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THE INDIAN REMOVAL ACT The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced the indigenous nations to leave Missouri and resettle in Indian Territory. (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced the indigenous people who once inhabited land in Missouri to leave and resettle in Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma, Nebraska and Kansas). The removal process, however, began long before U.S. President Andrew Jackson signed the 1830 removal act. It was a policy introduced by President Thomas Jefferson and was largely carried out by treaties in Missouri supervised by William Clark as superintendent of Indian affairs. About 30 years before the last removal, the Indigenous Nations in the Missouri Territory at the time of the Louisiana Purchase included Sac and Fox, Ioway, Little Osage and Great Osage, Kickapoo, Shawnee, Delaware and Quapaw. Skirmishes and fighting ensued as the U.S. government expanded westward and other nations would be pushed from the East to Missouri. The military imprisoned the famous War Chief Black Hawk in St. Louis at the end of the Black Hawk War in 1832 . The Trail of Tears, as a result of the 1930 act, forced Eastern indigenous nations to relocate to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). One of the routes traversed the southern part of Missouri, where many lives were lost crossing the Mississippi River in Cape Girardeau County during the harsh winters of 1838 and 1839 . An estimated 4,000 Cherokees lost their lives on the Trail of Tears from Tennessee to Oklahoma.”

BOOKS, MAPS AND RESOURCE MATERIALS Cooper and other Counties Town/Area History Books: History of Billingsville, Prairie Lick, and Ston e y Point History of Blackwater Bicentennial Boonslick History A Pictorial History of the Boonslick Area Boonville An Illustrated History Boonville An Historic River Town Bunceton 1868-1988 and 1868 – 1993 History of Clear Creek Recollections of Clifton City Clifton City 1873 – 2019 Our Town Lamine Missouri History of New Lebanon Otterville Sesquicentennial Some Might Good Years – Overton Pilot Grove Centennial 1873 – 1973 A Brief History of Prairie Home Area Books : Green Ridge MO Centennial 1870 – 1970 Jamestown 1837 – 1987 Lupus – Portrait of a River Town History of Martinsville Old Trails of Missouri Once Upon the Past – Mid Missouri Places and People Sedalia MO 100 Years in Pictures Books on History of Cooper County and Other Counties Cooper County : Discover Cooper County by Looking Back – Ann Betteridge History of Cooper County Missouri Volumes I and II – W. F. Johnson History of Cooper County Missouri – Levins and Drake History of Cooper County – Melton Memorabilia of Cooper County – The Sesquicentennial Steering Committee for 150th Birthday of Boonville Other County Histories : History of Cole, Moniteau, Morgan, Benton, Miller, Maries, and Osage Counties History of Harrison and Mercer Counties Howard County History and Families History of Moniteau County History of Morgan County History of Saline County OTHER ITEMS AVAILABLE AT CCHS Free Cemetery maps and brochures on historical landmarks Books, P amphlets and CD’s for sale Cooper County Plat Maps – 1877, 1897, 1915 Books : Discover Cooper County by Looking Back by Ann Betteridge The “Best” Bustle in Fayette by Mary Louise & Sylvia Forbes This Cruel Unnatural War by James Thoma “Old Pleasant Green Underground” - The Old Cemetery, at the 1825 Pleasant Green Methodist Church Cooper County MO by Florence Friedrichs Old Cooper County Churches (Cooper County Church Sketches) by Florence Friedrichs Recollections of Clifton City Lamine School Book Historically Yours by Elizabeth Davis Pilot Grove Sesquicentennial Arts and Essays by local students CD’s: The Cooper County Missouri History Series Home Town Sketches – by Emile Paillou A History of Cooper County – Levens and Drake The First Hundred Years - Melton History of Cooper County Missouri by W.F. Johnson Volume #1 or Volume #2 Old Nick Abroad Cooper County Cemeteries - James Thoma This Cruel Unnatural War – James Thoma Cooper County, Missouri History Series (Contains all of the above series)

EARLY CEMETERIES EARLY CEMETERIES IN COOPER COUNTY Both life and death were serious concerns for the early settlers. Life spans were shorter, and life more perilous than today. Drug stores were nonexistent and doctors were few and far between. Children often died during their first year, and mothers often died in childbirth. It was only natural that churches would want to provide for the passing of their flock by establishing a cemetery near the church. The cemetery was often placed behind the church, but could also be on either side of the church, or across the road, depending on the size and situation of the church property. WHERE ARE THE OLD CEMETERIES? The same fate of old churches has happened to many old cemeteries. When the church and the members were no longer there, the cemeteries become neglected or forgotten. Then, the area where the cemeteries were located was often plowed and planted with crops. Headstones become stepping stones, or were broken up and tossed away. This is a great loss for those who want to preserve history and locate the final resting place of their ancestors. The picture below is the statue of Kate Tracy, a young woman who died in 1854 from cholera at the age of 17. She has a beautiful monument at Walnut Grove cemetery. Someone always puts flowers in her hand which are changed with the seasons. No one knows who does this. This statue was restored to its original beauty by the Hannah Cole Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, in 2019. See the article from the 3/20/2021 “Missouri Life” magazine which tells the story of Kate Tracy and the monument . Early photo of Walnut Grove Cemetery Walnut Grove Cemetery, Oct. 31, 2018 by Wayne Lammers Walnut Grove is the largest cemetery in Boonville and one of, if not the largest, in Cooper County. Some have referred to it as “the biggest city in Cooper County.” It began in the mid 1850’s as a Romantic-style cemetery and expanded in the 1880’s when the cypress trees were planted and the wrought iron fence was installed. Today Walnut Grove is a wildlife and plant sanctuary due to the planning of George Kessler, a famous landscape architect, who laid a master plan for the cemetery. Watch for the horse water troughs and horse rings that are scattered throughout. Walnut Grove has many impressive graves and monuments. A walk through the cemetery will not disappoint you. Walnut Grove was designed to be a prestigious cemetery and that is reflected in the number of wealthy and famous residents who chose it for their final resting place. Some of the famous people buried there include: Civil War Confederate General R. McCullough; Lon Stephens, former Governor of Missouri and his wife; Educator Laura Speed Elliot; Steamboat Captain Joseph Kinney; and many members of the Leonard family who built Ravenswood and are large land holders in Cooper County; and David Barton, the first US Senator from Missouri who also wrote the Missouri State Constitution that allowed Missouri to become a state. DAVID BARTON TOMBSTONE AND LOT RESTORATION WALNUT GROVE CEMETERY, BOONVILLE, MISSOURI By Dr. Maryellen McVicker 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. He then became the first Senator and represented the new state in the U.S. Congress. When he died, he was buried in Boonville, Missouri. 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. Barton died penniless on September 28, 1837 . The Gibson family and the citizens of Boonville held a fund-raising drive to place a suitable tombstone over his grave after his burial in what was then called the City Cemetery. Today the name has been changed to Sunset Hills Cemetery. This was accomplished with the erection of an obelisk embellished with all his accomplishments. In 1853 Boonville citizens established Walnut Grove Cemetery, a privately-owned rural park cemetery located on the east edge of town south of Cole’s Fort where David Barton had held court. The area contained a large grove of walnut trees and local promoters had obtained the ground where Cole’s Fort was located and were turning it into the First State Fair in Missouri. Cemeteries were the largest tourist attractions in the United States at the time and the founders of Walnut Grove realized they could capitalize on the cemetery location and attract large crowds if only they had somebody of national prominence buried on the ground. Thus, the remains of David Barton were moved from Sunset Hills to Walnut Grove Cemetery in March 1853 . The cemetery investors decided a new tombstone was needed and so political strings were pulled. On December 8, 1855 the Missouri legislature authorized $400 to erect a new marble gravestone and build an iron fence around the circular lot. The inscription on this new stone repeated exactly the inscription on the earlier tombstone which was left in place in Sunset Hills Cemetery. The new tombstone was over 20 feet tall and was ornamented by an intricately carved torch shown being extinguished by being turned upside down. The dousing of an eternal flame was intended to symbolize how the death of Barton caused knowledge to be extinguished. The first gravestone remained in Sunset Hills Cemetery until 1899 . The University of Missouri acquired the original Thomas Jefferson Tombstone and displayed it on the Frances Quadrangle near the recently completed Jesse Hall. A member of a MU fraternity was visiting family in Boonville and wondered about the Barton tombstone. When told the details, he determined his fraternity would move the stone to MU and place it near the Jefferson monument as a visible reminder of another person interested in Missouri education. The fraternity raised enough money to accomplish the goal and the tombstone is still on the Francis Quadrangle at the University of Missouri. Original David Barton Tombstone previously located in Sunset Hills Cemetery—photo taken in the 1890’s Earliest known photo of David Barton Tombstone in Walnut Grove Cemetery shows fence posts for the iron fence around the lot and tombstone Original Tombstone now located on the Francis Quadrangle at the University of Missouri in Columbia The State Fair was not a financial success in Boonville, and the honor was soon passed to Sedalia, Missouri. But the David Barton monument, fence, and lot graced by walnut trees remained in place. A horse watering trough was placed immediately to the north of the lot so that the horses pulling hearses in funeral processions could drink. In 1901 nationally known landscape architect, George Kessler, was hired to develop a landscaping scheme for the cemetery. Suddenly it was the 21st century and the Missouri Bicentennial Commemoration was just around the corner. Although the Kessler plan was still in place, inevitable changes had occurred. The walnut trees on the Barton lot had died of old age. The iron fence was removed during a scrap metal drive. Horses no longer pulled hearses to the cemetery so the trough was dry. Not having any descendants, nothing had been done on the Barton lot since he was buried there so long ago. The Hannah Cole Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, wanted to commemorate the Missouri Bicentennial with a project that would have a lasting positive impact in the community. Restoration of the David Barton tombstone, replacement of the fence, repair of the watering trough and replacing walnut trees became the goal. Happily, the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution has a competitive national competition for grants that are used for historic projects. The Hannah Cole Chapter DAR and Cole’s Fort Chapter Children of the American Revolution (CAR) applied