Buchanan County, Missouri - Chapter 5: Early Settlements, 1881

Chapter 5: Early Settlements

IMPORTANCE OF FIRST SETTLEMETNS - WHEN SETTLEMENTS FIRST COMMENCED - SETTLEMENT OF PLATTE TOWNSHIP-JACKSON TOWNSHIP - CRAWFORD-BLOOMINGTON-CENTRE - RUSH - AGENCY-MARION - WAYNE - LAKE - WASHINGTON.

Every nation does not possess an authentic account of its origin, neither do all communities have the correct data whereby it is possible to accurately predicate the condition of their first beginnings. Nevertheless, to be intensely interested in such things is characteristic of the race, and it is particularly the province of the historian to, deal with first causes. Should these facts, as is often the case, be lost in the mythical tradition of the past, the chronicler invades the realm of the ideal and compels his imagination to paint the missing picture. The patriotic Roman was not content till he had found the "First Settlers," and then he was satisfied, although they were found in the very undesirable company of a wolf, and located on a drift, which the receding waters of the Tiber had permitted them to pre-empt.

One of the advantages pertaining to a residence in a new country and one seldom appreciated, is the fact that we can go back to the first beginnings. We are thus enabled, not only to trace results to their causes, but also to grasp the facts which have contributed to form and mold these causes. We observe that a state or county has attained a certain position, and we at once try to trace out the reasons for this position in its early settlement and surroundings, in the class of men by whom it was peopled, and in the many chances and changes which have wrought out results in all the recorded deeds of mankind. In the history of Buchanan County we may trace its early settlers to their homes in the Eastern States and in the countries of the Old World. We may follow the course of the hardy woodman of the "Buckeye" or the "Hoosier" state, or from Kentucky and Virginia on his way west to "grow up with the country," trusting only to his strong arm and his willing heart to work out his ambition of a home for himself and wife and a competence for his children. Again, we will see that others have been animated with the imptilse to "move on," after making themselves a part of the community, and have sought the newer parts of the extreme West, where civilization had not penetrated, or returned to their native soil. We shall find much of that distinctive New England character which has contributed so many men and women to other portions of our state and the west ; also we shall find many an industrious native of Germany or the British Isles, and a few of the industrious and economical French - all of whom have contributed to modify types of men already existing here.

Those who have noted the career of the descendants of these brave, strong men, in subduing the wilds and overcoming the obstacles and withstanding the hardships of this country in early times, can but admit they are worthy sons of illustrious sires.

The "Platte Purchase" was, until 1837, forbidden ground, and measures were taken by the government to prevent settlement, consequently the settlement of the county properly began when it was thrown open and immigration was invited and encouraged.

From this time the population increased rapidly, and the development of the material resources of the county was so speedy as to be almost unprecedented. In treating of the settlement of the cgunty during this period, we shall strive to be somewhat analytical in our style, as by this course we hope to be able to give a more accurate and lucid account than could otherwise be done ; to this end we shall subdivide the county into districts, and speak of the first"settlements in each, and so continue until the distinctive neighborhoods grew together, and practically constituted one settlement - Buchanan County.

Those who are any way familiar with the early settlement of Buchanan County, or in fact any of the Missouri counties, are aware that the first improvements were made along the various streams of water, not on the banks of these streams, as a general thing, but in or near the tirnber which grew in their vicinity.

We fully realize that the task of tracing out these first settlements so as to accurately and fully give a history of each individual making them, is a difficult one ; in proportion as the reader understands the magnitude and difficulty of the work, to that extent will we have his sympathy and forbearance. The data upon which we found our supposed facts consist mainly of notes taken by our agents, who have visited every part of the county, and if the narrative should, in some particulars, seem to the reader to be incorrect, we wish to remind him that the particular fact which he may question is founded on the statement of some one individual who resides in the immediate neighborhood, and, in all probability, substantiated by the best evidence obtainable. Such persons should remember that they are as liable to be mistaken as their neighbors, and that in the little circumscribed realm of their own neighborhood, even as in the boundless realm of the universe, " truth is stranger than fiction."

Platte country. Its timber, its water courses, its salubrious climate and prolific soil constituted attractions which were to him irrisistible, and believing that this land, " flowing with milk and honey," would soon be given over to the possession of the white man, he accordingly braved the opposition of the Indian, and incursions of the military forces at Fort Leavenworth, by moving in and effecting, if nothing more, a temporary settlement.

As soon, however, as the treaty was made, and in fact before the red man had taken up his line of march to other hunting grounds, towards the setting sun, the tide of anxious, restless emigration, like the ancient Scythians who poured into Hungary, soon overspread the Platte Purchase, bringing with them weapons of peace and industry, wherewith to conquer its wildernesses and waste places.

The early emigrants who came to Buchanan County, erected their rude cabins in what were afterwards known as Platte, Jackson, Crawford, Bloomington and Centre townships, this portion of the county not only lying more contiguous to Clinton County, which had been settled for years, but it posessed an abundance of timber, which was to the old settler, one of the economic and indispensable surroundings of his new home. I

The most authentic accounts all point to Judge Weston J. Everett, of Clay County, but originally from Tennessee, as being the first permanent settler. He had visited the Platte country. in the fall of 1836, with the view of selecting a location for his future home. Having found the country all that he desired, he returned in February, 1837, and made a settlement on section 13, township 55, range 34, which had been occupied a short time by Absalom Enyard, of Clay 'County, Missouri. Mr. Enyard had already put up a small hut on the land, but having done so before the country was open for settlement, he was dispossessed and driven out by United States forces. His fence surrounding his premises was burned by the military, but his cabin was such an insignificant structure, that it was left standing. This was purchased by Judge Everett, and was for a time his home. At the time of his arrival a fierce snowstorm was prevailing over this portion of the country, and the snow continued to fall until it exceeded a depth of six inches.

