Clay County, Missouri - Early History to the Organization of the County, 1885

Early History to the Organization of the County

The Indians - The French and Spanish - First Exploration and Settlement by Americans - The First American Settlers in Clay - An Indian Fight - Organization of Clay County.

The Indians

Prior to about the close of the eighteenth century the country now comprised within the boundaries of CUiy county was in undi.sputed possession of the Missouri tribe of Indians, who fished and trapped in its streams, hunted over its surface, and sang their songs and danced their dances with none to molest them or make them afraiil. From about 1680 for a hundred years the Missouris held the north side of the river (to which they guve their name) from a point opposite the mouth of the Gasconade, on the east, out into what is now the State of Kansas. Northward their territory extended to the Des Moines river or until checked by the fierce Dakotas. Occasionally the Missouris crossed the river and went on the war path against the Osages, their long time enemies, whom they had first driven out of this country, and again they would go far north against the tribes along the Upper Des Moines or Upper Missouri. They were warlike and aggressive, although they appeared to greatly enjoy a quiet life, and their forays seem to have been partly for the sake of glory, and partly for recreation, not particularly for conquest.

Thivenet, his reviser, changed to On-Missoiu-i.^ The name means mxulihj, or, as is said dirty, and douhtless the hitter was given to the particular tribe of Indians as indicating their habits and uniform personal condition ; though why the term was limited to any particular tribe can not be conjectured. It would seem that a chai'acteristic so generally prevalent among the aborigines of America ought not to have been especially attributed to the tribe that immediately preceded the Anglo-Saxons who first settled Clay county.

But some writers say that the Missouri tribe of Indians took their name from the river, which was called muddy, and that the river was named first. To the mind of the writer the testimony is against this theory. Father Marquette called the stream Pekitanoui awA the tril)e We-Missouret, and the name Pekitanoui prevailed among Europeans until Marest's time, in 1712. The Recollects, the early French monks, called the stream the river of the Osages.^ Certain Indian tribes called it a name signifying mud water ; other Indians termed it Nee- Shuga, or smoky water.^ But all tribes and every one acquainted with them called the Indians the Missouris, or as it was almost universally pronounced, Mis-soo-rees (not " Mizzoorys"). The best testimony is that the French first called the stream the Missouri, or as stated by Charlevoix, i^a Riviere des Missouris - the River of the Missouris. Evidently the stream was named from the tribe, and not the tribe from the stream.

Uptmthe appearance of the French in this quarter of the West they almost immediately became on good terms with the Missouris. These friendly relations were never disturbed.

The French And Spaniards

Stoddard's Annals of Louisiana, now a rare but very valuable work, says that the old French colony of Louisiana suffered much from the war which broke out between France and Spain in 1719. Although the contest was chiefly confined to the posts on the Gulf of Mexico, the upper settlements severely felt its injurious etlects. Their commerce was interrupted, and the immense expenditures which were necessary to carry on the war impoverished both the company and the colony. The war, however, was not long carried on in a systeniatic manner, but as the two nations had always been comi)etitors for the

In 1720 the Spaniards ibrnicd a design of destroying the nation of the Missonris, situated on the Missouri river, and of forming a settlement in their country. The ohject of this was to divert the current of Indian tiade, and to confine tiie settlements of the French to the borders of the Mississippi. The Spaniards believed, that in order to put their colony in safety, it was necessary they should entirely destroy the Missonris, who were the warm and constant friends of the French ; but, concluding that it would be impossible to subdue them with their own force alone, they resolved to enter into an alliance with the Osages, a people who were the neighbors of the Missonris, and, at the same time, their most mortal enemies. With these intentions they formed a caravan at Santa Fe, consisting of men, women, and soldiers ; having a priest for chaplain, and an engineer captain for their chief conductor, with the horses antl cattle necessary for a [)ermanent settlement.

The caravan set out in 1720; but beiug unacquainted with the country, and not having proper guitles, they mistook their wa}'. They wandered about for some time in the wilderness, and at length arrived at the Missonris, whom they supposed to be Osages.^ Under this impression, the conductor of the caravan, with his interpreter, immediately held a council with the chiefs. He explained to them the object of his visit, telling them that he had come to form an alliance with their tribe, in order to destroy their common enemies, the Minsouris! The great chief of the Missonris, concealing his thoughts upon this expedition, evinced the greatest joy. He showed the Spaniards every possible attention and promised to act in concert with them. For this purpose; lie iiiviti'd them to rest a few days, after their tiresome journey, till lie had assembled his warriors and held a council with the old men, to which the Spaniards acceded.

