Illinois Supreme Court Rules for John Wood (2024)

By Kent Hull • 30 Aug, 2024

This photo is a copy of a Matthew Brady photograph of Abraham Lincoln taken in 1864. (Courtesy of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County) Our nation’s recent controversies are not unprecedented. The 1864 election was at the height of the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln sought reelection which prompted debate about voting by mail, seditious conspiracies, disinformation, and vote tampering. On August 23, 1864, Lincoln expecting to be defeated. He had required a signed pledge from each of the Cabinet members to support a new president and to “so cooperate with the Government President elect, as to save the Union between the Election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he cannot possibly save it afterwards." Throughout his first term, Lincoln, while overseeing military campaigns against Confederate armies, had faced political opposition from both Northern Democrats and members of his own Republican party. Democrats divided into “Copperheads,” who sought immediate peace with the South, against a “loyalist” bloc supporting the war, but wanting Lincoln removed. A Republican faction, called Radicals, demanded immediate abolition of slavery and a commitment to post-war vengeance against the South. Lincoln’s former cabinet member and ally of the Radicals, Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, had, in 1863, explored challenging Lincoln’s re-nomination by the Republicans. Comparable divisions about the war appeared in southern and central Illinois. Historian George Fort Milton wrote, in Abraham Lincoln and the Fifth Column , that from the beginning of the war, Lincoln had “sensed almost intuitively the tangled moods of the people” in those states remaining in the Union. Confederate support near Cairo, Illinois was so strong, according to Milton, that there was “danger of an actual revolt” reaching “the doorsteps of Springfield.” Military success for the North had been uncertain as late as July 3,1863, when Union armies at Gettysburg stopped Gen. Robert E. Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania. That same year on July 4, General Ulysses S. Grant’s troops captured the Confederate fortress at Vicksburg, opening the Mississippi river to Union commerce. However, Gen. William T. Sherman, after supporting Grant in Mississippi, did not capture Atlanta until September,1864. He completed his March to the Sea through Georgia in late December of that year. Quincy historian Carl Landrum wrote of Adams County in 1864, “Many wanted an end to the war, and were willing to call it quits with an easy settlement for the South.” Landrum found local newspapers reporting “secret organizations… part of a movement organized in the Mid-West to aid the southern army in the event it succeeded in getting this far north,” with one story citing “treasonable shouts” for the Confederacy in such rural Adams County towns as Stone’s Prairie, now known as Plainville, Illinois. Whether soldiers and sailors, serving far from home communities, could vote, and would support, Lincoln’s conduct of the war were urgent questions for both political parties. Congress had established a controversial conscription system, which allowed wealthier men to avoid service by paying a substitution fee to avoid the draft. Carl Landrum wrote in the November 1, 1964 Quincy Daily Whig , that the newspaper which had endorsed Lincoln, warned of potential “fraud at the ballot box” and urged Election Day vigilance until the polls closed. Disinformation in German-language handbills falsely claimed that plans existed for “another draft anticipated, one million men wanted, no substitutions allowed.” The Adams County adjutant general administering the local draft denied the charge. Opposing Lincoln was the Democrats’ candidate, General George B. McClelland, whom Lincoln had first appointed, then removed, as General-in-Chief of Union armies, yet who was still considered popular among soldiers. McClellan pursued his political campaign while remaining on active service in uniform. Political leaders, weighing these uncertainties, speculated about military men voting by mail. One scholar, Jonathan W. White, wrote in the September 2004 issue of Civil War History that leaders in both parties “knew that the soldiers' votes were crucial to winning the election and that ‘hard work must be done’ to secure them…. Consequently, Democrats from across the nation appealed to their party machinery in New York, while Republicans petitioned the federal government for support in turning out the army vote.” Only white military men could vote; thousands of Black volunteers, although risking their lives, could not vote until ratification of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1870. In 1864, state law, not federal, controlled voting. Iowa, Wisconsin, and New York allowed military men to vote by absentee mail ballot, but Illinois did not extend that privilege until 1865. Adams County servicemen could vote in 1864 only if they returned home. On February 21, 1863, the Quincy Daily Whig criticized the “Copperhead Democrats” controlling the Illinois legislature, presumably opposed to Lincoln’s re-election, for its refusal to establish military absentee voting. On October 31, the Daily Whig deplored “the Copperhead revilers [who] oppose [Lincoln] on the shallow plea that they can lawfully embarrass him as a citizen.” Gen. Sherman granted home furloughs so that his men could vote. On November 8, Lincoln won Illinois, including Adams County, and lost only Kentucky and Delaware in the Electoral College. The military, in this first United States election allowing mail voting, had strongly supported Lincoln’s reelection. Lincoln had never considered delaying or suspending the election. As historian Larry T. Balsamo wrote in the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society , two days after his victory, Lincoln told a visiting group, "We cannot have free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forgo, or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us." Kent Hull , a retired lawyer living in South Bend, IN, is a long-distance member of the Historical Society. He grew up in Plainville and graduated from Seymour High in Payson, Illinois. Sources: Balsamo, Larry T. “’We Cannot Have Free Government without Elections’: Abraham Lincoln and the Election of 1864,” Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 94 (2001): 181-199. “The Generation of ‘Lily Livers. ” Quincy Daily Whig, February 7, 1863, 2. “Jim Green in Quincy-His Loyalty.” Quincy Daily Whig, October 31, 1863, 2. Landrum, Carl, “Election century ago also caused a flurry.” Quincy Herald Whig, November 1, 1964. Milton, George Fort, Abraham Lincoln and the Fifth Column (New York 1942). “No Chance for Soldiers.” Quincy Daily Whig, February 21, 1863, 3. White, Jonathan W. “Canvasing the Troops: The Federal Government and the Soldiers Right to Vote, Civil War History, September 2004: 291-317.

