation of several large companies we have the evidence that the business men of Alton were looking confidently forward to the rapid growth of the place, and its increased importance as a manufacturing and commercial centre. On the 16th of January, 1836, the " Alton Shot and Lead Manufacturing Company" was granted a charter. The capital stock was fifty thousand dollars. Jonathan A Townsend, Benjamin I. Oilman, Isaac Prickett, Caleb Stone, Isaac Negus, and Sherman W. Robbins were the members of the Conipan)'. On the 18t,ii of January, 1836, the " Illinois ExportingCompany " was incorporated, with power to carry on the manufacture of ilour, wool, hemp, and other agricultural products, and to erect the necessary mills and machinery. The capital stock of the company was placed at one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Neither of these incorporations were able to put their projects into actual operation.

The Alton Branch of the State Bank of Illinois was established in 183 3, with Benjamin Godfrey president, and Stephen Briggs cashier. A branch of the Shawneetown Bank, with D. T. Wheeler as cashier, was established the subsequent year. On the 7th of February, 1836, the " Alton Marine and Fire Insurance Company " obtained a charter, and organized with a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars, exclusive of premiums, notes, and profits arising from business. Benjamin I. Oilman was president, and E Marsh secretary of the company.

When Vandalia was made the capital of the state, in 1819, it was stipulated that the seat of government should remain there twenty years, but at the expiration of that period some other point might be selected. In 1834 the Legislature voted on the question of the future capital, and chose Alton. Afterward, however, in consideration of other advantages conferred by the Legislature, Alton yielded this honor, and in 1837 it was resolved to make Springfield the seat of government.

A new state bank was chartered in 1835, with a capital stock of $1,500,000, with power to increase to $2,500,000. The principal bank was at Springfield, with branches at other points. Godfrey, Oilman & Co., of Alton, were largely concerned in negotiating for suras of money in the East to invest in the stock, and when the bank was organized were among the parties prominent in its control. The resources of the bank were freely given in furtherance of the ambitious scheme, then entertained by the public men of Illinois, of building up Alton as a commercial rival of St. Louis. To this end Godfrey, Oilman & Co. were loaned $800,000, with which to divert to Alton the immense trade of the lead mines about Galena, of which St. Louis was then in control. Godfrey, Oilman & Co. bought largely of lead, and by reason of the competition, the price of that commodity advanced directly from -50 to 75 per cent., but after holding the lead a long time in store in the East for a corresponding advance in the market there, sale had finally to bs made at a ruinous saorifice. To Stone, Manning & Co., and Sloo & Cj., several hundred thousand dollars were liiiewise advanced to operate in produce, and with the same disastrous results. To their movement is greatly due the remarkable, but transient, prosperity of Alton from 1835 to 1837.

About this period the people of Illinois entertained vast schemes of internal improvements, to be made at the. cost of the state. Of these expected improvements Alton secured the lion's share, though with the understanding that she should relinquish her claim to be the capital of the state. The Internal Improvement Act was passed in February, 1837, and by it Alton was made the terminus of three great lines of railroad.

One, known as the Southern Cross-road, was to extend from Alton to Mt. Carmel, by way of Edwardsville, Carlyle, Salem, Fairfield, and Albion. From Mt. Carmel it was expected a line would be built through Indiana to iS'ew Albany, and there become connected with the great railroad chartered and surveyed from the Ohio river to Charleston, South Caroliua Another was designed to run from Alton to Shawneetown, to diverge from the Southern Cross-road at Edwardsville, and thence pass through Lebanon, Nashville, Piuckneyville, Frankfort, and Equality. At Lebanon this road was to be intersected by one running from Belleville to the Southern Cros.s-road. The third road was projected to run from Alton, by way of Hillsboro, to a central railroad to extend north and south through the state. For this last 8600,000 was appropriated, and like liberal sums to the other lines.

Less than three years witnessed the collapse of the great internal improvement system, leaving an incubus of debt upon the state, and it was not till twelve years afterwards that the locomotive reached Alton.

At the beginning of the year 1837, Alton had twenty wholesale stores, thirty-two retail stores and groceries, four hotels, two of which had commodious accommodations; four large pork-packing houses, and the shops of numerous mechanics. The professions were represented by eight lawyers, seven physicians, and seven clergymen. Four newspapers were published, the Alton Spectator, the Alton Ttlcgraph, the Alton Observer, and the Illinois Temperance Journal. A large temperance society held monthly meetings, and a lyceum met once a week for the literary improvement of its members. There were two schools. Five churches had been organized, the Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal, Methodist Protestant, and Protestant Episcopal, all of which, with the exception of the last, had erected convenient houses of worship.

