Robert & Polly Hinkson: Lifelong Frontier Family

by David P. Sapp


The Hinkson name is well known today in Boone County, but few know that our creek and streets were named for Robert Hinkson. And fewer know anything of the life of Robert Hinkson. William F. Switzler, writing in 1882, said: "It is known that among the first white men who came to the country now comprised with Columbia township were old Robert Hinkson, whose cabin stood near where the St. Charles road crossed the creek that afterward bore and now bears his name."(Note 1) As to the time, Switzler says that Hinkson came to Boone county soon after peace was declared in 1815 ending the hostilities between the white men and the native Americans. Hinkson left his name on Boone County landmarks but what is the story behind Robert and Polly Hinkson?

To gain some understanding of Robert Hinkson we need to understand his upbringing. He was the son of Colonel John Hinkson, who was born about 1740 probably in present Pennsylvania. Colonel John was the son of John, a native of Ireland, who had emigrated to America. The émigré John died at an early age, leaving behind young John and a sister. Robert's father, when a young man, returned to Ireland for some patrimony. There he met and married Margaret McCracken. They remained in Ireland for two years, but returned to America about 1765, locating in the area beyond Penn's colony that would become Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania.(Note2) At the time, this was about as far as "civilization" extended. It was also about this time that their son, Robert, was born.

John and Margaret Hinkson had a family of at least four children by the spring of 1775 when John led a party known as Hinkson's company from Pennsylvania to future Kentucky in search of lands to acquire. In April, 1775 Colonel Hinkson cleared a piece of ground and erected a log cabin on the banks of the Licking, near the mouth of Townsend creek. Several other members of the party did likewise and they began to raise corn, with which they later furnished seed to a number of other improvers. Hinkson's settlement soon became a station and as such was the central source of supply. Shortly after the settlement there was a major engagement between Colonel Hinkson, who was in command of the station, and the notorious renegade, Simon Girty, of the Indian forces. When the ammunition ran out at the station, Colonel Hinkson was forced to surrender himself to the Indians. This he did under promise from Girty that the remainder of his men, women and children should be allowed to remain at the station unmolested and he, Hinkson, would be furnished with Girty's uniform as a guaranty of safety while a prisoner. Hinkson managed to escape and rejoined his family and friends.

In the fall of 1775 all of the Miller company and seven of the Hinkson party returned up the Ohio river to their old homes in Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1776, the Lyons company, consisting of ten persons, came from the Keystone state to Hinkson's station, where at the insistence of Colonel Hinkson, William Haskins conducted them to some rich lands which had not been taken up, the same being some miles to the east, probably in what is now Bourbon county. In June and July, however, a great number of Indians came from Ohio to their old hunting grounds in Kentucky. Finding them occupied by white settlers they commenced their depredations on the 7th of July, 1776, and in the ensuing skirmishes killed John Cooper, who was the first man to raise corn in Harrison county. Colonel Hinkson, together with other settlers--nineteen in all--not being strong enough to resist the terrible onslaught of Indians, fled to McClelland's fort at Georgetown, where they remained for a time, later returning to Harrison county.(Note 3)

It appears that Colonel John Hinkson died in early 1790.(Note 4) If this date is correct, his death came just a couple of months after his eldest, Robert, was married to Polly Hinch, daughter of Samuel Hinch, in Bourbon County, Kentucky, on January 26, 1790.(Note 5) The new couple apparently spent the first twelve years or so of their married life in the Bourbon County area. Bourbon county had been formed out of Kentucky county, Virginia, in 1786. In 1792, the state of Kentucky was organized, and in 1794 Harrison County was formed from Bourbon County. The Hinksons were a well known, established family in Cynthiana, the seat of the new Harrison county.

As early as May 1786, Robert became involved in the administration of Bourbon county in the capacity of deputy sheriff, possibly reporting to his father "Colonel" John Hinkson, who was referenced in 1790 county court records as "deceased, late sheriff of this county." Robert apparently continued in law enforcement because he was sworn in as the first Sheriff of the newly formed Harrison county in February 1794. He seems to have been building a substantial career, consistent with the respected Hinkson name. For reasons unknown, Robert and Polly Hinkson picked up their family, journeyed over 400 miles by river, and made claim to land on the banks of the Brazeau creek in present Washington County, Missouri, in 1802 or, more probably, 1803.(Note 6) Their reasons for leaving the relative security of the Cynthiana area can only be speculation, but Robert's rearing and early adult years had all been spent in virtual wilderness areas. Later events for which we have found documentation suggest an uneasy association with "crowds." It seems likely that the demands of expanding civilization were more than Robert and Polly wished to agree to. The land they chose for their new home was about thirty-five miles west of the Mississippi in Spanish controlled territory. Though the Spanish had retroceded the area west of the Mississippi to the French in 1800, it was done in secret and did not become known in the area until May 1803. Once again, the Hinksons were at the "edge of civilization."

It appears that Robert engaged in some fashion with the burgeoning lead mining industry around Mine á Breton. By the time the Hinkson family arrived, Mine á Breton consisted of no more than "twenty to thirty households, about half Creole and half American. It was more a mining camp than a town, however, and it continued to be troubled with violence . . . ." The violence arose mostly from squabbles between the small land holders, the many land speculators, and the sometimes despised, always domineering, Moses Austin with his questionable claim to 6,000 acres of land.(Note 7) In addition to the violence between the Europeans over land interests, there were also tensions between the frontier populace and the Big Osage Indians. And of the non-native people, it was the Anglos who were more hated by the Big Osage than the French Creoles with whom they had coexisted for decades. Obviously, Robert Hinkson with his small land claim and his Irish blood took substantial risks to locate in this area. Polly is not mentioned directly in the records of this time, but we know she must have been an incredibly strong-willed and tough mate. She was left to maintain the household, a very crude one it is sure, and raise the children in a severe environment. One of the few comforts for her may have been the presence of her father in Ste. Genevieve.

The Hinksons had other family ties when they moved to the Mine á Breton area. Robert's brother, William Hinkson, was in the general area where Robert and Polly settled, though we are not sure who came first. Polly's father, Samuel Hinch, was in Ste. Genevieve about the same time and may have even preceded his daughter and son-in-law. Interestingly, Hinch was a lawyer and was the first justice of the Ste. Genevieve Court of Common Pleas in 1805. Prior to this time, "there were no lawyers in colonial Ste. Genevieve, for the French monarchy had kept them out of Louisiana on the grounds that they bred contentiousness in society." Two hundred years later, some people feel the same way.

In the years from 1806 to 1813, Robert Hinkson was involved in no fewer than thirty court cases, either as a plaintiff or defendant in the Court of Common Pleas at Ste. Genevieve.(Note 8) It is not clear if this indicates a particularly litigious society or a contentious Hinkson, or both. Most of the cases were over matters of unpaid debts.

Hinkson's time in this area was marked by other references in the official records, mostly legal proceedings over his land. In 1812, the Missouri Territory was created out of the Territory of Louisiana. Beginning around 1810, land grants from the time before December 20, 1803 (the official date that the United States took possession of the part of the Louisiana territory below the Missouri River from the French), had to be presented for confirmation. Some people had lived on their land for years, with only the word of an official or with no recognized claim at all. Now they had to demonstrate that they had not only lived on the land but had made the proper improvements prior to December 20, 1803. Hinkson made three attempts in 1810 to get his land claim confirmed.(Note 9) In each case, the board of commissioners ruled that "his claim ought not to be granted," even though they had in 1806 "grant[ed] the claimant five hundred arpents [about 422 acres] of land, provided so much can be found vacant there." From these claims we learn a bit more about Robert Hinkson. In three different sworn statements, he said that he settled the tract in question "in the summer of 1803," or that he "settled the said tract of land in 1803; built a house on the same; that in January, 1804, he moved on it, raised a crop, and has actually inhabited and cultivated the same to this day;" or that he "cultivated the said tract of land in 1802, and did, prior to . . . the 20th December, 1803, actually inhabit and cultivate the same." It seems that Robert did not fully understand what the "right answer" was in these cases. For these claims to be upheld, he had to prove that he not only settled on the land prior to 20 December, 1803, but that he had also made the required improvements before that date. In his first pleading, he was too vague and did not address improvements at all. In his second pleading, he seems to be saying that he did not build a house and start any cultivation until early 1804, after the cutoff date. In his third, and apparently last, pleading, he moved back his claimed dates in an attempt to satisfy the requirements of the law and the whims of the commissioners. By that time, he had probably lost any credibility on his claim and it was also denied. Likely his first pleadings were most truthful and that he probably began settling and working the parcel of land in 1803. Of course, even then, due to the December 20th, 1803, cutoff date, he had incentive to "stretch" the truth.

More interesting than the discrepancies about his early days on the land are the three different family situations he swore to in these same claims. In the first one, he stated that in the summer of 1803 he had a wife and six children, only to state in the second one that he had a wife and four children! In the third record, he stated he "had then [1802 or 1803?] three children and one slave." These differing statements certainly did not make it any easier for the commissioners to rule in his favor. Regardless of Hinkson's affirmations, it appears that he and Polly were victims of the changing legal authorities and the "system" that was set up to deal with numerous cases of overlapping claims, undocumented claims, and, in some cases, outright fraud.

Hinkson, along with 562 other signers tried, in vane, to get redress of his grievances through the Congress of the United States. In a petition submitted in September, 1811, they stated that they were inhabitants of the Territory of Louisiana and that they had essentially been cheated in their claims and wanted to have a representative in Congress to represent them. Their petition may have helped support legislation creating the separate Missouri Territory, but it did nothing to help them get redress of their "just claims."(Note 10)

The loss of Hinkson's property rights in an area he had helped settle clearly was a severe blow. Probably some time in mid-1814, he left present Washington County to try and start over. Robert was now nearing 50 years of age, no longer a young man, and probably bitter at having to move again. But he had been hearing about yet another frontier--the bounteous Boone's Lick country to the west--and headed there despite the fact that the War of 1812 was on and Europeans in central Missouri who did not have protection were running big risks.

