Pond Creek Township

Description

considerable portion of the township is prairie, but by far the greater part is timbered hind, and some portions are very rough. Ak)ng Pickerel creek discoveries of lead have been made and certain quantities mined. When the country is developed, as it can be, and will be, lead mining will be a leading industry in this township.

Ponk Creek township was first organized in April, 1859, after Christian county had been cut off of Greene. (See general history, events of 1859.)

Early Settlers And Settlements

According to the Greene County Atlas, published in 1876, David Reynolds was the first settler of Pond Creek township. He came from East Tennessee in 1834, and settled in section two, of township twenty-eight, range twenty-four. His death occurred a few years ago. Edward Blades, the father of R. D. Blades, settled in section ten, in the year 1836. He was a native of North Carolina, but emigrated to Missouri from McMinn county. East Tennessee. William McDaniel settled in 1836, on section eleven, coming at the same time with Blades. Robert Batson settled in section three, in 1840. Samuel Garroute emigrated from Greene county, Tennessee, to Gasconade county, Missouri and after living there perhaps ten or fifteen years came to Pond Creek in 1837, and located in section twenty-seven. Anthony Garroute and William D. Garroute came from Ohio in 1838. James Garroute came about the same time. The Garroutes have been public-spirited citizens of the township. They are all descended from an old soldier of the Revolution who came over with the French troops to assist in securing the independence of the Americans, and after the war was over remained in this country, and settled in New Jersey, whence his descendants have emigrated West. A man named Connor lived at an early date for a period of two years on Pickerel creek. John Loose lived on a branch of the Pickerel, near the southern line of the township, but he also only remained two or three years. Magruder Tannehill came about 1840 and settled in the southeast corner of the township. In the southwest corner Robert Carr settled on the waters of the Turnback. G. W. Brittain, now one of the leading farmers of the southwest part of the county, emigrated to Missouri in 1833 or 1834, first settled ten miles west of Springfield, and afterwards came to Pond Creek township. N. B. Neil, from East Tennessee, settled in section seven in 1836. Stephen Batson came from Ohio in 1842, and lived on the Pickerel, near the south line of the

The first school taught in this township was by Robert Batson in a private house built by R. D. Blades on his father's pUicc on the northwest corner of section ten. Stephen Batson also taught school in the township, as did also William B. Garroute. The first school house was built on section ten ; it was a log, 14x15 feet in size. The first church erected was the Bethel church, a frame meeting house, used for meetings of various denominations, which stood on section sixteen. It was burned down in May, 1872.

The first white child born in the township was either William Blades, son of Edward Blades, or Jackson McDaniel, the son of William McDaniel. The latter was born Aug. 30, 1837.

The first female child was Betsey Blades, born in May, 1837. She was a daughter of Edward and Penelope Blades. In the Atlas, it is set down that in Pond Creek township the first marriage was that of Duncan Hood to Nancy Blades, but old settlers say that a marriage antedating this was that of Harvey Hazelton and Martha Reynolds. The marriage service was performed by Rev. Thos. Ashley. The couple afterward removed to Oregon, where an unfortunate disagreement occurred, and a separation followed. Mrs. Hazelton returned to Pond Creek township and died in 1879. The first death was a child of David Reynolds that died immediately after its birth, May 9, 1844 ; a few days afterward Edward Blades died. Both bodies were buried in the graveyard on the old Reynolds place.

The first sermon preached in the township was by Rev. Thos. Ashley, a Methodist, who held services in the house of old David Reynolds in the year 1838.

Tragedies Of The Civil War

Some of the fearful murders growing out of the civil war were perpetrated in this township. Each side furnished victims, and the bloody incidents are remembered with horror to this da3^

The first victim was John S. Reynolds, a Union man. Mr. Reynolds was a worthy citizen, and was generally respected and held in high regard by those who knew him. He was a Republican in politics and one of the ten men in Pond Creeek township who voted for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. He was killed on the night of November 22, 1861, Avhile the Confederates occupied the country, their headquarters being at Springfield.

