Grundy County, Missouri - Chapter 2, 1908

Chapter 2

GRUNDY COUNTY ORGANIZED - Boundaries - The First Courts - County Seat Commission - First Eleven Townsliips - Condition of the Country - Stock Marks - Wolves Cause Trouble - Oxen the Chief Draught Animals - Grundy a Slave Holding County - Some old Grocery Store Accounts - How Accounts were settled - The First County Judges - .Minutes of the First Court Meeting - Carelessness in Keei^ing Early Records - Work of the First Grand Juries - I^incoln Township Fights for the County Seat - The City of Trenton Laid Out - A Court House Built - The Year of High Waters - Grundy County in the Mexican War - The First Deaths - The Gold Fever - Major Hubbell on Early Times - The First Deed of Record - An Interesting Document.

RUNDY COUNTY'S official existence dates from January 29, 1841. It was one of a number of counties organized by an act of the legislature, approved on that date. That part of the act appertaining to this county

All that portion of territory north of Livingston, and included wnthin the following limits, viz. ; Beginning at the northeast corner of Livingston county, thence north, with the section line, twentyone miles, or to the corner of section nine, ten, fifteen, and sixteen, township sixty-three north, of range twenty-two west of the fifth principal meridian, thence west, thence along the section line dividing sections nine and sixteen, containing said section line west to range line dividing ranges twenty-five and twenty-six, thence south with said line to the northwest corner of Livingston county, thence east with said county line to the place of beginning, is hereby created a separate and distinct county, to be called and known l)y the name of the County of Grundy.

Section 14. - The circuit and county court of said County shall be held at the dwelling house of Jas. S. Lomax, in said County, until the permanent seat of justice for said County is established, or the county court shall otherwise direct.

Section 15. - John Minnis of Linn County, Jeremiah S. Stockart and John Wolfscale of Livingston County are hereby appointed commissioners to select a permanent seat of justice for said county."

The County thus established is twenty and onehalf miles north and south and twenty-one miles east and west. Until 1845 i^ consisted of eleven townships as follows : Washington, Jefferson, Aladison, Franklin, Morgan, Marion, Lafayette, Scott, Clark, Monticello and Trenton.

The first seven were established by the Livingston County Court in 1839. The last four by the Grundy County Court in 1841. The records of that court for the first five years, except the minutes of the first meeting, are destroyed.

By this time the county was pretty well settled except in the northwest part. Imagining the i)resent township boundaries to have been established at the time of the county's organization, their order in population and wealth was as follows : Trenton, Lincoln, Marion, Wilson, Madison, Liberty, Jackson, Jefferson, Myers, Franklin, Harri- son, Washington and Taylor. The principal trading point was Brunswick, save for those who lived near Lomax's store. It was by this time pretty well recognized - was, in fact, almost a village; and it was the only village in the county up to 1850.

The cabins of the settlers were at this time miles apart, and the country was a wilderness, full of game, and frequently visited by Indians. The settlers followed the streams and had as yet found no use for the rich prairie land. The first settlers to build cabins on the prairie were laughed at and told that they would surely freeze out when winter came. Still it was necessity rather than prejudice that caused the first settlers to locate on the streams. Timber was necessary for home and fuel, and here he found the game and bee trees on which his subsistence so largely depended. It was thought, too, that water could not 1)e had on the prairies, the settlers not learing to dig for living water until late in the last century.

Mail was carried on horseback and delivered a I Lomax's store tri-weekly. Postage was t^^'elltyfive cents a letter and newspapers were rare. Other means of communication being scarce, every stranger who happened iiiio a communitv was quickl-/ and thoroughly pumped dry of all he ever knew or hoped to know.

