USA > Missouri > DeKalb County > History of Andrew and De Kalb counties, Missouri : from earliest time to the present; together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and family records. besides a condensed history of the state of Missouri, etc > Part 34
USA > Missouri > Andrew County > History of Andrew and De Kalb counties, Missouri : from earliest time to the present; together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and family records. besides a condensed history of the state of Missouri, etc > Part 34
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An unknown man was killed by one William Mumford in the latter's saloon about the year 1872, the difficulty having grown out of a misunderstanding about changing money to pay for a drink.
The railroader, for such the unknown man was, handed the saloon keeper what he supposed was a $2 bill, but which the latter claimed was but half that amount. Hot words soon passed between the two, and finally the lie was given to Mumford, who, seizing an ax near by, struck the man a violent blow, liter- ally cleaving his skull asunder. Mumford at once fled and has never been heard from since.
INCORPORATION.
Amazonia was incorporated as a town about the year 1878 or 1879, and for some time thereafter the municipal affairs were wisely and economically managed. Dissatisfaction, however, soon manifested itself, and it was finally decided to abolish the corporation, which was accordingly done in the year 1882.
AMAZONIA OF TO-DAY.
The village of Amazonia formerly stood upon the banks of the Missouri, but at this time, owing to a " cut off " a few years ago, the town is fully one mile from the river. The town has a population of about 400, and, while not increasing to any appreciable extent, still maintains its importance as one of the best shipping points in the county. It has four church organizations, viz .: Methodist, Christian, German Reformed and Episcopal, all of which have comfortable and commodious tem- ples of worship. The business of the town is represented by the following register: M. Scudder, dealer in general merchandise; Bond & Clemmens, general store; Dr. J. H. Rogers, drugs; Mrs. Demar, bakery and restaurant; Mrs. Quinn, boarding house;
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J. H. Jackson, blacksmith; O. R. Howe, gunsmith; M. L. Minor, livery and feed stable; J. H. Martin and F. M. Moore, carpenters.
ELIZABETHTOWN.
Adjoining the present site of Amazonia on the northwest was laid out a small village, as early as 1850 or 1851, by the name of Elizabethtown, the plat of which was never recorded. A store was started about the same time by Messrs. Perry & Young, who, in addition to carrying on the mercantile business, operated a warehouse on the river. A landing was established early in the fifties, and the place and the village became the rival of Boston in the river trade. After a short time the above firm sold out to Elijah Impey, who carried on the goods and shipping business about four years, disposing of his interest at the end of that time to John Sanders. Mr. Sanders increased the stock, and did a successful business for some time. He afterward closed out, and started the Sanders House in St. Joseph. Elizabethtown contin- ued to be a landing and shipping point until the "cut off " several years ago, which left the place over a mile from the river. At this time one dismantled building, upon which a general decay has fastened itself, is all that remains to mark the site of the village. The site is now owned by Mr. Zimmerman.
ROCHESTER.
This town, on the site of one of the earliest settlements in the eastern part of Andrew County, is situated on the Platte River, and dates its existence from early in the forties. Prior to the organization of the county, quite a number of pioneer fam- ilies settled near the present site of the town, coming thus early for the purpose of locating available claims on the Platte River. They were followed a little later by other home seekers, and, as early as 1841-43, a goodly portion of which is now Rochester Township, was taken up, including the present site of the town which came into the possession of one Levi Thatcher. He sub- sequently sold out to a Mrs. Kibby, whose sons, about the year 1842 or 1843, erected a saw and grist mill on the Platte, which, in time, became the nucleus of a very flourishing settlement. This mill supplied lumber and bread stuffs for a large area of
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territory, and appears to have been operated quite successfully until as late as 1861. In the meantime the influx of the popu- lation continued such that the necessity for a trading point nearer than Savannah became apparent. Accordingly James Barnes, in June, 1848, laid off a town plat of ten blocks-sixty lots -- which was recorded under the name of New Rochester. To this plat was made, in May, 1853, an addition of forty-five lots, by John Spencer, Daniel Underwood and William Caldwell, and two years later, in May, 1855, a second addition, consisting of thirteen lots, was made by Samuel F. Nichols.
