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The History Of
Benton County, Missouri
1969
Volume 1
ILLUSTRATED
Compiled And Written By:
KATHLEEN KELLY WHITE
KATHLEEN WHITE MILES
Publishers: White & Miles
Copyrighted November 1, 1969
The Printery Clinton, Mo. , Warsaw, Mo.
 
 Chapter 3
Early Settlers
THE OLD KINKEAD HOMESTEAD---The Kinkeads were among the first settlers of Benton County and this picture was taken at the turn of the century. The late Roy Kinkead is sitting on the fence and standing are his parents, Belle Halley Kinkead and Albert Jr. Kinkead, and "Uncle Jodie" Kinkead. Other children of Albert and Belle Kinkead were George Kinkead, who now lives east of Spring Grove Church and Hallie Nash of Kansas City. After Belle' s death, Albert remarried and their children were E. B. Kinkead and Faye McCubbin. This house was built on land purchased by Milton Kinkead from the Indians for $9 and the family lived in a wigwam until it was constructed. It was located near a fine spring. Milton Kinkead came to Benton County from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, by ox team. He was accompanied by John Graham, who settled on what was later known as the Forest Wilson Farm, now part of the Kaysinger Dam project. George Blanton,  Milton Kinkead's brother-in-law, settled up the creek on what later was known as the Hunter and Price Gregory Neil farm, now owned by Roy Cole. It also is in the Kaysinger area. Estel Kinkead, Warsaw stock man and well-known resident, is a son of Jodie Kinkead, the little boy sitting on the fence.
THEY SAW THE BEAUTY OF THIS LAND!
They said, "Let's tarry a while. They
did. And with this book, the dust of memory
stirs again around their homestead.

DRIPPING SPRINGS are located 3/4 mile to a mile upstream on Big Tebo Creek, from the mouth of Clear Creek on the Benton and Henry
County line. Water runs out of the ground on the creek bank and pours over a limestone rock overhang. It falls some eight to ten feet to the
ground below, near the water of the creek. The creek was up when this picture was taken, according to B. W. Chastain. It was taken looking
out toward the creek. The springs will be covered up by the water of Kaysinger Lake. A Mr. Proctor, one of the first settlers in this area,
built a cabin not far from the Dripping Springs. He came to Benton, then went back to Kentucky in 1837 and told Jacob Chastain how fine
the country was--and the latter moved here with family and slaves and settled in the same area.

The first recorded white men in the Benton County area were Philip Renault and Claude DuTisne in 1719. Others came soon after them, the traders bringing implements, powder, lead, clothes, trinkets and often whiskey which they traded with the Indians. French traders, American hunters and trappers kept a thin line of commerce up and down the Osage River basin until the old Missionary Trail from Jefferson City to the Indian Mission at Harmony in Bates County was established in 1821. By 1830 the river was an artery of immigration. In 1825 the government had established the military road from Palmyra in east Missouri thru Cole Camp, Warsaw and :Springfield to Fort Smith, Arkansas and, beyond. Warsaw was the crossroad of western Missouri. The earlier settlements were located in valleys at the edge of timber and the condition which usually determined the location of a home site was that it be near a spring of running water, The settlers in that early day mostly were from Kentucky, Tennessee and the Carolinas where they didn't know how to make a field unless it was hewn out of a forest. So they'd locate a spring on a branch, clear 3 or 4 acres of land for a field, costing them more labor than it would have to cultivate a 40 acre field of prairie. The pioneers were for the most part farmers of Scotch-Irish, German and English extraction. They were a restless, adventurous and enterprising lot, brave to a fault. These won the struggle of the wilderness. They came from north, east and south. Only the west contributed nothing but beckoning bounty in the development of Benton County. And The first settler was Ezekiel Williams in what is now Cole Township.

THE PIONEERS' LIFE

They used their inventive wits. Doors were made of clapboards, floors of mother earth, bedsteads with one leg were fastened to the walls at the corners of the houses, wagon grease was made of honey which was only 25 cents per gallon or about 1cent  per lb. in the comb. A family really felt civilized when it had good puncheon floors and 2 bedsteads. Bread was scarce and what crops were made were liberally divided so that all could have a little bread. There was very few hogs but lots of wild game, so with the faithful dog and flintlock, everyone had plenty. Meal was made by pounding the corn in a stump mortar, the coarsest for hominy and the finest for bread, and very dark at that. Men then worked for 50 cents  per day. Neighbors were few and far between, but everybody was friendly and willing to divide the last mouthful. One of the first tasks for the pioneer was to throw together some sort of rude shelter for his family; then next came making a mortar for reducing corn to particles small enough to serve as food. The best mortars were made in the standing stump of a post oak or white oak tree (most were; made in logs). Such hard work was the fashioning and the farmer Who boasted a well proportioned and deep mortar in a solid post oak stump congratulated himself on his industry and good fortune. Fire was used to aid the axe so bread usually was very dark. With a hand made wooden pestle the corn was laboriously pulverized before being sifted thru a thin bit of muslin. The coarser bits were used for hominy and finer for meal or cornbread. Most of these contrivances were followed by a "sweep pestle", much heavier than could be worked by hand and hung on a balanced pole after the fashion of a old fashioned well sweep. A single blow from the machine was equal to a dozen from a hand-worked pestle and many farmers continued to use the sweep-pestle after mills were established in the area.

