The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-03-10

gOCus, 10 guy well, means w Sch "o'
Heretofore he had been hampered ant
overruled by the bad selections OF goods
made by Others. now he would be free Il
use his own experience and judgment. HI
made his way across the Allegheny
mountains partly by stage, now and theT
on foot, to Philadelphia, bought what he
wanted, returned, quickly sold his stock
visited the Quaker City again, till he haC
made that trip across the mountains .ftty
sic times In 1885 he was married 10 Mis-
Elmira Griggs, sister of our we'll know
and popular druggist, +. Y. Griggs. She
was a young and beautiful lady, accom-
plished and we'll educated, but with her he
met the first great joy and sorrow OF biz
life, for In brief time, less than yeaI
after their happy nuptlals, she died. The
partnership with Mr. Anthony lasted foul
years, when Mr. n sold our TO the former
Then he went to the store of Mr.. Ira Paige
and served partly as clerk and partner
for short time. Then he became engaged
with Mr., j. S. Murray, his future father.in-
law, until when, by fire, he lost his goods
HE CAME WEST, TO OTTAWA,
In lS45 he came to this city. Previously
he had been offered every advantage u
locate at Bloomington, In this state. lie
arrived here April IS, 1915. He shipped
his personal effects TO Cincinnati, thence
came with his goods by steamer to ST
Louis, and from that city up the Illinois
river to this point. He started general
store in the building owned by Calamity
Cooley" as he was called In building
where Mitchell's cigar establishment now
stands, and when the late William Reddick
built his new brick block, the first In the
city, Mr.. Nattinger moved In, paying three
hundred dollars year rent. In 1854 he
built his own brick store, now occupied by
Stiefel, and stocked it with twenty thou
sand dollars worth of goods.
He continued In the dry goods business
till 1859. In 1857, the time of the memo
able panic all over the country, he was
badly crippled financially. He had over
thirty thousand dollars of debts on his
books, owed entirely by farmers. Every
one was good, but not just then able TO
pay. He finally stated the case to his
creditors, who allowed him to do as he
pleased, and the result was he went on,
gradually collected In, paid out dollar for
dollar. till every one Of his creditors was
squared with, and In full.
IN THE COAL BUSINESS.
Mr.. Nattinger had natural prediction
for the business of dealing In coal ltw was
a cash trade and coal seldom !luctuated In
price. II was a staple article, always need
ed and always salabe, and always repre-
septed fixed value In money, no matter
what other articles might be as to price In
the markets. He took lively Interest In
the discovery of coal Steator, and was one
of the first 10 aid in It's development. Long
before any railroad to Hard Scrabble
had been thought of, he brought coal from
that dreary, and wholly unpromising re-
gion, in wagons to Ottawa for the home
market. He also sunk a couple OF shafts
south of the Illinois river, near the Gen.
teman farm, where he found bituminous
coal Of very fair quality, in rather
shallow vein, and also some genuine can
mel coal" but not in sufficient quantities to
pay, especially in comparison with the
vast beds AZ StreatOr. He also opened and
made known the enormous deposits of fire
clay, which abound Immediately about
Ottawa--of far more value TO our city than
all the coal at Sirea;Or. He had both the
Ottawa clay and the Streator coal tested by
competent judges, and their verdict was to
ego ahead" The clay interest then was
considered as tliiling, rs this valuable mate
rial had not been used In making fire brick.
When the rich find Of coal had been u ade
known at Streator, a SPECTATOR at Chicago,
named Jesse DeCreet, Immediately set to
work 10 undermine Mr.. Nattinger's plans
by claiming TO be the owner of the mines,
and he, as operator for Pennsylvania iron
mine, controlled the coal market as far as
the Vermillion variety was concerned, and
having unlimited means at his disposal,
had things pretty much his own way. 1t
is said that by his artistic manipulations
of the market he cleared $4,000 on Yer
million coal in single deal. Afterwards
Or. Streator, wealthy eastern man, and
CGl Plumb came here and found that MIR.
Nattinger was the right man to consult
with reference to this coal A small party
went 70 Hard Scrabble" in carriage
under the guidance of Mr.. N, and the
result so pleased the visitors that when
they returned TO this city and had meet
ing at the "Ottawa House, there were
present, DR.. Streator, Col. Plumb, j. &.
Nattinger, William Reddick and some
gentlemen from Rock Island. The frs,
question submitted was whether 10 organ.
lie coal mining company; an unani-