The lots in the original plat were soon sold, and within a couple of years a number of buildings, including residences and business houses, were erected. Surrounded by a rich agricult- ural region, and being remote from any other town or trading point, Rochester very soon became a place of considerable local im- portance, and as early as 1850 it had a thriving population, and was the chief source of supplies for a large portion of Andrew and DeKalb Counties.
One of the earliest merchants was a man by the name of Stone, who sold goods for some years in a small frame building, which stood on Lot No. 1, near the place now occupied by the Ritchey Hotel. Mr. Stone brought a stock of general merchan- dise to the place early in the forties, and, after selling for some time alone, effected a co-partnership with Henry Blount, which was continued until the death of Stone, in 1852. In the mean- time other business men were attracted to the village, among whom was Amos Strock, who sold goods for several years in a small house opposite the Stone building. He subsequently went into partnership with David Walter, and appears to have been a very prosperous and successful business man. Capt. William Shreve and Henry Blount were partners in the goods busi- ness for a long time, Shreve finally disposing of his interest to William M. Shanks. The firm of Blount & Shanks continued for some years, and appears to have been liberally patronized.
Daniel Underwood became identified with the mercantile in- terests of the village in an early day, and for a number of years handled a general stock of goods in the building occupied at this time by J. W. Kline. In addition to those enumerated the fol-
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lowing men and firms sold goods in the village from time to time, viz. : Mattox & Carter, Fist Bros., William Warfield, Samuel Warfield, John R. Caldwell (who erected the brick building now occupied by S. C. Caldwell), Ford & Scanlan, George Manring, Isaac Kier, Eli Smith, Henry Hartwick (now a prominent busi- ness man of St. Joseph, who opened the first clothing store), Melvin & Son, M. G. Ruby, Blount & Brown, John C. Ryan, Christian & Furnish, G. H. Skinner & Bro., Ruby & Strock, J. G. Barton, John M. Barton and others whose names have been forgotten.
In connection with the early business interests of the town was the primitive inn known as the "Kibbey House," erected some time in the forties, and kept for several years by the Widow Kibbey. It was at first scarcely to be distinguished from the simple home of the private citizens, and differed from the ordi- nary dwelling principally in that its hospitality was dispensed at a fixed price. Its patronage was largely derived from pros- pectors and others who visited the new country, the temporary character of stay rendering such an establishment necessary. Mrs. Kibbey was succeeded by William Parnel, and he in turn by David Miller. Leonard Rich afterward became proprietor, and after his death his widow took charge of the house, the hospitalities of which she still dispenses to the traveling public.
The Sealy House which stood on Lots 5 and 6, Block 3, was kept for some time by H. Snearly, who made it a favorite stop- ping place. The building was destroyed in the fire of 1885.
The following list includes the names of nearly, if not quite all, the physicians who have practiced their profession in Roches- ter: W. H. Wilburn, - McBath, William H. Bryant, Dr. Mattox, Dr. Shelton, E. M. Manring, John C. Mitchell, F. A. Simmons, F. J. Gager, E. A. Jones, A. J. Ward, Dr. Vanchoiack and B. J. Kirk.
The first manufacturing enterprise of Rochester was the . Kibbey Saw and Flouring Mill already alluded to. The Kibbeys sold out about the year 1845 or 1846, from which time until the breaking out of the war the mill appears to have passed through the hands of various parties. The last owner was Capt. Will- iam Caldwell, who closed the mill in 1861.
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P. Segrist in 1855 began the manufacture of wagons in Rochester, and continued the business with encouraging success until 1885. He carried on a general repair shop, and in ad- dition to making wagons did all kinds of wood work requiring skilled labor. Near the village, in 1856, was built a distillery, operated for a limited period by Reuben George, who had the reputation of making a fair article of whisky, the greater part of which found ready sale in the immediate neighborhood. Mr. George did a fair business while he remained, but owing to the strong political excitement of the times he soon abandoned the business and moved to other parts.
About the year 1866 Andrew McGregor erected a brewery in the village, and in partnership with William Checkley began the manufacture of beer upon quite an extensive scale. It is said that a little "moonshine" whisky was also made at this brewery, at least quite a quantity could always be obtained by certain per- sons well acquainted with the inward working of the institution. Messrs. McGregor & Checkley finding their brewery unable to compete with the larger establishments of the cities, abandoned the business in 1869. A part of the old building is still stand- ing.
