USA > Missouri > Cedar County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 40
USA > Missouri > Dade County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 40
USA > Missouri > Barton County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 40
USA > Missouri > Hickory County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 40
USA > Missouri > Polk County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 40
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Township 30, Range 27 .- First entries in this township were made by Joshua and Alex. Ragsdale, Isaac Preston, Jonathan Parris, Britain Finlay, William Merrick, Robert Allison, John B. . Parris, Jacob Reed, Andrew Allison, David Moore and William H. King. Soon thereafter entries were made by Jesse Doughtry and others.
Township 30, Range 28 .- The first entry was in 1852 by Robert Bird. Others were made in 1854 by David Crandall and Henry Bird.
* D. A. De Armond, of Greenfield, in Campbell's Gazetteer of Missouri, 1875.
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
Township 30, Range 29. - Only the eastern tier of sections was in Dade County. The first entries were made in 1858 by William Russell and John Thompson.
Township 31, Range 25 .- First entries were made in 1844 by E. B. Miller, Thomas Stockstell and Samuel L. and L. L. Carlock. Subsequent early entries were made by James Leeper, Reuben Carter, Calvin Wheeler, John D. Ragsdale, Daniel M. McGee, Henry H. Pemberton and John M. Tarrant.
Township 31, Range 26 .- Entries in this township date from 1840, made by Joseph R. Davidson, Elijah McMillen, John M. Rankin, Emerson C. Scott, C. L. Bidstrap, Isaac Stockton, James West, Charles Hoover, John and Joseph Salling, and others heretofore named. Soon thereafter entries were made by J. N. Weir, Isam A. Young, Ransom Cates, A. Cowan, John Tarbot, W. R. Rankin and John M. Dicus. Many other entries were made during the forties.
Township 31, Range 27 .- First entries were made in 1840 by Thomas A. Dale, John C. Wetzel, William Fleisher, William Arbagast, Joshua Carman, John Finley, William McMillen, and others mentioned as early settlers.
Township 31, Range 28 .- The first entry in this township was made in 1853 by Joseph Lawrence, and the second in 1854 by Thomas Smith.
Township 31, Range 29 .- First entry in 1854 by Stephen L. Butterfield.
Township 32, Range 25 .- First entries in 1839 were by Pierce Asbill, William P. and Thomas Hudson, James G. Berry, John C. Kirby, Jesse M. Finley, Stephen Grey, Tully C. Kirby, Isaiah Kirby, Joel Dobbs, James H. Gaunt, H. Rook, D. B. Baker, William and J. P. Edge.
Township 32, Range 26 .- First entries were made in 1840 by James Hobbs, L. T. Dunnaway, Eber E. White, William M. Roark, S. E. Seybert, John F. Son, Thomas Fleming and Will- iam Johnson.
Township 32, Range 27 .- First entries in 1840 by John Asbill, John W. Thompson, Martin L. Embree, James Cole and Washington Farmer.
Township 32, Range 28 .- First entries in 1853 by William
445
HISTORY OF DADE COUNTY.
Farmer, John Acock, Benjamin Hanley, William H. Amos and Thomas Rhodes.
Township 32, Range 29 .- First entry made in 1853 by D. Dewey; next in 1854 by William and Jacob Sears, the next in 1855 by Isaac Darneel and Washington Farmer.
Township 33, Range 25 .- First entries were made in 1845, by John Lindley, Edwin Pyle, Samuel D. Clark, Galehu Moore, and L. T. Dunaway.
Township 33, Range 26 .- Ezekiel M. Campbell, and others already mentioned, made entries in 1840.
Township 33, Range 27 .- The first entry was made in 1840, by Isaiah Lynch. Subsequent entries were made in I850, by John Underwood and Aaron Russell.
Township 33, Range 28 .- First entry made in 1842, by James W. Bass. Later early entries were by Asa D. Lacy and Robert Poindexter.
ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY.
Formative Act .- Dade County was organized in accordance with an act of the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, approved January 29, 1841, and an act supplemental thereto, approved February 15, 1841. That part of the first act relating to the organization of this county, reads as follows :
An act to organize counties therein named, and to define the boundaries thereof.
