SEARCH RESULTS

FUR TRADE Adapted from “Discover Cooper County by Looking Back” by Ann Betteridge The primary occupation of the French during their early years in Missouri was trading for fur with the Indians. Much money could be made. One who became a great trader was Pierre Chouteau of St. Louis. In 1808 , Chouteau and other fur merchants organized the Missouri Fur Company, which prospered greatly. In 1809 they sent a successful trading expedition of 350 men up the Missouri River. The company remained in operation for about 20 years. In their search for animals, they were also seeking routes through the mountains to the Pacific coast. The geography learned by these trappers laid a foundation on which future development could take place. Some of the early fur trappers’ routes became well known land and water routes. Trappers were rough, and had hardy features from exposure to the sun and elements. Their hair was long and coarse and often bushy, worn down to the shoulders and usually covered with a low-crowned woolen hat. Trappers often made their own clothing or it was made for them by Indian women. The main outer clothes were of buckskin, fringed at the edges and seamed with buckskin strings. Sometimes clothing was a mix of native materials and wool or linen fabrics. Footwear consisting of deer or buffalo skin moccasins or boots. Knives, hatchets and pistols were carried on a belt around the midriff. A bullet pouch made of animal skin was hung from the neck. A strap carrying the powder horn was worn across the body. A trapper would carry a rifle of anywhere from 50 to 60 caliber. Trappers took care of their own equipment, which might include a twin-lock gun, 100 flints, 35 pounds of powder, 100 pounds of lead, a powder horn, double shot bag, skinning knife, tomahawk and four to six traps. Trappers often worked in groups, sometimes composed of 50 men. The life was tough and trying, with no luxuries. Except for a few supplies of flour, tea, coffee and salt, the trappers lived off the land, with buffalo flesh as their favorite meat. There were many hardships endured by the trappers. While following their traplines, trappers would often hide away equipment and furs, borrowing the French word “cache” to describe these hidden stores. Much care was taken in making the stores secure, but even so, they were frequently raided by Indians, or the contents damaged by floods. The trapping seasons were chiefly during the spring and fall. It was not unusual for a trapper to tramp a distance of 50 miles while setting up to 150 traps. For small animals, steel traps would be used, but for large ones a favorite trap was made after a pattern of the English figure four, using logs. In the early days of the fur trade, deer skins, bear skins and bear lard were the primary commodities. All kinds of animals were trapped, but up to about 1845 , one of the most sought after was the beaver. Because beaver-skin hats were fashionable for men, the price of pelts was between four and six dollars a pound, so that a good trapper could make $1,600 to $2,000 a year, which was a good income in those days. The bottom fell out of the beaver-skin trade when silk was imported, and a new fashion for silk hats made beaver skins valueless. Steel traps were in universal use for trapping beaver. The trap would weigh about five pounds, and during the early nineteenth century cost between 12 and 16 dollars. The trap would be secured by a five-foot chain. At one time the steel jaws of the trap were covered with netting to enclose the animal unharmed, as a live animal would provide a better skin than a dead one. In setting his traps, the trapper waded into the water for some distance in order to cover up his tracks, and the traps would be placed a short distance from the bank in three to four inches of water. Each trap was secured by stretching the chain to its full length and then fastening it to a strong stake driven into the steam bed, also a little way from the bank. A small twig was set over the trap, projecting a few inches above the water surface, and the bait was fastened to the exposed end. The bait that was used was usually obtained from the same species of animal for which the traps were being set. Besides the beaver, other kinds of animals were trapped. Some of them were: muskrat, skunk, raccoon, otter, and sometimes a sable mink. There were also bear skins, but bear trapping was considered a hazardous occupation, often more a matter of necessity than desire. The fur trade in the United States has gone down considerably since the beginning of the 20th century, because of changes in fashion, the development of synthetic fur, and many recently developed lightweight and warm fabrics. Also, some animal rights groups object to the trapping of animals. THE BARTER SYSTEM The catch of a season was taken to fortified trading posts, where a system of barter was used. In 1825 , however, General William H. Ashley introduced the “rendezvous” system as a substitute for trading posts. This allowed for a change of site from year to year. A rendezvous resembled a medieval fair and this annual event frequently ended in a heavy drinking session. Goods of all kinds were exchanged for skins, but the rate of exchange was such that the tools were often priced as much as 2,000 per cent above their cost. An item in great demand in exchange for skins, especially beaver skins, was a gun. The exchange rate was established as the number of skins, when, piled up, would reach from the stock to muzzle, a practice which led to the production of especially long-barreled guns. The fur trade declined rapidly after 1840 . Fur bearing animals, particularly beaver had been trapped and hunted to extinction in many regions. Changes in fashion also led to reduced demand for furs. Bison robes and coats became more popular. Bison leather was heavy and became a source of belts for machinery in factories which were booming in the 1840s and 1850s. While fur trapping in the mountains declined precipitously, bison hunting on the plains increased exponentially. Since the development of synthetic fur, and many recently developed lightweight and warm fabrics in the 20th century, fur trapping continued to remain marginal although some years saw increases in prices. Animal rights groups object to the trapping of animals William H. Ashley was among the most noted fur traders of Missouri history. Ashley was elected as Missouri’s first Lieutenant Governor , serving, from 1820–1824, under Governor Alexander McNair . Ashley ran for governor of Missouri , in the August 1824 election , but was defeated. Ashley formed a partnership with Andrew Henry to form the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Between 1822 and 1825 the company conducted several large-scale fur trapping expeditions in the mountains. On June 2, 1823 Ashley’s company was repulsed by the Arikara Indians on the Missouri River with a loss of 15 men. Ashley revolutionized the fur trade in the Rocky Mountains with the creation of the rendezvous system. Trappers and Indians would meet at an appointed location to sell their furs to buyers and resupply for the coming season rather than travel to fixed outposts. This helped to advance the fur trade into the remotest sections of the western country. By 1827 , Ashley became a wealthy a man and sold his share of the company to mountain man and scout Jedidiah Smith. From October 31, 1831 , to March 3, 1837 Ashley served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri. In 1836 he ran again for governor but was defeated. He retired from politics and moved to Lamine Township, settling on property he purchased from Auguste Chouteau which had been part of his original Osage land grant. Ashley did not get to enjoy his Cooper County property for long. He died on March 26, 1838 . He was buried on an Indian mound which overlooked the junction of the Lamine and Missouri Rivers. A marker is on his grave site which was about a mile from his home. The burial site in on private property located off County Road CC and requires permission to enter. William Ashley's burial site, overlooking the Missouri River. Fort Osage National Historic Landmark Fort Osage , located in what is now Sibley, Missouri, was one of the first military outposts established in the Louisiana Territory. William Clark documented the area in 1804 as he passed through the area on his way to the Pacific Ocean. Clark returned to the area in 1808 as a Brigadier General in the Louisiana Territory militia and U.S. agent for Indian Affairs, confirmed that the area could be easily defended, and chose to build a fort and other buildings there. The fort was located 70 feet above the high-water mark along the Missouri River. It also became a trading post for the Indians, known as Sibley’s Trading Post. The purpose of the fort was to provide a US military presence in the territory to assure Spain, France and Great Britain that the United States meant to protect its territory by military strength and to establish healthy relations with the Native American population in the territory. The fort was abandoned in 1827 and has been reconstructed to represent the fort and buildings as they were in 1812. The following pictures give a good idea of what life in a fort was like during the War of 1812. Sibley is a small town in Jackson County, Missouri. It is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, about 80 miles from Boonville.

DISCOVERY OF FORT MCMAHAN MCMAHAN FORT Background - Lamine Township was settled about 1810. The first settlers were David Jones, a Revolutionary War soldier; Thomas, Samuel and James McMahan; Stephen, Samuel and Jesse Turley; and Saunders Townsend. Other families soon followed and joined the settlement. The Jones’ settlement also known as McMahan’s settlement was located about midway between Arrow Rock and the Lamine River. During the War of 1812 two fortifications were built for the protection of the 15 families in the settlement. McMahan’s Fort was described as a “little stockade” and was located on the bluff. McMahan’s Fort was also sometimes referred to as Anderson’s Fort. William Reed built a smaller blockhouse or fortified cabin that was probably in the nearby river bottoms. McMahan’s Fort was burned by Sac & Fox Indians in September of 1814. Reed’s Fort may have suffered the same fate but its location has almost certainly been washed away by the Missouri River. The inhabitants of both forts had fled to the greater safety of Cooper’s Fort just before they were attacked in 1814. [Settlers at McMahan Fort Area: Written by William D. Lay 1998.] At the mouth of the Lamine River is a natural bedrock shoreline that made it easy for docking the flatboats and keel-boats. Workers could toil from the shore line, loading supplies for traveling up and down the river. Among some of these early settlers were the McMahans. The McMahans traveled from their Kentucky homes at the very beginning of organized settlement and became established in what is now the Lamine Township. According to history, these families lived along the south side of the Missouri River just west and north of the Lamine River. Samuel McMahan was attacked by hostile Indians and killed on December 24, 1814. One account says he was driving some cattle, another said he was chopping down a bee tree for honey, yet another family tradition said he was drawing water from a spring. This is an example of the difficulty of relying on reminisces made by old pioneers 40 or 50 years after the event occurred. One of Samuel’s sons, Samuel Woodson McMahan, became one of the largest landholders of Cooper County, owned a tract of 1,000 acres that was worked by many slaves. William McMahan’s Fort Written by William D. Lay 1998 Constructed date - most likely 1812 or after. Location: On the Missouri, 2 miles North of Lamine River where it empties into the Missouri River, Samuel Cole (Son of Hannah Cole) said the fort was located on the south side of the Missouri River some 5 miles south from Cooper’s Fort. Judge Frederick Hyatt said the fort was located 4 miles below Arrow Rock on the south side of the Missouri. William Reed, a son-in-law of McMahan had his blockhouse in the east half of the northeast quarter of section 7 township 49 range 18. The fort was thought to be on the hill immediately to the south. Commonly referred to as the Jones Settlement. (But in later years, no one was sure where the exact location of the fort was). THE ATTACK BY THE INDIANS AS THE SETTLERS WERE ABANDONING THE FORT Written by William D. Lay 1998 A few weeks before the Dodge force [a military unit to help guard these early forts] got to the Boonslick Area, the settlers learned that the Sauks and Miamis were assembling for an attack on the 14 families on the south bank of the Missouri, about two miles above the Lamine River, and about five miles below Cooper’s Fort. There were too many hostile Indians for those settlers, so they left their homes and started to Cooper’s Fort. They had planned to move the families on the first day then go back the next day to pick up their household goods and livestock. They had hardly gotten the last person on their canoes when the Indians crept up and attacked them as they were leaving. The Indians killed Thomas McMahan but the balance with their families escaped. They were still in their canoes when they looked back and saw the smoke curling up from the fires that the Indians had set to the stockade. This fire consumed all their household goods and clothing, and the Indian took all their horses and cattle. This was probably done about July 20th of 1814. Author’s Note: Cooper’s Fort was a much larger and secured fort. It was located about one mile south of where the town of Petersburg is today, in The Howard County River Bottoms. [From History of Cooper County Missouri by W. F. Johnson – 1919] Most of the settlers in the Boonslick Country came from Kentucky and Tennessee where they had earlier experienced conflict with American Indians. The attitude of the settlers towards any Indians whether they were friend or foe ranged from condescension to loathing, fear and outright hatred. The Indians with which our early settlers had to contend were idle, shiftless, vicious and treacherous. In the presence of the white settlers they were apparently frank, accommodating, and kind, yet they nursed the tradition that the white man was their natural enemy, and would eventually dispossess them of their "happy hunting grounds" . Warfare in the Boonslick was not just a matter of wanton “blood lust” by Indians as some have characterized it. It represented a larger clash of cultures that sometimes manifested itself in bloodshed. The Indians for the most part saw white settlers as trespassers on land they possessed for generations, threatening their livelihood and culture. For them, the attacks were acts of self-defense. The famous Sac warrior Black Hawk who led raids into Missouri Territory and the Boonslick expressed in 1833 a view many Indians long held towards Americans; I had not discovered one good trait in the character of the Americans that had come to the country. They made fair promises but never fulfilled them. Whilst the British made but few, but we could always rely on their word…Why did the Great Spirit ever send the whites to this island, to drive us from our homes, and introduce among us poisonous liquors, disease and death? They should have remained upon the island where the Great Spirit first placed them. Casualties in the Boonslick were relatively light during the war. Only about dozen or so whites were killed and possibly a similar number of Indians. Numbers of wounded on both sides may have been the same. Lindsey Carson, the father of famed western scout Kit Carson, had both thumbs shot off in one skirmish with Indians. After the war, John Mason Peck, a Baptist missionary, wrote of the hardship experienced by the Boonslick settlers: “With all their vigilance during the war, about three hundred horses were stolen; many cattle and nearly all their hogs were killed. Bear-meat and raccoon-bacon became a substitute…” Deerskin clothing became the daily attire, as neither cotton nor flax could be grown in any quantity to manufacture cloth. A few days ago, a barge belonging to Messrs. M. Lisa & Co. which was ascending the Missouri to their trading establishment, were induced to stop at Mackay’s Saline, (commonly called Boon’s Lick) as the country was overrun by the Indians and all the inhabitants were in Forts. The crew which arrived here on Saturday night, last…reports that on the south side of the Missouri, the Indians had taken all the horses and were killing the cattle for food; that on their arrival at the Saline, the people of Coles’ fort were interring a man just shot by the Indians. On the north side near Kincaid’s fort a man was killed in a flax field. Missouri Gazette, August 13, 1814 Settlers at McMahan Fort Area: Written by William D. Lay 1998. “Claims for Indian Reparations from McMahan Fort” during June and July 1814, attacks on eleven members of the McMahan Fort: Author’s Note: The following information was prepared by Lyman Copeland Draper’s Notes, Roll 22S March 30, 1815 Act of Congress. (The federal government took these depositions in 1825 - Mike Dickey) Results of the Attack - The McMahan Fort was burned to the ground in the Indian attack. The attacking Indians carried off anything that was of value to them, and destroyed what remained, so that there was nothing left for the former inhabitants to reclaim. INDIAN WAR REPARATIONS [CHAPTER XIII. (William D. Lay] AN ACT TO REGULATE TRADE AND INTERCOURSE WITH THE INDIAN TRIBES. SEC. 14 MEANS OF REDRESS PRESCRIBED FOR TRANSGRESSIONS OF INDIANS AGAINST WHITE SETTLERS. Claims for losses by Indians during the June and July 1814 raids, (or transgressions) were filed by about 11 members of families at and around McMahan Fort, Lamine Township. AUTHOR’S NOTE: IN THE INTEREST OF BREVITY, OF THE 11 FAMILIES THAT HAD DAMAGE, I WILL ONLY LIST ONE OF THE FAMILIES BELOW. McMahan, Thomas, (June or July 1814): “Site of the McMahan Fort” 1 sorrel mare, about four years old, 14 1/2 hands high, appraised to, $50.00 10 Head of hogs, $45.00 1 Axe, $2.00 1 Bottle of the oil of vitriol, $2.00 4 Pair of stockings, $4.00 1 large bear skin, $1.50 1/2 bushel’s sowing of wheat, $30.00 1/2 acre of flax, $2.50 1 bed quilt, $3.00 Total $140.00 AUTHOR’S NOTE: At present, I’m inquiring to see if payments by the Federal Government to the white settlers were made. Seems this is going to be another rabbit hole that I need to travel down to get the rest of the story. Where was the McMahan Fort Located? William McMahan’s Fort: Written by William D. Lay 1998. Constructed date: April, 1810/11 Location: On the Missouri, 2 miles North of Lamine River where it empties into the Missouri River, Samuel Cole (Son of Hannah Cole) said the fort was located on the south side of the Missouri River some 5 miles south from Cooper’s Fort. Judge Frederick Hyatt said the fort was located 4 miles below Arrow Rock on the south side of the Missouri. William Reed, a son-in-law of McMahan had his blockhouse in the east half of the northeast quarter of section 7 township 49 range 18. The fort was thought to be on the hill immediately to the south. Commonly referred to as the Jones Settlement. Many attempts have been made to find the exact location of this fort. However, two hundred years later it is believed that some eager historians, seeking the location with metal detectors, may have found the exact location. Fast Forward over 200 years to March of 2018 - Exploration to Find the Lost Lamine Fort - McMahan Fort By Wayne Lammers - October, 2019 I have two friends who called me one day in the winter of 2018, wanting to do some metal detecting to find some history in the City of Boonville. Knowing that Boonville has been searched for years, I wanted to find something virgin. Lamine was this virgin spot. As I have always known that the area around Lamine is full of history. My mother was born in that small town in 1919 along the tracks of the Missouri Pacific RR. I thought of some of the stories that she had told me living here in Boonville. I knew that General William H. Ashley lived there and ran a fur trading company out west. General Ashley (1780-1838) was an entrepreneur in the Louisiana Territory in the early days of its existence. He made money in real estate and manufacturing in St. Louis, MO, and during the War of 1812, he joined the Missouri Militia where he earned the rank of Brigadier General. At war’s end, he was elected the first Lieutenant Governor of the newly admitted state of Missouri in 1820. Ashley decided to try his luck in the fur trade business, which was quite lucrative at the time. Beaver hats were the height of fashion in Europe, driving massive demand for furs. Ashley decided to employ different methods of trade. The fur trade establishments on the upper Missouri did business by trading with local tribes of Indians. Ashley’s Company employed a few hunters/trappers directly, but most of their furs and skins were obtained through the trading with Indians. Ashley decided to send hundreds of men out to obtain furs directly by hunting and trapping. The men would be paid in furs, keeping half of what they collected as payment. William Ashley famously advertised in St. Louis newspapers in the 1820s: To enterprising young men. “The subscriber wishes to engage one hundred young men to ascend the Missouri to its source, there to be employed for one, two, or three years. For particulars enquire of Major Andrew Henry who will ascend with, and command, the party; or of the subscriber near St. Louis.” Thus, started his career in the fur trade business. He traveled with his company of men in keelboats up the Missouri River. He was very successful in trading with the Indians out west. He was buried inside an Indian mound overlooking the Missouri and Lamine Rivers in 1838. Many local people in the Lamine area have stated that General Ashley was buried in this Indian mound standing up right and that he wanted to watch over the Missouri and Lamine Rivers. This site is only two miles south of the site of the McMahan Fort. I have friends living in the Lamine area who know the early history there. Another old friend, Bob Dyer, who passed away on April 11, 2007, called me about 21 years ago, and asked me to go with him in a search of a Lost Lamine Fort. I had never heard of this. He had an idea where the McMahan Fort might be located which be on a farm on a hillside overlooking the