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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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HISTORY
OF
BOONE COUNTY, MISSOURI.
WRITTEN AND COMPILED
FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC OFFICIAL AND PRIVATE SOURCES ;
INCLUDING A HISTORY OF ITS
TOWNSHIPS, TOWNS AND VILLAGES.
TOGETHER WITH
A CONDENSED HISTORY OF MISSOURI; THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS; A RELIABLE AND DETAILED HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY -ITS PIONEER RECORD, WAR HISTORY, RESOURCES, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS OF PROMINENT CITIZENS; GENERAL AND LOCAL STATISTICS OF GREAT VALUE, AND A LARGE AMOUNT OF LEGAL AND MISCELLANEOUS MATTER; INCIDENTS AND REMINISCENCES, GRAVE, TRAGIC, HUMOROUS.
ILLUSTRATED.
ST. LOUIS: WESTERN HISTORICAL COMPANY. 1882.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, by WILLIAM F. SWITZLER, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
St. Louis : Press of Nixon-Jones Printing Co.
€
1244083 PREFACE.
In presenting to the citizens of Boone County this history, it is with the full knowledge that there must necessarily be some errors found within its pages ; otherwise, it would be different from any work yet compiled by human hands, absolute perfection never having been reached, either in the historical or any other field of earthly labor.
In attempting to compile a complete history of Boone County a great variety of sources of information had to be consulted by the writers hereof : old files of newspapers, early official records, previously written histori- cal works and reviews, old settlers still living, letters of correspondence and private documents have all been consulted in embodying what is set forth in this history. Considering all these things, absolute freedom from error would be a miracle of wonders. Much care, however, has been taken to avoid ex parte statements, and the writers and publishers claim that this his- tory, while not exact in everything, treats all with fairness and candor. To gather the incidents of the long ago has been a work of infinite care and at- tention to detail. Intelligent readers may judge, therefore, how this labor has been performed, and do us the justice to accredit us with an honest en- deavor to make this history worthy, in all respects, the careful perusal of the reader.
To name all persons to whom the publishers are indebted for the facts herein, would be an undertaking of too great a magnitude, for there is scarcely a citizen of any prominence in the county who has not, in some way, contributed to the compilation of this work. First and foremost the publish- ers desire to acknowledge themselves indebted to Col. Wm. F. Switzler, of Columbia, who has written the greater part of the general history, besides re- vising and correcting the condensed matter of this publication pertaining to the State of Missouri. To Dr. George C. Swallow, late of Columbia, the publishers are under special obligations for many favors extended them, and particularly for the very able and scientifically written chapter on the geology of the county. Mr. John W. Hatton, one of Columbia's literary authors,
( iii )
iv
PREFACE.
has aided, by his faithful labor, the completion of these pages, the most of the biographical matter being the arrangement of his ready pen. Mr. Ed. W. Stephens, editor of the Herald, has been freely drawn upon in his histor- ical sketch of Boone County, published in the County Atlas of 1876. All the editors of all the papers of the county, also Dr. A. F. Sneed and Dr. P. S. Hocker, of Centralia, Gen. Odon Guitar, Maj. Jas. S. Rollins, and other cit- izens of Columbia, Dr. F. G. Sitton, of Ashland, and a host of other private citizens too numerous to mention have assisted in furnishing the information herein embodied; and to the entire citizenship of the county, the publishers return thanks for the universal courtesy with which they and their assistants have been treated.
With these few preliminary remarks we submit this work to the tender crit- icism of a charitable public. And when, in days to come, its pages shall be conned by children yet unborn, it is hoped that they may be able to say that its perusal, besides entertaining and instructing them, has the better prepared them for the exercise of all the functions of intelligent citizenship in a free and enlightened land.
-
CONTENTS.
HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
CHAPTER I.
THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE - BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH
1-7
CHAPTER II.
1
. DESCRIPTIVE AND GEOGRAPHICAL . 7-13
CHAPTER III.
GEOLOGY OF MISSOURI.
