USA > Missouri > Scotland County > History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records > Part 38
USA > Missouri > Lewis County > History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records > Part 38
USA > Missouri > Clark County > History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records > Part 38
USA > Missouri > Knox County > History of Lewis, Clark, Knox, and Scotland counties, Missouri. From the earliest time to the present, together with sundry personal, business and professional sketches and mumerous family records > Part 38
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HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.
on the farm where he now resides, about four miles southeast of Memphis, and his father settled on a farm a little further south, and Aaron Dunn and George Henry also settled in the county. The same year (1837) William G. Downing, present railroad commissioner of the State of Missouri, and his father, and Henry his brother came from Virginia and settled at the place called "Pulled Tight," about four miles southwest from Crawford Station.
OTHER SETTLERS.
Prominent among the more numerous settlers of 1838 were the following: William Troth, who came from Indiana and settled in Section 3, Township 66 north, Range 11 west, where he still resides. Also Aaron and William Farnsworth and Clark Johnson, all from Indiana, settled in the Troth neighborhood. William Combs, the oldest son of George Combs, a pioneer of Clark County, also settled in the same neighborhood farther down the Wyaconda. Joseph K. Morgan, from Kentucky, settled in Union Township on Morgans Branch, a stream to which he gave the name. He was very poor, and was obliged to work for the other settlers in order to get provisions for his, family, and consequently could not make improvements on his own place. He and his family lived in a tent from spring until October, at which time the neigh- bors assisted him in building a cabin. While he was "working out," his good wife and two little sons dug holes and planted four acres of corn, after which they dug up the ground between the " hills," and cultivated the entire tract by hand. They raised 200 bushels of corn, all of which, except a supply for the family, they sold that fall to the "newcomers."
About this date John Smoot settled one mile east from where William P. Childress now lives, and Henry Harrison, from Kentucky, settled on the John Smiley place. Hosea Collins set- tled one and a half miles north of Smoot. Uncle Samuel Bar- nett settled about two miles southwest of the Childress place, and Alexander Tate one-half mile southeast of Smoot. Heze- kiah Doan came from Kentucky, and settled and died on Section 6, Township 65 north, Range 12 west, some time prior to 1839. In 1838 Andrew G. Darby settled on the Moses A. McDaniel farm, the Crows and Saylors on the Wyaconda; John Wood-
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
small and Mark Waters in Harrison Township. About the year 1839 Elsbury Small, David and Asa Brewer and Lemuel Need- ham came from the territory of Iowa, and settled on the North Wyaconda, above Troths, and about the same time John and Joseph Vincent came from Virginia, and settled on the south side of that stream-all in Union Township. In 1839 George Har- rison, Jackson and Hiram Daggs settled near the North Wyacon- da, below the Billups' settlement; and in December of that year P. F. Hendricks settled in Sand Hill Township, where he now resides. The same year William Heald came from Maine, and settled in Johnson Township, and F. M. Lovell, from Marion County, at the site of Memphis; Willis Harbour, from St. Louis County, in Jefferson Township; William Bourn, from Kentucky, in Miller Township; Charles Burris, from Virginia, near Bible Grove, where he now resides.
In 1840 William P. Childress and his uncle, Robert Childress, came from Kentucky and settled on the lands where the former now lives, in Township 65 north, Range 12 west. Henry Ferry- man, now an inmate of the poorhouse, came the same year, and settled in Sand Hill Township. The same year James P. C. Rounsville settled in that township, and Charles M. Laswell where he now resides. Owen Clemons and Silas Billups came from Ohio, the former settled in Jefferson Township, and the latter at Hitt Postoffice. John A. Wieland, a German, from Europe, settled where he now resides in Mount Pleasant Township. In 1841 Charles Mety and Maj. Henry M. Gorin came from Illi- nois, and settled near the South Wyaconda, north of Memphis. They were just in time to take an active part in the organization of the county, and both now reside in Memphis. During the same year Thomas A. Chany settled in Sand Hill Township; G. W. Conway, at Hitt Postoffice; William Speigh, in Union Town- ship, and J. P. Palmer in Mount Pleasant Township. In Novem- ber, 1842, John T. Hope came from Kentucky, and settled eight miles west of Memphis. About the same time Jacob McClure and John Circle, from Ohio, settled near Upton. After this the settlers became too numerous to admit of further individual men- tion here, but the names of others will appear in the biographi- cal department of this work.