Stock ran at large. Each settler used a peculiar mark by which he could claim his ov;n. Cattle w'tve generally branded. Each farmer might record the mark he used, thus getting preemption to that mark in this count}'. Two hundred and fiftynine marks have been thus recorded, one hundred of which run back to i860 and thirt}'-three prior to

Wolves were a source of constant troul:)le and to encourage their destruction the county paid a bounty of $i.oo a scalp. On the fly leaf of an old record of county warrants some official has inscribed in the unique spelling and penmanship of the time the following form of affidavit :

"You do solemly swar (or affirm ) that the wolf the scalps of which produced by you w^ere killed by you or some meml^er of your family within this county since the first day of January, A. D. 1843."

A good per cent of its people coming from Kentucky and Virginia, Grundy County naturally had Cjuite a number of slaves. On the tax books of 1848 one hundred and thirty slaves were assessed, and in the year 1856 there were two hundred and fourteen. The number gradually increased with the population of the county until the war. When land was bought for $1.25 an acre, negroes were valued at three to six hundred dollars, a good healthy negro being worth a four or five hundred-acre farm. Notwithstanding this, when the war broke out Grundv Countv was stronglv for the Union, and some of the most pronounced Union men were slave owners. A few free negroes lived in the county prior to 1861, the records of the county court showing that the court granted license to two to live here. The orders, which were made in 1851 and 1856, respectively, are as follows: "Jefferson W^aterford, alias Thompson, a free man of color, files a certificate of good character, and applies for a license to live within the state of Missouri, and it is ordered that he give bond for his good behavior. Said J. Waterford files a bond for his good behavior with Wm. Metcalf and John R. Scott as his securities, which is approved, this December 16, 185 1."

"Randall Darnaby, a free man of color, having been emancipated by C. Darnaby, his former master, applies for a license to remain in the state, and having produced satisfactory^ evidence of good moral character, it is ordered by the court that said Randall, now about thirt3^-five years of age, five feet six and a half inches high, dark brown color, and 150 pounds weight and scar under right ear, be and he is hereby licensed to remain in the state of Missouri, having given bond as is required by law."

One of the most interesting documents among the official records of the county is the ledger of the grocer}^ firm, Renfro & Arbogart for the year 1849. ^^^^ accounts of this firm did not quite fill the book; so in strict accord with the county court's ideas of economy at that time eight pages in the back of the book were used for official records. In that way the ledger itself came into the possession of the count}'.

At least one member of this firm is said to have been a pillar in the church and among its customers are found the names of the most prominent men in the county among them being at least one mmister.

The following account was made by one of the greatest men Grundy County ever had, one of whom all her people are proud. While only a month is given, it is fairly representative of his year's trade :

Perhaps a third of the cnstomers borrowed money of the firm, in amounts ranging from five cents to one and even two dollars. Pa3aiients on account were often made in ^-enison. When the books were "ballanced" at the close of the year, a number of the customers who had not the cash to settle their accounts gave notes. One who was in later years a very prominent citizen, is credited with "one note of hand, 15 cents."

Occasionally there was difficulty in making a settlement, as appears from the following entry in the Book of Peter H. Yakey and of Simpson Burgin, J. P.

the constable of Trenton 'J\3\vnship citing" the said Henry Wood to appear l)efore the cort on the 14th of June 1855 which summons was exemited as follows served the within by reading to defendant this the 4th day of June 1855 R. T. Yantes Constable.

June 14th 1855 Plaintiff appeared and proved his account And I therefore gave judgment for $1.85 debt and damages and also for cost, 50 cents.

The County Court of Grundy County first met February 22, 1841. Wm. Thrailkill had been appointed sheriff by Governor Reynolds, and the first county judges, or justices as they were called, were Jewett Norris, Robert PeiNTy and Isaac J. Harvey. W. O. Thompson was clerk pro tem. Following is a vcrhatiin copy of the record of that meeting:

