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 40
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 40
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The most common offense for which indictments were found dur- ing the early history of this court was that of card playing. At the October term, in 1848, nine indictments were returned, and at the next two terms the number was increased to sixteen and twenty-eight, respectively.
The second indictment for murder in Mercer County was found in 1865 against Margaret J. Williams for the killing of her child, a young babe; she was a weak-minded creature, and had no friends, and her case was not strongly defended. She was convicted of murder in the second degree, and sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary.
The Mullinax Case. - A case which excited deep interest through- out the county was that of the State vs. John W. Crawford, for the murder of Dr. P. E. Mullinax, of Pleasant Plains, Iowa. Dr. Mulli- nax was murdered on the night of the 6th of April, 1866, in Lindley Township, while returning home from a dancing party, held at the house of William Waldron. His body was found the next morning ly- ing near the road with a bullet hole through the head, and another through the chest. Upon investigation circumstances seemed to point to John W. Crawford and his brothers, James and Jasper, as the murderers. They were arrested, and upon a preliminary ex- amination before a justice of the peace the first named was bound
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over to the circuit court, but the evidence against the others was not deemed sufficient to hold them, and they were discharged. At the next term of the court, in September, an indictment was returned against John Crawford for murder in the first degree, and he was ordered into the custody of the sheriff. The case was set for hearing at a special term of the court, in December following, and Silas Woodson was ap- pointed to assist the circuit attorney in the prosecution, while J. H. Shanklin, of Trenton, was employed as chief counsel for the defense. The case came up at the appointed time, and a jury drawn composed of the following men: William Dodson, Leander Laughlin, J. R. Hill, R. G. Miller, William Brantley, P. M. Hill, Joseph Smith, Marcellus Renfro, William Keith, Moses Powell, Preston Young and S. H. Ham., After the trial had been in progress for two days, the prosecution asked for a stay of proceedings, and a continuance until the next term of court. This was denied, whereupon they surrendered the case, and the jury, in accordance with instructions from the bench, brought in a verdict of not guilty. The evidence against Crawford was wholly circumstantial, but it was so strong that in the public mind there was little doubt of his guilt. Some of the principal facts brought out in the trial were as follows: On the day before the party mentioned above he sent a note to Dr. Mullinax, urging him very strongly to attend. The Doctor attended the party, where he remained until about 11 o'clock. Soon after he started for home the absence of John Crawford from the party was noticed. In about an hour, how- ever, Mr. Crawford returned, and a little later, accompanied by his brothers, went home. Upon the discovery of the body of the mur- dered man the next morning, the hat of the deceased, and another, supposed to have belonged to Crawford, were found upon the ground, near by. These, with many other corroborating circumstances, tended to confirm the popular belief that Dr. Mullinax met his death at the hands of John Crawford, but it is possible he was entirely innocent of the deed. Those who believed the accused man guilty found a motive for the crime in the alleged fact that he had employed the professional services of Dr. Mullinax to save himself and a young lady, with whom he had been too intimate, from disgrace, and that he thought the Doctor had betrayed the confidence reposed in him.
The Clyder Case .- A short time prior to the killing of Dr. Mulli- nax, a German, named George Clyder, is supposed to have been mur- dered in Marion Township by a countryman of his, named W. H. Hooyman. The deed was believed to have been done on February 25,1866, and if any murder was committed, the body was burned to prevent the detection of the crime.
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Clyder was a man of some property, and lived alone. He sud- denly disappeared, and soon after Hooyman attempted to negotiate a note previously held by Clyder, asserting that it had been transferred to him by the latter, who had left the country. Suspicion was at once aroused against Hooyman. He was arrested, and Clyder's pipe and knife were found in his possession. Search was then made for the body of the murdered man, but nothing could be discovered except some charred bones in the fireplace of the house where he had lived. Hooyman was indicted for the murder at the next term of the circuit court, but obtained a change of venue to Grundy County, where, upon trial, he was acquitted. Conviction was prevented by the fact that the remains found in the fireplace could not be identified as those of a human being, but it was generally believed that the defendant was guilty of the murder of George Clyder.