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HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.
The first white child born in the Mills neighborhood, north of Memphis, was Charles, a half-brother of William L. Mills. He was born about the year 1837, and died at the age of three years, his death being the first that occurred in that neigh- borhood. The first marriage in that locality was probably that of Jacob Sedorus to Miss Mary, a daughter of Wilson Gentry. John Morgan, a son of Joseph K. Morgan, and James Combs, son of William Combs, were the first children born in the Billups and Troth settlement, on the North Wyaconda. On reaching manhood the former went to California, and the latter was killed in battle while serving in the Union Army, during the late war. The first persons that died in this neighborhood were the two eldest children of William Troth, named Elvin and Delos. Their disease was diphtheria, and theirs were the first graves in the family burial ground on the farm of John T. Billups, and the first in that part of the county. The first marriage in that vicin- ity was that of William Daggs and Frances Sawyer, the latter being a daughter of Mrs. Patsey Sawyer. The ceremony was per- formed by Squire Joseph Wilson, of Clark County. This occurred about the year 1838. The parties are now both dead. Dr. Ad- anijah Parrish was the first practicing physician in the north- eastern part of the county. He was the father of Dr. Parrish, of Memphis. The first marriage in the Childress neighborhood, southwest of Memphis, was, according to best information, that of Dr. John Williams to Miss Amanda Downing. After practic- ing a few years in that vicinity Dr. Williams moved to California.
PUBLIC LANDS.
In the year 1839 the lands in Townships 64, 65, 66 and 67 north, Ranges 11, 12 and 13 west, were surveyed and sectionized by Gen. Ashby. He had in his outfit, aside from his assistants, a wagon and horses, two cows and a cook, and always camped out, refusing all invitations to sleep in the houses of the settlers. The lands in Range 10 west had previously been surveyed. The lands came into market on the 18th day of May, 1840, and prior to that date all of the settlers had been squatters-that is, each one had selected his land and squatted thereon, and awaited the opportunity to secure title when the lands came into market.
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
There was an implied understanding among the settlers that a married man should squat upon 320 acres, and a single man on 160 acres, provided they desired that much land, and when the entries were made at the land office there was little or no inter- ference with each other's claims, although, for fear that there might be, there was a great rush of the squatters to the land office as soon as it was opened. The public lands of Scotland County, as was the case throughout the State, were divided into three classes, viz .: Congress, swamp and school lands. The school lands, consisting of the sixteenth section in each Congres- sional Township, was donated by the general Government to the State, to be sold, and the proceeds derived therefrom to be appro- priated to promote public education, under certain restrictions contained in the act donating the same. The swamp lands, denominated as the " swamp and overflowed lands," were donated to the State by an act of Congress passed in 1850. These lands were to be sold also, and the proceeds derived therefrom to be appropriated to the purpose of reclaiming them. Under this act Scotland County got about 31,000 acres of this class of lands. The title to Congress lands is derived directly from the United States, and the title to the other classes is derived from the State.
ANECDOTES OF THE INDIANS.
The Indians, on returning to the territory now included in Scotland County, for the purpose of hunting, held their princi- pal camp in the forks of the North Fabius, about one mile north of what is now Crawford's Station, on the Keokuk & Western Railroad. They were very fond of sport, and delighted in having the settlers visit their camps and take part in the exercises. And according to tradition the " pioneers of the forest" made frequent visits to the Indian camps, and eagerly engaged in the sport. Horse racing and target shooting were the principal exercises indulged in. In the former the Indians would generally come out ahead, and then the chief, Keokuk, would slap his hands, dance and rejoice. In the latter exercise the whites excelled with the rifle, while the Indians excelled with the bow and arrow. Sunday was usually the day chosen to visit the Indian camps. Among the early settlers who spent much time with the Indians
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HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.
was Branch Miller. William L. Mills also says that he spent many a Sunday with Keokuk and his braves hunting, wrestling and shooting at a mark with a rifle. At the latter sport he could beat all the braves, much to the amusement of the old chief. Mills was well acquainted with two sons of Black Hawk, Battiste, the half-breed and interpreter, White Breast, Wa-pa-co-las-kok and others. The last two named were very conspicuous braves. Keokuk, the chief, was about six feet and three inches in height, and weighed about 240 pounds. There was at one time a con- troversy between Keokuk and his friends and a son of Black Hawk and his friends as to who should be the principal chief of the Sacs and Foxes. Knowing that Keokuk and his followers were friendly to the whites, and that the Black Hawks and their friends were rather hostile, President Jackson settled the matter in favor of Keokuk, and presented him with a large silver medal on which were engraved the words: "Keokuk, the Principal Chief of the Sacs and Foxes." This settled the matter, and the Black Hawk faction acquiesced.
