USA > Missouri > Caldwell County > History of Clinton and Caldwell Counties, Missouri > Part 20
USA > Missouri > Clinton County > History of Clinton and Caldwell Counties, Missouri > Part 20
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Some of the gang went to the courthouse and broke into the offices, secured sledgehammers and pounded their way into the vaults and plun- dered them. They robbed the county treasury in an amount variously estimated from $6,000 to $12,000. The exact amount has never been determined. The treasurer claimed to have lot $9,745.37 but his books showed entries in excess of this of about $3,000, which he took credit for as having been carried away by the bushwackers. These records were later destroyed by fire so that at this time these facts cannot be verified. In addition to the county funds, there was a considerable sum of money in the safe said to belong to various individuals who left it there for safe keeping.
The raiders discussed burning the court house, but Thrailkill pro- tested, saying that when General Price re-captured Missouri, they would need the court house then to hold court in themselves, so it was not burned at this time. They stayed in the town only about an hour and then started for Mirabile. Here they robbed the safe in the store of W. H. Crawford of a considerable sum of money belonging to some of the citizens, plundered the stores, robbed some of the citizens and took some prisoners, whom they threatened to kill, but later released. They then took their way out of the county, toward Plattsburg and then on into Clay County.
Major Cox, hearing of the raid on Kingston, hastened with his force to give battle to the guerrillas and, his force gathering recruits as it passed along, numbered about 650 men when they reached Plattsburg. It is said that the prisoners who were paroled by Thrailkill a few days before, joined in the pursuit, paying no attention to their paroles. After following the raiders a day or two, having only a small skirmish with them, Major Cox returned to Caldwell County.
It is said that Jesse James, who afterward became a, noted bandit,
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and his brother, Frank James, were with Thrailkill and Taylor in this raid and it was their first experience as guerillas.
Soon after the raid on the county seat insinuations were made that the guerrillas did not take the amount of money alleged to have been taken from the county offices, but that the greater portion was taken by some of the citizens before the raiders came, and the act charged to them. It was argued that an ordinarily prudent man would not have kept so large a sum as $12,000 in such an unsafe place when it was known that the raiders were in the vicinity, and that nearly all had taken pre- caution to remove their money and place it in a more secure hiding place ; that it was well known that the town could not defend itself against the rebels; that the courthouse was sure to be plundered and perhaps burned, and that those having money in their charge were grossly negligent if they had not removed it. The officials, however, maintained that the loss was as stated and their statements were generally believed, although the county court refused to settle with McBride, the treasurer, and to dis- charge him from the liability for the funds short. The Circuit Court, however, after making full investigation, fully exonerated him and discharged him from the obligation. The sheriff, Jonathan Sackman, who also was in charge of certain funds which were missing, brought suit in court to be released from the liability for the loss, but the court found against him.
With the close of the Civil War the county again settled back into the pursuits of peace, and from that time to the present has had a steady and permanent growth and advancement along all lines of industry. The bitter feelings engendered at that period, however, required many years to obliterate, but with the passing of those who took an active part in the affairs at that time, the succeeding generations have turned their atten- tion to the future and their backs upon the past, until now the animosities of the war times have little place in the thoughts of the present popula- tion of the county.
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CHAPTER XVI.
RECONSTRUCTION AND PASSING EVENTS.
REMOVAL OF COUNTY SEAT PROPOSED-PROPOSAL TO BUILD A RAILROAD-COURT HOUSE BURNED-PRESENT COURT HOUSE- JAIL-COUNTY FARM-BRIDGES AND ROADS-SCHOOL FUND-HAMILTON AND KINGSTON RAILROAD BUILT- MODERN CONVENIENCES.
In the year 1867, a scheme was evolved, the purpose of which was to remove the county seat from Kingston to Hamilton. The latter town had become the largest town in the county and only its location so near the northern part of the county had prevented it from becoming the county seat. In order to obviate this difficulty it was proposed to take a row of townships from the southern part of Harrison County and attach the same to Daviess County, then in like manner, take six miles of terri- tory from Daviess and add to the northern part of Caldwell and thus establish Hamilton near the center of the county. The scheme was well received in the northern portion of the county, but was very much opposed by the southern part. Meetings were held and committees appointed in the various townships to oppose the project, and when it was presented to the Legislature the scheme failed.
