| Madison County Letters©
- 18Dec1851 Copyright 2000 Fredi Perry In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data and images may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format for profit or for other presentation without express permission by the contributor(s) Troy, Madison Co., Illinois, Dec. 18, 1851. Dear Sir (to John A. Bingham, Caroline's husband) Your favor of Sept. 13, was duly received. I had not previously heard of the death of old Mrs. Gardner, or of your boy. In relation to Sweet Potatoes, you will find information in the Prairie Farmer. Some people break off the slips or sprouts of the sweet potato, and plant them, leaving the potato in the hot-bed to produce more sprouts, and this mode of culture is advisable when you have but few seed potatoes. The sprouts should be watered in case of very dry weather. Peach stones. - My Peach crop was almost a failure this year, but your father-in-law's trees bore very well. He has saved some peach stones, and will send them to you on getting directions from you how to send them. I have left with him a few peach stones and some seeds of the Persimmon, a fruit indigenous to this region, but which I presume is unknown in Wisconsin. It has a puckering quality if eaten before it has been exposed to several hard frosts; when it loses that quality, and becomes delicious. It will hang on the trees nearly all winter until picked off. The fruit make excellent beer, ?? being good to eat. The seeds deposited with your father-in-law are from the best persimmons I ever tasted. Address William B. Churchill, Collinsville, Madison Co., Illinois. He lives in St. Clair Co., but his P.O. is in Madison. The Ohio an Mississippi Rail Road (from St. Louis to Cincinnati) has been located through Caseybille which is only a mile from your father-in-law's residence. Messrs. Seymore & Co. of New York, it is said, have taken the contract for the whole road. From the Mississippi to Caseyville, a Railroad is now in operation. Some time after this, you can take the Plankroad to Freeport, thence the Central R.R. to the point where it is crossed by the Ohio and Mississippi R.R., thence turn to the right, and stop at Caseyville Station, then get up to Kingston Bluff by buggy, or wagon, or horseback or foot back. The Plank Road from Collinsville to the Mississippi is in operation, and has made a dividend of 3 ½ per cent. For the last 3 months --- 14 per cent a year. This to be extended to Troy. About a mile of the Extension has been graded in this prairie, and a new steam saw mill on Canteen (?) Creek, near the Gaskill brick house, is sawing plank to cover the road. This has become absolutely necessary, as our soil is so rich and loose, and the travel across this prairie so great that all our prairie roads become nearly impassable in a wet time. A dreadful accident occurred at Collinsville on the 1st inst. A steam chest, in the distilling of Messrs. Kurtz, Davis & Co., bursted and killed five persons, viz: Vines Davis, John Lloyd (two of the firm) Lewis Enminger, George Fisher, and a German from St. Louis - name unknown. The accident happened after 4 o'clock P.M. and they all expired before the next morning. Troy is going ahead. The steam mill has been in operation 2 or 3 months. The Plankroad, that is to be, has raised the price of real estate. A new school house has been created at Mt. Gilead. This is the place where Mrs. Bingham passed several of her early years. Our democratic state has gone for banking, by a majority of over 6,000. Your democratic state is said to have gone for banking, and for a Whig. Governor too. Col. Benton has got back to Missouri and will ?? straighten out the democracy of that state, which has got full of kinks. Tell Norman and George, and the girls, that I would gladly receive letters from them. Last month I had the pleasure of seeing a locomotive and some cars ascend the hill at Alton, on the Alton and Sangeamon (?) R. R. It is hoped this R. R. will be finished in about a year. It has been a long time building. We are about to have a telegraphy line through Troy. The poles are already scattered along the roadside. Truly yours George Churchill. Supplement Troy, Ill, Dec. 18, '51. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, were cold. Mercury 8 degrees below zero on Monday morning: -- 4 deg. Below on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. This morning it was 6 degrees above Zero; and is still cold enough. I suppose you can talk of still colder weather, but I would rather hear of it than feel it. Isaac K. Millahan (?) has been sent to the State Hospital for the Insane at Jacksonville. Mr. And Mrs. Weeks were here from Galesburg in October. Your cousin, Miss Amelia S. Woodruff, is in the seminary at Monticello in this county. I am told that Wash. Renfro has just been married to Miss Black - both of Mt. Gilead district. G. C. |