History of Jo Daviess

A colony embarked on the 20th day of April, 1823, on the" keel-boat* "Col. Bumford," with 30 men besides the women and children, and 75 tons of freight, consisting of a complete mining outfit, merchandize and provisions, sufficient to subsist the party a year after their arrival at the "mines."

Among the passengers, and all whose names can now be recorded, were Dr. Moses Meeker, James Harris and his son, Daniel Smith Harris; then in his 16th year, Benson Hunt, his wife, Elizabeth Harris Hunt, his two daughters, Dorlesca and Dorcina, and son, Hiram Benson, aged six, four and two years respectively. (Dorlesca died in 1838 ; Dorcina married Johns, and now lives, a widow, in Kansas); John Doyle, wife and child; Maria Bunce (Mrs. Doyle's sister), and her two brothers, John and Hiram; Maria Rutherford; Thomas Boyce; Israel Garretson ; John Whit- tington (the steersman); Win. Hewlett (a deaf man), and House.

At St. Louis James Harris left the boat, purchased a number of cattle for Dr. Meeker and drove them across the country to Fever River, arriving two or three weeks after Col. Bumford, which arrived on the 20th of June, having made the trip in sixty days, then regarded as a remarkably quick passage. The Mississippi was very high and had overflowed its banks, and the crew were often obliged to resort to warping and bushwhacking. At Grand Tower, below St. Louis, the "Col. Bumford " was passed by the steamer " Virginia," commanded probably by Capt. John Shellcross, on her way from Pittsburg to Fort Snelling, with supplies for the troops stationed there, and she was the first steamboat that ever ascended the Missis- sippi above the mouth of the Illinois River; certainly she was the first boat propelled by steam that ever parted the waters of Fever River, in June, 1823.

The "Col. Bumford" arrived on Sunday, June 20, 1823, run up the little creek now known as Meeker's Branch, a short distance, and made land- ing on the south bank. The arrival of Dr. Meeker and his companions marks a new era in the history of the mining district, and gave impetus and growth to the little remote settlement, until then scarcely more than an Indian trading post, almost unknown except to roving traders and frontiersmen. It required enthusiasm, energy, bravery, perseverance and patient endurance of toil and privations, unknown in later years, to venture into the very heart of the Indian country, and make permanent settlement in the midst of a populous Indian village. Dr. Meeker possessed all these characteristics in a remarkable degree, as did also Mr. James Harris, his foreman, confidential coun- sellor and friend. These two men became the head and soul, so to speak, of A keel-boat was built something like amodern barge only its hull was lower. These boats were from 50 to 80 feet long, and from 10 to 15 feet beam. On the deck was built the "cargo-box," which generally extended to within about ten feet of either end and set in from the gunwale about two feet on each side, leaving a gangway or "walking-board," as it was called, on each side the whole length of the boat. Sometimes on small boats these walking-boards projected over the hull. The rudder was a long sweep, some thing like a gigantic oar. The keel-boat was propelled by sails, by rowing, poling, bushwacking, cordelling and warping. When the water was high or the boat was running close in shore, the crew would grasp the bushes growing on the bank and pull the boat up river. This was "bushwhacking." Sometimes along line or rope would be attached to the mast, and the crew walking on the shore with the other end, towed the craft up stream. This was " cordelling." At other times when cordelling was impracticable, in crossing rapids, a long line would be carried ahead, and made fast to a tree or rock, or to a small anchor and thi' crew in the boat, taking the line over their shoulders, would walk from bow to stern, drop the rope, then walking back on the other side to the bow, and take it up again, in the rear of the others, keep the boat in motion.

To these hardy pioneers and their worthy associates, representatives of "nature's noblemen," who first settled this country, belongs the honor of really leading the way where others were so soon to follow, and of laying the foundations for the permanent settlement of this, then extreme, western frontier. Mrs. Meeker died December, 1829, aged 3D years. Dr. Meeker removed to Iowa County, Wis., in 1833, and resumed the practice of his profession, and died there, July 7, 1865, aged 75 years. His remains were brought to Galena, and lie in the old cemetery on the hill. Mr. Harris lived but a few years to witness the results of his labors, as he died suddenly, in 1829, and he, too, lies near his old friend, in the midst of the scenes he loved so well, but how changed since he left for a higher and better settlement above! His children and descendants still live in the home he helped so largely to make for them, among the most honored and respected citizens of the country.

Dr. Meeker built a cabin on what was called Meeker's Bench, on the east side of Main street or Broadway, a short distance above " Whittam Row." Hunt built a cabin a little north, about where Mr. Bench's brick building now stands, near Duer's flouring mill. Directly across the road from Meeker's cabin, a well was sunk. This well, called " Meeker's Well," still remains, although unused, as an unerring landmark of that time. Fifteen or twenty feet north of that well, near the road, in what is now J. Moore's front yard, Benson Hunt built a little log blacksmith shop, and went to work at his trade; the first blacksmith known to have lifted a hammer in Jo Daviess County. (It is proper to add that Mr. Hunt lived in Galena until 13S, when he removed to Sand Prairie, remained there two years and then returned to Galena, where he continued to reside until a short time prior to his death). Harris and his son also built a cabin on Meeker's Bench, near Meeker and Hunt, and near the present Court House.

At this time there was a ford across Fever .River, almost directly at the foot of Franklin Street, used in low water there were no bridges then. Below the ford, to the mouth of the river, says Captain Harris, there was then, and for years afterwards, a depth of from twelve to sixteen feet at "dead low water." In fact, the water was always two or three feet deeper in the Fever River (which is really only an arm of the Mississippi to Galena) than it was in the channel of the "Great River." In after years, at high water, large boats steamed up the Fever River some distance above the town, and also up Meeker's Branch, now an insignificant rivulet.

