CHAPTER XV.

BLUE TOWNSHIP.

Organized May 22, 1827-At First it Included Land in what is Cass and Bates Counties-Present Boundaries and Phyiscal Features-Blue Township a Favored Locality-Names of

the Pioneers-What the Pioneers Themselves say of Early Days-The Oldest Man in the State -Additional Items-Wayne City-Lexington-New Salem Church.

Blue township was organized May 22, 1827, the order of court fixing the boundaries as follows: Commencing on the Missouri River at Prine's Ferry and running with the western boundary of Fort Osage township to the southern boundary of the county, thence west with said boundary to the southwest corner of the county, thence due north with the State line to where it crosses the main fork of Big Blue, thence with said creek to its junction with the Missouri River, thence down the middle of the main channel of the Missouri to the point of beginning." Subsequently the township has been reduced to its present geographical bounds by cutting off the counties of Cass and Bates from Jackson, and still later by the organization of the townships of Washington, Prairie and Brooking. The present boundaries of Blue township are north by the Missouri River which separates it from Clay county, east by Little Blue which separates it from the townships of Fort Osage and Sni-a-bar, north by Prairie and Brooking, and west by the townships of Brooking, Westport and Kaw, from the last two being separated by the Big Blue.

There is considerable timber, especially along the creeks and the Missouri River. The land is high and rolling, some of the bluffs along the river attaining a height above the river of over three hundred feet. Limestone quarries are abundant in all parts of the township, furnishing superior advantages for building and other purposes. Rock Creek rises southwest of Independence and flows north, emptying into the Missouri near the mouth of Big Blue. Springs of pure water issue from the hills, and water courses are abundant in every locality.

No more favored spot can be found than Blue township, especially for agricultural, stock raising, horticulture and the general requisities to a good home. The proximity to market, the excellent facilities for communication with the east and west, the fertility of the soil, the healthfulness of the surroundings, and the intelligence and moral culture of the citizens are combined in a greater degree, and exist to a more desirable extent than in any other locality in Jackson county. The Missouri Pacific, Chicago & Alton and the Narrow Gauge Railroads run through the very heart of the township, and connect Independence by the most complete arrangements with all the large cities in the State. The well cultivated farms, adorned with beautiful and costly homes, orchards, shade trees and lawns, furnish a picture perfectly grand.

Most of the history of Blue township centers in Independence, and with the origin, growth and development of that town may be found nearly all the important history of the civil township of Blue.

Many of the land owners who now reside in the country near Independence have been citizens of the town and vice versa. Independence has been the market, post-office and trading point for the farmers round about from the location of the town to the present time and the rapid growth of Kansas City does appear to retard Independence, but much unlike Westport it has continued to successfully compete with other business centers in the vicinity and hold its

share of trade. To the old and prominent citizens in the vicinity Independence has become a very dear and cherished place.

The following are the names of some of the old residents of Blue township and Independence:

James Lewis, Harmon Gregg, Daniel P. Lewis, John Belcher, William Baxter and several sons, Thos. Stayton and several sons, James Shepherd and eight sons, Aaron Overton, Daniel Monroe, Gan Johnson, William Yates, John Cornet, Williamson Hawkins, James Chambers, Robert Sloan, Jacob Gregg, John Davis, James King, John King, Daniel King, James King, Jr., Reuben Harris and several sons, Gabriel Fitzhugh, Solomon Fitzhugh, John Fitzhugh, George Fitzhugh, Matthias Reed, Bennett Hail, Col. Thos. Pitcher, Smalwood Nolan, Smalwood V. Nolan, Wm. Nolan, Stephen Nolan, Joseph Braden and several sons, Lilburn W. Boggs, John Cook, Samuel C. Owens, John O. Agnew, Jones H. Flournoy, Dr. Lawrence Flournoy, Solomon Flournoy, Rowland Flournoy, Robert Rickman, Garnet Hensley, John Smith, Richard Fristoe, Joseph H. Reynolds, Adam Hill, Hadley A. Head, Oliver Caldwell, James Smart, Lewis Franklin, Henry Ruby, Reuben Ruby, Henry F. Baker, John McMurry, William Moon, Joseph Moon, William B. Howard, B. F. Thompson, John S. Wood, Jeremiah Wood, Larkin Johnson, Jamer Stallcup, Leonard H. Renick, John R. Swearingen, Russell Hicks, John W. Moodie, Reuben Wallace, Samuel Weston, Robert Weston, Richard McCarty, Richard R. Rees, Allen Chandler, John Parker, John McCoy, William McCoy, Alexander Todd, Maj. E. A. Hickman, Capt. E. P. Hickman, Henry Nolan (called Trusty Nolan), Jesse Noland. 66 Trusty" Noland's son Jesse was the first white male child born in Jackson county. Lynchburg Adams, Willis Jepson, Andrew J. Drake, William Drake, James Drake, William Crabtree, Joseph Kirk, William McGowan, Hugh Boyles, a Methodist preacher and Hiram Meek.