Judge Everett has been one of the prominent citizens of this portion of the county, filling various offices, from that of road overseer, to Judge of the County Court. He now resides on the farrn where he first located,

Absalom Munkers, a brother-in-law of Judge Everett, and a native of Tennessee, came to the same neighborhood where Judge Everett settled, in February, 1837, and located on section 18, township 55, range 33. They left Clay County together, but Mr. Munkers falling in company with a family in Clinton County, was detained on the road for about a week. Mr. Munkers, not being so fortunate as Judge Everett, had to build his own cabin in the woods. It is claimed that the wagons of these two gentlemen were the first to make tracks on the soil of Platte Township. Mr. Munkers still lives, at an advanced age, on the land which he first pre-*empted. His son David was the first white child born in the township, the date of his birth being April, 1837.

Jackson Erickson was also a native of Tennessee, but came to Buchanan County from Ray County, Missouri, in 1837, and located on section 7, township 55, range 33.

James Williams. came also late in the year 1837, and located where Judge John Rohan now resides, on section 18. Mr. Williams removed to California, and died there.

Jesse Fletcher began to improve a farm in the northwestern part of the township in 1837, but moved to the Grand River country, in Caldwell County, and diet! there.

John Fletcher, a son of Jesse Fletcher, came with his brother-inlaw, Asa Rockhold, in March or April, 1837. Mr. Fletcher settled the place where the widow of Richard Deacon now lives, and Rockhold where Mrs. Head now lives.

John Tobin, from Kentucky, was the only settler between the Fletcher and Rockhold places and Matney's Mill. He arrived in 1838, and located on the hill half a mile east of the mill.

Nelson Witt came early in the spring of 1838, and located where his son, Jackson Witt, now lives. He was also from Kentucky, and is now dead. He was the first Justice of the Peace (1839) in Platte Township, and was at one time County Judge.

James Courtney bought the place which Jackson Erickson originally settled, on the latter's death, and lived in the township till his death, which occurred in 1876, at the age of seventy-seven years, the oldest man in the township when he died.

James Fidler came into the township in 1838, and that year raised a crop on the place where the widow of his son James, now lives. He was from Tennessee and died on the place he settled.

John G. Elliott, who now resides in Platte Township, says that his father, John Elliott, came from Kentucky in 1833 or '34, and settled in the Platte Purchase, next to the Clinton County line. The country was, of course, at that date, in the possession of the Indians, and the white settlers were soon driven off by the soldiers. Mr. Elliott moved over the line into Clinton County, but still continued to carry on the farm in Platte Township.

John Commins, the father of Eli Commins, was also one of the early settlers of the township, and is said to have lived in Buchanan County several years before the Indians were removed.

The first 'mill built in the township was Platte River, or, as it is now generally called, Matney's Mill. It was commenced in 1838 by Harrison Whitson, an old settler, and was completed at the Platte Township end of the dam, exactly opposite to its present site in Jackson Township. Mr. Whitson operated it till 1843, when John Bretz, afterwards County Judge, became its owner. It remained in his hands till February 28th, 1845, when it was destroyed by fire. It was immediately rebuilt, across the river just opposite to its present site, in Jackson Township.

Judge John Rohan, who was at one time a member of the County Court, was the only merchant who sold goods in Platte Township. His store was on his farm. He commenced business here after the war and removed his goods about 1876.

The first school-house in the township stood on the Rockhold place, less than a quarter of a mile from the house of Asa Rockhold, on a little branch that flows into Castile Creek. It was known as the Rockhold school-house, and the first school was taught by a man named Jackman.

The first meeting house in the township was built by the Calvanistic Baptists, on land belonging to Judge Nelson Witt, and within a hundred yards of his dwelling. It was known as the "Witt Meeting House." It was a large structure, built of hewn logs, with eight corners, and held a considerable number of people. The first minister who preached in this church, and in Platte Township, was John Evans, a Calvanistic Baptist from Kentucky.

The Missionary Baptist subsequently erected a frame meeting house, called "flebron," which was standing in 1876, not used, however, for church purposes.

Rev. Wm. Bledsoe, of the Hardshell Baptist denomination, a pioneer and Christian gentleman, ministered with the earliest expounders of the Word in these regions.

The first bridge at Platte River, connecting Platte and Jackson Townships, was erected about 1854. Calvert and Hodges were the contractors at $3,700. W. C. Maddox built the approaches at $1,050.

The second bridge in the township was built in 1870. C. Baker & Co., contractors, at $7,500, all complete. It broke down in 1878, and was rebuilt in a more substantial manner.

Among the early settlers of this township was Pleasant Yates, who came in the spring of 1837, and settled in the vicinity of where he now lives. At the time of his arrival there were no white settlers within a distance of seven miles.

Isaac Farris settled in the northern part of the township in 1837. He was a native of Lincoln County, Kentucky, removed to Indiana, and emigrated from that state to Missouri. He came directly to the Platte Purchase, and in the fall of the year settled on section 6, township 55, range 34.

The father of Isaac Farris, (Johnson Farris,) had previously been one of the pioneers of Kentucky, and is said to have built the first house erected in Warrensburg in that state.

The father of George W. Ray, who is now one of the leading residents of the township, settled about half way between Matney's Mill and Arnoldsville.

Several families- by the name of Holland made settlements at an early period to the south of Matney's Mill, and their descendants formed a considerable part of the early population fn that Locality.

