USA > Missouri > Grundy County > The History of Grundy County, Missouri : an encyclopedia of useful information, and a compendium of actual facts > Part 74
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 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77
702
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
New York to Pike county, Illinois, in the spring of 1856. Mr. Robinson came to Grundy county, Missouri, and settled upon his present place in the spring of 1856, and lived there until 1860, when he made his second trip to the gold fields of the then new West, engaged in mining and teaming, and returned by ship, reaching his home in Grundy county in January, 1864. Remained at home engaged with the duties upon his farm until 1876, when the Union Pacific having in the meantime been opened, he made his third trip, this time by rail, to the Pacific slope, and engaged in "packing" and trading, mostly in Oregon. He returned from Sacramento by rail arriving at home September 25, 1877. Mr. Robinson is a member of the Masonic order, and his wife, who died on the 21st of September, 1878, was a mem- ber of the Christian Church. The family consists of four children: Mary, Rebecca J., Helen M. and James M.
JOHN W. ROOT.
John W. Root is a native of Athens county, Ohio, and was born October 5, 1845. His father, Levi Root, is a native of Livingston county, New York, and his mother, whose maiden name was Polly Stewart, was born in Athens county, Ohio. Our subject was educated in his native county, and after leaving school engaged as clerk in a dry goods store at Stewart's Mills for one year. Mr. Root was married in Washington county, Ohio, September 8, 1860, to Miss Eliza, daughter of Ezekiel and Margaret Moore, all natives of Ohio.
At the beginning of the civil war he enlisted under the stars and stripes and during the entire war fought in defense of the Union with the Army of the Cumberland. He participated in all the principal engagements of that campaign. Was wounded and taken prisoner at the terrific battle of Stone River after which he lay for months in the hospital at Nashville. Finally recovering he returned to Ohio and remained at home for three months, subsequently rejoining his old command at Chattanooga. He held the po- sition of orderly sergeant. After the war he continued farming in his na- tive county until 1866, and then removed west of the Mississippi River and spent the first year in Iowa, and then, in the autumn of 1867, came to Grundy county, Missouri, and occupied his present farm upon which he has since resided.
Mr. Root has been justice of the peace for twelve years, and was one of the enumerators of the tenth census. He is a public spirited man and an ardent supporter of schools and churches. In politics Mr. Root has always been an active Republican.
He owns a neat, well cultivated and productive farm, and is in a prosper- ous condition. His family consists of seven children : Linna, Alice, George, Rosa M., William W., James F., and Grace Viola.
703
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
JAMES SHIPMAN.
The subject of this sketch is a native of Ohio. He was born in Belmont county, February 20, 1812. His father, Mathias Shipman, was born in New Jersey, and his mother, whose maiden name was Mary Julia Ann Kuntz, was a native of Pennsylvania. He was educated in the common schools of his native State, and has followed a variety of callings, such as merchandising, milling and farming.
Mr. Shipman was married in Belmont county, Ohio, on the 29th day of December, 1836, to Miss Eliza, daughter of Daniel and Sarah Warren. By this union they had four children, all of whom are now dead.
He removed from Ohio to Illinois in 1863. Lived in the latter State during fifteen years. From Illinois he went to Kansas, and after two and a half years residence there, came to Missouri and located in Grundy county.
Mr. and Mrs. Shipman have been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church for more than forty-five years. Their son, George W., after having served one year in defense of the Union, contracted typhoid fever on the bay below Washington, and died at the hospital in that city at the age of nineteen years. He was a member of Sheridan's command, and a brave and gallant young soldier.
Mr. Shipman is a prosperous farmer and a good citizen.
GEORGE W. SWOPES
Is a native of Campbell county, east Tennessee, born December 2, 1827. His parents were James S. and Rutha (Brown) Swopes. His father was a Virginian, and his mother a native of New Jersey. When George was three years of age his father moved to Illinois, and a year later to Ray county, Missouri, where the family lived during twelve or thirteen years. From Ray our subject moved to Mercer county, just across the Grundy county line, where he has since continued to live, engaged in farming.
Mr. Swopes was married, December 27, 1848, in Mercer county, to Miss Sarah Brown, a native of Tennessee. They have eight children, six boys and two girls, now living.
Mr. Swopes was a soldier in the Mexican War. He enlisted in August, 1864, in company D, Forty-fourth Missouri infantry and participated in the battles of Franklin, Nashville and a number of minor engagements.
He is a member of the Old School Baptist Church, and a good farmer.
