that day to pass through. They used the pestle and mortar and the handmill to get their corn in a shape to eat, and their meat was the wild game of the woods, while a bee tree was the fountain from which they supplied themselves with the greatest amount of sweets. They would go to Livingston county, buy grain and go over to Utica and get it ground by a horsemill. Roads were where they wished to make them. The prairie could be cut through from any angle, but when the timber was reached the settlers generally converged to a single point as far as practicable. Most of the settlers came from east Tennessee, some from Kentucky and Illinois.

MARRIAGE.

The first marriage in the township was in section 28, and the wedding party was Reuben Brassfield to Miss Lucinda Brassfield, cousins, January 17, 1839. The ceremony was performed by 'Squire Robert Walker.

BIRTHS-BOY AND GIRL.

The first boy was born May 4, 1838, to Minter and Jane Brassfield, and was named Mayberry Brassfield. The first girl born was (November 19, 1839) Mary Ann, daughter of Mayberry and Fannie Splawn.

DEATH.

The first death was Hugh Davis, son of Hugh Davis, who died in September, 1841, and was buried in Lindley Cemetery, section 15, in Sullivan county. He was a bright and promising youth.

MINISTER AND DOCTOR.

The first regular physician who practiced in the township was the ubiquitous Dr. William P. Thompson. The first preacher who held regular service was Reuben Aldridge, a Methodist circuit-rider, who preached at the cabin of Calvin Brummet in 1839.

SCHOOLS.

The first school was taught in 1842 in the forks of Medicine Creek, then Marion township, on section 33. The teacher was J. W. Dunnell, who left afterward for Illinois, his former place of residence. His pupils numbered thirteen that winter. He received one dollar and fifty cents per scholar per month. A school-house was afterward built by the neighbors on section 20. The building was the usual log cabin of the day, minus doors, windows and fire-place.

SPINNING AND WEAVING.

Mrs. Patty Davis is credited with the first spinning and weaving in the township, and she was a true representative of the pioneer woman of that day.

A woman who could turn her hand to anything, ready and willing to meet the demands of a pioneer's life, its trials, toil and trouble, making no complaint but filling her allotted sphere with a happy and cheerful spirit.

DIVORCE.

The only couple in Grundy county who were divorced, during the early days was John W. and Pauline Paton in 1842, and their home was in Liberty township. What caused this separation is not noted as far as the records have been searched, but the sad fact that the silken cord was loosened, can be put down in the pages of this history for future generations to know.

VALUATION-RAILROAD.

The assessed valuation of Liberty township in 1874, was $195,578; since that time there has been no assessment by municipal townships.

The Quincy, Missouri and Pacific Railroad, which was building July, 1881, crosses the southeast corner of the township and the first village arising within its limits is the town of Gault. A rapidly growing railroad station, in a good agricultural district, about fifteen miles from Trenton, the county seat, and twenty from the town of Milan, in Sullivan county. Its southwest corner is near the town of Dillon, which is just over the line in Trenton township.

TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.

The present officers of Liberty township are as follows: Justices of the peace, J. H. Wheeler and D. W. Allen; trustee, Theodore L. Balser; collector, G. W. Pollock; clerk and assessor, W. J. Jackson; constable, A. J. Donaldson.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES..

JAMES S. BUNNELL

Was born in Mercer county, Kentucky, January 3, 1810. His parents, Samuel and Elizabeth Bunnell, were natives of Pennsylvania. In his youth he was engaged in rafting lumber and merchandise on the rivers of his native State, and before he was eighteen years old had made two trips to New Orleans in a flat-boat. Mr. Bunnell was married in his native county, October 20, 1850, to Miss Bettie A. McAffee, daughter of Robert and Ellen McAffee and a native of the same county as her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Bunnell became the parents of nine children; viz, Theodore W., Robert M., Mary E. (now Mrs. William Shanklin), Samuel B., William M., John L., James E., Charles S. and Bessie H. Mr. Bunnell settled in Grundy county in 1863 and continued to reside here until his death which occurred Septem

ber 20, 1875. He was a consistent member of the Baptist Church to which denomination his estimable lady now belongs. He left a fine estate of three hundred and twenty acres nicely improved and well stocked, upon which his widow and the younger children at present reside. His son, James E. Bunnell, who finished his education with a course at the Kirksville Normal School, is now engaged in teaching school in the neighborhood of his home. He is an industrious, intelligent and enterprising young gentleman whose future is bright and promising.

FRANCIS M. SPROUT

Was born May 23, 1838, in Marshall county, Indiana. He is the son of William and Hannah Sprout who immigrated from Indiana to Missouri in 1858. His father has been a farmer all his life and is still living in this county; his mother died November, 1879. January 28, 1858, Francis M. Sprout married Miss Sarah R. Winters, daughter of Rev. Nathan Winters, of Grundy county. After his marriage he commenced farming on his own resources. May 25, 1861, he lost his wife, and August 26, of the same year, enlisted in the Union army under Col. Tindall, serving sixteen months, during which time he was wounded in the right hand and taken prisoner at the battle of Shiloh. Owing to this wound Mr. Sprout was compelled to have his hand amputated in the Confederate hospital at Mobile, Alabama, and after a long siege of suffering was paroled December, 1862, and allowed to return home. February, 1863, Mr. Sprout married Miss Sophia Newland, daughter of Abraham Newland, of Grundy county.

