■f%&^ 
 
 
 
 >>7 , 
 
 
H I S T'O R Y 
 
 OF 
 
 Dunklin County, Mo 
 
 1845-1895. 
 
 Embracing an Historical Account of the Towns and Post-Villages of 
 
 Clarkton, Cotton Plant, Cardwell, Caruth, Campbell, Gibson, 
 
 Halcomb, Hornersville, Kennett, Lulu, Maiden, Nesbit, 
 
 Senath, Valley Ridge, Vincent, White Oak 
 
 and Wrightville. 
 
 Including a Department Devoted to the Description of the Early 
 
 Appearance, Settlement, Development, Resources, and 
 
 Present Appearance of the County. 
 
 With an Album of Its People and Homes 
 Profusely Illustrated. 
 
 BY 
 MARY F. SMYTH-DAVIS. 
 
 ST. LOUIS: 
 
 NIXON-JONES PRINTING CO. 
 
 1896. 
 

 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Territory of Missouri 7 
 
 State Organization 8 
 
 Why we were Included in Missouri 11 
 
 Boundaries 13 
 
 Earthquakes of 1811-12 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The Mound Builders — The Indians 19-21 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Scenery, Animals, etc 23 
 
 Physical Features 26 
 
 Present Appearances — Floods 28-29 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Civil War 31 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Early Settlements 38 
 
 Pioneer Physicians — General Growth of 
 
 County ,...., 43 
 
 (3) 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Churches — 
 
 Baptist —Methodist. . , 59-64 
 
 General Baptist — Cumberland Presby- 
 terian 68-70 
 
 Presbyterian — : Christian — Catholic. . . 72-76 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Resources — Health Rate 77-83 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Court Officials and Courts 86-99 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Towns and Villages — 
 
 Caruth — Cardwell 99-100 
 
 Cotton Plant — Clarkton 102-105 
 
 Campbell — Gibson — Halcomb 107-1 12 
 
 Hornersville — Kennett 114-119 
 
 Lulu — Maiden. 131-132 
 
 Nesbit — Senath — Valley Ridge 141-144 
 
 Vincet — White Oak — Wrightsville. . . 145-146 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Politics, Exports, etc 146-150 
 
 Biographical Sketches Illustrated 151 
 
 A Group of Dunklin County Women 284-287 
 
TO MY FKIENDS. 
 
 This little volume has been prepared to preserve 
 the past history of Dunklin County, Mo., perpetuate 
 the names of its pioneers, keep the time and manner 
 of settlement, record the names of its officials, and 
 preserve much other matter that would otherwise, in 
 a few years, be entirely lost. 
 
 Also realizing the many untrue and detrimental 
 things which have been spoken of her native county, 
 the author desires to bring it before its sister counties 
 and the world as it now exists, and to this end has 
 personally visited every locality of the county, and 
 more than fifty of the oldest and best informed citizens, 
 in search of information, and in every instance uying 
 that which proved to be the most reliable. 
 
 (5) 
 
INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 As every book must be, in some part, more or less 
 the opinion of its author, the writer has endeavored 
 to be moderate in language of praise, and to avoid all 
 exao^o^eration. 
 
 The Album of our People and Homes has received 
 much care and attention, with the best possible results 
 from the material furnished. 
 
 While knowing the book is not perfect, it is hoped 
 that it will meet with the approval of all. 
 
 My friends will please remember that I was born, 
 reared and educated (with the exception of two years 
 in the Piedmont, Wayne County, public schools, when 
 a child) — in Dunklin County; and I acknowledge 
 with pride, not only my nationality, but my native 
 State and county. 
 
 I tender my grateful thanks for courtesies received 
 from many friends, and respectfully dedicate this his- 
 tory to the people of Dunklin County. 
 
 The Author. 
 (6) 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 TERRITORY OF MISSOURI. 
 
 Congress organized the Territory of Missouri, June 
 4, 1812. The first Council consisted of nine members, 
 and the House of thirteen. ** Territory of Louisiana " 
 comprised its real boundary, yet it practically con- 
 sisted of only the settled parts of Missouri, as follows : 
 Cape Girardeau, embracing the territory between 
 Tywappity Bottom and Apple Creek, Ste. Genevieve, 
 extending from Apple Creek to the Meramec River, 
 St. Louis', including that part of the State between 
 the Meramec and Missouri rivers, St. Charles, com- 
 prising the settled country between the Missouri and 
 Mississippi. 
 
 In October of the same year, these four districts 
 were reorganized into five counties, by proclamation of 
 Gov. Howard. The fifth was called New Madrid, 
 and included Arkansas, therefore the present site of 
 Dunklin County. 
 
 In 1814 the population of the entire Territory was 
 25,000. The country was rapidly settled up and new 
 counties organized. 
 
 DurincT the session of the Legislature, in 1816-17, 
 
 (7) 
 
O HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO, 
 
 the old '*Bank of Missouri" was chartered; and in 
 the fall of 1817 the two banks, *' St. Louis" and 
 ** Missouri," were issuing bills, the former having gone 
 into operation in 1814. 
 
 The first newspaper west of the Mississippi was 
 published at St. Louis, July 12th, 1808. It was first 
 called the Missouri Gazette, and measured 12x16 
 inches. It proved to be the forerunner of the Missouri 
 Republican, thence The Republic, and now so widely 
 read by the staunch Democrats of Dunklin County. 
 
 The first paper west of St. Louis was the Missouri 
 Intelligencer, established by Nathaniel Patton, in 
 1819, at Old Franklin, and later removed to Fayette. 
 
 In 1818 the first Protestant Church (Baptist) was 
 built in St. Louis, and in the same year a cathedral 
 was commenced on the site of the old log church which 
 had been built by the early French settlers. 
 
 state organization. 
 
 In 1818, the inhabitants of Missouri petitioned for 
 admission into the Union, through John Scott, dele- 
 gate to Congress. Two years was consumed in the 
 discussion of the slavery question, by the House of 
 Representatives and the Senate. The House insisted 
 on the gradual restriction of involuntary servitude, 
 and the Senate refused to indorse any anti-slavery 
 proviso whatever. 
 
 In 1820, while the matter was still under discussion, 
 that amendment, famous as the ** Missouri Compro- 
 mise," was presented by Jesse B. Thomas, of Illi- 
 nois, and adopted March 6th of the same year. This 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. ^ 
 
 settled, for the time, all differences between the two 
 Houses, and allowed Missouri to enter the Union with 
 slavery. The pro-slavery senators consented to this 
 measure because they saw by the determination of the 
 House that they would be unable otherwise to secure 
 the admission of Missouri. 
 
 The people of the Territory of Missouri then 
 organized into fifteen counties, were authorized by 
 Congress to hold an election in May, 1820, to choose 
 representatives to the State Convention, whose object 
 should be the framing of a Constitution. Accord- 
 ingly, forty-one representatives convened at St. 
 Louis, June 12. The Constitution which the Con- 
 vention framed took effect from the authority of the 
 body itself, not being submitted to the vote of the 
 people. It withstood the mutations of parties and 
 all efforts at material amendment from the time of its 
 adoption till the Convention of 1865. 
 
 November 16, 1820, Mr. Scott laid before the 
 House of Representatives, at Washington, a copy of 
 the Constitution of the new State, when a fresh 
 debate arose, first, because the Constitution sanctioned 
 slavery, and, second, because one of its articles 
 especially enjoined that such laws should be passed as 
 might be necessary to prevent free mulattoes and 
 negroes from coming to or settling in the new State 
 under any pretext whatsoever. 
 
 The perils of the political situation becoming immi- 
 nent, Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, moved that twenty-three 
 Representatives, one from each State, be appointed to 
 act jointly with the Senate committee, in an attempt 
 
fO HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTy, U6. 
 
 to adjust the difficulty. Such acomaiittee was chosen 
 with Mr. Clay as its chairman. The Senate also 
 appointed seven of its members on the joint committee 
 which, on February 26, 1821, reported to each House 
 the followinof: 
 
 *' Resolved, by the iSenate and House of Representa- 
 tives of the United States of America, in Congress 
 Assembled, 
 
 That Missouri shall be admitted into this Union on 
 an equal footing with the original States, in all re- 
 spects w4iatever, upon the fundamental conditions that 
 the fourth clause of the twenty-sixth section of the 
 article of the Constitution, submitted on the part of 
 said State to Cons^ress, shall never be construed to 
 authorize the passage of any law, and that no law 
 shall be passed in conformity thereto, by which any 
 citizen of either of the States in the Union shall be 
 excluded from the enjoyment of any of the privileges 
 and immunities to which such citizen is entitled under 
 the Constitution of the United States. 
 
 '^ Provided. That the Legislature of said State, by 
 a solemn public act, shall declare the assent of the 
 State to the said fundamental conditions, and shall 
 transmit to the President of the United States, on or 
 before the fourth Monday in November next, an 
 authentic copy of the said act, upon the receipt 
 whereof the President, by proclamation, shall announce 
 the fact; whereupon, and without any further pro- 
 ceeding on the part of Congress, the admission of the 
 State into the Union shall be considered as complete.'' 
 
HISTORY Oi^ DtNKLiN COUNTV, MO. 11 
 
 This resolutioD, known as ** The Clay Compromise' ' 
 was soon adopted by both Houses. 
 
 The 26th of the following June, the Legislature of 
 Missouri adopted an act declaring the assent of the 
 State to the conditions of admission, and transmitted 
 to the President a copy of the same. 
 
 August 10, 1821, after a struggle of nearly two 
 years and a half, the admission of Missouri into the 
 Union was announced by the proclamation of Presi- 
 dent Monroe, and the State from that day took rank 
 as the twenty-fourth of the American Republic. The 
 seat of government was fixed at St. Charles, but was 
 moved, in 1826, to Jefferson City. 
 
 According to the first census taken in September, 
 1821, the population of the State was 70,647, of 
 whom 11,254 were slaves. 
 
 WHY WE WERE INCLUDED IN MISSOURI, 
 
 In 1804 Congress divided Louisiana into two terri- 
 tories by a line running with the thirty-third parallel 
 of north latitude. In 1812 the Territory of Missouri 
 was organized from a portion of Upper Louisiana, and 
 in 1819 Arkansas Territory was established. When 
 it was proposed to organize the State of Missouri, the 
 bill as first introduced provided that the parallel of 
 36° and 30" should be the Southern boundary of Mis- 
 souri throughout its entire extent, from the Mississippi 
 river West. 
 
 There were at this time many hardy pioneers on 
 the Mississippi below that line, whose interests were 
 linked with the settlements of the North by tiescommer- 
 
12 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 cial as well as social, and they felt that as their position 
 was so far in advance of other portions of Arkansas 
 Territory, they were entitled to all the privileojes and 
 immunities which is offered by a State government. 
 
 Prominent among these pioneers was Col. John 
 Hardiman Walker, who owned larofe tracts of land in 
 Pemiscot and Dunklin Counties, and who was anxious 
 to have his lands annexed to Missouri. Many others 
 of the pioneers were desirous of being Missourians, 
 and until a late date became indignant if spoken of as 
 being properly «' Arkansawyers." 
 
 Col. Walker, Godfrey Lesieur, and several other 
 leading citizens of this portion of the State, by exert- 
 ing their influence with friends in Washington, suc- 
 ceeded in having the original bill amended and the line 
 from the Mississippi to the St. Francois rivers lowered 
 to the parallel of 36^. Hence we are for all time / 
 Missourians. ^r— * 
 
 Dunklin County was organized February 14, 1845, 
 from that portion of Stoddard County south of the 
 parallel of 36° 30". In 1853 a strip nine miles wide 
 was added to this territory on the north. The county 
 was named in honor of Daniel Dunklin, Governor of 
 Missouri from 1832 to 1836, then Surveyor-General 
 of the United States, etc. It lies between St. Francois 
 river and J^ew Madrid and Pemiscot Counties, in a 
 portion of the State which apparently belongs to 
 Arkansas. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 13 
 
 BOUNDARY — R. S. 1879, SEC. 3615. 
 
 Dunklin. Beginning at the northwest corner of 
 New Madrid County in the middle of township 23, 
 north, in range 10, east of the fifth principal meridian, 
 thence due west with the section lines to the middle 
 of the main channel of the St. Francois River, thence 
 down the middle of the main channel of said river, 
 with the meanderings thereof, to where said river 
 crosses the line between the States of Missouri and 
 Arkansas; thence east with said State line on the 
 parallel of latitude 36 degrees and 30 minutes, to the 
 middle of the main channel of said St. Francois River 
 where it crosses the State line at the southeast corner 
 of the southwest quarter of section 36, in township 
 22, north, in range 8, east of the fifth principal 
 meridian ; thence down the middle of the main channel 
 of said St. Francois River with the meanderings thereof 
 to the extreme south boundary of the State of Mis- 
 souri : thence due east to the southwest corner of 
 Pemiscot County ; thence with the western boundary 
 line of Pemiscot County to the southwest corner of 
 New Madrid County to the place of beginning. 
 
 jlrea,— It is nearly fifty miles in length, and em- 
 braces an area of 500 square miles. 
 
 The county is only about five miles neal* the center, 
 and reaches its greatest width on its southern extremity, 
 being there twenty-two miles wide. On the north 
 line it is eleven miles in width. 
 
 Soil.— The most productive is a black sand and 
 muck mixture which is especially adapted to cotton, 
 
14 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 corn, other grain and garden vegetables. Excepting 
 a portion of Grand Prairie the lower end of the county 
 is almost entirely composed of this soil and is exceed- 
 ingly productive and fertile. 
 
 There is also another variety of sand lighter in 
 character. This is the soil of the prairies, which is 
 peculiarly adapted to the production of grain, potatoes, 
 watermelons, and vegetables whose value depends upon 
 early ripening. With intelligent attention both of the 
 above mentioned soils grow the very finest small fruits, 
 and that too with the very least labor. 
 
 Another variety of soil is found near the foot-hills 
 in the northwest part of the count}^ and is a rich, 
 yellowish loam. It is heavier than the sandy varieties 
 and is not easily exhausted. It produces large crops 
 of corn, and is adapted to grass, wheat and fruit. • 
 
 Still f\\rther up on both sides of the hilUridge the 
 soil is of a still heavier and black variety. The strip 
 of hills known as ** Crowley's Ridge " are principally 
 of a variety of clay. Here the peach and other fruits 
 are grown of good size and the best quality; and here, 
 also, the principal wheat crop of the county is grown. 
 
 The very best brick and potter's clay are found on 
 the ridge and along the St. Francois River in this 
 county. There is also a pure white variety that 
 resembles putty in appearance, and a red of similar or 
 ochraceous character, with a considerable show of iron 
 in many places. Our farm lands have proved to be 
 not easily exhausted, producing good crops annually, 
 many of them ^for over forty years, and without any 
 especial care, 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 15 
 
 EARTHQUAKES OF 1811-12. 
 
 These are known as New Madrid earthquakes. They 
 have been felt not only in the county of New Madrid, 
 but also the adjacent country on both sides of the 
 Mississippi River. The center of the disturbance 
 seems to have been in Pemiscot County, in the vicin- 
 ity of Little Prairie. 
 
 Michael Braunm (father of Tecumsey Braunm, Miss 
 Lizzie Braunm and Mrs. Victorine (Braunm) Horner, 
 all yet living in Dunklin County) — Was a married 
 man livino: at the above mentioned place durins: the 
 time of the earthquakes. In describing the catastro- 
 phe he stated that in one particular place on the 
 Mississippi the earth rose like a great loaf of bread to 
 the height of many feet, the uprising being accom- 
 panied by a terrible rumbling noise. The swell 
 finally burst with one of the most severe shocks 
 of the period, and great quantities of sand, 
 water and a black sulphurous vapor, was thrown 
 out to nearly the height of an ordinary tree, com- 
 pletely darkening the atmosphere for some distance. 
 When it was again light it was noticed that many 
 acres of land had disappeared in the Mississippi, the 
 current of which was retrograded for a short time. 
 The rising motion and rumbling noise warned the 
 inhabitants, and they fled in dismay, so that no lives 
 were lost. Mr. Braunm's residence was about a half 
 mile from the seeming center of this particular shock, 
 and when it had subsided he placed his wife on a 
 horse, walking in front himself, to search out a way 
 
16 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 over and between the deep fissures that had been 
 made in the earth, and thus sought a quieter locality, 
 as did the other inhabitants. 
 
 The description of the first shock as given by God- 
 frey Lesieur, who was an eye-witness to the scene, is 
 quoted from the *< History of Southeast Missouri," 
 as follows : — 
 
 ** The first shock was about 2 o'clock a. m., on the 
 night of December 16, 1811, and was very hard, shak- 
 ing down log houses, chimneys, etc. It was followed 
 at intervals from half an hour to an hour apart by 
 comparatively slight shocks, until about 7 o'clock in 
 the morning, when a rumbling noise was heard in the 
 west, not unlike distant thunder, and in an instant the 
 earth began to totter and shake so that no persons 
 were able to stand or walk. This lasted a minute, 
 then the earth was observed to be rolling in waves of 
 a few feet in height, with a visible depression between. 
 These swells burst, throwing up large volumes of 
 water, sand and a species of charcoal, some of which 
 was partly covered with a substance which by its 
 peculiar odor was thought to be sulphur. Where 
 these swells burst, large, wide and long fissures were 
 left running north and south parallel with each other 
 for miles. I have seen some four or five miles in 
 length, four and one-half feet deep on an average, and 
 about ten feet wide." 
 
 After this, slight shocks were felt at intervals until 
 January 7, 1812, when the region was again visited 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 17 
 
 by an earthquake equal to the first in violence, and 
 characterized by the same frightful results. Mr. 
 Lessieur says further, that upon this second visitation 
 the inhabitants, excepting two families, fled in dis- 
 may, leaving behind their stock and even many of 
 their household goods, all of which were appropriated 
 by adventurers and carried away in flatboals. 
 
 During this series of the most terrible earthquakes 
 that have ever visited the American Continent, which 
 occurred along the Mississippi Valley, streams were 
 turned from their channels or dried up ; hills, forests 
 and plains disappeared, and lakes, one of which, Eed- 
 foot Lake, sixty or seventy miles in length, and from 
 three to twenty in breadth, were formed. Vast heaps of 
 sand were scattered in various places, and whole 
 tracts of land sank below the level of the surrounding 
 country. 
 
 Dunklin County's swamps and sloughs were 
 undoubtedly made then, also its prairies and ** sand- 
 blows." Many of the fissures made in the earth are 
 yet plainly visible in this county, especially on Horse 
 Island, and near the foot of the hills west of Maiden. 
 
 All these fissures and the prairies, «' sandblows," 
 sloughs or swamps, run in a northeasterly and south- 
 westerly direction in Dunklin County. 
 
 Judging by the description of this county before 
 these earthquakes, as given by Mr. Michael Braunm, 
 it seems to have sunk or settled down at least fifteen 
 or twenty feet, and in some places even more, all over 
 the south end and east side along the swamps of Little 
 River. 
 
18 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 The small fissures in Dunklin County, made by the 
 earthquakes, run parallel with Seneca Creek, Kinamore 
 Slough, Honey Cypress, Buffalo Creek, Raglin and 
 Taylor sloughs, — and it is supposed that these are 
 only larger fissures made by the same catastrophe. 
 The Indians stated this to be a fact, also, that there 
 was no sand, sloughs or swamps prior to that time, 
 but a beautiful high-rolling country. 
 
 Since 1812 slight shocks have been felt in the same 
 region as the earthquakes of that date along the 
 Mississippi Valley. Two or three shakes are some- 
 times felt in one year. The last, and hardest one 
 since 1812, occurred about 5 o'clock Thursday morn- 
 ing of October 31, 1895. The Republic of November 
 2, 1895, says: ** Near Henson Lake, six miles south 
 of Charlestown, Mo., about four acres of ground 
 were sunk and filled with water, forming another lake. 
 Near Bertrand hundreds of mounds of sand are piled 
 up, ranging in size from twelve inches to ten feet in 
 circumference, and the ditches in this neighborhood 
 are filled with water, coming from the holes made, 
 there having been no rain to fill them any other way 
 for nearly two months. Near Big Lake, four miles 
 north of Charleston, are two small holes in the earth, 
 from which the water is spouting to the height of 
 three feet. Every bricklayer in the city (Charleston) 
 was busy all day replacing flues and chimneys that 
 were skaken down. 
 
 '* The trembling of the earth is said to have been 
 felt in at least seventeen States. The vibration 
 ^eeiBS to have been most violent in the section ex- 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 19 
 
 tending directly south of the State of Ohio. Only 
 a few slight personal injuries have been reported. 
 Considerable damage has been done to property in 
 many places, brick flues were felled, chimneys shaken 
 down,— plate-glass fronts and glass window panes fell 
 from houses, plastering shook from walls, clocks were 
 stopped and lights put out, and in some places people 
 were nauseated and rolled out from their beds by the 
 rocking of the earth." 
 
 These late shocks were much lighter in Dunklin 
 County than in many other places, the severity being 
 indicated by a message sent from Maiden to The Rep- 
 ublic on October 31, 1895 : *' The heaviest earthquake 
 since 1812 occurred here at 5:07 this morning, lasting 
 tiiree minutes, from northeast to southwest. There was 
 a fceneral scare but no damage is known." 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 INDIANS AND OTHER RACES. 
 THE MOUND BUILDERS. 
 
 This is a race who have acquired their name from 
 the numerous large mounds of earth left by them. 
 This race possessed a much less degree of culture 
 than the races that built the ancient cities of Cen- 
 tral America, and reaches back into an antiquity so 
 remote as to have left behind no vestige of tradition. 
 
 They seem to have been a half-civilized people, and 
 pnce occupied Missouri and various other parts of tbe 
 
20 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 United States. Remains of what were apparently 
 villages, altars, temples, idols, burial-places, monu- 
 ments, camps, fortifications and pleasure-grounds have 
 been found, but nothing showing that any material 
 save earth was used in the construction of their habi- 
 tations. At first these works were supposed to be of 
 Indian origin, but careful examination has revealed the 
 fact that despite several adverse theories they must 
 have been reared by a people as distinct from the 
 North American Indian as were those later people of 
 Central America. 
 
 The mounds and other ancient earthworks con- 
 structed l)y this people are abundant in Southeast 
 Missouri. Some are quite large, but the greater part 
 of them are small and inconspicuous. 
 
 *< Along nearly all of the water-courses that are large 
 enough to be navigated by a canoe, the mounds are 
 almost invariably found, so that when one places him- 
 self in such a position as to command the grandest 
 river scenery he is almost sure to discover that he is 
 standing upon one of these ancient tunnels, or in 
 close proximity thereto. The human skeletons, with 
 skulls differing from those of the Indians, that are 
 found in these mounds are usually accompanied by 
 pottery and various ornaments and utensils showing 
 considerable mechanical skill. From the compara- 
 tively rude state of the arts among them, however, it 
 has been inferred that the time of their migration to 
 this country, if indeed they did migrate, was very 
 remote."* 
 
 History of Southeast Missouri. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 21 
 
 Their axes were of stone; their raiment, judging 
 from fragments which have been discovered, consisted 
 of the bark of trees interwoven with feathers, and 
 their military works were such as a people would erect 
 who had just passed to the pastoral state of society 
 from that dependent alone upon hunting and fishing. 
 They were, no doubt, idolaters, and it has been con- 
 jectured that the sun was the object of their adoration. 
 The mounds were generally built in a situation afford- 
 ing a view of the rising sun; when inclosed in walls 
 their gateways were toward the east; their caves in 
 which their dead ^vere occasionally buried always 
 opened in the same direction ; when bodies were buried 
 in graves, as was frequently the case, they were laid 
 in a direction east and west ; and, finally, medals have 
 been found, representing the sun and his rays of light. 
 Duuklin County is an especially rich field for the 
 archaeologist. Situated on the farm of C. V. Langdon, 
 one mile south of Cotton Plant, is one of the largest 
 mounds in the county, adjoining are smaller ones. 
 North of Cardvvell, two miles on Major Willie Ray's 
 place, there is quite a number. 
 
 In the north part, and, in fact, nearly all over the 
 county at comparatively short distances, these mounds 
 are very noticeable. Extra large-sized human bones, 
 skulls, earthen pots, rude ornaments, and various stone 
 implements have been exhumed from many of these 
 mounds. 
 
 THE INDIANS. 
 
 Whence they came, and to what other race they are 
 allied, or whether they were originally created a dis- 
 
22 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 tinct people in the forest wilds of America have been 
 questions much discussed by the learned and unlearned 
 of modern times, but thus far have elicited onlv 
 hypotheses in reply. The most common supposition 
 is, however, that they are a derivative race, sprung 
 from one of the more ancient people of Asia, and that 
 they came to this continent by way of Behring Strait, 
 and this doubtless is the true theory. The tribes 
 with whom the first settlers of Missouri came princi- 
 pally in contact were the Pottavvattomies, the lowas, 
 the Kickapoos, the Sacs, and the Foxes. 
 
 Among the Indian chiefs whom the first settlers of 
 this county came in contact with were Chilletacaux, 
 Senaca, Kinamore, John Big Knife, Corn Meal, John 
 Ease, Moonshine, Buck-Eye and Chickolee. Chille- 
 tacaux near Kennett was the principal Indian village; 
 the Indian chief of the same name lived there in a 
 small log hut, the cracks of which were suflacieiitly 
 large for his many cats to go in and out at will. 
 Even after the county had a considerable number of 
 white settlers the Indians came back in summer to 
 their old camp grounds. The squaws *' tended " a 
 common corn-patch, from which each one received her 
 portion. They also made beaded moccasins and orna- 
 ments. The men hunted and fished. The Chickasaw 
 Indians are said to have been lost during the earth- 
 quakes at Cuckle-Burr Slough, between Buffalo Creek 
 and Big Lake. The Indians were all peaceable and 
 kind when treated so by the whites. 
 
klSTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. ^O 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 SCENEUY, ANIMALS, ETC. 
 
 The appearance, physical features, etc., of this 
 part of the country before the earthquake of 1811-12, 
 was very different from that of latter years. Before 
 that disturbance of the earth's surface Crowley's Ridge 
 extended to the lower end of Dunklin County, gradu- 
 ally sloping on the sides and south end to level but 
 Dot low land. 
 
 Little River was called White Water, and was a 
 beautiful but very crooked stream resembling a moun- 
 tain creek; it had high banks on which grew highland 
 timber, as oak, sassafras, walnut, mulberry, etc. 
 This is a fact proven by the large amount of this tim- 
 ber that still remains (much of it in a good state 
 of preservation), imbedded in the '* bottoms " along 
 St. Francois and Little Rivers. 
 
 During a dry fall season, as has been this present 
 one of 1895, one may easily see where Little River 
 ran before the earthquakes. By following up its bed or 
 main channel there are yet remains of its high banks in 
 some places that give it the appearance of a creek 
 during a dry season. On either side of this main 
 chann'el may be found imbedded in the earth the above 
 mentioned highland timber thoroughly water seasoned, 
 and although one may at present drive across it it is 
 usually covered with water from a few to many feet 
 deep, making the swamp called Little River from one 
 to several miles in width. 
 
24 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 East of Castor River (now known as New River in 
 this county) and White Water or Little River, the 
 country was described by Dr. Brookway through Col. 
 Applegate as being before the earthquakes nearly 
 level but not swampy, a beautiful country all the way 
 to Point Pleasant in New Madrid County. 
 
 The tunnels erected by that prehistoric race called 
 *' Mound Builders," were numerous along these water- 
 courses and much more conspicuous than is generally 
 supposed. But in 1811-12 the general appearance of 
 the country was materially changed. The banks of 
 White Water were shaken down, and Little River, with 
 a swamp on either side, in some places several miles 
 in width, was formed in its stead. The magnificent 
 highland timber was uprooted and left nearly, or quite, 
 buried in mud and water. The hills, forests and clay 
 soil in the south end of the county as well as all along 
 its eastern boundary disappeared. The scene was an 
 open country largely covered with water, on which 
 grew few or no trees. So it was described by Indians 
 to the early settlers. 
 
 By the year 1830, West Prairie and Grand Prairie 
 were nearly dry and covered with prairie and sage 
 grass from three feet to the height of a man on horse- 
 back. On the edges of the prairies the wild strawberry 
 and dewberry grew in profusion. In the lower places 
 there was a growth called wild, or duck oats, and 
 ffreat rush and canebrakes on still lower land. The 
 creeks and sloughs, that are now nearly or quite dry, 
 most of the year, were then, in many places, deep 
 enough to swim a horse. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 25 
 
 Much moss aad other aquatic growths flourished in 
 the rivers and lakes then as dow. There was some 
 small cypress in the swamps of Little River, but all 
 over the lower end of the county the trees were com- 
 paratively scarce and unusually small. During the 
 fall seasons after the prairies were burned off, as they 
 were every few years, sometimes annually, an unlimited 
 view could be had. When this grass was allowed to 
 grow it became so hiojh and thick that it was difficult 
 to pass through unless one followed the paths made 
 by wild beasts from water to den. 
 
 No wonder that the waters and prairies were in turn 
 blackened by thousands of geese, or made white by 
 the beautiful swan, or changed to the dingy hue of the 
 blue crane, or brightened by the rich coloring of the 
 mallard duck. 
 
 The wild turkey did not fail to mingle his gobble 
 with the mocking jabber of the parrot, and many par- 
 raquet. The American eagle built his nest in the 
 cypress trees, in what is now the vicinity of Cotton 
 Plant and Hornersville. 
 
 With small birds the woods were fairly tilled, 
 although there were many kinds of hawks and owls to 
 prey upon them. Year after year the trees grew 
 larger, and the small growth thicker, until by 1850 the 
 entire county was a vast forest filled with wild animals 
 and fur-bearing creatures — a good hunting and fish- 
 ing ground for the Indians, but still very sparingly 
 settled by whites. 
 
 The largest wild animals that inhabited this county 
 in early dates was the buffalo. James Baker and 
 
^d 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Wiley Clarkston killed seven of these animals from 
 one herd at the head of Buffalo Island in 1845. Some 
 other hunters killed sixteen from one herd. These 
 animals left this county in the winter of 1847. Elk 
 were more numerous than buffaloes. Nathanial Baker 
 says he has seen several hundred of these quadrupeds 
 in one herd in the fall of the year. They stayed in 
 the swamps closer each year until January, 1865, 
 when they went further west. 
 
 Deer, bears, wolves, panthers, catamounts, wild 
 cats, and fur-bearing creatures, as beaver, otter, mink, 
 coon and opossum, lived here in great numbers, and 
 were for many years the staple product of the 
 count}^ 
 
 PHYSICAL FEATURES. 
 
 Twenty years ago this county was nearly covered 
 with a heavy growth of timber, broken on the east of 
 the north central part by West Prairie and in the south 
 central part by Grand Prairie. The Glades, a strip 
 of black, mucky, low land from two to five miles wide, 
 lies along St. Francois River for several miles in the 
 northwest corner of the county and is heavily tim- 
 bered. 
 
 Crawley's Ridge, a range of hills that strikes the 
 county on the north in section 22-23, township 23, 
 range 9, is from two to several miles wide, and zigzags 
 through the north part of the county as far south as 
 Campbell. It supports some fine beech and oak tim- 
 ber. Among the clay soil of this ridge may be found 
 some exceptionally fine potter's clay. 
 
iliStORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 2f 
 
 The east, central and lower parts of the county jue 
 level, traversed by many little rivers, creeks or so- 
 called sloughs, that divide the surface into many small 
 islands. 
 
 West Swamp is about five miles west of Maiden and 
 separates that vicinity from the ridge. 
 
 Canaan Island, southeast of Campbell, at the foot 
 hills, and Clarkson, are separated by Pond Slough. 
 Taylor's Slough runs between West Prairie and Hal- 
 comb Island, and Varners River runs south of Halcomb 
 and divides that island from Ten Mile Island. Chil- 
 letacaux River separates the last named island from 
 Scrub Ridge, or Kennett and vicinity. 
 
 The cut-off that joins St. Francois andVarneys rivers 
 runs between Ten Mile and Two Mile Islands. The 
 last-named river runs between Two Mile Island and 
 Horse Island and Buffalo Creek, between the latter and 
 Grand Prairie. Buffalo and Horse Islands are divided 
 by Honey Cypress, and Seneca Creek runs between an 
 island of the same name and Buffalo. 
 
 Formerly these creeks and sloughs were considered 
 hopeless swamps. Now much of them are beginning 
 to be appreciated as among the best land in the 
 county. For years the high waters have depos- 
 ited rich soil upon them ; this, with decaying vegeta- 
 tion, have raised them materially. As the heavy 
 timber is cut off the land dries. In many places 
 where, fifteen years ago, water stood in s|)ring saddle- 
 girth deep to a horse, the land is this year planted in 
 corn and cotton, and bids fair to yield an abundant 
 harvest. 
 
28 
 
 mSTOUY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 THE PRESENT APPEARANCE 
 
 Is such as our people may justly feel proud. When it 
 is remembered that less than fifty years ago an open 
 farm of more than twenty acres was considered large, 
 and ten acres was about the average size, now the 
 glade has more and larger farms than did the county 
 in 1858. The ridge has many line farms, well 
 
 Levi Mercantile Co., Malden. 
 
 improved, and West Swamp, between the ridge and 
 Maiden, is fast being opened up. From the north 
 county line to Maiden, and south of there to Kennett, 
 magnificent farms bound you on every side, making 
 comfortable homes and independent livelihoods for 
 their owners. If you travel from Campbell west to 
 the St. Francois River, or southeast through Canaan 
 Island to Halcomb, thence south through Halcomb 
 Island to White Oak and on down throuijh Ten Mile 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 29 
 
 and Two Mile Islands, and south to Senatli on Horse 
 Island, your road lies in a well improved country. 
 On every hand it gives evidence of thrift and 
 prosperity. 
 
 South of Senath on Horse Island and Buffalo Island 
 to the county line there are some of the finest farms in 
 the county ; still there is much unimproved land and 
 fine timber here, especially in the vicinity of Card- 
 well. From Kennett south to Cotton Plant on Grand 
 Prairie and past Hornersville to the county line, are 
 as fine farms as any county can boast. 
 
 WILD GROWTHS. 
 
 The blackberry, dewberry and strawberry grow 
 wild in nearly every neighborhood in the county, 
 from the hill-tops to the overflow regions in the 
 extreme southeast corner. The wild grape, mus- 
 cadine, persimmon, pecan, plum, crab-apple, and 
 black-haw make beautiful the country, and laden the 
 air with the delio^htful odor of their blossoms in 
 spring, and hang out their fruit in tempting array 
 among the autumn leaves. 
 
 On the hills there is a growth known as Japan 
 clover, which is a good mast for hogs, sheep, cattle, 
 etc. The wild grasses, yonkepins, mosses, etc., are 
 plentiful. 
 
 FLOODS. 
 
 These have, perhaps, from times immemorial 
 occasionally visited the regions of the lower Mississippi 
 Valley, always causing great alarm and considerable 
 loss of property to the inhabitants. 
 
30 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 The southeast corner of Dunklin County have, during 
 some of these visitations, been inundated by the waters 
 from the tributaries of the " great " river, and during 
 some of these floods the muddy waters of the Missis- 
 sippi itself have been easily noticed in the bounds of 
 our county. 
 
 Among the most destructive floods which have 
 reached this county may be mentioned those of 1844, 
 1857, 1858 and 1882-1883. The high waters of 1882 
 were the most destructive to the inhabitants of this 
 county of any which have occurred within the memory 
 of the present generation. There was no loss of life 
 among the inhabitants, but considerable live stock and 
 much corn and other produce was destroyed. Febru- 
 ary 28, 1882, the waters were noticed coming across the 
 road near the Old Gulp Place south of Hornersville. 
 It also flowed into all low places both north and south 
 of the town. 
 
 The waters flowed with as much swiftness as a moun- 
 tain creek after a heavy rain, and the inhabitants at 
 once became excited. James A. Mizelle, who lived in 
 a small log house near the bank of Little River, about 
 a mile south of town, immediately, with the assistance 
 of neighbors, built a scaffold for his corn ; put the 
 beds into the garret of his house, emptied the bureau 
 drawers of their contents and took his family and live 
 stock to higher ground. On coming back next day in 
 his canoe he found the scaff'oldor corn pen washeddown, 
 the corn floating in every direction, and the fences 
 in a similar plight. On looking into the house, which 
 he was just able to do by lying down in his canoe or 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 31 
 
 ** dugout," he found the chairs and bureaus with their 
 legs in the air floating around in the top of the house. 
 
 However, this was an exceptionally low place, 
 and yet, where it had been only the day before dry 
 land, green with early spring grass, it was on March 1, 
 1882, covered by water from one to four feet in depth. 
 The floods extended as far north as Cotton Plant and 
 from one-half to two miles west of the river. 
 
 The sloughs in the county were also high, and the 
 St. Francois River overflowed its banks in some 
 places. But in a short time the waters subsided almost 
 as rapidly as they had risen, and the farmers, though 
 a little late, made good crops. The Government came 
 to the assistance of the people and replaced such nec- 
 essaries as they had lost. 
 
 The levee along the west bank of the Mississippi 
 gives us reason to hope that these floods will not occur 
 again; in fact, it is practically certain that it will afford 
 us permanent protection. We have had no high water 
 to do any damage in this county since 1884. 
 
 The levee begins near Commerce, north of Cairo, 
 111., and will extend to the mouth of the St. Francois 
 River, near Helena, Ark. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE CIVIL AVAR. 
 
 Dunklin County furnished but few incidents of the 
 Civil War that are of much repute. The conflict par- 
 
32 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 took largely of the character of a guerrilla or partisan 
 warfare, and with two or three exceptions there were 
 no regularly planned and executed campaigns by regu- 
 lar troops. At the beginning most of the inhabitants 
 of this portion of the country were desirous of pre- 
 serving the Union, but at the same time opposed to 
 the coercion of the seceding States. When, however, 
 the alternative of union or disunion was presented, the 
 majority of the counties of Missouri went with the 
 South. Dunklin, with the majority, supported the 
 *' State Guards," which by act of the Legislature was 
 organized in May, 1861. 
 
 The Governor of Missouri appointed N. W. Watkins, 
 Brigadier-General, to command the First Military 
 District, which embraced Southeast Missouri. 
 
 Gen. Watkins soon tendered his resignation, which 
 was accepted. His successor was Gen. Jeff. Thomp- 
 son. Upon assuming command he issued the follow- 
 ing proclamatory call: — 
 
 * ^^Missourians! strike for your Firesides and your 
 Homes! 
 
 ** Headquarters First Military District, } 
 Missouri State Guards. ^ 
 
 ** Bloomfield, Mo., Aug. 1, 18(j1. 
 ** To THE People of Missouri: 
 
 '* Havinor been elected to command the fifallant sons 
 of the First Military District of Missouri in the second 
 War for Independence, I appeal to all whose hearts 
 are with us to immediately take the field. By a 
 
 History of Southeast Missouri. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 33 
 
 speedy and simultaneous assault on our foes we can, 
 like a hurricane, scatter them to the winds, while tardy 
 action, like the gentle South wind, will only meet 
 with Northern frosts, and advance and recede, and, 
 like the seasons, will be like the history of the war, 
 and will last forever. Come now! Strike while the 
 iron is hot! Our enemies are whipped in Virginia. 
 They have been whipped in Missouri; Gen. Hardee 
 advances in the center. Gen. Pillow on the right. Gen. 
 McCuUoch on the left with 20,000 brave Southern 
 hearts to our aid ; so leave your plow in the furrow, 
 your ox to the yoke, and rush like a tornado upon our 
 invaders and foes to sweep them from the face of the 
 earth, or force them from the soil of the State. 
 
 *< Brave sons of the First District, come and join us ! 
 We have plenty of ammunition and the cattle on 
 10,000 hills are ours. We have 40,000 Belgian mus- 
 kets coming, but bring your guns and muskets 
 with you if you have them, if not come without 
 them. We will strike our foes like a Southern 
 thunderbolt, and soon our camp fires will illuminate 
 the Meramec and Missouri. 
 
 '< Come, turn out I 
 
 '* Jeff. Thompson, 
 
 " Brigadier-General Comd'g." 
 
 Early in 1861 a regiment was organized in Dunklin 
 County for the State Guard's service. James A. 
 Walker was elected Colonel, and D. Y. Pankey, Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel, and Birth Right, Major. 
 
 Among the captains of companies were S. P. 
 
 3 
 
34 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Eldricige, Lee Taylor, A. J. Dooley, W. P. Jones and 
 Taylor Pickard. The regiment was organized at 
 Clarkton, and after spending some time in drilling, 
 joined Gen. Thompson's force and were in the fight 
 at Fredericktown. Gen. Thompson, with his State 
 Guards, entered upon an active warfare, and while 
 they did not do any serious damage to the Union army 
 succeeded in drawing the attention of a considerable 
 force. On August 11, 1861, a detachment dashed into 
 the valley of Hemburg, Scott Co., where there was a 
 small body of Home Guards. Killed one man, 
 wounded five andcaptured thirteen. 
 
 On August 20, 1861, Col. Jason H. Hunter was 
 sent out to develop the Unionists in the vicinity of 
 Bird's Point. At Charleston he met Col. Dougherty 
 with the Twenty-second Illinois Infantry, and engaged 
 them in a skirmish in the town, but was driven back 
 in confusion. When he returned to camp. Hunter 
 was placed under arrest by Gen. Thompson for dis- 
 obeying orders, his instructions having been not to 
 engage the enemy. Gen. Thompson's men numbered 
 about 3,000, about 800 of whom were Dunklinites. 
 
 In October, Gen. Thompson with his entire force 
 marched northward to Fredericktown, followed by a 
 considerable force of Union men under Col. J. B. 
 Plumer from Cape Girardeau. Before the arrival of 
 Plumer, Thompson left Fredericktown, and it was 
 thought by the citizens of the town that he was in full 
 retreat, and they so informed his pursuers. 
 
 Plumer at once followed the Confederates, and 
 when about a mile southof town, was met by the latter 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 35 
 
 in full force ; they had faced about and awaited the 
 approach of the enemy. During the fight that ensued 
 neither side suffered serious loss. Gen. Thompson 
 was driven back and retreated in safety to Greenville. 
 
 Meanwhile the Union forces had not remained idle. 
 July 17, 1861, B. Gratz Brown, with a regiment of 
 three-months' volunteers, was ordered to take posses- 
 sion of Pilot Knob, where he remained until August 
 8th, when he was relieved by Gen. U. S. Grant, with 
 his Twenty -first Illinois regiment. Gen. Grant at 
 once prepared to take the offensive against Hardee, 
 at Greenville, but when ready to begin active opera- 
 tion, he was relieved by Gen. B. M. Prentiss. 
 
 About September 1st, Gen. Grant was appointed to 
 the command of the district of Southeast Missouri, 
 which also included Southern Illinois. He established 
 temporary headquarters at Cape Girardeau, but a few 
 days later removed to Cairo, Illinois. 
 
 By order of the Department Commander he was 
 first to take command of a combined expedition from 
 Cairo, Bird's Point and Ironton for the capture of »Ieff. 
 Thompson. Gen. Prentiss had been ordered to move 
 from Ironton to Cape Girardeau, and the forces at Cairo 
 were to be ready to drop down the river to Belmont 
 and march westward from that point. When Gen. 
 Prentiss reached Jackson, he found orders from Grant 
 to halt his troops there, but disregarding them he 
 pushed on to Cape Girardeau, where he was met by 
 Grant, who ordered him to return his men to Jackson 
 at once. Prentiss believed himself the ranking officer, 
 and feeling much aggrieved at being placed under one 
 
36 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 whom he considered his junior, he left his command 
 when he had counter-marched them to Jackson, and 
 went to St. Louis. This put an end to the expedition 
 against Thompson. 
 
 After the campaign at Fredericktown the regiment 
 from Dunklin County returned to New Madrid, and at 
 the end of six months was mustered out. Meanwhile 
 Gen. Grant, who was stationed at Cairo, had by 
 November 1, 1861, an army of 20,000 Union soldiers 
 fairly well drilled but entirely unexperienced in war. 
 
 Gen. Grant divided his men, dispatching Col. 
 Oglesby from Bird's Point with a force of nearly 3,000 
 men in pursuit of an equally large number of Confed- 
 erates, who were reported to be on St. Francois River 
 about fifty miles to the west. On November 5, Grant 
 received a teleojram from St. Louis informinor him 
 that the enemy were reinforcing Price from Columbia 
 by way of White River, and directing him if possible 
 to prevent it. Now Col. W. H. L. Wallace was sent 
 to overtake and reinforce Oglesby, and to change the 
 direction of the expedition to New Madrid. Gen. C. 
 F. Smith was ordered to make a demonstration on 
 Columbus from Paducah. Gen. Grant with his 
 remaining 3,000 men dropped down the river on 
 steamers convoyed by two gunboats to within six miles 
 of Columbus. 
 
 Learning early the next morning that the Confed- 
 erates were crossing troops to Belmont to reinforce 
 the camp at that place, Grant pushed down the river 
 and an hour after daybreak was landing his troops on 
 the west bank about a mile above Belmont. By 8 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 37 
 
 o'clock two companies from each regiment were 
 thrown forward, as skirmishers, and soon met the 
 enemy. The engagement soon became general and 
 histed for about four hours. Finally the Confederates 
 fell back and took refuge belovv the river bank. The 
 Union men wasted their time by plundering the de- 
 serted tents of the Confederates, thereby forfeiting 
 an opportunity to secure a signal victory. During 
 this time the Confederates dispatched two boat loads 
 of reinforcements from Columbus. 
 
 Gen. Grant was powerless to control his men until 
 they found themselves in danger of being cut off from 
 retreat ; they then formed in line and started for their 
 boats, which they reached with but little resistance 
 from the enemy. 
 
 The loss in this battle was considerable on both 
 sides. This closed the campaign of 1861. 
 