James Lewis came in an early day and at present lives about six miles northeast of Independence; Harmon Gregg lived about four miles northeast of Independence; Daniel P. Lewis removed to the Platt Purchase and was judge of the County Court there; John Betcher lived four miles northeast of Independence; William Baxter and Thomas Staylon with their families live northest of Independence; Aaron Overton died in Texas several years ago; Daniel Monroe lived on the bluff overlooking the river three miles north of Independence; Gan Johnson lived on a farm three miles south of Independence, he died many years ago; Williamson Hawkins lived six miles south of Independence, he was murdered about the year 1838, and the murderer was hanged at the county seat; John Davis lived southeast of Independence, he was once County Judge in an early day; Gabriel Fitzhugh was a Baptist preacher and lived two miles west of Independence; Col. Thomas Pitcher was prominent in the Mormon trouble; the Nolans and Pitchers were Kentuckians; Samuel C. Owens was a prominent merchant in Independence; John O. Agnew was of Irish descent and a prominent merchant in Independence; the Flournoy's were prominent men in the town and county; Robert Rickman came from Tennessee and lived a highly respected citizen, he died at Independence in 1880; John Smith was a justice of the peace; Adam Hill settled two miles west of Independence where he still resides; Joseph H. Reynolds was from Lincoln county, Kentucky, and came to Independence in 1834, where he still resides; Maj. E. A. Hickman was from Kentucky, and has for many years been one of the prominent citizens of Jackson county; George Dickerson, Stephen Adams, and Jabez Smith came from Virginia and brought with him about 450 slaves; Thomas H. Wilson, Moses G. Wilson, John F. McCauley is now living in San Francisco, Robert Gwin came from Tennessee, as did William McCormick and Dr. Armstrong.

The following is what Mr. James Wilson, one of Jackson county's pioneers,

who was born in Cooper county, Missouri Territory, June 1, 1819, and moved to Jackson county in 1825, says:

"The first houses built west of the Little Blue were on a farm now owned by Messrs. Pugsley and Staples, three miles east of Independence. These two cabins were built by Andrew Wilson and Henry Burris. Wilson also built the first mill in the county. The earliest settlers were Andrew Wilson, Henry Burris, Jacob Gregg, Osborn, Stayton, Swearingen, Adams, Jeffreys, Chiles and othAs the city of Independence began to build up, there were many others, and I give some of their names: S. D. Lucas, S. C. Owens, the Westons, the Nolands and the Flournoys.

ers.

"The first post-office established in the county was at Independence, in 1827; first marriage remembered was Joseph Moon to Betty Wilson; first birth remembered was Lucinda Wilson; first death remembered was John Wilson; first minister was Joab Powell, a Baptist minister; the first physician was Flenory; first lawyer was Judge Hicks; first teacher was Rev. William Ferrial, a Methodist minister. He taught in a pole cabin, dirt floor, covered with boards, being put on with weight poles, there being no nails to nail them. This was the first school that I attended. Religious meetings were held at the cabins and groves. There were no churches until about 1830, no Sunday-schools earlier than 1835. "The Mormons commenced coming to the county about 1829, and cleared their Temple Lot at Independence. They were driven from here to Clay county. In those early days there were many fights, for that was the way they had of settling difficulties, and seeing which was the best man.

