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 45
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 45
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*It was attached to Medicine Circuit over which Rev. Jesse Gilliam then presided. The first quarterly conference held with this church was in May, 1846.
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at Galt, Grundy Co., Mo. While a missionary to Missouri, he organized the North Missouri Mission, now North Missouri Conference, and it was during this time, in 1847, that he organized Lebanon church, with fourteen members. It proved very prosperous, and at one time the membership reached 100. It is now about forty. Among the early members were Benjamin Ader and wife, Sabrey; Harvey Yates and wife, Rosa; A. J. Collings and wife, Elizabeth M .; Spencer Col- lings and wife, Susan; Joseph Collings and wife, Lillie A .; William Pickett and wife, Rachel; Solomon Evans and wife, Sarah; Thomas Wiesner and wife, Miram; S. D. Collings and wife, Catherine, and Jacob Ader and wife, Harriet. In 1876 a substantial frame church building was erected, and the society is now out of debt.
The society at Somerset was organized about 1882, with the follow- ing members; Adam Bruner and wife, Dr. T. F. Calbreath and wife, Fanny Robinson, Mary Mullinax, Mrs. Hickman, Robert Snodgrass and family, and Henry Ellis and wife.
The Methodists .- Among the first settlers of the county were mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who eatly began to hold relig- ious services and to organize themselves into societies. Meetings were held at private residences or schoolhouses, and were usually conducted by some local preacher or class leader, and occasionally by a circuit rider. One of the early meeting places was at the house of Moses Pierce, about three miles southwest of Mill Grove. In the settlement in the north- east part of Marion Township meetings were held first at the house of Joseph Sullivan, who was himself a local preacher, and afterward at a schoolhouse erected in the neighborhood. Among the members of this class were J. D. Laughlin, Mrs. T. H. P. Duncan, S. B. Porter, James Cox, John E. Logan, John D. and H. P. Sullivan. Another society was formed at the Girdner schoolhouse, near where Marion station now is: Among the leading members were William Alley, Floyd Fugit and William Jones. Another congregation was organized at the Stout schoolhouse, on Medicine Creek, about six miles north of the county line. James Harriman, James Reed, Belden Kellogg and David Plum were members. One of the earliest of these early
societies was formed at what was known as Coon's schoolhouse, in Washington Township. It embraced among its members William Minter and wife, Jacob Coon and wife, Henry Coon, David Clemens and wife, A. T. Minshall and wife, John Wilkinson and wife, James Wilkinson and wife, Charles Ewing and wife, and James Ewing and wife. About 1870 a good frame house was erected by this congrega- tion, and is now known as the Pleasant Grove Methodist Episcopal Church.
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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.
Early in the fifties a society was organized in District No. 4, Township 66, Range 23. Among its first members were David War- den, Jacob Lower, Mrs. Charles Ewing, Mrs. McDonald and Elias Lovett and wife. In 1859 a Sunday-school was organized, with Jacob Lower as superintendent, and a Sunday-school library, probably the first in the county, was purchased. This school has been maintained, at least during the summer season, to the present time. It now num- bers between seventy and eighty pupils, and is presided over by W. H. Lowry.
The Methodist Episcopal Church at Somerset was first organized in 1858, with the following members: Eli Bruner and wife, Hickman Bruner and wife, Albert Bruse and wife, Adam Bruner, Lucinda Butcher, Jeptha Russell and wife, and Rebecca Stockman; to whom were afterward added Cyrus D. King, William Laughlin, Wesley Johnson and wife, Jordan M. Bennett and wife, John Hill and wife, Catharine Scott, Israel Bennett and wife, John Griffith and wife, David Landis, Amos Landis, John Wilson and wife. The present membership is very small, numbering only eight or ten. Services were held for many years in a schoolhouse, and it was not until 1881 that the present house of worship was erected.
The society at Ravanna was organized about 1866, but a class had been in existence before the war, and held meetings in the old school- house east of town. It numbered among its members Jackson Duree, -- Gregory and wife, and Alexander Scott and wife. After the organization, the class was transferred to the town, and in 1868 a house of worship was completed.