There were two banks, one a branch of the State Bank of Illinois, and the other a branch of the Bank of Illinois at Shawneetown. The value of the pork packed and prepared for the market ran up into hundreds of thousauds of dol.

lars; and other products were shipped from the place in large quantities. In four years the value of real estate liad risen more than a thousand per cent.

The best locations near the river sold at from three hundred to four hundred dollars per front foot. Lois in more retired situations, for private residences, commanded from twenty-five to one hundred dollars per foot. The rent of stores was from four hundred to fifteen hundred dollars, and of dwelling-houses from two hundred to six hundred dollars. Some of the large wholesale houses did a business amounting annually to from a quarter to a half million of dollars. Seven or tight steamboats were owned, either in whole or in part, b)' citizens of the town ; arrivals and departures occurred every day, and the river landing was a place of bustle and activity. Alton commanded a large proportion of the trade of the Upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers, and of the interior country for the distance of a hundred miles. The National Road, the great highway between the Atlantic seaboard and the " Far West," already located as far as Vandalia, was expected to cross the Mississippi at Alton, according to the formal request to Congress of the State Legislature; while the liberal system of internal improvements devised by the State of Illinois contemplated making Alton an important railway terminus, and thus securing to her the commercial supremacy of the Upper Mississippi Valley.

" The far-famed village of Alton, situated upon the Illinois shore, a few miles above the confluence of the Mi-ssissippi and ihe Missouri, soon rose before us in the distance. When its multiform declivities shall have been smoothed away by the hand of enterprise and covered with handsome edifices, it will, doubtless, present a fine appearance from the water ; as it now remains, its aspect is rugged enough. The penitentiary, a huge structure of stone, is rather too prominent a feature in the scene. Indeed, it is the tirst object which strikes the attention, and reminds one of a gray, old baronial ca.stle of feudal days more than of anything else. The churches, of which there are several, and the extensive warehouses along the shore, have an imposing aspect, and offer more agreeable associations As we drew near to Alton, the fireman of our steamer deemed proper, in testimonial of the dignity of our arrival, to let oil" a certain rusty old swivel, which chanced to be on board; and to have witnessed the marvelous fashion in which this manoeuvre was executed by our worthies, would have pardoned a smile on the visage of Heraclitus himself One lankylimbed genius held a huge dipper of gunpowder ; another, .seizing upon the extremity of a hawser, and, severing a generous fragment, made use thereof for wadding; a third rammed home the charge with that fearful weapon wherewith he poked the furnace; while a fourth, honest wight, - all preparation being complete, - advanced with a shovel of glowing coals, which, poured upon the touch-hole, the old piece was briefly delivered of its charge, and the woods, and shores, and welkin rang again to the roar. If we made not our entrance into Alton with 'pomp and circumstance,' it was surely the fault of any one but our worthy fireman.

