USA > Missouri > Henry County > History of Henry County, Missouri > Part 9
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Continual skirmishes occurred there in Henry County and armed men of both sides passed and repassed through her fields, bringing de- vastation and ruin everywhere. Conditions which had been steadily grow- ing worse, and partisan bitterness which had been continually increasing until men's passions were fanned into flame, grew furious at the publica- tion of General Order No. 11, issued by Gen. Thomas Ewing on August 25, 1863 :
Headquarters District of the Border,
Kansas City, Missouri, August 25, 1863.
General Order No. 11.
First-All persons living in Cass, Jackson and Bates Counties, Mis- souri, and in that part of Vernon included in this district, except those living within one mile of the limits of Independence, Hickman's Mills, Pleasant Hill and Harrisonville, and except those in that part of Kaw township, Jackson County, north of Brush Creek and west of the Big
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Blue, embracing Kansas City and Westport, are hereby ordered to re- move from their present places of residence within fifteen days from the date hereof.
Those who, within that time, establish their loyalty to the satisfac- tion of the commanding officer of the military station nearest their pres- ent places of residence, will receive from him certificates stating the fact of their loyalty, and the names of the witnesses by whom it can be shown. All who receive such certificate will be permitted to remove to any mili- tary station in this district, or to any part of the State of Kansas except the counties on the eastern borders of the State. All others shall re- move out of this district. Officers commanding companies and detach- ments serving in the counties named will see that this paragraph is promptly obeyed.
Second-All grain and hay in the field, or under shelter, in the dis- trict from which the inhabitants are required to remove, within reach of military stations, after the ninth day of September next, will be taken to such stations and turned over to the proper officer there, and report of the amount so turned over made to district headquarters, specifying the names of all loyal owners and the amount of such produce taken from them. All grain and hay found in such district after the ninth day of September next not convenient to such stations will be destroyed.
Third-The provisions of General Order No. 10, from these head- quarters, will at once be vigorously executed by officers commanding in the parts of the district, and at stations not subject to the operations of Paragraph First of this Order-and especially in the towns of Indepen- dence, Westport and Kansas City.
Fourth-Paragraph Three, General Order No. 10, is revoked as to all who have borne arms against the Government in the district since August 20, 1863.
By order of Brigadier General Ewing.
H. HANNAHS, Adjutant.
General Ewing was begged not to issue this order and he was told that it would serve no real military necessity; but in spite of that, he persisted. Finally, it is related that Major John C. Bingham, the famous Missouri artist and at that time a member of his staff, despairing of being able to change the decision of the general, told him that if he did issue the order, "I will damn you to everlasting fame!" As a result of
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that declaration, Bingham painted his famous picture, called General Order No. 11, and it is said that the face and figure of the Union general, who in the center of the picture dominates the scene of desolation and death, is none other than the face and figure of General Ewing, who in that painting actually had been "damned to everlasting fame."
The issuing of General Order No. 11 and its enforcement caused the country from Kansas City to Nevada, embracing all the counties of Jack- son, Cass, Bates and part of Vernon, to be turned into a literal desert ; and the memory of this ruthlessness will never be effaced from the hearts of many Missourians. Useless, unproductive of any military advantage, it was simply an example of what a commander will do when he has the power and the disposition to vent his spite on a helpless people. The Confederate forces had been largely split up into smaller bands, and out- lawry became common, it being immaterial to any of the men whether they assumed the character of Union soldiers or of Confederate guerillas, their only object being plunder and rapine. Over General Order No. 11 came the issues accredited, many of them without reason, to Quantrell and Bill Anderson; and late in September, 1864, occurred the massacre at Centralia in which Captain Anderson practically wiped out a body of Union troops. There were skirmishes hardly of sufficient size to be dig- nified by the name of battle; during October, 1866, at Prince's Ford, at Glasgow and Little Blue Creek. Nothing of an especially military char- acter further occurred in the State.
