MISSOURI EVIEW

HE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI, COLUMBIA THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI The State Historical Society of Missouri, heretofore organized under the laws of the State, shall be the trustee of this State-Laws of Missouri, 1899, R.S. of Mo., 1969, chapter 183, as revised 1978. OFFICERS, 1998-2001 LAWRENCE O. CHRISTENSEN, Rolla, President JAMES C. OLSON, Kansas City, First Vice President SHERIDAN A. LOGAN, St. Joseph, Second Vice President VIRGINIA G. YOUNG, Columbia, Third Vice President NOBLE E. CUNNINGHAM, JR., Columbia, Fourth Vice President R. KENNETH ELLIOTT, Liberty, Fifth Vice President ROBERT G. J. HOESTER, Kirkwood, Sixth Vice President ALBERT M. PRICE, Columbia, Treasurer JAMES W. GOODRICH, Columbia, Executive Director, Secretary, and Librarian

PERMANENT TRUSTEES FORMER PRESIDENTS OF THE SOCIETY H. RILEY BOCK, New Madrid ROBERT C. SMITH, Columbia LEO J. ROZIER, Perryville Avis G. TUCKER, Warrensburg

TRUSTEES, 1998-2001 WALTER ALLEN, Brookfield VIRGINIA LAAS, Joplin CHARLES R. BROWN, St. Louis EMORY MELTON, Cassville VERA F. BURK, Kirksville DOYLE PATTERSON, Kansas City DICK FRANKLIN, Independence JAMES R. REINHARD, Hannibal

TRUSTEES, 1999-2002 BRUCE H. BECKETT, Columbia W. GRANT MCMURRAY, Independence CHARLES B. BROWN, Kennett THOMAS L. MILLER, SR., Washington DONNA J. HUSTON, Marshall PHEBE ANN WILLIAMS, Kirkwood JAMES R. MAYO, Bloomfield

TRUSTEES, 2000-2003 JOHN K. HULSTON, Springfield ARVARH E. STRICKLAND, Columbia JAMES B. NUTTER, Kansas City BLANCHE M. TOUHILL, St. Louis BOB PRIDDY, Jefferson City HENRY J. WATERS III, Columbia DALE REESMAN, Boonville

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Eight trustees elected by the board of trustees, together with the president of the Society, consti­ tute the executive committee. The executive director of the Society serves as an ex officio member. LAWRENCE O. CHRISTENSEN, Rolla, Chairman JAMES C. OLSON, Kansas City WALTER ALLEN, Brookfield ROBERT C. SMITH, Columbia BRUCE H. BECKETT, Columbia Avis G. TUCKER, Warrensburg H. RILEY BOCK, New Madrid VIRGINIA G. YOUNG, Columbia DICK FRANKLIN, Independence MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW

VOLUME XCV, NUMBER 2 JANUARY 2001

JAMES W. GOODRICH LYNN WOLF GENTZLER Editor Associate Editor

J. SCOTT PARKER SHANNA WALLACE Information Specialist Information Specialist

The MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW (ISSN 0026-6582) is published quarterly by the State Historical Society of Missouri, 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, MO 65201-7298. Receipt of the MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW is a benefit of membership in the State Historical Society of Missouri. Phone (573) 882-7083; fax (573) 884-4950; e-mail ; web site . Periodicals postage is paid at Columbia, Missouri. POSTMASTERS: Send address changes to MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW, 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, MO 65201-7298. Copyright © 2001 by The State Historical Society of Missouri

COVER DESCRIPTION: In 1864 the Western Sanitary Commission, which provided aid to soldiers, their families, and refugees in the Trans-Mississippi and Western theaters of the Civil War, staged the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair in St. Louis to raise funds for their operations. The fair, which attracted support from across the region and the North, proved a financial success. One of the most popular attractions was the Delphic Oracle, a fortune teller's booth, pictured on the cover. Robert Patrick Bender discusses the fair and its background in "This Noble and Philanthropic Enterprise': The Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair of 1864 and the Practice of Civil War Philanthropy," which begins on page 117. [Photograph courtesy of St. Louis Mercantile Library, University of Missouri- St. Louis] EDITORIAL POLICY The editors of the Missouri Historical Review welcome submission of articles and documents relating to the history of Missouri. Any aspect of Missouri history will be con­ sidered for publication in the Review. Genealogical studies, however, are not accepted because of limited appeal to general readers. Manuscripts pertaining to all fields of American history will be considered if the subject matter has significant relevance to the history of Missouri or the West.

Authors should submit two double-spaced copies of their manuscripts. The footnotes, prepared according to The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed., also should be double-spaced and placed at the end of the text. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts on disk, preferably in Microsoft Word. Two hard copies still are required. Originality of subject, general interest of the article, sources used, interpretation, and style are criteria for accep­ tance and publication. Manuscripts, exclusive of footnotes, should not exceed 7,500 words. Articles that are accepted for publication become the property of the State Historical Society of Missouri and may not be published elsewhere without permission. The Society does not accept responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by the authors.

Articles published in the Missouri Historical Review are abstracted and indexed in Historical Abstracts, America: History and Life, Recently Published Articles, Writings on American History, The Western Historical Quarterly, and The Journal of American History.

Manuscript submissions should be addressed to Dr. James W. Goodrich, Editor, Missouri Historical Review, State Historical Society of Missouri, 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, MO 65201-7298.

BOARD OF EDITORS

LAWRENCE O. CHRISTENSEN ALAN R. HAVIG University of Missouri-Rolla Stephens College Columbia

WILLIAM E. FOLEY VIRGINIA J. LAAS Central Missouri State University Missouri Southern State College Warrensburg Joplin

SUSAN M. HARTMANN DAVID D. MARCH Ohio State University Kirksville Columbus

ARVARH E. STRICKLAND University of Missouri-Columbia CONTENTS

"THIS NOBLE AND PHILANTHROPIC ENTERPRISE": THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY SANITARY FAIR OF 1864 AND THE PRACTICE OF CIVIL WAR PHILANTHROPY. By Robert Patrick Bender. 117

"ONE OF THE BEST AND TRUEST CHARACTERS IN THE STATE": JOSEPH LAFAYETTE STEPHENS. By Marian M. Ohman. 140

EUGENE FIELD AND THEATER: THE MISSOURI YEARS. By Lewis O. Saum. 159

BLACK ELECTORAL POWER IN THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL, 1920S-1960S. By Will Sarvis. 182

HISTORICAL NOTES AND COMMENTS

Society's 2000 Annual Meeting Held on October 21 203

Society Begins Research Charge to Out-of-State Non-Members 210

Lewis E. Atherton Prize 210

News in Brief 211

Local Historical Societies 212

Gifts Relating to Missouri 223

Missouri History in Newspapers 225

Missouri History in Magazines 228

In Memoriam 232

BOOK REVIEWS 233

Pierpaoli, Paul G., Jr. Truman and Korea: The Political Culture of the Early Cold War. Reviewed by Gerard Clarfield. Christensen, Lawrence O., William E. Foley, Gary R. Kremer, and Kenneth H. Winn, eds. Dictionary of Missouri Biography. Reviewed by Robert W. Richmond.

Ferrell, Robert H. Truman and Pendergast; Hartmann, Rudolph H. The Kansas City Investigation: Pendergasfs Downfall, 1938-1939. Edited with an introduction by Robert H. Ferrell. Reviewed by Patrick McLear.

Dawson, Joseph C, III. Doniphan's Epic March: The 1st Missouri Volunteers in the Mexican War. Reviewed by Leslie Anders.

BOOK NOTES 240

Wilke, Stanley. I Didn't Know That!

Naeger, Bill, Patti Naeger, and Mark L. Evans. Ste. Genevieve: A Leisurely Stroll Through History.

Todd, Mary. Authority Vested: A Story of Identity and Change in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Naumann, Jakob. Selections From My Journey to America, 1836-1843. Translated by Anna Kemper Hesse.

Scott, Quinta. Along Route 66.

Wright, Tina, ed. Cardinal Memories: Recollections from Baseball's Greatest Fans.

Lee, George R. Slavery North of St. Louis.

Pictorial Memories of Henry County, Missouri.

WITH PEN OR CRAYON . . . Inside back cover St. Louis Mercantile Library, University of Missouri-St. Louis

Entrance to the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair

'This Noble and Philanthropic Enterprise": The Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair of 1864 and the Practice of Civil War Philanthropy

BY ROBERT PATRICK BENDER*

By the summer of 1863, civilian morale in the North had suffered seri­ ous setbacks. Although the Union armies achieved important strategic vic­ tories at both Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the war's tremendous human cost began to tax Northern patience. Resentment over the draft, as both an intru­ sive governmental action and a blatant example of class bias, caused public demonstrations to increase in both frequency and violence. In addition to the infamous draft riots in New York City, similar disturbances broke out in other Northern communities. The frustration and violence expressed in

*Robert Patrick Bender is an instructor at Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. He is a doctoral candidate at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, from which he received the M.A. degree in 1993.

117 118 Missouri Historical Review demonstrations at remote locations like Port Washington, Wisconsin, in November 1862 signified the public's war-weariness.1 At the same time, a number of volunteer civilian relief agencies began to run desperately low on the funds necessary to continue their philanthropic work. The executive committee of the Western Sanitary Commission, for example, seriously questioned their ability to continue operations beyond 1864, due to the considerable expense required to administer the many pro­ grams and facilities under their supervision. In addition, public misconcep­ tions about the integrity of professional charity organizations led to mistaken suspicions about misappropriation of relief funds and other gifts.2 In the wake of these social, political, and financial considerations, phil­ anthropic leaders across the North turned to a successful fund-raising tradi­ tion of the antebellum charity movement. They organized charity fairs, which immediately became known as "sanitary fairs" because of their asso­ ciation with various sanitary relief societies. The sanitary fairs of the Civil War served at least four purposes. First, the carnival-like atmosphere of the fairs provided a critical psychological diversion that helped restore morale among Northern civilians. Second, they raised enormous amounts of money, which funded the work of several relief agencies for the remainder of the war. Third, the events helped educate the public about the broad scope of work undertaken by relief organizations, which helped alleviate concerns about the misappropriation of funds and materials. Finally, sani­ tary fairs assisted relief agencies in the recruitment of sorely needed volun­ teers to serve in their programs.3 An examination of Civil War sanitary fairs also serves as a window through which the influence of larger ideological concepts on aspects of everyday life can be viewed. The debate between proponents of centraliza­ tion and of localism, for example, found expression in many aspects of nineteenth-century life. In addition to the great political issues of the day, including the extension and expansion of slavery and the philosophy of states' rights, the debate that resulted from these conflicting concepts

1 James M. McPherson, The Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (New York: Ballantine Books, 1989), 609-611; Adam Kawa, "No Draft!" Civil War Times Illustrated 37 (June 1998): 54-60. 2 Jacob G. Forman, The Western Sanitary Commission: A Sketch of its Origins (St. Louis: R. P. Studley, 1864), 3-12, 129-138; Mary A. Livermore, My Story of the War (Hartford, Conn.: Worthington, 1889), 123-135,409-449. 3 J. Matthew Gallman, Mastering Wartime: A Social History of Philadelphia During the Civil War (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990), 146; Robert H. Bremner, The Public Good: Philanthropy and Welfare in the Civil War Era (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980), 14- 27; Beverly Gordon, Bazaars and Fair Ladies: The History of the American Fundraising Fair (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1998), 59-94. "This Noble and Philanthropic Enterprise " 119 affected numerous facets of life. It was, as historian William E. Gienapp noted, an age in which all issues took on an increased political identity. The political nature of this division was apparent in the contentious and competitive relationship that developed between the Western Sanitary Commission (WSC) and the United States Sanitary Commission (USSC). Although both organizations worked to improve medical care in support of the Union war effort, they differed greatly in their views about the nature of philanthropy and the future direction of public relief work. As the most pub­ lic expression of each organization's beliefs about the essence of philan­ thropy, sanitary fairs exhibit how the debate over centralization and localism affected wartime relief work. In recent years, some very fine scholarship has focused on various aspects of the USSC's role in the development of modern philanthropic thought and practice. Jeanie Attie has researched how gender influenced both the success and internal divisions of the USSC. J. Matthew Gallman produced a thorough study of the USSC's Philadelphia branch office and its relationship with the central office. Aside from a fine article by historian William Parrish, however, the perspective of the WSC has largely been overlooked. Examining the issue from the perspective of the Western Sanitary Commission helps explain its persistent defense of autonomous work in the context of the wartime sanitary fair movement.4 In the fall of 1863, Chicago's "Northwestern" branch of the U.S. Sanitary Commission hosted the first sanitary fair of the war. Billed as the Great Northwestern Sanitary Fair, this twelve-day event cleared a net profit of "nearly eighty thousand dollars" before it ended. Although modest com­ pared to the sums raised at subsequent fairs, the Chicago event demonstrat­ ed that sanitary fairs appealed to a broad segment of the Northern public. Participation in sanitary fairs offered Union citizens the opportunity to make a perceptible contribution to the war effort. Consequently, the fairs quickly became fashionable and developed national popularity. Communities from New York to Iowa soon planned similar events. Historians of Civil War phil­ anthropy estimate that Northern communities organized as many as thirty charity fairs between 1863 and 1865. The pinnacle of the sanitary fair

4 William E. Gienapp, '"Politics Seem to Enter into Everything': Political Culture in the North, 1840-1860," in Essays on American Antebellum Politics, 1840-1860, ed. Stephen E. Maizlish and John J. Kushma (College Station: Texas A & M University Press, 1982), 14-69; Jeanie Attie, Patriotic Toil: Northern Women and the American Civil War (Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell University Press, 1998); Gallman, Mastering Wartime, 1, 9; William E. Parrish, "The Western Sanitary Commission," Civil War History 36 (March 1990): 17-35. 120 Missouri Historical Review movement occurred between the spring and fall of 1864, when thirteen sig­ nificant fairs took place.5 Whether hosted by a small community or a major metropolis, a national relief agency or state and local societies, all of the wartime fairs had similar characteristics. For example, many communities were influenced by prewar ideas about local philanthropic responsibility. Most wartime fairs closely resembled the local fairs that had proliferated before the war. Local author­ ity remained an important theme, and local participation helped alleviate sus­ picions about the misappropriation of funds. Support came from all over and added to the sense of extended community. The city of St. Louis proved no exception. Taking their cue from the success achieved by cities in the East and upper Midwest, the leading philanthropists of St. Louis organized the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair in the spring of 1864.6 As with all such undertakings, the fair required a great deal of planning prior to the opening of festivities. The St. Louis Ladies Union Aid Society (LUAS) called for "a General meeting of the Loyal Men and Women of St. Louis." This gathering occurred on February 1, 1864, in the recently com­ pleted Mercantile Library Hall to elect officers, appoint an executive com­ mittee, and make other arrangements for "a Grand Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair" that would take place in May of that year.7 Although initiated by the Ladies Union Aid Society, no single organiza­ tion exercised more influence over the planning and execution of "this noble and philanthropic enterprise" than the St. Louis-based Western Sanitary Commission. The five-man executive committee of the WSC, which includ­ ed James E. Yeatman, Carlos S. Greeley, Dr. John B. Johnson, George Partridge, and Rev. William Greenleaf Eliot, served as the fair's standing committee. The standing committee represented the interests of the WSC, the sole beneficiary of the fair's profits. Yeatman, a longtime leader among Missouri's philanthropic elite and president of the WSC since its inception in 1861, also served as chairman of the fair's thirty-one-member executive com-

5 Gallman, Mastering Wartime, 146; Bremner, Public Good, 14-27; Gordon, Bazaars and Fair Ladies, 66-67; Livermore, My Story, 455; William Y. Thompson, "Sanitary Fairs of the Civil War," Civil War History 4 (March 1958): 51-68. 6 Jane Turner Censer, ed., Defending the Union, 1861-1863, vol. 4 of The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986), 240, 337, 480, 495-497; Robert H. Bremner, "The Prelude: Philanthropic Rivalries in the Civil War Era," Social Casework 49 (February 1968): 79; Roland Usher, "Western Sanitary Commission," Proceedings of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association (n.p., 1908-1909): 219; Parrish, "Western Sanitary Commission," 17-35. 7 Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, 1 February 1864, Box 1, St. Louis Protestant Orphan Asylum Records, Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis; Final Report of the Western Sanitary Commission (St. Louis: R. P. Studley, 1866), 1-5; Jasper Cross, "The Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair, St. Louis, 1864," Missouri Historical Review 46 (April 1952): 237-239. "This Noble and Philanthropic Enterprise" 121

William Greenleaf Eliot was a promi­ nent nineteenth-century educator and religious leader in St. Louis. His accomplishments included publishing several books and founding Washington University.

State Historical Society of Missouri mittee of gentlemen. This committee handled the planning, organization, and daily management of the event. Because of his social prominence and expe­ rience with benevolent work, Yeatman's leadership on both committees sub­ stantially increased the influence of the WSC. Individual departments were created to supervise specific elements of the fair and reported to the execu­ tive committee through their respective chairmen. Within this organization­ al structure, the WSC exercised a defining influence over the character and operation of the fair.8 As a result of this influence, the St. Louis fair inherited many of the characteristics of the WSC-USSC rivalry. The competition began immedi­ ately after the two agencies came into existence and intensified throughout the war, despite periodic public efforts intended to foster a more cooperative relationship. The U.S. Sanitary Commission, founded in June 1861, viewed its theories and practices as the most modern and efficient in the field of benevolence. Dominated by the social and intellectual elite of the East Coast, the USSC soon earned a reputation for self-righteousness, conde­ scension, intolerance, and an under-appreciation of relief needs beyond the Eastern theater. The philanthropic demands of the Trans-Mississippi and Western theaters grew significantly while the USSC paid little attention. As a result, several philanthropic leaders in St. Louis received permission from

8 Western Sanitary Commission, General Report of the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair, (n.p., 1864), 3-4; Executive Committee Minutes, 1 February, 30 June 1864. 122 Missouri Historical Review

Major General John C. Fremont to form the Western Sanitary Commission in September 1861.9 To Eliot and Yeatman, the spiritual and practical leaders of the WSC, local authority over charitable matters represented a crucial facet of philan­ thropic work. It signified a community's acceptance of its Christian and civic duty to care for its less fortunate residents. To subordinate their organization to an outside influence amounted to a public admission that they either could not or would not provide the necessary aid. The USSC, however, viewed local or regional relief efforts as inefficient obstacles that interfered with the creation of a national program of centrally coordinated relief. The USSC sought to eliminate the WSC or force the upstart Missouri agency to serve under its authority. In the fall of 1861 the USSC convinced Secretary of War Simon Cameron to rescind Fremont's order. Eliot, however, persuaded Cameron and his successor, Edwin M. Stanton, to support the Western Sanitary Commission's independent status. The USSC then attempted to bring the St. Louis-based agency into its organization. Frederick Law Olmsted, general secretary of the USSC and its most stringent proponent of centralized administration, invited the Missouri agency to become a branch society with nominal independence. The WSC rejected this offer in a unan­ imous decision. "Whatever we could do as a sub-committee or branch of your Commission," Yeatman informed the USSC, "we can do equally well, or better, retaining our present organization." Although willing to cooperate with the national commission, the Western Sanitary Commission insisted on autonomy.10 The U.S. Sanitary Commission publicly accepted this decision, but its members continued to express private indignation over the perceived threat to its mission. From this point onward, the two organizations remained suspicious of each other—especially concerning money.11 The Western Sanitary Commission soon found itself at the vanguard of resistance to the national commission and its concept of highly centralized public relief work. Animosity did not subside with the advent of sanitary fairs. In fact, the fairs quickly developed into a subtle battleground in this

9 "Western Sanitary Commission Circular," Box 1, Notebook 6; William Greenleaf Eliot to Tom Eliot, n.d., Notebook 7, both in William Greenleaf Eliot Papers, Washington University, St. Louis; William Greenleaf Eliot, Social Reform: A Discourse (St. Louis: n.p., 1857), 10-11; Gregory Eiselein, Literature and Humanitarianism in the Civil War (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1996), 13-14, 79-83; J. Matthew Gallman, The North Fights the Civil War: The Homefront (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1994), 23-27, 86. 10 William Greenleaf Eliot, Loyalty and Religion: A Discourse for the Times (St. Louis: George Knapp and Company, 1861), 10-12; Eliot, Social Reform, 1, 11-14; Censer, Defending the Union, 228-229; Executive Committee Minutes, 11 April 1864. 11 Censer, Defending the Union, 228-229, 306-309; Allan Nevins and Milton Halsey Thomas, eds., Diary of George Templeton Strong: The Civil War, 1860-1865 (New York: Macmillan Company, 1952), 188-189. "This Noble and Philanthropic Enterprise" 123 debate, as each agency sought to demonstrate the superiority of its own style of organization. The Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair offered the WSC an opportunity to answer USSC criticisms and to publicize the broad and innovative scope of its work while highlighting the value of a relief opera­ tion that attempted to balance the ideas and practices of localism and cen­ tralization. With "a whole community at. . . work," Yeatman believed, the St. Louis fair would demonstrate the value of the WSC and its vision of public relief work.12 While the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair remained the only such ven­ ture west of the Mississippi River sponsored by a major charitable relief agency, it proved to be one of the most successful fund-raising efforts of the war. Indeed, the St. Louis fair ranked third in terms of profits, behind only the Great Central Sanitary Fair of Philadelphia and the Metropolitan Sanitary Fair of New York.13 In addition to the leadership provided by the sanitary commission's exec­ utive committee, several prominent military, civil, and religious leaders from the community participated in planning the St. Louis fair. They included Brigadier General Clinton B. Fisk, former and current mayors Chauncey I. Filley and James S. Thomas, the Reverend Doctors Henry A. Nelson and T. M. Post, "and the other pastors of the city." Prominent national leaders, including President Abraham Lincoln and Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, were named honorary members of the fair, and Major General William S. Rosecrans served as president.14 Fair officials arranged with the city to secure sufficient grounds, includ­ ing the use of the Mercantile Library Hall and the construction of temporary facilities. Officials established the fair's boundaries near the Mississippi River at Twelfth Street, between the north side of Olive Street and the south side of Washington Avenue. St. Louis architect William Rumbold designed the temporary structure that served as the fair's main building. Described as "a fine looking" cross-shaped structure, located on Twelfth Street between Olive and St. Charles Streets, it measured 500 feet by 144 feet, with 314- foot east-west transepts and a ceiling that measured 50 feet at its apex. The building's main concourse, 28 feet in width, accommodated forty-seven sep­ arate departments. Some of the more popular departments included an art gallery, a "Floral Temple," the "Bower of Rest," and "a beautiful grotto" with a fountain. The "Delphic Oracle," a fortune-teller's booth decorated in black crepe, gold stars, and brass bells, proved to be one of the more novel

12 Censer, Defending the Union, 229, 240. 13 Gordon, Bazaars and Fair Ladies, 66-71; Alvin Robert Kantor and Marjorie Sered Kantor, Sanitary Fairs: A Philatelic and Historical Study of Civil War Benevolences (Glencoe, 111.: SF Publishing, 1992), 167-171. 14 Executive Committee Minutes, 1 February 1864; Final Report, 1-18. 124 Missouri Historical Review and exotic attractions. The cruciform hall and its varied attractions left a memorable impression on those in attendance. Ella Gale, a young St. Louisan active as both a patron and a volunteer, had attended "every day and night since it opened." In a lengthy letter to her brother, Theodore, she described the building's lavish decorations, which included patriotic banners and bunting, a variety of floral displays, "large globes containing gold fish," and two Confederate cannons "which were taken at Vicksburg."15 Prominent attendees included Missouri's Unionist governor, Willard R Hall, and several other Midwestern governors and regional political figures. Major General Alfred Pleasanton, recently transferred from the Army of the Potomac's Cavalry Corps, served as grand marshal of the elaborate and "magnificent" opening ceremonies on May 17. National political and mili­ tary figures, including Lincoln, Hamlin, Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax, and Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, also received invitations to attend the fair. Unfortunately, official duties and the distance involved forced these individuals to decline, but nearly all sent photographs, auto­ graphed letters, and other salable items to demonstrate their support for the fair. Grant even arranged for his wife and family, who lived in St. Louis, to attend in his stead. The general's eight-year-old daughter, Nellie, proved particularly popular among the fair's patrons. Photographs of her selling dolls in the Children's Department, dressed as the nursery rhyme character "The Old Woman in the Shoe," sold for fifty cents and quickly became a favorite keepsake among fairgoers. Nellie Grant's work also inspired two poems that praised her patriotism and sense of public service; near the fair's conclusion, patrons subscribed small amounts of money to award Nellie a "beautiful $20 doll" in appreciation of her service. Other national figures, including authors James Russell Lowell and Ralph Waldo Emerson, lent their support by contributing essays and poems to the pages of the Daily Countersign, the fair's newspaper.16 Despite the Western Sanitary Commission's spirited defense of its inde­ pendence and the U.S. Sanitary Commission's persistent efforts to distance itself from all forms of localism, numerous similarities existed between the St. Louis fair and the USSC fairs held between late 1863 and late 1864 in places like Chicago, New York, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia. For example, visitors to

15 Executive Committee Minutes, 22-29 February, 3-7 March 1864; St. Louis Daily Countersign, 17 May 1864; St. Louis Missouri Republican, 17 May 1864; Ella Gale to Theo Gale, 22 May 1864, Gale Family Papers, Missouri Historical Society. 16 Roy P. Basler, ed., The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1953), 353-354; Final Report, 16-17; John Y. Simon, ed., The Memoirs of Julia Dent Grant (New York: Putnam, 1975), 76, 130-131; Executive Committee Minutes, 1 February, 17 May 1864; L. J. Cist to F. J. Dreer, 25 April 1864, Civil War Collection, Missouri Historical Society; St. Louis Daily Countersign, 17, 27 May, 4 June 1864; Chicago Tribune, 20, 22 May 1864. 'This Noble and Philanthropic Enterprise" 125

Nellie Grant as the "Old Woman in the Shoe'

St. Louis Mercantile Library, University of Missouri-St. Louis the St. Louis fair witnessed many of the same types of amusements as fairgoers in the East and upper Midwest. Attractions ranged from the latest technologi­ cal and natural curiosities, such as the "stereopticon," a device that produced a three-dimensional image from dual images viewed simultaneously, and live­ stock to artistic displays and patriotic musical performances. In the tradition of other major sanitary fairs, composers Fred Beyer and T. Van Berg produced two original musical numbers in honor of the occasion. The "Sanitary Fair Polka" and the "Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair Grand March" were both very popu­ lar. Patrons enjoyed a great variety of regional and ethnic cuisine at the fair's numerous refreshment facilities. They also purchased items at auction and gen­ eral sale. Patrons paid one dollar per vote to award a $1,500 sword and a "fine young Silver Heels stallion" to the two most popular Union generals and "a beautifully embroidered" blue silk battle flag to the most popular Union regi­ ment. This competition proved as successful in St. Louis as similar competi­ tions held at USSC fairs.17 Subtle similarities, involving acknowledged assumptions about gender and class, continued to govern the way people participated in public relief

17 Gallman, Mastering Wartime, 148-168; Thompson, "Sanitary Fairs of the Civil War," 55-64; Executive Committee Minutes, 18 April 1864; St Louis Daily Countersign, 22 May, 4 June 1864. General Winfield Scott Hancock won the sword; the contest raised $4,517. The Tenth Kansas Infantry, which had served several months of garrison duty in St. Louis earlier in the war, won the battle flag, and General William T. Sherman won the horse. St. Louis Missouri Republican, 29 May 1864; Kansas City Western Journal of Commerce, 11 June 1864. 126 Missouri Historical Review work. Gender and class distinctions had characterized nineteenth-century philanthropic work before the war and remained influential during the sani­ tary fair experience. For example, both the WSC and the USSC drew heav­ ily from a network of managers, workers, and fund-raising techniques from the charity organizations that existed before and during the war. Socially prominent people dominated the leadership roles in groups like the German Emigrant Aid Society, the St. Louis Provident Association, the St. Louis Freedmen's Association, and the Ladies Union Aid Society. Many of these same citizens also served on the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair's executive committee. In addition, the Executive Committee of Ladies supervised socially acceptable expressions of female public relief work, including the operation of the floral and millinery departments and publication of the Daily Countersign. Daily Countersign editor Anna C. Brackett and managers Mrs. E. W. Clark and Mrs. R. A. Ranlett, as well as the floral department's Minerva Blow and Mrs. A. S. W. Goodwin of the millinery department, all belonged to prominent local families with traditions of public service. Their leadership represented an established and acceptable public outlet for chari­ table-minded women of the upper class. Although the work involved a pub­ lic expression of female authority and financial responsibility, nineteenth-century American society viewed activity of this type as a natural extension of a woman's stewardship over the household and family. The larger political implications of this service remained subdued.18 As with the USSC-sponsored fairs, members of the working class exer­ cised no influence in planning the St. Louis fair. They were neither repre­ sented on the executiuve committee nor held the most important department chairs. Working-class residents primarily contributed through the physical labor necessary for the fair's preparation and operation. Skilled workers donated their labor and expertise to supply the fairgrounds with gas fittings and other essential utilities. Laborers performed manual tasks for wages "at the rate of $500 per annum." With the fair under way, employees and volun­ teers continued to carry out duties assigned to their class and gender. Working-class women worked exclusively as cooks and waitresses in the fair restaurants, while the leadership of the various feminine departments remained an upper-class function. Although some of the younger upper-

18 Jeanie Attie, "Warwork and the Crisis of Domesticity," in Divided Houses: Gender and the Civil War, ed. Catherine Clinton and Nina Silber (New York: Oxford University Press, 1982), 247-248; Jane E. Schultz, "Race, Gender, and Bureaucracy: Civil War Nurses and the Pension Bureau," Journal of Women's History 6 (summer 1994): 45-48; J. W. Mclntyre, Third Annual Report of the St. Louis Provident Association (St. Louis: St. Louis Provident Association, 1863), 2; Executive Committee Minutes, 1-10 February, 14, 25 April 1864; Final Report, 4; Minerva Blow to Henry Blow, 3, 11, 12 May 1864, Blow Family Papers, Missouri Historical Society; St. Louis Daily Countersign, 17 May 1864; Mary Elizabeth Massey, Bonnet Brigades (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1966), 48-54. "This Noble and Philanthropic Enterprise " 121 class females, such as Ella Gale and her friend Susan Blow, served as wait­ resses at the fair restaurants, crossing class guidelines of participation remained an upper-class prerogative. Gender and class restrictions also combined to limit management of the fair's daily operation, with upper-class males continuing to make all of the decisions. This suggests an extension of many of the established guidelines about gender and class contributions rather than a dramatic expansion of public roles during the war. These pro­ scriptions proffer that, at least in western areas, the war did not serve as a catalyst for swift change in gender and class roles within philanthropic endeavors.19 Arrangements made to reduce operating costs during the sanitary fairs proved another point of similarity between the WSC and the USSC. Despite the USSC's persistent, but unsubstantiated, claims of greater cost efficiency, the St. Louis philanthropists often proved their equal. Numerous St. Louisans, as well as residents of other cities, states, and even foreign coun­ tries, volunteered to serve as special agents assigned to procure materials of all description for the fair. Agents in Chicago purchased large quantities of building materials, including 400,000 feet of lumber, at reduced rates and arranged for free shipment to St. Louis. In exchange for published acknowl­ edgment of their cooperation, numerous railroad and express companies eagerly provided free transportation for fair agents and materials designated for the fair. Arrangements of this nature had been established among relief organizations long before the phenomenon of sanitary fairs and helped reduce operating costs for such groups while providing a good public rela­ tions opportunity for the rail and express companies.20 Although several similarities existed between the Western Sanitary Commission and the U.S. Sanitary Commission fairs, other aspects blurred the distinction between localized and centralized relief and hint that a transi­ tion was under way in how people viewed and carried out philanthropy. As

19 Executive Committee Minutes, 3, 21, 31 March 1864; Schultz, "Race, Gender, and Bureaucracy," 45-69; Gallman, The North Fights, 181-186; Gallman, "Voluntarism in Wartime: Philadelphia's Great Central Fair," in Toward A Social History of the Civil War: Exploratory Essays, ed. Maris Vinovskis (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990), 112-113; Eiselein, Literature, 146; Massey, Bonnet Brigades, 32-33. 20 Sarah Henshaw, Our Branch and its Tributaries (Chicago: A. W. Sewell, 1868), 32-36; Charles J. Stille, History of the United States Sanitary Commission During the War of the Rebellion (Gansevoort, N.Y.: Corner House Historical Publications, 1997), 82-83, 114, 138- 165; "A Fortnight with the Sanitary Commission," Atlantic Monthly 15 (February 1865): 233- 248; Executive Committee Minutes, 22-29 February, 10-24 March, 14-18 April, 2, 9 May 1864; Missouri Valley Sanitary Fair (MVSF) Circulars, 5 February-18 March 1864, Civil War Collection; Massey, Bonnet Brigades, 48-50; Travel Vouchers, 10, 17 February 1862; R. R. Hazard, Sr., to A. W. Plattenburg, 11 February 1863, both in J. E. D. Couzins Papers, Missouri Historical Society. 128 Missouri Historical Review with other social issues of the period, debate over the proper direction of American philanthropy found many followers who advocated a more gradual approach to change. In the area of relief work, the WSC favored a gradual approach that balanced effective centralized practices with localized author­ ity. Influenced by the success of their prewar benevolent efforts, as well as the divisive debate over an immediate or gradual end to slavery, its leaders emphasized slow social reform.21 The fund-raising efforts of the WSC illustrate a desire to balance local and centralized ideas. Although it limited its field operations to providing aid to soldiers and civilians in the Trans-Mississippi and Western theaters, the WSC did not hesitate to make use of personal, financial, and political asso­ ciations in the East to raise funds. Its success in obtaining funds in eastern cities drew criticism from the USSC, which viewed the action as incompat­ ible with the WSC's regional character. Olmsted worried that the St. Louis agency was "plowing our field" and complained bitterly about its fund-rais­ ing efforts in Boston. The USSC, mistakenly convinced that the WSC advo­ cated strict localism, mocked the Missouri group's supposed lack of commitment to this principle. This practice continued during the St. Louis fair, which added to the already fierce WSC-USSC rivalry. The St. Louis officials, however, did not see a conflict and continued to raise funds from every available source. Although cast in the role of chief rival to the cen­ tralization of the USSC, the WSC did not portray itself as the rigid champi­ on of strict localism. It instead emphasized both local and centralized methods of fund-raising. As a result, its members saw no contradiction in their efforts to raise funds in New England. 'Tn spirit," the fair's February 5, 1864, circular proclaimed, the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair recog­ nized "no State lines or sectional divisions or prejudices, but treats all sol­ diers alike." Soldiers from all regions served in the Trans-Mississippi and Western theaters and benefited from the work of the WSC and its fair. Managers of the St. Louis enterprise did not believe they should prohibit any citizen, irrespective of regional boundaries, from contributing to the welfare of Union soldiers.22 East Coast efforts to raise funds for the St. Louis fair proved very suc­ cessful. New Bedford, Massachusetts, for example, established its own fund- raising department and contributed $4,615.21. The New Englanders even gained a special note of appreciation in the fair's General Report for the "earnest sympathy and noble-hearted generosity" of their "valuable, timely and most welcome assistance." As a native of Massachusetts with both

21 Executive Committee Minutes, 6, 22, 29 February 1864; Censer, Defending the Union, 469, 471, 480, 495-497, 627; MVSF Circular, 5 February 1864. 22 Censer, Defending the Union, 306-308, 334-337; MVSF Circular, 5 February 1864. "This Noble and Philanthropic Enterprise " 129 familial and professional connections across New England, Reverend Eliot proved particularly effective as a fund-raiser in the eastern states. On trips throughout New England and Washington, D.C., Eliot fostered several important relationships to raise funds and maintain the WSC's independent status. His sister established a "Missouri room" in her Boston home, where she collected both goods and cash to be shipped to St. Louis. This single effort raised more than $17,000 in the Boston area. The executive commit­ tee authorized James E. Yeatman to make associations as "best calculated to promote the objects of this organization" during a spring journey to Washington, D.C. By the fair's end, cash, material donations, and well wish­ es had come to the St. Louis fair headquarters from as far away as Cherryfield, Maine, San Francisco, and England.23 Even the USSC's branch offices could not be completely restrained from cooperating with the WSC and the St. Louis fair. Jessie Benton Fremont, an important early advocate of the WSC who was later active in the New York branch of the USSC, arranged to transfer "a very generous share" of unsold goods to St. Louis following the close of New York's Metropolitan Fair. St. Louis officials made similar arrangements to donate their excess to Philadelphia's Great Central Sanitary Fair, as well as other independent fairs in the Midwest. This practice of cooperation greatly annoyed USSC executives, who believed efforts of this nature impinged on their territory and encouraged further decentralization and inefficiency. To supporters of the WSC, however, these practices demonstrated the wide­ spread appeal of a balance between centralization and localism. The differ­ ent approaches blurred the distinction between localized and centralized charity and hint that a slow transition, rather than a swift change, was under way in the field of philanthropy.24 In several critical areas, the differences between the fairs of the WSC and USSC were more distinct and rooted in the rivalry between the two organi­ zations. For example, the USSC remained unenthusiastic about sanitary fairs in general. Although its executive committee tolerated the fairs because of their undeniable financial success, officials continued to deride them as examples of philanthropic sectionalism that threatened to undermine their mission. USSC executives distanced themselves from the planning and oper­ ation of fairs sponsored by their own branch offices and, instead, concentrat­ ed on the acceptance of the central office's share of the fair profits. The executive committee of the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair, on the other

23 Final Report, 9; Parrish, "Western Sanitary Commission," 21; Executive Committee Minutes, 28 April 1864; St. Louis Daily Countersign, 4 June 1864. 24 Executive Committee Minutes, 28 April 1864; Pamela Herr, ed., The Letters of Jessie Benton Fremont (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1993), 250. 130 Missouri Historical Review

James Erwin Yeatman helped organize the Merchant Bank and incorporate what would become the Missouri Pacific Railroad. His civic enterprises included incorporating the Missouri School for the Blind and the St. JLouis Mercantile Library.