 In 1862, the first important movement in Dunklin 
 County was that made by Col. Edd Daniels in May, 
 with the First Wisconsin regiment. On oeing de- 
 feated in a fight at Chalk Bluff, Ark., with Col. W. L. 
 Jeffers, a Confederate oflScer, Daniels pushed down 
 through this county and captured the steamer Daniel 
 E. Miller, at Hornersville. 
 
 October 29, 1862, there was a skirmish at Clarkton, 
 between the Second Illinois Cavalry from New Madrid, 
 Rogers Battery from Columbus, and Col. Henry E. 
 Clark. The former captured about sixty men and 
 over sixty horses and then retreated. 
 
 In August, 1863, Col. R. G. Woodson made a raid 
 from Pilot Knob to Pocahontas, Ark., and captured 
 
38 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Gen. JefF. Thompson and his entire staff, all of whom 
 were sent to Gratiot Prison, St. Louis. 
 
 From this time until the close of the war, there 
 were no regular organized troops from Dunklin 
 County except those allied with Col. Solomon G. 
 Kitchens, who recruited a regiment in the spring of 
 1862, in Stoddard County. Jesse Ellison was made 
 Lieutenant-Colonel, and Capt. Walker of this county, 
 Major, also Dr. Linamood was Captain of a Com- 
 pany from Hornersville. These all joined Gen. 
 Price in his operations against Steel in Southern 
 Arkansas, and remained with him until surrendered at 
 Jacksonport, Ark., on June 5, 1865. 
 
 Several merciless guerrilla bands operated in the 
 southern part of Missouri led by such men as Pope 
 Conyers, Timothy Reeves, Hilderbrandt and the 
 Bowlins. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 EARLY SETTLEMENT. 
 
 In 1829 Howard Moore located and built a small 
 house near Maiden, and was the first white resident of 
 Dunklin County. Mr. Moore afterward bought the 
 old Chilletacaux hut and improvements near Kennett. 
 In 1830, Mich.'iel Braunm, Jacob Taylor, and Abija 
 Rice, natives of North Carolina, who had formerly 
 settled at Bloomfield, came to Dunklin County. The 
 friendly Indian Chief Chilletacaux preceded them and 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 39 
 
 cut out or eDlargecl the '* Indian trail" or " bridle 
 path " to allow their two-wheeled ox carts and *' pack- 
 horses " to pass through the rushes, grass and cane 
 which obstructed the way. Taylor stopped on the 
 slough that perpetuates his name; Braunm located on 
 Braunni's Point near Hornersville, and Rice located 
 two miles northwest of that town, near where his son 
 Pascal Rice now resides. 
 
 In 1831 Moses Norman located on West Prairie. 
 In February, 1832, Thomas Neel, sen., and his wife's 
 father, Ray, emigrated to this county. 
 
 Mr. Ray was killed by being thrown from his cart 
 before reaching his destination, and was the first per- 
 son buried at the ** Old Horner" burying ground, 
 and is claimed to be the first white person buried in 
 the county. 
 
 About the same time another emigrant, James 
 Crow, was killed by a runaway horse, and was the 
 second man buried in the county. 
 
 James Baker and Wiley Clarkston came in 1833, 
 and (passing three houses, the only ones between 
 Moore's and Horse Island on the Big Road) located 
 on Horse Island. Baker bought the claim of Jim 
 Finley, the first, and at that time, the only white 
 family on the island, while Clarkston entered land. 
 In the same year Russle and William H. Horner 
 settled at Hornersville. 
 
 Among those who located here within the next few 
 years were : Pleasant Cockrum and Horris in the 
 vicinity of Cockrum Post-office, Jack Cude at Cotton 
 Plant, Thomas Varner on Varner River, and George 
 
40 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Sheppard near Kennett; Henry Meyers and N. W. 
 Seitz on West Prairie, Hugh Shipley, four miles 
 north of Kennett, and Evan Evans south of that 
 place, in front of the " eight big cottonwood 
 trees." McCullough and Lafayette Sexton were 
 also among the early settlers in this vicinity, 
 and Adam Barnhart, who settled the old Baker 
 Place; Hugh Shipley, the Suiters, Shultz and Jack- 
 sons were neighbors. Frank Lee was one of the 
 pioneers and located three miles north of Hornersville. 
 Dr. Given Owens located on Rush Creek in 1841. 
 A. D. Bridges came to the county with his parents in 
 1844, and soon settled on Bridges Creek near *' Four 
 Mile." About the same time Jordan Lacy, John 
 Holtzhouser, James Faughn, Tucker and William 
 Gear located in the vicinity of Maiden and Campbell. 
 Besides these, there were, in 1847, located as indicated, 
 the following : M. Gibany, who kept a small grocery 
 store near the present site of Maiden ; Dr. Allen and 
 T. Hatley, in the same vicinity; John Gunnells, Jesse 
 Long, Mrs. Floyd, Montgomery, John McMasteis 
 and Dick Skaggs, near Clarkton. 
 
 At the head of West Prairie was Ephriham Thorn- 
 berry and James Harris. On Halcomb Island was 
 the Barnes farm, a small farm where the John P. 
 Taylor place now is, and Louis Halcomb near the 
 '< Lone Pine," and farther south the Miller and Bill 
 
 Chapman places, John Shields, Holloway, Dr. 
 
 Bozark, John Lowery, H. D. Flowers, Field, 
 
 Hiram Langdon and John Scott, and Price in the 
 vicinity of Kennett. Billy Johnson on Johnson's Island 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, iMO 
 
 41 
 
 and Monroe on Ragland Slough. Near the present 
 siteof Caruth, A. Thompson, Mrs. Welch, C. Bancroft, 
 H. Spencer, Mr. Whitney, Joe Pelts and Robt. L. 
 Glasscock were located. Near Cotton Plant, Mr. 
 O'Dannell, Riley Clarkston and J. McGrue, Joe Laden, 
 
 Lone Fine. 
 
 Daniel Harkey had opened land. North of Horners- 
 ville was Mr. Oxford, James P. Neel, J. McDaniel, J. 
 Lucux, John B. Walker, and James Williamson ; and 
 one-half mile south of that place, the Old Culp place. 
 In 1850, Dr. Jacob Snider settled on his place west 
 of Maiden on the foot-hills, and found, for neighbors, 
 
42 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Charles Vincent, William Cross, and the *' Widow 
 Scaggs," and next, the Millers, at the foot of the hill 
 at Dexter. 
 
 In the same year, A. T. Douglass located in Clay 
 Township. Among their neighbors were E. J. Lang- 
 don, Edward Spencer, Louis Chandler, Isair Jones, 
 John Marsh, James Bradley, John Doughtery, Dick 
 Cook, William Herman, Absolom Fairis, the Mifflins, 
 A. B. Williams and David Finley. Within the next 
 decade came the heads of some of the most prominent 
 families, who — or their descendants — are still with 
 us, such as : John P. Taylor, Judge Hodges, Henry 
 James, Judge J. M. Waltrip, Daniel Harkey, James 
 P. Neel, Bennett Marshall, Asa B. Douglass, Enoch 
 Shelton, Humphrey Donalson, A. C. Auston, William 
 M. Saturfield, Moses Farrar, Judge E. Aker, C. N. 
 Lasley, David Rice, James Oxley, James A. Smyth, 
 Henry A. Applegate, William H. Shelton, Robert W. 
 Stokes, John Wright, T. F. Ham, Isam A. Waltrip, 
 Garrol M. White, Elgin C. White. 
 
 In the sixties came Jonas P. Stewart, Maj. W. C. 
 Rayburn, Benjamin R. Hopkins, Thomas H. Davis, 
 Capt. William G. Bragg, Martin V. Baird, William N. 
 Guns, Dr. V. H. Harrison, Judge James H. Owens, 
 Thomas B. Reeves, Dr. F. M. Wilkins, T. C. Stokes, 
 Daniel R. Cox, Rev. T. J. Davis. 
 
 These early settlers have become the fathers of 
 many of our present leading citizens, and yet many 
 of Dunklin County's most prominent citizens have 
 located here since 1870 ; these will mostly be found in 
 the Biographical Sketches. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 43 
 
 THE PIONEER PHYSICIANS OF THE COUNTY. 
 
 None of the early settlers had more difficulties 
 to encounter than these worthy men. Their names 
 are: Dr. eToe Rice and Dr. Allen, near Maiden, and 
 Dr. Jacob Snider, six miles west of Maiden, where he 
 now resides ; Dr. James Rice, also Dr. Given Owen, of 
 *«Four Mile;" Dr. Floyd and Dr. Scaggs, near 
 Clarkton; Dr. Varner, on the river that is known by 
 his name ; Dr. Fisher, Dr. Bozark and Dr. William 
 Grinstead, at Kennett; Dr. Crawford Jones, near 
 Caruth, and Dr. W. H. Homer, at HornersviUe. 
 
 There were also Dr. Page and Dr. Andrew Sloan, 
 and Dr. F. M. Wilkins and Dr. Van H.Harrison, who 
 located in this county in 1859 and 1862 respectfully. 
 
 There are, certainly, quite a number of prominent 
 physicians who have resided and practiced in this 
 county for twenty or twenty-five years, yet could not 
 be considered pioneers. 
 
 GENERAL GROWTH. 
 
 Dunklin County has passed through all the varied 
 stages and experiences of the ordinary new country. 
 Because of its being difficult of access it was not 
 settled as rapidly as some of the other counties of 
 Missouri. Then its great forests, — wild honey, wild 
 fruit, wild animals, and peculiar geographical situation, 
 made it a favorite hiding-place for criminals and des- 
 peradoes. The stranger, associating these with the 
 common citizen, formed a prejudice against the county 
 which we have yet to entirely overcome. 
 
44 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 It is a great mistake to think that the Dunklin 
 County citizen is not law-abiding, intelligent, indus- 
 trious, progressive, and in every way up with the best 
 people of Southeast Missouri. 
 
 True, the time was when our citizens ** pounded " 
 their bread in the top of a stump, hollowed out for 
 the purpose, with the aid of a maul on a ** sweep " 
 operated in a ** windlass" something like the old 
 fashioned *' well-sweep " — and when their meat was 
 venison steak, bear bacon, or some other wild meat, 
 and their sassafras and spice wood, tea and coffee, was 
 sweetened with wild honey. 
 
 In those days the pioneers ate corn bread three 
 times each day for six days, and on the seventh had 
 a change in the form of biscuits for breakfast, made 
 of wheat flour that had been hauled all the way from 
 Cape Girardeau, over that most terrible pole road, — 
 '' The Devil's Washboard/' 
 
 But soon the little steel handmill for grinding corn 
 replaced the Indian apparatus mentioned above, and 
 one step was made on the line of progress. 
 
 In 1844, the nearest horse-power mill was situated 
 about where Bernie now stands. To *< go to mill " 
 was a two day's job, and the citizen who had no hand- 
 mill, and had too large a family for which to pound 
 his bread, went "to mill" about once each month, 
 taking corn for his near neighbors, who, as he com- 
 placently stated, only lived from three to ten miles 
 distant, and had left their corn at his house the even- 
 ing before he expected to start to the grist mill. 
 The citizens from the south part of the county could 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 45 
 
 not make the trip even in two days with their ox 
 teams and usually made Chilletacaux hut their lodg- 
 ing place. The Indian chief would spread his buffalo 
 robes for them to sleep upon, and if it were cold 
 keep fires in his stick-dirt fireplace all night for their 
 comfort, and with a word and a motion of his hand 
 send his multitude of cats out through the openings 
 between the logs of his hut like so many spiders into 
 their holes. 
 
 John Gunnells owned and operated the first horse- 
 power mill in the north part of this county ; it stood 
 near the present site of the J. P. Stewart mill. 
 
 In the latter part of 1849 Higginbotham erected a 
 steam mill near the same place and operated it for 
 several years. One of the oldest mills in the county 
 was the ''West Prairie Mill" which stood on the 
 corner of the old Marshall Place, two miles south of 
 Clarkton. Another of the first mills of the county 
 was erected by a Mr. Wadkins, but was soon after- 
 ward bought by Bridges & Taylor, and operated by 
 them near Old Four Mile. 
 
 The first mill in the southern part of the county, 
 to grind for the public, was operated by Howard 
 Moore near Kennett. The public, as was customary 
 in such instances, putting in its teams to help do the 
 work and, in addition, paying the ordinary toll. In 
 those days each citizen, while his corn was being 
 ground, cut wood for the steam mills, besides paying 
 toll out of his corn. 
 
 Jack Cude put up the first mill at Cotton Plant 
 about 1847. A Mr. Clark owned also a grist mill 
 
46 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 which E. J. Langdon bought in the early part of the 
 '50s, and successfully operated for years. These 
 mills were crude affairs, being either small horse- 
 power or steam mills of no great force, and were all 
 corn or grist mills. To get their wheat ground into 
 flour the pioneers were compelled to go to Bloomfield, 
 Mo., or Cape Girardeau, or else had it ground in the 
 corn mill and then *' bolted " it by hand. 
 
 During the very earliest days the pioneer women 
 picked the seeds from their cotton, — which they used 
 for making cloth, — by hand. But about 1850 a 
 small cotton gin was established in the southern end 
 of the county to *' gin spinning cotton for the ladies." 
 E. J. Langdon soon bought this and carried on the 
 first extensive cotton business in the county. 
 
 The first merchants of Dunklin County could not be 
 said to have extensive establishments, on the contrary, 
 most of them kept small concerns covered and boarded 
 up on the sides with clapboards made by hand from 
 native trees. One of these, called a '' grocery," stood 
 on the site of Maiden's present public school building. 
 An old citizen says that, after excepting the barrel of 
 liquor, the entire stock kept in 1844 could have been 
 tied in an ordinary tablecloth. The proprietor of this 
 '* grocery " was Mr. M. Gibany. 
 
 Martin Hodge kept a somewhat more substantial 
 grocery store at Old Four Mile in the same year. 
 Abb Wheeler was one of the first merchants at Old 
 Cotton Hill. One of the first stores in the county 
 was owned by Elbert C. Spiller, at Kennett. John 
 Timberman and John Muse were the pioneer mer- 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 47 
 
 chants at Clarkton, as also was John H. Stokes, who 
 established a store at the same place in 1856. E. J. 
 Langclon and Lsiar Jones ran a cooper shop and sup- 
 plied their neighbors with pails, tubs, etc., and 
 a blacksmithj near Cotton Plant in the latter part of 
 the '40s. Mr. Langdon also established the first 
 general store in that vicinity, which he continued to 
 run for many years. 
 
 William Saturfield was proprietor of a general store 
 at Hornersville as early as 1857. For several years 
 Jack Miller hauled goods from Cape Girardeau in an 
 ox wagon for many of these first stores. Another 
 way of bringing goods into the county was on small 
 boats that ran from Memphis, Tenn., up Little River 
 to Hornersville. The pioneer farmers of Dunklin 
 County cultivated a small corn crop in summer and 
 hunted or trapped for fur and game during the winter. 
 Later on they raised some wheat, also cattle and hogs, 
 but gave very little attention to fruit or garden vege- 
 tables. Not until after the Civil War did they culti- 
 vate any cotton except a few rows for spinning cotton. 
 
 Now all this is changed, for although checked by 
 the Civil War, as was all the rest of our country, 
 Dunklin County has climbed far up the ladder of prog- 
 ress. Her cotton gins, saw mills, grist mills and like 
 enterprises, blow their whistles on every hand, while 
 they turn out the best product of their kind. 
 
 A good flouring mill is now making and sending out 
 four good qualities of flour from Campbell. The 
 Laswell Milling Company owns and operates a very 
 large saw mill and lumberyard at that place. Maiden 
 
48 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 has a large stave factory which handles and ships out 
 of the county an immense amount of timber, and is 
 an enterprise any county might be proud to possess. 
 
 Kennett has cotton gins, corn-sheller, cotton seed 
 huUers and other like machinery, and prepares a large 
 portion of the products of the county for market. 
 Kennett also has a cold storage warehouse, and much 
 fish and game are shipped from this place. No finer 
 fish or frogs exist than those in the waters of Dunklin 
 County. They are not used for currency, as has been 
 sneeringly stated, but they bring to our county about 
 $30,000 annually, besides afi'ording us two fine home 
 dishes that satisfies the palate of the Dunklinite in the 
 same manner as it does the St. Louisan. 
 
 There has been much gossip about we using furs 
 for currency. Now this was the case but to a very 
 limited extent forty or fifty years ago. There was 
 found among Hon. James P. Walker's papers three 
 years ago a note which proves that to some extent this 
 was done. It read: — 
 
 18 — . November 15th, afterdate I promise to pay 
 to Jas. P. Walker twenty-one he minkskins for value 
 received. (Signed) 
 
 Many stories have been told about the pioneers 
 taking large fur hides to their merchants, buying a 
 few goods and receiving a small hide for change. 
 This no doubt was true in some instances, but it has 
 been greatly exaggerated. The fact is the fur buyers 
 from Cape Girardeau and other places, as well as E. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 49 
 
 J. Langdon and other home merchants, paid the old 
 hunters thousands of dolhirs in gold and silver each 
 season for their furs. Many of the old citizens say 
 the fur traflSc during those pioneer days amounted 
 from $75,000 to $100,000 annually. 
 
 There is yet some fur in our county, but this traffic 
 has, of course, greatly diminished in recent years. 
 Our farmers now deal in cattle, hogs, horses, mules, 
 cotton, corn, watermelons, wheat and other produce. 
 George W. Marshall raises and ships more cattle and 
 hogs than any other farmer in the county. Ben. F. 
 Hicks is also an extensive stock dealer, and T. J. 
 Douglass buys and ships extensively. 
 
 There are, besides those mentioned above, a number 
 of prominent and extensive stock raisers and dealers in 
 this county who dehorn and prepare their stock in the 
 latest approved manner for market; feeding corn 
 from steam crushers, and turning that grain into fat 
 beef and pork. Yet it is a fact, that our people con- 
 tinue to buy much of their meats from St. Louis. 
 Yet our farmers are progressing and each year raising 
 more of the necessaries of life, buying less on credit 
 and saving more provisions and money for "next 
 summer." Our merchants have kept pace with the 
 rest of America's business men, and now show a 
 large amount of the latest merchandise displayed in 
 commodious, and even elegant frame or brick 
 buildings. 
 
 Small frame buildings, irregular sidewalks and other 
 marks of newness are disappearing from the main 
 streets of our larger towns, and cement or other good 
 
 4 
 
50 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 walks are being laid in their place, with brick and 
 large frame houses as backgrounds. The residences 
 of our towns and country are yearly putting on a 
 look of more permanence, beauty and luxury. We 
 have a number of public buildings which would be an 
 honor to any county of a like age. The Courthouse, 
 situated on the public square in the town of Kennett, 
 the county seat, was erected in 1892, at a cost of 
 $15,000. The official rooms on the first floor are con- 
 venient and fitted up with the best modern furniture. 
 The court and jury rooms on the second floor are 
 amply commodious and neatly furnished. 
 
 The jail is a frame building furnished with Pauley 
 Bros, cells and was erected in 1882 at a cost of $9,000. 
 There are in the' county forty-five church buildings. 
 There are fifty-four school buildings worth between 
 forty and fifty thousand dollars. We have places for 
 sixty-seven teachers at an average salary of $43 per 
 month. 
 
 Our home teachers hold nine first-grade certificates, 
 thirty-six second, and eighteen third grades, given by 
 the Dunklin County Teachers Institute, which meets 
 annually. The last term was held in Kennett in June 
 of 1895. There are also five Normal diplomas and 
 four certificates from the Cape Girardeau State Normal 
 School. 
 
 Prof. T. J. Baird, county school commissioner, and 
 conductor of the Teachers Institute for two years 
 past, and Prof. R. S. Douglass, who was assistant in 
 the County Institute, are considered at the head of the 
 educational faculty in the county. These gentlemen 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 51 
 
 graduated with high honors from the Cape Girardeau 
 State School and are both natives of Dunklin County. 
 
 Most of our other teachers are either natives or have 
 resided at least several years in the county, and as a 
 body would be an honor to any county in our State. 
 
 We lack in our towns the benefits derived from large 
 colleges, but, as a whole, to take our county all over, 
 we have as good — many informed persons say bet- 
 ter — public school buildings than any county in South- 
 east Missouri. Nearly all are nently painted, finished 
 inside with hard oil and fitted up with modern furni- 
 ture. The terms of school run from four to ten 
 months; six months being about the average. 
 
 When we consider that fifteen years ago there was 
 scarcely a respectable school building in the county, 
 and but few organized districts, one may readily see 
 that we have made a grand stride along the line of 
 progress. 
 
 As to morals no county has improved more rapidly 
 than Dunklin during the last decade. The pastors of 
 the various church organizations, reported from all 
 over the county a greater number of additions during 
 the past year than ever before in a like period. 
 
 The Dunklin County Fair Association has fairly 
 well equipped grounds at Kennett, and every year 
 becomes better and more interesting. Every kind of 
 stock, machinery, farm products, ladies' fancy work, 
 and all other things displayed are noticeably better 
 each season. 
 
 Dunklin County's banks are operated according to 
 the most approved business principles. The Bank of 
 
52 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Kennett, at Keiinett, has a capital stock of $25,000, 
 with a deposit on January 1, 1895, of $71,192.81. 
 The Dunklin County Bank, at Maiden, has a capital 
 stock of $15,000, with a deposit January 1, 1895, 
 of $31,000. 
 
 Dunklin County's newspapers have passed through 
 all the ins and outs, ups and downs, incidental to the 
 county paper. Its career commenced with the 
 "Dunklin County Herald," established in 1870 at 
 Kennett; at about the same time the ** Missouri 
 Democracy" was removed from Cape Girardeau to 
 Clarkton, and in January, 1871, the two were consoli- 
 dated and published at Kennett. 
 
 In 1872 Albert & Baldwin established the <*Adver- 
 tiser" at Clarkton. In a short time it was purchased 
 by Charles E. Stokes, who, in September, 1874, en- 
 larged it, changed the name to the ** Enterprise," and 
 in 1876 it was removed to Kennett, and about the 
 close of the year suspended. 
 
 In October, 1877, the '< Dunklin County Advocate " 
 was established at Clarkton, by W. R. McDaniel, but 
 very soon after the office was taken to Kennett, and 
 for a time it was published by J. W. Baldwin. In 
 1879 it was removed to Maiden, by Charles E. Stokes, 
 and its publication continued under the name of the 
 ** Maiden Clipper." It was published by successive 
 owners until the spring of 1886, when it was returned 
 to Kennett, and after about a year suspended. It was 
 superseded in Maiden by the *' Dunklin County 
 News," published by John P. Allen, and edited by R. 
 G. Sandridge. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. * 53 
 
 This paper has been subject to some changes and 
 published by successive owners. 
 
 At present the << Dunklin County News,'* Maiden, 
 Missouri, is ** Issued under full pressure and with 
 great good will, weekly, by the Edwards Printing 
 Company, Casper M. Edwards, editor and manager," 
 and is a *' paper for the people." *' Progress versus 
 Poverty;" ** under no man's thumb, anchored to no 
 clique, bound to make things hum every time we 
 speak." Mr. Edwards is an amiable and able gentle- 
 man, and believes in keeping in close touch with his 
 people, not behind, neither far ahead, as — 
 
 *' The man is thought a knave or fool, 
 Or bigot plotting crime, 
 Who for the advancement of his race, 
 Is wiser than his time." 
 
 The *'News" is Democratic in politics, and its 
 columns are always wholesome and newsy. April 19, 
 1888, the ''Clipper" was revived by Robert H. 
 Jones, who had also been associated with it for several 
 years during its life at Maiden. It was published at 
 Kennett as the " Kennett Clipper," by R. H. and L. 
 Jones, until April, 1893, when it was bought by its 
 present owners, and its name changed to the ** Dunklin 
 Democrat," Kennett, Dunklin County, Mo., published 
 weekly by the Dunklin County Publishing Co., E. P. 
 Caruthers, editor. 
 
 Mr. Caruthers shows marked ability and great 
 energy and — *' Publishes for all of the people in the 
 best county in the best State on earth." Undoubtedly 
 the best county paper in Southeast Missouri. 
 
54 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 His paper is always newsy and sure to be up with 
 the times. The people of the entire county are 
 justly proud of the ** Dunklin Democrat." 
 
 The population of Dunklin County in 1850 was 
 1,220; in 1860 there was 5,026; in 1870 the census 
 showed 5,982; 1880 showed 9,604; 1890 grew to 
 15,085; and this present year, 1895, it is estimated 
 to be fully 20,000. The growth of this county in the 
 past fifteen years has certainly been phenomenal, but 
 not so great as may be reasonably expected within 
 a like number of years in the future. Its increase in 
 population has been based on the great natural re- 
 sources of which the county abounds. The fact that 
 this is a desirable place for young or enterprising 
 citizens to start up and make homes of their own is 
 yearly, nay weekly, bringing us permanent citizens. 
 
 The people of this county have not always enjoyed 
 the large number of splendid public roads, and the 
 means of ingress and egress afforded by our present 
 railroad system. Until within the past ten years the 
 road leading west from Cotton Plant, crossing Buffalo 
 creek at the Dave Woods place, and leading southwest 
 to the St. Francois River, was scarcely more than a 
 bridle path. If the traveler desired to go west to 
 Gainsville, Ark., or other points, he crossed the river 
 at Bowlen's Ferry, by allowing himself and saddle — if 
 he was on horseback — to be ** paddled" across the 
 river in a canoe, while he held his horse's bridle and 
 let him swim behind. Now the railroad leading w^est 
 from Cardwell in the south end of this county to 
 Paragould, Ark., takes the place of these crude accom- 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 55 
 
 modations. The public roads — several in number — 
 leading to this vicinity are well protected by levees and 
 bridged wherever necessary. The public road leading 
 from the extreme south line of the county by Horners- 
 ville, Cotton Plant, and so on north to Kennett, 
 Clarkton, Maiden, and to Dexter, branches every few 
 miles to every little post-village in the county and 
 is always well kept and never becomes impassable; 
 one may pass over the county with a one-horse buggy 
 at any time of the year. At Kennett the public road 
 is intercepted by the Kennett and Caruthersville Rail- 
 road, which affords quick transportation east to 
 Caruthersville on the Mississippi River. 
 
 The St. Louis, Kennett & Southern Railroad con- 
 nects Kennett and Campbell, and connects with the 
 St. Louis Southwestern Railway, at the last mentioned 
 town, bringing Dunklin County in close touch with 
 the outside world. 
 
 The St. Louis, Southwestern Ry. Cotton Belt 
 Route, passes through Maiden, and connects that town 
 with Campbell and all Western points, and brings both 
 of these towns within a few hours' ride of Cairo, 111. 
 The Delta Branch, which runs into Maiden from 
 the North, makes accessible St. Louis and the North. 
 The five railroads in this county are fairly well equipped 
 considering the short time they have been in operation. 
 
 It will be noticed that the above railroad system 
 shows Dunklin County to be in easy access to Missouri 
 and the remainder of the United States of America. 
 Shipping facilities are good, and the officials of the 
 several railroads are courteous and accommodatinsf. 
 
56 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 CHURCHES, ETC. 
 
 In 1846, the first church house ever erected in 
 Dunklin County was built by the small neighborhood 
 around it and stood about one mile south of the 
 present site of the town of Maiden. The building was 
 composed of hewed gum logs. Thomas Warren, a 
 Freewill Baptist minister, organized a church of that 
 sect, which occupied this house. The organization 
 lived and flourished until the winter of 1849-50, when 
 an epidemic of what was l^nown as black tongue broke 
 out among the inhabitants, and nearly depopulated 
 the sparsely settled neighborhood. December 29, 
 1849, Mrs. Jordan Lacy and seven other persons were 
 buried at the old burying ground south of Maiden. 
 This church organization was soon lost sight of, and so 
 far as can be ascertained there has never been another 
 Freewill Baptist organization in the county up to the 
 present time. 
 
 Rev. Miller next organized a General Baptist Church 
 which worshiped in this house. He preached here 
 about one year and then died at his home in Gains- 
 ville. Ark. Soon after this a missionary Baptist 
 minister effected an organization whose members wor- 
 shiped in this house. 
 
 The Beechwell General Baptist Church and the Oak 
 Grove Missionary Baptist Church are properly out- 
 growths of these early organizations. The second 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 57 
 
 church house built in the county was the Old Liberty 
 near Caruth, which was erected about 1853. The 
 members of the M. E. C. S. worshiped in this house. 
 They now have a good frame building on the site of 
 the old log church. 
 
 In 1853 or 1854 a large log church with a Masonic 
 lodge above was built in the town of Clarkton. Al- 
 though other denominations worshiped here, this 
 house was looked upon as belonging to the Cumber- 
 land Presbyterians; it stood on the site of the pres- 
 ent Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Clarkton. 
 
 Perhaps the next church building erected in the 
 county was the old Harkey's Chapel. At first this 
 was a small log building used for school, church and 
 other public meetings (as were also all the other 
 church houses in the county up to twenty years ago), 
 and it stood on the Daniel Harkey Place, now the 
 William Ray Old Place, near Nesbit. The principiU 
 organization which worshiped in this house was that 
 of'the M. E. C. S. Later this church built a house on 
 the corner of the William Herman farm. A few 
 years ao-o they built the new Harkey Chapel at Nesbit. 
 Before'anv of these houses were built the people wor- 
 shiped under bush arbors or clapboard shanties. One 
 of these shanties stood near the Scaggs Place north ot 
 Clarkton. The preacher's stand was ** two blackjack 
 poles driven in the dirt tioor, with a cypress board 
 pinned to their tops." In this same place of wor- 
 ship the lights were, in one instance, when tallow 
 candles grew scarce, made in egg shells. 
 
 Here is a good description of the method of maknig 
 
58 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 these lights : *' A small hole was made in the little end 
 of an egg and the shell emptied of its contents, it was 
 then filled with bear's oil or coon grease, a twisted 
 cotton wick put in it and the shell set in a saucer of 
 salt." One of the pioneer ladies says the egg-shell 
 lamps gave a very good light and that they were 
 plentiful. 
 
 One of the pioneer preachers who often stood be- 
 hind the board-stands, and read his text by the light 
 of the egg-shell lamps, had his attire made from 
 homespun cloth. In color his trousers were usually 
 of copperas and black, his shirt of copperas and white, 
 with suspenders of the same; in summer he wore no 
 coat and his tall '* beegum " hat was the only piece of 
 clerical looking apparel which he possessed. 
 
 He was, however, a good, conscientious man, who 
 did all in his power to bring his congregations to 
 understand their spiritual needs and duty to their 
 Creator, and although the gentlemen of his congre- 
 gations carried their oruns with them to church, even 
 on the Sabbath, they listened earnestl}^ to what he 
 said and were no doubt benefited. The wolves, bears, 
 panthers, wild cats and other wild animals were so 
 numerous in those days that it was considered best not 
 to go away from the house without some means of 
 protection, hence the gun was a constant companion 
 of the pioneer. The clapboard shanty was not only 
 the church of the pioneer but school house of his 
 children, where they attended the two or three months 
 ** pay " school each summer. 
 
 More might be said of places of worship, customs 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 59 
 
 of the pioneer, etc., but one may from the above 
 realize something of what those pioneer days were 
 like. It is only when one looks back on those days 
 and then compares them with the present that one can 
 realize the height to which we have climbed during the 
 period of fifty years which comprise the time of the 
 organization of Dunklin County. At present there are 
 about forty-five church edifices in the county, repre- 
 senting a value of $50,000. 
 
 Of the 20,000 inhabitants in this county fully 5,000 
 are members of some one of the eight different relig- 
 ious sects planted within its limits. Thirty-nine 
 Sunday-schools are carried on most of the year, and 
 in them religious instructions are given to 4,000 chil- 
 dren. The co-operative Sunday-school movement 
 has done much to awaken an interest in Sunday-school 
 work. H. A. Applegate, president of the Dunklin 
 County Sunday-school Association, certainly deserves 
 great credit for his work along this line, and it is 
 earnestly hoped that every Sunday-school in the 
 county will be represented at its next annual meeting, 
 which will take place at Halcomb in July of 1896. 
 At Halcomb, Campbell, Clarkton and Cotton Plant 
 are strong union Sunday-schools. 
 
 BAPTIST. 
 
 TheRegular order of Baptists are commonly spoken 
 of as Missionary Baptists.* 
 
 Beginning in 1796, the first Baptist settlement, the 
 
 * This information is principally taken from Baptists of South- 
 east Missouri, by H. F. Tong. 
 
60 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 first ministers, the first convert, the first baptism, the 
 first church, the first Baptist Association, were estab- 
 lished west of the Mississippi river; and these were 
 the first Christians other than Roman Catholics to set 
 foot on the land of Missouri. 
 
 The second Baptist Church formed in Missouri was 
 Bethel, organized in 1806. The first house of worship 
 erected, save those built by Catholics, was built by 
 this church not long after its organization. It was 
 constructed mainly of large yellow poplar logs well 
 hewn, and was about 20x30 feet, and located about 
 one and one-half miles south of Jackson, Mo. 
 
 This was the first permanent organization in the 
 State ; and from this church directly or indirectly 
 sprang all the churches that composed the first Asso- 
 ciation organized west of the ** Great River.'* 
 
 Black River Association, the fourth in Southeast 
 Missouri, was organized at Greenville, Wayne County, 
 Missouri, November, 1835, with six churches — 
 Black River, Cherokee Bay, Bear Creek and Green- 
 ville, being four of them. The membership consisted 
 of about 180 names. The ministers connected with 
 its organization were Elders William Mason, S. Win- 
 nington and Henry McElmurry, who was chosen 
 moderator, and Sam L. J. McKnight, clerk. This 
 Association was located, at the time of its organiza- 
 tion, in one of the largest, and, doubtless, one of the 
 most'destitute fields of Southeast Missouri, extending 
 from the southeast part of Madison County southward 
 through Wayne, Stoddard, Dunklin, and westward 
 into Butler County. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 61 
 
 Of the organization and establishment of the 
 
 CD 
 
 different churches of this Association, we have not the 
 means of knowing, neither have anything but meager 
 accounts of its first ministers and their works been 
 preserved. 
 
 Elder John W. Brown of the Black River Associa- 
 tion lived in Dunklin County, in quite early times. 
 He was a man of great faithfulness and deep piety. 
 He died August 13th, 1868. 
 
 Elder James H. Floyd, a native of Clark County, 
 Mo., was born in 1832, and came with his father's 
 family, when comparatively young, to Dunklin County. 
 In 1854 he united with the Baptist Church, and in 
 1854 began preaching. With the exception of one 
 year in Texas, he spent the remainder of his life in 
 this field. He died June 8th, 1874. 
 
 Elder L. L. Stephens was another of this min- 
 isterial band. He died in the year of 1872. Elder 
 Sanders Walker was also one of the early workers 
 among the Baptists in this county, and baptized 
 many of the oldest citizens now living who belong to 
 that faith. Elders M. V. Baird and M. G. Whitaker 
 are two other ministers who should be classed among 
 the pioneer workers of Black River Association in the 
 county. The following appeared in 1870 in a number 
 of the Tennessee Baptist edited by J. R. Graves: — 
 
 <* Martin V. Baird was ordained a minister of the 
 Gospel in the usual missionary Baptist form by Elders 
 David Butler, Pasley, and L. L. Stephens on the 9th 
 of January, 1870, in compliance with a request of 
 
62 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Oak Grove Church, also at the same time and place 
 two deacons were ordained. Brethren M. J. Whitaker 
 and J. H. James. '< John Wright, 
 
 *' Church Clerk." 
 
 Elder M. J. Whitaker was ordained a minister of the 
 Baptist Church July 12, 1874. The ministers repre- 
 sented in the Black River Association in 1881, were, be- 
 sides the two just above mentioned, David Lewis, J. F. 
 Bibb, W. H. Dial, T. B. Turnbough, R. H. Douglass, T. 
 Hogan, W. G. Henderson, L. D. Cagle, J. J. Wester, 
 H. D. Carlin, J. H. D. Carlin and Elder Stringer. 
 From this association as the country has settled up 
 other associations have been organized, and the terri- 
 tory of Black River Association diminished until it is 
 now confined to the limits of Dunklin County. 
 
 This Association held its Sixtieth Annual Meeting 
 with the First Baptist Church at Halcomb, September 
 13, 1895, with M. V. Baird, moderator, and S. F. 
 Hale, clerk. Delegates were present representing the 
 following churches: Bible Grove, Caruth, Campbell, 
 Friendship, Halcomb, Holly Grove, Kennett, Maiden, 
 New Hope, Octa, Oak Grove, Prairie Grove, Salem, 
 Shady Grove, Varner River and Zion. 
 
 This association owns ten church houses valued at 
 about $8,000. In membership they are about 900 
 strong. There are ten Sabbath Schools in the county 
 under the care of the Baptists; besides, they take part 
 in several of the Union schools. 
 
 The ministers who reside in the county and belong 
 to this association, nearly all of whom have the care of 
 
HISTORY OF PUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 63 
 
 y—--^^ 
 
 ■P' 
 
 Baptist Church, Campbell. 
 
64 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 one or more churches, are M. V. Baird, M. J. Whit- 
 aker, B. C. Bohanaii, J. M. Blaylock, L. T.Eagle, 
 W. H. Dial, R. H. Douglass and R. H. Mount. Of 
 these ministers Rev. M. V. Baird is the oldest in the 
 ministry, and is looked upon as the best informed and 
 widest read man of this denomination in the county. 
 He is also a favorite with the ministers and people. 
 Judge R. P. Owens was for many years clerk of Black 
 River Association. Many other faithful and devoted 
 ministers have served in this ministerial band, whose 
 names for want of space must be omitted. 
 
 METHODIST. 
 
 The first Methodist Society west of the Mississippi 
 was organized about three miles west of Jackson, 
 some time between 1806 and 1809. Among the mem- 
 bers were William Williams and wife, John Randal 
 and wife, Thomas Blair, Simon and Isaiah Poe, Char- 
 nal Glasscock and the Seeleys. Soon after a house of 
 worship was built of large hewed poplar logs from 
 two to two and one-half feet thick. This belonged 
 to the Western Conference, which included all of the 
 territory west of the Alleghany Mountains. Several 
 circuits were established in the bounds of this Confer- 
 ence, the first bein the Missouri and the Meramec. 
 About 1808, Z. Macldox, a local preacher, partly organ- 
 ized the Cape Girardeau Circuit. In 1810 New Madrid 
 Circuit was organized by Rev. Jesse Walker. 
 
 In May, 1816, the Missouri Conference was organ- 
 ized, but not until 1820 was the Cape Girardeau 
 District formed. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 65 
 
 As early as 1830 Uriel Haw was presiding elder 
 of this district and Christian Eaker pastor of West 
 Prairie, Missouri. West Prairie, Missouri, extended 
 into Dunklin County, but it is not probable that any 
 preaching was done within its limits for many years 
 after this date. In fact, it is certain that but little 
 preaching was done in the county until after the divis- 
 ion of the Northern and Southern churches in 1844- 
 45, when the Southern Conference was declared to 
 be a distinct church under the name of *' The Metho- 
 dist Episcopal Church South." The Missouri Con- 
 ference met in Columbia, Mo., on September 24, 
 1845; Bishop Soule presided, and made an elaborate 
 address in favor of the Southern Church. A vote was 
 finally taken upon the question of a union with the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church South and with a few 
 exceptions the members were found in favor of uniting 
 with the new church. Cape Girardeau District, which 
 belonged to the Missouri Conference, took in this 
 county. 
 
 In 1847, the St. Louis Conference was organized and 
 a new district called Greenville District was formed 
 from the western part of Cape Girardeau District. 
 This county was still, however, left within the limits 
 of Cape Girardeau District. 
 
 In 1852, J. M. Kelley was presiding elder of this 
 district and Grand Prairie was " to be supplied." 
 Jonas Davidson is said to have organized the first 
 Methodist class in the county about this year, at the 
 old Gravel Hill church site. In 1853, J. H. Headlee 
 was presiding elder and T. H. Smith pastor of Grand 
 
 5 
 
66 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Prairie Circuit. It seems that Eev. Headlee was the 
 first presiding elder who visited the county in that 
 capacity. 
 
 In 1854, J. C. Berryman was presiding elder and 
 Grand Prairie was again left *' to be supplied." 
 
 Rev. Jonas Davidson appears to have been the 
 *' supply " in many instances in those early days when 
 preachers were scarce, and not too willing to go into 
 barren localities. Among the first preachers who 
 *' rode " the Grand Prairie Circuit were Ed. H. White, 
 Pickney L. Turner and S. C. Stratton. There were also 
 a few local preachers. During the war, preaching 
 was nearly suspended and James Copeland was the 
 first circuit preacher after the hostilities ceased in 
 1865. In 1873, Poplar Bluff District was formed, 
 and since that time the growth of the M. E. C. S. in 
 this county has been steady and marked. 
 
 The names of the charges in this county, are Grand 
 Prairie Circuit, Clarkton Circuit, Kennett Circuit, 
 Kennett and Maiden Stations. 
 
 This church has twelve church houses and one-fourth 
 share in a union church in the county, and two par- 
 sonages — one in Kennett and one in Nesbit. Their 
 property is worth approximately $13,000. The num- 
 ber of members is 1,600. 
 
 Perhaps none of the circuit preachers of early days 
 were so great favorites among the masses of the 
 people in this county as was Rev. Cox, commonly 
 called ** Uncle Jake." Rev. J. H. Headlee was also 
 a great favorite, and worked in this county when the 
 circuits were 200 miles lonof, and when the circuit 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 67 
 
 ** rider's " resting-place was usually in the saddle on 
 horseback. The following is extracted from a letter 
 recently received from him: — 
 
 *«I went to Dunklin County as circuit preacher in 
 the fall of 1842. My circuit embraced most all of 
 Stoddard and Dunklin Counties; extending from a 
 little north of where Allen ville now is to Grand 
 Prairie. There were twenty-one appointments to be 
 filled in three weeks, and over two hundred miles to 
 travel on horseback to reach them. The population 
 was so scarce that a great deal of travel was necessary 
 to find many people. 
 
 ** By far the greater portion of your county was in 
 a primitive condition, Clarkton and Kennett were not 
 yet built and all the country between, where they now 
 stand, was a wilderness. Dunklin County was included 
 in the Old Cape Girardeau District. Nelson Henry 
 was appointed to the district in the fall of 1871, and 
 continued there four years. I think he was followed 
 by J. K. Lacy, and I was made Presiding Elder there 
 in 1853. My recollections of that county are that 
 what few people it contained were very quiet and in- 
 offensive, and very kind and hospitable to the preach- 
 ers, and every one else so far as I know. I well 
 remember the name of Jonas Dancer, a local preacher, 
 a man of limited attainments, but strong and vigorous 
 mind. He subsequently went to the border of Texas 
 and was killed by the Indians. Also Dr. Thomas 
 Bancroft, one of the grandest men I ever knew. He 
 died many years after at New Madrid. 
 
68 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 *' Edwin Langdon was there then, a young man 
 recently from Vermont. He was a good man and 
 true. I am spending the evening of my life pleasantly 
 here, waiting for the sun to go down." 
 
 I should have said that Rev. Headlee is in the 
 Methodist Home for superannuated preachers at Cale- 
 donia, Missouri. The number of Sunday-schools under 
 the care of this church are twelve, they having an 
 enrollment of 1,000 scholars, and one hundred officers 
 and teachers. Mention of the present pastors will be 
 found in the Biographical Sketches. 
 
 GENERAL BAPTIST. 
 
 In 1878 the Liberty Association of General Baptists 
 had become so large that it was deemed advisable to 
 divide it. Accordingly seventeen churches, nine of 
 which were in Stoddard County, five in Dunklin 
 County, one in Butler County, and two in Clark 
 County, Ark., with seven ordained ministers, and 
 a membership of 887, were set off and organi'zed into 
 New Liberty Association. The organization was 
 effected by forming themselves into a circle, joining 
 hands, typical of God's eternal love, singing and 
 prayer, extending the right hand of fellowship to 
 each other, and electing J. F. Patterson, moderator, 
 and C. B. Hyson, clerk. The ministers at that time 
 were, T. J. Davis, J. W. Bolin, R. M. Hatley, W. 
 E. Bray, W. E. Almon, L. McFarlin, D. W. Farris. 
 
 The Fifteenth Annual Session of New Liberty Asso-^ 
 elation of General Baptists, met with Pleasant Grove 
 Church, in Stoddard County, Missouri, on Thursday 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 69 
 
 before the second Sunday in October, 1893. At 10 
 o'clock A. M. the introductory sermon was preached 
 by Elder T. J. Davis, followed by Elder J. W. Bolin. 
 Three new church organizations, under the names of 
 Beech Grove, near Kennett; Maiden, in Maiden, and 
 Poplar Grove, were at this meeting, added to the 
 association from Dunklin County. 
 
 The associations met with Beech well Church, five 
 miles west of Maiden, on Thursday before the second 
 Sunday in October, 1894. They have in this county 
 the following organizations: Bethany, Friendship, 
 Beechwell, Mount GileadjLone Oak, Free Union, Pleas- 
 ant Valley, Maiden, Campbell, Liberty, Cold Water, 
 Salem and Beech Grove, with a membership of about 
 800. They own about eight church buildings in the 
 county, representing an approximate value of $6,000. 
 This church takes part in several of the union Sabbath 
 schools in the county and has about four in its own 
 churches with an enrollment of 200 scholars and twenty 
 officers and teachers. Beechwell Church was the 
 first General Baptist Church in the county which lived 
 any considerable length of time. It was organized by 
 Kev. Elonzo Fowler in September, 1869, with 
 twenty members. Its membership now reaches about 
 275. Rev. T. J. Davis was pastor of this church about 
 twenty years. Rev. Davis has been one of the lead- 
 ing lights of this church for years and still resides in 
 Maiden. 
 