EARLY DAY SETTLERS TO 1836

(Name and Date of Arrival) Benton County, Missouri

A
Alexander,George1832
Allred, James (??)
Alsup, ----- 1832
Aunglin, -----(1834
B
Barber,
Dick 1832
Barnett, W. H. 1834
Beck, Duvald 1834
Bell, Edward p. 1833
.Bess, Jeremiah 1832
Bishop, Thomas J. 1832
Blanton, George 1832
.Bledsoe, Lewis 1831
Boeschen, John and Gesche 1833
Breshears, Alex 1833
Brookshires, The 1833
Browder, James 1834
Brown, John ----
Brown, Oliver L. G. 1832
Bryant, Andy 1835
-C
Carpenter, Jacob 1835
Carrico, James O. 1832
.Carter, Maniel, Elijah and Edmond 1832
Case, Emanuel 1834
Cathey, George 1835
Cleveland, John 1836
Cleveland. Roland 1836
Colllins William D_l832
Chastain, Jacob 1835,
Cock 1835
Cornwall, Adamson 1834
Cox, Travis 1834
Crabtree, Peter 1833
Crabtree, Solomon ---
Crews, Cabel 1833
-D
Daniels, Samuel 1833
Davis, Henry 1835
Dawson, Jonas & Jacob 1834
Dean, John & William 1834
Denton, William 1834
Derrell, Washington 1835
Dinwiddie --- before 1830
Donaghe, <hunter and trapper) 1834
Doty, Elijah 1833
Duren, Mannen 1831

E
Eastwood, John W. 1835
Eifert, John ---

Elbert,Henry Y. 1835
Elmore, ---- 1832
F
Fewel. Zack 1835
Foster, ---- 1832
Fowler, Samuel 1835
Fouche, ---- Prior 1830
(hunter and Trapper)
-G
Garth, Major 1834
Glover, Richard 1835
Godwin, James 1834
Goetz, John ---
Graham, John, Sr. 1832
(first census taker)
H
Hall, Philip 1832
Harrisons, 1834
(Tavern near Breshears Store)
Harryman, Sympkins 1832
Helvey, Champion 1835
Hogle, John F. Prior 1820
(Indian agent)
Holland, Wesley 1834
Holloway, John 1832
Holtzen, Henry ---
Hooper, Joseph 1835
Howard, John H. 1832
Howser, Stephen A. 1831
Hudson, ---- 1835
Huff, Nathan 1833
Hughes, Elias 1833
Hughes, George H. 1832
J
Jack, N. D. ---
James,C. C. 1833
Jeans, William 1834
Johnson, Lewis 1832
Joneses, The 1833
-K
Kays, William 1833
Kidwell, David 1834
Kincaid, Milton 1832
-L
Leach,Robert 1835
Lindsay, Judge John 1833
Linn. ---- 1833
Linn, :.--- 1833
M
MCCulloh, Samuel ---
McDaniel,
McFarland, Walter 1834
May Samuel B. 1835
Mishler, prior 1830
Moon, Thomas 1832
Morgan, Allen 1832
Murray, James D. ----
-N
Nave,Daniel 1832
Neas, Adam 1835
Nichols, Albert 1835
 Nicholson, Isaac 1833
Norton, Sampson 1833
-0-
Odneal, Levi 1832
-P
Peak, William 1836
Pensineau, prior 1820
-R
Redd, David 1835
Richardson, George 183-
Rippetoe,William 1832
(:first white resident on Pomme deTerre)
Rippin, Samuel 1835
Rizley, Levi M. 1836
Roberts, John 1834
Ross Brothers, 1831
-S
Saulsbury,Isaac1834
Scaggs, John 1834
Shipton, John ----
(first miller)
Simpson, William1835
Stelljes, Claus 1834
Stewarts, ---- 1834
-T
Thouvenel, Joseph ---
Timpkins,Jacob ---
Tyree,prior to 1830
-W
Warren,Thomas C. 1836
Weaver, Samuel 1833
White, Judge William 1831
Wickliff, Isaac 1834
Williams, B. H. & John M. 1834
Williams, Ezekiel 1830
Williams Richard ---
Wisdom,James M. 1834
Wright,John B. & Montgomery 1833
Woodson, Samuel 1834
Y
Yeager --- 1832
(store at Bledsoe's Ferry)

The first settlers in what is now Benton County were John F. Hogle, a German, and Narcisse Pensineau, a Frenchman. The Pensineaus were among the earliest of the French settlers about Cahokia, Ill.-noted fur traders in the Northwest. Hogle has his name perpetuated in the name of Hogle Creek. It was at the mouth of this stream that Hogle and Pensineau established a trading post. It cannot be ascertained what year they came, but it was long before the earliest pioneer settlers followed them into the dark wilderness. Hogle became Indian agent of the government. They came seeking the barter and trade with the Indians, and fixed their trading post at the mouth of this creek, where was the largest Indian village in what is now Benton County. This was the first non-Indian settlement, and theirs the first store.

