| Show EARLY CHURCH SCENES lexing FOX J ray hay county X mo sept 4 1893 belore leav leaving ing I 1 independence n J Jacka ackson mu mo this thia mum lug I 1 visited the city chiy cemetery lying abt ui of ibe OILY center in lue out tikina of the town 16 is one of tue fluent grave loael tuat 1 nave seen in 11 Mib Mita Boun li it cover finy aily five acres acrea id kept in fine repair aau ains bume of atie tie most handsome and costly met mei with outside of green cemetery oem elery at ai brooklyn N Y cue of mr lar ki M K Muna Aun aban oan the city aex lou was waa cnown n ut of graved we earthay remains ot 01 some ut of those who were connected wita the lu in lbs ou on une one tombstone lumb I 1 read rau the be lui lowing general emamuel D lucas buru born J july kiy 19 1799 dieu february 23 28 1868 JI 1 li IL will bra be remembered that bat Lie lucas wais waa me mau man woo toua J useph the prophet and ana other leading men cuen of ibe prisoners lu jd far west caldwell county in 1838 and who would have bave murdered the be prophet aua oiher on tda bau it DO bot oven lor alexander W 19 interference also samuel weeton who acted hb justice of u the pence during atie time ui lue difficulties ID in 1883 HUU who died in ID 1846 lies buried in too independence cemetery his hie son BOD lt etbert bert jettun tiow bow a rest beai eul ent 01 in is u one ot of the but urd living abing there at abw time gave tue gle seme nAter eating information about early days iu ILI county frum low ibe ul of the court house bouse iu in uce bee I 1 obtained luis morn lug lu a oue ILI view of the ibe jackson county certainly la is a laud an lar aa tue reaca vast aau iyoub extensive farms occupy the ibe between the tim LIM dereu tracts ot of the he country skirting too rivers aud rivulets batse wend their way albrough lue uplands toward the mighty missouri Misa ourt will the lanu jacu is ia do bot like it was waa years yearn agu ago large tracts of high lands which were originally covered with umber timber but were cleared for farming purpose sep have or late years been so badly cut up by washouts was wa bouts shouts that it is ie almost unfit for cultivation and the great complaint among the farmers Is that it dont dona pay to till the soil like it did in early mormon days aly land is coming down in price every year aau at the present time is scarcely worta more than 20 or ar 2 per acie except in close proximity to the market tow towne op when it of course a higher price there are however some very flue country places placed around independence prominent among which la ia the floe fine residence of H M vail built iki 1880 81 it is IB one or of the moist moat beautiful and subtly residences in jackson jackcon county and to ia situated on the west side nide of north liberty street one mile north of the square of independence the length of the mansion to la uy cy 48 feet with a tower 80 feet high the view from this tower to la magnificent it has been supposed that the temple lot jot in ie the highest point in jackson county but this appears to be a ake as aa there is a joithe near the missouri ouri river a bluff that stream and the surrounding surround iDi country which is IB 1024 feet above the level of the gulf ot of mexico while the level of independence is ie only jeet feet or 62 teet feet lower tim the height of the bluff is feet above low yater water mark in the missouri river oo on my journey from independence to the missouri Mitti Misi oun ouri river today I 1 lin Jinger gerou eu on thin high bluff overlooking the river in ID order to enjoy the scenery there surrounded by extensive orchards of the finest fruit trees the country can afford tue the grandest gr andeel panorama pari orama of natural and artificial scenery meets beete the eye on every bano the great missouri jug at your feet boije beneath ath the bluel can be meet stretching ir lobing through the green hills lor twenty miles away its banks fringed with a beautt ul growth of walnut oak elm and hickory passenger steamers ste amera and height freight botto boats are occasionally pass log ing up bisno and down the river while wLl lethe the rush and rumble of the passing train ons on evois different railroads reverberate through the valley vailey and the white wreaths athe of smoke show how the course of the horse hone the ks spires tree aud houses bouses of half a dbr n cities and towns on both sides bides of the river greet the eye of the beholder among which are independence kansas kaneas city wyandotte Wyand and liberty while near at hand baud the precipitous und and rocky bluff bluffed the macadam road tu to independence landing the abe highly farms anu ana gardens the shrub bery the clumps of timber and nd the thousands ot of fruit tress trees make this one of the most attractive spots in the state of missouri apples peaches pears cherries plums plume quince quincel quin cee grapes and ana a great variety of small fruit are grown in great on this bluff descending the bluff we my cum cnorr f anion al my friend U UA A hadj balof Ha lof of depenti dependence ence who took me to the ibe railway dillway station with his team soon reached the print un on the missouri river known as old miles from independence or 12 mit miles esrom rom kansas city tula this to ta where the old ducker perry ferry tseu to be