A History of Northeast Missouri, Volume I, Part 26

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864-1935, editor
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 731

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"In 1834 there was not exceeding thirty families in the entire limits of the county. Settlements were ten and fifteen miles apart, but this great distance did not cool their friendship or blight their hospitality. With the inseparable and trusty old flint-lock rifle, a man, regarding it as a solemn duty, as real pleasure, would go ten and fifteen miles to aid his neighbor to rear the rude cabin, or garner the crop, and at the conclusion of their labor they would enjoy a wholesome, if not elegant repast of corn bread and fried venison, with rye coffee, but sugar was wholly unknown.

"The young folks would then devote the night to dancing and court- ing, while the older and more staid would engage in card-playing- and so high a regard was at that time held for the game, that no con- viction could be had under the indictments of the courts. It is said that on a certain occasion the learned counsel in defending showed to the entire satisfaction of the court that poker was a game of science, and not of chance. Of course the acquittal that followed upon this defense must be attributed to the respect the game inspired, and not the mental obfuscation of that high dignitary, the Judge. On another occasion one of these cases had been submitted to the jury, and it had retired to a hazel thicket, where the Savings' bank now stands, to make a verdict, the defendant's counsel went out and argued it into an acquittal. Rude and uncivilized as these men appear to us today it is doubtful if their kind acts of real neighborship would be appreciated now. The selfishness, the wild desire to amass wealth, the freezing formalities of this age of refinement were then unknown.

"At this time on account of a pestiferous fly, known as the 'Green Head,' whose bite was very tormenting to beasts-travel in the summer season by day was impossible-and in consequence travel was almost entirely in the night; as a result we acquired from our neighbors in · the surrounding counties, the name of 'Salt River Tigers.' This was no doubt from the prowling disposition of this animal, rather than its vicious habits."

Outside of the Fenton house the first improvement in the town was by John B. Morris, afterward county judge, who built a log house on lot 4, block 21, where he kept a store and tavern for many years and where was kept the first post office in the county.

Edwards continued : "Soon after R. C. Mansfield built the house on the opposite corner known as the Old Scott place, and on the southeast corner-lot of the same block of the Green Tree tavern," one Ramsey built a double log house.

"At an early day in the history of the town a race-course was established. This was a half-mile track, on Promenade street, from where the Hardin house stands east, to about where Captain J. M. Gordon lives." These races occurred with great regularity every Satur- day evening, and on them anything from a quart of whiskey to a town

& Now deceased.

" Father of Rufus S. Pearson above referred to.

5 Morris' house.

6 From Washington street east to what is now Louden street.

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lot was lost and won; and the fist fights which invariably ensued were presided over by some skilled scientist with the same gravity and decorum that was given to the race itself.

"It is not to be supposed that the rollickers had things entirely their own way. There was even then many Christian men and women amongst them. The Methodists had a church organization with Rev. Robert Younger as their pastor. At this time they had no church building but held regular services at the house of John Martin. The Baptists also had an organization, and about the year 1835, a church building was erected on the present site of Hopwell.3 This was built mainly through the efforts of William Jesse, a minister of that denomina- tion, of great natural power, and of pure character. This was the first church erected in the county. In 1838, the Methodists built the brick .church yet standing on the corner of Promenade and Jefferson streets

AN AUDRAIN COUNTY SADDLE HORSE

in Mexico,' and it was not until this church was built that the race- course moved its hilarious doings from Promenade street to a more respectful distance."

THE FIRST COUNTY AFFAIRS

The first county court was composed of James Harrison, James E. Fenton and Hezekiah J. M. Doan, all appointed by the governor as county judges.

James Jackson had been appointed sheriff by the governor but declined to qualify.

The court met on the 6th day of February, 1837, as the record has it, at the house of Edward Jennings, Doan not being present. Being without a sheriff, William Levaugh was appointed elisor. Joel Haynes

3 Two miles west of Mexico on the Columbia road.

+ Where the city hall now stands.

