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ARCHIVES OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS.1

CLARENCE WALWORTH ALVORD, THEODORE CALVIN PEASE.

HISTORY OF THE ARCHIVES.

The archives of the State of Illinois have undergone in the course of their history those usual vicissitudes that have been reported from other States. Removals, fires, and official carelessness are responsible for the loss of most valuable historical material and have made such serious gaps in important series that the soul of the investigating historian is torn by conflicting emotions-joy that anything has been preserved, and sorrow that so much has been lost. The first duty of the reporter of the archives is, therefore, assigned him, for to understand the present conditions it is necessary to start at the beginning and follow step by step the progress of the accumulating documents, not forgetting to notice serious mishaps and retarding influences.

1

In another volume 2 the history of the Illinois archives during the eighteenth century, a period of French officials, has been traced to the year 1790, when the Government of the United States was actually extended over the French villages. Our narrative in this report will begin with the date June 12 of that year, when the clerk of the Kaskaskia court, François Carbonneaux, delivered into the keeping of the recorder, William St. Clair, the documents in his charge an American replaced a Frenchman, a symbol of the passing of the old in Illinois and the beginning of the new.

Gov. Arthur St. Clair had erected the county of St. Clair for the purpose of governing the French settlements on the Mississippi; but, since the villages were so scattered, it had been necessary to create three districts, Kaskaskia, Prairie du Rocher, and Cahokia, with establishments practically like counties. No one village was declared the county seat, but the recorder, William St. Clair, selected

1 We wish to make an acknowledgment of our indebtedness to the various State officials for their uniform courtesy while we were examining the archives. It is impossible to name all those who have contributed to this report, but particular mention should be made of Mr. S. L. Spear, of Springfield, who would have written a part of this report had not sickness prevented. His wide and exact knowledge of the archives has been generously placed at our service.

2 Annual Report of the Amer. Hist. Assoc., 1905, I, 353–366.

the largest and most prosperous, Cahokia, as his residence; and here first the archives were deposited. In 1793 the county judges of the district purchased the private residence of Jean Baptiste Saucier 1 for a courthouse and jail; and, without doubt, the records were here preserved. They were not long left to the peaceful occupancy of their new home, for the next year there appeared Judge George Turner, the first judge of the territory northwest of the River Ohio to hold court in these western villages. He immediately declared Kaskaskia to be the county seat, and ordered the archives to be brought there. This occasioned the resignation of the recorder, who was, however, persuaded to resume his place at the solicitation of his cousin, the governor. The latter wrote on June 3, 1795, to the recorder:

As there is no law to compel the register to keep the records at any particular place in the county, and as there are three towns in the county appointed by law for the sessions of the courts, there is no one in particular the acknowledged county town. You are therefore at liberty to keep your office in any part of the county that may not be inconvenient to the people, and Judge Turner was wrong in supposing he had a power to fix a place, and still further wrong in exerting it, to oblige you to fix it in any particular place."

The outcome of this dispute was the division of the county of St. Clair, from which the county of Randolph was separated in 1795, and a division of the records. A glance at the following lists of documents that have been preserved in the two counties will show that the government that centered in Cahokia was more regular than that at Kaskaskia. In fact, the same chaotic conditions seem to have continued in the more southern village during the last decade of the eighteenth century that had existed during the previous years; and it was not until the opening of the nineteenth century and the creation of the Indiana Territory that conditions can be said to have improved.

In 1809 the Territory of Illinois began its separate existence. From now on immigration increased rapidly. The old French population was driven out or completely submerged by the new population. The first governor, Ninian Edwards, and the first secretary, Nathaniel Pope, understood the ways of government and laid the foundations of the present State archives, as distinguished from the county records of the past years. Kaskaskia had become the center of trade and population, and was made the capital of the new Territory. Among the miscellaneous files of the secretary of state there has been found a correspondence which illustrates the limited means

1 This is the old courthouse which was purchased by Chicago and reerected in Jackson Park.

2 See Allinson, "The Government of Illinois, 1790-1799," in Transactions of the Ill. State Hist. Soc., 1907, 287.

3 Smith, St. Clair Papers, II, 372.

Alvord, Cahokia Records (Ill. Hist. Coll., II), Introd.

of preserving the archives of the Western Territories, and for that reason its quotation is justified.

KASKASKIA, May 11th, 1809.

SIR: I herewith transmit you an acct for office Rent, with my receipt for that amt. I have resided in this place since the month of December last. I wish to deal candidly with you. I have lived in a house belonging to my wife's father, who certainly would never have charged me any rent. But if a friend should furnish the Secretary with an office for nothing, it being a personal favour, it is no argument against his charging the Government a reasonable price for the occupation of it. Thereupon I submit to you to allow or reject my claim.

I have drawn on you for $150.00 on account of the contingent expenses of the Illinois Territory.

It is not in my power to make arrangements with the Bank of the U. States to draw my salary, because I do not know how.

With high consideration, I am Sir Yr Mot obt Hble Serv't

The Honob ALBERT GALLATIN.

NAT POPE.

Treasury Department of the United States Dr to Nathaniel Pope Secy of the

1809 Mar 31st

Illinois Ty.

To office-Rent from the 7th March 1809 to this day, 24 days at $12.00 per month

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Received the amount of the above acct of Nine Dollars and forty seven cents of Nathl Pope Secy of the Illinois Territory

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NAT POPE Copy of a Letter to Secy of Treasury of 11th May 1809 and put into Post office 12th May 1809

This Acc is not allowed

TREASURY DEPARTMENT June 8th 1809

SIR

The accounting officers of the Treasury to whom I referred the voucher for office rent annexed to your letter of the 11th ultimo are of opinion that the most regular mode will be for your father in law to sign the account and receipt for the money, which he may afterwards make a present of to yourself or any other person. It is proper however to add, that forty dollas per annum is considered as the highest sum which ought to be allowed for the rent of an office

I am, very respectfully Sir Your Obed Serv't

NATHANIEL POPE Esquire

Secretary of the Illinois Territory

ALBERT GALLATIN

Kaskaskia

KASKASKIA July 4th 1809

SIR

Yours under date of the 8th Ult came while I was making out my return of the Contingent expenses of the Illinois Territory.

I have in consequence made an alteration as to the Office Rent. I have charged the Secretary five Dollars per Month, which is the lowest price, at

73885°-11-25

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