USA > Missouri > A History of Northeast Missouri, Volume I > Part 60
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was located at Freemore's Lick, on the Salt river, in 1818, and he then declared to the advance guard of the real builders of Marion that his was the only cabin north of the Salt.
Bourbon county, Kentucky, furnished the bold men who went about the project systematically of forming permanent settlements. Edward Whaley, Aaron Foreman, Joseph Foreman, Aaron Foreman, Jr., and David Adams left Bourbon county in September, 1817, for St. Louis, with the idea of investigating prospects in Missouri territory. They moved onward into the Boon's Lick country, in Boone and Howard counties, and proceeded seventy miles up the Grand river, and then struck out eastward, hoping to find the Auhaha or Salt river. They thought the settlements in Boone and Howard counties were too crowded and their chances would be better at the Bastion or Bouvet's port.
Their journeys brought them to the North river, and they kept to the south back of the stream until they reached a point a short distance south of the present city of Palmyra. Then they crossed to the north side and camped, in order to do some exploring. The next day they continued on their way down the North river, and, going around the bluffs, entered the Bay de Charles, where they made a camp. After exploring the sur- rounding. country, they pressed down the bay, and suddenly, to their surprise, beheld the Mississippi. At Hannibal, as they were traveling south, the huge hills forced their course to the rear; they went some dis- tance up Bear creek, and then set out southward across the country, striking Freemore's Lick on Salt river, where they met Giles Thompson.
Thompson welcomed the newcomers effusively. He was delighted to hold converse with men who had traveled from Kentucky and visited virtually all of the settlements in northern Missouri, and they were glad to meet a pioneer qualified to give reliable information to aid their in- vestigations. Thompson told them of the Bastion and Bouvet's port, and they inspected the site of the old salt factory. Each of the prospectors chose a place to live, and then returned to Kentucky, by way of St. Louis, to bring their families to the new homes in Missouri.
The surveying of what is now the county into ranges and townships, in 1818, facilitated exploration and settlement, and many former resi- dents of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and other southern states, came to Missouri. Most of those arriving were descendants of Americans of the Eastern states, and they were chiefly Scotch, English and Irish. Some of the early French adventurers of St. Louis also settled in Marion, but they were decidedly few.
John Longmire, Martin Gash and Hawkins Smith settled along South river, as did also John Palmer. Benjamin Vanlandingham, another Ken- tuckian, settled on the present site of Palmyra. Sons of Vanlandingham settled along South river with their families. Major Obadiah Dickerson, the founder of Palmyra, arrived somewhat later. In what is now Warren township settled George See, William See and Carroll Moss, and in Mil- ler township, Samuel Miller. Other newcomers in the county were Sam- uel Culbertson, Abraham Culbertson, G. L. Sams, Burdette Sams, Noah Donley, William Ritchie, Reverend C. L. Turner, John Gash, William Gash, Boone Gash, Benjamin Thomas, Anson Parish, Charles Smith and Jacob Mathews. Mathews brought the first wagon that ever crossed North river, and built the first house in Fabius township.
Hannibal and Palmyra were laid out in 1819, which proved to be a flourishing year, as settlement increased rapidly. Hannibal was laid out by Thompson Bird, who held the proxy of Abram Bird, and Elias Rector, Thomas C. Rector and Laban Glascock. Moses D. Bates acquired a half interest in Hannibal, which he sold April 17 to William Brigham for $800. Palmyra was laid out by Samuel R. Caldwell, Joel Shaw, Obadiah Vol. 1-29
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Dickerson and John McCune. The first stores were established in 1820, Bates' in Hannibal and Vaughn's in Palmyra, in which everything the settlers might need was sold. The general store was the creature of necessity.
THE FIRSTS
Before relating larger matters of history in the county, it is appro- priate to refer to the "honor list" among the pioneers. Adeline Palmer was the first American child born in Marion, the event occurring in 1818. The first marriage, which took place in 1819, was that of Anson Parish and Betsy Smith. Jacob Fry opened the first hotel, which was in Pal- myra, and the first store was run in that town by James L. Vaughn. The first furniture dealer was Joshua Morris; the first blacksmith, A. Shannon; the first hatter, Abram Huntsberry. The first grist mill, a horse mill, was that of Hawkins Smith, in 1818 or 1819, on South river ; the first distillery, also built by Hawkins Smith, near the mill; the first water mill, that of William Massey, on North river, near Palmyra; the first carding machine, that of William Ritchie, and the first cotton fac- tory, Kit Keyser's.
