USA > Missouri > Mercer County > History of Harrison and Mercer Counties, Missouri : from the earliest times to the present : together with sundry personal, business, and professional sketches and family records : besides a condensed history of the State of Missouri, etc > Part 38
USA > Missouri > Harrison County > History of Harrison and Mercer Counties, Missouri : from the earliest times to the present : together with sundry personal, business, and professional sketches and family records : besides a condensed history of the State of Missouri, etc > Part 38
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Some time about 1835, James Weldon came to Grundy County, and located near East Fork of Grand River, not far from the Mercer County line. He at once devoted his energies to opening a farm. Three years later he had made a considerable improvement, and had grown quite a large amount of stock. He then, in the winter of 1838, sold his claim, together with his improvements and stock, to a company of Mormons for $3,300, and moved northward into Mercer County, lo- cating on Section 8, of Township 64, Range 24.
During the same year Reuben Hatfield, who had located on Grand River, in Grundy County, in 1836, removed to what is now the extreme south part of Madison Township. His son, Joseph Hatfield, located near by in Grundy County, but afterward moved into Mercer, and his house became the voting place for Scott Township.
Calvin and Marcellus Renfro also came to the county in 1838.
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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.
They had emigrated from Knox County, Ky., two years before, and located in Ray County, Mo. " On coming to Mercer County, Calvin located one and one-half miles northwest of Modena, on the farm now owned by David Horne. Marcellus settled about three- fourths of a mile south of his present residence. Samuel Chestnut, a brother-in-law of the Renfros, located at about the same time two and one-half miles southwest of Modena.
In 1839 witnessed the advent of several more families into the county. Among them were Joseph Prichard and his two sons, Jack- son and George, Joseph Girdner, James Girdner, William J. Girdner, James Logan, Joseph and Martin Moss, and a Mr. Davis. They emigrated from Knox County, Ky., in the spring of 1838, and located at first at Chillicothe, Mo. Shortly after they came to Mercer County, located claims, made some improvements, and returned for their families. Prichard settled upon the farm now occu- pied by his son Jackson; Joseph Moss, on the farm where he still resides, and Joseph Girdner, about three miles northeast of Princeton. During the same year James Heriford and John C. Griffin settled about two miles south of Princeton. The latter soon relinquished agricultural pursuits for the practice of law, in which he rose to dis- tinction. Peter Cain, who was prominent in the affairs of the county for many years, also came in 1839. He located in what is now Har- rison Township. The population of the county was still further increased in the fall of 1839 by the arrival of three families from Prince Edward County, Va. They were those of Royal Williams, Ben- jamin D. Thaxton and Richard Williams, all of whom located in the vicinity of old Middleburg. The remaining persons known to have located claims in 1839 are Joseph Sallee, John Reeves, Seabert Rhea, William Perkins, Alfred Hickman, Jackson Williams, Thomas Everett, Charles Thompson, John Dunkerson, John D. and H. P. Sullivan, Lafayette Berry, A. E. Keith, John Hart, Andrew J. Williams, Stephen F. Rhea, William Miller, Abiel Miles, Archibald Smith, Archibald Hamilton, Isaac Van Dine, Jonathan Booth, Samuel Brown, Jesse Newlin, John Hays, William Reed, John B. and James W. Gib- son, Lewis Franklin, John D. Locke.
At the close of the year 1839 there were probably not more than forty families within the limits of what is now Mercer County, and the settlements were confined to a strip through the central part, except a few which had been made in the territory now embraced in Madison and Harrison Townships.
The account of the subsequent settlement of the county, for con- venience, is given by townships.
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
Settlement of Washington Township .- Washington Township, from the character of its surface and its situation, was one of the first to be settled. Among the pioneers, besides those already mentioned, were John Vinson, Harrison Weldon, Thomas Thomp- son, John Logan, John G. Ellis, William W. Ellis, S. D. Curtis, Charles Ewing, Lewis Gibson, John Loe, Thomas Brown, Will- iam Campbell and William Ballew. The last named came with his family from Morgan County, Ind., in 1840. He had five
sons : Thomas, Richard B., Robert, Squire and William B., all of whom became prominent citizens of the county. The first two
and the last named are still living. The second grist mill in the county was erected in this township on East Fork of Grand River, opposite the present town of Mill Grove. It was built by Thomas Brown in 1841. Among others who located in Washington Town- ship prior to 1857 were the following: H. H. Bowers, James M. and William T. Lewallen, Joseph Brantley, J. W. Calvin, William Barnes, Moses Lowell, Andrew Kilgore, Henry Price, John H. Baker, G. W. Rose, Abram Cox, Thomas R. Stafford, Thomas C., David, Henry and James C. Coon, James Norcross, Thomas and John Patton, James Wood, Samuel Ewing and Enos B. Barrett.