13-21
CHAPTER IV.
21-27
CHAPTER V.
ADMISSION INTO THE UNION 31-37 .
CHAPTER VII.
MISSOURI AS A STATE . 37-43 ·
CHAPTER VIII.
43-53
CHAPTER IX.
EARLY MILITARY RECORD OF THE STATE .
53-59
CHAPTER X.
AGRICULTURE AND MINERAL WEALTH
·
59-65
·
CHAPTER XI.
EDUCATION - THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
.
65-73
CHAPTER XII.
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS .
73-79
CHAPTER XIII.
Gov. CRITTENDEN'S ADMINISTRATION .
. 79-85
HISTORY OF ST. LOUIS.
FROM 1762 TO 1882 - LEADING INSTITUTIONS, ETC. .
86-106
LAWS OF MISSOURI.
PUBLIC AND PERSONAL RIGHTS, LEGAL FORMS, ETC.
107-120
[5]
.
TITLE AND EARLY SETTLERS
.
TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION . 27-31
CHAPTER VI.
CIVIL WAR IN MISSOURI
.
·
·
PAGE.
vi
. CONTENTS.
STATISTICS.
PAGE.
POPULATION, VITAL, INDUSTRIAL AND POLITICAL STATISTICS . 121-124
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION -EARLY HISTORY . 125-148
CHAPTER II.
FROM THE ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY, IN 1820, TO 1830 .
148-182
CHAPTER III.
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY FROM 1830 TO 1840 .
182-216
CHAPTER IV.
EARLY COLLEGES AND ACADEMIES . 217-229
CHAPTER V.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
229-269 .
CHAPTER VI.
HISTORY OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY FROM 1843 TO 1860
270-290
CHAPTER VII.
HISTORY OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY FROM 1860 TO 1882
291-330
CHAPTER VIII.
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY FROM 1840 TO 1850 330-359
CHAPTER IX.
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY FROM 1850 TO 1860
360-394
CHAPTER X.
THE CIVIL WAR COMMENCED - HISTORY FROM 1860 TO 1863 394-426
CHAPTER XI.
THE CIVIL WAR CONCLUDED 427-486
CHAPTER XII
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY FROM 1866 TO 1870 . 486-502
CHAPTER XIII.
HISTORY OF THE COUNTY FROM 1870 TO 1882
503-530
CHAPTER XIV.
GEOLOGY OF BOONE COUNTY
531-538
TOWNSHIP HISTORIES.
CHAPTER XV.
BOURBON TOWNSHIP
539-614
CHAPTER XVI.
CEDAR TOWNSHIP .
CHAPTER XVII.
.
614-692
CENTRALIA TOWNSHIP
682-733
1
vii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XVIII.
COLUMBIA TOWNSHIP
CHAPTER XIX.
THE CITY OF COLUMBIA
801-974
CHAPTER XX.
MISSOURI TOWNSHIP .
975-1064
CHAPTER XXI.
PERCHE TOWNSHIP
1065-1104
CHAPTER XXII.
ROCKY FORK TOWNSHIP
1104-1135 .
CHAPTER XXIII.
BOONE COUNTY LIVE STOCK INTERESTS
1135-1142.
LIST OF COUNTY OFFICIALS
1143-1144
·
ILLUSTRATIONS.
VIEWS.
PAGE.
PAGE.
AGRICULTURAL FARM MANSION, MIS- .
SOURI UNIVERSITY, opp. 307
ENGLISH AND ART SCH'L, Mo. UN., opp. 307 THE LAWS OBSERVATORY, opp. . 326
· CHALYBEATE SPRING, Mo. UN., opp. . 326 RESIDENCE OF J. LUCAS TURNER, EsQ. 684
STEPHENS FEMALE COLLEGE 808
CHRISTIAN COLLEGE 810
COLUMBIA PUBLIC SCHOOL, opp. 816
RESIDENCE OF GEN. ODON GUITAR . 878
ST. LOUIS MERCHANTS' EXCHANGE 104
RESIDENCE OF HON. J. S. ROLLINS 934
RESIDENCE OF CAPT. J. H. ROLLINS . 936
PORTRAITS.