Be it remembered that on the twenty-second day of February in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and forty-one, Isaac J. Harvey, Robert Perry and Jewett Norris met at the store house of James S. I^omax in pursuance of an act of the Gene.ral Assembly of the state aforesaid approved January the twenty-ninth, in the year aforesaid, and they severally produced their commissions as County Court justices of said county and were each severally sworn to support the constitution of the United States and of the State of Missouri and faithfully demean themselves in office as said justices, whereupon they proceeded to organize the County Court of said County by appointing Jewett Norris president of said court and William P. Thompson the clerk of said court pro tem, the court requiring the said Thompson to file a bond in the penal sum of five thousand dollars conditioned for the faithful discharge of the duties of his office, and thereupon the said Thompson came into the court and files said bond with James R. Merrill, Alfred Caldwell and Wm. Thrailkill as his securities, which said bond was ap- proved by said court and the said Thompson being sworn into office proceed to discharge the duties of said clerk, and thereupon appointed Benjamin F. Wood who took the same oatli as deputy clerk of said court.

Ordered tliat said clerk be authorized to procure the necessary blank books stationary and a standard of weiglits and measures for the use if Grundy County.

Ordered that the clerk of this county be required to call upon the County Court of Livingston County for permission to withdraw from the clerk's office such papers and documents as belongs to the County of Grundy.

Ordered that an election be held at the home of Joseph Sherrin for Jefferson Township on the 20th day of March, 1841, for the purpose of electing one county clerk for the County of Grundj', two justices of the peace and one constable for said township and that John M. Nichols, Josiah Anderson and Hamilton Bennett be appointed judges of said election. It is requested that a pole be opened for county surveyor and assessor for said County.

Ordered that an election be held at the store of Isaac J. Harvey for Madison Township on the 20th day of March, 1841, for the purpose of electing one county clerk for the County of Grundy, three justices of the peace and that Evans^ Peery, David Phillips and Wm. McCammeron be appointed judges of said election it is requested that a pole be opened for county surveyor and assessor for said County.

Ordered that an election be held at the home of Benj. F. Wood for Washington township on the 20th day of March, 1841, for the purpose of electing one countj^ clerk for the County of Grundy, two justices of the peace and one constable and that Thomas Carnes, Cornelius Darnaby and John McHargue be appointed judges of said election, it is requested that a pole be opened for county surveyor and assessor for said County.

Ordered that an election be held at the house of John Harts for Lafayette Township on the 20th day of March, 1841, for the purpose of electing one county clerk for the County of Grundy and two justices of the peace for said Township and that David Mullins, Seaborn Rhea and Alexander Cane be appointed judges of said election. It is requested that a pole be opened for county surveyor and assessor for said County.

Ordered that an election be held at the house of James Morgan for Jklorgan township on the twentieth day of March, 1841, for the purpose of electing one county clerk for the county of Grundy and two justices of the peace for said township and that James ]\Iorgan Samuel Prewitt and James Girdner be appointed judges of said election. It is requested that the pole be opened for county surveyor and assessor of said county.

for Marion Township on the 20th day of March, 1841, for the purpose of electing one county clerk for the County of Grundy and two justices of the peace and that Calvin Brummitt, Jenj. Parkers and Jacob Work be appointed judges of said election. It is requested that a pole be opened for county surveyor and assessor for said County.

Ordered that an election be held at the house of John Thrailkill for Franklin Township on the 20th day of March, 1841, for the purpose of electing one county clerk for the County of Grundy and that James R. Merrill, Martin Winn and James Kelso be appointed judges of said election. It is requested that a pole be opened for county surveyor and assessor for said County.

Jewett Norris

At the election on Alarch 20th, 1841, Thomas Jacobs, a brother-in-law of James S. Lomax, was elected county clerk, a position he held five years. The county clerk at that time acted also as circuit clerk and recorder. As will be seen from the order of election, Grundy County then consisted of seven townships, four more being formed within the year. The records of this first session of the county court, long supposed to be lost, occupy three pages of an old book used as an index of deeds. No other portion of the book is given to the county court's business. It is apparent that the county court had at first no facilities for keeping permanent records and equally apparent that they did not appreciate the value of such records. It is said that the pro- ceedings of the county court were taken on ordinary cap paper, tied with a string- at the close of a session and cast into a convenient corner. So it is no wonder that most of the records for the first five vears of the county's existence are lost.

