The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-08-26
wR1rrEN ROE TIE SUNDAY HEPURLIc.

WRITTEN FOR THE SUNDAY REPUBLIC. !
The pioneer history of Missouri is, for
the most part, preserved only in traditions
and in the memery of its early settlers.
Fortunately. though, the State has an old
Blue Book that tells of the lives of many
OF its earlier denizens. This old volume,
which the compiler captions Pioneer Fam
flies of Missouri" is. however. misleading
to some extent for the record of some SO
names that it is devoted to are almost en-
tirely from the counties of Audrain, St.
Charles. Warren, Galloway and Montgom-
cry. The early French families of ST. Louis
are ignored, as well as the settlers of Ste.
Genevieve. the oldest settlement in the
State. Nevertheless, the volume contains
much Of historical interest.
There was but one edition of the book
printed, and at present-so far as is now
are but three COPIES of the
old volume extant. One of these is pos
sessed by the Missouri Historical Associa-
ton library, another is in the Kansas City
Public Library. but which on account Of
its value and rarity is not on the circulating
list, while the other copy is in the hands of
a historical organization at Washington.
d. C.
Quaint and rude old cuts adorn the pages
of the volume. One of the rude illustra-
tons in the book pictures that story famil-
lar to every schoolboy-Danie Boone's fight
with his s~choolmaster. Another is also de-
voted to the famous pioEecrAa picture of
his residence. said 10 lie the first stone
building erected in Missouri.
The history of the Bryan fa1niiy-pcvhaps
ancestors of the presidential candidates.
accorded considerable space, since they
were the first settlers concerning whom
any data has been preserved. a year after
the elder Bryan came to Missouri, 1865, he
built the first water-lnill west of the Mis-
sissippi River. The book says that the mill
was constructed under great difficulties. An
old musket barrel was the improvised
water race. The stones were brought on
horseback fiom Kentucky. y branch fed
by a spring was The motor power. Several
years after he came to Missouri Mr.. BRYAN
had the largest orchard in all that region.
Ii was the result of his planting a seed that
lie had brought from kentucky IN his pucK-
Ct In Warren County, where he Ii. ed,
bryan set aside Il plot OF ground f.; a
burial place. Daniel Boone and his wife
were first buried i'll this graveyard.
1t was, indeed, a curious circumstance
that caused Jacob Zumwalt to come from
Virginia to Missouri. His father had been
IL Wv U L valuable property BACK m AIr-
sinia, but unfortunately the deed to the
property had been lost. Upon being close
ly questioned. one OF his daughters at last
admitted that she had searched one day for
something TO use as "stiffeninG' for Il sun
bonnet, and the heavy paper ON which the
deed was written being the most available
material. she had utilized il for that pur-
pose. Jacob then became disheartencd
and resolved to so West To retrieve his lost
fortunes and begin life anew. Like many
pioneer families, certain given frames were
favorites with the according TO
the old volume there were five Jacobs in
the respective branches OF the family. In
order to distinguish them they were desis-
mated thus: Big Jake. Little Jake, Lying
Jake, Calico Jake and st. Charles Jake.
Mention is made of two unique characters
that lived in st. Charles County, General
Amos Burdine and John Baldridge. Burdine
came to the county in 1911. One of his &C.
centricities was that he named the trees
round about his home, which was done in
order that his servants, when sent out aft