PAGE.
PAGE.
HON. J. S. ROLLINS (Frontispiece). COL. WM. F. SWITZLER, opp.
DR. A. W. ROLLINS 254
PRESIDENT J. H. LATHROP, opp. 295
PRESIDENT DANIEL READ, opp. GEN. JOHN B. HENDERSON . 398
324
HON. J. L. STEVENS, opp. 955
W. M SCOTT 950
531
GEO. P. KENNAN 950
M. P. LIENTZ, opp 1040
S. W. TURNER opp. . 612
MAJ. WM. W. BRYAN, opp. 644
MRS. CORNELIA A. ROBINSON, opp. 674
WM. SMITH, opp. 679
N. W. WILSON, opp. . 795
J. L. MATTHEWS, opp. 908
J. K. ROGERS, opp. 929
JOHN M. SAMUEL, opp. 946
DAVID PIPES, opp. 1051
JOHN S. WILHITE, opp. . 1063
CAPT. DAVID PROWELL, opp. 1093
DAVID S. SHOCK, opp. . 1096
NORMAL SCHOOL, CAPE GIRARDEAU . 66 ST. LOUIS BRIDGE 87
FOUR COURTS, ST. LOUIS 88 ST. LOUIS FAIR GROUNDS 90 NEW CUSTOM HOUSE, ST. LOUIS 92
ST. LOUIS UNION DEPOT 94
VIEW IN SHAW'S GARDEN, ST. LOUIS 96 ST. LOUIS HIGH SCHOOL 98
100
NEW ARMORY BUILDING, ST. LOUIS .
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 102
Mo. UNIVERSITY BUILDINGS, opposite 266
.
·
PAGE. 734-800·
DR. GEORGE C. SWALLOW, opp .. DR. J. S. LOCKRIDGE, opp. 595
125
HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
CHAPTER I.
LOUISIANA PURCHASE.
BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH.
The purchase in 1803 of the vast territory west of the Mississippi River, by the United States, extending through Oregon to the Pacific coast and south to the Dominions of Mexico, constitutes the most im- portant event that ever occurred in the history of the nation.
It gave to our Republic additional room for that expansion and stupendous growth, to which it has since attained, in all that makes it strong and enduring, and forms the seat of an empire, from which will radiate an influence for good unequaled in the annals of time. In 1763, the immense region of country, known at that time as Louisiana, was ceded to Spain by France. By a secret article, in the treaty of St. Ildefonso, concluded in 1800, Spain ceded it back to France. Napoleon, at that time, coveted the island of St. Domingo, not only because of the value of its products, but more especially because its location in the Gulf of Mexico would, in a military point of view, afford him a fine field whence he could the more effectively guard his newly-acquired possessions. Hence he desired this cession by Spain should be kept a profound secret until he succeeded in reducing St. Domingo to submission. In this undertaking, however, his hopes were blasted, and so great was his disappointment that he apparently became indifferent to the advantages to be secured to France from his purchase of Louisiana.
In 1803 he sent out Laussat as prefect of the colony, who gave the
(1)
4
HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
I would rather make some desperate effort to preserve this fine country."
That day the negotiations commenced. Mr. Monroe reached Paris on the 12th of April, 1803, and the two representatives of the United States, after holding a private interview, announced that they were ready to treat for the entire territory. On the 30th of April, the treaty was signed, and on the 21st of October, of the same year, Con- gress ratified the treaty. The United States were to pay $11,250,000, and her citizens were to be compensated for some illegal captures, to the amount of $3,750,000, making in the aggregate the sum of $15,000,000, while it was agreed that the vessels and merchandise of France and Spain should be admitted into all the ports of Louisiana free of duty for twelve years. Bonaparte stipulated in favor of Louisiana, that it should be, as soon as possible, incorporated into the Union, and that its inhabitants should enjoy the same rights, privileges and immunities as other citizens of the United States, and the clause giving to them these benefits was drawn up by Bonaparte, who presented it to the plenipotentiaries with these words : -
" Make it known to the people of Louisiana, that we regret to part with them ; that we have stipulated for all the advantages they could desire ; and that France, in giving them up, has insured to them the greatest of all. They could never have prospered under any Euro- pean government as they will when they become independent. But while they enjoy the privileges of liberty let them remember that they are French, and preserve for their mother country that affection which a common origin inspires."