When Dr. Meeker and his party arrived here in June, 1823, they found less than one hundred white men mining and trading with the Indians. Prominent among them were Dr. Samuel C. Muir (who was practicing medicine and stood high), Thomas H. January, Amos Farrar, Jesse W. Shull, Francois Bouthillier, A. P. "Vanmatre, D. G. Bates, John Conley, John Ray, James Johnson, JSTehemiah Bates, James Connor, B. Symmes, E. Rutter, John Barrel], Joseph Hardy, Robert Burton (not the smelter), Montgomery Wilson, Stephen P. Howard, Martin Smith, Israel Mitchell (a surveyor), John Armstrong, Cuyler Armstrong, Vanderslice, Win. Thorn, and others. Wm. Adney and wife were also here at that time, Adney had been a soldier, and arrived here that Spring; " and his wife," says Capt. Harris, "was the only white woman here when we arrived." Mr. Lorrain says " Mrs. Adney was the first white woman who came to the mines," but this does not appear to be absolutely certain. About three years later, in 1826, Thomas II. January is said to have exhumed the remains of his wife, who had been buried some years, certainly before 1823, somewhere near the junction of Bench and Diagonal Streets, and re-interred them elsewhere. If sjie was a white woman, as presumably she was, Mrs. January came to these mines before the arrival of Mrs. Adney, and in the absence of further knowledge must be considered the first white woman who settled in Jo Daviess County. Mr. Shull, subsequently, in 1827, went into Michigan Territory, now Wisconsin, and founded the Tillage of Shullsburg.

"When I arrived," says Capt. Harris, "there were six or eight cabins on and below the present site of the woolen mill, above Baker's Branch. Bates and Yanmatre had a smelting establishment on the east side of the river, opposite that point, obtaining their mineral mostly from Yanrnatrc's lead, on Apple River, near Elizabeth. Next above was the smelting establishment of James Johnson, consisting of a double log cabin, a log and an ash furnace, very nearly on the present site of H. F. McCloskey's store on the levee on the west side of Main Street, directly opposite the foot of Bouthillier Street. Amos Farrar had a trading post (a double log cabin), on the bank of the river, between the foot of Ferry Street and of Franklin, about in the middle of Water Street. There was a little bayou or slough opening out of the river near the foot of Perry Street, and running up behind Farrar's post. Near by was a cabin built by Farrar, to accommodate his Indian customers. Thomas H. January also had a double log cabin and warehouse on the point bearing his name. Wm. Adney had a little cabin on the south side of ''Buck-lead " branch, now Meeker's Branch, just below the first fork, on the second bench.

These few log cabins constituted the dwellings and places of business of the entire white population of all this region at that time, but the river bottoms, ravines and hillsides were thickly dotted with the wigwams of the Sacs and Foxes, who numbered at least 2,000 in this immediate vicinity. They were peaceable, and treated the white settlers kindly. They were engaged in hunting and fishing, and supplied the whites with a large portion of their meats, consisting of venison, game, fish, etc. The squaws and old men, too old to hunt, raised the most of the mineral which supplied the furnaces. Captain Harris remarks that for years they " felt quite as safe among these Indians as they do now," and this is the universal testimony of all the early settlers in this county, now living. 1 The Winnebagoes and Menominees also came here to trade, but their home was then farther north, in Michigan Territory. The Menominees are represented as being the most pleasant and friendly, while the Winnebagoes were always the most insolent, irascible and turbulent. At this time a large pond existed where the De Soto House now stands, corner of Main and Green Streets, and extended some distance northward, east of Main Street. Here the boys, both white and Indian, used to come to fish for years afterwards. During the high water, in Ib28, a catfish- weighing 106 pounds was caught at the present site of the De Soto House. In August, following his arrival, Smith Harris arid a young Sac boy, about his own age, sunk a hole, in search of mineral, on the north side of Franklin Street, about one fourth of a mile from the present court house, but were not very successful. At this time the white settlers were engaged in mining and smelting mineral dug hy themselves and furnished by the Indians, and in trading, but with a spirit of enterprise, characteristic of the frontier at that time, they were prospecting and making claims in the vicinity for miles around, and commenced the work of making settlements elsewhere, the particulars of which will be found in ihe township histories in another part of this volume.

In September, 1823. according to reports to the War Department, the only persons engaged in mining or smelting at Fever River mining district under lease from the government were: James Johnson, James Connor, B. Sy mines and E. Rutter. Dr. Meeker erected a furnace near the present site of Whittam Row, and being possessed of some capital, commenced business on a somewhat extensive scale. During the Fall of this year, James Harris commenced making a farm for Mr. Meeker, about two and one half miles north of the present city limits of Galena, at what has ever since been known as u Meoker's farm," and the next year, (1824) raised .a crop on it, and, as accurately as can be ascertained, planted there the iirst orchard in, the county in the same year.

In the Fall of 1823, Israel Garretson and Maria Bunce were married at the cabin of Dr. Meeker by an army officer, whose name can not be ascertained (possibly Maj. John Anderson, then stationed here as the government agent), as there was neither minister nor magistrate here. Miss Rutherford and William Hines were married at the same time. These, so far as is known, were the first marriages solemnized in this part of the country. About the same time, it is said that a General Schimerrnan died on Fever River, and was buried on Prospect Street, a short distance from Spring Street. This was the first death after the arrival of the Ohio immigrants.

John S. Miller and family also arrived at the mines in 1823, built a large, double log cabin in what is now called Oldtown, at the northwest corner of Branch and Dodge Streets, and kept a tavern and boarding house. George E. Jackson also returned to this region from Missouri.

1824. This year James Harris commenced making a farm on the Mississippi at Anderson's Slough, since known as Harris' Slough, and occu- pied the cabin abandoned by Major Anderson. This and the Meeker farm were the first farms known to have been cultivated in the mining district of Fever River, although at that time, and until about 1830, when lead was so low that the miners were compelled to plant or starve, the impression generally prevailed that this region was too far north to be an agricultural country, and that the soil was valuable only for the mineral it contained. This year witnessed still greater additions to the population of the settlement, now not confined to the banks of Fever River. Meeker's keel boat, the "Col. Burnford," came up the river again, loaded with immigrants. Among the passengers were the family of James Harris, consisting of his wife, Abigail Harris; sons, Robert Scribe (now living in Dubuque), Martin Keeler and James Meeker (now residing in Galena); and daughters, Selinda, Lucina and Eiecta ; James Smith and his wife, Susan Harris Smith ; Mrs. Mary R. Meeker,wife of Dr. Meeker; his sons, Jonathan, Henry ,Warner and John, and a daughter, Eveline (who married Potts), William Colvin, and others. Selinda Harris married John Ray in 1825, and the young couple were obliged to go to Prairie du Chien to be married, as there was no person then authorized to solemnize marriages in the Fever River Settlements. Lucina Harris married Lieut. C. C. Hobart, of the army, a nephew of Gen. Dearborn. Her second husband was William Blair. Electa married William H. Hooper, since delegate to Congress from Utah Territory. Among the other arrivals at the mines in 1824 were Orrin Smith, James L. Langworthy (who soon afterwards removed to Dubtique), Mathew Fawcett, Barney Dignan, P. Hogan, Michael Byrne, John Furlong, James Bruner, John Clews, Thompson Humes, Daniel Dyer and John Dugan.

