USA > Missouri > Cooper County > A history of Cooper County, Missouri, from the first visit by white men in February, 1804, to the fifth day of July, 1876 > Part 4
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A few days afterwards, Joseph Stephens moved, with his family, to the farm which he had bought about, one-quarter of a mile north of the present site of Bunceton. About Christmas, in the same year, Samuel Cole rode up to Joseph Stephens' camp, and Mrs. Stephens asked him to alight and take dinner. He asked her whether she had any honey, and she told him she had not. He said he could not eat without honey. And although she insistedthat he should remain, he still refused. In the meantime, Larry and Joseph, two of her sons, and a negro man named Basil, came up to the camp carrying their axes, as they had been cutting wood. Samuel turned to them, and told them to go with him and get some honey for dinner. They at first, supposing him to be joking, refused to go. But as he still insisted, they consented. After going some two hun- dred yards east of the camp, Samuel suddenly stopped, and pointing to a tree, told them to cut it down. The others not seeing anything about the tree that would induce any- one to think that it contained honey, yet willing to accom- modate company, cut it down, and it was found filled with nice honey. While they were cutting down this tree, Sam-
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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
uel found another a short distance away, and having cut down this one also, they returned home with six buckets of fine honey, having taken nothing but the clear part. Be- fore he left, Samuel taught them the way in which he found the trees. He told them, that if they would examine the ground around the tree, they would find small pieces of bee- bread, and occasionally a dead bee. This was an infalli- ble sign of a bee tree. They afterwards, following his direction, searched and found, in a small space, thirteen trees which were filled with honey; and as they had no sugar, this was a great help to them. They sometimes had as much as four hundred pounds of honey on hand at one time.
In the year 1818, Joseph Stevens, who died in 1836, Major Stephen Cole and Wm. Ross, the hatter, started west on a hunting and exploring tour, and traveled as far as the present site of Knob Noster. At that time, all the country west of the present boundary line of Cooper county, was a wilderness, no person living in it. About six miles southeast of the present site of Sedalia, in Pettis county, on the farm now owned by a man by the name of Warren, near Flat Creek, they discovered what appeared to be a large, high and peculiarly shaped Indian mound. They examined it pretty closely, and found on one side that the wolves had scratched an opening into it. After enlarging it, so as to admit them, they beheld a remarkable sight. They found themselves in what resembled a room, about eight feet square, with a ceiling of logs, just high enough to permit a tall man to stand erect. On the side opposite where they had entered, sat an officer dressed in full mili- tary uniform, with gold epaulettes upon his shoulders, gold lace fringing every seam of his coat, cocked military hat, knee breeches, lace stockings and morocco slippers. As he sat erect upon a seat hewed out of a log, nothing but the
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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
ghastly hue and leathery appearance of his skin would have suggested but that he was alive. By his side stood a heavy gold-headed cane. His features were complete, and his flesh free from decay, though dried to the consistency of leather. The place in which the body was found, was very peculiar. A place about eight feet square and two feet deep had been dug in the earth. The sides had been walled up with sod, until it was high enough for the purpose, reach- ing several feet above the surface of the ground. The top was then covered with poles, which ran up to a point in the center like the roof of a house. Then the poles and the surrounding walls were covered with sod two or three feet deep, cut from the prairie near by, thus excluding entirely the rain and air. When they left the place, William Ross, being the oldest man of the party, took the cane as a me- mento, but nothing else was touched.
Who this officer was, from whence he came, what he was doing in this part of the country, what was the cause of his death, and when and by whom he was thus singularly entombed, has not, and perhaps never will be known. But he was supposed, by many, to have been a British officer, who, during the war of 1812, passed around by way of Canada into the Indian country, to incite the In- dians against the whites ; yet this is only conjecture, though those who discovered his body, account for him in that way.
Soon after this, Joseph Stephens, Sr., now living near Petersburg, on the O. V. & S. K. Railroad, in company with James D. Campbell, went into that part of the country bee hunting, and visited the burial place of this officer. They found that part of the roof had fallen in, and that the wolves had eaten all of the flesh off the body, so that nothing but the skeleton and clothes remained. Joseph Stephens took the epaulettes, as a memento, but nothing else was disturbed. As his mother objected to his keeping the
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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
epaulettes, he melted them into a large ball, which was worth fifteen or twenty dollars, as it was solid gold. This descrip- tion of the burial place, &c., was obtained from the last mentioned Joseph Stephens, and is correct, although sev- eral different accounts have been published.