The old chief took great delight in showing this medal to the early settlers. After receiving it, he and his family dressed in the best style of the whites; he being attired in a suit of broad- cloth, and fine boots, and a silk hat, with the silver medal always in view. He and his family then rode the finest horses obtain- able, and when thus attired and mounted presented a formidable pageant in the wilds of the frontier. The chief, aside from his Indian physiognomy, was a noble looking specimen of the phys- ical man, but unfortunately for him he was fond of the white man's "fire water," and consequently led a dissipated life. About the year 1842 he and his tribe moved westward, and finally set- tled down on the Indian reservation southwest of Ottawa, in Kansas, where he spent the remainder of his days. After his death, a plain marble slab, appropriately lettered, was erected over his grave, and subsequently his remains were removed to the city of Keokuk, in Iowa, which city was named in his honor, and there re-interred in the public park, where a monument has been erected to his memory." In one face of this monument is encased the original slab that stood over his remains in Kansas ..
HON. L. F. COTTEY. EDINA, MISSOURI.
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
WILD ANIMALS, GAME, WILD HONEY, ETC.
The wild animals which originally infested the territory of Scotland County were the same as those mentioned in the history of Clark County. At the beginning of the settlement of the county, the bears were not numerous, and consequently of little annoyance to the early settlers. The last ones known to exist in the county were killed in the year 1841. The elk were likewise scarce and soon disappeared. It is evident from the large antlers which were found by the early settlers, some of which are still preserved, that very large animals of that species once existed here. Uncle Charles Burris, residing near Bible Grove, killed one of these animals, the antlers of which measured four feet and four inches each in length, and one of them had nine and the other eleven points or branch horns. Deer were very plenti- ful-so plentiful that many of the first settlers supplied their families with all the venison they could consume; and for a long time only 25 cents could be realized for a "saddle " of venison. A "saddle " consisted of the hind-quarters or hams, the balance of the carcass being usually thrown away. The wolves were numerous then, but not very destructive of sheep, as they generally followed the hunters and, fed upon the carcass of deer that were thrown away. They were a considerable annoy- ance to the early settlers who hunted them for their scalps, which were a legal tender in paying taxes, and for the purpose of exterminating them. They however lingered for many years, but have become so nearly extinct that one is now seldom ever seen. Wild cats in an early day were also very numerous, but rabbits were very scarce for the reason that the wild cats con- sumed them. In proportion as the wild cats decreased the rabbits increased, so that the latter are now numerous, while the former have become extinct, save an occasional one which may be con- sidered an estray from its native haunts. All the savage and destructive wild animals have become so nearly extinct, that they are no longer a source of annoyance to the farmers.
Wild turkeys, swans, ducks and geese were very abundant. The former and the deer were usually hunted for food by the early settlers, some of whom, having a taste for sport, became expert hunters and marksmen. Anong the latter may be men-
27
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HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.
tioned " Uncle " George Forrester and William L. Mills, and many others, both living and dead. Mr. Mills relates that on several occasions he killed as high as three deer in a day, and at one time he killed seven wolves in one day, and received “ six bits " for each of their scalps. On another occasion, while he was working for Andrew G. Darby, at $10 per month, and when they were accustomed to taking their rifles into the field where they were husking corn, he killed sixty-five and Darby sixty-two wild turkeys in one day, and at the same time both did a full day's husking. Upon being asked what disposition they made of so many turkeys, Mr. Mills replied that they saved only the white meat, all of which they ground with pork and made into sausage, and that it made the best article of that kind ever tasted by man. The writer, though he never tasted such sausage, thinks he can fully concur in this last assertion, and confidently believes that the readers of this narrative will do likewise. Wild bees and their honey were found in great abundance, by the early settlers, in the hollow trees of the forests. The honey was a considerable source of revenue to those who gathered it and conveyed it to the river towns along the Mississippi, where they sold it for from 25 cents to 372 cents per gallon. Judge John C. Collins states that at one time he saw seventy-five barrels of wild honey passing near his residence en route to market. Considering that this was only from one locality, and that in the western part of the second tier of counties from the river, and that other localities to a like distance on both sides of the river yielded a similar quan- tity, it follows that the amount of wild honey that was shipped down the Mississippi in that day of no railroads must have been enormous. The river towns being too small to consume it, and it having to be shipped to distant markets accounts for the low price received for it by the pioneers who gathered it.
