Cass County, Missouri - Chapter 38: Old Settlers' Meeting, 1917

Martin Rice

Some forty years ago there was held at Harrisonville, Missouri, a meeting, at which all settlers whose residence of the county ante-dated 1846 were supposed to have met. This meeting will be remembered long and their proceedings deserve to be preserved for future residents of the county. Great is the regret earlier meetings were not held and earlier history thereby preserved. It is a sad matter that we who have succeeded these venerable men and women have not kept up these interesting gath¬ erings. We will take bodily the proceedings had at that meeting that much early history of the county may be preserved. It is as follows: At a preliminary meeting held by the old settlers of Cass County, in Sep¬ tember, 1879, for the purpose of organizing an Old Settlers' Society, the following proceedings were had:

The meeting was called to order by Thomas Holloway, who nom¬ inated R. A. Brown as chairman. Mr. Brown, on taking the stand, said : "After tendering to you my kind regards for this manifestation of your respect, in asking me to preside over so important a meeting, I will an¬ nounce that we have met for the purpose of paving the way to reach and work out biographical and historical events from the earliest settlement of Cass County down to the present time.

"It affords me a very great comfort, my old friends and comrades, to meet so many of you here today. Thirty odd years ago we met in what was then Van Buren County. Then we were in the vigor of life and manhood, and buoyant with hopes for the future. How sad the thought.

to you and to me, when we look back over the past, to know that a vast number of our old pioneer friends, whom we could count by the score, have prone the way of all the earth - to reap their rewards in the great hereafter.

"Let this fact admonish us, my old veteran friends (the few of us who are yet here), that we must soon follow. We are now in the 'sear and yellow leaf of life; some of us have passed our three score years and ten. Let us hold ourselves in readiness. Our lives are a series of wan¬ derings, which will soon cease at the brink of the grave. Let us live in such a way as to be admitted to that inheritance - that Canaan where we may enjoy forever the friendships which have here commenced."

A. Easley was chosen secretary. All residents of the county, who came prior to 1846, and were twenty-one years old, were included in the call for forming the society. J. W. Williams, H. G. Glenn, Thomas Hollo¬ way, J. Coughenour and A. Easley were appointed a committee to draft a constitution and a plan of organization. At this preliminary meeting, the following old settlers were present: R. A. Brown, A. Easley, A. Bybee, P. Franse, J. Couchenour, W. Payne, William Adams, Thomas Holloway, W. C. Burford, J. Flinn, J. H. Williams, Isaac Woolard, Isom Majors, David Majors, J. S. Wheeler, J. F. Brooks, L. Ground, Wilson Davenport, E. L. Tuggle, H. G. Glenn, Jesse Ragan, Martin Burris, L. Bradberry.

Below will be found the address of Judge Noah M. Givan, delivered in the town of Harrisonville, September 20, 1879, at the old settlers' meeting, which occurred that day. The address is written in plain Eng¬ lish, and within the comprehension of all, and being replete with much of the early history of the county, we deem it eminently worthy of pres¬ ervation :

"Pioneers of Cass County : I wish to express to you my sincere thanks for the honor you have conferred upon me in inviting me to ad¬ dress you on this occasion. The purpose of your organization is, indeed, commendable. Every citizen of the county must feel an interest in pre¬ serving its early history, for, 'The heart, methinks, were of strange mold which keeps no cherished print of earlier, happier times.' Besides, these annual reunions must be a source of much pleasure to those of you who came to the country in its early times, and who endured the hardships of a frontier life. They enable you to take each other by the hand and talk over the incidents of long ago. Though your pioneer lives were attended with many of the privations and few of the comforts of life now enjoyed by the people of the county, yet there was untold pleasure arising from your honest toil which might well excite the envy of those of us who follow you.

"Cass County was, prior to its separate organization, a portion of Jackson. Indeed, in the still earlier times, Cass and Jackson were both a portion of Cooper County. In the winter of 1884 and 1835 the county of townships 40, 41 and 42, now a portion of Bates. In obtaining an ac¬ count of the early events of the county I have been compelled to call upon yourselves and your compeers for information of matters not of record. The first settlements made in the county were along the streams, near the timber. Many came from timbered countries and did not dream of being able to live out on the bleak and barren prairies, far from timber and water. It may be truthfully said that the dreams of the most vis¬ ionary of the very earliest settlers did not think that the prairies would ever be occupied. It is said that when the first government surveyors, in making the survey of lands in this county, reached the highest point on the prairie northwest of Harrisonville, and looked over the vast prairies south of them, stopped their work, returned to headquarters, and re¬ ported that the land south of the survey, which would include the south half of the county, was not worth surveying. They so reported to the government, and it was some time after that that the balance of the county was surveyed. The first settlements were made along Big Creek and the headwaters of Grand River. The name of the first settler is not definitely known. Possibly, as is generally the case in new countries, two or more families came together for mutual aid and protection. Mar¬ tin Rice, Esq., who has given the matter considerable attention, and who still lives near Lone Jack, in Jackson County, furnishes the following:

"My present recollection goes back only to the fall of 1833. At that time there were, perhaps, seventy-five or a hundred families in what is now Cass County scattered in neighborhoods on all the principal streams or groves of timber. I remember hearing it said about the year 1837 that David Butterfield was the oldest settler in the county, and that his first location in it was north of Pleasant Hill, on or near the present VanHoy farm. A few years ago David Dealy, one of the first settlers of Jackson County, informed me that David Creek was the first to locate in the county of Cass; but I think his location was north of the line, in the present limits of Jackson County. A brother-in-law of Senator Cockrell, who came to Lafayette County in 1827, informed me that in 1828, in moving a drove of sheep to Harmony Mission, he stayed over night with a squatter named John Walker, north of Pleasant Hill, who was the only white settler in all that region of country. Whether Butterfield, Creek or Walker was first I cannot say. All accounts agree, however, that the first cabin was at or near the Van Hoy farm. At what time the first settle¬ ment was made on the Grand River waters, or by whom, or at what point, 1 have no definite information, I think, perhaps, Walker McLelland was among the first, if not the first. The creek upon which he settled was named McLelland's Fork of Grand River. Parson John Jackson, a Bap¬ tist minister, who is remembered by hundreds of the present citizens, and who is the father of John L. Jackson, the present county assessor, was his neighbor and settled there about the same time. I remember hearing a gentleman who assisted Jackson in moving from the Little Blue say they had no road, and that they followed McLelland's single wagon back to a point in the high prairie where an elk's horns hung upon a stake, which indicated the point where he should leave the road and seek the newly selected home in the woods. That home was some four of five miles northwest of Harrisonville, and the spring of 1832 the date.

