The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1912-08-10
PEOPLES COLUMN
Chicago. July goth. 1912

Chicago. July 30th, 1912.
To the Editor of the Cecil Wing, Elkton,
Maryland
My Dear Sir and Friend:-As poor
hired boy of the late Edwin Haines,
with whom | used to live, near the Ris-
ing Sun, Nd, l now desire TO write you
a little article which I'll name Change
able Chicago, and where | nave resided
since the 9TH of April, 1854, and during
these IS years have noted many wonder
full changes. Indeed when / came here
there was not stone or brick building
in the then little city of some $4,000 in
habitants, only one story frame build
ings, which in reality the streets were
nothing more than mud holes, two feet
deep, and on one occasion | saw horse
and dray stalled in the street without
having a load on, with the exception of
the driver. and wild ducks flying all
around in fiocks by the hundreds, and
now and then an Indian would make his
appearance and look at you as much as
to say: White man, what are you do
ing here?" Changeable Chicago has had
eight counties and many varieu spellings
to its credit ! venture to say few peo-
pie, If any, know that Chicago has been
of Illinois. But such is the fact. 1t was
first placed within the limits of Madison
county, Illinois, then being territory,
September 18th, 1872. Subsequently it
was included in the following counties:
servatim Edwards in 1914; Crawford,
1916; Clark after the Territory was ad-
mitted as a State in 1919; Pike 1921; Full
ton 1929 Peoria, 1875, under the juris
S,ti of u.hi oh,
creation of the County of Cook (the
same as now January 18th, 1881. The
name of the city, too, has been spelled
more than dozen different ways, Father
Hennepin called it Che -car-gow; Lasalle
called it Shecagow; and on an old French
map of 1862 it was called Chekagow; on
another old map G673) in the Historical
Society Library at Madison, Wisconsin,
it is called Chicaugua; Father Gravier
$500 wrote it, Chicagoua and in 100,
st. Sosme wrote variously Chkagu, Chi
kuga, and finally Chicago, he being the
first who wrote the letters in the ar
rangement which was finally settled up
on as the authorized spelling. CharlevoiX
gave the same spelling in 1921. In the
Greenville treaty las revised) it is Chi
kagu. In an old deed fiIeu away among
the archives of the Chicago Historical
Society, as applied to the river or creek
Q77D ii is plainly Written Chicago.
Now, Mr.. Editor, as a Cecil county
poor hired boy who lived and worked
hard on a farm for $1,000 year, near
the Rising Sun, Cecil county, Maryland,
and always being much IN love with all
my relations and friends in Maryland, ]
take great pleasure in writing this little
article for you and them, giving a slight
hint of the wonderful and Changeable
City OF Chicago, with her now almost
100000 of inhabitants, while when
came here there were only $4,000, and
being successful in busine IS as a lawyer
and afterwards appointed Judge of the
Federal Court here, by President Abra-
ham Lincoln, without the asking for it,
my friends in Maryland now and then
send me a copy of your paper, but being
INTERESTED IN CECIL COUNTY AF-
FAIRS, | WOULD BE PLEASED TO
HAVE YOU SEND ME YOUR PAPER, AS
\ SUBSCRIBER and tell me the charge
and | will remit same Send to my pri-
waite office, No. $50 MonaGnyl- building,
Chicago, Illinois Hope you will find this
brief article interes ing enough to pub
lisA in your valuable paper.
am
Yours very truly.
JUDGE SIMEON W KING