USA > Missouri > Howard County > History of Howard and Chariton Counties, Missouri : written and compiled from the most official authentic and private sources, including a history of its townships, towns, and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 49
USA > Missouri > Chariton County > History of Howard and Chariton Counties, Missouri : written and compiled from the most official authentic and private sources, including a history of its townships, towns, and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 49
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Soon afterwards Major Daniel Ashby, Abram Sportsman, James Leeper, Samuel Williants and Colonel Henry T. Williams, son of Samuel Williams, then a youth, selected this county as their future home, and returned in 1819 with their own families and many rela- tions. They settled on what is now called the bluffs, all except Mr. Samuel Williams, Colonel Henry Williams' father, who selected the southwest corner of the Bowling Green prairie for his abode.
At that time what is now Chariton county belonged to Howard, and remained such until about the time that Missouri sought admission as a State.
The town of Chariton was then the rival of St. Louis, and was nearly, if not quite, as large. This opinion was so strong that many persons flocked to Chariton, believing it would become the largest
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
city in the territory. Unele Billy Cabeen exchanged lots in St. Louis for lots in Chariton, foot for foot. He improved the lots in Chariton, lived many years on them, and died on them, respected by a large circle of friends and by all who knew him. Chariton occupied a level of more than half a mile north and south, lying between large hills on the east and the Chariton river on the west - or something less than half a mile in width. In some portions of the town the houses were very close together. and were built of brick. It was supposed to con- tain nearly 3:000 inhabitants. If Yankee Doodle was to pass through the place now he could not see the houses for the town -the reverse of which was the case with him on a former occasion. The town of Chariton eould boast of as good society as any city in America, hav- ing men of great literary attainments, of skill in their professions, and of great social endowments, representing almost all the noted institu- tions of learning in this country -even Edinburgh, Scotland, was represented. The brothers Asa and Jonathan Findley, who lived in the southern part of the town, and built a saw mill on the second or upper bank of the river- Doctors Woods, Holeman and Delaney, es- pecially the two first, were men of great skill and were men of letters. Soon Doctor Folger and Doctor John Bull were added to the profes- sion. James Semple, a man of fine social powers, owned and con- dueted a large tannery ou a creek that entered the level of the town at its northern extremity. Mr. Semple moved to Illinois and was a Senator in Congress from that State for a full term of six years. Ou the north side of the creek above alluded to, diagonally northwest of the tannery, was a pottery quite largely operated by a man by the name of Clements. Mr. Clements was a devoted churchman. Ile prayed long and loud at almost all places of public worship. But he butehered the English to such a degree that a wag suggested to him to get some one to fix him up a good prayer and in good language. Clements caught at the idea, and the arrangement was made. Always after that Clements prayed the Lord to pull down the devil's kingdom and build it up again on a sure and more permanent foundation.
Above the pottery about half a mile or more, on that same creek, was a distillery owned by the Camerons, or McCorkles, or both. It was purchased by the Gaithers in 1819 or 1820, but did not continue to be used very long. There was another distillery, owned by Baylor Banks, about a mile below the town, and continued to be used for many years by Richard Banks Thornton. There was a blacksmith shop kept by a man by the name of Dunlap. A cabinet shop owned
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
by a man by the name of Gage. Mr. Gage took with him into busi- ness a man whose name was Young. When the Santa Fe trade ex- citement commeneed Young went and became a famous mountaineer, trader and Indian fighter. There was a second cabinet shop con- dneted by a man by the name of Brims for many years. F. W. Rainbrick conducted a tailor's establishment for a great while. Jos- eph Brum, Esq., had a hatter's shop for a long time ; indeed, he was a fixture as long as the town lasted.
