History of Boone County, Missouri., Part 53

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

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The next morning after the night's operations, the greater portion of the Confederates encamped on Z. T. Riggs's farm, near the center of the east half of the northeast quarter of section 24, township 51, range 12, or about four miles southwest of Centralia. The stoppage was made to get breakfast. While they were eating they were sud- denly attacked by a force of Federals commanded by Major David McKee, and believed to belong to the 7th Missouri Cavalry Volun- teers. By count the Federals numbered 110 men. The attack was a complete surprise, and being made with great impetuosity, and the Federals being well armed and mounted, the Confederates were soon routed and driven in great confusion from the field.

The Confederate loss was John Onan, Jr., and Thos. Tolson, killed ; James Tolson mortally wounded ; Allen Pipes and Beverly Shackle- ford wounded, and a young man named McQuitty had both thighs broken by being thrown from his horse, while trying to escape. Capt. Watson was slightly wounded, and others were scratched. The Federals had some men wounded, but none killed. A few of the Confederates went to Joel Palmer's for breakfast, and afterwards rode by mistake so close upon the Federals that they were made prisoners.

1 Sometimes called "the Riggs's Run Fight."

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Their names were Thos. M. Smith, John Patton, Stephen Stott, and John Tompkins, of Boone county ; R. B. Crowder, of Macon county ; George H. Cunningham and George M. Pulliam from Holt county.

All of the wounded were at first taken into Mr. Riggs's house, " and they made it pretty bloody," says Mr. R. Soon after the Federals were removed to Sturgeon, where their wounds were dressed and at- tended to by Dr. J. S. Lockridge. The doctor states that Maj. Mc- Kee urged him to hurry up and go out to the battlefield, as there were wounded Confederates there who needed his assistance worse than his own (the Major's ) men. The Major seemed actuated by generous impulses on this occasion and made a favorable impression on all with whom he came in contact. After attending to the Federal wounded at Sturgeon, Dr. Lockridge hastened to the scene of the skirmish and dressed the wounds of the Confederates, in which work he was assisted by Dr. Elliott, of Watson's forces, who had been cap- tured and paroled.

The Confederate prisoners were first taken to Macon City, and from thence to Palmyra. Here they were tried by a military commission of which Col. Groesbeck, 39th Ohio Infantry, was president, on a charge of railroad and bridge burning, convicted and sentenced " to be shot to death at such time and place as the major general command- ing this department shall direct." Gen. Halleck at that time was in command, and he approved the sentence and deputed Gen. Prentiss to warn them of their approaching fate. The time and place were never designated. February 20, 1862, Gen. Halleck issued an order, in which he declared that " in consideration of the recent victories won by the Federal forces,1 and of the rapidly increasing loyalty of the citizens of Missouri the sentences of John C. Tompkins, Wm. J. Forshey, John Patton, Thos. M. Smith, Stephen Stott, Geo. H. Cunningham, R. B. Crowder and Geo. M. Pulliam, heretofore condemned to death, are provisionally mitigated to close confinement in the military prison at Alton. If rebel spies again destroy railroad lines, and render it necessary for us to make severe examples, the original sentences against these men will be carried into execu- tion."

The prisoners were removed from Palmyra to Alton, and each placed in a cell to himself, in the fourth story of the building, next

1 Fort Donelson had been recently captured, among other victories.

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the roof. During cold weather they were forced to go to bed to keep warm. One by one they fell sick and were removed to the hospital. From here Mr. Smith made his escape. What finally became of the others is not known.

JIM JACKSON'S FIGHT WITH THE FEDERALS IN 1864.

In the late fall or early winter of 1864, " Captain " Jim Jackson, a guerrilla leader or bushwhacker, was operating in this section with a small band. With seven of his men he was sitting down-to supper in a house about two miles west of Sturgeon, and within three hundred yards of the county line, when he was attacked by Lieut. Keebaugh, of Glasgow, with a force of Federals forty- five in number. Though surprised, the guerrillas were not dis- concerted. Accustomed to every sort of fighting, they at once sprang up and made for the door, drawing their revolvers as they rose and firing them as they ran. The house, a little log cabin with one room, was completely surrounded by the Federals, but Jackson and his men cut their way out, and escaped with but the loss of one man badly wounded, and he afterward recovered, and two horses, which were brought into Sturgeon. The Federal loss was two men mortally wounded and five slightly injured. The mortally wounded men died shortly afterward. The wounded men were all left in charge of Dr. J. S. Lockridge. He dressed their wounds, cared for them and stayed with them that night, and sent them to Macon City with the two dead men the next morning.

