Recollections of People and Events Of Dubuque, Iowa 1846-1890 (Part 2)

RECOLLECTIONS OF PEOPLE

AND EVENTS OF

DUBUQUE, IOWA

1846-1890

By Josiah Conzett

1841-1913

Continued

Part 2

by the name of Luther lived. I shall always remember them. They were a profane, wicked lot. There were four children: three boys and one girl. John, the oldest, is the sole [234] survivor. He lives in Guttenberg, Iowa, and is as profane as ever. All the buildings now in that block not here mentioned have been built from 1859 up and into the seventies. The block south, on the same side, on the corner of 7th, was the house (a frame) and home of John King, one of Dubuque's earliest settlers, editor and proprietor of Iowa's first newspaper. He was also the first one to build a home on Broadway St. at its upper end: a fine brick house and extensive grounds planted in grapes &c. Here he died at a good old age. This in later years was also the home of John Melhop, Sr., the grocer, and here he and his wife also died. The house next door from King's was a small frame dwelling. It was at one time a private German school. I attended it a few months when I was 7 or 8 years old. At this school, Anna Vonashen & me vowed eternal love to each other. (165) On the corner of 6th St. there was an old two story frame house, the home of the Weigel family for a year or two after 1850/51. There were three sons and five or six daughters. Fred, the oldest, was even at that time well to do. He was a partner of old John D. Bush in a flour mill business and a pork packing plant. They say he was too sharp for old John D., and got the largest share of the business and profits. Be that as it may, we know that even before the war he was a wealthy young man. The other two boys, Phillip and Charles, were soldiers all through the Civil War. I clerked with Phil at Ackley, Skemp & Addinsell and, later, up to 1873, at J and A Christman's. The boys both loved liquor only too well, and Phil died in the late seventies from its use and effect. Charlie got into a woman's scrape in 1868. He ran away and the last heard of him he was a Texas [235] cowboy. Too bad, there never was a braver soldier than Charlie. The girls (all but Mary, the youngest) are all married, 2 or 3 are dead. The oldest, Mrs. Healey (Geo. Healey's mother), still lives, although very aged. The houses on 6th, both sides, to the alley have been built since 1860. The house on the corner (east side) of 7th St. was in the early days built and owned by Mr. Cadanns, the watchmaker. He moved to Potosi, Wis. in the early sixties. Next were two brick residences, and below and near the corner was the brick residence of Dr. G. W. Scott: "the cold water doctor", called so because he was about the first homeopathic doctor we knew. He, some time in the fifties, built a

frame building on his lot at the corner of 6th that he used as office and a laboratory. There were three children, a son: Samuel, and two girls, the oldest the wife of Will Burden. All but Sam and the youngest daughter are dead. In the same block and side I can remember only two houses. One was an old frame where a poor old widow with a dissolute son tried to eke out a living keeping boarders. The other, on the corner of 5th, was a nice two story frame, built and owned by a lawyer named Reed. He was of Indian decent, his wife was the beauty of the city. They had two children, a boy & girl. All have passed away years ago. Burt, the son, was connected with the U.S. QM Dept. at Nashville, Tennessee in 1864. On the west side of the street (Iowa), between 5th and 6th St., there were only 2 buildings even up 1857. Near the corner of 6th there was a two story double brick residence. The next lot below had a small log and frame house which, up to 1856, was the home of the Ploeckly family, parents of Matt (this family is mentioned on [236] the Clay St. page). The lots from there to the corner of 5th were lumber yards. On 5th St. to the alley there was a blacksmith and a carpenter shop. On and between 4th & 5th, west side of (Iowa) St., there were only 2 or 3 buildings. From the corner of 5th to the alley there were then 2 or 3 buildings (frame). There lived (166) the tailor Gillick, who killed his wife one morning in 1856 or 57, and was hung for the crime out at Eagle Point in 1858. On the alley there was a double brick house, still there in 1890, but an unsightly ruin. There were one or two small houses between 4th & 5th St. On the corner of 4th was the two story brick residence of the Simplot family. This was built at an early day in the forties. The Simplots were of the earliest settlers and it was then one of Dubuque's fine places. It had about one hundred foot front on Iowa St. The east side of the same street, between 4th and 5th, was a little better built up. The corner of 5th and down nearly 1/3 of the block was the property and home of the Fanning family. They were already noted on these pages as the owner of the horse ferry Ocean Wave. Their house was a large frame, but a fine one. I think both the old people died there. It is now the site of H. B. Glover & Co.'s warehouse. Below that was a row of 2 story brick houses. The corner one was the residence (1849 to 1851 or 1852) of Mr. Thaubald, the soap manufacturer. His plant was on the south part of Dublin, then so called (& still is), right under the bluff. He had a good business and was thought to be in the best circumstances. He died from cholera in the summer of 1854.

He had made no will, and the administrators, one of whom was [237] J. P. Farley, in some way got hold of the property by paying the widow the pitiful sum of six hundred dollars for it. It was a shameful swindle, as it was worth that many thousands. She, in a short time, married a Mr. Von Hallen that worked for Mr. Thaubald. He was a shiftless fellow, and in a year or so from affluence and plenty, she and her 3 children were reduced to almost poverty. She died sometime in the late seventies. Two of her children by Mr. T. died before she did. She had 2 daughters by her last husband: Anna & Sophia. Mr. Thaubald was a fine looking and good man. He was the first Elder of the German Presbyterian Church. Our minister boarded with them. At that time they lived right next to the factory, a house Mr. T. had just built. I was sent down to Mr. Van Vliet for medicine for the Buettell family at the time of Mr. Thaubalds death, and I saw him as he lay dead on his bed. I shall never forget it. The next block, and in fact down to the end of Iowa St. on the east side, there was only one building. That was on the corner of 4th: a two story brick. Here lived a Frenchman with his wife and one daughter. His name (167) was De Grisselles. He carried on a liquor business, but his great specialty was imported wines. I remember them from 1850. They left the town at the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. On the west side, from the corner of 4th to near the alley, the three story building (now Peaslee Ale Brewery (1890) was built in the boom days. About 1854 or 1855 it was built for a hotel and called the Temperance. It was thought then to be one of the best hostelries in the state, but it never proved a success for any landlord; [238] and a number tried it. On the corner of the alley a Mr. (blank) carried on a livery stable and veterinary surgeon's office. He moved to St. Paul in the early seventies and died there sometime in the nineties. Below that, down to 3rd St., there were no buildings at all. Most buildings now there were built from 1856 to 1867. The block below as far as First St. (and below that there was only mud ponds up to 1856) there were, as I remember, in 1849 to 1853 only 2 buildings. On the corner of 3rd there was a large frame building in which a Mr. Hoag carried on a boarding house. He and his wife were of the early settlers. They had 4 children. The oldest, Charlie, was the son of Mrs. H. by her first husband named Dudley. Charlie, however, always went by the name of Hoag. Then there was Frank, Emma and Ida. Mr. Hoag enlisted for the war in the 16th Iowa Infantry in 1862 as a

drummer in the band. He had long been noted as a very fine artist with the drum. He was killed at the storming of Fort McAllister, near Savannah, Ga., December, 1864. Charlie and Frank never amounted to anything. Both are dead. Emma always was a fine, nice girl. She and I clerked for Skemp Addinsell & Co. from 1869 to 1871. She married John Kraeppfel in 1871. Ida, the youngest, died at Waterloo in the seventies. Below that, about center of the block, was the 3 story stone flour mill. It was then, and up to 1860, operated by John D. Bush. He was already an old man, and even then wealthy. And he was willing to let his young partner run the business. Mr. Weigel made the most of his opportunity. Here ends the story of this part of the town: on Iowa St. from 1st to 17th, down to the lake sloughs and river (including Eagle [239] Point & Conler), from 18th St. to the King residence, and on Ham's and the other islands. This is as I remember them from 1847 up to 1870, but I do not speak of any as included in the earlier recollections; only up to 1858, for as after that it is modern history. There may be errors here & there, but it will be found fairly correct. (168)

