COMMENTARIES ON GRAVEYARDS OF CALDWELL AND ADJOINING COUNTIES

These Commentaries have been made only after a careful survey of the 
graveyards which awakened a desire to have a larger knowledge about the people 
who were buried there.  In each case, the narrators were those competent to 
speak.
This group of interviews has occurred to the interviewer as a means of 
presenting to the historical reader many small pieces of information which 
would not be available other places.
Major Molly chapter has just completed a comprehensive grave survey of 
the county and in connection with the printed survey of each graveyard, a 
commentary on it is to be attached.


	COMMENTARY ON PHARES GRAVE YARD IN FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP

The narrator, Mrs. McKensie, is now upwards of 90 years, but she knows 
her data on this cemetery.  The grave yard is quite old, for the oldest birth 
date is 1779, the oldest death date 1856.
We begin with the McKensie family (or McKenzie as often spelled).  Her 
husband A.J. McKensie is buried here 1847-1926.  His father John McKensie came 
out here early from Va.  But he did not like it and went back to Henry Co. 
Kentucky whence they had come here.  The children, however, mostly stayed 
here.  Three of them are buried in the Phares cemetery - William 1816-1900, 
Syrena J. 1813-1898, and A.J. above.
Another family of whom she spoke was the Phares family for whom the 
graveyard is named.  The oldest Phares is William born 1779, died 1875.  But 
he was not the earliest to be buried there.  That was John an infant who was 
buried 1856.  Joel Phares was the first settler of the name, coming with his 
wife Ellen Laird to Fairview township 1856.  He died 1876 and she 1908.  James 
M. their son (1843-1913) lies near them with their babes who died in an 
epidemic 1871.  The William Phares who lies there is the father of Joel who 
came to live there (1779-1875).
The Phares family started from N.J. and came by stages out west, living 
a while in Ills. as many western settlers did.
There is a child of John G. Ross which brought out the Ross story.  This 
John was the son of Charley Ross, "Uncle Charley Ross" as he was known for 
years, one of the unique characters of early times in this county just as the 
Mormons were being driven out.  Many stories are yet current about his good 
bargaining with the Saints for the lands they were leaving behind.
Christopher Seitter and wife Caroline are there.  They were both German 
emigrants, hunting a home in America, and came to Caldwell county Fairview 
township about 1860.  Mr. Seitter and one of the sons were drowned 1865 when 
they were crossing a creek, while going to mill.  This stock is the source of 
all the Seitters in this county who hold annual reunions.
W.D. Proctor who lies there is a son of the old pioneer Daniel Proctor 
who was well written up in the last year's series.
There is a Mackey babe (died 1861) who is the child of the first Mackey 
to live here.  James G. Mackey came first with his parents 1841 but they went 
away, and again young James G. came back later to stay.  Most of the Mackey 
are buried in White cemetery, including James G. Mackey.
     Interview  1933.


	COMMENTARY OF THE OLD OR ROHRBAUGH CEMETERY IN HAMILTON, MO.
	Narrators:  Miss Emma Brown and Mrs. H. Eldredge

     With these narrators, the interviewer walked thru the old cemetery at the 
edge of Hamilton, and while walking over sunken graves and holes which once 
held graves, she absorbed much early Hamilton history.  The old cemetery dates 
back to 1868 and is now in very bad shape.  It contains many graves not 
marked, some of which never were marked, some marked with a wood slab, long 
since decayed.  In some cases, the stones have been taken off by pillagers.
     Here lies Wm. Elliott, a blacksmith of the 60s and later his first wife 
Athalinda who died 1877.  The Elliot family lived in what is now one of the 
town's oldest homes, the Marion Ridings' house.  Bertha Evans died 1860, by 
falling into a tub of boiling suds.  She was a child of Ad Evans, who later 
kept hotel at Kidder and later yet was a commission merchant in Chicago.  
Daniel Gage, whose stone shows a Bible, was a missionary in foreign fields and 
died here while on a visit to relatives of Pickells.  James A. Hill a young 
man has the only stone in the Hill lot, altho his Hill grandparents also lie 
there.  They lived east of town in the so-called Prouty farms.  Casper 
Kauffman of Nettleton has wife Henrietta there, unmarked, and his brother has 
two babes, unmarked.  Nettleton then had no burial place.
     Here is the Arms lot where three soldiers of the war of 1812 are buried, 
Phineas Arms, and Wm. and Asa Page.  See the paper on the Arms family.  
     The Frank, Sarah, George Putnam monument is one of the most pretentious 
monuments, but it is down and no one of the family is near or even left on 
earth to see about putting it up.  George S. Putnam was the owner of the 
stockyards scales for many years.  It is down toward the south end, and is 
badly overgrown by undergrowth and young trees.  Both his first wife and his 
son died in 1875.
     The Niles family buried there, Henrietta wife of John dying 1878 and John 
having died earlier.  They are grandparents of ex-mayor Clarence Greene of 
Hamilton.
     The earlier Van Slyke family lie there .  Bertha, daughter of P.J. Van 
Slyke (who came here 1868) died 1870.  Two wives of E.E. Van Slyke are here.  
The early Walker family lie here.  Vic was the first grain elevator man here. 
 His father, Jas. O. Walker died 1871 aged 52.
     Rebecca Sell daughter of Geo. Witwer lies here.  The Witwer family were 
important here in the 60s and 70s.  He had a wagon-shop on south Main.  
Another of his daughters, Dora died 1868 and was among the first buried in 
this ground.  The Sell family came from Daviess county and lie in the Sell 
graveyard.
     The best kept lot in the old cemetery is the Gee lot where lie Chas. son 
of Israel Gee died 1870 and Israel's wife Deborah Covert Gee died 1878.  
Israel Gee himself did not die till 1887 and he was the last of the Gee family 
to be buried there, but Mrs. Belle Anderson and Henry Gee family see that the 
place is kept up being grandchildren of old Israel, one of the early mayors of 
Hamilton.
     Other graves which these women recognized as of old friends were Harriet 
Barker died 1869 and her brother Simeon, whose stones are badly shattered.  
Mattie Bryant died 1887 aged ten and her parents Henry Bryant and wife Mary 
Bryant who died 1876.  The Bryants were pioneers here before the Civil war in 
Gomer township, but they have no stones.  The Burton children (death dates 
1869, 1869, 1874) were grandchildren of the pioneer James McClelland who came 
about 1863.  The same relationship holds for the Anderson children buried 
near, who died 1871 and 1873.
     The Aikens lot contains Leila who died 1874 aged 14 and her parents 
Austin Aiken and his wife Lavilla, who died much later and have no stones.  
They were in humble circumstances, and the mother after the death of Aiken, a 
carpenter, took in washings to support herself.  Leila was quite a popular 
girl.  
     
     The last burial there was of Thomas H. Hare who was buried 1916 long 
after any one else.  The Hare lot was started 1873 when the son Ora aged 2 
died of diphtheria, and the funeral was private and held at night, to prevent 
spread of disease.  Mrs. Hare died about 1900 having been insane for many 
years.  Mr. Hare was one of the town's peculiar characters.  He was a 
photographer here since 1868 
and finally had his gallery on south Main.  He was quite a deep reader and was 
said to be an agnostic; at any rate he could argue for Ingersoll.
     Interviews  1922-4.


	COMMENTARY ON WOODERSON CEMETERY, DAVIESS COUNTY
	Narrators:  Mrs. Perry Roberts and Mrs. Sarah Dickerson

     The Wooderson cemetery, over in Daviess county, contains many interesting 
graves, some of families whose names have almost disappeared, others of 
pioneer families, yet prominent.
     Harvey Bacon (1839-1883) is a nephew of old Ira Bacon of the Kidder 
vicinity.  Most of the Bacons bury in the Benson (or often called the Bacon) 
cemetery.  His family lie with him.
     The Butricks are gone except for the members lying here.  They were 
related to the prominent Casters.  The Bristows who lie here are related to 
the McMurtreys who lived in this vicinity.  Miles Bristow was a pioneer and 
came with his parents 1839.  Several Bristows lie here but they are in several 
cemeteries in Caldwell and Daviess counties.
     The Bellamy family have moved to Oklahoma, but left their son Chas. 
buried here.  (1888-1931)
     The Castor and Caster graves all represent one family, the spelling 
seemed to be a matter of choice.  They go back to Holmes Co. O., John Caster, 
an 1812 soldier, came early and had two sons.  He himself either does not lie 
here or his grave is not marked.  The Casters married into the Revert and the 
Rohrbaugh families both of whom have members here.  Wm. Elgin (1827-1895) 
buried here came into Daviess Co. about 1865 and died there.  He was related 
to the Cook family who have children buried there.  The Givens family buried 
there.  A Givens was an early pioneer there.  Capt. Merritt Givens, a Union 
soldier, was killed 1864 by men of another Union force, while attempting to 
capture some escaped Confederate soldiers.  By him, lies his son Isaac 1847-
1915 who also served in the Union army.  His second wife was the mother of 
Virgil Givens, a school teacher of Kidder.
     Daniel Werner, father of Mrs. Roberts (narrator) buried three infants 
there and a grandchild.  This was the district of the Sears family and Mrs. 
Louisa Johnson, mother of Mrs. Sears lies there.  The Sears family is notable 
because it has produced so many college professors.
     There are five of the Kelso family buried here, the old pioneer, himself 
Edward C. Kelso, lying in Hamilton Highland cemetery in the lot of his 
daughter Mrs. W.J. Ervin.  The Kelso family were among the earliest in Daviess 
county.
     Geo. Leabo who died 1858 was the infant son of Daniel Leabo one of the 
constituent members of the Mt. Lebo church.  Geo. M. Noah (1828-1889) came 
into Daviess county 1836 with his parents and they settled in Sheridan 
township; he married into the Bacon family.  The Lewis Rohrbaugh family (Lewis 
1830-1896) lie here, father, mother and two daughters, as well as his mother 
Elizabeth Schaffer (1794-1875) wife of Henry Rohrbaugh.  He had a brother John 
both settling in Sheridan twp., coming in late 60s from Stark County O.  They 
are not related to the wealthy John and Anthony Rohrbaugh families of 
Hamilton.
     The Rhoades family, Robert (1815-1877) and wife Mary (1823-1895) lie here 
but the family left to pioneer in Oklahoma.
     Hugh Roney (1850-1888) was the first husband of Mrs. Ursule Brookshire of 
Hamilton.  There is a Sandals child, son of Asher Sandals who came into the 
Wooderson district in the late 60s about the same time with Daniel Werner.
     Charlie Saxton who lies ther was the first husband of Frances Copeland 
(who died summer of 1934) and who married successively John McMurtrey, Wm. 
Austin and Charley Hawks.
     Jacob J. Spohn (1805-1870) a pioneer there, came to his death by falling 
in Marrowbone creek while fishing.
     The Tuggle child buried there is not in the graveyard where you would 
expect it to be.  The Tuggle families usually bury in the Tuggle cemetery 
north of Nettleton.
     Richard Wooderson (1822-1858) was a pioneer who settled in Gomer township 
in Caldwell county but probably had land on both sides of the county line.  
The Woodersons gave the name to this grave yard, and possibly gave the tract 
itself.        Interviews  1934-5.


	COMMENTARY ON THE MORRIS CEMETERY, CALDWELL COUNTY
	Narrators:  Mrs. Minnie Morris and Robert Morris

     The Morris family graveyard was on Kerr land; it was primarily meant for 
the Kerrs but also includes families connected by marriage with the Kerrs and 
some of their neighbors who were not near their own burying ground.  Most of 
the families are directly or indirectly from Virginia.  James Kerr was the 
pioneer.
     The earliest grave is that of James Kerr d. Jan 10, 1860.  His wife 
Catherine Simpson died 1881.  The next burial is of Robert McBeath, uncle-in-
law of Robert Morris, who was killed as a Southern sympathizer in the Civil 
War, dying April 1863.  His wife was Mary Kerr, daughter of the above Kerrs.  
Another of the McBeath family is Mrs. Elizabeth Jones died 1884, daughter of 
Robert McBeath and wife of J.W. Jones.  One of the Peddicord girls married 
A.W. McBeath and their two infants are there.
     The person of greatest age buried there was Frances Allen, wife of James 
Allen, 1791-1880, who was the mother of Wallace Allen who married Isabel Kerr. 
 Hers is the oldest birthdate in the graveyard.
     Jerry Sloan (1833-1885) has a reason for being there.  His mother was a 
Morris and his wife was a daughter of Socrates Hinds who buried there.
     There is quite a list of the Hinds connection there.  These people were 
just good neighbors of the Morris-Kerr group.  While the Hinds have 
descendants in the county, the name itself is gone.  Socrates Hinds 1811-1880 
lies there and wife Jane 1813-1877.  (The neighbors speak of him as Tes 
Hinds.)  Mrs. Emila A. Wray was their daughter, and her two children lie 
there.  The five Smith children all dying under two years who lie there are 
the children of still another Hinds daughter.
     Mary C. Bell a child of J.D. Bell and A.E. Bell has a bloodright there, 
for the Bells were kin to the Morris family.
     Then there were other neighbors who asked the priviledge to bury there:  
A Howard child, daughter of P.G. and Josie Howard, Mrs. Howard being one of 
the numerous Cross family of Mirabile.  Two of the Kennedy family are there, 
without markers.  The Cover family has a child there, but the Cover family is 
gone.  Mrs. Terah Tuttle of Hamilton has a babe there, unmarked while the 
other Tuttles are in Hamilton cemetery.  An Atkinson child is buried there, 
son of Elgie Atkinson once of that community, later of Cameron.  One is 
impressed with the large number of very young children buried there.  Infant 
mortality was great some fifty years ago.
     Perhaps the most interesting graves there are unmarked.  The two graves 
of two southern sympathizers or rather southern soldiers who were taken 
prisoner by the Caldwell county militia and put to death in the field opposite 
the graveyard.  They were buried in this cemetery by order of the commander 
Capt. Johnson, without coffins with their hats over their faces.  Their names 
were Stump Breckenridge, and the other name [Richard Lancaster] was not called 
by the narrators.  Every one of that vicinity knows the exact corner of their 
burial, especially the southern sympathizers who had to dig their graves.
     Interview  1934.


	COMMENTARY ON WHITE CEMETERY IN FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP
	Narrator:  A.M. O'Dell of Catawba

     The narrator lives just across from the cemetery, he is very old, being a 
Civil War veteran, and moreover, he is descended from some of the earliest 
settlers in Caldwell county.  Hence his word is dependable.
     There are several O'Dells buried here, but not the original settlers, 
Caleb and Francis who entered land in Kingston township 1835-6.
     Here lies the Ilett Tobbin family of interest on account of his large 
landed estate.  (See the Ilett Tobbin paper.)  Here lie about 25 of the 
Stubblefield family, and some of the lines do not bury here.  The earliest of 
the name to come into the county was John 1803-1869, and he and wife Martha 
are here.  From John, came the large number of Stubblefields in the county.
     Elmore Waters 1815-1892, and his wife came 1855, and Gallatin Noblett 
came in the fifties, they are here.  By Noblett, rest his three wives.  Jas. 
G. Mackey, Elias Nichols who came 1852, David Mowder who came in 1854 all 
point to the fact that this is a rare graveyard of pioneers.
     Such is the story told by the stones and tradition, but there are many 
graves there too, which represent families which have passed entirely out of 
the county and out of memory.  If stones or wooden slabs ever stood over them, 
they are long since gone.  Burials still occur in White graveyard and it is 
well-kept.  Mr. O'Dell says that he has heard that the first burials there 
were of the early Mormons who were thick in this part of the county, but he 
has no proof, just the say-so of others.  There is an unmarked grave of a 
Confederate soldier one Jas. Bradley, buried there by Capt. Noblett, the 
location being yet known.  Many graves are marked by field stones, and in some 
cases the identity of the graves is now lost.
     Interview  1933.


	COMMENTARY ON THE BOWMAN CEMETERY, NORTH OF HAMILTON
	Narrator:  F.L. Bowman, 68, Hamilton

     The late F.L. Bowman was a grandson of the donor of the land of this 
graveyard.  It contains several early settlers' graves and its use dates back 
to the 60s.  Vincent Bowman, the donor, had a farm just within the Caldwell 
county limits, which accounts for so many Daviess county people who lie there.
     The first burial, naturally, was a Bowman, Cecelia Bowman (1848-1867) 
daughter of W. and S.A. Bowman.  The earliest birthdate is that of Vincent 
himself 1793-1872.  His first wife had died before they came here.  His second 
wife lies there in an unmarked grave, dying after he did.  Her dates are 
Martha Ong Bowman 1810-1886 and lying by her is a sister Sarah Ann Ong Wood 
1818-1887.  They died within a few days of each other, one at the end of a 
year, the other at the beginning of next year.  (Facts given by Eva Glasener, 
granddaughter of Mrs. Bowman.)
     Another early family in Daviess and Caldwell counties is the Borden 
family.  Franklin Borden (1835-1893) and wife Ellen were settlers in 1867 in 
Caldwell county then moved over into Daviess before 1870.  They were parents 
of George Borden of Hamilton.  They have a young son Lemon there, a daughter 
Mrs. Della Looney (unmarked) and another daughter, Mrs. Mike McCrary, who 
committed suicide through illness.  There are also infants graves of the 
family.
     Distelli is a name unknown now in Caldwell county.  There are three 
Distelli graves.  Alfred Distelli was a Swiss colonist to Minnesota who came 
down to Caldwell Co. Mo. in the rush of 1869.  He had a farm of 160 acres in 
1878 and was happy.  His wife and two children died very close together.  They 
are buried in the Bowman cemetery.  There were about 8 children left!  A 
romance by letter sprang up between him and a young widow in Switzerland who 
crossed the ocean and they were married here in Hamilton.  Soon afterwards, he 
sold his land, some at $10 an acre and took family back to Minnesota where he 
came from.
     This is the burial place of the pioneer Neals.  There is William 1817-
1889, and Margaret his wife who came into Daviess county in the 60s.  His son 
Thomas Neal and wife lie there.  Thomas was a saloon keeper in Hamilton for 
many years while Mrs. Neal had one of the most beautiful flower gardens in 
town.  They lived in a small house, site of the fine Thomas Watson home.
     The pioneer Sergeants, David and wife Caroline are there, of Daviess 
county.  Their daughter, Minnie, married Jack Neal, son of Thomas Neal.  The 
Neals are represented in Hamilton by several descendants.  In the Neal lots, 
is the stone for the five children of Snyder Neal who were burnt to death Nov. 
21, 1896 while their parents were absent from home at a neighbors.
     This grave yard is still in active use and is in excellent condition.  It 
is a matter of pride to the district.
     Interview  1933.


	COMMENTARY ON THE OLDEST GRAVES IN HIGHLAND CEMETERY, HAMILTON, MO
	Narrators:  Elmer E. Clark, etc.

     This graveyard was started 1876, the first burial being of Mrs. 
Edminster.  There are, however, many older graves there, which were moved 
there after certain graveyards fell into disuse.  The main narrator is E.E. 
Clark, president of the Highland Cemetery Association, who knows the history 
of most moved graves.
     Most of these "moved graves" came from the old Rohrbaugh cemetery on the 
west edge of Hamilton, now in a sad state of neglect.  Mrs. Caroline Colby, 
first wife of the pioneer lumberman J.F. Colby died 1869 and with some of the 
early Colby babes were moved from there.  Others were:  Dr. Joseph Doddridge 
who came here in 1875 to buy a farm and practice medicine.  He was from 
McArthur Vinton Co. O.  He was here but a short time when he died 1876.  He 
now rests under one of the most costly monuments in the new cemetery.  He is 
grandfather of Geo. Doddridge, west of town.  Mrs. Mary Claypool Green, 
daughter of the pioneer Perry Claypool and second wife of Judge M.T. Green, 
the stage coach man died 1874 aged 63.  The Dort family began burial in the 
Rohrbaugh 1875 at death of daughter Barbara and then the mother 1876.  (See 
the story of the Dort family and the removal to the Highland lot.)  The Crow 
burial plot is another removal.  Alex Crow was killed in the Hamilton mill 
explosion 1870 and his two children had died previously.  All these stones are 
badly smashed now, probably before removal.  
     Mrs. Jane Collins died 1868 aged 47 and was one of the first to be 
interred in the Rohrbaugh.  She was the wife of the farmer-pioneer, Michael 
Collins who lived east of town, on the so-called Geilker place.  Samuel 
Farabee died 1873 aged 62.  His widow married William McCoy and lies with the 
McCoys.  He was the father of Harve Farabee.  The Partin family used to lie in 
the old cemetery but were moved some ten years ago by their son Will Partin of 
Wyo.  He had some trouble in locating his mother's grave, because of the brush 
which had grown up heavily.  Mrs. Partin was a daughter of Rev. Eli Penney.  
(The Penney "moved graves: will be dealt with below.)  Ethelinda Reddie, first 
wife of Geo. Reddie, another early lumberman, died 1873.  Marinda Sigman, 
first wife of John Sigman died 1872, and his mother Margaret died 1874.  Mr. 
Sigman was a millwright of the 60s and built the Hamilton Flour Mills.
     Thomas family had the grandparents of Frank Hooker of Hamilton.  They 
were James and Diadama Thomas, who died 1870 and 1889, also the wife and 
daughter of Milo Thomas who died 1871 and 1868.  Sanborn - Mrs. Phoebe (or 
Phebe as spelled) was the wife of Ira and died 1868 aged 54.  She was the 
mother of Mrs. Louella Wilson, mother of Dr. I.C. Wilson.
     Then there is a group of graves taken from the old Brown cemetery in the 
country.  These include James Cox died 1859, aged 41 his first wife Mary who 
died 1841 aged 24, his second wife Sarah who died 1864 aged 40.  Mary a child 
died 1855 aged 2.  Malvina died 1864 aged 4.  James Cox was an early 
millwright of the county in the Kingston township and was the father of John 
Cox, wealthy farmer, who lived north of Hamilton.  These graves are the oldest 
in the cemetery.  From the old Paxton plantation grave yard in Mirabile 
township came most of the graves in the Paxton-Kemper lot.  James D. Paxton's 
dates were 1806-1863.  Mary Ritchie, his wife had dates 1815-1878.  Her sister 
Louisa Ritchie 1812-1859.
     The Penney Plantation graves were located on the old Rev. Eli Penney farm 
near Mirabile where he settled before the fifties.  He had a plantation of 
about 80 slaves.  Slaves and family were buried on their own plot.  From there 
were moved - Rev. Eli Penney died May 1871 aged 72.  Mary his wife 1802-1875. 
 He was a very early preacher in the "Hardshell Baptist" church, was one of 
two first preachers in Hamilton.
     From the old Singleton graveyard north of town came the grave of Nannie 
Thornton died 1866, aged two.  She was the daughter of Henry Thornton, early 

stage coach driver and livery barn man in Hamilton, who came into the county a 
little after 1860.  This old cemetery has fallen into ruin, with few markers 
left.
     There are probably a few more moved graves in this Highland cemetery 
which Mr. Clark and others have failed to enumerate.
     Interview  1933.


	CONTENTS OF THE 1935 SERIES OF INTERVIEWS WITH OLD PEOPLE


FAMILY AND BUSINESS SKETCHES OF EARLY RESIDENTS OF CALDWELL COUNTY

FAMILY SKETCHES OF RESIDENTS OF DAVIESS AND OTHER COUNTIES

HISTORY OF CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS

EARLY CUSTOMS AND INSTITUTIONS

COMMENTARIES ON GRAVEYARDS


	AN OLD KINGSTON SPRING
	Narrator:  Bert Clevenger of Kingston

    During the hard rains of the spring of 1935, a spring came to light in 
Kingston after lying dormant for over 40 years.
     Bert Clevenger, an old citizen there, tells of its earlier appearance in 
the same place years ago.  In 1935, it broke out gradually in the middle of 
the gravel street in Kingston, two blocks east of the county jail.  It came up 
from somewhere in the center of the present D.T. Hilliard home and it 
certainly caused a mean spot.  Motorists inevitably had trouble there, and a 
red flag was put up by the town to warn people where the mushy places were.
     Mr. Clevenger says that this same spring caused just as much trouble in 
the horse and buggy days of the 80s, in wet spells by water seeping through up 
to the road-surface.  Once he says there were 50 loads of rock put on the spot 
and more at other times, but the rock simply sank down in the mud with no 
effect.  Cattle and horses were mired, and even a dog could not walk over it 
without going down into the mire.  At that time, old people remembered that it 
acted exactly so in wet spells in the 70s.
     This bad place in spring of 1935 was 10 or 12 feet wide, and beyond that, 
the ground was firm, which was also the case in earlier appearances of the 
spring.  In the 90s when it came back, the town fathers discussed sinking a 
well there, draining the well, and then they would cover it with concrete' but 
when they got ready to carry out their plan, the flow of the spring stopped 
and it was not needed.
     Interview  1935.


	THE OLD LOG POST OFFICE AT KINGSTON
	Narrator:  Stephen S. Rogers, 88, Kingston

     Mr. Rogers was long a local narrator in Kingston on local history.  He 
died in the summer of 1935.  He gives the following about the much discussed 
old log post office at Kingston.
     There seems to be some question as to whether the old P.O. building in 
the county seat of Caldwell county was log or frame.  It stood on the site now 
occupied by the Ferrill cafe (1935).  If it was log, it was later sided with 
weatherboarding, which is the appearance it presented to old timers yet alive.
     To enter the building, one had to go between two buildings for a distance 
of twenty or thirty feet before coming to the P.O. door.  Mrs. Ella Cook had 
the drug store in the front of the east building and later moved the office to 
the front part, of her drug store.  Clara Van Winkle was the assistant in the 
P.O.  Later Dave Young had a grocery store in the building west of the drug 
store.  An old frame building stood where Deal's store is now located, and the 
corner now occupied by the Kingston post office was then a vacant lot.
     At that time, only two brick buildings stood on Main st.  A story and a 
half brick stood where the Anderson grocery store is now located, and a one 
story brick was on the present bank building location.  In the corner brick, 
J.B. Gudgell owned a drug store for some time.  This was in the 70s.
     Interview  1934.


	HISTORY OF GOULD FARM POST OFFICE, NEW YORK TOWNSHIP 
	Narrator:  Joe Henkins, Gould Farm

     Gould Farm post office was established 1870 by C.L. Gould a very 
prominent farmer of New York township.  He was a leader of agricultural 
affairs of the time and wrote for papers, a leader too in the Hamilton Baptist 
church.  It was placed at the Gould house, hence the name GOULD FARM.  The 
farmers called there for their mail which was a great convenience to them, 
instead of going to Hamilton or Nettleton.  A few years later, the Henkins 
general store was started at the well-known Henkins Bridge over Shoal and the 
P.O. was moved there as being more convenient.  It stayed there till the P.O. 
was discontinued Nov 30 1905.
     During the 35 years of its life, it had five postmasters; three out of 
the Henkins family.  C.L. Gould, Mr. Sage, A.T. Henkins, C.R. Henkins and Joe 
Henkins, the narrator.  Its passing was due to the coming of rural delivery 
which passed right by many of the homes of the farmers, saving a trip to the 
P.O.  For the same cause, several other small post offices in the county were 
stopped.
     Gould Farm, the place, never attained to the dignity of a village, even 
in the days of the post office.  There was the Henkins' general store, with 
its tiny post office corner.  Across the road from the store was the Gould 
Farm blacksmith, usually under Mr. Gray, which was always a favorite resting 
place or rather lounging place for the men who had ridden a horseback for the 
daily mail, while they were waiting for the carrier.  The mail carrier came on 
horse on the road from the west, on the road from Nettleton.


	TROUBLES AT THE OLD CALDWELL COUNTY JAIL
	Narrator:  W.W. Clevenger of Kingston

     The first jail in Caldwell county was razed 1891 and the present one was 
built.  Mr. Clevenger's father was sheriff in the earlier days, and he himself 
was deputy, so he knew many incidents connected with the older jail.  The 
first jail was finished the end of 1869, the first prisoner was a man named 
Martin charged with murder but freed of the charge.  D.P. Stubblefield, who 
died 1834, and for years was known as a Republican leader, was the first 
sheriff in this jail.  J.W. Harper, a farmer living west of Hamilton the next 
one, L.B. Clevenger (father of William W.) was the next, followed by D.A. 
Glenn, W.W. Clevenger, William Brown and others.
     Prisoners those days used to dig out pretty regularly.  When Sheriff 
Brown was in office, a prisoner asked for a razor to shave, and then used it 
on the sheriff to effect the escape of all the prisoners.  When they were 
recaptured, they henceforth made their toilets without a razor.
     When Mr. Clevenger's father was sheriff, some prisoners took out the pump 
tubing and hammered it into balls.  Then they tore up the jail blankets and 
were going to use sling shots on the sheriff and his son W.W. the deputy, when 
their outfit was discovered.
     When Sheriff Brown was in office, he had four noted horse-thieves once in 
jail.  He heard a rasping noise one night and knew they were sawing out.  
After awhile he detected where it was and told them to stop.  He was there by 
himself facing four desperate men.  He had a revolver, but he was almost at 
their mercy should they attack.  Just then W.W. Clevenger came into the 
corridor and Glenn felt mightily relieved, for they could not attack two men 
armed with revolvers.


	FLOODS IN CALDWELL COUNTY
	Narrators:  Wm. Guffey and Mrs. Zelma Filson

     The recent heavy rains of the spring of 1935 which raised the creeks to 
the bank-tops brought back recollections of early floods in this county.  Or 
perhaps, the old-timers told about floods of which they had heard from their 
parents.
     The old people all spoke about the tradition of a bad flood in 1844 in 
this county, the freshet of 1844, as they called it.  Mr. William Guffey said 
his grandfather came into the county that year and he felt that flood.  Mr. 
Guffey's grandmother was alive in his youth and she spoke of it.  It 
especially affected Shoal Creek in the Bonanza country around the present 
Gould Farm and the rise was due to a rain of 5 or 6 days.  It ruined the 
spring crops on the bottoms as well as the vegetable gardens.  For days there 
was no communication with the least bit of outside world.  No mail came 
through for weeks.  The farmer had to plant all over again.  He used quick 
growing crops.
     In 1870, there was a flood whom many people actually remember.  It 
occurred in the same district along old Shoal and it established a "flood 
record" the water covering hundreds of rich bottom land.  This was the time 
when Jim Filson who had built his new cabin found that the Shoal water had 
come into his house, so he had to move over and stay with his brother Wash 
Filson for a few days till the water went down.  That was on the old Jim 
Filson farm, in N.Y. township.  At that time, there was but one bridge in the 
county, so it did no harm to the bridges. 
     The next destructive flood to follow in the path of the creeks came in 
June 1904, when all the streams in the county went on a tear.  Lick Fork, Log, 
Long, Mill, usually well-mannered, joining Shoal this year in a rampage after 
a very heavy rain of six hours.  The Gould Farm folks declared that it was 
fully as bad as the 1870 flood, and perhaps as bad as the 1844 flood, judging 
from the reports which had been handed down.  This 1904 flood swept away 
bridges or damaged them badly.  Land between Hamilton and Kingston was covered 
with water to the depth of two to six feet.  Allen Mumpower's ice houses at 
Kingston were swept away.  The James bridge east of Kingston went down after 
many people had crossed it.  All the corn was lost.  The farmers drove their 
stock up on the hills - or saw them drowned.  E.G. Wallace was in a very bad 
section, rich bottom lands, four feet of water between his house and the 
barns, but he saved all his stock.  Mr. Evans, a Welsh farmer, lost all his 
hogs.  The water was two feet deep in his house.  (The interviewer knew all 
these people and talked with them after that flood.)  The flood occurred about 
daylight on a Saturday morning and by midnight, the flood had subsided.  All 
Sunday, people drove in from everywhere to see the results.  Even then, old 
Shoal looked like a real river.
     Interviews  1933, 34, 35.


	THE MILK BUSINESS IN HAMILTON FIFTY OR SIXTY YEARS AGO
	Narrator:  Mrs. Joe Conley, 78

     Some fifty or sixty years ago, the milk business was quite different from 
that of today.  In the 70s, almost everyone had a cow, or if you did not, your 
neighbor did, so the children went after the milk with a pail or bucket, 
according to the way you talked.  No accurate measurement was made in this 
neighborly milk sale.  Often a contracted quart was nearer a half gallon than 
a quart.  No one would have thought of buying a pint.  Milk sold at four cents 
in summer and five in the winter.
     In the early eighties milk-wagons were running and William Evans has the 
credit of establishing the first dairy in Hamilton.
     His equipment is especially interesting in these modern days of sanitary 
ideas.  He had a covered wagon in which he carried two large covered milk-
wagons.  There was a large milk ladle holding a quart with a long handle which 
he dipped down into the cans.  The customer stood outside with his vessel.  
The wagon made two trips a day and Mr. Evans or his boy rang a school bell 
before approaching each customer's home.  The customer hurried out the front 
door, vessel in hand.  He rang three times, and if no one came, he drove away 
and the customer did without milk.  
     Often times, the bank whereon the customer stood was slippery or icy, and 
more than once someone has slipped down under the milk wagon.  Of course, all 
sorts of dust and germs got into the milk as it was opened on the roadside or 
as it was carried into the house, but no one worried and liked their milk just 
as well.
     Evans was followed by Wade McClelland, son of J.W. north of town.  
McClelland committed suicide after much illness and already his milk business 
had been sold to a man named Yoakum.
     All these milkmen had the old time methods, indeed they probably went on 
till late in the 90s.  Allen Jones and his milk-boy Adolpus Fittered still 
rang the bell and peddled in big cans, at that time.
     It was about that time, that milk in bottles began to be sold and door 
delivery, minus the bell.  At first, some customers were against the bottles, 
but now no one would want to go back to the old way of buying milk.  The 
narrator added that the Milk-wagon horse got onto his job in the early days, 
and used to start on his route, when he heard his driver shove the milk lid 
down on the big cans.


	THE OLD MIRABILE TAVERN AT MIRABILE
	Narrator:  Mrs. Kate Hartpence, 70, Mirabile

     Mrs. Hartpence is the present owner and occupant of the old building 
known as the Mirabile Tavern and later as the Mirabile Hotel.  She uses it now 
as a private residence.
     It is made in two parts out of two different materials and at two 
periods.  The brick part is the original part built probably in 1850.  The 
frame addition was built by Isaac Sackman when he owned and ran the hotel.  
The old brick part stands on the street in true old tavern style.  It 
resembles greatly the Arrow Rock Tavern in its style of architecture, with a 
chimney and fireplace at end gable end.  On the outside, one may see the ends 
of the iron rods which run thru the buildings as stays.
     Inside are the great fireplaces, now boarded up and stoves are used.  The 
old pine wood work is still there but new floors have been put in.  There are 
two front doors.  The one to the west opened to the tavern office, where 
possibly in the early days whiskey was sold.  There yet remains the high bench 
by the wall which served for hotel business and where the tax collector came 
with his books.
     The other door opens into a hall with various doors.  One door with an 
old fashioned latch leads upstairs.  One goes into what in early days was the 
tavern dining room with a great fireplace.  This is now Mrs. Hartpence's 
living room.
     When Mr. Sackman built the frame part, he built it on a lower level and 
added a kitchen, dining room and bedroom, besides bedrooms upstairs.  The 
frame upstairs rooms are in bad repair now and have not been used, for years 
and rarely entered.
     When asked about the "loopholes" (holes through which to discharge 
weapons) which popular report said were present in the back of the building 
from Civil War days, to be used by the Union militia housed there, Mrs. 
Hartpence, said that she knew nothing of them.  They might have been changed 
before she moved into the house.
     Interview  November 1934.     

(Another different narration about this old building is to be found in the 
first series of these interviews.)


	PLAY PARTY SONGS OF THE EARLY GENERATIONS IN CALDWELL COUNTY
	Narrators:  Andrew McCray, Mrs. Mary Snyder, and Wm. Worthington

     It has been the intention of the interviewer to get a few of the earlier 
songs which were used in the "play parties" popular in the 60s, 70s, and even 
in the 80s and 90s in this county and elsewhere.
     As a matter of course, these songs must have been fairly universal, since 
the versions used in these parts checked almost exactly with the versions used 
by the mother of the interviewer (now 81) in her youthful home in Ohio.  These 
play songs provided the music for a sort of church members square dance or 
Virginia reel.  As some one has said, "Some people considered it all right for 
them to go to a dance, others refused to go to a dance, but would go to a play 
party when songs instead of a fiddle were used."  These same songs were often 
used by children out on the school ground.
     Many of the old timers spoke of the following, but not all were sure of 
the words, so long a time had elapsed.
          Now's the time to chase the squirrel
          To chase the squirrel, to chase the squirrel,
          Now's the time to chase the squirrel
          This cold and frosty morning.
          Up and down the center we go, (repeated in a refrain as above)
          This cold and frosty morning.
Mother of interviewer sang it, "Up and down and thru we go."
     Then there was a group of songs concerned with a miller.  These songs 
were typical of early days when the pioneer life centered much about a mill.  
"The old Miller" was a popular one and was used even in towns like Hamilton as 
late as the 90s, by grown-ups who did not dance.  (Tune to Old Miller goes to 
Turkey in the Straw)
          There was an old miller who lived by himself
          As the wheels turned round, he gained all his wealth.
          One hand in the hopper, the other in the sack,
          Ladies step forward, gents fall back.
     Another miller song was Weavily Wheat.
          I will have none of your weavily wheat, I will have not your barley.
          But I want some of your best white wheat to make a cake for Charley
          He's a fine young, Charley is a dandy,
          Charley likes to kiss the girls whenever it comes handy.
(Variant - And does it up so handy.)
     Another miller song that comes from the south part of the county is 
Bingo.
          The miller's big dog lay on the floor and Bingo is his name o.
          B-I-N-G-O and Bingo is his name o.
The ending of a verse with o is quite typical of these songs.
     Most had used Dan Tucker, but few remembered anything but the chorus.
"Get out of the way for old Dan Tucker, he's too late to get his supper."
     Most recalled "King William" with some variants.  Some sang "Go to the 
east, go to the west" while others sand "Point to the east etc."  This came to 
be a child's song in games.
     There was an old nonsense song, which some of the oldest sang.  "Mammy oh 
mammy, my toes are sore, a dancing on your sandy floor."  (For they did really 
sand the cabin floors in early days.)  Another old nonsense song was brought 
out, " One little, two little, three little Indians," and so on thru till  
"Ten Little Indians Boys" was the climax.  It was called "Old John Brown had a 
little Indian."  Then you made it go backwards.
     Another common enough, it seemed, was Skip ta ma lou.  They sang it "Just 
from Kidder, Skip ta ma Lou, (repeated three times) Skip ta ma Lou, my 
Darling.  The next stanza, went "If you can't get a red bird, a blue bird will 
do, (repeat three times) Skip ta ma Lou my Darling."  You could carry this on 
for several stanzas, if you were clever at verses.
     Interviews  1933-5.


	PIONEER DRESS IN THE OZARKS OF MILLER CO. MO
	Narrator:  Wm. Irvin, 80, of Iberia, Mo.

     The narrator made it plain that by pioneer he meant anything between 1865 
and 1880, for the Ozarks were late in settling.
     The women wove and made practically all the family clothes till at least 
1875.  Men wore jeans clothing.  Few wore neck tie for why wear a tie when a 
heavy beard hid it?  Some men wore the only tie in their life on their wedding 
day and hated it.  They wore knitted galluses to hold up their pants and the 
cute saying was, "The longer I wear them, the longer they get."
     Women wore linsey dresses at home, which they made from first to last.  
The waist was tight, with a close row of buttons up the front and fine 
buttonholes.  Lace was at the neck and hands, with a very long very full 
skirt.  They got out pictures to show it.  The tin types showed many angel 
sleeves, and many big cameo pins at the neck.
     Women parted their hair in the middle, coiled it low on the neck.  Hair 
oil was in good form for both sexes.  Wives cut their husbands hair, sometimes 
on a bowl, or maybe the husband would go on a Sunday morning to a neighbor who 
did it for nothing.  Women used no powder, or at most, it was flour or 
cornstarch.  Rouge was avoided as a sign of bad character.
     Children went barefoot as much as possible.  A pair of shoes a year 
(possibly homemade) was the limit.  Shoe polish was made of stove soot and 
water.  Stockings were home made, as also straw hats, braided at home from 
straw.


	FANCY WORK IN THE SEVENTIES AND EARLY EIGHTIES
	Narrators:  Mrs. Maud McBrayer and Mrs. Helen Booth

     Both these ladies were interviewed on this subject, both having done much 
of it in the periods listed.  They had similar tastes, both had come from 
eastern states into the same part of Missouri for their married life.
     Both said that in the 70s and 80s, the making of cotton quilts, 
crocheting and knitting were types of fancy work left for the grandmothers, or 
older mothers:  the younger women as they were knew little of it. Of course, 
there was a rage for knitting wonderful yarn scarfs for men, in bright 
borders, but older women generally did it.  The older ones too, were still in 
the 70s and early 80s doing crewel work on chair tidies and rugs of different 
sorts.  Both spoke of the various fads which came out.
     Both said that silk quilts were a leading fad in that time.  Every one 
was saving pieces for one or begging them.  Mrs. Booth has a hexagon silk 
quilt made by her when 14 years old (hexagon is the old name for French 
bouquet of today) and each small piece was backed on a piece of paper to hold 
it stiff.  Mrs. McBrayer had a silk crazy quilt of the early 80s which was a 
very great fad.  It has fancy stitches galore.  Mrs. Booth did not make a 
crazy quilt but her daughter Lizzie did and it took a prize at the Old 
Hamilton Fair.  Each could spend hours telling where each scrap originated.
     The silk floss used in this work came on little spools much like twist 
spools, it was of heavy grade and you bought it at the millinery stores.
     Both recalled the days of arrasene embroidery, this being thread almost 
as broad as baby ribbon, used with a special needle.  Mrs. Booth still has a 
dark red silk velvet piano scarf, worked with cream arrasene floss and dark 
green leaves.  Combined with arrasene, the women often used ribbons, using 
wider ribbons to fashion rose petals and narrow ribbon for daisies and forget-
me-nots.  Such work appeared on velvet table covers, sofa pillows, wall 
banners.  Fancy work of that era was rich and expensive, everything was made 
of plush or velvet, and lined with silk of some grade or other.
     Then Mrs. McBrayer recalled the fad for sea-foam work, covering old 
bottles or dishes with a mixture of salt and water and alum, a portion being 
colored light blue or green to make background, while figures were fashioned 
on the background of white, a sort of cheap Wedgewood effect.
     Another fad was for paper flowers, which caused the drug stores to order 
large amounts of French tissue paper.  At this period in the 80s, paper 
flowers were in fine taste, and not at all tacky.  A popular use was in wall 
panels.  You took a piece of paste board, size of a medium size picture, 
covered it with cotton batting, put over that a sheet of black tissue all 
crumpled up to make it crinkly, and on that you arranged a bouquet of 
wonderful paper flowers of all types.  This was used in your best room.
     Macreme cord was in good style for crocheting chair tidies and piano 
stool covers.  Contrasting ribbons were run through the slits.  This was a 
very heavy cord and was quick work.  Mrs. Booth still has her piano stool 
cover.
     On the backs of chairs, you could see tidies of various sorts or even a 
bag made of silk handkerchiefs which the men of the family had probably turned 
down as too bright for use.  On the corner of the store oil paintings, you 
would probably see a picture throw, made of silk with a border embroidered or 
painted on bolting cloth.
     It was quite the thing for women to embroider velvet cloths for the front 
of the church pulpits as a gift.  Mrs. James Cowgill gave such an embroidered 
cloth to the Baptist church in Hamilton, and Miss Effie Dodge (daughter of 
Mrs. Dwight) gave one to the Congregational church.
     Hair wreaths belonged rather to the 70s, and were somewhat commemorative 
in nature, being the hair of relatives and friends, often dead.  They were 
framed in a deep box frame and hung in the best room.  Wax wreaths belonged in 
the same time and were likewise framed.  Some women wove hair watch chains for 
their men.
     Another fad of the late 70s was making bead baskets, a very tedious and 
costly fad, yet worth it all when you saw your finished bead basket hung from 
a stout hook in the middle of the parlor ceiling.  It had no function except 
decoration.  The work was done in a big square, with fringe at edges, and when 
finished, bead ropes were fastened midway on the four sides; tassels were 
fastened at the four corners and the middle, and the basket was ready to be 
hung.
     Another hanging type of fancy work was the cardboard balloons popular in 
the early 80s, sewed together by wool yarn.  Both women remembered the 
prevalence of cardboard mottoes, worked with yarn, framed with glass and hung 
over door ways.  "God Bless Your Home" was a common motto.  These were always 
panel size; but few survive now.
     Foot stools might be made of tomato cans covered and sewed together 
around an inner can.  Pillow cases were ordinarily hidden under pillow shams, 
worked in red cotton thread with outlined pictures and appropriate words, like 
"Good Morning" and its companion "Good Night."  Or longer remarks might be 
written on by the needle.  Mrs. Booth recalled that she got her red thread for 
this work by buying some cheap turkey red table cloth and unravelling the 
thread.  It would not fade.  Bolster cases and bed turn backs over the sheets 
were also made to match these shams, if one was desirous.  The shams were a 
single breadth and just laid on the pillow.
     Another foolish fad, as Mrs. McBrayer recalls, was the use of very small 
rolling pins, which were covered with velvet, the ends gilded with gold paint, 
small hooks put into the rolling pins, and from these you suspended button 
hooks and glove hooks.  This rolling pins hung by ribbons from the wall near 
the bureau.  Of course, there was no end to variety of your pin cushion for 
the best bureau or dresser, which was not intended to be used for pins at all.
     One of the best sources for unique fashionable fancy work was the 
Delineator, which did not at all resemble the present fiction-fashion form of 
that magazine.  However, the most common way of getting the latest fancy work 
was from a friend who had been to the city or "East," and on their return to 
the little town would spread the newest fad.


	SHE SAW THE FIRST TRAIN IN THESE PARTS
	Narrator:  Mrs. Mary Jane Eichler, 94, Braymer

     Mrs. Eichler was born in Mirabile Caldwell county 1841 and was 94 in Jan 
1935.  She was in Utica Livingston county (a few stations east of Hamilton) 
the day the first train on the Hannibal and St. Joseph track came through in 
1858, and says it was quite a gathering of people from far and near.  All were 
anxious to see the new train.  It was the first train which most of them had 
seen.
     She with her first husband Franklin Cox and their son Joseph F. Cox, her 
father Conrad Oster, and Warren Hays (great uncle of little Joseph) stood 
looking for the engine to come.  When the train did come, little Joseph in 
fear began crying, urging his Uncle Warren to take him up, lest the train go 
over his feet.
     At this time, there was a general store and one drug store at Utica, 
Utica being their closest town, for a trading place.  They drove there in a 
farm wagon, sitting on boards, no spring seats, and it was a twenty-five mile 
trip from Elk Grove Caldwell County where they lived.  Whenever they made the 
trip from Elk Grove to Utica, they had to stay over night, for you could not 
do 50 miles a day with horses and a lumber wagon.  It meant two days away from 
home and a hard trip, so they seldom went; but to see a railroad train and 
cars, why it was worth it. 
     Mrs. Eichler is descended from a Revolutionary ancestor Pliney Hays of 
Virginia, who served with Washington.
     Interview  1934.


	THE SNOW STORM OF FEBRUARY 1881 IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Frank Steward, Ida Hargrove, Eva Glasener, etc.

     When the snow storm of Thanksgiving 1934 held up many travelers so that 
they could not get home that night, it recalled to old timers the terrible 
snow storm of February 1881.
     Some say that the snow as 6 feet deep in spots.  Mrs. Hargrove then of 
Nettleton, where a train was blocked, remembered that one hundred lunches were 
ordered from the Caldwell Hotel in Breckenridge, and about that number from 
Chillicothe to feed the passengers on the train snow bound there for a day or 
two.
     Mrs. Elizabeth Dawson said that it was in this storm that Lewis Clampitt 
lost his way home and froze to death.  The snow prevented his using his buggy 
after a certain point.  Mrs. Helen L. Booth recalled that in this February 
storm, her husband, the late Dan Booth moved the family and goods from the 
Lovely Ridge district to Hamilton to live, and the snow was so deep and packed 
that the moving sleds drove straight through fields, over fences there by 
gaining about a mile.
     Bill Hemry recalled that the citizens of Kingston raised a "purse" and 
employed a dozen men to shovel out snow on a road leading from Kingston to 
Hamilton.  Billy Dodge positively could not get his mail hack through to 
Kingston for 3 or 4 days.  The county seat went without mail.
     Train service through Hamilton was gone for two days and when on Sunday 
afternoon the train finally pulled in from the east, there was a big crowd to 
meet it at the depot.  Eva Glasener was there and recalls the first train with 
the four engines, all covered with the snow of the drifts.  Three hours later, 
came a second train with three engines.  
     On the farms, much live stock perished.  Men could not get out to feed or 
help.  The snow began Friday morning and did not stop till Saturday night and 
was a wonder for people to talk about for many years.
     Irvin Harper remembers that a dance was scheduled the Friday night at 
Anderson's Hall in Hamilton.  The boys hired two big sleds and went around 
after the girls.  On the return, the snow was so deep that each fellow carried 
his girl to her front porch.
     Frank Stewart recalls a party too.  He was then a young unmarried fellow. 
 A Valentine party was to be held on the Friday night at Abe Kendig's home 
north of town.  All the young men got out with shovels and shovelled snow for 
a mile where the drifts were bad so the wagons and sleds could get to the 
party.
     Eva Glasener recalled that her sister Martha was then teaching at the 
Foley school near Nettleton and usually made the trip afoot.  That night, the 
people begged her to stay all night, but she was invited to the dance at 
Hamilton and walked back, thru the drifts.  A neighbor heard of it and 
followed her to rescue if needed, but she got in all O.K.
     Interviews  1934.


	HOME MADE FOODS AND CLOTHES IN DAVIESS COUNTY IN THE SIXTIES
	Narrator:  Mrs. Ursula Brookshire

     Mrs. Brookshire is now in her eighty second year, so she knows much of 
these things.  She gives several new things which other narrators have not 
told.
     Making chewing gum.  The Drake family had a son in the Civil War who did 
not chew tobacco, but wrote home for something to chew on while in camp.   
     They had a family recipe for chew gum.  They took the gum from pine trees 
and boiled it for about an hour with butter and a little sweetening for the 
taste.  Then they pulled it out in long sticks and let it cool.  It made a 
yellow color.  They sent him a good supply.  Every one chewed it in their 
home, men and women.
     Candy Substitute.  They did not need to make candy or buy it, for they 
always laid up a good supply of maple sugar for eating.  They had a small 
maple sugar camp on their place, just big enough for home consumption, not for 
sale.  They gathered the juice from the trees, of course, in cold weather then 
boiled it down in kettles.  Then they would take a spoon and sprinkle it over 
pans of snow to harden it.  My!  Wasn't it good!  Some folks poured the syrup 
out in little dishes to give it a nice form.
     They ate wheat cakes which were raised overnight, but did not have 
buckwheat cakes, because the father raised no buckwheat.  People ate largely 
what they raised on the place.
     They did buy some sugar, there was a dark brown sugar which was called 
Muscavator sugar, which they bought.
     The Drake family had a small flax field for home use.  Its yield gave 
them hemp and flax.  First the children would gather the flax stalks and lay 
them on the ground.  When the bottom of the flax stalks would begin to rot by 
contact with the ground, it was a sign they were ready to work.  They took it 
and pounded it with a mortor hammer till flat, then took it to a heckler, a 
board with nails in it, and ran the flax through it to remove the rough parts, 
then through a still finer heckler, for a further cleaner.  The next to the 
last time through these hecklers gave what was called hemp, and this was saved 
for spinning into towels and tablecloths.  The finest make the flax from which 
sheets and some clothing were made.  Mrs. Brookshire, in common with all the 
girls of her family could sit at the flax wheel and do her number of hours per 
day.
     Interview  August 20, 1935.


	CORN SONGS, SLAVE PATROLS, IN LIVINGSTON COUNTY 
                     AND SOME MEMORIES OF SLAVE DAYS
	Narrator:  Mrs. Helen Kirtley
 
     Mrs. Kirtley (nee Helen Leeper of Breckenridge) married into the Kirtley 
family of Livingston county which family had been slave owners.  This 
interview consists of facts told her by her mother-in-law, as to customs of 
slavery in that county.
     To watch slaves and prevent plotting to escape, they had a system of 
neighborhood patrols or pattarolls, as some of the ignorant called them, who 
under a leader, made the rounds of the plantations to watch the general 
conduct of the slaves.  No slave was allowed off his plantation after nine 
o'clock without a written pass from his owner.  This system began early in the 
40s, soon after the plantations began to grow up there.  Asa T. Kirtley was 
the first captain of the patrols, being the husband of the Mrs. Kirtley who 
was the original narrator.
     There was also more or less happiness among the slaves, and masters tried 
to make them contented by giving them merry making which suited their 
dispositions.  Old Mrs. Kirtley told of a pretty custom, existing among them, 
which sounds strangely like the folklore customs of Europe.  When the corn had 
been husked and was in an immense pile, the slaves picked up the master raised 
him to their shoulders and carried him around the corn, singing songs which 
were too old for them to know the origin of them.  Such songs were ordinarily 
called corn songs, and every darkey in that section knew them, hearing them 
from their babyhood.  They were what we today might call nonsense rhymes, but 
they helped the work.
     Interview  1932.


	SOME HISTORY OF THE FORDS IN CALDWELL COUNTY
	Narrators:  George Streeter and E.G. Wallace

     Both these narrators knew Caldwell county before the day of many bridges 
over the numerous streams.  hence they knew the day of crossing creeks by 
fords.  While the following named fords do not include all of those used by 
the old timers, yet they may illustrate the usage.  It will be noticed also 
that most of the bridges were put on the spots of familiar fords.
     In the beginning, there are some old stories connected with the fords 
which should be told:  In 1891, at Kenney's Ford over Shoal Creek, Wm. 
Brazelton and Garrett Clute of Kingston were almost drowned when trying to 
cross the creek, up to an unusual height, with wagons loaded with goods.
     In 1883, when George J. Redhair and wife of Catawba were returning from 
Breckenridge where they had been trading that day, they struck the ford after 
night, and not knowing that it had risen they went into Mud creek as usual.  
They were both drowned and their bodies were found the next day.  They are 
buried in the Black Oak cemetery.  Then there is the story told by Mr. Wallace 
about Jim Houghton who had just brought his bride here from N.Y. in 1875.  
They had been to town to buy an outfit and on return found the Otter creek 
swollen at the ford, but thought they could risk it.  They had quite an 
experience, by the upset of the wagon and the loss of some things, but escaped 
to the shore, out of the water.  They lived in N.Y. township.  During the 
middle 80s while the covered bridge this side of Kingston was under repair, 
travelers had to use the ford near by which the early settlers used up the 
steep banks. 
     William Guffey and E.G. Wallace both brought to mind the ford of the 
Crooked river in Rockford township which indeed gave the name of Rock ford to 
the township.  This ford is quite historic with two stories; it is said that 
an Indian battle occurred there about a hundred years before white settlers 
came; then it is the authenticated road over which the Mormons made their 
entrance into Caldwell county from the south in 1836.
     Both the last named men recalled the fords in N.Y. township.  On the road 
to Breckenridge, there was the old ford at Haun's Mill and the historic Mormon 
town ford, both Mormon sites used by these people in the Mormon occupation.  
There was the Cotton wood ford on the road to Hawk's Mill and the ford at 
Filson's Mill, both well travelled by early settlers going to mill.  There was 
a ford over Otter creek (not the one of the Houghton disaster), and on the 
road to Kingston from that part, there was the James ford over which James 
bridge was later built.
     Besides these fords, Mr. Streeter mentioned the Jones ford over Long 
creek, Cox's ford over Shoal, which was bridged 1888, Tobbin's ford in Davis' 
township, Snyder's ford in N.Y. twp. over the Mud creek, and Henkin's ford 
which was bridged some later by the familiar Henkin's Bridge.  The Mapes ford 
near Kingston is mentioned as a baptizing place of the 80s.
     Interviews  1934 and earlier.


	THE OLD CLAMPITT HOTEL AND THE OLD STATE ROAD
	Narrator:  Mrs. E. Dawson, 90, Hamilton

     Mrs. Dawson came into the county 1870 and things were still rather 
primitive.  There was an old hotel on the country roads in their community 
which interested her.  It was the Clampitt Hotel, a typical part log house 
built in Arrow Rock style.  They had built it probably as a private home, but 
a stage road ran by it and often, the passengers would spend the night there 
before going further on the road.  It was built near a deer lick and a famous 
spring then.  Eventually it ceased being a hotel possibly because of the end 
of the state road.  It burned down about 40 years ago.
     At that time, section lines had been set as the place for roads but these 
lines were not yet well-followed, by reason of lack of bridges and 
convenience.  The stage road which passed the Clampitt house was rutted by 
wagons and sunken and washed, which bothered the eastern folk, but did not 
worry the older settlers at all.  People said that the old stage road was 
originally an Indian hunting trail, then wagons and a road was made without 
any effort!  Several years ago, this old state road could still be seen by 
those who knew where to look, in fenced in ploughed fields.  Farmers still 
complain of certain corners being hard to push the plow through.
     This old Hotel was on the road east of Hamilton about four miles out.
     Interview  1934.


	THE FIRST BRIDGE IN CALDWELL COUNTY AND THE COVERED BRIDGE IN CALDWELL COUNTY
	Narrators:  Chas. Hogsett and Wm. Hemry

     Mr. Hemry recalls when this bridge was put up, and the talk it made.
     The first bridge in Caldwell county was built 1859 over Shoal, being a 
short distance this way from Kingston.  Prior to the building of bridges, 
drivers and riders sought out familiar fords by which to cross the creeks.  
The new bridge was on the state road which ran from Kingston to Hamilton and 
further.  The stone piers were laid by Ovie Hutchinson who lived in this 
county, and he did such good work that his piers lasted out two wood bridges.
     The first was a covered bridge 120 feed long, which like all covered 
bridges, was as dark as a tunnel.  It cost $6000.  The floor was made of heavy 
crosswise beams, covered with long planks running lengthwise.  Chas. Burnett 
remembers that he went through it in 1878 when he and his folks were on their 
way from Indiana to a new home in Caldwell county.  George Streeter recalls 
that in the late 60s, his ox cart wheel came off by the old bridge and almost 
threw him into the Shoal creek.
     In the early part of the Civil War, this bridge was marked for 
destruction by the Southern sympathizers.  They were trying to destroy the 
passageway of Union troops into Kingston.  It was smeared with turpentine 
liberally to be burned, but the workers heard the report that Union troops 
were coming, so they were scared away.  It was about the time that the Court 
house at Kingston was burned (1860).
     As a side remark on this episode, Mr. Hemry said that much of the 
sectional feeling before the war and during the war was aroused by a certain 
Rev. or Elder Stone, a Hardshell Baptist preacher of Plattsburg, and 
Knoxville, who used to preach to the Hardshell Baptists in this county.  Some 
of the Hardshell Baptists (Primitive) were also Southern sympathizers.
     In the early 80s, the bridge showed weakness.  Chas. Hogsett who 
remembers that time tells of it.  The lower stringers broke, rendering the 
bridge unsafe.  Travel was suspended over the bridge by order of the county 
court to prevent accidents, and work was begun to repair it.  All teams 
habitually travelling it or those who were there by chance were compelled to 
ford the creek and climb the steep banks.  It was said to contain enough 
lumber for two bridges.  Even after this repair, some thought it was not safe 
to travel.
     It was torn down July 1894 to make room for the new steel one.  This 
bridge has always been used twice as much as any of the other bridges over 
Shoal creek.  The company who built the steel bridge took the old bridge on 
pay, and sold the bridge to the Hamilton and Kingston railroad to be used for 
ties.  The bridge having been under cover all its life was protected from the 
weather.
     Interviews  1934.


	THE OLD 1855 ROAD
	Narrators:  George Fine of Oklahoma and others

     This road is important to our study, because Hamilton is built on this 
road.  Before A.G. Davis built the first house in this town, the old State 
road went through the place.  It led from Richmond to Gallatin (north in 
Daviess county).  At the time of the early fifties and before that, it was the 
only thoroughfare connecting Daviess county and this section of the country 
with the Missouri river.  All the merchandise consumed by the inhabitants of 
these parts was transported over this old road by ox-teams, which would carry 
it from Camden, in Ray county, the nearest point on the river.
     In 1855, the stage coach line between Gallatin and Lexington was 
established, and the newly built Davis Hotel in Hamilton (@ 1856) became one 
of the stations.  Prior to this, there seemed to have been a semi-weekly mail 
hack which ran from Richmond to Gallatin.
     This old State road is mentioned by old timers even in memories of the 
early seventies, such people living in the district south of Hamilton.  The 
narrator, George Fine, now in seventies, is a son of Elder Fine who lived 
along the road and he told his son much of the foregoing facts.  From the farm 
of Elder William Fine, who lived two and a half miles north of Hamilton, in 
the 60s and 50s, to the town of Kingston to the south, but two houses could be 
seen, on Tom Creek, one owned by Samuel Hill, one by Silas Dodge, both well 
known pioneers in the county before 1860.
     Interview  1935.


	AN OLD CALDWELL COUNTY STATE ROAD
	Narrator:  Charles Gurley, Hamilton Twp.