" The site of Alton, at the confluence of three large and navigable streams (allusion is here made to the Missi)!sippi, Missouri and Illinois. - Ed.) ; its extensive back country of great fertility ; the vast bodies of heavy timber on every side ; its noble quarries of stone ; ita inexhaustible beds of bituminous coal, only one mile distant, and its commodious landing, .all seem to indicate the design of Nature that here should arise a populous and wealthy town. Tlie place has heen laid off by it.< proprietors in liberal style; five squares have been reserved for public purposes, with a promenade and landing, and the coriiorate bounds extend two miles along the river, and half a mile into the territory. Yet Alton, with all its local and artificial advantages, is obnoxious to objections. Its situation, in one section abrupt and precipitous, while in another depressed and confined, and the ex. tensive alluvion lying between the two great rivers opposite, it is believed, will always render it more or less unhe.ilthy ; and its unenviable proximity to St. Louis will never cease to retard its commercial adv.intages. Until within six years past, it could boast but few houses and little business. Its population now amounts to several thousands, and its ediliees for bu.-iness, private residence, or public convenience, are large and elegant structures. Its stone churches present an imposing aspect to the visitor. The streets are from forty to eighty feet in width, and extensive operations are in progress to render the place as uniform as its site will admit. A contract has been recently entered upon to construct a culvert over the Little Piasa Creek, which pas.ses through the centre of the town, upon which are to be extended streets. The expense is estimated at sixty thousand dollars. The creek issues from a celebrated fountain among the bluffs, called ' Cove Spring.' Alton is not a little celebrated for its liberal contribution to the moral improvements of the day. To mention but a solitary inst.ance : a gentleman of the place recently made a donation of ten thousand dollars for the endowment of a female seminary at Monticello, a village five miles to the north; iind measures are in progress for carrying it into immediate execution. Two railroads are shortly to be constructed from Alton ; one to Springfiehl, seventy miles distant, and the other to Mount Carmel, on the Wabash. The stock of each has been mostly subscribed, and they cannot fail, when completed, to add much to the importance of the place. Alton is also a proposed terminus of two of the state railroads, and of the Cumberland (or National) road. '' In the evening, when the sultriness of the day was over, passing through the principal street of the town, I ascended that singular range of blufls which, commencing at that point, extend along the river, and to which, on a former occasion, I have briefly alluded. The ascent is arduous, but the glorious view from the summit richly repays the visitor for his toil. The withering atmosphere of the depressed, sunburnt village at my feet was delightfully exchanged for the invigorating breezes of the hills, as the fresh evening wind came wandering up from the waters. It was the sunset hour. The golden slanting beams of departing day were reflected from the undulating bosom of the river, as its bright waters, stretched away among the western forests, or from a .sea of molten, glittering silver. On the left, directly at your feet, reposes the village of Alton, overhung by hills, with the gloomy, castellated walls of Ahe penitentiary lifting up their dusky outline upon its skirts, presenting to the eye a perfect panorama as you look down upon the tortuous streets, the extensive warehouses of stone, and the range of steamers, alive with bustle, along the landing. Beyond the village extends a deep forest, while a little to the south sweep off the waters of the river, bespangled with green islands, until, gratefully exp.-inding itself, a noble bend withdraws it from the view. It is at this point that the Mis.souri disgorges its turbid, heavy ma-ssof waters into the clear floods of the Upper Mississippi, hitherto uncheckered by a stain. At the basse of the bluffs upon which you stand, at an elevation of a hundred and fifty feet, rushes with violence along the crags the current of the stream ; while beyond, upon the opposite plain, is beheld the log hut of the emigrant, couched beneath the enormous sycamores and sending up its undulating thread of blue, curling smoke through the lofty branche.s. A lumber steam-jiiill is also here to be seen. Beyond these objects, the eye wanders over an interminable carpet of forest-tops, stretching away till they form a wavy line of dense foliage circling the western horizon. By the aid of a glass a range of hills, blue in the distance, is perceived, outlined against the sky ; they are the bluffs skirting the beautiful valley of the Missouri." - The Far West; or, A Tow Beyond the Mountains, by Ed- MCND T. Flago.

Among the enterprising business men to whom Alton^ mainly owed its early prosperity were Winthrop S. Gil. man William Manning, Edward Bliss, Mr. Fleshraan, Simeon Ryder, Benjamin Godfrey Caleb Stone, and A. G. Sloo. The firms of Godfrey, Oilman & Co., Stone, Manning & Co., Sloo & Co., and H. Miller & Co. were conspicuous for business activity and for their efforts to extend the trade of Alton. Godfrey, Gilman & Co. transacted a large business and had a wide reputation throughout the western country. Both Mr. Godfrey and Mr. Gilman were men of philanthropic liberality, who deserve especial mention in any history of Alton. The latter is still living in New York city. Mr. Godfrey died in 1862, but there remains to mark his memory the most enduring and honorable of all monuments - the Monticello Female Seminary, erected by his munificent liberality.

Of the men who began business in Alton previous to 1840 only a few are now living. Dr. E. Marsh began business in 183'2, Arba Nelson in 1836, Isaac Scarritt in 1837, Richard Flagg in 1837, Robert De Bow in the autumn of 1835, Thomas G. Starr in January, 1838, (establishing the first family grocery in Alton) William Hayden in May, 1831, and Michael W. Carroll in 1832: all the.se, after conducting business for many years, are now dead. Amasa S. Barry, who became a citizen in 1837, and commenced business in 1842, is now a resident of Chicago. Of those still living and now residents of Alton are Samuel Wade, who began the lumber business in 1831; Perley B.Whipple, who commenced business in October, 1835 ; Horatio B. Bowman in January, 1839; Charles Phinney in 18 i8 ; J. W. Schweppe, who came to Alton in 1837, and began business in 1840 ; Henry Sweetser in 1838 ; George Quigley in 1832; and Elisha L. Dimmock, who began business in 1838.

The most tragic event that ever occurred in the history of Alton was the murder of Elijah P. Lovejoy on the seventh of November, 1837. This was the first important act in that great struggle between freedom and slavery, which cul" miuated a quarter of a century afterward in the war of the Rebellion, and which ended iu the complete triumph of the priuoiples which the ardent Lovejoy was among the first to espouse.

