Mexico weekly ledger., 1921-08-04
AUDRAIN HAD
EARLY HISTORY
OF INTEREST

Audrain county has contributed q
fair share of the public men of the
state. Charles H. Hardin governor;
D. Il. Mcintyre, attorney general;
George b Macfarlane, supreme
judge; Sam b. Cook, secretary Of
state; A. H Buckner and J.. E. Hut
tun. congress; Col. Green Clay, NJ. r
x. Riggs, state senate; Hardin and
McIntyre also state senators; John
N. Gamble, constitutional convention
of 1866; Lebius R. Whey, attorney
general of the Philippine Islands and
the first judge Of the extra territor-
ial United States coutriA China; How
ard A Gass, state superintendent of
public instruction; and x. P. Wiley
u. S. Senator.
MEXICAN WAR
Audrain county was most too young
10 participate, excepting remotely, in
the Mexican war. 1t contributed only
ono volunteer to Company H, First
Regiment, Missouri Volunteers, made
mp in Galloway county and joining
DOniphan's Regiment. That was
Alexander Reed. Temple Wayne also
went into the war from this county,
but not in to that company.
THE PRESS
The first newspaper published in
the county was the Weekly Ledger,
which was established at Mexico in
the summer of 1855, by John B. Will
Hams. In January, 1868, a paper
called the Audrain County Beacon was
established by Captain Amos Ladd
and o. A. A. Gardner. John T. Brooks
took an interest with Ladd and Ladd
g. Brooks published it is the Weekly
Missouri Ledger. Later Brooks took
over Ladd's interest and continued the
publication till in March, 1872, Col
Onel J. E. Hutton purchased the paper
and re-christened it the Intelligencer
In October, 1866, W. W. Davenport
established the Messenger and soon
afterward sold it to M. F. Simmons,
who conducted it until September,
1874, when it was purchased by ].
aSnn Ladd, who changed its politics
from Republican to Democratic re-
christening it the Ledger, and in
1876 sold the Ledger to R. M. White.
Mr.. White began publishing the Daily
ledger in 1886. Both weekly and
daily issue of that paper are now pub
lished by R. M. White & Son, L. M.
White.
on
THE CIVIL WAR
AS noted above the old parties were
prior to the Civil War about equally
divided in the county. In 1860 all
three Of the Democratic tickets as
well as the Republican were repre-
scented in the campaign The Bell
and Everett voters and the Douglass
voters maintained flags on a pole in
the court house yard throughout that
campaign. In that election Lincoln
received one vote in the county. AS
above noted Audrain's representative
was a secessionist and its representa-
tive in the state senate was a Union
man. Early in the spring of 1851
when the lines between union and Sc
icession were beginning to be drawn,
the people of the county were about
equally divided, there being, however,
. strong secession sentiment in and
around Mexico. The divided senti-
ment is well illustrated by IN effort
which was made to raise a secession
flag in Mexico that spring. William
o. johnson, Green Bishop, james and
Robert Carter and Joe Inflow were the
leaders of the participants on the part
of the se~cessionists. On the other
hand, were George W. Fentem, Sam
uel Fentem, Henry Estes and w. H.
White, the leaders of the opposition.
1t was undertaken to put the flag on
the Bell and Eveett pole of the fall
campaign still standing. This result
ed in a general fight in which no one