USA > Missouri > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Missouri > Part 12
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On the 29th of July a public dinner was given by the citizens of Inde- pendence (Mo.) in honor of Colonel Doniphan, his officers and men, on which occasion the ladies, being anxious to testify their respect to the hero of Sacramento, and those who followed where he dared to lead, had pre-
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pared the laurel wreath, in all ages the "gift of beauty to valor", for the victor's brow. After the welcoming speech by S. H. Woodson and a thrill- ing and stirring response by Col. Doniphan, Mrs. Buchanan, in behalf of the ladies, delivered from the stand in the presence of five thousand people the subjoined eloquent address :
"Respected Friends : Long had the world echoed to the voice of Fame when her brazen trumpet spoke of the glories of Greece and Rome. The sun looked proudly down upon Thermopyle when Leonidas had won a name bright and glorious as his own golden beams. The soft air of the Italian clime glowed, as the splendor of a Roman triumph flashed through the eternal city. But the mantle of desolation now wraps the smoldering pillars of Athens and of Rome, and fame deserting her ancient haunts, now fills our own fair land with the matchless deeds of her heroic sons. Like the diamond in the recesses of the mine, lay for centuries the land of Columbia. Like that diamond when art's transforming fingers have polished its peerless lustre, it now shines the most resplendent gem in the coronal of nations.
"The record of the Revolution, that dazzling picture in the Temple of History, presents us with the astonishing sight of men whose feet had never trodden the strict paths of military discipline, defying, conquering the trained ranks of the British army, whose trade is war. Nor did their patriotism, their energy die with the fathers of the Revolution-their spirit lives in their sons.
"The star which represents Missouri shone not on the banner that shadowed the venerated head of Washington. But the unrivaled deeds of the Missouri volunteers have added such brilliancy to its beams, that even he whose hand laid the corner stone of the temple of American liberty and placed on its finished shrines the rescued flag of his country, would feel proud to give the star of Missouri a place amidst the time honored, the far famed "old Thirteen". The Spartan, the Athenian, the Roman who offered on the altar of Mars the most brilliant sacrifices, were trained even from their infancy in all the arts of war. The service of the bloody god was to them the business of life, aye, even its pastime; their very dreams were full of the tumult of battle, but they who hewed asunder, with their good swords, the chains of British tyrant, and they who have rendered the names of Brazito and Sacramento, watch words to rouse the valor of suc- ceeding ages, hurried from the quiet labors of the field, the peaceful halls of justice, the cell of the student, and the familiar hearth of home, to swell the ranks of the defenders of their native land.
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"Volunteers of Missouri : In the history of your country, no brighter page can be found than that which records your own bright deeds. Many of you had never welcomed the morning light without the sunshine of mother's smile to make it brighter; many of you had known the cares and hardships of life only in name; still you left the home of your childhood and encountered perils and sufferings that would make the cheek of a Roman soldier turn pale, and encountered them so gallantly that time in his vast calendar of centuries can show none more bravely, more freely born.
"We welcome you back to your home. The triumph which hailed the return of the Caesars, to whose war-chariot was chained the known world, is not ours to give, nor you need it. A prouder triumph than Rome could bestow is yours, in the undying fame of your proud achievements. But if the welcome of hearts filled with warm love and well merited admiration, hearts best known and longest tried, be a triumph, it is yours in the fullest extent.
"The torrent of eloquence to which you have just listened, the rich feast that awaits you, are the tributes of your own sex, but we, the fairer part of creation, must offer ours also.
"Colonel Doniphan: In the name of the ladies who surround me, I bestow on you this laurel wreath-in every age and every clime, the gift of beauty to valor. In placing it on the brow of him who now kneels to re- ceive it, I place it on the brow of all who followed where, so brave, so dauntless a commander led. It is true that around the laurel wreath is twined every association of genius, glory and valor, but I feel assured that it was never placed on a brow more worthy to receive it than his on which it now rests-The Hero of Sacramento."