It is impossible to give the names of all of the battles that took place in Missouri, or differentiate the deeds of the sons of Henry County from those of the other gallant sons of the State who were engaged in this terrible struggle. It is well to remember the above facts in con- nection with the history of Missouri and particularly as they touch the County of Henry, in the confines of which later lived so many of the men who had fought so well.
CHAPTER XVII.
TOWNSHIPS
ORGANIZATION AND BOUNDARIES OF THE TOWNSHIPS IN 1860-CHANGE IN 1868 -NEW TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION LAW OF 1872-73-NINETEEN TOWNSHIPS- FIVE JUDGES OF COUNTY COURT-THE PEOPLE DESIDE TO CHANGE BACK TO THREE JUDGES-"MEADOW COUNTY."
In a preceding chapter, the boundary lines of the several townships of Henry County have been set out. These remained as they were until 1860, when at its August session the County Court on the tenth day of the month defined the boundaries of the several municipal townships as follow:
Tebo Township.
"Beginning at the northeast corner of the county, thence moving west on the county line to the northwest corner of section 36, in town- ship 44, of range 26; thence south on section line to the line between townships 42 and 43; thence east on said township line to the northwest corner of section 5, in township 42, of range 25; thence south on section line to the southwest corner of section 17, in township 42, of range 25; thence east on section line to the eastern boundary of the county; thence north on county line to the beginning."
Big Creek Township.
"Beginning at the northeast corner of section 35, in township 44, of range 26; thence west on section line to the middle of the main channel of Big Creek to its confluence with Honey Creek; thence up the middle of the main channel of Honey Creek to the line between townships 43 and 42; thence east on said township line to the southeast corner of sec-
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tion 35, township 43, of range 26; thence north on section line to the beginning."
Bogard Township.
"Beginning at the northwest corner of the county; thence running east on the county line to the middle of the main channel of Big Creek on the north line of section 36 in township 44, of range 28; thence down the main channel of Big Creek to the middle of the main channel of Grand River; thence up the middle of the main channel of Grand River to the western boundary of the county; thence north on county line to the beginning."
Deepwater Township.
"Beginning at the southwest corner of the county; thence north on county line to the middle of the main channel of Grand River; thence down the middle of the main channel of Grand River to the line between ranges 26 and 27; thence south on said range line to the southern line of the county ; thence west on the county line to the beginning."
Osage Township.
"Beginning at the southwest corner of township 40, of range 26; thence north on said range line to the middle of Deepwater; thence down the middle of the main channel of Deepwater to its confluence with Grand River; thence down the middle of the channel of Grand River to the Ben- ton County line; thence south on county line to the middle of the channel of Osage River; thence up the middle of the main channel of Osage River to the south line of township 40, of range 24; thence west on township line to the beginning."
Springfield Township.
"Beginning at the northeast corner of section 24, in township 42 of range 24; thence south on section line to the middle of the main channel of Grand River; thence up the middle of the channel of Grand River to the mouth of Deepwater; thence up the middle of the main channel of Deepwater to the line between ranges 26 and 27; thence north on said range line to the middle of the main channel of Grand River; thence up the middle of the channel of Grand River to the mouth of Big Creek; thence up the middle of the main channel of Big Creek to the mouth of Honey Creek; thence up the middle of the main channel of Honey Creek
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to the line between townships 42 and 43; thence east on said township line to the northeast corner of section 6, in township 42, of range 25; thence south on section line to the southwest corner of section 17, town- ship 42, of range 25; thence east on section line to the beginning."
In 1868 it was found necessary to change the boundary lines of two of these townships, Tebo and Grand River. Prior to the date of chang- ing the boundary line two voting precincts had been established in each. One of the new townships was to be designated as White Oak, the other was Windsor. The description of White Oak township was as follows:
"Commencing at the southwest corner of section 18, township 41, of range 28, running thence north on county line between Henry and Bates to the center of the channel of Grand River; thence down the center of the channel of Grand River to the section line between 2 and 3, in township 41, of range 27; thence south on said section line to the south- east corner of section 15, township 41, of range 27; thence running west on section line to place of beginning, and it is ordered that that part of Henry County enclosed in said boundaries be, and the same shall be known as 'White Oak township'."