Complete satisfaction was given to both parties in the terms of the treaty. Mr. Livingston said : -
" I consider that from this day the United States takes rank with the first powers of Europe, and now she has entirely escaped from the power of England," and Bonaparte expressed a similar sentiment when he said : " By this cession of territory I have secured the power of the United States, and given to England a maritime rival, who, at some future time, will humble her pride."
These were prophetic words, for within a few years afterward the British met with a signal defeat, on the plains of the very territory of which the great Corsican had been speaking.
From 1800, the date of the cession made by Spain, to 1803, when it was purchased by the United States, no change had been made by
5
HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
the French authorities in the jurisprudence of the Upper and Lower Louisiana, and during this period the Spanish laws remained in full force, as the laws of the entire province ; a fact which is of interest to those who would understand the legal history and some of the present laws of Missouri.
On December 20th, 1803, Gens. Wilkinson and Claiborne, who were jointly commissioned to take possession of the territory for the United States, arrived in the city of New Orleans at the head of the American forces. Laussat, who had taken possession but twenty days previously as the prefect of the colony, gave up his command, and the star-spangled banner supplanted the tri-colored flag of France. The agent of France, to take possession of Upper Louisiana from the Spanish authorities, was Amos Stoddard, captain of artillery in the United States service. He was placed in possession of St. Louis on the 9th of March, 1804, by Charles Dehault Delassus, the Spanish commandant, and on the following day he transferred it to the United States. The authority of the United States in Missouri dates from this day.
From that moment the interests of the people of the. Mississippi Valley became identified. They were troubled no more with uncer- tainties in regard to free navigation. The great river, along whose banks they had planted their towns and villages, now afforded them a safe and easy outlet to the markets of the world. Under the pro- tecting ægis of a government, republican in form, and having free access to an almost boundless domain, embracing in its broad area the diversified climates of the globe, and possessing a soil unsurpassed for fertility, beauty of scenery and wealth of minerals, they had every incentive to push on their enterprises and build up the land wherein their lot had been cast.
In the purchase of Louisiana, it was known that a great empire had been secured as a heritage to the people of our country, for all time to come, but its grandeur, its possibilities, its inexhaustible resources and the important relations it would sustain to the nation and the world were never dreamed of by even Mr. Jefferson and his adroit and accomplished diplomatists.
The most ardent imagination never conceived of the progress which would mark the history of the " Great West." The adventurous pioneer, who fifty years ago pitched his tent upon its broad prairies, or threaded the dark labyrinths of its lonely forests, little thought that a mighty tide of physical and intellectual strength, would so rapidly
6
HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
flow on in his footsteps, to populate, build up and enrich the domain which he had conquered.
Year after year, civilization has advanced further and further, until at length the mountains, the hills and the valleys, and even the rocks and the caverns, resound with the noise and din of busy millions.
"I beheld the westward marches Of the unknown crowded nations. All the land was full of people, Restless, struggling, toiling, striving, Speaking many tongues, yet feeling But one heart-beat in their bosoms. In the woodlands rang their axes; Smoked their towns in all the valleys; Over all the lakes and rivers Rushed their great canoes of thunder."
In 1804, Congress, by an act passed in April of the same year, divided Louisiana into two parts, the "Territory of Orleans," and the " District of Louisiana," known as "Upper Louisiana." This district included all that portion of the old province, north of " Hope Encampment," on the Lower Mississippi, and embraced the present State of Missouri, and all the western region of country to the Pacific Ocean, and all below the forty-ninth degree of north latitude not claimed by Spain.
