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 37
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 37
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A feed mill was erected in 1885 by L. R. Bond, who still operates it, doing a very successful business. It stands in the northern part of the town, and is the only manufacturing enter- prise of the place. W. M. Coy was the first to open a house for the benefit of the traveling public, and is still the only landlord of the village, his house being well known along the line of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.
Elk Lodge, No. 66, I. O. O. F., was organized from an old society which met for years in the town of Rochester. The hall in the latter place was destroyed by fire in 1885, after which it was decided to move the organization to Helena, which was accordingly done the same year. The original records hav- ing been consumed by the fire, a petition for a new charter signed by the following persons was sent to the Grand Lodge: W. D. Etcheson, Daniel Thompson, S. E. Driver, Warren Snowden,
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HISTORY OF ANDREW COUNTY.
W.W. P. Slade, M. Greer, Henry Blount and A. P. Albertson. The petition was granted on the 21st day of May, 1885, at which time the history of the lodge at Helena properly begins. The proposi- tion to change the place of meeting from Rochester to Helena gave rise to some opposition, but the vote resulted in a majority of two- thirds of the members in favor of the latter place. A beautiful hall, one of the best finished and furnished in Andrew County, was erected in 1885, at a cost of $1,500. Since its reorganization Elk Lodge has enjoyed great prosperity, and there have sprung from it two lodges, one at Flag Springs, and one at the town of Cosby. The finances of the lodge are in excellent condition, and the member- ship at this time numbers about forty. The officers for 1887 are as follows: Jesse Smith, N. G .; William Palmer, V. G .; W. W. P. Slade, Treasurer and David Caldwell, Warden.
Until the purchase of the narrow guage by the Chicago, Bur- lington & Quincy Railroad, Helena was content to occupy a very humble position, but with the change business began flowing to the place, and the village soon entered upon a career of prosperity which still continues. While it is not a place of extensive busi- ness it has already secured a fair proportion of the current trade. Its population does not probably exceed 300, but is supplied with all the necessary auxiliaries of the kind and quality of trade de- manded by the people there and in the country surrounding. In consequence of its admirable location in a very rich farming country it is likely to command a large share of the trade in the storage and shipment of grain, lumber, live stock, etc.
Present business : Sol. Augustine, general merchant; Irwin & Thompson, general stock; Gage & Enslow, groceries; William Carroll, drugs and groceries; Samuel Duncan, confectionery ; John Lane, confectionery; Mrs. Warner, millinery ; W. A. Jordan, lumber dealer; William Morgan and M. Greer, shippers of live stock; William Coy, livery stable and meat market, also proprie- tor of the Coy House; Cad Varner, wagon-maker and undertaker; Moses Conway, blacksmith; T. V. Lawson, harness and saddlery ; G. W. Burgunda, shoemaker; John Lane, barber; William Mark, railroad agent, and R. A. Irwin, postmaster.
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COSBY.
Like Helena this town is an outgrowth of the St. Joseph & Des Moines Narrow Gauge Railway, and dates its history from the year 1882. The original town was laid out on the 27th of April of the above year, and included about ten acres of land in Section 1, Township 58, Range 34, one mile east of the present town site. It was surveyed by Judge E. S. Castle, for William Moberly, proprietor, and the plat as recorded shows sixty-nine lots and five streets, viz. : Maine, South, First, Moberly and Carter, the first three running east and west and the others north and south. Mr. Moberly was appointed station agent at the new town, and shortly after entering upon the discharge of his duties he erected a store building, and engaged in the goods business, which he carried on for some time in connection with the blacksmith's trade. John Augustine opened a store in 1877, and continued the same until the change in the road in the spring of 1886. In 1881 Strock & Co. began merchandising, but a short time prior to their arrival a general store had been opened by Lewis Chambers, who subsequently sold out to the Kelly Brothers. A. W. Norris & Bros. were among the first business men of the town, erecting a building and engaging in general merchandising about the year 1878. In 1885 the Narrow Gauge was purchased by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company, and one of the first changes which followed was the straightening of the line, and widening the track to a standard gauge. When this was accomplished the inhabitants of Cosby, much to their chagrin, found their little town one mile from the road, and means were at once devised to obtain a new site and secure a station. On the 9th of November, 1885, a new town was platted in Sections 2 and 11, Township 58, Range 4, and recorded in the names of Jacob Heinz, Nehemiah Kelley, Jesse Kelley and Samuel Leidy, by whom the lots were offered for sale. The majority of them were at once purchased by the citizens of the village, who immediately began moving their business houses, residences, etc., to the new location. This was soon accomplished, and within a few months a beautiful and flour- ishing village stood upon what a short time before had been a culti- vated field. The original plat was vacated, and the lots purchased
-
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HISTORY OF ANDREW COUNTY.
