USA > Missouri > Gentry County > History of Daviess and Gentry counties, Missouri > Part 8
USA > Missouri > Daviess County > History of Daviess and Gentry counties, Missouri > Part 8
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
As an incentive to roadbuilding, the Federal Government donated 650 trucks and tractors to be used for this purpose. The records of the State Highway Board, July, 1921, showed that five trucks and one tractor had been allotted to Daviess County.
Railroads .- The settlers were not slow to realize the importance to their communities of the location of the railroads. Towns and counties untouched by the railroads would clearly suffer, to the profit of those lo- cated along them, and this fact not only created intense rivalry among the various towns and counties but also operated to the advantage of the rail- roads and their promoters who were in a position to demand concessions
"Rank Building robbed by James Bovs, Dec. 7th, 1869, Gallatin, Mo
BANK BUILDING ROBBED BY THE JAMES BOYS, GALLATIN
129
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
and assistance from the localities traversed by them as well as to derive profit from speculation in lands along the proposed routes.
The first railroad project to take definite form contemplated a road across northern Missouri, connecting Hannibal and St. Joseph. In Feb., 1847, the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad was chartered by the Legislature. Robert Wilson, of Daviess County, was named as one of the directors. A vigorous canvass was immediately opened along the line to secure subscrip- tions from the several counties. Meetings were held in every county seat and town. A large meeting or convention, was held in Chillicothe, June 2, 1847, at which delegates from Buchanan, DeKalb, Ray, Grundy, Caldwell, Livingston, Linn, Macon, Shelby and Marion Counties were present. Judge Austin A. King of Ray County, was elected president, and Dr. John Crav- ens, of Daviess County, was one of the Vice-Presidents. The delegates from Daviess County were Robert Wilson, John B. Comer, Volney E. Bragg, William P. Peniston, James Turley, Thomas T. Frame, Jacob S. Rogers, M. T. Green, John Mann, Woody Manson and John Cravens. Upon the rec- ommendation of a committee appointed to submit subjects for the action of the convention, the following measures were adpted: (1) The appoint- ment of three to draft an address to the people of western Missouri setting forth the advantages of the proposed roads. Volney E. Bragg, of Daviess County, was a member of this committee. (2) The appointment of a com- mittee of three to petition the Missouri Legislature for such aid as "can be afforded consistently with the rights of other sections of the state." (3) The appointment of a committee of three to petition Congress to donate alternate sections of land within six miles on each side of said road when located. Dr. John Cravens was a member of this committee. The dele- gates agreed to withhold political support from any candidate for a state office or for Congress who failed to pledge his aid to the project.
In Feb., 1850, the Missouri Legislature pledged $1,500,000 in bonds to the enterprise. A number of counties subscribed stock in the company. In May, 1851, Daviess County voted $30,000 of stock, and James McFerran was appointed county agent to represent the county and vote its stock. Two routes had been proposed for the road, one of which passed through Grundy and Daviess Counties, and the other through the tier of counties south of Daviess. Daviess County also offered to donate the right of way and to take $20,000 additional stock if the railroad were located by the northern route and should pass through or adjacent to Gallatin. The road as finally located, did not pass through the county and a settlement was made between the county and the railroad by which the county's stock was surrendered.
By appropriate acts of Congress and of the State Legislature, the road
130
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
was granted every alternate section of land for six miles in width on each side of the railroad in aid of the proposed enterprise. Under these acts, a considerable body of land in Daviess County came to be owned by the rail- road company.
In the years following the location of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Rail- road, the citizens of Daviess County and of other communities not ade- quately served by existing railroads were active in the promotion of other railroad projects. Among the roads proposed were the Hamilton, Gallatin and Bethany Railroad, chartered in 1855, with seven Daviess Countians as directors, having as its objective a line from Hamilton passing through Gallatin, Bethany and Eagleville, and thence to the Iowa line, and also the Parkville and Grand River Railroad, which comtemplated a line from Park- ville to the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, thence by Gallatin and Trenton to the Missouri state line in the direction of Burlington, Iowa. Neither project was carried out.
During 1866, it was proposed to build a line having Kansas City and Des Moines as its terminal points. The route to be taken through Daviess County was the subject of a warm contest between Civil Bend and Gallatin. The road had been first surveyed through Cameron, Civil Bend, Pattons- burg and Bethany, while Gallatin urged that the route be changed so as to pass through Gallatin, then to Bethany.