Robert Hinkson is listed as one of the men residing in Fort Hempstead during the War of 1812, though it seems he was there for only the last year or so of the war. The list of residents, though it includes some females, does not show any other Hinksons, especially not his wife, Polly, probably an indication that she and the children remained back in Ste. Genevieve with her father until the war was over and calm and relative safety prevailed again. Though there were no other Hinksons known to have been in the forts during the war, Robert's brother, Samuel, came to the area soon after the war concluded and married Polly Greathouse in February 1817.

The issue of land ownership at this early date is again critical to understanding Robert Hinkson's situation. After leaving Fort Hempstead in 1815, he may have scouted around the central Missouri area for a while but soon he decided to spend some time in what would later become Boone County. The newspaper account which follows proves that he had built a small cabin and was "settled" by Christmas of 1818. So, for now, we can only state clearly that between summer of 1815 and Christmas of 1818 he and his family built the rude, single-room cabin described below very near the junction of the St. Charles-Franklin road (the Boone's Lick trail) and the creek that would later take his name. It appears that he built on unowned land, possibly with the notion of obtaining legal claim to it later, though there is no record that he ever did. North Todd Gentry stated that Hinkson did not own real estate in Boone county because of judgements that had been rendered against him prior to his coming here.(Note 11) This certainly makes sense. If he purchased land, it could be seized to settle a judgement.

Dec. 25, 1818. Cruising this prairie in a horse train and after riding several miles through timber and brushwood, I came to a Mr. H___’s, where report said breakfast could be obtained, and which offered quite a contrast with the family of last night. The cabin was a single room of most primitive fashion, spice bush tea was a substitute for coffee, and the flesh of hog, bear, deer, and elk, was plenty of which the landlord showed me enough to supply a regiment. The corn-dodgers were cold and quite unpalatable; for the good woman had never learned the art of cleanliness and cookery. The man was a successful hunter, but probably understood very little of agriculture. I paid fifty cents for these accommodations--for my horse was lame and refused to eat.(Note 12)

As is clear from this wonderful first-hand account, Robert and Polly took in travelers to make ends meet. They did not necessarily want to but it was a way to bring in a little hard currency. When they first staked out their claim here, travelers were not as frequent, but they became more numerous in a short time. Also, even at this early time Robert knew that the hundreds of travelers that passed by his house, some of them stopping to claim land, were having an impact on the availability of the wild game which he depended on as a hunter. When they first arrived, he could easily find game near his cabin. Now he found he was having to go a little farther each hunt. He had seen this trend before and knew he had to find a way to survive without totally depending on the bounties of the original wilderness.

The first documentary reference we have that attaches the name Hinkson to the creek comes from the May, 1821, minutes of the Boone County Court (p. 5), wherein a report on road districts in the county mentions Hinkson Creek, so we know the name was in common use by that date.

Detailed research into the route of the early Boone's Lick trail allows us to determine with some fair precision where Robert and Polly Hinkson settled down when they were in Boone County. A key piece of information is Switzler's statement that they settled "where the St. Charles road crossed the creek that afterward bore and now bears his name." Without going into the reasoning, the evidence that is available is clearly shows that the early road from St. Charles to the Boone's Lick followed closely present O'Rear Road, from its intersection with Route HH to Brown's Station. It would seem that the Hinkson home was within a couple of hundred yards of the present bridge on O'Rear Road that crosses the Hinkson Creek.

Hinkson also seems to have earned the questionable distinction of being involved with one of the first civil cases filed in Boone County. It was the "case of Henry Elliott & Son against Robert Hinkson, which was a suit on a judgement rendered by a justice of the peace of Ste. Genevieve county. This suit was filed on January 22, 1821, and John Slack . . . was the justice . . . . Hinkson lost, but he was successful on appeal to the circuit court."(Note 13)

Though Hinkson surely felt he had not gotten a fair deal with his land near Ste. Genevieve and was often embroiled in law suits, he remained involved in his new community. In February, 1822, he was appointed along with Sampson Wright and Peter Fountain to be a road commissioner to "lay out a road beginning at the county line where a road laid out by Callaway County intersects, thence the nearest route to meet a road laid out by Howard County at section 25, township 51, range 14, and report at next term of court." In May of 1822, the three commissioners made their report back to the county court. (p. 24 of abstract, p. 144 of County Court Record Book A.). He garnered a post office in his name in June of 1823, indicating that he was liked and supported well enough to satisfy the government's application process that he was an upstanding member of the community.(Note 14) In September of 1824, he posted notice in the newspaper as required by law that he had found two stray mares.(Note 15)

Then things changed. Hinkson lost another law suit and seriously compounded the judgement against him by resisting an officer. "In 1825, a judgement was rendered . . . against Hinkson for $14.50 debt and $1.06-1/4 court costs(Note 15), and an execution was delivered to Peter Kearney constable.(Note 16) This writ commanded the constable to levy the said debts on the goods and chattels of him the said Robert Hinkson, a laborer, and for want of sufficient distress, to take the body of said Robert Hinkson . . . to the common jail of said county . . . . In attempting to take the defendant to the county jail, a difficulty arose, and Robert Hinkson, Polly Hinkson, his wife, and Jas. H. Hinkson were indicted for resisting an officer with process. The defendants afterward moved to Washington county... Jas. H. Hinkson failed to appear at the February term of the court and his bond was forfeited. On proof that his failure was due to the fact that the Missouri River was filled with floating ice and the ferry had stopped running, the forfeiture was set aside. Jas. H. Hinkson was then tried, but the jury failed to agree . . . . Hinkson [requested] a change of venue . . . to Callaway county, where the case was dismissed." As is clear from this account, Robert and Polly did not just "move" from the area--they fled. As a result, Hinkson's post office was reported unexpectedly closed in May 1825, the mail redirected to the Columbia post office.(Note 18)

The Hinksons returned to the Washington County area when they fled Boone County, but they did not remain there long. Robert was granted a "Wine and Spirits" license in late 1825, so he apparently operated a dram shop or tavern for a while.(Note 19) By 1830, however, they had moved on to Pulaski County (Little Rock) Arkansas with their son, Samuel H.(Note 20) By this time, Robert was in his sixties and Polly was just a few years younger. They probably were no longer the primary decision makers in the family and most likely accompanied their son and daughter-in-law on the move to the Little Rock area. The territorial area may have appealed to Samuel for the same reasons that his father and mother always moved to the edge of the settled areas. Robert lived out his life with his son and died on 21 December 1834. (Note 21) As was usually the case with the women, Polly's passing was not noted in the local newspaper, so we can only assume that she also died in the 1830s in Pulaski County, Arkansas.

ENDNOTES:
1. Some early references to Hinkson's Boone County home place put him in Columbia township, whereas the point of crossing of the Boone's Lick trail and Hinkson creek is in Rocky Fork township. This can be explained by a change that occurred in the northern boundary of Columbia township. Originally, it was laid out to be two miles farther north than it is presently. Early on Hinkson's was in Columbia township, whereas it is now in Rocky Fork township.
2. The information about Robert Hinkson's parents and his grandfather, John, is from the Draper Manuscripts, 2S, an 1845 interview with John Hinkson (Robert's brother).
3. A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians by E. Polk Johnson. Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago-New York, 1912, Vol III, pp. 1587-1589.
4. Based on his estate inventory, it’s estimated that he died 24 March 1790.
5. Bourbon County, Kentucky, Marriage Records 1785-1851, n.d., n.p. call # 929.3 K419bou, at the State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia.
6. Houck in his History of Missouri, vol. 1, p. 386, states that "other settlers in Brazeau bottom and at Brazeau creek were Robert Hinkson (1800), Joseph James (1801), David L. Johnson (1802), . . . ." I have chosen to give most credence to Robert's own declarations in the land cases (discussed later) as he would have every reason to establish the earliest possible date that he could. Had he truly arrived as early as 1800, his later claim would have probably been upheld.
7. This is the same Moses Austin who developed lead shot technology in Virginia, moved to the area around the lead mines near later Potosi in 1798, and who later moved to Texas and received permission from the Spanish to establish a colony. His son, Stephen F. Austin, spent his early business years in the area where Robert Hinkson was and went on to be immortalized as the "Father of Texas."
8. From a finding aid at the Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City, MO, titled Sainte Genevieve County Index to Territorial Records, Court of Common Pleas (Microfilm).
9. The three "cases" cited are from: First Settlers of the Missouri Territory: Containing Grants in Present States of Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma, by Carolyn Ericson and Frances Ingmire, 1983, pp. 51, 53, and 128.
10. Territorial Papers - Louisiana-Missouri Territory, 1806-1814, Volume XIV pages 471-479.
11. Gentry, N.T. papers, Collection #49, folder #143, Western Historical Manuscripts Collection--Columbia, Missouri.
12. This account from the [Columbia] Missouri Statesman of 3 April 1857, p. 1/col. 5, is from the diary of the Rev. J. M. Peck, written on Christmas, 1818, as he traveled the Boone’s Lick trail. A careful reading of the full account leads to the conclusion that “Mr. H__” was indeed Mr. Hinkson. It was a common device used by newspaper editors, and maybe preachers, to play a bit coy when a reference may not be all that flattering.
13. Gentry, North Todd, The Bench and Bar of Boone County Missouri, published by Gentry, Columbia, Missouri, 1916. In addition to this published summary, one can refer to the Boone County Circuit Court Records, Vol. A, 1821-1831, p. 8 (Aug. 6, 1821), which is the official record of Judge David Todd's decision in the appeal. The case was heard by a twelve man jury which favored Hinkson, allowing him to avoid the original judgement and to attempt to recover his costs to defend himself from Elliott.
14. Microfilm records of U.S. Appointments of Postmasters, 1825-1827, p. 100.
15. [Fayette] Missouri Intelligencer, Sept. 4, 1824, p. 3, col. 4.
16. The monetary amount is an interesting, if obscure, reminder of the money situation in the early 1800s, especially in the frontier areas. 6-1/4 cents was called a "picayune," another name for the Spanish medio or half reale. They were most common in Louisiana territory and Florida.
17. Kearney was one of the early occupants of Smithton, and then Columbia. He appears to have been the first grocery merchant in both places. [Switzler, pp. 145, 162-3].
18. [Fayette] Missouri Intelligencer, May 28, 1825, p. 2, col. 4.
19. [St. Louis] Missouri Republican, Dec. 12, 1825, p. 3, col. 5.
20. Samuel Hinkston was enumerated in Pulaski Co. in the 1830 Arkansas Territory census, p. 235. Besides Samuel, there were 2 males <5, 1 male 50-60, 1 female 5-10, 2 females 10-15, 1 female 30-40, and 1 female 50-60. The oldest male and oldest female were certainly Robert and Polly, maybe shaving a few years off their ages.
21. His obituary was summarized in Arkansas Newspaper Abstracts 1819-1845, originally c. 1981 by James Logan Morgan, reprinted by Arkansas Research, Conway, AR, 1992. Vol. I, p. 27. It said that Robert Hinkson was 68 when he died and formerly of Missouri. He died at the residence of his son, Major Samuel H. Hinkson, of Big Rock Township, Pulaski Co., Arkansas. Original was in the Arkansas Gazette of 23 Dec 1834.