At about 8 p. m. on the night named, two or more men came to the house and coming in told Mr, Reynolds that they had come to hang him for voting for Lincoln. The man who said this was standing near the fire-place, where also Mr. Reynolds was. Reynolds caught up a fire-shovel and struck the intruder over the head and then threw him out of doors. He then fastened the door and held it to keep the murderers out. While leaning against the door one of the diabolical assassins broke a window on another side of the house, put a musket through and fired, shooting Mr. Reynolds through and killing him almost instantly. He held to the door with a strong grip and sank down slowly. Mrs. Reynolds sprang from her bed, caught her dying husband in her arms, and he died on her breast. He muttered, " O !

The next man murdered was a Confederate sympathizer named Daniel McCray, who, in the summer of 1862, was waylaid and shot and killed by two boys, neither of whom was over 16 years of age.. The boys hid in the bushes and did their work effectively.

On the nisht of Nov. 8, 1862, Joel M. Skelton was murdered. Mr. Skelton had removed from Georgia to Pond Creek township in 1854. His sympathies were with the Confederate cause, but he w^as a harmless and inoffensive man, without an enemy among his immediate acquaintance, so far as he knew. On the night in question two men, believed to be from Lawrence county, came to Mr. Skelton and began abusing him shamefully, threatening to kill him, in retaliation for the killing of John Reynolds, and forcing him to dance, turn somersaults, and perform other humiliating and shameful antics in the presence of his wife.

Mrg. Skelton, poor woman, was greatly terrified and implored the miscreants not to murder her husband, and when they said he had done enouofh to deserve death, she declared he had done nothins;, and begged them not to kill him until she could run half a mile away and bring the- old pioneer, David Reynolds, well known as a staunch Union man, who would come and testify as to the harmless character of her husband. The villains promised to spare him until Mr. Reynolds should come, and away the poor lady ran as fast as her weak, trembling limbs could carry her.

Reaching Mr. Reynolds' house, and imploring his help, the old man refused to return with Mrs. Skelton, saying he was afraid of his own life, but that his wife might go, and so the two women started. But they had not gone far when they heard the report of a revolver, and on arriving at her home, Mrs. Skelton found her husband a corpse, weltering in his blood, almost in his own doorway. Ever since Mrs. Skelton has been ]i)artially deranged - and what wonder?

The same night that Joel Skelton was killed, Andrew Owen was inhumanly butchered, presumably by the same brutes that murdered Skelton. Two men came to Owen's house, called him out, shot him down, and rode way singing merrily.

Soon afterward, Kichard Owen, a citizen of this township, was killed while on his Avay to Springfield by some Federals. Mr, Owen's son was driving the team and Mr. Owen himself was walkins: behind the wagon. Two soldiers rode past Mr. Owen and past the wagon, and then turned back and riding to where the unsuspecting man was walkins; alono; suddenlv shot him dead.

In 1864 a young man named Lum. Johns, a nephew of Mrs. Townley Rose, was visiting his aunt, was waylaid and killed. He was a Southern sympathizer.

In 1865, James Everhart, an ex-militiaman, was killed by Lieut. Harshbarger, of the 16th Mo. Cavalry, in Nathaniel Batson's dooryard, and was there buried. Everhart had won for himself the name of a horse thief, a robber and rascal. It was believed that the killing was authorized by Gen. Sanborn.

Religious Organizations

M. E. Church. - The M. E. Church congregation, which formerly met at Bethel church, was organized in 1867. The original members were George Laney, Amy Laney, George W. Brittain, Betsay Ann Brittain, James Brittain, Elizabeth Brittain, Mrs. Martha Skelton, Wm. McDaniel, Sarah A. McDaniel, R. D. Blades, Mrs. Gillis Blades, James C. Mc Daniels, Adeline Mc Daniels, John W. McDaniels, and Sarah McDaniels. The congregation worshiped at Old Bethel church until it was burned down in May, 1872. Since that time, meetings have been held at the Grandview school house, in section 14.