"Soon afterward Sidney Adams, who still lives in the county, settled near Mr. McLelland's, as did also James Blakely, who settled .where your president, Robert A. Brown, now lives. John Cook settled on and im¬ proved what is now known as the Hansbraugh farm, northwest of Har¬ risonville. His son, William Cook, lived north and a little east of his father, about one mile.

"Among the earliest settlements made in the southern portion of the county was that of Andrew Peck and Thomas Holloway, the latter of whom is with you today - that of Thomas Holloway, in 1835, on the farm now known as the James Thompson farm where he lived until some time during the war. He thus describes his settlement there :

" 'When I came to what is now Cass County, the land in that part of the county where I settled had not been surveyed. When I got there I built a log house of one room. When I got ready to raise it I had to go twelve miles to get four men to help me raise it. When I got it raised and covered, I sawed out two doors and made doors by taking two sticks and nailing clapboards to them. I then killed a hog for the family and went to Independence to mill (Overton's water mill) to get corn ground, and was gone a week.'

"Little did he think that he would ever become a grocery merchant at the capital Of the best county in the State. Being from Tennessee, and not accustomed to prairie country, he settled in the timber and went to work and cleared off six or eight acres of timbered land for cultivation when there were hundreds of thousands of acres of such fertile prairie land at his disposal. He, in common with others, shared in the idea that the prairies were comparatively worthless except for pasture - that they never would be cultivated, but would afford those who should settle along the streams everlasting range for their stock. He had not been in the county long before he was appointed to office. The records show that on the eighth day of March, 1836, Thomas Holloway was appointed con¬ stable of Elk Fork Township, vice John Adams, declined. He gave bond, with William T. McClellan as security. It has been stated by some ac¬ counts published several years ago that Van Buren County, at its first organization, included all of Bates and part of Vernon counties; but the south boundary line of the county, as given in the statutes of 1835, is the line between townships 39 and 40. The county was named Van Buren in honor of Martin Van Buren, then vice-president of the United States, and continued to bear the name until 1848-9, when he became the Free Soil candidate for President against General Cass, Democrat, and Gen¬ eral Taylor, Whig. This, which doubtless defeated General Cass, so of¬ fended his friends that at the session of the Legislature in 1848-9 the name of the county was changed from Van Buren to Cass.

The first county officers of Van Buren County were appointed to hold until the general election in 1836. The first county judges thus ap¬ pointed who served were James W. McLellan and William Savage. If another was appointed I have been unable to learn the fact. If appointed, he declined to serve (which was more common than now), as the court was composed of two justices until after the election in 1836. William Lyon was appointed first clerk. He was both circuit and county clerk, and held until his successor was elected. An election for clerk was or¬ dered by the county court, to be held May 21, 1836. At that election the candidates were William Lyon and Thomas B. Arnett. The latter, who was a prominent citizen of the county in those days, and whose life is intimately blended with the early history of the county, was elected clerk. John Jackson was the first appointed sheriff of the county, but being a minister of the gospel, he declined to serve, and the duties of the office were performed by the coroner, who, I think was William Butler.

"The first meeting of the county court was held at the residence of James W. McLellan, about four miles northwest of Harrisonville, Sep¬ tember 14, 1835. At that meeting the court divided the county into four townships, viz.: Big Creek, Grand River, Elk Fork and Harmony. The following constables were appointed: James Williams, of Big Creek; William Y. Cook, of Grand River; John Adams, of Elk Fork, and a Mr. Fuller, of Harmony. At that meeting, on the petition of David G. But¬ terfield and others, the court appointed William N. Butler, Hezekiah War¬ den and James Lawrence commissioners to view a way for a road on that part of the Harmony Mission road running through this county from the Jackson County line to Crooked Branch.

" 'The court then took into consideration the poor of the county, and ordered that William Butler take Purdy Owen, that now lives at Thomas Burgins', and what property belongs to her, and that he keep her three months, and furnish her with suitable clothing, for which the court agrees to give him thirty dollars.' Thus it will be seen that the saying of the Savior: 'For ye have the poor always with you,' has applied to Cass County as well as to His followers of the olden time.

"At this term of court merchants' licenses were issued to M. Jerne and to Ferrell & Duncan. This firm, I am informed, was composed of Rev. William Ferrel, father of Rev. Thomas J. Ferrel, and Major William H. Duncan, who died in 1878 at Pleasant Hill.

