USA > Missouri > Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. I > Part 80
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BURR'S EXPEDITION.
in search of Wilkinson, but learned at Kas- kaskia that he had descended the river ; that they followed to the mouth of Red River, when Ogden went on to New Orleans with dispatches to Burr's friends there, and he. Swartwout, had hastened to Wilkinson's head- quarters. He said Burr was supported by a numerous and powerful association, extend- ing from New York to New Orleans; that several thousand men were prepared for an expedition against the Mexican provinces ; that the Territory of Orleans would be revo- lutionized-for which the inhabitants were quite ready ; that he supposed some "seizing" would be necessary at New Orleans, and a forced "transfer" of the bank; that an ex- pedition was to land at Vera Cruz, and march thence to the Mexican capital; that naval protection would be furnished by Great Brit- ain ; and that Truxton, and other officers of the navy, disgusted with the conduct of the government, would join in the enterprise. After gathering all the information possible, Wilkinson sent, by express, two letters 1.0 President Jefferson, one official, the other confidential, in which, without mentioning any names, he gave a general outline of the proposed expedition ; and then pushed for- ward to the Sabine. He sent orders to the commanding officer at New Orleans to put that place in the best possible condition for defense, and to secure, if possible, by con- tract, a train of artillery there, belonging to the French. Having made a satisfactory ar- rangement with the Spanish commander, Wilkinson hastened back to Natchitoches, where he received a letter from St. Louis, informing him that a plan to revolutionize the Western country was about to explode, and that Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Orleans Territory had combined to de- clare themselves independent on the 15th of November. Wilkinson, alarmed, ordered Cushing to hasten down with the troops, while he sped to Natchez, whence he sent a second special messenger to the President with duplicates of his former letters, and another declaring that a conspiracy really existed, and authorized the inessenger to mention the names of Burr, Dayton, Truxton and others, as apparently, engaged in the en- terprise. He informed Governor Claiborne, of the Orleans Territory, that his govern- ment was menaced by a secret plot, and took other measures for its defense. At New
Orleans, Wilkinson procured a meeting of merchants, to whom he and Governor Clai- borne made an exposition of Burr's suspected projects. Bollman, an agent of Burr there, with Swartwout and Ogden, were arrested, and the militia of the Territory were placed at Wilkinson's disposal. Great excitement now prevailed on the lower Mississippi and on the Oliio and its tributaries. A series of articles, inspired. no doubt, if not written, by Burr, had appeared in an Ohio news- paper, signed, "Querist," arguing strongly in favor of the separation of the Western States from the Union. Similar articles had appeared in a Democratic paper in Pitts- burg. In Kentucky were many uneasy aspirants for political power, and an old story of Spanish influence there-through pen- sioners upon the bounty of Spain-was re- vived. Burr's enterprise became associated in the public mind with the old Spanish plot ; and Burr and his confederates, offended by what they deemed Wilkinson's treachery to their cause, associated him with the Spanish intriguers. These hints, reaching the lower Mississippi, embarrassed Wilkinson, for it was intimated that he was also connected with the schemes of Burr. General Jackson, who had favored Burr's schemes, so long as they looked only toward a seizure of Span- ish provinces, alarmed by the evidences that he had wicked designs against the Union, wrote to Governor Claiborne-with the im- pression that Wilkinson was associated with Burr-warning him to beware of the designs of that officer and the ex-Vice President. "I liate the Dons," Jackson wrote, November 12, 1806; "I would delight to see Mexico reduced : but I would die in the last ditch before I would see the Union disunited." Daviess, United States district attorney for Kentucky, watched Burr, and finally applied to the court for process for his arrest. Burr was summoned before a grand jury Novem- ber 25th, but, the attorney failing to get such witnesses as he desired, the jury not only failed to find a bill, but declared their belief that Burr intended nothing against the integrity of the Union. This triumph for Burr was celebrated by a ball at Frankfort. Meanwhile the President of the United States had commissioned Graham, Secretary of the Orleans Territory, to investigate the reports about Burr, and if well founded to take steps to cut short his career. On No-