Patrick McGee was the initial school teacher. He had been an officer in the United States army. The school was a little log cabin, in South river valley, and it was opened in 1823 or 1824.
South River Baptist church was the first church organized, in 1821, and it stood near Smith's mill and distillery. Reverend William Fuqua was the minister. Reverend John Riddle, a Baptist, in 1821, deliv- ered the first sermon. He spoke in the woods, on South river, on what was afterwards Bowles farm. Palmyra had the first postoffice, and Obadiah Dickerson was the first postmaster.
COUNTY ORGANIZATION
Marion did not obtain its identity as a county until December 23, 1826. When the United States, in 1803, bought the Louisiana Territory, what is now Marion was a part of the District of St. Charles. Governor Clark proclaimed St. Charles a county on December 14, 1818, and Marion continued to be part of St. Charles. Pike county was formed December 14, 1818, and Marion was included in it. When Ralls county was estab- lished November 16, 1820, Marion was embraced in it.
The Missouri legislature took the initiative on February 16, 1825, toward organizing Marion as a county. A law enacted by the assembly specified the boundaries of the new county to be formed from Ralls, and named it Marion. December 23, 1826, the legislature provided by law for the organization of Marion as a county, with Isaac Ely and Stephen Dodd, of Ralls county, and Charles C. Trabue, of Pike, as commissioners to select the seat of justice.
The first courts were to be held, as ordered by the organizing act, in the house of William Massie. But Massie had sold his property to Rich- ard Bruer in the interim, and the county court held its first session in Bruer's house, in Palmyra, March 26, 1827. Four justices, appointed by Governor John Miller, were present, qualified to act. They were Elijah Stapp, James F. Mahan, William J. McElroy and John Longmire. Judge Stapp was chosen to preside. Joshua Gentry presented his commission from the governor as first sheriff, and Theodore Jones his credentials as first county clerk.
The court desired a larger place than Bruer's, and inquiry disclosed that the room best adapted for the conduct of judicial business was in the tavern of Abraham Frye. The court adjourned to the inn. There
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Daniel Hendricks presented his documents as fifth judge, and the court formulated rules of procedure. The first bill, for $20, was for blank books for the office of Circuit Clerk Richard Bruer.
ROAD BUILDING
It is highly significant that the first important work which engaged the deliberations of the court was the construction of good roads, so as to provide highways between the principal settlements of the county and to put Marion into comparatively easy communication with the neigh- boring counties. Action by the court resulted in the building of the fol- lowing seven roads: From Palmyra to the Boon's Lick settlement in Howard county; from a point in Wyaconda prairie to Wyaconda creek, and thence along the foot of the bluff to township 61, in Lewis county ; from Hannibal to Muldrow's Lick, or Trabue's Lick, in Ralls county ; from the crossing of the North Fabius to the Mississippi, opposite Quincy, Illinois; from Hannibal to John Thrasher's place on the Palmyra road; from the Palmyra-New London state road to the Feazle and Bruer lands, north of Rush Hill, and from Palmyra to intersect the northern state road, so as to cross North Two rivers.
OFFICERS IN EARLY DAYS
Joshua Gentry was appointed tax collector. At the second day's ses- sion six licenses were issued for selling merchandise, six for retail liquor stores, and one for peddling. Fifty per cent was added to the state tax to produce funds for the county.
The next important business of the court was the formation of three townships on March 27, 1827. The first officers of Fabius township were : School land commissioners John Gash, Joseph Trotter and William Muldrow; constable-Jacob Mathews; patrols-John Lear, Dabney . Bowles and Henry Mathews. In February, 1828, the Moses D. Bates house, occupied by William and Hugh Anderson, was selected for holding elections, and Eli Merrill, James B. Riland and Joseph Trotter were ap- pointed judges.
The first officers of Liberty township were: School land commissioners -Benjamin Thomas, John D. Gash and George McDaniels; constable- Lewis Vanlandingham; patrols-Daniel Bradley, Marshall Kelly and Samuel Morton. In February, 1828, the house of George C. Parker was selected as a polling place, and Benjamin Thomas, Andrew Muldrow and George C. Parker were appointed judges.
The first officers of Mason township were: School land commissioners -Edward Whaley, Moses D. Bates and William Ritchie; constable- Thomas McLean; patrols-John McReynolds, John S. Strode and Lewis Gillaspy. The house or tavern of J. W. Brasher, in Hannibal, was se- lected as the polling place, and Daniel Hendricks, John Thrasher and Edward Whaley were appointed election judges.
