USA > Missouri > Pettis County > History of Pettis County, Missouri > Part 5
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
They shared each others' hardships and all stood on about the same foot- ing. When the Creator made man, He made him dependent on society. It might have pleased Him to have made His created image independent of all other beings; but the strongest bond of society lies in man's de- pendence upon his fellow creatures and this fact is made clear and appre- ciated fully in the early existence of a people, whether it be in the tribe, the family or the nation. It has been seen that here, as most every- where else, the pioneers were poor but not vain. There was no existent aristocracy and no place for it. Neighbors were few and far between and envy and jealous rivalry had no place in their daily lives. Far re- moved from civilization, except their own, they were unselfish and bore nothing but good will toward each other and toward the stranger who, perchance, entered their gates. They shared each other's burdens un- grudgingly. When a neighbor was sick they ministered unto him; in death, their sympathetic loyalty knew no bounds. When misfortune, accident or sickness hindered a settler in gathering his crop the neighbor- hood with willing hands, came to help him; when his cabin would burn down they all, without invitation, would rebuild his home. They had few infractions of the law, no law suits, and few officers of the law. The sentiment of the particular neighborhood where dissention arose settled all differences without delay or ill will and justice was meted out to all concerned.
Looking retrospectively through the veil of years past, feeling now the cramp of advanced civilization and the congestion of many interests and ambitions, it is almost a tonic to the weary mind to dream of the early civilization of this county. It was a wonderful period and one which will always be thought of with interest and deep satisfaction.
The home of the pioneer was fashioned after the pole cabin and the hut of the Indian, made with bark of trees. We learn of these simple huts from early writers because the memory of our people extend not back that far. The next home of the pioneer was a log cabin which, when compared with the old one, was an aristocratic dwelling. These cabins were of round logs and poles, notched together at the corners, ribbed with poles, and covered with boards split from a tree. A puncheon floor was laid down, a hole cut in the end of the building where a stick and mud chimney was built. The cracks were stopped or chinked with blocks of wood and mud. The one-legged bedstead-now a piece of furniture of the past-was made by cutting a stick the proper length,
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boring holes in the logs of the cabin one and one-half inches in diameter, at right angles, and the same sized hole corresponding for the triangular part which was fastened in the floor or ground, poles made the bed rails, and from pole to pole hickory bark was often interwoven or clapboard were laid across, and upon this structure a straw or shuck mattress was laid, and sometimes a feather tick was placed still over this. The house- hold and kitchen furniture were all in the same little room. The conven- ience of the cooking stove was not thought of then, but instead, the food was prepared in pots, kettles, ovens, and skillets, on and about the big open fireplace. The cabin took much time, labor and a good part of the men of the neighborhood to build. Window glasses were rare, the window generally being made by cutting out a log or removing some of the chinks to permit light and sun rays. The doors were made of split logs, hewn down as thin as possible with axes. They were hung on wooden hinges and fastened with the old-fashioned wooden latch. In many instances fireplaces were built of mud and sticks, rough stones laid for the hearth, jambs and back, the mud and stones to keep the sticks from firing and the mud to hold the sticks in place. The fire place served for purpose of heat, cooking and also ventilating the cabin.
Very few of the streams furnished mill sites. In the very early days of pioneer civilization, James Wasson set up a grist-mill on Muddy Creek and named it "Pin Hook Mill." Some of the settlements had the old mill which was run by horse-power and this was the most reliable because inclement weather and swollen streams sometimes kept the neighborhood from the water-mill, and in this emergency the coffee-mill was resorted to. When some had not coffee mills-they didn't all have them-a grater was made by punching holes in a tin can, the corn softened by boiling water and the meal grated. In 1829, for weeks, whole settlements sub- sisted on meal grated and ground by the improvised grater and the coffee- mill. A little later, Flat Creek furnished mill-sites.
The earliest settlements were made in Pettis County in the wooded skirts of the small streams, Muddy and Flat Creek, which furnish an abundance of water and fish. At this time there were no roads, ferries, bridges and few boats, except the small Indian canoe. In these days even a slight rain made many small creeks dangerous to ford.