Elijah ParishLovejoy, son of the R3v. Daniel C. Lovejoy, a Congregational minister, was born at Albion, Maine, on the second of November, 1802. After graduating at Waterville college, he came to St Louis, where he first taught school, and then became the editor of the St. Louis Times, a whig newspaper. Soon afterward, in 1832, he united the Presbyterian church, and the same year entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton, New Jersey, with the view of preparing himself for the Presbyterian ministry. He was licensed to preach in 1833, and returned to St. Louis, where i i November he assumed editorial charge of the St. Louis Observer, a paper started as the organ of the Presbyterians in Illinois and Missouri. He soon incurred the ill-will of the Roman Catholic residents of St. Louis by his strictures on the doctrines and practices of their church, and his articles against slavery which began to appear in 1835, excited intense opposition. The owners of the press were, at one time, obliged to publish a card to allay the excitement and prevent the mob from destroying their property. A letter was addressed to Mr. Lovejoy by a number of the leading citizens of St. Louis, and the minister who had re. ceived him into the church, who expressed the opinion that slavery was sanctioned by the Bible, and asked him to desist from its further discussion. This letter was published in the Observer with a reply from Mr. Lovejoy in which he claimed the right to print his honest convictions. His views at that period favored colonization and gradual emancipation. The proprietors of the paper finally requested him to retire from its management. To this he cheerfully consented. The paper, however, was in debt, and the owners gave up the press and material to a Mr. Moore, the endorser on a note soon to fall due, aul this gentleman insisted on Livejoy's continuance as editor, provided the paper was removed to Alton. While making arrangements for the publication of the paper at Alton he was invited to return to St. Louis, and there continued his editorial labors quietly for some months. «^^^

An editorial which appeared in May, 1863, relative to the burning at the stake, by a mob, of a negro, who, while under arrest, had killed an officer of the law, and one in June in severe criticism of Judge Lawless who, in his charge to the grand jury, had asserted that the action of the mob was beyond the jurisdiction of the law, aroused much feeling among the slave holding citizens of St. Louis, and it was deemed adsdsable to at once ship the press to Alton. Part of the office furniture was destroyed, by citizens of St. Louis, before it could be removed.

The press reached Alton before daylight on the morning of Sunday, the twenty- first of July, 1836. Mr. Lovejoy proposed to let it remain on the wharf till Monday, but after bearing the curious inspection of the crowd all day Sunday, during the night it was broken into pieces, and cast into the Mississippi. When this cowardly act became known the next day, stroug expressions of disapproval were made bycitizens of Alton, and in the evening a large public meeting was held in the Presbyterian church, which was addressed by Jlr. Lovejoy and other speakers. Mr. Lovejoy stated ihat he had come to Alton to establish a religious newspaper, that he was pleased with the town, and that, since most of his subscribers lived in Illinois, it was desirable that he should make it his future home. He regretted that his presence should cause so much excitement. Though an uncompromising enemy of slavery, he was not an " abolition ist," and had been frequently denounced by Garrison and others as being pro-slavery, because he was not in favor of their measures.

It was said that at this meeting he pledged himself not to discuss the subject of slavery in h s paper, but ten of the most respectable citizens of Alton (George H. Walworth, A. B. RoA; Solomon E. Moore, Effingham Cock, John W. Chickering, James Morse, jr., F. W. Graves, W. L. Chappell, J. H. Alexander and Charles W. Hunter,) subsequently testified that he closed his speech with this remark ; " But, gentlemen, as long as I am an American citizen, and as long as American blood runs in these veins, I shall hold myself at liberty to speak, to write, and to publish whatever I please on any subject, being amenable to the laws of my country for the same."

The citizens of Alton contributed money for the purchase of a new press, which soon arrived, and on the eighth of September, 1836, the first number of the Alton Observer was issued. Its discussions were at first mostly confined to subjects of a literary and moral character, and under the able management of the editor its circulation soon extended. But soon the question of slavery was again brought forward, and it was evident that the views of Mr. Lovejoy had advanced so far as to be in ftivor of immediate abolition. In his paper of the twenty-ninth of July, 1837, at the instance of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he published a call recjuesting signatures to petitions for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia. But the most obnoxious of his articles written on the fourth of July, appeared on the sixth of July, 1837. It was an editorial advocating the formation of an Illinois State Anti-Slavery Society, and in it he said :

"This day reproaches our sloth and inactivity. It is the day of our nation's birth. Even as we write, crowds are hurrying past our window, in eager anticipation to the appointed bower, to listen to the declaration that ' all men are born free and equal ; ' to hear the eloijuent orator denounce in strains of manly indignation the attempt of England to lay a yoke upon the shoulders of our fathers, which neither they or their children could bear. Alas! what bitter mockery is this ! We assemble to thank God for our own freedom, and to eat and drink with joy and gladness of heart, while our feet are upon the necks of nearly three millions of our fellow-men! Not all our shouts of self-congratulation can drown their groans ; even that very flag of freedom that waves over our heads is formed from material cultivated by slaves, on a soil moistened by their blood, drawn from them by the whip of a republican task -master.