As a matter of convenience, on March 26th, 1804, Missouri was placed within the jurisdiction of the government of the Territory of Indiana, and its government put in motion by Gen. William H. Har- rison, then governor of Indiana. In this he was assisted by Judges Griffin, Vanderburg and Davis, who established in St. Louis what were called Courts of Common Pleas. The District of Louisiana was regu- larly organized into the Territory of Louisiana by Congress, March 3, 1805, and President Jefferson appointed Gen. James Wilkinson, Gov- ernor, and Frederick Bates, Secretary. The Legislature of the ter- ritory was formed by Governor Wilkinson and Judges R. J. Meigs and John B. C. Lucas. In 1807, Governor Wilkinson was succeeded by Captain Meriwether Lewis, who had become famous by reason of his having made the expedition up the Missouri with Clark. Governor Lewis committed suicide in 1809 and President Madison appointed Gen. Benjamin Howard of Lexington, Kentucky, to fill his place. Gen. Howard resigned October 25, 1810, to enter the war of 1812, and died in St. Louis, in 1814. Captain William Clark, of Lewis and Clark's expedition, was appointed Governor in 1810, to succeed Gen.
.
1
7
HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
Howard, and remained in office until the admission of the State into the Union, in 1821.
The portions of Missouri which were settled, for the purposes of local government were divided into four districts. Cape Girardeau was the first, and embraced the territory between Tywappity Bottom and Apple Creek. Ste. Genevieve, the second, embraced the terri- tory from Apple Creek to the Meramec River. St. Louis, the third, embraced. the territory between the Meramec and Missouri Rivers. St. Charles, the fourth, included the settled territory, between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. The total population of these dis- tricts at that time, was 8,670, including slaves. The population of the district of Louisiana, when ceded to the United States was 10.120.
CHAPTER II.
DESCRIPTIVE AND GEOGRAPHICAL.
Name - Extent - Surface - Rivers -Timber - Climate - Prairies - Soils - Popula- tion by Counties.
NAME.
The name Missouri is derived from the Indian tongue and signifies muddy.
EXTENT.
Missouri is bounded on the north by Iowa (from which it is sep- arated for about thirty miles on the northeast, by the Des Moines River), and on the east by the Mississippi River, which divides it from Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee, and on the west by the Indian Ter- ritory, and the States of Kansas and Nebraska. The State lies (with the exception of a small projection between the St. Francis and the Mississippi Rivers, which extends to 36°), between 36° 30' and 40° 36' north latitude, and between 12° 2' and 18° 51' west longitude from Washington.
The extreme width of the State east and west, is about 348 miles ; its width on its northern boundary, measured from its northeast cor- ner along the Iowa line, to its intersection with the Des Moines
8
HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
River, is about 210 miles ; its width on its southern boundary is about 288 miles. Its average width is about 235 miles.
The length of the State north and south, not including the narrow strip between the St. Francis and Mississippi Rivers, is about 282 miles. It is about 450 miles from its extreme northwest corner to its southeast corner, and from the northeast corner to the southwest corner, it is about 230 miles. These limits embrace an area of 65,350 square miles, or 41,824,000 acres, being nearly as large as England, and the States of Vermont and New Hampshire.
SURFACE.
North of the Missouri, the State is level or undulating, while the portion south of that river (the larger portion of the State ) exhibits a greater variety of surface. In the southeastern part is an extensive marsh, reaching beyond the State into Arkansas. The remainder of this portion between the Mississippi and Osage Rivers is rolling, and gradually rising into a hilly and mountainous district, forming the out- skirts of the Ozark Mountains.
Beyond the Osage River, at some distance, commences a vast ex- panse of prairie land which stretches away towards the Rocky Moun- tains. The ridges forming the Ozark chain extend in a northeast and southwest direction, separating the waters that flow northeast into the Missouri from those that flow southeast into the Mississippi River.
RIVERS.