 Of the other old ministers we have no means of 
 obtaining accurate information. Rev. L. McFarlin, 
 recentlv deceased, was one of the best loved ministers 
 
70 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 in the county among his own denomination, and uni- 
 versally respected by all who knew him. He came to 
 this county in 1872. Other ministers of this denom- 
 ination in the county are: H. H. Noble, W. E. Bray 
 and R. M. Hatley. 
 
 CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIANS. 
 
 One of the oldest churches in the county is the 
 Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Clarkton. They 
 commenced to build their first house in 1853, and 
 finished it in 1855. It was constructed of hewed logs 
 and was two stories in height, the second story being 
 used for a Masonic hall. There were several glass win- 
 dows above and below in the house. The lumber for 
 the doors, flooring and finishing was all sawed by hand 
 with a rip saw, and the work mostly done by Billy O. 
 Davidson. The seats were long benches of a better 
 grade than the ordinary church seat of pioneer days. 
 When J. H. McKnight was pastor in 1868 this church 
 was 175 strong. Their present church building was 
 erected in 1883 at a cost of $1,600. Rev. T. S. 
 Love preached for this church during the war, and it 
 was here, while the congregation was worshiping 
 on a Sunday, in the time of hostilities, that 
 a band of guerrilhis surrounded the house and calmly 
 told the worshipers that they did not wish to disturb 
 them but would like to chano^e clothes with the s^entle- 
 men.. The men were called out, the doors closed on 
 the women and the desired change soon effected. 
 One young man, who seemed to be more thoughtful than 
 the rest, saved his boots by slyly poking them in the 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 71 
 
 Stove, in which, fortunately, there was no fire, before 
 leaving the room. The rest of the men were left 
 barefo^'ot, their only consolation being a choice of the 
 very dilapidated footwear discarded by the guerrillas. 
 As the men had little show for resistance with their 
 women and children with them, they mildly acquiesced 
 in the arrangement and after the " boys " left, laugh- 
 ingly sang a hymn and then went home. Many of 
 the old citizens yet living well remember this incident. 
 Maj. W. C. Rayburn was for many years prominent 
 among the leaders of this church. We regret that a 
 list of the original' members cannot be obtained. 
 
 Canaan Church at Gibson was organized in 1862, and 
 is another old and well-known church. E. J. Stock- 
 ton was its first pastor. Among its elders have been 
 M. J. Benson, W. R. Weathers, John C. Agnew and 
 S. T. Weathers. They have 110 members, a good 
 Sunday-school of eighty-five scholars with five officers 
 and teachers. This denomination has an organization 
 at Kennett which has bought a lot on which they ex- 
 pect to build a house of worship. Mrs. Melinda 
 Hogue in her will set apart certain property for the 
 puqoose of building a Cumberland Presbyterian Church 
 at Halcomb. The members of this denomination at 
 Halcomb think they will get about $1,000 from this 
 source, and will build a house of worship as soon as 
 
 expedient. 
 
 Their church property is perhaps worth $4,000, and 
 have a total membership of 210. The following are 
 ministers who have pastorated the churches of this de- 
 nomination in this county :— Elder Robert Jones, F. 
 
72 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Keller, D. A. Knox, Roberts, J. D. C. Cobb, C. M. 
 Eaton and W. W. Spence. Rev. Grable is at present 
 pastor of Canaan Church. A union Sunday-school is 
 carried on in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church at 
 Clarkton. 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES. 
 
 "At a regular fall meeting of the Presbytery of 
 Potosi (U. S.), commencing its session at Irondale, 
 Washington County, Mo., on the 3d of October, 1872, 
 a committee consisting of Rev. W. B. Y. Wilkie and 
 W. McCarty and Elder W. A. Pouder was appointed 
 to visit Clarkton, Dunklin County, Mo., and should 
 the way be clear, organize a church in connection with 
 said Presbytery. 
 
 '* In accordance with this action the committee, on 
 the 30th of November, 1872, after divine service, pro- 
 ceeded to enroll the names of the following persons 
 (constituting the original members of an organization 
 to be known as the Old School Presbyterian Church of 
 Clarkton, Mo.), viz.: Mr. Z. B. Penney, Dr. V. H. 
 Harrison, Judge John H. Stokes, Mr. Charles E. 
 Stokes, Clement McDaniel, Mrs. E. B. Austin and 
 Mrs. Lucretia Stokes. Of these. Dr. V. H. Harrison, 
 Messrs. Charles E. Stokes and Clement McDaniel were 
 received on profession of their faith in Christ, the 
 others by letters of dismission from other churches. 
 
 *' At the same time Mr. Z. B. Penney and Dr. V. 
 H. Harrison were elected to serve as ruling Elders, 
 and on the 1st of December, 1872, after sermon, were 
 regularly ordained to office. Rev. W. B. Y. Wilkie 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 73 
 
 proposing the constitutional questions, offering the 
 ordaining prayer and delivering the charge to the 
 Elders, and W. McCarty delivering the charge to the 
 congregation. 
 
 '* Committee: 
 
 " W. B. Y. WiLKIE, 
 
 ** William McCarty." * 
 
 The Old School Presbyterians have a church at 
 Maiden and one in Kennett. The church at Kennett 
 was organized in June, 1887, by Kev. J. W. Rose- 
 borough, Synodical Evangelist, and W. Beale, pastor, 
 of the churches of New Madrid and Clarkton. 
 Through the influence of Rev. W. Beale a house of 
 worship was erected during that year, which was 
 the second church house of this denomination in 
 the county, and the first one of any kind erected in 
 Kennett. This church denomination owns some of 
 the nicest church edifices in the county, being worth 
 about $4,500. They have three Sabbath-schools with 
 about 175 s-cholars enrolled and about ten oflScers 
 and teachers. The Sunday-school at Kennett, under 
 the care of this church, is said to have failed to meet 
 at the regular hour, 3 o'clock p. m., less than a half 
 dozen times since its organization in 1887. Rev. 
 William McCarty was the first Presbyterian preacher 
 at Clarkton, and in the county. Beside those ministers 
 already mentioned J. E. L. Winecoif , Robert Morrison 
 and L. F. Linn, and several others, have from time to 
 
 * Taken from an old church book in possession of Z. B. Penney. 
 
^4 HISTORY or DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 time preached for the congregations of Old School 
 Presbyterians in this county. 
 
 The Old School Presbyterian Church of colored 
 people at Chirkton was organized with ten members 
 on September 29, 1890. They are now about twenty- 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 75 
 
 five strong, have a pastor most of the time and a 
 very good Sunday-school. 
 
 CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 
 
 The first Christian Church was organized in this 
 county at Maiden in 1885, by Rev. John Sewell, from 
 near Pophir Bluff, and Rev. Martin. The organiza- 
 
 CHRISTIAN CHURCH, KENNETT. 
 
 tion, as first effected, had twenty-two members. 
 Prominent among these first members was Dr. F. M. 
 Wilkins and wife, R. C. Vincent and wife, and other 
 leading citizens of Maiden. The church grew rapidly 
 until it numbered about the greatest in the town. 
 
 In eJune, 1889, a Christian Church was organized at 
 Kennett by Elder S. M. Martin, with 168 members. 
 This congregation now has one of the prettiest church 
 buildings in the county, of which its members are 
 justly proud. Besides the two just mentioned above 
 
76 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 they have organizations at the following places: 
 Campbell, Halcomb, Bethel Church, Bark Camp, Lulu 
 Church, and Bible Grove. They own four houses of 
 worship and one-fourth in a union house, which they 
 value at $5,900. Their houses are among the neatest 
 and best churches in the county. They have a mem- 
 bership in the county of 550, and four Sunday-schools 
 with an enrollment of 200 scholars, and about ten 
 officers and teachers. 
 
 In 1876, a Christian minister held a series of meet- 
 ings in Kennett, but nothing definite can be learned of 
 the organization. But little can be learned of the 
 ministers of this denomination who first visited this 
 county, although there have been quite a number 
 from time to time. Elder H. C. West of Kennett 
 (recently deceased) has for several years looked after 
 and preached to most of the Christian churches in the 
 southern part of this county. He was not considered 
 a brilliant talker, but was earnest, zealous and uni- 
 versally respected. Other elders in the county are K. 
 H. Stanley, Maiden; and M. Marcum, Wrightville. 
 
 CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 St. Patrick Catholic Church was dedicated by 
 Father Furlong, July 15, 1894. This church is situ- 
 ated in the town of Maiden, and is a neat little house 
 of worship worth about $1,000. It is the only Catho- 
 lic Church in the county, and as the Catholics who 
 reside in the county do not, perhaps, exceed fifty in 
 number, they are pardonably proud of their first home 
 within its borders. Among its first members were 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 77 
 
 Mrs. Crawsbaw, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Davis, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Thomas Casey, Mrs. Keene and Mr. and Mrs. Joe 
 Arnes of Kennett. Father Furlong, who resides at 
 New Madrid, administers to their spiritual needs on 
 the fourth Sabbath of each month. 
 
 CHAPTER Vll. 
 
 RESOURCES. 
 
 This section is unsurpassed in its agricultural 
 resources; all the products of the field, dairy, 
 orchard, garden and vineyard, may be produced 
 from our soil with ease. This is the banner county 
 of the State for cotton, and is a very large corn 
 producer. 
 
 The character of the soil is of such a nature that it 
 is susceptible of the highest state of cultivation and 
 productiveness. It yields promptly and bountifully 
 to every intelligent touch of labor. Its resources 
 only need development to make it one of the richest 
 counties in the State. 
 
 The timbers of Dunklin County are abundant, the 
 county being literally covered with a very fine grade 
 of timber where the land is not in cultivation, and 
 consists of sycamore, sweet, black and tupelo-gum, 
 cypress, white, burr, cow and black-oak, locust, red- 
 elm, hickory, ash, cotton-wood, maple and some 
 beech, walnut and poplar. There are also mulberry 
 
78 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 and many other less valuable timbers in large quan- 
 tities. 
 
 This county sent to the World's Columbian Exposi- 
 tion an ash block two feet long, five feet, eight inches 
 in diameter, which not only excelled any ash on ex- 
 hibition from any State in the Union, but also from 
 any other country in the world. There was also a 
 walnut block three feet, eight inches, and a hickory 
 block three feet, nine inches in diameter. The only 
 specimens of iron wood from this State were sent 
 from Dunklin County. Cork wood, which is found to 
 be plentiful in this county and not found elsewhere in 
 the State, made a very valuable acquisition to the 
 exhibit. 
 
 The products of our fields sent were a cucumber 
 weighing forty-six pounds, and very fine samples of 
 pumpkins, sweet and Irish potatoes, corn and the finest 
 cotton of any county in Missouri. It may be stated 
 here that this county produces annually more cotton 
 than the entire remainder of the State of Missouri. 
 
 Nearly all kinds of fruit, tame and wild grasses, 
 yonkepins, mosses, etc., went along with the exhibit, 
 and showed Dunklin County's resources and products 
 to be equal to, and in some instances better, than any 
 county in a State made up of good counties. 
 
 There are about 317 ,24:2-fi^^y acres of land in this 
 county. 
 
 From personal knowledge and from such informa- 
 tion as can be gained from the Map of Topographical 
 Survey of the Swamp Lands in Southeast Missouri, 
 made under the direction of N. C. Frissell, chief 
 
(( 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 79 
 
 eogineer, by J. R. Van Frank, assistant engineer, the 
 writer judges the following to be a very close estimate 
 of the lands now in cultivation in the county. 
 
 Acres. 
 
 In Township 16, R. 9 3,000 
 
 16, R. 8 2,000 
 
 16, R. 7 1,000 
 
 17, R. 9 9,000 
 
 17, R. 8 4,200 
 
 17, R. 7 500 
 
 18, R. 9 7,700 
 
 18, R. 8 1,500 
 
 19, R. 10 3,000 
 
 19, R. 9 3,500 
 
 20, R. 10 5,190 
 
 20, R. 9 1,000 
 
 21, R. 10 11,140 
 
 '' 21, R. 9 ... . 5,130 
 
 21, R. 8 900 
 
 22, R. 10 10,400 
 
 22, R. 9 6,940 
 
 22, R. 8 480 
 
 23, R. 10 3,940 
 
 23, R. 9 1,920 
 
 23, R, 8 200 
 
 Total acres 82,640 
 
 Of the remaining 234,602-^^0% acres there are probably 
 at least 100,000 acres that might be practically put in 
 cultivation. There are approximately 100,000 acres 
 
 k i 
 
80 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 within the limits of the county which are subject to 
 overflow in spring, and this includes some of the lands 
 in cultivation. Thirty-five thousand acres of this 
 overflow lands lie west of Little River, and the 
 remaining 65,000 acres in the swamp of that river. 
 
 Taking the estimate of high land, which is and might 
 easily be put in cultivation, at 182,640 acres, then 
 there is left 134,602-3^0% acres of swamp lands in 
 Dunklin County, that may not be cultivated now. 
 Still it is reasonably certain that the levee along the 
 Mississippi River will protect Dunklin County from 
 the periodical overflows, and give it a much larger 
 tillable area. On this swamp land the timbers are 
 abundant and valuable. 
 
 The value of lands in this county varies from $3.00 
 to $25.00 per acre. The timbered land is worth from 
 $3.00 to $7.00, and the improved land from $15.00 to 
 $25.00 per acre, according to the amount of improve- 
 ments, proximity to towns, etc. 
 
 Certainly there is land in our county that cannot be 
 bought for $50.00 an acre, simply because its owners 
 do not wish to sell at any price, knowing that their 
 land is every year increasing in value, and that it pro- 
 duces more than plenty of lands in other places which 
 have been bragged up and sold for $75.00 to $100.00 
 per acre. 
 
 That the lands in Dunklin County may be made to 
 produce good crops with less labor than almost any 
 other place is a fact worthy of note. Where, as in 
 many places, farmers are obliged to use from two 
 to four horses to break their land, the Dunklin 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 81 
 
 County farmer uses only one and two horses 
 for the same purpose. It is a rare thing for one to 
 see a farmer plowing four horses in this county. This 
 is ovvins: to the fact that the soil does not bake and 
 get hard, but is easily penetrated by the plow and 
 turns readily. Where the stumps are off the cultivator 
 may be used with the greatest advantage. 
 
 Our lands produce, on an average, from thirty to 
 fifty bushels of corn per acre; from 800 to 2,000 
 pounds of cotton per acre. This year, 1895, the 
 acreage of cotton is about a three-fifth crop, but having 
 better cotton than usual brings the crop up to about a 
 three-fourth crop. Wheat average twelve bushels per 
 acre on the sand and along on Halcomb; this wheat 
 averages fifty -nine pounds per measured bushel. 
 
 Wheat ofrovvn on the clay land of the ridge and on 
 clovered land averages twenty-five bushels per acre, 
 and in weight averages sixty-one pounds per measured 
 bushel. This is on the crop of 1894, in this county. 
 
 J. I. Caneer of Horse Island states that off of fif- 
 teen acres of clover he gathered four to seven bushels of 
 clover seed per acre, which brought him $4.00 to 
 $5.00 per bushel. Sold $50.00 worth of hay and put 
 up 47,000 pounds of hay in the bale. He says further 
 that the pasture was worth $50.00 to him, he having 
 kept about thirteen head of horses and twenty-five of 
 cattle on it for six weeks. These facts show that our 
 land will not only produce good corn and cotton but 
 good wheat and clover when properly and intelligently 
 cultivated. 
 
 Now that we have a good, flourishing mill, the 
 
 G 
 
82 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 farmers of Dunklin County should certainly study the 
 above statistics and give more attention to wheat and 
 clover. To give here a list of our exports will show 
 our principal products perhaps better than any other 
 way. 
 
 For 1892 our exports were as follows: — 
 
 Cattle, heads. . . . 
 
 740 
 
 $40.00 
 
 per head 
 
 $29,600 
 
 Hogs, heads 
 
 1,020 
 
 8.00 
 
 per head 
 
 8,160 
 
 Mixed stock cars. 
 
 3 
 
 500.00 
 
 per car.. 
 
 1,500 
 
 Wheat, bushels.. . 
 
 (3,220 
 
 .80 
 
 per bu.. 
 
 4,976 
 
 Corn, bushels. . . . 
 
 18,560 
 
 .35 
 
 per bu.. 
 
 6,496 
 
 Mixed grain cars.. 
 
 164 
 
 343.00 
 
 l)er car. 
 
 56,252 
 
 Flour, barrels.. . . 
 
 300 
 
 3.50 
 
 per bbl. 
 
 1,050 
 
 Cotton, bales .... 
 
 15,433 
 
 35.00 
 
 per bale 
 
 540,155 
 
 Cotton seed, cars. 
 
 557 
 
 150.00 
 
 per car. 
 
 58,485 
 
 Lumber, cars. . . . 
 
 959 
 
 185.00 
 
 per car. 
 
 177,415 
 
 Staves, cars 
 
 614 
 
 125.00 
 
 per car. 
 
 76,750 
 
 Watermelons, cars 
 
 8 
 
 75.00 
 
 per car. 
 
 600 
 
 Bacon, pounds... . 
 
 2,640 
 
 .06i 
 
 per lb. . 
 
 172 
 
 Fish, pounds. . . . 
 
 72,000 
 
 .05 
 
 per lb. . 
 
 3,600 
 
 Poultry, pounds. . 
 
 9,000 
 
 .10 
 
 
 900 
 
 Eggs, dozens 
 
 10,620 
 
 .10 
 
 per doz. 
 
 1,062 
 
 Peaches, baskets.. 
 
 60 
 
 .40 
 
 
 24 
 
 Other shipments. 
 
 80 
 
 250.00 
 
 per car.. 
 
 20,000 
 
 Total 
 
 1987,197 
 5,085 in 
 
 The census reports of 
 
 1890 g« 
 
 Lve us li 
 
 population, which 
 
 would 
 
 make us 
 
 J receive 
 
 on our 
 
 exports in 1893, $65.44 per capita. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 83 
 
 The water of Dunklin County is pure and healthful, 
 and there is no such thing as a scarcity at any time of 
 the year, unless it might be up on the ridge where the 
 people use a few cisterns. But there are good springs, 
 from which clear branches trickle down through the 
 valleys during all times of the year, affording plenty 
 of water for people and stock. There are also a num- 
 ber of sulphur springs on the ridge, which, if opened 
 up and properly cared for, would no doubt be equal 
 in healthfulness and medical properties to many of 
 the so-called great springs. All over the remainder 
 of the county the ** driven well," or Pitcher Pump with 
 galvanized iron pipes, is in use. One of these pumps 
 may be driven to the depth of twenty feet, and made 
 ready to send forth a bountiful supply of pure, clear 
 water in two hours' time. The water is strained through 
 fine gauze at the lower end, and there is no possibility 
 of anything impure getting into the water, as it is 
 pumped fresh from the interior of the earth just as 
 you want it, and that too, with ease ; any child six years 
 of age can pump the water for the family. There is 
 no such thing as drinking musty water full of 
 ** wiggle tails " in Dunklin County. 
 
 HEALTH RATE. 
 
 Since the doing away of the dug well, caused by the 
 introduction into the county of the iron pump, the 
 health rate has increased a hundred per cent. 
 
 Malarial diseases, such as chills and fever, are far 
 less prevalent. Malarial fever, which usually runs 
 about two or three weeks, is the most serious malarial 
 
84 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 trouble we have. This disease is not dangerous unless 
 it runs into typhoid fever, which it does not one time 
 in a thousand. A prominent and popular physician 
 says he has not seen but two cases of typhoid fever 
 during his residence of eight years in the county. 
 Many other prominent physicians say they have 
 never treated a single case of this disease in the 
 county. Diphtheria is also nearly unknown here. 
 There has perhaps not been exceeding three dozen 
 cases of this disease within its limits, since the settle- 
 ment of the county. Scarlet fever is another much 
 dreaded disease that is seldom seen here. When you 
 realize that our children are free from diphtheria and 
 scarlet fever you can readily understand how it is 
 that the death rate is lower, instead of higher, as 
 many uninformed people imagine, than it is in many 
 so-called healthy localities. 
 
 It has been estimated that one death out of every 
 seven in the United States of America is caused by 
 consumption, and as yet it has laid its terrible grasp 
 on very few citizens of this county. It ma}^ be con- 
 fidently stated that two-thirds of the deaths caused by 
 this disease occur among the late emigration and not 
 among the early settlers, showing decisively that the 
 disease is not contracted here, but brought from other 
 localities. 
 
 Indeed, it is a matter of remark that diseases of the 
 throat and lungs are so seldom seen and so mild as 
 compared to other localities. A person with an ordi- 
 dinarily good constitution may have pneumonia or 
 *' winter fever" for two or three consecutive winters 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 85 
 
 and yet be a fairly strong person, living for years 
 afterward. 
 
 As to epidemics of various other diseases they do 
 not occur here as often as in many localities which 
 are termed healthy. I believe these facts will be sub- 
 stantiated by any well informed physician in the 
 county. 
 
 It is not the purpose of this writer to pretend that 
 this locality is exempt from all diseases, for it is not, 
 but to show that, while we have malaria here, we are 
 exempt, or nearly so, from many dread diseases that 
 are prevalent in other localities. The malarial season 
 in Dunklin County is from the middle of July to the 
 middle of October; this is presumably caused by the 
 decaying of the rank vegetation grown in the spring 
 and early summer. During dry seasons malarial dis- 
 eases are much less prevalent than during wet ones. 
 
 At the present time malarial diseases are not so 
 prevalent as formerly, occasioned from the fact that 
 as the timber is cut out and the land allowed to dry, it 
 is put in cultivation ; thus the causes of malaria cease 
 to be so numerous. 
 
 After all that has been said about the unhealthful- 
 ness of Dunklin County, our people have better health 
 during the winter, and as good, taking the year 
 around, and can show a lower death rate than many 
 counties in the various States of our great Republic, 
 which are considered healthy. It is an erroneous idea 
 that people can not live long here. Our list of old citi- 
 zens disproves this. Among the biographies of Dun- 
 klin County people, will be found the names of plenty 
 
86 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 of citizens, yet hale and hearty, who have lived in thib 
 county from forty to sixty-five years. 
 
 CLIMATE. 
 
 The climate is mild, the thermometer seldom falling 
 much below zero. The winters, though variable, are 
 short and mild, and while the summers are warm they 
 are not excessively oppressive. Februar}^ April, 
 May, June, October, November and December are 
 usually exceedingly pleasant months. 
 
 It is hard to say which of the two seasons, spring 
 or fall, is the most pleasant, or at which time one 
 sees Dunklin County at its best. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 COURTS, OFFICIALS, ETC. 
 
 The first County Court was organized in the spring 
 of 1845, and was held about 140 rods from the site 
 of the present courthouse. 
 
 The first Circuit Court met in 1846. The place of 
 its sitting was under a large oak tree and a small hut 
 made of round poles. It stood near one corner of the 
 court square and was about 10x12 feet. This small 
 hut was scarcely high enough for the honorable judge, 
 lawyers and jurors to stand in, and was floored and 
 lined with a coarse cotton domestic by these same dig- 
 nitaries after they assembled. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 87 
 
 A. D. Bridges and Holtzhouser were two of the 
 jurors who helped to hiy the ** puncheon floor." 
 Maj. H. H. Bedford was one of the lawyers in at- 
 tendance and assisted to line the wall to protect the 
 lawyers' papers from the wind which whistled through 
 the openings between the poles or logs. Puncheons 
 or slabs with peg legs were the only seats except a few 
 chairs borrowed from one of the citizens. 
 
 Among the lawyers who attended these first courts, 
 besides Samuel A. Hill, the district attorney, were 
 Col. Soloman G. Kitchens (deceased) and Maj. H. H. 
 Bedford of Bloomfield. It may be stated incidentally 
 that Maj. Bedford has never failed to attend but one 
 regular term of Circuit Court, and but two call terms 
 since the organization of the county, sitting in our 
 courts, from the first one that met in the little pole 
 house down to the last session in 1895, which sat 
 in a $15,000 brick courthouse. 
 
 The first courthouse built in the county was erected 
 on the public square in 1847. It was forty feet 
 square, one and a half stories high, and composed of 
 hewn gum logs from twelve to eighteen inches broad. 
 
 One large door in the center of the south side had a 
 window on each side of it. The seats were two rows 
 of long benches arranged so that the aisle ran through 
 the center of the room to the judge's stand on the 
 north side ; back of the stand was another window. 
 The lower room was the court room, which was also 
 used for church and other public meetings. The 
 stairway leading to the jurors' and officials' rooms on 
 the second floor was on the outside. The windows, 
 
88 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 both upstairs and down, were of the 8x10 inch, twelve 
 pane size ; these and the '* upstairs " gave the court- 
 house what was considered in those pioneer days quite 
 
 Tatum Block, Kennett. 
 
 a grand appearance — and it was a good building for 
 so new a country, for it must be remembered that 
 there was not a saw mill within a radius of a hun- 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 89 
 
 dred miles, and railroads were thirty years in the 
 future. 
 
 All the lumber used for flooring and finishing was 
 sawed by hand with a rip saw. Hiram Langdon, 
 father of Judi^e E. J. Lansfdon, was the contractor 
 and chief workman on this first courthouse. It was 
 destroyed by fire during the war. 
 
 A large frame building was commenced in 1870, 
 and completed in 1872. It had been occupied but a 
 short time when it was also burned to the ground on 
 April 9, 1872. From that time until 1892, the county 
 had no courthouse, but held its courts in an old 
 frame building on what is known as the Tatum block. 
 In 1892, the present courthouse was erected. A log 
 jail was built at about the same time as the first court- 
 house. It was a square structure with a stairway on 
 the outside, leading up to the door in the gable end. 
 On entering you stood on a log floor, in the center of 
 which was a trap-door ; from here ran another stair- 
 way to the floor of the prison room below ; small 
 square holes in the wall, made safe by iron bars, 
 aftbrded light and ventilation. 
 
 This building was subsequently replaced by a second 
 of the same character, and in 1882 the present jail, 
 with Pauly Bros, cells, was erected. 
 
 The amount of crime committed in this county has 
 not been greater than that of other counties of 
 Southeast Missouri, and yet there have been some 
 crimes committed here the remembrance of which 
 causes deep regret to every good citizen. The fail- 
 ure in the administration of justice by the court in a 
 
90 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 few cases, made our people indignant and led to the 
 administration of Lynch law, by which three persons 
 met their deaths. 
 
 In September, 1874, George Koons was taken from 
 the jail and hung for the murder of Barton Reynolds. 
 Koons was a worthless character and had killed Rey- 
 nolds while lying in a drunken stupor in front of 
 Shelton's store in Kennett. About six months later 
 a stranger was hung on the charge of horse-stealing, 
 and on September 10, 1886, Bowman Paxton was taken 
 from the sheriff, while on his way with him from 
 Kennett to Maiden, about three miles south of the 
 former place, and hanged to a tree by the road side. 
 For a trivial offense he had shot and killed John Mc- 
 Gilvery, a blacksmith of Maiden. 
 
 Several other murders have occurred in the county, 
 and the perpetrators of some of them have gone with- 
 out punishment. These facts have caused us to re- 
 ceive considerable censure, and not altogether un- 
 justly. 
 
 But it is a fact that is well known that our officials 
 and citizens have for a number of years done all in 
 their power to enforce the laws and punish criminals, 
 and it is safe to say that no county in Southeast 
 Missouri has, for the past decade, had less crime com- 
 mitted or had better enforced laws than has Dunklin. 
 As the records of this county were entirely destroyed 
 by fire in 1872, it has been impossible to ascertain 
 much concerning the actions of the courts prior to that 
 date. 
 
 The Charles P. Chouteau land case has been one of 
 
TIISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 91 
 
 the most notable cases in the history of the county. 
 A history of the case cannot be given here, but it may 
 be stated that it started from the fact that *< on the 
 18th day of December, 1855, the District County 
 Court of -Dunklin County made an order of record 
 appointing and directing George W. Mott as commis- 
 sioner of Dunklin County to subscribe for the said 
 county to $100,000 of the stock of the Cairo & 
 Fulton B-ailroad Company of Missouri, to be paid for 
 by conveyance of 100,000 acres of low swamps or 
 overflowed lands within the limits of the aforesaid 
 county." The county in the case against Charles P. 
 Chouteau — he having bought the claims of the Cairo 
 & Fulton Kailroad Company — claimed that no petition 
 of a majority of the legal voters of Dunklin County 
 had been presented to the District Court as the law 
 required in such cases, and that the order was there- 
 fore, ** without warrant or authority in law, and was 
 null and void." 
 
 The lands were for years a matter of controversy, 
 being claimed by both Charles P. Chouteau and the 
 county. The county from time to time sold portions 
 of this land to citizens of the county, making war- 
 ranty deeds for same. 
 
 An agreement was finally made as follows : ** Where- 
 as, there being a large portion of the lands of this 
 county claimed by Charles P. Chouteau, esquire, of 
 the city of St. Louis, and the same lands are claimed 
 by Dunklin County, and the county having made 
 patents to some of the lands, and it appearing to the 
 court, that it would be to the best interest of the 
 
92 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 county to compromise the dispute as to the ownership 
 of said lands ; it is therefore agreed by the court that 
 if said Charles P. Chouteau will make a quit-claim, 
 deed to parties who have purchased or hold under 
 persons who have purchased any of said lands known 
 as the Cairo and Fulton Railroad lands, and hold 
 patents therefor, the court will have executed in due 
 form of law a conveyance of all of said lands not 
 heretofore sold, and release from any lien for taxes 
 which may have accrued on said land up to the present 
 time." 
 
 A deed to this effect was made and signed by 
 Charles P. Chouteau and E. J. Langdon, Presiding 
 Justice of the County Court of Dunklin County, on 
 Jan. 1, 1884. This land was afterwards brought into 
 dispute again, and suit brought by the county against 
 Mr. Chouteau to gain possession of these lands and 
 to have set asix3e *' and to have decreed to be null and 
 void, certain patents, commissioners' deeds and orders 
 of compromise," made and ordered to be made by the 
 County Court concerning these lands. 
 
 The action was begun in the Circuit Court of 
 Dunklin County, Missouri, and was sent by change of 
 venue to the Circuit Court of Madison County, where 
 it was tried, the court giving evidence to the effect 
 that the actions of the court of 1884, commissioners' 
 deeds, etc., were good, and relinquished the county's 
 right to such land as was claimed by Charles P. Chou- 
 teau except such as had been sold by the county and 
 quit-claimed by said Charles P. Chouteau. 
 
 A new trial was afterward brought in the Supreme 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 93 
 
 Court of the State of Missouri, which court sustained 
 the decision of the Circuit Court of Madison County. 
 
 Thus settling the controversy. 
 
 The list of officials following— back of 1882 — 
 has been gathered with much difficulty from old citi- 
 zens and more especially from Judge T. E. Baldwin 
 and W. G. Bragg, of Kennett, and also from Maj. H. 
 H. Bedford, of Bloomfield, and is as correct and 
 complete a record as it seems possible to obtain 
 now. 
 
 CIRCUIT JUDGES. 
 
 John D. Cook of Jackson, was presiding judge of 
 the Tenth Judicial Circuit when Dunklin County was 
 organized in 1845. He retired from the bench in 
 1849. The next judge was Harrison Hough of Mis- 
 sissippi County, who presided until the Fifteenth Judi- 
 cial Circuit was organized. 
 
 The first judge of the Fifteenth Circuit was Albert 
 Jackson of Jackson, who was made judge in 1854. 
 He filled the office until the suspension of the courts 
 in 1862. John W. Emerson of Iron County was 
 appointed judge in 1863, but resigned in 1864, and 
 James H. Vail, also of Iron County, was appointed as 
 his successor. Judge Vail was a Republican and was 
 not popular and there was considerable trouble about 
 his holding the office. 
 
 Upon the formation of the Twenty-third Circuit, 
 Ira E. Leonard was appointed to hold the courts 
 until the next regular election, when Reuben P. Owen 
 of Stoddard County was elected. He was a very 
 
94 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 popular judge and remained upon the bench until 
 1885, when he resigned. 
 
 In 1886, John G. Wear of Poplar Bluff was chosen 
 to succeed Judge Owens. He has been re-elected at 
 each succeeding election and is now the presiding 
 judge. 
 
 COUNTY OFFICIALS. 
 
 The representatives in the State Legislature from 
 Dunklin County have been as follows: H. D. Flowers 
 in 1846, Russell Horner in 1848, John Huston in 
 1850, C. T. Jones in 1852, T. J. Mott in 1854, C. T. 
 Jones in 1856, James McCuUough in 1858, H. A. 
 Applegate immediately after the war, or the adjourned 
 session of 1865, also in 1866-68; John Lowery in 
 1870, T. B. Turnbough in 1872, J. H. Barrett in 
 1874-76, Jesse Long in 1878. He died shortly after 
 his election. W. H. Helm was chosen to fill the 
 unexpired term. W. M. Harkey in 1880, John P. 
 Taylor in 1882, J. T. Wilson in 1884, T. R. R. Ely 
 in 1886, F. Joe Rice in 1888, C. P. Hawkins in 
 1890-92, D. C. Pollock, 1894. 
 
 County and Circuit Clerks and Recorders. — John 
 S. Huston, 1846; B. C. Henslee, 1850-54; John W. 
 Marsh, 1858-60; Leonard T. Bragg, 1864; W. G. 
 Bragg, Sr., 1866-68 ; R. R. Roberts, 1870-74; T. E. 
 Baldwin, 1878. 
 
 In the year 1882 the offices were divided, making 
 a separate office of county clerk, but still leaving the 
 offices of circuit clerk and recorder combined. Circuit 
 clerk and recorder, W. G. Bragg, Jr., 1882-86; and 
 
HISTOUY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 95 
 
 J. B. Blakemore was appointed to fill the unexpired 
 term of Mr. Bragg, and was also elected to that 
 office in 1890-94. 
 
 COUNTY CLERKS. 
 
 The first man elected to the office of county 
 clerk after the offices were divided was C. R. 
 Mills in 1882. On the death of Mr. Mills, not 
 long after his election to office, D. B. Pankey was 
 appointed to fill the unexpired term, and elected in 
 1886. Virgil McKay, 1890-1894. 
 
 SHERIFF AND COLLECTOR. 
 
 The first sheriff and collector is said to have been 
 John H. Dougherty; Louis Holcomb in 1848-50; 
 William Kimbrow, 1854; Lee J. Taylor, 1856-58; Elan 
 G. Rathburn, 1866-68; James H. Barrett, 1870-72 ; 
 W. P. Nichols, 1874-76; More M. Rayburn, 1878-80; 
 I. F. Donalson, 1882-84 ; J. R. Allgood, 1886-88 ; Col- 
 lin Morgan, 1890-92; W. G. Petty, 1894. 
 
 The offices of sheriff and collector were held jointly 
 until 1886, when they were divided, and James H. 
 Owen was the first collector, being elected to that office 
 in both 1886 and 1888. Mr. Owen died shortly after 
 his last election and D. Y. Pankey was appointed to 
 fill his unexpired term. T. J. Douglas was collector 
 in 1890-92 and F. Joe Rice, 1894. 
 
 ATTORNEYS. 
 
 Samuel A. Hill of Cape Girardeau City was the 
 District Prosecuting- Attorney in 1846. Maj. H. H. 
 
96 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Bedford of Bloomfield held that office from 1846 to 
 1860. Then Henry Porter served in that capacity for 
 a short time, when David G. Hicks of Bloomfield was 
 elected and served until the change of the law 
 made it necessary to have county instead of district 
 attorneys. 
 
 The county attorneys have been: J. M. Fisher, John 
 P. Taylor, elected in 1876-78 and 1880. T. R. R. Ely 
 in 1882-84; C. P. Hawkins, 1886-88; R. M. Finney 
 in 1890-92, and C. P. Hawkins in 1894. 
 
 TREASURERS. 
 
 An old man by the name of Price was the first treas 
 urer; Campbell Wright an4 Louis Chandler were also 
 treasurers before the Civil War. Next after the war 
 G. T. Sloan and Daniel Brewer, also W. F. Shelton, 
 Sr., served as treasurer for a period of eight years. 
 N. F. Kelley was elected in 1882, T. E. Baldwin, 1884; 
 F. Joe Rice, 1886 ; J. W. Sexton in 1888 ; R. A. Laden 
 in 1890-92, and J. F. Smyth in 1894. 
 
 ASSESSORS. 
 
 This county was assessed from Stoddard County 
 for several years. The first assessors after the war 
 were J. Q. A. Keck in 1866-68; John W. Black, 
 1870; G. T. Smith, 1872; Gilbert L. Derryberry, 
 1874; James M. Douglass, 1876-78; W. J. Davis, 
 1880-82; G. T. Smith, 1884; Virgil McKay, 1886- 
 88; B. F. Crenshaw, 1890; T. R. Neel, 1892; Louis 
 Ham, 1894. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 97 
 PROBATE JUDGES. 
 
 Have been John H. Stokes, Given Owen, 1876-78- 
 80; T. E. Baldwin, 1882-84; C. O. Hoffman from 
 1886 to 1894, or to the present time. Jonas Eaker was 
 judge of a District County Court, having probate 
 jurisdiction in 1855, and it was by the order of this 
 judge that George Mott was appointed agent for and 
 on behalf of Dunklin County to make deed or deeds 
 for 100,000 acres of low or swamp lands to the Cairo 
 and Fulton R. R. Co. 
 
 JUDGES OF COUNTY COURT. 
 
 The first court was composed of Edward Spencer, 
 Howard Moore and Anderson Thompson in 1845-46. 
 Next was Edward Spencer, Moses Farrar and Billy 
 Johnson in 1850. Moses Farrar, Edward Spencer and 
 Given Owen in 1854. Given Owen, S. P. Eldridge, 
 Moses Farrar in 1858. 
 
 After the Civil War the first court was held by Elgin 
 C. White, Jacob Snider and W. W. Shelton, in 1866. 
 W. W. Shelton, A. L. Johnson and Wm. M. Harkey, 
 in 1870. Harkey resigned and the unexpired term 
 was filled by John H. Bird. Then A. L. Johnson, W. 
 W. Shelton and John H. Bird, in 1872. A. L. John- 
 son, W. W. Shelton and R. L. Hodge, in 1874. J. 
 B. Hogue, R. L. Hodges and John T. Johnson, in 
 1876. Given Owen, Charley Stevens and E. J. Lang- 
 don, 1878. E. J. Langdon, Given Owen and J. M. 
 W^altrip in 1880. E. J. Langdon, J. W. Black and J. 
 M. Waltrip in 1882. J. M. Douglass, N. J. McBride 
 
98 
 
 and J. H. Owen in 1884. J. M. Waltrip, J. W. Baker 
 and J. M. Douglass in 1886. J. M. Waltrip, W. R. 
 Dalton and O. L. Thurmond in 1888. W. H. Shel- 
 ton, J. P. Craig and S. F. Hale in 1890. W. H. 
 Shelton, J. A. Hogue and W. J. Davis in 1892. W. 
 C. Whiteaker, Thomas Waltrip and J. H. Harkey in 
 1894. 
 
 Dunklin County lawyers make up a large and able 
 bar, composed of the following attorneys: Hon. T. 
 R. R. Ely, Hon. C. P. Hawkins, who have both rep- 
 resented this county in the State Legislature, also R. 
 M. Finey and J. P. Tribbe, all of Kennett. D. R. 
 Cox, W. S. C. Walker, Charles Vancleve, J. L. 
 Downing and R. H. Stanley, Jr., of Maiden ; Dunklin 
 County nlso claims H. N. Phillips, who is perhaps our 
 best orator. 
 
 OFFICIAL DIRECTORY FOR 1895. 
 
 District Officers . 
 
 Congressman of the 14lh District, N. A. Moseley, 
 Dexter, Mo. 
 
 Senator 23d District, B. F. Walker, Dexter, Mo. 
 
 Circuit Judge 22d Circuit, John G. Wear, Poplar 
 Blutf, Mo. 
 
 County Officers. 
 
 Representative D. C. Pollock. 
 
 Circuit elk. and recorder J. B. Blakemore. 
 
 County clerk Virgil McKay. 
 
 Collector F. Joe Rice. 
 
 Coroner A. Harrison. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 99 
 
 Sheriff W. G. Petty. 
 
 Prosecuting Atty. » . C. P. Hawins. 
 
 Treasurer J. F. Smyth. 
 
 Assessor Lewis Ham. 
 
 Probate Judge C. O. Hoffman. 
 
 Pres. Judge County Clerk W. C. Whiteaker. 
 
 Judge 1st District Thomas Waltrip. 
 
 Judge 2d District J. H. Harkey. 
 
 County Calendar, 
 
 Circuit Court convenes on the 2d Monday in January 
 and July. 
 
 County Court convenes on the 1st Monday in January, 
 April, July and October. 
 
 Probate Court convenes on the 1st Mondays in 
 February, May, August and November. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 TOWNS AND VILLAGES. 
 CARUTH 
 
 Is a little post-village first established by Wm. M. 
 Satterfield about 1881. Mr. Sattertield built a large 
 two-story house in which he did a flourishing business 
 during the remainder of his life. He operated a grist 
 mill and cotton gin, built many tenant houses, and 
 caused the little village to move on in a manner typi- 
 cal of *' New America." Since the death pf Mr. 
 
 LofC. 
 
100 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Satterfield in 1890 it has seen quite a decline. Several 
 business men have at different times opened stores 
 here, but have remained only a short time. At present 
 there are no oroods being sold here, and the post-office 
 is kept at the home of Rev. R. H. Douglass. Mrs. 
 Douglass is the accommodating and efficient post-mis- 
 tress. Caruth is situated on the main public road 
 leading south from Kennett and at a distance of eight 
 miles from that city and in the very heart of *' Grand 
 Prairie." It is surrounded on all sides by some of 
 the finest and best improved farms in Dunklin County. 
 No neighborhood in the county has prettier homes 
 or more cultivated people. The neighborhood has the 
 benefit of a six or eight months' school annually. The 
 Baptists have a new church edifice at Caruth and carry 
 on a Sunday-school. The Liberty Church of the M. 
 E. C. S. is within less than a mile distant. Passing 
 Caruth is a daily hack line which leaves the U. S. 
 mails from both the North and South. The post-office 
 was named by Mr. Satterfield in honor of an old 
 friend, who was a member of the McCombs, Caruth 
 & Byrns Hardware Co., of St. Louis, Missouri. 
 
 CARDWELL 
 
 Is situated about two miles from the St. Francois 
 River, six miles north of the Arkansas and Missouri 
 State line, and in section 3, township 16, range 7, on 
 Buffalo Island. It is the terminus of the Paragould 
 and Southeastern Railroad and its people believe it is 
 destined to be the metropolis of the south end of the 
 county. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 101 
 
 Cardwell was laid out and surveyed by Burtig 
 Brothers, of Paragould, Arkansas, and named in 
 honor of Mr. Frank Cardwell, cashier of the Bank of 
 Paragould ; the first house was erected by Cox Bros, of 
 Paragould and the second by J. R. Pool. The post- 
 office was established February 16, 1895. Since that 
 date the town has had a steady and rapid growth. Its 
 people show their energy and thrift by their manner 
 of felling the great forest trees, sawing them into 
 lumber and shaping them into neat and comfortable resi- 
 dent and business houses. The place which was one year 
 ago the forest home of the bear, deer, coon and turkey, 
 is to-day a thriving little railroad town of 150 inhabi- 
 tants, having two general stores, owned respectively by 
 Burtig Brothers and Lamb & Hale ; they both carry a 
 full line of fresh goods, and buy cotton and other 
 produce. J. W. Wetherby, J. M. Gist and J. A. 
 Southers, each carry a nice selection of fresh gro- 
 ceries. There are three restaurants and two saloons. 
 
 Hotel Cardwell is a large well-built house, that 
 would be a credit to any town of 1,000 inhabitants. 
 Three saw-mills, one cotton gin, and grist mill, a 
 livery stable and two blacksmiths, do a prosperous 
 business at this new town. Daily mail is brought by 
 the Paragould and Southeastern Railroad, which con- 
 nects with the Cotton Belt Route at Paragould. 
 The new road was completed from Paragould to 
 Cardwell in February, 1895, and will now compare 
 favorably with older roads in the South and West. 
 The business of the road is quite heavy and increasing. 
 They have a first-class depot at Cardwell and are 
 
102 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 fairly well prepared to accommodtite the general 
 public. The train carrying passengers arrives from 
 Paragould at 11 o'clock a. m. and leaves for Paragould 
 at 1 o'clock p. m. A six months' school with fifty - 
 three pupils enrolled under the supervision of Mr. 
 Walter Cook, one of the most successful and best 
 informed teachers in the county, alone speaks well 
 for the enterprise of the people of Cardwell and 
 vicinity. They have preaching once and twice each 
 month and the M. E. C. S. has bought a lot on which 
 they expect soon to build a house of worship. 
 
 There are some good farms opened and fairly well 
 improved around this new town, but there are thou- 
 sands of acres of land that will produce anything 
 that can be produced in this climate upon which there 
 is scarcely a tree amiss. The timber is mostly large, 
 plenty of it being from three to five feet in diameter, 
 and in many cases worth more than is asked per acre 
 for the land. 
 
 COTTON PLANT. 
 
 In 1848 Buffalo Creek levee, between Cotton Plant 
 and Kennett, was built by Judge E. J. Langdon and 
 Billy O. Williams. W^ith the money which he received 
 for this work, Judge Langdon purchased a stock of 
 general merchandise and started a store near the 
 present site of Cotton Plant. About 1854 he bought 
 a cotton gin of a Mr. Clark. At that time it stood on 
 the old Anderson Tompson place. Judge Langdon 
 improved this crude gin and began to encourage the 
 farmers, or perhaps hunters would be as correct a 
 name, to raise cotton. He also bought the Jack Cude 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 103 
 
 place at Cotton Plant and established his family in the 
 resident houses. 
 
 From that time Cotton Plant began to take on a 
 tangible form, but at just what time it took its name 
 is not certain. It was first spoken of as Cotton Plant 
 by a stranger, who on coming into the county, noticed 
 around it the only plants of cotton in that part of the 
 
 county. 
 