Settlement of Morgan Township .- Morgan Township, being in the center of the county, and containing the county seat, pre- sented especial attractions to the early settlers. Of those who located within its present limits, between 1840 and 1850, were Floyd Shannon and his two brothers, Reese and Russell, William and Jesse Miller, William Arbuckle, John R. McClelland, M. H. Pre- witt, William Constable, David Farley and his sons, Benjamin and C. P., Israel Nordyke, Isaac J. Cast, Samuel Prewitt, Willis and George Moore, James Dykes, Zachariah Worley, Caleb and Ciswell Brummitt, Thomas and Greene Wilson, and Ambrose Day. The Shannons opened one of the first stores in the county in 1844, in a small log house, about three miles west of Princeton. Russell Shan- non died in 1846, and the partnership between Floyd and Reese was then dissolved, the former removing to Princeton.
William and Jesse Miller built a mill on East Fork of Grand River in 1842, a short distance above where Anderson's mill now is. A. little cluster of houses and shops that sprang up on the west side of the river in the vicinity of this mill was named Moscow, and when the seat of justice for Mercer County came to be located this place was strong- ly argued as an eligible site. Dr. Mangel was a leading citizen of this place. The mill built by Miller Bros. afterward passed into the
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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.
hands of William Constable, who owned and operated it until his death. It then fell into disuse, and was finally washed away by a flood. A saw and grist mill, the first in the county, was also built about 1839, by Jesse Newlin, who sold it to William Kelsey. He continued to run it for several years. It was situated on East Fork of Grand River, about two and one-half miles south of Princeton. A store was opened near this place soon after by John C. Griffin.
Settlement of Marion Township .- Marion Township lies on both sides of Grand Fork of Grand River, and being mostly covered with timber it was settled several years before the territory on either side of it. Among its earliest settlers were James Clark, Joseph Sullivan, D. L. Berry, Greene W. Laughlin, A. M. Clements, J. P. and Solo- mon Litton, S. H. Porter, James M. Newlin, Peter Alley and his sons William and James, Benjamin Sullivan, James H. Brown, Thomas Al- ley, H. G. Alley, John M. Qualls, and a man by the name of Carmine.
Joseph Sullivan emigrated from Whitley County, Ky., in 1840, and located two miles east and half a mile south of Lineville. At about the same time Greene W. Laughlin also located near the State line. He was a slave owner, and a man of considerable prominence. He was the first clerk of the county court, but died before the expira- tion of his term of office in 1848. James Clark and Benjamin Sulli- van lived near where Marion Station now is. The land on the Mis- souri side of the State line opposite Lineville was entered by T. H. P. Duncan, who built a small log house, which now forms a part of the hotel known as the Duncan House. An amusing incident is told of the way in which Duncan took advantage of his position to baffle the revenue collectors of both Iowa and Missouri. Upon the surveying of the State line in 1851 one Fortner built a store near the line. Dun- can purchased this building, and turned it around so that one end was in Missouri and the other in Iowa. At that time Iowa levied a heavy tax upon the sale of whisky, but none upon the sale of merchandise, while Missouri, on the other hand, practically had free whisky, but levied a considerable tax upon merchandise. Duncan, therefore, sold his whisky in the Missouri end of his store, and his dry goods, gro- ceries, etc., in the Iowa side, and thus successfully claimed exemption from taxation.
Among those who located in Marion Township in the early part of the fifties were T. C. and J. G. Earley, John Snyder, William Sears, John Cunningham, John T. Porter, Isaac J. Duree, James Lawson, Samuel and Benjamin Strong, J. H. Combs, Aaron Wells, William Brown, Henry Williams, Wesley McPorter, Henry Coleman, P. C.
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
Brown, Thomas H. Bryan, J. R. Sears, L. C. Laughlin, John McIn- tosh, John Shaffer, Isaac F. Sexton, William Argo and Wilson Snyder.
Madison Township Pioneers .- The settlement of what is now Mad- ison Township was begun in 1838 when Reuben Hatfield and the Renfros located within its borders. It contains a fine body of land, and to the early pioneer was one of the most attractive portions of the county.
Several of the first settlers of this township have been mentioned. Among the others of a little later date were Abraham Butcher, John H. Thogmartin, Thomas McDowell, John Mahaffy, John Vanderpool, Elisha Vanderpool, Joel Smith, Robert Thogmartin, Floyd Miles, B. F. Clark, J. W. Speery, Dr. W. Vanderpool, William Miles, H. C. Hamilton and Robert Williams.
