History of Boone County, Missouri., Part 32

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

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Best two year old jack .

10 00

Best two year old bull and upwards 10 00 Best two year old cow and upwards 10 00

Best two year old jennet

. 10 00

Best ram 5 00

Best ewe

5 00

Best two year old mule

10 00

BEST SADDLE $10 00.

Hogs, cattle, sheep and tobacco, to be exhibited on the first day. All entries must be made on the evening previous to the day of exhibition.

The following gentlemen were chosen judges : -

HOGS.

S. Bently, of Howard; St. Geo. Tucker, Callaway; Ashby Snell, Monroe; Jas. Hutchi- son, Cooper; Jno. H. Field, Boone.

CATTLE.

Gerard Robinson, Howard; Wm. Grant, Callaway; Jas. S. Hutchison, Cooper; Thomas ' M. Allen, Boone.

SHEEP.

Wm. Stone, D. Gordon, Sr., Wm. Johnson.

TOBACCO.

I. C. Scott, of Boone; C. Carter, of Callaway; Samuel Murrell, Theo. Dozier.

5 00

Best 100 lbs. tobacco

10 00

Best sucking horse colt 5 00

Best sucking mare colt 5 00

Best one year old horse colt 5 00

Best one year old mare colt 5 00

Best saddle horse

10 00

Best sucking jack colt 5 00

Best sucking jennet colt 5 00

Best sucking mule colt 5 00

Best yearling mule .

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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

HORSES.

Jas. Palmer, of Boone; Theo. Fletcher, of Boone; R. Overton, Callaway; Benj. Watts, of Howard; Ashby Snell, of Monroe.

JACKS AND JENNETS.

Hugh Withers, of Monroe; Maj. McKenney, of Callaway; Harrison Elliott, of Howard; N. Leonard, of Cooper; Wm. Maupin, of Boone.

MULES.

George Burroughs, of Howard; Smith Walker, of Cooper; Thos. West, of Callaway; Peter Ellis, of Boone; Philip Barnes, of Boone.

AUGUST 21, 1841.

COLUMBIA IN 1841.

In anticipation of the completion of the University edifice, and the opening and permanent organization of the institution, Columbia in 1841 felt the momentum of improvement and prosperity. Although the census, as taken by the town marshal, showed its population to be only 770, " near one thousand " was claimed for it by the Patriot. That paper says : -

Independent of the State University and the dwelling of the president of that institu- tion, since August, 1840, the following buildings have been built, or are now building, viz. : John T. Nelson, one frame dwelling; Wm. Lee, one frame dwelling; Tho. E. Power, one large imitation stone; W. A. Robards, one frame law office ; Parker & Barr, three brick store-rooms; A. L. Peebles, one brick store-room; Wm. Cornelius, one brick store-room; H. Keene, one brick store-room; J. M. Johnson, one brick store-room; M. and J. Matthews, one brick carriage shop; M. and L. Matthews, one brick dwelling; G. W. Samuel, one brick dwelling; J. McClintock, one brick dwelling; Wm. Cornelius, one large brick dwelling; H. Crumbaugh, one frame dwelling; Mrs. N. Collins, one frame dwelling; Thos. Selby, one brick dwelling; R. S. Barr, one brick dwelling; W. Woodson, one brick dwelling; D. Hem- ingway, one brick dwelling; G. D. Foote, one brick dwelling; N. W. Wilson, one brick dwelling; O. Parker, one brick dwelling; P. Kenyon, one stone dwelling; J. Hart, one frame house; J. Trigg, one frame house; one large brick church ; W. B. Huston, imitation stone ; J. Richardson, imitation stone ; E. Camplin, frame for carding machine.

Making in all twenty brick, eight frame, one stone, and three imitation stone houses ; total. thirty-two. We have eight dry goods stores, one book and two drug stores, three blacksmith shops, one chair factory, three cabinet makers, two wagon and one coach maker, two tinners, one hatter, three saddlers, and three tailor shops.

A PLAIN " MR." MADE A PLAIN " COL."

W. F. Switzler, the editor of the Statesman, assumed the editorial charge of the Columbia Patriot on July 31, 1841, age 22. He was then a plain " Mr.," but did not long remain unpromoted, for in No- vember following, in a singular and very innocent manner, he was made a colonel by a correspondent, " Rockbridge," who was none other than Prof. John Roche, of Bonne Femme College.1 Writing a short

1 Prof. Roche died in Lexington, Ky., October 23, 1849.

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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

communication for the Patriot, November 20, 1841, he addressed it to " Colonel " Switzler, and concluded it as follows : -

P. S .- You must not be offended with the title of Colonel. There was your predecessor, Col. Miller ; there is Col. Birch, of Howard; there is Gunn, of Jefferson, a Gen'l by name, if not by nature; and there is the Rev. Major of the Paris Centinel, with a C. Now, sir, if your modesty will not admit the above named title, we, the people of Boone, will not think our editorial chair filled with adequate dignity. I therefore dub thee :

Colonel thou art, and Colonel thou shalt be, Throughout all time, and through eternity.

