History of Boone County, Missouri., Part 103

Author:
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: St. Louis, Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1220

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REV. MERIWEATHER L. A. VIA.

Rev. Meriweather Lewis Arlington Via, farmer and minister, was born near Charlottesville, Albemarle county, Virginia, August 27th, 1813. He is the son of Pleasant and Margaret E. Via. He remained with his parents until nineteen years of age, when he began doing for himself as a farm overseer, following this occupation until he was twenty-four years old. In 1837 he engaged in blacksmithing, fol- lowing this business until 1842, when he sold out and removed to Missouri. In 1845 he purchased a farm near Everett, in Boone

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county, where he remained until 1865, when he sold out and removed to Callaway county, Missouri. He remained there four years, returning to Boone in 1869, settling on the farm where he now lives, near Colum- bia. In addition to farming Mr. Via is a local minister of the Meth- odist Church South. He was licensed to preach in 1851, and was subsequently ordained a deacon, at Louisiana, Missouri, by Bishop Pierce, and was made an elder by Bishop Marvin, at Fulton, Missouri. He was married January 3d, 1832, to Miss Mary Ann Watson, of Albemarle county, Virginia, by whom he has four children : William, a prosperous physician, whose biography appears elsewhere in this volume ; John U., who is now superintending his father's farm ; Mar- garet V., wife of Wingfield Conley, a farmer, of Missouri township, and Meriweather Benjamin, also a practicing physician. He was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, December, 1839. When he was three years old his parents came to Missouri and settled in Boone county, where he was raised and educated. He remained with his parents un- til he attained his majority, when he commenced teaching in the com- mon schools of Boone county. He also taught penmanship in Boone and the surrounding counties. In 1873 he began the study of medi- cine, under his brother, W. P. Via. From 1874 to 1875, inclusive, he attended the lectures at the Missouri State University. In 1876 he attended a course of lectures at the Medical College in St. Louis, . finally graduating from Keokuk, Iowa, in 1881, when he began the practice of medicine in Missouri township, making his home with his father three and one-half miles southwest of Columbia.

WILLIAM PLEASANT VIA.

William Pleasant Via, M. D., was born in Albermarle county, Vir- ginia, August 12th, 1842. His parents removed to Boone county, Missouri, in 1845. He was raised on a farm, attending the common schools until 1864, when he commenced the study of medicine under Dr. John M. Shock, of Everett, Boone county, Missouri. In 1866-67 he attended lectures at the Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati. In 1870-71, he attended medical lectures at Pope's College, St. Louis, graduating from that institution in March, 1871. After practicing his profession in various places, and making a tour through the West- ern and Northwestern States, he returned to Boone county in 1877 and resumed his former practice in the vicinity of Midway, at which place he is permanently located. He has the patronage of a fine dis- trict of country, getting all the practice he can attend to. In addi-

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tion to his regular practice, he is county physician, having the care of all patients at the county prison and infirmary. He was married June 9th, 1877, to Miss Emma E., daughter of J. H. Ravenscraff, of Boone county. They have two children, Hugh Breinerd and Guy Forrest. Dr. Via is a member of Twilight lodge, No. 144, A. F. and A. M., Columbia, Missouri. He was a Confederate soldier during the civil war, having enlisted under Col. Harvey Mckinney in 1861, serving until the winter of 1864.

JOSHUA F. WHITE.

This gentleman, an old settler of Boone county, was born in Win- chester, Frederick county, Virginia, March 27th, 1813. When he was nine years old his parents came to Missouri, and settled one mile north of Head's Fort, in Howard county. Joshua lived with the family on the farm, even after he became of age ; and when his father and mother became old and infirm, he, like a dutiful son, cared for their comfort and support till the time of their death. His mother died first, at the age of eighty, in 1851, and his father died in 1858, aged eighty-six. Mr. White fell heir to the homestead, which he owned till 1860, when he sold it and moved to Rocheport, this county. Besides being a farmer, his father was master of the cooper's trade, which Joshua learned also. On coming to Rocheport he set up in that business, and has continued in it ever since. Mr. White served in the Black Hawk war, in 1832, as scout under command of Captains Canowl and Pollard. In 1837 he volunteered for service in the Florida war under Col. Richard Gentry, and was commissioned cap- tain of his company. He, however, fell sick with a fever, and could not move with his command, Lieut. Jackson taking command of the company. On the 25th of October, 1838, he was married to Miss Mary Hern, of Boone county, by whom he has at this writing five living children : Susan F., George W., Ann, Josephine, and Mary. Mrs. White died June 30th, 1856. Not many of these old pioneers are left, and the time must speedily come when all that we know of them will be in vague tradition, unless, indeed, their names should be mentioned in history. But it is to them that the generations of this day owe their comfort and prosperity in this land of peace and plenty.

