‘Quincy House’ a long standing South Hannibal ‘bed and board’

This 1903 panoramic photo, credited to local photographer Anna Schnitzlein, shows a clear view of South Main Street, as it stood directly to the west of the Burlington Railroad yards. The Quincy House was on the west side of South Main, in the 200 block, as numbered from the Bear Creek Bridge south, located to the north in this photo. The 2 1/2 story frame building was been torn down by 1913, and replaced by a single-story brick building. Photo from Steve Chou’s collection, reprinted with permission.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

A 2 1/2 story, 19-room frame boarding house, with a balcony extending over the front sidewalk, long stood on Main Street in South Hannibal,  O.L. 110, Lot 3, address at 216 and 218 Third, (Main) Street. (That address was later changed by the city to 619 S. Main St.)

The historical significance of this house was noted in the Hannibal Courier-Post’s Dec. 1, 1903 edition, at which time the Quincy House was identified as “one of the oldest boarding houses on the South Side.”

Circa 1885, an experienced Irish-born hotel man, who was also a veteran of the Civil War, moved his family from Ursa, in Adams County, Ill., to Hannibal, in order to take over management of the aforementioned Quincy House.

Boarding houses in 1885 were a common - as well as a practical - means of obtaining room and board for the many (mainly) single men employed by the railroads and other industries. (25 boarding houses were advertised in the 1885 Hannibal city directory, assessable via the Hannibal Free Public Library’s website.)

Jonathan J. McLaughlin (estimated 1822-1900) and his extended family would live amongst the blue-collar boarders for nearly a decade, in totality helping to shape the cultural climate of South Hannibal.

Long gone is the boarding house, and the people who both lived there and managed the business. But many reminders remain today that help to paint a picture of the early lifestyle of this neighborhood, which grew in tandem with the railroads, and was located along the unpredictable banks of the Mississippi River.

Early manager

Jno. J. McLaughlin, born in Ireland circa 1822, and his wife, Catherine Dougherty McLaughlin, were married May 12, 1868.

Mrs. McLaughlin brought to the marriage three children from her first union, to John Gerhard Joseph Bloomer (1830-1863): Christina (1858-1940), Thomas (1859-1940) and John Joseph (1863-1932) Bloomer.

The Bloomer children were later joined in the blended family by their half siblings, Annie (Mrs. James T. Nicely) (1869-1952), Daniel (1874-1946) and John McLaughlin (1880-1945).

The family’s affiliation with this boarding house would continue until the estimated time of Mrs. McLaughlin’s death in 1895.

After the McLaughlin family left the premises, and the family relocated to 705 Lyon, other managers stepped up to oversee the operation of the facility. All the while, the boarding house continued to maintain a prominent presence on the main thoroughfare immediately to the west of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad yards, three lots to the north of where Third (Main) intersects with Washington street.

Among those managers was J.F. Stewart, who vacated the property in early 1901, after purchasing the R.H. Stillwell property, corner of Fourth and Jefferson streets, with plans to make extensive repairs and open a new boarding house therein. He announced his plans to sell out his Quincy House fixtures in the newspaper.

House sold

On June 8, 1901, the Hannibal Morning Journal reported that E.V. Settles (likely in partnership with his brothers, Andrew and R.H.) had purchased the Quincy House the day prior on the Court House steps, and planned to make extensive improvements in the property. The sales price was $1,400.

John T. Fuqua, of 400 Fourth St., South Hannibal, was awarded the contract to repair the interior and exterior of the Quincy House, according to the June 11, 1901 edition of the Hannibal Morning Journal.

“A  number of the rooms will also be repapered, and it is the intention of the owner to put the property in a first class condition. Carpenters and plasters are now at work on the building, and as soon as they finish Mr. Fuqua will get his force of men at work.”

The Hannibal City Directory of 1901 lists James A. Treaster and John W. Graham as painters working for Mr. Fuqua.

Murphy managers

Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Murphy were the first to lease the property following its purchase and subsequent renovation by Mr. Settles. (Mrs. Murphy was previously Helena Kornder, widow of Theodore Gottlieb Kornder, who died Jan. 22, 1894, in Hannibal. He is buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery.)

The Hannibal Morning Journal reported on June 25, 1901: “Mr. Murphy has newly furnished every room from the first to the third floor and everything about the premises is as neat and clean as a new pin. The culinary department will be in charge of Mrs. Murphy, who has had many years of experience in the hotel and boarding house business, and the patrons of the establishment are assured that the meals served will be first class in every respect.”

In describing he house: “The sleeping rooms are large and airy and are furnished in a first class manner with neat iron and brass bedsteads and new bedding.”

In June 1903, the building’s owner, Mr. Settles, following the neighborhood trend, commissioned the replacement of the previous plank sidewalk in front of the Quincy House, with a granitoid (cement) walk.

By the beginning of 1903, Mr. Murphy had left his affiliation with the boarding house, and presumably his family as well.  Mrs. Murphy subsequently turned over operation of the Quincy House to Mrs. Solan Satterlee, a widow, who lived in the neighborhood. Mrs. Murphy announced her plans to move to California, where her son, Peter Kornder, was living.

(Tragically, Mr. Satterlee, 29, had died on Nov. 29, 1902, of injuries sustained while working for the K-Line in St. Louis. Just three hours after his death, Mrs. Satterlee gave birth to twin daughters, who joined a brother, Edgar, just a year older.)

A year and a half after turning the boarding house keys over to Mrs. Satterlee, Mrs. Murphy was back in residence, until once again subleasing the property, this time to a man named Elmer Seniff. 

The Hannibal Courier-Post  reported on Feb. 15, 1905: “Mr. Seniff has closed a lease contract for the Quincy House and took possession today. He opened the well-known boarding house under unusually favorable conditions, assured of the patronage of twenty brick layers who are engaged at the cement plant, aside from a goodly number of railroad men.”

Following Mr. Seniff, Mrs. J.E. Noel, who had been living on Market Street, moved into the Quincy House and took charge of operations. (The Courier-Post hinted in its Aug. 4, 1905 edition, that a Mr. Uglow owned the business at that time.)

B.F. Uglow subsequently sold the Quincy House to Hal C. Davis in September 1905.

Railroaders

During the mid 1880s, railroaders were the primary occupants of the boarding house.

A few of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad workers boarding at the Quincy House in 1885, when the McLaughlins took over management:

Harry Tunk, Jno. Rauh, Ed Keefe, Henry Keefmann, N. Howeld, Chas. C. Ellenbaum and James Hoey.

By 1913, the Quincy House building had been removed, and replaced by a single-story brick storefront, address 619 S. Main St.

Mrs. J. Murphy advertised the Quincy House in the 1903 Hannibal City Directory. Advertisement accessed via the Hannibal Free Public Library’s website.