"In those days the ladies made all the clothing, by spinning and weaving cotton, wool and flax. This being the case, the first thing a young man thought of was to get him a wife to make his clothes, for there were no clothing stores then. But when a young man gets married now, he must have plenty of money to commence on. As to the hardships of pioneer life, I cannot say that it was hard in Jackson county, there being plenty of deer, turkeys and other game, and also plenty of wild honey. As to money, they needed but very little, as there were none of the unreasonable taxes and special interest collected as they have now, and none of the large salaries to pay the county officers that are now paid. There were a great many Indians passing through the county in those days, camping and hunting. There were also a great many large wolves and snakes. As to the early settlers, I consider them all as good men as ever lived in any county."

Another eminent pioneer relates his experience thus:

"In the first settling of Jackson county, the first thing any immigrant did was to select a piece of land for a home, put up a log cabin, then go to work making a farm. Making the farm was a specialty until it had attained sufficient size for all the crops commonly raised on farms in this county, and as opportunity would present put other improvements on the place.

The life of the early settler was one of hard toil, with many disadvantages, inconveniences and hardships. The soil was rich and yielded abundant crops. Taking in view the implements used in the cultivation of the land, it was astonishing what wonderful crops were raised. All the work done on the farm was with oxen. The land was all plowed with ox teams; all the hauling of timber, going to mill and market, and not unfrequently to church, was done with oxen. The only farm work that was done with horses was plowing the corn crop and garden. Wheat was raised in the greatest abundance, and was tramped out on a dirt floor and cleaned by the wind and ground in an old horse mill and bolted by hand, that is by turning the bolt with one hand and feeding the flour in with the other.

Mills in those days were very rude structures indeed, and very scarce. Sometimes a farmer would have to go ten or twelve miles to one of those rude specimens

of a corn crusher, and have to remain on the ground three or four days before he could get his grain ground; frequently would have to go home without, and resort to the hominy, mortar and grater for bread. The meal made at those mills was anything but a good article. One man said that he got some corn ground and it was so course he planted some of it and it came up. Saw mills were very scarce; the demand for lumber could by no means be supplied. It was nothing uncommon to see the floor of a man's house laid with logs split open and hewed with a broad ax. One old man built a little mill on the Sni. The neighbors used to tell it on him that he would fill up the hopper and start the mill of a morning, then go out and plow his corn until noon, replenish the hopper at noon, then go back and plow until night. He also had a saw mill attached One day a neighbor was at his house, which stood about a half mile from his mill; he had a man at the mill running the saw; he invited the neighbor out in the yard to listen how nice his saw ran. They stepped out, and all at once the saw stopped. The owner remarked, “ there, now, she has struck a knot." The prairie sod was so strong it took from five to six yoke of cattle to break it.. A sod plow, in those days, cut a furrow about sixteen inches wide with wooden mold-boards. The plow used for breaking the old land consisted of an iron bar with a shear welded to it, a wooden mold joined to the shear and fastened at the back end with a couple of pins to one of the handles.

The plowman would invariably have a wooden paddle hanging on one of his plow handles, and every few rods have to stop and throw his plow down, and with his paddle, push the dirt off the mold-board. The corn crop was cultiva'ed with shovel plows, made by the smiths living in the country. They were anything but good mechanics. Every farmer did his own plow-socking, and some of them were wonderful to behold. Sometimes you would hear a man telling about "another" socking a plow, and after he had completed the job it looked so frightful, he said, he chained it to a tree, and that it got loose and killed some of his cattle.

All the wearing apparel was manufactured at home. Men, women and children worked incessantly. While the men were engaged improving their farms and in cultivating their crops, the women were engaged making cloth to clothe the family. Every farmer had some sheep, and every year planted a cotton patch. There were no carding machines, nor cotton gins, in the country for a number of years. The seed was picked out of the cotton by hand, and wool was both carded and spun by hand and woven into cloth; all of this caused incessant labor, under the circumstances impossible to avoid. If there was a great scarcity of money among the people, the plan upon which they were working, manufacturing everything at home, it required but little money to answer their purposes.

