USA > Missouri > Carroll County > History of Carroll County, Missouri : carefully written and compiled from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of its townships, cities, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri ; the Constitution of the United States, and State of Missouri ; a military record of its volunteers in either army of the Great Civil War ; general and local statistics ; miscellany ; reminiscences, grave, tragic and humorous ; biographical sketches of prominent men and citizens identified with the interests of the country > Part 25
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The next settlement was made in what is now Sugartree township. Nehemiah Woolsey, his son Noah Woolsey, and several families by the name of Casner, made their way up the south side of the Missouri river to the mouth of Gabbin's branch, about two miles above the pres- ent town of Waverly. Here they crossed the river by means of canoes to the Carroll county side. Close to the bank of the river a hut of logs
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was raised as a temporary shelter until more comfortable homes could be provided. Samuel Williams was an early member of this settlement. The Indians soon manifested a jealousy toward the intruders. They began to grow bold and troublesome, stealing whenever possible, from the few pigs on which the pioneers depended for subsistence. The set- tlers, notwithstanding their small numbers, determined to put a stop to these encroachments. On the next visit of the Indians, who pilfered the scanty stores of the settlement, and carried off some minor articles, the whites collected, armed and equipped themselves, and started in pursuit. The enemy were overtaken, and made but a feeble resistance. Under the circumstances the Indians were punished mildly, and escaped with a good whipping with gun-sticks and ramrods in the hands of the whites.
At this time, 1818, wild game of every description was abundant throughout the country. Bear, deer, buffalo, elk, geese, brant, ducks, and other members of the animal and feathered tribes, could be had for the shooting. The streams were also well filled with various kinds of fish. The stream known as Moss Creek attracted early notice from the remark- able abundance of fish found in its waters. When the pioneers were fatigued with the exciting chase after game over bluff and prairie, recrea- tion was found in capturing the finny tribes by means of hooks, lines, and gigs. The green moss, from which the creek receives its name, spring- ing from its rooted bed in the stream and spreading over the water's sur- face, gave it the appearance of a grassy meadow. Its banks were the haunts of large numbers of deer, and many a proud buck met his death at a shot from the unerring rifle of the ambushed hunter, and dyed the waters of the stream with his life-blood. If game was plenty pork was scarce, and venison formed a considerable portion of the food of the settlers. If a settler by chance killed and cured more than one hog a year, he was considered by his neighbors as extravagant and aristocratic, and he was brought to his senses by the taunts of the neighborhood that he was " putting on style," a charge which was dreaded more than any other by the Democratic members of the pioneer community. Cattle were few in number, and readily brought from twenty to thirty dollars. Much of the time during hunting and fishing seasons was occupied in securing a supply for the winter. The corn raised furnished bread. But little money was required, a condition of things which admirably suited the situation of the settlers. The only purchases required to be made were coffee, tea, sugar, and such groceries as formed the luxuries of pioneer life. Buckskin was used for clothing. The skins of the game killed were carefully preserved, stretched and dried, and with beeswax, formed the principal article of trade, and was considered "land office money," from the fact that many of the settlers who had not realized enough of gold and silver to pay for their lands when their obligations became due, actually deposited skins
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and beeswax at the land agent's office in Franklin to pay their indebted- ness to the government. Each of these articles were valued at twenty- five cents per pound, and the fact of their deposit at the agency in lieu of money gave doeskins and beeswax the appellation of " land-office money."
