Read Ebook: Hulme's Journal 1818-19; Flower's Letters from Lexington and the Illinois 1819; Flower's Letters from the Illinois 1820-21; and Woods's Two Years' Residence 1820-21 by Flower Richard Hulme Thomas Woods John Thwaites Reuben Gold Editor

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James Berthoud in 1803 purchased the town of Shippingport from the original proprietor, Colonel John Campbell.--ED.

Shippingport is situated at a place of very great importance, being the upper extremity of that part of the river which is navigable for heavy steam-boats. All the goods coming from the country are re-shipped, and every thing going to it is un-shipped, here. Mr. Berthoud has the store in which the articles exporting or importing are lodged: and is, indeed, a great shipper, though at a thousand miles from the sea.

Stop at New Albany, 2 miles below Shippingport, till the evening. A Mr. Paxton, I am told, is the proprietor of a great part of the town, and has the grist and saw-mills, which are worked by steam, and the ferry across the river. Leave this place in company with a couple of young men from the western part of the state of New York, who are on their way to Tennessee in a small ferry-boat. Their whole journey will, probably, be about 1,500 miles.

The site of New Albany was owned by three Scribner brothers of New York, who in 1813 had a town surveyed and offered lots for sale. In 1819 it contained about one hundred and fifty houses and a thousand inhabitants. Charles Paxson removed from Philadelphia and opened a store at New Albany. For many years he owned the only brick house in the village.--ED.

The first log cabin on the site of Evansville was built in 1812 by Hugh McGary of Kentucky. Four years later, General Robert Evans, having purchased the land in the vicinity, surveyed and laid out a town which he named Evansville. It did not attract settlers until 1818, when Evans succeeded in having it made the seat of the newly-erected Vanderburgh County. In 1819 it contained one hundred inhabitants; but Hulme's expectation of its future importance was slow in being realized, for in 1830 the population was but five hundred. It was incorporated in 1847, and from that date its growth has been rapid.--ED.

On our way to Princeton, we see large flocks of fine wild turkeys, and whole herds of pigs, apparently very fat. The pigs are wild also, but have become so from neglect. Some of the inhabitants, who prefer sport to work, live by shooting these wild turkeys and pigs, and indeed, sometimes, I understand, they shoot and carry off those of their neighbours before they are wild.

As early as 1800 settlement began in the vicinity of the present town of Princeton. Gibson County being organized in 1813 and the county seat located there, the following year a public square was cleared of timber, and town lots were offered for sale. It was named in honor of William Prince, a lawyer and Indian agent who had settled at Princeton in 1812; he later became a circuit court judge, and a member of Congress.--ED.

Mr. Birkbeck's settlement is situated between the two Wabashes, and is about ten miles from the nearest navigable water; we arrived there about sunset and met with a welcome which amply repaid us for our day's toil. We found that gentleman with his two sons perfectly healthy and in high spirits: his daughters were at Henderson on a visit. At present his habitation is a cabin, the building of which cost only 20 dollars; this little hutch is near the spot where he is about to build his house, which he intends to have in the most eligible situation in the prairie for convenience to fuel and for shelter in winter, as well as for breezes in summer, and will, when that is completed, make one of its appurtenances. I like this plan of keeping the old loghouse; it reminds the grand children and their children's children of what their ancestor has done for their sake.

Birkbeck brought four children with him to Illinois: his second son, Bradford, aged sixteen; his third son, Charles, aged fourteen; his daughter Eliza, who later married Gilbert Pell; and his daughter Prudence, who married Francis Hanks. Soon after their father's death, the family left Illinois, the two sons and Mrs. Hanks going to Mexico, and Mrs. Pell to England to educate her children.--ED.

I was rather disappointed, or sorry, at any rate, not to find near Mr. Birkbeck's any of the means for machinery or of the materials for manufactures, such as the water-falls, and the minerals and mines, which are possessed in such abundance by the states of Ohio and Kentucky, and by some parts of Pennsylvania. Some of these, however, he may yet find. Good water he has, at any rate. He showed me a well 25 feet deep, bored partly through hard substances near the bottom, that was nearly overflowing with water of excellent quality.

Davis's ferry across the Wabash was twelve miles from Albion.--ED.

Black River, or Creek, rises in the southern part of Gibson County, Indiana, and flows westward, emptying into the Wabash a few miles above New Harmony.--ED.