Finally, plans for railroad building in the county began to take definite shape, and in 1868 the county court agreed to subscribe $150,000 for the Leavenworth and Des Moines Railroad on the condition that the railroad be built through the county and a depot be constructed within one thousand yards of the county court house in Gallatin. It is also agreed that $150,- 000 would be subscribed to the Chillicothe & Omaha Railroad, a depot to be built within one-half mile of Gallatin. The county court also agreed to and did issue bonds to the Chicago & Southwestern Railway, to whom the bonds voted to the Leavenworth & Des Moines Railroad were also issued, in the sum of $60,000 for and in behalf of the people of a strip ten miles wide along the railway, generally known as the Ten-mile Strip Bonds.
On April 5, 1871, the first rail was laid within Daviess County on the Chillicothe & Omaha line. The track was soon completed to Gallatin, and before the end of the year was built as far as Elm Flat, now Pattonsburg, where it stopped. Pattonsburg remained the terminal point of the road until 1879, at which time it was completed to Omaha and in October of that year the road was opened for through traffic.
The year 1871 also marked the completion of the Chicago & South- westen Railroad line. The forces engaged in the building of the road and working from opposite ends of the road, met in Colfax Township, a few
131
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
miles southwest of Winston, where with a cermony befitting the occasion, the last spike was driven. On Sept. 26, 1871, the opening of the road was celebrated by the running of an excursion train, upon which a number of Gallatin citizens were guests.
The years that followed the building of these roads were marked by protracted litigation and bitter feeling between the railroads and the peo- ple of the county. The Chillicothe & Omaha Railroad aroused the ire of the people of Gallatin by failing to run their road across the river and by at- tempting to build up a rival town at the crossing of the Chicago & South- western road about two miles east of Gallatin and to remove the postoffice to that place. Likewise, the people of Pattonsburg and Benton Township became embittered because of the company's failure to complete the road through that township. The township had subscribed $20,000 toward the railroad upon the condition that it should run through the center of the township. As constructed, it ran to Elm Flat, near the southeast corner of the township and there stopped. The road was run about two miles south of old Pattonsburg, with the deliberate purpose, it was charged by the citizens, of destroying that town in order that the promoters might profit by speculation in the surrounding lands. Certainly, it had that effect, and old Pattonsburg soon disappeared. The action of the company led the township to contest the validity of the $20,000 subscription and in the suit that followed the township was successful.
The feeling of opposition to the railroads, created largely by the fail- ure to construct their roads where desired, soon led to a demand from the people of many sections of the county that the county court contest the val- idity of the bonds issued to the two railroads. Indignation ran high, and mass-meetings were held throughout the county, at which the purpose was declared of refusing to pay taxes to meet the interest on the bonds, and calling upon judges and clerks who had issued and delivered them to resign. Finally, on Oct. 2, 1872, the county court made an order declaring the Chicago & Southwestern bond issue and the Ten-mile Strip bonds invalid and ordering that the interest should not be paid nor any tax levy of taxes made to meet the same. Suit was institued to test the validity of the bonds, and litigation continued for several years. The Ten-mile Strip bonds were held invalid, and the county secured a very favorable compromise on a large portion of the bonds and paid them off in cash. The remainder were paid off at their maturity in 1891.
In the early nineties, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, the successor of the old Chicago & Southwestern, built a branch line from Alta- mont to St. Joseph.
In 1897 and 1898, rights of way for another road through the county
132
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
was secured, and shortly therafter another road, the Omaha, Kansas City & Eastern Railroad, was constructed, passing through Coffey, Pattonsburg and southwesterly in the direction of Kansas City. The name of the road has since been changed to the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City Railroad.
The Board of Equalization report of 1921 shows the Wabash Railway Company having a mileage of 35.81, and a valuation of $1,343,949.30; the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City Railroad, 18.56 miles, valuation $229,372.80; Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway, 35.33 miles, valuation $1,021,037.
CHAPTER IX.
CHURCHES.
