USA > Missouri > McDonald County > Illustrated history of McDonald County, Missouri: from the earliest settlement to the present time > Part 8
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
W. H. Noel was elected in 1892 and served two years. At the election in November 1894 the result was a tie between him and Walter Hankins. A special election was called at which Noel was successful, thus serving two terms.
Martin L. Marrs was elected in 1896. and is the present incumbent.
TREASURER.
A. W. Chenoweth was appointed county treas- urer November 8, 1865. I. N. Williams was ap- pointed February 7, 1866.
John M. Boyd was appointed treasurer De- cember 18, May 11 1866 and December 18, 1867.
J. C. Farmer was appointed to the office Feb- ruary 8, 1868.
Hugh L. Testerman was appointed December 1, 1870.
J. P. LaMance was elected November 5, 1872 and served two years.
At the general election November 3, 1874, J. C. Baber was elected county treasurer and held the office for ten years without intermission.
At the general election in 1884 A. C. Walters was elected county treasurer and held the office two years.
J. C. Baber was again elected in 1886 and held two terms, his last term expiring December 31st, 1891.
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
M. N. Lamance was elected to the office in 1890 and held the office two terms.
J. C. Farmer was elected in 1894 and held the office one term.
M. N. Lamance was again elected in 1896 and consequently is our present treasurer.
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR.
THIS office was filled for a time by C. B. Walker, but at what time could not be ascertained. Probably about the breaking out of the war.
Daniel Harmon was the first to hold this office after the war, having been appointed by the county court November 7, 1866. He served four years.
J. C. Lamson held the office from 1870-1872. John Wilson served in 1872.
H. H. Fox was elected in November, 1872, but the election was contested by J. W. Bedell, and Fox consented that the contest be decided in favor of Bedell, consequently the office was filled by him.
W. W. Chase was elected in 1874. He has been re-elected two or three times, and has also held several terms by his successor failing to qualify, so that the office was filled by him un- til January 1, 1897.
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
P. M. Fink of Indian Springs was elected in November, 1896, and is the present incumbent.
CORONER.
NOVEMBER 7, 1866, Hugh L. Testerman was appointed coroner by order of the county court.
December 18, 1866, E.G. Williams was appoint- ed coroner of the county. He resigned, Febru- ary 1869.
' J. C. Baber was appointed May 7, 1869. At the November election, 1870, Jacob McClendin was elected, but refused to qualify, and J. C. Baber was appointed, February 6, 1871, to fill the vacancy. He was elected at the November election in 1872.
Z. Smith was elected in 1874.
J. W. Brown in 1876.
Jarrett Watkins in 1878.
Harris Brown in 1880.
C. Plumlee in 1884 and 1888.
J. E. Edelen in 1890 and 1892.
William Maness in 1894. Maness moved out of the county and Dr. Cravens was appointed to fill the vacancy.
L. Maynard was elected in November 1896 but failed to qualify, and the office became va- cant.
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
SURVEYOR.
JACOB CAUDIL was elected to this office in November 1872 and again in 1876.
Thomas Ford in 1880.
H. P. Lamberson in 1884 and again in 1888.
J. M. Long was elected in 1892, but failed to qualify, and J. S. Long was appointed to fill the vacancy. He served to the close of 1894.
W. P. Fox was elected in 1894 and served two years, being the remainder of the term to which J. M. Long was elected.
Daniel Thrasher was elected in 1896 and is now the incumbent of the office.
SCHOOL COMMISSIONER.
Abner W. Tatum was appointed to this office by the county court, May 9, 1866. He served but a short time when J. C. Lamson was appoint- ed. Mr Lamson served about three years. About the close of his term John Wilson was appointed and filled the office for some time.
At the election in 1872 J. S. Sterrett was de- clared to be elected, but the records show that his election was contested by F. M. Seamster and the case determined February 11, 1873. Sterrett in his answer admits the election of
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
Seamster and consents that the commission be issued accordingly.
J. F. Kenney held the office from 1881-3.
A. C. Eliff held the office from 1883-5.
J. H. Wood succeeded Mr. Eliff and held two years.
W. O. Moore was the next incumbent. and served two years.
L. A. Henderson was elected in 1889 and held two years.
J. W. Morrow was elected in 1891 and again in 1893 and served four years.
J. W. Smith was elected to the office in 1895, and again in 1897.
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
4
CHAPTER IX.