By Joseph Newkirk • 30 Aug, 2024

This 1925 photograph of Joseph Affre’s family shows Mr. Affre holding his daughter, Vivian, and clockwise: his wife, Antoinette, and children Peter, Pauline, Sylvester and Magdalene. Affre and his wife were born in Italy and after immigrating to the United States near the turn of the 19th century became naturalized American citizens and worked for Quincy’s Lanza Fruit Company before starting their own produce store. (This photo is from the author’s collection.) Most of the first Italian immigrants arrived in Quincy between 1900 and 1910 during a decade when more than 2 million Italians entered the United States. For every one immigrant to America, two went to Argentina or Brazil, where the more Mediterranean climate, Latin cultures, and Roman Catholic practices mirrored their native land. About 40 percent of these Italians were “birds of passage” coming to the U.S. to earn money and then return to their families, or they were seasonal workers seeking opportunity. Most Italians migrated to larger cities of the Northeast, where they formed “Little Italy” neighborhoods. Relatively few went to Midwestern or Western states, and because farming conditions had been harsh in Italy and the work mostly done by peasants laboring under cruel landlords even fewer wanted to pursue the primary Italian occupation of farming in this country. So why did an Italian community take root in Quincy during the early 1900’s with several families coming here and continue farming? Many of these immigrants came from Sicily after leaving their homeland following a massive earthquake in 1908—one of the most destructive earthquakes in European history—that killed about 110,000 people and left most survivors destitute. They found it easier to enter through the New Orleans port rather than New York’s Ellis Island. Standards and medical exams there were more lax, detention times shorter, and with much fewer immigrants to process less language confusion existed. From New Orleans they boarded a boat north along the Mississippi River and relocated in Quincy, which offered suitable land not found in urban areas to raise crops and a river to supplement meals with fresh fish. A prime example of these agrarian immigrants was Joseph Affre, the author’s grandfather. He and his wife, Antoinette Anerino Affre, were contradini—peasant farmers—and in Quincy they cultivated land on what is now 36th and State Streets. After working for Lanza Fruit Company for a few years, they began selling their vegetables and fruits at a market stand on 7th and State Street next door to their home. During the Industrial Revolution when Quincy’s labor force began shifting more toward manufacturing and people had less time for gardening, residents welcomed the fresh produce the Affres provided. Within a few years their stand became a store. Once the good word got back to Italy about this town, other family members and Italian households followed. By the beginning of World War 1 in 1917, three of Joseph’s brothers and a score of Italian-born immigrants had also made Quincy their new home. In 1925 the Gem City had a small but thriving Italian community. When Joseph Affre died in 1932 at the age of 46, his wife and children continued farming and running the family store until about 1941, when WWII sent the boys to war, and the girls opted for “careers.” Joseph’s brother, John Affre, along with his wife, Venera, and their daughters Angela, Magdalen and Josephine had a similar market at 609 Hampshire Street that stayed in business for 64 years. “Retirement,” as we know it now, was unheard of for these immigrants: John Affre worked every day until his death at age 92. Italian-born males living in Quincy like the Affres were almost all self-employed, due largely to language barriers and reluctance by employers to hire “foreign” workers. They were hard-working, industrious and frugal, and did well on their own. Indeed, many Italian-Americans here had indoor plumbing before most others in the city. Almost all became naturalized American citizens. Traditional Italian values followed these first immigrants to this country. La Familia (“the family”) is the sense of duty to relatives and other Italians in the community. Joseph Affre’s sister-in-law, Mary Anerino, was born deaf and cared for all of her life by relatives and other local Italians. Joseph’s mother-in-law lived with her family in Quincy until her death at the age of 102. Old folks homes and institutional care were not part of their culture. No ethnic group dovetails without some rough edges into an adopted country. Two areas of conflict for Italian-Americans in Quincy and elsewhere were religion and education. These first immigrants to Quincy—and almost all Italians—were Roman Catholics, but their practices differed widely from religious traditions in this country. They venerated individual saints like Mary Magdalene and Francis of Assisi with a fervor many Catholics here found unsettling. People deemed their wearing a sachet of garlic around their neck to ward off “evil eye” “superstitious” and “bizarre.” Farmers like the Affres attended ceremonies filled with incantations and rituals outside of Catholic orthodoxy intended to bless the land and ensure a bountiful harvest. Education seemed the key for the next generation to dovetail more completely into American culture and live with less hardship than their parents. Many Italians, though, did not fully embrace education for their children. First, it threatened the authority of the parents by giving children “brash” and “rebellious” ideas. Also, elders expected children—especially males—to work to help put food on the table. Even the school lunch program clashed with Italian values because it took children away from the traditional colazione—families eating lunch together. Those first-generation Italian-Americans growing up in Quincy largely prospered but never forgot their roots. Josephine Affre, John Affre’s daughter and a Quincy Public School educator for over 30 years, recalled in a local oral history interview sponsored by Quincy University’s Communications Department: “When my family’s first grandchild was born, my mother kept saying, ‘la bella bambino!’ (The beautiful baby boy!) When he grows up, he will be pope!’ The child’s mother piped up, ‘When he grows up, he will be president!’ My mother paused long before saying, ‘As long as he doesn’t forget where he’s from.’ A poignant silence followed. Finally someone in the room asked sheepishly, ‘Where is that?’ A wave of voices rose from the shores of memory, hope and hard-won wisdom, ‘The United States—it’s a suburb of Italy!’” Sources Affre, Anthony. M.A. Family History of Affres, Anerinos, and Badamos in the United States. Bozeman, Montana: University of Montana Press, 1995. “Delicious Fruits and Confections.” Quincy Daily Journal, December 19, 1901, 8. “Funerals.” Quincy Herald-Whig, June 4, 1932, 8. Iorizzo, Luciano J. and Salvatore Mondello. The Italian-Americans (Rev.) (The Immigrant Heritage of America Series) Boston: Twayne Pub. 1980. Josephine Affre, M.S. Interviewed by the author. Quincy, IL, June 13, 1986. Local Oral History Interviews under the direction of Dr. John Schleppenbach of the Quincy University Communications Department. “A Lifetime on Hampshire Street.” Quincy Herald-Whig, Aug. 5, 1968, 14. “Pete Affre—A Manner, Philosophy All His Own.” Quincy Herald-Whig, June 4, 1973, 14. “Wedded at St. Peter’s.” Quincy Daily Journal, January 17, 1912, 10.

