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THE PROCTOR FAMILY OF FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP 1856 
THE CHAPMAN FAMILY OF FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP 
THE CHESHIRES, EARLY PIONEERS IN CALDWELL COUNTY 
FARM LIFE IN THE FIFTIES IN DAVIS TOWNSHIP 
LIFE IN DAVIS TOWNSHIP BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR 
EARLY DAYS AT BLACK OAK 
THE ROGERS AND McDONALD FAMILIES IN EARLY CALDWELL COUNTY
THE DEATH OF E.G. WALLACE 
THE KILLING OF HUMPHREY WELDON 
THE KILLING OF JOHN C. MYERS

THE PROCTOR FAMILY OF FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP 1856 
Narrator: J.M. Proctor, 74, of Braymer, Missouri

Daniel Proctor the founder of the village of Proctorville was a
pioneer farmer, merchant, doctor, legislator and preacher and did all
well. Coming to this section in 1856 from Illinois with his
family and settling among strangers, the next day he attended a house
raising and announced preaching for the next Sunday. Upon coming to
the log house nearby appointed for the service the next Sunday, he
called for a Bible and was given a large Biography a scoffer. He took
his text and preached as if he had a Bible. This was the first
religious service held thereabouts and was followed by service every
Sunday. Black Oak, Shoal Creek (now Proctorville) and Ludlow were his
appointments. In 1860 Dr. Proctor (as he was usually called) was
ordained Elder by Bishop Ames. The war came on and most of the
preachers left. He kept up his appointments. At Black Oak, one
Sunday they had fear of trouble. When Dr. Proctor arrived at the
church the members were there with their guns. He took out his pistol
and laid it beside his Bible and preached. The enemies came but were
careful to keep a mile away. All around this circuit as the war went
on, more Ministers were afraid and left and some were killed. Dr.
Proctor stayed right on for he was a fearless person, helping to build
churches, planning church work, caring for the sick for all of which
he received very little compensation. His first purchase of land was
320 acres on which he erected a store, postoffice and saw mill which
he operated during the winter months. His holdings increased until he
owned 200 acres much of which had cost him 50 cents per acre. A part
of this land is still owned by his son J.M. Proctor now 74 years of
age. He is a retired farmer living in Braymer, Missouri and it is a
fact of which he is very proud that this land has always been in name
of Proctor since it was bought from the Government and never had a
mortgage on it. Daniel Proctor gave each of his thirteen children a
farm and kept for himself a comfortable competence. He was a member
of the 23rd General Assembly also 39th General Assembly. As a man
he was held in high esteem. One of the laws introduced by him and
passed was the one compelling the Hannibal & St. Joseph railroad to
pay for stock killed by the trains, which forced that corporation to
fence in their right of ways. Up to that time, there was no fence and
with stock ranging over the prairies, there were many cattle killed by
the trains. 

Interviewed June 1934.

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THE CHAPMAN FAMILY OF FAIRVIEW TOWNSHIP 
Narrator: W.W. Chapman of Braymer

Judge J.N. Chapman was born 1846 in Ontario, Canada, the son of
Benjamin and Mary (Pepper) Chapman. Benjamin and his wife were both
natives of Ireland and had come to America as the land of promise for
struggling Irishman. From Canada, as a temporary stopping place, they
went to Wisconsin where lands were being opened up for settlement
rapidly about 1846-47. He came to Caldwell County in 1869, where
the Waldo family also from Wisconsin had preceded him by a year. He
settled in Fairview Township and began working as a "hired hand" for
$16.75 a month, which meant food, room and washing. Later, by close
economy, he laid up enough to purchase half-interest in a farm (Waldo)
which had been bought for $13.00 an acre. In 1919, he sold the farm
for $125.00 an acre. During his farm-experience, he passed through
all the changes of method of getting a crop which other old-timers
have described. When he quit farming in Fairview Township in 1907,
he had the latest farm implements on the market, and was known as a
wealthy man. Mr. Chapman was married 1872 to Louisa Waldo (whose
paper describes the Waldo life in Fairview township). Mr. Chapman
got his title Judge from serving for eight years as presiding judge of
the county court (the only man in the county who served that long).
He spent the last years of his life in his home in Breckenridge.