ACCIDENTS.
To chronicle all the fatal accidents that have happened in this county would require more than the entire contents of this volume. Fol- lowing are a few of the more striking ones which serve to illustrate how easily the thread of life may be broken by accident or carelessness.
JOHN H. HARMON KILLED.
JOHN H. HARMON, son of Isaac Harmon, left town to-day (January 26, 1881) about noon, in a state of intoxication. He was driving his team, which was usually gentle, and was alone in his wagon. It is supposed that the horses became frightened and ran away; at any rate John Mos- ier found the wagon and team and the dead body of Mr. Harmon in Price's lane near Pineville, about 2 o'clock p. m. Harmon was quite dead and was lying under the wheel of the wagon, the lines were wrapped several times about the
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dead man's legs, and the head was considerably bruised.
Jonn H. Harmon was about 40 years old. He married the daughter of Thomas Gordon, of Benton county, Arkansas, and leaves a wife and several children.
This sad occurrence is another incidence in the long chapter of wrongs caused by whisky, and is all the more frightful from its happening near a town where no whisky is sold as a bev- erage except in defiance of the laws of the land. -Pineville News.
KILLED BY A FALLING TREE
OTIS STERLEY, a young man about 20 years of age, was killed at Thomas Looney's, on Little Sugar creek, in the Southeastern part of the county, November 10, 1883, by a falling tree. Young Sterley and Looney were hauling rails, and while Sterley was replacing a rail that had partially fallen from the wagon, a dead tree that was standing near fell on him and crushed him against the hind wheel of the wagon and bruised him so that he died in about half an hour. --- Pineville News.
DEAD IN A SHAFT.
ON FRIDAY morning last (May 31, 1884) about 8 o'clock John Devick, who was working in a
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
shaft at Dr. Benna, s mines two miles southwest of Twin Springs, died from the effects of foul air. It appears that deceased and Dr. Benna went to the shaft the day previous for the pur- pose of putting off a blast that had been prepared, and that deceased proposed to go down then, but as they both supposed there was damp in the shaft, concluded to wait until the next morn- ing when it would be cooler and, as they thought, safe. On the morning above stated Mr. Benna let him down in the shaft, which was about 40 feet deep, on a rope attached to a windless, and after reaching the bottom he said the air was bad and he could not stand it, and requested Mr. Benna to pull him out. He then placed one foot in a loop in the rope and took hold with both hands, but when about 6 feet from the bottom, he fell back, and was dead before aid could reach him .- Pineville News.
FATAL ACCIDENT.
WILLIE TESTERMAN, aged 17 years, son of Marshal Testerman, was killed on the Neosho road about a mile above Pineville, October 18, 1888. He had brought a load of lumber to town for the Baptist church, which was then building and was returning home, riding on the front bol- ster of the wagon. When near the place above mentioned, the team became frightened and
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
ran away, throwing him off, and the wheels probably passed over him. Beside being badly bruised a blood vessel at the base of the brain was ruptured from the effects of which he died in about an hour .- Pineville News.
DROWNED WHILE FISHING.
FRANK DERBIN was drowned in Big Sugar creek, some 12 or 15 miles above Pineville, last Saturday, while fishing. He, with others, was fishing with a net or sein They had set their net at the end of a deep pool of water, and Der- bin went out on a log that lay in the creek and jumped off into the water and swam under it for some distance as if diving, and when nearing the lower end of the pool, where the water was shallow attempted to raise himself out of the water, but fell back. Some of his associates, seeing there was something wrong with him, caught him and dragged him out on the bank where he died in two or three minntes. The general inpression is that he died from conges- tion caused by being in the water two long, having been in the greater part of the time for three or four hours. He was ondinarily a pro- ficient swimmer .- Pineville News, May 27, 1887.
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
KILLED BY LIGHTNING.