With the burning of the court house later, in the year 1896, there was quite a discussion again about the removal of the county seat to Hamilton, and the first bond proposition for the building of the court house failed, but it soon became evident that there was no chance to make the change and the next bond election carried and a new court house was built, which perhaps settled this question for all time.
A proposition to build a railroad through the county came up in 1869, known as the Tebo and Neosho, a branch of the Rock Island, to be built from Wilson, Iowa, to Kansas City. The proposed road was to enter the county in the northeast corner, and strike Breckenridge, Kings- ton and Mirabile. In response to a petition of many citizens, the county
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court, at a special term, June 26, 1869, agreed to subscribe in the name of the county $200,000 to this project, provided a majority of the voters of the county, at a special election, could be obtained for the proposition. The election held July 17 was carried for the subscription which was accordingly made. The road, however, was never built through the county, but this was used for a lever to induce the counties of Daviess and Clin- ton to bid higher for the road, which was really a part of the Rock Island system, and was afterward built through those counties.
It has been stated heretofore that the first court house was built at Kingston in 1843. This was a log building, two stories in height and stood on the south side of Main street, opposite the center of the square. The second court house was built in 1854, and was a two-story brick struc- ture and stood on the south side of the square a little nearer the street than the present building. This building was burned on the night of April 19, 1860, at which time all the records and in fact all the contents of the building were destroyed. Fire broke out in the county clerk's office, which was on the first floor in the southwest corner of the building and when discovered had gained such headway that it was impossible to save any of the contents of the offices. One record of the Probate Court was at the house of Judge W. F. Boggs and was the only record saved. There was little doubt but that the building had been set on fire, but whatever the motive it has never been determined by whom this was done. On June 19, 1860, a contract was entered into for building another court house for $20,000 and this was completed in 1861. This building came near being burned when the guerrillas made their raid through the county, but served the county until the fall of 1896, when it burned under much the same conditions as the former one.
Late at night fire broke out in the county clerk's office, which was located in the southwest part of the building and all the county court records and files were burned as were many other valuable papers and files in other offices. The records in the Circuit Clerk's office were saved, with one exception, but all the files were destroyed. The vault which had been built on the east side for the Recorder and Probate Court records, and which had been referred to by many as the "wart" on the court house, was not damaged and saved the records intact belonging to those offices.
Much speculation was indulged in as to the origin of this fire, but the cause was never determined.
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HISTORY OF CLINTON AND CALDWELL COUNTIES
In 1898 the present court house was built at a contract price of about $30,000, and has served well the purpose for which it was intended.
The first jail was built in 1869 and was a stone structure, very substan- tial, but a very dungeon in reality, the cells being low and dark and unsani- tary. This gave way for the present jail and jailer's residence which was built about the year 1890.
The county purchased the poor farm April 22, 1873, at a cost of $18.38 per acre. It contains 220 acres, and is located in sections 18 and 19 in Kingston Township and in sections 13 and 24 in Mirabile Township. It has been improved from time to time until it is now in a high state of cultivation and having commodious frame buildings, well equipped and well kept for the use of the county's unfortunate and is a source of con- siderable revenue to the county as well as saving in caring for those who are thrown on the county for support because of old age, or physical defect.
The county is now well supplied with bridges over the streams and concrete culverts are numerous along the highways of the county. Since the coming of the automobile, more attention has been given to the roads and during the year from May 1, 1921, to May 1, 1922, approximately $30,000 was expended by the county and townships for road improve- ments, while the state expended quite a large amount of funds in grad- ing roads preparatory to hard-surface construction. The first improve- ment of this kind was completed last year, extending from Shoal Creek bridge, north of Kingston, a distance of four miles, on the Hamilton and Kingston road. Later, the road east of Hamilton for some miles was graded in like manner. The first rock road in the county was constructed a few years ago, from the Shoal creek bridge north of Kingston, to Kings- ton, but has not been maintained in a very satisfactory condition.
The county has a school fund of $80,000 which is kept loaned out on good real estate security and the income is available for school purposes. It is also worthy of especial mention here that in the last year or two the county, as a whole, has greatly increased its outlay for school purposes and that educational matters are receiving more careful consideration and attention now than ever before. There are three consolidated school dis- tricts in the county, Mirabile, Nettleton, and one in New York Township, where a fine new modern building was completed only last year.