FRANCIS B. SHELTON,
Was born in Warren county, Illinois, December 8, 1844. Henry H. and Mary Shelton, nee Boyne, natives of Kentucky, were his parents. Our sub- jeet was educated in his native State and engaged in farming there, until twenty-five years of age when he immigrated to Missouri and settled in Grundy county, where he was married, December 31, 1859, to Miss Mary J.
704
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
Seals, a native of Arkansas. They are the parents of four children: New- ton, Laura, Henry B., and Hattie.
Both Mr. Shelton and his wife are members of the church. He enlisted in 1863, in company C, One Hundred and Thirty-eighth Illinois volunteers, for six months and at the expiration of that term of service was discharged at Springfield.
He is a well-to-do farmer, a good neighbor and a valuable member of the community in which he resides.
JAMES O. THOMPSON
Was born January 1st, 1849, in Indiana. He is the son of Samuel G. and Sarah A. Thompson. Samuel G. Thompson was born March 27, 1815,. near Redstone, Pennsylvania, and when three years of age migrated with his parents to Carroll county, Ohio, where he lived until he was twenty-one years of age, and then moved to Jefferson county, Ohio, to learn the trade of blacksmithing. September, 1838, he moved to Edgar county, Illinois, where he married Miss Sarah Ann Williams. Four children were the issue of this marriage, of whom our subject, James O. Thompson, was third. Samnel G. Thompson is still living on his son's farm, in Grundy county. In 1849 James O. Thompson migrated with his parents to Fulton county, Illinois. In the fall of 1861 he left Fulton county and located in Warren county, Illinois. On the 14th of January, 1869, he married Miss Lizzie Shel- ton, daughter of H. H. Shelton, of Warren county. In February, 1872, Mr. Thompson came to Grundy county where he has since engaged in farming. His only child is Samuel T. Thompson. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are mem- bers of the Christian Church. He has provided for himself since eight years of age and as a result of his labors owns one of the best farms in Grundy county.
CHARLES N. VIGNERON
Was born December 31st, 1837, near the city of Nancy, in France. He is the son of John M. and Mary A. (Compt) Vigneron, both of whom are natives of France. They came to the United States in 1853 and settled in Ohio. Beginning at the age of eighteen, Charles learned the trade of a carpenter. In 1861 he left Ohio for Tazewell county, Illinois. In 1862 he enlisted in the Confederate army under Stonewall Jackson. In 1863 he was taken pris- oner by the Federal forces at Pilot Knob. Soon after his capture he was pa -. roled and December, 1864, enlisted in the State militia at Springfield, Illinois. After the war he returned to Tazewell county, and October 14th, 1867, was. married to Miss Sarah Smuck, daughter of Christian Smuck, of that county. In March, 1871, Mr. Vigneron came to Grundy county and settled on a farm. He returned to Ohio in 1878 and remained eighteen months. He is. now living on the farm which he bought when first he came to this coun - try. He is the father of five children; viz, Mary, Eva, Minnie, John W., and Leroy.
.
705
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP.
Settled in 1838-Named in 1845-The Old Pioneers-Marriages-Births and Deaths-Min- isters and Doctors-Schools-The First Divorce in Grundy County-Valuation-Rail- road-Town of Gault-Biographies.
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP.
Liberty township was first settled in 1838, but never assumed the name until 1845, after the county of Mercer was organized when it, composing the north half of her present boundary and the whole of Myers, was called Liberty. Its metes and bounds now, and since 1872, are as follows: North by Myers township; east by the Sullivan county line; south by Marion, and west by Lincoln township. It is seven miles east and west, and five miles north and south, and contains thirty-five sections of land, or 22,400 acres. It is watered by No Creek on the western side, and by Little Medi- cine on the east, with several creeks emptying into these two streams. One called Birch Branch, with smaller streams finding its way into Medicine Creek. Liberty township is about two-thirds, if not more, undulating prairie. It has some fine bodies of timber lying on No and Medicine creeks and their branches. The soil is rich and easy of cultivation. The black and loamy soil is productive to an unusual degree, and its early set- tlers and its later ones have enjoyed the faithful harvest of forty odd years, and there has been very little in their quiet lives to make history.
EARLY SETTLERS.
