USA > Missouri > Cooper County > History of Cooper County, Missouri > Part 21
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117
Pilot Grove Township .- Pilot Grove is bounded on the north by La- mine; on the east by Boonville and Palestine; on the south by Clear Creek and Palestine, and on the west by Clear Cleek and Blackwater. It is a very irregular in shape and offers quite a variety in surface features. The township derived its name from the following facts: When travelers were passing on the route from Boonville to Independence, or in the neighbor- hood of this route, as it led through the township, they were enabled at once to determine their position by the small grove of trees which was plainly visible for miles around. Very little of the present timber was in existence except as low brush, so that the group of trees standing promi- nently above all the rest proved a pilot to the traveler in his journey across the then extensive prairie. Hence the name "Pilot Grove."
It was settled about 1820. Among the early settlers were John Mc- Cutchen, John Houx, Jacob Houx, L. A. Summers, James McElroy, Samuel
228
HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY
Roe, Sr., Samuel Woolridge, Enoch Mass, Absalom Meredith, Azariah Bone, who was a Methodist minister ; John Rice, a blacksmith ; a Mr. Magee, after whom "Magee Grove" was named, and Samuel Gilbert, whose success in after life as a cancer doctor was a surprise to all and a familiar theme of conversation among the old settlers. There were also William and James Taylor, Jr., who were among the pioneers.
This township was distinguished in the early times by the number and variety of camp meetings which were held within its borders. The Metho- dists and Presbyterians were rivals for the honor of conducting the biggest and best camp meeting each year. People attended from great distances.
Thomas P. Cropper was the first noted teacher in this township. He taught in 1828 and 1829.
The first mill erected in this township was by a man named Hughes. It was a horse-mill and stood on one of the branches of the Petite Saline.
Pilot Grove is located in the northeast quarter of section 5, township 47, range 18 in Pilot Grove township and surrounded by large and beautiful farming country. The town and township take their name from the post- office called in the early day Pilot Grove. The town was laid off in 1873 by Samuel Roe and is situated on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad twelve miles southwest of Boonville. As early as 1836 the Government located a postoffice about one mile from the present town site and called it Pilot Grove. In those days freighters and travelers to the great south- west guided their course across the broad prairies by a beautiful grove of hickory trees that stood on what is now known as the Coleman farm and within the present limits of the town of Pilot Grove. This grove of trees became known as the Pilot Grove, hence the name of the postoffice, Pilot Grove, which gave the name to the town.
Pilot Grove is a city of the fourth class and has a population of be- tween 800 and 1,000 inhabitants. There is one newspaper, five churches, two elevators, two banks, a good public school conducted in a new and up- to-date school building, stores in which are found large stocks of goods and representing every line of the mercantile business, garages, blacksmith shops, lumber yard, telephone system, electric light system, and in fact every enterprise usually found in the most up-to-date town of similar size.
Kelly Township .- Kelly township is bounded on the north by Palestine and Clarks Fork, on the east by Moniteau, on the west by Lebanon, and on the south by Moniteau County. It is named in honor of John Kelly, one of its oldest and most respected citizens.
Its surface is comparatively regular, consisting of prairie diversified
229
HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY
with timbered portions. It is thought to have been settled first in 1818. The first settlers were: John Kelly, William Stephens, James D. Campbell, James Kelly, William J. Kelly, Caperton Kelly, William Jennings, Gen. Charles Woods, Philip E. Davis, Rice Challis, Hugh Morric, Jesse White, Hartley White, Jeptha Billingsley, Joshua Dellis, and William Swearingen.
James Kelly was a Revolutionary soldier and died in 1840.
John Kelly, Charles Wood and James D. Campbell served as soldiers in the War of 1812.
The Kellys came originally from Tennessee the Campbells from Ken- tucky. William Jennings, the first preacher, came from Georgia in 1819. He was a wealthy slave owner and was for many years pastor of "Old Nebo" Church. Campbell was for many years justice of the peace, a prominent politician, and a noted Democrat.
Gen. Charles Woods was for many years the leading Democratic politician of the township. He was a forceful speaker, a gentleman in every respect. He died in 1874 at the age of 78 years.
Joseph Reavis with his sons, Lewis, William T. Jackson and Johnston, settled in this township in 1823 and for many years were manufacturers of wagons, at which trade they attained quite a good deal of prominence.