The circuit court held its first meeting at "the store house of James S. Lomax," on the 8th of April, 1841. James A. Clark was circuit judge. Amos Rees, Wm. V. Slack, Robert Ew^ing, B. F. Tarr, James Savage, Phillip Edwards and James Connor were enrolled as attorneys. Benjamin String-fellow was circuit attorney.

The grand jury at this term returned fifteen indictments, fourteen of which were for card playing and betting, and one for perjury. The following from Messrs. Birdsall & Dean's history is no doubt pretty generally true :

"The court in those days seemed to have luit little general legal business, not enough to pay expenses of the court, so the grand jury was called on to fill up the gap by criminal indictments, and they went to work with a will. It is proven by the circuit court record that card playing was one of the leading amusements of that day, as was also betting at cards and on the elections. The same record Avill show that the grand jury made it their business to indict every man who played cards. They indicted about all the county officers, the merchants, lawyers, doctors, etc., in one grand swoop. The indicted ones would go up to the court, plead guilty, ask mercy of the court and walk off after paying five or ten dollars fine each. Then the players would get together and lay for that grand jury. The fact is. 'thev all did it,' and when court ad- journed, 'the boys' went to work to play with the late members of that august body, and by the time the next session of court came around, some three months later, they had the entire grand jury. When the new grand jury was installed the 'boys' then stepped forward like little men, and had the previous grand jury indicted to a man for playing cards or allowing card playing in houses in their possession. It didn't take a great many years to convince the grand jury that card playing wasn't so much of a criminal affair as was at first supposed. By that time civil and criminal suits had become numerous enough to make expenses without calling on innocent and fun-loving gentlemen to contribute their mite to support the law and its worthy officers. There was a good deal of this kind of fun going on in these good old days, and many a diamond cut diamond affair is hidden away in the forgotten records of the past."

Among the earlier causes of offense frequently figures the charges of keeping grocery without license, keeping dramshop without license, and trading with Indians. Convictions for these offenses were comparati\'ely rare, and the offenders were, when convicted, generally let off with a very light fine.

At the second session of the circuit court began the fight between Trenton, or Bluff Grove as it was then called, and the Bain settlement in Lincoln township for the location of the county seat. The latter claimed it by virtue of being in the geographical center of the count}-, the former because of age, population and natural location on Grand river.

named a commission consisting" of John ^linnis of Linn County and Jeremiah Stockart and John Wolfscale of Livingston County, to select the permanent seat of justice for the county seat. These gentlemen, from adjoining counties, were supposed to be, and no doubt were, impartial. This committee, it appears, made the decision in the month of May and they reported to the circuit court in the August term at Lomax's Store as follows :

To the honorable, the judge of the circuit court of the County of Grundy, State of Missouri: We the commissioners apointed at the last session of the legislature of the State of Missouri for the purpose of locating a permanent seat of justice for the County of Grundy, beg leave to offer the following as the result of their proceedings: Having met in pursuance of the law we proceeded to examine the face of the country and have selected a part of section 34 and 3 in townships 61 and 62 range 24, as exhibited in the enclosed deeds and paper.

John W. Minnis Jno. Wolfscale

The land thus described was in Lincoln Township, almost in the exact geographical center of the county. There was nothing there bearing semblance to a village, and the citizens of Bluff Grove strenuously objected to locating the county seat in the woods. James S. Lomax led the fight in protest against the committee's decision, offering eip-htv acres of land to the countv free of charge. Ten petitions were drawn up and vigorously circulated in all parts of the county, being worded as follows :

"To the Honorable, the County Court of Grundy County, Missouri: Your petitioners would respectfully represent to your honors that the seat of justice of Grundy County, Missouri, has been located and not agreeable to our wishes, therefore, we your petitioners, would and do prefer the seat of justice at the store of James S. Lomax in said County and would therefore pray your honorable body to appoint five commissioners to locate the seat of justice according to law, and your petitioners will ever pray."

