USA > Missouri > Grundy County > The History of Grundy County, Missouri : an encyclopedia of useful information, and a compendium of actual facts > Part 17
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Harrison and Franklin townships began to gain in population in 1840. Those who came in the year previous were doing well; some splendid land was to be had at government price and a good share of it was preempted in 10
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
the first named year. Jake Faulkner, Franklin Woods and Thomas Tucker settled in the first named township, and the following well known persons claimed Washington township as their home: Henry Woods, Robert Hobbs, the Templers, Jennings, John Barr, James Sperry and Andrew Weldon. Thomas Pemberton took possession of Myres township in 1840. He remained monarch of all he surveyed but a short time before he was surrounded by neighbors who began to settle in all parts of the township, not, however, in very large groups.
THEIR RELATIVE POSITION.
The leading townships, up to the organization of the county in 1841, proved to be in the following order, by the names afterward given them: Trenton, Lincoln, Marion, Wilson and Madison. The latter claimed to lead Wilson, but it was, on examination, proven to be a mistake. Then we record the remainder of the townships in this order: Liberty, Jackson, Jefferson, Myres, Franklin, Harrison, Washington and Taylor. The town- ships are given in this shape to show more particularly how the county was settled, and where the bulk of the population and wealth was to be found in the old townships. Thus we find Trenton, the largest of the old townships. decidedly the greatest in wealth and population, as it included two-thirds of Lincoln and all of Jackson. Marion came next, and it claimed half of Liberty and all of Wilson. Then came Liberty, Madison, Jefferson, Franklin, and Washington. There were several settlements made on the east side of the county. What are now known as Myres, Liberty, Marion and Wilson townships were improving more rapidly than any part of the county excepting Trenton and the part now known as Lincoln. There were no roads laid ont in the several townships, but the settlers had made their way through the woods in the direction they wished to go and these had become beaten tracks. The southeastern part of the county was settling quite fast, and along the Medicine River, and following it up to the north- east part, seemed to be a favorite portion of the county. 'The trading- point for those in Wilson and Marion townships, or what was then Ma- rion, was principally at Brunswick. The northeast settlers came to the Lomax store. This latter place began to be recognized as a trading-point in 1839 and 1840. The cabins in the county were generally miles apart. and, in fact, up to 1850 there were no villages in the county, always ex- cepting the county seat. The Whitifields, Perkinses and Rooks, Lyda. Beckner, William Anderson, John and Jacob Halloway, Michael Chrisman and others were to be found in Marion township and in Liberty. They soon gathered to a point for a village settlement and Lindley proved to be the point. We have spoken heretofore of the Indian hunting parties in the settlement of the Bains and Kelsos. The principal hunting-ground off of the Grand River, where the white settlers first encroached upon them,
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was the country lying between Big Muddy Creek and Medicine River, and along the bottoms of No Creek. This country up to 1840 continued to be a wilderness, with the exception of a few settlers, and was a splendid country for game of all kinds.
Coonrod Woltz and Jacob Thrailkill settled in what is now Myres town- ship, in 1840, and helped along the other settlers in improving that section of the country. Myres, which was then a part of Liberty, was a good body of land with a sufficiency of water for stock purposes, but like the northwest township, Washington, it has been slow of settlement. It was a splendid hunting-ground for years after the more southerly portion of the county was settled. The Brassfields, however, went in the southern part and commenced to make an opening in the wilderness. They were a large family and hard workers, clannish to some extent, keeping and being with- in themselves. They were the leading settlers in that section for several years. D. L. Winters settled in the same township in 1840, and for years took a leading part in the affairs of that section of the country. William Warren of Wilson township, "Uncle Billy" as they called him, was among the first in the settlement of that township and came there in 1839. Wil- son township had an energetic population and she still retains it, ranking third up to 1880 in wealth in the county, and probably holds her own yet- After the Heatherly War, peace reigned within her borders, and she has proved conclusively that she had no use for that class of citizens, and that horse-thieves and murderers have not proved indigenous to her soil.
