USA > Missouri > Grundy County > The History of Grundy County, Missouri : an encyclopedia of useful information, and a compendium of actual facts > Part 54
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II. C. MONTGOMERY,
Third son of George and Elizabeth Montgomery, nee Jackson, was born in Decatur county, Indiana, February 18, 1843. In the fall of 1850, his par- ents removed to Benton county, Iowa, and he attended the district schools in Benton and Linn counties, and engaged in farming until 1861, when, on August 19th of that year, he enlisted in the Eighth lowa infantry, company D, Capt. A. Geddes, Col. James L. Geddes; went to St. Louis, Syracuse and Springfield, back to Sedalia, Missouri, and wintered in 1861-62; in the spring of 1862 marched to the front, and was in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, and taken prisoner on April 6, and sent to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Macon, Georgia; in October, 1862, was paroled at Richmond, Virginia; went from there to Camp Parole, Annapolis, Maryland, and from there to St. Louis; in December, 1862, went home on a furlough, and was called out again in February, 1863; was present at the siege and capture of Vicks- burg, and the engagements at Jackson, Brandon and Canton; remained at Camp Sherman on the Black River two months, thence to Memphis and
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IHISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
Pocahontas, Tennessee, where they wintered. Reenlisted in January, 1864, and was made color-sergeant. Came home on furlough, and on April 20th, 1864, married Miss Caroline Brainerd. Joined his regiment May 1, went to St. Louis and Memphis, and was on provost duty until March 1, 1865; was present at the siege and capture of Spanish Fort and Mobile; and was discharged at Davenport, in April, 1866, having been in the service four years and eight months; went home to Benton county, Iowa, and com- meneed the carpenter and carriage building business. He moved to Grundy county in 1870, and farmed until 1872, when he moved to Spickardsville, and opened a carriage building shop. In the spring of 1875 he was elected justice of the peace for Franklin township, and member of the Spiekards- ville town board, in April, 1876. He was again elected justice of the peace in the fall of 1878, and became his own successor in the spring of 1881, which office he still holds, and is also a member of the town board.
Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery have five children living, the names and dates of whose birth are here given: Robert, born February 11, 1867; Olive J., born October 22, 1868; Mary L., born August 22, 1870; Isaiah B., born August 4, 1875; and Eva E., born July 20, 1881.
JAMES G. MOORE,
Seventh and youngest son of Levi Moore, and Rachel, his wife, nee Haines, was born in Randolph county, Missouri, June 16, 1828, and with his par- ents moved to Daviess county, Missouri, and from there to where Trenton now stands in the year 1833 or '34. He is a brother of John Moore, whose biography is recorded elsewhere. James G. Moore married Martha Wood, November 11, 1848, and lived with his parents two years on the farm now owned by Judge Val. Briegle, in Lincoln township, then moved to Franklin township where he now lives. Mr. and Mrs. Moore have five children liv- ing and two dead. The eldest, James W., married Miss Mary Vanderford; Robert A., married Miss Elva Shaw; Levi E., married Miss Fanny Robert- son; John M., married Miss Mary McCary, and died August 28, 1879, leaving his widow and three children; Oliver J. and Elizabeth Frances.
O. K. MUNN.
Oliver K., eldest son of N. F. and Sophia Munn, nee Ellis, was born in Logan county, Ohio, April, 11, 1840, in which year his parents moved to Grundy county. After staying two years they moved to Mercer county, and then back to Grundy in 1849. He was engaged in farming until 1861, when, in August of that year, he enlisted in the Twenty-third Missouri volunteer infantry, company C, Captain Trumbo, and served in that regi- ment nineteen months, taking part in the battle of Shiloh and other engage- ments in which that regiment participated during that time. After his discharge he returned to Grundy county, and his health being so injured
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IHISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
during the war, went to school and afterward taught. On February 24, 1864, Mr. Munn married Sarah White, daughter of William White. She died of typhoid fever in 1871. He married again in April, 1874, Mrs. Iva Ann Wilkerson becoming his second wife, and moved the same month to Washington, Iowa, but came back and settled in Spickardsville in 1877. The same year he was appointed postmaster, and has acceptably officiated ever since. In 1878 he was appointed notary public, and in April, 1881, was elected justice of the peace for Franklin township. Ile is agent for the American Insurance Company, and Burlington Centennial Life Assurance Company.