for one of these grants. CAR members measured how much fence would be required and decided to undertake the watering trough as their project, intending to plant it with flowers each year. Needless to say, all were thrilled when this project was granted the entire amount of requested funds. Cole’s Fort CAR member Abbie Wax looking at tape measure after measuring the size of a lot foundation stone at the David Barton tombstone (behind her)—Walnut Grove Cemetery, Boonville, Missouri, in November 2019 The watering trough on the north side of the David Barton lot with his tombstone in the background behind CAR member Abbie Wax. Stone, circular foundation blocks are visible. The first thing done was to clean the tombstone with D/2 chemical solution. The entire stone was also checked from top to bottom for cracks and fissures. Amazingly. the stone was still perfectly level after 164 years. The watering trough was also thoroughly cleaned and all cracks were repaired. Refilled with dirt, the trough was turned into a beautiful flower bed. Cole’s Fort members, Children of the American Revolution (CAR) planted the watering trough one Sunday evening just before Memorial Day weekend so it would look nice for that holiday. Originally, the iron fence posts had been set in the circular foundation stones going around the lot. When the replacement fence arrived, the installation crew found the stones to be too fragile to withstand post holes drilled into them. With supervision from the cemetery superintendent, the fence was placed in the grass in the lot in the best position for weed eating, creating a win-win project where the fence was replaced and the original stones were kept. The final phase is to plant walnut trees again on the lot. This was done in Fall 2020 . Hopefully, this lot and the items placed on it will survive and be in good condition when Missouri celebrates its Tricentennial in 2120 . The finished product! August 2020 Cole’s Fort CAR Members plant the watering trough—May 2020 Sunset Hills - If Walnut Grove was the place to be buried for Boonville’s rich and famous, Sunset Hills was the resting place for everyone else. Some of Boonville’s earliest settlers are buried there. The city of Franklin was the starting point of the Santa Fe Trail and travelers who died on their way west often ended up in Sunset Hills. The same held true for criminals – the first stone in Sunset Hills belongs to James West, who was hung for murder. Mrs. George Caleb Bingham, Sarah Elizabeth, is buried in Sunset Hills. Sunset Hills was started by the Methodists as a Methodist church burial ground. Soon, there were too many burials, and the Methodists turned the cemetery over to the city. Many people think that Sunset Hills is the Black cemetery in Boonville, but the segregation was not intentional. After Walnut Grove was built, many of the wealthier families moved their family to Walnut Grove, leaving Sunset Hills de facto segregated. To date, there are no Black people buried in Walnut Grove. There are many African-American Civil War veterans buried in Sunset Hills who fought for the North. Perhaps they are near the mass grave for the Union soldiers. Photos courtesy of Sharon Dyer and Wayne Lammers With permission from Sharon Dyer With permission from Sharon Dyer HANNAH COLE GRAVE SITE Hannah Cole Head Stone Dedication of Hannah Cole Grave Site, October 31, 1932 Hannah Cole, a widow with nine children, is believed to be the first white woman head of household to venture south of the Missouri River within the state of Missouri. Many historians have portrayed Hannah Cole and her family as courageous leaders in the pioneer days of Cooper County, Missouri. She came to what was to become Cooper County along with her sister Phoebe and her brother-in-law Stephen and their children, who were the first white people to settle in the present site of Boonville in early 1810. She has been lauded as “Missouri’s greatest Pioneer Mother.” The Briscoe Cemetery was deeded by William Briscoe to the people of the community in 1867. It was a family burying ground as early as 1825. The cemetery, which is one acre in size, is located on Highway 5 about 15 miles south of Boonville. The burial place of Hannah Cole and many of her family had long lain unattended for many years. Some of the headstones had fallen down and many were sunken into the ground. Hannah’s grave was unmarked until the Pilot Grove Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) decided to mark her burial place in 1932. A huge red Granite boulder from southeast Missouri, was moved to the historical burial site as a gift from the highway Department. Circling the base of the boulder are cemented 13 large stones, each stone from one of the Cooper County townships. The grave was formally dedicated on October 30,1932 with a bronze plaque set into the Granite. The inscription reads: “Cooper County’s first white woman settler, whose unfailing courage in facing the dangers of the wilderness and a cruel Indian War entitles her to be called a Pioneer Mother of early Missouri Civilization 1764-1843 The fenced cemetery is located next to land which is now the Hannah Cole Wayside Park, maintained by the state of Missouri. The Briscoe Cemetery is maintained by the Cole Family Association. This cemetery is a spot of historical interest for all Missourians. Other Cooper County cemeteries on the map that follows are: Saint Joseph , in Pilot Grove (#39) and Saints Peter and Paul (#42) in Boonville, are the two largest Catholic cemeteries in the Boonslick region. Hannah Cole , the founding mother of Boonville, is buried in Briscoe (#6) cemetery. Pleasant Green (#31) features the graves of several Civil War era soldiers. Pisgah (#29) is also notable for Civil War burials, including the grave of one of the two Robert McCulloughs. The Robert McCulloughs were cousins, and both were Confederate soldiers. General McCullough is buried in Walnut Grove. Concord (#10) is one of the oldest cemeteries in Cooper County and it’s the oldest Baptist cemetery in the region. Pleasant Grove Evangelical (#32) is a German cemetery where originally, they buried people in order of the date of death instead of in family groups, an old German custom. Today they are buried in family groupings. Old Lamine (#26) is a typical country church cemetery. At New Lebanon Cumberland Presbyterian Cemetery (#23) you will find all styles of graves, including the four wives of Mr. Mahan. Wives number 2, 3 and 4 have identical headstones. Wife #1’s stone has fallen over- perhaps because of too much grave rolling? Perhaps Mr. Mahan got a volume discount on tombstones. As for him, he’s buried on his own lot. Makes you wonder why. Other Cooper County cemeteries on the map that follows are: Saint Joseph , in Pilot Grove (#39) and Saints Peter and Paul (#42) in Boonville, are the two largest Catholic cemeteries in the Boonslick region. Pleasant Green (#31) features the graves of several Civil War era soldiers. Pisgah (#29) is also notable for Civil War burials, including the grave of one of the two Robert McCulloughs. The Robert McCulloughs were cousins, and both were Confederate soldiers. General McCullough is buried in Walnut Grove. Concord (#10) is the oldest cemetery in Cooper County and it’s the oldest Baptist cemetery in the region. Pleasant Grove Evangelical (#32) is a German cemetery where originally, they buried people in order of the date of death instead of in family groups, an old German custom. Today they are buried in family groupings. Old Lamine (#26) is a typical country church cemetery. “Corn” Taylor” moved to Cooper County in about 1817. He brought with him a number of slaves. He asked to be buried in a local cemetery and also have his slaves buried there beside him. When his request was denied, he chose a burial place on his own property, and his slaves were buried there also. It is thought that as many as sixteen or more slaves were buried there. There is one large marker with the Taylor data. About twenty-nine graves were counted here, but unknown, as the only markers are rocks. Missouri Law 214.455 – Destruction or defacing any cemetery property, penalty : Every person who shall knowingly destroy, mutilate, disfigure, deface, injure, or remove any tomb, monument, or gravestone, or other structure placed in such cemetery or burial ground or place of burial of any human being, is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. Terms Used in Missouri Laws 214.455 Misdemeanor: Usually a petty offense, a less serious crime than a felony, punishable by less than a year of confinement. Person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020 INFORMATION ON COOPER COUNTY CEMETERIES The first two sites will help you locate the cemeteries and those who are buried there. The Website “Find A Grave ” is very helpful to find graves anywhere in the US. North American obituaries Secretary of State - To request an appointment email archives@sos.mo.gov or call (573) 751-3280. Cooper County MO Cemetery Records - LDS Genealogy Biographical Memorabilia for Cooper County Taylor Springs Burial Ground Cemetery References at CCHS : Pleasant Green Underground by Florence Friedrichs – booklet detailing a brief history of the town of Pleasant Green and those who are buried there. For sale at CCHS - price $9 Cemetery Records and file information for Cooper, Moniteau and Morgan Counties. Card File with Individual Burial Records Cemetery Record Books with burials listed Cemetery Locations – see end of Early Churches , listing churches by Township Notebooks listing burials by cemetery Cemetery map brochure with 52 cemeteries– free Large cemetery wall map of 186 cemetery locations Church Records in File Drawer 104 different churches some with a great deal of information See last portion of Church section for listing of some cemeteries by Township Cooper County Missouri Genealogy good source of cemetery information Cooper County Cemetery Records Map of majority of the old Cooper County Cemeteries

SUNK ON THE MISSOURI RIVER The Missouri River was a major highway from St. Louis to the Wild West across Missouri, but the Mighty Mo took a great many steamboats down as they struggled to settle Missouri and points west. The steamboat “Pirate” was one of the earliest steamboats to sink in the Missouri River. Carrying supplies for Joseph N. Nicollet and the Potawatomi Indians displaced from the east, it sank in April 1839 near what is now Bellevue, Nebraska. One of the worst disasters on the Missouri River was the steamboat “Saluda” near Lexington, Missouri. On April 9, 1852, Captain Francis T. Belt, frustrated by the lack of progress in making a difficult bend, ordered an increase in steam pressure. The boilers exploded. Over 100 people were killed, including Captain Belt. The steamboat “Arabia” was a side wheeler built in 1853 near the Monongahela River in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. It was eventually purchased by Captain John Shaw who operated it on the Missouri River. It is currently on display in Kansas City at the Arabia Museum, but plans are to relocate it to another area. Sold to Captain William Terrill and William Boyd, it made more than a dozen trips up and down the Missouri River. On September 5, 1856, it hit a submerged sycamore tree snag and ripped open the hull. It sank on September 5, 1856. The “Bertrand” steamboat was launched in Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1864. On April 1, 1865, the steamboat struck a submerged log in the Desoto Bend of the Missouri River near Omaha, Nebraska. It sank in less than ten minutes. The “USS Naiad” was built as the “Princess” in 1863 at Freedom, Pennsylvania. Purchased by the Navy at Cincinnati, Ohio, it was commissioned on April 3, 1864, as the USS Naiad. Surviving the war, the USS Naiad was