The nearest point for trading at the time of the early settlements was Old Chariton, near the mouth of Chariton river, a noted place in the early history of this section of the state, and at one time thought to be destined to become a great commercial center of the west. This town was laid off by Gen. Duff Green, afterwards editor of the Washington Telegraph, the leading paper of the Jackson administration, and a house stands in the old town built of the remains of the once grand edifice of General Green. To this point the early settlers were obliged to resort in order to obtain such necessaries as they could not do without. The first road through the county was a continuation of the road from St. Louis, passing through the Boone's Lick settlement, and crossing Grand river, near the present ferry. It continued its course through Carroll county, close by where Hardwick's mill now stands, and westwardly through Sugartree bottom, to Crooked river, striking other points farther west. These roads and trails were some times continued far beyond civilization by the Indians in their migrations to and from the various settlements. The Indians dis- played great judgment in marking out these trails, and in selecting the nearest due course to any particular point. The road referred to above was much traveled in after years by traders on their way to Santa Fe, and other western trading posts. The main trail leading from St. Louis, had the appearance to the new settlers of a solid road-bed expressly intended for commerce between St. Louis and some important city far in the inte- rior. The Indians had so long been accustomed to trail over it, that it was worn at least six inches below the surface, and almost of uniform width from one end to the other. With the settlement of the county and the advance of a permanent population, the roads became changed, and at this time there is little of the old trail used for road purposes. The old land-mark, over which roving bands of Indians and westward bound emi- grants so often journeyed in the pioneer history of the county, is now almost entirely obliterated.
Early in the year 1818, the government lands located in the county, were advertised to be sold. An opportunity was thus offered for the set- tlers to secure for themselves and families a permanent home. A land office was opened at the Boone's Lick settlement (now Franklin,) whither some of the settlers repaired and purchased tracts of land. The spirit of speculation became rife, and excessive purchases were sometimes made. Many fell short in meeting their obligations to the government for the lands they had bought, and this failure on their part was the means of many losing their lands altogether, and the very homesteads they had
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erected for their families. Others again entered into a compromise with the government through its agents, by which the money already paid was transferred to certain lands they preferred, and the right, title and interest to other lands was relinquished to the government. To the settlers, the only prospect of getting money was by their own labor-a slow pro- cess, and poor foundation to build on in a country in comparative infancy, and where money was so scarce. The bank bills of all the states were taken and passed among the citizens at par. Occasionally, but not very frequently, a United States· bill could be seen. Gold and silver were seldom seen and circulated, except in payment of land, and the necessary expenses incident to the business of the land office.
On the first of July, 1820, the public lands of Carroll county were made subject to private entry, at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. In addition to the land which had never been sold, tracts were also included Once sold but forfeited by default of payment. Many of the settlers had come in and located since the land sales of 1818, quite a number of whom had made improvements on vacant land, with the expectation of afterward securing possession. These settlers hurried to the land office, eager to purchase the lands they had selected before they should pass into the hands of speculators. Not unfrequently two neighbors would select the same tract, and each secretly gather sufficient money together to enter the quantity desired. If either started off on a journey, the other, always on the alert, would also immediately, day or night, undertake the journey to the land-office, anxious to be the first to secure the prize. In some cases men started late in the day, expecting to evade their neighbor, and get one night's start. If by any means the other got wind of his departure, he not unfrequently started post-haste on his trail, crossed Grand river by ford or otherwise, traveled all night, passed neighbor. number, one about morning, who supposed that he had secured start enough to enable him to take a few hours' rest, arrived first at the land office, and entered the coveted tract. In such cases, neighbor number one, on reaching the land office, would, in a deep sense, realize the applicability of that passage of Scripture which says "The first shall be last and the last first." It some- times happened that both would meet at the land office in quest of the same piece of land, in which case the lands to be entered were sold to the highest bidder by the register and receiver. Several tracts brought more than they could be sold for, after improvement was made, for many years afterward. The excitement in such cases generally left in the families a feeling that lasted for a generation.
During the year 1818 the town of Bloomfield was laid out in the forks of Wakanda creek, on the southwest quarter of section seven, Eugene township. The town, however, was never established on a satisfactory basis, and no trace now remains. A store was kept here at one time by
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Lewis N. Rees. The low and wet situation of the town probably inter- fered with its growth. The settlers reasoned that the location of the town rendered it liable to inundations. It had another disadvantage, in being peculiarly subject to chills and fever, the disease generally prevalent throughout the settlements. Not a family in the settlements but had its. case of ague, and several of the same family were generally rendered use- less for months by the tenacious and enervating nature of these malarial diseases. A chill in the morning, a hot fever at noon, and an apparently healthy condition of the system in the evening, with a ravenous appetite, marked the progress of the disease. The following day was but a repe- tition of its predecessor. This lasted for weeks and months, and many of the settlers, most of whom had located along the creek in the timber, became discouraged and impatient, and at last resolved to seek other points, more congenial to health and comfort. Thus Sugartree bottom became almost depopulated, and was generally considered as unfit for the residence of man.