HARDSHIPS, DISADVANTAGES, ETC.
The first settlers labored under great inconvenience from the want of mills, postoffices, blacksmith and other mechanical shops, it being more than forty miles to either. Going to mill in those days, as has already been instanced, was attended with much difficulty. On one occasion Andrew G. Darby went to
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
Paris, in Monroe County, and on returning to Black Creek, in Shelby County, finding the stream much swollen, he took his meal from the saddle and placed it upon his shoulder to keep it dry, and in this way attempted to swim his horse over. The weight was too much for the horse and caused him to sink beneath the surface. The rider dismounted and returned to the shore, the horse swam across, and the meal went down stream. Darby then staid over night with a settler, and the next morning they cut and felled a tree across the creek on which he crossed and there found his horse awaiting him. After going to the Paris Monroe County mills for a short time, the settlers generally went to mill at Bonaparte and other points, on the Des Moines, and at Waterloo, in Clark County, and at Monticello, in Lewis County. The trading was also done at these points, and at the river towns on the Mississippi, Warsaw being the point where the farmers could get the best prices for their produce. They usually drove their hogs to Warsaw, starting with a small number, and being joined by other farmers on the way until a large drove was gathered up and all drove together to the market place. Arriving there they would get about one and a half cents per pound, live weight, and sometimes they could realize no more than that for net pork. About the year 1840 Garden Petty, William McClain and one or two others took about a dozen fat cattle from the Childress neighborhood, in Scotland County, to Hannibal, Mo. Among the lot Mr. Petty had a large four-year old fat steer for which he got $7 in coffee and other groceries, and the balance of the cattle sold for from $3 to $4 per head, and nothing but groceries and provisions was received for them.
There was in 1836 a little store at Edinburg, established that year by Holliday & Eskridge, and another at Sand Hill kept by James L. Jones, but these afforded little or no market for the products of the farmers. They could not exchange goods for produce to any considerable extent, and as the early settlers seldom had money to pay for groceries, their trade was limited, mostly to the sale of whisky, which, unfortunately would gener- ally draw out the available cash. The first mill erected in the ' county for the grinding of grain, was a horse mill, put up by Joseph Price, near Sand Hill, and the second one was a water
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HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.
mill, erected on the Fabius, by Jesse Stice. These, however, were of very short duration. A number of saw mills were after- ward erected throughout the county, sufficient for sawing the supply of native timber. The first postoffice in the county was established about the year 1836, at Sand Hill, and Robert T. Smith was the first postmaster. The second was established at the house of William Foreman, about a mile and a half above the site of Memphis. This office was named Memphis, hence the name of the county seat. Foreman was postmaster at his house from about 1837 to 1840. He went to Sand Hill every Thursday to get the mail, and the old settlers used to say that "he carried it in his bell-crowned hat."' The third postoffice was established at Edinburg, and after that was established at different points throughout the county, to suit the demands and conveniences of the people.
During the early days the nights were always cool, even in the hottest weather. The growth of the wild grasses and other vegetation was so rank and dense that the rays of the sun seldom penetrated through it and reached the earth. Thus the earth did not become hot during the day as it does now, and conse- quently as soon as the sun was set and the dews began to fall, the atmosphere was cool and pleasant.
Although the early settlers had to endure many hardships and privations, they certainly had many of the sweets of life along with the bitter. After having raised and gathered a crop and thus secured a supply of bread-stuffs and vegetables for their families, they lived on the fat of the land which was then " flowing with milk and honey." The milk was supplied by the cows that fed upon the luxuriant wild grasses, and honey was procured from the trees where the busy little bees had stored it in great quantities. Yes, with plenty of bread and vegetables, wild honey, venison and turkey-pork sausage, they could certainly prepare meals such as kings and potentates, in the midst of mag- nificent splendor, never dreamed of enjoying.
OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION.