© Copyright David P. Sapp 2009

Missouri State Teachers Association Attendance Book - 1940-1942

Boone County Historical Society collection. Ledger book donated thanks to Pat Fagan, Phyllis Sapp and Chris Creasy.

The book is a bound “account book” with 200 numbered pages and measures 7-1/2" x 9-1/2." It was found by Pat Fagan in a house on Mexico Gravel Road, Columbia, in 1971, apparently left behind by the previous owners. Nothing in the book indicated what person or persons had earlier had possession of the book. The book contains about fifteen pages of entries that appear to have been made at annual Missouri State Teachers Association meetings in 1940, 1941 and 1942.

The first entries are labeled “August 1940” and may have resulted from a MSTA meeting held before the start of the 1940-1941 school year. The next series of entries are labeled “1941-1942" and it is possible that these entries were from an August 1941 meeting of the MSTA. The book contains a third set of entries that are unlabeled but it seems logical that these names were from the next annual meeting of the MSTA, possibly held in August of 1942.

Each set of entries includes columns from left to right with:
Name
School
Home Address
School Address
Phone No.

All of the entries except the phone numbers have been transcribed here. Additionally, a final field was added to each record indicating the apparent date of the meeting. It is noted that the address columns seem often to be mixed up as the “home” address and the “school” address are often the same.

In addition to the names of participants in the MSTA meetings, another set of eight pages contain income and expenditure entries for the same 1941-1943 time period. Some of the names were the same as on the MSTA meeting lists but others were new. The names associated with these lists along with a brief note of the type of entry (income or expense) and the year for which the entry was made are listed in alphabetical order after the attendance list.

The names in both lists have been sorted by last name rather than the order of entry into the book since there was no significance to the original list order. This allows the reader to see, for example, all of the entries for an individual over the course of the three meetings.