By Hal Oakley • 27 Aug, 2024

THOMAS S. BALDWIN “It’s Not Luck, It’s Results!” was the motto of Thomas S. Baldwin, showman, aviator, inventor of the first collapsible parachute. His success inspired the naming of Quincy’s airport – Baldwin Field, and Baldwin School. While accounts of Baldwin’s birth and youth vary greatly, he was probably born in Decatur, Illinois, on June 30, 1857, the son of Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Baldwin. His father was killed in northeast Missouri during the Civil War. The family moved to Quincy where his mother died shortly thereafter. Tom and his older brother Samuel Baldwin, Jr. raised themselves. While young, the natural showman in Baldwin began to appear. He demonstrated gymnastic ability and developed a series of tumbles and acrobatic stunts for his own enjoyment. He landed a job as an acrobat in a traveling circus. At the time balloon ascensions were popular. Baldwin decided to combine his acrobatics with balloon ascensions. As the balloon rose, Baldwin would perform somersaults, flips and other stunts on a trapeze bar hanging below the balloon. The crowds loved the act; Baldwin loved the crowds. Baldwin took his act to California. His first break came around 1881 when he successfully developed a high wire act at San Francisco’s Seal Rock Amusem*nt Park. He walked across a five-inch cable, 700 feet above the Pacific Ocean. His act garnered Baldwin early fame. In 1885, Baldwin explored combining parachute jumps with balloon ascensions. He experimented with models that would permit a safe descent from a balloon tethered to the ground. After successfully dropping a dog strapped to his parachute, Baldwin tested the parachute himself. It worked. Baldwin’s public debut of the parachute jump occurred on January 30, 1887. He had struck a deal with a street car operator who served Seal Rock Park to pay Baldwin $1 for each foot of his parachute jump. Baldwin jumped from 1,000 feet to the amazement of 30,000 spectators and enjoyed fame and financial success. On July 4, 1887, in Quincy’s Singleton Park at 30th and Maine Streets (later renamed Baldwin Park), Baldwin performed his second parachute jump; this time from a balloon he manufactured in Quincy named the “City of Quincy.” Baldwin intended to jump from a tethered balloon, but the winds became severe, and the tethers started to whip around. Baldwin took the risk of releasing the tethers, and the balloon floated east. At about 33rd Street, he jumped from a distance of more than 4,000 feet. The descent lasted three minutes and twenty seconds. He landed safely but with such velocity that he slid and rolled for 35 feet before stopping. Requests for performances came from all over the country. For the balance of 1887 and into 1888, Baldwin took his show on the road. In the midst of this success, on December 7, 1887, in Quincy, he married Caroline “Carrie” Pool. Then, at the encouragement of “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Baldwin took his show to England and continental Europe in 1888. The crowds were enthralled by his jumps. Awards and gifts, including a diamond ring from the Prince of Wales, were showered upon Baldwin. In 1889 he took his show to the western United States and then in 1890 to Hawaii and the Far East. In many of these places, no one had seen anyone fly an aircraft let alone jump out of one and land safely. Baldwin then turned his attention back to Quincy. In September 1891, he purchased and redeveloped the former Singleton Park. His “Baldwin Park” had bowling alleys, an amphitheater, a hotel, a race track shaped in a figure eight, and other recreational facilities on 32 acres. His and Carrie’s son, Thomas A. Baldwin, was born in December 1891. Baldwin and Sam started the Baldwin Brothers Company to manufacture balloons and other aeronautical equipment. With the exception of occasional performances, Baldwin was now a father and businessman and more settled than at any time in his life. By 1897, Baldwin yearned for a new challenge. He returned to California while Carrie stayed in Quincy to operate Baldwin Park and raise young Tom. Baldwin wanted to achieve controllable flight, so his balloons would not float helplessly with the winds. He began to develop “dirigibles,” balloons with motors and rudders that would direct flight but he could not find a satisfactory motor. In 1903 Baldwin befriended Glenn H. Curtiss, founder of what became the aviation manufacturing giant Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, known today as the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. At the time, Curtiss was building motorcycles. Baldwin realized that the motorcycle engine was perfect for his dirigible. Curtiss was introduced to his future - aviation. On August 3, 1904, in Los Angeles, Baldwin made aviation history in his dirigible “California Arrow” by ascending in a lighter-than-air craft and sailing in a controlled flight along a predetermined course back to the beginning point. The Wright Brothers had performed a similar feat (though not back to the point of origin) with their heavier-than-air airplane in December 1903. From 1904 through 1907, Baldwin constructed and flew several dirigibles throughout the United States at exhibitions such as St. Louis’ Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Later, he promoted military and civilian uses of dirigibles, including dirigible passenger lines. Baldwin then redirected his energy to the newly popular airplanes. His friendship with Curtiss, now a manufacturer of airplanes, helped. In 1910, Baldwin built the biplane “Red Devil.” He spent the next five years flying his airplanes in exhibitions in cities and countries where he had performed his earlier acts. With the United States’ entry into World War I, Baldwin volunteered for duty and was commissioned as a Captain in the Signal Officers’ Reserve Corps. He directed the training of many of the Army Air Corps’ aviators. He was later promoted to the rank of Major and served in the Army Air Corps until his discharge in October 1919. He worked until his death in 1923 as a district manager of balloon inspection and production for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Baldwin’s life overflowed with “results.” He was a successful performer He was an inventor of balloons, parachutes, dirigibles and airplanes. His inventiveness appears to have been driven by the unceasing desire to conquer challenges and enthrall crowds. Baldwin patented few of his inventions. Instead, he shared them with the rest of the aviation industry. His focus was the show. As a result, he helped usher in aviation as not simply entertainment but a major mode of transportation and industry. Hal Oakley is a lawyer with Schmiedeskamp, Robertson, Neu & Mitchell LLP and a civic volunteer. He has authored several legal articles and edited, compiled and/or contributed to books and articles on local history. Sources Airship Facts and Meteorological Possibilities as Verified by Captain Thomas S. Baldwin. New York: Captain Thomas S. Baldwin, 1906. Crouch, Tom D. The Eagle Aloft: Two Centuries of the Balloon in America. Washington D C: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983. Keller, Mrs. G. A. Archival files. Quincy IL: Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. Matt, Paul R. Historical Aviation Album Volume V (All American Series). 1967. Scamehorn, Howard Lee. Baldwin, Thomas Scott: The Columbus of the Air. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Summer 1956. Seckman, Joanne S. It’s Not Luck, It’s Results: Thomas Scott Baldwin, 1860-1923. Quincy IL: Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County, 2005

By Arlis Dittmer • 27 Aug, 2024

The tombstone of Andrew Daubenheyer, one of the Hanco*ck County residents killed in September 1845. (Photo courtesy of Ancestry.com)The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source. In 1843 at age 22, Franklin Angus Worrell moved to Quincy from Ephrata, Pennsylvania, with his mother Elizabeth and his brother Milton. His mother was a recent widow who would later become famous as a Civil War nurse known to the soldiers as Mother Leebrick. Milton Worrell and his mother remained in Quincy, but Franklin moved to Hanco*ck County and settled in Carthage where he became a well-known and generous with credit merchant. He married Ann Elizabeth Lawton on February 22, 1844. Quincy was becoming an important city on the western frontier of Illinois. The city was known for hospitality and had sheltered thousands of Mormons during the winter of 1838-39. After a brief stay in Quincy most of the Mormons moved 40 miles north to establish their town of Nauvoo. As a frontier town, Nauvoo experienced rapid growth. The July 21, 1939 Quincy Herald Whig said, Nauvoo had attracted “its normal share of criminals who always infect the boom town…”. The Worrells arrived in Illinois as the relationship between the Mormons and their neighbors was disintegrating. Their leader, Joseph Smith wanted to expand his community and set up more settlements in Hanco*ck and Adams Counties, which angered the “old citizens” as the local settlers were known. Governor Thomas Ford in his History of Illinois described the settlers as “hard cases.” There was also dissent within the Mormon community. A newspaper was set up in Nauvoo to challenge Smith’s leadership. Smith had the newspaper destroyed, which caused him and his brother Hyrum to be arrested and sent to the Carthage jail, where they were killed on June 27, 1844. At the time of the murders of the Smith brothers, Franklin Worrell was a well-known anti-Mormon. He was a lieutenant of the Carthage Grays and in charge of the seven-man guard at the jail. The rest of the Grays were camped nearby. Worrell was one of the five men accused of killing the Smiths. In addition to being charged for the murders, he was a prosecution witness. Another witness said that Worrell told him the day before the murders, “We have had too much trouble to bring Old Joe here to let him escape alive, and unless you want to die with him, you better leave before sundown.” Worrell denied saying that. He also said there was “so much noise or smoke that I could not see or hear anything what was said or done.” When asked on the witness stand if the Grays had loaded their guns with blanks, he said, “I will not answer that question.” By September 1845, Hanco*ck County and northwest Adams County were embroiled in conflict with historian William Hartley stating, “If Illinois ever had an arson month in its history, September 1845 was it.” Thomas Gregg’s 1880 History of Hanco*ck County describes the 1845 events as “not law or order… [which] brought the people to a state of recklessness.” The book describes a September 9th anti-Mormon meeting held at the Green Plains School which was located in a small community southeast of Warsaw. Shots were fired into the building. In retaliation, cabins were burned, and the Mormon settlement known as Morley-Town was destroyed. Franklin Worrell was in the midst of those conflicts, but later accounts varied as to his fate. His wife’s obituary in 1906 says her first husband was killed on September 16, 1845, by the Mormons while guarding settler’s property east of Warsaw. According to the October 11, 1845, American Penny Magazine, using the Warsaw Signal as its source, the Hanco*ck County Sheriff, J. B. Backenstos, was considered a “Jack-Mormon” who was “very obnoxious to the anti-Mormons.” Backenstos backed the Mormons for political reasons as he had served as a circuit clerk and in the state legislature. He wanted their votes. He wanted to stop the violence but could not raise a posse “among the old citizens.” He issued a proclamation on September 13, calling for the rioters to stop and asked for a posse comitatus to assist him. The magazine described Frank Worrell as a Carthage merchant who alone was shot on September 16, while riding with a group of 12 to 14 other men. The magazine went on to say that the people talked of a general battle and that “women and children are leaving the county as fast as they can get away.” According to Gregg’s History, Frank Worrell was killed while riding his horse from Carthage to Warsaw with a group of eight men. He was not part of the arsonists or rioters. Sheriff Backenstos and Orrin Porter Rockwell were indicted for the murder. They were both acquitted of the charge after a change of venue for their trials. No one knows for sure who killed Worrell, but Rockwell said many years later that he did under the order of the sheriff. By order of Governor Ford on September 17, the Quincy Riflemen took a steamboat to Warsaw and marched to Carthage where they camped before marching to Nauvoo with loaded weapons expecting resistance. Although Nauvoo citizens were well armed and organized, there was no resistance. The September 24, 1845, Quincy Whig published several separate accounts of what happened, all originally published in the Warsaw Signal, one saying the Mormons killed Franklin, one accusing Sheriff Backenstos, and one saying the sheriff had confessed to the murder and calling him “the leader of a band of murderers.” The newspaper called Worrell, “one of the bravest, best and most beloved of our citizens.” “He has left a young and most amiable wife to mourn his death, and an infant too young to know the loss it has sustained.” Shortly after Worrell’s death, three more citizens were killed before Governor Ford sent soldiers into Hanco*ck County to quell the disturbances. Less is written about them. One man, Andrew Daubenheyer disappeared on the road to Carthage on September 18. He was found in a shallow grave, shot in the back of his head. His tombstone in the Tull Cemetery in Pontoosuc says, “Killed by the Mormons, Sep. 1845.” Sources American Penny Magazine and Family Newspaper. Vol. 1, No. 36, October 11, 1845. Ford, Thomas. A History of Illinois from its Commencement as a State in 1818-1847. Chicago: S. C. Griggs & Co., 1854. Gregg, Thomas. History of Hanco*ck County, Illinois: together with an outline history of the state, and a digest of state laws. Chicago: C. C. Chapman & Co., 1880. Hallwas, John E. & Roger D. Launius [editors]. Cultures in Conflict; A Documentary History of the Mormon Wars in Illinois. Logan UT: Utah State University Press, 1995. “The Hanco*ck Troubles.” Quincy Whig, September 24, 1845, 2. Hartley, William G. The 1845 Burning of Morley’s Settlement and Murder of Edmund Durfee. Salt Lake City, Utah: Primer Publications, 1997. Lindbloom, Sharon. Nauvoo’s Bloody Autumn of 1845. Nauvoo’s Bloody Autumn of 1845 – Mormonism Research Ministry (mrm.org) Linder, Douglas O. The Carthage Conspiracy Trial: An Account, The Carthage Conspiracy Trial: An Account (umkc.edu), 2010 Oaks, Dallin H. and Marvin S. Hill. Carthage Conspiracy: The Trial of the Accused Assassins of Joseph Smith. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1975. “Troubles of the Mormons in Illinois and a Discussion of it From a Political Angle.” Quincy Herald Whig, July 21, 1939, 6.

