Liberty Township

Liberty Township

Liberty township was first settled in 1838, but never assumed the name until 1845, after the county of Mercer was organized when it, composing the north Jialf of her present boundary and the whole of Myers, was called Liberty. Its metes and bounds now, and since 1872, are as follows: North by Myers township; east b}' the Sullivan county line; south by Marion, and west by Lincoln township. It is seven miles east and west, and five miles north and south, and contains thirty-five sections of land, or 22,400 acres. It is watered by No Creek on the western side, and by Little Medicine on the east, with several creeks emptying into these two streams. One called Birch Branch, with smaller streams finding its way into Medicine Creek. Liberty township is about two-thirds, if not more, undulating prairie. It has some fine bodies of timber lying on No and Medicine creeks and their branches. Tlie soil is rich and easv of cultivation. The black and loamy soil is productive to an unusual degree, and its early settlers and its later ones have enjoyed the faithful harvest of forty odd years, and there has been very little in their quiet lives to make liistory.

Early Settlers

The earliest settlement in Liberty township of which any trace can be found was in 1838. Minter Brassfield, Mrs. Mary Brassfield, Thomas "W. Brassfield, Hugh Davis, Calvin Brummet, G. F. Geman, John Priest, Mayberry Splawn, Anderson Malone, and Beuben Brassfield all came in the spring of that year. In 1839 R. M. Johnson, "William Rucker, John Call, and others came during the year. Joseph Rook, who settled in the south part of the township, came also in 1838. In 1840 there was quite a flow of settlers, Marion getting the most of them, yet many finding their way to Liberty. The Rooks gathering quite a number around them. Among those most prominent who came in 1840 was Rev. Nathan Winters, who came from Illinois and was the first preacher in the township. His family, like the Brassfields and Rooks, was large; among his sons were E. L. William and N. A. Winters. Then there were William Johnson, Henry Ridenour, Clark Kirk. These were of those who were called the pioneers of Liberty township. They had all the trials and tribulations of that day to pass through. They used the pestle and mortar and the handmill to get their corn in a sliape to eat, and their meat was the wild game of the woods, while a bee tree was the fountain from which they supplied themselves with the greatest amount of sweets. They would go to Livingston county, buy grain and go over to dtica and get it ground by a horsemill. Roads were where they wished to make them. The prairie could be cut through from any angle, but when the timber was reached the settlers generally converged to a single point as far as practicable. Most of the settlers came from east Tennessee, some from Kentucky and Illinois.

The first marriage in the township was in section 28, and the wedding party was Reuben Brassfield to Miss Lucinda Brassfield, cousins, January 17, 1839. The ceremony was performed by 'Squire Robert Walker.

The first boy was born May 4, 1838, to Minter and Jane Brassfield, and was named Mayberry Brassfield. The first girl born was (November 19, 1839) Mary Ann, daughter of Mayberry and Fannie Splawn.

Death

The first death was Hugh Davis, son of Hugh Davis, who died in September, 1841, and was buried in Lindley Cemetery, section 15, in Sullivan county. He was a bright and promising youth.

Minister And Doctor

The first regular physician who practiced in the township was the ubiquitous Dr. William P. Thompson. The first preacher who held regular service was Reuben Aldridge, a Methodist circuit-rider, who preaclied at the cabin of Calvin Brummet in 1839.

The first school was taught in 1842 in the forks of Medicine Creek, then Marion township, on section 33. The teacher was J. W. Dunnell, who left afterward for Illinois, his former place of residence. His pupils numbered thirteen that winter. He received one dollar and fifty cents per scholar per month. A school-house was afterward built by the neighbors on section 20. The building was the usual log cabin of the day, minus doors, windows and tire-place.

Spinning And Weaving

Mrs. Patty Davis is credited with the first spinning and weaving in the township, and she was a true representative of the pioneer woman of that day.

A woman who could turn her hand to anything, ready and willing to meet the demands of a pioneer's life, its trials, toil and trouble, making no complaint but tilling her allotted sphere with a happy and cheerful spirit.

The only couple in Grundy county who were divorced, during the early days was John W. and Pauline Paton in 1842, and their home was in Liberty township. What caused this separation is not noted as far as the records have been searched, but the sad fact that the silken cord was loosened, can be put down in the pages of this history for future generations to know.

The Quincy, Missouri and Pacific Railroad, which was building July, 1881, crosses the southeast corner of the township and the first village arising within its limits is the town of Gault. A rapidly growing railroad station, in a good agricultural district, about fifteen miles from Trenton, the county seat, and twenty from the town of Milan, in Sullivan county. Its southwest corner is near the town of Dillon, which is just over the line in Trenton township.