 The plants of this growth are very pretty and sure 
 to attract the attention of any one not accustomed to 
 seeing them grow, more especially when in bloom. 
 The red and white blossoms are very attractive among 
 their beds of dark green leaves, and in the fall season 
 the balls of soft fleecy white cotton are by many con- 
 sidered quite as pretty as the bloom. Anyway you 
 take it the little town's namesake is worthy of atten- 
 tion, and for this particular town no more appropriate 
 name could have been chosen than Cotton Plant. It 
 was for years the source and center of the cotton 
 business in the south end of the county save what was 
 raised on the west prairie around Old Cotton Hill, 
 Cotton Plant had the exclusive cotton traffic of the 
 county until long after the Civil War. The 
 history of this post-village is the history of 
 Judge Langdon's prosperity. From his modest 
 beginning as half owner in a cooper's shop 
 and blacksmith's, with Isiah Jones as partner, as 
 contractor and builder of one of the first levees in 
 the county, as founder of one of the oldest general 
 stores, he became the owner of a village containing 
 about one hundred inhabitants, with a school and 
 
104 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 church house, over which was an Odd Fellows and 
 Masonic Hall; a commodious store well filled with the 
 latest wares, and one of the largest landholders in 
 the county. In his latter years he might have stood 
 on the upper gallery of his pretty village home and 
 surveyed, almost us. far as the eye could see, his 
 own domains, well improved, on the east, south, or 
 west. He was the first and only postmaster up to the 
 time of his death ; although, ])rior to his decease, for 
 several years, he did not reside at Cotton Plant in 
 summer, and in fact kept his family at Arcadia, Iron 
 County, Mo., most of the time, but he never ceased 
 to hold his citizenship in Dunklin County and always 
 came back to vote. 
 
 He erected from time to time new cottages in Cot- 
 ton Plant, but would never sell any lots. He prob- 
 ably had two reasons for this; one was he did not wish 
 a competitor, another was he did not want any one to 
 have the right to sell any intoxicants in his little 
 town, as he feared they would do if they owned prop- 
 erty. He was for many years the sole merchant in 
 this part of the county, and always did a prosperous 
 business, selling goods at a time when they could be 
 sold at a large profit, he bought, or took in on debts, 
 large tracts of land, until at the time of his death, in 
 1892, his estate was worth about $200,000 or $300,- 
 000. At different times he had several partners in 
 business, but as often something happened that caused 
 him to be again alone. At one time he sold to T. R. 
 Neel and C. Y. Langdon and they ran the store for a 
 time, but sold back to Judoje Lanadon. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 105 
 
 He again sold out, this time to A. J. Lano;clon, who 
 was doino: a ireneral mercantile business at Cotton 
 Plant, at the time of his father's death. 
 
 In 1894, A. J. Langdon sold to Wm. M. Gates, who 
 is doing a general mercantile business in the Langdon 
 old store, and has built up for himself a surprisingly 
 good trade. The tirst church and Masonic hall, erected 
 about 1874, was burned in 1883. Shortly after an- 
 other building of similar character was erected on the 
 same site. The lower story was owned and built by 
 tTudge Langdon, and the upper by the I. O. O. F. and 
 Masonic fraternities. 
 
 The lower story was set apart for school and church 
 services, and is yet held so by the heirs of Judge 
 Langdon. A six or eight months' school is annually 
 kept at Cotton Plant. 
 
 It may be said in connection that Judge Langdon 
 was very generous and furnished a home for several 
 years to the circuit preachers of Grand Prairie Circuit, 
 free of charge, besides giving liberally. He also 
 nearly always had several widows and their children 
 " under his wing," so to speak, and gave them homes 
 and financial assistance. No man whom this county 
 has ever known, was more universally loved and 
 respected by its people than the founder of Cotton 
 Plant. 
 
 CLARKTON. 
 
 The *' pole road " between Weaverville and Clark- 
 ton was a nice plank road at first, and was to Clarkton 
 then about the same as a railroad is to a little town 
 now. Bach was the name first given to this place, but 
 
106 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 after the plank road was built, and it began to thrive 
 it was called Clarkton, in honor of Henry E. Clark, a 
 contractor on the new road. Being in the midst of 
 West Prairie, which was easily cleared and tilled, on 
 the road from Gainsville, Ark., to Weaverville and 
 New Madrid, it soon had good stores, mills, gins, etc. 
 
 The first house erected here stood about where the 
 late residence of Z. B. Penney was burned. The 
 store was on the old Cottage Hotel lot, and its first 
 proprietors were John M. Muse and John Timberman. 
 
 John H. Stokes also established a store here in 
 1856, which his son, Robert W. Stokes, had charge of 
 until the breaking out of the Civil War. Clarkton 
 was during the war the site of several skirmishes ; 
 some of its stores were destroyed by fire and the plank 
 road was burned. 
 
 This was a heavy blow to the new town. For 
 although the road was afterwards rebuilt, or partially 
 so, with poles, it was a very rough affair ; and when 
 once traveled from end to end, it was not so hard to 
 understand how a certain witty traveler's imagination 
 was wrought upon, until he dubbed it *' The Devil's 
 Washboard." But Clarkton withstood all this, and 
 after the cessation of hostilities built up again. 
 Z. B. Penney, E. C. White, Oscar Summers and John 
 Muse established stores, and George Rogers (later of 
 St. Louis) erected a flouring mill, and several grist 
 mills and cotton gins were built, papers were estab- 
 lished by different newspaper men, and Clarkton 
 became the metropolis of the county. It had at one 
 time nearly 500 inhabitants, the best schoolhouse in 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 107 
 
 the county, two good churches, and muny ueat resi- 
 dences, and was, without doubt, one of the prettiest 
 towns in this part of the State. The Cottage Hotel 
 erected by Z. B. Penney was, in its day, a boon to 
 travelers in these parts. 
 
 The building of the railroad, however, from New 
 Madrid to Maiden dealt Clarkton a terrible blow from 
 which it has never completely recovered. Still it 
 does considerable business for a country town, for its 
 citizens are nearly all of old and highly respected 
 families who have nice homes and are good livers. 
 In fact, among the best and most influential citizens 
 the county has ever had, have been those in the 
 vicinity of Clarkton. At present it has two general 
 stores owned respectively by M. W. Hubbard and 
 Judge James M. Waltrip. A drug and grocery store 
 are kept by Pack Harrison and his brother, Dr. Arthur 
 Harrison. There is also a blacksmith shop, two mills 
 and cotton gins. 
 
 Some fine farms are in close proximity to Clarkton, 
 those of Asa B. Douglass, the Rayburns, Wm. N. 
 Gunn, Judge R. L. Hodges, — Scaggs, Martin V. 
 Baird and George, W. Marshall's are the best known. 
 The last named is, I believe, all things considered, the 
 most desirable farm in the county. Those of T. J. 
 Douglass, near Caruth, and Ben. F. Hicks, of Hal- 
 comb, are, in fact, its only rivals. 
 
 CAMPBELL. 
 
 This place is situated at the terminus of the St. 
 Louis, Kennett and Southern Railroad, and the Cot- 
 
108 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 ton Belt Route of the St. Louis Southwestern Railroad 
 passes through it. Although many of its citizens are 
 those who formerly lived at Old Four Mile, Campbell 
 
 bears no resemblance to that country post-office, but 
 it is a live little railroad town. 
 
 When the town first started Maj. Rayburn laid off 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 109 
 
 ten acres of the farm of G. M. Williams into town 
 lots, and the railroad company did the same with forty 
 acres. The Lasswell Brothers put up the first store, 
 and E. C. Haines the first saw-mill on the site of the 
 new town. But Campbell was not designed on the 
 country store and saw mill style, for the citizens here- 
 about intended from the first to make a good town of 
 it, and they have, for it has some of the best business 
 enterprises of any town in the county. The Lasswell 
 Milling Co., incorporated February, 1894, with a paid- 
 up stock of $30,000, is one of these enterprises. 
 
 It has, in connection with a 30,000 feet capacity 
 sawmill and planing mill with machinery of the latest 
 improvement, both of which have the record of putting 
 out from 75 to 100 car loads of material per month, 
 a trainroad with steel track some seven miles or more 
 in length, running southwest from Campbell, with 
 ample equipment of rolling stock, consisting of a 
 locomotive and ten train cars; besides, it owns ten 
 standard gauge logging cars, which are in control of 
 the St. L., K. & S. R. K., and bring timber from 
 stations along this, and the Kennett and Caruthersville 
 R, R., to the mills at Campbell. 
 
 It will be seen from this that the supply of timber 
 for this company is almost limitless, and it is the 
 source of employment of some 150 or 175 men. 
 
 This company about one year ago bought a tract of 
 land and added it to the town plot, as the McCutchen 
 Addition, and the town has within that time almost 
 doubled itself in size and population ; there having 
 been about thirty new buildings, erected mostly on this 
 
no 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 new plot, and this gives the town a very attractive ap- 
 pearance from the east, south and west. The officials 
 of the company are J, F, Lasswell, President, W. D. 
 
 Lasswell, Vice-president and GenerarManager, and 
 J. P. Lasswell, Secretary and Treasurer. 
 
 The ** Campbell Roller Mills " fill 
 
 a long-felt want 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. Ill 
 
 of this county, and gives Campbell another paying 
 enterprise. It is new, having done its first work on 
 the fall crop of 1895, but it makes four grades of good 
 flour. The building is four stories, and the machinery 
 of the very best, having a capacity of fifty barrels per 
 day. 
 
 For convenience of shipping, the company have 
 built a 600-foot railroad switch. The officers are 
 numbered among the best citizens of the county, being 
 J. Q. A. Gardiner, President; W. D. Lasswell, Vice- 
 president; Louis McCutcben, Secretary and Treasurer, 
 and W. E. Hopper, General Manager. Besides this, 
 Campbell has a cotton gin, woodwork and blacksmith 
 shop, four hotels and a number of staple and fancy 
 groceries and general stores. 
 
 A large amount of produce is shipped from this 
 place, as the farming community is a good one. This 
 is also a fine fruit growing locality, being at the foot 
 of Crawley's Ridge in this county, and the people are 
 quiteproudof the ** Pollock & Stanley Nursery." It is 
 only about eight years old, but its business is annually 
 increasing and the fruits, shrubs, etc., worked are of 
 the best standard kinds. 
 
 As the people are progressive and up-with-the-times 
 folk, they are, of course, proud of their good school 
 building, and cheerfully support an eight months 
 term, which is this year under the management of 
 E. E. McCullough, and Miss Katie Lawson. 
 
 The Campbell Baptist Church on Riffle avenue and 
 Main street, the M. E. C. S. on Martin avenue and 
 Oak street, and the Christian Church on Martin 
 
112 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 avenue and Pine street, are all neat churches and 
 speak well for a town of 600 inhabitants. 
 
 This is one of the oldest settled communities in the 
 county, and many of the citizens of Campbell have 
 been residents here between forty and fifty years. 
 Among the oldest are A. D. Bridges, of the firm of 
 Bridges & Son, who located here in 1844. Mrs. 
 Owen, widow of Dr. Given Owen, who also came to 
 the county in 1844; Dr. Bray, who has been here since 
 1850; and old ** Uncle " Billy Gear, who has been here 
 *' about as long as any one ; " and J. Q. A. Gardiner, 
 who has been a citizen of Dunklin County since 1869. 
 A number of others might be mentioned but this is 
 enough to prove that Campbell is a fairly healthy 
 locality, for these old people are all hale and strong 
 considering their age. 
 
 GIBSON. 
 
 This is a little station on the railroad between 
 Campbell and Kennett. It has a saw mill, cotton gin 
 and grist mill, owned by J. G. Dover & Son, and a 
 grocery store, by J. A. Northern ton, and a good 
 church and schoolhouse. Among the old fami- 
 lies around Gibson, nearly all of whom have good 
 farms, are the Northerntons, Weathers, Bensons, 
 Davidsons, Taylors, Barnes, Moores, Ozbirns, Sanders 
 and Browns. 
 
 HALCOMB. 
 
 This is a town on the St. Louis, Kennett & Southern 
 Railroad. It was quite a thriving village before the 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 113 
 
 railroad came through; many say it was a more 
 thriving town then than now. Owing to a dispute 
 which arose between the people of the town and the 
 railroad company, the depot was, first built about a 
 mile below town, and the station called Pine City in 
 honor of the Lone Pine near by. However, a satis- 
 factory settlement was at length made, a depot erected 
 at Halcomb, and the station at Pine City discontinued. 
 The town has several stores, the oldest general mer- 
 chant beinoj Judo^e John A. Hoojue. Dr. I. W. 
 Powell has a very nice drug store here, and is one of 
 the leading physicians ; the others are Drs. G. W. 
 Quinn, W. G. Hughes and E. T. Applegate. 
 
 Halcomb has a good school building and supports a 
 good school eight months in the year, and two 
 churches. Baptist and Methodist. A legacy was set 
 apart by Mrs. Hogue to build a Presbyterian church on 
 that church lot in Halcomb, so that it will soon have 
 three churches. The largest Union Sunday-school in 
 the county is carried on in the Methodist church at this 
 place under the supervision of Dr. E. T. Applegate and 
 Rev. Owen by. 
 
 Halcomb has been a o^reat lumber center, but the 
 saw-mill business is not so brisk as a few years ago. 
 Considerable farm produce is shipped from this place ; 
 melons and strawberries are two of the most prom- 
 inent products, and these cannot be excelled for either 
 quality or size, and are generally ripe more than a week 
 earlier than in the surrounding counties. Almost 
 anything can be successfully raised around Halcomb 
 that can be grown in this climate, and its agricultural 
 
114 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 resources only need development, for no better soil 
 can be found anywhere. Wheat, oats, clover, corn, 
 grasses, melon, small fruit, poultry and eggs, are 
 raised plentifully here. 
 
 Not only the town of Halcomb, but all of Halcomb 
 Island, has improved very rapidly in the last few 
 years. There was not a brick chimney nor a glass 
 window in the neipjhborhood fifteen vears ag-o. Then 
 one could not see over a quarter of a mile in any 
 direction on account of the heavy timber, and deer 
 roamed the woods in the neighborhood even in the 
 daytime. Now one might stand on a house-top in 
 Halcomb and see farms for a distance of five miles, or 
 as far as the eye can see. Seven churches and six 
 schools with 600 scholars enrolled are within the 
 bounds of the little island. 
 
 Col. H. A. Ai)piegate's, the Messrs. Blakemore's, 
 John P. Taylor's [deceased] and Ben F. Hicks' are 
 noted farms. Mr. Hicks' is said to be the most con- 
 veniently arranged and best fenced farm in the 
 county. 
 
 THE TOWN OF HORNERSVILLE. 
 
 W. H. Horner came to Dunklin County in 1832, 
 and located on the bank of Little River, entering from 
 the Government, at the old land office in Jackson, 
 Mo., the east fractional half of section 8, township 16, 
 range 9, east, and built a large log house — which is 
 yet standing and owned by VVm. Herman — by the 
 side of a mound where he would have dry land in time 
 of an *' overflow," and there opened up a small farm. 
 
. HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 115 
 
 Believing he was near the head of navigation on a good 
 trading point, he concluded to lay off a town. 
 
 In 1842, he laid out the town of Hornersville, con- 
 taining all of fractional southeast quarter of section 8, 
 township 16, range 9. Commencing at his own dwell- 
 ing place, which is situated on lot one, block one, he 
 laid off the plot along the river bank. The town site 
 is one of the most beautiful in the county ; command- 
 ing a splendid view of the open river, it is higher than 
 the surrounding country and is well drained by Little 
 River, which at this point, more especially in spring, 
 is exceedingly pretty. 
 
 The first merchant in the town was Jesse Storv, who 
 in later years lived at Weaverville, New Madrid 
 County. Jeff. Molt and Horner and Satterfield were 
 other early business men. Wagster and Douglass, 
 dealers in tobacco, cigars, fine wines, liquors, etc., 
 was i)lainly discernible on some of the door posts of 
 an old house a few years ago. Joel Chandler was 
 another early resident and merchant of Hornersville. 
 in its early days " Hornerstown " was a brisk trading 
 point; the hunters and Indians bringing their furs to 
 the merchants and buying of them their traps, tents, 
 ammunition, guns, etc. 
 
 By 1861 it had become a considerable town, had a 
 schoolhouse, church and Masonic hall. It was, how- 
 ever, nearly destroyed by the war, and for several 
 years after made very slow progress, having not 
 more than one or two small merchandise houses and 
 a grocery or saloon or two. W. F. Shellon kept 
 a saloon in a little house which had no door 
 
116 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 shutter. A box, or some similar contrivance, was 
 placed across the door at night to keep the 
 cattle out. The counter was a dry goods box; the 
 stock on hand consisted of a barrel of liquor and a 
 tin cup. The cup was filled and passed around to the 
 boys. 
 
 Other business men here about this time were 
 Edwards and McCrackin, H. G. Pasley, Henry 
 Stewart, and later Harkey and Schultz. They com- 
 menced business about 1870, and were very successful, 
 soon ranking among the best business men in the county. 
 
 Hornersville has at present two general stores, a 
 grocery store, grist mill, two sawmills, and a drug 
 store. The leading merchant is Dr. John L. Mathews, 
 who is one of the best posted men in financial and 
 mercantile matters in Southeast Missouri. Dr. 
 Mathews keeps one of the best stocked general stores 
 south of Kennett, and Pope and McKay are enlarging 
 their business with encouraging prospects. 
 
 Hornersville is one of the best trading points in the 
 south end of the county, and its merchants sell thou- 
 sands of dollars' worth of goods every year. 
 
 Some of the lands around this town are subject to 
 overflow in spring, none in the county, however, excel 
 it in fertility. These high waters do not come every 
 spring. The waters have not been high enough to 
 inconvenience Hornersville and vicinity since 1886. 
 
 It is a reasonably healthy locality, and thus need 
 only two practicing y)hysicians — Drs. E. T. Anderson 
 and Floyd Kinsolving. A daily hack from Kennett 
 brings the U. S. mails. Tom Kinsolving is postmaster. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 117 
 
 Mrs. Samuel Edmonston and Mrs. W. N. Cole^accom- 
 modate the traveling public, and their guests fre- 
 quently dine on wild goose, duck, turkey, venison 
 steak, frog legs and fresh fish, as this is one of the 
 greatest hunting and fishing centers in the county. 
 The history of Hornersville would fill a good-sized 
 volume in itself, and can only be touched lightly here. 
 At first it was only a peaceful little hamlet where the 
 steamboats and keelboats from Memphis landed to 
 exchange their wares for produce, game and furs. 
 
 In those days the fur buyers were ordinary person- 
 ages, and in spring laid their sacks of gold in the 
 tents of the hunters as though they were so many 
 sacks of salt. A thief was considered the meanest 
 and most insignificant of all creatures and hence the 
 gold was never touched. Fighting and brawling 
 among the neighbors was unheard of, and preaching 
 at people's houses, singing meetings, corn huskings, 
 old fashioned quiltings and log rollings were frequent 
 occurrences. But all this soon changed, as this place 
 was found to be a good-hiding place for desperadoes, 
 it being impossible to trace them through the dismal 
 swamps of Little Kiver. 
 
 John A. Murrell's gang made Hornersville one of 
 their meeting-places, and as the citizens were too scarce 
 to put them down, they had things about their own 
 way for a while. They at first palmed themselves off 
 on the citizens as Masons, and when a man was per- 
 suaded to take the oath, to break it meant certain 
 death, thus the only thing he could do was to ** keep 
 quiet," after such persuasion. 
 
118 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 More .will be said about this ^'g.mg" elsevvhere, 
 but it may be said here that Hornersville was not their 
 only place of meeting in this county, and that they 
 did not commit as much crime here as in many other 
 older and more thickly populated counties. However, 
 there is no doubt but the influence of this "s^anor" 
 was very demoralizing and that they sowed the seeds 
 of future depravity. 
 
 Soon after the suppression of this gang the Civil 
 War broke out, and as Hornersville was about the 
 largest town in the county it was the common stopping- 
 place of the "Yanks," the *' Secessionists " and 
 *' Guerrillas," when they were in the county. 
 During these hostilities the town hall was burned and 
 the town nearly demolished. It was several years 
 after the war before order was even partially restored, 
 and many so inclined had ample opportunities to 
 cultivate their evil propensities. But be it said in 
 behalf of Hornersville, that although there has been 
 a number of murders committed here, there 
 has not been more than in other towns of 
 its age, and the many stories of its *' desperate " 
 men, have either been exaggerated or made out- 
 right. There has never been a time in the history 
 of Hornersville when a man who acted the gen- 
 tleman was not treated as such, unless, perchance, 
 he fell in the hands of the Murrell gano:. Homers- 
 ville was never incorporated, and it must be confessed 
 that the associations of the saloon of former years 
 gave some cause for the stories told of its morals. 
 But it has had no saloon for several vears : its ** blind 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 119 
 
 tiger" and '* dejicl full," days are past, and the peo- 
 ple in that locality say it will never have another 
 saloon, at least, until it is incorporated. The ladies 
 of that vicinity are setting a high standard of morals 
 for ihe sterner sex, and it seems almost needless to 
 say that the standard is fast being reached. The 
 ladies declare they will never again suffer anything to 
 be said ao^ainst the morals of their husbands and 
 brothers, for with a few exceptions, they are as 
 gallant, moral and law-abiding as any men in 
 America. 
 
 Hornersville has a ofood church buildino^ nearinorcom- 
 pletion, and in it a Sunday-school, weekly prayer 
 meetings, and weekly singing are carried on for the 
 edification of its people. The people of this vicinity 
 are of the *' big-hearted " kind, and if you have occa- 
 sion to visit Hornersville, you will be met with old 
 fashioned Southern hospitality. 
 
 The people of this vicinity expect the Paragould and 
 Southeastern Railroad to strike this town. Believing 
 it will come east near the line of the old wagon road 
 known as the '* Bear Road," pass through Lulu and 
 Hornersville on its route southeast to Osceola, Ark., 
 and Memphis, Tenn. Should this be the case, Horners- 
 ville has everything to make it the best town between 
 Kennett in this county and Osceola, Ark. 
 
 KENNETT. 
 
 Dunklin County's capital is centrally situated, one 
 mile east of Varney's river, and is about 270 feet above 
 the mean tidal wave of the Gulf of Mexico, where the 
 
120 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 high or overflow waters never touch it. From the 
 clock tower of the county courthouse one may view 
 many miles of as beautiful and prosperous a county as 
 there is in Southeast Missouri. Kennett is considered 
 the oldest town in the county, and yet Hornersville 
 was laid off in town lots before the former town. But 
 
 w 
 
 m 
 
 Residence of R. H. Jones. 
 
 Kennett was an Indian village long before this county 
 was settled by the whites; and as the Indians thought 
 it a desirable centralizing point, as also did the early 
 settlers, they located and built little log cabins near 
 its present site, until the pioneers dignified it by call- 
 
 ing it a town. 
 
 The Indian chief Chilletacaux, must be given the 
 honor of building the first log hut and, in a way, of 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 121 
 
 starting the town of Kennett. He was a progressive 
 Indian and aspired to live in a house instead of a wig- 
 wam. So, according to his progressive views, he 
 built a two roomed log, or pole cabin, planted some 
 peach and apple trees around it and believed himself to 
 be quite up with the times. In his kitchen he built a 
 mortar with attachments for the purpose of pounding 
 his Indian corn into meal for breadstuff. The chief's 
 claim eventually was bought by Howard Moore, who 
 turned the corn mortar into a coffee mortar, and 
 erected near by one of the first grist mills of the county. 
 *« Uncle " Dave Moore, who was the second white child 
 born in the county, can yet describe all of those early 
 improvements, and remembers how the little place was 
 first called Chilletacaux, in honor of the Indian chief 
 and his claim. 
 
 In 1845, when Dunklin County was organized and 
 Chilletacaux was chosen as the seat of its government 
 the lawyers, who looked after its legal affairs, soon 
 arrived at the conclusion that Chilletacaux was too 
 long and hard a name for a county seat. They made 
 their opinion known to the county's representative in 
 the Leofislature and asked him to effect a change of 
 name. He complied, and had the town called Butler. 
 But this name proved unsatisfactory also, as the mails 
 for Butler town and Butler County were continually 
 getting mixed and causing delays and annoyance. 
 Again the representative was appealed to, with the 
 result that Kennett was chosen as a name for Dunklin 
 County's seat of government. The pioneers built a 
 little pole hut to be used for school and church ser- 
 
122 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 vices, and this served as a place of shelter, when shel- 
 ter was necessary, for the first court officials after the 
 organization of the county until the citizens had time 
 to erect a courthouse. This they did in 1847. The 
 building was of logs, but was substantial and suffi- 
 ciently large, and served its purpose admirably until it 
 was destroyed by fire during the war. 
 
 The history of the several courthouses of this 
 county has been given elsewhere, and it is sufficient 
 to say here that the present courthouse, erected on the 
 public square, in 181)2, is one of the finest in this part 
 of the State, and of which not only Kennett but the 
 entire county is proud, 
 
 Kennett's first store was opened by Elbert C. Spil- 
 ler, who was for a time in partnership with James 
 Cude ; they continued in business for several years, 
 and were finally succeeded by A. M. Davis, and J. R. 
 McCullough, John S. Houston, John H. Marsh, and 
 Campbell Wright. Kennett grew steadily, and had 
 good prospects when the war broke out. This left it, 
 as it did the remainder of the country, in a very deplor- 
 able condition ; business had been suspended, and a 
 heap of ashes marked the remains of what had once 
 been the courthouse ; in short, the town had been 
 destroyed and had to be rebuilt again. 
 
 W. F. Shelton beofan business here about the close 
 of the war, commencing in a very crude little log 
 cabin. His present wealth testifies to his having done 
 a prosperous business; but many of its other citizens 
 seem to have dropped off in a Rip Van Winkle dose, 
 from which they were never fully aroused until the 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 123 
 
 whistle of the locomotive was heard in their midst. 
 This occurred about January 1, 1892. True, it had 
 before this begun to cast about and put forth consid- 
 erable energy, although it still enjoyed retiring at 9 
 p. M., and rising at 6 a. m. 
 
 Kennett had to this date built two good churches 
 and a Methodist parsonage. It had a cotton gin and 
 grist mill or two, and general stores were run respect- 
 ively by T. E. Baldwin & Co., Tatum Bros., Phillips 
 & Co., S. S. White & Co., W. F. Shelton, B. Weil, 
 and others. A drug store had been opened by A. B. 
 Mobley, and a family grocery by G. W. Huskey. The 
 brick bank building on the north side of the square 
 had been erected and the citizens were striving for the 
 new courthouse. It was even then a thriving, if a 
 modest town. At present and in the last four years 
 Kennett has been on a prolonged and steady " boom." 
 
 A *'boom" in this instance does not mean that 
 Kennett has advertised and deceived unwary home- 
 seekers into coming to ** the garden spot of America," 
 *' a perfect paradise," etc., or described it so that 
 one might expect to see the corn cobs grown around 
 it set with gold dollars instead of ordinary corn, or 
 the cotton bolls tilled with silver coin so that it would be 
 easy to gather all one would ever need in a day. Oh, 
 no, Kennett has done nothing of this kind, in fact, 
 it has had less extravagant praise bestowed upon it, 
 and less advertising than any town in this part of the 
 State. Its people have been content to let others lind 
 the many advantages they enjoyed as citizens of 
 Kennett and Dunklin Co., believing that its true 
 
124 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 merits would gain Qiore lastins: friends than brajr^ed- 
 up localities. 
 
 Kennett makes no claims at being a "perfect 
 paradise," but it is a real live American, Missourian- 
 ized town. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 125 
 
 This may be understood as raeaning that the people 
 are descendants from all nationalities, who — or their 
 forefathers Ions: asro — had chosen Missouri as their 
 favorite State, Dunklin as its best county, and Ken- 
 nett as their choice town in their adopted country ; 
 and that they have gone to work with all the energy 
 and bustle — peculiar to the American — to make it 
 just what they want it. 
 
 Kennett has nearly 2,000 inhabitants, and they may 
 be said to be typical Missourians as well as Americans. 
 Some might term them a bit old-fashioned, perhaps, 
 for althoijojh its o^entlemen have caught a whiff of the 
 bicycle craze, its ladies are yet innocent of the 
 bloomers and the ''wheeled horse;" and yet the 
 latter understand how to arrange their hair in the latest 
 style, use six yards of silk in a dress sleeve, sing, dance, 
 lead a prayer-meeting, preside over a society club, 
 command and retain the respect of their male com- 
 panions, and rule their part of the nation, not with 
 scolding or the ballot box, but with that something 
 which is called " tact." In this way they appear sub- 
 missive, thereby making mankind happy, but at the 
 same time have their way pretty much the same as all 
 other American women ; and last, but not least, they 
 can teach their children, and personally keep their 
 homes in the good old-fashioned way. Be this woniiui 
 old-fashioned or otherwise, she is the typical woman 
 of Kennett and of Dunklin County. 
 
 The men possess a large number of the good qual- 
 ities and a sprinkling of the less desirable ones peculiar 
 to both sexes and all nations, and are energetic, thrifty, 
 
126 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 law abiding, reverential, money-making and able, 
 reojardless of callino:. From the saloon man to the 
 doctor of divinity they are always ready to go down 
 into their pockets every time their wives tell them 
 their town needs a new church, the widows and 
 orphans assistance, or any other charitable deed done. 
 These are the men who have given this town a four- 
 years' *' boom " which has not yet reached its zenith. 
 
 .W4 
 
 
 t- 
 
 Eesidekce of T. E. King, Kennett. 
 
 These are the kind of men you will find in Kennett and 
 all over Dunklin County. They are thoroughly awake 
 now and are determined to make their corner of 
 "Grand old Missouri," all that any other part of it 
 can be made. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 127 
 
 Two years ago Ken net t had a fire which almost 
 swept out the south side of Main street, but the ashes 
 were scarcely more than cool until brick structures as 
 good as any to be found outside of a city had replaced 
 those old frame buildings and the town was really the 
 gainer instead of the loser thereby. It has four 
 attractive churches and a $9,000 public school building. 
 Over 400 scholars are enrolled and under the able 
 tutorage of A. B. Sloan, as principal, and Misses 
 Ida Morgan, Alma Stokes, Ada Summers and 
 Lemma Timberman, assistants. The term is nine 
 months. 
 
 The business of the town is of a substantial and 
 lasting kind and can only be exhausted when the 
 county is depopulated. The 5th of September one of 
 Kennett's cotton gins turned out the first bale of 
 cotton for this year, and since that time its gins, four 
 in number, have been kept busy almost day and night, 
 and will continue their work for a month in the new 
 year of 1896. Three steam corn shellers will prepare 
 for market the surplus corn of at least the south end 
 of the county. 
 
 Tatum Bros., W. F. Shelton, Jr. & Co., Levi Mer- 
 cantile Co., and B. Weil may be said to be the old 
 and permanent general store companies although there 
 are others who do a good business. 
 
 To mention all of the general and fancy grocery 
 companies, hardware and drug stores and other like 
 enterprises would be tedious : suffice it to say that it 
 has all these, with special delivery wagons, etc., fish, 
 ffame and cold storage warehouses, lumber yards. 
 
128 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIX COUNTY, MO. 
 
 brick yards, etc. It has a nice new opera hall and a 
 number of handsome brick business houses. 
 
 life- 
 
 The Silver Cornet Band has fine instruments, new 
 uniforms and makes fully as good music as any band 
 of its age in this part of the State. 
 
MO. 129 
 
 As to hotels, Kennett has three: The Commercial 
 Hotel, presided over by Mrs. E. G. Slicer, who is an 
 all-rouDd hotel woman; The Gatis House, which is a 
 general travelers' home, and the Wyman House, which 
 is the largest in towMi. 
 
 A live growing town always has a live growing 
 newspaper, and Kennett is fully up with the times in 
 this line; and has in the Dunklin Democrat a most 
 able champion of Dunklin County and its capital. It 
 is now in its new brick office in the Tatum Block. 
 Every subscriber will receive this paper every week in 
 the year and always find something new in it, and this 
 is much more than can be said of many county papers. 
 
 Kennett's people believe, and rightly, that they have 
 in Mr. E. P. Caruthers one of the most able editors in 
 the Southeast, and are never afraid to have their 
 county paper compared with any in this part of the 
 State, for after a close comparison one must think just 
 a little more of the Dunklin Democrat. 
 
 The Bank of Kennett has a nice building, a time 
 lock, burglar-proof safe, etc., and a capital stock of 
 $25,000. January 1, 1895, it had a deposit of nearly 
 $72,000. T. E. Baldwin is president, W. F. Shelton, 
 vice-president, and D. B. Pankey, cashier. 
 
 The town is in a good condition financially, it is out 
 of debt and the taxes are light. All the business houses, 
 churches, hotels, and the courthouse, as v/ell as the 
 streets, are, without exception, lit by electricity. 
 
 Within the last few years there have been a number 
 of valuable additions to the plot of Kennett; among 
 them are the Shelton, Baldwin and Bragg, and the 
 
 9 
 
130 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 railroad companies additions. The lots have been 
 sold and houses erected at such a rapid rate that now 
 there are comparatively few vacant lots for sale. 
 
 Kennett never has any vacant houses; one must 
 watch and wait to get a house for any purpose. 
 In America one may have a fair idea of the degree of 
 prosperity of a town or community by the character 
 of its residences ; these speak well for Kennett. 
 Many of the new residences are in architecture and 
 finish unsurpassed by any to be found in a town of 
 its size. Among the handsomest are those of Judge 
 T. E. Baldwin, D. B. Pankey, J. F. Tatum, K. H. 
 Jones, W. G. Bragg, and Mrs. Sturgis. The resi- 
 dences of Drs. Finney and Harrison are exceptionally 
 fine homes. 
 
 The St. Louis, Kennett and Southern, and the 
 Kennett and Caruthersville Eailroads are among the 
 most potent influences of the prosperity of Kennett. 
 They are doing an immense business, and in a credit- 
 able manner for new roads. A. J. Keerfoot, the retir- 
 ing superintendent, has proved himself a thorough 
 business man of no mean ability, by his rapid manner 
 of bringing these roads up to their present standard. 
 Louis B. Houck is the present superintendent, and 
 makes Kennett his headquarters. 
 
 These roads belong to the Houck System, and will 
 no doubt be all that as enterprising a town as Kennett 
 could desire in the near future. Kennett will always 
 be a good town, surrounded as it is by fine farming 
 land, the most convenient shipping point for the 
 south and central portions of the county; the seat 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 131 
 
 of one of the best counties in the Slate, the resources 
 of which are just being realized, — with moneyed 
 men to back it, it has everything to not only make it, 
 but keep it, a good town. 
 
 LULU. 
 
 Lulu post-office was established in October, 1883, 
 and named by Judge E. J. Langdon, as he said **in 
 honor of one of his old sweethearts, who, by the by, 
 was one of the most beautiful women I ever saw." 
 Mr. J. T. Karnes was the first postmaster, who, when 
 the office was established, was running a small general 
 dry goods store at that point. As it was too far for the 
 farmers to go to either Cotton Plant, Senath or Cock- 
 rum for their mail, the office was a great convenience 
 to them as well as to Mr. Karnes. Lulu is now a busy 
 little village 17 miles from Kennett and in a fine belt 
 country. It has two general stores, a grist mill and 
 cotton gin. The business is run by J. M. Karnes and 
 J. M. Tucker; they buy and ship cattle, hogs, cotton, 
 corn, eggs and other produce; in fact do an ** all- 
 round " country merchant business, carrying a heavy 
 stock and selling an immense amount of goods. They 
 think theirs will be a good town when the Paragould 
 and Southeastern Railroad is extended from Cardwell. 
 The large and substantial farm houses and other gen- 
 eral improvements tell their own story of fertile soil, 
 energetic farmers and their prosperity. A good 
 school six or eight months in the year, a church house 
 in which two or three denominations preach, are near 
 by. This is a desirable locality to buy land as it can 
 
132 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 be bought reasoDubly, and there can scarcely bo finer 
 land in this or any other county. 
 
 MALDEN. 
 
 Maiden, though comparatively a new town, is the 
 largest in Dunklin County. Its growth has been 
 phenomenal; in fact it has had a *' boom," extending 
 over fifteen consecutive years, and while there is a 
 slight calm after the storm of immigration which has 
 poured into it, Maiden is now, and by reason of the 
 fine agricultural resources surrounding it, must con- 
 tinue to be a thriving and prosperous town. Its 
 beginning was similar to other railroad towns, com- 
 mencing with the railroad company's supply store, 
 officials' and workmen's residence, etc. 
 
 The citizens of Old Cotton Hill and its vicinity, and 
 men with money from other places, soon, however, 
 congregated here and speedily made a good town of 
 Maiden. In 1877 the Little River Valley and 
 Arkansas Railroad was extended from New Madrid to 
 Maiden, which was then the western terminus of that 
 road. This road, which was under the direction of 
 Maj. George B. Clark, ran its first cars into Maiden 
 in February, 1878. The town was laid out by the 
 railroad company in 1877, the chief engineer being 
 Hon. Oscar Kochtitzky ; among his assistants were 
 G. Z. Loman, F. A. Smith and Geo. W. Peck. 
 
 Many were the comic sayings about this new road 
 when first built. It was a narrow-gauge, and some 
 old citizen said its trains reminded him of a small 
 *' Dydapper Duck " by their downward and upward 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 133 
 
 motions as they came into town over the cotton ridges. 
 Certainly its accommodations were crude, but it was 
 as good as the ordinary new road, and it was subse- 
 quently made a standard gauge and merged into the 
 Cotton Belt Route, and is now equal in every respect 
 to the best roads in the South and West. It connects 
 at Paragould, Ark., with the main line of the Iron 
 Mountain, andat Jonesborough, Ark., with the Kansas 
 City and the Memphis road. The Delta branch, which 
 runs into Maiden from the north, connects at Delta, 
 Mo., with the Behnont branch of the Iron Mountain, 
 thus giving Maiden a direct line to St. Louis and all 
 Northern points. 
 
 These roads are known as the St. Louis South- 
 western Railway, Cotton Belt Route, and it seems 
 almost needless to say they have been among the most 
 potent influences in the progress of the '* Queen City " 
 of Dunklin County. 
 
 Maiden is situated about five miles from the north 
 line of this county, near the line between Dunklin 
 and New Madrid counties, in a very fine agricultural 
 country. It is essentially a Missouri town, and has 
 one of the finest public school buildings in Southeast 
 Missouri, surrounded by a splendid grove of forest 
 trees. This school has a very large attendance of 
 pupils, and, during this winter of 1895-96, is under 
 the able management of W. C. Canterbury, principal, 
 and Miss Annie Stuart, Miss Vara Waltrip, Miss 
 Minnie Price, Miss Mayme Hughes and Miss Williford, 
 assistants. 
 
 Five church buildings is the number in this Mis- 
 
134 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 souri town of 2,000 inhabitants; they are owned by 
 the Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Christian and 
 Catholics, and are all a credit to a town of its size. 
 
 p 
 
 i f 
 
 I - S^ 
 
 I 
 
 Besides these it has an Opera and Music Hall, several 
 handsome brick business houses, and as many sub- 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 135 
 
 stantial and pretty residences as may be found in this 
 part of the State. 
 
 One of the largest enterprises of Maiden at present 
 is the Heading or Stave Factory. The plant covers 
 about ten acres of ground, is lighted by electricity 
 and has a capacity of 4,000 sets per day. It gives 
 employment to about 140 hands and has a pay-roll of 
 $1,000 per week. During the year of 1895 this 
 Heading Factory received 350 cars of rough material, 
 and forwarded 1,000 cars of finished work. 
 
 The large amount of white-oak and other valuable 
 timber around Maiden is rapidly being put on the 
 market, thus affording the farmers a home market 
 for their surplus timber. This is certainly an enter- 
 prise of which any town might be proud. This fac- 
 tory runs at its full capacity day and night, and to 
 fully realize its importance and magnitude one should 
 see the hundreds of loads of timber on its grounds 
 with more arriving daily, and the large amount put 
 forward for shipment each week. 
 
 Other enterprises of this enterprising town are: R. 
 A. Behymer, manufacturer of all kinds of rough and 
 dressed cypress lumber, shingles, lath, etc.; The 
 Maiden Machine Works, H. H. Watson, proprietor; 
 Maiden Corn Co., G. W. Peck, proprietor; and a 
 Cotton Compress which turns out the latest round 
 cotton bales, established by Sexton Merchandise Co. 
 of Maiden, and Jerome Hill Cotton Co. of St. 
 Louis, Mo. 
 
 The principal business firms are : Levi Mercantile 
 Co., T. C. Stokes & Co., Allen Store Co., Sexton 
 
1/ 
 
 r 
 
 
 Opera House and Music Hall, Malden. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 137 
 
 Merchandise Co., T. C. Bufortl & Co., Kauffmaii 
 Bros., and Cox & Bohlcke, general merchants; H. 
 Bohlcke Furniture Store; More Drug Co., and H. P. 
 Kinsolving, drugs; M. Clem, M. Fly & Co., and 
 John P. Allen, groceries. 
 
 To mention all of the miscellaneous and smaller 
 enterprises would call for more space than has been 
 allotted to Maiden, and it goes without saying that 
 every live Missouri town has or is fast gainiug its 
 own marble works, undertakers, music emporiums, 
 news stands, public libraries, real estate companies, 
 saw mills, and many more miscellaneous enterprises. 
 Maiden has its share of all these, and more, for besides 
 being the largest watermelon' shipping town in the 
 county, it is also a large shipper of corn, cotton and 
 other produce, and has a number of cotton gins, steam 
 corn shellers; warehouses and cold storages, for it 
 ships considerable fish and game. 
 
 Dunklin County Bank, of which H. P. Kinsolving is 
 president, and W. J. Davis, cashier, is financially in 
 orood condition, and has withstood the late financial 
 depression of the country without inconvenience. It 
 has a capital stock of $15,000 and an aggregate deposit 
 of $31,584.32. 
 
 Maiden has two good papers, the *' Dunklin County 
 News," edited by C. M. Edwards, and referred to else- 
 where in this volume, and the " Dunklin County Keg- 
 ister," recently established by E. G. Henderson, lately 
 of the *' Evening Shade," Arkansas. This paper is 
 bright, newsy, and bids fair to be an honor to even as 
 thrivinir and enerofetic a town as Maiden. Both of 
 
138 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 these papers are issued weekly and are in politics 
 Democratic. 
 
 The Rapp House is the principal hotel and is well 
 and favorably known to the traveling public. Another 
 
 »1 
 
 ifct 
 
 
 Rapp Hotel, Malden. 
 
 is the Spooner House, which is well known and is the 
 oldest hotel in town. 
 
 Maiden is easily the metropolis of the north^end of 
 this county. Kennett striving for metropolitan honors 
 has stimulated Maiden to put forth every effort to 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 139 
 
 retain the crown of honors accorded her several years 
 ago as the *' Queen City " of Dunklin County. 
 
 In the past two years she has built churches, busi- 
 ness houses, handsome residences and modest cottages, 
 which has attracted many strangers to her; she has 
 also joined to her town-plat several handsome addi- 
 tions. One of the largest and prettiest is that of 
 Spoonerville, which is itself a nice little town. 
 
 A few years ago the business of this town was of a 
 somewhat different character to that of the present. 
 Its first merchants, who were James Gregory, Jackson 
 & Erlich, Wm. M. Harkey, Sisel & Plant, and later 
 on, J. S. Levi & Co., Squires & Lasswell, Decker & 
 Co., Gregory & Gardner, Davis &Co., Mr. Yearwood 
 and Wm. Bridges, general merchants, and O. M. Wal- 
 lace, hardware and furniture. Maiden Stove and Im- 
 plement Store, and E. Mayes & Co., G. T. Vancleve 
 and Dr. F. M. Wilkins, drugs, must certainly have 
 reaped some of the benefits of *' red letter days " in 
 Maiden. 
 
 A busy day meant that farmers from all over this 
 county. Green and Mississippi counties of Arkansas, 
 were in town wath hundreds of bales of cotton, and 
 much other produce, which was practically changed 
 for the wares of these merchants. It then shipped 
 more produce and sold more goods than all other 
 towns of the county combined. Its cotton gins, five 
 or six in number, were during the cotton season kept 
 busy almost day and night, and its planing mills, 
 corn mills and granaries, were equally so. One of 
 these planing mills was operated by H. B. Spooner, 
 
140 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 who, with the assistance of Wm. M. Satterfield, 
 started the machinery to work in 1885. Now her 
 factories, cotton compress, and other enterprises, have 
 obviated the necessity of smaller affairs, and while 
 she does not sway so large a scope of country, that 
 immediately surrounding her is much better devel- 
 oped, more thickly populated and the value of the 
 timber and surrounding soil is just being appreciated. 
 The farmers are turning their attention somewhat 
 from cotton, and raise more corn, watermelons, 
 poultry, eggs, cattle and hogs. 
 
 The soil surrounding this town is particularly well 
 adapted to the raising of small fruit and garden 
 vegetables, such as tomatoes, corn, beans, cabbage, 
 etc., and a cunning factory is an enterprise which it 
 is anticipating, and one which could certainly get 
 plenty of food from the surrounding country. 
 
