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 40

Author: Goodspeed, firm, publishers, Chicago (1886-1891, Goodspeed Publishing Co.)
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: St. Louis, Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 1308

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 40
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 40
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 40
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 40

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.

the seat of justice was selected, the county court appointed George Woods as commissioner thereof, and as soon as title to the same was obtained he was " ordered to lay off the grounds donated to the county for the permanent seat of justice into lots, leaving the public square as near the center as the donation would admit." Accordingly he procured the services of J. F. Forman, a sur- veyor, who laid out the town, and made the original plat thereof, and certified the same for record, the certificate being dated October 11, 1843. The town as thus laid out consisted of the public square and twenty blocks, containing in all 156 lots.

The commissioner was then ordered to offer for sale, on the 10th day of November following, all the odd numbered lots in the blocks contiguous to the public square, and to divide the sell- ing price into three equal installments, to become due and pay- able in twelve, eighteen and twenty-four months respectively after date of sale. Lots 5 and 6, in Block 9, were reserved for a jail and jailer's house. The sale of lots was accordingly made on November 10, 1843, and a report thereof made to and approved by the county court at the following December term. The commissioner was then authorized to sell any lots not reserved by the county at private sale. Jones' addition to the town of Memphis, containing three blocks, and lying south of and adjoining the original plat, was laid out and donated to the county on the 18th day of March, 1844, by James L. Jones and Jane, his wife. The lots contained in this addition were then added to the list of lots to be sold by the commissioner.

In a few months thereafter the commissioner, George Woods, died, and at the September term, 1844, of the county court, Charles Mety was appointed commissioner to fill the vacancy thus occasioned; and he was ordered to make another sale of lots on the first Monday of June, 1845; and at the May term, 1846, he was ordered to offer for sale, on July 25 of that year, all lots then remaining unsold. Not being able to dispose of all the lots at this latter sale, Mr. Mety was again ordered to offer for sale, on the second Monday of August, 1849, " all unsold lots in Mem- phis belonging to the county," and the further disposal of lots at private sale was then suspended. The commissioner, Mr. Charles Mety, states that after completing the sale of public lots he made

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STATE OF MISSOURI.

a full and final report in tabular form, showing to whom each and every county lot had been sold and conveyed, and the price paid for each, including all the lots sold by himself and his predecessor, and presented the same to the county court with the request that it be spread in full upon the record. The said report was accepted and approved, but not recorded. It was simply filed, and has since been lost, so that it is impossible to ascertain the aggregate amount for which the county lots were sold. It is estimated that the county realized from the sales of said lots a sum exceeding $4,000 but not reaching $5,000. It was expended in the construction of public buildings.

CIVIL TOWNSHIPS.

In May, 1844, the county court subdivided the county of Scot- land into civil townships as follows:

Johnson Township was thus described: "Commencing at the northeast corner of Scotland County, thence running on the northern county line west eleven miles to the northwest corner of Section 20, Township 67 north; Range 11 west; thence south eight miles on the sectional line to the southwest corner of Sec- tion 29, Township 66 north, Range 11 west; thence east on the sectional line eleven miles to the county line; thence north eight miles to the place of beginning."

Miller Township was made to contain all the territory in the county lying west of and adjoining Johnson Township.

Harrison Township was thus described: " Commencing at the northeast corner of Section 36, in Township 66 north, Range 10 west, thence six miles west to the range line; thence on said range line thirteen miles to the south line of Scotland proper; thence six miles east to the eastern county line; thence north on said county line to the place of beginning."

Jefferson Township commenced at the northeast corner of Section 36, Township 66 north, Range 11 west; thence west on the Section line, fifteen miles to the county line; thence south on the western county line, seven miles to the southwest corner of Section 34, Township 65 north, Range 13 west; thence fifteen miles east on the township line to the southeast corner of Town- ship 65 north, Range 11 west; thence seven miles north to the place of beginning.

444

HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.

Mount Pleasant Township commenced to the northeast corner of Township 64 north, Range 11 west; thence fifteen miles west to the county line; thence six miles south to the southwest corner of Scotland County; thence on the line between Scotland and Knox Counties, fifteen miles to the southeast corner of Township 64 north, Range 11 west; thence north to the place of beginning.

The court then ordered "that the territory in Knox County that formerly constituted part of Mount Pleasant Township be and the same is attached to Center Township, and that so much of Benton Township as lies in Knox County constitute a munici- pal township and retain the name of Benton." These two town- ships, when organized by the Lewis County Court, embraced all the territory of Scotland County proper, and all of Congressional Township 63 north, in what is now Knox County.