About 1819 Doctor Ben Edwards, brother of Governor Ninnian Ed- wards, of Illinois, became a citizen also. John Moore and Isaae Campbell kept a hotel each, and died in the town. The Fistors and Gillets lived there. Richard Holeman, John and Henry Wigginton. Beebout and others were carpenters, all doing heavy work. Oldl Cap- tain White kept a whiskey shop for a great length of time near the centre of the town. Colonel John B. White made saddles there for many years, and if I remember correctly, the celebrated Kit Carson worked with him some time. The Rev. Ebenezer Rogers, a Baptist minister, and a Mr. Pieree were the school teachers of the town and its neighborhood, and almost all the children that belonged to the vi- cinity began their training under these two men. In 1819 my grand- father, Colonel Joseph J. Monroe, brother of the then President, the compeer of William Wirt, a man of vast learning and a graduate of Edinburgh, became a citizen and became distinguished for his success- ful defence of Colonel Richard Gentry, who was tried for the killing of young Carroll, of Franklin. He purchased land about three miles west of Fayette, and lived but a short time after moving to it. But the most prominent citizen of the place was General Duff Green, who seemed to be the proprietor of the town, and gave tone and direction to nearly all its leading industries. General Green lived in a long framed house, located on a small branch that ran due west through the centre of the town, dividing the large hills east of it and along which the public road ran going east and west. He built the walls of a large two story brick house, containing fourteen rooms, had it covered in, but lett the house unfinished to engage in the management of a newspaper in St. Louis, which was to promote the interest of Mr. Calhoun for the Presidency. But this enterprise failed, and General Green established a paper called the Telegraph in Washing- ton City in advocacy of General Jackson's claims. General Green took a leading position in polities at onee, and was thought to have
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
been the prime cause of General Jackson's election and the director of the leading features of his administration.
General Green died recently in Dalton, Georgia. Milton Sublett was a clerk in General Green's store for several years, but joined his brother William in his mountain trading and became distinguished as a trapper and Indian fighter. Andrew Sublett, another brother, lived in Cbariton for some time, when he also became a mountaineer. Southeast of the town lived the Douglasses, Loughlins, Rookers and Warrens. But near them there lived the family of Burlesous, who went to Texas at an early day and became prominent citizens of that State, or rather Mexican province. Ned Burleson took a leading po- sition there, and after the independence of Texas was achieved he be- came Vice-President of the Lone Star State.
Austin, himself, who colonized Texas with that element that after- wards seeured it from Mexico, was once a citizen of Howard county.
In 1818, Colonel John M. Bell and Archibald Hix lived on the southern edge of the Bowling Green prairie. Lower down on the Missouri bottom land lived Richard Woodson, Henry Lewis, James Eariekson, Perry Eariekson, Alexander Trent, John Moss, William Moberly, Nat Butler, Jesse Clark and others. Colonel Hiram Craig, Captain James Heryford, William Crawford, F. A. Bradford, Foulers, Locks, Campbells, Martins, Davises, Parks, and Hay lived in the forks of Chariton, and soon the MeCollums. Dinsmores, Ryans, Vance, Watsons, MeDaniels and Andersons settled there. Colonel Martin Palmer lived in the western edge of the Bowling Green prairie, on a creek to which his name is given. Colonel Palmer went to Texas, tried to raise a revolution, failed and had to come back to Arkansas, where he prospered. From Roanoke towards Chariton, lived the Fosters, who gave name to the prairie near that town. Collins, Kirtleys, Curtises, Maggards, Ned Farr, Pages, Morrises, Burtons, Ingards and Drinkards. Still nearer the Chariton lived the celebrated Dr. John Sappington. Still nearer were the Maddoxs, Longs, Bailey, Gords, and John Doxy, who gave name to Doxy's fork, that empties in the Chariton river, above the town. Farther west was the Forresters, Tooleys, Moores, and others. Captain P. Browder lived about half a mile north of the Bowling Green prairie, and his was the outside dwelling on the North Imagine, a line drawn from the north- ern part of Foster's prairie, northwesterly to Grand river ferry, and it would be the northern boundary of all the settlements in what is now the county. Indeed there was not a house on the north of that
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
line to the north pole, unless it was a hunter's hut or an Indian wig- wam.
Mr. Littleby was the first settler on the west side of the Chariton, and north of the Muscle fork. Ho built above White's mill, and it became the house of William Holly, and of old Unele Ben Lane, after- wards. The town of Chariton was the supply point for all the per- sons and settlements I have named. But its business was largely angmented by the arrival of James Ross, John Awll, James Glas- gow, John G. Graves and Stephen Donohue, Comfort Tiffany and his brother Otis Tiffany, all of whom engaged in mercantile pursuits.
Dr. Bull joined Mr. Graves in business, following his profession snecessfully, and was finally elected to Congress, when Missouri was entitled to but one Representative. Dr. Dull deserves the entire credit of the Platte purchase. Thomas Perry, Esq., kept ferry across the two Chariton rivers at their junction, and while so occupied, tanned his first side of leather in a trough. He went to what is called the Hurricane, and engaged in tanning extensively. It will be seen by the manner in which the old settlers were located, as I have attempted to show. that they all followed the timber -there were no prairie farms. It took years of labor to clear land. Timber cutting, log-rollings and quiltings by day, and corn shuckings and dances by night, with an abundance of whiskey, made things merry. Who does not remember the corn-songs that filled the air for miles. as the crowd joined in the chorus at these merry-makings. The celebration at night, of the admission of Mis- souri as a State in the Union, excelled all that I had ever seen or heard, then a boy of eight years. Bonfires blazed on the hills and in the street. Houses were lighted and windows sparkled. Music floated in grand accord, and the hills sent the echoes westwardly to gladden the hearts of our people that Missouri was a sovereign State. I have an instrument now that sent forth its sweetest strains, because of the sentiment that entered into them in announcing a new born State.