The boldness of the Spaniards, in thus penetrating into a country of which they had no previous knowledge, made the French sensible of their danger and warned them to provide against further encroachment. They suspected the intentions of the S[)aniards, and determineil to prevent, if possible, their being put into execution. Accordingly, in the summer of 1721 a considerable force was dispatched from

' This assortion rests upon the aulliority of several respectable writers, Du Prat/, and Cliarlevoix among them. Maj. Stoddard, however, in liis Historical Sketches of Louisiana, states that the Spaniards marched in pursuit of the I'awnec, and not the Osage villages. For the truth of this he refers to the records of Santa Fe.

the French posts on Mobile Bay, under M. de Bourgmont, who ascended the Missouri and took possession of an ishind in the river, about five miles below the mouth of Grand river. On this island a considerable fort was erected which was called Fort Orleans.

A sergeant among the French soldiers, named Dubois, became enamored of a woman of the Missouri tribe of Indians, a large body of whom encamped on the north bank of the river, opposite the fort, and married her. He was afterwards placed in command of the fort.

M. de Bourgmont found the different tribes on and adjacent to the Missouri engaged in a sanguinary warfare, which not only diminished their number but interfered greatly with trade, and rendered all intercourse with them extremely hazardous. Hence it became an object to the French to bring about a general peace. And so in the spring of 1724 Bourgmont ascended the Missouri to the mouth of the " Cansez," or where Kansas City now is, and then went some leagues to the northwest among several Indian tribes. He was accompanied by a few French soldiers and a large party of friendly Indians. His object in visiting the different tribes was to invite their chiefs and head men to a grand peace council, to be held in the early summer. All the tribes received the peacemaker kindly, even joyfully, and promised to send delegates to the council. Bourgmont and his party spent some weeks in this n()l)le endeavor.

July 3, 1724, the council came off. It was held on the Missouri at the " Cansez," then the site of the chief town of the Kansas tribe of Indians, afterward Fort Osage, now Sibley, Jackson county. All the tril)es for hundreds of miles to the west, northwest and southwest sent emi)assadors, and the pi'oceedings were full of interest. Bourgmont made a great speech, and the delegates of the several tribes smoked the pipe of peace, and entered into a treaty of amity and good will between themselves, promising to be always faithful and friendly and to learn war no more. M. de Bourgmont was of course the leading spirit of the council. By his urgent invitation a number of the chiefs and principal men of many of the trii)es accompanied him on a visit to France, where they were highly entertained, and their attachment to the French was I'ully confirmed. Sergeant Dubois and his wife accompanied this excursion party to and from Paris and Versailles, and it was on his return that the sergeant was placed in command of Fort Orleans.

opposite the fort, was attacked tlie same time, ami 200 or more men and women killed, and tlie remainder, only a score or less, driven to the other side of the river, and down upon the Little Osage. Though it has never been proved to a certainty who did this bloody work, it is reasonably certiun that its authors were those " tierce Huns of the north, the Sacs and Foxes, who swept down from the Des Moines river upon the unsuspecting Missouris and tiieir allies, the French, and annihilated them.

Doubtless M. de Bourgmoat and his party, while on their way to invite the Indians to the place of council, in the spring of 1724, were the first whites to visit the soil of what is now Clay county. They made no settlements hero, it is true, but they may be said to have discovered the country. Crossing and recrossing the river, they landed upon its southern borders, and when returning passed through it.