Interviewed 1933.

~~~~~~~~~~

THE CHESHIRES, EARLY PIONEERS IN CALDWELL COUNTY 
Narrator: J.R. Cheshire, 88, of Hamilton

James Riley Cheshire was born Jan. 3rd, 1847 in Jefferson County,
East Tennessee. He came with his family to Caldwell County on the
17th day of Oct. 1857, locating in the Cottonwood District, one and
one-half miles northwest of what is now Polo. He started to school
there in that district. After living there three or four years,
the family moved about ten miles east. They rented a farm on
Crabapple Creek owned by Wm. Baker. Most of Mr. Baker's boys had gone
to Ray County to join the Rebel forces, for these were Civil War days,
and Mr. Baker had moved from his farm to an adjoining farm belonging
to his son-in-law. So, the Cheshires moved to the Baker place which
had a big log house. Mr. Cheshire, although only 14 years old,
can remember very vividly the tragedies occurring in their
neighborhood. He saw one of the Baker boys and Mr. Ritchie, a
brother-in-law, soon after they had been shot by the Union soldiers.
This happened just a half mile from his home. These men were moved to
the Cheshire home and prepared for burial. Just as the men were being
placed in their coffins for burial, the militia came but they did not
molest the bodies. The Cheshires, taking no part in the war, but
living in that particular section, were suspected and their house was
searched several times for fire arms and Rebel soldiers. Mr. Cheshire
saw the old man Baker (owner of their home) marched into the timber
and heard the three shots which were fired into him. Soon as the
militia had ridden on, he and his sister, five years old, ran to the
old man and spent several hours guarding him, (for in those days the
hogs had free range, there were no fences) until word could be sent to
the coffin maker and they could get help to move him. It took a half
day to make a coffin and it was not started until after the death
occurred. The hatred against the Bakers was so great that the
Kingston militia decided to burn all their property, so the Cheshires
were ordered to remove their goods from the house, and it was set on
fire. Having only one wagon and team, Mr. Cheshire's father borrowed
a yoke of oxen and wagon from a neighbor and moved the family back to
Cottonwood. Because an older man would be suspected of carrying news
into the Baker boy's community, Mr. Cheshire, then 15, was sent to
return the wagon and oxen. He had no trouble making the trip over to
the old home but on the return trip, as he walked up on the top of a
hill, he was spied by a troop of soldiers. They rode up to him and
although he explained to them why he was there, they did not believe
him and cursed him. About that time, a young man who belonged to the
Knoxville militia rode up and knowing him, befriended him. Mr.
Cheshire says those were hair-raising experiences. When Mr.
Cheshire was seventeen, some officers came to their farm and demanded,
at the point of a gun, that he enlist in the Union Army. This he
refused to do and told them to go on and shoot him but when they found
they could not scare him they went their way. A neighbor, moving
to Nebraska, asked Mr. Cheshire to drive his cattle through, so he
did. He worked at a saw-mill in Nebraska until spring, then started
home. The trip from Omaha to St. Joseph, costing $8.00, was made by
boat on the Missouri River, then from St. Joseph to Hamilton on the
Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad and from Hamilton he took the "Green
Stage," a stage coach operated by Judge Green of Gallatin. Mr.
Cheshire said the roads were heavy with mud and the stage was so
loaded that the men had to ride on top with the grips. It was
necessary for them to get off and walk up each hill. He walked at
least half the way to Kingston. The price of the ticket from Hamilton
to Kingston was $1.00. Mr. Cheshire farmed in the summer and did
carpenter work in the winter. He helped to build the first buildings
in Polo, working on the first business house there. He built several
homes and barns. He had a little money, a team and some implements,
so he rented a farm. He married Harriet Ann Hill in 1876. She was
the daughter of Rev. W.R. Hill, an early pioneer Baptist minister, who
helped in organizing the Missouri Baptist General Association on Aug.
27, 1834. Soon, Mr. Cheshire bought a 40 acre tract and built a small
house. They moved into the house on Dec. 11th and during the night
there was a twelve inch snow. He had no barn yet and it was a
difficult task to get enough corn from the field to feed his stock.