After completing the organization of the aforesaid civil town- ships, the county court ordered that the places for holding the general election on the first Monday of August, 1844, should be as follows: Johnson Township-at the house of Hiram Daggs; judges, Joseph Miller, Samuel Coverston and James Billups. Miller Township-at the house of Jacob Crow; judges, P. N. Duckworth, John D. Bourn and Jacob Crow. Harrison Town- ship-at the house of Samuel F. Davis; judges, Price Starke, William Woodsmall and John H. Rumjue. Mount Pleasant Township-at the house of George Forrester; judges, P. F. Harris, Jacob Fetters and Aquilla Barnes. Jefferson Township -at Memphis; judges, John T. Gough, Abram Patterson and L. W. Knott. Benton Township at the house of John Bone; judges, John Bone, William Lee and Thomas Robertson, As the territory of Knox County was still attached to Scotland for civil and military purposes, the court ordered said election to be held at the following places in that county: Center Township -at Edina; judges, Melkar Baker, Robert Howerton and Andrew Chilson. Ayreshire Township-at the house of John D. Arnett; judges, Levi Landsberry, Andrew Fisher and John I. Taylor. Maidenkirk Township-at Pratt's Mills; judges, Allen Hawkins, Willis Anderson and John Watts.

The election was accordingly held at the several places men- tioned, and among the officers elected were the justices of the

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STATE OF MISSOURI.

peace in the several townships as follows: For Johnson Town- ship, Joseph Miller and H. M. Penn; for Miller Township, Richard Soward; for Jefferson Township, Charles S. Martin, Jacob Clapper, John A. Bryant and William C. Laughlin; for Mount Pleasant Township, Daniel Morris and Isaac W. Whitton; for Harrison Township, John Woodsmall; for Ayreshire Town- ship, Kindred S. Feltz; for Center Township, Henry Calloway and John Black. These were the first judicial officers elected after the county of Scotland proper was subdivided into civil . townships. [For other officers, elected on the same time, see list of county officers elsewhere. ]

The county court, at its June term, 1852, organized Sand Hill Township, as follows: Commencing at the southeast corner of Jefferson Township, thence west to the center of Section 2, in Township 64 north, Range 12 west; thence south through the center of said section, and those lying south thereof, to the Knox County line; thence east to the range line between Ranges 10 and 11 west; thence north with said line to the place of beginning. At the August term, 1854, of the county court, the boundary line between Harrison and Johnson Townships was changed so as to commence at the southeast corner of Township 66 north, Range 10 west, and run thence west on the township line six miles to the range line between Ranges 10 and 11 west. This change took a strip of land one mile in width, north and south, from the north end of Harrison Township, and attached it to Johnson Township. Afterward, at the August term, in 1859, of said court, a new municipal township was created out of Johnson Township, to be known thereafter by the name of Green Town- ship, and bounded as follows: Commencing on the range line between Ranges 10 and 11, one mile north of the township line between Townships 65 and 66 north; thence running west to the range line dividing Ranges 11 and 12 west; thence north with said range line to the center of the divide between the North and South Wyaconda Creeks; thence in a northwest course, and with the center of said divide, until it strikes the State line between the States of Iowa and Missouri; thence east on the said State line to the range line between Ranges 10 and 11 west; thence south on said range line to the place of beginning.

446

HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.

At the May term, 1862, of the county court, it was ordered that all that part of Miller Township, lying and being east of a line commencing on the State line at the northwest corner of Green Township, and running thence due south to the town- ship line, between Townships 65 and 66 north, be attached to Green Township. Then at the August term, 1866, of said court the name of Green Township was changed to that of Union Township, and at the following August term of the court, the boundary line of the same was thus defined: Commencing on the Iowa State line, in the center of Section 21, Township 67 north, Range 12 west, and running thence south, to the northwest corner of the northeast quarter of Section 33, Township 66 north, Range 12 west; thence east on the section lines, one mile north of the line dividing Townships 65 and 66 north, to the range line dividing Ranges 10 and 11 west; thence north on said range line to the Iowa State line; thence west on said State line to the place of beginning. The organization of the several civil townships, as herein given, together with the changes of boundaries as noted, leaves the territory of the county subdivided into townships as they now exist.

HIGHWAYS.