The lower part of Trenton township seemed slow of settlement, yet there is very little land found in Grundy county superior to that found east of the Grand River, in the bottoms and on the ridges that lie along that river and Honey and No creeks. It is really a farmer's and stock-raiser's para- dise. Reuben Merriman is one of the early pioneers in that section, and a few others gathered around him, but there were so many strong attractions further north, that the section of the county now known as Trenton and Lincoln townships was more rapidly settled than the lower portion, but it would take a very close observer, so far as the land is concerned, to say why this was so, or where those superior attractions were found. Undoubtedly the county seat location was one of the reasons of its rapid increase and the fighting qualities of the Trentonites and the Lincolnites called forth the greatest activity and a desire for settlers. It is pretty clear that the old pioneers who made the fight in Lincoln, or what is now Lincoln township, had no cause to weep over their failure, nor of their descend- ants in the fighting qualities of their ancestors. Trenton won as much by what nature had done for her, as by her determined effort to have the county seat. Tetherow made a gallant fight, but Lomax held the fort, planted by nature and man. Those were good old times, and the early settlers had their battles in public life and enjoyed them as much as the men of to-day.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
The presidential election of 1840 has had no parallel in the history of the country. The log cabin and hard cider campaign of that memorable year, a year of song and story, was an entirely new element in the political his- tory of the country. It was claimed that the crash of 1837 was due to the administration of Martin Van Buren, and was brought on by his extrav- agance, and "Old Tippecanoe," Wm. Henry Harrison, was not only a soldier boy but a farmer. One verse of a song which was intended to show the extravagance of Van Buren's administration of office, and which song was sung with a wild enthusiasm in the campaign was as follows, speaking as coming from the president:
" Bring forth, he cries, the glittering plate, We'll dine to-day in royal state; He speaks, and on the table soon They placed the golden fork and spoon. Around him bends a servile host, And loud they shout the welcome toast, Down with Old Tippecanoe! Down with Old Tippecanoe !! "
Henry Clay, of Kentucky, was the leader of the Whig party of those days and he was made the target for Democratic thunder. The songs were not all on one side; but the charge of royalty was the winning card of the Whigs. However, the Democrats got off a good many songs against Clay and his party, and a verse is given to show the tactics of the opposition. Here it is:
" There's Harry Clay, a man of doubt, Who wires in and wires out; And you cannot tell when he's on the track If he's going on or coming back."
This was the kind of work that the Old Pioneers of Grundy took part in, and you will not find a man among them but what claims that campaign to be the "boss." Those were good old times; they had big meetings, bar- becues were held and the political days of Jackson, Van Buren and Har- rison were the ne plus ultra of all presidential campaigns, and there has been nothing like them of late years.
So the old pioneer revels in the times of long ago, and he is not far out of the way. Those days were as full of wrangling and bitterness as those of the present, but it was a square fight for principle only, and the spoils were not considered. Money was not the mighty power which has con- trolled the elections of the last decade. It did not rule Congress, buy leg- islatures or elect presidents. It had the will to do it, but its representative power, the old United States Bank, was crushed and tariff and protection was the principal question which divided parties, and, it might also be added, extravagant expenditures. The people of those days believed in economy. In talking with one of the oldest residents of the county he said
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
that it was generally believed that Van Buren's administration had been extravagant, and so much of the country was new and the old settlers had to struggle so hard to get even corn bread and bacon that the "golden fork and spoon " charges did the business that year for the Democracy.
There were two old settlers located north of Madison who made their homes in what is now called Harrison township. Their names were Charles W. Scott and Alvin Johnson. The former came in the fall of 1834, and probably was nearly the first settler west of the East Fork or Weldon Branch of Grand River. He has proven himself a good farmer and neigh- bor. Mr. Johnson came a year or two later, lives on section ten about a mile from Mr. Scott. He is hale and hearty, has a good memory, and can relate much of the early history of Grundy county, and also of the State. In Taylor township we find the Grubbs, Woods and others and their de- scendants who have some of the finest farms in the township.