First Residents of Harrison Township .- Harrison Township was the site of the first settlement in the county, James Parsons hav- ing located between Goshen Prairie and Thompson's Fork of Grand River. John Hart, James Perkins, Andrew J. Williams, Peter Cain and Joseph Prichard also found homes in this township, which, prior to the organization of the county, formed a part of Lafayette Town- ship. Among those who located in this territory during the decade of the forties were R. B. Slover, Peter Hart, Morgan Hart, John Reeves, J. M. Nichols, Jonathan Wolf, Andrew Clark, Eli Rubert, L. N. Constable and S. Shaffer.
Pioneers of Lindley Township .- Lindley was not settled so early as Harrison, little land having been entered prior to 1850. This was un- doubtedly owing largely to its position. Among the pioneers of this township were James Dykes, E. G. Wiggins, Rankin McClaren, Jesse Constable, Thomas Scott, William Goin, Martin Goin, Charles Yates, Mason Foxworthy, Kirby McGrew, Abraham Constable, Joseph M. Sallee, Jacob Horner, Granville Watson, William Snook, John S. Wilson, Enoch L. Foxworthy, Benjamin Cox.
Settlement of Medicine Township .- Medicine Township contains rough land, and was not settled so early as the other townships bor- dering on the south line. The earliest permanent settlement within its limits of which any record could be found was made by John V. Barnes, who came from Pennsylvania about 1844, and located on Honey Creek, two miles northwest of Half Rock. William Keith also settled near the same place at a little later date. Daniel B. Rhoads was also one of the earliest pioneers. The township, however, was mainly settled from 1850 to 1856. Of those who came during that time may be mentioned Adam Hunter, J. H. Bly, James W. Rice,
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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.
John H. Snapp, James Brittian, Aaron Wright, George Brittian, Silas Cooper, Vincent Cooksey, James Martin, William and Ransom Coop, William S. Smith, James Swopes, Amos S. Baisley, Andrew Thomas, Andrew Selsor, Cyrus Jones, Levi Holt, William A. Stone, John Scott, Robert M. Sowder, A. W. Harris, Jacob and James Kep- ple, Robert S. Stout, R. G. Miller, Russell Newman, William Burris, Thomas Cooper, J. S. Harraman, Jonathan Byres, William Brantley, John Bryant, C. Hopper, Joseph Rich, John Evans, John Michael and Thomas Rhoads.
Settlement of Ravanna Township .- Ravanna Township was one of the last settled. It consists chiefly of prairie land, and was consequently shunned by the first settlers, although no more fertile section can be found in Northern Missouri. Probably the first settler in Ravanna Township was a man named James Morgan, who was rather a squat- ter than a settler. He carried on a sort of illicit trade in whisky with the Indians, and his place was naturally a rendezvous for that rough element which hovered around the frontier communities. He lived . four miles south of Ravanna, where he located in the spring of 1840. He remained but three or four years. Among the first permanent settlers in the township were Jeptba Wood, William Pickett, Hiram Pickett, Arkelson Keith, Fleming and Solomon Tollerday, John M. Smith, Joseph G. Collings and Spencer Collings, all of whom came prior to 1850. During the next five or six years the settlement went on very rapidly. The following persons located in the township dur- ing that time: R. R. Stephens, Thomas D. Hall, R. T. Bull, A. J. Collings, Dingee Adams, James Trout, William H. Hall, David A. Moore, John F. Anderson, James R. Gibson, Campbell R. Summers, Samuel Widner, William H. Harraman, John M. Underwood, J. R. Yoakum, S. H. Draper, William R. McKinley, Jacob Loutzenhiser, Thomas Underwood, Samuel Stockton, Elbridge Goddard, Sylvester and Absalom Evans, A. C. Lynch, Jesse Swan, John S. Scott, Elijah H. Crawford.
· Somerset Township Settlements. - Settlements were made here as early as 1839, when claims were located by H. P. and John D. Sullivan, and Alexander Laughlin. These were all in the northwest corner of the township. The remainder was not settled for many years. In 1854 a colony from Richland County, Ill., located in the southern part of this township. It consisted of Samuel R. Loury, his sons Andrew, David, John, and S. S., and their families, and several single men. At that time the country was suffering from a severe drought. All water-mills had stopped from a lack of water, and noth-
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
ing was running except a few small horse-mills. They were therefore compelled to go to Alexandria for flour. No road had then been laid out from this town to Princeton, and the way was marked only by a trail across the open prairie.