A great portion of the business coming before the county court after its organization, was the establishment of public roads, the formation of road districts, and the appointment of overseers of the same. Roads were then established from point to point, on the most eligible ground, in the most direct course, without any regard to Section lines. They were gen- erally marked out by the reviewers appointed for that purpose, by blazing trees through the timber lands, and by setting stakes on the line through the prairies. And if the roads were opened, cut out and prepared for public use before the stakes were lost or the blazes disappeared, all was well; other- wise the lines of many roads, on account of their meager and indefinite descriptions were lost. To show how indefinitely the early roads of the county were described, the following description of one which was established by the court at its Feb- ruary term, in the year 1842, is here given: " Commencing at

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STATE OF MISSOURI.

a point which our order calls for, near the southeast corner of Charles French's field; thence running on the route leaving Charles French's field on the north; thence running and leaving Squire Mock's house on the south; thence running and marking out, leaving Elijah Whitten on the north; thence running and . marking out the route through John Jeffrey's farm, leaving his house on the south, by his consent to open the route through his farm; thence running and marking out said route, leaving Sam- uel Wilfley's farm on the south; thence west to the township line, between 64 and 65; thence west on said line to the section corner, between 33 and 32; thence running a northwest course on a straight route to the southeast corner of Shannon's field, leav- ing William Matha's field on the south and Mr. Story's on the south."

Now while the foregoing would seem to the casual reader to be a very definite description, there is not a single point defi- nitely defined. Township, county and State are not mentioned. The method of establishing highways in the early days of the county was first the filing and recording of a petition, then an order appointing reviewers " to view and mark out the route " and to report their proceedings to the court at its next session. Then when the report was presented to the court it was recorded on the record of the proceedings, and there the matter was

usually dropped. No acceptance and approval of the report, and no order to establish the road followed. It seems to have been taken for granted that nothing more was necessary to establish a public highway than simply to record the report of the reviewers. In this way the early roads were established without opposition, as the settlers were, as a matter of course, very anxious to have them opened for use. As the country became thickly settled and land increased in value, these early, angling and crooked roads were, in many instances, changed to the section lines or to lines running parallel therewith. At the present writing the county is well supplied with public high- ways leading to every part thereof, and all the larger streams are bridged at the road crossings.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

At the February term, 1844, of the county court, Charles

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HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.

Mety was appointed superintendent of public buildings, with instructions to furnish the court, at its next session, plans and estimates of the cost for a courthouse to be built in Memphis. Accordingly, at the following May term of said court, Mr. Mety submitted plans, which were adopted, of the new courthouse. The plans required the building to be erected of brick, and to be 25x36 feet square, and two stories in height. The first story was to contain the court room, and the second five rooms for county offices. Then $1,000 was appropriated out of the revenues derived from the sale of town lots, to defray the expense of building the same. The superintendent was then ordered to let the job of building the courthouse to the lowest responsible bidder, and to make one-fourth of the contract price due on the 7th day of November, 1844, and the other three-fourths due in six, twelve and eighteen months thereafter; the building to be erected on Lot 4 in Block 8 in Memphis, and to be completed by the 1st day of June, 1845. The further sum of $500 was then appropriated toward its construction. 1

At the following November term it was ordered that the clerk of the county court should notify the several courts of Scotland County that a courthouse in Memphis would be completed for the holding of courts on or before the 1st day of June, 1845, and that the place of holding courts should be removed thereto.

The contract for building the courthouse was awarded to William T. Staples, of Monticello, Lewis County. And in June, 1845, the superintendent of public buildings, Mr. Charles Mety, notified the court that the building was completed according to contract.

In August, 1844, the county court appropriated four pub- lic lots in Memphis to be sold for the purpose of raising a fund with which to dig a well on the public square, and the superintendent of public buildings was ordered to oversee the digging of the same. This was dug on the northeast corner of the square, but it was not completed until the year 1846, when it was sunk to the depth of 196 feet before water in a sufficient quantity could be found. It then filled up with water, strongly impregnated with iron, to the depth of many feet, and furnished an abundant supply as long as it was kept

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STATE OF MISSOURI.

in order. In November, 1849, the county court made the following order: "That the care and custody of the public well be given up, and that the citizens of the town of Memphis be required to keep the same in repair, and that the county will not pay for any further repairs of said well after this date." This order placed the well in the hands of " everybody," and as " everybody's business was nobody's business," the well, on account of its great depth, and the difficulty of drawing water therefrom, was soon neglected, and about the year 1854 it was filled up and abandoned.

