Fitzgerald family had long presence on Harrison Hill

This early postcard shows an old farmhouse on Riverview Park property. The exactly location of the house is not known, but with its stone foundation, it is reflective of the early 1900s era. Post card contributed by Robert Spaun.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

During the first decade of the 20th Century, Hannibal philanthropist W.B. Pettibone quietly negotiated with farmers and orchardists owning property in the Scipio Tract, north of the Hannibal and Palmyra Road (later renamed Harrison Hill). His intent was to acquire land with a river view to serve as a park, and position the transaction so that the park would forever serve the citizens of the community.

His efforts were culminated in January 1909, when he deeded about 100 acres of land to the city of Hannibal, with the stipulation it be used exclusively for park purposes. In addition, he continued to acquire parcels of surrounding land during the next decade, in order to provide a geographic buffer for the park.

Among the landowners he negotiated with were John and Julia K. Fitzgerald, owners, in 1909, of Lots 1, 2, 3 and 4 in the Scipio Tract. Each lot consisted of 20 acres. They also owned land in the Hoard Tract, south of the Scipio Tract, Lot 17, all of the property located north of the Hannibal and Palmyra Road. This portion of the property in the Hoard Tract contained the road leading to Hannibal’s pre-existing water reservoir. The legal description is Township 57 North, Range 4W, Marion County, Mo.

Pettibone negotiated for a portion of the Fitzgeralds’ land, purchasing it in May 1909, leaving the remainder to be used for agricultural purposes by the Fitzgeralds’ sons. Mr. Pettibone paid $800 for this portion of their property.

The Fitzgerald house, built circa 1828, was located near to the current entrance of Riverview Park. (Source for the date of the home’s construction, Julia K. Fitzgerald’s obituary, Palmyra Spectator, Aug. 15, 1928.)

The Fitzgeralds’ Scipio Tract property followed the longitudinal grid lines, bordering on the west at what is now Riverpoint Road. Roughly to the west of Riverpoint road is land historically known as the Fette property. (The Fette/Dubach family, circa 1905, also owned Scipio Tract Lots 5, 6, 7 and 8, which are now part of Riverview Park.)

According to newspaper reports, in 1924, W.B. Pettibone purchased Scipio Tract Lots 3 and 4 from the Fitzgerald family, and that land was presented to the city on June 6, 1924, to become a part of Riverview Park.

Today, the park consists of 465 acres, according to the Hannibal Parks and Recreation Department. The park encircles land dedicated for use as the city’s water treatment facility.

Early settlers

As early as 1897, John and Julia K. Fitzgerald were living on Palmyra Road, near Hayden Street. (Hayden Street is now known as Country Club Drive.)

John (Jack) Fitzgerald was a man of some means, a Hannibal businessman for some half a century.

Biographical information suggests that he arrived in Hannibal circa 1863. He was married to Julia Friedell in February 1870.

He and his bride settled on the south side of Pleasant Street (the portion that is north of Mark Twain Avenue) between Seventh and Eighth streets. Jack worked as a laborer for the TW&W Railroad when their children started arriving, year after year. By 1880, Jack and Julia had seven children, with more to come.

Jack Fitzgerald (1850-1918) bought and sold a number of parcels of land during his years  in Hannibal. Examples, culled from newspapers.com:

In 1886, Jack Fitzgerald purchased Lots 25 and 26 in A.S. Robard’s Subdivision, Out Lots 25 and 26, located to the south of Palmyra Avenue. He paid $800 for this property. The seller was J.D. Bacon, and the street address was 714 Rock.

In 1907, he sold Lot 10, in Hunt’s Subdivision, of Out Lot 82 to Sara E. McIntyre for $550.

In March 1910, he sold rental property he owned at 507 N. Eighth to Mayme Charleston, for $300.

Jack Fitzgerald died 1918; and Mrs. Fitzgerald died July 16, 1928, at her home on Palmyra Road. They are buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Reporter

The youngest of John and Julia Fitzgerald’s children was Daniel D. Fitzgerald, born in 1889. He remained a bachelor throughout his life, and was the last surviving of the Fitzgeralds’ children. He died on July 27, 1967, at Quincy, Ill.

For a portion of his lifetime, he farmed on the family’s property located in the Scipio Tract. But there was much more to this adventuresome son of Hannibal.

In 1911, at the age of 22, Dan D. Fitzgerald was writing for the Hannibal Morning Journal newspaper under the pen name of “Fitz.” He left Hannibal in 1912 and began “pushing the pencil” for the Quincy Journal. During the next decade, he ventured from town to town, where he "became connected with some of the best newspapers in the middle west.” (Source: Council Bluffs Nonpareil.)

He worked behind the desk at a handful of hotels, including the Hotel Fontenelle and the Keen Hotel in Omaha; the St. Nicholas Hotel in Decatur, Ill.; and the Grand Hotel in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

His next assignment was in 1917, with the First Regiment, Missouri National Guard, during the World War. When registering for the draft, he stood at 6-1. The average height for an American soldier in 1918 was 5-foot, 7.5 inches.

He ultimately settled back in Hannibal, farming the family acreage in the aforementioned Scipio Tract.

In 1937, he was a salesman, and lived at 2000 Harrison Hill. He eventually moved to Quincy, Ill., where he died 1967.

The property where the Fitzgerald family lived had several different addresses. It is believed that each of these addresses was associated with the same house.:

In 1897: Palmyra Road, near city limits

In 1903: Palmyra Road, near city limits

In 1905: Palmyra Road, near Hayden

In 1911, address; 906 Harrison

In 1912: address, 1624 Palmyra Road

In 1916: 2000 Mark Twain Avenue

In 1918: 1624 West Mark Twain Avenue

In 1939, Daniel D. Fitzgerald, farmer, 2000 Harrison Hill

In 1959, the address for Riverview Park was 1930 Harrison Hill.

This map is from the 1913 Standard Atlas of Marion County, Mo. At left, are Scipio Tract Lots 1, 2, 3 and 4, which were owned by John (Jack) and Julia K. Fitzgerald. To the south of the Scipio Tract lots is Hoard Tract 17, which was also owned by the Fitzgeralds, and connected to Palmyra Road. They sold a portion of Lots 3 and 4 in Scipio Tract to W.B. Pettibone in May 1909, for use in Riverview Park. Mr. Pettibone purchased the remainder of Lots 3 and 4, Scipio Tract, in June 1924. At right is the triangular portion of the original park. It is estimated that the Fitzgerald family lived in Hoard Lot 17, where the entrance to the park now exists. The water filter plant, located between Scipio Tract 4 and Hoard Tract 18, was in place prior to the park construction. Illustration by Mary Lou Montgomery

The obituary for John (Jack) Fitzgerald was published in the Hannibal Courier-Post, Feb. 14, 1918. newspapers.com

Map of Riverview Park, from the Hannibal Parks and Recreation Department's website. The Fitzgerald family's property was located near the park's entrance.

Mary Lou Montgomery retired as editor of the Hannibal (Mo.) Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this region’s foundation. Books available on Amazon.com by this author include but are not limited to: "The Notorious Madam Shaw," "Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’” “Oakwood: West of Hannibal,”  and “St. Mary’s Avenue District.” Montgomery can be reached at Montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com