USA > Kansas > Republic County > A history of Republic County, Kansas, embracing a full and complete account of all the leading events in its history, from its first settlement down to June 1st, 1883 > Part 1
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F 687 RAS3
1800
S
GEO. S. SIMONDS, PRESIDENT.
W. H. BELL, CASHIER.
First State Bank, Belleville, Kansas.
TRANSACT A GENERAL BANKING BUSINESS. SPECIAL ATTENTION GIVEN TO COLLECTIONS.
Farm Loans negotiated at 9 per cent. annual interest; interest and principal payable at this Bank.
Buy and sell Foreign and Domestic Exchange. Drafts issued on the principal cities of Great Britain and Europe.
Also agents for the "National Line" Steamship Co. Tickets sold to and from the principal cities of Europe.
DIRECTORS : J. E. SMITH, Pres't First National Bank, Beatrice, Neb. S. C. SMITH, Cash First National Bank, Beatrice, Neb. . E. A. HALLOWELL, Reg. of Deeds, Belleville, Kan. GEO. S. SIMONDS and W. H. BELL.
CORRESPONDENCE SOLICITED,
which will be given satisfactory attention. 1
THE REPUBLIC COUNTY Co-Operative Association, NO. 1059 P. OF H.,
was organized in December, 1881, with a capital of $1,050, which has more than doubled.
The officers are: I. O. SAVAGE, Chairman; H. O. STUDLEY, Secretary; E. POWELL, Treasurer; A. SHAW, Business Manager and Salesman.
Board of Directors: W. H. BOYES, D. P. THOMPSON, JOHN HARRIS, J. J. BURKMAN.
This Association carries on a general trade in
Merchandise AND
Farm Products,
at the N. W. Corner of Public Square. BELLEVILLE, - KANSAS.
Keep constantly on hand a large and well selected stock
Dry Goods, Groceries, Boots, Shoes, Clothing, Hats, CAPS AND NOTIONS.
Goods new and fresh, and prices as low as any house in northwest Kansas.
Rebate to Stockholders, Ist Quarter. ·5 per cent.
, . . last 37.8 "
J. C. PRICE, ATTORNEY AT LAAW.
MILTON GRIM, NOTARY PUBLIC.
PRICE & GRIM,
REAL ESTATE AGENTS,
REPUBLIC, - KANSAS,
Have a large list of Improved Farms and Unim- proved Lands for sale.
A. D. WILSON, ATTORNEY AT LAW,
SCANDIA, - KANSAS.
PROMPT ATTENTION GIVEN TO ALL BUSINESS.
COLLECTIONS A SPECIALTY.
T. M. NOBLE,
Attorney and Counselor at Law.
OFFICE, WEST SIDE PUBLIC SQUARE,
BELLEVILLE, - - KANSAS.
S. F. VINTON,
Real Estate and Loan Agent,
HUBBELL. NEBRASKA.
COLLECTIONS ATTENDED TO WITHOUT DELAY. Taxes paid for non-residents. Correspondence solicited. Business promptly attended to.
YOUR PATRONAGE SOLICITED.
A. L. WHITNEY,
MANUFACTURER AND DEALER IN
HARNESS and SADDLES,
:)AND(:
Saddlery Hardware,
LIGHT WORK A SPECIALTY.
SCANDIA, - - KANSAS.
A. KEELER,
SCANDIA, - KANSAS,
- )DEALER IN(: Dry Goods, Notions, Clothing, Ilats, CAPS, BOOTS, SHOES,
GROCERIES QUEENSWARE.
.§ Will Buy and Sell all Kinds of Country Produce.3% Best Goods for the Least Money.
GIVE ME A CALL.
THE OLD RELIABLE EXCELSIOR NURSERY
A. A. CHENEY, PROPRIETOR.
A full line of Nursery Stock constantly on hand, compris- -ing all kinds of-
FRUIT TREES, EVERGREENS Small Fruits and Shrubbery.
All home-grown stock, and warranted true to name. Satisfac- tion guaranteed, and prices reasonable.
Orders taken at any time, and filled in season.
mes- Remember the place, 3 miles north and 1 1-2 miles east of BELLEVILLE, KANSAS.
THE BELLEVILLE TELESCOPE.
(The Official Paper of Republic County.)
Established, 1870.
Circulation, 850.
J. C. HUMPHREY, Publisher and Proprietor.
The Oldest Paper in Republic County,
and has the largest circulation, consequently the BEST ADVERTISING MEDIUM.
Terms of Subscription, $1.50 per annum in advance. Advertising rates made known on application.