In 1819 and 1820 a bill was presented to Congress for the admission of Maine and Missouri. The first section admitted Maine, the second admitted Missouri, to which was added a proviso that slavery or in- voluntary servitude should never exist north of the parallel of 36 : 30, except within the limits of Missouri. Much bitter discussion ensued. The Abolitionists resorted to every expedient to defeat the admission of Missouri without making their reasons public. The friends of Missouri labored hard for its success. A vote was ordered, but before
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'HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES,
it was taken a motion was made to strike the second section from the bill, down to the word " provided." That motion carried, when the bill became a law, admitting Maine as a State, with the proviso at- tached. What is generally known as the " Missouri Compromise " is really the Maine compromise.
Missouri was remanded to her territorial condition. This took place in March, 1820 .; Some time after this action Mr. Clay and General Wm. II. Harrison. both strong friends of Missouri, had a conversation with one of the most prominent opponents of Missouri, in which they learned that the enemies of Missouri opposed its admission because they believed that a clause in the constitution of Missouri, which had been submitted, prohibited the settlement of free persons of color within her limits, and that if that objection was now overcome, that they would cease their opposition. Mr. Clay and General Harrison repeated this to the friends of Missouri, and they so arranged that the convention of Missouri should re-assemble. repeal or blot out the obnoxious clause. and a bill was brought in declaring that when that should be done, the President should issue a proclamation admitting Missouri as a State within three months from the time that the amended constitution of Missouri should reach the Secretary of State, all of which being done Missouri was admitted by proclamation of the President in August, 1821. During these exciting times the county of Howard was organized in its present shape, and Chariton county began in the river, at the northwest corner of Howard, followed the north line of Howard to a certain point, thence north to Iowa, west to Grand river, down that river to the Missouri. and to the beginning. This embraced a large territory, which now forms some of the larg- est and most thrifty counties in North Missouri. Then the only oc- cupants were the wild beasts and roving Indians. I have seen hundreds of them as they moved their camps at will, or came to Chariton to exchange their peltries for needed supplies. When the organization of Chariton county was complete. Samuel Williams, Esq., father of our esteemed fellow-citizen John B. Williams, was the representative in the Legislature ; he had been one of the delegates to the constitu- tional convention. He died before his time of representation expired. Ephraim Moore was the first sheriff, James Eariekson. David Ashley. and John N. Bell composed the first county court. David Todd was judge of the circuit court, and my father, Edward B. Cabell, was clerk of both courts, county treasurer, notary public, and postmaster. I am satisfied that for several years he could carry the majority of the
37
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
papers of the two clerk-hips in his hat. The first deed book was made by my mother, by sewing quires of foolscap together. I have in my . possession now the seal that he used, until the courts provided official seals. Pardon me for saying that to him more than any other man that ever lived in Chariton are its citizens indebted for perfection of titles to their lands. For we occupy the central part of the military land district, and nine-tenths of our lands are military, and for years he gave advice to all who called on him for his opinions, never charg- iug one dollar for it. During a period of about six years there was not a lawyer resident in Chariton county, say from about the year 1827 to 1833. Colonel II. T. Williams preached law from 1819 to about 1829, when he went South, and was appointed surveyor-general of public lands in the State of Louisiana. . Major W. H. Davis was the next permanent resident attorney. He came to the county as a lawyer in 1833 or 1834, after the court had been moved to Keytesville. Ilis father's family had been old residents of the county, returned to Chari- ton in 1831 or 1832, and our late worthy sheriff, H. H. Davis, is a native of Chariton county.
The courts of Chariton were attended by some of the most distin- guished men in America - the brothers Archibald and Hamilton R. Gamble, Judges MeGirk, Wash. Tompkins, Ryland, Leonard, General John B. Clark, JJohn Wilson, and others.
The first man that was killed was by the name of Drinkard, in a feud with the Inyards. The next that I remember was Goodman G. Oldham, in Keytesville, in 1834, a period of about fifteen years intervening.
