Audrain County, Missouri - Chapter 22: Audrain County of 1884, 1884

Chapter 22: Audrain County of 1884

Audrain county is bounded on the north by Monroe and Ralls coun¬ ties, on the east by Pike and Montgomery, on the south by Mont¬ gomery, Callaway and Boone, and on the west by Boone and Randolph counties. It has an area of 690 square miles, and is divided into the following municipal townships : Cuivre, Linn, Loutre, Prairie, Wil¬ son, Saling and Salt Creek. The principal streams are Salt river, Hickory, Youngs, Cuivre, Loutre, Sanders, Cedar, Seven Mile, Skull Lick, Lick, Saling, Long Elm, Littleby, Five Mile, Little Skull Lick, Goodwater, Short, Beaver Dam, Hazel, Johns, Possum, Mayes, Fish, Brushy, Big and Pisgah creeks.

A little more than 75 per cent of the county is prairie, and its sur¬ face is generally fair and attractive. In different portions of the county, at the summit level, are broad reaches of open plain or prairie land, from whose margin the country dips with graceful incline out¬ ward and downward, in sympathy with the diverging water courses that flow down through the groves and green, grassy glades, intervals and fringes of timber and pretty low-lying, winding valleys to where they are lost in the larger streams and forests. Here and there along these larger streams may be seen a range of low hills, with occasional outcroppings of lime rock into wild, weird, picturesque forms, but the general aspect of the landscape is peaceful and pasto¬ ral, and from every point of view has the semblance of a magnificent natural park, to whose native charms the hands of man have added a thousand graces of art in grain field, orchard, homestead, hedgerow and lawn.

The names and a carefully prepared listof the animals of a country, State or county are always of interest to the inhabitants, especially so to the scientist and student of natural history. After inquiring into the political and civil history of a country, we then turn with pleasure to the investigation of its natural history, and of the animals which inhabited it prior to the advent of man ; their habits and the means of their subsistence become a study. Some were animals of prey, others harmless, and subsisted upon vegetable matter. The early animals of this portion of the State ranged over a wide field, and those which inhabited the prairie and timbered regions of the Missouri river, and its tributaries, differ but little materially as to species. Of the ruminating animals that were indigenous in this territory, we had the American elk and deer of two kinds ; the more common, the well known American deer, and the white tailed deer. And at a period not very remote, the American buffalo found pastures near the alluvial and shaded banks of the Missouri river, and the plains and prairies of this portion of the State. The heads, horns and bones of the slain animals were still numerous in 1820. The black bear was quite numer¬ ous, even in the memory of the older settlers. Bears have been seen in the country within the last 30 years. The gray wolf and prairie wolf are not unfrequently found, as is also the gray fox, which still exists by its superior cunning. The panther was occasionally met with in the earlier times, and still later and more common, the wild cat, the weasel, one or more species ; the mink, American otter, the skunk, the badger, the raccoon and the opossum. The two- latter species of animals are met with in every portion of the United States and the greater part of North America. The coon skin among the early settlers was regarded as a legal tender. The bear and otter are extinct in the counties, and were valuable for their furs. Of the squirrel family, we have the fox, gray, flying, ground and prairie squirrel. The woodchuck and the common muskrat were numerous here. The bats, shrews and moles are common. Of the muridac, we have the introductory species of rats and mice, as also the native meadow mouse, and the long-tailed jumping mouse, frequently met with in the clearings. Hares, commonly called rabbits, are very plentiful. Several species of the native animals have perished, being unable to endure the presence of civilization, or finding the food con¬ genial to their tastes appropriated by stronger races. Many of the pleasures, dangers and excitements of the chase are only known and enjoyed by most of us of the present day through the talk and tradi¬ tions of the past. The buffalo and the elk have passed the Rocky mountains to the westward, never more to return. Of birds may be mentioned the following : Among the game birds most sought after are the wild turkey and prairie hen, which afford excellent sport for the hunter, and have been quite plentiful ; primated grouse, ruffled grouse, quail, woodcock, English snipe, red breasted snipe, telltale snipe, yellow legs, marbled godwin, long-bitted curlew, short-bitted curlew, Virginia rail, American swan, trumpeter swan, snow goose.

Canada goose, brant, mallard, black duck, pintail duck, green winged teel, blue-winged teel, shoveler, American pigeon, summer or wood duck, red-headed duck, canvass back duck, butter ball, hooded mugansor, rough billed pelican, the lorn, kildeer, plover, ball head, yel¬ low legged and upland plover, white heron, great blue heron, bittern, sandhill crane, wild pigeon, common dove, American raven, common crow, blue jay, bobolink, red-winged blackbird, meadow lark, golden oriole, yellow bird, snow bird, chipping sparrow, field sparrow, swamp sparrow, indigo bird, cardinal red bird, cheewink, white-billed nuthatch, mocking bird, cat bird, brown thrush, house wren, barn swallow, bank swallow, blue martin, cedar bird, scarlet tanager, sum¬ mer red bird (robin came less than 40 years ago), blue bird, king bird, perver, belted kingfisher, whippoorwill, night hawk, chimney swallow, ruby throated humming bird, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, red headed woodpecker, golden winged woodpecker, Carolina parrot, great horned own, barred owl, snowy owl, turkey buzzard, pigeon hawk, swallow-tailed hawk, Mississippi kite, red¬ tailed hawk, bald eagle and ring-tailed eagle.

Many of the above named animals and birds are no longer to be found within the limits of these counties, - we may say within the limits of the State. Some of them are now extinct, and some disap¬ peared with the Indian, upon the advance of civilization. The bald eagle was often seen by the early settlers on the Chariton river, along the banks of which, in the tallest timber, it built its nest, and brooded its young for many years after the first settlements were made.

Flora

native trees and grasses found within its limits. "Mere catalogues of plants growing in any locality," says a learned writer, "might, without a little reflection, he supposed to possess but little value," a supposition which would be far from the truth. The intel¬ ligent farmer looks at once to the native vegetation as a sure indication of the value of new lands. The kind of timber grown in a given locality will decide the qualities of the soil for agricultural purposes. The cabinet-maker and the wheelwright, and all other workmen in wood, will find what materials are at hand to answer their purpose. Upon the flora of these counties, civilization has produced its inevit¬ able effect. As the Indian and buffalo have disappeared before the white man, so have some of the native grasses been vanquished by

Native Woody Plants

We have treated particularly of the more valuable woods used in the mechanic arts, and the grasses, plants and vegetables and flowers most beneficial to man, and particularly those which are natives of this county. The plants are many and rare, some for beauty and some for medicine. The pink root, the columbo, the ginseng, boneset, pennyroyal, and others are used as herbs for medicine. Plants of beauty are phlox, the lily, the ascelpias, the mints, golden rod, the eyebright, gerardia, and hundreds more that adorn the meadows and brook sides ; besides are climbing vines, the trumpet creeper, the bitter sweet, the woodbine, the clematis and the grape, which fill the woods with gay festoons, and add grace to many a decaying monarch of the forest. Here are found the oak with at least its twenty varie¬ ties, the hickory with as many more species, the thirty kinds of elm, from the sort that bears leaves as large as a man's hands to the kinds which bear a leaf scarcely larger than a man's thumb nail ; the black oak, so tall and straight and beautiful, is here, the hackberry, gum tree, black and sweet, the tulip, the giant cottonwoods, and a hundred more attest the fertility of the soil and mildness of the climate. The white oak is much used in making furniture and agricultural imple¬ ments, as are also the panel oak, burr oak, and pin oak. The blue ash is excellent for flooring. The honey locust is a very durable wood, and shrinks less than any other in seasoning. In the above list some plants may be omitted, but we think the list quite complete.

In speaking of these we purposely exclude the grain plants, those grasses that furnish food for man, and confine ourselves to those val¬ uable grasses which are adapted to the subsistence of the inferior ani- mals. Timothy grass, or cat's-tail, naturalized; red-top, or herbs grass, nimble will, blue joint, this is a native, and grew upon prairies to the height of a man's head on horseback, orchard grass, Kentucky blue grass, true blue grass, meadow fescue, cheat chess, the reed, the cane, perennial ray grass, sweet-scented vernal grass, bud canary grass, canary grass, crab grass, smooth panicum, witch grass, barn¬ yard grass, fox-tail, bottle-grass, millet and broom-beard grass.

Audrain county is one of the most favored localities in the State for the successful growing of forest trees, evergreen trees, apple trees of all varieties, together with peaches, plums, pears, apricots, grapes and small fruits. All kinds of ornamental and shade trees, flowers and hedges grow and flourish, with only reasonable care and with a certainty that is not known east or west, north or south. If we go further south the apple will not flourish, if further north the peach is liable to blight ; but here, all are almost sure to do well.

Coal

Coal of the best quality has been found in great abundance in Audrain county and in every municipal township. Mines are worked for the local trade by James T. Carter, John Beagles, John Canter¬ bury, John B. Judy, William T. Lott and others.

Health

As to healthfulness, Audrain county may claim to be highly favored. In the first place it has none of those great natural sources of disease, such as low lands, swamp, stagnant pools, etc.

It has three or four streams of medium size, together with smaller branches, affording abundant drainage ; whilst its population is indus¬ trious, thrifty and intelligently watchful against local causes of disease ; still, it is not free from those " ills which flesh is heir to." Ordinary diseases, such as fevers, pneumonia, bronchitis, diarrhea, flux, etc., prevail to some extent.