On coming within the precincts of the Harmonites we found ourselves at the side of the Wabash again; the river on our right hand, and their lands on our left. Our road now lay across a field of Indian corn, of, at the very least, a mile in width, and bordering the town on the side we entered; I wanted nothing more than to behold this immense field of most beautiful corn to be at once convinced of all I had heard of the industry of this society of Germans, and I found, on proceeding a little farther, that the progress they had made exceeded all my idea of it.

The town is methodically laid out in a situation well chosen in all respects; the houses are good and clean, and have, each one, a nice garden well stocked with all vegetables and tastily ornamented with flowers. I observe that these people are very fond of flowers, by the bye; the cultivation of them, and musick, are their chief amusements. I am sorry to see this, as it is to me a strong symptom of simplicity and ignorance, if not a badge of their German slavery. Perhaps the pains they take with them is the cause of their flowers being finer than any I have hitherto seen in America, but, most probably, the climate here is more favourable. Having refreshed ourselves at the Tavern, where we found every thing we wanted for ourselves and our horses, and all very clean and nice, besides many good things we did not expect, such as beer, porter, and even wine, all made within the Society, and very good indeed, we then went out to see the people at their harvest, which was just begun. There were 150 men and women all reaping in the same field of wheat. A beautiful sight! The crop was very fine, and the field, extending to about two miles in length, and from half a mile to a mile in width, was all open to one view, the sun shining on it from the West, and the reapers advancing regularly over it.

Return to the Tavern to sleep; a good comfortable house, well kept by decent people, and the master himself, who is very intelligent and obliging, is one of the very few at Harmony who can speak English. Our beds were as good as those stretched upon by the most highly pensioned and placed Boroughmongers, and our sleep, I hope, much better than the tyrants ever get, in spite of all their dungeons and gags.

Robert Malthus , an English economist, who held the theory that the increase of population is more rapid than the increase of the means of subsistence, and consequently must be held in check, was himself a married man and had a son and daughter. Earlier in life he had held a curacy; the title "Parson Malthus" was sneeringly given to him by Cobbett, as his later doctrines were considered unsuitable for a clergyman.--ED.

"Mud-holes" was located near the White River, in the northwestern part of the present Du Bois County. It was on an old trail called "Mud-hole trace," which led from Vincennes to Jeffersonville. As early as 1802, before the land had been ceded by the Indians, two McDonald brothers from Virginia settled there. They were soon followed by other pioneers, and a blockhouse was built as a refuge in case of an Indian attack.--ED.

This is now Chambersburg, in Orange County, about thirty-eight miles northwest of New Albany. It was named in honor of Samuel Chambers, who emigrated from North Carolina and established the first store and tavern at this place. When Orange County was organized , he was appointed a county judge.--ED.

French Lick is about fifty miles northwest of New Albany. The springs were donated to the state by Congress on the supposition that salt could profitably be manufactured therefrom; but this did not prove practicable. In recent years French Lick and West Baden Springs, a half-mile distant, have won attention as health resorts.--ED.

The first macadamized road in Kentucky, and the first to receive state aid, was the Maysville and Lexington turnpike. It was begun in 1829, the state subscribing for ,000 worth of stock. Congress, also, voted to subscribe for fifteen hundred shares; but the now famous Maysville Road Bill was vetoed by President Jackson. The state then made further contributions amounting to half the cost of the road. A great interest in road building was now aroused; by November, 1837, 343 miles of macadamized road had been completed with the aid of the state, and 236 additional miles were under contract, the total contribution of the state being about two and a half million dollars.--ED.

Henry Clay's country seat near Lexington was called Ashland. Some of his descendants still reside there.--ED.

Colonel James Morrison, born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, was the son of an humble Irish immigrant. After serving in the Revolutionary War, he came to Kentucky, and in 1792 settled at Lexington. He was successively state representative from Fayette County, president of the Lexington branch of the United States Bank, and chairman of the board of trustees of Transylvania University. Having acquired considerable wealth, he contributed liberally to educational objects, and at his death left a fund for the establishment of Morrison College, Lexington.--ED.

James Watson and his father, James Watson, senior, were both leaders of the Spenceans and by their inflammatory speeches stirred up the mob at the Spa-fields meeting . The elder Watson was tried for high treason, but he was acquitted. The son escaped to America before he could be arrested.--ED.