About the time that the county was organized the great influx of population commeneed that has resulted in reducing the county to its present limits.
During all the time that Chariton was the business point we de- pended on heavy road wagons and keel boats for supplies, and upon flat boats to carry off our surplus, especially our tobacco, which had to be sent to New Orleans as the only market for it. I remember well what a long time it took to get returns from it. Many of us re- member Captain Jack Minn. Jesse Spense and Andrew Thrask as flat boat pilots, and many of us can show the boat vards where the boats were built that took our corn and pork and tobacco to market. Would you like to know what sort of people those men were that cleared up the bush and heavy timber, and fought manfully with deprivation and want, and made an empire out of this vast wilderness? I knew them at their firesides, in their families and their homes. No one was ever turned from their doors hungry or naked, if they had the food and
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
clothing. No, not even the Indian savage. Their doors were always open ; they kept no locks nor bars. Their trusty rifles and faithful dogs were the only safeguards they had around them. They were a band of brothers having a common interest, and enjoyed a common home. There was no law-breaking, no violence, no rush for money- making beyond their wants judiciously indulged. I have seen them when the 'war-whoop was sounded, with all things ready, set off at only a moment's warning, to resene their neighbors from the Indian toreh and Indian scalping-knife, and I have seen them return to the quiet of their homes as if war had no dangers. To one who sits with us 1 ean point as one of the solid men of that day, the central figure in many an adventure, a legislator for sixteen years, an officer of the federal government, and now alnost a centenarian. Still a citizen, I can point to him as the living embodiment of the characteristics of the men of fifty-nine years ago. I have seen him take his life in one band and his rifle in the other, and go out to the triumph of law over anarchy and disorder. And I deem it not improper to say that where- ever the name of Daniel Boone may be pronounced as the greatest pioneer of the Western world, that of Daniel Ashby may properly be coupled with it, for the scenes of the leading adventures of each have now become empires larger than many of the countries of the Old World.
We are before you as a connecting link between the past and the present. We have seen this great country reclaimed from the wilder- ness that reigned supreme since time began, and become the home of civilization, refined and intelligent. We have seen the heavy road wagon give place to the puff of the engine and the flutter of the wheel of the steamboat which brought us our supplies and took our sur- plus to market. We have seen the iron horse. with clanging hoof and breath of flame, hissing contempt for the space lying before it, make neighbors of distant eities and almost supplant the steamboat. We have seen the electric telegraph enter the race with light, and beating the tardy sunbeam, deliver messages ahead of time. We have seen school houses dot the country and education brought to every child. We have seen churches erecting their spires heavenward in places where the pagan, on bended knee, awaited the first glittering of the rising sun, and we can remember, too, the time when
"The sound of the church-going bell These valleys and bills never heard, Nor sighed at the sound of a knell, Nor smiled when a Sabbath appeared."
1
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
We have seen the star of empire tinish its western course, and, hanging high above the Pacific, send back its rays in golden splendor upon nearly fifty millions of American citizens. Few of us here rep- resent territorial times. We have been law-abiding citizens. always setting a good example before our associates. No indictment or charge of disorder was ever brought against any of us, and it may be that we are spared by an All-wise Providence as sentinels upon the watch-tower of time, to witness still greater blessings to the human race. We have seen domestic war in its horror of blood. We have seen the senm that the political cauldron casts to the surface when set to boiling by passion ruled with tyranie-with revengeful terror. But thank God ( who rules the destinies of governments and of men ) we are seeing the people gradually, but surely, returning to reason and wise government. Young America is giving way to wiser and more experienced heads, and hearts are becoming more tender towards the public good. Our ranks are thinned by death and removals, but we indulge the hope that this remnant may be spared to witness yet farther advances in human progress."
NAMES OF OLD SETTLERS.
In this connection. we give below the names of a number of old settlers, who located in Chariton county between the years 1818 and 1833. The list embraces 205 names.
The first settlers in any new county pass through an experience which no succeeding generation will ever be able to fully appreciate. The time is already past when the youth of the present even have any proper conceptions of the vicissitudes, dangers, and trials, which the pioneer fathers and mothers were compelled to undergo to maintain a footing in the States west of the great Mississippi. Every new set- tlement wrote a history of its own, which differed from others in the nature of its surroundings, but the aggregate of the experience of all was one never again to be repeated in the same territory of country. The mighty woods and the solemn prairies are no longer shrouded in mystery, and their effeet on the minds of the early comers, are sensations which will be a sealed book to the future. Year by year the circle of these old veterans of civilization is narrow- ing. All that is most vivid and valuable in memory is rapidly di -- appearing. Gray hairs and bowed forms attest the march of time. It is for this reason, therefore, that no personal sketch of pioneer set-
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
tlers, however rudely drawn, or immature in detail. can be classed as the work of mere vain glory. On the contrary, the future will treasure them, and, as the generations recede, they will become more and more objects of interest and real value. The memory of the pioneer is one that the world will never consent to let fade. Its transmission is a priceless gift to the future.