It was late in the evening when the fight occurred. Jackson and his men escaped into the " Blackfoot country," and Lieut. Keebaugh went on to Sturgeon. On their way into town the Federals captured Bill Woods and brought him in. He was confined in the court-house, but made an almost miraculous escape. He left behind him his boots and hat, together with almost unmistakable signs that he had fallen into the big well, and this was the general opinion among friends as well as foes. Cold as the weather was, Woods preferred to walk over the prairies bareheaded and barefooted to staying and taking his chances with the Federals.

Jim Jackson was originally from Texas. As stated by himself, he joined the Texas Rangers at the outbreak of the war, went to Tennes- see, killed a comrade, and then deserted and joined a Tennessee cavalry regiment. He served under John Morgan and was on the Ohio raid, in which he was captured. He escaped from Camp Doug- -

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las, Chicago, in the early spring of 1864, and made his way into Mis- souri, joining Holtzclaw's guerrillas in Chariton county. He was soon made Holtzclaw's lieutenant, but afterward had a band of his own. He surrendered to Capt. Cook, at Columbia, in the spring of 1865, but was killed by the Audrain militia soon after, while on his way to Illinois.

HANGING OF AMOS JUDY.

In 1863 Amos Judy, who lived a few miles southeast of Sturgeon, was taken from his home one night by a band of bushwhackers, car- ried away and never again heard of. Judy was a Union man who had rendered himself especially obnoxious to the Confederates, by acting as a guide and a spy for the Federals when they visited the township. He had also been a member of Company B, 9th M. S. M. - Capt. Adams' company of Guitar's regiment. Whatever became of Judy is not cer- tainly known. It is believed, however, that he was taken over on Silver's Fork and hung and his body secreted. His family made dili_ gent search and inquiry for his remains, but with no success.

In 1879, while a party of hunters were on Silver's Fork their atten- tion was attracted by an old and somewhat peculiar " blaze " upon the body of a tree, very high up, as though made by a person on horse-back. A further investigation disclosed a slight depression in the soil at the foot of the tree, bearing the outline of an old grave. Strict inquiries of the oldest resident in the locality failed to discover a clue as to who had been buried in such a strange, out-of-the-way spot. Prompted by curiosity, the party procured a spade, and after digging down about two feet they came upon portions of the charred remains of a human skeleton, lying amidst a bed of ashes and charred wood. At the head of the grave was found a small rusty hand axe. The grave was situated due east and west, and its location is in a direct line from where Judy lived, being but a very short distance from his residence. But what is more significant, it is in the identi- cal direction pursued by the party on that memorable night. When we take into consideration the circumstance that it was rumored at the time of his disappearance that Judy was first shot and then his body burned, it seems reasonable to suppose that the secret of his grave has been discovered. At least such appears to be the general impression.

WHY THEY WENT A-SOLDIERING.

In 1863 Joshua (" Jot") Creson and a minister named Butts started for the Confederate army. They were captured by the Fed-

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erals and brought before the provost marshal. That official put on a severe look and sternly demanded of Parson Butts why he had left home and kindred and started for the miserable rebel army, wherein were all manner of men that were vile and wicked and contemp- tible.

" Well, captain," replied Mr. Butts, " I am a minister of the gos- pel, and having often heard of the terrible depravity of the rebel sol- diers, I was moved with pity at their condition, and thought I would go down and preach for them, seeing that they needed it so bad."

This excuse seemed satisfactory to the shoulder-strapped worthy, and his features relaxed as he bade the would-be missionary sit down. They contracted, however, as he ordered up Creson for examination. " What is your excuse for starting to the rebel army ? " he thundered out.

" Me? " returned " Jot," with a semblance of great fear and trem- bling ; " Me? O! I-I-went along to hear Mr. Butts preach !"

With a hearty laugh the Federal officer released both parson and private and they were discharged, as they should have been.

HOW "JOT " CRESON SHOT REV. BARNES.