IN the latter part of March, 1890, one of the most distressing cases caused by lightning ever recorded, occured on the Widow Ray farm on Buffalo creek. The house occupied by John Wilson and family was struck by lightning between 12 and 1 o'clock. The family were all in bed at the time. The bolt came through the roof down the gable end of the house and struck Mrs. Wilson in the breast, killing her instantly. Their little son, William, was terribly shocked and died the next morning. The baby, which laid next to its mother was unharmed. Mr. Wilson was shocked so he could not move, and the bed having been set on fire he was compelled to lay there for a considerable time, the smudging fire gradually eating into his flesh. The only other occupant of the house was Mrs. Wilson's father, a feeble old man who could not get Mr. Wilson off the bed. He finally extinguished the fire, thus saving the life of the helpless man. Mr. Wilson was terribly burnt about the hips and thighs, and for months had to be lifted like a child, but he finally recovered.
DEATH OF JOHN STAFFORD.
ONE of the saddest accidents of late years was
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
the accidental killing of John Stafford, son of Claib and Elizabeth Stafford of Cyclone, October 13, 1891. Young Stafford, with his brother Charley and several others, was working on the right of way of the railroad south of the river along Jim William s field.
He and John LaGore were chopping down a tree that stood at the foot of a ledge of rock about four feet high. LaGore was on the lower side while Stafford was on the upper, between the tree and the rock wall. Suddenly, and be- fore it was expected to fall, the tree split up some three feet, the butt flew back and caught him against the solid mass of stone, cutting off the right leg near the upper part of the thigh, and crushing the left leg from the knee to the ankle. As if satisfied with its terrible work the tree then lurched forward and pitched several feet down the hill.
The injured man was taken to the camp near the river where his leg was amputated, but the shock from the injury and the ordeal of having his limb severed was more than human strength could bear, and he died about 2 o'clock the next morning the injury having occurred the previous afternoon. He was a model young man, of steady habits, industrious and quiet and well liked by every one who knew him.
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
DROWNING OF LITTLE CHARLEY CLARK.
ANOTHER sad case of drowning occurred at the lower end of whatis called Big Rock, at the southeast part of Pineville. On the afternoon of April 22, 1890, he dug a can of bait, took his pole and line and went fishing. He was quite a little boy to go out all alone, being only seven the fall before. But, as he and many other boys were in the habit of going no uneasiness was felt until he failed to come home to supper. Dark came on and still he did not appear. The alarm was given and a search for the lost boy was begun. In a short time his can of bait was found on a large slanting rock that reached down to the water, and his pole lying across it. It was evident he had set down on the rock where he lost his balance and slipped into the water. The search for his body continued all through the night, but the water being muddy . it was not found until nearly noon the next day. It had floated down a mile or more below town. Jim Brown, the same one who afterwards found the body of Lula Noel, was the first to discover it.
A TRIPPLE DROWNING.
ONE of the saddest tragedies that is mingled with the warp and woof of the history of our
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
county, is the death of three boys by drowning.
On the 8, day of May, 1897, John Reece, aged 22, Harvy Reece, aged 19, Frank Reece, aged 9, three brothers and James Moulton, a boy 17 years old, were in a boat fishing in Elk River at the Bartley Bluff, a short distance below the residence of James Langley. They ran the boat to the left bank of the river on the opposite side from the bluff, where the water was compar- atively still, and about six feet deep, intending to land. The bow of the boat struck the bank with some force causing it to suddenly start back. The shock threw John Reece, who was standing, off his balance and he pitched head first into the water. As he came up, his brother Harvy and the Moulton boy reached out and caught him. This turned the boat over and threw all four of the boys into the water. The little Reece boy caught to the limb of a tree that hung over the water and clung to it until rescued.
The older of the two Reece boys was a good swimmer and the other could swim some, but the Moulton boy could not swim at all. For some reason the skill of the two was unavailing and the three boys were soon lifeless on the pebbly bottom.
A couple of men were fishing some 150 yards below and heard their cries for help. At first they thought they were hollowing for fun as
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
was usual, but soon distinguished the tone of distress and ran to their assistance. They found the little boy still holding to the limb, and when they asked where the other boys were he said "There they are on the bottom of the river, drowned." They looked down in the clear water and there beheld the three dead bodies lying where the cruel hand of fate had rung down the curtain on the last tragic scene of their lives.