There is but one church building within the limits of Jackson Township. This is located about one and three-quarters miles north by east of Arnoldsville. It is styled Mount Pleasant Church, and is the property of the Missionary Baptists, by whom it was built some thirty-five or thirty-six years ago. The structure is a time-worn and weather-stained frame building, of contracted proportions ; the rude, unpretending style, proper to the day and generation when it was built. The surroundings are in harmony with the general aspect of this primitive edifice, whichdoubtless in the day of its erection was something of which that then sparsely settled neighborhoood had some cause to be proud.

Between the heavy body of timber to the southward of the road and the building, on a slight elevation to the northward, is a graveyard, thickly studded with mounds, in which many of the "rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep." Some of them are surrounded by fences, and distinguished with monuments suggestive of a cultured taste, and more modern period of construction. Others again are of an exceedingly primitive character, while the general mass of unmarked graves have little to distinguish them from the fenceless and uncaredfor space which they seem to occupy, with little if any regard to order of arrangement.

The first to preach in this antique church was Rev. Mathias Cline, who came to that vicinity about the year 1844 or '45. Rev. Delany Woods is the present minister in charge.

Anthony Grable, his brother (now dead), who came with him, sold goods in Arnoldsville with John Chesnut for a period of two years, soon after the close of the war.

The postoffice at this period, called " Platte River," was established in 1848, and John Bretz appointed postmaster. This was the first post-, office established in Jackson Township. Bretz was succeeded in the office by Wm. Matney, the present owner of the mills.

In August, 1852, Wm. M. Matney opened, in partnership with E. Cody, a stock of goods. They continued in business together till April 1853, when Matney bought out his partner, and continued to sell goods till 1854, when he sold out to Isaac Brooks.

In 1857, Brooks moved his goods to Plattsburg. Wm. M. Matney opened another store at the mills, and did business till 1861, when he closed out. There was no store kept at the mills during the period of the civil war, and the postoffice, as above stated, was moved across the the river into Platte Township, one mile north of the mills to the house of Henry Weltner, with whom it remained until after the close of the war, when it was moved back to its original and present site in Jackson Township.

The present postmaster of Platte River, is O. D. Grable, son of Joel Grable, an old citizen of the township, and the merchant in whose store the postoffice is now kept.

William M. Matney became the sole proprietor of what is now known as Matney's Mill in April, 1857. This mill is located in Jackson Township, on Platte River, just opposite to the point in Platte Township, where it was first erected in J838.

In August, 1867, the mill was consumed by fire. Mr. Matney rebuilt a frame building, 46x66 feet, three stories above basement. The basement wall is stone, twenty feet high, containing more than seven hundred perch. The mill contains two run of burrs, four and four and a half feet' in diameter. There is an addition to the main building two stories high. First story is used for saw mill, and contains one circular saw ; the second story contains two double custom roll carding machines, all driven by four Leffel turbine wheels, which cost about $2, coo. The mill is now in successful operation, except during very high or low water.

I20 History Of Buchanan County

Captain William Fowler located here in 1837, from Delaware, on the quarter section of land now occupied by the town of Wallace. He had the honor of being the first Circuit and County Clerks of Buchanan County, having been appointed to those positions in 1839. H!e died in St. Joseph, in November, 1880, at the advanced age of eighty-two years.

Dr. Silas McDonald came from Kentucky in the spring of 1838, and located in Crawford Township. He was the first physician in the county. Now a resident of St. Joseph.

Major Sandford Feland came to this township in 1839, purchased a claim east of the town of Wallace, where he has continued to reside ever since. His apple orchard, one of the finest in the state, contains five thousand trees. Major Feland states when he came to his present home the bark wigwaras, which had just been vacated by the Sac Indians, were still standing on the banks of Bee Creek. The Major is a native of Kentucky, and was an officer in the Kentucky militia.

Guilford Moultrie, who built the first log Court House at Sparta, was a resident of Crawford Township, and died at his home some years before the war, one mile east of Wallace.

The oldest business center in Crawford Township was known as West Point. It was a single store, kept by Joel Pennick, on a farm now owned by Milton Murphy, one and a half miles west of the present town -of Halleck. Mr. Pennick came to the township with his family in 1838, and afterwards removed to St. Joseph. Here was kept one among the first postoffices established in the county.

The first camp meeting in Crawford Township was held by the Presbyterians, on Sparta camp ground, in the southwest part of the township, in 1848. Rev. Jesse Allen was the first Presbyterian minister. It is generally conceded that the first mill erected in the township was Clowser's mill, a water power built by Jones, and operated by John Clowser. The site of this mill was two and a half miles east of Halleck. Daniel Clowser destroyed and rebuilt the mill in 1849. In the great freshet of 1858 this was entirely swept aw;ay.

Brown & McClanahan built, in 1856-7, a steam saw mill north of Halleck. In 1861, Daniel Clowser bought it from Brown & McClanahan and coriyerted it into a grist mill and carding machine. The latter feature has ceased to exist. Ip, 1865 this was sold to Faucett & Ferril, who enlarged it and made it one of the best flouring mills in the country. It operates five run of burrs and has capacity for making one hundred barrels of flour per day and night.. The present owners are Faucett, Robinson & Baker. Faucp,tt's flour is widely and favorably known throughoiit the Miissouri valley.