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

In October, 1824, a son was born to Benson Hunt. The old family bible contains the following entry, now nearly effaced : " James Smith Hunt, born at 15 minutes past one o'clock P. M., on (day illegible) the 9th day of October, 1824." Soon after this event, Mary S. Miller, daughter of John S. Miller was born. Both these children were born within the limits of the present City of Galena, and, so far as is known, were the first white children born in Jo Daviess County.

1825. The immigration to the mines now became so large that only a few of the arrivals can be mentioned in the brief space allotted to this part of the work. John Foley, first sheriff of the county ; Capt. James Craig, a surveyor and a prominent man, and Capt. William Henry came this year. Craig's wife was a grand - daughter of Daniel Boone. He afterwards settled in Hanover, at what is now called " Craig's Mills." Later in the Fall of this year, Col. Henry Gratiot and his brother, John P. B. Gratiot, came to the Fever River Settlement in a light wagon, with three hired men and their outfit. They struck some mineral and made their first settlement in the valley, between Hinckley's and Waddell's Mounds.

Subsequently the Indians made some large discoveries fifteen miles from Fever River, in Michigan Territory. The Gratiots purchased from them the right of settlement, and located there, naming the place " Gratiot's Grove."

1826. Among those prominent in the early history of this region, who arrived in 1826, are Maj. T. B. Farnsworth, M. C. Comstock. Charles Gear, his son William T. Gear, his sister Sophia Gear, John Turney, William Smith, John Dowling and his son Nicholas, Capt. Allenwrath, Capt. Abraham Hathaway, Lemon Parker, William P. Tilton, R. P. Gaylord, James H. Hammett, John Campbell, William Townsend, Louis Chetlain and many others. Charles Gear was an enthusiastic Mason, and was undoubtedly instrumental in organizing Strangers Union Lodge, No. 14, the first masonic organization in " the mines," under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Missouri. Sophia Gear, his sister, opened the first school taught by a female, in 1827, and subsequently married Amos Farar. Allenwrath struck the lead called " Allenwrath Diggings,' 1 soon after his arrival. John Turney was a lawyer, said to be the first limb of the law to settle here. Hathaway was a butcher for some years, and then removed to G nil ford, where he now resides. Lemon Parker, William P. Tilton, D. B. Morehouse and Robert P. Guyard organized the firm of Parker, Tilton & Co., or the u Galena Mining Company," and located at Ottawa (now Burton's), one and one half miles above January's Point, on the east side" of the river, and for years this was a place of considerable importance. Steamboats ran up there, loaded with supplies, and to load with lead. The principal business of the company, says Mr. Lorrain, " was smelting lead ore, which was on an extensive scale. They used what were called ' log furnaces,' of which they had several. They also had a large building, filled with all kinds of miners' supplies, which they sold to the miners and took mineral in exchange. This firm continued to operate until the year 1829, when the partnership WMS -dissolved. One of the parties, Lemon Parker, converted the premises into a factory for the purpose of manufacturing sheet lead and lead pipe. The article made was of superior quality. Not receiving sufficient patronage, however, the business was abandoned. Shortly after, the war department ordered ten thousand dollars' worth of sheet lead, but the order came too late to save the enterprise, as at that time the machinery had .been taken out and sold." At Apple River (now Elizabeth), a large amount of mineral was raised and smelted, and the place was of some importance.

During this year a large number of Swiss arrived and settled here. These people had emigrated to the North Eed River in 1821, under the auspices of Lord Selkirk. They soon became dissatisfied with their location and, in 1823, some of them (among whom was Louis Chetlain) left that region and went to St. Louis. Mr. Chetlain and others came to Fever River in the Spring of 1826, and nearly all the colony at Red River left there, came to the mines in the Autumn of the same year, and settled in various parts of the mining district. Their descendants still live here, among the most respected and reliable citizens of the county.

June 4, 1826, the first post-office was established in the 'mining district. It was called " Fever River," Crawford County, Illinois. As this was then Peoria County, the post-office department evidently labored under the impression that Crawford County, Michigan Territory, was in Illinois. Ezekiel Lockwood was appointed postmaster. The office was located at the northwest corner of Perry and Main Streets, and was to be supplied from Vandalia,* the mails being transported on horseback once in two weeks. December 17, 1829, the name of the post-office was changed to " Galena," Jo Daviess County, 111.

In July, 1826, the upper street in the town was surveyed and staked off into lots, the surveying being done by Israel Mitchell and James Craig. The first mention of the " Town of Galena," so far as is known, occurs December 27, 1826. Several permits granted by Thomas McKnight, February 22, 1827, are dated Galeni.

August 7, 1826, occurred probably the first election held in the mining district. This was then the Fever River Precinct of Peoria County, which embraced all the settlers in the mining region, extending far up into Michigan Territory. The poll book contains two hundred and two names, as previously shown on page 225.

September, 1826, a school was opened in a little log building on the south side of Franklin, near Bench, and was taught by Dr. John O. Hancock. Dr. Hancock was employed by Mr. Meeker on salary for a year, but early in the Winter received intelligence of sickness in his family, and went East, employing Samuel S. Lawrence to take his place in the school. Lawrence taught until Hancock returned with his family, in the Spring of 1827. On his return, Hancock threw up his contract and engaged in the practice of his profession, and John G. Hughlett, then just arrived, took the school, in April, 1827, and continued it for some years.

*Regular mail service was not established until 1828.

In 1826, Thomas H. January, one of the earliest settlers, had a smelting establishment at Buncombe, and his diggings, known as "January's Patch Diggings," extended over a large part of the eastern portion of what is now Vinegar Hill Township. George E. Jackson had previously smelted here as early, probably, as 1825.