Windsor township was to be all of that portion of Tebo township lying east of the Warsaw and Warrensburg road, while that line west of the road was Tebo township. These changes caused alterations in the township lines of Deepwater and Grand River townships, given as follow:
Deepwater Township.
"Commencing at the southwest corner of Henry County, thence run- ning north on county line between Bates and Henry, to section line be- tween sections 18 and 19; thence east on section line to the northeast corer of section 22, township 41, range 27; running thence south on sec- tion line to the center of the channel of Deepwater Creek; thence down the center of the channel of Deepwater to the range line between ranges 26 and 27; thence south to county line between St. Clair and Henry ; thence west on said line to the place of beginning."
Grand River township came in for an increase of territory, the fol- lowing being added to her bounds:
"Sections 1, 2 and 12, and that part that lies south of Grand River in township 41, range 27; and sections 13, 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, 35 and 36, in township 41, range 27, and that part of sections 1 and 2 in township
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40, range 27, lying on north side of Deepwater Creek, is hereby added to Grand River township."
No change of any note was made in the township boundary lines until after the session of the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, which met in Jefferson City in the winter of 1872-73. At this session of the General Assembly a new township organization law was passed. Under this township organization law, it was necessary to divide the county into new municipal districts, so the nine townships were changed into nineteen-being the nineteen which now constitute Henry County. Under this township organization law which was adopted by a vote of the peo- ple, it being optional with the several counties, it was necessary to elect five judges of the County Court instead of three, as was formerly the case. The County Court therefore divided the county into four divisions, this division being made on July 22, 1873.
Under this division the first district was to be composed of the fol- lowing municipal townships: No. 1, Windsor; No. 2, Tebo; No. 3, Shaw- nee; No. 4, Big Creek; No. 7, Honey Creek; No. 8, Fields' Creek.
The second district was to be composed of: No. 5, Bogard; No. 6, White Oak; No. 14, Davis; No. 15, Walker; No. 16, Deepwater; No. 17, Bear Creek.
Clinton township, No. 13, was to compose the third district. The fourth district was to be composed of: No. 9, Deer Creek; No. 10, Spring- field; No. 11, Leesville; No. 12, Bethlehem ; No. 18, Fairview ; No. 19, Osage.
In addition to the four judges to be elected from each one of these districts there was to be a presiding judge elected at large. The court was elected on the election of the twenty-first day of August. It was composed of: William R. Taylor as judge at large; M. A. Stewart, F. M. Goff, Lewis P. Beaty, and B. L. Owen.
The judges decided by lot which should serve for one year and which should serve for four years.
This township organization law which went into effect in 1873 did not last long in Henry County, for in 1877 the people by their vote changed the County Court back to three members. In 1878 the two dis- tricts now existing in the county were constituted; the ten townships lying in the northern half of the county becoming district No. 1; the nine townships in the southern half of the county were district No. 2. In connection with the organization of municipal townships it is proper to note that during the years 1870 and 1871, and later, in the session of
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HENRY COUNTY HISTORY
1872-73, a suggestion was made in the Legislature of Missouri that there should be a new county organized out of the northeast part of Henry, the northwest part of Benton, the southwest part of Pettis and the south- east part of Johnson Counties, the same to be known as Meadow County. A glance at the geography will show that Windsor was the geographical center of this proposed county ; in fact, the measure got so far along that on the twenty-first of February, 1871, news reached Henry County that the bill had actually been favorably reported in the Legislature. It got no farther, however, than this report of the committee.
CHAPTER XVIII.
-
IN THE EARLY EIGHTIES
ASSASSINATION OF GARFIELD-EARLY MAIL SERVICE-RELIGIOUS TENT MEET- ING-OTHER COMMUNITY GATHERINGS-SOME PRICES-HAPPENINGS OF LOCAL INTEREST-RAILROAD AGITATION-THE CLINTON EYE-DICKEY CLAY WORKS -HARTWELL-URICH "MOVES"-NEW BUILDINGS CLINTON ACAD- EMY AND BAIRD COLLEGE-EVENTS OF IMPORTANCE IN THE DEVELOP- MENT OF THE COUNTY.