The date of the organization of the church at Princeton is not known, but it was doubtless soon after the town was established. Until the close of the war, however, its existence was rather a pre- carious one. One of the first preachers was Rev. Ray Taylor. Among the early members were Abram Stille, a Mr. Herrington and wife, and John Smith and wife. Meetings were held in the old frame school, house, the Baptist Church and the courthouse. About the close of the war the church was revived and reorganized, at which time the leading members were Mr. Herrington, W. L. Jerome, wife and two daughters, Dr. K. G. Smith and Mrs. Julia E. Fuller. About 1869 a house of worship was erected at a cost of over $2,000.
The present membership is about 150. The officers are Thomas Robinson, steward; William Bell, class-leader; and W. W. Judson, J. W. Anderson and Mrs. A. C. Orton, trustees. A Sunday-school has been maintained since 1869.
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
Among the pastors of the church since 1865 have been Revs. Gaither, New, Stauber, Brockman, Wynne, Corder, Hollingsworth, Deshler, Ismond, King, Weller, Devlin and Phillips.
A Methodist Church was organized at Goshen about 1857, and until the war had a strong membership. Soon after the organization a frame building (the first church built by the Methodists in the county) was erected, which was used as a house of worship until replaced by the present Union Church in 1879 or 1880.
Owing to the division of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1844, this denomination in Mercer County, until after the close of the Civil War, was very weak. A majority of the membership was in sympathy with the northern branch, but there were some congregations which held allegiance to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. In 1846 the Iowa Conference appointed John J. Buren as a sort of missionary to Northern Missouri, and he was largely influential in keeping alive many of the churches adhering to the Methodist Episcopal Church. Another man who deserves especial mention in this connection was Peter Duree, who traveled the Princeton circuit. He located not far from the town of Ravanna at an early day, and until his death was an earnest worker for the church. He was a man of only moderate edu- cation, but was held in the highest esteem as a zealous Christian minister.
John Burton and Stephen G. Anderson were also early ministers and residents of the county. The latter is still living in Hamilton, Mo. Burton was a fine preacher, and was esteemed for many good qualities. In 1860 Rev. T. H. Hollingsworth came to Mercer County, and took charge of the Ravanna circuit, in which work he was engaged when, in August, 1861, he enlisted in the army. During 1860 he received over 100 members into the church, forty of whom resided in the neighborhood of Girdner schoolhouse. He was assigned to Princeton in 1870, and again in 1883, since which time he has been on the superannuated list.
The leading minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church South before the war was Rev. R. Minshall. He was pastor of Pleasant Grove Church, which belonged to the Southern church. At the open- ing of the war, he entered the Confederate army as chaplain of the Eighth Missouri Regiment, and never returned to his circuit. He has since served as a presiding elder in one of the Missouri districts. Rev. Willis Dockery, father of Congressman Dockery, was also a pastor of this church at one time.
The United Brethren. - The United Brethren Church has a few
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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.
congregations in the county. One of these was organized at Pilot Knob schoolhouse in 1883 by Rev. Mr. Starks. The original members were William Keith, Mary Dean, Jane Loveland, Catharine Morris, Joseph Sanders and wife, Wesley Keith and wife, and David Fisher and wife. Mr. Starks continued in charge of the church for one year. His successors have been Nathan Keith, Jacob Ashbrook and B. Sco- ville. The present membership is very small.
Societies of this denomination have also been organized at Cousin's schoolhouse and Middleton schoolhouse. The pastor is Howell Scott.
The Christians. - The first church building in Mercer County was a hewed-log house erected by the Christians, one mile west of Goshen, in 1849, but a society had been organized there in 1840. Among the first members were Reuben Perkins and wife, Seabert Rhea and wife and Abial Miles. William Reed and Thomas Thompson were early ministers. Samuel Downy and William Moore have also been promi- nent pastors of this church. The present house of worship was erected in 1872, at a cost of $1,300. The members now number about thirty.
Another early church of this denomination was organized at the Early schoolhouse in Marion Township, by William Moore. It is still maintained. On May 10, 1885, a church was organized at Half Rock, by William Reed and J. Padgett, with the following members: Marion Selsor, Harvey Hedrix, J. N. Ellis, G. M. Bennett, William J. New- ton, Hester Newton, Amanda Hedrix, "Cattie" Bennett, Orrissa Robinson, Angeline Cooksey, Eliza Sanders, Laura Early, Anna Clampitt, Helen Selsor, Mary Chips, Hannah Carpenter, M. A. Os- borne, Judie Martin and Rette A. Sanders. Mr. Padgett has been the pastor since the organization. The members now number fifty-seven. The elders are J. H. Morris and J. C. Reed; the deacons, F. M. Selsor, D. F. Terry, and J. N. Ellis.