The venerable old pioneer preacher, " Uncle Jimmy " Barnes, was a strong Union man. "Jot " Creson was a " rebel " sympathizer, but a noted wag as well. On one occasion Creson came suddenly upon " Uncle Jimmy " in a secluded place in the public road. Reining up his horse " Jot " fiercely said : "'Uncle Jimmy,' you are a Union man, and you know I don't like you. I am a rebel, and I am going to shoot you." Although really believing his life to be in great danger, " Uncle Jimmy " was not badly frightened. In as cool and deliberate a voice as he could command, he replied to the threat of his " rebel " neighbor : " Well, 'Jot,' I am getting old, and if you do shoot me you won't shoot me out of very many years. I am ready ; blaze away." Creson drew himself up, thrust his hand into his pocket and drew out - not a pistol, but a pint bottle filled with good whisky, and this he thrust into the old man's face. "Uncle Jimmy " liked his toddy very well, and he soon took Creson's weapon from him and extracted therefrom a comfortable dram and passed it back. The joke was fully apparent and the two fell to chatting at once very friendly. In a few minutes, as they were about to separate, the old minister said : " ' Jot,' I am on my way to preaching and as I'm get- ting old, and its pretty hard work to preach, won't you please shoot

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me again, so as to help me along? " It is needless to say that " Uncle Jimmy " was " shot " again, with a good solid " load," too.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Mrs. Frances Ann Maher, born in South Carolina, December. 28, 1796, and who has lived in Missouri for 56 years, was probably the oldest woman living in the township July 4, 1882. Joshua Gibson was reported as the oldest man.

In June, 1860, M. M. Jessee picked up from the surface of the ground a small globe of iron resembling a grapeshot, which, it was supposed, had been used long ago in a campaign against the Indians. The piece was about one and a half inches in diameter, and much re- sembled a grapeshot, but could hardly have been, since no artillery was used against the Indians in this country in early days.

In 1881, while the surveyors were running a route for the Hannibal and Southwestern Railroad, near John H. Seymour's, Mr. S., with an old rifle, shot and killed two turkeys at one shot. The fowls were dressed and served for dinner, to which the surveyors were invited ; and as they accepted the invitation in force, a big time and a jolly one was had.

Mr. W. H. Welch has a pair of silver cuff buttons, brought from Ireland to America before the revolutionary war, by his great-great- grandfather.

Burning Bumble Bees. - In September, 1880, Thomas Stewart, a lad about fourteen years of age, found a bumble bee's nest about . a mile south of Sturgeon, and sought to visit the occupants thereof with fire, if not with sword, to " have some fun." Accordingly the match was applied, and the fire burned nicely. It burned so nicely, in fact, that it consumed a fine meadow, a quarter of a mile of fence, six stacks of hay, and played the mischief generally. "But," the boy remarked consolingly, and almost with exultation, " it everlast- ingly fetched them bees !"

STORIES BY UNCLE DURRETT BRUCE.

Durrett Bruce was born near Lexington, Kentucky, in March, 1789. He came to Boone county in the year 1834, and was one of the first citizens of this township. He blazed out the road from the Christian Church in section 19, township 51, range 13, north to the county line, on the 7th of April, 1837, as he was on his way to a new claim in Randolph county.

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Although in his 94th year, " Uncle " Durrett is hale, hearty and jolly, and can tell a good story or enjoy one with the best of them. The compilers are indebted to him for much valuable information in the shape of reminiscences, incidents, etc. Some of Mr. Bruce's tales may savor of the improbable to a few hypercritical people, but the large majority of readers will accept his statements with ready credence, and only regret that there are not more of them.

'Coon Branch got its name, Uncle Durrett says, from this circum- stance : A settler was going along its banks one day when he chanced to closely observe a large elm tree, the trunk of which was slowly but regularly contracting and expanding with alternate movements. Curious to learn what occasioned the spectacle, the settler cut down the tree and split it open. Lo, snugly imbedded or imprisoned within the trunk like the imprisoned fiends in Rinaldo's grove, were lots of 'coons! There were big 'coons, little 'coons, old 'coons, young 'coons, to a vast number, and an unlimited extent. Their breathing, it seemed, was regular and simultaneous, and the contrac- tion and expansion of their diaphragms, regular as pulse beats, caused the tree to open and shut, open and shut, open and shut. With great propriety the stream was thereafter called 'Coon Branch.