After the massacre of the French at Fort Orleans, until the founding of St. Louis, in 17(54, there were no Caucasians in this quarter of Missouri. The red Indians held undisputed sway so far as the whites were concerned. But in this year the great province of Louisiana passed from the control and assumed ownership of the French into the hands of the Spaniards. What is now Missouri was then Upper Louisiana, whose capital was St. Louis, and whose first Governor was Don Pedro Pieruas. The Spanish Governors (Piernas, from 1764 to 1775 ; Francisco Cruzat, from 1775 to 1778 ; Ferdinando Leyba, from 1778 to 1780 ; Cruzat again from 1780 to 1788 ; Manuel Perez, from 1788 to 1793, and Zenon Trudean, from 1793 to 1800)'made no especial ett'orts to extend the settlenients until Governor Trudeau came. He encouraged immigration, gave to the fur trade a new impetus and rewarded all projectors of new enterprises according to their own efforts and the merits of their schemes. The fur traders pushed tar out into hitherto unexplored regions, and adventurers were frequently setting forth to accomplish enterprises of value and moment. Doubtless some of these traders and trappers visited Clay county in the prosecution of their business.

The days of the Spanish possession were the golden ones in the history of the Upper Mississippi. There was little else but peace and plenty -

The rulers (except Leyba, who did not last long) were easy, good natured and well disposed ; their subjects loyal, obedient, industrious and well behaved. French, English, American and Spanish, though tliey were bj- birth, tliey were eiicli nil Spanish in their devotion to Spain and the banner of Castile. Not a man among them but who would have been glad to give his goods and his life Por el Rey. The dreamy, sensuous life in the wilderness, amid the glorious forests, by the sweet, clear springs and brooks, and on the flowery prairies, was peculiarly suited to the dreamy, sensuous Dons. The little work done by the colonists in their fields was so easily accomplished and so abundant in its results that it was but pastime to do it.

In 1803 jNIissouri Territory underwent an iin[)ortant change. The Indian summer of Spanish possession and occupancy had been succeeded ])y the stormy winter of French domination, and. now there followed the balmy and bustling spring and summer of American rule. From about 1805 to 1812 French voyageurs and American trappers -traveled up and down the Missouri Valley, sometimes paddling their way on the river in canoes, sometimes tramping overland. Many of these passed through our county, of course, l)ut none of us can tell how or when. A few actual settlers came up some distance from St. Louis during this period.

The next representatives of the Caucasian race to visit the borders of Clay county, of whom we have definite knowledge, were the ineml)ers of Lewis and Clark's expedition, sent out by President Jefferson in 1804. Very soon after the acquisition of the Louisiana Territory Mr. Jefferson projected an expedition to explore the newly acipiired district from the mouth of the Missouri to its source, and thence across to the Pacific ocean. The President's private secretary, Capt. Merriwether Lewis, then but thirty-one years of age, was given command of the expedition, with Capt. William Clark, of the regular urmy, as second in command. The company consisted of nine 3'oung Kentuckians, fourteen soldiers, two Canadian voyageurs, a hunter, and Capt. Clark's negro servant. In May, 1804, this expedition passed up the Missouri, along the borders of Chi}', but from their published journal it does not appear that any particular examination of the country was made. Two years afterward, or in September. 1806, Lewis and Clark passed down the river again, reaching St. Louis and terminating the expedition on the 23d of the month.

From accounts received hy Jlr. D. C. Allen from earl}^ settlers and others, that gentleman felt warranted in stating in Campbell's Gazetteer that, without much doubt, the first white settlement within the l)orders of Clay county was made by a few French families at Ran-

(lolph BliiH", oil the ^Missouri, throe miles northeast of Kansas City, about the year 1800. Tiie iicnds of tiieso families were trap])ers, acting prohatily under the direction of Pierre Chouteau, Sr., of St. Louis. They left scarcely a trace of their occupancy, however, and the compiler has been unable to learn anything definite or explicit about them.

The county was visited in 1808 by Maj. Dougherty, long afterward a resident of the county, where he died December 28, 18G0. At the time of his first visit Maj. Dougherty was l)ut 17 years of age, and was on his way to the Rocky Mountains in the employ of the American Fur Company. Other representatives of the fur company passed through here at intervals on their way to and from the waters of the Upper Missouri, but their stay was only temjiorary.

Some time prior to the War of 1812, one Delaney Bowlin, who had settled a locality hi Montgomery county known as the Big Spring, and had given his name to a considerable elevation of land in the neighborhood which is known to this day as Bowlin's Knob, left Loutre Island, with four or five companions, two of whom were John Davis an<l Lewis Jones, for the mouth of the Kans or Kaw river (now the Kansas). Davis and Jones returned, and old settlers of Montgomery county savs that Bowlin and one or two of the others built at least one cabin in what is now Clay county, where they resided some years, engaged in trapping and hunting. What finally become of Bowlin is not known. During the War of 1812 he was in Fort Kincaid, Howard county. Jones and Davis died in the southern part of Montgomery county, where many of their descendants yet reside. The daughter of the man (Jacob Groom) to whom Bowlin sold his claim, yet lives ut the Big Spring with her husband, a Mr. Sncthen.

