USA > Missouri > Ray County > History of Ray county, Mo. > Part 27
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February Term, 1822.
SAMUEL SWEET, Plaintiff,
vs.
( In case.
JOEL ESTES, Defendant.
October Term, 1822.
HENRY GUEST, Plaintiff, vS.
In case.
SAMUEL CROWLEY, Defendant. )
March Term, 1823.
WILLIAM HUNTER, Plaintiff, v'S. In trespass.
SOLOMON ODELL, Defendant.
Among the items of interest connected with the now extinct Bluffton, worthy to be noted on the historian's page, is the number of eminent law- yers who practiced there.
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HISTORY OF RAY COUNTY.
Nearly, if not quite all of the following persons who practiced at the Bluffton bar, distinguished themselves either as jurists, advocates, orators or statesmen:
Hamilton R. Gamble, Peyton R. Hayden, Jno. T. Mckinney, George Tompkins, Cyrus Edwards, Dabney Carr, Almstead S. Grundy, Corne- lius Burnett, Jno. F. Ryland, Amos Rees and Gen. Duff Green. So bright a constellation of forensic talent rarely illumines the court room of more modern times.
A deep interest is always associated with first occurrences in the history of a country or community-with the first act beginning, or leading to, an important era, or great event-with the first person to do a thing memorable for its consequences-with first instruments of writing. Men of after times love to move backward, "through the vista of departed years," to the beginning of universal history, and then, specifically, to the first events, acts, things, men and documents of their own nation, state or county. The first performers in any great political, social, or military epoch are remembered simply because they were first. Even the person first to do an act, in itself insignificant, is often held in long remembrance, provided it happens to be the first in a series of paramount importance. First papers, documents, records, after the lapse of years, are looked upon with reverence. So with a particular spot, marking the scene of some first important historic event.
Jamestown, Virginia, is remarkable only because it is the site of the first permanent English settlement in America. For that reason, the American heart holds its memory dear.
Sir Isaac Newton was a man of superior mind and great learning, but had he not been first to ascertain the existence of a great philosophical truth, he must have remained in comparative obscurity.
Columbus was the first white man to set foot on the West Indies, and John and Sebastian Cabott, the first to touch the mainland of North America; therefore we cherish their memory.
Edwin Ruffin, it is said, was the life-long personal and political friend of Calhoun, but that is a matter of no interest. On the morning of April 12, 1861, however, a ball from a Confederate cannon crashed against the solid granite walls of Fort Sumter. It was the first shot of the civil war. Whether Edwin Ruffin ever fired another is not known, but he fired the first, and thereby gained a place in history.
Things FIRST are always prolific and proper material for the historian's pen. This is our apology for having already alluded to matters first in the history of Ray county, and for frequent similar mention which will occur in the progress of the work.
Subjoined is the first declaration of intention presented to a Ray county
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HISTORY OF RAY COUNTY.
tribunal, to become a citizen of the United States. It was presented and filed at the July term, 1823, of the circuit court:
"This day came into court Patrick Darcey, and presented a petition, which is ordered to be recorded by the court, which is in the words fol- lowing:
"To the honorable, the circuit court of Ray county: The petition of Patrick Darcey, a native of Swynford, of the parish of Cellscondiff, of the county of Mayo, in Ireland-being twenty-four years of age on the 10th of May, last; and who has lived in the United States of America since the month of April, 1820; and wishing to become a naturalized citizen of the said states, intending to make his residence in the county of Ray, of the state of Missouri, being in height five feet, seven inches and one half, with gray eyes, black hair, freckled face, pretty much marked with small-pox: And he would respectfully ask of this honor- able court to be permitted to avail himself of the several laws of the United States, in such cases made and provided, to enable him to become a naturalized citizen of the said states; ; and prays that this declaration may be entered of record, and, as in duty bound, he will ever pray, and so forth.
PATRICK M. DARCEY."
"Patrick Darcey, the above named declarant, appears in open court and makes oath that the facts set forth in his said petition, as above, are true. July 15th, 1823. JON. T. BURCH, Clerk."