Missouri River on property owned by another friend who will remain anonymous. In respect to these friends, I will not name them. Bob Dyer and I searched the area but found nothing. At that time, we had no metal detectors. On March 23, 2018, my two new friends and I went to this site again to see what we could find using a model Spectra VX3 made by White Metal Detectors, with a 13-inch coil. We were in high hopes to find something that would spur us on in our search of this lost early Lamine pioneer fort. Right away we started getting numerous metal hits in the grid that we laid out in this field overlooking the Missouri River. A nail. Another nail, and more square nails were the first finds of the day. Knowing that this type of nail would not have been used by early pioneers, we were disheartened. Over the years, a family must have built a home on this site resulting in our finding the square nails and other more modern artifacts like hinges, hand irons, meat cleaver, early wrenches, door knobs and so on. This field was semi level, overlooking the Missouri River which was about 400 yards away to the north. We were high enough to see that the river, could have been closer to this field some 200 years earlier. The area we were searching was a field of harvested corn, so searching was rather easy. LOOK what we found! Then it happened…… “A SILVER COIN!” someone cried!!! That’s right, a Spanish Real, dated 1806, and it was in fine shape (see photo below). In the early history of the expansion of the Far West, currency was in its infancy. No one bought things outright with cash. They bartered for things that they wanted. Federal Jacket Button Black Flint from England, supplied to Indians from British, porcelain dish shard Fired Musket Ball - impression from the wadding Cuff Button from Federal Uniform Osage Arrowhead Military Button with Stars Dime and Cuff Button 1806 Spanish Real Front and Back Mike Harris examining artifacts Map lists the settlers of Fort McMahan We were jumping up and down, still screaming to high heavens. This was again, a big find. The date on the old coin was 1806. The same year Lewis & Clark’s Expedition returned from their voyage to find a pathway to the Pacific Ocean. This was unbelievable. On the many trips to the site, we would stay as long as we could. After the finding of the 1806 silver coin, we again, hit the ground running. We started to find quite a few brass and metal buttons that we dated from the late 1700s and early 1800s. Some were made in England with eagles adorned on them which we felt were from an early military uniform. During the War of 1812 the Federal Government sent platoons of armed military units in to the established forts along the Missouri River to protect these early settlers. Forts like Cooper’s Fort, Fort Hempstead, Fort Kincaid, Hannah Cole’s Fort, Stephen Cole’s Fort and McMahan Fort were mostly situated each about 5 miles apart from one another. Many of the military must have stayed at the McMahan Fort for we found many of these military buttons at our site. We found a rusty broad ax that weighed about three pounds that may have been used to fell trees for the construction of the fort. I was told by the owner of the property that a spring was in a ravine about 60 yards to the south of the site. A water spring was so necessary for the livelihood of the pioneers. They needed it for survival. Good clean water for cooking, bathing for watering of animals and so on. He also told me that years ago, it was covered by a land slide that had a large tree on the slid area and stopped the flow of water. With this in mind, we proceeded to see what we could find. As we arrived at the spot, we could see the area that had slid down the embankment. You could tell we were near this spot. We looked under a bunch of fallen branches and found this wonderful running water again, coming up out of the ground (see photo below). Back at the site we found a multitude of lead musket balls scattered all over the site. I found only one that was completely round and had not been fired. The rest were all deformed from impact. We began finding a large quantity of broken pieces of cast iron that were from two to four inches across and about one forth inch thick. Some had little feet and handles on them that looked like they were from a large pot or kettle. Why so many???? And why everywhere???? At one point, we were finding so many cast iron pieces that we started to throw them out of the target field. This puzzled me for months. And then it finally came to me. While the Indians were burning the fort, the Indian braves began destroying all the household articles in the fort, like large kettles, pans and lids, knives, forks and spoons, everything. We found a spoon and fork broken and both bent double. We also found large stones in the area that could have been used for breaking up the cast iron and then scattered the pieces so that the pioneers could no longer use them. The Indians wanted the pioneers to leave this area and be gone… Forever. I consulted with another local historian who said Indians did this very thing when they destroyed a settlement or a fort. Discovered the spring CHECKING MY FINDS WITH EXPERTS On May 9th, 2019 I followed a lead from Michael Dickey who is the Administrator of the Arrow Rock Museum who has been helping me with my story. He advised me to contact Michael D. Harris who is an authority on the War of 1812. He is also a High School History teacher for some 29 years in St. James, MO. Michael D. Harris - War of 1812 in Missouri researcher for 32 years. BS ED in History, Masters in History. Michael Harris is very knowledgeable of the War of 1812 history. Mr. Harris stated “I think this MIGHT be the site (McMahan Fort). I need to see all your artifacts and the site itself before I can give you my honest opinion". So far, everything looks good.” He visited the fort site in June of 2019 to view the artifacts that we found. When I first called Michael Harris, I felt, he thought that I was pulling his leg. Right away he wanted facts and wanted to see artifacts. That same day, I sent him some clear photos that I had taken of the 1806 Spanish coin and what I thought were military buttons. He listened to my ideas on what we had discovered in the field overlooking the Missouri River. He was patient with me and I knew he was digesting my responses. He wasn’t satisfied with just some of the buttons. He wanted to see all of them, front and back. It took some time to send about 30 or so images of buttons, coins, and shot musket balls and etc. to him. Being a novice at this documentation, I had failed to place a scale or ruler by each object showing its size. My mother always told me “If you’re going to do something, do it right.” So, I proceeded to photograph them with ruler in hand. He also wanted to see the Early American Broad Axe that we found. On June 15th, 2019 I met with Michael Harris, Michael Dickey and the metal detector friend, to show all artifacts from the site at Lamine. This is to establish if this is the McMahan Fort Site that we have read about in the early history books from Cooper and Howard Counties, for once and for all. On this date we all sat down to view the multitude of artifact from the site. I was very excited to see what Harris and Dickey had to say about our finds. We met at 10 am and studied the relics for some 2 hours. We wanted to make a bee line, only 4 miles to the fort site. This didn’t happen. The Flood of 2019 stopped us in our tracks. Literally. Two of the 3 roads to the site were flooded by the Missouri River. After about one hour, we walked through the rain and waist high field corn to the hill overlooking the Missouri and Lamine Rivers. While my friend with the metal detector was scanning the ground, I took Michael Harris to the spring near the site. We found the spring flowing a fine stream of water to the Missouri River which was very nearby because of the flooding. We made our way back and found my friend who had found some square nails, earthenware, pottery and some broken Indian points. But nothing to shout out about. It was getting late and Mr. Harris needed to travel a long way home so we said our good-byes and left. When I got home all three of us exchanged emails about the day and our findings. Mr. Harris sent me photos of the washed pottery and earthenware. The metal detector operator did the same with what he and I found. In his bag of goodies, he found a black piece of flint about one inch long, about the size of my thumb nail. In studying it, we think he found a black flint from an early Flint Lock Rifle from the early 1800’s. CONCLUSIONS; Michael Harris wrote me saying: “I saw Mike’s [Mike Dickey] comment about the flint being English and I agree. The best flint came from England and was heavily imported before the war. [War of 1812]. The local flint in Missouri is gray and white as you know. The darker the flint, the better the spark. Yeah, the best flints came from England.” Now, about the fort. Do you have a specific reference to the Fort being on Thomas’ place? As you know, William McMahan had a blockhouse which was burned by the Indians. This was the only reference I have located about a McMahan Fort. We do know that Samuel had two houses on his property which does coincide with the areas you discovered in that field. Either one area is a trash pit or there was a structure there which matches the description.” This was the clincher. This had to be the site of the Lost Lamine Fort that has been gone from our history books for over 200 years…… The McMahan Fort. I believe that this story needs to be told because the people of Lamine should be very proud and need to preserve the heritage and legacy that they possess… Forever. Wayne Lammers - Boonville, MO Settlement in Lamine Township REFERENCES References: (Courtesy of Mike Dickey, Site Administrator, Arrow Rock Historic Site) Google Books – A History of Cooper County Missouri, 1876 Google Books – History of Howard and Cooper Counties, Missouri, 1883 Google Books – History of Cooper County Missouri, 1919 Library of Congress – Illustrated Historical Atlas of Cooper County, 1897 BALTIMORE KENTUCKY AXE HEAD The axe came from Kentucky to settle this new land lived in this area. History also states they built a fort to keep the families safe from roving Indians that were not peaceful to the new invaders who wanted to steal their land. The Indians were supplied by the British to help prevent these settlers from taking a foothold in the land west of the Missouri River. During the War of 1812, the settlers at Fort McMahan, located just 2 miles north of the Lamine River, were at peace. It wasn’t until June and July of 1815, that the Indians did attack this fort and drove all pioneers north across the Missouri River to a well established settlement called Coopers Fort, some 6 miles away. During the summer of 2019, I decided to restore a fine old rusty axe that was found on a hillside of the Missouri River just north of the Lamine River. The summer before I, along with two of my friends, were searching for a lost fort in the Lamine area. History books told us that twelve to fourteen pioneer families that see the fires from their homes and Fort McMahan. They never returned. Fast forward 200 years. I always wanted to fine a piece of history by digging in the earth. My friends felt the same, so I took them to where I thought this Lost McMahan Fort was located. Twenty five years ago my friend Bob Dyer took me to where he thought this fort was located. We had no metal detectors that day but felt it was a good location for an early pioneer fort. My friends and I returned to this site in 2018 looking for artifacts, using a fine metal detector that would indicate that the fort was here. While there, we found a very rusty old axe head that I researched and found that it was a Kentucky Baltimore Axe that dated back to the early 1800’s. I knew I needed to rejuvenate this 200 year old artifact from our early settlers of the Lamine area and the McMahan Fort. I did my research and found the easiest way to rejuvenate it was for me was to soak the axe head in a solution of pure apple cider vinegar for about four days. I checking it every other day or so and used a hammer to chip away some of the hard rust that resisted to leave this early American relic. This took much work to remove the corrosion from the artifact. I used a steal brush to finish it off then put a coat of fine oil on it to preserve the metal. When finished with the restoration of the axe head, I needed to mount it on a fine piece of wood that would complete the project. I had an old broken axe that was used beyond it’s time. I reshaped the handle to make a fine fit for the piece. When done, I feel that I did justice to this 200 year old piece of our early pioneer relic. Restoring Kentucky Axe Head Below this flint was made and shipped from England. England had the best known gun flints that were used at the time. They were superior to what were found and used in the New Frontier. The British supplied the Indians with guns and ammo to fight the pioneers here, during the War of 1812. This was also a major find, indicating that Indians were involved in the attack on Fort McMahan in June of 1816.

20TH CENTURY WARS PARTIAL TIMELINE 1938 : The (U.S.) Naval Reserve Act permitted the enlistment of qualified women as nurses. 1942 : The Women's Reserve of the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve program (officially nicknamed the "SPARs"), was first established in 1942. 1942 : YN3 Dorothy Tuttle became the first SPAR enlistee when she enlisted in the Coast Guard Women's Reserve on the 7th of December, 1942. 1942 : The Marine Corps Women's Reserve (MCWR) was authorized by the U.S Congress in July 1942 to relieve male Marines for combat duty in World War II. 1942 : U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Public Law 689 creating the Navy’s women reserve program on 30 July 1942. 1942 : The U.S. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was founded. 1942 : The name of the U.S. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was officially changed to Women's Army Corps (WAC). 1943 : The U.S. Women's Army Corps recruited a unit of Chinese-American women to serve with the Army Air Forces as "Air WACs." 1944 : Public Law 238 granted full military rank to members of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps , who were then all women. Source: Wikipedia MEXICAN EXPOSITION In 1916 , Pancho Villa, a Mexican bandit, made a raid into New Mexico. General John J. Pershing, of the United States Army, led a force to capture him. Troops from the U.S. tried to find him but failed. Company B, 3rd Infantry of the National Guard from Cooper County went to help in the capture of Villa. This included 67 men under the leadership of Capt. R A. Johnston. They were called to Federal service June 18, 1916. Because of the outbreak of World War I, they had to return. Pancho Villa was never captured. THE KOREAN WAR (1950 ) The Korean War was the first war in history when troops of a world organization, the United Nations, acted as “police” to fight a nation who was attacking another nation. The war began on June 25, 1950 , when troops of Communist-ruled North Korea attacked South Korea in an attempt to unify the country by force. The United Nation Charter had outlawed all aggression so the United Nations asked member countries to aid South Korea. Sixteen countries, who were members of the U.N., sent troops and aid to South Korea. Russia aided the North Koreans by supplying guns, ammunition, planes, and equipment. Communist Chinese forces also entered the war on the side of North Korea. The war ended on July 27, 1953 , when both sides agreed to settle the problems of Korea at an international conference. Several Cooper County men served in the Korean War. KOREAN WAR WEBPAGES HISTORY CHANNEL BRITTANICA IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS UNITED STATES ARMY DIGITAL HISTORY NATIONAL ARCHIVES THE ATLANTIC KOREAN WAR PROJECT EISENHOWER LIBRARY TRUMAN LIRARY NAVY HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND PRESERVING THEIR STORIES: INTERVIEWS WITH WWII, KOREAN, VIETNAM AND IRAQ WAR VETERANS VIETNAM CONFLICT North Vietnam wanted to conquer South Vietnam. Again, Cooper County men served their country. VIETNAM WAR WEBPAGES PRESERVING THEIR STORIES: INTERVIEWS WITH WWII, KOREAN, VIETNAM AND IRAQ WAR VETERANS GULF WAR Iraq took over Kuwait. Kuwait was a major oil supplier to the United States. The war was mainly fought to protect the Persian oil fields. Troops from Cooper County served in the Gulf. GULF WAR WEBPAGES PRESERVING THEIR STORIES: INTERVIEWS WITH WWII, KOREAN, VIETNAM AND IRAQ WAR VETERANS Central Missouri Honor Flights The Central Missouri Honor Flight is a non-profit 501c (3) organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. The group transports our heroes from throughout Central Missouri to Washington, D.C., to visit and reflect at their memorials at no cost to them. Since their inception in 2009 , they have transported thousands of veterans to Washington on 61 flights. Top priority is given to senior veterans – WWII survivors, along with other veterans of Korea and Vietnam who may be terminally ill. They are a totally volunteer organization and are funded by donations from individuals, organizations and businesses who wish to see our aging veterans honored before it is too late. Of all the wars in recent memory, it was WWII that truly threatened our very existence as a nation and free society. Now, with more than 640 WWII veterans dying each day, time to express our thanks to these brave men and women is running out. The picture is of Kathy Wilkerson, a registered nurse from Pilot Grove, who has volunteered for 19 Honor Flights. She is serving here as a Guardian for Kathy Griggs who served as a Marine in the Viet Nam War. The last Honor Flight out of Columbia was in November of 2019 . They did no Honor Flights in 2020 due to COVID, and flights are currently suspended for 2021 . WOMEN IN THE MILITARY Over the years, women have served their country in various ways in the military. Many were nurses, some were doctors, and some were spies, but until the beginning of the Second World War women were rarely active in the military and were not considered to be enlisted, so they were not eligible for any military benefits. But, during the early days of World War II, with many men being called into the Armed Services, women who had never worked before went to work taking men’s places in factories and business, and some into the actual armed services in minor roles. Wikipedia has excellent information on how each military branch accepted women and the various jobs that they did. Especially interesting is information on women pilots who flew the new planes to the airports where they would be then flown into battle by Navy and Airforce pilots. The women had excellent safety records. Unfortunately, women pilots and other women in the Armed Services did not receive the same benefits of the enlisted men, but this has now been changed. “ Hello Girls ” 8 female soldiers who changed the course of US ... - Army Times Partial timeline from Wikipedia 1938 : The (U.S.) Naval Reserve Act permitted the enlistment of qualified women as nurses. 1942 : The Women's Reserve of the U. S. Coast Guard Reserve program (officially nicknamed the "SPARs"), was first established in 1942. 1942 : YN3 Dorothy Tuttle became the first SPAR enlistee when she enlisted in the Coast Guard Women's Reserve on the 7th of December, 1942. 1942 : The Marine Corps Women's Reserve (MCWR) was authorized by the U.S Congress in July 1942 to relieve male Marines for combat duty in World War II. 1942 : U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Public Law 689 creating the Navy’s women reserve program on 30 July 1942. 1942 : The U.S. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was founded. 1942 : The name of the U.S. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was officially changed to Women's Army Corps (WAC). 1943 : The U.S. Women's Army Corps recruited a unit of Chinese-American women to serve with the Army Air Forces as "Air WACs." 1944 : Public Law 238 granted full military rank to members of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps , who were then all women. Information for each Branch of the Military that women have been, and are now members of: WAC - Woman’s Army Core WAVES - Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service WASP - Women’s Air Force Service Pilots SPARS - United States Coast Guard (USCG) Women's Reserve MILITARY MUSEUMS If you have an ancestor who was in a military unit, there are over 250 military museums in the US that you can access online, or in person, to learn more about the unit and possibly even your ancestor(s). There are probably more military museums in the US than you can visit in a lifetime. Just google the branch of service and the state, and you will find tons of information. Below are the military museums in Missouri. Also check all of the military resources under the genealogy section at the beginning of the research section on this website. MISSOURI MILITARY MUSEUMS Jefferson Barracks - 345 North Road, St. Louis, MO 63125 Phone: 314-615-8800 Soldiers Memorial Museum - 5700 Lindell Blvd., St Louis, MO 63112 Phone: 314-746-4599 Soldier’s Memorial Military Museum -1315 Chestnut St., Saint Louis, MO Phone: 314-818-6780 Museum of Missouri Military History - 2405 Logistics Road, Jefferson City, MO, 65101 Phone: 573-638-9603 John Mahaffey Museum Complex - 495 S. Dakota Ave., Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473 Phone: 573-596-6780 Fort Leonard Wood Driving Tour - 316 Missouri Ave BLDG 100, Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473 Phone: 573-336-6355 Branson Veterans Memorial Museum - 1250 W Hwy 76 Country Blvd., Branson, MO 65616 Phone: 417-336-2300 Air & Military Museum of the Ozarks - 2305 E. Kearney St., Springfield, MO Phone (417) 864-7997 Battleship Missouri in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii : The USS Missouri Memorial Association is dedicated to preserving the Battleship Missouri and sharing her story and place in history. The Battleship Missouri Memorial is an American icon that stands in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Battleship welcomes visitors from around the world and is conveniently located less than three miles from the Honolulu International Airport and just eleven miles from Waikiki.