State Historical Society of Missouri hand, immediately encouraged the input and active cooperation of the citi­ zens of St. Louis and other communities in the Mississippi River valley. The tremendous variety of offers sent to executive committee head­ quarters at the Lindell Hotel demonstrates that St. Louis citizens and resi­ dents from across the Mississippi Valley region thought of the St. Louis fair in personal and community terms. Numerous individuals contributed ideas as well as cash and materials. Offers ranged from the ordinary to the ridicu­ lous and included everything from the sale of apples and other produce to the exhibition of a performing act known as 'The Happy Family Monkeys." The fair's executive committee debated the merits of all proposals and determined whether or not to accept them. Although the executive commit­ tee apparently never established set criteria for evaluating proposed contri­ butions, committee minutes indicate the members' concern that no attraction or concession be at all controversial. Committee members also stressed the need for variety in the selection of attractions. They refused numerous duplicate applications. Such decentralized, community-oriented practices typified fairs throughout the war, but the WSC remained the only major relief agency to encourage this behavior.25

25 Executive Committee Minutes, 4-29 February, 24-31 March, 21 April 1864; MVSF Circulars, 5 February-18 March 1864; Gallman, The North Fights, 78-83, 109-110. " This Noble and Philanthropic Enterprise " 131

The main difference between the WSC and the USSC fairs is illustrated by the relationship each organization developed with their subordinate asso­ ciates. These relationships exemplify the important contribution the WSC made as a transitional force between local and centralized philanthropy. Whereas the USSC sought "absolute subordination," the WSC maintained more democratic relations. The hierarchy of the St. Louis fair allowed for greater distribution of responsibilities. Although subordinate to the executive committee, each department handled its own correspondence concerning prospective donations of cash, materials, and fair attractions. In addition, they were "empowered" to write and publish such circulars "as they may decide to be best productive of the objects of their department." The execu­ tive committee also authorized "local committees in various towns and cities" to act in the interests of the fair. Communities across the North estab­ lished local councils to collect goods. Leaders of the USSC resented these attempts to control the decision-making process and viewed such efforts as a usurpation of authority.26 Cooperation between the WSC and its allied agencies, however, did not end with the collection of goods; it also extended into the heart of the deci­ sion-making process. Final decisions remained the responsibility of the executive committee, but it consistently sought the input of relevant depart­ ments. The controversy that followed the decision to allow the sale and consumption of "Native Wines" and beer, for example, illustrates the democratic nature of the St. Louis fair's decision-making process. This battle threatened to divide the fair's leadership along civil and religious lines. Clerics and other temperance advocates believed the sale and con­ sumption of alcohol was inappropriate for a family-oriented charity event and called for citywide prohibition during the fair. Opponents feared that such activities would "promote or encourage" dangerous vice, attract a rowdy and ill-mannered element from St. Louis's large immigrant popula­ tion, and, consequently, reduce the fair's profits. Advocates for wine and beer sales, however, believed the decision was a modest concession to the city's numerous immigrant populations, especially the thoroughly loyal Germans, from whom the fair's management hoped to draw a considerable portion of their attendance.27 The issue generated lengthy discussions during several executive com­ mittee meetings, with input from members of the General Refreshment Committee, religious leaders, and the Ladies Union Aid Society, as well as local merchants and saloonkeepers. Two executive committee votes failed to

26 Executive Committee Minutes, 22 February, 10-14, 21, 31 March, 18-25 April, 9 May 1864; Gallman, Mastering Wartime, 154-155; Nevins and Halsey, George Templeton Strong, 274-275; Attie, Patriotic Toil, 65, 71-75, 109, 198-202. 27 Executive Committee Minutes, 22 February, 10-14, 21, 31 March, 18-25 April, 9 May 1864; Gallman, Mastering Wartime, 154-155. 132 Missouri Historical Review ban the sale of alcohol, but General Rosecrans soon interceded with a work­ able compromise. He issued General Order No. 6, which prohibited the sale and consumption of alcohol within five blocks of the fairgrounds. Municipal authorities also agreed to provide adequate police supervision to "immedi­ ately and summarily" subdue all instances of public impropriety. Rosecrans's solution kept the peace among the fair's organizers and also proved financially successful. A Wine and Beer Hall, located in the Lucas Market section of town, soon reported "a thriving business." The Wine and Beer Committee reported a net gain of $5,395.85. This figure exceeded all but two portions of the proceeds raised by the General Refreshment Committee, and none of the anticipated problems occurred.28 The only other controversy to arise during the fair's planning resulted from the decision to allow the raffling of prizes. Raffle prizes included a variety of small items, including a Singer sewing machine and a silver-plat­ ed tea set, and the grand prize, the Smizer Farm. Church leaders and women's groups again spearheaded an opposition movement with the sup­ port of the WSC executive committee. In an effort to secure "the best results" for the fair in both profits and public image, opponents denounced "the prac­ tice of raffling." Raffling, they believed, amounted to publicly sanctioned gambling. As with the conflict over the sale and consumption of alcohol, the executive committee solicited opinions from both sides and voted on the issue. The vote divided largely along religious-civic lines, but civic leaders again obtained the necessary simple majority to allow the practice. As with

28 Executive Committee Minutes, 21 March, 18, 21, 25 April, 9 May 1864; Final Report, 8; St. Louis Daily Countersign, 31 May 1864.

State Historical Society of Missouri

General William Starke Rosecrans com­ manded the Army of the Cumberland before heading the Department of the Missouri, where he helped curtail the 1864 raid of Sterling Price. "This Noble and Philanthropic Enterprise " 133 the sale of liquor, the raffle proved a great financial success. The Smizer Farm raffle alone accounted for $50,000 via the sale of one-dollar chances.29 Influenced by the animosity of the USSC toward the WSC, proponents of the St. Louis fair believed that the national organization failed to appre­ ciate the special political, military, and philanthropic needs of the Trans- Mississippi and Western theaters. The USSC constantly questioned the necessity for a separate, Missouri-based relief organization. Because of its emphasis on centralized collection and distribution, the USSC failed to rec­ ognize any distinctive regional relief needs. It viewed any effort to define relief needs according to local or regional interests as rooted in sectionalism and secession. To the USSC, all regions shared the same needs, and prob­ lems could be solved by the same ways and means.30 Leaders of the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair, however, understood that Missourians had more to prove than residents of other Northern cities and communities and that philanthropic contributions played an important role in satisfying that sense of duty. Missouri's status as a border state, with a significant pro-Confederate population, caused a degree of suspicion to hang over the political loyalties of its residents. St. Louis, for example, even drew criticism from some members of the WSC. James Yeatman referred to it as a community on "the frontier of loyalty," where "the rebel ladies" remained "outspoken in their sympathies with Jeff Davis." The USSC further confused the issue of loyalty when it portrayed the WSC's care of Confederate prisoners of war, who were held mostly in St. Louis's Gratiot Street Prison, as aid to the enemy. Because of these concerns, the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair needed to present something more than a standard demonstration of community pride and benevolence. The St. Louis fair's success quickly assumed a larger symbolic importance. It became an expression of St. Louisans' and Missourians' loyalty to the Union. Appeals for donations and volunteers picked up on the theme of loyalty. By equating contributions to the fair with patriotism, a competitive spirit soon developed among neighboring communities and states, as each sought to outdo the other.31

29 Executive Committee Minutes, 10, 14, 21 March 1864; St. Louis Daily Countersign, 31 May, 4 June 1864. 30 Censer, Defending the Union, 260-268, 306-308, 334, 506; Nevins and Halsey, George Templeton Strong, 188-189. 31 Executive Committee Minutes, 1 February, 7 April 1864; William E. Parrish, Turbulent Partnership: Missouri and the Union, 1861-1865 (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1963), xiii-xv; General Report, 3; Jacob G. Forman, The Western Sanitary Commission: What it Does with its Funds, Why it Should be Aided in its Work (St. Louis: Daily Missouri Democrat, 1864), 1-7; Merle Curti, "American Philanthropy and the National Character," American Quarterly 10 (winter 1958): 421-432. 134 Missouri Historical Review

The Smizer Farm was one of several items raffled at the St. Louis fair.

"1

SMI1ER FARM &c

St. Louis Mercantile Library, University of Missouri-St. Louis

Speeches by political and military figures helped perpetuate the concept of competitive patriotism. Brigadier General James G. Blunt and Charles Anderson, the lieutenant governor of Ohio, spoke at the fair and celebrated local contributions as proof of strong Union sentiment—a sacrifice made in the name of the national cause—and challenged residents to surpass the accomplishments of other fairs.32 In addition to proving the loyalty of the region and raising funds for the relief of Union soldiers, their families, and orphans, the St. Louis fair addressed other important elements of Missouri's special philanthropic needs. Because the state served as a battleground for both regular and guer­ rilla forces, the refugee population grew quickly. St. Louis became a sanc­ tuary for a nearly endless stream of refugees. The displaced included loyal Unionists, Confederate sympathizers who posed as loyalists, and free and

32 St. Louis Daily Countersign, 23, 31 May 1864; St. Louis Missouri Republican, 2 June 1864; Attie, Patriotic Toil, 147-149; Gordon, Bazaars and Fair Ladies, 48, 53. "This Noble and Philanthropic Enterprise' 135 escaped blacks, all of whom sought an escape from the poverty, chaos, and misery of war in the West.33 This migration commenced almost as soon as hostilities erupted and con­ tinued throughout the war, even after the main regular armies pushed south and east of Missouri. Refugees arrived in St. Louis from northern Arkansas and southern Missouri and the war-torn areas of Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and Louisiana, and most arrived in a condition of "want and suffering." At the suggestion of Rev. W. H. Corkhill, hospital chaplain and superintendent of contrabands at Benton Barracks, and in response to Yeatman's extensive efforts to establish greater economic and educational

33 James E. Yeatman, Report to the Western Sanitary Commission in Regard to Leasing Abandoned Plantations (St. Louis: Western Sanitary Commission, 1864), 3-15; James E. Yeatman, Suggestions of a Plan of Organization for Freed Labor, and the Leasing of Plantations Along the Mississippi River (St. Louis: Western Sanitary Commission, 1864), 2-16; Jacob G. Forman, Report of the Western Sanitary Commission on the White Union Refugees of the South (St. Louis: R. P. Studley, 1864), 3-11; John F. Bradbury, '"Buckwheat Cake Philanthropy': Refugees and the Union Army in the Ozarks," Arkansas Historical Quarterly 57 (autumn 1998): 233-239; William Garrett Piston, "More than Bullets: The Social Impact of Guerrilla War in the Ozarks," Ozarks Watch 10 (1997): 164-166.

Civil War Refugees

State Historical Society of Missouri 136 Missouri Historical Review

opportunities for freedmen, the leaders of the St. Louis fair determined to address this growing problem.34 Fair officials established separate collections, under the administration of a Freedmen's and Refugees Committee, to gather monetary and material donations for black and white refugees. Not surprisingly, the freedmen's por­ tion of this fund was benefited by donations from eastern abolitionists. Gerrit Smith, for example, contributed $100. By the fair's end, the committee raised a total of $16,720.11, of which $6,115.36 benefited the freedmen.35 Despite the racially motivated separation of contributions to the fund, inclusion of blacks as beneficiaries of public aid represented a radical change in nineteenth-century public relief practices. In the mid-nineteenth century, even free blacks were rarely viewed as worthy of public aid. The St. Louis fair, therefore, became the only major sanitary fair to significant­ ly address this controversial issue. Efforts to aid freedmen existed in east­ ern cities, but only in proportion to the relatively small number of black refugees in the area. With comparatively little direct contact with exiles of either color or the problems they posed, eastern efforts to aid this segment of the population remained abstract. The St. Louis endeavor to aid freed­ men, although primarily motivated by the circumstances of war in the Trans- Mississippi and Western theaters rather than ideals of centralization or pure humanitarianism, represented a genuine and significant change in the distri­ bution of relief materials.36 In addition to raising funds for the benefit of black and white refugees, the fair's managers employed a contingent of the Sixty-eighth U.S. Infantry, African Descent, to help construct fair buildings. For their labor the soldiers received fifty cents per day per man, plus free admission to the fair. In a striking move of unsolicited generosity, the men of the Sixty-eighth donated their pay, "together with a very considerable addition" taken from their "scanty monthly pay," to "the Freedmen's Department" of the fair. As with the distribution of relief materials, agencies often did not view African Americans as a source for donations. Through their contribution to this fund,

34 Forman, White Union Refugees, 3-44; Executive Committee Minutes, 7 March 1864; Yeatman, Suggestions, 2-16; Michael Fellman, Inside War: The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri During the American Civil War (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), 73-80; Bradbury, '"Buckwheat Cake Philanthropy,'" 244-245. 35 Final Report, 8. 36 Schultz, "Race, Gender, and Bureaucracy," 45-46; Curti, "American Philanthropy," 431-435; George M. Frederickson, The Inner Civil War: Northern Intellectuals and the Crisis of the Union (New York: Harper and Row, 1965), 99-101; Gallman, Mastering Wartime, 124- 125. 'This Noble and Philanthropic Enterprise" 137 the soldiers helped redefine ideas about the worthiness of blacks as both donors and recipients of public aid.37 The presence and participation of black soldiers and patrons did not go unnoticed by the white fair-going public. Although boundaries concerning blacks as donors and recipients of public aid began to expand somewhat because of the fair, other forms of "Negro equality" remained unacceptable to many St. Louis residents. For example, when Reverend Henry Nelson asked to be served at the Cafe Laclede while in the company of two black associates, a minor disturbance developed. Several of the white waitresses, "young ladies of the highest respectability," refused to serve the group. Authorities quickly removed Nelson and his party from the fairgrounds. A number of residents responded favorably to the group's prompt removal. Jane McDonald, an elderly St. Louis resident, thought the group's uncere­ monious removal "well done." The Missouri Republican, a loyalist St. Louis-based newspaper that espoused Democratic politics, ridiculed the inci­ dent as an "exceedingly repulsive" example of racial "fanaticism." Although displeasure over this "outrage" found expression in both public and private forums, it had no negative effect on the operation of the fair or donations to the black and white refugee funds.

37 St. Louis Daily Countersign, 27, 31 May, 4 June 1864; Executive Committee Minutes, 14, 23 May 1864.

St. Louis Mercantile Library, University of Missouri-St. Louis

Cafe Laclede 138 Missouri Historical Review

These incidents demonstrate how certain aspects of the black experience underwent change due to the circumstances of war in the Trans-Mississippi and Western theaters while other aspects remained unchanged. The accept­ able roles for African Americans at the fair involved some form of public sub­ ordination. Black workers and soldiers served under the supervision of white fair officials or white regimental officers and did not pose a challenge to the social status quo. Nelson's group, however, challenged the essential structure of the social relationship between blacks and whites by placing black male patrons in a position of authority over young, white, female volunteers. As reactions to this incident indicate, such a challenge went beyond what St. Louis society was prepared to tolerate.38 If the success of Civil War sanitary fairs is to be measured primarily in monetary terms, the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair was an enormous suc­ cess. On August 16, 1864, the executive committee reported gross receipts of $618,782.28. After expenses, the St. Louis fair reported a net profit of $554,591. Although this figure is considerably less than the net profits produced at the New York and Philadelphia fairs, it remains an impressive total because the St. Louis fair drew its attendance from a much smaller population base. When figured on a per capita basis, the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair exceeded its contemporaries by raising $3.50 per capita, compared to an average of $1.67 at both New York and Philadelphia. The St. Louis fair also reported a significantly higher net profit than USSC- sponsored events in Chicago and Boston. Chicago's Great Northwestern Sanitary Fair announced a profit of less than $80,000; Boston's two fairs netted profits of $146,000 and $247,056, respectively. Even on the fif­ teenth day of the St. Louis fair, the central treasury recorded daily receipts in excess of $12,000. The WSC, reinforced by the financial success of the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair, continued to operate as the main relief agency in the Trans-Mississippi and Western theaters for the duration of the war.39 Through examining the Western Sanitary Commission's sponsorship of the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair, a new picture of Civil War philan­ thropy begins to emerge. Ideas about philanthropy were entangled in the tumultuous mid-century debate over the respective merits of localism and centralization. Although members of the U.S. Sanitary Commission right-

38 St. Louis Missouri Republican, 27 June 1864; Jane McDonald to Lizzie, n.d., Wilson P. Hunt Papers, Missouri Historical Society; St. Louis Missouri Republican, 27 May 1864. 39 Final Report, 13; Gallman, "Voluntarism," 95; Thompson, "Sanitary Fairs of the Civil War," 51-67; Cross, "Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair," 245. "This Noble and Philanthropic Enterprise " 139 fully claimed many legitimate accomplishments and initiated several important innovations and sanitary reforms during the war, they often exag­ gerated their responsibility for the centralization and modernization of American philanthropic programs. The contribution of the Western Sanitary Commission and its fair suggests that fundamental change in the practices and beliefs of American philanthropists did not occur during the war. Significant alterations would not take root until at least a decade after it ended and, even then, would not come without strong opposition. The Western Sanitary Commission's balance of localism and centralization served an important transitional role in the evolution of nineteenth-century American philanthropy.40 The success of the Mississippi Valley Sanitary Fair also affected the WSC-USSC rivalry. Through its management of the St. Louis fair, the WSC served notice that it could operate efficiently and with innovation under its own authority. The success of the St. Louis fair suggests that its organizers were correct in their belief that they better understood the philanthropic prac­ tices and needs of their region's people. Although the USSC continued to be critical of the WSC for the remainder of the war, the St. Louis group proved to be the equal of its rival in the cause at hand.

40 Important postwar works by members of the U.S. Sanitary Commission include Henshaw, Our Branch; Livermore, My Story of the War, Stille, History of the United States Sanitary Commission; Jane Stuart Woolsey, Hospital Days: Reminiscence of a Civil War Nurse (Roseville, Minn.: Edinborough Press, 1996); Katharine Prescott Wormeley, The Other Side of War (Gansevoort, N.Y.: Corner House Historical Publications, 1998).

Going Too Far

St. Louis Daily Times, July 4, 1878 "I wish to be a friend to the friendless, a father to the fatherless, a widow to the widow- less," said a gushing young speaker at a recent revival meeting.

Plenty of Pork

Maysville Western Register, July 7, 1870. A Missouri drover has hogs so fat that to find out where their heads are it is necessary to beat them and judge by the squeal. State Historical Society of Missouri

"One of the Best and Truest Characters in the Stated- Joseph Lafayette Stephens

BY MARIAN M. OHMAN*

On August 12, 1881, the Boonville Weekly Advertiser reported the death of Joseph Lafayette Stephens on a page with columns broadly circumscribed in black: "No death notice ever appeared in this paper in the forty-one years of its publication, that will be read with greater feelings of regret, sorrow, and affliction."1

*Marian M. Ohman, of Columbia, Missouri, is a researcher and writer. She received the B.S., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

1 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 12 August 1881.

140 Joseph Lafayette Stephens 141

On the day he died, Stephens had awakened with excruciating chest pains, breathing difficulty, and nausea. Such acute symptoms frightened his young wife, who summoned help. When the physician arrived, he found his patient sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a bowl for retching. Stephens spoke softly, "Doctor, I am a very sick man." After the doctor's brief exam­ ination, the stricken man placed the bowl on the floor, drew his long legs back into the bed, and laid back his head. "A slight tremor passed over his face, a convulsive shudder over his body," and in less than a minute, life was gone.2 Stephens's death startled the small river town of Boonville, Missouri. The news quickly spread from one mouth to another that the fifty-five-year- old community leader had passed away. Citizens who had spoken with him only hours before cried in disbelief. Some referred to Stephens as "Colonel," an honorary title bestowed upon him in 1877 by Governor John S. Phelps, who had appointed him chief of the governor's military staff, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Only a few months before Stephens's death, Governor Thomas T. Crittenden had reap­ pointed him an aide-de-camp, bearing the same title and responsibility.3 Others threw him a snappy salute and addressed him as "Captain." Stephens particularly relished that title, which dated from his brief military service during the 1846 Mexican War when he personally mustered a group of 110 volunteers who unanimously elected him their captain in spite of his being only twenty years old, the youngest of them all.4 Stephens's tall, dignified figure and optimistic bearing enhanced his commanding presence, but his unassuming manner inspired confidence. Such early recognition by his com­ rades undoubtedly nurtured his inclination for leadership. Stephens took great pride in his Missouri heritage. His grandfather Joseph Stephens, a native Virginian, emigrated in 1817 to Missouri after brief stays in Kentucky and Tennessee. He settled and farmed south of Boonville in Cooper County. Joseph Lafayette's father, Lawrence Cole Stephens, also farmed, served in Missouri's General Assembly and on the Cooper County Court, and held other local public offices.5 Joseph Lafayette Stephens, his

2 Sedalia Bazoo, 12 August 1881; Editorial Notices on the Life and Character of Joseph L. Stephens (Boonville, Mo.: Advertiser Steam Print, 1881), 56, 74. 3 Columbia Missouri Statesman, 28 January 1881; Illustrated Historical Atlas of Cooper County, Missouri (Boonville, Mo.: Central Map Company, 1897), 62; Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 28 January 1881. 4 United States Biographical Dictionary, Missouri Volume (New York: U.S. Biographical Publishing Company, 1878), 205; Boonville Commercial Bulletin, 20 June 1846. 5 L. U. Reavis, Saint Louis: The Future Great City of the World (St. Louis: Gray, Baker and Company, 1875), 365; History of Howard and Cooper Counties, Missouri (St. Louis: National Historical Company, 1883), 921-925. 142 Missouri Historical Review grandfather's namesake, and perhaps named Lafayette in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette who visited Missouri in 1825, was born on January 15, 1826. Fellow Cooper Countians regarded courage and aggressiveness to be prominent characteristics of the Stephens family.6 Though not personally engaged in farming as an occupation, Joseph per­ petuated the family tradition with farm ownership and production. He served as recording secretary for the Missouri Agricultural Society in the 1850s. In commenting on the grounds and exhibitions at the Missouri Agricultural Society's fair in 1855, the Liberty Tribune noted: "Capt. Jos. L. Stephens, may be especially mentioned as conducting the business committed to their care, (which indeed is almost the whole of it,) with remarkable energy and ability."7 A childhood friend remembered a studious, precocious Stephens who, at about age five, learned to read, spell, and recite in old Mount Nebo Church. Perhaps it was then that he began to diligently craft his graceful, distinctive penmanship. Stephens graduated from high school in Boonville, where he excelled in his studies and dominated the debating society.8 A borrowed vol­ ume of Sir William Blackstone's book on English law stimulated his interest and led to a two-year apprenticeship with Boonville attorney John G. Miller during the 1840s. Miller was subsequently elected as a representative to the U.S. Congress, where he served from 1851 to 1856. During his apprentice­ ship, Stephens supported himself by teaching school at the village of Palestine, close to the family farm. He became a member of the bar in 1847.9 In 1853, at the age of twenty-seven, Stephens married eighteen-year-old Martha Gibson. The couple had four sons and three daughters. By all accounts, Joseph delighted in his paternal role. Contemporary observers described Martha as an industrious, frugal housewife, devoted to her family and seldom seen in society.10 Stephens joined with George G. Vest in 1857 to form a Boonville law firm, a partnership that melded into warm friendship. With the coming of the Civil War, however, their paths sharply diverged. Vest, a representative to the Missouri General Assembly, authored a bill calling for a state convention to vote on secession. The convention, held in March 1861, decisively support­ ed remaining in the Union. When Union forces prevailed at a skirmish in

6 Illustrated Historical Atlas, 61. 7 Columbia Statesman, 8 July 1853; Liberty Weekly Tribune, 28 October 1853; 12 October 1855. 8 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 23 September 1881. 9 U.S. Biographical Dictionary, 205. 10 Martha was the daughter of William Gibson, probably one of the four men who, with Stephens, applied for a national bank charter in 1865. Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 16 January 1914; Editorial Notices, 66. Joseph Lafayette Stephens 143

Boonville in June 1861, Vest reportedly fled southward on his little sorrel horse and joined Confederate forces under the command of General Sterling Price.11 Home Guard troops, under the command of Colonel Joseph Eppstein, remained stationed in Boonville. Twice, during the threat of impending attacks by Confederates, several prominent Boonville men, thought to be Southern sympathizers, were arrested and held hostage. Stephens was among the hostages, and upon his release, he wisely secured his financial assets on the opposite shore of the Missouri River. During raids on Boonville in 1863, General Joseph Shelby's men were seen battering a vault in Stephens's bank.12 For the remainder of the Civil War, Vest represented Missouri in the Confederate Congress, first as a representative, then as a senator. Stephens went to Washington, D.C., where he worked in the U.S. Court of Claims and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court.13 During the war, the federal government appropriated Stephens's steam­ er, the Mittie Stephens, and used the ship during the 1864 Red River Expedition in Texas. General Nathaniel P. Banks, commander of the expedi­ tion, correctly anticipated a perilous mission. President of the Illinois Central Railroad in early 1861, Banks might have either personally known Stephens or recognized his name from their common association with railroads. He learned the subject of the painting hanging above the piano in the ship's cabin was that of Stephens's one-year-old daughter, Mittie, reportedly done by a prominent New York artist. Banks ordered the painting boxed and returned to the owner and included a personal note. The artwork was received in per­ fect condition; the ship was destroyed during the expedition.14

11 "Missouri Miniaturas: George Graham Vest," Missouri Historical Review 37 (October 1942): 76; Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 12 August 1904. 12 Robert L. Dyer, Boonville: An Illustrated History (Boonville, Mo.: Pekitanoui Publications, 1987), 107-114; Jefferson City Peoples Tribune, 11 October 1865. 13 For Vest see Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989), 1983; Marian Elaine Dawes, "The Senatorial Career of George Graham Vest" (master's thesis, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1932); Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 12 August 1904. For Stephens see Reavis, Saint Louis, 366. In a December 6, 1994, letter to the author, National Archives staff confirmed Stephens's admission to the Supreme Court bar on December 8, 1863 (Record Group 123). Stephens may have been aided in securing a position by Edward Bates or Frank Blair. Bates served as attor­ ney general under President Abraham Lincoln. A Missourian well known in political and legal circles, he undoubtedly knew of the Stephens family. Joseph, the rising young lawyer, shared Bates's interest in establishing rail lines and favored moderation in Missouri political issues related to slavery. Francis P. Blair, Jr., a St. Louis attorney and congressman, was a Unionist with considerable influence in Washington. 14 Jefferson City Peoples Tribune, 15 September 1875. A more recent account says the ship sank on Caddo Lake in northwestern Louisiana on February 11, 1867, with the loss of more than sixty lives. Columbia Daily Tribune, 1 October 1990. 144 Missouri Historical Review

Born in Kentucky, George Graham Vest came to Missouri in the early 1850s. He first established a law practice in Georgetown, then moved to Boonville, where he and Joseph Stephens became law partners in 1857.

State Historical Society of Missouri

At the war's end, Stephens returned to Missouri. He was unable to resume his career as a courtroom lawyer because of a severe throat condition (perhaps a consequence of, or in association with, his chronic asthma) that thwarted his oral presentations at a time when the legal profession valued elo­ quent, resonating courtroom delivery. A lifelong friend estimated that before the war Stephens had pleaded almost one-half of the cases on the Boonville Circuit Court docket.15 Respect for his legal advice and service continued, however, for his name appears on page after page of county court records as either administrator, executor, or trustee of estates. Vest, a diminutive, fiery redhead capable of biting sarcasm, but a mas­ terful orator, anxiously sought to resume his legal career after the war. Missouri's Ironclad Oath, which had been incorporated into the new Constitution of 1865, required signed oaths attesting innocence of any acts of disloyalty to Missouri or the Union. It denied rebels the right to practice their professions, hold public office, or cast a vote. This harsh decree left Vest stranded in his home state of Kentucky. His application to the federal gov­ ernment for a pardon in July 1865 indicated that he was destitute, with a fam­ ily to support. Stephens supported Vest's application with an appeal to U.S. Attorney General James Speed in which he confirmed his former law part­ ner's dire circumstances: "In point of property he is worse than bankrupt."16 Stephens's influence in Washington may have helped. Vest's pardon was

15 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 26 November 1875; 23 September 1881. 16 Carolyn M. Bartels, comp., Missouri Amnesty (n.p., 1990), 226. Joseph Lafayette Stephens 145 granted in September 1865. Upon Vest's return to Missouri, Stephens hand­ ed his former law partner a signed blank check with instructions to fill it out for whatever amount he needed.17 Missourians contended with the tribulations of living in a border state, where the beliefs of friends and family members frequently diverged. Stephens's family reflected conflicted ideology; his brother John had active­ ly supported the South.18 At war's end, some who had supported the Confederacy made conscientious efforts to resume as nearly as possible a normal existence, among them, Vest. Several years later, when former Confederates planned a reunion, he urged them: "Let it pass. The future is before us with its wonderous possibilities. The providence of God has given us a continent for an inheritance, and true now to the Union as we were to the confederacy, let us prove ourselves worthy of the dead by devotion to the liv­ ing."19 Presumably aided by financial assistance from Stephens, Vest estab­ lished residence in Sedalia, where he resumed the practice of law. In 1877 he moved to Kansas City. Two years later, the Missouri state legislature elected Vest as a U.S. senator and continued to reelect him until he retired in 1903. Vest carries the distinction of being the only man who served as a sen­ ator for both the Confederacy and the United States.20 A great reconfiguration of political philosophies and parties occurred between the years 1850 and 1870. Although Stephens savored the political scene and ran for state office, he was never elected. In the 1860s, he aligned with Democrats loyal to the United States who fused with Republicans to form the Union Party. He was among the men who signed an 1864 petition calling for a Union state convention. Unionists opposed the Radical Republicans' Constitution of 1865 and wanted Missouri fully and fairly rep­ resented in the Union National Convention. They advocated the uncondi­ tional maintenance of the Union, the supremacy of the U.S. Constitution, and the complete suppression of the rebellion.21 In 1866, Stephens signed a loyalty oath and ran as a candidate on the Conservative Union ticket in Missouri's Twenty-eighth Senatorial District, comprising Cooper, Moniteau, and Morgan Counties. A Morgan County

17 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 12 August 1881; Editorial Notices, 8. 18 John H. Stephens raised a company and served in the state guard. He was captured by the Federals in the fall of 1861, paroled, and remained at home until 1863. He then left the county and did not return until peace came in 1865. Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 12 November 1886. 19 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 23 September 1881. 20 Ibid., 12 August 1904. 21 Liberty Tribune, 18 March 1864. 146 Missouri Historical Review

newspaper reported: "Captain Joseph L. Stevenson [sic] . . . has taken the stump and is [wagjing a gallant fight for the cause of common justice, to white men as well as to black."22 The proscriptive restrictions on registration and voting rights created a distorted electorate, and Stephens was defeated in a tight race by radical George W. Boardman, whom the Columbia Statesman called "unfit for the position."23 State returns, however, gave the Radicals an overwhelming majority. The Conservative Union Party soon lost its vigor and dissolved. Revitalized interest in the Democratic Party provided a haven for some, including Stephens. In 1867 the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Ironclad Oath's restriction on professionals practicing their occupations unconstitutional. Three years later, an amendment to Missouri's constitution removed the test oath, granting former Confederates the right to vote. Stephens became one of the leading contenders for the gubernatorial slot on the Democratic ticket in 1872. Although he gained votes on each of the first three ballots cast, the convention appeared deadlocked. Party delegates then accepted Silas Woodson, an alternate candidate nominated from the floor, who became governor.24 Some of Stephens's contemporaries contend­ ed that he had failed to receive the nomination because he did not belong to any of the "ring politicians," an exclusive faction within the party who con­ trolled the agenda. They punished Stephens because he ran contrary to man­ dates and permitted his name to be nominated for governor without gaining permission from the ring. Supporters urged Stephens to run for governor in 1876 and 1879, but he declined, insisting he was not a candidate.25 In 1877, Stephens became the sole owner and proprietor of the Boonville Weekly Advertiser. Critics accused him of acquiring the local newspaper as a mouthpiece for the political ambitions of himself and his sons. The new owner explained the newspaper's policy in an editorial: "THE ADVERTISER will continue to be democratic in politics, and true to all the great material industrial and educational interests of the State. It will vigorously oppose the repudiation of honest debts, comunism [sic], agrarianism and all the other baleful isms that follow in their train."26

22 Versailles Vindicator, 4 October 1866. 23 Boardman defeated Stephens by only eighty-one votes. Columbia Statesman, 28 September 1866; Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 26 November 1875. 24 Jefferson City Peoples Tribune, 20 August 1872. 25 Stephens never actively sought election; others pressured him to run. Boonville Weekly Eagle, 30 August, 6 September 1872; Columbia Missouri Statesman, 17 March 1876; Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 2 May 1879. 26 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 10 August 1877. Stephens leased the paper to S. W. Ravenelin 1879. Joseph Lafayette Stephens 147

Stephens did encourage his sons, especially Speed, to become political­ ly involved, but the young man showed no political inclination. Two others, however, gravitated toward the newspaper and the practice of journalism. Gip, the second son, once worked as the Boonville correspondent for the Sedalia Daily Bazoo, and Lon, the third son, edited the Advertiser for a brief period and thereafter wrote occasional pieces, sometimes political commen­ tary. Unfortunately, Joseph did not live to witness Lon's ascension to the governorship in 1897, after having served several years as state treasurer. As Stephens's obituary sped through the telegraph wires, condolences bearing testimony to the high regard in which he was held streamed in from throughout the nation. Nearby, grieving friends, relatives, and colleagues gathered at his Boonville residence. Central Missourians often called the three-story brick house a "mansion." In 1866, Stephens had purchased half a city block on Main Street on which to build his house, and by the 1870s, construction had been completed and three acres of the property landscaped with a great variety of fruit trees and flowers. Stephens's library contained about three thousand books, including some rare volumes, and he collected letters written by such prominent figures as George Washington and Henry Clay. Paintings and engravings enhanced the interior of the house.27

27 Walter B. Stevens, Missouri: The Center State, 1821-1915 (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1915), 3: 115; Deed Book F2, 283, Cooper County Courthouse, Boonville; U.S. Biographical Dictionary, 206.