"The undersigned, citizens of the state of Missouri, and residents of the county of Ray, make oath that they have been personally acquainted with Patrick Darcey, the within named declarant, for about six months past, that they believe him a well-disposed man, and have heard no charges against his general good character.
W. BLACK. JOSEPH PORTER. WM. L. BLACK.
Sworn to in open court, July 15th, 1823. .
JON. T. BURCH, Clerk."
And so, an "exile of Erin" was the first foreigner to become a natu- ralized citizen of Ray. We presume he made a worthy citizen, and a useful member of society. If a true representative of the Emerald Isle, we know he paid his debts and his taxes, and was brave, generous, and unselfish. He was afterwards appointed road-overseer, and for the year 1831 was collector of the county.
The circuit court continued to meet in Bluffton, at the house of Timothy Riggs, till its November term, 1828, when it adjourned to meet in Rich- mond.
The first term of the county court was held in Bluffton, commencing Monday, April 2d, 1821. Like the circuit court, the county court used the "tavern" of Timothy Riggs as a court house.
John Thornton, Isaac Martin and Elisha Camron were the justices. The last named, however, did not attend till the January term, 1822, when he produced his commission, was sworn in, and took his seat.
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HISTORY OF RAY COUNTY.
Following is the first entry of record in the proceedings of the court: "State of Missouri:
" Be it remembered, that upon the first Monday of April, one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one, being the second day of said month, at the town of Bluffton, in the county of Ray, the same time and place being those appointed by laws passed at the last session of the legislature of said state, entitled, 'An act for the division of Howard county and the estab- lishment of certain counties therein,' one of which is the said county of Ray, and also entitled, ' An act to establish judicial circuits and districts, and appointing the times of holding courts therein.' John Thornton and Isaac Martin, being a majority of the justices of the county court, appeared, took their seats, and presented their commissions."
The commissions were signed by the governor. The justices took the usual oath of office before John Shields, a justice of the peace.
William L. Smith , was appointed clerk of the court. As previously stated, John Harris was sheriff.
. The county court, at this, its first term, seems to have had considerably more business to transact than the circuit court at its first session. Town- ·ships and county roads were established; county and township officers appointed; ferry rights, tavern, merchant, dram-shop, and peddler's licenses granted; commissioners nominated to "superintend and preserve from waste " all school lands in the county, and William Rollins was sum- moned to appear at the next term of the court to show cause why his children should not be taken in charge by the county court for protection.
A county court was then, of course, a novelty to most of the citizens, for Franklin was many miles away, and few of the denizens on the west- ern border ever visited that town; but the judges, though perhaps unlet- tered, were men endued with a goodly share of common sense, and per- formed their duties in a creditable manner.
The first public road in the county, established in April, 1821, lead from Bluffton to John Thornton's mill. The first ferry license was granted to Isaac Martin, to keep a public ferry across Crooked river from his farm on the east half of the northwest quarter of section six, township fifty-one, range twenty-six. Rates for transportation by said ferry of "persons and things " were fixed by the county court. Isaac Martin was also the first road overseer.
On the first Monday in August, 1822, an election was held at the house of Andrew Turpin, in Missouriton township, and at that of John Shields, in Bluffton township.
The county was originally divided into two townships, Bluffton and Fishing River. The latter, however, was soon sub-divided, and Gallatin township formed thereout. Prior to the holding of the election referred to, and prior, also, to the May term, 1822, of the court at which that elec-
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HISTORY OF RAY COUNTY.
tion was ordered, voting precincts had been established by the court, as follows:
On the " Wyaconda," to be called the " Wyaconda " precinct, to include the settlement from Grand river to the middle of range twenty-three. Place of holding elections, house of John McGaugh.
On Crooked river, to be called Crooked River precinct, to include the country from the middle of range twenty-three to the Discharge (Willow creek). Place of holding election, house of Isaac Martin.
At Bluffton, to be called Bluffton precinct, including the settlements from the Discharge to range line between ranges twenty-nine and thirty. Place of holding elections, Bluffton.
Fishing River township. Place of holding elections, Robertsford.
The court established the above precincts April 23, 1821, but no elec- tion was ever held in them, because previous to the time (August, 1822,) appointed for holding the first election, and at its May term, above men- tioned, the court reduced the number of townships to two-Bluffton and Missouriton-establishing the voting places therein as stated above.
