Among the great crops of 1877 in Daviess Co, the rat crop was the most remarkable. The rodents, in fact, became so numerous and destructive that the County Court was prevailed upon to offer a premium of 5 cents on each rat scalp furnished. It was about that time that the rat harvest commenced in dead earnest. Boys began to have bright visions of going to shows and circuses and places of amusement generally, and so harvest hands were plenty, and the crop outlook decidedly promising...........court paid out for rat scalps was $1,515, which at 5 cents per head, amounted to 28,280 rats harvested. Just at this time it came to the ears of he court that a Gentry county man had actually got a drove of 700 rodents together, driven them across the line, killed nad acalped them, and got his $35 out of the county by his stroke of enterprise,, and that he had gone back for another drove. Also information arrived.......citizens of Harrison were busily corraling the animals and would soon come over the north line of Daviess like an avalanche, and take charge of any spare funds that the treasurer might have on hand.. these alarming rumors decided the court, and they repealed the "rat bounty" order, thereby shutting down on the enterprising citizens of Gentry and Harrison as well as on their untamed resources.

Did you know: The state of MO voted in the legislature to open a 'female academy' in 1848-1849. Trustees approved on Mar 12, 1849 by the county court were: Jonathan E. MANN Volney E. BRAGG Francis M. ESTES Joseph L. NELSON John D. WILLIAMS Benedit WELDON John CASEY [it was a female academy but no females were on the board!] The court also approved: $5 allowed for making coffins for full grown paupers $12 charged for the Daviess County Lodge for the use of the NE room, upstairs, in the courthouse for lodge purposes one year

Did you know that: Daviess Co. was named after Joseph Hamilton DAVIESS, who gave his life for his country on the bloody field of Tippacanoe where he was killed in a cavalry charge. He married a sister of Chief Justice MARSHALL** and, had he lived, he would have attained the highest round in the gift of his profession. Lanita's Note: ** it was at the tolling for Chief Justice MARSHALL's funeral that the Liberty Bell was said to have cracked. [it helps to have a dad who was a history teacher!]

yard of calico: 25 cents yard of gingham: 25-75 cents 10 lbs of Rio coffee: $1 16-20 lbs of sugar: $1 When you bought a calico or gingham dress pattern, they threw in the spool of thread [200 yds], hooks and eyes, and lining. lb tea: 20-50 cents soap: "powerful" cheap either by the gallon or by the bar saleratus [taking the place of baking powder] 5-8 cents whiskey; 18 cents a gallon by the barrel [by private owners] or from 20-25 cents per gallon retail

$1.25 an acre in 1837 in 1842 $5 for a cow $7.50 for a cow and calf $40 for the best horse [these prices were quoted as being 'cheap'] $25-35 for other horses $22 good yoke of cattle $1.25-1.50 hog dressed no matter the weight 35-40 cents for a bushel of wheat 50 cents for a barrel of corn, delivered 75 cents for a good veal calf go out in the woods and cut down a bee tree, gather the honey and bring to market and you got 25 cents a gallon 25 cents for wild deer ham

pg 155 It was the summer of 1837 when Millport had received its death-blow by the location of the county seat south of the river, that Jacob STOLLINGS, who had opened what he called a "boarding-house ranche", contracted with Wm. C. ATKINSON to furnish the meat department of his ranche. The contract was made in July 1837, and continued until Mar 1838. STOLLINGS was to pay 10 cents apiece for chicken turkeys, and 25 cents for grown ones. Deer was to be paid a fair price for, and ditto fish. Mr. ATKINSON, from July to Mar, received pay for 180 turkeys and a considerable sum more for venison and fish. Mr. ATKINS being a somewhat noted hunter, the record of his deeds in that line for some 3 or 4 yrs...... he killed 336 deer, 62 wild cats, and at one time killed 9 wolves and at another 7, the last being both old ones and 5 cubs. He paid 1 year the taxes of himself and seven of his neighbors by the use of this trusty rifle. Just how many turkeys fell before his unerring aim, he could not tell. They were too numerous to count. The other things he looked after were the rattlesnakes. These were his especial pets, and he generally marked all he came across - located them- and they never left the spot. A rattlesnake den was found on the bluffs at the crossing near Gallatin, and the men got out and killed a trifle over 300. There were plenty of them in the woods o the variety known as moccasins, from 18 in to 3-4 feet long and with 6-15 rattles. They stood no foolishness, and on curling up, when preparing for battle, had an India-rubber spring about them that cost several people their lives. They were not given credit for their springing abilities. Wolf skins, in those days, were about as good currency as was then afloat.