Nothwithstanding the sickness and trials of the settlers, the population slowly increased, and in a short time twenty families, gathered from almost as many different states, had settled permanently within the pres- ent limits of Carroll county. Joseph Johnson, Humphrey Smith, and Joseph Fowler settled in the neighborhood of the present town of Carroll- ton, and with Standley and Turner already mentioned, were the pioneers of Carroll township. Indian depredations were committed, and two sons of Mr. Splawn, Mabe and John, met their death at the hands of the sav -. ages. This circumstance created deep excitement. Mr.Standley and the. other settlers in Carroll township collected together, and built a small block house, near the residence of Mr. Standley. It stood on the point of the hill in the southeast part of the present town of Carrollton. The excitement soon died away, peace and quiet were established, and neces- sity never required the use of the block house. During the winter of 1820-21, Alexander Bogard is said to have been captured by the Indians,. and his release effected by the whites, who pursued the Indians to their camp on the north side .of Bogard's (correctly spelled Bogart) mound, where a skirmish or small battle is reported to have taken place, resulting in the discomfiture of the red-skins and the release of the prisoner. This extensive mound, eight miles north of Carrollton, was early known under: its present name. It is claimed by some that the mound received its name from another circumstance. A man named Bogard, when on a hunting excursion in the vicinity of Big Creek and near this mound, became lost. The weather was dark, misty, and drizzly. After procuring a sufficiency of game he started for his home in the settlement. Becoming bewildered he lost the points of the compass, and at every step imagined himself nearer home. Eere he was aware of it he stood on the summit of the mound.
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He again made an effort to reach home, and started in what he judged to be the right direction. After wandering for hours till nearly ready to sink from exhaustion, to his surprise he again found himself near the top of the mound, a few yards from the point from which he started. A third, fourth, and fifth attempt met with like success. Some strange magnetism seemed always to draw the lost man toward the summit of the mound. Several days and nights were thus spent, the sky continuing cloudy, and a hazy mist rendering it impossible to distinguish one direction from another. At length the clouds broke, the sun appeared, and Bogard made a fresh start for home where he arrived finally in safety.
Abraham Hill, with his five sons, crossed the Missouri from the south side of the river on the 17th of May, 1819. Two canoes lashed together and covered with puncheons formed a rough raft on which the family and their goods were conveyed safely over the turbid waters of the Missouri. Several other families crossed at the same time. Having reached the northern side of the river without accident, they immediately selected a location and erected their tents some three miles east of the village of Miles Point, until such time as they could prepare for themselves more permanent dwellings. The camp, (without design, however, on the part of the settlers,) was located on, or near, a bear trail which led to an island in the river, a circumstance which gave rise to an incident in which Mrs. Hill, the wife of Alexander Hill, had opportunity to display her courage. Mr. Hill and a young man by the name of Samuel Todd, Mrs. Hill's brother, who had accompanied the Hill's to Missouri from the state of Tennessee, left the camp one day, only Mrs. Hill and the children remain- ing behind to receive visitors. Late in the evening a bear of huge pro- portions was seen approaching leisurely along the trail, coming directly toward the defenseless abode of the pioneers. Mrs. Hill was a lady of extraordinary courage and presence of mind, and quickly prepared for the emergency. Understanding that bears are averse to the smell of gunpowder and are apt to beat a hasty retreat at the first scent of that article. she seized her husband's gun, discharged it at the enemy, and before the echoes of . the report had scarcely died away in the neighboring timber, the gun was reloaded and the valiant defender of the camp was prepared for another shot. Mr. Bruin, however, pausing only a moment to reflect that " dis- cretion is the better part of valor," turned face about and rapidly made his disappearance in the undergrowth. The Hill's were the first settlers of Cherry Valley township.
