The following are selected articles from a Newspaper titled, "The Higbee News" which was issued out of the town of Higbee, in Randolph County, Missouri from the years 1888 through 1953. The editors were W. H. Welch and his son H. Scott Welch. This paper covered the Higbee area and also a great deal of the northeastern part of Howard county. The copyright notice at the end of this transcript is there for the sole purpose of keeping this work free to the public, and to ensure that it is not harvested by a fee-based corporate genealogy site, or published in any format for profit. If you decide to use the information from this transcription, PLEASE LIST ME AS THE SOURCE, rather than the paper. My transcription is another generation removed from the microfilm, and would thus be a third generation copy of the original paper. For proper documentation, a researcher should obtain a photocopy of the microfilm for their own permanent records, and use my transcript as a guide or index. The microfilm is available for interlibrary loan through the State Historical Society of Missouri, and a copy is also on file at the Moberly Public Library, generously donated by the Higbee Historical Society. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, 20 Jan 1927, Vol 40, No 37, Pg 2, Col 1 thru 3--OUR HUNTSVILLE LETTER, By W. T. Dameron--(Edited by compiler)-- "There were hot times in this county in 1863 and 1864," continued Mr. Rutherford. "The Knox and Putnam county militia, so called, made raids through the county, stole lots of property and murdered some of the counties best citizens because, it was said, of their sympathy for the southern cause. Bushwhackers or Confederate guerrillas, led by Bill Anderson and other noted leaders, did lots of devilment, also committed many depredations in this and adjoining counties. For several years prior to the Civil War Bill Anderson's parents, as many know, resided here, and the elder Anderson was a hatter by trade. It was then when Bill Anderson and I became strong boy friends. We were school chums, tho' Bill was a few years older than I. He helped me whip lots of the school boys bigger and older than myself. The family left Huntsville about two years before the breaking out of the war and went to Kansas, and I never saw Bill again until the summer of 1864 and then he saved my life from a gang of desperate guerrillas of his own company. I owned a fine black saddle mare and some bushwhackers had been trying to steal her and I kept her locked in a stable most of the time. In some way she became lame and I turned her out in the pasture. About the time she was well enough to ride she was stolen. Some weeks later I was informed by a friend that he had seen one of our neighbor boys who belonged to the Anderson gang, with my mare. Later, a bunch of about twenty rode up to my house, called me out and charged me with driving a nail in my mare's hoof, causing the lameness, so their friends could not use her, and that they intended to hang me for it. Of course I vehemently denied such a charge as ridiculous. Some of them soon had a rope round my neck, after a brisk struggle, and while they were trying to throw one end of the rope over a limb of a near-by tree, my wife came to my assistance, and with the nerve of a wild cat, told those fellows that her husband, Hayden Rutherford, was innocent of any wrong doing, and that if they hung me they would have to hang her too. I had seen two men on horses in the road not far from my house, and while two or three of the gang were trying to put the rope over the limb, and my wife was struggling to keep them from it, those two men rode briskly towards us. They evidently heard my wife call my name. When they got near us one of them said, "Is that you Hade Rutherford," Then I recognized Anderson and replied, "Yes, is that you Bill Anderson?" "Yes," he said. Then Anderson, addressing the gang, said, "take that rope off that man's neck, and take it off damn quick, too!" Those words were the sweetest music I thought I had ever heard and my shaky knees began to get back to normal. Bill asked me several questions about the trouble or the cause of it. I told him all I knew. Evidently some of the gang who wanted to punish me for some other reason, never told Anderson who I was and lied to him about the mare. While Bill and I were talking about the matter, I pointed him to the young man and my mare which he was riding. Then Anderson called the young man to him. As he did so, Bill said to him: "Get down off that mare, sir." No one seemed to know what was going to happen. Then Anderson called up another fellow who was riding a long, bony horse, which looked like it had been picked up from some bone yard. He then ordered the fellow to dismount and remove his saddle from the horse, and had the young man who had my mare to put his saddle and bridle on the bony horse and mount it. Then Anderson dismounted and put his saddle and bridle on my mare and mounted her and had the other fellow