decommissioned at Cairo, Illinois on June 30, 1865. Sold at auction on August 17, 1865, the boat was renamed Princess. It sank on June 1, 1868, when it hit a snag at Napoleon, Missouri. These are only a few of the hundreds of steamboats that sank on the Missouri River, most of them remain unrecovered. Source: "Historically Yours", by Elizabeth Davis Other artifacts from the Missouri Packet are on display at the River, Rails and Trails Museum in Boonville. One steam boat was recovered just upstream from Boonville. It was the “Missouri Packet”. The story of the recovery of the Packet, along with many pictures can be found below. RETRIEVING THE MISSOURI PACKET Early excavation and outline of the boat before the digging began Digging the boat out of the sand with heavy equipment (1820) THE SINKING OF THE MISSOURI PACKET AND EXCAVATION FOR IT By Wayne Lammers The PLUNDER of the Missouri Packet Steamboat An1820 Steamboat excavation near the mouth of the Lamine and Missouri Rivers By Wayne Lammers June 2020 ——————————————————————————— Information of the MISSOURI PACKET Steamboat that sank in the Missouri River in May of 1820. From the Missouri Intelligence and Boonslick Advertiser (this newspaper issued its first copy in Franklin MO., on April 23, 1819) Volume #1 Issue #51 May 13, 1820, P. 2 col. 3 “The Steam Boat Missouri Packet arrived at this place [May 5] in a short passage from St. Louis, bound for the Council Bluffs, laden principally with flour and provisions, for the troops at that place. We regret to state, that a few hours after leaving Franklin, she unfortunately sunk. Being, however, near the shore, in low water, it is expected a considerable portion of the cargo will be saved, and the boat raised and repaired so as to proceed on to her destination.” [No further mention of the Missouri Packet in other issues of the Missouri Intelligence and Boon’s Lick Advertiser] This information was given to Wayne Lammers from Robert “Bob” Dyer after we, along with Gene Smith, visited the the excavated site on December, 30. 1987 . For many years I dreamed of working on an archeological site, uncovering history that have been lost to mankind. That dream came to light on December 30, 1987 , when a friend by the name of Gene Smith asked me to video tape the excavation of a steamboat that he and his salvage corporation from Independence Missouri had found in the bottoms of the Missouri River, about eleven miles west of Boonville near the Lamine River. The boat they were searching for, ca1850’, according to the history, had a large amount of gold and silver onboard. My friend Gene Smith of Independence Missouri, found this sunken boat using a Proton Magnetometer that used the principle of earth’s field nuclear magnetic resonance (EFNMR) to register very small variations on the earth’s magnetic field, allowing metal objects, underground, to be detected to the depth of 30 to 50 feet below the surface. In doing this, the salvage corporation can make exploration decisions, with a grid map, to show the variation of the magnetic field below. After the suspected boat is located on this grid, the next process is to use a 4- or 5-inch auger to bore a sample drill into the suspected target. In doing this, some of the boat hull and artifacts will belch out on to the surface of the Missouri River Bottoms. This boat that was dug, was at the depth of about 30 to 35 feet in the middle of a soybean field. (Authors Note:) In 1820 , the sunken boat was located on the southern shore of the Missouri River in Cooper County, on a bend in the river. Over the years the Missouri River changed its course, I believe, because of the sinking of this steamboat and eliminating this bend in the river doing this, there is now part of Cooper County in the Howard County bottoms which exist today, of 385 acres owned by the Jake Huebert family and Central Missouri Properties LLC of Boonville. On the day I arrived at the excavation site, it was a beautiful sunny day, with the temperature in the upper 30’s. Gene Smith and I were in his black pickup truck following Gary Sisk, in his large RV, going to the two-inch snow field excavation site. We were flying down the Missouri River Bottom because of all the snow and didn’t want to stop because we knew we would get stuck in a heart-beat if we did. We arrived at mid-morning to a site that was unbelievable. The midsection of the 120-foot boat was totally missing. This is where the three boilers and firebox were located. I looked off to the side and saw one large cast iron boiler with other parts nearby that was set aside for later removal. On the port side of the bow of the boat, I saw men with shovels, clearing a large cast iron object. I later found out that this was the engine that powered the craft. I started recording with my Olympic video camera and captured the scene. Moments later I was told by Mr. Smith that we had the rest of the day to discover, record and retrieve what we could of the excavation, because the salvage company was going to rebury this historic steamboat forever. My first thought was “NO”, we need to document this ship and its contents in front of us. To a certain extent, this never happened. Gene Smith and I along with his 100-foot survey tape, began measuring the steamboat which measured approximately 120 feet long, 25 feet wide and 5 feet deep. By the time I settled in to the excavation, the salvage crew were removing the lone engine on the port side of the vessel. The lone large backhoe had a large two-inch strap that was raising the engine away from the boat. The engine had a pitman that was about 12 to 15 feet long with a 3/4-inch cast iron plate on both sides - top and bottom of this beam or pitman. This was connected to the paddle wheel cam which powered the boat. In raising the engine high above, I heard a large crunch. This was the breaking of the cam at the end of the pitman. Well, I thought, is this is how they retrieve artifacts from a historic sunken boat? I was shocked, literally shocked, by the irreverence to the methods and manner they pilfered these items on this old boat. My thoughts were, “This isn’t the way it is supposed to be done.” The next thing was to try to find the name of this boat and when it sank. We found no paint on the sides of what was left of the vessel. We knew that there were about 30 to 40 wooden barrels of salted pork along with some empty whiskey barrels onboard the steamboat. A bunghole on the top of the barrel was the only indication of liquid in the empty container. Over the many years, the whiskey leached out and was gone forever. We located the barrels midway on the steamboat covered with sand, in front of where the three boilers were located. With two small shovels and a lot of work we uncovered many barrels. During this process, I noticed that there were no metal rings around each barrel. They were made of wooden rings with no metal at all. Each wooden band was secured to the barrels with small square nails. I knew that the early barrels had wooden rings instead of metal, to hold the contents together. I then had the feeling that we had a much earlier boat than the later 1850 “Money Boat” that the salvage company thought this one was. This “Money Boat” was thought to contain $200,000 in silver and $50,000 in gold coins. In today’s money….we are talking Millions of Dollars. My question was, why would a very early steamboat be caring that much money? Back to the search for the name of the boat. We felt that there may be a stamp on the top of the barrels indicating the location of the shipment of pork. We pressed on and searched for this. We were right. We finally found a barrel top that was marked. Later, my next move, was to research for the origin of this salt cured pork at Chillicothe Ohio. I did some calling and found a person by the name of Brian Hackett, Director of the Ross County Historical Society in Chillicothe. He gave me the information about the Waddle & Davisson Company that was in operation from 1812 to 1824, shipping salt cured pork to early settlements out west including the forts at Council Bluffs Iowa some 950 river miles away from the docks at Chillicothe, Ohio. This is such a significant incite for a remarkable adventure early in the settling of the Great West. Brian Hackett advised that “This is a greater glimpse of what things were like, an unintentional time capsule. Finds like this allow people to have insight about daily lives of those who lived long ago. Covering it was a waste, a loss of significant historical artifacts.” Again, we pressed on with our search. Gary Sisk wanted to search the stern of the boat with his idea of using a two-inch water hose that was supplied by the water pumps that removed the water from the sunken boat area. In digging the boat which was incased with sand and water, this water had to be removed. A system of four to five pumps were needed for this process. The pumps ran 24/7 at a cost of $500 dollars per day in fuel to run the pumps. This water was pumped some 150 yards back to the Missouri River. In this task, of washing the stern of the boat, we uncovered a recessed paddle wheel or bootjack stern-wheeler. This was also an indication of an early boat. I knew from my studies that this is what the early steamers looked like. T he first thing that was found was a pelvic bone. At the time we didn’t know what kind of bone this was. Arthur’s note: Weeks later, I contacted Doctor Wiley McVicker, a veterinarian in Boonville, and he advised that this was a bovine pelvic bone. He couldn’t tell if it were male or female. So, we know that at least one cow was onboard when the ship sank. Again, this was important to me because cattle were not a plentiful item out west at this point in time. River, Rails & Trails Museum in Boonville houses the following: ½ scale model of a keel boat, handmade model of a Keel boat by Eric Owens, many artefacts from the Missouri Packet collected by Wayne Lammers. Oldest artifacts of oldest steam to be excavated on the Missouri River – May 5, 1820 excavated in December 1987. Wayne Lammers with some of his artifacts from the 200 year old shipwreck "The Missouri Packet" that are located at The River, Rails & Trails Museum in Boonville. Excavation of the steamboat, Missouri Packet, December 27, 1987. This is the stern of the boat with the Paddle Wheel at top right. The boat was destroyed by the company that excavated the boat, looking for gold and silver that wasn't onboard this early 1800's boat. Crew unearthing the paddle wheel of the steamboat. This was a very early steamboat made in the early 1800's. This boat will be the earliest steamboat ever excavated on the Missouri River. This boat was a "recessed sternwheeler" or "Boot-Jack" with the paddle wheel up inside the boat. Lobby in the Arabia Museum in Kansas City displaying the steam engine Paddle wheel and the stern of the boat - they dug through the boat. Boiler - one of the boilers - excavated and "carefully" searched for in the boat, with a 6-foot bucket Bob Dyer examining the steam engine Barrel staves from barrels of salt pork and whiskey. Pork was processed in Chillicothe Ohio by Waddel and Davidson Capstan Closeup of the capstan Picture of barrel top and a pork jaw bone Copper tubing (high steam pressure tubing) Artifacts on display at River, Rails and Trails Museum Digging out the steam engine Steam engine from another angle Article from the Missouri Intelligencer & Boonslick Advertiser at Franklin on May 13, 1820. This is the notification of the sinking of the Missouri Packet Steamboat on the Missouri River just west of the Lamine River. The story of the sunken steamboat as the news traveled to Chillicothe Ohio where the 200 year old salted pork came from. Photo by Wayne Lammers who was a small part of the excavation of the Missouri Packet.

