The Daily news' history of Buchanan County and St. Joseph, Mo. From the time of the Platte purchase to the end of the year 1898. Preceded by a short history of Missouri. Supplemented by biographical sketches of noted citizens, living and dead, Part 3

Author: Rutt, Christian Ludwig, 1859-; St. Joseph Publishing Company, St. Joseph, Mo., pub
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [St. Joseph] : Press of L. Hardman
Number of Pages: 614


USA > Missouri > Buchanan County > St Joseph > The Daily news' history of Buchanan County and St. Joseph, Mo. From the time of the Platte purchase to the end of the year 1898. Preceded by a short history of Missouri. Supplemented by biographical sketches of noted citizens, living and dead > Part 3


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


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51


CHAPTER VI.


MISSOURI'S REPRESENTATIVES IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE FROM BENTON AND BARTON TO THE PRESENT .- FIRST MEMBERS OF THE LOWER HOUSE OF CONGRESS .- MEMBERS WHO HAVE REP- RESENTED THE DISTRICT TO WHICH BUCHANAN COUNTY WAS ATTACHED FROM HALL (1846) TO COCHRAN (1898). - STATE SENATORS FROM VARI- OUS DISTRICTS TO WHICH BUCHANAN COUNTY HAS BEEN ATTACHED SINCE 1840 .- BUCHANAN COUNTY'S REPRESENTATIVES IN THE LEGISLA- TURE FROM 1840 TO THE PRESENT TIME.


The first two men to represent Missouri in the United States senate were David Barton of Howard County, who served 1820-30, and Thomas H. Benton of St. Louis, who served 1820-51. They were elected by the legislature, which met in its first session at St. Louis in September of 1820, but were not permitted to take their seats until 1821, because the state was not yet formally admitted into the Union.


Mr. Barton was a native of ennessee and a soldier of the war of 1812. He was quite a popular public man in the state when elected, but during his last term lost prestige because of his preference of John Quincy Adams over General Jackson for the presidency, Gen- eral Jackson being a great favorite with the Missourians. He was stricken with insanity and died at Boonville in 1837.


Senator Benton was not elected without opposition, because of a difficulty he had had with Andrew Jackson, who attempted to horse- whip Benton in the streets of Nashville, and was shot in the arm by Benton's brother. Benton afterwards killed Charles Lucas, at that time United States attorney for Missouri, in a duel, and was regarded by many as a murderer. He served thirty years, and became unpop- ular because of his domineering disposition. He represented St. Louis one term in Congress in 1852-54, and was defeated for re- election by Luther M. Kennett, a Know-Nothing. He then made


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an independent effort to become governor, and was also defeated. He was a man of strong character; in fact, one of the remarkable men of the nation.


Senator Barton was succeeded by Alexander Buckner of Cape Girardeau, who served 1830-33, and died of cholera. Governor Dunklin appointed Dr. Lewis F. Linn of Ste. Genevieve to the va- cancy, who served until 1843, and died in office. Dr. Linn was a most useful man to Missouri, and it was largely through his efforts that the Platte purchase was made. Upon his death Governor Rey- nolds appointed Judge David R. Atchison of Platte County, who was at that time judge of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit and who held court regularly in Robidoux's store and at the house of Richard Hill, in Buchanan County.


Senator Benton was succeeded in 1851 by Henry S. Geyer of St. Louis. Senator Geyer was a Marylander, who came to Missouri in 1815, and who was speaker of the House for the first five years after the admission of Missouri into the Union. He was a famous lawyer and did much to systematize the Missouri code. He was the only avowed Whig ever elected to the United States senate from Missouri. He died in 1859.


In 1855 the legislature balloted in vain for a successor to Senator Atchison and the election went over to the next session. In 1857 there were successors to both Senators Atchison and Geyer to choose. Governor Trusten Polk and James S. Green of Lewis County were elected.