Among the others who entered land in this township during the early part of the fifties were Peter W. Duree, H. P. and J. W. B. Cox, Thomas M. Laughlin, James and Eli Stark, A. J. Berry, Will- iam Hendricks, Isaac Welch, Elihu Wakefield, Jacob and James Bixler, Philip Sidner, David Warden, David Moore, Aaron Miller, Hardin Irwin, Charles Cousins, William Spence, William Conklin, Pleasant Henry, Samuel Stockton, Josiah McClain, Richard Atkin- son, James J. Johnson, John, Hiram and William Royse, William Proctor, J. H. and L. C. Laughlin, and William J. Jennings.
Population .- The first census was taken in 1850, at which time the population numbered 2,691. During the next decade it increased to 9,300, and in 1870 it had reached 11,577. In 1880 it was 14,673, and is now about 16,000. By townships the population in 1870 and 1880 was as follows:
1870.
1880.
Harrison
914
1,258
Lindley.
1,519
1,695
Madison.
2,021
1,286
Marion.
1,006
1,531
Medicine
939
1,315
Morgan
.2,107
2,857
Ravanna
1,129
1,572
Somerset.
1,114
1,123
Washington.
828
2,036
Nativity .- The nativity of the population in 1880 was as follows: Missouri, 8,173; Illinois, 665; Kentucky, 633; Ohio, 1,124; Tennessee, 430; Indiana, 1,303; Virginia, 292; Pennsylvania, 305; New York, 174; Iowa, 890; British America, 25; England and Wales, 25; Ireland, 58; Scotland, 12; Germany, 32; France, 2; Scandinavia, 10; and Bohemia, 14.
ORGANIZATION.
The County Formed and Organized .- February 8, 1839, the Gen- eral Assembly defined the limits of Grundy County as follows: Begin- ning at the northeast corner of Livingston County; thence north with the section line twenty-one miles, or to the corner of Sections 9, 10, 15 and 16, Township 63, Range 22 west of the fifth principal meridian; thence west along the line dividing Sections 9 and 16 to the range line dividing Ranges 25 and 26; thence south with said range line to the
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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.
northwest corner of Livingston County; thence east with said county line to the place of beginning. This territory was then attached to Liv- ingston County for civil and military purposes, and so continued until 1841, when the county of Grundy was organized. At the same time it was enacted that all the territory lying north of it should be attached to it for civil and military purposes, provided that the citizens living in the said territory should not be entitled to vote on any question concerning the location of the county seat of Grundy; also, that those citizens should not be taxed for the erection of county buildings. By Section 4 of an act passed February 22, 1843, this territory was named Mercer County, "in honor of Gen. Mercer, of Revolutionary fame." It was not, however, until 1845 that this county was organ- ized. The act providing for the organization defined the boundaries of the county as follows: "Beginning at the northeast corner of Grundy County; thence due north to the northern boundary line of the State; thence due west twenty-one miles; thence due south to the northwest corner of Grundy County; thence east with the said county line to the place of beginning."
The commissioners appointed to locate the seat of justice were George Munro, of Livingston County; Robert Wilson, of Daviess County; and Lewis Taylor, of Linn County, who were ordered to meet at the house of Joseph Girdner on the first Monday in November, 1845. The first county court was held at the same place, and was composed of the following justices: Robert Magruder, president; John Rock- hold and Asa Campbell. G. W. Laughlin had already been appointed clerk of the court by the Governor, and W. J. Girdner had been simi- larly appointed sheriff.
The first public work undertaken was the building of a jail, the superintendence of which was intrusted to Floyd Shannon. The contractor was Laban Curtis, and the principal part of the work was done by some Mormon refugees, who had come to the county about that time. It was a log building, with two walls built about a foot apart, the space between being filled with stone. It had a dungeon in the lower part, entered through a trap door from the debtor's room . above. It stood on the lot now occupied by the dwelling of Mrs. J. C. W. Lindsey. Its cost was $494.
The building first occupied as a courthouse was a small log structure which had been erected by Samuel Spears, whose claim was purchased as a site for the seat of justice. This building was used until May, 1847, when a new courthouse was completed. The latter was a new log structure, about twenty-four feet square, two stories
STATE OF MISSOURI. 403
high, and stood on the corner of the public square where Speer Bros.' store now is.
The building of bridges also early demanded the attention of the court, and in 1846 contracts were let for two to be built across East Fork. One of these was near William Kelsey's mill, and the other west of Princeton.