Now taking up Main St. from 1846. Beginning on 17th St., east side, down to and including 1st St. up to Locust St., then from lst St. up to the southwest corner of 6th & Main St. From there up to 17th and Main St. I have described in these pages 133 to 138. Now as before stated, 17th St. was not opened up or graded until 1857 to 58. The City Cemetery occupied all the ground now covered by Jackson Square, although all the bodies had been removed to the new cemetery (Linwood) in 1852. No more burials made here after that time, but it was not until early in the sixties that it was graded down and used as a public square. Main St. from 13th to 17th, up to 1855, was not graded either. Sometime late in the fifties, Pat Norton sold his row of buildings and built a 3 tenement frame building on Main between 14th & 15th St. The Episcopalians bought his property on 14th St. and, either late in the sixties or early seventies, built the present church. From that down to the corner of 13th St. there was but one building, and that was on the north corner. It was a two story frame, then the residence of the Weigel family, who had just sold their farm and moved into town. Above that was, up to 14th St., all waste land, a sand hill. The corner below had a brick house on it. About the center of the block (now known as the Huber property) the Presbyterians built their [240] first church in 1854 or 55, and used it up to the early sixties as such. There were no other buildings in the

block. On the block below there were, then and until after the war, only 2 buildings. The first 100 feet or so was a deep hole so to speak. Next to it was a two story brick flat, and on the corner to the alley below, the cottage & grounds of Mr. Zulbin. They had one child, a son Ralph. After Mr. Zulbin's death, his widow married Wm. De Lorimer. The block between 11th & 10th had several houses on it. On the corner of 11th, Mr. Henion and family resided. He was a dentist by profession, but in later years owned a grocery store on Main St. They had 3 children, 2 boys & one girl. Mr. H. died late in the sixties, but his wife lived up to 1906. Mr. Henion built and lived in the house. Now, in 1890, it is the home of the Corrance family. On the corner of 14th and Henion St., below Mr. H., was a 2 story frame building. It was used as a boarding house and 2 small stores. It was a rickety, dangerous, fire trap as I now remember it. (169) Next to that (and in 1890 still there) was a 2 story brick building, used sometimes as a store and again as a dwelling. In 1861 a widow lived there who did sewing for Sheffield and Scott. She made the flannel shirts for me when I enlisted. I still remember her, but have forgotten her name. On the corner of 10th, the Universalists built a church in 1854 (now built up as a furniture store). The block between 9th & 10th had, in 1848 to 1855, only 2 buildings on it. On the corner of 10th there was a double brick house and, on the corner of 9th, a fine brick residence of Mr. Lawrence. He owned all the block up to the corner & house here spoken of. There [241] was only himself and wife; quite an old couple living a quiet retired life. When the boom and rush times of 1854-1855 struck the town, he sold all that property for an immense sum to Kinsey, David and Jennings, well known men of that day. He received mostly mortgages & notes which, when the crash of 1857-1858 came, all went to protest and he had to take back his property, now a ruin. They at once erected a six story brick building, using up the entire block up to the building on the corner of 10th. All the upper 5 stories were intended for a hotel, and the first floors for stores, of which there were 8 or 10. It was an imposing building, the largest and finest west of Chicago. Even now in 1890, Dubuque has not its equal in all things. It was called the St. Cloud. Dubuque was very proud of it, and justly so. But, before the interior of the hotel was completed, the crash of 57/60 came on. Kinsey, David and Jennings, with hundreds of others speculators, merchants, bankers &c went under. Few of them could have raised $500 in coin. It was the days of

wildcat currency & harbor money, not now worth 10¢ on the dollar. So this fine building was never completed and never occupied and, one night in the winter of 1857-1858, it burned to the ground. By whom, it was never found out, but no doubt done to get the insurance on it. My girl and I saw the beginnings of it. I had been up to a birthday party at Fred Weigel's, on 12 St., that they gave to Florence Healey. We were passing the St. Cloud between 11 & 12 O'clock PM when we noticed quite a large light on the 6th floor. We paid no special attention to it, but when we got up nearly to her home (she lived on Julian Ave.), we [242] heard the fire alarm. I saw her to the door, then ran down and, at corner of 8th, I saw the St. Cloud all in a blaze. I had been told in case of fire or rush & riot (170) never to leave the store if alone at night. The store was then yet in the Globe Building at Main & 5th St. and, as it happened, there was no one there. I was alone, so I dared not go out to see the fire. I saw what I could of it from our back porch. It was a big fire and it was a close call for the Stout residence, then nearly new. The ruins remained there for a number of years. It was a sad blow to the city as well as the insurance companies. The block below was only about half built up, up to 1856/57. Before that time, on the corner of 9th was a double one story frame, in part occupied by a Mr. Kuttor as a bakery. Next to that there lived, in a two story frame house, an old man by the name of Capesius? He was Swiss by birth, had served under Louis Napoleon in Holland and drew a pension from that government. They had four children, two boys, Albert and Emill, and two girls. Albert was the dandy of the family. He went west in the early sixties. Emill remained in Dubuque, married and died there. He worked in the store of his brother in law, John T. Hancock, for many years and up to his death in the nineties. The oldest daughter married a Mr. Finnemore, a government official of some kind. They lived on Locust St. between 12th & 13th. They had one son. He died in his early youth and was buried in their front yard, where he laid for some years. I often saw his grave. The youngest daughter married John T. Hancock, the wholesale grocer. This took place some time in the fifties at Platteville, Wis., where [243] her parents had moved to. Mr. Hancock also had a grocery store there. She, in 1890, still lives in Dubuque. The ground or space below that, to the corner of 8th St., was a sort of a park, picnic and playground. It was all fenced in & was kept in nice condition. This was owned by Mr. W. H. Sanford, a

wealthy old bachelor. It was he that built the Tremont House Hotel, on the corner of 8th & Iowa St., where he lived & boarded up to the time of his death. This is the place that W. H. Rebman leased for a long term of years. In 1854 & 1855 he built the 3 story brick block known as the Rebman & Sanford Block. In one of these stores Wemot and Doolittle had a saddlery and hardware store in 1855. They failed in 1857. Mr. Wemot, some years after, associated himself with Mr. Howard in the crockery business on the southwest corner of Main St., known as Wemot Howard & Co. (171) The block between 7th & 8th St. was, up to 1850, sparsely built up. On the corner of 8th there was no building, but on the alley below there lived a family by the name of Thomas. Mr. Thomas died early in the fifties. It was said his wife poisoned him. She was a noted character of the town and it is hard to describe her. She was vicious, garrulous, miserly and a public nuisance, but had considerable wealth. There were three children: one boy, Jess, and two daughters. Jess grew up in his mother's footsteps, was a gambler and loafer until he left town. For where, I never heard. The two daughters grew up to be old maids, noted for their miserly & eccentric ways. They were still alive in 1890. This woman (Mrs. Thomas), in the early fifties, owned and built the 3 story brick building on the corner of 8th & Main where she & the family [244] lived. This was in the early fifties, at which time were built the two brick buildings next to it. One of them was, up to 1864, the dry goods store of Wood Luke, and which in 1864 gave place to the firm of Sheffield Wood & Co. I worked for them from Sept., 1865 to March, 1866. The two lots below, where now is Torberts Drug Store and the five and 10¢ store, was up to 1852 or 1853 a fenced in lot full of weeds. It was owned by Mr. Shomo and used as a sort of horse and cow pasture by him. Below and next to it was a three tenement, gable end, frame house then owned by John D. Bush. The north end we lived in from 1847 to 1850. Here in 1848 our sister Mary was born. In the middle tenement lived Mr. M. Tschiggfrie, the brewer. Here on the alley he first started brewing beer in a small 2 story brick building in 1848. In the other part to the south lived the Buchler family. They had four children: John, George, Leonard & a girl Margaret, who died there. Mr. B. was noted as an infidel and the laziest man in Dubuque, and she as the filthiest and dirtiest woman anyone ever knew. John is dead. George & Leonard enlisted in the 1st Iowa Infantry in 1861 and came home with the regiment. They never enlisted again, and both

still live in Dubuque. The next two lots to the corner of 7th St. and to the alley was owned by Dr. Finley. He had a fine brick residence and a garden noted for its flowers & shrubbery. They had no children, and he was then the best doctor in Dubuque. He often called on our mother for help as a nurse. He told her she was a good one. They willed nearly all their property to found the Finley Hospital, which they received after her death some time in the sixties. This is the (172) [245] place where now the 3 story brick builds up to the alley, now in part occupied by the Telegraph Herald. On this property Dr. Finley, shortly before his death in the early sixties, built a row of one story buildings in front of his house facing Main St. There were four 20 x 40 storerooms. The basement was a restaurant kept by Jim McNear and Sam Upton. One of the storerooms my brother Otto had a harness shop in. These buildings gave way in the late seventies to the brick block now there. On the block below, between 6th and 7th, up to 1850, there were only 2 or 3 buildings. On the corner of 7th there was a small frame building in which an old German had a sort of a machine and tool grinding shop. Below that, and about 1/2 of the rest of the block, was the home and property of Mr. Oglesby: a bricklayer by profession and a mighty hunter. He was a large man, rough and coarse in his manners. There were 3 or 4 children. The son Josh was simple minded. One day in the seventies he went amuck; that is, violently crazy. He ran up and down Main St. shooting off a revolver and killed a man on the street. He was sent to the asylum and died there some years after. Mrs. Oglesby was a fine woman and very charitable. Maj. Horr married the oldest daughter. On the corner of 6th St. the 2 story brick was built in the early fifties. Here Glover and Smock began anew their business after their failure in the panic of 1857. This entire block was built up in the very late fifties and rebuilt as it now is from 1865 to 1875, especially the Levi Building. The block lower down between 5th & 6th St. was all built up in 1850, but not as good or fine as it now is in [246] 1890. Then, on the corner (southeast), old Jessie Harrison had a hotel, a 2 story brick, which was The American House. It was there in 1860. The rest of the block was nearly all 2 story brick stores and owned by the Langworthy Bros. Next to the hotel, Geo. Starr had a grocery store. Here my brother Jacob worked the winter of 1847/48. Next to that the Cannon Bros., Bill, Chas. and Henry, also had a grocery store. My brother Dave worked for them in 1850/51. Next,