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HISTORY OF CLINTON AND CALDWELL COUNTIES
The assessed valuation of the county is as follows :
Real estate
.$22,997,030.00
Personal property
5,545,529.00
Railroad, Telegraph and Telephone
2,540,660.00
Merchants
709,250.00
Total
$31,792,469.00
By way of comparison, it may be said that the total assessed valua- tion for taxes of 1885, was $4,712,856.00. This indicates the remarkable development that has been going on in the county since that time.
In 1890, the Hamilton and Kingston Railroad was built which will be referred to more particularly in connection with the history of Kings- ton. But the building of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad through the southern part of the county in 1887, did more to develop the county than any one thing since the building of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, opening up a fine farming community, and being the direct cause of the founding of Braymer and Cowgill, and of the building up of Polo, which was only a small village when the road was built. Special mention will be made in a following chapter of the history, thrift and enterprise of these new towns.
Caldwell County is well supplied with rural routes, carrying the mails to the door of the farmers every day. Hamilton is the only town that has city delivery. Every town in the county also has a telephone exchange, with lines reaching the majority of farmers as well as a large number of town subscribers, and radio, the new marvel of the age, has entered most of the towns, but few if any farmers are as yet supplied with this con- venience. The first receiving station installed in Caldwell County was by the First National Bank at Hamilton.
CHAPTER XVII.
A CHAPTER OF TRAGEDIES.
FIRST MURDER OF COUNTY-MURDER OF OSTER-JUDGE STEEL KILLED-MEM- BERS OF THRAILKILL BAND KILLED-TRAGEDIES OF THE CIVIL WAR- TRAGEDIES SINCE THE WAR-EXECUTION OF ALBERT FILLEY.
Caldwell County has not been without its tragedies and only a few of them can be referred to in this work.
The first murder in the county after the departure of the Mormons was that of a man by the name of Beatty by Capt. Samuel Bogart, at Far West in November, 1839. Captain Bogart commanded a Ray County company during the Mormon war and at this time lived four miles west of where Kingston now stands, Beatty was a young man, a nephew of Wesley Hines, with whom Bogart had quarreled.
On the day of the killing there was a special election in the county to fill a vacancy in the county court and Captain Bogart was a candidate and was elected that day. Far West was a voting place and both men came there to vote when Beatty took up the quarrel of his uncle and the two were quarreling when Beatty advanced on Bogart in a threatening manner. Bogart warned Beatty to stand back and turning to a friend present asked him to take note that he had warned Beatty, who continued to advance, when Bogart quickly flashed a pistol and shot him dead.
Bogart immediately left for home, selected the best horse he had and left the county in great haste, going south toward Richmond. It was a rainy season and the streams were swollen bank full. Reaching Crooked River, at Dale's Mill, after nightfall, he found the stream very high, but dismounting forced his horse into the water and seizing his tail was towed safely across. At Richmond he called on a friend and told him that he was on his way to Lexington to enter a valuable tract of land and bor- rowed $200 in gold. He reached the river, roused the ferryman and tell- ing him the land story prevailed on him to take him across imme-
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HISTORY OF CLINTON AND CALDWELL COUNTIES
diately and to keep his boat on the south bank until noon the next day, by paying him with a $20 gold piece, and on no account was he to bring any one across before that time.
Bogart made his way to safety into the new Republic of Texas where he attained considerable prominence. He sent for his family and made that his permanent home. He was indicted by the Grand Jury at Far West, but was never arrested.
A man by the name of Oster, who lived in what is now Fairview Town- ship, near Elk Grove, was killed in 1847 by his son-in-law, Wm. Taylor, who was assisted by his father, a younger brother and Henry Gist.
Taylor and his wife had separated because of his ill treatment of her and she returned to her father's home with their child. The Taylors lived in Gentry County and tried several times to obtain possession of the child then in custody of the mother. On Sunday, when nearly all the family were away at church at Elk Grove, Taylor with his brother, father and Henry Gist made a raid on the premises and succeeded in carrying away the child. The alarm was given and Oster succeeded in reaching home just before Taylor had left and in the encounter Oster was shot and killed and Taylor rode off bearing the child with him on horseback.