pg 155 in 1834-38 John SMITH W. M. PRUETT T. P. GILREATH H. N. CREEKMORE James COLLISON Richard HILL John McCLUNG [McCLANG?] Robert MILLER John WILLIAMS James MUNN Wm. HARDIN Nelson FOSTER Wm. TAYLOR D. N. FOSTER John SPLAWN Wm. C. ATKINSON

pg 153.. the year is 1834 1sts corn mill: Robert P. PENSTON [ in the town of Millport] general store: Josiah MORIN and his bro. grocery store: John A. WILLIAMS blackshop: Milford DONAHO [an expert rifle shot and mechanic] boarding house: Jacob STOLLINGS [boarding the grand jury] boarding house for court and lawyers: Elisha B.CREEKMORE

Here is the list of those coming in 1831. If your surname appears, ask for page 147, and I will send you the page: Josiah MORIN Jesse MORIN John EDWARDS Thomas EDWARDS Lewis LINNVILLE John STOKES John EDWARDS [son in law of Christopher STONE] Philip COVINGTON Elisha B. CREEKMORE Andrew McHANEY Merriwether T. GREEN Jacob S. ROGERS L. BROOKSBEAR, William RUNNELS Thomas AUBERRY [ANBERRY??] Wm. MORGAN Robert P. PENISTON, SR pg 148 Robert PENISTON, JR Thomas PENISTON Francis PENISTON Theodore PENISTON Adam BLACK Benjamin SAMPSON Elijah FROST H. W. ENYART Benjamin VASSER Wm. PREWETT Benjamin BURNS Willey COPE Russell and Solomon FRASIER Jerry BURNS John McCULLY