MISSOURIANS AT THE ALAMO On March 6, 1836 , about 187 men (or more, according to some researchers) perished inside the adobe walls of a crumbling mission-turned-fort known as the Alamo at what is today San Antonio, Texas. Under siege for 13 days, the defenders – who were Anglo settlers, fellow American allies, and ethnic Mexican natives in revolt against the central Mexican government - were finally overwhelmed by a superior Mexican army force and killed to the last man in the early morning hours of March 6. Their bodies were then burned. Among those who died that day were six native Missourians: William Charles M. Baker, George D. Butler, Charles Henry Clark, George Washington Cottle, Jerry C. Day, and George W. Tumlinson. It is those men in particular that we talk about today. When we say they were Missourians we mean they were born in the territory that would become the State of Missouri, since we didn't get statehood until 1821 . Now that that is clarified, from this point on we will simply say Missouri instead of Missouri Territory. Like many of the Alamo defenders, not a whole lot is really known about most of the Missourians' backgrounds. William Charles M. Baker was born in Missouri, though we don't know his age, and he later moved to Mississippi. After the Texas Revolution erupted in October 1835 , Baker came to Texas as a volunteer to help in the revolt. He made his way to what was then San Antonio de Bexar and joined a rebel artillery battery that was involved in besieging the town, which at the time was held by national Mexican troops. After the Mexican force eventually surrendered, Baker became part of what I would characterize as a mounted infantry company that was sent elsewhere. However, he returned to San Antonio on January 19, 1836 as captain of a detachment of 30 men led by the famous adventurer Jim Bowie. Baker entered the Alamo fort and never left it again. George D. Butler was born in Missouri in 1813 , making him 23 years old when he died on that chilly March 6th morning. He was probably a member of the New Orleans Greys ("grey" spelled the English way), two companies of volunteers that were raised and equipped in New Orleans for the cause of Texas independence. If so, he would have been uniformed in a grey jacket and pants with a round forage cap and armed with either a military rifle or musket. Unlike most of the Alamo defenders, the New Orleans Greys looked like soldiers. Most of them arrived in time to take an active part in the siege of Bexar, mentioned above. The Greys were reorganized after the siege and most went on to serve the cause elsewhere, but 23 men stayed to help with the garrison's defense. All 23 perished at the Alamo on March 6. Charles Henry Clark, age unknown, was born in Missouri and was a member of the New Orleans Greys, one of the 23 men of his unit who remained behind at the Alamo. Like many men, he may have been on his way to Texas, by way of New Orleans, anyhow to apply for a land grant from Mexico when he enlisted in the Greys to take part in the uprising that would become a fight for Texas independence. Along the march to San Antonio de Bexar, Clark's company was treated to special dinners held in their honor, including one of roasted bear and champagne. Unfortunately for Clark, he would lose his life at the end of the road. George Washington Cottle was born in 1811 in Missouri, though there is a question if he was actually born in Tennessee and came to Missouri as a child. At any rate, since he is listed as a Missourian in some places, we have included him here. His family located to a colony near Gonzales Texas in 1829 . When the war broke out, he fought in the Battle of Gonzales early on. He was later one of the ill-fated 32 Gonzales men who rode to the aid of the Alamo defenders just five days before the slaughter on March 6. His wife gave birth to twin boys after his death. Jerry C. Day was 18 years old when he died at the Alamo. He was born in Missouri and came to Texas with his family. They settled at Gonzales. When the revolution started, the Days got involved, with Jerry's father, Jeremiah Day, becoming a wagoner for the Texan army and also a signer of the Goliad Declaration of Independence, a precursor to the official Texas Declaration by 73 days. Young Day fought in the siege of Bexar, was discharged from service, and then rejoined and became a member of the garrison at the Alamo where he died with the rest of his comrades. George W. Tumlinson was born in Missouri in 1814 . By the time of the Texas Revolution he was living in Gonzales. He enlisted in the revolutionary forces as an artilleryman and served in the siege of Bexar and then as part of the initial Alamo garrison. He was back in Gonzales, however, when the Alamo was surrounded. He probably felt a personal duty to help his comrades at his former post, and was part of the "Immortal 32" men of Gonzales who rode to the relief of the Alamo defenders, only to join them in their doom. So here's to our six fellow Missourians who died in the cause of Texas independence at a now famous place called the Alamo. Hats off, boys! Although we do not know if any of these men were from Cooper County, They deserve great credit for their bravery. Source: Texas State Historical Association

WORLD WAR II (1939 ) Hard times worldwide caused the rise of dictators. Adolph Hitler, dictator in Germany, was a threat to Europeans. Benito Mussolini was a threat in Italy. Europeans felt they had to fight for their freedom. World War II began on September 1, 1939 , when German aircraft, tanks, and motorized troops attacked Poland. By early 1942 all major countries of the world were involved in the war. The war opened the Atomic Age, and brought changes in warfare. Trucks would speed the infantry men to the battle front after aerial bombing. Bombers and guided missiles were used. Airplanes, warships, and ground forces worked together with split second timing during attacks. Paratroops dropped from airplanes or landed in gliders. The war was fought in almost every part of the world. The chief battle grounds were in Asia, Europe, North Africa, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Italy surrendered on September 3, 1943 , Germany on May 7, 1945 , and Japan on September 2, 1945 . General Douglas MacArthur accepted the unconditional surrender on the deck of the battleship U.S.S. Missouri, and took over in Tokyo. A somewhat uneasy peace returned to a war-weary world. The United States was trying to stay out of the conflict, but there were three problems that affected the United States: the Germans were torpedoing Allied shipping, Germany had promised Mexico some American territory, and the U.S. had loaned Britain and France a lot of money. The United States did not enter the war until December 1941 , after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. At Wake Island the Japanese took many prisoners, including a Boonville man, Charles Huber, who was with a construction force. He remained a prisoner until the war ended. The U.S. wanted to stop German and Japanese aggression against other countries. 2,012 men from Cooper County served in World War II. All those serving from Cooper County are listed on a memorial plaque at the Cooper County courthouse. The 54 men killed in action during this war have a star by their names. Thomas Hart Benton Peril of War series painting Embarkation State Historical Society of Missouri Art Collection (1941) The United Stated Entered World War II after the Japanese bombing of the American fleet in Pearl Harbor. (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “Missourians fought on nearly every front of the war with around 450,000 Missouri residents serving in the military. Soldiers from Missouri were stationed in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor came under attack. Missouri soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Each campaign of the war involved Missourians overseas and those who served at home. Shortly after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Thomas Hart Benton worked on The Year of Peril, a series of powerful war paintings financed by medical supplier Abbott Laboratories for the war department. Among the series, Benton honored the soldiers of WWII with this image of a Black soldier who trained in Kansas City. The image foreshadows the desegregation of the armed forces instituted by President Harry Truman after WWII.” (1945) The formal end of WWII took place onboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “WWII raged on from 1939-1945, causing massive devastation in its wake. It would be the deadliest war taking the lives of 60-80 million people, including the 6 million European Jews who were murdered in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. The end of the car came when the U.S. Army Air Force detonated two nuclear bombs over Japan. The dropping of the atomic bombs, along with a Soviet invasion of Japanese-occupied Manchuria in northeastern China put an end to the war. The first unofficial news of surrender came from local radio stations on August 14. Missourians honked car horns, shouted from windows and filled the streets to celebrate the end of the war. In St. Louis, office workers threw paperwork into the air like confetti, while others banged washboards and danced in the streets. The official word came later that day when President Truman confirmed the news. Japanese officers offered unconditional surrender to General Douglas MacArthur and other U.S. and Allied officers on board the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.” Official surrender of Japan is signed on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Sept. 2, 1945, (P0409) State Historical Society of Missouri. WORLD WAR II WEBPAGES HISTORY CHANNEL BRITANNICA NATIONAL WWII MUSEUM NEW ORLEANS 42 MAPS THAT EXPLAIN WORLD WAR II WORLD WAR II DIGITAL HISTORY WORLD WAR II NATIONAL ARCHIVES RECORDS PRESERVING THEIR STORIES: INTERVIEWS WITH WWII, KOREAN, VIETNAM AND IRAQ WAR VETERANS WORLD WAR II IN EUROPE WORLD WAR II LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

ORPHAN TRAINS Wayne Lammers Collection Orphan trains operated in the US from the mid-1880s to about 1929. These trains were a way that social services agencies, one of the first being the Children’s Aid Society, would gather children together and then put them aboard trains destined for the Midwest where people would meet the children at train depots and decide which child they wanted. This was brought about by the horrendous conditions that many children were living under in New York and surrounding areas, where there was no system of foster care or other alternative care systems as we have today. Between 1854 and 1929, an estimated 200,000 or more homeless and orphaned children were sent west from eastern cities, accompanied by agents. The purpose was to find families that would take in children in a “free-home-placing-out” program instituted by the Children’s Aid Society of New York City, New York. The children were sent in groups of twenty-five to 100 on trains, making stops along the way where they might be chosen by some family who wanted a child or needed extra help. Here are the pictures of three children from Orphan Trains that found homes in the Pilot Grove area. Photos and text from the Carolyn Aggelar Collection. Joseph Hastely Born: 1892 Baptized March 16 1892 in NYFH Chapel Arrived on the orphan train in 1887 in Pilot Grove, Mo. 65348 Anton Gerke Family “Lucy” adopted May 24, 1892. Joseph John Lammers Birth April 30 1892 New York, USA Death July 29 1983 at the age of 91 Bakersfield, Kern County, California, USA Buried Union Cemetery Bakersfield, Kern County, California, USA This young man is JOSEPH JOHN KRAMER LAMMERS (1892-1983). He was one of 23 orphans on the Orphan Train that stopped in Pilot Grove, Missouri. He was from the Sisters of Misericordia (Quebec) Catholic Orphanage in New York City. His biological father was Joseph Kramer (23 yrs. old) and his mother was Lina Leyheim (20 yrs. old), both of Germany/New York City. He was placed in the orphanage when he was only 3 days old on May 3, 1892. He was adopted by Henry and Wilhelmina (Von der Haar) Lammers of Chouteau Springs in 1894. His surname then changed to Lammers sometime after 1900. In those early days, known as John Joseph (Kramer) Lammers. In addition, mentioned, in the Last Will and Testament of Henry Lammers, 21 Feb 1914. (Missouri, Cooper County Record of Wills, Vol E, 1910-1918) He worked on the railroad in Sedalia, Missouri; Flathead, Montana, and San Bernardino, California. He raised his family in Bakersfield, California. He had two sons, Paul and Fred and one daughter Joanne who was born in 1957 when he was age 64. He served his country in WW1 in the Navy and was awarded The Purple Heart for his service. His adopted siblings were: Clemens Augustine Lammers (Alice Lammers Schupp’s dad); Fredrick John Lammers; Henry George Lammers; John H. Lammers; Christina Mary Lammers Bradshaw; Frank Peter Lammers Carl E. Nelson, age 10, got off the Orphan Train in Pilot Grove in 1900 and was adopted into the family of Abraham Brownfield. His mother had left him with the Orphan Asylum Society of Brooklyn at just a few years of age. He attended the funeral of his father, who died September 14, 1900, and not long after that his mother inquired at the Society to take him back. But Carl had boarded the Orphan Train on September 21. Ten years later Carl began a two-year series of correspondence in search of his family through the Orphan Society and the New York Department of Health, writing in pencil on a lined pad asking, “And haven’t you got no record of Mr. Nelson’s childrens? Send me their addresses, for I would like to find them so bad, and my mother, too.” His father was identified but his mother had moved. In 1912 he made a personal plea to the president of the Borough of Brooklyn, and a notice was placed in a local newspaper, which was seen by his mother. Carl returned to New York where he was reunited with his mother and siblings, living there for four years and serving in the Coast Guard. He moved back to Pilot Grove and in 1917 married his local sweetheart, Geneva Martin, and they raised a family of three children in his adopted home town. Carl Nelson is my adopted great-uncle. (Bert McClary) The following account covers the reason for the trains and how the process worked. Wien, Missouri is in Chariton County. By Denis Fessler November 10, 2004 The community of Wien, Missouri was settled in the latter part of the 19th century, primarily by individuals of German heritage. Early residents left their families in Germany, Indiana, and other states, and made their way to the fertile fields of north-central Missouri to establish new lives. But some arrived as children with no families other than perhaps a sibling or two. They came from New York City by way of what we call now the Orphan Trains. The Beginning New York City in the 19th century suffered from the same problems as many large urban areas, then as now – overpopulation, unemployment, poverty, prejudice, drugs, crime. Also at that time hundreds of thousands of immigrants were pouring into New York City each year, often penniless upon their arrival. The Statue of Liberty proclaimed: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses”. And so they came. This exacerbated the already significant problem of homeless children – orphans, runaways, or abandoned. Even some caring parents left their infants on the doorsteps of the wealthy, hospitals, and the churches, hoping they might find better lives. An estimated 30,000 children were abandoned on the streets in New York City in 1854. To help remedy this situation, Charles Loring Brace, a 26-year-old Congregational Minister, founded the Children’s Aid Society in 1853. Children were taken off the street, cared for, educated, and taught a trade. But the need soon outgrew the means. So he took up the plan that Boston had tried ten years earlier – sending orphans “West” on trains to families at the various stops along the way who were willing to adopt them. The first train was sent out on September 20, 1854 with 46 ten-to-twelve-year-old boys and girls. Their destination was Dowagiac, Michigan. All 46 children were successfully placed in new homes. This system endured for 77 years, from 1854 to 1930. By the 1870’s the New York Foundling Hospital, run by the Catholic Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul, began sending orphans to Catholic families. Together, an estimated 150,000-400,000 children were sent West on the trains - from Indiana to Kansas, Minnesota to Texas. As many as 100,000 orphans were placed in Missouri. Some 50 became members of the Wien community. The Process The Children’s Aid Society would send notices to local postmasters along the train’s route announcing the time and date a trainload of orphans would arrive in each community. Those notices would be posted in post offices, stores, churches, and newspapers. Typically 25-35 children were placed on a train under the supervision of only 1 or 2 adults (usually a man and a woman), called “agents” (note the railroad term). Initially the children’s ages ranged from 3 to 17, although later this was narrowed to 5 to 12. Sometimes agents preceded the train by several weeks to organize a selection committee and to screen prospective foster parents. Shortly before the day of departure (oftentimes just the night before) the children would be told that they were going on the train, and they would be bathed, their hair tended to, and given new clean clothing. Then they would board the train, and off they went to their new destiny. It was a long trip from New York, but many of the children were able to see for the first-time fields of crops and animals, orchards, forests and large open areas. Upon arrival in one of the projected towns, they would disembark and go to a meeting place such as a church, hotel, courthouse, opera house, or the train depot, and be lined up on a stage or platform at the front of the room. Usually, a local town “committee” had been at work prior to the arrival of the train, trying to line up good potential families for the expected children. At this time, members of the community would be allowed to visit with (and inspect) the children. If a match-up was made between adult and child, and the local committee and placing agents approved, a written agreement was signed. Then the child would leave the group and go on to his/her “new home”. Contact continued thereafter by semi-annual letters and occasional visits by representatives of the Children’s Aid Society. Overall the system worked very well. The orphans had a better chance at life with placement in a new home “out West”, than they did remaining in New York. Thousands of children were removed from lives on the street or in orphanages and placed in loving families. A 1910 report of the Children’s Aid Society gave the final destinations of the children they had sent out on the Orphan Trains. It listed all 48 States plus the District of Columbia and Canada, with the majority going to the Midwest. There were some problems, but these should not detract from the successes of the Orphan Trains. Children were shipped with no certainty that they would be adopted. Some were not, and returned on the train to New York and the orphanage. The children had to face the ordeal of separation from home, leaving familiar surroundings and perhaps parents, brothers and sisters. Some left New York with siblings but were separated upon selection, often to never see their brothers and sisters again. English-speaking children were placed with foster parents who spoke another language (e.g., German), and vice-versa. Sometimes children went from one family to another, to another. Foster parents were also allowed to return children who did not “work out”. Not all orphans were treated well. A record of the Children’s Aid Society noted that in 1871 more than 3,000 orphans were transported at an expense of $31,638, which included train tickets, food and the agent’s salaries – approximately $10 per child! The New York Foundling Hospital Charles Brace required that the adopting home be Christian. However, there were complaints that Catholic children did not always go to Catholic families. This, in part, led the Catholic New York Foundling Hospital to begin sending children on their own version -- the Mercy Trains. Sister Irene Fitzgerald, a Sister of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul, opened the New York Foundling Hospital to help address the monumental problem of homeless and unwanted children. It was incorporated on October 8, 1869. Three days later on October 11th, the Feast of the Maternity of Our Lady, Sister Irene and her two companions, Sister Teresa Vincent and Sister Ann Aloysia, moved into a small house at 17 East 12th Street. Although they expected to spend three months preparing for the opening of the institutions, an infant was laid on the door-step that very first night. Before January 1, 1870, the proposed opening date, they had received 123 babies. When they finally opened the doors formally, a white cradle was placed in the foyer of their building where mothers could anonymously leave their children to be cared for by the sisters. The story of Sister Irene and The New York Foundling Hospital runs parallel with that of Rev. Brace and the Children’s Aid Society. However, there were a few key differences. The Sisters worked in conjunction with Priests throughout the Midwest and South in an effort to place