Attendance List

Akeman, Elizabeth, Wilhite, Route 5, Columbia, R.5, Columbia, Unk, 1942?
Akeman, Elizabeth, Wilhite, Columbia, Mo. R5, Columbia, Mo. R5, Yes, August 1940
Akeman, Mrs. Clark, Wilhite, Columbia, R.5, Columbia, R.5, Yes, 1941-1942
Anderson, Edgar T., , Columbia, 110 N. 2nd St., Unk, 1942?
Anderson, Gladys I., Hallsville, Hallsville, Hallsville , Unk, 1942?
Anderson, Helen D., Jacobs, 4 Court St., 4 Court St., Yes, 1941-1942
Anderson, Helen D., Jacobs, 4 Court St., 4 Court St., Yes, August 1940
Anderson, Helen D., Jacobs, 4 Court - Columbia, Same , Unk, 1942?
Angell, Grace, Angell, Centralia R2, Centralia R.2, Unk, 1942?
Angell, Grace, Angell, Centralia R2, Centralia R2, Yes, 1941-1942
Angell, Grace E., Angell, Centralia, Mo., Centralia, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Arthur, [Pe?]tula C., Log Prov[idence], 502 N. 4th, 502 N. 4th, Unk, 1942?
Babbitt, Helen, Strawn, 813 W. Ash, Columbia, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Babbitt, Helen, Strawn, 813 W. Ash, Columbia R.F.D.3, Unk, 1942?
Baiotto, Hilvina, Gillaspy, Youngstown, Mo., Columbia, Mo. R.R.#2, Yes, August 1940
Baker, Geneva A., Lathrop, Columbia, Mo., Rocheport, Yes, August 1940
Barner, Mrs. Harriet, Hartsburg Primary, Hartsburg, Hartsburg, Yes, 1941-1942
Barnes, Grace, Wade, Brown Station R.1, Brown Station R.1, Yes, 1941-1942
Barnes, Grace, Wade, Brown Station R.1, Columbia R.R.6, Unk, 1942?
Barnes, Grace, Wade, Brown's Station, Mo., Brown's Station Mo R1, Yes, August 1940
Barron, Frances, White, Clifton Hill, Mo., Clark, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Bartee, Carlene, Turner, Clark, Mo., Clark, Mo., Unk, 1942?
Baugh, Grace [R./P.?], Wallace, Hallsville, Centralia, Mo. R.5, Yes, 1941-1942
Bennett, Ethel D., Nashville, Columbia, Mo. 722 Gentry, Same as home, Yes, 1941-1942
Bennett, Ethelda, Lakewview, 722 Gentry, Columbia, Columbia, Route 4, Yes, 1941-1942
Bennett, Ethelda, Lakewview, 726 Gentry, Route 4, Columbia, Unk, 1942?
Biggs, Sarah D., Hartsburg, Ashland, Mo., Hartsburg, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Biggs, Sarah D., Hartsburg, Ashland, Mo., Hartsburg, Unk, 1942?
Biggs, Sarah Dorothy, Hartsburg, Ashland, Hartsburg, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Bottoms, Ali[n?]e, Wallace, Centralia, Mo. R.F.D., Centralia, R.F.D., No, August 1940
Brown, G., Warren, 506 Oak St., McBaine, Mo. , Unk, 1942?
Brown, Jasper, Roberts, Hallsville, Hallsville , Unk, 1942?
Bryson, James, Nashville, Route #6, Columbia, McBaine, Yes, August 1940
Bryson, Osa, Englewood, Route #6, Columbia, Ashland, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Bryson, Osa, Englewood, Ashland, Mo., Ashland, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Burton, Mrs. Roy, Cunningham, 17 Sunset Lane, 17 Sunset Lane, Yes, August 1940
Burton, Mrs. Roy, Deer Park, 17 Sunset Lane, Columbia, Columbia, R4, Yes, 1941-1942
Byler, Mrs. Shirley E., Bethlehem, Browns Station, Harrisburg, Yes, 1941-1942
Byler, Mrs. Shirley Ellen, Conley, Browns Station, Browns Station, Yes, August 1940
Byler, R.L., O'Rear, Browns Station, Browns Station, Yes, 1941-1942
Byram, Wilfred, Woods, Sturgeon, Mo., , , 1941-1942
Byram, Wilfred, Woods, Sturgeon, Mo., , Yes, August 1940
Callison, Helen M., Zaring, Columbia, Columbia , Unk, 1942?
Carr, Russell, Turner, Clark, Clark, Yes, August 1940
Carr, Russell, Turner, Clark - R6, 7004 Clark - R#2, Yes, 1941-1942
Chandler, Lucille Wheeler, White, Fayette, Mo., Clark, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Cheavens, Thelma, Warren, 102 E. Bdwy., McBain #1, Unk, 1942?
Chism, Frances, White, Clark, Mo., Clark, Mo., Unk, 1942?
Coats, Mildred E., Searcy, Sturgeon, Mo., Sturgeon, Mo., Unk, 1942?
Coats, Mildred E., Searcy, Sturgeon, Mo., Browns Sta., Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Coleman, E.J., Gelaspy, 411 Lyons, Columbia , Unk, 1942?
Coleman, Eva J. (colored), Johnson, Columbia, Mo. 411 Lyons, , , August 1940
Cook, Alice H., Vawter, Columbia, R.3, Columbia, R.3, Yes, August 1940
Cook, Esther, Far West, Centralia R5, Centralia R5, Unk, 1942?
Cordle, M. Ann, McGuire, Columbia, Mo., Columbia, Mo., No, 1941-1942
Corwine, G.D., Callahan, Prairie Home, Mo., R5 Columbia, Unk, 1942?
Corwine, G.D., Callahan, 1003 Sixth St., Boonville, Columbia R5, Yes, 1941-1942
Crane, Mrs. Avela, Grindstone, , R#1, Columbia, Mo., Unk, 1942?
Cunningham, H.W., Star, 507 Worley, 507 Worley, Columbia, Yes, 1941-1942
Cunningham, Mrs. H.W., Star, Columbia, 507 Worley, Columbia, 507 Worley, Yes, August 1940
Cunningham, N.S., Deerk Park, 507 Worley St., Columbia, Mo., Unk, 1942?
Davidson, Gwendolyn, Acton, 410 Vesser, Hartsburg, Mo., Unk, 1942?
Davis, Hazel D., Gillaspy, Columbia, 122 Third Ave., Yes, 1941-1942
Davis, Mrs. Clay T., Hickory Grove, 307 Ripley, Columbia, Rocheport, Unk, 1942?
Davis, Mrs. Hazel, Gillaspy, 9 Hubbell, Columbia, Columbia , Unk, 1942?
Davis, Nellie W., Cunningham, 1610 Univ., McBaine, Unk, 1942?
Davis, Nellie Welch, Englewood, Ashland, R.1, Ashland, Yes, August 1940
De[nnis?], Frances D[iles?], Hallsville, Hallsville, Hallsville , Unk, 1942?
DeLaney, Mrs. Jas., Hallsville, Madison, Mo., Hallsville , Unk, 1942?
Dougherty, Gladys, Hartsburg, Fayette, Mo., Harrisburg, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Dougherty, Gladys, Harrisburg, Fayette, Mo., Harrisburg, Mo., No, August 1940
Douglas, Christana, , Columbia, R. #4, Columbia, R. #4, Yes, August 1940
Douglas, Lucy, Bethel, 710 Worley, R4 Columbia, Unk, 1942?
Douglas, Lucy, Bethel, 710 Worley, 710 Worley, Yes, 1941-1942
Douglas, Mary J., Pauley, McBaine, Mo. R.1, McBaine , Unk, 1942?
Douglas, Mary Jane, Pauley, McBaine, McBaine, Mo. , Yes, 1941-1942
Douglas, Mrs. Lucy, Bethel, Columbia, 501 McBaine, Columbia, Mo. R.4, Yes, August 1940
Drane, Adalpha, Turner 32, Hallsville, Hallsville , Unk, 1942?
Drane, Adalpha, turner, Hallsville, , , 1941-1942
Drane, Mrs. T.E., Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Mo., Harrisburg, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Drane, Mrs. T.E., Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Unk, 1942?
Drane, Mrs. T.E., Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Mo., Harrisburg, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Drane, Russell, Richland, Harrisburg, Mo., , Yes, August 1940
Drane, Russell, Richland, Harrisburg, Mo., Harrisburg, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Driskill, Eula, Searcy, Gary St., Columbia, Same , Unk, 1942?
Driskill, Eula, Searcy, Star Route, Hunthill Additions, Columbia, Browns Sta., Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Driskill, Mrs. Gray, Searcy, Gary St., Columbia, Browns Station, Yes, August 1940
Estes, Mrs. Alice, Arnold, Ashland, Ashland, Yes, 1941-1942
Estes, Mrs. Alice B., Arnold, Ashland, Ashland, Yes, August 1940
Evans, Geo. W., Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Yes, August 1940
Evans, Mrs. Agnes H., Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Yes, August 1940
Forbis, Hinton, Ashland, Ashland, Mo., , , August 1940
Forbis, Hinton, Ashland, Ashland, Ashland, Unk, 1942?
Forbis, Karleen, Ashland, Ashland, Ashland, Yes, 1941-1942
Forbis, Mildred, Conley, Ashland, Mo., Columbia, Mo. - R6, Yes, 1941-1942
Forbis, Mildred, Oak Grove , Ashland, Ashland, Unk, 1942?
Gatewood, E?, Deer Park, R.F.D. No.1, Columbia , Unk, 1942?
George, Veva Neill, Vaughter, Columbia, Columbia, Mo. #6, , 1941-1942
Glascock, Helen, Cunningham, Hartsburg, McBaine, Mo. R.1, Yes, 1941-1942
Glascock, Helen, Wm. Wren, Hartsburg, Hartsburg, Unk, 1942?
Gott, Jeannette W., Flint Hill, 2 Dorsey St., Columbia, Columbia, Mo. , No, August 1940
Graves, Edna, Rocheport, Rocheport, Boone co, Mo, Rocheport, Boone co Mo, Yes, August 1940
Graves, Edna, Rocheport, Rocheport, Mo., Rocheport, Unk, 1942?
Graves, Edna, Rocheport, Rocheport, Mo., Rocheport, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Griffin, Allene, Far West, Sturgeon, Centralia, R.F.d., Yes, 1941-1942
Grooms, Jewel, Prospect, McBaine, Mo. R.1, McBaine, Mo. , Unk, 1942?
Grooms, Jewell, Propsect, McBaine, Mo. R.1, McBaine, Mo. R.1, Yes, August 1940
Grooms, Jewell, Prospect, McBaine, McBaine, Mo. , Yes, 1941-1942
Gullett, Dick, Red Rock, Harrisburg, Mo., , , August 1940
Haggard, Lida D., Harrisburg, Fayette, Harrisburg, No, August 1940
Haggard, Linda, Harrisburg, Fayette, Mo., Harrisburg, Yes, 1941-1942
Hamann, Bertha, Union, Centralia, Mo., Centralia, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Hammond, E.E., Everett, Hallsville, Rocheport, Mo., Unk, 1942?
Hammond, Edna E., Cunningham, Hallsville, Mo., McBaine , Yes, 1941-1942
Hammond, Edna E., Tucker, Hallsville, Mo., Sturgeon, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Harris, Ruth, Rocheport, Columbia, Mo., Rocheport, Yes, August 1940
Hawkins, Movelle, Joe Wren, Ashland, Hartsburg, Unk, 1942?
Henderson, Mrs. Cotter, Turner, 502 Rogers, Col., Columbia, Route 1, Unk, 1942?
Henderson, Norene, Turner, 502 Rogers, columbia R1, Yes, 1941-1942
Hourigan, Bess, Via, 13 W. Bdwy, Columbia , Unk, 1942?
Hourigan, Bess, Via, Columbia, Mo., Columbia, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Hourigan, Mrs. Bess, Via, 13 West Broadway, 13 West Broadway, Yes, August 1940
Hudson, Mrs. J.N., Tucker, Sturgeon, Sturgeon, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Hudson, Mrs. J.N., Far West, Sturgeon, Mo., Sturgeon, Mo. Box 467, No, August 1940
Hunt, Dorothy, Linden, Rocheport, Mo., Rocheport, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Hunt, Dorothy, Linden, Rocheport, Mo., Rocheport, Mo., Unk, 1942?
Hunt, Dorothy, Linden, Rocheport, Missouri, Rocheport, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Hunt, Ruth, Walnut Grove, Rocheport, Mo., Rocheport, Mo., Unk, 1942?
Hutche[r?/n?]son, Mrs. Paul, Dunbar, Centralia, Mo., Centralia, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Hutchison, Mary B., Red Rock, Columbia R.F.D.5, Harrisburg, Mo., Unk, 1942?
Jacks, Mary M., Oak Grove , Hallsville, Mo. R.R.2, Hallsville, Mo. R.R.2, Unk, 1942?
Jones, Jessie Mae, Claysville, 305 Tyler St., Jefferson City, 305 Tyler St., Jefferson City, Unk, 1942?
Jones, Vera Bell, Conley, Hallsville, Mo., Browns Station, Unk, 1942?
Junge, Marie K., Ellis, Ashland, R.#2, Ashland, Mo., Unk, 1942?
Junge, Marie K., Ellis, Ashland, Mo., Ashland, R#2, Yes, 1941-1942
Junge, Mrs. Marie K., Ellis, Ashland, R.#2, Ashland, R.#2, Yes, August 1940
Keith, Howard, Valley Springs, Sturgeon, Mo., Columbia R3, Yes, August 1940
Keith, Maurine, Midway, Sturgeon, Columbia R3, Yes, 1941-1942
Keith, Maurine, Midway, Sturgeon, Mo., Columbia R3, Yes, August 1940
Klemme, Nettie, Crenshaw, Hartsburg, Hartsburg, Unk, 1942?
Klemme, Nettie, Crenshaw, Hartsburg, Hartsburg, Yes, 1941-1942
Largent, Mrs. C.A., Union, Centralia, Mo., Centralia, Mo R.F.D., Yes, August 1940
Lawrence, Wilma, Strawn, Sturgeon, Columbia Route #3, Yes, August 1940
LeFever, Mrs. Katie H., Carlisle , Columbia, Mo., 814 So. William, Unk, 1942?
Lentz, Naomi, Oakland, Columbia , McBaine, No, 1941-1942
Lewis, Alpha, Judy, 403 Otto Court, 403 Otto Court, Columbia, Yes, 1941-1942
Lewis, Alpha, Judy, 403 Otto Court, Columbia, Mo., Unk, 1942?
Lewis, Elizabeth, Wilton, Ashland, Mo., Hartsburg, Mo., No, 1941-1942
Lewis, Mrs. Alpha, Judy, 403 Otto Court, 403 Otto Court, Yes, August 1940
Lewis, Mrs. Marjorie, Richland, Rocheport, Mo. R#1, Rocheport, Mo., Unk, 1942?
Lo[ng?], Mary M., Zaring, Walter Apts., R.F.D. 2, Yes, 1941-1942
Lo[ng?], Mary M., Columbia, Walter Apts., Columbia, R.F.D.5, Unk, 1942?
Long, Mary M., Zaring, Columbia, Mo., Columbia, Mo. , Yes, August 1940
Lynch, Mrs. Otho B., Oak Grove (89), Harrisburg, Harrisburg, Yes, 1941-1942
McCa[rr?], Stella, Brown, Paris, 9 Hubbell, Columbia, Unk, 1942?
McCray, Alberta, Oak Grove (89), Hatton, Mo., Harrisburg, Mo., Yes, August 1940
McCray, C., Robnett, Fulton R.5, R.1 Columbia, Unk, 1942?
McCray, Claudia, Robnett, Fulton, Mo. R.5, Columbia, Mo., R.1, Yes, August 1940
McCray, Claudia, Robnett, Fulton, Mo. R.5, Columbia R.1, Yes, 1941-1942
Meserve, Harriett, Hartsburg, Pittsfield, Ill, Hartsburg, Mo., No, August 1940
Miller, Kathleen, Barnett, 923 S. Wms., Moberly, Mo., Clark, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Moore, Weldon, Christian, 524 Clark, Jeff. City, 524 Clark, Jeff. city, No, August 1940
Moreau, Claudine L., Hutsdale, Columbia, Mo. R.3, Columbia, Mo. R.3, Yes, 1941-1942
Moreau, Claudine L., Huntsdale, Columbia Route 3, Ashland, Yes, August 1940
Mourning, Mrs. Paul, Warren, 1703 Paris Rd., Columbia, McBaine R1, Yes, 1941-1942
Nichols, Elaine, Wm. Wren, Hartsburg, Mo., Hartsburg, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Nichols, Elaine, William Wren, Hartsburg, Mo., Hartsburg, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Osterloh, Marie, Everett, Hartsburg, Columbia, r.R., Yes, August 1940
Osterloh, Marie, Ashland, Hartsburg, Ashland, Unk, 1942?
Osterloh, Marie, Everett, Hartsburg, R.5 Columbia, Yes, 1941-1942
Pace, Della Faye, Grandview, Ashland, Centralia, R.1, Yes, August 1940
Pace, Della Faye, Grandview, Ashland, Centralia, Unk, 1942?
Pace, Della Faye, Grandview, Ashland, Centralia, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Pace, Ella Mae, Oak Grove (89), Ashland, R.1, Ashland, R.2, Yes, August 1940
Pace, Ella Mae, Oak Grove #89, Ashland, Mo., Ashland, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Pace, Nina B., Wilton, Ashland, Mo., Ashland, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Phillippe, Artie, Barnes, Columbia, Columbia R4, , 1941-1942
Phillippe, Helen, Sturgeon, Sturgeon, Sturgeon, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Phillippe, Helen Sims, Sturgeon, Sturgeon, Mo., Sturgeon, Mo. Box 467, Yes, August 1940
Phillippe, Margaret, Conley, , RFD 6, Columbia, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Phillippe, Margaret Lee, Conley, Hallsvile, Browns Station, Yes, August 1940
Phillips, Artie, Wilton, Columbia, Hartsburg, Unk, 1942?
Phillips, Martha, Englewood, Columbia, Ashland, Unk, 1942?
Phillips, Rebecca, Englewood, Columbia, Ashland, Unk, 1942?
Pile, Audra, Wm. Wren, Box 7, Columbia, Mo., , , 1941-1942
Pile, Martha, William Wren, Columbia, Mo., Hartsburg, Mol, Yes, August 1940
Powell, Irene, Conley, Browns's Station, Browns Station Mo R1, Unk, 1942?
Pulis, Mary Alice, Murry, Centralia, Mo., Hallsville, Mo. R.#, Yes, August 1940
Rawlings, Anice R., Brown, Columbia, 922 W. Broadway, Unk, 1942?
Rawlings, Anice Ruth, Brown, Columbia, Columbia, Mo. #6, Yes, 1941-1942
Rawlings, Mrs. Anice R., Columbia, 922 W. Bdwy, Columbia - 922 W. Bdwy, Yes, August 1940
Roberts, Sallie, Union, Centralia, Mo., Centralia R.F.D.5, Unk, 1942?
Robinson, Lizzie, Murry, Hallsville, Mo., , , 1941-1942
Robinson, Mrs. Lizzie, Murry, 204 W. Sims, Centralia, Hallsville R.F.D., Unk, 1942?
Rumbaugh, Grace, Wade, Hallsville, Mo., Hallsville, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Rumbaugh, Opal, Flint Hill, Hallsville, Sturgeon, Mo. Star Route, Unk, 1942?
Rumbaugh, Opal, Flint Hill, Hallsville, Mo., Sturgeon, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Rumbaugh, Ruby, Middletown, Hallsville, Mo., Hallsville, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Rutter, Rae, Winn, Clark, , , 1941-1942
Sears, Dora, Wade, 812-1/2 N. 8th Street, Hinton, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Stroud, Mrs. Anna M., Vawter, Box 32, Columbia, Box 32, Unk, 1942?
Sweitzer, E., Anold, Ashland, , Unk, 1942?
Sweitzer, Evelyn, New Providence, Ashland, Columbia Route 5, Yes, 1941-1942
Taylor, Jimmie, Wilton, Ashland, Mo., Hartsburg, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Thompson, Tressie, Bethlehem, Higbee, Mo., Columbia, Mo. , Yes, August 1940
Toalson, Evelyn, Wade, Mexico Road, Columbia, Mexico Road, Columbia, No, August 1940
Truitt, Mrs. Edith, Carter, Columbia, Mo., Columbia, Mo. R1, Yes, August 1940
Tucker, Anna Margaret, Acton, Rocheport, Hartsburg, Yes, August 1940
Vanderpool, Dulcie, Grassland, Centralia, Mo., Centralia, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Vanderpool, Mrs. Dulcie, Grassland, Centralia, Mo., Centralia, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Vemer, Betty Ann, Crter, Route 1, Route 1, Unk, 1942?
Vemer, Betty Ann, Carter, Columbia, Mo. R#1, Columbia, Route 1, Yes, 1941-1942
Wade, Margaret, Brown, 213 S. Williams, 213 S. Williams, Yes, 1941-1942
Wade, Mrs. Margaret, Brown, 213 S. Williams St., 213 S. Williams St., Yes, August 1940
Walden, Rebecca, Lathrop, Harrisburg, Rocheport, Unk, 1942?
Walden, Rebecca, Hickory Grove, Harrisburg, Mo., Rocheport, Yes, August 1940
Walden, Rebecca, Hickory Grove, Harrisburg, Rocheport, Yes, 1941-1942
Wallace, Maddene Blackwell, Co. Religious Ed. Director, 1203 Paquin St., Col., , No, August 1940
Waterman, Grace, Valley Springs, Fulton, Mo. R.5, R3, Columbia, Mo., , 1941-1942
Weber, Mrs. Frank, Sycamore, Greenberry Road R.7?, Jeff City, Hartsburg, No, 1941-1942
Wells, Mrs. M.L., Barnett, Salisbury, Mo., , No, August 1940
White, Anita, Grassland, 114 S[??] Columbia, Centralia, Mo., Unk, 1942?
White, Gladys E., Dunbar, 809 N. Jefferson, Centralia, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
White, Nellie, Claysville, Hartsburg, Hartsburg, Yes, 1941-1942
Whitworth, Broo[sie?], Joe Wren, 1610 University Ave., 1610 Univ., Columbia, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Whitworth, Maurice, Red Rock, Clark, Mo. R2, Harrisburg, Mo. R#1, Yes, 1941-1942
Wildermuth, A[u?/n?]da, Grindstone, 12 N. Garth, Columbia, Mo., Yes, 1941-1942
Williams, Esther, Hartsburg, Marthasville, Mo., Hartsburg, Unk, 1942?
Williams, J.F., Oakland, 13 So. 6th, Columbia, McBain, Unk, 1942?
Wright, Gladys B., Carlisle 67, Columbia, Mo., Columbia, Mo. R.1, Yes, 1941-1942
Wyatt, Eugenia, Hallsville, Hallsville, Hallsville , Unk, 1942?
Wyatt, Eugenia, Hallsville, Hallsville, Mo., Hallsville, Mo., Yes, August 1940
Wyble, Mildred, Keene, 305 Forest Ave, Columbia, Mo. #6, , August 1940
Wyble, Mildred, Keene, 305 Forest Ave., Columbia #6, Yes, 1941-1942
Wyble, Mildred, Keene, 305 Forest Ave., Columbia R.F.D.2, Unk, 1942?