In 1832 Thomas J. Bishop, the first county and circuit clerk, came as a clerk for Hogle. He was a bright, energetic young man, a fine scribe, and he succeeded to the ownership of the trading post, and for some time the only point of supplies for many miles was "Bishop's Store," as the place was called. The store was discontinued in 1838, soon after the Indians left, and Bishop moved to Warsaw. He had come from Philadelphia, Pa. and had bought the store after serving as clerk. It is believed Ezekiel Williams was the first Anglo-Saxon settler in Benton County. He came in the fall of 1830 or the spring of 1831, He first settled on the Fordney place, afterward on the place widely known as the Williams place, southwest of Cole Camp. He had been one of Lewis and Clark's men in their early expeditions to the Northwest. The next was Oliver L. G. Brown, soon after Williams. In the same year two men named Ross built their cabin near the mouth of Ross Creek. In February, 1831, Mannen Duren came and built his cabin at the mouth of Duren Creek. He brought stock from Pettis County, and wintered his animals on the bottom grasses. His next neighbor was William Kelley, who settled the Marcellus Jeans place. In the latter part of 1831, Lewis Bledsoe settled on the Osage River about half a mile above Warsaw, on the old military road from Palmyra to Springfield, and established a ferry. The spot where he built his cabin on the river bank is now in Dr. Crawford's field. In a short time a man named Yeager opened a store at Bledsoe's ferry.

In 1831 Stephen A. Howser settled where Warsaw now is.  His cabin was near where the Gilbert mill and later the railway depot stood on lower Main St. and the river front. It is said he purchased the right of Indians. The Indians as well as Howser had been attracted by the fine spring, near which was Charles Wall's house near the intersection of Briggs-Jefferson Sts, The Wall house was torn down in 1930 because of backwater from Lake of the Ozarks created by Bagnell Dam. It was a two story brick. In 1832 George H. Hughes, Levi Odineal, Thomas Moon and a man named Alsup came from Cooper County to engage in raising stock, expecting to winter them on the rich bottom grasses. They settled on the old Tyree place. A severe winter met them, and much of the stock perished. In 1832 Sympkins Harryman and Daniel Nave were added to their neighbors. William Ripetoe, this year, became the first settler on Pomme de Terre River. In 1832 Judge George Alexander settled on Turkey Creek, on the place afterward Mrs. Thurman's. He engaged in traffic with the Indians. In 1835, after the Indians left the west side of Pomme de Terre, he moved across and bought the Indian claim, where they had a village, giving them $60 for the right. The place became in time the property of his son, John H. Alexander. Capt. John Holloway and his wife, Nancy and family came in April 1832, a Kentuckian, but latterly from northern Illinois, where he had been in the Black Hawk War. He settled at Heath's Bend, on the Osage River. C. G. Heath, after whom the bend is named, was his son-in-law. He bought the Holloway farm when the family moved to California during the Gold rush.

 In 1832 the first settlement was made on the Little Tebo, by Milton Kincaid, John Gresham, Sr., and George Blanton, with their families. Kincaid purchased of the Indians a clearing, later the farm of Albert Kincaid. Gresham built near Spring Grove Chrueh, John H. Howard and Lewis Johnson, the same year, settled on the Osage River below Warsaw. Hon, James H. Lay says these comprise all the immigrants who came prior to 1833, the year when the great tide of immigration set westward. The information as to where and by whom settlements were made between 1833 and 1836 are as follows: Three free negro brothers settled near Fairfield, Edmond Carter on the Crabtree place in the bottom, and the other two, Lige and Manuel Carter at what was named "Free Nigger Springs," on the Hosmann place southeast of town. Crabtree settled on the Pomme de Terre: Peter and Nathan Huff on the E. K. Bailey place; Alexander Breshears and Sampson Norton settled on Breshears' Prairie, and above them were the Joneses and Brookshires, more fully referred to in the Turk-Jones affray, or "Slicker War." In this settlement were Samuel Weaver and Samuel Daniels; on the prairie north were Isaac Saulsbury and Edward P, Bell; across the Pomme de Terre, now in Hickory County, were Judge Joseph C. Montgomery, Samuel Judy and John Graham.

Of the first settlers on Hogle Creek was James M. Wisdom. It is said that Wisdom had to go to Niangua to find help to raise his house. The first settlers on Turkey Creek were Samuel Weaver, Duvald Beck, Walter McFarland, W. H. Barnett, B. H. Williams, Joseph Hooper, David Kidwell, Jacob Dawson, John Scaggs, Mr. Hudson and William Kays, who built the first mill in Benton County, on the Osage River, a little above the mouth of Turkey Creek. A man named Elmore was the first settler on Deer Creek, about two and a half miles above its mouth. On this creek also were Elijah Doty, Jonas Dawson and George Richardson. John M. Williams and William Denton were the first settlers on the Osage below Warsaw. They made their improvements on what is known as the Denton land. Isaac Nicholson settled near Howard and Johnson, above mentioned. Above these were William Jeans and the Donaghe's.. Above Warsaw in the Shawnee Bend were John B. and Montgomery Wright, James and John Roberts, on the old Balliette place Isaac Wickliffe, James Browder, above a short distance and John and William Dean. at Dean Island, and Emanuel Case. ~

THE HENRY THOMAS BRESHEARS FAMILY--taken around 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Henry Thomas Breshears are seated.
Daughters, standing behind them, Lillie Johnson, in white blouse, and Emma Wright. Sons, from left to right, are Perry, James T., John H., Jasper W.