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vember 27th the President issued a proclama- tion that he had been informed of an unlaw- ful scheme set on foot for invading the Span- ish dominions, warning citizens of the United States not to engage in it, and directing all in authority to endeavor to suppress it. Be- fore this Graham had drawn from Blenner- hassett facts of great importance-for the latter took the Secretary to be one of Burr's confidants-and applied to the Governor of Ohio for the seizure of the boats on the Muskingum. The Legislature, then in ses- sion, granted the request. A few days after- ward several boats in charge of Colonel Tyler, filled with men, descended the Ohio to Blen- nerhassett's Island. Blennerhassett, informed of the seizure of his boats on the Muskin- gum, and that a body of militia were com- ing to seize those at the island, hastily em- barked, December 13th, with a few of his followers, and descended the river in Tyler's flotilla. The next day a mob of militia took possession of the island, desolated it. and even insulted Mrs. Blennerhassett, who suc- ceeded in obtaining an open boat and follow- ing her husband down the river. The Leg- islature of Kentucky speedily passed a similar act for seizures to that of Ohio. Tyler, how- ever, had already passed Louisville. They were joined by Burr, and the flotilla passed out into the Mississippi and stopped at Chickasaw Bluffs-now Memphis-where Burr attempted to seduce the garrison into his service. Burr now first heard of the ac- tion of the Legislature of the Orleans Ter- ritory, before which Wilkinson had laid his exposure of the schemes. Perceiving what he might expect at New Orleans, and fear- ful that the authorities of Mississippi might arrest him at once, Burr passed to the west side of the river, out of their jurisdiction, where he formed a camp, thirty miles above Natchez. Under the proclamation of the President, a militia force was raised to ar- rest Burr. He made an unconditional sur- render to the civil authority, and agreed that his boats should be searched, and all arms taken. Before this was accomplished his cases of arms were cast into the river; and as no evidence of hostile intention was found, a belief prevailed that he was innocent of any of the designs alleged against him. Burr was brought before the Supreme Court of the Territory, and was not only not indicted by the grand jury, but they presented
charges against the Governor for calling out the militia to arrest him. Burr spoke bit- terly of Wilkinson as a traitor, and, fearing to fall into his hands, he resolved to disband his men and fly. He told them to sell what provisions they had, and, if they chose, to settle on his Washita lands. They dispersed through the Mississippi Territory, and fur- nished an abundant supply of school-masters, singing-masters, dancing-masters and doc- tors. A reward was offered for the capture of Burr, and he was arrested, February 19, 1807, by the Register of the Land Office, as- sisted by Lieutenant - afterward Major General-Edmund P. Gaines, near Fort Stoddart, on the Tombigbee River, in east- ern Mississippi. An indictment for high treason was found against Burr by a grand jury for the District of Virginia. He was charged with levying war, by the collection of armed men at Blennerhassett's Island, within the dominion of Virginia. He was also charged with concocting a scheme for the overthrow of the national authority in the Western States and Territories.
Brought to trial on these charges, he was acquitted, but appears to have persisted in his effort to detach Mexico from the Span- ish government. In 18OS he sailed for En- rope and there sought first to induce England and later France to fit out an expedition against Mexico. After spending four years wandering about Europe, he returned to the United States, and lived in New York, in comparative poverty and obscurity, until his death, which occurred in 1836.