Nathan Turner ,l:)uilt. a mill in the fall Of 1838, and when he had a head of water w;ould start, tjie mill and go to clearing ground. Mr. Turner says that his neighbor, Sneed, had a dog, which was good to hunt "coons." One day, \vhen his miU was running (he being in the new ground at work) he heard Sneed's dog barking, and. thinking he had faund a "coon" in the mi.ll, <juit his work and went to him. To his astonishment he saw the dog was barking, not at the supposed "coon," but at the grist as it came out. The grist came out at irregular intervals and in li^mps, and when it appeared the dog would snatch and eat it, and then watch and bark and wait for the next batch.

The first school ;in the township was kept by Francis Ferguson, on the southwest corner of section sixteen, in 1839. This was a log school hou^e with puncheon floor ; one log cut out for a window, and paper pasted over it punctured with pin-holes, to admit the light.

For teaching, she charged fifty cents per pupil, for a term of six months. Money, however, being very scarce in those days, she took what her patrons could give her. ' Mr. Gurl paid her for teaching his children, in flannel, cloth, stockings and two small pigs. ' The house in which she taught was erected by Dr. McDonald, Wash Taylor, James Curl, Singleton Asher, Robert Taylor, J. J. Pennick and others. It was sixteen feet square; the chimney was six feet in width and made of sticks and dirt, A paddle hung at the door, marked on one side "out,'' and on the other side "in," which was turned by the pupils as they came in or went out during, school hours.

Among the earliest settlers of what is now Bloomington Township, was Hiram Roberts. He came to the vicinity of DeKalb in 1836, a year before the county was opened for settlement.

As soon as it was known that squatters had invaded the county, United States troops from Fort Leavenworth were sent to dispossess them. Perhaps, the only man who escaped the vigilance of the military, was Hiram Roberts, who happened to be overlooked, from the secluded location he then occupied.

He lived many years after in DeKalb ; was a Justice of the Peace ; kept the hotel of the town for several years, and was a popular and highly respected citizen. Hie died in DeKalb, April 25, i88r, at the ripe age of seventy-nine years. Five days after, his wife of nearly equal age with himself, was buried. The inscription on their monument in the cemetery at DeKalb reads as follows :

Isom Gardner, Arnos Horn, a native of Lafayette County,' Missouri, John Underwood, Holland Jones, Thomas Hickman, William Hickman, and William Ballow, Matt Geer, Hardin Hamilton, Mrs. Sally Davife, (now deceased) F. D. Davis, her son, Thomas Hill, Major F. D. Bowen, (died 1867) Stephen Field, who built the first mill in the township, James Hamilton, and Isaac Van Hoosier, who died 1879, were all here in 1837.

The Gartens (Zachariah, who died in 1852) with his sons Uriah and John, have lived in Nodaway County since 1842. William lives' jii* south of DeKalb and Stephen, now the oldest original settler of the town, came to Bloomington Township in 1839. Lewis Garten came to the township also ih 1839, now lives in California. In 1841, Major Francis Drake Bowen, a native of Fairfax County, Virginia, settled near DeKalb. He bought from James Linville, a claim which he afterwards entered, about two miles from DeKalb. He then went to Kentucky, where he taught a school five months, returning the same year to Bloomington Township, and their resided until his death, which occurred November 13, 1867, aged seventy-three years. His estate included some of the finest farms in the county, which descended to his two nephews, Peter and William A. Bowen. Major Bowen was at one time an officer in the war of 1812. He was a man of stately presence, and of superior scholastic attainments. He was never married. John Bowen, a brother of the Major, came from Virginia in 1832, with his wife and three sons : William A. Bowen, now, 1881, is Commissioner of Public Instruction in Platte County, Missouri ; Lovell, who was killed in the battle of Pea Ridge, fighting for the Southern cause, and Peter O. Bowen, now living in DeKalb. John Bowen died July 5, 1862, at the age of seventy-one years. His wife died in July, 1879. Francis Drake Davis, a cousin of Major F. D. Bowen, and now a wealthy citizen of the township, located here in 1837, coming from Fairfax County, Virginia. He now resides in the township, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. His mother, Mrs. Sally Davis, soon after came out with another son, John, who died on his way to California, in 1849. About twelve years after, Thomas Davis, a third son, came to Bloomington Township. Mrs. Davis died at the residence of her son, F. D. Davis, at the advanced age of one hundred years, having been born in Virginia, in December, 1773. Thomas Davis died in 1880, at the age of eighty years. Both this family and the Bowens were lineal descendants of Sir Francis Drake. Mrs. Davis had two daughters, Mrs. Bryant and Mrs. Peoples, both dead. The former died in Bloomington Township, and the latter in Lexington, Missouri.

Michael Gabbarci, at one time a representative farmer, settled his present home on Contrary Creek, two and-a-half miles east of DeKalb, in 1838. He died in December, 1878, aged seventy-nine years. His widow survives. Benjamin Yocum, a farnier froni Kentucky, settled in this township in February, 1839, where he still resides.

In 1839, Captain Richard Murphy, of Weston, Platte County, opened a saloon in Bloomington, which was attended by George W. Belt, present Recorder in St. Joseph! The sign read " Kaughphy House," and because of the originality of the orthography, it attracted universal attention.

The first to open a store within the limits of the town was the firm or O. H. P. Lucas & Tht)rnburg. During the same year Sandy Cunningham became a member of this firm. They continued in business for about three years. The store of Lucas & Co., in 1840, was robbed of $500, by James Mitchel, who kept a saloon in the place. Mitchel was arrested but one of the important witnesses failing to appear at the

Governor Robert M. Stewart immigrated to Bloomington Township in 1839, from New York, where he entered a claim and continued to reside until the breaking out of the Mexican war. He was a lawyer by profession and boarded a portion of the time while in DeKalb, with Joel Hedgpeth,. Justice of the Peace. In 1845 he moved to St; Joseph, where he continued to reside until his death. Governor Stewart will be noticed at greater length further on, in chapter entitled "Bench and Bar."