There was a general settlement all over the county in 1841 at the time of the organization of the county in that year, but Taylor, Washington, Myres, Harrison, Jefferson and Jackson, or the country composing the townships now known by these names, was but thinly settled. Trenton, Lincoln, Madison, Marion and Wilson secured the largest population up to that time, and in fact to this day they seem to hold their own as the leading townships in wealth and population. Such has been in a measure the his- tory of the early pioneers of this beautiful country, and those who are liv- ing can look back with interest to the days which tried the nerve, the mus- cle and the indomitable will of the fathers and mothers who had the infancy of Grundy county in their keeping.
In closing this part of our history, covering but a short period, less than a deeade, there has been much given founded more upon traditions than facts. The early pioneers made history, but took no care to preserve it. This is a sad loss to the country. Those years, and the lives and the actions of the heroes and patriots then living, were of the greatest importance. Then it was that the foundation was laid and a noble and enduring superstructure was to be reared, upon which the moral, physical and political future of the county was to rest. There were no stirring events, or remarkable happen- ings, but it was a time of self-reliance, of persevering toil, of privation, of suffering, that was endured with heroic fortitude, believing in a future re- ward of successful labor, of the good time coming when the woods and the open prairie would resolve themselves into well-cultivated farms, and their humble eabins into residences befitting their improved financial condition. They had come into the boundless wilderness poor in purse, but rich in faith and powerful in endurance, and their future was before them. All coming poor, their social lives were lives of brotherly love and neighborly feeling, and they worked harmoniously together. If trials and troubles came to some they had the heartfelt sympathy of their neighbors, and that sympathy was
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expressed in acts and deeds, as well as in words. If a settler lost his rude cabin by fire his neighbors would at once come together and assist him to erect another, and that, too, with such willing ness and hearty rendering of their services as would cheer the hearts of those who had suffered. This was the way they lived and moved in early times, and not in this county alone, but wherever the track of the pioneer was found, or the ring of the ax heard, there you would find a neighbor and a friend. This spirit prevailing, with unity of action and concentration of purpose, has made Grundy county rich and prosperous. There were laws to protect them, but the civil authorities were too weak to be of much force, and so the spirit of self-pres- ervation to shield them from grievances was the spirit of brotherly love and neighborly affection.
WOMEN PIONEERS.
The pioneer cabins were, perhaps, as worthy of mention as many other matters that have been, or may be given in this work. Rude and primitive were they in style, with, in many cases, the earth for their floor and the roof thatched and held down with weight-poles. Yet, as simple and una- dorned as they were, they proved to be the best that could be built with the tools at hand. It is to be doubted much if there can be found in the palaces of to-day more happiness, more refinement-that which is bred in the heart, not its outward show-than was found in the cabins of the early pioneers of this western country. That the people of early times were happy in all that constitutes the real wealth of affection is plain enough. The heroes and heroines of those days joined hands to make the wilderness blossom like the rose. There was no waiting until the cage was built to secure the bird, but the latter joined its mate and helped to finish the rugged house, furnished with the smiles of a loving heart, greeting her partner in life with the work of willing hands, and while the one went into the forest to clear the way for bread and a future competency, the other in the homely cabin was keeping her true womanly talents at full play, not only in doing culinary work, but weaving and spinning, making her own garments and those of her husband and children. Many have read in our day of the "Old Pioneer," and his struggle in the early years of his life, heavy trials, misfortune, and ulti- mately his success, but little has been recorded of his noble companion, the light of his cabin, the one to cheer him in his misfortune, nursing him in sickness, and in health giving her whole strength to labor for their future welfare and happiness. There was little Inxury or ease for the pioneer's wife of those early days, but whatever her destiny might be, it was met with a firm faith and a willingness to do her whole duty, living in the love of her husband and children, and trusting in Providence to receive her final reward for the unceasing labor of years, well and nobly performed.