For a number of years an organization was maintained at Pilot Knob schoolhouse, but has now been disbanded for some time.
A society was formed at Princeton some time prior to the war, which was reorganized early in 1865, with about fifty members, Morris Perry and Jesse Trapp being the elders. B. F. Lockhard
served as pastor for two years. In 1872 W. W. Bristow was installed in that position, and continued until 1883. During the next year the pulpit was filled by C. P. Evans, who was succeeded by L. H. Otto, under whose ministration a house of worship was erected. Prior to that time services were held in the Baptist Church. Mr. Otto was succeeded by Rev. J. Padgett, the present pastor. The membership now numbers about seventy-five.
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
A Christian Union Church was established at Goshen in 1880. It was organized by Rev. A. F. Geaster with about twenty mem- bers. The elders were David Goen, Samuel Lewis, Erastus Shirley. An interest was secured in the church erected by the Methodists, and meetings have since been held in it. The membership has increased very little since the organization.
The Catholics .-- The Catholics have but one small congregation in the county. It was organized at Princeton about two years ago, mainly through the exertion of John Finn and wife, who collected sufficient money to build a small church, in dimension 26x36 feet. It is not entirely completed, and consequently has never been dedi- cated. The congregation numbers about thirty-five members.
EDUCATIONAL HISTORY.
Pauper Schools. - The history of popular education in Missouri pre- vious to the Rebellion is similar to that of every State upon which the shadow of slavery rested. That institution and free popular education were incompatible. It is true, almost every slave State established some sort of common school system, but its provisions were always so defective, and its support so inadequate as to render it practically use- less. Free schools were "pauper schools " designed only for those unable to pay for their tuition. The idea of a system of free educa- tion designed for rich and poor alike, a common school, was unthought of. In a county like Mercer, not yet out of its backwoods days, where all alike were poor, the common schools were looked upon with favor, and so far as possible relied upon, but they lacked much of supplying even a fair English education.
School Laws .- Many laws were passed by the Legislature for the es- tablishment and regulation of free schools, but all were fatally defective in not providing sufficient funds to put them into effective operation. In the act of Congress, authorizing the people of Missouri Territory to form a constitution and State Government, the sixteenth section of each township, or its equivalent, was devoted to the purpose of sup- porting schools in each township. The first act of the Legislature on the subject of education was approved on January 17, 1825. This law enacted that each congressional township should form a school district to be under the control of the county court in all matters per- taining to schools. It also declared that all rents of school lands, and fines, penalties and forfeitures, occurring under the provisions of this act, should be set apart for a school fund. On January 26, 1833, the Legislature authorized the Governor to appoint three suitable per-
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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.
sons, whose duty it should be to prepare a system of common primary school instruction, as nearly uniform as practicable, throughout the State, and to make report to the next meeting of the Legislature. This committee made a report but its suggestions were not acted upon by the Legislature. This body, however, at its next session passed "an act to regulate the sale of the sixteenth section, and to provide for the organization and regulation of common schools." The Governor, secretary of State, auditor, treasurer and attorney-general were con- stituted a board of commissioners for literary purposes. Its provisions required a school to be taught in each incorporated district for six months during each year. It was similar in its details to the law of 1825, but so imperfect and impracticable as to render its repeal neces- sary.
The Common School Fund .- February 6, 1836, the first move- ment was made for the endowment of a common school fund. An act was passed directing the Governor to invest the principal and interest of the saline fund, and all additions thereafter made to it, and all the money received by the State from the United States by virtue of the provision of the act of Congress passed June 23, 1836, in some safe and productive stock to continue, remain and be known as "The Common School Fund," and when said fund should amount to $500,000 or more, the interest and pro- fits accruing thereon should be applied to pay teachers in the common schools in such manner as the General Assembly should direct. No system of school laws was enacted until the next session on Febru- ary 9, 1839, about two years later. Its provisions were substantially as follows: The school fund was to consist of all the moneys here- tofore deposited under the act of Congress of January 23, 1836, the proceeds of the saline lands, the proceeds of all lands then or there- after vested in the State by escheat, by purchase or by forfeiture for taxes, and the interest and proceeds of such moneys until a distribu- tion should be ordered. The office of State superintendent of common schools was created, and its duties defined. The superintendent was given a general oversight of the schools of the State, and was required to make a distribution of school moneys among the several counties in which there were any schools, in proportion to the number of white children between the ages of six and eighteen years.
