Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1876-07-08
THE HISTORY
Lafayette County, Missouri.
Authorized by a Resolution of Congress,
adopted March 13, 1876. Prepared by
VIM. HI. CHILES,

Z AuInOrlZei Dy = Resolution OF congress,
=, adopted March IL, 1876. Prepared 10y
:. VIM. HI. CHILES
OF LEXINGTON,
t Appointed for that Purpose by the County Gel
=, tennial Committee, and read by him at
. the Court House in Lexington,
JULY 18th, 1876.
Il The General Assembly of the Teri
tory of Missouri in 1918, subdivided til
extensive region then under its iurlsdi'
ton into counties st. Charles,S
Louis. st. Gcnevievc. Washington, Cap
Girardcau. New Madrid and Arkansa.
and what is To- Lafayette county W.
included in that great belt of land eA
tending entirely across the Territory
then called st. Louis county. In 1Sl
all that part of st. Louis county lyin,
between the Usage and Missouri river
with Il wide strip lying immediatel
north of the Missouri, was organize
into 4 separate county to which tn
name of Howard was given, and in ISL
that portion of Howard first described
that is lying between the Usage an
Missouri rivers, vas organized as Coop
per county, with the county seat ut Boon
vile. On November 16, 1920, the cOun
ty of Lillard was established from apor
ton of Cooper county, embracing all tn,
county bounded on the East by tn
ranges, % and "a, in part our presen
Eastern boundary, on the south by tn,
Usage river, and on the west by the Yves
tern boundary of Missouri. John Dustin
james Bounds, ST., David McClelland
James Lillard and David Ward were ap
pointed in the act organizing tho county
rs commissioners to locate the count,
seat, and the act further provided thaI
the town OF Mount Vernon should betht
temporary county seat. The county takes
its name from Commissioner James
Lillard, who was our first member O.
the Legislature, and originator of the
County bill, and also one of its first set.
tiers. Lillard emigratcd from Tennessee
to the wilds of Missouri, but after a few
years residence returned to his native
state, dissatisfied with the climate and
discouraged by the prevalence of i'll
health here, and by act of the Legisla.
ture in 1925 the name of the malaria.
haunted Tennessean surrendered to give
place to that of the honored and patriot
ic Lafayette. In 1884 our present boun-
DIARIES were fixed.
During the war of. 1872. the
present site of the town OF
MAYHEM and long known as the
'tMOunds" was the scene of a bloody
battle between Il detachment of soldiers
under the command of Capt. Heth. and
a large body of Indians, in which the
white men were victorious. From this
incident, these elevations were named
''Heth's Knobs" or ''Heth's Hills" and
as such were known and calledfor many
years, though of late these names have
almost passed into tradition.
Gilead Rupe, was from all accounts.
the first settler within the present
bounds of Lafayette county, he having
located according to some accounts, as
early as 1915, and, according to others
not until 1919. He located, however.
on the place now owned and occupied
by VIM. Erskine. about 2! miles south
OF Lexington, and had a troublous time
with the Indians during the first year of
his residence. He was besieged in his
cabin on n occasion fortwo days, while
the savages killed and ate his cattle
within sight of himself and his three sons.
The Indians finally withdrew, taking
with them the best of RUPEES horses.
George HouX, who is still living, in toll
erably good health, in this county is n
of those who fixes RUPEES settlement in
1919. Nh. HouN located at old Franklin,
on November 9TH, 1917, and says that
Rupe owned and run the Boonville Fer
ry in that year and that i'm the
of the year 1918, he Houx)
passed through this county, and he
says there was not Il white settler in it
Motley Thomas who lived then near
Grand Pass, in what is now known as
Saline county, being the nearest settler
to onr borders AIR HnIIx fxas 1910 no
the year when Thomas Tribble and 1920
when Abel Owens, Wilson Owens, Mark
ham, Thomas and Richard Fristoe, Thorn
as Hopperand Solomon Cox settledhere.
Other accounts fix 1916 as the year when
Hopper of North Carolina came
and settled his place s miles southwest
OF the present site of Lexington; Hopper
was closely followed by Solomon Cox,
who located near what is snow the VILLAGE
OF Dover. Albert and Wilson Owens
in the same year as Hopper and
COX n settled near Lexington. Inthe
year us these came James Hicklin,
lately deceased, who was a nephew of
Gllead Rupe and came here from Boon
Vile. Mr.. Hicklin was an assistant of
Green McAferty, U. S. Surveyor,i in max
ing survey of the public lands in this
county receiving at first 80 and then
ST. per month for his services, and al
ways claimed the honor of splitting the
!lrst rails ever made in this county. Mr..
was a very eccentric man with
out any education but, endowed with a
acute intellect, accumulated a
large fortune entirely by his w exer-
OF these pioneers, Thomas Fris-
toe was a Missionary Baptist preacher,
us was his father before HIM, and was n
man universally loved and respected.
In 1917 L%ittleberry Estis, with Messrs.
John Evans, Hyde, Russell and others
to this county from Madison
~, Ky, and settled west of Waverly.
living close together for mutual protec-
ion against the Indians. This settle
nent organized in 1919 the first school
n the county, of which any trace can be
Iound, and employed as its first teacher
mere boy named Estis. who was sue
,eeded in 1922 and % by Ed. Ryland,
brother of Judge Ryland. Susanna IL.
Estis, who is still living in this county
md the wife of VIM. Fristoe, (settler of
1920 is the daughter of Littleberrv Estis
md was the first white lady raised south
1f the Missouri river and west of Arrow
Rock.
In 1878 the immigration was quite
including e. Tryham, Rad. Cole,
John LOvelady, VIM. and John Dickson
and c. Turnagc.
In 1919 and 1S2Orespectively, William
Hall and Strother Renick came and SET
led on the places where they still reside,
in years, but yet hearty and
enterprising citizens. In the same wear
Col. Mahlon Hall and VIM. Rem
Ick, fathers of these gentlemen, also
Chatham Ewing, Chris. Catron, Major
James Fletcher, Henry Renick, james
Bounds. John Nelson and others. The
militia organization of the county.
IN host days when every man had to
attend muster" had among its officers
Col. VIM. Horn and Lieut.. Col. John
Wallace, Maj. Jas. Fletcher, and Cap
talns Jas. Bounds, John Nelson. Thomas
Warren, Byram Lightner and Silas Trib-
BILE.
Among the distinguished men who
immigrated to Missouri, and lived and
uieu IN Lafayette county at an early day,
was Maj. Jonathan S. Findlay. lie was
born in the state of PENNSYLVANIA. and
was the brother of Gov. VIM. Findlav
Pennsylvania, Gov. James Findlay
Ohio, and Hons. Nathan and Thomas
r midday, members of from the