Another interesting incident is told in connection with Mrs. Hill, the truth of which rests on an undoubted basis. On a visit to a neighbor in the early history of the settling of the County she came upon a swarm of bees which settled directly in her path. Mrs. Hill concluded that this was an opportunity of securing a stock of bees too good to be lost. She accord-
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ingly alighted from her horse, gathered the swarm in her capacious apron, took the bees home, and for many years afterward was well provided with bees and honey as a reward for her courage and forethought.
In the early history of the settlements mechanical conveniences were few and of an inferior character. Few of the settlers had been regularly trained to the use of tools, and in consequence, every man became his own mechanic. Vessels and articles required for household use were hewn out of blocks and logs of wood. Although these articles presented a rough and uncouth appearance, they answered every purpose, and the families were as happy in their use as are the most favored people of later generations with the multiplied devices of modern invention. The great disadvantage the pioneers labored under was the need of mills. Grain was at first reduced to flour and meal by means ot a mortar. The grain was put in and pounded for hours with a pestle, and when sufficiently beaten the finer particles were separated from the coarser by a common sieve, the finer being used for making bread, and the coarser for hominy. This process became slow and wearisome, and other methods were introduced. A kind of hand-mill rapidly supplanted the old mortar. It was constructed by putting the flat sides of two large stones together, the upper one well balanced on a pivot. A hole was made in the top of the upper stone, into which was forced a round pin used as a handle to put the mill in motion by one hand, while the other hand was used to feed it. Simple as were mills of this kind, they were, however, very scarce at first and were used only by a few. The majority clung to the old mortar and pestle, the noise of which could sometimes be heard long after the usual hour of retir- ing, busy in the preparation of the meal and hominy for the morning's breakfast. The constant employment of about one member of each family was required to keep the family provided with bread.
The increase of population demanded a quicker process in the manufac- ture of breadstuffs, and Malicah Lyle and John Woolard, both somewhat proficient in the use of tools and possessing no little mechanical genius, arranged a hand-mill on a large scale, to which afterwards a horse was attached. This mill was in all probability the first of the kind constructed in the county, and stood near the Wakanda and a short distance west of Hardwick's mill. On the increase of population in Sugartree Bottom, Isaac Lowthan and. William Huddard, both Englishmen, and men of means, suggested a plan and built a tug mill near Mr. Woolsey's residence. The mill proved a great accommodation to the members of that settle- ment.
About the middle of April, 1820, a snow fell to the depth of about six- teen inches .. The snow disappeared in a few days under the rays of a warm sun, making the roads very heavy and disagreeable to travel.
A mention of the first wedding that ever occurred in Carroll county
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may not be an uninteresting incident to transmit to future generations. The promptings of nature in the pioneer settlements were found to be much the same as have characterized the human race from time immemo- rial. The lads and lasses, laying aside their natural timidity and embar- rassment, began to cultivate each other's acquaintance, and the arrows of Cupid not unfrequently were dispatched with certain and deadly aim. One Benjamin Roe became enamored of a young and blooming damsel, Mar- garet Irvan, and his affection being returned, the two mutually agreed to become one. All the preliminaries having been arranged, the day was set for the performance of the ceremony. As may be imagined the whole settlement took a pardonable interest in the event. Guests were invited from the whole settlement, and some from across Grand River in Chariton county. The wedding took place at the residence of the bride's father on little Wakanda Creek, near where the late Samuel H. Miller resided. The whole company, male and female, including the happy pair, were clothed from head to foot in buckskin, at that time the material most generally in use for wearing apparel. The two hopeful candidates for matrimonial bliss took their places and were solemnly pronounced man and wife. The festivities of the evening closed with a dance. The violin prepared for the occasion was composed of one huge board dug out in the center. The instrument was homely and unlike any in use at the present day. The plain bow was made from a crooked stick and the hair of a horse's tail. It may be supposed, however, in spite of the rudeness of the musical instruments that the buxom lasses and lads enjoyed themselves no less the merrily. The dance was kept up till the " wee sma' hours " of morning, when the guests departed with many pleasant reminiscences of the occa- sion and well wishes for the future happiness of the bride and groom. The second marriage in the county, of which any account is given, occur- red on the 15th of April, 1820, during the prevalence of the heavy snow storm of that month, to which reference has been made already. The · bride on this occasion was the daughter of Mordecai Lyle.
