History of Caldwell and Livingston counties, Missouri, written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri; a reliable and detailed history of Caldwell and Livingston counties--their pioneer record, resources, biographical sketches of prominent citizens; general and local statistics of great value; incidents and reminiscences, Part 9

Author: Pease, Ora Merle Hawk, 1890-
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: St. Louis, National Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1260

USA > Missouri > Livingston County > History of Caldwell and Livingston counties, Missouri, written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri; a reliable and detailed history of Caldwell and Livingston counties--their pioneer record, resources, biographical sketches of prominent citizens; general and local statistics of great value; incidents and reminiscences > Part 9
USA > Missouri > Caldwell County > History of Caldwell and Livingston counties, Missouri, written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri; a reliable and detailed history of Caldwell and Livingston counties--their pioneer record, resources, biographical sketches of prominent citizens; general and local statistics of great value; incidents and reminiscences > Part 9

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Another question which was mooted, but not decided, was this : That, if any, what account is the State to render for the use of the $3,000,000 paid into the treasury by the complainants on the 20th of June? Can she hold that large sum of money, refusing to make any account of it, and still insist upon full payment by the railroad company of all outstanding coupons ?

Upon this subject Mr. Justice Miller, in the course of his opinion, said : " I am of the opinion that the State, having accepted or got this money into her possession, is under a moral obligation (and I do not pretend to commit anybody as to how far its legal obligation goes) to so use that money as, so far as possible, to protect the parties who have paid it against the loss of the interest which it might accumulate,

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

and which would go to extinguish the interest on the State's obliga- tions."

March 26, 1881, the Legislature, in response to a special message of Gov. Crittenden, dated February 25, 1881, in which he informed the Legislature of the purpose of the Hannibal and St. Joseph com- pany to discharge the full amount of what it claims is its present indebtedness as to the State, and advised that provision be made for the " profitable disposal " of the sum when paid, passed an act, the second section of which provided.

" SEC. 2. Whenever there is sufficient money in the sinking fund to redeem or purchase one or more of the bonds of the State of Missouri, such sum is hereby appropriated for such purpose, and the Fund Commissioners shall immediately call in for payment a like amount of the option bonds of the State, known as the " 5-20 bonds," provided, that if there are no option bonds which can be called in for payment, they may invest such money in the purchase of any of the bonds of the State, or bonds of the United States, the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad bonds excepted."

On the 1st of January, 1882, the regular semi-annual payment of interest on the railroad bonds became due, but the road refused to pay, claiming that it had already discharged the principal, and of course was not liable for the interest. Thereupon, according to the provisions of the aiding act of 1855, Gov. Crittenden advertised the road for sale in default of the payment of interest. The company then brought suit before U. S. Circuit Judge McCrary at Keokuk, Iowa, to enjoin the State from selling the road, and for such other and further relief as the court might see fit and proper to grant. August 8, 1882, Judge MeCrary delivered his opinion and judgment, as follows :

"First. That the payment by complainants into the treasury of the State of the sum of $3,000,000 on the 26th of June, 1881, did not satisfy the claim of the State in full, nor entitle complainants to an assignment of the State's statutory mortgage.

"Second. That the State was bound to invest the principal sum of $3,000,000 so paid by the complainants without unnecessary delay in the securities named in the act of March 26, 1881, or some of them, and so as to save to the State as large a sum as possible, which sum so saved would have constituted as between the State and complainants a credit pro tanto upon the unmatured coupons now in controversy.

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

"Third. That the rights and equity of the parties are to be deter- mined upon the foregoing principles, and the State must stand charged with what would have been realized if the act of March, 1881, had been complied with. It only remains to consider what the rights of the parties are upon the principles here stated.

" In order to save the State from loss on account of the default of the railroad company, a further sum must be paid. In order to deter- mine what that further sum is an accounting must be had. The ques- tion to be settled by the accounting is, how much would the State have lost if the provisions of the act of March, 1881, had been complied with ? I think a perfectly fair basis of settle- ment would be to hold the State liable for whatever could have been saved by the prompt execution of said act by taking up such 5-20 option bonds of the State as were subject to call when the money was paid to the State, and investing the remainder of the fund in the bonds of the United States at the market rates.