No State in the Union enjoys better facilities for navigation than Missouri. By means of the Mississippi River, which stretches along her entire eastern boundary, she can hold commercial intercourse with the most northern territory and State in the Union ; with the whole valley of the Ohio ; with many of the Atlantic States, and with the Gulf of Mexico.
"Ay, gather Europe's royal rivers all - The snow-swelled Neva, with an Empire's weight On her broad breast, she yet may overwhelm; Dark Danube, hurrying, as by foe pursued, Through shaggy forests and by palace walls, To hide its terror in a sea of gloom; The castled Rhine, whose vine-crowned waters flow, The fount of fable and the source of song;
The rushing Rhone, in whose cerulean depths The loving sky seems wedded with the wave; The yellow Tiber, chok'd with Roman spoils,
9
HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
A dying miser shrinking 'neath his gold;
The Seine, where fashion glasses the fairest forms;
The Thames that bears the riches of the world ;
Gather their waters in one ocean mass,
Our Mississippi rolling proudly on,
Would sweep them from its path, or swallow up,
Like Aaron's rod, these streams of fame and song."-
By the Missouri River she can extend her commerce to the Rocky Mountains, and receive in return the products which will come in the course of time, by its multitude of tributaries.
The Missouri River coasts the northwest line of the State for about 250 miles, following its windings, and then flows through the State, a little south of east, to its junction with the Mississippi. The Mis- souri River receives a number of tributaries within the limits of the State, the principal of which are the Nodaway, Platte, Grand and Chariton from the north, and the Blue, Sniabar, Lamine, Osage and Gasconade from the south. The principal tributaries of the Missis- sippi within the State, are the Salt River, north, and the Meramec River south of the Missouri.
The St. Francis and White Rivers, with their branches, drain the southeastern part of the State, and pass into Arkansas. The Osage is navigable for steamboats for more than 175 miles. There are a vast number of smaller streams, such as creeks, branches and rivers, which water the State in all directions.
Timber. - Not more towering in their sublimity were the cedars of ancient Lebanon, nor more precious in their utility were the almug- trees of Ophir, than the native forests of Missouri. The river bottoms are covered with a luxuriant growth of oak, ash, elm, hickory, cotton- wood, linn, white and black walnut, and in fact, all the varieties found in the Atlantic and Eastern States. In the more barren districts may be seen the white and pin oak, and in many places a dense growth of pine. The crab apple, papaw and persimmon are abundant, as also the hazel and pecan.
Climate. - The climate of Missouri is, in general, pleasant and salubrious. Like that of North America, it is changeable, and sub- ject to sudden and sometimes extreme changes of heat and cold ; but it is decidedly milder, taking the whole year through, than that of the same latitudes east of the mountains. While the summers are not more oppressive than they are in the corresponding latitudes on and near the Atlantic coast, the winters are shorter, and very much milder,
10
HISTORY OF MISSOURI.
except during the month of February, which has many days of pleas- ant sunshine.
Prairies. - Missouri is a prairie State, especially that portion of it north and northwest of the Missouri River. These prairies, along the water courses, abound with the thickest and most luxurious belts of timber, while the " rolling " prairies occupy the higher portions of the country, the descent generally to the forests or bottom lands being over only declivities. Many of these prairies, however, exhibit a grace- fully waving surface, swelling and sinking with an easy slope, and a full, rounded outline, equally avoiding the unmeaning horizontal sur- face and the interruption of abrupt or angular elevations.
These prairies often embrace extensive tracts of land, and in one or two instances they cover an area of fifty thousand acres. During the spring and summer they are carpeted with a velvet of green, and gaily bedecked with flowers of various forms and hues, making a most fascinating panorama of ever-changing color and loveliness. To fully appreciate their great beauty and magnitude, they must be seen.
Soil. - The soil of Missouri is good, and of great agricultural capa- bilities, but the most fertile portions of the State are the river bot- toms, which are a rich alluvium, mixed in many cases with sand, the producing qualities of which are not excelled by the prolific valley of the famous Nile.
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