Supplementary to the foregoing sketch it is proper to state that there is at present residing in Sugar Tree Bottom, John Casner, now the oldest living settler in the county. He states that he was born in Washington county, Virginia, October 24, 1801. At an early age he removed with his father's family to Cumberland county, Kentucky. In 1818, Mr. Cas- ner states, his father, Jonas Casner, removed to where Carroll county now is, landing on the north bank of the Missouri in section 14, township 51, range 24, on the 16th day of November. The Casner family consisted of Jonas, the head, his wife, and six children: Henry, John, Eben, William, and two daughters, Charlotte and Judy.
Mr. Casner states that positively his father was the first white settler in Carroll county. He says that when they arrived here, he and his father
1
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and brothers explored the country from Grand to Crooked River, and there was not a white man to be found. Mr. Jonas Casner opened a farm, entering it at Old Franklin, the following year, but never perfecting the title thereto, allowing it to go back. The river was crossed on a canoe raft, made by fastening two canoes together by a sort of platform, and loading the household goods, together with all the other freight thereon.
At that time game and Indians were plenty. Bears, panthers, wolves, deer, and elk, abounded. John Casner states that though but about 18 years old at the time he has killed two and three bears a day. The bears stayed on the uplands in summer, but wintered in the river bottoms in the great hollow trees then there to be found. About February the females gave birth to their cubs. The settlers would cut down the trees, kill the mother bear and take the cubs and make pets of them. In the early settling of the country nearly every family had its pet bear. Sometimes a panther or a wolf was the pet, but these animals were never entirely tamed. Bear bacon, as cured bear meat was called, was a favorite dish. "I don't want anything better," says Mr. Casner, " than a bear bacon and lye hominy." The breast of a wild turkey, fried in bears oil, was also regarded as a rare dainty.
On one occasion, Mr. Casner states, a large panther followed his wife to her house, and as she entered the door caught her by the dress. The house dogs chased the animal away and the next day Casner and his broth- ers killed it. ' It measured eleven feet from tip to tip, the largest animal of the kind ever killed in the bottom. Wm. Mann and John Casner were bear hunting north of Carrollton at another time and saw a panther lying by the side of the road ready to spring. Casner shot and wounded him and the dogs dispatched him.
Mr. Casner states that the first white person that died in the county to the best of his recollection, was his little sister, Judy Casner, who was burned to death, by her clothing taking fire, in the year 1819. The first white child born was a son of Jesse Mann, in May, 1819; its mother cooked breakfast for her family the following morning. A little after, Mrs. Hill bore a child.
There was much sickness and distress among the settlers in the year 1820. In the month of September a Mrs. Nutting died without attention. John Casner put her in a rude coffin, dug her grave, and buried her him- self unassisted except by one woman. This was the first burial in the Woolsey grave yard. There were no doctors and no medicines in that day. The first doctor was not a doctor. He was but a quack. He killed more than he cured, and the settlers ran him off. He was known to give half a teaspoonful of calomel at a dose. He administered nothing but cathartics and emetics. Lobelia he called "lady puke." Old
B
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Mr. Jacks, a Cumberland Presbyterian, is the first preacher that Mr. Casner remembers. He came over from Lafayette county. He had a slave that was a preacher.
In about the year 1824, Noah Woolsey was crossing a family in a canoe boat. The family consisted of a man and his wife and four children, one of the latter being an infant. It was night and a heavy storm was blow- ing. The boat-if it could be called a boat-went to pieces in the middle of the river and the man and his wife and three of the children were drowned. The next morning the negro preacher referred to found the infant safe and sound on a feather bed which had blown against a drift on the Lafayette side.
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