Many of the first settlers went to Boonville for their milling, which was the only place where merchandising was carried on for several years. At that time all the present State of Missouri west and north of the
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
Osage River, and the old settled counties north of the Missouri River, was for many years known as the "Boone's Lick country." The old set- tlers knew it by no other name. It received its name from a place called Boone's Lick, in what is now Howard county, situated about eight miles northwest of New Franklin, near the Missouri River. This place was visited by Daniel Boone at a very early date, finding several large salt spring where deer and other game resorted, he made this a favorite hunting ground. Here in 1807, Nathan and Daniel M. Boone, sons of the frontiersman, Daniel Boone, manufactured salt at Boone's Lick, and shipped it down the river to St. Louis. Several adventurers came to this section as hunters, but no one attempted to settle here until 1808, when Col. Benj. Cooper determined to make his home in this favored spot, but the territorial governor, Merriwether Lewis, issued an order directing all frontier settlers to return since he could not afford them protection in case of an Indian war. When the first settlers came to this county fish and game were plentiful and furnished all the food necessary except the bread which was made from the corn as we have just described it. Tur- key, deer, elk, bear and smaller game was as plentiful as the domestic animals which now stock the land of our farmers.
In 1818 Nimrod Jenkins and a few others settled near the Lamine river, in the northeastern part of the county, which then formed a part of Cooper County. Solomon Reed came from Crab Orchard, Kentucky, and settled in 1821 in what is now known as Pettis county. He was a genuine pioneer, all of his life having been spent on the outskirts of civilization. He was liberal in his dealings with the Indians, and always on familiar and friendly terms with them, and among them he bore the sobriquet of "Pumpkin," owing to the fact that they could always get from him a supply of that vegetable, of which they seemed to be very fond. One year later Jesse Swope, Silas Jenkins, and Sylvester Hall located on Blackwater. Soon after this settlement came Reuben E. Gentry, Thomas Osborne, Wm. O'Bannon, James Wasson, James Ramey and others, and settled on Muddy Creek. A German settlement was made on Lake Creek in 1831.
A settlement was made on a spot near old Georgetown. Settlements were made on Muddy and Flat Creeks. George Heard, Esq., built the first house in Georgetown, during the fall of 1835. He was the first teacher of the county.
Some of the first settlers were Thomas Wasson, John Dickerson, Judge James Ramey, Capt. W. K. Ramey, Nathan A. Newbill, Jesse
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
Swope, Hiram Swope, Abijah Hughes, Leonard Bouldin, Edward Speddin, William C. Harrison, Henry C. Hall, Richard O'Bannon, Absalom McVey, Reuben E. Gentry, M. Emery, C. and W. Woods, Reece Hughes, J. M. Wooldridge, Andrew Forbes, Samuel Forbes, Maj. William Gentry, Aaron Jenkins, Amos Fristo, Gen. Geo. R. Smith, John Montgomery, Mentor and Milton Thomson, Norah S. Rigg, Jesse Douglass, Aldea A. Glass- cock, Albion Robinson and others, some of which will appear elsewhere.
The farming utensils of the early settlers were the bull-tongue colter, single shovel, and wooden mold-board plows. Then if a man owned a wooden board plow he was an aristocrat. With these simple implements the plowman opened up his patches. These rude plows did good service and are awarded the honor of first stirring the soil of Pettis County.
The cost of living was less then than it is now. When boarding houses were first established in this county, ten cents was the price of a meal. Boarding houses were fewer and the "Star Border" changed not so often as at the present date. He was content with much less in both food and attention.
CHAPTER VIII.
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ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY
DATE OF ORGANIZATION-POPULATION -- CREATING ACT OF LEGISLATURE- BOUNDARIES-SECOND LEGISLATIVE ENACTMENT-HELENA MADE COUN- TY SEAT-GEORGETOWN MADE COUNTY SEAT-SEDALIA COUNTY SEAT- FIRST SCHOOL DISTRICT-EARLY COURT SESSION-COURT HOUSE BUILT- VOTING PRECINCTS IN 1860.
Pettis County was organized on January 26, 1833, by severances effected from Cooper and Saline counties. At this date, the entire popu- lation of the county was less than six hundred. For the purpose of local government, the United States was divided, each state, into counties. The counties were divided into townships, school-districts and municipal corporations. The officers were those who superintended the affairs of finance, a court of inferior jurisdiction and a Circuit or Supreme Court. The county being subordinate to the State, had, and has yet, only such power and authority as delegated it by the sovereign State. The General Assembly, when it deemed and declared it necessary to the interests of the people, created new counties by an act defining boundaries and the assignment of a name to the new political creation.