Governor Polk was a native of Delaware and a graduate of Yale College. In 1862 he was expelled for disloyalty, and died in St. Louis in 1876. James S. Green was a Virginian, and a strong state's rights man. He was a powerful debater and had few peers. He, like Polk, was expelled in 1861 for secession utterances.


Waldo P. Johnson of Osceola, St. Clair County, was elected to succeed Senator Green. He cast his lot with the South and resigned his seat soon after taking it.


Lieutenant-Governor Hall of St. Joseph, who was acting for Governor Gamble, appointed John B. Henderson of Pike County and Robert Wilson of Andrew to fill the vacancies. In November of 1863 the legislature elected Mr. Henderson to serve until March 4, 1869, and elected B. Gratz Brown for a term expiring March 4, 1867. Senator Brown was elected governor in 1870 and served two years. In 1872 he was a candidate for Vice-President with Horace Greeley.


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Charles D. Drake, the author of the Drake constitution, was elected to succeed Senator Brown. He served until 1871, when he resigned to become judge of the court of claims at Washington, and was succeeded by Daniel F. Jewett of St. Louis, who served one year and who was in turn succeeded by General Frank P Blair, who served out the remainder of the term, until 1873.


Carl Schurz was elected to succeed Senator Henderson for a term of six years, 1869-75. He was succeeded by Francis M. Cockrell of Johnson County, who has succeeded himself continuously until the present.


Lewis V. Bogy of St. Louis was elected to succeed Senator Blair and served 1873-77, dying in office. Governor Phelps appointed David H. Armstrong of St. Louis to serve until the legislature met. The legislature elected General James Shields of Carroll County for the unexpired term, and George Graham Vest of Warrensburg, the present incumbent, for the full term.


Up to 1845 the congressmen from Missouri were elected at large. The last member from this section under the old system was James M. Hughes of Clay County, a nephew of General Andrew S. Hughes and the father of Mrs. Calvin F. Burnes of St. Joseph.


The first man to be elected when the state was divided into dis- tricts was Willard P. Hall. This was then, as now, the Fourth Con- gressional district, though it has undergone several transformations since the first organization.


General Hall was the regular Democratic nominee in 1846, and against him was pitted James H. Birch of Clinton County, a brilliant man, but one who vacillated politically. Judge Birch was the inde- pendent candidate. General Hall, who was plain Willard in those days, left the campaign to take care of itself and went with General Doniphan's expedition to Mexico. The people liked his spirit and patriotism, and elected him in his absence.


After serving two terms General Hall was succeeded by Mor- decai Oliver, a Whig, who was then living at Richmond. Judge Oliver was afterward secretary of state, and in 1884-6 served as police judge in St. Joseph.


In the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congresses (1857-61) the Fourth District was represented by General James Craig, Democrat, of St. Joseph. Judge Elijah H. Norton of Platte County, Democrat, succeeded General Craig and served one term.


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The state had meanwhile been redistricted and St. Joseph was in the Seventh Congressional District. General Ben F. Loan of St. Joseph, Republican, represented the district in the Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses (1863-69).


In the Forty-first Congress (1869-71) the district was represented by Hon. Joel F. Asper, Republican, of Livingston County.


Judge Isaac C. Parker, Republican, of St. Joseph represented the district in the Forty-second and Forty-third Congresses (1871-75). During the last term of Congressman Parker the state was again redistricted and Buchanan County fell into the Ninth Congressional District.


Judge Parker was succeeded by Judge David Rea, Democrat, of Andrew County, who served two terms (1875-79). Hon. Nicholas Ford, Greenback, of Andrew County, succeeded Judge Rea, defeat- ing General Craig, and served two terms (1879-83).