By Reg Ankrom • 27 Aug, 2024

This photo shows the desk once owned by John Quincy Adams. (Photo Courtesy of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County) Aside from the notable quality of their craftsmanship and beauty in their polished mahogany finishes, two pieces of furniture in the Governor John Wood Mansion may get little more notice than the other 19th century furnishings there. But these pieces are especially interesting in their historical significance, not only to the history of Quincy and Adams County but of the nation, as well. They attended the birth of the nation's political parties. And they are part of the collection of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. One of the oldest and most prized pieces in the Historical Society's collection is a desk that belonged to President John Quincy Adam. He was the sixteenth president of the United States and was in office from 1825-1829. The desk is austere in appearance and utilitarian in design. It is located in a bedroom on the second-floor of the Governor John Wood Mansion in Quincy Illinois. For all its understated qualities, the Adams desk had a significant role in chronicling American history by a man who made it. It was at this desk that Adams composed substantial portions of one of his most important legacies to history, his monumental diary, which he began keeping at the age of 11. He also did some of his five-times-daily Bible readings at the desk. In 1825, the Illinois Legislature honored Adams, who was president at the time, by giving the state's westernmost county the Adams surname and the village that would serve as the county seat Adams's middle name. Had locals pronounced the name as Adams did, the city would be known as QUIN-zee. The Adams desk was a gift to the Historical Society by Mrs. E.J. Parker in the first few years of the 20th century. An early Quincy newspaper of the time reported that the desk was discovered in Duxbury, Mass., with documents confirming its ownership by President Adams. The desk is in the federal style, a common design during the early to mid-1800s. Like the man who used it, the desk is unassuming in appearance and character. Its writing area, which stretches across the width of the desk, is divided into three leather-covered sections. Each slopes slightly from back to front, and each has a top that lifts to reveal shallow storage compartments. There are four drawers with brass knobs on either side of the knee hole. The upper section has two ledger cupboards over two small drawers and a space between them for books and other reference materials. The connection of the Adams desk to Quincy is related to the origin of party politics and famous Quincyans who took sides. Men like Orville Hickman Browning, Abraham Jonas and John Wood adopted principles of John Quincy Adams and the "National Republican Party" (later Whig, then Republican). At about the same time, Andrew Jackson and followers were creating the "Democratic Republican Party," shortened to the Democratic Party, which attracted the likes of Isaac N. Morris, James Singleton and Stephen A. Douglas. His political career launched from Quincy in 1843, Douglas by 1858 would be the most powerful Democrat in the nation. Another of the oldest and most prized pieces in the Historical Society’s collection is the Jackson sideboard. The imposing mahogany sideboard sits in the Mansion's first floor parlor and is as big and as bold as the man who used it during his eight years in the White House. Like its former owner President Andrew Jackson, it stands heroic in appearance. It served the president and his guests in the White House dining room from 1829 to 1837, a silent witness to the Age of Jackson. It would have taken several Jackson commoners to move the bulky piece of furniture. Six feet long and nearly as tall, it is two feet deep and large enough to have held dozens of settings of presidential China and silver sets. A thick, beveled mirror and two mirrored insets rise above an inch-thick, Italian marble top framed by two deep drawers, each with filigreed brass pulls. Typical of American Federal-style furniture of the period, it has four unengaged columns, each topped by carved ionic capitals on either side of two side cupboards. This sideboard was a silent witness to the turbulent history of the Jackson presidency. It would have been privy to the so-called Peggy Eaton controversy, an affair of loose morals involving Jackson's Secretary of War John Eaton and the promiscuous daughter of Washington innkeeper William O'Neale. Wives of most of Jackson's cabinet, led by the vice president's wife, Floride Calhoun, stirred the controversy, which took more of Jackson's attention than almost any other issue of his first year in office. It was substantially the reason Jackson turned to his "kitchen cabinet" for advice, ignoring and ultimately jettisoning his official cabinet. The sideboard stood steadfast during some of Jackson's famous tirades against the Bank of the United States and its powerful president. Nicholas Biddle. It felt the warmth of increasingly heated debates over the right of states to annul federal laws. And it stood like a silent sentry before arguments over the issue that disturbed the sensitivities of the nation's sections -- the matter of slavery. Mrs. Hazel M. Adams gave the Jackson sideboard to the Historical Society in 1991 in memory of her husband Carl N. Adams. The society's documentation indicates that after Jackson left office, the sideboard traveled from the White House to Philadelphia, where Charles R. Hurst, a prominent Springfield dry goods merchant, bought it in the 1840s. It became the property of Hurst's daughter, Mrs. Georgeine Hurst Starne of Springfield. The society's records do not indicate how the Adamses acquired the piece. Sources "Accession Record of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois." Accession No. F11, undated. Howe, Daniel Walker. What Hath God Wrought. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Quincy Optic. dates unknown. Remini, Robert V. John Quincy Adams. New York: Times Books, 2002.