"The first general election in the county after its organization was held in 1836. Although the county was very large, there were but three voting precincts. One was at the house of Joshua Adams, known as 'Old Red Adams,' who lived at what is now the Big Creek bridge, south of Pleasant Hill; another was west of Harrisonville, and the other at Harmony Mission. At that election only about one hundred and fifty votes were polled. Lilburn W. Boggs, of Independence, was elected Gov¬ ernor of the State; Albert G. Harrison (for whom Harrisonville was named), and John Miller were elected members of Congress. The entire vote of the State was less than fifteen thousand. At that election Andrew Wilson and George Hudson were candidates for the Legislature - Wilson was elected. John McCarty was elected sheriff over John Lyon and James Parsons. David G. Butterfield, who had been previously appointed by the county court, was elected assessor and Martin Rice was elected surveyer. Jamison D. Dickey, James W. McLellan and Henry Burris, cousin of Martin Burris, were elected county court justices.

several days viewing and comparing the different places recommended by interested parties, finally located the new town on the farm, or pre¬ emption claim, of James Lackey, who had built a small cabin and en¬ closed a small field near where Judge Daniel now lives. The site se¬ lected, including about one hundred and sixty acres, was given to the county by the general government by an act of Congress. The town was afterward surveyed and laid out into lots and blocks, with but four streets, two running east and west and two running north and south, in the whole town, and they a little less than forty feet wide. The blocks were separated by alleys, fifteen feet wide. It has been frequently remarked since that land must have been scarce then as very little of it was used for streets. It is more than likely that the idea then was that the popu¬ lation of the town would never be so large as to require more than four streets. These lots and blocks were sold by Fleming Harris, commis¬ sioner of the seat of justice, appointed by the county court, and the pro¬ ceeds of the sale of them went into the county treasury. The first mer¬ chant in Harrisonville was Henry F. Baker, wTho moved from near Ten¬ nessee Branch, and kept where Sam Simon's store now is.

"The first merchant in Pleasant Hill was a Frenchman named Blois. He was there before Pleasant Hill has been thought of as a town. After he left, in 1834, Major Duncan and his brother-in-law, W. H. Taylor, put up a store and sold goods at the same place. Taylor sold out to Rev. William Ferrel, and afterward Duncan sold out to Ferrel, and he to W. W. Wright and N. E. Harrelson. Mr. Harrelson soon sold out to Wright, who continued the business, and who was successful. He laid out the old town of Pleasant Hill.

"Cass County may well congratulate itself today on its educational advantages. It is well supplied with school houses, has a good school fund, and its teachers rank among the first in the state. Our county may be said to be a land of schools; the schoolmaster is not abroad, but is at home among us, and is well sustained. What is true of today has been true of the entire history of the county. There have not always been as many school houses, nor did they possess the same conveniences and comforts, nor were the schoolmasters always so well paid; but in propor¬ tion to the population and the ability of the people to sustain schools, they have been kept up. They have always recognized the importance of educating the young. Not until 1842 were any benefits derived from the public school fund. Prior to that the schools were what were called subscription schools.

"As early as 1833 school houses were built and school kept - not such . houses as you now see in every part of the county, but of the smaller and ruder sort, and they were few and far between. At that date there were three in all of the county. One where the Union School now stands, three miles west of Pleasant Hill, on what is known as the Phillips farm, and one near the northeast corner of the county. A description of one of these houses describes all of them. It was 14x16 feet, built of scaley barked hickory logs, split so as to make two logs out of one, six feet high and covered with clapboards secured with weight poles. A door place cut out on one side and the house was finished. No floor, no windows, except the space between the logs, no fireplace, stove or chimney. The furniture consisted solely of benches made of flat logs and the school master's rod. The first school teacher who taught in the house near the northeast comer of the county, in the summer of 1833, was a Mormon preacher named Peterson, one of the first five Mormon missionaries sent out by Joe Smith to spy out the land and select the site for the New Jerusalem of the West. He was succeeded as a school teacher by Martin Rice, who commenced a school there in the fall of 1834, but had to quit when cold weather came. He taught with seventeen scholars at two dol¬ lars per quarter, per scholar, and boarded himself. He taught the first public school ever taught in the county, 1842, in a log house, where the Blevens school house now stands, at fifteen dollars per month and boarded himself. James Williams, father of Luke Williams, was the first teacher in the house on the Phillips farm. He was one of the most prominent citizens of that part of the county. He afterward represented the county in the Legislature, and aided in making the first free school law ever enacted in Missouri, which was enacted in 1838-9. There may have been other school houses in other parts of the county, but I have been unable to get their history. In a very early day, prior to 1836, a school house was built in the neighborhood of where R. A. Brown now lives, but I am unable to give the name of its first teacher. As the county improved and was settled up, it improved the school privileges until it reached in¬ telligence and learning, what it is today. The people of Cass County have always believed that taxes paid for the education of the youth has been money well expended and the school tax has always been cheerfully paid.

"This may also now be said to be a land of churches and church privileges, where men worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences. In the very early times there were no church houses in the county, though there were church congregations and societies organized. The prevailing denominations were Methodist and Baptist, with a few of the Christian denomination. The first church house in the county was built in 1838, where the old Union Church house now stands, or did stand a few years ago, west of Pleasant Hill. Notwithstanding the church houses were few, the people were a worshipping, church-going people. The preaching was not that of the most learned or profound theologian - there were no doctors of divinity - or graduates of theological sem¬ inaries; but it was well adapted to the demands of the age. It was ear¬ nest, honest, and withal accompanied with good common sense. The clerical dress was then very different from now. There were no black cloth coats with double breasts, no white cravats or standing collars, or silk hats ; but the pioneer preacher, at least in some instances, proclaimed the truth of the gospel in simplicity and with power, clad in buckskin pants and hunting shirt - regardless of whether he had a coat of any kind.

"Among the earliest Methodist preachers were William Ferrel and a Mr. McKinney, who were local preachers in 1834-35-36. The first among the Baptist preachers wTere James Savage, John Jackson and Joab Powell. In 1837, Jeremiah Farmer came to the county. He did not begin preaching until 1838, but has been in the ministry ever since - forty-one years. His father, John Farmer, who was also a Baptist min¬ ister, came in 1839, and was prominent in the denomination, and died in 1845. Other members of the family were ministers and it may be truly said that no other family in all the history of the county has con¬ tributed more to the morality and religious sentiment of the people of the county than the Farmer family. Of all the pioneer preachers the only surviving one that is still a citizen of the county, or that is living, is Jeremiah Farmer. He has kept pace with the advancement of the age, and has adapted himself to the wants of the people in the various con¬ ditions of life as they have progressed from a rude beginning to their present condition. He would not now be taken for a pioneer preacher.