In March, 1856, the county court ordered that a new court- house should be built, and appropriated $10,000 for that pur- pose, and appointed Levi J. Wagner to superintend the building of the same. At the following August term of said court, Mr. Wagner submitted several plans with their specifications, and, after examination of the same, the court approved and adopted those prepared by Solomon Jenkins, with some alterations in the specifications. The additional sum of $5,000 was then appro- priated toward defraying the expense of erecting the build- ing. The contract for the erection of the courthouse was then awarded to Solomon Jenkins; and at the March term, 1857, of the county court, the further sum of $4,500 was appropriated to the building fund, and the time for the completion of the building extended to October 1, 1858. The house was com-

pleted according to contract. It stands on the center of the pub- lic square, and is a substantial brick building set upon a stone foundation, and is seventy-two feet north and south by forty- four feet east and west. The first story contains the county offices, with fire-proof vaults for the records, a hall extending both ways through the center of the same, and a stairway lead- ing to the second story, which contains the court and jury rooms. The house is ornamented with a cupola on top at the center thereof. At the time of its construction it was considered sufficiently large, but now, on account of the increase of business, it seems rather small, the vaults being scarcely large enough to hold the records that have accumulated. At the February term, 1840, of the county court, the courthouse was opened for preaching to all Christian denominations. In the year 1858

450

HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.

Charles Mety, commissioner of the county seat of justice, reported the sale of Lot 4, in Block 8, on which the old courthouse stood, to Eswell T. Ellis, and the report was approved by the county court.

The county jail and jailer's residence, which stands on Lot 8, in Block 18, in the original plat of Memphis, is an old style structure, the main part being a small two-story brick building, to which is attached a small one-story frame wing. In the main part there is one prisoner's room, low, dark and unhealthy. As a jail, the building has been condemned several times by the grand jury. It was constructed in the year 1850, and cost about $2,000.

THE POOR.

Prior to the year 1876, Scotland County never owned a " poor farm," or a home for her dependent poor. But on the 2d day of March of that year, a farm, consisting of 100 acres, situated in Sections 3 and 4 in Township 65 north, Range 12 west, was pur- chased from Carlos S. Baker and wife, and fitted up and used as a home for paupers. The farm continued to be used as such until 1883, when it was sold and conveyed to Eli W. Clark. The present poor farm was purchased March 4, 1886, from Harrison C. Baker for a consideration of $3,000. It consists of 100 acres, situated in Section 36, in Township 66 north, Range 12 west, and has only ordinary farm buildings thereon. Frank H. Connelly is the present superintendent of the farm, who, according to his contract, pays $200 for the use of the same for the present year. And the county furnishes the medicine and medical attendance and clothing for the paupers, and pays the superintendent $2.50 per week for boarding and caring for each. There are only three paupers now at the poorhouse, and the number has always been small. Prior to the purchase of the first county poor farm, the dependent poor of the county had been provided for by appropriations made from the county treasury, and in that way temporary relief is still given to a limited number outside of the poorhouse. Among the inmates of the poorhouse is one Henry Ferryman, who was among the early settlers, and for many years a prominent citizen of the county, but misfortune overtook him causing him to lose all his property and thus come to want.

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STATE OF MISSOURI.

COUNTY OFFICERS.

The following is a list of the names of county officers of Scotland County from its organization to the present writing, with the date of the term of service annexed:

County court clerks-Allen Tate, 1841, from March to August; Reuben S. Grout, 1841-43; Henry M. Gorin, 1843-53; Charles Martin, 1853-59; Charles S. Martin, 1859-62; W. W. Purmort, 1862-65; Sterling McDonald, 1865-78; W. W. Pur- mort, 1878-83; Joseph G. Best, 1883 to August, 1887; James P. Nesbit present incumbent.

Sheriffs-James L. Jones, 1841-44; John B. Cecil, 1844-48; Levi M. Rhoads, 1848-52; Samuel J. Rhoads, 1852-54; William D. Smith, 1854-56; Hiram Sheffield, 1856-60; Thomas W. Green, 1860-62; Wilson F. Harle, 1862-64; James S. Best, 1864-66; H. H. Byrne, 1866-68; William D. Sigler, 1868-72 ;. Almon T. Davis, 1872, one month; C. S. Baker, 1872-73; Charles. W. Cole, 1873-74; James L. Graves, 1874-80; J. M. Clifford, 1880-82; H. H. Saling, 1882-86; Solomon Allen, the present . incumbent, elected in 1886.