By Justin Coffey • 27 Aug, 2024

Mrs. E. B. Hamilton gave the set of 16 keys to the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. These keys help show that the city of Quincy is an important part of the history of the Mormon Church, a legacy that is still alive today. The city of Quincy has always been a welcoming community, but never more so than during the winter of 1838-1839 when the residents provided aid, shelter, and comfort to the distressed Mormons who were fleeing persecution in Missouri. The hospitality shown to the Mormons has never been forgotten by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but Quincy residents might not be familiar with one of the Gem City's finer moments. In the early 1830s Joseph Smith led his followers across the Mississippi River and established settlements throughout Missouri. Hoping to live peacefully, the Mormons met with fierce resistance from many who were intolerant of their faith. Over the course of several years, the Mormons struggled to locate an area where they could worship freely. Granted land in Caldwell by the Missouri legislature in 1836, the Mormons enjoyed relative tranquility until 1838 when conflict with neighbors erupted. Violence soon ensued, and the "Missouri Mormon War of 1838" commenced. The war lasted several months with the Missouri militia and the Mormons battling each other. On Oct. 27, 1838, Gov. Lilburn W. Boggs issued an executive order banishing the Saints from Missouri. On November 1, the Saints surrendered, and Joseph Smith along with his brother Hyrum, Sydney Rigdon, and other Mormon leaders were charged with capital crimes and were incarcerated in a Liberty, Missouri jail. Faced with expulsion, thousands of Saints headed east for Quincy. Their motives for choosing Quincy varied, but Quincy made sense for a number of reasons. Although small, numbering only about 1,600 in 1839, the city was growing. Further, Quincy had a reputation for being a tolerant place, one where social outsiders could be welcomed. Beginning in late 1838 the first settlers arrived, and an estimated 6,000 would come east across the Mississippi during the winter of 1838-1839. Their passage was by no means easy. Crossing the Mississippi in winter can be treacherous, but fortunately all making the trip, whether by canoe or by their own feet when the river froze over, survived. Quincy and the surrounding areas were a haven for the Mormons, as they found the people warm and welcoming. Housing was provided for them, and funds were raised by the city's population. By April there were thousands more Mormon refugees than permanent residents, but all were provided for. Many of Quincy's political figures did all they could for the refugees, not in the least because the Mormons were an important and sizable political bloc. The city's founder, John Wood, was a friend and benefactor to the Mormons. As mayor of Quincy in 1839, Wood helped raise money for the displaced Saints, and he would later try and prevent an anti-Mormon militia from attacking Mormons in Nauvoo. When the Mormons were driven out of Nauvoo in 1846, Wood again came to their aid. He and other leaders gave the fleeing Mormons material comfort such as food, medicine, and blankets. Other prominent Quincyans, including Orville Hickman Browning, Archibald Williams, and Henry Asbury, also helped out. The Mormons stayed in Quincy until May 1839. A month earlier they were joined by Joseph Smith, who had been imprisoned in a Missouri jail. Upon his releases, Joseph along with his brother, Hyrum, and several other church leaders had immediately set out for Quincy. Smith's time in Quincy was relatively brief, for he had already planned yet another move, this time north. Prior to arriving, he had purchased land about 40 miles north of Quincy, where he and his followers would settle. The Mormons began their trek to Hanco*ck County, and they settled on the banks of the Mississippi River at the city of Commerce, later named Nauvoo. Smith expressed his gratitude to the people of Quincy in a letter to the Quincy Whig, dated May 17, 1839: "The determined stand in this State, and by the people of Quincy in particular, made against the lawless outrages of the Missouri mobbers ... have entitled them equally to our thanks and our professional regard." The story does not end in 1839. For several years, the new community in Nauvoo flourished, but dissent among the Saints brought about controversy, which culminated in the arrest of Joseph and Hyrum Smith for smashing the press of an anti-Mormon newspaper in the city. In June 1844, a mob attacked the jail in Carthage, killing both Smiths. The murder did not end the tension in the community, and by 1845 the "Battle of Nauvoo" or the "Mormon War in Illinois" had begun. In October 1845, the "Quincy Committee" entered into negotiations with the Mormons to end the conflict, which would mean that the Latter-day Saints would have to depart from Nauvoo. The committee ensured that the mobs in the surrounding areas, particularly from Warsaw and Carthage, would leave the Mormons alone when they departed Illinois. The Quincy Committee saved more bloodshed and allowed the Mormons to start on their westward trek to what is now the home of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Luckily, parts of the Mormon experience in the Quincy and Tri-state area have been preserved. In 1976 the Latter-day Saints dedicated a historical marker in Washington Park. "The Mormons in Quincy" video provides a brief summary of the time spent in Quincy and the everlasting gratitude of the Mormons for the people of Quincy. Visitors to the History Museum on the Square at 4th and Maine Streets can see artifacts from that time, including the keys to the Nauvoo Mormon Temple. As the Latter-day Saints left Nauvoo for the Utah Basin, they gave the Temple keys to Artois Hamilton, an innkeeper who took care of Joseph and Hiram Smith's bodies the night after they were murdered in Carthage. Hamilton built coffins for the brothers and transported them to Nauvoo. Justin Coffey is an Associate Professor of History at Quincy University with a PhD from the University of Illinois. He is a former president of the Historical Society and is currently the chief political analyst for WGEM. Sources Black, Susan Easton and Richard E. Bennet, eds. A City of Refuge: Quincy IL. Riverton WY: Millennial Press, 2000. Hallwas, John E. and Roger D. Lanius, eds. Cultures in Conflict: A documentary History of the Mormon War in Illinois. Logan UT: Utah State University Press, 1995.