Mr. Munn is the father of three children, two by his first wife; namely, . William F., and Eliza E .; and by his second marriage one child has been born, named Loutetia B. The present Mrs. Munn had one child, John H. Wilkerson, by her first husband.
F. J. PAYNE.
F. Josephus Payne, eldest son of William M. Payne, by his second wife, Julia A. Payne, nee Belshe, was born in Tazewell county, Virginia, July 7, 1835, and remained there, engaged in farming, until 1856, when he came to Grundy county. In the spring of 1859 he went to Denver and Pike's Peak, Colorado, and returned in the following fall. He married Miss Sarah A. Hobbs, daughter of Thomas Hobbs, September 9, 1860. On February 21, 1862, he joined the Third Missouri cavalry at Chillicothe, Colonel Wal- ter A. King commanding, under Captain Garvin, in company I, and par- tieipated in the engagements at Springfield, Newtonia, and many other minor engagements, during the two years the regiment was in south Mis- souri, and in Arkansas. In the spring of 1864 the regiment had become so decimated by death, wounded and sickness, that it was consolidated with the Sixth and Seventh regiments of Missouri cavalry. In the fall of 1864, . he took part in several fights with General Shelby's forces, and with Gen- eral Price, during the six weeks the command was in Missouri, and was- mustered ont at St. Louis, April 11, 1865. He returned to Franklin town- ship, and has since been engaged in farming.
Mrs. Payne died October 23, 1870, leaving four children; viz., Mary Jane,. born November 4, 1861, married Charles Miller; William L., born April 28, 1866; Thomas F. and Rebecca A., twins, born November 13, 1868 .. Mr. Payne married Harriette Dean, daughter of Abel W. Dean, April 25,. 1871. By this union they have four children; viz., Marion F., born Feb- ruary 7, 1872; John B., born September 3, 1874; Louis M., born Septem- ber 27, 1877; Bertha Elmira, November 14, 1880.
JUDGE G. A. SPICKARD.
George A. Spickard, eldest son of John and Mary M. Spiekard, nee- Deeds, natives of West Virginia, was born near Hillsborough, Highland'
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
county, Ohio, September 29, 1823. He lived with his parents, residing successively in Greene county, Ohio, and in Warren county, Indiana, remov- ing to the former county in 1825, and to the latter in 1829, where he re- ceived his education by a three months' attendance at the district school. In 1837 his mother died, and three years later his father followed her to the grave. He remained in Warren county with his one brother and three sis- ters four years, and then migrated to Missouri, settled in Grundy county, and secured work as a field hand upon the farm of Larkin Field in Wash- ington township, in whose employ he remained three years. In 1847 he re- moved to Franklin township, entered a claim of eighty acres, which he im- proved and afterward purchased. On the 24th of Angust, 1847, he was joined in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Cantrell, of Grundy county. His eldest son, Charles, was born March 14, 1849. April 14, 1850, he sold his farm, and accompanied by his wife and son, packed their household goods in a wagon drawn by an ox team, and joined the anxious throng of treas- ure hunters who sought fortunes upon the "golden shores" of far-off Cali- fornia. Over the plains he and his young wife and baby-boy, traveled for five long months and eleven days, when, in the " Pleasant Valley," on the Carson River, within ten miles of their journey's end, on the 21st of Sep- tember, 1850, after two week's illness of "mountain fever," Mrs. Spickard closed her eyes in that long, last sleep that knows no waking, and there, in Pleasant Valley, in the early days of autumn, she was tenderly placed be- neath the sod, and the ox team and its occupants moved sadly on. He set- tled at a small place known as "Miner's Home," near Coloma, El Dorado county, California, where, on October 23, 1851, he married Mrs. Mary Ann Ervin, of that place, a daughter of Rev. Thomas Thompson, the pioneer preacher of Grundy county, Missouri. Mr. Spickard engaged in mining upon Cañon Creek for several months, and then removed to San Francisco, which city he left June 3, 1854, via the Nicaragua route for Grundy county, and arrived in Franklin township July 10, 1854. He bought three hundred and sixty-nine acres of wild land, near the farm he sold in 1850, upon which he has since resided. On the breaking out of the civil war he es- poused the cause of the Union, enlisting August 28, 1862, in the Missouri State militia, and received his commission as captain of company C, to date from the 28th of the previous July. His company was stationed at Chilli- cothe and his services were chiefly north of the Missouri River. July 6, 1865, he was commissioned major, and still holds his commission, never having been discharged. November 6, 1866, he was elected one of the three judges of the Grundy County Court, for a term of six years, but resigned after four years service, during which time the Chicago & Southwestern Railroad was built.