The following act of the Legislature carved Pettis County out of Cooper and Saline counties, by the following enactment. "Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows: 'All that portion of territory, lying and being south of Saline County proper, in the State of Missouri, and which has heretofore been attached to Saline County for all civil and military purposes, and also a part of the terri- tory now composing the counties of Cooper and Saline, -included within the following boundaries, towit: Beginning on the range line dividing ranges twenty-three and twenty-four, (the line now dividing Saline and
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
Lafayette counties), at the northwest corner of section nineteen, in town- ship forty-eight; thence running due east with said section line, to the range line between ranges nineteen and twenty; thence due south with said range line, to the middle of the main channel of the river Osage; thence up said river Osage, in the middle of the main channel thereof, to the southeast corner of Lafayette County ; thence due north, with the range line dividing Saline and Lafayette counties to the beginning, be, and the same is hereby declared a separate and distinct county, to be known and called by the name of Pettis County.
" "The courts to be holden in said county, shall be held at the house of James Ramey, until the tribunal transacting county business for said county shall fix a temporary seat of justice for said county; and the county courts to be holden in said county, shall be held on the third Mon- days in February, May, August and November.
" 'It shall be the duty of the governor, so soon as it shall be con- venient after the passage of this act, to appoint judges of the County Court for the said county, who shall hold their offices until the next general election in eighteen hundred and thirty-four, and until their successors be duly elected and qualified.
"'All taxes now due the counties of Saline and Cooper, by citizens residing in the county of Pettis, shall be collected and paid to said coun- ties of Saline and Cooper, in all respects, as if this act had not passed.
" 'This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. January 26, 1833.'"
After the county was organized, the seat of justice was temporarily kept at St. Helena, which bore the name of Pin Hook, till 1837.
The following is an act in regard to the southern boundary of Pettis County, and selecting commissioners to locate seat of justice :
"Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows :
" 'The following shall be, and is hereby established as the perma- nent southern boundary of Pettis County: Beginning on the range line dividing ranges twenty-three and twenty-four, the line now divid- ing Lafayette and Pettis counties, at the southwest corner of township forty-four; thence due east with said township line to the eastern bound- ary of Pettis County.
"'Joseph S. Anderson, of Cooper County; John Stapp, of Lafayette County ; and John S. Rucker, of Howard county, be and they are hereby
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appointed, commissioners to select and locate a site for the permanent seat of justice within and for the county of Pettis: provided, however, the said commissioners shall select and locate said site within three and a half miles of the geographical center of the said county of Pettis.
" 'The said commissioners shall meet at St. Helena, in the said county of Pettis, on the first Monday of March next, for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of the second section of this act; and before entering upon the duties hereby required, shall severally take an oath, as is required by the third section of an act, entitled an act to provide for organizing counties hereafter established, approved January 14, 1825; and the said commissioners, circuit and county courts, shall perform all the duties, and be governed in all cases by the pro- visions of the above recited act; and in case vacancies should occur, by death, resignation or otherwise, of said commissioners, the vacancy shall be filled agreeably to the provisions of the said act.
" 'The temporary seat of justice for Pettis County shall remainl at St. Helena, until the permanent seat of justice is located, and a house provided suitable to hold court. December 3, 1834.'"
In the statutes of Missouri, approved February 20, 1835, defining county boundaries, the following appears :
"Pettis: beginning at the southwest corner of Saline County; thence east to the range line between nineteen and twenty; thence south to the line between townships forty-three and forty-four; thence north to the beginning."
The town of Georgetown was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly of Missouri January 4, 1860. The first board of councilmen was organized with the following appointed members: John H. Griffin, Wilkins Watson, Thomas E. Staples, John Hancock, Elias Bixby, B. F. Hughes, and James H. Brown, who were to hold their office till their suc- cessors were elected and qualified.
This town continued to grow from the time it was laid off as the county seat in 1837, up to the breaking out of the war in 1861. Three chartered seminaries existed here with good success at different times. The county seat was changed to Sedalia in 1865, and since that time Sedalia has continued to be the seat of justice of Pettis County. St. Helena remained the county seat until 1837, when Georgetown succeeded to the honor, and continued so till Sedalia took it away. Clifton Wood was the first merchant of Georgetown.
