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Property came before happiness
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(Part one of a series)
During his day-long inaugural
train ride from Philadelphia to the
Washington D. C. last Saturday,
now President Barack Obama refl
ected on the past to inspire hope
for the future.
The new president begins his
term with turmoil on many fronts.
“There will be false starts and setbacks,
frustrations and disappointments,”
he said, “and we will be
called to show patience even as we
act with fi erce urgency.”
He also
quoted one of the most famous
phrases in American history to reinforce
what he sees as the need
for “a new declaration of independence--
from ideology and small
thinking, prejudice and bigotry.”
The Declaration of Independence
that framed the basis for the
American Dream was announced
to the world on July 4, 1776 by the
Second Continental Congress.
It
proclaimed that the thirteen American
colonies, then at war with
Great Britain for over a year, were
now independent states and no
longer part of the British Empire.
Their Declaration of Independence,
penned primarily by Thomas Jefferson
of Virginia, stated: “We
hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness.”
False starts, setbacks, frustrations
and disappoints were familiar
terms to our Founding Fathers.
Nearly every step in the creation
of the new nation required revision
before it was accepted by
the all thirteen colonies. The now
famous statement of Americans’
civil rights was revised from the
fi rst “Declaration and Resolves”
of the First Continental Congress
that had met Oct. 14, 1774. That
draft of the colonists rights stated,
“They are entitled to life, liberty
and property; and they have never
ceded to any foreign power whatever,
a right to dispose of either
without their consent.”
The Constitution of the new
United States was adopted Sept.
17, 1787 and ratifi ed June 21,
1788. It has since been amended
27 times. The fi rst ten amendments,
known as the Bill of Rights,
were introduced by James Madison
to the fi rst United States Congress
in 1789 and came into effect Dec.
15, 1791. Thomas Jefferson was
the main proponent of the Bill of
Rights. The Fifth Amendment included
the importance of property:
“No person …shall be deprived of
life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law; nor shall private
property be taken for public
use, without just compensation.”
The concept of an individual’s
right to own real property--land--
was as revolutionary as the belief
that the colonists could govern
themselves in a democracy. It was
also critical to the personal ambitions
of many who helped form the
new nation.
As subjects of the British Empire,
the American colonies were
bound by law and tradition to the
European feudal land system.
Throughout Europe the ruling
monarchs owned the land and only
favored individuals were allowed
the use of it for service rendered
the king or queen. The nobility,
and even the Church, could buy
and sell their rights to the land, but
even the wealthiest subjects owned
the use of the land, not title to the
land itself.
Between 1607, when the Jamestown
settlers fi rst set foot on
American soil, and 1752 when
Georgia became a royal colony,
Great Britain established dominance
in a narrow strip of real estate
along the Atlantic seaboard.
France and Spain laid claim to
the western lands. As population
increased in the British colonies,
the wide open spaces west of her
domain offered an opportunity to
expand--and a threat to the French
who held claims to the Mississippi
Valley in the late 1740s and early
1750s.
The Ohio Company of Virginia
was organized in 1747 by Thomas
Lee, President of the Virginia
Council of State, and other infl uential
Virginians including Nathaniel
Chapman as treasurer, John Mercer,
secretary and general counsel,
two of George Washington’s
brothers, Lawrence and Augustine
Jr., Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddie,
John Hanbury, a wealthy
London merchant, and the Duke
of Bedford. The company viewed
the Ohio River Valley as a source
of potential wealth. It was sparsely
populated by the native tribes
but rich in furs. They also viewed
the country as a place where land
might be acquired and resold at a
profi t to settlers.
A rival group of land speculators
from Virginia, including Thomas
Walker and Peter Jefferson, father
of Thomas Jefferson, organized the
Loyal Company about the same
time. The French objected to the
competition.
In order to forestall the expansion
of Virginia and Pennsylvania
the French built a line of forts in
western Pennsylvania and British
efforts to dislodge them led to confl
icts that are generally known as
the French and Indian War, or the
Seven Years’ war is it is known in
the United States. The Treaty of
France, signed February 10, 1763,
gave Great Britain and Spain all of
New France which originally extended
from Newfoundland to the
Rocky Mountains and from Hudson
Bay to the Gulf of Mexico.
The French territory was then divided
into fi ve colonies, each with
its own administration: Canada,
Acadia, Hudson Bay, Newfoundland,
and Louisiana. The Treaty
of France gave Great Britain over
270 million acres of land east of
the Mississippi River.
American investors, eager to
turn a profi t, rushed in with a sense
of urgency to seek approval for
new colonies in the former French
territory that now bordered their
western frontier. Their false starts,
setbacks, frustrations and disappointments
are part of the history
of the land.