At an early day the prevailing disease was chills and fever. The patient, after shaking for an hour or two with the chill, then blazing for an hour or two with the fever, could often get up and attend to business as usual, and perhaps repeat the process for days or even weeks ; but with increasing population and advancing development of the country, the chill, or congestive feature of the disease, has nearly subsided, whilst the fever element has increased in intensity and dur¬ ation. We now have chiefly intermittent, remittent and continued fevers, with an increasing tendency to the latter type. We are begin¬ ning to have frequent cases of what we call typho-malarial fever ; a fever having all the regular periodicity and other symptoms of mala¬ rial, or remitting and intermitting fevers, with the obstinate persist¬ ence of typhoid fever. This change is probably due to the fact that at an early date in the history of the county, the grass, weeds, and underbrush grew thick and undisturbed, and falling down covered the ground with a thick matting which held the moisture and furnished an immense amount of decaying vegetation, which produced malaria. Now, a larger amount of land being cleared up and cultivated, and a larger amount of stock being grazed on the lands, this source of ma¬ larial poison is in a great degree removed, whilst those local and endemic influences, consequent upon increasing population, tend to the production of enteric or continued fevers. Even these, however, are not very prevalent. There has never been an epidemic of cholera or small-pox in the county.

Occasionally, flux, diphtheria and scarlet fever prevail in some town or neighborhood, in an endemic form, an event common to any longsettled community ; and there is probably no county in the State, of anything like equal population, which can claim any advantage over it in the way of health.

Agricultural

A magnificent country, with a great destiny, is this beautiful cen¬ tral Missouri, whose fortunate location, charming landscape, equable climate, versatile and generous soils, fruitful orchards and vineyards, matchless grasses, broad grain fields, rich coal measures, noble forests, abundant waters and cheap lands, present to the capitalist and immi¬ grant one of the most inviting fields for investment and settlement to be found between the two oceans. During the unexampled Western migratory movement of the last six years, which has peopled Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska and other regions with an intelligent and enter¬ prising population, this remarkably rich and productive country has, until recently, remained a terra incognita to the average immigrant, the new States above named getting accessions of brain, heart, muscle, experience and capital that have given them a commanding position in the Union. And yet it cannot be denied that Missouri offers to intelligent, enterprising and ambitious men of fair capital more of the elements of substantial and enjoyable living than any country now open to settlement. In one of the fairest and most fertile dis¬ tricts of this division of Missouri is Audrain county. Audrain county is admirably located within the productive middle belt of the continent, a strip of country not exceeding 450 miles wide, lying be¬ tween the latitudes of Minneapolis and Richmond, reaching from ocean to ocean, and within which will be found every great commer¬ cial, financial and railway city, ninety per cent of the manufacturing industries, the great dairy and fruit interests, the strongest agricul¬ ture, the densest, strongest and most cosmopolitan population, all the great universities, the most advanced school systems, and the highest average of health known to the continent. Scarcely less significant is the location of the county in the more wealthy and productive por¬ tions of the great central State of the Union, which, by virtue of its position and splendid aggregation of resources, is bound to the com¬ mercial, political and material life of the country by the strongest ties, and must forever feel the quickening of its best energies from every throb of the national heart.

Audrain county is in the right latitude, which is a matter of primary interest to the immigrant. Lying squarely in the path of empire and transcontinental travel, in the latitude of Washington and Cincinnati, it has the climatic influence that has given to Northern Kentucky and North Virginia an enviable reputation for equable temperature. The climate is a benediction. A mean altitude of about 800 feet above the tides gives tone and rarity to the atmosphere and the equable mean of temperature. Most of the typical short winter is mild, dry and genial enough to pass for a Minnesota Indian summer. The snowfall is gen¬ erally light, infrequent and transient. The long, genial summer days are tempered by inspiriting breezes from the south-western plains, and followed generally by cool, restful nights.

The annual rainfall is from twenty-eight to forty inches, and is gen¬ erally so well distributed over the growing season that less than a fair crop of grains, vegetables and grasses is rarely known.

The annual drainage of the county is excellent, the deep-set streams readily carrying off the surplus water from the generally undulating surface, only a limited area being too flat to quickly shed the surplus rains.

The water supply of this county is alike ample and admirable. More than a score of deep-set streams traverse almost every portion of the county, and with numerous springs, hundreds of artificial ponds, and many living wells and cisterns, furnish pure water for all domestic uses. The markets are well supplied with hard and soft woods at $2 to $3.50 per cord, and there is a good supply of building and fencing timber. A good portion of the county is underlaid with coal, whose frequent outcroppings along the streams and ravines ex- pose veins which are easily worked by "stripping" and " drifting." Explorations made by shafts disclose well-defined veins, and there is not a doubt of very extensive deposits of the best bituminous coal. The supply of good building stone, too, is equal to all present and prospective needs, massive deposits of well-stratified limestone being found frequently outcropping along the streams and ravines.

The cost of fencing is materially lower here than in most of the new or old prairie States. In the wooded districts the fences are cheaply made of common posts or stakes and rails. In the prairie districts the older and abler farmers do a large amount of fencing with the osage orange hedge, which is an unqualified success in this county. There are miles and miles of fine hedge in this country, and with proper care a farmer can grow a mile of stock-proof hedge in four years, at a cost of $1.25 in labor. The newer farms are being uni¬ versally fenced with barbed wire, which is esteemed the quickest, most reliable, durable and cheapest fencing now in use here. The stock farmers are especially friendly to barbed wire fencing, some of them having put up as many as five and six miles in the last three years.

The soils of Audrain county are developing elements of productive wealth as cultivation advances. The prairie soil is a dark, friable al¬ luvial, from one to three feet deep, rich in humus, very easily handled, and produces fine crops of corn, oats, flax, rye, broom corn, sorghum, vegetables and grasses. The oak and hickory soil of the principal woodlands is a shade lighter in color ; is rather more consistent ; holds a good per cent of lime and magnesia, carbonate of lime, phosphate, silica, alumnia, organic matter, etc., and produces fine crops of wheat, clover and fruits, and, with deep rotative culture, gives splendid re¬ turns for the labor bestowed.

The valleys are covered with a deposit of black, imperishable allu¬ vial, from three to eight feet in depth, and as loose and friable as a heap of compost, grow from sixty to eighty bushels of corn to the acre, and give an enormous yield to anything grown in this latitude. While these soils present a splendid array of productive forces, they are supplemented by sub-soils equal to any known to husbandry. The entire superficial soils of the county are underlaid by strong, consist¬ ent, silicious clays and marls, so rich in lime, magnesia, alumnia, or¬ ganic matter, and other valuable constituents, that centuries of deep cultivation will prove them like the kindred loess of the Rhine and Nile valleys, absolutely indestructible. Everywhere, about the railway outs, ponds, cisterns, cellars and other excavations, where these clays and marls have had one or two years' exposure to frost and air, they have slacked to the consistency of an ash heap, and bear such a rank growth of weeds, grass, grain, vegetables and young trees, that in the older and less fertile States they might readily be taken for deposits of the richest compost.

After two and a half years' observation in Central and North-west¬ ern Missouri, we are prepared to believe that a hundred years hence, when the older Eastern and Southern States shall have been hope¬ lessly given over to the artificial fertilizers of man, and a new race of farmers are carrying systematic and deep cultivation down into this wonderful alien deposit of silicious matter, the whole of North and Central Missouri will have become the classic ground in American agriculture, and these imperishable soils in the hands of small farm¬ ers will have become a very garden of beauty and bounty, and these Audrain county lands will command splendid prices on a strong mar¬ ket.

The lands of Audrain county are nearly all available, because they are nearly all good. The lowest bottoms are free from swamps and lagoons, and the highest elevations are comparatively free of rocks and impediments to cultivation. It is safe to say that these soils, to¬ gether, give the broadest range of production known to American husbandry. It is the pride and boast of the Audrain county farmer that he can grow in perfection every grain, vegetable, grass, plant and fruit that flourishes between the northern limits of the cotton fields and the Red river of the North. Both the surface indications of the soil and its native and domestic productions indicate its remarkable versatility and bounty.

But a few years ago much of the outlying commons was covered with a luxuriant growth of wild prairie grass, of which there were more than fifty varieties, all of more or less value for pasturage and hay. Nearly all the natural ranges are now enclosed and under trib¬ ute to the herdsmen, and it is safe to say that their native herbage will put more flesh on cattle from the beginning of April to early autumn than any of the domestic grasses. With the progress of set¬ tlement and cultivation, however, they are steadily disappearing be¬ fore the tenacious and all-conquering blue grass, which is surely making the conquest of every rod of the county not under tribute to the plow. Blue grass is an indigenous growth here - many of the older and open woodland pastures rivaling the famous blue grass ranges of Kentucky, both in the luxuriance of their growth and the high quality of the herbage. Now and then one meets a Kentuckian so provincial in his attachments and conceits that he can see nothing quite equal to the blue grass of old Bourbon county ; but the mass of impartial Kentuckians, who constitute a large per centum of the pop¬ ulation here, admit that the same care bestowed upon the blue grass fields of Kentucky gives equally fine results in Audrain county, whose blue grass ranges are certainly superior to any in Illinois. This splendid " king of grasses," which, in this mild climate, makes a luxuriant early spring and autumn growth, is appropriately supple¬ mented here by white clover, which is also " to the manor born ; " and on this mixture of alluvial, with the underlying silicious marls and clays, makes a fine growth, especially in years of full moisture, and is a strong factor in the sum of local grazing; wealth. With these two grasses, followed by orchard grass for winter grazing (orchard grass makes a very heavy growth here), the herdsmen of fortunate Audrain county have the nfiost desirable of all stock-growing condi¬ tions - perennial grazing - which, with the fine grades of stock kept here, means wealth for all classes of stock-growers. There is another essential element of grazing resource here, and it is found in the splendid timothy meadows, which are equal to any in the Western Reserve or the Canadas. These meadows give a heavy growth of hay and seed, both of which are largely and profitably grown for export. Red clover is quite as much at home here as timothy, and its cultiva¬ tion is being very successfully extended by all the better farmers for mixed meadow pasturage and seed. Here, too, is found a luxuriant growth of herds' grass (red top), which, during the past summer, has made fine showing, the low "swale" lands and ravines presenting grand, waving; billows of herds' g;rass, almost as rich and rank of growth as the " blue stem " of the wild Western prairie bottoms. With this showing for the native and domestic grasses, it is almost needless to pronounce Audrain county a superb stock country.

