Letter signed Chauncey I. Filley, St. Louis, to Mrs. Nettie Harney Beauregard. Thanks her for the special letter of invitation to attend and hear the address of the Hon. Perry S. Rader of Jefferson City on Genl. John B. Clark. Speaks of what word “transportation” meant in the days of steamboating. Describes a scene on the levee in the early days with boats loaded with buffalo pelts, furs, etc. “Then in the winter 1854-1855 I’ve crossed it [the river] in an omnibus to reach the Chicago and Alton R.R. at Alton, ice 2 ft. and over thick…There were pecan groves over beyond Bloody Island…Paw-paws thrived on the Illinois side. Frogs croaked! Muskrats and crawfish thrived.” Recalls his acquaintance with John B. Clark, Jr., the growth of Kansas City and of St. Joseph. Describes the prairie schooner trains. Talks of St. Louis in the fifties. “St. Louis vied with New Orleans in social life…The fame of Dr. McDowell and his college covered the west. Dr. Beaumont earned a world-wide notoriety.” Outlines the work of the Constitutional Convention of 1865. Married Anna Elizabeth Adams in June 28, 1855. “She was devoted to her home life and circle of friends and made it enjoyable. Christ Church was the temple of her Christian devotion.” Goes on to relate incidents in the reception that took place at the Court House, June 6, 1863; the Ship Canal Convention at Chicago, June 2 and 3, 1863; and the excursion to Pilot Knob and Iron Mountain, June 6, etc. Closes by reviewing his ancestry., 1917 Mar 30-1919 Mar 30

Item — Box: 2

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Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

Papers consist mainly of correspondence of Oliver D. and Giles F. Filley to their family in Connecticut, relating to early ventures in the tin and stove manufacturing business. Giles F. Filley's firm, the Excelsior Manufacturing Company, made the famous "Charter Oak" cooking stove. Also includes records pertaining to affairs and public service of Chauncey Ives Filley. These include Chauncey I. Filley's letterbook, 1862, containing only two letters, one of which discusses railway routes between St. Louis and Little Rock and Bismarck and Little Rock, and map of Berkshire Hills, Massachusetts. Also includes personal record book of Augustus Filley, 1874-1818, with information on the Filley family in Windsor, Connecticut, and other genealogical information. This collection contains much of political interest as well as social sidelights on St. Louis history, including data on James O. Broadhead, the Chartrand family, the Civil War, Gen. John B. Clark, the constitutional convention of 1865, the Eads Bridge, James A. Garfield, Samuel T. Glover, Judge Louis Gottschalk, William S. Harney, the growth of the post office in St. Louis, early railroads, Gen. Rosecrans, the early days of St. Louis, St. Louis Gas Company, the Sanitary Fair Commission, Carl Schurz, and transportation, waterways, etc.