"While our early pioneers were friends of education and worshippers of the holy shrine, they were also defenders of their rights and liberties - peaceably if they could, but forcibly if they must. I am unable to give a detailed account of the part taken by the early settlers of the county in the Indian and Mormon wars, which would, if it could be correctly given, form an interesting chapter in the history of the county. All have heard something of the expulsion of the Mormons from Jackson County in the fall of 1833. Cass County then formed a part of Jackson, and its citizens shared the dangers and glories of that conflict. It is not known that any of her citizens were actually engaged in the fights at Westport and Independence, in November, 1833, but in the fol¬ lowing spring the Mormons, then in Clay County, having been reinforced from New York and Ohio, threatened to return into Jackson and regain the promised land. Our people were then called to arms. A war meet¬ ing was held at the residence of Hezekiah Wardine, three miles east of where Pleasant Hill now stands. Volunteers were then called for, to hold themselves in readiness at a minute's warning to resist the expected invasion. It was responded to by nearly everybody. A company of about fifty men was organized. Rev. James Savage, who had seen service in the War of 1812 and in the Indian wars under Colonel Cooper, was elected captain; William English, lieutenant, and Andy Wilson, ensign.

"In June, 1834, the company received marching orders, and at three o'clock of the evening of June 21, set out for Independence. Arriving there late at night they found everybody sound asleep. After consid¬ erable effort they succeeded in awaking L. W. Boggs, afterward Gov¬ ernor, who informed them that the army was at the river guarding the ferry, but that the commander-in-chief, General Samuel C. Owens, was at his home in Independence. The officers repaired to his residence for orders, but were only ordered not to disturb his slumbers, as he was wearied and sleepy. It is said there was some profanity among those veterans. The next day the commander-in-chief apologized to these troops for his treatment, and gave them the post of honor, by having them guard the city, the New Jerusalem. In the afternoon of that day, however, the army stationed at the ferry returned and proclaimed that a treaty of peace had been made with the Mormons, and the war was over. The bloodless victory was celebrated by the much firing of a fourpound cannon, brought up to the public square for that purpose. The soldiers were discharged and returned to their homes, to again engage in the avocations of peace. My informant suggests that not one of these battle scarred veterans have ever received a land warrant or pension. If those who survive could have their names enrolled under the late back pension law, they would strike a bonanza. Of those who engaged in that memorable march, but two remain citizens of the county, viz. : Jere¬ miah X. and Alfred Sloan.

"In the fall of 1838, an independent military horse company, com¬ manded by Captain William Farmer, of which Jeremiah Farmer was a member, was ordered by Governor Boggs into the Mormon War, and had the honor of bringing the Smiths, Rigdon and others to the Inde¬ pendence jail. In the same fall they were ordered to Bates County to remove the Osage Indians from the State, which they accomplished by strategy. They caught one burly Indian and gave him a severe whipping on his bare back, and threatened others, which so frightened them that they unceremoniously fled the country, leaving our heroes in sole pos¬ session of the land.

"Leaving our war history unfinished for other writers, I now invite your attention for a short time to that portion of our county's history that is derived principally from its records. While our public records are open to the inspection of the public, yet very few ever think of ex¬ amining them only on business. I have found it exceedingly interesting to read over the records of the first court ever held in the county, and I have no doubt but a few extracts from them will be of interest to you who were closely identified with the events there recorded.

"I have already given you a synopsis of the first term of court ever held in the county. The next term was held at the same place on Decem¬ ber 14, 1835. On the application of Thomas B. Arnett, a new township, called Mount Pleasant, was formed out of the townships of Grand River and Big Creek. Washington Turner was appointed constable, but de¬ clined the honor, and James Lynch was appointed. It is difficult to locate the boundary lines between the townships as they were then formed. The boundary line was generally given as the ridge between two certain streams. As, for instance, the boundary line between Grand River and Big Creek townships was the ridge between those streams. This an¬ swered every purpose in those days, as all the inhabitants lived on those streams and the voter could easily tell in which township he resided; but that would not answer now, as these 'ridges' are densely populated prairies.

"The keeping of Purdy Owen, the pauper, was ordered to be let to the lowest bidder, and William Butler was appointed to attend to the letting.

"Andrew J. Peck was appointed collector, and gave bond with George W. Hudspeth, Jamison D. Dickey and John Holloway as securities. The penalty of the bond is not given.

"Mr. Arnett thus early began to show signs of the successful pol¬ itician. At the former term he had had a new township formed, and now he has a grocer's license. No wonder he was elected clerk in less than three months afterward, defeating, as he did, the present incum¬ bent, a man much better qualified for the office than he.

"The first record of administration upon any estate in the county was March 7, 1836, when the bond of William Rider as administrator of Henry Hendrix was approved. On the same day David G. Butterfield was appointed administrator of Hiram Shearer, deceased.

"March 8 the following order was made: 'Ordered that the clerk of this county procure, at the expense of the county, a seal for said county, upon as cheap a plan as possible, with whatever "enitials" as said clerk may think proper.'

"April 16, 1836, there was a special session to order an election to fill the vacancy in the office of county clerk, which was ordered to be held May 21.

"Heretofore the records had been kept in a modest, unpretentious way, not as well, perhaps, as they are now kept by Clerk Shepard, but as well as might be expected in that time. After the election, and in the beginning of Mr. Arnett's administration as clerk, a wonderful change took place in the manner of keeping them. They were now kept in a bold, dashing hand, without any reference to the rules of orthography, . etymology, syntax or prosody. The clerk's signature appears with a scroll attached and a heavy ink line above and below it, to every sepa- rate and distinct entry made. Here is a sample: 'September 5, 1836 - Regular term of the county court. The Honorable James W. McLellan, chief justice, appeared, and the Honorable William Savage and opened court pursuant to adjournment. Thos. B. Arnett, c. elk/ 'W. H. Taylor was appointed public administrator of the estate of Jas. Tuggle, dec'd. Thos. B. Arnett, Co. Clerk.' His entry of the order for the levying of taxes for the year 1836 was in the following words : 'On motion it was ordered by the co. court that one hundred per centum be leved of the county tax be lived on the part of the State tax for the county tax. Thos. B. Arnett, Co. Clerk. June 22, 1836.'