Killing of Frank Cox .- The next homicide which occurred in the county was the killing of Frank Cox in Lindley Township, on No- vember 25, 1869. For this crime Frank Brogan and Patrick and William Dykes were indicted by the grand jury. The trials were postponed from term to term until 1873. Meanwhile William Dykes died, and a nolle prosequi was entered in his case at the March term of that year. Patrick Dykes was found guilty of murder in the sec- ond degree, and his punishment was fixed at ten years in the peni- tentiary. He secured a new trial, and at the November term, 1873, he was acquitted. At the same term Frank Brogan was granted a change of venue to Harrison County, and upon trial was finally acquitted.
The Halleck Case. - One of the blackest crimes in the criminal record of Mercer County was committed by Joseph P. Hamilton, a boy only about nineteen years old. During the summer of 1872 he was employed by Elisha Halleck, who resided a few miles east of Princeton. While a member of Halleck's household he was guilty of unlawful relations with the latter's wife. Finding Mr. Halleck's presence an obstacle to the indulgence of their plans, they conceived the plan of putting him out of the way. Once or twice everything was arranged to accomplish this object, but something occurred each time to frustrate their designs. However, the deed was at last done. Halleck and Hamilton had been hauling hay and had just completed their work. Halleck sat down upon the wagon to rest and while in that position was shot in the back by Ham- ilton. Mrs. Halleck was conveniently absent gathering blackberries, and there was no witness to the crime.
Hamilton and Mrs. Halleck were both arrested. The former obtained a change of venue to Harrison' County, where he was tried,
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and convicted of murder in the first degree. An appeal was taken to the supreme court, but that tribunal refused to interfere with the sen- tence of the lower court, and he was duly executed. Before his execution he made a full confession of the crime. He was ably defended by Col. J. H. Shanklin, of Trenton, and Capt. H. J. Alley, and S. H. Perryman, of Princeton. Mrs. Halleck obtained a change of venue to Putnam County, but before her case came up for hearing she was bereaved of a child, and her health became so broken as to preclude the possibility of recovery. These circumstances aroused much sym- pathy in her behalf, and she was acquitted, but died soon after.
The Raines Case .- Another case which excited deep interest throughout the county was that of the State vs. Joseph Thompson, Jack Thompson and Jerome Prichard, for the killing of an old man named Thomas Raines. The murder was a most brutal one. Mrs. Raines bore the reputation of a woman of somewhat questionable vir- tue, and another woman of much the same character was visiting or boarding with the family. Upon the night of the murder the defendants, all of whom had been drinking, started for the Raines' house, to call upon Mrs. Raines and her friend. Jack Thompson was sent in advance of the others to reconnoiter, and to decoy the old man from the house. He entered the humble apart- ments of the family, but was at once ordered to leave by Mr. Raines, who, to enforce his command, grasped a stick of stove-wood which lay beside the stove. At that instant a pistol was discharged and the old
man fell dead. The defendants attempted to escape, but were all finally captured. Joseph Thompson was tried first and acquitted, all the witnesses having testified that the shot which killed Raines was fired by Jack Thompson. The next trial was that of Prichard, who was also acquitted. Lastly Jack Thompson was arraigned, found guilty, and sentenced to ten years in the penitentiary. Since one of the jurymen had been heard to express an opinion as to the guilt of the defendant before the trial, a new hearing was granted. Meantime Joseph Thompson confessed to have killed Raines himself. He stated that he had come to Raines' door behind his brother, and when the old man grasped the stove-wood, he reached around Jack and fired the fatal shot. The witnesses to the crime in the excitement of the mo- ment had failed to see him, and consequently thought that the pistol was in Jack's hand. These facts having become known, upon the second trial Jack Thompson was acquitted, and thus through a com- bination of circumstances, a complete failure of justice resulted. The attorneys for the defendants were Capt. H. J. Alley and C. M.
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Wright. The prosecution was conducted by S. H. Perryman and H. G. Orton.
The Chipps Homicide occurred on the night of August 7, 1875, at the village of Half Rock. James Chipps and Joseph Willis, the latter a resident of Clay County, had been drinking whisky and playing cards, and became involved in a quarrel in which Willis stabbed Chipps, who died almost immediately. Willis was arrested, and an indict- ment was found against him by the grand jury of Mercer County, for murder. He obtained a change of venue to Grundy County, where he was tried, convicted of manslaughter, and his punishment fixed at fourteen years in the penitentiary. He succeeded in obtaining a new trial, however, and was acquitted. He returned to Clay County, where he was subsequently killed. He was called from his home one night, and when only a few steps from his door, he received a charge of buckshot in his body, killing him instantly. Who the assassin was was never discovered, but it was thought to have been some friend of James Chipps, who took that method of avenging his death.