Joseph Laney, about the year 1866, built a woolen factory just north of the town limits, which was operated by steam power. The factory building was a frame structure, supplied with good machinery, and under the management of Mr. Laney was operated quite successfully for a period of three or four years. M. G. Ruby took charge at the end of that time, and after running it for a single season moved the building to the southern- part of the town, and used the machinery in the construction of a cheese factory. He operated the latter a part of one year, and then sold out to other parties who moved it to Worth County.
A cheese factory was started in 1874 by a stock company composed of N. Ford, Isaac Lillibridge, Mr. Lewis, W. C. Mahar and James Graham. A two-story building was erected and fitted up with the latest and most improved machinery, and for one year a very prosperous business was carried on. The cheese made was of a superior quality, and soon had an extensive sale in St. Joseph, Kansas City and other towns of Western Missouri. A
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man by the name of Tilison was superintendent for one year, after whom the management passed into the hands of James Belton, who operated the factory for the same length of time. Owing to improper management during its last two years the stockholders were compelled, to the great regret of the citizens of the village and surrounding country, to suspend operation. The building is still standing, used at this time for a cabinet shop by C. G. Keller.
The present large flouring mill on Platte River was erected in 1873 or 1874 by Williams & Piper, who operated it until 1875. It was then purchased by the present propietor, John G. Barton, who, in 1886, thoroughly remodeled it, supplying im- proved machinery for the manufacture of flour by the roller proc- ess. It is now one of the best merchant mills in the county making an average of fifty barrels of flour per day. The build- ing is a four-story frame structure including the basement, and the machinery is operated by the waters of the Platte.
Rochester has suffered severely by fire at different times, the most destructive of which occurred in April, 1885, in which the greater portion of the town was laid in ashes. The origin of the fire could never be ascertained as it was well under headway in the night when first discovered. The following were among the buildings destroyed by the devouring element: Odd Fellows' Hall, Barton's store, Laurence Baker's shoe shop, store building belonging to Mrs. Shanks, Brown's store building, occupied at the time by M. G. Ruby, Frank M. Kennedy's store and a number of smaller buildings, but few of which carried any insurance. The loss entailed upon the property owners, was very heavy, that of Mr. Barton alone amounting to the sum of $7,000.
One month later a second fire occurred, which destroyed several buildings including the Ullman Hotel, which was the largest loss. From the effects of these disasters, Rochester has never fully recovered.
Rochester was first incorporated about the year 1857, but the expense of maintaining a municipal government for so small a village, causing a great deal of dissatisfaction, it was soon abandoned. In 1872 the people again decided to assume the responsibility of
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maintaining a corporation, and after the necessary preliminaries had been arranged, a board of trustees and other officers were elected. At the end of ten years the corporation died a natural death, and no attempts have been since made to resurrect it. The last officers elected were the following: James Taylor, Gorman Brown, George Prince and John Belton, trustees; J. J. Ideson, clerk; J. V. Busey, marshall, and Eli Smith, attorney.
During the late war, and several years anterior thereto, the people of Rochester and vicinity were very much divided in sen- timent, the immediate results of which were several acts of law- lessness, which have always been greatly deplored by the better class of citizens. The first of these occurred as long ago as 1856, when Samuel Simmons, a strong pro-slavery man, was shot and killed by William Hardesty, an ardent believer in the doctrine of anti- slavery. This sad affair, the outgrowth of a violent quarrel be- tween the two men, served to arouse the most intense partisan feelings on the part of the people, and for some time thereafter altercations between the contending factions were of frequent occurrence. Another serious affray, resulting in the shooting and killing of Thomas Hartman by Moses Fist, occurred a little later, but the difficulty between them can hardly be attributed to a polit- ical misunderstanding. It appears that there had been a bad feeling existing between the two men for some time, and it was while Hartman was on a drinking bout in Rochester one evening that the quarrel was renewed. One word brought on another until finally, in a desperate and uncontrollable fit of anger, Fist drew a weapon and shot his enemy, the ball taking effect in the abdomen. The wounded man lingered in great agony from Saturday night until Sunday evening, when death put an end to his sufferings. Fist was arrested, and had a pre- liminary trial before a justice of the peace, who, contrary to the general expectation, refused to bind him over to the court ..