This law received several amendments, and on February 24 a new system was adopted, of which the following is a synopsis. At its head was the State superintendent, elected bi-ennially by the people. Each county had a commissioner of common schools whose duty it
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was to grant certificates of qualification to teachers, apportion school moneys, and visit schools. Each congressional township was consti- tuted a school township, which could be divided into as many school districts, not exceeding four, as the inhabitants might desire. Each district was placed under the control of three trustees, who employed teachers, levied taxes, voted bills, etc. Twenty-five per cent of the State revenue and the dividends arising from the funds invested in the Bank of the State of Missouri, was apportioned to the counties in proportion to the number of children, between the ages of five and twenty years. This with the county funds coming from the interest on the money arising from the sale of the sixteenth section, from fines and penalties, etc., and the income from the proceeds of swamp and overflowed lands, constituted the fund annually appropriated for the payment of teachers.
In 1858 the capital of the State school fund amounted to about $681,000, $20,000 of which were invested in Missouri State bonds, and the remainder in stock of the Bank of Missouri.
The first distribution of school money was made in 1842, when only thirteen counties received any portion of it, they being the only ones in which schools had been organized. They were Benton, Boone, Clark, Cole, Cooper, Greene, Lafayette, Livingston, Marion, Monroe, Ralls, Saline and Shelby. The amount apportioned at that time was only $1,999.60. In 1845 it had increased to $16,481.80; in 1850, to $27,751.52; in 1855, under the new law which was much better than the preceding ones, it was $178,082. 79.
The Early Schools of Mercer County .- The first schools in Mercer County were of a most primitive and elementary character. As soon as three or four families had located in a neighborhood, they united in erecting a log schoolhouse, sometimes without a floor, and lighted by a window made by sawing out a log on one side of the house. The seats were made of slabs with wooden pins driven in them for legs. There were no desks except a writing desk, which was made by driving pins into the wall, and laying a plank upon them. The teachers were frequently of the class described in the following extract from a State superintendent's report of that time. "There is a class of teachers, constituting a majority of all the teachers in the State of Missouri. These are neither of us, nor with us, for they came from all parts of the world, and if they live long enough, some of them will be in all parts of the world again, before they die. They belong to the peripatetic school of philosophy, and seemed to have inherited the curse of the wandering Jew. They never tarry in
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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.
a neighborhood longer than may be sufficient to drain a district treas- ury and replenish an empty pocketbook."
One of the first schoolhouses in the county was built in the Sul- livan neighborhood in the northwest part of Marion Township, about 1841 or 1842. The first teacher was Andrew King. Afterward S. H. Porter was the teacher for several sessions. The schoolhouses usually bore the name of the nearest resident. One built near Lewis Gird- ner's, in Marion Township, was known as the Girdner schoolhouse. Another built at an early day near David Farley's was called the Far- ley schoolhouse. Among the first schoolhouses built in the south part of the county were the Chestnut schoolhouse, the Salem schoolhouse, the Lawrence schoolhouse and the Everett schoolhouse. The first teachers at the Chestnut schoolhouse were Joseph Powers and John Reed; at the Lawrence, P. N. O. Lawrence began teaching about 1845. At nearly the same time a school was opened by R. Howard in an abandoned cabin west of Modena. Another early school was taught in a house standing on land owned by Joseph Moss, and near his residence. The first teacher was William Arnott.
The first school at Ravanna was taught in a small frame house, standing about three-fourths of a mile east of town, in 1857, by J. A. Kennedy. About the close of the war a dwelling in the town was purchased and fitted up for a schoolhouse. It was used for several years. In 1883 the present handsome frame building, containing two schoolrooms, was erected at a cost of $2,500.