Treasurers-Robert T. Smith, 1841-44; William Foreman, 1844-47; Levi J. Wagner, 1847-56; John F. Gough 1856-57; R. T. Nesbit, 1857-60; A. B. McAntire, 1860-62; Alden Carter, 1862-66; A. R. Cushman, 1866-68; William Webster, 1868-70 ;. James S. Fullerton, 1870-72; A. B. McAntire, 1872-82; T. W. Greene, 1882, two months; Felix Lane, 1882, six months; John C. Houghland, 1882-86; George Buskirk, the present incumbent, elected in 1886.

Collectors .- H. M. Gorin, 1872-80; E. G. Richardson, 1880- 82; B. F. Bourn, 1882-84; W. H. Wine, 1884-86; Joel Ewing, the present incumbent, elected in 1886.

Circuit court clerks-Prior to the year 1854, the county court clerk served as clerk of the circuit court. In that year the officers were separated, and since then the circuit court clerks have been as follows: John D. Gorin, 1854-59; John C. Paxson, 1859-62; John W. McIntire, 1862-66; John C. Smith, 1866-70 ;: Charles S. Martin, 1870-82; Calvin F. Sanders, the present in- cumbent, has served since 1882.

Surveyors-Jesse Johns, 1841-42; E. M. Beckwith, 1842-

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HISTORY OF SCOTLAND COUNTY.

47; James F. Foreman, 1847-49; John M. T. Smith, 1849-51; William P. Childress, 1851-55; John M. T. Smith, 1855-59; A. H. Farnesworth, 1859-64; John M. T. Smith, from February 17, 1870, to December 31, 1870; W. S. Smith, 1870; John J. Norton, -; W. L. Smith, the present incumbent.

School commissioners-Charles Martin, February 21 to May 1, 1854; Jacob Holtsinger, 1854-58; Marcellus G. Gorin, 1858- 60; Eugene Williams, 1860-62; William W. Purmort, 1862-65; Sterling McDonald, 1865-66; William T. Kays, 1866-68; John K. Stockton, 1868-70; James Donnolly, 1870-72; B. Anderson, 1872.

Representatives in the Legislature-Jesse Johns, 1842-44; James L. Jones, 1844-48; Thomas S. Richardson, 1848-52; Andrew G. Darby, 1852-56; James Proctor Knott, 1856-58; Levi J. Wagner, 1858-60; Hiram Sheffield, 1860-62; James Means, 1864-66; S. W. Birch, 1866-68; William P. Browning, 1868-70; Thomas McAllister, 1870-72; Levi J. Wagner, 1872- 74; Thomas W. Green, 1874-76; Theophilus Williams, 1876-78; Dr. S. A. Lynn, 1878-80; Lewis Myres, 1880-82; Dr. J. D Skidmore, 1882-84; John Priest, 1884-86; George T. Collins, the present incumbent, elected in 1886.

ELECTIONS.

The first general election held in Scotland County for State and county officers took place in August, 1842. The returns of this election have been misplaced or lost so that the number of votes then cast can not now be given. Through the kindness of Missouri's very able and accommodating Secretary of State, Hon. Michael K. McGrath, the writer is enabled to give the number of votes cast in Scotland County for each and every presidential candidate at the several elections for President, begin- ning with 1848. The vote of the county for 1844 is not on file in the office of the Secretary of State. The vote is as follows:

Votes.

1848 Lewis Cass, Dem. 240

Zachariah Taylor, Whig 131

1852 Franklin Pierce, Dem 283

Winfield Scott, Whig.

216

1856 James Buchanan, Dem. 632

Milliard Fillmore, Whig. 352

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STATE OF MISSOURI.

1860 Stephen A. Douglas, Dem. 741

" John Bell, Amer. 436

" John C. Breckinridge, Dem 187

Abraham Lincoln, Rep. 197

1864 Abraham Lincoln, Rep

George B. McClellan, Dem. 533

612

1868 Uylsses S. Grant, Rep. 775

Horatio Seymour, Dem 707

1872 Horace Greeley, Dem 1,130

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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 40

Author: Goodspeed, firm, publishers, Chicago (1886-1891, Goodspeed Publishing Co.) Publication date: 1887 Publisher: St. Louis, Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co. Number of Pages: 1308

Author: Goodspeed, firm, publishers, Chicago (1886-1891, Goodspeed Publishing Co.)
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: St. Louis, Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 1308