The history of Buchanan County, Missouri, Part 8

Author: Union historical company, St. Joseph, Mo., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: St. Joseph, Mo., Union historical company
Number of Pages: 1104

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St. Louis.

Missouri State Normal School

Warrensburg.

IN 1878.

Estimated value of school property $1,321,399

Total receipts for public schools 4,207,617

Total expenditures 2,406,139

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

NUMBER OF TEACHERS.

Male teachers, 6,239 ; average monthly pay. $36.36

Female teachers, 5,060 ; average monthly pay . 21.09

NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS.

The fact that Missouri supports and maintains four hundred and seventy-one newspapers and periodicals shows that her inhabitants are not only a reading and reflecting people, but that they appreciate "The Press," and its wonderful influence as an educator. The poet has well said :

But mightiest of the mighty means, On which the arm of progress leans, Man's noblest mission to advance, His woes assuage, his weal enhance, His rights enforce, his wrongs redress - Mightiest of mighty is the Press.

CHAPTER XII.

RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS.

BAPTIST CHURCH-ITS HISTORY-CONGREGATIONAL-WHEN FOUNDED-ITS HISTORY- CHRISTIAN CHURCH-ITS HISTORY-CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-II'S HISTORY - METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH - ITS HISTORY - PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-ITS HISTORY-PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH -- ITS HISTORY-UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH-ITS HISTORY -- UNITARIAN CHURCH-ITS HISTORY-RO- MAN CATHOLIC CHURCH-ITS HISTORY.

The first representatives of religious thought and training who pene- trated the Missouri and Mississippi Valleys were Pere Marquette, La Salle, and others of Catholic persuasion, who performed missionary labor among the Indians. A century afterward came the Protestants. At that early period

"A church in every grove that spread Its living roof above their heads,"

constituted for a time, their only house of worship, and yet to them

"No temple built with hands could vie In glory with its majesty."

In the course of time the seeds of Protestantism were scattered along the shores of the two great rivers which form the eastern and western boundaries of the state, and still a little later they were sown upon her hillsides and broad prairies, where they have since bloomed and blos- somed as the rose.

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

BAPTIST CHURCH.

The earliest anti-Catholic religious denomination of which there is any record, was organized in Cape Girardeau County in 1806, through the efforts of Rev. David Green, a Baptist, and a native of Virginia. In 1816 the first association of Missouri Baptists was formed, which was composed of seven churches, all of which were located in the southeast- ern part of the state. In 1817 a second association of churches was formed, called the Missouri Association, the name being afterwards changed to St. Louis Association. 1834 a general convention of all the churches of this denomination was held in Howard County, for the pur- pose of effecting a central organization, at which time was commenced what is now known as the "General Association of Missouri Baptists."

To this body is committed the state mission work, denominational education, foreign missions and the circulation of religious literature. The Baptist Church has under its control a number of schools and col- leges, the most important of which is William Jewell College, located at Liberty, Clay County. As shown by the annual report for 1875, there were in Missouri at that date, sixty-one associations, one thousand four hundred churches, eight hundred and twenty-four ministers and eighty- nine thousand six hundred and fifty church members.

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.

The Congregationalists inaugurated their missionary labors in the state in 1814. Rev. Samuel J. Mills, of Torringford, Connecticut, and Rev. Daniel Smith, of Bennington, Vermont, were sent west by the Mas- sachusetts Congregational Home Missionary Society during that year, and in November, 1814, they preached the first regular Protestant ser- mons in St. Louis. Rev. Salmon Giddings, sent out under the auspices of the Connecticut Congregational Missionary Society, organized the first Protestant church in the city, consisting of ten members, constituted Presbyterian. The churches organized by Mr. Giddings were all Presby- terian in their order.

No exclusively Congregational church was founded until 1852, when the First Trinitarian Congregational Church of St. Louis was organized. The next church of this denomination was organized at Hannibal, in 1859. Then followed a Welsh church in New Cambria, in 1864, and after the close of the war fifteen churches of the same order were formed in different parts of the state. In 1866 Pilgrim Church, St. Louis was organized. The General Conference of Churches of Missouri was formed in 1865, which was changed in 1868 to General Association. In 1866 Hannibal, Kidder and St. Louis District Associations were formed, and following these were the Kansas City and Springfield District Associa-

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

tions. This denomination in 1875 had 70 churches, 41 ministers, 3,363 church members, and had also several schools and colleges and one monthly newspaper.

CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

The earliest churches of this denomination were organized in Cal- laway, Boone and Howard Counties, some time previously to 1829. The first church was formed in St. Louis in 1836, by Elder R. B. Fife. The first state Sunday school convention of the Christian Church was held in Mexico, in 1876. Besides a number of private institutions this denomination has three state institutions, all of which have an able corps · of professors and have a good attendance of pupils. It has one religious paper published in St. Louis, The Christian, which is a weekly publica- tion and well patronized. The membership of this church now numbers nearly one hundred thousand in the state and is increasing rapidly. It has more than five hundred organized churches, the greater portion of which are north of the Missouri River.

CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

In the spring of 1820 the first Presbytery of this denomination west of the Mississippi, was organized in Pike County. This Presbytery included all the territory of Missouri, Western Illinois and Arkansas, and numbered only four ministers, two of whom resided at the time in Missouri. There are now in the state twelve Presbyteries, three Synods, nearly three hundred ministers and over twenty thousand members. The Board of Missions is located at St. Louis. They have a number of High Schools and two monthly papers published at St. Louis.

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

In 1806, Rev. John Travis, a young Methodist minister, was sent out to the Western Conference, which then embraced the Mississippi Valley, from Green County, Tennessee. During that year Mr. Travis organized a number of small churches. At the close of his conference year he reported the result of his labors to the Western Conference, which was held at Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1807, and showed an aggregate of one hun- dred and six members and two circuits, one called Missouri and the other Meramec. In 1808 two circuits had been formed, and at each suc- ceeding year the number of circuits and members constantly increased, until 1812, when what was called the Western Conference was divided into the Ohio and Tennessee Conferences, Missouri falling into the Ten- nessee Conference. In 1816 there was another division when the Mis- souri Annual Conference was formed. In 1810 there were four traveling

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

preachers, and in 1820 fifteen traveling preachers, with over two thousand members. In 1836 the territory of the Missouri Conference was again divided when the Missouri Conference included only the state. In 1840 there were seventy-two traveling preachers, 177 local ministers and 13,992 church members. Between 1840 and 1850 the church was divided by the organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. In 1850 the membership of the M. E. Church was over 25,000, and during the succeed- ing ten years the church prospered rapidly. In 1875 the M. E. Church reported 274 church edifices and 34,156 members ; the M. E. Church South reported 443 church edifices and 49,588 members. This denom- ination has under its control several schools and colleges and two weekly newspapers.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

The Presbyterian church dates the beginning of their missionary efforts in the state as far back as 1814, but the first Presbyterian Church was not organized until 1816, at Bellevue settlement, eight miles from St. Louis. The next churches were formed in 1816 and 1817, at Bon- homme, Pike County. The first Presbyterian Church was organized in St. Louis in 1817, by Rev. Salmon Gidding. The first Presbytery was organized 1817, by the Synod of Tennessee, with four ministers and four churches. The first Presbyterian house of worship (which was the first Protestant) was commenced in 1819 and completed in 1826. In 1820 a mission was formed among the Osage Indians. In 1831, the Presbytery was divided into three: Missouri, St. Louis and St. Charles. These were erected with a synod, comprising eighteen ministers and twenty- three churches.

The church was divided in 1838, throughout the United States. In 1860 the rolls of the Old and New School Synods together showed 109 ministers and 146 churches. In 1866 the Old School Synod was divided on political questions springing out of the war-a part forming the Old School or Independent Synod of Missouri, who are connected with the General Assembly South. In' 1870 the Old and New School Presbyterians united, since which time this Synod has steadily increased until it now numbers more than 12,000 members, with more than 220 churches and 150 ministers.

This Synod is composed of six Presbyteries and has under its con- trol one or two institutions of learning and one or two newspapers. That part of the original Synod which withdrew from the General Assembly remained an independent body until 1874, when it united with the Southern Presbyterian Church. The Synod in 1875 numbered 80 ministers, 140 churches and 9,000 members. It has under its control several male and female institutions of a high order. The St. Louis Presbyterian, weekly paper, is the recognized organ of the Synod.