All four of the kidnappers were arrested. Wm. Taylor was confined in the Buchanan County jail from which he escaped and was never appre- hended. Henry Gist was confined in jail at Plattsburg where he burned off the door of the jail and came home and was afterward unmolested. Old man Taylor was tried and sentenced to two years in the penitentiary but was pardoned while the younger Taylor was never tried.
Late in the fall of 1861, Judge James Steele, a prominent citizen of the county was killed by a small detachment of James' battalion. Judge Steele was a man of middle age and his home was in Kingston, and at one time was a member of the county court. It is said he was brave even to rashness and determined even to obstinacy. When the war broke out he joined the rebel forces and in a few months left Price's army to come back for the purpose of recruiting. He went to his father's home in Rockford township, southwest of Mirabile, and his presence and mission became known, a Union man rode to Cameron with the information to Major James who ordered a squad of five men out to capture him. Reach- ing the vicinity they rode rapidly up to the house and surrounded it. Steele caught up a gun and running out began to resist capture when he
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HISTORY OF CLINTON AND CALDWELL COUNTIES
was instantly killed. A companion who made no resistence was made a prisoner and afterwards paroled.
In 1862, two Confederate soldiers, who had also been members of Thrailkill's band of marauders, were shot by members of the militia in Mirabile Township. The men were "Stump" Breckinridge and Richard Lancaster and their homes are said to have been in Platte County. They were captured near Mirabile and were guarded there until the following night when Captain Crouse and 15 men left ostensibly to take them to Kingston, but when they arrived about four miles west of Kingston, they were stood up against two oak trees and shot. This was on the Capt. E. D. Johnson farm and as late as about 1890 these trees were still standing and were pointed out as the place where these men met their death. They were buried in the southeast corner of the Morris graveyard, which was about 200 yards to the northeast of that point where the graves may be seen today.
During the war period many tragedies occurred in Caldwell County and many Confederate sympathizers were killed, among whom were John C. Myers, James Baker, George Baker, William Baker, Alex Richey, H. D. Whiteneck, Rev. Frazee, R. S. McBeath, Absolom Harpold and Henry Gist.
In November, 1862, John C. Myers was killed by federal militia at the home of H. D. Whiteneck in Rockford Township, two miles south of Mirabile. He was a well known resident of the county and had been sheriff. During the time of turmoil at the beginning of the. war, Mr. Myers was a strong sympathizer of the South and entered the Confederate service. He came back home in the fall of 1862 and for a time escaped. On the evening of his death he went to the home of Whiteneck and after supper Whiteneck insisted that he not remain over night as it was dan- gerous for both of them for him to do so. A little after dusk the militia came and in attempting to escape he was shot and killed. Whiteneck was himself killed near the same place by militia about two years later.
Space will not permit to go into the details of the killing of the others above mentioned, but all met their fate in much the same way as Myers and Whiteneck.
Since the war many other tragedies have marred the peace of the county, of which only brief mention will be made here.
In a quarrel at a dance at the residence of Wm. McDonald in Rock- ford township Jan. 2, 1873, John C. Fuller shot and killed Lou Marley.
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HISTORY OF CLINTON AND CALDWELL COUNTIES
Fuller was tried and acquitted, but was afterward assassinated by an unknown enemy in Clay County, who called him to the door one night and shot him.
James B. Rogers was killed by Daniel M. Weist at Breckenridge on the night of May 14, 1875, Rogers being indicted for the crime was tried and acquitted.
On Aug. 16, 1881, Geo. Bohannan, a negro, was killed by Wm. H. Roshong about a mile west of Kingston, by throwing a corn knife which penetrated the negro's back as he was running. On trial in the Circuit Court the defendant was acquitted.
Two other cases of the killing of negroes happened about this time, that of Pete Lewis by VanBibber in a saloon at Breckenridge. VanBibber ordered the negro out and he refused to go, whereupon he shot him, killing him almost instantly. VanBibber was never tried for the offense. Samuel Rogers, another negro, was killed Aug. 15, 1881, by Edward F. Gwynn in front of a saloon in Hamilton. He was arrested, took a change of venue to Livingston County, and was acquitted. It is said that public sentiment in this county was strongly against him.