Joseph L. Stephens Home in the 1870s

State Historical Society of Missouri 148 Missouri Historical Review

A scant four-block walk from Stephens's home led to the center of town and the door of the Central National Bank, which Stephens had founded and continued to serve as president. His interest in banking had begun early in his legal career when he advised the W. H. Trigg and Company banking house in Boonville. That operation ceased at the onset of the Civil War. In 1864, Stephens privately opened the Exchange Bank of Boonville, but he advocated the establishment of national banks and uniform banking laws.28 The following year, he and four colleagues received a charter for the Central National Bank. Its meteoric rise led many to regard it as a model institution. Legislation signed by President Lincoln in 1863 had permitted national banks to issue currency secured by bonds. Notes issued by the Central National Bank bear Stephens's signature. Anticipating increased business for the bank, Stephens spruced up the building and added a cupola in 1868. The Boonville Central Missouri Advertiser noted that the interior design, including the paintings and furni­ ture, spoke well for the "taste and spirit of improvement." The entry to the bank was guarded by a pair of four-feet-tall, cast metal Great Dane dogs pro­ duced by the J. W. Fiske Company in New York and purportedly a gift from Jay Gould, who knew of Joseph's interest in art, unique objects, and memo­ rabilia.29 In 1879, Stephens presided at the founding meeting of the Missouri Bankers' Association, and his fellow bankers unanimously elected him as the first president.30 At the time of his death, he served as vice president of the

28 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 28 November 1873. 29 Boonville Central Missouri Advertiser, 23 May 1868; Kansas City Star, 6 July 1947. 30 Jefferson City Daily Tribune, 29 July 1879; George Wilson, Jr., ed., Proceedings of the Convention of the Missouri Bankers' Association (Sedalia, Mo.: J. West Goodwin, 1879), [4], [7]. The organization met only twice, not to be revived until 1891. Timothy W. Hubbard and Lewis E. Davids, Banking in Mid-America: A History of Missouri's Banks (Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Press, 1969), 123 n.

Courtesy of the author ^^^^^^S^St^S^S^t^

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»:z>€snm^Ss%^&im^s^ Joseph Lafayette Stephens 149

National Bankers Association, an organization with which he had been affil­ iated for most of its existence.31 Stephens assisted in founding several Missouri banks, served on numer­ ous bank boards, and acted as a consultant for others. He was also president of the Jefferson City Gas Company and the Missouri River Transportation Company. His astute financial management coupled with enterprising invest­ ments in transportation, river and rail shipping, farming, mining, real estate, and insurance enabled him to amass a fortune.32 As a young man, Stephens was among the Boonville business and pro­ fessional men who organized the Thespian Society in 1838. The group first met in a hewn log building, then occupied temporary quarters until they con­ structed Thespian Hall in 1855-1857. They read plays, discussed drama, and presented their own productions. With membership limited to males, the men dressed in female attire to play the roles of women. Stephens partici­ pated as a prompter. The Thespians also contracted for professional perfor­ mances, including musical recitals and concerts. The society disbanded during the Civil War, and the hall served as a military barracks and a hospital. After the war, when the community failed to garner sufficient support to erase the building's indebtedness, Stephens purchased the property and renovated the building, assuring its preservation as a performing arts theater. The Advertiser bragged that the bank building and Thespian Hall, both renovated and remodeled by Stephens, were "the two most handsome and imposing edifices" in Boonville.33 Joseph may have had a greater inclination for socializing than Martha, for he occasionally entertained lavishly. In 1871 he invited 250 guests to cel­ ebrate the second marriage of his wife's brother, Dr. Henry Clay Gibson. Guests dined at the Stephens home, then danced in Thespian Hall until 4:00 A.M. Lighting arranged in the windows of the hall created a dramatic effect, and bright lights installed across the street illuminated the facade.34

31 Editorial Notices, 23. 32 Stephens served as a director of the St. Louis National Bank, the Valley National Bank of St. Louis, the Moniteau National Bank of California (Missouri), the Bank of Tipton, the Pleasant Hill National Bank, and the First National Bank, Fort Scott, Kansas. U.S. Biographical Dictionary, 205. For many years he was an agent, stockholder, and director of the American Central Insurance Company. Editorial Notices, 92. 33 Boonville Weekly Observer, 4 August 1855; 1 November 1856; Boonville Central Missouri Advertiser, 23 May 1868. For the history of the hall see Elston J. Melton, The First Hundred Years (Boonville, Mo.: Missourian Publications, 1957), [15]-17, and Susan Kay West, "Thespian Hall, Boonville, Missouri: A Sense of Heritage, 1839-1976" (Ph.D. diss., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1977), 55, 75, 85. It is now recognized as a significant historical build­ ing and continues to serve as a venue for performances. 34 Boonville Weekly Eagle, 24 February 1871. 150 Missouri Historical Review

Establishing rail transportation to supplement or supersede his earlier interest in water transportation became a priority for Stephens after the Civil War. He worked tenaciously to bring railways into central Missouri. The state had chartered the Pacific Railroad Company in 1849 and authorized construction of a route from St. Louis to Kansas City that would become the Missouri section of a transcontinental railway system. Its path from St. Louis closely paralleled the Missouri River as far as Jefferson City and then head­ ed straight to Kansas City. Construction began in 1851, reached Jefferson City in 1855, and traversed the state by 1865. The railbed ran about twenty- five miles south of Boonville through the village of Tipton. Stephens's first rail-related undertaking established a branch line from Boonville southward to connect with the Pacific Railroad Company's line.35 In 1857, the Osage Valley and Southern Kansas Railroad had received permission from the state to incorporate, build, and operate a southwestern route from close to Jefferson City toward Emporia, Kansas, but no action was taken. An 1859 amendment to this charter permitted an extension from Tipton to Boonville, and Stephens's name was added to the board of direc­ tors along with that of William T. Seely of Moniteau County. With Stephens at the helm, a group of investors financed construction of a twenty-five-mile line from Boonville to connect with the Pacific Railroad at Tipton. Stephens then leased the line to the Pacific Railroad for twenty years, and the stock­ holders received 35 percent of the gross earnings between the two points. The Pacific Railroad directors came to inspect the line before taking formal possession in December 1868. This stretch of railway opened one of the richest, most productive sections of central Missouri, providing a valuable feeder service to the main line, as well as needed service for Stephens's own considerable coal mining operations.36 Extending the line farther south resulted in fierce competition, frustrat­ ing negotiations, and several futile attempts. Entering the contest, Stephens filed articles of association for the Boonville, St. Louis and Southern Railway Company in 1878. Seven other incorporators were Boonville friends and col-

35 R. E. Riegel, "The Missouri Pacific Railroad to 1879," Missouri Historical Review 18 (October 1923): 7, 9, 12, 13. 36 Laws of the State of Missouri Passed by the Adjourned Session of the Nineteenth General Assembly (Jefferson City, Mo.: C. J. Corwin, 1857), 59-63; Laws of the State of Missouri Passed at the Adjourned Session of the Twentieth General Assembly (Jefferson City, Mo.: W. G. Cheeney, 1860), 432-433; St. Louis Daily Missouri Republican, 6 June 1860; 4 December 1868; Margaret Louise Fitzsimmons, "Railroad Development in Missouri, 1860- 1870" (master's thesis, Washington University, 1931), 89; W. J. Burton, "History of the Missouri Pacific Railroad" (mimeographed, 1956, State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia), 2: 286-287; Dyer, Boonville, 140. Joseph Lafayette Stephens 151 leagues. Stephens received authorization to build, raised the capital, and con­ trolled construction of the railway south to Versailles in Morgan County. Service began in 1880, and the Missouri Pacific Railroad took the lease.37 Stephens also looked for a northern route from Boonville. He and his colleagues arranged financing and negotiated with the Missouri-Kansas- Texas Railroad, familiarly called the "Katy," to bring a line from Sedalia to Boonville, cross the Missouri River, and continue through New Franklin and Fayette until eventually reaching Hannibal. They completed the line to Boonville in 1873 and crossed the new bridge in January 1874, linking rail systems from the north and south.38 Construction of a bridge had been essen­ tial to the operation, and Stephens received praise for his role: "All interest­ ed in or benefitted by the bridge, will be under lasting obligations to Capt. J. L. Stephens ... for the active part he took in securing the passage by Congress of the law authorizing the construction of a bridge at this point. It will be remembered that he spent several months in Washington, in this inter­ est, receiving no pay for his time and trouble and bearing his own expens­ es."39 The Pacific Railroad stumbled into financial straits in 1876, and the U.S. Circuit Court appointed Stephens as one of the receivers. The Missouri Pacific Railway Company was then organized with the specific purpose of acquiring the Pacific Railroad property at foreclosure. New Yorkers, includ-

37 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 24 October 1879; Jefferson City Daily Tribune, 13 January 1878; 27 April 1880. In 1893, Joseph's son Speed became president of the Boonville to Versailles line. Jefferson City Daily Tribune, 8 July 1893. 38 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 9 January 1874; Dyer, Boonville, 140-141; V. V. Masterson, The Katy Railroad and the Last Frontier (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1952), 194. 39 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 9 January 1874.

Construction of the railroad bridge at Boonville began in September 1872, and the bridge opened in January 1874. State Historical Society of Missouri 152 Missouri Historical Review ing C. K. "Commodore" Garrison and Russell Sage, bought the assets and took possession on January 1, 1878. Stephens became a stockholder.40 In 1879 notorious financier and railroad magnate Jay Gould, another New Yorker, purchased Garrison's share for $3,800,000 and was elected pres­ ident of the Missouri Pacific. That same year, Gould bought Stephens's Boonville-Tipton line for $250,000, and Stephens and Gould remained close­ ly associated throughout the remainder of Stephens's life. Mid-Missourians expressed a legitimate concern about Gould's encroaching monopoly. He increased the four hundred miles of an unimportant railroad to a five thou­ sand-mile system.41 Stephens's interest in railroad development never waned. He intended to extend his Boonville, St. Louis and Southern Railway line from Versailles to Springfield, "predicated on the good judgment of Mr. Gould," he said. At the time of his death, he was promoting construction of a connector line from Boonville to Marshall to meet the Chicago and Alton Railroad. In St. Louis, Stephens continued to work on a Forest Park and Central Railroad line that operated with a redesigned steam motor. At his death, the track to Clayton had been completed and an extension proposed that would carry the line to Grand Avenue via Forest Park Boulevard and on to Creve Coeur.42 Members of Stephens's family became participants in his multiple enter­ prises. His brother John for example, contracted for building railroad beds; a cousin, Austin P. Speed, worked as a train conductor; and his sons believed that they had made important contributions since childhood. As the boys matured into young men, they quickly moved from menial tasks to positions of authority and responsibility. All three sons attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Missouri reporters and writers may have exaggerated their acade­ mic achievements. For example, they reported Gip to be an honor student, one year from graduation; Lon, they claimed, was a graduate. None of the sons graduated. According to the school's registrar, the two eldest sons, Speed and Gip, entered the university in 1875-1876; Lon enrolled in 1877- 1878.43 When Stephens was appointed receiver for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, he called Speed home from school to assist in the project.44 Apparently he preferred that his sons participate in family enterprises or enter

40 Burton, "History," 3: 570, 572. 41 Ibid., 3: 606, 619-621; Jefferson City Daily Tribune, 20, 21, 29 November 1879; Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 12 December 1879; Editorial Notices, 67. 42 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 28 January, 7 October 1881; Jefferson City Daily Tribune, 26 May 1881. 43 Office of the University Registrar, Washington and Lee University, to the author, 14 September 1994. 44 Joseph L. Stephens, fol. 2159A, Probate Court Records, Cooper County Courthouse. Joseph Lafayette Stephens 153 the political or business world rather than pursue a higher education, and they responded positively to their father's wishes.45 While on summer break from Washington and Lee, twenty-year-old Gip accompanied his father to St. Louis to assist with the receivership and became ill while there. His condition worsened when they returned to Boonville, and he was diagnosed with typhoid fever. He had been confined to bed for about four weeks when Joseph returned to St. Louis, confident that his young protege was recovering. But the father received notice of a relapse and Gip's critical condition. The superintendent of the railroad ordered a special train sent to Boonville and accompanied him. Along the way, they received telegraph dispatches at each receiving station with updates on the young man's condition. Stephens arrived in time to spend the last hours with his son. A friend reported that Joseph confided in a hushed voice that he could not bear to give up his son and appeared to exercise his strong will to hope, even against hope, for the boy's recovery. Gip died on August 26, 1876.46 Five months later tragedy struck the family again. As Joseph lay seri­ ously ill with pneumonia, death claimed an infant daughter and his forty-two- year-old wife.47 The following November, a debilitated Joseph placed his business responsibilities with others and recuperated in Cuba.48 By January 1878, he had recovered sufficiently to accept an appointment from Governor John S. Phelps as one of two honorary commissioners to rep­ resent Missouri at the Paris Exposition.49 A reporter quizzed him in March about another possible candidacy for governor. "Could you get back in time to attend your own inauguration?" he asked. Stephens laughed heartily and

45 Speed might have attended one and one-half years. Ibid. Lon, the most inclined toward academia, left Washington and Lee because of serious eye problems. He mentioned attending school in Europe but said his father was not supportive. Lon Stephens to Mittie Stephens, 31 May 1878, Lon Stephens Letters, fol. 1, Western Historical Manuscript Collection, University of Missouri-Columbia. 46 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 1 September 1876. 47 Boonville Daily Advertiser, 22, 25 January 1877; Jefferson City Peoples Tribune, 24 January 1877; Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 26 January 1877. Martha may have died in, or as a consequence of, childbirth. 48 Columbia Missouri Statesman, 16 November 1877. 49 Jefferson City Daily Tribune, 16 January 1878. The other commissioner was Charles P. Choteau from St. Louis, and the Advertiser reported that both were attentive and courteous with the grace of American gentlemen. Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 18 January 1878. Another newspaper item noted: "Every Missourian found there, or visiting there during the Exposition shall have a place that he may call headquarters and know that his State is keeping a sort of open house." Stephens, the writer continued, was "able, liberal, national, full of State pride and State ambition, he will . . . supply out of his own pocket what a false economy and a niggard­ ly civilization refused to do as a matter of duty." Ibid., 8 March 1878. 154 Missouri Historical Review

replied: "The people might do worse than to take me for Governor, and they might do better. But whatever they do, I will be back in plenty of time for the four mile race."50 Undoubtedly, the most exciting forthcoming event was his marriage to Fannie E. Jones, a twenty-four-year-old St. Louis schoolteacher with a love of scholastic attainments and an appreciation for fine arts. Shortly before he left for the April wedding in St. Louis and an extended European honey­ moon, he hosted a gala affair for his children, their friends, and his friends. "The Colonel is naturally wrapped up in his children; and seems to live for their pleasure," the Boonville Advertiser observed. The festivities began early for the three younger children and their two hundred guests. They con­ sumed a dazzling array of sweets, nuts, oranges, bananas, and tropical fruits along with three flavors of ice cream before they adjourned to Thespian Hall for games and dancing. Then followed a merry time for Stephens's eldest three offspring, along with hundreds of young adults, the elite of the city. From 9:00 to 12:00 P.M., they followed their printed dancing programs. A break for refreshments followed at the house, then they returned to Thespian Hall until the wee hours of the morning. These were significant events, for Stephens anticipated being separated from his family, neighbors, colleagues, and friends for six to seven months, and he cherished the happy memories.51 A few days later, on April 2, 1878, Joseph, now fifty-two, married Fannie. Newspaper accounts described the wedding as an elegant, yet unos­ tentatious, affair at the Episcopal Church in St. Louis. Among the many guests was Governor Phelps. The bride and groom received friends at the Laclede Hotel before leaving for New York to spend a few days prior to sail­ ing on the Bothnia for Europe.52 Joseph's son Lon, daughter Mittie, and brother John traveled with them. Fannie's father, John Beauchamp Jones, born in 1810 in Baltimore, Maryland, was an early, albeit brief, Missouri resident. In his twenties, he came west to join relatives and worked as a country merchant in New Franklin and Arrow Rock between 1830 and 1835. He later wrote of his experiences in his book The Western Merchant. Jones returned to the East

50 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 8 March 1878. 51 Ibid., 5 April 1878. 52 Jefferson City Daily Tribune, 4 April 1878; Boonville Weekly Eagle, 5 April 1878; Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 5 April 1878. Joseph Lafayette Stephens 155

Opened in 1857, Thespian Hall served as a hospital, Union army barracks, and prison during the Civil War. Stephens purchased the build­ ing after the war, and it once again served as a venue for theatrical troupes and social gatherings.

State Historical Society of Missouri and became a prominent author of novels and a magazine editor in Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia.53 Before their wedding, Joseph and Fannie signed a prenuptial agreement in which Stephens protected his children's inheritance and Fannie disclaimed all rights of dower. If he preceded her in death, Fannie was to receive a child's share of his estate. Her property, real, personal, and mixed, would remain hers. The agreement did not identify either party's property.54 It is doubtful that Fannie, an employed teacher, had many assets. Her father, who had died in 1866, had worked for the Confederate War Department in Richmond for four years during the Civil War, and his diary from that era describes the family's extreme circumstances. He appeared to have few, if any, resources outside his salary. Even securing adequate furniture and cloth­ ing presented a problem. According to Jones: "We are as shabby as Italian lazzaronis—with no prospects whatever of replenished wardrobe." Of greater concern to him was their meager food supply: "We are in a half-starv­ ing condition. I have lost twenty pounds, and my wife and children are ema­ ciated to some extent."55

53 Details about Jones's life are sketchy. He edited the Baltimore Saturday Visitor, the Madisonian (the organ of the John Tyler administration), and the Philadelphia Southern Monitor and wrote Wild Western Scenes. He married Frances T. Custis of Virginia. Dictionary of American Biography, s.v. "Jones, John Beauchamp"; Lawrence O. Christensen et al., eds., Dictionary of Missouri Biography (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1999), s.v. "Jones, John Beauchamp." 54 Recorders Office, Book 2, 395-397, Cooper County Courthouse. 55 Gamaliel Bradford, Biography and the Human Heart (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1932), 161-163. Bradford's biography quotes Jones's 1866 diary, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate State Capital (Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1866). 156 Missouri Historical Review

Joseph and Fannie maintained two homes, his family home in Boonville and another in Baltimore.56 Fannie opened their Boonville residence to increased social activity. Guests included Missouri governors along with many other high-level political figures. The Jefferson City Peoples Tribune reported: "We have enjoyed the boundless hospitality of his mansion, on many occasions, and observed the beautiful family relations that existed there."57 George Caleb Bingham, a one-time Boonville resident, and later a fre­ quent visitor, painted portraits of several of the Stephens family. Bingham and Stephens were personally acquainted and shared common political inter­ ests and philosophy.58 On occasion, their children socialized together. In 1877, Bingham painted Joseph's portrait, which the St. Louis Missouri Republican regarded highly.59 Stephens's funeral took place on August 13, 1881. Governor Thomas T. Crittenden ordered state flags in Jefferson City to be flown at half-mast, and J. F. Gmelich, mayor of Boonville, issued a proclamation that all businesses be closed during the services at the church and the cemetery. Special trains brought mourners into Boonville. As the hour for the ser­ vice drew near, friends, colleagues, and members of societies and organiza­ tions to which Stephens had belonged, accompanied by a military escort, formed the largest cortege ever to honor a native son, more than a mile long. The procession began at Thespian Hall, where the exterior balcony had been festooned in massive black drapery and the interior draped with similar emblems of grief, and inched its way toward the Episcopal Church.60 Hundreds in attendance who were unable to enter the church crowded the churchyard. A former Boonville Episcopal Church minister, the Reverend Doctor J. M. Curtis from Louisiana, Missouri, delivered the funeral oration. He now recalled requesting from Stephens a considerable sum of money to relieve a distressed person, the circumstances of which were so delicate, he explained, he could not publicly seek financial assistance. Stephens had responded

56 Editorial Notices, 67. The writer described the Baltimore house as "magnificent" and noted that the family had resided there most of the winter before Stephens's death. 57 Jefferson City Peoples Tribune, 17 August 1881. 58 Bingham was elected state representative in 1848, served as state treasurer, 1862-1865, and was appointed adjutant general in 1875 by Governor Charles Hardin. Bingham had sought the position of commissioner to the Paris Exposition. E. Maurice Bloch, George Caleb Bingham: The Evolution of An Artist (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967), 247-248. 59 St. Louis Missouri Republican, 20 January 1877. A portrait in the possession of Stephens descendants may be this Bingham work. See E. Maurice Bloch, George Caleb Bingham: A Catalogue Raisonne (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967), 145. 60 Sedalia Bazoo, 14 August 1881. For another account of the funeral see Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 19 August 1881. Joseph Lafayette Stephens 157 immediately, and a grateful Curtis told the assembled mourners, "I believe that though he was not a professed member of Christ's church, yet, by his life, he has won an heritage above."61 As the casket left the church, the bells tolled, and the Waddill Guards (a ceremonial drill team bearing the name of Adjutant General John B. Waddill) led the retinue. At the graveside, the Knights Templar formed an arch with crossed swords over the grave. The Waddill Guards stood with bowed heads until the conclusion of the prayer, then marched in retreat to the beat of a muffled drum echoing through Walnut Grove Cemetery. The Masonic grave­ side service concluded with Stephens's comrades casting sprays of ever­ green, the symbol of immortality, upon the casket.62 Senator George G. Vest, who was attending his ill wife in Virginia, could not return for his friend's funeral.63 Through correspondence he offered this tribute:

It is useless to talk about faults in the presence of death. They are the heirlooms of mortality, but it is the aggregate of a man's life which makes his epitaph. . . . Has he tried to benefit the world of man? Stumbling, grop­ ing in the dark, often falling; has he yet tried to make the world better and happier, by reason of having lived in it? I, who knew this man better than all others knew him, except a very few, will bear witness in the dread pres­ ence of death that his impulses were good, his life useful, and his loss to the world very great.64

The Sedalia Bazoo reported on the blow that Stephens's death had dealt Boonville, for "since its existence," it had never received "such a stroke to its vitality and material interests."65 Stephens left no will. The prenuptial agreement with Fannie signed on March 4, 1878, and filed on August 17, 1881, established the legality for the division of property.66 The court named Joseph's oldest sons, Lon and Speed, as administrators of the estate, which was estimated to be worth up to one million dollars.67 In addition to the family home, Stephens owned more than

61 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 19 August 1881. 62 Sedalia Bazoo, 14 August 1881; Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 19 August 1881. 63 Editorial Notices, 33. 64 Jefferson City Peoples Tribune, 31 August 1881. 65 Sedalia Bazoo, 12 August 1881. 66 Recorders Office, Book 2, 395-397. 67 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 9 September 1881. The amount of required bond indi­ cated an estimate of near $1,000,000. Speed, possibly underestimating the estate's worth, gave a $500,000 figure in testimony offered in a probate lawsuit in the July term, 1894, Howard County. Stephens Probate Court Records, fol. 2159A. 158 Missouri Historical Review twenty lots in downtown Boonville and thousands of acres in Cooper, Vernon, Macon, Morgan, and Pettis Counties. The administrators of the estate faced a formidable task making annual settlements, equitably account­ ing for shares in stock, paying dividends, and selling property. Fannie declined to remain in the Boonville house and moved, with her two young sons, to Baltimore, where her mother lived.68 In 1884 she married William M. Ladd in St. Louis.69 Lawsuits filed by her on behalf of her chil­ dren delayed the final settlement of the estate until 1898. Litigation over par­ tition occurred as late as 1919 in Morgan County.70 Six years before Stephens's death, a journalist had spoken admiringly of him: "Though never holding a distinguished public position, his virtues and abilities have marked him as one of the best and truest characters in the State, and one who must occupy a conspicuous place in her history."71 In another time, Stephens might have been elected to high office; gover­ nor of his beloved state would have been rewarding and highly appropriate. In 1875 a St. Louis Times correspondent believed the Cooper Countian would have made an admirable executive officer and pointed to his capabilities: an able financier, one of the most successful businessmen in the West, well acquainted with Missouri needs, and knowledgeable about conducting an administration.72 Few men have been as devoted to their homeland. In the evolution of nineteenth-century Missouri, Joseph Stephens exemplifies those honorable, ambitious men blessed with vision, courage, intelligence, and diligence whose dedication and leadership shaped emerging settlements and directed the nation's westward expansion.

68 Joseph L. Stephens Estate, fol. 2159B, Probate Court Records, Cooper County Courthouse; Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 14 October 1881. 69 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 18 July 1884. 70 Ibid., 25 November, 2 December 1898. According to the Morgan County Circuit Court records, the suit was settled with a sale in August 1919. Circuit Court, Record Book 1, 37, Morgan County Courthouse, Versailles. 71 Boonville Weekly Advertiser, 26 November 1875. 72 Ibid., 5 November 1875.

Finally Caught It

Maysville Weekly Western Register, June 4, 1868. A youngster is congratulating himself that he has got the measels [sic] at last. He says he shall not any longer be kept from playing with the boys, for fear he may catch it. . . . State Historical Society of Missouri

Eugene Field and Theater: The Missouri Years

BY LEWIS O. SAUM*

Journalist Eugene Field frolicked nearly without restraint in theatrical embroidery, whether it be the melodrama of the opera, the drama of the non- musical stage, or other varieties of acted entertainment. In doing so, he acquainted his readers with forms about which they knew no great amount and about which many yet felt uneasiness. An apt illustration that the ancient proscriptions yet lived came in a Field paragraph in 1879. In it he bemoaned the fact that Denman Thompson, a prototypical figure in the rural New England theater motif, found himself "tabooed" as "a thing of evil" when he took up abode in a small New England town.1 As in other things, genial Gene did his part in easing the ancient apprehensions about theater. He described;

*Lewis O. Saum completed his graduate work at the University of Missouri-Columbia and spent most of his teaching career at the University of Washington, Seattle, from which he recently retired.

1 St. Louis Times-Journal, 20 August 1879. At the Times-Journal (1878-1879) and the Kansas City Times (1880-1881), Field's regular contributions appeared on the editorial page, after and separated from genuine editorials by a double bar. Other of his contributions appeared elsewhere, sometimes initialed or signed, but generally not.

159 160 Missouri Historical Review he criticized; he championed; he chided and parodied; and in nearly all, he spread a comforting glow over activities that had aroused suspicions of one kind or another over the ages. Those suspicions probably deserve more care­ ful attention—psychologically, epistemologically, and theologically—than they receive. Whether or not that is true, 'American culture's gradual—and sometimes begrudging—surrender to the charms of its entertainers," as mod­ ern scholar Benjamin McArthur put it, has a large and comfortable place for Eugene Field.2 He first established that place in Missouri. In youth Field had an artful precocity, and for a time he considered a life in show business. Early in his twenty-first year, he noted in a letter to a friend, "my intention of choosing the stage, as a profession."3 Soon, his love of Julia Comstock of St. Joseph, and the ensuing family, probably put such notions to rest, but Field continued, in amateur and occasional ways, to per­ form, and his attention to the performing arts never wavered. Two months before noting the intention of pursuing a career in theater, Field had a part in theatrics at the Boone County Fair in Columbia, where he had joined younger brother Roswell at the university. In the "burlesque" tournament, "Mr. Eugene Field of Saint Louis" addressed the knights, all three of them. Later, when a "droll cavalcade" entered the arena, he again had a place. Along with Susan B. Anthony, Don Quixote, Queen Victoria, and President Ulysses S. Grant came Tecumseh—"red velvet suit, black bro- gans, long black hair and vermilion red mask, Mr. Eugene Field." Brother Roswell portrayed Dulcinea del Toboso, and soon the dramatis personae of Grant and Horace Greeley did comic anticipation of what lay a year ahead in the national election of 1872.4 A few months after addressing knights and personating Tecumseh, Field had prominence in a musical performance at the Boone County Courthouse. In the first of the two-evening affair, he sang solos at the end of both parts of the program—"Thou Art So Near and Yet So Far" and "Happy Old Man." He had an equally large part the next evening. Early on, he appeared in a four- part vocal arrangement, then played a "Flute Obligato" of "Carnival de Venice" to end the first segment. He concluded the second half of the pro­ gram with something sufficiently exotic to include his dog, a piece listed as follows: "Solo (original) - Alpine Mountain Call, (Introducing a real, live

2 Benjamin McArthur, Actors and American Culture, 1880-1920 (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1984), 128. 3 Field to Mrs. John P. Stockton, 6 November 1871, Eugene Field Papers, Denver Public Library. 4 Columbia Missouri Statesman, 1 September 1871. This address of some seven hundred words has a lofty tone, but it does not smack of the mockery and parody one might expect. Also, this item might be considered Field's first published literary production. One can assume that young Field gave it to the newspaper. Eugene Field and Theater 161

Chamois.) Mr. Eugene Field and 'Pennie.'"5 Field's participation in the endeavors of the "famous" Owl Club, as one paper styled it, received much attention for performances—done varyingly by quartette or quintette of singing newsmen— at press association meetings, in evenings after legisla­ tive sessions, and at various church and private gatherings.6 Field kept busy performing in ways even more in keeping with the spirit of that 1871 letter that envisioned a life on the stage. In May 1876 musical comedy fell the lot of St. Joseph, and Field played a part. That community had ample preparation for seeing him on the boards, as in May 1874, for example, he had sung in a concert given under the auspices of the Ladies Benevolent Union. Writing a few days later to the wife of his onetime guardian, he told of having sung "Comin' thro' the rye" and having been "twice encored" for his efforts.7 Perhaps he was battening on the triumph of having, only days before, read his poem to members of the editorial associa­ tion meeting in Lexington, where, as one St. Joseph paper put it, "Several ladies fainted and all were moved to tears."8 And Field was not exaggerating for the benefit of Mrs. Melvin Gray when he described his St. Joseph perfor­ mance. According to the St. Joseph Herald, he "took the house by storm." After quoting his version of "Comin' thro the Rye" and describing his "Mocking Bird"—a "sidesplitter" featuring a Shanghai rooster rather than the bird of title—that paper told that Field was "wildly encored." Perhaps because it was a Democratic paper, the St Joseph Gazette felt the need for moderation, but it too joined in the praise.9 In 1876 he performed theatrically, apparently for the last time. A St. Joseph amateur opera company presented Julius Eichberg's Two Cadis, and Field played one of the title roles as Ben Kush, both villain and comic relief of the piece. As a newspaper article of the 1930s put it, that amateur com­ pany did not believe in "half-hearted" measures, and so it rented the Tootle Opera House, at the time "the premier play-house of the West."10 When the playhouse opened in 1872, it sounded first the obligatory, ded­ icatory poem, in this case one written by Field's friend Will L. Visscher. The

5 Ibid., 3 May 1872. 6 Platte City Landmark, 22 June 1877. 7 Field to Mrs. Melvin Gray, 7 June 1874, Eugene Field Papers, Jones Library, Amherst, Massachusetts. 8 St Joseph Morning Herald, 23 May 1874. This account of Field's poetic "perpetration" came from the pen of one "Ager Edgardus" (Edgar Field), and one assumes that to have been Field's brother-in-law, Edgar Comstock, at that time employed by the Herald. 9 Ibid., 29 May 1874; St. Joseph Gazette, 28 May 1874. 10 "When Eugene Field Played Ben Kush at Tootle Theater," unidentified newspaper clip­ ping in Eugene Field Scrapbook, River Bluffs Regional Library, St. Joseph. A reference to "Fifty-Nine Years Ago" in a subheading indicates that the newspaper was published in 1935. 162 Missouri Historical Review

State Historical Society of Missouri

Tootle Opera House: uThe Premier Play-House of the West'9 poem ended with this exultant general passage:

Here Pleasure, with her smiles shall bring Surcease from daily cares, And dullen sorrow's sharpened sting, And lift the woe she bears.11

Some of that woe got lifted in the 1876 musical comedy. A few days before the performance, the St Joseph Herald reported that rehearsals went well and that Field and his counterpart in "buffo" roles were "well known as capital actors and fine singers." Realization followed expectation, and the Herald described Field and his fellow cadi as having "brought down the house." In fact, "their every appearance provoked applause and laughter."12 Field's own paper, the Gazette, outdid the Herald in analysis and criticism. With the Friday night performance only hours away, the Gazette offered some lengthy and reassuring thoughts about the nature of this particular "opera bouffe" or "'comic opera,'" especially as in such designations there

11 St. Joseph Morning Herald, 10 December 1872. The microfilm copy is barely legible. Happily, Visscher obliged posterity by including the poem in his "Vissch." A Book of Sketches, Rhymes and Other Matters Credited to Matthew Mattox, N. P. R. (St. Joseph, Mo.: St. Joseph Steam Printing Company, 1873), 179-182. 12 St. Joseph Morning Herald, 14, 20 May 1876. Eugene Field and Theater 163 often was "a questionable spice or flavor implied." One need not worry, because Eichberg, "in this his best work," showed that to be "funny" a work did not have to be "coarse."13 Two days later, the Sunday Gazette waxed ecstatic over the Friday night performance, and Field suffered no neglect. "The duo buffo, by Messrs. Oppenheimer and Field, in the second act, was immense. The trio buffo in the same act is perhaps the climax of the opera, and was as amusing and extravagant as ever opera bouffe can be made. The singing and by-play of Oppenheimer and Field in this number are inimitable." In its summation, this near-column of commentary returned to Mush and Kush—Oppenheimer and Field. "Both are excellent vocalists; both are excellent comedians. The fun of the piece was laid principally upon their shoulders, and they certainly did not suffer it to flag." Descriptives such as "side-splitting" and "ludicrously funny" laced the account. Such praise ought, of course, to receive consider­ able discounting, but not outright rejection. Fairness demands that at least some regard should go to the overall assessment of the central foursome— "by far the strongest quartette, both as regards musical and dramatic ability, that we have seen in the West."14 However apt the accolades, Field had indeed caught a whiff of grease paint, but this St. Joseph production may well have been the high point of his direct involvement. He continued to sing occasionally with the Owl Club, as he did at the Columbia meeting of the press association in 1879.15 But, with a few exceptions, his last twenty years saw him limited to observing and commenting. To turn to Field as theatrical observer and commentator one might begin with an unprepossessing setting in Columbia in the early 1870s. A recollec­ tion of twenty-five years later perhaps gains in credibility for being a joint depiction by two men who had known Field at the university. In January 1896, Judge James Cooney—university debater, fellow student of Field and fellow performer at the Boone County Fair in 1871—gave extemporaneous recollections at a teachers' institute in Marshall. George F. Davis, editor of the Marshall Saline Citizen and another fellow student of Field, seems to have been the "Citizen scribe" who jotted down "some of the most salient points" of the judge's remarks. One section has pertinence for matters at hand.

