USA > Missouri > Grundy County > The History of Grundy County, Missouri : an encyclopedia of useful information, and a compendium of actual facts > Part 52
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Cupid's darts sped on as fatal errands of love in early days as now, and the young people of Franklin township were no exceptions to the rule. It was in the early part of 1840 that the first wedding occurred in the township and for " better or worse," Mr. Nathan Sharp and Miss Mary Craig were linked
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IHISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
in the silken meshes of matrimony, amid the joyful congratulations of their neighbors, consisting of nearly all the settlers in the township. They lived happily together until the breaking out of the civil war, when Mr. Sharp re- sponded to the call of Governor Claiborne Jackson for volunteers to the State militia on the 12th of June, 1861. He served with the State and Con- federate forces for nearly a year when he returned home, but found the Union sentiment too strong to allow him to remain in the neighborhood and so went to Iowa, returning frequently by stealth and secretly visiting his wife and family. These visits were made at intervals during the year, but were finally put a stop to by a gang of roughs, claiming to be Union men, headed by one Joe Rich, who caught Sharp and hung him to a tree, in the eastern part of the township near Honey Creek, and the body was left carrion food for the crows, until found several days after by some chil- dren playing in the woods. This occurred in the latter part of 1863. Sharp is spoken of by his neighbors of that troublesome period as a good citizen and a fervent believer in religion. Mrs. Sharp afterward became the estimable wife of Judge Isaiah Brainerd, presiding justice of the County Court.
The second matrimonial event taking place in the township was at the house of William Cochran in 1841, when Joseph Connor and Miss Phoebe Kerkendall, came before Justice of the Peace William Schooler, who pro- nonneed the solemn words that made them one forever. They removed to Putnam county afterward, and from thence to California during the mining excitement of 1850.
Among the earlier marriages, may be mentioned that of Mr. George A. Spickard and Miss Elizabeth Cantrell, which occurred on the 24th of August, 1847, and was performed by Abram Fields, justice of the peace. Mr. S. is still in the enjoyment of good health at the old homestead, one mile and a half northwest of the young and flourishing village that bears his name. Mrs. Spickard died September 21, 1850, after two weeks' sickness, while crossing the mountains to California.
Sadness and sorrow sometimes visited the settlers, and death invaded their ranks. There appears to be a confusion as to the date of the first death in the township. The little child of Joseph Mendenhall was prob- ably the first to seek the bright haven above. The little one died in the latter part of 1839, and was laid away mid the tears of those she loved, in an improvised burial-ground upon the Austin farm, where several others were afterward buried. Then was called good old Grandma Keith, mother of Wm. and Levi Keith, who laid down the cares and burdens of many long years of this life when the white frosts of winter made the air crisp and cool in the early months of 1842. Tenderly they placed her beneath the sod, and the new-made mound was the first grave in the Bethel church-yard, which was three miles from where Spickardsville now stands.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
There was weaving, and spinning too, and the whirr of the wheel made music in many early homes. Mrs. Rachel Moore did the first work of this kind, and owned the first spinning-wheel and loom brought to Grundy county in 1838 or 1839. The year of 1841 found the good wives of Thomas Blakely and William Wyatt in possession of these necessary household ornaments. These were the early ones; later, both loom and wheel were found in nearly every home.
Dr. William P. Thompson was first physician " in these parts," and he practiced in Franklin township, as he did, for years, in all the country around.
ELECTIONS, ETC.
