This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/ZKB.2ACE/423 Message Board Post: I am researching the Anderson family of Montgomery CO MO. They emigrated from Montgomery CO>Bath CO KY and settled in Montgomery CO MO. The following sketch was forwarded to me and may be of interest to some on this list. I would like to exchange information with anyone researching the families mentioned below. NOTE: "Grandfather" Presley Anderson, as mentioned in the following sketch, was the son of Presley Anderson who died abt. Aug 1816 in Bath CO KY (probate filed). "Grandfather" Presley died in Montgomery CO MO in 1853 and is buried there at the Pew Cemetery. [Brackets are my comments] Thank you, Debra Anderson - - - - - Pg 4, FOOTSTEPS THROUGH TIME, Newsletter of the Montgomery CO, Genealogical Soc. , 2nd Quarter 1999 - Mr. Floyd C. Shoemaker Scy., State Historical Society of Missouri University Library Bldg. Columbis, MO Dear Sir, The enclosed account of early pioneer life in Missouri came into my hands recently and I am wondering if it would be of any interest to the Society. The farm on which the Anderson's settled was in the vicinity of Gamma in Montgomery County not far from Bellflower and my great uncle, Absalom Frankllin married a daughter of Lucy Anderson and an uncle married a granddaughter of Lucy Anderson and Dowell Pew and it was from one of his daughters that this article came to me. I was especially interested in Mrs. Blythe's account of the Anderson raid on Danville. I lived as a child within a few miles of the town and have heard stories of the raid from many of the ealy settlers buth this contains details I never heard before ... ... Sincerely yours, Miss Wenonia M. Windsor, 119 Westwood Ave, Columbia, MO Fbr 23, 1956 THE EARLY SETTLERS OF MISSOURI MY GRANDPARENTS EMIGRATING TO THIS STATE My grandfather, Presley Anderson, emigrated to Missouri from Kentucky in the early days before Missouri was a State. He landed in the month of May and brought with him his wife, two small children, fifteen negroes, their wives and children [if this is correct, then 2 children born in Bath or Mont CO KY! ... and therefore we can assume that Presley marr Euphemia in KY]. They were in wagons, six or seven in the group. My grandmother rode in what was known as a carry-all. Negro women and children rode in wagons, while the negro men walked and drove the horses and cows. Behind each wagon was a coop of all kinds of fowls - even to peacocks. They also brought with then (sic) three sheep and three hogs in crates. When they reached the Mississippi River they crossed in a flat boat and when the Missouri River was reached, the crossing was made on a raft. They settled in Montgomery County [MO , not Montgomery CO KY] moving into a little log cabin whose inhabitants had been ! murdered by the Indians; the entire family having been slain. My grandmother helped to wash the blood off the puncheon floor. I forgot to say that my grandfather, in crossing the prairie to his new home, rode horseback at the head of the procession, always carrying his gun across the saddle. He killed wild turkeys and one on this trip, He had to go to Palmyra to enter his land, paying $1.25 an acre. He rode in the night as the horse flies were so bad he could not go in the daytime. The prairie grass was higher than the horse. Before leaving home, the negro women and children were brought into the house until the master returned; the negro men standing guard around the house. Grandfather was gone one day and two nights. prowling Indians were often seen. Negro men were set falling trees and building cabins for the blacks; stables for the stock, and fences to keep them from straying. Clearing the fields was the big thing. Their nearest neighbor was eight miles di! stant, and the nearest town or trading post was Troy in Lincoln Count y . Twice a year Grandfather went to Troy for all their supplies. The first crop raised was tobacco and corn. It was nothing for Grandfather to come home bringing a deer tied to a rope and dragging behind his horse. Sometimes he came in with four or five turkeys tied on to the side of the horse. Years later my uncle, Grandfather's brother, came from Kentucky, also Grandmother's maiden sister, Sibby Drake [!!!! History of MO lists Euphemia as a Jones, this sketch implies that her maiden name was Drake. Also NOTE that her son John was named John Drake Anderson . NO children had middle name of Jones ---that we know of ] In after years, as the family increased, Grandfather built a log house two stories high, a big fireplace at both ends, upstairs and down stairs. They were built from white rock and could be seen for miles. Wells were dug and fences made, taking in more ground. Along in November of December, Grandfather would take a couple of negroes and wagons and s! ome barrels, about three or four, and got to the woods and cut bee trees. He would fill the barrels with honey. This was put in large iron kettles, melted, and then strained back into the barrels. The negroes had free access to the honey. Orchards were set out and soon other Kentucky people followed and settled near. Grandfather reared eight children. As time passed, Grandfather bought more land and added to his tract; and as his children grew up he gave each a tract of land with two or three young negroes. He built a log church on his farm and any preacher passing by was always welcome to preach to both the white and the blacks. The women worked the wool, carded it into rolls, spun the yarn, and wove the cloth that theylater made into clothes for the men. Lindsey was woven for the negro women and children. All the early settlers went through a great many hardships in settling up the new States. There were no conveniences whatever for the farmers or their wives.! Water had to be hauled in barrels from a nearby creek. After the we lls were dug, two rough boards were made into gutters to carry the water to the cistern. There was no ice only in the winter time. After a couple of years they built as (sic) icehouse out of logs, filling in between the logs with sawdust that was hauled twenty miles in wagons for that purpose. In a large family of negroes, there is nearly always a shoemaker and a blacksmith to be found. The men wore boots mostly because the snakes were plentiful. The negroes were allowed to hunt all Fall and