 MR. ANDMRS. ELBERT WILSON (Lena Howard) With Mary Mabel and Harley Taken Early 1900's

TAKEN ABOUT 1900, this photo shows Mr. and Mrs. John Franklin
Poague of Lincoln. They were parents of John William Poague

OLD-TIME HOME, a few miles northwest of Warsaw, was this residence built in 1840 by the Neace family, Benton County pioneers. An old family cemetery is on the property, owned by Gene Gibson when the home was taken down in 1967. The house was made of logs with walnut siding and put together with pegs.

The first settlement on Grand River was at the Bettie Foster Ford by the Fosters and Anglins, On the big Tebo were first Adamson Cornwall Joshua Graham and Cabel Crews. On the Little Tebo were Elias Hughes, Judge John W. Lindsay, one of the Limas, Henry Davis, Andy Bryant, Judge William White, Davis Redd, Adam Neas, On Cole Camo Creek in addition to those already named. were John Tyree, (the county's first casualty in the Civil War), Jacob Carpenter, George Cathey, Travis Cox, Wesley Holland, Albert Nichols, John W. Eastwood, Samuel Fowler and Champion Helvey.

On Indian Creek was John Shipton. He built the first mill in this part of the county, and it was a noted place for years, as it supplied the surrounding northern country for many miles. The place was once platted and made a village, with the serious intention of becoming a village.

On Lake Creek the first were James Q. Carrico, Joseph Lebow, Allen Morgan and C. C. James. Carrico's and Lebow's names appear among the first land entries, and they are probably among the first settlers in the county . Other early comers on this creek were Gesche' and John Boeschen, Henry Holsten, John Eifert, John Goetz, N. D. Jack and Jacob Limkin, The Boeschens opened a store. Near the store were Richard  Williams, Solomon Crabtree, Joseph Thouvenal, James Allard, Samuel McCulloh, John Brown and James D. Murray. There was on the old road running north and south James Godwin, who opened a tavern, and he and Harrison as landlords were noted for their entertainment of travelers.

On the head of Brush Creek were first Jeremiah Bess and his brother in- law, Carter. In 1835 a colony came from Bourbon County, Ky., and located in this neighborhood, In this colony were Roland McDaniel and sons, Elias, George, Benjamin and William; also Henry Y. Elbert and his sons, Roland, Henry and John, and also Thomas C. Warren, John Cleavland, William Peak and Robert Leach. Among the early settlers, but not of the colony, were Chastain Cock and Zachariah Fewell.

On Clear Creek were Jacob Chastain, Richard Glover, Lev] M, Rizley, William Simpson, Samuel Rippin, Washington Dorrell and Samuel B. May.

The first settlers who ventured out on the prairies were George W. Rives, Stephen H. Douglas, R. S. Coates, Hiram P, Casey, Stephen H. Davie, on North Prairie; Samuel Orr, James and Wiley Vinson settled near Lincoln; James H. Lay, C. L. Perry, Lindsay Bowman, Johnson Shobe were on Little Tebo; Alexander Davidson, Markham Fristoe and Samuel Parks, on Clear Creek.

In addition to the above, among the immigrants during the 30's may be noted the following: Andrew S. Bryan, Robert Pogue, Billington Johnson, C. Elinon, Stephen L. Bowles, Caleb W. Barr, Marshall Bowman, Peter Burns, H. S. Chalmers, Pemberton Carson, John Dunn, Jacob Dobkins, C. W. Fanthorpe, Micajah Gentry. Allen Ghee, Richard and Aquilla Glover, George R. Herndon, Alexander Hannah, R. C. Henry, Britton Holland, John Keaton, Thomas A. Lea, James H. Lay, Thomas McCaul, Anderson Prewett, Samuel Rippin, Robinson Ruddle, Joseph Redd, William Sally, James Vinson, James A. Weymouth, Henry A. Willis, Montgomery Wright, John Wynoms, Lewis Dillon and John B. Clark.

Mrs. Charles Walls, of Warsaw, daughter of James W. Smith, a pioneer of the county, came with her parents at the age of twelve years, in 1836. Her recollections of the first settlers and their customs were very distinct. The nearest post office at first was Boonville, and for some time the nearest mill, The first postmaster in Warsaw was Adamson Cornwall, and for years the mails were carried on a pony express weekly. In a short time the people could cease grating their corn meal and grind their corn at a horse-mill, five miles east of Warsaw. The first preaching she heard, and about the first in the county, was in a grove near Warsaw by a man named Duncan. People would go many miles, the whole family in an ox cart, if they heard there was to be preaching. ,Soon after the horse-mill was built, two stills were in operation, one north and the other south of the river.