The political history of Franklin township can be traced back to 1839, when, at the May term of the Livingston County Court, an election was ordered to be held at the house of James Weldon, on the 1st day of June, 1839. This was the earliest election, and three justices of the peace were to be elected for Morgan township, of which Franklin was then a part. Who these first justices were is not of record. The second election was held October 19, 1839, at the same place, and it was to vote for an assessor for the county of Livingston. In the fall of the same year, Martin Winn received the appointment of justice of the peace, vice Samuel Benson, resigned, who, consequently, must have been one of the three first judicial officers of the township. The next election was held in the summer of 1841, on the 19th day of June, and William Schooler, David Ashbrook and William P. Fitzpatrick were chosen justices of the peace for and within the township of Franklin. How long these gentlemen dispensed justice the record sayeth not, but probably for six years, for in the winter of 1847 James R. Devanl was elected and served one year as justice of the peace. 'These were the early officers. Others were elected as the threads of time unwound, and served faithfully and well. In the meantime the township was reorganized and the town of Spickardsville came into existence, and under the new order of things a petition was filed with the County Court praying for the removal of the voting precinct from the house of James Clark to Spickardsville, in October of 1872, which failed. The first officers under the new régime were S. W. Reid and George W. Cox, justices of the peace; Jasper L'. Newton, collector; Wm. A. Brainerd, clerk; W. W. Evans, supervisor; David C. Pugh, assessor-the whole number forming the township board. The election took place April 1, 1873. William Schooler was appointed constable. May 25, 1874, Martin V. Ewing was appointed trustee, and Charles Spickard, clerk. A new board was elected April 21, 1875, the members being, Henry Montgomery, chairman; William Brainerd, William Pratt, and Charles Spickard, clerk. Martin V. Ewing was appointed trustee and J. W. Ellis was appointed constable.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
April 19, 1876, the new members elected were, H. C. Montgomery, chair- man; William Pratt, justice of the peace; S. W. Reid, and John M. Moore, clerk. The election of April 11, 1877, made the members of the board con- sist of Jacob Keith, chairman; G. W. Pratt, justice of the peace; Jonathan Wiseman, assessor; John M. Moore, clerk. Wesley Keith was appointed constable. The next election of record took place on the 5th of April, 1881, and those elected were, William Spickard, collector; H. A. Sehooler, clerk and assessor; H. Montgomery and O. P. Munn, justices of the peace; which constituted the township board. Wesley Keith was elected constable. These. gentlemen are the present trustworthy and efficient officers of the township.
TIIE CHURCHES.
The first religious services held in Franklin township were conducted by the Rev. Reuben Aldridge, a Methodist circuit rider, who preached at the homes of David Ashbrook and William Schooler as early as 1839. Services. were also held by the Rev. Thomas Thompson, a minister of the Christian denomination, who was one of the early settlers, and who conducted relig- ious worship at his own home, and that of William Wyatt, in the year 1839. These were the first services held in the township.
Regular church organizations were formed, and among the first members of the Methodist Episcopal Church were the names of David and Margaret Ashbrook, William and Mary Schooler, Benjamin and Annie Nichols, and William and Elizabeth Keith. This was in 1839. Rev. Mr. Aldridge con- tinued to conduct the services, off and on, until 1841, when he was succeeded' by the Rev. E. Marvin, the first minister of the Grundy Mission, who rode. the circuit in that year. Mr. Redmond was the presiding elder of the circuit.
In 1842 the services were held in the log school-house which had been erected that year on the land of Benjamin Nichols. Preaching was con- tinued in this log school-house, by different ministers, until 1855, when Bethel Church was ereeted, three miles east of the present town of Spiek- ardsville. It was a union church, and the first church building erected in the township, the property of the South Methodists, and used by the Bap- tists, Christians and the United Brethren, each holding services once a month, until 1861, when services were discontinued, and the edifice re- mained idle during the years of the civil war. The Baptists and the United Brethren again used it, and continued to hold religious meetings there until last year. Rev. Mr. Marvin afterward became bishop of the Southern M. E. Church.
The Christian organization continued to exist and hold services at the residence of the different members after its organization in 1839. The roll of the first members contained the names of William and Rachel Wyatt, William and Sarah Reid, Benjamin D. and Melinda L. Thaxton, Jolin and
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
Julia Wilson, Mr. and Mrs. Thos. Young and Mrs. Delilah Thompson, wife of the minister. Rev. Thos. Thompson condueted the services until 1850, when he went to California, where he preached until his death several years ago. Other ministers officiated at the Bethel Church for this denomination.
SCHOOLS.
The first school taught in the township was by a young man by the name of Robert Huston, in 1842. A vacant house was used and quite a number of pupils attended. This school was only of short duration. In the fol- lowing year the settlers in the neighborhood erected the first school-house in the township; each volunteered to do certain work and the result was a . primitive affair, built of logs, with one window and a door and rude benches. This was on the land of Benj. Nichols.
William Schooler officiated as first schoolmaster and the compensation was about sixteen dollars per month. The erection of this first log school- house was a gala day to all the country round, and the neighbors all turned out and assisted and joined in the hurrahs that ladened the air when the last log was put in place and the finishing touches done.
SPICKARDSVILLE.
This little village with its three hundred and thirty inhabitants, which is not noted for its beauty or for its unrivaled location, is pleasantly situated on rolling woodland, twelve miles north of Trenton, with the Weldon Fork or the Grand River skirting its western side. It is a station on the Chi- cago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, and a shipping point of considerable importance. The energetic industry of the citizens has laid the foundation for a flourishing town, and its business facilities have caused the country to improve in a corresponding ratio. It is daily giving evidence of its deter- mination to grow and prosper, and ranks next to Trenton as the business point of the county.