Mr. Jecklin (a hard drinker), had a confectionery store and a fancy bakery. Steiner and Zust bought him out in the early sixties, and later on bought the building. Next to them the Barr Bros. had a dry goods store. Phil Weigel worked here up to 1860. (173) The next 2 buildings were frame, owned by a Mr. Ruff. He was the father in law of C. H. Meyer (once a dry goods clerk, later County Treasurer, and now a financier &c). In one of these buildings Chas. Corkery had a harness shop. My brother Otto worked for him at one time. In the next building Mr. Sauer had a boot and shoemaking shop. His oldest son, Henry, was in Co. E, 5th Iowa Cavalry. He, after the war, married the only daughter of old Mr. Wullweber. Mr. Sauer committed suicide on his wife's grave some time in the eighties. The next building up to the corner of 5th St. was the Globe Building, at that time the finest building and storerooms in the city. It was erected in the early fifties, I think by Judge T. S. and Sen. D. S. Wilson. It had three storerooms: the corner was a jewelry store, Mr. Robbins proprietor, the middle was the wholesale grocery store of the Bissell Bros. M. D. Bissell ,the senior proprietor, is the father of the wife of the oldest son of the [247] late Mr. Treadway. The 3rd or end store was first occupied by the Goodrich Bros. (F. V. and James R.) as a general store. They, in 1853 or 1854, sold out to Barney Scott & Co. E. L. Barney, J. P. Scott, F. W. H. Willard and F. W. H. Sheffield, were at that time all young and unmarried men. Mr.'s Willard & Sheffield had a dry goods store in Utica, New York, and were there most of the time up to 1857, when they moved all their stock to Dubuque. Mr. Willard and Mr. Barney then sold out to Sheffield & Scott, Mr. Willard going to the copper mines in Ontonagan, Mich. Mr. Barney went to his old home in Vermont and, in 1861, went to the war as Col. of the 6th Vt. Infantry. He was killed in the Battle of the Wilderness May 5th, 1864. I entered into this store as errand boy at three dollars per month. In 1855 my fellow clerks were: John & Gotlieb (George) Moser, J. W. Greathead and Geo. W. Kimberley. I remained with the firm until I enlisted for the war on Sept. 1st, 1861. The block below had, or rather was, well built up, but only frame buildings up to 1855 or 56. The corner of 5th was only a deep hole. Here, during the Campaign of 1851 of Scott and Pierce, the Whigs (now Republicans) erected a large, high liberty pole with a soup bowl on top as an emblem. But it did no good, for Pierce was elected. The rest of the block were small frame buildings used as stores of different

merchandise in a small way. In one of these, I think Mr. Lally at one time had a tailor shop. There was one tailor there, I remember well his name. He had a wooden stump for one leg. He used to wake us up mornings with his thump - thump of that leg as he passed our store to his work. For at that time all hands slept in the store. The [248] Methodists will long remember (174) him for his long and fervent prayers. In one of these small buildings, Mr. A. Gehrig had a tailor shop in the middle sixties, and Hugh Smith, I remember, had a small grocery store in one. On the corner of 4th St. was then, 1848 to 1852, a 2 story old rickety frame building. From the rear it looked as though it was built on stilts, this, as far back as I can remember, was always a boarding house of the low class. In 1849 to 1850/51, the Zanucks ran the house. The block between 3rd and Fourth was nearly all fairly well built up. The corner of 4th I think was vacant. The next 3 or 4 two story brick buildings were the stores of Farley James & Co., Farley Norris & Co. and, in later years, Farley Christman & Co. They were in wholesale dry goods and hardware &c. Mr. Christman came in after Mr.'s James & Norris had retired early in the sixties. About the middle of the block (and on its present site), was a 2 story brick. This was the bank of Maj. Mobley, a fine good old man with a lot of scalawag sons, who finally were his ruin. They all clerked in the bank and used its money freely. He failed badly in the panic of 1857. He found employment with the government at Washington, D. C. up to his death in the seventies. His sons were John, Bill, Ed, Dick and Bud. They all, except for Ed, died in early manhood. Ed lived to be an old man, dying sometime in 1900. The only daughter married Mr. Littleton, a prominent insurance agent of the late fifties or so. He died at Memphis, Tennessee of yellow fever. The buildings below were all frame, and stood high up from the sidewalk. One had to go up four or five steps to get in the stores, on account of the street [249] grading of the early days. In one of these, Mr. Spaulding had a book store, the first one in town. Every old resident will remember his son Melville: a tall, lanky, pedantic looking young man; well educated and smart, but a little eccentric. The corner was then, in 1850, vacant. The old Key City Hotel was built shortly after that time. The next block below, between 2nd and 3rd St., was all built up, mostly in 2 story brick buildings. This part of the town, up to 6th St., was, from the earliest days, the main business part until 1855. On the corner of 3rd was then the two story frame building of

L. D. Randall's harness and saddle manufacturing plant. It extended from Main St. to the alley. Here my brothers Jacob, Otto and David learned the harness making trade and worked for a number of years. That is Otto & David, as Jacob left to study for the ministry late in 1850. The building (175) was burned down about 1855 or 1856, and was then built up in brick. The buildings below were occupied as stores of different kinds. In one of them, John T. Hancock first opened his wholesale grocery store in the early sixties. The next building up to the corner was the Julian House, at that time one of the finest & best hotels in the state. It was for years, as the present hotel now is, the pride of Dubuque. It was owned and ran by Peter Waples, the father of the late Dr. Waples. It was a 3 story brick and, up to 1865, extended from Main St. to the alley. The block from 1st to 2nd St. was all built up, but all were one and 2 story frame buildings. All, or nearly all, were the lower class of boarding houses and saloons. On the corner of 2nd St., a German by name of [250] Kriess owned and occupied as a liquor store and saloon. The family lived on the 2nd floor. About in the center of the block, A. W. Kemler first opened his dry goods store. The rest of the block to 1st St. was, as stated, about all saloons & hash houses. Below First on either side, between Main and Locust St., there were, up to 1855 to 1857, no buildings; it was all mud holes & frog ponds. This completes the story of the east side of Main St., from 1st to 17th St., and from 1846 to 1860. It will be found substantially correct. There may be, here and there, discrepancies and errors of date &c, but in the main it will give a good idea of what the town was in its pioneer days. This applies to both sides of Main St. and, indeed, to the entire town from Eagle Point to the bluffs and ravines at that date. I will now take up the west side of Main St., from 1st up to 6th, where I left off when describing the street in the first parts of this narrative. So then, commencing on 1st St., on the corner was a 2 story frame. Here an Irish widow woman name of Flaherty or Flannerey conducted a cheap boarding house and saloon. I will here say that both sides of 1st St., from Main to Locust St., were then as they are now, with very little alteration or improvement. Built up with the same class of buildings and the same kinds of businesses; the street has been paved and 2 or 3 better buildings put up, but that is all the difference from 1846 to 1890. The rest of the block from 1st to 2 St. was all built up and about the same as the opposite side of the street. Now, the block above that, between 2nd & 3rd, was more

substantially & better built up, but from the corner up 2 or 3 lots were all [251] dingy frame buildings. The corner one was a small book & notion store. To get to it and the next 2 or 3 above, we had to walk up stairs of 4 or 5 steps. The next was a bakery, and the rest of the block was better built. (176) I can't remember the kinds of businesses there were in these stores. I do, however, remember a grocery store, an agricultural or implement and seed store and a saloon. There were, I am sure, no large or important businesses in the whole block. The block above, from 3rd to 4th St., was built up in two story brick buildings, except for the corner of 4th. These were all fine buildings for that time. In one of these buildings the Langworthy Bros., at an early date, carried on a dry goods & clothing store. In another one, Farley and James also had a store. There were one or two saloons in the block. Up nearer the corner of Fourth, Dr. Timothy Mason, an old resident, had a drug store. This building (now 1890) is, and has for years, been a saloon. The doctor was a fine and popular old man, but he had a scamp of a stepson: a jolly rascal, one of the tough boys of the town. He was a boon companion of the Davis boys, Jim and Tom McNear, Pete Lorimer &c. These chaps were the terror of the town and of our only Policeman & Marshal, poor little 5 foot tall Joe Swab. This chap's name was Thadeus Lyon. I don't know whatever became of him. I now come to one of the most sensational tragedies that ever happened in Dubuque. On the corner of 4th St. there stood a 1 1/2 story frame building in which Mr. Thedinga carried on a boot and shoe store. One day in the summer of 1847, a tall fine looking man, a German, came in to the store and after some talk, he asked Mr. Thedinga to [252] rent him one half of the store. He said he wanted to establish a drug store. Now, as Mr. Thedinga had more room then he needed, and, liking the appearance and talk of the man, he rented him part of the store and told him he could board at his home. So the man put in his goods and opened up. Mr. Thedinga had a niece living at his home, a fine looking young lady (she later married Doc Koepfle, then a grocer). This man soon fell in love with her, and so, one night in the winter of 1847/48, he asked her to go to a ball with him. She referred him to Mr. T. for his permission to go. Mr. Thedinga for some reason had, by this time, taken a dislike to the man, and so refused to let her go with him. A few days after, one evening (I still remember how cold it was) when Mr. Thedinga came back from supper, this man was standing by the