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was appointed clerk and gave bond in the sum of $5,000, with John B. Morris, George W. Turley and James Jackson as sureties. Court adjourned on the 6th until the morning of the 7th day of February when Doan appeared, produced his commission and was sworn in, and the first official act of the county court was an order granting to James E. Fenton, one of its members, license for selling and retailing spiritu- ous liquors and groceries, at his house, for a period of six months. That order at this time will be of some interest.

It is as follows: "On the motion of James E. Fenton, leave is granted him for selling and retailing spirituous liquors and groceries at his house in the town of New Mexico, in this county, for six months from the 17th day of December, 1836, upon his paying a tax of $5; also a tax of one-eighth per cent on every $150."

It would seem from this order that Fenton had been in the same business before his license and that it was dated back "to cover acci- dents." The house where the grocery was kept is the same place where Jennings and Fenton had been doing business and where the court at the time was sitting.

James Harrison was appointed president of the court and then the court proceeded to divide the county into six townships * and ordered elections for constables and justices of the peace of the same. Before the adjournment of the term, another license to sell and retail spirituous liquors was granted George W. Turley, for a period of six months, to date from the 4th day of February 1837, upon paying a license of $5, and a tax of one-eighth per cent on every $300. It is learned that Turley then located his business on the northeast corner of the public square, at the place now known as Harper's Corner, where he kept a general mer- chandise store and sold whisky. Within the next year or so Fenton built a house on the northeast corner of block 7, where he kept a tavern and bar. A tavern was kept there many years and it is the place where Samuel Dingle was killed by a man named Hall in 1841. It is the same place where William Kemper's saloon is now kept. Ackley Day was ap- pointed commissioner for the purpose of laying off and selling lots belonging to the county of Audrain and which had been donated by the proprietors of the town of Mexico.

John A. Henderson was appointed county treasurer. George W. Turley and James E. Fenton were appointed commissioners to super- intend the building of a temporary court house on the northeast corner of lot 6, block 8, to be a "good white oak hewed logs, one story high, ten feet between floor and 'sealing,' thirty-six feet long, and eighteen feet wide, with a partition of logs through it, making one room twenty- two feet long, two outside doors and one middle door, good walnut batton doors. Four, fifteen light windows, good square joint floor of plank, the 'sealing' to be lathed and plastered with one coat of plaster- ing, cracks chinked and seamed with lime and sand, with a good roof of shingles. One good chimney of brick, one 'plane' chimney piece and wash board all around said house." The commissioners were authorized to let the contract for the building "by crying and knocking off the same to the 'loest' bidder."

The court then proceeded to the establishment of roads. The first road established was to commence at the west end of Love street and run west to intersect the road from Columbia to Paris; then another from the east end of Promenade street in the direction of Danville; then

. Salt River township named for the stream heading within it, Loutre the same, Cuivre the same, Prairie from the fact that it was mainly composed of prairie lands, Wilson for David Wilson, an early settler of that township, and Saling for a man of whom we have no account.

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another from the public square in the direction of the town of Fulton; then another to intersect the road from Paris to Fulton; thence a road in the direction of Columbia. From term to term the courts then, within the next year or two, established roads and appointed commis- sioners to lay them off in the direction of Hannibal, Louisiana, Paris, Florida, Huntsville, St. Charles, Millersburg and Concord. Afterward by special acts of the legislature, as will be seen by reference to the session acts in the 40's and 50's, these roads were all adopted by the state, made state roads and commissioners appointed to complete them in the direction of the several places mentioned. To this day, until the prairies are reached, in all directions from Mexico, these roads remain with slight changes as originally laid out. They ran as the "crow flies," and as the surface of the ground would permit, directly to the points of desti- nation. Until the prairies began to be occupied in the 70's and 80's, these roads continued as originally established. In order to accommodate the farms, the county court began to change these roads on to section lines and quarter section lines, until now on the prairies generally, all roads run in a direct north and south or east and west direction. This change has practically increased the length of the road between points about twenty per cent of the original distance.

John Willingham was appointed sheriff and collector and on a settle- ment made with him on the 5th day of February, 1838, it was found that the amount of taxes collected by him for the year 1837 was $45.92. He was credited with $16.78, for delinquent taxes for that year.