PIONEER MINISTERS-PIONEER CHURCHES-CAMP MEETING-CHURCH SERVICES- CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH-CATHOLIC CHURCH-CHRISTIAN CHURCH- EVAN- GELICAL CHURCH - BAPTIST CHURCH - METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH - METHODIST EPISCOPAL SOUTH -- PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-SEVENTH DAY AD- VENTISTS.
Pioneer Ministers .- Rev. James McMahon was the first minister to hold religious services in Daviess County. His church was the out-of-doors, for he stood under an oak tree near the site where Robert Peniston later built the first mill in the county. This was on Aug. 25, 1830. Mr. Mc- Mahon was of the Methodist faith.
Other ministers of the same denomination were Abraham Millice, who came in 1834, and who organized a church at Jonathan Liggett's residence in Salem Township in 1839; George Waugh, who preached the first sermon in Benton Township in 1834; Isaac Burns, J. T. V. Duberry, J. Barker and Thomas Ellington. Most of these belonged to the now extinct type known as "circuit riders". The following account of the activities of the pioneer circuit rider is given by the late John F. Jordin :
"The circuit rider followed close upon the heels of the early settlers, and was always a welcome guest in the log cabins of our fathers. He was usually a man of little learning, but unbounded zeal; a man with an easy conscience and a good digestion. He travelled from one settlement to an- other on horseback, carrying a pair of huge saddle-bags, which contained a few articles of clothing, a Bible, and tracts on various religious subjects, thus combining the offices of preacher and colporteur. He was moved by an honest desire to be useful and helpful to his fellowmen, and although he asked for nothing beyond the means of subsistence, he gave freely of all that he possessed. It mattered little whether he was called upon to per- form a marriage ceremony, preach a funeral, assist at a log-rolling or take up a corner at a house-raising, he waited for no second invitation, but just sailed in and did his level best. He knew his people and kept in touch with
134
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
them. But he never lost caste by assisting in heavy work. Always he was a preacher and was respected and venerated as a man set apart for God's work. If he assisted at a house-raising or any kind of work on which a number of men were engaged, he generally made it a condition precedent that if he helped them work through the day they were to come at night to some cabin in the neighborhood and hear him preach. And thus did the circuit-rider "Become all things to all men, that by all means he might save some".
The second preacher in the county was a Baptist, the Rev. William Michaels. He held services at the home of a Mr. Atkinson and in several other homes. In 1840 he organized the Pilot Grove Baptist Church. Rev. Jonathan Smith was another pioneer minister of this denomination. He settled in Washington Township in 1840, and for many years was a most valued worker.
Probably the first Presbyterian to preach in the county was the Rev. Robert Morgan. His first services were held at the home of Robert Miller.
Elder George Flint preached for, the members of the Christian Church some time in the forties. Other early ministers of this faith who held re- ligious services in the county were Dr. Jourdan, of Chillicothe, Missouri, John H. Ballinger, David T. Wright and Joseph Davis.
Pioneer Churches .- The first church services were usually held in the cabins of the settlers or out of doors, when the weather permitted. Some- times a tobacco barn served as a church. Before long, however, there was a general desire for special church buildings. Usually these were very crude structures, at least when compared with the churches of today. Typical of the church of the early days was the old Lick Fork Baptist church.
The Camp Meeting .- To the pioneer the camp meeting was an event to be looked forward to throughout the whole year. They were usually held in the late summer after the crops were laid by. Rude cabins and tents were erected and a small city flourished for the few weeks of the meeting. Socially it meant as much to the early settlers as it did religious- ly.
Probably the first camp meeting in the Grand River country were held on the Kessler farm in Livingston County. The date of the first one is not known but it was prior to 1839. A spring furnished abundant water for the campers. Many Daviess countians attended these meetings annually.
In 1855 the meeting place was changed to the James Callison farm a short distance northwest of Jamesport. It was an ideal spot for a camp meeting. A beautiful grove of white oak trees furnished abundant shade and a large spring nearby assured a supply of water. Because of its near-
135
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
ness to town few cabins were erected there, but some tents were put up. The last meeting on this ground was in August and September, 1857, which ended in a free-for-all fight. There were no saloons near and the neighbor- ing landowners refused to let anything be sold on their land without con- sent of the managers of the meeting. Because he was refused a license to sell cider and cakes, one man became so incensed that he bought a barrel of Bourbon and established what was then called a "Texas" on nearby rail- road land. One of the patrons of this establishment was arrested at the camp meeting and his comrades came down to rescue him, but found that the Methodists were quite vigorous in the use of clubs and fists.