Yes, there was something decidedly primitive in the building and furni-
.
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ture of those cabins of old. Houses were built one-and-a-half stories high, in many cases, that they might have a "loft " to store away things and sometimes to sleep in. A house-raising in those days meant something. It meant the very hardest kind of work in getting the heavy logs in their places, and the settlers for miles around would come, to the number of twenty or thirty, and the cabin would go up with a rush and with cheers. And right in that brush, " just over there," was a jug of good old whisky. It was there to be drank, and it was, but they went home sober. The new- comer had his honse, and he and his wife took possession with the hearty congratulations of the neighbors and an earnest wish for their welfare. The cabin had no floor yet, windows had yet to be cut out, if the logs had been all of a length; but they went to housekeeping and were as hopeful and happy as could be over their new home. The windows were covered by a light quilt to keep the wind and rain out, the puncheon floor was to be laid, the stick and mud chimney set up, a table and chair or two, or stools made of a split log, with anger-holes bored to put in the legs. Some shelves made of the same material, holes bored and pins put in, to hang up their clothes or other things, and that pioneer heroine was ready to meet her friends and neighbors, and the world at large, in a roomy and comfortable home. A housekeeping outfit of that style in these days would send a young woman into hysterics, make her declare she would go right home to her pa-and proba- bly for herself and that young man it would be the best place for her. Corn- bread and bacon was the principal food the first year. They generally had a cow, and with this they were content. Often living miles from the mill, they took a bag of corn and went on a horse to have it ground, and if they didn't have a horse of their own would go to a neighbor's and borrow one for the occasion. And the wife often went, because the husband had no time to go, sometimes swimming the horse across the river, as was often the case when Bunch's mill was the only one for miles around, and the cabin was on the wrong side of the stream.
A WEDDING TOUR.
From Mrs. Capt. Jarvis Woods, one of the female pioneers, who came to Grundy county with her father, Daniel Devaul, in 1835, is given a short account of what the wives of the early settlers performed as their part of the work for the regeneration of the wilderness. The old lady is hale and hearty, claims that her early days were as full of happiness as hard work, and she holds in slight contempt the effeminate beanties of the present day, who lack the courage and the will to do -- that was the glorious trait the young women of olden times possessed, and what made them the equals of, and fit wives and associates for the men of those days. The wedding tour of Mr. and Mrs. Jarvis Woods was a horseback ride of about six miles, ending in the woods at a temporary log shanty. There the young bride
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jumped from her horse and took possession of her home. It was built of slabs or puncheons, placed against a large white oak tree, and they were kept in their places by heavy logs placed against them. And in telling the author of this bridal tour and her new home, Mrs. Woods said she was just as happy as she could be. The floor of her home was of mother earth. Her chief cooking utensil was an iron bake-pan, used in old times to make pones of corn bread and to bake an occasional biscuit. The writer was shown this relic of olden time. It is doing duty now as a lye pot. This young bride also had a skillet, and with a gourd, or a tin cup or two, she had her culinary outfit. It would give a farmer's bride of to-day a chill of absolute despair if she were introduced to such an estab- lishment. Well, that was the bride's home for six short (not long) weeks before their new palace residence was completed. This happened in Feb- ruary, 1838-the couple being married on the 26th of February by Squire Thrailkill, and the road to their home was simply a not over-beaten path- way in the woods. She milked the cow, and cooked, and sewed, wove and spun, and went to mill, thus doing her part and keeping her end of the line tant. They made their bread literally by the sweat of their brows and led happy and contented lives. They were the first couple married in Grundy county. A calico or a gingham dress in those days was a piece of finery good enough to visit in or go to church, but you would oftener see a new homespun dress do duty on the same occasions; then these fine dresses would last a year or two, and it only took eight yards for a dress. Hoop-skirts had not yet put in an appearance and pin-backs were of another day and gen- eration. So with a multiplicity of duties the young wife kept on her way. By and by, when a family had grown up around them, cares began to in- crease and the wife and mother was often compelled to sit up night after night that the husband's and the children's clothes might be mended, their stockings darned, and the preparations for the coming morning's work made ready. Then it was discovered that a woman's work is never done. The household was asleep. The tired husband and father was resting his weary limbs in dreamland, the children were tossing here and there on their beds as restless children always do. Nature itself had gone to rest and the outer world was wrapped in darkness and gloom, but the nearly exhausted mother still sewed on and on, and the midnight candle was still shedding its pale light over the work or the vigils of the loved and loving mother. And this is the record of the thousands of noble women, the female pioneers, whose daily presence, loving hearts, earnest work and keen judgment, made the work of civilization and progress one of success. And the question has oftentimes been asked, "what would the men of the olden times have done if the women of the olden times had not been with them?" and the reply comes back, " Ah! yes, what would they have done?"