This congregation was first organized at the time of the division of the M. E. church of the United States, in 1844. The first members were Anthony Garontte, Margaret Garoutte, James Garoutte, Charlotte Garoutte, John Laney, Sophia Laney, R. D. Blades, and

Frances Blades. Services were first held at the residence of Anthony Garoutte, afterwards at Bethel. During the war the congregation was broken up, and was reorganized in 1867. In 1882 the congregation numbered fifty members.

Hopewell Baptist Church. - The congregation of the Hopewell Baptist church was first organized in section 19, on the 15th of June, 1867. The original members, or some of them were: Elizabeth, Jane, Martha, and Mary Garoutte, Ann Skelton, Susan Batson, and E. M. Howard. The first church building was erected in 1873, at a cost of nearly $600. It is a frame and stands on section 15. The committee appointed to see after the building funds was appointed December 18th, 1872, and consisted of W. W. Garoutte, 'Dallas Thurman, John Etheridge, and Alpha Hazelton. The pastors that have served Hopewell church have been : D. R. Clark, Geo. Long, Isaac Stanley, and D. T. Balcom. The present membership is twenty-five.

Christian Church. - A congregation of the Christian Church meets at St. Elmo school house, on section 8, in this township. It was organized May 1st, 1881, with the following among other members: A. C. Greene and wife, James W. Hargus, Margaret J. Hargus, Franklin Porter, Mary Porter, Mary Porter, James Porter, and Mary Ann Porter. The pastor has been Rev. Clark Smith ; the elders : A. C. Greene, James W. Hargus, Franklin Porter. The number of members is thirtv-two.

Mr. Britain is the son of George'W. and Betsy A. (Bailey) Britain, and was born in Greene county, Missouri, July 19, 1849. His father is one of the leading fanners of the county, and the largest tax-payer in Pond Creek township. Mark, as he is familiarly called by his friends, is an energetic, active business man and prosperous farmer. He owns 240 acres of good land, which he keeps in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Britain was appointed deputy sheriff in 1880, and reappointed in 1883, discharging the duties of his oflSce satisfactorily. He was married March 5, 1872, to Miss Mary J., daughter of John and Christiana Jackson, of this county, formerly of Tennessee. Their union has been blest with four children, Hubbard M., Pearle M., Zillah R., and Mary C.

George W. Britain

This gentleman is the son of John and Catherine (Hensley) Britain, and was born in McMinn count}', Tenn., June 20, 1827. His parents were natives of that State. His father was a soldier of the war of 1812, and his grandfather was a soldier intheRevolutionarj' war. In 1836 his parents moved to Greene countj', Mo., where his mother died in 1837, and in 1838 his father moved to Bates county. Mo. In 1840 his father died, while on atrip back to this county, so George was left an orphan at the age of thirteen years. The children were brought back to this county, and George was bound out to Royal Hazelton, then of Brookline township When twenty-one years of age he was oflfered eighty acres of land for one hundred dollars, which he took, and upon which he has since resided. He now owns over fourteen hundred acres of land, besides giving a thousand acres to his children. He is next to the largest farmer in the county, and the largest tax-payer in Pond Creek township. He is a liberal, enterprising citizen, and his hand is ever ready to help the deserving. 'Starting in life as a " bound-boy," his rise to wealth, position, and honorable and useful citizenship is almost without a parallel, and is a fine example to those who have energy and determination. During the war he served for a year in Capt. Redfearn's company of militia. He has been a member of the Methodist church for over thirty years. ]\Ir. Britain was married in 1849 to Miss Betsy Ann, daughter of Alexander and Margaret Bailey, of this county, formerly of Tennessee. Their union has been blest with nine chilldren, eight of whom are living, viz. : Marcus F., John W., Eli H , Melissa A., James A., Sarah E., Albert A., and Amanda B.