The earliest settlement in Liberty township of which any trace can be found was in 1838. Minter Brassfield, Mrs. Mary Brassfield, Thomas W. Brassfield, Hugh Davis, Calvin Brummet, G. F. Geman, John Priest, May- berry Splawn, Anderson Malone, and Reuben Brassfield all came in the spring of that year. In 1839 R. M. Johnson, William Rucker, John Call, and others came during the year. Joseph Rook, who settled in the south part of the township, came also in 1838. In 1840 there was quite a flow of settlers, Marion getting the most of them, yet many finding their way to Liberty. The Rooks gathering quite a number around them. Among those most prominent who came in 1840 was Rev. Nathan Winters, who came from Illinois and was the first preacher in the township. His family, like the Brassfields and Rooks, was large; among his sons were E. L. William and N. A. Winters. Then there were William Johnson, Henry Ridenour, Clark Kirk. These were of those who were called the pioneers of Liberty township. They had all the trials and tribulations of
706
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
that day to pass through. They used the pestle and mortar and the hand- mill to get their corn in a shape to eat, and their meat was the wild game of the woods, while a bee tree was the fountain from which they supplied themselves with the greatest amount of sweets. They would go to Living- ston county, buy grain and go over to Utica and get it ground by a horse- mill. Roads were where they wished to make them. The prairie could be cut through from any angle, but when the timber was reached the settlers generally converged to a single point as far as practicable. Most of the set- tlers came from east Tennessee, some from Kentucky and Illinois.
MARRIAGE.
The first marriage in the township was in section 28, and the wedding party was Reuben Brassfield to Miss Lucinda Brassfield, cousins, January 17, 1839. The ceremony was performed by 'Squire Robert Walker.
BIRTHS-BOY AND GIRL.
The first boy was born May 4, 1838, to Minter and Jane Brassfield, and was named Mayberry Brassfield. The first girl born was (November 19, 1839) Mary Ann, daughter of Mayberry and Fannie Splawn.
DEATII.
The first death was Hugh Davis, son of Hugh Davis, who died in Sep- tember, 1841, and was buried in Lindley Cemetery, section 15, in Sullivan county. He was a bright and promising youth.
MINISTER AND DOCTOR.
The first regular physician who practiced in the township was the ubiquit- ous Dr. William P. Thompson. The first preacher who held regular ser- vice was Reuben Aldridge, a Methodist circuit-rider, who preached at the cabin of Calvin Brummet in 1839.
SCHOOLS.
The first school was taught in 1842 in the forks of Medicine Creek, then Marion township, on section 33. The teacher was J. W. Dunnell, who left afterward for Illinois, his former place of residence. His pupils numbered thirteen that winter. He received one dollar and fifty cents per scholar per month. A school-house was afterward built by the neighbors on section 20. The building was the usual log cabin of the day, minus doors, windows and fire-place.
SPINNING AND WEAVING.
Mrs. Patty Davis is credited with the first spinning and weaving in the township, and she was a true representative of the pioneer woman of that day.
707
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
A woman who could turn her hand to anything, ready and willing to mcet the demands of a pioneer's life, its trials, toil and trouble, making no com- plaint but filling her allotted sphere with a happy and cheerful spirit.
DIVORCE.
The only couple in Grundy county who were divorced, during the early days was John W. and Pauline Paton in 1842, and their home was in Liberty township. What caused this separation is not noted as far as the records have been searched, but the sad fact that the silken cord was loosened, can be put down in the pages of this history for future generations to know.
VALUATION -- RAILROAD.
The assessed valuation of Liberty township in 1874, was $195,578; since that time there has been no assessment by municipal townships.
The Quincy, Missouri and Pacific Railroad, which was building July, 1881, crosses the southeast corner of the township and the first village arising within its limits is the town of Gault. A rapidly growing railroad station, in a good agricultural district, about fifteen miles from Trenton, the county seat, and twenty from the town of Milan, in Sullivan county. Its southwest corner is near the town of Dillon, which is just over the line in Trenton township.
TOWNSIIIP OFFICERS.
The present officers of Liberty township are as follows: Justices of the peace, J. H. Wheeler and D. W. Allen; trustee, Theodore L. Balser; col- lector, G. W. Pollock; clerk and assessor, W. J. Jackson; constable, A. J. Donaldson.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES ..
JAMES S. BUNNELL
Was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, January 3, 1810. His parents, Samuel and Elizabeth Bunnell, were natives of Pennsylvania. In his youth he was engaged in rafting lumber and merchandise on the rivers of his native State, and before he was eighteen years old had made two trips to New Orleans in a flat-boat. Mr. Bunnell was married in his native county, October 20, 1850, to Miss Bettie A. McAffee, daughter of Robert and Ellen McAffee and a native of the same county as her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Bunnell became the parents of nine children; viz, Theodore W., Robert M., Mary E. (now Mrs. William Shanklin), Samuel B., William M., John L., James E., Charles S. and Bessie H. Mr. Bunnell settled in Grundy county in 1863 and continued to reside here until his death which occurred Septem-
708
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
ber 20, 1875. He was a consistent member of the Baptist Church to which denomination his estimable lady now belongs. He left a fine estate of three hundred and twenty acres nicely improved and well stocked, upon which his widow and the younger children at present reside. His son, James E. Bunnell, who finished his education with a course at the Kirksville Normal School, is now engaged in teaching school in the neighborhood of his home. He is an industrious, intelligent and enterprising young gentleman whose future is bright and promising.