1827. The condition of the mining district at this time is graphically portrayed in the following extract from, a communication signed " H," (supposed to be written by Dr. H. Newhall), published in the Miners' Journal of May 9, 1832 :

At the close of 1826 there were but few inhabitants in the country. About fifteen log cabins constituted what is now the City of Galena, and in the year ending30th of September, 1826, there was manufactured, in the whole lead mining country, only 958,842 pounds of lead. In the Spring of 1827, vast numbers of persons immigrated to these mines. Buildings were raised, one after another, in rapid succession, and the town and county continued to flourish until July 1, when the Winnebago War (more extended reference to which will hereafter be made) commenced. All mining operations stopped, and thousands left the county. But in the Spring of 1828, immigrants began to arrive, and on the 14th of July of this year there were in the Village of Galena one hundred and ninety-five dwelling houses, warehouses and shops, and forty-six buildings were commenced, but not, at that time, finished. The number of inhabitants in the village was 669. The population at the mines was estimated at 10,000.

One peculiarity of the miners was to apply to the people from the various states, names suggested by some peculiarity of character or surrounding circumstances. Miners and others came in such large numbers from Missouri as to suggest to the fertile imagination of the hardy settlers the idea that the State of Missouri had taken an emetic, and forthwith all Missourians were dubbed "Pukes." The people of Southern Illinois had the habit of coming up here with their teams in the Spring to haul mineral and work in the mines, but regularly returned to their homes in the Fall. This suggested that they were like the fish called " suckers,' which run up the small streams in the Spring, and run down to deeper water at the approach of cold weather. All Illinoisans were called " Suckers," therefore, and here, in the lead mines of the Upper Mississippi, originated the term which is now applied to a'll residents of the " Sucker State." Kentuckians were called " corn-crackers ; " Indiauians, " Hoosiers ; " Ohioans, " Buckeyes," etc.

Among those who have been prominent in the history of this county, who arrived in 1827, are, Dr. Horatio Xewhall, Capt. II. H. Gear and family, John G. Hughlett, James G. Soulard, William B. Green, Harvey Mann, Charles Peck (of firm of Hooper, Peck and Scales), Solomon Oliver, Allan Tomlin, Gov. Thomas Ford, Col. James M. Strode, C. C. P. Hunt, Capt. John Atchison, Paul M. Gratiot, Nathaniel Morris, Moses Hallett, Lucius H. and Edward Langworthy, William Hempstead, D. B. Morehouse, and many others whose names are familiar in Jo Daviess County, and of whom want of space alone forbids mention.

Dr. Newhall arrived here March 31, 1827, 26 days from St. Louis, and engaged in mining and smelting, but abandoned it the next year and resumed the practice of his profession. Jan. 27, 1830, he married Elizabeth P. P. Bates, by whom he had six children, three sons and three daughters. In the Fall of 1830 he became a surgeon in the U. S. Army, and was stationed at Fort Winnebago, but retired from the service and returned to Galena in 1832. When the Black Hawk War broke out he volunteered his services, and, by order of Gen. Scott, established a military hospital at Galena, of which he had sole control until the end of the war, and was warmly complimented by Gen. Scott for its "neatness and good arrangement." Aug. 19, 1832, lie wrote to his brother that he had received all of the wounded and most of the sick of an army of 5,000 men, and besides, he says, " I have not visited less than twenty per day for several weeks out of the hospital." With the army came the Asiatic Cholera, which prevailed in its most malignant form. It was the first time it had appeared in the United States. The disease was new and its treatment unsettled. Dr. Newhall soon formed a decided opinion as to the pathology of the disease and its proper treatment, and such was his success that his name was a household word from St. Louis to the Falls of St. Anthony. Dr. Newhall, in addition to his extensive practice, found time for much literary labor. The Miners' Journal, the tir^t newspaper in the mining district, was under his editorial charge, as was also the Galena Advertiser, afterwards published by Newhall, Philleo & Co. He died on Monday, Sept. 19, 1870. Dr. Newhall was a man of marked character, stern integrity and superior ability. He largely moulded public opinion in this region, and at his death left in the hearts and memories of this people a monument more enduring than the marble that marks his last resting place.

Capt. Hezekiah H. Gear, who also arrived at the mines in April, 1827, was another man who exercised a powerful influence in this (then) new country. His brother, Charles, had removed to Buncombe, and he lived on Meeker's Bench, near where Benson Hunt lived, for three months, and then removed to Buncombe (or Bunkharn, as it is shown on old maps) and located a mining tract about seven miles from Galena, near the Village of Old Council Hill, and called his place "Tower Hill" from a large rock, something in the form of a tower, on his claim. As showing the trials and hardships of the pioneer settlers at that time, Capt. Gear's daughter, Charlotte (who subsequently married Capt. George W. Girdon) relates that when her father built his cabin at Tower Hill, he cut his logs on a steep bluff on the banks of Fever River, rolled them into the water and towed them, one by one, up stream half a mile to the site he had selected, by tying one end of a rope around the log and the other end around his body, and walking up, sometimes in the water, sometimes on the bank. When he had thus collected a sufficient number of logs, the miners in the vicinity helped him raise his cabin. The roof of this cabin was thatched with long prairie grass and covered with sods. The floor of the cabin was the native earth, and as the roof was not water- tight, the situation of the inmates in a rain storm can be imagined. The next year Capt. Gear sawed some planks from pine logs with a whip-saw, and laid a floor. It was just after a heavy storm, when it rained indoors harder than it did out, and Mrs. Girdon (then a miss of ten years) says: "I never expect to be so happy again, this side of Heaven, as I was when that floor was laid." Capt. Gear soon after provided a better roof and the family was better housed; but such was pioneer life in the mines in 1827. Just after the close of the Black Hawk War, in which he participated, he discovered an immense deposit of mineral. Shortly before his death he declared that he had realized from the sale of 26,000,000 pounds of lead ore, all taken from that mine. He became one of the most wealthy and enterprising men of the JSTorthwe^t, and at one time he Was, perhaps, more extensively engaged in mining and smelting than any other person.

In connection with Godfrey, Gilman & Co., of Alton, and backed by the old State Bank of Illinois, he largely controlled the business of lead mining and gave a prodigious impetus to the mining interests by advancing largely to miners and inciting them to new discoveries. In the competition in the purchase of mineral at the time, it was said that in traveling over the country in the pursuit of his object, he used to carry his money in the top of his hat, ready to advance to any miner who pretended to have a reasonable "show" of mineral.