     Mr. Gurley is a son of the last Geo. and Sarah Gurley who came into 
Caldwell county 1868 and settled in Gomer township.  He grew up out there and 
recalls a road, commonly called "The Old State Road."  It appears from several 
sources that there were several State Roads, hence this is not to be 
identified with the one called "The Old State Road of 1855" in this series of 
interviews.
     This old state road which Mr. Gurley recalls ran by the old Gurley place, 
now its trace lies in the front yard of the Ed Gurley farm.  He thus knew the 
road by boyhood experience and in later years heard farmers speak of certain 
parts of their farms as being hard to plow because the old state road ran 
there.
     He recalls that it came from Chillicothe from the N.E. then ran in order 
across the following farms at the corners, Charl, Gurley, Dole, Levi Conner, 
Cramer, and he did not know exactly thru what farms it ran before the Clark 
farm or after the Cramer farm.  It went past the Clampitt farm, so several 
narrators say, south west to Kingston.
     There was an early stage coach road, and the Wm. Clampitt house, or hotel 
as it virtually came to be, was a stage stop before the stage coach thru 
Hamilton to Kingston and Lexington was popular.  Besides, it went to different 
places.  (See Mrs. Dawson paper for the Clampitt Hotel.)
     Mr. Gurley said that in coming to Hamilton in the early 70s, they drove 
south west from their house on the old state road to the Clampitt house, then 
struck a trail in the prairie that went north west to Hamilton.  The first 
trail they used went through the farm known now as the Steve Hicks farm, but 
when the land along that trail was taken up and fenced, they used a trail that 
led through the so called Kellogg farm, further east that also led to town.
     He as others recalled the Wm. Clampitt house as the place where many 
early dances were held.
     In this connection with the old trails leading from Hamilton south-west, 
Mrs. E. Dawson says that when they wanted to go from their farm two miles east 
of Hamilton to visit their friends in the "York Settlement" in the 1870, they 
drove bee line off south east, crossing the Ed. Gurley section from N.W. to 
S.E. and passing the Clampitt house.  This road was terrible, when they struck 
it, but the prairie trail was even worse.
     Interviews  1934.


	PIONEER FOOD IN THE OZARKS IN MILLER COUNTY
	Narrators:  Mrs. Sarah Workman of Iberia and Others

     One of the "standbyes" of food among the pioneer Ozarkians, as Mrs. 
Workman says, was sorgham.  This was her experience and that of her parents 
down there.  Sorghum day was one of the big work days of the year.  All day 
long, a big line of kettles (or "kittles" as they say) were boiled and skimmed 
at intervals to keep the sorghum clear.  The scum was deposited in a hole in 
the side of the yard, called the "gosh hole," the origin being unknown to her. 
 At night, when a person went out in the dark, the warning was, "Look out for 
the gosh hole."  There was little sugar in the average pioneer Miller county 
home, and sorghum made the main sweetening in the 60s and 70s.
     Sassafras, being free for the gathering in the woods, was used for drink 
instead of store tea.  Besides, it was good for the blood as a spring tonic.  
Coffee, if used at all, was green, and was roasted at home in the stove oven. 
 It like sugar, came from town, and town those days in Miller county often 
meant Jefferson City or in the earliest days of 70s, might be St. Louis.  That 
was a long trip and took too much time and money.
     There was milk to drink in the summer, but in the winter, the family cows 
were turned into the woods to feed themselves.
     Bread on weekdays was corn bread, corn cakes and fried mush.  Mush and 
milk made fine suppers.  There was little wheat bread, hence wheat bread was 
saved for company or made into biscuits for Sunday.
     There was little fruit yet in the pioneer farms.  Of course, the hills 
were full of wild blackberries and gooseberries which some women dried for 
winter.  Apples and peaches also were dried by exposing them on the sloping 
tops of porches, tables or ovens in the house.  Corn was cut off the cob and 
dried under cloth, beans and black eyed peas were dried on the vines and kept 
for the winter.  Peppers were hung in clusters from the rafters of the 
kitchen.  Tomatoes (love-apples, they were called then) were grown as 
decorative plants, but the fruit was not eaten, they would poison (pizen, as 
some said) the ones eating them.  Oranges and bananas, as well as lemons were 
not known by sight some of these early people.  Even within the last 35 years, 
so people in Iberia told me, there were times when such fruit was not on sale 
in these mountain towns of Miller Co., and one had to go to a town on the 
railroad and buy them off the train.
     Meat was the cheapest and commonest food they had.  Game was everywhere, 
and no game laws, all you needed was a gun and a steady eye.  Wild turkey, 
venison, squirrel, prairie chicken maybe, and rabbit was just too common to 
eat, so they used it for its hide.
     Stoves were rare even till the 80s.  They used hearth cooking.  They 
baked potatoes there, fried their meat, make their pan cakes, corn bread, and 
even baked wheat bread there by the use of a three legged skillet.  They put 
coals under it and then covered it with a lid on which more coal rested.
     Keeping fire was quite a task in summer, they covered it with ashes 
between meals.  You see they had no matches.  If fires went out, they had to 
go a mile or so to the next neighbor and bring some home in a hurry.  Some men 
knew how to strike a spark from flint and catch it in light leaves and thus 
get a fire.
     Interview  1930.


	EARLY DAYS NEAR BRAYMER IN DAVIS TOWNSHIP
	Narrator:  Mrs. H.B. Cooper, Braymer

     Mrs. Cooper is the daughter of Mrs. Mary Jane Eichler who is one of the 
oldest residents in Caldwell county.  At any rate she is the oldest in point 
of residence.  Mrs. Cooper's talk is about her mother.  She was born 1841 at 
Mirabile when that town was hardly on the map, and with the exception of two 
years, she has spent her long life in Caldwell county.  When she was 4 years 
old, she with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Oster moved about three miles 
south east of what is now Braymer, her father buying twenty acres of land for 
12 cents an acre.  She often recalls the first pair of shoes she ever had.  
They were made from a piece of stout jeans which a neighbor woman had woven.  
Her father cut soles from the leather of a hide of a cow which had lately died 
and sewed them to the jeans.  Prior to that first pair, she like many pioneer 
children wore moccasins.  There were plenty of deer and wolves to provide 
skins in those early days in these parts.
     In the early 60s, her first husband Franklin Cox, died leaving her with 
two small children.  In the late 60s, she and late Judge Eichler, who came to 
own hundreds of acres of land in the county, were married.  He was a power in 
the early days of founding Braymer in the middle eighties.  Before that , he 
had been instrumental in establishing the post office at the hamlet of Elk 
Grove, the home community of the Eichlers.  The original Oster family and some 
of their descendants were buried in the Oster graveyard near Braymer.
     Interview  Fall 1934.


	A STORY OF TOOLS AND TWINE
	Narrator:  C.H. Bidwell, Island City, Oregon

     Chet Bidwell was reared in Hamilton, and from 1880-1883 he worked in the 
Hamilton Roller Mills under the late Frank Clark.  He told this story with a 
great deal of amusement.
     "I was employed in the Hamilton Flour and Grist Mills, and part of my 
duties was to attend to the exchange, which was quite a job, since from 10 to 
50 lots came in every day.  The mill was at the east end of town, quite a 
distance from Main street.  Farmers coming in, left their grist and went on up 
town to do their trading and to get their mail.  The old mill had a long porch 
and as each one came along, his grist was numbered and put on a record book.  
I had my oiling and other little jobs to do one day and then I began on my 
exchange work on the grists.  We had a table made out, showing the number of 
pounds of meal to give for the number of pounds of corn, and this was tacked 
up on the bin.
     I would take the grists one at a time, weight them and then dump them in 
the sink, then turn to the table and get the correct number of pounds of meal 
due them, weigh it and put it back on the porch, to wait for the owner, then 
go on to the next sack and so on.
     I had started the routine one day and was getting along nicely when I saw 
an old farmer who had brought in grists watching me closely.  Soon I came to a 
big sack, taller than I was.  I got the rruck under it, ran it inside, weighed 
it, and got ready to dump it.  I found it had a big long string on it.  
Wrapped 6 or 8 times round it, fully 4 feet long.  String was scarce with us, 
so I took my knife and proceeded to cut off what I needed to tie up the sack 
and place the rest on my string rack.  I turned around to the meal spout and 
drew out the meal due, weighed it out and started to put the sack back on the 
porch in the row, when the old farmer slipped up and grasped me by the 
shoulder, 'Young man, I hev bin going to mill fer fifty year, and I hev hed my 
grist tolled and stoled, and I hev paid a dollar a hundred to have it ground, 
but hang my hide, if ever I hed my string tolled afore, and dang me! if it 
won't be the last time you'll ever do it on me.'
     And sure enough that farmer never brought his grists to the Clark mill 
again in my time there at least."

Interviewer's note, the Clark mill has long ceased to be a mill.  It is now 
used as an ice plant.


	HORSE CLOGS
	Narrator:  Stephen Stubblefield of Kingston

	A Pioneer Farm Contrivance

     Some one recently brought from the Ozarks a queer wooden contraption.  No 
one except Steve Stubblefield of Kingston was able to identify it.  He called 
it a "horse-clog" and told of its use in earlier days.
     The horse-clog consists of a piece of wood with a wood clevis which was 
used in early Caldwell county and elsewhere on a horse's foot to keep it from 
running when it was turned loose.  Mr. Stubblefield says that this wooden 
hobble was used in this part of the country when a lot of land was still open 
prairie, before the stock law required fencing.  The horses would be turned 
out with the clog, and when the owner wanted to catch them, the horses would 
not give so much trouble, since they could not run.
     The clog was made of a wood pole about 3 inches in diameter and 15 inches 
long.  It swung on one end from the wooden clevis ping, and the clevis went 
around the horse's foot, just above the hoof.  When the clog was used, the 
hobble form of tying the front feet together was not necessary.
     The above specimen, now on exhibition at Kingston, is possibly the only 
one to be found in several counties, since it is a long time ago when they 
were used.  Mr. Stubblefield says that anyone who had chased a horse all over 
a field on a wet day to corner it with a bridle would appreciate the value of 
a horse-clog.
     Interview  1934.


	FIGHTING FLIES IN EARLIER TIMES
	Narrators:  Mrs. Sarah Wonsettler, 87, and Mrs. Catherine Rogers, 91
     
     These women clearly recall the story of the battle with flies.  To them, 
the screen window and door is a comparatively late luxury, both remembering 
when they saw their first wire screening or as the merchants called it "wire 
cloth."
     The nearest approach to the wire screen was mosquito bar or fly net as it 
was sometimes called which came in several colors and white.  On the older 
houses round the country or in town, you may yet see rusty tacks around the 
windows which are a relic of the days when this net was tacked in at the 
windows, sometimes every spring to guard against the flies.
     But both women can go back even of that custom to the time when no 
percautions was taken against the entrance of the fly into the house.  Both 
tell stories of eating outdoors in the summer in the supper or even the dinner 
hour.  One member of the family kept a big leafy branch busy to protect the 
food as being eaten.  Indeed this custom was largely used even in the house 
until deep into the 80s in some country communities, especially if company was 
present.
     There was one duty for every good housekeeper.  Every morn after the 
morning dishes were done, the housewife armed herself and her children with 
two big rags and they literally drove out the flies for the day.  There had to 
be at least two persons on the job.  One person could not corner the flies.  
Just try it!
     Interviews  1934.


	THE COUNTRY DANCE IN CALDWELL AND DAVIESS COUNTY IN THE 60S AND 70S
	Narrator:  Mrs. Mahala Smith, 85, Hamilton

     The country dance of earlier days was quite an institution, but an 
institution which often brought a result of brawls, drunkenness and sometimes 
of murder.  The ordinary country dance, as the now old folks knew it, was very 
informal and was quite an innocent way for young folks to amuse themselves.  
The narrator has been to a plenty and knows it for a fact.
     The way of getting ready for a dance was like this:  The people who gave 
it moved all the beds out of the front room and sent word around that they 
were going to give a little dance that night.  The news spread like fire, for 
entertainment was scarce.
     When seven o'clock came, fellows and girls came for 10 or 15 miles around 
on horseback.  No one waited for a special invitation but considered it their 
right to go.  The young men, more often than not, carried a bottle of whiskey 
in one hip pocket and a revolver in the other, not for any specific purpose, 
but it was the style.  Both these things led to mischief.  In the dance room, 
often there were not enough girls to go around and the boys would quarrel over 
partners or fuss if their own girl whom they had brought should dance with 
another fellow.  Sometimes one quarrel would last over to the next dance and 
come to a head.  The whiskey might heat their heads or one fellow might 
accidentally jostle another or step on another young buck's boots.  All 
immediately became an insult.
     It is not strange that this innocent pleasure became into sad disrepute 
among strict parents many of whom were unwilling for their sons and daughters 
to learn to dance.  Some one said that there were three classes of people in 
early times; those who went to dances; those who thought it was wrong to go to 
dances, but went to play parties where they skipped to singing; and those who 
thought that play parties were a type of dances and would not go to them.
     The dances were usually square dances, the French Square or cotillion as 
Mrs. Smith's father called them.  The fiddler called the dance.  His first 
command was "All Run Away" and the boys all caught a girl and ran to the point 
of starting.  Then he called "Alamand Left" and "All Sashay" and "All Run 
Away, First lady dance to the man with the red shirt, swing your gal.  The 
second lady balance to the gent with the gray pants, Swing her around," and so 
on down the row; the while every man and girl were bumping the floor with 
rhythmic toe or heel.
     The fiddler who could keep his dancers laughing was much in demand, and 
he must also keep them in a hurry, so when the dance was over, every one was 
in a sweat.  No one knew exactly what the next call would be for the fiddler 
could vary it by his own originality.  Occasionally, some one else besides the 
fiddler would call off the dance.  It was an art in itself.
     Near Hamilton, dances were held in several country homes in the 60s and 
70s, narrators have told of them at the Clampitt Hotel east of town, and at a 
"red house" in the Simpson neighborhood south of town.
     Interview  1934.


	BUYING A ROAD OUT OF A FARM
	Narrator:  Garry [Garney] Puckett, Kingston

     In earlier days, it was not uncommon for a farmer to have to buy a road 
through someone's premises from his farm to the main road.  This might result 
from farmers having purchased their farms before section lines were run, or it 
might happen in the division of a large farm, part of which when sold would be 
off a road.  Such purchased "roads out" were secured by a deed which went with 
the place.  Some such private roads or lanes out through the farm of another 
person are still to be seen in the country.
     One example is in a tract sold in the recent tax sales held in Nov 1934. 
 The property sold in such sales of course, was property on which back taxes 
were unpaid for a number of years in Caldwell county.
     At this sale, Mr. Garry [Garney] Puckett, editor of a paper at Kingston 
Mo. purchased a "farm" 8 miles east of Kingston.  This land had not been 
cultivated for 60 years, or more.  It consisted of a strip of land lying along 
the west side of the J.M. Puckett farm north of the Gould Farm road and is 
about 32 feed wide and a quarter long, containing one acre.
     This strip of ground was given Amos Edwards, one of the early farmers of 
that community, by Geo. McFee, if he (Edwards) would build half of the fence, 
which he did, and accordingly received a deed for it.  For more than 30 years, 
Mr. Edwards used the strip for a road to reach his prairie farm north west of 
his home place.  The road was seldom used by any one else, except by James 
Puckett who owned the farm on the east side of the road.
     Years passed by and after Amos Edwards' death, the strip of ground was 
left out of the settled estate.  For more than fifty years, it has been known 
as Amos' road.
     At the tax sale, Mr. Garry [Garney] Puckett bought it in because it 
joined the farm of his father J.M. Puckett.  It may again be placed under 
cultivation just as it was some 60 years ago before it became "Amos' road."
     Interview  1934.


	THE 1874 DROUGHT AND THE GRASSHOPPER YEAR 1875
	Narrator:  William Morrow of Daviess Co.

     Mr. Morrow is competent to speak on both these subjects, having been here 
at that time.  He lived then and still lives northwest of Hamilton in Daviess 
County.  He well recalls the   drought of 1874 which everyone mentioned last 
summer in the 1934 drought.
     As a young man, Mr. Morrow worked on what was known as the Bradley place 
southeast of Hamilton (farm later owned by Jason Kinne).  In 1874, he was on 
that job.  He cut fence posts on Shoal creek and drove these posts that year, 
the subsoil being wet.  (This was not true in 1934.)  There was not much corn 
raised that year, but fodder was good, pastures were fair, and there was a 
good crop of oats which sold at about 35 cents.
     Mr. Morrow says that Jacob Wonsettler went to Clay county where the 
grasshoppers had eaten all the crops and bought a bunch of two year old 
cattle.  He drove them to Caldwell county and having wintered them on fodder, 
he sold them later at a fine profit, building up the Wonsettler money.
     Mitchell Bowers, Jacob and Samuel Wonsettler (brothers) and Ira Houghton, 
all of this county, went to Illinois along the Mississippi south of Quincy and 
bought several loads of corn that fall.  Buying up 700 to 800 head of cattle 
there from drought - sufferers they shipped them to Quincy where the feed was, 
and after fattening them, sold them on the Quincy market.  In the spring of 
1875, seed corn was in great demand and sold readily at one dollar and quarter 
a bushel.
     While 1875 is known in local history as the grasshopper year, Mr. Morrow 
says that one of the biggest corn crops in the history of this section was 
grown that year.  The grasshoppers came about the middle of July, as he 
recalls, stayed two or three days, then went east, having done comparatively 
little damage in these parts.  They travelled in swarms, and made a noise like 
a wind in their passage, sometimes almost obscuring the sunlight, and making 
the appearance of a dark cloud.
     
(Interviewer's note:  The interviewer recently met an old man who happened to 
be in Hamilton as a stranger on the occasion of the visit of the grasshoppers. 
 He had come up from Mississippi intending to buy a farm here; but as he sat 
on the veranda of the old Hamilton House opposite the depot and saw the clouds 
of grasshoppers as they swept through the air, he walked over to the depot and 
bought a ticket back to his own state where the grasshoppers did not come.)
     Interview  September 1934.


	WOMAN'S WORK IN EARLY DAYS IN FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP
	Narrator:  Mrs. Sonora Harrell, 86

     Mrs. Harrell was the daughter of Capt. Noblett of Fairview twp.  Her 
father put her to weaving when she was 13.  Her mother was dead and she wove 
everything for the family.  She first went to a neighbors and asked her to 
teach her, but the woman refused lest she herself lose trade, but offered to 
weave her goods at 15? cents a yard, the regular neighborhood price.  Mrs. 
Harrell then took her material home and plodded along alone till at last she 
became a fine cloth weaver, making cloth that sold at $2 and $1.25 a yard.  
She could make three yards of any kind of cloth a day.  The store dyes first 
came from Camden, Ray co. then later from Kingston or Hamilton.  There was 
madder for red, indigo for blue, log wood for black, natural walnut for golden 
brown.  They always tried to have a nice rag carpet for the front room, but 
some families had no carpets at all.  The women folks were just too lazy to 
sew the rags and weave the carpets.
     Another type of work in the Noblett house for the women was the outdoor 
work.  Capt. Noblett had a tobacco field and Sonora when a girl, used to set 
out the tobacco plants, of course by hand.  It took 4900 plants to the acre.  
She might even work in the corn fields.  The bottom land was rich and new and 
yielded 65 to 85 bushels per acre, no fertilizers.  This outdoor work was done 
in addition to the house work, and the drying of fruits and vegetables, the 
sewing and washing.
     Interview  1934.


	WHISKEY STEW AND OTHER WHISKEY FOODS
	Narrator:  John Ferguson, 81, Iberia, Mo.

     A few years ago when the interviewer taught at Iberia Junior College, she 
met old John Ferguson, of the village old timers, with a stone jug of vinegar. 
 She joked Mr. Ferguson, who at the time was state commander of the G.A.R. on 
carrying a jug of moonshine liquor.  While denying the charge, he said that 
same jug had carried many a gallon of whiskey in the early days of Iberia (60s 
and 70s), both for drinking in a sensible way, and for cooking purposes.  I 
looked amazed at the last statement.
     To begin, whiskey then was very cheap, could be used like vinegar.  Every 
morning before breakfast, there was a whiskey toddy, made for the family, two 
spoonfuls around, of whiskey, hot water and sugar.  Egg shake was make with 
raw egg beaten and whiskey poured on top.  There were whiskied cherries or 
brandied cherries when whiskey was used as vinegar to pickle cherries or even 
peaches or crab apples.  Whiskey might be added as a flavor to the sauce to 
common bread pudding.
     But the finest "cooking receipt" of all was whiskey stew, a thing rarely 
heard of today in the era of high priced good liquor and low priced poison 
mountain dew.  Of course, if a person would make a hog of himself on such 
delicacies, he'd get tipsy on them, for they were too rich for your blood if 
gulped down.  He had forgotten the exact "receipt", but it was whiskey, sugar 
and spices boiled down to a jelly and eaten with a spoon for dessert. 

Interviewer's note:  In my childhood, my father, of southern extraction, made 
brandied cherries in a jug, and it made a concoction tasting of cherries and 
brandy.


	FLAX WHEELS AND SPINNING WHEELS
	Narrator:  Mrs. Will Irvin, 78, Iberia

     The interviewer knew Mrs. Irvin while teaching in Iberia Mo. Mrs. Irvin 
had two old wheels in her rummage room, a big spinning wheel and a smaller one 
which the interviewer called a "small spinning wheel."
     Mrs. Irvin interrupted her.  "Don't call it a spinning wheel, it is a 
flax wheel."  Then she explained the difference.  She had used them both in 
her Ozark home where the spinning wheel and flax wheel lasted longer than in 
some sections.  The flax wheel is used to make thread from flax, which most 
farmers there always raised.  The big wheel (equal in size to a buggy wheel) 
was used to make yarn from cards of wool.  Neither could do the work of the 
other.  Cards of wool were not ordinarily made at home but taken to the 
neighboring carding mill.  Although some families did have hand carding 
machines.  The cards were about 2 feed long, an inch thick in the middle, less 
at the ends.  It looked like the pictures in ancient times of cards of wool.  
Mrs. Irvin still had a card of old wool.
     Now these cards were connected, and the spinner whirled the wheel by hand 
thus producing a whirling noise, and the yarn which would be knit into 
stocking and mittens.  So much for the method and product of the spinning 
wheel.  The flax wheel was much smaller, about 20 inches in diameter, and 
lower.  It ran by foot power on the treadle, and the worker did not touch the 
wheel by hand.  This flax thread was used for weaving into goods.  They made 
flax sheets, cloths and curtains.
     Interviewed  1930.


	SOME ODD CASES AT THE CALDWELL COUNTY POOR FARM
	Narrator S.C. Roger, 87, Kingston

     The following narrative came from Mr. Rogers who lived for 60 years at 
Kingston near the poor farm.  
     The most noted case ever down there was Crazy Billy Bond, who came to the 
poor house 1876, died there and is buried on the place.  An attack of 
meningitis changed him from a bright child to a demented one.  He had to be 
kept in a cage especially built for him at some distance from the main 
building.  He had no language and made his wants known by signs.  He was not 
dangerous in his idiocy.  Almost every one who lived around there spoke of 
Billy Bond.  He lived till about 1890.
     Before the 80s, another waif was brought there.  He was found at Log 
Creek and never did learn to talk.  Those were two of the worst cases to deal 
with.  Another pretty bad one was Friday.  He died 1901.  He had been there 
since 1875.  He was found wondering, a blank imbecile, never able to give any 
trace of his identity and because he was found on Friday, some one with a keen 
sense of Robinson Crusoe called him Friday.  He also was buried in the little 
plot for the homeless and friendless inmates.
     Old Mike Keif was deluded and thought that he was a partner with the 
superintendent in managing the poor farm.  He was happy if he had his "bacco."
     An old man hopelessly blind, Mr. Price, had been there since in the 70s 
at his death in the 90s.  He was in his senses, but helpless.  A Hubbard woman 
who was there in the 70s had formerly been in the St. Joseph hospital for the 
insane, but she was sent home from there to the poor farm as harmlessly 
incapable.
     The other two women whom Mr. Rogers recalled as long inmates were just 
broken down by age and hard work with no friends to take care of them.  One 
was called Martha Duncan and the other Virginia Taylor.
     There were at least two cases where babies abandoned on the public roads 
were taken there when no homes could be found for them.  In one case, a babe 
was taken into a private home, only to be brought back to the poor farm when 
it was discovered that she was an idiot.
     These cases show that the tendency 45 or 50 years ago was to take 
mentally weak cases to the poor farm, if they were not dangerous.
     Interview  1933.


	GROVES IN EARLIER CALDWELL COUNTY HISTORY
	Narrators:  Thos. Watson, Mrs. Mary Kautz and Others

     In the history of Caldwell county, some 50 years and more ago, there was 
much talk of "groves", scarcely ever "woods."  These groves were usually named 
from the owners of the land and were used for large and small picnics, Fourth 
of July celebrations, camp meetings and political meetings.  People always 
took their basket dinners and ate on the grass.
     Two miles south of Hamilton was Dodge's Grove, very popular for picnics, 
which people of the present generation are apt to call "Dodge's woods."  
Mallory's Grove about a mile west of Hamilton (now cut down) was used for 
picnics and a large camp meeting early in 80s.  Hubbard's Grove 6 miles due 
north of Hamilton, in Daviess county was the ground of a successful Fourth 
celebration, a year when Hamilton did not celebrate in the 80s.  McDaniels 
Grove also out of the county, being one mile east of Cameron, was far enough 
away to make you feel you had been some place and yet near enough.  It got 
several Caldwell county picnics.
     McCray's Grove 3 miles south of Kidder was the favorite picnic grounds 
for that town, both for church and society groups.  
     There were several well known groves south east and east of Hamilton.  On 
the east road from town, lived the Clampitt family and near their home was the 
Clampitt grove, small, but used a great deal by the young set of that 
community.  Mrs. Kautz tells of the days back in the 60s, when the young folks 
would go to the big Clampitt house for a dance or play party, they used to tie 
their riding horses to the trees in this grove.  There would not be room any 
other place.
     There was a grove at Henkin's Bridge in N.Y. township, popular in the 90s 
and even now for picnics.  Early in the 80s, the Universalists held a camp 
meeting at a smaller grove at the Ponce-De-Leon spring, but that place fell 
into disfavor when the spring ceased to flow its mineral waters.
     Mrs. Kautz went to a grove picnic at Rutherford Bridge in N.Y. township 
which was a grange picnic (the grange was a farmer's organization in the 70s). 
 The Holiness church, which attracted some attention in the county in the 
early 80s, held a big camp meeting at Sackett's Grove at that time, and 
several people from Hamilton hired rigs from the livery stable for the day to 
go down and look on.  At Plumb's Grove, in Barwick district near Kidder, the 
M.E. church used to hold their quarterly meetings occasionally.  Mrs. Crockett 
(whose maiden name was Plumb) recalls such a meeting when she was a young 
girl, and says that it was a great experience.
     There are some communities which include the word Grove in their names:  
Elk Grove down in Davis township, Locust Grove - a school district in Hamilton 
township, Wolf Grove - a school district in Breckenridge township.  Black Oak, 
a hamlet in Rockford township, was originally Black Oak Grove, and was so 
called in the Civil War times, in reports of activities near that place.  Both 
the Union leader Capt. Noblitt and the Confederate Thrailkill camped there.
     Interviews  1933-35.


	HOG KILLING AT THE JACKSON HOME IN RAY COUNTY
	Narrator:  Mrs. Malvina Leabo, 76

     Mrs. Leabo was the daughter of Jacob Jackson in Ray county.  He had a 
family of 16 children, and this must be remembered in this story.  They worked 
hard and ate meat three times a day.  They always killed at least 12 hogs and 
a steer.  When they slaughtered, they always killed 7 or 8 hogs at once.  
Their smoke house was never empty.  Butchering day was one of the big work 
days of the year, and yet the children had a good time.  They waited for 
freezing weather before choosing hog killing day.  Preparations had been made 
for some time in gathering wood for bon fires to boil the water.  They always 
kept the butchering poles, unless something unusual happened.  At last, good 
butchering weather came, and the men arose very very early to get the fires 
started to heat the big kettles of water.  The hogs were killed by a blow of 
an ax and thrown into the "scalding barrel," a barrel extra large and kept 
just for this purpose.  Their bodies were moved about so that all parts would 
get scalded.  When the hog hairs came out easily, the hog carcass was removed 
from the barrel and suspended head down on the hog poles.  This frame was of 
two poles in the ground connected at the top by a crossbeam.  When the white 
hog hung up on this frame, it was rather ghastly.  After getting the hogs up 
on the pole, the farmers would go to his chores, and having fed his stock, he 
went back to the hog matter.
     By now the bodies were cooled and ready to cut up.  The fat was cut off 
for Mr. Jackson to carry out to the kettle.  Rendering the lard was Mrs. 
Jackson's work.  All day long, they were cutting up the pieces meant for the 
sausage and by night it was ready for the sausage mill.  Then the children's 
work began and they turned the mill that night.  They flavored it with red 
pepper and sage, both grown in their back yards.  Sometimes Mrs. Jackson would 
make small bags, about like salt sacks, and stuff them with salted sausage.  
Then these would be put out doors under clover and frozen.  In a day or two, 
they would take it out of the sack and slice it off like bread.  Another way 
to put away sausage was to wrap it in corn shucks and tie the ends.  It would 
keep a long time that way.  The hams and shoulders were salted down and put in 
the smoke house.  The next February, Mr. Jackson would smoke them in hickory 
chips which was the best for the smoke flavor.  They never had any meat spoil 
on them and they never lost a smoke house except once when the meat supply was 
lost when the smoke house was struck by lightning.
     Of course, the first day the hog's feet were cleaned, also the parts for 
tripe and head cheese, for they had to save everything which was fit to eat.
     Mrs. Jackson used to peel and cut up about 30 big pumpkins in a big 
kettle and boil it out doors, when done, it was sweetened with sugar and make 
pumpkin butter, excellent to use on salt meats.  She used to make a ten or 
eight gallon jar full of it every fall.  Then she made her twenty gallon keg 
full of sweet pickles and that was another meat relish.
     Interview  1935.


	CIVIL WAR STORIES AND OLD TRAILS AND FORDS
	Narrator:  W.M. Guffey

     During the Civil War, Mr. Guffey's father, S.R. Guffey who lived in the 
New York settlement, served in Capt. Noblett's company of Caldwell county 
militiamen.  He did not, however, always agree with Noblitt's actions.  It was 
surmised by several people including the Weldon family itself that Captain 
Noblitt was connected with the killing of Humphrey Weldon who lied north of 
Breckenridge in the Weldon settlement of Southern sympathizers.  The Weldon 
family was very sizeable and began to make talk of revenge on Capt. Noblitt.  
Consequently, he rarely went to Breckenridge, and never alone, and always 
slept even at home with a brace of loaded revolvers at his bed.  (For further 
facts on Capt. Noblett, see the county history, as well as the narrative given 
by his daughter, Mrs. Harrell.)
     In early days, when there were no bridges, it was absolutely necessary to 
know where there was a safe place to cross a creek.  Mr. Guffey lived near 
several well known fords.  There were two fords over Shoal Creek, the ford at 
Haun's Mill, and not far off - the ford known as the Mormontown ford, both 
well known Mormon sites.  There was a ford on Cottonwood creek near Hawk's 
mill, and one at Filson's Mill.  There was a ford over Otter creek north of 
Alf Edwards' place.  When the Guffey family went to Kingston, they used the 
road by the Puckett farm and crossed over the James ford on Shoal creek.  
These fords determined largely the roads used by the early settlers.
     Interview  1934.


	THE KILLING OF JAMES WELDON OF DAVIESS COUNTY, IN THE CIVIL WAR TIMES
	Narrator:  Dr. Libby Woolsey, 75
 
     In the first series of interviews, Dr. Woolsey told of the killing of 
Humphrey Weldon, here he tells of the killing of another Weldon, James of 
Harrison county, Daviess county, as a southern sympathizer.  Dr. Woolsey was 
reared in the Weldon neighborhood, and knew all about these facts.
     James Weldon had been in the Southern army, but had returned to his home, 
had taken the oath of fidelity, and was a member of the local Home Guards or 
militia.  A captain of the Caldwell county militia, well known for such 
actions, had been up into Daviess county on military business with a squad of 
men and on his return, went out of his way to stop at the James Weldon home.  
It was well known that Weldon had been in the Confederate ranks, the captain 
knew of it, and he rode up to the house after dark, called him out (a common 
way to get a victim), took him out onto the prairie and killed him, leaving 
his body for whatever might happen to it.  The home folks found it that night 
after they heard the shots.
     A similar story was told by Dr. Woolsey concerning the killing of one 
Crews (whom Doctor Woolsey had heard about) who was shot down by a Capt. 
Bromfield at a Harrison township picnic who happened to be at the picnic and 
heard that a man was there (named Crews) who had served in the Confederate 
army.  That was enough for Bromfield and having had a sign on his intended 
victim,  whom he had never seen before, he walked up to him and shot him dead.
     Interview  1934.


	GETTING A TEACHING CERTIFICATE IN THE LATE SIXTIES IN CALDWELL COUNTY
	Narrator:  Mrs. Williard Blair, 83

     Mrs. Blair is the daughter of old Asel Waldo who came into Fairview 
township 1868.  She is the widow of Willard F. Blair who came into the county 
1869.  The Waldo family came from Wisconsin and the young Blair from Michigan, 
both joining the procession bound for Missouri farms in 1867-9.  Mrs. Blair 
herself was a teacher, being one of the teachers in the first Breckenridge 
school system, when Professor Hamilton graded the schools in 1874 and 
established the first high school there.  Breckenridge H.S. being the second 
in Caldwell county.  She took her examination of Steve Rogers for her 
certificate.
     Her husband also was a teacher somewhat earlier in the late 60s.  He came 
here without enough money to buy a farm and having a fair education planned to 
teach school, there being a good opening in that field.  Well educated farmers 
those days often combined the two occupations.
     One day while in a drug store in Breckenridge, he happened to see 
Hamilton McAfee, the then county commissioner of schools.  At once, he told 
him he wished to arrange about an examination for a license to teach.  Mr. 
McAfee (grandfather of Floyd McAfee of Hamilton) asked if he wished to take it 
right then.  In surprise, Mr. Blair agreed.  So they went behind the tall 
prescription case in the drug store and Mr. McAfee gave him one example in 
cube root in arithmetic which the youth solved readily.  McAfee gave him his 
certificate right there on the spot without further questioning.
     Blair taught three terms of school at Wolf Grove, Turkey Creek, and Brown 
Jug.  These old district school names for school are still kept, reflecting 
some incidents in early pioneer life.  They all exist today with practically 
the same limits as in the early 70s.  Following the example of their parents 
three of the Blair daughters have been teachers in the schools of Caldwell 
county.  Mr. Blair afterwards became a substantial farmer in the Breckenridge 
country.  He was well known as a Republican politician.
     Interview  1934.


	SOME TYPICAL GOOD TIMES IN HAMILTON IN THE SEVENTIES
	Narrator:  Mrs. Hattie Lamson, 91, Hamilton

     "How did the Hamilton people amuse themselves in the 70s" was my 
question.
     The narrator replied, "They had plenty of good times, altho folks today 
might not think so."  Then she spoke about a bridge celebration in the summer 
of 1878, when the new iron bridge over Shoal Creek was finished at the 
McLallen's Ford.  There was a basket dinner, the Breckenridge cornet band was 
there and political speakers worked all day long.  Filson's Bridge was also a 
favorite picnicing place.  Most any grove was good for a picnic.
     Then there were church sociables, often held on the lawns of homes if in 
the summer or in public or lodge halls in winter.  Oyster suppers costing 25 
cents were good money makers.  Or they might even give them for 10 cents a 
dish.  When Frank Clark's Mill was rebuilt after the fire 1878, before the 
machinery was installed, the Congregational ladies had a big oyster supper and 
Festival there.  Some 300 were there.  A real festival meant that all sorts of 
food was placed on the table and you ate all you could of every kind there for 
the price.  A sociable was restricted to a certain food, passed round in 
dishes, as ice cream, strawberries, oysters.  The Presbyterian ladies gave a 
big crush affair in the Harry House about the same time, and also a Fair, 
which took the place of a fancy work Bazaar.
     Christmas trees in Rohrbaugh Hall were well attended and many people gave 
and received gifts there.  There was a small admission fee.  She recalled a 
Calico Sociable when tableaux (rather new then) were given and charades.  The 
girls wore calico dresses and brought a calico tie, which was sold and thus 
she got her partner for the evening.
     Often festivals were featured by voting contests for the most popular 
young lady, or the prettiest girl or the most popular preacher or teacher.  
The surplus cakes were auctioned off.
     Box suppers were extremely good form and not country style at all then.  
Many a hint was given to help the boy buy the right one.  Dances, if given by 
the right crowds were considered all right, but no real society person danced 
in a mixed crowd.
     Oratorical contests among the young folks drew good crowds and were 
popular even in the 80s.  Mrs. Lamson remembered that at one, Martha Glasener, 
then a young lady, won first and Maud Goodman second.  Ladies kept open house 
on New Years day for callers, some restricting it to their young gentlemen 
friends.  Mrs. Joe Anderson (then Ella Austin) and Minnie Ogden were among the 
last class.  At most of these things, no wine was served, but it had been done 
in the days of the 60s when Mrs. Lamson first came to Hamilton.  As late as 
the 80s, Mrs. Franke, a German Jewess of high society ranking, used to pass a 
tray of wine glasses to casual callers.  Of course, formal calling was a big 
part of women's social life in those days.  Card playing among women was quite 
uncommon.
     Interview  1934.


	GOING VISITING IN THE COUNTRY AND TOWN IN THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES
	Narrator:  Mrs. Helen Booth, 81, Hamilton

     Mrs. Booth came from town life in Ohio to life in the country when her 
husband Dan Booth brought her as a young wife to a farm in Lovely Ridge, 4 
miles south of Hamilton 1874.  In 1881 they moved to Hamilton, so she has had 
experience in all sorts of visiting.
     In the 70s in the country, visiting was done by the whole family, who got 
into the farm wagon, and without prior notice went to spend the day with a 
neighbor or maybe after the evening chores were done, they went to stay till 
about nine o'clock.  On the night visits, the host would bring up from the 
cellar pans of apples or turnips, or a pitcher of sweet cider, or even bring 
in clean washed raw potatoes to eat with a knife.  They sat solemnly around, 
peeling to see who could get the longest peel, telling past history, present 
doings or crop plans.  They told what they had heard at church in town or 
while doing their trading at stores at Kidder, Cameron or Hamilton.  The 
children were playing in the kitchen.
     When they moved to town, Mrs. Booth found visiting much like her old life 
in the Ohio town.  Formal calling was then at its height.  There were 
unwritten laws which governed the subject.  The new comer waited till she was 
called upon in all cases.  She might be left out a long time or taken up at 
once.  The first call was less than fifteen minutes and must be returned with 
in two weeks.  The callers put on their best clothes and often went in pairs 
and usually were glad when they found women away from home so they could leave 
a card and get more calls made.  It was very improper to start out before 
three o'clock.  No caller ever thought of taking the children along, they were 
left at home, either with hired girls or kind neighbors.
     Big dinners at Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years were common among 
one's own clique and the children always ate at a second table.  "At Homes" on 
New Years or Washington's Birthday were popular ways of returning social 
obligations on a large scale, and refreshments at such functions were 
comparatively simple.
     Interview  1934.


	FIRST OBSERVANCE OF MEMORIAL DAY IN HAMILTON
	Narrator:  John Prough, 76, Hamilton

     Mr. Prough, the narrator died the spring of 1935, soon after this 
interview.  He was sexton for a while in his younger days at the Highland 
cemetery in Hamilton.
     It was on May 30 1888 that Decoration Day was first observed in Hamilton, 
as Mr. Prough remembers.  The old Union soldiers met in Squire Van 
Volkenburg's office and got up plans for the day.  There had been no time 
after this meeting to announce the decoration idea in the town paper, so it 
had to be spread by word of mouth.  Many did  not know why the band was 
playing, but a good number helped in the ceremonies by flowers and the parade. 
 The parade formed in front of the Methodist church and all the soldiers 
marched out to the two graveyards.  About 75 teams were in line.  The soldiers 
were under Col Harper and decorated the 18 graves of the Union soldiers.  
There were about 50 G.A.R. men in their blue uniforms, marching with their old 
fashioned swaying step.
     Mr. Prough believed that Butler was still playing his fife.  There were 
about 1000 people at the new cemetery, which at that time was the common 
designation for Highland.  The new cemetery then was much more thinly 
populated than now, and the old cemetery did not have the desolated ruined 
look of today.  At that time, few of the graves except the soldiers were 
decorated, but the next year many private individuals took up the idea.
     Rev. Ware of the M.E. church gave the oration at the cemetery on a 
speaker's stand which stood about where the tall George Rogers monument now 
stands.
     Interview  1935.


	DELIVERY OF ICE IN THE EIGHTIES IN HAMILTON
	Narrator:  Ralph White, 68, Hamilton

     No industry in Hamilton's life has shown greater change during the past 
fifty years than the ice business.  First of all, in the eighties, all the ice 
used here was natural, produced in general right on the ponds in or near 
Hamilton.  The ice men worried their heads off in a mild winter, for it meant 
they had to ship in ice, charge more, have fewer customers and make less.
     Some one always cut the ice on the old fair ground pond.  Ogden's pond 
and Dort's pond also gave a good ice harvest.  Jacob Prough, butcher of the 
early 80s needed ice for his big meat refrigerator, so he sometimes ran ice 
wagons in the summer.  He and Tom Neal put up an ice house.  The ice house had 
alternate rows of ice and saw dust.  The average thickness of ice was about 
seven inches, but thicker in extremely cold winters.
     Then ice was thrown by the driver of the ice wagon into the customer's 
front yard and the family went out, picked the ice up and washed the saw dust 
off, then wrapped it up in papers or sacks or carpets in a box in the shade, 
or even in a cellar.  Few people then had refrigerators.  It was cheap then, 
about 20 cents a hundred, and at 20 cents, it did not matter if one did forget 
it and let it melt out in the sun uncovered.
     Then more service was added as the driver took it to the pump and washed 
it and put it away, and the price went up too.  When ice got thirty five cents 
a hundred, people began thinking of it as a luxury and too high for common 
every day life, so some just bought it for ice cream or special.  They never 
dreamed of paying around 50 cents a hundred.
     Most people those days made their own ice cream in gallon or two gallon 
freezers and treated their neighbors and that meant more ice then.
     The ice man had a little book and put down what ice went to each house 
each day, and the customer paid at end of month.  They had no ice books or 
coupons, nor ice cards to be hung out.  Ordinarily a customer agreed to take 
25 pounds a day, and that was left without any further talk.  Often they got 
more than the amount agreed upon, for the ice chunks did not always come off 
right.  There were scales then too at the back of the wagon.
     Interview  Summer 1935.


	THE OLD BRICK YARD AT KINGSTON FORTY YEARS AGO
	Narrator:  Robert Cox of Braymer

     Robert Cox in the spring of 1935 visited in Kingston after an absence of 
several years.  He now lives in the Braymer community in south Caldwell 
county.  He mentioned the absence of the Kingston brick yard.
     He formerly lived in the Spring Valley district near Kingston.  About 
forty years ago or more, he worked in the old Kingston brick yard helping burn 
brick.  The brick yard then was owned and run by George Wilson, who lived on 
the old George Kautz farm just north of the Thos. Edwards farm east of 
Kingston.
     Thousands of brick were burned in the kiln then and the clay was rolled 
in the red sand and gray soil that was plentiful in the hills around Kingston. 
 Jim Todd, now of Cowgill, was the moulder of the brick, and Cox still 
remembers how skillful he was in handling the moulds and how smoothly he 
levelled the tops off with a bent stick with a wire attached.  He said that in 
burning bricks, much wood was required and that was part of his job.  He cut 
and hauled many a load of wood from the timber on George Hulser place east of 
Kingston to the kiln.
     It has been years since the old brick yard at Kingston has been used.  
The one at Hamilton, operated at about the same time, likewise has long been 
gone.  The James Todd mentioned above was the son-in-law of George Snyder the 
veteran brick maker of Hamilton.  Mr. Todd and his young wife Dora Snyder Todd 
lived in a tiny house just across the road from the Snyder brick house in west 
Hamilton.
     Interview  1935.


	THESE 1840 VOTERS ALL LIVED IN HAMILTON 1888
	Narrator:  Ben Dort

     Shortly before his death 1933, Ben Dort of this city wrote out the 
following narrative for interested interviewers.  It showed how certain men 
alive in 1888 who had voted for Benjamin Harrison that year, voted back in 
1840 when Wm. Henry Harrison ran for president.  Ben Dort's father J.D. Dort 
yet alive in 1888 had voted for both Harrisons, and this fact aroused Ben's 
interest, so he went to other old men in town to find how they voted on both 
men.  J.D. Dort had voted in Wellsborough Pa.  H.W. Markham who was an early 
life insurance man here, voted for both men, for the first Harrison in 
Broadtown N.Y.  Geo. S. Putnam who ran the stock yard scales for 15 years 
voted for Ben Harrison in Newark N.J.  Henry Clark, father of Elmer E. of this 
city voted for Harrison in Willington, Conn.  E.L. Reynolds a carpenter voted 
for Harrison in East Lansing N.Y.  Judge Samuel Orr for Harrison in Youngstown 
Ohio.  William Wilmot for Harrison at Hamilton O.  William McCoy, a pioneer 
grocer for Harrison in Pittsburg (he was the grandfather of Roy McCoy 
Republican politician), Capt. H. Townsend for Harrison in New York City.  
Moses Lear (a farmer near Hamilton before the war) for Harrison at Warwich 
Pa., Rodney Glazier a farmer near Hamilton since 1868, for Harrison in Troy 
N.Y.  John Brown who had voted for J.Q. Adams, switched to Harrison in 
Tippancanoe Ind.  A.B. Nash, early poultry dealer, for Harrison in New Ashford 
Mass. altho he too had voted for Andrew Jackson.  J.W. McClelland a farmer 
here north of town before the Civil War, who had voted for John Q. Adams, in 
his earlier years, voted for William Henry Harrison in Marion Va.  He was the 
great grandfather of Paul Doll of Hamilton who still lives on the old place 
where J.W. lived.
     George Royer, father of Frank of Hamilton, voted for Harrison in Ohio.
     F.P. Low one of the important pioneers of the late 60s in Hamilton voted 
for Van Buren in the 1840 election, but later on at the Lincoln election cast 
his first Republican vote, and the Low family have ever since been 
Republicans.
     Otis Houghton, who came into N.Y. township this county in 1867 also voted 
for Van Buren in 1840 but changed to the Republicans with Lincoln.
     Most of these families, if not all, are still Republicans.  The list too, 
is important, for it shows where these well known families of Hamilton and 
vicinity were living in 1840.
     Interview  Before 1933.


	THE HAMILTON HOUSE IN HAMILTON, MO.
	Narrators:  George Dudley and Wm. Hemry

     This old hotel was for years one of the best known landmarks in town, 
standing on a bluff opposite the depot.  Visitors who came early to the town 
always spoke of it in telling of their visits.
     In 1863, the west end of the hotel was built by Enos Dudley, just arrived 
from Kingston, who was father of George Dudley of Hamilton.  He then sold part 
of it to Jacob Brosius (grandfather of Mrs. Anna Korn who has helped us with 
our research), who became known as the early landlord there.
     Mr. Wm. Hemry says that the west end of the hotel was the older Buster 
House which in 1859 had stood on the same block but to the south and facing 
south, being run by the same Dave Buster who ran the saloon on the right of 
way near the depot.  Mr. George Dudley says that this is a mistake, for he 
knew that his father, Enos Dudley, built the first section of the Hamilton 
House, and later sold it to Wm. Goodman father of Bert, even before the hotel 
started.  It is difficult to settle these questions about the early ownership 
at exact times etc. of this building, for few people are alive now who were 
old enough to know the facts in 1863 when they happened.
     Goodman, buying a half of the hotel, soon sold his half to Wm. Ervin, 
father of Uncle Dick Ervin, who sold back his share to Goodman in 1865.  
Before he sold out, the east section of the hotel was built 1865, showing that 
the hotel was growing, popular.
     In 1866, Goodman sold out completely to Jacob Brosius who became the sole 
owner.  Goodman and Dudley then built the Western Hotel on Main street as a 
rival hotel.  They did not agree, although kin by marriage, and Mr. Dudley 
retired from the firm and turned to a carpenter's shop which he built on the 
present site of Walter Whitt's home.  You might well call Enos Dudley the real 
hotel builder of Hamilton, since he erected two of them.  During the 60s and 
70s, the Western Hotel and the Hamilton Hotel had about the same amount of 
trade, both being first class places.
     By the late 70s, however, the Hamilton House began to change owners too 
frequently for its good.  Yet on a circus day of 1878, an old paper says that 
they fed 97 transients, and had many guests overnight.  So they were yet 
prospering.  In 1878, the Weaver Brothers were good hosts and they sold out to 
one Murphy with Cline as partner and they sold out to some one else, and 
finally Mr. Hughes, an old time resident here, took it in hand and made it go 
well, (he was father of Flora Gwinn).  Then it began to run down in upkeep and 
tone.  It became a low grade place, an empty building, a tenement house, where 
several poor families stayed.  It was getting to be a real menace to the good 
buildings on South Main street, for it was a fire trap.
     In 1880, it caught fire on the roof, but the fire was put out.  Two or 
three more fire scares followed, then in April 1886 it burned down.  By that 
time, it was called the Central Hotel though not used as a hotel.  Part of the 
ground floor was used for small shops.  The O.K. restaurant was in the S.E. 
corner.
     Interviews  1934.


	THE BRICK BUILDING BOOM OF THE EARLY 80S IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Ollie Howard and W.J. McBrayer

     Although Hamilton had been founded 1856, yet until early in the 80s, it 
was largely a town of frame business houses.  Many of these were two stories, 
but a large number were one story with a false front, extended up to the 
height of two stories to give a good impression from the street front.
     Late in the 70s, the brick buildings in Hamilton could be counted easily 
and were often used as guide marks in giving directions or in store ads in 
placing a store.  There was the Rohrbaugh Moore block (later the Anderson's 
store block) which is now the Bram store.  This was erected about 1872.  There 
was the bank, directly north of it, first built by Banker Cochran in about 
1868, and later the Houston, Spratt, Menefee banking house.  It was known for 
many years as the "brick bank."  There was the brick building, owned by Wm. 
Goodman in the Goodman block of buildings in the middle of the first block on 
the west side, on the north side of Main.  There was the brick portion of the 
O.O. Brown Dry Goods store building on Broadway.  There was Frank Clark's 
brick flouring mill build about 1878 after the mill burnt.  There was the 
north side school building erected 1872 and a small brick house in the north 
east end of town, where the McElroy and Robertson family lived.  The old 
Fisher farm house to the south of Hamilton was also standing.
     Early in the 80s, changes began to appear.  John Morton bought the S.E. 
corner lot (now P.O. corner) where previously there had stood the A.G. Davis 
cottage and he built a two story brick, in part of which he moved his hardware 
stock, into part of the building went the Post Office under Mr. Morton's 
brother William.
     D.G. McDonald and Russell bought the S.E. corner of the first block south 
of the railroad on west side where had stood the old Witwer wagon lot for so 
many years.  They built the brick store building now standing there, still 
known as the Cash building.  George Hastings and A.G. Howard, merchants on 
Broadway, bought the lot directly north of McDonald Russell, and they built 
each a brick building, which were burned when Howard's store burned.  (Site of 
Advocate office and building to the north.)
     Frederick Graer blacksmith on east Mill (Berry) street, replaced his 
smaller frame with a two story brick shop to be used for blacksmithing and a 
wagon shop.  (Site of the Johnson garage 1935.)  Mr. Manning bought the N.E. 
corner of the first block south of railroad west side which had been site of a 
small frame office of Lawyer Holladay and he built a two story brick, which in 
later years became home of First Nat. Bank (site of First Bank).
     On the east side of south Main street, Gid Prentice bought the still 
vacant lot at the S.E. end and built a brick two story which was destroyed in 
the fire of 1886.  He rebuilt the present brick, which the Wheeler Junction 
Cafe occupies.  The rest of that block continued in frame till the fire of 
1886.
     James Cowgill bought the old Rohrbaugh frame store building (Penney site) 
which had been used last by the O'Neil and Wilson dry goods store.  The frame 
was moved down into some of the gaps on the west side of south Main and 
Cowgill erected the present Penney store building in which he and Robert Cash 
opened up a store.  On the same block, E.S. Low (Gene) and the Hamilton 
Savings Bank built new bricks about in the middle of the block.  This all 
happened before 1884.
     Harvey the dry goods merchant made a brick for his store which is still 
standing (Vaughan store).  A. Ketchem, furniture man, built a brick to the 
side of Harvey.
     After the fire of 1883, on the west side of the first block north of 
railroad, there was a general rebuilding in brick, and of course the same 
thing happened the next year when the whole side up to Anderson's store burnt. 
 When the west side was being rebuilt, C.B. Franke, a Jew merchant here bought 
the south lot which had been vacant for many years, and built the present 
McLean hotel (Hamilton Hotel).  He designed it for a hotel, and it has stayed 
in that business.  On the east side, across the street, after its fire, Dr. 
Clayton Tiffin, a man of some means, new in Hamilton then, built a block of 
brick buildings which still stands, the Baker Drug store being part of it.
     Thus we see that fires while destructive at the time, have done much to 
build up Hamilton's business district, and we also see how quickly it was 
done, in less than a decade.
     Interviews  1933-4.


	THE FIRE OF 1886 IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Roy White, George Dudley and others

     It was on a Thursday morning Oct 1, 1886 when the big fire broke out on 
the east side of south Main street in Hamilton, and made a clean sweep of the 
whole block except the Walker elevator which stood a little detached from the 
others on the north, by the tracks.
     All the buildings were frame except one brick, the fairly new Prentice 
brick (Junction cafe corner).  All were old, possibly the original ones built 
in the late 60s or early 70s, all had sheds in the rear which helped spread 
the fire.
     Mrs. Grigsby, widow of the merchant Grigsby says that it started in his 
hardware store.  He had been burning a lot of scrap papers, fairly stuffing 
the stove, without noting that the pipe was getting hot or any uncommon 
result.  Some of the paper went up thru the second floor onto the shingles and 
set his place on fire and it got a fine start before being discovered.  The 
fire went both ways, for he was in the middle of the block.  At Prentice's 
brick on the corner, it turned east to Will Moffitt's novelty planing works, 
and Griffin's wagon shop (which had stood there a long time) but did not take 
the Graer new brick blacksmith shop, location of Johnson garage.  It went 
north too, as the list below will show.
     The fire company here was helped by the Cameron Fire co. who had been 
called by telegram and came down on the 11 o'clock freight.  The fire broke 
out at 9:30 and was going fine at 11, threatening to go across the street 
south to Colby's lumber yard and the McBrayer livery barns, which then covered 
the whole block between them.
     The O'Neil who lived in the present Murrell house on South Main stripped 
their house of furnishings, fearing the fire, and the Dodge family (living in 
the present Kennedy home across from Colby's) did the same, for the wind was 
from the north and no one could yet tell where the fire might go.  Many 
burning timbers were carried for blocks and people were busy keeping their 
roofs wet.
     In all, one brick and 7 frame buildings were burned (the interviewer 
verified the narrator by reference to old files of papers).  The losers were: 
 we begin at the north end of block:
  Tom Neal saloon, building owned by Enos Dudley and Neal.
  Jim Collins meat market, in Jacob Prough's building, 
  with Lew M. Love in law office above.
  L.L. Grigsby hardware in his own building.
  C.I. Ford and son harness shop (managed by John Fronk) in R.G. Whitman      
    building.
  R.L. White grocery (present Howard grocery site) father of Roy and Ralph    
    White of Hamilton.
  Gid Prentice hardware, above him was L.D. Van Volkenburg insurance man and  
    Dr. Price dentist, all losing their equipment.
  To the east, The Moffit Novelty Works, and Griffin's wagon shop.
     It was this fire that drove Jim Collins to his familiar site in the 
Maning building across the street (site of First bank).  It drove the harness 
shop to north Main, first door south of the Minger building where for several 
years a harness shop afterwards stood.  By a strange fortune, Mrs. Emma Kiddle 
had just an hour before removed her household goods from storage in the 
basement of the Prenice store.  The buildings on the west side of the street 
opposite were badly damaged by this fire.
     Many declare this was the worst ever in the town history.  Yet the fire 
was a blessing in disguise, for it brought more bricks instead of the old 
frames.  For a long time, there was quite a gap on that side of the street 
where the buildings had stood, but this was finally built up by the ironclads 
which now stand there.
     In those days, it was customary for teachers to let out the schoolrooms 
where children were old enough to help with fires, in carrying out things or 
with water.  On that day, most of the school children were turned loose.  
Everyone was on the streets watching the fire, and no one ate much dinner.
     In a big fire those days, it was customary for some one of each family to 
stay at home while the other went to the fire, for such occasions had proved 
to be chosen by sneak thieves who entered homes and took things.  Merchants in 
the path of the fire hired men to remove their goods, as Mr. White, but Mr. 
Prentice and some seemed paralyzed and let their goods be burned.
     This fire description as given by these men who were interested vitally 
in its work is of value to show the merchants in 1886 on that street and the 
general conduct of a fire 50 years ago.
     Interviews  1933.


	THE FIRE OF 1884 IN HAMILTON
	Narrator:  Robert Minger

     Mr. Minger ought to know about this fire, because it was in his father's 
store and home that the fire started.  He was then about 9 years old.
     It started in the John Minger grocery-restaurant the present A.P. store 
site, midway in the first block east side north of the railroad.  It was 
discovered a little after four o'clock in the morning of July 5, 1884, and was 
supposed to have been the result of Fourth of July firecrackers blown under 
the ware house in the rear of the store, where the coal oil tank was kept.
     At any rate, Flora, the boys and Mrs. and Mr. Minger who lived over the 
store were awakened just in time and barely escaped with their lives.  Of 
course, they lost all their household goods and clothes.  One door north was 
the Hill's saloon and above, lived the Mitchell family who also narrowly 
escaped.  In all, nine buildings all frames except the Dr. Tiffin block at the 
south end, burned within an hour and it was only stopped at the south end of 
Anderson's block (Bram store present building).
     The heat of the fire badly cracked the plate glass windows on the 
opposite side which had been rebuilt in brick after the fire of 1883.  The 
fire losses were as follows according to Mr. Minger who has a wonderful memory 
for details of Hamilton history.  
  John Minger, building and store goods, household goods,
  Dr. Tiffin store brick building, C.B. Franke frame building,
  A.A. Hill's saloon fixtures and goods, Mitchell family goods
  H.F. Hughes harness shop goods, Bryan Gibson the building,
  W.J. Ervin, his third fire, as he said, Drug store building and drugs,
  M.E. Lievan, Meat market supplies,
  S.H. Swarts, Sewing machines and building,
  A.C. Simpson, jewelry stock,
  Whitt and son, dry goods stock,
  Anderson Brothers damage to south wall of brick block.
     The same year part of the burnt district was rebuilt.  Two rooms were 
built by John Minger, one by S.H. Swarts, one by Dr. Tiffin, all being built 
as a solid block of buildings, and they still stand.  The rest of the block 
was rebuilt within a year as it now stands.
     Interview  1934.


	THE FIRE OF 1883 IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Taylor Allee, Irvin Harper, and John Prough

     The fire of 1883 in Hamilton broke out at noon in the second story of a 
frame building standing a little south of the middle of the present McLain 
Penney block.  The story goes that a woman was building a fire with kerosene 
to hurry up dinner.  The row of old buildings then on the sites was used on 
second floor by poor folks mainly.  Her apartment caught fire and almost all 
the block to the north burnt.  It raged from one o'clock to six in the 
evening.  Goodman's block (the old Western hotel) went, consisting of two 
frames and a brick, another building went, then the top of the new Hamilton 
Savings Bank burned, also its second floor.  The roof of the next building to 
the north went.  The new brick of the Cash Cowgill firm on the corner (the 
present Penney store building) was smoke damaged.
     This fire was fought largely by the bucket brigade, for the Hamilton fire 
equipment was then very poor.  A line of men passed full buckets of water for 
two blocks from a public well, and a line of women passed back the empty 
buckets to be filled.  Several women yet alive stood in that line.  Mrs. Helen 
Booth was one.  Her husband was cashier of the bank and was a silent partner 
in the Cash Cowgill firm.  Another unique factor in fighting this fire was the 
use of blocks of ice which were housed in an ice house just back of the 
burning buildings.  Men hurled this ice freely onto the tin roofs of the 
burning buildings, which melted and ran down into the fires.
     These burned buildings were soon rebuilt with the brick line which stands 
there today, and Main street was better looking because of the fire.  To be 
sure, it was hard on the losers, for some did not carry fire insurance.  Most 
of these frames had been erected in the 60s and 70s and were quite 
disreputable in looks.
     The bank had to move out to its old location up north on the next block, 
while its building was repaired.  This fire did not move so quickly in its 
work of destruction as did the fire of 1884 on the opposite side.
     The narrators all helped in this fire, both in throwing ice, carrying 
water and carrying out goods from the doomed buildings.  Mr. Goodman always 
claimed that he lost $10,000 in this fire, through the lapse of his policy.
     Interviews  1933-4.