Farms, Unimproved Lands and Town Lots
IN REPUBLIC COUNTY, KANSAS,
FOR SALE BY -
D. C. GAMBLE, SEAPO, KAS.
160-acre Farm for $1,600 ; partially improved.
160-acre Farm for $2,600 ;
living water, timber. etc.
180-acre Farm for $2,500 : creek, timber. etc.
320-acre Farm for $6,500 ; fine buildings, creek, etc.
80-acre Farm for $1,500 ; good house, well improved.
160 acres, mmimproved, $1,040 ; one-fourth cash,-balance, time. 640 acres, unimproved. $4,200 : one-fourth cash, and four years time on the balance.
If you want to buy or sell a Farm, call on me. or address me. at above place.
CLYDE, CONCORDIA and LAWRENCEBURGH, are railroad stations for SEAPO.
THEODORE HURTZ. REAL ESTATE & LOAN BROKER. FIRE AND LIFE INSURANCE.
SCANDIA, - - - KANSAS.
WILL G. KING,
COUNSELOR AT LAW. LAND AND LOAN BROKER.
Special attention given to Collecting, Tax Paying, and other business for non-residents.
SCANDIA, KANSAS.
A HISTORY
Republic County, KANSAS,
EMBRACING A FULL AND COMPLETE ACCOUNT OF ALL THE LEADING EVENTS IN ITS HISTORY, FROM ITS
FIRST SETTLEMENT DOWN TO JUNE Ist, 1883.
ALSO, THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COUNTY, INCLUDING SOIL, CLIMATE, TIMBER, STREAMS, WATER POWER, COAL, SALT, ETC., ETC.
STATISTICS,
SHOWING INCREASE IN WEALTH AND POPULATION, RAILROADS, CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, NEWSPAPERS, SECRET SOCIETIES, ETC.
A FULL LIST OF THE EX-SOLDIERS OF THE COUNTY. GIVING RANK, COMPANY, REGIMENT, STATE, AND BRANCH OF THE SERVICE TO WHICH THEY BELONGED.
AND OTHER VALUABLE INFORMATION NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.
BY I. O. SAVAGE. 11
TOPEKA, KANSAS: DAILY CAPITAL PRINTING HOUSE, PRINTERS, 1883.
F687' . R 4 S3
197'00.
PREFACE.
1823
A single county, in the great State of Kansas, occupies but an insignificant place on the map of the world ; and its people and its story are comparatively unknown. Yet the grand river of national history is formed by the union of many rills of traditions and record, flowing from a thousand counties and States all over the land. The tracing of one of these rills to its source is the province of the present little volume. It is the aim of this work to collect and preserve some of the facts of the early settlement, subsequent growth and develop- ment of one of the leading counties of a young, yet great and glorious State. The families who were early on the ground, and whose mem- bers have contributed to make the county what it is, are worthy of remembrance ; and their difficulties and sorrows, labors and patriotism, should not be allowed to fall into oblivion. By a knowledge of these, the present generation will be instructed, and the future will be guided. All history, if properly written, is profitable; and there is not a country, or a city, or a hamlet, on the globe, whose history might not be more or less valuable to posterity. We trust this little volume will be the means of preserving from the empire of decay, a host of incidents, of recollections and of anecdotes, relating to the land of pio- neers and first settlers of the county, which, in the estimation of the historian and student of history, are of priceless value, but which otherwise would soon fade from the memories of the living.
Still, a perfect and complete history of any county is one of the impos- sibilities, and this work may be incomplete in many particulars. Nor, indeed, is it possible for it to be otherwise, as it is not permitted any man to attain perfection1. Its regions lie beyond our reach. Owing to the size of the work, many events, persons and institutions worthy of an extended notice, are, by the exigencies of the case, but briefly alluded to, and many others rejected entirely. In addition to the work origin- ally contemplated, we have added a patriotic record of each ex-soldier now a resident of the county, who served in the war of 1812, war with Mexico, Indian wars, and the war of the rebellion ; and we call upon all such to assist us in disseminating this work. In collecting the facts here presented, we have drawn largely from our own observations, but are much indebted and hereby acknowledge our obligations, to many of the hardy pioneers and first settlers of the county, for early incidents, recollections, and other valuable information which could be obtained in no other manner. I. O. S.
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INTRODUCTORY HISTORY.
EARLY EXPLORATIONS - LOUISIANA PURCHASE - KANSAS AND NEBRASKA BILL - BORDER-RUFFIAN WAR - TOPEKA AND WYANDOTTE CONSTITU- TIONS - ADMISSION OF KANSAS AS A FREE STATE.