on the main road of travel from liberty to independence it was here that most ot the saints who were drivon driven out of jackson county by a bloodthirsty mob in 1838 1833 crossed the missouri river into clay county it was also at this poi t that james jamea campbell and others lost their lives anu where samuel C owens and ble bie companions had bad such auch a narrow escape irum irom drowning while attempt lug to crofus the river for or the purpose ot of raising a mob with which to late the itie members of zion zions s camp who under the leadership of the prophet joseph joiseph were nearing tite the borders bordera ol 01 clay county atlue at toe time this circumstance bap happeney happe penel on the of june 1834 when the robbers had reached the middle of toe river the boat sank and seven out of about twelve or fifteen men were drowned d among them the notorious gamt bau declared wita a terrible oath that eagles aud and turkey buzzards should eat the flesh from his hi bones bonea it be did not fix joe smith and his hie army in two days day so BO that their shine would not hold bold shucks it seemed that providence took him on his hie word he did not kill JOO joe smith and his hie army but his bie dead body was eaten by the birds birda of prey which he himself had bad mentioned and when a mr purtle several days daya later found his bia remains remaina on a little leland island a short abort dia distance diata tance uce below blue mills ferry only the bones were left at the point where ducker duckers Duc kere a ferry once was waa operated and where wayne city once stood only two houses bouses remain the terry lerry nae has long jong ago been but one I 1 of the old terry ferry boats boata lies epou the be batik bank of the kream a wreck nearly decayed the independence water works is situated about half a mile beaw the lorry lerry site eite the missouri at tuis polut la in confined to nearly bull its 10 ordinary width and the channel is consequently deep at present however the water in the river la is very low so BU muon moon too DO that trie ineat of the suit lake excursionists who had bad never seen the river before but had heard of it since his hie childhood day remarked Is it possible that tais nis is the tb mighty missouri of which I 1 have heard so BO much why it to ia not much bigger than our jordan Jorda blIP traveling by rail along the bank of the missouri I 1 bad a glimpse of the island on which the sie Jeton ol of mr campbell Campb elJ one of the bobbera re erred to was found this inlang to la near a farm owned by goo geo P hed ric kone ot of brethren from independence who polotesi ii it out to me the atchison At topeka santa fe railway crosses the missouri river on an elegant bridge near the town ol of this tow n u occupies the site bite of old furt fort founded to in 1808 and was the first settlement by whites in jackson county it la Is 27 niiles miles cast ot of kansas city ANDREW J anson RICHMOND ray county COUDY mo sept 5 1893 1 arrived here from kansas city tais morning aou anu have been busy most ot of the day reading and cullin fromhold from old documents pertaining to the early history of the church in possession of david J whitmer who in with his bla nephew geo C li Sob received me kindly and have rendered reu dered me efficient aiu aia in my historical researches at this place richmond has haa grown considerably since I 1 was here before nearly five yea beare ago and many improvements ae going on oil the present season including the ine of some of the principal streets street pavil etc richmond Kich mond is the county I 1 seat of ray bay county and was named by the county court monday september 24 1827 it is situated on oil two railroads 44 miles northeast of kansas city miles milea southwest sou tb west of st louis and 67 miles southeast or of sl joseph joiseph the malu main or central por tion bion ot of richmond stands on trio ane crown of it a grateful graceful swell and the suburban portions are located on the elopes of g a succession oi 0 beautiful wooded hills hilja that nearly surround the central town rne ibe slopes abound in the most moat attract ive sites that building command fin fine city anu and open valley views in ila almost every uI direction it nag has scores ot of line fine cottages villas and dignified mansion homes many fine built buildings lings have been erected of lute late years a flue fine two story brick building buil known as am the woodson I 1 institute te a methodist college has just been comple completed tel and was opened today for sob sch 01 ol purposes accompanied by dvid J Whit merr I 1 luave have just visited the grave of 0 MB his father david one of the three witnesses of 01 the book boob of mormon M he rests near abe north corner corne of the new cemetery rud and a 8 plain but nicely cut shaft of blue us granite mounted upon a square base or of close grained sandstone has been raised ats grave and on that of his wire wife on who died soon boon alter her husband the whole monument does not exceed five feet in height and the top been chiseled out so as to represent nag has two books the bible and the book of mormon lying on top of one another on the south side of the monument 1 la the following inscription 6 david whitmer dieu died january 26 25 1888 aired 88 years YO 0 days day 12 