	THE HAMILTON FIRE OF 1871
	Narrators:  Harry Lampton, 75, and Irvin Harper of Hamilton

     The first fire in Hamilton Main street of any consequence was in 1871.  
It was the night of May 27, 1871.  Mr. Lampton was then a small boy who went 
to the fire.  Mrs. Mamie Eldredge, also a child recalls the commotion it 
caused.  Her father, Dr. Tuttle, had been on a country call in his buggy, and 
on his return east of town, met a man who told him Hamilton was burning up.  
The fire was in the first block north of the railroad, east side, and started 
in a frame store on the lot now occupied by the McDaniel cafe.  McGrew kept 
the store.  The fire went both ways.  To the north was the drug store of R. 
Williams, and on the north corner (present Bram site) was the grocery of 
Blanchard and Goodell, all two story frames, as Mr. Harper recalls.  To the 
south of McGrew was Dick Ervin's drug store.  (At that time, the Ervin store 
was a store further south than the later site occupied by him, which was the 
McDaniel site.)  Then to the south of Ervin was the Jew Jacob Goldberg's store 
and John Minger's bakery and restaurant.  All these went up in flames.  About 
half a block went.  Later, this whole block, rebuilt, suffered again on the 
morning of July 5, 1884 and again Minger and Ervin were burnt out.  (See 
separate account of the fire.)
     This 1871 fire is supposed to have been started on purpose by McGrew who 
carried a heavy insurance, but the sentiment was high and he skipped before 
collecting it all.
     The 1871 fire did not burn the whole block down for good reason.  There 
were wide gaps between bunches of buildings.  There was a gap between Mingers 
store and the next store to the south, which did not catch fire.  When this 
row of frame buildings burned in 1871, they were soon rebuilt by more two 
story frame stores, except on the lot at the north corner, where Anthony 
Rohrbaugh built a brick double store building, which is still standing, used 
by the Bram store.  This brick store was used as a landmark for years in the 
70s, when people would say, "Two doors south of the brick store" etc.
     Mr. Harper believes there was a fire on that section of Main street prior 
to 1871, which brunt out the shacks originally built there in the early and 
middle 60s.
     Interview  1935.


	THE KELSO BLOCK IN EARLY HAMILTON HISTORY
	Later known as the Phoenix Hotel
	Narrators:  Mrs. Hattie Jordan, 78 and Mrs. Herbert Eldredge

     The Phoenix Hotel which is yet remembered by most middle aged people in 
Hamilton, was not originally built as a hotel, but as a big business house, 
with an amusement hall on the third floor.  It was only in its closing years 
that it became the Phoenix hotel.
     This big frame building was built about 1869 by Edward C. Kelso, an early 
Daviess county pioneer who had come to Hamilton to live with his daughter, 
Mrs. W.J. (Dick) Ervin.  It must have been an unusual building for those days, 
when many of the business places have been described by narrators as "shacks."
     It was known for years as "the Kelso block" and the hall on the third 
floor was "Kelso's Hall" and the Masonic Hall.  Mrs. Edlredge tells of the 
good times that the Masons and their wives had up there.  Her father, the late 
Dr. Tuttle, was a big Mason, and one night at a supper, the doctor carved 75 
turkeys for the crowd.  Mrs. Tuttle and Mrs. Dick Ervin helped in the kitchen. 
 In the seventies, the first floor was occupied by the New York Store (under 
Mr. Rhoads) and old timers say that he had a fine store and did a good 
business for many years.  His store seems to be what one would call a double 
store, the Kelso building, as then called, covering a full lot in frontage.  
There is a picture of it in the old Johnson Atlas of this county 1876.
     It was about 1880 the building was sold to Wm. Jordan, who came to 
Hamilton from Ohio and married Hattie Pickell.  Jordan for a time rented the 
whole building to the Harvey family who were dry goods merchants at the time. 
 They used the three floors, the first for their store, the second for living 
rooms, the third for bed rooms.  They soon built a brick directly opposite on 
the west side of Main and went into it.
     Then Mr. Jordan used part of the ground floor for his display room for 
pianos and organs, that being his profession.  Mr. Terry, a buggy man, used 
the rest for his display room.  Then it began to be used as a hotel, called 
the "Phoenix."  For a while in the late eighties, Asa Thompson ran the hotel. 
 It was about a third rate hotel, but it had it patrons.  Then it sank quite 
low.  On account of its run down condition and age, it ceased to be profitable 
in rent to its owner.
     William Hemry, 85, tells of its nick name among the "boys" who called it 
the "Buzzard's Roost" largely on account of its unusual height as compared to 
other buildings, partly perhaps on account of its later shady reputation.
     After Mr. Jordan's death, his widow sold it to F.A. Martin who tore it 
down and built two houses out of the lumber.  On the lots, he built the modern 
two story brick store building which now houses the Missouri store, on Main 
(Davis) street, east side, two blocks north of the railroad.  This is a fit 
successor to the early fine dry goods store, the New York store of Mr. Rhoades 
of the seventies.
     Interviews  1933-4.


	THREE CRITICAL YEARS IN THE GROWTH OF HAMILTON, MO. 1866-8
	Narrator:  Mrs. Anna Brosius Korn, El Reno Okl.

     In 1866, there came the first definite signs of an immigration boom to 
Hamilton, prior to this, it was not as good a town as Kidder.  Mrs. Korn, a 
granddaughter of A.G. Davis, who founded the town, tells from her old records 
left by her grandfather the following data concerning the growth of these 
critical years when the town experienced its first boom.
     As a result of repeated advertising by the Hannibal and St. Joe railroad 
which passed through the town, in 1866 there came Wm. Atherton carpenter to 
help build new houses, also from Iowa came M.C. Martin another carpenter, and 
earlier had come his brother Sam Martin, also a carpenter (about 1865).
     Henry Partin, a carpenter had drifted in 1865, also Elijah Carpenter came 
1866.  The Jacob Brosius family came 1866 as hotel keepers (the old Hamilton 
house, facing the depot), the Wm. Ervin family came down from Daviess county 
the same year and he and Mr. Brosius were partners in the hotel, mentioned 
above.  Mr. Ervin sold out his share to Brosius in 1867.
     In 1867, Hamilton stepped out as a real town, something better than 
Kidder.  Just see the list of familiar town names which were added that year. 
 William Wilmot (afterwards pastor of the new Congregational church), bought 
land south of town as a farmer, G.W. Perkins, also a pastor of the 
Congregational church who had been located at Kidder, Myron Reed, later a 
store keeper here, A.G. Howard came from Wisconsin as a farmer, later became a 
druggist, O.O. Brown started his little dry goods store, later a leading store 
of town, James Stone (whose daughter married Al Menefee) opened an implement 
store at the old iron clad building still standing at the north end of Main, 
C.C. Green, brother-in-law of Howard also came as a farmer and later became a 
butcher, H.C. Hughes restaurant, Phil Rogers and Jas. Lunn shoe shops, Henry 
Thornton, already a stage coach driver became a liveryman, Paxton brothers 
opened a livery barn on Main, Anthony Rohrbaugh opened a dry goods store on 
the Penney corner, John Minger was Hamilton's first baker, Lee Cosgrove 
painter, Jos. Allen and C.M. Morrow carpenters, Wm. Wagenseller plasterer, 
J.J. Hooker teamster, Otho Strahl teamster and his future son-on-law Henry 
Leeper hardware, W.J. Ervin, (son of the hotel man) started the second drug 
store, W.W. Orr, J.S. Orr, farmers.
     In 1868, according to Mr. Davis' records, the following men came into the 
town, and most of these names helped make Hamilton history.
     R.D. Dwight, stockman, Israel Gee farmer, his son-in-law B.F. Holmes, 
farmer and stockman, another son-in-law T.E. Tuthill who soon left to come 
back permanently 1880.  Wm. Partin (son-in-law of Rev. Eli Penney pioneer), 
early grocery man, Major Higgins who was the second lumber dealer, (Tooley 
site) and lived just across the street to the east of his yard.  Hiram Markham 
first had a shoe shop and later was insurance agent.  Dr. S.V. Stoller had 
office and home in the house directly south of present M.E. Parsonage.  George 
Hastings started a grocery store on south Broadway )site of Present Hemry 
produce), Mrs. Letitia Dodge started the first millinery shop (site of Hawk's 
filing station) and her husband had his blacksmith shop in site of present 
Walt Wheeler cafe.  (She later became Mrs. R.D. Dwight and still ran the 
store.)  Alma and Lou Clark, maiden ladies ran the second millinery store on 
the south west corner of the library lot.  John Spratt opened up a grocery 
store on the lot south of the elevator on south Main (present Streeter 
garage).  John C. Griffing, long time resident here, opened up a wagon shop 
and blacksmith shop.  (Old Jim Murrel location, present Leslie Clark shop 
site).
     In 1868, Charley Stevenson was the town marshal, the Masonic lodge was 
organized that year and the town was incorporated.  It was indeed a big year 
in the town history.
     Interview  1934.


	AN EARLY BUILDING IN HAMILTON MISSOURI
	Narrator:  George Richardson, Hamilton

     Mr. Richardson is a son of an early pioneer of Hamilton, Squire Otis 
Richardson.
     One of the oldest landmarks and one of the oldest buildings in Hamilton 
was wiped out in the spring of 1896 when the old building on the right of way 
south west of the depot was torn down.  The building was built in the summer 
of 1858 for David Buster and Felix Bradley.  It was built by M.J. Bowers and 
James Russell.  It was occupied in the first floor by Dave Buster who ran a 
saloon for several years, possibly 10 or 15 years.  (See interview on Davy 
Buster.)
     In the early 60s, the second floor was occupied by the harness shop of 
Jas. McClelland, father of the millionaire Andrew McClelland of California.
     Many exciting scenes occurred there in the early history of the town.  
One of the windows was shot out in the 60s when the Caseys were killed north 
of the depot.  (This fight is described by Wm. Bristow in the first collection 
of narratives.)
     In the later days, it was used at times as a jewelry store, a dwelling, 
an office building by H. Shafer for his hard wood and railroad tie business 
just south of it, and some of the time it was vacant, save for tramps.  One of 
the last occupants whom old timers mention was one poor Furgeson family.
     It grew to be very disreputable looking, very old, very ugly.  It was lop 
sided, unpainted, siding falling out, and yet there remained some of the fancy 
work which the builders had put on its front.  At times, children used to fear 
to go by it at night, both on account of tramps and in fear of the ghosts of 
the past it being termed by some a "haunted house."  On account of its 
nearness to the depot, it gave a bad impression of the town to the stranger 
and people here often suggested that it be torn down long before it was.
     Mrs. Clara Prentice, sister of Mr. Richardson, once told the interviewer 
that a cheap grade of liquor used to be kept on hand by Mr. Buster for those 
patrons for whom the "slate was kept."
     The real slate was hung up in plain view with the reckoning of those who 
bought their whiskey on tick.  In consequence of this poor grade of whiskey, 
many a quarrel arose there but Uncle Dave always kept a smile.  She said that 
in war times, when fighting was at low ebb, this saloon was much frequented by 
the militiamen.
     Interview  1933.


	A SKETCH OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY IDEA IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Mrs. Mittie Whitman and Mrs. Laura Logan

     The idea of a public library in Hamilton was long a dream before its 
realization in the splendid Hamilton Library of today.
     In the earlier days, when books were high and very uncommon in many homes 
in town, the churches tried to fill the reading need by having Sunday school 
libraries.  Members of the Baptist church tell of books ordered shortly after 
the church was organized for the Sunday school.  The Episcopal church 
maintained a fine library for its young folks in the 70s, and the 
Congregational kept one going till in the 90s.  Naturally, however, the Sunday 
school type of literature did not appeal to everyone.
     Early in the 80s, there began to be a concerted planning of the better 
people in town toward a reading room and a library for those who were 
interested.  A fund of $100 was collected by a subscription paper, each giving 
a dollar which made him a member for a year in the library association.  He 
could take books home, for a certain time.  Anyone who wanted to drop into the 
library (or better reading room) could read there for nothing.  The library 
was started in a back room of a store for a short while.  The association was 
composed of Rev. Rogers (Presbyterian pastor) A.R. Torrey a literary minded 
business man, and the W.C.T.U. as librarians.  Rev. Mathews of the 
congregational church, was one of the men who roused much interest in the 
project.  Mrs. Mary Norton of the W.C.T.U. was one of the women who worked the 
hardest for the final attainment of the library idea.
     It was moved from Franke's room to the basement under Hale's store 1885. 
 Different club meetings were held there, when the room was open.  But in a 
few years, the W.C.T.U. ladies said that the room was so poorly attended by 
readers that it was not worth the time to keep it open, so the few books left 
were boxed up, stored away and the library closed.
     The Hamilton High School Library was opened to the reading public in 
1902.  At that time, it contained 250 volumnes which were housed at the end of 
a room on the second floor of the first High School building.  This same room 
was the office of the Superintendent of schools and a laboratory.  Thomas 
Filson, a business man of town, offered to be a librarian for nothing and the 
library was opened to the public, having other unpaid helpers.
     Shortly afterward, some one thought of the 100 books which had been 
stored away, the property of the life members of the old library association. 
 These life members donated their 100 books to the new library.  The new 
building for a High School planned a room on the first floor to be set aside 
for a library and this thing was done, but while the second high school 
building was under construction, Mrs. Alice McCoy, the second librarian, who 
received a small pay, conducted the library on the second floor of the McCoy's 
grocery on Broadway.  When the second High School burned, many of the library 
books were burned too.  Such are some of the steps which have led to the 
Hamilton Library which is now city owned and not a part of the school system.


	OLD HOUSES IN HAMILTON MO.
	Narrators:  Mrs. Herbert Eldredge, Mrs. Harlow and Miss S. Farabee

     There are yet (1934) many old buildings standing in Hamilton which are 
easily 65 years old, some over 70 and one or two which date back to the 
earliest years of the town.
     The Bristow home east of the Stella Farabee house was standing in 1868 
when Sam Martin came to Hamilton and he with his second wife and children 
began living there.  The Farabee house was there before 1869.  Major T.W. 
Higgins lived in a house in the 60s which had been built by one of the 
Hamilton town company, John Burrows in the late sixties.  This house stood 
originally on the site of the present Tiffin building at the north end of 
Davis (Main), but within comparatively recent years, it was moved into the 
south east section of town and is now the home of Mrs. Minnie Morris.
     The ramshackle old building east of the Eldredge Tuttle home now used as 
a chicken house, was for years known as the Uncle Charlie Dunn house (Negro). 
 The back part is quite old, having been moved in the 70s from its original 
site on the present Catholic church site where it was built in the early 60s 
as the home of Mrs. Andy Harrah, grandmother of Mrs. Harry Logan, formerly of 
this city.
     The Brownlee home, west of Fred Hawks home, once stood on the site of the 
latter house.  The front two rooms were built by John Morton, in the 60s, who 
was then a bachelor and a hardware merchant.  He and his tinner Gid Prentice 
batched in this house till both married.  When Mr. Morton built his elegant 
home, the Hawks house, he moved the cottage to the west end of his lot and 
rented it for awhile.
     The so called old Harris (or Wm. Elliott) house, now home of Marion 
Overton Ridings, was built in the 60s probably by Wm. Elliott whose second 
wife was Mrs. Harris who lived there many years.
     The oldest house still in use in town is the home of Jas. Deems, west of 
the Telephone building.  It was built 1859 by Squire Otis Richardson father of 
Geo. Richardson of this city.  The lumber for it came from St. Louis all cut 
and ready to put up.  The original nails were wooden pegs, as the Deems found 
as when the house was remodelled, a few years ago.  However, one could never 
guess from exterior or interior that this house for so old, so greatly has the 
remodelling changed its looks.
     On the Joe Davis farm north east of town stands a building, now a granary 
which was a part of the first store building put up in town 1857 and stood on 
the present moving picture corner.  It was put up by A.G. Davis, owned for 
many years by his wife who finally moved it to the farm when it became too 
dilapidated to rent.
     The present James Kautz home on the hill in west Hamilton was built in 
the 60s and was one of the finest homes in town, being the property of James 
(Jimmy) Kemper, who kept a store here many years.  In it was born Wm. T. 
Kemper, the K.C. banker, son of Jas.  Those early days, the north side porch 
was much longer, a good sized room having been taken off it, when the James 
Cowgill family lived there in the early 80s. 
     The small brick house in the east part of town now owned by the Dolman 
family, was built before 1870.  All the people who came 1870 speak of it as 
standing then.  They call it the Robinson home and Miss Ada McElroy, a teacher 
in the public schools in the early 80s lived with her mother, Mrs. Robinson.
     Then the house on Kingston street directly behind the Alma Howard home 
must date back to 1870, being originally the S.H. Swartz house, the so called 
Wilmot house (now rented to the Coshaw family) south of the park, was built in 
the late sixties, for it had to do with the beginning of the Congregational 
church in town, the west wing having been designed and paid for by the 
Congregational Board 

of Home missions to make a Congregational chapel, as indeed it was used for a 
few years.
     The brick building where the Souders family live on Broadway (built by 
O.O. Brown in the middle 70s for his store), the Bram store building (built by 
Anthony Rohrbaugh in 1872 for his store) the Guffey home on Kingston street 
(built by the first Naugle about 1870) are all old buildings.  Interviewed  
1934.


	THE HAMILTON MILL EXPLOSION OF 1870
	Narrator:  Elmer E. Clark, 73, Hamilton

     "Do you remember the time when the old Hamilton Mill blew up?" we asked, 
and in reply Mr. Clark said, "I should, for I was there.  A youngster of only 
8 years, I may not be expected to remember much concerning it.  The historical 
facts, as I later learned them, are as follows:
     My father, Henry Clark, bought the mill sometime in the summer of 1870.  
He moved his family here from Connecticut and took possession of the mill in 
October of that year.  The boiler was then in bad condition, leaking, and 
mechanics from St. Joseph were employed to make repairs.  Having finished 
their work, they proceeded to test its efficiency by apply the steam test 
which they carried to such an extent as to cause the boiler to explode with 
terrific force.
     Both mechanics were horribly mangled and killed outright, Peter Custer 
and John Gilsmer by name.  Alexander Crow, a neighboring farmer was killed and 
buried in what was then the Rohrbaugh cemetery and has since been removed to 
Highland cemetery.  Lloyd Rhineman, whom father had engaged as the new miller, 
was seriously injured and died in a day or two.  The late Greenberry Hill was 
standing at an open window looking into the boiler and was hurt, though not 
seriously.  My brother Frank, though standing quite close to the exploding 
boiler, escaped with severe scalds.  Father and I were thrown several hundred 
feet.  The boiler seemed to turn a series of summer saults and came to rest in 
what was then the Peter Jones lots.
     The main mill room floor and the loading platform were piled high with 
the grain sacks of farmers who had brought them to town for their grists to be 
ground as soon as milling should be resumed.  My purely personal recollection 
of the event was in a feeling of being forced or blown in the narrow 
passageway between these sacks of grain, and where to?
     I knew I was coming to my senses in the lot south of and across the road 
from the mill, and I well remember being surrounded by a dense crowd of folks 
who had arrived on the scene, thinking I might be dead.  I have a dim 
recollection of being taken to the house of my father and cared for.  Of 
course, I was too young to understand fully the tragic seriousness of what had 
happened over at the mill."
     Interview  1935.


	A FOURTH OF JULY FIFTY YEARS AGO AND MORE
	Narrator:  Mrs. Mollie Davis, 68, of Hamilton

     Mrs. Davis recalls the Fourth of July of 1880 in Hamilton because she 
"was in it."  There was every thing that year that belonged in a time honored 
Fourth.  The day began at dawn with cannon.  Then when the morning train from 
the west pulled in, off got the Cameron Military Band the best in all this 
part  of the country, with their white plumes, just in time to lead the street 
procession which was always a part of a good fourth.  There was the band, 
carriages with speakers, and a big lumber wagon with girls representing the 
states, Mrs. Mollie Davis (then Mollie Doll) and her sister Ida were two 
states.  Some of those girls on that float have long been dead - as Mittie 
Partin, Tavia Penney (Mrs. Bishop), Flora Minger, Belle Holmes (Dudley), 
Mattie Howard (Story).  Then there were the two Brown girls Mamie and Blanche, 
Lillie and Fannie Graer, Alma and Lena Howard, Bina Murphy, and her sister 
Martie, while Kate Stone was the goddess of Liberty.  It was a regular bevy of 
society folks.
     There were advertising wagons by Hamilton firms, they did not call them 
floats then.  Jim Murrell, sort of a town clown, had his Calthumpian band, a 
crazy collection of clowns, and a crowd of boys on foot.  At the park, the 
Declaration of Independence was read (never had a Fourth without it).  Some 
one gave a stirring oration, and then people scattered over the park.  A 
dancing floor gave a place for the country jakes to dance the square dances, 
the rotary swings, as they said, or the "merry-go-round" as we say now were 
there, in fact Mollie's own father had a merry-go-round on the grounds.  A 
Hawker cried, "Ridy Ridy Ridy, round the world and half way back again."  Just 
anything to get attention.
     Lots of people took their dinner and ate on the grass and the three 
hotels were full.  People those days enjoyed their patriotism, and the way to 
show it was to go to some Fourth of July celebration.
     Interview  1934.


	AN EARLY RACE TRACK IN HAMILTON
	Narrator:  Herbert D. Eldredge, 76

     In the seventies, possibly earlier, the outdoor community center of 
Hamilton seemed to be on the outskirts of the south east part of town in 
Dudley's pasture, about where the present George Dudley twenty acre tract 
lies, plus more land adjoining now used up in town lots.  Mr. Eldredge says it 
must have been used thus 60 years ago.  This is where occurred Fourth of July 
celebrations with arbors built for speakers, the barbeques, the base ball 
games and even horse races.  The track was an oval track, around the baseball 
diamond etc. and ran up south of present Minnie Morris home.  It was used 
whenever the owners of fast horses wanted or could get a race.  Such races 
always brought a good crowd to town.  Mr. Eldredge recalls one in particular.
     The Paxton boys (Will and Bob) ran a livery stable here and had fast 
horses and they often put on races.
     In Aug. 1879, a big crowd of about 600 people went to the track to watch 
a race between a horse called Texas Frank and the Paxton mare, Charlton Maid. 
 It was a half mile race, best two out of three.  Purse was $100.  The tract 
was a fast one and the running horses were on their mettle.  The time of the 
two heats was about 52 seconds according to an old paper which spoke of it.  
The Paxton mare won.  No one who witnessed the race now recalls who were the 
judges or to whom the other horse belonged, probably an outsider.
     Interview  1934.


	THE FREE BARBEQUE IN HAMILTON IN 1872
	Narrators:  C.H. Lampton, Seth Young, Jo Davis and all of Hamilton

     This well known barbeque was held on July 4 1872 in the Enos J. Dudley 
pasture in the southeast part of town, according the above group of narrators. 
 Senator Young was then a young man whose parents had come to Hamilton in 
1869.  The others were a little younger.  Mr. Young says he helped carry the 
brush which was used to build the arbor to protect the people.  However the 
Fourth proved to be one of the coolest days of that summer, and the shade was 
little needed.
     Several beeves and hogs were killed and the meat cooked in great trenches 
all night, the night of the third, but at that, some of the meat was quite 
raw, when served.  The people ate it anyway, it was all free and they "licked 
the platter clean."  The bread supply was exhausted and members of the 
committee in charge consisting of James M. Kemper (father of Wm. T. of K.C.), 
M.A. Low, John F. Spratt and others came down town and bought all the crackers 
in the stores and restaurants and all these were served when the bread was 
gone.
     The program consisted of the reading of the Declaration of Independence, 
a speech by a Mr. Evans of St. Joseph (whom they recalled as a polished 
gentleman and fine orator) and a race on Dudley's quarter mile track.  Sam 
Buster of west of town then a young man, rode Bald Hornet and Louis Champlin 
was the other rider, the name of his horse being forgotten.  Buster was rather 
heavy while Champlin was slighter and his horse won, much to the delight of 
the elder Champlin who had been urging his boy and horse with all the might of 
his lungs.
     The Hamilton Silver Cornet Band furnished the music and the celebration 
was a gala event, one to be commented on for years so no wonder, it is so well 
recalled after 63 years today.  They still recalled the almost raw condition 
of some of the meat and the earth which clung to it sometimes even after it 
was put on the table.  Joe Davis too recalled that every bit of the semi-raw 
meat was consumed.  Eva Glasener then a very small girl braced herself against 
the race track fence and watched the race.  Mrs. Elizabeth Dawson, was there 
with her husband.  The barbeque idea was a new one to her, although they had 
been here in the "west" for a year and a half from Pa.  Her slice of meat was 
well done, taken from the outside, but she recalls seeing the bloody parts in 
the inner portions.
     At the ball game which followed, Harry Lampton was an interested 
spectator, but Hamilton lost.
     Interview  1934.


	SCHOOLING IN THE SIXTIES IN CALDWELL COUNTY
	Narrator:  Matt Kennedy, 75, Hamilton, Mo.

     Mr. Kennedy is of Irish parentage, Thomas and May Kennedy who came from 
Ireland separately, met and married in America.  They came to Caldwell county 
with most of their children in 1866 and that fall of 1867, Matt started to 
school to learn his letters and use the old fashioned primer.  The Hamilton 
school at that time was a small building located on the present M.E. 
parsonage.  It was a one room affair under Professor Helm who had come into 
this county from Ohio (see Adam Ream's paper in the preceding series).  The 
room was full.  It was furnished with long benches and desks, each bench 
holding several children after the manner of a church seat.  There was an 
aisle at the middle, none at side.  There was a rostrum which Mr. Kennedy has 
reason to remember, because the teacher used to compel bad little boys to sit 
upright on the floor with their feet raised squarely against the rostrum as a 
penalty.  Just try it!  While teacher's back was turned, the boys would brace 
themselves by hands to relieve the strain.  He can yet see boys standing in 
the corner, some wearing the dunce cap, made of paper.
     The next year, his father moved into the country.  There he went to Tylar 
Adams (later of Hamilton), at the Pleasant Ridge school south east of town.  
Then the Kennedy family moved into what is now called the Liberty Bell 
district where they lived many years.  AT that time, school houses were four 
miles apart in the county, and this made it necessary for the Kennedy children 
to walk for miles to go to school.  Now it just happened that there were other 
children in the district equally far from a school, so one of the neighbor 
women, Mrs. Steve Cole, who was fairly well schooled, started a subscription 
school in her own front room, to which the Kennedy children and a few others 
(about 15 in all) went.  The fees were quite small.  There were a few benches 
without backs.  This probably awakened public sentiment on the situation, the 
need of closer schools.  Soon there was a ruling for schools to be two miles 
apart.  So the new school was started on the northwest corner of Wm. (Billy) 
Clampitt's farm.  It was made of cottonwood logs, and the pupils when they got 
older used to call it "Cottonwood College."  The work and the logs were 
donated by the neighbors, the logs were rolled up by some men, while the 
corner men (whose skill was highly valued) notched and adjusted the logs.  
Here Mr. Steve Cole, husband of the lady who kept the subscription school was 
the first teacher.  The seats and desks were like those described in the town 
school.
     Later teachers were Will Gillett of south of Hamilton and Henry Gee who 
used to ride out horseback every day from his home west of Hamilton.  Women 
teachers in those early days occasionally boarded round, but not much.  This 
district of "Cottonwood College" is Liberty Bell.  Out of old Pleasant Ridge 
large school district was carved in his memory Liberty Bell and Excelsior.
     At first, the writing class worked in home made copy books (foolscap) on 
which the teacher set a new copy when the pupil was ready for it.  Later, the 
pupils bought store copy books from Hamilton.
     Interview  September 1934.


	EARLY HAMILTON RAILROAD HISTORY
	Narrator:  Chas. H. Bryant of Maryville

     Mr. Bryant belongs to the Bryant family which were in Caldwell county in 
the forties.  His father Harrison Bryant, was a small boy when the first train 
went thru Hamilton 1859, having been born 1848 on the old Bryant homestead 
five and one half miles northeast of Hamilton.  They were genuine old 
settlers.
     Harrison Bryant often told the story to his children of going to town 
that day to see a train go thru.  The family got into the old farm wagon with 
an ox team hitched to it and drove over east of Hamilton about where the east 
coal mine is now located.  The place was then called Skunk Hollow.  It seems 
that the railroad was built both ways, from Hannibal and from St. Joe.  Word 
had gone out throughout the country that the first train on the new road would 
go thru on that particular day.  Somehow everyone knew it and planned for it.
     Nearly all the settlers for several miles on either side of the track 
gathered there where the two sections of the road met.  There they were that 
morning with their ox teams, hitched to big farm wagons, seated with chairs, 
since that was before the days of spring seats.
     They were sitting there in their wagons looking at the train and the 
great locomotive, and talking about the train, which was the first train the 
most of them had seen, when suddenly, the train crew blew a shrill blast on 
the whistle.  At the sound, the ox teams whirled around with the wagons, 
upsetting the chairs in the wagons, and of course the people in them, and ran 
as fast as they could across the prairie towards their homes.  The people were 
scrambling in the wagons to regain their chairs.  There were no fences then to 
stop the oxen, so they ran all the way home in some instances.
     Harrison Bryant told his children that when they were building the 
railroad, the work was done by imported Irishmen, and they often came to the 
Bryant home, two and a half miles north, to get buttermilk to drink.  They 
would ride over to the farm on mules and carry back enough buttermilk for the 
camp.
     Interview  1934.


	AN OLD ROCK QUARRY OF THE SEVENTIES AND CIVIL WAR STORIES
	Narrator:  David Dunham, 80, Hamilton
      
     David Dunham or Dave as commonly known, is a veteran barber of Hamilton. 
 He came into the county 1875 to work on the rock quarry on the Foley farm 
near Nettleton.  It was run by I.E. King and brother, Dave being related to 
I.E. King's first wife.
     King had a contract with one Abercrombie, a tombstone man in the southern 
part of Caldwell county.  He furnished native limestone bases and slots for 
slabs for which he got 85 cents a piece.  Abercrombie's name may still be 
found on the stones of many stones of the 70s.  He had a big trade round these 
parts.
     Dunham retailed some interesting Civil War stories.  He was not in the 
county during the Civil war, but he came in soon afterwards when feeling and 
talk was still running high, people still remember striking things which 
happened.  Many stories were current and he told some of them as they were 
told him.
     He says it was generally known that John Henkins was the man who shot 
down Wm. Hawks, grandfather of Fred Hawks of Hamilton.  Hawks was thought by 
some to be a southern sympathizer.  A few years after the war, when Henkins 
was running for office, he (Henkins') heard that Capt. Noblett's son was 
telling this thing on him.  He hunted young Noblett down and asked why he did 
it.  Noblett replied that "Pappy" meaning the elder Noblitt always asserted 
that he saw Henkins do it.  Nothing could be said.  The story was always hard 
to "down."  Mr. Dunham also was told that old man Swindler (possibly the 
pioneer) was "taken out" as the saying was, as a supposed Southern 
sympathizer, but his daughter, fearing the worst ran out and hung about his 
body with her own body so as to be the one shot if shots should be given.  
Eventually the would be regulators perplexed as to the results, left the place 
and he escaped but soon after died as a consumptive.
     Another Civil War story (second hand as were the others) was told him by 
Capt. Mark Morton.  This story shows that there was a race track west of 
Hamilton just across from the farm, known for many years as the Mallory place. 
 Here Capt. Morton had his company in camp during the early years of the war. 
 One night after dark, the orderly told Morton that a man outside wanted to 
see him.  A man (whose name was given to the interviewer) came in and asked 
Cap to send men over to Bastian, a hamlet on Lick Fork beyond the Foley place 
grove, so that these men could get a man who owed him money and make him pay 
it in GOLD.  He promised Cap twenty dollars of it if he would kill the fellow 
to boot.  Somehow Cap Morton did not feel like doing it.  This story shows how 
some people in Civil War times tried to use (and often did use) the soldiers 
for private purposes and enmities.
     Interview  1934.


	STRIKES IN THE HAMILTON COAL MINES 1887
	Narrator:  John Rauber, Hamilton

     "Hamilton has had a taste of labor troubles," said John Rauber, himself a 
laboring man.  He was a young fellow in the strike time of 1887.
     In 1887, with two coal mines running just outside Hamilton the miners 
went on strike for higher pay.  It seemed to start in the east (Caldwell coal 
co.) mine with a demand that all miners be paid what a few were getting who 
worked in the dangerous places.
     A general reduction of half cent a bushel was answered by the strike.  A 
board of arbitration was proposed by the owners, but the miners refused it.  
The miners sent circular letters far and wide, warning other miners not to 
interfere or take work here.
     Back of the miners was the Knights of Labor organization which was 
powerful then.  Charley Durkee was the leader here.  Miners were making two to 
three dollars a day.  The Knights sent to the merchants and tried to get them 
to quit selling foods made at the penitentiary, such as boots and shoes.  The 
merchants kept on selling the boycotted goods.
     The owners got some strike breakers.  One outfit of strike breakers were 
met at the depot by the strikers and by night, they had backed out of the job 
and went on to other work.  The second outfit of strike breakers were negroes 
from Leavenworth Kan.  They paid no attention to the Knights and their 
threats, went to work and stayed here several years.
     The strike meant a loss of two months' out put for the owners and much 
loss to the strikers.  The latter got little sympathy here in town and gained 
no results, losing their jobs.
     The negroes brought on their families and lived in the company houses at 
Tom Creek mine.  Some of the miners were Grant Jennings, whose wife Mollie was 
a well-known wash woman and Warren.  At that time, Ralph Booth was the 
secretary of the west mine (Tom Creek).  It was the custom those days for 
colored women to wash for the white women and take their pay in cast off 
finery.  The negroes prized the clothes of society leaders.  Probably none of 
these Leavenworth negroes are now in the county.
     Interview  1933.
   
     Interviewer's note.  The above data is familiar to the interviewer.  Her 
father was a share owner in the Tom Creek mine, hence was interested in the 
strike, and besides the family had a "hired girl" who came from a striker's 
family.  Hence we got both sides of the dispute.


	PRAISE AND CRITICISM FOR PRESIDENT LINCOLN
	What Some of Soldiers Wrote Home About the Civil War President
	Narrator:  Mrs. Robert Morris, Hamilton

     Mrs. Morris happened to have several letters written by two uncles who 
were Union soldiers in the Civil War.  From these, she gave the interviewer 
several extracts which show that old Abe Lincoln was not entirely an object of 
hero worship at that time.  Uncle serving at Harper's ferry in Aug 3 1864 
wrote, "The talk is that the rebels are going to Maryland again.  I do not 
care if they do.  It appears to me that our generals are not worth a dam here 
lately.  And if old Abe and his men under him don't do better between now and 
election, he can't have my vote, and there are plenty more besides me.  I 
think he will put off the draft till after election, and if he does, he will 
not get many votes in the army."
     Another says, "We ought to have them men long ago, for I do not believe 
in a few men doing all the fighting.  Some may think it is all right, but I 
don't.  We have had over 100 men in our company since we came out, and now we 
have 13.  We do need more.  What will people care for a soldier when they come 
home?  They will say, 'HE WAS ONLY A PRIVATE.'  I have seen enuf to satisfy me 
already."
     Another letter dated Aug 1 1864, tells of the common opinion felt at that 
time toward one "hundred day men," a common form of enlistment then for short 
time service.  This letter was to Mary Crisswell at Canal Dover Ohio from her 
brother John in camp at Baltimore.  "I have been in another big battle of July 
9 near Frederick City Md. and we got the worst of the bargain.  The rebels had 
about 20000 and we had 6000 in our division.  There were also 3000 one hundred 
day men, and they are worth nothing in a fight.  We fought from 9 in the 
morning till 9 in the evening, and then they came too strong for us, we had to 
break and run."  J.W.C.
     Another letter dated Feb 16 1865, says that the Union troops are on 
friendly terms with the Southern ones, "We don't get to sleep while on picket, 
for the pickets in our army are not more than 50 yards from the Southern 
pickets.  We can talk with the Johnnies and exchange papers with them."
     Levi Crisswell another brother at Bridgeport ALA., wrote Aug 16 about the 
draft of 1864, "I suppose there are a few men up north that are scratching 
their heads about the draft that 'miserable Abe Lincoln' is going to make on 
them, good.  It does me good, more good than $1000 bounty.  I hope that it 
will take in some of those French gentlemen about 9 miles from home.  They 
have been friends of mine, those peace men about Fredericksburg.  I would just 
give my bounty and pay to see old John, drafted into the army.  Not for any 
good we could expect of him, but for the moral effect it would have."
     Theses letters remind us of the draft talk of 1918.
     Interview  1934.


	GOING INTO MOURNING THE SIXTIES AND LETTERS WRITING IN THE SIXTIES
	Narrator:  Mrs. Sallie Morris, 71, of Hamilton, Mo. 

     Most middle aged people can recall the sight of women who had gone into 
deep mourning for close kin.  Even in the 90s, mourning veils were almost a 
necessity for the widow, who wore a long heavy crepe veil for a year at least. 
 The short end hung over the face, the long flowing end at the back.  The 
black dresses had black crepe bands.  Men wore black crepe bands on hats or on 
sleeves.  People in deep mourning had quite a time getting out of it, for 
every one noted its absence.  One family told of wearing black dresses 
constantly for twenty years, for one period of mourning would not be finished 
before another death.
     Mrs. Sallie Morris speaks of her own family experience on this line.  In 
this, she was aided by old family letters of the sixties which tell about 
"going into mourning."  The women put on mourning for a soldier uncle who had 
been killed in battle and the men wore crepe on hats.  They ordered black 
bordered letter paper (there was a plenty used those days), in fact the 
letters announcing the deaths were on such paper.  The family stayed at home 
from everything except church for a long time.
     Three years later, Mrs. Morris' grandmother Mrs. Crisswell died back at 
Canal Dover Ohio, the family home.  By that time, Mrs. Orr (a married 
daughter) had come out "west" to Caldwell county Missouri to live.  The 
letters to her telling of her mother's death also told of the mourning 
preparations.  They first bought black calico to make dresses for immediate 
use.  Then they dyed all their bright clothes, mentioning a dark red merino 
which would take black nicely and a bright scarf.  All dresses etc. which 
would take black were put into the dye pot.  Fearing lest Mrs. Orr, being out 
here by herself would not do the right thing, they sent her 14 yards of black 
delano to make herself a mourning dress and there would be enough left to make 
a black dress for the Little Sallie then 4 years old!  Even little children 
must go into mourning.
     The old letter told of the custom of placing a sprig of evergreen in the 
dead person's hand, so they did it in old Mrs. Crisswell's case.  The letter 
was the first news of death.  Apparently in those days, news of death was not 
commonly sent by telegram, for both these deaths were reported by letter.
     The letter paper of that day was very tiny and the writing, to match, was 
small and cramped.  It took 3 cents to carry letters in the late 60s even if 
the envelopes were very small.  On envelopes not in mourning, there was often 
a dove or bunch of forget me nots engraved or impressed on the left upper 
corner.  The edge too might be fixed up with impressed borders.
     The letters often started "I seat myself to write you" which seemed to be 
a formula, corresponding to the later "I take my pen in hand."
     Interview  October 1934.


	CAPT. CLAYTON TIFFIN IN THE CIVIL WAR
	Narrator:  Wm. Baker, of Hamilton

     Those who recall Dr. Clayton Tiffin of Hamilton as a dignified doctor in 
the 80-1920, period, could scarcely visualize him in the youthful energetic 
militia captain of the Civil War, in action all over northwest Missouri, 
especially alert for bushwhackers and other lawless bands.  The following 
stories told by his nephew "Billy" Baker show him in this aspect.
     After his education abroad as a doctor, he came home just in time to 
strike the Civil War.  His home was in Ray county.  For a while, he forgot his 
knowledge of medicine to fight with a gun for the Union.  This led to his 
encounter with the rebel leader Bill Anderson.
     Capt. Tiffin of the 4th Provisional Reg. of Enrolled Militia stationed at 
Knoxville in Ray co., was for a long time on the alert to get Bill Anderson.  
Knowing that he would undertake to make his escape from Clay co. thru Ray co., 
Tiffin had several men at different points on watch.  One of the scouts 
discovered the gang and reported them to Tiffin who was soon in pursuit.  He 
came on them in the brush where they were resting their horses.  Taking them 
by surprise, he poured a volley of shot at them.  The rebels quickly mounted 
and fled.  Anderson in his hurry, left his horse and hat and took thru the 
brush on foot.  One of the bushwhackers was taken having been wounded in the 
first volley by Tiffin.  After having been allowed time enough to say his 
prayers, he was "sent across Jordan" as the old war time expression went.
     Capt. Tiffin was in the last fight of the Civil War which took place 
seven miles north east of Richmond, Mo., between Capt. Clayton Tiffin who 
commanded a party of Caldwell and Ray county militia, and Lieutenant Arch 
Clemmons of the Bill Anderson's band of guerillas.  They met in a road in a 
deeply wooded place late in the evening and hostilities began at once.  
Madison Walker of the Tiffin force was killed at once with a bullet from the 
guerilla band and was the last man killed in the Civil War.  Tiffin and his 
men pursued Clemmons to Lexington and they surrendered the next day.  This 
skirmish took place about six weeks after Lee had surrendered.  Historical 
writers often give the date of the last battle as May 13 1865, but Capt. 
Tiffin had proof that his battle occurred 10 days later.

Interview's note:  Bill Anderson was finally killed Oct 1864 when his band of 
guerillas were repulsed near Albany, Mo. in Ray county by Major S.P. Cox and 
forces.  This same S.P. Cox lived in Gallatin at the time of the Civil War, 
but shortly after he operated a store with Ballinger and James Kemper in 
Hamilton for a short time.


	WHEN SOUTHERN SOLDIERS DID NOT VOTE IN CALDWELL COUNTY
	Narrator:  Mrs. Henry George

     Mrs. George (nee Addie Martin, ex-teacher of Hamilton) was the wife of 
Henry George, who served in the Confederate ranks from the south part of 
Caldwell county.  In fact, a limp in his walk showed his service.
     His name was on the roll of "Disloyal Citizens" which was made in every 
county during the war, 1862.  His father's name was there also.  They had been 
brought up in the ideas of the south.
     After the end of the war, they had to suffer for their opinions.  The 
Drake constitution of Missouri passed 1865 took away from them the right of 
suffrage, for every one who went to the polls to vote had to take the oath of 
loyalty which said that they had never adhered by act or word to the service 
of the Confederate government.  That meant that many Democrats in the state 
were deprived of their vote.  It meant that many people who had quite a bit of 
property could not have a voice in voting taxes on it.  Mr. George often spoke 
of the terrible feeling which came about from the passage of that 
constitution, even some of the northern people in the state thought that 
Missouri was too hard on the ex-Confederates.  There were preachers who had 
served in different ways or whose names were on the "disloyal" list who could 
not preach, and teachers who could not teach.  The father of T.S. Kenney 
(former pastor in the Baptist church here) was a disbarred preacher.  About 
1870, this "iron clad" oath was abolished and Mr. Henry George again had the 
right to go to the polls and cast his vote.


	EARLY COMMUNITY GATHERING PLACES IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Taylor Allee, Mrs. C. Prentice and other old timers

     In this subject, it has been necessary to talk to more than a dozen old 
people.  We are not yet satisfied on one point:  Where the people of Hamilton 
gathered for their social and political meetings before 1867 when McAdoo built 
on Main street and had the upper floor for such gatherings.  There was no 
church building here till 1868 and in the fifties and early sixties, church 
services were held in the railroad depot.  It is possible, no one recalls it, 
that other good sized meetings might have been held there too.
     But in the late sixties, there were two places recognized as halls, and 
by seventy, there were four.  First, there was McAdoo's Hall on Main street, 
about where the Vaughan store is.  That had no chairs in the late sixties, and 
the Baptists and the Presbyterians who rented it for church services, had to 
buy enough chairs for their membership.  There was the Whiteley Hall over a 
frame building on Kingston street, opposite the park, afterwards used as the 
Baptist chapel and then the early school.  Bennett Whitely, a very unique 
character, owned the building.  Then was Kelso Hall the third story of the 
Kelso building on north Main on the present site of the Missouri building.  
This was the Masonic Hall, but they rented it for festivals and sociables.  
The McCoy Hall over the Wm. McCoy general store on the corner of south 
Broadway, had some vogue for church services (Campbellite as then called).  It 
was early in the 70s when Anthony Rohrbaugh built the big brick block (now the 
Bram site) on north Main street which gave a splendid two room amusement hall 
on the second floor.  This out rated anything yet seen in Hamilton and 
Rohrbaugh Hall was very popular all through the seventies for meetings of all 
sorts, religious, social, dramatical, and political.  One funeral was held 
there in 1879 that of George Lamson, a very popular man, whose funeral held 
the record for attendance.
     When the Rohrbaugh family sold out 1879, the Anderson Brothers bought the 
block, and the hall became known thru the 80s as Anderson's Opera House.
     The south wall was cracked in the big fire of the middle 80s which burned 
up to the building, but the wall was repaired and the hall still continued to 
house immense crowds for many years.  It now serves as the Masonic Hall.
     For the outdoor entertainment places of Hamilton people thru all these 
years, turn to the narrative on the groves of Caldwell county.
     Interviews  1934.


	STEPHEN A. ROGERS, EARLY TEACHER, LAWYER & ENGINEER OF KINGSTON, MISSOURI
	Narrator:  Stephen C. Rogers and Others

     Much of the following was given to the interviewer in his last year of 
life.  He was one of the outstanding characters of the town of Kingston and of 
Caldwell county.
     He was born in Claiborne co. Tenn. March 20 1848 and died in Kingston 
July 29 1935.  His parents, farmer folk, moved from Tenn. to Clinton county 
1856.  There Steve grew up and decided to have an education.  He graduated 
from the University of Missouri 1873 when M.S.U. graduates were rare and got 
his law degree there 1875.  He had fallen in love with a Columbia girl Mattie 
Edwards and married her Dec 1874.  He was teaching school when he got his law 
degree, for it did not take so long those days to get one when you had a 
university degree.
     In Sept. 1874, he took charge of the Kingston schools which he found 
ungraded.  He graded them and organized the high school.  Hence, he is known 
as the father of the Kingston high school.  In that first year, he had the 
second floor, and the lower rooms were under William McAfee and Parker Platt, 
no women even for the primer class!  He taught for several years and in 1883, 
he resolved to use his law degree and practice law.  He ran for prosecuting 
attorney and was elected, for many of his pupils were voters.  Then too, he 
had been county school commissioner while teaching.  
     Then his versatile mind turned to surveying and he was county surveyor 
for many years, in fact he surveyed for the old Hamilton and Kingston 
railroad.  This was his favorite profession.  In his last days, when pain 
racked his body and took away his mind, his talk was on those surveys.
     In intellect, he was unusual.  At a time in 1874 when many school heads 
were not half way thru college, he had one college degree and soon had two.  
He was able to talk on any subject easily to those whom he liked - but to 
others he was quite uncongenial.  That was a part of his peculiar make-up.  He 
had Caldwell co. history at his command.  He was a bit proud of his learning, 
but he had every reason to be so.  People called him big headed, and self 
opinionated.  There was one child who grew up, Lalla Rookh, who was naturally 
of her father's bent mentally.  She has an excellent education, has taught in 
the Phillipines and in college work.  Her health is poor and she lives in 
California.
     Mr. Rogers had a strong desire to own property and possessed several 
pieces of Kingston property.  He requested that his body be taken to the 
Masonic Hall to lie in state till his burial which was done.  This seemed a 
part of his eccentric life.
     He was buried in his lot at the Kingston cemetery where his wife lies who 
died about 1880.  There also lies his well-known sister-in-law Mrs. Mary E. 
Griffin, a teacher in the K.C. schools.
     S.C. Rogers was kin to the Eugene D. Rogers family of Lathrop who was a 
son of David and Mary Rogers, David being a native of Clairborne county Tenn. 
who moved to Clinton county Mo.
     Interview  1935.


	THE McAFEE FAMILY IN KINGSTON TOWNSHIP 1865
	Narrator:  Mrs. Mariam McAfee, 77

     Mrs. McAfee is the widow of William McAfee, the second of that name in 
Caldwell county, apparently no relation to the older pioneer, Wallace McAfee 
or McFee in 1835.
     Hamilton McAfee, the first of this line of McAfee families in the county, 
was born in Indiana 1820, was a cooper by trade and came into Kingston 
township, Caldwell county 1865 as a farmer.  Having some education, he began 
teaching also as a farmer-teacher and was the first county school commissioner 
of whom people seem to know, serving in 1866, at least, and for some years 
after.  Readers are referred to the history of that office in this county as 
found in this series of interviews for his work.  He died 1890 and is buried 
in the Kingston cemetery.  His wife was Hannah Hosea of Indiana who died 1876. 
 He was a Civil War soldier.  
     William McAfee son of the above was also a vital part of Caldwell county 
as an early teacher and a lawyer.  He was born in Blue Lick, Clark Co. Ind. 
1850, and started to teach while not yet 20.  He was one of the first teachers 
in the "new" brick school at Kingston being the first assistant 1874, when 
Steve Rogers was the principal.  He held that place three years, in the 
meantime studying law in the law office of Dunn and Johnson at Kingston (the 
common way to get a law education then).  Dunn was Lemuel Dunn and Johnson was 
Crosby Johnson later of Hamilton.  He was admitted to the bar by court 
examination June 1876.  He married Miriam Johnson, daughter of Capt. E.D. 
Johnson 1875.  In his late years, he moved to Hamilton and was law partner to 
Crosby Johnson son of the Crosby Johnson with whom he had studied law.
     Mr. and Mrs. McAfee had five children.  By a sad accident, two of these 
died within a few hours of each other in the early 60s.  Mrs. McAfee had 
prepared a mess of greens, and had by mistake included one plant which was 
poison.  The two children died from the poison.  A third child Mrs. Agnes 
Keeny died after reaching womanhood.  A son, Floyd McAfee is a resident of 
this city.
     Interview  1934.


	DANIEL COX OF THE BONANZA COMMUNITY N.Y. TOWNSHIP
	Narrator:  J.D. McClelland, 82, Hamilton

     There are several Cox families in Caldwell county, some are unrelated to 
others.  There was a pioneer Daniel Z. Cox who was the grandfather of Mrs. 
Geo. Borden of Hamilton, and then there was another pioneer Daniel Cox of the 
Bonanza country, no relation.
     Daniel Cox was of Mr. McClelland's home district and he knew him well.  
He was born 1820.  He moved from Pennsylvania to Iowa about 1856, and from 
Iowa to Caldwell county 1859 and there he stayed till his death, with the 
exception of the years 1862-5 when he had a photographic and jeweller's shop 
in Chillicothe.
     During the boom days of Bonanza as a watering resort in the early 
eighties, Mr. Cox kept an eating house there.  The old timers in his vicinity 
speak of him as a watch tinkerer and said he rode around quite a bit in that 
work.
     He, his wife and several of his children are buried in the old McClelland 
cemetery west of Bonanza.  His wife Sarah died 1889 of consumption aged 48 
(very common ailment in the 80s).  She was Sarah Cormana, of the same 
neighborhood.  This name is ordinarily pronounced Cormany, despite the 
spelling, and is sometimes even spelled that way by those unacquainted with 
the correct form.  The interviewer has not been able to find any Cox descended 
from this family.  The dead children Frank B., Rosa, Mary, Samuel, Laura, 
Harry, all died under two and a half years, typical of the heavy child 
mortality in the 60s and 70s.
     Interview  1935.


	THE ANDREW McCRAY FAMILY IN THE COWGILL COMMUNITY
	Narrator:  Frank Filson of Okla.

     Mr. Filson is a life long friend of Andrew Francis McCray and gave these 
facts after the recent death of Mr. McCray.  Mr. Filson lived in Caldwell 
county himself much of his earlier life.  A.F. McCray has contributed many 
interesting facts to our D.A.R. research on the county and we feel his loss 
deeply.
     Mr. McCray was born in Callaway county, Mo. 1843, the eldest of 11 
children born to Wm. Martin McCray and Nancy Carroll (gr. daughter of John 
Carroll of the Revolutionary War).  His parents soon after moved to Caldwell 
county near the present town of Cowgill where he experienced real pioneer life 
among the few pioneers of the county in the early forties.  He has written 
much of this down.
     He fought as a Union soldier in the Civil War and lost a leg at the 
battle of Lone Jack, one of his unceasing hobbies was a dream of a monument on 
the Long Jack battlefield for the Union soldiers who fell there.  Such appeals 
often appeared in the K.C. Star.  He was prominent in G.A.R. reunions.  The 
loss of a leg did not daunt him in life for when the stump healed, he re-
entered the army as a recruiting officer.
     In 1871, at Kingston, he was married to Hortentia Rhoades.  She died 4 
months before he did.  Two of his children had preceded him in death - Will 
McCray a millionaire oil man in Okla. who died as a result of a mysterious 
beating, and Fran McCray who died 1934 as a result of a car accident.  The 
remaining children are Merle McCray of Cowgill, Mrs. Alice Denton of Tulsa 
where the venerable couple died, H.B. McCray of Kansas City.
     Mr. McCray was an unswerving Republican and for more than 70 years, he 
was active in Caldwell county Republican work, but always clean and wholesome. 
 He was postmaster at Cowgill for 21 years and had been county assessor and 
recorder.  He was an excellent campaigner both for himself and his party, and 
his personality and ready laugh were strong assets to him.
     The original McCray family was a large one, hence by intermarriage, they 
were kin to much of Caldwell county.  At his death Jun 15 1935, he was 
survived by one brother C.C. McCray of Calif. and one sister, Mrs. G.B. Cowley 
of that original family.  While the early McCray family had their own burial 
plot, the old McCray graveyard near Cowgill, Mr. and Mrs. A.F. McCray were 
buried in the Cowgill city graveyard.
     Interview  1935.


	THE KERNS FAMILY IN CALDWELL COUNTY
	Narrator:  Mrs. Robina Payne, Cowgill

     Mrs. Payne is the daughter of Geo. Benjamin Kern and Julia Terry of near 
Cowgill.  F.J. Kern, her grandfather, was a Civil War soldier and lived in the 
county during the Civil War.  His own father was born 1861.  Mrs. Kern has 
done quite a bit of local history researching.
     The Kern family boasts a Revolutionary War ancestor from Kentucky who had 
a land grant near Columbia Ohio.  Her grandparents on her father's side are 
Martha Zachary and Francis J. Kern.  Kern had been married previously and his 
first wife is buried in the old Brown cemetery.  Martha, his second wife, also 
had been married previously to Daniel Z. Cox (see his write-up).  The children 
of Martha and Cox were Jas. Brent Cox, John Cox, Fannie Streeter.  Then when 
she was Mr. Kern's wife, they had these children:  Chas. S. Kern (buried at 
Kingston), Martha Ellen Baker who lives at Hamilton, Francis Manford Kern yet 
alive (1935) but feeble, Geo. Benj. Kern (father of Narrator) dead, Wm. Jesse 
Kern dead.  Mrs. Baker in the first series of interviews gave further details 
about the Kern family.
     Geo. Benj Kern (commonly called Ben Kern) was a farmer-teacher.  He was 
among the early pupils in the Kingston High school in the 70s under Uncle 
Steve Rogers, the founder of the Kingston H.S.  He reported that high school 
those early days was much different from that twenty five years later even.
     He began teaching at 17, after he had taken his first examination for a 
teacher's certificate from Prof. Rogers.  His first school was one in which 
several teachers had been driven out - a common thing in some districts.  It 
was Bethany school.  He was young and looked even younger so they began on 
him.  He got control the first day of school by taking a revolver out of his 
desk and putting it on top of the desk.  His next examination was under County 
Commissioner Henry Gee.  A new law had come out which forbad the re-issuing of 
certificates without examinations.  He taught on thru the OPs and eventually 
became a rural mail carrier, one of the first, under the laws, which started 
that service.  
     He married Julia Terry whom he first met in the old Hare's studio at 
Hamilton when both were having their pictures struck.  She was then a house 
maid in the district where he was teaching.  He boarded with the Aaron Pfost 
family who kept a store at Glassville.  Glassville is no longer a town on the 
map, but in the early 80s was a post office.  Aunt Eliza Myers was the last 
post mistress.  When the town of Cowgill was started in 1887, Glassville lost 
its post office, since it was too near the new town.  Mrs. Payne's father Ben 
Kern, helped work on the new Milwaukee railroad when it was built 1887 and the 
new town of Cowgill was born.
     The Terry family (on her mother's side) came into the county 1869 from 
Henry Co. Ills. in a covered wagon and settled in 1871 on the very farm where 
the Payne family now live.
     Mrs. Payne says that the earliest school in that section was north of 
Cowgill in the early 60s, where the McCray children went.
     In 1868, two schools were built, by the same man Levi Keran (accent on 
last syllable) who lived on what is now John Hendricks farm.  These two 
schools of 1868 were Eureka and Bethany, both near Cowgill.  The first Bethany 
location was on the north east corner of the Hendricks farm, and then the 
building was moved across the road diagonally to the south east corner of 
another farm.  The Kerns family have had four generations on the same farm, 
and three generations have attended the same rural school - Bethany.  They are 
the only family in their community who can boast this 


honor, for the district was later divided so that some families had to send 
their children to the new school.
     Interview  April 1935.


	THE TIMOTHY BURKETT FAMILY IN KIDDER TOWNSHIP
	Narrator:  Mrs. Retta Burkett Misenhelter
  
     Mrs. Misenhelter is the wife of J.W. Misenhelter of an early family here. 
 She is 72 years old and the daughter of Timothy Burkett and Miss Hawkins who 
was born in Ireland, came to Ohio with her parents and settled near the 
Burketts.
     Mrs. Misenhelter's grandfather, William Burkett (born 1807 in Va. died 
1880), came into Caldwell county 1865 and brought most of children with him.  
Retta was about 4 when they moved.  The Ohio neighbors thought that the 
Burketts were coming to the jumping off place when they came to Missouri, for 
as compared to Ohio, this country in 1865 was very wild.  But Mr. Burkett 
wanted cheap land and by selling his nice Ohio place, he bought a much larger 
farm in Caldwell county, northwest toward Cameron.  The farm was under 
cultivation when he bought it, and a house was on it.
     The house was built of sawed lumber, very long with a fire place at each 
end.  It was on a by road, but now is on a main road.  There was a spring near 
by and a spring house where the water ran thru a trough for cooling milk and 
cream.  The farm now belongs to Mr. Rice, she thinks.
     They attended church in the earlier days at Barwick school house.  A 
Methodist preacher named Phillips held revival meetings and was so successful 
in getting members that he soon built Barwick Chapel.  She recalls the Plumb 
family as zealous workers in that church.  She attended school at Center 
school, on the present No. 36 road.  Some of her early teachers were Mrs. 
Fisher and Susan Knoch (aunt of Susie Knoch Frost).  
     Her first visit to any town was to Mirabile when she was quite small.  It 
was a sight to her.  Her father was taking a bag of corn to get it ground at 
the Mirabile mill and to get wool carded there.  The hamlet was then in 1870 
about the size as now, but the stores were better, since more people bought 
there on account of the mill.
     She remembers the reputation of Pat Kenney of Kidder, since he lived not 
far from them in his wonderful mansion, as it was called.  He was regarded as 
a wonderfully rich man.  Her father worked for him as a sheep shearer.  
Kenney's flocks were so large that often Timothy Burkett and two helpers would 
go there and stay for weeks shearing sheep.  Kenney lost much of his wealth 
and his home also largely thru law suits, but his house still stands as a 
prominent landmark with a cupola on its roof.
     The women folks of her family provided for winter by drying quantities of 
corn, apples, peaches even blackberries.  They made apple butter outdoors, but 
she could not remember that they made jelly in those days.  Brown sugar, light 
and dark, was more common than white, and green coffee was the kind ordinarily 
bought on trips to town.  The flavor of home roasted coffee, she says is 
preferable to store roasted coffee.
     She met her husband, J.W. Misenhelter, in her own neighborhood, the 
Misenhelter farm joining her father's.  They have three children who lived to 
maturity,  Harry M. of Lathrop, Beulah Gregg, Ralph of St. Joseph who married 
Cleo Kerns whose father's farm touched his father's farm.  Her grandparents, 
William Burkett and his wife Rhoda, are buried in the Kidder cemetery but most 
of the Burkett dead lie in Highland at Hamilton.
     Interview  October 1934.