It does not become the author to extol in unmeasured terms the gallant officers who led with such marvelous success, nor the brave men who bore with Roman fortitude and patience, the fatigues of the western expedition, beyond what every candid and generous mind will readily concede. Equally the conduct of both is worthy of encomium. They performed all, and more than all, the government expected at their hands. After the con- quest of New Mexico, Gen. Kearny with one hundred men, completed an astonishing overland expedition to the shores of the Pacific, one thousand and ninety miles distant from Santa Fe. The great march was conducted over stony mountains, barren plains and inhospitable deserts.
Colonel Doniphan and his men scaled the granite heights of the Cordil- leras, amidst fathoms of accumulated, eternal snows in the depth of win-
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ter, when the wide waste of rocks and the horrid driving snow storms were their most relentless enemies. Having spent three months, and performed a campaign of 750 miles, in the most rugged and inhospitable regions of the continent, they returned to the valley of the Del Norte. Here they re- fresh themselves and recruit two days; after which they commence the grand march upon Chihuahua, and gain immortal renown on the tropical fields of Brazitos and Sacramento. The capital and the state, with two hundred thousand inhabitants, became a conquest to less than a thousand Missourians. This march was near six hundred miles through barren and waterless regions.
The nation almost trembled for the safety of the American column, thirty-five hundred strong with heavy artillery, when he set out from San Antonio on his intended expedition against Chihuahua. Many apprehended his complete overthrow and argued that it would result in a prodigal waste of means and useless and wanton sacrifice of human life-so small a force to march against so powerful and populous a state. That the stronghold of Central Mexico is in possession of the hero of Sacramento, with nine hundred and twenty-four Missourians and the American flag floats in triumph over the walls.
Leaving Chihuahua for more extended operations, and a new theatre of action, they move off through the states of Durango and Coahuila, traversing parched, arid, waterless wastes for more than six hundred miles, ready to succor General Taylor, if beleaguered in Saltillo, or to ac- company him over the Central Desert in his contemplated descent upon San Louis de Potosi, having previously sent fourteen express men on a most perilous enterprise to learn the general's wishes.
Their services being now no longer required, the commander-in-chief dispatches them to the United States by way of Matamoras and the Mex- ican Gulf. They sail for New Orleans, where they are discharged. They return to Missouri from the eastward graced with the trophies of the van- quished foe, having in 12 months performed a magnificent circuit of more than 3,500 miles by land, and 2,500 by water, with the loss of less than one hundred of their original number.
The expedition of Cyrus against his brother, Artaxerxes, and the re- treat of the ten thousand Greeks, famous throughout all times, conducted by Xenophon and Cherisopus, forms the only parallel to Col. Doniphan's expedition recorded in history. In fifteen months Cyrus and Xenophen conducted this expedition about 3,450 English miles, with the loss of sev- eral thousand brave men, and finally return to Greece, possessing nothing
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save their lives and their arms. In thirteen months, Col. Doniphan and his Missourians accomplish a similar expedition (except as to its objects) of more than 5,500 miles, returning decorated with the spoils of war and meeting with the hearty approval of their countrymen.
The distance over which Gen. Kearny marched, was perhaps, greater than that over which Col. Doniphan passed, but the former conducted an army only to California, returning privately, while the latter commanded and provided for his men, and that too, without funds, until they were disbanded at New Orleans.
But where are the permanent, the beneficial results of this wonderful, this almost fabylous expedition of Col. Doniphan ? the ultilitarian will in- quire. The facts, that the Chihuahua market, which the war had closed, was reopened for the admittance of several hundred thousand dollars' worth of American goods, which otherwise would have been sacrificed, to the ruin of the merchants, if not indemnified by the government; that new and more desirable commercial relations will henceforth assuredly spring up between Chihuahua and the western states, and on a safer and more equitable basis; that the insults and wrongs which had been re- peatedly heaped on American citizens, and the decimation of the Mier prisoners, were now completely avenged by the defeat of a haughty and supercilious foe ; that great light has been thrown on the political condition and geographical position of central Mexico, which had hitherto been but little explored by Americans; that the Mexican people have now been taught something of the strength of their northern neighbors; that they have acquired some knowledge of the effect of free institutions, liberty and general education upon mankind, and that all central Mexico was thereby neutralized during the war, will sufficiently answer the important inquiry.