oo oa the west glde aide aged in smaller lett letters ert the record ot of the tha jews and the record of the nepo Nephi heare teg une one truth its is eternal B beneath are the borus father and mother fl jl anti and still lower ower jim in large lany letters weltmer on the io north attl side I 1 read julia A philmor died feb 25 1889 aged 74 years 18 days baym si in the old eld richmond graveyard alii altu abed north of the town abe the new otis one li is I 1 west rests the earthly remains of peter whitmer senior sector in whose house the was organized april 6 1830 in seneca co N Y a also so his wife mary the only woman who was wa privileged to behold the plates from which the book of mormon was translated they were shown to her in her own dooryard in fayette by a holy messenger also jacob er one of the eight w witnesses It nesses of the BO book k of mormon was buried in the old 0 richmond n graveyard by his side lies oliver bowdery oue one ot of the three witnesses martin harris the obber one of the three witnesses is butted buried in clarkston Clarke torl etab hiram page another ofine eight witnesses is buried in the western part oi 01 ray bay county john whitmer biej in far west went haldwell Ual dwell county mo but his bis remains were I 1 interred at finkston KinK ston the present county seat of caldwell peter whitmer jr and christian both bu buried riou I 1 in D the western part pan ot 01 clay county mo joseph smith sr ar and hyrum smith the other two of the eight witnesses were interred in nau hancock va Illin olp in communications written to the NEWS previously I 1 have given dates ard concerning these other particulars whose lives and testimony are so MOD men with the coming acted closely oun on forth of the Nep bite records record as the whitmer styles we otie book late dvd avd and rise of the th church of of mormon 9 christ in these the lat days the richmond oliver in exact biot cowdery urea breathed thed him hia last was also but the house out to me in pointed which he died has been taken down long ago county was originally a part of howard bay coun county ty but by net met of the legislature approved appi oved nov 16 1820 tu take effect jan 1 1821 it was formally organized as it a separate anil and d dint inci in honor ot it the county anu and the dele ales hon HOD john ray bay oue of county to the convention from howard which mot met in st louis in june 1820 of framing a state con for the purpose to the admission preparatory of missouri into the union bluffton situated on the bauko banks oi 01 now extinct river was the temporary the missouri seat until 1827 when tile the pre county was selected for or mond ent site of the seat of f justice i aud and a tow nelie slEe surveyed that same year lu in 1827 and and were built house bouse a jail 1829 a court the jail which was both of logs 1098 finished in the lail jail of 1828 was tue the in which parley P pratt and same game the winter ot of ers spent leblow prisoners in the la is thus described 1838 39 it history of JURY bay county athe the jail was a log fabric ol of a very rune and primitive kind the only entrance was a stairway on the outside leaning leading to a solitary boor t at t opened into as and which was a flohr ot of LD me of varret garret in it this trat joor or hatchway by means eads ot of a ladder the prig aers aders descended ti ti the du dungeon ageon J this jail removed and the been has long silo ago by a blacksmith site alte is now occupied a mr powell it is shop bop owned UY ty half a block east of the northeast present elat richmond court coun corner of the prea house bouse square on tiie north side of the street afeei ane log house bouse lu which joseph smith the prophet rebuked the street north this the sain game guard was on main street further west tut but the stood is not known it exact where spot byxbe by the present inhabitants of rich the fy old whitmer residence where david whitmer the witness died Is on south main hat u street one block east of the court bouso bouse square it is 18 now occupied by his bis daughter mrs schweich tao house in which oliver bowdery died one block eat east of the weltmer residence I 1 in n tb the e b history of RAY bay cou county n ty I 1 B find a d the following bay acroy county furnished a large number of soldiers for both armies in the late civil war who bore themselves brav bravely elyin in some of the hard fought battles of the war adding now new luster to the military honors already won by the county the number of volunteers from pay bay co county u nty that enlisted in the southern armies to is variously estimated at from give five too tillit hundred amadori A majority of this number enlisted under gen sterling price the first year ot of the war 1861 I 1 I 1 ehte be number of volunteers furnished by ray bay county for the federal army is estimated at jabout 1200 11 1 this thib sterling price referred to in the fort going goida in ie the same price who treated joseph smith and follow fellow prisoners so go cruelty cruelly while they were kept in chains awaiting the mock trial trials u under judge austin aking treason was one of the charges preferred erred against the prophet who was as true and loyal to his country se as any of the lovers of the union possibly could be but price turned against his government and |