The county seat was designated by the three commissioners, Isaac Ely, Stephen Dodd and Charles C. Trabue, who reported to the court on June 18, 1827, that they had selected fifty acres from land belonging to Moses D. Bates and David G. Bates, adjoining the north side of the then town of Palmyra and one block, 21, in town. The court approved the choice on November 26, 1827, and Obadiah Dickerson was appointed county seat commissioner.
The circuit court held its first session at the house of Richard Bruer, in Palmyra, February 19, 1827. Nathaniel Beverly Tucker was the first circuit judge; Ezra Hunt, circuit attorney; Richard Bruer, clerk pro
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tem, and Joshua Gentry, sheriff. Ezra Hunt and William Smith were admitted to practice as attorneys.
A seal of the court was adopted: "Device-A mounted dragoon offi- cer; legend-In large black letters, the word Marion."
EARLY COURT PROCEEDINGS
At the June term C. B. Rouse, William C. Young and John C. Naylor were admitted to practice as attorneys. The court validated the title of Moses D. Bates and David G. Bates to the town site of Palmyra. At the October term a grand jury was chosen, and Marshall Kelly was fore- man. The first civil suit was filed, Richard H. Newell vs. Moses D. Bates, two cases of debt and damage, each for $6,000. The cases were transferred to Ralls county. Two cases were disposed of: George Mc- Daniel, assignee of Joseph Gash, Jr., v. Martin Gash, Sr., judgment by default for $177.60, and Thomas Newell V. George McDaniel, issue joined. October 28, the first criminal case was called-James Whaley fined $1 and costs for assault and battery.
The first grand jury was impaneled in Marion county, at the June term, 1827, on the following venire: Edward Whaley, foreman; William McReynolds, Elijah Rice, Hugh Henry, William Lander, Ezekiel Parish, Richard W. Jones, Clement White, William McRae, Jasper Lewis, John Podman, Zachariah Feagan, Burdett Sams, Joseph Culbertson, William M. Lewis, William Garner and Benjamin Thomas.
Judge J. F. Mahan, in March, 1827, rented two rooms in Richard Bruer's house, in Palmyra, for holding court, at a rental of $2 a day. County Collector Joshua Gentry reported taxes for 1827 amounting to $272.25.
Arrangements for building the court house interested the court and the people in 1828. Preparations went forward all year, until October, when the court appropriated $4,000 for the main edifice and jail. Judge James F. Mahan protested against the acceptance of block 21, donated by the town site company, declaring that the land belonged to the United States and no authority but the Federal could invest the county with a valid title. His opinion was weighty, and the court delayed the project until a title could be guaranteed. In August, 1830, Robert L. Samuel submitted to the court a petition from citizens for the construction of the court house on block 21, and with the petition he tendered a bond for $10,- 000 to protect the county from any loss on account of the title. The bond was signed by Obadiah Dickerson, Chris Kieser, Edmond Rutter, Wil- liam Blakey, Thomas P. Ross, Thomas A. Young, James C. Hawkins and William Carson.
The bond satisfied with the court, and orders were given to start the work. Samuel C. Reed was appointed superintendent of public build- ings, and he was instructed to submit to the court plans for the building. Reed contracted, in October, with John D. White, of Ralls county, for the brick work at $1,649. Certain changes brought the cost of the brick work up to $1,750. The building was completed in February, 1835. It occu- pied practically the same site as the present courthouse.
Marion held its first elections in 1828. The county had somewhat more than 2,409 inhabitants then, and of course the vote was small. At the elections in 1828 there was no voting in Fabius township. Jackson carried Marion county against John Quincy Adams.
Palmyra was incorporated at the August term of court, 1830, as a - town, by Daniel Bradley and others. The first board of trustees in- cluded Samuel C. Reed, Robert L. Samuel, Abraham Huntsberry, Wil- liam M. Lewis and William Carman.
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THE BLACK HAWK WAR
Marion heard the rumblings of war in 1832. Black Hawk, the Sac Indian chieftain, had disturbed the North with his activities, and it was feared by Governor Miller that attacks might be made on settlements in the extreme northern parts of Missouri. Preparations for defense were made. Major-General Richard Gentry, of Columbia, was empowered to raise 1,000 volunteers. Gentry ordered Brigadier-General Benjamin Means to raise 400, Brigadier-General Jonathan Riggs, 300, and Brig- adier-General Jesse T. Wood, 300. Means, of Palmyra, was in command of the seventh brigade of the seventh division of the militia, but the Marion county companies were under Gentry, who was in command of the third division.