The present ofiicers of Liberty township are as follows: Justices of the peace, J. H. Wheeler and D. W. Allen; trustee, Theodore L. Balser; collector, G. W. Pollock; clerk and assessor, "W. J. Jackson; constable. A. J. Donaldson.

Biographical Sketches James 8. Bunnell

"Was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, January 3, 1810. His parents, Samuel and Elizabeth Bunnell, were natives of Pennsylvania. In his youth he was eno-aojed in raftings lumber and merchandise on the rivers of his native State, and before he was eighteen 3^ears old had made two trips to New Orleans in a flat-boat. Mr. Bunnell was married in his native county, October 20, 1850, to Miss Bettie A. McAftee, daughter of Robert and Ellen McAffee and a native of the same countv as her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Bunnell became the parents of nine children; viz, Theodore W., Robert M., Mary E. (now Mrs. William Shanklin\ Samuel B., William M., John L., James E., Charles S. and Bessie H. Mr. Bunnell settled in Grundy county in 1863 and continued to reside here until his death which occurred Septem- ber 20, 1875. He was a consistent member of the Baptist Church to which denomination his estimable lady now belongs. He left a fine estate of three hnndi-ed and twenty acres nicely improved and well stocked, upon which his widow and the younger children at present reside. His son, James E. Bunnell, who finished his education with a course at the Kirksville Normal School, is now engaged in teaching school in the neighborhood of his home. He is an industrious, intelligent and enterprising young gentleman whose future is bright and promising.

Francis M. Sprout

Was born May 23, 1838, in Marshall county, Indiana. He is the son of William and Hannah Sprout who immigrated from Indiana to Missouri in 1858. His father has been a farmer all his life and is still living in this county; his mother died November, 1879. January 28, 1858, Francis M. Sprout married Miss Sarah R. Winters, daughter of Rev. Nathan Winters, of Grundy county. After his marriage he commenced farming on his own resources. May 25, 1861, he lost his wife, and August 26, of the same year, enlisted in the TTnion army under Col. Tindall, serving sixteen months, during which time he was wounded in the right hand and taken prisoner at the battle of Shiloh. Owing to this wound Mr. Sprout was compelled to have his hand amputated in the Confederate hospital at Mobile, Alabama, and after a long siege of suffering was paroled December, 1862, and allowed to return home. February, 1863, Mr. Sprout married Miss Sophia Newland, daughter of Abraham Newland, of Grundy county.

Since the war he has lived a quiet life on his farm. Fie is the father of eight children living, two by his first wife and six by his second. The names of his first wife's children are Mary and William; and those of his second wife are Alson, Sarah, John, Minnie, James and Walter.

Mr. and Mrs. Sprout are both members of the Baptist Church. Mr. Sprout has served for two terms each in the capacities of township constable and school trustee of Liberty township. As the fruits of his industry he is now the possessor of a fine farm and enjoys the reputation of a good neighbor and a valuable citizen.

Was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, October 24, 1819. His parents, Nathan and Kutli Winters, were natives of Tennessee, and when the subject of this sketch was but a child they moved from St. Clair county to Morgan county, Illinois, where he was reared upon a farm. When seventeen years of age he went to Pike county, in the same State, where he remained four years. In 1840, he migrated to Missouri and settled upon government land in Grundy county, then known as Livingston. He raised hogs and drove them to market at Hannibal and Brunswick, and thus secured money to pay for entering a part of tlie farm upon wliicli he now lives. The nearest post-office was twenty-five miles, and the closest mill was twenty-three miles, and that only a " corn-cracker," In Illinois Mr. Winters learned thy trade of making- and laying hrick, and continued tofollow that business for several years after his arrival in this county, but finally gave it up and turned his whole attention to agricultural interests. His farm is something over four hundred acres in extent. Mr, Winters was united in matrimony to Miss Nancy A. Neet, on the 23d of December, 1841. She was born August 19, 1820. By this marriage Mr, and Mrs. Winters have had nine children; viz., Sarah M., born May 6, 1844; John W., born March 9, 1846, died July 15, 184T; Nathan T., born June 25,, 1848; Martha A., born November 8, 1850; James J., born December 6^ 1852, died September 8, 1853; Priscilla B., born August 16,1854; Isaac E., born October 23, 1856; George W., born April 15, 1859; and Emily P.,. born August 24, 1861.