Burton, Charles Germman, ex-judge of the circuit court and ex-representative in Congress, and who for many years has been recognized as one of the most distinguished members of the bar of the State of Missouri, was born April 4, 1846, at Cleveland, Ohio. He is a son of Leonard and Laura (Wilson) Burton, both natives of that State. His father was a son of David Burton, member of an old New England family, and came from Massachusetts (probably from Nor- wich) in the early days of the nineteenth century and settled in the northern part of Ohio, where he was among the earlier pioneers. While Charles G. was attending school in Trumbull County, Ohio, the Civil War broke out. Inspired with the patriotic zeal which manifested itself at that critical
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time so markedly in Ohio, he abandoned his studies, and on September 7, 1861, enrolled his name as a private in Company C of the Nineteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Until October 29. 1862, he served continuously in the Army of the Ohio and the Army of the Cumberland, participating in the Battle of Pittsburg Landing and the skirmishes before Corinth. On the latter date he was discharged by reason of disability acquired while in the service, and returned to his home, re-entering the public school. Eighteen months after- ward he joined the One Hundred and Sev- enty-first Regiment of the Ohio National Guard for service, while the veterans joined Grant in his campaign, remaining on duty for IIS days, beginning in April, 1804. During the following winter he was engaged in teaching a district school in Mahoning County, but at the close of the term, hav- ing in the meantime determined to follow a professional career, he began reading law in the office of Hutchings & Forrest, at Warren, Ohio. In April, 1867, he was ad- mitted to practice, but almost immediately accepted a position as deputy clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of Trumbull County, of which Warren was the county seat. This office he filled until the spring of 1868, when he removed to Virgil City, Vernon County, Missouri, and opened an office in connection with Elbert E. Kimball. A year later he settled in Neosho County, Kan- sas, but after practicing there about two years, the completion of the railroad to Nevada, Missouri, induced him to locate permanently in the latter city. This was in May, 1871. Since that time he has been a resident of Nevada and continuously en- gaged in the practice of his profession, with the exception of the years during which he served on the bench and in Congress. His first professional work there was performed in partnership with Mr. Kimball. This as- sociation ended January 1, 1874, when he entered into a partnership with Meigs Jack- son, which continued until the death of the latter, in March, 1876. From that time until his elevation to the bench he remained in practice alone. During the second year of his residence there the Twenty-fifth judicial circuit was created, and he was elected cir- cuit attorney, serving in this office until Jan- uary, 1873, when it was abolished and the office of prosecuting attorney created. In
1880 he was nominated by the Independents for judge of the Twenty-fifth District (now the Twenty-sixth District, the action being indorsed by the regular Republican Conven- tion. The Democrats had two strong can- didates in the field, but notwithstanding the desperate efforts made by the opposition to defeat him, he was elected by a most com- plimentary majority. In this office he served from January 1, 1881, to January 1, 1887, at the expiration of his term returning to practice in Nevada, as a partner of Honor- able S. A. Wight. This relation he sus- tained until the fall of 1804, when Judge Burton was elected to Congress as the can- didate of the Republican party. Upon the termination of his term in Congress he re- sumed the practice of the law, taking as a partner J. T. Harding, the firm of Burton & llarding still continuing. Judge Burton has always remained firm in his allegiance to the Republican party, though his political ac- tions have never been regulated or con- trolled by that narrow spirit of partisanship too frequently dominant in the councils of the two great parties. He is broad-minded and liberal in his views, and his career on the bench is recognized among the mem- bers of the legal profession as having been ample evidence of his thorough knowledge of the principles of the law. His rulings on important causes which were taken before him for adjudication are widely quoted, and to-day stand as undisputed authority. Aside from his professional and public career, Judge Burton has taken the time to become in- terested in industrial and financial in- stitutions. For many years he has been the attorney for and a director of the Thornton Banking Company of Nevada. In Ma- sonry, he is a member of the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery of Ne- vada, and a member of Ararat Temple, No- bles of the Mystic Shrine, of Kansas City. He has also been influential in Grand Army circles, is a member of General Joe Bailey Post, No. 26, and was commander of the Department of Missouri in 1893. At Clin- ton, Missouri, January 1, 1874, he was married to Alice A. Rogers, who was born and raised there, a daughter of Dr. John A. and Catherine Rogers. Judge and Mrs. Burton are the parents of a daughter, Pansy, now a student at Monti- cello Seminary.
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BUSBY-BUSCH.