Organization of School Townships .- The first township organized for school purposes was Township 65, Range 23, in the summer of 1847. John M. Smith was appointed commissioner; Elijah H. Crawford and William Evans, directors, and H. H. Jamison, clerk. On the first Mon- day of September, of the same year, Township 65, Range 24, including Princeton, was organized. H. B. Gale was appointed commissioner; Seth Pratt and Newton Lindsey, directors, and William J. Girdner, clerk. Township 64, Range 25, was organized on November 1, 1847, with Abial Miles, commissioner; S. F. Rhea and Joshua Howell, directors, and G. W. Clinkinbeard, clerk. Township 63, Range 24, was organized in February, 1848. John Wilson was appointed com- missioner; William Thomas and John Howard, directors, and Ben- jamin Cornell, clerk. Township 64, Range 24, was organized on February 9, 1848, with David Butcher, commissioner; William N. McAfee and Thomas Cole, directors, and W. W. Ellis, clerk. Town- ship 65, Range 25, was organized in May, 1848; Joseph Prichard was appointed commissioner; J. M. Nichols and William Chambers,
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directors. The earliest statistics of the schools of the county that could be obtained were for 1856. In that year there were enumerated 2,650 children of school age, distributed among fifty-two school dis- tricts. The number of schoolhouses was forty-three, teachers, twenty- seven, pupils taught, 773. The amount paid teachers was $1,614.40, while there was paid for the building and repairing schoolhouses, $899; $1,646.40 was derived from the State school fund, and $366.80 from the township fund. At this time, under the law of 1853, the schools were improving very rapidly, and in 1857 the number of pupils taught and the amount paid teachers were more than double the figures for the year before.
During the war the schools were badly demoralized, and many of them suspended, but under the new law of 1866 a better system than any before established was put into operation. More money was provided, new and better schoolhouses were built, and better instruction afforded.
School Statistics .- The following statistics for 1872 indicate the im- provement that had taken place, the number of pupils then enumerated being, white-males, 2,589; females, 2,454; colored-males, 19; females, 11; total, 5,073. The receipts amounted to $17,614.77, de- rived as follows: State fund, $3,133.02; county fund, $2,012.61; township fund, $946.56; taxes, $11,522.58. The total expenditures for the year were $14, 593.41, of which $10,978.53 was paid to teachers.
In 1880 the total receipts for school purposes amounted to $19,009.82, and the expenditures to $15,179. The average number of pupils in attendance during the year was 3,297 white and 52 colored, distributed among seventy-eight schools. The number of teachers em- ployed was 108. The average salary paid was $30 to males and $25 to females.
The following is the report of the condition of the schools in 1887, as made by the clerk of the county court:
The number of white persons in the county between the ages of six and twenty years, male, 2,568; female, 2,512. The number of colored persons in the county between the ages of six and twenty years, male, 14; female, 13. Total, male, 2,582; female, 2,525.
Cash on hand July 1, 1886. : 2,554 87
Amount received from the State fund. 4,386 90
Interest on the county fund. 3,445 42
Interest on the township fund. 1,091 26
Amount of direct tax. 16,866 86
Total. $28,345 31
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HISTORY OF MERCER COUNTY.
Amount expended. 20,966 00
Cash on hand July 1, 1887. $ 7,379 31
Amount of the permanent county school fund .. 37,292 49 Amount of the permanent township school fund 9,966 33 Funds in the hands of the county treasurer. 2,124 50
Total $49,383 32
The country schools, under the supervision of the county school commissioner, have greatly improved during the past twenty years, but there is need of more efficient teachers and longer terms of school.
The county commissioners since 1866 have been as follows: Mr. Adams, 1866-68; C. E. Minter, 1868-70; T. Evans, 1870-72; S. S. Wayman, 1872-74; D. Hubbell, 1874-80; T. Evans, 1880-84; D. Hubbell, 1884; term expires in 1888.
The Schools of Princeton .- Prior to 1867 the school at Princeton was conducted as an ordinary district school, in a small frame building, which is still standing. Under the law of 1866, a meeting was held in school district No. 6, Township 65, Range 24, which included Princeton, on September 24, of that year, for the purpose of electing three trustees. J. N. Truax, N. H. Rogers and John Broffett were elected. But the new law provided that a city or town might organ- ize itself into a special school district upon the approval of the major- ity of the voters, and upon the petition of a few of the leading citizens, who realized the necessity for better school facilities, an election was held on February 21, 1867, to determine whether such a district should be organized in Princeton. The result indicates how little interest was manifested in the subject at that time. Only twelve votes were cast, and of these eleven were in favor of the proposition. Notice was accordingly given to the qualified voters of the district to meet at the office of the probate judge on March 4, 1867, to elect six directors. H. G. Orton, R. B. Ballew, John Norcross, Israel Patton, W. Adams and L. W. Cremeens were chosen.
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