The court for the year 1838, levied taxes for state purposes amount- ing to $113.70 11/12, and for county purposes $227.51 10/11.

It has been stated on good authority that Willingham on one occasion loaned the entire amount of the revenue in his hands to one of his neighbors, under the following conditions : Willingham was on his way to Jefferson City to pay the money into the state treasury. On his way there he met Charles McIntire on his way to a neighbor's to buy some cattle and wishing to get them on the best terms possible, McIntire desired to pay cash. McIntire had learned of Willingham-that he was taking the money to the capital and immediately entered into negotia- tions for a loan. The sheriff loaned to McIntire all of the money, returned home and in due course of time McIntire returned the revenue to the sheriff, who then went to Jefferson City and turned it into the state treasury.

At the August election in 1838, James E. Fenton, Jonah B. Hatton and George W. Cardwell were elected county judges. James Jackson was prevailed upon to become a candidate for, and was elected to the legislature." His first official act was to vote for Benton for United States senator. Jackson was reelected again in 1840 and subsequently served four consecutive terms as judge of the county court. In 1840, James E. Fenton and George W. Cardwell were again elected judges of the county court.

The judges of that court were more intimately connected with the development of the county than any other body of public men. Some of the men performing the most conspicuous services on that bench prior to 1885, besides participating largely in other affairs of the county, are as follows :

* Jackson later in life became a minister of the Missionary Baptist church. By some it has been claimed the reason he declined office as sheriff was because. as at that time the Constitution prohibited a clergyman from holding office, he preferred the ministry to the sheriff's office but it is definitely learned from his nephew, A. G. Turner, that Jackson never entered the ministry until after he was through office holding. That provision was omitted from the Constitutions of 1865 and 1875.

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William H. Lee, three terms, 1842 to 1848; Robert Calhoun and Joel Haynes, two terms each, 1844 to 1848; John A. Pearson, six terms, 1848 to 1860; John B. Morris, five terms; Increase Adams, four terms; T. J. Marshall, one term; Andrew J. Douglass, four terms; E. L. Grigsby, two terms; R. C. Carter, two terms; John P. Clark, one term; B. P. Ritchie appointed in place of W. D. Summer, disqualified under the test oath, then elected twice; E. P. Cunningham, B. H. Wilder and William Mason.

The court house provided for was soon built and ready for occupa- tion. It not only served as a court house, but for all public meetings, religious worship, etc., for some years.

When the second court house was built on the public square, the county sold the lot and for many years it was the place of Charlie Weinand's bakery, he using in part the same log building. About twenty years ago the log building was removed and a brick building replaced it.

A second court house of brick costing $1,600 was commenced in November, 1838, and finished in 1839. The sale of lots donated to the county had yielded a sufficient amount to build this court house. It is here noted that James E. Fenton was still one of the county judges. Notwithstanding his duty to represent the county as one of the con- tracting parties, for the building of this structure, he had the contract for the brick work in the construction of the building. There are several entries during the time that Fenton was county judge which very clearly indicate the loose methods of doing public business in those days. At that time the county court had jurisdiction of all probate matters. Fenton not only granted himself a license to keep a grocery and also to keep a tavern, but in numerous cases was administrator and guardian in his own court, had the contract for furnishing the supplies to the court house, and on February 5, 1839, when he was granted a license to keep a tavern and was charged a license of $10 a year, the next entry of the court was to allow him $22 for services as judge of the county court. According to the records, he took upon himself the duty in vacation, of appointing three justices of the peace and a con- stable for Salt River township. He qualified them to hold office until the next general election without the consent of the other judges or ever having submitted the matter to the court. He acquired considerable property in the town, but became indebted to various persons and lost all of his property under executions and in the latter part of the 40's removed to Oregon. Matters growing out of his transactions bobbed up in litigation in various ways in this county as late as 1880.

EARLY COURT PROCEEDINGS

The first term of the circuit court began March 13, 1837, and for the sake of the regularity of the record, to have it comply with the act of 1836, that record shows the opening of the court "at the house of Edward Jennings, in the town of New Mexico." But the fact is, the court was held at the same place as the county court, in the house of James E. Fenton, located on one of the lots of the town of Mexico.