stove. He asked Mr. T. if he could read the label on the tin cup that was then on the stove. As Mr. T. stooped down to read it, this fellow took up the cup and threw the contents of it in Mr. Thedinga's face, and then dashed out the door into the street. The cup was filled with (177) vitriol (sulfuric acid) and, to make it more deadly, he had gotten it boiling hot. Mr. Thedinga, with a loud scream, fell unconscious on the floor. It was about 8 o'clock pm and my brother Jacob, then working in a fancy goods store in the block above, had been sent on an errand and was just passing the store when this fellow rushed out. He ran against my brother and knocked him down, but he ran down street at top speed and disappeared before folks got fully aware of what happened. As soon as the news got around, every bell in town commenced ringing and every whistle blowing, and about every man and boy in town [253] gave chase to catch the villain. The next morning he was found dead in a log hut down in Dublin. He had poisoned himself with a quick, deadly poison. I saw him as he laid there. Mr. Thedinga laid in bed for months, but finally recovered. He lost one eye and his face was terribly scarred and disfigured as long as he lived. Mr. Thedinga was always well liked, so he had the hearty sympathy of the whole town in his terrible affliction. The block between 4th and 5th St. had, up to 1855 or so, the best buildings in the town. On the corner of 4th was the fine 3 story City Hotel (now & for years a theater), then and up to 1857 kept by Mr. Hewitt. He was a popular hotel man and the father of Mrs. Agard. It was a fine, well kept & popular house. There were four children: Henry, Frank, Mrs. Agard and a younger sister. They are all dead, except for the last two. Next to that was, I think, a frame building in which the Col. McHenry already spoken of had a shoe store. The next was a 3 story brick erected in the early fifties. This is where Waples and Walmsley had a dry goods store up to 1858. Next building, a frame, was the saloon of Mr. Schaffner, father of Mr. Adam Yager. Above were one or two one story bldgs., and next a three story brick. This was, in early days, the dry goods store of the Langworthy Bros., later the hardware store of Mr. Edwards: the father of Mrs. D. C. Cram & the Rev. Dr. Edwards of St. Paul. The next, also a brick building, was up to 1850 a fancy bazaar and notion store. This is where my brother Jacob got his first job in 1847. The corner 3 story brick was built by Dick Cox in the early fifties, as was also the building on the south side of 5th St. to the alley. 5th St. from Main to Locust was then used as a city market. In the center of the

[254] street, fronting on Locust St., was the fire engine house of Washington Co. No. 1, H. Schunk, Chief. It was a hand machine. In the rear, built on to it towards Main St., was a long shed for huckster stands and butcher shops. On the south side, from the alley to Locust, were small open sheds used as candy & cigar and ice cream stands. (178) There were two machines and two fire companies. Great was the rivalry between them to get to the fire first and throw the first stream. How us youngsters used to envy those fire men in their red shirts, and how proud we felt when they let us take hold and help pump the machine! Will we ever forget those days? The small stands spoken of were on the grounds of what is now the Dr. Staples residence and office building. Now to go back to Main St., on the corner of 5th (north), Chas. Stafford conducted a boarding house and saloon in a two story frame. He was a large man and a tough one, and the place was just as tough as he was. He was related to the Pfotzers and was one of their kind. Next to him Jacob Mitchell carried on a boot and shoe store in a one story frame. The next two lots were, I think up to 1850, vacant. Sometime in the late fifties Mrs. Miller put up a double 2 story brick, called the Miller Block. In one of these Harrigan (Jim) and Quingley had a dry goods store for 2 or 3 years. I will here say that Harrigan, about this time, married a Miss Jordan. Her father, in the fifties, was an auctioneer and occupied the brick store on the northeast corner of 6th & Main. While he lived, the family flew high, dressed fine &c &c. After his death, they got into distressingly poor circumstances and were glad to take in sewing for a living. They were Episcopalians, but she turned [255] Catholic to marry Jim. Next to the Miller Block was the large 2 story frame building of Xavier Reinfried, a German. They lived in the upper part. The ground floor was a saloon & sort of lodging house. In the boom times of 1854 to 1857, he sold this property for a fortune and retired. They were related to the Mongolds. Chas. Schreiber married the oldest daughter and, with her money, he got his start in business. Next to them was a 2 story brick. In this building Glover and Smock began their notion store, and here they failed in 1857 or 1858. The next was a 1 1/2 story brick. A Mr. Rattarey here carried on a Catholic bookstore. James Kelley, the bookstore man, worked here when he first came to town. I will here state that on the lot where stood the Schunk house, in the block between 6th & 7th St., a two story brick building was built in the early fifties. This was the bank of Barney Scott & Co.

(D. G. Scott). This Mr. Barney built and lived in the house, later on the Griffith home, on the southeast corner of 11th & Iowa St. This completes the story of Main St. entirely, from 1st to 17th St. and taking in the years from 1846 to 1870. Of course, many of these houses stood there before that time, especially from 6th to 1st St., but that is before my time. I only relate what I remember & personally saw. (179) We now take up the story, beginning at 17th and Locust St. I will start on the west side of the street, continue to the end of the block, then cross over to the east side of the street, and take up the block opposite from the same end (or beginning), and so on down to end of the street at 1st St., cross over from one to the opposite block. In, or before, 1850, 17th could hardly [256] be called a street. It was not much more then a cow path and mud hole. On the corner of Clark St., Mr. Hamel, a plasterer, lived in a frame house. From that down to 15th St., there were no buildings at all. On the triangular lot, now Grant Park, Mr. Bowdish built a frame residence in the late sixties. But, as it was government property, he had to move away in a few years. The whole block opposite, between 15th & 16th, was vacant up to 15th St. Sometime in the sixties, the double brick corner 16th was built. The triangular plot between 17th & 16th was, up to 1868, a cow pasture or open ground. About that time W. C. Chamberlin bought it and built his home on it. On the corner of 16th, at nearly the same time, a 2 story brick building was built as a store and residence, but it was never occupied and burned down in a few years. Now, on the corner of 15th, there was a 2 story brick of 4 tenements, owned by an Irishman named O'Herrin. He lived in the corner one. It was there as far back as I can remember. The fine high school is now on that site. The block opposite, as stated, is now Grant Park. On the block (west side) there were no buildings in & up to 1854/55. Sometime in the sixties, a Mr. Richards built the brick house on the corner of 15th. He sold it some years after to Mr. Ryder (of CRW). Mr. Ryder committed suicide some time in the seventies. It was a great shock to the entire city, as he was a fine, good man. The frame house next to it was built about the same time, as was the Gen. Hodgden house. On the block opposite, up to 1862, there were no buildings. W. H. Peabody owned the entire block and built, sometime between 1860 and 1865, the buildings now there in 1890. [257] The buildings now there in 1890, on 13th St. (north side), were there in 1850. The block opposite was entirely bare of buildings. The Cooley residence,

and all the other buildings now (1890) there, were built from 1858 to 1862/63. On 13th St., north side, the row of frames were built in 1858. J. P. Scott lived in one of them for a year or so. From 1858 or so on (180) the opposite block between 12th & 13th, on the corner of 13th, there was a frame building which, in the early sixties, gave way to the Second Presbyterian Church building. Next to that was a frame building which, for many years, was the home of Mr. Hardy of the school board. The next building, also frame, was the home of Mr. Tinnemore: a quite wealthy man and for some time a government official. His wife was a sister of John T. Hancock's wife, and the oldest daughter of old Capt. Enz. They had one son. He died in his boyhood days. They buried him in their front yard and the grave was in plain sight from the street for years. Next was the fine property and residence of the late Senator D. S. Wilson. They were fine people. They had 2 children: Dave, the court stenographer and Mrs. Douglas Ryan. The block opposite had, in 1850, one building on it, a double brick. It was for some years, in part, the residence of Dr. Belden. It was, I think, also at one time the residence of G. B. Grosvenor. The corner building, the J. P. Scott home, was built, I think, in the late fifties, by the Rev. Mr. Guernsey, at one time Pastor of the Congregational Church. The opposite block, between 11th & 12th St., was built up as it was up to 1890. The corner 13th, and half the block, was the property and fine mansion of F. V. Goodrich, a retired dry goods merchant. He built it in the early fifties. [258] On the corner, and the other half of the block, was the elegant home and property of F. E. Bissell. He was a lawyer, one of the best in the state, and at one time its Attorney General. He is the father of L. C. Bissell (of H. B. Glover & Co.). They were related to Mr. F. V. Goodrich. The Stout mansion now occupy this site. The block opposite, on the corner of 12th, Mr. Fred Weigel built a home (now there) sometime from 1855 to 1857. The Treadway residence, next to it, was built in the late sixties or early seventies. The 3 story building next, and up to the corner of 11th St. (known as the Allison Block), was built in the late fifties. It was the home of the Senator up to his death in 1908, when he was in Dubuque. The opposite block was all frame buildings in 1852. In one of the houses lived a widow, Mrs. Waterman. She had a wild, reckless son, Press. He went to Colorado in the sixties. Mrs. Waterman was related to J. P. Farley, and he always helped them. On the corner of 10th, a Mr. Bunting & wife lived for years in