Joseph S. Anderson was probably the first schoolmaster in this town- ship. He settled here in 1824. He taught a very successful school for four years when he was elected sheriff of Cooper County, 1828, re-elected in 1830. Previous to his death he was elected to the Legislature. He became a large land owner and very wealthy. His residence was on a hill north of Bunceton. His schoolhouse was near the ground on which Hopewell Church is located. William Robertson, a Baptist minister, continued this school for a number of years.
Robert McCulloch operated the first mill in the township. Rice Challis, a carpenter, was a prominent Whig and in respect to his politics stood al- most alone in his neighborhood.
The soil of Kelly township is very fertile and some of the best farms in the State of Missouri are to be found within its borders.
Bunceton was laid out in 1868 by the late Harvey Bunce, from whom it derives its name. It lies almost in the geographical center of the county and is surrounded by a great trade territory of fertile and highly improved farms. The population of the town is now about 1,000. Sam T. Smith is mayor and the city council is composed of W. E. Harris, Frank Gholson, Joe C. Stephens and Edgar C. Nelson. F. C. Betteridge is city clerk.
Bunceton has about 20 stores, representing all lines of business. It
230
HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY
also has two banks with resources of $1,000,000, a modern garage, a tele- phone system, an up-to-date hotel and a cafe, an ice plant and an electric light plant furnishing a 24-hour service, two grain elevators, a barber shop, a newspaper with the largest circulation in the county, a fine theatre, a grist mill, a splendid accredited four-year high school, four churches, three lodges ..
The business section of the town is composed of modern brick build- ings, while in the residence sections are to be found many modern and attractive homes. Sunset Hill, a new addition to the town, promises to attract many new home-owners. A building and loan association organized in 1914 has been very successful in supplying funds for many new homes in the town. The streets of the town are well kept and the town has many blocks of concrete sidewalks. Beautiful shade trees and well kept lawns are a feature of the town.
Two county farmers' organizations, the Cooper County Farmers' Mu- tual Fire Insurance Company and the Farmers Live Stock Insurance Com- pany, maintain offices in Bunceton. The Bunceton Fair, now the county fair, organized more than a quarter century ago, is famous for its motto, "For Farmers, not Fakirs," which it has lived up to. The Cooper County Shorthorn Breeders' Association also has headquarters in Bunceton.
Bunceton is the shipping point for much live stock, hundreds of cars of cattle, hogs, sheep and mules going to market from the town each year. It lies in the center of a great pure-bred stock community and attracts many buyers from a distance.
The Bunceton postoffice serves four rural mail routes which cover a big territory. Miss Mary Shackleford is postmistress.
The people of Bunceton are cultured. They seek and enjoy the better things of life. Schools and churches are well supported. Its citizenship is high.
The present Bunceton Fair had its inception at a meeting of farmers and stockmen held in the office of the "Bunceton Eagle" on March 21, 1896, when plans for an agricultural fair were discussed. The actual organiza- tion was perfected on May 9, 1896, when a board of 13 directors were elected. They were E. H. Rodgers, Henry Fricke, John G. Burger, N. A. Gilbreath, A. B. Alexander, A. A. Wallace. T. A. Nelson, E. F. Lovell, J. D. Starke, J. R. Conway, T. V. Hickox, Theo. Brandes and Dr. P. E. Williams. E. H. Rodgers was the first president; John G. Burger, first vice-president ; Henry Fricke, second vice-president ; T. A. Nelson, treasurer; W. L. Nelson, secretary, and E. F. Lovell, assistant secretary.
Thirty-seven acres belonging to W. L. Allison and lying a half-mile
231
HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY
west of Bunceton, was selected as a site for the fairgrounds. It was at first leased and later bought. On Wednesday, Sept. 9, 1896, the gates were thrown open to the first meeting ever held by the association.
The association has held a successful meeting every year since its organization. It adopted in its early history for its motto, "For Farmers and Not Fakers," and has consistently lived up to the motto.
The present board of directors (1919) is composed of F. C. Betteridge, Ben Harned, S. H. Groves, H. L. Shirley, Joseph Popper, George Morris, Ben Smith, Clyde T. Nelson, and G. A. Gilbert. F. C. Betteridge is presi- dent and Edgar C. Nelson is secretary and treasurer.
During its existence the following men have served the association as president : E. H. Rodgers, 1896; T. A. Nelson, 1897-8-9 and 1907; J. E. Burger, 1900-01; Henry Fricke, 1902-03; P. E. Williams, 1904-05; G. W. Morris, 1906; George A. Carpenter, 1908; Ben Harned, 1909-10-14; S. H. Groves, 1911-16-17-18 ; J. A. Hawkins, 1912-13 ; F. C. Betteridge, 1915-19.