Subsequently a mounted battalion from Pike and Ralls county was assigned to Means' command, one of the companies being from Pike, the other from Ralls. They were ordered to elect a major upon assembling at Palmyra. James Culbertson, the Ralls nominee, received the greater number of votes, but the Pike contingent declined to recognize him. Trouble brewed and for a while it looked as if there would be war at the rendezvous. Means averted a battle by threatening court martial against the captains, and he announced that there would be no major and no battalion.
The companies were separated. The Ralls company was sent to Schuy- ler county to defend that section of Missouri, and at a point eight miles from the Chariton river they erected Fort Matson, named after their captain. The Pike company built a fort ten miles from the mouth of the Des Moines river, in Lewis county, and called it Fort. Pike.
Two companies of mounted volunteers, under command of Captain David M. Hickman, of Boone, and Captain John Jamison, of Calloway, were detailed by Governor Miller to relieve the Pike and Ralls forces. At Palmyra there arose a misunderstanding between Governor Miller and General Means. Means, who was subsequently court martialed, was acquitted. Gentry approved the acquittal.
The capture of Black Hawk terminated the disturbance, and the vol- unteers returned to their homes.
In 1832 Marion county rejoiced in the publication of the first news- paper, the Missouri Courier, issued in Palmyra by Stewart and Ange- vine.
Asiatic cholera broke out in 1833, again in 1835, and again in 1849. The most deaths occurred in Hannibal and Palmyra. . The ravages of the disease were terrible, and the people were almost overwhelmed with dread.
RIVER NAVIGATION
Modern progress owes most to the facilities of transportation. The crude and antique cart which our forefathers employed in their humi- nations and journeys may not be classed as a convenience; it was simply a means for moving purposes. That quaint type of wagon, which enacted a highly important role in the settlement of the West, must not be rid- iculed, though it made no pretentions to beauty or comfort.
The great waterways-the Mississippi, the Ohio and the Missouri- being the best and safest highways, carried most of the traffic in the . early days. With the rivers available for pirogues, canoes, barges, steamboats and all sorts of craft, the pioneers and adventurers had only to launch forth and row or drift to the port of hope. And from the very, first day of exploration and settlement, commerce felt vigorous impulse from the facilities of transportation offered by the marine routes.
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The steamboat era dates from 1809, when Fulton launched the Cler- mont in the Hudson. The New Orleans, the first Western steamer, was put into commission at Pittsburg in 1811. In the early days steamboats plied between St. Louis and Hannibal, and some vessels came to Hanni- bal from Pittsburg. In the heyday of William Muldrow and his fleeting town, Marion City, many Ohio river boats came to Marion county.
Hannibal was the leading port in Missouri, north of St. Louis, and the steamboats made it an influential mercantile center. Until the rail- roads offered more rapid transit, and provided more satisfactory ac- commodations, the steamboats handled the traffic.
Keel boats were popular until 1830, and in 1821 Moses D. Bates was building them in Hannibal. The General Putnam was the first commer- cial steamer to land in Hannibal.
River navigation will win back much of its former greatness. The Mississippi will again be a highway for commerce. There will be a great water route for freight, with the Mississippi as the main artery. Transportation by water is necessary, both to regulate freight rates and to convey tonnage which boats may haul better than railroads. The time is approaching fast when all the towns on the Mississippi will prac- tically be seaports, with direct routes to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic and Pacific. The restoration of water transportation for freight purposes is not a visionary hope, but a material promise based on new conditions and requirements.
RAILROADS
Marion county has been an exemplar with regard to railroads. It has led the way for development in Missouri, and its pioneer citizens and statesmen forecast the commercial tendencies and fluctuations of the present day, as well as of years yet to come. Is it not amazing that the great importance of the Oriental trade should have been foreseen clearly by the men who cut down the wilderness and founded towns in swamps! The confirmation of their visions, which may have appeared absurd to many, is only another proof that advancement, especially in commerce, is based on substantial promise and can be read by the expert.
The first railroad construction in Missouri was done in Marion county. The first railroad to cross Missouri was a Marion county enterprise, and the first train that ever ran from the Mississippi to the Missouri, in this state, was operated over that road. The first extraordinary movement for stupendous railroad development in the Mississippi Valley had its beginning with a memorable convention in Hannibal.