" Upon this basis a calculation can be made and the exact sum still to be paid by the complainant in order to fully indemnify and protect the State can be ascertained. For the purpose of stating an account upon this basis and of determining the sum to be paid by the com- plainants to the State, the cause will be referred to John K. Cravens, one of the masters of this court. In determining the time when the investment should have been made under the act of March, 1881, the master will allow a reasonable period for the time of the receipt of the said sum of $3,000,000 by the Treasurer of the State - that is to say, such time as would have been required for that purpose had the offi- cers charged with the duty of making said investment used reason- able diligence in its discharge.

" The Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad is advertised for sale for the amount of the instalment of interest due January 1, 1882, which instalment amounts to less than the sum which the company must pay in order to discharge its liabilities to the State upon the theory of this opinion. The order will, therefore, be that an injunction be granted to enjoin the sale of the road upon the payment of the said instal- ment of interest due January' 1, 1882, and if such payment is made the master will take it into account in making the computation above mentioned."

KILLING OF JESSE JAMES.

The occurrence during the present Governor's administration which did most to place his name in everybody's mouth, and even to herald

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

it abroad, causing the European press to teem with leaders announcing the fact to the continental world, was the "removal" of the famous Missouri brigand, Jesse W. James. The career of the James boys, and the banditti of whom they were the acknowledged leaders, is too well-known and too fully set forth in works of a more sensational character, to deserve further detail in these pages ; and the " removal " of Jesse will be dealt with only in its relation to the Governor.

It had been long conceded that neither of the Jameses would ever be taken alive. That experiment had been frequently and vainly tried, to the sorrow of good citizens of this and other States. It seems to have been one of the purposes of Gov. Crittenden to break up this band at any cost, by cutting off its leaders. Soon after the Winston train robbery, on July 15, 1881, the railroads combined in empower- ing the Governor, by placing the money at his disposal, to offer heavy rewards for the capture of the two James brothers. This was ac- cordingly done by proclamation, and, naturally, many persons were on the lookout to secure the large rewards. Gov. Crittenden worked quietly, but determinedly, after offering the rewards, and by some means learned of the availability of the two Ford boys, young men from Ray county, who had been tutored as juvenile robbers by the skillful Jesse. An understanding was had, when the Fords declared they could find Jesse - that they were to "turn him in." Robert Ford and brother seem to have been thoroughly in the confidence of James, who then (startling as it was to the entire State ) resided in the city of St. Joseph, with his wife and two children ! The Fords went there, and when the robber's back was turned, Robert shot him dead in the back of the head! The Fords told their story to the authorities of the city, who at once arrested them on a charge of mur- der, and they, when arraigned, plead guilty to the charge. Promptly, however, came a full, free and unconditional pardon from Gov. Crit- tenden, and the Fords were released. In regard to the Governor's course in ridding the State of this notorious outlaw, people were divided in sentiment, some placing him in the category with the Ford boys and bitterly condemning his action, while others - the majority of law-abiding people, indeed, -though deprecating the harsh meas- ures which James' course had rendered necessary, still upheld th Governor for the part he played. As it was, the " Terror of Mis- souri " was effectually and finally " removed," and people were glad that he was dead. Robert Ford, the pupil of the dead Jesse, had

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

been selected, and of all was the most fit tool to use in the extermina- tion of his preceptor in crime.

The killing of James would never have made Crittenden many ene- mies among the better class of citizens of this State; but, when it came to his

PARDON OF TIIE GAMBLERS.

The case was different. Under the new law making gaminghouse- keeping a felony, several St. Louis gamblers, with Robert C. Pate at their head, were convicted and sentenced to prison. The Governor, much to the surprise of the more rigid moral element of the State, soon granted the gamblers a pardon. This was followed by other pardons to similar offenders, which began to render the Governor quite unpopular which one element of citizens, and to call forth from some of them the most bitter denunciations. The worst feature of the case, perhaps, is the lack of explanation, or the setting forth of sufficient reasons, as is customary in issuing pardons, This, at least, is the bur- den of complaint with the faction that opposes him. However, it must be borne in mind that his term of office, at this writing, is but half expired, and that a full record can not, therefore, be given. Like all mere men, Gov. Crittenden has his good and his bad, is liked by some and disliked by others. The purpose of history is to set forth the facts and leave others to sit in judgment ; this the historian has tried faithfully to do, leaving all comments to those who may see fit to make them.