" Brethren and friends, this must not be, - it cannot be, for God will not endure it much longer. Come, then, to the rescue. The voice of three millions of slaves calls upon you to come and ' unloose the heavy burdens, and let the oppressed go free.' "

On the 8th of July an anonymous hand bill was posted about the city, calling on those who disapproved the course of the AlloiiOhserver to meet at the public market on the eleventh. The man who called this meeting to order stated that it was " for the suppression of Abolitionism." Resolulutions strongly disapproving Mr. Lovejoy's course were passed, and a committee consisting of Dr. B. K. Hart, Louis J. Clawson, Nathaniel Buckmaster, A. Olucy and Dr. J. Haldeman, was appointed to confer with Mr. Lovejoy, " and ascertain whether he intends to disseminate through the columns of the Observer the doctrine of Abolitionism, and report the result of their conference to the public." This committee, thirteen days afterward, communicated with Mr. Lovejoy by letter through the post-office. He replied by denying their right to dictate to him what it was proper to discuss, and at the same time tendered them the use of his paper to refute his opinions, if they were wrong.

The St. Louis papers about this time were influential in stirring up the deep feeling which had manifested itself at Alton. The iligsoiai Republican, which was generally taken and read at Alton, in its issue of August, 1837, said ; " We perceive that an Anti-slavery society has been formed at Upper Alton, and many others doubtless will shortly spring up in diflerent parts of the state. We had hoped that our neighbors would have ejected from amongst them that minister of mischief, the Observer, or at least corrected its course. Something must be done in this matter, and that speedily! The good people of Illinois must either put a stop to the efforts of these fanatics or expel them from the community. If this is not done, the travel of emigrants through their state, and the trade of the slaveholding states, and particularly Missouri, must stop. Every one who desires the harmony of the country and the peace and prosperity of all, should unite to put them down."

At nine o'clock of the evening of the 21st of August, 1837, Mr. Lovejoy was assaulted by some eight or ten persons who, it is said, had determined to give him a coat of tar and feathers, and then send him adrift in a canoe down the Mississip])!. He then resided at Hunterstown in a building in a secluded spot below the road that led to Upper Alton ; and it was while on his way home from the drugstore with some medicine for his sick wife, that he was roughly stopped by the crowd, who at once disclosed their purpose. With great coolness, he said : " I have but one request to make of you, and then you may do with me what you please. My wife is dangerously ill, and it is necessary that she should have this prescription imraedidiately. Will one of you take it, and see that it is delivered at the house, but without intimating what is about to befal me? I am in the hands of God and ready to go with you." This request was complied with, and after a few moments of silence, one of the party exclaimed, "Boys, I can't lay ray hand on as brave a man as this ! " and turning away, he was followed by the others, and Mr. Lovejoy was left alone. But at a later hour during the same night a mob entered the Observer office, drove out the employes and completely demolished the press. Though these outrages were boldly committed, no attempt was made by the city officials to bring the riotors to justice.

After the destruction of the second press, some of his friends in Alton seem to have begun to doubt the wisdom of his continuance as editor. On the II th of September, 1837, Mr. Lovejoy addressed a letter to the friends of the Observer, the subscription list of whic h at that time numbered two thousand one hundred names, in which he offered to resign the editorship. A meeting of the supporters of the paper was acconlingly held, and after an adjournment and long consideration, it was decided that the Observer should be re-established, and that Elijah P. Lovej)y ought to continue its editor. Assurances of aid came freely to Mr. Lovejoy, - some from distant states. His brethren in the ministry also expressed a wish that the publication of the paper should go on. The new press and material arrived at Alton on the 2Ist of September, 18.37, at a time when Mr. Lovejoy was absent at a session of the Presbytery. Many of hii friends gathered around it as it was conveyed to the warehouse of Gerry & Wilier. No violence was offered, but cries of "There goes the Abolition press! stop it!" were heard. The mayor, John M. Krum, now a resident of St- Louis, seemed desirous of protecting it, and asked that it be left in his hands. The provision he made, however, was entirely inadequate. He had a constable posted at the door of the warehouse till a certain hour in the night ; but as soon as the official left, ten or twelve ruffians, disguised with handkerchiefs over their faces, broke into the store, and rolled out the press to the river bank, where it was broken up and thrown into the river. Mayor Krum arrived before the work of destruction was completed, and ordered the party to disperse, but without efltct.

