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 56
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 56
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 56
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 56
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618
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.
The dispensation for the present lodge was granted May 6, 1868, by order of the then Grand Master, William E. Dunscomb. A charter was granted by the Grand Lodge at the following ses- sion, viz., October 15, 1868. The number given the new lodge was 291. John W. Lee was the first Master, David Bly the first Senior Warden, and William E. Edens, the first Junior Warden. Other charter members were P. G. H. Barnett, P. B. Linville, C. G. Shoot, William D. Fulton, C. W. Wheeler, Jesse Long, J. P. Bowen, John A. Stander, James W. Lyons, William H. Wyatt, William M. Beal and John P. Jack. The present membership is seventy-eight. The lodge has control of Linville Cemetery, which was deeded to the A. F. & A. M. and the I. O. O. F. lodges, by P. B. Linville. According to the report of I. H. Wil- lis, its present secretary, the lodge is in good financial condition, and has a permanent cemetery fund of over $600.
Edina Chapter, No. 62, Royal Arch Masons .- The dispensa- tion of this chapter was dated May 24, 1870, and the charter dated the 6th of the following October. The first officers and charter members were John W. Lee, High Priest; James H. Campbell, King; Thomas O. Wamsley, Scribe; H. R. Parsons, R. B. Porter, P. G. H. Barnett, C. M. Campbell and A. F. Chad- wick. The present officers are H. R. Parsons, High Priest; Jesse Long, King; L. S. Brown, Scribe; I. W. Fox, Captain of the Host; C. P. Byrne, Principal Sojourner; J. M. Long, Royal Arch Captain ; E. E. Ennis, L. W. Gordon, John Grainger, Masters of the Veils; P. B. Linville, Treasurer, and V. E. Lycan, Secretary. The present membership is thirty-one.
Novelty Lodge, A. F. & A. M., No. 181 .- The first officers and charter members of this lodge were S. D. Hunter, Worthy Master; R. F. Pendry, Senior Warden; F. Wetherbee, Junior Warden; and Samuel Hulan, R. O. Cady, David Brown and Nathan Norris. The charter bears the date, May 28, 1859, but the dispensation must have been granted a year or two previously, as the first hall was erected about 1858. This hall, a frame building, was afterward sold to the I. O. O. F., and is still in their possession. The Masons erected a second hall in 1880, a frame building, which was burned in the spring of 1882; the records and furniture perished in the fire. In 1884 the lodge,
619
STATE OF MISSOURI.
in conjunction with the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in Novelty, erected a frame building at a cost of $1,500; the upper story of which is used by the lodge, and the lower as a church. The present membership of the lodge is forty-five, and the present officers are N. J. Watson, Worthy Master; J. S. Hun- saker and Benjamin Kimley, Wardens; John Herriot, Secretary ; C. A. Ross, Treasurer, and Marshal Poore, Tyler.
Ark Lodge, No. 6 ( Masonic), was organized at Newark, its charter bearing date May 8, 1852. The first officers and some of the members were C. H. Baldwin, Worthy Master; B. F. Snyder, Senior Warden; Washington Minter, Junior Warden; William B. Moore, Samuel Matkins, George W. Wiley and others. A brick hall was erected in 1854, conjointly with the I. O. O. F., at a cost of $1,200, and is still in use. The present membership is fifty- five, and the lodge is in a prosperous condition, having $800 out at interest. The present officers are W. M. Kendrick, Worthy Master; E. A. Sykes and J. W. Fresh, Wardens; Hugh Temple- ton, Secretary; H. N. Sykes, Treasurer; S. C. Tully, Tyler.
Amity Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 47, was organized at Newark in 1847. Samuel G. Holmes, Dr. John Bowman, Nuby Shotten, Harvey Sisson, Lewis C. Bradshaw, Dennis Tucker, William Moore and Clement Todd were among the original members. As some objectionable characters had entered the lodge the charter was purposely forfeited, and September 27, 1850, a new charter was obtained and the lodge reorganized. Early members under the new charter were William Kendrick, William R. Bradshaw, R. R. Brooking, W. D. Tucker, John Nickell and William Rich. The present brick hall was erected conjointly with the Masons in 1854, at a cost of $1,200. The Odd Fellows' cemetery at Newark is the property of this lodge; it consists of four acres, and was purchased before the war. The lodge at present has sixteen members. The present officers are Albert Barnes, Noble Grand; S. P. Plunkett, Vice-Grand; William F. Denniston, Secretary ; William Allyn, Treasurer.