these children in Catholic families, whereas the Children’s Aid Society requested that the children they placed be given spiritual training but left the choice of religion up to the “adoptive” family. Also, the children from the Foundling Hospital tended to be younger than those from the Children’s Aid Society. Probably the largest difference in how the Foundling Hospital placed their children is that the children were not sent out to be “randomly” adopted, but were “requested” ahead of time by families who wanted a child. Requests would be sent to the New York Foundling Home for a child (for example: a 2-year-old, blue eyed, blond haired girl), and then the Sisters would do their best to find a “matching” child. They would then send the requesting family a “receipt” for the child telling when and where the child would arrive by train. This notice requested that the family be at the station ahead of time so as not to miss the train. For each child, the sisters of the hospital made a suit or dress with his or her name and the name of the new parents pinned on the inside of the back collar. When the train arrived, the new parents were to have their “notice of arrival” with them which they were to present to the Sisters. This notice had a number on it that would match up with a child on the train. Once the match was made, the parents would sign the “receipt” for the child, and they were free to leave with their new child. Not everyone embraced the concept of the Orphan Trains. As noted earlier, there were several problems. In Missouri, a law was passed in 1901 forbidding the orphan trains, purportedly because the Children’s Aid Society “is pouring carloads of children into the state without properly supervising them”. Apparently the law was never enforced because it did not stop the trains. The last of the orphan trains came to Missouri in 1929 . By then most states had passed stricter adoption laws and policies. Many Eastern states and cities assumed more responsibility in caring for orphans, and so the trains were no longer needed. Also, the onset of the Depression made it more difficult for families to take on the responsibilities of additional children. But the Orphan Trains left a lasting legacy. Thousands of children left the streets and orphanages of New York, and other large Eastern cities, to find homes with loving families. It was an inexpensive way out of solving juvenile crime. But its greatest triumph was proving the value of foster families, and for that millions of children have benefited since the last train headed west out of New York City carrying homeless children to a new life of hope. This article is written in memory of my great-great-aunt Christine Harmon, who came to Wien on the orphan train in the 1890 ’s and was adopted by my great-great-grandmother Therese Biegel. THE RAILROADS THAT MADE IT POSSIBLE The first railroad line across Missouri was built in 1859 from Hannibal to St. Joseph. This is known today as the Burlington-Northern line that still runs through New Cambria and Bucklin – most likely the final stop for the orphans who were adopted by families around Wien. It was not until 1868 that the first train bridge across the Mississippi River from Illinois to Missouri was built at Quincy. The other railroad line in the area of Wien, known today as the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe, came down out of Southeast Iowa, crossed the Burlington-Northern at Bucklin and went through Marceline on its way southwest. Stations were ultimately built in New Cambria, Bucklin, and Marceline, but a station was not required for the Orphan Train. The trains made “whistle stops” between stations to pick up and drop off passengers, mail – and orphans. Not everyone embraced the concept of the Orphan Trains. As noted earlier, there were several problems. In Missouri, a law was passed in 1901 forbidding the orphan trains, purportedly because the Children’s Aid Society “is pouring carloads of children into the state without properly supervising them”. Apparently the law was never enforced because it did not stop the trains. The last of the orphan trains came to Missouri in 1929. By then most states had passed stricter adoption laws and policies. Many Eastern states and cities assumed more responsibility in caring for orphans, and so the trains were no longer needed. Also, the onset of the Depression made it more difficult for families to take on the responsibilities of additional children. But the Orphan Trains left a lasting legacy. Thousands of children left the streets and orphanages of New York, and other large Eastern cities, to find homes with loving families. It was an inexpensive way out of solving juvenile crime. But its greatest triumph was proving the value of foster families, and for that millions of children have benefited since the last train headed west out of New York City carrying homeless children to a new life of hope. This article is written in memory of my great-great-aunt Christine Harmon, who came to Wien on the orphan train in the 1890’s and was adopted by my great-great-grandmother Therese Biegel. For More Information : An excellent site that covers these trains is found at Social Welfare Orphan Trains. Many books and articles have been written about the Orphan Trains. One of the best, and a source of much of the information in this article, is Orphan Trains to Missouri, by Michael D. Patrick and Evelyn Goodrich Trickel, published in 1997. It is available in libraries and can be purchased on the Internet. Articles on the Internet that I found particularly good, include: A History of the Orphan Trains by Connie DiPasquale The New York Foundling Hospital Orphan Train Heritage Society of America : The Orphan Train Heritage Society of America, Inc. (OTHSA)—founded in 1986 in Springdale (Washington and Benton counties)—preserves the history of the orphan train era, a period when thousands of children were relocated across the country. 614 East Emma Avenue, No. 115, Springdale, AR 72764 501-756-2780 National Orphan Center Complex : There is a museum and research center dedicated to the preservation of the stories of Orphan Train riders and how they lived once they were placed in their adoptive homes. 300 Washington St., P.O. Box 322, Concordia, KS 66901 Email: info@orphantraindepot.org PBS website with links to Orphan Train information

EARLY EXPLORERS (1658) was the date given by local historian, Charles van Ravenswaay, for the first visit by white men to this area. He believed this honor belonged to Pierre Radisson, a French Canadian, and his brother-in-law, Medard Chouart, Sieur des Grosselliers. Radisson wrote in his journal that he had been where the great river (the Mississippi) divided itself. The river was called the “Forked,” because it had two branches: one towards the west, the other towards the north. They went up the Missouri, or the west fork as they knew it. (1673) Father Pierre Marquette and Louis Joliet became the first Europeans to record seeing the Missouri River. “As we were gently sailing down the still, clear water, we heard a noise of a rapid into which we were about to fall. I have seen nothing more frightful, a mass of large trees entire with branches, real floating islands came from Pekitanoui [Missouri River], so impetuous that we could not without great danger expose ourselves to pass across. The agitation was so great that the water was all muddy, and could not get clear. The Pekitanoui is a considerable river coming from the northwest and empties into the Mississippi. Many towns are located on this river and I hope to make the discovery of the Vermilion or California Sea [Pacific Ocean].” Pekitanoui in the language of Marquette’s Peoria Indian guides meant “Great Muddy.” However the two explorers did not venture up its turbid waters. The next European to record the Missouri was Robert Sieur de la Salle. He claimed the drainage of the Mississippi River for France. He passed the mouth of the Missouri River on September 1, 1682 . He did not ascend the river but wrote that its “water is always thick and to which our Indians did not forget to offer sacrifice.” The “sacrifice” would have been a gift of tobacco placed in the water to placate a water spirit, the Underwater Panther. It was plea for the Underwater Panther to allow them to pass peacefully and not pull them into the river to drown. In 1683 , LaSalle wrote that two Frenchmen had been captured by the Missouria tribe and had been living in their villages since 1680 or 1681. In May or June of 1683, two unnamed French traders accompanied by Kaskaskia (Iliniwek) Indians visited the Missouria and Osage, with the goal of establishing peace and trade. It seems likely that these men or the ones recorded by LaSalle were the origin of the Osage tradition about meeting white men for the first time. The last mention of the Missouri River in the 17th century was by Father Jerome St. Cosme in 1698. He sought native converts to Catholicism but said little about the river itself. In 1700 an unidentified writer told Governor Iberville in the capital of Biloxi that the land west of the Mississippi beyond three or four leagues (10-15 miles) was unknown. Pierre-Charles Le Sueur reported that on the Missouri River there were tin and lead mines. He also described the Missouria tribe as the first people to be encountered when going upriver. Father Marest of the Kaskaskia mission in the Illinois Country also described in 1700 the Kaw, Pawnee, Otoe and Ioway tribes along the Missouri and said that they all had Spanish horses. However neither man had been on the Missouri River. Rather they got these reports from Indians visiting trade centers in Illinois. In 1702 Father Marc Bergier in Illinois asked for permission to establish a mission among the Pawnee and Kaw on the Missouri River. He wanted to go to them because the “Osage were too numerous and the Missouria were reduced to nothing.” It is possible he was referring to one the first of many smallpox epidemics that began reducing the Missouria who were described as “once the most powerful nation on the Missouri River.” The Osage said that the Missouria were too friendly with the French and as a result the weluschka, Little Mystery Men, living inside the white men caused many Missouria to sicken and die. In 1703 Governor Iberville reported that a party of 20 Canadians departed Cahokia intent on reaching New Mexico via the Missouri River. The commonly held belief was that the headwaters of the Missouri formed near the silver mines north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. On September 6, 1704 Governor Bienville reported that parties of French-Canadian traders were traveling on the Mississippi and Missouria in bands of seven or eight. Undoubtedly, courier des bois (woods runners) had been on the Missouri for years to hunt or trade with Indians. However, these people were illiterate and their activities were often unknown to the territorial government. The first definite and detailed exploration of the Missouri was by Etienne Veniard de Bourgmont in 1714 . Bourgmont married into the Missouria tribe and also lived for a period with the Osage. A map produced in 1717 from Bourgmont’s notes presented a reasonably accurate map of the Missouri from its mouth to the mouth of the Platte River in Nebraska. Groups of French-Canadian hunters and traders continued pressing further upriver each year. By the time the French secretly surrendered Louisiana to Spain in 1762 , the Missouri River as far as the Niobrara River in Nebraska, was well known to traders from St. Louis. Spain on the other hand was slow to press any further exploration of the Missouri River. In the meantime British traders from Hudson Bay and the Northwest Company began trading with the Mandan and Hidatsa in North Dakota. Spanish officials formed the “Missouri Company” to counter British activities on the Missouri River. Jean Baptiste Truteau was commissioned to explore the river and establish a trading post for the Mandan. He got underway in the spring of 1794, but was robbed of his trade goods by the Teton Lakota (Sioux) and did not return to St. Louis until 1796 . In 1795 another expedition departed St. Louis under the leadership of a man named Lecuyer, to support Truteau. Lecuyer stopped at a Ponca village near the mouth of the Niobrara River where he took up residence and at least two wives. It was reported that he “wasted a great deal of the goods of the Company." James Mackay, a Scotsman had traded with the Mandan as early as 1787. He became disaffected with the British and became a citizen of Spanish Louisiana in 1793 . He and John T. Evans were commissioned to proceed up the Missouri, make allies with Indian nations, expel the British and find a route to the Pacific Ocean. They departed in August of 1795 with thirty men and four pirogues with trade goods for the Arikara, Sioux, and Mandan. The built a small fort at the Otoe village and made an alliance with the Omaha, where they built Fort Charles. After spending the winter with the Omaha, Evans proceeded to the Mandan in June of 1796 but was delayed by the Arikara. He took possession of a British fort in June and raised the Spanish flag in the Mandan village. However his trade goods were low and the British traders undermined his efforts with a large supply of superior trade goods. Mackay and Evans returned to St. Louis in the summer of 1797 . Although their mission failed to establish a strong Spanish presence on the upper Missouri River, their journals, tables of physical features and maps from their expedition would be of great benefit to the Lewis and Clark Expedition seven years later. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark are noted for their exploration from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. President Jefferson requested funding to explore Louisiana in January of 1803 , before Napoleon even offered to sell the territory. After the U.S. acquired the territory on April 3, 1803, impetus was added to the need for an expedition to explore the new land. Jefferson’s appointed his secretary, Meriwether Lewis, and Lewis’s friend William Clark, to lead the expedition. Their mission was to meet and inform Indian nations along the way, of America’s ownership of the territory and also search for a water route to the Pacific Coast, the fabled “Northwest Passage.” They were also to record the plant, animal and geologic features they encountered. They traded and explored along the Missouri River. This area was becoming fairly familiar to whites by 1800. The voyages of exploration were about to come to an end. (1804) The Corps of Discovery, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, leaves St. Louis up the Missouri River to find a trading route to the Pacific (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “The Corps of Discovery, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, leaves St. Louis in a 55-foot keelboat to begin an epic two-year journey westward up the Missouri River to reach the Pacific Ocean near present-day Astoria, Oregon. Among the crew members was Shoshone Indian and translator Sacagawea joined the corps at the Hidatsa villages during the winter of 1804-1805 while she was six months pregnant and gave birth along the way. She was familiar with the terrain having grown up in the region of the Rocky Mountains. Sacagawea was one of the wives to a French-Canadian fur trader, who was a member of the crew. U.S. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the expedition to explore the Missouri River, make diplomatic contact with Indians, expand the American fur trade, and locate the Northwest Passage - a then hypothetical northwestern water route to the Pacific Ocean.” LEWIS and CLARK’s expedition was commissioned by the U.S. Government in 1804 to explore the upper Missouri and search for its source. Additionally, the U.S. had just acquired the Huge Louisiana Territory, and didn’t know what they had. While the official reason for the expedition was to explore the upper Missouri River, President Jefferson secretly hoped they would find a river route to the Pacific. On June 6, 1804 they arrived near the mouth of Moniteau Creek. Nearby they observed the bluff was covered with pictographs (paintings) done by American Indians. This place was infested with rattlesnakes, making a closer look dangerous. They camped for the night of June 7, near the mouth of the Bonne Femme River. They crossed the Lamine River on June 8th and Clark wrote that the river was navigable for 80 to 90 miles. They camped for the night on “Island of Mills” later known as Arrow Rock Island. On the 9th, they passed the Arrow Rock bluff. The expedition returned in 1806, camping on September 18th on the north side of the river opposite the mouth of the Lamine. On their expedition, they camped for the night of June 7, 1804 , near where the Bonne Femme flows into the Missouri River on the north side. When they arrived at the mouth of Moniteau Creek, they found a point of rocks covered with strange hieroglyphic paintings that deeply aroused their interest. This place was infested with a large number of rattlesnakes, making a closer look dangerous and almost impossible. As they traveled further up the river, they arrived at the mouth of the Lamine on June 8th. On the 9th, they reached what is now Arrow Rock. On their return trip in 1806, they passed the present sites of Boonville and Franklin. This area was becoming fairly familiar to whites by 1800. The voyages of exploration were about to come to an end. References : Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Arrow Rock State Historic Site Lewis and Clark Expedition - excellent information and maps John James Audubon (1785 – 1851) was a naturalist, ornithologist and painter. He combined his interests and planned to make a complete pictorial record of all bird species in North America. In the course of collecting and illustrating birds, he is credited with discovering 25 new species. In 1804 he became the first person to band birds to study their movements and nesting patterns. Audubon was working in southeast Missouri when the New Madrid earthquake struck in 1811, but his residence survived the general destruction. During his wanderings in Missouri and Arkansas, he fell in with hunting parties of Osage and Shawnee Indians learning about local wildlife from them. In 1843, he journeyed up the Missouri River and arrived in Cooper County on March 29: “We were off at five this rainy morning, and at 9 A.M. reached Boonville distant from St. Louis about 204 miles. We bought at this place an axe, a saw, three files, and some wafers; also some chickens, at one dollar a dozen. We found here some of the Santa Fe traders with whom we had crossed the Alleghenies. They were awaiting the arrival of their goods, and then would immediately start”. Audubon cared about the animals and plants he studied. He published Birds of America between 1827 and 1838 containing prints of 435 species of birds that he painted. Original editions of his prints are collector’s items and his works are still used for reference. In 1905 , the Audubon Society became the first conservation organization in North America. Today it has about 300 branches and clubs. Adapted from “Discover Cooper County by Looking Back” by Ann Betteridge

FIRE DEPARTMENTS IN COOPER COUNTY There are 18 fire departments in Cooper County, Missouri, serving a population of 17,620 people in an area of 565 square miles. There is one fire department per 978 people, and one fire department per 31 square miles. In Missouri, Cooper County is ranked 26th of 115 counties in Fire Departments per capita, and 27th of 115 counties in Fire Departments per square mile. List of Cooper County Fire Departments Today Find Cooper County, Missouri fire departments, city fire stations, firefighters, brigades, chiefs, inspectors, marshals, and local volunteers. Blackwater Fire Department 301 Trigg Street Blackwater, MO Blackwater Rural Fire Department 301 Trigg Avenue Blackwater, MO Boonville Fire Department 500 Bingham Road Boonville, MO Boonville Fire Department - Substation 6th Street Boonville, MO Bunceton City Fire Department 115 East Main Street Bunceton, MO City Of Pilot Grove Fire Department 109 Main Street Pilot Grove, MO Clifton City Fire Department State Highway BB Otterville, MO Cooper County Fire Protection District 17010 Highway 87 Boonville, MO Cooper County Fire Protection District Station 1 16994 Missouri 87 Boonville, MO Cooper County Fire Protection District Station 2 11500 Santa Fe Road Boonville, MO Cooper County Fire Protection District Station 3 25201 Missouri 179 Boonville, MO Cooper County Fire Protection District Station 4 14847 Missouri 5 Boonville, MO Otterville Fire Protection District 321 State Highway BB Otterville, MO Otterville Fire Protection District 3530 Old Route 50 Otterville, MO Pilot Grove Rural Fire Department 209 Main Street Pilot Grove, MO Prairie Home Rural Fire Association 480 Main Street Prairie Home, MO Prairie Home Rural Fire Protection District 466 Main Street Prairie Home, MO Versailles Fire Department 104 Spruce Street Bunceton, MO About Cooper County Fire Departments Cooper County Fire Departments provide fire protection and emergency response services to the Cooper County, MO community with a mission to prevent the loss of life and property. In addition to responding to calls for fire suppression, Cooper County Fire Departments respond to medical emergencies, incidents involving hazardous materials, rescue calls, and motor vehicle or other accidents.