FRANCIS M. SPROUT
Was born May 23, 1838, in Marshall county, Indiana. He is the son of William and Hannah Sprout who immigrated from Indiana to Missouri in 1858. His father has been a farmer all his life and is still living in this county; his mother died November, 1879. January 28, 1858, Francis M. Sprout married Miss Sarah R. Winters, daughter of Rev. Nathan Win- ters, of Grundy county. After his marriage he commenced farming on his own resources. May 25, 1861, he lost his wife, and August 26, of the same year, enlisted in the Union army nnder Col. Tindall, serving sixteen months, during which time he was wounded in the right hand and taken prisoner at the battle of Shiloh. Owing to this wound Mr. Sprout was compelled to have his hand amputated in the Confederate hospital at Mobile, Alabama, and after a long siege of suffering was paroled December, 1862, and allowed to return home. February, 1863, Mr. Sprout married Miss Sophia New- land, daughter of Abraham Newland, of Grundy county.
Since the war he has lived a quiet life on his farm. He is the father of eight children living, two by his first wife and six by his second. The names of his first wife's children are Mary and William; and those of his second wife are Alson, Sarah, John, Minnie, James and Walter.
Mr. and Mrs. Sprout are both members of the Baptist Church. Mr. Sprout has served for two terms each in the capacities of township constable and school trustee of Liberty township. As the fruits of his industry he is now the possessor of a fine farin and enjoys the reputation of a good neigh- bor and a valuable citizen.
E. L. WINTERS
Was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, October 24, 1819. His parents, Nathan and Ruth Winters, were natives of Tennessee, and when the sub- ject of this sketch was but a child they moved from St. Clair county to Morgan county, Illinois, where he was reared upon a farm. When seven- teen years of age he went to Pike county, in the same State, where he remained four years. In 1840, he migrated to Missouri and settled upon government land in Grundy county, then known as Livingston. He raised hogs and drove them to market at Hannibal and Brunswick, and thus
709
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
secured money to pay for entering a part of the farm upon which he now lives. The nearest post-office was twenty-five miles, and the closest mill was twenty-three miles, and that only a "corn-cracker." In Illinois Mr. Winters learned the trade of making and laying brick, and continued to. follow that business for several years after his arrival in this county, but finally gave it up and turned his whole attention to agricultural interests. His farm is something over four hundred aeres in extent. Mr. Winters was united in matrimony to Miss Nancy A. Neet, on the 23d of December, 1841. She was born August 19, 1820. By this marriage Mr. and Mrs. Winters have had nine children; viz., Sarah M., born May 6, 1844; John W., born March 9, 1846, died July 15, 1847; Nathan T., born June 25, 1848; Martha A., born November 8, 1850; James J., born December 5, 1852, died September 8, 1853; Priscilla B., born August 16, 1854; Isaac E., born October 23, 1856; George W., born April 15, 1859; and Emily P., born August 24, 1861.
CHAPTER XXIX.
HARRISON TOWNSHIP.
When it was Organized-Acres of Land-Boundaries-Population-Its Schools and Churches-History of the Churches-The Old Pioneers-How They Lived, What They Saw and How They Conquered-Early Marriages and Deaths-Its Political Status- Township Officers-Biographies.
HARRISON TOWNSHIP.
Previous to the year 1872, the name Harrison did not appear on the list of townships in the county of Grundy, but the 13,423 acres of territory which it now comprises was the southern portion of Washington. Under the new organization law of the year above named, the County Court
"Ordered that all of township number sixty-one of' range number twenty- five, lying east of Grand River, and all of township number sixty-two, of range number twenty-five, lying east of Grand River, be known as Harrison township."
Thus, in honor of "old Tippecanoe," the ninth president of the United States, was the township named. The township is bounded upon the north by Washington township; on the east the Weldon fork of Grand River is the boundary line between Harrison and Lincoln, on the south the Weldon and Thompson forks of the Grand River divides Harrison from the town- ships of Trenton and Madison, and on the west the Thompson Fork of Grand River is the dividing line between Harrison and Taylor. The town-
.
