USA > Missouri > Linn County > Compendium of history and biography of Linn County, Missouri > Part 11
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On December 21, 1898, the long-wished-for order came to embark, and the boys began to think that they were going to get a taste of real war; but they were doomed to disappointment, for the haughty manners
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of Spain had been trailed in the dust, and her navy swept from the high seas, before our boys were given a chance to display their valor in a single engagement.
The regiment was taken to Havanna, Cuba, in December of 1898, where it was held in reserve until it was proven beyond a question of a doubt that their services were not needed. It was then returned to the United States and duly mustered out at Savanna, Georgia, on May 10, 1899, having been in the service a little less than one year.
A beautiful Soldiers' Monument was unveiled at Brookfield in May, 1912. It occupies a commanding position, on a grassy plot in North Main street, between two picturesque parks.
The Brookfield Gazette of May 4 printed this sketch concerning the magnificent tribute to the soldier who went to battle for his country :
"In memory of the days of '61-'65, in honor of the men, living and dead, who fought under the folds of the flag of the great Republic, who periled life and limb that a nation might live, of the men who in their young and vigorous manhood toiled through long, weary marches, but who now sleep beneath that 'low, green tent whose curtain never outward swings,' or march with halting step or bended head to pay the last sad rites to a dead comrade or to strew flowers on the graves of comrades who have in the years that are past crossed over the river of death and pitched their tents on the other side.
"In memory of all these, and not forgetful of the gallant men in gray whom they met in the shock of battle, the patriotic people of Brookfield have builded the durable, beautiful and artistic monument that now ornaments the oval between east and west parks, from the summit of which the effigy of a volunteer soldier of the Civil War, carved in Italian marble, standing at 'parade rest,' looks down upon the busy scenes of the main street during the day and keeps watch and ward over the sleeping city at night.
"It is all a patriotic expression of a patriotic people, some of whom were in sympathy with the men who fought under the stars and bars, and who, feeling a just pride in the magnificent valor displayed by these grand men in gray, are yet glad that owing to the valor and sacrifices of the men in blue that this is today one country with one united people and under one flag.
"The monument is not only a credit but an ornament to Brookfield, and is, we believe, the only monument of the kind in Missouri."
The movement to erect the monument grew out of a suggestion on the part of the local Women's Relief Corps, the ladies' auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic, to replace the monument to the
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SOLDIERS' MONUMENT AT BROOKFIELD
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unknown dead, erected many years since in Rose Hill cemetery, by a more imposing structure.
In a conference between the local corps and the local Grand Army Post, it was suggested that a Soldiers' Monument Association be organized, contributions be solicited and a monument to the soldiers of the Civil War be built.
It was seriously doubted if a sufficient amount could be raised, but there were a few who expressed the utmost confidence that the patriotic people of Brookfield would respond liberally to the call.
A number of subscriptions were pledged at once. An association was organized, and officers and a board of directors were chosen, as follows: Henry Tooey, president; George W. Martin, vice-president ; Robert W. Davis, secretary, and E. M. Lomax, treasurer. Directors : Henry Tooey, Frank Dick, A. W. Baker, Will W. Martin, R. S. Brown- lee, R. W. Davis, J. C. Gardner, Mrs. Jennie Tuckerman and Mrs. F. P. Lacey.
E. M. Lomax was afterwards elected president to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry Tooey.
A soliciting committee was appointed, headed by the president of the association, Henry Tooey, and a sufficient fund was pledged in but a brief period to assure the success of the project. In this work the energy and zeal of the president of the association, the lamented Henry Tooey, always conspicuous in any and every good cause, was never more plainly demonstrated. He not only worked untiringly himself, but brought out good work on the part of others, and the Soldiers" Monument as it stands today between the parks is also a monument to the patriotism, zeal and energy of that splendid citizen, Henry Tooey, who will long be remembered by the people of Brookfield, not only on account of his zeal or his energy in work for the best interests of Brookfield, but on account of a warm heart that promptly responded to the call of distress on the part of any and every human being.
The monument is of Barre granite, the figure of the soldier of Italian marble, the base nine feet four inches by nine feet four inches, artistically tapering to the summit, and, with the figure of the soldier, is twenty-two feet six inches in height. The cost, not including the foundation which was put in by the city at an expense of $105, was $1,620.