Names from Income and Expense Entries

Akeman, Mrs. Elizabeth, 1942 Income
Anderson, Mr. E.T. (colored), 1941 Income
Anderson, Mrs. Helen, 1941 Income
Bain, Bernice, 1942 Income
Baker, Louise, 1941 Income
Barnes, Katnerine (Montgomery Co.), 1942 Income
Bauer, Vivian, 1941 Income
Bergman, Mrs. Opal, 1941 Income
Blythe, Ellen, 1942 Income
Boulware, Verna, 1941 Income
Brunberg, Mrs. David, 1941 Income
Bryson, James, 1941 Income
Bryson, Osa, 1941 Income
Byler, R.L., 1941 Income
Byram, W.L., 1942 Income
Carter, Mrs. Opal, 1941 Income
Cary, Daniel, 1942 Income
Coats, Mrs. Mildred, 1942 Income
Cook, Mrs. Esther, 1942 Income
Cordle, Margaret Ann, 1941 Income
Crane, Sarah, 1942 Income
Crowder, Mrs. Harriet, 1942 Income
Crump, Leona, 1942 Income
Cunningham, Mrs., 1942 Income
Dade, Hazel Dixon Dade (colored), 1941 Income
Dade, Hazel Dixon Dade (colored), 1942 Income
Daniels, Lawrence, 1941 Income
Davis, Mrs. Hazel, 1942 Income
Day, William, 1941 Income
Douglas, Mary J., 1942 Income
Douglas, Mary Jane, 1941 Income
Douglas, Mrs. Lucy, 1941 Income
Drane, Mrs. Adalpha, 1942 Income
Drane, Mrs. T.E., 1941 Income
Drane, Mrs. Thomas, 1941 Income
Drane, Russel, 1942 Income
Drane, Thomas, 1942 Income
Driskell, Mrs. Eula, 1941 Income
Forbis, Clara, 1943 Income
Forbis, Hinton, 1942 Income
Forbis, Mildred, 1941 Income
Forbis, Mrs. Clara, 1942 Income
Freezor, Helen, 1941 Income
Gibbs, Maxine, 1941 Income
Gibbs, Maxine, 1942 Income
Gibbs, Maxine, 1942 Expense
Glascock, Helen, 1941 Income
Glascock, Helen, 1942 Income
Graves, Edna, 1941 Income
Grindstead, Anna, 1941 Income
Gullett, Richard, 1941 Income
Harshbarger, Mrs. Sam, 1941 Income
Hawkins, June, 1941 Income
Hawkins, Movelle, 1941 Income
Hawkins, Movelle, 1942 Income
Herbage, Dean, 1941 Income
Hunt, Charles, 1942 Income
Hunt, Estil, 1941 Income
Hutchinson, Mary B., 1942 Income
Jacks, Mary M., 1942 Income
Jones, Jessie Mae, 1942 Income
Jones, Mrs. Allie, 1941 Income
Jones, Robt., 1942 Income
Koch, Leona, 1942 Income
Lambertson, Mrs. Esther, 1941 Income
Lawrence, Mrs. Wilma, 1941 Income
Leaver, Oneita, 1942 Income
Leaver, Oneita, 1941 Income
Lentz, Naomi, 1941 Income
Lewis, Elizabeth, 1942 Income
Lewis, Mrs. Elizabeth, 1941 Income
Lewis, Mrs. Marjorie, 1942 Income
Lillard, Linnelle, 1941 Income
Mary Hill (colored), 1942 Income
Mathews, Emma Belle, 1941 Income
Mourning, Mrs. Paul, 1941 Income
Norris, Lavinia, 1942 Income
Oberdick, Rubelle, 1942 Income
Pace, Della Faye, 1941 Income
Pace, Ella Mae, 1941 Income
Pace, Ella Mae, 1942 Income
Phillippe, Margaret, 1942 Income
Phillips, Artie, 1942 Income
Phillips, Artie, 1941 Income
Phillips, Martha, 1941 Income
Phillips, Martha, 1942 Income
Phillips, Rebecca, 1942 Income
Pile, Audra, 1941 Income
Powell, Allene, 1942 Income
Powell, Irene, 1942 Income
Powell, Mrs. Bradley, 1943 Income
Rippeto, Majorie, 1942 Income
Roberts, Mrs. Sallie, 1942 Income
Roberts, Mrs. Sallie, 1942 Income
Sands, Roma Wilson, 1942 Income
Sapp, Dulcie, 1942 Income
Sapp, Dulcie, 1941 Income
Sapp, Marie, 1941 Income
Stroud, Mrs. Margaret Anna, 1941 Income
Taylor, Mrs. Jimmie, 1941 Income
Thompson, Floren, 1942 Income
Vemer, Betty Ann, 1942 Income
Vemer, Betty Ann, 1941 Income
Vickers, Edythe, 1941 Income
Wade, Etha Louise, 1942 Income
Wade, Margaret, 1943 Income
Wade, Mr., 1941 Expense
Wade, Mrs. Margaret, 1941 Income
Weber, Mrs. Alois, 1941 Income
Wheeler, Mrs., 1943 Income
White, Anita, 1942 Income
Wilhite, Alma, 1941 Income
Williams, John, 1942 Income
Wren, Ruth, 1941 Income
Wright, Mrs. Gladys, 1941 Income
Wyble, Mildred, 1942 Income
Yeager, Wanda, 1941 Income
Yount, Eileen, 1941 Income