The first census of the county-an enumeration of the inhabitants only -- was taken by the sheriff, John Harris, in September, 1821, a service for which he received thirty-four dollars. Returns were made to the county court, and that body found the population to be 1,789. The county's present population, as well as that of intervening years, will be given in another place; here, we will only add that it is gratifying to know, that, although reduced in area to one-twelfth its size in 1821, the number of inhabitants to-day is twelve times as great, and the increase of wealth a hundred fold.
At its May term, 1822, William L. Smith resigned his position as clerk of the county court. He was an efficient officer; wrote a large, fair hand, and was a gentleman of more than ordinary intelligence. It is, perhaps, not traducing his character, to state that he was an old bachelor, and that the author finds in the records of the county court, the following entry:
"Ordered, that the order of this court requiring that William L. Smith, the former clerk, should be charged with half the amount of the tax imposed upon bachelors for state purposes in 1821, be and the same is hereby revoked, and from henceforth discontinued."
The first death by violence that occurred in the county, of which an . official took cognizance, was that of James Buchanan, on whose body an inquest was held before William Miller, a justice of the peace, August, 1823.
The first bridge erected in Ray county, was that across the Discharge -now known as Willow creek-on the road leading from Jack's ferry, on the Missouri river, to Bluffton. For the erection of this bridge, a poll
226
HIRTORY OF RAY COUNTY.
tax of eighteen and three-fourths cents was levied, to be collected with the county revenue.
Atfer holding its sessions in Bluffton for seven years, the county court adjourned its special term of April 5th, 1828, to meet in Richmond, the newly made county seat. George Woodward, the clerk, was ordered to move the books, papers, etc., of the county court, to his residence, near Richmond, to keep them there, and there to transact the duties of his office, until the necessary public buildings could be erected and ready for use.
The basis of what we have written in this chapter is the proceedings of the early courts; and we have, besides, told the reader something of the first county seat. With that, however, as such-save as necessity requires in the succeeding chapter-we are done-but
* " When life is old, And many a scene forgot, the heart will hold Its memory of this."
REMOVAL OF THE COUNTY SEAT.
The commissioners appointed by the general assembly to point out and determine upon a site for the permanent location of the county seat, were required, by law, to render to the circuit court, at each term thereof, until they accomplished the end of the work assigned them, a full and correct account of their proceedings. Accordingly, at the first term of the circuit court, February, 1821, they, with the exception of John Tur- ner, appeared, took the oath of office and executed bonds in the sum of ten thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of their duty.
The task of the commissioners was far from an easy one. Although they labored assiduously, they failed to accomplish the object of their appointment, and the same is true of several succeeding commissions. Thus careful was Judge Todd that the title to the property, on which was to be located the permanent seat of justice, should be genuine, complete and " unclouded."
At the June terin, 1821, of the circuit court, John Turner joined his co-commissioners, by taking the usual oath, and they then reported to the court that they had, in pursuance of their official duty, selected a site whereon to permanently locate the seat of justice, and that it was in the the tract of land, situated on the Missouri river, owned by Duff Green and Charles Simmons, and upon a part of which tract the town of Bluff- ton was laid out; that the proprietors of said tract of land offered a dona- tion of fifty acres for the use of the county, and that the commissioners
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HISTORY OF RAY COUNTY.
were ready and willing to accept the same, as soon as the court approved the title thereto. The evidences of title were, accordingly, submitted to the court for his examination. This report was signed: James Wells, Jonathan Liggett, John Harris, John (his mark) Turner, committee.
Green and Simmons entered into bond in the sum of fifteen hundred dollars to make their donation worth that amount; but we find no record of the court's opinion as to the title of the property donated, but since it was never accepted as the site for the permanent location of the county seat, it is certain that the evidences of title were not approved, although they were duly signed, delivered and recorded.
The commissioners, with two notable exceptions, soon began to tire of their work. At the February term, 1822, John Harris and James Wells resigned. Liggett soon followed their example, and subsequent appointees served but a short time, till they either resigned or refused further to act, thus keeping up a continuous rotation.