EARLY LAND ENTRIES

The lands in Benton County were not surveyed and sectionized until 1836, and therefore no entries could precede this date. Richard Williams, it will be seen by the list below, made the first entry. There were nine entries in 1836. The following, with descriptive numbers, show the 12 particular localities in the county:

Township 43, Range 20: Jacob Timkin, July 27, 1839, southeast quarter of Section 9; John Timkin, March 23, 1839, east half of the northeast quarter of Section 22; Henry Khors, October 14, 1837, westhalf of the northwest quarter of Section 25; Gesche Miller. June 19, 1839, east half of the northwest quarter of section 22; Peter Miller, June 19, 1839, southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 22; Gesche Boeschen, March 2, 1839, east half of the northwest quarter of Section 10; James Q. Carrico, August 22, 1837, northwest quarter of Section 9; Joseph Lebow, December 10, 1836, east half of the southeast quarter of Section 5; Benjamin Mcf'arland, February 8, 1837, south half of the northeast quarter of Section 5; John Eifort, July 3, 1839, southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 3; Conrad Ringen, October 14, 1837, northeast quarter of the southwest quarter and the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 14; John Gerken, October 14, 1837, southeast quarter of the southwest quarter and the southwest quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 14; Peter Gerken, August 14, 1839, southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 14; Henry Holzen, October 14, 1837, east half of the northwest quarter and west half of the northeast quarter of Section 14, east half of the southwest quarter and west half of the southeast quarter of Section 11; Oelrig Jagles, March 29, 1839, northeast quarter of Section 11; John Boeschen, March 23, 1839, east half of the southeast quarter of Section.

Township 40, Range 20: John M. Williams, August 9, 1836, southwest quarter of Section 14, Charles A Hayden, June 6, 1839, southeast quarter of Section 15; Rodham K. Pogue, April 5,1837, southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 15; Thomas Robinson, April 25, 1840, southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 15; John L. Holly, May 23, 1839, northwest quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 15; Isaac Nicholson, July 10, 1836, southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 8; John H. Howard, August 4, 1836, northeast quarter of Section 7; Virgil Newsom, July 30, 1836, southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 6.

 Township 40, Range 21: Smith B. Howard, November 15, 1839, northeast quarter of Section 4; Samuel Sapp, South point, northeast quarter of Section 5; Elijah Cherry, January 14, 1840, southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 5; William Donaghe, December 24, 1839, southwest quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 6; James C. Blankenship, December 3, 1839, northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 6.

Township 40, Range 23; Nathaniel G. Brown, December 16, 1839, southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 9; James Foster, December 3, 1839, northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 9; William Foster, December 4,1839, southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 5; David Menice, January 18, 1840, southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 9; John C. and Isaac H. Lusk, November 2, 1839, northeast quarter of Section 24; John Halloway, October 4, 1839, southwest quarter of Section 15; Daniel Martin, November 21, 1839, southeast quarter of Section 14; John B. Wright, in August, 1839, south half of Section 11; William Porter, November 20, 1839, southwest quarter of Section 12; John Stewart, November 20, 1839, west half of the northeast quarter of Section 12; David L. Hamilton, November 20, 1839, northwest quarter of Section 12.

 Township 41, Range 21: John Lemon, November 12, 1839, southwest quarter of Section 5; Daniel Nave, March 2, 1841, southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 7; Alexander R. Russell, January 7, 1841, northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 7; Edward Moore, November 4, 1839, southeast quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 22; Jacob Byler, August 26, 1839, northeast quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 22; Thomas Dillon, November 4, 1839, northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 28; Thomas C. Burgis, November 11, 1839, east half of the northwest quarter of Section 28.

 Township 41, Range 22: John S. Lingle, November 2, 1839, west half of the southeast quarter of section 10; George W. Crabb, November 9, 1839, west half of the northeast quarter of Section 10; Alfred W. Morrison, October 26, 1839, northwest quarter of Section 10; Charles S. Halloway, October 24, 1839, southwest quarter of Section 5; Samuel Orr, Jr., October 24, 1839, south half of Section 9; William Harley, November 4, 1839, southeast quarter of Section 8; John B. Clark, December 13, 1839, southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 20. Township 41, Range 23: Elias Hughes, October 10, 1839, northeast quarter Section 25; John Graham, October 25, 1839, east half of the southeast quarter of Section 25; Daniel Lynn, October 10, 1839, southeast quarter of Section 15; Joseph D. Redd, October 15, 1839, east half of the southeast quarter of Section 2; Zachariah Fewell, December 13, 1839, west half of the northeast quarter of Section 10; Alexander Davidson, December 4, 1839, east half of the northeast quarter of Section 10; James H. Miller, October 25, 1839, northwest quarter of Section 2; Eber H. Taber, October 25, 1839, north half of the northeast quarter of Section 3; Joshua Graham July 2, 1848, southeast quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 27; Cabel Crews, November 5, 1839, west half of the southwest quarter of Section 21-