Busby, William Gilbert, lawyer, was born April 3, 1873, on a farm south of Wakenda, Carroll County, Missouri, son of James M. and Marcelena (Atkinson) Busby. Ilis paternal ancestors were among the pio- neers who settled in Kentucky and laid the foundations of that Commonwealth. From there his grandfather. Tilford Busby, in 1833. removed to Missouri, and was numbered among the first settlers of Carroll County. William G. Busby attended the public schools of his native county in boyhood, and then entered the University of the State of Mis- souri, at Columbia, where he took the lit- erary course. He read law under the pre- ceptorship of James L. Minnis-then of Carrollton, now of St. Louis-and was ad- mitted to the bar in July of 1894. Imme- diately after his admission to the bar he be- gan the practice of his profession in Car- rollton, and soon established an enviable reputation and built up a good practice. In February of 1898, after one of the fiercest political contests in the history of the city, he was nominated for mayor of Carrollton, although he was at the time too young to holl the office, the required age being twenty-five years on the day of election under the Missouri law. He attained the age which made him eligible on the 3d of April, and two days later the election was held which resulted in his being chosen to the office, when twenty-five years and two days old. He was probably the youngest man who has held the office of mayor in any city of Mis- souri, or of the United States, of the size of Carrollton. Although the city has a Re- publican majority of about seventy-five, Mr. Busby, as the Democratic candidate for mayor, received one hundred and eighty- seven votes more than his competitor, and his majority was probably the largest that has ever been given to a Democratic can- didate for that office in Carrollton. When a candidate he promised to give the city a progressive administration, and this prom- ise was faithfully kept. During his term of office he succeeded in having the people indorse an issue of bonds to the amount of $50,000 for the construction of sewers and street improvements. A thoroughly mod- ern system of sewerage, consisting of seven miles within the corporate limits, has since been put in, and the work of macadamizing the streets is being energetically carried for-
ward. When completed this system of im- provements will have given to the city beau- tifully graded and macadamized thorough- fares in place of the mud roads which were their predecessors. In recognition of his valuable public services, he was renominated by his party for the mayoralty in March, 1899 by acclamation, and at the en- suing election he was re-elected by a major- ity of one hundred and thirty-three. Since the expiration of his second term as mayor he has devoted himself assiduously to the practice of law, as head of the firm of Busby & Kneisley. formed in the summer of 1898. Without neglecting his profession. he has taken a prominent part in every political campaign since 1896. Mr. Busby's religious affiliations are with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and he is a member of the order of Knights of Pythias, being at the present time chancellor commander of Crusade Lodge, No. 43, of that order. May 16, 1899, he married Miss Mayme Devlin, daughter of Joseph H. Devlin, of Carroll- ton, and they have one child. William G. Busby, Jr.
Busch, Adolphus, one of the most famous of American manufacturers, was born in 1842, near the famous old city of Mainz, capital of the Province of Rhine- Hesse, and one of the strongest fortresses in Germany. His father was a man of means, who engaged in extensive timber operations during a portion of his life, and was also a large land-owner. Born and reared under favorable auspices, Adolphus Busch enjoyed superior educational advantages, completing his scholastic course of study at one of the noted collegiate institutions of Belgium, which afforded him an exceptionally good opportunity for perfecting his knowledge of the French language. Ilis first practical business experience was obtained soon after he left college in connection with the lum- ber trade, but at the end of a year devoted to this employment he went to Cologne, larg- est of the cities of the Rhine Province, and there became connected with a large mer- cantile house. Although he was at the time a mere youth, he demonstrated. while in the employ of this house, that he was a born merchant, and worked his way up to a lead- ing position in the establishment in a com- paratively short time. Intensely energetic,
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and having withal a laudable ambition to make a name for himself in the commercial world, it was natural that his mind should have turned toward the United States, and that, inasmuch as relatives had preceded hin to the land of boundless resources, he should have embraced an early opportunity to join them in this country. He arrived in St. Louis shortly before the beginning of the Civil War, and having decided to make that city his home, connected himself first with a whole- sale commission house. When the war be- gan he had been in the country long enough to have well defined views in regard to the merits of the great controversy between the Federal government and the Southern States. and in common with the great majority of the German-Americans of Missouri, warmly espoused the national cause, serving four- teen months as a Union soldier. When he attained his majority he received from his father's estate sufficient patrimony to enable him to establish in St. Louis a brewers' sup- ply business of considerable magnitude, which he continued until 1866, in which year he formed a partnership with Eberhard An- heuser, and turned his attention to the busi- ness which has since made his name a famil- iar one throughout the entire