In 1847 Capt. Gear was a member of the State Senate. He was one of the original projectors of the Illinois Central Railroad; also of the Pacific. He was three times married, and left five children: Charlotte Maria (now Mrs. Girdon), Alexander H., John C., Clarissa E. and William O. Impetuous and indomitable energy, undaunted courage, unyielding firmness, strictest honesty and great generosity were the prominent char- acteristics of Capt. H. H. Gear. In the days of his prosperity he con- tributed liberally to all public and charitable enterprises. He gave to Galena the lots on which its public school building stands, and established the Episcopal Church in Galena. He was and is a part of the history of Jo Daviess County.

James G. Soulard, now an aged man, still lives amid the scenes of his earlier life. Of him Hon. E. B. Washburne says: "He still holds that high place in the esteem, respect and affection of all our people which a long life of probity and honor have secured to him. Is probably the only man living who ascended the Mississippi River from St. Louis to Fort Snelling as early as 1821. What he has lived to see in the development of this country, surpasses all that which could have been conceived by the wildest imagination."

Early in 1827 the name of the Village of Fever River was changed to Galena, and became generally known by that name. It is said that Samuel C. Muir belongs the honor of giving it this name, suggested by the name applied to lead ore, but this is doubtful. A public meeting was held to select a name, in the Winter of 1826-'7, and at that meeting Richard W. Chandler is said to have suggested the name "Galena," which was adopted. The first public religious services known to be held in the mines occurred in 1827, conducted, says Lorrain, by Rev. Revis Cormac. It is said, however, that an Episcopal clergyman, a chaplain of the Hudson Bay Company at York Factory; was here, weather bound, in 1826, and preached on Sunday in the log tavern then just built opposite the present site of the De Soto House.

In the Autumn of this year Hugh W. Shannon built a saw mill on Small Pox Creek, about one mile from its mouth, having received a permit dated July 17, 1827, from the superintendent of lead mines to occupy 80 acres of land there. This, says Mr. St. Cyr, is the first saw mill known to be built in this county. Mr. Seymour, in his "History of Galena," published in the first directory, 1847, says: "The first mill in this section of county, carried by water power, was a corn-cracker, erected on Spring Brook, near the northern limits of the city. The hopper held about a peck, and the building which sheltered it was a dry goods box." But singularly enough Mr. Seymour omitted to give the date of this primitive mill. It is now to be added, however, that this mill was put in operation by Hiram Imus in 1828. It was the corn-cracker of the pioneers, a cast iron mill, like a huge coffee mill. These mills were usually run by hand, but Imus contrived to run his machine by water.

During this year (1827), much sickness prevailed in the Mining District. Dysentery, diarrhoea, or flux, prevailed as an epidemic to an alarming extent. The few doctors in the county were constantly engaged, but there was much suffering for the want of medical attendance and proper nursing, and many deaths occurred in consequence.

In the Winter of 1826-'7 occurred the famous dispute, graphically described in Lorrain's " Centennial History." In the Summer or Fall of 1826, two boys had discovered a" rich lead. Complying with the regulations to secure their claim, they concluded to let it rest for a while, and attend Mr. Lawrence's school. While doing this, an adventurer, who had lost, as the miners termed it, his " bottom dollar," came across their diggings, " jumped," and applied to the agent for a permit. Mr. McKnight, discovering that the boys made a prior claim, appointed J. Duncan and James Higley arbitrators in the case, who decided in favor of the boys. Lorrain says:

The defeated party, being a great athletic fellow, declared that he would not stand by the "'decision, but would resort to the law of might. Early the next morning the two lads, instead of going to school, armed themselves and went out to their claim. They had not been there long before their opponent also appeared, fully armed. The boys ordered him to stand, and told him that now was the time to try the case by his code, lie scanned their countenances for a few moments and then left, never disturbing them again. Both of these boys are now living, in the persons of Capt. D. S. Harris, of Galena, and his brother, R. S. Harris, of Dubuque, Iowa.

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

Nov. 20, 1827.
Dear Brother:
I received, by the last mail brought here by steamboat "Josephine," a newspaper from you, on the margin of which were endorsed the following words: "Write a full account.'' I was rejoiced to see once more a Massachusetts paper, and presume you meant by the endorsement, a full account of " Fever River." This would puzzle me or any other person on the River. It is a nondescript. It is such a place as no one could conceive of, without seeing it. Strangers hate it, and residents like it. The appearance of the country would convince any one it must be healthy; yet, last season, it was more sickly than Havana or New Orleans. There is no civil law here, nor has the Gospel been yet introduced; or, to make use of a common phrase here, " Neither law nor Gospel can pass the rapids of the Mississippi." The country is one immense prairie, from the Rock River on the south to the Ouisconsiu on the north, and from the Mississippi on the west, to Lake Michigan on the east. It is a hilly country and abounding with lead ore of that species called by mineralogists " galena," whence is derived the name of our town. The lead mines of the Upper Mississippi, as well as those ot Missouri, are under the control of the Secretary of War. Lieutenant Thomas is superintendent. He resides at St. Louis : a bub-agent resides at this place. Any person wishing to dig gets a permit of the agent to do so, by signing certain regulations, the principal of which is that he will sell his mineral to no one but a regularly licensed smelter. He has all the mineral he can raise, and sells it at $17.50 per thousand (pounds), delivered at the furnaces. Any person who gets a permit stakes off two hundred yards square. This is his lot so long as he works it, and no one can interfi-re with his discoveries. Any person who will give bond to government for $5,000 can have half a mile square, on condition that he employs 20 laborers, and pays government ten per cent of lead made from mineral raised on his survey, or sells his mineral to a public smelter. The publc smelters, of which I am one, give bond for $20,000 to pay government one tenth of all lead manufactured. They buy mineral of any person who lias a permit to dig, manufacture it into lead, pay government one tenth, monthly, and are the great men of the country. The mineral, lead, and cash all go into their hands. H. Newhall & Co. got their furnace in operation 1st of Sept., 1827. I made, by the 15th, twenty tons of lead. My men became sick, and I made but 14,000 pounds until 1st of November, since which time I have manufactured about 17,000 pounds every week. I have a store of goods, in Galena, for the sup- ply of those with whom I have dealings, and never sell anything for less than 50 per cent advance. My furnace is on the Sinsinawa River, three miles from Galena, a stream navigable for boats to my furnace. * * * The privilege of working these mines, you know, was first given by the government to Col. Johnson, of Kentucky, five years ago (in 1822). He did but little and sunk money. Not much lead was made here till last year. There were then four log buildings in Galena. Now there are one hundred and fifteen houses and stores in the place. It is the place of deposit for lead and provisions, etc., for all the mining country. There is no spot in America, of the same size, where there is one fourth of the capital, or where so much business is done. There was manufactured here, in the year ending September last, five million seven hundred and forty pounds of lead. The population consists mainly of Americans, Irish and French (that is, in the diggings). There are but compara- tively few females. Hence, every female, unmarried, who lands on these shores, is immediately married. Little girls, fourteen and thirteen years old, are often married here. Three young ladies, who came, fellow passengers with me, in June, and the only ones on board, are all married months since. Du' Buque's Mines, on the opposite side of the Mississippi, are worked by the Fox Indians. They, however, merely skim the surface. The windlass and bucket are not known among them. Du' Buque's Mines is a delightful spot, particularly the Fox Village, on the bank of the Mississippi. But of all the places in the United States, which I have seen, Rock Island, at the lower rapids of the Mississippi, called the Rapids of the Des Moines, is by far the most beautiful. Fort Armstrong is on this island. At the mouth of Fever River is a trading house of the American Fur Company. Their trading houses are scattered up and down the Mississippi, on the River Des Moines, St. Peters, etc. Their capital is so large, and they gave such extensive credit to the Indians, that no private establishment can compete with them. An Indian debt is outlawed, by their own custom, in one year. The fur company credits each Indian hunter a certain amount from one to five hundred dollars, according to his industry and skill in hunting and trapping. If, when they return in the Spring, they have not furs and peltry enough to pay the debt, the trader loses it. But on the goods sold to the Indians there is a profit of two or three hundred per cent made, and a profit on the furs received in payment.