About ten days after this occurrence while at St. Charles, Missouri, (to which place he had accompanied his wife on a visit to her mother, whose maiden name was Celia A. French, and who was a former resident of St Charles, Mr. Lovejoy was violently assaulted by a mob on a Sunday evening. He had preached twice during the day, and at about nine at night the house in which he was stopping, was entered by a drunken and brutal crowd. It is probable that his heroic and devoted wife alone prevented the mob from carrying out their murderous purposes. His friends insisted on his quitting the place that night, and before daylight he was on the road back to Alton, leaving behind him his wife and child.

Another press, the fourth and the last, was ordered. The means to purchase it were furnished by some friends of free speech in Ohio. Some thought was entertained of transferring the publication of the paper to Quincy. A convention to form a State Anti-slavery Society met on the twenty-sixth of October, 1837, in the Presbyterian church at Upper Alton. Some of the opponents of the object of the meeting, among them Usher F. Linder, then attorney-general, and John Hogan, now of St. Louis, gained control of the convention ; though the real friends of the anti-slavery movement met elsewhere and organized a State Society, of which Mr. Lovejoy was made corresponding secretary, and recommended that the publication of the Observer should be continued at Alton. On the thirtieth of October, the Rev. Edward Beecher, then president of Illinois College, delivered an address in the Presbyterian church in Alton in which he expressed himself strongly in favor of defending Mr. Lovejoy to the last. Mr. Beecher's speech was interrupted by a stone being thrown through one of the church windows, and it is probable that serious trouble would have ensued had not ample provision been made to repel any attack by a mob. At the moment the stone was thrown, William Tanner called a company, previously organized, to arras, and in a few minutes the church door on either side was flanked by a row of armed men, whom it was not safe for any mob to attack. Among the citizens in line were Enoch Long and Aaron W. Corey. Mr. Beecher went on with iiis address to the close, and as the people retired Mayor Krum called on the outsiders to disperse. The promptness of their defense was due to the fact that after repeated consultations between Mayor Krum, Mr. Lovejoy, Winthrop S. Gilman, Henry Tanner and others a company of fifty men had been organized to resist any attack on Mr. Lovejoy, and to protect the new press which was daily expected to arrive.

These events had thrown the city into a fevtrish state of excitement. On the second of November, 18--i7, only five days before the mournful and tragic end of these troubles, a public meeting was held, participated in by both parties, " to take into consideration the present excited state of public feeling in the city, growing out of the Abolition question and to endeavor to find some common ground on which both parties might meet for the restoration of harmony and goodfellowship. " To this meeting Winthrop S. Gilman and the Rev. Edward Beecher, presented a series of resolutions which declared the right of every citizen to speak, write, or print his opinions on any subject, being responsible only to the law for the abuse of that right, and that " we are more especially called upon to maintain this principle in the case of unpopular sentiments or persons, " as in no other cases will any etfjrt to maintain them bs needed ; and that " fur these reasons alone, and irrespective of all moral, political, or religious sentiments, protection was due to the person and property of Mr. Lovejoy, the editor of the Alton Observer ; that this protection should be offered on the ground of principle solel}', and altogether disconnected from approbation of his sentiments, but personal character, and his course as editor of the Alton Observer. "

The adoption of these resolutions was opposed by Usher F. Linder and others, and they were finally referred to a committee composed of Cyrus Edwards, John Hogan, Stephen Griggs, Usher F. Linder, H. G. Van Wagenen, Thomas G. Hawley and Winthrop S. Gilman, while the meeting adjourned to the next day.

The committee next day oflfered, instead of the resolutions of Mr. Gilman, resolutions of their own, to the effect that it was sometimes expedient to abstain from a discussion of principles, in tVemselves deemed r'ght and of the highest importance ; and that without desiring to restrain the liberty of the press in general, it was indispensable that Mr. Lovejoy should not be allowed to conduct a paper in Alton ; and that he ought to retire from the charge of the Alton Observer. These vieivs were adopted by the meeting. Against them, Wiuthrop S. Gilnian, alone of the committee, presented a protest. He thought the rigid enforcement of the law would prove the only protection of the rigiits of citizens, and the only safe remedy for similar excitements in future.

Mr. Lovejoy addressed the meeting in a speech which excited the sympathy of his hearers, and in which he forcibly and bravely stated his position. After referring to his respect for the feelings and opinions of his fellow-citizens, and his sorrow that he was compelled to differ from them, he sai 1 that he was impelled to the course he had taken because he feared God, and as he should answer to his God on the great day, he dared not abandon his sentiments, or cease in all proper ways to propagate them. He continued : " I, Mr. Chairman, have not desired, or asked any compromise. I have asked for nothing but to be protected in ray rights as a citizen - rights which God has given me, and which are guaranteed to me by the constitution of my country. Have I, sir, been guilty of any infraction of the laws? Whose good name have I injured? When and where have I published anythintr injurious to the reputation of Alton?"