Novelty Lodge, I. O. O. F., No. 210 .- This lodge was organ- ized before the war, but during that time it went down, and the charter and records were taken possession of by the Grand Lodge. At present it is impossible to arrive at the date of the
620
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.
first charter, or to give a history of the lodge under it. The present charter bears date May 20, 1869, and the officers are H. S. MoClintock, Noble Grand; J. S. Hunsaker, Vice-Grand; W. H. F. Owen, Treasurer; and L. F. Bryan, Secretary. The lodge owns the frame hall that was erected by the Masons in 1858, and afterward purchased by this lodge. Present membership twenty.
Edina Lodge, No. 176, I. O. O. F., was organized in the fall of 1867. The first officers were Henry Rosenthal, Noble Grand; William Fulton, Vice-Grand; Jacob Bennington, Permanent Secre- tary ; P. B. Wayland, Secretary ; and Jacob Victor, Treasurer. The lodge ran under dispensation, until the spring of 1868, when the charter, dated May 20, 1868, was received. The present officers are L. W. Gordon, Noble Grand; William Bowen, Vice-Grand; Edward M. Randolph, Secretary; and T. C. Baker, Treasurer. The lodge owns a half interest in Linville Cemetery, and has been quite prosperous, but of late little interest in its welfare seems manifested, and there are only ten members at present.
James Marquess Post, G. A. R., No. 127, at Edina, was organized December 11, 1883, by Commander R. H. Brown, of Kirksville. The charter bears date November 21, 1833. The first members were James E. Adams, Commander; W. L. Smith, Senior Vice-Commander; W. J. Slaughter, Junior Vice-Com- mander; James C. Blood, Chaplain; F. M. Gifford, Officer of the Day; George P. Glaze, Adjutant; and Jesse Long, Joel Brown, William Randolph, William Snelling and Henry Schad. The present officers are H. R. Parson, Commander; James M. Beal, Senior Vice-Commander; William Bone, Junior Vice-Commander ; Philip Miller, Chaplain; Aaron Oldfather, Adjutant; Jesse Long, Quartermaster; John Faha, Quartermaster-Sergeant; James E. Adams, Officer of the Day ; and John Parcell, Officer of the Guard.
CRIMINAL RECORD.
Knox County is to be congratulated upon the good conduct of her citizens generally, especially her early ones, for so far as known the evil spirit which impels one to take the life of another, had not entered the breast of any one until the year 1852, when was enacted the tragedy of the murder of Henry, a slave.
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STATE OF MISSOURI.
MURDER OF HENRY, A SLAVE.
Henry was a negro slave about eighteen years of age, and belonged to Mrs. Michel Smith,* who resided at or near Newark. He was hired out by his owner to Dr. William Reed, who set him to making rails on the Fabius about one and a half miles west or northwest of Newark, and gave him a task of 125 rails per day; the usual task for a full grown man, in good timber, being only 100. The boy was young, and the weather was ex- tremely hot, and consequently he could not complete his exces- sive task. Dr. Reed was high tempered and over-exacting, and told Henry that he must make 125 rails in a day, or he would whip him. On the morning of the 24th of August, 1852, Reed rode out to the timber, taking with him his double-barreled shot-gun, and counted the rails made the day before, and found they were short of the required number. He then went to the place where the negro was at work, and said "I will whip you." Henry replied, "I am not whipped at home, never was whipped in my life, I will go home." And starting off, Reed ordered him to stop, and fired upon him. Upon examination it was found that three " slugs " had been fired from the gun, two of which took effect in Henry's back, and one, the fatal one, in the back of his head, penetrating some distance. The negro lived until the 26th, when he died from the effect of his injuries. Reed fled for parts unknown. The people were very indignant, and pursued and hunted for him as they would have done had he murdered a white man; for Henry was a good and obedient boy, and al- though a slave, he was, as such, well respected. Indignation meetings were held at which the murderer was condemned, and it is believed that, had he been caught then, he would have paid the penalty of his crime by the forfeiture of his life at the hands of the outraged and highly incensed people.
At the October term 1852 of the Knox Circuit Court, the fol- lowing indictment was found, which for its antique wording in accordance with the common law, is here inserted for the information and amusement of the reader:
The grand jurors for the State of Missouri, empaneled, sworn and charged to enquire in and for the body, of the county of Knox aforesaid, on their oaths
* Pronounced Mi-shell.
622 .