It was about the same time that Rochester and the entire country became excited over the tarring of Rev. Mr. Sellers, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the sad death of Mr. Hol- land, an account of which will be found in another chapter.
The first schoolhouse in Rochester was a small frame struct- ure, erected in the southern part of the village a short time after
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the survey was made. It answered the purpose for which it was intended until early in the seventies, when it was sold, and a larger and more comfortable building erected in the eastern part of town.
The first church organization was a Methodist class, the his- tory of which dates from the earliest settlement of the town. The Cumberland Presbyterians subsequently organized a society which still meets for worship in a beautiful frame building, erected in 1874, at a cost of about $3,000. The Disciples, or Christians, maintained an organization in the village for a num- ber of years, and still have services at stated intervals.
Rochester Lodge, No. 248, A. F. & A. M., was organized about the year 1863. Owing to the destruction of the records by fire but little is known of its early history. In September, 1886, the organization was moved to Helena, where the meetings are now regularly held. The officers at this time are Isaac Clark, W. M .; D. N. Pully, S. W .; W. M. Morgan, J. W .; M. L. Thomas, Sec- retary; John Segrist, Treasurer, and John Sewell, Tyler. Since its removal the lodge has enjoyed great prosperity, the present membership numbering about fifty.
The growth of Rochester during the early years of its history while slow, was substantial, and until the completion of the St. Joseph & Des Moines Railroad through the country a couple of miles distant, it was justly entitled to the reputation of being one of the most important local trading points in Andrew County. The fire of 1885, and the springing up one year later of the town of Helena on the railroad only two miles distant, appears to have proved the death blow of Rochester's future prospects, and since then the village has been gradually losing its former prestige. Its population has greatly decreased during the past three years, and a general decay seems to have fastened itself upon the once prosperous little city. There are at this time two general stores, one restaurant, hotel, livery stable, two blacksmiths, one cabinet- maker, one wagon-maker, one shoemaker, one barber and a phy- sician.
FILLMORE.
This beautiful and flourishing little city is situated in Jack- son Township, fifteen miles northwest of Savannah, and derived
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much of its early growth and prosperity from its admirable loca- tion in the midst of one of the richest agricultural regions of Northwest Missouri. Surrounding the village on every hand are vast stretches of undulating prairie and timber lands, dotted at frequent intervals with handsome residences, commodious farms and other evidences of material prosperity, which bespeak the presence of a highly prosperous and contented people. Owing to the abundance of water, fertility of the soil and presence of vast quantities of timber, this part of the county was eagerly sought out by the early settlers, and as long ago as 1838 the pioneer's ax was hear resounding along the streams as the little cabins were erected. One of the first white men to penetrate this part of the county was James Templer, who pre-empted where Joseph Berry now lives in the fall of the above year. Mr. Berry came the following spring, and from that time until the present has been living within a quarter of a mile of the town site.
James Bradford settled a short distance from the village the same year, and a little later came Levi Churchhill and Barney Harper, both of whom located on land now included in the or- ganized town plat. Other settlers in the vicinity of the village were Samuel Kenyon, John L. Griffith, Thompson Kenyon, F. K. Chambers, O. Y. Gregory, Rufus Ayres, Thomas Chambers, Andrew Chambers, Walter B. Wells and others whose names are mentioned in chapters devoted to the early settlement of the county.
The remoteness of this settlement from a market place soon foreshadowed the necessity of a local trading point. Accordingly, as early as 1845, a town was projected and regularly platted by Levi Churchhill, F. K. Chambers, John L. Griffith and Indiana Kenyon, to which the name of New Ark was given. The original plan of the town surveyed by James McKinney embraces parts of Sections 7, 8, 17 and 18, Township 60, Range 36, and in- cludes 100 lots separated by the requisite number of streets and alleys. At the time of the survey there were on the town site the residences of Levi Churchhill, O. Y. Gregory and John L. Griffith, the latter occupied at the time by Rufus Ayres. Among the first purchasers of lots was G. W. Baker, who erected a small store building on Main Street, near where Dr.
