Remember me to Niles, Kinney, Gov. Reynolds, Judge Underwood, Abend, Fouk and others. Let me hear from you when you are at leisure.

Your friend,

J. MCROBERTS.

SIR.

WILMINGTON, No. CA., June 14, 1856.

Although not personally acquainted with you I have known your name in honorable connection with events which transpired over 20 years ago and from this indirect acquaintance I claim the right of addressing you.

As an adopted citizen of this country I ever looked upon you with pride; I looked upon you as a true exponent of the adopted citizens true and faithful to their country her constitution & her laws.

So much the more I was surprised to find the annexed lines which I cut out of the organ of the Know Nothing faction in this city. They were inserted in the same undoubtedly with the object of suspicioning the devotion of the adopted citizens residing in this city to this country, and thus make political capital with every true patriot and particularly with every Southerner be he a Democrat, Whig, Know-Nothing or anything else.

Being convinced what means these Know-Nothing Organizations sometimes employ to reach their object and having had many opportunities to see the liberty of the press soiled by publishing falsehoods and lies, I felt compelled to doubt the veracity of the statement made concerning you and therefore herewith take the liberty to ask yourself whether I am right to disbelieve the assertion made (viz: in the annexed scrip) or whether you recognize the right of the people to make their laws to suit them & exclude or introduce slavery from their territory.

Hoping that I was right in doubting the veracity of the assertion made in our K. N. organ and that your views on the Kansas & Nebraska Bill are in conformity with the resolutions passed thereon at the late National Democratic Convention at Cincinnati I shall consider it a great favor to receive information from you to that effect and your permission to publish the same if circumstances during our local canvass should require it.

With my best wishes for yourself I remain
Your obt. servt.

Hon. Lieut. Gov.

GUSTAVUS KOERNER.

GUSTAVUS ISAAC.

ROCK ISLAND, ILL.. October 3d. 1856.

HON. G. KOERNER

DEAR SIR

A mass meeting of the Republicans of Rock Island and surrounding counties is to be holden at this city on Thursday the 16th inst, and from assurances already received a very full attendance may be relied upon.

The undersigned have been appointed a committee to procure speakers for that occasion, and as such they desire not only to extend to you our invitation to be present as one of the speakers but also to communicate to you the very general desire that exists among our citizens that you should speak to thern upon the questions of the day. It is their desire to hear from yourself and some others of the distinguished citizens of our own state, upon whose counsels they have been accustomed to rely, and in whose lead they have been proud to follow. We trust that you may find it convenient to gratify your friends here in their wish to meet with you on the 16th. Will you do us the favor to communicate to Col. Bissell our cordial invitation that he should be present, and to press upon him its acceptance. His presence here will do very great good, as well as gladden the hearts of thousands of his friends. Please let us hear from you at your earliest convenience, and believe us Dr Sir

Very truly your friends

GEORGE MIXTER,
GEORGE W. PLEASANTS,
QUINCY MCNEIL,

Committee.

For Heavens sake Governor dont disappoint us. We are to have a great time, & to its greatness your are bound to contribute.

Not only have you many very warm personal friends here among the Yankees, but there are many most excellent Germans voters in our city & in Davenport, who will be greviously disappointed if they fail of having you and Fred Hecker on the 16th. Make Hecker come. The glorious work goes bravely on. It is the Lord's work & will, & all hell, with Dug. thrown in cant stop it.

I have been on the stump elsewhere for many weeks, and now have a right to claim the best help here.

Dont fail to answer, nor to make that answer YES.

Ever & most truly your friend

Jos. KNOX.

ILLINOIS REPUBLICAN STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE.

State At Large.

N. B. Judd. Chicago Chairman

Ebenezer Peck, Chicago

Wm. H. Brown, Chicago, Treasurer Julian S. Rumsey, Chicago
Gustavus Koerner, Belleville

Will you please fill up the enclosed blank with the returns of St. Clair Co by precincts; or, if the vote of the county has been published in this form in your local paper, will you please cut it out and send it to Mr. Judd. We are making up the vote of the entire state by precincts for future use. We have received the vote of Monroe County in this form.

While we regarded your Senatorial District the safest in the State of the five doubtful ones before the election, it is the general opinion now, in view of the enormous increase of the Democratic vote in the Southern counties, & the abominable frauds perpertrated by them in the river precincts, that you made a remarkably good fight. "It's all well that ends well," and I'm sure the Democracy of Illinois feel a thousand times worse, in view of the general result, than any of us can. Very respectfully &c

HON. G. KOERNER,
DEAR SIR,

HORACE WHITE,

Secretary.