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.
present that heretofore, to-wit: On the 24th day of August in the year of our Lord 1852, and at the said county of Knox, William Reed, with force and arms, in and upon one Henry, a negro slave, in the peace of the State, then and there being, and then and there belonging to one Michel Smith, then and there felo - niously wilfully, deliberately, premeditatedly, and of his malice aforethought, did make an assault; and that the said William Reed a certain gun then and there loaded with gunpowder and one leaden ball shot, which gun he, the said William Reed, then and there, in both his hands had and held to, against and upon the said Henry, then and there, feloniously, deliberately, premeditat- edly, and of his malice aforethought, did shoot and discharge, and that the said William Reed, with the leaden shot aforesaid, out of the gun aforesaid then and there, by force of the gunpowder shot, and sent forth as aforesaid, the said Henry, in and upon the head of him, the said Henry, on the back part of the head of him the said Henry, then and there feloniously, wilfully, deliber- ately, premeditatedly, and of his malice aforethought, did strike, penetrate and wound, giving to the said Henry, then and there, with the leaden shot afore- said, as aforesaid shot discharged and sent forth out of the gun aforesaid, by the said William Reed, in and upon the head of him, the said Henry, on the back part of the head of him, the said Henry, one mortal wound of the depth of six inches, and of the breadth of one inch, of which said mortal wound the said Henry, from the said twenty-fourth day of August, in the year aforesaid, until the twenty- sixth day of the same month in the year aforesaid, at the county of Knox aforesaid, did languish, and languishing did live, on which said twenty-sixth day of August, in the year aforesaid, and at the county of Knox aforesaid, the said Henry of the said mortal wound, died. And so the jurors aforesaid, on their oaths aforesaid, do say that the said William Reed, the said Henry, in manner and form afore- said feloniously, wilfully, deliberately, premeditatedly and of his malice afore- thought, did kill and murder, against the peace and dignity of the State.
*
*
JAMES J. LINDLEY, Circuit Attorney.
A warrant was issued, and the case continued from term to term, awaiting the arrest of the murderer, until the Oc- tober term of said court, in the year 1854, when upon report of the sheriff that the defendant had not been apprehended, it was continued generally; and thus it stands on the record to this day. Reed had fled to Texas, and afterward his family sold their effects here and followed him, by going first to Kentucky and subsequently to that State.
THE KILLING OF LARKIN BENTLEY.
During the decade of the "fifties" William A. Mills, an elderly man, resided on Salt River, about one and a half miles southeast of the site of Goodland, in Knox County, where he kept a little country store and grocery, in which a considerable quan-
623
STATE OF MISSOURI.
tity of whisky was sold. On the 14th day of January, 1857, one Larkin Bentley, who resided in that neighborhood, went to the store and residence of said Mills to purchase some groceries and to settle his book account at the store. According to the evidence, Bentley first went into the residence of Mills and charged him with having previously said something detrimental to Bentley. This Mills denied, and then a settlement of accounts between the parties was made, after which the daughter of Mills, then claiming to be Mrs. Ray, told her father that Bentley, before leaving the premises, had taken hold of her, and that she escaped from him. The father then met Bentley and asked him for an explanation of his conduct, which Bentley denied. At this mo- ment the woman appeared in the presence of the parties, when, as she claimed in her evidence, Bentley rushed toward her, "with arms extended," and just then Mills struck Bentley on his head with a double-barreled shot-gun in such a way that both ham- mers entered the skull and inflicted a wound, from the effects of which Bentley died within a few hours. Mills was arrested and given a preliminary examination before Nathan Ashby, a justice of the peace at Edina, who committed him to jail to await the action of the grand jury. On the 18th day of March follow- ing he was indicted for the murder of Bentley, and, on being arraigned, he filed an affidavit to the effect that the judge of the court was prejudiced against him, and asked for a change of venue to some other judge. Accordingly a change of venue was granted him to the Shelby Circuit Court, where, after several continuances of the case, he was tried and acquitted.
THE KILLING OF LOUIS BUHL.