two story frame. He was an expert bookkeeper and accountant, and for years was in the employment of the Langworthy Bros. On 10th, up to Bluff St., there were at that time (1850 & up to 1865), 2 or 3 old frame houses. On the block opposite I can remember only 2 houses up to 1856 or 1857. On the (181) corner of 11th there was a 2 story brick, in later years the residence of Dr. Nancy Hill. Next to it was a 2 story brick, setting low down below the walk. It was the home of the Widow Lorimer, sister of old Peter Lorimer. She had 3 children. Peter, the oldest, was lame. He was a wild boy, then some 20 old years old. He was one of the worst rascals in the town, and the cause of endless trouble to his folks & the poor [259] little town Marshal. He disappeared in some way before the Civil War, but no one ever went into mourning for him. The oldest girl was also lame. The other one was a handsome girl. They have all gone away now or died. The next brick building was built by M. Allison, brother of the Senator, in the sixties. He was an insurance agent and he married a Miss Hervey, sister of James the druggist. The Congregational Church was built in the late fifties, as was the parsonage next to it on 10th St., and also the double frame next to that. This was the last home of good old Deacon Rogers & his wife, and of Warren & his wife. On the block opposite, the houses were all frame up to 1857 or 1858, except for the corner of 9th. In one of these lived Ed Mobley & family in the last years of his life. The other residents I can't now remember. On the corner of 9th, the Episcopalians built their church some time in the early fifties. The block opposite was entirely bare except for a carpenter shop and a lumber yard, up to 1855. On 10th, near the alley, was a double one story brick; the home of Mr. Welging from the early fifties. The buildings on the corner and next to it were built in the late fifties. The Customs House and Post Office were begun in the late fifties, but not completed until after the Civil War. Senator Jones claimed the credit of getting this building for the city. In any event, he and Dick Cox made lots of money out of it, as Cox owned the land. The opposite block, between 8th & 9th, was all 2 story frame houses. In one off these lived the Newberry family. The oldest daughter married Judge Austin Adams, my school teacher in the early fifties. The Rothwell family also lived [260] in this house. In one of these, in the late sixties after the war, Dr. R. L. Hill first opened his office. On the corner of 8th St. was the home of the Markle family. They were in some way related to the McArthurs. They had 3 children: Charlie,

the son, and two daughters. The oldest married John Farley, (son of J. P. Farley). The entire block opposite was also all frame buildings up to the sixties. The corner of 9th St. was, at one time, the home of the late Judge Pollock. The corner of 8th was the home of Widow Lorimer after her move from between 10th & 11th St. The Facade Building was built by a syndicate about same time as Customs House in the sixties. The block opposite, between 7th & 8th St., was all frame up to the corner of 7th. In one of these (182) frame buildings there lived, up to 1860, ex-Gov. Hempstead, the second Governor of Iowa. His wife was one of the meanest & miserliest women that Dubuque ever knew. When we lived on Main St. in 1847/48, mother had to go out washing to support the family, father being away. She washed once a week for Mrs. Hempstead, and she treated mother in a shamefully cruel way. They had 3 children. Jim, the oldest, was quite a sculpturer. He went south and joined the rebel army. That was the last seen of him in Dubuque. Eugene lived in Dubuque up to the late seventies. He started a small notion store in the St. Cloud Block, and married his only helper Miss Dutley (daughter of Valentine Dutley, a baker on Clay St.). His business was not a success, so they left the city. The daughter Lavina was not a beauty, nor was she noted for her morality. She married some fellow, and all left the city soon after the war. The old folks [261] lived and died and are buried in Linwood. In one of these houses also lived Robert (Bob) Waples, brother of Peter. He was one of the early pioneers, a fine, portly and jolly fellow. He reminds one of Mark Twain's Col. Seller and his saying "there are millions in it". In the boom days of 1855, he bought up all the land and houses he could. He paid but very little cash down, as he had but little money. So when the crash of 1857 came, he lost everything he had bought and it busted him for good. Brother Dave worked for his wife as a baby nurse and dishwasher when was 8 or 9 years old. On the corner of 7th was the old Methodist Church, one of the first churches in town and the first of that denomination. In the basement, old (red head) man Rice taught school. The boys of that day will always remember him, for he had a temper to match his red head. 8th St. between Locust and Bluff, on the west side, had only one or two buildings. On the south side near the alley, Joe Rhomberg built a board shanty. Here he first started in the saloon business in 1856/57. He started it by selling 2 glasses of beer & one cigar for five cents. His was soon the most popular saloon in town.

The block opposite had but 2 buildings up to 1850, the 2 double bricks on and near the corner of 8th St. On the corner of 7th was the livery stable of Jerry Cummings before he was Sheriff. On 7th St., between Locust & Bluff, there were 3 double brick houses. In one lived Wm. Vandever, our Congressman and Maj. Gen. in the Civil War. In one of the others lived Rev. Peter Flury, the first Pastor of the German Presbyterian Church, and the friend of our family and who gave us our first nights & few [262] days shelter on our arrival in Dubuque in 1846. Here his wife died in 1851 or 52. (183) In the other house lived Mr. Corkery, an old Irish politician. He moved to California in the middle fifties. Jacob Christman built his home on the corner sometime early in the sixties. The same street, south side, had in 1850 but one building on it. That was on the corner of the alley: a private boarding house kept by Mr. L. A. Thomas and his wife. During the war, Mrs. Thomas was a zealous member of the Christian Commission and an Army nurse. It was she who found my friend Matt Ploeckly in the hospital at Memphis and attended him until he died. After the war they became very destitute and had to ask for aid from friends. They deserved better treatment from the government. The entire block between 6th & 7th St. was, from earliest times, the Washington Park, but until after the Civil War it was kept in such poor condition that it was not much better than a cow pasture. During the Lincoln-Douglas campaign in 1860 Senator Douglas ("The Little Giant") made a speech here. They said he was then in a half intoxicated condition. And here in Sept., 1865, the hero of the Civil War (Gen. U.S. Grant) was received by a tremendous crowd. He made only a very short speech. My sweetheart Nellie was over on a visit and I took her down to see and hear him. On the opposite block there was only one building, the large stone Church of the Camplites. In the basement, a Mr. Henry (brother of Mrs. Shomo) taught school. I attended this for one term about 1852/53. On the corner of 6th St., in the sixties, there was a livery stable up to 1877. It was then kept Mr. Wm. De Lorimer. On the opposite block between 5th & 6th, on the corner or [263] near it, was the double brick house and home of James R. Goodrich, Methodist preacher and retired dry goods merchant. He was noted for his closeness in money matters &c and his long prayers. His son Frank died at the Battle of Shilo on April 16, 1862. He was Adjutant of the 16th Iowa Infantry. His father refused to bring his Corps home on account of the cost. This made him very unpopular. His daughter Fanny was

married to a Mr. Cherry in the fall of 1855; I was the usher. They went south, were there during the war and lost everything. After he died, she came home in destitute circumstances. The father, although in good circumstances, refused to take her in or aid her. She then rented a room and took in sewing, but she went back south 5 or 6 months after. That is the kind of a man he was. The next building was a large double brick with a wide, high porch. It was built by Peter Waples in the early fifties, and here he died. And, here my boss Elisha L. Barney married his (Waples') niece in 1856. The next building up to corner 4th was the Julian Theater. The first of its kind, built in 1851 or 1852, it was a great pride to Dubuque. Here we first saw Forrest, Matilda Herron, Kate & Sue Dennin, and most of the famous actors and stars of that day and time. (184) The Herald Building, on the corner of 8th on the opposite block, was erected in the late sixties by its proprietors Ham and Carver. Below that were one or two small houses. On the corner of 5th was the largest three story frame, hotel of a Mr. Miller up to 1855 to 57. It was a very popular house for transient patronage. The entire street (5th) was given up for the Fire Engine Co., for a market, and small booths of all kinds lined both sides of the street. [264] On the block opposite, between 4th & 5th, I can remember but 3 buildings. On the corner of 5th lived Widow Gonder and her two daughters. It was a good two story brick house. The oldest daughter married Mr. Merrideth, now father in law to J. F. Stampfer. The youngest grew up into an old maid. The next house was also of brick. Here lived a Mr. Brinsmaid. One night as he slept, his wife (a very jealous woman), committed an unmentionable crime on him. It is stated (or was) to be a fact. They left town soon after. There was, I think, but one other house in the block: a frame. On 4th St., between Locust and Bluff, lived Mr. Thedinga in a frame cottage. His history is given in the Main St. pages. On the opposite side there were, up to 1856, 3 or 4 nice 2 story frame houses. The livery stable on the corner was built by the Lagans in the late fifties or early sixties. The corner opposite, between 3rd & 4th, was the property of L. D. Randall. Here he built his fine mansion in the late fifties, and here he and his wife lived and died. Now the rest of the street, to the end of Dublin (now South Locust), was all built up. They were one & two story frame buildings and, below 1st St., mostly hovels and shanties. Here lived the Irish population and, for years, decent people hardly dared go down that street. From 1st St. for 3 or 4 blocks down, the place was all