Peaceful Valley is an appropriate appellation for Henry County in the early eighties.
The assassination of President Garfield spread a pall over the whole people of this county in common with all sections of the United States.
The feeling was entirely different from that following the assassina- tion of President Lincoln. When the fatal shot from the pistol of Wilkes Booth startled a civilized world and struck down one of the greatest friends of mankind, the country was sorely divided and there might have been some unrepentant and unreconstructed who rejoiced even at such a frightful tragedy. But time had been a great healer of hurts, and there were none who did not sincerely mourn the untimely taking of the gentle and wise Garfield.
In districts where the people were overwhelmingly Southern, schools were dismissed on the day of the funeral, and in most of the churches memorial services were held.
Prejudices and hatreds engendered during the Civil War gave place to a feeling of fellowship, and the bitterness following the execution of Order No. 11 in a measure gave place to a realization that this is really an indivisible country with one flag, one destiny and one purpose; and such a country is made of individuals with only one hope-that of for-
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getting the past, looking to the future with only one ambition, and that to make conditions just as desirable as possible for the citizens.
At the time this change of attitude of the people toward each other could hardly have been discerned, but a brief reminiscence clearly shows that about that time an era of good feeling hitherto lacking began, and, bless God, has continued to increase to this day.
The average mind has turned to the business pursuits at hand. The soil was new and yielded well. The husbandman had bounteous har- vests as hire for his labor. Contentment was abroad in the land. One railroad, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, had diagonated the country, af- fording rapid communication with the markets of the world. The Star Route brought the mail to the inland postoffices, at first weekly, when "mail day" was almost a gala day at the country postoffice.
Men, women and children often came for miles to get the letter that seldom arrived. All would come early, and when Uncle Sam's Pegasus with his freight of mail would appear as a speck on the distant horizon, the people would jam into the little store postoffice and often the mail would have to be taken in through a window, or like Peter's revelation from heaven, let down through the roof, with much show of almost rever- ence for the mail bags and the locks securing the contents, the postmaster would receive and open the pouches. No one dared touch the sacred sacks but the postmaster. When emptied of their contents and the first class mail would be stamped with the date of arrival, a custom now aban- doned, a stillness would fall upon the crowd and in stentorian tones the postmaster would call the names of those to whom mail was addressed, and the recipient of the first letter would become as chesty as a pea- cock and often push his way to the fringe of the crowd and proceed to read his communication, and if it happened that his name were called more than once he became the observed if not the envy of the rest of the eagerly expectant throng, and often jests and stale jokes were di- rected toward him.
The person who came from "way up the creek" and took the mail for his neighbors showed that he felt himself an important personage and in a measure a public benefactor.
With the lapse of years the arrivals of the mail would be increased to semi-and then tri-weekly and daily.
At every quadrennium, in villages of more than one store, a great contest for the appointment as postmaster would be staged and would
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often bring bitterness. Not that the salary of the incumbent of the office paid much, but the country merchant, like the city merchant, wants to bring all of the possible customers into close proximity to his wares. It was his method of advertising, and the man who would look a newspaper advertising agent out of countenance and refuse to invest a penny in printer's ink would spend dollars in affording free space for the crowds that gathered on mail day.
A decade and a half later when free rural delivery began to be in- troduced in many communities the people stuck to the postoffice as one of their bulwarks, almost as religiously as lawyers stick to precedent and technicality. The country postoffice was an institution hallowed by rec- ollections of Benjamin Franklin, and the town postoffice afforded many a man an excuse to go to town to satisfy his gregarious instinct, and frequently gratify a thirst for something less elevating.
A great many good citizens bitterly opposed the introduction of the greatest unbought blessing that our country ever bestowed upon the peo- ple. Some tried to justify their opposition to rural mail delivery on eco- nomic grounds. Some on the theory that it would kill all the inland villages, and some on the ground that it could not be done. And really all opposition was founded upon the reluctance of the human iival to surrender the things to which it once has become accustomed and take on new and to them untried conditions.