The Spaniards were the first white people who made explorations here. As early as 1540, Coronado, a Spaniard, commanded an expedi- tion which marched fr m Mexico northward, in search of gold, silver, and precious stones, explored the region of the Colorado, examined the country now known as New Mexico, and penetrated as far east as Kansas, which he named Quivira, and northward to the 40th degree of latitude, the northern boundary of the State. Finding no gold, which seems to have been the leading object of the expedition, he returned to Mexico, leaving Kansas early in the year 1542. On his return to Mexico, he reported that the regions through which he passed were not fit to be colonized. This expedition made the first explora- tions in Kansas of which we have any record. Forty years later, the Spaniards, after conquering the natives, colonized New Mexico. In April, 1682, La Salle, a French discoverer, took formal possession of the mouth of the Mississippi River, for the King of France ; and the country on the banks of the river received the name of Louisiana, in honor of King Louis XIV., then at the height of his power. Louis- iana was understood to embrace all the country drained by the waters emptying either directly or indirectly into the Mississippi River. This made Kansas a possession of France.
November 3, 1762, France cedes Louisiana to Spain. This cession made Kansas Spanish. In 1769, the Spanish troops took possession of Louisiana, and the dominion of Spain begins, and continues until 1802, when, almost without consideration, she, by secret treaty, retrocedes Louisiana to France, and Kansas again becomes French territory. April 30, 1803, a treaty was concluded between the United States and the French Republic, by which France concedes Louisiana to the United States. The treaty was negotiated, on the part of France, by Barbe-Marbois, the French minister, and by Robert R. Livingstone and James Monroe on the part of the United States, and Kansas becomes the property of Uncle Sam. The above, briefly stated, is the chain of title. By this, the United States acquired 1,160,577 square miles of territory, or 742,769,280 acres of land. The purchase price was fifteen millions of dollars, or a fraction over two cents per acre.
10
History of Republic County.
This purchase was made during the administration of Thomas Jeffer- son, and was approved by the entire nation as an act of the greatest importance, as it doubled the area of the United States, and placed the whole valley of the Mississippi within the territory of the Republic. Congress at once divided this great region into two territories, the territory of Orleans, corresponding to the present State of Louisiana, and the District of Louisiana, comprising the remainder of the pur- chase. On the 22d of May, 1854, the House passed the Kansas- Nebraska bill, providing for the organization of the territories of Kan- sas and Nebraska. The Senate passed the same bill on the 24th, and it was signed by President Pierce on the 30th. The passage of this act opened the door to a bloody and bitter conflict in Kansas between slavery and free labor, which continued with almost unabated fury until the admission of Kansas into the Union as a free State. On the 29th of June, 1854, Andrew H. Reeder, of Pennsylvania, was appointed by President Pierce Governor of Kansas ; and November 29 of the same year, an election was held for choosing a delegate to Con- gress, which resulted in the election of J. W. Whitfield, the pro-slavery candidate, he receiving 2,258 votes, to 574 votes for Free-State candi- dates. Whitfield took his seat, and held it until March 3, 1855, the close of the 33d Congress. Was re-elected October 1, 1855, receiving 2,721 votes, the Free-State men not voting. The first election for members of the Territorial Legislature was held by districts, March 30, 1855, thirteen members of the Council, and twenty-six members of the House, resulting in the choice of the pro-slavery candidates by large majorities. This Legislature convened, by order of the Governor, at Pawnee, near Ft. Riley, nearly one hundred miles from the border, and supposed to be far enough away to be free from intimidation by the Missourians. Pawnee was a retired and quiet place ; and the mem- bers, no doubt, frequently called to mind that passage of Scripture which reads something like this, " The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but this Kansas Legislature has not a peg to hang its hat on." The executive office was also established at Pawnee. On the 6th of July, both branches of the Legislature passed, over the Governor's veto, an act removing the seat of government from Pawnee to the Shawnee Manual Labor School, in Johnson county, near the Missouri border. August 8th, the Legislature, in joint session, voted to establish the permanent seat of government at Lecompton. Upon re-assembling at Shawnee, the Legislature proceeded to adopt the laws of Missouri as the laws of Kansas, and to frame a series of laws designedly cruel and oppressive to the Free-State men. Nearly all
11
History of Republic County.