The Killing of Davis .- What appears to have been a brutal and entirely unprovoked murder, was committed in ' Princeton Novem- ber 12, 1880. The victim was E. W. Davis, a laborer on the railroad, and a man about fifty years of age. He was a quiet and inoffensive person, and was not known to have an enemy. He had just stepped from the door of a meat market when he was struck upon the head with a heavy stick. He fell back into the building, and was soon dead. Persons who were passing along the street at that moment saw a man running away from the scene of the murder, and, from his appearance and gait, they thought it to be Alexander Mulvaney. He was arrested indicted for murder, tried and acquitted, and is now a resident of the county.
The Homicide of Graves .- The last homicide in Mercer County was committed September 9, 1887, by Elisha Wilson upon J. F. Graves. The two men lived in Harrison Township, and some months previous had had a misunderstanding which culminated in a lawsuit. On the date mentioned, Wilson, who was road overseer, had a number of men working the road along the premises of Mr. Graves. In the evening Graves had occasion to pass out into the road. When he came to the gate, opening from his premises to the public highway, he found that Wilson had caused a ditch to be cut on his side of the road, so deep that he was compelled to get off of his wagon, and slope down the sides of the bank to enable him to cross. While engaged in this work, Wilson came up, and, during an altercation that ensued, struck
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Graves upon the head with a hoe handle. Their neighbors then suc- ceeded in separating them, and the latter mounted his wagon and drove a considerable distance toward Cainesville, but becoming too weak to proceed farther, he was taken to his home, where he died in a few hours. The next day Wilson went to Princeton, and surrendered himself to the officers of the law. Pending a preliminary examination, and the coroner's inquest, he was admitted to bail. Great excitement pre- vailed in the neighborhood where the tragedy occurred, and as soon as the friends of the dead man learned that Wilson had been admitted to bail, a number of them went to Princeton, and demanded of the officers that he be taken into custody and remanded to jail, intimating that should their demands be ignored, summary justice would be meted out to the accused. He was therefore returned to jail. Circuit court convened on the following Monday, and the grand jury em- paneled at once, began an investigation, which resulted in the finding of a bill of indictment against Wilson for murder in the first degree. The trial was postponed until the next term of court, and the prisoner is now in jail. His attorneys are Messrs. H. J. Alley and M. F. Robin- son.
The Bench. - Mercer County was at first attached to the eleventh judicial circuit, which also included the counties of Chariton, Grun- dy, Putnam, Linn, Sullivan and Livingston. The judge of this circuit, from the organization of the county until the beginning of the Civil War, was a resident of Chariton County, the uncle of Gen. John B. Clark. He was a large, jovial man, and in intelli- gence and education was rather above the average pioneer judge. His successor was Jacob Smith, of Linn County. He presided at but a few terms of the court, and in 1864 was succeeded by Judge R. A. De Bolt, of Trenton, Grundy County. He was a well-read lawyer, and an able jurist, but was unconsciously inclined to be somewhat of a partisan on the bench. His successor, G. D. Burgess, the pres- ent judge of the circuit, was elected in 1875, and although a Demo- crat in a strongly Republican circuit, he has been successively re- elected. His decisions are rarely reversed, and he is recognized as one of the best circuit judges in Missouri.
The Bar .- The first circuit attorney was Westley Halliburton, who, soon after the organization of the courts in Mercer, was succeeded by John C. Griffin, then a resident of Grundy County. He was one of the earliest pioneers of Mercer County, a farmer, and country "store- keeper." He soon abandoned those occupations, however, and sought the more congenial profession of law. He rose rapidly, and very soon
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was elected to the office of circuit attorney, a position he held for many years. He was a whole-souled, companionable man, somewhat convivial in his habits. He was a very good lawyer, but did not pay sufficient attention to details to achieve the highest success.