THE MORMON WAR The Mormon war took place in the year 1838 . When the Mormons came to Missouri in 1831 , they located in Jackson County. The citizens there did not like their customs and became angry at the many crimes they committed because of their religious views. They were soon driven from Jackson County, and they moved to Caldwell County, Missouri. The citizens of Caldwell did not want the Mormons to settle in their town, either. They didn’t have sufficient troops to force them to move, so they asked the governor to send in troops to get rid of the Mormons. Governor Boggs called for 7,000 volunteers. In answer to the call, three companies were formed in Cooper County. One was called the Boonville Guards. The second was a volunteer company raised at Boonville. The third was raised in Palestine township. These companies marched twice towards the Mormon settlement and the place of war. While they were marching, the Mormons surrendered. The companies returned home without having ever met the enemy. Upon their arrival at Boonville, these troops were disbanded. The Mormons, after the end of the war, left the state and went to Nauvoo, Illinois, where they stayed for several years. After having difficulty with the authorities of the state of Illinois, the Mormons left and went to the Great Salt Lake.

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

WORLD WAR I Arch Duke Francis Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, of Austria, were assassinated. This led to a series of events that triggered World War I. The war began in 1914 and ended in 1918 . (1917 ) The single act of shooting Ferdinand and his wife marked the beginning of the war. But there were several basic causes of World War I. These causes were: the growth of nationalism, the system of military alliances that made a balance of power, the competition for colonies and other territories, and the use of secret diplomacy. The United States tried to remain neutral. German submarines sank unarmed passenger ships, and stories of German attacks against civilians convinced Americans to join the Allies. The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917 . New weapons and new methods of warfare were developed during World War I. The machine gun appeared in the war. The British army first used a tank during the war. The submarine came into use for the first time on a large scale. Air warfare also developed in World War I. The Germans used dirigible balloons, called Zeppelins. In 1915 , Germany first used poison gas. Much of the war took place in trenches and involved hand to hand combat. The western battlefront stretched about 600 miles from the English Channel to the border of Switzerland. The eastern front extended more than 1,100 miles from the Baltic Sea to the shores of the Black Sea. The southern front ran from Switzerland to Trieste for about 320 miles. Agreements made after the war changed the map of the world. New governments appeared in many of the countries that had been involved in the war. World War I did not settle the world’s problems. It just sowed seeds that caused the world to engage in another war less than 20 years later. Five hundred ninety-three men from Cooper County served in the war. Of those, 49 were wounded, six killed and one taken as a Prisoner of War. Ten others died from disease and two were reported missing in action. Company B of the 3rd Regiment Infantry National Guard from Boonville, with 92 men, served in the war under the command of Capt. Carl F. Scheidner. They were called to Federal Service on March 25, 1917 . WORLD WAR I WEBPAGES HISTORY CHANNEL BRITANNICA Atlantic Magazine NATIONAL ARCHIVES—TOPICS NATIONAL WORLD WAR I MUSEUM IN KANSAS CITY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC THE WORLD WAR I DOCUMENT ARCHIVE WORLD WAR I DIGITAL HISTORY FOR CHILDREN ABOUT WWI LIBRARY OF CONGRESS WORLD WAR I

COOPER COUNTY IS FORMED Howard County Has Been Named “The Mother of Counties” Two years after Howard County was organized, there was so much immigration into the southern part of the county that there was a great demand for the division of Howard County and for the formation of another county south of the Missouri River. Because of this demand, the territorial Legislature, on December 17, 1816 , formed the new county of Cooper, which included all of Howard County south of the Missouri River. In 1803, the United States had more than doubled its size with the Louisiana Purchase. The following year, what would one day become the State of Missouri was divided into four districts. On October 1, 1812 , the area was reorganized into five counties and named the Missouri Territory. Although a few changes took place in the Territory between 1813 and 1815 , the biggest change occurred on January 23, 1816 , with the organization of Howard County. Named after Benjamin Howard, the first Governor of the Missouri Territory, Howard County covered more than one-third of the state. It reached all the way to what would become Kansas and Iowa. Howard County would eventually form all or parts of 39 additional counties. Boonville, which was south of the Missouri River across from Franklin, was the county seat. As the population increased south of the river, people began requesting Howard be made into two counties, one on each side of the Missouri River. Finally, after less than three years, Howard was divided. On December 17, 1818 , everything north of the river remained Howard County, and everything south of the river became Cooper County, which was named after Sarshel Cooper and his brother Benjamin, early settlers of the area. The one drawback to the division was the county seat. Boonville was Howard County’s seat of government, but it was on the wrong side of the river. Laid out in 1823 , Fayette became Howard County’s county seat. This territory included what now forms 11 counties and parts of five others. Cooper County was gradually decreased in size by the formation of new counties. By 1845 , the boundaries of Cooper County were as they are today. HISTORICALLY YOURS, by Elizabeth Davis HOW COOPER COUNTY CAME TO BE By Dr. Maryellen H. McVicker The area that is now known as Missouri, was originally divided into 5 counties in 1812 by Territorial Governor William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition: St. Louis, St. Charles, New Madrid, St. Genevieve, and Cape Girardeau. These 5 counties had their origins in French settlements mostly along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. On January 13, 1816 , Howard County was created out of portions of St. Louis and St. Charles counties, and eventually encompassed enough land that 39 counties, or approximately 1/3 of the entire state of Missouri, would be formed from the original Howard County territory. Cooper County was one of those counties. It was organized as a separate county on December 17, 1818 . By 1821, Missouri had 25 counties. Eventually there would be 114 counties, and the City of St. Louis. The central Missouri region experienced rapid growth during the first 2 decades of the 19th century. By 1820 , what is now Howard and Cooper Counties, had a population of over 20,000 people, which was about 1/3 of the entire population of the Territory of Missouri. The population of the entire United States was between 9 and 10 million. Now, two hundred years later, over 300 million call the United States their home and approximately 38,000 people live in the two-county region. Cooper County will soon be 200 years old. Cooper County predates statehood. The 1876 Levens and Drake History of Cooper County tells a story about an early county employee: “Sometime during the year 1817 , William Gibson, …was appointed by the Territorial Court constable. …Soon after his appointment, there being some trouble down on the Osage, he was sent there with a warrant for the arrest of a man who had caused the trouble. …As he was on his journey back, and also having an execution against a Man who lived on the road, he stopped at the man’s house and proceeded to levy a tax on the feather beds, as nothing in those days was exempt from levy (taxation—ed.) But, as soon as he made his purpose known, four women, who were the only persons at home, threatened to give him a thrashing, so he was forced to retire as fast as he could, and return with the execution unsatisfied. To add to this, the court only allowed him, for his journey of one hundred and forty miles, which occupied four days, the magnificent sum of twenty-five cents. Mr. Gibson thinking the office not quite lucrative enough to justify him devoting his whole time to its duties, and not wishing to risk his life at the hands of angry women, quietly sent in his resignation…” Some things never change! Notice the size of Howard County compared to Cooper County COUNTIES THAT WERE FORMED FROM COOPER COUNTY Not only were 14 counties formed from Cooper County, many of these counties, in turn, were the parent county to new counties. Cooper County as originally formed comprised the present day counties of Bates (Formed 1841 from Cass County), Benton (Formed 1835 from Pettis County), Camden (Formed 1841 from Benton County), Cass (Formed 1835 from Jackson County), Cole (Formed 1820 from Cooper County), Henry (Formed 1834 from LaFayette County), Jackson (Formed 1826 from LaFayette County), Johnson (Formed 1834 from LaFayette County), LaFayette (Formed 1820 from Cooper County), Miller (Formed 1837 from Cole County), Moniteau (Formed 1845 from Cole and Morgan Counties), Morgan (Formed 1833 from Cooper County), Pettis (Formed 1833 from Cooper and Saline Counties), St. Clair (Formed 1841 from Henry County), and Saline (Formed 1820 from Cooper and Howard Counties). References : Ann Betteridge

THE PONY EXPRESS Depiction of the construction of the first Transcontinental Telegraph , with a Pony Express rider passing below. Source: Wikipedia. March 1861: The Pony Express reduces its route from Salt Lake City, Utah to Sacramento, California When Cooper County mail, that was headed west by stage coach, reached Saint Joe, Missouri, it would be picked up at the Pony Express office by one of the 80 riders, and start on a 2,000-mile wild ride by horseback to the next station. The mail and newspapers would reach San Francisco in 10 days. By stage coach, the same trip would take three weeks! There were 153 Stations, some in hotels and some in shacks. The rider would ride 10 to 15 miles before changing horses and then continue his ride to the next station and a new horse. Five hundred horses were used for each round trip. The ride was not comfortable for the rider or the horse. Bad weather, rough terrain and Indians were constant threats. Ad in the Sacramento Union, March 19, 1860 “Men Wanted" The undersigned wishes to hire ten or a dozen men, familiar with the management of horses, as hostlers, or riders on the Overland Express Route via Salt Lake City. Wages $50 per month and found.” On June 16, 1860, about ten weeks after the Pony Express began operations, Congress authorized a bill instructing the Secretary of the Treasury to subsidize the building of a transcontinental telegraph line to connect the Missouri River and the Pacific Coast. The passage of the bill resulted in the incorporation of the Overland Telegraph Company of California and the Pacific Telegraph Company of Nebraska. While the lines were under construction the Pony Express operated as usual. Letters and newspapers were carried the entire length of the line from St. Joseph to Sacramento, but telegrams were carried only between the rapidly advancing wire ends. On October 26, 1861, San Francisco was in direct contact with New York City. On that day the Pony Express was officially terminated, but it was not until November that the last letters completed their journey over the route. In June, 1860 Congress authorized the incorporation off the Overland Telegraph Company of California and Pacific Company of Nebraska. The Pony Express lasted only 19 months from April 1860 to October 1861, but it successfully connected the East to the West in record time. Sources: Adapted from National Geographic National Park Service National Historic Trail