FIRST PERMANENT SETTLERS The name of the first white man who set foot on the territory that is now the State of Missouri is not known, nor is it known at what period the first settlements were made. It is thought that the first settlements were made in the autumn of 1735 by the French at Saint Genevieve. Daniel Boone was 65 years old when he walked to Missouri from Kentucky in 1799. He settled in the Femme Osage country near St. Charles and spent his last 21 years in Missouri. However, Boone never lived in the area that is known today as Cooper County. On one of his hunting expeditions, Boone came into Howard County and discovered a salt spring about eight miles northwest of New Franklin. Daniel Boone’s sons established a salt works at this location. The area soon came to be known as “Boone’s Lick” and from that the whole region took its name. Hannah Cole Monument at Laura Speed Elliott School Hannah Cole s tatue and the b usts of influential Boonville citizens in the background. Morgan Street Park - Located at the corner of Main and Morgan Streets. November 6, 2005 by Wayne Lammers Wayne Lammers holding one of Hannah Cole's sons flintlock rifle, standing beside the Hannah Cole statue at Main and Morgan Streets DANIEL BOONE It has been written that Daniel Boone visited his first cousin, Stephen Cole, and Hannah Cole, widow of Stephen’s brother, William T. Cole, at the Cole's’ fort. The fort was located where the present Boonville is today. Boone died in 1820 at his home in what is now Marthasville, at the age of 86. References: In 1805 Daniel Boone, who then lived near St. Charles, discovered the Boone’s Lick Salt Springs, in Howard County, thirteen miles from Boonville, where Nathan and David Boone, his sons, settled and made salt from 1806 to 1810. This seems to have been the earliest settlement in Central Missouri, and from it an indefinite region, from St. Charles westward, on both sides of the river, was called the ‘Boone’s Lick Country.’ Other settlers followed, and as early as 1810 a small community had built and occupied Kincaid’s Fort, a few hundred yards up the river from the present site of Old Franklin (directly opposite Boonville) www.mogenweb.org/cooper , while another was established in Cooper’s Fort. Boone died in 1820 at his home in what is now Marthasville, at the age of 86. A direct descendant of Boone gave her opinions on these books on Boone, along with her critiques of them. Most can probably be found in state libraries or on Amazon, but some may only the available from a "used" book seller. Biographical Memoir of Daniel Boone by Timothy Flint. (This was written during Boone's life time --1833 and was sold as non-fiction when in fact is almost all fiction, and Daniel was very unhappy with the way it was written. Daniel Boone (The life and legend of an American Pioneer) by John Mack Faragher. This is fairly accurate book but not an easy read. My Father Daniel Boone--This is from the Draper Interviews with Nathan Boone (Daniel's youngest son) and edited by Neal O. Hammon. The Draper Interviews are believed to be very accurate and this is after all from the memory of Daniel's youngest son. Because the Draper Interviews are difficult reading and written in an "old time" style, Mr. Hammon has tried to clarify some of the language. Boone A Biography by Robert Morgan. I really like this book. It is over 450 pages but I found it to be an easy read. “The writer has obviously done a lot of research and I felt I had a better understanding of Daniel after I read this book.” Norma Johnson. EARLY LAND OWNERS Joseph Marie settled upon land in Franklin township, Howard County in 1800 . The land was sold on April 13, 1816 , to Asa Morgan in the first deed recorded in Howard County. Morgan, an early resident of Howard County, and Charles Lucas, a St. Louis resident, laid out the town of Boonville on August 1, 1817. Ira P. Nash was granted land in Howard County in 1800 . He came to the site in February, 1804, remained a month and went home. In July of the same year, Nash and four others returned and surveyed, but did not stay. THE COLE FAMILY - FIRST PERMANENT SETTLERS IN COOPER COUNTY Stephen Cole and William Temple Cole were born in New River, Virginia. They married sisters with the last name of Allison, and moved to Cumberland, Kentucky. In 1807, they came to Upper Louisiana Territory, and settled on Loutre Island, across the river from the present-day town in Hermann, Missouri, about the same time that the Coopers settled on that island. In 1810, a band of Indians stole seven horses from the Loutre Island settlers. The Cole brothers were among the volunteers that pursued the Indians. Two days into the pursuit the volunteers, while sleeping, were ambushed by Indians. William Cole and others were killed. It is written that Stephen Cole killed four Indians, wounded a fifth, and sustained 26 wounds before he escaped and found his way back to Loutre Island. A month later, Hannah Cole, widowed and almost 50, and her nine children, plus Stephen Cole, his wife Phoebe, and their five children, accompanied a group of men, led by Benjamin Cooper, on an overland Journey into the wilderness. The group arrived at a point just upriver from the present town of Boonville on the north side of the Missouri River. The Coopers decided to settle there; however, the two Cole families decided to cross the Missouri River to the south side and build their cabins on the east edge of what would later become Boonville. The families of Hannah Cole and Stephen and Phoebe Cole settled in what is now Cooper County in 1810 . At that time there were no other white Americans living in Missouri west of Franklin and south of the Missouri River. The families that settled north of the Missouri, were the Cole's nearest white neighbors, but most of these were two or three miles distant. The seventeen members of the Hannah Cole and Stephen Cole families made the first settlement in what is now Cooper County. The Coles lived for nearly two years with their closest neighbors across the Missouri River. Some of their activities included raising corn crops and tending them with a cow hitched up to a plow. In the fall and winter of 1812 other families settled nearby on the south side of the river. The first shelter they built was a cabin built of round logs notched together at the corners, ribbed with poles, and covered with boards split from trees. The one room cabin had a fireplace, puncheon floors, a clapboard door, a window, sometimes covered with greased paper, and furniture made from trees. Artist's Conception of Hannah Cole's Fort This is not the Cole Fort, as that fort was constructed in 1812-1813. This a later building built on the solid rock bluff and was also easy to defend. Barn with windlass Bluff reduced for two sets of rails in late 1870's Here is believed to be a very early photo of the stone outcropping where Hannah Cole’s Fort was located in the early 1800's in east Boonville. This image was taken by early photographer James McCurdie in the 1870's. Years later, the Boonville rock quarry would be located in that area, when the Missouri Pacific RR constructed the rails on the River Route down to Jefferson City. This railroad company had to blast away and remove much of this outcropping for the rails to continue down river. Note: The windlass to the left of the barn on top of the outcropping reaching down to the water's edge, was to supply water for the people and animals up on top. The early settlers had a similar windlass to supply water for those inside the fort that allowed them to be able to withstand the attacks of the Indians during the War of 1812. When these pictures were taken, Hannah Cole no longer lived in the old fort, as she moved farther into central Cooper County in the early 1840s and died in 1843. It is unknown at this time, who lived in the old fort after the Coles left. There does not seem to be a lot of information available about Hannah Cole. The same facts seem to be repeated over and over on various documents. However, Hannah must have been an excellent and generous leader. She opened her fort to her neighbors who were seeking safety during the buildup to and during the War of 1812. She made provisions for the children in her fort to receive an education and arranged for religious services to be conducted at the fort as early as 1811. She was evidently interested in politics and her fort was the location of the first County Seat of Howard County. The first circuit, county, and probate sessions were held there in 1816 and it was a polling place in the election of 1819. Her fort also served, at one time, as a community center, post office, hospital and a place for hunters to cast bullets for their flintlocks. In 1817 her fort became the first school house, although it is known that children in the fort were also taught during the war. She also was a business woman who was granted a license for a ferry on the Missouri River, which was operated by her sons. Reference: 1998 Wm. D. Lay In 1843, Hannah moved 13 miles south of Boonville from her fort on the bluff overlooking the Missouri River to a cabin where she lived with Lucy, her beloved slave. She died in 1843 at the age of 79, and is buried in Briscoe Cemetery near Bunceton. Sadly, very little information is available about Hannah’s sister Phoebe, and brother-in-law Stephen Cole and their family. We know that the two families traveled together to Missouri and were the first white Americans to settle on the south side of the Missouri River. Stephen supervised the building of Hannah’s and his own fort. Stephen died near Santa Fe, New Mexico when attacked by Indians. He and Hannah Cole's son (his nephew), were journeying down the Santa Fe Trail in about 1822. We do not know if there is a marked grave. Phoebe died in 1825 in Cole County, but no more information is available on her passing or her grave. We do know that some of the Cole family went to Southern Missouri. These three early settlers and their children must also have been very courageous and strong of character to venture into the unknown and make their home here. We are grateful that they did! - Barbara Dahl, Editor References: Bicentennial Boonslick History p 12-13 Cole Family Records Discover Cooper County by Ann Betteridge Talk by Bob Priddy for Cole Reunion August 9, 2020 Cole Family Association Facebook Cole Family Mysteries Cole Family Reunion, August 9, 2020 Talk given by Bob Pritty Cooper County was named after Sarshell Cooper, a relative of Steven Cole, (Hannah’s husband) and a well-known and greatly admired frontiersman, Indian fighter and War of 1812 hero. He was a friend of the Cole family and is the one who originally showed the Coles the best place to cross the Missouri River. We may wonder why Cooper County was not named Cole County, honoring the first white family to set foot on the South side of the Missouri River. Possibly, a reason may have been that Hannah Cole, the leader of the group, was a woman, and in the 1800’s, women were not credited as leaders or founders of anything. But, honoring Sarshell Cooper was a wonderful way to recognize a true American hero who was well known in the area. There is a Cole County in Missouri, which was established November 16, 1820, and named after Stephen Cole, Hannah’s brother-in-law. He was a lawyer, originally from Virginia. He was also a Justice of the Peace in Missouri, and laid out the original Howard County seat in Franklin, and a member of the Legislature. He was highly regarded in Missouri. He was an early trader on the Santa Fe trail and he and his nephew, also named Stephen Cole, were killed by Navajo Indians near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Cole County is the site of the State Capitol of Missouri. Source: Bob Priddy Mike Dickey wrote the following after reading Mr. Priddy's talk: I would advocate that Bob’s Priddy's article be posted in total if possible on the section of the Cole family/Cole Fort. It is about the best detective work regarding the Cole dilemma that I have seen. Something Bob Priddy said is key to interpreting the whole Territorial – War of 1812 period: “oral history, while valuable, can be flawed.” It is extremely difficult to tie down many events and family histories during this period. Governor Lewis ordered the Coopers out of the Boonslick in 1808 because it was still un-ceded Indian territory. From the federal governments point of view, the Boonslick would now be open for settlement regardless of claims to the region by the Sac & Fox and Ioway. I have not checked the Missouri Gazette for an announcement of the ratification, but it is quite possible that it was several weeks before the news made it to St. Louis and then Loutre Island. Thus, a move by the Cole family from the Loutre settlement to the Boonslick in July or later of 1810 would make far more sense than February 1810 (not to mention the weather). The Osage signed the land cession treaty on November 10, 1808. Congress ratified the treaty April 28, 1810.