Dec. 7, 1827.
Fever River was closed with ice on the 21st of November, and, of course, navigation is ended, and I have not sent my letter. I now have an opportunity to forward it by private conveyance to Vandalia. We are now shut out from all intercourse with the world until the river opens again in Spring. We have no mail as yet, but shall have a mail once in two weeks to commence the 1st of January next. I have not received a letter from one of my friends since I have been in Fever River. I hope you will write me before 1st of January, or as soon as you receive this letter. Sincerely yours,
H. NEWHALL.

This letter was mailed at Vandalia Dec. 25, and by it is established the fact that although Fever River post-office was established in 1826, it was not regularly supplied, even once a fortnight, until the Spring of 1828. Mails were brought by steamboat in the Summer, and in the Winter the people had none.

In the Fall of 1827, Strader & Thompson brought a keel-boat load of general merchandise, including a quantity of flour and pork, from St. Louis. Mr. Bouthillier, whose trading house was on the east side of the river, near the present site of the railroad station, purchased the entire cargo to secure the flour, as that was scarce, even then. Winter set in without a sufficient supply of provisions to supply the wants of the miners. Nearly all the flour obtainable was held by Bouthillier. It was sour and hard. He chopped it out of the barrels with hatchets, pounded it, sifted it loosely into other barrels, filling two with the original contents of one, and then sold it for $30 per barrel. Even then, the settlers saw with alarm, that there was not enough to last until Spring. The Winter of 1827-'8 was mild and open until Jan. 6 ; the streets had been muddy, and " not freezing in the least, even at night " but the river froze over then. Word had reached St. Louis that the people in the mines were destitute of provisions. The steamboat, "Josephine," Capt. Clark, was loaded with flour and started oif to take her chances of getting as near as possible to the mines. Slowly she made her way up the Mississippi, and when she reached the mouth of Fever River, the warm weather had weakened the ice, and she made her way, unheralded, to Galena. The date of her arrival is fixed by the following entry in a memorandum book, kept by Dr. H. Newhall: " Feb. 25, 1828, arrived steamboat ' Josephine ;' broke the ice to get up Fever Biver." Farther corroborated by a letter from Dr. Newhall to his brother, dated. March 1, 1828, in which he says: " To our astonishment, on Monday last, a steamboat arrived from St. Louis." The people rushed to the bank, rejoiced and amazed to see a steamboat loaded with flour, except Bouthillier. The day before, Mr. Gratiot had offered him $25 a barrel forall the flour he had, and the offer was refused. Feb. 27, the river froze over, and March 5 the boat was still detained by ice, but arrived at St. Louis about March 14.

The following extracts from a letter from Dr. H. Newhall to his brother, dated March 1, 1S28, will give some idea of social life in the mines 50 years ago:

We have had but two mails this Winter. It has been pleasantly warm here during Winter, and the 'Heavy rains caused the ice in the river to break. * * It has been extremely cold for four days ; the river is closed with ice, and the boat (the " Josephine," which an ived' on tne 25ih), consequently detained. We have been almost completely isolated from the rest of tlie world this Winter. We have received the President's Message and proceedings of Congress up to the 2Gth of December, since that time we have had nothing. We, in Galena, enjoyed ourselves well during the Winter. There have been ten or twelve balls, the last was on the 22d of February. At noon a salute was fired from the cannon received during the Winnebago War. In the evening a ball was given at the Cottage Hotel (the name applied by Dr. N. to the log tavern on the west side of Main Street, corner of Green), in a hall (building) sycty feet in length, ornamented with evergreens. * * There were sixty ladies and ninety gentlemen present. The ladies were elegantly dressed, and many of them were handsome. The ball was managed with a degree of propriety and decorum scarcely to be expected in this wild countiy. Had I been suddenly transported into the ball-room, I should have imagined myself in some eastern city, rather than in the wilds of the upper Mississippi. Little should I have dreamed that within five miles was the home of the savage, and that only twelve miles off is a large Fox village, where I have witnessed the Indian dance around a fresh taken scalp. .March 5. The steamboat (" Josephine ") is still detained by ice. * * The Miners' Journal, a newspaper, will be commenced at Galena by 1st of May next. The proprietor, in his prospectus, calls it the Northern Herald. He altered the'name at my suggestion. * * " Old Buck," the Fox chief, who discovered (?) the famous " Buck Lead," has been encamped all Winter within a mile of my furnace (on the Sinsinawa, three miles from town). Himself and sons often visit me in town.