13 St. Joseph Gazette, 19 May 1876. 14 Ibid., 21 May 1876. 15 Columbia Missouri Herald, 29 May 1879. Not surprisingly, the Owl Club had shifting membership, and variations appear in the two items in this issue. Here as elsewhere, the three names most frequently appearing are those of Field; Charles Hasbrook, then of the Kansas City Times; and George Gilson, then of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 164 Missouri Historical Review

One fall or winter, "a little theatrical company" came to Columbia, and facilities being scarce, the courthouse benches served as seating for the audi­ ence, all male and mostly university students. Long before show time, the students became "so violent, loud and impudent" that the troupe refused to perform and the city marshal came to restore order. That proved a thankless task, and youthful vexation soon fell upon that officer. In the commotion, Field arose to call the boys to order.

"Gentlemen," he said, "we have waited long and patiently for this show to commence, and now to be threatened and vilified by one dressed in a lit­ tle brief authority, a hickory club and a nose painted up at Fred Mayfield's for the occasion, is an insult and I propose that we wipe it out in a lusty song. Sing brothers!" Then he started one of the college songs with a barbarous sounding chorus and the whole house joined in and sung it to the end.

Fred Mayfield's drinking establishment on Broadway received some publicity per Field, and that fact quite aside, twenty arrests came the next day. The charges seemed not to involve subtleties of theatrical criticism. Field insisted that he be first to face the allegations, and acquittal going to him, charges against the others were dismissed.16 As in other things, so with stage commentary—one has to start somewhere. That inauspicious beginning did not quickly yield to substantial accom­ plishments readily retrievable in printed records. The St Louis Evening Journal for which Field worked in the years 1873-1875 exists only in frag­ ments. But here again, by reflection in the writing of another, Field makes an appearance in those early St. Louis years. In a book published in 1913, soprano Clara Louise Kellogg looked back on her touring in English opera in the early 1870s and on the many "adventures" that entailed. A happy mem­ ory, one she could still "treasure," featured Eugene Field in St. Louis. He came to the Lindell Hotel to interview Kellogg, "but that was something I would not do—give interviews to the press—so my mother went down to the reception room with her sternest air to dismiss him." Mother Kellogg found the caller "very mild-mannered and pleasant," but she "icily" offered an announcement:

"My daughter never sees newspaper men." "Oh," said he, looking surprised, "I'm a singer and I thought Miss Kellogg might help me. I want to have my voice trained." (This is the phrase used generally by applicants for such favours.) Mother looked at the young man suspiciously and pointed to the piano. "Sing something," she commanded.

Marshall Saline Citizen, 25 January 1896. Eugene Field and Theater 165

Clara Louise Kellogg, pictured here in the role of Carmen, paved the way for future premiere talent such as Minnie Hauk and Mary Anderson.

State Historical Society of Missouri

Field obediently sat down at the instrument and sang several songs. He had a pleasing voice and an expressive style of singing, and my mother promptly sent for me. We spent some time with him in consequence, singing, playing, and talking. It was an excellent "beat" for his paper, and neither my mother nor I bore him any malice, we had liked him so much, when we read the interview the next day. After that he came to see me when­ ever I sang where he happened to be and we always had a laugh over his "interview" with me—the only one, by the way, obtained by any reporter in St. Louis.17

The file of the St. Joseph Gazette for the years 1875-1876, when Field was there, yields more, but the paper did not have much space for theatrical matters, other than such things as Two Cadis. A long paragraph in "Sunday

17 Clara Louise Kellogg, Memoirs of an American Prima Donna (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1913), 270-271. 166 Missouri Historical Review

Morning Chat. By the 'Local'" in 1875 told of the recent two-night visit of the operatic Redpath Troupe, performing Martha and The Spectre. The account noted that the small group—two men and two women—necessarily dispensed with choruses. "Local," very likely Field, attended the Friday night performance at the opera house, expecting to be "completely disgust­ ed" but in fact was pleasantly surprised. "We confess we like the innovation. Except in rare instances choruses are frauds. . . . The average opera chorus is terribly thin. Having heard the Redpath Troupe, we are prepared to say that the innovation they have made in dispensing with that incubus, the cho­ rus, is a most agreeable change."18 Soon, Field returned to St. Louis, later recalling the days "When I helped 'em run the local on the 'St. Jo Gazette.' . . . Dramatic news was scarce, but when a minstrel show was due,/ Why, Milton Tootle's opera house was then my rendezvous."19 That scarcity in St. Joseph does not seem so grievous when viewed from a later perspective, but St. Louis certainly had more.20 Much of Field's writing for the St. Louis Times-Journal had an assigned place, thus making the extant issues of late 1878 and 1879 fairly productive. A long discussion about Sol Smith Russell's forthcoming performance in the city of his childhood, after an absence of several years, did not appear in Field's nonpareil section, but this combination of description and interview with one of Field's closest friends could well have been his work.21 Such things may have come from his pen, some of them certainly did. Field evidently wrote some of the material welcoming and then describ­ ing Clara Louise Kellogg and her troupe at the end of November 1878. He heralded the arrival one way by penning "Encouragement for Mack," that being one of his favorites, Joseph "Little Mack" McCullagh of the Globe- Democrat: "Pull down your vest, wipe off your chin,/And don your blazing diamond pin." In review of the varied operatic week—four prima donnas and several operas—Field's paper insisted that it had practiced fairness and hon­ esty, including its treatment of Kellogg herself. Though prepared to laud her, it involved "very grim satire" for her to play "slender, ethereal" Mignon in Wilhelm Meister.22 For such roles as Mignon and Carmen in Georges Bizet's new opera, a more satisfactory performer would soon arrive in St. Louis.

18 St. Joseph Gazette, 29 August 1875. 19 Eugene Field, "The 'St. Jo Gazette,'" in Second Book of Verse, vol. 3 of The Writings in Prose and Verse of Eugene Field (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1896), 147-148. 20 See Robert R. Roberts, "Gilt, Gingerbread, and Realism: The Public and Its Taste," in The Gilded Age: A Reappraisal, ed. H. Wayne Morgan (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1963). This essay raises telling questions about the supposed cultural paucity of that era. 21 St. Louis Times-Journal, 20 January 1879. 22 Ibid., 21 November, 3 December 1878. This theme appeared again two days later, in what was almost certainly Field's writing. Eugene Field and Theater 167

In late January 1879, an account involving the imminent arrival of the Mapleson Opera Company appeared immediately below the double line sep­ arating serious editorial matter from Field's friskier contributions. This item told of a delegation of St. Louis journalists going by train across Illinois, intending to join and interview members of that company as it made its way by train from Chicago. "They were full of joy and hilarity, and each of the party was intent upon scooping the other in the way of interviewing the bassi, the tenori, the alti and the soprani, and describing the tout ensemble of the recherche parti, en regale parlance." Unfortunately, some railroad compli­ cation brought those eager newsmen up short at Effingham, where they had to debark and spend six hours of a Sunday afternoon awaiting the westbound train. They "yawned six long hours away," bereft of saloons, billiard halls, and other amenities. "The church bells wailed softly on the hushed air," Field noted, "and the sad plaint of the love-lorn gander was heard in the mellowy distance." At last, the "delinquent train" arrived, and the hundred-mile ride back to St. Louis yielded various "chats" with the "chori of foreign war­ blers."23 A "painful" disappointment for those who had endured the "wailing" of church bells came on learning that "Mile. Minnie Hauk" had gone to St. Louis by other means. The young, Brooklyn-born soprano had been spend­ ing most of her time in Europe, becoming especially well known for her many performances as Carmen. Evidently, that "painful" matter got allevi­ ated in the following twenty-four hours, as the next issue of the Times- Journal carried a nearly unmistakable display of Field's talent for verse turned upon the stage. It bore the title "Hie, Haec, Hauk!" Some confusion yet obtains regarding the surname—Hauk or Hauck—and that may do a bit to account for Field's flight. Halfway through the introductory verse of the four, he apostrophized as follows:

We'll turn our lyre to heav'nly themes— Despite of critic's talk— And tip a stave or two in praise Of charming Minnie Halk.

Having embarked on "heav'nly themes," the poet moved right along.

We know not how her name's pronounced— The rose is still the same If it be called a rose or squash Or any other name;

23 Ibid., 27 January 1879. 168 Missouri Historical Review

We only know our heart is tore— It's just our fiendish luck! We only know we're half in love With dashing Minnie Huck!

Her voice is like the waterfall— As full and clear and free— Or like the sparkling brook that purls Up to the famed high sea; (Excuse the puns italicized— 'Twas an unconscious joke— We should not ply the punster's trade When singing of Miss Hoke.)

Her form is Dian's, and her face The face of Egypt's queen; Her manners are as soft and sweet As Vesta's were, we ween, We'd stake our ducats o'er and o'er— If 'twere not we were broke— On charming Minnie Hauk, Howk, Huck, Hock, Hake, Hak, Hook or Hoke.24

24 Ibid., 28 January 1879.

State Historical Society of Missouri

Minnie Hauk shared not only the stage but also a duet with Clara Louise Kellogg in the production of The Star of the North prior to attaining fame for her portrayal of Carmen. Eugene Field and Theater 169

Seven weeks later, the city had a theatrical treat perhaps even greater; actress Helena Modjeska arrived for a week of performances at the Olympic Theater—Camille, Frou Frou, and Romeo and Juliet among the plays sched­ uled. Field did his part to enhance the enjoyment, the Polish woman having an especial talent for inspiring him. This 1879 visit in St. Louis offered Field only one of a succession of opportunities to admire her and to embroider about her, and it seems likely that he had at least one previous occasion to do so, that being when she first performed in the city in 1878, quite early in her American career. One must do without the Times-Journal for the earlier appearance, but an item in Modjeska's recollections suggests that she had encountered Field during her 1878 tour.25 Field's first identifiable reaction to Modjeska's 1879 visit came in a brief item that extolled the opening night's Camille as done by the "peerless" actress. "Modjeska is more than an actress; she is an artist. Her Camille is simply superb. We do not mean this for a criticism—merely a plain state­ ment of fact."26 In the "Amusements" section, the same issue carried a long piece on "Modjeska as 'Camille'" that probably came from Field. Early in the essay, the author made a comparison that illuminated the hazards of performing the Dumas story. "Our best emotional actresses, con­ spicuous among whom stands Clara Morris, who have sought to depict the love life of Camille, have narrowed the conception of the character to little intellectuality and less spirituality and have brought out prominently its grosser nature," a nature that "every honest woman would abhor." Giving a sympathetic representation to a sinful person involved a profound and endur­ ing dilemma that, like others, got ignored more than resolved as time passed. The tension yet lived in Field's era, and this essay offers an interesting treat­ ment of it. In this account, the key to Modjeska's depiction of the woman of sin lay in something previously "unrecognized"—the "presence of spiritual­ ity."

And with this as an established belief, it becomes a question of art how to cast the effects of light and shade, and how to raise the degraded woman first into a position to elicit sympathy, and thence upon a plane that will command admiration and almost reverence. For reverence lingers around the death-bed of Camille, and the memories of her impurity are lost in the triumph of nobility of soul. This is the ultimate effect of Modjeska's imper­ sonation. Other things, such as a splendid eye for subtle detail, made the Polish actress "the greatest artiste upon our stage to-day."27

25 Helena Modjeska, Memories and Impressions of Helena Modjeska: An Autobiography (New York: Benjamin Bloom, 1969), 365-366. This work was originally published in 1910. 26 St. Louis Times-Journal, 18 March 1879. 27 Ibid. 170 Missouri Historical Review

Pathos abounded, but by the categories of the time, humor did not dese­ crate by its presence, if given some separation. Deathbed finale notwith­ standing, hilarity had a place nearby when Modjeska did Camille. At the end of that long, serious criticism, an announcement appeared, telling not only that Camille would be repeated the next night but that "Signor Zamacona and suite will occupy the private boxes." Zamacona headed a Mexican trade del­ egation then passing through St. Louis, and he may have suffered some per­ plexity if he rested an eye on the next day's Times-Journal in a section where Field's conceits roamed. He would have found that he attended the perfor­ mance "accompanied by several other foreign gentlemen of equal distinction." There followed a description of "the emotion exhibited by the distinguished delegation" during Camille.

Senor Zamacona wept, and Colonel Normile wept, and Colonel Bain wept, and Colonel Rowland wept, and Colonel Johnson wept; and then, to complete the lachrymose tableau, Zamacona and Normile and Bain and Rowland and Johnson wept in unison. Zamacona is a Spaniard, and when he weeps his tears do not well up as spontaneously as do the tears of Colonel Bain, who is an Italian, nor as profusely as the tears of Colonel Rowland, who is an Austrian, nor as bitterly as the tears of Colonel Normile, who is a Frenchman, nor as readily as the tears of Charlie Johnson, who was former­ ly a barrister in Portugal. The Spaniard weeps with only one eye at a time. Still it was quite a treat to see the Senor mingling his tears with the tears of the other foreigners that were present—it was a cosmopolitan weeping match, as it were.28

This may have puzzled poor Zamacona, but those "other foreigners"— St. Louisans all—probably had adequate experience with such antics. If it may yet have puzzled Modjeska, she would have ample opportunity ahead to accommodate with the puckish ways of her American friend Field. The frivolity of the Modjeska season in St. Louis had not ended. Perhaps no device regarding theater pleased Field more than placing notable people at a performance and then embroidering on their reactions. After Modjeska performed in Frou Frou in mid-week, Field offered the perfor­ mance of two prominent journalists of the Republican, a staunchly Democratic sheet. By this telling, something intruded upon "one of the most pathetic scenes"; a bass fiddle slid to the floor with "a groan that inspired Colonel John Knapp with dismay and brought the beads of cold sweat out on Colonel [William] Hyde's alabaster brow." Worse, "the bald-headed man

28 Ibid., 18, 19 March 1879. Lawyer J. C. Normile often attracted Field's impish atten­ tion. The other three are probably two lawyers and George Bain, officer in a milling company. Eugene Field and Theater 171

Helena Modjeska could count on Field obtaining a front row seat at her many per­ formances as Camille. Their friendship was filled with humor, and Field would often mock her and playfully attempt to divert her attention from a scene.

State Historical Society of Missouri

who troubles the big fiddle between the acts" brought the offending instru­ ment upright, leaning it against a chair and in full view of the men from the Republican who "always sit up front, you know, plump against the orchestra stall," where Field's victimized viewers always sat when beautiful leading ladies came to town. The brazenness of the big fiddle proved too much for Knapp and Hyde. The former "bestowed upon it such a look of mingled scorn and contempt that had the big fiddle not been entirely abandoned to wickedness and depravity, it would have slunk into merited oblivion," while the latter "gave it a glance of such withering bitterness that had it not been entirely dead to shame, it would have collapsed with an overwhelming sense of guilt."29 Romeo and Juliet came late in that eventful week, and lawyer Patrick Dyer fell afoul that tragedy as detailed in an account of some eight hundred words. His dress for the theater reached stylish finality in a new, black stovepipe hat. With "all the dignity of a brig under full sail," he made his way to the theater and to his seat, with the drama already under way. His hat went onto the seat while he placed his coat, at the same time being attentive to the voice, eyes, and form of the Juliet, challenging his belief that such comeli­ ness was known only in lasses from Pike County. Just as he prepared to seat

Ibid., 20 March 1879. 172 Missouri Historical Review himself, Juliet uttered "a piercing cry and stretched hopelessly over the back stoop after her departing Romeo." As Colonel Dyer had never withstood "the plaintive wail of distressed femininity," Juliet's shriek struck through his soul "as a skewer would through a sheep's liver." In consequence, he sat "plump down" on that new stovepipe hat. The spectacle of Colonel Dyer's gathering up the remains might be imagined, Field wrote, but not described. "People who sat like sphynxes through Juliet's sorrows, wept like children when they beheld Colonel Dyer looming up in the parquette, soothing that pulseless, lifeless, shattered mass of silk and pasteboard. We have no desire to harrow up the public mind by dwelling longer upon this painful subject."30 Two months later, Modjeska returned to Europe, and before the year had ended, Field left the Times-Journal, resuming work in Kansas City the next year for Morrison Munford at the Times. One might suppose that that Democratic paper would have had more room for Field's theatrical sense and nonsense, as his political persuasions did not mesh with those of his employ­ er. But, of course, Field did political writing in Kansas City, continuing, at least sporadically, to report legislative sessions. Two of the period's great women of the stage—Emma Abbott, operatic, and Mary Anderson, dramatic—gained Field's attention in Kansas City, probably not for the first time in either case. Both did splendidly in that decade just beginning, and both then left as another decade began, one by death and one by retirement. They gained stardom in the not-so-real world of the stage, and they achieved like repute in the serious and in the even less real world mischievously concocted by Eugene Field. Kansas City hosted Abbott and Anderson in quick succession in the fall of 1880. On October 10, the Times carried a long piece, "A Feast of Music," heralding the Abbott opener the next day. Though not in Field's regular place in the paper, this was an unusual item, and more than likely, it was his. It car­ ried his usual praise of Abbott's "efforts in the cause of English opera," and the interview with the business manager of the company smacks much of Field's ways.31 The next day, a related piece, "The Songbirds Here," featured the views of Abbott in what amounted to an interview. Here, attention went especially to new members of the company, especially Signor Pasqualino Brignoli and Mme. Julie Rosewald. Veteran Brignoli had a reputation for tempestuous ways, but sweet, diminutive Abbott professed to have trained him, even to telling him that he had become her "lamb" that she "led round

30 Ibid., 24 March 1879. 31 Kansas City Times, 10 October 1880. John Dizikes in Opera in America: A Cultural History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993), 264-268, refers to Abbott as "the populist prima donna." His tone is somewhat condescending and probably would have offended Field. Eugene Field and Theater 173 with a silken string." Rosewald, an American with considerable experience in German houses, had the "requisite recklessness and chic and vivacity" to make Carmen a "marvel." Mrs. Zelda Seguin, Rosewald's predecessor in the company, did a Carmen of "the Sunday School type; Rosewald's is racy and spicy . . . with just the least approximation to a suggestion of naughtiness."32 Such descriptions certainly have the ring of Eugene Field, but caution is in order. That they could have come from another gets accentuated here by the fact that brother Roswell was in Kansas City at this time, embarked on a long involvement in cultural criticism, sometimes for the Times. Long later, Slason Thompson recalled the frequent ventures Field made into the imaginative regarding Abbott, citing one in particular as "illustrating the daring liberty Field could take with anyone whom he reckoned a friend."33 So the lines about diminutive Abbott's leading the hulking Brignoli around offstage like a lamb on a cord and squeezing him onstage so violently that it rendered him near songless, probably came from Field, a good friend of Emma Abbott.34 The full ludicrousness of these depictions, however savored by Field, would go unrecognized by most readers of a later age. Large, superstitious, mysterious, and tempestuous Brignoli—depicted by Clara Louise Kellogg as "a selfish egotist with the devil's own temper"—would hardly have suffered anyone to lead him about like a lamb on a cord. The matter of little Emma Abbott's squeezing that big man so fiercely that he could not sing has a piquant incongruity. Tenors, Kellogg noted, were "queer creatures" with "queer theories," and Brignoli seemed to surpass the rest. "Brignoli seriously objected to being touched during his scene! Imagine playing love scenes with a tenor who did not want to be touched, no matter what might be the emotional exigencies of the moment or situation."35 How it must have delighted Field to portray small and pious Emma Abbott crush­ ing a hulking and difficult tenor who insisted he not even be touched. The mood changed when Mary Anderson arrived a month after Abbott. McArthur's study, which scrutinizes the growing acceptance of actors in America from 1880 to 1920, tells that Anderson became "the acknowledged beauty queen of the stage" and ascribes to her, along with beauty, "an air of purity, an incorruptible innocence that caused the public to take her into their hearts as 'Our Mary.'"36 She did not rate so high with Field, as his critical

32 Kansas City Times, 11 October 1880. 33 Slason Thompson, Eugene Field: A Study in Heredity and Contradictions (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1901), 1: 346. 34 Kansas City Times, 11, 15 October 1880. 35 Kellogg, Memoirs, 23-24, 71, 41. George C. D. Odell's Annals of the New York Stage (New York: Columbia University Press, 1931), 6: 393, tells of Brignoli's New York debut in 1855, with photo opposite page 478. This and later volumes contain frequent further mentions of him. 36 McArthur, Actors and American Culture, 42. 174 Missouri Historical Review remarks in November 1880, well indicate. A few days before Anderson's arrival, a critical essay appeared in Field's accustomed space, almost surely his. Assuming the editorial mode, Field noted that "we" like her on "the broad gauge principle that she is an American girl and hails from the State that has always been a sort of left- handed mother to Missouri," Kentucky. He expressed curiosity to see her, curiosity stemming from a desire to see if she had "grown," that is "improved." "Mary has never been an artist," he continued. "She has great talents—genius, if you will; and yet we have never seen any improvement or development in her art." Her beauty defied enhancement; her "classical face . . . could not have been improved upon had it been hewed out of marble under the inspired sculptor's chisel. Nature has done everything—Art absolutely nothing." Here Field injected a comment about Anderson he had once heard in "Kentucky vernacular"—she was "the promising . . . two-year- old" from which greatness was expected but not realized.37 Someone near at hand obliged Field with an authoritative explanation of why "Art" had done so little. Eugene Wetherell figures as an interesting and natural source. Husband and manager of recent visitor Emma Abbott, he

37 Kansas City Times, 20 October 1880. It seems altogether likely that Field had seen Anderson perform in St. Louis. Her book, A Few Memories (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1896), 63-64, attests to the importance of Ben DeBar and his St. Louis theater in her early

Dictionary of American Portraits

Due to her air of innocence and natural beauty, the public and critics referred to Mary Anderson as "Our Mary." Field did not agree with public opinion and often expressed his dislike in his reviews. Eugene Field and Theater 175 shed some light on the Anderson situation. Wetherell offered a prescription to Field for bringing the better, perhaps the best, out of Anderson, a pre­ scription including two years of study in Paris with "'the best masters of elo­ cution and stage action.'" But, first of all, he would "'send her parents back home,'" as they only impeded "'her progress by telling her she is perfect.'" To Wetherell, that provided the key to making Mary Anderson '"the greatest actress that ever walked the boards.'"38 Time and again, starting in Kansas City and continuing in subsequent years, Field hit upon that baneful, inhibitive influence, but he confined his focus to Hamilton Griffin, the stepfather, thus neglecting the responsibility shared by the mother. Herein, he may have erred somewhat. A previously mentioned scholarly treatment of the enhancement of actors' images in that era cites an episode wherein a carriage driver, asking Mary what time her show began, got a tart correction for his trouble. She did not perform in a "show," something connoting the "Fat Woman" or the "Living Skeleton"; she performed in "an intellectual treat." That suits the theme of elevation and aspiration, but it has one flaw. In the source cited, Mary Anderson's recol­ lections, the correction of the carriage driver came not from Mary, but from her mother.39 Still, responsibility if not villainy rested, in Field's view, with the marplot stepfather. That got generous illustration in a Times account appearing the day after the arrival of Anderson and her retinue—mother, stepfather, and brother. A long interview with the stepfather gave the reader preparation for an unpleas­ ant encounter by noting that newspapers in general had "a cordial dislike, not to say contempt" for the man. Details seemed to justify that view. His com­ plaint about the weather gave way to angry, and misplaced, dissatisfaction with ticket sales. Dr. Griffin then offered what to him was the comforting thought that they would never again come to "these d—d western towns," shortly getting on their way to St. Louis and "decent country." That cantan- kerousness fell upon individual writers as well as the region, as in a blister­ ing reference to something "from the pen of a d—d little ." A final instance of his fuming involved insufficiently heated stages, and the dangers they posed, as at recent engagements in Des Moines, Omaha, and Leavenworth. Again, expletives got honored by deletion in the account of a French actress whose manager, "a d—d mean ," brought on a cold, pneumonia, and death for her by refusing the expense of warming the stage.40

38 Kansas City Times, 20 October 1880. Field adduced Wetherell's observations in the same piece where he pronounced about Anderson's failure to improve upon her natural gifts. 39 McArthur, Actors and American Culture, 192; Anderson, A Few Memories, 90. 40 Kansas City Times, 19 November 1880. 176 Missouri Historical Review

A decade later, not long after Anderson left the profession, Emma Abbott succumbed in much the same way after a performance in Ogden, Utah Territory. "Mary Anderson as Juliet" followed the account of blustering by her stepfather. It gave a lengthy and fairly intricate analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the performance, strongly suggesting Field's authorship by the nature of its comparisons of Anderson and Modjeska. In sum, it judged the performance a failure, being inferior both to other of her performances of Juliet and, more tellingly, inferior to other of her roles. Her declamatory mode had been quieted, but still the near girlish qualities that the much older Modjeska breathed into the part did not surface.

This is the nature of Anderson's Juliet-a stronger, firmer, more intellec­ tual character than that portrayed by either [Adelaide] Neilson or Modjeska, but less lovable, less winning, tender and sympathetic, and hence, we believe, less true to conception. It is not a satisfactory performance, as com­ pared with other Juliets and with other personations in the Anderson reper­ toire; it is not a character that will be enthusiastically remembered in a burst of patriotism over our American actress.41

His Kansas City stay provided Field opportunities to write of stage mat­ ters having less ponderous implications than the proper conception of Juliet. At the time that Abbott performed operatically, Stuart Robson and William Crane brought lighter fare, including Sharps and Flats, a title Field would appropriate in three years. A few days after an announcement of their sched­ ule, the same page of the Times had "The Songbirds Here" and, a column away, "Poker and Spooks." The former described Abbott and her company on stage while the latter described Robson and Crane and a couple others off­ stage. Conversation regarding a spiritualistic craze that had afflicted the troupe accompanied the poker action.42 Robson served regularly as foil for Billy Crane, as he did in the November 15 Times, again at the poker table. Here Field presented them in Bret Harte fashion in "The Crafty Ah Bill." It began in this way:

Which I wish to remark, and my language is plain, For ways that are dark and tricks that are vain, A certain young man is peculiar— And his name it is William H. Crane.

Which they had a small game—this William H. and His pardner called Robson, quite childlike and bland,

41 Ibid. 42 Ibid., 11 October 1880. Eugene Field and Theater 111

And this Robson drew two from the pack And held what they call a full hand.

Crane, bearing nothing but "a couple of trays,"—then resorts to legerde­ main, awaiting the show up "becalmed in his face."

You may guess at the rest—as for me, I do not Intend to record the exit of the plot, But this I am free to acknowledge, Mr. Crane calmly took in the pot.

Which is why I remark for tricks that are vain No heathen Chinee will compare with this Crane— And I reference have unto poker — And the same I am free to maintain.43

With his Kansas City days nearing an end, Field offered three brief the­ ater items one day, items richly characteristic and of the sort that became

43 Ibid., 15 November 1880. In Footprints and Echoes (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1925), 99-100, Crane reproduced this poem, with very minor changes except that Crane used the title "In Re Robson vs. Crane." Likely, that was Field's original title, as Crane wrote that Field had sent him the "original manuscript" on Kansas City Times stationery.

Dictionary of American Portraits

Comedy actor William Crane was often the sub­ ject of humorous musings written by his good friend Eugene Field. 178 Missouri Historical Review

"Odd Gossip" in Denver and "Sharps and Flats" in Chicago. It pleased him to refer to a New Haven paper's regard for his friend Abbott, which showed that Kansas City was not the only "aesthetic town" in the country: "Emma Abbott's divine kiss is appreciated in the nutmeg State." A performer of vast­ ly different reputation, Sarah Bernhardt, appeared by way of her reaction, surely concocted, to Governor John St. John of Kansas, him of the wondrous mustache. "I like ze governaire of ze Kansas—he have such a be-yutifool fig yure, and ze smile of him is magnifeek; ze mannaire is tres grand and ze cul- chair superb, but, mon dieu! ze moustache (shrugging her shoulders), nai!" In the third item, Field called attention to a forthcoming lecture by his friend Bob Burdette. As did Field and many others in that era, the Burlington Hawkeye man sought to combine two elements—of theater and of psycho­ logical reality. That effort would befuddle and irritate many who came later, but Field's heralding of Burdette's endeavors breathe the spirit of their time if not ours. According to Field, Burdette was "the master of humor and pathos."44 In early November 1895, Field had an engagement to speak in Kansas City, likely to work some such blend. Illness prevented his making the trip, and he stayed home and died that weekend. In the decade and a half between his departure from Kansas City and the visit there cancelled by illness and death, Field often turned his attention to Missouri. He did so archly and impishly when the Democratic Party and Jesse James came to mind. Theater too echoed from those early years, and Slason Thompson recognized the significance of what Field had done before he went to Chicago, but Thompson could not reckon fully with those earlier times. He wrote, for example, of the storied friendship of Abbott and Field, noting that "they found it in Denver, and Field carried it with him to Chicago." In fact, they found that friendship in Missouri and renewed it in Denver and Chicago. The near-fabled association of Modjeska—"Meester Fielt, you are a very bad man, but I lof you"—resonates of Denver, but the connection went back to the Missouri years.45 Whatever the details, the imagination—the long-inhibited faculty—was asserting itself in the performing arts, and Eugene Field lent it a noteworthy, helping hand. He did not, however, offer indiscriminate encouragement, as the foregoing should indicate. In fact, he could assume a nearly censorious tone when certain forms intruded on his patience. It almost puzzles one that he showed small regard for popular music. He occasionally used "Whoa, Emma," a comic temperance song, to chide those with whom he disagreed,

44 Kansas City Times, 8 March 1881. 45 Slason Thompson, Life of Eugene Field: The Poet of Childhood (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1927), 89, 139. It should be kept in mind that Thompson was a the­ ater adept himself. Eugene Field and Theater 179 but it lent itself to abuse by others, as in St. Louis in 1879. His dear and pious friend Emma Abbott entered the Olympic Theater and was serenaded, "terri­ bly taken aback," by the minstrels doing "Whoa, Emma," that "horrid" song, as Field labeled it.46 In a more general vein a few months later, Field offered a cautionary word to those perpetrating such "horrid" things. He noted that Henry Clay Work, composer of "Grandfather's Clock" and many other pop­ ular items, had suffered an "awful fate." He had gone "crazy," and others doing like work should heed the lesson.47 Though a close and friendly observer of the operatic scene, Field did not find all of it pleasing. In later years he did some near-inspired concoctions about Richard Wagner and the music of the future. A St. Louis Times-Journal piece of late 1878 betokened those things: "Wagner's new opera will intro­ duce several new and pleasing features, one of which will be a bass drum beat by a mule with cymbals on his heels."48 As indicated, he played the flute, and he showed fairly clearly a disdain for the trombone. Seventy-six trombones would likely have appalled him. Much to Field's regret, brass bands thrived in the 1870s. In the artistic—music, theater, or whatever—as in the expres­ sive—language on which he doted—misuse, discord, or cacophony offended him. Providence, he noted on a fall day in 1879, was not always "harsh and cruel," as was shown when the Huntsville brass band began an evening con­ cert. Heavy rain intruded and had not let up since.49 A month earlier, he noted the report that Lafayette, Indiana, had suffered from twenty-seven sui­ cides thus far in the year. He allowed the reader to discern the causal rela­ tion between that fact and the fact that Lafayette was the only town in the state with three brass bands. The day before that, he turned his attention to his former hometown: "Columbia proposes to have a brass band and will undoubtedly carry the dreadful project into effect, unless the State Board of Immigration interferes." That dire report had been premature, as indicated by a revision a few days later. Having abandoned the plan of starting a brass band, Columbia now felt comfortable in reducing the size of the town ceme­ tery.50 Field had his likes and dislikes, and one might say that an aversion to discordance, atonality, or cacophony did not prepare one well for the coming century. In his very recent, monumental study, From Dawn to Decadence, Jacques Barzun noted the early-twentieth-century emergence of musicians

St. Louis Times-Journal, 7 March 1879. See also the September 23, 1879, issue. Ibid., 25 October 1879. Ibid., 29 December 1878. Ibid., 11 October 1879. Ibid., 4, 3, 9 September 1879. 180 Missouri Historical Review

State Historical Society of Missouri

Field at Work who luxuriated in the name "Bruiteurs—noise-makers" prepared to offer "a lifelike polyphony of clangors, interspersed with the chromatic portamenti of sirens and the two notes of fire engines."51 Likely, a place could be found for that mule with cymbals tied to his heels kicking a bass drum. In dramatic theater, things were less unsettling, but the absurd was not far away. So Field and the theatrical might well conclude with one of his sentimental, even melancholy, backward glances at St. Joseph. "With Brutus in St. Jo" com­ plements his recollection of Lovers' Lane in that city and the previously quot­ ed verses about the St. Jo Gazette. "With Brutus in St. Jo" imaginatively teams Field with Jack Langrish, a real trouper who spent much of a lifetime acting in the small cities of the West, including St. Joseph. The poem begins in celebratory fashion: "Of all the opry-houses then obtaining in the West/ The one which Milton Tootle owned was, by all odds, the best. . . . We would be actors—Jack and I—and so we stole away/ From our native spot, Wathena, one dull September day," then going the few miles east from the Kansas village to St. Jo. Julius Caesar had been billed, and armies were needed. "O happy times for Jack and me and that one other supe/ That then and there did constitute the noblest Roman's troop!" A pensive mood settles on Jack and Gene, as the marching, the tin helmets, and the wooden swords come into play:

51 Jacques Barzun, From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present (New York: HarperCollins, 2000), 727. Eugene Field and Theater 181

Our army numbered three in all—Marc Antony's was four; Our army hankered after fame, but Marc's was after gore! And when we reached Philippi, at the outset we were met With an inartistic gusto I can never quite forget.52

This poem and another, similar, fictive venture with Jack Langrish were wreathed in sadly sweet recollection of actors and troupes. They resist deno­ tative analysis, but they surely admit of being seen as bemoaning the degen­ eration from Shakespeare and Sheridan to light opera, with uneasy premonition of what lurked in the wings to render such houses as the Tootle in St. Jo into movie theaters. So, looking back to the pre-Chicago years, Field had those soldiers of Brutus brooding. One should not feel uneasy leaving the last words to wordsmith Eugene Field.

To-day, while walking in the Square, Jack Langrish says to me: "My friend, the drama nowadays ain't what it used to be! These farces and these comedies—how feebly they compare With that mantle of the tragic art which Forrest used to wear!"