SEC. 10. All that territory included within the following-described limits, viz. : Beginning at the middle of the eastern boundary line of Township 28 of Range 25; thence north on the range line dividing Ranges 24 and 25, to the township line dividing Townships 34 and 35; thence west on said township line to the northwest corner of Section 1, in Township 34, of Range 29; thence south to the northwest corner of Barry County; thence east to the place of beginning ; is hereby created a separate and distinct county, to be called and known by the name of the county of Dade .*
SEC. 11. Josiah McCrary of Barry County; William Caulfield, of Greene County; and Winfrey Owens, of Polk County, are hereby appointed commissioners to select the permanent seat of justice of said county. * * *
SEC. 12. The circuit and county courts of said county shall be held at the dwelling house of William Penn, in said county, until the permanent seat of justice of said county is established, or the county court shall otherwise direct. * * *
SEC. 46. The commissioners to select the respective county seats aforesaid, shall meet on the second Monday in April next, at the places for holding courts for the coun-
* In honor of Maj. Dade, of Seminole massacre fame.
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
ties respectively in which county seats are to be located, for the purpose of entering upon the discharge of their duties. * * * *
SEC. 48. The Governor is hereby authorized and required to appoint and commis- sion in each of said counties three persons as justices of the county court, and one person as sheriff; and the persons appointed and commissioned as aforesaid shall hold their offices until the next general election, and until their successors are duly elected and qualified.
SEC. 49. The circuit and county courts, or judge or judges thereof in vacation, shall appoint their respective clerks, who shall hold their offices until the next general election. for clerks, and until their successors are duly elected and qualified.
Official Appointments .- The supplemental act provided that the county courts of the several counties created by this act should meet on the first Monday of March following its passage, and that they should then, or at a subsequent term to be held in that month, appoint a county assessor, and that the collectors of the revenue of these counties should be allowed until the Ist day of February, 1842, to collect and pay in the revenues of their respective counties. It also provided that the seat of justice of the county of Dade should be located within four miles of the center of the county, and that the county courts might appoint surveyors to serve until August following, when surveyors should be elected.
In accordance with the foregoing laws, Gov. Thomas Reynolds appointed and commissioned Nelson McDowell, William Penn and David Hunter as justices of the county court, and Asa G. Smith as sheriff of the county. In further compliance with the law, these justices met on the first Monday of March, 1841, at the residence of William Penn (on Pennsylvania Prairie), and then and there organized their court, and appointed Joseph Allen as clerk, and thus completed the organization of Dade County. It was contemplated by the prime movers for the organization of the county that the county seat should be located on Pennsyl- vania Prairie; but the clause in the supplemental act requiring the seat of justice to be located within four miles of the center of the county defeated their project. Soon after the county was organ- ized, the commissioners appointed by the act creating it to select the permanent seat of justice met as directed, and selected the site of the present town of Greenfield, consisting, as then selected, of fifty-one acres, and procured title for the same for the county, from the owners, Matthias H. Allison and Mary Ann Allison,
447
HISTORY OF DADE COUNTY.
his wife, by deed dated April 14, 1841. This tract of land was donated to the county by the grantors, for and in consideration of the location of the county seat thereon, and it consists of the northwest quarter of the northwest of Section 19, Township 31 north, Range 26 west, together with a strip on the north and west sides, sufficient in width to make the whole tract contain fifty-one acres.
After the site for the county seat was selected, the sessions of the courts were held at the residence of Matthias H. Allison, at Greenfield, until June, 1842, and on the 20th day of that month the county court met for the first time in the first court house erected for the county. As soon as the site for the seat of jus- tice was selected, the county court appointed John M. Rankin commissioner of the county seat.
County Boundary .- By reference to the description of Dade County, as given in the act creating it, it will be seen that the county extended nine miles south of its present southern bound- ary, and ten miles north of its present northern boundary. Thus it included all of Township 29, and the north half of Town- ship 28, now comprised in Lawrence County on the south, and the north two-thirds of Township 33, and the whole of Township 34, now comprised in Cedar County on the north. The east and west boundaries of the county remain on the same lines described in the act creating it. The county was reduced in size to its present limits by an act entitled, " an act to define the limits of several counties within the State," approved March 28, 1845. The section describing it reads as follows: "Beginning at the southeast corner of Section 24, Township 33, Range 25; thence west to the southwest corner of Section 24, Township 33, Range 29; thence south to the township line dividing Townships 29 and 30; thence east to the range line dividing Ranges 24 and 25; thence north to the place of beginning." This makes the county con- sist of Townships 30, 31, 32 and the south one-third of 33, and of Ranges 25, 26, 27, 28 and the east tier of sections in Range 29, thus making it 20 miles north and south, and 25 miles east and west.