Thus terminated the most extraordinary and wonderful expedition of the age, attended throughout by the most singular good fortune, conducted under the auspices of Col. Doniphan, who has been very justly styled the Great Military Pedestrian, the Victor and Diplomatist.
CHAPTER XII
PIONEER CHURCHES
FIRST CHURCH, SIX MILE CHURCH-CONSTITUTION-"RULES OF DECORUM"- CHRISTIAN CHURCH ORGANIZED -FIRST PASTOR - FIRST METHODIST CHURCH-BUILDING COMPLETED-FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-CUM- BERLAND PRESBYTERIAN-FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH-METHODIST EPIS- COPAL CHURCH SOUTH - OAKLAND CHURCH - MORMONS IN JACKSON COUNTY.
The first church organization in Jackson County was known as the Six Mile church. Unfortunately all of the early records are lost except an old yellow piece of paper on which is written their constitution as follows :
The following is the Constitution of Six Mile church: On the third Saturday in June, 1825, the Baptist Church of Christ at Six Mile was constituted by Elder William Thorp in counsel with brother Jeremiah Hall, Abraham Grooms and Abraham Creek on the following articles of faith.
1st. We believe in one only true and living God, a trinity of persons in the Godhead, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and these three are one.
2nd. We believe that the scriptures of the old and Testament are the word of God and the only rule of faith and practice.
3rd. We believe in the fall of Adam and that all of his posterity fell in him and were made sinners. We believe in the corruption of human nature and the impotency of man to recover himself by his own free will or ability.
4th. We believe that sinners are justified in the right of God by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, imputed to them and that God's works are the fruits of faith and follow after justification and are the evidences of our gracious state.
OAKLAND CHURCH.
OAK GROVE, HIGH SENDO
TRAGE'S PHARMACY JAK CHOMETOD
OAK GROVE HIGH SCHOOL.
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5th. We believe that the saints shall preserve in grace and not one of them be finally lost.
6th. We believe there will be a resurrection of the dead and a general judgment and the happiness of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked will be eternal.
7th. We believe the visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful persons.
8th. We believe that Jesus Christ is the great head of the church and that the government thereof is with the body.
9th. We believe that water baptism and the Lord's supper are evi- dences of the gospel and are to be continued until the second coming.
10th. We believe that true believers are the only fit subjects and immersions the only gospel mode of baptism.
11th. We believe that none but regularly baptised members have a right to commune at the Lord's table.
12th. We believe that the Lord's day ought to be observed, and set apart for the worship of God and that no work or worldly business ought to be done or transacted thereon works of piety and necessity only excepted.
Rules of Decorum : 1st. All church meetings shall be opened and
closed by prayer. 2nd. It shall be the duty of the church to appoint
their moderator. 3rd. It shall be the duty of the moderator to invite all visiting brothers and sisters of sister churches to seats with us and to aid us with our counsel but not to vote. 4th. It shall be the duty of the church to open her door for reception of members. 5th. The reference shall be attended to if any. 6th. All motions made and seconded shall be attended to unless withdrawn by the person who made it. 7th. But no person shall speak at a time who shall rise and address the moderator and brethren. 8th. The person thus speaking shall not be interrupted until he has given his views on the subject. 9th. No person shall be al- lowed to make any remarks on the slips, failures or imperfections of those who have spoken before them. 10th. No person shall be allowed to whisper or interrupt in time of church meeting. 11th. Reception of mem- bers shall be unanimous, choosing of pastors, preachers or deacons and dismission shall be by a three-fourths vote. All other matters shall go by a majority. 12th. We believe it to be our duty to own each other as brother and sister and any other title or appellation is improper. 13th. Any member who may absent himself on Saturday of three meetings in succession shall be called to account for his reasons and dealt with as the church may think proper. 14th. This church considers it disorder for
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its members to attend dancing parties or to have them at their homes. 15th. Any person who may violate these rules may be reproved as the church may think proper. 16th. These rules may be amended or added to as the church thinks proper.