D. L. Williams, the Linneus monument dealer, was the local con- tractor and A. Fraser & Co., of Mansfield, Ohio, the builders. It is constructed in strict compliance in every respect, in material, in work-
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manship, in artistic design, with the contract. The board of directors were unanimous in their approval.
Stewart Marsh, with his trained force, moved the massive blocks from the freight house to the park and set up the monument. It was his first experience in handling such heavy weights, but he went to work like a veteran, without hesitation and without doubt, and did the work as well as though he had been setting up towering monuments all his life.
Brookfield has a monument of which our people may well be proud, and in one hundred years from now, unless removed by the hand of man, it will be standing where it stands now, as artistic and as complete as it is today.
CHAPTER IX
Railroads of Linn County-The First Campaign Inspired by Exorbi- tant Steamboat Rates-Railroad Convention at Chillicothe in 1847 -Linn County's Delegates-First Great Disaster on Hannibal & St. Joe Road-The Bushwhacker-General Grant as a Protector of the Road-W. C. Brown-S. E. Crance-J. W. Mulhern-Tom Beeler, Pioneer Operator-P. H. Houlahan-I. N. Wilber on War- Time Railroading-How the Engines Were Named-The Burling- ton & Southwestern-John McCartney-Thirty Years an Engineer -When Thayer was the Division Town-Bishop Hogan-George H. Davis-The Pony Express-First Officials of the "Joe"-First Run of the "Eli"-Marceline and the Santa Fe-First Double Track in Missouri-General Notes.
In its issue of November 6, 1846, the St. Joseph Gazette sounded the note that announced the dawn of the railroad era in northern Missouri :
"Our country is destined to suffer much, and is now suffering, from the difficulty of navigation and the extremely high rates the boats now charge. Our farmers may calculate that they will get much less for produce and will be compelled to pay much more for their goods than heretofore, and this will certainly always be the case when the Missouri river shall be as low as it now is. The chances are fearfully against having any considerable work bestowed in improving the river, and until it is improved by artificial means the navigation of it to this point must always be dangerous and very uncertain.
"We suggest the propriety of a railroad from St. Joseph to some point on the Mississippi-either St. Louis, Hannibal or Quincy. For ourselves, we like the idea of a railroad to one of the latter places suggested, for this course would place us nearer to the eastern cities and would make our road thither a direct one; we like this road, too, because it would so much relieve the intermediate country, which is now suffering and must always suffer so much for transportation facilities in the absence of such an enterprise."
The writer of the above was a prophet. The agitation thus begun
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bore early fruit. Prominent men were interested all the way across the state, and "An Act to Incorporate the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad Company" was passed by the General Assembly and approved by the governor February 16, 1847. The stockholders named were: Joseph Robidoux, John Corby and Robert J. Boyd, of St. Jo- seph; Samuel J. Harrison, Zachariah G. Draper and Erasmus M. Moffet, of Hannibal; Alexander McMurty, Shelby county; George A. Shortridge and Thomas Sharp, Macon county; Westley Halliburton, Linn county ; John Graves, Livingston county ; Robert Wilson, Daviess county, and George W. Smith, Caldwell county.
The capital stock was $2,000,000, divided into 20,000 shares of $100 each.
A railroad convention was held at Chillicothe on June 2, 1847, attended by delegates from all the counties through which the Hannibal & St. Joseph road was to pass. The delegates from Linn country were W. B. Woodruff, Joseph C. Moore, James Lintell, John J. Flora, Jere- miah Phillips and W. Halliburton.
The main subject for discussion was the procurement of means to build the road. A committee consisting of one member from each county was appointed to draft a plan. W. B. Woodruff was the com- mitteeman from Linn county.
The committee reported the following method for finding the wherewithal :
"1. A liberal subscription by the citizens of the state to the capital stock of said company.
"2. That congress be petitioned for a grant of alternate sections of all vacant land ten miles on each side of said road, when located.