The first newspaper published within the present limits of Howard county, was established at Old Franklin, by a gentleman by the name of Nathaniel Patten, in April 1819. This newspaper was called the Missouri Intelligencer.
ORGANIZATION OF COOPER COUNTY.
CHAPTER V.
Cooper County Organized .- Its Boundaries .- Present Counties Included in Cooper at the Time of Its Organization .- Seat of Justice Located at Boonville, and Courts to be Held There. The First Court in New County, and its Proceedings .- Proceedings of the Court at the July and November Terms, 1819, and March Term, 1820.
COOPER COUNTY was organized on the 17th day of De- cember, 1818, comprising all that part of what had been Howard county, lying south of the Missouri river.
It was bounded on the north by the Missouri river, on the east and south by the Osage river, and on the west by what was then called the Territorial line.
At the time of its organization, it included the Territory now embraced in the whole of the counties of Cooper, Saline, Lafayette, Jackson, Cass, Henry, Johnson, Pettis, Morgan, Moniteau and Cole ; and part of the counties of Bates, St. Clair, Benton, Camden and Miller ; eleven whole counties and part of five others.
The act under which Cooper county was organized, located the seat of justice at the town of Boonville. This place was designated as the place for holding court, by the act under which the county was organized, which was adopted by the Legislature, and approved during the year 1818, and entitled an "act establishing a part of Howard county into a separate county, by the name of Cooper." The commissioners to locate the county seat, appointed by the Legislature, were Abel Owens, William Wear, Charles Canale, Luke Williams and Julius Emmons.
49
HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
The first court in the newly organized county of Cooper, was held in the present limits of the City of Boonville, on the first day of March, 1819. It was held at the boarding house of Wm. Bartlett, which was situated on the flat just east of the mouth of Rupe's Branch, near the present site of the "Boonville Furniture Factory." This court, under the Territorial laws of Missouri, exercised the present duties of the County, Probate and Circuit Courts. The duties of these three courts continued to be exercised by this one court until the year 1821, when the duties of the Probate and County Courts were separated from those of the Circuit Court, and a new court, called the "County Court," was organized.
As it was to be supposed that every one would be inter- ested in reading of the actions of the first court, and to compare the mode of procedure with that of the courts of the present day, it has been thought advisable, as being of great interest to the general reader, to insert, at this place, the full proceedings of this first court held in Cooper county after it was organized.
The following are the full proceedings, as appears from the record of the court :
The officers of this first court were, David Todd, Judge ; R. P. Clark, Clerk ; William McFarland, Sheriff, and John S. Brickey, Prosecuting Attorney.
The grand jury at this term of the court were, Samuel Peters, foreman ; Muke Rose, John Savage, James Cham- bers, Britton Williams, John Roberts, Carroll George, John Davis, James Savage, Clayton Hurt, Joseph Smith, William Gibson, Eli N. Henry, Frederick Houx, Thomas Twenty- man, William Noland and Delany Bolin ; John Cathey, Zepheniah Bell, Henry Guyer, George Cathey, Daniel Du- gan and James Campbell, were summoned on the same jury, but did not appear ; process was ordered to be issued, for them to show cause why they should not be fined for their non-appearance.
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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
The commissions of David Todd, as Judge ; of William McFarland as Sheriff, and of John S. Brickey, as Prose- cuting Attorney, were recorded by the Clerk.
The above named grand jury, after having been sworn, retired and returned into court, when, having nothing to present, they were discharged.
The next day, March 2nd, 1819, the following proceed- ings were had by the court :
By order of the court, the whole of the county of Cooper was divided into the following five townships : Moreau, Lamine, including all of the present county of Cooper, Arrow Rock, Miami and Tebo.
The following judges of election were appointed, viz :
For Moreau Township .- Wm. Wear, John Verian and John Alexander.
For Lamine Township .- James Bruffee, Robert Wallace and Benjamin F. Hickox.
For Arrow Rock Township .- William Lillard, Benjamin Chambers and James Anderson.