Judge Spickard has converted the wild land which he purchased, on his return from California, into one of the most fertile farms in the county,
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
upon which he has'a pleasant home a mile and a half from Spickardsville, a town named in his honor, which he located in 1871. He has nine children living, six sons and three daughters, and a son and a daughter dead. Their names are as follows: Charles S., born March 14, 1849, married Melissa Evarts, and died February 12, 1880, leaving a wife and five children; El- dorado C., born April 29, 1853, died July 16, 1854; John Thomas, born Oc- tober 14, 1854; George I. D., born March 29, 1856; Sarah Frances, born February 6, 1858; William Warren, born November 9, 1859; Alexander U., born May 6, 1862; Benjamin F., born May 1, 1864; Mary M., born February 7, 1866; Edward A., born February 12, 1869; and Melissa M., born April 21, 1871. Mrs. Spickard has one daughter by her first husband, Delilah Ervin, born August 26, 1847.
DR. O. P. WEST.
O. P. West was born in Garrard county, Kentucky, February 23, 1832, and was there reared and educated. After finishing his education he learned the painters and glazier's trade, and worked at the same until the fall of 1858, when he migrated to Ralls county, Missouri, where he taught school and read medicine, continuing this occupation and study until the spring of 1861. In the winter of 1866 he removed to Pike county, this State, and continued to teach school and study medicine until the fall of 1867, when he went to Jackson, Mississippi, and pursued his medical studies until the fall of 1869. Returning to Missouri he located in Saline county and be- came engaged in the mercantile business as a clerk, occupying his leisure hours with study. In 1870 he removed to Jackson county, and from there to Lathrop, Clinton county, in 1871, and engaged in the drug business, and began the practice of medicine, and continued until April, 1872, when he came to Spickardsville, opened a drug store and entered actively upon the practice of his profession. He has become deservedly popular, and has se- cured a lucrative practice.
On the 31st of July, 1874, Dr. West was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Sailors, of Grundy county. They have had five children, but only two are living; namely, Charles C. and O. Pearl; those dead are Joseph, James and Robert.
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
CHAPTER XX.
MARION TOWNSHIP.
Its Boundary Lines-1838 to 1842-The Heatherly War-The Redskins -- $70,000 Cost -- Thomas's Grore-Churches -- Schools-The first School-house -- An Elopement-Preparing for Battle, an Incident-The Indian Outbreak of 1842-The Gulliver War-Assassination -Description-First Elections-Township Officers-Lindley -Its First Settlers-Incor- poration-Business Houses-Its Famous Mineral Spring-Biographies.
MARION TOWNSHIP.
Investigation of the County Court records of Livingston county shows that the territory now comprising Grundy and Mercer counties was divided into townships. At that time all that portion east of Grand River, and the Weldon or East Fork, to the Iowa line, was called Muddy Creek. This was in 1837. In 1839, at the May term of said court, the following will be found of record:
FIRST BOUNDARY.
"Ordered that a township be made as follows; to-wit, beginning at the cast corner of township No. 59, range No. 24; thence north with the said range line to the State boundary; thence east with the said boundary to where the Linn county line intersects the same; then south with the said Linn county to township No. 59; thence with the said township line to the beginning. Said township to be called Marion township."
This order of the court constituted Marion one of the original townships which composed the county in 1841, and which remained in force until 1845, when the number was reduced to seven, and of this number Marion still remained one of the prominent townships until the reorganization of the county under the new law, in 1872, which cut off Wilson township from the south and a part of Liberty from the north, thus contracting the territory of Marion to its present size.
1838.