Church Services-As hymn books were scarce, the hymns were usual- ly "lined", that is, the preacher read a couple of lines and these were then sung by the congregation. This, of course, took some time, but time was no particular item at a church service then. Neither did they sing the first second and last stnazas of a hymn-the whole song was sung regardless of the number of stanzas. Among the favorites were, "How Tedious and Tasteless the Hour," "Rock of Ages," and "Oh, Tell Me, Happy Sailor." Musical instruments were unknown in the early days, in fact, were gener- ally regarded with disfavor, if not with actual animosity.
Sermons were also long. Doctrinal sermons were heard much more frequently than today. The horrors of the hereafter were dwelt frequent- ly upon, and in the words of Billy Sunday, the hereafter pictured in ser- mons today is a regular summer resort compared to that depicted in the sermons of the early days. Mr. Jordin gives a vivid picture of one of these sermons delivered by a Presbyterian divine, William Houston, who, he said, impressed him more than any preacher he ever heard.
"I remember of listening to Houston preach one night from the words: 'Ephriam is a cake not turned. Strangers have devoured his strength and he knoweth it not. Yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth it not.' He must have spoken for at least two hours. It was one of the most terrific arraignments of the world, the flesh and the devil that I ever listened to. Nor was his preaching ineffective. I saw one night 21 new converts who had come into the fold under his preaching stand up to testify as to what the Lord had done for them. It was an indescribable scene and one long to be remembered by those who witnessed it."
Congregational Church .- There is some difference of opinion as to the date of the organization of the Gallatin Congregational church. Judge J. T. Day gives the date as May 5, 1866. The history of Daviess County, published in 1882, places the date at May 6, 1876. The meeting at which the organization was perfected was held in the court house. The Rev. O. A. Thomas of Richmond preached in the morning, and Rev. B. Turner of
136
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
Hannibal in the evening. The membership was so small that the congre- gation soon disbanded. No church building was erected.
Catholic Church .- Only one church of the Catholic faith has ever been built in Daviess County. This church was situated a short distance from old Bancroft. It was dedicated June 28, 1878, by the Right Rev. Bishop Hogan, sasisted by Revs. Kennedy and O'Leary. The church had only a few members, but it was hoped that a strong church would be built up. The congregation is no longer in existence, those who remain in its mem- bership attending the church at Gilman.
For many years the Catholic church owned a lot in Gallatin. As time went on and there was not enough people of that faith in the vicinity to justify the building of a church, the lot was finally donated to the city of Gallatin to become a part of Dockery Park.
Christian Church .- The Altamont Christian Church was organized in 1890. It has a membership of 110 and a Bible School enrollment of 80. The value of the church building is $2500.
Soon after the Civil War a church of this denomination was establish- ed at Carlow. It has a membership of 75, and its church property is valued at $2,000.
The Christian church at Civil Bend was organized in February, 1868. A,church building was errected in 1872. The church has a membership of 125, and a Sunday School with an enrollment of about 100. The church property is valued at $2,500. Elisha Frost, Barney Shriver and George Roberts are among its leading members.
The Coffey Christian church was organized about 1890. On its mem- bership books are 125 names, and the Bible School has an enrollment of about 70.
The Christian church of Gallatin was organized in June, 1843, with 41 charter members. Services were held in the court house until the war, when that building was taken over by the militia. The congregation then worshipped in the Methodist and Cumberland Presbyterian churches. The church went down during the war, and was reorganized in 1865, with 23 members. In 1866 a large frame church costing some $4,000 was erected across the street and a little north of the present church. In 1898 the church now used was erected, a commodious basement being added in 1921, making it of the total value of about $15,000. The total membership of the church is 512, with a Bible School enrollment of 450. The pastor is W. H. Funderburk, and among its officials are W. C. Gillihan, Joshua W. Alex- ander, Howard Poage, A. H. Pettijohn and John Reid.
March 24, 1872, is given as the date of the organization of the James- son Christian church. A church was first erected in 1875 at a cost of some
137
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
$800. The membership has now reached 100 to 125 members, with a Sun- day School enrollment of between 90 and 100. The value of the church property is $4,000.