With hundreds of thousands of bushels of corn grown at a cost of sixteen to eighteen cents per bushel ; an abundance of pure stock water and these matchless grasses ; the fine natural shelter afforded by the wooded valleys and ravines ; the superior facilities for cheap transportation to the great stock markets, the mildness and health¬ fulness of the climate, and the cheapness of the grazing lands, nothing pays so well or is so perfectly adapted to the country as stock hus¬ bandry. Cattle, sheep, swine, horse and mule raising and feeding are all pursued with profit in this county, the business, in good hands, paying net yearly returns of twenty to forty per cent on the invest¬ ment, many sheep growers realizing a much greater net profit.

Cattle growing and feeding, in connection with swine raising and feeding, is the leading industry of the county. High grade short horns of model types, bred from the best beef-getting stock, are kept by many of the growers and feeders, the steers being grazed during the warm months, after which they are " full-fed " and turned off during the winter and spring, weighing from 1,200 to 1,700 pounds gross at two and three years old, the heavier animals going to Euro¬ pean buyers. The steers are fed in conjunction with model Berk¬ shire and Poland China pigs, which fatten perfectly on the droppings and litter of the feed yard, and go into market weighing 250 to 400 pounds at ten to fourteen months old. These steers and pigs are bred and grazed by the feeders of their grass and corn-growing neigh¬ bors, and will average in quality and weight with the best grades fed in any of the older States.

Horse and mule raising is a favorite industry with many of the farmers, and has been pursued with profit for years, a large surplus of well-bred work horses and mules going mainly to Southern mar¬ kets each year.

Sheep raising has for several years been a favorite and highly profitable branch of stock husbandry here, many growers realizing a net profit of forty to sixty per cent on the money invested in the business. The wool produced in 1880 amounted to 260,138 pounds. This county is remarkably well suited to sheep grotving, the flocks increasing rapidly and being generally free from disease. There are many small flocks that give a higher per cent of profit than the fig¬ ures above given, but even the larger herds make a splendid showing. Merinos are mainly kept by the larger flockmasters, but the hundreds of smaller flocks, ranging from 40 to 300 each, are mainly Cotswolds and Downs, the former predominating, and the wool clips run¬ ning from five to nine pounds per capita of unwashed wool.

Sheep feeding is conducted with unusual profit here, the mild winters, cheap feed and the very cheap transportation to the great mutton markets especially favoring the business.

The extent of the industry in this county is only measurably indi¬ cated by the table in the preceding pages, which gives the number of cattle, sheep, hogs, horses, mules, and the value of each class. This statement, which is unquestionably 15 or 20 per cent below the real number of animals kept in the county, shows a large increase over the report of 1870. The live stock exports of the county last year exceeded 1,500 car loads of fat cattle, sheep, swine, horses and mules, worth in the home market at present prices considerably more than $2,000,000, and yet the business is comparatively in its infancy, not more than half the stock growing resources of the county being yet developed.

Dairy farming might be very profitably pursued here, the grasses, water and near market for first-class dairy products all favoring the business in high degree. In 1880, there were 324,000 pounds of butter made.

Audrain county comes very near to being a stock breeder's paradise, the demand for all classes of well-bred stock always being in excess of the supply. In former years the local growers have mostly de¬ pended on the breeders of the older neighboring counties for their thoroughbred stock animals, but of late many fine short horns have been brought in, and superior stock horses have been introduced, and there are a dozen of good breeders of sheep and swine, whose stock will rank with the best in the country.

Stock breeding, grazing and feeding under the favoring local conditions, is the surest and most profitable business that can be pursued in the West, or, for that matter, anywhere in " the wide, wide world."

Not a single man of ordinary sense and business capacity in this country, that has followed the one work of raising and feeding his own stock, abjuring speculation, and sticking closely to the business, has (or ever will) failed to make money. It beats wheat growing two to one, though the latter calling be pursued under the most fav¬ orable conditions in the best wheat regions. It beats speculation of every sort, for it is as sure as the rains and sunshine. What are stocks, bonds, "options," mining shares, merchandise, or traffic of any character besides those matchless and magnificent grasses that come of their own volition and are fed through all the ages by the eternal God, upon the rains and dews and imperishable soils of such a land as this? If the writer were questioned as to the noblest calling among men, outside of the ministry of "peace and good will," he would unhesitatingly point to the quiet and honorable pastoral life of these Western herdsmen. Stock growing in Audrain county, as everywhere, develops a race of royal men, and is the one absorbing, entertaining occupation of the day and location. If it be eminently practical and profitable, so, too, it is invested with a poetic charm. To grow the green, succulent, luxuriant grass, develop the finest lines of grace and beauty in animal conformation, tend one's herds and flocks on the green, fragrant range, live in the atmosphere of delicate sympathy with the higher forms and impulses of the animal life in one's care, and to be inspired by the higher sentiments and traditions of honorable breeding, is a life to be coveted by the best men of all lands. By the side of the herds and grasses and herdsmen of such a country as this, the men of the grain fields are nowhere. These men of the herds are leading a far more satisfactory life than the Hebrew shepherds led on the Assyrian hills in the old, dead centuries ; they tend their flocks and raise honest children in the sweet atmosphere of content. They are in peace with their neighbors, and look out upon a pastoral landscape as fair as ever graced the canvas of Turner. The skies above them are as radiant as those above the Arno, and if the finer arts of the old land are little cultivated by the herdsmen of these peaceful valleys, they are yet devoted to the higher art of patient and honorable human living.

The lands are cheap, the location exceptionally fine and the other advantages over the older States so great that the question of competi¬ tion is all in favor of this country. This country is admirably suited to " mixed farming." The versatility and bounty of the soil, wide range of production, the competition between the railways and great rivers for the carrying trade, and the nearness of the great markets all favor the variety farmer. With a surplus of capital, sheep, pigs, mules, horses, wool, wheat, eggs, poultry, fruit, dairy products, etc., he is master of the situation. The farmers of Audrain county live easier and cheaper than those of the older States. The labor bestowed upon 40 acres in Ohio, New York or New England, will thoroughly cultivate 100 acres of these richer, cleaner and more flexible soils. Animals require less care and feed and mature earlier ; the home re¬ quires less fuel ; the fields are finely suited to improved machinery, and it is safe to say that the average Audrain county farmer gets through the real farm work of the year in 150 days.

Nature is so prodigal in her gifts to man, that the tendency is to go slow and take the world easy. Nor is this at all wonderful in a country where generous Mother Nature does 70 per cent of the productive work, charitably leaving only 30 per cent for the brain and muscle of her sons. It is only natural that this condition of things tends to loose and unthrifty methods of farming, and that the consequent waste of a half section of land here, would give a com¬ fortable support to a Connecticut or Canadian farmer. It is in evidence, however, from the experience of all thorough and systematic farmers here, that no region in America gives grander sections to good farming than this county. There is not one of all the thorough, systematic, rotative and deep cultivators of the country who has not and does not make money. No soils give a better account of themselves in skilled and thrifty hands than these, and it is greatly to their honor that they have yielded so much wealth under such indifferent treatment. These Audrain county lands will every time pay for themselves under anything like decent treatment. They are near the center of the great corn and blue grass area of the conntry, where agriculture has stood the test of half a century of unfailing production, where civilization is surely and firmly founded on intellectual and refined society, schools, churches and railways, markets, mills and elegant homes. The lands of the county will nearly double in value during the next decade. Nothing short of material desolation can prevent such a result. Everywhere in the older States there is more or less inquiry about Missouri lands, and all the indications point to a strong inflow of intelligent and well-to-do people from the older States. Does the reader ask why lands are so cheap under such favorable, material con¬ ditions? Well, the question is easily answered. Up to a recent date, little or nothing has been done by the people of the State to advertise to the world its manifold and magnificent resources. Still worse, Missouri has, for two decades, been under the ban of public prejudice throughout the North and East, the people of those sections believing Missourians to be a race of ignorant, inhospitable, proscriptive and intolerant bulldozers, who were inimical to Northern immigration, enterprise and progress. Under this impression, half a million immi¬ grants have annually passed by this beautiful country, bound for the immigrants' Utopia, which is generally laid in Kansas, Nebraska, Colo¬ rado and Texas. This mighty army of resolute men and women, with their wealth of gold, experience and courage, have been lost to a State of which they unfortunately knew little and cared to know less. Under such conditions there has of course been a dearth of land buyers. Happily Audrain county has been advertised by her local newspapers, her enterprising real estate men and other agencies, and has perhaps suffered less at the hands of ill-founded prejudice than many other sections.

The people of Audrain county - 20,000 strong - are as intelligent,, refined and hospitable as those of Ohio or Michigan ; and a more tolerant, appreciative, chivalrous community never .undertook the subjugation of a beautiful wilderness to noble human uses. We have passed a number of years in Northern and Central Missouri, visiting the towns, looking into the industrial life of the people, inspecting the farms and herds, reviewing the schools and carefully watching the drift of popular feeling, and are pleased to affirm that there is nowhere in the Union a more order-loving and law-respecting population than that of Audrain county.

" The life they live " here is quite as refined and rational as any phase of the social and political life at the North. Whatever they did in the exciting and perilous years of the war, they are to-day as frank, liberal and cordial in their treatment of Northern people, and as ready to appreciate and honor every good quality in them, as if they were " to the manor born."