James Ellison was also an early settler in the township, and died some years after the war. He was long a prominent pioneer, as was also Judge Curl, who at one time represented Carroll County,. Missouri, in the Legislature.

Captain William Moore,- who lives near DeKalb, at an advanced age, came to the township at an early day, and was long regarded as a representative citizen.

William Clasby immigrated from Calloway County, Missouri, to Buchanan County in 1838, and settled on a farm just west of DeKalb. He died some years before the war. Some of his descendants still live in the county.

William Fountaine and Rice McCubbin were also early settlers. Rice McCubbin now resides in Kansas. Fountaine died before the war. His widow still survives, and is the wife of P. R. King.

The first store within the limits of the township was opened by Holland Jones and Joel Hedgpeth, on the quarter section now owned and occupied by J. H. Piles, and adjoining on the east, in [837. It was, as may be supposed, a small affair, at that early day. The second store was kept by James G. Finch.

John Dairs, a native of Virginia, was the first man to distill whisky in the township, prior to 1843. He died on his way to California, and his remains were brought back and buried in DeKalb.

The first building erected and used in the township exclusively for church purposes was a log house, near the above mentioned tree, on Sugar Creek. It was built in 1839, by the Hard-Shell Baptists. This has long since disappeared.

The first mill was built in Bloomington Township, in 1838, by Stephen Field, who came in 1837. It was a horse mill, three miles from DeKalb, and took all night to grind two bushels of meal. The second mill erected in the township was a water power, owned by General John T. Martin, who afterwards converted it into a steam mill. It was located on Sugar Creek and has long since disappeared.

In 1865-66 J. H. and B. Sampson erected a flouring mill on Contrary Creek, two miles northeast of DeKalb. It turned two runs of burrs ; attached to this was a small saw mill. J. H. Sampson, Sr., 'also owns and operates a steam saw millone and a half miles northeast of DeKalb.

The first marriage in Bloomington Township occurred July, 1839. The parties were -James Bryant and Rosa Davis, a daughter of Mrs. Sally Davis, who died, as before stated, in 1873. The ceremony was performed by Hiram Roberts, Esq. It was a runaway match.

Judge Cornelius Roberts, brother of Hiram Roberts, Esq., settled in Bloomington Township at a very early day, in 1837, and still resides within three miles of DeKalb. Judge Roberts was fourteen years on the county bench, twice by appointment and twice by election, and was legislated out of office by the adoption of the Drake constitution. lie is the second person who received the contract for keeping the county poor, his bid being the lowest.

Judge J. P. Pettigrew, now operating Sampson's mill, near DeKalb, came from Mercer County, Pennsylvania, and settled in the southwest corner of the county in 1839. He first worked at the carpenter's trade twelve years, and then, with John T. Martin, operated a ^rist mill on Sugar Creek. He was elected captain of militia in 1840, was justice of the peace of the township, holding the position for twelve years, was

P. R. King, another old citizen of this township, came, in 1840, from Montgomery County, Missouri. He worked at the tailor business in 1848, when he put up a saw and carding machine which was run by horse and ox power. He was afterwards a merchant in DeKalb, Atchison, Kansas, and some years after the war returned again to DeKalb, where he now resides.

Among the first settlers of Centre Township was Richard Hill, who, in the fall of 1837, settled in the immediate vicinity of the subsequent town of Sparta. By act of the General Assembly of Missouri, his house was designated as the place where the first courts of the county should be held, until otherwise ordered by the county court. The county court was held at his residence, until after April, 1841. At their July term, 1840, the county court made the following order for Mr. Hill's benefit :

"Ordered, that Richard Hill be allowed sixteen dollars out of any money in the county treasury, appropriated for county expenditures, for room furnished the county court, including this term of the court."

John Richeycame to Centre Township also in 1839, ^nd was shortly after his coming made a justice of the peace. Mr. Richey was appointed allotting justice, by the county court, in 1840, of Noble Township, which included a portion of Centre Township at that date.

About the same time (1839) came James Donovan, of Augusta, Kentucky, John Hill, Samuel Hill and Joseph Hill, and settled near the town of Sparta.

Captain William Fowler moved to Sparta from Crawford Township, after the location there of the county seat, and afterwards removed with county seat again to St. Joseph.

General B. F. Loan, Governor W. P. Hall, General James B. Gardenhire. Judge Henry M. Vories, J-udge Wm. B. Almond and General J. M. Bassett (whom we have mentioned elsewhere in this history) located in Sparta, between 1840 and 1845, and came to St. Joseph, after the removal of the county seat, in 1846.

Along the line of bluffs in the western part of the township, John Martin settled in 1837, seven miles south of St. Joseph. When he first came to that locality his log house was the first south of Robidoux's, in following the line of the bluffs.

Samuel McCauley, one of the leading men of the township, settled here in 1840, improving section 34. He was from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

William C. Connett, father of William C, Squire S. and Horace F. Connett, settled' here in March, 1839, where the residence of the sons now is. He came from Lexington, Kentucky. The Connetts have been engaged in pork packing since 1850. Steam was brought into requisition in their establishment in 1870 ; the works have been enlarged from that date and a large business is now carried on.