grogerys & low class boarding houses. Our second home in the town was in a 2 story frame, on the 2nd floor. A Negro family lived on the 1st Floor. We lived there only 3 or 4 months, it was too tough for us. We boys hardly dared to go out on the street. In the ravine, the road to Rockdale was about as bad. It was fairly well [265] built, but same class of people. Mr. Kempf built a brewery under the bluff in the early fifties. The street from 3rd down to 1st was more respectable; mostly private homes, here & there a saloon or boarding house. On 2nd St. to Locust there were a few residences & small business houses. This is the story of Locust as I saw it, and still remember it, from 1846/48 to 1865. Whatever improvements have been made, or whatever things good or bad have happened since those days, the generation from 1865 to 1890 know or remember, and will have to transmit to the future generations. (185) I now take up Bluff St. from 16th to 1st St., or rather to & below the gas house, adopting the same method as on Locust St.: block for block from west to opposite block east. There were no buildings on it down to 15th St. There on 15th under the Bluff, Chas. Hargus, a steamboat pilot of the early days, built his 2 story brick home in the fifties. He died sometime in the sixties. On the corner of 14th, Mr. Blossom had his home and orchard up to the late sixties. On the opposite side of the street there were, then as now (1890), no buildings down to about the middle of the block, between 10th & 11th St. On the bluff, head of 15th & 16th St., there was in 1850 but one building: a fine brick house on the summit, the home of a pioneer family by name of Yates. All old settlers will remember their son Bob, a genial fine young man, but quite lame. On the side of the Bluff, facing 14th St., Rufus Rittenhouse built his fine home in the late fifties. It was a castle like building, named for Rittenhouse. Mr. Gilliam (Black Hawk) bought this for a home in the sixties, and lived there up to his death. On 14th St. there [266] were quite a few buildings in the early days. The Weigel home, a double brick, was there, also the Russell house and the little frame cottage of Widow Johnson and her two daughters. Then there were a few frame houses above them (south side). On the opposite side, above Bluff St., there were only 2 or 3 houses. The St. Joseph College was built sometime in the sixties. The house on the corner of 14th, for years the McCullough home, was built in the late fifties. The fine double brick with the wide high porch was built by M. D. Bissell, wholesale grocer, in the late fifties or the early sixties as his home. The next 2 story stone house was

built about same time by a Mr. Richards. The double brick below and the large frame next were early date buildings, especially the brick house. Below that were a few small frame buildings. On the corner below was the 2 story brick home of the family of Mr. Anderson, a surveyor of the early Dubuque days. This in later years has been the home of Mr. (blank), the coffee & spice merchant. The corner below was, in very early days, the home of the late Geo. W. Burden. The street (now Arlington St.) was, up to 1860, open only about up to the McDaniel home, and his was then the only building anywhere near. He was an early pioneer, his wife was a large, noisy woman, eccentric in talk and manners. There were 6 children: Richard, Leo, Euphrates, Miles, Frank and a daughter, the wife of T. J. Levan, the apple merchant. I knew the whole family; not one of the boys was any good. The other buildings on (186) the block were nearly all frame up to the corner of 10th. Here there was a one story brick residence. In back of this, the bluff up to the top was all barren, full of trees [267] brush and stones. From what is now Terrace Park Ave. down to Bluff St., and from Arlington to 11th St., here we kids spent our afternoons and vacation time. It was then a secluded spot, and we could play all sorts of pranks and not be molested. On the block below, on the west side from 11th to 10th, there were but one or two small buildings up to 1860. And so it was on the east side, but here they were in a little better style. Between 8th and 9th it was about the same. There stood a one story brick, in later years the home of Mr. Tice, of Meyers Tice & Co. Next to it was the, then, fine colonial front brick house and home of Peter A. Lorimer, an old Frenchman. He was a very early pioneer, and reputed to be quite wealthy. It was he who built the Lorimer House in the mid fifties, at this time considered the finest building and best hotel in the state, and the pride of Dubuque for years. From 8th St. up the street was (and is) known as Julian Ave. From the Lorimer House up to the corner of the street, on the north side, were a few frame buildings only. In the first one lived the Healey family, on the 2nd floor. Mrs. Healey had just been divorced from her husband. They had just moved in from a farm and were very poor. Her brother, Fred Weigel, was their main support. Here the oldest daughter, Mary Ann, died of consumption. I got George his first situation, in the seed store of Doolittle & Chamberlin in the summer of 1856. Opposite the Diamond House under the bluff, Mr. (blank), a painter, built a fine brick house and home. On the

back of this, perched on the side of the hill, were rickety frame buildings. In one of these lived Widow Finnigan. She was a good sewer. I had her make my clothes up after the tailor Gehrig [268] had cut them (this was from 1866 to 1870). Farther up the avenue (north side), there were a few scattered buildings up to the Emmerson's fine home and grounds. Mr. E. was related to the Shields family, and the senior partner of the firm of Emmerson & Shields, on the corner of 4th & Main St. They were quite wealthy. They had 2 boys, neither of them any good. The oldest one, Van, was a drunk and soon got rid of his portion. The rest of the land up to the corner of Alta Vista St. was the estate of Gen. & Senator Jones. On the corner he built his fine home, the rest was all in fruit trees and melons. This was a favorite spot for us boys. The Senator was a settler of the Territorial and Indian days. He was from the South, had some education and so was looked up to by the rough miners & element of those days. He was a fine looking man, full of flattery, (187) bumcombe and stories. When the state was admitted in 1846, he was elected its first Senator. This would never have happened in later years. Under Buchannan's administration, he was Minister to Bogota. While there, he stood and witnessed the burning of bibles in the public square by monks and priests without protesting. For this, his letters to Jeff Davis and his treasonable talk, he was recalled and, for a short time, imprisoned in Fort Lafayette by President Lincoln. His three sons were of very little account. George, the youngest, joined the rebel army and was captured at Ft. Henry, Tennessee in 1862. Chas. was a sort of a lawyer, and the last of his years he was very simple minded. Bill was a born loafer, and lived and died as such. Of the two daughters, one married a Chicago doctor, the other one married Mr. Duess [269] of Pickenbrock & Duess, wholesale boot and shoe dealers. The old man lived to be over ninety years old, outliving all but one daughter. On the other side of Alta Vista St., Capt. Marsh, the steamboat captain, built a fine home in the late fifties. He died shortly after. His widow outlived him many years. On the other or opposite side of the avenue was the Welk (now Diamond) house built in the early fifties. In back of that was an old double brick & one or two frame houses. On the street up the hill, where now the street car runs, was a double brick and a frame house or two. In back of them on the bluff were 2 or 3 houses. That is about all there was on this hill and the bluff, embracing what is now west 5th to west 3rd, and the now fashionable

or aristocratic street where, near the point of the bluff and head of 4th St. elevator, J. K. Graves, Sol Turck & other high toned people built their fine homes in the sixties and seventies. Up to 1858 all this was, so to say, an uninhabited wilderness. The Langworthy brothers built fine houses back on and near Alta Vista St. in the late fifties, and near them a old timer and fine man, Mr. Mairn, a hide & leather dealer, also had his home. His son married Sam Upton's daughter. Now going back to the avenue above the Diamond House, for 2 or 3 blocks there were only 3 or 4 frame buildings. Above them was the fine home of Mr. Simplot, an uncle of Alex and Chas. Simplot. Next was a frame, which was the grocery store of an old German bachelor named Mr. Weiss. On the corner of Alta Vista St. was the frame house of Mr. Martin, a neighbor of ours while living on Main St. In back of this, for 1 or 1½ miles to the village of West Dubuque (until 1856), there were [270] no houses. West Dubuque was a mining village of grogerys, cheap boarding houses and a few small stores. It was then like Dublin: a tough place & shunned by strangers. (188) I must go back down Julian Ave., to the street below the Emmerson home. There lived David Decker, a boot and shoe dealer. He was elected Sheriff in the mid-fifties but, doubting his ability to properly fill it, he resigned the office in a few months. Also on this bluff, at the summit, H. S. Heathrington built a fine home in the late fifties. Here he lived up to the late sixties, when he removed to his new home on Ellis St. Now we come to the Bluff St. again, east side, between 8th & 9th St. Here, up to 1860, were only 2 or 3 small frame buildings. On the side opposite, between 7th & 8th, were a few inferior frame buildings. In one of these lived the younger branch of the Christman family and their mother. They were: Charles, Gus, Kate, Sarah and one younger. Up to 1860, on the corner opposite but facing 8th St., was a 3 story brick. From 1856 to 1859, the first floor was the U.S. Post Office. The upper floors were used for a theater, the Peoples. It was very handsomely fitted, and soon surpassed the Julian Theater. One night after a heavy snow fall in the winter of 1857, the back walls were pressed out by the weight of the snow on the roof. It fell on the little frame cottage in back of it, crushing the building like an egg shell, and killing the old couple inside. It was then the home of an old retired sea captain and his wife, and their graves may be seen to this day in Linwood. The Post Office then moved to the southwest corner of 8th & Main, where it remained