"That may be clear, but I think it would puzzle our present efficient county clerk, or any of his predecessors, except the one who drew it, to tell just what tax was levied, from that order, or to make out the tax books from it. February 6, 1837, the newly elected county court justices take their seats and Judge Dickey is elected president. The sheriff was allowed $35 for 'survices' in taken the 'sends' of this and Bates County. The next term of the court, though a special one, was an important one. It was held at John Cook's, April 8, 1837.

"At this session the return of what the clerk was pleased to call the 'locative' commissioners, appointed to locate the county seat of Van Buren County, was received and the county seat located - though the numbers of the land upon which it was located as given in the record are wrong. The commissioners were each allowed six dollars for their services.

"At a special session an order was made for the building of the first court house. The order itself will always remain a curiosity. I have endeavored to copy it just as it appears of record. It is found in book H, pages 29 and 30 of the county records and is as follows:

" 'On motion it is ordered that the building of a court house shall be let out to the lowest bidder, on the first day of the next regular session of the co. court, to be held at the hous of James Blakeleys, on the 1st Monday in May next. Said hous to be built on the following scale: 1 room 18 foot square, the other room 14 foot by 18, with one paticion ran up, to be made of good timber, well hued down to 6 in. thick and to face one foot across the center o f* each logg. Wall to be compleately raised 1 story and half high. Corners to Be sawd down a good plank or puncheon Floor in each room well laid so that it will not rock nor shake nor rattle. A good chimney in each end Compleately Run out with Stick and good lime Mortar well put in and the her places well and compleate fixed with Stoan or Brick So as to Secure the safety of fier. The roof put on with good 3 foor boards well shavd lapt and nailed on ends well weatherboarded up - the wall well filled in the cracks with good lime mortar well put in. 1 outside door in each room. Also 1 entry door all com plea tely faced and cased with good metearals. Shutters to be hung with good Hinges latches &c with good locks and kees To each door allso 1 window in each room containing of 12 lights each well faced and casd - and fild with the largest caind of glass - each to have a good out¬ side shutter with good boalts and bars to each window. Each room to have a plank or clapboard loft closeley laid and all the work done on said Building is to be done in a good workmanlike manner and out of good materials. Said building is to be compleated on or before the first Mon¬ day in October next.

"May 1, 1837, John Cook was appointed to superintend the building of the court house. At the same time the above order for building the court house was rescinded and a new order made, but the clerk did not spread it upon the record.

"The first regular term of the county court, which was held in Harrisonville, was held August 7, 1837. At that term the order was made for the levy of taxes for the year 1837, and it is about as clear as the one made the year previous. It is as follows: 'On motion it is ordered by the Court of Assessment that two hundred per centum Be leved on the State tax for the year 1837 for county purposes.'

"The following order made on the same day explains itself. At least, if it does not, I shall not stop here to explain it: 'On motion it is ordered that Jamison D. Dickey be appointed as agent to superintend and contract with some Purson to draw a warrant on the Auditor of public accounts of the State of Missouri to bring or forward on the road and canal funds to the Co. of Van Buren in which said county are entitled to from said funds and report the same to this office as quick as pos¬ sible.' As Judge Dickey was president of the court which made this order, he probably knew what the court wished him to do; but he cer¬ tainly could not tell what was expected of him from the order alone as it appears on record.

was ordered That the Clerk purchase of H. F. Baker, Four Blank Books for the use of the Clerk's office, said books are procured at Eight Dollars & 50 cts. Whereupon a warrant is struck to said Baker for the same.'

"From the date of the above it would seem that the court house was not 'compleated' by the first day of October, nor by the 6th of November ; but before the next term of court held after that, it was completed. The first term held in the new court house was held February 5, 1838. The records of the court fail to show what the cost of the building was. Per¬ haps this should not be mentioned lest some enterprising newspaperman may conclude there was a steal in it, and begin to demand an investiga¬ tion and to traduce the characters of the then county judges. How¬ ever, as the politics of those men is not known, and no political capital can be made out of it, you may be able to keep the matter quiet. On the day last named the following characteristic entry was made, which is worth preserving: 'On motion it is ordered that the estate and Ad¬ ministrator of Joseph Frost Decest be stopt thor being No more goods and Effects belongin To said Estate than what comes to the Widow's dower.'

On the day following, February 6, 1838, an order was made to build a jail. The order commences as follows: 'On motion it is ordered that a jail be built in the town of Harrison ville on the following skale, to-wit.' Then follows the plan and specifications very much after the same style as that of the court house above described. One peculiarity in this is the manner of spelling the word roof. He invariably spells it r-o-u-g-h-f. The plan and specifications are somewhat lengthy and are not copied here, but it will repay a perusal by the curious. It will be found on page 51 of book A. Mr. Arnett almost invariably spelled term with a 'u.' Samuel Wilson was appointed superintendent of the building of the jail.

"Almost everybody has heard of the celebrated order made in refer¬ ence to laying out a road in fly time. It was made June 18, 1838, and is on page 64 of book A. It is as follows: 'On motion and on peti¬ tion it is ordered that a review of a road be made running from Harrisonville the neardest, And best rout to Harmony Mission in Bates county. It is further ordered that John Parsons, David Hugt and James Porter be appointed as reviewers of said road And that thea review the same according to law and make their report if practible at the August

"James Williams was allowed sixty dollars for assessing Van Buren and Bates counties in 1838. The two counties then included all the ter¬ ritory between the Jackson County line and the Osage River. That salary now would somewhat dampen the aspirations of our candidates for assessor. And although oflicers are not accustomed to resigning these days, yet if his salary were reduced to that, doubtless Assessor Jackson would at once tender his resignation.