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

The missionary enterprises of this church began in the state in 1818, when a parish was organized in the city of St. Louis. In 1828 an agent of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society visited the city, who reported the condition of things so favorably that Rev. Thomas Horrell was sent out as a missionary, and in 1825 he began his labors in St. Louis. A church edifice was completed in 1830. In 1836 there were five clergymen of this denomination in Missouri, who had organized congregations in Booneville, Fayette, St. Charles, Hannibal and other places. In 1840, the clergy and laity met in convention, a diocese was formed, a constitution and canons adopted, and in 1844 a Bishop was chosen, he being the Rev. Cicero S. Hawks.

Through the efforts of Bishop Kemper, Kemper College was founded near St. Louis, but was afterward given up on account of pecuniary troubles. In 1847, the Clark Mission began and in 1849 the Orphans Home, a charitable institution was founded. In 1865, St. Luke's Hospital was established. In 1875, there were in the city of St. Louis, twelve parishes and missions and twelve clergymen. This denomination has several schools and colleges and one newspaper.

UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

This denomination is made up of the members of the Associate and Associate Reformed churches of the Northern states, which two bodies united in 1858, taking the name of United Presbyterian Church of North America. Its members were generally bitterly opposed to the institu- tion of slavery. The first congregation was organized at Warrensburg, Johnson County, in 1867. It rapidly increased in numbers and had, in 1875, ten ministers and five hundred members.

UNITARIAN CHURCH.

This church was formed in 1834, by Rev. W. G. Eliot, in St. Louis. The churches are few in number throughout the state, the membership being probably less than 300, all told. It has a mission house and free school, for poor children, supported by donations.

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH.

The earliest written record of the Catholic Church in Missouri shows that Father Watrin performed ministerial services in Ste. Gene- vieve in 1760, and in St. Louis in 1766. In 1770 Father Meurin erected a small log church in St. Louis. In 1818 there were in the state four chapels, and for Upper Louisiana, seven priests. A college and semin-

HISTORY OF MI: SOURI.

ary were opened in Perry County about this period for the education of the young, being the first college west of the Mississippi river. In 1824 a college was opened in St. Louis, which is now known as the St. Louis University., In 1826, Father Rosatti was appointed Bishop of St. Louis,. and, through his instrumentality, the Sisters of Charity, Sisters of St. Joseph and of the Visitation were founded, besides other benevolent and charitable institutions. In 1834 he completed the present Cathedral Church. Churches were built in different portions of the state. In 1847 St. Louis was created an arch-diocese, with Bishop Kenrick, Arch- bishop.

In Kansas City there are five parish churches, a hospital, a convent and several parish schools. In 1868 the northwestern portion of the state was erected into a separate diocese, with its seat at St. Joseph, and Right-Reverend John J. Hogan appointed Bishop. There were, in 1875, in the city of St. Louis, 34 churches, 27 schools, 5 hospitals, 3 colleges .. 7 orphan asylums and 3 female protectorates. There were also 105 priests, 7 male and 13 female orders, and 20 conferences of St. Vincent de Paul, numbering 1, 100 members. In the diocese, outside of St. Louis. there is a college, a male protectorate, 9 convents, about 120 priests, 150 churches and 30 stations. In the diocese of St. Joseph there were, in 1875, 21 priests, 29 churches, 24 stations, I college, I monastery, 5 con- vents and 14 parish schools.

THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS.

Instruction preparatory to ministerial work is given in connection with collegiate study, or in special theological courses, at :

Central College, (M. E. South). Warrenton

Fayette

Central Wesleyan College (M. E. Church) Canton

Christian University (Christian)

Concordia College Seminary (Evangelical Lutheran). St. Louis

Lewis College (M. E. Church) Glasgow

St. Vincent's College (Roman Catholic) Cape Girardeau Vardeman School of Theology (Baptist) Liberty

The last is connected with William Jewell College.

History of Buchanan County.

CHAPTER I.

PREFATORY.

THE COUNTY, ITS LOCATION AND NAME-PLAN AND SCOPE OF THIS WORK.