	THE ABRAHAM BRUNK FAMILY AND THE ROBERT WHITE FAMILY 
	BOTH OF BRECKENRIDGE TOWNSHIP
	Narrator:  Andrew Brunk of Breckenridge

     Mr. Brunk is the son of Abraham Brunk of Rockingham county Va. and Mary 
Kibler of Shenandoah co. Va. who were married 1860, moved from Va. to Ills. in 
1856, the general time of the keen Ills. migration, and then on to Caldwell 
county 1868, the flood time of the Caldwell county migration.  They settled in 
Breckenridge township.  Abraham was the son of Christy Brunk (1795-1880) and 
Barbara Funk.  Old Christy Brunk had 11 children, he himself was a Memonite 
and two of his children were ministers of that faith.  Mr. Andy Brunk is a man 
now along in years and knew many of the pioneer characters now passed away.
     Among them, he mentioned Robert White, a very early interesting Caldwell 
county pioneer.  He spoke of him as Father White, because of his age when he 
knew him and his general sanctity of living.  Robert White is buried in the 
Breckenridge cemetery, although the old White cemetery was started on his 
ground.
     White was known to be a Mormon preacher, coming in with the vanguard of 
the Mormons 1834.  He entered two tracts of land in Fairview township one Aug 
2, 1836, and another in 1837.  He used to say that he came the year after the 
stars fell, now that meant 1834, for the meteoric shower here came in 1833.  
He as others of that time used it as a dating time.
     Father White came from King Co. Ohio, and he built one of the early mills 
in the county, one mile from the site of the old Mormon town ford and Haun's 
Mill.  This mill was sold to Wm. Mann and he sold it to John Raglan and soon 
after it was washed away in the flood of 1839.
     When the Mormon exodus from the county occurred, Robert White became a 
dissenter from Mormonism.  He stayed on in the county and embraced Methodism 
where he was quite a leader.
     He died Oct 1898.  His property division caused no little litigation for 
he left an estate of $50,000.  By his first wife, he had one child Mary Jane 
who married one Sawyers, and she died, leaving one child Robert Sawyer.  By 
his second wife, he had a child W.M. White of Breckenridge.  In 1883, Robert 
White made a will which gave all his property save $50 to his son William.  In 
1896, he made a deed by which he conveyed his farm to his son.  Robert Sawyer, 
thinking that he had not been fairly treated by his grandfather, after the 
death of Uncle Robert White, began to take steps to have the will and deed set 
aside on the ground of mental unsoundness.  The case went against the 
grandson.  It was shown that Mr. Robert White drove several miles to have the 
will made and this seemed to show that he knew what he was doing.
     Interview  1934.

Interviewer's  Note - In relation to Mr. White's Mormonism, the following is 
of interest:  Amanda Smith, a Mormon survivor of the Haun's Mill massacre, in 
her account, mentions White as two of the company left by the Gentiles at 
Haun's Mill to guard the women and prevent a Mormon outbreak.


	AN OLD COLORED AUNTIE AND UNCLE IN BRECKENRIDGE
	Narrator:  Mrs. Helen Kirtley, 66, Breckenridge

     Mrs. Kirtley lived most of her life in Breckenridge having been Helen 
Leeper before her marriage.  She was well acquainted with the Mrs. Terrill 
mentioned below.  She also knew well both the familiar negro characters 
mentioned by her.
     Aunt Katie Douglas was the oldest colored person in Breckenridge at her 
death 1901.  She was born in Kentucky 1818.  She was a typical before the war 
aunty and all respected her.  She had a son who was a slave of the parents of 
Mrs. Terrill and he came as a present with the Terrill family when they came 
into the pioneer life of the Breckenridge community before the town was even 
dreamed of.  Aunt Katie also belonged to the parents of Mrs. Terrill and she 
stayed with them.  After the war, when the darkies were freed, William the son 
out in Missouri went back to Ky. and brought both his parents to spend their 
lives near Mrs. Terrill, for Aunt Katie had been her nurse as a child.
     Aother old time negro in that town was Uncle Bob Peyton, a very Southern 
type of slave uncle.  Most of the ex-slave negroes in this county were 
Missouri bred, if not born here, hence they lacked many of the unique 
characteristics of the real Southern negroes which both Aunt Kate and Uncle 
Bob had in large measure.
     On the occasion of the funerals of both these darkies, many white people 
went to the funerals, and even sent flowers.
     (For a paper on the Terrill family, see the 1934 series)
     Interview  1933.


	THE NOBLITT FAMILY AND THE HARRELL FAMILY IN FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP
	Narrator:  Mrs. Sonora Harrell

     Mrs. Harrell is now 86, and is totally blind, but her senses are alert 
and memory excellent.
     Mrs. Harrell is the daughter of Captain Gallatin Noblett of Civil War 
fame in this county, so the material is choice. 
     He was the son of Abraham Noblett, who was born in N.C. lived and married 
in Grayson Co. Va., and emigrated to Ray co. Mo 1839.  Abraham died there a 
few months after his arrival of typhoid fever, which had followed a big flood 
that took many lives.  Abraham is buried in some small country graveyard in 
Ray county.  His wife Elizabeth Nichols died earlier before they left 
Virginia.
     Gallatin Noblett married three times.  Louianna J. Davis and was his 
first wife and the mother of Mrs. Harrell.  His second wife was Christine Mace 
and his third Mary Sconce.  He and his three wives are buried in the old White 
cemetery.  The Davis grandparents of Mrs. Harrell are buried in Butler Mo.
     It was in the year 1838 that Gallatin W. Noblitt came to Ray co. and 
coaxed his father Abraham to follow him.  From Ray co., he came into Caldwell 
about 1850.  He bought the present Harrell home (then Noblitt) from Father 
White (Robert White) getting the deed from him.  It has a peculiar history.  
In Mormon days, this farm belonged to a Mormon Josiah Fuller, one of the men 
killed at Haun's Mill massacre, and buried in the old well there.  At the 
Mormon exodus, often a Gentile would get the Mormon land very cheap, but would 
get no title for it, for most Mormons had not completed their titles.  Mrs. 
Harrell said that her father used to say when asked about the history of the 
deed, "Ask Bob White, he sold it to me."  Robert White was a Mormon Preacher 
once, but later became a dissenter and bought quite a few Mormon claims at a 
low price and sold them, thus becoming rich.
     Gallatin W. Noblitt and family lived in the Mormon house three years.  
She was 5 when they came up from Ray co., and remembers the old Mormon house 
well.  A log cabin, with a front room, about 16 x 20, a lean-to kitchen with a 
dirt floor, two fire places, one in each room, so big that they took in 4 foot 
logs.  The chimney was rock up to eaves, then stick and clay which sometimes 
fell in.  There was a spring house for water and for cooling milk and butter.
     There was wild deer in profusion, venison was common fare.  Often Mr. 
Noblitt would go out in his corn field and shoot a deer or two.  They were 
pests to the farmer's crops.  Wild turkey was no treat at all.  Because of the 
abundance of wild meat, pork and beef were luxuries.  Most of the farmers fed 
their hogs on the acorns falling from the oak trees, but Noblett believed it 
made the meat too greasy, so he shut his hogs up 2 or 3 months before 
butchering, feeding them on corn.
     In their neighborhood, the women and children gathered all kinds of wild 
fruits to dry, blackberries, strawberries, gooseberries grapes and plums.  
They did little canning, but made jams, preserves and butters.  They spread a 
thin cheesecloth over the fruits drying outdoors.  Not many apples were to be 
seen, most of the apple trees then grew from seeds.
     Not many farmers in that part raised wheat for bread.  Mr. Noblitt 
occasionally did and took his wheat to Millville Ray co.  Two or three times a 
year, the family went to Camden (Ray co.) to buy groceries - they bought huge 
quantities of flour, sugar, coffee and tea.  It was a day's drive down there, 
they shopped and rested the horses a day, and returned on the third.  They 
rode in the farm wagon, the first memory she has of a wagon was of a body 
shaped like a boat - curved sides - the Conestoga wagon.
     Their neighbors were fairly numerous, but all were located by timber 
which meant near a creek to provide wood, lumber and water.  In the 50s, 
Richard Lane was one neighbor, others were Charley Woodbury, Uncle Charlie 
Ross, one mile and half east, who was the second man after the Mormons to run 
the mill at Mormontown ford.  He was a Tennessean who settled in Livingston Co 
1838 and crossed over into Fairview twp. Caldwell co., and bought Mormon land 
at the exodus.  The Lane girl and the Woodbury girl married Mr. Elias Nichols 
who was another neighbor of 
the Noblett.  The Waters family lived fairly near and Elmore Waters' second 
wife of Widow Bennett who was a Lane by birth.
     Social times in those early days, were usually coupled with work, like 
log rollings, for a new home, quiltings, harvests with big dinners.  She 
attended the big trench barbeque at Hamilton where Tony Hudgins cooked the 
meat.  The early church services down there were in homes, by chance visits of 
circuit riders, all Methodists.
     Her father always took the St. Louis Republic, altho he was a Republican. 
 Incidentally reading that paper, made his son into a Democrat.  He or his 
neighbors would drive over to Breckenridge once a week to get the paper.  He 
was the first of his Va. family to be a Republican, being made so by the sight 
of slavery.  He voted for Fremont and Lincoln (twice).
     Naturally, he fought for the Union and was prominent in the county 
warfare.  Despite accusations to the contrary, he always said that he never 
killed a man in his life.  At one time, he got orders to kill a Jim Bradley, 
but by choice he failed to do it, the next order he received was to bury the 
man (killed by some one else) in the White cemetery, where he lies yet in the 
north end.  But the captain got the credit for the killing.
     She told of early grave burials.  At the bottom of the graves, boards 
were laid in which the coffin was placed and more boards on top of that, to 
keep the dirt from rushing in.  No rough box was known.  Rawley Henkins was 
the neighborhood coffin maker.  She told of the old White cemetery as 
undoubtedly dating back to Mormon times, and said the oldest graves were 
marked only by field stones and represented families now utterly gone out of 
the county.
     The first school in that neighborhood was a log built 1857 on the present 
Harvey Nichols farm (this turned into the Catawba school).  It was a 
subscription school, 10 cents a day for two children or 5 cents for one.  A 
man named Smith, nephew of Lane (Richard) taught it, Mary Haynes was another. 
 Mrs. Harrell says they had no free school till after Abraham Lincoln became 
president and she gave him the credit for free schools.  The Waters school 
also a subscription school was another log school.  She herself never went to 
school a day as a pupil.  Her father bought her a life of Napoleon, and she 
developed into a great reader.  She was eight when the log school opened, and 
by that time she had learned much at home, to read, spell, figure as well as 
work.
     Interview  October 1934.


	DEATH OF PAT KELLY OF NETTLETON IN A WELL
	Narrator:  Mrs. Ida Hargrove, 76

     The digging out of old wells in the drought summer of 1934 reminded Mrs. 
Hargrove of something of interest along that line which happened back in 1887. 
 She was then living on a farm near Nettleton.  Pat Kelly was a citizen of 
that town.  He and Alec Scott, a neighbor, had been blasting in an old well 
which he owned which they were trying to make deeper.  It was a very dry 
summer and wells were in great demand.  They had blasted in the morning and in 
the afternoon, Mr. Kelly went down on a rope to see the results of the 
blasting.  He apparently did not realize the danger of gas in an old well.  
They had been calling back and forth to each other.  Mr. Kelly finally ceased 
to answer Alec's call.  The latter, fearing the worst, summoned more men, and 
tying a rope around his own waist went down on a rope.  He told the men to 
hoist him at a given signal.  But he too began to succumb to the deadly gas.  
He gave no signal, and the men on top, fearing for him also, began to pull him 
up furiously.
     They got him to the top just in time, for he was unconscious and dizzy 
for quite awhile.  They finally got poor Pat Kelly out of the bottom of the 
well, but of course, too late to save his life.  He was probably dead before 
Mr. Scott started down after him.  This calamity put an end in that community 
to careless investigations after blasting old wells.
     Interview  1934.


	THE CATHCART FAMILY OF BRECKENRIDGE AND GOMER TOWNSHIPS
	Narrators:  Mrs. Ida Smylie and Wm. Guffey

     The Cathcart family is one of the earliest ones in eastern Caldwell 
county.  They came in the early forties.  They had lived in Livingston county 
to the east of Caldwell for a short time, before crossing into Caldwell 
county.  The original settlers were Joseph B. Cathcart and his wife, Elsie 
Guffey, both of Tenn.  They settled south of Breckenridge on the so called 
Austin farm buying it from the U.S. Government.  There were 9 children of this 
pioneer couple.  The eldest girl was Margaret Jane, who was born 1846 in 
Caldwell county at the Cathcart homestead.  She was the last of the 9 to die, 
passing away 1934 at the home of her daughter in Hamilton, Mrs. Ida Smylie.
     Margaret Jane's mother died 1863 and she was buried among her own people 
in the Guffey cemetery in the same community where Guffeys and Cathcarts had 
settled.  That left Margaret Jane with the youngest brother to bring up.  In 
1865, the father took his family of children back to Ills., Adams County where 
they had once lived on the way west.  In 1866, Margaret Jane married Dr. 
Robert Keeney, a practicing physician there.  They had 4 children:  Joseph H. 
Keeney of Hamilton (who married Susie Peabody and is the father of Harley 
Keeney), John B. Keeney of Arizona, W.O. Keeney of Chillicothe and Mrs. Vernon 
Smylie (Ida).  After Dr. Keeney's death 1885, Mrs. Keeney brought her children 
back to Caldwell co. to be with her people.  In 1899, she married Archie 
Stephenson's father of the county.
     An older brother of Mrs. Margaret Jane Stephenson was John N. Cathcart 
who was born 1844 in Livingston county, before the Cathcarts and the Guffeys 
came into Caldwell county.  He returned to Caldwell county from Ills.  In 
1869, he married Elizabeth Pawsey, (pronounced Paw-see) daughter of J.W. and 
Nancy Pawsey, Mr. Pawsey being an Englishman who had settled during the 60s in 
this county.  John N. Cathcart had four children William Frederick, Alta 
Mabel, Bessie Belle, Mary Catherine.  Their home was in the Gomer township, 
where Mr. Cathcart owned a very large and valuable farm.
     Interview  1934.


	THE DANIEL DUNLAP FAMILY IN GOMER TOWNSHIP 1870
	Narrator:  George Dunlap, 64

     Mr. Dunlap is a son of Daniel Dunlap who came into the county 1870 from 
Defiance county Ohio.  He came because of what he had heard from the McAdoo 
family, who had come from the same county to Hamilton 1868.  Mr. Dunlap's wife 
was a Miss Simmons and she had a sister who had married Dr. James McAdoo, the 
1868 druggist here.  Another sister had come out a little later on a visit to 
the Dunlaps and the McAdoos and she married Mr. James Hawks, the father of 
Fred Hawks of Hamilton.
     Daniel Dunlap bought a farm of 80 acres from Jeff Van Note who had got it 
from his father who came early in the 60s.  He paid $22 an acre, which at the 
time was all right, but land values soon fell and he felt that he had paid too 
much.  It was in Gomer township and is now the property of Mr. Richardson.
     When Mr. Dunlap came, the land had not been broken; he used oxen to break 
the prairie.  First, he broke the land around his home to avoid danger of 
prairie fires, then he broke a field.  Soon horses began to be in use and he 
used them.  They came to Hamilton through the prairie, for there were no 
fences.  There had been roads laid out, but they were not much used.
     The Dunlap children went to the so called Van Note school which was 
started 1872, and the same school house yet is in use.  They started to bury 
in the Pleasant Ridge grave yard, because in the 70s many country people did 
not think of burying in a town.  The later dead in the family are in Highland.
     Interview  1935.


	THE ELISHA EDWARDS FAMILY IN NEW YORK TOWNSHIP
	Narrators:  Ebenezer Jones and James Puckett

     The Elisha Edwards family is another "before the Civil War" family in 
Caldwell county.  The family came from Carroll co. Va., and on the way here, 
lived a short time in Daviess county.  They are not supposed to be kin to the 
Isaac Edwards family of N.Y. township, yet because of the fact that both came 
from Carroll county and both came before the war, it is possible that they are 
distant relatives.
     In New York township, they had as neighbors the Pucketts, Elizabeth 
Edwards (daughter [sister] of Elisha) married Constant Puckett.  They had the 
numerous Cox families.  The Jones family also were later neighbors.  This 
neighborhood originally started out as a Virginian settlement, but after the 
war, an influx of people from New York was so great that in the realignment of 
township lines the township became called New York township.  In time, however 
the Missourians (as the New Yorkers called the earlier Virginia settlers) 
mixed on friendly terms with the Yankees.
     Elisha Edwards grew discontented with things in Caldwell county and 
decided to go back to Carroll Co, Va.  He loaded his farm wagon and started 
out.  Ebenezer Jones tells a story about that moving.  It must have been in 
the early seventies.
     Mr. Jones is now about 76 and he came here with his parents in the early 
60s.  As a young fellow, he knew Elisha Edwards well.  One morning, he was out 
hunting and he met Edwards in a mover wagon headed east.  He told Jones that 
he was going to Virginia, that there was nothing here for him.  Mr. Jones told 
him he would be back within a year.  Edwards got out his little brown jug and 
they had a parting drink together - a common custom those days.  About a year 
later, Jones was again out hunting on about the same spot when he met Edwards 
in a mover wagon on the road headed west.  He said there was nothing in 
Virginia for him, and again he got out the little brown jug and they had a 
drink together.  He had come back to Caldwell county for good and all, to 
settle down for life, which he did.
     In the possession of descendants of this Elisha Edwards are some very 
interesting letters of early days reflecting the ways of those times.  Some of 
the letters have been sent through the mails without an envelope, the address 
simply written on the outside fold of the letter.  One of these early letters 
says that he sent seventy dollars in currency to one George Harris of Hannibal 
through the American Express, which was the way money transactions were 
managed before the days of back checks and drafts.  The receipt said that the 
package carried "currency" valued at $70.  This was dated Nov 11, 1867, when 
Elisha Edwards was living in Caldwell county.
     The old Elisha Edwards place in the Bonanza neighborhood in N.Y. Twp. is 
still in the family, being the home of his daughter, Mrs. McFee.  His 
grandson, James Puckett, lives in Hamilton, being a retired farmer of nearly 
80.  Elisha Edwards died 1905 and his wife Margaret died 1890 aged 65 and both 
are buried in the near by old Cox cemetery.
     Interviews  1934.


	THE OLD ANDREW BAKER HOUSE IN NEW YORK TOWNSHIP
	Narrator:  Robert Morrison of New York Township

     Robert Morrison and his father before him have both owned and lived on 
the old Andrew Baker farm in New York township, where the well known stone 
house stands, now used as a granary.
     The house was built by Elder Andrew Baker, the well known Baptist 
preacher-farmer of Caldwell county in the early sixties.  Mr. Morrison says 
that Mr. Baker moved his family into it on the day of the battle of Lexington 
in the Civil War, that so old Andrew told his father, saying that they heard 
the shots clear up to the Baker's home and the Frazier's near by.  Mr. Baker's 
first wife was dead by 1861, and his first family of children were then 
married off or soon were afterward.  (For an interview concerning the Baker 
family, see the Williamson interview in the 1934 series.)
     The house is built of courses of native rock with the big rocks used at 
the corners and over doors and windows to keep it on the straight and the 
smaller rocks used in regular rows between.  It is a two story front, but runs 
back to a deep slant to the kitchen in the rear.  Over the kitchen appears to 
have been an attic or possibly a sleeping room for the children.  The pitch of 
the roof is quite high in front.  The rock walls are probably 18 inches deep. 
 It once had shutters as shown by the shutter notches left at the windows.  
One could imagine it had much class when it was built, at any rate people 
always mention it when mentioning old Elder Baker.  It looks now as if it 
could stand for 200 years.  It has to be seen to appreciate the amount of work 
given to its construction.
     The house is of the old L type of construction, the back rooms being an 
extension from the east end of the building.  The south west corner was 
occupied by a porch, the rafters of which were put in slots or notches in the 
stone.  At both ends of the house, are dressed stone chimneys from bottom to 
the top of the house.
     Mr. Morrison in speaking of the old graves and grave stones to be found 
on the place near the old stone house, says that there are eight graves on the 
farm, although not that many stones are to be found.  At one time, his father 
offered to pay one half the expenses of moving the bodies to Hopewell cemetery 
(fairly close by) but the Fraziers (whose early dead lie there) would not 
agree to it.  There are now about four stones left, piled up by the fence by 
the old house.  The road to the house now runs either by or over these graves.
     Interview  November 1934.


	THE AUSTIN FAMILIES IN NEW YORK TOWNSHIP 1866
	Narrator:  Mrs. Maria Young

     The three Austin brothers, Oliver, Jacob, William, came into New York 
township, Caldwell co. 1866.  The township was not so called then, getting its 
name from the influx of settlers from that state.  They were former citizens 
of the same N.Y. community, Jefferson co. N.Y. as the Houghton, Searls, 
Salisbury, Thwing, Boutwell families, all coming here to reside.  They (the 
Austins) were born in Herkimer county N.Y., fought in the Civil war and came 
out shortly after the war to Missouri.  They settled in a community made up at 
that time largely of Virginians.  They were the first families of the New 
Yorkers to settle there, although James Houghton, a single man, had come 
earlier.  Jacob was the first Austin brother to come.  He bought 700 acres 
from the railroad and sold part of it to his two brothers.  Afterwards, he 
sold his farm and moved to Hamilton to live.  There he did much in founding 
the Hamilton Savings Bank, the second bank in that town.  It stood about where 
McPherson Produce store is.  His children were Fred, Ella (married Joseph 
Anderson), Albert (married Miss Inskipp).
     The other two brothers stayed longer down in N.Y. settlement (or York 
settlement, as the Eastern settlers used to say).  Oliver Austin married 
twice:  Charles Austin married Clara Wolcott a neighbor, Mary Austin married 
1) A. Bogan who died in young manhood 2) Dr. Tinsley Brown of Hamilton.  These 
children, Chas. and Mary, were of Oliver's first marriage.  The children of 
the second were Mrs. Maria Young (the narrator), Mrs. Nelle Clark, Cora 
Austin.
     The third brother William had two children:  Mrs. W.A. Guffey, Mrs. Alice 
Stephens.  After the death of his first wife, he married Mrs. Mary Frances 
McMurtrey and when he died 1904, he was buried with her people in Highland 
cemetery.
     The Austins went to school at Radical school in N.Y. township.  Mary 
Austin, oldest daughter of Oliver had gone to Mary Houghton back in "York 
State" and went to her again in the Radical school here in Caldwell county.  
Maria her half sister, started at five years and had as first teacher, Sophia 
Houghton, half sister of Mary above.  Sophia Houghton afterwards became Mrs. 
Ross Kautz and Mary Houghton became Mrs. Geo. Kautz.  Three of that Houghton 
family taught the Radical school, James, Mary, Sophia.  Another teacher at 
Radical was Miss Wellwood, who afterwards became the mother of Mr. E. 
Merryman, whose father was the brother of Mrs. Jim Filson of that district.  
All three girls in the Austin (Oliver) family went to Wm. Guffey, now an old 
man of Hamilton.
     Maria Austin (Young) herself was a teacher, taking her first examination 
under Steve Rogers, when she was 15 and teaching at the same age.  Her next 
examination was under county school commissioner Burbank of Breckenridge, and 
then she took under Henry Gee when he had the office.
     The Oliver Austin was a power in establishing the N.Y. Presbyterian 
church.  Mrs. Elizabeth Austin, the mother, was a charter member, a Sunday 
school teacher, and in the 70s and 80s, the two sisters, Maria and Nelle, were 
the organists.  The communion set used there in the early days was sent out 
from Mrs. Austin's home church in Antwerp N.Y. and consisted of 2 pewter 
goblets and a pewter pitcher.  Later, it was returned to N.Y. when the church 
here in N.Y. twp. prospered enough to buy a set.  The first church out there 
was made up of Congregationalists, Methodist and Baptists, but the 
Presbyterians got the organization.  Church was held for some time in the 
Radical school house.  The church was organized 1869.  Finally in 1879 the 
frame church, now standing, was built with Sam Martin of Hamilton as 
contractor.  Many people erroneously speak of the church as the "Radical" 
church, because of the name of the school district, so named because of the 
liberal religious opinions of some of the residents.  Many of the older 
Austins are buried in the N.Y. township cemetery, 

the land for which was donated by A. Wolcott, one of the N.Y. settlers.  He 
also was a coffin maker and made the coffins for most of the corpses in the 
70s.
     Interview  1934.


	EARLY STORES IN KINGSTON MISSOURI
	Narrator:  Sarah Chain, 82, Hamilton

     Miss Chain's father, Hugh Chain came to Kingston 1859 as a carpenter and 
the family started a hotel, the well known Kingston or Chain House.  She had 
two decades of life there before the family moved to Hamilton in the early 
80s.
     Some of the facts she gave she had heard of by the traditions centering 
the old sites in Kingston, sites which belonged to the 40s and the 50s, 
hearing about them from the children whose parents had been there longer.  The 
first shoe maker was Water Doak who moved the first house into town from Far 
West, and this Doak afterwards moved to Mirabile.  This house afterwards 
became the Baxter Store and a sort of hotel, on the present location (1935) of 
the Stratton oil station.
     Then Joe Hoard had a store in a shanty or shack, somewhere on Main.  
Ardinger and Woodson had a store in the 40 and 50s, and after Mr. Ardinger ran 
a store at Hamilton for a brief time in late 50s, he came back to Kingston and 
ran a store where the Southern soldiers gathered to organize.  Miss Chain a 
small girl then, recalls the Ardinger store on account of its Civil War 
association.
     The Kingston Hotel started in the late 50s by the Chain family, stood for 
almost half a century in almost continual use as a hotel.  It stood on the 
road to the school house on the site of the present Garney Puckett home.
     Augustus Mack, the well known harness maker of 50 years ago came to 
Kingston in the 50s, went away a few years, then came back satisfied to die 
there.  He was very German in talk.
     By the 60s, Miss Chain's brothers, Alpheus and Thos. Jefferson, were 
helping their father as carpenters, a third brother was learning the tinner 
trade with his brother-in-law Chas. Davis, who kept a frame hardware store on 
Main street.
     J.F. Heiser came to Kingston soon after the war and on west Main started 
a wagon shop which later turned into furniture and undertaking.  His place was 
near the Boucher home.  This Heiser was the father of Fred Heiser of Kingston.
     Miss Chain recalled the Northup-Lewis Store which during the war was 
rifled by the Confederate forces under Thrailkill.  That visit made a great 
sensation.
     During the war, a newspaper, called the "Caldwell Banner of Liberty" was 
published there with Buckington as editor.  Then Mills started the "Age of 
Freedom" after the war.  This shows the queer names of newspaper then.  
Jonathan Palmer was an early shoemaker and was still active at this work in 
the 80s.  Wm. Crawford who came there right after the war was another 
shoemaker.  He died 1872, and was the father of Kate Crawford of Hamilton.
     Milton Switzer had a livery stable in the 60s - 80s on the site of the 
present Houghton garage in Kingston.
     Interview  1934.


	SOME BUSINESS MEN FIFTY YEARS AGO IN KINGSTON MO.
	Narrator:  Mrs. Wm. McAfee, Hamilton

     Mrs. McAfee, as a girl, lived in the country near Mirabile and they did 
their trading there, hence she knew little of the stores in Kingston till they 
moved there in the early 70s.
     She recalled the Heiser furniture store, the store kept by D.G. McDonald 
(sr.) on the corner east of the courthouse, the very corner where some 25 
years later, his sons had a general store in Kingston.  The millinery store of 
Mrs. Costello-Smith (Costello being her first husband) was a block west of the 
courthouse, the Fenn store was on the west end of Main (the street at front of 
the courthouse).  She remembered that the McDonald store, the Fenn store and 
the Costello-Smith store all went to Hamilton in the 80s.  One of the Fenn 
girls married Chas. Boroff.
     The Switzer livery barn stood in her time and burned down three times in 
the same spot.
     Her memory of the Northup Lewis firm is interesting.  Mr. Northrup's 
daughter married Mr. Lewis and this couple were the parents of Mrs. Harry 
Sloan of Hamilton and Rev. Glenn Lewis, and other children.  After the general 
store business which they had was ended, Northup and Lewis ran a big vineyard 
and had a wine press on the lots now owned by Mrs. Altha Crockett in north 
Kingston, where a wine parlor was located, and much frequented.  It was the 
last house on this street.
     She recalled old Augustus Mack who was a while in early 60s ran a harness 
shop in partners with Wm. Goodman in the town.  Goodman moved to Hamilton and 
Mack went on by himself for a long time.  The Goodman family ran a hotel in 
Kingston in the early 60s but left town 1864 to start a hotel at Hamilton.  It 
was while working on the 1860 courthouse that Enos Dudley, one of the early 
carpenters, met a Goodman girl and married.
     She recalled that Mr. Boucher who lived near the Heiser wagon shop, had 
two daughters, both musicians.  One married Wm. Spivey of Kingston and she 
gave lessons in organ (Mrs. McAfee took of her).  The other married Dr. 
Stevens of Hamilton, and she had a music class in that town.
     Ed Gapen was a carpenter in the 70 and 80s till he fell to his death from 
a ladder.  Mr. Rhea kept a blacksmith shop at the corner east of the present 
hotel.  Tickey Johnson's father had a saloon in the middle of the block south 
of the courthouse.
     In the early 70s, T.D. Clarkson grandfather of Mrs. James Kautz of 
Hamilton, edited the Caldwell County Citizen and with him at times was one 
Lenzy who afterwards became a lawyer in New York City.  Mills and Spivey ran 
the Kingston Sentinel.  John T. Botthoff had a drug store in the late 70s and 
previously was a well known drug clerk for other drug stores.
     There was no bank in Kingston for years and years.  The first bank that 
Mrs. McAfee recalls was the one organized in early 80s in the south room of 
the Commercial Hotel by the Cox family.
     Interview  February 1935.


	THE DANIEL Z. COX FAMILY OF KINGSTON TOWNSHIP
	Narrator:  Mrs. Frank Cox, 68, Hamilton

     Mrs. Cox (formerly Emma Orr) is the widow of Frank Cox, son of John F. 
Cox, who was a son of Daniel Z. Cox.  She knows the family history.  Daniel Z. 
Cox (Always insert the Z to separate him from Daniel Cox) was one of the 
earliest settlers in Caldwell county after the Mormons went.  He came from Ky. 
 His wife was Martha Ann Zachary, born in Summit Co. Ky.  At 18, she married 
Daniel Z. Cox and in 1840, the young couple came to Caldwell county.  There 
were five children born, three grew up.  One boy was killed by lightning.  The 
other adult son was John Franklin Cox, known as John Cox, who committed 
suicide on Main Street at Hamilton by taking laudanum 1898 age 56.  He married 
Caroline Parrick 1868 and they had children:  Frank the husband of the 
narrator, who was killed a few years ago while working in the East Coal Mine 
at Hamilton, Louis a railroad man of Brookfield,  Rosa married a Champ, Ella 
married.
     The third child of Daniel Z. was Mrs. Judson Streeter the mother of Mrs. 
Josie Borden (who wrote of her family in the 1934 series).
     Mr. Cox died 1851 and is buried in the old Brown cemetery.  In 1852, his 
widow married Francis J. Kern and had 5 children.  (The Francis Kern family is 
written up in a separate interview in this series.)  Mrs. Cox, afterwards Mrs. 
Kern died 1899 and lies in Kingston cemetery.  She was a strong member of the 
Protestant Methodist church at Nettleton while living there.
     Interview  Fall 1934.


	TILTON DAVIS FAMILY OF KINGSTON AND LEXINGTON
	Narrator:  Mrs. Minnie Davis Robertson of Lexington

     Mrs. Davis writes about her father Tilton Davis who was here in the first 
days of Hamilton and also lived in Kingston as a lawyer.  Tilton Davis was a 
nephew of A.G. Davis who founded Hamilton and Tilton was the one who rode a 
swift horse to Plattsburg to enter the town site for his uncle and the town 
company.
     At that time, he and his father Thomas Colson Davis were living or near 
in Kingston.  T.C. Davis was commonly called by his second name Colson.  Mr. 
and Mrs. T.C. Davis are both buried in the old Hines cemetery just over in 
Rockford township.  One of their children lies there also.  They were related 
to the Hines family, Mrs. Elizabeth Hines (wife of the old settler Wesley 
Hines) being a sister of T.C. Davis.
     From her father, Tilton Davis, Mrs. Robertson ascertained that her 
grandfather Thomas Colson Davis arrived in Howard co. Mo at an early age with 
his parents, but they do not know where he came from.  Later he went to 
Caldwell co with his brother Albert G.  The sister Elizabeth Hines was already 
there.  He married Mary _, and they had children:  Eliza married Dr. Jones of 
Kingston, Martha married [William A. Moore] Esteb, Lucy married Morris Hill, 
Fannie married George Hill, Jeff Davis and Tilton her father.
     Several children died young, names unrecorded.
     Her father Tilton Davis married Eugenia Ardinger, daughter of John 
Ardinger, one of the original town company of Hamilton who kept stores in 
Hamilton and Kingston at early dates.  There is a street named after him in 
Hamilton.  He was a southern sympathizer at Kingston during the war, and his 
store was headquarters for Southerners.
     After the war, Tilton Davis bought a splendid brick mansion just outside 
Lexington which Gen. Price had used as a hospital in the war.  This house was 
built by Col. Wm. B. Anderson in 1863 when Tilton Davis was living at 
Kingston.  There the Tilton Davis family lived for over 50 years, rearing 
their family in this historic house.  Today it is known to sight seers as the 
old Anderson house.  He died in this house 1916.  It is now used as a museum.
     He had 6 children:  Minnie Robertson, Woodson, Lee, John, Eugenia, and 
Tilton III.  Minnie married Wm. Robertson of Ky. who died 1929.  Tilton 
married Marcia Sellers daughter of Col. Sellers of Wentworth Military academy. 
 They have children Dorothy (Mrs. Gunther), Lucia, Gene, Sandford Sellers 
Davis, who is educational director for C.C.C. and Marcia Mac youngest 
daughter.
     Mrs. Robertson recalls interesting facts about her father Tilton Davis 
who was a young man in the days of Hamilton's birth.  He was a cousin of Ben 
Holliday of Pony Express fame, he was highly educated, very brilliant in 
conversation, and took great delight in reading the classics to his children. 
 He was the first prosecuting attorney in Lexington after the Civil War, and 
was licensed to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court and in foreign courts.
     Interview  Summer 1935.


	THE MANN FAMILY, FIRST SETTLERS IN CALDWELL COUNTY IN KINGSTON TOWNSHIP
	Narrator:  William Hemry, 86

     It is strange that a person, still in fine mind and memory, is yet alive 
who knew the first permanent settler in Caldwell county.
     William (Bill) Hemry knew Jesse M. Mann who was the first settler who 
came in the boundaries of Caldwell county and stayed here.  To be sure, Jesse 
Mann, father of Jesse M. Mann, had come earlier, by a few months, in spring of 
1831, but he went back to Ray county in the summer of 1832, when the Black 
Hawk War scare was on and never returned.  He lived one half mile N.E. of the 
Kingston public square.  He was born in Prince George Co. Va. 1765, married 
Nancy White of Ga. 1800, and had 14 children, some of whom came with him.  
They first moved to Tenn., then to Howard co. Mo. then to Ray co. 1820, then 
to Caldwell co. 1831, then back to Ray 1832 where he died 1845 and is buried 
in Ray county.  This family data came from the Aubrey family.
     His son Jesse M. Mann, whom the narrator knew personally many years, 
settled on Log creek half mile east of the future Kingston.  He did not mind 
the pioneer surroundings, for his father had trained his children to rough it, 
by frequent moves, always into backwoods country.  It was the kind of life 
they knew.
     It was while old Jesse Mann was yet in Caldwell county that his daughter 
Judith (or Julia as sometimes written) was married to Hardin Stone, a well 
known pioneer of Daviess co, where he and family were early millers.  This 
"Aunt" Judith Sann? Stone died at her home in Gallatin 1900.  She was born in 
Tennessee, where her father, Jesse Mann, was living on his western trek.  It 
is a typical story of how people moved slowly into the west.  She often told 
people who are yet alive of her marriage in the backwoods of Caldwell co., the 
first marriage in its bounds; she spoke of her white jaconet dress which her 
father had got, she believed from Lexington.
     Jesse M. Mann, her brother, did not stay so very long in his Kingston 
township homestead, for we find him as one of the prosperous farmers near 
Polo, in Lincoln township in the seventies, and that is where William Hemry 
knew the family, for that was the Hemry township.  Mr. Hemry tells a story 
about Jesse M. Mann.  It was the grasshopper year 1875, when crops were pretty 
rotten, and it looked as if feed would be high.  Mr. Mann saw a chance to make 
some money.  So he bought up all the corn he could get to put it in granaries 
and cribs and sell it high.  But it all spoiled and he lost heavily by his 
deal.
     Mr. Jesse M. Mann married Elizabeth Linville, a family well known in 
south Caldwell county and Ray county.  She was a sister of Thomas and Dave 
Linville, old settlers in Ray.  They had a daughter , Eveline, who married 
Thomas J. Aubrey, who died in Texas in the Civil War, and the Aubrey family 
came back to the Mann community near Polo, where their son Ben Aubrey became a 
successful banker.  Jesse M. Mann died 1881 and his wife some years later.  Of 
course, Jesse M. Mann had whiskers, after the style of his time, and his wife, 
as Mr. Hemry recalls, wore her hair on the top of her head and parted, and 
waved.
     Interview  1934.

Interviewer's note - The old millstone from the Hardin Stone mill rests in 
Hamilton on the grounds of Hamilton Library.  Photos of Jesse M. Mann and wife 
are to be seen in old copies of 1875 atlas of Caldwell county.


	THE MILTON A. SWITZER FAMILY OF KINGSTON
	Narrator:  Otho Switzer of Calif.

     Otho Switzer is the son of Milton A. Switzer who was born in Hancock Co. 
Ohio 1840.  His father Samuel came to O. from Pa.  Milton Switzer came to 
Caldwell county 1866.  He at once went into the livery business and farming.  
Livery business was very good at Kingston because it was an inland town, and 
drummers had to hire rigs.  His livery barn was burnt down three times before 
he sold it.
     He at one time owned the farm on which the much frequented Switzer's 
grove was located.  Before his time, it was owned by the Royers and was the 
Royer grove, now it is owned by the Otto family and known as Otto grove, where 
the annual Kingston fox hunt is staged.  Mr. Switzer, while he had it, used to 
rent it to picnics and G.A.R. reunions for the exclusive hack and feed lot 
privileges, which was the way he made his money out of it.  This was in the 
80s and early 90s.
     This old Switzer farm, east of Kingston, was part of the old Jesse Mann 
farm (see paper on the Mann family).  On the other side of the grove, across 
the road, is the oldest well in Caldwell county dug for Jesse Mann.  On the 
farm, when Otho was a boy, was still to be seen a small burial plot consisting 
of three graves; no one was sure whose graves they might be.  There is a 
strong probability they were the graves of the earliest dead in the county, 
namely the two children of Abraham Couts and one child of Thos. Vanderpool.
     Milton Switzer had three children - Amos, Effie, and Otho.  The family 
now have all left Kingston, or have died.
     Interview  1935.


	THE COSHOW FAMILY IN KINGSTON TOWNSHIP 1865
	Narrator:  George Coshow, 69

     Mr. Coshow is at present a blacksmith in Hamilton, having learned his 
trade of Smiley, an earlier blacksmith at Mirabile, and of Gywnn who was at 
Mirabile and Hamilton in the 70s and 80s.  It took him about three years 
before he "went on his own hook" as a blacksmith.
     He is the son of Robert Coshow, who was born in Kentucky and Sarah 
Henkins (or Hankins) born in Tennessee.  They lived a while in Illinois in a 
logging country, where Robert hauled many a log with his ox team.  They came 
to Missouri by that same ox team in 1865 and rented a farm near Kingston, it 
was called the Hall place south west of that town and is now the George 
Waggoner farm.  There in 1866, George Coshow was born.  The story of Robert is 
a typical story of a renter.  He moved from place to place.  This farm was on 
the established old road to Kingston from the southwest.  When George was 
almost two years old, they moved to Kingston, where his father was an odd jobs 
man, but his best job was as a rail splitter, rail maker, he made rails for 
people who wanted rails cut from their own woods at one dollar per hundred.  
These were used for rail fences, the only kind used for farm fences then.  
Then the family moved to the Dillon district east of Kingston where the 
children went to school at the Dillon district school under Sarah Helvey of 
Cameron, in the 70s.  This was near the well known Salem mill of the earliest 
Caldwell county history. 
     Mr. Coshow's sister married James Ritchie of that neighborhood, a member 
of the Mormon family of early days, now resident of Lamoni, Iowa.
     Interview  August 1935.


	AUGUSTUS MACK, HARNESS MAKER OF KINGSTON 1856
	Narrator:  S.C. Rogers of Kingston

     Augustus Mack is one of the most interesting characters ever living in 
Kingston.  At the time of his death 1904, he was the oldest citizen, in point 
of residence.  He was born in 1831 in Germany and came over here partly to 
escape military service, compulsory there, and partly to better his condition, 
for a workman in that country had little chance to be independent.
     He arrived in America at 18 (1849).  He stayed a while in the east then 
he heard of the new land to the west where jobs were to be had.  He struck 
Kingston 1856, with his trade of harness maker, but was not satisfied with 
what he made, so he went away.  It must be told how he worked.  He was working 
more or less as a journeyman in the harness making.  He had taken his 
apprenticeship in the east, and the plan was to follow this with several years 
when he would go from place to place hunting work, without a shop.  While at 
Kingston, he was still doing "jour" work.  He picked out Plattsburg as his 
place for a permanent shop for saddles and harness work.  He stayed there four 
years, but was not satisfied.  So he again came back to Kingston in 1861 with 
the idea of having a saddler's shop.  He stayed there 43 years.  He began in 
partnership with Wm. Goodman, the early hotel man, who sold out his interest 
in 1864 and went to Hamilton to run a hotel.  Mack went on by himself.  During 
the Civil War, he was strongly Union and was postmaster.  During the 
Thrailkill raid (Confederate), he hid the government funds safely which was 
not the case with some of the officials.
     He served repeatedly as justice of the peace and was familiar with the 
law as it concerned his position.  He was also elected as mayor of Kingston 
and was very proud of the honor.  In true German spirit, he insisted on a 
strict carrying out of the law and woe to the offender who was brought into 
his court.
     He spoke with a very decided German brogue, which he never did overcome, 
perhaps he might have been proud of it.  He got exuberant in his talk and 
motions and that made him appear different from the rest of Kingstonites.  
Then his English was even worse than before.  He would fall into the talk of 
his youth.
     He is buried in the Kingston cemetery.  He had children:  Fred, J.F., 
William, Mrs. Anna Warren of Cowgill, Miss Nellie Mack, a high school teacher 
well known in this and other counties.
     Interview  1934.


	EARLY GROCERY STORES IN CALDWELL COUNTY
	Narrators:  Roy White, George Dudley, and Ollie Howard

     These narrators all have had experience in selling groceries in early and 
modern grocery stores, and hence have noted the differences which existed.
     In very early days, often the grocery store as such meant a saloon.  The 
Uncle Davy Buster Saloon on Broadway in Hamilton is usually termed a grocery-
saloon.  This was in the 50s and 60s.  Old timers say that in that time, most 
of the grocery stores sold whiskey from a barrel.  "It was cheaper than 
kerosene," said Wm. T. Trosper of Breckenridge.  Whiskey cost 35 cents the 
gallon and kerosene cost 75 cents.  This was at the old Ollie McWilliams store 
in Breckenridge in the 60s.  In the late 70s in Hamilton near the location of 
the present First Bank, was a small shack grocery which the paper called 
"Oasis" where whiskey was sold, but by that time, whiskey in a grocery store 
was disreputable business.
     John Spratt began his business life in Hamilton by running a grocery just 
south of the old elevator on south Main.  It was in 1868 and he, on his 
opening day, had a barrel of whiskey with tin cups handy for all who wished to 
take a drink at his expense.  His son and daughter-in-law tell this.
     One of the early grocers was Squire Otis Richardson who had a small shop 
east of the Kemper store on the moving picture site.  He also ran the post 
office there.  In general, however, grocery stores were simply a "department" 
of general stores, where one side was given to groceries and the other to dry 
goods and hardware.  This refers to the 50s, 60s, and 70s.  A few stores in 
town continued this into the 80s.  The old McCoy stand, corner Mill and 
Broadway in Hamilton, sold bolts of muslin, shoes, thread, calico up to the 
late 80s in order to draw country people who would bring in butter and eggs 
and take the pay out in trade.  That was a common way to do in early stores.
     The stock in early grocery stores was quite different from today.  Sugar 
was largely dark or light brown.  White was higher.  Coffee was sold largely 
green and of course unground, for every one had a coffee mill used every 
morning.  The green coffee was roasted in the home oven.  Robert Morris says 
that you got a great big sack for a dollar, the way most folks bought it.  It 
was about 1880 that the first package coffee came into the county, Arbuckles, 
it cost about 15 cents a pound and was fine.  Lyons package coffee soon 
followed.  
     Crackers came in a barrel, and the merchants sold them at ten cents a 
pound.  He picked them out of the barrel with his bare hands and no one 
thought of hygiene.  Sweet crackers were about the only type of cookies.  
Candy was kept in candy jars, and not many jars at that.  They were set on a 
shelf.  At Christmas, a large supply was brought on, in fancy shapes like 
candy apples, pears, rabbits.  Hourhound and stick candy were usually seen.
     Besides the cracker barrels, other barrels sat along the store walls, 
with sugar, beans, coffee and dried fruit.  Loafers found these barrels good 
seats and sampled the contents.  Flour also was brought on in barrels and the 
old saying "She must have stuck her head in the flour barrel" as applied to an 
over powdered woman, had its origin in the fact that some women did use flour 
(possibly from the barrel) as a cosmetic.
     Tea and spices were kept in small compartments of a tin container, all 
labelled.  No foods were sold then as package goods.  The first package goods 
were shunned by the careful housewife as needless extravagance.  Lemons in the 
early 70s were not seen in a grocery store and if you got one, you either 
bought it from a train boy as the train went thru or you sent off for it.  
Bananas were not in Caldwell county stores at that time.  Most any middle aged 
person around here can remember his first banana.  Oranges were brought on for 
holiday trade, but were not an ordinary staple food as now.

     Mrs. Eldredge says that her father Dr. Tuttle came here in 1870 and the 
grocery stores did not keep cod fish, so when he had business in Kansas City, 
he would bring back cod fish for all the Yankees in town.  Later such fish 
were for sale in barrels.
     Some goods were not even dreamed of in the early grocery stores:  jelly, 
preserves, lettuce, olives, bread, cakes, rolls, milk, macaroni, soap, pencils 
tablets.  You bought ink, tablets, soap from the drug stores.  Meat came from 
the meat markets.
     Part of the business fifty years ago consisted of barter for butter and 
eggs.  When he bought butter, he often would take out his pocket knife and 
sample it.  Chewing gum was sold about 1880, may be earlier.  It was in the 
form of an immense heart with a big picture on it and cost a penny.  Children 
picked out the heart with the prettiest picture on it to save for their scrap 
books.  Black Jack soon came out and made a big hit because it could be pulled 
out.
     Queens ware and glassware were considered a part of the grocer's stock, 
often a whole side being given to it.  Few grocers had refrigerators even in 
the 80s, but all had good cellars where lard, butter, eggs and the like were 
kept.
     The first grocery store delivery wagon in Hamilton was run by R.L. White, 
grocer on the east side of south Main from 1879 on for several years.  In the 
80s, most of the grocers had a joint delivery wagon, and the grocer hung out a 
red flag when it was needed at his store.
     Grocery stores kept open till 10 or 11 o'clock for the convenience of 
tardy customers. besides it made an excellent free loafing place.  Customers 
frequently let their bills run for a long time, paying once a year.  Sometimes 
the customers carried a small book in which the merchant entered the purchase. 
 Then sales slips were unknown, and people had to depend on the merchant's 
entries on the books.
     Interviews  Fall 1934.


	THE GEORGE WALTER FAMILY IN MIRABILE 1836
	Narrator:  Robert Morris, 78

     There are still many middle aged people in Hamilton who recall "Old Lady 
Walter," born Nov 26 1796 who died in Feb 1896, lacking only a few months of 
being a hundred years old.  She was born Mary Alvord of Courtland N.Y. and 
married Geo. Walter 1817.  They moved to Alleghany N.Y. with Louisa Walter six 
weeks old, whom Hamilton people were to know as Mrs. Louisa Dodge.  Then the 
three came to Caldwell county Mo., 1836.  The husband died 1856 according to 
his stone in the old part of Kingston cemetery.  The last year of Mrs. 
Walter's life was spent mostly asleep, for her mind had gone.  She was buried 
at Kingston and the funeral party went down there on the old Hamilton Kingston 
train.
     She rarely spoke of her hardships but she used to say that "Lou" and her 
daughter Mary Morris did not have enough to do, alluding perhaps to her rough 
early life.
     The tradition is that George Walter was a Mormon, and his date of coming 
into the county would seem to point that way.  He lived in a strong Mormon 
township, Mirabile, where Far West was.  His kin grant that he was, but say he 
joined here in the county to protect his property from the Saints.  Mrs. Ed 
Kennedy, his great granddaughter denies that he was a Mormon and tells a story 
to back it.  The story was that the Saints visited him one day and demanded 
his horses, saying that the Lord required them.  He asked them to let him keep 
the worst horse of the lot, saying that without any horse, he could not raise 
anything for the Lord.  They consented.
     Their infant daughter Louisa married Judge John Dodge and after the 
marriage (her husband having died) Mrs. Walter always lived with the Dodge 
family in Hamilton.  They lived in a cottage on the corner of Main and Mill, 
site of the Standard Oil Company filling station.  Then they built what was 
called an elegant home there, which is the present home of Mr. and Mrs. Ed 
Kennedy (great grandchild of Mrs. Walter).
     Interview  1934.


	THE HARDMAN FAMILY IN HAMILTON TOWNSHIP 1866
	Narrators:  John Hardman and Mrs. Geo. Simpson

     Mrs. Simpson and Mr. Hardman are brother and sister and are children of 
the pioneer David C. Hardman who came into Caldwell county 1866.  David C. 
Hardman was born 1827 in Ohio and died 1899 in his farm home near Polo.  When 
he came to Caldwell co. he bought of the railroad his farm southwest of 
Hamilton, now the George Simpson farm (his daughter married Geo. Simpson).  
Then he sold to Geo. Simpson and moved to a farm west of Polo.
     He was a leading Dunkard (or Church of the Brethren as now called).  
Several of his children adhered to this religion but not all.  He is buried in 
the Kingston cemetery.
     His children were John, Fanny (Mrs. Frank Shutt), David, Laura (Mrs. Joe 
Davis), Charlotte (Mrs. Geo. Simpson).  These children are now in their old 
age, or dead.
     David died 1934 aged 69, 68 of which he lived in Caldwell county.  His 
father married Hettie Bosserman of Dark Co Ohio who had come from Pennsylvania 
to Ohio and were of German descent.  The Bossermans also came to Caldwell 
county with the Hardmans and were prominent in the old Dunkard church near 
Polo, in fact the name Bosserman is found in the old Dunkard graveyard.  The 
older David Hardman was a preacher there.  This old church called German 
Baptists in the county history, is one of the oldest in the county going back 
to 1866.  At this time, the Dunkards around Hamilton are very few, although 
while the Hardmans were here, there was some organization, and later one at 
Kidder, now dead.
     The younger David liked other churches, however, he never joined any.  
They had begun to have Sunday schools in his youth; in the 70s, and every 
Sunday he used to saddle his horse and ride in to go to the Methodist Sunday 
school.  The other country youths did the same, if they wanted to go to Sunday 
school, for that was the only one in reach.  The horses were hitched to the 
numerous hitchracks around the little church.  You can not imagine it, 
perhaps, but the novelty of Sunday school was quite an attraction to people 
then.
     David went to school in district schools where they had home made wooden 
benches and scant equipment, in a comparatively new country, and yet he 
developed his mind wonderfully by his own study.  He loved hunting and 
followed after the foxes.  What is said of him is perhaps typical of the other 
Hardman children, but he was the one who loved sports which the rest seemed to 
disdain as too worldly.
     Interviews  1933-4.


	PHIL COVINGTON OF DAVIESS COUNTY AND CALDWELL COUNTY
	Narrators:  Taylor Allee, 86, and Wm. Hemry, 85

     Phil Covington's history is divided between these two counties as many of 
our early settlers.  As usual, the first part dealt with Daviess co.  He had 
much to do with the founding of Gallatin, the county seat of Daviess.  Later, 
he left Gallatin and came to Hamilton as a merchant, and every one of the 
early narrators mention his little shack-restaurant which stood midway on the 
west side of north Main, site of the present Glick store.
     He entered land with the government the N.W. quarter of sect. 20 twp. 59, 
range 27, which is the ground on which most of the city of Gallatin is built. 
 That was 1838.  He himself sold the first lots surveyed, but he did not give 
quit claims to the buyers.  Some time after, he threatened to contest his 
claims to such lots.  Finally 1869, after he had moved to Caldwell county, he 
did give claims to such lots and Gallatin property owners were relieved.  That 
ended his connection with Daviess co. history.
     His coming to Hamilton was in the early 60s.  Taylor Allee came here in 
1865 and Covington was here when he came.  Allee was just out of the army, and 
he well recalls the old shack where you could get candy.  Will Hemry says that 
Phil kept his candy in jars on the shelf, and when a kind of candy ran low, he 
would sell no more of it to his customers, in order to have a better 
selection.  In many ways, he ranked as a peculiar pioneer character.  His 
wife's name was Louisa as given on the Gallatin deeds.  There must have been a 
death in the family while here, for on the plat of the old Rohrbaugh 
graveyard, there is a single grave marked "Covington."  No one seems to know 
what became of the family or when they left Hamilton.  The name is not known 
in the county at present.
     Interviews  1933-4.


	A RUN FOR HIS MONEY IN THE EARLY EIGHTIES
	Narrator:  R. Cravens of Polo

     Mr. Cravens tells the following story of an experience in the early 80s. 
 It has to do with the days when hog raisers in Caldwell county shipped 
thousands of dollars worth of hogs to Chicago or sold them to local buyers.  
Mr. Craven was with a Primitive Baptist preacher who had brought up hogs from 
what is now Cowgill, intending to ship to Chicago from Hamilton, persuaded him 
to sell the hogs to him direct and get his pay at once.
     It was the custom those days for stock buyers to send stock into Chicago 
and then have to wait some days for the money to pay their customers, but here 
the customer the buyer could get his money at once and give it over to the 
seller.  So they accepted Joe Anderson's deal, the preacher gave his money 
over to Craven and he himself went on to a preaching engagement. 
     But first they had gone of course to the bank to get the Anderson check 
cashed.  That bank was the old Hamilton Savings Bank which stood about where 
the Farmer's store is.  Dan Booth was the cashier.  As the money was given 
out, Mr. Booth noted two rangey looking men with wide hats (strangers in town) 
lounging in the bank.  He told the stock men to be on their guard against 
those men.  They looked suspicious.  Mr. Craven having the care of the money, 
started out in his buggy.  Looking around, he saw he was followed.  The road 
led by the railroad and the horses became scared at a passing train and ran 
off furiously.  He let them run and gained a lot of ground.  Near Bonanza, he 
met Doc Hill, now of Hamilton, in a buggy somewhat like his.  There were two 
hills and he and Doc Hill went up the second while the strangers were climbing 
the first.  Thus there was a hill between him and his pursuers.  At the second 
hill, there was a cross roads.  He took one road and Mr. Hill took the other. 
 The pursuers, behind the second hill, did not see which man turned in which 
road and so they followed Mr. Hill's buggy and lost the man who was carrying 
the money.
     About that time, it was a favorite game for ruffians to get news of a big 
cattle deal and then "lay out" for the man who carried the cash home.  Those 
were the days when business was done largely by cash and rarely by check.
     Interview  1935.


	WHEN LEWIS CLAMPITT FROZE TO DEATH
	Narrators:  Adam Ream, 80, and others

     Lewis Clampitt belonged to the Clampitt family which lived east of town 
on the old stage road.  He was quit a drinker and this failing led to his 
death.  In 1879, he was lost while trying to walk home from Hamilton after a 
"night of it."  That time he had lain out all night in the cold in March.  For 
days, it was feared that his legs would have to be amputated, so badly were 
they frosted.  He, however, recovered from it.
     In the middle of Feb 1881, he was found dead, frozen to death in the snow 
near the Clampitt school house.  He had lain there frozen stiff in the 
terrible snowstorm of that year, which covered him for two days.
     He left Hamilton Friday night when the storm was in full blast, with a 
friend, both somewhat intoxicated.  At his friend's house, he went on alone 
horseback.  The horse went on without him.  The storm was so severe that the 
family and neighbors could not make a thorough search for him, but they 
surmised that he was lost in the snow.  Finally on Monday, they found his 
body.  He was 40 years old.  He was as good hearted a fellow as ever lived, 
but a confirmed drinker and nothing seemed possible to save him from the 
habit.
     His wife Josephine, afterwards married one H.H. Brown in that 
neighborhood.  Lewis, commonly called Lew, had lost a good farm about 1879, 
probably from his habits of intemperance.
     Interview  1934.


	THE JEREMIAH LENHART FAMILY OF DAVIESS COUNTY
	Narrator:  Mrs. Mary Holliday, 95

     Mrs. Holliday's narrative is corroborated by that of Andrew McClelland 
aged 86 a former neighbor, now of California.
     Jeremiah Lenhart (1805-1877) came from Ohio and settled in section 10, in 
1841 he moved into Colfax township, of Daviess county.  He put up the first 
mill in this part in 1842, made of native rock, run with two or four horses 
and it would grind 50 bushels a day.  Settlers from 10 to 30 miles around went 
to it.  In a rush, they camped out round the mill, and might be there a week, 
waiting their turn to come.  Besides, he was a preacher, the first preacher in 
that township and organized the first church right in his own house.  It was 
near Morrowbone creek.  At first, this church was held from home to home, then 
in the school house, as members grew.
     He was known as Uncle Jerry over the country.  He was, as we can see, a 
sort of Jack of all trades, being a wheelwright, as McClelland recalls, for he 
could shape wooden articles for household purposes, and besides all this, he 
was a farmer.  After his death 1877, his widow moved to Hamilton with her 
family and took in boarders.  Mrs. Jim Puckett while a school girl here in the 
early 80s, boarded with grandma Lenhart, as she came to be called.  Alma 
Howard remembers several of the younger Lenharts and said that they lived in 
the present Overstreet house east of the north side school.  Mollie Lenhart, 
daughter of a son of old Jeremiah, was a dressmaker here in the 80s and 
catered to a stylish trade.
     When Jeremiah Lenhart died, the Methodist church bell tolled his age for 
him seventy two strokes.  This bell had not tolled for any one for some time 
before him, and that was the last time that that particular bell ever tolled.
     Mr. Lenhart is buried in the new cemetery at Hamilton.  His grave is 
marked, but the graves of other Lenharts resting in that lot are unmarked.  As 
was rather typical of preacher's stones, his stone has a hand holding a Bible.
     Interview  1934.


	THE KILLING OF BANKER SHEETS AT GALLATIN, MO 1869
	Narrator:  Frank Stewart, 79

     This is one of the unsolved murders in the history of Daviess county.  
Banker John Sheets was cashier of the Daviess co. Savings Association, an 
early bank in this section.  Mr. Stewart's father knew him and banked there.  
Sheets had also been sheriff two terms and probably had some enemies as early 
sheriffs did.
     One day, two strangers came in the bank and asked for change for a 
hundred dollar bill.  Mr. Sheets went back into the rear room to open the safe 
to get the change.  Suddenly, McDowell the other man in the bank heard a shot 
and saw the cashier wounded in the chest, while the robbers were shouting to 
him to keep away.
     Aroused by the shots and the shouts, people on the street knew a bank 
robbery was on.  They were common those days.  They ran to the bank.  The 
robbers ran out with their loot and mounted their horses' but in the get away, 
one of them had trouble getting his foot in the stirrup and his horse escaped. 
 Two robbers rode away on the same horse.  The loose horse was caught, and 
people said it was the property of Jesse James, a bandit of the near by town 
of Kearney.  The James boys declared by notes that James had sold this horse 
previously.  But people always laid the murder of Banker Sheets to the James 
boys.  However, it never was proved.  
     There were those who said that personal enemies incurred while he was 
sheriff had done the deed.  There was also a rumor that because of a likeness 
to a bitter Union leader, some one had killed him by mistake.
     Interview  1933.


	KILLING OF BUD WILSON IN DAVIESS COUNTY
	Narrator:  Mrs. Sarah Wonsettler, 87, Kidder

     This happened in the community near Mrs. Wonsettler's father's home.
     The following tragedy is used because it was somewhat typical of what 
might happen at a county dance in this section in the seventies.  They did not 
all end in this manner, but often real trouble of some sort might ensue.
     It took place in Monroe township Daviess county, 8 miles north east of 
Hamilton in the early winter of 1878.  The trouble arose between F.M. Wilson 
(Bud) and Charley Downing, both young bloods of the neighborhood about a young 
lady whom both boys liked.  Some say that Bud Wilson, prior to this fight had 
been in quarrels at other country dances, in fact had obtained a bad 
reputation for getting into trouble at such places.  But he was not the only 
fellow who had this fault.  Two deaths at country dances within a year in the 
same county before his death shows how rough such affairs could get to be.
     This particular dance fight arose between Bud and Downing when Downing 
took hold of the girl with whom Bud was dancing and led her away.  Such tricks 
those days (however common now) were insulting and hard words arose, Wilson 
hitting Downing on the head with his pistol.  He fired twice and missed.  
Downing fired four times and hit twice, one shot killed Bud.  The girl stood 
by Downing when he shot till it was settled.  He was acquitted at the inquest. 
 It was a case of self defense.
     Bud Wilson then was twenty years old.  He was the son of Mc and A.F. 
Wilson according to his grave stone which lies in the Lick Fork cemetery in 
Daviess county, just over the line to the north of Caldwell county.
     Interview  1934.