And so we talked and so we mused upon the whims of Fate That had degraded Tragedy from its old, supreme estate; And duly, at the Morton bar, we stigmatized the age As sinfully subversive of the interests of the Stage!53

52 Eugene Field, "With Brutus in St. Jo," in Songs and Other Verse, vol. 9 of Prose and Verse of Eugene Field, 112-113, 116. 53 Ibid., 114-115. The related poem, "Corinthian Hall," dealt with the opera house in Atchison, Kansas, with Jack Langrish gone but here recalled. Field, Second Book of Verse, 125- 131.

A Pagan Place

St. Louis Daily Times, July 3, 1878. A clerical gentleman in Janesville, Wisconsin, sent to a Chicago bookseller for Farrar's Seeker After God. The bookseller simply wrote back: "No such persons in Chicago."

Counting on It

Maysville Western Register, May 26, 1870. The Census taker is taking the starch out of many of the fast towns and exploding very many beautiful baubles. Kansas City, which has been putting on metropolitan airs and has been claiming 35,000 sharp and active souls, will be cut down by actual count to about one half that number. . . . State Historical Society of Missouri

Black Electoral Power in the Missouri Bootheel, 1920s-1960s

BYWILLSARVIS*

Between the 1920s and the 1960s, elections in the Missouri Bootheel presented a complex mosaic involving the region's rapidly evolving cotton agriculture and its society. During the 1920s and 1930s, thousands of farm tenants, sharecroppers, and other agricultural workers began pouring into the area. Most were Southern blacks from the cotton-producing regions of Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi. The new demographic helped revolu-

*Will Sarvis is a graduate student in history at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, and a former oral historian for the State Historical Society of Missouri. He holds a B.A. degree and an M.A. degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg.

182 Black Electoral Power 183 tionize elections and politics in the Bootheel. After the 1930 and 1932 elec­ tions, when a huge majority of its voters allied with the Democratic Party, the Missouri Bootheel became a singular rural region that attracted candidates running for statewide and national offices. How individual voters exercised their right of franchise during this period reflected a multifaceted situation involving race and social and economic status. The Missouri Bootheel refers to the geographic area in the far southeast­ ern part of the state, which actually encompasses more than just the portion of land resembling the heel of a boot. As they do today, six counties and a portion of a seventh shared similar historical characteristics. The region was mostly swamp or semi-swamp until massive drainage efforts in the early twentieth century made it suitable for agriculture. Legend states that dredg­ ing machines eventually displaced more soil there than what was moved to create the Panama Canal. The largest drainage entity, the Little River Drainage District, currently maintains over 840 miles of ditches and over 240 miles of levees that drain lands in five counties. Not surprisingly, the Bootheel ended up with the richest soil in the state.1 When the lowland drainage had been completed, a number of cotton farmers from the South came to the region. The population of the six delta counties (Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Scott, and Stoddard) increased from less than 95,000 persons in 1900 to a peak of more than 219,000 in 1950. The ethnic breakdown of this population rise proved even more significant. During this same period, the number of whites more than doubled, and the number of African Americans more than quadrupled.2 Some of the new arrivals became landowners; many remained tenants or sharecroppers; and some suffered through peonage and other flagrant abuses of their freedom and labor.3 During the Civil War, most Bootheel Missourians had fought for, or at least had sympathized with, the Confederacy. Nevertheless, the population

1 The Little River Drainage District of Southeast Missouri, 1907-Present (Cape Girardeau, Mo.: Little River Drainage District, 1989); Gary Lane McDowell, "Local Agencies and Land Development by Drainage: The Case of 'Swampeast' Missouri" (Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1965); Leon Ogilvie, "The Development of the Southeast Missouri Lowlands" (Ph.D. diss., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1967). 2 University of Missouri-Columbia, Department of Regional and Community Affairs, Bootheel Regional Profile (University of Missouri-Columbia, Extension Division, 1972), 8, 10. 3 J. S. Gossom to Arthur M. Hyde, 24 March 1923, fol. 107, Arthur M. Hyde Papers, Western Historical Manuscript Collection, University of Missouri-Columbia (hereinafter cited as WHMC-Columbia), describes a Dunklin County case of peonage. Thad Snow illustrates land clearing by peons in From Missouri (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1954), 139. For a study of peonage to 1923 see N. Gordon Carper, "Slavery Revisited: Peonage in the South," Phylon 37 (March 1976): 85-99. For a larger study see Pete Daniel, The Shadow of Slavery: Peonage in the South, 1901-1969 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1972). 184 Missouri Historical Review remained so sparse, even in the late nineteenth century, it made any Southern identity nominal in political considerations. During the World War I era, a general national disillusionment with the Democratic Party caused a shift favoring the Republican Party and manifested itself in certain Bootheel coun­ ties as well. Politically, the region resembled the Midwest as much as the South. The Bootheel in the 1920s was mostly loyal to the Democratic Party, though New Madrid and Pemiscot Counties had a close mixture of both par­ ties in local offices. The arrival of many thousands of blacks, then still loyal to the party of Lincoln, delighted Bootheel Republicans during the 1924- 1928 elections but angered Democratic sympathizers who feared Republicans would manipulate the black vote.4 This influx of thousands of African American agricultural workers into the Bootheel during the 1920s and 1930s produced a profound impact upon society and politics. As in the Deep South, tensions arose between blacks and impoverished whites who competed for the same meager share of the economic bounty. In the Bootheel, however, the white elite did not particu­ larly encourage this tension, as they did in many parts of the inner South. The legendary white oligarchy of the Deep South developed after the Reconstruction period when dominant landowners, politicians, and other powerful whites instituted the poll tax, the "white primary," and other mea­ sures to ensure their continuing mastery. This system fostered the rise of the infamous Southern demagogue in politics, who regularly pandered to poor whites with racist dogma. The elite, however, were mainly interested in con­ tinuing their reign over all the poor—white and black.5 The absence of this system in the Bootheel testifies to its geographic location on the fringes of the Upper South and Midwest and to its frontier condition, where any sem­ blance of the oligarchic system lacked historical eighteenth- and nineteenth- century roots. During the 1920s, various Southeast Missouri newspapers closely resem­ bled their Deep South counterparts, publishing openly racist editorials and

4 Caruthersville Democrat-Argus, 21 October, 21 November 1924; Charleston Enterprise-Courier, 18 October, 15 November 1923; 16, 30 October, 6 November, 4, 25 December 1924; 8 January 1925; Dunklin Democrat, 14 November 1924; Sikeston Standard, 1 November, 22, 30 December 1924. 5 Ralphe J. Bunche, The Political Status of the Negro in the Age of Roosevelt, edited and with an introduction by Dewey W. Grantham (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973), xvi, xxiii, 23, 24, 27, 121; V. O. Key, Southern Politics in State and Nation (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949), chap. 23, 26, 27, 29; Allan A. Michie and Frank Ryhlick, Dixie Demagogues (New York: Vanguard Press, 1939); Nicol C. Rae, Southern Democrats (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 33-34; T. Harry Williams, Romance and Realism in Southern Politics (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1961), 56, 57, 60, 62-63; Irvin G. Wyllie, "Race and Class Conflict on Missouri's Cotton Frontier," Journal of Southern History 20 (May 1954): 183-196. Black Electoral Power 185 doggedly defending white mobs who lynched blacks. During this time of concerted in-migration and growing economic uncertainty, the blacks' alliance with the Republican Party exacerbated the potential for violence and hatred among Democratic sympathizers.6 Much of this latent and overt polit­ ical trouble eased between 1928 and 1932, when blacks all over the nation switched to the Democratic Party.7 Virtually all African Americans in the delta became Democrats, to the point that no one in the 1990s could recollect hearing about the area's black Republicanism of the 1920s. But that blacks participated in elections as they did reflected the Bootheel's admixture of Southern and non-Southern political practices. The disfranchisement of blacks and poor whites that followed Reconstruction in the Deep South never occurred in Southeast Missouri. Persistent conflict with the national Democratic Party over matters such as black franchisement and civil rights eventually contributed to the Dixiecrat Rebellion of 1948, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and, finally, the dissolution of the old "solid" Democratic South.8 Politics in Southeast Missouri pre­ sented quite a different situation. Few African Americans had lived in post- bellum nineteenth-century Southeast Missouri, and the large numbers arriving after the 1910s became an integral part of the political structure. Instead of disfranchisement, both black and white political organizers "voted" black agricultural workers multiple times. The multiple voting or "repeating" of the black vote has become one of the great legends of Bootheel political his­ tory, probably somewhat exaggerated, but with much basis in fact. Many eyewitness accounts, dozens of sworn affidavits, and several federal investi­ gations have corroborated the "repeating" black vote.9 Voter registration did

6 For examples see Caruthersville Democrat-Argus, 21 October, 21 November 1924; Charleston Enterprise-Courier, 18 October, 15 November 1923; 16, 30 October, 6 November, 4, 25 December 1924; 8 January 1925; Dunklin Democrat, 14 November 1924; Sikeston Standard, 1 November, 22, 30 December 1924. Also see various letters concerning Bootheel racial tension during this period in the Hyde Papers, fol. 106-107. 7 John Hope Franklin and Alfred A. Moss, Jr., From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans, 7th ed. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994), 385; Charles H. Martin, "Negro Leaders, The Republican Party, and the Election of 1932," Phylon 32 (spring 1971): 85-93; G. Michael McCarthy, "Smith vs. Hoover—The Politics of Race in Western Tennessee," ibid. 39 (June 1978): 154-168; Franklin D. Mitchell, Embattled Democracy: Missouri Democratic Politics, 1919-1932 (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1968), 86-88, 98-100, 115-116, 158,162-163, chap. 8. 8 For a summary of these aspects of Southern politics see John S. Ezell, The South Since 1865, 2nd ed. (New York: Macmillan, 1975), 406-409, 417-420. See also Steven F. Lawson, Black Ballots: Voting Rights in the South, 1944-1969 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1976). 9 The author discusses this matter at greater length in "The Folklore and Oral History of Election Fraud in Rural Postwar Missouri," Mid-America Folklore 26 (spring-fall 1998): 42-70, and "The Irrepressible Urge to Manipulate: Election Fraud in Rural Missouri, 1940s-1970s," Journal of the West 39 (fall 2000): 63-71. 186 Missouri Historical Review

Massie-Missouri Resources Division, State Historical Society

A massive drainage system constructed in southeast Missouri in the early twentieth century allowed farmers to till the area's rich soil. Many Southern farmers moved into the region in an attempt to better their lives. not exist in the region until individual Bootheel counties began requiring it in the 1960s, and no statewide voter registration law existed in Missouri until 1973. During the 1940s, political scientist V. O. Key observed that Tennessee, of all the Southern states, experienced the most election fraud. Arkansas, he wrote, ran a "close second."10 That Tennessee would surpass the rest of the South in this regard had much to do with Boss Ed Crump's method of poli­ tics centered in Memphis. Crump utilized the usual techniques of "boss" pol­ itics—patronage power and election manipulation—to dominate city and, eventually, state political power. His dominance over Memphis and Tennessee government peaked in the 1940s then declined sharply after the 1948 election.11 Obviously something of a political culture steeped in vote

10 Key, Southern Politics, 443. 11 The old standard work on Crump is William D. Miller, Mr. Crump of Memphis (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1964). Other works include David M. Tucker, Memphis Since Crump: Bossism, Blacks, and Civic Reformers, 1948-1968 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1980). See also Gerald M. Capers, "Memphis: Satrapy of a Benevolent Despot," in Our Fair City, ed. Robert S. Allen (New York: Vanguard Press, 1947); Michie and Ryhlick, Dixie Demagogues, chap. 12; St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3 July 1938. One of the best studies of Crump can be found in Michael K. Honey, Southern Labor and Black Civil Rights: Organizing Memphis Workers (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1993). Black Electoral Power 187 fraud encompassed much of the lower Mississippi River valley, and this cul­ ture simply ignored state lines and included the Bootheel. Despite the cul­ ture of election fraud that the Bootheel shared with Arkansas and Tennessee, it maintained its uniqueness. For example, Missouri lacked the poll tax that Southern states, including Arkansas and Tennessee, retained as a measure for excluding or manipulating the black vote.12 By inflating the black vote rather than excluding it, white politicos in the Bootheel achieved and maintained a social and political dominance some­ what similar to that exercised by their Bourbon counterparts in the Deep South. The first major difference arose with the appeal those votes would have to the dominant party and its candidates in the broader arena. In Missouri, statewide or national candidates running in the Democratic Party primaries ignored the substantial Bootheel vote only at their own peril, almost as much as they would have done by ignoring the St. Louis or Kansas City vote. Individual voters who cast their ballots, once or multiple times, did so within a wide-ranging spectrum. At one extreme, it encompassed impover­ ished people, particularly blacks, who were economically and socially beholden to landowners. Landowners could easily control this vote, and such voters enjoyed little, if any, autonomy in casting their ballots. At the other end of the spectrum were voters indifferent to the political process who had a significant degree of autonomy and gladly exploited election day for the free alcohol or extra cash that white political workers gave them in return for voting. At an intermediate level there were numerous organizers, black and white, who hauled or arranged for the hauling of voters to multiple polls. Black leaders, in particular, tended to represent entire impoverished commu­ nities that ultimately wielded a significant degree of political influence through voting as a bloc. In the Bootheel and other, widespread areas of the rural South, illiteracy or semi-literacy was very common among sharecroppers and thus enforced an ignorance of political issues.13 Limited newspaper circulation further encouraged thousands of voters to rely on advice in deciding how to cast their ballots. Even the majority of literate whites, who perhaps were well versed in the personalities and abilities of county officials and candidates, remained largely ignorant of state and national political issues. Within this context,

12 Key, Southern Politics, 578. Crump paid the poll tax (from a vice-financed pool of funds) for African Americans and "voted" them as he wished. 13 Despite some analytical flaws and other biases, the miserable state of existence of agri­ cultural workers in the 1930s is documented in Department of Agriculture, Farm Security Administration, Region III, Research Report 1, Rich Land - Poor People, by Max R. White, Douglas Ensminger, and Cecil L. Gregory (Indianapolis, 1938). 188 Missouri Historical Review local white and black leaders became the dispensers of trusted information for their respective races. Pre-mechanized cotton agriculture in delta Southeast Missouri, as else­ where, presented a complicated labor situation. Landowners, at the top of the social and economic hierarchy, stood to lose the most during the 1920s and 1930s, when heavily indebted farmers faced additional constraints due to the depressed agricultural market and federally mandated crop restrictions. Directly below landowners were tenants, who owned mules, plows, and other tools. Sharecroppers owned nothing and could offer only their labor. Some tenants and sharecroppers were forced to become day laborers during the 1930s, when landowners found it in their self-interest to keep federal subsidy payments to themselves, rather than to share them with their tenants and sharecroppers.14 These categories of agricultural workers were not rigid or static. For instance, a small landowner might farm additional land as a ten­ ant. A tenant farmer might, in turn, "subcontract" some of the acreage he was farming to a sharecropper. In any case, these agricultural relationships had direct bearing on politics and, in particular, on voting practices. Landowners,

14 Sidney Baldwin, Poverty and Politics: The Rise and Decline of the Farm Security Administration (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1968), 77-78; James C. Cobb, The Most Southern Place on Earth: The Mississippi Delta and the Roots of Regional Identity (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), 186-193; Franklin and Moss, From Slavery to Freedom, 395.

Landowners provided mules and farming equipment for their sharecroppers' use.

Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Photo Collection, Library of Congress Black Electoral Power 189 cotton ginners, and bankers (sometimes one and the same person) could "influence" the votes of black and white sharecroppers economically behold­ en to them, using tactics that ranged from overt pressure to polite suggestion. In fact, the more benevolent elite requested cooperative voting in the form of a favor. The situation could vary greatly. Hal Hunter, Jr., a former New Madrid County prosecutor and a descendant from the area's most prominent families, described the situation as he remembered it:

The landowners did it. . . . And they'd go out and see their own tenants, their own sharecroppers. We call them "sharecroppers," and at that time a sharecropper was a person who farmed forty or fifty acres of ground and owned nothing. The landlord had the mules, in those days. I remember I'd go with Dad to get mules for them. Buy the mules; furnish everything for them. And then they got half the crop. Labor was half the crop. But the tenants are a whole different story, now. He has his own equipment. He fur­ nishes everything else except the land, and he takes three-fourths of it [the harvest] if it's cotton, and two-thirds of it if it's grain. . . . They [tenants] would be more independent politically. The sharecropper was strictly at the mercy of the landlord, because they had to furnish every­ thing for him. As a matter of fact, you loaned him money to eat on until the crop came in. . . . [Cotton ginners] had some influence also, but most of the landowners had an interest in a cotton gin or had one themselves. . . . Most of the cot­ ton ginners owned ground and were big landlords. Of course, they did most of the loaning of the money, but they did it on a basis of the landlord also going on it with them. You influenced somebody's vote that way. You didn't necessarily go threaten them, you just said, "This is the man I wish you'd go vote for." And they didn't know from Madame's old fox what they were doing, but they voted that way. . . . You didn't make any threats or anything. You asked him to go do it. If you treated your tenant or your sharecropper properly, why, it wasn't any problem at all. They were happy to. As a matter of fact, they'd come and say, "Who do you want me to vote for?" I've been there, done that.15

Most elderly white observers who remember the black vote from the 1950s and 1960s describe it as a "controlled" or a "manipulated" vote.

15 Hal Hunter, interview by author, 16-19, Politics in Missouri Oral History Project, WHMC-Columbia. See also the following: John Alford, interview, 23-24, 43, 47; Tom Cash, interview, 16; Flake McHaney, interview, 9; Clyde Southern, interview, 36; Jim Spain, inter­ view, 49; Jack Stapleton, Jr., interview, 18-19; Dick Steward, interview, 6-7; all interviews in Politics in Missouri Oral History Project. All oral history interviews by the author; page num­ bers refer to transcripts. The author's questions have been omitted, and some transcript text has been reorganized for cohesion. Researchers should consult the full transcripts or tapes for material in its chronological entirety. 190 Missouri Historical Review

Hal Hunter, Jr., served as prosecuting attorney of New Madrid County from 1963 to 1990.

Mrs. Hal Hunter, Jr.

Donald Littrell, a 1960s Office of Economic Opportunity agent, remem­ bered:

You look across that lower [area], Hornersville, Senath, and all those places—basically, they were run by gin operators. ... I have been in meet­ ings in a gin office where people would get together and there'd be a table there, some chairs, maybe (or maybe not) something to drink; and the peo­ ple would kind of make the decisions. And then they'd get announced. You stop and think about it, in those days, what had happened was, the gin car­ ried farmers. They would loan them money and things like that. It was kind of an extension of the company store. Then you sold your cotton to that gin. So, even though you might be a landowner and everything, there was still a form of informal sharecropping on a larger scale. Therefore, if you got 200, 150 farmers beholden to you, you can deliver a bloc of votes. . . . They knew how they voted. . . . The culture was, that you by God—it'd be like you coming in and saying, "Don, I sure would appreciate your sup­ port for the Democratic Party this fall." That was not a request. And my wife, one of the great shocks in her life, was when they went up to vote, she was handed this piece of paper that said, "I waive the right to a secret ballot, and instruct the judge to mark my ticket in the following manner." Down in fine print it said, "This is just a suggestion paid for by so-and-so. . . ." You'd get there, and there would be this guy sitting there, and let's say I'm hauling votes today, I'd say to you, "Will, I got you seventeen." He'd write down seventeen by name, and that's how I got paid. Then I'd go down to the next precinct, "Bob, I've got you seventeen."16

16 Donald Littrell, interview by author, 7-9, ibid. See also Alford, interview, 44; Stapleton, interview, 7. Black Electoral Power 191

Attorney and former state representative Jim Spain related his experience in a Stoddard County vote fraud trial that revealed the hierarchical social structure still operating in the 1960s.

They arrested a lot of people; filed misdemeanor charges for voting more than one time. I can well remember. I stood in front of a judge with these people. They were standing out in front of the judge, and sitting back in the back row were all the big farmers, the big plantation owners, see? Up there, you know. The judge gave them [those in the front] all a $25 fine or some­ thing. (Of course the newspapers were all covering this). And then he just looked right over their heads, back into the back row, and he said, "Now you may wonder why I'm being so lenient on these people that have committed what I consider to be a very serious crime." He said, "Let me tell you why I'm being lenient." He said, "The guilty people are not standing in front of me. But I know who they are. And if they were standing in front of me, I can assure you they would not get this kind of punishment. It would be far more severe." Well, shortly thereafter voter registration was adopted.17

Maxwell Williams, a prominent Bootheel farm manager, stressed a dis­ tinction between coercion and the asking of a favor when it came to landown­ ers discussing elections with tenants or sharecroppers.

There were some cases where there was undue influence—and not much of this—but where the landowner knew somebody on the election board that he could check on from it [to see how the tenants had voted]. Now that's very rare. That's very rare. . . . They had to know how they voted. And they could tell a man that if he didn't vote right they wouldn't rent the land to him the next year. They'd take his place away from him. And probably some cases he [the landowner] could maybe convince a man that he would know when actually he didn't know. But it would scare the man. He was afraid he might be able to know. But there wasn't a great deal of that. There wasn't a great deal of that. . . . Mostly, though, generally speaking, when we had—like a group of men for offices in the courthouse that I was convinced were the best ones—I would ask my tenants (who farmed) individually. Just ask them and tell them why. And then, you see, we didn't have all this politics involved; TV. Of course we were beginning to have radio, but the average fellow wasn't greatly interested in the individual candidates and didn't know much. If he trusted you and thought your opinion was good on the thing and desirable, you recommended a man. I'd say that generally they would vote that way.

17 Spain, interview, 50. After an FBI investigation into this case, eight people pleaded guilty to vote fraud. For a contemporary newspaper account that closely corroborates Spain's account see the Bloomfield Vindicator, 6 December 1962. 192 Missouri Historical Review

But I never—never and would never have—checked on anybody's vote. The way I knew they were voting that way was by the total vote that came in. I knew what percent of them were my men. Sol knew. And perhaps some of them didn't see fit and didn't tell me. I didn't blame him for it. I didn't blame him for it.18

For someone not directly involved in politics, or who did not perceive a vested interest in the outcome of political contests, voting could become a small but significant favor for those who were involved or sought to achieve a certain political result. In this case, the voter could find it easy to comply with the request to vote a certain way, lose nothing, but gain or retain the goodwill of a landlord. Many whites, particularly in the lower Bootheel, per­ ceived that most blacks were indifferent to how they voted and therefore gladly voted the way white landlords or white cotton ginners asked them to vote.19 But many blacks believed that they simply exploited the situation for their own good. Why not accept a large amount of cash and/or alcoholic refreshments on election day? Pemiscot County black leader Alex Cooper described it:

Let's look at the economic system. The basis was built around cotton. Banks were not really that accessible to blacks. So financialrelie f was gen­ erally geared through gins; cotton gins. So the people in the cotton gin will give direction as to how you would vote. And they would have the bargain­ ing tool, which was usually $2 plus a form of alcohol beverage. So you were encouraged to make as many polling places as you could during the day. Because there was no direction. And the way this was done, to stay within the law and take advantage of the consensus of the time, they'd say, "He's black. He can't write his name. So make an 'X.'" So he made that "X," and he voted as many precincts as he could. It was a degree of sophistication. . . . You went from poll to poll. See, you might have made yourself $25, or twenty-five half-pints of John Barleycorn in that time. And all you said was you couldn't read and write. They'd say, "He's black. He can't read and write." He'd just sign his name and just kept on moving. . . . You were building on the premise that most of your blacks were illiterate. They couldn't write. And they didn't understand voting at all. So the powers that be were using that to its advantage. And the blacks understood what was going on. You know. The guy would say, "It's voting time now. I can make $25, $50 a day. I'm voting everywhere." Unique history.20

18 Maxwell Williams, interview by author, 17-18, Politics in Missouri Oral History Project. 19 Alford, interview, 24; Cash, interview, 19, 22; Jim Ed Reeves, interview by author, 46; Williams, interview, 17-18; all in ibid. 20 Alex Cooper, interview by author, 38-40, ibid. Black Electoral Power 193

Alex Cooper, a political leader in Pemiscot County, has served as vice mayor ofHayti and as director of the Delmo Housing Corporation.

Western Historical Manuscript Collection, University of Missouri-Columbia

Not all voters cast more than one ballot, of course. Exact figures of the repeat vote will never be known, but clearly this aspect of Bootheel political history has been the subject of some exaggeration and sensationalism.21 In a rural area with limited transportation facilities, getting voters to the polls proved challenging. The overall voter turnout in the Bootheel was often 40 percent or less. For example, the New Madrid County total vote between 1930 and 1960 usually averaged around 6,000-8,000 while the voting popu­ lation totaled from about 15,000 to 21,000.22 Similar figures characterized the other Bootheel counties. Thus, vote fraud in the Bootheel did not resemble the hugely inflated "ghost vote" commonly found in political machine-dom­ inated urban areas, where the total vote sometimes exceeded the population of living citizens.23 Of more historical significance was the development of the legitimate bloc vote among blacks. Most commonly, this involved black leaders as "power brokers" of sorts. A black leader became a "point man" that white candidates or white political organizers approached. To begin with, it was more practical to approach one or a few leaders who, in turn, would speak to their community. Also, whites could obey conventions of segregation by not

21 See Sarvis, "Folklore and Oral History of Election Fraud." 22 Bootheel Regional Profile, 11-13. Numbers of votes are tallied in all volumes of the State of Missouri Official Manual and in New Madrid Weekly Record articles following prima­ ry and general elections. 23 For information on urban voting fraud see Robert B. Dishman, "Machine Politics— Kansas City Model" (master's thesis, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1940), 121-130; Lyle W. Dorsett, The Pendergast Machine (New York: Oxford University Press, 1968; reprint, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1980), 59-61, 121-123; Murray Cohen, "The Crusade against Election Fraud by the Post-Dispatch and Star-Times of St. Louis in 1936" (master's the­ sis, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1953); Ernest Kirschten, Catfish and Crystal (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1960), 306-337, 454-456; Alfred Steinberg, The Bosses (New York: Macmillan, 1972). 194 Missouri Historical Review personally entering the black communities. Pemiscot County Clerk John Alford perceived a system of cooperation between white and black political workers to get black voters to the polls but also recognized a power dynam­ ic involving monetary reward and voting.

You paid these people [the black political workers] to work for you— $200, $100, $500—whatever. But that's usually the way you got those folks for you. That was the determining factor; or most of it, I found. I always told these people, "Look. In my opinion, once you accept money for that vote, your debt is paid. That person that wins, he doesn't owe you anything. He's already paid. You're paid." And so really, they didn't have any influ­ ence after the election. It was all before. Once you're paid for your vote, that debt was paid. Oh now, they were friends and all that. But they [the election winners] didn't put them [their voters] in office or anything or hire them in any of the offices. I'll say that. ... No patronage. Because I think they probably did consider, once that debt's paid, that's it. We don't need you until the next election.24

Jim Robinson, Jr., a prominent black leader in Mississippi County, also equated a paid voter with someone that politicians owed nothing. Precisely because of this, Robinson refused payment for his vote or the many votes he could influence in the black community.

I never received any money for politicking for nobody; only for my work that I done, and that's all. But as money to spend? Unh-unh, no. Because [if I accepted money, then] when he got in office, he didn't owe me nothing because he had just paid me. And I wanted him to owe me something. I wanted to be able to go up to him and say, "Hey, we need this done," or, "We'd like for you to help us do this." And when you don't charge these people to work them you have that right. So that's the way I operate.25

Robinson, therefore, functioned at a higher level of sophistication. He more or less inherited his position as political leader from his father, who rep­ resented one of the first generation of African Americans to exercise electoral influence in the Bootheel. A spirited, energetic cotton farmer with a strong independent and self-assured streak, the elder Robinson moved to the Bootheel seeking a better life for himself and his family. During the 1930s and 1940s, lower Mississippi River valley cotton farmers could move upriv- er to Missouri without sacrificing their agricultural way of life. In addition to agricultural opportunities, the elder Robinson recognized the first hints of

24 Alford, interview, 24-25. See also Cooper, interview, 36; Reeves, interview, 46. 25 Jim Robinson, Jr., interview by author, 14, Politics in Missouri Oral History Project. Black Electoral Power 195 greater black political empowerment and soon became involved in Mississippi County politics. His son remembered:

There was no coalition between blacks and white at that time. The whites would come down and say, "We're going to put up so much money," and all of this sort of stuff, and "we would like to get this done." And if this kind of agreed with the blacks, then they'd take off. The money they put up went to guys like me and others who drove the vehicles and stood at the polls. But it was never to make these guys rich; these leaders, like the dif­ ferent ones of us. ... It paid my daddy and them other guys to stay in cahoots with the white establishment. Because they were the ones that had the trucks. They had the buses or whatever we needed to get some votes transferred out of Kentucky if you had to have some, or something like that. So it worked out for everybody. And during all of this time, one of the mainest things that Daddy and all of them was trying to do was get some people in office who would look at the whole picture—that's for the blacks and the whites together.26

Jim Robinson, Sr., worked with three fellow African Americans to influ­ ence all the black voters in Mississippi County. As his son remembered:

He [Lommie Lane, Sr.] worked the eastern area, like the Wyatt-Wilson City area, and some of Charleston. Daddy would work the Dorena, Wolf Island, Pinhook, into Charleston areas. And they'd just kind of meet up. But they were heavy. Like I said, they had two more guys work with them, Arthur Scott and Louis Moss. They were all similar. But they were good. That's what they did. . . . They would sit down and they'd decide which one [candidate] is the best. "You tell me all of the negatives that you've got about this fellow, and I'm going to tell you all of the negatives that I've got about this fellow. . . ." We just discussed it. And when all of the heads got together, then we'd have the church meeting. Then we'd have a barbecue. . . . Boy, we'd just get everybody interested and they was going to vote your way. So when the candidate went over and looked at the board. "How did Wolf Island vote?" [The reply would be:] "Oh, they was solid." We were pretty good. We weren't fully solid, because you had a few white votes that might have went the other way. But for the most part, whites would join right on in with them, after they established their leadership ability.27

26 Ibid., 14, 49. 27 Ibid., 47-48. For example, in the Dorena Precinct for the 1948 general election, Democratic presidential candidate Harry S. Truman received 79 percent of the vote, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Forrest Smith received 82 percent of the vote. In the 1956 general election, 81 percent of the Wolf Island Precinct voters cast ballots for Democratic pres­ idential candidate Adlai Stevenson, and 82 percent voted for Democratic gubernatorial candi­ date James T. Blair, Jr. State of Missouri Official Manual, 1949-1950 (Jefferson City: Mid- State Printing Company, [1950]), 938; State of Missouri Official Manual, 1957-1958 (Jefferson City: Mid-State Printing Company, [1958]), 1043. 196 Missouri Historical Review

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Massie-Missouri Resources Division, State Historical Society Operators of cotton gins could influence the votes of those to whom they loaned money.

Like Jim Robinson, Jr., Lommie Lane's son also succeeded his father as a political leader among Mississippi County blacks. The same situation occurred in neighboring Stoddard County. There Andrew Cain and Sullivan Clark, two prominent black leaders, fulfilled a role akin to that of the Robinsons and the Lanes in Mississippi County. Furthermore, these respec­ tive county leaders organized political meetings among themselves when it came to congressional races that encompassed both their counties.28 At the county level, at least, Colis Maltbia apparently served a similar role as black political leader in New Madrid County, where white politicians and political organizers sought his cooperation in getting out the black vote.29 The power and influence of these black leaders arose in the context of a rural area that required a concerted effort to transport voters to the polls, and Robinson and others utilized this occasion as an intricate part of exercising their power. In fact, Robinson traced his first involvement in politics to his early role as a hauler of voters.

They [the black people] were scattered out. ... It was a total of twenty- six [families] that I counted, that had houses different places. When it come election time and all of this sort of stuff, you didn't have to even worry about

28 Littrell, interview, 19; Robinson, interview, 29; Spain, interview, 11, 29. 29 Hunter, interview, 22. Black Electoral Power 197

what these people are going to vote. You didn't have to register or none of that sort of stuff, then. You just voted. So we'd load up little sis, big sis, dude and the baby, and carry them to the polls. We had times set up. "What time do you want to go?" And we'd have a load. . . . My daddy said, "Jack, I need you to drive a truck." It was an old, big truck. We hauled people to the polls on trucks by the gross. I used to didn't think I had worked unless I'd hauled forty people or a hundred people that day. . . . And in the process of this you had to sell the candidate to the vot­ ers. See, when they got on that truck I was there preaching about how good this man was versus that man. And if my dad said he [the candidate] was going to win, he won. . . . We had people designed specifically to haul the ones that wanted a shot of moonshine. But they voted. Then we had the ones—and I'd like to clas­ sify myself in that case—that could haul the very senior citizens, who could cut up and talk a lot of trash. And they enjoyed it, because I was their boy. I hauled them folks. They didn't let me get around the girls too much, because I wasn't acting right. But we had somebody for everybody. We'd usually run about six cars in this area. And we had "rangers," so to speak; people who knew people in Dorena [Precinct], who knew people in Charleston or Wyatt or Wilson City.30

These black leaders assumed their roles naturally through interest and developed their authority and influence through tenacity. Their endeavors were not easy, and they usually derived little, if any, direct monetary reward from their efforts, particularly during the early years of developing their influence. It followed that once they had tried to identify the white candi­ dates who would most likely benefit their cause, then the black community almost always listened to their advice. The result was usually a "deliverable" bloc or near-bloc vote. As Robinson explained the situation:

What would it benefit me, if I was just a voter, to try to find out who was the best guy? When I knew that here is some men, that's all they do. They're going to hunt up and find who's better for all of us. So let them lead. If any one of these other guys chose to be kind of a political leader? They'd welcome them within the ranks. The trouble was, you had to go day and night, sometimes, without pay. You had to buck your head against opposi­ tion and all of this sort of stuff. So nobody wanted to take that job, you see. They had a monopoly on their job. It was well put together.31

According to Robinson, African Americans consciously voted together to wield a greater degree of influence, believing that their collective force

Robinson, interview, 9, 44-45. Ibid., 48. 198 Missouri Historical Review

would be beneficial.32 This kind of power existed in a number of segregated black communities throughout the Bootheel, but perhaps nowhere more cohesively than in a community variously called St. Paul, or the Bottom, in southern Dunklin County. This segregated precinct consisted of black- owned farms comprising forty to eighty acres. A church, the only structure the residents shared, became a meeting place to discuss politics and hear can­ didates speak. The St. Paul blacks concertedly used their power to engender white financial support for church building maintenance or improvement and mortgage payments. Flake McHaney, a former Dunklin County circuit judge, delightedly described the old community.