According to a preliminary call a number of the citizens, who had lived in Scotland County for a period of twenty-five years,
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
assembled at the fair ground on September 28, 1871, and organ- ized by electing Thomas Donaldson president, David McDowell vice-president, George T. Collins secretary and Maj. Henry M. Gorin, treasurer. After making some speeches and appointing township committees, they adjourned to meet again on the fourth Saturday in November following. Accordingly, on November 25, they met pursuant to adjournment, at the courthouse, and - organized their first semi-annual meeting by electing Jacob Clapper, president; Joseph Matlock vice-president, and George T. Collins, secretary. A committee of one from each township was appointed to collect incidents connected with the early his- tory of the county, as follows: John C. Collins, of Mount Pleasant; H. M. Gorin, of Jefferson; Samuel Harris, of Sand Hill; John T. Billups, of Union; Charles Frirear, of Miller, and Joseph Miller of Johnson. The following old settlers then came forward and enrolled their names, giving the places whence they came, their ages, and date of settlement, as follows:
William L. Mills, Kentucky, age forty-six years, settled October, 1835. David McDowell, Virginia, age fifty-eight, settled January, 1836. John C. Collins, Kentucky, age fifty-eight, settled October, 1836. Josiah Smoot, Virginia, age forty, settled October, 1836. J. J. Jeffreys, Kentucky, age forty-nine, settled October, 1836.
W. G. Downing, Virginia, age fifty, settled October, 1837.
H. H. Downing, Virginia, age fifty-three, settled October, 1837. Peter Elliott, England, age fifty-two, settled 1837. S. F. Harris, Kentucky, age fifty-four, settled 1837. James McPherson, Indiana, age fifty-one, settled 1837. James McPherson, Kentucky, age fifty-three, settled 1837. Aaron Dunn, Pennsylvania, age fifty-one, settled 1837. J. D. Dunn, Ohio, age sixty-two, settled 1837. Charles Crocker, Sweden, age fifty-eight, settled 1837. William Spencer, Pennsylvania, age fifty-one, settled 1839. Jacob Clapper, Pennsylvania, age fifty-nine, settled 1839. H. C. Baker, Indiana, age forty-nine, settled 1839. William Neal, Kentucky, age fifty-one, settled 1839. Willis Harbour, Missouri, age seventy-four, settled 1839. A. B. Baker, Illinois, age thirty-four, settled 1839. John H. Hendrick, Kentucky, age forty-nine, settled 1839. J. H. Clemons, Indiana, age forty-eight, settled 1840. Owen Clemons, Ohio, age fifty-three, settled 1840. Charles Mety, Hungary, age fifty-nine, settled 1841. H. M. Gorin, Kentucky, age fifty-nine, settled 1841. H. Montgomery, Tennessee, age fifty-two, settled 1841. W. G. Miller, Kentucky, age forty-four, settled 1842.
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HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.
J. M. T. Smith, Virginia, age seventy-four, settled 1842. Sylvester Hillbrant, Ohio, age forty-one, settled 1842. J. B. Smith, Kentucky, age thirty-two, settled 1843. H. H. Sprague, Ohio, age fifty-eight, settled 1843. William Smith, Kentucky, age seventy, settled 1843. Joseph Matlock, Pennsylvania, age fifty-eight, settled 1843 .*
James R. Colland, born in county 1840.
George T. Collins, born in county 1842.
William M. Summers, born in county 1842.
James A. Richardson, born in county 1847.
James L. Downing, born in county 1850.
After resolving to hold semi-annual sessions, on the fourth Saturdays of June and November of each year, the meeting adjourned. Under this organization a few subsequent meetings were held, and then the society ceased to exist.
Afterward, pursuant to call, the old settlers of Scotland County met in Memphis, on the 15th of August, 1885, and were formed in procession by Maj. R. D. Cramer, marshal of the day, with the Memphis Cornet Band at the head, and moved to the fair ground. Arriving there, the meeting was called to order by Theophilus Will- iams, president of the day. The blessings of Almighty God were invoked by Rev. J. W. Kittle, of Johnson Township. The address of welcome was then delivered by Maj. H. C. McArthur, after which Hon. Henry Clay Dean, orator of the day, addressed the assembly with the eloquence characteristics of that orator. A picnic dinner was then enjoyed by those in attendance, following which Uncle Alexander Smith, the pioneer fiddler of the county, rendered some of the music familiar in the olden days, much to the amusement of all present. A constitution and by-laws for the government of the society was then adopted, and a permanent organization effected, under the name and style of "The Scotland County, Mo., Old Settlers' Association."
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