A strong Union sentiment is everywhere apparent. Many persons were strong Union Democrats during the war, never swerving in their fealty to the Union, and the old flag floats as proudly in Central and North Missouri as in the shadows of Independence Hall. All parties are agreed that slavery is dead, and that its demise was a blessing to every prime interest of the country. There is not a man of character in the countv who would restore the institution if he could. A £ood majority of the people of this county hail from Kentucky and Vir¬ ginia, or are descended from Kentucky or Virginia families, and have the deliberation, frankness, good sense, admiration of fair play, reverence for woman and home, boundless home hospitality and strong seli-respect, for which the average Kentuckian and Virginian is pro¬ verbial. They have a habit of minding their own business that is refreshing to see. The new-comer is not catechised as to social ante¬ cedents or politics, but is estimated for what he is and does. They don't care where a man hails from, if he be sensible and honest. They take care of their credit as if it were their only stock in trade. When a man's word ceases to be as good as his bond, his credit, busi¬ ness and standing are gone, and the loss of honorable prestige is not at all easy of recovery.

Sterling character finds as high appreciation here as in any country of our knowledge. The visitor is impressed with the number of strong men - men who would take rank in the social, professional and busi¬ ness relations of any community in civilization. Audrain county has evidently drawn largely upon the best blood, brain and experience of the older States. In every department of life may be found men of fine culture and large experience in the best ways of the world, and the stranger who comes here expecting to place the good people of this county in his shadow, will get the conceit effectually taken out of him in about ninety days. They are not a race of bar¬ barians, living a precarious sort of life in the bush, but a brave, mag¬ nanimous, intelligent people, who, if their average daily life be sternly realistic in the practical ways of home-building and bread-getting, have yet within and about them so much of the ideal that he is indeed a dull observer who sees not in their relations to the wealth of the grain-fields and herds, and the poetry of the sweet natural landscape, a union of the real and ideal that is yet to make for them the perfect human life. They find ample time for the founding and fostering of schools, the love of books and flowers and art, a cultivation of the social graces, and the building of temples to the spiritual and ideal. Audrain county raises horses and mules and swine, fat steers, and the grain to feed the million, but is none the less a generous almoner of good gifts for her children. She has seventv-seven free schools for

Public morals are guarded and fostered by the presence and influ¬ ence of churches, representing nearly all the denominations, and are nowhere displayed to better advantage than in the general observance of the Sabbath, and in the honest financial administration of county affairs. There are no repudiators of the public credit and obligation here. Every public promise to pay is honored with prompt payment of principal and interest. They have in a high measure that singular and inestimable virtue called popular conscience, and make it the in¬ exorable rule of judgment and action in all public administration. It is as unchangeable as the law of the Medes and Persians, and though public enterprise has impelled the expenditure of a great deal of money, large sums have also been voted for the building of railways, for county buildings and appointments, ancPfor bridges, with a liberal expenditure for incidental uses, all within little more than a decade ; every dollar of county obligation has heen paid at maturity ; nobody has had the hardihood to even talk repudiation, and happy, prosperous Audrain will soon be out of debt, and the last dollar of her bonded indebtedness will be promptly paid. Better still, she has surplus cash in her vaults to meet the current expenditures on public account, and her credit is as good as that of the nation itself.* viable credit, excellent schools, light taxes, a brave, intelligent popu¬ lation, and presents a picture of material thrift which challenges the admiration of all. There are a score of men in the county worth from $30,000 to $250,000. Half a hundred more represent from $20,000 to $50,000, and a large number from $15,000 to $20,000, while after these come a good-sized army whose lands and personal estate will range from $10,000 to $15,000. This wealth is not in any sense spec¬ ulative, for it has been mainly dug out of the soil, and, in a modest degree, represents the half-developed capacity of the grasses and grain fields. It is not in the hands of any speculative or privileged class, but is well distributed over the county in lands, homes and herds. It is one of the pleasures of a lifetime to ride for days over this charm¬ ing region of fine old homes, thrifty orchards, green pastures and royal herds, and remember that the fortunate owners of these noble estates have liberal bank balances to their credit, and are well on the road to honorable opulence.

Many of our readers will be inclined to wonder if it is an over-col¬ ored sketch of the country and people, and ask for the shady side of the picture. "Are there no poor lands, poor farmers, or poor farm¬ ing in Audrain county - nothing to criticise, grumble about or find fault with in the ways of the 20,000 people within the range of the latter?" Yes, there is a " shady side" to the picture, and it is easily and quickly sketched from life. The scarcity of farm labor is appa¬ rent to the most superficial observer. The negroes, who did most of the farm labor under the old compulsory system, have gone almost solidly to the towns, and are no longer a factor in the farm labor problem. The average farm hand has acquired the easy, slip-shod habits of the slave labor system, and is at best a poor substitute. Four-fifths of the farmers undertake too much, expending in the most superficial way upon 200 or 400 acres the labor which would only well cultivate 100 acres, and the result is seen in shallow plowing, hurried seeding, slight cultivation, "careless harvesting, loose stacking, waste¬ ful threshing and reckless waste in feeding. The equally reckless ex¬ posure of farm machinery in this county would bankrupt the entire farm population of half-a-dozen New England counties in three sea¬ sons. The visitor in the country is always in sight of splendid reap¬ ers, mowers, seeders, cultivators, wagons and smaller implements, standing in the swarth, furrow, fence-corner or yard where last used, and exposed to the storms and sunshine until the improvident owner needs them for further use.

The exposure of flocks and herds to the cold, wet storms of the winter, without a thought of shelter, in a country where Nature has bountifully provided the material for, and only trifling labor is re¬ quired to give, ample protection, is a violation of the simplest rule of economy and that kindly human impulse that never fails to be moved by the sight of animal suffering. The astonishing waste of manures, by the villainous habit of burning great stacks of straw and leaving rich half-century accumulations of manure to the caprice of the ele¬ ments, may be all right in bountiful old Missouri, but in the older Eastern country would be prima facie evidence of the insanity of the land-owner who permitted the waste.

The waste of valuable timber is equally unaccountable, if not really appaling. While economists in the older lands are startled at the rapid approach of the timber famine, and are wondering where the timber supply is to come from a dozen years hence, the farmers of Audrain county and all north Missouri have until recently been split¬ ting elegant young walnut and cherry trees into common rails to enclose lands worth $10 to $25 per acre ; cutting them into logs for cabins, pig troughs and sluiceways, and even putting them on the wood market in competition with cheap coals, complaining the while of the cost of walnut furniture brought from factories a thousand miles away.

There are too many big farms here for the good of the overtasked owners or the country. No man can thoroughly cultivate 600, 1,000 or 1,500 acres of land, any more than a country of homeless and landless tenants can be permanently prosperous ; and the sooner these broad, unwieldly estates are broken into small farms, and thoroughly cultivated by owners of the soil in fee simple, the better it will be for land values, schools, highways, society, agriculture, trade and every vital interest of the country. Such a consummation would vastly add to the wealth and attractions of this beautiful and fertile region, giving it the graces of art, manifold fruits of production, and univer¬ sal thrift that attend every country of proprietary small farmers. There is too much speculation and too little work for the benefit of farming or economic living. Everybody is trading with his neighbor in live stock, grain, lands, town lots, options, or anything that prom¬ ises money without work, forgetting that the country is not a dime the richer for the traffic. Nothing surprises the Eastern visitor as much as the want of appreciation for their country, expressed by so many of the old and substantial farmers of this region. They get the Texas, Kansas or Colorado fever, and talk about selling beautiful farms in this fair and fertile county for the chances of fortune in one of these regions of the immigrant's Utopia, as if they were unconscious of living in one of the most favored lands upon the green earth. A six week's tour of some of the older and less favored States,' followed by a trip of critical observation into some of the newer ones, might give these uneasy and unsettled men a spirit of happy content with their present home and surroundings.

Audrain county has productive capacity great enough to feed a fourth of the population of Missouri, but before its wonderful native resources are developed to the maximum, it must have twenty thou¬ sand more men to aid in the work. Men for the thorough cultivation of forty, eighty and one hundred and twenty acre farms ; for the modern butter and cheese dairy ; skilled fruit growers to plant orch¬ ards and vineyards and wine presses ; hundreds of sterling young men from the Northern States, the Canadas and Europe, to solve the farm labor problem in a country where reliable labor is scarce and wages high, and skilled artisans to found a hundred new mechanical industries. All these are wanted, nor can they come a day too soon for cordial greeting from the good people of Audrain county, or the prec¬ ious realization of a great destiny for one of the most inviting regions on the green earth.

the demand for all classes of well bred stock alwavs being in excess of the supply. In former years the local growers have mostly depended upon the breeders of the older neighboring counties for their thor¬ oughbred stock animals, but of late many fine short horns have been brought in by Messrs. Quisenberry, Clay, Shafer and others, and Judge Ross has recently brought in some choice Herefords. Gold Dust, Denmark, Membrino, Hambletonian, Norman and other superior stock horses have been introduced by Messrs. Curry, Bot¬ kin, Quisenberry, Cook and half a dozen other well known horse¬ men, and there are a dozen good breeders of sheep and swine whose stock will rank with the best in the country.

Such is Audrain county, and such has been its growth and prosper¬ ity in material wealth. To what the county may attain the next quarter of a century is now difficult to imagine. A little more of the spirit of enterprise upon the part of the present population, and the coming in of a new and energetic people will rapidly develop and advance its wonderful resources and its material prosperity. The farmers of Audrain have special reasons to be proud of their county ; proud of its vast and magnificent extent, being a small empire within itself ; proud of its natural resources and geographical position ; proud of its importance to the great State of which it forms an in¬ tegral and conspicuous part; proud of its splendid soil, and proud to anticipate the glorious future which must inevitably dawn brighter and brighter, until Audrain shall rank first among the one hundred and fourteen counties which constitute the grand old Commonwealth of Missouri.