the acts of this Legislature took effect as soon as passed. They made a volume of 1058 pages, and were commonly called the " Bogus Laws." Under these laws, none but pro-slavery men could hold office ; and every officer, whether elected or appointed, was compelled to take an oath to support the Fugitive Slave Law. This was also the oath administered to every attorney admitted to practice in the courts. Under these laws, any person found with a New York Tribune in his pocket, was deemed guilty of felony, the punishment being imprison- ment at hard labor for two years. These laws were vetoed by Gover- nor Reeder, but passed by a nearly unanimous vote over his head. Governor Reeder being odious to the pro-slavery party, and to the administration at Washington, was removed August 16, and Wilson Shannon, of Ohio, appointed in his stead. In the meantime, the Free- Soil settlers had increased so rapidly that they outnumbered the pro- slavery settlers. They now felt themselves strong enough to resist the outrages of the Missourians, and accordingly, on the 5th of September, 1855, held a convention at Big Springs, formally organized the Free- State party, adopted a platform, in which they distinctly and emphat- ically repudiated the government that had been forced upon them by men who were not residents of the Territory. They announced their intention not to take part in the election of a delegate to Congress, which the territorial authorities had ordered to be held on the first of October, and called upon the actual residents of the territory to send delegates to a convention to be held at Topeka on the 19th of September. This convention ordered an election to be held for the purpose of choosing a delegate to Congress. On the 23d of October, the conven- tion adopted a Free-State constitution, known as the Topeka constitu- tion. An election for State officers, under this constitution, was held January 15, 1856, and Charles Robinson was chosen Governor, receiving 1,296 votes, the pro-slavery party not voting. The struggle for the possession of the Territory now passed out of politics. The outrages of the pro-slavery men had forced the Free-State men into an attitude of direct and uncompromising resistance ; and after the action of the latter at Topeka, the struggle, which had hitherto been comparatively bloodless, changed its character, and became an open and sanguinary war between the two parties, in which the pro-slavery men were the aggressors. Bands of men, armed, and regularly organ- ized into companies and regiments, came into the Territory from South Carolina, Georgia, and the extreme southern States, with the avowed design of making Kansas a slave-holding State at all hazards.
May 26th, 1856, under the pretext of aiding the United States
12
History of Republic County.
Marshal to serve certain processes upon the citizens of Lawrence, they captured and sacked that town, burned several houses, killed several of its citizens, and inflicted a property loss upon it amounting to $150,000. From this time, the war went on in a series of desultory but bloody encounters, in nearly all of which John Brown took an active and prominent part, some of which assumed the proportions of battles. The Free-State Legislature met at Topeka, March 4th, received the message of Governor Robinson, appointed three commis- sioners to prepare a code of laws, elected James H. Lane and Andrew H. Reeder United States Senators, prepared a memorial to Congress, asking admission into the Union under the Topeka constitution, and adjourned to meet July 4th, having been in session four days. This memorial was presented to Congress by Lewis Cass, of Michigan, in the Senate, and by Representative Mace, of Indiana, in the House. July 3d, the House passed Grow's bill for the admission of Kansas under the Topeka constitution, but the Senate, being pro-slavery, refused to concur. The Free-State Legislature met at Topeka, July 4th, pursuant to adjournment. Col. Sumner, of the First Cavalry, appears in the House, and then in the Senate, and orders each body to disperse. He was acting under orders from Acting-Governor Woodson and President Pierce. The Legislature obeys the order. Gov. Shannon received notice of his removal August 21st, and Acting- Governor Woodson calls out the militia, and declares the Territory in a state of open insurrection and rebellion. This was the darkest day during the whole struggle for the Free-State men, and large numbers of them left Kansas.
January 6th, 1857, the Free-State Legislature again met at Topeka. Gov. Robinson and Lieut. Gov. Roberts are absent, and there is no quorum. Re-assembled on the 8th with quorum present, organize, and appoint a committee to again memorialize Congress to admit Kansas under the Topeka constitution. After adjournment, a dozen or more of the members were arrested by a United States Marshal, and sent as prisoners to Tecumseh. Met again on the 8th without presiding officers and without quorum, the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House being prisoners at Tecumseh. It appears to have been the tactics of the pro-slavery party, backed by the admin- istration at Washington, to arrest a sufficient number of members to break a quorum, and thus prevent legislation. Late in July, John W. Geary was appointed Governor in place of Wilson Shannon, removed. The second session of the Territorial Legislature met at Lecompton, January 12th, 1857, to enact more " bogus laws." The
13
History of Republic County.
Free-State men had no part in the election of this House, and the whole Legislature remained pro-slavery. All bills vetoed by Gov. Geary were promptly passed over his head, in accordance with a secret agreement at the commencement of the session. Gov. Geary exerted himself honestly to restore peace, freedom of speech and of the press, and asked the repeal of many of the bogus laws. But, finding himself powerless, and fearing assassination from the pro-slavery party, he secretly left Kansas, March 10th, as Gov. Reeder had done before him.