Winter and they brought in hundreds of prairie chicks which were picked and hung up to freeze. Rabbits and squirrels helped to supply the family with meats. My grandfather planted the first orchard in Montgomery County. he wrote back to some of the Kentucky emigrants that were coming and told them to bring him half a bushel of peach seeds. He had by that time built a fence half a mile long on each side of what was called State Road. He planted a seed in each corner of the fen! ce. They grew, blossomed and had an abundance of peaches on them. People going along were allowed to eat all they wanted and to fill their saddle bags. They had no such thing as lamps or candles. For lights, a goundhog was killed and the fat rendered out and this was used to make the light. An old cup or pan had a cloth wick saturated with the oil and that was the light to read or sew by. A loom house was cleaned out and the negroes had a danc eonce a week. When a small child, I was allowed to go to the loom house and watch them dance. My first dance steps were learned in the loom house with the negro children. The negro buyers sometimes try to buy some of Grandfather's negro men, as they wer elarge, fine, healthy men, but Grandfather would never sell any of his negroes; wnad when he gave any of them to his children it was with the understanding that they should never be sold. My mother married David Witcher, who emigrated with his mother, brothers and sis! ters, from Danville, Virginia. They bought land near by Grandfather. My mother and father had ten children, twins twice. I was the eldest. At the death of my Grandparents, the estate was divided, negroes and all the property. My mother took the old home place for her part, and by that time a great many Virginia emigrants had come to Montogomery County - Jeffersons, Graves [ Side NOTE: Graves surname], and Newels. They brought their negroes with them; they were yellow negroes. My Grandfather's negroes being coal-black, they hated each other and many were the fights between the black and yellow negroes. Grandfather and his family were of the old fashioned blue-stocking Presbyterians, while my father's family were the old "hard-shelled" Baptists, and many were the arguments I have listened to on sprinkling and baptising. At the time of the breaking out of the Civil War, my parents owned three farms, renting two of them out. The hostilities got so bad that we were afraid to stay on the farm. We moved to Danville, the County se! at of Montgomery County. There was a fine Female Academy there. We girls could attend school at the same time and not be intimidated by soldiers. The Ohio 81st was sent to Danville to guard the town and keep General Price from invading that part of the State. Danville was guarded by Union soldiers from September until April. After the soldiers left, Bill Anderson came one night and set fire to many of the stores and residences. Then Col Cobb made a raid. After that, the Union soldiers came one Saturday night, took out five men and shot them. They took some other men along to bring back the dead. The five men were ordered to kneel and say some prayers; the men standing on the right saw that the five men in were to be shot and they broke and ran to the woods. The soldiers threw the bodies of the men in a wagon and it was driven back to Danville and turned over to the families. This shooting took place between Danville and Montgomery. For years afterwards, cattle! would come to that spot and bawl and paw the ground. For several yea rs the grass never grew on that spot. The citizens formed a company of home guards and built a block house in the middle of the street. After awhile the 25 or 30 men who stayed at the blockhouse got tired and became careless and stayed at home. So one bright moonlight nigth, Bill Anderson surprised them again. We were awakened in the night by many shots. Several of the men tried to run to the block house, but were shot down before they got there. They burned the blockhouse and courthouse that night but left the Seminary Building and Church. Danville was about wiped off the map. After the close of the war, Professor Robinson moved the school to St. Joe. We moved back on the farm and it sure looked desolate. The soldiers had hauled away many of the rails for firewood; the stock had been confiscated or had run away, and the negroes set free. My father was broken up and discouraged. A year after the war I returned to St. Joe to finish my education. The second ye! ar Professor had another stroke and the school closed. I returned to the farm and taught school two summers. Two years afterwards, we sold the farm and moved to Montgomery City. My father went into the dry goods business. In 1872, November 26, I married George C. Blythe if (sic) of St. Louis. In 1873, a son, Ben Blythe, was born. When Ben was two years old we moved to Dallas, Texas and lived in Texas five years. Then another son was born, Roy. We moved back to Stl Louis, and in 1883 we moved to Moberly. Mr. Blythe was with the Wabash Railroad 27 years. When his health began to fail, he gave up railroading and moved back to St. Louis. On March 23, 1914 he passed away. Four months afterwards I returned to Moberly. My grandfather had 8 children grow to manhood and womanhood. The eldest son, Presley, married Mary McClure [ Mary Gray PER her obit]. They had 5 children: Jim, John, Presley, Mollie & Margaret. The second child was Margaret and she married a McClu! re. She and her husband died young, leaving one son. William Ande rson, the third child, married Betty Burge [Elizabeth'Betty' Berger/Burger] , who came from South Carolina. The had 8 or 9 children. John [This would be John Drake Anderson], the 4th child, went to California in early days and married Milissa Drew [Malissa Ann Hunt]. They had 7 children. Lucy Anderson married Dowell Pew [Aramus Dowell Pew]. They had 6 children; one died in infancy. Eliza Anderson married Dr. Campbell; they had 4 children. Elizabeth Anderson married McNichols who died in less than a year. Nine years after his death she married David Witcher. They had 10 children. James Anderson married Roda Graves [Rhoda Manning per son Joseph's death cert.. Joseph went to Tulare CO, CA] A hand written note from Mrs. Windsor notes that this was dictated by Lucy Witcher Blythe, the daughter of Elizabeth Anderson Witcher.