until its removal to 9th & Locust [271] St. On the corner, Jacob Christman built his home in the mid sixties. On the block opposite, between 6th & 7th, were one or two brick and frame houses. Below that, at the head of 6th, sitting way back in the yard was a two story brick, the home of Mr. Robbins, the jeweler. The block opposite was Washington Square. On the corner of 5th (west) was the early & fine home of J. P. Farley. For many years the block opposite was all barren. The street below this, up to the Cathedral, was all built up, but no prominent people lived there. The west side was mostly 2 story brick, the east side nearly all cheap frame houses, but on the corner of 3rd east John Grafford in 1855 built his fine 5 story brick hotel. It never was much of a success, and was let out for other purposes in a few years. Below to 1st St. were all frame shacks. The present Cathedral was begun in the late fifties by Bishop Smyth, and completed as it now stands by Bishop Hem(?). The first Bishop of Dubuque and of the state was Bishop Loras; in my day, a little old dried up Frenchman who is now referred to as the saintly Bishop. He was a pleasant (189) and always smiling old man. I often saw him on the street. The only buildings worthy of note below that to the ravine or street leading up the hill, were the public school and gas house. The school was built in 1855, along with the four others, all about alike by Rague, the architect. The gas house was built in the late fifties, with J. K. Graves as president and Jerry Howard as superintendent of the company. The rest of the street, and up along the ravine, was all small frame and log shacks with a tough set of Irish people. With saloons and small stores, it was unsafe for strangers even in [272] daylight. This was from 1846 to 1860 and known as West's Hill, so named after the Mr. West who had a sort of a grocery store on the southwest corner of 4th and Main St. (Mr. Thedinga's former shoe store). His two sons, Orville & Orlando, were steamboat pilots and tough, wild boys. They were ringleaders of the then rowdy gang and town terrors when off duty or work. This hill or bluff was the place where a barbecue & picnic celebration was held on the 18th of July, 1855, in honor of the opening of the Dubuque & Sioux City RR now the ICRR. It was a great event, and nearly all the town was there. Of course, I was there too! Senator Stephen A. Douglas ("The Little Giant") made the principal speech. He was nearly drunk; he loved liquor. This about ends the tale of the town as I knew it, saw it, and still remember it from 1846 to 1890. I have skipped several localities in the regular order, so

I will now take them up. What is now west Eagle Point Ave., from Conler Ave up, was then known as Langworthy Hollow. It was sparsely settled, and nearly all were huckster market gardeners. In the early sixties, Mr. Cushing built & operated a vinegar factory in these parts. Above that, an old Irishman by the name of Welsh had a small farm here. He wanted to be a politician, and in the sixties he actually was elected as a Justice of the Peace. His 2 boys were the worst in the city, so bad that the rowdy gang would not recognize them. Jim was a plasterer when he worked, which was seldom, and a drunkard, and died as such. Con was all that was bad, loafer, bully and jailbird. Above that was all a bare wilderness. The Pest house was then located up here [273] at the foot of the ravine, leading up the bluff where the water reservoir now is. This was always, up to 1857, a rich mining district and a bonanza for us boys to pick over the dirt thrown away by the miners. We often made 75¢ to $1.00 per day. From one of these deep & rich mines flows the clear spring water that was the city's supply up to 1870. This mine was Booth & Carter's & made them wealthy but, farther up this way, the lead vein gave out and it was left a wilderness. (190) The bluff at the head of Main St. was, up to 1858/59, all barren and all trees and brush. It was a favorite haunt for us boys and a good picnic ground. About the first building built was the Dr. Porter house. He was a dentist, but of rather bad repute in later years. His house was at the top off the ravine, and right in back of the Blake house. The house at nearly the point of the bluff, at the head of Main Street, was built by Col. West for his home in the middle sixties. It has been for years the residence of John V. Rider. The only other building, even up to 1858, was the frame building fronting on Conler Ave., and the 18th St. Engine House. It was built in the summer of 1858 by one of my employers, Elisha L. Barney. It has since, for years, been the home of Geo. Rath Sr. All the other buildings on this bluff or the bluffs out to West Dubuque have been built since 1860. What is now north Main St. was only a rough hillside, not even a pathway. After the street was opened, Mr. Blossom built his fine home on the east side of it. He sold it after a few years to Mart Van Voorhees, an ICRR conductor. He lived there for a few years. Ellis and Almond Sts., up to 1860, were not known as such, and no houses [274] were on them. Our home at 70 Ellis St. was the first there in July, 1857. There were no railroads nearer then Galena, Ill. up to 1854. That summer, the ICRR reached Dunleith. In the mid-sixties, large

ferry boats, built for the special purpose of bring entire trains over the river, were in operation for a few years. In the summer of 1867, the ICRR railroad bridge was built. The Clinton Chicago and Dubuque RR (now the M C & St. P RR) reached Dubuque in the late sixties. This was its terminus for a year or two, then it reached St. Paul. Joe Rhomberg was its first vice president. To him and his foresight, Dubuque is indebted for the large, elegant shop buildings, the roundhouse it has there, the other bridges spanning the river, the other railways and buildings (public and private), now so many & so fine, all over the city. I need not enumerate, as they have all been built in the present generation, and so will be remembered by them. My object in these reminisces has been to show what Dubuque was in its pioneer days from 1846 to 1860. As in the late coming home celebration in June, 1883, the oldest pioneers seem to have truly forgotten most of the old settlers & the tragic & interesting events and notable buildings of those wild, hustling and now interesting times and days related in these pages. Mistakes & errors of dates & people have no doubt been made here & there, but as it has been 10 years & over, I hope they will be overlooked. (199) At the time we arrived in Dubuque on March 17, 1846, it was a rough frontier village of about 3500 inhabitants. It had been incorporated for a few years, had a mayor and a [275] Board of Aldermen, 2 Justices of the Peace, and one town Marshal. It was mostly all built of frame and log buildings with a few blocks of 2 story brick store buildings. These were all below 5th on Main St., with here and there a brick residence (such as Ed Langworthy's on the corner of 14th & White, L. Langworthy's on the corner 12th & Iowa, Judge T. S. Wilson's at 16th & White, the Blake house on Mineral St., the old Court House, the brick house on 7th & White and the one a little below the Jefferson House). Except for the last 3, the others were then in the suburbs and nearly out of the town limit. The surrounding bluffs were then honeycombed with mineral holes, and about half the town was engaged in mining for lead. The country all over from Catfish Creek to Peru Bottom was rich with mineral. Up to 1850, lead was the chief attraction , source of wealth and was the hope of the poor man that drew him into these mining claims. It was so in my father's case, but he never took to it. Us boys, in the summer of 1846, did all the mining of the family by picking over the dirt dumped out of the mines. There were then lots of Indians in the vicinity, and it

was no unusual sight to see them and their squaws on Main St., their boys shooting at pennies with their bows and arrows. These were also the great steamboat days. Seldom were none in sight on the river, and great was the rivalry between them, especially as to which should be the first to arrive in the spring. The first arrival had free dockage all summer, and when her whistle was heard, the whole population, men, women & children, rushed down to the landing. The boats were all large elegant side wheelers. I don't remember [276] seeing a single stern wheel boat. As for the pilots of those days, well, they were the whole thing. When they swaggered uptown, hats on side and nose in the air, why, it was a distinction to be noticed by them; and to be cussed by them was a never to be forgotten honor. They outranked the Capt. ashore and a float. They were paid $200 to $250 per month, & often $300. Oh, these were great days! And those of that time yet living will never forget them: the steamboat racing, the horse races at Peru Bottom, the circuses, Plunket's Theater and Sally St. Clair, Julian Theater and Kate & Sue Dennin, the 2 hand fire machines & their rivalry & their 2 captains, Jerry Howard & Henry Schunk; and last, but not least, our jolly little town Marshal Joe Swab. All gone, yet not forgotten. (200) Peru Bottom, 5 miles north of the Court House, was at first intended for the site of Dubuque. But, as the land laid very low and was subject to an overflow every spring and fall, it was abandoned. For some years, up to 1855, it was a favorite place for horse races, and the McKnight Springs a great picnic resort. Thompson Mill on the Makoquota was the city limit from 1855 on.