That has all disappeared now. But at one time there were a hundred vot­ ers at St. Paul, and it is the nearest thing to a totally Democratic box that Dunklin County ever had. A typical vote at St. Paul would be 108 votes, and 105 of them Democrats and three Republicans. It was an honest box. I don't mean to imply otherwise. But they were loyal Democrats, and it was the Democratic administration that gave them their opportunity, and they were appreciative of that fact. A man named [Jacob] Jefferson is the last one of those blacks who lived down there and was a leader. And he was a leader in that St. Paul community. Very, very unusual. They had their own rules about everything. The county clerk, one time thirty or forty years ago, sent out a list of election judges and clerks—as he is supposed to. Mr. Jefferson called the county clerk, and he said, "Mr. Billy. You've got this all wrong. You send down here so-and-so as an election judge. He hasn't ever been election judge. So-and-so is the election judge down here. And you sent somebody's name to be election judge—they're never election judge; that's the election clerk." And that's who served, too. The ones he designated. They voted in the church at St. Paul. They had a doorman. He would only permit one voter inside at one time, unless it was a family; husband and wife, husband and wife and son. But except for that, only one voter at a time. And as the voter entered the premises, the doorman said, "How does you stand?" If he didn't stand Democratic, or if it were a Democratic pri­ mary and he wasn't for the right person, he would send him to the back of the room to talk to the election judges. And they would lecture him. After they finished lecturing him, if he had enough courage to vote otherwise, he was privileged to do so. But he had to undergo that torture before he got the opportunity to express a preference. The interesting thing about St. Paul, the vote down there was controlled by a [white] Republican, a man named Otis Droke. He was chairman of the township committee in Clay Township, which was their township. Until Otis Droke was chairman of that township committee, they had received no benefits on their highways over there; their roadways. The grader never

Ibid., 54. Black Electoral Power 199

Flake McHaney, who was in private law practice for twenty-four years, served as circuit court judge for Dunklin and Stoddard Counties from 1972 to 1994.

State Historical Society of Missouri

went over there. They had muddy roads, and they were never graded. And Droke immediately said they're going to get a fair share of all the labor. He enforced that. He made sure they did, and they appreciated it. As a result, Otis Droke was permitted to influence them. Although a Republican, he made no attempt to convert them to the Republican ticket. He knew better than that. You couldn't do that. But, he would influence which Democrat they voted for. . . . This group was a very proud group. They took pride in being election judges. And when the election was over, they would go home and put on a white shirt and a suit coat and bring the ballots in. That was a ceremony, as far as they were concerned. The election judges brought the ballots in. They would march into the county clerk's office, and they would place the ballots up on the counter and smile big. . . . These people were pretty smart. They knew they had a hundred solid votes for some candidate. They knew that any candidate for county office wanted those hundred votes. So, on a Sunday, before the election, they invit­ ed all the candidates to come to their church and speak at their church. And they always went, because that's quite a privilege to be exposed to a hundred votes. Of course, the probabilities are, they already had their minds made up. But they benefited greatly from this experience. They very smartly would pick out somebody running who was prosperous. Before they intro­ duced the speakers, they made a plea of poverty of their church, and how much the mortgage was, and (laughing) how much the mortgage payment was. And they'd pick out a person who was prosperous, and when he spoke, he said, "I'm going to donate $100 to this church fund." Well, of course, that 200 Missouri Historical Review

set a precedent. Every other candidate had to match that $100. So those church people at St. Paul, they looked forward to every election because that was the greatest income they were going to receive for four years.33

Veryl Riddle, who eventually became the senior partner in Bryan Cave, Missouri's largest law firm, ran for prosecuting attorney in Dunklin County in 1948 and 1950. He lost the first race but won the second. Riddle attrib­ uted part of his successful second race to improved knowledge about the St. Paul Precinct. He recalled:

I didn't fully appreciate how to get their support my first election [for county prosecutor, in 1948]. I did the second time around. I ran the first time in '48, and I lost by a very small number. Then I was determined to come back and win the second time around, and did. I looked at the results of the polls just recently, and I could tell that my intelligence on the subject increased remarkably from '48 to '50. In '48 I got my share of the votes at St. Paul. But in '50 I got all of the votes there except two. By simply getting acquainted with the people in the church and attending two or three of their services, and making a contribution during the course of the service. . . . There were always three or four other races going on at the same time your race was going on. My second time around, other candidates sensed that I had a good relationship with the community. One of the candidates was particularly aggressive and thought it would be in his best interest to fol­ low me, and next time I made a trip down to that church, that he would go along. And he did. One of the things that I told him in advance was I want­ ed to know what mortgage obligation they had on their church. And they told me what it was and how they were paying it off. I agreed to make a rea­ sonable, but modest, contribution to [help] pay off the mortgage. The other candidate misunderstood what I was saying, and he stood up in the church and said, "And anything left after what Mr. Riddle contributes I will pay off." It turned out there were several thousands of dollars. He was rather embar­ rassed. I don't know how it ever came out, but I chuckled and enjoyed the embarrassment he was experiencing.34

The St. Paul community disappeared as part of the Bootheel's general demographic trends of the 1950s and 1960s. Mechanized agriculture made mule farming on forty- and eighty-acre tracts obsolete. The next generation

33 McHaney, interview, 13-17. In the 1948 general election, Democratic presidential can­ didate Harry S. Truman received 97 percent of the votes cast in the St. Paul Precinct; Democratic gubernatorial candidate Forrest Smith received 98 percent. Eight years later, Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson received 88 percent of the vote, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate James T. Blair, Jr., garnered 87 percent. Missouri Official Manual, 1949-1950, 914; Missouri Official Manual, 1957-1958, 1021. 34 Veryl Riddle, interview by author, 13-14, Politics in Missouri Oral History Project. See also Cooper, interview, 35-36; Reeves, interview, 21. Black Electoral Power 201

Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information Photo Collection, Library of Congress Political candidates often met with groups of voters in the African American churches in the Bootheel. of young blacks sought better jobs in cities. In terms of electoral power in the Bootheel, places like St. Paul represented a phase during which blacks established and asserted their influence. The black leaders who remained have settled into well-established leadership roles. As Jim Robinson, Jr., reflected:

There hasn't been a candidate in office in Mississippi County that hasn't been in this yard. Not a one. In the house. And some of them got some "no's." For the most part, most of them got "yes," because if he came down here in the first place I was already half way hooked up with him anyway; him or her. But there hasn't been a candidate go into office that I haven't been somewhat associated with. That doesn't mean I'm the political whip by no means. I try to choose the candidates well. . . . You'd be surprised how many folks look up to you for leadership or guid­ ance where politics is concerned, when you've dealt fairly with them. And that was always my objective, to deal fairly with anybody, especially pertain­ ing to politics. If a candidate got in and he messed up or she messed up, I'd work just as hard trying to get them out of there as I done to get them in there. But I've been pretty lucky so far. I've had some good people to work for.35

During the 1960s and 1970s, Bootheel electorate behavior radically changed. To some extent, these changes reflected electoral process trends that occurred throughout the nation. This involved the advent of political

35 Robinson, interview, 9-10, 12. 202 Missouri Historical Review advertising on television, continuing urbanization and suburbanization trends, a general mitigation of rural provincialism, and better educational lev­ els among the general citizenry. Electoral power in the Missouri Bootheel between the 1920s and the 1960s mirrored strains of old Southern oligarchic politics and a vibrant fron­ tier dynamic that enabled capable and determined individuals to assert their own influence and, as leaders, a collective influence through the bloc vote. Some apathetic, uninformed, and otherwise disinterested voters gladly col­ lected extra money or enjoyed a drinking holiday on election day. Higher- level organizers like the Robinsons, the Lanes, and others sought long-term social improvement for blacks. Their exercise of electoral power also reflect­ ed matters of pride and self-esteem. Greater national trends, rather than local electoral empowerment, became more responsible for the general improve­ ment of the lives of African Americans in the Bootheel. Yet the presence of black electoral power is part of the region's cultural mosaic. It preceded the civil rights movement and even the Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision initiating the end of segregation. The tradition stems back to the 1930s and 1940s, shortly after people like the elder Jim Robinson arrived. Too spirited and strong-willed to tolerate the attempted white domination he encountered in the lower Mississippi River valley, Robinson struck out for new lands in search of better opportunities, as did so many American pio­ neers before him. He started out with sixteen acres of farmland in Mississippi County, Missouri. His son now farms several thousand acres. The younger Robinson remarked, "He used to tell me all the time, 'Jack, you'll always do greater things than me.' And I couldn't see it, because I thought he was the greatest. But I see it now."36 In addition to expanding his farming operation, the younger Robinson has continued to work in politics and play leadership roles. He has long served on the Mississippi County Democratic Committee and is town marshal of Pinhook. White racism in the Bootheel may not have had the lengthy, institution­ alized history of a former intensive slave-holding area, but it existed never­ theless. Culturally, white racism in the Bootheel would have resembled the racism of the South rather than that of the urban North. This social and cul­ tural aspect led many, particularly in the St. Louis press, to equate the Bootheel with the Deep South. Few perceived the latter-day frontier aspect of the developing region that, in part, facilitated black electoral power. Black leaders recognized their opportunities and, often quietly and subtly, and with great dignity, advanced their cause.

36 Ibid., 46; see also 4-5, 22. 203

HISTORICAL NOTES AND COMMENTS

Storyteller and Ozark folklorist Wayne Holmes, a Drury University professor emeritus, presented the annual meeting address.

Society's 2000 Annual Meeting Held on October 21

Over two hundred Society officers, trustees, members, and guests attend­ ed the 2000 annual meeting held in the Donald W. Reynolds Alumni and Visitor Center on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus on October 21. A Friday evening dinner at Les Bourgeois Vineyards near Rocheport for the trustees and guest speaker Wayne Holmes preceded the Saturday events. Two concurrent workshops, attended by over sixty people, began the annual meeting activities. Debbie Sheals, president of the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation, presented "The Ten Most Endangered Historic Places in Missouri." Her presentation, accompanied by slides, drew attention to threatened historic resources in the state and local preservation efforts. Gary R. Kremer, professor of history at William Woods University, Fulton, discussed "Writing Local History From Public Records." Kremer focused on using state agency reports in conjunction with more traditional sources to research and write local history. Dr. Lawrence O. Christensen of Rolla, president of the Society, presided over the annual business meeting. Following membership approval of the 1999 business meeting minutes and a financial report from the board of trustees and the executive committee, President Christensen reported on the 204 Missouri Historical Review

Debbie Sheals (right) and Gary Kremer (below) presented the annual meeting workshops.

election of executive committee members. At the trustees meeting preceding the business meeting, the following members were elected to serve with the president for a one-year term: Walter Allen, Brookfield; Bruce H. Beckett, Columbia; H. Riley Bock, New Madrid; Dick Franklin, Independence; James C. Olson, Kansas City; Robert C. Smith, Columbia; Avis G. Tucker, Warrensburg; and Virginia G. Young, Columbia. Albert M. Price, treasurer of the Society, presented the nominating com­ mittee report for nominees to the board of trustees for a term ending in 2003. By a unanimous vote, the members present elected the proposed slate: John K. Hulston, Springfield; James B. Nutter, Kansas City; Bob Priddy, Jefferson City; Dale Reesman, Boonville; Arvarh E. Strickland, Columbia; Blanche M. Touhill, St. Louis; and Henry J. Waters III, Columbia. Presentation of awards from the Richard S. Brownlee Fund followed. These awards contribute to the dissemination of Missouri history by individ­ uals, local historical societies, museums, and governmental and non-govern­ mental agencies. Trustee Dale Reesman presented a $340 check to Pat Ellebracht, president of the Adair County Historical Society, to help fund the Society's reprinting of The Last Roll Call - Company I - 7th Cavalry Historical Notes and Comments 205

Missouri Volunteers, first published by John Shaver in 1898. William E. Foley, Warrensburg, received $1,550 from trustee Arvarh Strickland to fur­ ther research for a biography of William Clark. Trustee Emory Melton gave a $1,000 Brownlee award to Patrick Huber, Rolla, to advance research on a proposed publication about the 1930 race riot in Ste. Genevieve. James C. Olson, first vice president, presented Lawrence H. Larsen, Kansas City, with a $1,500 check to complete research for A History of Missouri, 1953-2000.

The 2000 Brownlee Fund award winners included (clockwise from above left) Pat Ellebracht, William E. Foley, Patrick Huber, David E. Richards, and Lawrence H. Larsen. 206 Missouri Historical Review

David E. Richards, Springfield, received a $1,951 award from trustee Charles R. Brown to survey and publish a guide to oral history collections in the state. Two Brownlee Fund award recipients were not present at the business meet­ ing. Christopher Phillips, Cincinnati, Ohio, received $1,200 to help defray research expenses for editing the William Barclay Napton diary, and the Missouri Symphony Society, Columbia, was awarded $500 to assist with a publication about the Missouri Theatre. Dr. James Goodrich, executive director of the Society, presented the annual report. Following a brief tribute to the late Governor Mel Carnahan, Goodrich reviewed the status of the McKee Building renovation and expansion. He said that the completed project would provide approximately two-thirds more space for Society and Western Historical Manuscript Collection- Columbia collections and programs. The public areas of the organizations will be housed on three floors, with a basement dedicated to collection stor­ age and a fourth floor containing mechanical equipment. The basic floor plans have been established, with refinements to interior space allocations yet to be completed. He commented on the advantageous location of the build­ ing—its close proximity to Ellis Library and to public parking. Goodrich expressed appreciation to Representative Dick Franklin, a Society trustee, for his assistance in obtaining the two initial state appropria­ tions for designing the building. He noted that the Society will be seeking state monies for construction during the 2001 legislative session. Because private funds will be needed to augment the state appropriation and enhance programming and services, the Society will initiate a fund-raising campaign in the near future. The executive director announced that Senator Thomas Eagleton and trustee Henry J. Waters III have agreed to fund a new Society book award. The prize, at least $1,000, will be presented biennially, or when judged appropriate, for an outstanding book about Missouri's political history.

President Lawrence O. Christensen and Executive Director James W. Goodrich shared a light-hearted moment prior to the business meeting.

apf |W- ft+r _—t—, _—, r r - { §~™~ ^ 11 1.u _ r i. I i r \ 1 >>^L 1 Historical Notes and Comments 207

In surveying 1999-2000 services and programs, Goodrich noted that the Society and the four branches of the Western Historical Manuscript Collection had provided assistance to more than 53,000 patrons. The Society added 1,800 books to its collections. Additions to the newspaper collection brought the total number of microfilmed pages to almost 39,000,000. The executive director commented on significant manuscript collections acquired by the manuscript repositories and the gift of a George Caleb Bingham por­ trait of Boonville merchant Jacob Wyan to the fine arts collection. Goodrich concluded his remarks by mentioning the Society's recently instituted Newsletter and discussing the successes enjoyed by Missouri students at the 2000 State History Day and National History Day competitions. The annual meeting luncheon and awards ceremony followed the busi­ ness meeting. Prior to the meal, Robert C. Smith, a past president of the Society, presented remarks in memory of Governor Carnahan. Smith, a per­ sonal friend of the governor, commented on Carnahan's commitment to edu­ cation and the State Historical Society and the impact of his death on the campaign process at both the state and national levels. At the conclusion of the meal, President Christensen presented the Society's Distinguished Service Award and Medallion to John "Buck" O'Neil of Kansas City. O'Neil, who played and managed in the Negro Baseball Leagues from 1937 to 1955, serves as chairman of the board of directors of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and is a scout for the Kansas City Royals. The award honored his commitment to obtaining recog­ nition for Negro Leagues players, his efforts in establishing the museum, and his leadership in the Kansas City African American community. Petra DeWitt received the first Lewis E. Atherton Prize for an outstand­ ing master's thesis on Missouri history or biography. A resident of Houston, Missouri, she is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri- Columbia. DeWitt received the prize for "Fighting the Kaiser at Home: Anti-

John "Buck" O'Neil accepted the 2000 Distinguished Service Award and Medallion from President Christensen at the luncheon. 208 Missouri Historical Review

German Sentiment in Missouri During World War I," which she completed for her master's degree at Truman State University in Kirksville. President Christensen then announced the winners of the Missouri Historical Review Article Award and the Missouri History Book Award. John D. Morton of Cincinnati, Ohio, received the article award for "A High Wall and a Deep Ditch': Thomas Hart Benton and the Compromise of 1850," which appeared in the October 1999 issue of the Review. Robert H. Ferrell of Bloomington, Indiana, won the book award for Truman and Pendergast, published by the University of Missouri Press. Goodrich, Missouri state chair for the American Association for State and Local History awards program, presented an AASLH Award of Merit to Adolf and Rebecca Schroeder of Columbia for their outstanding work in the preservation and dissemination of ethnic and local history in Missouri. The awards ceremony concluded with Dr. James Olson's presentation of a special State Historical Society Award of Merit to Lawrence O. Christensen, William E. Foley, Gary R. Kremer, and Kenneth H. Winn for compiling and editing the Dictionary of Missouri Biography.

® - ...* M |fe Tf,. I 1 4 • '"' P Urn

Rebecca and Adolf Schroeder received an American Association for State and Local History award. The editors of the Dictionary of Missouri Biography, (left to right) Kenneth H. Winn, Gary R. Kremer, Lawrence O. Christensen, and William E. Foley, pose with James C. Olson (second from right).

Wayne Holmes, professor emeritus of literature at Drury University in Springfield, was the luncheon speaker. A noted storyteller and Ozarks folk- lorist, Holmes is a resident of Barry County. He writes a column for the Springfield Sunday News-Leader, performs as a storyteller, and is a member of the Missouri Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. His presentation, "The Jill-Flirted Mare and the Two-Headed Chicken and Other Stories/' recounted humorous incidents from his childhood in the Ozarks. The annual meeting program concluded with an open house in the Society's quarters in Ellis Library. In the Art Gallery, guests viewed an exhibit of contemporary editorial cartoons by John Darkow of the Columbia Historical Notes and Comments 209

Daily Tribune. The North-South Corridor Gallery featured Persuading the American Public: Poster Art from World War II. This exhibit of U.S. Office of War Information posters included works by Norman Rockwell and Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss).

fr. 'AJ* 210 Missouri Historical Review

Society Begins Research Charge to Out-of-State Non-Members

Due to escalating research requests and limited staff time, the State Historical Society has established a fee and a time limit for research requests received via letter, fax, or e-mail from out-of-state non-members. Effective January 1, 2001, the Society limits research assistance for these patrons to a maximum of one hour and charges $15.00 for that service. Residence is determined by the return address. Members of the Society and residents of Missouri are not charged a research fee. All patrons, however, who wish research assistance that will take longer than one hour to complete are sent a list of private researchers. Patrons will be limited to three specific requests per communication and four communications per year. Requests for newspaper searches must include name of person and event, date of event, and location of event. Letters, faxes, and e-mail messages are answered in the order in which they are received. All communications must include the patron's name and postal address.

Lewis E. Atherton Prize

The State Historical Society of Missouri seeks nominations for the sec­ ond Lewis E. Atherton Prize, to be awarded to an outstanding doctoral dis­ sertation on Missouri history or biography. Criteria for selection include originality of subject matter or methodology, effective use of sources, clarity of style, and contribution to the understanding of Missouri history. Nominations must be made by the department that granted the degree, and no more than two nominations are accepted annually from each depart­ ment. Nominees must have completed the doctoral degree between July 1, 1999, and June 30, 2001. The award is given at the discretion of the Lewis E. Atherton Prize Committee. The recipient receives a $500 cash prize and a certificate, which will be presented at the Society's annual meeting in November 2001. Three copies of the dissertation should be mailed to James W. Goodrich, Executive Director, State Historical Society of Missouri, 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, MO 65201-7298. The deadline for receipt is July 1, 2001. 211 NEWS IN BRIEF

Several groups toured the State Historical On August 8, James W. Goodrich gave a Society's libraries and art gallery in presentation about the State Historical September, October, and November. The Society and its collections to the Columbia groups included students from education, art, Downtown Kiwanis Club meeting in Boone historic preservation, and Missouri history Tavern. He served as guest speaker, dis­ classes at the University of Missouri- cussing Thomas Moore Johnson, at the dedi­ Columbia, Missouri history students from cation of the Johnson Library and Museum in Columbia College, and members of the Osceola on August 26. Goodrich spoke about Franklin County Historical Society. the political career of Missourian William Waldo, who ran for governor of California in 1852, at the November 14 meeting of the Staff members Ara Kaye and Sandi Wells Columbia Chapter of the National Society of staffed a Society booth at the Missouri Press the Colonial Dames of America, held at the Association annual meeting in St. Louis on Country Club of Missouri. September 7-8.

On September 23, the Missouri Folklore James W. Goodrich, executive director, Society sponsored a program celebrating a and Lynn Wolf Gentzler, associate director, century of Missouri traditional music in Ellis attended the American Association for State Library and the Western Historical and Local History annual meeting in New Manuscript Collection on the University of Orleans on September 20-23. Missouri-Columbia campus. The Society held its annual meeting in Fulton on October On September 22, Pat Holmes, Society 19-21. reference specialist, attended the "Using National Archives Microfilms for African The University of Missouri-Rolla will American Genealogical Research" workshop sponsor the forty-third annual Missouri at the St. Louis County Library. Reginald Conference on History at the Inn at Grand Washington, an archivist/genealogy subject Glaize in Osage Beach on March 8-10. For area specialist with the National Archives and further information contact Lance Williams, Records Administration, presented the work­ Department of History/Political Science, shop. Holmes represented the Society at the University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, MO Redding-Hill House reception in Keytesville 65409; e-mail: . on September 29. The forty-fourth annual Missouri Valley History Conference will take place March 8- Sidney Larson, Society art curator and 10 in Omaha, Nebraska. Leon Fink, of the professor of art at Columbia College, and University of Illinois-Chicago, will be the Bob Priddy, Society trustee and news director luncheon speaker. For further information for MissouriNet, received University of contact Sharon E. Wood, Missouri Valley Missouri-Columbia Alumni Association History Conference, Department of History, Faculty-Alumni Awards on October 6. The University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, awards honor alumni for professional accom­ NE 68182; e-mail: .

Society staff members Laurel Boeckman, The Missouri Chapter of the National Dean Hargett, Alison Pabst, and Wayne Trail of Tears Association will host the Sanders attended a Disaster Recovery and national meeting in Cape Girardeau on April Prevention Workshop on October 19 at Ellis 24-27. For further information contact Library on the campus of the University of Hershel Price, Trail of Tears State Park, 429 Missouri-Columbia. Moccasin Springs, Jackson, MO 63755. 212

LOCAL HISTORICAL SOCIETIES

Adair County Historical Society museum. The Society has a new e-mail The Society sponsored Appraisal Day in address: . October, with Carolyn Peterson available to appraise antiques brought in by collectors. Ballwin Historical Society Harry Langdon, of Kansas City, presented A business meeting took place at the "Music of the Midwest" at the Society's Government Center on August 8. The annual dinner meeting at the Travelers Hotel Society sponsored a float in the Ballwin Days in Kirksville on November 6. parade and opened the log house for the event. The October 10 meeting was held at Andrew County Museum the Government Center. and Historical Society Members participated in the fourth annu­ Barry County Genealogical al Platte Purchase Days Living History and Historical Society Festival at Duncan Memorial Park in The presiding commissioner of Barry Savannah on September 23-24. Musicians, County, Cherry Warren, presented informa­ dancers, storytellers, and reenactors per­ tion relating to the county at the August 15 formed during the festival, and a children's meeting. Jill McLeester shared helpful tips area provided games, mule wagon rides, and and methods for genealogy research, as well crafts. Demonstrations of pottery making, as tips on creating personal web pages on the spinning, blacksmithing, hide tanning, and Internet, at the September 19 meeting. butter churning took place throughout the Members gathered for the annual meeting on festival. The Society sponsored the fifth November 11. John Cary, president of the annual Tricks and Treats Night at the muse­ Claremore (Oklahoma) Historical Society, um on October 28. The annual Volunteer was the guest speaker. The Society meets in Dinner took place at the Andrew County the Cassville Community Building. Senior Center on November 5. Barton County Historical Society Appleton City Landmarks Restoration At the October 8 meeting in the Lamar Members celebrated the completion of United Methodist Church, Ralph Williston the MKT Railroad Park with a dedication spoke about children's books he has authored ceremony on August 11. The Railroad Park relating to his Indian heritage. Celebration took place the following day, and entertainment included craft demonstrations Bates County Historical Society from the past. The Restoration's fourth annu­ The museum has expanded into the recent­ al Flea Market and Collectibles Fair took ly acquired 1908 Bates County Infirmary place in Appleton City's Forest Park on Building in Butler. The Society meets on the October 7. second Thursday of each month in the Stagecoach Depot at the museum complex. Audrain County Historical Society The Society sponsored a Country Fair on Belton Historical Society the museum grounds in Mexico on A panel of Belton mayors, past and pre­ September 30. The fair included antique and sent, participated in a question-and-answer craft displays, quilting demonstrations, raf­ session at the October 22 Society meeting in fles, a cakewalk, horseshoe pitching, a fash­ the Old City Hall. ion show, and an auction. A reunion also took place for teachers who taught in Audrain Bingham-Waggoner Historical Society County country schools. Members gathered The nineteenth annual "Pig Pickin'- for the annual meeting on November 14 at the Chicken Lickin' Feast" took place on the Historical Notes and Comments 213

Bingham-Waggoner grounds on September Brush and Palette Club 9. The Greater Kansas City Banjo Band and The Club sponsored the forty-ninth annu­ the Village Cloggers provided entertainment. al Arts and Crafts Festival on October 14-15 Activities also included tours of the estate in Hermann. The second annual Fine Arts and a quilt show. Society members partici­ Festival took place on October 21-22. Jim pated in the ribbon cutting and dedication of Denny, historian for the Missouri Department the new wagon swales improvements on the of Natural Resources, shared a slide presenta­ grounds on October 11. A brief program was tion about the Missouri phase of the Lewis presented on the history of the grounds and and Clark Expedition at the November 6 the development of the swales nearly 170 meeting at Hermann High School. years ago. The October exhibit featured political campaign memorabilia dating from the 1800s to the present. Camden County Historical Society Patsy Luebbert, from the Missouri State Boone County Historical Society Archives, discussed the role and function of Ceclia McBride Robinson, of William the archives at the August 21 meeting. The Jewell College, presented "Dr. [William] comedy play Exit the Body was performed at Jewell: A Pioneer in the African Colonization the museum on September 8 and 9. On Movement, 1816-1865" at the August 20 September 23, the Lake Strings provided meeting. Members traveled to Bowling chamber music prior to the annual Photo/Art Green on August 27 to visit St. John's Contest awards presentations. Members Episcopal Church and Honeyshuck, the home sponsored the annual Apple Butter Days at of Champ Clark. In conjunction with the the museum on October 7. Alan Sullivan, Heritage Festival on September 16-17, the maintenance superintendent of B agnail Dam, Society sponsored a Barn Dance and Ham shared the story of the construction of the and Biscuit Breakfast at the museum in dam at the October 16 meeting. The annual Columbia. The Society, in cooperation with fiddle contest and barn dance took place on Columbia College, dedicated the Bennett October 21. The Society started a Civil War House /Williams Hall as a Boone County Round Table on October 26. All meetings are Historic Site on September 30. Society and held at the museum in Linn Creek. community members celebrated the musical career of Jane Froman at the museum on October 7. The celebration included a Carondelet Historical Society screening of some of Froman's television Society members participated in a tour of performances and exhibits of Froman memo­ the historic Holly Hills neighborhood in St. rabilia. The annual meeting and potluck din­ Louis, sponsored by the Holly Hills ner took place on October 15 at the museum. Improvement Association, on October 1. The Hallsville writer Joan Gilbert discussed homes were designed and built by developer ghosts, the topic of her latest book. William A. Federer in the 1920s and 1930s to emulate the glamour of Hollywood. The Boone-Duden Historical Society Society dedicated plaques at three historic Jim "Two Crows" Wallen presented "Did Carondelet churches in October: Granddad Really Say That?" at the Society Kingshighway United Methodist Church on meeting at the Emmaus Home in October 8; Church of Nazarene on October Marthasville on August 28. Members gath­ 15; and Corinthian Baptist Church on ered at the Hamburg Cemetery on October 14 October 22. Members gathered on October to hear Les Mades share stories of the history 29 at the Carondelet Historic Center to dine of Hamburg. The Society participated in the and hear guest speaker Ross Wagner speak Deutsch Country Days in Marthasville on about the funeral customs of the eighteenth October 21-22. and nineteenth centuries. 214 Missouri Historical Review

Cass County Historical Society the National Park Service, discussed "The Joan Henry, of Kansas City, described the History of Fort Sumter" at the October 24 U.S. First Continental Motor Convoy, which meeting. All meetings were held at the took place during World War I, at the Leawood Country Club in Leawood, Kansas. September 24 meeting at Pearson Hall in Harrisonville. Civil War Round Table of St. Louis Gregory A. Mertz, with the National Park Cedar County Historical Society Service, discussed "The Aggressive Nature of At the August 19 meeting, Peter Nichols Stonewall Jackson and the Battle of discussed the development of a historical dis­ Chancellorsville" at the Two Hearts Banquet trict in Stockton. Melinda Gumm, circuit Center on September 27. Retired educator clerk and recorder for Cedar County, talked Judith Lee Hallock presented a program about the microfilming project underway at focusing upon the letters of Confederate sol­ the September 16 meeting. Both meetings dier Joshua Callaway at the October 25 meet­ took place at the museum in Stockton. The ing. Society opened the museum during the Stockton Black Walnut Festival in Clay County Archives September. Members gathered on October and Historical Library 21 at the library in El Dorado Springs for a Members gathered for the annual meeting meeting, with Claud Hoffman as the guest at the Old Country Buffet on November 4. speaker. The Society now has a web site: Mike Wilson talked about the involvement of . Clay County citizens in the Indian Wars.

Centralia Historical Society The Society sponsored the twenty-sixth Dallas County Historical Society annual Quilt Show in Centralia September 3- At the August 20 meeting, Maxine October 1. Nearly seven hundred visitors Nimmo presented "Two Hundred Years of viewed the quilts on display. Missouri Highways." Members watched the Carl Hurley video Laughter Is Where You Chariton County Historical Society Find It at the September 21 meeting. The The Society participated in a citywide Society sponsored the annual Buffalo Head rummage sale in Salisbury on September 16. Prairie Festival in Buffalo on October 14. Activities included musical performances, Christian County Museum craft demonstrations, and tours of Society and Historical Society buildings. Eva Marie Glor discussed A business meeting took place on "Waterholes on the Little Niangua" at the September 17 at the Christian County Library October 19 meeting. All meetings were held in Ozark. Kerry McGrath, from the State at the Crescent School in Buffalo Head Historical Society of Iowa, presented her Historic Park, Buffalo. research on the pioneering Casebolt- Patterson family, who settled in the Pedelo DeKalb County Historical Society area in northeast Christian County. Society President Ruth Owen and her husband, Loren, were the grand marshals for Civil War Round Table of Kansas City the annual Country Harvest parade in John Charlton shared the slide presenta­ Mays ville on September 8-10. The window tion "Photography of Alexander Gardner" at display for August depicted a chautauqua the August 22 meeting. "Civil War Prisons: scene with one large tent and a few smaller How Americans Treated Americans" was tents. The September display highlighted presented by author Lonnie R. Speer at the Camp Quality, an annual camp held each year September 26 meeting. Rick Hatcher III, of for children with cancer. Historical Notes and Comments 215

Florissant Valley Historical Society Friends of Jefferson Barracks The Society sponsored "Halloween At the September 21 meeting, Fred R. Happening" at Taille de Noyer on October 29. Pfister presented "Whatever Happened to Alf Lorelei Cromer presented a program about Bolin's Head? Bushwhackers, Guerrillas, haunted houses in North St. Louis County. and the Civil War in the Ozarks: 1860-1900." The Friends sponsored a Civil War Living Foundation for Restoration History program on October 14. A Civil War of Ste. Genevieve trivia presentation took place on November Anne Dietz Hessler presented "Indians, 11-12. Outlaws, Steamboats and Snags—The Tale of Three Small Towns on the Missouri River: Friends of Keytesville Bonnots Mill, Chamois, and Rocheport" at The Keytesville fire station staff present­ the October 19 meeting in the Old Brick ed a program on the benefits of 911 at the Restaurant in Ste. Genevieve. October 9 meeting at the station. Members helped chink the log cabin on October 14. Friends of Arrow Rock "Gunstocks and Bustles: A Nineteenth Friends of the National Frontier Century Weekend" took place in Arrow Rock Trails Center on September 16-17. Wallace Gusler pre­ The Friends met on September 21 at the sented "From Virginia to Missouri: A Center in Independence. Mary Conrad pre­ Heritage of Gunsmithing," and Tom Hall and sented an update on the latest archaeological Sue Stubbs discussed "The Life and Times of investigations at the Oxford School in John and Nannie Sites in Arrow Rock." Independence. The Center's new exhibit, Reenactment tours of the Sites House and New to the Collections, includes articles that Gun Shop also took place during the week­ traveled by covered wagon in the 1800s as end. Clyde Ruffin portrayed Harrison Green, well as items discovered along the trail. an important figure in the local nineteenth- century African American community, at Friends of Old St. Ferdinand Shrine Brown's Chapel Free Will Baptist Church. Members sponsored a Fall Festival on Gary Kremer presented "Post Civil War October 8 in Florrisant. Local historical Missouri." Nearly two thousand students, groups set up information booths in the teachers, and parents from thirty mid- schoolhouse. Missouri schools viewed volunteers and staff demonstrating various mid-nineteenth-centu­ Gasconade County Historical Society ry crafts at the ninth biennial Children's Craft Local musicians shared their talents with Festival on September 28. The Friends spon­ the community at the ninth annual Musikfest sored the thirty-second annual Arrow Rock at the St. Paul Building on September 10. Craft Festival on October 14-15. Prior to the November 5 quarterly meeting, Demonstrations included doll making, basket the Society held a grand opening for the new weaving, gunsmithing, rug braiding, candle museum in Owens ville. Following dinner, dipping, and woodworking. Bob Butler presented "What is a Fiddle Anyway?" at the meeting held in the New Friends of Historic Boonville Hope Methodist Church near Owensville. The Friends sponsored the twenty-fifth annual Missouri River Festival of the Arts in German-Austrian-Swiss Historical- September. The event included performances Heritage Society of the Ozarks by the Kansas City Symphony, the Kansas The Society sponsored historical per­ City Brass, The Babes, and the Coasters and formers Legion XXII from Bitburg, Drifters, as well as a reception for local artists Germany, who presented "Living History: and a bike ride. Re-enactment of the Roman Occupation of 216 Missouri Historical Review

Germany AD 39," on October 7 at the History Greene County Historical Society Museum for Springfield-Greene County in Don Landon discussed the history of Springfield. The group demonstrated life at Southwest Missouri State University at the the height of the Roman Empire and lectured September 28 meeting. Members heard John on topics that included military tactics, tech­ Rutherford discuss the John S. and Mary niques, and equipment; the environmental Phelps family at the October 26 meeting. impact of Roman life; cooking methods and Officers for 2001 include Jeff Patrick, presi­ foods; and fashion, jewelry, and makeup. dent; Robert Neumann, vice president; and The reenactors also presented a mask theatre. Greta Huff, secretary.

Glendale Historical Society Grundy County Historical Society The Tony Mercurio Trio entertained A collection of western memorabilia members and guests at the Society ice cream belonging to noted Wild West performer social on September 1 in the City Hall park­ Monroe Veach was on display at the museum ing lot. Members toured homes and work­ in Trenton during October. Jack Brewer pre­ shops and were treated to a dinner by one of sented a program on old school songs on the families in the Amish community near October 21-22 at the Society's country Arthur, Illinois, on September 23. schoolhouse in Trenton.