Since the war he has lived a quiet life on his farm. He is the father of eight children living, two by his first wife and six by his second. The names of his first wife's children are Mary and William; and those of his second wife are Alson, Sarah, John, Minnie, James and Walter.

Mr. and Mrs. Sprout are both members of the Baptist Church. Mr. Sprout has served for two terms each in the capacities of township constable and school trustee of Liberty township. As the fruits of his industry he is now the possessor of a fine farm and enjoys the reputation of a good neighbor and a valuable citizen.

E. L. WINTERS

Was born in St. Clair county, Illinois, October 24, 1819. His parents, Nathan and Ruth Winters, were natives of Tennessee, and when the subject of this sketch was but a child they moved from St. Clair county to Morgan county, Illinois, where he was reared upon a farm. When seventeen years of age he went to Pike county, in the same State, where he remained four years. In 1840, he migrated to Missouri and settled upon government land in Grundy county, then known as Livingston. He raised hogs and drove them to market at Hannibal and Brunswick, and thus

secured money to pay for entering a part of the farm upon which he now lives. The nearest post-office was twenty-five miles, and the closest mill was twenty-three miles, and that only a "corn-cracker." In Illinois Mr. Winters learned the trade of making and laying brick, and continued to follow that business for several years after his arrival in this county, but finally gave it up and turned his whole attention to agricultural interests. His farm is something over four hundred acres in extent. Mr. Winters was united in matrimony to Miss Nancy A. Neet, on the 23d of December, 1841. She was born August 19, 1820. By this marriage Mr. and Mrs. Winters have had nine children; viz., Sarah M., born May 6, 1844; John W., born March 9, 1846, died July 15, 1847; Nathan T., born June 25, 1848; Martha A., born November 8, 1850; James J., born December 5, 1852, died September 8, 1853; Priscilla B., born August 16, 1854; Isaac E., born October 23, 1856; George W., born April 15, 1859; and Emily P., born August 24, 1861.

CHAPTER XXIX.

HARRISON TOWNSHIP.

When it was Organized-Acres of Land-Boundaries—Population-Its Schools and Churches-History of the Churches-The Old Pioneers-How They Lived, What They Saw and How They Conquered-Early Marriages and Deaths-Its Political StatusTownship Officers-Biographies.

HARRISON TOWNSHIP.

Previous to the year 1872, the name Harrison did not appear on the list of townships in the county of Grundy, but the 13,423 acres of territory which it now comprises was the southern portion of Washington. Under the new organization law of the year above named, the County Court

"Ordered that all of township number sixty-one of range number twentyfive, lying east of Grand River, and all of township number sixty-two, of range number twenty-five, lying east of Grand River, be known as Harrison township."

Thus, in honor of "old Tippecanoe," the ninth president of the United States, was the township named. The township is bounded upon the north by Washington township; on the east the Weldon fork of Grand River is the boundary line between Harrison and Lincoln, on the south the Weldon and Thompson forks of the Grand River divides Harrison from the townships of Trenton and Madison, and on the west the Thompson Fork of Grand River is the dividing line between Harrison and Taylor. The town

ship is about two-thirds rich, rolling prairie, especially adapted to the raising of corn, wheat, oats, hay and flax. With the Weldon River on the east, the Thompson River on the west, and Muddy Creek flowing through the center, the township is blessed with an abundant and never failing water supply. The farms are large and well cultivated, the houses are mostly neat and roomy, and the farmers genial, industrious and well-to-do. Trenton is the trading point for the township. The population of Harrison is five hundred and fifty-seven, as officially reported in the last census. The growth of the township has been slow but sure, and as a result the improvements have been on the order of the substantial and useful.

In the township there are four good school-houses, well equipped with the necessary supply of school appurtenances, in which schools are conducted regularly.

HATTON CHAPEL.

There are two churches in the township, both substantial frame buildings. The Hatton Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in the year 1865, and the following were the names of the original members: Thomas Atterbury and wife, Thomas Whitten and wife, Samuel Hogan and wife, W. B. Tabor and wife, Wesley P. Marrs and wife, John Buoy and wife, and Demering Cochran and wife. The Rev. Wesley Hatton was the first pastor and organizer, and from him the church took its name. The membership steadily increased, and in 1868 it was decided to erect a house of worship, but although the good work began, the building lagged and it was not until 1881 that the church was completed at a cost of $700. On Sunday, the 31st of July, 1881, the sacred edifice was dedicated to the service of Almighty God, with appropriate ceremonies, the Rev. John A. Beagle, of Gallatin, conducting the services and delivering an impressive dedication sermon. The present membership numbers sixty-two. The Rev. B. H. Tripp is the pastor in charge, and they have services regularly. The following will be found a list of the successive pastors who have officiated since the church organization: Reverends Wesley Hatton, S. W. Cole, S. S. Hardin, A. M. Curgen, Alexander Falconer, Columbus Cleveland, William W. Wainright, R. F. Beavers, F. H. Sumter, and B. H. Tripp. The church is now in a prosperous condition and bids fair to continue so.

MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH.

The Salem Missionary Baptist Church was organized in the year of our Lord, 1868. The first minister in charge was the Rev. R. Goodell, and the names of the original members were as follows: Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Renfro, Josephine Sires, Mary Selby, Levi Collins, Mary Collins, Polly Collins, Kate Cluster, Mary J. Sires, Mrs. Julia Vench, Ellen Ward, Jane Renfro and Mary Cochran. The steady progress of the organization and