Gone But Not Forgotten, Pioneers & Mormons
In selecting who to list as pioneer settlers the following conditions were considered. The county was settled three times — as part of Ray County in the 1830s; as an extended area to the Iowa line after 1836; and by the Mormons in 1838. In 1845 the settlers in...
Gone But Not Forgotten, Pioneers & Mormons
Courthouse records show 23 grain mills operated in Daviess County prior to the Civil War. Not all of these were water-powered, and few if any mills west of the Mississippi River were like the Lewis Mill. The original mill built about 1855 was rebuilt in 1863 by Eramus...
Gone But Not Forgotten, Pioneers & Mormons
Once one of the most popular institutions of Northwest Missouri was the famous Crystal Springs on the John Gagan farm in Benton Township of Daviess County, about five miles northwest of old Pattonsburg on Crystal Springs Branch that empties into Sampson Creek. John...
Gone But Not Forgotten, Pioneers & Mormons
One of the very earliest trails approved by the Daviess County judges was the Gallatin-to-Utica road which ran along the south and west side of the Grand River. There are reports that an old trail used by Indians ran northwest from Utica along the river highlands and...
Military & Wars, Pioneers & Mormons
Capt. John Ballinger came to Daviess County in 1845 at the age of 13 and distinguished himself in Gallatin with his neighbors Jim McFerran, Sam Cox, Joe McGee, Bill Folmsbee, Benton Miller, Bob Grantham, Bill Gillilan and others of our grand old guard. Ballinger was...
Gone But Not Forgotten, Pioneers & Mormons
Much of the time spent by early county court judges was in ordering and approving early roads. These trails ran from historic place to historic place in nearly a direct line. Many of these locations were mills. The records, however, do not describe the power source...
Gone But Not Forgotten, Pioneers & Mormons
In March 1838, the county judges of Daviess County ordered the building of a new jail ($400) and a courthouse ($6,000). The judges were John Freeman, Vincent Smith and Joshiah Moran. Judge Moran had replaced William Morgan on the court on Aug. 7, 1837. The bids for...
Gone But Not Forgotten, Pioneers & Mormons
Daviess County, MO, organized on Nov. 29, 1836, when a legislative bill introduced by Rep. Alexander Doniphan was passed by both the Missouri Senate and the Missouri House and signed by Gov. Boggs on Dec. 29th. The county was named after Col. Joseph H. Daviess who...