The Miner's Journal, to which allusion is made, was not started at the time fixed. The first number was issued July 8, 1828, by James Jones, proprietor, under the editorial supervision of Dr. Newhall. The first printing in the first printing office established at Galena, by Jones, is said to have been an invitation to a ball and excursion, of which the following is a fac simile as to style, orthography and punctuation:

--- Managers. STEAMBOAT INDIANA. AMERICAN INDIPENDENCE.
The pleasure of your company is respectfully solicited to a Party to be given on board the Steam-Boat Indiana, on Friday the 4th day of July, at 8 o'clock, A. M.
M. C. COMSTOCK, L. R. M. MORCE, W. P. TILLTON, D. B. MOREHOUSE, W. HEMPSTEAD, G. H.M'NEAiR, J. H. LOCKWOOD, H. NEWHALL.
Galena June 24, 1828.

The date of the highest water in the Mississippi within the period of the occupation of this county by the whites, lias been variously stated by historians, and men's memories differ. It has been fixed by Seymour, Lorrain and others as occurring in the Summer of 1826. Careful inquiry, however, seems to establish the fact that while the water in the river was high in 1826, it was still higher in 1827, and the highest flood occurred June, 1828. Capt. D. S. Harris, H. B. Hunt, Allan Tomlin, H. H. Gear, and others who were here at that time, agree on the statement that the highest water was in 1828, when, says Capt. H., " the Indians informed me that it was two feet higher' than they had ever known it." Steamboats crossed the Portage in ten feet of water, passed along over the bottom where Main Street now is located (the street has been raised considerable since then), took on lead at Meeker's Point, near the present Court House, ran up Meeker's Branch and loaded lead at Miller's tavern, etc. The water backed up to Hughlett's furnace. Capt. Harris states that in " 1826 there was a heavy freshet on the Wisconsin River, which submerged Prairie du Chien, but it did not extend to the upper Mississippi or to the other tributaries, hence was not felt here very much." lie also states that the water was always higher in the Mississippi, and, of course, in Fever River, in those earlier years than it is now.

The arrivals at the minea during 1828 were very numerous. The Sucker trails were full of teams, and steamboats and keel-boats were loaded with emigrants. Among the numerous throng may be mentioned George Ferguson, B. C. St. Cyr, W. Townsend, Jesse Morrison, and hundreds of others. Daniel Wann, Frederick Stahl, Emily C. Billon (who subsequently married John Atchison), C. S. Hempstend, and Rev. Aratus Kent, are among the arrivals of 1829. Mr. Wann has been intimately connected with the history of this region from that day to the present. He was formerly largely engaged in trade and in river navigation, but for the last 25 years has been Surveyor of the Port of Galena, and, says Mr. Washburne, " has always performed his duty with so much satisfaction to the Government and the people, through all administrations, that, in all the desire for office, no man has ever sought to displace him." Mr. Kent organized the first Presbyterian Church, Oct. 23, 1831, with six members, as follows: Abraham Hathaway, Abraham Miller, Eliza Barnes, Ann Crow, Susan Gratiot and Isabella McKibbins. Mr. Stahl engaged in trade, and, so far as known, took the first lead by wagon to Chicago, in 1833, at the time the Potawattomie Treaty was made. He loaded two eight-ox teams, belonging to Hiram Edes, with 3,500 pounds of lead each. The route was via Dixon, and, says Mr. Stahl, these teams made the first heavy Wagon trail on that route, although some light government wagons had passed over the route in 1832.

Among those who came here prior to 1830, whose names have not been mentioned, were James Jones, who established the Miners' Journal, Dr. Addison Philleo, John L. Bogardus (1826), Benj. Mills, one of the most brilliant lawyers of his time, Dr. A. T. Crow, Samuel Scales, Robert Graham, Henry Dodge.

In 1829, David G. Bates built a small steamboat at Cincinnati and called her the " Galena," to run between Galena and St. Louis. In the Spring or Summer of that year, Robert S. Harris went to Cincinnati and came up on her first trip as engineer.

October 10, 1829, that sturdy pioneer, who had done so much for the infant settlement; who had made the first farm in Northern Illinois; who had seen the little hamlet on Fever River suddenly expand, in the short space of six years, into a town of no little commercial importance JAMES HARRIS died suddenly of cholera, the second victim, it is said, of that terrible scourge in the " mines," and the second to be borne to his final resting place under Masonic honors (Thomas H. January being the first, Dec. 1, 1828). Mr. Harris enjoyed the entire confidence of the. people among whom he lived and died. He was one' of the first commissioners of Jo Daviess County, and one of the first justices of the peace in the county. He was faithful to the interests confided to him by the people, and was the first man in the county who died in office. James Harris was born in Connecticut, October 14, 1777; married Abigail Barthrick, of Kinderhook, N. Y. (born March 24, 1782), November 9, 1797. Subsequently removed to Ohio, thence to Fever River. By the death of her husband Mrs. Harris was left with six children at home to rear and train, the eldest of whom was then but twenty years old. The brave women who accompanied their pioneer husbands to this wild country at that early day, of whom Mrs. Harris was one of the first, are entitled to a conspicuous place in history. They were indeed the mothers of the frontier, the worthy companions and counselors of those noble and fearless men the advance guard of civilization destined ere long to occupy the whole country. Mrs. Harris was a woman of sterling worth, a consistent Christian, affable, charitable, and universally beloved and respected. She lived to see her children become useful and honored members of society, and died July 9, 1844.