During its existence the fair has exerted a great influence on the agri- cultural and live stock interests of the county. It has always been con- ducted on a high plane and has been clean in every particular. It has become known over the corn belt as a model country fair.
Lamine Township .- Lamine township is located in the northwest part of Cooper County and is just across the river from Howard. It is bounded on the east by Boonville township, on the south by Pilot Grove and Black- water and on the west by Saline County.
The surface is rolling and was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber. The soil is rich and very productive. It was settled first in 1812 by David Jones, a Revolutionary soldier, Thomas and James McMahan, Stephen, Samuel and Jesse Turley, Saunders Townsend.
Those who arrived later were John Cramer, Bradford Lawless, John M., David and William Reid, Hezekiah Harris, Elijah Taylor, John, Peter, Samuel and Joseph Fisher, William and Jesse Moon, Rudolph Haupe, Isaac Hedrick, John Smelser, William McDaniel, Wyant Parm, Harmon Smelser, Samuel Larnd, Pethnel Foster, Julius Burton, Ezekiel Williams, and some others at present unknown.
"Fort McMahan" was built in the year 1812 or 1813 but it can not be exactly located.
Lead has been found in paying quantities in bygone days and lumber and cord-wood were for many years shipped extensively from the town- ship. In the early days, fish from the Blackwater and Lamine Rivers were sent regularly to Boonville.
Samuel Walton erected a business house in the village of Lamine
232
HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY
in 1869. Redd and Gibson opened a store in November, 1871, which was broken into in February, 1881, the safe blown and about $700 in money taken.
North and South Moniteau Townships .- These two townships, origi- nally one, are separated by the Moniteau Creek. They are bounded on the north by Clarks Fork and Prairie Home townships, on the east and south by Moniteau County and on the west by Kelly township.
The surface near the Moniteau Creek tends to be rough, which gradually gives way to prairie both in the north and south.
Mr. Shelton, a blacksmith, settled near where the town of Pisgah now stands in 1818. He was quite a noted "artificer in metals" and was the only blacksmith in the county outside of Boonville.
Among other early settlers were Thomas B. Smiley, Seth Joseph, Waid and Stephen Howard, William Coal, James Stinson, Hawking Bur- ress, David Burress, Charles Hickox, Samuel McFarland, Carroll George, James Snodgrass, Martin George, Mathew Burress, Jesse Martin, Alex- ander Woods, William Landers, Jesse Bowles, James Donelson, William A. Stillson, Samuel Snodgrass, James W. Maxey, Job Martin, James Jones, David Jones, Augustus K. Longan, Patrick Mahan, Valentine Mar- tin, John Jones and John B. Longan.
Thomas B. Smiley, who represented Cooper County in the Legisla- ture in 1820, was a man of considerable information and a good historian. He reared a large family of children and died in 1836.
David Jones settled at Pisgah prior to 1820, since his vote was re- corded in that year. He, with Archibald Kavanaugh, was elected to the State Legislature in 1830, 1832, 1834 and in 1836 he was elected State Senator, re-elected in 1848. He died in 1859.
Pisgah and Mount Pleasant churches were built by the Baptists in an early day and were presided over by John B. Longan and Kemp Scott. The first school in this township was probably taught by James Donelson. He only professed to teach arithmetic as far as the "double rule of three".
A man named Howard erected the first mill at what was afterwards known as "Old Round Hill". An Englishman by the name of Summers, and Judge C. H. Smith also kept a store in this place.
Patrick Mahan later built a tread-mill which was a considerable improvement over the old fashioned "horse mill". Richard D. Bonsfield at a very early date erected a store at Pisgah.
Palestine Township .- Palestine is bounded on the north by Pilot Grove and Boonville townships; on the south by Kelly and Lebanon; on
233
HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY
the west by Clear Creek and Pilot Grove, and on the east by Clarks Fork township. It is generally prairie, but a bit rough on the east side and the soil is of the most excellent quality.
The first settlers of this township were William Moore, and Joseph Stevens. William Moore came from North Carolina with his family which consisted of seven sons and three daughters. Margaret married Judge Lawrence C. Stephens in 1818; Sally married Col. John G. Hutchison and Mary married Harvey Bunce.
Mrs. Margaret Stephens told of the first church she attended in the neighborhood, which was held at the house of one of the settlers. Luke Williams, the preacher, was dressed in a complete suit of buckskin, and a great many of his audience was dressed in the same style. She was so dissatisfied with the appearance of things in this county that she cried during the whole of the services, but soon became accustomed to the new order of things, and was well contented. At that meeting grease from the bear meat, stored in the loft above the congregation, dropped down and spoiled her nice Sunday shawl, which was a fine one, brought from North Carolina, and which could not be replaced in this backwoods country.