It was customary to turn all the sheep in the country out on range in
the spring. Each owner using his own brand on the ear of his sheep.
By fall, there would often be one thousand sheep to be brought in.
The owners would set a date to meet and pick out their own sheep.
Often times there would be a lot of sheep unclaimed and these would
continue to graze until cold weather. When the sheep got cold, they
would hunt shelter and the farmers would take them in, reporting that
he had so many strays. It has been known that some greedy farmers
would go to the farmers reporting stray sheep and claim them when he
knew they were not his. Mr. Cheshire sold his improved 40 acres
and bought 160 acres, partly improved. As soon as he was able, he
bought 80 acres more. All this time, he was continuing his carpenter
trade. With a partner, he was making coffins. He was the first
person in the county to make a "flat top coffin." It made a big hit
with the people and this style was used afterward instead of the
rounded tops formerly used. These coffins were of hard wood, nicely
finished and varnished and lines. They sold for about $5.00 or $6.00.
Mr. Cheshire lived on his farm until he retired and moved, with
his wife and two daughters, to Hamilton about twenty-three years ago.
Kingston was the county seat when he first moved to the county, and it
was the largest town in the county. The first plows that Mr.
Cheshire used were single shovel plows drawn by one horse. He bought
his first double shovel plow in 1871 against his father's wishes. He
traded a cow for his first cultivator. Mr. Cheshire's mother made
all the clothes from sheep's wool and cotton grown on their farm. She
made a suit for him which was a beauty and wore for many years. The
last pair of boots that he bought were made by Henry Murphy of Polo.
These boots were high heeled and were decorated around the top. They
cost $8.00 and Mr. Cheshire wore them several years for Sunday before
taking them for every day use. Sammie Mathews, a fast friend of
the Cheshire family, owned the first carriage in the county. The
Mathews were very wealthy and dressed their negro slaves better than
most white people could afford to dress. Every Sunday they could be
found at the Presbyterian Church at Mirabile, Mr. Mathews, his family
and all the slaves. Mr. Mathews built a brick hotel at Cameron in
1864 (now the "Cameron Hotel") and the Cheshires visited them at the
hotel many times. Mr. Cheshire has a walnut press which he made
sixty-seven years ago. He bought the tree from a negro, cut it,
hauled it to a mill and made the press, taking great pains to finish
it well. He has lived through five droughts, 1864, 74, 81, 1901 and
1934. The 1934 drought being the worst he has ever known. Though he
has traveled much, he has never voted outside the county.

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FARM LIFE IN THE FIFTIES IN DAVIS TOWNSHIP 
Narrator: Andrew F. McCray, 91, Cowgill, Missouri

Subscription School 
Threshing Wheat 
Marketing Farm Products

Mr. McCray was born 1843 in Calloway County Missouri. When he
was five years old his parents Wm. McCray and Nancy Carroll McCray
came into Caldwell County. Wm. McCray had been up here first to look
around. He came on a Missouri River Boat as far as Camden and walked
over from there to the farm he wanted to look at. He finally traded
for it. It was an eighty and lay five miles west of the present site
of Braymer in Davis township. His father was a blacksmith and was a
bit asset to the new country, the nearest shop being eight miles away.
The first school that Andrew Frank McCray attended was a
subscription school (supported by money paid by the parents so much
per child and not by taxes). There was not yet any school tax or any
organization of districts in that part of the county. He was nine
years old when it opened the spring 1852; it was three miles from his
father's house but the walk was nothing. The school house was made of
sawn logs and was quite large since it cared for children from a large
territory. It was called Black Oak School. His father raised
wheat and corn. Wheat was a hard crop to raise those days, because
the severe winters often froze it out. It was threshed by hand and a
flail on a prepared floor on the ground or might be tramped on a
prepared ground floor by horses in the age-old fashion. Prior to
the Building of the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroad through the
northern tier of townships in the County 1857 everything had to be
freighted to or from Lexington by teams of horses, mules or oxen.
Lexington traders sent the stuff east and west. A neighbor woman used