Chap Tee Xxiii Ecclesiastical History

The settlement of the county and the organization of the first churches were almost contemporaneous. The plow had scarcely begun to turn the sod when the pioneer preachers commenced to labor in the new field. In the western country, as well as in the Orient and the isles of the sea, marched the representatives of the Christian religion in the front ranks of civilization. Throughout the centuries which comprise this era have the Christian missionaries been taught and trained to accompany the first advance of civilization, and such was their advent in Audrain county. In the rude cabins and huts of the pioneers they proclaimed the same gospel that is preached in the gorgeous palaces that, under the name of churches, decorate the great cities. It was the same gospel, but the surroundings made it appear different, in the effect it produced at least. The Christian religion had its rise and the days of its purest practice among an humbleminded people ; and it is among similar surroundings in modern times that it seems to approach the purity of its source. This is the best shown in the days of pioneer life. It is true, indeed, that in succeed¬ ing times the church has attained greater wealth and practices a wider benevolence. Further, it may be admitted that it has gained a firmer discipline, and wields a more genial influence on society ; but it remains true, in pioneer times we find a manifestation of Christianity that we seek in vain at a later period, and under contrasted circum¬ stances. The meek and lowly spirit of the Christian faith - the placing of spiritual things above vain pomp and show - appears more earnest amid the simple life and toil of a pioneer people than it can when surrounded with the splendors of wealth and fashion.

But w^e may take a comparison less wide, and instead of contrast¬ ing the Christian appearances of a great city with the Christian appearances of the pioneers, we may compare the appearances of forty years ago, here in the West, with those in the present time of moder¬ ately developed wealth and taste for display, and we find much of the (400) same result. The comparison is perhaps superficial to some extent, and does not fully weigh the elements involved, nor analyze them properly. We simply take the broad fact, not to decry the present, but to illustrate the past. So looking back to the early religious meetings in the log cabins we may say: " Here was a faith earnest and simple, like that of the early Christians."

It is our purpose to give as full and complete a history of the churches of the different religious denominations of Audrain county in this chapter as we can. From the best information we have obtained, the representatives of the Baptist and Methodist churches were here about the same time. The Baptists, however, erected the first house of worship, on the present site of Hopewell.

Hopewell Baptist Church. - This church, probably the first church established within the present limits of Audrain county, was organized on the 6th day of August, 1836, with William Morgan Jesse and wife, William Black and wife and ten others as constituting the original membership. It is now the oldest Missionary Baptist church in the county. Elder William M. Jesse was ordained to the ministry at the call of the church in 1842, and the same year was made pastor of the church. This relation existed until his death in 1857, and since then W. R. Wigginton, William Jesse, Jr., and J. Frank Smith have served in the same capacity. One hundred and twenty persons form the present membership. Their service of worship is held in a comfort¬ able frame building.

Davis Fork Regular Baptist Church at Mexico - Was organized on the 16th of May, 1840, nine persons constituting its original membership : John A Pearson, Mrs. Nancy Pearson, Edward Beatty, Isaac Ford and wife, Jane Ford, Zachariah Jackson, Malinda Jackson* Julia A. Morris and Jane Herrin. The organization was effected at the Hopewell church, through the efforts of Elders Thomas P. Stevens, Theodore F. Webb, Archibald Patterson and Jabez Ham, with the aid and counsel of other brethren, among whom were John Rothwell, William Jones, John Green, August Creed and Hezekiah Jones. In 1873 the present church building was erected at a cost of $2,700, this amount having largely been raised through the instru¬ mentality of Elder Caleb Guthrie, who circulated the subscription list. To him much credit is due for the success of his labors in this direction. We find the following names among the catalogue of those who have served as pastors of this church : Jabez Ham, Thomas P. Stevens, Samuel D. Gilbert, Archibald Patterson, Benjamin Owen, John J. Linsey, Theodore Boulware, James W. Dudley, Caleb Gutli- rie, W. A. Rothwell, E. A. Burnham, P. L. Branstetter, J. E. Lee and Wilton J. Sears, the present pastor. Included in these, Theo¬ dore Boulware, James Dudley and Caleb Guthrie served the church faithfully and laboriously for a number of years. One prominent feature of this congregation is the strict discipline attendant upon the character of its members. Their government forbids the defrauding of creditors, allowing children to attend balls, theaters, and other places of a wordly nature, and, in anything which is notin accordance with the example set by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, they are solemnly prohibited from engaging. Their religion shines forth brightly in the profession they have declared. Brother John A. Pearson served the church as Deacon for 35 years, and for a large portion of the time was also trustee and clerk.

Old School Baptist Church (Liberty) - Achieved an organization in October, 1871, being formed by the efforts of Revs. Caleb Guthrie, Milton J. Sears and Elder James Barnes. The first members were Thomas C. Hudson and wife, R. A. Hudson, Jabez Jones, Blake L. Fadis and Susan Fadis, his wife, Thomas J. Don Carlos, Francis Sims, Nicholas De Jarnett, and Mary J. Fulkerson. Its pastors have been Revs. Milton Sears, J. E. Lee, William E. Stevens, and subse¬ quently the second pastorate of Rev. Milton Sears. The church building was erected in 1871 at a cost of $2,500, and is a frame structure. (It was built jointly by the Christian and Baptist churches, and called Liberty Church). The membership at present is 29.

West Cuivre Baptist Church - Was constituted an organization April 5, 1845. Eleven members comprised the original congrega¬ tion : James N. Griffin, Sarah M. Griffin, Lyda Fuqua, John M. Fuqua, Sarah Fuqua, Nancy Fuqua, Walter S. Adams, Nancy Adams, Elizabeth Adams, Lyda Linsey and Emily Dulaney. In 1860 the church building, a frame 40x60 feet, was erected at a cost of about $2,000. In August of the same year it was dedicated, the ded¬ icatory sermon being preached by James F. Smith. Other ministers present on that occasion were Rev. M. L. Bibh, L. C. Musiek and J. N. Griffin. The first pastor of the church was W. H. Vandeman, followed successively by Walter McQuey, William Jesse, B. B. Black, L. C. Musiek, J. F. Smith, R. S. Duncan, J. T. Wheeler, William R. Wigginton, J. D. Robnett and M. L. Bibb. Through the efforts of these noble servants of God, much good work has been accomplished. The present membership is 194.

The following named persons constituted the original membership: Rev. S. A. Beauchamp, Joel Guthrie, T. H. Edwards, H. C. Jeffries, William Harper, James P. Sullenger, T. J. Holt, James Carroll, Jen¬ nie Beauchamp, Sarah Sigler, M. E. Botts, Martha Harper, Mary Coil, Bettie Gordon, Georgie Carroll, Mary Hardin, Mary Craddock and others. This first body had no church building, services being held in the house of the so-called Regular Baptists ; but during the war the church was dissolved and the records lost. However, a few of the original members remained and are now numbered with the Mexico Baptist church.

In 1869-70 a handsome brick edifice in which to worship was erected at a cost of $11,265, and on the 3d of July, 1870, was dedi¬ cated to the Lord's service by Rev. W. Pope Yearn an, assisted by Revs. Noah Flood and S. A. Beauchamp. Rev. Beauchamp served as pastor of the congregation for four years, and Rev. J. S. Murphy followed for five years, except a six months' absence, when the pul¬ pit was supplied by Rev. William F. Kone. Rev. J. C. Maple preached for four years and three months, being succeeded by Rev. J. C. Arm¬ strong, in December, 1881. The present pastor is an earnest, faithful minister, and is doing much good in this field of labor. During seven¬ teen years the membership has numbered 384, but fifteen having died and 215 having been dismissed by letter, leaves the member¬ ship at this time 154. Joel Guthrie was the first deacon and clerk of the church, and still occupies these positions.

Union Baptist Church - Formed itself into an organization on the third Saturday in January, 1862. Those composing the first mem¬ bers were Jacob Kesler, Elizabeth Kesler, Mary F. Kesler, Martha E. Kesler, William H. Kesler, James R. Kesler, Arthur McDonald, Felece McDonald, N^incy R. McDonald, Rufus Colwell, Martha A. Colwell, Lucinda Dungan, Elizabeth Green, Richard Bvrne, Sarah Watts, Mary Watts, Susan Watts, Lucy Ann Watts, James Hall, Collison Singer and James F. Freeman.

Early in 1879 a frame building was erected at a cost of $1,400, for the purpose of worship. The same year it was dedicated, the ser¬ mon being preached by J. C. Maple, and the dedicatory prayer being offered by W. W. Trimble. Following James F. Smith (who was the organizer and first pastor) came Joseph Carico, R. F. Babb, Wil¬ liam Jesse, Joshua Pearce and S. H. Pollard, who is the present pas¬ tor. Others supplied the pulpit for limited terms. Fifty-six persons constitute the present membership. The Union Baptist church own

Martinsburg Baptist Church - Formed itself into an organization September, 1866, by a colony of members who withdrew from Mt. Zion Church. There were 20 constituent members. The organizingcouncil consisted of R. S. Duncan, W. O. Randolph and George B. Leachman. Rev. Duncan was the first pastor.

Bethlehem Baptist Church. - Bethlehem church became organized at the house of Brother Levi Barton, May 1, 1867, with the following original members : Levi Barton, Malinda Barton, John Barton, Jabez Robinson, W. R. Wigginton, Obedience Wigginton, Stephen Pulis, Margaret Pulis, Robert F. Babb, Virginia Babb, William J. Babb, Eugie P. Babb, James F. Babb, Milton Conger, Ann M. Conger, Nicholas Long, Parthena Long, Mary E. Long, Samuel Riggs, Mar¬ garet Riggs, Elizabeth Bruce and Sarah Williams. The erection of a frame edifice which was begun in November, 1881, was completed in May, 1882, at a cost of about $1,200. The church was dedicated Sunday, June 25, 1882, by Rev. J. D. Robnett. Those who have filled this pulpit are Revs. W. R. Wigginton, R. F. Babb, N. S. John¬ son, Elder W. J. Jesse and Rev. James F. Smith. The membership at this time is 59. When first organized the meetings of this church were conducted in a locust grove near the old Barton farm on Young's creek, until late in the fall of 1867, when it changed to Naylor School House. They continued to meet there until the new church was com¬ pleted in May, 1882.