EARLY CHURCHES Very early church. Notice two entrance doors – one for men, one for women. Segregated seating divided by a wall. Drawing by Florence "Winky" Friedrichs Adapted from “Discover Cooper County” by Ann Betteridge The settlement of the County and the organization of the first churches took place at the same time. Throughout the centuries, missionaries often accompanied the first advance of civilization, and such was their coming in Cooper County. The first Americans who rushed into the Boonslick area were predominantly Protestant, and it was a race between the Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians. Later, by steamboat, came the Episcopalians, the German Catholics and Evangelicals. By arriving in family or neighborhood groups from various “Old Countries,” they continued their old community in the new. The pioneer considered his church to be of primary importance. When a new settlement was established, a church would usually be organized. The pioneers lived humble lives and many practiced their faith each day. The early churches were held in the people’s homes, which were log cabins and huts. The early preachers preached the same gospel that is preached today in huge magnificent buildings. They had a faith that was earnest and simple like that of the early Christians. An interesting story about an early minister named Reverend Pennywell Peter Woods, who was one of the first ministers of Mt. Nebo Baptist Church, organized in 1820 just north of Bunceton. He grew up as a Presbyterian, believing Baptists were unworthy of respect from honorable and high-minded persons. His brother joined the Baptists, disgracing the family. Peter read the New Testament to learn about the true church and the true baptism, placing a red string at each mention of sprinkling and a blue string for each mention of immersion in the Bible. All the strings were blue and he threw his Bible down in disgust. But soon he was a pioneer itinerant Baptist preacher. It is not known when Peter first visited the Boonslick. Samuel Cole, the youngest son of Hannah Cole, stated the first preacher in the area was Peter Woods, and the Cole family history states that Peter Woods conducted the first worship service on the south side of the river in Hannah Cole’s cabin in 1811 . THE FIRST ORDAINED BAPTIST MINISTER IN COOPER COUNTY Luke Williams was the first ordained Baptist minister in Cooper County. He preached without fee or reward as the early settlers had nothing with which to pay him. Cooper County was little more than a wild territory. He used to say, “I need no money to travel among brethren and friends.” He traveled on foot over a large part of the territory when visiting the members. When he was not engaged in preaching, he supported himself and his family by working on his farm. An early settler recalled a church meeting he had attended before statehood, at which Luke Williams was the minister. Luke Williams was dressed in a complete set of buckskin clothes. Many of the worshipers were likewise attired. The lady was new to the area, having just moved there from North Carolina. The appearance of the congregation so upset her that she cried during the entire service. Also, at the service, grease from bear meat stored in the loft of the house where they were worshiping, dripped down and spoiled her shawl. At that time, in the wilderness, the shawl could not be replaced. THE FIRST CHURCHES IN COOPER COUNTY In 1817 , the first church building in the County was built. It was named Concord Church, and was located about six miles south of Boonville near Bunceton. It was a Baptist Church and the first minister to preach there was Luke Williams. Later, Luke Williams was pastor of Mt. Nebo Baptist Church from 1820-1823 . When he died, the church members gratefully provided for his widow. About the same time, in the same area, a small group of Baptists were meeting in various homes. Eventually, in 1837 , the Vine Church was constructed across the road from the Concord Church. The Concord Church and the Vine Church merged in 1847 . The Church celebrated their Centennial anniversary in 1917 , and disbanded in 1919 . The cemetery is still there, but no trace of either church remains. Other early church congregations that were founded were: 1818 Nelson Memorial United Methodist – Boonville 1819 Pisgah Baptist – Pisgah 1820 Cumberland Presbyterian – New Lebanon 1820 Mt. Nebo Baptist – Pilot Grove 1821 First Presbyterian – Boonville 1821 Otterville Presbyterian Church – Otterville The Nelson Memorial Church was the first Methodist Church in the Western Conference in Missouri, and held the very first religious service in Boonville in 1817 . It built its third church at the same location in 1915 . Early churches were held in homes until sufficient funds were raised and the actual church could be built. Most of the early churches were built from logs, similar to the way early homes were built. Later, many churches were also built from wood, but the logs still had to be cut, sawed into planks and smoothed with planes - all by hand. Some were built using bricks that were usually made on site. Building a church without modern tools was a true labor of love. Often, churches also served as early schools until rural one-room schools became available. Sadly, many of the early churches are gone without a trace of where they had once been. Some were torn down and a new one built, and if the congregation dwindled down in size, or a new church, closer to town claimed the congregation, the original church was abandoned or used for another purpose. A few churches were damaged or destroyed during the Civil War. Abandoned churches were often torn down and the materials used elsewhere by thrifty settlers, leaving no trace as to where the church had been. Some churches were destroyed by tornadoes or lightning, and others by fires. Churches then and now were not without serious disagreements between the members. The Mt. Nebo church was very prosperous until about 1826 , when there arose a division due to a difference of opinion on the question of paying ministers and sending missionaries among the “heathen” nations. After considerable excitement, and several stormy meetings, the two factions separated. John B. Longan, who was leader of the faction who favored paying the ministers and sending abroad missionaries, drew off a large majority of the members of the congregation, and built a church at Henry Woolery's mill, which was called "New Nebo” Church. The opposing faction continued in possession of "Old Nebo” Church," and still holds services. There seems to be no record of what happened to the “New Nebo” Church. The Civil War caused divisions within the churches. Many of the early parishioners were originally from the South and favored secession, while others strongly favored staying with the Union. Many churches did not hold services during the Civil War as members feared for their safety. Small towns flourished during the heyday of railroads, but once the railroads left the area or bypassed the towns, businesses closed, populations moved and the membership of churches suffered a reduced number of parishioners. Several of the early churches in Cooper County were founded by German immigrants. It was very common for these immigrants to conduct their services and teach their schools in German only. This changed quickly once World War I started. It is wonderful that so many of the early County churches are still in existence, and that they are still ministering to the needs of their parishioners. (See chart below for church name, date of founding, when the latest church was built, if it is still active, the location, plus if a church is associated with a cemetery (If the congregation built more than one church, the most recent date is listed.) Unfortunately, dates of the construction of a 2nd or third church seem to vary, depending upon which early history book you read. Founding dates are believed to be fairly accurate. Also, many of the records of the early churches, and some not so early, are cannot be found. If a church no longer exists, it is not listed. LISTING OF ALL PAST AND PRESENT CHURCHES & Their History Name, location, date established and cemetery, church information and records: Cooper County Churches General Information on Townships and Old Cooper County Churches BLACKWATER TOWNSHIP Town Blackwater Churches Blackwater Church of Christ - 307 Scott Ave. 660-846-2821 Blackwater United Methodist Church - Established 1887, Not Active BOONVILLE TOWNSHIP Towns Boonville Windsor Place Unincorporated town: Billingsville Churches Christ Episcopal Church – Established 1835, Active, No cemetery First Baptist Church – Established 1843, Active, No cemetery First Christian Church D.O.C. – Established 1887, Active, No cemetery First Presbyterian Church – Established 1821, Active, No cemetery Morgan Street Baptist – Established 1865, Active, No cemetery Mt. Hermon Baptist Church – Established 1868, 13394 B Hwy. Active, Cemetery Nelson Memorial Methodist Church – Established 1817 Active, No cemetery St. Johns United Church of Christ Billingsville – Established 1855, Active, Cemetery St. Mathew AME Church – Established, Active, No cemetery Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church – Established 1851, Active, Cemetery West Boonville Evangelical Church – Established 1893, Not Active, Cemetery CLARK’S FORK TOWNSHIP Unincorporated towns: Clark’s Fork and Lone Elm Churches Zion Lutheran Church – Lone Elm. Established 1896, Active, Has Cemetery Trinity Lutheran Church – Clark’s Fork. Established 1863, Active, Has Cemetery CLEAR CREEK Unincorporated Towns C lear Creek Pleasant Green Churches Pleasant Green Methodist Church – Established 1825, Active; Cemetery St John’s Catholic Church Clear Creek – Established 1850, Active; Cemetery KELLY TOWNSHIP Town Bunceton Link to general information Churches Federated Church of Bunceton – Established 1871, Active, No Cemetery Bunceton Baptist Church – Established 1887, Active, No Cemetery Bunceton United Presbyterian Church – Established 1860, Active, No Cemetery 5 additional cemeteries listed – Chilton, Hopewell, Howard, Masonic and Woods. LAMINE TOWNSHIP Unincorporated Town Lamine Churches Old Lamine Church of Christ – Established 1843, Active, Large cemetery Douglas Weekley-660-621-1167 Peninsula Baptist Church – Established 1873, Active, Large Cemetery Other Cemeteries William Henry Ashley – Burial Site (where the Lamine and Missouri rivers meet) ; Herndon Family Cemetery , Higgerson Family Cemetery , Hoke Family Cemetery , Samuel McMahan Family Cemetery , Thomas McMahan, Jr. Family Cemetery , Thomas McMahan, Sr. Family Cemetery Schuster Family Cemetery , Turley Family Cemetery LEBANON TOWNSHIP Unincorporated Town New Lebanon Churches New Lebanon Cumberland Presbyterian Church – Established in 1820. Stopped holding services in 1968. A cemetery is associated with this church Cemeteries New Lebanon Cemetery Additional Information Cooper County MoGenWeb Cooper County MoGenWeb Chapter 4 NORTH MONITEAU TOWNSHIP Unincorporated town Pisgah No map exists, but Pisgah is on Missouri Route O, 8 miles east of Bunceton Churches Pisgah Baptist Church – organized June 19, 1818, present building erected 1926 – Active membership Pisgah Baptist Cemetery nearby South Moniteau Township Overview MoGenWeb Pisgah Baptist Church Missouri Gravestones SOUTH MONITEAU TOWNSHIP No towns No churches Cemeteries Renshaw Smiley OTTERVILLE TOWNSHIP Town Otterville-First called Elkton, organized in 1836 Unincorporated town Clifton City Churches Otterville Methodist Episcopal Church South – organized in 1869 Active; No Cemetery First Baptist Church of Otterville – organized in 1866 , Active, No cemetery Otterville Presbyterian Church – organized in 1882 , Active, No cemetery St. Joseph’s Catholic Church – Clifton City – established in 1882 , Active, Cemetery More information about Otterville Presbyterian Church Other cemetery Shackleford PALESTINE TOWNSHIP Unincorporated Towns Speed Bellair Churches Bellair Methodist Church – established 1860, Not Active, No cemetery Speed Bethel A.M.E. Church – organized 1887, Not active, No cemetery Speed Union Church – organized 1891, Active, No cemetery Concord Baptist Church – established 1817, Disbanded 1919 – demolished. Earliest church in Cooper County – Large Cemetery Other Cemeteries Briscoe Cemetery on Highway 5 – Monument to Hannah Cole, first woman settler in Cooper County Tuscumbia Free Will Baptist Cemetery – located near Ravenswood on a locked property – Charlie Leonard has to unlock it. Other Family cemeteries: Eweing Family, Lowery Family, Charlie Leonard has to unlock the gate. Waller Family Cemetery PILOT GROVE TOWNSHIP Towns Pilot Grove Chouteau Springs – extinct town Churches Mt. Nebo Baptist Church – established 1820. Located 3 miles northeast of New Lebanon Active; Cemetery associated with this church Pilot Grove Baptist Church – organized in 1876, Not Active, No Cemetery Saint Joseph Catholic Church – organized in 1883, Active, Cemetery associated with this church Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church – organized 1866, Active, Cemetery is associated with this church One church with 4 name changes: St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church – 1873 St. Paul Evangelical and Reformed Church St. Paul United Church of Christ : Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage and Death records located at this site Pilot Grove Community Church – Active, Cemetery associated with this church Other Cemeteries – Mount Vernon, Pleasant Hill, Saint Joseph, Saint Martin’s in Chouteau Springs PRAIRIE HOME TOWNSHIP Town Prairie Home Churches Prairie Home United Methodist 544 Hwy. – Dr. 660-841-5226 Unincorporated towns organized 1881, Active, Cemetery associated with this church Prairie Home Baptist Church – organized 1890s, Active, No Cemetery St. Peter’s United Church of Christ – organized 1877, Active, Cemetery associated with this church Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church – year established, unknown. Disbanded 2019, still standing. Cemetery is associated with this church 5 Additional Cemeteries – Ellis, Harris, New Salem, Providence and Robison SALINE TOWNSHIP Towns Wooldridge Overton Pleasant Grove Churches Wooldridge Baptist Church – organized 1900, Active, Cemetery associated with this church Pleasant Grove Lutheran church – was organized 1855, Active, Cemetery associated with this church St. Peters Pleasant Grove – organized 1848 Active, Cemetery associated with this church REFERENCES: Church Histories TRAVELING MISSIONARIES AND CIRCUIT RIDERS Before there were churches and ministers, and when weather permitted, a traveling missionary would preach to the settlements. People would come in wagons or by foot to hear the message of God. This would also be a time to exchange the news and visit with others. “Brush arbors,” where protracted meetings would be held, were assembled from branches of trees for shade from the hot sun. The meetings would sometimes last for hours and lead to the organization of a permanent church. Later, when funds were available, churches would be built. Revivals would be held in the summer, fall, or spring. At this time many new members were added to the church. The Revivals sometimes lasted for several days. The traveling missionaries, often called “Circuit Riders” would travel on foot or on horseback, stopping at homes as they went. This was a very strenuous and hard life and many of the circuit riders died in their 30’s or early 40’s. They were dependent on food and shelter at the homes that welcomed them, and in the early days of Cooper County, homes were few and far between. They were subject to bad weather, getting lost on the open prairie and had no protection from those who would cause them harm or rob them. In later years, Revivals or Camp Meetings were held in tents, but the goal was always bringing folks back to or into the church. Pilot Grove Township was distinguished in the early years by the number and variety of camp meetings which were held there. The Presbyterians and Methodists were rivals for the honor of conducting the biggest and best camp meeting each year. People attended from great distances, as it was a social event as well as a religious one. Methodist Circuit Riders Methodism became prominent in Missouri in the early 1800’s through “circuit riders” who were lone preachers on horseback who spread the Word of God to rural settlers, and relied on these same settlers for food and shelter. These early preachers had no church or congregation of their own, as all preachers were itinerants. Their circuits were of varied sizes, depending on the number of settlers in their circuit area. In the new Territory of Missouri, on the south side of the Missouri River, their circuits were very large, and it usually took the preacher about six weeks to complete. The circuits varied from 200 to 600 miles. Circuit Riders were usually young, single men with an agricultural or artisan background. They could read and write, but were normally not well educated. However, when they felt called to preach, they received a course of study in the Bible, the Methodist Hymnal, and were well versed in the theology of John Wesley. They were paid a salary of $80 per year. They had to supply their own horse, saddle and bridle and all their clothing. Some complained that the food they received was poor and they often had to sleep on the floor of a shed. But, homes at that time were very small and already crowded. In 1816 there were only eight preachers to cover the entire area that was to later become the state of Missouri. They ministered to those who lived on scattered farms or in small villages that would be unable to support a full-time minister. If possible, the circuit rider preached every day in what ever building was large enough – barns, taverns, homes, under trees or in “brush arbors. They often started as early as 5 AM in the summer so that farmers could get out to the fields to work, or were done in the evening after farming work was done. Wherever there were enough people in an area, the preacher would start a class and appoint a lay person to conduct classes in order to keep the people together until the circuit rider made his rounds and returned. These classes became a basis for a new church to be established. The preacher was not looking for Methodists, he was looking for anyone who wanted to hear the word of God and eventually become a Methodist. Camp meetings and revivals were held at least once each year and often lasted for week. People would come from miles away for these revivals and a for a chance to meet friends they had not seen for a year or more. Many new members to the church would be added at this time, plus weddings and baptisms performed. “Sermons were practical, moral, and dramatic. Methodist doctrine fit well with the spirit of the frontier. The emphasis of free will, and grace, unlike to the limited grace and predestination preached by the Presbyterians and Baptists appealed to those independent souls who had moved to the frontier and who felt They were in control of their destiny”. (1) Boonville was incorporated into a circuit in 1818 by a local preacher, Justinian Williams, and by 1840 became a station and became the second largest in the state of Missouri. Stops for the early circuit riders included Boonville, Pilot Grove and a German settlement 12 miles south of Boonville. Reference: Circuit Riders to Crusades by John O. Gooch, Ph.D. Circuit Riders to Crusades pages 10, 11 Baptists During the first five years of settlement in this area most services were held in homes by a passing missionary or circuit rider. In 1815 , Luke Williams, who later preached at Concord and Mt. Nebo, held services at Hannah Cole’s Fort. He was born in Virginia, in 1776 , and settled in Cooper County in 1816 . The other missionary who preached in the Fort was James Savage. Both of these men were of the Baptist denomination, which was the prevailing one in early Cooper County. In early Boonville, Missouri, there was no "German Church" where first- and second-generation immigrants could worship in the custom familiar to the then fewer than forty families who had migrated Westward during the early 1800's. In 1849 two German circuit riders, the Reverends Rauschenbach and Kroenke, were in Boonville on a regular but infrequent basis for the Evangelical United Church of Christ. Then, in 1850 , the Rev. Hoffmeister, an Evangelical minister serving Moniteau County, agreed to conduct services twice a month at Boonville. His ministry at Boonville was brought about as a result of the amount of $250 annually provided by the Presbyterian Church Mission Board's decision to support a church for their German friends. New Lebanon The Cumberland Presbyterian Church of New Lebanon established a seminary in that trained young men to become circuit riders and ministers EARLY CHURCH DISCIPLINE The discipline of the early church was strict. Instances of discipline involved: card playing, drinking liquors in excess, fights between members (pulling off their