"In book A, page 67 - after the order adjourning the court is made and signed - we find the following entry, which is worth preserving: 'It is further ordered by a virble contract of the Judges of the County Court that Paschal Cook shall Put one additional door to the court hous for which the court agree to give him ten dollars for the same/

"From the records it would seem that the Mormon troubles existed here as late as 1839, as will appear from the following entry of record made February 4, 1839: 'On motion it is ordered that a writ be Issued fourthwith from this office Against Daniel Francis as Admr. of the Estate of Thomas Wiles late of Van Buren Co., Decest, whoreupon the said Francis did administer the same by filing his bond with approved secur¬ ity, and now at this day came the securities and prays A release on the same on the followen reasons, to-witts: that the said Francis Admr. on the estate of Thos. Wiles, late of said Co., Decest, sold property without requiring security for some time and then took very sorry security. Also he is a Mormon and has got of late considerable ill-will of the people. And we are afread he might be run off.

"On the seventh of February, 1839, an order was made for the build¬ ing of a clerk's office, sixteen feet square, of brick and stone. The plan and specifications are of the same style as those of the court house above copied. The order is on page 78, book A, and concludes as follows : 'Said building is to be compleated Redy for the reception of the Co. court at ther Nov. turm of 1839 or the undertaker being the defalter shal be at the mercy of the court to surrender what work he has done and loos his pay for the same/ pensation for their services. They were required to serve free of charge. The Legislature of that year enacted a law allowing them one dollar per day and mileage. This incurred the displeasure of the county court of Van Buren County, whereupon the following order was made, of date August 5, 1839: 'On motion it is ordered that pursuant to an act past at the last General Assembly of the State of Missouri granting of Grand Jurors the wright of pay for their services is hereby rejected and this court say that the Grand Jurors of this county shall not be allowed pay hereafter.' I believe this order was subsequently so modified as to sub¬ mit the question to the people. On the same day the court made the fol¬ lowing order: 'On motion it is ordered that the act entitled an act granting of License for dramshops, approved February the 13th, 1839, be and the same is hereby rejected by the county court of Van Buren Co., at the August Term of 1839.' This order was subsequently rescinded. These orders were made before the days of Doorkeeper Fritzhue, of Texas, who said, 'he was a bigger man than old Grant,' but it may be said that the county court in making them had enlarged views of their power and authority when they assumed to nullify the laws of the State.

"The county clerk wTas allowed six dollars for making out the tax books for the year 1839. What would our county clerk now think of that kind of an allowance? Mr. Arnett ceased to be clerk in 1839, and Archilles Easly was clerk pro tern, at the February and April terms, 1840. At the May term James C. Kackson was the clerk. After Mr. Arnett's retirement the manner of keeping the records changed mate¬ rially, and the change was a decided improvement.

"November 31, 1840, John D. Son was granted license to keep a ferry on the Osage River. March 8, 1841, Samuel Wilson obtained license to keep an inn, or tavern, in Harrisonville.

"In 1841 the settlement with the collector showed a delinquency of $59.39 State tax, and $86.09 county tax. We would call that a small delinquency now, but when it is learned that the entire tax duplicate for that year was only $545.10, it is found that more than one-fourth of the taxes were unpaid. The clerk was allowed $8.76 for making out the tax books of 1841.

"August 8, 1841, 'Samuel L. Sawyer was allowed for his account of $5 against the county.' It will be observed that this account is not itemized, nor does the record show what it was for. These things will,

"On the same day we find the following entry: 'Phillip D. Brooks, deputy clerk, is fined $1 for contempt of court, and the same is charged against John M. Clark, sheriff/

"For the benefit of the doctors, who sometimes follow their patients into the probate court, the copy of a demand presented on the 4th day of November, 1839, is here given. It is in words and figures as follow¬ ing, to-wit: 'Thomas D. Porter, deceased, to P. Talbatt, Dr., January 8, 1839, doctrinal visit, riding 18 miles, vehement medical attention 12 hours, medical prescription, $10.00; January 8, to visit ride surgical operation 2 days attention medical prescription, $20.00. P. Talbatt.'

"The first entry in reference to the building of the present court house, which we today occupy, was made February 13, 1843, when Charles Sims was appointed to prepare and submit at the next term the probable cost of a permanent court house. At the regular term, held on the 2d Monday in March, 1843, the following order was made: 'It is ordered that a court house be built in the town of Harrisonville, in conformity to plan submitted by Charles Sims, to be finished on or before the 1st of September, 1844, and that the maximum appropriation for said building be the sum of three thousand dollars."

"From the best information I can get, this house was finished on or before the time named in the order. It was built by two brothers, Henry F. and Nathaniel Baker, the former of whom was the first merchant in Harrisonville. When built it was among the best court houses in western Missouri. Indeed, the recent changes made in it have made it a very convenient and comfortable court house - one that compares favorably, in those respects, with those of our neighboring counties. The history of a county is better kept in its records than anywhere else, and it would be interesting to give more from that source - more of what has occurred in this house - but time and space forbid at present.

who was afterward one of the Supreme Judges of the State. There be¬ ing no sheriff, the coroner, William Butler, acted as sheriff, and William Lyon was appointed clerk pro tern. No business was transacted, no grand jury was empaneled. An entry was made permitting Russell Hicks and Richard R. Rees to practice law, etc.

"At the second term, which was held April 4, 1836, the following grand jury was empaneled: Thomas B. Arnett, foreman, David G. But¬ terfield, Jesse Hinshaw, William Warden, Hiram Wilburn, Andrew Wil¬ son, William Lewis, Allen Yocum, Watson A. L. Lynch, Winston Adams, Samuel Porter, John Blithe, Eddy Comet, Andrew J. Peck, John Cook, Robert Malone, Hugh Parsons, Fleming Harris, James Parsons, James Blakely, and William Moore. No indictments were returned. The com¬ mission of Judge Ryland, as judge of the Fifth Judicial Circuit, dated January 2, 1836, and signed by Daniel Dunklin, Governor, was recorded. No business was transacted except the allowance of bills. The proceed¬ ings of the whole term cover only three pages of a small record. No court was held at the next term, the judge being absent.