By Arlis Dittmer • 23 Aug, 2024

This is the cover of the pamphlet published by the REA to informed new electricity users. (Photo courtesy of the National Museum of American History.) We have all heard about Thomas Edson and the incandescent light bulb which he invented in 1879. But how could you use a light bulb if you had no electricity? Edison’s first power station was in New York City in 1882. It was direct current (DC) which had limitations. Along came George Westinghouse and others who set up an alternate current (AC) power station in Niagara, New York in 1886. Throw in Nikola Tesla who had invented a generator which could transport AC electricity over long distances and the age of electricity was born. Electricity requires a power source which in the early days was hydro and coal. The looming dilemma was the divide between those who had electricity and those who did not. Rural areas did not. Cities and towns had electricity and even Quincy had electric streetcars by 1891. The election of 1932 pitted Herbert Hoover against Franklin Delano Roosevelt. While campaigning Roosevelt was appalled at the condition of rural America with many having no running water or electricity. Upon winning the election, Roosevelt planned large electrification projects beginning with the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933. In 1935, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 7037 which established the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). Congress agreed and passed the Rural Electrification Act in 1936. As an east Texas farmer and Speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn was instrumental in passing that act. He knew that in the mid-1930s nine out of ten rural homes had no electricity. The investor-owned power companies in cities and towns were not interested in erecting power lines to scattered homes and farms in the county due to the expense involved. But famer-owned cooperatives were interested, and they were the ones who applied for loans through the REA. Locally, both the Adams County Electric Cooperative in Golden and the Western Illinois Electrical Cooperative in Carthage serving Hanco*ck County began in 1938. By the end of 1938, the Adams County co-op had 1200 members. Both groups held meetings and told farmers how to sign up for power by becoming members of the co-ops. To build lines, the co-op had to ask permission of land owners, and county and state authorities. The December 11, 1938 Quincy Herald Whig reported, “Permission was received Saturday, from the state highway department for the Co-op association to build lines along the slab roads in the county. Permission to build along state aid roads was granted by Adams County authorities some time ago and now that the state has given the electric Co-op association the privilege of placing poles along the highway, work can go on faster… .” The process of getting electricity to the rural homes involved the cooperation of friends and neighbors. A route was chosen when enough famers on a route wanted electricity. Loans would be requested from the REA for that route. Initially the Adams County Co-op planned to build 200 miles and requested a loan of $200,000. Unexpectedly and much to their delight, the loan was made for $400,000 allowing up to 400 miles of power lines to be constructed. When the final approval came from Washington, a call for bids was advertised. In Adams County, construction work began in late summer of 1938 and many rural homes hoped to have electricity by Thanksgiving. Additional lines would be built when enough farmers had joined the Co- op. A map would then be drawn and funds requested from the REA. The Co-op had 90 days to decide to build these extensions. The original build was 400 miles of power lines. Dues to the Co-op were $5.00 and the family had to pledge to use at least $3.50 worth of electric current per month. Loans would be paid over a 20-year period with interest rates below 3%. Max Weinberg, a Quincy lawyer originally from Augusta, Illinois, was the attorney for the Co-op and also for the Hanco*ck County organization. George Simpson was the project engineer. Mr. Simpson was quoted in the July 22, 1938 Quincy Herald Whig, “Any man whose home is not now on the routes of the projected lines, … and who wants electricity, should get busy and get his neighbors to join him in asking for extensions. Extensions will be built when the time for extension to be made serve groups, rather than a few farms.” After a meeting held in Springfield with state and national officers of the REA, the August 5, 1938 Quincy Herald Whig reported, “ The national officers are greatly pleased with the Adams County Electric Co-Op association because of the large number of members it has and because of the prosperity of the rural regions in this county that will be served.” Frequently telephone poles had to be moved for the power lines and substations had to be built. One sub station near Ursa was delayed as the landowner was serving in a mission station in Tanana Alaska, located on the Yukon River and still a town today. Letters and wires were sent, radios were used, and the December 9, 1938, Quincy Herald Whig said, “Mr. Weinberg has an idea that it is probable that his message and the reply was handled by dog teams somewhere between Tanana and Fairbanks.” Once the farm was connected to the power lines, the families needed to learn how to use electricity. Born on a farm in southern Illinois without electricity and a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Louisan Mamer, was hired as an REA advisor. She traveled around the country showing folks how to operate appliances, cook, and do household chores with electricity. She and others like her used tents for their presentations. The tents became known as The REA Circus. According to the August 26, 1939 Quincy Herald Whig, the “electric show” had demonstrations all day and into the evening with food provided by an “all electric lunch stand.” World War II interrupted much of the rural electrification work. Fortunately for farmers the work was resumed after 1945. By 1959, 90% of farm homes were electrified. Arlis Dittmer is a retired health science librarian and former president of the Historical Society of Quincy and Adams County. During her years with Blessing Health System, she became interested in medical and nursing history—both topics frequently overlooked in history. Sources “$400,00 Allotted For Co-Operative Electric Project.” Quincy Herald Whig, July 24, 1938, 16. “Actual Building of Rural Lines May Start Soon.” Quincy Herald Whig, August 5, 1938,12. “Await Allocation of Money To Ask Power Line Bids.” Quincy Herald Whig, July 22, 1938, 12. About AEC. Adams County Electric Cooperative. About AEC – Adams Electric Cooperative Anderson, Paul E. Sam Reyburn and Rural Electrification. Sam Rayburn and Rural Electrification | East Texas History “Chicago Firm is Given Contract for 500 Meters. Quincy Herald Whig, December 11, 1938. 2. The Electric Cooperative Story. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). History - America's Electric Cooperatives “Electric Show Will Be Held At Florance.” Quincy Herald Whig, August 26, 1939, 3. O.K. From Alaska Speeds Building of Electric Line. Quincy Herald Whig, December 9, 1938, 12. “Tell Farmers About Co-Op Electric Plan.” Quincy Herald Whig, June 6, 1938, 10. Wallace, Harold D. Jr. Power from the people: Rural Electrification brought more than lights | National Museum of American History (si.edu) Western Illinois Electrical Coop. Customer Portal (wiec.net)

By David Costigan • 23 Aug, 2024

1861 photo of Ulysses S. Grant while he was serving with the 21st Illinois Infantry. (Photo courtesy of Library of Congress) Ulysses S. Grant was not quite 40 in April 1861 when Confederates fired on Fort Sumter, beginning the Civil War. Grant, a West Point graduate and Mexican American War veteran, had resigned from the Army in 1854. Rumors of excessive alcohol consumption marred his reputation and his future in the military. Subsequently, he failed as a famer, salesman, candidate for county office and customhouse clerk. A t the time of Fort Sumter, grant worked in a leather store in Galena, Illinois. In his memoirs, Grant acknowledged that he expected the war to be over in 90 days or less. Grant was elected captain of a Galena infantry company, he had helped to raise, but he declined waiting for a more significant opportunity. This came in mid-June when Il linois Governor Richard Yates appointed him colonel of the 21st Illinois Infantry Regiment mustered at Springfield. Grant proceeded to Springfield to take charge. Despite the lack of time for even meager training, Grant received orders to proceed to Quincy to allay possible hostile action on the Illinois-Missouri border. Despite available rail transportation, Grant opted to march across the state as good training and discipline for his men. In his memoirs he acknowledged that considerable positive training was accomplished by this move. On the way, however, as they reached the Illinois River, the unit received news of hostile action in Northeast Missouri, so Grant hurried his troops to Quincy by rail. Again i n his memoirs he detailed events: “Before we were prepared to cross the Mississippi River at Quincy, my anxiety was relieved; for the men of the besieged regiment came straggling into town. I am inclined to think both sides got frightened and ran away.” Grant and the 21st then set up camp in the region waiting for its next assignment. Not all the local response to Grant and his troops was favorable. While on the I linois side of the river, the troops camped in the bottom lands outside of Quincy. Within four days, 30 soldiers were added to the sick list. The Quincy Daily Whig urged him to find a healthier environment, commenting, “If the officers place any value on the health of the soldiers encamping in that miserable and unhealthy bottom, it is certainly a very poor way to show it.” Apparently, commanders set up camp wherever they saw adequate empty space. Subsequently, Grant and his men crossed the river to Palmyra, Missouri, area where the railroad from Quincy joined the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, a prime target of rebel guerrilla forces. In a letter to his wife Julie, Grant revealed that he was aware of a “terrible state of fear existing among the people.” Guerrilla violence was commonplace in the area. He pointed out that when the people learned his troops respected property, they began to visit the Union camp and became friendly with his troops. Grant’s approach was in direct contrast with his predecessor in the region, General John Pope, who stated that the entire population must be assumed to be hostile. Grant conjecture, “I am fully convinced that if orderly troops could be marched through this country, and none others, it would create a very different state of feeling from what exists now.” Grant’s method, now called counterinsurgency, presented a relatively unique approach that could wax and wane in the region throughout the first years of the war. Grant received orders to proceed further into Missouri against a rebel guerrilla force commanded by Colonel Thomas Harris encamped in the small town of Florida, Mark Twain’s birthplace. Grant described the operation in his memoirs. His force marched about 25 miles toward a creek bottom where Harris’s troops were supposedly encamped. Grant explained, “The hills on either side of the creek extend to a considerable height, possible more than a hundred feet. As we approached the brow of the hill from which it was expected we could see Harris’s camp, and possibly find his men ready formed to meet us, my heart kept getting high and higher until it felt to me as though it was in my throat. I would have given anything then to have been back in Illinois, but I had not the moral courage to halt and consider what to do; I kept right on. When we reached a point from which the valley below was in full view I halted. The place where Harris was encamped a few days before was still there and the marks of a recent encampment were plainly visible, but the troops were gone. My heart resumed its place. It occurred to me at once that Harris had been as much afraid of me as I had been of him. This was a view of the question I had never taken before; but it is one I never forgot afterwards. From that event to the close of the war, I never experienced trepidation upon confronting an enemy. I never forgot he had as much reason to fear my forces as I had his. The lesson was valuable.” It is quite remarkable to think that such a seminal experience took place in this remote area of Missouri. Grant’s next assignment was to proceed to Mexico, Missouri, commissioned to keep order in that area. Two days after his arrival in Mexico, he was apprised of the fact that his name had been sent to the United States Senate for promotion to the rank of brigadier general. With solid support from Illinois congressmen, he received the appointment, and it was backdated to May 17 for the purpose of providing seniority. Grant’s leadership in the west would continue, with successes and failures, for almost three more years, when in the spring of 1864, Lincoln called him to become general-in-chief. Grant had come a long way from the Galena leather shop and from his Springfield, Quincy, and Northeast Missouri assignments. By his own admission, he had conquered fear, and he could display resoluteness that would serve him well through the remainder of the war. Professor Emeritus David Costigan held the position of the Aaron M. Pembleton E ndowed Chair of History at Quincy University and is a respected authority on local history. Sources Costigan, David. A City in Wartime: Quincy, Illinois in the Civil War. PhD diss., Illinois State University, 1994. Grant, Ulysses S. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant. New York: Charles Webster and Company, 1885-1886. Longacre, Edward G. General Ulysses S. Grant: The Soldier and The Man. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2007