Ever since the issue of the paper which contained the above, the editor of the Statesman has been called " Colonel."

A MAN IN A WELL.

On Monday, September 6, 1841, a very singular and distressing ac- cident occurred in Columbia, the memory of which still lingers in the minds of our older inhabitants. The one story brick house which now forms the ell of the fine residence of Robert L. Todd was built and occupied as a residence by G. D. Foote, one of the contractors of the University. While the building was in progress he dug a well in the yard about 50 feet deep and had it walled, but of very indiffer- ent and unsuitable stone. It had been walled for some time, and it being observed that the wall at the bottom had become out of place, the father-in-law, Stephen St. John expressed the intention - from which Mr. Foote attempted to dissuade him - of going down into the well to examine more closely the nature of the breach. About one o'clock, however, Mr. St. John, after letting a candle down into the well in a bucket descended himself, leaving Mr. Prouty at the top of the well to render any assistance he might desire. Mr. St. John had scarely reached the point he wished to examine before the rock at the bottom began to give way and fall into the water. Observing this, he attempted to escape by climbing the rope to the top, but was una- ble to do so for the wall above him commenced caving in, and in a moment closed over and formed an arch above him. The news of the singular accident spread through the town and a large number of people collected at the top of the well. It being ascertained by calling him that St. John was still alive, the work of removing the dirt and the rock was soon commenced and prose- cuted with speed and energy. As the workingmen descended they heard with distinctness the groans of the ill-fated man. After remov- ing about 40 feet of earth and stone - a labor of about nineteen

338

HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

hours' duration and extending throughout the whole of the night - the rock that covered the gray head of the old man was removed and his almost lifeless body exhumed from its resting place to the top. He was occupying a sitting position in the well, his right foot higher than his head and both hands above his head hold of the rope. With the exception of the fracture of one of his shoulders not a bone in his body was broken. His body was recovered about 7 o'clock Tuesday morn- ing, but he died at 3 o'clock that day, aged 56 years.

. DEATH OF TWO BONNE FEMME COLLEGE STUDENTS.

John A. Chappell, a well-known student of Bonne Femme College, son of the late John Chappell, who resided in Callaway county, on the Missouri River, opposite Jefferson City, and a brother of Mrs. Dr. Wm. B. Lenoir died at the residence of Wm. Shields, near the college, January 24, 1842. Resolutions of respect and condolence were passed by the students of Bonne Femme College and of Columbia College, John T. and J. F. Hughes, Robert L. Todd, W. M. Irvine, Thos. M. Richardson, Robert A. Grant and James H. Moss participating in the meeting. On February 3, 1842, Jacqueline J. L. Harvey, son of Maj. Thos. Harvey, of Saline, and a student of Bonne Femme College also died at the residence of Wm. Shields.

LAW CARDS.

The Patriot, of February 26, 1842, contains the first law card of F. T. Russell, whose office was in a frame building which then stood on the lot now occupied by the Statesman printing office. In the Patriot, of March 5, 1842, Wm. F. Switzler tenders his professional services as a lawyer to the citizens of Boone and adjoining counties. Office on Guitar Street, the two-story little brick occupied by Maj. Rollins as a law office, and adjoining the Patriot office.

The Patriot, of April 16, 1842, contains a notice signed by Wm. Jewell, the president of the Columbia Temperance Society, and Wm. Van Doran, Recording Secretary, that Wm. F. Switzler would deliver a temperance address, in the Union Church, on May 2.

Oliver Parker, who first settled as a merchant at Thrall's Prairie, and who was one of the pioneers. of the county, died in Columbia on Friday evening, May 20, 1842.

FOURTH OF JULY CELEBRATION, 1842.

The Fourth of July, 1842, was appropriately celebrated in Columbia.