"For which I, James S. Lomax, bind myself to donate to the County eighty acres of land at Bluff Grove for the location of said seat of justice. JAMES S. LOMAX.

To change the location as proposed it was necessary to have three-fifths of the taxable inhabitants of the county on the petitions. Considerably more than that number, in all 260 names were secured on the petitions, the county having 312 taxable inhabitants at that time. Five commissioners from adjoining counties were accordingly named by the County Court, who staked out the eiglity given by James Lomax and reported to the circuit court as follows :

"To the Honorable Judge of the Grundy Circuit Court: In compliance with the order of the Grundy County Court to us directed as commissioners appointed by said court for the purpose of locating the permanent county seat of said County, respectfully report that we met on the ground selected by the petitioners of said County on the 5th day of August, 1841, and after being duly qualified proceeded to the discharge of our duties, and after examining the ground within the boundary prescribed by law, have selected the following described premises for the permanent seat of said County, to-wit: Beginning at the half mile corner stake, being the noi'thwest corner of the northeast quarter of section No. 29, of Township No. 67, range 24, running south one hundred and twenty-five poles to a stake, then east ninety poles to a stake, thence north twenty-eight poles to a stake, thence east seventeen poles and four links to a stake, thence north ninety-seven poles to a stake, thence west 116 poles

Hereupon, George Tetherow, who led the fight for the Bain .settlement, through his attorney. Win. Slack, hegan a legal fight to compel the County Court to rescind their order taking the county seat awa}^ from the banks of the Big Aluddy and re-locating it at Lomax Store.

George Tetherow, a resident householder of Grundy County, Missouri, by his attorney, Wm. Y. Slack, moves the court here: First, to rescind the order made by the court on the 29 day of June, A. D. 1841, at a special term thereof receiving a petition of James Livingston and others for the removal of the county seat of Grundy County, Missouri, ordering the same to be filed and also appointing Thomas R. Bryan, Thomas Jennings, Samuel Fernandis and others, commissioners to locate the county seat of the said Grundy County, Missouri, and second, to rescind all further orders and proceedings made and had in this said court relative to or concerning the removal of said county seat of Grundy County.

throiigh his attorney, resorted to every means which gave any hope of defeating- the removal ot the county seat to Lomax Store, l3Ut being defeated at every turn, finally gave it up as a hopeless task. He failed to appear in the December term of the court for 1841, his petition was stricken from the docket, and F. W. Poage of Gallatin, Jonas Boyce, the first county surveyor, and Mahlon H. Moore divided the eighty acres given by Lomax into town blocks and lots.

In the year 1842 a contract was let for the building of a new court house. The first sessions of the county and circuit courts had been held in Lomax' s Store, and succeeding sessions in an old log house that was a school house through the week and a church on Sundays. Grand juries retired to the woods for their deliberations, and indicted ones were uncharitable enough to say that a portion of the grand jury would engage in a quiet game while the remainder ground out indictments, of which there were always a large number.

Wm. Collier, Larkin Richardson and Joseph Thompson, all of Howard County, were given the contract for building the new court house. It was a brick structure, 45x40, two stories high, and cost the county $6,000. This building, however, was very well in keeping with the population and w^ealth of the county at that time. In 1841 there were but 312 tax payers in the county.

1844 was a year of high waters. In this county considerable damage was done to stock and farm improvements. Wm. Perry in this year took two flat boats loaded with wheat and corn from Trenton to St. Loui-.