Nathan B. Middaugh, a good citizen of Kidder Township, living two miles east of Cameron, was killed by John W. DeHart on June 4, 1884. There was a quarrel over business affairs and a fight ensued in which DeHart ran to the wood pile, grabbed up an axe and felled his victim with that weapon. He was tried and sentenced to the penitentiary for 10 years.
Peter L. Boulton, an aged citizen of Mirabile Township living near old Far West, was beaten to death by his demented son, Homer L. Boulton, Nov. 11, 1883. He was arrested and tried, but acquitted on the ground of insanity and sent to the asylum at St. Joseph.
Capt. Isaac N. Hemry was shot and killed Aug. 30, 1885, by some unknown person. He was out salting the cattle on the farm on a Sunday morning when some one concealed by a hedge fence made the attack. To this day the motive for the crime is still a mystery and the identity of the murderer has never been discovered.
Coming down to latter years, perhaps the greatest tragedy that ever took place in the county happened on the night of Dec. 21, 1907.
Albert Filley, a farmer living a few miles southeast of Cameron, came home that night, it is said, in a drunken condition, and during the night killed his wife, Fanny Filley, his daughter Dollie, aged 9 years, and his brother H. Clay Filley and seriously wounded the latter's wife. It
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HISTORY OF CLINTON AND CALDWELL COUNTIES
was about three o'clock in the morning when he began his killing by shooting his brother, he then seized a hammer and finished his fiendish crime. He was arrested at the home and taken to jail at Kingston and was tried at the June term of court following. The trial attracted much attention and the state put up a strong case, asking for the limit of the law. The defense was that of insanity. The jury was out for 24 hours and returned a verdict of guilty and assessing his punishment at death. When the jury was impaneled two of the jurors declared they would never assess the death penalty, that they were opposed to capital punish- ment, and it was said that the vote stood 10 to 2 for several hours, but finally ended in the death penalty being assessed.
Filley paid the debt by hanging on Sept. 21, 1908, in the corridor of the jail. The trap was sprung by Sheriff Frank L. Parker and he was pronounced dead after fifteen minutes. He had to be supported on the way to scaffold and, in fact, since the night of the crime had seemed in a dazed condition and had little to say at any time. He fully expected the governor to commute his sentence and the governor was appealed to over the telephone just before the hanging, but he refused to interfere. The feeling of the community was so strong against Filley that had the sentence been commuted it is quite probable that mob violence would have been the result. No crime in the county ever stirred up the people as this had done. This is the only legal execution that ever happened in Caldwell County.
CHAPTER XVIII.
TOWNSHIPS.
KINGSTON - HAMILTON - BRECKENRIDGE - DAVIS - MIRABILE-GOWER-NEW YORK-FAIRVIEW-LINCOLN-KIDDER-GRANT-ROCKFORD.
Kingston Township was organized Nov. 4, 1867, and formerly was a part of Blythe Township, which comprised at one time, what is now Hamilton, Kingston and Grant townships and some other territory. Kings- ton Township is now comprised of township 56, range 28. The first settle- ments in Caldwell County were in Kingston Township and are spoken of elsewhere as well as the founding of the county seat.
The general surface of the township is somewhat hilly and broken, owing to the numerous streams that traverse all parts. It is underlaid with a fine quality of coal and for about 10 years the Dripping Springs coal mine was operated one mile north of Kingston, that not only supplied local demand but many car loads were shipped out over the Hamilton & Kingston Railroad, but with the abandonment of the road the mine was closed down.
Hamilton Township was organized in 1867, when the boundaries were the county line on the north and Shoal Creek on the south, but was reor- ganized in 1870, with its present limits, being township 57, range 28.
The first settler in what is now Hamilton Township was Nathaniel Marsh, who located near the Daviess County line about three miles north- west of Hamilton in 1837. The surface is rolling in the south part and fine prairie along the northern portion of the township. Hamilton Town- ship had at one time a coal mine in operation for a number of years, but was finally abandoned owing to the difficulty of operation, but a large amount of coal was taken from this mine and a spur of track connected it with the Burlington at Hamilton, and much coal was shipped out and was of excellent quality.
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