The following is a list of the wages and prices of the most essential branches of workmanship and articles of consumption, as they are here at present.

Dls. Cts. Dls. Cts.

West Union, the seat of Adams County, is situated on Zane's Trace, seventeen miles from Maysville and fifty-five from Chillicothe. It was established by an act of legislature , which fixed the county seat at that point, and ordered the land for a town to be purchased and paid for out of the county treasury.--ED.

William Key Bond was born in St. Mary's, Maryland, in 1792. Educated in Connecticut, he came to Chillicothe and was admitted to the bar. In 1841 he removed to Cincinnati, where he practiced law until his death in 1864. He was a member of the 24th, 25th, and 26th congresses, and was appointed by President Fillmore surveyor of the port of Cincinnati.--ED.

I had some conversation with Governor Worthington on the subject of domestic manufactures, and was glad to find he is well convinced of the necessity of, or at least of the great benefit that would result from, the general establishment of them in the United States. He has frequently recommended it in his public capacity, he informed me, and I hope he will advocate it with effect. He is a true lover of his country, and no man that I have met with has a more thorough knowledge of the detestable villainy of the odious Boroughmongering government of England, and, of course, it has his full share of hatred.

Nature has done her part; nothing is left wanting but machines to enable the people of Ohio to keep their flour at home, instead of exporting it, at their own expense to support those abroad who are industrious enough to send them back coats, knives, and cups, and saucers.

I will here subjoin a list of the prices at Zanesville, of provisions, stock, stores, labour, &c. just as I have it from a resident, whom I can rely upon.

Dls. Cts. Dls. Cts.

Flour per barrel of 196 lb. from 5 0 to 5 75 Beef, per 100 lb 4 0 -- 4 25 Pork , per 100 lb. 4 50 -- 5 0 Salt, per bushel of 50 lb 2 25 Potatoes, per bushel 0 25 -- 0 31 1/2 Turnips, ditto 0 20 Wheat, ditto of 60 lb. to 66 lb 0 75 Indian corn, ditto shelled 0 33 1/3 -- 0 50 Oats, ditto 0 25 -- 0 33 1/3 Rye, ditto 0 50 Barley, ditto 0 75 Turkeys, of from 12 lb. to 20 lb. each 0 37 1/2 -- 0 50 Fowls 0 12 1/2 -- 0 18 3/4 Live Hogs, per 100 lb. live weight 3 0 -- 5 0 Cows, 18 0 -- 25 0 Yoke of Oxen, ditto 50 0 -- 75 0 Sheep 2 50 Hay, per ton, delivered 9 0 -- 10 0 Straw, fetch it and have it. Manure, ditto, ditto. Coals, per bushel, delivered 0 8 Butter, per lb. avoirdupois 0 12 1/2 -- 0 18 Cheese, ditto, ditto 0 12 1/2 -- 0 25 Loaf Sugar 0 50 Raw ditto 0 31 1/4 Domestic Raw ditto 0 18 3/4 Merino Wool, per lb. avoirdupois, washed 1 0 Three-quarter Merino ditto 0 75 Common Wool 0 50 Bricks, per 1000, delivered 6 0 -- 7 0 Lime, per bushel, ditto 0 18 3/4 Sand, in abundance on the banks of the river. Glass is sold in boxes, containing 100 square feet; of the common size there are 180 panes in a box, when the price is 14 0 The price rises in proportion to the size of the panes. Oak planks, 1 inch thick, per 100 square feet, at the saw-mill 1 50 Poplar, the same. White Lead, per 100 lb. delivered 17 0 Red ditto 17 0 Litharge 15 0 Pig Lead 9 50 Swedish Iron 14 0 Juniatta, ditto, ditto 14 0 Mr. Dillon's, ditto, ditto 12 50 Castings at Mr. Dillon's Foundery per ton 120 0 Ditto, for machinery, ditto, per lb. 0 8 Potash, per ton 180 0 Pearl Ashes, ditto 200 0 Stone masons and bricklayers, per day, and board and lodging 1 50 Plasterers, by the square yard, they finding themselves in board and lodging and in lime, sand, laths and every thing they use. 0 18 3/4 Carpenters, by the day, who find themselves and bring their tools 1 25 Blacksmiths, by the month, found in board, lodging and tools 30 0 to 40 0 Millwrights, per day, finding themselves 1 50 -- 2 0 Tailors, per week, finding themselves and working 14 or 15 hours a day 7 0 -- 9 0 Shoemakers the same. Glazier's charge for putting in each pane of glass 8 in. by 10 in. with their own putty and laying on the first coat of paint 0 4 to 0 5 Labourers, per annum, and found 100 0 -- 120 0 The charge of carriage for 100 lb. weight from Baltimore to Zanisville 10 0 Ditto for ditto by steam-boat from New Orleans to Shippingport, and thence, by boats, to Zanesville, about 6 50 Peaches, as fine as can grow, per bushel 0 12 1/2 -- 0 25 Apples and pears proportionably cheaper; sometimes given away, in the country.