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
The first school district was organized November 6, 1838, by the following order of court:
"There shall be established in Congressional township No. forty- six of range twenty-one in Pettis County, a board of trustees, whose duty it shall be to superintend all schools which are or may be estab- lish in said Congressional township, according to law. For the present there shall be established in said township one school district, which shall be known by the name and style of Washington School District No. one. William I. Westerfield, Oswald Kidd and Willis P. Ellis, are appointed by this court a board of trustees of said Washington School District No. one, and such other districts as may hereafter be estab- lished by law, to continue in office until the legal termination of their appointments."
The following is an order of court under date May 6, 1839, organ- izing a township for school purposes :
"Congressional township forty-five of range twenty-three is incor- porated by the name and style of Christian School District. Thomas Brooks, Jesse Pemberton, and George W. Glass, having each contributed one dollar for school purposes in said school district, are appointed trus- tees of said district."
As will be seen from the following quotations from the Circuit Court records, there was but little business at its first seccion :
"Pettis Circuit Court, July Term, 1833, State of Missouri, towit:
" 'At a circuit court begun and held at Pettis court house within and for the county of Pettis, on the second Wednesday of July, it being the 8th day of said month, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred thirty-three:
"'Were present-the Hon. John F. Ryland, Judge of said court; Aaron Jenkins, Sheriff, and Amos Fisher, Clerk.'"
The sheriff returned the venire issued to the present term, with a panel of jurors summoned, to-wit:
Anthony Fisher, Isaac Hedrick, John O'Baunon, Middleton Ander- son, Henry Anderson, Athel Wolf, Samuel Read, Oliver L. Q. Brown, Manan Duran, Levi Oolneal, Hugh M. Doneghe, Daniel Lynn, George Kelly, John Brown, Jolly S. Parish, Carvin Carpenter, Clinton Young, Alfred Brock, Henry Small, James Scott, Thomas Martin.
The grand jury having received their charge from the court retired,
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
and soon returned, having nothing to present, were discharged. James H. Birch and Henderson Young, two licensed attorneys, were enrolled as such by the clerk.
The following appears on the record of this day's business :
William H. Head vs. Jame Williams. Appeal from justice court.
Dismissed at the request of the parties.
The following is the verbatim et literatim of the record of this session of Circuit Court in the year 1833:
"At a Circuit Court begun and held at Ramey & Wason's Mill, the temporary seat of justice within and for the county of Pettis, in the State of Missouri, on the second Monday in November, being the eleventh day of said month, was present the Honorable John F. Ryland, Judge of the said court.
"The sheriff returned into court the following named persons as summoned by him as a venire for a grand jury, whereupon Reuben E. Gentry was sworn as foreman, and the following persons as members of said grand jury: Meshac Willis, Adam Scott, Andrew S. Bryant, Abraham McCormack, William Mosely, Samuel Miller, David McFarlam, George Gibson, William Glass, William Ragan, Michael Bird, John Birch, Oswald Kidd, Allen Tate, William M. Johnson, Jonathan Tussy, Zadoc Powell, and Jacob Hall, who, after receiving their charge from the court, retired to consider their presentments.
"John Tramell, Appellant, vs. Thomas Chew, Appellee. On appeal.
"The plaintiff and appellant, John Tramell, moved the court for leave to enter a non-suit in this cause, which is granted him, and there- upon the plaintiff is called, etc., and judgment against him for costs of suit in both courts.
"The grand jury returned into court, and presented the following bill of indictment, viz:
"State of Missouri vs. Thomas Chew. Indictment: Assault with intent to kill. A true bill.
"And having no further business, were discharged by the court.
"Ordered by the court, that a capias issue against Thomas Chew, on the indictment aforesaid.
"Ordered, that court adjourn until court in course.
"John F. Ryland."
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
Up to the year 1844 there were but five municipal voting precincts, which were as follows:
Elk Fork, with place of voting at the house of M. G. Pemberton. Blackwater, with place of voting at the house of Samuel Fisher. Flat Creek, with place of voting at Higgins & McCormick's mill. Bowling Green, with place of voting at the house of James Lacy. Mt. Sterling, with place of voting at Georgetown.