A second report was not rendered till the July term, 1823, when the commissioners presented their report locating the county seat in the town of Bluffton, and praying the opinion of the court, as to the validity of the title to the property selected. The court suspended his opinion till " court in course"-March term, 1824-when he decided, after having carefully viewed and examined the title papers, that the title was incomplete.
At the November term-same year-the commissioners submitted a third report, selecting, this time, a tract of land containing fifty acres, in a New Madrid survey, near Bluffton. Again their labors were in vain -- the court interposing the fatal objection, that the proprietor of the New Madrid location could not convey a fee simple title to any portion thereof.
Thrice frustrated in their efforts; doubtless, without hope of future suc- cess, and weary of prolonged, unrequited endeavor, the commissioners, with the exception of the untiring Martin and Turner, abandoned a work made memorable for repeated failures.
The court supplied the places of those who resigned, by the appoint- ment of Samuel Prewitt, Samuel Cleavenger and Abraham Linville, but the question of the removal of the county seat was not again seriously agitated till the spring of 1826. On Wednesday, the 15th of March, the commissioners again appeared in open court, and reported that they had determined upon a site for the permanent establishment of the seat of jus- tice, in the southeast one-fourth of section ten, township fifty-one, range twenty-eight, west of the fifth principal meridian, on land of Jeremiah Crowley.
The court took time to examine the title to the ground reported, and while we have been unable to find his opinion entered of record, it was certainly rendered, approving the title to Crowley's place; for, only six days afterward, Crowley and wife conveyed the same by deed to the com-
228
HISTORY OF RAY COUNTY.
missioneers, to the use of the county of Ray, and subsequently, the county court " ordered that the title papers of Jeremiah Crowley, donating to the county of Ray, fifty acres of land, for the purposes of a county seat for said county, be committed for record." Accordingly on the Sth of October, 1827, the deed, having been properly signed and acknowl- edged, was duly recorded in the recorder's office. The land donated was surveyed on the day of the execution of the deed, by one Weekly Dale, and contained fifty-one acres-one acre being reserved for "meeting house." But, the county seat was never moved to Crowley's place. At its May term, 1829, the county court appointed Hardy Holman commis- sioner on behalf of the county "to convey back to Jeremiah Crowley, a tract of fifty acres, donated by said Crowley to the county of Ray, for the purposes of locating thereon a county seat." The law provided that when the seat of justice was removed, it should be to some central situa- tion. Crowley's place was certainly far from the center of the county.
Friday, August 18th, 1826, the county court-convened in special ses- sion-took up the consideration of the petition of sundry inhabitants of the county, praying for a removal of the seat of justice to some more central point. From a careful examination of the assessor's books, the court found the number of taxable inhabitants to be two hundred and thirty- nine, and on counting the legal subscribers to said petition, there were found to be one hundred and thirty-eight names of persons legally quali- fied to sign the same. This number not being three-fifths of the taxable inhabitants of the county-as the amended law then required,-the peti- tion was dismissed from further consideration. A change in the law, repealing the act of 1821, touching the removal of county seats, required the county court, on petitition of three-fifths of the taxable population of a county, praying for a removal of the seat of justice, to appoint five per- sons, non-residents of the county, desiring a change in the location of its county seat, as commissioners to " view, select and report to said court a proper situation, near the centre of the county, whereon to locate the seat of justice."
At its November term, Monday, November 6, 1826, the county court considered a second petition, numerously signed, praying, as before, a removal of the seat of justice to a more central situation. The court was satisfied, after examination, that more than three-fifths of the signers were legally qualified; they therefore granted the prayer of the petition, and appointed the following persons commissioners to "view, select and report " a proper site for the permanent location of the county seat: John Stepp, James Warren and Markham Triston, of Lafayette county, and Elisha Camron and Charles English, of Clay county.
The commissioners were required to meet at the house of Joseph Cox, of Ray county, and " there to discharge the duties enjoined on them by
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HISTORY OF RAY COUNTY.
law." The sheriff was ordered to notify each commissioner of his apoint- ment.