to sell chickens in Richmond at $1.25 a dozen. The little surplus -
if any - prior to the completion of the railroad was consumed at home
by neighborhood shortage or by new settlers who had come in between
crops. Since there was no market nearer than Lexington; farmers had
little inducement to raise large crops - just something above their
year's necessities. Of course after the railroad went through,
farmers could ship their produce easily at Hamilton. While Wm.
McCray began his life in Caldwell County with eighty acres, he finally
acquired a thousand and twenty acres which shows the size of some of
the early farms when land was very cheap. 

Interviewed January 1934.

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LIFE IN DAVIS TOWNSHIP BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR 
Narrator: Mrs. Mary J. Eichler, 93, of Braymer, Missouri

Mrs. Eichler is a daughter of Conrad Oster a pioneer settler of
Caldwell county. She was born in the little town of Mirabile January
27 1841. When she was three years old, her parents moved three miles
west of the present site of Braymer. There she grew up amid the
simple pioneer conditions of the forties and fifties. Her father
Conrad Oster (b. 1815) was the son of George L. Oster (an 1812
soldier) who came out with his family into this county 1839 and
located in what is now Mirabile township. In fact, the Oster family
unloaded their big wagon on the very site of the present Mirabile.
From there Conrad Oster as said above moved to Davis Township where
the Oster name became well known. While at Mirabile Mr. Oster
helped build the first store building erected there for Wm. E. Marquam
(pronounced Markum and sometimes spelled that way). Those were
the days of wild turkeys, deer, ox-teams, and cumbersome lumber
wagons, when neighbors were few and far between and highly valued.
Trips to town meant barter, not spending money. The expression "I
finished my trading." meant exactly that. In her youth, Kingston and
Mirabile were the only towns in the county. Occasionly the men folks
went to Lexington on business. In 1864 Mary Jane married Henry
Eichler a native born German who had served in the United States
Regular Army and had been stationed in the western plains. He bought
a ranch in Wyoming. Apparently he was in our county to buy cattle for
his ranch when he married her. He and his young wife started to drive
the cattle back to the ranch and got there after many troubles.
To begin their story, it took them two days to come with their ox team
from Davis township to Kingston. They rested a night then started out
again. Almost immediately an axle broke and that made a delay. They
took ten days to get to St. Joseph (already people were saying "St.
Jo"). Then came the hard slow journey in a wagon-train over the
plains to Fort Laramie. The wagon-train was not attacked by Indians
but their ranch home was destroyed later. Such losses made the
Eichlers long for Caldwell County. They had lost their first born
babe there also. In 1866 Mr. Eichler bought one hundred twenty acres
in Davis Township and later his estate was five hundred sixty acres.

Interviewed 1933.

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EARLY DAYS AT BLACK OAK 
Narrator: Mrs. Kelley Brown of Far West

Mrs. Kelley Brown is a grand daughter of John T. Davis who came
from Illinois into Caldwell County just after the Black Hawk War where
he served with the Illinois troops. He and his wife Margaret Moore
were married when she was sixteen years old. When she was twenty-two
they came into the county in the summer 1840 and built near Black Oak
Grove as it used to be called. There were no windows or doors hung in
the cabin. They hung a wide cloth at the door and window openings.
He needed windows and some tools for his work, so he left her alone
and went back over the long pioneer trail to Illinois to get them. He
was gone about three weeks and she used to build fires at night by the
cabin door to frighten away the panthers who frequented those woods.
The cry of the panther was something to scare you even at a distance,
and especially terrible at your own door. The Davis brothers were
the first settlers in what is now Davis Township after the Mormons
left. John T. Davis' place was a little south west of the present
Black Oak village. Davis Township was named after this family. His
father Dennis Davis (1791-1879) a Black Hawk soldier came into the
county with his sons. He and most of the Davis family are buried in
the Black Oak Cemetery, which is quite early in date. 

Interview taken July 1934.