The general elections were held, prior to 1869, on the first Monday in August. For the year 1838 we here append the names of the judges of election for the five townships then organized :
Elk Fork-Byrd Hawkins, Francis Talbert, and Thomas P. E. Rees. Blackwater-John Fisher, Jr., Montiville Huff, and Isaiah Prigmore. Flat Creek-David B. Hume, Giles L. Williams, and Pemberton Cason.
Bowling Green-George Small, James Marlen, and Larkin Erwin.
Mt. Sterling-Richard Byrd, Elijah Taylor, and William McCormack.
In those days the polls were kept open one, two and three days, giv- ing plenty of time for every man to vote.
Soon, following 1844, the larger voting precincts were divided, and where two precincts bore the same name they were known as "No. one" and "No. two." Washington and Heath's Creek townships were soon added to the list of voting places, so by 1850 there were fourteen voting pre- cincts in the county. Lake Creek was added after 1859. Sedalia was organized about 1866 as a voting precinct.
Quite soon after the county was organized steps were taken to erect suitable county buildings, at the county seat-Georgetown. Prior to this date (1837), the business of the county was dispatched in an old frame building at Pin Hook.
The following law was enacted, January 29, 1835, by the General Assembly :
"There shall be erected in each county, at the established seat of justice thereof, a good and sufficient court house and jail.
"As soon as the court house and jail shall be erected, and the cir- cumstances of the county will permit, there shall also be erected one or more fire-proof buildings, at some convenient place or places, near
BLACKWATER CHAPEL, BUILT IN 1882.
PETTIS COUNTY HOME.
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HISTORY OF PETTIS COUNTY
the court house, in which shall be kept the offices of the recorder and the clerks of the several courts of such county."
Gen. Geo. R. Smith, the founder of Sedalia, and James Ramey took the contract for building a brick court house. They completed this build- ing at a cost of $4,000, and here justice was dispensed until 1862, when the business of the county was transacted in Sedalia.
Voting Precincts in 1918 .- Sedalia has eight voting precincts, or two to each ward in the city. Following is a list of the wards and pre- cincts with the registration in each: First ward, 581; Second ward, 377; Third ward, 823; Fourth ward, 836; Lake Creek, 59; Smithton, 131; Bowling Green, 93; Heath's Creek No. 1, 71; Heath's Creek No. 2, 66; Flat Creek No. 1, 66; Flat Creek No. 2, 55; Cedar, 94; Hughesville No. 1, 91; Hugheville No. 2, 22; Houstonia, 102; Green Ridge No. 1, 94; Green Ridge No. 2, 42; Washington No. 1, 50; Washington No. 2, 43; LaMonte, 109; Prairie, 51; Dresden, 87; Longwood No. 1, 28; Longwood No. 2, 31; Longwood No. 3, 25; Blackwater No. 1, 52; Blackwater No. 2, 47; Elk Fork, 84. Total, 4,210.
1
CHAPTER IX.
TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION
ORDER OF COUNTY COURT ADOPTING SUCH ORGANIZATION-BOUNDARIES OF TOWNSHIPS-NAMES-JUDICIAL DISTRICT ORGANIZATION IN 1882.
The records of the county clerk show the following order made by the County Court on February 6, 1873. This order gave Pettis County township organization as follows:
The following order appears on record at the county clerk's office under date of February 6, 1873:
"Whereas, The Legislature of Missouri did, at the adjourned ses- sion of the 26th General Assembly, 1872, pass a law, which law was approved March 18, 1872, allowing counties in said State to adopt town- ship organization, and further providing for the county courts to divide the counties so adopting said township organization into townships. And, whereas, the county of Pettis did, on the 5th day of November, 1872, by a majority vote, adopt township organization.
"It is therefore ordered by the court, that Pettis County be divided into townships, as follows, said townships to be known by numbers :
"Township No. 1, (Heath's Creek) .- To include all that portion of township 48, range 20, that belongs to Pettis County, and all township 47, range 20, and bound as follows: Commencing at the northeast cor- ner of Pettis county, and running thence west, on county line, to the northwest corner of section 19, township 48, range 20; running thence south, on range line, to the southwest corner of section 31, township 47, range 20; running thence east, on the township line, to the southeast corner of section 36, township 47, range 20; thence north on county line to the place of beginning.
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