This instinct of "letting well enough alone" has hindered progress from the day Mother Eve tearfully bade farewell to her original costumes of smiles and sunshine and donned the cumbersome fig leaf. It is com- mon to all races and peoples, and Henry County folk should not be cen- sured too severely when the universal human propensity dominates their mode of life and action.
After years of successful working of rural free mail delivery we say "farewell" to the long departed love of our youth and "hail" to the ac- commodating carrier who brings our daily paper to the door, though we may live many miles from the noisy mail train. We now impatiently wait to have our mail dropped in our front yards by the aerial mail clerk whose ten hours run is from New York to Kansas City. This may be some years in the future, but few of us can rise from terra firma to oppose it.
Another great institution of the early eighties in Henry County was the religious tent meeting. The tent was often only an arbor to keep out the too direct rays of the sun. While families frequently had tents on the
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ground fitted with furniture and cooking outfits, and the home on the farm was almost deserted, and trips were made from the meeting place to home rather than to the place of religious favor.
These meetings were a great moral uplift to the communities in which they were held, and in addition brought the people together, and when folks get in neighborly touch with each other they almost invari- ably feel better one toward the other.
Some preachers of more than local fame are among the fruits of these spiritual gatherings. Enoch Hunt, a product of the Hunt camp ground in Walker township, made his mark and was sometimes spoken of as a possible bishop in the M. E. Church. The Lawlers and the Briggses of the eastern part of the county and Uncle Frank Williams of Clinton and many others were always active in the good work, and left honorable names dear to the hearts of many of their converts.
They were ably seconded in this work by such sturdy laymen as the Longs, the Wilsons, the Bronaughs, William Adair, the Goodwins, J. P. Craig, the Halls, William Davis, the Gutridges and very many others of God's noblemen, all of whom have gone to their reward, but their good deeds follow them in the better lives and nobler ambitions of the younger generation with whom they came in contact and for whom their lives were a model, even as the Nazarene was their exemplar.
The debating society and the spelling school afforded diversion and means of culture. The Grange was on the wane but its social side left its impress and gave its members the advantage of exchange of ideas.
The Grange would not have died so young if the members had stuck to its original purpose and had steered clear of party politics. But it came in a day when men were permeated with the idea that to hold office was the highest goal to be attained. Many were almost mad with the mania to gain some prominence in their respective communities. Folks had not seemed to grasp the idea that the highest ideal to possess was to be an American citizen worthy of the name in all its aspects. The community goal was abandoned for personal ambitions. The broad al- truistic principles of the order were sacrificed to the narrow aspirations and the petty desires of individuals, and decline followed.
The public school grew more and more in favor, the teachers were an enthusiastic bunch, so well respected that the goal of many of the youth was to become a teacher. The teachers' institute became a popu- lar institution, and the sessions were held in the largest churches, which
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were usually filled to capacity by patrons and pupils to hear the discus- sions of the teachers. It became a means of weeding out the inefficient and of promoting those best fitted for the duties.
The winter of 1882 and 1883 was a severe one. Snow came early and remained on the ground many weeks. Sleighing parties were numerous, and afforded great sport and a means of broadening acquaintances.
The season of 1883 was another year of bountiful crops. Business was good and people were prosperous, but prices were low. Apples sold at ten to twenty cents a bushel. St. Louis received 4,500 hogs one day which sold for $4.25 to $5.50, and 1,100 cattle were received at the same market and brought $3.25 to $6.50; 1,800 sheep sold at $1.75 to $4.00 a head. One bunch of cattle sold at $5.55 and had a big writeup in the "Globe Democrat." Calico was five cents a yard, gingham four cents, men's suits $7.50, bran $14 a ton, corn thirty cents a bushel, eggs seven cents a dozen and chickens $1.25 a dozen. Some fields of wheat yielded forty-two and one-half bushels an acre.
The salary of the superintendent of Clinton schools was "high" at $1,000 a year.
There was an agitation on for the establishment of a permanent county fair.
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