"3. That the company procure a subscription to the stock by eastern capitalists, and, should the foregoing means prove inadequate, we recommend that the legislature pass an act authorizing the company to issue bonds, to be indorsed by the governor or secretary of state for the residue; the company to give a mortgage on the whole work to the state for the liquidation of the bonds."
When the convention reassembled the next day Judge King, of Ray county, offered the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted :
"That whereas this convention has adopted a resolution author- izing a memorial to congress for donation of alternate sections of land to aid in the construction of the contemplated railroad, also authorizing a memorial to the legislature for such aid in the undertaking as can be afforded consistently with the rights of other portions of the state;
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therefore, we, the delegates, pledge ourselves to support no man for congress who will not pledge himself to the support of the proposition aforesaid, nor will we support any man for governor, lieutenant- governor or member of the legislature who will not pledge himself to give such aid in the construction of the said railroad as may be consistent with the rights of other portions of the state as contemplated by the resolution aforesaid."
It appears the convention was not very sanguine of an early opera- tion of the railroad, as the following resolution relative to a stage route, offered by Mr. Sharp of Macon, was adopted :
"WHEREAS, It is not only extremely important to the agricultural and commercial interests of the immediate country that a good wagon road be opened from St. Joseph to Hannibal, but the United States mail stages cannot be put in motion on said route until said road shall be opened; and
"WHEREAS, It is of the utmost importance, as well to the whole intermediate country as to the two extremes, that mail facilities be speedily obtained in stages through said country; therefore
"Resolved by the Convention, That it be recommended to each county through which said road may pass, immediately to open, bridge, and put in good repair the said road, in order that mail stages may be immediately started, according to the act of congress establishing said route."
An amendment to the section relative to the grant from congress, offered by Mr. Tarr, was adopted, as follows:
"Also to petition congress that, should any of the alternate sec- tions on the road, or within six miles on either side thereof, be sold at any time subsequent to the sixteenth day of February, 1847, and before the action of congress in relation to these lands, other lands be granted as nearly contiguous as possible in lieu thereof."
Committees were appointed to address the people of northern Mis- souri in the interest of the project.
There was an energetic campaign in all the counties, and, looking at it from this era, it seems strange that opposition was encountered on the ground that a railroad through this country would be unwise and impractical. It is stated that a certain member of the legislature took the stump against the railroad because it would be an inducement for negro slaves to desert. Others asserted that it would be impossible to make a roadbed that would stand in rainy weather; that ox and mule teams were the surer power, and there was no danger of them blowing up and killing lots of people. Many of the residents in the
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sections campaigned had never seen a railroad train and could not understand the utility of such a method. What the country needed, they said, was good highways for stages and freight wagons to the river, where the boats would take care of the traffic.
The first aid given to the Hannibal & St. Joe Railroad, by Linn county, as far as the record shows, was a donation of $200 by the county court, December 17, 1849. This was used towards defraying surveying expenses. A further donation of $500 to the road was made by the Linn county court in the spring of 1851. Later, stock to the amount of $25,000 was subscribed. At that period the purpose was for the road to run by way of Bloomington in Macon county and Linneus in Linn county.
The Linn county court ordered that A. W. Flournoy be appointed as agent for Linn county to confer with the board of directors of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad Company concerning the location of the road, and should the location be made through Linneus, then Flour- noy was authorized to renew the subscription of $25,000 heretofore made to the road, and to subscribe $30,000 additional, to be paid to the railroad company from the proceeds of the sale of swamp and overflowed lands in Linn county; in the event that the location was not made through Linneus, the board of directors of the road were to be notified of the withdrawal of the entire amount subscribed.
The railroad made application to the county court for right-of- way through Linn county November 5, 1855. This application was granted by the court.
At 7 o'clock on the morning of February 13, 1859, the Hannibal & St. Joseph road was completed, and an unbroken line of steel ex- tended from the Mississippi river to the Missouri river. The final connection was made near Chillicothe. The road is now a main line of the Burlington System, but old-timers refuse to recognize it by any other name than the "Hannibal & St. Joe."