" You have, sir, made up, as the lawyers say, a false issue ; there are not two parties between whom there can be a compromise. I plant myself, sir, down on my unquestionable rights, and the question to be decided is, whether I shall be protected in the exercise and enjoyment of those rights, - that is the question, sir : whether my property shall be protected ; whether I shall be suffered to go home to my family at night without being assaulted, and threatened with tar and feathers, and assassination ; and whether my afflicted wife, whose life has been in jeopardy from continued alarm and excitement, shall, night after night, be driven from a sick-bed into the garret, to save her life from the brick-bats and violence of the mobs ; that, sir, is the question"

Here, much affected by his emotions, he burst into tears, and the sympathies of the whole meeting were deeply excited. He continued : " Forgive me, sir, that I have thus betrayed my weakness. It was the allusion to my family that overcame my feelings. Not, sir, I assure j'ou, from any fear on my own part. Not that I feel able to contest the matter with the whole community ; I know perfectly well I am not. I know, sir, you can tar and feather me, hang me up, or put me into the ilississippi without the least difficulty. But what then ? Where shall I go ? I have been made to feel that if I am not safe in Alton, I shall not be safe anywhere. I recently visited St. Charles to bring home my family, and was torn from their frantic embrace by a mob. I have been beset night and day at Alton, and now, if I leave here and go elsewhere, violence may overtake me in my retreat, and I have no more claim on the protection of any other community than I have upon this ; and I have concluded, after consultation with my friends, and earnestly seeking counsel of God, to remain at Alton, and here to insist on protection in the exercise of my rights. If the civil authorities i-efuse to protect me, I must look to God ; and if I die, I have determined to make my grave in Alton."

Three days after this speech of Mr. Lovejoy, on the night of the 6th of November, the fourth press reached Alton. It had been shipped from Cincinnati. It was received in the dead of night from the steamer "Missouri Fulton," whose captain had agreed to land the press at midnight, even if he should have to lay his boat by for awhile to do so, by the friends of Mr. Lovejoy, in the presence of the mayor, and taken to the stone warehouse of Godfrey, Gilman & Co. Ample preparations had been made to defend it. About sixty men, well-armed and drilled, were stationed on the different floors in companies of sufficient strength to do full execution if any attack on the press should be made by the mob. The sound of a horn, blown by some unknown person, as if a signal, was heard ; but no one appeared to interrupt the labors of the defenders of the great i)rinciples of free speech and a free press as in the silence of the midnight hour they transferred the mass of boxed-up iron, the innocent cause of so much bitter feeling, from the river bank to the third floor of the warehouse of the largest and most responsible firm in the city.

The abseuce-of any hostile demonstration on the night of the 6th encouraged the friends of Lovejoy to hope for a peaceful solution of the difficulties, but as the night of the 7th approached they gathered in the building to talk over the situation, and be ready, if necessary, to defend the press. Nine o'clock came, and there was, as yet, no sign of disturbance. The company of men began then to disperse for their homes, when Mr. Gilman asked some few of the number to remain through the night, as he intended staying as a precaution in case the warehouse should be attacked. Nineteen men remained. An hour more, and it became evident that a mob was gathering. It was a brilliant moonlight night. It could be seen that the mob was armed, and their blowing of tin horns, and hootings and exclamations demonstrated the fact that plenty of liquor had been flowing among them. A part of the mob filed in front of the warehouse on the south, toward the river, knocked and hailed the building. Mr. Gilman answered from an upper door, when one William Carr, presented a pistol and demanded the press. Edward Keating, a lawyer and Henry H. West, who had been made acquainted with the designs of the mob, asked to see Mr. Gilraan, and were incautiously admitted to the building, thus enabling the mob to learn the smallness of the force with which it was defended. These persons informed Mr. Gilman and his party that unless the press was given up, the building would be burned over their heads or blown up with powder. Early in the evening Enoch Long had been selected as captain of the defending party. His method of defense was much milder than that advocated by some of his men, who considered it best to fire on the mob, and make short work of it ; but Long commanded that no one should fire without his order, an order which he hesitated to give from mistaken motives of mercy, till too late to be of value in intimidating the besiegers.