	THE DICKERSON FAMILY OF DAVIESS COUNTY
	Narrator:  Mrs. Sarah Patton Dickerson, 74, of Kidder

     Mrs. Dickerson was born 1860 in Illinois.  The family of her father Wm. 
Patton moved 1863 to Buchanan county near St. Joseph Missouri, thus her life 
was lacking in the pioneer experiences which most women of her age knew.  Her 
mother's maiden name was Cassie Turnipseed.
     Her husband was Thomas Cole Dickerson, named for a M.E. preacher popular 
in his childhood, Thomas Cole.  The Patton and Dickerson families made several 
moves, from "St. Jo" to a Rochester Mo. farm, then to Cameron then to St. 
Joseph, and finally Mr. and Mrs. Dickerson moved two and a half miles north of 
Kidder in the Bacon neighborhood, the Lone Star school District in the early 
80s.
     The Dickersons had 5 children:  Minnie who married 1) Lewis Vallandingham 
who died of tuberculosis and 2) Ollie Howard grocer of Hamilton; Carrie 
married Walter Bacon and had three children 1) Pearl Mae who married Dale 
Haynie, 2) Alva, 3) Howard.  Jessie married Dave Alexander of Washington 
state.  Bessie her twin is unmarried.  Verna married Tiffin Nash who died in 
the World War in Camp, and her second husband was Randle who is also dead.
     Mrs. Dickerson recalls many of the interesting characters in her Daviess 
county home in the Bacon neighborhood.  She recalls the elderly Ira Bacon.  
(You will note that her daughter Carrie married into the Bacon family.)  The 
circumstances of his death were peculiar.  He went out to feed the sheep.  He 
was gone too long and the family went out to investigate.  He lay dead behind 
the barn.  The organ and chairs were moved out there.  He was buried in the 
Benson cemetery (sometimes called the Bacon graveyard, because so many Bacons 
are there).
     Both Mrs. Dickerson and Mrs. Howard, her daughter, remembered him as 
extremely saint like in appearance with his long white beard and gentle face. 
 He had these children who grew up:  Irvin, Jason, Boone, Elizabeth (Sweany), 
Faith (Conrad).
     Another interesting character near by was Daniel P. Doll.  He died 82 
years old 1917.  He and his wife Sebrina Givens Doll were both very ill at the 
same time.  Sebrina died March 17 and he died a week later, without knowing of 
her death.  He was a forty-niner.
     The Mullins and the McMurtry families were also neighbors of the 
Dickersons.  Mrs. Caroline Mullins (wife of Lewis) was formerly the wife of 
Mr. McMurtry and the mother of the late Dr. McMurtry, beloved Kidder 
physician.  John McMurtry (1820-1880) was one of the oldest settlers in 
Daviess county.
     The Castor families other neighbors, were early Daviess county settlers. 
 Mrs. Dickerson recalls how Aunt Lizy Castor (wife of John) every year used to 
knit wool socks for Mr. Dickerson, two pairs for one dollar.  He always 
claimed no one else could fit his feet but Aunt Lizy.  She dyed the wool brown 
with walnut stain, and he took 6 pair a year.
     Many of the old names known in that neighborhood are now gone.  The 
families have died off, or moved away.  The Bellamy and the Revert families 
went to Oklahoma.  The Rhoades family is gone, Wm. Rhoades married a sister of 
Mrs. Dickerson and they went to Okla.  when the Strip was opened.
     Another incident of those earlier days was brought to mind by the recent 
death of Mrs. Charley Hawks.  She was a Copeland by birth.  Her first husband 
was __ Saxton, 2) John McMurtry, 3) William (Bill) Austin and 4) Chas. Hawks. 
 Mr. Dickerson a neighbor, shaved the first two husbands of Mrs. Hawks after 
their deaths, that being part of a good neighbor's duties in death.           
                Interview  January 1935.


	REMAINS OF ADAM ANDI AHMAN AND OLD MORMON TOWN IN DAVIESS COUNTY
	Narrator:  Mrs. Boyd Dudley, 72, Gallatin

     Mrs. Belle Holmes (wife of Boyd Dudley) who died 1934, was an early comer 
to Hamilton, arriving with her parents Mr. and Mrs. Benj Holmes, in 1869.  
They built the big Holmes house, on a ten acre tract towards the south end of 
Main street (now the Col. Williams home).  After her marriage, Mrs. Dudley 
moved to Gallatin where she became acquainted with the Mormon history of that 
county.  She was active in D.A.R. state work for many years and as such was 
interested in our D.A.R. project.  She gave the following facts, gleaned from 
interviews with those familiar with Mormon sites in that county.
     One of the most noted Mormon sites is the old town site 4 miles east of 
Jameson, Adam-ondi-Ahman, so called by the prophet Joseph Smith, because "it 
was the place where old Adam would come to visit his people" (the Saints).  
There are two things to see there:  Adam's grave and the house of Lyman Wight 
(an important Mormon leader).
     One of the interviewed conferees was Mrs. Blanche Carlisle who actually 
lived on the very farm where "Adam" is buried.  She says that she was told 
that an early Mormon named Adam was really buried there, and for that reason 
it was called Adam's grave by the early Mormons in the Mormon time, later when 
the Gentiles came, they misunderstood it and took it to mean the Bible Adam.  
However most old timers say the Mormons themselves believed it Adam's grave 
(of the Bible).  Mr. McKinney who lived on an adjoining farm declared that no 
one could possibly be buried on the spot, since it was solid rock.
     The farm on which this Adam's grave is located belongs to Eugene Johnson 
of Gallatin (although it was long known as the McDonald farm).  It is not 
worth much now, judging from the stones, weeds, brambles and rattlesnakes.  It 
is one of the scared spots in Missouri in the Mormon mind who have made many 
painful pilgrimages to it because Joseph Smith walked there and God is 
supposed to have given him inspiration there.  Some say that the big pile of 
rocks marking the grave has been increased by the piety of later visitants 
adding a stone, others say it has been decreased by souvenir hunters.
     The house of Lyman Wight is in a sad state and is all that is left of the 
village of Adam-ondi-Ahman, which in 1837 numbered 500 Saints.  The town 
lasted a year and then the Saints were driven out of the county.  The town was 
ordinarily called Diaman.
     Today the house is a ruin.  The roof has fallen in, the upper floor is 
open to the sky; it was a two story house made of hand hewn logs and stone, 
with a lean to at the rear, probably one of the finest of the pioneer 
dwellings.  Now it is only a tumbled down shack.  The neighbors told Mrs. 
Dudley that many tourists drove up in fine cars to visit it yet, and the 
license plates of most of them read Utah.  In the 60s and 70s people were 
still digging around on this farm hoping to find the Mormon treasures which 
the Mormon leaders are supposed to have buried there in their haste of leaving 
the county back in 1838.
     Interview  1933.


	THE DAVID SERGEANT FAMILY IN DAVIESS COUNTY 1866
	Narrator:  Elmer Sergeant, 69

     Elmer Sergeant is the son of old David Sergeant who came to Daviess 
county 1866 and Elmer was born that year.  He bought a farm north of Hamilton 
at pretty cheap prices compared to Ills. where he had lived.  His wife was 
Caroline B. Haskett whom he had married 1857.  He was born 1836 in New Jersey 
and died Feb 17 1896 exactly on his sixtieth birthday.  There was something 
peculiar about his death.  His brother, Campbell Sergeant, of Loomis Nebr. had 
come here on a visit to David, just came in the day before he died, and they 
had sat up long into the night and talked about old times back in N.J.  David 
died early the next day.  He had had one leg amputated for cancer and he was 
never well after that.  He was buried in the Bowman cemetery north of town 
where three of his children were already buried.  He had 10 children.
     Elmer Sergeant, the narrator, went to school at Sell school house in 
Daviess county over the line, in the early 70s to John Swisher, later a 
Hamilton produce dealer, to the Kelsey school (now Prairie View) to Oliver 
Kelsey, who was a farmer-teacher of the 70s, and later to Brush Hill (now 
called Advance) to Miss Kendall of the Kendall family south of town.
     Another child of David Sergeant was Jennie who married John Watkinson as 
his second wife, and Minnie who married Jack Neal, an early rural mail 
carrier.  The Neal family also were pioneers in Daviess county.
     Interview  1934.


	THE LEVI COX FAMILY OF DAVIESS COUNTY
	Narrator:  Mrs. Nitha Cox Lay, Hamilton

     Mrs. William Day is the daughter of Sam Cox and Lucy Railsback farmers 
northeast of Hamilton in Daviess county.  Sam Cox was five years old when his 
father and mother, Levi Cox and Sophia his wife, came to Daviess county in a 
covered wagon with their young family.  Sophia (1812-1848) died soon after 
their arrival.  Levi died 1869 aged about 65 years.
     Levi's brother William (1801-1870) settled near by with his wife Lucy.  
It was in the vicinity of Lick Fork church.  Another brother settled near 
Gower in Buchanan county.  William and his wife were the grandparents of Miss 
Sarah Cox who is well known in Hamilton as a charity worker.  Levi had several 
children, one of whom Sallie married George Vokes who came into Caldwell 
county 1870.  Mrs. Julia Vokes Wilson of Hamilton is a daughter and her 
daughter is Bertha Swindler.
     At the death of Levi's wife Sophia in 1848, the Cox relatives in Caldwell 
county, (the Soloman, and J.D. Coxes) came up into Daviess county to the 
funeral and tried to adopt one or more of Levi's motherless children.  One of 
the daughters of Levi did not marry and she preserved this family tradition to 
Sam's family.  It seems to establish the fact that the J.D. Cox family are kin 
to the Levi Cox family of Daviess county.  The J.D. Cox people are bankers at 
Kingston in Caldwell county.  Mrs. Lay's father Sam, married into the 
Railsback family that lived in the Tuggle neighborhood in Daviess county just 
north of the county line near Nettleton.  Consequently the Sam Coxes lived in 
that district.  Nitha Cox, her mother Lucy Railsback, her mother-in-law Mrs. 
Lay all went to school at times in the old log Tuggle school which also served 
as a church on Sundays.  Mrs. Cox had as a teacher John N. Morton, the son of 
a Daviess county farmer Noah Morton, his middle name.  In 1865 after the war, 
he and his brother Cap Morton set up a tin and hardware shop in Hamilton.  
    Some years ago while moving, he found his old school book used in the 
Tuggle school in the 60s and showed to Mrs. Cox, with her good attendance 
record.  Mrs. Lay's teachers at Tuggle were Miss Morrow and George Tuggle, 
then her parents moved to another district.
     The Cox family who settled in Daviess county are mostly buried in Lick 
Fork Cemetery, at least 20 of that name are there.  Mrs. Lay's parents (Sam 
and wife) lie in Highland cemetery at Hamilton while her maternal 
grandparents, David and Martha Railsback are in the Tuggle cemetery.
     The Lays have two daughters, Mrs. Owen Kinne, and Mrs. Jesse Shull, both 
living, as do their parents, on farms.
     Interview  1934.


	URIAH CRAIG FAMILY OF DAVIESS COUNTY AND CALDWELL COUNTY
	Narrator:  John Henniger, Cameron

     Uriah Craig was born 1821 in Mahoney county Ohio.  He came by wagon to 
Daviess county 1855 with wife and four small children.  He settled in the same 
county with Charley Morton, about the same time and in the same community, 
something like 8 miles north of what is now Hamilton.  They were fine old 
friends.
     In his neighborhood up there, he was one of the few Republicans among 
many Democrats; in 1860 he and Charley Morton had quite a thrilling experience 
in the excitement of the first election of Lincoln.  They were two of the few 
who got to vote for Lincoln and Hamlin at Gallatin, where several Republicans 
were bullnozed and run out of town without getting to vote the ticket of their 
choice.
     During the war, he moved his family down over the Caldwell county line 
into Hamilton township, where they lived till 1888 when he sold his farm and 
moved to Cameron where the old folks lived till death.  His wife Rebecca died 
1899 aged 75, and he died 1903, aged 82.  They both are buried in the Kidder 
cemetery where they had previously started a family lot.
     There were several Craig children.
     In the early 60s, they lost a child who was buried in the Charley Morton 
burying plot on the farm of the latter.  Seeing that this farm would 
eventually pass out of Morton hands, Mr. Craig in the early 80s, moved this 
body to a lot in the Kidder cemetery which was fairly near the home.  The 
little casket was opened, the body was still preserved even after so long a 
time, the yellow hair had turned red.
     Mollie Craig married John Henniger 1888 (the narrator) and they lived 
many years in Hamilton.  She is buried in the Bowman cemetery north of town.
     A son, Charles L. married Ella Powers, daughter of D.H. Powers of the 
Kidder community, who came from Ohio into the county 1882.  Charles Craig for 
ten years was superintendent of the Caldwell county poor farm near Kingston.  
He had bought a farm northeast of Hamilton, near Nettleton, and expected to 
retire there.  For some unknown reason, he committed suicide 1905 and his wife 
was appointed to finish his term at the poor farm.  The Craig family still 
live near Nettleton.
     There was also a blind daughter Dolly Craig, who was sent off to be 
educated in a school for the blind.  She survived both her parents.
     The children of the above Chas. Craig, thru the marriage with Ella 
Powers, are kin to many families in Caldwell county.  One daughter of D.H. 
Powers married M.F. Nevitt who formerly was a farmer west of town.  Dr. James 
Nevitt of Braymer is a son.  Another daughter is Mrs. Frank Austill of 
Hamilton whose daughter is Mrs. Harry Morris.  A son was J.P. Powers of Kidder 
father of Mrs. Maud Garnant of Kidder.
     Interview  1934.


	THE WERNER FAMILY OF WOODERSON DISTRICT IN DAVIESS CO.
	Narrator:  Mrs. Ida Roberts, 60, Hamilton, Mo.

     Mrs. Roberts, wife of Perry Roberts of Hamilton, is the daughter of 
Daniel Werner who with his wife came in a covered wagon into the Wooderson 
district the south part of Daviess county in 1868 and stayed on that farm till 
the children were grown.  He came from Ohio and was near two other Ohio 
settlers, Asher Sandals and Jacob Prough.  (The latter was the father of John 
Prough, who gave the Prough pioneer life in the first series.)
     When Daniel Werner came, there were no roads and he helped lay out some. 
 No fences and the cattle, branded with the owners brand, ranged over the open 
prairies.  There was prairie grass on all sides, even in Mrs. Roberts' early 
years.
     The family had as neighbors the Sears family (which has produced so many 
college men), some of the Bacon families, Leabo, Bristow, Castor, Harpster, 
Rohrbaugh families.  The Kelsos all lived there.  Mr. Kelso moved from there 
to Hamilton in late 60s.  These families buried mostly in the Wooderson 
cemetery which started with an early burial 1834 (see commentary on this 
graveyard in this series).  The Rohrbaugh family was not the one which became 
wealthy merchants in Hamilton in 70s.
     Mr. Werner had a thrilling experience in entertaining the James boys 
(bandits) which Mrs. Roberts remembers as a small girl.  One day, Mr. Werner 
had gone to Hamilton with a load of wheat.  On the way home, he noticed that 
he was being followed by three men on horseback.  At his home, they asked if 
they might look at his cattle, saying they were cattle buyers and they were 
dressed like cattlemen, as she recalls.
     Then they asked to stay the night.  Mrs. Roberts heard her father tell 
them the house was crowded with children, but if they wanted to put up with 
it, it was all right with him.  They were courteous guests.  The next morning, 
they left and went Gallatin way.  This was in 1881.
     The next day Mr. Werner heard that train robbers had held up the Rock 
Island train at Winston, the night after the Werner visit, and had killed two 
men, robbing the Express of about $3000.  There were seven in the train gang. 
 People said that the robbers had been hanging around in the vicinity for days 
to get acquainted with the lay of the land.  Then Mr. Werner thought of his 
strange night visitors.  He described them to the authorities.  They agreed 
that he had entertained Jesse and Frank James and Dick Liddle, three of the 
gang who were supposed to have been in the gang.
     At any rate, the whole Werner family were called into the inquiry to tell 
about the visit.  The Werners, however, were well impressed with the bandit's 
personal manners and good appearance, although they naturally disapproved of 
their way of making a living.
     Interview  December 1934.


	FIRST SETTLER IN LATHROP, CLINTON CO.
	Narrator:  Matt Nicholson, 95, Lathrop
                                       
     Mr. Nicholson's story comes to us through the kindness of his daughter, 
Mrs. C.C. Campbell formerly of Hamilton and his granddaughter, Mrs. Glenn 
DeWalt south west of town.
     Matt Nicholson celebrated his 95th birthday in August 1935.  He came to 
Lathrop before there was a Lathrop.  Hence he really became that city's first 
settler.  He was born Aug 12 1840 in Garrett county Ky., and came to Lathrop 
in 1865 in the rush of the midwest immigration just after the Civil War.
     In the fall of 1867, the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad built a section 
house at what is now the southern limits of Lathrop.  In this house, Mr. and 
Mrs. Nicholson lived.  He was the section boss, in charge of the construction 
crew, and had a part in building the Burlington into Kansas City.  There being 
no freight office or agent yet, since there was no town, he handled the first 
shipment of local freight consigned to the Lathrop office, and he delivered 
the consignment by wagon to Barnesville, its final destination.
     At that time, in the midst of waving prairie grass, one could see only 
one chimney of a lone settler, James Leake, in the view one mile south of the 
spot selected to be the depot.  Soon after the section house was built, the 
first lumber yard was opened, which was used as the railroad depot till the 
railroad built one.
     Interview  1935.


	CALDWELL COUNTY MAN IN NEWSPAPER BUSINESS OVER SIXTY YEARS
	IN PATTONSBURG, HAMILTON, ETC.
	Narrator:  Eugene A. Martin

     Mr. Martin was reared in Hamilton and had his newspaper training here.  
Counting his apprenticeship days, he was in the newspaper business over 60 
years and recently retired from the Pattonsburg Call at the age of 8?.  He 
started the Call 53 years ago.
     Mr. Martin, or Gene, as he was known here, came here with his father M.C. 
Martin in the late 60s (see in another paper for that family history).  He 
began his printing instruction under the Lows who owned the old Hamilton News, 
later the News Graphic.  In 1880, he issued the campaign paper for the 
Greenbackers, and since he did not have a press, he got it out in the News 
Graphic office.  It lasted only through the campaign.  In the late fall, still 
determined to run a paper, he started one at Winston, but, as he said, he was 
starved out.
     Then he took his equipment and went to Pattonsburg to start another 
paper.  It was then a very small town of 350 people and some folks would say 
it did not need a paper.  He started the Call in a small box office on the 
west side of Main in what was later known as the Bradley lot.  At last he made 
a success of a paper.
     It ran for years as a weekly; in good times just before the world war, he 
ran it for a few years as a semi-weekly then it went back to a weekly, in 
1916.
     He married Ida Youlin in Hamilton 1877 and they had 6 children.  Herbert 
and Clark (named for his father), Bruce and Claud of Okla., Mrs. L. Epperson 
of Plattonsburg, Inez dead.
     Interview  1935.


	THE NATHAN POTTS FAMILY OF SOUTH CALDWELL COUNTY IN THE FIFTIES
	Narrator:  Mrs. E.G. Wallace

     Mrs. Wallace was a daughter of Wm. Kesterson of the south part of the 
county in the fifties.  Kesterson was one of the families in that vicinity who 
during the Civil War fled with their families from that section to avoid 
trouble with the Caldwell county militia who were "pestering the Southern 
sympathizers to death" killing them and burning property.  He took his family 
to Nebraska.  It was while yet in this county that he served as "curator" in 
administering the will of his friend and neighbor Nathan Potts.
     He died before 1860 and Mrs. Wallace recalled him well.  He must have 
been somewhat of a character.  When he died, he in his will freed his oldest 
and favorite slave Jule, this being a custom in some families; but he also 
said that his other slaves should not be freed.  In spite of the fact that he 
was a plantation owner and held several slaves, he could not write, could not 
even sign his own name and when he signed legal documents etc. he used a mark. 
 Some one signed his name for him, he made an X and then above his name was 
written the word His and below it was written the word Mark.  This was done on 
his will.  Such a thing was not so uncommon in his generation, when people 
were reared in backwoods country, where not even the poorest schools were to 
be had.


	THE ILETT TOBIEN FAMILY IN DAVIESS TOWNSHIP
	Narrator:  Andrew McCray, 92, Cowgill

     Ilett Tobien was one of the interesting characters in the settlement of 
Caldwell county.  He came in to the county and settled near the present 
Braymer 1840.  By thrift during his life, he acquired 1040 acres of fine farm 
land all of which he owned at his death 1879.  One by one the couple lost 
their children, one in 1845 and 5 in the scarlet epidemic of 1856 when they 
died within a few weeks of each other.  Mr. McCray recalls that his parents, 
neighbors in a way, went over to help care for the family, carefully changing 
clothes so that they would not take it home to their own children.  They are 
all buried in the old White cemetery where their deaths may be noted.
     Having no children, accounts in a way for Mr. Tobien's will.  His will 
made 1879, the year of his death, left his immediate estate to the widow 
during her lifetime, and at her death, the property was to be divided equally 
between her relatives and the Catholic church of Lexington Mo of which he was 
a member.  Mrs. Catherine Tobien willed her portion to her niece Mrs. Mary 
Menke.  The litigation over the property began when he died.  A few days after 
the funeral, the will was offered to probate court.  Rejected.  The church 
brought suit for one half of the estate of the 1040 acre farm.  The case was 
transferred to Livingston county and the trial ended by establishing the will. 
 The defendants appealed to the supreme court and secured a reversal.  Again, 
it was carried to the supreme court and finally the will was upheld.  The 
final distribution in 1898 (19 years after the death of the wealthy Tobien) 
gave the church one fourth of the estate, Mrs. Menke the niece got $10000 in 
personal property and 400 acres of land and the other heirs of Mrs. Tobien got 
$10000.  Thus was ended what was probably the largest landed estate ever held 
together in Caldwell county.  It is said to be a fact that he bought most of 
this land for twelve and a half cents from the government.
     Even after this decision of 1898, the name stayed on the court docket of 
Livingston county some time longer, for it took time to get rid of the 
technicalities of the case.  Thus it made a record of 25 years to settle the 
case when in 1905, the name was finally dropped from the docket.
     As to the spelling of the name, McCray says the spelling as given at the 
beginning of this interview is all wrong, and he ought to know for he was 
reared fairly near them.  According to him, in the early days, they spelled it 
(meaning the owners of the name) "Allet Tobbin" and not Ilett, nor Tobban nor 
Tobien as in the case.  On the grave stones in White cemetery of the children 
and of Mr. Ilett Tobien himself, the name is Ilett Tobbin.  He was born 1807, 
died 1879.  In the 1897 atlas of Caldwell county, in the farms of Davis 
township where he lived, we find one tract of 480 acres marked "estate of 
Catherin Tobbien" his widow; near by it are smaller farms marked Catholic 
church, which shows the division of the wealth built up by Ilett Tobbin.
     Interview  1934.


	THE MOSES ORR FAMILY IN DAVIESS COUNTY AND 
	LATER IN CALDWELL COUNTY, HAMILTON TWP.
	Narrators:  Mrs. Emma Cox and Walter Orr

     This turned out to be a very choice narration, for Moses Orr was born 
March 12 1833 in Daviess county, a rare date for a birth in Daviess or 
Caldwell county.  His parent's names have been lost by the years but we know 
that they were among the earliest settlers in Daviess county, very near the 
Caldwell co. line.  Moses lived there till five years after his marriage to 
Eliza Brunk daughter of Jake Brunk also a pioneer family of Daviess county, 
near the Breckenridge township line.  For a while, Moses rented a farm, and he 
lived on what was then the Stubbs farm but which now is incorporated into what 
is known as the Foley farm.
     Walter Orr says that while there the mother of Moses lived with them and 
died there and was buried in a burial plot on the place in which others had 
been buried also, perhaps a dozen, without stones.  Other old old people also 
speak of this small graveyard at the Foley place, which is now under the 
foundation of a barn.  No one knows who are buried there, except that this old 
pioneer, mother of Moses Orr lies there.
     Other old country cemeteries in south Daviess county are full of Orrs, 
for they were a numerous family.  There is surely one of them buried in the 
old Morton (Charlie) burial ground which has since been plowed under.  When 
Mr. Morton sold out, he moved his own dead.  Moses Orr moved to Caldwell 
county about the Civil War in which he served on the Union side.  He bought 
land 40 acres at first from the railroad three miles S.W. of Hamilton and 
later bought another 40.  He lived there 65 years and the place is still Orr 
land.  The first house was three rooms - two on floor and one above, sort of a 
garret, where the children slept.  It was made of boards put up and down and 
narrow boards nailed over the cracks.
     They had no chimney for years, but the stove pipe went up thru the roof, 
as did many houses.
     They had no church advantages and rarely went to church.  Rev. Bitner 
held revival meetings in the school house and many were converted and baptized 
in the Mapes Crossing (Ford) creek.
     The older Orr boys went to Dodge school for none was nearer, but as time 
went on, Mill Creek was divided from Dodge and they went to Mill Creek school. 
 Mill Creek in earlier time was a little frame on the same road of the present 
Mill Creek school but a half mile east.  Some of the earlier teachers at Mill 
Creek were Charlie Dosset, Cora Netsher, a Mr. Theilman, Miss Harris, now of 
Cowgill.
     The children of Mose Orr and Eliza Brunk were:
Jane Orr married James            Ed married Carry
Will married Blakely              Emma married Cox
Charles married McDaniels         Fred unmarried
Harriet married Shaw              Tom married Misenhelter
Alice married Blades              Walter married Guffey
Florence unmarried.
     Interview  1935.


	THE BRISTOW FAMILY PIONEERS IN DAVIESS COUNTY 1839
	Narrators:  Mrs. George Richardson and others

     The Bristow family history interests us not only because they lived 
originally in Daviess county just across the Caldwell county line, but because 
so many of the Bristow families have lived in or near Hamilton.  Mrs. 
Richardson, one of the narrators, while not a Bristow by blood, married into 
the Richardson family and Mrs. Richardson the elder was a daughter of the 
pioneer Wm. Bristow.
     The first Bristow came into the Gallatin community 1839 and was the first 
blacksmith in Gallatin.  He had much to do, for his trade contributed to 
pioneer life.  Owen McGee who was originally a Gallatin settler but moved to 
Cameron, would hunt thru the woods for a crooked walnut limb of the right 
shape to make a mould board for a plow and Mr. Bristow would iron it for a 
customer.  He ironed many of the first plows used in Daviess county.
     The Bristows had a yoke of big black oxen which they worked to an ox 
cart.  Part of the farm work was to haul the winter wood from the river bottom 
(Grand River), and many boys went to help.  On one trip, they had ten boys on 
the cart, and three boys on each ox.  In fording the stream, they got into too 
deep water and all got a ducking; in fact one of Tom Frame's boys was almost 
drowned.
     Judge Wm. Bristow of Daviess county and afterwards of Hamilton was nine 
years old when his father came from Indiana to Daviess co.  He first married 
Sarah Grantham, daughter of Garretsom Grantham of Daviess county and she died 
1880 aged 59, the mother of all his children.  The Granthams were early 
settlers.  The account of his thrilling fight with the Caseys at Hamilton on 
the Civil War, is given in the first series of interviews (1934).
     Miles, a brother of William Bristow lived his whole life in Sheridan 
township, Daviess county and is buried in Wooderson cemetery with his 
immediate family.
     Mrs. Sarah Richardson, daughter of the pioneer, married Otis Richardson 
of Daviess county and the couple moved down into the new town of Hamilton 
where for many years, he was a prominent citizen.
     Interview  1934.


	THE FOLEY FAMILY OF DAVIESS COUNTY
	Narrator:  Ed Foley of Nettleton

     The Foley, Brosius and Tuggle families all came from Crab Orchard Ky. to 
Daviess county Mo before the Civil War and now all are connected by marriage. 
 Elijah Madison Foley, father of Ed, married Laura Virginia Brosius.  Ed Foley 
married Maria O'Toole who was of O'Toole and Tuggle blood.  The original 
Elijah Foley had sons:  E. Madison, Green, John, James, Frank.
     The old Log Foley house was a sort of half way house in early times.  It 
was a post office.  The mail carrier would bring the district mail that far, 
and the Foleys would distribute it.  It was also a kind of stopping place, in 
fact some old timers call it the "Foley Hotel," and the oldest stage road 
passed it.  People on the stage often passed the night there, the next stop to 
the south being the Clampitt house.  It was also said that officers used to 
bring runaway slaves there as a stop on the way home.
     At one time, the Foley people thought a town might spring up there.  The 
old log cabin still stands one half mile south east of the Foley corner.  It 
is in a dilapidated shape due to age and neglect.  The stone chimney and 
fireplace are broken in.  This was Ed Foley's birthplace.  Foley cemetery is 
300 yards S.E. of the cabin.  The last private owner of the Foley farm was 
Milt Trosper now it is in the names of an insurance company.  The Foley and 
Tuggle cemeteries were both kept back when the farms were sold.
     Interview  1934.


	W.P. GREEN PIONEER IN DAVIESS AND CALDWELL COUNTIES
	Narrator:  W.P. Green, 76, of Breckenridge

     W.P. Green of Breckenridge died May 1935 in Excelsior Springs where he 
had gone seeking health, but the narrator had talked with him some weeks prior 
to his death.
     His story is important to us, because he was born in 1859 in the 
Breckenridge community, which is a very early date for a birth in Caldwell 
county.  Then again he was one of the early graduates of the Breckenridge High 
school, graduating 1879.
     The Green family lived just over the line from Caldwell county into 
Daviess county on the north, in Lick Fork district.  His father moved his 
family to Mercer county and enlisted in the Union army from there, dying in 
service 1863.  Mrs. Green promptly moved her family back to Breckenridge where 
her own folks lived.  She lived with Joe Clem and his wife who then were 
running the old Caldwell House.  She married a second husband - Kelly - who 
was then working in Breckenridge in the building boom, then on in the county. 
 He was then doing the rock work on the old Scanlon Rock Hotel which still 
stands as a sign of his good work.
     Mr. Green went to school first in a log cabin school one mile north of 
Breckenridge, which stood till 1928.  His second school was a two story frame 
in Breckenridge, across from the present site of the Christian church.
     When he was 16, he took the western fever and went to Washington 
territory and stayed there till it became a state.  He was the U.S. Land 
commissioner with papers signed by the president.  He was in a fair way to 
become a leader out there when his mother back in Breckenridge became a 
hopeless invalid.  He gave up his ambition and came home to care for her.  Old 
timers at Breckenridge recall seeing him wheel her around town.
     He married Frances Cummings of Breckenridge 1900 who died 1924.  There 
were four children:  Cecil died 1917, Frederick of Indianapolis, Raymond who 
died in infancy, and Margery of Kansas City.  Then there is a half brother 
R.F. Kelly.
     At Mr. Green's funeral, the schools of town were dismissed and the alumni 
attended in a body because of his devotion to the Breckenridge High schools 
for over 50 years.
     Interview  1934.


	THE WHITT FAMILY OF DAVIESS AND CALDWELL COUNTIES
	Narrators:  Members of the Whitt Family

     The first Whitt pioneer of this section was Elijah Whitt (1799-1879) who 
located in Daviess county in the south part not very far from the Caldwell 
county line 1844, and stayed there till his death at the age of 80 years.  At 
his funeral, there were 90 children grandchildren, and great grandchildren who 
followed him to his grave in the Whitt cemetery in Daviess county.
     This large number of progeny is not strange, considering the fact that he 
had 4 wives and had 26 children.  Since several of his sons and grandchildren 
lived in or near Hamilton, we become concerned with the family.
     One of his oldest children was James T. Whitt.  He died 1904 at Hamilton, 
having been born in Lexington Ky 1834.  Jim Whitt or Elder Whitt as he was 
often called was quite a religious character, from youth up.  When he was a 
youth, he was a Baptist, but becoming convinced of the truth of the 
"Cambellite" church, he became a member of the Desciples and stayed that till 
he died. 
     When he first came into Daviess county, he farmed for others, was a store 
clerk, and teamed from the Missouri river to Gallatin, a necessary calling 
those days when freight came by river.
     He moved to Winston for a while as a clerk in a store and a farmer.  He 
was in Hamilton during the 60s and clerked for James Kemper in his dry goods 
store on Main street.  Mrs. Hattie Lamson, who with her husband lived above 
the store, recalls how he always sang religious songs around the store, but 
declared that it was sinful to have an organ in the churches.
     In 1848, he married Nicie Ann McDow of Kentucky and they had a big family 
- 5 girls and 5 boys.  Kentucky was the native state of James Whitt also, 
having been born there and he went back after his girl when his folks moved to 
this state.
     Besides the Kemper store in Hamilton, he clerked also for the Rohrbaugh 
firm who followed Kemper on the same corner, for Stone and Meneefee Implement 
Company over in the present iron clad building on north Main.  He also was on 
call for extra service in other stores, for every one knew him as a clever 
clerk.
     During all these years of work and business, he never forgot his 
religion.  He preached in private homes, country school houses and churches.  
He took no pay for his work.  In his old age, when really too feeble to do so, 
he attended church, sitting near the pulpit and often gave a brief talk or 
prayer.  His favorite song was "The Half Has Never Been Told."  His name is 
involved actively in the building up of the Christian church in the early days 
of Hamilton, when the sect was commonly called "Campbellite."  In 1874, he 
with P.R. Claypool, Wm. McCoy, John Sigman and others, organized the First 
Christian Church in Hamilton.  He was first an elder and in 1878 was set apart 
by the congregation as a minister and served without pay.  The church building 
then stood in the east part of town north east of the back end of the school 
lot.  This old church was remodelled into a home.  The new church is on north 
Broadway.
     James Whitt at his death was survived by 8 children:  Mrs. Rogers, Elijah 
(Lige) of Calif., L.L. Whitt (Lewis) of Chicago, Mrs. Gertrude Alsup of St. 
Joseph, William Whitt of Gallatin, Mrs. E.R. White of Calif., Mrs. Taylor 
Allee of Hamilton, and Oliver Whitt of Daviess county.
     Another son of old Elijah Whitt who would interest local people was Henry 
Whitt who used to drive the stage coach between Hamilton and Lexington during 
the Civil War.  He spent the night in Hamilton between the stages.  He married 
Sarah Place of Daviess county where he finally settled down as a farmer.  He 
had the following children:  Ida, Eva, John & Joseph, Sarah, George, Henry, 
Linna, Arvel.
     A third son of Elijah, the pioneer was John T. Whitt, a well known farmer 
south of Hamilton for many years.  John Whitt also was a stage driver between 
Lexington and Hamilton, and Gallatin and Hamilton during the war, serving 9 
years as a stage coach driver.  He married Belle Claypool, daughter of the 
pioneer Perry Claypool at the Claypool Hotel.  He got acquainted with her 
while staying here at night between the stage coach work.  They had two 
children Walter who married Belle Shively, and Molly Wines.
     Interview  1933-5.


	JAMES F. COLBY - EARLY LUMBER DEALER IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Mrs. Alice Owens and Mrs. Emma Doll

     The narrators are the daughters of James F. Colby, early lumber dealer in 
Hamilton.
     He was born 1823 Springfield N.H. of the Revolutionary War Colby family. 
 In 1832, he accompanied his parents to a new home in Connecticut, and 
afterwards to Rhode Island.  In 1847, he was connected with a cotton mill in 
the latter state and in 1865, he made his first move west to Freeport Ills., 
in the boot, shoe, and cap business.  In 1868, hearing of the town of Hamilton 
through the railroad ads, he came to Hamilton and settled down for life here.
     Ever since 1868 to his death, he was connected with the lumber business 
here.  His first connection was as a clerk for C.E. Goodnow on the Broadway 
Lumber yard, (site of the Ralph White home).  That gave him experience in his 
new field and he liked it.  He bought property here, the Colby home, which was 
the site of the present Neall home in west Hamilton.  He later went to clerk 
for George Reddie, the veteran Lumber dealer on the north side.  Later he was 
agent for the Dubach lumber company in the south side lumber yard.  He finally 
bought this lumber yard of the Harper Lumber company in 1882.
     He was married three times, Adeline Foster of Mass., Caroline Johnson of 
Rhode Island, and Mary Newton of Boliver N.Y.  His son William who was his 
father's partner for many years was a son of the first marriage.  The third 
marriage was with a young woman who was out here in Missouri visiting her 
sister.  From this marriage there were six children, three died as infants, 
buried first in the old Rohrbaugh cemetery, then moved into the new Highland, 
then three daughters reached maturity; Alice (Mrs. Dave Owens), Elizabeth 
(registered nurse), Emma (Mrs. Earnest Doll).
     The third Mrs. J.F. Colby has the following family history.  Her mother 
was Rhoda Lyon born 1800 married Hollis Newton 1820.  The Lyon family was from 
New Jersey Elizabethtown and they moved to Seneca N.Y. in an ox wagon.  Rhoda 
Lyon Newton told about a battle in the war of 1812 in N.J. when they had to 
stay in a cellar on account of the balls.  A neighbor girl of theirs was 
carried off in N.Y. by the Indians, and released only after grave suffering.
     Mrs. Colby's mother, Rhoda, had a mother who was a Seventh Day Baptist, 
and had her daughters keep that faith as long as they stayed at home.  That 
accounts for Mrs. Colby being of that faith, one of the few in town.  Mrs. 
Newton, her sister-in-law also was one and Mrs. Evans her sister.  The family 
back a few generations was German.  There were six children of the Hollis 
Newton and Rhoda Lyon marriage and Mrs. Colby was the youngest, born 1840, 
died 1923, being 16 years old when her mother died.  People in Hamilton still 
remember Mrs. Colby as a splendid mother and home maker.
     Interview  1933.


	THE MORROW FAMILY IN HAMILTON 1864
	Narrators:  Members of the Morrow Family

     Courtland Morton Morrow brought his family to Hamilton to live in 1864, 
right after the close of the war when the town was a mere hamlet.  There were 
eventually 5 daughters and 2 sons in the family.  One daughter died when 
small.  C.M. Morrow was born 1820 in Belmont county Ohio.  He was married 1843 
in Monroe co. O. to Rosanna Jane Miller born 1827 in Clarksville Md.  He was a 
carpenter by trade and a plasterer.
     He was the first town marshall of Hamilton, after the town in 1869 became 
a town.  He served in that office for several years.  He might be called away 
from his work anytime to attend to his marshall job, for it did not take full 
time, as now.  He was a charter member of the Masonic lodge here and was Tyler 
of the lodge 28 years.  He and his family, including sons-in-law were 
Methodists.
     During most of his life, he and family lived in a small cottage on the 
present site of the Robert Minger home.
     The children were Myrta who married John Fronk, a leading Methodist.  He 
was manager for Ford and Darby harness shop for a long time and finally bought 
it.  His store was near the present A.P. store.  The Fronk family lived for 
some time in a cottage west of the south school, but finally bought the large 
Wm. Partin home north of the Morrow cottage.  Another daughter was Mrs. Jos. 
Allen who moved to Kans., another Mrs. Sarah Thompson of Princeton (long known 
as "Dot" Morrow a popular primary teacher at the old school on site of M.E. 
Parsonage); another was Mrs. John Phillips who lived here in Hamilton in the 
present Lit Gregory home near the south school and moved to Stanberry; the 
boys Charles and Clifford.
     C.M. Morrow died in Hamilton 1896, and his wife died 1901, both are 
buried in the Morrow lot at Highland cemetery.  There also was Charles buried, 
his dying request being that he lie by his parents.
     Descendants in Hamilton of this early Hamilton family are Mrs. Clementina 
Fronk Shively, wife of post master Harley Shively, and her children.
     Interview  1933.


	THE ANDERSON FAMILY IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Members of the Anderson Family

     This Anderson family must be kept apart from other Andersons in the 
county, of whom there are several distinct families.
     Joseph M. and Wallace Anderson, brothers, came to Hamilton in 187? as 
merchants and stock buyers, and in a few years became some of the leading 
citizens of the town.  They came from Monroe county Mo but were natives of 
Kentucky, having settled in Monroe county after the Civil War.  There were 
originally four brothers and two sisters in that group of Monroe county 
settlers.  Of these six, the families of five have lived in Hamilton.
     The first of this family here was Chas. A. Deaderick, who married one of 
the Anderson sisters.  He bought a grocery store in 1875 and in a few weeks, 
Joe Anderson came on and they went into partnership in then Rohrbaugh block 
(present Bram Building) on the northwest corner of east Main north of the 
tracks.  Then Wallace Anderson came, and the firm was Anderson Brothers, as it 
stayed for many years.  Joe was also a large cattle buyer and had customers 
all over the county for whom he shipped to Chicago, when such business was 
very lucrative.  They soon was able to buy the business block which is still 
in the family.  They changed the name of the upper double room from Rohrbough 
Hall to Anderson's Opera House, a name familiar to old timers of the 80s.  
Joseph Anderson married Ella Austin, daughter of Judge Austin of this city and 
their first home was the present Mrs. Mary Kautz house on south Broadway.
     Wallace married Pauline Moss of Paris Mo.  Both finally bought beautiful 
homes for their families; Joe bought a large frame home of T.D. George in the 
west part of town, and when it burnt, he built the fine brick, now the Webb 
Conrad home.  Wallace bought the fine Manning home, now the M.E. parsonage.  
Before their marriages, both men were gay society fellows, in dances and 
picnics.  But after they married, they settled down into staid business men, 
always however, keeping the polite manners of Southern born men.
     Some of the members tell some interesting stories of the early days of 
the old Anderson store:  They often took home made goods on trade at their 
store; many people made rag carpets and brought them to the store to trade in 
on an ingrain, when ingrain carpets were scarce and new.  Some women knit 
socks, mittens and gloves for trade ins.  Mrs. Susan Stephens of Black Oak, 
yearly sold them knit socks, and one year they say that she realized $45 
(forty-five dollars) from her sales.  There were old fashioned customers in 
the 80s who wanted knit socks.  They often threw in a spool of thread with the 
sale of a calico dress, which meant about ten yards then.  It was on account 
of their rag carpets that they also kept ready made carpets, a thing which 
belonged in the furniture store.  Their early lady clerk was Jennie Sigman, 
for a store never kept more than one lady clerk, and she sold the delicate 
things to women, as corsets etc.  Sam McLallen was one of their leading men 
clerks.
     Another sister of the Andersons was Mrs. Catherine Giddings and Mrs. 
Giddings lived here many years, her son James Giddings finally becoming a 
member of the firm Anderson and Giddings.  Chas. Anderson a nephew is the only 
member of this Anderson family now living in town.  He married Belle Tuthill, 
daughter of T. Tuthill.  Mrs. Sue Smith (wife of Dr. Smith) until very recent 
years has lived here, being a daughter of Mrs. Catherine Giddings.  The son 
and daughter of Wallace Anderson both live in Alaska, while the Joseph 
Andersons are in Texas, where Mr. Anderson died 1933.  The Wallace Anderson 
family have their burial lot here in Hamilton.  Thus is the scattering of a 
former prominent family of this town.  Interviews 1933.


	THE HENRY DOLL FAMILY OF HAMILTON
	Narrator:  Charles Doll, 63, Hamilton

     Charles Doll, ex-treasurer of Caldwell county, moved with his parents to 
Hamilton 62 years ago, when he was one year old.  They first lived in Hamilton 
in a house north of the old Swarts house on Kingston street, then lived on a 
rented farm near town, then bought the old Doll home on the west outskirts of 
town (then, but now included in the Grigsby addition) where the old couple 
lived till her death.  Mr. Henry Doll was a Civil War veteran, and for many 
years before his death kept the list of the old Union soldiers buried in the 
two Hamilton cemeteries and saw to their decoration with flags on Memorial 
day.
     Henry Doll and family moved here from Daviess county where the Doll 
family of which he was one were pioneers.  They had come from Ohio (Henry was 
a mere lad) and the family had come to Ohio from Pa.  Henry's mother lived in 
Hamilton with her son for a while, and Charles recalls that she spoke a broken 
English, indicating a Pennsylvania Dutch origin.  Charles said the tradition 
was that the word DOLL was not always spelled that way, but that it was German 
in the earlier colonists in this country.
     Henry Doll's mother was Mrs. Susan Doll born in Pennsylvania 1812, came 
to Daviess county 1842 and was the wife of Daniel Doll a forty-niner, who 
never came back.  He left a number of children and a home place.  She lived on 
that 63 years and is buried in the cemetery on the Dan Doll farm north east of 
Kidder.  Henry Doll was a brother of Lewis Doll, who married a daughter of J. 
McClelland, north of town.
     Henry Doll had three children, Mrs. Mollie Davis of Hamilton, Mrs. Tom 
Livick, and Chas. Doll, the narrator.
     Henry Doll married Elizabeth or Betty McCrary, of the numerous McCrary 
families in Daviess county.  Her mother was Mrs. Lucinda Peeler who was born 
1824 and was married the first time at the age of 15.  She died 1897.  Her 
first husband was Wm. McCrary whom she wedded 1839.  She had nine McCrary 
children - 3 girls and 6 boys.  2 girls and 4 McCrary boys survived her.  
There was Jane McCrary Scoville, wife of Frank Scoville, Betty Doll; for the 
boys, while the boys included Merritt McCrary.  Mrs. Peeler was buried by her 
first husband's people in the well known McCrary cemetery, just over the 
county line in Daviess county.
     Mrs. Davis, daughter of Mr. Henry Doll reminds us that her father was one 
of the earlier owners of a merry-go-round, and used to follow up the fairs, 
picnics and Fourth of July celebrations with his outfit, consisting of an old 
white horse and a fiddler who sat in the middle of the platform, playing old 
tunes.
     Interviews  1934.


	THE SIMPSON FAMILY OF INDEPENDENCE DISTRICT
	Narrator:  George Simpson, 90

     George Simpson, the narrator, was born near Duart Canada, in Ontario Dec 
18 1845.  He came with his mother and brothers and sisters to Mich. during the 
Civil War.  The father had already died in Canada 1853.  From Mich. the family 
came down to Caldwell co. 1868 and the mother Mrs. Mary Simpson (1808-1877) 
bought a farm south of Hamilton one mile west of the present Geo. Simpson 
home.  That first farm is now incorporated into another farm.  There were 
several Simpson children - Thomas, Henry, George, John, Mrs. Tingey, and Mary 
Ann who married John Tait of Taitsville.  One sister married and stayed in 
Canada.  Mrs. Tingey is remembered by many Hamilton people, for she and her 
husband lived several years on the 10 acre plot south of town, now the Booth 
place.  She was born 1837, and married 1870 to James Tingey.
     Henry Simpson lived at home with his mother till his marriage to Mrs. 
Ackley (mother of Dr. Ackley and a sister of Harve Farabee).  Henry had no 
children and left his property to May Simpson Souders who lived with him in 
his old age.  George, after coming here from Mich. had been working for his 
brother-in-law John Tait in the Tait mill (owned by John and his brother 
James), a flour and lumber mill.  At that time George was not married.  When 
Henry left home, George came home to take care of his mother and he did not 
marry till after her death.  He married Charlotte Hardman, one of the neighbor 
girls, and the present Simpson farm home is the old Hardman farm which George 
bought out of the estate.  
     While working at the Tait mill, it was his job to carry the mill money, 
for they had few banks then.  So the carrier took it to an express office and 
the money actually was sent on the train to its destination.  On one such 
trip, in the fall of 1873, he was in Hamilton down at the depot where the 
express office was.  The train came in from the east and a man getting off, 
asked him where he could spend the night.  It was Dan Booth, later a Hamilton 
farmer and banker for almost 50 years on his first trip to Missouri.  That 
started a good friendship that lasted for a lifetime.
     Mr. George Simpson as a young man, liked good times such as he was used 
to in Canada.  He and his group of friends used to engage a front room of a 
little red house on the present Walter Whitt farm and hold a dance, with 
square dances and schottische.  Some of the neighborhood thought it very 
wicked to go to a dance, or even a play party, while some thought play parties 
were all right but dances were wrong.  "Just from Kidder, skip to ma lou" was 
one of the play party songs for skipping around.
     One of their close neighbors was Harve Farabee who lived three quarters 
west of the present Simpson home.  Mr. Farabee later came to town to live in 
the present Stella Farabee home.
     Interview  1935.


	THE SAMUEL WORTHINGTON FAMILY IN MILL CREEK DISTRICT
	HAMILTON TOWNSHIP 1874
	Narrator:  William Worthington, 69

     William Worthington is a son of Samuel J. Worthington, who settled near 
Hamilton in 1874.  He was born in England as was his wife.  They came to 
America and for 14 years, he was a printer in or around New York City.  He had 
several boys, and he desired to raise them in the country instead of the city. 
 He met a man named Roland in N.Y. City and they traded; in the trade 
Worthington got a farm in Caldwell county southwest of Hamilton.  He took it 
sight unseen, as many people did then.
     When they arrived, they found a house, half log and half frame in which 
Charley Streeter was living.  Mr. Worthington was not a farmer by nature and 
the boys did the work.  He worked in town as a printer, was a printer for Wm. 
Morton when he started the old Hamiltonian in 1879.  The boys had to hitch up 
a horse for their father, he was so ignorant of farm ways at first.  He and 
his wife are buried in Highland cemetery in Hamilton.
     S.J. Worthington had as neighbors in the Mill creek district the Simpson, 
Farabee, Tatershall, Doddridge and George Gibson families.  He owned 160 acres 
and at his death, it was divided among his children.  William Worthington just 
recently sold his part to his nephew, so the Worthington homestead is still in 
Worthington hands.  William came into the county when he was 8 years old and 
has seen the town change much.  He has quite a reputation as a local old 
fashioned fiddler, and knows many of the old tunes.  However, he plays by note 
and not by ear.
     Interview  1935.


	THE JONES FAMILIES OF LOVELY RIDGE DISTRICT, HAMILTON TOWNSHIP 1869
	Narrator:  Rufus Jones

     Rufus Jones is the son of William Jones, who was the son of old Joseph 
Jones, the oldest of the Jones Settlers who flocked to Lovely Ridge 
neighborhood, west of Hamilton in 1869.  There were, in the 70s so many 
Joneses out there that it was quite a problem to keep their families apart.  
Some people called it the Jones neighborhood.
     Joseph Jones, lived two miles west of town.  He was born 1804 in 
Washington co. Maine and witnessed many of the incidents of the war of 1812 
such as the naval engagement which occurred on the Me. coast.  He cast his 
first vote for Andrew Jackson but turned Republican with Gen. Fremont.  He 
married Mary Preston 1825 of the same county and had 11 children, 9 grew up 
and 5 lived out here in his vicinity.  He died Jan. 3 1885 and is buried in 
Highland cemetery.  His daughter Mrs. Nancy Mosher of Hamilton died 1886.  
Another daughter was Mrs. Joseph Jones Jr. who married her cousin Joseph.  
Another son was William Jones who married Catherine Manuel, and they lived in 
Lovely Ridge.  They had as children - Allen (a milk man in Hamilton for 
years), Rufus the narrator, Lillie (Martin), Ida (Guy), James, Sadie (Joiner), 
Hattie, Caddie (Clara), Charlie.
     Another son who lived in the Lovely Ridge district was Daniel who married 
Mary E. Hall of N.Y. and they had Hattie, Charlie.  
     Matilda Jones his daughter who married Joseph Jones had Fred Jones and 
Anna who married Wm. Altman of Hamilton.  The narrator Rufus Jones of the 
above group married Eliza Cramblitt and had several grown children and 
grandchildren.
     Anna Altman had two daughters Rosa Gibson and Mattie Bennett both of whom 
are now grandmothers.  These children of old Joseph William, Daniel, etc. all 
did the same thing, they were trained as farmer-lumbermen back in Maine, moved 
together to Potter county Penn. and from there most of them came to Missouri 
in the late 60s to buy a small farm of 40 acres a piece in the same district.
     Now we pass to the other line of these Joneses, whose father was Robert a 
brother of old Joseph who came here.  The brother stayed in Washington Co. 
Maine.  He had as children Will Henry (the second name to differentiate him 
from his cousin Will) who married Phoebe Sherman back east.  She was often 
called Aunt Phoebe Jones even by outsiders.  They had children Frank, who did 
not marry and Ella who married Judd Van Volkenburg and they moved to Denver.  
The other son of Robert the Maine brother of Old Joseph was Joseph Jones who 
progeny has been mentioned by the treatment of Matilda Jones the daughter of 
Joseph and his wife.  After reading this Jones family, it is not strange that 
people got badly mixed up on them, with their repetitions of names and their 
living in the same neighborhood.  Yet today, there are few of that Jones 
family, especially those who have kept the name Jones in the community.
     The Jones men were in the Union army and William was in Andersonville 
prison suffering an illness from which he never recovered.  Most all of the 
Jones family lie in Highland cemetery, certainly all the pioneer settlers.
     Interview  1934.


	THE PAXTONS IN MIRABILE TOWNSHIP 1850, LATER IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Miss Alma Howard and others

     James D. Paxton, pioneer in Mirabile township, Caldwell county came in 
the county 1850, when the country was very wild and barely settled.  The 
Paxton ancestral history is one of which the members were very proud.  They 
were of Scotch-Irish descent, coming as colonists to Pennsylvania, then in 
1745 to Rockbridge Co. Va., then in 1800 to Kentucky, then one son came 1850 
to Caldwell county Missouri.  James D. Paxton married Mary E. Ritchie, also of 
Kentucky.  This couple eventually owned 410 acres in the vicinity of the tiny 
town of Mirabile, where for three decades, they did their trading and went to 
mill.  They had salves on that farm or rather plantation.  Some of their 
slaves are still buried on the old burial plot where members of the Paxton 
family lay with their family slaves together.  This was the present farm known 
as the Thos. S. Virtue farm.  The members of the Paxton family were taken up 
from that old burying ground, a few years ago, and placed in the new Paxton-
Kemper lot in the Hamilton (Highland) cemetery.
     James D. Paxton was born 1806 and died 1863 on the old farm.  His wife, 
born 1815, died 1878.  They had children:  Sallie who married James M. Kemper, 
a merchant in Hamilton during the 60s, and they were the parents of Wm. T. 
Kemper, Kansas City banker and politician;  William R. who died unmarried; 
Robert D. who married Irene Pierson a former teacher in Hamilton; James R.; 
Thomas; and Benjamin.
     During the early 70s, the "Paxton Boys," a firm composed of Robert 
(commonly called Bob), William and James, ran a livery barn in Hamilton, which 
they purchased of Weldon.  This barn stood on north Main street, just north of 
the tracks, east side.  This livery barn is clearly recalled by Miss Howard 
who tells of the tall fence which surrounded the south end of it.  It was the 
old fashioned idea of having a livery barn on Main street, and always had a 
group of men in front.  In the time of the earlier Weldons, this barn was the 
stage coach stop.  This barn was burned down in the fire of 1884, when it had 
passed out of Paxton hands.
     At one time, too Bob Paxton lived in Hamilton and the home was the 
present Katherine Houghton house on south Broadway.  His business then was 
buying horses and he also had a fine stable of race horses which included 
"Warsign" noted as a runner.  Miss Howard was a neighbor, on the south, of the 
Paxton home.
     The Paxton name, as many other splendid early family names in Caldwell 
county, has gone from the list of Caldwell county citizens, but it will long 
be remembered because of the high type of people who bore it. 
     Interview  1933.


	THE STRAHL FAMILY IN HAMILTON IN 1868
	Narrators:  Joe Davis, etc.

     In 1868, in the rush to land along the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad, 
came the two Strahl brothers to Hamilton from Ohio.  Richard Strahl had 
married Lucinda Bacon of Ohio and they came with their young daughter Laura.  
Richard's brother Otho also came to try his fortune.  Otho began work as a 
teamster and had plenty of work in the boom.  One of his daughters, Rachel, 
married Henry Leeper who had come in about that time to start a furniture 
store.  He was a brother of the rich Andrew Leeper who owned the Leeper Hotel 
of Chillicothe.  Otho's wife lived to be a very old women, but he died 1875 
and was one of the graves moved from the old Rohrbaugh to the new Highland 
cemetery.
     The other brother, Richard, died within a few months after his arrival 
and he was one of the first to be buried in Rohrbaugh cemetery.  He also has 
been moved, but his grave stone is in pieces.  His widow lived here in town, 
making her living as a dressmaker till 1877 when she and her daughter Laura 
went back to their old home in Ohio, where Mrs. Lucinda Strahl died 1894 aged 
sixty nine years.  Laura Strahl is often mentioned by old timers in connection 
with the days of Professor David Ferguson in the early high school.  She was a 
star in the "Last Loaf" a drama put on for the school benefit.
     This name is now quite gone out of the county, save for grave stones, and 
they soon will be gone.  Thus it is important in some way to perpetuate every 
early name which entered into Hamilton history.
     Interview  1934.


	THE OLD HARRY HOUSE IN HAMILTON
	Narrator:  Mrs. Minnie Harry

     Mrs. Minnie Harry was the wife of Joe Harry, son of Mrs. Harry, the owner 
of this fine hotel of the 70s and 80s.
     The Harry House was built 1869 by Mrs. Brockway on the southwest corner 
of the first block south of the railroad west side of Broadway, corner of Mill 
and Broadway, as old timers called the street but Ardinger and Berry, more 
correctly speaking.  It was called the Broadway Hotel and was sold 1873 to 
L.D. Van Volkenburg who ran it for about 3 years.  It was a three story hotel, 
with office opening on the west, and the ladies entrance on the south.  It was 
a popular place for people to stay who were farm hunting.  When Mrs. Harry 
took it, she changed its name to Harry House and it was a very high grade 
hotel as long as she had it.  In the late 80s, she sold it to Mr. Franke who 
had the other hotel in town on the north side.  It began to run down, finally 
it became a place for miners and cheap people to stay.  At one time, it was 
raided by Mayor Tinsley Brown because he thought it was used for immoral 
purposes.
     During Mrs. Harrys stay, she removed the huge cupola which originally 
stood in the middle of the roof, which gave a view as far as Kidder.  (Cupolas 
were good style in the early 70s.)  Orrick Martin was her clerk, and rang the 
triangle out in front of the office twice before each meal, one time half an 
hour before meal, to bring in the boarders.  The neighbors used to set their 
clocks by the triangle.
     Mrs. Harry is remembered in her later years as a very refined stocratic 
old lady with a cap trimmed with lavender ribbons.
     The plan of the hotel was:  a large office at the S.W. corner, a sample 
room to the west, an outside stairway on the north of the building leading to 
the millinery store of Mrs. Platter (daughter of Mrs. Harry) on the second 
floor of the hotel.  East of the office was a big hall and an impressive 
stairway.  Back of it was a very large dining room and Mrs. Harry's private 
rooms and the kitchen.  There was an inner court where the servants worked 
outdoors out of sight.  The well was there too.
     The Presbyterians often held their festivals and oyster suppers at the 
dining room; Mrs. Harry belonged to the Christian church, but her daughter, 
Mrs. Platter, was a Presbyterian.
     Mrs. Harry always employed colored help, and some of the best darkies in 
town worked in that hotel.  Aunt Jane Bell and her children were some.  On the 
south entrance, was a large wood platform where the lady boarders used to sit 
out after supper.  Mrs. Harry always went in the best society in Hamilton, 
being a fine friend of Mrs. O'Neil and Mrs. Robert Ogden, both names meaning 
high class here in the 70s and 80s.
     It was about 1905 that the hotel building was torn down, it had been 
diminished by one story some time earlier.  It had been on fire once or twice 
in its decline and the town was glad when it finally was gone.  It was on the 
site of the Davis Motor store.
     Some one has said that we must not omit to state that all hotels of that 
time had runners who went to the train after customers, and at times these 
porters or "runners" might get into a fight with runners from other hotels 
over customers.  They carried baggage without tips to the hotels.
     Interview  1934.


	THE DORT FAMILY IN HAMILTON
	Narrator:  Kate Crawford, Hamilton

     The Dort family is important to us because J.D. Dort and family came to 
Hamilton 1861, long before most people thought of coming here, when the town 
was small, much smaller than Kidder.  J.D. Dort was born 1816 in New 
Hampshire, moved to Pennsylvania as a pioneer, then on to Hamilton.  His 
family consisted then of a daughter, of a son Ben, and his wife.  He was a 
drayman and he and his son continued for several decades in that business.  He 
also built a shack north of the railroad on Broadway where he sold coal and 
wood.  He and family lived on the farm south end of Main street in what is 
called now the Kate Crawford house.  There his daughter died and his wife 
became an invalid.  To have a house keeper, he hired the widow Crawford, 
mother of Kate, the narrator, who came into the home with her two children, to 
care for Mrs. Dort and keep house.  They stayed there long after her death.  
Now it is their home by purchase.  J.D. Dort died from the result of being 
struck by a train while unloading freight.
     The wife and daughter were buried in the old cemetery west of town, the 
only one in town then.  The elder Mr. Dort dying 1891 was also interred there.
     Ben Dort's whole life from a young fellow was spent here, helping his 
parents.  Dick Ervin said that when he went into the drug business here in 
1867, Ben Dort delivered his first stock.  He was constant in duty to his 
invalid women folks.  Every one says that, and he never married.  They tell of 
his going to the Sunday school at the Congregational church, and other 
organizations.
     Sometime about 1900 when the Congregational church was building a new 
brick, their money ran low.  They were going to put the north wall (which did 
not show much) of a cheaper grade of brick to fit their pocketbook.  Ben Dort 
heard of their plan.  He paid out of his own pocket book for the additional 
brick, which he was supplying to them from his stock.  If a family was in 
need, he helped them.  As old age and disease came on him, he could work but 
little and his cash failed.  He entered the Odd Fellows home at Liberty, but 
he could not stand the rules of living.  He then went to the County Poor Farm 
at Kingston where he ended his days.
     After his death, friends of other days had him buried in the New 
(Highland) cemetery in the perpetually endowed part, they had his parents and 
sister removed there, and had fitting stones set up for each.  These last were 
done by George Moore, the Monument man, who in his boyhood had reason to be 
thankful for Ben Dort's big heart.
     Interview  1933.