"The fourth term was held December 5, 1836. At this term the only entry was the overruling of a motion to dismiss the appeal in the case of William Burris vs. William Hayes, and continuing the case at the cost of Hayes, the appellant. The grand jury was composed of the following: George W. Hudspeth, foreman, Fleming Harris, John Lynch, Wyatt Adkins, Jeremiah X. Sloan, Charles Rice, John Hayes, Dennis Evans, William Lynch, James Blakely, Hugh L. Hayes, Alfred G. Sloan, Charles Myers, Paschal Cook, William B. Cook, Hiram Harris, and Thomas Holloway. They returned two indictments for selling liquor without license, the first against Thomas B. Arnett, and the second against Anthony Bledsoe.

"Court was in session but one day. From one of the grand jurors I learn that they held their meeting under an oak tree near McLellan's house. Judge Ryland delivered a very lengthy and able charge to them, and after they had retired and before they had been out very long, he came within speaking distance of them, and asked them to expedite their business, as he wished to start for Papinville that night. It would seem a little strange now to have a session of the grand jury held under a tree in the open air.

"At the next term, which was held March 30, 1837, and was in ses¬ sion two days, Thomas B. Arnett was arraigned, plead not guilty, put upon his trial and was acquitted. The jury was a follows: John Hollo¬ way, John Tucker, Elias B. Garrison, Fleming Holloway, Mastin Burris, Jesse Kelley, David Warden, William T. McLellan, Hezekiah Warden, Richard Tankersley, William Butler, and William Burris. William Bledi

"The grand jury of this term returned no indictments. Sidney Adams is the only member of that grand jury now living. The case of Burris vs. Hayes, continued from the last term, was tried by a jury of six men, and judgment given for the plaintiff for forty-five dollars. This is the first trial of a civil case in court. The commission of Judge Ryland, as judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit, of date January 7, 1837, signed by Lilburn W. Boggs, Governor, was recorded. Henry Chiles was circuit attorney. The seventh term of court, which was held on Thurs¬ day after the fourth Monday in November, 1837, was the first term ever held at the court house in Harrisonville. James Reynolds and Benjamin Vincent were indicted for assault with intent to kill, and James Vincent and John Parsons for resisting process.

"At the following term Benjamin Vincent was tried and acquitted. The only surviving members of the jury before whom he was tried are Mastin Burris and Newton P. Brooks. Those against James Vincent and John Parsons were dismissed, and at the succeeding term James Reynolds was tried and acquitted.

"The first conviction for misdemeanor was that of Edward Dale for resisting process. He was fined five dollars. Joel P. Walker, who was indicted at the same time for the same offense, took a change of venue and his case was sent to Jackson County.

"The first conviction for felony in this county was that of Rebecca Hawkins, who was indicted in Jackson County for poisoning her husband. The case came to this county on change of venue and after several con¬ tinuances was tried at the July term, 1841. She was found guilty and her punishment affixed at five years in the penitentiary. She appealed to the Supreme Court, where the judgment was affirmed. The case is reported in the Seventh Missouri Reports, page 190. The jurors in this case were Miles Edwards, Presley Bryant, Perry Prettyman, Augustus Pulliam, William Rider, Richard B. Barker, Curtis Segraves, Franklin Sears, Benjamin Davis, Elisha Hendricks, John W. Porter and William P. Burney.

"At the March term, 1839, charges of negligence and incompetency were preferred by the circuit attorney, Henderson Young, against the clerk of the court, Thomas B. Arnett. He entered his appearance and the case was set for trial at the next term. At that time they were with¬ drawn and the circuit attorney was directed by the court to present them in the Supreme Court. Before a trial was had Mr. Arnett re- signed, December 2, 1839. Thus closed the official career of one of the most remarkable men who took a prominent part in your county's early history. If he was not 'first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen,' he was first in a good many other things. He was the first man ever elected to office in the county, was foreman of the first grand jury, was the first man ever indicted in the county, was the first to be tried by a jury of his peers, and the first to be acquitted. It is said of him that at one time while he was clerk, in swearing a wit¬ ness, he administered the oath as follows: 'You do solemnly swear you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, according to the best of your skill and ability.' Judge Ryland said: "Will have no such swearing as that, give me the book.'

"The following peculiar entry is made in the circuit court records, written out very plainly as though it was done intentionally, of date March 17, 1840. 'Jeremiah and John Farmer, in a petition for a wrrit of ad quad damnum. Now at this time comes the petitioners and file their petition for a writ of ad god damum, praying to be permitted to build a dam and mill on the south fork of Grand River, etc.'

"In politics the county has always been Democratic except during and after the war, before the people were enfranchised who had been disfranchised by the war. Yet Achilles Easley, who was a Whig, was repeatedly elected surveyor, and Hugh G. Glenn, a Whig, was twice elected sheriff with the county Democratic six to one.

"The office of sheriff and collector was not as profitable in 1847, when Judge Glenn held it, as it has been since the war. The aggregate amount of the tax duplicate during that time was from six hundred dol¬ lars to five thousand dollars and seven per cent, for collecting was all that wTas allowed. The county then included the north half of Bates. The office of sheriff and collector never paid him over six hundred dol¬ lars, while since the war, several years ago, its fees amounted to the enormous sum of nine thousand dollars. During the time he was sheriff the criminal business consisted principally of selling liquor to Indians, horse and hog stealing.

"The principal lawyers at the bar then were French, Sawyer, Hicks, Hovey, and Woodson. Resident lawyers : Sims, Charmichall, Peyton, and Snyder. At that time the Democratic leaders were McLellan, Standiford,

"As stated before, the town of Harrisonville was named for Hon. Albert G. Harrison, who was from 1834 to the time of his death in 1839, one of the two representatives in Congress from Missouri. He was the father of Mrs. Colonel M. Bledsoe, now residing in the town named in honor of her father. He was one of the most popular men in the State, and but for his premature death would doubtless have been Governor.