In 1881 the state was again redistricted and the entire Platte Purchase-Platte, Buchanan, Andrew, Holt, Nodaway and Atchi- son Counties-formed into the Fourth Congressional District .. The first man to represent the new district was the late James N. Burnes, Democrat, who defeated Morris A. Reed of St. Joseph, Republican, and Nathaniel Sisson of Maryville, Greenback-Labor, in November of 1882 by a majority of 569. In 1884 Colonel Burnes defeated Judge Henry S. Kelly, Republican, then of Andrew County, by 2,176 votes. In 1886 Colonel Burnes defeated Byron A. Dunn of Maryville, Republican, by 3,087 votes. In 1888 Colonel Burnes defeated H. R. W. Hartwig of St. Joseph, Republican, by 3,177 votes.


Colonel Burnes died January 24, 1889, at Washington. He had yet to serve his unexpired term in the Fiftieth Congress. Gov- ernor Francis ordered a special election to be held February 21, 1889, to fill the vacancy in the Fiftieth Congress and also for the election of a successor to Colonel Burnes in the Fifty-first Congress. The Republicans nominated Francis M. Posegate of St. Joseph for both places. The Democrats nominated Charles F. Booher of Savannah for the short term and Robert P. C. Wilson of Platte County for the long term. Captain Posegate was defeated by 618 votes. Mr. Booher served only about two weeks.


In 1890 Mr. Wilson defeated Nicholas Ford, Republican, of Andrew County, and W. H. Whipple, Populist, of Buchanan County, receiving a majority of 1,118. In 1892 Daniel D. Burnes, Democrat, defeated George C. Crowther, Republican, of St. Joseph, and J. B.


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Wilcox, Populist, of Andrew County, receiving a majority of 1,259. In 1894 Mr. Crowther defeated William C. Ellison of Maryville, Democrat, and William S. Missemer of St. Joseph, Populist, his majority being 1,661. In 1896 Charles F. Cochran of St. Joseph, Democrat, defeated Mr. Crowther, his plurality being 3,829.


The act authorizing the erection of Buchanan County attached it to the Twelfth State Senatorial District, which was represented at that time by Cornelius Gillam and James T. V. Thompson. Subse- quently Buchanan County was a part of the Tenth District, which, in 1842, was represented by Cornelius Gillam, and in 1844 by Jesse B. Thompson. In 1846 it was part of the Seventh District and was represented by Robert M. Stewart, who served until 1858 and was succeeded by John Scott. Buchanan County was then in the Twelfth District. Senator Scott was succeeded in 1862 by Colonel John Severance, who in 1864 was succeeded by J. N. Young. Colonel Thomas Harbine succeeded Senator Young, the county having meanwhile become part of the Second District. Senator Harbine served until 1871, and was succeeded by Daniel Ransom, who served one term, and was succeeded in 1875 by Waller Young, who also served one term. Ahira Manring of DeKalb County succeeded Senator Young and served two terms. In 1882 Randolph T. Davis was elected and resigned, his unexpired term being filled by Waller Young, who was succeeded in 1886 by Michael G. Moran. Senator Moran was succeeded in 1890 by Charles F. Cochran, the present member of Congress, who served four years and was suc- ceeded by Arthur W. Brewster. During Senator Cochran's term the state was redistricted and Buchanan County now constitutes the Twelfth District alone. The senatorial term is four years.


The first man to represent Buchanan County in the house was Jesse B. Thompson, who served 1840-44 The second was Richard Roberts, who served 1844-46. Then came James B. Gar- denhire, who served two years, and was followed by John Bretz, who served until 1850.


Buchanan County was now entitled to two representatives, and Henry S. Tutt and Sinclair K. Miller were elected. In 1852 A. J. Vaughan and E. F. Dixon were the representatives, each serving one term. Then came Wellington A. Cunningham and W. J.


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Everett, who served in the session of 1854. In the session of 1856 Buchanan County was represented by John Bretz and Alexander Davis, and in the session of 1858 and the special session of 1859 by Cornelius Day and Alexander Davis. In the session of 1860 J. C. Roberts and J. H. Ashbaugh were the representatives, and in 1862 J. L. Bittinger and Robert Brierly. In 1864 Buchanan County was represented by Robert Brierly and Joseph Thompson.