OTHER AREA HISTORICAL RESEARCH SITES River, Rails & Trails Museum and Visitor's Center 100 East Spring Street Boonville, Missouri, 65233 Phone: 660 882-3967 Hours: Monday - Friday 8:30am - 4pm year-round, and 10am - 2pm Saturday and Sundays April through October The Visitor’s Center and Museum is located in the former Hirsch Wholesale Grocery Company warehouse, which was built in 1902 alongside the MKT Railroad tracks. In 2016 the City of Boonville converted the building into the new Visitor’s Center and Museum. The museum houses a half-scale replica of a Lewis and Clark keelboat, a Mitchell wagon, and railroad memorabilia including a model train display. A model steamboat, items from the sunken “Missouri Packet” steamboat and general Boonville history items are on display, as are items from the former Kemper Military School. There is also a children’s fort play area and several interactive displays. It is an excellent stop for information about Boonville and the Boonslick Region. South Howard County Historical Society and Museum 110 E. Broadway New Franklin, Missouri 65274 Phone: n/a Facebook The South Howard County Historical Society was organized in 1989. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to the collection, preservation, and exhibition of documents, papers, and objects relative to the history of Howard County, MO, and to promote an interest and appreciation for local history. SHCHS meets four times a year on the first Tuesday of the following months: March, June, September, and December. Our 7:00 p.m. meetings consist of a short business meeting and a program devoted to our local history. The public is always invited! Boonslick Historical Soc iety P.O. Box 426, Boonville, MO 65233 Phone Number: n/a Facebook History Focus: All aspects of the Boonslick Region, especially Howard, Cooper and Saline counties from the late 18th through mid-20th century. Funding: Non-profit, memberships and donations. Boone’s Lick Road Association P.O. Box 8076 Columbia, MO 65205 The Boone’s Lick Road Association (BLRA), incorporated in Missouri in 2011, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our mission is twofold: First, we want to preserve and tell the fascinating stories of the first major road into the heart of Missouri. Secondly, we hope to secure federal recognition of this road as a National Historic Trail. We aim to be the most comprehensive and authoritative source for information and research into this historic trail. Arrow Rock State Historic Site 39521 Visitor Center Drive Arrow Rock, MO 6532 Phone: 660-837-3330 Email: ArrowRockStateHistoricSite@dnr.mo.go Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily March through October. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday to Sunday, November through February. Free admission.

MAJOR MISSOURI/COOPER COUNTY EVENTS 1874-1993 Map of Missouri showing cropland devastation by the Rocky Mountain locust plagues of 1866 and 1874, State Historical Society of Missouri Map Collection. (1874) “The GRASSHOPPER PLAGUE” began in western Missouri as the first swarms of locusts from the Rocky Mountains traveled eastward eating everything in its path. (Courtesy of the Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “Small flying grasshoppers, known as Rocky Mountain locust, hatched in an unusually large number in the spring and by the summer of 1874 , the locusts began their travel eastward in search of food. Kansas and Nebraska were their first stops and heavily hit, devouring crops in large swaths stretching from the interior of Canada to the southern border of Texas, including the western regions of Minnesota, Iowa and Missouri. The following spring of 1875 , trillions of the locusts hatched, a number unseen since that time. The large swarms continued until 1877 , causing an estimated $200 million in crop damage. Not only did the locusts eat crops, it ate leather, wood, sheep’s wool, and reportedly the clothes off a person’s back! Vivid firsthand accounts told of the clouds that hailed grasshoppers, falling to the ground like snowflakes. Missouri offered $1 a bushel for locusts collected in March in an effort to stop the insects from multiplying. Later, farmers planted more resilient crops such as winter wheat that matured in the early summer before the migration of locusts. It’s uncertain what led to the end of the plague, but researchers have studied and theorized what caused this fortunate mass extinction of the Rocky Mountain locust.” (1896) JESSE JAMES TTRAIN ROBBERY. The infamous James train robbery at Otterville on July 7, 1896 received little newspaper attention since it was at the same time as the battle of Little Big Horn out west. Keith Daleen, a Civil War reenactor and historian, has researched the eight robbers who boarded the stalled train at Rocky Cut, robbed the passengers and the railroad safe, and disappeared to divide the loot at Flat Creek. They netted about $15,000 from the robbery, a nice sum in those days. Their names were Jesse and Frank James, Cole and Bob Younger, Clell Miller, Charlie Pitts, Bill Caldwell (aka William Stiles) and Hobbs Kerry. Jesse had many friends in the Otterville area and would hide out in an old building on the edge of town when he came to Otterville. So, the gang was very familiar with the area and the best escape routes. Frank James was jailed for a very short time in the Cooper County jail, but was released on bond. Kerry was the only one convicted and jailed. The others were later convicted of robbing the Northfield Bank in Minnesota and were known then as the James/Younger Gang. Later, the others were convicted of robbing the Northfield Bank and jailed. There is a descriptive marker at “Robber Cut” at the Brownfield Roadside Park on old Route 50 overlooking the place where the robbery occurred. You might like to take a video “tour” of the old Cooper County Jail and see the luxurious accommodations that Frank and Hobs Kerry enjoyed as a guest. Historic Cooper County Jail - YouTube Marie Oliver Watkins stands behind the original Missouri flag that she designed, 1943 circa, (P1103) State Historical Society of Missouri. (1913) The OFFICIAL MISSOURI STATE FLAG designed by Marie Watkins Oliver, was signed into law. (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) In 1908 , the Daughters of the American Revolution appointed Marie Watkins Oliver chairperson of the committee to design a flag for Missouri. Oliver gathered information about how other states had designed their flags and began work on a design centered on the Missouri coat of arms signifying Missouri's independence as a state. The blue stripe in the flag represented vigilance, permanency and justice. The red striped represented valor and the white stripe represented purity. Oliver asked Mary Kochtitzy, an artist from Cape Girardeau, to paint the flag on paper for a State Capitol viewing in 1908 . The bill to make the flag official failed to pass twice because of a competing design. After the Missouri State Capitol fire of 1911 destroyed Oliver’s original sample, a second flag made of silk was completed and Governor Elliott Woolfolk Major signed the bill to make Oliver’s design the official state flag. The Missouri State Flag. Adopted by State Legislature State Seal Sheriff John Grothe and Deputy James Morton with captured moonshine still in St. Charles, 1924, (S1083) State Historical Society of Missouri. (1920 - 1933) PROHIBITION era begins across the U.S. affecting many of the German immigrant-owned beer companies in Missouri(Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “Beginning in 1882 , Missouri counties and towns passed local option laws to turn communities dry. By World War I, over 90 of the state’s 114 counties were dry through these laws. On January 16, 1919 , Missouri ratified what would become the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol. Under the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act, Missouri's flourishing alcohol and wine industry took a significant step back, particularly German-immigrant owned breweries. After a decade of inefficient enforcement, and with the deepening of the Great Depression, the 21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th Amendment, was ratified in 1933 .” Boonville had a very successful brewery, Griessmaier & Roeschel Brewery/Winery, which opened in 1874 and closed in 1878 . After prohibition, another brewery known as the Haas Brewery, operated from 1933-1942 . So Cooper County did not have any “legal” establishments put out of business during prohibition. There is no record about where, or if, County residents obtained “adult beverages” during prohibition. 1929 Stock Market Crash (Courtesy of the Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) St. Louis Soup Kitchen, 1939. Charles Trefts Photographs (P0034) State Historical Society of Missouri. (1929) The stock market crash led to the Great Depression of the 1930s. (Courtesy Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “The Great Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as “Black Thursday,” started in the late Fall of 1929 when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange collapsed. The crash caused an economic downfall throughout the state as Missouri businesses struggled to survive. About 300 Kansas City industrial companies closed by 1933 and other cities and towns across Missouri would suffer from the fallout of the crash. The fallen markets, alone, did not cause the Great Depression. Only 16 percent of Americans were in the market. However, it caused widespread panic that worsened an ongoing recession, it lowered consumer spending, and contributed to the banking crisis”. The “Great Depression” was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world. It started after the stock market crash in October 1929 when over one million investors were wiped out. Farmers suffered during the Depression from drought, insect swarms and lower farm prices. Many family farms were lost to creditors during this time. This is a good concise explanation of the Depression. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression Another explanation from The Balance https://www.thebalance.com/great-depression-timeline-1929-1941-4048064 (1937) Missouri voters approved a CONSTITUTIONAL AMMENDMEENT to create the Missouri Conservation Commission. (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “On July 1, 1937 , the constitutional amendment creating the Missouri Conservation Commission took effect, creating a politically-appointed, science-based conservation agency with exclusive authority over forests, fish and wildlife. Over the next 75 years, the “Missouri plan” allowed the state agency, Missouri Department of Conservation, to build what is acknowledged as one of the nation’s top conservation programs. Prior to the creation of the commission, Missouri’s forests, fish, and wildlife resources were being quickly depleted in the state”. (1939) CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS (by Elizabeth Davis) FDR’s Alphabet Soup Comes to Boonville Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was Governor of New York when Black Tuesday hit on October 29, 1929 . The Great Depression followed and lasted the better part of ten years. In 1932 , the Democratic Party talked FDR into being their candidate for President of the United States. In his acceptance speech, he promised the American people a New Deal. Elected by a landslide, FDR took office on March 4, 1933 . Five days later he called the 73rd Congress into emergency session. By the end of the month, Congress had passed the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Act and it had been signed into law. On April 5, FDR issued Executive Order 6101 authorizing a program which would become known as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). But this was just one of FDR’s New Deal programs to get the unemployed trained and back to work. At the time, twenty-five percent of the population was unemployed. His first program: recruit the young and unemployed, create a peacetime army, and fight to save our nation’s natural resources. On January 21, 1935 , The Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 was passed by joint resolution and signed by the President on April 8. FDR signed Executive Order 7034 on May 6 of that year which established the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It was renamed the Work Projects Administration (still known as the WPA) in 1939 . Both these programs took the unskilled and unemployed young men of this country, put them to work on public projects, and taught them skills for the future. Because most of the President’s programs became known by their acronyms, they were collectively referred to as FDR’s “alphabet soup”. The CCC Campsite was active in Pilot Grove from 1939-1942 . The CCC program dealt mostly with land and conservation while the WPA put up thousands of public buildings around the country. In 1939 , the WPA came to Boonville. Sumner School was built for the black students in the community. That changed in 1959 when desegregation became law and all students went to the same school. The Emergency Conservation Work (EWC) Act, Senate Bill S.598, was introduced on March 27, passed both houses of Congress and was on Roosevelt’s desk by March 31. Executive Order 6101, dated April 5, authorized the program which would become known as the Civilian Conservation Corps. Robert Fechner was appointed director and an Advisory Council consisting of representatives of the Secretaries of Agriculture, Interior, and War, was created. The first enrollee signed up on April 7, and, ten days after that, the first CCC camp opened. By July 1, over 275,000 men occupied 1,300 camps in all 48 states, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Single men who were between the ages of 17 and 25, out of school and unemployed were eligible for enrollment. The pay was $30-a-month plus food, clothing, shelter, and medical care. Mandatory monthly allotment checks of $25 were sent to their families. For those who had no family, the funds were held in an account for him until discharged from the program. Communities close to these camps profited as well. They averaged $5,000-a-month additional revenue which saved many small businesses from going under. Almost immediately, two important modifications became necessary. Enlistment was extended to about 14,000 American Indians who were living well below the poverty Level. Over time, the program helped more than 80,000 of them reclaim land that had once been theirs. About 25,000 locally experienced men (LEM) were also authorized to enroll in order to train inexperienced men with axes, shovels, and other skills they needed to perform their jobs. This had the added benefit of allowing the locally unemployed to be eligible for enrollment. On May 11, 1933 , President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6129 which opened enrollment to about 25,000 Spanish American and World War I veterans with no age or marital restrictions. They performed duties in conservation suited to their age and physical condition. Nearly 250,000 veterans were given belated opportunities to rebuild their lives after serving their country. With unemployment down and World War II just around the corner, CCC was on its last leg. Congress never actually abolished the CCC program; they just stop funding it. CCC officially went out of existence on June 30, 1942. A partial summary of the work accomplished by the CCC between 1933 and 1942 includes: the erection of 3,470 fire towers, construction of 97,000 miles of fire roads, 4,235,000 man-days fighting fires, the planting of more than three billion trees, and the arresting of soil erosion on more than twenty million acres of land. During those eleven years, nearly 3 million men found employment in more than 2,650 camps. While 137 camps are listed in Missouri, it should be noted that Pilot Grove is the only location listed in Cooper County. According to the CCC Legacy website (www.ccclegacy.org ) a camp was established in Pilot Grove on October 17, 1939 . (SCS-34, 3762). However, records indicate that a second CCC camp was established in Pilot Grove on June 30, 1941 . (SCS-38, 1771) Thanks to previous research done by Judy Shields, it appears the first camp was outgrown and a second camp was built either adjourning or close by the first one. When completed, the first camp was closed. When asked, Shields said she had been unable to identify any original buildings from the camp. A bronze plaque has been provided by the Friends of Pilot Grove and was dedicated at Pilot Grove’s City Park by city officials in 2018. HISTORICALLY YOURS, by Liz Davis (Published Jan 31, 2018) (1945) Missouri ratified the state's fourth and current constitution. (Courtesy of the Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “The first Missouri Constitution was written in only 38 days and was adopted July 19, 1820 . Subsequent drafts were drawn up because of changes related to the state, such as population size and major events like the Civil War. The fourth Missouri Constitutional Convention took place in Jefferson City on September 21, 1943 , and took just over a year before it was approved. Voters ratified the changes made to the Missouri Constitution on February 27, 1945 .” (1984) Missouri voters pass a one-tenth-of-one-percent sales tax to fund state parks and soil and water conservation efforts. (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “Missouri had the second highest rate of erosion in the nation and a statewide park system in much need of repair at the time the state sales tax was passed. The tax portion for soil and water conservation measures assist agriculture landowners through voluntary programs developed by the Soil and Water Districts Commission. The other portion of the tax revenue provides most of the budget for operation and development of state parks. The tax has a sunset clause of 10 years, and has been renewed by more than two-thirds majority of Missouri voters since 1984 .” (1990) The first section of the 240-mile Katy Trail along the Missouri River opens at Rocheport for walking and bicycling by the public. (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “The Katy Trail is the longest rail-to-trail in the US, running largely along the Missouri River for 240 miles. It was built on the former corridor for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and was converted to a walking and bicycle gravel trail by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources with a large donation from Edward D “Ted” and Pat Jones, and supported by a Missouri trail advocacy group. The Katy Trail takes visitors on a journey along part of the trail explored by the Lewis and Clark’s expedition. There are more than two dozen trailheads and four fully-restored railroad depots along the trail, as well as the state’s oldest and beloved Burr Oak “Big Tree” at McBain in Boone County. The Burr Oak was a young tree when Lewis and Clark traveled by it. Construction of the Katy Trail began in 1987 . The first section of trail at Rocheport was opened in 1990 . The trail’s 25th anniversary was celebrated in 2015 .“ Katy Trail history began more than a hundred years ago during the golden age of railroads. In 1865 the Union Pacific Railroad built the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad and established the network as the Southern Branch. The route was also commonly called the KMT, (Kansas, Missouri, Texas) and eventually the Katy. The last KATY train to leave Boonville was in 1986 . Through legislation, land grants, and donations, the first section of the Katy Trail opened near Rocheport in 1990 . Since then, more sections have been added, extending the trail to its current 240 miles. The trail winds through some of the most scenic areas of the state with the majority of the trail closely following the Missouri River. Katy Trail is also part of the American Discovery Trail, and has been designated as a Millennium Legacy Trail, and was added to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Hall of Fame in 2008 . (1992) Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved terms limits for state legislators by amending the Missouri Constitution. (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) The Missouri State Legislative Term Limits, also known as Amendment 12, was on the November 1992 ballot. The law, approved by voters, caps service at eight years (two terms) in the Missouri House. (1993) Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. (Courtesy of Missouri Bicentennial Timeline) “The Great Flood of 1993 destroyed farmland, homes, and other properties through the Midwest with some towns never recovering. In 1992 , the Midwest experienced an unusually wet Fall causing high soil moisture. To make matters worse, the area was hit by persistent storms, sometimes lasting four days at a time. Water began to fill the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and their tributaries between May through September 1993 , causing major flooding in Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois. The Great Flood resulted in over 50 deaths and billions of dollars of damage. Crest was 37.10 feet.” (2019 ) Second worst flood of the Missouri River and the longest flooding event in Missouri River history. May 31, 2019 , the Crest was 33.73 feet.

