Show THOMAS PITCHER J ON MORMON HISTORY ae neof of the many pioneer citizens jsckson jackson coulty who were present 1 took part in the mormon biffl ittes ties of the memoria ble year of 13 bah bat new few now live it is how F ari fortunate for th hib hie historian torian that a ew yet et remain to relate the story I 1 the events of those troublous les aes ies nearly neatly half a century ago as ily loy y occult occulted ed without prejudice nong the theve tery very few of the pioneers U H living is COL COI PITCHER independence who has been a lizen en of jackson county for almost ay five years and who during the bubles U bles bies of 1833 was a colonel of the te mili militia tid and book took a prominent W I 1 in all of the events of the earl early y tory of or the country knowing ese fese factum facts journal representative cc was waw sent to colonel icher echer aber to interview him upon the onmon ormon history of jackson county ty I 1 ter learning the object of tho the visit ie e f colonel lighted hla hia pipe and re aahl ahal d the following follow nn facts f act fi I cameto came esme to jackson Coun county tyMo mo j the month of november 1826 and heated ted four miles southwest of in pen dence the mormon im mi ration tion to the county commenced the fall of 1830 and continued un 5 the autumn of 1832 during the krat klat bt two years of I 1 heir residence in ie e county they antt anil the citizens st t a along ong together very peaceably id d no one ever thought of a difficult r until the spring of 1833 in the ilter itter ter part of 1831 the mormons cormons es shed a newspaper in independence cc called the morning and even tg aslar r which rich lich was edited by one VW W Phelps el is Ws this paper Tu blish p the s so called al revel revelations atlon of joseph mith smith and other leading elders eldera of he church and other doctrines of ht the mormon Mor mona mons as aad a lie aie pie nie were mere marant and fanatical opte ople though there were some i ery intelligent menu mett among them tle the troubles of 1883 which led to leir heir eit elt expulsion from the county rele ere originated by these fanatics bahng boats boa ts that they intended po possess ess t the e entire county saying promised it to thom them d they were going to have it this course caused ill feeling toward tiem liem which confined con tined to grow more ml more bitter un until til J TH THI FINAL UPRISING ak k place one saturday about tit te middle of july 1833 a citizens ting tang was held heid nt the court house I 1 independence to decide what was Ti bedone with the tile mormons cormons who int lin pouring into the county and 1 devise sommie soffie some somo means to put a stop otheir seditious boasts as ag to what proposed to do etc this meet Vet determined to destroy themora ra printing office located a short ce south bouth of where chrisman ers bank building now stands oh determination was carried beffi act that afternoon did the citizens give the morass as any notice of ir what they in med wed to do xo xoi dont thinie think they gave them Iti icy notice whatever but when they the Id lai determined upon destroying the idling office they immediately weeded needed to do so I 1 did the mormons cormons make any re anee ance I 1 xo kyo they did not some of them A d to argue the thecae cabe but awas it WAS of avail the printing office wa a so atory atory brick building andi and andt I 1 dont dhu unk skits its destruction occupied over chour eow how ow many citizens were ene engaged ed kh he aft affair air it suppose there must lave cave boen boon ott hundred altogether was there any personal violence orner otner laier indignities offered the mor dla at that ti di ers nothing 50 thing of any particular conse several were knocked nt I 1 as a general thin thiu thing the shad had sufficient discretion of the way hop partridge and a saint named wm win allen alien were taken from their homes and r TARRED TABBED AND FEATHERED upon te t e public square a ie bua but busti VI am not sure whether it was done same day or not but am of the opinion that it was done aone a few days after after the excitement attending the destruction of the printing office had subsided everything went along with comparative smoothness 9 until sometime during the follow following 1139 1 october when an outbreak k occurred at wilsons Wil sons store near big blue blae in which lawyer brazeale and aman named Lin linden lindeh deily dells citizens of independence and several mormons cormons Mor mons were killed and a number wounded on both sides this ammay seemed to precipitate the general uprising which had bad been brewing for several months and anti the next day a band of perhaps mormons cormons organized and armed themselves in that neighborhood hoogand and started for independence with the avowed intention of burning the town and to kill co col coi sam owens gen 8 D lucas myself and several other leading citizens who had taken part in the destruction of t the printing ting office we heard of theng their coming and I 1 being at that time colonel of the state militia organized several hundred citizens of the county under my toy command in readiness to meet them the mw mir mons were under the leadership of elder lyman wight and were wera armed with a few guns chisels fas fastened bened on the end of poles clubs etc the Morn mormons ions lons concealed themselves in the woods just wet of the town where I 1 met them and finally M MADE adea A TREATY with them the