New Hope Baptist Church - Located in Wilson township, was organized August 23, 1869, by Rev. W. W. Wigginton. Those con¬ stituting the original membership were Mary J. Brown, Ann J. Gant, Martha Dempsey, Andrew Turner, James R. Campbell, Thomas Camp¬ bell, W. R. Campbell, John D. Pulis, Fielding W. Wisdom, Joseph Davis, L. P. Brown, J. B. Jackson, Mary H. Jackson, Lucy Wisdom, Mary Wisdom, Susan Wisdom and William Foster. In 1870 the church building, a frame structure, was erected at a cost of $2,000. The present membership is 60.

Littleby Baptist Church - Organized July 26, 1870, was composed of the following original members : J. H. Crawford, Susanna E. Craw¬ ford, S. E. Kendall, Martha J. Kendall, Sue Hughes, Martha Blue, Margaret Botts, Laura Raynor, W. O. Wilkerson, Dorcas Wilkerson, James Slaughter and Mattie Brown. The building which is of frame, was built in 1879 at a cost of $1,600, and was dedicated December 28, 1879 by J. C. Maple and M. S. Johnston. Rev. Milford Powers served as pastor for two years, being succeeded by J. F. Smith, one year, and he by N. S. Johnston, who has since continued to fill the pulpit, a period of nine years. S. E. Kehdall is the present church clerk. The membership is 59. Previous to this organization there was a church which dissolved during the war. J. W. Haynes was pastor. It was constituted in November 1860, with the following members: W. O. Wilkerson, Daniel DeJarnett, Dorcas Wilkerson, Mildred DeJarnett, Margaret Botts, Lucy A. Smith, Lizzie Gilllispie, Virginia Mitchell, J. J. Suiter, Lucy A. Suiter, Margaret Gililland, Ann Gililland, J. A. Mitchell, church clerk.

Vandalia Baptist Church. - Among the names of the original mem¬ bers of this church, which was organized in March, 1875, appear the following well known persons : A. J. Saterlee, Frances Saterlee, Laura McCormack, Harvey Saterlee, D. D. Graffort, P. Lemon, C. M. Fletcher, Laura Ogle, Nancy Gallaway, Andrew Thompson, W. P. Warford, G. C. Warlord, W. T. Fuqua, W. O. Shannon, K. A. Laird, Emily J. Laird, C. W. Benny and C. F. Dye. In 1881-82 the church building, a brick edifice, was completed, having cost between $7,000 and $8,000. It was dedicated on the 31st of December, 1882, the sermon having been preached by W. Pope Yeaman. Those who have served the church as pastors are S. G. Givens, M. L. Bibb and James Reid, the present incumbent, who has filled the pulpit since 1880. The membership at this time is 85.

First Baptist Church of Laddonia - Was organized on the 3d of December, 1878. The names of the first members are: Jesse H. Baskett, Mildred Baskett, Francis Baskett, Bland Baskett, Benjamin Baskett, Suradia A. Mitchell, R. B. Swift, Olive E. Swift, Jesse R. Gililland, Eliza A. Gililland, J. N. Cartmell, Elizabeth Cartmell, Will¬ iam Charles, Sarah Charles, James Gililland, and Lucinda A. Gilil¬ land. In 1880 this building, which is of frame, was erected, costing about $1,500. The following ministers participated in the dedicatory services: Revs. J. C. Maple, J. D. Robnett, M. L. Bibb and N. S. Johnston, the latter being pastor at that time. Those who succeeded M. S. Whiteside (the first minister) as pastors of this church are M. M. Modisett, N. S. Johnston, G. B. Smith and M. L. Bibb, the pres¬ ent incumbent. The deacons are Jesse H. Baskett and James N. Gililland, the clerk being R. B. Swift. Seventy-three persons consti¬ tute the membership at this time. Eighty-five have joined, but of that number three have died, two have been excluded, and seven have been dismissed to join other churches of a like faith and order, thus leav¬ ing the present membership as above. A prosperous Sunday-School,

Farber Baptist Church. - In February, 1879, Elisha Grigsby, Susan Grigsby, George W. Adams, Alice Adams, Malissa Jenkins, N. H. Sutton, Sarah Sutton, Matilda Sutton, Kate Sutton, A. B. Tolliver, Emeline Tolliver, George T. Bondurant, Z. T. Burch, Mil¬ dred Farrington, Cephas Bradbury, Mrs. Bradbury and Abraham Tolson met and effected an organization which now constitutes the Farber Baptist Church. In 1882 a frame house of worship was erected, the cost of which was $1,800. The members, now number¬ ing sixty, have had as their pastors William R. Wigginton, Green B. Smith and James Reid.

Beaver Dam Missionary Baptist Church. - On the 20th of Feb¬ ruary, 1880, this church, now located in one of the finest localities in the State for the promotion and furtherance of the gospel, was or¬ ganized with Temple Wayne, Louis Kline, Mary Kline, Sallie Wayne, James Ellis, George Ellis, Dora Ellis, William Goodman, J. Goodman and wife, L. Payne, David Crockett, J. H. J. Daws and wife, and Edgar Threlkeld and wife, Eliza Threlkeld, as its original members. In 1873 the present church edifice, a frame, was built, costing $1,380, and was dedicated by the Methodists as " Union House." The struc¬ ture has since been purchased by the Baptist denomination. Rev. J. Pearce has served as pastor since the formation of the church. The membership at this date is 44.

Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church - Located ten miles north of Mexico, effected an organization about 1880. Among those constituting the original membership were William Nichols and wife, James Cauthorn, Columbus Cauthorn and wife, William Williams and wife and Thomas Bybee and wife, - 15 in all. At present the member¬ ship of this church is 50. Their building - a frame structure - was erected in 1881 at a cost of $1,300. Elder Wigginton has served the church as pastor.

Littleby M. E . Church South - Was organized about 1840, but we were unable to ascertain the names of those constituting the original membership. The church building, erected in 1873, was blown down and the present structure built in 1883, at a cost of $1,500, is 24x46 feet in dimensions, built on the Gothic style of architecture, and well finished. In May, 1874, the first dedicatory services wese held by T. J. Gooch, and upon the repairing of the building it was re-dedicated by Rev. Pritchett. Those who have served as pastors of the church since the erection of the building are W. O. Lynn, J. O. Edmonston, p. Monroe, A. Spencer, W. G. Shackelford, William Sutton, S. L.

Wood and M. B. Broaddus. There are at this time 100 members. Five acres of ground are attached to the church for the purposes of a cemetery.

M. E. Church South - At Mexico, effected an organization at the house of John A. Martin, one and a half miles north-west of Mexico, in 1843. Our endeavors to secure the names of the original members proved unsuccessful. The present church edifice was constructed in 1869 -70 and is valued at $16,500. It is an elegant and imposing structure and has a large seating capacity. Among those who have served the church as pastors may be mentioned Rev. W. A. Mayhew, J. O. Forsman, H. A. Bourland, William M. Newland, Thomas J. Gooch, John D. Vincil and W. H. Lewis. The present membership is 240.

Olivet M. E. Church South. - John W. Wilfley, Minerva Wilfley, John Ellis, Elizabeth A. Ellis, Rosa Ellis, Francis Miller, Joseph Miller, Joshua Neale, Amanda Neal, Eliza Hammond, Millv Craw¬ ford, Thomas Lipp, William Walton, Bartlett Graves and Mary Graves, and, perhaps, others met during the spring of 1869, and or¬ ganized themselves into the above named church. In 1873 a frame house of worship was completed at a cost of $1,800, and in August, 1874, it was dedicated by Rev. W. G. Miller. The following named ministers have filled the pulpit of this church : C. W. Collett, W. M. Sutton, J. S. Rooker, Revs. James, Brewer, William Sartor, D. T. Sherman, R. W. Rich, L. Baldwin and M. B. Broaddus. Owing to some trouble which arose in the church pertaining to sanctifi¬ cation, about one-third of the members withdrew, leaving the mem¬ bership at this time 41.

Trinity M. E. Church South. - In 1870 Rev. H. A. Bourland succeeded in constituting this church with the following as the pri¬ mary members: G. P. Williams, Elizabeth Williams, W. H. Fox, Mary E. Fox, Joseph M. Fox, Delilah Fox, Rev. J. W. Jones and wife, Rachel Neely, G. W. Willingham, Amanda Willingham, Malinda Dulv, William D. Frazier, Susan D\'Son and Susan Green. The present frame church edifice was built in the fall of 1879, and this property is now valued at $1,500. It was dedicated on the fifth Sun¬ day in November, 1879, by Rev. Joseph H. Pritchett, president of Howard Female College. Rev. Henry Kay, who served as pastor for one year, has been followed by Revs. O. W. Linn, two years; J. O. Edmonston, two years ; J. F. Monroe, two years ; Alexander Spencer, one year; W. G. Shackleford, three years; W. M. Sut¬ ton and S. L. Woody each for one year. Rev. M. B. Broaddus is the present incumbent. Fiftv-five persons now comprise the membership of this church. Brother G. P. Williams is probably the oldest member of the M. E. Church South in Audrain county. He' was converted and joined the church on the boundary line, at the time of his uniting there not being a church edifice in the county. x

M. E. Church at Mexico - Was organized July 12, 1862, with the following among the constituent members : R. L. T. Me- Neily, H. R. Keaton, Robert Kenyon and wife, T. M. Grange, Mary Grange, Lucy Sanders and John Wilkins. Among the pas¬ tors who have served the church are Rev. William DeMotte, R. R. Tutter, W. B. Farrah, S. S. Ford, A. N. Fields, N. Shumate, E. J. Hamill, J. W. Coughlan, W. F. Clayton, John Gillies, H. B. Seeley, T. J. Wheat and John Way man. In 1867 the erection of a building was commenced under the immediate supervision of J. C. Smith, Josiah Wright and Dr. Wesley Humphrey. The present membership of this church is 140. A Sabbath-school in connection contains 130 members, superintended by Josiah Wright.