Louis Buhl, who lived eight or nine miles south of Edina, went, on the 30th day of December, 1864, to the farm of Ter- rence Flynn, who resided in the northeastern part of Adair County, and stole a load of corn belonging to said Flynn, and hauled it home. Flynn, on discovering the theft the next day, followed Buhl and tracked him home, and, being invited, he went into Buhl's house, and thereupon the strange conduct and threatening aspect of Buhl and his wife he was seized with fear that they would kill him, and in order to get away unmolested,
624
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.
he told false stories about his corn and about his place of resi- dence. He then went to a justice of the peace named Collinson, and asked to have a warrant issued for the arrest of Buhl; but this could not be done, for the reason that Collinson lived in Adair County, and Buhl in Knox. Flynn then secured the assist- ance of Maj. B. W. Bell, James M. Bell, Martin Meeker, Thomas Welch and William Welch, and with them went, on the night of January 1, 1865, to the house of Buhl, for the purpose of captur- ing him and taking him to the civil authorities at Kirksville for trial. Arriving at the house of Buhl at 3 o'clock next morning, they aroused him and demanded him to " surrender," to which demand he replied: "Surrender! hell and damnation!" and at once fired his gun and shot and wounded William Welch. At this juncture the party opened fire on the house, and shot and instantly killed Buhl, who was in his drawers as he had sprung from his bed. Mrs. Buhl also made desperate efforts to kill some of Flynn's party. She was ordered to surrender, with the prom- ise of protection and assistance if she obeyed. Then, in obedi- ence to further orders, she brought the arms, consisting of a musket and revolver, from within the house, and laid them on the ground. She was then ordered to re-enter the house and strike a light.
This being done the whole party entered, and remained there until morning. On the floor, and in the house was found a large quantity of musket and pistol cartridges, and Mrs. Buhl then said that on being awakened they suspected that it was "Jake Pugh and Bill Birch and their gang, from Edina, and if it had been, and her husband had not fallen, they would have fought a week." When daylight came this vigilance committee, as it may be called, made search, and found the corn in a field near by, covered with a carpet and some government blankets. They also found among it a portion of a dress pattern belonging to Mrs. Flynn. Mrs. Buhl then confessed that her husband had stolen the corn. The latter was then measured and found to be several bushels short of the amount taken; and this Mrs. Buhl accounted for by say- ing that her husband had fed some of it to the stock, and by paying Flynn the then current price per bushel for the amount thus consumed. Flynn then hauled the balance of his corn back
625
STATE OF MISSOURI.
home. Afterward Flynn and his party were arrested for the killing of Buhl, and given a preliminary examination before Squire William J. Cottey, on which occasion they all swore that Mrs. Buhl fired the second shot in quick succession to the first shot which was fired by Buhl. Subsequently they were indicted in the Knox Circuit Court for the murder of Buhl, and at the June term, 1867, of said court, the cases against them were all nolle prosequied.
THE KILLING OF JAMES A. MERRIWETHER.
James A. Merriwether had served in the Confederate Army, and William H. Hubble and William R. Kellen had both served in the Union Army, in the Twenty-first Missouri Infantry. It is said that Merriwether was an unrepentant rebel, and did a great deal of talking against the Union cause, and that the Union League had decreed that he should be removed, and that certain men had sworn to shoot him, etc. Be this as it may, it is cer- tain that on the 20th of July, 1866, these three men, all being armed with revolvers, met in the town of Colony, in the county of Knox, and became engaged in a conversation which soon led to a quarrel between Merriwether and the other two about the issues of the late war, etc., and that either Hubble or Kellen shot Mer- riwether in the right breast, from the effects of which he died the next day. Public sentiment being then so strongly in favor of the Union soldiers, no attempt of prosecution was made until the following year, when, at the June term of the Knox Circuit Court, an indictment was found against Hubble and Kellen, jointly, for the murder of Merriwether. They were arrested, and tried at the November term of said court in 1867, and acquitted on the ground of self defense, it being claimed that Merriwether attempted to fire the first shot. They were prosecuted by William C. Hillis, the circuit attorney, tried before Judge Wilson, and defended by Messrs. Hollister & Perry and John F. Benjamin. The lat- ter made a strong plea for his clients, addressing himself, how- ever, more to the feeling and prejudices of the "loyal" juryman than to their unimpassioned and deliberative judgment. Both Hubble and Kellen are at present honorable and reputable citi- zens of the county.
626
HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.
MURDER OF DR. JOHN L. TAYLOR.