Township 42, Range 20: Richard Williams, February 26, 1836, southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 5; Seymour Crabtree, September 2, 1836, west half of the southwest quarter of Section 2; Joseph Thouvenal, March 27,1836, northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 2; W. and J. D. Hay, June 9, 1837, east half of the northwest quarter and west half of the northeast quarter of Section 15. Township 42, Range 21: Albert Nichols, October 23, 1839, West half of the northwest quarter of Section 11; Albert Nichols, November 4, 1839, southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 2; Jacob Carpenter, November 5, 1839, south half of Section 4 and north half of Section 9; Stephen W. Howser, November 4, 1839, east half of the southwest quarter of Section 5; Allen Carpenter, November 4, 1839, north half of the southwest quarter of Section 8; Vincent F. Berry, October 23, 1839, west half of the northwest quarter of Section 8; Travis Cox, October 19, 1839, northeast quarter of Section 7; Albert Rood, November 14, 1839, northeast quarter of Section 7; Albert Rood, November 14, 1839, east half of the northwest quarter of Section 18; Barnett S. Furnish, December 10, 1839, east half of the northwest quarter of Section 19; William T. Dyer, November 27, 1839, east half of the southwest quarter of Section 19; Elisha Davis, May 23, 1837, southeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 20; Jonathan Lamb, October 23, 1839, east half of the southeast quarter of Section .20; Cornelius Huett, November 16, 1839, north half of the northwest quarter of Section 29.

Township 43, Range 22: John and James Dunn, November 25, 1839 southwest quarter of Section 34; Alfred Head, November 19, 1840, west half of the southeast quarter and east half of the southwest quarter of Section 26; Wesley Holland, November 4, 1839, southeast quarter of Section 15; Zachariah Bowman, November 4, 1839, northwest quarter of Section 29; Isaac J. Aylsworth, December 10, 1839, southwest quarter of Section 29; James W. Blakely, December 11, 1839, southeast quarter of Section 30; Robert Ferguson, December 11, 1839, east half of the northeast quarter of Section 30; George Ramsey, December 11, 1839, west half of the northeast quarter of Section 30 and east half of the northwest quarter of Section 30; Joh Priestly October 27, 1839, east half of the southwest quarter of Section 30; James Dupree, December 11, 1839, west half of the northwest quarter of Section 31; David Bridgeform, October 25, 1839, north half of the southwest quarter of Section 29; James Dunn, October 24, 1839, east half of the northeast quarter of Section 33; John Dunn, November 25, 1839, east half of the northwest quarter of Section 34; Marcellus Dunn, May 9, 1840, northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 28; William Manning, October 13, 1839, southeast quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 28.

Township 42, Range 23: Ennis McDaniel, October 26, 1839, west half of the southwest quarter of Section 29; George C. McDaniel, October 5, 1839, Jeremiah Bess, October 26, 1839, east half of the northeast quarter of Section 17; William Hickman, November 18, 1839, north half of the southwest quarter of Section 17; George Carter, November 6, 1839, southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 17; Christian Cock, October 26, 1839, west half of the northwest quarter of Section 20; Zachariah Fewell, February 4, 1840, west half of the southeast quarter of Section 30; Richard Fewell, December 13, 1839, northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 32; Richard R. Fewell, October 19, 1839, southeast quarter of Section 31.

CUSTOMS

The pioneers were Virginians and Kentuckians mostly. The places where they settled shows that they sought for the timbers of streams and springs of flowing water as points of advantage. They knew nothing of the nature or value of prairie land. The first cabins in the bottoms were nearly all washed away in a few years when the great freshets came. A cabin and a few acres for bread and truck patch were the nature of many of the first farms; the wild game gave abundance of meat. Often the ordeal was the first year before a crop of bread stuffs could be raised. No settlers ventured into the prairie prior to 1840. Senator Tom Benton had notified the world that the desert commenced sixty miles west of St. Louis, and government surveyors had reported the prairies as unfit for cultivation. These errors could but gradually wear away. It was the truck wagon age, when plows were made from a forked sapling. No schools, churches or courts existed, and every family's wearing apparel was made at home. In the minds of most of these silent adventurers the destructive as well as food game were the deer, turkey, possum, coon, elk, bears and panthers, Indians, etc. On the prairies were the green head flies in animal destroying legions. Boys often grew almost large enough to go "sparking" before they had shoes or trousers. Many a garment of wear has been made from the wild nettle of the bottoms-the lint being treated like flax. Men often wore moccasins for foot covering in winter.

The next imperative want, marking even the tendency to luxury of the pioneer fathers, after a saw and grist mill would be often a still, and then would follow the school and church. As a class they were a frugal, hard-working, plain and good people, in which was, of course, an admixture of the rough and turbulent element. Fights and bitter feuds were not uncommon, and in rare cases nearly the whole people became involved in the bloody vendetta, and cruel punishment followed, and human life became cheap indeed.

EZEKIEL WILLIAMS, EXPLORER AND TRAPPER

In the Williams Cemetery of the Union Church, about 3 1/2 miles south west of Cole Camp, lie the remains of Ezekiel Williams, pioneer, trapper, explorer, one of the first Anglo-Saxon settling in Benton County. His resting place is marked by two venerable old cedars, which were, no doubt placed on his grave by members of his family to mark the site, until a more lasting monument was erected in his memory, in 1963.