coats in an “affray”), marriage troubles, dishonesty in horse trading, making false statements against the pastor and non-attendance at church. No servant or servants were allowed to sell beer, cakes, cider, melons, or anything of that kind within one mile of the church. Churches were affected by the Civil War. Some churches were destroyed or burned, and congregations had to work together to heal the wounds of war. The healing in most cases came slowly. Black members, who had before worshiped with the white members (blacks were forced to sit in the back of the church building), formed their own churches and cemeteries. Some of the early churches had two entrance doors. Some also had a partition through the center section of the building separating the men and women so there would be no “distractions” during worship. BAPTISMS Some of the churches conducted baptismal services at a nearby creek. After the Sunday morning service, the congregation would go to a nearby creek and after a service of prayer and singing at the water’s edge, the pastor immersed the candidate for baptism. An amusing incident was told in connection with an early baptismal service. A crowd of people had gathered on the banks of the stream where the baptism was to take place. Simons climbed up a small sapling which stood on the edge of the creek. John Hutchison, thinking that this would be a fine opportunity to have some fun, took out his pocket knife and began cutting away on the little tree where it was bent over by the viewer’s weight. Lower and lower bent the tree but the victim was so interested in the baptism he did not notice what was happening. At last the tree was cut in two and Simons fell into the water with a loud splash. The crowd laughed so long and loud that the minister almost dismissed the crowd, but finally they became quiet and the service was finished. Although the church was noted for its strictness, this illustration shows the members could also enjoy a good laugh. The grasshopper invasion of 1875 caused much concern. Tuesday, May 18th, of that year was set aside as a day of prayer to God for his blessings upon the local churches and the nation in the removing of the insects that were devastating the land. People from different churches met together on that day to pray. CHURCH PROGRAMS WERE SUCCESSFUL Churches began to have Sunday Schools in the early 1900 ’s. At this time the women of the churches were forming missionary and prayer societies and they began to become active in their churches’ programs. Vacation Bible School started in the 1930 ’s and 1940 ’s. Many people in the county reflect with happiness upon their experiences at Bible School. Many of the churches in the County continue to have Bible Schools each summer. Some of the churches have a day each week set aside for church instruction. Three churches in Cooper County have their own church school. A history of these schools can be found in the website section on schools. RESOURCES: LISTING OF ALL PAST AND PRESENT CHURCHES in Cooper County Name, location, date established and church information and records: A list of churches will come up. Click on the one you wish to read about and watch for a blue arrow in the upper right had corner. If you do not see the arrow, click again. If you wish to study several churches, close the one you were just looking at and click on a new name. Resources at the CCHS Research Center – (listed in genealogy section of this website) List of all Cooper County Churches we have information on in our files list of all church history books at the Center List of all church Centennial books “Cooper County Church Sketches” by Florence Chesnutt available at CCHS Research Center for only $9 Map of Churches in Church Sketches At one time there were three Black churches in Boonville: Sixth Street Church, which has been razed, Saint Mathew’s A.M.E. Church (1881 ) and Morgan Street Baptist (1865 ). Pisgah also had a Black church which was formed after the Civil War. Prior to the war Blacks and Whites worshiped together. There is a small Black Church near Prairie Home (Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church) which was disbanded in 2019 . Resources : LISTING OF ALL PAST AND PRESENT CHURCHES in Cooper County Name, location, date established and church information and records: Missouri Genealogical Website Church Records in Cooper County A list of churches will come up. Click on the one you wish to read about and watch for a blue arrow in the upper right had corner. If you do not see the arrow, click again. If you wish to study several churches, close the one you were just looking at and click on a new name. Resources at the CCHS Research Center – (listed in genealogy section of this website): List of all Cooper County Churches we have information on in our files: List of all church history books at the CCHS Center List of all church Centennial books “Cooper County Church Sketches” by Florence Chesnutt available CCHS Research Center $9 See below – History of some of the oldest Cooper County churches and a Tour Map Winki Book.pdf

EARLY COOPER COUNTY PERSONALITIES This adapted from “Discover Cooper County by Looking Back" by Ann Betteridge BLACKHAWK Blackhawk was a Sac Indian. He was living in the east part of Cooper County in 1810 when the first white settlers arrived. He became an Indian chief and an English general during the second war with England from 1812 to 1815. In 1832 his Blackhawk War spread over much of the Mississippi Valley. The two Cole families, first settlers in Cooper County, helped Blackhawk in his desire to understand the white man’s way of life. MRS. WILLIAM H. ASHLEY Elizabeth Ashley, the daughter of Dr. J. W. Moss of Howard County, was the wife of General William H. Ashley. Before her marriage to the famous fur trader she was the widow of Dr. Daniel Wilcox. After Ashley’s death she married John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky. A fictional history of her life, The Three Lives of Elizabeth, was written by Missouri author Shirley Seifert. WILLIAM H. ASHLEY William Ashley was born January 10, 1764, at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He came from Virginia to Missouri in 1803. He was elected the first Lieutenant Governor of Missouri in the state’s first election. He was a fur trader who influenced the exploration and settlements of the West. He founded the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. He was not afraid to take his trade to places other people would not go. He was a member of Congress and served in the twenty-second, twenty-third, and twenty-fourth congresses. He owned approximately 28,000 acres along the Missouri River. He died on March 3, 1838, and is buried in an Indian mound on his land overlooking the Lamine and Missouri Rivers. See more about Ashley here . DAVID BARTON David Barton was a pioneer Cooper County lawyer and was involved in the early political activities of Missouri. Soon after moving to Boonville, Barton served as a judge, representative, and author of our state’s first constitution. He was elected the first United States Senator to Congress from Missouri. David Barton Elementary School is named for him. In 1821 Missouri finally was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. One of the main men involved in this process was David Barton who chaired the Constitutional Convention and who wrote the Constitution which was submitted to Congress for the admission of Missouri. Barton County in southwestern Missouri is named for him. He then became the first Senator and represented the new state in the U.S. Congress. Barton died in Boonville in September, 1837, and is buried in the Walnut Grove Cemetery, where there is a monument honoring him. The restoration of his tombstone, lot, and adjacent horse watering tough was an appropriate Missouri Bicentennial Project and was undertaken by the Walnut Grove Cemetery Board and the Hannah Cole Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. See the section on cemeteries for the DAR Restoration of David Barton’s Tombstone. Background of DAVID BARTON David Barton was born on December 14, 1783, in Greeneville, North Carolina. In 1809, Barton moved to St. Louis. During the War of 1812, he joined Nathan Boone’s company of mounted rangers which in turn got him plenty of recognition in Missouri. Barton was serving Missouri prior to 1821 when it became the 24th state in the Union. He was elected attorney general of the Missouri Territory in 1813, was Howard County’s first circuit judge in 1815 and presiding judge in 1816. In 1818, Barton was a member of the Territorial house of representatives and served as speaker. He wrote Missouri’s first constitution when he served on, and was president of, the convention which was formed in 1820 to write the state’s first constitution. Barton was unanimously elected to be one of Missouri’s first US Senators and it was his suggestion that Thomas Hart Benton be the other US Senator. Barton served from August 10, 1821, until March 4, 1831, and was chairman of the Committee on Public Lands. After failing re-election to the US Senate, Barton ran for and was elected to the Missouri Senate where he served from 1834-1835. David Barton died in Boonville on September 28, 1837, and was interred at Sunset Hills Cemetery, otherwise known as the Old City Cemetery. After Walnut Grove Cemetery was established in 1852, it was decided that one of Missouri’s first US Senators and author of the state’s first constitution was deserving of a more fitting burial site. David Barton’s remains were moved to Walnut Grove Cemetery. Barton County, Missouri, is named in his honor, as is David Barton Elementary School in Boonville, Mo. COLONEL CHARLES CHRISTIAN BELL Charles Christian Bell was born in Nassau, Germany, on August 30, 1848. After moving to the United States, he lived his early life on a Missouri farm near Mr. Sinai schoolhouse. His father, John Adam Bell, planted one of the first vineyards and orchards in that neighborhood, and taught his son the art of fruit growing, a business which he followed most of his life. He served in the Union cavalry and was held prisoner by General Joe Shelby’s command for two days and was then paroled. In 1879, he was commissioned by Governor Phelps as first lieutenant of the Missouri State Guards. In 1877, he and his brother established the firm of C. C. Bell and Brothers, wholesale shippers of fruit and farm products. He later purchased his brother’s interest in the company. In 1886, he organized the Central Missouri Horticultural Association, serving as its secretary for 29 years. He also served this organization as president. He founded the International Apple Shipper’s Association in 1894, and was elected its first president. He experimented with and developed the Lady Apple tree in the Bell Apple Orchard, located about six miles east of Boonville. For years, each pupil in the Boonville Schools found a Lady Apple on their desk the first day of school. He is known for his many public services. GEORGE CALE B BINGHAM As a young boy, Bingham lived in Franklin with his parents, where his father was a hotel keeper. As a young man he was apprenticed to a Boonville cabinet maker. His first wife, Elizabeth Hutchison, was from Boonville. He served in the Missouri legislature and was Adjutant General during the Civil War. He lived in Howard and Cooper Counties and built a home in Arrow Rock, which has been restored. George Caleb Bingham statue at Boonville He is famous for his paintings, many of which were painted while he was living in Cooper County. He liked to paint portraits and scenes of everyday life. Some of his paintings can be seen in Boonville at the Boonslick Regional Library, the Masonic Hall and the Rotary International Headquarters; two are also hanging at Ravenswood. DANIEL BOONE Daniel Boone is known to almost everyone. He was born in 1728 and died in 1820. He came to Missouri about 1797 from Kentucky, and hunted up and down the Missouri River. His two sons, Nathan and Daniel Morgan Boone, ran a “salt lick” in 1807 about ten miles north of Boonville. The Boone brothers boiled the salt water, saved the salt, packed it in hollowed logs, covered the salt with mud, and floated the logs down the river, to St. Louis, to trade. KIT CARSON Kit Carson, whose real name was Christopher Columbus Carson, was born in Kentucky. His parents moved to Missouri where he was raised in Franklin, Missouri. He was taught to work in a saddle shop. He had been in the saddle shop only a few months when he ran away and joined a wagon train which was bound for Santa Fe, in Mexico, this was the start of his career as an Indian scout and trail maker. Kit Carson was never a resident of Cooper County, however he spent time here hunting and visiting with relatives. HANNAH COLE Hannah Cole was born in 1764 and died in 1843. She was the first white woman to settle south of the Missouri River. She came as a widow with her nine children and built a cabin on the present site of Boonville. A fort was built later which became known as Hannah Cole’s Fort. More than a lifelike statue of Hannah Cole in Boonville The marker is hewn from a large natural stone. The cemetery itself contains about an acre of ground and the D. A. R. Chapter intends that it shall be made beautiful ... stones gathered from all parts of the Hannah Cole Country; the historic connection will be complete." October 31, 1932 From the Pilot Grove Record "Grave Formally Marked" -"Tablet at Hannah Cole Grave is Unveiled" "With fitting ceremony, the grave of Hannah Cole, Cooper County's pioneer mother..." See the full Briscoe Cemetery story here . BENJAMIN COOPER Benjamin Cooper, Revolutionary War veteran, is regarded as the first permanent settler in this area. His wife and five sons moved to the Boone’s Lick country in the year 1808. They settled in the Missouri River bottom about two miles southwest of Boone’s Lick, which became known as Cooper’s Bottom. This area is not part of the present Cooper County established in 1818. Even though the Coopers lived in Howard County, they played an important part in the history of Cooper County. Benjamin built a cabin and cleared the ground for a permanent home, but he had to leave because he was too far from the protection of government troops. He returned two years later to the same place with a group of settlers, who built forts in Howard and Cooper counties. The fort helped protect them from Indians during the War of 1812. SARSHALL COOPER Sarshall Cooper came to the Boonslick area in 1808 with a group of settlers led by his brother Benjamin. The group left the area and returned in 1810. They built four forts in Howard County: Cooper, Hempstead, Kincaid, and Head. Sarshall was chosen as Captain of the Military Rangers. There were Indian raids from 1812 through 1815. Sarshall was killed in one of the raids in 1814 as he sat by his fireside with his family in Fort Cooper, near the present town of Petersburg in Howard County. Cooper County was named in honor of Capt. Sarshall Cooper. BILL CORUM Martene “Bill” Windsor Corum was born near Speed, Missouri, on July 29, 1894. He attended grade school in Old Palestine and attended Boonville Public High School. He attended college at Wentworth Military Academy and the University of Missouri. Bill was among the first to enlist in World War I. He was a recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross. He was commissioned Major of Infantry, the youngest in the American Expeditionary Force. Following World War I, he enrolled in the Journalism School at the University of Missouri in Columbia, where he graduated with two degrees. He became assistant sports editor of the New York Times. He was featured as sports columnist for the New York Evening Journal. He performed well at three different jobs. He was a good writer, and in addition, found time for radio and television commentary. He was especially well-informed in horse racing, baseball and boxing. Perhaps the most important activity in spreading his fame was the commentary on radio and television of the New York Yankee baseball games. He was president of Churchill Downs Race Track in Louisville, Kentucky from 1950 until his death. WALLACE CROSSLEY Wallace Crossley was born in Bellair, Cooper County, Missouri on October 8, 1874. He was a graduate of the University of Missouri. He was interested in the field of education for many years. He was elected Lieutenant Governor of Missouri in 1916. He was chosen president of the Missouri Press Association in 1932. He died December 13, 1943. REVEREND FATHER RICHARD FELIX, O.S.B. Reverend Father Richard Felix came to Pilot Grove to serve as pastor of St. Joseph’s Church. He was author of six books. He delivered an extended series of lectures over three radio stations. Father Felix had three degrees: an A.B. in theology from St. Vincent’s Seminary, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, an A.M. from Catholic University, Washington, D.C., and a B.D. from Harvard, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. JACOB F. MELICH Jacob Gmelich was a native of Germany, who located in Boonville in 1860 when he was 20 years old. He remained a resident of Cooper County until his death 54 years later. He served as state representative from 1905 until 1909, and as lieutenant governor during the administration of Herbert S. Hadley. He was a Union veteran of the Civil War, a merchant, bank president and four times mayor of Boonville. PAYTON R. AYDEN Payton Hayden was the first lawyer certified to practice law in the Missouri Territory outside of St. Louis. He was the first lawyer to pass the bar, July 1819, in Cooper County, even before Missouri became a state. He was a native of Kentucky. He came to Howard County, Missouri, in 1818, and located in Boonville in 1819. He taught school in Old Franklin, one of his students being Kit Carson. Hayden died in Boonville on December 26, 1855. A Supreme Court Justice, Washington Adams, studied law in his office. THOMAS JEFFERSON HOWELL Thomas Jefferson Howell was born near Pisgah in 1842. In 1850, he went to the state of Oregon with his parents. He was a farmer, stock-raiser, botanist, woodsman, mountaineer, and the discoverer of the weeping spruce. Because of his interest in botany, he became interested in the flowering plants of the northwest. In 1903 he published the Flora of Northwest America. FRANK & JESSE JAMES Jesse James was born in 1847 on a small farm near Kearney, Missouri. Jesse was 14 when the Civil War began, and left to fight in the war when he was 16. In 1865, he became an outlaw, along with his older brother, Frank, and some of the men who fought with them during the Civil War. Between 1866 and 1882 the James gang robbed trains and banks in Missouri and other states. Most of the railroads and banks were owned by Northerners. The banks charged high interest rates on loans to people trying to recover from the war. People also had to pay high taxes to support the railroads, and to pay high rates for transporting freight. Because of these injustices, many people were glad when the James gang robbed a bank or a train. Some people even helped the gang hide when the law was looking for them. In an effort to stop the robbing, in 1881, Missouri’s governor, Thomas T. Crittenden, a former Union officer, offered a reward for the capture of Jesse James. In 1882, Jesse was shot in the back of the head by one of his own men, Robert Ford, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Jesse was 35. Soon after his brother’s death, Frank surrendered and the career of the James gang was ended. FREDERICK T. KEMPER Frederick Kemper was born in Virginia. He established Kemper Family School in 1844, which later became Kemper Military School. The school steadily grew until it became one of the finest schools of its kind in the United States. Crosby Kemper, a banker in Kansas City who gave money to different organizations and causes in Boonville, is thought to be distantly related to Frederick T. Kemper. See more under Kemper Military Academy under schools section. Kemper at Memorial Statues at Boonville THOMAS KIRCHMANN Thomas Kirchmann from Pisgah is known for inventing the cyclone “stacker” on threshers and the self-tying hay baler. He also made improvements on the steam engine. NATHANIEL LEONARD Nathaniel Leonard was born at Windsor, Vermont, June 13, 1799. He founded Ravenswood Farm in 1825, and was the first man to bring registered shorthorn cattle into the state of Missouri and into the United States west of the Mississippi River. The English herdsman, Thomas Boyen, set out from Chillicothe, Ohio, on May 22, 1839, to deliver the historic shipment of fine stock. He had to travel two days on a canal boat until he reached the Ohio River, then transfer his stock and forage onto a riverboat for the trip down the river until he reached Cincinnati or Louisville, transfer boats again to go down the Ohio to the Mississippi, then upstream to St. Louis, where he changed to a Missouri riverboat to take him to Boonville, with the last part of his long journey overland about 12 miles. Nathaniel Leonard successfully