For Miami Township .- John B. Thomas, Joel Estes and - John Evans.
For Tebo Township .- Julius Emmons, Gilliard Ruppe and Abel Owens.
The election, at which the foregoing men were to act as judges, was ordered to be held at the following places in each township : at the house of William Bartlett, in Lamine township ; at the house of William Cooper, in Arrow Rock township ; at the house of Andrew Rupels, in Miami town- ship ; at the house of Paul Whitley, in Moreau township, and at the house of Mathew Coxes, in Tebo township.
The following constables were appointed : of Moreau township, Paul Whitley ; of Lamine township, John Potter ; of Arrow Rock township, Jacob Ish ; of Miami township, Elisha Evans ; and of Tebo township, Green Macafferty.
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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
Stephen Turley was granted a license to keep a ferry across the Lamine river.
B. W. Levens, Ward and Parker, and George W. Kerr, were granted a license to keep a ferry across the Missouri river, at the present site of Overton.
The following were the rates fixed, by the court, to be charged at B. W. Levens' ferry, viz :
For man and horse, fifty cents; for either, twenty-five cents ; for horses and four wheeled wagon, two dollars ; for two horses and four wheeled carriage, one dollar ; for horned cattle, four cents each ; and for meat cattle, two cents each.
William Curtis was appointed under-sheriff of Cooper county.
The first petition for a public road, was presented on this day, by B. W. Levens. It asked for the location of a road leading from Boonville to the mouth of Moniteau Creek. The court appointed Richard Stanford, David Trotter, Wil- liam George and Benjamin Clark, commissioners, to re- view the road, as asked for, and report to the court their opinion as to the location, &c., of the same.
Bird Lockhart and George Tompkins, who were ap pointed to examine as to the qualifications of candidates for the office of county surveyor, having filed their report, the court recommended Wm. Róss to the governor, as a fit sub- ject for said appointment.
The next petition for the location of a public road, was filed by Anderson Reavis on the same day. The road petitioned for, ran from the mouth of the Grand Moniteau to the Boonville and Potosi road. The commissioners ap- pointed to review this road, were Francis Travis, Wm. Lewis and John Savage.
John Potter filed his bond as constable of Lamine town- ship, in the sum of $1,000, with Asa Morgan and . William Ross as his securities.
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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
James Bruffee, Benjamin F. Hickox and Robert Wallace were appointed commissioners to superintend the building of the court house.
The court then adjourned until the regular July term.
JULY TERM, 1819.
Monday, July 5th, 1819. The first indictment by the grand jury in Cooper county, was presented on this day. Stanley G. Morgan being then indicted for assault and battery. It then being the law that every offense, however trivial, should be tried by indictment before the Circuit Court.
R. P. Clark, this day, produced his commission as clerk of the Circuit Court of Cooper county ; also Peyton R. Hayden was admitted to the bar, as an attorney and coun- sellor at law.
John Cathey, Henry Guyer, George Cathey and Zephe- niah Bell, against whom process was issued at the March term, were each fined one dollar and costs, for contempt of court, for not appearing as grand jurors at the said term, after having been summoned as such.
The first civil suit on record, was an action for debt, brought by George Wilcox against R. P. Clark and Sam- uel S. Williams, which is entered among the proceedings of this day.
Tuesday, July 6th, 1819 .- Jesse McFarland appeared before the court, and took the oath of office as county sur- veyor. William Bartlett was granted a license to keep a tavern near the mouth of Rupe's Branch, in Boonville.
Wednesday, July 7th, 1819 .- Stephen Cole appointed deputy county surveyor of Cooper county.
The first account presented against Cooper county was allowed on this day. It was an account of William Bart- lett, for six dollars for the rent of his house, it having been
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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
used by the court as a court house. On the same day, four men were fined, by a jury of twelve men, five dollars each, for gambling ..
Thursday, July 8th, 1819 .- Asa Morgan was granted a license to keep a ferry across the Missouri river at Boon- ville.
' November Term, 1819 .- Andrew S. McGirk was en- rolled as an attorney and counsellor at law. James Wil- liams was granted a license to keep a ferry across the Osage river, on the road from Boonville to Potosi.