Whether this commission ever selected a site for the county seat, or whether it ever met, is not known, as the official records contain no further mention of it. It is quite certain, however, that it did nothing, as at a special term, held in April, 1827, the court again considered a similar peti- tion, and, for like reasons, appointed the following new commission: John Stepp, Markham Triston and William Owens, of Lafayette county; Andrew Robertson and Eppe Tillory, of Clay county. They were directed to meet at the residence of John Woolard, of Ray county, and the sheriff was ordered to advertise said meeting by posting placards in ten of the most public places in the county.
The commissioners met promptly at the appointed time, May 5, 1827, and selected as a site on which to locate the permanent seat of justice of Ray county, the "Woolard place," in the southwest quarter of fractional section thirty, township fifty-two, range twenty-seven; and on the same day, in behalf of the county, received a deed thereto from John Woolard, Isaac Thornton, William B. Martin, and William Thornton, the proprietors thereof. The deed was duly acknowledged May 30, approved by the judge of the circuit court July 20, and so certified to the county court; filed for record October 2, and recorded October 8, 1827.
Friday, July 20, 1827, the county court convened in special session, for the purpose of ordering an election for voting on a proposition to remove the county seat to the place selected by the commissioners. Judges of election were appointed for the four townships-Bluffton, Missouriton, Fishing River, and Crooked River-which then composed the county, and the 20th and 21st of the following August were appointed the days for holding said election.
Monday, September 24, 1827, the county court again met in special ses- sion to canvass the result of the election. An examination of the poll- books of the several townships showed the whole number of "good " votes cast to be one hundred and sixty-three, of which one hundred and eight are a majority. The court, therefore, declared that " the place peti- tioned for, called ' Woolard's place,' should be the permanent seat of jus- tice" of Ray county.
Thus, after a prolonged, varied, and arduous effort of more than six years, a location for the permanent county seat was legally determined upon. But Bluffton, as a county seat, was not immediately abandoned. A new town was to be laid out, and the necessary public buildings erected-a work requiring twelve months to accomplish; hence, Bluffton remained, practically, the seat of justice during that period.
William S. Miller was appointed commissioner of the new seat of jus- tice.
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HISTORY OF RAY COUNTY.
The land was to be surveyed and laid off into town lots, streets, and alleys, by October 15, 1827; and an order was issued, naming Thursday, the 25th of that month, as the time-to be continued from day to day- for their sale at public auction. It was ordered that the sale be advertised in some newspaper, published in the state; and, after bestowing on the embryo city the name of Richmond, in honor of the capital metropolis of the " Old Dominion," the court adjourned.
At a special term, held Monday, October 22, 1827, a plat of Richmond, accompanied by his report, was submitted to the county court by Com- missioner Miller. The survey of the town had been completed, under the commissioners' direction, by Thomas N. Aubry, Esq., county sur- veyor.
The court appointed William Thornton superintendent of county build- ings; and, at its special term, April 5, 1828, he submitted a plan for a jail, which the court accepted, provided the cost thereof would not exceed four hundred dollars. The contract for building was let to Sebourn J. Miller.
The court, having no further business to transact, adjourned, having met for the last time in Bluffton.
The first county court held in the county, outside of that town, con- vened Monday, May 5, 1828, at the residence of George Woodward, near Richmond. William P. Thompson, Sebourn J. Miller, and Isaac Allen were the justices; Larkin Stanley, sheriff, and George Woodward, clerk.
Thomas Riggs' tavern was a substitute for a court house six years; after that the dwelling of George Woodward was improvised, till a court house could be erected. The latter was completed and ready for occu- pancy March 5, 1829. At the November term, of the preceding year, S. J. Miller informed the court that he had completed the jail agreeable to his contract. The court found, however, "that the corners to said build- ing had not been sawed down." This, Miller guaranteed to have done, and the court agreed to receive the jail, and pay the contractor his last installment, of $47.25.
As may be readily inferred, the jail was a log fabric of a very rude and primitive kind. The only entrance was by a stairway, on the outside, leading to a solitary door that opened into a kind of garret, in the floor of which was a trap-door, or hatchway: through this the prisoners, by means of a ladder, descended to the "dungeon."
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