south of "Ireland," which was at that early day, lined with Mormon emigrants on their way to their New Jerusalem, in Utah.

The first religious meeting in the county, was held at the house of James Roland, in "Ireland," in the autumn of 1849, by one Thomas Prather, who is said to have been a reverend. To bring the settlers to this first gathering of worship, a boy was sent out with a bell ringing the tidings at the door of the various cabins. The meeting is said to have been enjoyed by all, and brought back the recollection of the old homes they had left behind.

The first "inn" in the county, outside of the hospital homes of all the settlers, was that of Henry Allen, a little unpretentious house standing near the present residence of E. A. Temple. Mr. Allen was the first notary public commissioned for Lucas county, in 1849; who, after a few years' residence in Lucas county, went to Los Angelos, California, where he subsequently died.

The first religious organization in the county, was effected by the Methodists, in 1849, at the house of X. E. West, in Washington township, and was the first formal organization of the Methodist Episcopal church in the county. It became attached to the Albia circuit. In 1854, Monroe, Lucas and Clark counties became one circuit, with Rev. Lyman Briggs in charge.

He

The first death in the county, tradition tells us, was that of William Louder, who came to "Ireland" in the spring of 1849. He was a young man, unmarried; had been a soldier in the then recent Mexican war. came to this place among strangers and yielded his life in its brief period to the power that gave it. The generous McDermit gave the ground in which young Louden was laid, which afterward became a permanent cemetery-the first in the county. He was buried in a rude box, made with the best material they had at hand, with no relative to follow him to his grave, nor mourn his death, though kind hearts and willing hands, were present to sympathize, and do all they could in his last hours. This was the first death in the first pioneer settlement of Lucas county. It was an impressive scene.

The first importation of whisky in the county was in 1849, by one Major Adkins, hailing from Missouri. He brought to "Ireland" a forty gallon barrel, and "opened out" in a shanty not far from McDermit's. He, however, did not find ready sale for his firewater, nor a fortune looming in the future in the traffic of Missouri corn juice, and he sold what he had left to one John Yergey for eight dollars, and McDermit gave the major the money in payment, with which he paid his expenses back to Missouri, fully in the faith that the young Hawkeye state was not the place for traffic in Missouri whisky.

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Among the pioneer day institutions of Lucas county, was the Settler's

Its

Club, which organized upon the appearance of land speculators. object was to protect actual settlers in their claims to government land, through their right of pre-emption, before they had acquired a certificate of purchase. In some instances the land to which they had made a claim had not yet come in market; or perhaps the settler hadn't the money to purchase when he made his selection or claim, and strangers and speculators would come in, look over the country, and oftentimes would select these claims for entry at the land office. Again, claims were made, and improvements made upon them, which would be lost to the claimant should they be "jumped" at the land office. Hence, the combination of actual settlers, and the organization of this club, for their mutual protection against all these contingencies. It was often a risky venture for strangers to come into Chariton in the days of the Settler's Club, to buy land or claims. Every one was watched, and if any of the settlers' rights were invaded, the invaders were dealt with according to the laws of the club.

Here is an illustration. In 1850, David Davis, formerly judge of the United States supreme court, and now United States senator from Illinois, and E. M. Thorpe, now a citizen of Chariton, came to Lucas county for the purpose of purchasing government land. Judge Davis, however, soon found it convenient to speedily leave for home without investing. He is said to have retired with a bountiful flow of "cusses" upon the heads of the settlers, as a band of cut-throats, and barbarians. Mr. Thorpe, however, was permitted to remain and look at the country, his team and buggy being held by the "settlers club" as an earnest of his good behavior and non-interference with their vested rights. He frequently had occasion to amuse himself by hunting up the wheels of his buggy, which were missing, and which he suspected were displaced by some of the wily members of he "club." However, in the course of time, after he became better acquainted, he was permitted to select what land he wanted, on the condition that it did not interfere with the "vested rights" of the squatters, which he finally did without further trouble, and became a citizen of the county, and still resides in Chariton, in the practice of law. Judge Davis did not venture back again.

It will be remembered that the first clerk of the board of county commissioners was William H. Moore, chosen at the first meeting, held August 10, 1849. In 1852, he determined to move to Missouri; and on one fine October day of that year, he started on his journey with a team and wagon, in which were his wife and one child, together with some cattle, which he was driving along after. After crossing a stream, some five miles southwest from Chariton, and ascending the opposite bluffs, Mr. Moore saw the prairie on fire, and the leaping flames sweeping toward them. He at once directed his wife to turn the team and retrace their

course over the stream, while he was attempting to turn his cattle back, to get the team and all back over the stream; but, before he could accomplish this, the flames in their mad fury, overtook them. They first dashed upon the helpless child and enwrapped it in fire, when its mother, in her wild frenzy, seized it and leaped from the wagon; but, alas! notwithstanding the heroic efforts of the husband and father, the little one met almost instant death upon the ground, and the wife was burned well nigh unto death. The remains of the child, and the dying mother were taken back to a room in the court house, where she survived some ten hours only. Thus, the wife and child of Mr. Moore met a terrible death. They went to their rest in the grave, while he, mournful and alone, soon found a home amid other scenes.

