Memorable bluff-top house long remembered as Jacques’ place
MARY LOU MONTGOMERY
Archie Hayden of Hannibal has in his possession - a copy of which he is sharing today - a vintage photo of an old house located atop a bluff to the south of Hannibal’s Riverside Cemetery.
Inscribed upon the back of the photo:
“Built by Israel family. Old Jacques place atop a hill south of Riverside Cemetery later occupied by Fessenden family. Now owned by J.E. Billingsly. (Stet)”
Archie doesn’t remember where he got the photo, or know whose handwriting is on the back.
But one thing is for certain: It is an historic photo with a story to tell.
Another collector of all things historic, Steve Chou, has an historic photo of a newer view of this old house, taken from the site of highway 79 construction in the 1960s. While the house in each picture survived the highway work, it has since been removed.
The legal description of the land upon which the house long stood is part of Township 57 N, Range 4 West, in the northwest quarter of Section 34, Marion County, Mo. It was located directly to the east of the Riverview Nazarene Church (standing in 2026), between the church and the Mississippi River. In the 1960s, the house and the church were atop two parallel bluffs, located to the east and west of the swath taken in order to build Missouri Highway 79.
When constructing the highway, separate gravel roads were built in order to provide access to the church as well as the house atop the now-divided hill.
During historic research for this story, a timeline evolved as to three families who lived in this hilltop home, as named on the back side of Hayden’s rare photo. While no reference was found to the “Isreal” family named on the back of the photo, other families emerge.
Westfall/Jacques
The identification “Old Jacques place” makes reference to Henry Pinkham Jacques, who in 1859, as a 20-year-old, was boarding with Samuel R. Hallett on the corner of Third and Adams, South Hannibal. At that time he was working as a machinist for the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad.
In December 1862, Jacques was married to Amanda Noel Westfall, daughter of Hiram and Ruby Havens Westfall. A decade prior, Mr. Westfall had been a Main Street merchant.
During the early 1850s, Mr. Westfall closed down his business and moved south of town, establishing a fruit orchard.
The Nov. 15, 1853 edition of the Weekly Messenger, Hannibal, Mo., reported:
“We notice that several citizens are building dwelling houses near the city, with the view of retiring from the bustling scenes of city life. Judge Gore and Hiram Westfall Esq., have put up two very fine, large and comfortable houses on Lover’s Leap hill, some mile and a half from this city. A good idea, and if we were only able would go and do likewise.”
H.P. Jacques and his bride moved south of Hannibal, on a farm adjacent to her parents.
The 1871 Hannibal city directory described H.P. Jacques’ stature: H.P. Jacques, timekeeper, H&St. Joe RR, (resides) on a lofty eminence, southern suburbs, overlooking the Mississippi.
The 1875 atlas map of Marion County, Mo., shows the Jacques acreage at the crest of the hill, in the northwest corner of Section 34, and fronting a large segment of the river bluff. The Westfall acreage, described as 24 acres, was directly to the south of the Jacques property. It was listed on the map under the name of “R. Westfall.”
That apparently refers to Ruby Havens Westfall - H.P. Jacques’ mother in law - who died in 1872.
Hiram Westfall, born Oct. 1, 1813 in Pickaway, Ohio, was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Westfall. The family relocated to Vigo County, Indiana, when Hiram was 4 years old. Early history accounts suggest he came to Hannibal in 1847.
After Westfall (or his wife) bought the acreage to the south of Hannibal circa 1854, he took up fruit farming.
When H.P. Jacques and his wife, Amanda, moved atop the river bluff as newlyweds, Jacques focused his attention on his successful career with the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad.
Then, in January 1877, H.P. Jacques was among the three dozen or more veteran Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad employees discharged by Gustavus B. Simonds, superintendent of motive power.
(H.P. Jacques’ brother, William L., was also among those who lost their jobs that day. William L. Jacques had worked for the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad for some 13 years.)
H.P. Jacques and his family left Hannibal, and by November 1877, he was employed in the superintendent’s office of the Atchison & Nebraska Railroad. The family lived in Atchison, Kansas for a time, before moving to Kansas City. Climbing the railroad ladder, Mr. Jacques later became purchasing agent of the Frisco company, with headquarters in St. Louis. He retired in 1913 after a service of 56 years with the railroads.
Hiram Westfall ultimately left Hannibal behind as well, moving first to Kansas City, where he ultimately made his home at 1733 Penn Street. He lived in Kansas City for some 20 years, before moving to St. Louis, where he lived with his son-in-law and daughter, H.P. and Amanda Jacques.
Fessenden
During the first decade of the 20th Century, E.O. Fessenden and his wife, Nancy, were farming and raising their large family upon the hilltop, at the time still known locally as the old Jacques place.
When Mrs. Fessenden fell ill at the age of 50, she underwent surgery for cancer, but, according to the Jan. 28, 1909 edition of the Hannibal Morning Journal, “the disease had made such an inroad on her system that she was beyond the reach of human skill.”
The O’Donnell Brothers undertakers were in charge of arrangements, and funeral services were conducted at the family home, on the river bluff south of Hannibal.
Mrs. Fessenden was survived by 10 children: Mrs. Wilma Forsythe of Seattle, Wash.; and George, Walter, Milton, Ora, Lilly, Jennie, Clifford, Joseph and Albert Fessenden.
Billingsley
During the era of 1935-1940, James Edward and Cora Billingsley made their home atop the bluff formerly known as the old Jacques place. Mr. Billingsley was employed during their era as a tractor operator for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. They were the parents of two sons, James Jr., born in 1922, and Alvin, born in 1925.
Alvin served during World War II. As a staff sergeant, he was killed in action April 27, 1944.
The Billingsleys moved from the hilltop to the South Side, where they lived out their lives. Cora Billingsley died in 1974; and James E. Billingsley Sr., died in 1984.
H.P. Jacques, Thomson Photo, Kansas City. Published in the Kansas City Times, May 2, 1923, upon the death of Henry P. Jacques, at the age of 84. newspapers.com
Portion of the 1875 Atlas Map of Marion County, Mo. Arrow denotes where the Jacques and Westfall properties were located.
Property long identified as the Jacques place, pictured in the 1960s during construction of Missouri Route 79, south of Hannibal. Steve Chou collection.
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