Guardian Rock Wool Plant, Easley, Mo. ca 1940

Boone County Historical Society collection. Donated by Roberta Easley Morris.

This photograph, taken about 1940, shows the first of two rock wool plants located near the community of Easley on the Missouri River in southwest Boone county. The Guardian Rock Wool company, was incorporated in the State of Missouri March 23, 1939, with $50,000 worth of capital stock. The new plant began operating in 1940. The man in the foreground is thought to be a Mr. Crane, one of the first foremen.

Boone county records show that the corporation began business with $7,500.00 in cash (or 75 shares) plus machinery and tools valued at $6,400.00 (or 64 shares), with the remaining 361 shares to stay in the treasury “to be sold if additional capital is needed.” The initial stock holders, all from Columbia, were:
M.E. Callander - 58 shares
T.B. Haffner - 10 shares
J.M. Allton - 21 shares
Lee Hillis - 10 shares
L.A. Nickell - 10 shares
D.B. Robnett - 5 shares
Frederic Dunlap - 25 shares

The first plant building caught fire within the first year or two of operation and was replaced by a second plant located a short distance away.

The production of rock wool required a highly technical process that liquified the special composition limestone quarried from the bluffs behind the plant. The liquid rock flowing from the coke furnace was shock cooled with air or steam jets resulting in a fluffy, fibrous material that was an excellent building insulator. This was the first widely available insulating material for many homes in the United States and is still produced in some facilities.

Gordon Cabin and Slave Jim Williams Featured in 1935 Newspaper

From the Columbia Missourian newspaper, September 26, 1935.
With thanks to Dr. Alan Havig, Stephens College Archivist, for contributing this article.


115-Year-Old Cabin Restored
Log House built by David Gordon in 1820 When Columbia’s Population Was 1000

A staunch old log cabin was built more than a century ago on a site overlooking Hinkson Creek by David Gordon, Sr., one of Boone County’s earliest settlers, who came here from Kentucky in 1820 and settled on a section of land east of Columbia, then boasting a population of 1000.

A host of stories based on pioneer hardship and, later, on luxurious Southern hospitality surround this edifice of pre-Emancipation days, located close by the home now occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Roy T. Davis, 2001 East Broadway.

Two years ago E. A. Collins of the Stephens College field force, investigating the old cabin and its romantic past, determined to restore it, making it into a sightseer’s treat and a haunt for the small picnics and waffle suppers dear to the hearts of Stephens College students. For thirty-four years Mr. Collins has been with the school and he has a name for promoting student recreational activities.

The cabin is 115 years old. From 1820 to 1826, when the old Gordon mansion was completed, the rustic cabin was the home of the Gordon family. For over half a century following, it was lived in by the Gordon’s household servants.

Thought to be the oldest in Boone County, this cabin is a marvel of pioneer carpenter work. It is apparently as stable now as in the year Missouri was admitted to the Union. The walls are of white pine logs that were cut on the 640-acre estate. Unlike most such structures, it has a heavy rock foundation and, more astonishing, the original floor of pine planks does not tremble when it is walked upon. Above the single large room on the first floor are roomy sleeping quarters.

Mr. Collins’ first move in his plan of rejuvenating the cabin was to rebuilt the old fireplace around which its early inhabitants used to sing Negro spirituals as they baked their corn pone and venison. Built of plain limestone slabs, the simply-lined hearth embodies the spirit of pioneer Missouri.

The second renovation was the reroofing of the cabin. “For more than two years, every time I have returned from a field trip, I’ve been driving around this part of the country looking for some genuine walnut clapboards to put on that roof,” Mr. Collins remarked. “Along in August, I finally found a man at Deer Park who sawed up a rick of them for me.”

These clapboards, thirty inches long and six inches wide, are now being seasoned. As soon as they are thoroughly dried, they will be nailed on the slanting roof. In another stack carefully covered by a canvas, are about twenty walnut pegs, “two by twos,” which Mr. Collins is going to use to make peg-leg tables and benches to furnish the interior.

Mr. Collins’ hobby is collecting. Traveling through the southwest, he has acquired rare Indian rugs and jewelry. Lately, however, he has expanded his collection to include pre-Civil War relics which will add glamour and authenticity to the furnishings of the old log cabin. Shown in the accompany picture are an old spinning wheel, a hank for winding hand-spun yarn, and a third rare piece, a flax wheel. Sitting in the corner by the fireplace are old bear traps, small game traps, an ox yoke, old iron kettles, warming pans, and andirons.

The back shed shown in the exterior view was added about forty years ago, according to Mr. Collins’ estimating. It will be made into a kitchen. Mr. Collins plans to equip it with an iron stove, cupboards, tables, and utensils for picnic parties who prefer a civilized stove to romance with a bit of smoke.

[“]Now, if a big rain doesn’t come along and get my clapboards all wet,”said Mr. Collins, “I’d say that my men could start nailing them on in about a week or two.” He hopes to have the cabin ready for visitors late this fall.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Enthusiastic Over Restoration of Home
Uncle Jim Williams Recalls His Early Life in Gordon Cabin E.A. Collins Is Restoring

“Why, I learned to walk and talk in that cabin,” exclaimed the genial Negro man whom all Columbians know as Uncle Jim. He was enthusiastic about the restoration of his boyhood home.

Uncle Jim Williams, who has owned one of the most popular barber shops in town for more than forty years, was born into the household of David Gordon, Sr., in 1859. He was freed from slavery when he was six years old.

His mother and father, housemaid and yardman, were privileged servants of the family. Uncle Jim has the right to call himself a “real aristocrat”; he was born in the mansion house in the room of Mrs. Gordon, his mother’s mistress. He also bases his superior heritage on the fact that a white preacher united his parents and that the master and mistress attended the ceremony.

Uncle Jim’s boyhood in the Gordon cabin was a happy one. He recalls his childhood among the privileged slaves in the household with great pleasure. His mother “brought up” the five Gordon children, whom Jim lived and played with as if they had been his own sisters and brothers.

Only Uncle Jim and the youngest daughter of the family, whom he still calls “Little Miss Mary,” are alive today. Little Miss Mary is Mrs. N.D. Evans, 1508 University Avenue.

Mrs. Evans describes vividly the lazy, storybook life of the era when there was a slave for every task and the white ladies had little to do but wear lace-bedecked hoop skirts and go visiting or receive callers. Sometimes they made samplers or painted china.

“In those days, which, incidentally, were before my time, the family had about fifteen servants. We had our own blacksmith, groomsmen, and various other slaves for farm work, and then a cook, washerwoman, housemaid, ladies’ maid, and yardman, who stayed in the cabin closest to the big house. Jim Williams’ parents, and Aunt Lucy and Aunt Caroline, the cook and the linen woman, stayed in the log cabin Mr. Collins is restoring . . .

“The estate was a unit in itself. We had several huge barns and granaries, threshing floors, flour mill, and smoke houses. We raised our own cattle and hogs and sheep and chickens. There was always a flock of peafowl strutting about the yards, and deer stayed in the heavily-wooded spots along the streams. There was a huge garden and orchard west of the house. It is easy to see why every meal was a banquet with three or four kinds of meat, preserves and jellies, hot bread and rich desserts being served. We had little food to buy but coffee and sugar.

“Before the war the women carded and spun the wool and cotton raised on the farm and made clothing for the whole family.

“When my grandfather came from Kentucky, very little of the land around here was claimed. His section east of town extended east of what is now Moss Avenue, as far north as Highway 40, included the area occupied by the Columbia and Stephens College country clubs, the Edwards brick company, and the homes south of Broadway and east of William Street.”

Uncle Jim recalls various incidents of Civil War days, many of a personal nature. “When I was little, I liked to follow my mammy around in the big house, and sometimes Miss Hulda–that’s what we always called Mrs. Gordon–gave me little jobs to do.

“I was a quick rascal, and I thought the faster I did a thing the better. She always had me sweep down the staircase in the front hall. One day she stood at the top of the stairs and watched me zip down them. Then she said, ‘Come up here, Jimmie.’ She stepped to a closet and pulled out a red toy broom.

“‘Now, Jimmie,’ she said, ‘Take this one and let me tell you how to sweep those steps. See that dust back between the bannisters?’

“‘Yes’m,’ I replied.

“That’s right, Jimmie, boy. Reach ‘way back and get every speck of it!’

“So I swept down those steps with her watching me. When I got to the bottom, I had twice as much dirt as I had the first time. And that’s the way Miss Hulda taught me that it wasn’t speed, but thoroughness, that makes a job well done.”

In spite of agitation and racial conflict right before the Civil War, the Gordons had little trouble with their slaves, according to Uncle Jim. “Marse Dave never had his slaves whipped like some folks did, and he never sent them to the ‘slave breaker’.”