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
A FEW MORE.
Then there was Mrs. Linney, one of the first who trod the soil of Grundy county. She, too, can tell you of the times when the loving strength of a woman's heart, and the willing hands of the wife and mother, were put to sore tests to meet the trials, vexations and privations of a pioneer's life. She is the mother of Mrs. P. W. Bain, of Lincoln township, and she can give you many a story of the olden time. Then we have Mrs. Mary Jones. who came from Kentucky in 1839, Mrs. Davis, and Mrs. Devaul, the wife of James R. Devaul. The latter was married March 2d, 1837, but in Daviess county, at the home of the bride's parents-had the ceremony been performed this side of the line it would have been the first wedding in Grundy county. However, James Devaul was the first resident of the county united in the silken bonds of matrimony. Then there was another wedding tour attached to this marriage. Young . Devaul had a horse and rode it over to Daviess county; he was accompanied by Robt. Benson, Henry Henderson and Boone Best as his "best men," but he didn't have another to bring back his new made bride. But the next morning a horse was borrowed, the bride's clothes were tied up in two bundles and equally divided between the young couple, and with the blessing of the old folks and the good wishes of kind neighbors they started on a wedding tour of twenty-five miles, and on their return trip the brother of the bride, Marshal Howel, was added to the trio who formed the escort coming over. The old man, Daniel Devaul, promptly met them on the west bank of the Grand River with a canoe, and escorted the young couple over and to their home. They got into the canoe with their bundles, and leading the horses into the river compelled them to swim over, and that was the end of the wedding tour. Mrs. Devaul, Jr., went right to housekeeping. There wasn't any fooling around. The young bride didn't come to be set up into a corner to be looked at, or to simper return congratulations to callers. She came, in the language of even earlier days, "to boss that ranch." Bossing in those days was slightly different from what is known at this time. It meant hard work and constant watchfulness, and it took a pow- erful sight of the heart's affection and a strong will to make a person willing to become a boss, and that is why the women of those early years should be known in history, as well as men, as "Pioneers."
Daniel Devaul had, some little time before, lost his wife, and the family needed a woman's love and care, and so Miss Sarah Howell, of Daviess county, became Mrs. James R. Devaul of Grundy, and did a mother's part to the half orphaned brothers and sisters of her young husband, and did it well. This history speaks of only a few of the women pioneers of Grundy county. They are those the author has met, and from whom he has gath- ered the reminiscences of their early life, its trials and its happiness. There
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were many others who are now sleeping quietly beneath the sod, who per- formed their earth's allotted work nobly and well, who carried the crosses of this earthly pilgrimage uncomplainingly to the end, and they have gone to their reward. But the memory of their loving kindness will never be forgotten by those who were with them, and who hope to meet them in the happy beyond. May God bless the women pioneers now living! They one and all, living or dead, deserve a place in the history of our country, and the author of Grundy county's history has contributed these few words to the noble band who made civilization a possibility in this country. It is not much, but it is a pure token of esteem and veneration for the few whom he has met, and a cherished memory for those who have gone before.
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