Marion township was made the home of the white man in 1838. In that year the settlers first began to arrive. Among those early comers were Joseph, Uriah and Samuel Rooks, of Indiana, and John and Joab Hollo- way, all of whom settled in the township in the fall of 1838. Robert Ishmael was also one of the arrivals in that year, as were John Brown and James Chrisman. The following year Marshall Humphrys and Thomas Dobbins settled in the same neighborhood, but were just over the line in Sullivan county. They may be counted among Marion's early settlers as they both have been closely connected with the growth of the township
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
since their settlement in the vicinity. The year 1840 added the family of Elisha Kilburn to the settlement. Samuel Bailey came in 1842, and from that time on new-comers were dropping in every now and then, among whom may be named as early pioneers, E. L. and Nathan Winters, D. C. Smith, Solomon Knapp, William, James and Samuel Barr, C. B. Knight, James Winters, William Hayden, William J. Hatcher, James and Thomas Clawson. These all united with the first named arrivals in build- ing up the best interests of the new country in which they lived. Their cabin homes were simple and their wants were few, and on the whole many of them sigh for the good times of by-gone days. They endured hardships then, but there are many hardships now which did not trouble them in those " halcyon days of yore." Trading was done principally at Brunswick, sixty-five miles away. And that wasn't much. The pioneer did not de- pend a great deal on the outside world for either food or clothing, but with plow and rifle procured the one, and the spinning-wheel and loom furnished the other.
THIE HEATHERLY WAR.
Among the early and interesting incidents in the history of Marion town- ship, the Heatherly War takes a prominent place. The disturbance which gave rise to the above name, took place in the year 1838. At that time there was a gang of roughs, known as the Heatherlys, infesting that region, who were in the habit of committing depredations upon the property of the settlers, although most against the Pottawattamie Indians, thus causing bad feeling to exist. The gang was composed of the Heatherlys, a man named Thomas, one Hawkins, and several others, in all some seven or eight. Horse-stealing was one of their pastimes, and opportunity offering, they raided an Indian camp and made way with several of their ponies. Taking the stolen property they crossed Grand River, and made a detour through the country south, in the hopes of eluding pursuit, and finally encamped in a grove two miles south of Lindley, where they were enjoying themselves in what they considered a safe retreat. It is impossible to state how long they were there, but within a short time after their arrival a party of twenty mounted Indians put in an appearance and asked for a parley. The Indians demanded the immediate return of the stolen steeds or a fight. They did not want to make any trouble, but the ponies they must have. During this parley, the man Thomas drew his weapon and shot one of the Indians. This brought on a fight at once, which was short and sharp. Thomas was killed, also one Indian, and another of the Heatherly gang "bit the dust." This fight culminated in the Heatherly War, which lasted several months, and forced the governor of the State to call out 2,000 State troops and send them to the scene of action. The Indians justly elaimed that they had been ill-treated, and so lost no opportunity to retaliate upon the whites, and during the course of the contention between the opposing 32
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
forces, the settlers suffered most. The redskins were getting decidedly the best of the war, as the Heatherlys were about wiped out in one or two sub- sequent fights, finally leaving the country after the close of the difficulties, which was brought about by the arrival of the troops. The troops met the Indians near the Iowa line, but before hostilities opened a parley was held and the Indians surrendered, on condition that they be given a fair trial for the offenses committed during the struggle. This put an end to the war and to the " reign of terror" in the neighborhood which existed during the diffienlties. The Indians were taken before the Circuit Court, then in ses- sion at Richmond, in Ray county, where they were acquitted when it was shown that the Heatherly gang were the offenders. This war was one of the leading topies of conversation among the settlers for years afterward, and the excitement during its progress will be remembered as long as the memory of the "old settler " lasts. It was reported that the war, including the expenses of the Indian trials, cost the State in the neighborhood of $70,000. The grove where the first fight took place became the burial- ground of Thomas, and was known for years after as the "Thomas Grove," and parts of the skeleton of the desperado have been picked up and carried away of late years. The grove was known later as the "Joab Hollaway Grove," and now bears the title by which it is known all over the township, that of "Union Grove." What became of the Heatherlys is not known. They were not settlers in the township, but were what might be termed "squatters," and remained in one location as long as it wasn't "too hot " for them, made so by their thieving proclivities, which had got them into several difficulties previous to the war that finally deprived the township of their presence. Thomas had the honor of being the first white person ushered into another world from Marion township, and his bones were left to bleach in the sun that penetrated the dusky shades of "Union Grove." The body was left to the elements for burial, while the guilty soul winged its flight to a final reckoning. This account differs from that in the general history, learned from other sources.
CHURCHES.