Joseph Stephens, Sr., and family settled in Palestine in 1817, being piloted to their new home by Maj. Stephen Cole. In 1818, Samuel Peters settled two miles farther north at a place now called Petersburg.
When Samuel Peters raised his dwelling he invited his neighbors to come and help him, stating that he would, on that occasion, kill a hog and have it for dinner. As this was the first hog ever butchered in this part of the state, and as very few of the settlers had ever tasted pork, it was no little inducement to them to be present and assist in disposing of such rare and delicious food for the settlers, previous to that time, had sub- sisted entirely upon wild game. Always, on such occasion, they had a little "fire-water" to give life to the occasion.
Colonel Andrew and Judge John Briscoe settled in the same township in 1818. They were both very prominent men, and prominent leaders in their respective parties, Andrew being a whig, and John a democrat. Some of the other early settlers were Henry, Hiram, Heli and Harden Corum, Mr. Tevis, the father of Capt. Simeon Tevis, Thomas Collins, Jacob Summers, Michael, James and Williamson, John and Joseph Cathey, James, David and John H. Hutchison, Nathaniel Leonard, John and Andrew Wal- lace, Henry Woolery, Holbert and Samuel Cole, James Bridges, James Simms, Russell Smallwood, Thomas Best, Greenberry Allison, William C.
234
HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY
Lowery, Anthony F. Read, and others. No better citizens than those mentioned above ever settled in any community.
The first schools in Palestine township was taught by Lawrence C. Stephens, Dr. William H. Moore and a young man from Virginia by the same- name. The latter was considered the best scholar in this part of the country in the early days. A dancing school was opened at the resi- dence of B. W. Levens in 1832 by a man named Gibson. He was the first to introduce cotillions in this part of the country. Mr. Gibson also had schools at Boonville and Arrow Rock, teaching two days at each place. It is presumed that he rested on the Sabbath.
Prairie Home Township .- Prairie Home township is bounded on the north by Saline, on the east by Moniteau County, and on the west by Clarks Fork township, and on the south by Moniteau township. Prairie Home was carved from the territory of Clarks Fork, Saline and Moniteau townships and organized in 1872.
The surface is generally level being mostly prairie. The soil is very fertile and some very excellent farms are to be found within its boundary.
The oldest settlers, according to the best information that can be obtained, were James McClain, Lacy McClanahan, Adam McClanahan, Jacob Carpenter, Absalom McClanahan, Michael Hornbeck, Samuel Car- penter, William N. McClanahan, William G. McClanahan, and Jeremiah Smith.
The early history of this township cannot be dissociated from that of the parent townships enumerated above.
Prairie Home, one of the best inland towns in this section of the country had its beginning at a very early date when James Boswell erected a store. John Zimmerman established a business here in 1874.
The Prairie Home Institute was organized in 1865 by the Rev. A. H. Misseldine.
Prairie Home has a population of about 300. It has one bank with a capital stock of $12,000, two churches, the Methodist Episcopal Church South and the Baptist, a good school with three teachers, electric lights, eight stores, one hotel, one mill and one blacksmith shop. The present mayor is Dr. R. L. Meredith.
Clarks Fork Township .- Clarks Fork township is bounded on the north by Boonville township; on the east by Prairie Home and Saline; on the south by Moniteau and Kelly, and on the west by Palestine. The township derives its name from Clark's Fork which with its tributaries drain it. It is practically all prairie land. John Glover was probably the
235
HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY
first settler in this township locating here in 1813. He built his cabin near where Rankin's Mill now stands. John C. Rochester settled here shortly afterwards. He was a grandson of the founder of Rochester, New York. Having lost a large fortune, he sought seclusion by emigrating to the frontier country where people required nothing save honesty and industry to admit a person into their social circles. He married Miss Sally Kelly, the daughter of James Kelly, who was a honored soldier of the Revolution.
Some of the old citizens of this township were Joshua H. Berry, William Read, William and Ruben George, Clayton Hurt, Samuel Car- penter, Edward, Andrew and Charles Robertson, James, Robert and John Johnston, Samuel, Robert and William Drinkwater, Gabriel Titsworth, William Shipley, Acrey Hurt, Peter Carpenter, George Crawford, George W. Weight, Martin Jennings.