 The people of Maiden are genuine Missourians and 
 Dunklinites, and are proud of the State, county and 
 town to which they belong. When it is remembered 
 that the first white settler of Dunklin County located 
 but sixty years ago near Maiden, on what was then an 
 Indian huntino^-orround, where the ax of the woodman 
 had never been heard, where the buffido, elk, wild ox, 
 bear, wolf and smaller animals were as plentiful as 
 squirrels and rabbits to-day ; where the plow of the 
 farmer had not penetrated even so much as an inch of 
 soil, and that Maiden itself had not been dreamed of 
 twenty years ago, it is at once understood that Maiden, 
 as one of the youngest towns in one of the youngest 
 counties in the *' Grand Old Iron State," deserves 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 141 
 
 the honor to be known as the Queen City of Dunklin 
 County. It would not seem too much to say that 
 Maiden is one of the very best first-class cities in 
 Missouri for its age. The town which reaches the 
 standard of this city — builds the churches, schools, 
 public halls, brick business houses, comfortable homes, 
 attracts important enterprises to its limits, organizes 
 banks, lays out and iu^.proves nice parks, in less than 
 twenty years, as Maiden has done, and yet maintains 
 a solid financial condition — must certainly be a 
 ** hustler," and have the livest of live American 
 people. 
 
 NESBIT. 
 
 Nesbit is in the Harkey neighborhood and has 
 grown out of a country store, cotton gin, grist 
 mill, etc. , establis^hed by Mr. Harkey, commonly sj)oken 
 of as ** Nug " Harkey. The young men of the 
 neighborhood at first jocularly called it ** Need More," 
 and by this name it was known for a few years. In 
 1885 T. R. Neel opened a general store in the Harkey 
 house. Mr. Harkey having discontinued his business, 
 Mr. Neel established a post-office which he called in 
 honor of Mr. Nisbit of the firm of McKay, Nisbit & 
 Co., Evansville, Indiana. After running the business 
 for a while Mr. Neel took for a partner T. J. Douglass; 
 they built a large business house, and for a time did 
 an immense business, but subsequently Mr. Douglass^ 
 drew out of the firm and later Mr. Neel sold out to 
 McKay, Nisbit & Co. J. F. Smyth managed the busi- 
 ness for them for about one year and then bought 
 their interest. He ran a general store until May, 1895, 
 
142 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 when he removed to Caruthorsville, Pemiscot County, 
 Missouri. At present A. H. Short is postmaster and 
 keeps a very nicely selected and fresh line of 
 groceries. 
 
 Judge J. H. Harkey operates at this place a grist mill 
 and cotton gin and does about the best business in his 
 line in that part of the county. Harkey Chapel 
 church is one of the neatest in the county and the 
 number of its members is large. A weekly prayer 
 meeting, Epworth League, singing and Sunday- 
 school are **ever green" in this neighborhood and 
 the morals of its people are the best. Its young people 
 are noted for their sobriety, industry and intelligence, 
 and its elderly people for their commendable exem- 
 plary lives. This people succeeded in getting the 
 parsonage of Grand Prairie Circuit, M. E. C. S., 
 located at Nesbit, and when it is completed it will be a 
 pretty preacher's home. A good six or eight months 
 school is usually taught in the school building one- 
 half mile distant. 
 
 SENATH. 
 
 The post-office of Senath was established in the 
 spring of 1882 at the residence of A. W. Douglass 
 and named in honor of his wife, Mrs. Senath Hale 
 Douglass. 
 
 Eobert W. Baird was the first postmaster and served 
 in that capacity for several years. In July of 1889, 
 the office was moved to the pleasantly situated town 
 of Senath. From this date Senath began to put on the 
 tangible appearance of a village. Its location in Salem 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 143 
 
 Township on Horse Island is u good one, being ten 
 miles from Kennett, the county seat, and on high land, 
 drained on one side by Honey Cypress, and on the 
 other by Buffalo Creek. Fine farms surround it on 
 all sides, and they are owned by an industrious and 
 thrifty class of farmers. 
 
 At present there is in Senath three general stores 
 conducted respectively by Baird, Satterfield & Co., 
 K. M. Bone & Co. , and J. I. Caneer. All do an exten- 
 sive business furnishing the fine country around them 
 with general supplies. There is one barber shop and 
 J. I. Caneer accommodates the traveling public. 
 
 Two cotton gins and grist mills and a blacksmith 
 find plenty of work to keep them fairly busy. 
 
 Dr. R. W. Baird is the oldest and leading physi- 
 cian ; Dr. W. W. White also has a good practice, and 
 Dr. Burks has only been in the county a short time. 
 Miss Hulda Douglass is a notary public, and is the 
 only woman in the county holding that office. Two 
 churches, and one of the neatest little schoolhouses 
 in the county, are conveniently situated. 
 
 Usually a live Sunday-school is kept up in at least 
 one of these churches. Miss Hulda Douglass is, in 
 a way, a leader and chaperon for the young set and 
 children; this is evidenced by their superior manners 
 and morals. 
 
 The day school at this place has turned out some of 
 the brightest young people in the county, who are 
 now themselves teaching. The whole district takes 
 pride in the public school, and cheerfully supports an 
 eight months' term. 
 
144 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 The principal products sold at Seaath are cotton, 
 corn, cattle, hogs, poultry, eggs, butter, beeswax, 
 furs, etc. 
 
 The business men are all wide-awake, up with the 
 times, and own good lands and other property, thus 
 making a substantial basis for their merchandising. 
 The town is making a firm and substantial growth. 
 
 VALLEY RIDGE. 
 
 This is a post-village on Crawley's Ridge, in the 
 northwest part of the county. It was established and 
 named by Oxley, who came to the county in 1875 and 
 made a homestead entry on his present home. He 
 first established a grain store, afterward adding a 
 general store. The name Valley Ridge was given to 
 the post-office because of the peculiarities of the 
 ridge land ; it is as rich and productive as the valley 
 land and nearly every hill can be tilled. Corn, oats, 
 wheat, etc., all kind of grasses are grown here, and 
 the ridge cannot be excelled for fruit. 
 
 The many " well-to-do " farmers and fine farms 
 along this ridge testify to its being a most desirable 
 place in which to live. The Lone Spring on Beech Hill 
 in front of the Will Zebra place is perhaps the best 
 known spring, but there are a number of sulphur and 
 other mineral springs among these hills. There are 
 some signs of lead and some claim of silver and gold 
 to be found here, but these hills are for the most 
 part entirely unexplored, excepting those that are in 
 actual cultivation. 
 
 W. J. Oxley & Co. run a general store. Mr. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 145 
 
 Oxiey, of this firm, has been postmaster ever since the 
 office has been established. It has a daily mail system. 
 Rush Creek schoolhouse and Bethany General 
 Baptist churches are the places of worship near here. 
 Among the old families along the ridge are the James 
 Faughn, Higginbotham, Vincent, Dr. Jacob Snider, 
 Lacy, Whitehead, J. P. Stewart, Green Tucker, Ben 
 Hopkins, Harper and Gunnells. 
 
 VINCET. 
 
 George W. Maharg was the founder of this post- 
 village. He first opened a store near the old Pelt's 
 gin; later he removed to the present site of Vincet 
 and did a general merchandise business for several 
 years, but finally discontinued business and went to 
 Kennett, where he died a few years since. The post- 
 office is now kept in the store of James Rogers. It is 
 on the bank of Buffalo Creek, at the point where the 
 levee crosses, leading north to Kennett, and is five 
 miles south of that town. 
 
 It has a new saw mill to cut up the cypress and 
 Other heavy timber along the creek, and a cotton gin 
 and grist mill. The Old Shady Grove Baptist Church 
 and the new schoolhouse are within a distance of a 
 half mile. Vincet is at the head of a five-mile scope 
 of the richest and most productive land in the county, 
 which is also high and beautiful. 
 
 WHITE OAK. 
 
 This is a station on the St. Louis, Kennett & 
 Southern Railroad, and sells goods to, and handles 
 
 10 
 
146 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 the U. S. mails for, about the same farmers as did once 
 the old post-office at Shumache. White Oak, like 
 many of the other little places in the county, is small 
 and insignificant within itself, but around it is a pros 
 perous country, set with good farm-houses, neat 
 churches and comfortable public school buildings. 
 The people are industrious, intelligent and independ- 
 ent livers, who raise something to spare every year. 
 White Oak gets its share of trade and shipments. 
 
 WRIGHTS VILLE. 
 
 This is a little post-village northwest of Clarkton 
 about four miles. The Wright brothers founded and 
 named it, and keep the post-office in their store. 
 They also run, in connection with their store, a cotton 
 gin and grist mill. Near by is a blacksmith shop, 
 good schoolhouse and church. Around here are many 
 nice farms and old ''well-to-do" families. Amono: 
 them might be mentioned Judge Baker, Whitaker, of 
 the Whitaker nursery; W. H. Shelton, late judge of 
 the first district. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 POLITICS, ETC. 
 
 Dunklin County has always been largely Demo- 
 cratic. Fifteen years ago there was scarcely more 
 than a dozen Republican voters in the entire county. 
 Since then, however, much of the emigration has been 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 147 
 
 from the North and East, a considerable number being 
 Republican in politics. At the regular November 
 election in 1894, the following votes were polled at 
 the various voting precincts : — 
 
 Demo- Repub- Peoples 
 
 crat. lican. Party. 
 
 Liberty 41 19 
 
 Lulu 26 6 5 
 
 Senath 134 63 2 
 
 Hornersville 66 8 1 
 
 Cotton Plant 109 40 1 
 
 Kennett 319 87 4 
 
 Sumach 22 6 
 
 Halcomb 153 111 36 
 
 Clarkton 103 16 13 
 
 Wrightsville 62 27 1 
 
 Campbell 154 154 2 
 
 Valley Ridge , 27 24 
 
 Maiden 257 158 15 
 
 Totals ■ 1,473 719 80 
 
 Total number of votes cast being 2,272. 
 
 This, however, must not be considered as the full 
 number of legal voters in Dunklin County, as at the 
 Democratic primary election of August 11, 1894, the 
 vote for C. O. Hoffman, candidate for probate judge, 
 with no opponent, stood — Kennett, 540; Sumach, 
 51; Cotton Plant, 194; Hornersville, 160; Lulu, 41; 
 Senath, 209; Liberty, 56; Halcomb, 189; Clarkton, 
 153; Wrightsville, 85 ; Campbell, 168 ; Valley Ridge 
 30; Maiden, 355; total, 2,232. As will be seen from 
 
148 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 these figures the Democratic party alone polled nearly 
 as many votes in August, 1894, as did the three par- 
 ties in November of the same year. The fact is that 
 while the other parties turned out on the regular elec- 
 tion day, a large number of Democrats remained at 
 
 Residence of James F. Tatum. 
 
 home. This county has, and should poll no less than 
 3,000 votes in November, 1896. 
 
 The Democratic Central Committee is composed of 
 W. F. Shelton, chairman ; R. S. Chapman, Isaac 
 Wise, Wm. R. Satterfield, W. Blakemore, Harrison 
 Foley, F. A. Maze, L. McCutchen, and O. S. Harrison, 
 secretary. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 149 
 
 The Republican Central Committee consists at pres 
 sent of H. P. Kinsolving, chairman ; H. A. Gardner, 
 J. W. Redding, J. C. D. Towsen, A. Isaacs, J. P. Gist, 
 H. W. Austin, J. R. Pool, and W. S. Gardner, secre- 
 tary. 
 
 The Peoples Party Committee could not all be 
 ascertained, but W. P. Baird is chairman, and Frank 
 Moore, secretary. 
 
 EXPORTS . 
 
 A few of the exports for 1894 were: Cattle, 837; 
 hogs, 1,042; corn, bushels, 11,700; game, pounds, 
 96,471, 6,075 ; eggs, dozens, 50,970; feathers, pounds, 
 2,898 ; cooperage, cars, 169 ; lumber, feet, 10,395,000 ; 
 horses and mules, 480; mixed stock, cars, 18; melons, 
 cars, 525; fish, pounds, 792,400; tallow, pounds, 4,327 ; 
 poultry, pounds, 66,978; hides, pounds, 29,909 ; logs, 
 feet, 490,000 ; beeswax, pounds, 987. This, for a 
 county which has been organized but fifty years, is a 
 good showing; and is put below the average, as the 
 average cotton crop is about 15,000 bales. Then the 
 cotton seed, stave, cars, cross-ties, strawberries, of 
 which one man raised about 500 crates, corn meal, 
 flour barrels, and nursery stock, are not enumerated 
 at all. This county has two good nursery farms. The 
 Whitaker and Stanley & Pollock ; one of these billed 
 for delivery in one week in 1895, 8,952 trees. 
 
 The valuation of taxable property in Dunklin 
 County is $3,000,000. The rate of taxation is eighty- 
 five per cent, exclusive of the special tax of twenty 
 
150 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 cents voted for the purpose of building the Court 
 House. The bonds issued in 1891 for this purpose 
 will all be paid in 1896. It will be seen that Dunklin 
 has about the lowest tax rate of any county in the 
 State of Missouri. 
 
 This favorable state of the financial affairs of the 
 county is undoubtedly a great compliment to its 
 officials, whose sagacity and wise use of the public 
 money in the past few years has helped to bring this 
 about. 
 
 The Lone Pine Tree in Dunklin County is about 
 one mile south of Halcomb. How it came here or 
 what is its age is unknown. 
 
 Pine is not a growth of this county, but there might 
 have been pine here before the earthquakes of 1811- 
 12. The tree looked much the same many years ago 
 as now, and little is known about it, except that its 
 boughs have often sheltered the noted desperado, 
 John A. Murrell, and his clans. 
 
 In 1849, '50 and '51 this tree was headquarters in 
 this county of this clan. Murrell made his raids 
 through this county at stated intervals, and his allies, 
 some of whom were located in this county, met him 
 under the Lone Pine. 
 
 The tree was also a noted landmark of the Indians 
 and early hunters in these parts. 
 
BIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES. 
 
 Hon. H. A. Applegate, born December 28, 1828, 
 in Burlington, N. J. His father, Dr. H. A. Apple- 
 gate, was a native of the same State and a graduate 
 of Princeton College, and also took a medical course 
 in Philadelphia. Dr. Applegate emigrated to Paris, 
 
 Hon. H. a. Applegate. 
 
 Tennessee, in 1839, having previously married Miss 
 Ann M. Taylor, a descendant of Zachariah Taylor. 
 Her death had also occurred in 1834. 
 
 The son, H. A. Applegate, grew to manhood in 
 Tennessee and received a good education in the common 
 and high schools of that State. In 1854 he married 
 Mary E. McMurray, who died in 1863, leaving one 
 
 (151) 
 
152 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 child, Mary E. (Mrs. Monroe Dement). In 1857 he 
 came to Dunklin County, Mo., and purchased land, 
 where he now resides, at Halcomb. 
 
 In his political views he was formerly an old-line 
 Whig but since the Civil War has never voted anything 
 but the Democratic ticket. 
 
 He was Representative from Dunklin County shortly 
 after the war, and the cut of him in this book exactly 
 portrays Dunklin County's Representative as he looked 
 in 1868; the picture was made in Jefferson City in 
 that year. He was again elected in 1870 and repre- 
 sented this county two terms. 
 
 During the war he w\as captain of an independent 
 company for some time and was in a number of 
 enojaojeraents. 
 
 He was also one of the pioneer merchants of New 
 Madrid, Mo., and of Hornersville, this county. Since 
 his retirement from office in the seventies he has 
 devoted most of his time to farminsj and stock-raisinor. 
 He has one of the most beautiful homes near Hal- 
 comb, surrounded by a splendid grove of forest trees. 
 
 In 1867 Mr. Applegate took for a second companion 
 Mary E. Patton, who bore him three children, 
 Florence (Mrs. Alexander), and two who died in 
 childhood. This wife also died in April, 1875, since 
 which time his daughter and son-in-law have resided 
 with him. He is about sixty-eight years of age, but 
 is more vigorous than many men much younger and, 
 except that his hair is somewhat gray, he looks much 
 as he did when this picture was made, nearly thirty 
 years ago. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 153 
 
 Rev. Martin V. Baird was born June 7, 1837, at 
 Lebanon, Wilson County, Tennessee, and is the son 
 of Thomas and Mary Martin Baird. The parents 
 removed to Gibson County, Tenn., when their son, 
 M. v., was about thirteen years of age; here he 
 finished his growth and obtained a good education in 
 
 Rev. Martin V. Baird and Wife. 
 
 the common schools and in Bluff Springs Seminary at 
 a time when that school was in a flourishing condition. 
 He begun teaching at a very early age, and taught 
 part of the year and attended school the remainder, 
 continuing in this way for several years. 
 
 In 1860 he emigrated to Dunklin County, and located 
 near Clarkton, where he has since resided, with the 
 exception of one year, when he went back to Ten- 
 nessee aocj taught a ten months' term of school near 
 
154 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Dire Station. He was offered the position as teacher 
 at Rutherford the next year, but had concluded that he 
 liked Dunklin County best, so he returned here. 
 He was previously married, March 30, 1860, to Ollie 
 B. Hopper, of Gibson County, Tennessee. To this 
 union was born six children, all of whom died in 
 infancy but Walter P. (also deceased) and Thomas J. 
 (see sketch). 
 
 Mrs. Baird died April 7, 1890, having been the 
 wife of Rev. Baird for over thirty years; she was a 
 most excellent woman and beloved by all who knew 
 her, and was for many years a consistent member of 
 the Baptist Church. 
 
 June 1, 1891, Rev. Baird took for a second com- 
 panion Mrs. Lilian M. Harvey, widow of Dr. Harvey 
 (deceased), of Kennett, Mo. She was the daughter 
 of Benjamin and Emma Iney Adams, natives of Vir- 
 ginia. 
 
 Lilian M. Adams was first married in her native 
 State, Georgia, to Dr. Joseph W. Harvey, on February 
 19, 1860, and they came to Kennett and located in 
 May, 1861. Dr. Harvey was a pioneer physician of 
 this county and well and favorably known. He was 
 sergeant under Price in the late war, and was surren- 
 dered at Pittsburg, Va. He died February 16, 1877. 
 Dr. and Mrs. Harvey had eight children, three of 
 whom are living, Sterling Price, Matilda G., and 
 Dock. 
 
 Mrs. Harvey was married also to Dr. T. J. Rhodes, 
 who died in 1881. Mamie L. is the child of this mar- 
 riage. On her marriage to Rev. Baird, the couple 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 155 
 
 took up their abode at the home of Rev. Baird, near 
 Clarkton. 
 
 Considerable of the history of Eev. Baird, as minis- 
 ter of the gospel, is given in the sketch on the Baptist 
 churches elsewhere in this volume. Suffice it to say 
 here that he is the oldest meuiber of the ** Black 
 River Association," and the oldest minister in the 
 county, not in years, but in point of ministerial work. 
 He has at different times been pastor of all the old 
 Baptist churches in the county, and he has presumably 
 administered more baptisms than any other Baptist 
 minister in the county. He is a man of impartial 
 judgment, firm in his convictions and beliefs, yet 
 withal liberal-minded. With most of the Baptist 
 con o-re sat ions he is a favorite, and he is looked upon 
 as the best informed and extensively read minister of 
 the Baptist denomination in the county. 
 
 Thomas J. Baird, school commissioner of Dunklin 
 County, was born December 25, 1866, and is the son 
 of Rev. M. V. and OUie B. Hopper-Baird (see sketch 
 elsewhere). Mr. Baird is a native of Dunklin county, 
 and was reared on his father's farm near Clarkton, this 
 county. On August 3, 1892, he was married to Lizzie 
 A. Helm, a daughter of W. H. and Hulda Mott-Helm, 
 of Kennett, Mo. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Baird have one little daughter, whom 
 they call Kittie. 
 
 Mr. Baird was first appointed school commissioner of 
 Dunklin County by Gov. Francis, in August, 1891, 
 and has since then been twice re-elected without 
 
156 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 announcing or making a canvass for the office. He has 
 the honor of holding the first normal diploma issued 
 by the State Normal School at Cape Girardeau, Mo., 
 to a student from Dunklin County. He led his class 
 and graduated with high honors in 1890, and has for 
 three successive years conducted the County Teachers 
 Institute of this county. 
 
 T. J. Baird. 
 
 He taught his first school, after graduation, in 
 Licking, Texas County, Mo. In 1894 he filled the 
 position of principal of the public school at Kennett, 
 at which place he owns a nice home, where he now 
 resides. 
 
 Mr. Baird is looked upon as a leader by the educa- 
 tional faculty of the county, and is held in high 
 regard by the teachers, as an evidence of which they 
 recently chose him president of the Dunklin County 
 Teachers Association. 
 
 Mr. Baird owns a good farm near Clarkton, Mo., is 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 157 
 
 a Democrat in politics, and is well and favorably 
 known all over the county. 
 
 Mrs. Baird was, before her marriage, also a teacher, 
 and was educated in Cape Girardeau, Mo. She is a 
 lady of high attainments. 
 
 James M. Baird, son of Robert and Margaret Baird, 
 was born Feb. 7th, 1853, at Potosi, Washington 
 County, Mo. He came to Dunklin County in Jan., 
 1878, and married Lucy Douglass, daughter of A. T. 
 and Elizabeth Mott-Douglass, on June 16, 1880. 
 They have two children, Hiilah C, born May 16, 1884, 
 and Hettie N., born Sept. 21st, 1891. Mr. Baird is a 
 bricklayer by trade, but has been merchandising at 
 Senath for several years. He and J. M. Douglass 
 first opened a business at Senath under the firm name 
 of J. M. Baird & Co., but in eTanuary, 1894, took W. 
 R. Satterfield as a partner, and changed the style of 
 the firm to its present name of Baird, Satterfield & 
 Co. 
 
 This firm operates a mill and cotton gin ; buys all 
 kinds of farm produce, and keeps a full and complete 
 line of everything usually kept in a general store. 
 
 The post-office is kept in the store of the above 
 mentioned firm, and J. M. Baird is postmaster. Mr. 
 Baird is Democratic in politics and he and Mrs. Baird 
 are both members of Missionary Baptist Church. 
 
 Judge T. E. Baldwin, of the firm of T. E. Baldwin 
 & Co., real estate, Kennett, Mo., was born October 
 23, 1849, in Cape Girardeau, Mo. His parents, 
 
158 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Thomas and Elizabeth Lobdell-Baldvvin, were natives 
 respectively of Virginia and Louisiana. They were, 
 however, early settlers of Scott County, Mo., where 
 they were reared, educated and married. After their 
 marriage they removed to Cape Girardeau, Mo., 
 where they both died in the year 1859. Their son, T. 
 E. Baldwin, came to Dunklin County in 1870, to take 
 
 Judge T. E. Baldwin. 
 
 charge of a mercantile business at Clarkton for a firm 
 in Cape Girardeau. He remained here one year, and 
 was then elected clerk of the Clarkton Common Pleas 
 and Probate Court ; he was re-elected and held the 
 oflSce until the court was abolished in 1875. In 1877, 
 he was appointed to fill an unexpired term of Circuit 
 and County Clerk; he was elected at the regular elec- 
 tion in 1878 to the same office. In 1882 Mr. Baldwin 
 was elected to the office of Probate Judge, and filled 
 this position four years. In 1884 he was also elected 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 159 
 
 County Treasurer, both terms of office expiring 
 in 188G. 
 
 Judge Baldwin was married in 1872 at Clarkton, 
 this county, to Miss Mary Pankey, daughter of Col. 
 D. Y. Pankey, now of Kennett. Mrs. Baldwin is a 
 native of Virginia, but reared and educated in Dunklin 
 County. 
 
 The children of Judge and Mrs. Baldwin are Sallie 
 (Mrs. L. P. Tatum), Edwin, Ernest, Paul, and 
 Lilian. 
 
 Judge Baldwin has always shown great interest in 
 school and church advancement in the county, and is 
 exceptionally well posted in commercial and official 
 affairs ; he has held many public and private trusts 
 and has left a record which none can challenge. He 
 is a member of the Masonic and I. O. O. F. Lodges, 
 and* he and Mrs. Baldwin are both members of the 
 Presbyterian Church. 
 
 Just now Judge Baldwin is in the real estate busi- 
 ness, and within the past year has added a nice addition 
 to the town-plat of Kennett. 
 
 William G. Bragg, of the firm of T. E. Baldwin & 
 Co., real estate dealers, Kennett, Mo., was born Sep- 
 tember 21st, 1852, in Knox County, Tennessee. He 
 is the son of Capt. William G. and Frances Tully- 
 Bragg, natives of Kentucky. The parents came to 
 Kno°x° County about 1827, where the father engaged 
 in merchandising until 1865, wdien he came to Dun 
 klin County, locating at Kennett, and there died in 
 1888. He was a Republican in politics, and filled the 
 
160 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 office of Circuit Clerk in this county just after the 
 Civil War, and was also deputy for some years. W. 
 G. Bragg, Jr., came with his parents to this county 
 and received a common school education. He began 
 clerking when quite young, and on reaching manhood 
 began business under the firm title of Tatum & Bragg. 
 He has since been ens^aired in the mercantile business 
 
 W. G. Bragg. 
 
 under different firm names. In 1878 he was elected 
 to the position of Clerk and in 1882 re-elected, filling 
 the position for six years. A few years ago Mr. Bragg 
 went to Washington and spent about two years there, 
 but returned to Dunklin County and again located in 
 Kennett, where he is at present in the real estate bus- 
 iness. In 1877 he was united in marriage to Kittie 
 Chapman, daughter of Turner and Hulda Mott-Chap- 
 man. Mr. and Mrs. Bragg are members of the 
 Christian Church, and Mr. Bragg of the Masonic 
 fraternity. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 161 
 
 C. D. Bray, son of E. M. and N. M. Owen-Bray, 
 was born January 20, 1874. Mrs. N. M. Owen-Bray 
 is a daughter of Dr. Given Owen, and a native of this 
 State, and now resides on the Bray ** Old Farm," 
 near Campbell. Mr. E. M. Bray was a native of 
 Tennessee, and came to Dunklin County in 1858, and 
 married Miss N. M. Owen in 1867. 
 
 r>^ 
 
 Cyrus D. Bray. 
 
 Their children were five in number: Rhoda T., 
 Cyrus D., Mary E., Adrian O., and Elija Monro. 
 Mr. Bray died in 1884, and, since his death, Cyrus D., 
 the subject of this sketch, has done much toward the 
 support of the family. He is assistant postmaster 
 and druggist in the well-known McCutchen pharma- 
 cy, and is polite, efficient and fast climbing up the 
 ladder of honorable prosperity. He is Democratic in 
 politics, and his parents were members of the Baptist 
 Church, and his father was a Mason. Mr. Bray is the 
 young man whom a couple of burglars coolly tied to 
 
 11 
 
162 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 his bedpost in the winter of 1894, while they robbed 
 his pockets, the McCutchen safe, etc. He says they 
 were in his room when he awoke; they gave him a 
 whiff of chloroform and told him to keep quiet ; he 
 complied and they were quite polite in their treatment 
 of him, being careful not to wrap the cords painfully 
 tight around his limbs. He soon released himself but 
 the burglars had made good their escape. 
 
 Nathaniel Baker and Joe Peltz are two of the 
 pioneers of this county yet living, who have enjoyed 
 many buffalo hunts and elk drives together in what 
 is now Dunklin ('ounty, but which was, when they 
 were lads, an exceedingly fine hunting-ground, actually 
 and truly flowing with wild meat, wild fruit and wild 
 honey. They lived here when swan were so plentiful 
 that they would not waste ammunition killing geese, 
 thinking them too small, when wild cattle, bear, wolves 
 and fur-bearing creatures were as plentiful as is now 
 the rabbit, squirrel and opossum. The geese, ducks, 
 swan, etc., had to be watched out of the corn patches 
 like swarms of blackbirds. 
 
 '* Uncle Nathaniel," came to Dunklin County with 
 his father, James Baker, in 1833. They first settled 
 on Buffalo Island, and were the second family to 
 locate there. They removed to Grand Prairie in 1842, 
 and settled on the place where Mr. N. Baker now 
 resides. He soon married a daughter of Hugh Shipley, 
 and their pioneer home is yet preserved almost as 
 first built. 
 
 Mr. Baker is a Democrat in politics, and both he 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 163 
 
 and wife are members of the Old Liberty class of M. 
 E. C. S. 
 
 Mr. Peltz came to Dunklin County a little later than 
 Mr. Baker, and there were but about ten white families 
 in the south end of the county when he arrived here. 
 *' Uncle Joe " is yet a great hunter, a staunch Demo- 
 crat, and a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. 
 These pioneers have lived to see the *' Buffalo 
 Wallows " and *' Elk Stamping Grounds " turned into 
 cotton and cornfields; the Indian wigwams replaced 
 by modern buildings; the poky old pack-horse and 
 two-wheeled ox cart outstripped by the " wheeled- 
 horse " and steam engine ; the old-fashioned summer 
 barbecues rounded up into an annual Fair lasting sev- 
 eral days. In short, what was 62 years ago, when 
 they first saw it, an Indian hunting-ground, has been 
 given the name of Dunklin County, and peopled by 
 20,000 busy and progressive Americans. 
 
 Kev. J. M. Blaylock was born Oct. 28, 1846, in 
 North Carolina. His parents, Mariet and Martha 
 Swarengin-Blaylock, were natives of North Carolina. 
 They emigrated to East Tennessee on French Broad 
 River in 1859, and in 1865 came to West Tennessee. 
 August 12, 1866, J. M. Blaylock, who had been long 
 a wanderer from his father's house, started home, and 
 on arrival found that his father had died on the same 
 day and about the same hour that he had started for 
 home. February 5, 1867, he was married to Miss M. 
 M. Rowe, a native of Tennessee. Six children have 
 been born to this union, the eldest dying in infancy; 
 
164 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 the others are, W.M., Mettie L., Mittie Bell, John M., 
 and L. C. Rev. Blaylock says he was converted on a 
 Methodist camp-ground at Manley Chapel, under the 
 preaching of Rev. John Peoples, in 1869, united with 
 the Missionary Baptist Church at Bear Creek, Carroll 
 County, Tennessee. Was ordained a deacon shortly 
 after, and was ordained to the ministry by Union Hill 
 Church in 1884. 
 
 In the same year he came to Dunklin County and 
 located near Valley Ridge. The first year he was 
 pastor of Old Four Mile Baptist Church, doing mis- 
 sionary work the third year, and before and since 
 that time he has been pastor of a number of churches. 
 In 1889 he removed to Caruth, this county, but now 
 resides near Shady Grove, one of the churches of which 
 he pastorates. He is recognized as a forcible and 
 impressive speaker. 
 
 Maj. Henry H. Bedford, attorney at law, Bloom- 
 field, Mo., was born November 27, 1823, in Jackson 
 County, Tenn. He is the son of J. M. and Elizabeth 
 Hale-Bedford, natives of North Carolina and Ten- 
 nessee respectively. The father was born in 1799. 
 The son, H. H., is a citizen of Stoddard and not of 
 Dunklin County, Mo., but has been identified with 
 both counties for over half a century. He attended 
 the first Circuit Court ever held in Dunklin County, 
 and has attended every other regular term held in this 
 county but three. No other personnge is so constantly 
 seen in the courts of this county as Maj. H. H. Bed- 
 ford. He was one of its first attorneys and came all 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 165 
 
 the way from Bloomfield, Stoddard County, to Horners- 
 ville, Dunklin County, on horseback for his first wife, 
 whom he married in 1847, and who was a daughter of 
 Frank Lee, one of the very earliest pioneers of this 
 county. After her death he was again married in 
 1852 to Mrs. Minerva Handy. The children of this 
 marriage living are: Orlando, Ida V., Ethel, Arthur 
 C, and May. In 1861 he enlisted in Capt. Hale's 
 Company of Cavalry, and when the regiment was 
 organized at Belmont he was elected major, in which 
 capacity he served for about a year, when he was taken 
 ill with pneumonia ; his regiment returning home he 
 never again resumed command. He participated in 
 several hard skirmishes during his service and bore 
 himself like a brave and gallant soldier. In 1857 and 
 1858 he represented Stoddard County in the Legisla- 
 ture, and for fifty years has been prominently connected 
 with the public affairs of that county and Dunklin. 
 
 He is a largre landholder in both counties and knows 
 as much, perhaps more, of the early history of these 
 two counties than any other man living. He is a 
 member of the Masonic fraternity and is held in high 
 regard by legal and official circles in Dunklin County. 
 
 D. T. Boyd, M. D., of Campbell, was born in Collin 
 County, Texas, March 5, 1870. Attended school at 
 McKinney, Texas, two years, and afterward at Farmer- 
 ville, Texas. Taught in the public schools of that State 
 for a while, but commenced the study of medicine in 
 the spring of 1890. Entered the medical college at 
 Nashville, Tenn., in the fall of 1890, and graduated 
 
166 HISTORY OF DUNKLTN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 from the University of Nashville and Vanderbilt Uni- 
 versity in the spring of 1892. He came to Dunklin 
 County in March of the same year and located at 
 Campbell, and is now the leading young physician of 
 that place. Married Miss Lula Taylor of Bonham, 
 Texas, in August, 1893. Was made a Mason in 
 
 Dk. D. T. Boyd. 
 
 August, 1892, and has been a member of the Cum- 
 berland Presbyterian Church since 1889. 
 
 The parents of Dr. Boyd were M. M. and Mary J. 
 Walker Boyd, both natives of Henry County, Tenn. 
 
 T. C. BuFORD, merchant. Maiden, Missouri, was 
 born in Oford, Mississippi. He is the son of H. A. 
 and S. L. Gill-Buford. His father was a native of 
 Murray County, Tennessee, and his mother of Rock 
 Hill, South Carolina. They emigrated to Mississippi, 
 and here their third son, T. C, was reared and edu- 
 cated. He is well educated and follows the profession 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTV, MO. 1^7 
 
 of bookkeeper. He came to Dunklin County in 
 May, 1895, and is now the proprietor of the Buforcl 
 establishment, in Maiden, on the corner of Main and 
 Madison streets. He has a new and well-selected line 
 of oreneral merchandise and is doing a thriving bus- 
 iness. He is a young man of intelligence and noted 
 for his liberality, and is always ready to help along 
 any enterprise to forward the progress of his adopted 
 county. 
 
 Dunklin County will always be glad to welcome 
 more such citizens. He is Democratic in politics. 
 
 f 
 
 
 A 
 
 Dr. Van H. Bond. 
 
 Van H. Bond, M. D., Ph. G., of Cotton Plant, 
 was born in Shelby County, Tenn. (near Memphis), 
 December 8th, 1869. His parents, R. T. and Bettie P. 
 Bond, were born and educated in West Tennessee, and 
 are now residing near Union City. They removed to 
 Obine County in 1870, in which county Van H. Bond, 
 
168 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 the subject of this sketch, attended the public schools 
 until November 2, 1888, when he came to Clarkton, 
 Dunklin County, and commenced the study of phar- 
 macy with his uncle, Dr. V. H. Harrison, afterward 
 taking two courses of lectures in the National Institute 
 of Pharmacy, from which he received the degree of 
 Ph. G., standing first in his class. He then commenced 
 the study of medicine with the same preceptors, and 
 in the fall of 1890, entered the ** Missouri Medical 
 College," at St. Louis, Mo., taking three regular 
 courses of lectures, and receivins: the deojree of M. D., 
 the 27th of March, 1893. He then returned to his 
 present place of residence, where he has, by close 
 attention to professional duties, not having refused to 
 answer a single call for two years, built up a large and 
 fairly lucrative practice. 
 
 Key. J. L. Batten, pastor in charge of the Meth- 
 odist Church, Kennett, Mo., is the son of John and 
 Emily Rogers-Batten, natives of North Carolina and 
 Tennessee, respectively. The elder Mr. Batten had 
 delicate health and he and his wife traveled consid- 
 erable, and their son, J. L., the subject of this sketch, 
 was born in Pike County, Mo., November 30, 1848. 
 He grew to manhood and was educated in the common 
 schools of Tennessee, and was married on October 31, 
 1867, to Mary J. Nicholas, a native of Hickman County, 
 Kentucky. They have one child, Grace, born June 7, 
 1883. On reaching years of maturity Rev. Batten 
 united with the M. E. C. S., and traveled one year as 
 a <* supply," when he joined the St. Louis Conference, 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 169 
 
 October 9, 1876. Clarkton Circuit, Dunklin County, 
 was the first circuit to wiiich he was sent. This 
 circuit then embraced the north half of Dunklin and 
 south part of Stoddard County, Mo., and had fourteen 
 appointments, to which he gave one sermon each month 
 and often more. He was made presiding elder of 
 Poplar Bluff District in 1885. He served this district 
 
 >i^~' 
 
 *% 
 
 Rev. J. L. Batten. 
 
 three years and Salem District two years, after which 
 time he again went back to the pastorate. 
 
 He was stationed at Maiden and Kennett in 1894, 
 and at Kennett in 1895. In fact for seven years of his 
 ministerial life he has been connected with the pastorate 
 in this county and has been well known here for twenty 
 years. 
 
 Perhaps no minister now belonorinoj to the St. Louis 
 Conference, or Poplar Bluff District, has done so 
 much to advance the cause of Christianity in Dunklin 
 
170 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 County as has Rev. J. L. Batten. To say tbat the M. 
 E. C. S. in this county recognizes hira as one of its 
 most powerful and eloquent ministers, that he is 
 well-beloved by its members and highly esteemed by 
 all, is but voicing public sentiment. 
 
 ^ 
 
 J. n. i>i.Aivh;iviORE. 
 
 J. B. Blakemore, Circuit Clerk of Dunklin County, 
 was born March 1, 1857. He is a native of Ten- 
 nessee, and his parents, James H. and Mary E. 
 Adams-Blakemore, were also natives of that State. 
 
 The subject of this sketch married Miss Belle Val- 
 entine of McKinsey, Tennessee, in November, 1882. 
 She died January, 1885, leaving one son, James 
 Willie. Mr. Blakemore came to Dunklin County in 
 1886, and in November, 1887, married Miss Alice 
 Hughes of Halcomb, this county, also a native of 
 Tennessee. In 1888 he was appointed to fill an 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 171 
 
 unexpired term as Circuit Clerk, and elected to that 
 office in 18^0; and re-elected in 1894 by the largest 
 majority of any candidate in the county having an 
 opponent. He is Democratic in politics. 
 
 Rev. S. C. BiFFLE, late pastor of Grand Prairie 
 Circuit, M. E. C. S., in Dunklin County, was born 
 December 24, 1848, in Wayne County, Tennessee. 
 His parents, Johnson L. and Mary Ann Hill-Biffle, 
 were born and reared in Tennessee, but removed to 
 Missouri, locating in Bollinger County, when the sub- 
 ject of this sketch was but eight years of ago. Here 
 he grew to manhood, working on a farm and attend- 
 ing the country schools a few weeks each winter. 
 When a voung man he also attended the Bellview 
 Collegiate Institute a part of two years, and followed 
 teaching for three years. In 1866 he united with the 
 M. E. C. S. and was licensed to preach by the Fourth 
 Quarterly Conference of the Marble Hill Circuit in 
 1873. In 1874, he was employed by D. J. Marquis, 
 Presiding: Elder of the Charleston District, to take 
 charge of the Gayoso Circuit, Pemiscot County, 
 Missouri. 
 
 October 15, 1874, he was admitted on trial in the St. 
 Louis Conference, M. E. C. S., and was appointed to 
 the Houston Circuit. Two years later he was received 
 into full connection and has tilled the following pastoral 
 charges: Greenville Circuit, 1875 to 1878 ; Oak Ridge 
 Circuit, 1878 to 1879 ; Poplar Bluff Circuit, 1879 to 
 1880; Marquand Circuit, 1880 to 1881; Houston Cir- 
 cuit, 1881 to 1883 ; Farmington Circuit, 1883 to 1887; 
 
172 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Lutesville Circuit, 1887 to 1890; Doniphan Circuit, 
 1890 to 1892; Grand Prairie Circuit, 1892 to 1895. 
 
 His labors as a minister have resulted in good to a 
 great many ; during his pastorate in Dunkhn County 
 more than three hundred persons were added to the 
 Methodist Church. He was a prominent factor in the 
 successful religious movement that has been going on 
 in the south end of Dunklin County for the past three 
 years. 
 
 November 3, 1874, Rev. Biffle was united in mar- 
 riage to Miss Annie Allbright of Madison County, 
 Mo., who has since this time shared the toils, trials 
 and joys of an itinerant's life. To this union have 
 been born three children, Atticus L., Mary C. and 
 Sebastian C. 
 
 Joseph I. Caneer, merchant at Senath, Missouri, 
 was born February 13, 1859, in Gibson County, Ten- 
 nessee. His parents, W. T. and Sarah Karns-Caneer, 
 were both natives of Tennessee. Their son, Joseph 
 I., grew to manhood in his native State, receiving a 
 fair education in the common schools of the same. 
 He came to Dunklin County and located at Senath, 
 July 4, 1886, opening a general mercantile business 
 in September following. He started in business alone 
 and with but little means, and from this has gained 
 an extensive business and trade. He keeps a well- 
 chosen, new and complete line of general merchan- 
 dise. July 19, 1894, he was united in marriage to 
 Mrs. Willie Buie. They have one son, whom they call 
 Melvin. Mr. Caneer is Republican in politics and is 
 a first-class all-round business man. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 173 
 
 Edgar Prewitt Caruthers, editor of the '' Dun- 
 klin Democrat," the leading paper of Dunklin County, 
 was born in Cook Settlement, St. Francois County, 
 Missouri, October 27, 1854. His father was Solomon 
 D. Caruthers, for many years County Clerk and Pro- 
 
 E. P. Caruthers, Editor Dunklin Democrat. 
 
 bate Judge of Madison County. His mother was 
 Mary Jane Harris, daughter of S. P. Harris, an early 
 Southeast settler. The subject of this sketch entered 
 a printing office, that of the *' Fredericktown Con- 
 servative," and there commenced his trade in 1865. 
 He later published the " Bee " at the same place, and 
 
174 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 was for a time Enrolling Clerk of the State Senate ; 
 six years Clerk in the State Auditor's Office, then 
 official reporter of the House, and served one year on 
 the reportorial staff of the '' St. Louis Republican." 
 Afterward for eiglit years he was editor and publisher 
 of the ** Index," a Democratic paper at Medicine 
 Lodge, Kansas; and for the next two years was in the 
 book and job printing business at Carthage, Mo. 
 
 In May 24, 1893, he came to Kennett and began 
 editing the *' Dunklin Democrat," since which time 
 that paper has steadily grown in favor, and now has 
 the largest circulation of any paper in Southeast Mis- 
 souri. Mr. Caruthers has been twice married, his 
 first wife being Miss Mary Fleming of Madison County. 
 She became the mother of his four living children, 
 and died at Carthage, Mo., November 15, 1891. He 
 was again married on January 25, 1894, to his present 
 wife. Miss Minnie L. Chandler, of Kennett, Mo., a 
 daughter of Thomas Chandler of this county. 
 
 Mr. Caruthers is a member of the Masonic frater- 
 nity, president of the Southeast Missouri Press As- 
 sociation, a member of the State Association, and is a 
 man who makes and retains many friends. 
 
 William M. Cates, merchant at Cotton Plant, Mo., 
 was born June 26, 1849, in Orange County, North 
 Carolina. His parents were Nancy A, and John 
 William Cates, natives of the above mentioned State. 
 Mr. Cates emigrated to Tennessee and there married 
 Eliza A. Short, February 26, 1870, Rev. David Hali- 
 burton, a Baptist wiuister of Gibsoq County, officiate 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 175 
 
 ing. They came to Dunklin County in 1878, going 
 to Texas shortly after ; there they remained two years, 
 when they returned to Dunklin County, where they 
 have since remained. (See Photo., p. 195.) 
 
 They have had born to them four children, Amanda 
 Melvine, John William, Lena R., all of whom died in 
 infancy; their only living child, Ella F., is a bright 
 young girl of fifteen summers, well calculated to honor 
 and make her parents happy in their old age. Both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cates are members of the Baptist Church 
 and of the Rebekah Degree of I. O. O. F. 
 
 Mr. Cates has devoted most of his time to farming 
 and stock-raising, but went in the mercantile business 
 at Cotton Plant in 1893. He is a careful and discreet 
 business man and carries a full and complete line of 
 general merchandise. He is a Democrat in politics. 
 
 Riley Clarkston came to Dunklin County in 
 1834, with his father, Wiley Clarkston, and this was 
 the third ftimily to settle on Horse Island. When he 
 came here there was nothing representing a church, 
 house, school, post-office or physician in the bounds 
 of the county. He was a lad nearly grown when he 
 first heard a sermon preached, and the old Liberty 
 church was the first one he ever visited, in the later 
 forties or early fifties. He used to go to Gainesville, 
 Arkansas, for a physician for the family, even in the 
 night if it were necessary, crossing in a canoe himself 
 but swimming his horse through St. Francois River at 
 Bowlen's Ferry. He says he has helped to kill as 
 many as sixteen bui^alo from one herd on Buffalo 
 
176 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Island and that these husje animals were so tall that 
 '* He could ride clear under a limb on which a buffalo 
 would hang his hair," and that in those days he killed 
 from fifty to seventy-five bear each season before 
 Christmas. They baconed the bears, dried their 
 venison hams, and strained their wild honey and 
 always had plenty to divide liberally with a new 
 neighbor. Mrs. Clarkston says she has many times 
 pounded their bread and coffee in a mortar in the way 
 she learned from an Indian squaw before there was 
 any horse mills and when they could not afford a steel 
 hand mill. Mr. and Mrs. Clarkston reside near Senath 
 on Horse Island, are fairly strong and healthy for their 
 age, and are true pioneers of Dunklin County. 
 
 Wiley N. Cole, born September 22d, 1854, is a 
 native of Carroll County, Tenn. His parents, John 
 and Mary A. Bivins-Cole were also natives of Ten- 
 nessee. 
 
 W. N. Cole, the subject of this sketch, married 
 Mollie Woody in 1874, who died in the same year. 
 In 1875 he married Elizabeth Ballard. By this mar- 
 riage he has one son, Kichard E., who is a young man 
 about twenty years of age. Mr. Cole came to this 
 county in 1877, and married his present wife. Miss 
 Margaret Clifford, in 1878. The children of this mar- 
 riage are Lula B., Hettie M., Sir Wallace, John 
 Palmer and Pearl ; they also have two little boys dead. 
 Farming is his principal occupation, and he owns 160 
 acres of good land near Hornersville, although he 
 holds the tenth edition of a master's and pilot's cer- 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 177 
 
 tificate for a steamer of one hundred and twenty-five 
 ton capacity to run on St. Francois and its tributaries. 
 He has also run on the Mississippi river as clerk of 
 the G. M. Sivley, a boat of about 130 tons. 
 