The slave breaker, the boogeyman of the Negro people, has retained a vivid spot in Uncle Jim’s memory. “He was a big, brawny man, and he was mean. He had a place here in town–I guess it was about where Clinkscales garage is now–and whenever a slave became too unruly, his master took him in to the slave breaker, who didn’t often fail to beat the rebellion out of him. The slave breaker had a pen with a log fence about ten or twelve feet high. He’d put the ‘bad Nigger’ in there and beat him several times a day.

“Marse Dave never sent his men to the slave breaker,” said Uncle Jim emphatically. “Whenever he couldn’t do anything with one, he’d call him in and say, ‘I’m sorry, Dick, but I’m going to have to ship you south.’ And then he’d send him off with the next slave trader who came through town.”

When the Civil War began, Uncle Jim’s father ran away with a group of other Negroes and joined the Union forces. He came back to his family at the close of the war and worked for the Gordons, staying in his old cabin home until 1870.

“Then Miss Hulda and Marse Dave passed,” said Uncle Jim, recalling later days. “Two of their children died, and the others married and moved away. So in 1871 we moved, too, from our old log home.”

Commentary:
This 1935 newspaper article gives wonderful details about the early lives of the David Gordon family and some of their slaves. It includes information about the now historic cabin and the recently burned manor house. The reader is reminded that some facts may be in error and that quotes are not necessarily exact. Even with these possible shortcomings the article provides an unusual glimpse into the past.

Enoch Arthur Collins was a long-time Stephens College administrator responsible for both the Gordon cabin and the mansion house. He was usually referred to as “Pop” Collins by the students.

The mention by Jim Williams of having been “born into the household of David Gordon, Sr., in 1859" could be misleading. David Gordon, Sr., the original Boone county settler, died in 1849. At the time of Mr. Williams’ birth, the property was in the hands of son, and judge, David Gordon and his wife, Hulda.

A check of online death certificates at the Missouri State Archives web site finds that of James Green Williams who died June 8, 1955. At that time, Jim Williams lived at 405 Park Avenue in Columbia. Interestingly, the informant Mildred Boone indicated that Mr. Williams' birth place was "Gordon Manor, Columbia, Mo."

The manor house was a rare (for Columbia) antebellum home completed in 1826. Owned by Stephens College from 1926, the house was lost in a tragic fire in 1998, leaving only the cabin as a physical reminder of the original Gordon estate.

The Gordon cabin is reported as being built in 1820 in this newspaper article, and even as early as 1818 in some accounts. The 1821 Boone County tax list, however, lists David Gordon as a non-resident tax payer owning 1600 acres but with no dwelling houses on his land. It is known that Gordon traveled from Kentucky to central Missouri, acquired land and returned to Kentucky to be certain that Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state. He then returned with his family and possessions, including slaves. It seems likely that the cabin was erected later in 1821 or 1822.

The City of Columbia acquired the property with the remaining cabin soon after the manor house fire to use as a park. The cabin was disassembled in 2004 and restored and rebuilt in 2005 in Nifong Park, Columbia. Many of the original logs had to be replaced during this restoration but the work was done with close attention to preserving the original as much as possible. It has been furnished by the Boone County Historical Society and is currently available for tours as part of the history village at “Boone Junction.”

An 1830s Boone County Tavern: Peter Wright, Proprietor

Compiled from the original register available at the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection–Columbia in the Wright family papers (WHMC Collection #1807).

Patrons who signed in at the Peter Wright tavern in Columbia between December 1834 and October 1836, are listed below. Though some names show up multiple times in the register, only one entry for each is included in the list. The original register contains entries on both left and right sides of the bound book and is hard to reproduce here. See Commentary at the end of the list of patrons for more on the tavern and the men who frequented it.

?????, George
[?]erby, Thos. ?
Alfrey, John
Alrich[s?/y?], H. S.
Archer, Wm. R.
Atwell?, B. F?
Ausley?/Ainsley?, W. P.
Austin?, B. B?
Bagwell?, John
Barger, J. C.
Bartlett, Geo.
Bass, Lawrence
Bay, S. M.
Bedford, John R.
Belt?, H. ?
Berg, Thos.
Birch, J. H.
Bledsoe, Rob F?
Boggs, J. Coleman
Boney?, John
Brown, Jno.
Bullock, P. P.
Burnett, ?
Callaway, Thos.
Carlisle, Thomas
Carrick, Sam V.
Carrick, Seth S.
Cass?, Mason
Charlton, N?
Chick?, Wm. M?
Christeance?, Evert
Christian, W.
Clark, Benj.
Clark, Chs. A.
Clarke, J? R.
Clarke, W? R?
Clay, Isaac S.
Coburn, William S.
Cocke, Stephen F.
Colley, W. S?
Copes?, ?
Cordell, P. W.
Corielle?, Furman
Crump?, _____
Cunningham, Saml.
Daugherty, James
Daugherty, P?/I?/J?
Daugherty, Wm.
Davis, T. N.
Dawson, S?
Denenham, Jonathan
Dingle, Carter? B.
Dixon, Charles?
Dooly, John
Duff?, Samuel H.
Early, Wm.
Elliott, Martin
Emett?, Thos. T.
Field, ? Jno. W.
Flournoy, Thos.
Flournoy, Wm. C.
Forsey?, Sh??
Fourth?/Fawcell?, ? A?
Gass?, Mason
Gatewood, A. S?
Gatlien?, William
Gibson, Christopher
Gilbert, Samuel
Goodwin, George M.
Gregg, J?/I?
Griffith, Rolla M.
Grooms, Charles H?
Hancock, F.
Harman?, Isaiah?
Harris, Jescenian?
Hart?, John G?
Hickam, A. B.
Hickam, A. J.
Hillman, G. W.
Hizer?, H. L.
Ho?, Black?
Hockaday, _____
Hoover, Jacob
Howard, G? W?
Hume, B. C.
Hume, D. B.
Hume, Daniel?
Hyatt, John
Jackson, Riley
Jackson, Wiley?
James, Isaac
James, Thos. G.
Jenkins, G. W.
Jenkins, Washington W.
Jenny, Joseph
Jones, John
Kemp, James
Kennan?, Alex M.
Kennard, A. M.
King, ?
Lawrence, L.
Leuth?, James S?
Lightburne, A.
Lyford?, O. P.
Martin, Henry W.
Matson, R.
McCanahan?, John H.
McCauslin?, S. B.
McClenny, Horace
McCoy, J? C?
McCurdy?, William
McQuitty, Andrew
Melloway, George
Miller, ?
Moore, Joel P.
Morris, Robert W.
Morris?, W? M?
Mullan, Brian, Phy
Nagle, ?
Nelson, Jno. T?
Nelson, William
Nichols, Robert
Nowlin, John S.
Oliver, Thos.
Parks, Joseph
Pendleton, E.
Peppers, James
Persinger, I?/J?
Persinger, Jos.
Philips, Jno.
Poston, Newton
Powell, S. A.
Prewitt, R. C.
Prewitt, W. C.
Price?, Jno. R.
Proctor, D. C., Rev'd
Richardson, R. F.
Roach, William B.
Roberson, Albin?
Robinson, Geo. S.
Robinson, S?
Robinson, W.
Rogers, ?
Rogers, Elijah
Rogers, James
Ross, James R.
Ross, M? M?
Ruby, R. C.
Saunders, Geo., Jr.
Saunders, R.
Saunders?, Wm.
Scott, E. M?
Sebree?, Laban
Sexton?/Seater?, John B.
Shipley, John
Slaughter, D. S.
Slaughter, Jesse
Smith, Wm. T.
Stevenson?, ?
Stevins?, ?
Stoddard?, ? ?
Stone, Nathaniel
Stork?, Com?
Stuart?, Chas. W.
Sweeny, F.
Syms, Randal
Teeter, Shelby
Terry, Jno.
Timberlake, ?
Timberlake, W. G.
Turner, James B.
Vanhorn, Barnet
Vaughn, A.
Walker, Jno.
Ward, George S.
Ware, James
Warren, Thos. B.
Waters, Geo.
Wilburn, Thos. J.
Williams, F. A.
Williams, Geo.
Williams, Harvey S.
Wills, G. W.
Wilson, James
Wilson, Wm. W?
Wonder, N? K.
Wonderlich, John
Wood, Augustus
Wood, Jos. W.
Wright, H. T.
Wright, Joseph F.
Wright, Kelly
Wright, Peter
Wright, Sampson
Wright, Wm.
Wright, Wm. E.
Wright, Wm. H.
Young, Daniel

Commentary:
Columbia, the county seat of Boone, was an optimistic but struggling town in the early 1830s. The town’s population at the 1830 census was 453–324 whites, 128 slaves, and one free black. There were only 59 families in the town. One of the early speculators in lots in Columbia was Samuel Wall. Captain Wall had bought at least five lots in the town by 1830 and on one of them established a tavern, a place for travelers to stop. Edward Camplin and Elisha McClelland also had taverns in Columbia about this time (Boone County Record Book C, p. 25). McClelland’s stand was taken over by the popular Richard Gentry in May of 1834 (Boone County Record Book. C, p. 223). Richard Gentry generally is credited with having the first tavern at the original site of Smithton as early as 1819 though Welford Stephens was granted the first license to keep a tavern at the new town site of Columbia in August 1821.

Walls’ tavern, as Gentry’s before him, served occasionally as the venue for meetings of the County Court as can be seen from a Record Book C entry: “At a term of the county court begun and held for the county of Boone at the court house thereof in the Town of Columbia on Monday the 5th day of November 1832 and adjourned from said place to Capt Saml Wall’s tavern house in said Town were present James McClelland, Joseph W. Hickam, Justices; W. Woodson, clerk; Thos C. Maupin, sheriff.”

Taverns were the local equivalent of an early hotel. Walter B. Stevens, writing in 1921, described the typical Missouri tavern owner and Capt. Wall and his successor, Peter Wright, both fit the description well. “The Missouri tavern was of its own class. Identified with the vocation of tavern-keeping in Missouri’s pioneer days are the names of some of the best known and most highly esteemed families in the state’s history. Taverns were established for “accommodation” in the true sense of the word . . . . In not a few cases, homes were opened as a matter of private “accommodation” which led to public “entertainment . . . .” (Stevens, Missouri Historical Review, vol. 68, p. 96).