~~~~~~~~~~

THE ROGERS AND McDONALD FAMILIES IN EARLY CALDWELL COUNTY
Narrator: Elwood Rogers, 68, of Hamilton, Missouri

The interview with Mr. Rogers is quite important because he is a
great grandson of Jeremiah McDonald who made the first land entry in
Caldwell County in the present Rockford Township 1832. Moreover Mr.
Rogers is a son of George F. Rogers who in the period 1860-85 was
widely known as a Mason and a well-to-do sporting gentleman of the
community north of town. Jeremiah McDonald never lived in
Caldwell County, but lived at the foot of the Devil's Backbone in Ray
County and died there after the Civil War. He was a well known
character, especially for his frugality, living poorly in spite of his
large land holdings. In 1839 Randolph his son entered a quarter
section in this county. Part of the present Rogers farm north of
Hamilton is land entered by him. He had two daughters, one Lockie
married George Rogers and the other, Eliza, married Haman Hemry of
North of Hamilton. When George Rogers came to this vicinity, he lived
in a log cabin which is still standing in part on the Rogers farm.
Elwood, the son of George lived for awhile in his youth near
Lisbonville a village less than one hundred yards south of the
Caldwell County line, with his grandfather Randolph McDonald who lived
near the south line of Rockford township in the county. The common
name for Lisbonville then was "Chicken bristle" or "the Bristle."
This little hamlet became a dead town when the Milwaukee railroad went
through the south part of the county and the post office moved from
Lisbonville to Elmira. Elwood's uncle by marriage was Haman Hemry
who was the son of Abraham Hemry - an early settler (1856) in this
county and quite a queer fellow. Abraham loaned money and had many
notes on people in Daviess, Caldwell and Ray Counties. He used to
ride around collecting interest, his notes stuffed in saddle bags. If
a man could not pay interest, Hemry would stay at his house and board
it out. Haman's brother Issac was mysteriously murdered near Kidder
1885 - a murder never solved. But the most interesting of all
Elwood Roger's kin was his father George F. Rogers a son of George
Rogers a pioneer of Daviess County. Swarthy, tall and erect, he
affected a wide-rimmed black hat of the southern type, Prince Albert
coat, heavy watch chain and flowing ties. He was a ladies man by
instinct and manner. He was self educated to such a degree that he
became Deputy Grand State Lecturer for the Masonic Lodge. A farmer by
blood and living but he hired most of the work done. He was an
old fiddler and loved to play for dances. When he died he left his
fiddle to Bob Bryant. He wanted it to go to a good fiddler and his
son did not play. In his youth he used to ride clear from Rockford
Township twelve miles up to Daviess county to dances. It was at a
dance he met his future wife from Rockford township. In this
connection, it may be said that girls too rode long distances to
attend dances, spending the night, while young men went home after the
dances. The following story shows George Rogers, the hot-tempered
fire eater. He had a little trouble with a fellow named Harrah who
worked for him on the farm, and fired him. Harrah came back and
"agged" him into a quarrel. Finally he invited Rogers to bring out
his shooting irons. Rogers replied with a motion of his fists that
they were the only shooting irons he needed. Finally he got his
revolver and they shot it out. It ended in the wounding of Harrah.
Rogers rode to town after a doctor and paid the bill and gave himself
up but no action was ever taken. Afterwards, the two men being Mason
made up their quarrel. 

Interviewed 1933. 
(See also the story of George Rogers by S.R. Guffey.)

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THE DEATH OF E.G. WALLACE 
Narrator: E. Green Wallace, 85, Kingston, Missouri