"On last Saturday morning, December 13, i873. at 9 o'clock, at Agency, departed this life, Mr. John Copeland, at the wonderful age of one hundred and five years. A life begun before the American revolution and extending over a century, the most important and eventful in the world's history, is something so remarkable as to arrest our attention. John Copeland was born in North Car^jlina, in 1768. In 1829 he moved from the place of his birth, then at the age of sixty years, to Tennessee, where he lived till i84P. In 1840 he moved to Missouri, and settled" at Old Sparta, in Buchanan County, then the county-seat. For the last thirty years he has made his home in this county.

" Mr. Copeland, as would be inferred, had a remarkable constitution. For three-quarters of a century he was a man of splendid physical powers; and, indeed, remained in excellent health, in possession of all his faculties, mental and physical - except only his eye-sight - till the day of his: death. He complained of no pain, and fell from no' disease. His was literally a death from old age.

"In 1868, in the hundredth yean of his age, Mr. Copeland professed religion, and united with the Baptist Church at Sparta, and was baptized by Elder J. W. Waller, of Agency, since which time he has been a devoted Christian. Mr. Copeland had ten children, and his descendants are very numerous. His sons have been among the best known of the citizens of the Northwest for a quarter of a century. Mr. Abner Copeland, one of the most respected and useful citizens of this county, is a son of the deceased patriarch, and watched with deep affection the closing years of his father's life.

" Mr. Copeland's remains were followed to the grave by a numerous concourse of friends, and the last sad rites were touchingly and affectionately performed by those among whom his long life had closed in peace and hope."

The old county-seat of Buchanan County - Sparta - stood on the present farm of Samuel McCauley. The county-seat was located there in 1840, and six years afterward removed to St. Joseph. It was only a small town when at the zenith of its prosperity, and after the removal of the seat of justice, it died a natural death, and the site has since been abandoned. The plat of the town was recorded in December, 1840, and the place was doubtless intended by those interested in it to become a populous and important town. Its streets were named Harrison, Main, Walnut, Cherry, Cedar, Chesnut, Market, Vine, Olive, Prune and Hazel, and ataple provision made for its prosperous growth.

Judge Robert Duncan was also an early settler, locating in Sparta after the location of the county-seat. He built in the town a hotel, a frame building, which is now occupied by Samuel McCauley. Judge Duncan was one of the county judges of Buchanan County, and removed to St. Joseph, where he died in 185-

The old' Sparta graveyard was started in 1842, and the first person to be buried in it was a man named Whittle. Whittle was an overbearing, vindictive ruffian, and was a terror to the commuaity where he lived. He was killed in 1842 by one Gillett, a peaceable and quiet citizen.

Gillett happened to come into Sparta one day, riding a good horse, when Whittle, who was sitting in front of a dry-goods store, got up, went to Gillett's horse, cut off" his tail and threw it in Gillett's face. Gillett borrowed a pistol from one of the citizens and shot Whittle, who fell in the street, while pursuing Gillett, after he had been shot. The demise of Whittle was the occasion of great rejoicing among his acquaintances. Gillett left the country and was never seen afterward.

Among the early settlers of Rush Township, now living, is William Allison, who came and located in the township before the county was surveyed, in 1837.

In the same year John Utt and Black Hawk Smith, an officer in the Black Hawk war, settled in the bottom opposite to Doniphan, Kansas. Colonel Wells immigrated at an early dfty to this township and died a few years since at the advanced age of eighty years. Colonel Wells; raised a company and served in the Confederate arnrky during the war.

Henry Hays and Sylvester Hays settled here in 1839, also Morris Baker and James Carpenter, who sold his farm to Burgess Elliott about the year 1841.

The first settler on the quarter section including the town site of the town of RushviMe, was John Flannery, wha came in 1839. He afterwards sold out to Perman Hudson and James Leachman, who laid out the town of Rushville, in 1847. The first man who distilled whiskey in Rush Township was Anthony Graves. This was in 1839. His distillery was near the present site of Rushville. He is now living in Norway County, at the age of eighty years.

The first mill in the township was put up by Flannery & Son. It was a log house on the waters of Lost Creek, which supplied the power for one small run of burrs. This was in 1840. This has long been numt bered with the things of the past.

About the same period (1840) Sylvester Hays, commonly known as " Boss Hays,'' before Rushville was laid out; arid when Flannery & Son had their mill, also operated a small corn mill and distillery.

In the same year the first marriage was performed in the township by the same minister. The contracting parties were James D. Buntin and Ursula Flannery, daughter of John Flannery, above referred to. The groom has long since been dead, but the bride still lives in the neighborhood of Rushville.

James Leachman was the first postmaster, in 185 1, of the township, his office being known as Leachman's postoffice. He was succeeded by William Green, who in turn was succeeded by Alexander McPherson, who served till 1854, when James R. Dickson received the appointment. Mr. Dickson has been a prominent merchant of Rushville. He is one of the old citizens. In 1855 Esquire Elijah Watson, from Kentucky, succeeded Mr. Dickson as postmaster. He has held the office uninterruptedly ever since.

In 1868-69, M. H. and S. F Floyd put up a spacious and wellappointed mill ; a strong frame on stone foundations ; two runs of burrs and superior machinery. It burnt down in 1873. A. Fenton and James H. Canter own at present the steam flouring mill, built in 1875 by Esquire McFarland. It is furnished with two runs of burrs. The mill is leased by J. H. Rankin, who now (1881) operates it.

About the first settlements in what is now known as Agency Township were James Gilmore and his brother Robert, who located here in 1837. They were natives of East Tennessee, and settled first in Clay County, Missouri. Robert Gilmore, when coming to Buchanan County, located on section 29, township $6, range 34. He was the father of James J. Gilmore, now living at Agency, and brother of James Gilmore, who lived in the Platte country, as blacksmith for the Iowa and Sac Indians, long before it was settled by the whites. James Gilmore completed what was known as Dixon's Mill, two and a half miles above Agency, on the Platte River. Of this mill scarcely a vestige now remains. Its builder, Mr. Dixon, was from Maryland. James Gilmore in Oregon ; was the father of James J. Gilmore, who is now a prominent farmer of the township.