Ezekiel Williams' birth place and birth date are uncertain. He is thought to have been born about 1775, and by his own statement was raised in Kentucky. However, in view of the fact that Daniel Boone and five companions made their first explorations of Kentucky in 1767, but did not establish their first settlement until 1775, when Boonesborough was settled, and in the interim on June 16th of 1774 James Harrod and forty associates from Monogahela County established the first permanent colony in Kentucky, it is most certain that Ezekiel came into Kentucky as an infant, or was born there soon after his parents' migration. An Ezekiel Williams was in the Revolutionary Virginian Army, so 1hat it is probable he was either father or uncle of the pioneer. Ezekiel was married in 1795, and in 1797 his only child, a son Sam. was born. There is a strong probability that his wife died before 1800, as later records indicate he was unmarried in that year. The next trail of Ezekiel is located in 1807 when he appeared at the present site of St. Louis, and with twenty other trappers organized a trapping venture to travel the Lewis and Clark trail to Fort Mandan, and near there establish a trading post, from which they could operate their own trap lines as well as barter with the Indians. "Captain" Williams was elected leader of the band.

 Each trapper was responsible for his gear, food, supplies, weapons and traps. In addition to mounts and pack animals for each, pack animals for wares to barter with Indians were included. The trip to Ft. Mandan was made without incident. There the chief "Big White's" of the Mandans assisted them ,and they built their store in what is now Montana. One of the fur traders, Manuel Lisa, was placed in charge of the station with the assistance of one of the party.

The remainder started a trapping, expedition south along the eastern slope of the mountains. After sixty days of travel, they reached the headwaters of the Arkansas River. Having found an ideal spot for a camp, in excellent fur country, they set up headquarters. They found the spot too good to be true, as early season trapping seemed perfect. But as winter set in, Indians arrived to stay in great numbers, the large, hot, Poncha water Spring being the attraction that caused the Indians to claim that as their winter quarters. The Indians were not too hostile, but thievery was so extensive that by spring, it was evident that the trip was a failure. The band divided and half went over the Divide, at what is now Monarch Pass. The remainder with half of what furs remained, started down the Arkansas Valley. After a few days journey they met Indians who had traveled from Ft. Mandan. They reported that the trading post had been attacked and destroyed, after the death of Manuel Lisa and his assistant. The fire was actual, but the agents later were found to be alive, but captive. The fur party then decided not to return to Montana, and all but Williams and one man turned south into New Mexico. Williams and his companion made a large canoe and with 12 bales of fur attempted to descend the Arkansas, hoping to return to Missouri. Along the way his companion was killed by Indians, and Williams was taken captive, while all of the furs were stolen. After months of captivity, the U. S. Army rescued Williams, since friendly Indians had reported a captive white man was held at this village. After his return to Missouri he settled on a farm between Franklin and Boonville. In 1813 when William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame) was named governor of the Missouri Territory, Ezekiel told him the story of his capture by the Indians and the loss of his 12 bales of fur. Clark, who was a long time friend of Williams (also born in Virginia in 1770 and moved to Kentucky in early childhood), decided to punish the Indians by having them appear at a military post to receive their annual government payment, and have Williams hide in an adjoining tent, to be called to appear before them at an opportune time. After preliminary procedure, and proper smoking of peace pipes, Ezekiel entered, and facing the same chiefs who had held him captive, made his charges against them. They stoutly denied ever having seen him, until some of the soldiers appeared bearing some of the bales of furs the bindings of which were identified by initials "E. W." They then said Ezekiel had lied, in that they only took the six located bales, and, there were no more. But as soldiers kept appearing with new bales, or their identification, tile number grew to eleven. Since they could find no more, Ezekiel agreed to settled for the value of his eleven bales, so after proper adjustment, the Indians received the remainder of their payment. Historian Frederick Volkner says that was one more bale than they had stolen, since Williams had found that there was insufficient water on the lower Arkansas to float his load, so he had cached several bales prior to his capture by the Indians. In 1814 Ezekiel and three' other men left Franklin for Colorado to bring back the cached furs. They found them, and having loaded their pack animals, started the return to Missouri. On the way Indians scattered the group with two men and half the furs going south, and Williams, his companion and half the furs going north and East. Much later it was learned the men escaping to the south were murdered and their furs stolen. Ezekiel's companion was also killed later by Indians. He arrived at Franklin with his furs a while later, but there were fewer than he remembered and their condition was such that the trip was a failure. In that same year 1814, Ezekiel was married at Franklin, to Mary Nancy Jones, widow of James Jones, and mother of six children. The ceremony was performed by a Baptist minister living on a farm adjacent to the Williams farm.

Thinking he might settle down after his marriage, he was named Ranger and Defender of the Territory and was stationed at a fort south and east of Arrowrock, In 1818 the Federal government planned to build a military road from Palmyra, Mo. to Ft. Smith, Arkansas. Ezekiel Williams and three others were commissioned to layout the segment of the road that would extend from Franklin, Mo. to the crossing of the Osage river. The "Franklin Intelligencer" states that the road started at the boundary line of Ezekiel's farm, crossed the river near Booneville,_ passed Lamine and continued thru what is now Cole Camp and the "Old Road" by the Union Cemetery where Williams was buried, down the Williams Creek valley thru Williams Township and to the Osage River crossing near Warsaw. This pleasant valley so impressed this much traveled man, that he then stated he would like to live there. However, he still had the wanderlust, and it was eleven active years before he became Benton County's first settler. The Franklin Mo. "Intelligencer" reports on Aug. 14, 1821 that a company of 17 men met at the home of Ezekiel Williams for the purpose of forming a trading company to traffic with the peoples of Santa Fe, New Mexico. William Becknell was named captain. Each person making the trip would furnish his own mount, pack animals and merchandise. Any persons wanting to make the trip should meet at the ford near Arrow Rock at sunrise on Aug. 18th, 1821.