It is strongly suspected that a certain well-known pioneer Mis- sourian, whom "Mark Twain" weighted with the unstable but always optimistic character of "Col. Sellers," was the real originator of the scheme to build a line from the Mississippi river to the Missouri river. Some of the patriarchal inhabitants solemnly assert that Bob Stewart and his associates followed precisely the ox-plow furrow "Col. Sellers" made across the state to show where the road ought to run, and that the test applied by the surveyors and engineers showed that no better "locating survey" could have been made. They speak of it as "the
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ox-team survey," not in irony, but as a method of superior utility to the cumbersome and expensive one now in use.
In the first year or two of its existence the Hannibal & St. Joe made enough history to fill a big book. The war came on and devel- oped that wild character that became so widely known and dreaded- the "bushwhacker." He looked at the railroad as his legitimate prey, and it was rare that a train journeyed across the state without carry- ing into the terminal marks of his attention. His work was especially in evidence at the big bridges. The first and worst disaster that ever occurred on the line was caused by bushwhackers in the year 1861. W. C. Brown, who later became president of the New York Central Lines, not long ago, sent to his friend, Judge Spencer, general attorney for the Missouri lines of the Burlington, a copy of the New York Herald of September 7, 1861, containing an account of the bushwhack- ers' murderous work at Platte river bridge, near St. Joseph. From 1890 to 1896 Mr. Brown was general manager of the Hannibal & St. Joe and the Kansas City, St. Joe & Council Bluffs lines. He began as a tie chopper, worked up to section foreman, operator, train dis- patcher, trainmaster, superintendent and manager.
The New York Herald's story of the greatest wreck on the Hanni- bal & St. Joe road was as follows :
"Terrible Road Catastrophe-Diabolical Outrage on the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad-Seventeen Lives Lost and a Large Number Wounded," etc. It recites, through correspondence with St. Louis papers, the wrecking of a passenger train, bound west, September 3. The timber of the Little Platte river bridge, nine miles east of St. Joseph, had been burned nearly through, and the entire train went down. Bushwhackers are blamed for the outrage.
"Abe Hager, baggagemaster of the railroad, furnished a graphic story of the wreck. The passenger cars were completely smashed, and he was the only one to escape unhurt. He came to St. Joe, got an engine, physicians and necessities for the wounded, hurrying back to the scene of the wreck. He is quoted as saying: 'The greatest excite- ment prevails in St. Joseph in regard to this inhuman outrage.'
"An additional account says that the train carried from eighty- five to one hundred passengers. The fire had been extinguished before entirely destroying the bridge, which was a substantial work of 100-foot span, leaving it a mere shell. But three persons-J. W. Parker, super- intendent of the United States Express, and Mail Agents Mars and
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Hager-were able to afford assistance, the others who were not killed outright being so disabled as to be helpless.
"Hager walked five miles out of the way back to St. Joseph, making the remainder of the trip on a hand car. He found a heavy oak tie bound across the track two hundred yards from the bridge, and two miles further on he found the trestlework over a small stream was on fire.
"Though the wreck occurred on September 3, and the story was printed four days later, there is no list of killed or injured. The names of several victims are given, but there seems to have been great difficulty in getting the details of the wreck."
Mr. Brown found this old copy of the Herald while tearing down an old building that was in the way of some improvements being made for the Central's offices in New York.
In his letter accompanying the article he sent to Judge Spencer, Mr. Brown wrote:
"As this little incident was undoubtedly participated in by a num- ber of your cousins from Taos, I know you will be interested in it, and you may perhaps value it as a souvenir.
"How do you like a Republican governor after thirty-five years? "W. C. B."
Judge Spencer did not rest long under the imputation concerning his "cousins from Taos," but instantly grabbed his pen and said this: "My dear Brown: I have yours inclosing paper containing ac- count of 'diabolical outrage,' etc. I have always supposed the train was believed to be loaded with soldiers. As far as I have been able to ascertain the facts, it would seem that 'my cousins,' in their unlaw- ful acts, were trying to retaliate on you and your cousins for stealing our negroes and running them into Canada.
"Always yours, "O. M. SPENCER."
George H. Davis, who has been referred to, had a relief train at the wreck in a short time. In telling of the event, he said :
"It was the first and greatest wreck on the Hannibal & St. Joe road. The bridge was a Howe truss. The supports were sawed at one end by the bushwhackers. There were five coaches in the train, and all well filled. Everything went into the river but one car. Six- teen people, including the engineer, conductor and one of the brake-
TYPE OF BLOCK-HOUSE ERECTED ALONG THE HANNIBAL & ST. JOSEPH R. R.