Priestly H. McBride, of Columbia, then, afterwards of Paris, and also later a member of the supreme court presided. The sole business of the day was to record McBride's commission as judge of the Fourth judicial circuit, and that of John Heard, circuit attorney.

There were two cases on the docket for the 14th : State of Missouri against Richard Bryant, under indictment for larceny and also State against Samuel Mounts, under indictment for the same. The original Val. I -18

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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI

papers of these cases cannot be found but as the witnesses were mainly from Monroe county, it is inferred that these men had been previously indicted by a Monroe county grand jury, for offences in the territory of Audrain, but within the jurisdiction of the Monroe county circuit court. At a subsequent term of the court, the case against Samuel Mounts was dismissed and a verdict of not guilty rendered in the case against Bryant.

On the next day, the commissioners appointed by the act of the legislature for fixing and locating a permanent seat of justice made their report, which was received, examined and approved by the court and ordered certified to the clerk of the county court. This report cannot be found.

REX MCDONALD

The July term of the same year began July 10th and again for the sake of regularity of the record, court was opened "at the house of Edward Jennings in the town of New Mexico." The first official act of the court was to adjourn it from that place to the court house which had been completed. The following grand jury was called : Thomas Kil- gore, foreman, William Wood, Eli Smith, William C. West, Adam Clark, James McDonald, John Peery, Deloney Willingham, John Wood, John H. Kilgore, Rowland McIntyre, James Davis, John B. Kilgore, John W. Barnett, Joseph Brown and Harrison Norvel. After consultation, the grand jury returned into court reporting that they had nothing before them and were discharged.

The following lawyers from other counties, there being no local members of the bar at that time, were enrolled-John Heard, James

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HISTORY OF NORTHEAST MISSOURI

R. Abernathy, Sinclair Kirtley, William H. Russell, Henry Cave, Phil- lip Williams, W. K. Vanarsdall and Thomas Miller.

Two cases were tried at this term, one an appeal case from a justice court, of William Bybee against James H. Smith, before the following jury-James Sims, William L. Williams, Thomas M. Joplin, Richard Byrns, Benjamin B. Wilkerson and James Pearson, in which a verdict was rendered for the plaintiff in the sum of $22.21 2/3. The case of State against Bryant, which is above noted, in which there was a verdict of acquittal, was tried before the following jury-Johnson Kilgore, James M. Hicks, George W. Cardwell, Isham C. Kilgore, Thomas M. Barnett, George L. Smith, Jacob Houpt, Hezekiah J. M. Doan, Robert C. Mansfield, Henry B. Gill, George W. Turley, and Benjamin B. Wil- kerson.

The two cases of Gross and Robbins against Jennings and Fenton, one an appeal case from a justice court and the other on a note, were continued to the next November term.

At the next November term, in the cases against Jennings & Fen- ton, both of which were tried, the court sitting as a jury, found that as to the suit upon the note, Jennings had signed the firm name of Jennings & Fenton to a note for an old debt that Jennings owed before coming to Mexico and before the partnership between Jennings and Fenton, and that as to the suit for the merchandise purchased, and money loaned, that Jennings had appropriated that to his own use and it had never gone into the partnership.

At this term two additional attorneys were enrolled, John H. Stone and John Jamison. At this term several cases were called and disposed of.

At the next March term, 1838, the grand jury was discharged with- out finding any indictments, but Grandison F. Williams and Caleb Williams were both put under bond to keep the peace toward all citizens, particularly toward Thomas T. Stone, until the next term of the court. The civil cases had increased to ten in number. Court lasted only two days.

At the July term, 1838, eleven cases were disposed of.

At the November term, 1838, James R. Abernathy produced his com- . mission as circuit attorney of the fourth judicial circuit. There were nineteen civil cases on the docket. Eight indictments were returned for assault and battery, seven for playing poker, two for keeping gaming houses. All of the men indicted for playing poker were prominent in the community, some of whom had been former grand jurors, and reported there was nothing before them.

At the March term the indictments for playing poker were quashed and in the assault and battery cases the defendants were acquitted by juries.