 A later issue of the same paper states that only four men made the trip but does not name the traders. It is not known whether Williams made the trip or not, but it is probable since he is reported to have made the trip four times. On May 15th, 1827, a company of 105 men met at Blue Springs, near the Missouri-Kansas line, to organize a trading caravan headed for Santa Fe, New Mexico. The train was the largest ever to travel the route. Ezekiel Williams was elected Captain by the participating merchants. No information is available as to details of the trip. However, the "Franklin Intelligencer" reports that on Sept. 30, 1827 the party returned, with 60 men and a herd of 800 horses and mules, valued at $28,000. The profit from the expedition netted 40%. The Federal census of 1830 shows Ezekiel living in Booneville. That fall, about 55 years of age, he made trips to Benton County, carving out a crude homestead on the lower bottoms of Williams Creek. By spring he had completed his move. After a year's residence here, he was convinced that at last he was through roaming. So he moved up the creek a mile, to a site more to his liking, and built for permanency, As others followed to settle near him, he selected a site for his son, Sam, now 37 years of age, whom he scarcely knew, (since he was a mere child when his father left Kentucky). Sam, his wife, Polly, and nine children moved to Missouri in 1834, the same year that saw such heavy traffic into the new county. '

The first post office in this area was opened up in  Zeke's home. It operated there until 1839, when it was moved to the present town of Cole Camp when Dr. Hosea Powers started the nucleus of the present town. Ezekiel's home was the polling place for White Township elections, until 1839. The first official act, of the first County Court of Benton County was to issue a merchants license to Ezekiel Williams (Feb. 16th, 1835). In 1842 the area near "Zeke" had become so populated, that a church was deemed necessary. The neighbors decided to organize a Methodist Episcopal Church.

They selected the following (most of whom still have relatives in Benton County) for their board: Isaac England, John Eastwood, Jacob Carpenter, Albert Nickols, Thomas Moon, John Jenkins and Edward Witall. On May 28th, 1842, Ezekiel Williams and his wife, Nancy, sold to the new church organization, the present cemetery and lot of the present Union Church. Two years later, the slave question caused such dissention that Methodism became divided on the question, and resulted in Methodist Episcopal South and North Methodist. This naturally resulted in a changed affiliation of the church, which eventually became a Union Church. Two years after selling the plot to the church, on Dec. 24, 1844 Ezekiel passed away, and was buried at the Williams Cemetery, at the church. It was his desire, not fulfilled by many of his companions, to die with his boots off, and to be laid away in a spot he had selected, twenty-six years previously, in an idyllic wilderness, then uninhabited by white men.

DESCENDANTS OF EZEKIEL WILLIAMS

."Mountain Man"--and one of the county's first settlers. Mrs. Hettie Henry, a great-granddaughter of Williams, was seated in the front when this picture was taken in 1963. She was a great-granddaughter of Ezekiel Williams and was born on the old Williams place, spending nearly all her lifetime in Benton County, except for two years when she and Mr. Henry operated a hardware store in Lawrence, Kansas. Mr. Henry, a direct descendant of Patrick Henry, died in 1939. All of Mrs. Henry's living children were in this picture: left to right, Mrs. Oliver "Bob" White of Warsaw (Leona); Lawrence Henry of Lincoln; Clark Henry of Windsor; Truman Henry of Lee's Summit; Kenneth Henry of Aberdeen, Maryland; Rayburn Henry of Holden; Mrs. J. L. Atwood Odella) of Lincoln; Oren Henry of Clinton. Occasion was the placing of a monument on the grave of Ezekiel Williams--119 years following his death. The marker bears the inscription:

In Memory of Ezekiel Williams
Circa 1775-1844
Western Mountain Man Memorial Placed by Descendants 1963
It is in Union Cemetery--the Union church and cemetery were located on the old Williams place.

GREAT-GRAND Children OF EZEKIEL WILLIAMS are shown in this picture taken when they gathered for a sad occasion, the funeral of their father, Sam Williams. Front row, left to right, are these children of Samuel and Mary Williams: Fannie Williams Cook (mother of Mrs. Fred Harvey of Warsaw, later Springfield), Hettie Williams Henry, Ellen Williams Freund, Dora Williams Stevens, Dell Williams Nickel. Back row, left to right, Matt Fields, raised by Samuel Williams and a nephew of Mrs. Williams, Baker Williams, Harvey Williams, Earnest Williams and George Williams.

MR. AND MRS. J. S. DRENON

Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Drenon celebrated their sixty-second wedding anniversary on December 20, 1922. The son of Thomas Drennon, who came from Ireland, Mr. Drennon was born in Tennessee and came to Missouri by covered wagon. He was a Union soldier and once walked practically all the way from Texas to Missouri. Mrs. Drenon was Millie C. Dodd before her marriage and was born in 1843 in Pulaski County, Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Drenon had 12 children.

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