Maple Grove M. E. Church. - This organization was effected in the summer of 1877 by Rev. J. S. Rooker. Among the original members were Jehial Rowe and Martha S. Rowe, his wife, L. S. Ful¬ ler and wife, Bettie L. Fuller, Thomas J. Rowe, Catherine Richard¬ son, Belle Richardson, Cordelia Richardson, Permelia Williams, Eli Ronney and Mahala Ronney, his wife, Florence Riggs, Eliza Riggs, Samuel Riggs, Joseph Welch, Henry Rosain, J. W. Duncan, Sallie Duncan, his wife, and P. D. Fisher. The church edifice, a frame structure, was erected in the fall of 1879, and is valued at about $1,200. In the fall of 1880 it was dedicated to the service of God by John D. Vincil, of St. Louis. Revs. W. M. Sutton, G. W. Rich, Louis Baldwin, C. W. Collett and Alonzo V. Bailey have served as pastors. The present membership numbers 29. The Sabbath-school in connection with the church contains 25 scholars, and is superin¬ tended by E. J. Brown.

Mexico Presbyterian Church. - The organization of this church took place in 1850, the following named persons then being enrolled as members : James Pasqueth, Jackson Thomas and family, James Love and wife, E. Jacobs and wife, T. T. Stone and wife and Mrs. Ida Cardwell. A brick church edifice was erected in 1857, having cost $6,000, and in 1858 it was dedicated. Those who had filled the pastorate of the church are Revs. Robinson, Woods, Coulty, Scott, Burr, Morton, R. L. Symington, Charles Fuller, R. Carson, B. T.

Bethel Presbyterian Church. - At Prairie School-house, on the 15th of November, 1868, an organization since known as the above church was formed, with the following members : Isaac Miller, Bettie Miller, Robert Kerr, Bettie E. Kerr, William H. Kerr, Sarilda Kerr, Vianna Kerr, Virncia Bridgeford, Alvira Kerr, Thomas A. Botts, Virginia B. Botts, John F. Botts, Susan J. Botts, Mary M. Botts, John C. Heizer, Mary Heizer, Rebecca A. Heizer, John J. Beagler, Salina D. Beagler, Louisa J. Beagler, D. W. Sumner, W. S. Hayes, Nannie Hogan, Walter C. Drake, Mary I. Drake, H. E. Drake, Eliz¬ abeth S. Beam, Mary Elliott, Sallie J. Hubbard, John Wallace, Alvin Powell, Julia A. Powell, Joseph Stewart, Mary C. Stewart, Elizabeth P. Logan, Mary A. Cripps, Eliza R. Azdell, Jacob Barnes, Ellen A. Barnes and Robert G. Gilbreath. A frame church building, in which to hold services, was erected in 1875 and cost about $1,500. Revs. John M. Travis, W. W. Robertson, D.D., J. V. Barks, C. E. Paxson and H. P. S. Willis have been the pastors in charge. The pres¬ ent membership is 76. At the organization, Revs. J. M. Travis and W. W. Robertson being present, it was agreed that the election of officers should be by ballot, whereupon Robert B. Kerr and Isaac Miller were elected elders, and Alvin Powell and William Kerr were chosen as deacons.

First Presbyterian Church of Vandalia. - On the 25th of Septem ber, 1871, the church was organized, C. G. Canter, Lavinia G. Canter, S. B. Gililland, W. S. Boyd, Mrs. M. Satterlee, N. A. Brown, L. A Jeffries, John M. Porter, Mrs. M. Porter, Mary Porter, F. Porter, Miss M. Graffort, John Graffort, John Porter, James Thornback and Mary Thornback constituting the early membership. John B. Mat¬ thews, W. W. Robertson, J. J. Baker, Frank Mitchel and C. E. Paxson have served as pastors. The number of members at this time is ten. The church was organized principally of transient persons, and at present have services at the Boyd school-house, six miles south-east of Vandalia.

Second Presbyterian Church of Vandalia. - A reorganization of this church took place on the 1st of March, 1880, the original mem¬ bers being James F. Crawford and Delia Crawford, his wife ; Thomas Graffort, C. E. Canter, Lavinia J. Canter, Mrs. Andrew Lynch, C. B. Crawford, Catherine Crawford, R. W. Morrow, B. Crawford and Re¬ becca Crawford. In 1873 a frame building (in which services are now held) was constructed at a cost of $1,100, being dedicated by

Rev. W. W. Robertson. Revs. Mr. Barks, Burch, Frank Mitchel,C. E. Paxton and R. P. H. Willis have been the pastors in charge. There are now 30 members in the church, and once a month, morning and evening, preaching is held. A flourishing Sabbath-school, with about 65 scholars, is in connection.

Prairie View Presbyterian Church. - On the second Sabbath in December, 1881, the organization of this church was effected with those whose names appear below as the original members : James Mc¬ Cord and wife, Samuel S. Northern, Mrs. Maggie Northern, Thomas Northern, Mrs. Alice Northern, John Brown, Sr., Mrs. Jane Brown, Miss Mary K. Brown, John Brown, Jr., Edward Gamble, Mrs. Julia Smith, Coleman Gamble, Mrs. Kate Gamble, Mrs. Emma West, Mrs. Ida Robinson, Mrs. Maggie McCord, John Price, Mrs. Louisa Price, Mi ss An nie R. Bright, J. C. V. Baskins and wife, Samuel L. Mc¬ Cord and wife and James Brown and Mrs. Catherine Brown. In the summer of 1882 a successful effort was made to construct a house of worship. This building, which is 32 by 48, costing $2,000, was dedicated on the second Sabbath in December, 1882, by Rev. J. F. Cowan, D. D., aided by the pastor. W. W. Robertson, D.D., has charge of this little flock. There are 44 members, and up to this date there have been but three deaths and one removal. A Sabbath-school has been in successful operation since the church was organized.

Presbyterian Church of Benton City. - The organization of this church was commenced on the 19th of November, 1882, and com¬ pleted April 15, 1883, the accomplishment of which was terminated bv installing W. C. Hamilton ruling elder, and ordaining and installing W. R. Whiteside and Levi Watts, deacons. These three officers were elected at the first meeting, November 19, 1882. By appoint¬ ment of the Presbytery of Missouri, Rev. J. F. Cowan, D.D., pre¬ sided at the ordination and installation of these officers, and was assisted by the pastor. The members comprising the original congre¬ gation were William C. Hamilton and wife, Jane Hamilton ; W. R. Whiteside and wife, Ada Whiteside ; Levi Watts and wife, Annie Watts; Jacob Stumph and wife, Laura Stumph ; Mrs. Mary Bosch, Mrs. Levina L. Gray and Mrs. Emeline Neeley. At present services are held in a school-house, but an eligible location for a building has been selected and secured, and a frame edifice is to be erected during this year, to cost about $1,200. Rev. W. E. Burke at present min¬ isters to the church, which numbers 21 members, two having been dismissed to another church. During the first year preaching was had but once a month, but this (the second) year it is held twice per

Mexico Christian Church. - In 1840 this church organization was effected with the following members: Richmond Pearson and wife, John P. Beatty and wife, William Pearson and wife, Meredith Myers and wife, Mrs. George W. Turley, Mrs. Richmond Pearson, (the only survivor of the original number), William Douglass and Greenup Jackman, the last two of whom were the first preachers. About the year 1867, the present brick church building was erected and cost nearly $1,300. It was dedicated by Alexander Proctor. The names of those who have served this congregation as pastors are Jacob Coons, William J. Mason, Thomas Allen, John T. Brooks, W. H. Skelton, A. B. Jones, Henry Thomas, I. W. Mountjoy, N. G. Surber, John (Raccoon) Smith, E. B. Cake, John P. Hardin, John A. Brooks and A. C. Walker. At this time the membership of this church is 350.

Salt River Christian Church. - About 1844 or 1845 this organization was formed with Stephen Bush and Avife, Jackson Turner, Hannah Shock and Lurana Jerman as the first members. Three of these are now living, viz. : Jackson Turner, Hannah Shock and Lurana Jerman. Their first church building - a frame - was con¬ structed about the year 1852, and cost $500. The present house of worship, an imposing edifice, Avas erected in 1872, is valued at $2,700, and is also frame. It Avas dedicated in 1872 by William J. Mason. Elijah Chrisman, David Davis, John T. Brooks, William J. Mason, T. J. MarloAV, G. A. Hoffman and J. P. Furnish have served as pastors. Jacob Hughley is iioav the minister in charge. The membership at this time is about 160.

Midway Christian Church. - This church body was first organized in 1856, but in 1864 the original church house Avas destroyed by fire together Avith the early records, so that Ave Avere unable to learn the names of the first members. In 1876 the present house of worship was completed at a cost of $1,800. It is a frame structure. The same year it Avas dedicated by Rev. J. A. Brooks. W. G. Surber, A. Hoff¬ man and W. G. Barber have served as pastors. The number of mem¬ bers at this time is 96.

Liberty Christian Church. - On the 29th of August, 1862, the per¬ sons mentioned below met and constituted an organization known as the Liberty Christian Church. Their names Avere : James R. Reed and Avife, Susan ; Cicero Houston, Benjamin T. Baker and wife, Amer¬ ica Baker ; Joel A. Stephens and Mary Ann, his wife, Thomas A.