Three years elapsed between the Twenty-third and Twenty- fourth general assemblies, and when the latter met in 1867 Buchanan County was represented by Charles B. Wilkinson and Washington Bennett, who were succeeded in the session of 1867 by Samuel Hays and Oscar Kirkham. In the session of 1871 our representa- tives were J. L. Bittinger and William Randall, and in the following two sessions, in 1873 and 1875, they were J. L. Bittinger and W. S. Wells of Rushville.


For the Twenty-ninth general assembly, which met in 1877, Buchanan County elected three representatives - W. S. Wells, George W. Sutherland and Dr. E. A. Donelan. In the session of 1879 our representatives were Thomas Crowther, John T. Riley and John Saunders. The session of 1881 found Dr. Donelan, John T. Riley and Benjamin J. Woodson representing Buchanan County, and the following session, 1883, Alex. D. Vories, Michael G. Moran and A. A. Whittington. In the session of 1885 our representatives were William H. Haynes, Dr. Donelan and William S. Wells; in the session of 1887, William H. Haynes, Dr. Donelan and G. W. Johnson ; in 1889, Waller Young, Abraham Davis and B. F. Stuart; in 1891, Abraham Davis, Dr. E. A. Donelan and B. F. Stuart; in 1893, Abraham Davis, Granville G. Adkins and B. F. Stuart; in 1895, John L. Bittinger, James Moran and Oliver P. Smith ; in 1897, John L. Bittinger, Joseph A. Piner and James Shewmaker.


CHAPTER VII.


THE STATE CAPITAL .- SOME FIRST THINGS IN MIS- SOURI. - LEWIS AND CLARK. - NEW MADRID EARTHQUAKE .- DANIEL BOONE .- CHOLERA .- IM- PRISONMENT FOR DEBT .- GASCONADE BRIDGE DISASTER .- RAILROAD BONDS AND STATE AID .- IOWA BOUNDARY LINE .- "IMPERIAL MISSOURI."


The first seat of government of the State of Missouri was at St. Louis. In 1821 the capital was changed to St. Charles, but this was not satisfactory, for immigration was pushing to the broad prairies of the west. By a revision of the constitution it was pro- vided that the capital be located on the Missouri River, within forty miles of the mouth of the Osage. A commission was appointed, and after examining many localities, they decided upon the spot where Jefferson City now stands. The town was named after Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States. The capitol was located upon four sections of land donated by the United States government. It was large enough to meet the needs of the state at the time, and stood until 1837, when it was destroyed by fire. The legislature met in the new state building in 1826. The oldest portion of the present capitol was erected after the destruction of the original building.


The following are some of the first things that occurred in Mis- souri : The first marriage took place April 20, 1766, at St. Louis. The first baptism was performed in May, 1776, at St. Louis. The first house of worship (Catholic) was erected in 1775 at St. Louis. The first ferry was established in 1805 on the Mississippi River at St. Louis. The first newspaper was established in 1808. This was the Missouri Gazette, and the St. Louis Republic represents the perpetuation of this pioneer in journalism. The first postoffice was established at St. Louis in 1804, with Rufus Easton as postmaster. The first Protestant church (Baptist) was erected at Ste. Genevieve in 1806. The first bank was established at St. Louis in 1814. It


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was called the Bank of St. Louis. The first college was built at St. Louis in 1814. The first market house was opened at St. Louis in 18II. The first steamboat on the Upper Mississippi River was the General Pike, which landed at St. Louis in 1817. The first steam- boat that came up the Missouri River was the Independence, which touched at Franklin in 1819. The first court house was erected at St. Louis in 1823. The first line of telegraph reached St. Louis December 20, 1847.


