Clay County
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1884 History of Clay County

HELP IS NEEDED to extract additonal chapters and biographies.

Part II History of Clay County

CHAPTER I.  An Interesting Chapter as well as much Information — Practical Questions Considered — Some Ideas on Education — How Farmers may Become the First People in the World — Wonderful Things from the Soil — Rocks, Soil and the Natural Products of the County — Coal and Mineral Springs, etc. [Page] 283

CHAPTER II.  1778 — George Rogers Clark — Capt. Helm and Private Henry — Clay County Revolutionary Grounds — Its Soil Made Sacred by the Tread of the Revolutionary Army — The Hannibal of the Northwest — An Army of an Officer and Private — Our Land Titles — Names of Some of the Army that Passed Through Clay County, etc. [Page] 300

CHAPTER III.  The Earliest Settlers — Who They Were and How 'They Came — Appearance of the Country — John McCawley — How Our Titles to the Land Came — The Indians — A List of Early Settlers — Thomas McCrackin, and Many Others — Trundle Bed — School Teacher — Singing Master — First Dudes — Writing Master — Bottle Race — Weddings — Many Other Interesting Facts and Fancies, etc. [Page] 307

CHAPTER IV.  Organization of the County — Its Name — Henry Clay — The First County Seat — First Officers — Grand Juries — Incidents, etc. — Clay County — Its Name — Date Organized — Commissioners — First County Court and Officers, and List Complete to 1850 — Hubbardsville, Maysville and Louisville the Three County Capitals — The County Buildings — Full Account of Early Roads, Bridges and Juries — A Chapter in which Every Paragraph is Full of Interest, etc. [Page] 319

CHAPTER V.  Additional Accounts of the People — Neighborhood Feuds — Regulators and Some of Their Victims — Marriages, Commencing with Number One — The Courts — Juries and Lawyers and Court and County Officers to date — First Indictments — First County Officers — The Presiding Judges, etc.

CHAPTER VI.  Agriculture and Horticulture — Stock-raising — Dairying — Matters of Interest and Value to Every One — Apples and Sorghum — How to Make Your Land Worth $500 per Acre, etc. [Page] 340

CHAPTER VII.  Schools — A Reference to the Originals — Some Thoughts on the Subject Generally — The First Schools and Teachers — The Early Schools and Those of To-day Compared and Estimated — Thoughts on the Subject of General Interest, etc. [Page] 345

CHAPTER VIII.  War — Revolutionary Soldiers — Black Hawk War — The Late Civil War — The Heroic Conduct and Bearing of the People of Clay County — Gen. L. B. Parsons, Capt. J. W. Westcott and Many Others, etc.

CHAPTER IX.  Harter Township and Flora — Who Came, and About Them — Thomas Elliott, Matthias Misenheimer, Seth F. Hinkley, Russell T. Logan, Robert Bryant, James Jacobs, William Nichols and Others — Land Entries, First Schools, Teachers and Churches — Flora and Its History — Anecdotes — Railroads — Business, etc. [Page] 358

CHAPTER X.  Louisville Township — Configuration — Boundaries, etc. — Drainage — Early Pioneers — Water Mills — Early Industries — Life on the Little Wabash — Boating — First Buildings and Business Houses —"Blind Tiger" and "Horned Rooster" — The Old Agricultural Society — Churches and Schools — Township Records, etc. [Page] 374

CHAPTER XI.  Clay City Township — Description — Topography — Flora and Fauna — Pioneer Settlers — John McCawley Driven Off by Indians — His Return — Capt. Robert Toler — Faris — Sheriff Riley — How He Held a Prisoner — The "Hoss" Ordered to the Stable — Bill Colwell — First School and First Teacher — Schools and Officers — First Child — Township Officers — Old Maysville — Its History, Settlement and Growth — County Seat — Hotels — Town Officers — List of Prominent People — Churches and Church People — List of Officials — Anecdotes, etc. [Page] 390

CHAPTER XII.  Stanford Township — Its Local History — Topography — Its Name — Stanford Family — Judge N. H. Duff — J. K. Bothwell — First Settlers and the Order of Their Coming — Schools and Churches — Anecdotes — Lynch Court — Early Preaching and Hunting— A Wolf Story — Township Record and Officers, etc. [Page] 409

CHAPTER XIII.  Oskaloosa Township — Its Topography — Early Settlement — Development — Village of Oskaloosa — Schools— Religion — Politics— Officials, Incidents, etc. [Page] 422

CHAPTER XIV.  Xenia Township — Description — First Settlers — Early Schools and Churches — Villages — Secret Societies, etc. [Page] 428

CHAPTER XV.  Songer Township — Description — Agriculture — Vegetation — Early Settlement and Settlers — Schools — Churches, etc. [Page] 437

CHAPTER XVI.  Blair Township — Full Account of all the Pioneers and People Down to Date — Incidents — Characters — Churches — Schools — Town Officers, etc. [Page] 440

CHAPTER XVII.  Hoosier Township — Its Topography and Physical Features — First Entries and Early Settlers — Churches, Schools, etc. [Page] 448

CHAPTER XVIII.  Larkinsburg Township — Topography and Physical Features — Soil and Timber — Pioneer Settlement— Early Mills — Its Growth and Development — Secret Societies — Schools and Churches — Present Business — Township Records, etc. [Page] 452

CHAPTER XIX. Bible Grove Township — Location — Topography — Soil and Timber — How Its Name Came — First Settler, With Long List of the People and the Order in Which They Came — Incidents — Robbery of McKnight — Violent Deaths, etc. [Page] 460

CHAPTER XX.  Pixley Township — Geographical Position — Settlement by the Whites — Improvements — Mills and Roads — Schools, Schoolhouses, Churches, etc. — Village of Ingraham [Page] 468

Extracted 29 Apr 2017 by Norma Hass from 1884 The History of Wayne and Clay Counties, Illinois


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