McDonald, Melvin P. Pool and Mary J. Pool, his wife, Edmond G. Hal¬ ley and wife, Sallie, James A. and Eliza F. Scott, A. B. Daniel and Avife, Reason Ridgeway and Avife, John Halley and his wife, Harriet; Martha A. Roberts, Mary Pool, Rebecca Houston, Eliza McDonald, John Q. Pool and wife, Lucy J., Sallie F. Barnes, Father Naylor, as he was called, Mrs. Moore, Mr. - Lander and Avife. The present membership of this church is 65. The building in which they worship is valued at $2,500.

Rising Sun Christian Church - Which achieved its organization April 14, 1870, had among its first members, S. M. Duley,W. O. John¬ son, M. Myers, D. Householder, Nancy Householder, T. R. Johnson, Betty Johnson, D. M. Hill, F. M. Hill, J. W. Hill, Delia M. Kin¬ ney, S. C. Hill, Agnes Hill, B. F. Doan, E. M. Doan, S. E. Simpson, Sue McIntyre, Narcissa Brenton, Rachel Powell, R. S. Fletcher, Emily Fletcher, Jacob Willson, Lucinda Willson, John Mc- Clintock, James E. Coons, B. F. Long, Alex. Carter and T. A. Car¬ ter. In 1870 a frame church building was erected, costing $2,000. William Mason, J. A. Headington, William H. Hook, T. J. Mar¬ low, E. R. Childers and W. G. Baker have served as pastors of the congregation. One hundred persons hoav constitute its membership. The original elders of the church Avere S. M. Duley, D. Householder and Alex. Carter. The deacons Avere W. O. Johnson and D. M. Hill. At present the elders are T. J. Powell, D. Householder and Alex. Carter, the deacons being R. S. Fletcher and Simeon Branton.

Friendship Christian Church. - On the 28th of September, 1873, the following named persons met and formed themselves into an organization, which has since constituted the Friendship Christian Church : M. V. Baker and wife, Jerusha W. Baker, John H. Doling, Andrew J. Bush (then pastor) and Avife, Betty C. Bush, William T. Tolson and M. A. Tolson, his wife, Mattie F. Daling, John J. Wooden and Fannie L. Wooden, James J. Hulen and Avife, Elizabeth Hulen; Martha E. and Mary S. Hulen, Mary E. Dry, J. T. Dry, Nannie Dry, W. G. Shock and wife, Elizabeth ; Sarah E. Brown, J. W. H. Rector, Sallie Downing, Robert H. Brooks and Avife, Susan M. Brooks, Ben. Riggs and Avife, Pollie A. Riggs, George A. Perkins (an eminent preacher, and now of Fayette, Howard county, Missouri), Drusie Perkins, E. C. Gill (also a noted divine, and at present of Columbia, Boone county, Mo.), Emma Gill, Fannie Winn, Nora Mahan, Permelia Hall, Bulie A. Turner, America T. Hulen, Marcus P. Baker, J. A. Mahan and his Avife, Susan Mahan ; J. P. Mahan, Martha A. Llewellyn, Benjamin Croswhite, John J. Hulen and his wife, Ormie Hulen. In 1881 a frame church building was erected, having cost $1,800. In 1881 H. C. Davis, formerly of Woodlawn, Marion county, was pastor of the church, followed by G. A. Perkins, of Fayette, Mo., in 1882 ; C. G. Gill, of Columbia, 1883; Elijah Chrisman, also of Boone county, 1883, and for the year 1884 Jacob Hugley, of Paris, Mo., is the minister in charge. There are now 122 members in the church. Their situation is one of the most choice in the county, being eight miles north and west of Centralia, in the midst of a rich and beautiful rolling prairie. The community is an agreeable, friendly and kindly one, and the members of this church adhere closely to the principles taught in the Bible, and those only.

New Hope Christian Church. - This church commenced its career on the 26th of October, 1873, those persons named below constituting the original members: R. T. Freeman, Elizabeth F. Freeman, W. T. Winnant, Ann B. Winnant (now deceased), E. Eller (deceased), C.

C. Calvert, Louisa J. Calvert, Maria Swinnie (deceased), P. Sanford, Willie Sanford (deceased), A. S. Eller (deceased), Sarah McIntosh and Mary E. Sanford. Their house, in which services are held, is a frame building, and was put up in 1879 at a cost of $1,500. It was dedicated May 25, 1879, by John A. Brooks. William T. Sallee was pastor of the congregation in 1879-80-81, he being succeeded by T. J. Marlow in 1882-83. The church is now without a pastor, though greatly in need of one. One hundred and two persons have com¬ prised the membership of this church, but seven have been dismissed by letter, 15 have died, and 10 have removed to other States, leav¬ ing the number at this time 70. R. T. Freeman is the present clerk of the church; the elders are R. Sanford, R. H. Lockridge, and B. F. Brother; the deacons are G. L. McIntosh and G. E. Eller.

Vandalia Christian Church. - The Christian church at Vandalia was formed into an organization April 26, 1879, the following named persons constituting the primary members : Joseph Barnett, D. Bar¬ nett, F. M. Robinson, Lucinda Pigg, Nora Branstetter, Sallie Blanch, M. J. Forman, Mary Bayden, Julia Sperry, Elleu Ladd, W. H. Hook, Mattie Hook, G. H. Smith, Annie Smith, Brother and Sister Jeffries, John Jeffries, W. A. Christian and wife, John Westfall, wife and daughter, R. H. Johnson and wife, and others. The membership at this date numbers 32. Elders W. H. Hook and Thomas Henson

Benton City Christian Church - Was organized in the month of February, 1881. Those among the original members were J. E. Stauffer and wife, W. H. Long and wife, A. J. Douglass and wife, G. W. Stauffer and wife, J. W. Douglass and wife, John Hofsess and wife, J. C. Douglass and wife, W. T. Brandenburg and wife, E. C. Dozan, wife and son, Charles Gray, C. H. Duuard, Paris Carr and wife, A. C. Catlette, Jennie Douglass and Kate Pearl - in all twenty-six. A frame church edifice, costing $1,300, was built in October, 1882, and in July, 1883, was dedicated by W. IT. Hook. The first pastor to serve as such was W. H. Hook, who was followed by W. T. Sallee. Mr. W. H. Hook is the present minister in charge. The membership at this time is 55, two having died and 11 having been dismissed to join other churches since the organization.

Laddonia Christian Church - Formed itself into an organization November 21, 1882, with the following among the original members: J. F. Poor, E. Y. Foster, E. A. Foster, J. G. Bruton, Julia L. Bruton, A. L. Bruton, W. S. Bruton, W. B. Krebaum, Kate Krebaum, A. F. and Carrie Jackson, A. K. Dick, Sterling Bybee, T. S. Ford, Martha Bybee, Martha Moore, Annie Welch, Caddie Welch, Mary J. Eastham, J. A. and Alice E. Longan and Jennie Barnett. The church was built in 1883-84, at a cost of $1,900 and is a frame structure. It was dedicated in the spring of 1884, by W. G. Barker and O. A. Carr. The names of those who have served as pastors are Elder Furnish, E. R. Childers and W. G. Barker, the latter being the present pastor. The number of the present membership is 40. The church was organ¬ ized through the efforts of Elder O. A. Carr, who held the first successful protracted meeting. Before and after the organization, preaching was done at various times by J. H. Hardin, E. B. Cake, W. H. Hook, W. T. Sallee, J. B. Mayfield, W. B. Gallaher, Elder Laycock and Daniel K. Shields.

Rush Hill Christian Church - Is one of the more recently organ¬ ized churches in the county, having been formed in January, 1883. T. G. Jeffries, S. IT. Keith, J. T. Jeffries, W. E. Jeffries, James Ridgeway. M. L. Anthony, George Richter, Mrs. R. E. Jeffries, Fan¬ nie Myers, Ella Keith, Bettie Galbreath, Kate Keith, Emma Ridge¬ way and Emma Anthony were the organizing members. Upon coming in this vicinity the only thing with which they had to contend was the " Sanctified Element," but at present the Christian Church has the larger influence. Their pastor is M. L. Anthony. The member- ship numbers 30. At this time services are held in the school-house, but a house of worship is soon to be erected. The Baptists also have preaching in this school-house.

Bethlehem Cumberland Presbyterian Church, (Wilson township). In the month of September, 1862, this church was organized by Rev. Matthew Patton with the succeeding persons as primary mem¬ bers : John D. Crockett, Mary A. Crockett, Malinda Crockett, Walter Crockett, J. B. Pool, Eliza A. Pool, P. M. Pool, Anna Pool, J. H. Hayden, J. Miller, Solomon Fox, William Conger, Ann B. Con¬ ger, Jane Conger, John Campbell, Thomas Fox and Martha Fox. On the 30th of July, 1871, Rev. Dr. Mitchell dedicated the neat and substantial frame building, the erection of which had been commenced in 1870, and which had cost $1,700. Revs. Matthew Patton, John Kevins, Samuel D. Barnett, T. G. Pool and R. C. Mansfield have served the church as pastors. The present incumbent is Rev. T. G. Pool. In connection with the church, which numbers 71 members, is a flourishing Sabbath school, superintended by J. L. Garner.

St. Paul Protestant Episcopal Church. - This church was organ¬ ized January 29, 1870, and among the original members occur the names of William B. Collier, Norman Lackland, C. B. Ferris, F. M. Doan and Howard Doan. The first church building was built of frame, completed April 18, 1869, and was valued at $3,300, while the lot upon which it stood was worth $600, making the total value $3,900. The house was dedicated May 18, 1869, by Bishop C. F. Robertson. The church services were first held in March, 1866, and an organization effected soon after; but on account of informality the organization was not completed until January, 1870. On February 23 and March 9, 1871, the building in which worship was conducted was damaged by storm and was taken down and replaced by the pres¬ ent brick edifice in the fall of 1883, at a cost of $2,000. The mem¬ bership at this date is 33. The ministers who have had charge of this congregation are J. B. Pedeloupe, J. E. Jackson, William E. Webb, J. E. Martin, E. W. Gilliam, Charles De L. Allen and Peter Wager.