Golden Eagle River Museum Harrison County Historical Society On August 27, members viewed films of The Cuddy House, in Bethany, was built the river trip taken by Oliver C. Parmely to in 1882 and is open to visitors. For more Chattanooga, Tennessee, on the Golden information regarding hours of operation and Eagle steamer in 1939. Almita Colbert tours contact Helen Smith at 660-425-4613, shared stories of working as a towboat cook or Julia Hintz at 660-425-6811. at the September 23 meeting. The meetings took place at the museum in Bee Tree Park in Henry County Historical Society St. Louis County. On September 11, the Society held a Pictorial Memories of Henry County, Grain Valley Historical Society Missouri book signing in the Adair Annex of Members gathered for a potluck dinner the museum in Clinton. Editors and individ­ and an impersonation of George Burns by uals who helped compile information for the Tom Scahill at the Society on September 28. volume were on hand to sign copies of the new book. The exhibit A Century of Faces, Facts and Frictions in Henry County, which Grand River Historical Society highlighted the progression of the county and Museum over the past one hundred years, was on dis­ Allan Moore discussed the history of the play through September and October. Amber Chillicothe Business College at the Society's Clifford, from Central Missouri State quarterly meeting at the American Legion University, Warrensburg, discussed identify­ building in Chillicothe on October 10. ing and conserving old family textiles on September 14. Lek Trek volunteers present­ Grandview Historical Society ed a program on the diminishing grasslands Reba Shahan shared details from a recent in Missouri on September 16. The Society trip to France at the November 6 meeting sponsored a volunteer brunch on September held in the Depot Museum. The Society held 30. Members gathered on October 12 to a Basement Sale in October. The new muse­ watch one-person theater artist Claudette por­ um exhibit, Attic Toys, displays toys from tray Rose Kennedy. All events were held in past generations. the DeLozier Building in Clinton. Historical Notes and Comments 217

Historic Kansas City Foundation November 8. The museum sponsored a Quilt The Foundation sponsored a tour of the Identification Day on September 14, with Union Hill neighborhood on October 21. The quilt expert Bettina Havig identifying and area, listed on the Kansas City Register of evaluating quilts. The museum participated Historic Places, began as one of the city's in the Sertoma Ozarks Style BBQ Cook Off earliest suburbs dating back to the 1880s. on September 23, and Cider Days on October The Foundation offered walking tours of the 7-8. Country Club Plaza on October 8 and 22 and of the Union Station/Freight House District HST Independence 76 Fire Company on October 14 and 28. The Society gathered at Rustler's Bar-B- Q in Independence on August 22, September Historic Madison County 26, and October 24 for business meetings. Several founding members of the Members participated in the Fall Gathering Foundation for Historic Preservation attend­ and Independence Halloween Parade on ed the August 15 meeting and discussed the October 28. Foundation's purposes and projects. The Foundation is working with Historic Madison Huntsville Historical Society County to place the Underriner House in Dianne Moran presented "The Battle at Fredericktown on the National Register of Pilot Knob" as part of the Old Settlers' 2000 Historic Places. At the September 20 busi­ event September 14-16 in Huntsville. The ness meeting, Betty Umfleet shared informa­ Society participated in the dedication of the tion about the Ellis family history. A general Potawatomi Trail of Death marker at Hutsell business meeting took place on October 17. Park east of Moberly on October 7. All meetings were held at the Old Jail in Fredericktown. Iron County Historical Society Cal Dothage and Lynn Thompson pre­ Historical Society of New Santa Fe sented a Halloween story-telling program for William S. Worley, director of the Kansas Society members at the Arcadian Cafe in City Regional History Institute, presented Arcadia on October 16. "The Legacy of the Santa Fe Trail" at the annual fall meeting on October 24 at the Jackson County Historical Society Whitfield Centre on the Avila College cam­ Debra Parson, Society education director, pus in Kansas City. presented "Through the Eye of the Needle: R. A. Long, Businessman and Philanthropist" at Historical Society of Polk County the September 9 "Come Into the Archives" The Society held a Victorian High Tea on session. In October, the Society sponsored August 24. In September and October, Neva the Missouri State Archives exhibit, Verdict Charlene Gardner presented "The Way We of History: Examining Missouri's Judicial Were," programs about the buildings around Record, in the Grand Hall of Union Station in the square in Bolivar. Gardner and Don Kansas City. On October 3 and 8, in con­ Wood discussed "Early Thanksgivings" at the junction with the exhibit, the Society staged November 9 meeting at Simon B's restaurant Murder or Coincidence: The Mysterious in Bolivar. The Society meets the fourth Death of Colonel Swope in the Care of Dr. Thursday of each month at the North Ward Hyde, a historical reenactment of a 1910 trial. Museum in Bolivar. The Society's "A Celebration of 150 Years of Kansas City History" series featured Jeff History Museum for Spivak discussing his book, Union Station Springfield-Greene County Kansas City, on September 12; William The Stitch in Time quilt exhibit opened on Worley as Tom Pendergast on October 10; September 7 at the museum and closed on and Patrick O'Neill discussing his book, 218 Missouri Historical Review

From the Bottom Up: The History of the Irish Plant. Also on display were quilts made by in Kansas City, on November 14. The pre­ Mabel Murphy. A Lewis and Clark Exposition sentations were held at Blue River College in video was featured at the October 19 meeting Kansas City. held in the Callaway County Public Library. The October exhibit displayed spinning wheel Jasper County Historical Society items. Society members held a business meet­ Marjorie Bull and Steve Weldon present­ ing on November 13 at the Society. ed "A Records Review" at the September 10 meeting at the Archives Building in Carthage. Kirkwood Historical Society Mike Raybourn shared his collection of Johnson County Historical Society Civil War artifacts at the September 12 meet­ Ray Fitterling, county presiding commis­ ing at Mudd's Grove. sioner, discussed "What Is Going to Happen to the County's Old Cemeteries?" at the fall Laclede County Historical Society meeting at the Old Courthouse in The Society celebrated its twenty-fifth Warrensburg on September 24. The Society anniversary with an ice cream social on and the Knob Noster Masonic Lodge #245 August 28 in Lebanon. dedicated a grave marker for early settler Asbury M. Coffey in the Knob Noster Lee's Summit Historical Society Cemetery on September 30. Following a potluck dinner, Frank Graves shared photos taken of Lee's Summit fifty Kansas City Westerners years ago at the October 6 meeting at the Lee Ed Shutt shared stories about famous Haven Community Center. nineteenth-century Kansans at the September 12 meeting. On October 10, Michael Lincoln County Historical Anderson, curator of the General Frederick and Archaeological Society Funston Museum in Iola, Kansas, discussed Members participated in the ground­ the life of the general. Mack McMahon per­ breaking for the Walk of Fame at the Old Jail formed as Buffalo Bill Cody at the November Museum on September 7. The annual Britton 14 meeting. All meetings took place at the House Roast took place on September 23 at Wyndam Garden Hotel in Kansas City. the Woods Fort Country Club in Troy. Members held a yard sale at the Old Jail on Kimmswick Historical Society October 14. Society members held their Darline Spink, Kimmswick tour director, annual banquet at the Woods Fort Country demonstrated the children's program she has Club on October 27. Guest speakers Lou created for tours of the town at the September Wehmer, of Willow Springs, and Kirby Ross, 11 meeting at Kimmswick Hall. Ken Peck of Denver, Colorado, discussed the bitter discussed "Ozark Forests - Past and Present" conflict between the Third Missouri State at the October 2 meeting. Members partici­ Militia (USA) and the Fifteenth Missouri pated in the Kimmswick Apple Butter Cavalry (CSA) during the Civil War. Festival on October 28-29. Dale Goad pre­ sented "The ABC's of the Spinning Wheel" Maries County Historical Society at the November 6 meeting. The Society participated in the Maries County Fair parade on September 2. Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society Members gathered for a quarterly meeting on Ralph M. Rowlett, archaeologist, dis­ October 29 at the Vienna United Methodist cussed the Miller Creek Methodist Church at Church. Laura Schiermeier shared her video the September 18 meeting at the Society. The of the July 2 celebration. The Society has September window display featured pictures published Memories of Mine, a tribute to and artifacts from the Harrison-Walker Brick deceased member Virginia Schwegler Historical Notes and Comments 219

Crossman. The book includes several child­ on October 8. Members visited the sites of hood stories from the 1920s and 1930s shared the former town of Hugo and Ebenezer by Crossman in past issues of the Maries School, the log homes of Conrad Schmidt Countian newsletter. and James Harris, and the Spatin house.

Mid-Missouri Civil War Round Table Morgan County Historical Society Nancy Kennedy discussed the role of Ferrel Sanders, of South Carolina, spoke women in the Civil War at the August 15 about General Daniel Morgan at the meeting. On September 19, Noel Crowson September 18 meeting at the Society in presented "Bill Anderson: Raid on Danville." Versailles. The Society opened the Martin Ralph Kreigh talked about "Battle Flags of House Museum for tours during the Apple the North and South" at the October 17 meet­ Festival on October 7. At the October 16 ing. The Round Table meets at the Boone business/dinner meeting at the Pioneer County Historical Museum in Columbia. Restaurant, Bill and Dorothy Williams pre­ sented a slide program about early Versailles Miller County Historical Society and Morgan County. The Society sponsored Members gathered in the museum build­ a vintage fashion show on October 29 at the ing in Tuscumbia for the October 8 quarterly Royal Theater in Versailles. meeting. H. Dwight Weaver, of Eldon, spoke on "Exploring the Mystique of Caves." On John G. Neihardt Corral of the Westerners October 28, the Society sponsored the annual Wilbert Janke discussed antique toys at chili and soup dinner. New hours for the the September 14 meeting. On October 12, museum are 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Monday, Molly Strode, director of the Missouri State Wednesday, and Friday. Museum in the Capitol, spoke about the his­ tory of Missouri's capitols and the current Missouri Society for Military History restoration. Bill Crawford presented "The Reenactors representing time periods Forest Hill Plantation" on November 9. The ranging from the colonial era to Desert Storm Corral meets at Jack's Restaurant in participated in the Society's "Camp of Columbia. Instruction" at the Ike Skelton National Guard Training Site in Jefferson City on Newton County Historical Society September 23-24. Historic quilts were on display in the Park School House in Neosho on October 7-8. Moniteau County Historical Society Dixie Haas exhibited her handmade quilts on Helen Couchman discussed the November 1-5. Oklahoma Cherokee Race and Cherokee Strip Pioneers at the October 7 meeting at the O'Fallon Historical Society Cultural Heritage Center in California. The Members met at the Ponderosa restaurant annual Society dinner took place at the on September 11 for a general business meet­ Butterfield Inn in Tipton on November 6. ing. Gail Ludwig, of the University of Missouri- Columbia, presented "If Stones Could Talk," Old Mines Area Historical Society a program about cemetery studies in The Society sponsored the annual Fete de Missouri. The Society's library is closed for L'Automne on October 1. Crafters demon­ the winter. The History of Moniteau County, strated their skills, and members of the Volume II - 2000 has been published and is Missouri Trappers Association exhibited available for purchase. pelts and traps. The Maplewood School dis­ play was Voyageur francais et indien en Montgomery County Historical Society Haute Louisiane, which detailed the life of The Society held its annual fall bus tour early French and Native American hunters 220 Missouri Historical Review

and explorers. The Brown Baggers band per­ Immigration to Perry County, Missouri in formed, and the Society held a Chicken 'n 1839" at the October 15 meeting held at the Dumplin' Dinner at the St. Michael's House. Trinity Lutheran School in Altenburg.

Old Trails Historical Society Pettis County Historical Society Audrey Schaper shared her family history Eldon Leiter, a Pettis County archaeolo­ in the Manchester community at the gist, discussed prehistoric west central November 15 meeting at the Bacon Log Missouri cultures at the September 25 meet­ Cabin. ing at State Fair Community College in Sedalia. Osage County Historical Society On August 28, Society members toured the Platte County Historical Society newly renovated Gasconade County Historical The Society rededicated the historical Society Museum in Owensville and then met marker at the site of the Noah's Ark Covered at the V.F.W. Hall. The Society participated in Bridge just outside of Smithville on October the first annual Chamois Day Festival on 2. The bridge, the only known covered September 23. Activities included musical bridge in the county, was in use from 1868 to entertainment, crafts, an antique mall, a Lewis 1959. Due to extensive flood damage in and Clark Expedition reenactment, and tours. 1965, the bridge had to be removed. The Townley House, the Society's museum in Chamois, was open to visitors. Pleasant Hill Historical Society Marian Schlicher, from the Cass County Overland Historical Society Historical Society, presented "Researching in Members met on August 28 at the the Cass County Archives" at the October 15 Overland Community Center and heard meeting held at the museum. She discussed Sharon Smith, of the Missouri Historical the information available in the Margaret Society, present "Women's Work in the Wade Archives at the Cass County Historical Gilded Age." Officers for 2000-2001 include Society Information Center in Harrisonville. Bob Kerr, president; Maryalice Schaal, vice president; Carole Snyder, treasurer; and William Clarke Quantrill Society Marlene Dent and Sue Steinmeyer, secre­ Members met on October 7 at the taries. The Society sponsored apple butter Courtyard Exchange Restaurant in making on September 16-18 at the Log Independence for a business meeting. House and "Autumn in the Park" at Norman Myers Park on September 24. Members trav­ Randolph County Historical Society eled to Branson for a fall tour on November Members gathered on September 25 at 2-4. A general business meeting took place Nelly's in Moberly for the thirty-fourth annu­ on November 6 at the Overland Community al meeting. The program included a home Center. The Society has a new Internet movie of the centennial celebration in 1966. address: and a new e-mail address: . The Society sponsored a booth with baked goods and a quilt showing at the Perry County Historical Society Raytown Round Up Days on September 22- A general business meeting took place on 23. The Raytown South High School September 10 in the office behind the Faherty Cardinal Chorale performed at the October House in Perryville. 10 meeting and chili supper at the Raytown Christian Church. Recent museum exhibits Perry County Lutheran Historical Society included a collection of teddy bears and vet­ Leonard Kuehnert presented "Saxon erans' pictures. Historical Notes and Comments 221

Reynolds County Genealogy Scott County Historical and Historical Society and Genealogy Society A business meeting took place on The guest speaker for the August 15 meet­ September 10 at the museum in Ellington. At ing came in character as Anna Elizabeth the October 1 meeting, Gerald Angel present­ Hunter Moore. A resident of Scott County in ed a video about and discussed the Grandin thel800s, "Moore" talked about her life and Sawmill. Members gathered at the library on times. On September 10, the Society held a November 5 for a business meeting and to do reception honoring its charter members. research. John Coleman spoke about evangelist Billy Sunday and his visits to southeast Missouri in Ripley County Historical Society the 1920s and 1930s at the September 19 Members participated in a tie raft reenact- meeting. On October 17, Joan Feezor, a ment on September 2. The raft and crew trav­ local records archivist in Charleston, dis­ eled seven and one-half miles down the cussed basic archival techniques for preserv­ Current River to Doniphan. ing important documents and photographs. The meetings took place at the Scott County Route 66 Association of Missouri Courthouse in Benton. Members gathered for lunch and a busi­ ness meeting at the Sheraton Hawthorn Park Sons and Daughters of the Hotel in Springfield on October 14. Blue and Gray Civil War Round Table At the August 20 meeting, Sally Tennihill St. Charles County Historical Society and George Hinshaw based a performance on The Society held its quarterly business the theme of the book As Luck Would Have It: meeting on October 28 at the White House Chance and Coincidence in the Civil War. Restaurant and Wine Hall in Augusta. Anita Members viewed a video on pre-war and Mallinckrodt shared the history of wine mak­ Civil War events in Kansas during the ing in Augusta, as well as the tradition of St. September 17 meeting. The October 15 Charles residents traveling via boat to meeting included discussion of Civil War bat­ Augusta to enjoy a day of picnicking and tle sites in Virginia. The Round Table meets games. in the St. Francis Hospital conference room in Mary ville. St. Francois County Historical Society At the August 22 meeting, Faye Sitzes Stone County discussed "William Pickles and the Pickle Historical/Genealogical Society Springs Natural Area." John Paul Skaggs, of Society members met with Stone County Fredericktown, presented "Mining in Bank representative Eddie Bowling at the Madison County" at the September 27 meet­ September 10 meeting to discuss sponsorship ing. On October 8, members gathered for the of a pictorial history of the county. Clyde annual picnic at the Sitzes' house. Jon Hultz shared information on researching Cozean discussed his trip to Pearl Harbor as Cherokee Indian ancestry at the October 1 a volunteer in the restoration of the battleship meeting. Members gathered on November 5 Missouri at the October 25 meeting. at the Society for a general business meeting. Meetings are held in the Ozarks Federal Civic Room in Farmington. Texas County Missouri Genealogical and Historical Society Sappington-Concord Historical Society At the September 8 meeting, Ed Artist Jane Wilkerson shared her oils and McKinney discussed early radio shows from watercolors with members at the meeting KWTO in Springfield, and Blanche held in the Lindbergh High School auditori­ McKinney commented on new titles avail­ um on October 25. able in the genealogy section of the library. 222 Missouri Historical Review

Wayne Simpson spoke about the new organi­ immigrants to the development of zation in Mountain Grove that is interested in Washington at the museum on October 1. locating the graves of Confederate veterans in Members participated in a self-guided tour of the Wright County area at the October 13 the historic sites of the Dutzow and Lake meeting. The Society meets in St. Marks Creek areas on October 22. Catholic Church in Houston. Webster County Historical Society Vernon County Historical Society An ice cream social held August 22 hon­ The Society sponsored a bus tour to Har- ored Society volunteers. The Society spon­ Ber Village and Lindenwood Gardens near sored a booth at Harvest Days in Marshfield Grove, Oklahoma, on October 5. Society on September 15-16. On September 26, members gathered at the Bushwhacker members met at Walnut Springs Farm for an Museum in Nevada for a business meeting old-fashioned pie auction and supper. A gen­ and a "Show and Tell" program on October 8. eral business meeting took place at the muse­ um in Marshfield on October 24. The Warren County Historical Society Society held a Christmas Open House at the Members toured the Emmaus House in museum on November 12. Marthasville for the August 27 meeting. The Society's annual meeting took place on Westport Historical Society October 26 at the museum in Warrenton. The The Society celebrated its fiftieth anniver­ program included viewing portions of films sary on September 17 at the Harris-Kearney made by William "Bill" Zimmerman on early House in Kansas City. Following remarks by Warren County events. Officers for 2001 Society past president Orvis Fitts on the orga­ include Roxie Schroeder, president; Charlotte nization's history, the Missouri Town Bradshaw, vice president; Dolores Schrick, Dancers performed. treasurer; and Alouise Marschel, secretary. White River Valley Historical Society Washington Historical Society Fred Pfister, editor of the Ozarks Society members gathered for a dinner at Mountaineer, presented "Tourism Past, the museum on September 12. The Society Tourism Present, Tourism Future in the welcomed zitherist Jack Bourdess, of Omaha, Branson Area" at the September 10 meeting to the museum on September 24 as part of the at the College of the Ozarks. Officers for Washington Fall Festival activities. Ralph 2000-2001 include Jo Stacey Albers, presi­ Gregory and Dorris Keeven presented a pro­ dent; Dora Q. Meikle, vice president; and C. gram on the contributions of early German Jean Gleaves, secretary-treasurer.

Errata

The photographs accompanying the article "Lake Placid: A Recreational Center for Colored People in the Missouri Ozarks,'" which appeared in the October 2000 issue of the Missouri Historical Review, should have been credited to Leonard Pryor.

We would like to note the following corrections to the In Memoriam section of the October 2000 issue: SPURGEON, EVALENA SMITH, Columbia: March 6, 1921-July 12, 2000; TARABA, ELLA MAXINE CARNAGEY, Bethany: January 22, 1920-January 1, 2000; TOMEY, LOUIS R., St. Louis: August 10, 1911-February 25, 2000. 223

GIFTS RELATING TO MISSOURI Sharon Anderson, Ottumwa, Iowa, donor: Photos relating to the Hetzler Meat Company of Columbia and tornado devastation in Providence. (P)* Robert M. Barrett, Kirksville, donor: The Barrett Family: Descendants of Robert Berrett (1604), Steeple Ashton, England, 2 volumes, by Maurice Fothergill and the donor. (R) Boone County Historical Society, Columbia, donor, via David Sapp: The 1820 Route of the Boone's Lick Trail Across Boone County, Missouri, by David Sapp, and Boone County Chronicles, by David Sapp, et al. (R) John F. Bradbury, Rolla, donor: The Old Phelps County Courthouse and the Civil War, edited by the donor. (R) Sam B. Cook, Jefferson City, donor: The Cooks and the Central Missouri Trust Company: The History. (R) Petra DeWitt, Houston, donor: "Fighting the Kaiser at Home: Anti-German Sentiment in Missouri During World War I," by the donor. (R) Richard Edging, Fort Leonard Wood, donor: Developing and Testing Predictive Models for Stratified Archaeological Sites at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, by Steven R. Ahler, Michael F. Kolb, and the donor; Phase I Archaeological Survey of 969 Acres at Fort Leonard Wood, Pulaski County, Missouri and The Lohraff Peninsula Site Complex: An NRHP Evaluation of Three Prehistoric Archaeological Sites at Fort Leonard Wood, Pulaski County, Missouri, both by Paul P. Kreisa. (R) Margaret H. Gentges, Great Falls, Virginia, donor: Annotated 1850 Federal Census of Osage County, Missouri Including the Northern Half of Present Day Maries County, by the donor. (R) Grand Lodge of Missouri A. F. and A. M., Columbia, donor, via Tamara K. Clark: Biographies and Engravings of Grand Masters, Grand Treasurers and Grand Secretaries of the Grand Lodge of Missouri from 1821-1900, Inclusive; Grand Lodge of Missouri Official Proceedings, 1994-2000. (R) Nancy Grissom, Gideon, donor: Video tape and book of Gideon, Missouri Centennial Celebration, 1900-2000. (P) & (R) Wilbur C. Haseman, Columbia, donor: A Checklist of Publications Relating to Missouri Counties (January 1979) and A Historical Calendar of Missouri Events (October 1979), both by Missouri State Archives. (R) Eddie and Shirley Herrman, Springfield, donors: Video tape of Eddie Herrman Presents Butler, Missouri, 1852-1920, and video tape of Butler - The Continuing Saga, 1920-2000. (P) Susan Richards Johnson and Associates, Inc., Kansas City, donor: Wabash Station: Assessment and Feasibility Study, Columbia, Missouri. (R) Margaret A. Kerns, Urich, donor: When uPistols were in Flower," by Dolly Bee Breitenbaugh. (R) Kirkwood Historical Society, Kirkwood, donor, via Betty Beck: Photo of author Josephine Johnson. (P) Lani Marie Kirsch, Kansas City, donor:

* These letters indicate the location of the materials at the Society. (P) refers to Photograph Collection; (R) Reference Library; (N) Newspaper Library; (A) Art Collection; (M) Manuscripts. 224 Missouri Historical Review

"Seeking a Land Where Their Faith was not Endangered: The Saxon Emigration of 1838," by the donor. (R) Joe Dale Linn, Palm Springs, California, donor: Marriage Records of People with Mercer County, Missouri "Roots," by the donor. (R) Donna M. Toney Long, Columbia, donor: Items relating to William Litton Toney. (R) Christine Montgomery, Columbia, donor: Soulard, St. Louis, by Albert Montesi and Richard Deposki. (R) Ann Morris, Webster Groves, donor: Sacred Green Space: A Survey of Cemeteries in St. Louis County, by the donor. (R) Gene P. Murdock, Bonne Terre, donor: Sam Hildebrand's Footprints: The Story of Major Samuel S. Hildebrand, Bushwhacker, C.S.A., St. Francois County, Missouri, by the donor. (R) Jeremy Neely, Columbia, donor: "Bates County, Missouri: The Transformation of a Middle Western Frontier, 1855-1895," by the donor. (R) Richard Neumann, Springfield, donor: Cedar Bluff Baptist Church, Fair Grove, Missouri: Records Book 1, 1858-1890. (R) Severely and Walter L. Pfeffer, Columbia, donors: Items relating to education in Missouri. (R) Peggy Ann Platner, Columbia, donor: Video tape of 1999-2000 Missouri Tiger Basketball. (P) Richard D. Reed, Fulton, donor: Historic MSD: The Story of the Missouri School for the Deaf, by the donor. (R) Kevin Scantlan, Columbia, donor: The Scantlan Family of Missouri (with Roots in Virginia), by Donald Scantlan, Sr. (R) Beverly Shaw, Kansas City, donor: Items celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Westport Historical Society. (R) Robert C. Shaw, Columbia, donor: Volumes relating to education in Missouri. (R) Nancy R. Singer, Boonville, donor: The Buccaneer, 2000 Boonville High School yearbook. (R) TRC Garrow Associates, Atlanta, Georgia, donor: Camp Lincoln of the Army of Southeastern Missouri: Historical and Archaeological Studies of 23CT355, Van Buren, Missouri, by Patrick H. Garrow, Jeffrey L. Holland, and Larissa A. Thomas. (R) Rebekah Weber, Columbia, donor: "Tt is for You that We Fight': Gender and the Civil War in Saline County, Missouri," by the donor. (R) WGBH-TV, Boston, Massachusetts, donor: Video tape of American Experience: Secrets of a Master Builder, James Eads. (P) Evlyn Wolf, Amity, donor: Telephone directories. (R) Larry Wood, Joplin, donor: The Civil War on the Lower Kansas-Missouri Border, by the donor. (R) Robert Gail Woods, Festus, donor: The Plattin Church History; photos and other materials relating to Methodism. (R), (M) & (P) 225

MISSOURI HISTORY IN NEWSPAPERS

Appleton City Journal October 6, 2000: "A Look at History," the John Chambers family.

Boonville Daily News August 21, 2000: U.S. Navy S-4 "Submarine accident that claimed Kemper instructor [Robert L. Short] recalled in wake of Kursk tragedy." September 7: "Historic Cunningham home on Highway 87 receives new foundation." This and the above article by Karen Ratay-Green.

Boonville Record October 3, 2000: "Selwyn Shoe Factory remembered for personalities who worked there," by Karen Ratay-Green.

Branson West Stone County Gazette August 24, 2000: "Getting to Hillfolks Village is trip down memory lane," by James Barrett.

Butler News-Xpress September 8, 2000: "Blindfold drive at Amoret," by Alice Widner.

Cameron Citizen Observer August 31, 2000: "Curtain closes at Ritz Theater Thursday," by Stephanie Zeilstra.

Canton Press-News Journal September 21, 28, 2000: "Yesteryear's Pictures" featured Epp's Sport Shop and a Canton fire engine. September 28: "Answering the Call..." a special section, discussed major fires in Lewis County, technological changes in fire fighting, women firefighters, Lewis County fire depart­ ments, and water emergencies.

*Carl Junction Courier October 6, 2000: "History, Legend, & Lore: Taking the High Road - The History of HWY 171, Part 1," by John Durbin.

Clinton Daily Democrat October 18, 2000: "Montrose Area Historical Society recalls [Montrose] roller mill," by Susan Cummings.

Concordia Concordian September 6, 13, 20, 27, October 4, 11, 18, 25, 2000: Series on the history of Waverly, by J. E. Hoban, reprinted, including the history of the Missouri River bridge, the apple industry, the Civil War, Lyin' Pete [Ernest Peters], and Dr. G. A. Kelling.

Dixon Pilot September 14, 2000: "Dixon's 17th Annual Cow Days Fall Festival: Blending the Old . . . With the New!!" featured railroad depots, businesses, families, farming, sports, and education in Dixon in the twentieth century. * Indicates newspapers not received by the State Historical Society. 226 Missouri Historical Review

Fulton Sun Gazette August 30, 2000: "NAACP leader [Rosemary Stewart-Stafford] a born peacemaker, haunt­ ed by her own history," by Doug Johnson. September 10: '"Jeff Davis slept here [Hockaday House]': He also spoke in Callaway" by Martin Northway. September 10. 17, 24: "Kingdom Notes" featured, respectively, the Callaway County Agricultural and Mechanical Society fair, excavating the Miller Creek Methodist Church, and the 1951 Westminster College and Missouri School for the Deaf centennial parade.

Hermann Advertiser-Courier September 13, 2000: "Rare Missouri barns recapture Missouri history," by Dan Reed.

Houston Herald September 14, 21, 2000: "Headlines in History" featured, respectively, Blankenship's Mineral Springs Resort [Texas County] and sorghum making.

Independence Examiner August 23, 2000: "New life for old Fort Osage marker," in Buckner, by J. W. Rudzik.

Jefferson City Catholic Missourian September 22, 2000: "Mokane parish [St. Jude Thaddeus] to celebrate 100th." November 3: "St. Peter parish [Fulton] to mark 125th."

Kahoka Media September 13, 2000: "America's Crazy Love Affair with Soda Fountains and those Dispensers of Delight - the Soda Jerk."

Kirksville Daily Express & News August 20, 2000: "Bible Grove School [Scotland County] Listed On National Register Of Historic Places." September 24: "Miniature Replica of Ste. Genevieve Constructed," by Traci Angel.

Milan Standard August 3, 2000: "United Methodist Church to celebrate 100th anniversary Sunday, August 13."

Mount Vernon Lawrence County Record September 20, 2000: "Wall reveals [Brad's True Value] building's past."

Mountain Grove News-Journal August 23, 2000: "Looking back on the century series" featured "1990-2000: High school fire, building of Alumni Park, water problems." September 6: "First Freewill Baptist Church of Mountain Grove: Ministering since 1927."

Neosho Daily News August 17, 2000: "Little House on the Missouri Prairie," the Laura Ingalls Wilder home, Mansfield, by Russell Hively.

New London Ralls County Herald-Enterprise August 3, 2000: "Adolph Busch's Funeral Procession—January 1914," by Dorothy Roland Eichenberger. Historical Notes and Comments 227

Piedmont Wayne County Journal-Banner September 14, 2000: "Historical Wayne County" series featured "The Rhodes Family Show . . . 1940."

Portageville Missourian News September 21, 2000: "Wardell Writings," the settlement of Mascou, by Bill Crabtree.

St. Joseph News-Press September 15, 2000: "Round Top [School, DeKalb County] dead, but memories live on," by Alonzo Weston.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch August 20, 2000: "Literary St. Louis" series featured "Before 'Cotton' came to Harlem, [Chester] Himes stopped off in St. Louis." September 27: "CBC [Christian Brothers College] High School, 150 years strong," by Matthew Franck.

St. Louis Review September 15, 2000: "Fr. [William Barnaby] Faherty retires as head of Jesuit archives," by Lisa Ampleman; "In St. Louis, Mo. for 150 Years (1850-2000) 'Christian Brothers College High School,'" by Barbara Watkins. October 6: "The untold story of 'Sr. Mary Chromosome,'" Sister Leo Rita Volk, by Jean M. Schildz.

Smithville Lake Herald October 18, 2000: "Virginia Winters discovers rich family heritage through genealogy," by Jeanne Nelson.

Springfield News-Leader August 27, 2000: "Words of civic pride in '46 both familiar, unsettling," by Mike O'Brien. October 8: "Cornerstones for Tomorrow," a special section, highlighted the architecture and the growth of Springfield from 1838 to the present.

Unionville Republican October 4, 2000: "Growing up in Mendota [Putnam County]: Memories ofVyca Cowan" Part 1, by Duane Crawford.

West Plains Daily Quill October 12, 2000: "So that's why they call it Willow Springs!" a special section, explained the origins of community names in Howell, Douglas, Oregon, Ozark, Shannon, and Texas Counties.

Art Criticism

St. Louis Daily Times, July 4, 1878. A Chicago critic, on being shown a landscape, said, "Yes, it smells like a painting." The artist dropped the curtain. 228

MISSOURI HISTORY IN MAGAZINES

America's Civil War November, 2000: "The sure-shot 14th Missouri (later the 66th Illinois) Infantry was bet­ ter known as the Western Sharpshooters," by Kevin I. Tilly.

Blue & Gray Magazine Summer, 2000: "Newtonia: Civil War Site of Southwest Missouri," by Rex Jackson. Fall, 2000: "Baker Plantation House: A Missouri Treasure that Survived a Visit from 'Bloody Bill,'" in Danville, by Noel and Mary Ann Crowson.

The Blue and Grey Chronicle October, 2000: "The Story Behind the Letter," the story of Nancy Jane Vaughn, a prison­ er in the Gratiot Street Prison in St. Louis during the Civil War, by Joanne C. Eakin; "Meet Me in St. Louis: More From Col. Benjamin Franklin Parker" and "Independence Union Men Call for a Military Post," both articles by Wayne Schnetzer.

The Bugle Call Summer, 2000: "Personalities At Wilson's Creek: Richard H. Weightman," by Vincent Tyndall.

The Bulletin, Johnson County Historical Society September, 2000: "Sensational Homicide: 1898," the murder of William H. Hartman in Warrensburg, by Leslie Anders.

The Bushwhacker, Civil War Round Table of St. Louis October 25, 2000: "John B. Bannon: Chaplain, Soldier, and Diplomat."

Christian County Historian August, 2000: "Ann Cupp: Angel of Mercy," by Thelma Jean Bilyeu.

Civil War Times Illustrated October, 2000: "[Major General Thomas] Hindman's Grand Delusion," by Peter Cozzens.

Columbia Senior Times September, 2000: "Airfields Turned To Playing Fields At Cosmo Park." October, 2000: "A. P. Green Chapel Was A Benevolent Gift To Others." November, 2000: "A Simple Man with Simple Tastes: Columbia's Pioneer Millionaire," Moses U. Payne. All articles by Michelle Long Windmoeller.

Concordia Historical Institute Quarterly Summer, 2000: "Effects of Missouri's Involvement in the [Military] Chaplaincy," by Dale E. Griffin.

Fence Painter, Mark Twain Boyhood Home Associates Summer, 2000: "History of Perry Davis's Painkiller Medicine."

Gateway Heritage, Missouri Historical Society Summer, 2000: "Mickey On The Mississippi: Walt Disney's Vision for Downtown St. Louis," by Dan Viets; "From Picket Line To Courtroom: The 1955 St. Louis Transit Strike," by Historical Notes and Comments 229

Lisa Granich-Kovarik; "Becoming A Nation Of Quakers': The Removal of the Osage Indians from Missouri," by J. Frederick Fausz; "William T. Anderson: The Bloodiest Man of the Civil War," by Larry Wood; "Eugene Field's Little William Allen," by Lewis O. Saum; "The Admiral," excursion boat, by Kirsten Hammerstrom.

The Herald, Grand River Historical Society and Museum October, 2000: "Civil War in Livingston County, Missouri," by Carolyn Leffler and Sue Jones.

The Heritage News, Jefferson County Historical Society September, 2000: "Sixth Annual Reunion," the 1897 meeting of the Old Settlers Association.

The Jefferson Barracks Gazette, Friends of Jefferson Barracks October-December, 2000: "Henry Atkinson and His Three Forts," by Esley Hamilton.

Kansas City Genealogist, Heart of America Genealogical Society Summer, 2000: "Gone But Not Forgotten: Carl Betz, 1854-1898," by Joanne Chiles Eakin.

Kirkwood Historical Review Summer, 2000: "The Flavor of Kirkwood: Entertaining The Kids," Part I, by Albert A. Winkler; "Kirkwood, As I grew Up In It," by Paul R. Gegg.

Missouri Life October/November, 2000: "Steel Magistrate: Being John Marmaduke," by Martin Northway.