"Robert A. Brown was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1861, that being the only time that Cass County has ever been repre¬ sented in the Constitutional Convention.

"I cannot conclude this record without again returning to that most noted of characters in the early history of the county, Thomas B. Arnett, and giving a few of the incidents of his life that are not on record. It is said that at one time, in directing the sheriff to adjourn court, he said: 'Mr. Sheriff, adjourn court sine qua non/ In the early times one Jackson Violet, who lived about three miles west of Harrisonville, be¬ came deranged and tried to kill his wife. He had read in his Bible that without the shedding of blood there was no remission of sins, he said, and he was seeking to obtain remission. He was brought to the county seat and the question of his sanity submitted to a jury, of which Colonel Thomas B. Arnett was the foreman. After hearing the evidence and retiring, the jury returned the following verdict, which was written and read by the foreman: 'We, the jury empaneled and sworn well and truly to inquire into the consanguinity of Jackson Violet, do hereby concur in the affirmative/ Milton Hansbraugh, giving him a hunch, remarked: 'Colonel, that is not right/

"'Why not, sir?' replied the Colonel. 'You are not trying consan¬ guinity now/ was the answer. Then turning to Achilles Easley, Mr. Arnett said: 'Squire Easley, is it consanquinity or insanguinity ?' Easley replied, 'It is neither one, sir/ 'Then,' said Arnett, 'we'll put it non compis mentis.'

Wilson and Francis Prine, both Democrats. Wilson had been in the Legislature, and was considered a man of wealth in those days. Some¬ times he had money to loan to his neighbors. Colonel Arnett opposed Wilson and supported Prine. He was a good worker, and in that day was regarded as a shrewd politician. His candidate lived in the north part of the county. Quite a number, indeed most of the male population of the south part of the county, met to cut out a public road across Eight Mile timber, near where Austin now stands. Arnett, hearing that they would be there at work on a certain day, sent for his candidate and they went together. As they approached the workmen, about forty in num¬ ber, Colonel Arnett, in a loud voice, shouted: 'Oh, yes, gentlemen, ap¬ proach me V At this every man dropped his axe, knowing that there was fun ahead, and came up. When they had all assembled, Colonel Arnett introduced his candidate in the following speech: 'Fellow Citizens - I want to introduce you to Mr. Frank Prine, a candidate for the legislater of the great State of Missouri, running in opposition to Andrew Wilson, the great money lender. The very Bible itself says cursed be he that usurpeth usury off of his neighbor, and I say G - d d - m him, he shall be cursed!' It is useless to say that Prine was elected, though from the record it appears that Wilson was twice elected after that.

"Colonel Arnett afterwards removed to West Point, and while there became a candidate for the Legislature, himself. It was about the time the Pacific Railroad was agitating the public mind of western Missouri. Every little town desired it, and was striving to get it. While Colonel Arnett was in the south part of the county, it was reported at West Point that he had promised the voters of Papinville and other towns in the south part of the county, to favor the location of the road there, if they would vote for him. On his return, learning that such reports were in circulation, he made a speech, of which the following is said to be a part:

" 'Feller Citizens : Now in regard to the many slandastical reports that have been put in circulation about my position on the railroad ques¬ tion, I have this to say: In the first place I occupy the terra firma upon wThich I stand; in the second place, I am in favor of these great inter¬ communicating iron chain railways, running spherical to the deestrict parallel to each other, and all depoting at West Pint.'

It has principally been confined to the earlier times, because it was thought that an account of those times would be of sufficient interest to make one address, if those who address you in the future will continue the account of events from where this leaves off, you will in time be the means of collecting and preserving a history of the entire settlement of the county, which will always be a matter of interest to its citizens. Since your last meeting Joshua Flinn and Major William C. Burford, who then met with you, have passed to 'that undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler ever returns.' They were both Christian men, men of integrity, who had lived useful lives, and who died respected by all who knew them. They, with yourselves and your compeers who have gone before, lived to see and endure the hardships necessarily borne in pioneer life. You have seen Cass County grow from the small beginning which has been attempted to be described in this address, to what she is today, the twentieth in population and fiftieth in taxable wealth in the State. Her inexhaustible resources, her fertile soil, her bountiful supply of timber and water, her natural advantages, have brought to Cass County a thrifty, enterprising and intelligent class of people. The character of a country is an infallible index to the character of its people. As certain as the needle points to the pole, so certain do the enterprising and intel¬ ligent seek and find a good country, and with equal certainty do the sluggard and sloven find the poorest and most barren places to live.

"The grand scenery of Cass County, her high, rolling prairies, her broad, fertile valleys, her rich groves of timber, all beautifully blended, are calculated to impress and educate the mind with ideas of enlarged and liberal views. Even from the place we now occupy, in whatever direction we turn our eyes, we meet a grandeur in the landscape that irresistibly impresses the mind with a nobleness of thought and liber¬ ality of views that must make those who look upon them better men and women, and inspire them with higher and nobler aims in life. Nature has been most lavish in bestowing her choicest blessings upon Cass County. It requires no spirit of prophecy to foretell that the day is not far distant when Cass County will be among the first, if not the very first, agricultural counties in the great State of Missouri."

List Of Old Settlers

David Holloway, from Tennessee; came to Cass County in 1841. Joseph F. Brooks, from Kentucky; came to Cass County in 1844. W. H. Myers, from Kentucky; came to Cass County in 1853. Lewis H. Huff, from Illinois; came to Cass County in 1852. Abraham Dunn, from Kentucky; came to Cass County in 1856. Joshua Talbott, from Virginia; came to Cass County in 1838.

Below we publish in this connection a poem entitled, "An Old Set¬ tler's Talk," which was read at the Old Settlers' Meeting at Harrisonville, September 30, 1880, by Martin Rice: