Union County IL Archives Biographies.....GOW, D. February 15, 1825 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Tim Casey timcasey5@gmail.com and Andy Anderson oxdrover@mindspring.com June 8, 2008, 7:08 am

Author: History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties Illinois

D. GOW, fruit and vegetable grower, P. O. Cobden. Among the many men who
have done much to develop the resources of this county in its fruit and
vegetable industries, none have done more than the subject of this sketch,
not only in advancing new theories, but by putting these theories, which
originated in his brain, into profitable practice.

He was born in the county of Midlothian, Scotland, 11 miles east of
Edinburgh, February 15, 1825, to D. and Margaret (Black) Gow. They were
both born in the near neighborhood, and died in the same county. She died
in 1832 of cholera; he in 1876 at the age of 83 years. He was twice
married. By the first wife, the mother of our subject, there were three
sons and one daughter, and by the second marriage two sons and two
daughters.

His occupation was always that of a fruit-raiser, and till after his family
by first wife was nearly grown he only had ten acres of land to cultivate,
but afterward procured nine acres more, and still later 21 acres additional,
so at the time of his death he was cultivating 40 acres. His main crop was
that of strawberries, and for years he was the largest producer of
strawberries in Scotland. For 60 years previous to his death, he had lived
on the same place as a tenant of the Earl of Stair. So our subject was
reared in a garden, and received instruction which has not only been useful
to himself, but to all who come in contact with him who are interested in
the same business.

He received his education in the common schools of his native land, and for
one year read law in the city of Edinburgh, but not liking the profession he
gave it up and returned to the farm. In 1850 he accompanied his brother
John to America, but did not expect to stay only for a short time. During
the remainder of the year 1850 he worked at the carpenter's bench, and by
that time his business prospects in the old country changed, so he decided
to remain in this country. So he and his brother engaged in the fruit
culture in New Jersey in 1851. In the winter of 1855-56 he came to this
county, but his brother still remained in New Jersey and bought a farm near
the one they had been renting, paying $3,000 for it. In a few years he sold
the farm to the railroad company for $40,000; then bought another near
Wilmington, Del., and there died.

In 1856 our subject embarked in the vegetable business in Anna. He boarded
in Jonesboro, but had his hotbeds in Anna, near the present residence of Mr.
Lufkin. These hotbeds were, indeed, curiosities, for the like had never
been known in Union County, and to see plants growing there when the ground
was covered with snow was wonderful. That year Mr. Gow experimented on
different products to see which was best adapted, and which could be grown
to best advantage. Tomatoes proved to be the most profitable. The first
that he shipped, and probably the first ever sent from the county, was June
8, 1856, and sold at $1 per dozen in Chicago.

But a difficulty arose, for there were no fruit commission houses then in
Chicago to ship to; but to obviate this trouble, Mr. Gow taught his men when
and how to gather, pack and ship, and he went to Chicago to attend to the
selling himself. Mr. Drake, of the Grand Pacific, was then steward in the
Tremont House, and was Mr. G.'s best customer. During his second year as a
shipper to Chicago, a discussion arose in some of the papers about his
lettuce. One called it Democratic lettuce, thinking that no other kind
could be grown in Southern Illinois, but a friend of Mr. Gow contradicted
the statement in another paper, so to settle it they wrote to our subject to
find out which was right. Of course he sustained the contradiction.

During the shipping season of 1857, he had his private express car run from
Anna to Chicago by passenger train, for which he paid $90 per car, including
free pass for his agent in charge of it. He continued in business at Anna
for three seasons, then came to Cobden, and, in the fall of 1858 was
appointed express agent.

In 1859, out of his own means, he built the present freight house here, on a
guarantee that the railroad would make Cobden a regular station instead of a
flag station, and that they should pay him back the money expended in
building the depot in two years without interest. Mr. Gow was the first
station agent at Cobden. He continued for about one year, then bought his
present farm in 1861, and has made it his home since. During the war of the
rebellion he was Deputy Provost Marshal in this district.

Our subject not only introduced vegetable growing in this county, but was
also the first to use fertilizers, and did the first underground draining in
the county. In 1856 he presented the first carload of stable manure ever
presented to the Illinois Central Railroad for shipment. This carload was
taken up from the mines at Duquoin and dumped into a car and brought to
Anna. He then procured manure from the stables at Cairo till they began in
the vegetable business, and kept it all at home.

He then again received it from Duquoin, but soon that failed for like
reason, so he had to think of some other plan, and that is this: He has
made arrangements with the railroad companies to carry the manure at
three-fourths cents per ton per mile, and in this way can procure an
inexhaustible supply from St. Louis, and within the past six months has
brought to this station about 50 carloads of splendid stable manure, 18 of
which have been applied on his own farm. An ordinance has been passed by
the authorities of St. Louis to permit our subject to build a spur to the
railroad track of sufficient length to hold five cars on which he can load
the manure.

This ability to obtain an abundant supply of stable manure from highly-fed
animals at so cheap a rate, costing only about 60 cents per two-horse load
at Cobden Station, may be regarded as the crowning effort of his
indefatigable energy, and is certainly the source of greater prosperity to
fruit and vegetable growers than has yet been devised. Mr. Gow was the
originator of the present system of shipping together at carload rates to
Chicago, and the first rates of $50 per car were made to him individually on
tomatoes. He was also one of the prime movers in organizing the present
system of shipping in refrigerator cars.


Additional Comments:
Andy Anderson submitted the Biography. I believe is Cobden Township.

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