William B. Garoutte

Mr. Garoutte is the son of James S. and Mary (Bobington) Garoutte, and was born in Washington count}', Ohio, May 9, 1820. His grandfather was a French soldier, who settled at Tuckahoe, N. J., after the Revolutionary war was over. France sent some of her best sons to aid us in securing our independence, and many of them staid in America. In 1829 his parents moved to St. Joseph county, Indiana, and in February, 1830, his mother was frozen to death. She was an eminent practitioner in midwifery, and had gone nine miles to see a patient. She was caught in a snow storm, and it is supposed she dismounted to walk so as to keep warm, and her horse got away from her. She was found the next day dead. In 1837 he and his father came to Greene county, Mo., and settled in Pond Creek township. His father died in 1876. William went back to Indiana in 1848, and in 1849 went lo California and returned in 1852, and has since resided in Greene count}'. He was elected justice of the peace when he was twenty-one years of age. In 1856 he was a candidate for the State Senate upon the Benton ticket, but was beaten by Judge Price by seventy-seven votes. In 1859 he was a candidate for Congress, and in 1882, he was a candidate for the Legislature upon the Democratic ticket, and though his district was Republican by three hundred majority, he reduced it to fifty-six. He was a Union man until the war actually came on, and then took the position that the Jackson troops were the law and authority troops. He was otfered and refused a brigadier general's commission. In 1862 oast his fortunes with the Confederacy, and went South with Gen. Price. In the fall of 1862 he returned to Greene county, as provost marshal for the county, but was taken prisoner at his home before the Confederate troops arrived. He was taken to St. Louis, then to Johnson's Island, and from there to Fort McHenry, and held prisoner two years. Just before the war closed he was exchanged at Demopolis, Alabama, and sent by Gen. Hardee, with dispatches to Gen. Price in Arkansas. He was there when the war closed. He lost about twenty thousand dollars by the vrar, and has since labored to repair his losses. He owns over seven hundred acres of land.

daughter of Royal and Mehitable (Arms) Hazelton, of this county. They were blest with five daughters. Mrs. Garoutte died April 7, 1857, and he was married the second time, October 15, 1857, to Miss Mehitable, daughter of Magruder and Theresa (Hazelton) Tannahill, also of Green County. They have by this union eight children.

His name indicates his French extraction. His grandfather came over from France as one of the soldiers wlio helped us so gallantly in the Eevolutionary war. After the close of that war he settled at Tuckahoe, New Jersey, where William, the father of W. "W., was born, in 1798. William moved to Ohio, where he was married in 1829 to Elizabeth Dutton. This marriage was blest with ten children, Warren Werter Garoutte being the fifth child. He was born in Washington county, Ohio, July 23, 1839. When he was eight months old his parents moved to Green county, Missouri, and settled in Pond Creek township, a sparsely settled portion of the county. His father died in 1863, and his mother in 1869. Mr. Garoutte was married in September, 1860, to Miss Martha, daughter of John S. and Mary (Chastaine) Richmond. Her parents were natives of Tennessee, but she was born in Missouri. Their union was ble; ' with ten children, nine of whom are living, William S., John L., Anthony S., Mary E., Susan R., Marcus D., George L., Franklin L. and Lillie'M. Mrs. Garoutte died October 19, 1882. She had been a consistent member of the church since eighteen years of age. Mr. Garoutte settled where he now lives in 1866. He owns a farm of two hundred and forty acres, besides one-third interest in another tract of the same size. He has always followed farming and blacksmithing. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and a member of the Baptist church since 1868.

This gentleman is the son of Thomas and Rebecca (Britain) McDaniel, and was born in Jefferson county, Tennessee, June 23d, 1810. His father was a soldier of the war of 1812, and was with Gen. Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. In 1818 they moved to Roane county, Tennessee, and in 1821 they again moved to McMinii county and lived there and in Monroe county until 1836, when he came to Greene county, Missouri, and settled in Pond Creek township. When he came, there was but one man living in the township, David Reynolds. He has passed through all the experiences, hardships and excitement of pioneer life. He had his milling done forty miles south of him, taking a week to make the trip with an ox team. He settled the place upon which he now lives in 1838, and improved a fine farm of two hundred and forty acres. He reared a large family. Four of his sons were in the Union army, and one rose to the rank of captain. Mr. McDaniel has been a member of the Methodist church for over forty years, part of the time class-leader. He was married August 28, 1836, to Miss Sarah A., daughter of Edward and Penelope (Maynard) Blades, of McMinn county, Tennessee. Her parents were originally from North Carolina, and came from Tennessee at the same time, 1836, and settled in Pond Creek township. Mr. and Mrs. McDaniel were blest with ten children, nine of whom are living: Jackson, John W., James C, Jesse W., Ransom T., Elijah A., William, Henderson C, and Sarah J, M.