The early settlement of Marion township was not marked by the organ- ization or erection of any churches, and although there may have been, and probably was preaching semi-occasionally in those early days, its recollec- tion has passed out of the memory of the living pioneers as being too ilt- distinct to say positively whether there was or not. However, if there is no evidence of preaching in Marion township, there is ample proof that the citizens received the benefits and influence of the Christian religion as early as the year 1843, when the Rev. Nathan Winters, a Methodist divine and the first in that section of the country, conducted religious services at the home of Thomas Dobbins, a short distance over the line in Sullivan county,
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
thus taking the credit of early religious service from the township. Rev. N. Winters was a resident of Marion township up to the time the northern part of it became the southern portion of Liberty, and thus Marion is shorn of another of her honors.
"GOD'S FIRST TEMPLE."
The first church erected in the township was by the Christian denomina- tion in 1858. The Rev. David Wright was the first pastor, and organized the church with abont twenty members. The congregation came from three counties to Lindley to worship, being from Linn, Sullivan and Grundy. This church has now a membership of about fifty, and services are held once a month in the Lindley Methodist Episcopal church, the Rev. Daniel MeIn- turff being the present officiating minister.
THIE LINDLEY M. E. CHURCH.
The Methodist Episcopal church of Lindley is an excellent structure, built of wood, neatly and tastefully finished. It cost something like $2,400, the greater part of which amount was contributed by Mr. Thomas Dobbins, with the proviso that it should be under the influence and control of the Methodist Church, but that its doors should always be open to all other seets and denominations to use as a house of worship. The church organization is in a flourishing condition under the pastoral charge of the Rev. A. Taylor.
PROTESTANT METHODIST CHURCHI.
This is the name of a church organization formed in the fall of 1873, in the northern part of Marion township. Rev. John Kennedy was the first pastor, and Mr. D. C. Smith was class-leader and steward. The original members were Mr. and Mrs. D. C. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Bowen, Mrs. A. Hall, Miss Rebecca Hooper, and Miss Mary J. Eavelin. After the first organization, Mr. Smith was the only male member of the congregation for two years. Services are now held in the Center Union school-house, and the membership has increased until it now numbers twenty-five. Rev. Joseph Willis is the present officiating pastor.
RURAL DALE BAPTIST CHURCHI.
This thriving organization is located at Rural Dale, near the center of Marion township, and has a large and steadily growing membership, presided over by the Rev. H. H. Turner. They have a substantial church building, well finished and commodious. The church was first erected in 1876, but was unfortunately destroyed by fire in June of the following year. With unnsual energy the members immediately went to work and erected another, and in September, 1877, the present church was completed and ready for use, at a cost of $1,600. The first building was dedicated to the worship of
-
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HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
God in November, 1876. The Rev. P. McCollum was the predecessor of Rev. H. H. Turner, the present minister.
THE SEPARATE BAPTIST CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST.
The above is the name of an organization very little known, and as its tenets are somewhat different from those of other churches, with a sketch of the organization in Marion township and Grundy county, will be given a copy of its creed or, as the society calls it, "constitution." The Sinai Separate Baptist Church in Christ, has its organization in the southwestern part of Marion township, and services are held in the district school-house. This church was established on the 5th day of June, 1869, with eight members on the original roll, whose names are as follows: L. D. Sherow, J. H. Stucker, Elbert Sapp, Samnel Sherow, Mary Sherow, Nancy Sherow, Maggie Sapp and Esther Sherow. From this small membership the congregation has grown steadily larger, until it now numbers fifty-three. Since its organ- ization, the following pastors have officiated: Rev. A. B. Lemons, Rev. C. C. Nickum, Rev. J. Koble, and its present minister, Rev. Joseph Evans. Mr. L. S. Fleshman is the dean of the church, and Mr. William Bickels, clerk. There are several ministers of the church who reside in this county, whose names are here given, with address: Rev. A. B. Lemons and Rev. Joseph Evans, Trenton; Rev. Andrew Beckner, moderator, and Rev. Ran- kin Blackburn, Rural Dale; Rev. J. Stucker, clerk, Alpha. In conclusion, the articles of faith of the organization are appended, under the head of
CONSTITUTION.
" We, the members of the Separate Baptist Church of Jesus Christ, in north Missouri, being regularly baptized upon the profession of our faith in Christ, are convinced of the necessity of a combination of churches in order to perpetuate a union and communion among us, and to preserve and maintain a friendly correspondence with each other, have thus agreed to give ourselves to the Lord and to one another, and, therefore, we are con- stituted on the word of God alone, holding that all Christians have the right to commune together at the Lord's table. Said association shall be com- posed of delegates from the different churches, who shall represent them- selves by letter and messenger.
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