Municipal Townships .- Immediately upon the organization of the county, it was subdivided into municipal townships, but no
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
record pertaining to their formation has been preserved. In May, 1854, a new township, named North, was formed to comprise all that part of Center Township lying north of a line running from the southwest corner of Section 19, Township 32, Range 27, east, on the section lines to Sac River; and Prairie school-house, near the residence of Benjamin Appleby, was the place designated for holding elections in the new township. In February, 1860, another new municipal township was formed in response to a petition signed by Wiley Irby and others to the number of 81. It was named South, and was bounded as follows : Begin- ning two and one-half miles west of the range line between Ranges 26 and 27, on the township line between Townships 30 and 31; thence running due south to the county line between Dade and Lawrence Counties; thence running due east with said county line to the range line between Ranges 25 and 26; thence north on the range line to the township line between Townships 30 and 31; thence west to the place of beginning. The place for holding elections in the new township was fixed at Finley's mill.
On the IIth of June, 1860, the county court, on petition of John A. Ferguson and fifty others, created a new township as follows : Beginning at the northwest corner of Dade County; thence east to the line between Ranges 27 and 28; thence south seven miles to the southeast corner of Section 25, Town- ship 32, Range 28; thence west with the subdivisional lines to the Barton County line seven miles; thence north to the place of beginning; to be known by the name of Horse Creek. The place for holding elections in the township was fixed at the residence of William Cantrell.
In August, 1882, the municipal township of Washington was formed out of parts of Townships South, Smith and Center; embracing Sections 3 to 10, inclusive, in Township 30, Range 26; Sections 31 to 34, inclusive, in Township 31, Range 26; Sections 34, 35 and 36, in Township 31, Range 27, and Sections 1, 2, 3; IO, II and 12, in Township 30, Range 27.
On the 8th of May, 1883, the municipal township of Lock- wood was formed, comprising Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8, in Town- ship 30, Range 27; Sections 17 to 20, and 29 to 32, inclusive, in Township 31, Range 27; Sections 1, 2, II and 12, in Township
449
HISTORY OF DADE COUNTY.
30, Range 28; and Sections 13, 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, 35 and 36, in Township 31, Range 28. Afterward, on the 8th of May, 1888, Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8, in Township 31, Range 27, and Sections 1, 2, 11 and 12, in Township 31, Range 28, were added to Lock- wood Municipal Township.
PRESENT TOWNSHIPS.
The municipal townships of the county, as they are formed at this writing (March, 1889), are as follows:
Morgan, in the northeast part of the county, comprises all of Township 32, Range 25, and the south one-third of Township 33, Range 25.
Sac, lying west of the former, comprises all of Township 32, Range 26, and the south one-third of Township 33, Range 26.
North, adjoining Sac on the west, comprises all of Township 32, Range 27, and the south one-third of Township 33, Range 27.
Cedar, in the northwest part of the county, comprises all of Township 32, Range 28, and the south one-third of Township 33, Range 28; also, Sections 25 and 36, in Township 33, Range 29, and the east tier of sections in Township 32, Range 29.
Marion, lying south of Cedar, comprises the east tier of sec- tions in Township 31, Range 29, and the west two-thirds of Township 31, Range 28.
Lockwood, adjoining Marion on the east, comprises the east one-third of Township 31, Range 28, the west one-third of Town- ship 31, Range 27, together with Sections 16, 21, 28 and 33, of the same township and range, also 5, 6, 7 and 8, in Township 30, Range 27, and Sections 1, 2, 11 and 12, in Township 30, Range 28.
Center, lying east of Lockwood, comprises Sections I to 4. inclusive, 9 to 15, inclusive, and 22 to 27, inclusive, in Township 31, Range 27; also Sections 3 to 10, inclusive, 15 to 22, inclu -. sive, and 27 to 30, inclusive, in Township 31, Range 26.
Polk, lying between Center and the eastern boundary of the county, comprises the east one-third of Township 31, Range 26, and the whole of the same township in Range 25.
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
Rock Prairie, situated in the southeast part of the county, comprises the whole of Township 30, Range 25.
South, adjoining Rock Prairie on the west, comprises Sections I, 2, II and 12, and the south two-thirds of Township 30, Range 26.