Lewis and Clark, the explorers, began their ascent of the Mis- souri River in May of 1804. Captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were accompanied by forty-three men and a servant. The party stopped off frequently and explored the surrounding country, collected information concerning the Indians, the soil, the tributaries to the rivers, etc.


The earthquake that destroyed New Madrid occurred after mid- night of December 16, 1811. By this terrific convulsion vast tracts of land were plunged into the Mississippi River, large lakes were made in an instant, trees split in the middle, great fissures were formed where the earth had burst, and hundreds of them remained for years afterward. After the earthquake the country about New Madrid exhibited a melancholy aspect. Congress enacted laws per- mitting the earthquake sufferers to locate the same amount of lands in other parts of the territory, but owing to their ignorance of the ways of the world many of them were cheated out of their claims by unscrupulous speculators.


Daniel Boone, the famous pioneer, came to Missouri in 1794 and settled forty-five miles north of St. Louis in what is now Warren County .. He spent most of his latter days with his son, Major Na- than Boone, in St. Charles County. He died September 26, 1820, aged eighty-eight years. In 1845 both his body and that of his wife were disinterred and taken to Frankfort, Ky. Boone had two sons, Nathan and Daniel M., who, like their father, were noted for their courage and enterprise. They were among the first to manufacture salt, building furnaces at what was afterwards called Boone's Lick, in what is now Howard County. Wonderful salt springs existed there, and the Boones brought kettles in which the water was evap-


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orated and the salt retained. The country about Boone's Lick was settled rapidly when the fame of the salt springs and the beauty of the locality became known.


*


Asiatic cholera appeared at St. Louis in 1832, and for a time the death rate averaged thirty-two per day. When it finally disappeared a reckoning showed that one out of every twelve of the population had fallen a victim. In the spring of 1849 it appeared again, and between April and August 4,060 persons died. In 1850 and 1851, and again in 1867, there was cholera at various points along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. St. Joseph had but little of it, while Weston and other points farther down, suffered more severely. Those who were crossing the plains and Indians along the trails fell victims in large numbers.


Imprisonment for debt was permissible under the statutes of Missouri until 1843. The enforcement of this worked great hard- ships and created much dissatisfaction. There were but few things that the sheriff could not sell for debt, and if there was not enough to satisfy the avaricious creditor, he could have the unfortunate debtor cast into prison. The act abolishing the law was written by Governor Reynolds. It contained but six words: "Imprison- ment for debt is hereby abolished." Yet those few words brought great joy to all but the avaricious.


On November 1, 1855, there occurred the first railroad wreck in the history of Missouri. The completion of the Missouri Pacific railroad from St. Louis to Jefferson City was being celebrated and an excursion train of nine cars crowded with notables, was speeding to the capital. The bridge spanning the Gasconade River was not completed and a temporary scaffolding had been erected. A furious storm was raging while the train was crossing this bridge, and, amid the fiercest lightning and thunder, the timbers of the temporary structure parted and several cars went down. Forty-three lives were lost and many persons were injured.


The Drake constitution permitted counties to subscribe any sum of money to aid in building railroads, and county courts were author- ized to issue bonds binding the county for the payment of these


1 1


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subscriptions wherever two-thirds of the qualified voters should assent thereto. These courts, in some cases, were characterless or ignorant men and the "qualified" voters were not the people who owned property and who had to shoulder the burden. Bonds to the amount of over $15,000,000 were issued by various counties. In some instances the roads were not built, only a few miles being graded. But the bonds were marketed in New York and passed into the hands of the "innocent purchaser" as soon as possible. The county courts of Lafayette, Cass, Knox and St. Clair Counties re- fused to pay such bonds at maturity, but the United States court held that they were legally issued and must be paid. The people of Cass and St. Clair Counties were particularly stubborn in their opposition, and are to this day. County judges are firm upon this issue and cheerfully go to jail rather than levy taxes for the payment of these bonds.