In the year 1808 Fort Osage, on the south side of the Missouri, was built by a force of dragoons or mounted rangers, under Capt. James Clomson. The fort was established as a government post or factory, and around it there was laid oft' a tract of land six miles square, on which a limited number of white settlers were permitted to locate in order to raise supplies for the garrison. The site of Fort Osage is now called Sibley, in honor of Gen. Geo. C. Sibley, who was the government factor and agent at the fort from 1818 until its abandonment in 182o. The locality is about five miles in a straight line southeast of Missouri City, and nearly two miles southeast of the extreme southeast boundary of Clay county.

be stated who they were and where they located. The war coming on drove all the American settlers who were on the frontiers to the blockhouses and forts in Howard county or still fnrther down the Missouri river, and sent the American trappers back to their headquarters and trading posts. The country here belonged to the Indians at that time, and was not open to settlement anyhow, and it can not be proved that there were any bona fide settlers in this quarter.

March 9, 1815, a treaty was concluded with the Indians, by which the territory within the following limits were resigned to the whites :_ -' Beginning at the mouth of the Kaw [Kansas] river, thence running north 140 miles, thence east to the waters of the Auhaha [Salt river], which empties into the Mississippi, thence to a point opposite the mouth of the Gasconade, thence up the Missouri river, with its meanders, to the place of beginning."

In the years 1818 and 1819 the territory now included in the counties of Ray and Clay - and much other territory besides - was surveyed and opened to entry, and thereupon settlers came in rather rapidly. In what is now Ray county, settlements were made on Crooked river as early as 1817 by the Vanderpools, Abraham Linviile, John Proffitt, Isaac Martin, Isaac Wilson, John Turner, Lewis Richards, and one or two others, who were from Kentucky and Virginia.

The First Ajierican Settlers In Clay

No authentic information can be given of any permanent settlements made in what is now Clay county prior to the year 1819. In that ycar^ there came John Owens, Samuel McGee, Benjamin Hensle\% William Campbell, Thomas Campbell, John Wilson, Zachariah Averett and John Braley ; and also, according to Smith's Atlas sketcii, Charles McGee, George Taylor, Travis Finley, Cornelius Gilliam and Edward Pyburne. These located in the southern and southeastern portions of the county, some of them in the vicinity of where Liberty now stands.

In 1820 immigration began in earnest, and settlements were made on Fishing I'iver, Big Shoal, along the Missouri, and throughout the southern portion of the county generally by Samuel Tilford, John Thornton, Andrew Robertson, Sr., Andrew Robertson, Jr., Col. Shnball Allen, Robert Murray, John Bartleson, Andrew Bartleson, John Dean, Henry Estes, Thomas Estes, Peter Estes, James Hyatt, Samuel Hyatt, Richard Hill, William Munkers, James

At this time the territory now embraced in Clay county formed a part of or at least was attached to Howard county. The county seat was at Old Franklin, where was also the United States Land Office at which the land was entered. November 16, 1820, Ray county was organized (named for Hon. John Ray, of Howard) and what is now Clay became a part thereof, being denominated at first Fishing River township. Afterward, in 1821, the western half was called Gallatin township.

The first county seat of Ray county was called Blufl'ton, which stood on the Missouri river, near where Camden now stands. It remained the seat of justice until 1827. The first county court was held in April, 1821, and of its members two of the justices, John Thornton and Elisha Cameron ; the clerk, William L. Smith, and the sheriff, John Harris, were either then or soon afterward became citizens of Clay and held the same positions in our first county court.

An Indian Fight

Although there were numerous bands of Indians in close proximity to the settlements in Clay, and though many of these were semi-hostile, no outbreaks or collisions occurred between them and the pioneers until in the summer of 1821.