Washington, adjoining Center on the south, comprises Sec- tions 31 to 34, inclusive, in Township 31, Range 26; Sections 3 to 10, inclusive, in Township 30, Range 26; Sections 34, 35 and 36, in Township 31, Range 27; and Sections 1, 2, 3, and 10, II II and 12, in Township 30, Range 27.
Smith, adjoining South on the west, comprises Sections 4 and 9; and the south two-thirds of Township 30, Range 27, together with Sections 13, 24, 25 and 36, Township 30, Range 28.
Grant, in the southwest part of the county,, comprises the west two-thirds of Township 30, Range 28, and also Sections 14, 28, 26 and 35, of the same township and range, also the east tier of sections in Township 30, Range 29. From the descrip- tion of the municipal townships, as above given, a complete township and sectional map of the county can easily be made.
JUDICIAL. AND OFFICIAL HISTORY.
COURTS.
County Court .- The formation of this court has been men- tioned in connection with the organization of the county. It was originally composed of three county court justices, the first three being appointed by the governor of the State, and their success- ors elected by the people, and continued to be thus formed until 1873. In May, 1872, five several petitions, containing in the aggregate the signatures of three hundred citizens of the county, were presented to the county court. The petitions read, in sub- stance, as follows:
To the Honorable County Court of Dade County, Missouri: Your petitioners ask that your honorable body submit to the voters of Dade County, the question of organizing the county under the new law for township organization, by which the present county court shall be abolished and a new court organized under the law.
In compliance with the prayer of the petition, the court ordered " that the question of township organization, under the act
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HISTORY OF DADE COUNTY.
approved March 18, 1872, be submitted to the qualified voters at the general election in 1872, by ballot to be written or printed, ' For Township Organization,' or, 'Against Township Organization,' to be canvassed and returned in like manner as votes for State and county officers."
On awaiting the votes after the election, it was found that 886 votes were cast in favor of township organization, and 439 against it; the votes by municipal townships being:
Townships.
For. Township Organization.
Against Township Organization. 12S
Center. .
148
Morgan
216
19
Sac
47
54
North.
114
South
IS
57
Polk
77
53
Cedar-North Div.
73
5
Cedar-South Div.
45
4
Marion.
58
2
Grant
63
-
Rock Prairie
6
86
Smith
21
20
In May, 1873, the county court, under the provisions of the township organization law, divided the county into four districts, composed of the several townships, as follows:
District No. I to contain Morgan, Polk and Rock Prairie Townships; District No. 2 to contain Sac and Center Townships; District No. 3 to contain North, Cedar and Marion Townships; District No. 4 to contain South, Smith and Grant Townships. An election was then ordered to be held on the 6th day of June following, for the purpose of electing, as provided by the new law, a county court judge in each district, and one for the county at large. The election being held, it was found that R. A. Clark was elected at large as presiding judge of the county, and that Robert Cowan, Samuel B. Shaw, Thomas J. Carson and A. D. Hudspeth were elected judges, respectively, of the First, Second, Third and Fourth Districts. Thus the county court continued to be organized until 1875, when township organization was abol- ished, and the court, under a new law, was made to consist of one judge only, together with the other usual attendant officers, clerk and sheriff. J. M. Stookey was the first sole judge serving
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
from 1875 to 1876. He was succeeded by John N. Landers, who served until 1876, when another change was made in the formation of the. court, it being back to the old system of three county court justices, under which it continued to be composed until it was reorganized under the new law of 1877. This law, entitled " An act to provide for a uniform system of county courts," approved April 27, 1887, provided that each county should be divided into two districts as nearly equal in population as possible without dividing municipal townships, and, at the general election in 1880, and every two years thereafter, there should be elected in each district an associate judge of the county court, and, at the general election in 1882, and every four years thereafter, a presiding judge of the court should be elected at large.
In compliance with this law, the county court divided the county into two districts -the Eastern to be composed of the municipal townships of South, Rock Prairie, Polk, Morgan and Sac, and the Western, of the municipal townships of Cedar, Marion, Grant, Smith, Center and North. In accordance with the law last recited, and the compliance with it, the county court has ever since been, and still continues to be, composed. Under . the head of " County Officers," a list of all the county court justices and judges, as shown by the records, may be seen.
In December 1856, the county. court of Dade County ap- pointed Arch. M. Long, as agent to select the swamp lands of the county, under the act of Congress donating these lands to the State. The lands were selected by Mr. Long, but the county failed to obtain a title thereto, hence the school fund of the county was never increased from the proceeds of the sale of any swamp lands.