FUNERALS & FUNERAL HOMES American funeral traditions can vary so much among communities. Regardless of the individual's beliefs or societal group, funerals have one thing in common; they are meant to give people an opportunity to honor and say "goodbye" to someone they loved. Mourning the Dead: Funeral Practices in 1870 until 1900 Since the beginn ing of time, death has played a role in the lives of every person. Disease, the lack of proper nutrition, the lack of sanitary conditions, childbirth, and the lack of medical knowledge often played a role in the average life span. In pre-Civil War America, mourning and funerals were deeply personal. The Civil War, however, brought new meaning to death in America. The war’s casualties brought about the need for creating new practices in the funeral industry, and by the end of the Civil War, those new practices had changed the way Americans mourned their loved ones. The 1900s saw funeral practices, and mourning customs started to shift even more to private affairs. To better understand the shift in customs and practices, it is essential to understand where they started. In pre-Civil War America, death, though familiar and a part of everyday life was deeply personal. Funerals took place in the home, with women and men from the community assisting the family in preparing the body for burial by washing and laying out the body. Someone would sit up with the body for three days to ensure that death had occurred, and the men would dig graves. In other words, only those who knew the family closely would actively participate in ensuring a proper funeral. However, the Civil War would actively change the practice. Mourning customs, however, did not change as much during the war era. According to the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, men were not exempt from mourning customs. They did, however, have it significantly easier than women. The appropriate mourning attire consisted of a dark or black suit with a black armband or hatband for men. Mourning expectations for widowers did not exceed three months. Unlike their counterpart, widows remained in mourning for two and a half years. Dress for women in mourning encompassed three stages – Deep Mourning, Second Mourning, and Half Mourning. In a deep mourning period, women wore black dresses with no trim, and the only acceptable jewelry was jet—furthermore, women in deep mourning worn long veils initially made of crepe. Due to health concerns, however, the crepe veils were discontinued. Each subsequent mourning stage lessened the restrictions upon women based upon colors they could and could not wear. Additionally, mourning was dependent upon the individual that died. "Mourning should be worn" said a professed authority, For a husband or wife, from one to two years, though some widows retain their mourning for life. Queen Victoria of England wore black dresses for the rest of her life after the death of her beloved husband Albert. For a parent or grandparent, from six months to a year. For children above ten years of age, from six months to a year; for those below that age, from three to six months; and for an infant, six or seven weeks. For brothers and sisters, six to eight months. For uncles and aunts, three to six months. For cousins, or uncles or aunts related by marriage, from six weeks to three months. For more distant relatives or friends, from three weeks to as many months, according to the degree of intimacy. Additionally, there are rules about receiving visitors, sending and receiving mail, and invitations and announcements for the deceased. The Civil War Brought the Advent of Embalming This process preserved the body to prevent decomposition from occurring immediately, enabling bodies to be shipped from the battlefield to home. In many cases, the embalming process occurred on the battlefield, and the body was delivered to their home’s front door. In April 1865 and the two-week viewing and travel schedule that finally took him home to Springfield, Illinois, the death of Abraham Lincoln created a powerful marketing tool for the idea of a non-decomposing body. This new marketing tool paved the way for the undertaker to earn an income by selling his services. The late 1800s through to the early 1900s saw professional undertakers’ creation, with schools for morticians as they now would be called forming around 1882. Funerals moved out of the home and into newly created funeral parlors. Caskets became more of what we know today, and the process and responsibility for preparing the body for burial no longer fell to the women of the community. Though, in rural areas, this remained the exception. One such funeral home is the Diuguid Funeral Home, located in Lynchburg, VA. According to their website, the Diuguid Funeral Home is the second oldest funeral home in America and the first one in Virginia. Started by Sampson Diuguid, a hand-carved furniture maker known for his craftsmanship, the Funeral Home started by happenstance rather than design. As his reputation grew for his furniture, Diuguid started receiving requests for coffins. On an exciting note, the Diuguid’s are responsible for designing and creating a church truck, which in the funeral industry allows for the casket to move up church aisles without the need for pallbearers to carry it. The cost of funerals in 1870 varied from anywhere from $30 to $75, or more for the very wealthy. Source: The Solitary Historian Note: In sending letters of condolence, announcements of death and sending letters of acknowledgment from received letters, the paper was always edged in black. Source: Schmitt, “Home Funeral History,” For Fashionable Mour ning By 1900, funeral practices and mourning customs started to shift. Though most of the mourning clothing remained the same, there are slight differences in the styles. Fabrics also changed, and it was increasingly popular to purchase mourning clothing instead of making it at home. Additionally, prices did not necessarily reflect change so much as it did the financial standing of the family paying for the funeral. Funeral homes tended to charge those who were well off more for their funerals than someone who could not afford it. In fact, in Lynchburg, VA there was an Overseer of the Poor who often paid for the services provided by the funeral at a significantly lower cost. The ledgers of the Diuguid Funeral Home in 1900 changed significantly from a hand-written ledger to a pre-printed ledger that recorded more information such as cause of death and much of the information that can now be found on death certificates. In fact, their records are so detailed that should a record not exist for an individual with the State records it is highly possible that Diuguid’s records contain what any researcher or genealogist may need to locate. Source: The Delineator, October 1900. A Special Architectural Feature In the 1800's and early 1900's, until about the time of World War I, funerals were mostly a quiet family affair held at home. Funerals were held in the parlor with family and a few close friends in attendance. Since families tended to be larger than today, the second floor of most homes was devoted to sleeping quarters. In many homes at this time, the stairs to the second floor went straight up, reached a small platform (or "landing"), and then, the stairs turned to the left with about 4-5 additional steps to reach the second floor. When a family member died, they were placed in a casket and carried downstairs. If the pallbearers were not very careful, they would accidentally bang the casket into the wall when they turned, and descended the stairs, thus damaging the plaster on the wall. An interesting architectural idea helped save many walls from damage. It was called an "alcove" and was a recessed area in the wall at the top of the stairs, just before the turn to the left was made. A small portion of the wall, about waist high, was gently curved inward, about six to eight inches, so that when the casket came down the stairs to the landing, it could be moved into the alcove without damaging the wall. When not in use, the alcove was used as a decorative area containing a sculpture, a vase of silk flowers or other decorative items. Very few alcoves are left today as they were later plastered over and made to look like a regular wall. Here is a photo of a Cooper County home that chose to keep the alcove, but covered it entirely with a painting. No longer do families build homes with funerals in mind, and no longer does the deceased remain in the home until burial. Funeral Services have altered significantly the way that families mourn. The death of a loved one went from a very private showing to a more reserved public affair. Source: Editor, Barbara Dahl Note: In sending letters of condolence, announcements of death and sending letters of acknowledgment from received letters, the paper was always edged in black. Source: Schmitt, “Home Funeral History,” FUNERAL HOMES IN COOP ER COUNTY MISSOURI Currently, there are six active Funeral Homes in Cooper County. They are: Howard Funeral Home Boonville (formerly Davis) H T May & Son Funeral Home Boonville Markland-Yager Funeral Home Boonville Meisenheimer-Page-Dady Funeral Home Pilot Grove Meisenheimer-Page-Dady Funeral Home in Otterville (Goodman and Boller) William Wood (Thatcher-Wood) Funeral Home in Boonville Funeral Homes/Chapels Cooper County funeral homes seem to have changed ownership infrequently, but no one is quite sure about the date of founding or the date the name was changed to a new owner. One thing that is unique about the buildings where they reside, is that in the early to mi d 1900's, some of the funeral homes also served as the local hardware or furniture store. Davis Funeral Home was started by John Davis of Boonville. He sold it to Chris Howard who had been an employee. Chris renamed it to Howard Funeral home. John Davis said he always wanted to be an undertaker in the funeral business. Before William Wood Funeral Home came into being, is was Goodman and Boller Funeral