In 1847 Grundy Count)^ responded loyally to the call for volunteers for the jNIexican War. The Governor appointed John C. Griffin to raise a company here. The company, consisting- of 112 men, was a part of Doniphan's command and ^vas with him on his famous march through the southwest. These Grundy countians constituted a part of the company : First Lieutenant, Oliver Bain : Second Lieutenant, Ashley Gulley; Third Lieutenant, Ira Benson; Privates, J. H. Shanklin, N. A. Winters, James ^^'inters, Thomas Auhrey, \\m. \Mnters, Milton Aubrey, James Williams, Robert Williams, Hlisha A^anderpool, Dock \^anderpool, Jacob T. Tindall, David Arbogath, James Tindall, Simon Adamson, John Re}'burn, L}'man Odle, Overly Clark, J. Puck, John Booher, Sol Spear, Wm. Hughes, Ezekiel Long, Sol Cole, Alf Turner, Jno. W\ Moore, George Inman, Caleb Knight, John Swopes, Geo. Swopes, Wm. Steer, Joseph Moore, Tellery Pruit, John R. Clark, Samuel Clark, Governeur Fisher, Milton Moore, Sr., Milton Moore,

A ferry license across Grand river was granted to Samuel Benson in 1848. At that stage of the county's development the expense of building a bridge was not to be thought of.

The records for the year 1848 give the names of 506 taxpayers li\'ing in the county, who owned property to the assessed value of $81,365. Almost as much was owned by non-residents. The amount of state and county taxes collected for the year 1857 was $6,529.60.

Perhaps the first death in the county was that of Mrs. Daniel Devaul, in February, 1837. Her coffin was made of a wagon box belonging to Samuel Benson. Plank was extremely scarce in the earliest period of the county's settlement. Sometimes a death would occur and there would l^e no boards in the neighborhood to make a coffin. In such cases boards were hewed out with a broad ax and sa^ved with a whip saw.

Grundy contributed her share of fortune hunters when the gold fever ran high. Of fortune finders though, she had not so many. Throughout the greater part of the fifties the exodus to the west continued. The demand for cattle and horses for the trip across the plains made trade rather brisk, but so many men left home the industr}- of the county was neglected for a time.

"The situation as regards general business had up to 1842 been depressed for several years. The monetary crisis of 1837 still hovered over the land. For nearly five years prices of goods and ]M-oducts of every description had ruled very low and the prospect for a raise still seemed far from encouraging, and the time somewhat distant. In 1842 I ])aid five dollars for the first cow I ever owned, and $7.50 for a good cow and calf in trade. Horses w^re also cheap ; while the best could be had for $40 others could be purchased at from $25 to v$35. AVorking cattle were down to what they called in those days almost nothing, $22 buying a good yoke. Hogs, dressed, without much regard to weight.

were held at the enormous price of $1.25 to $1.50 each - neither were they full of trichina. Garnered wheat only brought from 35 to 40 cents a bushel; corn 50 cents a barrel, delivered and a good veal calf, 75 cents. You could go out into the woods and cut down a bee tree, gather the honey and bring it to market, and you got 25 cents a gallon for it; it was thought the bees got well paid for their honey. And such honey, so clear and transparent that even the bee keeper of today with his patent hive and his Italian swarms would have had a look of envy covering his face from ear to ear on beholding it. The wild deer came forward and gave us their hams at 25 cents each, and the settlers generally clinched the bargain by taking the skin, which, when not cut up into strings or used for patches, brought another quarter, cash or trade, as demanded. It was also a ha1)it in those clays for farmers to help each other, and their sons to work in the harvest fields or do the logging to prepare for a new seeding. This was a source of wealth to the early settler and to his rising family. They raked in 25 to 50 cents a day and board. That was wealth. It was the foundation of their future prosperity. It was the first egg laid to hatch them a farm, and it was guarded with scrupulous care. Economy was often whittled down to a very fine point before the}^ could be induced to touch that nest egg, the incipient acre of the first farm. And then again, a day's work meant something besides getting on the shady side of a tree and three hours for nooning. It meant labor in all its length and breadth and thickness, from holding the breaking plow behind two yoke of oxen to mauling rails. Rieht here we will mention that rails were made at 25 cents a hundred. Just think of sphtting rails at 25 cents a hundred. It is enough to take the breath away from every effeminate counter jumper in the state. This covers a good deal of what the old pioneer had or received for labor and farm products."