George Crawford was Cooper County's first assessor, afterwards a member of the legislature from the county. Judge George W. Weight was born in New York, Feb. 27, 1784. Left an orphan he emigrated to West Virginia and from thence to Ross County, Ohio, where he married Miss Elizabeth Williams. He came to Howard County, Mo., with his family in 1820, and in 1822 he settled in Clarks Fork township and lived there until his death, Feb. 29, 1857. He was a school teacher, a good violinist, and in his early day taught dancing school. He was county judge, county surveyor and later state representative.
Clarks Fork township is strictly a farming community. Practically every acre of it is devoted to the production of grain and hay, which in turn was converted into finished meat producing animals which find a ready market in St. Louis and Kansas City.
Saline Township .- Saline township lies in the northeastern part of the county. It is bounded on the north by the Missouri River; on the east by Moniteau county ; on the south by Prairie Home township, and on the west by Clarks Fork and Boonville townships. It contains quite a good deal of hilly territory and much bottom land.
Joseph Jolly, with his two children, John and William, settled in this township as early as 1812. He set out the first apple orchard and built a mill which would grind a bushel of corn an hour. William Jolly was a gunsmith, a wheel wright, a blacksmith, a cooper, a miller, a distiller, a preacher, a doctor and a farmer. John kept a ferry across the Lamine.
Some of the other early settlers were William Lamm, James and John Turner, Joseph Pursley, Levi Cropper, Henry Levins, B. W. Levins (the
236
HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY
grandfather, and father of Henry C. Levins of Boonville), Josiah Dickson, Charles Force, John Farris, Thomas Farris, Jesse Wood, David Fine, Joshua and Lacy McClanahan, George Dickson, Frederick and James F. Connor, John Calvert, Adam and Absalom McClanahan, Elverton Caldwell, Noding Caldwell, Joseph Westbrook, Alexander Woods, Robert Givens, Leonard Calvert, August McFall, Alexander R. Dickson, William Calvert, Jr., James Farris and Robert Dickson.
Big Lick church, of which John B. Longdon was the first pastor, was built at a very early date. John M. Stilman (1820) taught the first school at a place now occupied by the Highland school. A town by the name of Washington was laid out by B. W. Levens near the Missouri River about one mile below Overton. Lots were sold, houses built, businesses estab- lished and quite a rosy future promised but in time it disappeared and the spot on which it was located cannot be designated by any living man. Another town was promoted on the banks of the Missouri River opposite Rocheport. It was called Houstonville. It was laid out by B. W. Levens and John Ward. The site on which it stood now forms a part of the bed of the Missouri River.
Woolridge was incorporated Feb. 5, 1904, with A. F. Nixon as mayor, who through the years has held and now holds that office. The town has a lumber yard, grain elevator and flour mill, also an ice plant. It also has two general merchandise stores, two restaurants, one grocery, one drug store, one hardware store and one furniture store. It also has one harness shop, one blacksmith shop and one garage.
Lebanon Township .- Thomas J. Starke, who has imperishably pre- served the early history of Lebanon and Otterville townships, has joined "the innumerable caravan that moves to that mysterious realm where each must take his chamber in the silent halls of death." He departed this life at Otterville on Saturday, June 27. 1903, at the ripe age of eighty years. He had spent almost three score and ten years in Cooper County where he grew to manhood, married and died. He was the father of Mrs. D. S. Koontz of Boonville. Thomas J. Starke was an admirable man of lovable traits and Cooper County had no better citizen.
"About the fall of 1819 and the spring of 1820, the following named persons moved to New Lebanon, and into that neighborhood embracing a portion of the territory now known as Lebanon township, in Cooper county.
Rev. Finis Ewing, Rev. James L. Wear, John, James H. Wear, who was the father of William G. Wear, of Warsaw, and Samuel Wear, now of Otterville; Alexander Sloan, Robert Kirkpatrick, Colin C. Stoneman, Wil-
237
HISTORY OF COOPER COUNTY
liam Stone, Frederick Casteel, Reuben A. Ewing, Jas. Berry, Thomas Rubey, Elizabeth Steele, sister of Alexander Sloan's wife, a man named Smiley, Rev. Laird Burns and his father, John Burns, John Reed, Silas Thomas, James Taylor, Hugh Wear, who was a brother to James L. and John Wear, James McFarland and Rev. William Kavanaugh. This country then extended south to the Osage River.
The Rev. Finis Ewing was a distinguished minister of the gospel, and one of the original founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. He was from Kentucky; was ordained a minister in the year 1803, and in conjunction with Samuel McAdam and Samuel King, founded that church in 1810.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.