BELLEVILLE, ILL., May 4th, 1863.

I was pleased to receive your favor of 23 March. The letter to my brother I forwarded to Springfield where he has been for some four weeks. His two youngest children have been very sick-are now_commencing to get better. Our troubles are being too prolonged. I presume you find your position more embarrassing and unpleasant that it would be in a time of peace. We have not obtained such decided victories as I had hoped, we would have done before this. The news we are now getting from Gen. Hooker's army is very encouraging. I should think the rebels at Vicksburg would find it difficult to get supplies. I regret that Lincoln did not change his cabinet. The actions of our people in this country have undergone I think but little change since you left. But few of the American Democrats are to be relied upon when it comes to the matter of voting. I think the German Democrats, who are for the Union, are more to be relied upon. The prejudice of some people seems much stronger than their love of country. The result of our city elections was very gratifying.

Jehu Baker has been engaged for months in getting up a speech which he has delivered at Springfield, Bloomington & Belleville, and has just had it printed. It is a good speech. Judge Underwood is still making speeches at Nashville, Chester, &c with a little Union and a good deal of the Copperhead. He has not undertaken to make a Union speech here since his return from Springfield. I think all Union men lost confidence in him last winter.

Considerable property has changed hands lately Gen. B. Short sold his farm at $50 per acre and has moved to Macon County. John Ruddock has sold his place and bought in Macon County. J. Miller sold his 100 acres near West Belleville for $10,000. The Thomson Coal Mines 80 acres were sold the other day for $16,000. Robt. G. Afflick has sold his farm for $15,000. Money is plenty. As to law business, it has fallen off one half-Your old cases have been mostly disposed of. The Reichert cases will be tried next winter. We beat Baker in them last fall. The Breiner case, owing to the death of Mrs. B. has not yet come on for trial. Judge Underwood assisted me in the G case but we lost it. I never had as much confidence in the case as you had. Baker has not yet got ready to take up the Vcase. It only involves a matter of costs. In a few of the old cases of partition, the parties neglect to attend to them and they remain on the docket. I did not hear as much complaint of Judge Gillespie at the last term of court. J. B. Underwood is not improving any in his habits, the temptations at Springfield are too great for him.

Col. Jarrot was in town a few days ago, looking as well as ever. I am glad the St. John suit is settled. I did not succeed in getting Gillespie to make a decision on the exceptions to the answer of Miss St. John. Should be pleased to hear from you often.

Truly yours

G. TRUMBULL.

LETTERS FROM OGLE AND CARROL COUNTIES, 1838-1857.

Copies of these letters are printed in the Transactions through the courtesy of Mr. J. W. Clinton of Polo, who contributed the following explanatory note:

The following letters written from Ogle and Carroll counties between 1838 and 1857 came into the possession of the Polo Historical Society in January, 1905. The letters were written to David Ports, a cooper, who resided at the time in Washington county, Maryland. The letters were preserved by him and brought to Carroll county many years later. At his death they fell into the hands of his son, Otho J. Ports, now a resident of Hazelhurst, Illinois. From him they passed into the possession of the Polo Historical Society as stated above. The letters throw considerable light on the modes of travel from the east to the west as well as the conditions of the country seventy years ago. In those days there were three routes of travel from New York state, Pennsylvania and Maryland to Northern Illinois: By boat on the Great Lakes to Chicago; by wagon trains across the intervening states of Ohio and Indiana, and by steam boat from Pittsburg down the Ohio, up the Mississippi and then up the Illinois to Peoria or Peru and thence overland or up the Mississippi to Fulton or Savanna and thence across country to eastern Carroll or Ogle counties.

The first settlement made in Ogle county was made at Buffalo Grove, near Polo, between Christmas, 1829 and early in January, 1830, by Isaac Chambers, a Virginian, who came to the country by way of Springfield and Peoria, and John Ankney, a Pennsylvanian, who probably came by the Ohio and Mississippi to Galena.

Samuel Reed and Oliver W. Kellogg from New York state probably came overland. Kellogg came to Illinois in the twenties and before settling in Ogle county had lived for a short period in Galena and at Kellogg's Grove in Stephenson county. Reed had followed his father west stopping on the way in Ohio a year or more. Both Reed and Kellogg arrived at Buffalo Grove in April, 1831, and might perhaps be said to be the first permanent settlers in Buffalo Grove, as Ankney moved to Elkhorn Grove after the Black Hawk war of 1832 and Kellogg bought Chambers' claim in April 1831.

In those pioneer days in the Rock River Valley letters played an important part in the settlement of the country and no doubt such letters as Smith's and Wallace's brought many settlers from Maryland. and New York to Ogle county.