339

HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

A threatened shower of rain caused the people who had assembled for the purpose to adjourn from the grove to the Christian Church, where the Declaration of Independence was read by John R. Bedford and an oration was delivered by Wm. A. Robards. Judge David Todd, President ; Wm. Johnson and John Slack, Vice Presidents ; Wm. F. Switzler and Wm. Lampton, Secretaries ; John Vanhorn and David M. Hickman, Marshals ; F. A. Hamilton, George Foote, Elliott P. Cunningham, Wm. T. Hickman, Lewis Colver, W. W. Wilson, Armstrong Beattie, John Corbitt and John Hall Lynch, Managers. All of the persons named are dead except W. F. Switzler, E. P. Cunningham (who lives near Mexico, Missouri), William T. Hick- man, N. W. Wilson and John Corbitt, the latter now residing in Pennsylvania. Among the volunteer toasts offered were the fol- lowing : -

By P. R. Parks: The blind man on the way side - may he anoint his eyes with Clay and receive his sight.

By W. B. Lenoir: A porcupine saddle, long stirrups, and a hard trotting horse, for John Tyler.

By R. L. Todd : Our State University - our pride and boast-palsied be the hand or tongue that would do or say anything to produce jealousy or dissension among the good people of this land in relation to its usefulness. An editor somewhere in Jackson County has attempted this thing - may he have the gout in his toes and chilblains in his fingers when he may attempt another such essay.

By Warren Woodson : George D. Foote, Elliott P. Cunningham and Phineas Kenyon, contractors for building the principal edifice of the University of the State of Missouri, whose fidelity, skill and untiring efforts in the discharge of their undertakings are only equalled by the liberality of the citizens of Boone in their donations to said object.

By W. Slade : The orator of the day -may his talents and his worth be duly appre- ciated.

By J. R. Bedford : John Tyler; a political shuffler - what he loses in dancing he makes up in turning around.

By James H. Moss : May the utility of their country ever be the mainspring in directing the actions of American citizens.

By J. S. Rollins : The Constitution of the United States - the richest boon |bequeathed by the patriots of '76 to their posterity - let us cherish and maintain its principles with the same patriotic devotion which actuated our forefathers in its adoption.

By A Guest : The University - may its enemies, and particularly the editor at Inde- pendence, live on parched corn and darn his own socks.

By John B. Royall : Our town of Columbia - may the gallantry of her sons only be sur- passed by the virtue and excellence of her daughters.

By Dr. W. H. Duncan : The Constitution of the United States - adopted by the most celebrated wisdom, sagacity and patriotism, its perpetuity should be regarded as the future happiness and prosperity of the Union.

By G. W. Samuel : The Whig party, routed in 1840 by the death of their leader, never discouraged, but already armed for the campaign of '44; may they never again confide to a treacherous miscreant the power to betray the citadel of their strength.

340

HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

STIBBS ACADEMY.

Mr. J. T. Stibbs and Mrs. Mary Stibbs announce that the first session of the second year of " Stibbs Academy," Rocheport, will commence on the fourth Monday in May, 1842. Among the patrons of the acad- emy are mentioned the following : Dr. G. B. Wilcox, John Stem- mons, James Howlett and Lemuel Noble. The Examining Com- mittee was composed of George B. Forbis and Col. John Cooper. According to the advertisement, "good board and lodging can be had in the immediate vicinity of the school rooms at $1.50 per week."

In the fall of 1842 the experiment of an agricultural fair was at- tempted in Rocheport. John Cooper, president, George Knox, secre- tary. On the 4th and 5th of November a fair was held and about $150 in premiums were awarded.

GREAT RELIGIOUS REVIVAL.

One of the most notable religious revivals in the history of Boone County commenced in the Presbyterian Church in Columbia, during the first week in January, 1843. The late Rev. Isaac Jones was at that time pastor of the church, and was assisted in the conduct of religious exercises by the Rev. Robert L. McAfee, of Boone, and Rev. Messrs. W. W. Robinson and David Coulter, of Callaway. The revival meetings continued almost daily and nightly for about two months, and nearly a hundred persons united with the Presbyte- rian Church. About the same number united with the other churches of the town, and about fifty with the Methodist Church in Rocheport. The Presbyterian meetings were held in the old brick church on Wal- nut Street, which for much of the time, owing to the absence of side- walks and the prevalence of deep mud, could only be reached on horseback. Soon after this revival the members of the Presbyterian Church, having received large accessions to their number and finan- cial ability, resolved on building a new meeting house, which was completed in the fall of 1846, by the erection of the church edifice on Broadway, now occupied by that denomination ; and which in 1878 was enlarged by the addition of a lecture room.

On Sunday, February 19, 1843, Younger J. Williams, one of the proprietors of the Statesman, died at the residence of the late Capt. John B. Royall.

341

HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

" NEW CASH STORE."