March Term, 1820 .- The following men were indicted by the grand jury for swearing, viz : Jesse Mann, Isaac Renfro, William Warden, William Bryant, Thomas Brown, Stephen Tate, John S. Moreland and David Fine. These indictments were afterwards dismissed by the court for want of jurisdiction.
On the 6th day of March, 1820, Abiel Leonard produced his license, and was admitted to the bar ; also January 23d, 182I, Hamilton R. Gamble was admitted to the bar.
The following is a list of the attorneys who at this time were enrolled and practicing in this court :
George Tompkins, John S. Brickey, Peyton R. Hayden, Cyrus Edwards, John S. Mitchell, Hamilton R. Gamble, Andrew McGirk, Robert McGavock, Abiel Leonard, John F. Ryland, Arinstedd A. Grundy, Dabney Carr, William J. Redd and John Payne. Among these we find the names of many who afterwards occupied offices of trust in the State of Missouri. Indeed, all of them are noted as being fine lawyers and honorable men.
The following is a copy of the record of the first verdict rendered by a jury in Cooper county. It is taken from the proceedings of the November term, 1819 :
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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
UNITED STATES, Plaintiff,
VS.
STANLEY G. MORGAN, Defendant.
This day comes as well the defendant, in discharge of his recognizance, as the prosecuting attorney. Whereupon, the said defendant, being arraigned upon the indictment in this cause, plead not guilty, and, for his trial, put himself upon God and his country, and the circuit attorney also. Whereupon came a jury, viz : Wm. Burk, William Black, Gabriel Fitsworth, Michael Hornbeck, Nicholas Houx, William Reed, Alexander Dickson, David Reavis, Fred- erick Houx, David McGee and Samuel Peters, who, being elected, tried and sworn, the truth to say, as and upon the issue joined, upon their oaths do say, that the defendant is guilty of assault and battery, whereof he is indicted. Whereupon it is considered by the court, that the said defendant make by the payment of the sum of five dollars and pay the costs hereof, and may be taken, &c.
There was, as shown by the records, but four peddlers and six merchants within the limits of the county of Cooper, during the year 1819.
The total amount of county revenue, on the tax book for 1819, as charged to William Curtis, sheriff, at the July term of this court, was $488.34.
All these terms of court were held at William Bartlett's boarding house, called on the records, the "Tavern of Boonville."
There is embraced in the foregoing, the full proceedings. only of the court held on the first and second days of March. 1819; extracts only being made from the other terms of the court referred to, of those proceedings each day which were supposed would be of most interest to the general reader. The proceedings of the court held March Ist, 1819, cover only seventeen pages of a very small record
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Which have been purchased at the Lowest Cash Prices, and will be sold accordingly. Satisfaction guaranteed in quality and price. Goods delivered Free of Charge. All kinds of Country Produce Bought and Sold.
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BOONVILLE, MO.
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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
book ; for July term, forty-one pages, and for the Novem- ber term, thirty-three pages. The proceedings of the Cir- cuit Court, alone, for the April term, 1876, covers eighty- four pages of the largest record made, which is equal to about 250 pages of record, such as was used for the first court. When it is taken into consideration, also, that the proceedings of the County and Probate Courts, now sepa- rate from the Circuit Court, were included in the record of the Circuit Court for 1819, it can easily be perceived what a vast increase has been made in this part of the business of the county.
,
HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
CHAPTER VI.
First County Court held in Cooper County, and the Proceedings of same .- First and Second Court Houses Built .- Three Attempts to Remove the County Seat from Boonville, and the Causes .- First Church Built in County .- First Baptism in County, and Involuntary Immersion of Jake Simons .- First Schools Taught in County .- Cele- bration on July 4th, 1820 .- The whole Revenue of the County not Sufficient to Support John V. Sharp, a Pauper, &c.
THE first County Court within the county of Cooper, was held on the eighth day of January, 1821, at the house of Robert P. Clark, on the lot where Adam Eckhard now resides, on High street, in the City of Boonville. This court exercised the powers, and performed the duties of the present County and Probate Courts, which had, previous to this time, been under the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court. The County Court continued to perform the duties of both County and Probate Courts, until the year 1847, when, by act of the Legislature, the Probate Court was separated from the County Court, and continues separate to the present time.