commercial world. Mr. Anheuser, whose career was that of a thrifty man of affairs, had been a pioneer in establishing the brewing industry in St. Louis, and when Mr. Busch became associated with him he was owner of what was known as the Bavarian Brew- ery, which was noted for the excellence of its product, and had a well established trade, which, however, was mainly local and of mod- est proportions. The plant had been cre- ated, and was in a healthy condition. It only needed the stimulus of a robust genius to develop it to large proportions. The time was opportune for inaugurating the manu- facture of beer on a larger scale than had ever before been attempted in America. Adolphus Busch was master of the situation, and at once the enterprise with which he had become connected felt the vivifying effect of his mental force, his commercial acumen, and his splendid executive ability. He had the genius of a general coupled with the instincts of the merchant, and he marshaled the forces which tend to promote commercial growth not only with consummate ability, but with apparent ease. Through various agencies
which he established, the trade of the brewery soon leaped far beyond its orig- inal bounds. To meet this increased de- mand, the plant itself began to expand in various directions, and this process of expansion has resulted in the evolution of the largest brewing establishment in the United States, and the largest but one in the world, which is to-day the property of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company, in St. Louis. The buildings which shelter its numerous departments constitute almost a city in themselves, its equipment lacks noth- ing which modern science can suggest or wealth supply, and an army of men finds employment in connection with its manufac- turing and sales departments. This great plant, whose manufactures are counted by train loads, and whose fame has extended into every land, is a monument to the mas- terful ability of Adolphus Busch. He has been the executive head of the corporation ever since it came into existence, and while he has drawn about him a host of able lieu- tenants, his has been the controlling mind, the guiding intellect of this vast business. Notwithstanding its magnitude, this is but one of many enterprises with which he is identified. In addition to being president of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company, he is president of the South Side Bank, the Manufacturers' Railroad Company, and the St. Louis Refrigerating Company. He is a director also in many banking institutions, in the Merchants' Bridge Company, and the Terminal Railroad Company. He founded the Adolphus Busch Glass Company, of St. Louis and Belleville, Illinois, and the Strea- tor Bottle & Glass Company, of Streator, Illi- nois; and in each of these corporations he is the chief stockholder. He owns a control- ling interest also in the Lone Star Brewing Company, of San Antonio, Texas; the American Brewing Association, of Houston, Texas; the Galveston Brewing Company, of Galveston, Texas, and the Texas Brewing Company, of Fort Worth, Texas; is part owner of William Garrel's Iron & Stave Company, which has 40,000 acres of timber land in Tennessee and Arkansas, and he has also hundreds of ice manufacturing plants in different parts of the United States. The magnitude of these interests is colossal, and yet, so thoroughly systematized are his af- fairs that he handles them with ease. He dis-
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patches business with wonderful facility, and acts with remarkable precision. His per- ceptions are lightning-like in their quick- ness, and his grasp of affairs so compre- hensive that transactions involving vast sums of money are settled by him in as little time as most men give to the smallest affairs of life. Having acquired a princely fortune, he has been princely in his generosity and benevolence under all circumstances, and no charitable or public enterprise ever fails to re- ceive from him substantial encouragement and assistance. \ great business man, he is no less a cultivated gentleman. He has spent much time traveling abroad and throughout the United States, and has gath- ered from all lands treasures of art and lit- erature which adorn and enrich his home, noted for its splendid hospitality. Ile mar- ried, in 1861, Miss Lilly Anheuser, daughter of his early friend and business partner, whose name is still retained at the head of the great brewing enterprise. although he passed away nearly twenty years since.
Bush, Isidor, who was a prominent and influential citizen of St. Louis for nearly half a century, was born in the city of Prague. Austria, January 15, 1822, son of Jacob and Frederica (Von Hoenigsberg) Bush, and died in St. Louis, August 5. 1898. His father, who in early life, was a prominent and wealthy citizen of Prague, came to this coun- try in 1853, and died in St. Louis in 1864. The son immigrated to the United States in 1848, landing in New York, where he re- mained until 1849. He then came to St. Louis, and soon after his arrival there, en- gaged in the grocery trade. He afterward became president of the People's Bank, and devoted himself thereafter to subserving the interests of that institution until the exi- gencies of the Civil War diverted his atten- tion from business affairs. Resigning his bank presidency in 1861, he was commis- sioned a captain in the Federal military serv- ice and assigned to duty on the staff of General John C. Fremont. When General Fremont was superseded in command of the Department of Missouri by General Ilalleck, he resigned his commission in the army, and accepted a position in the United States Treasury at Washington, D. C. This posi- tion he held until he was made general freight agent of the Iron Mountain Railroad Com-
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