 Steamboating is no doubt his best loved profession, 
 and he is exceedingly well acquainted with both St. 
 Francois and Little Rivers. Mr. Cole is a member of 
 the I. O. O. F. and Democratic in politics. Mrs. 
 Cole and daughter, Miss Lula, are members of the 
 Missionary Baptist Church. 
 
 Dr. R. G. Cook and Wife. 
 
 Dr. Ralph Guild Cook was born August 1, 1837, 
 in Cape Girardeau County, Mo., and was the son of 
 Nathaniel and Mary Clark-Cook. He came to 
 Dunklin County and located at Hornersville in 1865, 
 but soon after removed to Cotton Plant where he spent 
 
 12 
 
178 HISTOKY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 the remainder of his life. He was a graduate of 
 Cincinnati College of Medicine and Surgery, at Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio, and was as good a physician as any in 
 the county. For many years prior to his death, which 
 occurred February 5, 1882, he had an extensive prac- 
 tice. August 8, 1866, he married Miss M. K. Wagster, 
 daughter of Critenden and Kiddy Jones- Wagster, who 
 came to Dunklin County about 1850. The children 
 of Dr. and Mrs. Cook are Arvellah and Amasso S., 
 deceased, Thomas J., Mary Kiddy, Zellah, Mrs. John 
 Night, Ralph Vaumeter and Guild Davis. Dr. Cook 
 was a zealous worker in the Christian Church, of which 
 he was a member, and he was equally zealous in 
 advocating the teachings of Odd Fellowship, and his 
 presence in the lodge room always insured an inter- 
 estino^ and entertaining meetino^. 
 
 He helped to organize the Rebekah Degree, the 
 degree for ladies, of the I. O. O. F., at Cotton Plant, 
 and named the lodge in honor of his daughter, Arvel- 
 lah. He was as enthusiastic in the ladies', as in the 
 gentleman's degrees, of sanguine temperament, and 
 jolly as a boy up to the time of his death. This 
 county has had few better men or citizens. Mrs. 
 Cook is also a member of the Christian Church, and 
 of Arvellah Lodge No. 36, Daughters of Rebekah, 
 Cotton Plant, Mo. She has since the death of Dr. 
 Cook resided on her home at Cotton Plant, which 
 Dr. Cook left to his family. It is one of the most 
 beautiful homes in the county, surrounded by a fine 
 grove of forest trees. Mrs. Cook owns Old Hicka- 
 bod, the famous white stork of Dunklin County. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 179 
 
 The bird was captured by Alf. Hector, on Big Lake, 
 Arkansas, io 1861. The tip of one wing being sliot 
 off, Mr. Hector gave the bird to Dr. Linamood, and 
 shortly before his death. Dr. Linamood gave him to 
 Dr. Cook. He is a tall white stork, and must be very 
 old. Because of his age and associations, Mrs. Cook 
 and family are very proud of Old Hickabod. 
 
 John B. Cook, of the lirm of N. N. Rice & Co., 
 Kennett, Mo., was born March 5, 1858, in Murray 
 County, Tennessee. He is the son of Robert J. and 
 Celia Beakey-Cook, natives of that State. In January, 
 1860, he came to Dunklin County, and located on 
 Horse Island when that island was very sparsely 
 settled. 
 
 He married Lucretia, daughter of Hon. David 
 Rice. She was born March 20, 1857, and is a native 
 of this county. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cook have two children, Rosetta A., 
 born April 17, 1876 — now the wife of Will Haislip, 
 
180 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 of Horse Island — and Christopher Columbus, born 
 July 25, 1879. Mr. Cook has been a farmer up to 
 February, 1895, when he went in business with his 
 brother-in-law in the above mentioned firm. He 
 owns about two hundred acres of good land near 
 Senath, about ninety of which are in a good state of 
 improvement, with good farm buildings, orchard, etc. 
 He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and he, 
 wife, and son are members of the Missionary Baptist 
 Church; his daughter having joined the M. E. C. S. 
 with her husband. 
 
 D. R. Cox, attorney at law. Maiden, Mo., was 
 born in Marshall County, Tennessee, August 7, 1852. 
 His father, Moses Cox, was a native of North Caro- 
 lina, but emigrated to Tennessee, where he married 
 Miss Sarah McWherter, a native of that State. During 
 the civil war Mr. Cox, Sr., was an officer in the Con- 
 federate army under Col. Lon Freeman for the entire 
 period of four years. 
 
 D. R. Cox, the subject of this sketch, came to 
 Dunklin County, January 3, 1868. He was just six- 
 teen years of age at that time, and the meager 
 educational facilities of the county was a great dis- 
 advantage, but he managed to obtain a fair common 
 school education. In 1870 he was appointed Deputy 
 Sheriff of this county by J. H. Barrett. Before he 
 reached his majority his friends advised him to make 
 the race for Constable of Cotton Hill Township, dis- 
 regarding his age. He became a candidate and was 
 successful. In 1874 he engaged in the mercantile 
 
HtSTORV OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 181 
 
 business, but in 1876 moved to Johnson County, 
 Texas. While there he worked in the oflSce 
 of the Sheriff of that county, remaining until 
 1880, when he returned to Dunklin County, 
 and again engaged in the mercantile business, this 
 time as a salesman for Levi & Plant and J. S. Levi 
 & Co. of Maiden. While sellinof oroods he commenced 
 the study of law, and in 1887 was admitted to the 
 
 D. R. Cox. 
 
 bar by Hon. John G. Wear, judge of this, the 23d 
 Judicial Circuit of Missouri. Since that time he has 
 enjoyed a splendid law practice and been quite suc- 
 cessful. In April, 1891, Mr. Cox was elected Mayor, 
 of the city of Maiden, and re-elected to the same 
 office in 1893. Has been Notary Public since 1884. 
 In 1874 he married Miss Fannie L. Sarver, of Clay 
 County, Arkansas. To this union have been born 
 Robt. A., now a young man just graduated from the 
 Searcy Military College of Arkansas; Mattie M., in 
 the graduating class for 1896, of the Galloway Female 
 
182 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 College; George Leslie, Jessie G., Ollie and Inez. 
 Mrs. Cox is one of the leading members of the M. E. 
 C. S. of Maiden, and the family are all of that faith. 
 Mr. Cox is a member of the A. F. & A. M. and was 
 Worshipful Master of the Maiden Lodge in 1884. He 
 is a real Dunklin County Democrat, always support- 
 ing the ticket, and is wont to say ** there is not 
 a black sheep in the family '' of a large number of 
 relatives on both his mother's and father's side. 
 This of course means there is not a Republican in his 
 family. He is, however, liberal-minded, and counts 
 many Republicans among his host of friends. 
 
 IsHAM F. DoNALSON was bom August 31, 1847, in 
 Gibson County, Tennessee. He is the son of Judge 
 and Judith Davis-Donalson, natives of Wilson County, 
 Tennessee, but pioneers of Dunklin County, coming 
 here in 1855. The father was a well-known and 
 highly respected citizen and died in this county in 
 1882, the mother died in 1888. I. F. Donalson grew 
 to manhood in Dunklin County and received the 
 principal part of his education at home and since 
 coming to the years of maturity. 
 
 Mr. Donalson has a long and praiseworthy record 
 in public and official affairs in the county, and few 
 men are known better or have more friends than I. F. 
 Donalson of Kennett. From the beginning of Maiden 
 until 1882, he was a clerk in a general store in that 
 town. In November, 1882, he was elected to the 
 office of Sheriff and Collector of Dunklin County ; he 
 was re-elected to the same office in 1884, and perhaps 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 183 
 
 no man ever served in such a capacity with more gen- 
 eral satisfaction than did he. In April, 1885, he 
 married Miss Penola Eayburn, daughter of Maj. W. 
 C. Rayburn, and a native of this county, where she 
 was reared and educated. From 1887 until a very 
 recent date Mr. Donalson did a general mercantile 
 
 I. F. Donalson. 
 
 business in Kennett ; he was quite successful but owing 
 to his health was obliged to retire from public affairs. 
 
 Mrs. Donalson is a member of the Cumberland 
 Presbyterian Church and Mr. Donalson is a Democrat 
 in politics and a member of the I. O. O. F. 
 
 To this union were born the following children : 
 Thomas. H., Mable (deceased), Davis, Isham (a little 
 girl, deceased), and Madge. 
 
 Asa B. Douglass, surveyor of Dunklin County, was 
 born July 26, 1834, in Wilson County, Tennessee, and 
 
i84 HtSTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 is the son of Asa B. and Fannie M. (Barksdale) Doug- 
 lass, natives of South Carolina and Tennessee. The 
 parents removed to Missouri in 1856, and in 1863 the 
 father went to Texas, where he died in 1864. The 
 mother died in Dunklin County, Missouri, in 1861. 
 The son, Asa B. Douglass, grew to manhood in his 
 native State and received an excellent education in the 
 higher English branches, mathematics and surveying, 
 and has taught in the schools of Dunklin County. He 
 was for some years a clerk in a dry goods store in 
 Clarkton. About 1861 he purchased his present home 
 near that town. June 15, 1859, he was married to 
 Mary H. Marshall, daughter of Bennett and Mary 
 Marshall, pioneers of this county. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Douglass are the parents of the following children: 
 Fannie (Westfall), Ella (Gwin;, Benjamin H., John 
 A., Walter E., Rosa Lee., Kittie Pearl, Asa B., Earl 
 H., Norwell A. and Harry M., also Mary D., wife of 
 W. Y. Taylor, who is deceased. In 1884, Mr. Douglass 
 was elected to the office of county surveyor, which 
 position he is still holding. He is Democratic in pol- 
 itics, is well posted in the affairs of the county and 
 is by all who know him considered a most estimable 
 gentleman. 
 
 He and Mrs. Douglass are members of the M. E. C. 
 S. and their home near Clarkton is an exceptionally 
 nice one, with a good residence, fine orchard, etc. 
 
 Elizabeth Mott-Douglass was born June 12th, 
 1821, in Jessamine County, Kentucky. In early 
 childhood her parents, James and Hetty Mott, removed 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 185 
 
 to Moscow, Ky., and here the subject of this sketch 
 was married to Alex. T. Douglass in 1837. They 
 removed to Montgomery County, Tenn., but in 1839 
 returned to Kentucky. In 1850 they emigrated to 
 Dunklin County, where Mr. DougUiss died May 8th, 
 1876. His life in this county was one of usefulness. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth (Mott) Douglass and Grandson 
 R. S. Douglass. 
 
 he was always interested in public affairs, fearless in 
 advocating what he believed to be right and con- 
 demning wrong. He united with the Missionary Bap- 
 tist Church at Shady Grove in 1869, and was baptized by 
 Elder Jas. H. Floyd. Just after the Civil War, when 
 Democrats could not vote, he was appointed judge of the 
 County Court of this county, but would not take the 
 oath then required, and returned his commission to 
 the Governor. A. T. Douo-lass was born in 1811 in 
 
186 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Bedford County, Va., and at the age of 19 years came 
 with his parents to Tennessee. 
 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Douglass is about seventy-four years 
 of age and has spent forty-five years of her life in this 
 county. She is hale and hearty and retains all 
 her faculties. She came to this county at a time 
 when log cabins, with puncheon floors and cypress 
 bark ceilings were in common use, but be it said that 
 the hardships of pioneer life never detracted from her 
 refined and progressive nature. In the early fifties 
 she was baptized by one of the pioneer preachers, 
 Elder Sander Walker, uniting with the Missionary 
 Baptist Church, and has since been a faithful member 
 of same. The honest, industrious and progressive 
 lives of herself and deceased husband should be a 
 precious heritage to their descendants. "Grandma 
 Douglass," as she is affectionately called, is the oldest 
 living member of one of the oldest, most intelligent and 
 progressive families of Dunklin County, consisting of 
 herself, seven children, twenty-four grandchildren and 
 three great grandchildren. Her children are, respect- 
 ively. Rev. Robt. H., Hettie F. (Mrs. Satterfield), 
 Judge James M., All W., Jennie (Mrs. Lawson), 
 Huldah and Lucy (Mrs. J. M. Baird). 
 
 Miss Hulda has never married and resides with her 
 mother at Sennath, Mo. She is notary public, assist- 
 ant postmistress and an acknowledged leader in 
 Sunday-school, church and social functions in her 
 neighborhood. She was educated in the schools of 
 this county and the normal school at Cape Girardeau, 
 Mo. Perhaps she has done as much as any other 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 187 
 
 woman in this county to make her own little corner 
 of the great world wiser, better and happier. 
 
 R. S. Douglass was born in Dunklin County, Mo., 
 November 12, 1871, and is the son of Rev. R. H. and 
 Mary E. Douglass, natives of Tennessee and Indiana re- 
 spectively. R. S. Douglass' education was begun in the 
 public schools of the county. In 1893 he graduated from 
 the State Normal School at Cape Girardeau, Mo. He 
 led his class, thereby proving that Dunklin County's 
 young people are not to be left behind. Since his 
 graduation Mr. Douglass has been almost constantly 
 employed in some capacity as teacher. Two years he 
 has been assistant in the *' Teachers' Institute" of this 
 county and is now vice-president of the Teachers' 
 Association. He is one of the many young teachers 
 who have been born and reared in Dunklin County, of 
 whom it is especially proud. In 1895 he was united 
 in marriage with Ottilie Josephine Gase, a native of 
 New Haven, Franklin County, Missouri. Mr. and 
 Mrs. R. S. Douglass are members of the Missionary 
 Baptist Church, and he is a Democrat in politics. 
 
 Rev. RoBT. H. Douglass was born in Montgomery 
 County, Tenn., February 7, 1839. He is the son of 
 A. T. and Elizabeth Mott-Douglass, and was but ten 
 years of age when became with his parents to Dunklin 
 County, Mo., since which time he Jias spent most of 
 his life in this county. He received only a common 
 school education and is mainly self-educated. He is 
 a deep thinker and a close student even yet. In 
 
188 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 1858 he married Miss Rebecca J. Wagster, a native of 
 Tennessee. To this marriage was born three children, 
 Thomas J., of Caruth, this county, and two others who 
 died in infancy. In 1861 he enlisted in the Second Mis- 
 souri Cavalry (Confederate States army), under Col. 
 Robt. McCullough, until the close of the war. 
 
 After his term expired he, however, re-enlisted in the 
 Second Missouri Cavalry in Col. Kitchen's regiment 
 and participated in a number of engagements, the 
 most important being Corinth and Price's Raid 
 through Missouri and Arkansas. 
 
 In August, 1866, he married his present wife, Mrs. 
 Mary E. Richerson, who was the daughter of 
 Rudolphus Lamb, one of the early settlers of New 
 Madrid County. 
 
 The children of this marriage were Robert S. and 
 Mary E. The latter, known as Miss Mamie, died Sep- 
 tember 7, 1894, at the home of her parents at Caruth. 
 She was very lovable, an earnest scholar and one of 
 this county's most promising young teachers. 
 
 Rev. Douglass has been principally engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits, until since his ordination as a minis- 
 ter of the Missionary Baptist Church, in September, 
 1881, since which time he has devoted much time to 
 the ministry. He is the most constant and powerful 
 advocate of Baptist doctrines in the county and is 
 looked upon by all, even those who differ with him in 
 opinions, as a forcible and eloquent speaker and a 
 gentleman worthy of high regard. 
 
 He is a Royal Arch Mason and has passed through 
 the chairs of the various oflSces of that fraternity and 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 189 
 
 is well known all over Dunklin County, having resided 
 near his present place of residence nearly all the time 
 since his parents located there in 1850. 
 
 Mrs. Douglass is a member of the Baptist Church 
 and has been for two years postmistress at Caruth. 
 She is a lady of much culture and refinement. 
 
 Judge James M. Douglass, of the firm of Baird, 
 Satterfield & Co., Senath, Missouri, was born October 
 27, 1847, in Fulton County, Kentucky. He is the son 
 of A. T. and Elizabeth Douglass and was but three 
 years of age when he came to Dunklin County. In 
 spite of the fact that his early educational advantages 
 were limited to the common schools, he was for a time 
 a successful teacher and has an extensive record in 
 public life. In 1877 he was elected to fill an unex- 
 pired term as assessor of this county and re-elected 
 by a large majority to the same office. In 1884 he 
 was elected judge of his district and unanimously re- 
 elected, not having any opposing candidate. December 
 25, 1881, he was united in marriage to Miss Belle, a 
 daughter of lawyer W. G. Phelan of Stoddard County, 
 Missouri. The children of this marriage are Thos G. 
 R. Moses, deceased, Minnie Francis, Allie Manning, 
 and Margaret Elizabeth. 
 
 James Mott-Douglass has resided at Senath on Horse 
 Island for fourteen years, put up the first mill and 
 cotton gin at that place, and was the prime mover in 
 getting the mail route to Senath, and has always took 
 great interest in the schools and other public affairs of 
 his neighborhood. 
 
190 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Mr. Douglass owns quite an extensive estate of 600 
 or 800 acres and has devoted much of his life to farm- 
 ing and stock-raising, but has for several years been in 
 the mercantile business at Senath. He is Democratic 
 in politics and he and wife are members of the Baptist 
 Church. 
 
 George T. Dunmire was born April 12, 1837, in 
 Mercer County, Pennsylvania, removed to Kentucky 
 in 1866, and there married Miss Viana M. Phillips, 
 daughter of John H. Phillips, on September 22, 1868. 
 Their son, John H., was born June 27, 1869, in Clinton 
 County, Kentucky. They also lost one son, David H. , 
 in infancy. Their daughter. Miss Hattie, was born in 
 Dunklin County, Missouri, in 1879. (See photo, p. 
 195.) 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Dunmire came to Dunklin County in 
 1878, and located at Kennett, where they now reside. 
 
 John H. Dunmire, now traveling for Schuh Drug 
 Company, Cairo, Illinois, was married to Miss Fannie 
 Sturges of Kennett, January 11, 1892. They have 
 two children, Clara B., and Marian Irene. Mr. and 
 Mrs. John H. Dunmire are members of the Christian 
 Church, and Mr. and Mrs. George T. Dunmire of the 
 M. E. C. S. Both gentlemen are Republican in 
 politics and highly-respected citizens. 
 
 W. B. Finney, M. D., of Kennett, Mo., was born 
 January 1, 1858. His parents, James M. and Mary A. 
 Smith-Finney, were natives of Illinois, and Mr. Finney 
 was for several years Sheriff of Johnson County, Illinois, 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 191 
 
 Dr. Finney, the subject of this sketch, received his 
 literary education in the common school and Ewing 
 College, of Franklin County, Illinois. March 10, 
 1890, he graduated from the Physicians and Sur- 
 geons College, St. Louis, Mo. August 2, 1885, he 
 married Miss Martha E. Clippard, of Cape County, 
 Mo., but resided and practiced medicine at Laflin, Mo., 
 
 Dr. ^y. B. Finney. 
 
 until December, 1892, when he came to this county 
 and located at Kennett, where he has sained a lar^e 
 and lucrative practice. 
 
 Mrs. Finney is a member of the M. E. C. S. Dr. 
 Finney is a Democrat in politics and a member of the 
 I. O. O. F. and Masonic fraternities. Their children 
 are: Willie Ozro, Ernest Green, Hubert Clippard, 
 Earl G. and Mary Eula. 
 
 David Finley was born September 1, 1820, in 
 Orange Co., Ind. He came to this county in 1834, 
 
192 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 when there were but ten white families in the south 
 end of Dunklin County. He married Miss Margarett 
 McDaniel, who bore him four children. Mrs. Finley 
 and three of the children died with small-pox about 
 the close of the Civil War. The other child had died 
 prior to this time. In 1866 Mr. Finley married Miss 
 Julian Hite, a native of Tennessee. David Edwin and 
 
 i^AVID i^lNLEY. 
 
 Ellen J. are the children of this marriatre. Miss 
 Ellen is a pretty girl about sixteen years of age. 
 Mr. *' Edd " Finley lives on the old home place near 
 Cotton Plant, where his father first settled at a time 
 when he could kill elk, buffalo and other large game 
 within a mile of his house. Mr. Finley was a close 
 friend of Judge Edwin J. Langdon, in honor of whom 
 he called his son, who married Miss Mary E. Nelson on 
 December 20, 1885; their children are Cordelia eT., 
 David M., and Martha J. *' Uncle " Dave Finley was 
 a member of the Masonic fraternity and lived just 50 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 193 
 
 years, 1 month and 16 days in this county, dying 
 October 17, 1884. 
 
 J. Q. A. Gardner, merchant at Campbell, Mo., 
 was born in 1828, at Selma, Ala. His father, John 
 Gardner, was born in 1802, and was a native of Vir- 
 ginia, but emigrated to Alabama at an early day, where 
 he married Lucy Melton in 1827. J. Q. A., the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, removed with his family to Anna, 
 111., in 1863, and came to Dunklin County, Mo., in 
 1870. He resided on a farm near Four Mile, until 
 seven years ago, when he went into the mercantile 
 business at Campbell, where he keeps a complete and 
 nicely selected stock. In 1848 he married Mariah E. 
 Bobo, a native of South Carolina, and of French par- 
 entage. Their children are : Alice, Hiram A., America 
 and Willie L., deceased, and W. Scott. 
 
 Mr. Gardner has owned several nice tracts of land, 
 some of which he has given to his children. He is a 
 member of the I. O. O. F., and both he and his wife 
 are members of the M. E. C. S. A staunch Kepubli- 
 can in politics, he has voted for every Republican 
 President but Garfield, and was then away from home 
 on election day. 
 
 His son, Hiram A., is a prominent farmer and stock 
 dealer at Campbell. He is a member of the I. O. O. 
 F., has been deputy grand master of his district, and 
 is held in high regard by that order all over Dunklin 
 County. 
 
 Another son, Winfield Scott Gardner, is, despite 
 the fact that he is a Republican, holding the position of 
 
 13 
 
194 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Deputy Collector under a Democrat in a county which 
 has a large Democratic majority. He resides in Mai- 
 den, Mo., and was for several years a member of the 
 firm of Gregory & Gardner. Is a member of the 
 Kepublican Central Committee, and of the I. O. O. F. 
 Comparatively few men are better known or held in 
 higher esteem by the people of Dunklin County than 
 are the gentlemen of the Gardner family. 
 
 Rev. M. Taylor Grigory was born September 18, 
 1849, near Kennett, Dunklin County, Missouri. His 
 father, Rev. Jas. K. Grigory, was born October 29, 
 1810, and was a native of Georgia, but emigrated to 
 Bond County, Illinois, where at the age of twenty- 
 three he married Sarah A. Ellegood, a native of that 
 State. 
 
 Rev. Grigory, Sr., did not enjoy good health in 
 Illinois and decided to move to Southeast Missouri. 
 His neighbors assisted him to pack his wagons and he 
 started with wife and four little girls, in the old- 
 fashioned way on a long overland journey. 
 
 He stopped on Castor River, near Bloomfield, Mis- 
 souri, for two years, but was not altogether satisfied 
 with that county and came on to Dunklin County in 
 1845. 
 
 He had not regained his health and his family 
 were nearly in destitute circumstances ; and on his 
 arrival in this county were taken in by Mr. Shipley, 
 where they remained through the winter following. 
 His new-found friends advised him to trade some of 
 bis horses and wagons for 220 acres of land; this he 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 195 
 
 Wm, M. Gates 
 
 ■jii!lil(ir 
 
 G. T. DUXMIRE. 
 
 1^ ^ > —rf^ 
 
 Mr. J. HiKSCH AND Wife. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 197 
 
 did, settling about four miles north of Kennett, where 
 he soon regained his health and tbere lived the remain- 
 der of his life. 
 
 James R. Grigory united with the Methodist Church 
 when a young man, and on coming to Dunklin County 
 was soon appointed class leader and afterward licensed 
 to preach. He was about the second local Methodist 
 preacher in this county and was also preacher in 
 charge for several years of the Grand Prairie Circuit, 
 which was then a very extensive field. He often rode 
 forty miles in a day and preached three times, in order 
 to fill all his appointments. He is also said to have 
 delivered the first sermon ever preached on Big Lake 
 Island, Arkansas. He served six months in the 
 Black Hawk War, and on the breaking out of the 
 Civil War his sympathies were with the South. At its 
 close he had some trouble about holding his preacher's 
 license but the division of the churches ended his dif- 
 ficulty and he continued to preach as a minister of the 
 M. E. C. S. 
 
 His son, Rev. M. Taylor Grigory, was reared on 
 the old Grigory farm and educated in the common 
 schools of Dunklin County, and at the age of 
 twenty-one began teaching, and at twenty-three was 
 married to Miss Jane Roach, a native of Tennessee. 
 At the age of thirty-five he united with the 
 M. E. C. S. and was licensed to preach one 
 year later. He was preacher in charge of Kennett 
 Circuit in 1888, and has done much other pas- 
 torate work. Shortly after his marriage he bought 
 land near Kennett, where be lived for years, when 
 
198 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 he removed to Joiiesborough, Arkansas, in order to 
 give his two children, Loula and Eva, the benefit of a 
 town school. However, he did not have good health 
 in Arkansas, so he returned to Dunklin, where, in 
 forty days, he had gained in flesh about as many 
 pounds. He again engaged in farming in summer, 
 and teaching during the fall and winter months. He 
 continues to farm and devotes some time to the 
 ministry. 
 
 Rev. Grigory is Democratic in politics and the 
 family are all members of the Methodist Church. He 
 is well and favorably known all over the county. 
 
 J. H. Harkey, present judge of the Second Dis- 
 trict, is the son of Daniel D. and Mary A. Bankston- 
 Harkey, and was born October 27, 1843, in Pike 
 County, Georgia. Daniel D. was a native of North 
 Carolina and Mrs. Harkey of Georgia. They came to 
 this county in 1853 and located on Grand Prairie, 
 where they resided until their death. They were both 
 charter members of the old Harkey's chapel class of 
 the M. E. C. S., helped to build the first house by 
 that name, and were always among the church's most 
 consistent and powerful workers. Judge J. H. Harkey 
 holds the only office he has ever asked for at the hands 
 of the county. He is Democratic in politics and quite 
 influential in his neighborhood. He joined the Masonic 
 order at Hornersville in 1872, and is also a member of 
 the I. O. O. F. and has passed through nearly all of 
 the chairs of both lodges. He was joined in marriage 
 to Miss Francis Ham on April 2, 1863. Mrs. Harkey 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 199 
 
 was boru at Hickman Bend, Ark., in 1847, and is the 
 daughter of Thomas H. and Francis C. Branch-Ham. 
 
 Her maternal grandfather was of Iiish descent and 
 quite a noted man. He surveyed the Western Dis- 
 trict and was a Captain on the American side in the 
 Revolutionary War. 
 
 Judge and Mrs. Harkey have no children of their 
 own, but have raised a number of orphans; among 
 them are R. M. Reeves, Annie Dyerhouse, Frazier 
 Dickson, Ralph and Rosie Harkey, and they now have 
 little Bertie Secreese. Judge Harkey has been Sun- 
 day-school superintendent at Harkey Chapel for four 
 years and both he and Mrs. Harkey are members of 
 the M. E. C. S. 
 
 WiLBUKN D. Harkey, of Nesbit, was born March 
 20, 1837, in Pike County, Georgia. He is the son of 
 Daniel and Mary A. Bankston-Harkey, pioneers who 
 came to Dunklin County in 1851, at which time their 
 son, the subject of this sketch, was just fourteen years 
 of age. 
 
 He attained his growth in this county and in 
 1858 was married to Margaret McEacher. In 1862 
 Mr. Harkey enlisted in the Confederate Army, Second 
 Missouri Cavalry, under Col. McCuUough. At the 
 expiration of twelve months, for which time he had 
 enlisted he went into Col. Kitchen's regiment, with 
 whom he remained until the close of the war, surren- 
 dering at Wittsburg, Ark. He was in the battles of 
 luka and Corinth and in a great many skirmishes. 
 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. Harkey are : Wilburn 
 
200 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 O., A. Jasper, William L., Edward L., Thomas F. and 
 Bascom S. Two of these are married, Wilburn O. 
 to Callie Grogan, and William L. to Anna Bowers. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Harkey are among the oldest 
 members of the Old Harkey's Chapel M. E. C. S. and 
 have always been consistent and powerful workers. 
 
 They settled on their present farm in 1867. It is 
 one of the best improved farms around Nesbit, with 
 nice orchard, good residence, barns, etc. Mr. 
 Harkey is a member of the Masonic order and a 
 Democrat in politics. 
 
 Ben. F. Hicks, stock and grain dealer, Halcomb, 
 Mo., was born Ai)ril 23, 1849, and is the son of 
 John and Nancy Langford-Hicks, natives of Middle 
 Tennessee. The parents, however, removed to Henry 
 County, West Tennessee, in 1851, where the father 
 was magistrate for eighteen continuous years, and also 
 held the office of County Trustee. 
 
 Benjamin F. Hicks grew to manhood in Henry 
 County, near Paris, Tennessee, and was educated in 
 the Sulphur Well Academy. In 1870 he went to the 
 Pacific Coast, and for four years was a resident of 
 California and Nevada. In 1874 he returned home, 
 and November 2d of the same year, was married 
 to Miss E. Tennie Williams, a native of Tennessee. 
 April, 1876, she died, leaving one child, George A. 
 
 October 30, 1877, Mr. Hicks took for a second 
 companion. Miss Ida E. Blakemorc, also a native of 
 Tennessee. She was reared near Paris, educated in 
 the common schools of her native State, and the 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 201 
 
 Murry Institute, in Miirry, Kentucky, and is a daughter 
 of William S. and Isabella Williams-BIakemore. 
 The father was for several years sheriff of Henry 
 County, Tenn. She has three brothers in this county, 
 all of whom own nice homes near Halcomb, and is 
 also a relative of J. B. Blakemore, circuit clerk of 
 Dunklin County. Mrs. Hicks is a member of the M. 
 
 B. F. Hicks and Wife. 
 
 E. C. S. and is one of the most ardent supporters of 
 that church at Halcomb. 
 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hicks are Hattie B., 
 Taylor P., Clinton C, and Blanch A. Mr. Hicks 
 came to Dunklin County in 1880, and located at Hal- 
 comb Island, which was then in a very primitive condi- 
 tion. He bought land, built a modest residence just 
 in front of the " Lone Pine Tree," and it is said that 
 his is the best improved and most conveniently fenced 
 
202 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 farm in Dunklin County. He is a large dealer in grain 
 and stock and a man of good information, and is a 
 member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Chris- 
 tian Church. Both he and Mrs. Hicks are broad- 
 minded Christian workers and liberal givers to all 
 the church denominations. 
 
 J. HiRSCH, proprietor of the New York Store, 
 Kennett, Mo., is the youngest merchant in Kennett. 
 He is only about twenty-five years of age, was born in 
 Germany and has been in America but seven years. 
 Five years of this time he resided in New York City 
 and he has been two years in Kennett. In May, 
 1895, he married Miss Fannie Kaufman, sister to the 
 members of the firm of Kaufman Bros., Cairo, 111. 
 The New York Store is situated in the Tatum Block 
 and is conducted on the Eastern city style, being 
 confined strictly to dry goods, clothing, ladies' and 
 gents' furnishing goods, etc., and making a specialty 
 of fine millinery. In order to have the latest styles 
 and ideas in trimming Mr. and Mrs. Hirsch have an 
 Eastern trimmer fresh from the shop each season. 
 The New York Store has been exceptionally success- 
 ful and is introducing regularly the latest styles and 
 novelties in every line carried. (See photo, p. 195.) 
 
 E. G. Henderson, editor '* Dunklin County Regis 
 ter," was born in Catoosa County, Georgia, but when 
 very young moved to Arkansas and was reared at 
 Batesville, Independence County. In 1869-70 he 
 learned the printer's trade in Little Rock, Ark., and 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 203 
 
 in 1872 moved to Eveniof^ Shade, Sbarpe County, 
 where he worked at his trade alternately with other 
 employment for twenty-two years. During eleven 
 years of this time he was owner and editor of the 
 
 E. G. Henderson. 
 
 " Sharp County Eecord," making that paper one of 
 the most prominent and popular journals in North 
 Arkansas. In 1895, Mr. Henderson disposed of the 
 Record plant and in October of the same year estab 
 lished the " Dunklin County Eegister " at Maiden, 
 Mo. 
 
204 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 This paper is fast gaining favor with the people of 
 this county, now having a circulation of over 650. 
 Mr. Henderson is a Democrat in politics and, of course, 
 advocates these principles in his paper. 
 
 Though he has not been long in this county. Mai- 
 den's people believe they have gained an able editor 
 in E. G. Henderson. He is a member of the M. E. 
 C. S. and of the I. O. O. F. and Masonic fraternities. 
 
 Charles O. Hoffman, Judge of the Probate Court, 
 Dunklin County, was born May 30, 1846; is a native 
 of Virginia; was reared in Richmond, Va., and 
 Atlanta, Ga. He came to Dunklin County, Mo., and 
 located near Clarkton in the early seventies. In Jan- 
 uary, 1874, he married Emma Ashcraft, daughter of 
 Casswell Ashcraft, formerly of Clarkton and a pioneer 
 of this county. 
 
 To this union were born four children, Delia (now 
 a young lady and a general favorite with the young 
 people of Kennett), Homer, Lillian and Tom. 
 
 The mother of these children died in 1884, and in 
 about four years Judge Hoffman married Mrs. Bird, 
 by whom he is the father of two children. Bee and 
 Virginia. 
 
 Judge Hoffman has held the office of Probate Judge 
 since 1886, being elected in that year, and re-elected 
 in 1890 and in 1894; his term will expire in 1898, 
 when he will have held this position twelve years. In 
 1894 he had no opposing candidate neither before the 
 Democratic primary nor general election, and there 
 was polled for him the largest number of votes of any 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 205 
 
 candidate in the county. He has filled the position of 
 Probate Judge with the greatest satisfaction and is 
 one of the most popular and highly esteemed gentle- 
 men in this county. 
 
 W. E. Hopper, manager of the Campbell KoUer 
 Mills, Campbell, Mo., was born September 17, 1857, 
 in Weakley County, Tennessee. 
 
 His parents, Andrew Darby Hopper and Mary 
 Elizabeth Emily Clary, were married July 2, 1851, 
 and came to Dunklin County in I860. Mr. Hopper 
 was a farmer, and on coming to Missouri purchased 
 land near Campbell, or what was then Four Mile. 
 He was a very large man, weighing 225 pounds, a 
 Democrat in politics and a member of the Missionary 
 Baptist Church; a native of Tennessee, born May 
 16, 1829, and died in Dunklin County, Mo., March 
 24, 1878. Mrs. Hopper is also a native of Tennessee, 
 born December 7, 1825, and resides near Campbell 
 with her children. She and Mr. Hopper were the 
 parents of four children, who all live near Campbell, 
 in fact, they all own homes in the same township. 
 They are, Martha Ann E., born January 16, 1856; 
 Minerva Caroline, born September 25, 1859; Benja- 
 min Forester, born May 2, 1865 ; and William Elbert, 
 who is the subject of this sketch. He was but three 
 years of age when his parents brought him to 
 Dunklin County, where he grew to manhood and 
 received his education in the common schools. 
 October 15, 1884, he was married to Miss Anna 
 Lorena Blakeney, a native of North Carolina. To 
 
206 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 them have been born five children, Lessie Ann, Henry 
 Earl, Susaua, Darby Leander, and Ethen Elbert 
 (deceased). 
 
 Mr. Hopper owns the old Hopper home, four 
 miles north of Campbell, on which some of the Hopper 
 family have resided for nearly thirty years. The house 
 is surrounded by hickory trees, which shelter the 
 ground where Mr. Hopper played in his boyhood days 
 and also where his children have spent much of their 
 youth. While he now resides in Campbell in 
 a much more pretentious home the old country home 
 is doubtless the best loved residence. 
 
 In March, 1895, Mr. Hopper was elected General 
 Manager of the Campbell Roller Mills, and his able 
 mana2:ement and accommodatinir and orcnial manner 
 as well as the good quality of its flour have won for 
 the new enterprise many friends. 
 
 Mr. Hopper is a member of the School Board at 
 Campbell, is much interested in educational matters and 
 is ever ready to lend a helping hand to any enterprise 
 which will promote the general welfare of his best 
 loved county or State. 
 
 He is a Democrat in politics and both he and wife 
 are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. 
 
 M. W. Hubbard, proprietor of the firm of that 
 name in Clarkton, Mo., was born April 7, 1840, in 
 Madison County, Kentucky. He is the son of Green- 
 vil and Mary Jarman-Hubbard, natives of the above 
 mentioned State. He came to Dunklin County in 
 1861, and is, save J. B. Penny, the oldest resident 
 citizen now in Clarkton. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 207 
 
 He married Bettie Hodges, a daughter of Judge 
 Hodges, pioneer of this county, Feburary 1, 1864. 
 Their chikh'en are Robert G., who married Flora 
 Timberman ; Albert, Walter, who married Maggie 
 Youns: of Portao-eville, Mo., and Charhe and Mollie. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard are members of the Cumber- 
 land Presbyterian Church. He is Democratic in poli- 
 
 If ' 
 
 M. W. Hubbard and Wife. 
 
 tics and was deputy sheriff in this county under Press 
 Nicols. Mr. Hubbard has been in the merchandising 
 business in Clarkton about fourteen years and keeps 
 a full and com[)lete line of everything usually found 
 in a general store. He is a pioneer whose charac- 
 ter has ever been unspotted and who is well and 
 favorably known in the county. 
 
 J. E. Jones, son of Isaiah and Media Ann (Miller) 
 Jones, natives of Tennessee and New York respect- 
 ively, was born April 11, 1848, in this county, his 
 father having come here in 1839, and, with Judge E. J. 
 
208 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Langdon as a partner, started a carriage, cooper and 
 blacksmith shop near Cotton Plant. J. E. Jones 
 married Miss Hettie W. Chapman, daughter of Turner 
 and Hulda Mott-Chapman, on April 6, 1870. They 
 resided near Hornersville for several years, but settled 
 on his present home near Nesbit twenty years ago. 
 Mr. Jones is one of the foremost farmers in his vicin- 
 
 
 J. E. Jones, 
 
 ity, owns over 200 acres of land, and always has good 
 horses, cattle, etc., around his place. He has been 
 road overseer for four years and is well known and 
 well liked among the people. He is Democratic in 
 politics, has considerable influence and always wields 
 it for his political favorites. 
 
 Mrs. Jones is a member of the M. E. C. S. Their 
 children are, respectively, Willie Edd (married to 
 Miss Lula Bowers), Anna Lou (now Mrs. L. Riggs, 
 of Kennett), Lizzie B., Hubert, Curtis Isaiah, and 
 Glenn, and have lost four by death. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 209 
 
 James T. Karns, of the firm of R. M. Bone & Co., 
 Senath, Mo., was born June 2, 1859. His parents, 
 John and Cynthia C. Sanford-Karnes, were natives of 
 Gibson County, Tennessee, and came to Pemiscot 
 County, Missouri, in 1861, and on to Dunklin County 
 in 1870. They located on Horse Island near where 
 ** Lulu " is now situated, opened up a farm and con- 
 tinued to reside there until the death of Mr. Karns, 
 June 27, 1886. 
 
 J. T. Karns, the subject of this sketch, first went in 
 business at Lulu and was the first postmaster at that 
 place. He removed to his present place of business in 
 1886. He acquired his education in this county and 
 is a Dunklin County business man out and out. His 
 firm, R. M. Bone &, Co., keep a complete line of 
 general merchandise. J. T. Karns and Mary I. Barr 
 were united in marriage December 25, 1885. Their 
 little daughter Estella was born November 10, 1891. 
 They have three children dead. 
 
 Mrs. Karns is a member of the Christian Church 
 and Mr. Karns is Democratic in politics. 
 
 A. J. Kerfoot, vice-president of the St. Louis, 
 Kennett & Southern Railroad, was born in Jefferson 
 County, Ya., August 17, 1857. Emigrated to 
 Cooper County, Mo., in March, 1867. Attended 
 public school at Boonville until 1874, when he entered 
 the railroad service as water boy on construction work. 
 Continued in the service of the M., K. & T., Houston 
 & Texas Central and Chicago & Alton, as conductor 
 and brakeman, until January, 1890. Organized the 
 
 14 
 
210 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 St. L., K. & S. R. R. Co., in March, 1890, and super 
 intended the construction of same, completing it in 
 December of the same year. Was appointed super- 
 intendent of transportation in January, 1891, which 
 position he held until December, 1895, at which time 
 he resigned as superintendent and was elected vice- 
 president, which position he now holds. Too much 
 
 A, J. Kerfoot. 
 
 cannot be said for Mr. Kerfoot as a business man or 
 for his energy and perseverence in bringing this road 
 up to a fair standard for a new railroad. 
 
 In addition to his railroad business he is interested 
 in the firm of E. S. McCarty & Co., being business 
 manager of the firm. This firm owns stores at Ken- 
 nett, White Oak, and Pascola, Pemiscot County, 
 doing a general merchandise and timber business ; 
 and also owns the celebrated Armstrong Springs, 
 located in White County, Ark., at which place they 
 also have a store, and are erecting a large hotel and 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 211 
 
 otherwise improving the property to the extent of 
 $12,000. 
 
 Mr. Kerfoot's father, G. W. Kerfoot, is still 
 living, being seventy-eight years of age; his mother 
 died of pneumonia, March, 1891, at the age of sixty 
 years. 
 
 Judge Edwin J. Langdon was born August 7, 
 1819, at Middleberry, Vermont. His parents, Hiram 
 and Polly Dowd-Langdon, were of Scotch descent 
 and emigrated to Granville, Licking County, Ohio. 
 When their son Edwin J. was just seventeen years of 
 age, here he taught school and improved his educa- 
 tion and came on to Dunklin County, Mo., in 1839. 
 In 1847 he married Sarah A. Glasscock, who was born 
 near Pocahontas, Arkansas, and is the daughter of 
 Robt. L. and Elizabeth Sullinofer Glasscock, early 
 l)ioneers of this county. The mother was of Scotch 
 and Cherokee, while the father was of Irish descent; 
 they emigrated from Old Jackson, Missouri, to Dun- 
 klin County, about 1845. Judge Langdon started his 
 career in this county without money and when the 
 country was in a very primitive condition. He was a 
 carriage maker by trade and he and Isaiah Jones 
 opened a carriage, coopers' and blacksmith shop 
 near Cotton Plant in the early forties, and they 
 turned out some of the first pails, carriages and 
 wagons made in this county. In 184G he assisted 
 his fjithcr, Hiram Langdon, to build the first 
 courthouse erected in this county. In 1847-1848 
 he built the Buffalo Creek levee between Kennett and 
 
212 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Vincit. The money which he received for the com- 
 pletion of this contract, he often said was the first 
 from which he ever appeared to receive much benefit. 
 With it he bought goods and opened a small store at 
 Cotton Plant. It is safe to say that this money was 
 the foundation of his future estate, which estate at his 
 death, in November, 1892, was worth some $200,000 
 
 Judge E. J. Langdon and Wife. 
 
 or $300,000. Judge Langdon was President of the 
 County Court of Dunklin County from 1878 to 1884 
 inclusive. He was a very public-spirited man and did 
 much for the improvement of public roads, public 
 schools, churches and other enterprises to advance the 
 general good of the county. He Inunched one of the 
 first flat-boats on Little River at Hornersville, owned 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 213 
 
 and operated one of the first cotton gins and general 
 stores, and did as much as any other man to bring 
 up the morals of the county, and he was, all things 
 being considered, perhaps the greatest man Dunklin 
 County has ever had. A man whose public and 
 private life will bear the closest scrutiny ; and 
 while he condemned wrong, he was infinitely patient 
 and forbearins: ; his heart was never made cold 
 by silver and gold, but was always open to unfortunate 
 humanity. He had not the wealth of many men, but 
 his life was certainly a success. He died in his Arcadia 
 home in Iron County, Mo., but was brought back to 
 his old home for funeral services and his remains rest 
 in the family cemetery at Cotton Plant. Mrs. Lang- 
 don is living and enjoys fairly good health. She 
 resides with her daugher, Hettie D, wife of R. H. Jones, 
 of Kennett, Mo. 
 
 Mrs. Jones is the youngest child and only daughter 
 Judge and Mrs. Langdon raised, and has been since 
 her early youth, considered one of the handsomest 
 women of Dunklin County. Three sons are the other 
 children of Judge and Mrs. Langdon living; they are: 
 William H. (of Jonesboro, Texas), C. V. and A. J. of 
 Cotton Plant, this county. Those deceased are Truman 
 C, who died after reaching manhood, leaving a family, 
 and Ruth E., Eddie B., Nellie B., and Jimmie J., who 
 died in infancy. 
 
 Judge Langdon was a Democrat in politics, a mem- 
 ber of the Masonic fraternity and of the M. E. C. S., 
 Mrs. Lano;don is a member of the M. E. C. S. and of 
 the Rebekah Degree of I. O. O. F. 
 