	THE WILLIAM McCOY FAMILY IN HAMILTON TOWNSHIP 1868
	Narrator:  Stella Farabee

     William McCoy came to Hamilton township 1868 and went onto the small farm 
south of town (the present ten acre plot of Dr. Booth was a part of his farm). 
 He came here from Warren co. Mo. and had previously lived in Columbiana Co. 
O. where he was born Oct 1 1815.  He married Eliza Baker in Pittsburg Pa. 
1837.  They had 11 children, at his death a few years ago, there were still 6 
left, and now only 2.  Out on his farm, he often broke the prairie with three 
yoke of oxen at once.  In 1870, his first wife died.  He moved to town, buying 
land from Andy Harrah, with a house.  This was the lot on which the Hawks 
Motor co. stands.  The house stood midway of the lot facing north.  He built a 
two story store building at the N.E. corner and opened up the McCoy's grocery 
which was destined to go on in that site for over four decades.  It had a 
front porch with benches, which became a favorite place for loafers, 
especially old soldiers, to sit and talk over old times.  It really was more 
than a grocery store.  They carried muslin, calico, thread, shoes to use in 
trading for produce.  At the corner was an immense stump which was a fine 
place for people to get out of wagons.  It was a typical country store in 
town.  Above the store were a few rooms.  In earlier days, it was known as 
McCoy's Hall, and the Christian church held church and Sabbath school there 
for a while.  Later on, his daughters, Lucy, and Mary and son Carmelius (Mel) 
lived there.
     When he grew a little old, his son Harve was junior partner and at his 
death, his son Clark returned to help with the store.  Later on, Clark became 
the senior partner and his two sons, Roy and Arthur helped run it and after 
his death, they conducted it independently.  McCoy's store was an institution 
in the town and when it was finally sold to Fred Hawks, who tore the building 
down to make room for his Motor building, that end of town seemed greatly 
changed.
     William McCoy was a staunch member of the Christian church and had much 
to do with its organization in town.  He gave the use of his store rooms and 
before that, they often met in his house.  He joined the church at 19 at Ohio.
     Mr. McCoy owned the two lots south of him till 1881 when he sold them to 
Dan Booth who had just moved to town to be cashier of the Savings Bank.  In 
1875 he married as second wife Mrs. Parmelia (Winget) Farabee, mother of Harve 
Farabee of Hamilton.  She was born in Washington Co. Pa. 1820 and was married 
to Samuel Farabee 1837.  In 1868, the Farabees moved to this county with their 
two children:  Harvey Farabee, and Sallie (Ackley) Simpson.  Mr. Farabee died 
1874 and Mrs. McCoy died 1903.
     The children of Mr. McCoy familiar to Hamilton were Harvey who died in 
the 80s of consumption, as did his son Arthur and daughter Winnie, Carmelius 
who died of consumption, Roxie Williams (dead), Olive White of Pa. (who 
created quite a sensation by eloping), Mary Shepardson (formerly a school 
teacher), Lucy of Pa., and Clark who lived here the longest.
     The McCoy family now bury in the Highland cemetery.  The first Mrs. McCoy 
was buried in their front yard, then moved to the old cemetery, then again in 
the new (Highland) cemetery.
     Interview  1933-4.


	THE CLAYPOOL FAMILY IN HAMILTON TOWNSHIP 1854
	Narrators:  Mrs. Mollie Wines and others

     The Claypool family was at one time a very numerous and active one in 
Hamilton but at present the name is gone, and only two representatives are 
known to the interviewer.  Walter Whitt and his sister Mrs. Mollie Wines, 
children of Mrs. Belle Claypool Whitt.
     Perry R. Claypool and family moved into Hamilton township 1854 from 
Bowling Green Ky and the tradition is that they came earlier from Va.  When 
the town of Hamilton was organized 1856-7 the Claypools were in the middle of 
business, for Perry had the first permanent blacksmith shop, there had been a 
blacksmith here a short time, but he soon left.  The site was the present site 
of the Clark blacksmith shop - an old time site for this work.  It is just off 
Main street to the east.
     When A.G. Davis and wife tired of the first hotel in Hamilton about 1859, 
Mr. and Mrs. Claypool bought the business and ran it for over a decade.  They 
were good hosts and the Claypool Hotel is often mentioned by old timers.  They 
had several girls and so they usually ran it without outside help.  It was on 
the same block as the blacksmith shop, and has been described elsewhere in 
this series.
     Mr. and Mrs. Claypool were active members of the Christian church here 
and were charter members in its organization in 1874, Mr. Claypool being a 
preaching elder there.  Mrs. Claypool, called "Grandma Claypool" by the older 
folks now.  Her maiden name was Mary Ann Burnett, pronounced with the accent 
on the first syllable.  She was born in Ky.  He died Sept 2 1879 after a long 
illness and she died 1904 at the home of her daughter Mrs. Joseph Sheehan near 
town.  When he died, they buried him in the old Rohrbaugh cemetery where they 
had already buried a daughter, Mrs. Mollie Green.  When Mrs. Claypool died, 
they buried her in the new cemetery at Hamilton and moved the other dead.  Mr. 
and Mrs. Claypool lie in unmarked graves in the east end of this cemetery.
     The children of this pioneer couple who grew up to maturity are Mrs. 
Mollie Green, Mrs. Joseph Sheehan, Mrs. John Whitt who lived for years in the 
district south of town, Mrs. W.H. Dillon of Iowa, Mrs. Louisa Hager of 
Washington state, Mrs. Chas. Woodering of Gallatin, John Claypool who married 
a sister of James Collins a butcher of fifty years ago.
     Interview  1933.


	SALOONS IN THE SEVENTIES AND EIGHTIES IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Irving Harper and "Billy" McBrayer
  
     Both these narrators lived in these parts during the time mentioned.  Mr. 
McBrayer's father Sam McBrayer kept a saloon for a while.
     The earliest saloon keeper in Hamilton was Uncle Davy Buster whose life 
has been written up in a separate paper.  He belonged in the late 50s and 
early 60s.  His location was on Broadway on the south right of way, and no 
other saloon was ever kept there.  Charlie Manuel was another of the late 60s, 
he kept his saloon on the street north of the depot, the earliest Main street 
in Hamilton.  It is presumed from reports that these early places paid some 
sort of license.
     In the 70s, there were often three saloons at the same time here in 
Hamilton, and often a site would become an habitual saloon site altho under 
different owners.
     Charlie Stevenson, with Lee Cosgrove at the bar, kept one in the rear 
rooms of the Western (Goodman) Hotel on west side of North Main.  He was a 
popular saloon man.  Usually a saloon occupied the frame building south of the 
old elevator on Main street. The building was owned by Wm. Partin, but he 
never kept a saloon.  Tanner had his business there in the late 70s and called 
it the "Woodbine Saloon."
     Sam McBrayer who came the middle 70s, had a saloon business on north Main 
for a while, and kept a very orderly place as one might expect from that 
family.  Then there was a frame shack east of the old Hamilton House (Facing 
toward the depot).  This saloon was facetiously called "The Oasis" a slang but 
expressive term.  By this time, we know that dram shop licenses were granted 
by the county court to an applicant for six months with the applicant's 
petition signed by enough citizens of the town.  If sufficient opposition 
developed, the petition was refused.  The list of saloon petitioners was 
published in the paper by the temperance people, at their expense in order "to 
show 'em up."  Sometimes, a man would declare after seeing his name in print 
on such a petition that it was forged.  Perhaps it might be.
     After such a license was given, the saloon keeper opened up with green 
doors in front to shut off the inside sight.  These screens came to be a sign 
of a saloon.  Often such a license was combined with a billiard hall license 
to the same man the two concerns being in two connected rooms.
     The early saloon keeper was not necessarily a tough man here in Hamilton. 
 Charley Stevenson had hosts of friends and a big funeral.  Henry Bater in the 
90s, went into the saloon business because the milling business had ruined his 
eyesight and many fine business men signed his petition who never had signed 
one before.
     It was the custom in early days, to let a man drink all that he could pay 
for and then when he became noisy or badly intoxicated, to put him out on the 
street.  It was reported that Lewis Clampitt was in such a condition the night 
he tried to drive home and was frozen to death (see interview concerning 
this).
     Even in the seventies, men and women were working to do away with the 
saloon in this town and there were times, when they had their way, and there 
would not be a single saloon in town; but that did not mean that there would 
not be whiskey sold here, for there were always drug stores which sold it on 
prescription (easy those days), and even yet one druggist of the seventies is 
mentioned as selling few drugs, but ---.  Under such conditions, the town 
suffered in a way, for the druggist did not pay the high license of a saloon 
or dram shop as they were legally termed.
     In the eighties, instead of a saloon, there flourished a gallons store in 
the old Davis store building (then owned by Mr. Rogers) where people could buy 
liquor by the gallon only.
     Interviews  1933-4.
Addenda
     Mrs. Edmind Bater reminds the interviewer that on one occasion a revival 
was on in Hamilton and a party of the revival workers visited the saloon of 
her father-in-law, Henry Bater.  He received them courteously, let them talk 
and sing, and before they left, he proposed that they repeat the Lord's 
Prayer, and he himself led them.  He had been trained in a religious home and 
had not forgotten.
     John Prough, here in the middle 70s, says that the worst effect of the 
saloon appeared on election days when men advised their women folks to keep 
off the streets because of the large number of plain drunks.


	GEORGE REDDIE, PIONEER LUMBERMAN OF HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Eva Glasener and Mrs. Helen Booth of Hamilton
     
     Mr. Reddie for many many years was a familiar figure on Hamilton streets, 
with his short stature, white hair and beard, rosy skin, blue eyes and the 
burr in his speech of his native Scotland.  He often told friends of his early 
life.  He was born 1826 in East India, son of an officer in the British army. 
 At 5 years, he went back to Scotland with his parents, and the father did not 
live long.  The young mother took her two young children to Conn. USA to make 
a home.  When a young man, Mr. Reddie was attracted to the western migration 
to Wisconsin where he married his first wife.  In the 60s, he decided to make 
another change and go to California, overland.  On his way, he stopped at 
Hamilton, and went no further.
     This was in 1866.  He bought a lumber yard (which was on the site of the 
first lumber yard in town).  This site is that of the present north lumber 
yard.  He stayed in the lumber business till 1898 when he sold to the Hannibal 
Saw Mill co.
     He gradually grew weaker with the years and died 1908 aged 82.  He was 
buried in the old cemetery by the side of his first wife Ethelinda (1825-
1873), being almost the last one to be buried there.  But both his body and 
that of his first wife were removed to a new lot in Highland cemetery later, 
where also lies his second wife, Emily Wharton Reddie (1825-1916).  There were 
no children of the first marriage, and but one, Clara Morris, was born of the 
second.  She became the wife of George Morris.
     Concerning the first Mrs. Reddie, few people now living recall much.  
Mrs. Mamie Eldredge remembers her, for they were all Episcopalians, and Mrs. 
Reddie was her Sunday school teacher and she and Miss Alma Clark (her bosom 
friend) colored Easter eggs for the whole Sunday school.  Most middle aged 
people still recall Mrs. Emily Reddie well.  She was for years a sort of 
social arbiter here, both as to good manners, social standing and good taste. 
 You had to be very particular in your ways to be invited to her exclusive 
affairs.  She also was a fine musician and gave lessons to a few pupils.  Cora 
Cosgrove was one of her pupils.
     Both Mr. and Mrs. Reddie were strong Episcopalians and never entered 
other churches.  In fact, it was due to his work that the Episcopal church was 
started here soon after he came.  He was the head warden (and often the only 
one when the church dwindled down in membership).  He was superintendent of 
the Sunday school and she was organist for years.  They always insisted on 
keeping the church key, which was not so bad, for they lived across from the 
church.  (The church was on the site of the Mrs. Corda Sloan house, and the 
Reddies lived in the present Peyton Stokes home.)
     Both of them loved cats greatly and always had a large number.  In his 
lumber yard office, he had cat holes at the bottom of the doors to make it 
more convenient for the cats.  There love for animals is also seen from the 
following story.  The squirrels had built a nest for their brood in the 
chimney of the little church.  When the Reddies realized this, they refused to 
let a fire be built in the chimney and consequently blocked church services 
till the young squirrels had left the chimney.  This fact even kept the arch 
deacon of the diocese from holding service here.
     They were distinctly of the "low church" type of the Episcopal church, 
and strenuously resisted any innovation by any new rector which leaned toward 
"high church" ideas.  Under some circumstances, they absolutely refused to 
attend services when such practices were used.  But every one in town looked 
on them as the real heads of the small struggling church, which gave up its 
struggle for existence after their passing.

     The interviewer can still recall seeing Mr. Reddie as he walked up the 
one aisle in the church, with a collection box made with a box at the end of a 
long stick, and this he pushed way in to the end of each pew.
     Interviewed  1934.


	THE CLAYPOOL AND THE GOODMAN HOTELS IN HAMILTON OF THE SEVENTIES
	Narrator:  Eva Glasener, 69, Hamilton

     Miss Glasener's mother is Mrs. Holliday, now 95, the oldest person in 
Hamilton.  Shortly after the Civil War, she came into town, she had to make a 
living for her family, and being a fine cook, she was frequently called upon 
to act as extra cook in both the Claypool and the Goodman hotels, both fine 
hotels in Hamilton in the late sixties and seventies.  In general, the women 
of a hotel family did the work, the cooking, waited tables and bedroom work.  
     The old Goodman frame hotel or "Western House" as called on the signs, 
was in the middle of the first block north of railroad west side, embracing as 
Miss Glasener the site of Cole's barber shop almost up to the south Penney 
wall.  The ground floor of the hotel had an office, hotel parlor, family 
living room, dining room, kitchen, and at the back was the bar, also often 
called, Goodman saloon.  This was approached by a plank walk running from the 
front street walk to the saloon door between two store buildings. (That type 
of back door entrance at the end of a walk was not uncommon in a Main street 
which had gaps in it, note the early Kingston post office.)  This made a dark 
walk, scary to youngsters at night.  The bar was tended by Charley Stevenson, 
(father of Libby who now lives in Hamilton with her uncle Bert Goodman).  
Charley Stevenson was an early character here, who was quite attractive to a 
large circle of friends, despite his occupation.  Lee Cosgrove was another 
bartender, he married Eva Glasener's aunt and was the father of Frank, Cora 
and Claud of later history.  When Col. and Mrs. J.M. Harper arrived in town to 
buy a farm, they stayed at the Goodman "Western House" till they were settled. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Robt. Houston, bankers, stayed there as continual boarders for 
several years.  It was standard and satisfactory.
     The Claypool Hotel was the old Davis house (the site of the north half of 
the present Johnson store, on Davis street, east side, second block north from 
the railroad.  This also was a very popular hotel, especially for Sunday 
dinners.  There were plenty of Claypool girls to do things, but one Sunday, 
all the Claypools wanted to go to a creek baptizing.  So they had hired Mrs. 
Glasener (who had not yet married Holliday) to cook.  Dinner hour came on, the 
dinner was ready to serve, the boarders were there and very hungry, but the 
Claypool girls who were dining room girls were not there.  Mrs. Holliday was 
not supposed to go into the dining room to serve, not dressed for it.  Finally 
the boarders declared they were going elsewhere for dinner if they were not 
served in ten minutes.  Lee Cosgrove, who was a boarder there, put the food on 
the table in a hurry, and every one had a good Sunday dinner before the 
Claypools got back.
     Private parties who took in boarders in the late 70s were Henry Reed who 
lived in the Bristow house west of the old Davis house in north east Hamilton, 
James Orr, who lived in present Taylor Allee house, Mrs. Robt. Ogden in the 
present Whitman home site.
     Interviewed  November 1934.


	JOSEPH HAMILTON DAVIS, THE FIRST WHITE CHILD BORN IN HAMILTON, MO.
	Narrator:  Joseph H. Davis, 78

     In this narration, Mr. Davis is aided by others, in supplying details.
     It is fitting that our collection of historical narratives of Hamilton 
history, should contain one about "Uncle Jo Davis" the first white child born 
in the town of Hamilton.
     He was born in the old Davis Hotel, the first house built in Hamilton and 
the date is June 13 1857.  The family lived in that home a few years when Mr. 
A.G. Davis, his father and the founder of Hamilton, bought the cottage which 
his brother-in-law, Dr. McClintick had erected on the lot where now stands the 
post office (old Trust Co. Bank building).  That site was long known as the 
Davis cottage, during the 70s.  Then Mr. Davis built the fine home in the 
north east end of town (now the Keeton home).  It was while he lived in the 
Davis cottage that little Joe started to school, going to a small school on 
the lot where Mrs. Caroline Thornton's home now stands.  This was the old 
stage coach office of M.T. Green.  His teacher was Miss Gartland, who was 
brought to town by A.G. Davis to teach his own children and others, each 
parent paying something.  Then he went to a similar small building on the site 
of the present M.E. parsonage of which many old timers talk.  His teacher was 
L.T. Hill and this was a free school, tax paid.  They had a rostrum long 
benches and long desks, dunce caps for the lazy.  Jo Davis has carried the 
reputation of being a good pupil.  He did not get into school scrapes.
     Then he went to the new high school just opened on the new brick school 
on the north side.  He recalls that his father said one day, "Tomorrow you 
will start into High school."  He did not know exactly what it meant but that 
next morning, he strutted up the path to the door, for he KNEW THAT IT WAS 
GOING TO BE SOMETHING EXTRA IN SCHOOLING.  Prof. Ferguson once told him that 
he never had a pupil who made such strides in penmanship, and Uncle Joe still 
shows with a bit of pride that he still can write a fine hand despite his 78 
years.  Mrs. H. Booth who lived near the Davis family in their big house 
remembers Joe as a lad who preferred to read rather than play.  He bought 
books and when he was teaching paid twenty five dollars for a four volume set 
of encyclopedia which was rare at that time for a private person to own.
     He naturally turned to teaching instead of farming as a profession.  
Having finished the Hamilton schools, he went over to Allen Moore's private 
Normal school at Chillicothe.  Allen Moore, despite his peculiarities was a 
wonderful teacher and organizer.  Mr. Davis taught in the late 80s and early 
90s.  He taught at Spring Hill district, also at Four Corners school, a school 
5 miles south of Kidder, marking the place where the 4 townships, Kidder, 
Kingston, Hamilton and Mirabile join.  He boarded with his aunt, Mrs. Sallie 
Hemry who lived in this district.  The Partin girls of Hamilton, daughters of 
Wm. Partin, his cousins, went to Chillicothe about this time and were teachers 
too.
     Mr. Davis married 1901 to Laura B. Hardman, daughter of Rev. David C. 
Hardman of the Dunkard (Brethren) church.  He was visiting some relatives near 
Polo when he met her in her home near that town.  They had one child who died 
young.  Mrs. Davis died and is buried near the child in the Dunkard cemetery 
near Polo.
     Later, Mr. Davis bought a farm three quarters of a mile east of Hamilton 
where he still lives.  He walks to town almost daily, disdaining to ride when 
he is able to walk.  When anyone wants facts on Hamilton history, people will 
say, "See Joe Davis, he will tell you."
     August 1935.


	DOCTOR LEWIS BUTTS, EX-SLAVE
	Narrator:  James McGill, Hamilton

     Lewis Butts was a slave, the possession of Thomas Butts of Kingston 
township.  As such, he had no education except what he gained through memory 
or observation.  During the war, he lived partly in Kingston township, partly 
in Hamilton.  After he received his freedom, he stayed on in Hamilton.  Here 
he died 1897.  No one knew exactly how old he was, but he was considered one 
of the oldest negroes in the county.  Some said he was 100, at any rate, he 
always looked very old, as one thinks back on his white wooly head, wrinkled 
face and bowed back.
     Some called him Uncle Lewis, some called him Doc Butts because he 
actually did compound simple remedies.  He and his wife Aunt Cynthy lived in a 
low white washed house with boards running up and down in the  east end of 
town, near the Eldredge home.  He knew old old Hamilton when it was just one 
solitary house on the prairie (A.G. Davis house), and he saw it grow to about 
1700.  He talked much about things before the war.
     He was much older than Jim McGill, the narrator also a colored man, ex-
slave.  Jim McGill spoke of him with a great deal of respect.
     In the 70s and 80s, he supported himself and wife by a variety of ways.  
He owned his own place and raised garden truck to sell from door to door, he 
peddled horseradish, and gathered wild nuts to sell or wild herbs for his 
medicines.  His wife was a fine washerwoman and he delivered the clothes by 
carrying the basket on his head with one hand up, a thing you rarely see now, 
even among the colored folks.
     Then on certain days of each week, he was employed at the printing office 
of the Hamiltonian in inking and turning the hand press, and when not on duty, 
he loafed around telling stories or giving his philosophy of life.  (The 
printers often printed this as fillers.)
     He was one of the remnants of old slave days, and in his words, manners 
and ideas never forgot to be very polite to the white folks.  His wife Aunt 
Lizy, died in Chillicothe about 1907, and about all the colored population of 
Hamilton bought train tickets that day to go to the funeral.  They had three 
boys, Jim, (well known character in the 80s), Wilbur and Henry.  Julius Butts, 
favorite house cleaner two decades ago was a grandson.
     Interview  1934.

Interviewer's note:  Eva Glasener whose mother came here about 1865, declared 
that Uncle Lewis Butts was one of their best neighbors when they moved here 
and lived near him, and this too, despite the fact that he was black.


	MRS. COSTELLO-SMITH, AN EARLY BUSINESS WOMAN OF KINGSTON AND HAMILTON
	Narrator:  Mrs. Minnie Hooker, Hamilton

     Mrs. Hooker knew Mrs. Costello (or Mrs. Smith as she was later) because 
they were neighbors when Mrs. Hooker was a girl and lived at home on the J.W. 
Harper farm (the present Hooker place).  Mrs. Costello-Smith lived just across 
the road to the north on the suburban tract.  Mrs. Costello-Smith told her 
about some of her experiences at Kingston.
     She came there in the late 60s with about two dollars and a half and two 
children.  She bought a hat form of plaster and proceeded to make about the 
first hats for women to wear to church.  From that beginning, she owned a very 
good millinery store at Kingston, and later one at Hamilton in the early 80s.
     While at Kingston, she was a great friend of Mrs. Neff, a doctor's wife, 
and after his death, she and Mrs. Neff began sewing together, at last Mrs. 
Neff sewed in Hamilton with Mrs. Costello-Smith as aid.  Mrs. Neff lived in 
the first house north of the Presbyterian church.
     Mr. and Mrs. Smith kept a restaurant in Hamilton at the middle of the 
first block north of the Penney corner.  This same site had been used as the 
Costello millinery store in Hamilton.  This small restaurant kept a very fine 
stock of candy and children with pennies all went there.
     Mrs. Costello-Smith came of Pennsylvania Dutch family and she brought to 
Missouri many of the ways of that community.  She washed about twice a year, 
which was a great surprise to the other neighbors who believed in the weekly 
wash.  When the semi-annual wash day came, the yard, porch and grass were 
fairly covered with wet things.
     She gave her son Frank a law education, and he went to Maysville to 
practice.  He had been a school teacher before that, and people said that 
Frank Costello was a good teacher.
     Her second husband's name was N.C. Smith, but people always called her 
Mrs. Costello Smith, because many had known her as Mrs. Costello.
     This story is interesting because is concerns one of Hamilton's early 
business women.
     Interview  1935.


	THE MITCHELL FAMILIES IN HAMILTON AND THE TERRILL FAMILIES IN HAMILTON
	Narrator:  Mrs. Kay Culp, Hamilton

     Mrs. Culp was Ida Mitchell daughter of Strather M. Mitchell and Rebecca 
Terrill both of whom were of Daviess county before coming to this county in 
1868.  He was first a carpenter and then they ran the Hamilton Hotel.  He died 
1881 in Excelsior Springs where he had been a carpenter and ran the first 
hotel there.  Mrs. Rebecca Mitchell died 1900.  There were 5 children, S.S. 
Mitchell (Bud) of Excelsior Springs, Mrs. Sam Buster of Denver, Mrs. Culp , 
Chas. Mitchell (dead) and Tom Mitchell (dead).  Tom was quite a local 
character, good in minstrel shows.  He married a daughter of Steve Cox of this 
county and after his death, she became Mrs. Evans.  Charles has two children 
Goldie and Violet, the latter being the wife of Rev. Archie Bedford of New 
York state.
     John Mitchell a brother of Strather came down from Daviess county with 
his brother to Hamilton.  He had 5 children Mrs. Laura Logan (whose husband 
Wm. was an early blacksmith), Wood 3 of K.C. (now dead), Cassius, Robert, 
Alexander all of whom lived here in the 80s.  Strather and John had another 
brother who settled in Boone county and did exceptionally well.  The family 
came from Va.
     The Terrill family is also of Daviess county coming down into Caldwell 
after Rebecca married Mitchell.  Fountain Terrill father of Rebecca came to 
live with her and died 1891 after being run over by a horse.  He was a strong 
"Campbellite" and is in Highland.  His name was Fountain Terrill (named after 
a neighbor in Ky. where he was born 1806).  Mrs. Rebecca Mitchell's brother 
Ollie Terrill also died in Hamilton about 1899 and is buried here.  The 
Terrill family in antebellum days had slaves and plenty of everything both in 
Daviess county and in Kentucky, but the war deprived them of their property 
and they were in struggling circumstances when they lived here in town.
     The Terrills who married into the Mitchell family are kin to the Terrills 
who were among the earlier settlers of the Breckenridge country, even before 
the town was begun.
     Interview  1933.


	THE SAMUEL W. ORR FAMILY AND THE JAMES S. ORR FAMILY IN HAMILTON TOWNSHIP
	Narrator:  Minnie Ogden, 72, Hamilton

     There are or have been several ORR families in Caldwell county few of 
whom are related.  To keep these different ORRS differentiated for the sake of 
future history, the interviewer has tried to contact the various Orr families. 
 
     The Samuel W. Orr and James S. Orr Family who are the subject of this 
paper are not now represented in the county except in Highland cemetery 
(Hamilton), but since they were once prominent people in the 70s and 80s, they 
are necessary to the ORR collection.
     Samuel W. Orr (1807-1899) came into the county 1872 and for some years 
served as presiding judge of the county court, until his eyesight gave out.  
He died at the home of his son, James S. Orr, five miles south of Hamilton.
     His son James S. Orr came into the county with the rush of settlers after 
the Civil War 1866.  He was born at Youngstown Ohio, served in the Union army, 
Co. F Ohio Cavalry.  He was married shortly before coming to Missouri to 
Elizabeth Whiteaker at Lisbon Ohio, and he brought his young bride into this 
section which was yet in a rather pioneer state.
     Mrs. Orr is yet well remembered by the older women as being a very 
popular society woman, and an active Presbyterian.  There were two children, 
Walter and Charlie.  They lived in the country at times and at other times in 
town, owning what is now the Taylor Allee home in the east part of town.  They 
had as neighbors Dr. Eli Penney (father of George and Tavia), Tom Hare, Elder 
Jim Whitt, A.G. Davis and the Booth family while the latter were building a 
home in south Hamilton.  They were known as a fine place for keeping teachers, 
to room and board.
     When the family moved to Nebraska, Mr. Orr and his sons Charlie and 
Walter, went into the livery, bus and transfer business.  He died 1904 at 
Pawnee City, and he was brought back here for burial.


	SAM R. LANE, OF HAMILTON AND MIRABILE TOWNSHIP 1868
	Narrators:  Mrs. Ida Lane Rauber

     Mrs. Rauber is the wife of John Rauber whose father Anthon was a German 
emigrant to the county in the late 70s.  She is the daughter of Samuel Lane 
who came into the county either 1867 or 1868.
     Mr. Lane was a native of Wisconsin and his wife a native of Pennsylvania. 
 When he came to Caldwell county, the slew grass was still head high on part 
of the prairies, earlier settlers told him that in the fifties, it was head 
high when a man sat on a horse.  Even when Mr. Lane came, there were few 
neighbors.
    First, he bought the farm still commonly known as the Half Way House (half 
way between Hamilton and Kingston).  It had a log cabin where he and family 
lived a while.  Then he sold out at a profit to Mr. Ford father of Wm. Ford, 
Mrs. Hogsett, etc., and he bought another place one and half mile south, 
called the Blood farm.  He did not keep this long, for new settlers were 
coming in, and eager to buy.  Then he bought a third farm two and half miles 
south west of Mirabile which had a log house on it and there Ida Lane was born 
and there his wife died.
     This place had been a slave plantation before the war and an old negro 
couple, Aunt and Uncle Blacksten left over from the old plantation, were still 
living as squatters on the place.  Sam Lane let them stay on, for they helped 
Mrs. Lane who was sickly and growing steadily worse.
     The neighbors out there were the Carrs and Mrs. Geo. Arey (mother of Geo. 
Arey of Hamilton 1920).  Both were connected in family.
    Now comes the story of how Ida Lane became the foster child of Mr. and 
Mrs. Jackson Edminster.  Mr. and Mrs. Lane came from the same county in 
Wisconsin as the Edminsters, A.G. Howard, C.C. Greene who had come down to buy 
farms here.  Lane was the first to come and they came later on his reports.  
Jack Edminster and his father Aaron bought a farm in Lovely Ridge district 
west of town.  Mrs. Edminster came down when she had finished her Wisconsin 
school which she was teaching when married.  Her maiden name was Gardner.  The 
Lanes and Edminsters were especially close friends.
     As Mrs. Lane's death drew near, she began to worry about her little 
girl's future.  She expressed the desire that her good friend Mary (Mrs. 
Edminster), would take the child.  The Edminsters had no children of their 
own.  They promised to take Ida and Mrs. Lane died happy.  They rolled the 
little girl in a blanket and put her in the bottom of a sled, taking her to 
their home where she stayed till her wedding day.  On account of Mrs. Rauber's 
change of parents, at such a youthful age, she is not sure of her exact age, 
which may be 64 or 65.
     Mrs. Lane was buried in the old Hines cemetery (1836-1873).  The land on 
which this graveyard lies was on Mr. Lane's land and his house was near it.  
The northwest corner is the Lane grave corner.  Next to her is son Edward who 
died when 67 years old about 1901, and then is old Samuel Lane who died 1900 
aged 75.  There are no markers for father and son.  They are about the last to 
be buried there before the graveyard was condemned and no more burials 
allowed.  
     Mr. Lane, soon after the death of his wife, Mary Lane, having secured a 
home for his babe, began traveling to forget his grief, as Mrs. Rauber says.  
At any rate, he was gone for years and no one knew where he was.  In his old 
age, he came back with some property and passed much of his declining years 
with his newly found daughter.
     Interview  1934.


	JOHN H. BURROWS EARLY CITIZEN OF MIRABILE AND HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Mrs. Anna Korn, Joseph Davis and Others

     The first we hear of this man, John H. Burrows, in the history of 
Caldwell county is that he built a brick store in the small town of Mirabile, 
Mirabile township about 1848 or 50.  It was on the south side of Main street 
and was next door east of the brick hotel, which was not yet built when the 
Burrows store went up.  The old brick tavern is yet standing, while the old 
Burrows store is gone.
     Then we hear of him as helping A.G. Davis in the building of the new town 
of Hamilton and being in the original town company 1855.  Mr. Davis was also 
of Mirabile originally, so they were friends.  He moved to Hamilton, and built 
as his home a house on Davis (Main) street, long known as the Major Higgins 
house, site of the present Tiffin building, on North Main.  This house was 
moved to south Hamilton a few years ago and is now the attractive home of Mrs. 
Minnie Morris.
     The business of Mr. Burrows in Hamilton was that of merchant.  He bought 
the Davis store, (site of the present movie theater) and enlarged the business 
of the new general store.  He had as clerk a youngster, J.M. Kemper (known 
around town as Jimmy) who was to go far as a merchant both here and in St. 
Joseph.  Mr. Kemper, one of the Mirabile family of that name, was a good 
clerk, despite his age, and came to have much of the burden of the store.  
Burrows as postmaster, had one corner of the store devoted to the post office.
     When the Civil War broke out, Mr. Burrows enlisted in the Confederate 
service, first he was a lieutenant in the Caldwell county minute men, and 
later he was lieutenant in the Price's army.  He left the business of the 
store in Jim Kemper's hands and the latter became the virtual storekeeper.  
The job of postmaster was taken by the United States government from him as a 
Southerner and given over to a Republican, O.P. Richardson, who kept it for a 
long time.  When Burrows was wounded and after the capture of Mulligan at 
Lexington, Burrows returned to Hamilton and was reported to be quite angry 
when he found that his post office had been taken away from him because of his 
service in the Confederate ranks.
     One of the streets in Hamilton is named for him, as indeed all of the 
members of the original Hamilton town company are honored.  Sometimes his name 
in older records is spelled Burrows and sometimes Burroughs, but it is all the 
same.
     Interview  1934.

Interviewers note:  A paper of 1886, states that a recent visitor in Hamilton 
was Miss Florence R. Burrows, daughter of J.H. Burrows "deceased who was the 
first merchant who ever sold goods in Hamilton," a statement which is disputed 
by Mrs. Anna Korn, who says her grandfather A.G. Davis who owned the store, 
sold goods there before he sold to Mr. Burrows in 1859.  An effort has been 
made to find the grave of this early storekeeper of Caldwell county, but if 
buried in this county, his grave apparently is unmarked.


	THE LOW FAMILY IN HAMILTON, 1867
	Narrator:  Mrs. Lottie (Low) Daniels

     The Low family started in Hamilton life the fall of 1867.  Soon the 
father Frederick P. Low became a leader. He was born in Me. 1814 and died in 
Hamilton 1895.  For 50 years, he held some sort of public office either in Me. 
or in Mo.  He had 6 children:  Sarah, Lewellen, Herbert, Marcus A., Eugene, 
Leon.  Of these, Herbert, M.A. and "Gene" came to maturity.  In the old town 
records, the name F.P. Low frequently is seen.  He went into the printing 
office (which his son Marcus started) to keep the youngsters there straight.  
This oldest son, Marcus, to become noted M.A. Low, started the Hamilton News 
which was in a frame building on south Main.  Herbert also worked on it.  M.A. 
later on became a lawyer and still later, became the president of the C.R.I. 
and St. F. railroad.  The youngest son Herbert was popular in Hamilton society 
and his marriage to Lottie Read was a society event.  Later, the couple were 
divorced.  They had three children - Homer, Haddie and Mignon.  They lived 
while in Hamilton in the big square house far down on Kingston street, now the 
Dr. Smith house.  Herbert died of consumption 1893.
     Eugene Low married Florence Moore daughter of C.B. Moore of Hamilton.  
They had one daughter, Mrs. Sarah Low Hughes of Chicago.  Both the parents are 
dead.  Eugene had tried almost every occupation during his life.  He was born 
1845 in Maine, enlisted in the Union army at sixteen years of age.  After the 
war, he went out west freighting and also taught school in Kansas and 
Nebraska.  In 1876-8, he helped run a newspaper.  In 1880, he built the Low 
building on west side of North Main street in Hamilton and ran a grocery a 
while.  Then he was a banker at Breckenridge and at Maysville.  He got the 
Hamilton post office under McKinley.  In the middle of his second term, he 
died and Mrs. Florence Low was appointed in his place.
     The oldest son M.A. Low, eventually moved to Topeka in his railroad 
office work.  He had two children.
     "Old Lady Low," mother of the above children, was quite a firm believer 
in Spiritualism and believed that her dead came back to share in her life.
     The Low family began burying their dead in the old Rohrbaugh cemetery, 
after a siege of typhoid fever that took two of the children in a few days in 
the early 70s.  The family continued to use the same lot for a long time.  
Within the last 20 years, however, thru the work of Mrs. Sarah Low Hughes, the 
bodies of all the Lows except an infant were removed to the large Low lot in 
the Highland cemetery.
     Interview  1934.


	THE DAVID CHRIST [CRIST] FAMILY OF NEW YORK TWP.
	Narrator:  Mrs. Ada Smith, Hamilton

     The first settler of this family, David Christ, came with his wife and 
children in a wagon with oxen in the early fifties, and entered land in New 
York township (not then called by this name).  He came into a settlement of 
Virginians, as he was.  His farm was near the old Cox cemetery, and there he 
and his wife are buried.  He died shortly before the Civil War and his estate 
was settled up 1864 by his eldest son, James Christ who was a farmer in the 
same district.  This James had a son Walter who now at age 72 lives near 
Bonanza.  Then there was another son William who died very shortly after his 
father and his estate was administered by James M. Bowers a neighbor; these 
were of his older children; he had one son Renick Christ who was born 1855 at 
the Christ home in New York township, who was very much younger than the 
brothers mentioned.  He died 1934 in Hamilton at the home of his daughter Mrs. 
Smith.  His boyhood was passed in a very pioneer atmosphere.  He often spoke 
of the tall prairie grass everywhere in his boyhood.  No roads, just trails, 
no bridges, just fords over the numerous creeks of that township.  No schools, 
no churches to go to , few neighbors, and no father after his fifth year.  Of 
course, by the 70s, there were roads laid off by the section lines, but there 
was no law to make you go by roads rather than by the open prairie.  Renick 
Christ in 1883, married Nancy Elizabeth Floyd of this county and she died 
1900.  He spent all his life in this county except 12, when he tried living in 
Kentucky, having family relations there.  He came back to Caldwell county 
satisfied to finish here.  He belonged to Hopewell Baptist church and he is 
buried in that cemetery.  His brother James A. Christ (1838-1811) [1901] and 
his wife also rests there.
     Interview  August 1935.


	EARLY MEMORIES OF OLD HAMILTON
	Narrator:  Mrs. Maud Harlow

     Mrs. Harlow is the daughter of Capt. Marcus Morton who began as a 
merchant 1865 "home from the wars" as he and his brother John advertised in 
the paper.  He was a tinner and John a hardware man.  The Charley Morton 
family settled in Daviess county 1854, so the family is among the oldest in 
this section.  She mentions many of the buildings recalled by other old 
timers, but often give details omitted by them.
     She knew the old Claypool hotel on the site of the north end of the 
present Johnson store.  They were the grandparents of Mollie Wines and Walter 
Whitt, now of middle age and past.  To the north was the building known in the 
80s as the Jordan building but in the 70s as the Kelso building, Mr. Kelso 
being the father of Mrs. W.J. Ervin.  This was the home of the big Wm. Rhoades 
dry goods store in the UPs, and today the same site is the home of the Mo. Dry 
Goods Co., but of course the old frame has given way to brick.  To the north 
was Black Doddridge's drug store (father of George D. of the Harrison 
district).  On the corner was the first bank in Hamilton the Cochran Bank, 
later the Spratt, Houston and Menefee bank.  This site is the south half of 
the Johnson store.  Across the street was the site of the second bank, the 
Hamilton Savings Bank where the McPherson building now is.  This bank opened 
1878.  Where the Farmer's store now is, there was a three story frame built in 
the latter sixties by Dr. McAdoo the druggist for his store.  His sister, Mrs. 
Beard, had a millinery store above, assisted by Mrs. McAdoo.  Later, Wm. D. 
Patterson used the room for furniture.  Sam F. Martin also had a furniture 
store in that section and Mr. Harper after him.  Mr. Hiram Tilley's furniture 
store was in the same store as the two previous merchants.
     She recalled her uncle, John Morton as keeping a hardware store in an old 
log building on the lot where the north side lumber yard is.  In his second 
location, he was on the corner now used by the post office.  She remembers the 
"old brown school house" when it stood on its original site on the lot of the 
present M.E. parsonage.  She remembers when the old north side brick was being 
built and the bell, which had her uncle's name on it because he was a member 
of the school board then.
     Then there was the old Kemper store on the present Bram corner which gave 
way to the brick block of the Rohrbaugh family with the firm name of Rohrbaugh 
and Moore (Moore was a son-on-law).  Down the row on that east side of Main 
was Ervin drugs, C.B. Franke dry goods (first location), a saloon, a jewelry 
store, a barber shop, all frames till the side burnt.  At the south end was 
the Paxton livery barn.  After the fire, Dr. Tiffin of Knoxville, helped build 
up the burnt space with the Tiffin block.
     On the opposite side, down in the hotel site was the Harvey store before 
they moved a block north.  In the so called Parrish building was Dan 
Whiteside, jeweller and watch repairer.  Harry Dickinson, the tailor, was 
above the Harvey store.  The Davis store was then on the present Penney store 
site.  Joe and Albert Davis ran it.  This was sold to O'Neil and Wilson.  This 
frame was afterwards moved down the street to south Main.
     On the east side of south Main, was Love and Low the elevator men, a 
saloon, lunch room, Grigsby's hardware, White's grocery and an empty lot.
     Across the street to the south, was a empty lot and then the McBrayer 
livery stable, covering most all the block.
     On the west side of south Main at the S.E. corner was the Witwer wagon 
yard.  Mrs. Witwer was a sister of the Studebaker men in South Bend Ind. so 
this yard was a Studebaker yard.  The family lived at the south end of 
Broadway.  The house is still used.
     To the north of the Studebaker-Witwer wagon yard were the Platter 
millinery shop - which later was the Hughes restaurant and Alma Howard 
millinery shop.  Still later, it was the Sanderson shoe shop.  Then was the 
tiny shoe repair shop of James Lunn (that lot is now open).  Then on the 
corner in the 70s was the office of Squire A.G. Davis and later of Lawyer 
Holliday.  This corner was built into brick by Mr. Manning and is the site of 
present First Bank.  
     Broadway contained O.O. Brown's dry goods store (double), Harry House 
(Davis Motor co.) corner.  On the west side were Nash Produce on S.W. Corner 
and going north - A.G. Howard drugs and George Hastings Grocer.  Across the 
tracks was Thornton Livery stable.  Down on the Hawk filling station site was 
Mr. Dwight milliner and to the west was McCoys store.
     There was Whiteley's store across from the park on Kingston street, and a 
produce store near by.  The business was scattered all over town for a few 
years.
     Interview  1935.


	O.O. BROWN EARLY MERCHANT IN HAMILTON, 1868-1883
	Narrators:  Alma Howard and Others

     It was in 1868, when O.O. Brown and family came to Hamilton to open up a 
store, dry goods.  At first, he was not well fixed and he started in a store 
building with two rooms, they lived in the back and kept store in front.  This 
was on the southwest corner of the library lot at present.  People always 
called "Double O Brown," a shrewd merchant.  They prospered and soon were able 
to build a larger frame, of two stories to the south about two lots down on 
the same street, south Broadway near the tracks.  There he still grew and in 
the middle 70s, he built a brick two story store and home to the south of the 
frame.  The family used the frame and the brick upstairs and had connecting 
doors.  His store was one of the leaders in the community in the late 70s and 
early 80s.
     In the ceiling of the brick store was a trap door through which the 
family upstairs could act quickly in case any one entered the store below at 
night.  Of these O.O. Brown buildings, one was torn down several years ago, 
but the brick part yet stands as the Souders home and garage.
     His family consisted of wife, daughters, Mamie and Blanche, both leaders 
in young society.  Some of the early clerks were Mollie Wagenseller, daughter 
of Capt. Wagenseller of this city, and John Fine.  The family moved to Kansas 
1883 and he died 1903.  These buildings have been in various hands.  Dr. 
Stoller lived there and had a grocery and later the Grigsby family owned them 
for a home.
     Interview  1834.


	THE WILLIAM PARTIN FAMILY IN MIRABILE, 1858, IN HAMILTON, 1867
	Narrator:  Will B. Partin, Rock Springs, Wyo.

     William Partin was born at Dandridge Tenn. not far from Knoxville.  He 
attended seminaries at New Market and Strawberry Plains.  He became a cotton 
buyer for a plant at Mosey Creek.  He traveled the mountain valleys of his 
district on the horses from the company's stables kept for that purpose.  
Later, he set out to see the world and went to Philadelphia.  Some friends and 
distant relatives had come west and settled at Mirabile Mo.  Partin joined 
then in 1858, believing that this new country had advantages for a young man. 
 He was in business at Mirabile Caldwell county with John R. Penney, firm name 
being Partin and Penney.  Later he married Betty Penney, niece of his partner. 
 She was daughter of Rev. Eli Penney, a plantation owner of that section who 
owned 60 slaves and was very wealthy for the times.  Prior to coming to 
Caldwell county, Rev. Penney had a plantation in Lawrenceburg, Ky.
     William Partin, although a Southerner, became a captain in the Union army 
and his colonel complimented him for his bravery but said the one thing wrong 
with him was his "damnable politics" for Mr. Partin was a life long Democrat.
     The first two children of Wm. Partin and Betty Penney were James and 
Edward.  James was after Rev. James C. Penney a life long resident of 
Hamilton, and Edward was after Mrs. Partin's brother Edward of St. Joseph.  
These two oldest boys died and are on the old Penney plantation near Mirabile.
     In the late sixties, Mr. Partin moved his family to Hamilton and they 
lived in what was long known as the O'Neil house on South Main street.  His 
first store was just north of the depot near the old A.G. Davis general store. 
 Later, Mr. Partin bought a frame just south of the old elevator on South Main 
and had a fine grocery store business there.  Later, he sold out his store to 
Mr. Fowler.
     After this, he travelled for a while, with a view to change, but came 
back to Hamilton.  He was manager for the grocery department of McDonald, 
George and Co, Gene Low, George Penney, Harry Nichols and others.  Uncle Billy 
Partin knew his groceries.
     He served on the school board and his name, as a member, is inscribed on 
the first large bell on the north side brick.
     A country greenie from remote parts once stopped his journey here and was 
attacked by a local bully.  His hat was ruined.  The stranger knocked down his 
assailant and got the best of the fight.  Father called him into the store, 
set him up with a lunch and gave him the best hat in the house, because of his 
victory over the bully.
     Another story on Mr. Partin:  In the early 70s, a young woman gave birth 
to a child in a manger in the outer part of town.  It came to Mr. Partin's 
ears.  He started a subscription paper.  Many of the business men wanted to 
know more about her, whence she had come etc. but Partin at once said that did 
not matter.  What did matter was her plight, she needed help and he got enough 
to send her back to her Eastern home.
     Uncle Billy Partin loved cats and all his pets at the grocery stores were 
smart.  They would wait for him both at the home and at the store.  Everyone 
in town knew his fondness for cats, and were apt to drop them on the store or 
his house.
     William Partin died while on a visit to Denver, Colorado. For a while, 
his body was left in Fairmont cemetery there, but was eventually returned to 
his beloved Hamilton, where in the Highland cemetery he rests with his wife, 
his two daughters Mittie and Anna and his nephew Eli Penney, together with old 
Rev. Eli Penney and wife, all of whom have been removed from older grave 
yards.
     Interview  1935.


	THE McCLINTOCK FAMILY IN MIRABILE AND HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Joe Davis, 77, and Mrs. Mittie Whitman, 73

     These narrators are cousins, and Mr. McClintock was an uncle by marriage 
to them.  Dr. J.H. McClintock married a sister of both Mrs. Whitman's father 
and Mr. Davis's father.  He came into the county about 1855.  No one seems to 
know where he came from.  He appeared in Mirabile and asked for the village 
school, which he taught.  His future wife went to school to him, and he fell 
in love with her.  Another pupil was Judge W.J. Wyatt, later a prominent 
citizen of Hamilton.  After his marriage, he managed a store at Kingston for 
his brother-in-law A.G. Davis and one of the clerks then was William Napier, 
who later moved to Hamilton and lived here to the end of his life.  When A.G. 
Davis started the new town of Hamilton and opened a store, Dr. McClintock came 
here to manage it for him for a while.
     While here, he built a house in which he lived on the site where now 
stands the post office building (1935).  This house became better known as the 
A.G. Davis cottage, for he sold it to Davis after the latter left the old 
Davis hotel.  Later on, of course, the Davis family moved to the big house in 
the north east part of town, known yet as the old Davis house.
     Dr. McClintock had the title of Doctor, because he was a regular eye 
doctor and fitted glasses.  After giving up the store work here, he and wife 
moved to Kansas City about 1872 and from there went south to Texas.  His wife 
was Mildred Penney, one of the daughters of the Rev. Eli Penney a Baptist 
preacher and a very rich farmer or plantation owner in Mirabile township 
before the war.  She was married to Dr. McClintock at Mirabile 1856.  In 1857-
8 they lived in this county.  Then they made a grand tour of old Mexico, Cuba, 
and various southern states, finally locating in Houston Texas where he was an 
eye doctor and she kept a boarding house.  She died Sept 19 1903, at the home 
of her brother Ed Penney in Kansas City, and he died 1909.  She was buried 
first in the old cemetery at Hamilton in one of the Davis lots, but after her 
husband died and was buried in the new cemetery, the Davis kin also took her 
up and buried her with him.
     They had no children, and no relatives save those of her family.
     Interviews  1935.


	THE HENRY S. PARTIN FAMILY OF HAMILTON IN THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES
	Narrators:  Will Partin, Rock Springs and Others

     Henry S. Partin and family must have come into the county rather early, 
but just how early is a conjecture, since there is no descendant accessible to 
state.  He married a niece of A.G. Davis, Mollie Davis, and they were here in 
the forties.  He was located in the village of Mirabile before Hamilton 
started (1856) where the Davis family settled.  His name appears in an old law 
suit of 1863, on a carpenter's contract matter.  He is said to have come from 
South Carolina to Missouri, and not to have been kin to the William Partin 
family who came in from Tenn. in the early sixties.  To be sure, they were a 
bit entangled by marriage, for Henry married a Davis girl, and William married 
a Penney girl whose sister married A.G. Davis.  This made them feel warm 
toward each other.  The narrator says that the general idea that prevailed in 
Hamilton that Henry and William were brothers or at least cousins, probably 
arose from the above connection or from the fact that they were partners in a 
store for a while.
     The Henry Partin family lived for years in a story and a half frame that 
stood on the corner directly south of the present McLaughlin-Lovenspike home. 
 In that house, they had several deaths, and for years afterwards, the house 
had a reputation of bringing death to occupants, and even was called haunted 
by some occupants.  There was an infant daughter Tennie aged 5 months 
(according to a broken stone in the Henry Partin lot in the old Rohrbaugh 
cemetery west of town).  There were three deaths all within 14 months, between 
1878 and 1880, all of tuberculosis.  The first was the mother, Mrs. Mollie 
(Mary) Davis Partin, the second the father Henry S. Partin, the third Thomas 
Partin, a popular young man.  The last of the family to die here in Hamilton 
was the youngest child, Purle who died 1890 also of consumption, who died at 
the home of a married sister Mrs. N.B. Bell south west of town, where she had 
lived after the death of her parents when she was four years old.  Another 
sister was Tressa, a well known school teacher, who married the Rev. Glenn 
Lewis of the Kingston Lewis family, a preacher in M.E. church.
     Mr. Henry Partin was an early carpenter of Mirabile and Hamilton 
communities and the whole family was popular here.  He was one of the builders 
of the old north side high school brick here in Hamilton.
     The family bought a lot in the old Rohrbaugh cemetery in west Hamilton 
and there the above dead lie, with no stones to mark their final resting 
places in the neglected old grave yard.
     Interviews  1935.


	HAMILTON'S FIRST SALOON KEEPER, DAVID BUSTER
	Narrators:  Dan Buster and Mrs. S. Richardson

     The Buster family is one of the oldest in this community, being ancestors 
of Mayor W.W. Buster of Hamilton.
     In the summer of 1857, a saloon was built in a boarded up shack on block 
29, not far from the latter J.N. Morton store of the 60s.  Hamilton having 
been started, a saloon was the next thing naturally in pioneer life.  The 
owner was David Buster or "Uncle Davy" to some.  He was generally respected, 
as indeed good saloon keepers were those days.  He was one of the rare 
sheriffs in the county (Caldwell) so he had a strict sense of town order.  He 
allowed no extra rowdyism in his place.  This is seen in a story which some of 
his later kin like to tell.  An early settler here, Henry Holmes, a brick 
maker, loved Buster's whiskey.  One night, he was such a nuisance that Uncle 
Davy put him out and locked the door and went to the Davis hotel, where he was 
staying.  Holmes in vain begged for another drink.  Uncle Davy would not 
yield.  Then Holmes went to the shack and kicked the door in.  Opening the 
spigot, he drew a quart cup of it.  Buster, seeing him enter the place, came 
to the door, and Holmes ran out, leaving the spigot open.  Buster saw the 
whiskey running out of the barrel, but being stout, he could not enter the 
hole in the door thru which Holmes had passed.  The door was locked so he had 
to waddle back to the hotel and get his padlock key before he could save his 
whiskey.
     This however was the first saloon which Buster built and it was of rather 
short life.  Few recall it; the Buster grocery-saloon which has come down in 
history is the one on the right of way south of the tracks on the west side of 
Broadway.  He built this about 1858 or 59.  At this time, he wished to bring 
on his family, so he built a house on the lot where stands the Davis Motor 
company, facing south; and on occasion, they kept boarders, hence a few of the 
oldest folks still talk of the Buster House.  Some say that this house, moved 
to the north side of the lot, made the nucleus of the Hamilton House.  His 
children went to school with the Davis children in the small subscription 
school kept by Miss Mary Gartland on the site of the present Caroline Thornton 
house.  This was of logs, a building moved in by Mr. Davis from his farm for 
this purpose.
     This old Buster saloon structure is described elsewhere in the series.  
David Buster accidentally shot himself in Oct. 1873 while cleaning his gun for 
a hunting trip.  His wife, Mrs. Nancy Buster, Nee Sanford, died Dec 30 1892 at 
the home of her daughter Mrs H.C. Hughes in Hamilton.  The Busters were 
formerly of Grant township Brown county Va. where David was born March 9 1809. 
 David and Nancy were married Oct 28 1835 in Ky., she being 22 years old.  She 
owned at her death a farm one mile and half west of Hamilton, afterwards the 
Tinsley Brown farm.
     Interview  1933-1935.


	M.C. MARTIN AN EARLY HAMILTON CARPENTER
	Narrator:  Lilla Martin, 73, Hamilton

     Miss Martin gave this interview before she went west 1934 to visit her 
friends, the Moffits, where she died.  She speaks of her father M.C. Martin, 
commonly known as Clark Martin.
     He was born 1830 in Marion county Ills. and died at his home in Hamilton 
1905 aged 75.  When a small boy he moved to Iowa where he learned the 
carpenters trade.  He was building a house when the news came that the Civil 
War had started.  He hired other carpenters to finish his job and joined the 
Union army.  After the war, he moved his family to Hamilton Mo.  His Iowa 
friends warned him that he would be killed down there by the rebels but he 
found the Missouri Southerners fine people.
     He came here Sept 1866 with his trade of carpentering to help build the 
new town.  His brother Sam Martin was also a carpenter, and they were known as 
the Martin brothers.  In later years, he devoted more of his time to small 
piece work like cabinet making and ran a novelty works over in the west part 
of town near the railroad.  This burned down one night.
     He married 1853 Helen P. Kinne of New York, and there were 4 children.  
Eugene (whose personal write up appears in this series), D.P. (often called 
Pitt) of Kansas, Lilla who was an early business women in town, compositor on 
the early Hamiltonian, clerk in the P.O. and later ran a P.O. bookstore in the 
lobby when the P.O. stood directly north of the railroad; Lauren the fourth 
child lived in California.  
     Lilla Martin had a taste for acting, and often appeared in the home 
dramatic shows, playing the Octoroon in the play of that name.  She was one of 
the early students of the guitar in town.  The Martins were strong Methodists, 
charter members when the M.E. Church was organized here 1867.  Lilla as a girl 
always sang in the choir and she rather believed that her mother had sung alto 
in the choir here.
     The Clark Martin family for many years lived on a small place at the west 
end of the street, now called McGaughey, but at the time they went on it, it 
was considered out in the country.  It is the present home of Joseph Smith.  
They got this place on a trade with Elder Carey Hill in the late 60s.  The 
Hills took in exchange a farm in the south part of the country.  After Mr. 
Martin's death, the Martin family sold this suburban home to James Kautz and 
moved to what is now the Lit Gregory home near the south school.  Mr. and Mrs. 
Martin are buried in Highland cemetery, and Lilla is buried out west in the 
Moffit lot, at whose home she died.
     Interview  1934.


	GEORGE W. HASTINGS, HAMILTON GROCER OF THE SEVENTIES
	Narrators:  Frank Hooker, 72, Hamilton and others

     Mr. Hastings' grocery store was located at the north end of a block of a 
two story frames on the west side of Broadway, just south of the tracks.  At 
the time when he located there, it seemed possible that Broadway would be the 
future Main street of Hamilton.  There on his side were A.G. Howard (formerly 
Ressigeau) drugs, next south was A.B. Nash produce store; south across the 
road was Wm. McCoy general store.  On the opposite side of the street south of 
the depot was the Clark sisters Millinery store, then a small shop or two 
changing hands, then O.O. Brown dry goods and then the Harry House (formerly 
Broadway Hotel), and still south on the other side of road was Mrs. Dwight's 
millinery.
     North of the tracks were Thornton livery, and in the old Davis building 
just north of the depot, up to 1870, there was always something reputable.  It 
did look as if Broadway might turn into a business street instead of a 
residence one.
     But to go back to Mr. Hastings. He was much more than a grocer in 
Hamilton.  He entered actively into the social life.  Minnie Ogden tells what 
a wonderful dancer he was, and how he would take the young girls out on the 
floor to dance when the new brick school was finished and they had not yet set 
the desks in.  He was a fine looker and had many friends.  When his first wife 
died after a long period of invalidism, he took her body back east to bury 
her.  His second wife was a divorcee, Mrs. Julia Buster, daughter of Henry 
Britt.  Her first husband was Sam Buster and after Mr. Hasting's death, she 
married Will Withers of Liberty.  She was a strikingly beautiful woman, and 
played a leading part in Hamilton society for many years.  Mr. Hastings had no 
children but left an adopted daughter, Minnie Hastings, who inherited part of 
his estate.
     The Hastings family lived in a house on Mill (Berry) street which was 
afterwards sold to the Dr. Brown family and later to the Dr. Daley family.  
The old house was remodelled by Dr. Daley into his present colonial home.  He 
owned a building on south Main, present Advocate-Hamiltonian building; at his 
death, this fell to Minnie and at her death to his relatives in the east.  He 
was taken back for burial.
     Mr. Hastings was a keen shot and once while hunting with two Daviess 
county friends a little north of Hamilton, they shot a deer, possibly the last 
deer killed in these parts.  It was a great deed to tell about, till the 
Daviess county officers heard of it, and since the hunters had killed a deer 
after the deer season had closed, they were fined about $20 a piece.
     He died in the early 80s.
     Interview  1934.


	SENATOR SETH YOUNG COMPARES GOING TO COURT IN 1875 AND 1934
	Narrator, Seth Young, 81, Hamilton

     Seth M. Young is probably the oldest active lawyer in Caldwell county.  
He still goes to his office, still attends court at Kingston, the county seat. 
 He has been at circuit court ever since 1875 and in that time has missed only 
three sessions.  Even when he was at Jefferson City as a member of the state 
senate, he came back for the sessions held during that time.
     He was admitted to bar at Gallatin 1876 and the next year he went to 
Kansas to teach school.  There was a popular emigration slogan of that time, 
"Young man, go west" but Mr. Young said he went west and did not grow up with 
the country as Horace Greely preached, but he went west and blew up.  He came 
back to Hamilton, where his father Chas. Young still was living, and began to 
practice law.
     He spoke of the changes since that year.  He could not recall any other 
man save himself who was in business that year and still is in business.  Of 
course, there are plenty of descendants of those business men either in their 
father's line or in some other business.  John Minger  restaurant keeper is 
followed by his son Robert, in the same business, excluding the baker part.
     Again, there is the matter of getting to Kingston.  In those early days 
of 1876, and later even, there was the bumping, jostling hack of Billy Dodge 
over rough roads, and now we have the smooth riding cars over highways.  At 
times, those days the roads were so bad between Hamilton and Kingston, that 
the lawyers used to get out of the hack and walk for the weight of our bodies 
made our hack sink deeper in the mire.  It took less time to get there than to 
wait till someone would drive the sticky mud out of the wheels every few 
yards.  Some people used to actually walk the whole distance, saying they were 
going by "The Foot and Walker" line.
     The time covering the distance too has changed.  It used to be normal 
trip of one and a half hours, but now you can make it easily in thirty 
minutes.  Of course, Mr. Young knew the covered bridge which stood this side 
of Kingston, over which all Kingston and Hamilton travel went.  He named 
several old hotels which used to keep lawyers during court week, one being the 
Chain house at Kingston, kept during the seventies by Hugh Chain and wife, 
parents of Miss Sarah Chain of this city.
     He recalled some of the old time lawyers, now gone; there was Crosby 
Johnson, father of the present Crosby Johnson lawyer, B.M. Dilley a brilliant 
lawyer who went to Oklahoma.  Judge Holliday, Cyrus McLaughlin (father of Mrs. 
Chas. Dovenspike of Hamilton).  Judge Wm. McAfee (father of Floyd McAfee of 
Hamilton) Winfield Miller who went to Indianapolis.  All went to circuit court 
at Kingston.
     Interview  1934.