Up in what is now the northwestern part of the county lived the Vesser family, whose adult male members were not above suspicion in many regards. Especially were they accused of frequently acquiring property by c|uestionable means. Their fondness for horses was a particular weakness. On one occasion, in the summer of 1821, they visited a camp of Iowa Indians up in the Platte country and carried away some horses belonging to the savages.

It was some time in the month of August, 1821, probably, when nine Iowa Indians came down into the Clay county settlements to take reprisal for the horses stolen from theni by the Vessers. To the southeastern part of the county, three miles northeast of where Missouri City now stands (northwest quarter section 34, township 52, range 30), David McElwee had come from Tennessee the previous year, and built a house and opened a farm. At the time of the visit

(if the Indians, however, he was liack in Tennessee on a visit, having taken with him his wife and daughter, the hitter now Mrs. Margaret Howdeshell. He left behind to care for the house and farm his sons, James and William, and his daughter Sarah, all unmarried young people.

The nint' Indians came to Mr. McElwee's one evening and took three horses belonging to the settler, from the stable, and seized another which they weie prevented from carrying off only by the stubborn and plucky interposition of young James McElwee. The Indians seemed greatly elated at the ease with wiiich they had "got even" with the whites in the matter of horse stealing, and at once sent off the three captured animals, in charge of two of their number, to the tribe. The other seven Indians went into camp for the night within fifty yards of Mr. McElwee's house.

The young McElwees were in great terror to I)e sure. But when their father left he had charged them that if they were ever in danger from the Indians they had only to let their nearest neighbor know it and they would soon be relieved. On this occasion they contrived to let Mr. Thomas Officer know of their situation and soon the entire settlement was informed that seven Indians had already taken three horses from the McElwee young folks and were threatening them by their presence with further damage and injury.

The Indians were a little startled by the appearance of the settlers but stoutly maintained that what they had done was justifiable and altogether proper. Old Martin Parmer was not in a mood to discuss the principles of the lex talionis and its applicability to this case. He never let an opportunit}'^ pass to have a fight with the Indians. Two 3'ears before, in a fight of his own bringing on, down on the AVakenda, in Carroll county, he and his party killed three Indians and wounded a immber more. His voice was alwa^'s for war - or, at least for a figiit - when there was the smallest provocation.

The discussion in McElwee's door-^'ard grew warm, and at last Parmer said something to one of the Indians which so incensed him that he presented his gun at Parmer and cocked it, but before he could tire Parmer shot him dead.

whites !ind Indians ran to cover. Two of the Indians ran into the house where the ladies were, Ijut seing them coming Miss McElwee ran out of doors and Mrs. Laney and Miss Crawford took refuge under a bed. Tiie Indians outside were defeated and scattered, one of them being wounded. Tiiose in the house ch)sed the door tightly and bravely held the fort. But at last the whites clinibed to the top of the house and began tearing away the roof, when the savages suddenly opened the door and sprang forth, hoping to escape by swift running. Some of the settlers were waiting for them and one was shot dead before he had gotten twenty feet from the door ; the other escaped.

The fight was now over. Two Indians had been killed, and one at least was wounded. Three of the unharmed survivors made their way in safety back to the tribe, but the remaining one was never heard of. It was believed that lie, too, was wounded, and crawled oft"ijito the woods and died. The one known to have been wounded made his way to Ft. Osage, where he was cared for until he recovered, and was then sent back to his tribe.

When the two Indians were running into the cabin Win. McElwec and his sister Sarah both attempted to run out. Miss McElwee got safely awa}^ but one of the Indians struck at William with a tomahawk. Young McElwee thi'ew up his arm to protect his head from tlie blow, but the weapon descending cut off one of his fingers. This was all the injuries the whites received, though some of them heard bullets whiz uncomfortably close to their ears.

It is believed that this is the first time the details of this incident have been published, and that this account is the only correct one ever given to the public. It has been derived from the statements of Mrs. Margaret Howdeshell, a daughter of David McElwee, and a sister of Sarah, William and James McElwee. She is now living in Fishing River township, and through her son Samuel the facts above set forth have been learned.

Smith's sketch in the Clay County Atlas refers to this incident as having occurred in 1820, and calls it " a skirmish which occurred that year in the eastern part of the county, and in which seven [ !] Indians were killed." Mr. D. C. Allen, author of the valuable and well written article on Clay county in Campbell's Gazetteer (1875), thus describes it : " In a skirmish in the southeastern part of the county, in 1820, seven Indians were killed ; another about the same time had his hand cut oti'in attempting to burst open the door of David Mc- Elwee's house." The reader will see that both Mr. Smith and Mr.