by John Krull, and nothing now remains to mark the site of the first Cosby. In order to induce the railroad company to establish a sta- tion the citizens of the village donated depot grounds and $500 toward defraying the expenses of erecting the building. The first house in the new town was the store building of Strock & Co., and the second one was moved from the original village by John Augustine. Other buildings were erected from time to time, and the growth and prosperity of Cosby, since taking charge of its new quarters, is all that its friends could reasonably hope or desire. It has a population of about 200, and has already become one of the best shipping points on the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.
The present business men are Peters & Maughmer, general merchants ; Kelley Bros., drugs ; Henry Dersch, hardware; August Smith, blacksmith; Perry Stevens, wagon-maker; Henry Eden, shoemaker; John Wild, carpenter; A. W. Norris, proprietor of, the Central House; N. Spencer, Cosby House: - Connine, rail- road agent; J. P. Tate, postmaster.
West of the village, on the Platte River, is a large flouring mill erected in the fall of 1886, and operated by Nims & Co., who do a large and lucrative business. The mill is operated by water power, and manufactures flour by the roller process.
Cosby Lodge, No. 401, I. O. O. F., was instituted in 1876, with the following members: F. W.Kimberlin, George Kimberlin, Jacob Kimberlin, S. S. Cook, A. J. McElroy, J. P. Tate, George Kelley, Nehemiah Kelley, Jarvis Kerby, Alexander Kerby, C. R. Graham, Nathan Gabbert, William Farington, George Faring- ton and John Bays. The first officers chosen were F. W. Kim- berlin, N. G .; John Bays, V. G. ; Jacob Kimberlin, Per. Sec. ; J. P. Tate, Rec. Sec .; A. J. McElroy, Treas. The first hall in the old town was burned in the spring of 1880, resulting in the complete destruction of the charter and records. A petition for a new charter was presented to the Grand Lodge in the spring of 1886, signed by the following members: B. F. Cook, James Strock, Thomas Adams, G. W. Wilday, J. P. Tate, J. B. Kerby, E. S. Castle, E. M. Peters and L. A. Shumate. The charter was granted on this petition May 21, 1886, since which time meetings have been held in Strock's hall. The lodge has prospered greatly
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during the past year, and at this time has the names of fifty mem- bers upon the roll. Present officers, T. P. Adams, N. G. ; George Wilday, V. G .; E.S. Castle, Rec. Sec .; E. M. Peters, Per. Sec .; L. A. Shumate, Treas.
John Kelsey Post, No. 278, G. A. R., was organized in June, 1886, with nineteen members, a number which has since increased to thirty-two. It is in good working order, and numbers among its members many of the best citizens in the village.
AVENUE CITY.
This small hamlet on the One-Hundred-and-Two River, in Jef- ferson Township, is the place where one of the first mills in the southern part of Andrew County was built. The land was originally purchased by Lytle Hughes, who, in a very early day, erected a mill, which for a number of years was the chief source of supplies for the settlers of the vicinity. The mill subsequently passed into the hands of other parties, and finally came into the possession of Newton Bird, by whom it has been thoroughly re- modeled, and supplied with new machinery. It is still in operation, doing a good business. A few years ago a large bridge was constructed across the river at this point, and within a short time thereafter Mr. Bird employed a surveyor, and had a town plat laid out in Section 7, Township 58, Range 34, to which the name Avenue City was given, the record bearing date of April 28, 1882. A store was started soon after, and in due time a hotel, drug store and blacksmith shop were numbered among the business interests of the place. Surrounding the village is one of the best farming districts of Andrew County, a fact which will doubtless bring to the place a fair proportion of the current trade.
NODAWAY STATION.
Nodaway Station, on the Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad, is a small country village in the southern part of Lincoln Township. It is a prominent shipping point, es- pecially for fruit and wood, and is also a good local trading point; there being at this time one general store kept by Shellenberger & Son, and a drug store by Dr. Gleeves. The village was never regularly platted, and is merely the outgrowth of the neighbor- hood's demand for a trading and shipping point.
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HISTORY OF ANDREW COUNTY.
PARKER.
Parker is the name of a country postoffice in the northwest- ern part of Clay Township. The locality being remote from any town, a business house was started a few years ago for the accom- modation of the neighbors, who found it inconvenient to go to Fillmore, Savannah and other distant points to do their trading. The store is still in operation, being run at this time by Messrs. Farries & Debord, who do a very prosperous business. There is also a drug store in the place, and a blacksmith shop.
EMPIRE CITY.
Empire City, a paper town in the northeastern part of An- drew County, was laid out in October, 1869, by C. Fry. The town occupies a part of the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 22, Township 61, Range 33, and consists of six blocks- twenty-four lots, and the following streets: Grant, Cedar, Pine, Chestnut and Walnut. There is a postoffice and one small store at the place.
MILITARY.
Although many of the early settlers of Andrew County, and others of more recent dates, had participated in warlike conflicts with Indians, and with the marshaled hosts of civilized nations, they cannot, with propriety, be recognized as a people trained in the arts of war-warlike.
While this negation is true, it is nevertheless a fact that al- ways, whenever the occasion demanded, the inborn disposition to defend what they considered right, and to chastise the wrong, has always predominated among the people, inciting them to take up arms in the support of the one and to oppose the other.
Aside from the calls made upon the citizens of the county, by authority of the State and of the United States, for soldiers to materialize and exert the formidable war power of the country, some there have been, of the remaining fathers of the Revolu- tion, others of the War of 1812 and Indian campaigns, who rep- resented the counties from which they emigrated, in times past, in the several periods of savage and civilized warfare, in which
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the State and Union have been participants. Quite a number of old Revolutionary soldiers were among the early settlers of the county, and, until within a comparatively recent date, there were several citizens of the county who had borne an active and distin- guished part in the last war with Great Britain.
MEXICAN WAR.
Affairs between the United States and Mexico having assumed a hostile attitude, the President of the United States, by proc- lamation, May 11, 1846, announced that a state of war existed between the two countries. Congress, thereupon, immediately authorized a call for 50,000 volunteers, one-half to be raised at once, and the remainder to be used as a reserve. Then the Presi- dent, on the strength of this authority, issued his call according- ly, the instrument bearing date, May 13, 1846. The governors of the several States responded promptly, John C. Edwards, gover- nor of Missouri, issuing his proclamation about the middle of the above month, directing the enrollment of volunteers in conform- ity with the order of the President.
The news of the declaration of war by the United States, and of the Governor's proclamation, reached Andrew County without delay, and steps were at once taken to raise a company of troops, the leading spirit in the enterprise being W. H. Rodgers, who was elected captain.
Owing to the sparsely settled country, some months elapsed before the requisite number of men were enrolled and the organ- ization effected, but in the summer of 1847 the quota was full, and the company mustered into the service. It formed a part of what was known as the Oregon Battalion, which was largely made up from Buchanan, Andrew, Holt and neighboring coun- ties. As already stated, the captain of the company was W. H. Rodgers. The other officers, so far as now known, were as fol- lows: Frank Impey, first lieutenant; Greenberry Linkletter, second lieutenant; William Young, third lieutenant, and a Mr. Kennedy, first sergeant.
The Oregon battalion was recruited for the Army of the West, and ordered to report at Fort Leavenworth, which it did in the lat- ter part of 1847. The war at that time being practically at an end,
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HISTORY OF ANDREW COUNTY.
the battalion with other troops was ordered to Fort Kearney, Neb., where, during the winter of 1847-48, the troops did nothing but camp duty. The following spring the force was ordered west on the Platte River, where, in the summer of 1848, they erected at Grand Island what was known as Fort, Charles, after- ward Fort Kearney. There the force did garrison duty until the following fall, at which time the Oregon battalion was mustered out of the service.
THE CIVIL WAR.
The causes, immediate and remote, which led to the late great conflict between the Northern and Southern States, are well known to all intelligent readers of history, and need not be discussed in this connection. Slavery, the plague spot upon the National Escutcheon, was the great primary cause, and in no State were the baneful effects of the institution more ser- iously and disastrously felt than in Missouri. Admitted to the Union as slave territory, the State became so deeply and closely involved in the Kansas troubles of 1854-56 that the en- tire subject of the conflict between the North and the South can be said in fact to have been developed within its limits. The people of the central and southern counties made their favorite institution profitable, while the northern part of the State, settled as it had been by immigrants from both free and slave territory, contained a large number of people who looked upon the " relic of barbarism " in their midst with anything but a kindly interest.
This division in sentiment early led to serious local difficul- ties, which increased to such an extent, as the years went by, that churches, neighborhoods, and oftentimes entire communities were disrupted in consequence thereof.
The Kansas troubles were keenly felt in Andrew and other western counties, where both pro and anti-slavery factions had many warm friends, and bitter uncompromising enemies. To assist their friends in the former ill-starred State, the two factions are said to have organized and sent across the river companies of armed men, for the purpose of voting. While it is not positively known that any such company ever went from Andrew County, it is conceded that many individuals crossed over from time to time, and took an active part in the warlike demonstrations so
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prevalent a few years before the breaking out of the great Rebellion.
Those troubles appear to have intensified the already bitter partisan feeling in Western Missouri, and as a result many acts of a violent nature took place in different parts of the country, one of the most serious tragedies of the times having been en- acted about the year 1856, in the village of Rochester, in the eastern part of Andrew County.
In said village and vicinity were a large number of ardent pro-slavery men, among whom were several hot-headed enthu- siasts, who scrupled not at the commission of any act for the pur- pose of strengthening their cause in the community. While this was true in the main, it can not be said that all the pro-slavery men were of that type. On the contrary, many of the best citi- zens of the community were intensely Southern in their sympa- thies, and, in order to maintain peace, they united with their polit- ical enemies in continuing moderation, and spared no efforts in their endeavors to keep in check the turbulent and radical spirits of both factions.
A Methodist minister, by the name of Sellers, had been ap- pointed to the Rochester circuit in 1856, and it was alleged by certain pro-slavery men that his especial mission was to stir up partisan hatred, and attack their favorite institution. While this charge was emphatically denied both by the reverend gentleman and the church, the denial did not satisfy the pro-slavery men, a number of whom, upon one occasion, forbade him attempting to fill his regular appointment. This, of course, aroused consider- able feeling, and in the melee which followed, an old gentleman by the name of Holland, in attempting to interpose in behalf of the minister, was shot and killed by the mob. Mr. Sellers was then seized by the crowd, and subjected to many indignities, among which was a coat of tar administered to his face, head, neck, and other parts of the body. After satisfying their vengeance in this cruel manner, the mob compelled their victim to mount his horse and leave at once, on pain of immediate death. The minister, as may be supposed, lost no time in leaving the place, and, falling into the hands of friends a few miles from the village, was kindly cared for until able to leave the country. His sufferings under
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HISTORY OF ANDREW COUNTY.
the terrible ordeal were intense, and it is said that he never en- tirely recovered from the effects of his cruel treatment.
This transaction, while severely condemned by all peaceably disposed people, served to intensify the already bitter partisan feeling throughout Andrew and neighboring counties, and for several months thereafter it was the fruitful source, not only of local disturbances, but of newspaper comments throughout the State as well.
In the fall of 1856 occurred another melee at Rochester, growing out of a political difference, in which Samuel Simmons, a pro-slavery man, was killed by William Hardesty. After the shooting Hardesty was arrested and incarcerated in the county jail at Savannah, which for some time had to be guarded, in order to save him from lynching at the hands of the dead man's friends.
Consequent upon the threatening aspect of a rupture between the North and the South, from the time it had been definitely settled that Mr. Lincoln was the choice of the people of the United States, the feeling in Andrew County became more bitter than ever, both factions, pro and anti-slavery endeavoring to gain the ascendency. While there was an earnest purpose on the part of the former to give support to the incoming President in his en- deavors to maintain the Union, the latter were equally earnest in their opposition, and when it was definitely known that war must actually occur, both factions began inaugurating measures for the purpose of securing and maintaining the supremacy. Feeling ran high, quarrels were of daily occurrence, and it re- quired the utmost efforts on the part of the more conservative and peaceably disposed, to prevent open rupture and bloodshed.
Public meetings were held by both sides, one of the first of which was convened at Savannah in the spring of 1861, attended by a large concourse of people from all parts of the county. This was advertised as a Union meeting, and stirring addresses were made by Williard P. Hall, and Mr. Stewart, of St. Joseph, who appealed to the patriotism of the crowd, and urged the people to stand by and defend the Government.
A large pole was raised on the north side of the square, from which the stars and stripes were unfurled, its presence creating great enthusiasm. In the meantime the Southern faction gath-
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ered in large numbers, and were addressed by Prince L. Hudgens and others, in the Christian Church, their ringing speeches being distinctly heard by those listening to the remarks of Hall and Stewart.
A day or two previous a Palmetto flag was unfurled from the courthouse cupola, and on the day of the meeting another Southern flag was hoisted beside the first one, both of which were guarded by well-known Southern men who made many sneering remarks about the Yankee flag and insulted those who had raised the pole.
Excitement rose to a fever heat, and at one time several Southern men made a break for the Union flag, which was well guarded by a crowd of armed and determined men, who repulsed the attack, and kept the colors flying. It is related that during the excitement an old Union man, stung to madness, almost, by the presence of the rebel flag on the top of the courthouse, made a large paper kite painted with the stars and stripes, which he sailed aloft until it came several feet above the obnoxious streamer on the cupola. He then held it stationary to the great indigna- tion of the Southern men, several of whom threatened to cut the string, but were prevented from so doing by Union men who threatened to shoot the first one that should make the attempt.
The same day an affray occurred on the public square in which a young man by the name of Thompson, a Southern sym- pathizer was shot in the eye, but not killed. In the evening when Messrs. Hall and Stewart, the Union speakers, started to leave the city, they were followed by a crowd of armed men who determined to take their lives. They escaped however, reaching the train just in time to save themselves.
Other meetings of the same kind were held in different parts of the county, and for a time a state of anarchy existed which the cool-headed and conservative on either side could not succeed in checking. In the meantime troops were raised for the Confed- eracy, which cause, until the news of the bombardment of Fort Sumter, seems to have been in the ascendency. When the news of actual hostilities reached Andrew County, it fired the patriotic heart, and from that time forward the Union men became more determined, and to resist rebel occupation began arming them- selves and raising companies.
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HISTORY OF ANDREW COUNTY.
During the summer of 1861 the Southern men raised and drilled military organizations throughout the county, and in August of that year Camp Highly was established in the eastern part of the county, where within a short time about 1,500 men were collected and organized as State Guards, the object being to join the army of the Confederacy. There were two battalions, commanded by Cols. J. P. Sanders of Andrew, and Jefferson Patton of Gentry County. There was one battery of two pieces commanded by Capt. Fisher, and several companies from Andrew County, among which were the ones raised by Capt. Campbell near Fillmore, Samuel Gant and Lewis Furnish near the village of Rochester. Holt, Nodaway, Buchanan, Clinton, Harrison and other counties were represented at Camp Highly, and the entire force was under the immediate command of Col. Patton, who proved himself a brave and gallant officer.
In the meantime the Union men were not idle, and no sooner had Camp Highly been established than Col. Craynor, of Gen- try County, began raising volunteers to oppose the Southern force, his men going into camp in Gentry County, where from 1,500 to 2,000 men soon assembled, quite a number of whom went from Andrew County. While the two forces were gather- ing, various acts of violence were committed throughout the country, one of the most noted of which was the seizing of the office of the Northwest Democrat, a strong Southern paper, pub- lished at Savannah, by a detachment of Col. Peabody's regiment of Federal troops stationed at St. Joseph. The material and presses were removed, but the editors, Messrs. Nash and Hail, succeeded in making their escape. A little later, when there were no Federal troops in Savannah, a company of Confederates from Camp Highly retaliated by seizing the office of the Plain Dealer, a Union sheet published by Charles H. Whittaker, and moved the material to their camp, where much of the type was melted into bullets. Mr. Whittaker was arrested, but succeeded in making his escape, and after the occupation of Andrew County by the Federals, a little later, resumed the publication of his paper. Companies of Confederates from Camp Highly visited Savannah from time to time, one of which, commanded by Capt. Mothershead, of Gentry County, arrested several citizens, among
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