[the CAPS and abbreviations are mine] [pg 144-145] 1830-1831 .......The first man to raise his cabin within Daviess Co. was John SPLAWN & with him was his son, Mayberry SPLAWN. The cabin was erected near the Rock Island depot, but ws soon after removed to what was known as Splawn's Ridge, about 3 mi east of Gallatin, and near what afterward became the town of Millport, and just south of the site of that old but now plowed up town. They came in January, 1830. Who built the 2nd cabin has not been determined, but it probably was raised soon after the above date. The 3rd cabin in Daviess Co. was put up by John TARWATER. John, and Nancy, his wife, and Nancy, his dau. (afterward Mrs. Nancy NATION], lived in the cabin. They settled on sec. 34, in township #59, of range #27, just above the mouth of Honey Creek. Stephen ROBERTS settled the same month. These men were the first settlers in the county and came in Jan and Feb, followed by Danield DEVAUL and others in April of the same year. FACTS: ....The 1st deaths in Daviess Co were the 2 chldren of Stephen ROBERTS. They both died on the same day and were buried in the same grave. This was in March 1830. Very few neighbors, for there were but few, attended the mournful ceremony. The SPLAWNS and TARWATERS came over and a rough box was made with an ax, the best they ould do, and the little ones were laid away in their lonely bed, there to lie until the great trump shall sound that time has ceased and eternity begun. The grief of the parents was great; the sad loss of their little ones made their home intolerable, and they moved back whence they had come. The 1st birth in Daviess county was that of Elizabeth TARWATER, who was b. Jan 8, 1832. She was the dau of John and Ruth TARWATER, the former being the son of John and Nancy TARWATER. The Word of the Lord was first expounded... under an oak tree, very near where Robert PENISTON built his first mill a couple of years after. The sermon was preached under that tree Aug 25, 1830, by the Rev. James McMAHON, and therefore also may be added that Mr. McMAHON was the 1st preacher in the county.. The 2nd preacher in this section of the country was the Rev. Wm. MICHAELS. He was a Baptist divine and preached at the house of Mr. ATKINSON, and at the houses of several others. He removed to the south part of the State. The 1st physician was D.r Wm. P. THOMPSON, who came originally from SC, but when he came to this part of the country was from Richmond, Ray Co. He was the 1st physician in all the country reaching from the MO to the Iowa State line. He did not settle in Daviess...but on the west or main branch of the Grand River....and settled in Madison township, in Grundy Co., just above the confluence of the THOMPSON and WELDON forks, and was accompanied by John SCOTT and Harvey MEEK. He built his cabin the last week of Oct 1833, and it was occupied the 1st week in Nov. .... .....1st marriages .... Jun 1834, the happy couple were Mr. Jacob ROGERS, JR., and Miss Martha WILSON, and they were joined in holy wedlock by Rev. Thomas AUBERRY, of the Meth. Epis. Ch. ...As there were no brown stone fronts, patent cooking stoves and costly furniture to invest in at that time, Jacob and Martha went to housekeeping at once. Their house had all the latest improvements... Puncheon floor was laid on the parlor end of the mansion, and a fireplace, with mud and stick chimney, graced the other end, joined to a floor of mother earth; a few pegs in the wall, a pot or two, a few chairs made after the most approved fashion of 3 legged stools, and Jacob and Martha started out as happy as any young couple dared to be and live and grow up with the country. They were too practical to take the cars and rush off to St. Louis on a foolish wedding tour, but remained at home and made their wedding tour around their cabin and over the farm. This was the style in those early days, and Jacob and Martha lived right up to it. ......1st mill....Robert P. PENISTON was the owner, and Milford DONAHO was the architect, assisted by 'Uncle Jake' PENISTON, a slave owned by Mr. Robert PENISTON. This was a 'horse-mill' a triumphant piece of mechanical ingenuity and splendid success... ....those settled near the fork of Honey Creek...spring of 1830, Daniel DEVAUL, John STOKES, Christopher STONE and his sons, James, Hardin, Robert and wm. STONE. Daniel DEVAUL had a son, James R...at that time some 14 or 15 yrs old came with him...... other......8-10 miles from DEVAL and STOKES... these were Benedict and James WELDON, Humphrey BEST, Benedict WELDON's fath in law, and a few others.. Humphrey BEST moved in 1835.....Madison township, Grundy Co.... Daniel DEVAU w/his fam, followed same year and settled ....Trenton, Grundy Co.... James WELDON also moved to Grundy..in 1837 & settled on the east fork of the east fork of the Grand River, which was named the WELDON Fork by Dr. Wm. P. THOMPSON..where Benedict WELDON settled in harrison township, is still known as the old WELDON farm; he was quite a prominent man in the early days of Daviess co. history. He was the 2nd man elected to the legislature from Daviess Co., was the commissioner to settle the "dam question" on McCrosky dam across Grand River in Livingston Co., was the backer of J. L. NELSON in the contract for building the courthouse, and in many other ways took a prominent part in Daviess Co. affairs.

HOME OF THE INDIAN [pg 142] ......The present boundary of Daviess County was first made the home of the pale-face in 1830. That year the first white man gave to civilization a habitation and a name within its border. At that time it was a part of Ray county, but still the home of the red men--a home with which they were loth to part, and which fir years after they continued to visit and occupy as a hunting ground. God had given them this beautiful valley of the Grand River as their home. It was a migratory field for the restless buffalo; the elk and the bear roamed it wooded hills; the deer and the wild turkey made it their home; the valleys and the uplands were filled with smaller game; fish sported in the cool, pellucid waters of her rivers and creeks; and in shady nooks and near bubbling springs the aborigines built their wigwams. It was a paradise for the hunter, and the red man was the lord of all........................... The Saxon and Gallie races had decreed that this should be their home and that of their posterity. They came as the leaves of the forest in number; they pressed forward, and the gallant, heroic, and vengeful struggle of the Indian for his home is written in letters of blood, in burning cabins and wide-spread desolation, but all gave way before the irresistible march of civilization. The cabins of the hardy pioneer took the place of the wigwams of the savate; the war-whoop and the war-dance gave way to the woodman's ax; the stealthy tread of the Indian hunter, to the sturdy walk of the pioneer; and civilization and Christianity walked arm in arm to the glorious future of today. let us drop a silent tear to the memory of the red man. He had a beautiful home and was despoiled of it; he had the hunting-ground of his father, it became his burial place. We can rejoice in the glory of our country, but the fate of the original possessors of the soil is a dark and bloody chapter in the record which gives the history of the onward march of civilization...............The remnants of the different tribes found here became the friends of the whites, and they roamed the country at will........... Lanita's note: The tribes listed were: Sacs, Foxes, Pottawattamies, and Musquakies.