HISTORY

CALDWELL COUNTY, MO.

CHAPTER I.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND EARLY HISTORY.

General Description - Topography, Streams, and Economic Geology - Agriculture- Stock, etc. - First Settlers and Settlements -Jesse Mann, Sr., John Raglan, Ben Lovell, Jesse Mann, Jr., and other Early Settlers - Pioneer Life - The Prairies - First Crops Raised - Game and Wild Animals -The "Firsts " - Pioneer Mills - Early Political History - When Caldwell Formed a Portion of Ray - Organiza- tion -- The Organizing Act - For Whom the County was Named.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION.

The county of Caldwell lies at a mean distance of 140 miles west from Hannibal and the Mississippi river, 40 miles east of St. Joseph and the Missouri, and about 60 miles from the northern boundary of the State, and comprises a part of the southeastern portion of what is considered Northwest Missouri. Its area is 18 miles north and south, by 24 miles east and west, and comprises 432 square miles, or 276,- 480 acres.

The face of the county presents to the eye a most beautiful land- scape, composed of about one-third timber and two-thirds prairie. The timber lies chiefly along the many streams which are well dis- tributed through the county, while back from the low hills, which gradually slope upwards from the water-courses, are spread the grace- ful, billowy prairies, rich and rolling, with plenty of drainage and abundant fertility. There is no "sad," cold prairie, with " hard- pan " almost at the surface, as is the case farther eastward in this latitude.

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HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.

The streams - of which Shoal creek, a tributary of Grand river, is the principal, flowing as it does, including its head branches, quite through the center of the county from west to east - add greatly to the natural value of the county. Steer, Bushby and Goose creeks, in the western part of the county, may be considered the forming waters of Shoal creek, and its other principal branches are Log, Long, Crab Apple and Mud creeks on the south, and Mill, Tom, Cottonwood, Otter, Turkey and Panther creeks on the north. Numerous branches and other small streams and springs afford an ample supply of water for stock, and by digging, the very best of living limestone water, clear, cold and pure, can be obtained in all parts of the county at depths varying from 15 to 40 feet, or at an average depth of 20 feet.

The timber supply is ample for all purposes. Old settlers say there is more timber in the county now than when it was first settled. No farm in the county is more than four miles from plenty of good tim- ber. Oak, elm, walnut, hickory, ash, sycamore, hard and soft maple, linn or linden, coffee bean, hackberry, cottonwood, box elder and other varieties of trees abound in the bottoms, and on the elevated lands bordering the streams, furnishing a full supply of lumber and timber for building, and fuel for domestic purposes.

Concerning the economic geology of the county it may be said that no other county in this portion of the State is more fortunately sit- uated. The soil is highly fertile. There is great abundance of building stone, unsurpassed in quality - of the kind technically known at incrinital limestone - which is easy accessible, and can be quarried without difficulty. There are also two or more quarries of sandstone. Good brick clay can be obtained in all parts of the county.

The coal deposit deserves special mention. It underlies a large part of the surface of the county, at a distance of about 300 feet from the surface, and is mined extensively near Hamilton. It has also been found near Kingston, Breckinridge, Polo and Far West, showing that its existence is general throughout the county. This coal is of the very best quality, burns to a fine white ash, without clinkers or cinders of any sort, and the Hamilton mine now in operation can not supply the demand though worked to its fullest capacity.

The soil of Caldwell county is remarkable alike for its high fertility, and the versatility of its productive qualities. One of its notable characteristics is its evenness over the entire county, there being no thin or " spotted " tracts of arable land. On the prairies the soil is

HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.

a deep, black vegetable mold, from 15 to 40 inches in depth, with an open, porous subsoil which quickly absorbs moisture, and in most places is underlaid by limestone deposit, producing a warm quick soil · which wears under successive crops for years without manuring or without any perceptible diminution of its productive qualities. Thirty and forty successive crops of corn have been raised on farms in this county, and by subsoiling or deep cultivation the last crop had been made to yield more than the first or second.