Service. It was located in downtown Boonville at the Hittner building. William Wood served his apprenticeship under Mr. Goodman and Mr. Boller in 1947. William Wood then purchased a funeral home in Aurora, Mo. when Mr. Goodman died around 1954, Mr. Boller asked William Wood to move back to Boonville and become his partner. The funeral home had relocated to 517 Fourth Street by then where it still resides. Years later after Mr. Boller died it became Thacher-Wood, Inc. Fun Fact: My mom took me to the funeral home in Pilot Grove and there was a cute little you tea set that I really wanted. I was around 5 years old and would occasionally still suck my thumb. My grandfather promised me the tea set if I quit and I immediately did! I loved that tea set! Source: Kathy Murdock Thacher-Wood Funeral H omes Berry Thacher was born in Odessa, Mo and was childhood friends of the folks that owned the funeral home there. He spent a lot of time at the funeral home. Later in life after successful sales careers in Michigan and Texas he decided that he would like to buy a funer al home in a small town in Missouri and raise a family there. He heard that there was a funeral home for sale in Boonville, Mo at that time called Stegner Funeral Hom e located at 629 E. Morgan Street. Berry could not get off work to visit the funeral home so his wife, Frances Jorgensen Thacher made the trip to Boonville from Kansas City by herself to look at the facility and talk numbers, etc. She went back home and they decided that they would purchase the facility although it needed quite a bit of repair and cleaning. This was in the 1950s when they moved to Boonville with their son, Frank B. Thacher II who was in the first grade I believe. Berry and Frances began working on the funeral home and made the second floor of the house into an apartment where they lived until 1971 when they moved to a house on High Street. They lived in Boonville for the rest of their lives and are buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery. Some years later, perhaps in the mid 1960s, Berry and Frances bought a small funeral chapel in Prairie Home which was owned by Albert and Lorene Hornbeck. The Hornbeck’s owned a Hardware store which was next door to the funeral home on the square in Prairie Home. They were getting older and wanted to just focus on their hardware business. It became known as the Hornbeck-Thacher Funeral Chapel. It was open for many years until it burned down and the chapel was moved to another location in downtown Prairie Home. It closed some years later. Before the advent of cell phones, fax machines, call forwarding, etc., the funeral business entailed a great deal of time sitting inside beside a phone waiting for it to ring. A lot of time was spent being “on call”. Berry and Frances and Bill and Ruth each were wanting to have more free time while still attending to business. In the 1960s I believe they got together and talked about forming a corporation in which they would have more “time on/time off” while still taking care of business. They would keep the individual funeral homes but would work together. Berry always told the story that they consulted one of the larger funeral enterprises in Kansas City and they said “well it hasn’t been done, but it’s a great idea and you should try it”. So Thacher-Wood was born with William and Ruth Wood and Berry and Frances Thacher as the co-owners. In subsequent years, Frank Thacher and Charles Murdock (The Woods son-in-law) went to Dallas Institute of Mortuary Science and came back to Boonville to join the family corporation. In the year 2000, owners Charley and Kathy Murdock and Frank and Julie Thacher sold the corporation to Stewart Enterprises. Stewart Enterprises bought the name rights and it continued to be called Thacher-Wood Funeral Homes. Today the facility at 629 E. Morgan is a private home owned by Tanner and Casey Wendleton Bechtel. Other information: Kathy Wood Murdock and Julia Tuttle Thacher were both certified Funeral Directors by the State of Missouri. We were not licensed embalmers. Source: Julie Thacher This is a late picture of the “Princess” Theater in Bunceton. It was built in 1925 as a movie theater seating 233 people for silent movies. Once the “talkies” became popular, it was closed. It later became the HT May & Sons, Funeral Chapel and a furniture store. Later, it became a laundromat and finally a bar. Today it has been converted to apartments. Mentally paint the building white and add some gold paint to the ornate trim and you can imagine what the building looked like in the late 1930’s. Source: Kathy Wood Murdock May Funeral H ome's History The May funeral home was originally started in 1922 by my grandfather H.J. May’s uncle H.R. Martin. He operated the H.R. Martin funeral home until his death in 1925. I was told his original building waa the old victory cleaners building on Morgan street in Boonville. I believe Taylor’s Bakery now owns that space. It was at the time that my grandfather Holwell J. May (H.J.) took over the business. According to my father, my grandfather had some sort of agreement with James Stegner of Stegner funeral home to rent a small portion of the funeral home as needed, at times most of the funerals in the black community were held at the church. My father H.T. May said that at that time when you would come in the side door at what later became the Thacher funeral home, there was a small room where the black families were able to view but not hold services. This continued until the funeral home was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Thacher in the 1950s, then my grandfather H.J. May moved the business to 814 Porter Street in Boonville which is next to the current YMCA swimming pool. The business operated at this location until 1969. My father H.T. went to Worsham Mortuary School in 1960-61 in Chicago, IL. He then came home to Boonville to help his father run the business in Boonville. In 1969, the current day location at 405 Sycamore was purchased and the business was moved there. H.J. May died in 1974 and my father then took over the running of the business. I went to Dallas Institute of Mortuary Service in August of 1979 and graduated in August of 1980. I worked with my father until his death in 2005. At that time my mother Estelle May and I continued the operation. My son Howell J. May II then entered the Kansas City Kansas School of Mortuary Science and graduated in July 2011. Currently we operate the Boonville location. By: Thomas May History of Hays-Painter Funeral Home Bob Painter was born in Bellair and raised on a farm near there. He graduated from Pilot Grove High School in 1932 and farmed on his family farm. Bob became interested in being an undertaker. In the late 1930s, he enrolled in, and graduated, from the Kansas City School of Embalming in Kansas City, Kansas. After graduating, he worked in the Kansas City area for Newcomers Funeral Homes. Later, he worked in Concordia for a funeral home there. When Mr. Stoecklein retired, Bob joined Stoecklein–Hays Funeral Home in Pilot Grove. They owned a funeral home in Otterville. In 1940, Bob became a partner with Earl Hays, forming Hay s -Painter Funeral Home. The Pilot Grove Facility was a Funeral Home and Furniture hardware store. They sold furniture, paint, linoleum, wallpapers, appliances, and even lawnmowers. This business model was common for funeral homes. The funeral home also offered an Ambulance Service. The equipment was a station wagon with an ambulance cot and red lights. Most people were transported to the hospital in Boonville or Columbia. The Boonville police would wait at the bottom of Golf Link Hill and escort the ambulance through town. The Ambulance part ended in 1974 when the business was sold, and Cooper County established an Ambulance District at the hospital. After Pearl Harbor, Bob enlisted in the Navy and, being 29 years old, was made a Pharmacist Mate. He was over a hospital section in Scotland treating the wounded. Note: In the Navy, Morticians were often assigned to Fleet Marine Service (combat medic services). In 1950, he married Jo Gettel, who he met in Kansas City; they had two children, Pan and Bobby. In 1960, Mr. Hays retired. Bob continued as Hay’s Painter until 1974, when he sold the business to Wayne Woodard of Woodard Funeral Homes in California, MO. The store was closed and made into the casket display room and Senior Center. Carl Bo Hayne worked with Bob in the early 60’s and into the 70s. Andy Newman also worked and helped on many things. In 1976, Wayne Woodard sold the Funeral Home to Ed and Ken Misenhiemer; they ran the business, opening a home in Tipton in the 80s. They died, and the business was sold to the Hueletts, they operated the business until 2020. It was sold to the Page-Dady Funeral Home. By: Bob Painter Funeral Homes Provided Ambulan ce Service Back in those days the ambulance service was also provided by the funeral homes. Frank said the “ambulance” was a station wagon a nd they only carried a bottle of oxygen and a cot in it. Berry said they only had one person die in transit in all the years they provided that service. I believe that the cost for transporting someone was $5. As medical care changed so did the ambulance business. Cooper County took over the ambulance business and Berry Thacher and William Wood were more than happy to donate the keys to their 2 station wagons to the County after many years of making ambulance calls all over the county at all times of the day and night! I can’t remember the exact year but it could probably be accessed from the Cooper County Ambulance Service. Local Funeral Ads Steve Twenter shared these ads from his collection from the “Advertiser”: July 31th, 1953 May 28th, 1937 May 28th, 1937 July 25th, 1952 July 25th, 1952 July 25th, 1952 July 21th, 1939 July 25th, 1941 July 25th, 1941 July 26th, 1946 July 25th, 1941 July 26th, 1946 July 26th, 1940 July 26th, 1940 July 26th, 1946 July 26th, 1940 July 26th, 1940 July 26th, 1940 July 26th, 1940 July 27th, 1945 July 27th, 1945 July 26th, 1940