This indenture, made the i8th day of March, in the year of our Lord, one thousand, eight hundred and forty-one, between George Peery and Jane, his wife, of the one part, and Milton L. Moore of the other part, of the county of Grundy and the state of Missouri. \\'itnesseth that the said George Peery and Jane, his wife, for and in conciduation of the sum of one hundred dollars to them in hand paid, the receipt whereof is hereby fully acknowledged, hath o-ranted, bargained, sold, confirm and conveyed, by these presents doth grant, bargain, sell, confirm and convey unto the said Milton L. Moore and his heirs and assigns forever, all of the two following described tracts of land, lying and being in the County of Grundy and State of ^Missouri, in all containing eighty acres of land, be the same more of less, to be particularly known by the following numbers, (viz:) one piece containing forty acres, being the north half of the northwest half of the northwest quarter of section no. thirteen in township no. sixty-one of range no. twentyfive, north of the base line and west of the fifth principal meredian : To have and to hold all of the above discribed tracts of land together with all and singular the hereditaments and appretenances ther l^elonging or in any wise appertaining, and also all the estates, right, title, interest, claim or demand whatsoever of him, the said George Peery and Jane, his wife, either in law or equity, of, in and to the above discribed tracts of land and all and every part and parcel thereof, unto the said Milton L. Moore, his heirs and assisgns forever against the lawful let, claim or demand of them, the said George Peery and Jane, his wife, or their heirs or assigns and all and every person or persons whatsoever, shall, will and by these presents do warrant and forever defend. In the testimony thereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals the day and year above w^'itten in the presents of Wm. Renfro.

Be it remembered that on this i8th day of March, A. D. 1841, before me, a justice of the peace within and for the count}' aforesaid, personally came George Peery and Jane, his wife, both personally known to me to be the persons whose nan.i.es are subscribe to the foregoing instrument of writing as having executed the same and severally acknowdedged the same to be their act and deed for the purpose therein mentioned, and she, the said Jane Peery being by me first made acquainted with the contents thereof and examired separate and apart from her husband whether she executed the said deed and relinquished her dower to the said lands and tenements therein mentioned, voluntarily, freely and without compulsion or under influence of her said husband, acknowledged and declared that she executed the said deed and rehiKiuishes her dower to said lands and tenements thereni mentioned voluntarily, freely and without compulsion or under influence of her said husband. Taken and certified the day and year first above written.

WILLIAM! RENFRO, ^ Justice of the Peace." One of the most interesting official documents of early times is a mortgage filed on page 27, volume one,' of the recorder's books, of which a part tollows: .. 1 - ^ ,^t

"This deed, made and entered into, this tentli day of December, A. D. one thousand, eight hundred forty-one, between Wm Uttinger, ot the State of Missouri, and County of Grundy, of the first part and John Uttinger of the same state and county aforesaid, of the second part, witnesses that the party of the first part hath this day m consideration'of the sum of nine hundred and eighty dollars and thirty-six cents, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, hath this day granted, bargamed and sold and by these presents doth grant, bargain and sell unto the party of the second part, his heirs and assigns forever, all his right, title and interest in and to the following described real and personal property, To-wit : The east half the southwest quarter of section no. twelve, in township no. sixty ot range no. twenty-four, containing eighty acres and the southeast quarter of section no eleven m the same township and range, as aforesaid, containing one hundred and sixty acres and also the west halt of the southwest quarter of section no. thirteen, m same range and township, as first aforesaid, con, taining eighty acres and the said party of the first part doth also by these presents convey and assign unto the said party of the second part, a certain negro girl named Milly, aged thirty-three and a boy named James, aged eighteen months and also three head of horses and eighteen head of cattle and also all his household and kitchen furniture consisting of one bed and bedding, one looking glass, one set of chairs, and divers cooking utensils, the party of the first part binds himself, his heirs, etc., to warrant and defend the title of the above discribed lands, goods and chattels to the said party of the second part, etc."