During the month of April, 1843, one of the most notable busi- ness events of the period occurred by the opening in Columbia of the " New Cash Store," by James L. Stephens. A cash store, by which was meant that no books were kept and cash on the counter was paid for everything purchased, was unknown in Central Missouri. As the tendency was downward in the prices of groceries and dry goods it was an auspicious time to establish such an enterprise as Mr. Stephens proposed ; and therefore the opening of his " New Cash Store," accompanied by liberal advertising of both dry goods and groceries, at prices considerably lower than those then prevailing, caused a sensation in business circles and an unusual rush of custom- ers to Mr. Stephens' counters. He came in on the tide of successful experiment, permanently established himself as a merchant, and se- cured great thrift and prosperity.

TWO CITIZENS ACCIDENTALLY KILLED.

On Saturday, March 26, 1843, Mason Jefferson, a young man and a citizen of this county was accidentally killed, near the village of Nashville, then situated on the Missouri river. Jefferson and a friend were trying the speed of their horses in a race along the road, during which Jefferson's horse ran on one side of a tree while Jefferson, lean- ing toward the other side came in contact with the tree and was in- stantly killed, his skull being fractured. On Tuesday morning, April 14, 1843, Raney LaForce, a citizen of the county was accidentally shot and killed by Phelix Callaham. They were hunting wild turkeys together eight or ten miles northeast of Columbia ; and having sepa- rated in the chase of a flock, Callaham, thinking he saw game in a thicket before him, discharged his rifle at them. Unfortunately, La Force was upon the other side of the thicket immediately in the direc- tion of Callaham's aim. At the discharge of the gun La Force fell and died in a few minutes - the ball having entered his chest. La Force was a man of family.

The amount of moneys paid by the State in 1843, to Boone County for common school purposes was only $933.60. In 1882 the sum paid was $-

THE MURDER OF HIRAM BEASLEY.

About sundown on Monday, March 20, 1843, Hiram Beasley, an old resident of the county, was murdered by his negroes on his farm,

342

HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

situated about four miles north of Providence, on the Providence and Columbia road. On the next day five of the negroes, Henry, and America, his wife ; Simon, David and Mary were arrested, brought to Columbia and tried before Warren Woodson, J. P., and committed to jail for further trial. They were subsequently indicted by the grand jury and at the May term tried. Simon and David were found guilty of murder in the second degree, punished by thirty-nine lashes and banished from the State. Mary was acquitted. Henry and America on their own confession were convicted and sentenced to be hung by Judge Leland on Saturday, June 10th.

On the evening of the murder Mr. Beasley and his negroes were in a clearing about three quarters of a mile from his house, and it was at this place the murder was committed, the material facts of which are disclosed in Henry's confession, which follows. The following are the names of the jurors who tried the case : Charles Wren, Wil- liam Jones, Levi Parks, John Pitts, John Rice, John Y. Philips, Isaac Jacobs, Lewis Roberts, James Mayo, George W. Scott, John Roberts, James B. Tucker ; Roger N. Todd, clerk ; John D. Leland, judge ; James M. Gordon, prosecuting attorney ; Frederick A. Ham- ilton, sheriff; John M. Kelley, jailer.

About two o'clock on Saturday, June 10th, Henry and America were publicly executed on the gallows in the northwestern suburbs of Columbia, at a place then without the corporate limits of the town but now embraced by them. The frame residence known as the Carlyle House, but now owned by C. B. Wells, and the house in which Eld. Thomas M. Allen died, is situated near the spot where the gal- lows was erected. Although the day was extremely inclement, it hav- ing rained during most of the morning, nearly two thousand persons assembled to witness the execution. " The condemned man and woman were attended at the gallows by Rev. Mr. MeMurtry, of the Metho- dist Church, who, previous to the execution, engaged in solemn relig- ious exercises. The gallows was an old-fashion gibbet, constructed of two posts set firmly in the ground, with a strong beam connecting them at the top. To this beam the ropes were tied, a hangman's noose being attached to the lower ends. The culprits were driven in a common wagon from the jail, each sitting on a coffin, and at the ap- pointed time, a noose being about the neck of each, the wagon was driven from under them, and they were launched by strangulation into eternity.

343

HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

What was done with the remains of Henry we know not; but a dispute arising among the physicians, several of whom examined America before the execution, as to whether she was enciente, most of them affirming she was not, a post mortem examination was made by Dr. Wm. B. Lenoir, the disclosures of which seriously confounded some of the doctors, by revealing the fact that she was pretty far gone in pregnancy. Dr. Lenoir's office, in which the examination and dis- section were made, was situated in the rear, or north end, of the brick building, on the corner of Broadway and Court House Street, now (1882) occupied by Loeb & Cook, as a family grocery store, the rear of the building being at that time divided from the front by a partition. The front was then occupied as a drug store by Joshua W. Norton.