William Muldrow, who has been immortalized under another name by Mark Twain, was founding, in the early thirties, several of the greatest cities in the world in Marion county, and the world's leading metropolis was to be Marion City. The builders of Marion City projected a line from Marion City to Philadelphia, with a branch to Palmyra and Ely City, which would extend into Shelby county and the far West. The ultimate plan was to prolong the road to the Pacific coast, so that Marion City and Ely City would be able to command the bulk of the Oriental trade.
Unfortunately, perhaps, the venture was not realized as contemplated and Marion City failed to dominate the commerce of the Orient. But the first survey and grade for a Missouri railroad were made on Railroad street in Marion City in 1835 and continued across the valley and over the hills to Palmyra.
The Palmyra & Marion City Railway was projected in 1847, with Stanton Buckner as president; James F. Mahan, treasurer, and Joseph G. Easton, secretary. The construction contract was awarded to J. W.
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Shepherd. Considerable work was done on the line, but the road was abandoned when overshadowed by the project for the Hannibal & St. Joseph.
When ground was broken in Hannibal in 1853 for the Hannibal & St. Joseph there was great rejoicing. St. Louis organizations, military and mercantile, assisted in the demonstration. The first train of cars was run between Hannibal and Palmyra about June 10, 1856, and passenger ser- vice between the cities was started in July. The first through passenger train between St. Joseph and Hannibal was operated February 14, 1859, and this was the first regular train to cross Missouri. The event was celebrated in St. Joseph, and Marion county was prominently represent- ed, taking a conspicuous part in the ceremonies. The Quincy & Palmyra, which, like the Hannibal & St. Joseph, was absorbed by the Burlington System, was completed about April 1, 1860. The Hannibal & Naples, now part of the Wabash, was launched in 1857, but was completed after the Civil war. The Hannibal & Central Missouri, now a part of the Mis- souri, Kansas & Texas, was organized March 23, 1867. The St. Louis & Hannibal was projected as the St. Louis, Hannibal & Keokuk; it is one of the best short lines in the West, although built in the early '70s. The Hannibal bridge, providing an entrance from the East, was built in 1870-71. The St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern, part of the Burlington System, is a merger of the Mississippi Valley & Western and other small lines, projected mostly in the early '70s.
Hannibal was foremost in the movement to build the St. Louis-Keo- kuk line, and June 13, 1855, one of the most important railroad conven- tions ever held took place in the city. Delegates assembled from St. Louis, St. Charles, Lincoln, Pike, Ralls, Marion, Shelby and Lewis coun- ties, Missouri, and Lee and Keokuk, Iowa, in Hannibal to arrange for the building of the Mississippi Valley Railroad. The convention lasted two days.
Marion has the transportation facilities and the commercial adjuncts of a great trading center. It has the Mississippi river, which is sure to be a traffic artery, carrying vessels direct into the sea. A transporta- tion corporation located at Hannibal is operating barges which transport some of the cement that is used to build the Panama Canal and large quantities in Southern states and this utilization of the river is only be- ginning. Soon Hannibal will be really a seaport.
The Marion county railroads connect the cities and towns, by good, short lines, with St. Louis, Chicago, New York, Pittsburg, New Orleans, Kansas City, St. Joseph, San Francisco, Minneapolis and St. Paul.
In considering the commercial prospects of Marion county, the con- veniences for manufacture must also be taken into account. For build- ing purposes the resources of the Hannibal hills are practically inexhaust- ible. The completion of the water-power transmission line, in May, 1913, from Keokuk to St. Louis, will give Hannibal and other cities in Marion county exceptionally cheap power. There will be, therefore, additional inducements for the location of new factories here.
THE CIVIL WAR
The Civil war is a record of history, and a few words, to indicate what Marion county did in it, should suffice. Nearly all the pioneers and early settlers had come from the South, and it was natural that they should be in sympathy with the South. With the arrival of settlers from Pennsylvania, Ohio and other states in 1836, an anti-abolition sen- timent was fostered and the attempt to give the action a conspicuous as- pect caused trouble. The founders of Marion City, Muldrow, Ely and
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their associates, were behind the move, and Marion College was looked upon as its seat. The first settlers had slaves, but it is recorded, even in 1836, that freedom had been granted in some cases and the masters had provided for their care. The activity of the anti-abolitionists resulted seriously in several instances. In 1847 a branch of the American Coloni- zation Society was organized. Old reports show that the slaves were valued at $250 to $1,000 each. The agitation concerning abolition per- sisted until the beginning of the war.
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