On October 7, 1763, King
George III issued a Royal Proclamation
that forbad private development
within the territory without
the express permission of the
crown. He further instructed any
of his subjects who were occupying
the land to remove themselves
from such settlements and expressly
reserved the right to buy land
from the Native American inhabitants
for the Crown.
The Ohio Company and Loyal
Company were not the only investors
with a stake in expansion long
before the sovereignty of the new
nation was proclaimed.
Charlotina was a colony proposed
in early 1763 that would
have included the region lying between
the Maumee River Wabash
River and Ohio River, the upper
Mississippi River, and the Great
Lakes. The Royal Proclamation
quashed that plan. The proposal
was revived in 1770 with different
boundaries and named Vandalia,
also an attempt to honor Queen
Charlotte who was thought to be
descended from Vandals. It was
never established.
The Dismal Swamp Land Company
was also formed in 1763 by
none other than George Washington.
That company proceeded to
drain the area on the Virginia and
North Carolina border and harvest
timber from the area.
The Mississippi Land Company
was formed in 1763 by Virginians
including George Washington,
John Augustine Washington,
Richard Henry Lee, Arthur Lee,
and William Fitzhugh to acquire
land grants in the vast region between
the Appalachian Mountains
and the Mississippi River ceded by
France to Britain after the war. The
company hoped to establish a new
colony in the Mississippi Valley by
petitioning the crown for 2.5 million
acres (10,000 km²) in what is
now Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee,
including where the Ohio
River fl ows into the Mississippi.
They were never granted lands and
folded about 1770.
In March 1775, North Carolina
judge Richard Henderson made a
treaty with the Cherokee, in violation
of the Royal Proclamation, to
purchase all the land lying between
the Cumberland River, the Cumberland
Mountains, and the Kentucky
River, and situated south of
the Ohio River. The land thus delineated,
known as the Transylvania
Purchase, encompassed an area
half as large as the present state
of Kentucky. He claimed that he
mistakenly believed a newer British
legal opinion had made such
purchases legal. Daniel Boone was
hired to inform the Cherokee of the
upcoming negotiations and later
blazed what was known as the Wilderness
Road through Kentucky.
Other settlements, notably Harrodsburg,
were established around
this time and did not recognize the
Transylvania Company.
The Illinois Company purchased
two large tracts of Native
American land in the Illinois country
in 1773; the Wabash Company
purchased two additional tracts in
1775. Great Britain refused to recognize
these purchases. After the
Revolution the companies merged
and appealed to both Virginia,
which claimed the Illinois Country
and the United States to recognize
their land purchases, but were unsuccessful.
The United States eventually
bought the land from Native
Americans and resold it, which
led to a Supreme Court Case that
found in favor of the government
in 1823.
The confl ict between Henderson’s
Transylvania Company, the
Illinois Company, The Wabash
Company, the State of Virginia and
the crown led to multiple surveys
and confl icting ownership claims
of the land from which most of our
Monroe County pioneers originated.
Other speculators entered the
pages of history to add additional
false starts and setbacks, frustrations
and disappointments to the
citizens’ right to own property.
More of that story will be told in
next week’s column.
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Monroe City native, Dr. Jerry Spalding dies
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Dr. Joseph D. (Jerry) Spalding
of Louisiana, Mo. died Saturday,
Jan. 10, 2009, at St. John Mercy
Hospital in St. Louis after a brief
illness. A Memorial Mass was said
at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, at Holy
Rosary Catholic Church in Monroe
City. Father Don Antweiler offi ciated.
Graveside services will be held
at a later date.
Dr. Spalding was born Aug. 24,
1933, in Hannibal, to Edward C.
and Anna Mae (Yates) Spalding.
He was preceded in death by his
parents; one brother, John F. (Jack)
Spalding; and three nephews, Stephen,
John and Robert Spalding.
Survivors include two sons,
Mark Joseph of Washington, D.C.,
Matthew Craig (Elizabeth) of Arlington,
Va., and two grandchildren,
Joseph and Catherine, also
of Arlington; one brother, Jim (Jo
Anne) of Hannibal; six nieces and
nephews and numerous great-nieces
and nephews.
Growing up, he worked in the
family business, Spalding Pharmacy
in Monroe City.
He was a 1951
graduate of Holy Rosary High
School. He entered the University
of Missouri and graduated in 1958
with a medical degree. He interned
in Tampa, Fla. He moved to California
in 1959 and began a general
practice of medicine in Corcoran,
Calif., which continued for more
than three decades. By his own estimate,
he delivered 5-6,000 babies
during time.
He also served on the
school board and as physician for
the Corcoran High School Panthers
sports teams.
He also served in the
U.S. Army Medical Corps.
He was an avid reader, especially
of history and historical fi ction.
He had a lifelong love of antiques,
which he turned to a full-time occupation
upon retiring. Other interests
included renovating old
buildings, woodworking and his
two dogs.