The first resident attorneys in Mercer County were Jesse Newlin, Thomas Auberry, and George T. Prichard. The first named came to the county in 1839, and two years later was admitted to practice in the courts of Grundy County. He had formerly been a justice of the peace in Livingston County, and had thus picked up some law, and had become familiar with its forms. His knowledge was very lim- ited, however, and his practice was confined chiefly to justices' courts.
George T. Prichard was the son of Joseph Prichard, and brother of Jackson Prichard, with whom he came to the county. He was a good lawyer, and an excellent citizen. He was exceedingly fond of a joke, and was withal of a pleasing disposition. He was a Whig in poli- tics, and served one term in the Lower House of the General Assembly. He died during the late war.
James J. Clark, a contemporary of Prichard, was one of the ablest lawyers in Princeton prior to the war. He was a good speaker, and ranked high as an advocate. He removed from the county during the war, and is now a resident of Chillicothe. He has served one or more terms on the bench of the circuit court.
C. M. Wright was a partner of Clark from about 1857 until the latter left the county. He was a good lawyer, and for more than twenty-five years was a leading member of the Princeton bar. He was a large man, of somewhat coarse fiber, but of great force of char- acter, and unquestioned integrity. He filled the office of circuit attorney from 1865 to 1869, and was also twice elected prosecuting attorney. He died suddenly in 1884.
Calvin Butler, Jesse P. Clark and L. W. Carmeens were all young attorneys, who were located at Princeton for a short time before or just after the war, but did not remain long enough to gain a repu- tation.
Of the present bar, the oldest members are Messrs. Ira B. Hyde and H. G. Orton. They were comrades during the Civil War, and at its close came to Princeton, and formed the partnership which still exists. They both rank high in the profession. Mr. Hyde is recog- nized as one of the ablest lawyers in Northern Missouri, but for the past few years has withdrawn somewhat from active practice. He was a member of the XLIII Congress, where he exhibited the same ability and energy that have characterized him in other positions.
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Mr. Orton is a man of indomitable energy and will, and the possessor of fine legal attainments. He filled the office of probate judge from 1868 to 1875, and is now serving his second term as prosecuting at- torney. In the latter position he is a terror to evil-doers, by whom he is most heartily disliked. Sociably he is an affable and accommodat- ing gentleman.
The next oldest member of the Princeton bar is Capt. H. J. Alley, whose reputation is that of one of the shrewdest and most successful criminal lawyers in the State. He studied law without a preceptor while occupying the office of sheriff, and when admitted to the bar rapidly gained a reputation as an advocate. He filled the office of circuit attorney for a short time, beginning in 1874, but its duties were not suited to his tastes.
M. F. Robinson was admitted to the bar in 1879. He studied law with Judge Wright, and became his partner when he began the practice. He is considered a sound lawyer, and is steadily gaining in reputation. R. W. Steckman, who for eight years filled the office of probate judge, is also a prominent member of the Princeton bar.
TOWNS OF THE COUNTY.
Princeton .- Its Origin and Early Growth .- The town of Prince- ton was laid out in the spring of 1846, and named in memory of the battle in which Gen. Mercer was killed. The commissioners appointed to locate the seat of justice for Mercer County fixed upon a site about three miles east of the present town, but as many objections were urged against that place, mainly the lack of water, the county court through commissioners appointed by itself established the present seat of justice. This irregularity in locating the town was legalized by a special act of the Legisla- ture. The site chosen consisted of the east half of the south- east quarter of Section 27, in Township 65 of Range 24. A claim had . been laid and some improvements made upon this land by Samuel Speer. This claim was purchased and the land entered by the county seat commissioner, Joseph Prichard, who received a patent for it, dated August 1, 1848, and signed by James K. Polk. The town was laid off by Spartan F. Rhea, and the first sale of lots took place on April 6, 1846. The purchasers at this sale were David Miller, Garrett Gibson, Alfred Rhodes, Samuel Prewitt, Samuel G. Logan, John Campbell, Joseph Prewitt, James Morgan, John Munn, William Nordyke, William Kelsey, John R. Davis, W. D. Alley, Floyd Shannon, Israel Nordyke, William Miller, Alexander Campbell,
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Simon Adamson and Jesse Adamson. Twenty-two lots were sold at an aggregate of $393.53. The highest price paid for a single lot was $35.50 and the lowest $10. Another sale took place on June 1 fol- lowing, at which time twenty-three more lots were sold for $303.80. The purchasers were Solomon Tollerday, Alexander Anderson, Eli D. Murphy, James Bradley, John H. Covey, Simeon Colyer, Spartan F Rhea, R. A. Kelsey, John Lambert, Samuel Moore, Alfred Rhodes, William Ellis, Robert McFaren, Abial Miles, Jackson Prichard, Joseph Prichard and William Wood. The improvements which had been made by Samuel Speer consisted of a blacksmith shop, which stood near where the courthouse now is, a small dwelling and a stable. The shop was obtained by John R. Davis who fitted it up for a hotel, and there for two or three years he entertained travelers and attendants upon the courts. He also obtained the first license issued by the county court for a dramshop.