Wall’s tavern in the early 1830s seems likely to have been located on the northwest corner of Broadway and Seventh Streets, Lot #213 in the original town plat of Columbia. The building itself was substantial, being made of brick and likely two stories high. No more precise description of this particular building has been found but John Crighton in his History of Columbia and Boone County described a typical early tavern. “The lobby of the tavern usually had a large fireplace, a bar, and tables for dining. Sometimes, the dining area adjoined the lobby. Sleeping rooms were in a wing or upstairs. Behind the tavern were service buildings–stables, a smokehouse, and toilets.” He goes on to add that “food and drink were abundant at the early taverns, and by our standards were extremely cheap. The standard price of a meal was twenty-five cents. The meat was mostly wild game–venison, turkeys, prairie chickens, ducks, and geese. In the absence of refrigeration, smoked and pickled pork products were served more often than fresh beef. The menus were short of fruits and vegetables–potatoes, pumpkins, cabbage, and apples being the most frequently available.” (Crighton, pp. 364 & 365).

Peter Wright, Sr., (1787-1847) was an early comer to the Booneslick region, arriving in 1818 according to Wm. F. Switzler. By early 1821, he had purchased 352 acres of land “near the head of the Two-mile Prairie” and had erected a small dwelling house on it. He and his wife, Jane “Jenny” Edminson Wright, raised a family and became very active in community affairs.

Peter Wright was a prominent figure in the early years of Boone County’s history. Wright literally helped to “create” Boone county. As the county’s first surveyor, he worked with his counterpart from Howard county to locate the dividing line between Howard and Boone counties. He surveyed Broadway and laid out the entire town. Wright continued to serve as county surveyor for a number of years and was one of the first County Court judges. He was also one of Boone County’s first legislators, elected in 1822 and serving in the legislature that convened in St. Charles.

In 1834 Peter and Jenny Wright took over the Wall tavern in Columbia and operated it for the next two years. It appears to have been one of only two such boarding places in Columbia at the time. As required by law, he applied to the County Court in November 1834 for a “license to keep a Tavern at the stand lately occupied by Samuel Wall . . . ” and immediately began accepting overnight guests. It appears he also spent some time refurbishing the place and proudly announced in the [Columbia] Missouri Intelligencer newspaper on 11 July 1835 under the heading of the UNION HOTEL that he had “taken, for a term of years, the elegant Brick building formerly occupied by Capt. Wall, which has undergone considerable repairs . . . .” (See ad image at top of this post.)

We are fortunate to still have the original register from the Wright tavern. It is available at the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection–Columbia in the Wright family papers (WHMC Collection #1807) . Though the donor of the book indicated the register was “possibly for the Vanhorn tavern,” research has shown that it was indeed for the Peter Wright tavern. The register is a treasure trove for those interested in local history and Missouri taverns but it is also an unusual find for genealogists, especially those with early Boone county roots. The register provides proof of the guests’ “residence” at an early date and provides hard-to-find original signatures for those who signed.

The register has five columns of information–date, name, residence, destination and remarks. Entries range from 12 December 1834 to 24 October 1836. Records in County Court Record Book C strongly suggest that Peter Wright got out of the tavern business at the end of 1836 because the register ends at that time and he does not appear to have renewed his tavern license as would have been required.

Over less than two years, about 225 people signed in at Wright’s tavern, not counting the “registrations” of his own boys. That equals to a paying guest only about once every three days, though there were two extended periods in the record where no guests registered. It is worth checking the list at the end of this article to see if one of your ancestors happened to stay at Wright’s tavern in Columbia.

Tavern guests in the 1830s were a diverse group of men (for every name in the register for the Wright tavern appears to have been for a male though there must have been at least an occasional female among the guests as Peter Wright himself advertised his place as suitable for families). Many signers had strong opinions that they recorded. Politics was a frequent subject and one man’s remarks would often prompt others to chime in. “Clay forever,” “Clay & Webster,” “Equal rights & priviledges (sic),” “Huzza for Jackson,” and “Free suffrage for all” were some of the sentiments expressed by travelers checking in to the Wright tavern. One wanted “Van Burin (sic) for next president of the U. States.” Most political comments were positive but one man just simply declared “Down with political Demagogues.”

Patrons at Wright’s tavern were a well-traveled lot. Besides Missouri, they hailed from: Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia. One local area mentioned several times was Coal Hill in Boone County. Coal Hill was a settlement in Section 13, Township 49, Range 12, about two miles southeast of Brown’s Station. Much of the area in the north part of the county was rich in coal. The Wright family owned land here and probably was the “driving force” behind Coal Hill. The family cemetery where Peter Wright is buried is located in this section amidst the more recent huge excavations left from open strip mining of coal.

Lifes tribulations were often mentioned in the remarks. H.T. Wright, obviously connected to Peter Wright’s family, was mostly a chronic complainer: “My Horse threw me down and dirted [sic] my coat” on one occasion and “The dam mule neads spurs. Roads as bad as they [?] be well” on another trip. But on at least one occasion, H.T. Wright was satisfied and had nothing to complain about. This time he wrote: “[I] feel very good[.] joust had some thing to drink[.] I don’t know what they cald it but damme if it warnt good Sure.” Weather, of course, caught it’s share of complaints. Very wet or very dry weather was sure to be mentioned. Poor John Jones of Ft. Leavenworth was in a bad way and wrote: “Cold[.] Elbows out of the coat and nothing to drink and no appearance of any.” Shelby Teeter was on a mission “in search of a horse and wants plenty whiskey.”

All in all, the records that Peter Wright maintained during his brief entry into the tavern business provide an unusual glimpse into Columbia’s earliest hotels, the people who frequented them and the people who chose to run them.

John William Boone with John Lange, Jr.

Boone County Historical Society collection.

This ca 1900 photograph shows John William "Blind Boone" with manager John Lange, Jr.

John William "Blind Boone" Piano

Boone County Historical Society collection.

The historic "Blind Boone" piano was manufactured especially for John William Boone in 1891 by the Chickering Company. Boone regularly played it, along with a Steinway, an Estey and several other pianos at concert events throughout the Midwest.

After Boone's death in 1927, the 9-foot oak piano was sold to pay for liens against his estate. It became the property of the Columbia Public Schools and for several years was used in Douglass School in Columbia.

Johnson & Susan Crump Family Photo in Easel

Boone County Historical Society collection. Donor is unknown.

Family pride is obvious from this ca 1894 photo mounted in a beautiful, hand-carved picture easel. The names penciled in on the back of the photo are:
Johnson Crump
Susan Crump
Artie Crump
Eva Crump
Stella Crump

A notation on the back of the picture says “Hand-whittled picture frame made by a member of the Crump family, ca. 1900.” Additional research shows that the small girl in the photograph, Stella, was born in December 1892. She appears to be two or three years old in the photo making 1894 is a reasonable estimate for the date of the photo.

The photograph was taken by Love & Pauley photographers, Ashland, Missouri. Mr. Love was William Love, who later moved his business to Hartsburg. Mr. Pauley was James F. Pauley.

Can anyone identify the Crump family member who carved the frame? It is interesting to note the similarities in motifs to the picture easel carved by “Blind Jim” Sapp. Could it be that this easel was an earlier, less-refined piece produced by James Robert Sapp?

Photo Easel Carved by James Robert “Blind Jim” Sapp

Boone County Historical Society collection. Donated by Eugene and Doris Hamilton.

James Robert Sapp was born in 1853 in Cedar township, Boone county, Missouri, of William T. and Louisa P. Risk Sapp. He was blinded at around the age of eight while playing with gunpowder. Educated at the St. Louis School for the Blind, he became a broom-maker and lived a very independent life around Ashland. He married Mary Smith, who was also blind, at the age of 70. The easel, carved from walnut and designed to support a large painting or framed picture, also has an opening at the top for a smaller photograph. It stands about 5 feet tall and shows amazing carved detail.

Hall Easley at the Easley Store 1951

Boone County Historical Society collection. Donated by members of the Easley family.

The Easley country store was a fixture in southern Boone county for one hundred years beginning in about 1890. Originally built by William Greene Easley, the store later was run by William's son, Hall, and beginning in about 1952 by William's grandson and wife, Raymond and Amy Easley. Pictured here is Hall Easley in front of the store at the time of the Missouri River flood of 1951.

Photographs from the early 1900s

Part of the vast Boone County Historical Society photo collection has been placed with the University of Missouri Digital Library. This part contains over 700 high-quality photographs from glass plate negatives taken from before 1910 to 1936. The negatives were selected from the Westhoff Archive at the Boone County Historical Society and were taken by Joe Douglass, Henry Holborn, and Wesley Blackmore. These photographs provide a unique glimpse into the people and culture of Columbia, Boone County and Missouri in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. They are an irreplaceable record that we hope will prove valuable to a large variety of audiences: historians, sociologists, and the general public looking for information from the past.

Click here to go to:
http://digital.library.umsystem.edu/cgi/i/image/image-idx?page=index;g=vm;c=bchsic

Rockbridge Mills Millstone

Boone County Historical Society collection. Donated by Susan Dennis and Gene Riddell, children of Joe and Betty Jean Traxler.

The millstone pictured is a runner stone that came from the last mill at Rockbridge Mills, Boone county, Missouri. It was given to Joe Traxler probably in the 1930s.

The runner was the top stone that rotated opposite the mating bed stone that remained fixed in place. We do not know what happened to the bed stone.

From around 1822 into the early years of the 20th century, a grist mill and accompanying distillery operated at Rockbridge, approximately six miles south of Columbia. Though the original mill was probably small, by 1880 the mill under David M. Emmitt had been enlarged to include four sets of millstones, or burrs.

The granite millstone pictured is 36" in diameter x 16" overall thickness and weighs an estimated 1,300 pounds. It has an 8" center through hole with four rynd notches. The rynd was a piece of iron crossing the hole in the upper millstone by which the stone was supported on the spindle. It also has two lift holes each on opposite sides of the stone by which it could be raised from the bed stone for maintenance.