Jacob Reese, a native of North Carolina, reached the county about the year 18-38, and settled on Pigeon Creek. The farm which Mr. Reese occupies is the oldest farm in the county, being opened up ten or twelve years before the settlement of the county by the whites.

The first mill on Platte River, in Buchanan County, was Dickson's Mill, which stood two and a half miles above Agency. It was built by Benjamin and James Dickson, and James Gilmore, and was constructed in 1838.

The location on which the town of Agency now stands was from the earliest settlement of the county known as Agency Ford. In 1838 or '39, Robert Gilmore established a ferry, which he operated till the year 1865, when William B. Smith, the founder of the town, purchased a large flat boat, which he hauled from the Missouri River at St. Joseph, by means of ox-teams, and established his ferry across the Platte at Agency. The building of a wagon bridge across the river at this point in 1868, ended the necessity for a ferry, which was then discontinued. There is at present an iron wagon bridge at this point, built on the abutments of the old bridge which had been condemned. A few hundred yards above this is the bridge across the Platte, of what is now a branch of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railroad, built in 1869.

At this time (1881), a substantial wagon bridge is being constructed across Pigeon Creek, half a mile north of the town of Agency, on the old State road. David Yates, a prominent merchant of the town, was drowned here in 1879.

The town of Agency was founded in 1865 by William B. Smith, and during the following year his father, Hugh Smith, sold his farm, on which was the town site of the original town of Sparta, and established himself also here.

The town, after being laid out by Mr. Smith, continued to grow until 1869, when the completion of the branch of the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railroad, gave a new impetus to business of all kinds. In 1864, Smith Bros., completed the building of a mill at Agency. In 1868 and '69, R. R. , Boone became the sole proprietor. In 1878, he sold a half interest to his son-in-law, E, M. Yates. Since that,:date several improvements have, been added to the mill, which now has a grinding capacity of three hundred bushels of wheat per day, producing an excellent quality of, flour.

V. C. Cooley's mill is located on Platte River, three miles southeast of Agency. It has three runs of burrs, is supplied with Anderson's steam heater, and has a capacity for grinding six thousand pounds of flour daily.

One of the first sermons preached within the limits of the township was delivered by Bishop Marvin, in a log cabin called the "Wood" school house.

J. B. HoUingsworth, a justice of the peace of the attached part of Centre Township, by the erection of Agency Township, became the fir-st justice of the peace of the new township. W. H. Ritchie was the first constable, and Susan M. Holland was commissioned the first notary public.

Marion Township, from the fact that the tierritory embraced within its limits occupied the northeastern part of the county, was not so rapidly or thickly settled as the southern portion.

Calvin James was one of the earliest settlers of Marion Township. He came from some one of the older settled counties of Missouri, and located near the town of Easton in 1837, and still resides in the township.

Benjamin Cornelius, from Clay, came in 1837 and settled on section 15, township 57, range 34. When' he located here his nearest neighbor was four miles distant.

Peter Boyer, the father of Jacob and Henry Bbyer, who lived on Third Fork, settled the place now owned by Isaac Gibson. Mr. Boyer was from Pennsylvania.

Barnes Clark came the same year, being also from Tennessee, and at the time of his location here from Clay. The Clarks are still living in the township.

Caleb Hasenmejjer, who was also from Ohio, was among the early German settlers in the township, coming about the same tirhe that the Markers came.

James McCorkle, from Clay County, settled in the forks of Platte and Third Fork, in the spring of 1838, oa land now owned by Jesse A. Clark.

Among others who came at an early day, we have the names of John Wunderlich ; Wolfgang Beck; John Slaybaugh, from Pennsylvania ; David Davis, from Ohio ; Dr. John Minor, from Kentucky ; John Davis, brother of David, from Ohio ; Isaac Gibson, from Missouri ; Isaac Voo- "hies ; William P. Shortridge, from Kentucky ; Augustus Wiley and James Wiley.

William Dunning settled in the township in 1839, ten miles south of St. Joseph. He was born in Guilford, North Carolina, in 1794; served through the war of 1812; married in Tennessee in -1821, and moved to Bloomington, Indiana, wherejhe filled several important offices, among which was that of Associate justice for the period of eight years. He was appointed Judge of the County Court of Buchanan County in 1842, and continued thereafter to fill the position by election for fourteen years. He resigned in 1*862, and died in 1879, at the advanced age of eighty years,

Henson Devorss became a resident of the northeast corner of the township in 1846, and for three years previously had lived in Washington Township.

The Rock House Prairie, in the southern part of this township, was so named from the following circumstances : While the Indians still occupied the county, the route traveled between Clay County and the Indian Agency, near Agency Ford, after crossing the Platte River, led across the prairie. On a rocky point of ground, near the residence of Ransom Ridge, the Indians had erected a huge pile of stones, shaped as much as possible in the form of a house. This ^\'as known as the Rock House. It stood directly on the road traveled from Agency Ford to Liberty, Clay County, and attracted the attention of ever)- white man who traversed that region, and from this fact, at an early date, the prairie came to be called the Rock House Prairie.