Thus it was in other days in Jackson county. The hum of the spinning wheel and the noise of the loom could be heard almost the year round at every farm house. But as time rolled on the fruits of this great and incessant toil began to be happily realized. Cotton jeans, carding machines and saw and grist mills began to spring up in all parts of the country where necessity required them, which lightened the burden of the people and removed many of the inconveniences under which they had formely been laboring. The erection of school houses and churches, and the people building better houses to live in, and many other things went to show that the country was gradually emerging from the pioneer age and was on the great highway of prosperity. And thus it was; on she went, increasing in population and wealth until the breaking out of the war, at which time Jackson county ranked among the first counties in the State. At that time Jackson county could boast of as much fine stock-horses, cattle and mules-as almost any place in the Union. A great many farmers for several years had been making mule raising a specialty, and had large droves of mules on hand when the war broke out; but, alas, all was wreck and ruin and devast

ation during that unhappy period. Jackson county was a battle field; and at the close of the war all the fruits of the labor of these long years of toil was swept away, and Jackson county was again as a wilderness."

CHRISTOPHER MANN-THE OLDEST MAN IN MISSOURI.

What he says about himself:

"I was born Sept. 15, 1774, in Virginia, and when about two years old moved to Kentucky with my parents. My father's name was Jonas and my mother's name was Agnes and her maiden name was Williams. At this time Kentucky had a very few settlers, and my father was among the first.

"When my father crossed the Alleghany Mountains from Virginia to Kentucky, they had one pack horse to carry the small children and household goods. My sister and myself were tied to a bed, which was thrown over the old gray horse, and thus we traveled day after day, father ahead leading the horse and mother walking behind carrying some articles on her shoulders. I was reared in Kentucky and saw Daniel Boone many, many times. I saw him in his hunting dress on the chase with six dogs and three sons with their guns. Daniel Boone hunted animals for their furs and sold them in markets east of the mountains. Boone lived there many years, but, finally, after a few settlers had come into the present State of Kentucky, he said: "I must move away; a settler has come within seventy miles. This is no place for me." I left Kentucky for Ohio when about twenty-four years of age, where I married Miss Betsie Rusk, by whom I had seventeen children-seven of whom are still living. Their names were as follows: Peggy, Ann, Peter, Jonas, David, John, James, Sallie, Nancy and Washington (still living in California now over seventy years old); Andrew Jackson (living in California), Christopher (living in California), Elson (living in California), Samuel (living in California), Betsey (married to Wm. Mayes and still lives in California), Julia (married to Ezekiel Robinson and still lives in California). Some of my children died while infants. My first wife died in 1844 in Jackson county.

"I lived and farmed in Indiana for many years. I made a flat boat near the old battle field of Tippecanoe and with the boat shipped my farm produce to New Orleans.

"I came to Missouri, Jasper county, in the year 1838, and after living there about five years, came in 1843, to Jackson county and settled on land now owned by H. M. Vaile. I bought the land of Nicholas Crenshaw to the amount of eighteen 80's or 1440 acres. I lived here many years and then removed to the Monroe farm which overlooks Wayne City. The farm is known as the Daniel Monroe place. August 5, 1863, the bush-whackers came and robbed my house, turned my family out, and burned the house to the ground. They came to me and told me if I would remain and watch my house while they burned a few of my neighbors' houses, they would not burn mine; but when they came back they burned mine also. They asked me if I was not a black Abolitionist, and when I told them: "I am a Union man, sir!" one of the bush-whackers struck me with his revolver and broke out two of my teeth.

"After the war I bought the Gov. Gilpin farm, where I now live. and a half miles northwest of Independence, Sec. 27, Tp. 50, R. 32.

It is one

"I was married a second time to Mrs. Lydia Ann Dean, March 24, 1848. The names of the children are: Mary (died when two years of age), Frances Jane, William Franklin, Wilson B., Louisa L., Sallie R., James M., Alice B., and Lydia Anora. The youngest of my children will be only fifteen years old on the ist of July, 1881.

"My health is good, and I expect to live a long time yet. I never took a dose of medicine in my life. I am a Republican, and have been a hard shell Baptist for eighty years. I have always been a hard working man, and put up as many