214 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Charles V. Langdon was born October lOlh, 
 1855, in Dunklin County, Mo. He is the son of 
 Edwin J. and Sarah A. Glasscock Langdon (see 
 
 sketch elsewhere). The subject of this sketch grew 
 to manhood in this county, received a good education, 
 assisted his father on the farm and in the store at 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 215 
 
 Cotton Plant until August 7, 1884, when he was 
 married to Lou Abernathy, also a native of Dunklin 
 County and the daughter of Robert Abernathy, an 
 early settler of this county. After his marriage Mr. 
 Langdon built a fine residence on one of the large 
 mounds on his farm just south of Cotton Plant, and 
 has since resided there, occasionally taking his family 
 to their pleasant summer home in Arcadia, Mo. Mr. 
 Langdon was in the mercantile business with T. R. 
 Neel, under the firm mime, at his father's old stand in 
 Cotton Plant. He subsequently sold his interest and 
 retired to his farm. He is a prominent farmer and 
 stock-raiser, cattle being his favorite kind. He always 
 keeps fine cows and plenty of other stock about his 
 place. His farm is one of the most extensive and best 
 improved in the county. The children of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Langdon are: Edwin Neel (deceased), Sallie 
 May, Lela Blanch, Luella (deceased), and Walton V. 
 Mr. Lano'don is a member of the I. O. O. F. and 
 Masonic fraternities and he and wife are members of 
 the M. E. C. S. 
 
 A. J. Langdon was born February 25, 1865, is a 
 native of this county and the son of Edwin J. and 
 Sarah A. Giasscock-Langdon, pioneers of Dunklin 
 County. He was educated in his native county and 
 at the high school of Ironton, Mo., and also at the 
 State Normal, Cape Girardeau, Mo. He worked with 
 his father in the store at Cotton Plant for about three 
 years and was afterward a member of the firm of E. 
 J. Langdon & Company. At that place, January 14, 
 
216 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 1893, he married Mary Tennie Moore, a native of 
 Dunklin County, who was reared and educated at 
 Mount Calm, Texas; she is the daughter of E. H. 
 Moore, formerly an old citizen of this county. To 
 this marriage have been born Maude E., Nellie A. 
 (deceased), Hettie P., E. Senter and Wesley M. 
 
 Since the death of his father, Mr. Langdon has 
 devoted much of his time to the matters of the estate, 
 he being the administrator. He is also a dealer in live 
 stock and, of course, devotes considerable time to 
 looking after his own estate, as he owns a number of 
 well improved and valuable tracts of land in this 
 county, Mrs. Langdon is a member of the M. E. C. S. 
 
 Charles Lanpher is the son of G. W. and E. V. 
 Parkins-Lanpher ; born August 12, 1871, and is a 
 native of Fredericktown. His father is a well-known 
 citizen of that place, and Charles Lanpher was reared 
 and educated in Fredericktown, and came to Dunklin 
 County in August, 1893, to take a partnership in the 
 firm of L. Riggs & Co., at Kennett. This firm keeps 
 a full and up-to-date line of stoves, tinware, sash and 
 doors, sporting goods, and, in fact, everything usually 
 kept in a hardware store. They enjoy a thriving 
 business and will further enlarge the same by estab- 
 lishing a branch store at Caruthersville, Mo. 
 
 Jake S. Levi came to Dunklin at about the begin- 
 ning of Maiden and his business career may be traced 
 in this county through the firm of J. S. Levi & Co., 
 and other names to the Levi Mercantile Co., of Maiden 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 217 
 
 and Kennett. Every enterprise of which Mr. Levi has 
 taken hold of in this county has seemed to prosper and 
 has outgrown firm names and business houses in a 
 remarkable manner. The first brick business house 
 erected in Dunklin County was that of J. S. Levi, 
 erected in 1889, in Maiden. This is one of the best 
 business houses in that town, and it is certain that the 
 firm who own it do a very extensive business, in fact 
 
 J. S. Levi. 
 
 the Levi Mercantile Company of Maiden and Kennett 
 is one of the most popular firms in Dunklin County. 
 
 J. S. Levi is president of the Levi Mercantile Com- 
 pany, Joe N. Arends, vice-president, and A. Lebermuth, 
 secretary and treasurer. 
 
 Mr. Levi is also president of the Goldman & Levi 
 Land Company, and ,J. D. Goldman, of St. Louis, Mo., 
 is vice-president. 
 
 Mr. Levi resides most of the time in Cincinnati, 
 Ohio,buthasbeenknown and identified with the business 
 interests of Dunklin County for about fifteen years 
 
218 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 and has resided a considerable portion of that time in 
 this county. Mr. Levi is unmarried, but Mr. Leber- 
 muth and Mr. Arends have both married since coming 
 to this county. 
 
 George W. Marshall, farmer and stock-raiser, of 
 Chirkton, was born in Olive County, Tennessee, June 
 23, 1849, and is the pon of Bennett and Mary Mar- 
 shall, natives of Middle Tennessee. The parents came 
 to Dunklin County in 1857 and located on the farm 
 where the son, George W., now resides. They lived 
 here for several years and then removed to Arkansas, 
 where the father died in 1872. He was a member of 
 the Masonic fraternity and a well-known pioneer of 
 this county. 
 
 Geoige W. Marshall attained his growth on a 
 farm in this county, working with his father until his 
 majority. January 30, 1869, he was united in mar- 
 riage to Mary L. Lasley, daughter of the pioneer, Mr. 
 Lasley, who located near Clarkton in 1863. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Marshall commenced their married life 
 on a very small scale with a small farm, one milk cow 
 and a plow horse. Mr. Marshall, however, soon began 
 to raise corn, cattle and hogs, not having grown any 
 cotton since it fell below ten cents per pound in the 
 markets. He is now the largest stock-raiser and ship- 
 per in the county and the owner of about nine hundred 
 acres of land, part of which lies in New Madrid 
 County. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Marshall are the parents of a large 
 family, and have perhaps the nicest home in the 
 
inSTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 219 
 
 county, a very handsome residence among a magnificent 
 grove of forest trees, and a fine orchard. They reside 
 about two miles south of Clarliton. 
 
 Collin Morgan, ex-sheriff of Dunklin County, was 
 born January 15, 1844. He is a native of Tennessee, 
 and the son of Miles and Martha Page-Morgan, early 
 settlers of Bolliosrer County, Mo. They, however. 
 
 
 ^^^^^^^ 
 
 Collin Morgan. 
 
 removed to Stoddard County, and located near Bloom- 
 field, Mo., and there principally reared iheir family. 
 Mr. Morgan died several years ago, but Mrs. Morgan 
 is living in Stoddard County. The son, Collin Mor- 
 gan, was married December 2S, 1871, to Miss Eflae 
 Harper, of Stoddard County. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan 
 have a largo family of children, the eldest daughter 
 being Miss Ida, and the eldest son Mr. Fred, both 
 favorites among the young people of Kennett. Mr. 
 Morgan came to this county in 1888, and two years 
 later was elected Sheriff of Dunklin County, and 
 
220 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 re-elected to the same office in 1892. He filled this 
 office to the general satisfaction of all, and has won 
 for himself many friends among the people of this 
 county. His residence (which was one of the finest in 
 Kennett) and nearly all its contents was destroyed by 
 fire in 1895, this being the second time such a mis- 
 fortune has befallen him. He is, however, a man of 
 indomitable energy and push, and burned several kilns 
 of brick from which he expects to build a handsome 
 brick residence on the site of the one destroyed by 
 tire. Kennett has not a man with more go-a-head 
 business energy than Collin Morgan ; he never waits for 
 *'soft jobs or good luck,'* but has pluck enough to 
 keep his head above the waves of any misfortune. 
 
 Mr. Morgan was twice elected Sheriff of Stoddard 
 County before coming to Dunklin, and is well-known 
 in both counties. He is a Democrat in politics. Master 
 of the Masonic lodge at Kennett, and a member of 
 the I. O. O. F. 
 
 Both Mr. and Mrs. Morgan are members of the 
 Christian Church. 
 
 Louis McCutchen, druggist and postmaster at 
 Campbell, Mo., was born June 27, 1848, in Jackson 
 County, Alabama. His parents were William W. and 
 Margaret Harrison-McCutchen, natives of Alabama 
 and Tennessee, respectively. The father was surveyor 
 and justice of the peace for a number of years in both 
 Jackson and Marshall counties and resided in Alabama 
 until his death. He was drowned in Tennessee River, 
 in Marshall County, in 1878. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 221 
 
 Louis McCutcheii grew to manhood Id Marshall 
 County, Alabama, and received a fair education in the 
 villa<re school. On reaching his majority he left the 
 parental roof and emigrated to Missouri and located 
 at Four Mile, Dunklin County, in 1870. He accepted 
 a position as clerk, which he retained until 1876. He 
 then engaged in the drug and grocery business on his 
 own account and continued at Four Mile until the fall 
 of 1882. He then removed to Campbell, a new town 
 on what is the St. Louis Southwestern R. R., Cotton 
 Belt Route. He has since continued in business at 
 that place. In 1875 he was appointed postmaster at 
 Four Mile and has been postmaster there and at 
 Campbell since that time. 
 
 Mr. McCutchen is a director of the Bank of 
 Kennett, a member of the I. O. O. F. and Masonic 
 lodges at Campbell, is a Democrat in politics and is 
 well known and highly esteemed in this county. 
 
 December 20, 1877, he married Miss Martha E. 
 Owen, a native of Dunklin County and the daughter of 
 Judge Given Owen (see sketch). Mrs. McCutchen 
 was reared and educated in this county and is certainly 
 one of the most accomplished housekeepers of which 
 it can boast; her home is always surrounded by 
 beautiful flowers and she is an adept in the culinary 
 art. The children of Mr. and Mrs. McCutchen are: 
 Fannie, William W., Beulab, Owen, Louis and Mary 
 Ellen. Mr. McCutchen has quite an extensive estate 
 of about 1200 acres near Campbell. His drug store is 
 fitted up nicely and he keeps a full and complete line 
 of drugs in connection vvith the post-office. 
 
222 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Virgil McKay, County Clerk of Dunklin County, 
 was born in New Madrid County, Mo., July 24, 1858. 
 He is the son of John and Mary Adams-McKay, 
 natives of the above-mentioned county and State. 
 Virgil McKay, the subject of this sketch, came to 
 Dunklin County, July 28, 1878. He farmed for a few 
 years, then for several years taught school part of 
 the year and attended school the remainder, being 
 principally educated in the Southeast Normal at Cape 
 Girardeau, Mo. December 25, 1888, he married Miss 
 Annie Marlow of Clarkton, a daughter of James Mar- 
 low, who was a pioneer of this county. To this 
 marriage have been born two little boys, Clyde and 
 Landreth. (See photo, p. 236.) 
 
 He was elected Assessor of Dunklin Co. in 1886, 
 and re-elected to the same office in 1888. He is 
 holding his second term as County Clerk, being 
 elected to that office in 1890 and 1894. 
 
 He is Democratic in politics, a member of the Masonic 
 order and of I. O. O. F. Both he and Mrs. McKay 
 are members of the M. E. C. S. Mr. McKay is 
 exceedingly popular among the masses of the people. 
 
 HuLDAH A. MoTT was born April 10, 1831, in 
 Hickman County, Ky., was married to Turner G. 
 Chapman, Sept. 28, 1848. To them were born four 
 children, James, Mary, Hettie andKittie. Mr. Chap- 
 man died June 25, 1859, and Mrs. Chapman was again 
 married March 23, 1865, to Wm. H. Helm. To this 
 couple were born three children, Lizzie, Willie and 
 Fannie. Mrs. Helm is a sister of Mrs. A. T. Doug- 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 223 
 
 lass of Seiialh, and one of the pioneer women of this 
 county. Mr. Hehn represented this county in the 
 Stale Lcgishiture in 1879, is a Democrat in politics, 
 and he and Mrs. Helm and daughters are members 
 of the Christian Church. James and Mary Chapman 
 died in infanc3^ Hettie was married to J. E. Jones 
 of Nesbit, Mo., April G, 1870. Kitty was married 
 May 3, 1877, to W. G. Bragg, of Kennett, Mo. Willie 
 Helm died in infancy, and Lizzie was married August 
 3, 1892, to T. J. Baird of Clarkton, Mo. Fannie was 
 married September 28, 1892, to Charles B. Ruff of 
 Kennett, Mo. (see sketches elsewhere). 
 
 David H. Moore, born July 10, 1832, was the 
 second white child born in Dunklin County. His 
 parents were Howard and Mary Welch Moore, natives 
 of Virginia. They emigrated to Dunklin County in 
 1829 and were the first white settlers to locate within 
 the limits of this county. They also built and lived 
 in the first white man's cabin, stopping at first about 
 four miles south of Maiden, Missouri. Mr. Moore 
 afterward bought the log cabin and improvements of 
 Chilleticaux near Kennett, and it was he who estab- 
 lished the first grist mill at that place in pioneer days. 
 He lived to a good old age and at his death left each 
 of his eight children forty acres of good Dunklin 
 County land. David H. Moore was partly reared in 
 Chilleticaux Cabin, has eaten many of the big Indian 
 peaches grown on the trees planted by that chief. 
 He also, when a lad, helped to grind corn on one of 
 the first gi'ist mills in the county, and prior to that 
 
224 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 time pounded corn and coffee in the mortar made by 
 Chilleticaux in the latter's kitchen, which the chief said 
 was <* all built of cypress but one log, which log was 
 of wood." 
 
 *' Uncle Dave," as he is familiarly called, was first 
 married to Claircy Spurlock ; she died leaving two 
 children, Wesley and Mary. Mr. Moore has lost four 
 
 
 David Moore. 
 
 wives by death, his fifth wife being his present com- 
 panion. She has had three husbands, her first being 
 a Mr. Bird, her second a Mr. Jordan; her maiden 
 name was Ouva Haggard. She and Mr. Moore have 
 two children, Samantha and 
 
 There are but three other persons who have resided 
 in Dunklin County longer than David H. Moore. He 
 lives in Kennett, Missouri, and is the oldest citizen of 
 that place. He is a Democrat in politics. 
 
History of dunklin county, mo. 
 
 225 
 
 A. A. Moore, undertaker, Maiden, Mo., was born 
 June 23, 1827, in Union County, Indiana. His father, 
 Morgan Moore, was a native of Virginia, but emigrated 
 to Ohio when a small boy and later in life went to Indi- 
 ana, where he married a Miss Mead. She became the 
 mother of A. A. Moore and soon afterward died. 
 The father was an old soldier in the war of 1812, and 
 
 A. A. Moore and Wife. 
 
 afterward located in Vermillion County, Illinois, where 
 he died in 1860. 
 
 A. A. Moore came to Dunklin County in 1876, 
 and located in Maiden, which was then just being 
 commenced. He farmed for some time then became 
 a contractor and builder and assisted in erecting some 
 of the first houses in Maiden. Later he was a success- 
 ful grocery merchant and has been for many years a 
 well-known and prominent undertaker. He has also 
 
 15 
 
226 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 been prominent in local politics, having been a mem- 
 ber of the Council for several years and Mayor of 
 Maiden. February 14, 1850, he was united in mar- 
 riage to Miss Elizabeth E. Hite, a native of Virginia, 
 and to them have been born S. S., on Aug. 21st, 1851, 
 C. F., March 10, 1853, M. C. and M. A., October 30, 
 1855 ; M. C, one these twins, and S. W., born April 
 29, 1858, are both deceased. H. A., the youngest son, 
 was born October 13, 1863. 
 
 S. S. Moore married Lucy Shullz; their children 
 are Nellie, Minnie, Ethel, and Fred. 
 
 M. A. Moore married Susie Jenkins and became 
 the father of Wilbert and Onie. 
 
 H. A. Moore married Emma Herman, and resides 
 in Maiden. 
 
 C. F. Moore married Mrs. Lou A. Stephens, a 
 daughter of T. B. Reeves. He is a member of the 
 L O. O. F. and a carpenter by trade. On coming to 
 Dunklin County he located in Maiden, where he now 
 resides. 
 
 Thomas Neel is the son of the pioneer, Thomas 
 Neel, who came to this county with the Homers in 
 February, 1832. 
 
 Thomas Neel, Jr., was born in May of the same 
 year and was the first white child born in Dunklin 
 County. Mr. Neel has pounded corn in the old- 
 fashioned mortar *' Indian style'' when it was too 
 bad to go to mill away up on West Prairie or to the 
 Masterson mill near Bernie, in Stoddard County. He 
 has slept on Chilleticaux buffalo robes and is even yet 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 227 
 
 a great hunter. For many years he lived on his farm 
 where the post-office of Lulu now stands, but for 
 several years has resided just across the Missouri line 
 in Arkansas, but he is yet looked upon as a citizen of 
 this county, as he does about all of his buying, selling 
 of produce, etc., in his old home. His present wife 
 was Miss Lizzie Donalson, who is a sister of I. F. 
 Donalson, of Kennett. They have a nice home, which 
 in summer and fall is almost hidden by pretty shrubs 
 and flowers. 
 
 Rev. OwENBY, of the Clarkton Circuit of the M. E. 
 C. S., was born March 17, 1854, in Sumner County, 
 Tennessee. He is the son of J. P. and C. A. Ovvenby, 
 natives of the above mentioned State. Rev. Owenby 
 has been in the ministry and under the control 
 of the St. Louis Conference Methodist Episcopal 
 Church South about thirteen years. His preaching 
 is of the Evangelistic order and he recognizes this as 
 his particular sphere and personally likes it best. 
 He says about 10,000 conversions have been the result 
 of his preaching, including about 66S conversions and 
 accessions to the church in the bounds of the Clarkton 
 Circuit in Dunklin County. Rev. Owenby has been 
 sent to this circuit two years successively. It is 
 claimed by the people of Halcomb, where he resides, 
 that it is largely through his influence and that of a 
 few of the Baptist members that the churches of the 
 various denominations at Halcomb have become so 
 united in their Sunday-school and other Christian 
 work. He undoubtedly has the tact to draw the 
 
22g 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 crowds and then gain their attention, to a greater 
 extent than any other preacher in the county. In 
 1873, he was married to Nannie J. Goad, of Obine 
 County, Tennessee. They have four living children. 
 
 Judge Given Owen was born May 9, 1818, and 
 was the son of Reuben and Martha Wells Owens, 
 
 f 
 
 ^.f -^ 't. 
 
 Dr. Given Owen. 
 
 natives of Georgia and Kentucky, respectively. 
 Reuben Owen emigrated to Kentucky when a young 
 man and lived there until 1836, when he removed 
 to Bloomfield, Mo., and there resided until his death. 
 Judge, or Dr. Given Owen, for he was one of the 
 pioneer physicians of Dunklin County, grew to man- 
 hood in Hickman County, Ky., receiving a good 
 education in the common and higher English branches. 
 In 1835, when he was just seventeen years of age, he 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 229 
 
 commenced the study of medicine under Dr. Carroll 
 at Hickman, K3^ In 1838, he also removed to Bloom- 
 field, Mo., remaining there and continuing the study 
 of medicine for two years. In 1841, he settled on a 
 farm in what was then Stoddard, but what is now 
 Dunklin County. He was shortly elected County 
 Judge. He was Presiding Judge of Stoddard County 
 when this was cut off into Dunklin, and was elected 
 County Judge of this county in 1854. He was elected 
 Judge of the Clarkton Common Pleas and Probate 
 Court in April, 1876, to fill out the unexpired term of 
 Judge Stokes (deceased); also elected Judge of Pro- 
 bate Court and President of County Court in Novem- 
 ber, 1878. In April, 1877, he was commissioned 
 Notary Public by Gov. Phelps, also by Gov. Critten- 
 den in 1882, and by Gov. Marmaduke in 1886. 
 
 Judge Owen was first married in 1840 to Amanda 
 SuUenger, a native of Cape Girardeau County. She 
 died in May, 1852, leaving four children : Dr. Reuben 
 P., A. B., Nancy M., Mrs.E.M. Bray, and Francis E.I. 
 In August, 1852, he married a second time, taking Mrs. 
 Louisiana Bozarth, a daughter of Jordan and Nancy 
 Lacy. Two daughters were born to them, Martha E. 
 (now Mrs. L. McCutchen of Campbell) and Mary E. 
 
 Judge Owen's death occurred December 5th, 1889, 
 after a residence of about thirty-one years, at Four 
 Mile, near Campbell, Dunklin County. 
 
 He was seventy-two years of age and was a success- 
 ful practicing physician until a few years before his 
 death — having been so long a judge of different courts 
 and also being well known as a physician, both the 
 
230 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 title of Doctor and Judge clung to him until his 
 death. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity 
 and Missionary Bnptist Church. Mrs. Owen is a 
 member of the Baptist Church and resides with her 
 daughter and son-in-law, Louis McCutchen of Campbell, 
 whose picture may be seen among the family of those 
 to be found in this volume. She has resided in this 
 county for more than fifty years, and is one of the many 
 living pioneers who enjoys good health considering 
 their old age. She worshiped with the first congre- 
 gation who ever worshiped in a church house in 
 Dunklin County, in 1846; and her first husband, 
 Jonathan Bozart, assisted in building this same house. 
 She, like many other pioneer women, came here before 
 either the horse-power or steam-power mill, and has 
 often ground corn for bread on the little steel hand- 
 mill, of which her father's was one of the first 
 brought to the county. West Prairie post-office, 
 the first in the county, was established after she came 
 here, and many are the interesting events she can 
 relate about the manner of bringing general supplies 
 from Cape Girardeau, Mo. She is a lady whose con- 
 versation is always entertaining, and who knows much 
 of the past history of Dunklin County. 
 
 William J. Oxley, merchant at Valley Ridge, Mo., 
 was born November 11, 1837, and is the son of James 
 and Annaretta (Faulkner) Oxley, natives of North 
 Carolina. The parents came to Dunklin County in 
 1858, where the father died in 1864. William J. 
 Oxley, the subject of this sketch, began working for 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 231 
 
 himself at the age of eighteen years, and did not come 
 to Dunklin County until 1860. In 1861 he was mar- 
 ried to Winnie M. Bray, a native of West Tennessee 
 and the daughter of Allen Bray (deceased). At the 
 breaking out of the Civil War, Mr. Oxley enlisted in 
 Jeff. Thompson's regiment for six months, at the 
 expiration of which time he removed his family to 
 Scott County, Mo., and engaged in the boot and shoe 
 business for a time. In 1865 he returned to Dunklin 
 County and located near Four Mile. In 1868 he 
 removed to his present place of residence, and a few 
 years later established and named the post-office of 
 Valley Ridge. He first engaged in the grain and 
 huckster business, but commenced merchandising 
 about 1879. He also bought and improved land, 
 making himself a comfortable home. 
 
 His dwelling-house and store and all their con- 
 tents were burned on January 28, 1880. This, of 
 course, was a severe loss, but he soon resumed busi- 
 ness and now has a good local trade and carries a com- 
 plete line of general merchandise. The children of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Oxley are: A. R., James M. and Addie 
 V. The family are members of the Baptist Church. 
 Mr. Oxley is a self-made man, as when he was mar- 
 ried he could not write his name and did not know one 
 figure from another, never having attended school but 
 three months in his life. By self-application he was 
 soon able to do all his own business, and was post- 
 master at Valley Ridge for about ten years. He is 
 Republican in politics and one of the best known 
 farmers aad merchants on the Ridge. 
 
232 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Col. David Young Pankey was born August 22cl, 
 1832, at Richmond, Va. His parents were Young and 
 Rebekah B. Branch-Pankey, natives of Virginia. His 
 father was an old soldier in the war of 1812, and his 
 maternal grandfather was a colonel in the Revolution- 
 ary war. Col. Pankey grew to manhood and was edu- 
 cated in Virginia. In 1858 he emigrated to Madrid 
 
 ^«^ 
 
 Col. D. Y. Pankey. 
 
 Bend, Tenn., just across the Mississippi River from 
 New Madrid, Mo., and in 1859 came on to Dunklin 
 County, locating near Clarkton. 
 
 Prior to leaving his native State, Col. Pankey was 
 married in 1854 to Miss Sallie B., eldest daughter of 
 Paul and Mary E. Jones of Lynchburg, Va. Their 
 oldest child was Mary E , wife of Judge T. E. Bald- 
 win of Kennett, the second daughter was Sallie B., 
 deceased, Mrs. Schruggs of Maiden. They also lost 
 by death two other children, Henry Young and Lilian. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 233 
 
 The only living son is David Ballard, cashier of the 
 Bank of Kennett. The mother of these children died 
 in 1866. 
 
 In 1870, Col. Pankey married Tennessee Miller, 
 who also died after having borne him four children, 
 all of whom died in infancy. In 1876, Col. Pankey 
 took for a third companion Adaline Grigory, daughter 
 of Rev. James Grigory of this county. She 
 became the mother of Charles, born January 12, 
 1877, and Stella, and one infant (deceased). The 
 mother of these children also died, leaving Col. 
 Pankey a widower for the third time. In 1890, he 
 married Mrs. Smith, who is his present wife. 
 
 Col. Pankey is one of the oldest and best known 
 pioneers in the county, having taken quite a prominent 
 part in the late War of the Rebellion. He was on the 
 Southern side, and first went into Capt. Picard's com- 
 pany and was elected First Lieutenant. A regiment 
 was soon formed of which he was elected Lieutenant 
 colonel. At the expiration of his term he re-enlisted 
 in the Confederate service. He was in the bombard- 
 ments of Fort Pillow, and after the evacuation of that 
 place, went to Memphis, Tennessee, and with other 
 Missourians was put under Col. Price, and participated 
 in many hard skirmishes and conflicts with the enemy. 
 Col. Pankey has filled the offices of Magistrate and 
 Collector of the Revenue of Dunklin County. He is at 
 present a grain dealer, and is a member of a grain 
 company at Kennett, which ships hundreds of car loads 
 every year. He is a member of the Presbyterian 
 Church, and a Democrat in politics. 
 
234 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 D. B. Pankey, cashier of Bank of Kennett, was 
 born January 17, 1861, and is a native of Dunklin 
 County, Missouri. His parents, Col. D. Y. and Sallie 
 B. eJones Pankey were natives of Virginia (see sketch). 
 David Ballard Pankey grew to manhood in this 
 county, was educated in the common schools of Dun- 
 klin County and at Cape Girardeau, Mo. ; he also 
 completed the commercial course at the Mound City 
 Commercial College, St. Louis, Mo. ; married Miss 
 Josie Rayburn, daughter of Maj. W. C. Rayburn, late 
 of Clarkton. As Miss Josie Rayburn, Mrs. Pankey 
 was one of the leading belles of Clarkton, and is no 
 less a leader in the society of Kennett. The children 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Pankey are respectively Hugh, Blair 
 (deceased), and a baby boy. Mr. Pankey has held a 
 number of public and official positions in this county ; 
 was appointed to fill the vacancy in the county clerk's 
 office caused by the death of C. R. Mills in 1885, and 
 elected to the same office in 1886. When the Bank of 
 Kennett was organized in January, 1891, he was chosen 
 cashier of same and has since held that position; under 
 his management the bank had a deposit on Januarj^ 
 15, 1896, of $96,956.64. Any eulogy of Mr. Pankey is 
 altogether unnecessary, but it is safe to say that 
 Kennett is as proud of D. B. Pankey as any man it 
 has. He is a member of the 1. O. O. F. and Masonic 
 fraternities and both he and Mrs. Pankey are mem- 
 bers of the Presbyterian Church. 
 
 William G. Petty, sheriff of Dunklin County, 
 was born January 25, 1853, in Hickman County, 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 235 
 
 Mr, and Mrs. D. B. Pan key. 
 
 9- 
 
 9 
 
 Residence of D. B. Pankey, Kennett. 
 
236 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 
 John McKay. 
 
 John McKay is the oldest teacher in the county, and 
 is a Democrat and a member of the M. E. C. S. He 
 has taught school in nearly every district of the 
 county, and as a most successful teacher is well and 
 favorably known all over the county. 
 
 Virgil McKay and Wife. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 237 
 
 Tennessee. His parents, Milford M. and Nancy 
 Petty, were natives of the above mentioned State. 
 The father was a farmer and resided in Hickman 
 County for over thirty-five years, removing to Dunklin 
 County, Mo., in 1882, where he and wife have since 
 died. 
 
 /^^^^ 
 
 ■^^ #^~ 
 
 W. G. Petty, Sheriff. 
 
 W. G. Petty, the subject of this sketch, grew to 
 manhood in his native county and State and immigrated 
 to this county in 1874. In 1879 he was married to 
 Miss Amanda B. Herrmann, daughter of William 
 Herrmann, an early settler of this county, vvho resides 
 at Hornersville, but who was for long years a promi 
 nent farmer and operator of a cotton gin and grist 
 mill near Nesbit, this county. He was also the inventor 
 and patentee of one of the first '« cotton cleaners," an 
 attachment to the cotton gin. A few years after his 
 marriage, Mr. Petty purchased timbered land in Salem 
 Township and opened up a farm. In 1887 he pur- 
 
238 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 chased 200 acres of land near Nesbit, about 160 acres 
 of which was in cultivation. This is one of the best 
 farms in the country. Mr. Petty has farmed the 
 greater portion of the time before and since his 
 marriage. In 1894 he made the race for sheriff and 
 was elected at the November election. In the early 
 part of 1895 he removed to Kennett and took charge 
 of the jail and sheriff's office, which position he is 
 filling to the satisfaction of the general public. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Petty are the parents of six children, Harry, 
 Curtis, Neel, Bertie, Cohnie and Genie. 
 
 Mr. Petty is a member of the Masonic fraternity 
 and Mrs. Petty of the M. E. C. S. 
 
 C. A. Petty, son of M. M. and Nancy Jones- 
 Petty, natives of South Carolina, was born Feb. 15, 
 1851, in Hickman County, Tenn., where he resided 
 until 1874, when he came to Dunklin County. 
 
 In 1876 he joined the I. O. O. F. at Cotton Plant 
 and the Masonic order in 1882, and has passed 
 through all the chairs of both orders and the Re- 
 bekah Degree of I. O. (). F. and is a member of 
 the Dunklin Encampment. A Democrat in politics, 
 a member of the M. E. C. S., always taking an active 
 part in the duties of the societies to which he belongs, 
 he has become well and favorably known, being 
 recognized as a man of noble principles and unques- 
 tionable integrity. 
 
 Mr. Petty first married a Miss Miller in 1873. She 
 died in January 1890, having borne him eight children, 
 seven of whom are now living. Willie, a young man 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 239 
 
 of about 21 years of age, is the eldest. In 1891 Mr. 
 Petty took for a wife a Miss Baugus, who died in 1894, 
 leaving one child. His present wife was a Miss Latty 
 and they were married in January, 1895. 
 
 These ladies were all natives of Tennessee two of 
 them from the same county. The present Mrs. Petty 
 is a member of the Primitive Baptist Church. 
 
 Mr. Petty is a farmer, owns about 350 acres of good 
 land, and resides one mile west of Kennett. 
 
 
 J. R. Pool. 
 
 John Richard Pool, proprietor of Hotel Card well, 
 at Cardwell, Mo., was born May 5, 1845, in Hardin 
 County, Tennessee. He is the son of John C. and 
 Susan Haggard-Pool, natives of the above county and 
 State. The subject of this sketch grew to manhood and 
 was educated in the common schools of his native 
 county, later taking a course in Bryant & Stratton's 
 Commercial College, St. Louis, Mo. August 12, 1866, 
 he was married to Barber E. Pearson and they became 
 
540 UISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTt, MO. 
 
 the parents of nine boys and two girls, all yet living. 
 Mrs. Pool died July 11, 1889, and Mr. Pool took for 
 a second companion, Rebekah J. Thomas on February 
 1, 1891. Both ladies were natives of Tennessee, of 
 the same county as Mr. Pool. He came to Dunklin 
 County in 1880, located on Grand Prairie and was 
 subsequently in the merchandising business at Caruth. 
 He removed to Buffalo Island in 1891, where he had 
 bought a hundred acres of land near the present site 
 of Card well. Mr. Pool has helped to start several 
 post-offices in this county, *' Hasty," among others; 
 this office was lately discontinued in favor of Card well. 
 The post-office is now kept in Hotel Cardwell and Mrs. 
 Pool, who is of a Democratic turn of mind, has been the 
 postmistress under the Cleveland administration. She 
 is quite an enterprising and progressive woman. Mr. 
 Pool is in politics a Republican, and was the nominee 
 of that party for sheriff of this county in 1888. He 
 helped to organize the first Republican convention of 
 this county and is at present chairman of Buffalo 
 Township Committee. He is notary public and 
 agent at Cardwell for the Paragould and Southeastern 
 Railroad. 
 
 Much of the rapid progress of Cardwell is due to 
 Mr. Pool's energy ; he has himself built several houses 
 in that town and helped to get up an interest in the 
 schools of his neighborhood. 
 
 George W. Peck, Mayor of the city of Maiden, 
 Mo., was born November 22, 1848, at Madrid, St. 
 Lawrence County, New York, and is the son of Burley 
 
IIISTORT OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 241 
 
 and Sophroniii Fish-Peck. His parents were of 
 English descent, their grandparents having crossed the 
 ocean •in the year 1735, and settled at Norwich, Con- 
 necticut. The subject of this sketch was educated in 
 the public schools of his native county and at the St. 
 Lawrence Academy at Potsdam, N. Y. He taught in 
 the public schools of his county for several years, but 
 
 Geo. W. Peck. 
 
 in 1872 went to Chicago, 111., and was employed in the 
 office of the City Railway Co., for some time, return- 
 ing to New York in 1875. Still he desired to locate 
 in the West, his inclinations being toward the railroad 
 business. He learned that a railroad was being con- 
 structed from New Madrid, Missouri, in a westerly 
 direction and went there in the fall of 1876. He soon 
 secured a position on the engineering corps who 
 were surveying the new road under Chief Engineer 
 Hon. Oscar Kochtitzky, who was also Labor Commis- 
 sioner of Missouri during Gov. Marmaduke's adminis- 
 
 IG 
 
242 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 tration. George W. Peck assisted in laying out the 
 town of Maiden and was afterward railroad and 
 land agent of the railroad company until it was 
 merged into the Cotton Belt System, when he re- 
 signed at once engaging in the grain business, and 
 to him belongs the honor of having bought and shipped 
 the first car load of grain that ever left Maiden. His 
 business has since grown until it is one of the leading 
 enterprises of his town and county. It may be said 
 that Mr. Peck handles nearly all of the surplus corn, 
 etc., raised in the north half of Dunklin County. He 
 is also engaged in the real estate business, owns sev- 
 eral fine farms, bodies of timbered land, considerable 
 town property, building lots, etc. In 1878 he was 
 married to Julia A. Hopper, a native of Tennessee. 
 They have four children, Wilbur, now a young man 
 and a student of Searcy College, Arkansas, Elmer, 
 Irene and Chester. Mr. Peck is in politics a Republi- 
 can and was the nominee of that party for Repre- 
 sentative of this county in 1892. He is at present 
 Worshipful Master of the Masonic Lodge of Maiden, 
 President of the Board of Trustees of the Maiden 
 Public School, has been a member of the City Council 
 for twelve years and is Mayor of his city. He is one 
 of those men whom Democrats say have but one fault, 
 that of voting the Republican ticket. Nevertheless 
 Maiden is as proud of George W. Peck as any man 
 it has. 
 
 Hon. D. C. Pollock was born in Obine County, 
 Tenn., June 18, 1839. Was reared from four years of 
 
HISTORY OF DUNiCLlN COUNTY, MO. 243 
 
 age in Lake County, Tenn.,antl when the war came on, 
 went in the army with the Madrid Bend Guards, and 
 was attached to the 15th Tennessee Regiment under 
 Col. Counol. In 1872 he came to the State of 
 Missouri and resided in New Madrid County for about 
 ten years, then came to Dunklin County. He was 
 educated in the common schools of Lake County 
 
 Hon. D. C. Pollock. 
 
 Tenn., and studied medicine under Dr. Theodore 
 Case. Attended lectures at Memphis, Tenn., and has 
 practiced in the medical profession twenty-three 
 years. Dr. Pollock was elected to the State Legisla- 
 ture from Dunklin County in 1894, which office he 
 is now filling. He with his family reside at the new 
 town of Cardwell. He is Democratic in politics and 
 popular among the masses of the people. 
 
 Moore M. Eayburn was born September 8, 1843, 
 in Mississippi, and is the son of Maj. W. C. and 
 Melissa J. Malone Ray burn, natives of Alabama and 
 
244 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Mississippi respectively. The parents came to Missouri 
 in 1865, and located near Clarkton, Dunklin County. 
 Maj. Rayburn was always much interested in the 
 schools, churches and public affairs of the county and 
 was surveyor for a number of years. He resided in 
 Clay County, Arkansas, from 1857 until the time of 
 
 Moore M. Rayburx. 
 
 his corainp; to this county just after the close of the 
 war. 
 
 His son, Moore M. Ray burn, grew to manhood in 
 Arkansas, and in 1862 enlisted in the Confederate 
 Army, in Col. Hart's regiment of Arkansas Infantry, 
 and served until the close of the war. He was in the 
 battles of Pleasant Grove, Mansfield, and Pleasant Hill. 
 At the close of the war he returned home and came to 
 this county with his parents. 
 
 He has held the office of Sheriff and Collector of 
 Dunklin County four years, since which time he has 
 devoted himself to farming and stock-raising. In 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 245 
 
 1866 he married Fannie Ake, who died in 1882, having 
 become the mother of six children. 
 
 In 1882 he married Miss L. E. Giles, by whom he 
 also has several children. 
 
 Mr. Kayburn is a member of the Masonic fraternity 
 and of the I. O. O. F. and is a well-known and much 
 respected citizen. 
 
 F. Joe Rice. 
 
 F. Joe Kice, Collector of Dunklin County, is a 
 native of this county, born December 3, 1859. He is 
 the son of Hon. David Rice of this county and was 
 educated in the common schools of Dunklin County 
 and at the Southeast Normal of Cape Girardeau. 
 Married Miss Minnie L. Fleer, of Franklin County, 
 Missouri, on Nov. 5, 1882. She died June 23, 1884, 
 having become the mother of one.child, who died in 
 infancy. August, 1895, he married Miss Katie Fleer. 
 To this marriage two children have been born, Vessie, 
 August 2, 1891, and Hubert M., born June 4, 1884. 
 
246 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Mr. Rice taught school for a few years, but was elected 
 to the office of Treasurer of Dunklin County in 1884. 
 In 1886 he was elected to the Legislature and in 1894 
 to the office of Collector. His political career has at- 
 tracted more attention than any other man's in the 
 history of the county, and he makes staunch friends 
 and bitter enemies. He is a Democrat in politics, and 
 both he and Mrs. Rice are members of the M. E. C. S. 
 
 Hon. David Rice was born in Henry County, Ten- 
 nessee, March 20, 1837. His parents, James P. and 
 Casenclaney Hearn-Rice, were of French and English 
 descent. The subject of this sketch is a pioneer of 
 Dunklin County, having arrived here February 14th, 
 1853. He located northwest of Campbell, Missouri, 
 where he married Jane Himmel, a native of Tennessee, 
 May 6th, 1856. They have never lost a child by 
 death but all of their children, live in number, are liv- 
 ing and residing in this county. Their only daughter, 
 Luretta, is the wife of John B. Cook, a merchant of 
 Kennett; their sons are F.Joe, who has represented this 
 county in the Legislature and is now Collector of same, 
 NedN., a merchant of Kennett, and Van B. and 
 Jimmer E., who are both prominent farmers. Mr. 
 Rice has resided near Vincit for many years and has 
 devoted most of his life to farming and stock raising. 
 He owns 165 acres of good land, with large orchard, 
 good house and outbuildings. Mr. Rice has also 
 quite an extensive record in public life. In 1860 he 
 was elected to the office of Assessor and served until 
 the breaking out of the Civil War. From 1872 to 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 247 
 
 1876 he was Public Administrator, and in 1876 was 
 elected to represent this county in the State Legisla- 
 ture. He is a Democrat in politics. 
 
 N. N. Rice was born September 1, 1867, in Inde- 
 pendence Township, on the Old Rice farm, seven miles 
 south of Kennett, Dunklin County, Mo. Here he 
 
 Hon. David Rice. 
 
 N. N. Rice. 
 
 grew to manhood, laboring on the farm and enjoying 
 the privilege of the country school only, until 1885, 
 when he attended the Southeast Normal School at 
 Cape Girardeau, Mo. He returned to this school in 
 1887, but soon decided to take a business course 
 instead of the course at the Normal. He entered the 
 Central Business College at Sedalia, Mo., and on 
 completing the course returned home and began work 
 as salesman for T. E. Baldwin & Co. of Kennett. 
 In 1889 he commenced business for himself at Vincit, 
 
248 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Mo., and in 1891 moved his mercantile business to 
 Kennett. The firm of N. N. Kice & Co. deal in 
 fancy and staple groceries, farm machinery, hard- 
 ware, stoves, tinware and sporting goods. They are 
 also large shippers of fish, game, poultry, egg^, etc. 
 N. N. Rice was married August, 1890, to Dora 
 Beidlee, of Rector, Arkansas. Their son Bland is two 
 years of age. Mr. Rice is Democratic in politics. 
 
 Pascal Rice is, excepting Mrs. V. Horner, the oldest 
 citizen in the county. Mr. Rice is in years older than 
 Mrs. Horner. But his father, Abija Rice, did not 
 bring his son when he first came into the county with 
 Mr. Braunm, but later in the same year, 1830, so they 
 have been in the county about sixty-five years. Mr. 
 Rice thinks he was born in 1818, and is therefore 
 about seventy-seven years of age. He has been to 
 Indian war dances and was well acquainted with Chil- 
 letacaux, Cornmeal, Moonshine, Chickolee and many 
 other Indians who used to live in this county. He 
 also resides near Hornersville. 
 
 Louis Riggs, of the firm of L. Riggs & Co. , hardware, 
 Kennett, Missouri, was born May 18, 1862, in Fred- 
 ericktown. Mo. He is the son of A. and Fannie E. 
 Gabriel-Riggs, natives of Indiana and North Carolina, 
 respectively. They were, however, early settlers of 
 Fredericktown, Mo., and Mr. Riggs was, until his 
 death on August 26, 1882, proprietor of the A. Riggs 
 hardware store of that place. On the death of his 
 father L. Ris^gs took charge of the business. He ran 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 249 
 
 the same in Fredericktown until March, 1892, when 
 the blight prospects of Kennett, Mo., tempted him to 
 remove to that phice and establish the present firm of L. 
 Riggs & Co., hardware dealers. Mr. Riggs has identi- 
 fied himself with the people of this county by bringing 
 his mother and sister, Miss Hattie, to Kennett to reside, 
 and by marrying a Dunklin County girl. Miss Anna 
 L. Jones, of Nesbit, on September 19, 1895. 
 
 Both Mr. Riggs and his partner in business, Mr. 
 Charles Lanpher, have proved themselves to be enter- 
 prising business men, and are always ready to do 
 anything or assist any enterprise that will stimulate 
 the growth of their adopted town, and are the kind of 
 young men that Dunklin County likes to Avelcome. 
 
 Thomas B. Reeves, born February 26, 1819, is the 
 son of William T. and Michal (Hoskins) Reeves, 
 natives of Virginia. T. B. Reeves, the subject of this 
 sketch, was married to Miss Louisa E. Ford, a native 
 of Tennessee, in 1848. Mr. and Mrs. Reeves came 
 to Dunklin County in 1859, and located at Clarkton, 
 but in 1880 they settled in Maiden, where they now 
 reside. 
 
 Their oldest child, Michal E., born June 28, 1849, 
 married James M. Corder, and died February 8, 
 1876, leaving three children, Mattie B. (Mrs. Utley), 
 Nannie C. (Mrs. Hampton), and Luther E. 
 
 The first son, William Wilson, born January 18, 
 1851, married Rachel E. Nunley, and William Timothy 
 and Walter G. are the children of this marriage, now 
 living.. His first wife having died, Mr. W. W. Reevea 
 
250 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 married Belle Marshall, who has become the mother 
 of Decatur F., Michal E., Leonard L., Jennie C, 
 Fred, and one infant. 
 
 Lou A., second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. B. 
 Reeves, was born September 18, 1853, and married 
 John W. Stephens. By this marriage she has one son, 
 
 T. B. Reeves and Wife. 
 
 Herbert N., who married Belle Kedy, and now resides 
 in Maiden. 
 
 Mrs. Stephens lost by death Elizabeth E., born 
 June 3, 1872, Lara M., born December 26, 1873, 
 and William T., born February 1, 1875. But the 
 fifth child is a bright young miss in Minnie L 
 Stephens. 
 
 After the death of her first husband, Mrs. Stephens 
 married Charles F. Moore (see sketch elsewhere) and 
 their two sons, Edgar A., born December 18, 1883, 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 251 
 
 and Arlhur B., born October 20, 1887, are both 
 deceased. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. T. B. Reeves have two sons dead. 
 Thomas P., born February 2, 1856, and Luther E., 
 born February 6, 1858; John H., born November 8, 
 1860, and James L., born September 13, 1863. 
 With William W. are now living in Texas John H., 
 married Mary E. Twittie and became the father of 
 Wilbur B. Raymond, Ola E. Hurburt, and one infant, 
 James L. married Alice E. Wood and their children 
 are Lola P. and Joe Amous. 
 
 The pictures accompanying this sketch represent the 
 faces of a couple who have lived in Dunklin County 
 for nearly forty years and who have thirty-one grand- 
 children and thirteen great-grandchildren. 
 
 They are both consistent members of the Baptist 
 Church. 
 
 Uncle Tommie,ashe is affectionately called, owned 
 and occupied one of the first business houses in Maiden 
 but has been principally a farmer. He and his son 
 W. W. are both charter members of Cotton Hill 
 Lodge, I. O. O. F. 
 
 Mr. Reeves and all of his sons are Democrats in 
 politics. 
 
 Major Willie Ray and wife, Dunklin County's 
 little people, are known all over the county. Major 
 Ray as the Missouri Midget. He was born in Perry 
 County, Tennessee, April 22, 1860, and is the son of 
 J. M. Ray and Mary (Wade) Ray, both natives of 
 Tennessee. The parents, who were ordinary-sized 
 
252 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 people, removed to Dunklin County, Missouri, January 
 1, 1870. The Major was educated in the common 
 schools of this county, and was first exhibited as a 
 midget in 1881. 
 