On the 27th of June, 1871, there was filed in the County Court a descrip- tion of the proposed location of the town of Spickardsville, which was given in the following words:
" Commeneing at the northeast corner of the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 21, township 63, range 24, thence west 470 feet, thence in a southerly direction 60 rods, thence east 452 feet, to the section line, thence north to the place of beginning."
This plat was to be divided into eight blocks, two hundred feet square, two blocks running east and west, and four running north and south. The streets were, with one exception, forty feet in width. This one exception was the street extending east and west on the north end of the town, and was sixty feet in width. The town was located on land belonging to Mr. G. A. Spickard. In October, 1873, the following petition to incorporate the town of Spiekardsville was filed with the County Court. The corpo-
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
rate limits included land then belonging to G. A. Spickard, B. F. Spickard and S. B. Stapp.
" To the Honorable County Court of Grundy County, Missouri, greeting:
" We, the undersigned inhabitants (tax-payers), of the town of Spickards- ville, Grundy county, Missouri, petition your honorable body to incorporate the town of Spickardsville, in order that we may establish a police force for our local government, and for the preservation and regulation of any com- mons appertaining to such town. The metes and bounds of said corpora- tion to be as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner of the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of section number twenty-two, and run- ning one-half mile west, to the northwest corner of the southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section number twenty-one; thenee south three- fourths of a mile, to the southwest corner of the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section number twenty-one; thence one-half mile east to the southeast corner of the southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of section number twenty-two; thence north three-fourths of a mile to the beginning corner, all in township sixty, of range twenty-four. And we further pray that your honorable body appoint the following persons as trustees of said corporation, they being resident householders of said town for the past twelve months, and above the age of twenty-one years: James- D. Wamsley, James M. Copper, Dr. C. E. Wilkerson, David C. Pugh and Milo Robertson.
" Grant us this, our humble petition, for which we humbly pray.
" Spickardsville, Missouri, September 30, 1873.
" NAMES. Milo Robertson.
J. A. Anderson.
W. T. Clark.
S. W. Reid.
D. J. Lindsey.
David C. Pngh.
S. B. Stapp.
James M. Copper.
Green Gentry.
David D. Dinsmore.
Geo. W. Cox.
James W. Munn.
B. F. Higden.
E. D. Dinsmore.
J. W. Ellis.
Alonzo Rice.
W. N. Ellis.
James D. Wamsley.
N. F. Munn.
S. D. Loe.
William A. Brainerd.
B. F. Spiekard.
S. Benner.
W. R. King.
R. A. Williams.
D. McCreery.
J. A. Lewellin.
Wm. Covey.
R. Latham Greene.
. C. HI. Connell.
David W. Stapp.
G. A. Spiekard.
Ira J. Godfrey.
Jonathan Wiseman.
Thomas Austin.
M. V. Ewing. C. E. Wilkerson.
A. P. West."
.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
The petition was received October 6, 1873, and filed. The County Court then made the following order, and placed it upon the records, on page 185, Book E:
" Now at this day comes S. W. Reid, James D. Wamsley, B. F. Spiekard and others, being two-thirds of the inhabitants of the town of Spiekards- ville, Grundy county, Missouri, and file their petition to this court for an order incorporating said town, granting to them the power to establish and maintain a police foree for their local government, and for the preservation and regulation of any commons appertaining thereto, and the court, after due deliberation and consideration, and being satisfied that two-thirds of the inhabitants of said town have signed the petition, doth order, adjudge and decree, that the following metes and bounds; viz. (here follows deserip- tion which is in the petition), be and the same is hereby incorporated, with full power and authority to establish and maintain a police for their local government, and for the preservation and regulation of any com- mons appertaining to said town. And it is further ordered that the inhab- itants within sueh bounds shall be a body politie and corporate, by the name and style of 'The inhabitants of the town of Spiekardsville,' and by that name they and their successors shall be known in law, have perpetual sue- cession, unless disincorporated, sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended in all courts and in all actions, pleas and matters whatsoever; may grant, purchase, hold and receive property, real and per- sonal, within said town and no other (burial-grounds and cemeteries excepted), and may lease, sell and dispose of the same for the benefit of the town, and may have a common seal, and break and alter the same at pleas- ure. It is further ordered that James D. Wamsley, C. E. Wilkerson, Jas. M. Copper, David C. Pugh and Milo Robertson, shall constitute the first board of trustees, to carry into effect this charter under the laws of Mis. souri, and shall hold their trusts until their suece ssors are elected and qual- ified, as may be provided for by ordinance."