The parties lived some two miles south of Coy. Jimmie was the son of N. B. Moulton and wife, being her only child. The two Reece boys were the sons of a widow whose husband had met a tragic death a few months before. A tree had blown down near his house, and part of the roots were still clinging to the ground. They were at work on the tree and had sawed the trunk into, when the stump settled back towards an upright position, catching Mr Reece, who was standing at its base, under it and crushing him almost beyond recognition.
BURNED TO DEATH.
The first of last week a sad and fatal accident occured about eight miles northeastof Pineville in which Mrs. Proctor was burnt to death. She was standing with her back to the fire place when her skirts caught fire Her two little girls ran
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
to her assistance, but besides burning their hands both of them caught fire. A young hired man hearing their screams ran in and seeing the children on fire, tore their clothing off before they were injured. In the meantime Mrs. Proctor ran out doors, around the house and all over the yard until she dropped from exhaustion and died in a short time. Her clothing was entirely destroyed, and in many places her body burnt to a crisp. Mr. Proctor was away at the time visiting relatives in Ark. The corps was kept until he could return and attend the funeral .- McDonald County Republican, January 25, 1895.
DEATH OF LEE SELLERS.
Wednesday afternoon between two and three o'clock Lee Sellers, one of the most prosperous and highly respected citizens of this county met with a tragical death near his home on Indian creek, about one mile eastof Anderson. He and one of his sons were out in the hills loading a sawlog. They had placed the rope around it and were rolling it up with the team, when the rope gave way and the log rolled over Mr. Sellers and mashed him so that he died in a short time. The children, some of whom reside in the Territory, have all been notified, and the burial will take place at the Beaver Springs
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
cemetery today. The deceased owned a large farm on Indian creek about a mile east of An- derson and was well fixed for a comfortable life. He leaves a wife and several children .- McDonald County Republican February 22, 1895.
JAMES MERANDA SUICIDES.
YESTERDAY afternoon James Meranda, a farmer who has been living near this place for the past twenty years, and for the last two years on Mrs. Chenoweth's place, one mile north of Pineville, committed suicide by shooting himself through the heart with a rifle gun of 44 caliber. Mr. Meranda's wife died over two years ago, and he has been very despondent since, sometimes remarking that he thought of killing himself, but no one had any idea of his doing so. He had been in unusual low spirits for the last four or five days, but went about his work on the farm as usual, plowing until noon yesterday.
Shortly after noon he took his gun and started toward his corn crib, looking back as he walked off. His oldest daughter aged 17 years, thinking from his actions there was something wrong, asked him where he was going, when he replied that he was going to the crib to shoot a rat. He then went on and got in the crib and shot himself as above stated. His daughter, as soon
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
as hearing the report of the gun and him halloo, ran to the crib and found her father dying, with a bullet hole in his left breast, and his gun lying on one side of his body and the ramrod on the other, which goes to show that he used the ram- rod to push the trigger. Deceased leaves six children-five girls and one boy their ages ranging from 2 to 17 years .- Pineville News, August 4, 1886.
A DOUBLE SUICIDE.
AMONG the ancient residents of Pineville were George Casbeer and his wife. He was dissi- pated and they lived very unhapily together. At last, tired of their troubles, they decided to end their lives. She agreed that if he would get the whisky, she would mix the poison, and they would drink their last draught together. The liquor was procured, and on a Sunday even- ing they filled their goblets to the brim and drank them to the very dregs. They were soon discovered in their agony, and told what they had done and why, but refused to take any antidote. She died the next day and he atnight a few hours later.
Thus, in intense agony, ended the short trage- dy of their lives. To them, marriage had been a failure, the blossom of love had withered, and
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
death came as a welcome messenger of peace. They left seven children who were taken care of by friends in Illinois. The above statement was furnished by a man who was an eye witness to the scene and heard them give their state- ments.
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
CHAPTER X.
SUMMARY JUSTICE.
THE SLICKERS.
IN connection with this subject it might be in order to mention the Slickers. In the early settlement of the county a custom was estab- lished of laying claim to certain designated tracts of land and holding it against all new comers. A man would pick out his location on some water course, build his cabin and mark out a tract of land coresponding in size with the extent of his enterprise. Some would be satis- fied with forty acres, others with eighty or a hundred, while a few ran into the thousands.