Some of the noted men of early pioneer days were. Viz -

Gen. or Senator Geo. W. Jones

Lucius, Solomon and Edward Langworthy miners

Richard Bonson "

T. S. Wilson Territorial Judge and lawyer

[277] D. S. Wilson lawyer and state Senator

H. A. Wilts lawyer & judge

W. H. Sanford real estate and speculator

Stephen Hempstead lawyer and 2nd Governor of the state

Caleb Booth miller and one of the early mayors

Mr. Burt lawyer and mayor in the late fifties

J. D. Jennings real estate and speculator

Mr. McDaniel bricklayer and stone mason

Warner Lewis County & City Recorder

John King printer of the first paper in Iowa,

The Visitor

J. B. Dorr Editor, proprietor of Express and Herald up to 1861 then Col. 8th Iowa Cavalry.

Died in 1864.

Andrew Kiessecker one of Iowa's first & oldest printers

F. V. Goodrich merchant

J. R. Goodrich "

J. P. Farley merchant, steamboat owner & manufacturer

Mr. Simplot miner, father of Alex, Chas. and Henry

C. C. Childs printer

D. A. Mahony proprietor of The Express & Herald after 1861 & The Copperhead during the war

Timothy Mason doctor and druggist

Mr. Thedinga merchant and banker

[278] Mr. Gilliam (called Black Hawk) father of Oscar, Lon

& Mrs. Payace(?)

Mr. Shields merchant, brother of Gen., & father

of (Bud) the lawyer

Mr. Emmerson merchant, partner of Mr. Shields.

(191) Rev. J. W. Conkey brother of Mrs. Dr. Watson

Dr. Lewis father of Theodore and John P. Lewis

Platt Smith lawyer and lauded proprietor

Dr. Asa Horr

Leonard Horr brother of the doctor and father of

Maj. Horr

Dr. Koepfle father of Doc Koepfle the grocer

Rufus Rittenhouse bricklayer and contractor

Mr. Cannon and his sons: William,

Charles and Henry; grocers

Mr. Thaubald soap manufacturer, he built the factory in Dubin now owned by Mr. Beach. he died of cholera in 1853

De Grisselles wine merchant and importer

John Birkle boarding house and saloon corner 4th &

Clay, northwest

Mr. Luck saloon keeper father of Geo. and Doctor John

Mr. Kriechbaum wealthy German

Mr. Mangold " " speculator

Jacob Mitchell shoe dealer on Main St.

Mr. Shine builder of the Shine Block Main & 4th

southeast corner

[279] Pat Norton drayman; father of John, Ed and Sarah

Judge Dyer builder and owner of home of Sisters of

St. Joseph, corner 13th & Main

Mr. Zulbin so.east corner 11th & Main, father of Ralph.

Dr. Gillespie the druggist

Mr. Mack the gunsmith, builder of row brick building

corner 13th & Iowa to alley

Capt. Marsh steamboat Capt. up to 1860

Mr. Shomo the blacksmith

These are about all the prominent men that came to Dubuque before 1850. Quite a number of them settled there even earlier than 1840. But the majority arrived from 1840 to 1849. There are more that arrived from 1850 to 1860, too many to enumerate. People such as J. K. Graves, Wm. B. Allison, Wm. Bradley, John and H. B. Glover, Mr. Palmer, Mr. Winnall, Mr. Berg, Dr. Staples, Mr. Robinson the late shoeman, E. H. Eigh? the banker, the Wunderlich brothers, W. J. Knight, the Ellwangers, John Melhop Sr., B. B. Richards, his father in law, Mr. Whittaker, Mr. Ryan the pork packer, F. W. H. Sheffield, J. P. Scott, G. B. Grosvenor, Mr. Harger, W. C. Chamberlin, Mr. Wemot & his partner Mr. Howard. And still a larger number of lesser lights, attracted by the boom of 1853 to 1858. (192)

Major M. Mobley banker & father of Ed and four other bad boys

John D. Bush pork packer, miller and land owner

Fred Weigel partner in business of John D. Bush

Peter Waples builder and proprietor of Julian House up to 1856

[280] Robert Waples merchant and speculator

Henry Hewitt landlord of city hotel up to 1856.

Bishop Loras 1st bishop of Iowa, builder of 1st Cathedral

Rev. John Holbrook Minister1st Congregational Church up to 1856

Rev. Peter Flury organizer of 1st German Presbyterian Church

Wm. Vandever lawyer, Congressman & Maj. Gen. in Civil War

Peter Laine, Sr. laborer, then real estate agent

F. E. Bissell lawyer and Atty. Gen. of the state up to 1860

Peter Lorimer builder and owner of Lorimer House

Mr. Finnemore politician, govt. official, brother in law to

J. T. Hancock

Jessie Harrison landlord of the American House

Josh Oglesby bricklayer, his wife was sister of poet T.

Buchanan Reed

P. H. Moreheiser City Marshal from 1856 to 1861, the Chief of Police

Old Squire Gilliam (father of Black Hawk G.) at Nashville, Tenn. under Rosecrans

Jacob Christman partner of J. P. Farley in hardware business

Dick Cox land owner and capitalist

Tom Levins successful as a miner

M. D. Bissell wholesale grocer

L. D. Randall merchant, leather and harness store

Timothy Fanning owner of the horse ferry Ocean Wave

Mr. Guirenold retired French soldier of Napoleon Wars

Joe Swab our first City Marshal, about 5 foot high

John Bell miner and dry goods merchant

[281]

John V. Rider farmer boy, clerk for J. P. Farley, Deputy Sheriff, partner of John Bell dry goods, capitalist, &c

Mr. Blake (Mineral St.) miner and land owner

Mathias Ham (Eagle Point) farmer & brick manufacturer.

Richard Plum first landlord of Tremont House Hotel

Mr. Kaltenbach watchmaker and jeweler

A. Heer one of the towns first beer brewers

M. Tschiggfrie also one of the towns first beer brewers

Albert Mathews plasterer and contractor

Ben M. Samuels lawyer, candidate for Governor as Democrat 1858

Geo. Connell carpenter father in law of P. W. Crawford

P. W. Crawford lawyer, soldier, and legislator

Geo. L. Nightingale lawyer and mayor of city in the fifties

(195)

The prominent lawyers of that early day were few, I can only recall the following:

Ben M. Samuels great criminal lawyer

Mr. Burt Jude

F. E. Bissell Attorney Gen. for the state in the

late fifties

O. P. Shiras partner up to Mr. Bissells death

A. J. Vanderzee " " " " "

Judge T. S. Wilson

S. P. Adams MSgt. Provost Marshal during Civil War

Platt Smith

[282]

The mayors of from 1846 to 1860, I can now only recall:

Caleb Booth

Geo. L. Nightingale

Judge Burt

The rowdy element, the leaders or ringleaders were:

Tom and Jim McNear

Tad Mason (or Lyon real name)

Chas. Cleveland

Bill and Jack Davis

Pete Lorimer

Orlando and Orville West

Doc Koepfle

Press Waterman

Geo. and Charley Farley

Bill John Ed and Bud Mobley

There were a host of others, but they could not get inside the ring, to their great sorrow. These are the boys that kept the town hot up to 1855, and made our little Marshal Joe Swab go into hiding when they got on a rampage. After 1855 Phil Moreheiser was our Marshal. He was a large powerful man and did not fear them. He very soon showed them that their jig was up. They feared him, the worst left town and the others were cowed down.

(196)

The steamboat captains that were popular with us boys were:

Capt. Mr. Harris he lived in Galena, Ill.

" Lawton " " " Platteville, Wis.

" Tom Levins (one summer only) he lived in Dubuque

" Marsh " " " "

[283]

The steamboat pilots of Dubuque were:

W. H. Morse

Chas. Cleveland

Chas. Hargus

Orlando West

Orville West

These boys, in the great flourishing steamboat days up to 1865, earned big wages: $200 to $300 per month. When the boats laid up for the winter, they were the lords & princes of the town. Nabobs, sure; no use for any

small fry to attempt any familiarity, they would be withered with a glance. They made the money fly, and kept the old town hot all winter. It was seldom any one of them could show five dollars when winter ended. Oh, they were gay boys! In those days there many rows and drunken, pitched battles. The little log jail was full about every night, but I can't recall a single serious row. Beyond a black eye or a bloody nose, and excepting the Gillick murder of 1857, there was no other up to the summer of 1860. This is a remarkably good record, when it is considered that the town was, as they say, wide open all day and all night, with Sunday the biggest day of all. Whiskey and beer were plenty and cheap, and any man, woman or child that had the price could get all they wanted, anytime. Gambling and assignation house plied their trade with open doors and none to say them nay. Such was Dubuque as I can remember it from 1846 to 1855, before that in earlier times it was no doubt worse still, but I speak of only what I know.

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