Dr. Taylor and his murderer both lived in the town of New- ark, in the county of Knox, and both were members of the Demo- cratic party. The former had served in the Union Army, and the latter in the Confederate. There was to be a tournament in the town of Newark, for the amusement and gratification of the people, and Dr. Taylor suggested the propriety of raising the United States flag on the occasion, while some suggested that no display of flags be made. This subject finally led to an alterca- tion between Taylor and Everman, in which some threats were made. Taylor was a very positive and passionate man, and was known to be a man true to his word. Knowing this, and perhaps fearing him as an enemy, Everman loaded his shot-gun, and on the 26th of June, 1867, while Taylor was returning from a school exhibition, Everman stepped out from a store at the southeast corner of the public square, and leveled his gun upon Taylor. The latter, not being armed, turned and ran for safety, but the gun was discharged, and two mortal wounds were inflicted upon the upper part of the back of Taylor, which caused his instant death. Everman was arrested and given a preliminary examina- tion before Squire Jabez Barnes, who committed him to jail to await the action of the grand jury. The friends of Everman then applied to Judge Wilson, under the habeas corpus act, to have him admitted to bail. A hearing was granted, the petition for ad- mission to bail refused, and the prisoner remanded back to jail. At the following July term of the Knox Circuit Court, the grand jury found an indictment against Everman for the murder of Taylor. Then, upon application of the defendant, he was granted a change of venue to Marion County, where he was afterward tried and convicted for murder in the first degree.
Then immediately, the officers of the court, the members of the jury, and many prominent citizens, recommended Everman to the clemency of Gov. Fletcher, who pardoned him before sen- tence was pronounced. He was prosecuted by Circuit Attorney William C. Hillis, tried before Judge Wilson, and defended by Hollister & Perry.
627
STATE OF MISSOURI.
THE MURDER OF JAMES O'DONNELL.
James O'Donnell, a young man, had been in the employ of L. P. Elder, a farmer, living in the country a few miles east of Edina, and in the latter part of September, 1867, the said Elder, on going home from Edina in his wagon, was met just east of town, and near the Knox Collegiate Institute, by the said O'Don- nell, who claimed a balance due him from Elder for services ren- dered, and then and there Elder shot and killed O'Donnell, and claimed as an excuse for so doing that the latter was approaching him with a club in his hand. Elder was then arrested, and given a preliminary examination before W. J. Cottey, a justice of the peace, in Center Township, who committed him to jail to await the action of the grand jury at the next term of the Knox Circuit Court. He was then indicted for the murder of O'Donnell, and, upon petition, was granted a change of venue to the Lewis Cir- cuit Court, where he was afterward tried, and found guilty of murder in the second degree, and was sentenced to a term of six years in the penitentiary. A petition for a reprieve was imme- diately forwarded to the governor, who granted a pardon to Elder before he left Monticello. He was tried before Judge Wilson, and was defended by W. C. Hollister.
THE KILLING OF JESSE H. HYMERS.
Jesse H. Hymers lived in the southwest part of Knox County, and an enmity grew up between him and Henry T. Howerton, who also lived with his people in that vicinity. On the 30th day of July, 1876, Henry T. Howerton, Thomas Howerton, Charles Howerton, David Long and others were on their way to church. Some of this party were riding in a wagon, and others were mounted on horseback. On passing the residence of Jesse H. Hymers, they were accosted by him and accordingly stopped, and a quarrel at once ensued between him and Henry T. Hower- ton, who was, with David Long and others, riding in the wagon. William F. Hymers, a brother to Jesse H., was near by when this occurred. Several of the parties were armed with revolvers, and the quarrel at once led to a general fracas, in which several shots were fired, but as to who fired the first shot, the evidence was conflicting. During the firing Henry T. Howerton shot
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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.
Jesse H. Hymers in the bowels, and inflicted a wound, from the effects of which he died on the following day; and William F. Hymers, who was assisting his brother in the fight, was shot and wounded by Charles Howerton.
On complaint of W. R. McQuoid, prosecuting attorney, Henry T. Howerton, Thomas Howerton and David Long were arrested and taken before William Clancey, judge of the probate court, for examination, the former being charged with the murder of Hymers, and the other two with aiding and abetting in the crime. There being no evidence, however, against the latter, they were discharged. It seems clear from the evidence that Long, espe- cially, did all he could to quell the disturbance. Henry T. How- erton was held for his appearance at the next term of the Knox Circuit Court. After the fracas Charles Howerton went to Kan- sas, where he was subsequently arrested and brought back to Edina, where, on waiving examination, and giving bond for his appearance at court, he was released. At the December term, 1876, of said court, he was indicted for an assault and battery with intent to kill, on the body of William F. Hymers, on the occasion of the aforesaid fracas, and Henry T. Howerton was at the same time indicted for the murder of Jesse H. Hymers. On application of defendants a change of venue was granted in both of these cases to the Lewis Circuit Court, where they were after- ward tried and acquitted. They were prosecuted by W. R. Mc- Quoid, the prosecuting attorney, and W. C. Hollister and James Ellison, tried before Judge John C. Anderson, and defended by W. W. Cover, Elias V. Wilson and James G. Blair.
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