The incorporation of the town gave the people confidence, and a general feeling prevailed that Spiekardsville would become the metropolis of the northern portion of this county and the southern portion of Mercer county, near the border of which it lies. The prospect for a business point of no mean importance has already been shown.
The first meeting of the town trustees appointed by the County Court was on April 27, 1874. J. D. Wamsley was elected mayor; M. V. Ewing, J. Wiseman and S. B. Stapp, trustees. J. Copper was appointed clerk, and H. Montgomery, marshal.
In the election of April, 1875, J. Wiseman was promoted to the mayor- ship, and David Bonta, Wm. Newton, M. V. Ewing and D. J. Lindsey composed the board of trustees.
At the first meeting of the mayor and trustees the board made the fol-
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
lowing appointments: treasurer, W. D. Bonta; clerk, D. J. Lindsey, and Mr. Sam'l A. Hartley was appointed town marshal.
In 1876 H. Montgomery assumed the position of mayor, Milo Robert- son, clerk, while the board went into the lavish expenditure of having an attorney. Mr. S. W. Reid secured this highly honorable and lucrative office.
There was nothing of interest transpired for the next two or three years. They changed officers, and Spickardsville continued to grow from a dozen or so of houses, in 1871, to a town of over four hundred inhabitants, in 1881. This is not a surprising increase, but it is the steady increase brought on by the settlement of the country around. Spickardsville now has a solid, not mushroom growth, and as the country settles she will grow and prosper, because the country around will find it the most convenient, and where a market can be found the equal of more pretentious places.
The present offieers who are in charge of the municipal interests of Spick- ardsville are: N. F. Munn, chairman of the board; F. A. Bonner, clerk, and C. H. Cornwell, Perry Schooler and S. B. Stapp as members of the board.
SALOONS.
Two saloons, where the spirit of man might be regaled by the spirit of rye, held open in 1875. They continued one year and closed up. Another was started, and it followed, passing in its cheeks, and a third and last elosed its portals last spring.
ADDITIONS.
There have been three additions to the town of Spiekardsville since the location of its original metes and bounds. Two of these have been off of the land of B. F. Spiekard, and one off of that of S. B. Stapp. These addi- tions comprise twelve bloeks two hundred feet square, four blocks two hun- dred and fifty-six feet by two hundred feet, and three half bloeks one hun- dred and twenty by two hundred feet.
MILLS.
There are but two saw-mills in the township, and one flouring-mill. Two of the three are located near the town. The flouring-mill is owned by Coon Bros. & Company, and was erected in 1880, at a cost of $7,000. It has two run of stone, with a capacity of one hundred and twenty-five bushels of wheat and three hundred bushels of corn per day, the owners making a market for all the grain in that section of the country. The saw-mill was built by S. B. Stapp in 1871, and he continued its owner until November, 1880, when he sold it to his son, D. W. Stapp. Both of these mills are run by steam-power. The other saw-inill has been running two years, is owned by Mr. Benj. Bosley, and is about two miles from town.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
RECEIPTS BY RAILROAD.
The receipts by the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad at Spick- ardsville will give some idea of the business of the town, together with its shipments. This statement shows a growth of abont forty-three per cent for the six months ending July 1st, 1881, over the corresponding six months of 1880. The receipts were as follows:
POUNDS.
From January 1st to July 1st, 1881. 335,352
From January 1st to July 1st, 1880. 234,826
Gain . 101,526
The receipts for the past six months of 1880, from July 1st to December 31st, showed the handsome amount of 418,917 pounds of freight, but it is evident that the fall business of 1881 will equal the increase of the spring comparison, the month of July showing a handsome excess.
The charges paid to the railroad company were, for the six months
Ending July 1st, 1881 $742.89
Ending July 1st, 1880 618.16
Gain. $124.73
Received for freight for the last six months of 1880 $1,172,98
SHIPMENTS.
The freight paid on shipments by rail from January 1st, 1880, to Jan- uary 1st, 1881, amounted to $12,998.07. The six months ending July 1st, 1881, was $5,684.97. The year will probably exceed that of the year pre- vious.
The station agents have been Mr. Thomas, followed by D. J. Lindsey, and the latter succeeded by the present agent, W. R. Tupper, who has held his position since June 14, 1876.