Mr. Wallace was born in 1840, his parents being Abathal Wallace
and Adaline O. Stanford of Tennessee and later Livingston and Ray
Counties Missouri. Mr. Wallace was for many years a farmer in New
York township owning the earlier Jim Filson farm. In his youth he had
an adventure which is known to all of his friends. He tells it thus:
During the Civil War he tried to get through the lines and reach his
brothers in the Confederate army. He with other were captured by
militia and were lined up to be shot since they were considered
guerillas. At the crack of the guns Mr. Wallace received no shot but
he fell and feigned death. To make sure of killing the men, the
militia leader shot each of the victims through the head; but in Mr.
Wallace's case the bullet passed through his hat, cut off a lock of
hair and went on without harm. Thus he twice escaped death but he was
reported as dead by the militia. After nightfall he crawled away to
bushes and escaped. Soon after this occurrence he realized that
the safety of his parents' home was well as their lives were
endangered because of the son's enlistment in the Southern Army. He
talked it over with his father. His father was about to move to Ray
County (as he did afterwards) to avoid trouble. He advised Green to
enlist in the Union Army cause as a member of the militia for his own
safety. He gave him a swift riding horse and said "I hope you
know how to use it." So whenever Mr. Wallace was in action as a Union
militiaman, some how the unmanageable horse always turned and ran
away, carrying young Green with it. Mr. Wallace married Mary A.
Kesterson 1865. The Wm. Kesterson family was also of the Southern
side. They had been "burnt out" by the Caldwell County Militia in the
Crab Apple trouble of 1862. Not long after the family moved to
Nebraska to get out of further trouble with the militia.

Interview taken 1932 
a few months before the death of E.G. Wallace, August 1932.

~~~~~~~~~~

THE KILLING OF HUMPHREY WELDON 
Narrator: Dr. Libby Woolsey of Hamilton, Missouri

When Dr. Woolsey was quite a small boy, the horror of the Civil
War in Caldwell County was about him. Many men who expressed Southern
sentiments were slain for it. Dr. Woolsey's brother had enlisted in
the Southern Army and the family lived mid a bunch of Southern
sympathizers near Breckenridge. His Uncle by marriage on his father's
side was Humphrey Weldon who was known as a "rebel" sympathizer. He
lived a little this side of Lick Fork Church. June 8 1864 some
Confederate prisoners had escaped from St. Joseph and it was reported
they were making for southern friends at the Weldon Settlement near
Breckenridge. Two militia forces sent out to get them June 9 mistook
each other for the enemy and attacked each other. That night a
militia force supposed by the family to be Captain Noblett's men went
to the Weldon home and called Humphrey out. They asked him who was
harboring the fugitives? He said, "That if he knew who was harboring
them, he would not tell." They straight way dragged him off and shot
him full of holes. After firing the barn, they departed. The Weldon
family hearing the shots, guessed his fate and went out and found his
body. He was buried in Lick Fork Cemetery. 

Interviewed July 1934.

~~~~~~~~~~

THE KILLING OF JOHN C. MYERS 
Narrator: J.W. (Billy) Myers of Cowgill, Missouri

Mr. Myers is a grandson of John C. Myers and a son of Sam Myers.
This is a story which he says has come down concerning the death of
John C. Myers. John C. Myers, his wife Leah Brinnell Myers and
their young family came by wagon from Pennsylvania to the Mirabile
community in 1841. There they lived the very simple life of pioneers.
Mr. Myers was a Democrat and was sheriff of Caldwell County 1856-60.
He was re-elected for two more years. However, the Civil War was in
the air and being a firm believer in Secession he refused to take the
oath of fidelity to the Federal Government. This act was widely
known. Moreover he was prominent in the Secessionist activities. He
once rode at top speed June 10 1861 to warn the Secessionists who were
gathering in Woodson Ardinger's store (their headquarters) at Kingston
that the Federal Troops were marching from Hamilton to Kingston.
He went South and entered service. In the fall 1862 he came back.
The fedual order was that all Ex-Confederate soldiers should surrender
to the Federal authorities in the county. He told his family that he
feared to do this lest the Unionists kill him under some excuse; and
he preferred to take chances in avoiding capture. On November 4th
1862 he went to the home of an old friend in Rockford Township, where
he lived before he went to Kingston as sheriff. This man was Henry
Whitenack. He urged Myers to surrender but Myers would not. Some
enemy must have seen him for after nightfall the ever wakeful militia
came to the house and called Myers out. They began firing and then he
ran - falling mortally wounded. The family had a surmise about the
identity of the members of the force. (See a variation in this story
in the Caldwell-Livingston History.) Mr. Myers is buried in the Hines
Graveyard, which was probably open to "Rebels." 

Interview taken August 1934.

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This page was last updated September 24, 2006.