the windows were broken, and by the firing of two guns. Tlie forbearance of the men inside emboldened the mob, but wlien a shot from the outside had entered the building the order was given to one of the men to fire. The shot proved effective. It struck a man named Lyman Bishop, one of the mob, who died before he could be removed from the ground. This incident caused only a short lull in the operations of the attacking party. Some bore away the body of Bishop, others summoned re-enforcements, while the grog shops near by furnished ready material to feed the ruffian fire. The bells of the city were rung,* horns blown, and an excited multitude came rushing to the warehouse, some urging on the drunken mob, and some using their efforts in behalf of peace. The infuriated mass surrounding the warehouse cried out with savage jells and oaths, that they would fire the building and shoot every abolitionist as he tried to make his escape. Mayor Krum now appeared on the scene, and he was asked by Lovejoy's men that he lead them out to face the mob and order them to fire if the mob would not disperse at his command. His answer was that he had too much regard for their lives to do that, but at the same time he justified those in the warehouse in their defense. His own subsequent efforts to disperse the mob were powerless.

Attempts were now made to fire the building. On the north side there were no windows or doors, and here a ladder was placed on which a man ascended with a burning torch to ignite the roof. The position of the ladder made it impossible to check this design from within, and Captain Long callfed for volunteers to make a sortie from the building and dislodge the man from the roof Amos B. Roff, Royal Weller and Mr. Lovejoy promptly issued forth to execute this commission. They returned to the building in safety, but on going forth a second time, as Mr. Lovejoy stepped out into the bright moonlight, the party was fired on by assassins concealed behind some lumber piled up on the levee. Five balls entered Mr. Lovejoy's body. He ran back into the building and up stairs, exclaiming, " I am shot! I am shot! I am dead!" and when he reached the counting-room he fell into the arms of one of his friends, and was laid upon the floor where he instantly passed away without further struggle and without again speaking. Mr. Roff and Mr. Weller were both wounded by the same volley.

Soon afterward Edward Keating and Henry H. West again approached the building, and informed Mr. Oilman that the roof was on fire, and offered, in behalf of the rioters, that if the press should be surrendered, the fire would be extinguished, and no further harm done to any other property. After consultation it was thought best to abandon the building, and give up the press. There was property of great value in the warehouse, and now that Lovejoy was dead, no further good could come of hopeless opposition to the mob. It was stipulated that the defenders of the w arehouse f should be allowed to depart in safety, but

* It jaan interesting fact that Sirs. Graves, wife of the Presbyterian minister - a slender and delicate woman - opened the church in her l]iisbaud's absence, and rang the bell with all her strength.

no sooner had they left the building than the rioters broke their truce, and fired .after them more than a hundred shots, which, owing to the slope of the ground, passed harmlessly over their heads. The press, like its three predecessors, was broken into fragments, which found a resting-place at the bottom of the Mississippi.

The next morning the body of Lovejoy was removed to his late home. His wife was absent at the house of a friend, so prostrated by the terrible shock that her life was despaired of for many days. His brother, Owen Lovejoy, was at the house to receive the corpse. The funeral was on the 9th of November, a rainy, depressing day. The burial service was simple, and consisted merely of prayers by Mr. Lovejoy's constant friend, the Rev. Thomas Lippincott. No inquest was held over the body - no flowers were strewn upon the coffin. Thus passed away Elijah Parish Lovejoy, at the age of thirty-five. The place of interment was in the eastern part of the city, where some years afterward the site for the Alton Cemetery was selected. In laying out the cemetery grounds the main avenue chanced to pass over the grave of Lovejoy, and his ashes were then removed to a new locality. The spot is now marked by a simple stone, with the inscription :

The death of Lovejoy occasioned a profound sensation throughout the country, and did more to crystallize the opposition to slavery than any event that had yet occurred.

At the January term, 1838, of the Municipal Court of the City of Alton, indictments were brought, both against persons who attempted to destroy the press, and those in defense of the building. The Grand Jury, of which Thomas G. Hawley was foreman, charged Enoch Long, Amos B. Roff, George H. Walworth, George H. Whitney, William Harned, John S. Noble, James Morse, jr., Henry Tanner, Roval Weller, Reuben Gerry, Thaddeus B. Hurlburt, and Winthrop S. Gilman, with " unlawfully, riotously, and in a violent and tumultuous manner," resisting an attempt to break up a printing-press, and to force open and enter the storehouse of Benjamin Godfrey and Winthrop S. Gilman.

Winthrop S. Gilman was granted a separate trial, and was defended by George T. M. Davis and Alfred Cowles, then leading members of the Alton bar. Usher F. Linder, the Attorney-General of the State, assisted the prosecuting attorney, Francis B. Murdock, in the prosecution. It was shown that every act of Mr. Gilman and his associates was performed with the concurrence of the Mayor, and, as those gentlemen supposed, with the authority of law. Mr. Gilman was promptly found " not guilty," and a nolle prosequi was then entered in the cases of his associates.