President Buchanan appointed as successor to Gov. Reeder, Robert J. Walker, of Mississippi, a man of eminence and ability, who sin- cerely desired to effect a settlement of the quarrel, and who succeeded in iaducing the Free-State party to vote, at the coming election, for members of the Territorial Legislature, and a delegate to Congress, assuring the people that the election should be fair and free. The election was held October 5th, 1857, which resulted in the election of a large majority of Free-State men to the Legislature, and of M. J. Parrott, Free-State candidate, for delegate to Congress, by a majority of over 4,000. This was the first free and fair election held in the Territory. Gov. Walker resigned December 17th, and James W. Denver was appointed in his stead. Denver acted as Governor until October, 1858, when he in turn resigned, and Samuel Medary, of Ohio, was appointed November 19th, 1858, and who continued in office until January, 1861, and was the Democratic candidate for Governor, under the Wyandotte constitution, against Charles Robinson, December 6th, 1859, but was defeated by over 2,500 votes.
In January, 1859, the civil strife having partially subsided in the Territory, and the Free-State men having a majority in the Legis. lature, a convention was summoned at Wyandotte. It met in July, and adopted a Free-State constitution, which was submitted to the people October 4th, and ratified by a majority of 5,000. The Wyan- dotte constitution was then laid before Congress, and a bill admitting Kansas into the Union passed the House early in 1860. The Senate, however, failed to act upon the bill. At the next session, the measure was revived ; and on the 29th of January, 1861, the opposition of the South having ceased by reason of the withdrawal of a large number of the southern Representatives and Senators from Congress, Kansas was admitted into the Union as a free State, adopting as her motto : " Ad astra per aspera "- To the stars through difficulties.
CHAPTER I.
-
THE OLD FLAG-INDIAN MASSACRE NEAR THE PRESENT SITE OF REPUBLIC CITY, IN 1-57.
On the 15th day of July, 1806, Zebulon M. Pike, a young army officer, left Belle Fontaine, a small town near the mouth of the Mis- souri river, to make explorations in Kansas. He had with him a party of Osage Indians who had been redeemed from captivity among the Pottawatomies. These he was to take back to their friends on the headwaters of the Osage river, on the border of what is now Kansas, and then push on to the seat of government of the Pawnee Republic, located somewhere on the Republican river. He reached the Pawnee village September 25th, and found the Spanish flag floating from a pole in front of the head chief's lodge, a large party of Spanish troops having passed this way but a short time previous. Pike, although having but twenty men under his command, ordered the Spanish flag hauled down, and the American flag run up, which order was obeyed. This village, according to the map of the route of Pike's travels, his description of the river at this point and the country adjacent, was on the present site of the city of Scandia, Republic county; and so the dear old flag which so proudly floats from the flagstaff to-day* first floated to the breeze in Republic county on the 25th day of September, 1806. I give this as traditional only, but from the best information that can be gathered. I assume that we are reasonably safe in believing it to be true.
We are indebted to A. B. Whiting, formerly of Clay county, but now living in Topeka, for the following account of an Indian massacre committed in Republic county, near the present town site of Republic City, in the year 1857 : -
The overland emigration to California and Oregon in 1857 was im- mense. During May and June in that year, the trails leading west- ward across Kansas were crowded with the trains and herds of the emigrants. So heavy was the travel on the old Mormon trail leading northwest from Fort Riley, that for many days it moved in three or four parallel columns. This rush of stock led some few trains to try the new route, barely marked by a government train in 1855, up the
"Portions of this history were delivered as an address at Belleville, July 4th, 1882, to the people there assembled to celebrate the day.
15
History of Republic County.
Republican valley, but.soon to be opened and bridged between Forts Riley and Kearney, as the chance for grass was much better by this route.
A party of twenty-five, men, women and children, from Arkansas, with eight wagons, four hundred head of stock, and some few saddle horses, took this route ; and early in June passed by the frontier set- tlements, and traveled leisurely up the Republican valley, now an ocean of grass dotted with the bright spring flowers.
Ignorant of the dangers of the route, and reveling in the abundance of game and fish which this route afforded, and improving the oppor- tunity to recruit stock and teams before they should reach the regions of scanty forage, they were loath to leave the beautiful, happy valley. The watchful eyes of the savages were upon them ; and their neglect of setting guards and enforcing semi-military discipline soon revealed to the Indians, who were dogging the train, that it could be surprised and robbed with small danger to the attacking party.
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