710
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
ship is about two-thirds rich, rolling prairie, especially adapted to the rais- ing of corn, wheat, oats, hay and flax. With the Weldon River on the east, the Thompson River on the west, and Muddy Creek flowing through the center, the township is blessed with an abundant and never failing water supply. The farms are large and well cultivated, the houses are mostly neat and roomy, and the farmers genial, industrious and well-to-do. Tren- ton is the trading point for the township. The population of Harrison is five hundred and fifty-seven, as officially reported in the last census. The growth of the township has been slow but sure, and as a result the improve- ments have been on the order of the substantial and useful.
In the township there are four good school-houses, well equipped with the necessary supply of school appurtenances, in which schools are conducted regularly.
HATTON CIIAPEL.
There are two churches in the township, both substantial frame buildings. The Hatton Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the year 1865, and the following were the names of the original members: Thomas Atterbury and wife, Thomas Whitten and wife, Samuel Hogan and wife, W. B. Tabor and wife, Wesley P. Marrs and wife, John Buoy and wife, and Demering Cochran and wife. The Rev. Wesley Hatton was the first pas- tor and organizer, and from him the church took its name. The member- ship steadily increased, and in 1868 it was decided to erect a house of wor- ship, but although the good work began, the building lagged and it was not until 1881 that the church was completed at a cost of $700. On Sunday, the 31st of July, 1881, the sacred edifice was dedicated to the service of Almighty God, with appropriate ceremonies, the Rev. John A. Beagle, of Gallatin, conducting the services and delivering an impressive dedication ser- mon. The present membership numbers sixty-two. The Rev. B. H. Tripp is the pastor in charge, and they have services regularly. The following will be found a list of the successive pastors who have officiated since the church organization: Reverends Wesley Hatton, S. W. Cole, S. S. Hardin, A. M. Curgen, Alexander Falconer, Columbus Cleveland, William W. Wainright, R. F. Beavers, F. H. Sumter, and B. H. Tripp. The church is now in a prosperous condition and bids fair to continue so.
MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCHI.
The Salem Missionary Baptist Church was organized in the year of our Lord, 1868. The first minister in charge was the Rev. R. Goodell, and the names of the original members were as follows: Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Renfro, Josephine Sires, Mary Selby, Levi Collins, Mary Collins, Polly Collins, Kate Cluster, Mary J. Sires, Mrs. Julia Vench, Ellen Ward, Jane Renfro and Mary Cochran. The steady progress of the organization and
711
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.
the addition of many new members made it necessary to build a church, and in the year 1878 the structure was commenced upon land donated for. the purpose by Messrs. J. and M. Bushong. These gentlemen also sub- scribed $250 to the cost of erection, and the Rev. D. C. Brown subscribed $75, the three being the largest subscribers. The church cost the sum-of $600, the remainder of which was contributed in smaller amounts by the members. The building was made ready for use in 1880, but was not at that time entirely finished, and therefore not dedicated. Rev. D. C. Brown was the officiating minister in 1878, was succeeded by Rev. V. M. Harper, and the latter gentleman by Rev. Oliver Newman, who conducted services until June last, since which time the organization has been withont a min- ister, and so remains at this writing, August 1, 1881. The membership now numbers abont sixty-three. With the calling of a new pastor the church will enter upon a new era of success.
EARLY HISTORY.
The early history of Harrison township may be said to have opened with. the arrival of Charles W. Scott, who located in the township in the fall of 1834. In 1837 John McHargue came from Kentucky and was fol- followed the same year by Alvin Johnson, who hailed from North Carolina. New settlers began to come in steadily after this, and in the year 1838 addi- tions were made to the settlement by arrival of William and Levi Collins, Benjamin F., Franklin and Henry Woods, who located near the central por- tion of the township. The next year brought the Drinkards, James and George, and from that time on, at intervals of from three to six months, there was a frequent dropping in of new-comers. There were the Warmoths, Henry, Washington and Tandy, John Hays, Lee Spencer, Nathaniel and Gideon Gooch, Cornelius Darnaby, William and Joseph Peery, John Booher, Wesley Reynolds, Moses Payne and Alexander Forkner, J. C. Renfro, Jethro Sires, John Darnaby, R. B. T. Peery, and others, giving Harrison, at that time a part of Washington, quite a fair representation in the early settlement of Grundy county. Many of those old pioneers are. numbered among the most prominent men in the county and still have their homes in Harrison, others have been called to that long rest that knows no waking, and not a few have wandered away to richer fields else- where, but all are remembered for their early participation in the trials and struggles of pioneer life in Grundy county.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.