Sugar Creek, says Mr. Bruce, took its name from the number of sugar trees along its margin, and also from the following incident : The sugar trees were very full of the richest sort of sap. The woods caught fire one spring, and many of the trees were badly heated and scorched. A German settler, after the fire had passed, cut down a hollow sugar tree and found, nicely granulated and stowed away in the center, about 150 pounds of an excellent quality of maple sugar, which had been, by the action of the heat, extracted from the sap and as scientifically boiled down and " sugared off" as if the process had been accomplished by the aid of a patent pan !

Johnson Branch was named for Alfred Johnson, said to have been the largest man in the world. Lick Fork was so named from the num- ber of deer licks along its margin.

Uncle Durrett says he once caught seven wolves out of a ground- hog hole, just over the line, in Howard county. At that day a bounty was paid for wolf scalps, and Mr. Bruce says he first thought he would save these wolves and breed for the market, as it were ; but they gave him more trouble than their scalps would be worth, as they effectually cleaned out his chicken coops and pig pens in a short time. Uncle Durrett says he and his neighbors soon learned to turn

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many an honest penny by making two wolf scalps out of one, by a process, adroitly rendered, of splitting the ears and dividing them. Dogs were trained to fight wolves, as follows: The wolves were caught in large traps made of poles, and set with bait and triggers. When one was caught one of his ham-strings was cut, or a chain fastened to his leg and held by a man, and then one dog, or two, if the case demanded it, turned upon him.

The people were accustomed to put " blobs " into their calves' mouths, to prevent their sucking. The implements gave the animals a singular, not to say a ridiculous, appearance. The first time a man named Isham saw a calf with a " blob," he thought it had tried to swal- low a pocket book and got choked, and he chased it up and down a creek for hours, trying to secure possession of the supposed treasure. This creek is in Audrain county, and was named for the man who chased the calf with a " blob."

While divine service was being held down at John Rowland's, some twenty-five years ago, two bulls got to fighting, near the house. A well was being dug near the church, and it had been left uncovered. In their mad plunging and struggling the animals approached the . open pit, and one of them backed fairly into it, falling down about six feet, or until he struck the rock wall, which had been partially built, where he stuck and looked wildly around. The men of the congregation, who, notwithstanding the gravity of the occasion, had been regarding the fight with more interest than they had listened to the sermon, rushed out of the meeting-house, and thinking the case similar to that of an ox in the ditch, procured ropes and chains, and, Sunday as it was, at last succeeded in extricating the bovine from his uncomfortable quarters.

On another occasion there was preaching at Mr. Rowland's, and there were also a butting ram on the premises and a wicked boy. The ram had been receiving his education from the boy, and had learned one thing right well. Whenever any one stopped and crooked a finger at him he would butt like a battering ram or an iron-clad. The minister was kneeling down in front of an open door, but with his back to it, and was " battering the gates of heaven with storms of prayer." The ram was outside, watching the minister, and the boy was inside, watching the ram. Presently the boy leaned over toward the sheep, and, having succeeded in attracting its attention, crooked his fingers, just in front of the rear elevation of the preacher. This was too much. The ram had been considerably worked up over the

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minister's clapping his hands and shouting, and now that a taunt had been thrown out he could endure it no longer. He rushed through the door like he had been shot out of a gun, and, striking the suppli- ant divine in the small of the back, upset not only him but the gravity of the congregation as well. It was with some difficulty that the ram was suppressed, and the wicked boy laughed like a fiend.

" Uncle Durrett " now lives in Moberly. He is a locksmith, and still works at his trade although ninety-three years of age. He is undoubtedly the oldest person in this section of Missouri. As before stated, he is hale, hearty, and full of fun. He is able to do a fair day's work, and reads well without spectacles.

" UNCLE " JOHN ALEXANDER,

One of the pioneers of the county and township, relates another incident concerning preaching and preachers down at John Rowland's in an early day. About the year 1825 there was preaching at Row- land's when he lived near old Bethlehem church, Perche township. After services Rev. Wm. H. Hutchinson killed a garter snake and took it up stairs with him, and pretended to be asleep, as he knew Robert. Sloan, a brother minister, would soon follow him. Mr. Sloan soon came up lay down, and began to snore. Hutchinson had previously tied a string to the snake and as soon as Sloan was asleep he began to draw the reptile up his leg. Sloan awaked and catching sight of the "varmint," sprang suddenly from the bed, and yelled as if the evil one were upon him. Hutchinson laughed and then Sloan, seeing the joke that had been played upon him, and not taking it in good part, turned on Hutchinson in an angry mood, and the two men, preachers though they were, were soon engaged in a real rough and tumble fight. They were separated with some difficulty, but soon made friends, and laughed it all over.