carried on farming and stock breeding on the Ravenswood Farm during his lifetime. He died at his farm on December 30, 1876. He was succeeded by his son, Captain Charles E. Leonard. CAPTAIN CHARLES LEONARD Captain Charles Leonard was reared on Ravenswood Farm. He received his education at Kemper Military School and the University of Missouri at Columbia. After receiving his education, he returned to the farm and was actively engaged in farming most of his life. He served as director of the American Shorthorn Association from 1882-1906. He was also president of the Central National Bank of Boonville. NATHANIEL CHARLES LEONARD Nathaniel Charles Leonard, only son of Captain Charles Leonard, was educated at Kemper Military School and Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. He completed a law course in 1898, after which he spent most of his time continuing the breeding of shorthorn cattle. CHARLES WILLARD LEONARD Charles Willard Leonard, son of Nathaniel Nelson Leonard, purchased the remainder of the farm from his brother and sister. His son, Charles Edward Leonard (great-great-grandson of Nathaniel Leonard) managed the farm until Charles W. died January 5, 2002. After the passing of Charles Edward in 2015, Ravenswood Farm passed into a family trust. WILLIAM MITTELBACH William Mittelbach, a pharmacist, graduated from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and received an honorary Doctor of Science in recognition of his service and dedication to the practice of pharmacy and his community of Boonville. Dr. Mittelbach was active in the Evangelical Church and many civic groups, including many years of service to the Board of Education. A memorial fountain in his honor stands just inside the Walnut Grove cemetery entrance. A 1926 biography stated, “No man in the history of Boonville has held more positions both honorary and active than this esteemed citizen.” He was also a nationally recognized pharmacist, serving as president of national and state pharmacy organizations, and the Missouri Board of Pharmacy. He was a recognized authority in pharmaceutical science and a research associate of the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. JORDAN O’BRYAN Jordan O’Bryan served under General “Old Hickory” Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans. He moved to Cooper County soon afterward. He was a state senator during the 13th and 14th general assemblies, 1844 and 1846. He was county representative in the third, fourth and eighth general assemblies in 1824, 1826, and 1834. He was a Baptist leader known throughout Missouri. He was on the committee to locate William Jewell College. In an effort to establish the college at Boonville, he was able to deadlock the committee’s decision. The town of Liberty finally won by one vote. W. L. NELSON Nelson was a representative in Congress 10 of the 14 years from 1919-1933. In 1934 he was elected from the new second district of Missouri. He was also one of the first rural weekly editors in the United States to regularly feature farm and livestock news in the newspaper The Bunceton Weekly Eagle. WILL ROGERS Will Rogers attended Kemper Military School in Boonville from 1896-1903. Years later he became famous as an actor, humorist, writer, and philosopher. LON V. STEPHNS Lon Vest Stephens was a native of Boonville. He came from a family with banking history and was a graduate of Kemper Military School. He was governor of Missouri from 1897-1901. Before becoming governor, he was the state treasurer. During the time he was governor, the first Missouri State Fair was held and many state institutions were established. Some of these include: The State Historical Society of Missouri in Columbia, the Fruit Experiment Station at Mountain Grove, a School for the Feeble-minded and Epileptic in Marshall, a state hospital for the insane at Farmington, and the State Board of Charities and Corrections. JAMES MILTON TURNER James Milton Turner was born a slave in St. Louis, Missouri in 1840. His parents were John Turner Colburn and Hannah. John was a horse doctor. He bought his freedom and then in 1843, the freedom of his wife and son. In 1847, a law was passed in Missouri that forbade blacks to be educated. This did not stop the Turners, as James was educated in secret. He attended Oberlin College for one term when he was 14, but was forced to leave school in 1855 when his father died. He returned to St. Louis and supported his mother by working as a porter at the beginning of the Civil War. Turner became a body servant (valet) to Madison Miller, who joined the Union as a captain of the 1st. Missouri infantry. Among other battles, they served together at Wilson's Creek and Shiloh. By the time the war was over, Miller was a Colonel. Colonel Miller's brother-in-law, Thomas Fletcher, was elected Governor of Missouri in November 1864. Governor Fletcher appointed Turner Assistant Superintendent of schools where he was in charge of establishing schools for blacks. Over thirty schools were opened across the state while Turner served in the Department of Education, including Lincoln Institute in Jefferson 'City, now known as Lincoln University, which was the first black high school and teacher training school in Missouri. A civil rights activist, Turner was one of the founders of the Missouri Equal League. This was the first black political organization in the state. In 1871, Turner was appointed Ambassador to Liberia by President Ulysses Grant. Serving in Monrovia, Liberia, from 1871 to 1878, Turner was the first African American diplomat to a foreign country. When Turner returned from Liberia. he continued to reach out and help others succeed in the white man's world. He served on the Refugee Relief Board, and in 1881 he and Hannibal Carter organized Freedman's Oklahoma Immigration Association to promote homesteading in Oklahoma. He spent the next 20 years of his life in Indian Territory, fighting for the rights of blacks. He died in Ardmore, Oklahoma on November 1, 1915. A bust of James Milton Turner stands on a pedestal in the Morgan Street Park on the northwest corner of Main and Morgan Streets in Boonville. References: Elizabeth Davis, "Historically Yours"; James Milton Turner 1840-1915 James Milton Turner -SHSMO - Historic Missourians Jame Milton Turner - (1839? - 1915) Missouri Encyclopedia James Milton Turner (1840-1915) BlackPast James Milton Turner - Wikipedia GEORGE GRAHAM VEST Senator George Graham Vest represented Missouri in the United States Senate from 1879-1903. He was an early Boonville lawyer, involved in the building of Thespian Hall, a state legislator from Cooper County, and a supporter of the secessionist movement. He left Boonville at the First Battle of Boonville on June 17, 1861. He is most remembered for his famous “Eulogy to a Dog,” given before a jury at Warrensburg, Missouri. PAUL WHITLEY Paul Whitley was born 13 years before the American Revolution, on July 20, 1762. He died September 23, 1835. He made provisions in his will to leave money to the “poor children” in Cooper County. His will stated “at the death of my wife whatsoever may remain I wish placed by my executors in the hands of the County Court of the County of Cooper, and that they cause the same to be disposed of for schooling of the poor children in the township of Moniteau in said County of Cooper and State of Missouri. The amount of his estate was $3,768. Following the death of his wife in 1855, the money was turned over to the county court to be given to the poor in the schools. The amount grew to $13,000 due to interest because it was several years before it was used. Money was given to the schools each year. In one year, 1927, 877 boys and girls enjoyed the gift given to them. In the early 1900s, his body was removed from the grave on the bluffs of the Missouri River near Wooldridge. It was taken to Harris Cemetery near Prairie Home where a monument was erected in his honor. WALTER WILLIAMS Walter Williams was a distinguished editor. He founded the first School of Journalism in the world and was President of the University of Missouri, at Columbia. He was a native of Boonville. He took his early training as an apprentice on a Boonville newspaper, later becoming its editor as well as the editor of a Columbia newspaper. He was a firm believer in the free press. He died in 1935. HORACE GEORGE WINDSOR Horace George Windsor was the first president of the Missouri Corn Growers Association, serving until his death. In 1915, he raised the first 100 bushels of corn per acre crop in the world. He raised 116.9 bushels of corn per acre in 1917. In one year, he won first prize for the best corn in six state fairs. DE WITT C. WING DeWitt Wing was a native of Lamine township. He started his career as editor of The Missouri Democrat. He was editor of the Chicago Breeder’s Gazette for 26 years. He was editor of the Rural New Yorker, New York City. He was an information specialist for the Federal Agricultural Adjustment Administration. CHARLES WOODS Cooper County Missouri Justice of the Peace, 1820-1829, Justice of the Court, 1825. Woods was Born 1791 in Madison County, Kentucky, the fourth child of Rev. Peter Woods. In 1810 he moved to Franklin County, Tennessee. He entered the service in 1812 and Tennessee in 1814. He served as a Corporal and as a Sergeant. He served under Colonels Thomas Hart Benton and William Pillow. In both cases, the General was Andrew Jackson. Charles received 160 acres in the form of a military warrant for his service in the War of 1812. He was named a Justice of the Peace of Lamine Township, Cooper County, in 1820 by Governor Alexander McNair. The 1883 History of Cooper County lists him as a settler of Kelly Township in 1818. Charles was also named a Justice of the Peace for the Township of Moniteau, County in 1829, this time by Governor Frederick Bates. Each of these offices were for four years in duration. Charles was a County Justice, which is the equivalent of a County Commissioner today, in the May, through November Terms of 1825. According to minutes of these terms, this body was involved in the decisions of where to place roads, who would operate ferries, caring for paupers, appointed road overseers, appointed “Captain of the Patriots” in Boonville (and relieved the same), administrated patrols, approved repairs of the jail and other public properties as well as the costs associated with these, administrated the activities of the Sheriff, as well as other county officers. Charles is described in the 1883 History of Cooper County as being “for many years the leading Democrat in his neighborhood. He wa s a man of no ordinary ability, of pleasant address, and a liberal-high-toned gentleman. “Charles Woods died in January 1873 in Tipton, Missouri. He and his wife, Susan Jennings Woods, are buried in a cemetery named Woods Family Cemetery Number Two. HARVEY BUNCE Harvey Bunce was born in North Port, Long Island, New York, on October 28, 1816, the first of two children of Harvey and Keziah Jarvis Bunce. He received his education there in the commons schools. He was apprenticed to Messrs. Bayless & Co. in New York to learn the ship builder’s trade when he was 16. Four years later, he came to Missouri because he believed there were better opportunities out west for those willing to work hard. He spent the next ten years building bridges and working as a carpenter. During this time, he gained a reputation as a superior mechanic, a good businessman, and an excellent citizen. Bunce took up farming in 1847 and his political career began the following year when he was elected county assessor. He was elected sheriff at the next election and was re-elected until 1961 when he resigned. But Bunce’s service to the county were not yet over. In 1862 he was appointed public administrator, a position he held for 12 years. At the same time, he represented Cooper County in the state legislature in 1862-63. In 1864 he was a member of the state constitutional convention. His personal life as a businessman was equally successful. He was one of the leading farmers in the county and a leading bank stockholder. He was made a director of the Central National Bank of Boonville in 1866, a position he held until 1881 when he was elected vice-president of the bank. With all his interests, he was one of the most important citizens in the county. In 1868, a town about 15 miles south of Boonville was laid out and platted. It was named after Harvey Bunce. Harvey Bunce died on May 14, 1893, and was laid to rest at Walnut Grove Cemetery in Boonville. Source: Elizabeth Davis "Historically Yours"

EARLY TRANSPORTATION Immigration into the county had been halted by the War of 1812 but, by 1815 , there was a steady flow of people coming to the county. Settlers brought with them wagons and horses. Mules were brought in from Santa Fe after the opening of the Santa Fe trail in 1821 . Settlers began to mark out roads and to cut their way through the forest. Oxen were often used for wagon transportation and continued to be used for many years. The prairie presented few obstacles to travel, but to go through a forest was an entirely different matter. A wise selection of a route was needed or there would be lots of labor in cutting trees and fording streams. No public roads were laid out (on paper) until 1819 . But no construction work was done upon the roads nor were they thought necessary for a many years. The first petition for a public road in Cooper County was presented by B.W. Levens. It asked for the location of a road leading from Boonville to the mouth of the Moniteau Creek. The second petition for the location of a public road was by Anderson Reavis, presented on the same day. The road that was petitioned for ran from the mouth of the Grand Moniteau to the Boonville and Potosi road. When Cooper County was officially organized as a county in 1819 , the stream of immigration to the south side of the river was increasing and roads were needed. STAGE COACHES When many of us think of stage coaches we think of them in relation to the “wild west”. But stages coaches were a very important means of travel in Cooper County for many years. A stage coach was a vehicle much like an enclosed wagon with a high roof, wooden sides and doors with windows on both sides. It had an elevated seat in the front where the driver, or “whip,” was seated. Inside were seats for the passengers. The passengers sat with their baggage on their lap and mail bags under their feet. If they wanted to sleep, they had to sleep sitting up. The stage coaches were designed for travel, not comfort! They were safer than traveling alone and were often the only way to travel any distance. Roads at this time were only dirt, often rocky, and muddy after rain or snow. Coaches were pulled by draft horses, many of them Clydesdales, because of their good temperament. Stages were pulled either by two horses or a team of four. The coaches were called “stage” coaches because the travel route was done in “stages.” Stations, or stage stops were usually 10 to 15 miles apart. The horses traveled about 5 miles per hour, and pulled the coach for two to three hours. At the end of the trip between one stop and the next, the horses were replaced by another team and the tired horses rested until the return trip. Some stages traveled 60 -70 miles a day. At some stops a meal or beverages might be available, (at an extra cost) and some had provisions for sleeping. The cost of the journey was usually 10 to 15 cents per mile, which would be quite expensive based in today’s dollars. In the 1830s , a stage coach depot was located along the road between Boonville and Jefferson City. Known as "Midway" the stop was about 1 ½ miles east of the present site of Prairie Home, at Tompkins' Inn. In the mid-century, stagecoaches made regular trips to various towns in Missouri. The Tipton to Boonville Stage Coaches operated in the Cooper County area from 1850 to 1860 . An interesting account of the Tipton-Boonville Stage written by Mrs. L.H. Childs appeared in The Boonville Advertiser - Rural Life Edition, in 1940. Tipton-Boonville Stage Changed Horses at Biler Home Near Speed One and one-half miles east of Speed, in central Cooper County, stands a dilapidated but vivid reminder of the past. On the southwest corner of the crossroads at that point is an old-fashioned log house, and to the rear, only partly standing is an old barn. Up until 1868 this place buzzed with activity. It was the home of Mr. Abram Biler, his wife and two daughters, and the Boonville-Tipton stage coach made a regular stop there to change horses. The horses were cared for until the return trip, when they were changed again. The ladies served meals to the travelers. Mr. William Eller told that when he was a small boy, he would hear old Mike, the driver, come down the road blowing a bugle to let the people know the stage was coming. It is said Mike could crack his whip so loud the sound would travel almost a mile in the clear air as he drove his fine horses. Sometimes the road was hard and dry, and at other times the mud was ankle deep or the snow was drifted high, but the stage went through. The road, which now is of all-weather construction, was little more than a trail at that time. Jr. Irving Harness’ father sold the stage line a number of fine horses, as only the best animals were used to pull the coaches. It was quite a thrill for a number of small boys of the neighborhood when Mike would let them ride the stage to the bottom of the hill to the south. They never seemed to mind the tiresome walk back. Stage coach days carried their humor and tragedy, as all generations do. When Mike would linger to talk to Miss Puss Biler, some of the passengers would grow quite impatient, but that would have no effect on Mike as he would have his little visit out before he would go. During the last years of the Civil War period, an order was issued calling in all guns in an effort to stop guerrilla warfare. One evening, however, the report of a gun was heard and when neighbors investigated, they found M. Biler slain in his cucumber patch. Mr. Biler is buried with many other pioneers in the old Concord cemetery. When the branch railroad was completed between Boonville and Tipton, there was no further need for the stage line and it faded into history. Probably the last visible stage stop in Cooper County is located on the North side of Highway 5 between Boonville and Billingsville. The limestone block building was built by O.H.P. Shoemaker in 1860 and the stone was cut from a nearby quarry. He used smoother stone for the front of the building and rough-cut stone for the sides. The road in front of the house was the stage coach road/mail route to Warsaw. On the lintel above the door of the house is engraved “O.H.P. Shoemaker 1860 ” (see picture). The Shoemakers were Unionist, coming originally from Kentucky and Illinois. A son (or nephew) Horace, became a Captain during the Union occupation of Boonville and organized a voluntary cavalry unit to escort the mail, guard the telegraph wires and escort captured Confederates to Jefferson City. Capt. Shoemaker became a marked man when he took a local man named Spencer from imprisonment at the Boonville courthouse to Harley Park and hanged him without a trial. When General Price and the Confederates took control of Boonville in October 1864, Shoemaker surrendered and was confined with his family to his house in Boonville. In the dark of night, according to Van Ravensway, Spenser’s sons came for Shoemaker pretending to have orders from General Price. They took him away and Horace Shoemaker was never seen again. General Shelby was quoted later that the incident “will remain the most regrettable occurrence during the war”. East of the stone house three serious skirmishes took place that October. General Fagan stood off attacks by Union Generals Eppstein and Sanborn with heavy loss of life at Anderson’s Branch. Mrs. Shoemaker and her family, fearing further retribution fled to Oregon. The property was parceled and sold in 1866 $2,000 to Christian Osten and John Dumolt. In 1868 The Osage Valley and Southern Kansas Railroad was completed between Boonville and Tipton and the stone house was convenient to the depot at Billingsville. New immigrants arriving from Germany by steamboat took the train to Billingsville where they found welcome in their native language with the Dumolts who were originally from Alsace Lorraine. Once the railroad came through Cooper County, there was no longer a need for the stage coaches. Interestingly, once trucks and cars became popular, there was little use for trains for transportation and most of them eventually disappeared. The Dumolts and Fredericks lived in the stone house for many years, adding a kitchen and an extension to the living space at the back of the stone building. There were extensive log and frame stables on the property until the present owners, the Burnetts, cleared away the worn wooden structures, but saved the stone cottage and a large chiseled stone horse trough to preserve this part of Cooper County history. Dumolt Stage Stop on Route 5 near Billingsville