Mr. Reynolds was the son of David D. and Polly (Kelly) Reynolds, and was born in Monroe county, Tennessee, November 28, 1824. His parents were natives of that State, and emigrated to Greene county, Missouri, in 1834, and settled in Pond Creek township. At their house was held the first religious services in that part of the county. It was here that John grew to manhood upon the farm. He was married October 31, 1850, to Miss Hannah E., daughter of William and Sarah (Squibb) Likens, of this county. Their union was blest with six children, four of whom are now living : William F., James H., Thomas B. and Susan J. Mr. Reynolds was one of the prosperous farmers of his neighborhood, owning a farm of two hundred and thirty-four acres. He was a member of the Methodist church, and was a quiet, peaceable citizen. He was a member of the Home Guards, and was the first man murdered in that part of the county. He was killed in his own house on the night of November 22, 1861. About eight o'clock a party of men, three or more, came to his house and one of them came in, saying, '* We've come to hang you for voting for Lincoln!"

Mr. Reynolds hit him upon the head with >\. shovel and put him out, and, while holding the door he was shot through the window, dying in a few seconds. His widow is yet living, and reared her little ones under difficulties which only a fond mother and noble woman could surmount.

This gentleman was the son of Noel and M. (McGeo) Skelton, and was born in Franklin county, Georgia, March 1, 1822. His father was a soldier in the war of 1812. .loel grew to manhood in his native county, where he was married February 28, 1845, to Miss Martha E. A., daughter of Tavner and Elizabeth (Wades) Rucker. Their marriage was blest witli eight children: Mary E., Sarepta E., Sarah A. C, deceased, George V., Annie M. .7., William .J. W. R., Martha H. A. and James M. T., all of whom are married. In 1857 Mr. Skelton moved, by wagon drawn b^' oxen, to Greene county, Missouri, and settled where his widow now resides. He was an inoffensive, quiet gentleman, a member of the Baptist church. He took no part in the civil war, but his sympathies were with the " sunny South," wiiere he had been born and reared. Upon the night of November 8, 1862, he was wantonly and cruelly murdered in his own yard by two men dressed in Federal uniform. They made him dance, and otherwise subjected him to indignities, and while his devoted wife had gone to get a Union neighbor to intercede for her husband, the fiends murdered him. The shock dethroned the reason of his beloved wife, and she yet lives under that great affliction.

Thomas W. Wade

Mr. Wade is the son of Rev. .Tames and Nancy (Herron) Wade, and was born in Franklin count}', Georgia, November 12, 1847. His father was a native of Virginia, and mother of Georgia. His father was a local Methodist preacher for over fifty years, a man of sterling integrity and one beloved by all who knew him. He moved with his family to Greene county, Missouri, in 1850, where he lived until 1868, and then went to Arkansas and died at the age of eighty years of age in 1881. Thomas W. grew to manhood here in Greene county, where he has since resided, except in 1869 and 1870, when he lived in Arkansas. During the war he was in the employ of the government for fourteen months. Mr. Wade is an enterprising farmer, and owns a good, improved farm. He was married September 15, 18fiO, to Miss Sarepta E., daughter of Joel M. and Martha E. (Rucker) Skelton, of Greene county. Their union was blest with eight children, Marth E., Nancy J., Mary M., Eda S., Laura E., Jula A., Ira C. and Charles W. Mrs. Skelton's father was killed November 8, 1862, by a party of men in blue uniform who hated him for his Southern principles.