Business Men. - The first storehouse was built by Floyd Shannon immediately after the town was laid out. It was a small log building, and stood where Dr. Buren's drug store now is. At about the same time William Wesley built a similar house on the lot about the middle of the block on the west side of the public square. This was occupied by R. B. Ballew with a stock of goods brought from Camden, Mo. Both of these stores were small affairs, the stocks embracing only the few staple articles required by the pioneers. But little cash was then used in trade, and the purchaser generally paid for goods in skins, furs, meat or other produce. Brunswick was at first the nearest ship- ping place, but after the completion of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad, Chillicothe became the chief trading point for this section. In 1848 John C. McClelland arrived in Princeton, and began business in a new log house on the southeast corner of the public square. It is said that he began with only $5 capital and that he borrowed of his wife. He continued in business for many years, and became one of the most prosperous merchants in the town. The first merchant who carried anything like an extensive stock of goods was Elihu Cleveland who occupied a frame building on the site of Dr. Fullerton's drug store. As he had previously become bankrupt, he conducted the busi- ness in the name of his brother-in-law, W. H. Switzler.
Among the other merchants of Princeton prior to 1860 were A. Sulzbacher, A. M. Clements, Davis & Girdner (John R. Davis and William J. Girdner), V. B. Buck & Co., Morrow & Alfrey, McClel- land & Mullinax (John C. McClelland and Eli Mullinax), and John C. W. Lindsey.
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In the earlier history of the town dramshops were institutions of considerable importance. The first dramshop keepers were John R. Davis, James Blizzard and Solomon Tollerday. They did a thriving business especially on election days. A story, illustrative of the habits and of the rough humor of those times, is told of an occurrence during the election in August, 1846. Tollerday in addition to his liquor kept a few sacks of salt, which he retailed to customers. A certain citizen of the town, himself comfortably filled with corn juice, entered Toller- day's shop, and seeing some half dozen men lying on the floor "dead drunk" remarked to the proprietor in a tone of rebuke : "Tollerday your bacon will spile if you leave it lying around such a hot day without any salt on it, I'll salt it down for you." Suiting the action to the word, he dragged one of the men up against the wall, and tak- ing some salt from an open sack, proceeded to salt him down. He then laid another man on top of the first, and put on another layer of salt. He continued until he had them all "salted down," and then departed, remarking, "I reckon that thar bacon will keep now."
The first physician to locate in Princeton was Dr. J. B. Bell. He was followed soon after by Dr. Roberts, and Dr. Andrew Woolsey. Dr. Turner was also engaged in the practice of medicine in Princeton prior to the war. At the close of the Civil War, in 1865, the business portion of Princeton consisted of a fringe of small frame buildings around the public square, not one of which was worth more than $500. The only brick building was the courthouse. The trade of the town was limited to a comparatively small area, as Princeton was then far- ther from a railroad than any other town in Northern Missouri. The merchants of Princeton during the "sixties" were W. J. Girdner, David Eberhard, Eli Mullinax and John C. W. Lindsey, dealers in dry goods; Israel Patton & Co., grocers; Orlando Miller, stoves and tinware; and Dr. T. M. Fullerton, Dr. H. A. Brown and Dr. Smith, druggists. Upon the completion of the railroad, Princeton received a new impetus, and from that time has steadily grown in population and wealth. The territory tributary to the town has been greatly en- larged, and trade has increased in proportion. The old frame build- ings have been replaced by elegant brick blocks, equal to those of any town of its size in the State.
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