HENRY'S CONFESSION.

Henry made two confessions, one to Sheriff Hamilton, who wrote it down a few days before the execution, and which was read to the mul- titude on that day ; the other, and a much longer one, under the gal- lows. The following is the confession made to Sheriff Hamilton :-

Knowing that I have in a few days to appear in the presence of my God, I feel it to be ' my indispensable duty to give a correct history of the unfortunate transaction for which I am condemned to be hung.

Sometime in the winter of 1842, David and myself, for the purpose of keeping from being whipped, ran off, and during that time Dave insisted on my joining him to kill mas- ter; that matter was pressed on me by David and Simon from that time until the day of his death. Sometime previous to his death, Simon beat up a large quantity of glass for the purpose of poisoning him, but having laid it on the fence, it was found by master. David and Simon informed me that they had been determined for years to take his life. The day of master's death, when they were putting in the hominy block, I was not present; but was hunting a ring off of the bolster; when I returned I found Simon some short distance from the wagon; he spoke to me and said that Dave had killed master and that he had struck him; Dave, Simon and America all acknowledged to me that they had struck him; and after I came up, Mary took the axe and struck him two licks on the head. Dave burnt the leaves ; we then started for the house; when I got to the house, I found Simon, Dave, America and Mary. After night, Simon and myself removed the body to where it was found. Dave had taken the horse and put him in the upper stable, which was the old tobacco house. I threw the body at the forks of the road, Simon carrying his cap and steadying him on the horse by holding his feet; and eased him off the horse. David would never tell me who shot off the pistol; but said he knew who it was. Three or four nights before he was killed, Mary and David laid a plot to kill him. Master went to the stable, and David and Simon went for the purpose of killing him, but they could not find him. I never struck a single blow. David stated to me since his trial, that he and Simon have de- termined ever since they have been in this State to take his life. The keys were thrown into the the fire by Mary.

IMPROVEMENT OF BROADWAY, COLUMBIA.

Previous to the improvement of Broadway, Columbia, in 1843,

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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

it was a very irregular and unsightly thoroughfare, and often im- passable on account of its deep mud. There were no sidewalks of brick or of stone, and very few of plank, and in muddy weather pedestrians had difficulty in passing from one building to another, and greater difficulty in crossing Broadway, or an intersecting street. The writer hereof during times of protracted rain has seen wagons loaded with fire wood and country produce completely stalled in the mud of Broadway, especially in that portion of the street em- braced in the depression which then existed between Eighth and Ninth Streets, and in front of the Exchange National Bank and Gilman & Dorsey's drug store. After the opening of the University in 1843 it was determined by a few enterprising citizens, who caught much of the inspiration from Dr. Wm. Jewell, chairman of the town trustees, that they would remedy these evils by the establishment of foot ways. or sidewalks on each side of Broadway from Water Street, on Flat Branch, to Eleventh Street, then the eastern limit of the village. Also by the greater and more costly work of grading, macadamizing and guttering Broadway for the distance mentioned.

This enterprise, on account of its cost and the alleged high taxes which would be necessary to complete it, produced the wildest excite- ment among a portion of the people, resulting, in some instances, in estrangement of personal friendships and almost violence. But Dr. Jewell, and those who sustained him, had put their hands to the plow, and were determined to carry the improvements to their consumma- tion. And they did it, and Broadway to-day, one of the widest, best improved and most beautiful streets in any of our inland towns, is a monument to the enterprise, sagacity and intrepidity of Dr. William Jewell.

MILITIA MUSTERS.

The militia musters of the olden time, consisting of battalion and regimental parades at stated times and places in each county of the State, were occasions of great interest, and were anticipated and pre- pared for by people of all conditions, classes and colors. They brought together four times during each summer and fall the entire male population, to meet each other in social converse, to witness the splendid pageantry of peaceful war; to note the evolutions of gaily caparisoned horses and their plumed and uniformed riders ; to gaze with patriotic pride upon the long and straggling lines of citizen sol- diery attired in home-spun and armed with walking canes, umbrellas and corn-stalks ; to pass judgment upon the merits of braying jack-

345

HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.

asses and the stump oratory of political candidates who were often on exhibition in close proximity to each other ; to eat ginger cakes and drink sweet cider, and destroy watermelons by the score ; and late in the afternoon to form part of a wide and excited ring, which circled, halloed, cheering and swearing, around neighborhood bullies who, on all such occasions, settled their personal differences with " fist and skull."

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History of Boone County, Missouri., Part 32

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