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men, were killed outright. Sixty passengers were injured. The wreck was cruelly complete.
"I organized a relief crew at St. Joseph and we hurried to the scene, which was only nine miles down the road. The outlaws-many of them-were coolly standing around when we arrived. Some of them told me they intended to get me the next time. There were only a few soldiers on the train, and to destroy them the bushwhackers had reck- lessly proceeded against a trainload of noncombatants. Their object was to stop the transportation of soldiers over the line, but their work resulted in the government building blockhouses at all the big bridges and garrisoning them with a strong body of soldiers."
Several times following attempts were made to burn bridges, but the bushwhackers were driven off with loss. General Grant was sta- tioned at the Salt river bridge in the early days of the war, and he made many friends among the people in the vicinity. Even the strong- est Southern sympathizers learned to love the plain, quiet soldier when they became acquainted with him. It was while in this service that General Grant, then Colonel Grant, set out to give battle to Colonel Harris and his somewhat noted body of Confederate rangers. But at the place where they expected the fight there was no opposing sol- diery. Colonel Harris had quietly moved away. General Grant after- ward said he there learned a great military fact-that the enemy might be as much afraid of him as he was of the enemy.
Mr. Brown is not the only man the Hannibal and St. Joe has schooled for larger duties. Something like twenty-six years ago the Hannibal & St. Joseph lost its old identity by being absorbed by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and afterwards becoming a part of the great Burlington Route. The "old guard" had to go, and with them came the resignation of W. R. Woodard, the picturesque superintend- ent, as well as J. H. Barnard, at that time general manager. The result was that W. F. Merrell became the new general manager, and S. E. Crance superintendent of the Hannibal & St. Joseph, now, prop- erly speaking, the Brookfield division of the Burlington System. Mr. Crance came to Hannibal from Illinois, where he had been railroading from way back in the days when he was a brakeman. But he decided that the superintendent of the road should be located at Brookfield instead of Hannibal, and in 1885 the office of superintendent was moved to Brookfield, where it has since been. The coming of Crance brought a lot of followers, and for a few years they continued to come from Aurora, from the famous Fox river division ; from Galesburg and from the St. Louis line of the C., B. & Q. For about six years Superintendent
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Crance resided in Brookfield and then was promoted to general super- intendent of the entire Missouri lines, with headquarters at St. Joseph. Naturally, when coming to Brookfield, Mr. Crance wanted his own train- master, and it was twenty-five years ago one pleasant Sunday after- noon that a stately young looking man with rather classic features, stepped off the train pulling in from the east.
That was P. H. Houlahan, who had grown up in railroading over on the "Q" and through the solicitation of Sam Crance was induced to leave the Cotton Belt, where he was trainmaster, and come to Brook- field. In a short time Mr. Houlahan was promoted to assistant superin- tendent, and when Mr. Crance went to St. Joseph some years later, Mr. Houlahan was made superintendent, and filled the position successfully until 1902, when he resigned to accept general superintendency of the Clover Leaf.
On June 1, Colonel Crance resigned as general superintendent upon his own volition, wishing to spend his declining days, after a railway career of forty years, in ease and comfort, which with a competency he was able to do until he died. He acted in an advisory capacity the re- mainder of that year, after which he returned to Brookfield, on account of kindred ties, and being interested financially here. He died here some six years ago and was buried at Aurora. But his memory lives.
A man who entered into the early history of the Hannibal & St. Joseph is T. S. Beeler. Tom Beeler was a pioneer operator and after- ward dispatcher. Everybody liked Beeler. He knew his business and was here when Brookfield had less than one thousand people. He was here during several administrations, those of Towne, Mead, Woodard and Crance, leaving several years ago. During his citizenship in Brook- field, Mr. Beeler had been dispatcher, chief dispatcher and trainmaster, and was succeeded in the latter position by J. W. Mulhern, who came to Brookfield twenty years ago or more. The public liked Mulhern. He was always affable and courteous.
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