	THE ARMS FAMILY OF GOMER TOWNSHIP AND THE PAGE FAMILY OF GOMER TOWNSHIP
	Narrators:  Harry Arms and D. Dunham

     In the old Rohrbaugh (old Hamilton) cemetery, there is one grave plot of 
especial interest.  It contains the graves of three soldiers of the War of 
1812.  They are - Phineas Arms, Asa Page, and William Page, all of whom lived 
in Gomer township in the late 60s and the 70s.  Their records have been 
proved.
     The first to come was Phineas Arms 1869 and then came the Pages for his 
son William married in to the Page Family.
     Phineas Arms moved with his children to this county from Jonesboro, Wisc. 
via Iowa where they had a brief sojourn.  They came in the land rush of 1868-
9.  They bought the "old Arms farm" near Nettelton.  This farm was sold later 
to Mr. Will Aplin of Hamilton and later to the Sturgis family.  Phineas Arms 
died 1872 and was buried in the Rohrbaugh cemetery.  His wife Martha Arms died 
1880 and is by him.  She drew a widow's pension for the 1812 War.  By the 
terms of his will, he gave most of his property to his son William, who had 
cared for the old folks.  At his death, there were children:  Elizabeth 
Wheeler, Daniel Arms, Deruelle, Mary Ann Moore, Edward P. Arms, Minerva 
Reynolds, and Geo. W. Arms.  Of these, Edward moved to the state of Oregon, 
because he did not like Mo. and he received 40 acres on the provision that he 
take it for his own use, and pay for it.  He did not accept the gift.  
     In fact, the only one who did stay around the old home stead was William 
Arms.  He married Helen Page, daughter of the William Page above, formerly of 
Vermont and Wisconsin.  William Page was widower and he and his brother Asa 
(also widower) made their home with William Arms on the Arms homestead.  Asa 
Page was a Spiritualist and believed deeply in its manifestations.
     William Arms is buried in the Weaver cemetery near Nettleton while his 
wife Helen Page Arms is buried out in Montana, where she took sick while 
visiting her son.  William had several children Ray Arms dead, Irvin Arms 
(Sparta, Mo.), Leo Arms (Chicago) Frank Arms (see below), Mrs. Nelia Seifert 
of the Nettleton community, and Chas. Arms who married Ada Dunham and they are 
in the Weaver cemetery.
     William Arms had a son Frank, born in Jonesburg, Wisc. 1852 who died 1935 
in Caldwell county.  He married Mary Ann Jameson and that couple are in the 
Cameron cemetery; so the Arms family are very much scattered in burial places. 
 Frank had a son Harry at present one of the Caldwell county judges and a 
farmer in Breckenridge township.  He is the only one of the name now in mature 
years in this vicinity.
     Interviews  1934.


	THE JAMES H. HILL OF HAMILTON TOWNSHIP IN THE SEVENTIES
	Narrator:  Mrs. Maud Harlow, Hamilton

     Mrs. Harlow is a granddaughter of James H. Hill, the above settlers in 
Hamilton township.  Care must be taken to separate this J.H. Hill from the 
James M. Hill who died 1934 in Hamilton.  They are not related at all.
     Mr. Hill was born in Cornwall Eng. and at 13, he with is parents went to 
western Canada.  He stayed there till the close of the Civil War.  He married 
a Canadian girl Margaret Mahancey, and they made a home on the western 
Canadian frontier, where the missionaries came who were working for the 
settlers and Indians.  He became well to do by middle age.  By bad luck, he 
lost it all.  Purchasing goods in N.Y. during the Civil War, he as a Canadian 
merchant, was caught in the depression and had to start over.
     He turned to writing and wrote for magazines and was active in politics 
and when well to do he was offered a seat in the Canadian Parliament.  Soon 
after the loss of his property, he heard of the find cheap land in Missouri 
and came to Caldwell Co.
     They lived at Kidder for some months at the Kidder hotel while looking 
around for a farm 1886.  At that time, Kidder was the leading town of the 
county.  They recalled that almost every night something was going on; there 
were other eastern people there and it was a congenial crowd.  All were 
refined and educated.  Mrs. Harlow heard her grandmother mention many of the 
Kidder families of that date:  Chubbucks, Metz, Shaw and Whitelaw.
     Mr. Hill finally bought what is now part of the John Switzer farm 
northwest of Hamilton.  He lived there till in the 80s when he sold out to 
P.A. Switzer.  He then moved to Cameron where he lived till his death.  His 
first wife died in the 80s and he married again 1889 to Mrs. Sarah A. Barnahy 
and she outlived him.  He and his first wife were both buried at the Kidder 
cemetery, where an infant child had been buried in their early days here.
     His first wife Margaret Mahancey had a middle name Klapstock which 
requires explanation.  Her father was a British general, and the middle name 
of his daughter was for a British general Klapstock.  Margaret Klapstock 
Mahancey was born July 27, 1884 in Ontario of English parentage, she was 
educated in a convent, according to the style of the better class.
     Mrs. Margaret Morton, daughter of the above settlers in Hamilton 
Township, was married to Captain Marcus Morton March 15 1867, and they spent 
their honeymoon in St. Joseph.  Mr. Morton has been frequently spoken of in 
these narratives, both in connection with the Civil War, and as a business man 
in Hamilton with his brother John M. Morton in the middle 60s on for several 
decades.  Their daughter, Mrs. Maud Harlow is the narrator. 
     Interview  1934.


	BUSHROD M. DILLEY, EARLY HAMILTON LAWYER
	Narrators:  Mrs. Lottie Daniels, Seth Young, etc.

     The Hon. Bushrod M. Dilley, better known as B.M. Dilley or Doc Dilley was 
a prominent figure in Hamilton life in the seventies and early eighties.  He 
was born in Licking county O. 1841, received his early education in the very 
mediocre common schools of that time and then went to Dennison University O.  
In 1862, he began to read medicine with Dr. Draper of Cumberland O. which was 
the ordinary way those days to get a medical education.  He stayed in that 
office four years then he was ready to practice.  He started "west" which was 
also the ordinary thing for young doctors then.
     Reading the railroad ads in the Ohio papers about the new towns developed 
along the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad, he picked out one and came to 
Hamilton 1866.  Ague set in here soon after his arrival and while doctoring 
others, he got it himself, so much that it make him sick of the place.  To get 
rid of his "chills and fever", he went back home to Ohio, and decided to 
change his calling.  He entered a law office for study till about 1868.
     Again he returned to Hamilton, but this time as a lawyer.  In Aug. 1869, 
he was admitted to practice at the August term of court at Kingston by Judge 
Clark.  He was naturally a student, and very quick minded.  He was not long in 
reaching a high place among the young lawyers of the county.  He was endowed 
with a rare sense of social fitness which gave him an easy entry into what was 
then Hamilton's best society.  He entered into the fun of the town as well as 
its business.  The Hamilton high school under Prof. Guttery, in the early 80s 
put on a Shakespeare play, "Merchant of Venice," for the school benefit.  Doc 
Dilley helped coach and also took the part of the Duke.  
     When a good bye dinner was staged for Jimmy Kemper, a merchant who was 
leaving town for St. Joseph in the early 70s, Dock Dilley led in the plans and 
composed a parody song, "Don't go, Jimmy, don't go!" which was sung at the 
dinner.
     He was twice married.  His first marriage is rarely mentioned because it 
was an unfortunate affair, his wife running off with another man.  The Dilley 
home at that time was on south Main.  His second marriage was some time later. 
 He married Cora Harvey, daughter of the merchant Harvey who kept a dry goods 
store here in the late 70s and early 80s.  The Dr. Dilley home was now in a 
cottage the present home of Harley Shively.  He lived there till they moved to 
Okla.
     In politics, he was a strong democrat, although both his law partners (at 
different times), M.A. Low and Seth M. Young were strong republicans.  The 
fact that he was personally very popular accounts for his election to the Mo. 
state legislature as a democrat from a strong republican county.  He served 
also as city mayor and city attorney.
     In the 70s before his law practice was heavy, he was local editor of the 
old Hamilton News when M.A. Low ran the paper, and after Low went to Trenton 
to live, Mr. Dilley for a while was managing editor of the paper.
     It was in the 80s when his ability became recognized by national 
Democrats, and he was sent to Okla. Ty. in a good federal job.  He moved there 
and died there.
     Interview  1934.


	THE HIGGINS AND THE HINES FAMILIES IN HAMILTON IN THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES
	Narrators:  Mrs. Minnie Ogden, Sara T. Haggerty and Others

     It is hard to find families much older than the Hines and the Higgins 
families in Caldwell county.  Old Wesley Hines entered land in Rockford 
township 1836 before the county was organized and his family being large 
married into other early settler's families.
     Wesley himself married Elizabeth Davis, only sister of A.G. Davis, 
founder of Hamilton, back in Howard county 1818 and possibly it was thru him 
that her two brothers came here:  Albert G. and Thos. Coulson Davis.
     Wesley Hines' daughter Matilda married Major Thos. Higgins who was later 
both prominent in Caldwell county and in Hamilton.  Major Higgins took up 
prairie land in this county 1844 and the other settlers called him all kinds 
of a fool for choosing the prairie rather than timber.  He later came to 
Hamilton and put in the second lumber yard, site of the Tooley mill.  His home 
was directly east of it and for years it stood there, site of the present 
Tiffin building.  Then it was moved into the south east end of town and is the 
Mrs. Minnie Morris cottage.  Mr. and Mrs. Higgins had no children, so they 
took two of their brother's children into their home; Susie (McCromick) and 
Wesley Hines.  The latter married Ella Dunn, a teacher here, who was reared by 
Mr. Lavilla Aiken.  Marion Hines another nephew also stayed with them some 
time and had control of the Higgins lumber yard so much that it was often 
called the Marion Hines Lumber Yard.  Marion Hines' first wife with her babe 
are buried in the old cemetery at Hamilton, while he is buried in the New or 
Highland.  His second wife was Ella Griffith, a high school teacher here with 
Prof. Ferguson.
     Another daughter of old Wesley Hines married Humphrey Beckett who settled 
about 1839 in the vicinity of Mirabile as a very early settler.  These early 
Becketts are buried in the old Hines cemetery, in Rockford township, where 
also Wesley Hines the first is buried with his wife.  One of Wesley's sisters 
married a Beatty and a young man Beatty of this marriage was the first person 
killed in the county, at a county election.
     Then Wesley Hines the older, had a son John of Polo who has quite a 
number of descendants alive.  Mattison Hines went to Oregon and his progeny 
never returned.  The father of Wesley Hines, the younger, Susie, and Marion 
was Francis M. who did not live long after the children were born.
     Interview  1934.

Interviewer's note:  It was the pleasure of the interviewer to help dig out 
the grave slab of old Wesley Hines in Hines cemetery after it had been covered 
with dirt for many years.  He died in the late fifties.


	THE JOHNSON STORE SITE IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Stewart Ogden and Others
    
     This corner site on Main street in Hamilton is rather an historic corner. 
 The fall of 1934, the Johnson chain store bought out the grocery store of 
Chet Martin, and this brought out quite a lot of discussion of business on 
that site.
     In 1906, F.A. Martin and brother C.A., bought the north half of block 21 
from George Rogers for $1300, the lot to be free from buildings.  A week 
later, they bought the west half of the south half of the same lot from M.J. 
Kinne for $2500, a site which was occupied by the brick building long known as 
the Spratt, Houston and Menefee Bank, the first and only building on that site 
up to 1906.  Then they purchased the east end of the same lot from Crockett 
and son, with their planing mill for $500.  That made the whole business 
street lot for the Martins, 44 by 120 feet.  On that lot, they erected the 
double store building long known as the Chet Martin grocery, and the north one 
third by the McMaster Hardware.
     But what a lot of history has happened on that lot!  First, the north 
half of the grocery store was the site of the first building in Hamilton - the 
old hotel-home of A.G. Davis; in turn it became the Claypool Hotel, Bishop's 
Drug store in the 70s and his drug compounding laboratory; McKenzie's Bakery 
in the 80s.  Eventually it was partly burned down and then being badly 
demolished, it was torn down.
     The corner half fronting on Main was first occupied by A.C. Cochran, 
Hamilton's first banker, whose daughter married John Spratt, a well to do 
farmer and town grocer.  Cochran turned the banking business over to him.  It 
was a private bank and was reliable.  Many early business men, lawyers and 
doctors, had office rooms on the second floor, and there was an outside 
stairs.
     To the east of this brick, probably the first building was that of T.H. 
Hare, photographer in Hamilton from 1869 on till his death in about 1915.  
Eventually however, Mr. Hare moved his gallery up stairs on south Main.  After 
he left this site, his old rooms became a butcher shop or meat market, as you 
choose to call it and Jacob and John Prough his son ran the shop.  It was also 
a meat market under others for short times.  Then it ran down terribly and 
came to be a residence for poor, often disreputable people.  It was a disgrace 
to the town and was finally torn down and the Crocketts erected their 
carpenter shop there.  That space now is the back room of the grocery store.
     In the office space above the old Davis hotel or Claypool Hotel in early 
days of the seventies, we would have found Dr. Tuttle, popular physician of 
the 70s and early 80s, Dr. King who was a buddy of Dr. Tuttle coming to town 
on the same day to take up the practice of medicine in a western town, Mrs. 
White who had dress making rooms there, and other local outstanding 
professional men of the day.  It was the leading corner for many a day.
     Interview  1934.


	THE GOODMAN FAMILY IN CALDWELL COUNTY IN 1840
	Narrator:  Bert (A.C.) Goodman

     The Goodman family is one of the very earliest in our collection.  Their 
 story is told by the youngest son Bert, a retired business man of Hamilton.
     William Goodman (father of narrator) was born in Vermillion county W.Va. 
1822, and died 1902 in Hamilton Mo.  As a child, he went in a covered wagon 
with his parents to Ills. where he grew to young manhood.  Then he alone of 
his family moved to Caldwell county, where he (now aged 18) lived with an 
uncle till 1850.
     In 1850, he met a young widow Mrs. Cordelia Clark and married her.  She 
died 1900.  She had one Clark child, Mrs. Parthenia Stevenson, wife of Charlie 
Stevenson & well known business man of Hamilton who in the 70s was a clerk in 
the Wm. Goodman grocery and saloon.  William Goodman and wife had seven 
children who grew to maturity.  Mrs. Josephine Collins wife of Jas. Collins 
butcher (both dead), Mollie (dead) long a milliner here, Samuel, A.C. (the 
narrator), Richard (dead), Maud Hosmer (dead), and John.
     For a long time after the marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Goodman lived on a farm 
east of Kingston, then they moved to Kingston where he built the first hotel. 
 They stayed there till 1862 when Mr. Goodman moved to Hamilton and built the 
Hamilton House (see the narrative on this hotel).  He then leased this hotel 
and built the Western House which was on north Main and was destroyed by the 
fire of 1882.  It was rebuilt by them as the Goodman block, yet standing, the 
Whitman building which houses the Liquor Store being part of it.
     In all, the Goodman family were in the hotel business 21 years and made 
good hosts.  The girls helped run it.  Little by little, the girls all married 
except Mollie.  She ran a millinery store in the building and afterwards, she 
and Bert ran a restaurant.  Mr. Goodman always said that he lost $10000 the 
day that the Western House burned, because they carried so little insurance.
     Besides the hotels, he ran the first agricultural implements store, had 
an early dry goods store and owned his farm.
     His wife Mrs. Cordelia Goodman died 1900, aged almost 73.  She also comes 
of a very early family in the county.  She moved with her parents (Billy 
Jones) from Clark county Ky. to Caldwell county 1839.  In 1847, she married 
Mr. Clark who died within a year.
     Mrs. Goodman was a fine member of the Christian church, joining at 
Kingston 1854.  She was a charter member at Hamilton in the sixties.  Of those 
charter members there were four left at her death, James M. Whitt, William 
McCoy, Mrs. Enos Dudley, and Mrs. Claypool.  Her son recalls that she sent her 
youngsters to the Sunday school of the Christian church, which was held at 
that time in the upstairs of the Wm. McCoy grocery, called McCoy's Hall.  This 
old building stood on the present site of the Hawk Motor company.
     Interview  1933.


	BUSINESS LIFE OF 52 YEARS IN HAMILTON
	Narrator:  C.A. Martin, 71

     Chester A. Martin, or Chet, as he is always called, had a business career 
of 52 years in Hamilton before he retired in the fall of 1932, selling out to 
the Johnson company.  
     Mr. Martin came to Hamilton as a child 1868 with his father Sam Martin, 
and his stepmother.  He has seen Hamilton in most of its development.
     He learned the tinner's trade with Gideon Prentice, intending to follow 
that trade.  With his brother F.A. Martin they finally bought out Prentice and 
engaged in the hardware business in the room now occupied by the Vaughan 
grocery.
     Later they bought the John Morton hardware stock and went into the Morton 
building on the corner where the P.O. now stands (1935).  There were two rooms 
in the building then and soon Chet left the hardware to Finis the brother, and 
he put in a stock of groceries in the north room.  In 1896, he sold his 
grocery and became cashier in the First National Bank with Dan Booth as 
president.  Here he stayed till 1904 when he sold his stock to True D. Parr 
again he went into grocery business (his real choice by now) buying out C.M. 
Pease on North Davis street west side.  A few years later, he bought the lots 
and put up the double building which became the home of the very extensive 
Martin grocery.  F.A. Martin ran the hardware in the room to the north.  They 
were in partnership on everything.  Then again they dissolved partnership.  
Mr. Martin married Martie Murphy, daughter of Henry Murphy of this city.  They 
have one son, Latimer, (named for his paternal grandmother) who was the junior 
partner with his father in the grocery store.
     Mr. Martin parents had four children, Finia, Chester A., Addie (married 
Henry George), Hettie (first wife of Dr. T. Brown).  C.A. is the only one left 
of this set of children.  Sam Martin married the second time, and there were 
born Byrda (Mrs. Taylor), Cora (dead), Linna, and Fred.
     Interview  1934.


	THE OLD SECTION HOUSE AT HAMILTON
	Narrator:  Wm. Hemry, 85, of Hamilton

     It was in 1885 that the old section house at Hamilton burned down, 
thereby riding that neighborhood of what had come to be a real nuisance.  It 
was one of the oldest buildings in town.  
     It was built at the coming of the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad 1858. 
 It stood on the railroad right of way on the road to the Clark flour mill, a 
little to the east and south of the present Ridings house.
     The first section boss whom Mr. Hemry recalls was Peter Jones, a Catholic 
whose home was the first house east of the mill, still used as a residence.  
Mr. Jones was here in the late 60s, and as section boss, he worked much at the 
section house, and kept the road tools there.  The next section boss was James 
Devoy whose home was at the west end of town.  It is said that he built this 
house from the lumber which the railroad had condemned to be burnt.  It was 
the custom for the railroad to order all timbers in wrecked cars and bad ties 
to be burned on the spot.
     A deep well was close by the section house where early trains stopped to 
take on water.  After trains ceased to use it, Frank Clark used the well to 
run his flouring mill.  Some years ago, a train was wrecked in this identical 
spot, and much of the soda from one car was spilt in the well.  The well had 
to be cleaned before Mr. Clark could use it in the mill.
     As the years went by, the section house fell into disuse.  No one used it 
but tramps and bad characters.  Probably they set it on fire by smoking there. 
 At any rate, it burned down and everyone was glad it was gone.
     Interview  1935.


	JOHN MINGER - PIONEER BAKER AND RESTAURANT KEEPER IN HAMILTON, MO
	Narrator:  Robert Minger, Hamilton

     John Minger was of German Swiss parentage, his father, Benedict Minger 
being from Switzerland, his mother Margaret Gardhafner from south Germany.  
They emigrated to U.S. 1840, settled in Ohio.  The father followed his tailor 
trade then went on a farm in Stark county where John was born 1842.  He had to 
work so hard that he decided farm life did not interest him as a life job.  He 
became a baker's boy in South Bend Ind.  He soon set out for himself and 
married Mattie Altman here.  He thought he would soon be worth a lot of money 
but he lost every thing in a fire, his first fire.  At 25, he had to start 
over.  Having heard a good deal about the towns along the Hannibal and St. Joe 
railroad from their ads, he started out on the railroad to find a town that 
had no baker.  Hamilton was that town.
     About that time too Elijah Altman came to Hamilton to buy a farm, so Mrs. 
Minger was glad to be near her father.  Mr. Minger began business in a little 
frame building on the west side of Main, north of the present Glick store (and 
also north of the Phil Covington store which occupied the site of Glicks when 
Minger came.  He did rather well, so he moved to a better building, a two 
story frame on the east side of Main opposite his first site; he bought this 
building and the site is still owned by the Minger family, the home of A.P. 
store (1935).  Here he prospered greatly.  He ran a bakery, kept a restaurant, 
had special Christmas goods, and farm implements, also queensware and 
glassware.
     Bob can recall one night when he was a small boy and his father took him 
with him over to the sample rooms at the old Hamilton House opposite the 
depot.  They stayed till about midnight, and Mr. Minger picked out hundreds of 
dollars of Christmas goods that night.  Minger's store was one of the best to 
get your Christmas gifts for all ages.  The space behind the counters was 
filled with packages to be paid for and delivered before Christmas.  Children 
could shop there by themselves as well as grown ups and not get skinned.  
Candy peaches, china dolls, china mugs, moustache cups, games, all were there.
     They were in this site in the fire of July 5 1884.  It started in their 
building and they barely saved their lives.  (See separate narrative on that 
fire of 1884.)  They had had a hard day on the Fourth and went to sleep about 
1 o'clock.  Bob lost his first tailored suit, just home from Harry Dickinson 
the Hamilton tailor.
     Old timers still remember what a prime baker John Minger was.  He used to 
bake fine ginger bread by a German recipe, and cut it into huge slices which 
he sold for a nickel.  If a boy had only three cents in his pocket and wanted 
a square, he got his for three cents.  At first, he made his own candy, but 
found he could buy it cheaper than he could make it for the common trade.
     Whenever a German struck town, they always hunted up John Minger, so as 
to have a chance to talk German.  The Gorsche family formerly lived in these 
parts around Bonanza, and one of them became wealthy.  Mr. John Minger knew 
"old man Gorsche" when he was a pack peddlar in Chicago, going from door to 
door.  He and Mr. Minger were good friends after both came to Caldwell county.
     Mr. Minger bought many farms, thinking dirt the best investment.  He once 
owned 80 acres north east of the Pete Switzer farm, 500 acres south east of 
the Switzers, and the 40 acre farm west of the John Cox farm.  He died 1919, 
having sold out his business to his boys, and he spent his last years as a 
travelling salesman.
     Robert Minger is at present a restaurant man in Hamilton, following the 
work of his father.
     Interview  1934.


	ASA THOMSON AND EARLY CABINET MAKER AND WELL DIGGER AND UNDERTAKER OF HAMILTON
	Narrator:  Guy Thomson, 66, Hamilton

     Guy Thomson, salesman for the McMaster Hardware company, for many years, 
speaks about his father Asa Thomson, who with his wife came to Hamilton in the 
boom year of 1868.  They were drawn to Missouri by the ads of the railroad.  
They went to Kansas first but coming back, decided to try their luck here and 
stayed on.  Mr. Thomson bought a small plot of ground from the railroad in the 
west part of town and built a small house there.  They reared their family 
there, and the parents both died there.  The house burned down after it passed 
into other hands.
     When Mr. T. came, he tried to make a living out of his trade of cabinet 
maker (furniture maker), but there was little demand.  
     He also knew how to dig wells, and there was a big demand for wells in 
that year in Hamilton, when many new homes were being built.  He got a partner 
and they started out to bore wells with a very simple equipment.  They bought 
a hand bore with a board fastened to the top.  The two pushed at the ends of 
the board, driving it around, thus they bored wells.  One of Mr. T.'s wells 
was on the premises of the place commonly called the J.M. Hill place, then the 
site was occupied by a negro shack, home of Carr Taylor, a well known negro 
here in the 70s.  He made a good living out of boring wells for a few years 
till the boom of building new houses in Hamilton subsided.
     Most people here in Hamilton, however, remember Asa Thomson as a clerk 
for Hiram Tilley in the furniture store on west side of north Davis (main) 
street.  When Mr. Tilley opened up, he hired Mr. Thomson as cabinet maker, 
furniture repairer, and coffin maker.  He stayed with him till Mr. Tilley's 
death.  Those days in the late 70s, most people had coffins made right in 
town.  Guy can recall seeing people come into Hi Tilley's store with a stick 
which represented the length of the dead person.  By that stick, Mr. Thomson 
sawed boards, making them slant toward to narrow foot.  Soon Mr. Thomson 
worked into the undertaker's work, caring for the dead bodies by renewing the 
cloths placed over the face and hands, supervising the funeral etc.  After 
some private study, he also learned to embalm, although at that time, no 
license was required to do embalming.
     Mr. Thomson was a natural musician, led the choir at the M.E. church for 
years and used the tuning fork if necessary.  His children all inherited this 
love of music, and could put on a small orchestra at home.
     Three of the Thomson children are buried in the old cemetery west of town 
where the Thomson family had a lot.  Their graves are not marked, their names 
are Ralph, Leary and unnamed babe.  Mr. and Mrs. Thomson and Fred a son, lie 
in Highland cemetery at Hamilton.
     The other children were Guy who married 1) Jennie Gilliam, daughter of a 
former minister here, 2) Kate Christianson, Madge who married Otto Hare and 
she lives in California.  Bay Sparks, whose peculiar name arose from the fact 
that they could not agree on a name for her and called her Baby for years, 
finally she made herself a name from it Bay.
     During the 80s, the Thomsons kept a greenhouse in an annex to their home.
     Interview  1935.


	CHESTER I. LONG  U.S. SENATOR FROM KANSAS FORMER HAMILTON HIGH SCHOOL PUPIL
          Narrators:  Frank Filson of Okla., Mrs. Belle Aplin, 
                      and Minnie Ogden of Hamilton

     Mr. Filson said that he remembered Senator Chester I. Long very well.  He 
attended the Hamilton High School in the years 1875-6.  He came down from 
Daviess county.  He was about 18 or 19 years old, for pupils were older then 
in high school.  His home was somewhere near Winston.  He was under Professor 
D.M. Ferguson and being a lad after Uncle Davy's heart, he was one of his 
favorite pupils.  The pupils liked him too.  They did not call him Chester 
then but Isaiah, his middle name.
     He batched it, when he attended school with two or three other boys 
somewhere in his home vicinity.  That meant that his home folks provided the 
provisions and the boys did a little warming over or even cooking in their 
room.  They roomed in Wm. Evans' home afterwards the Wm. Austin home near the 
Dr. Lindley brick.  "We had no idea of future greatness in him then." his 
classmates all say.  One of his former classmates Sam L. Filson lived in 
Kansas in his congressional district and recognized him in a political 
campaign.  Professor Ferguson his teacher here, visited Mr. Long in Washington 
by his invitation and the latter by Prof Ferguson's influence was made an 
honorary member of the Hamilton High School alumni, altho he did not finish 
the course.
     Minnie Ogden said that as a student he was quiet and retiring and a model 
pupil, no inclination for sports or girls.  He was a veritable farm boy, raw 
boned and tall.  He was a member of B class (next to highest) when Miss Ogden 
was in the same.  Mr. Long was reared on section 10 of Jefferson county in 
Daviess county, the farm being for years owned by his brother W.C. Long.  Mrs. 
Belle Eggleston Aplin who lived here in town a long time, at that time lived 
with her parents on an adjoining farm to young Long and knew Chester or 
"Isaiah" well, and her brother Olin Eggleston married a niece of the senator 
Miss Mary White.
     Interviews  1933-5.















     

     











                                                                          
	INTERVIEWS CONCERNING DAVIESS COUNTY

	PERSONAL SKETCHES AND FAMILY HISTORY AND EVENTS.


	MEMORIES OF WILLIAM GUFFEY IN NEW YORK TOWNSHIP
	Narrator:  William Guffey, 76, Hamilton

     William Guffey is the son of S.R. Guffey (1828-1919) and his wife Abigail 
Toner (1837-1871).  S.R. Guffey was the son of William Guffey (1799-1856) who 
came into Caldwell county 1840, just four years after the county was 
organized.  He and his family (four children) then drove an ex team from 
Indiana where they had been sojourning for a while, altho they had started out 
from Tenn.  Here in Caldwell county, they entered land near the present Guffey 
graveyard 5 miles south west of Breckenridge.  There the children of the older 
William grew up.  William Guffey of Hamilton of course does not recall his 
grandfather William, who died 3 years before his birth, but he remembers well 
his grandmother and her stories of the wolves which howled around their lonely 
cabin in the forties when no house could be seen for miles in any direction 
and the sight of a person outside the family was quite an event.
     Mr. Guffey's mother was a Toner from the Toner family in Clinton county 
near the McCroskie graveyard neighborhood near Mooresville, which shows how 
far the young people of that time went to meet their social friends.  At her 
death in 1871, S.R. Guffey married Mary J. File who was the mother of Bertha 
Guffey who clerked for many years here in Anderson's store.  About 25 Guffeys 
of different generations are buried in the old Guffey cemetery, the earliest 
one being old William himself who was buried 1856; with that grave, the 
graveyard was started and now (1935) is still in active use.
     Elcey Guffey, sister of S.R. married Joseph Cathcart, another early 
settler in the county from Tennessee in that same vicinity (see separate 
interview on the Cathcart family).
     S.R. Guffey moved into New York Settlement (NY Twp.) and Mr. Guffey 
himself went to the Radical school to Miss Mary Houghton (Mrs. Mary Kautz) 
when she taught there about 1867.  As he recalls the school, it a was a boxed 
up school (boarded up and down, not crosswise), and the floor was made of 
broad planks which shrank apart gradually and left wide cracks thru which the 
come came up in winter and made the room uncomfortable in spite of the big 
cast iron stove.  The lumber for the school was sawn over at the Wash Filson 
mill on Shoal Creek.  There certain days were set apart for sawing logs and 
grinding corn and wheat.  This was customary in all early mills.
     Another teacher whom he remembers was Elizabeth Wellwood mother of Mr. E. 
Merryman (county clerk at present) and wife of Wm. Merryman.  Wm. Merryman was 
a brother of Mrs. Jim Filson in that neighborhood and thus he got acquainted 
with Miss Wellwood.  She preceded Mary Houghton at Radical.  The next teacher 
after Mary Houghton (whom Hamilton people now know as Aunt Mary Kautz aged 88) 
was Jacob Carroll, a farmer-teacher, of whom there were quite a few those 
days.  He is the grandfather of Woodrow Carroll of Hamilton.
     About 1872, he went to Chas. Thwing, another farmer-teacher of N.Y. 
Township, the father of Fred Thwing of Kansas City.  The Thwings had moved 
into the "New York Settlement" in 1867-8 with the other New Yorkers the 
Austins and Houghtons.
     Mr. Guffey having taken all that the county school had to give, came to 
the Hamilton High school and was under Prof. Davy Ferguson here about 1876, 
being a classmate of Miss Minnie Ogden of this city.  His parents lived 10 
miles out east, so he boarded in town and they came in after him Friday, if 
the roads permitted.
     Then he decided to teach, having a little more education than most 
country boys.  He got a certificate Prof. Steve Rogers then the county 
commissioner, and taught at Radical school which was his home district in 
1879.  His term was 6 months the common length for a school year.  The three 
Austin girls Nell, Maria and Cora all went to him.
     The last day of school was observed by a program and teacher gave a treat 
of candy or apples, or perhaps the teacher parents would bring in food as a 
treat.
     Interview  October 1934.


	THE ENOS DUDLEY FAMILY IN HAMILTON 1860
	Narrator:  George Dudley, 75

     George Dudley is a son of Enos Dudley who was one of the very early 
settlers of this town.  He may be called the master "hotel builder" of 
Hamilton.  He came to the county about 1860 as a carpenter from Va.  He wanted 
to come west and try his fortune.  He was the first and as far as is known, 
the only one of his own family to pioneer.  He seems to be no relation to the 
Wm. Dudley of the Mirabile neighborhood who came earlier.  He went down to 
Kingston 1861 to help build the new court house.  While there, he fell in love 
with one of Billy Jones' daughters, who lived in the country between Kingston 
and Far West.  One of these daughters married Enos Dudley, another married 
Thomas Peddicord (parents of Gertrude Peddicord of Hamilton) and a third 
married 1) Mr. Clark, 2) William Goodman of Kingston and later of Hamilton.  
(See the Goodman story.)  After the court house job was finished, Mr. Dudley 
came back to Hamilton.  Here he and Mr. Goodman built the Hamilton House, an 
hotel which stood opposite the depot, and was quite popular.  Before it was 
finished, he sold his part to Goodman.  (See the Hamilton Hotel.)  Later, he 
and Goodman built the Western House on Main fronting the east; it too was 
frame and covered about three store buildings.  It was in the middle of the 
block.  He and Goodman, being both rather  self opinionated, fell out and 
again Dudley left Goodman's partnership.  He bought a new lot and built a 
carpenter shop for himself, and no one else.  This Dudley shop was on the site 
of the present Walter Whitt residence.  That was in the late 60s and 70s.  The 
Dudley home was on the same lot.
     In the 70s, the Dudleys bought an extensive tract in the south east part 
of town which for some time remained undeveloped.  During the 70s, there was a 
race track on it and community affairs were staged there, like the barbeque.  
Today, it is known as the Dudley addition to Hamilton, and in it is the home 
of George Dudley, the narrator.  Even within the last twenty years, Dudley's 
pasture has been used for traveling tent shows and ball games.
     Interview  1933.
















	INTERVIEWS CONCERNING CHURCH HISTORY

     In this division, it may be said, that some of the church history of 
Caldwell county and adjoining counties has been dealt with the series of 
interviews of 1934.







	INTERVIEWS CONCERNING SCHOOLS

     In this division, also some of the facts pertaining to the schools in the 
community have been covered in the former series.


	STORIES ABOUT COUNTY SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS IN CALDWELL COUNTY
	Narrators:  Sarah Chain, Mr. W.J. Blair, Mrs. Mary Kautz, and D.N. McClintock 

     The first county school commissioner that the oldest narrator mentioned 
is Hamilton McAfee of Kingston, grandfather of Floyd McAfee of Hamilton.  He 
served in the middle and late 60s and both Mrs. Mary Kautz and Mr. W. J. Blair 
took examination under him for a teacher's license, as they were often termed 
then.  There was no fixed date as now for a general examination, but when you 
needed a certificate, you asked for a date and took it.  Mr. McAfee gave a 
certificate to Mr. Blair when he had worked a problem in cube root.  Mrs. 
Kautz said he gave her a real hard oral examination, and among the grammar 
questions was the business of "parsing" the sentence - I never saw a saw saw a 
saw as that saw saws a saw.  He gave her cousin from N.Y. state, who had 
taught considerably and had quite an education a certificate without any 
examination.
     Stephen C. Rogers (who died in July 1935) was probably the next county 
commissioner.  He lived in Kingston and was one of the best educated school 
officials ever in the office.  Sarah Chain now in her eighties, took her first 
examination for a certificate under him and said his questions were fair and 
had no catch questions.  Under him, there were set times for examinations.  He 
published a column of helpful hints to the teachers in the county press.  He 
held teachers' institutes in the summer for the instruction of teachers.  At 
that time and later, the county school commissioner was paid about fifty 
dollars a year which meant that it was a side issue and amounted to little but 
grading papers and running the summer institute or Normal as it was more often 
called.  The Normal was a God send to poorly prepared teachers, for subjects 
were actually taught, and how the teachers used to study up to pass their 
exams!  The instructors were paid by the fees of the teachers attending, 
something like $3 a person.
     Some of the following school commissioners were D.M. Ferguson, principal 
of Hamilton Graded schools, Professor Burdick of Breckenridge, and Henry Gee 
of Hamilton, formerly a teacher in the Hamilton schools before they were 
graded.  Miss Chain said his examinations were plenty hard.  Teachers were now 
getting over numerous and the examinations and standards were made 
accordingly.  Books were fine combed for unusual facts to put in questions, it 
seemed to the teachers.  Examinations were given for certificates at the end 
of the summer normal.
     If for a special cause, you got a spring school without having a 
certificate, the county commissioner would give you a special exam, and 
special certificate good till the next Normal.  (The interviewer recalls 
taking such a special teacher's exam about 1897 in the first of March under 
Prof. F.F. Thompson of Polo then the commissioner.  We started before 
daylight, rode for three hours through terrible mud, and wrote all day long 
till five o'clock on the required subjects.)  Other county school 
commissioners in Caldwell county have been D.T. Gentry, first superintendent 
of the Hamilton Schools, J.R. Riddle, a Hamilton teacher, John Eckleberry of 
Braymer and Hamilton school fame.
     Perhaps the most notable of all was D.M. McClintock who held the office 
of county school commissioner and its successor county superintendent of 
schools, twenty six years, retiring in July 1935 to farm life.
     He recently wrote at length concerning his work with the teachers of this 
county.  He was first elected as county commissioner in 1909 and shortly after 
the name of his office became changed to county superintendent of schools by 
legislative edict.  This new office meant more than the old office and also 
carried an independent salary with it.  It brought him in touch with every 
rural school in the county.  He had to visit them to criticize and suggest.  
In order to do this, he used a horse and buggy in the earlier years, leaving 
Kingston before daylight and after visiting two or three schools, he got home 
after dark.  In those first years, rural graduation was unknown, diplomas for 
country pupils unheard of.  The school were graded in a way, but not leading 
to a definite time saving plan as now.  In 1909, there were but three first 
class high schools in the county.  There were 4500 pupils enrolled at one time 
in the town and rural schools.
     Not only did he come to have oversight over this vast number of youth, 
and give teachers' examinations with the short teacher's institutes, but he 
was expected to do almost anything connected with youth, as examine the boy 
sent to the Missouri State Fair and judge all sorts of contests, and work up 
youth programs for the county farm agent.
     Thus it may be seen how greatly the function of the present county 
superintendent of schools has changed from those of the old county school 
commissioner, and all have resulted in a betterment of the conditions of the 
schooling of the country boys and girls.
     Interviews  1934-5.


	HOW JAMES BROOKSHIRE BECAME A PRIMITIVE BAPTIST
	Narrator:  James Brookshire, 80

     The hardshell or Primitive Baptist church is one of the oldest in 
Caldwell and Daviess counties.  In fact, the Old Log Creek Baptist Church of 
Caldwell county, according to one of its members, Elder Cravens, near Polo, 
goes back to 1840.  Records say that the Primitive Baptists preachers were the 
first to preach in the county.
     Mr. James Brookshire (or Brookshier as some spell it) belonged to a 
family of Hard shell Baptists, but he himself had not gone into the church.  
Before his death, he told the interviewer something about the feeling of this 
church toward church membership.  They have no paid ministry, but any one of 
the members may be inspired to exhort and pray, and likewise one had to be 
called to belong to the church.  He had been attending the church services but 
had not received the call which gave claim to membership.  One day, in driving 
along, on a certain road (a road which he never forgot), he had a strong urge 
to get out and pray.  He knelt in the middle of the road, and before he rose, 
he knew that he had received the call to membership.  It was a new 
satisfaction.  The next Sunday, at services, he told his experience in the 
middle of the road, and the leaders at the Church-house (as they insist on 
saying because it defines the building better than church or meeting house) 
received him into the fold.  This was in the 70s and he never strayed away.
     Interview  1929.


	FOUNDING OF MOUNT NEBO CHURCH IN DAVIESS COUNTY
	Narrator:  Mrs. Nellie McMurtrey

     Mrs. McMurtrey is the widow of Dr. McMurtrey of Kidder whose people live 
in the Mt. Nebo neighborhood.
     Recently the Mt. Nebo Baptist church just over the line in Daviess county 
had a home coming and Mrs. McMurtrey gave these facts, taken from the original 
minutes, articles of faith, constitution and church covenant of the 
organization of old Mt. Nebo church which was organized on July 2 1858.  It 
was done in the Mrs. Wooderson grove.
     The moderator of the meeting was Elder B.F. Kenny, an active early 
Baptist preacher, J.D. Black was clerk, while Elder R.C. Hill and Brother H. 
Green assisted in the organization.  The charter members were ten in all, Mr. 
and Mrs. Henry Payne, Mr. and Mrs. Philip Place, Mr. and Mrs. Dan Leabo, Mr. 
and Mrs. Lewis Mullins, Mr. and Mrs. John M. Barnes.  Most of these names are 
still found in Daviess or near by counties.
     The first minister was Elder R.C. Hill, father of Fielding Hill now of 
Hamilton.  The services were held for some time in a school house.  The above 
names may bear comment.  Mr. and Mrs. Leabo were the parents of the late James 
Leabo of Kidder.  Mrs. Mullin was the mother of the late Dr. C.T. McMurtrey.  
The Places were kin to the Place merchant in Hamilton.  Mrs. Wooderson was the 
widow of the early Richard Wooderson who settled in that district and gave the 
name to the school district and graveyard.  At the church homecoming, held 
Aug. 1935, the only descendant of any of the charter members was Ben McMurtrey 
of Kidder.
     This church is located in Sheridan township, and has been a powerful 
factor for righteousness in that vicinity.
     Interview  1935.

(For further discussion of the older settlers of this community see the 
commentary on Wooderson cemetery.


	HISTORY OF THE M.E. CHURCH SOUTH OF POLO MO.
	Narrator:  Mrs. C.H. Smart

     Mrs. Smart did this research in connection with the 60th homecoming and 
anniversary in March 1935.  At the annual conference of the M.E. church South 
in St. Joseph, 1874, it was decided that Polo needed a minister.  T.H. 
Swearington came to Polo in the fall.  In 1875, he held a revival in the old 
United Brethren Church, which was the only church in Polo then.  There were 
100 conversions and he organized the M.E. Church South.  Ninety joined the 
church out of the 100, and 76 came in at one time.  He had nine different 
appointments with Polo.  He stayed at the home of Frank Burdick, S.B. Hardman, 
Charley Achenbach and others.  His circuit finally embraced - Kingston, Far 
West, Cottonwood, and Polo.  The following 8 ministers resided at Kingston and 
kept the circuit; Rev. Swearington, John Perry, T.H. Leeper, Rev. J.L. Meffert 
who during his term of three years raised funds and built the frame building 
in Polo, overseeing the work himself, the labor of all being donated.  Wiley 
Thompson gave the land, Martin Brenneman father of the narrator) gave the 
stone for the foundation.  They used the church even before finished.  For 
seats, they used slabs and wooden boxes were the props.  The next on the 
circuit was John O. Edmundson then W.J. Parvin, then G. Tanquary, who took 
down the belfry and replaced it with a spire.  That takes to 1888.  The last 
man on the circuit was Rev. Mc?lintic.  The circuit was changed to include 
Cowgill (a new town), Pleasant Hill (rural), Millville, and Polo.  Now the 
preacher in charge lived at Cowgill, the best town.  The new circuit rider was 
Rev. Howerton who organized the M.E. Sunday school.  He was a great favorite 
with the youth.  One young lad declared his greatest ambition was to be a 
Sunday school superintendent like him.  And eventually he was.
     So the work went on with little change except in the circuit riders till 
1903, when the present church building was built.  It was not until 1914 that 
Polo was made a station, that is not on a circuit.  The preacher who first had 
full time there was T.P. Middleton.  From the time of that wonderful revival 
which proved the beginning of this Polo M.E. Church, South, there have elapsed 
60 years and yet some of the people converted at that time are still connected 
with the church:  Mr. John Baker, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Stone, Mrs. Sarah Carr, 
Mrs. Sallie Stoutmore, Mrs. Mary Hardman, Mrs. Wm. Estes, Mrs. Louisa Hill, 
and Mrs. Elaine Simmons Brelsford who this spring was 92 years of age.
     Interview  1935.


	NOTES ON EARLY CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH (HAMILTON) HISTORY
	Narrators:  Mrs. Gid Prentice, Irvin Harper, and Mrs. Mary Kautz

     These facts concerning the early history of the Congregational church in 
Hamilton (now merged in the Federated Church) have come from many sources, 
even more than the above named.
     It was in the fall of 1867 that the first services of this church were 
held in Hamilton in the old school house which stood on the site of the M.E. 
parsonage.  Rev. William Wilmot was sent here as a missionary by the American 
Board of Home Missions to help the organization.  Then they met in the room of 
Rev. Wm. Wilmot's home south of the city park; in fact, many old folks say 
that the Wilmot home was built with the missionary money sent to him for 
building a chapel.  Mrs. Wilmot played the little Wilmot organ.  The so called 
Congregational chapel was the south room of the Wilmot house, and Mr. Harper 
solemnly declares that it was their kitchen in the weekdays, so they went to 
Sunday school in the Wilmot kitchen.  Mr. Wilmot and the church soon broke 
apart, and he and Mrs. Wilmot never went to their services.  He had been a 
Methodist preacher before becoming a Congregational preacher.
     By Sept 1868, the congregation voted to call a council of neighboring 
churches to organize a church here.  At that time, Congregational churches 
existed at Cameron, Kidder, Breckenridge, Utica, Chillicothe, Kingston and 
Gallatin.  The charter members here were largely Eastern people who had 
recently come to town in the boom.  The list of charter members were 12 in 
all, including Rev. Wilmot and wife and her mother Mrs. Perkins.  They may be 
found in any county history of Caldwell county.
     They then began meetings in Low's Hall, second story of a frame building 
where the Low printing office stood on south Main (site of present Will 
Bennett grocery).  Meanwhile, they were erecting the little brown church 
building on School street at the west end of the present Federated church 
property.  Miss Lou Clark (remembered well by old people as a milliner) and 
Miss Curtis solicited funds.  At first, they dreamed of a stone church, but 
gave that up.  The little frame was dedicated 1870.  Within 14 years, the 
congregation outgrew the size, but the congregation was too weak financially 
to enlarge.  In 1895 while W.W. Fellows was pastor, the foundation for a new 
church building was made and even the pile of sand for laying brick.  The 
funds ran out.  For five years, the sand pile drifted down Main street, and 
the foundation served as a play house for the neighborhood children.  Finally 
under Rev. Edgar Price, the plans of the foundation were changed for a smaller 
house, and the church was built, being dedicated 1901.
     The following pastors have served up to its second building:  William 
Wilmot, G.G. Perkins (see his separate write up) A.J. Yates, C.E. Moon, I.T. 
Hull, Thos. O. Wicks, L.E. Danks (married daughter of Hiram Markham), R.J. 
Mathews a Welshman, E.E. Preston, W.W. Fellows and Edgar H. Price who died 
recently in Cal.


	AN OLD CHURCH BELL IN KINGSTON
	Narrator:  Mrs. Fannie McLaughlin

     Mrs. McLaughlin, now of Hamilton, lived most of her life in Kingston.  
The history of this bell which she discusses reflects the history of two 
churches in Kingston.  For years, there had been one bell to call people to 
church in Kingston, which hung in the belfry of the Presbyterian church.  They 
bought it for $750 in 1884 from the Congregational church, bell and all, for 
the last named church had "played out."  Its few members went largely into the 
Presbyterian fold.  A few years ago, the Presbyterian church lost its 
independent existence when it merged in with the Methodist and they worshipped 
in the better Methodist church.  The old Presbyterian-Congregational church 
was no longer needed, nor was its bell used.  It had been used since the early 
70s.
     It was taken down and its clapper was removed to prevent misuse.  The 
bell itself was placed on the back porch of the Kingston Times where it sat 
for six years and no one heard its voice except when some youngster would 
strike it for fun.
     One morning in May 1935, the people of the little town were astounded to 
hear the old familiar voice of the church bell.  People ran out of doors, 
fearing that fire had broken out.  Quite a crowd gathered to find the cause.
     It turned out that W.A. Rookstool (who has bought the Zack Wheat farm in 
the south part of the county near Polo) had bought this bell as a dinner bell 
to call the hired hands in from the fields to meals.  Thus this bell, dating 
back to the 70s, has turned from religion to food.
     Interview  1935.


	AN OLD SCHOOL SONG AT LOVELY RIDGE SCHOOL
	Narrators:  Miss Lottie Martin, 68, and Mrs. Carrie Royer, 73

     It was in the very early eighties that Addie Martin of Hamilton taught in 
the Lovely Ridge district west of Hamilton.  She prepared as usual for the 
last day of school exhibitions.  She drilled them on a song which she 
composed, in part at least, including the names of her pupils.  However just 
before the last day, her sister the first Mrs. Tinsley Brown of Hamilton died 
and so the exercises were not held, but the song stayed on in the memory of 
the old pupils.  It is interesting as showing the old style of school songs 
and also it has kept the first names of some of the pupils.
     Here it goes:  We're a band of merry schoolmates
                    We're a band of merry schoolmates
                    We're a band of merry schoolmates
                    And we are all going home.

                    So to sing our parting song, to you
                    To sing our parting song, to you
                    To sing our parting song, to you
                    Dear friends, we now have come.

                    We have plucked the tree of knowledge
                    We have plucked the tree of knowledge
                    We have plucked the tree of knowledge
                    And ate its golden fruit.

                    We have exercised our powers
                    We have exercised our powers
                    We have exercised our powers
                    In many a different way.

                    And we'll tell you what we've studied
                    And we'll tell you what we've studied
                    And we'll tell you what we've studied
                    Through all the pleasant days.

                    There is reading spelling, writing
                    Which are always so inviting,
                    And arithmetic and history
                    With all its varied lore
                    And geology and botany, astronomy
                    And drawing, and philosophy, geography
                    And all so many more.

                    These have kept imagination
                    In its proper situation,
                    And have taught appreciation
                    Which we hope may yet appear.

                    We must not forget our singing
                    To our study pleasure bringing
                    While our voices loudly ringing
                    Raise the echo far and near.
                     


                    We're a band of merry schoolmates
                    We're a band of merry schoolmates
                    We're a band of merry schoolmates
                    And the names of some we'll tell.

                    There is Addie, Belle and Nannie
                    Carrie, Jessie, Anna, Lotta
                    Elliott, Rolla, George and Willie
                    And all so many more.

                    But the whole we cannot mention
                    Please excuse our long detention
                    Thank you for your kind attention
                    And we soon will say farewell

                    When we've spent a short vacation,
                    And enjoyed a recreation
                    Then again your approbation
                    We will seek, but now farewell.

     In the list of names, Addie was Addie McKee, Elliott was her brother, 
(now Mrs. Shaw of Kidder where her brother Elliot also lives), Belle was Belle 
Bray, Nannie Esteb and of course, Lotta and Carrie Martin, the narrators.
     Interview  December 1934.

Interviewer's note:  The reader of the above song may easily guess that it was 
only adapted by the teacher to local conditions, and that the song itself in 
its original use probably belonged to some "Institute" of higher learning.


	EARLY SCHOOL DAYS AT PLEASANT RIDGE SCHOOL
	Narrator:  William Clampitt of Colorado

	Narrator:  William Clampitt formerly lived east of Hamilton near the Pleasant 
Ridge school.  (See separate paper on the Clampitt family).  Recently he and 
Dan Gudgell met in the Colorado home of Mr. Clampitt.  Their conversation 
naturally dwelt on the past and especially on their early school days in 
Caldwell county.  Mr. Clampitt now past 80 years, had a vivid memory of his 
school days in New York township at Pleasant Ridge school.  Mr. Dan Gudgell 
retails what he said to the interviewer.
     James M. Puckett, now of Hamilton, is one of the few now alive who went 
to school with him over 60 years ago.  Other boys were John 2 Bowers who lived 
south east of Hamilton, John Bowers (kin to preceding) who lives in Nettleton 
community, William Russell of near Richmond, and Charley Smith of Colo.
     The older boys of the old school were; another Bowers boy, who lived near 
Nettleton, Tom Puckett deceased, Charley Smith got a whipping every day at 
school under one teacher, regardless of what he did and finally he came to 
expect one.
     The Pleasant Ridge school building still stands on the same hill, but it 
is a different building now.  The old one was frame made with walnut siding.
     William or "Billy" Clampitt as he was generally known, was the same young 
man who sported a buggy, the first one in his part of the county, a fact 
mentioned by several old timers in their interviews.
     Interview  1935.


	EARLY HISTORY OF THE HAMILTON HIGH SCHOOL
             Narrators:  Minnie Ogden, Lotta Daniels, and others

     The first idea of a high school in Hamilton came in 1870 when A.G. Davis 
gave a tract of land (he had already given one for school purpose in 1857).  
The school, both private and public, had been plodding along since 1857 with 
little organization.  This new plot was in block 23, given toward the erection 
of a high school.  The rest of the block was subsequently bought.  In 1871 the 
contract for a two story brick was awarded.  The school board of that 
important year was S.F. Martin pres., J.N. Morton, Geo. Brosius and James 
McAdoo.  In Sept 1873 the high school building was finished and the new H.S. 
was started on the second floor.  The first floor was the primary work.  Prof. 
David M. Ferguson gets the credit of being the father of the Hamilton High 
School, for he was the first principal in the building.  He organized the 
course of study and graded the whole schools.  There were four grades high 
school, A B C D, D being the lowest.  They finished the course but did not 
graduate under Uncle Davy.  A statement to that effect was given to those 
asking for it.  When the alumni association was formed here, Prof. Ferguson 
made a list of those who had finished the course under him and they were 
called alumni.  That list is Dr. E. Van Note, Thos. A. Filson, Minnie Ogden, 
F.A. Martin, Mamie Tuttle Eldredge, Sarah Van Note Ogden, W.F. Colby, Belle 
Eggleston Aplin, and E.F. Schellebarger.
     The first formal graduates came 1892 and they were from a two year high 
school course by that time.  A new course of study had been put in after Prof. 
Ferguson left.  Prof. Guttery was the principal and the graduating exercises 
were in the assembly room of the old brick building on the north side.  Some 
old pupils who took the course with Guttery, say that it was more like present 
day H.S. work than the course under Ferguson.  No data is available on that 
point, except the biases ideas of the pupils.
     The 1882 graduates were; Elmer E. Clark, Henry W. Coffman (later of 
Texas), Wm. Partin, (now of Rock Springs Wyo.) Belle Holmes Dudley, Willis 
Lynch, Sarah Tuttle Haggerty, Mittie Penney Whitman, Fannie Gaer Martin, and 
Emma Walling Kiddle of Oregon.  There were no graduates in 1883, 4, 5 while 
the course was building up to 12 grades.  In 1886, the second class to 
graduate was a four year class and the exercises were in old Anderson's Opera 
House.  The graduates were:  Minnie Harper Hooker, Mamie Dean Stanley, Anna 
Harris Todd, Lillie George (dead), and Isanel Atherton.  The girls were in 
white dresses and by the customs of the day, each read an essay and bouquets 
were carried up to each after the essay.  There was more or less rivalry in 
the number of bouquets.  No other gifts were given then.  One family at their 
daughter's graduation brought a clothes basket to carry home the anticipated 
bouquets and needed it.  White silk was quite the nicest material for 
graduation dresses, and often the dress was laid away and never used again.  
Admission was often charged, to get library school funds.  If the class was 
small, they sat in a borrowed parlor plush suite.  The class continued to be 
small till 2e graduated in the class of 1893.  This was the class in which 
J.C. Penney, the chain store man, graduated.  The smallest class was in 1890 
when one graduate, Cora J. Martin, was the only one.
     In those days, the best student gave the valedictory address and the 
second best the salutatory address.  The motto was always hung in swaying 
letters out in front.
     The number of teachers has varied.  In Prof. Ferguson's time, there were 
two, himself and Miss Griffith, but they had six classes to work with.  Every 
thing above the sixth grade was seated upstairs.  The head of the school was 
called the principal of the Hamilton graded schools till in 1891 when D.T. 
Gentry was elected the first Superintendent.  His niece, Fannie Gentry, was 
the first principal of the High School.  The two did the teaching.  For many 
years prior to this, the principal taught every thing given in the tenth, 
eleventh and twelfth grades.  The ninth grade was not seated with these grades 
for many years here in Hamilton and, indeed elsewhere in the county.  One room 
was called the grammar room and held the seventh, eight and ninth grades.
     But with the coming of a principal of the high school and a 
superintendent, we are reaching the end of the early period of the history of 
the Hamilton High school which was the object of this inquiry.
     Interviews  1935.


	THE LITTLE BROWN SCHOOL HOUSE IN HAMILTON
	Narrators:  Mrs. Lottie Anderson and Mrs. Sarah Haggerty

     This name is familiar to people of Hamilton who are in their fifties and 
sixties.  When the north brick was built in 1873 by Professor Ferguson, the 
school board had the building, in which pupils had formerly attended on the 
site of the M.E. Parsonage, moved over to the south side, one block west of 
the Baptist church for the benefit of the little ones on the south side.  This 
at first was big enough to hold four grades, for not so many people lived on 
that side of the railroad.  The first teacher to teach in the school in its 
new location was Miss Anna Smith of Kidder who stayed there for several terms. 
 Mrs. Hooker and Mrs. Anderson both recalled her as the first teacher and she 
was good.  It was a worn brown color then hence its name "Little Brown school 
house."  Once it was painted white, but that didn't change its nick name.  
People still rejoice to tell that they went to it.
     Miss Louisa Leavitt was a favorite teacher in the early 80s and quit on 
account of failing health; she married and died out west.  One of her last 
gifts was a cabinet photo to each family in her room.  She was a sister of 
Elder Leavitt of the Baptist church.
     In 1884, they built an addition on the north to the school, as a wing, to 
make room for the increase of pupils on the south side.  That meant another 
teacher.  During the early 80s, some of the teachers in the little Brown, were 
Sarah Tuttle (Haggerty), Alice Woodford, Lucy Houghton, Jennie Alden, Fannie 
Graer.  About 1886, more room was needed for south siders, therefore the 
school board built a brick two story on the grounds (predecessor to the 
present one) and traded the old frame to the workmen for their pay.  The new 
owners pulled the building apart and made two houses of it, placing them on 
lots back of the present Presbyterian Manse, where they are still in good 
repair, as homes.
     Some of the customs used at the old Brown school, would be quite out of 
fashion now.  They used a primer, they taught children to repeat the alphabet 
by rote, they spelled down for head marks and so many head marks would get a 
reward of Merit card.  They used McGuffey's readers.  A high board fence 
divided the playgrounds of boys from the girls.  Some teachers there even used 
a dunce cap for the lazy student.
     Interviews  1933-4.


	THE FIRST SCHOOLS IN HAMILTON UP TO 1865
	Narrator:  George Richardson, 78

     Mr. Richardson did not go to these schools, but his older sisters did.  
The first school in Hamilton was taught at the home of A.G. Davis in the late 
50s by Miss Mary Gartland; pupils were the Davis children and a few others in 
town.  The next year, the school was moved to an old log house which Mr. Davis 
had hauled in town.  It had been the office of the Green stage coach line and 
stood on the present Mrs. Carrie Thornton premises.  There about 15 children 
went to Miss Gartland, the Davis children, the Buster children, etc.  The 
parents all helped pay her a small salary.  It ran there long enough for Joe 
Davis, born 1857, to attend there.  Henry Gee is said to have run a private 
school there at this time.  Those children whose parents did not wish to pay 
for schooling, went out to the Dodge school (Independence) which was some 
nearer town than now.
     The first public or free school in Hamilton was taught by Mrs. Elizabeth 
Morton Lenderson, sister of John and "Cap" Morton, and aunt of Mrs. Maud 
Harlow of Hamilton.  This school was on the second floor of an old building on 
north Main, a little north of the present site of North side of the Lumber 
Yard.  The first floor was the hardware store of John Morton.  Mr. Lenderson 
had taught at Mirabile during the war, and had previously taught up in Daviess 
county, being one of the earliest teachers in that county.  One of her pupils 
was the father of Mayor W.W. Buster of Hamilton.
     After her school, came the schools conducted by the town with Professor 
Helm and Professor Hill, which have been described by others.
     Interview  1934.


	THE HOLINESS RELIGIOUS MEETINGS IN HAMILTON 1884
	Narrator:  Bertha Booth, Hamilton

     The interviewer herself gives this narration, having had especial memory 
of this peculiar and spectacular religious movement in Hamilton.  The meetings 
were in the park very near our home and we did not have to go to get their 
effect.  Besides, "Brother Manning" while not of my father's religious belief, 
was a close friend of my father.
     It was in July 1884 that a Holiness camp meeting began in the Hamilton 
city park.  They held street meetings also in the afternoons on Main street in 
the true Salvation Army style, altho they were not of the Army.  People went 
up town just to listen to them and then went to the park at night.  It was not 
exactly a religious interest, but rather curiosity about this queer way of 
worship.  If was a free entertainment for some.
     One of the leaders, in fact the man who had brought the camp meeting here 
was Mr. J.M. Manning, who was a man of considerable private means.  He built 
the big brick business house formerly the home of the First Nat. Bank, the 
site of the present First Bank.  He built a splendid home, the present M.E. 
parsonage.  In contrast to his wealth, most of the members here were humble 
even poor.  Finally he got the idea that the Lord did not like for him to live 
in such a home and he sold this fine place.  He and wife and two sons went out 
in a gospel wagon to travel thru the country with their religious messages.
     Except for his religious eccentricities, he was a very popular man among 
the men up town.
     The Holiness preacher, despite his ability to draw big crowds, was quite 
ignorant and declared once that he had told Bro. Manning to pray all the time 
while he was preaching, and that he could feel the minute when Mr. Manning 
quit the praying.  After the revival was over, a chapel was built on Mill 
street, but with the departure of Mr. Manning from town, the movement soon 
died out and the converts drifted to other churches or quit religion entirely.
     The Holiness meetings during the next winter were held in Sell school 
house just over the line in Daviess county.  They attracted much attention 
from all classes from their total unconventionality, their religious ecstasy 
and loudness of worship.  People had not seen the Salvation army methods and 
the Holiness religion made a new sensation.  Of course, many in the rural 
parts, just as in Hamilton, went to scoff or to be entertained.
     Interview  1935.