In the Winter of 1832-'3, Captain D. S. Harris and his brother, R. S. Harris, built the first steamboat built on Fever River, at the Portage, and called her the " Jo Daviess." These men were among the earliest pioneers in Galena stearnboating. No men on the Upper Mississippi were ever better known or more highly esteemed and respected. They were perfect masters of their- profession, and as engineers, pilots and commanders, had no superiors. They run the "Jo Daviess " themselves, and prior to 1840 bought out the " Heroine," the " Frontier," the " Smelter," the " Relief," the " Pizarro," the " Pre-emption," and the "Otter." ,P> Negro slavery existed in the mines for some years. Many of the early miners were from slave-holding states, and brought their slaves with them. In 1823, when Captain Harris arrived, there were from 100 to 150 negroes here. Under the ordinance of 1787, slavery was forever prohibited in the Northwestern Territory, but Illinois sought to evade this organic law by the enactment of statutes by which these slaves could be held here as " indentured " or " registered servants," and these statutes were known as the Black Laws. As late as March 10, 1829, the commissioners of Jo Daviess County ordered a tax of one half per cent to be levied and collected on " town lots, slaves, indentured or registered servants" etc.* There is now living in Galena a venerable old colored man, Swanzy Adams, born a slave, in Virginia, in April, 1796, who moved to Kentucky, and thence, in April, 1827, to Fever River, as the slave of James A. Duncan, on the old steamer " Shamrock." His master "hired him " to Captain Comstock, for whom he worked as a miner. He subsequently bought himself for $1,500 (although he quaintly says, " good boys like me could be bought in Kentuck for $350 "), and discovered a lead on Sunday that paid it,. but he was compelled to serve five years longer as a slave, and was once kidnapped and taken to St. Louis. "Old Swanzy," as he is familiarly called, is the sole survivor of the slaves held under the Black Laws of Illinois, then in force, but which have long since been swept from her statute books. It is pleasant to add that, by hard labor, industry and economy, since he owned himself, " Swanzy " has secured a comfortable home and competence against want in his declining years.

For many years, and as late as 1856-'7, the only money current in the mines consisted of British sovereigns and French five-franc pieces. The former were rated at $4.90 often passing for $5, and the latter were current at $1.00.

Just before the commencement of the Black Hawk "War (to be noticed more at length hereafter), the whole mining district was in a prosperous condition. In 1S29-'30, the price of lead went down, and for two or three years the miners labored under serious disadvantages, but in 1830 the government reduced the lead rent from 10 to 6 per cent, lead advanced until, in 1832, it commanded a fair price, and the condition of the county at that time is admirably summed up in an article published in the Miners' Journal of May 9, 1832, as follows :

The miner, the smelter and the merchant all transact a cash business. Fine farms are to seen in every part of the country. Mills are built on almost every stream. Machines are in operation for the rolling of lead and for the manufacture of leaden pipes. A shot tower is being built at Helena.f "Laborers receive Irom $15 to $20 per month and their board. There are three churches in the town of Galena a Catholic, a Methodist and a Presbyterian. There is a temperance society of seventy-five members, and a temperance society of forty-five members. Education is encouraged and promoted. Justice is regularly administered'. Numerous crimes common in older settlements are here wholly unknown. Most persons sleep with unbarred doors, and sleep in safety. A jail has been finished three years, and during all that lime has not been occupied a single week. The people of Galena are generally well dressed, polite and soiable, and if there is a place where a respectable stranger finds pure, unalloyed hospitality, it is at the Upper Mississippi Slavery existed in the mines for several years after this date, and was not finally abolished until about 1840.

This was on what was called January's Point. The tower was never built, but the foundations were commenced, and the location is now called " Shot Tower Hill." Sheet lead was manufactured a short time by Parker, at Ottawa, but the enterprise was soon abandoned.

Lead mines. One hundred and two steamboats* and seventy-two keel-boats have arrived in a single year, and the annual product of lead has increased to 13,343,150 pounds.

It is now necessary to return to a review of the early history and management of the lead mines under United States authority. Prior to the appointment of Lieut. Martin Thomas, as superintendent of United States lead mines, in August, 1824, there does not appear to have been an agent of the government here authorized to grant leases and permits to operate on United States lands. Leases of large tracts were obtained from the government, and on these lands, small miners were permitted to enter and dig under the lessees. But their numbers were few. In 1823 the prin- cipal leads worked were all old Indian and French mines struck anew. There were diggings on January's Point, about six hundred yards above January's warehouse. On the school section just above were two leads. Next north was the "Hog" lead, beyond which were the "Doe" and " Buck " leads, the latter of which had been worked by French miners under Dubuque. Then there was the " Old Cave Diggings," on Cave Branch, in what is now Vinegar Hill Township, that had a]so been worked by Dubuque, and the old "Indian lead," west of the "Buck lead." On the east side of the river was the "Back-bone lead," about half a mile east of January's Point, and Yanmatre's lead, on the east side of Apple River, near the present Village of Elizabeth. On the west, near Anderson's (now Harris') Slough, were two old French leads, one of which was worked by McLanahan, and the old " Indian Diggings," west of Galena two miles. In 1824, John and Cuyler Armstrong struck a lead on the middle fork of Miller's Branch (now Meeker's), above the old Indian leads. North of this another lead was struck, near where the Comstock lead was afterward dis- covered. Mr. Vanderslice had made a discovery about two miles northwest of the settlement, and two new leads east of Vinegar Hill, were worked by J. Bruner, Michael Byrne and John Furlong. On Cave Branch, one and one quarter miles southeast of " Cave Diggings," John Armstrong had found a good lead, and " the only one," says Captain Harris, " where I ever saw native lead sticking to mineral." These were all the principal diggings known in what is now Jo Daviess County when Lieut. Thomas arrived, and they had all, or nearly all, been previously worked by the Indians and French.

Up to that time it is probable that the local agent, Major Anderson, had not been authorized to grant leases and permits. Johnson and others had obtained their leases at Washington. But the Fever River lead deposits were found to be richer than those of Missouri, and the greater facility with which the mines or " leads " were worked attracted a large number of miners from Missouri. The government of the United States had, by advertisements in the leading papers of the Union, called the attention of the people to these lead mines, and invited miners and settlers to the region. They were flocking hither, and it became indispensable to station a resident superintendent here, clothed with authority to grant permits and leases, issue regulations, settle disputes, etc. There was no other law at that time.

It was nothing remarkable to see fifteen or twenty large Mississippi steamboats in the river at a time, and Captain Harris is sufficient authority for the statement that steamboats have arrived or departed in every month in the year. The channel of the river, which has very little current, has become filled up now, so that steamers can come up to Galena only in high water, but the people think, not without reason, that if the government would improve the channel by dredging with the construction of a narrow guage railroad now in operation from this point into the mining districts of Wisconsin some, at least, of the old prestige of Galena would return.