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Sutherland's office now stands. This building was a small frame structure, one story high, and answered the purposes for which it was intended until destroyed by fire a number of years later. In addition to his business house Mr. Baker built a hewed-log residence in the southwest part of town on the lot now occupied by the dwelling of Aaron Cole. Elisha Huffman, one of the first mechanics, erected a wagon shop on Main Street soon after the town was laid out, and about the same time several others erected improvements, among whom are remembered David Scott, Mr. Kauffman and Benjamin Davis. As already stated, the first business in Fillmore was erected by G. W. Baker, who brought a stock of goods to the place about the year 1845, and carried on a general trade for a number of years thereafter. He was in partnership for awhile with B. K. Davis, but subsequently sold out to Messrs. Holly and Armstrong. Davis built a two- story business house in early days, and for a number of years was prominently identified with the mercantile interests of the town. He finally became embarrassed, and was compelled to close out his business. William Florence and Karens Laughlin were early merchants of Fillmore, and a little later came Enos Smither, James Bryant, W. E. Brown and Rufus Ayres.
The first hotel in Fillmore was kept by Jefferson Griffith, and stood on the corner of Main and Cross Streets, south of James League's store building. The house was erected by Mr. Griffith, but subsequently passed into the hands of Jerry Burns, who acted in the capacity of mine host for a number of years. A man by the name of Collier afterward erected a building for hotel purposes, the same that is now owned and kept by B. F. Thorn- ton. The latter early became a favorite stopping place, and is still well patronized by those who make transient visits to the village.
The lots in the original plat having been purchased and im- proved, the growth of the town soon necessitated the laying out of additions. Several additions have been made from time to time, the first of which bears date of April 30, 1852, and consists of forty-two in lots and one out lot laid out by Thomas Chambers.
Kenyon's addition of sixty lots was surveyed in March, 1853, and in 1885 Isabelle Holt had a plat of twenty-four lots surveyed and
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added to the town. In the meantime the name of the village was officially changed from New Ark to Fillmore.
As already stated, that part of Jackson Township in the vicin- ity of Fillmore is pre-eminently an agricultural region, consequent- ly but little attention has been given by the citizens of the town to manufacturing enterprises. About the year 1856 a large three- story steam flouring mill was erected by Messrs Baker & Kim- ball, who operated it for some years. The machinery was after- ward used in the construction of a mill at Amazonia, and the build- ing sold and moved to Holt County. An early industry of the town was a carding machine operated by a tread wheel, horses and oxen supplying the motive power. It was in operation about three years, and appears to have been well patronized.
Fillmore was incorporated as a town by an act of the county court bearing date of November 8, 1873. The first board of trustees was J. M. Kenyon, Smith George, Rufus Ayres, Peter Wykoff and A. H. Chase, who held their first official meetings on the 18th of November, of the above year. The board organized by choosing J. M. Kenyon, chairman and Smith George, secretary, after which the following officers were duly elected: A. L. Lodge, assessor; Holt Allison, marshal; George Cole, treasurer, and Gil- more Lodge, collector. A series of ordinances were drawn up and adopted, the material parts of which are as follows: Ordinance 1 provides fines for assault and battery within the town limits, drunkenness, or the use of any obscene or abusive language cal- culated to provoke a breach of the peace, and for interrupting the peace and quiet of any family by loud, rude or boisterous noises, the fines for each offense being not less than $1 nor more than $25.
Another section provides that there shall be no saloon or dram shop, or any other place where intoxicating drink is sold, kept within one-half mile of the corporate limits of the town, except drug stores, which may be allowed to keep liquors for strictly medicinal or mechanical purposes. The fine for violating this section was fixed at not less than $20 nor more than $100. Section 32 defines the duties of the druggist as far as the keeping of liquors were concerned as follows: "It shall be the duty of any one keeping a drug store within the limits of said
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town to keep a register of the names of all persons purchasing liquors of them, certifiying the purpose for which it was pur- chased, and such persons shall sign such register at the time of purchasing such liquors, and any person purchasing such liquors under false pretenses and becoming intoxicated, it shall be com- petent evidence in court that the keeper of the drug store has not violated the ordinance prohibiting the sale of liquors unless it be shown that the liquors were sold for some other than mechanical or medicinal purposes. If it appears that such liquors were pur- chased under false pretenses, the purchaser thereof shall be liable to a fine of not less than five nor more than fifty dollars."
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