Probate Court .- The county court exercised jurisdiction over all probate business until the probate court was established in 1845. This court held a special session at the house of William Penn, beginning on the 15th day of March, 1841, for the trans- action of the first probate business after the county was organized. The first administrator was William C. Campbell, who was ap- pointed to administer on the estate of Robert Alexander, deceased. He filed a bond in the sum of $3,500, with Peter Hoyle as surety,
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HISTORY OF DADE COUNTY.
conditioned for the faithful performance of his duties. Robert Graham and John Edsall were appointed witnesses to assist him in examining the books, papers and accounts of the decedent, and perfecting an invoice of the property. Redden Crisp, the second administrator, was appointed to administer on the estate of John Bostick, deceased. As such, he gave bond in the sum of $800, with William Lewis and Bartholomew Millholland as sure- ties. Zepheniah Lacy and William Lewis were appointed witnesses to assist him, etc. The first will probated in the county was that of Thomas Bowles, deceased. It was presented by Sarah Bowles, the executrix, and proved by John H. Praddy, Marietta Praddy and John P. W. Bowles, the three subscribing witnesses thereto. In November, 1841, James Ventioner was appointed guardian of George W. Bearden, infant heir of Lambert S. Bearden, deceased. These were the first guardian and ward in the county. The first public administrator was John C. Wetzel.
The first judge of the probate court was Peter Hoyle, who received his commission as such from Gov. John C. Edwards, the instrument being dated August 15, 1845. Hoyle qualified as probate judge, August 26, 1845, and made his first entry of business on the record, February 9, 1846. A separate judge continued to be elected for the probate court until 1875, at which time the jurisdiction of this court was assumed, under the law, by the sole judge of the county court, and exercised by him until the office of a sole county court judge was abolished, after which separate judges were elected, and still continue to be elected, for the probate court. [See " County Officers."]
Circuit Court .- The first record of the proceedings of this court has been destroyed, consequently a few items, such as the first grand and petit juries, the first business transacted, and trials had, cannot be given. The first record of the circuit court pre- served is that of the October term, 1845, when C. S. Yancey was judge. When the court house was burned, in 1863, a certain individual, against whom stood a record of criminal charges, cut out from one of the books the pages containing the record of proceedings from October, 1860, to October, 1863. This court, as well as the others, was somewhat interrupted in holding its sessions during the war period.
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
Dade County Bar .- The bar of Dade County has always com- pared favorably in ability to that of other counties in this part of the State. Following is a list of the names of the resident mem- bers of the bar as it is now constituted: Mason Talbutt, John A. Ready, Henry Merritt, Levin W. Shafer, Edward P. Mann, W. K. Eyle, Seymour Hoyt, S. A. Payne, Will. R. Bowles, J. M. Hoskinson, C. W. Griffith, H. W. Curry, and Walter Tucker. The latter two reside at Lockwood.
Criminal Record .- The county of Dade has not been as extensively cursed with crime as many of the older counties of the State, though her record in that respect is sufficiently appalling. Only two executions for the crime of murder have taken place in the county, and only one of these for a murder committed within its limits. This one was the execution of Peter Douglas, a slave, who, about the year 1848, killed his wife and two or three of his children, and then attempted to kill himself. He was tried for the offense, found guilty, and, in accordance with the sentence of the court, was executed on the gallows in the town of Greenfield. During the war period, a number of murders were committed in the county, and at the close thereof a number of persons were indicted and arrested for the offense, but before trial, the cases against them were nolle prosequied under proclamation of the ' President.
In December, 1873, a colored man named Monroe Richardson was indicted for the murder of another colored man named Will- iam Miller. He was arrested, placed in jail, made his escape therefrom, ran away, and has never been re-arrested. At the October term, 1879, of the Dade Circuit Court, Thomas B. Hop- per was tried, on change of venue from Cedar County, for the murder in that county of Samuel C. Ham. He was found guilty of murder in the first degree and was sentenced to be hanged. He then took an appeal to the Supreme Court, where the sentence was confirmed, and, in accordance therewith, he was, on the 25th day of June, 1880, executed upon the gallows, at Greenfield.
Early in 1881, Donald McElrath, an officer, was killed in the town of Greenfield by Taylor Underwood, while attempting to arrest him on a charge of crime. Underwood was indicted for the murder of McElrath at the April term of the court in that
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