Allen were misinformed in regard to the facts in the case. Mr. Allen's informants caused him to believe that not only were" seven " Indians killed in the " skirmish," but that another row occurred in the same locality in which an Indian had his hand cut oft", etc. The old settlers got the story mixed. It was William McElwee's finger which was cut oflT by an Indian, and this occurred in the only " skirmish " ever had with the savages in this county; and moreover only two or possibly three Indians were slain, not " seven." There were only seven Indians in the party. ^

Organization Of Clay

During the year 1821 settlers had poured into the western part of Eay county in considerable numbers. The pioneers evinced a disposition to go out upon the frontiers to the "jumping off place," or to the extreme western boundary of the State, as far as they could go. So it was that Clay was well settled before Carroll, the eastern part of Ray, and a largo portion of Chariton were.

Fishing River and Gallatin townships of Ray county were so well l>opulated that it was determined to create out of them a new county to be called Clay, in honor of the then brilliant orator and coming statesman of Kentucky, Henry Clay. January 2, 1822, the Legislature passed the following act forming the new county: -

1. A new county shall be estal)lished as follows: Begimiing in the middle of the main channel of the Missouri river, south of the range line passing between range twenty-nine and thirty west of the fifth principal meridian, thence north and with said range line, pursuing the course thereof, when continued to the northern boundary line of this State ; thence west with the northern boundary line to the northwest range of this State ; thence south with said boundary line due south to tlie Missouri river, and to the middle of the main chainiel thoreof ; thence down the middle of the main channel thereof to the place of b(!ginning, which shall be called the county of Clay.

2. John Ilutchins, Henry Estes, Enos Vaughn, Wyatt Atkins and John Poor, be, and are hereby appointed commissioners, with jiower lo fix u|)on the most suitable place in said county wherecni to erect a court-house and jail ; and the place whereon they, or a majority of them shall agree, shall be the permanent seat of justice for the said county of Clay.

3. The power and duties of the said commissioners within the county of Clay shall be the same as the powers and duties assigned by an act entitled " An act defining the limits of Howard county, and laying off new counties within the limits of said county as heretofore defined," to the commissioners appointed to point out and fix upon the most suitable place in the county of Ray whereon to erect a court-house and jail for the said county of Kay.

4. The said commissioners, or a majority of them, be and are hereby empowered to receive as a donation, or to purchase the land by them selected, and to lay off the same into lots or squares, and to expose them to public sale under the same restrictions as were imposed by the before recited act, on the commissioners of Itiiy county, and the powers and duties of the judge of the circuit court shall be the same in the said county of Clay, as in the said county of Ray.

5. The courts to be holden in the county of Clay, shall be holden at the house of John Owens, until said commissioners shall choose and fix on a temporary seat of justice for said county ; and after the said commissioners have selected a temporary seat of justice in said county, the courts to be holden for said county shall be holden at the temporary seat of justice until a house for holding courts and a jail is provided at the permanent seat of justice for said county of Clay.

6. All executions to be issued after the taking effect of this act, from the circuit court of the county of Ray, sliall be directed to the proper officers of the county of Clay, if the person against whom they may issue reside within the said county of Clay; and such executions shall be executed and returned by him in the same manner as if issued by the clerk of the county of Clay ; and all accounts of executors, administrators and guardians now penriing in the county of Ray, if such executors, administrators or guardians reside in the county of Clay, shall at the request of such executors, administrators or guardians, be certified by the clerk of the said county of Ray, with the proceedings had thereon, to the clerk's office in the county of Clay, and shall stand ready for trial or settlement as if they had commenced therein ; and all justices of the peace and constables now residing in the said limits of said county of Clay shall continue to execute all the duties of their offices, as justices and constables, in the county of Clay ; and it shall be the duty of the county court for said county of Clay, at the fir.st term of said court, to appoint a collector for said county, who shall immediately enter upon the duties of his office ; and the taxes for the said county of Clay shall be collected and accounted for by the collector of said county in the same manner as is now required of the collector of Kay county.