THOMAS WHITTLE.

Mr. Whittle was born in Staffordshire, England, April 24, 1825. In early life he learned the trade of boot and shoe making, at which

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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

he has worked the greater portion of his life, or until 1869. When he had attained his majority, or in the year 1846, he made a tour of England, visiting some of the principal cities. October 7, 1847, he came to America, landing in New York City. This was the first trip of the vessel in which he sailed ; on her second she was lost. After travelling through various States of the Union, Mr. Whittle landed in . Columbia, June 6, 1852. He found it very difficult to obtain a. house in which to do business, owing to the indisposition of the land- lords at that day to rent to newcomers, but in time, he found himself firmly established, and became one of the county's best and most respected citizens.

Mr. Whittle engaged in the boot and shoe business, upon his first settling in Columbia, and steadily pursued his calling, making a full hand either on the bench, or behind the counter. He always kept himself employed, and never found time to "loaf." By industry, economy, and good management, in time he acquired the handsome competence which he now possesses. He has owned one of the best farms in Boone county for fourteen years, and on this stands one of the most handsome and comfortable residences in Central Missouri. In May, 1882, Mr. Whittle began the erection, on the corner of Ninth and Broadway, Columbia, of the fine structure known as Whittle's block, probably the best building of. the kind in the city. Mr. Whit- tle's possessions are the product of his own labor and honest enterprise. He inherited nothing from his father's estate, being the eighth child of a family of twelve children. In October, 1857, Mr. Whittle mar- ried Miss Mary Hulen, daughter of John A. Hulen, Esq., of Boone county. They are the parents of four children, Hannah L., John E., Francis L. and Thomas William, all of whom have been educated in Columbia, at the Christian College and the State University. Mr. and Mrs. Whittle are both members of the Christian church, and Mr. Whittle is a member of the Masonic fraternity.

In 1865 Mr. Whittle made a trip to Europe. He crossed the Atlantic in the ill-fated steamer City of Boston, which was lost on her next trip, and never heard of. He has made several narrow escapes from violent deaths by ships and steamboats, very remarkable in their nature, and worthy of recording. Besides the two already noted, in 1849 he accidently missed a steamer at Pittsburg Pa., which blew up on the same trip. Afterward, at New Orleans, he missed taking pas- sage for California on the steamship Louisiana, which blew up while in port. While in Europe, in 1865, Mr. Whittle made the tour of

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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

France, and spent some time in the city of Paris. He came home in the steamer Louisiana, and on the next trip she was lost.

Mr. Whittle has much to be proud of. A well-spent life ; a com- petence of this world's goods ; an elegant, tasty home ; an intelligent, cultivated family, appreciative of the valuable and beautiful in life, and hosts of merited friends are things of which any man may be proud, and beyond which nothing need be desired.

BENTON WHITE

Was born near Rocheport, Boone county, Missouri, January 10, 1842. When he was ten years old, his parents moved over into Howard county, settling near the Boone line, five miles northwest of Rocheport. Here Benton was reared, and learned the trade of black- smith under his father, who was a votary of that craft. At nineteen years old, he began to do business for himself as a blacksmith and farnı- er, which he continued until 1867. He then opened a general store at what is known as White's Store, on the old road leading from Rocheport to Fayette, where he is still in business. In March, 1862, he took in, as a partner, his younger brother, George H., who had been clerking for Benton since he was a small boy. At this time they opened a store in Rocheport, one brother taking charge of it, while the other remained at the old stand. In 1872 a post-office was estab- lished at White's Store, and Benton was appointed postmaster, which position he still holds. Their business now amounts to $20,000 in sales, annually, though they began on a capital of only $600. On September 1, 1862, Mr. White was married to Miss Susan, daughter of Ephraim Turner, of Howard county. They have five children : John, Nannie, Bettie, Samuel R., and May T. Mr. White is a careful and successful business man, and is held in high esteem by the busi- ness men of Boone and Howard counties, being ever found at his post, and gradually rising in business prosperity.

JOSEPH WILLIAMSON.

The subject of this sketch is one of the oldest living pioneers of Boone county. He came to this county with his father, John Wil- liamson, from Virginia, in 1828, and settled near the Missouri river, eight miles southeast of Rocheport. The first year after their arrival he farmed with his father, but the year following bought a farm of 184 acres, his father assisting him in the purchase. He was married December 23, 1829, to Miss Shelin Brushwood, and commenced the

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PHOTO ENELONY

John. J. Hethit

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improvement of the farm upon which he lived until 1851, when he re- moved to the farm he now occupies, in the near vicinity of the first purchase. During the great overflow in 1844 his farm was entirely flooded, and he lost all that he possessed except the land. Mr. Wil- liamson has, by industry and frugality, accumulated valuable property, owning about 500 acres of land. He was once the largest tobacco grower in the country, having produced as much as 10,000 pounds in one season. At first he shipped to New Orleans, but afterwards sold at Rocheport. In 1832 he, in company with L. B. Hunt, built a flat- boat at Rocheport, which they loaded with cattle, tobacco and hemp for the New Orleans market. While making the voyage down the Mississippi river, which had overflown its banks, four of the crew, who had landed from the boat in an effort to fasten the cable, were left on the shore. Mr. Williamson went to their rescue in a canoe which was overturned near the shore. He escaped, but the men on the flat, supposing he was lost, went on with the boat. Mr. William- son was compelled to work his passage to St. Louis, where he was afterwards joined by his friends, who had made a successful voyage and had plenty of money. Mr. Williamson, before coming to Mis- souri, travelled extensively over the South, and has visited Texas since settling in Missouri. He has six living children and thirty-one grandchildren. Himself, wife and children are all members of the Methodist church.

JOHN S. WILHITE.

This is another subject who was " to the manner born." Mr. Wilhite is the son of William and Priscilla Wilhite, and was born on Thrall's prairie, July 26, 1819. His parents were Kentuckians, who came here in the pioneer days of Boone county -1818. John was reared a farmer in the neighborhood of his birth, and received his education in the subscription schools of the proverbial " old log school-house." On coming of age, he began to work his father's farm " on shares," which he continued to do some three years. He then began improv- ing for himself, on a piece of wild land belonging to his father, and which the latter subsequently deeded to John. He resided on that place till 1849, when he purchased the farm where he now re- sides, in Missouri township. In February, 1849, he was married to Miss Nancy B., daughter of Andrew and Mary C. McQuitty, also pioneers of old Boone county. The subject of this sketch is de- cidedly a home man, as he was never out of the State but four times

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in his life, and then only for short periods. Mr. Wilhite owns a good farm of 320 acres, which he devotes to general agriculture, but es- pecially to stock growing. He owned some valuable slaves, which the war freed, and which were his sole dependence as farm hands. The negroes never left him, however, and continued with their old master, all but two (who are still with him) being dead. After the war, Mr. W. either paid them wages, or gave them a share of the crop, at their own option. He and wife are both members of the Walnut Grove Baptist church, of which he has been a member since 1853, and she since 1842. Over thirty years a member of the same church ! What a subject is this for the pastoral poet, who might show them now, as. serenely waiting the time when they shall be called home, to remain forever in a glad, unbroken congregation, where all joy is worship and all happiness is praise !

ANDREW JACKSON WOOD.

Andrew J. Wood is the son of James R. and Jane (Ogan) Wood, pioneer settlers of Boone county, who came from North Carolina in an early day, and settled on a farm in Missouri town- ship, seven miles southwest of Columbia, where the subject of this sketch was born, October 17, 1833. His father having died in 1849, Mr. Wood took charge of the farm, which, at the death of his mother in 1863, became his property. The farm contains 230 acres. He was married June 24, 1877, to Miss Susan A. Vanlandingham, of Boone county. She died May 4, 1879, leav- ing one child, Addie P.

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CHAPTER XXI.

PERCHE TOWNSHIP.

Topography - Remarkable Natural Features - Connor's (or Holton's) Cave - Callaham's- Lick -Sketch of Wm. Callaham - Organization -Early Settlers -The "Firsts " - Manslaughter- The "Blackfoot" Country -Villages. Perchetown, or "Persia " - Harrisburg-Everett - Methodist Church - Dripping Spring - Christian Church - Ammon - Germantown - Woodlandville. War Incidents. Fights and Skirmishes - Killing of Mr. Drake -Guerrilla Diabolism - Killing of Wm. Rumans - Hanging of Two Federals - Shooting of "Half-Witted " Batey - Mr. Dimmitt's Fight with Bush- whackers - Biographies of Old Settlers and Prominent Citizens of Perche Township.

TOPOGRAPHY.

Except Thrall's prairie, which was but a few miles in extent, Perche was originally covered by a dense growth of timber. Much of this timber-land is still uncleared. Comparatively speaking, the timbered lands of Perche are far in excess of any other township in the county.

There are fine coal mines in the neighborhood of Dripping Springs and on Lick Fork, along the line of the original survey of the Chicago and Alton railroad.

The township is finely watered, springs abounding in almost every neighborhood, and when not found above the surface can be easily reached by digging.

The township is thickly settled, and while not so rich of soil, it possesses many material advantages that render it a most desirable abode to those who have chosen homes within its borders. The southern portion, including Thrall's prairie and the " Model Farm," is perhaps the finest body of land in the county. The farm, as improved by its late proprietor, was given the premium as the best in the State.

REMARKABLE NATURAL FEATURES - CONNOR'S (OR HOLTON'S) CAVE.

Near the junction of the last named stream with the Callaham is the famous cave known by several names, but originally as " Connor's." This cave is just over the township line which separates Perche and. Missouri, being in the latter township. As it naturally pertains to the section of country known as Perche, with the sobriquet of " Blackfoot," it will not be amiss to include a description of it in this township history. It is situated on the northwest quarter of section

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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

thirty, township forty-nine, range thirteen. It now bears the name of Holton's cave, having taken the name from George Holton, senior, who owned the land for twenty or thirty years. He died, a few years ago, leaving the property to his son, George Holton, junior, who now occupies the old homestead. The house stands within three hundred yards of this remarkable cave. As the land about this cave was not valuable for agricultural purposes, it remained vacant for many years after the rich valleys and level uplands were entered and occupied. The water-power at last attracted the attention of one of the neigh- bors, who erected a small grist-mill at the mouth of the cave. A few years later Lewis Connor bought the property and established a large tan-yard, intending to utilize the water-power for grinding tan-bark and for other purposes. When everything was ready it was found the motive power was not sufficient for all purposes. Horse-power was accordingly substituted for grinding the bark, and the business went on for years, and Connor's tan-yard became one of the land- marks of the country. The tan-yard and all the buildings pertaining thereto have disappeared before the " devouring tooth of time," and only the name and cave remain to remind us of Lewis Connor, whose life of earnest, honest toil deserves never to be forgotten.

The entrance to the cave is from the west. To the right and di- rectly in front there is a perpendicular wall rising above the cave to the height of forty or fifty feet. The wall is very smooth in places, and was formerly covered with rude pictures of animals and birds of all sorts and sizes, being somewhat similar in outline and finish to those found on the river bluff below Rocheport. They are now indis- tinct. The cutting away of timber above has changed the whole face of nature. The turf and moss and loose rocks, that formed an awning above, have fallen away, allowing the rains to beat upon the walls below until scarcely a trace of the pictures remain.

The entrance to the cave is sufficiently large to admit a man on horseback, but the wall overhead varies from four feet to seventy-five or eighty. From right to left the walls are from ten to twenty feet apart. The country traversed by this cave is a high ridge of table land lying between the Perche and Callaham, which at this point are about three miles apart. A large stream flows through the cave from cast to west, but the course is very tortuous. This cave has been traversed for several miles. One party, who claims to have measured the distance travelled, reached a point three miles from the mouth.

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This is quite probable, but owing to the irregularities of the channel, they doubtless did not reach a point exceeding one mile from the place of starting. The scenery within this cave was formerly of the most novel and brilliant character. Stalactites and stalagmites with- out number adorned the roof and floor. Some of them were as large as a man's body, as white as snow and smooth of surface as a piece of porcelain. All of the finest specimens have been broken and carried away. About a half mile from the entrance the roof of the cave rises abruptly from the height of five or six feet to seventy-five or eighty feet, perhaps higher, as the dome is lost to view in total darkness. About one-fourth of a mile further on are the chambers, two in num- ber. The outer one is approached by two stalagmites, one lying above the other. In the center of this room is a huge stalactite which meets and unites with a large stalagmite, forming a beautiful column, twelve or fourteen feet in length, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. The inner chamber is approached from the outer through a narrow doorway. This is the most beautiful scene of all. In the center is a natural basin filled with water as clear as crystal, but so strongly impregnated with lime as to be repugnant to the taste. A few daring individuals have climbed to the dome of this chamber and written their names on the smooth surface overhead.

The full length of this cave, and the extent of scenery within, is unknown, and will probably remain a mystery forever, from the fact that deep water precludes a thorough survey of its wonders. There are names and dates upon the walls and roof of this cavern reaching beyond the recollection of the oldest inhabitant. Some of the dates are as far back as 1812. While it is not impossible nor improbable that those names and dates are genuine, they should be considered with many grains of allowance.

CALLAHAM'S LICK.

This is another of the early landmarks of this section. It is situ- ated on the farm of Joel Hawkins, which is on the northeast quarter of section thirteen, township forty-nine, range fourteen. The salt springs, some fifteen or twenty in number, are on the east side of Callaham's creek, which takes its name from William Callaham, who pitched his tent near those springs several years in advance of the earliest settlers of this portion of Boone county. The earliest emigrants found William Callaham domiciled near the salt springs, and he had been there for years, how long it is not known. In deference to

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William Callaham, the salt springs and creek are called by his name .. He was, at the time of forming this settlement, in the prime of life, a: large, tall, dark-skinned man, so dark in fact as to give currency to. the belief that he was part Indian. Whether true or false, William Callaham was never heard to contradict the report and it was finally accepted as true. He brought his wife with him to the lick and there they lived and died, both reaching a good old age, living to see their sons and daughters grown up men and women.

Mrs. Callaham had followed her husband in all his wanderings. They stopped first at Loutre Island, at the mouth of the Loutre, in Montgomery county. They settled on the island for protection against the Indians. Callaham felled a large tree and with his axe and fire, burned and hewed the trunk into something like the semblance- of a boat. When game became scarce on the island he visited the. mainland, where, leaving his wife to watch the boat, he would plunge into the dense forest in quest of game. One day he was set upon by a band of Indians. Being alone, he did not dare risk battle, but fled in the direction of his boat. It became a race for life. Callaham was swift of foot and gained somewhat on his pursuers, but just as he was in the act of jumping into the boat - having previously thrown his gun into his wife's lap - a ball from one of the enemy's guns went crashing through his leg. There was but one thing left for the brave pioneer to do - he plunged headlong into the river. Mrs. Callaham seized her husband by the collar and, by main strength, lifted him in- to the boat and rowed safely to their island home. As soon as he was- able to travel, they pushed on further west, following the old Indian trace, intending to go to Boone's Lick, in Howard county, to which point a few families had already ventured. While en route for this. place, he discovered the salt springs, on the Callaham, and went no fur- ther. . He would go off evenings to the lick, and, climbing to the lower branches of a neighboring tree, would wait for his game. After dark, deer, elk and buffalo would come to lick the earth near the springs. Mr. Callaham would then select the game he wished to kill, and send a ball from his trusty rifle into the animal's vitals. Mr. and Mrs. Callaham raised seven sons. When the neighborhood began to fill up. with people, Callaham attempted to utilize the salt springs by making salt, but the brine was too weak. East of this lick, about two and a half miles, was another salt spring on the Perche. Callaham, after- failing with his salt-works at his own home, moved his boilers to the Perche springs, but with no better success.

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ORGANIZATION.

· Perche is one of the original or primitive townships of Boone county, having been organized in 1821. At the May term of the county court, for that year, the following order was made relative to the metes and bounds of this township and the name thereof :

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History of Boone County, Missouri., Part 103

Author: Publication date: 1882 Publisher: St. Louis, Western Historical Company Number of Pages: 1220

Author:
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: St. Louis, Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1220