Their first meeting house was a log structure built about one-half mile southwest of where the Salem church now stands. The first record that can be found is of date Nov., 1854, and upon that date is given some of the names of the members as follows: David Bittle, John B. Haralson, Lewis Franklin, Daniel Cussenberry, Jesse Morrow, John Potts, Wm. A. Saunders, Wm. H. Franklin, Joshua Petty, John W. Black, Jno. H. Ott, N. M. Smith, Wm. Haralson, Jno. R. Franklin, James Robins, John High- tower, Joshua Hightower, and their families. Their first regular pastor was Joab Powell, a strong man mentally and physically, but almost totally uneducated, but he seemed to be the man for the place and exercised a wonderful power for good among those early pioneers. At that time he was called a primitive or "Hardshell" Baptist. He was a man of the Billie Sunday stamp and talked straight from the shoulder. He held camp- meetings in different parts of the country before there were any church buildings and many are the stories told of his saying and doings. He went to Oregon and continued his preaching. When the split came in the Baptist church he went with the missionary branch.
Martin Rice, the old poet of Van Buren township, who died a few years ago, published a book called "Rural Rhymes", in one of those poems pays tribute to his old friend Powell as follows :
"That old fashioned preacher-I'll never forget him, But well I remember his kindness to me. Full well I remember the first time I met him When I was a boy in East Tennessee. But now I'm old, many years have passed o'er me And he is asleep on a far distant shore, But oft in fancy I see him before me
As I saw him in youth, in the good days of yore,
That fearless old preacher, the plain simple preacher, The old fashioned preacher of long, long ago."
The first Christian church in Jackson County was organized on the 4th day of July, A. D. 1835. The first church building was erected on a lot at the northeast corner of Lynn and Walnut streets, Independence.
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In a little time-worn book now owned by O. C. Sheley, Jr., we find the records as kept by those old pioneers.
They were then called "Campbellites" from the fact they had accepted his version of the Bible and the term was used in a spirit of derision for a great many years. They occupied that little frame building until the year A. D. 1854, when a nice brick church house was built on the northeast corner of Main and Short streets. In turn that building was used until A. D. 1909, when a lot was bought at the northeast corner of Kansas and Pleasant streets, where an elegant up-to-date church was built at a cost of about fifty-five thousand dollars. Unfortunately that building was destroyed by fire about three years ago. Steps were immediately taken to rebuild, but owing to the World War and the taking over of all the steel plants of the country by the government for the use of the army and navy, work was stopped until the fall of 1919, when work was commenced on the building and the congregation soon hope to get back into their own building. Since that one church was organized with only a handful of members, the denomination has made great gains both in church buildings and membership. There are now something like forty churches in the county, twenty-seven of them in Kansas City alone.
The first pastor of the Christian church in Independence was Elder Francis R. Palmer. He owned and lived on a fine farm about one mile south of the present city limits. He preached for them almost continually until about A. D. 1860. Owing to the infirmities of old age he resigned. Then Alexander Procter was employed, coming to the church Sept. 1, 1860. Few men have left more impression on the people of Independence than Alexander Procter. He was a Kentuckian by birth but came to Missouri with his father in 1836. His early desire was for a good education, so that he could become a preacher. He worked hard on the farm with his father and saved money enough to take him through Bethany College. He graduated in A. D. 1848 as honor man of his class and was ordained as a minister. He first had charge of the Christian church at Lexington, Mo., then at Glasgow until 1856; then at St. Louis until 1860. He preached for the Independence church almost all the time for forty years, except a short time during the Civil War. About the close of the Civil War he and Prof. Geo. S. Bryant kept a school for both boys and girls. He was a great teacher and no one could come under his teaching without absorbing a great deal of his wisdom. He had a splendid knack of imparting his knowledge to the student in such a way that it was never forgotten. Dur- ing the dark days of the Civil War he was the friend and counselor of all.
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He knew no creed but ministered to all in relieving the poor. He told me that once during the war Dr. Waldo came to him and slipping a hundred dollars into his hand said, "Alec, use this in helping the poor and needy. You know who needs it better than I do. Such was the confidence and love that people had for him. He bought a nice tract of about fifteen acres of land just west of Crysler avenue on Electric street and built a nice home and there he spent his leisure time, among his fruits and flowers of which he was very fond. His home was surrounded with a great variety of the most beautiful flowers that he could get, all planted and cultivated with his own hands. He died in A. D. 1906, loved and respected by every one that knew him, "Both Jew and Gentile."