At the July term, 1839, the poker players were again indicted, some of whom pleaded guilty, one or two of whom stood trial and were con- victed by juries. The business of the court at this time had greatly increased. The civil cases were mainly for debt, the criminal prosecu- tions for assault and battery, gaming at cards, and occasionally for selling whiskey without license. An occasional suit for slander, for damages for assault and battery, appeared but were generally dismissed at the plaintiff's costs. Damage suits at that time did not appear to be very popular. No divorce case appeared on the docket from the begin- ning of the court until April 29, 1847, when Elizabeth Gass was granted a divorce from David Gass.

Up to and including the year 1843, the following additional names had been enrolled as attorneys-W. P. Howell, July 9, 1838, John D. S.

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Dryden, November 13, 1838, Preston B. Reed, March 11, 1839, G. H. Burckhartt, April 4, 1843, J. F. Jones, October 2, 1843, John B. Dun- can, 1843, and Charles H. Hardin, 1843.

The first murder case in the county was that of State of Missouri against Milroy Powell, for killing George Eubanks with a hoe. The altercation in which Eubanks was killed took place on the first day of July, 1840, on a farm just north of Mexico. Eubanks died on the sixth day of July, thereafter. Powell was indicted for murder in the first degree and was tried by the following jury-William M. Jones,. John W. Truett, Joseph Smith, Thomas Larkin, William Hayse, James Mc- Cormack, Joseph Surber, Robert Todd, Thomas R. Musick, William Sox, Parish Garner and William Doolin. The court gave instructions for murder in both the first and second degrees and for manslaughter in the third and fourth degrees. The defence was self-defence and that Eubanks died as the result of the mismanagement of his physicians and nurses. The jury returned a verdict of manslaughter in the fourth degree and fined him the sum of $325. He was sent to Monroe county for imprisonment but was released before the expiration of his sentence.

A notable criminal case is the case of State of Missouri against .James N. Rodman, for the murder of John W. Ricketts, on the third day of March, 1857. Ricketts and Rodman were brothers-in-law, the wife of Ricketts being Rodman's sister. It was claimed that Rodman shot Ricketts from ambush. Rodman had two trials, one a mistrial, then a change of venue to Pike county, in which he was cleared. After the trial Rodman left the country. His father had spent a great deal of money in making a defence for him. A great number of homicides occurred during the war, growing out of the then unsettled conditions. for which no criminal prosecutions were ever begun. After the Civil war, society was in an unsettled state and a number of homicides were committed, some of which went to trial, some of which did not.

The next case which created a great deal of excitement was that of State against Joseph Kribs, for killing William O. Creason, in Monroe county, July 20, 1874. Creason was a one-armed ex-Confederate soldier and the feeling in Monroe county ran very high against the prisoner, and a change of venue was granted to Audrain county. After a hard contest, a jury at the June term, 1875, found him guilty of murder in . the second degree and the court assessed his punishment at twenty years in the penitentiary. Sentiment was very much divided in this case on account of the prominence of Creason, and the verdict of the jury and sentence were not considered favorable to the Creason side of the issue. The attorneys for Kribs were so well satisfied with the verdict that no appeal was taken.

The next murder case of interest was that of State of Missouri against Frederick D. (Monk) Branstetter, for killing Jefferson D. Lowry, at Vandalia, in December, 1876. The trial took place at Mexico in January. 1877. Branstetter belonged to a large influential family. his father being a Baptist minister. He was defended by W. O. Forrest and the firm of Macfarlane & Trimble. Forrest was chief counsel and a veteran of criminal cases. By that time matters after the Civil war had begun to take on a more law abiding hue. Forrest had been the leading criminal lawyer of this section of the state since 1868, and after hearing his client's side of the story, concluded that an acquittal would be an easy matter. The prosecuting attorney was John M. Gordon. who was assisted by Armstead Alexander, a very able lawyer of Paris. Missouri. Forrest had the reputation of not looking very carefully after financial matters and it was quite often that his clients got the better of him on arrangement of fees. However, in this case he under-

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A History of Northeast Missouri, Volume I, Part 26

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864-1935, editor Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 731

Author: Williams, Walter, 1864-1935, editor
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 731