By Phil Reyburn • 23 Aug, 2024

By his late teens, Sammy Samuels, who was born in Quincy but living in Chicago, was playing baseball in the Chicago City League, “the Windy City’s top circuit for aspiring young players.” Most of the time he was his team’s third baseman, but he occasionally played shortstop. When not on the diamond, Sammy had started college. In May 1895, Samuels signed with the Rock Island Islanders of the low-level Eastern Iowa League. The Rock Island Argus commented on Sammy’s strong play both in the field and at bat. But unfortunately, the Islanders were expelled from the league in mid-June when the club failed to pay their players. Sammy, though, was able to catch-on with the semi-pro Streator Reds. Due to the mercurial temperament of the St. Louis Browns’ owner, Sammy Samuels baseball fortunes were to take a drastic change. Since joining the National League in 1892, beer baron Chris von der Ahe’s St Louis Browns had fallen on hard times. In a 12-team league, the team’s best finish was ninth in 1894. The 1895 squad was on pace to finish near the cellar again. Frustrated and ready to turn to young talent, von der Ahe “out of the blue” on August 3, 1895, signed Sammy Samuels whose “professional baseball experience consisted of one month . . .” to a big-league contract. St. Louis was in Chicago taking on the Colts (now the Cubs), when in the third inning Sammy took over at third base. He finished the game playing errorless ball and going one for two at the plate. While in the Windy City, Sammy had two more clean fielding games, but he only picked up one more hit. After three games, the St. Louis Globe Democrat describe Sammy as a “jewel” of a player. Before leaving Chicago, he stopped at a nearby studio and was photographed wearing his St. Louis Browns road uniform. The Browns’ next stops were in Pittsburgh and then Cincinnati, where Sammy struggled both in the field and at the plate. Back in St. Louis, and making his debut before the home crowd, he had an errorless game and went one for three at bat. But his fielding woes soon made headlines----St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “’Samuels’ Fault: The Little Third Baseman Lost Game for the Browns.’” When the season ended, Samuels had appeared in 24 games, and he had collected 17 hits in 83 at-bats for a .230 batting average. Charged with 24 errors, Sammy’s fielding was not acceptable for the National League, and in the offseason the Browns released him. So, when the spring of 1896 came, Samuels “began a three-year odyssey through multiple minor leagues in which he played for over a dozen teams. . ..” One of the teams looking at Samuels was the Quincy Blue Birds of the Western Association. The Daily Journal reported on May 18th that Quincy “signed Samuels . . . who played third base . . . with the St. Louis Browns last season. He made a fairly good showing in the National League and may prove a fast man in the Western Association. We hope so.” The Daily Journal on May 19th printed this note: Sam Samuels . . . is a Quincy boy. He lived on Fourth Steet near Hampshire. His father used to have a clothing store. Glad to see he got a place with the Quincy team and wish the club success.” On Friday, May 22, 1896, The St. Joseph Saints were in town to play the Blue Birds. The two teams were battling to stay out of last place. In hopes of breathing life into the slumping Blue Birds, team president Ged Jones, four days earlier, had signed former hometown boy and recent major league player Sammy Samuels. That afternoon Samuels was at the hot corner and hitting seventh. In his first at bat, Samuels doubled driving in two runs, and he had a respectable day at the plate, going 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored. But his future with the Blue Birds was spelled out in the box score. Samuels had been charged with six errors. The Saints scored only five earned runs and took the game 14 to 9. The Qunicy newspapers graphically reported Samuels’ horrific day in the field. The May 23, 1896 Daily Journal’s headline spelled it out----“COULDN’T STOP A STREET CAR.” The Journal’s sportswriter claimed Samuels’ “could easily have been indicted” since “he was obtaining money under false pretenses, by representing himself to be a ball player.” He wasn’t through with his denunciations, stating that Samuels had “played positively the rockiest game at third ever seen on Quincy’s grounds. Out of ten chances he accepted four. It is extremely doubtful if any third baseman in any league has made six errors in one game this season. Half the time he couldn’t stop the ball, and when he did get hold of it, he didn’t know what to do with it.” The Quincy Morning Whig was less dramatic, but their conclusion was the same. “Samuels by the way was released last night. He is a good fellow, and all that, but he can’t play ball. He muffed and fumbled, and when he did get the ball didn’t know what to do with it. So, he can go back to Chicago, and Quincy will hustle for another third baseman.” “It was a lively game for all of Samuels ’errors, and the crowd seemed to enjoy it hugely,” added the Morning Whig reporter. The Daily Journal writer concurred stating: “Aside from Samuels’ wretched playing, the game was full of snap and ginger and at times the excitement ran high.” It seems strange that nowhere in any of the game’s writeups was anything said about Samuel Samuels being a Quincy native. Probably the Daily Herald explained it best---“Samuels proved to be a great flunk.” No use to lay claim to that. After the 1898 season, Sammy Samuels disappeared from professional baseball. He had had four tumultuous years, but whether it was a twist of fate or not, Samuels played in 24 big league games. He lived every boy’s fantasy who picked up a baseball, put on a glove, or swung a bat. Sammy Samuels wore a big-league uniform and played on the “field of dreams.” This fact can never be taken from Sammy Samuels. He was a major league baseball player. Sammy Samuels died on February 22, 1964, in New York City. Phil Reyburn is a retired field representative for the Social Security Administration. He authored "Clear the Track: A History of the Eighty-ninth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, The Railroad Regiment" and co-edited "'Jottings from Dixie:' The Civil War Dispatches of Sergeant Major Stephen F. Fleharty, U.S.A." Sources “Amusem*nts.” Quincy Whig, October 13, 1869, 4. “Can’t Crowd Us Lower.” Quincy Daily Herald, May 23, 1896, 1. “Colts Took Three Straight,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 5, 1895: 9. “Couldn’t Stop A Street Car.” Quincy Daily Journal, May 23, 1896, 5. “Dropped to the Last.” Quincy Morning Whig, May 23, 1896, 3. “Grand Stand Gossip,” Rock Island (Illinois) Argus, May 9, 1895. Jewish Baseball Museum [Online]. Htps://jewishbaseballmuseum.com>spotlight- story>Image of 19th Century Jewish Baseball Player Discovered by Bob Wechsler Sammy Samuels short biography. “Quincy Club and Franchise.” Quincy Daily Journal, May 19, 1896, 5. “The Red Stockings.” Quincy Weekly Whig, August 7, 1869, 3.