Township Formation and Organization. - Prior to the organization of Mercer County the territory therein embraced had been laid off into townships by Grundy County, but, as the early records of that court have been lost, the boundaries are not definitely known. Lafayette Township occupied the southwestern part of the county, and Scott Township the northwestern part, including a portion of what is now Wayne County, Iowa. Clark Township lay east of Scott, and the territory south of this is thought to have been embraced in Franklin Township, which also included the northeast part of Grundy County. The elections in Lafayette Township were held at the house of John Hart, who lived near where Goshen now is. In Scott Township, they were held at Allen Scott's; in Clark Township, at a place not far from the present town of Marion; and in Franklin Township, at the house of David Ashbrook, who lived south of what was afterward the town of Middle- bury. Among the justices of the peace elected prior to the creation of the county were: in Lafayette Township, Abiel Miles, William Miller, William Ballew, John McGimsey and Robert Magruder; in Scott Township, George Wood, Harrison Weldon, John Dunkerson; in Clark Township, John Rockhold and Allen M. England; and in Franklin Township, William P. Fitzpatrick and William Schooler.
At the organization of the county it was divided into six townships: Marion, Morgan, Harrison, Washington, Madison and Scott. The last named lay north of the present State line, and was consequently cut off in 1850. The justices of the peace chosen at the first election after the county was established were as follows: Marion Township, James L. Cox, Jonathan Alley, S. H. Porter and D. W. Baker; Scott Township, Daniel Moore and Aaron B. Stanley; Harrison Township, Joseph Moss; Morgan Township, Willis Burris; Madison Township, Jacob Butcher; Washington Township, William P. Fitzpatrick, John Scooler and John Logan. In May, 1848, the county court issued an order creating a new township by the name of Medicine, with the following boundaries: "Beginning at the south line of Mercer County where the divide between Muddy and Honey Creeks crosses said county line; thence north with said divide to the south line of Mor- gan Township; thence east to the county line of Mercer." The
-
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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.
next township created was Lindley, which was formed in 1856, and embraced nearly the same territory as at the present time. Somerset Township was established the following year. In March, 1859, Ra- vanna Township was formed with the following boundaries: "Com- mencing at the point where the line dividing Townships 64 and 65 intersects the Putnam County line; thence west to Muddy Creek; thence north with Muddy Creek to the line dividing Townships 65 and 66; thence east on the township line to the Putnam County line; thence south to the place of beginning."
The townships were little more than election precincts until 1872, when a petition, signed by 122 citizens, was presented to the county court, asking that the proposition to vote on township organization be submitted to the voters at the election in November of that year. The petition was granted, and the proposition was carried by a ma- jority of 976. The new system went into operation soon after. Un- der it the townships assessed and collected the revenue raised by tax- ation within their own territory, and had a general supervision over public highways, smaller bridges, and the disbursement of the town- ship and school moneys within their respective jurisdictions. This system had its enemies as well as its advocates, and in 1877 the former obtained an act of the Legislature abolishing it. The townships then returned to their previous condition.
The State Boundary Question .- One of the most interesting subjects connected with the history of the border counties is that of the disputed boundary line between Missouri and Iowa. From the organization of the territory of Iowa until 1851 the location of its southern boundary line was a subject of dispute. The act of Congress of March 6, 1820, providing for the formation of a State government by the people of Missouri Territory, described its boundaries as follows: " Beginning in the middle of the Mis- sissippi River on the parallel of 36° north latitude; thence west along that parallel to the St. Francois River, thence up and following the course of that river, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the parallel of latitude 30° 30'; thence west along the same to a point where the said parallel is intersected by a meridian line passing through the mouth of the Kansas River where the same intersects the Missouri River; thence from the point aforesaid, north along the said meridian line to the intersection of the parallel of latitude which passes through the rapids of the River Des Moines; making the said line to correspond with the Indian boundary line; thence east from the point of intersec- tion last aforesaid along the said parallel of latitude to the middle of the
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
channel of the main fork of the said River Des Moines; thence down and along the middle of the main channel of the said River Des Moines to the mouth of the same where it empties into the Mississippi River; thence due east to the middle of the main channel thereof; thence south along the middle of the said channel to the place of beginning."
In 1837, in accordance with an act of the Legislature of Missouri, a survey of the northern boundary line was made by commissioners on behalf of the State, who located it on the parallel of 40° 44' 6' ', north latitude. But this line did not coincide with the Indian bound- ary line. The commissioners asserted that the line described was an impossible one, for the reason that the parallel passing through what they contended was the rapids in the Des Moines River, would not co- incide with the Indian boundary line. They therefore located it upon the parallel passing through the rapids, disregarding the Indian boundary line.
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