At the second general election, in Lucas county, held in August, 1850, the two political parties organized, which was not the case at the first election in August, 1849, nor at the following April election. Both the whig and democratic parties made up their tickets as follows: The whigs nominated for judge of probate, Allen Edwards; for county commissioners, Jacob Phillips, Thomas Wilson and James Roland; for clerk of district court, William C. Drake; for sheriff, Samuel Payne; for treasurer and recorder, James Jenkins; for clerk of county commissioners, J. M. Townsend. The democrats nominated for judge of probate, Allen Edwards; for county commissioners, Joseph Mundell, John Howard, J. G. Robinson; for clerk of district court, Henry Allen; for sheriff, Beverly Searcy; for treasurer and recorder, Samuel McKinley; for clerk of board of county commissioners, J. M. Barnett.

The whig ticket was elected by a large majority-the total vote in the county being eighty-four!

It will be seen that Allen Edwards was placed on both tickets for judge of probate. He was a farmer, in Warren township, where he had moved in March, prior to his election as the first, and last judge of probate. He died in fair circumstances, in August, 1857. His was the farm now known as the Charles Garten farm, and upon which the town of Freedom is located.

Mr. M. J. Burr, one of the well-to-do farmers of Warren township, and a gentleman of practical observation, gives the writer this following bit of interesting information. He says: "The number of deaths recorded amongst my acquaintances during the period from 1866 to 1876, both inclusive, are forty-one, of which twenty-three occurred between sunrise and sunset, and eighteen between sunset and sunrise; which facts contradict the commonly received opinion that the night-time witnesses the most deaths."

In 1851, Mr. D. D. Waynick was chosen assessor of Lucas county, the first one elected by the people. His duty was to assess, to fix a valuation

upon the worldly effects of his fellow citizens of the county, for the purpose of taxation; and also to take an enumeration of the number of people therein, as well, which he found to be a few over five hundred. The law required that this work should be completed and a return thereof made to the county authorities by the first day of July. He relates to the writer, that he recollects the year 1851 to have been a very wet one, and gives some incidents which occurred during his official labors, as corroborative of that fact. He completed his work on the south side of the Chariton river the last of June, and hastening homeward on foot, from his last trip, he approached the river on the Garden Grove road in the evening, and found it so swollen that he dare not venture to wade it there, so tarried over night at a farm house near by. The next morning he found the water from one to three feet deep from bluff to bluff, on this road; and there being no bridge, in fact there was not a single bridge in the county at that time, he determined to wade across. He therefore took off his pants, boots, etc., and secured them about him, and with his assessment rolls in one hand he started on his watery course, aiming to cross just above what was then, and since known as "Granny's hole." Mistaking his course, he suddenly went into this historic hole, some ten feet deep, and went down, but rising to the surface again, he managed to swim across to a shallow bottom, holding in the meantime his assessment rolls up in one hand so they were not injured. He reached home somewhat moist from his venture, and made a report of his official doings in due time. This closed Mr. Waynick's services as county assessor.

There is a tradition concerning this deep hole in the Chariton river, near where the Garden Grove road crosses it. In an early day, an old widowed German woman from Indiania, named Keplinger, had purchased a tract of bottom land, extending across the river and including this deep hole, which soon became a resort for bathing purposes. During the wet season of 1851, Grandmother Keplinger, as she was called, visited Chariton to look after her landed possessions, and going down to view her tract on the river bottom one morning, she found it covered with water to her great astonishment; and, returning to town she sought her agent, Henry Allen, and said to him: "Why, Mr. Allen, I've just been down to take a look at my bottom, and I find it all kivered over with water; 'taint worth nigh so much as I thought it was." "Well, grandmother, this is an uncommonly wet season that you happen to see it. It's dry enough other seasons except this," said her agent, which seemed to molify the old lady's disappointment. From this circumstance, the deep hole in the river referred to, took its name, and is still known by that cognomen. The old lady finally disposed of her bottom, went to Kansas and died.

This hole has been the scene of much sport for the boys, and occasionally for older persons fond of fun as well.

In the early days of the county, lawyers frequently came from the older localities to attend the terms of the district court, among whom was Judge Knapp, of Van Buren county, in his younger days. One warm evening during a summer term, it was proposed by some wag of the local bar that they go down to the Chariton, and bathe in "Granny's Hole," which was also a good place for diving. The proposition was accepted by several of the attorneys, including Judge Knapp, who was somewhat portly and peculiar. On the way down to the river a banter was made, that each fellow should, as soon as disrobed, dive into the hole, and that the last one thus diving should treat the crowd on their return to town, which was acceeded to. Hence, there was an apparent scramble, great haste, on the part of each to perform the feat first, though it was generally understood that Knapp was to be allowed to take the lead. When the river is high-a freshet at hand—this hole is some ten feet or more deep, with two or three feet of soft mud at the bottom. On this occasion it was not so deep, and the judge was the first to plunge in head foremost, and, being a somewhat heavy man, he went to the bottom, submerging his head and shoulders in the mud, where he struggled until others plunged in, and, by the heels, relieved him from his perilous dilemma. He arose, badly besmeared, conscious that he dove too deep. Through the relief rendered in extricating him, the tables were turned, and the treat was upon Knapp, which was gracefully extended.

This chapter closes the history of Lucas county, and with it, the work of the writer. The "biographical sketches," which follow, are prepared by others.

The writer has been earnest and faithful in the preparation of the foregoing work, that it might embody as complete a history of the county as the material, both record and traditional, would make. He has sought to make it a correct and interesting narrative of the physical character, settlement, development, and prosperity of the county, from its primitive period to the present time, in all its phases-industrial, moral and social. If the judgment of those who may become its readers shall accord this, he will be content.