 In 1886 he made his first enojagement with Sells 
 Brothers' show, and has traveled with them every 
 
 -•5s.-:e-&,5«S ■%»;- r ■i^i.^'- :Si^.J^.-.f ~t i.- > „* vv. 
 
 Major and Mrs. Ray. 
 
 season since. Married in Yates Center, Kansas, to 
 Miss Jennie Meadows, February 6, 1891. 
 
 Their home is near Caldwell, Dunklin County, 
 Missouri, where they own 160 acres of fine land which 
 is being rapidly converted into a beautiful home. 
 Major Ray is a member of the I. O. O. F. and Bap- 
 tist Church. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 253 
 
 Mrs. Jennie Meadows-Ray is a native of Franklin 
 County, Illinois. Born March 16, 1871, and is the 
 eldest child of L. F. Meadows and J. C. (Kaar) 
 Meadows, both natives of Tennessee, but married and 
 reared in Franklin County, Illinois. They removed 
 to Woodson County, Kansas, in 1885. Since her 
 marriage Mrs. Ray has traveled regularly with Sells 
 Brothers' show ; is a member of the Rebekah degree 
 of I. O. O. F. and M. E. C. S. The little lady is 37 1-2 
 inches high, weighs 38 pounds, and is 28 inches bust, 
 and 16 inches waist measurement. She wears a shoe 
 the size of a child's No. 7 and a number four glove. 
 
 The Major is purely honorary, but is never omitted 
 from the little man's name. He is 36 inches high, 
 weighs 38 pounds and his shoe is one size larger 
 than his wife's. Major Ray and wife are the smallest 
 married people in the world, and are the shortest, best 
 formed, and intelligent midgets exhibited in either 
 America or the Eastern Continent. 
 
 William R. Satterfield, of the firm of Baird, 
 Satterfield &> Co., Senath, is a native of this county 
 and the son of Wm. M. and Hattie F. Douglas 
 Satterfield. William R. Satterfield is an out-and-out 
 Dunklin County man, having attained his growth 
 and most of his education in this county. In 
 1894, he took a partnership in the above mentioned 
 firm and is at present a promising young busi- 
 ness man. The father, William M. Satterfield, was 
 the founder of Caruth post-village in this county and 
 was born January 19, 1833, in Kent County, Del. 
 
254 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Mr. Satterfield was principally reared in Mercer 
 County, Penn., but completed his education in the 
 common schools and Arcadia College of his native 
 county and State. He came to this county and en- 
 gaged in the mercantile business at Hornersville as 
 early as 1857. In 1860, he was married to Melinda 
 Horner, a native of Dunklin County. This wife died 
 October 14, 1862. At the beginnino: of the Civil 
 War, Mr. Satterfield enlisted in the Confederate 
 Army, First Missouri State Guards, under Col. 
 Walker, and in the Second Missouri Cavalry Regi- 
 ment, serving until the close of the war. He was 
 paroled at Memphis and returned to this county 
 in the fall of 1865. His marriage to Hattie F. 
 Douglass, daughter of A. T. and Elizabeth Mott- 
 Douglass, took place on January 7, 1866. Wm. R., 
 and Jennie and Maggie (twins) are the children of this 
 marriage living. In 1870 Mr. Satterfield engaged in 
 the ginning business and was also in the mercantile 
 business at Cotton Plant for several years. In 1881 
 he removed to Caruth and continued in the mercantile 
 business as has been stated in the sketch on that post- 
 village. He operated a cotton seed huller, gin, general 
 store and was postmaster at that place. 
 
 He was a man who took great interest in the public 
 schools and in the general advancement of the county. 
 He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and Mrs. 
 Satterfield, who resides in Cape Girardeau, Mo., is a 
 consistent member of the Missionary Baptist Church. 
 Wm. R. Satterfield is like his father was during his 
 life, a Democrat in politics. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 255 
 
 T. C. Stokes, merchant, of Maiden, Mo., was born 
 in Cape Girardeau County, Mo., August 9, 1847, and 
 is the son of John H. and Lucretia (Childs) Stokes, 
 who were born in Ireland and Massachusetts respec- 
 tively ; they came to Missouri in an early day and 
 located in Cape Girardeau County. 
 
 The father was one of the early merchants of Cape 
 Girardeau and removed to Dunklin County in 1861 
 and followed farming and merchandising until his 
 death in 1876. He was judge of the Clarkton Com- 
 mon Pleas and Probate Court for several years. 
 
 T. C. Stokes, the subject of this sketch, grew to 
 manhood in Cape Girardeau County, and was educated 
 in the schools of Cape Girardeau City. 
 
 He was one of the early merchants of Clarkton and 
 has followed the mercantile business almost con- 
 tinuously since 1872. 
 
 Mr. Stokes removed his mercantile business to 
 Maiden, Mo., several years ago, and is now one of the 
 most successful merchants of that town. 
 
 The firm name is T. C. Stokes & Co., and includes 
 some of the younger members of the Stokes family. 
 This firm carries a splendid line of the best general 
 merchandise, and occupies one of the finest buildings 
 in Maiden. 
 
 The gentlemen of the Stokes family are among 
 the best known and most successful business men in 
 this county. 
 
 Mr. Stokes was united in marriage to Miss Melissa 
 Rayburn in September, 1868. She was a daughter of 
 Maj. W. C. Rayburn (deceased). 
 
256 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 SFie bore him two children, Roxie Rayburn and 
 Alma (see sketch) and died March, 1872. 
 
 In 1878, Mr. Stokes married his present wife, a 
 Miss Virginia Coggashall, a native of Louisiana, who 
 has also become the mother of several children. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stokes are members of the Cumber- 
 land Presbyterian Church. Mr. Stokes is in politics a 
 Democrat and is a member of the I. O. O. F. and 
 Masonic fraternities. 
 
 W. F. Shelton, senior member of the firm of W. 
 F. Shelton, Jr. & Co., Kennett, Mo., was born June 
 4, 1838, in Perry County, Mo. He is the son of 
 Enoch and Tabitha Brown-Shelton, natives of North 
 Carolina. 
 
 The parents were early settlers of Tennessee, but 
 removed from that State to Cape Girardeau, Mo., in 
 1843, and came on to Dunklin County in 1846, where 
 he died two years later. William F. Shelton, the sub- 
 ject of this sketch, was reared in Dunklin County, re- 
 ceived only a common school education and worked 
 on the farm until he attained to the years of maturity. 
 
 In 1861, when Gov. Jackson called for State troops, 
 he enlisted in the militia and served six months in 
 the State Guards. 
 
 He then farmed for a short time and run a small 
 business at Hornersville, and about 1865 begun 
 merchandising at Kennett, Mo., where he has since 
 remained, his business growing with the town and 
 county. 
 
 He is the oldest merchant in Kennett and in Dunklin 
 
History op dunklin county, mo. 257 
 
 County and is consideied the wealthiest man ; he is, 
 however, a man of small pretensions and makes no 
 display of wealth about his home or person. But his 
 business house in Kennett is one of the best in South- 
 east Missouri and his stock of general merchandise is 
 large and complete. 
 
 The Shelton firm has always done an extensive bus- 
 iness in Kennett, but the fall of 1895 has been the 
 busiest season for many years. W. F. Shelton, Jr. 
 & Co., buy all kinds of produce and usually ship from 
 800 to 3,000 bales of cotton each season ; this is, 
 however, only a liberal portion of Dunklin County 
 crop, which runs from 6,000 to 20,000 bales per season. 
 Mr. Shelton has since reaching manhood been prom- 
 inently connected with the financial, political and pub- 
 lic affairs of the county. He held the office of 
 Treasurer of Dunklin County for a period of eight 
 years. 
 
 He is a self-made man, started in business with a 
 small capital and a limited education and with no 
 better opportunities to make a fortune than other early 
 settlers of this county, but being an energetic business 
 man and a shrewd financier he has been exceptionally 
 successful. His orphan nephews, W. Frank and Lee 
 Shelton, whom he has reared and educated, are pre- 
 sumably tlie other members of the firm. They are 
 young men of promise and business ability. 
 
 Mr. Shelton has never married and he has for years 
 had Mr. and Mrs. Witham and amiable daughters, 
 Miss Mary and Laura, as managers of his home. He 
 is a Democrat and leader in political affairs and is the 
 
 17 
 
258 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 chairman of the Democratic Central Committee of 
 Dunklin County. 
 
 James F. Smyth, Treasurer of Dunklin County, was 
 born March 22, 1864, in Dunklin County, Mo. The 
 parents, James A. Smyth and L. Minerva Jones, were 
 married in Dunklin County in 1856, but were both 
 
 James F. Smyth. 
 
 born and reared in Tennessee. The father came to 
 Dunklin County when quite a young man entered land 
 and farmed in summer and hunted during the winter 
 months. 
 
 He hunted about twenty-seven winters and often 
 made as high as $700 or $800 in one season. In 1876, 
 Mr. Smyth moved to Piedmont, Wayne County, Mo., 
 to educate his children, and there died May 6, 1877. 
 The family remained there until January 12, 1878, 
 when they returned to Dunklin County where the 
 mother died August 10, 1887. James F. Smyth 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 259 
 
 grew to manhood in this county and received u good 
 education in the common schools and in the Piedmont 
 High School. He remained with his mother on the 
 farm near Cotton Plant until he reached his majority, 
 when he took a position in the store of Judge Langdon 
 at Cotton Plant. In 1886, he and his brother-in-law, 
 W. J. Davis, formed a partnership under the firm 
 name of Davis & Smyth and did a general mercantile 
 business at Hornersville for a few years. He subse- 
 quently sold out his interest to his partner and later 
 opened a general store at Nesbit, this county, and in 
 1895 removed this to Caruthersville, Mo., where W. J. 
 Davis is now manager of same. 
 
 At the general election in 1894 Mr. Smyth was 
 elected to the office of Treasurer of Dunklin County; 
 he soon afterwards removed to Kennett, where he now 
 resides. 
 
 In September, 1887, he was married to Miss Kate 
 Argo, a native of Tennessee, but a resident of Texas 
 from 1880 until 1886, when she removed to Dunklin 
 County. 
 
 To this union have been born four children: Eddie 
 Argo, Maud, Roger Q. and Ruth. Mrs. Smyth is a 
 member of the Baptist Church and Mr. Smyth is a 
 Democrat in politics and a member of the I. O. O. F. 
 
 C. B. ScHULTZ, an early merchant of Hornersville, 
 was born in 1827, in Weekly County, Tennessee, 
 and was the son of David Weekly and Mary McClane- 
 Schullz, natives of the above-mentioned State. C. B. 
 Schullz, the subject of this sketch, came to Dunklin 
 
2^0- HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 County about 1835, and located with his father's 
 family near Hornersville. 
 
 In 1852 he married Miss Mary Duneway, of French 
 descent, and a native of New Madrid County, Missouri. 
 She bore him four children, Margaret, John Linamood, 
 Mary, and one infant, all deceased, and Mrs. Schultz 
 ako died in 1861. In 1862, Mr. Schultz took for a 
 
 C. B. Schultz. 
 
 second companion, Mrs. Amanda E. Diineway-Horner, 
 a sister of the first wife, and a native of same county 
 and State. The children of C. B. and Amanda 
 Schultz are, Joe Shelby (deceased), Sidney A. (Mrs. 
 Clem Edmonston), Bedford E. (deceased), Hettie 
 (deceased), Mary E. (deceased), Emma Ida (Mrs. 
 James Wilford), and Ella (Mrs. Jordan of Kennett). 
 Mrs. Schultz reared one child by her first marriage, 
 Elniira Horner (Mrs. Benn Vardell), who, by the 
 expressed wish of Mr. Schultz, shares equally in his 
 estate with his owu children. 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 261 
 
 Mr. Schultz was in some things a very remarkable 
 man, being reared in this county when schools and 
 educational advantages were very meager indeed, 
 and when he reached young manhood he could neither 
 read nor write and did not know one letter from an- 
 other. Nothing daunted, however, he formed a part- 
 nership with W. M. Harkey under the firm name of 
 Harkey & Schultz, which was in a few years one of the 
 leading and wealthiest firms in the county. 
 
 By close application he soon learned to write his 
 name and to look after the financial affairs of the firm, 
 and while Mr. Harkey was the salesman Mr. Schultz 
 was the financial manager. After the dissolution of this 
 firm Mr. Schultz ran a business in his own name and 
 alone, which continued to gain in finance and popu- 
 larity until his death in 1883. His estate was at that 
 time worth something over $100,000. He was a man 
 who always stood by a friend and openly opposed an 
 enemy and while he was not a member of any church 
 he was a good man in his own w^ay and a staunch Dem- 
 ocrat in politics. 
 
 Mrs. Schultz was a member of the M. E. C. S. and 
 her death occurred in Kennett, in the year 1894. 
 
 . James F. Tatum, of the firm of Tatum Bros., 
 .Kennett, Mo., was born January 5, 1850, in Howard 
 County, Missouri, and is the son of A. C. and Susan 
 Franklin-Tatum, natives of Virginia and Kentucky, 
 but early settlers of Howard County, Mo. James F. 
 Tatum was reared on a farm and educated in the 
 common schools of Howard County, where he lived 
 
262 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COLNTY, MO. 
 
 until after he had attained his majority. He soon after- 
 wards came to Dunklin County and the present firm of 
 which he is the senior member was established in 
 1883. 
 
 The way this firm has grown in its business and its 
 immense sales this past fall and winter of 1895-96, 
 is sufficient evidence of the ability and integrity of 
 
 James F. Tatum. 
 
 its members, having sold mure goods in the past 
 six months than ever before in a like period of time. 
 This firm keeps on hand a fresh well-selected line of 
 general merchandise, including the newest styles of 
 fancy and staple dry goods, clothing, boots, shoes, 
 hats, caps, groceries, farm implements and in fact 
 almost everything wanted by either the farmer or 
 townsman. Their store is as nice as any to be 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 263 
 
 found outside of a city, in fact the Tatum Block would . 
 be an honor to any town of 10,000 inhabitants. 
 
 James F. Tatum was united in marriage to Miss 
 Lillie Braggs, June 27, 1877. She is a daughter of 
 Capt. William G. Braggs (deceased), who was an 
 early settler of this county. Mrs. Tatum is one of the 
 early leaders in the society of Kennett and a worker in 
 the Ladies Christian Aid and other societies. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Tatum have six children : Richard, Frank, 
 Ira, John, Susie and Burnie, and one of the nicest 
 homes in Kennett. Mr. Tatum is a member of the 
 I. O. O. F. and Masonic fraternities and Mrs. Tatum 
 is a member of the Christian Church. In politics Mr. 
 Tatum is a Democrat and wields considerable influence 
 for his political favorites. He is undoubtedly one of 
 the shrewdest business men in Dunklin County. 
 
 L. P. Tatum, of the firm of Tatum Bros., Kennett, 
 Mo., was born January 3, 1863, in Howard Countjs 
 Mo. He is the son of A. C. and Susan Franklin- 
 Tatum, natives of Virginia and Kentucky respectively. 
 The father grew to manhood in his native State, but 
 emigrated to Missouri when a young man, where he 
 found and wedded the lady of his choice, who had 
 preceded him several years, her parents being early 
 settlers of Howard County. Mr. and Mrs. Tatum 
 purchased land and located near Fayette, where they 
 reared their family. 
 
 L. P. Tatum came to Dunklin County when scarcely 
 more than a lad and for a short time did business on 
 his own account, but in 1883 the present firm of 
 
264 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO; 
 
 Tatuin Bros., general merchants, was established, 
 since which time their business has steadily grown 
 with the town and county until they now own one of 
 the best business houses and run one of the largest 
 and finest general stores in Dunklin County. 
 
 L. P. Tatum and Wife. 
 
 L. P. Tatum was married in September, 1893, to 
 Miss Sallie M. Baldwin, daughter of Judge T. E. and 
 Mary E. Pankey-Baldwin, of Kennett, Mo. Mrs. 
 Tatum was born, reared and educated in Dunklin 
 County, with the exception of the finishing course 
 from the Synod ical Female College, Fulton, Mo. As 
 Miss Sallie Baldwin she was a leading belle of 
 Kennett, and she has lost none of her attractions as 
 Mrs. Tatum. 
 
 J. P. Tribble, attorney at law, Kennett, Mo., was 
 born in Oregon County, Missouri, on February 1, 
 1^63. Educated in common schools and Alton 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 265 
 
 Academy. Was admitted to the bar February 28, 
 1884, in his native county and removed to Dunklin 
 County in 1887, where he has since been engaged in 
 the practice of hiw. He has never held nor asked for 
 any office but has for several years been Clerk of the 
 Probate Court. Real estate law is his specialty. He 
 is a member of Pioneer Lodge No. 165, I. O. O. F., 
 and a charter member of the Dunklin Encampment at 
 Kennett. Married February 16, 1888, to Miss Annie 
 Blackvvell of Mill Springs, Mo. They now have two 
 children. Mrs. Tribble is a member of Helena Lodge 
 No. 37, Daughters of Rebekah, I. O. O.F.,and of the 
 Missionary Baptist Church. 
 
 John Turner, pioneer blacksmith of this county, 
 was born September 1, 1835, in Perry County, Ten- 
 nessee. He is the son of Samuel and Jeriicia Champ- 
 Turner. He came to this county in 1850, and was 
 married June 28, 1855,to Adaline S. Jones, daughter of 
 Joseph and Phoebe Sanders-Jones, natives of Virginia 
 and Tennessee, but pioneers of Dunklin County, 
 coming here and locating on Grand Prairie, in 1854. 
 Adaline S. Jones-Turner is a native of Tennessee, born 
 July 14, 1836. 
 
 After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Turner lived on 
 Horse Island for a few years, when they purchased and 
 settled on their present home near Nesbit post-office. 
 '* Uncle John Turner," as he is familiarly called, is the 
 oldest blacksmith of pioneer days living in the county. 
 
 During a residence of forty-five years in Dunklin 
 County he has been almost constantly in his smithy 
 
266 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 near his residence, and although he is sixty years of 
 age he may be seen almost every day, still hard at 
 work. While ho is past the necessity of such labor he 
 yet continues it, and Aunt Adaline is equally vigilant 
 in her labors. They have presented each of their 
 children with eighty acres of good land and re- 
 
 JonN Turner and Wife. 
 
 tained a home for themselves. Seven children have 
 been born to them, Mary E., deceased, William T., 
 Martha A., Mrs. Burns, Louisa S., Mrs. Kidge, Fran- 
 ces L., Mrs. Barham, Sarah D., Mrs. Joe Hutchins, 
 and Minnie B., deceased. They have eighteen grand- 
 children living and have lost eight by death. 
 
 Besides his work in the shop Mr. Turner has done 
 much work on the farm in the regular sowing and 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 267 
 
 harvesting of crops and also in clearing his farms of 
 heavy timber. Their home is one of the finest around 
 Nesbit, Mrs. Turner's yard and orchard are noted for 
 lovely flowers and luscious fruits, of which she is espe- 
 cially fond. She is an old-fashioned house and home- 
 keeper and can weave anything, from a pair of sus- 
 penders to a bed blanket or '* Rising Sun " coverlet, 
 but has not made any cloth for a number of years. 
 
 Mr. Turner is a Democrat in politics and Mrs. Tur- 
 ner is of the Baptist faith. 
 
 Hon. James Peter Walker was born in Lauder- 
 dale County, Tennessee, on March 14th, 1851. His 
 death occurred at 2 o'clock, Saturday, July 19, 1890, 
 at his home in Dexter, Missouri. May 12th, 1875, he 
 married Miss Eva M. Bragg, daughter of Captain W. 
 G. Bragg of Kennett, Missouri. She is a native of 
 Missouri and practically a Dunklin County lady, for-she 
 came here when a small child and was reared prin- 
 cipally, educated and married, in this county. She 
 survives her late husband, has returned to her old 
 childhood home in Kennett, Mo., and is certainly a 
 most estimable lady. She is, as was also her husband, 
 a member of the M. E. C. S. Mr, Walker was a 
 Democrat in politics. It will be noticed that Hon. 
 James P. Walker was neither a native of this county 
 nor a resident of it at the time of his death, and yet 
 it is highly fitting that a mention of him should be 
 made in this attempt of a history of Dunklin County. 
 
 He came to this county when but sixteen years of 
 age and worked manfully and laboriously for the 
 
268 
 
 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 support of his mother and young sister. Before he 
 was eighteen years of age he had established himself 
 in the general mercantile business at Kennett. 
 He resided here several years, married a Dunklin 
 County girl and at the time of his death was a mem* 
 ber of the House of Kepresentatives from this, the 
 Fourteenth Conofressional District of Missouri. Dun- 
 
 HoN. James P, Walker and Wife. 
 
 klin County claimed him as her own. This is not a 
 wonder, for any county might be and would he proud 
 to claim a man like James P. Walker. 
 
 His almost tragic death was a sad blow to the people 
 of Dunklin County, for on the very day and almost at 
 the very hour on which the Democratic convention of 
 this county met and instructed its delegates to go to 
 the Congressional Convention at Poplar Bluff, Missouri, 
 and vote for James P. Walker as Dunklin County's 
 choice for the nomination preceding the election, and 
 to do all in their power to re-elect Mr. Walker to the 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 269 
 
 position which he then held ; at a time when the masses 
 of the people of this coanty were ready to go into roar- 
 ing applause at the slightest mention of their favorite, 
 a dispatch benumbed them like a current of electri- 
 city, by announcing the death of the man who was the 
 best loved by Dunklin County of any man who ever 
 represented it in the House of Representatives. 
 
 The many sincere and beautiful eulogies passed 
 upon Mr. Walker by Hon. J. J. Russell at the Poplar 
 Bluff convention just after his death, and by his for- 
 mer colleagues in the second session of the Fifty-tirst 
 Congress in Washington, D. C, simply voice the 
 sentiments of the people of this county, and in fact 
 all who knew him. 
 
 I give here a few extracts from the memorial 
 address on Mr. Walker's life and character delivered 
 in the House of Representatives, January 10, 1891. 
 
 Mr. Whitelaw, of Missouri, said : — 
 
 <*It may properly be said of him that, by his own 
 indomitable pluck and energy he transformed him- 
 self from a poor plowboy in the cornfield, from a 
 hewer of wood and a drawer of water, to the highest 
 political position within the gift of his people. 
 
 *' At the age of fourteen he secured a position in a 
 country store in Tennessee, where by hard labor and 
 rigid economy he earned a living for himself and 
 assisted in supporting a widowed mother and young 
 sisters. In 1867 he moved to Missouri, taking his 
 mother and family with him and settled near Kennett, 
 in Dunklin County. He cleared land and worked in 
 the fields the first year after moving to Missouri ; but 
 seeing a good opening for a general store at Kennett, 
 and having the assistance of his former employer in 
 
270 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Tennessee he established himself in business at that 
 place. 
 
 *< From this small beginning, Mr. Walker in the 
 course of a few years gradually advanced in his 
 business until he became a large dealer in grain, in 
 which he was interested at the time of his death. 
 
 *• In 1880 he was elected a delegate to the Cincinnati 
 convention. In 1888 he was elected a member of the 
 State Democratic Committee. In 1884 Mr. Walker 
 became a candidate for Congress, and was defeated 
 for the nomination by Hon. William Dawson after two 
 conventions had been held and hundreds of ballots 
 taken. 
 
 ** In 1886 he again became a candidate, received 
 the nomination, and was elected at the polls by an 
 overwhelming majority. 
 
 *'In 1888 he was honored by the people of his district 
 by being renominated without opposition and re- 
 elected by an increased majority. 
 
 *' No better eulogy could be passed upon him than 
 the resolutions of respect adopted by the citizens of 
 his own city. Dexter, Mo., in which it was said : 
 
 '* * The life of James P. Walker is a fit commentary 
 on our Government and its possibilities in developing 
 men ; and in the purity of his character, in determi- 
 nation of purpose, in his fidelity to every duty, every 
 trust, every friend, his example is commended to the 
 youths of our land. Without the allurements of 
 wealth, or the training of college, without friends in 
 high places to lift him up, he rose by the strength in 
 his own manhood, the energy of his own purpose, in 
 the moral rectitude of his own life to the highest 
 political honors. 
 
 ** ' Twice called to represent his people in the Halls 
 of Congress, he was still one of the people, loved and 
 honored by them, and ever faithful to the trust reposed 
 in him/ '* 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 271 
 
 Mr. Vest, of Missouri, said: — 
 
 ** In public life he followed great principles, and 
 was not an importunate mendicant for popular 
 applause. He fell like a stricken soldier on the field, 
 his banner full hisfh advanced and his face to the foe." 
 
 o 
 
 Judge James M. Waltrip was born December 28, 
 1837, in Daviess County, Kentucky, and is the son of 
 James and Martha (Biven) Waltrip, natives of the 
 above mentioned State. The father was a farmer and 
 also held the office of justice of the peace in Daviess 
 County, Ky., for sixteen consecutive years; his death 
 occurred in 1871. When a lad of nineteen years 
 James M. Waltrip came to Dunklin County with his 
 Uncle, Stephen P. Waltrip, landing where the town 
 of Clarkton now stands, November 13, 1856. For 
 three years he worked with his uncle, and helped 
 make some of the first brick ever made in this county. 
 In 1859 he accepted a position as clerk in the general 
 store of John H. Stokes. The store stood on the 
 present site of Clarkton, but it appears that the little 
 post-office was first known as Bach, then Beech Grove, 
 and after the pole road was built was given the name 
 of Clarkton. (See photo, p. 282.) 
 
 On the breaking out of the Civil War all the stores 
 were necessarily closed, thus ending his clerkship. 
 Judge Waltrip has been three times married. First 
 on August 5, 1860, to Miss Lucy K. White, daughter 
 of the late E. C. White, of this county ; Mrs. Waltrip 
 was a native of Obine County, Tenn. ; she died in 1865, 
 leaving three daughters : Mollie (Mrs. Penny), Augusta 
 
271 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 (Mrs. C. p. Hawkins). March 26, 1866, Judge Wal- 
 trip took for a second companion Pjiscilla. A. Kirk- 
 patrick, daugiiter of John D. Kirkpatrick (deceased). 
 She was also a native of Tennessee, and became the 
 mother of the following children : John, William, Vara, 
 Henrietta, Adelia, Ray and Mamie (see pictures of 
 Vara arid Henrietta on another page). Miss Vara is 
 one of Dunklin County's promising young teachers 
 and this year holds a position in the Maiden School. 
 
 After the death of his second wife Judge Waltrip 
 was married to Mrs. Amelia Whitson, daughter of the 
 late Sylvester Young, December 11, 1892. Mrs. 
 Waltrip is one of the leaders in the society of Clarkton 
 and a most estimable lady. Judge Waltrip has quite 
 an extensive official career in this county. Shortly 
 after the Civil War he was appointed Constable 
 of Freebourn Township, and Deputy Sheriff of Dun- 
 klin County. These positions he held until 1871 , when 
 he was elected to the office of Assessor, serving in this 
 capacity two years. He also about this time engaged 
 in the mercantile business at Clarkton, but sold out in 
 1880 and moved to Arkansas, and in October of the 
 same year returned to Dunklin County. 
 
 In April, 1885, he again decided to leave.the county 
 and this time took his family to Northwest Texas. 
 He soon became dissatisfied, however, and in July of 
 the same year returned to his old home in this county 
 and again engaojed in the mercantile business, in 
 which business he is now engaged at Clarkton. He 
 keeps a full and complete line of general merchandise 
 and has a substantial and thriving business. Judge 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 273 
 
 Waltrip has been twice elected District Judge, and 
 once Presiding Judge of the County Court. He is well 
 posted on the official matters of the county and is well 
 and favorably known. both as an official and a business 
 man. He is a Democrat in politics, a member of 
 the Masonic fraternity, and the family are of the 
 Missionary Baptist faith. 
 
 Judge Thomas Waltrip. 
 
 Thomas Waltrip, present Judge of the First District 
 of Dunklin County, was born March 8, 1844, in Davis 
 County, Kentucky. He is the son of John and Eliza- 
 beth Downs-Waltrip, natives of the above mentioned 
 State. Judge Waltrip came to this county August, 
 1873, he having previously married Jane E. Harrison 
 of Kentucky, on October 25, 1866. The children of 
 this marriage now living are Dollie, Mrs. Engelhardt, 
 John T., Callie, Nannie B., and Nellie V., and they 
 lost four children by death. 
 
 18 
 
274 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Mrs. Waltrip died March 24, 1891. April 11, 1893, 
 Jadge Waltrip took for a second companion Mrs. 
 Luella Jones. Their only child, little Artie, recently 
 died, age 11 months. 
 
 He owns 160 acres of good land and has given most 
 of his time to farming interests. He was elected to his 
 present official position in November, 1894, and is 
 fillino^ same with general satisfaction. He is Demo- 
 cratic in politics, and his present wife, as was also 
 his first wife, is a consistent member of the Cumber- 
 land Presbyterian Church. 
 
 W. J. Ward, of the Ward, Shelton & Co. Steam 
 Corn Shelling Company, Kennett, Mo., was born 
 May 30, 1860 ; is a native of Tennessee, and the son 
 of Daniel and Dilla A. Catcs-Ward, of Valley Ridge, 
 Dunklin County. The parents came to Dunklin 
 County in 1874, and located near Cotton Plant, but 
 removed to the ** Eidge " about 1880, where they 
 now reside. 
 
 W. J. W^ard remained with his father until he 
 reached his majority, when he began working for 
 William Herrmann, of Nesbit, this county. December 
 2, 1883, he married Mollie L., a daughter of Mr. 
 Herrmann, and a native of Dunklin County, Mo. 
 He then located on Horse Island, near where the 
 Ward School is now situated. He purchased land 
 and opened up and improved one of the best and 
 largest farms in that part of the county, residing here 
 until January, 1892, when he removed to Kennett, 
 Mo. On removing to Kennett he engaged in the 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKI-IN COUNTY, MO. 275 
 
 lumber business. He is a wholesale and retail dealer 
 in all kinds of rough and dressed lumber, lime, hair, 
 cement and building material. He is also manaojer 
 of the Ward, Shelton & Co.'s Corn Sheller. Their 
 machinery has a capacity of 30,000 bushels per day. 
 Mr. Moore is the silent partner in the company. 
 
 W. J. Ward. 
 
 The amount of corn bought, shelled and shipped 
 from Kennett by this company is something immense, 
 and yet there are several other busy corn companies 
 in Kennett. 
 
 Mr. Ward is a very busy man, for in addition to the 
 above mentioned enterprises he deals largely in live 
 stock, pasturing and feeding on his farm east of 
 Kennett. Mr. and Mrs. Ward are the parents of five 
 little girls : Myrtle, Terah, Willie, Hattie, Nona, and 
 Kuth. Myrtle, the eldest, is quite a little pianist for 
 her age and a child of whom any parent might be 
 
276 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 proud. In politics Mr. Ward is a Democrat and he 
 has held the position of Mayor since coming to 
 Kennett, but owing to other business he resigned. 
 He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and both 
 he and wife are members of the M. E. C. S. 
 
 0^: 
 
 Mrs. Ward and her Husband, Isaac Henry. 
 
 I. H. Ward, assistant postmaster of Kennett, 
 Mo., is a native of Mississippi, but removed with his 
 parents, three sisters and one brother, to Tennessee in 
 1879. In 1880 he was married to Miss Laura Webb, 
 who is a native of Kentucky, but who came to 
 Tennessee with her parents when quite young, where 
 she grew to womanhood and received her education, 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 277 
 
 taking music as a special study. Mr. and Mrs. Ward 
 came to Dunklin County, Missouri, about 1887, first 
 locating in the north end of the county, but a little 
 later they removed to Kennett, where they have since 
 resided. Mr. Ward has been assistant postmaster at 
 Kennett under both the late Harrison and Cleveland 
 administrations, and has presumably discharged his 
 duties to the satisfaction of all, though he is a Democrat 
 in politics, and he and wife are members of the Chris- 
 tian Church. Mrs. Ward has been teaching music 
 most of the time since she was eighteen years of age, 
 and has taught almost constantly for the past eight 
 years in Dunklin County. She has been quite suc- 
 cessful in both a financial and intellectual way, for 
 although there have been many other music teachers 
 who have come and gone, Mrs. Ward is recognized as 
 the <*old reliable" pianoforte music teacher of Ken- 
 nett, and is nearly always called upon to take the 
 leading parts in musical entertainments, etc., in her 
 town. This fact and the fact that she keeps and adds 
 to her class of pupils is a sufficient guarantee of her 
 ability as a pianist. Mr. and Mrs. Ward have two 
 children, Willie, aged 15, and Lottie, aged 13 years. 
 
 W. C. Whiteaker, Presiding Judge of the County 
 Court of Dunklin County, was born April 19, 1844, 
 in Bollinger County, Mo. March, 1847, he came to 
 Dunklin County, where he received only a common 
 school education, and the educational facilities of the 
 county were in his youth somewhat limited. Septem- 
 ber 6, 1862, he enlisted in the Confederate Army, 
 
278 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 where he remained until the close of the war. He 
 then returned to Dunklin County, where he has since 
 resided. 
 
 He is by occupation a farmer, but was elected to 
 bis present official position in 1894. He resides in the 
 northwest part of this county, his post-office is, how- 
 ever, St. Francois, Arkansas. Judge Whiteaker has 
 
 Judge W. C. Whiteaker. 
 
 been three times married, first to Emma Edwards, on 
 December 13, 1866; she died February 24, 1874, 
 leaving one son, A. D. Whiteaker, born September 
 18, 1873. February 13, 1876, Judge Whiteaker took 
 for a second companion Carolina Geer, and to this 
 union was born January 25, 1878, a daughter. Flora. 
 The death of this wife occurred September 15, 1888. 
 March 16, 1892, he was again married to Louisa 
 Walker. A little daughter, Rosebud, born March 10, 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 279 
 
 1893, is the child of this marriage. Judge Whiteaker 
 is well known and is looked upon as a good, true man, 
 and he is filling his present official position in a satis- 
 factory manner. 
 
 H. T. West, of the firm of West & Bailey, Kennett, 
 Missouri, was born November 30, 1852, in Williamson 
 
 H. T. West. 
 
 County, Illinois, and is the son of N. and M. M. 
 Mulkey-West. He came to Dunklin County, Decem- 
 ber 15, 1878, and located near Kennett, having been 
 married in his native State to Polina J. lialls, on Sep- 
 tember 26, 1872. Three children were born to this 
 union. William H., a promising young man of Ken- 
 nett; Daisy (deceased), and Luella M. 
 
 The mother of these children died March 29, 1881. 
 Mr. West took for a second companion Miss R. T. 
 Greer, a native of Scott County, Missouri, and by her 
 is the father of several children, the eldest being Eosie. 
 
 The firm of West & Bailey was established in 1891, 
 
280 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 since which time it has done a thriving business. 
 They keep a fresh and nicely selected line of staple 
 and fancy groceries, confectionery, etc. 
 
 Both Mr. West and Mr. Bailey are accommodating 
 business men and Democrats in politics. Mr. and 
 Mrs. West are members of the Christian Church. 
 
 Fabius M. WiLKiNS, M. D., late of Maiden, Mo., 
 was born December 22, 1834, in Wake County, North 
 Carolina. He was the son of John and Helen Grissona- 
 Wilkins, who were also natives of North Carolina. The 
 parents moved to Weakley County, Tennessee, in 1844. 
 
 Dr. F. M. Wilkins, the subject of this sketch, grew 
 to manhood in the last named county and State and 
 commenced the study of medicine under Dr. Valney 
 Hawkins in 1853. He took his first course of lectures 
 in the medical department of the University of Nash- 
 ville, during the winter of 1856-57, and commenced 
 the practice of medicine at Union City, Tennessee, in 
 the latter part of 1857. (See photo, p. 282.) 
 
 He was a graduate of the University of Nashville, 
 taking this final course in 1859. In June of the same 
 year he removed to Dunklin County, Mo., and be- 
 came one of the most successful pioneer physicians of 
 this county. He was one of the early druggists of 
 Clarkton and later a leading druggist of Maiden. 
 
 Dr. Wilkins was a member of the Southeast Mis- 
 souri Medical Association and of the Masonic order. 
 He was a Democrat in politics and one of the first 
 members of the Christian Church of Maiden. 
 
 He was married three times, first to Martha Baird, 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 281 
 
 who died in 1873. His second wife was Tennie 
 Moore, who only lived a few years. His third wife 
 who survives him was Mary E. Scruggs. 
 
 Dr. Wilkius had poor health several years 
 before his death, which occurred in 1895. He left a 
 wife, several children and an exceedingly large 
 number of friends to mourn the loss of one of Dun- 
 klin's best and most distinguished men. 
 
 W. F. Young, M. D., Nesbit, Mo., was born May 
 8, 1861. His parents, Joseph H. and Lugenia Todd- 
 Young, were natives of Kentucky. Here their son 
 W. F. grew to manhood, receiving a good education 
 in the common schools of Kentucky and Vandalia 
 High School in Illinois. He came to Missouri in 1881 
 and married Miss Nannie Pickens of Crawford Co. 
 He early united with the M. E. C. S. and was ordained 
 a Deacon at Charlston, Mo. He was later ordained an 
 Elder and joined the St. Louis Conference, to which 
 he belonged eight years, four years of which time 
 he spent in Dunklin County, being pastor in charge 
 two years at Maiden and two years at Kennett. He 
 then located at Kennett but soon removed to Nesbit 
 and commenced the steady practice of medicine, having 
 commenced the study of same during his ministerial 
 career. Here he has continued to study under a 
 well-known physician and in three years time has 
 built up a surprisingly good practice. Dr. and Mrs. 
 Young have five children: Lucelius, Lugenia, James, 
 Paul and Ruth. Mrs. Young is also a devout member 
 of the M. E. C. S. 
 
2S2 nisTOuy or dunklin county, mo. 
 
 Dk. F. M. Wilkins. 
 
 Judge J. M. Waltrip and Wife. 
 
1. Mrs. R. II. Jones, nee Laxgdon. 
 
 2. Miss Alma F. Stokes. 
 
 3. Miss Anna Seeman. 
 
 4. Mrs. Charles Ruff, nee Helm. 
 
 5. Miss Ida Morgan. 
 
 6. Miss Mattie Smyth. 
 
284 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 A GROUP OF DUNKLIN COUNTY WOMEN. 
 
 Mrs. Dora (Keene) Arends, daughter of Mrs. 
 Annie M. Kecne, of Maiden, Mo., was born in Missis 
 sippi County, Missouri, but came to Dunklin County 
 when but three years of age. She was reared in 
 Maiden, Missouri, and was one of the prettiest and 
 most popular belles of that town. She was married 
 to Mr. Joe Arends, vice-president of the Levi Mercan- 
 tile Co., on September 3, 1895. Mrs. Arends is a 
 pleasing pianist, a graduate of the St. Vincent 
 Academy at Cape Girardeau, Mo., and a member of 
 the Catholic Church. 
 
 Mrs. ViCTORiNE (Braunm) Horner, who resides 
 one mile north of Hornersville, is the oldest citizen of 
 which this county boasts, not in point of years but 
 citizenship. She came to the county with her father 
 and mother, Michael and Angeline (Terror) Braunm in 
 1830. Mr. Braunm was an Irishman and Mrs. B. a 
 French woman ; they were married on Brushy Prairie 
 on the Mississippi River, where they were residing at 
 the time of the earthquakes of 1811-12. 
 
 Their daughter **yictorine" was about five years 
 old when they came to this county. She knows where 
 the buffalo wallows used to be and has heard them 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 285 
 
 bellow not so very far from the place where she now 
 resides ; she has also seen elk and wild cattle, and the 
 howl of the wolf she was perfectly accustomed to in 
 her younger days. Since she first came to the county 
 she has never resided even for a short period any- 
 where else, and has seen the population of the county 
 increase from three or four families to 20,000 inhabi- 
 tants. 
 
 Mrs. Horner is a sister to Tecumsy Braunm and 
 Miss Lizzie Braunm, who are both living and are well 
 known in this county. On growing to womanhood 
 Miss Victorine Braunm was married to John Z. Horner, 
 a cousin of the Mr. Horner who founded Hornersville. 
 Mrs. Horner is strong and healthy for her age and is 
 intelligent and entertaining. 
 
 She is the kind of old lady one always dreams of 
 with pipe and knitting, and has a nice suit of soft 
 grey hair and a kindly countenance. Her third son, 
 Tecumsy or «<Cumps" Horner, has never married 
 and lives at home with his mother. 
 
 Mrs. Hettie Langdon- Jones, daughter of E. J. 
 Langdon, of this county, was born at Cotton Plant, 
 Mo. She was principally reared in Dunklin County, 
 and educated in Iron County, Mo. February 16, 
 1886, she became the wife of R. H. Jones, formerly 
 editor of the *< Clipper," ** Enterprise Messenger," 
 and other papers. 
 
 Mrs. Jones is generally conceded to be the most 
 beautiful of Dunklin County ladies, and is one of the 
 leading society ladies of Kennett. 
 
286 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 Miss Ida Morgan, daughter of Collin Morgan, 
 Kennett, Mo., was born in Stoddard County, Mo., 
 but came to Dunklin County when a child. She has 
 been principally reared and educated in this county 
 and in the State Normal at Cape Girardeau, Mo. She 
 is quite pretty, one of Dunklin's brightest young lady 
 teachers, holds a first-grade State certificate and is one 
 of the teachers in the Kennett High School. 
 
 Susan Barnett-Ray was married to William Ray- 
 in Perry County, Tenn., and both were natives of 
 Tennessee. *' Aunt Susan," as she is familiarly 
 called, is one of the pioneers of this county, having 
 located near Kennett in 1850. She is one of the 
 women who picked the seeds from some of the first 
 cotton ever raised in Dunklin County, and has woven 
 much cloth in the old-fashioned way. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ray came to the " prairie " in 1853 and later bought 
 land near Nesbit, where Mr. Ray now resides. They 
 were the parents of two girls and ten boys, nine of 
 whom they reared in this county to be twenty-one 
 years of age. In their descendants they have forty 
 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, with one 
 son yet single. 
 
 Mr. Ray, who died several years ago, was a member 
 of I. O. O. F. and both he and Mrs. Ray were among 
 the first members of the Old Harkey's Chapel class of 
 the M. E. C. S. 
 
 Mrs. Fannie (Helm) Ruff is a native of Dunklin 
 County, and the daughter of W. M. Helm of this 
 
HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 287 
 
 county, »and the wife of Charles Ruff of Kennett. 
 She WHS educated at Kennett and Cape Girardeau, 
 Mo. Was quite a successful teacher before her mar- 
 riage and is one of Kennett's leading young matrons. 
 
 Miss Alma Stokes is a native of Clarkton, Dunklin 
 County, and the daughter of T. C. Stokes, of Maiden, 
 Mo. She was reared in this county and educated in 
 the E. A. Seminary, Lexington, Mo. She has been 
 one of Dunklin's successfid teachers for four years and 
 now holds a position in the Kennett High School. 
 Miss Stokes is a handsome young lady and when at 
 home is one of Maiden's belles and is also a leader 
 among Kennett's young people. 
 
 Miss Anna Seeman was born, reared and educated 
 near Cleveland, Ohio. Nearly nine years ago she came 
 West with her brothers and took up a homestead of 
 160 acres of land, just across the Missouri line in 
 Mississippi County, Arkansas, since which time she 
 has been known in Dunklin County, but has act- 
 ually been a resident of this county but two years. 
 During this time she has won for herself many friends 
 and become one of the leading belles of Kennett. 
 
 Miss Mattie Smyth is a native of Dunklin County, 
 and the daughter of James A. Smyth, a pioneer of this 
 county. She received her early education in this 
 county, and in June, 1890, graduated from the 
 ** Adair Institute," Adair, Iowa. She also holds a 
 *« C." certificate from the State Normal, Cape Girar- 
 
2S8 HISTORY OF DUNKLIN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 cleau. Mo., and a first-grade State certificate. She 
 has taught considerably in the public schools of this 
 county, but at present assists her brother James F. 
 Smyth in the treasurer's office, in Kennett. 
 
 Misses Vara and Henrietta Waltrip. 
 
 Miss Smyth is a sister of the writer and is well 
 known in her native county. 
 
TO THE HOME-SEEKER. 
 
 The people of Dunklin County are always ready to 
 welcome honest, honorable, industrious and enterpris- 
 ing citizens, whether wealthy or the reverse. If you 
 are such and desire to leave an overcrowded city or 
 county and go to a place where you can, for a reason- 
 able amount, purchase a home of your own, and in a 
 way grow up with the country — for this county is 
 yet in its youth — this is the place for you. 
 
 But if you are not honest and honorable or expect 
 to make your living without industry and enterprise, 
 you are not wanted here, as your room is more desira- 
 ble than your company. We need and want irood 
 American citizens, who will make permanent homes 
 with us. There are very few people who come here 
 who do not like our county and people — of course, 
 we have little peculiarities. 
 
 There is no Soulhern hospitality, however magnani- 
 mous, which can exceed that of the Dunklin County 
 citizen. 
 
 Our population is nearly all white. There are not 
 more than a dozen colored people in the entire county 
 outside of the towns of Kennett, Clarkton and Maiden. 
 The number in these three towns will perhaps not exceed 
 125. These are all polite and make good citizens, and 
 are treated well and fairly by our white population. 
 
 19 ( 289 ) 
 
290 
 
 IIISTOIIY OF DUNKLTN COUNTY, MO. 
 
 However, wo are not sorry that our county is very 
 noticeably scarce of colored people and tramps. 
 
 Our [)eople — least of all the writer of this 
 volume — have no desire to exaggerate the merits of 
 our county and deceive people into coming here to be 
 dissatisfied, leave and accuse us of having misrepre- 
 sented our county. The aim has been a true pen and 
 photogra[)hic picture of our county and people. Be- 
 lieving that you will be favorably impressed by both, 
 we ask you to at least pay us a visit. 
 
flAY 13 iyu2 
 

 
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