to mount his horse. Then he gave command to the young man to move on, and as he did so, he said to me, "Hade, I'll keep your mare a while and then send her home to you. Good-bye." Those fellows may not have intended to hang me until dead, but they surely had me scared until Bill came upon the scene." Continuing, Mr. Rutherford said: "Really, I never expected to see my mare again, but about a month after they left, or a short while before Bill Anderson was killed in Ray county, Mo., in a skirmish with some militia, I heard my mare neigh at my lot gate early one morning, and I got out of bed and put her in the stable. A day or two later while combing her mane, I discovered a small piece of paper in it. It was a note from Bill Anderson. It said: "Hade, I told you I would send your mare back home.--Bill." In a few weeks I had my mare in fine condition. Then some federal soldiers came into the county, took her and rode off south with her. After the war closed I found my mare at Glasgow, Mo., among a lot of other contraband horses and she did me good service for several years after the war. Thursday, 20 Jan 1927, Vol 40, No 37, Pg 2, Col 3--SOUTH OF TOWN ITEMS--Mr. and Mrs. Albert Newman are the proud parents of a son, which arrived on the 15th. The mother and babe are doing nicely. They are at the home of the babe's grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Ike Griggs. Thursday, 20 Jan 1927, Vol 40, No 37, Pg 2, Col 4--SOUTH OF TOWN ITEMS--Mr. and Mrs. Jake Atkins had as dinner guests Wednesday five Dougherty sisters and husbands as follows: Mr. and Mrs. Thos. Hern, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Edwards of Pearl, Ill, Mr. and Mrs. Tip Mobley, Mr. and Mrs. John Newman, Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Comstock; also Elmer Newman, John Mead, Mr. and Mrs. Mart Mead, Mrs. Lou Fisher and children, R. T. and Hilda. Thursday, 20 Jan 1927, Vol 40, No 37, Pg 5, Col 1--LOCAL AND PERSONAL--Born, on the 18th, to Mr. and Mrs. A. M. Glahn, a daughter. Thursday, 20 Jan 1927, Vol 40, No 37, Pg 5, Col 1--LOCAL AND PERSONAL--Thurber Miles and brother, Dewey, visited their sister, Mrs. Ida Andrews, of Huntsville, Sunday. Thursday, 20 Jan 1927, Vol 40, No 37, Pg 5, Col 1--LOCAL AND PERSONAL--Born, on the 14th, to Mr. and Mrs. Lilburn Hawkins of St. Louis, a daughter. Mrs. Hawkins will be best remembered as Miss Dora Ancell. Thursday, 20 Jan 1927, Vol 40, No 37, Pg 5, Col 1--LOCAL AND PERSONAL--Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Madison returned to their home in Alberta, Canada, Monday after a visit with John Race and Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Bryant. Thursday, 20 Jan 1927, Vol 40, No 37, Pg 5, Col 2--LOCAL AND PERSONAL--Dr. Orville Pitney, who was called here by the death of E. M. Whitmore, returned to his home in Cheraw Colo., Tuesday. The Doctor's many friends were delighted to see him again and all were equally delighted to know that he has been enjoying perfect health, being as healthy a specimen as one could find anywhere. He is also doing well, his many friends will be glad to learn. Thursday, 20 Jan 1927, Vol 40, No 37, Pg 5, Col 2--LOCAL AND PERSONAL--Mrs. G. M. Nichols, Mrs. Brown Duffield and Mrs. W. D. Burke spent Friday with their sister, Mrs. Wm. McGlothlin of New Franklin, the day being the birthday anniversary of Mrs. McGlothlin and Mrs. Duffield, and which was most fittingly celebrated. A dinner was served and several contests, in which many New Franklin guests took part, were indulged in and for which prizes were awarded. Thursday, 20 Jan 1927, Vol 40, No 37, Pg 5, Col 3--LOCAL AND PERSONAL--Dr. C. C. Smith, who with his family recently moved to Hardin, has decided to return to Madison. He came in Saturday to resume his practice at once and his family will follow as soon as he can arrange for a residence. Dr. Smith made a wide circle of friends while here and established quite a nice practice. We along with many friends are glad to welcome him and his estimable family back to our midst.--Madison Times. Thursday, 20 Jan 1927, Vol 40, No 37, Pg 8, Col 2--EAST OF TOWN ITEMS--Mr. and Mrs. Reuben White and little son, Harold, of near Clark were Sunday guests of Mrs. White's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Luke Haggard. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright notice: All transcriptions in this email are copyrighted by their creator. They may not be reproduced on another site or on any printed or recorded media, CD, etc. without specific written permission from Kathy Bowlin. Although public information is not in and of itself copyrightable, the format in which it is presented, transcriptions, notes & comments, etc. is. It is however, quite permissible to print or save the files to a personal computer for personal use only. Permission is granted to public libraries, and genealogical and historical societies to print and bind for the use of their patrons. Kathy Bowlin Additions, corrections, comments welcome.