	THE WORK OF REV. GEO. G. PERKINS 
              EARLY CONGREGATIONAL PASTOR AT HAMILTON AND KIDDER
	Narrator:  M. Whitelaw of Kidder

     One of the remarkable early preachers in Hamilton and Kidder was George 
G. Perkins of the Congregational church.  He served in the 60s and 70s.  Miss 
Whitelaw furnished notes taken from letters written by Mr. Perkins.  
     In June 1866, after 4 days of rail travel, Mr. Perkins, wife and five 
children came to Kidder from Mass. as a minister of the Board of Home 
Missions, with is expenses partly paid by that board also his salary.  Kidder 
congregation was to do the rest.  The Kidder land co., then yet active, gave 
him a home, promoted by the local agent, E. Allen who was a Congregationalist. 
 The early Congregationalists at Kidder were a choice band of Easterners 
brought on by the Kidder Land co., itself of New England men.  The first 
services were in the Perkins home then in the school house and no church 
building was made during his stay of three years, they used the school house. 
 Then the congregation became too large for the schoolhouse and so for the 
benefit of the church an addition was made to the school so that it might seat 
150.  The Sunday school was also held there.  In fact, the Congregational 
church was the only one which held regular services and Sunday school in that 
locality.  After other churches were organized, the Congregational church fell 
off in attendance, for people went to their own churches.  But in his time 
there, the Congregational church was the center of the village life.  The 
membership grew from the original 7 to 75 members.  He saw the start being 
made for Thayer college.  The people had hired Rev. S.D. Cochran for president 
of the college and also local pastor, a combination which Mr. Perkins did not 
desire.  The fact that the Kidder Congregationalists used the school house and 
later the chapel out at Thayer college made that sect later than others in 
building a church house.  He often spoke of the small number of funerals in 
the new country, and the large number of weddings.  His first wedding was that 
of a Cameron minister.  At that time, there were Congregational churches at 
Cameron and Kingston.  The school room was decorated with pictures of Union 
heroes when in 1867 or 68, he preached the first Memorial service ever held in 
Kidder for the Patriotic dead.  It all came about because a strange traveler, 
having lost his way died and was buried there.  He was of the navy and in 
decorating his grave, they also decorated the few soldiers' graves there.
     In marrying and burying, he was often called all over the county.  He 
came to Hamilton thus.  He began to preach at Hamilton often to the small 
group of Congregationalists there.  This church was organized 1867 by Rev. 
Wilmot, who was an ex-M.E. preacher.  The people had been meeting in his home 
for services, but he had quit his work with them before Mr. Perkins went 
there.  As a visiting pastor, Mr. Perkins preached in Low's Hall till the 
first church was built.
     He first lived in a house not far from the M.E. Church but finally bought 
a home in the N.E. part of town.  He used to tell his church membership how 
nice it was to have services in a real church and not a school or a hall.  He 
recalled these old members at Hamilton:  Goodnows, Chandlers, Morton, 
Prentice, Clark, Low, Foster, Gove, Ressigeau, Markham, Smiley, Moore, 
Tuthills, Holmes, Gee, and Tattershall.  Some of these families came into the 
church as a result of special revival meetings, held the first year.  Some 
came from the east in that faith.  There was more or less of a church change 
in membership due to the newness of the town, for some of the town's 
population did not stay.
     He always said he was thankful that Prof. David Ferguson came to town and 
organized the high school, because he had two girls under his influence.  
During his stay at Hamilton, Mr. Perkins also gave some time to the 
Congregational church at Gallatin, and in his last year at Hamilton, he also 
served the 

congregation at Breckenridge.  He will long be remembered as a powerful 
formative influence in the history of early congregationalism in Caldwell 
county.
     Interview  1932.


	NOTES ON THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AT HAMILTON MO
	Narrator:  Dr. Tinsley Brown, 80

     While Dr. Brown was not a member of this church during its early years, 
yet he was a researcher into its past.
     He quotes the records of the sessions.  In April 1867, Rev. P. Fox 
commenced preaching in Hamilton, probably in the depot, or in some private 
home.  He was the first Old School Presbyterian to preach here.  (There was a 
schism in the church, Old school and New school.)
     Soon after he began working here, it was plain that enough people were 
here to form a church.  On the 18th day of Aug. 1867, at the close of service, 
all those who wished to organize an Old School Presbyterian church remained; 
they were Wm. Gibson and wife, Lucinda Gibson.  Geo. Wilson and wife, Mary 
(father of Dr. I.C. Wilson).  Wm. G. Stewart (father of Frank Stewart) and 
wife, Mary.  Andrew King and wife, Elizabeth.  S.P. Wilson, Jane Collins 
(mother of James Collins), Miss Mary E. McAdoo, and Samuel Quick.
     The first ruling elders were Wm. Gibson and Geo. Wilson.  The first 
Lord's Supper was on Sept. 1 1867 when the elders were installed.  The first 
services were in the Methodist church.  One service at least was in the 
Baptist chapel on Kingston street, opposite the park.  One session notice says 
they met in the M.E. church.  Records of the early Baptist church relate that 
the Baptists and Presbyterians together used the McAdoo's Hall on north Main, 
a frame two story.  Then the Presbyterians occupied the frame church building 
on the present site of the Presbyterian church.  This house had been owned by 
the Protestant or Free Methodists and then was sold to the Presbyterians 1872. 
 The Baptists rented it two Sundays a month.  Occasionally, the session (as 
per records) met out in the country to accommodate the country members.  Once 
in 1867, they met at Pleasant Ridge east of town to take rural members into 
the church.  The first trustees were Wm. G. Stewart, James McAdoo (early 
druggist) and Dr. S.V. Stoller (early doctor).
     The first pastor was John P. Fox, and no one is now left who recalls him. 
 Rev. Joel Kennedy was the next, having also N.Y. township church as a charge. 
 Many people yet recall him.  He was the preacher who married "Aunt Mary 
Kautz," who lived in N.Y. township, but now lives in Hamilton aged 88.  Then 
followed Wm. M. Reed, T.C. Armstrong, John C. Young who is still remembered 
very well, H.M. Rogers in the early 80s, and H.M. Sydenstricker who is an 
uncle of Mrs. Pearl Buck, the novelist.  That takes us up to 1890.
     Of the first 12 who formed the constituent members of the church, Wm. G. 
Stewart was the only one in membership when the brick church was dedicated 
1900 (the building having been out of use since the Federation of the 
Presbyterian and the Congregational churches 1928).


	SOME FACTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE HAMILTON M.E. CHURCH
	Narrators:  Adam Ream, 80, of Hamilton and others

     Some early data concerning the M.E. church at Hamilton came from older 
members familiar with the records.  
     The M.E. church here was organized 1868 with 2 appointments here and at 
Kidder.  The first building was erected 1868 which lasted till the present 
brick of 1900.  In 1870, the charge was combined with Kingston and Kidder was 
dropped.  In 1874, Hamilton was made a station and is yet so.  As far as the 
records show, the following pastors served:  1868-1900.  In 1868 J.G. Thompson 
who owned considerable land to the north of town, up to the present Emma Doll 
home, and intended making it into the Thompson addition.  In 1869 H.S. 
Beardsley, in 1870 H. Chadmyer who also taught school, 1871 W.G. Fowler, 1872 
L.V. Ismond who lived in town for many years with his father-in-law A. Nash; 
J.W. Bovee, 1874 Isaac Hill, 1876-7 E.W.F. Clayton who held powerful revivals, 
1878-80 W.H. Welton, 1881-2 T. Wolcott, 1883 A.H. Poweel, 1884-6 G.H. John 
(Jennie John his daughter was a very popular girl here, a graduate of the high 
school); 1887-9 I.S. Ware (who had daughters Bertha and Mattie), 1890-92 John 
T. Pierce (a real student but not a mixer), 1893-5 C.F. Spray (later president 
of the Cameron Wesleyan College), 1896 W.B. Dunn, 1897 C.W. Casely, 1898-9 
C.E. Bovard under whom the fine brick church was started.  1899-1900 Grant A. 
Robbins, who dedicated the church.  He was later a Kansas City pastor.
     This church has two fine memorial widows.  John F. Swisher once a produce 
dealer in Hamilton, later of Cameron, gave one for his parents, his father was 
an early M.E. preacher in these parts.  The other was given by Andrew 
McClelland a western millionaire, formerly of Hamilton who gave it for his 
mother who was a pioneer here.
     The earlier M.E. parsonage was the house directly north of the church.  
The present parsonage was built by J.H. Manning for his own home and sold by 
him to Wallace Anderson, who in time sold it to the M.E. Church.
     The brick church had to wait almost a year after its completion before 
dedication, because it cost so much more than the architect's plans.
     The early church was not sold when they went into the new.  They tore it 
down.  It had cost $3500 which was some cost back in 1868.  There was a bell 
tower and steeple.  There have been several bells.  Some cracked or broke.  
Some of the lumber in the original church cost as high as $40 per 1000.  The 
first bell cost $130.  Of the older attendants in 1869, but two were left when 
the brick of 1899 was started:  Fred C. Gibson farmer south of town, since 
dead, Mrs. Asa Thomson since dead.  The M.E. church in Hamilton have always 
been mighty in revivals, but one of the greatest was in 1878 when 127 members 
were added to the church roll.  Many families round Hamilton claim their M.E. 
Family connection since that year.
     Interview  1933.


	HISTORY OF PRAIRIE VIEW CHURCH NEAR HAMILTON
	Narrator:  Mrs. Olive Baker, Hamilton

     This church stands five miles northeast of Hamilton.  It was erected in 
1895 on a half acre lot donated by George Railsback of the vicinity.  It was 
dedicated in April 1895.  It was a memorable occasion, according to Mrs. 
Baker.  All the M.E. choirs from the Methodist churches at Hamilton, Locust 
Grove and Prairie View were together for the day, under the direction of Ben 
Aplin, an outstanding bass singer of Hamilton of that day.
     The presiding elder of the district, R.L. Thompson, was beaming on 
everyone.  President Dick, president of the old Wesleyan college of Cameron 
was there, to help raise the $475 necessary to discharge the debt before the 
church could be dedicated.  John Lewis a good Methodist out there added $50 to 
his pledge and many followed his example till the sum was raised.
     In the afternoon, they had baptizing, communion and the dedication.  
Those days, the old Hamilton M.E. existed with a circuit rider and Lincoln 
Howard was the circuit rider.
     The church services held by Mr. Howard prior to the church building had 
been held in the Prairie View school house, but a revival in 1894 led to a big 
enthusiasm and the church building in 1895.  George Moore, the monument man of 
Hamilton and a M.E. leader in town, gave the beautifully finished corner 
stone.  It held a Bible, a list of the contributors, and ministers present of 
the laying of the cornerstone.
     Rev. Howard had as his charges on his circuit four country congregations: 
 Kendall Chapel to the southwest of Hamilton, Wesley chapel, Springhill school 
house, and Prairie View.  These rural congregations are now served by the 
Hamilton pastor in the M.E. church.  Most of the people have cars and can come 
to town church with as little effort as they went in the 90s to their school 
houses.
     While this is not an interview dealing with the early life in the county, 
it is really a vital one showing the change which has come into rural church 
life from the coming of the automobile.
     Rev. Lincoln Howard and wife have now retired from the ministry and are 
living in Denver, where they recently celebrated their fiftieth wedding 
anniversary.
     Interview  April 1935.


Achenbach,
Charley	193
Ackley,
Dr.	140
Mrs.	140
Adam Ondi Ahman	121
Adams,
John Q.	56
Tylar	75
Aiken,
Austin	3
Lavilla	3, 176
Leila	3
Alden,
Jennie	201
Alexander,
Dave	120
Allee,
Taylor	114, 153, 158
Taylor, Mrs.	134
Allen,
Frances	7
James	7
Jos.	66
Jos., Mrs.	137
Wallace	7
Alsup,
Gertrude	134
Altman,
Elijah	181
Mattie	181
Wm.	142
Alvord,
Mary	112
Anderson,
Belle	3
Bill	81
Chas.	138
Joe	115
Joe, Mrs.	51
Joseph	100
Joseph M.	138
Lottie	201
Wallace	138, 207
Wm. B.	105
Aplin,
Belle Eggleston	183, 199
Ben	208
Will	173
Ardinger,	102
Eugenia	105
John	105
Arey,
Geo.	159
Geo., Mrs.	159
Arms,
Chas.	173
Daniel	173
Deruelle	173
Edward P.	173
Frank	173
Geo. W.	173
Harry	173
Irvin	173
Leo	173
Martha	173
Phineas	3, 173
Ray	173
William	173
Armstrong,
T.C.	206
Atherton,
Isanel	199
Wm.	66
Atkinson,
Elgie	7
Aubrey,
Ben	106
Thomas J.	106
Austill,
Frank, Mrs.	124
Austin,
Albert	100
Charles	100
Cora	100, 185
Elizabeth	100
Ella	51, 100, 138
Fred	100
Jacob	100
Judge	138
Maria	100, 185
Mary	100
Nell	185
Nelle	100
Oliver	100
William	100
William (Bill)	120
Wm.	5, 183
Bacon,
Alva	120
Boone	120
Elizabeth (Sweany)	120
Faith (Conrad)	120
Harvey	5
Howard	120
Ira	5, 120
Irvin	120
Jason	120
Lucinda	144
Pearl Mae	120
Walter	120
Baker,
Andrew	99
Eliza	147
John	193
Martha Ellen	88
Olive	208
Wm.	81
Barker,
Harriet	3
Simeon	3
Barnahy,
Sarah A.	174
Barnes,
John M.	192
Bater,
Edmind, Mrs.	149
Henry	149
Beard,
Mrs.	163
Beardsley,
H.S.	207
Beckett,
Humphrey	176
Bedford,
Archie	157
Bell,
A.E.	7
J.D.	7
Jane	145
Mary C.	7
N.B., Mrs.	168
Bellamy,
Chas.	5
Bennett,
Mattie	142
Will	194
Bidwell,
C.H.	36
Bitner,
Rev.	130
Black,
J.D.	192
Blacksten,
Aunt	159
Uncle	159
Blades,	130
Blair,
W.J.	189
Willard F.	50
Willard, Mrs.	50
Blakely,	130
Bogan,
A.	100
Bond,
Billy	45
Booth,
Bertha	203
Dan	26, 52, 115, 140, 147, 179
Dr.	147
H., Mrs.	154
Helen	23, 52
Helen L.	26
Lizzie	23
Ralph	78
Borden,
Ellen	9
Franklin	9
Geo., Mrs.	86
George	9
Josie	104
Lemon	9
Boroff,
Chas.	103
Bosserman,
Hettie	113
Botthoff,
John T.	103
Boucher,	103
Bovard,
C.E.	207
Bovee,
J.W.	207
Bowers,
James M.	162
John 2	198
M.J.	67
Mitchell	41
Bowman,
Cecelia	9
F.L.	9
Martha Ong	9
S.A.	9
Vincent	9
W.	9
Bradley,
Felix	67
Jas.	8
Jim	94
Bray,
Belle	197
Brazelton,
Wm.	29
Breckenridge,
Stump	7
Brelsford,
Elaine Simmons	193
Brenneman,
Martin	193
Bristow,
Miles	5, 131
Wm.	67, 131
Britt,
Henry	171
Brockway,
Mrs.	145
Brookshire,
James	191
Ursula	27
Ursule	5
Broomfield,
Capt.	49
Brosius,
Geo.	199
Jacob	57, 66
Laura Virginia	132
Brown,
Blanche	72, 165
Dr.	171
H.H.	116
John	56
Mamie	72, 165
O.O. . . . . . . . . . . .  
58,
   	    66, 69, 70, 164, 165, 171
T., Dr.	179
Tinsley	145, 169
Tinsley, Dr.	100, 206
Tinsley, Mrs.	196
William	16
Brunk,
Abraham	91
Andrew	91
Christy	91
Eliza	130
Jake	130
Bryant,
Chas.H.	76
Harrison	76
Henry	3
Mary	3
Mattie	3
Buck,
Pearl	206
Burdick,
Frank	193
Professor	189
Burkett,
Rhoda	90
Timothy	90
William	90
Burnett,
Chas.	31
Mary Ann	148
Burrows,
Florence R.	160
John	69
John H.	160
Buster,
Dave	57
David	67, 169
Davy	110, 149
Julia	171
Nancy	169
Sam	74, 171
Sam, Mrs.	157
W.W.	169, 202
Butts,
Cynthy	155
Henry	155
Jim	155
Julius	155
Lewis	155
Thomas	155
Wilbur	155
Campbell,
C.C., Mrs.	126
Carlisle,
Blanche	121
Carpenter,
Elijah	66
Carr,
Sarah	193
Carroll,
Jacob	185
John	87
Nancy	87
Woodrow	185
Carry,	130
Casely,
C.W.	207
Cash,
Robert	58
Caster,
John	5
Castor,
John	120
Lizy	120
Cathcart,
Alta Mabel	96
Bessie Belle	96
John N.	96
Joseph	185
Joseph B.	96
Margaret Jane	96
Mary Catherine	96
William Frederick	96
Chadmyer,
H.	207
Chain,
Alpheus	102
Hugh	102, 172
Sarah	102, 172, 189
Thos. Jefferson	102
Champlin,
Louis	74
Christ,
David	162
James	162
James A.	162
Renick	162
Walter	162
William	162
Christianson,
Kate	182
Clampitt,
Josephine	116
Lewis	26, 116, 149
William	198
Wm.	33
Wm. (Billy)	75
Clark,	178, 187
Alma	66, 151
Cordelia	178
E.E.	10
Elmer E.	56, 71, 199
Frank	36, 51, 58, 71, 180
Henry	56, 71
Leslie	66
Lou	66, 194
Nelle	100
Clarkson,
T.D.	103
Claypool,
Belle	134
John	148
Mrs.	178
P.R.	134
Perry	10, 134
Perry R.	148
Clayton,
E.W.F.	207
Clem,
Joe	133
Clemmons,
Arch	81
Clevenger,
Bert	13
L.B.	16
W.W.	16
Clute,
Garrett	29
Cochran,
A.C.	177
S.D., Rev.	204
Coffman,
Henry W.	199
Colby,
Alice	136
Caroline	10
Elizabeth	136
Emma	136
J.F.	10
James F.	136
W.F.	199
William	136
Cole,
Steve	75
Steve, Mrs.	75
Thomas	120
Collins,
James	148, 206
Jane	10, 206
Jas.	178
Jim	60
Josephine	178
Michael	10
Conner,
Levi	33
Conrad,
Webb	138
Cook,
Ella	14
Cooper,
H.B., Mrs.	35
Copeland,
Frances	5
Cormana,
Sarah	86
Cosgrove,
Claud	153
Cora	151, 153
Frank	153
Lee	66, 149, 153
Coshow,
George	108
Robert	108
Costello,
Frank	156
Costello-Smith,
Mrs.	103, 156
Couts,
Abraham	107
Covington,
Louisa	114
Phil	114
Phill	181
Cowgill,
James	58, 69
James, Mrs.	23
Cowley,
G.B., Mrs.	87
Cox,	130
Daniel	86, 104
Daniel Z.	86, 88, 104
Ella	104
Frank	104
Frank B.	86
Franklin	25, 35
Harry	86
J.D.	123
James	10
Jas. Brent	88
John	10, 88, 181
John F.	104
John Franklin	104
Joseph F.	25
Laura	86
Levi	123
Louis	104
Lucy	123
Malvina	10
Mary	10, 86
Robert	55
Rosa	86, 104
S.P.	81
Sallie	123
Sam	123
Samuel	86
Sarah	10, 86, 123
Soloman	123
Sophia	123
Steve	157
William	123
Craig,
Charles L.	124
Dolly	124
Mollie	124
Rebecca	124
Uriah	124
Cramblitt,
Eliza	142
Cravens,
Elder	191
R.	115
Crawford,
Kate	102, 146
Wm.	102
Crisswell,
John	79
Levi	79
Mary	79
Mrs.	80
Crist,
David	162
James	162
James A.	162
Renick	162
Walter	162
William	162
Crockett,
Altha	103
Mrs.	46
Crow,
Alex	10
Alexander	71
Culp,
Kay	157
Cummings,
Frances	133
Curtis,
Miss	194
Custer,
Peter	71
Daley,
Dr.	171
Danks,
L.E.	194
Davis	169
Davis, A.G. . . . . . . . . . . .
            32, 58, 66, 69, 105, 
148, 154, 155, 158, 160, 
166-168,176, 177, 199,	202
Albert	163
Chas.	102
Dorothy	105
Eliza	105
Elizabeth	176
Eugenia	105
Fannie	105
Gene	105
Jeff	105
Joe	69, 74, 163, 167, 202
Joe, Mrs.	113
John	105
Joseph H.	154
Lee	105
Louianna J.	93
Lucia	105
Lucy	105
Marcia Mac	105
Martha	105
Mary	105
Mollie	72, 139, 168
Sandford Sellers	105
Thomas Colson	105
Thos. Coulson	176
Tilton	105
Tilton, III	105
Woodson	105
Dawson,
E., Mrs.	30, 33
Elizabeth	26, 74
Deaderick,
Chas. A.	138
Deems,
Jas.	69
Denton,
Alice	87
Devoy,
James	180
DeWalt,
Glenn, Mrs.	126
Dick,
President	208
Dickerson,
Bessie	120
Carrie	120
Jessie	120
Minnie	120
Sarah Patton	120
Thomas Cole	120
Verna	120
Dickinson,
Harry	163, 181
Dilley,
B.M.	172
Bushrod M.	175
Dillon,
W.H., Mrs.	148
Distelli,
Alfred	9
Doak,
Walter	102
Doddridge,
Black	163
Geo.	10
George D.	163
Joseph, Dr.	10
Dodge,
Billy	26, 172
Effie	23
John	112
Letitia	66
Louisa	112
Silas	32
Doll,
Charles	139
Daniel	139
Daniel P.	120
Emma	207
Ernest, Mrs.	136
Henry	139
Ida	72
Lewis	139
Mollie	72
Paul	56
Sebrina Givens	120
Susan	139
Dort,
Barbara	10
Ben	56, 146
J.D.	56, 146

Mrs.	146
Dosset,
Charlie	130
Douglas,
Katie	92
William	92
Dovenspike,
Chas., Mrs.	172
Downing,
Charley	119
Draper,	175
Dudley,
Belle Holmes	199
Boyd	121
Enos	57, 60, 103, 187
Enos J.	74
Enos, Mrs.	178
George	57, 73, 187
Wm.	187
Duncan,
Martha	45
Dunham,
Ada	173
David	77
Dunlap,
Daniel	97
George	97
Dunn,
Charlie	69
Ella	176
Lemuel	85
W.B.	207
Durkee,
Charley	78
Dwight,	164
Mrs.	171
R.D.	66
R.D., Mrs.	66
Eckleberry,
John	189
Edminster,
Aaron	159
Jackson, Mrs.	159
Mary	159
Mrs.	10
Edmundson,
John O.	193
Edwards,
Alf	48
Amos	40
Elisha	98
Elizabeth	98
Isaac	98
Margaret	98
Mattie	84
Thos.	55
Eggleston,
Olin	183
Eichler,
Judge	35
Mary Jane	25, 35
Eldredge,
Herbert D.	73
Mamie	64, 151
Mamie Tuttle	199
Mrs.	110
Elgin,
Wm.	5
Elliott,
Athalinda	3
Wm.	3, 69
Epperson,
L., Mrs.	127
Ervin,
Dick	57, 64, 146
W.J.	62, 66
W.J. (Dick), Mrs.	65
W.J., Mrs.	5, 163
Wm.	57, 66
Esteb,
Nannie	197
William A. Moore	105
Estes,
Wm., Mrs.	193
Evans,	17, 74
Ad	3
Bertha	3
Mrs.	136, 157
William	18
Wm.	183
Farabee,
Harve	10, 140, 147
Parmelia (Winget)	147
Samuel	10, 147
Stella	69, 140
Fellows,
W.W.	194
Ferguson,
D.M.	183, 189
David	144, 204
David M.	199
Davy	185
John	43
Prof.	154, 176
Professor	201
File,
Mary J.	185
Filson,
Frank	87, 183
Jim	17
Jim, Mrs.	100, 185
Sam L.	183
Thomas	68
Thos. A.	199
Wash	17, 185
Fine,
John	165
Fisher,
Mrs.	90
Fittered,
Adolpus	18
Floyd,
Nancy Elizabeth	162
Foley,
E. Madison	132
Ed	132
Elijah Madison	132
Frank	132
Green	132
James	132
John	132
Ford,
C.I.	60
Wm.	159
Foster,
Adeline	136
Fowler,	166
W.G.	207
Fox,
John P.	206
P., Rev.	206
Frame,
Tom	131
Franke,	145
C.B.	58, 62, 163
Mrs.	51
Fremont,
Gen.	142
Fronk,
John	60, 137
Frost,
Susie Knoch	90
Fuller,
Josiah	93
Funk,
Barbara	91
Gage,
Daniel	3
Gapen,
Ed	103
Gardhafner,
Margaret	181
Garnant,
Maud	124
Gartland,
Mary	169, 202
Miss	154
Gee,
Chas.	3
Deborah Covert	3
Henry	3, 75, 88, 100, 189, 202
Israel	3, 66
Gentry,
D.T.	189, 199
Fannie	199
George,
Henry	82, 179
Henry, Mrs.	82
Lillie	199
T.D.	138
Gibson,
Bryan	62
Fred C.	207
George	141
Lucinda	206
Rosa	142
Wm.	206
Giddings,
Catherine	138
James	138
Gillett,
Will	75
Gilliam,
Jennie	182
Gilsmer,
John	71
Givens,
Isaac	5
Merritt	5
Virgil	5
Glasener,
Eva	9, 26, 74, 153, 155
Martha	26, 51
Glazier,
Rodney	56
Glenn,
D.A.	16
Goldberg,
Jacob	64
Goodman,	63
Bert	57, 153
Bert (A.C.)	178
John	178
Maud	51
Mollie	178
Richard	178
Samuel	178
William	178, 187
Wm.	57, 58, 103, 109
Goodnow,
C.E.	136
Gould,
C.L.	15
Graer,
Fannie	72, 201
Frederick	58
Lillie	72
Grantham,
Garretsom	131
Sarah	131
Gray	15
Green,
C.C.	66
Cecil	133
Frederick	133
H.	192
M.T.	10, 154
Margery	133
Mary Claypool	10
Mollie	148
Raymond	133
W.P.	133
Greene,
C.C.	159
Clarence	3
Gregory,
Beulah	90
Lit	137, 170
Griffin,
Mary E.	84
Griffing,
John C.	66
Griffith,
Ella	176
Grigsby,
L.L.	60
Mrs.	60
Gudgell,
Dan	198
J.B.	14
Guffey,	130
Bertha	185
Elcey	185
Elsie	96
S.R.	48, 185
W.A., Mrs.	100
W.M.	48
William	17, 29, 185
Wm.	100
Gunther,
Mrs.	105
Gurley,
Charles	33
Ed	33
Geo.	33
Sarah	33
Guttery,
Prof.	175, 199
Gwinn,
Flora	57
Hager,
Louisa	148
Haggerty,
Sarah	201
Sarah Tuttle	199
Hall,
Mary E.	142
Hardman,
Charlotte	113, 140
David C.	113, 154
Fanny	113
John	113
Laura	113
Laura B.	154
Mary	193
S.B.	193
Hare,
Ora	3
Otto	182
T.H.	177
Thomas H.	3
Tom	158
Hargrove,
Ida	26, 95
Harlow,
Maud	163, 174, 202
Harper	163
Harper,
Irvin	26, 64
J.M.	153
J.W.	16, 156
Harrah,
Andy	147
Andy, Mrs.	69
Harrell,
Sonora	42, 93
Harris,
George	98
Miss	130
Mrs.	69
Harrison,
Benjamin	56
Wm. Henry	56
Harry,
Joe	145
Minnie	145
Mrs.	145
Hartpence,
Kate	19
Harvey,
Cora	175
Haskett,
Caroline B.	122
Hastings,
George	58, 66, 164
George W.	171
Minnie	171
Hawkins,
Miss	90
Hawks,
Charley	5
Charley, Mrs.	120
Chas.	120
Fred	69, 77, 97, 147
James	97
Wm.	77
Haynes,
Mary	94
Haynie,
Dale	120
Hays,
Pliney	25
Warren	25
Heiser,
Fred	102
J.F.	102
Helm,
Professor	75, 202
Helvey,
Sarah	108
Hemry,
Bil	26
Sallie	154
Will	114
William	65, 106
Wm.	31, 57, 180
Hendricks,
John	88
Henkins,
A.T.	15
C.R.	15
Joe	15
John	77
Rawley	94
Sarah	108
Henniger,
John	124
Henry,
William (Bill)	106
Higgins,
Major	66, 160
T.W.	69
Thos.	176
Hill,
A.A.	62
Carey	170
Doc	115
Fielding	192
George 	105
Greenberry	71
Isaac	207
J.M.	182
James A.	3
James H.	174
James M.	174
L.T.	154
Louisa	193
Morris	105
Professor	202
R.C.	192
Samuel	32
Hinds,
Jane	7
Socrates	7
Hines,
Elizabeth	105
Francis M.	176
John	176
Marion	176
Matilda	176
Mattison	176
Susie (McCromick)	176
Wesley	105, 176
Hoard,
Joe	102
Hogsett,
Chas.	31
Mrs.	159
Holladay,
Lawyer	58
Holliday,
Ben	105
Judge	172
Mary	117
Mrs.	153
Holmes,
B.F.	66
Belle	121
Belle (Dudley)	72
Benj., Mrs.	121
Henry	169
Hooker,
Frank	10
J.J.	66
Minnie	156
Minnie Harper	199
Mrs.	201
Hosea,
Hannah	85
Hosmer,
Maud	178
Houghton,
Ira	41
James	100
Jim	29
Katherine	143
Lucy	201
Mary	100, 185
Otis	56
Sophia	100
Houston,
Robt.	153
Howard,
A.G.	58, 66, 159, 164, 171
Alma	69, 72, 117, 143, 163
Josie	7
Lena	72
Lincoln	208
Mattie (Story)	72
Ollie	120
P.G.	7
Howerton,
Rev.	193
Hudgins,
Tony	94
Hughes,	57
H.C.	66
H.C., Mrs.	169
H.F.	62
Sarah Low	161
Hull,
I.T.	194
Hulser,
George	55
Hutchinson,
Ovie	31
Inskipp,
Miss	100
Irvin,
Will, Mrs.	44
Ismond,
L.V.	207
Jackson,
Andrew	56, 142
Jacob	47
Mrs.	47
James,	130
Frank	125
Jesse	118, 125
Jameson,
Mary Ann	173
Jennings,
Grant	78
Mollie	78
Warren	78
John,
G.H.	207
Jennie	207
Johnson,
Capt.	7
Caroline	136
Crosby	85, 172
E.D.	85
Eugene	121
Louisa	5
Mariam	85
Tickey	103
Jones,
Allen	18, 142
Anna	142
Billy	178, 187
Caddie (Clara)	142
Charlie	142
Daniel	142
Dr.	105
Ebenezer	98
Elizabeth	7
Ella	142
Frank	142
Fred	142
Hattie	142
Ida (Guy)	142
J.W.	7
James	142
Joseph	142
Joseph, Jr., Mrs.	142
Lillie (Martin)	142
Matilda	142
Peter	71, 180
Robert	142
Rufus	142
Sadie (Joiner)	142
Will Henry	142
William	142
Jordan,
Hattie	65
Wm.	65
Kauffman,
Casper	3
Henrietta	3
Kautz,
Geo., Mrs.	100
George	55
James	69, 170
James, Mrs.	103
Mary	46, 138, 185, 189, 206
Ross, Mrs.	100
Keeney,
Harley	96
John B.	96
Joseph H.	96
Robert	96
W.O.	96
Keeny,
Agnes	85
Keif,
Mike	45
Kelly,
Mr.	133
Pat	95
R.F.	133
Kelsey,
Oliver	122
Kelso,	125, 163
Edward C.	5, 65
Kemper,
J.M.	160
James	69, 81, 134
James M.	74, 143
Jimmy	175
Wm. T.	69, 74, 143
Kendall,
Miss	122
Kendig,
Abe	26
Kennedy,
Ed, Mrs.	112
Joel, Rev.	206
Matt	75
May	75
Thomas	75
Kenney,
Pat	90
T.S.	82
Kenny,
B.F.	192
Keran,
Levi	88
Kern,
Chas. S.	88
F.J.	88
Francis J.	88, 104
Francis Manford	88
Geo. Benj.	88
Geo. Benjamin	88
Wm. Jesse	88
Kerns,
Cleo	90
Kerr,
Isabel	7
James	7
Mary	7
Kesterson,
Wm.	128
Ketchem,
A.	58
Kibler,
Mary	91
Kiddle,
Emma	60
Emma Walling	199
King,
Andrew	206
Dave	77
Elizabeth	206
I.E.	77
Kinne,
Helen P.	170
Jason	41
M.J.	177
Owen, Mrs.	123
Kirtley,
Asa T.	28
Helen	28, 92
Knoch,
Susan	90
Korn,
Anna	57, 160
Anna Brosius	66
Lampton,
Harry	64, 74
Lamson,
George	83
Hattie	51, 134
Lancaster,
Richard	7
Lane,
Edward	159
Ida	159
Richard	93, 94
Samuel	159
Lay,
Nitha Cox	123
Leabo,
Dan	192
Daniel	5
Geo.	5
James	192
Malvina	47
Leake,
James	126
Lear,
Moses	56
Leavitt,
Elder	201
Louisa	201
Leeper,
Andrew	144
Helen	28, 92
Henry	66, 144
T.H.	193
Lenderson,
 	202
Elizabeth Morton	202
Lenhart,
Jeremiah	117
Mollie	117
Lewis,	103
Glenn, Rev.	103, 168
John	208
Liddle,
Dick	125
Lievan,
M.E.	62
Lincoln,
Abe	79
Abraham	94
Lindley,
Dr.	183
Linville,
Dave	106
Elizabeth	106
Thomas	106
Livick,
Tom, Mrs.	139
Logan,
Harry, Mrs.	69
Laura	157
Wm.	157
Long,
Chester I.	183
W.C.	183
Looney,
Della	9
Love,
Lew M.	60
Low,
E.S. (Gene)	58
Eugene	161
F.P.	56
Frederick P.	161
Gene	166
Haddie	161
Herbert	161
Homer	161
Leon	161
Lewellen	161
M.A.	74, 175
Marcus A.	161
Mignon	161
Sarah	161
Lunn,
James	163
Jas.	66
Lynch,
Willis	199
Lyon,
Rhoda	136
Mace,
Christine	93
Mack,
Augustus	102, 103, 109
Fred	109
J.F.	109
Nellie	109
William	109
Mackey,
James G.	2
Jas. G.	8
Mahancey,
Margaret	174
Mann,
Eveline	106
Jesse	106, 107
Jesse M.	106
Julia	106
Wm.	91
Manning,	58, 163
Bro.	203
J.H.	207
J.M.	203
Manuel,
Catherine	142
Charlie	149
Markham,
H.W.	56
Hiram	66, 194
Martin,
Addie	82, 179, 196
Bruce	127
Byrda (Taylor)	179
Carrie	197
Chester A.	179
Chet	177
Clark	127
Claud	127
Cora	179
Cora J.	199
D.P.	170
Eugene	170
Eugene A.	127
F.A.	65, 177, 179, 199
Fannie Gaer	199
Finia	179
Fred	179
Herbert	127
Hettie	179
Inez	127
Latimer	179
Lauren	170
Lilla	170
Linna	179
Lotta	197
M.C.	66, 170
Orrick	145
S.F.	199
Sam	66, 69, 170, 179
Sam F.	163
Mathews,
R.J.	194
Rev.	68
McAdoo,
Dr.	163
James	199, 206
James, Dr.	97
Mary E.	206
Mrs.	163
McAfee,
Floyd	50, 85, 172, 189
Hamilton	50, 85, 189
Mariam	85
Wallace	85
William	84, 85
Wm.	172
Wm., Mrs.	103
McBeath,
A.W.	7
Robert	7
McBrayer,
Maud	23
Sam	149
McClelland,
Andrew	67, 117, 207
J.	139
J.D.	86
J.W.	18, 56
James	3
Jas.	67
Wade	18
McClintick,
Dr.	154
McClintock,
D.M.	189
J.H., Dr.	167
McCoy,
Alice	68
Arthur	147
Carmelius	147
Carmelius (Mel)	147
Clark	147
Harve	147
Lucy	147
Mary	147
Roy	56, 147
William	10, 56, 147, 178
Winnie	147
Wm.	83, 134, 171
McCrary,
Elizabeth	139
Merritt	139
Mike, Mrs.	9
Wm.	139
McCray,
Andrew	129
Andrew Francis	87
C.C.	87
Fran	87
H.B.	87
Merle	87
Will	87
Wm. Martin	87
McDaniels,	130
McDonald,
D.G.	58
D.G., Sr.	103
Russell	58
McDow,
Nicie Ann	134
McElroy,
Ada	69
McFee,
Geo.	40
Mrs.	98
McGee,
Owen	131
McGill,
Jim	155
McKee,
Addie	197
Elliott	197
McKensie,
A.J.	2
John	2
Syrena J.	2
William	2
McKinney,	121
McLallen,
Sam	138
McLaughlin,
Cyrus	172
Fannie	195
McMurtrey,
Ben	192
C.T., Dr.	192
Dr.	192
John	5
Mary Frances	100
Nellie	192
McMurtry,
Dr.	120
John	120
McWilliams,
Ollie	110
Meffert,
J.L., Rev.	193
Menefee,
Al	66
Menke,
Mary	129
Merryman,
E.	100, 185
Wm.	185
Middleton,
T.P. 	193
Miller,
Rosanna Jane	137
Winfield	172
Minger,
Benedict	181
Flora	62, 72
John	62, 64, 66, 172, 181
Robert	62, 137, 172, 181
Misenhelter,	130
Harry M.	90
J.W.	90
Ralph	90
Retta Burkett	90
Mitchell,
Alexander	157
Cassius	157
Chas.	157
Goldie	157
Ida	157
John	157
Robert	157
S.S.	157
Strather M.	157
Tom	157
Violett	157
Wood	157
Moffitt,
Will	60
Moon,
C.E.	194
Moore,
Allen	154
C.B.	161
Florence	161
George	146, 208
Mary Ann	173
Morris,
Clara	151
George	151
Harry, Mrs.	124
Mary	112
Minnie	69, 73, 160, 176
Robert	7
Robert, Mrs.	79
Sallie	80
Morrison,
Robert	99
Morrow,
C.M.	66
Charles	137
Clifford	137
Courtland Morton	137
Dot	137
Miss	123
Myrta	137
William	41
Morton,	69
Cap	123, 202
Charley	124, 163
Charlie	130
J.N.	169, 199
John	58, 69, 163, 179, 202
John M.	174
John N.	123
Marcus	163, 174
Margaret	174
Mark	77
Noah	123
William	58
Mosher,
Nancy	142
Moss,
Pauline	138
Mowder,
David	8
Mullins,
Caroline	120
Lewis	120, 192
Murphy,
Bina	72
Henry	179
Martie	72, 179
Murrel,
Jim	66
Murrell,
Jim	72
Myers,
Eliza	88
Napier,
William	167
Nash,
A.	207
A.B.	56, 171
Tiffin	120
Neal,
Jack	9, 122
Margaret	9
Snyder	9
Thomas	9
Tom	60
William	9
Neff,
Mrs.	156
Netsher,
Cora	130
Nevitt,
James, Dr.	124
M.F.	124
Newton,
Hollis	136
Mary	136
Nichols,
Elias	8, 93
Elizabeth	93
Harry	166
Harvey	94
Nicholson,
Matt	126
Niles,
Henrietta	3
John	3
Noah,
Geo. M.	5
Noblett,
Abraham	93
Capt.	42, 48
Gallatin	8, 93
Noblitt,
Capt.	46
Northrup,	103
Norton,
Mary	68
O'Dell,
Caleb	8
Francis	8
O'Neil,
Mrs.	145
O'Toole,
Maria	132
Ogden,
Minnie	51, 171, 183, 185, 199
Robert, Mrs.	145
Robt., Mrs.	153
Sarah Van Note	199
Orr,
Alice	130
Charles	130
Charlie	158
Ed	130
Emma	104, 130
Florence	130
Fred	130
Harriet	130
J.S.	66
James	153
James S.	158
Jane	130
Moses	130
Mrs.	80
Samuel	56
Smauel W.	158
Tom	130
W.W.	66
Walter	130, 158
Will	130
Oster,
Conrad	25, 35
Owens,
Dave, Mrs.	136
Page,
Asa	3, 173
Helen	173
William	173
Wm.	3
Palmer,
Jonathan	102
Parr,
True D.	179
Parrick,
Caroline	104
Partin,
Anna	166
Edward	166
Henry	66
Henry S.	168
James	166
Mittie	72, 166
Mollie (Mary) Davis	168
Purle	168
Tennie	168
Thomas	168
Tressa	168
Will	10
William	166, 168
Wm.	66, 137, 149, 154, 199
Parvin,
W.J.	193
Patterson,
Wm. D.	163
Patton,
Wm.	120
Pawsey,
Elizabeth	96
J.W.	96
Nancy	96
Paxton,
Benjamin	143
Bob	73
James D.	10, 143
James R.	143
Robert D.	143
Sallie	143
Thomas	143
Will	73
William	143
William R.	143
Payne,
Henry	192
Robina	88
Peabody,
Susie	96
Pease,
C.M.	179
Peddicord,
Gertrude	187
Thomas	187
Peeler,
Lucinda	139
Penney,
Betty	166
Ed	167
Eli	10, 66, 166, 167
Eli, Dr.	158
George	158, 166
J.C.	199
James C.	166
John R.	166
Mary	10
Mildred	167
Tavia	158
Tavia (Mrs. Bishop)	72
Perkins,
G.G.	194
G.W.	66
George G.	204
Perry,
John	193
Peyton,
Bob	92
Pfost,
Aaron	88
Phares,
Ellen Laird	2
James M.	2
Joel	2
John	2
William	2
Phillips,
John, Mrs.	137
Pickell,
Hattie	65
Pierce,
T.	207
Pierson,
Irene	143
Place,
Philip	192
Sarah	134
Platt,
Parker	84
Platter,
Mrs.	145
Potts,
Nathan	128
Poweel,
A.H.	207
Powers,
D.H.	124
Ella	124
J.P.	124
Prentice,	61
Clara	67
Gid	58, 60, 69
Gideon	179
Preston,
E.E.	194
Mary	142
Price,	45
Dr.	60
Edgar, Rev.	194
Gen.	105
Proctor,
Daniel	2
W.D.	2
Prough,
Jacob	54, 60, 125, 177
John	53, 125, 150, 177
Puckett,
Constant	98
Garney	102
Garry [Garney]	40
J.M.	40
James	98
James M.	198
Jim, Mrs.	117
Tom	198
Putnam,
Frank	3
Geo. S.	56
George	3
Sarah	3
Quick,
Samuel	206
Raglan,
John	91
Railsback,
David	123
George	208
Lucy	123
Martha	123
Randle,	120
Rauber,
Anthon	159
Ida Lane	159
John	78, 159
Read,
Lottie	161
Ream,
Adam	75
Reddie,
Emily Wharton	151
Ethelinda	10, 151
George	10, 136, 151
Redhair,
George J.	29
Reed,
Henry	153
Myron	66
Wm. M.	206
Reynolds,
E.L.	56
Minerva	173
Rhea,	103
Rhineman,
Lloyd	71
Rhoades,	65
Hortentia	87
Mary	5
Robert	5
Wm.	120, 163
Rice,	90
Richardson,	97
Geo.	69
George	67, 202
George, Mrs.	131
O.P.	160
Otis	67, 69, 110, 131
Sarah	131
Riddle,
J.R.	189
Ridings,
Marion	3
Marion Overton	69
Ritchie,
James	108
Louisa	10
Mary	10
Mary E.	143
Robbins,
Grant A.	207
Roberts,
Ida	125
Perry	125
Robertson,
Minnie Davis	105
Wm.	105
Robinson,
Mrs.	69
Rogers,	149
Catherine	38
David	84
Eugene D.	84
George	53, 177
H.M.	206
Mary	84
Mrs.	134
Phil	66
Rev.	68
S.C.	45
Stephen C.	84, 189
Stephen S.	14
Steve	50, 88, 100, 185
Rohrbaugh,
Anthony	5, 66, 70, 83
Henry	5
John	5
Lewis	5
Roney,
Hugh	5
Rookh,
Lalla	84
Rookstool,
W.A.	195
Ross,
Charley	2
Charlie	93
John G.	2
Royer,
Carrie	196
Frank	56
George	56
Russell,
James	67
William	198
Sackman	19
Sage,	15
Sanborn,
Ira	10
Phoebe	10
Sandals,
Asher	5, 125
Sanford	169
Sawyer,
Mary Jane	91
Robert	91
Saxton,	120
Charlie	5
Schaffer,
Elizabeth	5
Schellebarger,
E.F.	199
Sconce,
Mary	93
Scott,
Alec	95
Scoville,
Frank	139
Jane McCrary	139
Seifert,
Nelia	173
Seitter,
Caroline	2
Christopher	2
Sell,
Rebecca	3
Sellers,
Col.	105
Marcia	105
Sergeant,
Campbell	122
Caroline	9
David	9, 122
Elmer	122
Jennie	122
Minnie	9, 122
Shafer,
H.	67
Shaw,	130
Sheehan,
Joseph, Mrs.	148
Sheets,
John	118
Shepardson,
Mary	147
Sherman,
Ella	142
Frank	142
Phoebe	142
Shively,
Belle	135
Clementina Fronk	137
Harley	137, 175
Shull,
Jesse, Mrs.	123
Shutt,
Frank, Mrs.	113
Sigman,
Jennie	138
John	10, 134
Margaret	10
Marinda	10
Simmons,
Miss	97
Simpson,
A.C.	62
Catherine	7
Geo., Mrs.	113
George	113, 140
Henry	140
John	140
Mary	140
Mary Ann	140
Sallie (Ackley)	147
Thomas	140
Sloan,
Corda	151
Harry, Mrs.	103
Jerry	7
Smart,
C.H., Mrs.	193
Smith,
Ada	162
Amanda	91
Anna	201
Charley	198
Dr.	138, 161
Joseph	121, 170
Mahala	39
Mrs.	103
N.C.	156
Sue	138
Smylie,
Ida	96
Snyder,
George	55
Souders,
May Simpson	140
Sparks,
Bay	182
Spivey,
Wm.	103
Spohn,
Jacob J.	5
Spratt,
John	66, 110, 177
John F.	74
Spray,
C.F.	207
Stanley,
Mamie Dean	199
Stephens,
Alice	100
Susan	138
Stephenson,
Archie	96
Stevens,
Dr.	103
Stevenson,
Charley	66, 153
Charlie	149, 178
Libby	153
Parthenia	178
Stewart,
Frank	26, 118, 206
Mary	206
Wm.G.	206
Stokes,
Peyton	151
Stoller,
Dr.	165
S.V., Dr.	66, 206
Stone,
Hardin	106
James	66
Kate	72
Wm., Mrs.	193
Stoutmore,
Sallie	193
Strahl,
Laura	144
Otho	66, 144
Rachel	144
Richard	144
Streeter,
Charley	141
Fannie	88
George	29, 31
Judson, Mrs.	104
Stubblefield,
D.P.	16
John	8
Martha	8
Stephen	37
Swarts,
S.H.	62
Swartz,
S.H.	69
Swearington,
Rev.	193
T.H.	193
Swindler,
Bertha	123
Swisher,
John	122
John F.	207
Switzer,
Amos	107
Effie	107
John	174
Milton	102
Milton A.	107
Otho	107
P.A.	174
Samuel	107
Sydenstricker,
H.M.	206
Tait,
James	140
John	140
Tanquary,
G.	193
Taylor,
Carr	182
Virginia	45
Terrill,
Fountain	157
Mrs.	92
Ollie	157
Rebecca	157
Terry,	65
Julia	88
Thielman,	130
Thomas,
Diadama	10
James	10
Milo	10
Thompson,
Asa	65
F.F.	189
J.G.	207
R.L.	208
Sarah	137
Wiley	193
Thomson,
Asa	182
Asa, Mrs.	207
Fred	182
Guy	182
Leary	182
Madge	182
Ralph	182
Thornton,
Caroline	154, 169
Carrie	202
Henry	10, 66
Nannie	10
Thwing,
Chas.	185
Fred	185
Tiffin,
Clayton, Dr.	58, 81
Dr.	62, 163
Tilley,
Hiram	163, 182
Tingey,
James	140
Mrs.	140
Tobbin,
Ilett	8, 129
Tobien,
Catherine	129
Todd,
Anna Harris	199
Dora Snyder	55
Jim	55
Toner,
Abigail	185
Torrey,
A.R.	68
Townsend,
Capt. H.	56
Trosper,
Milt	132
Wm.T.	110
Tucker,
Dan	20
Tuggle,
George	123
Turnipseed,
Cassie	120
Tuthill,
Belle	138
T.	138
T.E.	66
Tuttle,
Dr.	64, 65, 110, 177
Eldredge	69
Terah	7
Vallandingham,
Lewis	120
Van Note,
E., Dr.	199
Jeff	97
Van Slyke,
Bertha	3
E.E.	3
P.J.	3
Van Volkenburg,
Judd	142
L.D.	60, 145
Squire	53
Van Winkle,
Clara	14
Vanderpool,
Thos.	107
Virtue,
Thos. S.	143
Vokes,
George	123
Wagenseller,
Capt.	165
Mollie	165
Wm.	66
Waggoner,
George	108
Waldo,
Asel	50
Walker,
Jas. O.	3
Madison	81
Vic	3
Wallace,
E.G.	17, 29
E.G., Mrs.	128
Walter,
Geo.	112
Louisa	112
Ware,
Bertha	207
I.S.	207
Mattie	207
Rev.	53
Warren,
Anna Mack	109
Waters,
Elmore	8, 94
Watkinson,
John	122
Weldon,
Humphrey	48, 49
James	49
Wellwood,
Elizabeth	185
Miss	100
Welton,
W.H.	207
Werner,
Daniel	5, 125
Wheat,
Zack	195
Wheeler,
Elizabeth	173
Walt	66
White,	61
E.R., Mrs.	134
Mary	183
Mary Jane	91
Mrs.	177
Nancy	106
Olive	147
R.L.	60, 111
Ralph	54, 60, 136
Robert	91, 93
Roy	60
W.M.	91
Whiteaker,
Elizabeth	158
Whitelaw,
M.	204
Whitely,
Bennett	83
Whiteside,
Dan	163
Whitman,
Mittie	167
Mittie Penney	199
R.G.	60
Whitt,
Arvel	134
Belle Claypool	148
Elijah	134
Eva	134
George	134
Henry	134
Ida	134
James M.	178
James T.	134
Jim	158
John	134
John T.	134
John, Mrs.	148
Joseph	134
Lewis L.	134
Linna	134
Molly Wines	135
Oliver	134
Sarah	134
Walter	57, 135, 140, 148, 163, 187
William	134
Wicks,
Thos. O.	194
Wight,
Lyman	121
Williams,
Col.	121
R.	64
Roxie	147
Wilmot,
Rev.	204
William	56, 66
William, Rev.	194
Wilson,
A.F.	119
F.M.	119
Geo.	206
George	55
I.C., Dr.	10, 206
Julia Vokes	123
Louella	10
Mary	206
Mc	119
S.P.	206
Wines,
Mollie	148, 163
Molly	135
Withers,
Will	171
Witwer,
Dora	3
Geo.	3
Mrs.	163
Wolcott,
A.	100
Clara	100
T.	207
Wonsettler,
Jacob	41
Samuel	41
Sarah	38, 119
Wood,
Sarah Ann Ong	9
Woodbury,
Charley	93
Woodering,
Chas., Mrs.	148
Wooderson,
Mrs.	192
Richard	5, 192
Woodford,
Alice	201
Woolsey,
Libby, Dr.	49
Workman,
Sarah	34
Worthington,
Samuel J.	141
William	141
Wray,
Emila A.	7
Wyatt,
W.J.	167
Yates,
A.J.	194
Youlin,
Ida	127
Young,
Chas.	172
Dave	14
John C.	206
Maria	100
Seth	74
Seth M.	172, 175
Zachary,
Martha	88
Martha Ann	104


      









































































	Historical Data of This Volume

	Compiled by

	Major Molly Chapter

	D.A.R.

	1934-1935
















	Retyped and Indexed
	by

                    Karen Walker       and        Marilyn Williams
                    1281 NW Bus 36 Hwy            5498 NW Browning Drive      
                         Hamilton, MO 64644            Kingston, MO 64650
                    816 583-2350                  816 586-4551                
                                            1995      



  




















	181 Interviews Submitted by 

	The Major Molly Chapter

	D.A.R. Hamilton

	1935

	Volume II










	Preface

     On behalf of the Major Molly chapter D.A.R. of Hamilton Mo. it 
gives me great pleasure to submit to the historian of the D.A.R. of 
the state of Missouri this collection of interviews with old 
citizens, numbering 181.  This collection of 181 interviews while a 
time consuming project, has been a pleasant and instructive 
procedure.
When the Major Molly chapter in 1934 compiled a collection of 
150 interviews for the 1934 conference, the main interviewer realized 
that the work was far from completed.  This year, after spending 
another year on the same sort of work, she again realizes that there 
is much to be done in gaining information from the old folks before 
they leave us.  Further study may bring even richer results in 
knowledge of local history.
One of the best results yet seen is the interest which has been 
aroused in our own local history.  People are eager to tell their 
family history as it relates to the county.  By this means, we hope 
to do our part in arousing interest in the coming celebration in 1936 
of the hundredth anniversary of the organization of Caldwell county.

                                   (Miss) Bertha Ellis Booth
                                   Major Molly Chapter
                                   Hamilton, Missouri


	CALDWELL AND ADJOINING COUNTIES, MISSOURI HISTORY
	Interviews
	----------Volume II----------
	by
	Dr. Bertha Booth
	of
	Major Molly Chapter, D.A.R.
	__________

                               Table of Contents                              
                                                                 Page  
Graveyard Commentries, Caldwell and Others - - - - - - - - - - - - -    1
  Fairview Township, Phares- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -    2
  Old or Rohrbaugh Cemetery  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -    3
Daviess County, Missouri:  Wooderson - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -    5
Caldwell County, Missouri: Morris Cemetery - - - - - - - - - - - - -    7
  Fairview Township, White Cemetery  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -    8
  North of Hamilton, Bowman  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -    9
  Hamilton, Highland Cemetery, Oldest Graves - - - - - - - - - - - -   10
  Tabulated List - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   12
  Kingston's Old Spring- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   13
  Kingston's Log Post Office - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   14
  New York Township, Gould Farm Post Office- - - - - - - - - - - - -   15
Caldwell County Jail - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   16
     Floods  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   17
     Dairy Business- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   18
  Mirabile Tavern- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   19
  Old Songs- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   20
  Pioneer Dress- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   22
  Fancy Work, Early 80s- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   23
  First Train- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   25
  Big Snow Storm at Hamilton - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   26
Daviess County, Missouri
  Home Made Clothes, Food in 60s - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   27
Livingston County, Missouri:  Slave Day Memories - - - - - - - - - -   28
Caldwell County, Missouri:  Old Fords- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   29
  Stage Days - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   30
  Old Bridge - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   31
  Old 1855 Road- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   32
  Old County Roads - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   33
Miller County, Missouri:  Pioneer's Food in Ozarks - - - - - - - - -   34
  Davis Township - Braymer - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   35
  Tools and Twine- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   36
  "Horse Clogs"- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   37
  Early Times- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   38
Caldwell and Daviess County Dances - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   39
  Old Road - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   40
  Drought of 1874- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   41
  Fairview Township:  Women's Work - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   42
  Whiskey Stew - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   43
  Flax and Spinning Wheels - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   44
  Poor Farm- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   45
Caldwell County, Missouri:  Groves - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   46
     Hog Killings- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   47
     War Stories, Old Trails, Roads- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   48
Daviess County, Missouri, Killing of John [James] Weldon - - - - - -   49
  Teacher's Certificate- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   50
  Hamilton, Happy Days - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   51
     Going Visiting, 70s and 80s - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   52
     Memorial Day- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   53
     Refrigeration in 80s- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   54
     Brick Yard- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   55
     Old Voters, 1840-1888 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   56
     Hamilton House- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   57
     Brick Building Boom - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   58
     Fire of 1886- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   60
     Fire of 1884- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   62
     Fire of 1883- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   63
     Fire of 1871- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   64
     Kelso Block (Phoenix Hotel) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   65
     Critical Years- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   66
     Early Building- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   67
     Public Library- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   68
     Old Houses- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   69
     Mill Explosion- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   71
     4th of July 50 Years Ago- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   72
     Early Race- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   73
     Barbecue- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   74
     Early School- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   75
     Early Railroad- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   76
     Rock Quarry - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   77
     Strikes, Coal Mines - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   78
     President Lincoln - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   79
     Mourning in the 60s - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   80
     Capt. Clayton Tiffin, Civil War - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   81
     Southern Soldiers Didn't Vote - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   82
     Public Meeting Places - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   83
     Stephen Rogers, Teacher, Lawyer, etc. - - - - - - - - - - - - -   84
     McAfee Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   85
  New York Township, Daniel Cox- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   86
     McCray Faily- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   87
Caldwell County, Missouri:  Kerns Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   88
  Kidder Township:  Timothy Burkett- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   90
     Brunk and White Families- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   91
     Old "Auntie and Uncle"- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   92
  Fairview Township:  Noblett and Harrell Families - - - - - - - - -   93
     Death of Pat Kelley - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   95
     Cathcart Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   96
  Gomer Township:  Daniel Dunlap - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   97
  York Township:  Edwards Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   98
  New York Township:  Old Baker House- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   99
     Austin Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  100
  Kingston - Early Stores- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  102
     Business Men- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  103
     Daniel Z. Cox - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  104
     Tilton Davis- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  105
  Mann Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  106
  Kingtson, Switzer Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  107
     Coshow Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  108
     Mack Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  109
Caldwell County, Missouri, Early Grocery Stores- - - - - - - - - - -  110
  Mirabile, Walter Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  112
  Hamilton Township, Hardman Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  113
Caldwell and Daviess Counties, Missouri
  Phil Covington - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  114
  A Run for His Money- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  115
  When Lewis Clampitt Froze to Death - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  116
Daviess County, Missouri:  Lenhart Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - -  117
  Gallatin, Missouri:  Killing of Banker Sheets- - - - - - - - - - -  118
Daviess County, Missouri:  Killing of Bud Wilson - - - - - - - - - -  119
     Dickerson Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  120
     Adam-Ondi-Ahman (Old Mormon Town) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  121
     Sergeant Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  122
     Cox Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  123
     Craig Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  124
  Wooderson District, Werner Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  125
  Clinton County, First Settler in Lathrop - - - - - - - - - - - - -  126
  Newspaper Business - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  127
  Potts Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  128
  Tobien Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  129
Daviess County, Missouri:  Moses Orr - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  130
  Bristow Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  131
  Foley Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  132
  Green Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  133
  Whitt Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  134
  Hamilton, Colby, Lumberman - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  136
     Morrow Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  137
     Anderson Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  138
     Doll Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  139
  Independence District:  Simpson Farm - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  140
  Mill Creek District: Worthington Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - -  141
  Lovely Ridge District:  Jones Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  141
  Mirabile Township:  Paxtons- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  143
  Hamilton, Strahl Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  144
     Old Harry House - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  145
     Dort Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  146
     McCoy Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  147
     Claypool Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  148
     Saloons - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  149
     Reddie, Lumberman - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  151
     Hotels- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  153
     First Child Born in Hamilton- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  154
     Dr. Lewis Butts, Ex-slave - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  155
     Early Business Woman- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  156
     Mitchells and Terrills- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  157
     Orr Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  158
Hamilton and Mirabile:  Sam R. Lane- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  159
     John H. Burrows - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  160
Hamilton:  Low Family- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  161
New York Township:  David Christ [Crist] - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  162
  Hamilton Memories- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  163
     O.O. Brown, Merchant- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  165
  Mirabile:  Wm. Partin Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  166
  Mirabile - Hamilton
     McClintocks - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  167
  Hamilton:  Partin Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  178
     First Saloon Keeper - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  169
     Early Carpenter - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  170
     Early Grocer- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  171
  Senator Young- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  172
  Gomer Township:  Arms and Page Families- - - - - - - - - - - - - -  173
  Hamilton Township:
     James Hill- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  174
     Dilley, Lawyer- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  175
     Higgins and Hines Families- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  176
     Johnson's Store - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  177
  The Goodman Family - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  178
  Hamilton Business Life - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  179
     Old Section House - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  180
     Minger, The Baker - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  181
     Thomson, Cabinet Maker, Well Digger, etc. - - - - - - - - - - -  182
Kansas U.S. Senator, Chester I. Long - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  183
  New York Township - Interview
     William Guffey- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  185
  Hamilton:  Enos Dudley - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  187
  Interviews - Church-School - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  188

------------------------------------------------------------------------
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