James Bruffee, James Miller and Archibald Kavanaugh were the justices of this court, appointed by James McNair, the then Governor of the Territory of Missouri. Robert P. Clark was appointed by the court as its Clerk, and Wm. Curtis, Sheriff.
And on the 9th day of April, 1821, Robert P. Clark produced his commission from the Governor as Clerk of the County Court, during life or good behavior. George Craw-
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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
ford was appointed Assessor, and Andrew Briscoe, Collector of Cooper County.
On the same day, the will of Thomas McMahan, de- ceased, was probated, it being the first will proven before this court and in this county. Also constables were ap- pointed for the different townships in the county, as follows : Boonville township, John Potter ; Lamine township, Bryant T. Nolan ; Moniteau township, Martin Jennings, and Clear Creek township, James C. Berry.
George C. Hart was appointed commissioner to run dividing line between Cooper and Saline counties ; and B. W. Levens, to run dividing line between Cooper and Cole counties.
The first court house was completed at Boonville, in the year 1823. Previous to that time, the court had either been held at the house of the clerk or at one of the boarding houses. But when Messrs. Morgan and Lucus laid out the town, they donated fifty acres to the county, on condi- tion that the commissioners would locate the county seat at Boonville. As soon as the county seat had been located at Boonville, and part of this land sold by the county, the county court commenced the building of a court house, which was located on the land donated to the county, and in which they could hold court, and also have the offices of the different clerks. It was a small two story brick build- ing, pretty much the style of the present one, although much smaller. It was torn down at the time the present one was built, and some of the brick was used in the con- struction of the new house.
The present court house, which is situated on the same spot on which the old 'one was located, was completed in the year 1840. It is a large and commodious two story brick building, situated on a high piece of ground overlooking the river, from the cupalo of which an excellent view can
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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
be had of a part of Cooper and Howard counties. It is built upon the old style, and will very likely have to be soon replaced by a new one.
There have been three several attempts to remove the county seat from Boonville.
The first attempt was made in 1832, the second in 1838, and the third in 1842. The first two attempts were caused by some of the citizens wishing to remove the county seat to a more central portion of the county. But they have, it is unnecessary to relate, been unsuccessful, only resulting in creating an ill-feeling between the different portions of the county, which it took years to remove. The third was caused by the excitement resulting from the fight between the militia and an organization of the settlers, known as the "Fantastic Company," which will be more fully described hereafter.
Previous to the year 1817, there were no regular churches in Cooper County, but services were held, from time to time, either in the houses of the settlers, or whenever convenient, in some school house. But in that year the first church in the county was built. It was called "Concord Church," and was located about six miles south of the City of Boonville, near the present residence of John Crawford. Its denomi- nation was Baptist. The first minister who preached there. was Luke Williams, who was also the first regular preacher located in Cooper county.
It has always been stated and believed by many to be the fact, that Concord church was the first church built in Missouri, outside of St. Louis and St. Genevieve, but of the truth of this the authors are not informed, therefore they cannot vouch for same. But is certain, that there could have been but few churches then built in the State, and it is probable that they were all in those two cities, as no
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HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY.
neighborhoods in this part of the State were strong enough to be able to build one.
"Old Nebo Church," located about one-half of a mile north of the present site of Bunceton, near the residence of the late Judge L. C. Stephens, at the place where the Dub- lin school house now stands, was built in IS20. It was built by subscriptions from the settlers ; and as there was very little money in circulation in the country, each one contributed his share either in work or materials furnished. William Stevens and Joseph Stevens, Sr., now living near Bunceton, in this county, sawed all the planks for this church ; others furnished the shingles and logs ; and others still, assisted in putting up the house and other work about it. Its denomination was Baptist. The ministers, who, during the next few years, preached at this church, were Peter Woods, William Jennings, Jacob Chism, Luke Williams and John B. Longan.
This church was very prosperous until about 1826, when there arose a division in it, on account of the difference of sentiment on the question of paying ministers and sending missionaries among the heathen nations. After consider- able excitement, and several stormy meetings, the two fac- tions separated. John B. Longan, who was leader of the faction who favored paying the ministers and sending abroad missionaries, drew off a large majority of the members of the congregation, and built a church at Henry Woolery's mill, which was called "New Nebo Church." The oppos- ing faction continued in possession of "Old Nebo Church," and held service regularly in it.
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