The first Methodist church organized in the county was at Independ- ence in A. D. 1835, by J. P. Hulse. The charter members were Henry Ruby, Rebecca Ruby, John McMurry, Jane McMurry, Smallwood Noland, Nancy Noland, Angeline Noland, Jesse Noland, Reuben Wallace and Mary Wallace.
The first church building was commenced in 1837, but was not fully completed until about 1840. The membership soon outgrew that building and in A. D. 1859 a new brick structure that is still standing, was built at the northwest corner of Spring street and Maple avenue. During the Civil War the church was rent asunder over politics and after the war those members that took the side of the north undertook and did take possession of the building excluding all others from any and participation in the use of the church although a very few of those claimants had con- tributed anything in its construction. The matter was taken into court, where finally the rightful owners obtained possession of the church and ground and reorganized their organization and that church has exercised a splendid influence for good ever since.
The first Presbyterian church (known as the Old School), organized in Jackson County, was at Independence, Nov. 21, 1841, by the Rev. J. L. Yantes and Arthur G. Young, of Lexington, Mo. The charter members were James Patton, Joseph O. Boggs, Cincinnatus W. Boyers, Mrs. Mary Patton, Mrs. Sarah Irwin, Mrs. Henrietta Mauir, Mrs. Elizabeth Lee, Miss Nancy M. Patton and Mrs. Phoebe Boggs. No officers were elected for this congregation until Nov. 4, 1842, when C. W. Boyers and J. O. Boggs were elected and ordained elders for the congregation. They bought a lot at the southwest corner of Lexington and Osage streets and built a two story brick house, the lower rooms of which were used for many years for school purposes. It was used for church purposes until
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the congregation outgrew it. Then a lot was purchased at the northwest corner of Lexington and Spring streets and the present handsome resi- dence was erected and is still in use.
The first Cumberland Presbyterian church organized in Jackson County was at Independence, in the spring of A. D. 1832 and the follow- ing were the charter members: Gan Johnson, Wm. W. Kavanaugh and family, Mrs. Margaret B. Chambers, John Lewis and wife and Samuel D. Lucas and wife. The Rev. W. W. Kavanaugh was the first pastor. This congregation had a camp meeting once a year and held services in a grove for two or three weeks at a time. Families would come for miles and bring their cooking utensils and bedding with them and stay the whole time. The camping place was situated just north of where the present Sniabar road crosses Crysler avenue extended south. It was known for years as the Old Camp Ground long after camp meetings had fallen into disuse.
The first Catholic church built in Jackson County was at 11th and Pennsylvania streets, Kansas City, Mo., and was built of logs and was about 18 x 30 feet in dimensions. Father Roux, a Frenchman, was the first pastor in charge. His parishoners were almost all French-Can- adians. The first Catholic church built in Independence was in 1848 and the Rev. Bernard Donnelly was its first pastor. The first services were held in a small building that had once been used for a blacksmith shop. Like all the other churches it was soon outgrown and the present com- modious building was erected just at the close of the Civil War.
OAKLAND CHURCH, METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. By Mrs. Ottis Adams, Grain Valley, Mo.
For a number of years following the Civil War, the citizens of the country were struggling to regain what they had lost. Their homes, for the most part, had been rebuilt, and community life developed anew, neither churches or school houses were very numerous, but the latter being more so were used for religious purposes and social activities. The places where preaching services were held regularly were far apart. Iso- lated communities were often favored by visiting ministers, because set- tlers were few and public buildings far apart, and communities naturally larger than now. Before Oakland church was built the closest churches were Pink Hill and Green's Chapel, these being farther than convenient a class was organized at a school house in 1880. About this time the
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people of the community began to discuss the advantage of a church building; sentiment in favor of the undertaking grew until 1881, when John Vandyke gave an acre of ground, and the building was started at once. The major part of the work was done by volunteer labor, nearly every one, regardless of their religious beliefs, gave gladly. Thomas Tucker was a carpenter in charge. Rev. T. D. Payne, the first pastor, who was then at Pink Hill, helped to erect the building, and it was inter- esting and quite a privilege to have heard him speak at Oakland re- cently, at a home-coming event, on the early history of the church. He has since passed to his reward.
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