CHURCHES.
The churches of Spickardsville have shown a favorable growth since steps were taken to organize them, and build separate houses of worship. For years it was the habit of using the buildings for churches and schools, and while this is to be expected in a newly settled country, it is not good for the growth of any denomination. A separate church building, let it be ever so humble, dedicated to the cause of Christ and kept as his sacred temple, is far better than joining with schools, and is much more likely to add to the efficacy of its Christian work.
your true Luther Collier
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR LENOX TILDER FOUNDATION
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
The organization of this church took place February 13, 1870, at the Franklin school-house, in district number five. The first preacher was the Rev. S. H. Hendrix, and the following were the members of the church: Levi Burkeybile, W. T. Hughes, Henry Scott, Thos. J. Wyatt, N. W. King, Wm. Wyatt, Jno. T. Wyatt, Edna S. Scott, Mary Crocket, Priscilla Bnrkey- bile, Aun E. Hughes, R. E. A. Wyatt. A new church was erected for this denomination in 1875, N. W. King architect and contractor, the edifice costing $900. The church has no regular minister at this time, and service is held only occasionally.
M. E. CHIURCII.
This church is located at Spickardsville, and was organized in 1873. Its service was held the first year in the school-house, and its pastor was Rev. John Burris. The names of those who joined in its first organization are as follows: James Ashbrook, class-leader; Rachel Ashbrook, M. V. Ewing, Emily Ewing, S. V. Mentor, Nat. W. Keith, Margaret Keith, Wesley W. Evans, Catherine Evans, Jonathan Wiseman, Hannah Wiseman, N. F. Munn and Amy Munn. The contract for building the church was given to W. D. Bonta and Milo Robertson, and the cost was $800. The dedication sermon was preached by Dr. Glendening. The church was completed the summer of 1874, and its first pastor was the Rev. John W. Burris, who remained with it the remainder of the year. Revs. Monroe and Todd offici- ated in 1875, Rev. W. F. Hart in 1876, Rev. B. F. Todd.in 1877, Rev. E. J. King in 1878 and 1879, and Rev. W. C. Renter in 1880, who still remains. This is the only Methodist Church in the township. Its first trustees were, M. V. Ewing, S. B. Stapp, W. V. Denslow, W. W. Evans, and Nat. W. Keith. The following are the present trustees: W. V. Dens- low, S. B. Stapp, W. W. Evans, N. M. Coon and F. A. Bonner.
There is a Union Sunday-school held at the above church, which has an average attendance of from forty to fifty scholars. The superintendent is F. A. Bonner, and its secretary S. B. Stapp.
CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN.
This, the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, is the oldest organized church in the township. This was effected in the year 1868, in a grove about one mile north of Peter Amicks's in the fall of that year. Its first pastor was the Rev. A. F. Cooper, and its members were: Peter Amick and Lydia A., his wife, Hiram Kelso, Samuel Kelso, Alvira Kelso, Samuel Means, his wife and daughter, Sally Kelso, W. W. Cornwell, Minerva Cornwell and Eliza- beth Cornwell. About four years after its organization it was removed to the Tracy school-house, in Lincoln township, where it still exists.
31
506
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
UNITED BRETHREN CHURCII.
This society was first organized in Franklin township, about the year 1857, by Rev. John Osborn. They assembled in the old Bethel church, (which was under the control of the M. E. Church, South) until the war, when they met in private houses. After the war closed they again held services in the same church, and continue to do so. The names of the first members are as follows:
George Lambert, Mary Lambert, Hannah Wiseman, Wesley Ellis, Mary Ellis, S. D. Lowe, Jane Campbell and Ann Schooler. The society was organized in Spickardsville by Rev. J. M. Farley, about the year 1877.
SPICKARDSVILLE, 1881.
The business of Spickardsville is conducted by the following proprietors: E. A. Cook, dry goods and groceries; W. H. Brewer, drugs and groceries; Geo. M. Brown & Co., drugs; Samuel Benner, grocer; H. Montgomery, wagon-shop; Burkeybile & Wyatt, blacksmiths; A. Burkeybile, blacksmith; R. M. Crocket, shoe-shop; I. J. Godfrey, harness-shop; Coon Brothers & Co., millers; D. W. Stapp, saw-mill; F. A. Bonner and N. F. Munn, board- ing house; Miss Mary E. Taylor, telegraph operator; O. G. Bain, notary and lawyer, and C. E. Wilkerson, physician.
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