Over two score years have passed since the first white settlement was made within the bounds of that territory now known as Buchanan County, Missouri.

A little more than half a century since, the uncivilized aborigines roamed the prairies wild and free, unfettered by the restraint of com- mon or statutory law, and uncircumscribed by township boundaries and county lines. The transformation which has taken place in the physiog- nomy of the country alone is beyond the comprehension of the finite mind ; luxuriant groves where there was the wide stretching prairie ; cultivated fields where was the primeval forest ; orchards, vineyards and gardens where waved the tall prairie grass. So marked has been the change in the physiognomy of the country that there has been a decided change in the climatology. The elements themselves seem to have taken notice of the great change and have governed themselves accord- ingly. While the annual rainfall and the mean annual temperature remain the same in quantity, they are now entirely different in quality, and although imperceptible and independent of man's will, they have nevertheless come under the same civilizing power which has changed the wilderness into a fruitful land.

The great change which has taken place in the development of the material resources of the country is more noticeable, as man can more readily discern the changes which take place by detail in his own cir-

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY.

cumscribed field of activity than he can those grand revolutions in the boundless domain of nature. The changes which have occurred in social, intellectual and moral conditions are still more marked, mind being more swift to act on mind than on matter.

These changes can best be estimated by the institution of a brief contrast :

Then the material resources of the country consisted simply in the streams of water which quenched the thirst of the aborigine, wherein was found the fish which he ate, and upon which floated his frail canoe ; the forest where he procured his fuel, material for the construction of his rude weapons, and which sheltered the game which afforded him a meagre and uncertain sustenance. Such were the material resources made available to the owner of the soil. The social condition of the people was scarcely more advanced than is that of certain orders of the lower animals, whose social attainments are comprehended in the ability to unite for mutual offense or defense. In intellect and morals, there was a people somewhat above the brute, but on the lowest round of the ladder.

Now the material resources of the country include in their number the soil, with every useful and ornamental product known to the temper- ate zone ; the forest with every species of manufacture, useful and orna- mental, known to the civilized world. The water in the streams, and the currents of air above us, are alike trained to do man's bidding, while from the depths of the earth beneath our feet is brought forth the hidden wealth, which was hoarded by the turmoil of ages. A city with its tens of thousands of people, a country with its thousands of inhabitants, while in city and country the lofty spires of churches and school houses are evidences of the social, moral and intellectual conditions.

All this change in material things has been brought about by the incoming of a new people from the far off East and South, and that, too, within the space of half a century. History furnishes no parallel to the rapid development of this western country; it has been a chain whose links were ever recurring surprises, and among the astonshed, there are none more so, than those whose throbbing brains have planned, and whose busy hands have executed the work.

Almost a century ago, a friend of America, although an Englishman, in language almost prophetic, wrote :

" Westward the course of empire takes its way, The four first acts already past, The fifth shall close the drama of the day ; Time's noblest offering is the last."

The settlement of the new world, alluded to by the writer, has, as a whole, fully met the conditions of that prophecy, but not till the past half a century, did the onward march of empire culminate in the settle-

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY.

ment of Northwest Missouri. With the exception of a few mining towns in the gold regions of California and the silver districts of Colorado, nothing has been like it before, and it will not be exceeded in time to come.

This has not been an accident. All kinds of material development follow recognized and well-established laws, and in nothing does this fact more reveal itself than in the settlement of a country.

Whoever has made it his business to study the "Great Northwest," as it has unfolded itself in history during the last quarter of a century, has doubtless met with ever returning wonders. The story of its unparalleled growth, and almost phenomenal development, has so often been repeated that it has become a common place platitude ; but a careful study of the country will suggest questions, which have thus far not been answered, and cannot be. Why, for instance, have some sections filled up so rapidly, and certain cities spring up as if by magic, while others seemingly no less favored by nature, are still in the first stages of devel- opment ? These question cannot in all cases be answered ; but whoever has studied the matter carefully cannot fail to have discovered a law of growth, which is as unvarying as any law of nature.