Prices are much about the same at Steubenville; if any difference, rather lower. If bought in a quantity, some of the articles enumerated might be had a good deal lower. Labour, no doubt, if a job of some length were offered, might be got somewhat cheaper here.

When in 1798 Zane's Trace was laid out from Wheeling to Zanesville, a ferry and tavern were established where the road crossed Wills Creek. Eight years later the town of Cambridge was planted. Among the early settlers were fifteen or twenty families from the Island of Guernsey, who happened to be travelling through the West in search of homes when the town lots were offered for sale.

Bradshaw's tavern was in the village of Fairview.--ED.

Trees tumbled head-long and fixed in the river.--HULME.

The same as the planter only waving up and down.--HULME.

Charleston, on the Kanawha River, about sixty miles from its mouth, is located on the military grant made by Lord Dunmore to Colonel Thomas Bullitt , in recognition of his services in Braddock's and Forbes's campaigns. Five years thereafter, the land was purchased by George Clendenin, one of the commissioners for laying out a road from Lewisburg to the Kanawha. Clendenin constructed a fort on the present site of Charleston, and soon other pioneers built log cabins under its shelter. In 1794 the town of Charleston was established by legislative enactment.--ED.

At Steubenville, became acquainted with Messrs. Wills, Ross, and company, who have an excellent and well-conducted woollen manufactory here. They make very good cloths, and at reasonable prices; I am sorry they do not retail them at Philadelphia; I for one, should be customer to them for all that my family wanted in the woollen-way. Here are likewise a Cotton-mill, a Grist-mill, a Paper-mill, an Iron-foundery and Tan-yards and Breweries. Had the pleasure to see Mr. Wilson, the editor of the Steubenville Gazette, a very public-spirited man, and, I believe, very serviceable to this part of the country. If the policy he so powerfully advocates were adopted, the effects would be grand for America; it would save her dollars while it would help to draw the nails of the vile Boroughmongers. But, he has to labour against the inveterate effects of the thing the most difficult of all others to move--habit.

As it is now about a twelvemonth since I have been settled in Philadelphia, or set foot in it, rather, with my family, I will take a look at my books, and add to this Journal what have been the expenses of my family for this one year, from the time of landing to this day, inclusive.

"What! nothing to the Parson!" some of my old neighbours will exclaim. No: not a single stiver. The Quakers manage their affairs without Parsons, and I believe they are as good and as happy a people as any religious denomination who are aided and assisted by a Priest. I do not suppose that the Quakers will admit me into their Society; but, in this free country I can form a new society, if I choose, and, if I do, it certainly shall be a Society having a Chairman in place of a Parson, and the assemblage shall discuss the subject of their meeting themselves. Why should there not be as much knowledge and wisdom and common sense, in the heads of a whole congregation, as in the head of a Parson? Ah, but then there are the profits arising from the trade! Some of this holy Order in England receive upwards of 40,000 dollars per annum for preaching probably not more than five or six sermons during the whole year. Well may the Cossack Priests represent Old England as the bulwark of religion! This is the sort of religion they so much dreaded the loss of during the French Revolution; and this is the sort of religion they so zealously expected to establish in America, when they received the glad tidings of the restoration of the Bourbons and the Pope.

END OF THE JOURNAL

Reprint of the original edition: London, 1819

LETTERS

FROM

CONTAINING A

AND A

REFUTATION OF THE MISREPRESENTATIONS OF MR. COBBETT.

BY RICHARD FLOWER.

London:

FOR J. RIDGWAY, PICCADILLY

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