A BEAR CHASE.

Uncle John Alexander states that in the fall of 1819, as Joshua Alexander, John Rowland, and others were helping put on the roof of a cabin down in Perche township, near the Howard line, they heard a small dog coming toward them barking violently. Looking up they saw a large bear advancing rapidly. Bruin passed them by in peace, but the men gave chase with guns, dogs, etc., as soon as they could. They treed the animal pretty soon and several shots were fired at it without effect. Finally Joshua Alexander, with a well directed shot,

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. brought down the bear. No sooner had the huge animal been dis- patched when along came Col. Ben Rives, Joe Davis, and others who claimed that they had started it. Consequently the animal was skinned and equally divided among both parties.

RAILROAD FIRES.

Some years ago, before spark-arresters on locomotives were in- vented, the people living along the line of the North Missouri railroad in this township suffered greatly at certain seasons of the year from prairie fires and grass fires. The land along the road is prairie and open and when the grass was dry it was easily ignited by the large sparks that fell from the engines. In dry seasons the people were afraid to leave home, and stood as minute men ready to sally out to fight fire as soon as smoke was discovered.

THE SHROYER MURDER CASE.

A most horrible and at the same time a most interesting case of murder occurred in this township in the fall of 1876. The particulars, here given are taken from the Sturgeon Leader of August 5, 1882. The editor of the Leader, Mr. T. S. Carter, is better informed con- cerning the facts in the case than any other person, and was promi nent in causing the arrest of the alleged murderer : -

Late Saturday evening, October 14th, 1876, a wagon drove up to Mrs. Martha A. Seymour's, about three miles southwest of Sturgeon. In the wagon was a man and a woman, and three children - two boys and a girl. The man wanted to buy some feed for his horses. While he was at the barn getting some corn from Mr. Gulick, Mrs. Sey- mour's son-in-law, the woman in the wagon told Mrs. Seymour that her husband was going to kill her that night, that he had threatened to do so, and if she would go down in the morning to where they would camp that night she would find her dead body. Nothing fur- ther was thought of this till the 7th day of February, 1877, when some choppers in the woods suddenly came upon the mutilated re- mains of a human being. The bones and clothing were gathered up and an inquest held. An examination showed that the skull had been broken as if by a heavy blow ; one arm was also broken. Everybody was satisfied that a murder had been committed but how to find out the perpetrator of the dark deed was the question. Mrs. Seymour recollected the circumstances of the movers who passed her house the previous October. Marion White, residing three miles west of where

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the body was found, recollected that a man and three children came to his house early on the morning of October 15th, 1876, but no woman was with them. The man, children, wagon and team were ex- actly as described by Mrs. Seymour and others who had seen them the day before. This was all telegraphed to the St. Louis papers and in a short time found its way to Marshall, Kansas. In a few days a letter came from Marshall stating that Mike Shroyer left there that fall for Miami County, Indiana, with his wife and three children to collect some money coming to her from her first husband's estate, she having previously been married, but he returned without his wife and could tell no reasonable or even plausible story about what became of her and that people suspicioned him as having killed her.

Letters were written to Indiana and answers received stating that Shroyer and his wife and three children left there about the last of September with exactly the same outfit - wagon and team - as seen at Mrs. Seymour's the evening before the murder and by Mr. White the morning after it. Samples of clothing were sent from Indiana which corresponded exactly with that found upon the dead woman.

The little girl was sick when at Mr. White's and it was noticed that she had a crippled hand. The child was sick when Shroyer arrived home in Kansas, and the editor of the Leader, who made a trip to Kansas on the hunt of Shroyer, saw the child of Michael Shroyer, a girl, with a crippled hand exactly as described by Mrs. White and others. Many other interesting circumstances went to show that Michael Shroyer had murdered his wife.

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History of Boone County, Missouri., Part 53

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