Missouri Municipal Review September, 2000: "Rockaway Beach—Proud Of Its Heritage And Ready For The Future," by Carol Stevens and Susan Shoemake. October/November, 2000: "Many Names To Describe The Essence Of A City," Centralia, by Lynn P. Behrns.

Newsletter, Carondelet Historical Society Summer/Fall 2000: "The Bakers' Corner," the historic storefronts on the corner of Grand Boulevard and Bates Street; "Window into Civil War Era Carondelet," by Nini Harris.

Newsletter, Friends of Arrow Rock Summer, 2000: "The Life and Times of John Sites," by Sue Stubbs.

Newsletter, Gasconade County Historical Society Fall, 2000: "A Bridge of Yesteryear," Frene Creek bridge in Hermann.

Newsletter, Historic Madison County August, 2000: "John Ramey Killed By Patrolman; Coroner's Jury Vindicates Officer," Howard J. Turnbull, reprinted.

Newsletter, Osage County Historical Society August, 2000: "That's the Way it Was: August, 1900." 230 Missouri Historical Review

September, 2000: "That's the Way it Was: September, 1900." October, 2000: "That's the Way it Was: October, 1900."

Newsletter, St. Charles County Historical Society September, 2000: "The Grange Movement in St. Charles County, Missouri."

Newsletter, Scott County Historical and Genealogical Society September, 2000: "Albert Dereign: Former Prosecuting Attorney." October, 2000: "S. G. Tetwiler: Editor and Publisher of The DemocratT

Newsletter, Warren County Historical Society August 27, 2000: "Emmaus [Asylum]," in Marthasville.

Newsletter of the Phelps County Historical Society October, 2000: "The Civil War Letters of Captain Douglas R. Bushnell, 13th Illinois Infantry," compiled by Lawrence W. Wheeler.

North & South September, 2000: "The Kansas Civil War: Black Slavery, White Liberty," by Nicole Etcheson.

Ozarks Mountaineer August/September, 2000: "Willey School: A Piece in the Patchwork Quilt of Public Education," in Greene County, by David L. Burton; "LaGrange, The Old Stone School," in Jasper County, by Gary Baird; "The Bend School: Memories Of Its Last Teacher," in Maries County, by Ethelyn B. Ammerman. October/November, 2000: "Newtonia: Southwest Missouri's Historic Civil War Home," the Ritchey mansion, by Rex Jackson; "The Day George Shepherd 'Killed' Jesse James," by Larry Wood.

Ripley County Heritage Fall, 2000: "Rediscovering Ripley County Communities."

Rural Missouri September, 2000: "The Top Hat: Legendary Stetson fur felt hat is handcrafted in Missouri," by Bob McEowen. October, 2000: "A place of peace in north Missouri," Conception Abbey in Nodaway County.

St. Charles County Heritage October, 2000: "Josephville on Allen Prairie," by Barb Eisenbath Mittelbuscher.

St. Louis Lawyer September 6, 2000: "The Embattled Former Home to Federal Courts," the U.S. Custom House, by Marshall D. Hier.

Springfield! Magazine September, 2000: "When TV Was Young: 1953 Schools Telecast Focuses On Bond Issue for Parkview HS" and "History of the Queen City of the Ozarks (Part XXXI): Group of Bored High Schoolers Here Organized Springfield Little Theatre In the Summer of 1934." Both arti- Historical Notes and Comments 231 cles by Robert C. Glazier. October, 2000: "When TV Was Young: Telecasts Began in Old Springfield Club"; "History of the Queen City of the Ozarks (Part XXXII): Meteorologist C. C. Williford Sets the Pace As a Radio Broadcaster on City's New KWTO." November, 2000: "When TV Was Young: TV Viewers Learn How Public Schools Work"; "History of the Queen City of the Ozarks (Part XXXIII): Springfield Symphony Born of [James P.] Robertson Legacy," by Robert C. Glazier.

The Twainian, Mark Twain Research Foundation September, 2000: "Sam Clemens and Mark Twain: Warts and All," by Richard R. Holmes.

The Westporter, Westport Historical Society August, 2000: "Tales of an Old-Timer: The Remembrances of John Calvin McCoy."

White River Valley Historical Quarterly Summer, 2000: "Frank Jones: Christian County's First Democratic Sheriff," by Roger D. Fortner.

DIRECTORY OF LOCAL HISTORICAL, MUSEUM, AND GENEALOGICAL AGENCIES IN MISSOURI

The 2000-2001 edition of the Directory of Local Historical, Museum, and Genealogical Agencies in Missouri is now available. A soft-back, spiral-bound, ninety-two-page volume, it lists information on over 375 organizations in the state. A select list of state and feder­ al historic sites and resource agencies is also included. Entries for each agency include the mailing address, telephone number, a contact name, information on property holdings and special collections, and the titles of current publications. Agencies are grouped alphabetically by coun­ ty, and each organization and most historic properties are indexed. This directory, which is updated biennially, can be purchased for $7.00, postpaid. To order, send a check or money order to the State Historical Society of Missouri, 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, MO 65201-7298. 232

IN MEMORIAM

MEL CARNAHAN Columbia in 1930 when Ellis joined the his­ Governor Mel Carnahan, 66, of Rolla, tory department faculty at the university. died in an airplane accident on October 16. During Ellis's tenure as president of the uni­ His son Randy and chief of staff, Chris versity, 1954-1966, Mrs. Ellis served gra­ Sifford, also perished in the crash. Carnahan ciously as the institution's first lady. She was was born in Birch Tree in 1934 to A. S. J. and a member of The Readers, the PEO Kathel Schupp Carnahan and lived his early Sisterhood, King's Daughters, the League of years in Shannon and Carter Counties. The Women Voters, the Fortnightly Club, the elder Carnahan served in the U.S. Congress Arthritis Council, the State Historical Society from 1945 to 1947 and from 1949 to 1961, of Missouri, and the Friends of the University and he was the first American ambassador to of Missouri-Columbia Libraries. She was Sierra Leone (1961-1963). After graduating also an honorary member of Mortar Board with a bachelor's degree from George and LSV. Mrs. Ellis is survived by several Washington University, Mel Carnahan joined nieces and nephews. the U.S. Air Force. In 1959 he graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. He was elected municipal BARTLETT, D. BROOK, Kansas City: judge in his hometown of Rolla in 1961 and Died January 21, 2000. Chief U.S. District then served two terms (1963-1967) in the Judge, Kansas City. Missouri House of Representatives. During CAMPBELL, T. LORRAINE, Minden, his second term in the House, Carnahan was Louisiana: Died July 13, 1999 elected majority floor leader, and he twice COCHRAN, JOHN W., Springfield: won the St. Louis Globe-Democrafs November 10, 1901-April 2, 1999 (life Meritorious Service Award. After his House member) terms, Carnahan returned to Rolla, where he EHRLICH, DONALD BEN, Independence: built a private law practice before his election February 8, 1935-July 22, 1999 (life mem­ to state treasurer in 1980. He served one term ber) as lieutenant governor (1989-1993) and was MACDERMOTT, MARCELLA WIGET, St. elected governor in 1992. Carnahan began Louis: Died October 19, 1999 his second term as governor in 1997 and, at MEUSER, KENNETH G., Monett: the time of his death, was campaigning for May 23, 1909-February 16, 2000 (life mem­ the U.S. Senate. He is survived by his wife, ber) Jean; two sons, Russ and Tom, both of St. PAINTER, JOHN HAROLD, Duluth, Georgia: Louis; one daughter, Robin, also of St. Louis; January 8, 1923-July 26, 1999 and two grandchildren. PARR, HORACE STAYTON, Blue Springs: September 29, 1920-July 22, 1999 RUTH ELLIS SANDERS, THELMA F, Poplar Bluff: Ruth Ellis, widow of University of July 17, 1921-December 18, 1999 Missouri president emeritus Elmer Ellis, died WADE, LUCY VIRGINIA, Kansas City: October 30 in Columbia. Born in McCredie June 28, 1927-March 1, 2000 on September 1, 1902, to Robert Lee and WHITAKER, GLEN L., Kansas City: Ollie Phillips Clapper, Ellis grew up in North February 16, 1918-May 8, 2000 (life mem­ Dakota. She attended Stephens College in ber) Columbia for two years before returning to WOLFE, WAYNE WENDELL, Columbia: North Dakota to teach and then go to Valley Died May 19, 1999 City Teachers College. She married her high WOLPERS, ROBERT M., Poplar Bluff: school sweetheart, Elmer Ellis, on August 14, May 25, 1915-February 4, 2000 (life mem­ 1925, in Fargo. The couple moved to ber) 233

BOOK REVIEWS Truman and Korea: The Political Culture of the Early Cold War. By Paul G. Pierpaoli, Jr. (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1999). xi + 261 pp. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $32.50.

In his memoir, Present at the Creation (1969), former Secretary of State Dean G. Acheson recalled how doubtful it was that "anything like what hap­ pened in the next few years could have been done had not the Russians been stupid enough to have instigated the attack against South Korea" (p. 374). Acheson, of course, referred to the strengthening of NATO and the success­ ful rearmament program that began during the Korean War. Paul Pierpaoli's book is the first serious attempt to analyze the rearma­ ment effort as well as its effect on the American economy and society. It is fair to say that Pierpaoli does not share Acheson's enthusiasm for what took place. The better part of the book is a fine, carefully researched analysis of the relationship between government, business, and labor as the Truman administration undertook the daunting task of fighting a war, strengthening NATO, and rearming. It also analyzes the bureaucratic and partisan politics associated with these efforts. The basic theme of the book is that an underlying objective of the Truman administration was to achieve these ends while avoiding the creation of an overweening and all-powerful garrison state. In the short run, Pierpaoli argues, Truman succeeded. Thus, when he left office, the American "econo­ my was booming, its rearmament program was nearing its peak, and its abil­ ity to uphold domestic and global national security imperatives had never been stronger or more sophisticated" (p. 197). The problem, as Pierpaoli sees it, is that the price paid for this success was too great since it resulted in the creation of the national security state, a "Trojan horse" that carried within it seeds that poisoned American society. Far too anxious to demonstrate that Korea represented a watershed in American history, Pierpaoli draws conclusions that are not supported by the evidence he presents. For example, few would dispute the claim that Cold War defense spending was non-productive. But to imply that this money would have been spent for more productive purposes had Korea and the Cold War not intruded does not necessarily follow. And shouldn't Pierpaoli admit somewhere that defense spending was necessary, that the Russians really did pose a threat? Nor does it make sense to claim that it was NSC-68 and Korea that produced "a national security and foreign policy process . . . that" was "unresponsive to the average citizen" (p. 234). The foreign policy process has always been, and probably always will be, elitist. In like fashion, Pierpaoli implies that Korea, which strengthened the Cold War mentality, led Truman and those who followed to focus national atten­ tion on the Soviet Union. But the administration's fear of Soviet aggression 234 Missouri Historical Review was an old story by 1950. While Korea may have exacerbated American fears, it did not create them. Nor is it reasonable to argue that it was Korea alone that "turned peripheral areas of national interest into strategic ones" or that the domino theory "originated with the decisions of 1950" and led direct­ ly to Vietnam and numerous proxy wars fought by the superpowers (p. 235). It was in 1947 that President Truman declared that America had a global mis­ sion to combat communism and that Acheson first invoked the domino theo­ ry in his effort to convince a reluctant Congress to support aid to Greece and Turkey. Pierpaoli has written an excellent analysis of defense mobilization dur­ ing the Korean era. There is much to admire in this book. But pay no atten­ tion to most of its conclusions.

University of Missouri-Columbia Gerard Clarfield

Dictionary of Missouri Biography. Edited by Lawrence O. Christensen, William E. Foley, Gary R. Kremer, and Kenneth H. Winn (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1999). viii + 832 pp. Index. $49.95.

This is a difficult book to review because it has so many characters about whom one is tempted to comment ad infinitum. Also, the analyses of their lives provide excellent coverage of innumerable facets of Missouri and national history on which one could expound at length. The editors worked for most of the 1990s on this volume, aided by almost 300 knowledgeable contributors. Their compilation includes 724 biographies of persons no longer living as of January 1, 1994. The sketches vary in length, but all give considerable detail. The only automatic selections were the state's governors and U.S. senators. Beyond those, there is wide- ranging coverage of Missourians from all walks of life. Included are people everyone has heard of—Mark Twain, Harry Truman, Daniel Boone, Omar Bradley, Scott Joplin, and the two Thomas Hart Bentons, to name only a few. Then there are Joseph Charless, the first print­ er in St. Louis; Big Soldier, an Osage leader; Arsania Williams, an African American teacher; Henry T. Blow, a benefactor of Dred Scott; and a tragic slave woman known only as Celia. A great many of the subjects were not native Missourians. Obviously, the earliest historical figures came from the East or from Europe. But in the twentieth century, "new" notable Missourians appeared. One of those was Illinois-born Thomas R. Beveridge, Missouri state geologist and college teacher, who wrote of his love for his adopted state: "Often a convert is the most devout member of his faith" (p. 65). Many of the natives spent the greater part of their lives far afield—Josephine Baker, T S. Eliot, and Wallace and Noah Beery, for example. Book Reviews 235

In reference to the opening paragraph, some examples follow of how the biographies lead to broader knowledge. Grover Cleveland Alexander, George Sisler, "Cool Papa" Bell, Ken Boyer, and Satchel Paige provide base­ ball history. The entries for Jim Bridger, William Ashley, and the various Chouteaus chronicle the fur trade. The Civil War in the West is detailed through the references to William Quantrill, Sterling Price, Joseph O. Shelby, Thomas Ewing, Jr., and George Caleb Bingham. The feminist movement, the fight for civil rights, the brewing industry, the arts, Kansas City barbeque, politics at all levels, public education, and the writing and preserving of Missouri's history are all explained through the biographies. The famous, and in a few cases the infamous, are here. Many of those Missourians who once were so prominent and successful have faded from memory, and their inclusion in this work should emphasize their importance to the state. There are some surprises among the entries. Most readers will not be aware that Helen Gould Beck is better known as Sally Rand and that John Elroy Sanford translates to Redd Foxx. The editors, the contributors, and the University of Missouri Press must be commended for their efforts in bringing this work to fruition. It should be in every public, school, and historical society library in the state and in research libraries nationwide. A final personal comment. I was pleased to find that the first two entries were for Goodman and Jane Ace. I grew up on Easy Aces, a favorite on our family radio, and as an adult, I was disappointed when their later show went off the air. We are known to embrace certain "janeaceisms," and even now our grandchildren are at times subjected to my favorite, which is not includ­ ed in the biography. She often said that at times one had to "take the bitter with the batter." The Dictionary of Missouri Biography is all "batter."

Robert W. Richmond

Truman and Pendergast By Robert H. Ferrell (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1999). x+162pp. Map. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $24.95. The Kansas City Investigation: Pendergast's Downfall, 1938-1939. By Rudolph H. Hartmann. Edited with an Introduction by Robert H. Ferrell (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1999). ix + 191 pp. Illustrations. Appendix. Notes. Further Reading. Index. $24.95.

In Truman and Pendergast, Robert H. Ferrell has clearly described and assessed the political interaction between these two Missouri Democrats. Harry S. Truman efficiently and honestly administered Jackson County. His success persuaded some Democrats to promote him for the governorship in 1932; however, when the Boss disapproved, Truman loyally ended the effort. 236 Missouri Historical Review

In 1934, Pendergast supported Truman for the U.S. Senate in the Democratic primary and general elections. After his election to the Senate, Truman, under scrutiny from Senate colleagues, the Franklin D. Roosevelt adminis­ tration, and both admirers and enemies at home, worked hard on relevant issues and made his own decisions. The Boss occasionally requested a favor, and if possible, Truman provided assistance. If he had made a previous com­ mitment, he would explain his position, and Pendergast never became angry because of the senator's lack of cooperation. When Pendergast was indicted for income tax evasion, however, Truman defended the Boss. These events led to the Democratic Party primary struggle in 1940 among Truman, Governor Lloyd Stark, and Maurice Milligan, the federal prosecutor of Boss Tom. Ferrell has written an enjoyable and thoughtful account, documented pri­ marily from manuscript collections and secondary sources. There are, how­ ever, some problems with the research approach and conclusions. Ferrell's use of manuscript collections has overshadowed an examination of state newspapers. He has cited newspapers in his notes, but these have almost exclusively been clippings found in private papers. Thus, by not reading sev­ eral newspapers thoroughly, his narrative exhibits errors. For example, the 1936 voting scandal in Kansas City, which resulted in 259 convictions for election fraud, proved an important cause of the Pendergast machine's col­ lapse. Ferrell apparently did not examine the indictments and trial records at the National Archives—Central Plains Region, and he seems not to have read newspaper accounts of the trials. As a result, he reports some of the evidence about the ballot box stuffing but misses an important point: someone gave the Pendergast poll workers a predetermined vote count before the polls opened. Thus, the workers altered the ballots to match the prearranged totals. Another example where a more extensive reading of newspapers would have saved Ferrell from an error can be found on page fifty-nine, where he lists the Pendergast henchmen who went to jail, including W. W. Graves, Jr., Jackson County's prosecutor. Although the state had "ousted" Graves from office, he was never jailed. In fact, the Missouri Supreme Court found his disbarment "would not be justified." To tell his story, Ferrell has made commendable use of numerous sec­ ondary sources in addition to contemporary manuscripts, but readers might wonder why he did not cite Robert Unger's Union Station Massacre (1997), the only account that relies on Federal Bureau of Investigation reports to tell of that brutal event. Readers can also question several of Ferrell's themes and conclusions. He does not provide any evidence to support the idea that Roosevelt befriended Governor Stark during the 1940 primary election because the president needed the state's electoral votes. Ferrell also reports Truman's failed attempt in late 1938 to get Fred Canfil appointed a federal marshal as proof that the president had chosen Stark over the senator. This Book Reviews 231

assessment is clearly incorrect. On November 17, 1938, U.S. Attorney General Homer Cummings recommended Canfil's appointment to the presi­ dent, but he pointed out that the current marshal was a well-known member of the federal prosecution team in the vote fraud trials. In short, the Canfil appointment was lost because Roosevelt feared his selection would give the impression that the administration had reversed its policy on fighting politi­ cal corruption. Ferrell has been victimized by Stark and Milligan. He accepts Milligan's Missouri Waltz (1948) account of how he and Stark had prodded the Treasury Department into renewing the investigation of Pendergast's rumored bribery by fire insurance companies. Stark had convinced Milligan that he was responsible for Pendergast's demise. But Stark's supposed activities in this matter also apparently concerned Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morganthau. He asked for and received an April 10, 1939, memorandum from Harold N. Graves, assistant secretary of the Treasury, containing a sec­ tion titled "Governor Stark's Participation." While the Treasury had gained information about Pendergast's possible income tax evasion in April 1936, Graves reported that the department's records indicated that Stark had noth­ ing to do with the case until March 17, 1938. An agent had interviewed Stark on that date, Graves continued, and "Governor Stark stated that he had no information with respect to the case in addition to that already in the Bureau's possession." The meeting brokered by Roosevelt and attended by Stark, Milligan, and Treasury officials, which was discussed in Missouri Waltz, took place on June 9-10, 1938. The Treasury assessment differed significantly from the Milligan and Stark accounts. Its memorandum about the meeting concluded, "No new information was supplied by either Governor Stark or Mr. Milligan at these conferences, which were largely given over to a recital by our officers of the progress . . . and a description of their plans for further inquiries." Stark, it appears, overvalued his contribution to the Pendergast indictment for income tax evasion, and far too many authors, including Ferrell, have considered him a reliable source. In conclusion, this book should be used with caution. Ferrell repeats his version of Stark's connection to the Boss's indictment and conviction for income tax evasion in his introduction to Rudolph H. Hartmann's The Kansas City Investigation: Pendergast's Downfall, 1938- 1939. This book is a published version of a thoughtfully composed manu­ script by the chief investigator for the Intelligence Unit of the Treasury. Hartmann's report should have alerted Ferrell to Stark's duplicity, since he did not mention the governor's participation. During his term as governor, Stark frequently made allegations against political rivals or their associates only to become silent when he was requested to provide evidence for his slanders. One should not think less of Truman, therefore, for developing and exhibiting an obvious and extreme dislike for the "nurseryman." The Hartmann manuscript thoroughly explains Pendergast's financial lia- 238 Missouri Historical Review bilities to the federal government, and every source of conceivable income received examination. In addition, the Boss's former allies each received individual treatment by Hartmann. He successfully accomplished his inten­ tion of explaining in detail every aspect of the internal revenue investigation and prosecution of the Pendergast machine members. Scholars and general readers will find enough information here to satisfy any level of curiosity about the tax liabilities of these individuals. Ferrell should be commended for successfully editing the manuscript and bringing it to the attention of the University of Missouri Press.

Missouri Western State College Patrick McLear

Doniphan's Epic March: The 1st Missouri Volunteers in the Mexican War. By Joseph C. Dawson III (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1999). xii + 325 pp. Illustrations. Maps. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $35.00.

When Governor John Edwards summoned Missourians for service in the expected war with Mexico, he invited Alexander W. Doniphan, a Liberty attorney, and Congressman Sterling Price to recruit them. Not yet forty, Doniphan easily qualified for a colonelcy in an age when collegiate alumni were "naturals" for upper-echelon commands in national emergencies. Doniphan assembled the First Missouri Mounted Volunteers in June 1846 at Fort Leavenworth. When the election of a regimental commander occurred on June 18, he easily defeated Price. After all, Doniphan's image had been burnished by his leading role in the recent Mormon War. Price would secure command of the Second Missouri. Late in June, the First Missouri marched for the Rio Grande in General Stephen W. Kearny's Army of the West. If Doniphan's recruitment had fall­ en short of its goal, his unit was still the main component of this expedition moving on Mexico's northern provinces. After crossing the "Great American Desert," Doniphan's regiment com­ menced a triumphal march on Santa Fe, arriving on August 18. Kearny promptly delegated to Doniphan the military governorship of New Mexico. Since regular army officers knew little about such work, this experienced lawyer was better suited to become New Mexico's first "gringo" governor. And as matters progressed, Doniphan would create a constitution and law code for the future New Mexico Territory. With his territorial regime fully functional, Doniphan moved farther into Mexico. On Christmas Day the regiment, in its first serious combat, routed the enemy at Brazito, inflicting about sixty fatalities with only seven Missourians wounded. The expedition proceeded to El Paso, crossing the Rio Grande to join General John Wool's force at Chihuahua. Doniphan's attack on a redoubt at the Rio Sacramento was a total success, with the flee- Book Reviews 239 ing enemy leaving probably five hundred dead. Three Missourians were mortally wounded. By now Doniphan was becoming a major hero in the American national press. "Doniphan's March" ended at Saltillo on May 22, 1847. Soon after, his men embarked for their homeward voyage, across the Gulf and up the Mississippi. Their June 30 arrival at St. Louis not only "emancipated" the veterans but sparked a mammoth celebration honoring Colonel Doniphan, "the American Xenophon." This was his zenith, for Doniphan's remaining years were less glam­ orous. He served a term in the General Assembly in the 1850s, but the Civil War era found him a typical Missourian, harboring complicated sentiments. A slaveholder from Kentucky, he was nevertheless steadfastly hostile to secession—a perfect formula for political eclipse in the 1860s. He served in Missouri's delegation to the fruitless peace convention at Washington in February 1861 and secured a seat in the state's convention assembling in St. Louis on March 4. Joseph Dawson has succeeded in providing modern readers with the impressions and experiences of Doniphan's marchers. Here we find superb documentation of the narrative, and few lapses in style or editing appear. Civil War buffs will be fascinated with Dawson's thoughtful "previews" of Missouri's martyrs and heroes of the Civil War.

Central Missouri State University Leslie Anders

THE RICHARD S. BROWNLEE FUND

In 1985 the executive committee of the State Historical Society of Missouri established the Richard S. Brownlee Fund to honor the longtime executive director upon his retirement. Income from the corpus of the fund is used annually to provide cash awards for individuals and organizations proposing to publish, or make other tangible contributions to, the history of Missouri and its citizens. Individuals, local historical societies, muse­ ums, and governmental and nongovernmental agencies are eligible to apply for funding. Residency within the state is not a requirement. Applicants for Brownlee Fund monies should direct their proposals to James W. Goodrich, executive director of the Society. A cover letter out­ lining the goals and presenting a synopsis of the project should be accom­ panied by an itemized budget detailing the manner in which the requested funds will be used. The deadline for 2001 applications is July 1. 240

BOOK NOTES I Didn't Know That! By Stanley Wilke (n.p.: Missouri Publishing Company, 1999). vii + 296pp. Index. $25.00, plus $4.00 postage and handling.

Stanley Wilke wrote historical articles for various Washington-area newspapers from June 1974 to October 1988. His interpretations of the his­ tory of Washington's citizens and events were delivered in a humor-filled and individualistic style that often connected with his readers and won him a large, loyal audience. This publication is a collection of some of his best work and reflects the author's engaging writing style. The book can be pur­ chased from the Washington Historical Society, 113 East Fourth Street, P.O. Box 146, Washington, MO 63090.

Ste. Genevieve: A Leisurely Stroll Through History. By Bill Naeger, Patti Naeger, and Mark L. Evans (Ste. Genevieve, Mo.: Merchant Street Publishing, 1999). xii + 226 pp. Illustrations. Index. $42.84.

Ste. Genevieve has a long, unique history as the oldest permanent white settlement in Missouri. The authors have chronicled that history in this beau­ tifully illustrated book. Photographer Bill Naeger's images document the residents and the unique architecture and culture of the town. Specific events, including the Great Flood of 1993, are also discussed and captured in detail. The book is available in bookstores.

Authority Vested: A Story of Identity and Change in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. By Mary Todd (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000). xvi + 336 pp. Bibliography. Index. $20.00, paper.

This narrative history of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod points to authority—of scripture, of the ministry, of the congregation, and of the synod itself—as the central contested issue in the quest for identity within the church. Professor Mary Todd tracks the history of the denomination from its beginnings with Saxon immigrants in southeast Missouri in the 1830s and 1840s to its growth into a modern institution with 2.6 million members. She describes how the church has refined its understanding of authority in order to retain its identity as a conservative enclave, despite internal political strug­ gles that marked the synod in the twentieth century. This highly informative work about a segment of Missouri's religious history is available in book­ stores.

Selections From My Journey to America, 1836-1843. By Jakob Naumann. Translated by Anna Kemper Hesse (Hermann, Mo.: Brush and Palette Club, Book Notes 241

2000). 79 pp. Illustrations. $7.95, paper, plus $1.50 postage.

This work is an expanded reprint of Anna Kemper Hesse's 1969 publi­ cation of Jakob Naumann's memoirs recalling his visit to America from 1836 to 1843. Naumann spent a significant amount of those years in and around Hermann and St. Louis. He was influenced to come to the area by the glow­ ing reports of immigrants who had preceded him, but he found most of those reports to be false. Naumann reveals his dissatisfaction with the New World, especially Missouri, and vividly points out the hardships encountered by Germans trying to make a life in a foreign land. This interesting view on German immigration in the nineteenth century can be purchased from the Brush and Palette Club, P.O. Box 145, Hermann, MO 65041.

Along Route 66. By Quinta Scott (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2000). xii + 320pp. Maps. Illustrations. Bibliography. Index. $34.95.

The storied history of Route 66 is recounted in photographs in this high­ ly interesting work. Using black-and-white images, Scott takes readers on a trip covering the entire distance of the historic Chicago to Los Angeles route and discusses how buildings along it were constructed and their historical significance. Images of the Chain of Rocks Bridge, where Route 66 entered the state, begin the Missouri portion of the book, which is highlighted by photos of restaurants, hotels, and other points of interest.

Cardinal Memories: Recollections from Baseball's Greatest Fans. Edited by Tina Wright (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2000). x + 132 pp. Illustrations. $14.95, paper.

The St. Louis Cardinals have a rich baseball tradition that has cultivated a loyal following among their numerous fans. This book celebrates the rela­ tionship between those fans and their favorite team by recounting stories, recollections, and testimonials from Cardinal followers. Contributors recall several Cardinal teams and players, including the Gashouse Gang of the 1930s, the Whiteyball teams with Ozzie Smith in the 1980s, and the Mark McGwire-led teams of recent years, and reveal the emotions each elicited from followers young and old. The book is available in local bookstores.

Slavery North of St. Louis. By George R. Lee (Canton, Mo.: Lewis County Historical Society, 2000). v+189pp. Bibliographic Notes. Index. $24.00, cloth; $18.00, paper, plus $3.95 for shipping and handling.

This work focuses on the institution of slavery in seven Missouri coun­ ties along the Mississippi River and north of St. Louis, an area important 242 Missouri Historical Review because of its location in relation to the free states of Illinois and Iowa. The strong abolitionist inclination found in these neighboring states influenced the actions of the area's masters and slaves. Members of both groups resort­ ed to extreme measures to defend or invoke change in their way of life. The author covers the entire history of slavery in this portion of Missouri in the book, including descriptions of the idiosyncratic ways individual owners treated slaves. The book can be purchased from the Lewis County Historical Society, 112 North Fourth Street, Canton, MO 63435.

Pictorial Memories of Henry County, Missouri. By the Henry County Historical Society (Virginia Beach, Va.: Donning Press, 2000). 144 pp. Illustrations. Bibliography. Index. $34.95 for one copy, $31.95 for three or more copies, plus $4.00 for shipping and handling.

The photographs in this work illustrate how Henry County, Missouri, has changed since its inception. The volume focuses on several aspects of coun­ ty life, including education, wartime, communities, farming, and churches. Captions provide commentary on the numerous photographs, and various authors discuss items of particular importance to the county's history. The book can be ordered from the Henry County Historical Society, P.O. Box 65, Clinton, MO 64735.

Change of Heart

Maysville Western Register, August 4, 1870. A nice little boy in Pittsburg [sic] went to the circus the other day, and amused himself throwing stones at the elephant while he was drinking. When he got through the boy tried to propitiate him by offering him a piece of gingerbread. Before accepting the cake the elephant emptied about sixty-four gallons of water, beer measure, over the boy, and then slung him into the third tier to dry off. This boy is very indifferent about circuses now. He says he believes he does not care for them as much as he used to.

Hints on Popping the Question

Hannibal Tri-Weekly Messenger, July 29, 1852. ... A good plan is to call on the "object of your affections" in the forenoon, and propose a walk; mamma consents, in the hope you will declare your intentions. Wander through the green fields, talk of "love in a cottage. . . ." If the coast is clear, down you must fall on your knee, right or left, for there is no rule as to this. ... If, however, the grass is wet, and you have white pantaloons on, or if your trowsers [sic] are tightly made, of course you must pursue another plan—vow you will blow your brains out, or swallow arsenic, or drown yourself, if she won't say yes. . . . 243

STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MISSOURI SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

A Centennial History of the State Historical Society of Missouri, 1898-1998. By Alan R. Havig, 1998. $29.95, plus $5.00 mailing and handling.

Grand Army of the Republic-Missouri Division-Index to Death Rolls, 1882-1940. Compiled by Marie Concannon and Josiah Parkinson, 1995. $10.00, postpaid.

Guide to Selected Holdings of Microfilm at the State Historical Society of Missouri. Compiled by Linda Brown-Kubisch, 1997. $14.00, postpaid.

Historic Missouri: A Pictorial Narrative. 2nd ed. 1988. $9.95, plus $2.00 mailing and handling.

Historic Preservation Research, A Selected Bibliography of Resources Available at the State Historical Society of Missouri. Compiled by Linda Brown-Kubisch and Dianne Buffon, 1999. $5.00, postpaid.

Index to Missouri Military Pensioners, 1883. Compiled by Marie Concannon, 1997. $7.00, postpaid.

Index to Residents State Federal Soldiers' Home of Missouri, St. James, Missouri, 1889- 1946. Compiled by Marie Concannon, 1998. $15.00, postpaid.

Marking Missouri History. Edited by James W. Goodrich and Lynn Wolf Gentzler, 1998. $17.50, plus $5.00 mailing and handling.

Missouri Newspapers on Microfilm at the State Historical Society of Missouri. $14.00, postpaid.

My Road to Emeritus. By Elmer Ellis, 1989. $19.95, postpaid.

Report of the Committee of the House of Representatives of the 22nd General Assembly of the State of Missouri Appointed to Investigate the Conduct and Management of the Militia. Indexed by Linda Brown-Kubisch and Dianne Buffon, 1998. $17.00, postpaid.

Thomas Hart Benton: Artist, Writer, and Intellectual. Edited by R. Douglas Hurt and Mary K. Dains, 1989. $22.95, postpaid.

Union Burials-Missouri Units. Compiled by Edward Parker, 1999. [Selected Union Burials-Missouri Units, 1988, 1993, and Missouri Union Burials-Missouri Units, 1989, combined into one volume]. $13.00, postpaid.

These publications can be obtained by sending a check or money order to the State Historical Society of Missouri, 1020 Lowry Street, Columbia, MO 65201-7298. Credit card orders can be placed by calling (573) 882-7083. 244

*Hi ; Join the State Historical Society to help preserve Missouri's heritage.

Founded in 1898, the State Historical Society is the preeminent research facility for the study of the Show Me State's heritage. It is the only statewide historical society in Missouri. The Society has assembled the second-largest specialized research library in the state and the largest collection of state news­ papers in the nation. The Society invites interested individuals to support its mission of col­ lecting, preserving, and making accessible the state's history by becoming a member. Members receive the Society's quarterly journal, the Missouri Historical Review, and the periodic Newsletter. The State Historical Society is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization. Gifts of cash and property to the Society are deductible for federal income, estate, and gift tax purposes.

Annual individual membership $10.00 Annual contributing membership $25.00 Annual supporting membership $50.00 Annual sustaining membership $100.00 to $499.00 Annual patron membership $500.00 or more Life membership $250.00

To join the Society or to inquire about gifts or bequests contact:

James W. Goodrich State Historical Society of Missouri 1020 Lowry Street Columbia, MO 65201-7298 Phone (573) 882-7083 With Pen or Crayon . . .

During the night of January 9, 1939, portions of Highways 60 and 61 in Missouri's Bootheel became the scene of unprecedented activity as poverty-ridden white and African American sharecroppers moved their families and meager belongings onto the roadsides. Due to increased farm mechanization and New Deal agricultural policies aimed at reducing production, many of these people had been evicted from the lands they had farmed in exchange for their labor and a portion of the crops. Large landowners, unwill­ ing to share government payments with sharecroppers and tenant farmers, refused to rent their lands. They opted instead to hire day laborers. The farm workers faced homelessness and starvation as a result. Determined to bring the plight of these workers and their families to national attention, the Reverend Owen Whitfield, an African American sharecropper and labor organizer, coordinated the strike. State gov­ ernment officials and area landowners responded angrily to the sharecroppers' action. Believing that the demonstration had been instigated by agitators from outside the region, they sought a federal investiga­ tion of the protest. State officials quickly moved against the farm workers, citing the health hazards created by the road­ side camps. Within a week, the strikers had been proved out of sight—to temporary quarters in churches and dance halls and on private lands. Many of the slk ecroppers languished for months in crowded and deplorable conditions. A number of them eventually settled near Harviell in Butler County, on land pur­ chased through the efforts of Whitfield. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published this Daniel Fitzpatrick cartoon, "Missouri's Refugees," on January 12, 1939.