E. B. Cabell,
Martin Law,
James Erickson,
Richard Erickson,
Ephraim Moore, Sr.,
Dr. Pettigrew,
John Moore, Sr.,
B. Williams,
R. Moore.
J. P. Williams,
J. Moore,
A. Lock,
Wm. Newbold,
Nil. Lock,
J. J. Ewing,
Thomas Lock,
P. Venable,
Win. Lock,
F. Wood,
D. Lock,
S. Burch,
J. Vance,
N. Butler,
Gabriel Compton,
C. W. Bell,
E. Trent,
H. Trent,
Wm. Monroe,
Dr. Folger,
A. Hix,
Dr. J. Bull,
John Doxy,
Merchant Graves,
M. Llewellyn,
J. Whiteside,
B. Lane,
J. Ryan,
J. McDonald,
J. MeDaniel,
L. Keryman,
T. Watson, Wm. Pinick,
L. Sipples,
J. Stark,
P. Price,
P. E. Thomas,
D. Wheeler,
B. Wood,
J. Gutheridge,
J. Anderson,
D. Green,
S. Allen,
John Leon, Judge Burch, H. Service.
Charles Compton,
Isaac Compton,
James Forrest,
David Johnson ( col. ),
W. Sheppard,
J. Heryford, Win. Heryford,
J. Glasgow,
L. Blankenship, W'm. Houston,
T. Newhold,
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
J. Brooks,
J. Lane,
M. Lane,
N. Mansfield,
S. Veal,
J. Andrews,
E. Morely,
E. Morgan,
S. Lewis,
C. Coy,
A. Martin,
Wm. Taylor,
P. Parks,
M. Montgomery,
F. Hurst,
John Moore,
A. Davis,
Win. Martin,
E. Ainsworth,
H. Bradford,
F. Bradford,
G. Abbott,
Win. Blakely,
T. Jones,
A. Smith,
R. Sanders,
F. Gyre,
J. Reynolds,
J. Kavanaugh,
F. Beambrick,
J. Stevenson,
W. Rooker,
M. Snow,
L. Show,
W. Darrell,
M. Darrell,
A. Darrell,
W. Baker,
Wm. Allen,
W. Talbott,
J. Beckett,
W. Barber,
S. Shives,
Jas. Woods,
A. Sportsman,
S. Sterling,
A. McDaniel,
J. Grubbs.
J. Welch,
R. Davis,
J. Sportsman,
J. Fowler,
J. Ifalsey,
R. Hayes,
T. Stanley,
J. Porch,
E. Beatty,
J. Beatty,
M. Marsh,
J. Doss,
J. B. Anderson,
J. Keyte,
J. Copper,
J. Wilbur,
D. Ashby,
H. Craig,
J. Payne,
J. Waddie,
T. Walton,
L. Applegate,
H. Clark,
C. Turpin,
M. Morgan,
Capt. Browder,
F. Redding,
W. McCallister,
T. Trent,
W. Crawford,
D. L. Price,
W. Dryden,
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
B. Cross,
C. Ashby,
C. Usher.
C. Camper,
P. Graham,
R. Latham,
J. Maybury,
C. MeFerriu,
D. Culbertson,
P. Guthrie.
G. Will -.
J. Hibler.
J. Grage.
W. Hibler,
Juo. Hibler,
Jas. Ilibler.
W. Latham,
E. Payne,
James Yates,
Geo. Addis,
S. McCollam,
W. Addis,
Wm. McCollam.
B. Gentry,
Jas. Morlan.
S. Williams.
W. Fox,
W. Tomlinson,
B. Hayes.
C. J. Cabell,
E. Haves.
D. Haves.
S. Gardner,
Eli Williams (col. ),
Thos. Ashby,
Saul Ashby.
W. Lee,
W. Anderson.
A POEM BY AN OLD SETTLER.
'Tis almost half a hundred years, Since you and I, old pioneer, With aspirations free A home within this region sought; But who of us then dreamed or thought To see the many changes wrought, That we have lived to see ?
E. Graham.
W. Farr,
J. Ellison. George Jackson,
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