The two leading factors in the problem of municipal growth are location and character of first settlers. The location of Buchanan County was most favorable, and what is true of Buchanan County is true of the whole state. Almost surrounded, as it is, by two of the most renowned water-courses of the world, one will readily see that it pos- sessed advantages enjoyed by no other state in the Union. These con- ditions, so favorable to the past and future development of the country, are beautifully illustrated by an ingenious little poem entitled "Two Ancient Misses," written by a gentleman who has won a widespread reputation at the bar. We here quote it, as it well illustrates our point, and is of sufficient merit to be preserved :

TWO ANCIENT MISSES.

I know two ancient misses Who ever onward go, From a cold and rigid northern clime, Through a land of wheat, and corn and wine, To the southern sea where the fig and the lime And the golden orange grow.

In graceful curves they wind about, Upon their long and lonely route, Among the beauteous hills ; They never cease their onward step, Though day and night they're dripping wet, And oft with the sleet and snow beset, And sometimes with the chills.

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY.

The one is a romping, dark brunette,

As fickle and gay as any coquette ;

She glides along by the western plains, And changes her bed every time it rains ; Witching as any dark-eyed houri,

This romping, wild brunette, Missouri.

The other is placid, mild and fair,

With a gentle, sylph-like, quiet air,

And a voice as sweet as a soft guitar ;

She moves along the meadows and parks

Where naiads play Æolian harps- Nor ever go by fits and starts-

No fickle coquette of the city,

But gentle, constant Mississippi.

I love the wild and dark brunette Because she is a gay coquette ;

Her, too, I love, of quiet air, Because she's gentle, true and fair ; The land of my birth, on the east and the west,

Embraced by these is doubly blest- 'Tis hard to tell which I love best.

In entering upon the work before us, we have not underestimated the difficulty and importance of the task. The chief difficulty lies in the fact that the events to be treated, while they have to do with the past, are so intimately interwoven with the present that they are properly a part of it. The writer of history, as a general thing, deals wholly with the affairs of past generations, and his aim is to pause when he arrives at that realm bounded by the memory of men now living. The whole field of our investigation lies this side of that boundary line, as there are many who will doubtless peruse this work who from the first have witnessed and taken part in the events we shall attempt to relate.

While there are a few who came to Buchanan County as early as 1836, its permanent settlement did not properly begin until 1837-8. Assum- ing 1837, to be the beginning of the history proper, there have elapsed but forty-four years, and many who came at that time, or shortly afterward, still live in our midst. And such, while they have grown prematurely old in body by reason of the hardships and privations inci- dent upon a life of more than ordinary activity and trial have not grown old in spirit. Each one of such knows the history of the county, and be it said, with due reverence for their hoary heads and bended forms, each one knows the history better than anyone else. Such readers are very uncharitable critics ; and a work of this kind, absolutely accurate in all. its details and particulars, were it within the scope of human possibility to make such a work, would undoubtedly be pronounced by many well- meaning and honest persons, faulty and untrustworthy. This results.

HISTORY OF BUCHANAN COUNTY ..

from the fact that forty-three years, though not a long period in the his- tory of the world, is a long time in the life of an individual. Events occurring at that length of time in the past, we think we know perfectly well, when the fact is we know them very imperfectly. This is proved and illustrated by the reluctancy and hesitation manifested invariably by old settlers, when called upon, to give the details of some early transac- tion ; the old settler usually hesitates before giving a date, and after having finally settled down upon the year and the month, when a certain event occurred, will probably hunt you up, in less than a day, and request the privilege of correcting the date. In the meantime, you have found another old settler, who was an eye witness of the act in question, and the date he will give you does not correspond with the first date,. nor the corrected date as given by the first old settler. There are some marked exceptions, but as a rule the memory of the old settler is not. trustworthy ; his ideas of the general outlines are usually comparatively correct, but no one who has the grace to put the proper estimate upon his mental faculties when impaired by age and weakened by the many infirmities of years will trust it to the arbitrament of questions of parti- culars and details.

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The history of Buchanan County, Missouri, Part 8

Author: Union historical company, St. Joseph, Mo., pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: St. Joseph, Mo., Union historical company Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Union historical company, St. Joseph, Mo., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: St. Joseph, Mo., Union historical company
Number of Pages: 1104