The grasses, both native and domestic, are remarkable for their rank and heavy growth. This county, as well as other parts of North- west Missouri, is the natural home of the blue grass and supplants the native prairie grass as it passes away. The timothy meadows are un- surpassed and yield from one and a half to two and a half tons per acre, being of a thrifty growth on the highest prairies as well as in the bottoms. Red and white clover both make a rich and strong growth and are largely grown. Corn, the staple grain production, oats, rye, millet and Hungarian are certain crops. Corn yields from 35 to 85 bushels per acre, oats 25 to 60, rye 15 to 30, millet and Hun- garian 12 to 40, the last two, as grass, producing three to five tons per acre. An excellent quality of winter wheat is raised, when properly cultivated, and is almost a certain crop, yielding from 12 to 30 bushels per acre. Fruit growing in Caldwell county, as in other parts of Northwest Missouri, is a success. Fine orchards of the apple, peach and cherry can be seen in full bearing in all parts of the county. The pear and plum do well, while but few portions of the United States, if any, are better adapted to grape culture. The smaller fruits, such as strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, gooseberry and currant of the finest quality seldom fail, and only require cultivation to insure their production.

As a stock growing county none is better adapted to this pleasant and profitable business than Caldwell county. Its closeness to mar- kets, mild winters, amply supply of good water, nutritious grasses for hay and grazing purposes, and its certain grain crops, make this county the stock grower's paradise. Improvement in this line of business has been the constant effort of a large class of farmers, and the many superior breeds of hogs, fine horses, sheep and cattle, attest the fact that their efforts have been crowned with success. Some of the largest flocks and herds of blooded sheep and cattle in the State can be seen in Caldwell county.

Caldwell county has been noted as a prominent sheep raising and wool growing county. Some years before the civil war Hon. George

HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.

Smith, afterwards Lieutenant-Governor of the State, etc., brought from Ohio a considerable flock of sheep which in time increased and multiplied until their owner became largely identified with the sheep and wool interest. Indeed, Gov. Smith was nicknamed and came to be known as " Sheep " Smith. The following are extracts from an article by G. B. Bothwell, Esq., another prominent wool grower of this county, which was published in a hand-book issued by the North- western Missouri Immigration Society in 1880 : -

I have been engaged in wool growing in Caldwell county, Mo., for the last thirteen years. Starting with a flock of 600 full blooded Merino ewes, my success has far exceeded my most sanguine expecta- tions. My flock has been in excellent condition all these years, shear- ing heavy fleeces of the best quality of wool, and raising a large increase each year. Keeping the flock young, and feeding generously is all that is required to secure success in this country.

I had some knowledge of the business in Ohio, and also had some four years' experience in Illinois. I have traveled through sixteen different States, and have made this subject a special study ; but I know of no place where sheep keep healthier or thrive better than in Northwest Missouri. Two hundred miles south of this section there is always much more rain in the winter, and the grain and hay crops are not so sure; two hundred miles farther north there is much more snow generally, and the winters are longer and the storms much more severe. My experience has taught me that the less snow and rain in winter, the better it will be for the flock.

I have always been able to sell my wethers and even my old ewes at a fair price each year, which is not so easily done in Colorado or Texas. I now have over 6,000 head to shear this spring, and I ex- pect the flock to raise about 2,500 lambs ; my entire flock is in first rate condition, there being no disease of any kind in it.

All breeds of sheep do well here, as do all other kinds of stock where there is always an abundant supply of blue grass, timothy and clover ; also fine crops of corn and oats, as there have been on every well regulated farm in this county every year for the last 13 years, except one, and that year a plenty of all these but corn.

When I first came here I had a part of my flock from Ohio and a part from Vermont, and notwithstanding the fact that the flock has been kept in large herds, the sheep have steadily gained in size and the wool is fully as good a quality as then, while much heavier flecces are shearcd and the sheep are very much hardier than they were 13 years ago. This, however, is owing probably to their having become acclimated.

Caldwell county has about 27 miles of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, which runs through the northern tier of townships from east to west, has four considerable stations, Breckinridge, Nettleton,

HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.

Hamilton and Kidder, and the taxable value of its property in the county is a little more than $250,000. The advantages to the county of this great thoroughfare are inestimable. It furnishes an outlet for the productions of the county accessible at all times and, save to the extreme southern parts of the county, within easy distance. The rates charged for freights and fares are reasonable certainly, especially when it is remembered that this is the only railroad operated within the county.