When the government survey was made this land was reported vacant. But little of it was in cultivation, and many of the claims were marked only by the blazes on the trees or an occasional stake driven down. New settlers coming in would inquire at the land office and, finding the land vacant, would enter portions of
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it. These entries were opposed by the claim- ants and intimidation or open resistance used as occasion might require. As immigrants in- creased in number and their encroachments grew numerous, the claimants organized, and were called the Slickers. It was their province to see that all parties taking or attempting to take land claimed by an older settler were promptly waited on and induced to abandon the enterprise.
This sentiment was quite strong and extended throughout the entire county and embraced all classes of our people. It did not entirely die out until some years after the war. There were a few instances where the party was taken out and whipped, a few were compelled to leave the county, and some who had entered land were forced to deed it to the claimant.
One of the most noted cases was the contest between Mark Harmon and others. Harmon came to this county with considerable money and entered a fine body of land on Indian Creek near the mouth of Elk Horn. Several years previous, Jonathan Blair had located near the present site of McNatt's Mill, and laid claim to a tract extending some two miles up and down the creek bottom. Harmon's entry cut a big slice out of Blair's claim and he was notified of that fact. However he had paid his money and ยท proposed to hold the land. He was remonstrated
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with in a friendly manner and then threatened, but without effect. At last one day some thirty or forty men came to his house bringing with them a justice of the peace and a deed to the land properly filled out, also a rope, and he was given his choice between executing the deed and wearing the halter. They told him that as a man they had no objection to him and did not desire to do him harm, but the land must be given up. Mr. Harmon and his wife signed and acknowledged the deed under protest and a few years later went into the U. S. court and had the conveyance set aside and his title re-estab- lished.
THE PINE WAR.
THIS interesting reminiscence has almost passed from the memory of our people and, were it not recorded here, in a few more years would be numbered among the forgotten incidents of long ago. I asked an old gray-haired gentleman about it, and he replied that it happened when he was quite a small boy, and he did not know much about it.
From the best information it has been possible to obtain it occurred in the very early settlement of the county and was practically over in 1845. Nearly all the lands in this county were govern-
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ment lands, and there were extensive pine forests in the hills bordering on the two Sugar creeks and extending from Pineville to the east side of the county. There was also, considerable pine lands along the river west of Pineville and ex- tending south to the Arkansasline. A number of saw mills were in operation manufacturing this pine timber. The United States marshals undertook to protect the timber. John B. King who operated a mill on Kings creek, and perhaps others, was arrested. Several were subpoened as witnesses. Mark Harmon was one of the leading spirits in favor of the prosecution, and had a few followers but people generally took the side of themill men.
They gathered together in groups and dis- cussed the matter, held meetings, passed res- olutions and organized for the purpose ofin ev- ery way obstructing and, if occasion should re- quire, resisting the United States marshals. It was carried to such an extent that at Cassville a marshall was run clear out of the state, seeking refuge at Bentonville, Arkansas. The leader of this resistance, a Cassville lawyer, was sent to jail at St. Louis under a charge of treason, but was eventually released.
Of course the government eventually prevail- ed, but not until after much of the pine forests had been destroyed.
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HISTORY OF MCDONALD COUNTY.
ANNOYED BY PETTY THIEVES.
FOR several years after the close of the war the people in various parts of the county were more or less annoyed by petty theiving. It got so bad that it was never safe to turn hogs on the range which to many was the chief source of profit. The masts were generally good and the range so extensive that hogs grew and fatten- ed without other food. When the owners wanted meat they would usually kill direct from the mast, or feed a few weeks to harden the meat. The farmers on the narrow valleys who thus counted on supplying their own families and selling enough to provide other necessaries, when the time came to collect their hogs, were often unable to find more than a few carcasses where they had been shot in the timber and the best parts taken by the thieves. An occasional heifer or a fat cow would "come up missing" in the same mysterious manner. Various prose- cutions were instituted against suspected parties but few, if any, convictions were ever had.
The people in the vicinities where these of- fenses were most common, finding the law did not afford them sufficient protection on account of the failure of the evidence, concluded to take the matter in their own hands. A few of the suspected parties were warned to leave the
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