I'm beginning to scan through what pages will be the beginning of what most of you will be wanting.. The beginning of the book is The history of Missouri, the history of St. Louis, KC, St. Joe, Laws of MO and Statistics. The actual History of Daviess County doesn't start until page 141 If you have a surname prior to that page, chances are they probably aren't yours unless yours were in the areas mentioned. I hope to get back to transcribing more, if you all find this as interesting as I do.. Lanita

Matt & Sarah, Pardon me for butting in, but if they married in Daviess Co., the only PUCKETT in DAVIESS in 1880 was this family: PUCKETT, William, age 36 Emma, age 39 John R., age 13 Elisha I., age 12 William S., age 10 Alma E., age 5 There were NO PUCKETTS in Grundy, Livingston, Gentry or Harrison Counties. There was only 1 PUCKET in Grundy: James Jr., age 21, nephew of James PLOWMAN, where he resides and no PUCKETs in Daviess, Livingston, Gentry or Harrison Counties. I also tried the PUKET, PUKIT, and nothing showed up. Hope this helps! Lanita

Hey, Bettie, I am looking for a Puckett. I have a Juanaitta TURLEY (b. 1878, MO) that married a PUCKETT and had a child named Elizabeth PUCKETT, b. 1897. This male PUCKETT was born abt 1875 and died before 1900. I have no idea who he is. Juanaitta TURLEY is the daughter of Cornelius Jackson TURLEY (b. 1850, (West) Virginia) and Mary Elizabeth COLE (b. 1856, Grundy County, MO). Juanaitta went on to marry James Howard JOHNSON and have 7 children with them. All are buried in Mitchell Cemetery. Any idea who this PUCKETT may be? Thanks, Matt and Sarah LIRLEY MCCUNE

Vickie, I have tried to reply to your email regarding Daviess Co. divorces. Your emails bounce. Jim Stout [email protected]

Thanks so much for the lookups. Pat

Good morning, Would you please do a lookup in the History of Daviess County 1882 for: Sarah GLAZE p 847 M Ohar p 227 Thank you Pat

Hi Betty, I see that you have Barnes in your surname list. I have 3 different lines of Barnes cousins that I've just started researching: Family line #1) Lois E. Barnes (b.Abt 1876-Near Bethany,Harrison Co,MO). Married to George P Walker (b.5 Dec 1875-Andrew County,MO;m.3 Apr 1910). They had at least one child: Emma Nadine Walker. ------- Family line #2) Margaret Barnes b.abt 1915 married Raymond E. Steele (b.8 dec 1911 Daviess or Gentry Co.) I believe they had one child. They were later divorced. Margaret MAY be the daughter of James and Ollie Barnes (unconfirmed). ------- Family line #3) James Barnes (b.abt 1884) married Rena Christian They had the following children: Forrest Barnes Delbert Barnes Peggy Barnes Gilbert Barnes Lloyd Barnes Eunice T Barnes b.abt 1913 Gentry Co. (I believe Eunice was married to a Ray E. Newman) ------- These family lines could be connected to each other--I just haven't made that connection yet. Let me know if anything looks familiar. Thanks, Sherri Researching: Steele, Jackson, Blankenship, Newman, Cannon, Peery, Compton, Walker, Wilson, Edmiston, Rhodus, Hulet, Hulett, Barnes --- Betty Hollie <[email protected]> wrote: > > Lanita, > > My surnames are Puckett, Roach, Barnes, Talley, > Dilley, Blair __________________________________ Celebrate Yahoo!'s 10th Birthday! Yahoo! Netrospective: 100 Moments of the Web http://birthday.yahoo.com/netrospective/

Vickie, I have tried sending you the pages of the 1882 book, but your email is bouncing.. it says that you don't have a yahoo account. Please advise. Lanita

I tried to list all my surnames above. Really the only ones I know that may have lived in MO were the ABBOTT-BLACK-BROOKS AND RUTHERFORD. My ABBOTT family moved from Franklin Co. NE. to MO. in late 1900 and by 1910 were back in NE. My GGrandfather James Abbott died in Pattonsburg in 1898 and I would so love to find more on his death and where he may be buried at. Thanks for whatever help anyone may give to me. charlotte morton this email from char at [email protected]