Unlike many other sections of Missouri and of the Great West, Caldwell county is entirely out of debt. It never was very largely involved, and though it has good county buildings, good bridges and roads and numerous school-houses, it now obeys and for some years has obeyed the Pauline injunction to " owe no man anything." The taxable wealth of the county is about $4,700,000, an increase of nearly $1,000,000 since 1880. Taxes are very low.

FIRST SETTLERS AND SETTLEMENTS.

For many years after the first settlement and organization of Ray county, the territory now comprised within the county of Caldwell was unsettled. A few Indians, roving and migratory, from time to time made their camp along Shoal creek and the other streams of the county, and " bee hunters " and explorers passed through on their way to the honey trees of what is now Daviess and Livingston. Up to about 1830, the prairies of Caldwell and Clinton abounded in droves of fine fat elk, and the hunters of the settlements along the Missouri, in Ray and Clay, often came up to chase them. Elk hunting was rare sport. The animals were usually chased into the timber, where some men were in ambush, and where the long branching antlers of the bucks so impeded their flight through brush and thicket, that it was an easy matter to come upon them and shoot them down.

Hunters and explorers, therefore, visited the present area of Cald- well prior to 1830, and the locality was well known to the settlements in the lower portion of Ray, about Richmond, Bluffton, and on Crooked river. But the locality was not favorably known. "Too much prairie," everybody said. At that date, when everybody lived as much off the spoils of the chase as off the products of the soil, deer thickets and turkey roosts were indispensable. And, moreover, at that date, - when prairie sod was six inches in thickness and tough and compact as oakum, and the only plows in use were weak, shackly affairs, with wooden mold-boards, and at the best cast-iron points, - it was well to keep away from the unpromising prairies and confine

HISTORY OF CALDWELL COUNTY.

agricultural operations to the loose, rich mellow soil of the timber. By the time a " clearing " was effected in the timber, with a reason- able amount of grubbing, a crop of corn could be planted with a hoe, and when afterward tickled with the same instrument it would laugh with an abundant harvest. Withal there was a general belief that prairie soil would be unproductive, and when reduced to cultivation, in the winter would be too cold, and in summer too hot.

At last, however, in the winter of 1830-31, one Ray county settler determined to make his home on upper Shoal creek, where there was timber, water and game in plenty for him. This was Jesse Mann, Sr., who in the spring of 18311 came up from Ray county and built the first house and became the first settler in what is now Caldwell county. The location of Mr. Mann's settlement was half a mile northeast of the public square, at Kingston, on the ne. 1/4 of the sw. 1/4 of section 22, township 56, range 28.

Jesse Mann was born in Prince George county, Va., near Petersburg, October 15, 1765. He married Nancy White in Elbert county, Ga., February 20, 1800, and they became the parents of 14 children. They removed to Ray county from Howard about 1820. The first mortgage recorded in Ray was given by Jesse Mann, in July 1822, to Saml. Crowley, the property mortgaged being a negro boy named " Chancey," and the consideration $100. Old Jesse had a number of slaves which he brought with him to Caldwell. He did not remain here long. In the early fall of 1832, during the excitement and un- easiness felt during the Black Hawk War, he returned to Ray county with his family and never thereafter lived in Caldwell. He died in Ray county, near Knoxville, February 14, 1845.

In the early summer of 1831, Jesse Mann induced two other Ray county settlers to join him in settling the Shoal creek country. These were John Raglan and Ben Lovell. Raglan settled on Shoal creek, three miles east of Kingston, near the Cox mill ford. Here he built a cabin and improved a farm, Lovell's settlement was an experimental one. He made only a camp near Raglan's, where he remained until the next fall, when he became dissatisfied and returned to Ray county. He is remembered as a rather worthless fellow, and there were no regrets at his departure. When Jesse Mann first came to Shoal creek there was not a white settler between him and British America, so far as is now known, but a few months later some

1 It is quite certain that Mr. Mann's settlement in this county was not made until the spring of 1831. This is the testimony of surviving members of his family.

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Author: Pease, Ora Merle Hawk, 1890- Publication date: 1886 Publisher: St. Louis, National Historical Company Number of Pages: 1260

Author: Pease, Ora Merle Hawk, 1890-
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: St. Louis, National Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1260