One of the first settlers of Tremont Township was Ishmael Davis, from Kentucky, but a native of Maryland, who in the spring of 1837 settled on the edge of R.ock House Prairie. His son, R. T. Davis, now a resident of St. Joseph, born here in April, 1837, is said to have been the first white child born in the county! Ambrose D. McDaniel came from Kentucky in 1837, and also settled on the Rock House Prairie. He was killed at his home, in the township, during the war of the rebellion. George Jeffers, a native of Tennessee, came from Clay County to Buchanan in 1838, and located on section 34, township 56, range 34. He pre-empted his claim, broke twenty acres, planted with corn, fenced it, and moved in with his family the February of the following year. He pre-empted the place now owned by his son, James M. Jeffers.

Sarrluel D. Gilmore, the son of Jame3 Gilmore, who lived in the Platte Purchase long before its settlement by the whites, as a blacksmith to the Sac and Fox Indians, opened up a farm on the east side of Platte River, half a mile above Dixorl's Mill.

Stephen Bedford settled on Maiden Creek, in the east part of the township. He was from Kentucky, but had lived in Clinton County before coming to Buchanan.

Joabs Schultz, who was also from Tenrieisse, arrived in the spring of 1838, and settled on the east side of Platte River, near Dixon's Mill. He was one of the first justices of the peace elected in this part of the county. He served a number of years in that office, and is still living on the tract where he originally settled.

Henry Jones came, to Buchanan frohi Clay, early in the settlement of the county and located on section 27, township 56, range 34. He died in 1848, being murdered by a man named Gibson. '

Creed Herring is now one of the oldest settlers of the township. He is a native of Shelby County, Kentucky, and settled where he now lives in the fall of 1843.

Wilson P. Mudgett and P. P. Mudgettj settled on Rock House Prairie in 1839. Wilson P. was the first postmaster of the settlement. He is dead. P. P. is now living in Iowa.

Joseph Rbbidoux was the first white man to locate within the limits of what is now known as Washington Township, and indeed, within the territory of the Platte country. His name is so inseparably associated with the history of St. Joseph, from its foundation to 1868, the date of his death, that we shall speak of him only in connection with what ' we shall say of the city ; giving then a brief biographical sketch of the Robidoux family, and such other facts and reminiscences concerning Mr. Robidoux as we have at our disposa;!.

Among the early settlers of this township was John H. Whitehead, who originally came from Virginia to Clay County, Missouri, and thence to Buchanan County, in 1837, locating two miles southeast of St. Joseph.

Henry W. Hanson emigrated from Kentucky in 1837, and settled ort the edge of the bluffs, about a mile south of St. Joseph. He was one of the judges of the first election held in the township.

Frederick Waymire was also an early settler and located near Contrary Creek. He was appointed overseer of district number six, Washington Township, in 1.841. He took the contract and built the first court house in the county, at Sparta, and was paid out of moneys arising from the sale of lots in that whilom seat of justice. ,

James H. Whitehead was a citizen of Washington Township, and, as early as 1840, was an inspector of tobacco in Robidoux's warehouse, at the Blacksnake Hills..

William Pough, a Kentuckian, came from Clinton County in 1837, and made a settlement on the southeast quarter of section 33, township 57, range 35.

Claiborne F. Palmer arrived from Ray County in 1838, and settled at the foot of the bluffs south of St. Joseph. "He was in 1840 appointed one of the alloting justices of the township.

A. C. Hyde is one of the old residents. He came from Kentucky in 1840, and located where he now lives, on section 32, township 57, range 35. ^

James G. Karnes came from Monroe County, West Virginia, in the fall of 1839, and settled north of St. Joseph, on section 34, township $8, range 35. Shortly afterward he moved to the place where his family still reside. , ,

Alexander Fudge, from. Covington, Virginia, arrived from Clay County in the spring of 1839, and located on section 34, township 58, range 35, where he lived till his death, in January, 1875.

Logan James and Edward Maxwell made settlements in the township in 1837, where they now reside, near the north line of the coxinty. Logan split twenty-five hundred rails in 1838 for the first cow he bought after coming here.

Simeon Kemper came out in 1839, from Kentucky, but did not bring his family till 1840. He located on section 9, township 57, range 35. Mr. Kemper resides in St. Joseph at the advanced age of 82 years.

Frederick W. Smith, in 1838, settled on section 8, township 59, range 35, where he now lives, his land, as well as that of Kemper, being now within the corporate limits of St. Joseph. Mr. Smith was the first postmaster at St. Joseph after the town was laid out.

Dr. Daniel G. Keedy was the second physician to locate in Buchanan County. He settled in the bottom below the city, west of the round house. Joseph P. Grubb, at one time Judge of the Circuit Court in this district ; Col.' J. H. R. Cundiff, formerly one of the editors of the Gazette, and S. W. Campbell, at present a banker in Kansas, married daughters of Dr. Keedy.

General Bela M. Hughes, now of Denver, Colorado, settled just north of where Col. James N. Burnes now lives, and just below the fair grounds.

Colonel Samuel C. Hall located on the northeast quarter of section 8, township 57, range 35, and was the first justice of the peace in St. Joseph.

Nicholas Ozenberger was the first German settler. He came from Wayne County, Ohio, in 1847, and located where he now lives, in the northeastern part of the township, between the One Hundred and Two River and the Platte.

The singular name of the One Hundred and Two was given to that streani, according to common belief, by the men employed in making the United States survey, from the fact that it is just 102 miles in length.

Additional Names

Having spoken of the old settlers somewhat at length, we shall conclude this chapter with an additional list of the names of men who came to the county between 1837 and 1840. This list, of course, will embrace the names of many who have died or moved away, yet if we are not mistaken it will be read and examined with interest by not only the citizens who constitute the present population of the county, but with far more interest by future generations :