The Jamesport Church of Christ was organized in 1868 or 1869. For a time they held services in the Methodist Episcopal Church South. They now have a large frame church valued at about $2,000. The membership of the church is 100, with a Bible School enrollment of 90.
Old Union church was built by several denominations, and is open to all. The Christian church has an interest in the church. A union Sunday School is maintained. The church property is valued at $1,200.
One of the earliest Christian churches in the county is the Clear Creek church. It was organized before the Civil War. No report is made from church in the 1921 yearbook. The church property is valued at $1,200.
The Lock Springs congregation was organized in 1875, though an or- ganization had been effected prior to this time. Among the leaders of the earlier organization were G. L. Ballinger, William Eads and Hiram Poe. The church now has a membership of 75, with a Sunday School enrolling about the same number. The church is valued at $2,500.
The Madison Square church was organized about 1870, and some years later a church building erected, now valued at about $200. It has a mem- bership of 75, and a Sunday School enrollment of 60.
The second largest Christian church in the county is at Pattonsburg. It was organized about 1872, though prior to the war there had been a prosperous congregation. A frame church was erected, but this was badly damaged by the floods of 1909, and a new church built, being dedicated in June, 1914. The property is now valued at $20,000. The church enroll- ment is 217, and the Sunday School enrollment 230. There is also an or- ganization of the C. W. B. M.
Prairie City Christian church was established in 1897. It has a church building valued at about $1,500, and a membership of 125. Its Bible School enrollment is about 65.
Whitefield church, organized in 1880. A church building was started the same year. The membership is now between 50 and 75. The church has no organization now.
Splawn Ridge church near Gallatin was organized about 1904, and a church built the same year, which is valued at from $1,200 to $1,500. There are about 35 members.
Scotland Church of Christ, formerly known as Pilot Grove, is located in Washington Township and was established in 1856. The church now has a membership of 200, and a church building valued at $2,500.
Oak Ridge Christian church was organized in 1876, but did not have a
138
HISTORY OF DAVIESS AND GENTRY COUNTIES
church building until 1871. There were 28 charter members. The build- ing is valued at $1,200. The enrollment of the church is 50 and of the Sunday School, 40.
The pastors of this denomination, as listed in the 1921 Yearbook, are Charles P. Murphy, Altamont ; Earl Stark, Civil Bend and Pattonburg ; Z. Mitchell, Madison Square and Coffey ; W. H. Funderburk, Gallatin; H. H. Tinsley, Lock Springs ; and C. E. Hunt, Whitefield.
Evangelical Church .- As far back as 1868, an Evangelical Church was located in School District No. 1, in Colfax Township. In the fall of 1879, it was decided to build a church in Winston. A brick church 32x44 feet was erected. The congregation was largely made up of Pennsylvania Ger- mans, among them the Triems. In 1882 the church had a membership of 50. As time passed the membership dwindled and in 1918 the few re- maining members reluctantly decided to disband. The church has now been torn down and a residence occupies the church site.
Baptist Church .- The Baptist churches of Daviess County, together with four Harrison County churches are organized into the Daviess County Baptist Association. The officers are, O. E. Turner, Moderator; S. W. Brandom, Secretary ; and A. R. Graham, Treasurer. The 20th annual meet- ing was held in Pattonsburg, Sept. 10, 11, 1921. The statistics below are from that report.
The Altamont church, the youngest in the county, was organized in 1900. It has a membership of 37 and a Sunday School enrollment of 33. The church is free from indebtedness and is valued at $1,500. Clerk, Elva Cole. Pastor, Dan R. Gott.
A church was organized at Coffey in 1888. The church property is valued at $6,500, but there is a debt upon it of about $400. There are 148 members of the church, and 45 enrolled in Sunday School. Pastor, W. A. Hyde. Clerk, Miss Eileen Lowe.
The Crab Orchard Baptist church was originally called the South Big Creek church, and under this name was organized by Elder Benjamin Smith and Deacon Samuel Penn on Dec. 5, 1846. There were eight charter mem- bers. On the first Sunday in April, 1860, the congregation unanimously decided to change the name to Crab Orchard. B. F. Kenney was the pastor at that time. The present church house was erected in 1860, and is valued at $1,200. The membership is about 40. Clerk, Mrs. Hattie Adams .
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.