conditions of which were that they were to surrender their arms and leave the munty county within ten days they accepted the conditions of the treaty and s surrendered u r and made a hurried ili ill flight ht from the county 4 was there any blood shed at this time 1 I do not positively Te member remember but hut dont think there was were the mormons allowed to dispose of their lands and other property before they left the county CS no they did not have time but afterwards f ter wards a great many came back and disposed of their lands without molestation mo station did they own much property in the county yec yep they owned a large largo amount of land all over the county and a a great deal of property in n tho the town of independence ir icare are there any of the mormons cormons here now who wiio were here at the time lime of the difficulties in 1811 1833 1871 only two that I 1 know of dr W E Al Mc LeIlan cLellan and his wife wire at the time of the difficulty at wilsons Wil sons store I 1 had dr mclellan Mc LeIlan lellan and bno ino ano ther man under arrest upon ac a charge arge of some sonic misdemeanor I 1 I 1 dont remember just what preferred by one richard mccarty andt and their beir trial was in progress when the news bews of the battle at wilsons Wil sons was received and I 1 had hard work to protect them during the excitement I 1 placed laced them in jail until the next day oay S ay and then turned them loose and told them to tobit git which they did in short order dr mclellan McLe mele ilaa lIaa cabie cable came back here about fifteen years ago sago and he be and I 1 often talk over the event those troublesome times the doctor was always a very peaceable and law abiding nian rian and aud very well weil liked by everybody during his residence here in 1831 1811 2 3 11 99 colonel after reflect reflecting im 0 calmly over these troubles for almost half a century do you believe that the citizens were justifiable in mistreating and DRIVING THE erom TIIE THE coun COUX COUNTY countr Tr 1 I do not nok think they ought 0 vo o havo lleen lieen unnecessarily mistreated mistreat e d but I 1 think the people were entire entirely ay justifiable in driving thein them out as ae e could tou not have lived lied with them lif in peace what bec became ame ime of the mormons cormons Mor mons after they left jackson county they scattered in ili almost every direction the majority however going to clay county where they lived for several 3 years yearb ears earb did efthem of them ever como back here liar ac nonerl noaie ol 01 them ever came back here to live that I 1 know of except dr mclellan Mcl mci jellan jeilan but they used to come back occasionally occasional lyd during u rind ring ty next few years after their expulsion to transact bu business sineAs 1 I 1 egrid did you have any tro f them after the finai final ez A eln min a 1833 T I 1 wo no we aid did not ot abou about lt ono one year af after lerwo wo heard beard that they had chad 0 organ nned in large largo numbers and intended coming back again this rumor created intense excitement and the whole county was vas organized under command of col sam owen owens tu to reuel them but the report proved to e false do you think colonel that the slavery question had anything to do avith with tile the difficulties with the mor I 1 mons iwo no I 1 think that matter had anything to do with it the it is true were northern and eastern people and free soil sol ers adt they did not interfere with the negroes and we wo did not care whether th they ey owned slaves or not awas yas vas anything evv ever over done by the state authorities in regard to the expulsion of tile the mormons Mor mons yes I 1 was arrested the next winer fer ter on a warrant issued by gov duncan dunemn ona oa a charge of in misdemeanor in office in driving i ivi ivl tig tile the mormons cormons lor for mons outfit the county I 1 was taken tak en to liberty and tried before a court of inquiry this court preferred charges agan against st me and I 1 was taken to richmond riehmond and anti tried by court martial and acquitted my trial before the court of inquiry lasted six or soven seven months and cost the state over about 1000 mormons cormons testified against me m e 11 do you know anything any tiling about the mormons Mor Ifor mons after they left this county igno no I 1 do not they went to caldwell county arid were driven fr from oili there in 1838 but I 1 dont know any anything thim about 6 those troubles 31 did the mormons cormons practice or advocate polygamy while in jackson county no they didiot did not nut polygamy at th that at t time me bad not been heard of col teher teber Is now upwards of 75 years of age but time has dealt kindly with him bim he hois rols is still robust and hearty ardd arid would ouid not ordinal ord inari ly be taken for a man of over 65 years 11 he has resided within a few miles of independence ever since lie he came to the state stat 55 years ago and 1 ii well known to every old citizen cluzen in the thet county as well as to a majority of the thit younger ones in the early times however his name was known all nir oter oyer the western country asa aga citizen he is well liked and highly re respected ted by everybody and his ills reputation for truth is strictly first class next sundays sunday 8 journal will contain another installment of the history of ot the mormon settlement Fett feit lement in and expulsion from jackson county as related by other pioneer citizens |