By Phil Reyburn • 23 Aug, 2024

By the mid-1850s, Quincy’s population was nearing 11,000. Much of the recent increase was made up of Germans escaping the upheaval resulting from the Revolution of 1848 and 1849. While many German immigrants settled in western cities of Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis, smaller communities like Quincy attracted their share. The newcomers found abundant opportunity and fewer restrictions in the United States. Many German Jews joined the migration. Quincy native and scholar of Jewish history, David A. Frolick explained: “Despite the liberal attitude sweeping through Europe, Jews were afraid that anti-Semitism would emerge.” And for good reason. In the Prussian province of Posen, which had a significant Jewish population, it was not until 1869 that equal rights were granted its Jewish citizens. Located on the edge of the American frontier, Quincy in the 1840s, offered unfettered opportunity. Among the German newcomers were several Prussian-Jews. Whether they were Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish, the new arrivals took an active role in all aspects of the community. The Samuels family was no different. Records at the Adams County courthouse show that Isaac T. Samuels became a naturalized citizen on October 30, 1860. On November 3, 1861, Isaac married Jenette Aronson. Both had emigrated from Prussia. Isaac came with his brother, Julius, and Julius’s wife Rebecca. Jenette Aronson arrived with her brother, Albert, and his wife Julia. Isaac Samuels partnered with a brother, Julius, in a dry good business. An early directory listed the enterprise as “Samuels J. & Bro., (Isaac), clothing and hats, 32 N. Fourth.” Albert Aronson bought and sold hides and wool for a living. Isaac and Jenette Samuels had four daughters, and on February 20, 1874, a son Samuel Earle was born. In the early 1870s, Quincy’s Jewish population peaked at about 500 or 2 percent of the population. In 1869, the construction of the B’nai Sholom temple at 429 N. Fourth St. began. The temple was dedicated on September 8, 1870. Jewish children attended public schools in Quincy, and in 1879 one-third of the high school graduates were Jewish. Quincy’s Jewish community was thriving. The Samuels brothers had found the opportunity they were seeking. They operated a profitable clothing store. Their families had assimilated, and they were active in the local Jewish community. The December 16, 1877 Quincy Daily Herald listed Isaac Samuels as an officer in the local Independent Order B’nai B’rith, Zuleika Lodge No. 99. In 1874, Isaac Samuels was arrested and fined for a bait-and-switch scheme according to the July 23, 1874 Quincy Daily Herald. Isaac had run afoul of the authorities in January 1883, when he was arrested, plead guilty, and fined $50 and costs for using cancelled postage stamps on letters. These incidents may have led the family to leave Quincy and move to Chicago. Coincidentally, during this same time frame, organized professional baseball came to Quincy. Spending his formative years in Quincy, Issac’s son Samuel joined other boys in playing and watching baseball games. Baseball for a young boy was as much a part of life as chores and going to school. Harry Hofer, a year younger than Samuels, was passionate about baseball. Later, Hofer’s name would become synonymous with this period of Quincy baseball. Baseball had been played since the Civil War and versions of the game were played earlier in Europe and in America. The first organized Quincy Baseball game was played in 1866. While living in Chicago, Sammy Samuels in his late teens showed promise as a baseball player. In 1894 he enrolled in the Rush Medical College dental school. Before giving professional baseball a try in 1895, Sammy briefly suited up for the Rush college team. In 1896, one of the teams looking at Samuels was the Quincy Blue Birds of the Western Association. The Daily Journal reported on May 18th that Quincy “signed Samuels . . . who played third base . . . with the St. Louis Browns last season. He made a fairly good showing in the National League and may prove a fast man in the Western Association. We hope so.” The Daily Journal on May 19th printed this note: “Sam Samuels . . . is a Quincy boy. He lived on Fourth Street, near Hampshire. His father used to have a clothing store. Glad to see he got a place with the Quincy team and wish the club success.” On Friday, May 22, 1896, the St. Joseph Saints were in town to play the Blue Birds. The two teams were battling to stay out of last place. In an attempt to shore up the Blue Birds, team president Ged Jones signed former hometown boy and recent major league player, Samuels, in hopes of bringing life to the slumping local nine. When the Quincyans took the field, Samuels was at third base and batting seventh. The Blue Birds lost. It seemed ironic that nowhere in the game’s reporting was a word written that Sammy Samuels was a Quincy native. Probably the May 23, 1896 Quincy Daily Herald words explained it best. “Samuels proved to be a great flunk.” The 1898 season was Sammy Samuels’ last year in professional baseball. He had had four tumultuous years in organized baseball. Whether it was a fluke or not, he played in 24 big league games. In doing so, he became the fifth Jewish major league player, and the first since 1887. Sammy Samuels lived every young boy’s dream. But just as important, he was “a Jewish pioneer in 19th century baseball.” Sources Breslauer, Bernhard [trans. by Irene Newhouse, 1995]. “The Emigration of Jews from the Province of Posen,” Berlin, Germany: Printed by Berthold Levy, 1909. “Couldn’t Stop A Street Car.” Quincy Daily Journal, May 23, 1896, 5. “Election of Officers.” Quincy Daily Herald, December 16, 1877, 3. Frolick, David A. “From Immigration to Integration: Jewish Life in Quincy in the Nineteenth Century,” Illinois Periodicals Online [A digital imaging project at the Northern Illinois University Libraries.] Gensheimer, Cynthia. “Quincy’s Jewish Families Shape the City.” Quincy Herald-Whig, May 19, 2019. Jewish Baseball Museum [Online]. Htps://jewishbaseballmuseum.com>spotlight- story>Image of 19th Century Jewish Baseball Player Discovered by Bob Wechsler Sammy Samuels short biography. Langdon, Addison L. and Arntzen, Edward. The Quincy City Directory for 1871-72. Quincy, Illinois: Evening Call Steam Press, 1871. “No Games At Des Moines.” Quincy Daily Journal, May 18, 1896, 5. “Police News.” Quincy Daily Herald, July 23, 1874, 4. “Quincy Club and Franchise.” Quincy Daily Journal, May 19, 1896, 5.