At different times prior to the war the state had granted aid to various railroad companies by issuing bonds to the amount of $23,701,000. For this aid the companies agreed to pay interest. During and soon after the war the Missouri Pacific, the Iron Moun- tain, the North Missouri and what is now the Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs road, from St. Joseph to Weston, were sold for non-payment of interest on these bonds. The entire debt at the time of the sale was over $31,000,000, and the state realized from the various sales only about $8,000,000, thus leaving a deficit of $23,000,- 000, which the state has since had to pay, besides several millions in interest.


The contest over the boundary line between Iowa and Missouri, which was settled by the supreme court of the United States in 1845, was due to a mistake on the part of John Sullivan, the United States surveyor, who ran the lines. Missouri claimed that the northern border should be a parallel of the latitude which passed through the rapids of the Des Moines River, and Iowa claimed it should be a line which passed through the rapids of the Mississippi River, some twenty miles south. Unfriendly and revengeful feelings grew out of the dispute between the people who resided on the borders. Sullivan, the surveyor, began on a meridian one hundred miles north of Kansas City, and, instead of running due east, varied to the north, having varied four miles when he reached the Des Moines River. The United States had recognized Sullivan's survey


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in a number of Indian treaties, and now held that it should be forever the dividing line, and Missouri lost a strip of territory ten miles wide from the northern line.


Having briefly sketched the history of Missouri from its begin- ning, it will be appropriate to quote from the 1898 Manual of Secre- tary of State Lesueur as to the present condition of the state :


"Missouri is the fifth state out of forty-five in the American Union in population, which, according to the last census, was 2,676,- 184. The population is now estimated to be 3,250,000. Missouri is the eighth state in assessed valuation, only the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, California, Michigan and In- diana being greater. It is doubtful whether the real value of prop- erty in Michigan or Indiana surpasses the real value of property in Missouri, and it will be noticed that the assessed valuation of the great state of Illinois is less than that of Missouri.


"Missouri in area has 69,415 square miles, or over 44,000,000 acres. It is larger than any state east of or bordering upon the Miss- issippi, except the state of Minnesota. The length of the state north and south is 282 miles ; its extreme width east and west is 348 miles, and its average width 335 miles. Some idea of the immensity of this magnificent domain may be gained from the fact that the entire states of Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Ver- mont, Rhode Island and Delaware could be put down side by side within its limits, and still leave a margin of 900 square miles.


"Missouri is the third-state in the Union in the number of its farms and the third state in the number of acres of improved land, having over 17,000,000 acres under cultivation, or a larger acreage for the harvests than is possessed by the states of Michigan and Min- nesota combined, or the states of Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota and Rhode Island. Missouri raises more corn than Indiana and Maryland.


"It produces as much wheat as the states of New York, Ken- tucky and Texas combined. Missouri ships nearly 50,000,000 pounds of poultry every year, not being equaled by any state in the Union. It is the fourth state in the number of horses, and leads every state in the Union in the number of mules, producing last year 936.808 horses and 351,599 mules.


"It produces annually 4,040,084 pounds of wool. Its yield of hay surpasses that of Kentucky, Tennessee and New Jersey, and its


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tobacco crop is in the neighborhood of 10,000,000 pounds. Its southern counties raise an excellent quality of cotton. A11 the cereals, all the grasses, all the fruits and timbers of the latitude flour- ish in abundance and grow to maximum dimensions.


"It is capable of sustaining in comfort ten times as many people as are now within its borders. From its cotton fields in the south, its corn fields in the north, its splendid cereals and grasses, its endless variety of fruits and woods, its limitless deposits of coal, iron, lead, zinc and other minerals, it comes as near being self-sustaining and independent of other communities as it is possible for any state to be. Missouri has over 14,000 business manufactures, with a paid-up capital of $189,558,546, with 143,139 employes, making finished goods of all kinds amounting to $324,561,933 annually.




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