After retiring from his medical
practice, he lived in Alabama, then
to Maryland, and fi nally to Louisiana,
Mo., where with his friend,
Bill Meyer, he developed a plan for
the restoration and improvement of
the riverfront area of Louisiana.
Memorial contributions may be
made to the Holy Rosary School or
donor’s choice.
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Races set in council races
Three newcomers fi led for
election to the city council on
Tuesday, the closing day for
fi ling.
City Clerk Gary Osbourne
reported that incumbent Ward
I Councilman Roch Buckman
fi led for re-election, and will
be challenged by Kelly Zeiger.
Long-time Ward II Alderman
Mark Greening also will
be challenged by John E.
Long.
Stephen Youngblood was
the only person to fi le for the
Ward III council seat. Anthony
Yates had been appointed to fi ll
the unexpired term of Darren
Freidank who resigned.
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Years Ago Column
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90 Years Ago
Jan. 24, 1919
The U.S. War Department reported
the deaths of two soldiers
from the Monroe City community,
Lee Madison Hickman, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Lee Hickman, died
in France Oct. 12. He had been a
member of the Canadian Army but
was discharged because of a physical
disability. He was drafted after
midyear and sent to France. The
other solider killed was Pearl T.
Shuck, son of Mrs. Victoria Shuck
of near Huntington. He was killed
in action in France on July 12,
1918.
Mrs. M.C. Hawkins knitted
198 garments for the Red Cross
between November 1917 until the
Armistice was signed on Nov. 11,
1918, a production of practically
one fi nished garment every day and
a half.
Virginia Evans left for Washington,
D.C., where she had been
named to a government position in
the Bureau of War Risk Insurance.
80 Years Ago
Jan. 25, 1929
Monroe City was one of 40
towns owning a municipal electric
poser distributing plant in Missouri.
A total of 938 carloads of freight
were shipped from Monroe City in
1928, according to a tabulation released.
The Henderson Produce Co.
shipped 247 carloads of dressed
poultry and 225 carloads of eggs
out of the total. Hog shipments
ranked third with 173 carloads.
High School students listed on
the honor roll for the third sixth
of the school term in Monroe City
high school were Alice Marsh,
Laura Ellen Wadsworth, Elizabeth
Giddens, Lorraine Tuley, Margaret
Elizabeth Utterback, Margaret Arnold
Henderson, Virginia Baynum,
Alice Virginia Shoemaker, Lois
Feaster, Danella Johnston, Cornelia
Moore Tuley, Louise McElroy,
J.B. Murphy, Ada Mary Feaster,
Lula Potterfi eld, Edward Gottman,
Woodford Jackson, Wilfred
Dawson, Manning Walker, Clement
Craig, Robert Morton Wade
Walker, Goetz Chipman, Clara
Marksbury, Blanche Scobee, Dorothy
Roberts, Nora Bell McClintock,
Lee Marksbury and Mildred
Fowler. Honor students in grade
eight were: Carolyn Rose Jackson,
Marjorie Morton, Anna Pauline
Utterback, Helen Ward and Anna
Cecile Forsythe.
70 Years Ago
Jan. 26, 1939
The fi nancial budget for Monroe
County for 1939 was fi xed at
$56,206.91. This was a reduction
of $18,655.47 from the 1938 fi gure.
Prices reported on livestock
shipments from the Monroe City
area at National Stockyards, Ill.,
ranged from $7.50 to $7.85 a hundredweight
for hogs and $9 to $9.90
on mixed and heavy steers.
A number of farmers in this
community had signed for rural
electric service to be furnished by
the Missouri Rural Electric Cooperative
with headquarters at Palmyra.
They were: Joe Pierceall, Albert
Adam, John Arnoldy, George
Yates, Clarence Bixler, Roy Yates,
Alfred Hays, Mrs. R.F. Stoddard,
Chester Finnigan, J.M. Tewell,
Henry Zeiger, Charles Tipton, Ed
Ellis, Will Nesbit, Ira Stimpson,
Julius Hollender, Fred Byrd, Grover
Bohrer, Harry Krigbaum, Fred
Hardesty, Buckman School, William
Pfanner, Joe Fry, R.L. Hagan,
W.J. Hagan, Ernest Hagan and
Randall Mudd.
Kathryn Calvert completed a
course in Gem City Business College
and accepted a position in the
offi ce of the county agent of Marion
County in Palmyra.
60 Years Ago
Jan. 27, 1949
The W.P. Dowlin family, northwest
of Monroe City in Warren
township, Marion County, was selected
as one of eight farm families
from Northeast Missouri declared
Missouri balanced farming champions
in the statewide contest sponsored
by the Agricultural Extension
Service of Missouri and the Kansas
City and St. Louis Chambers of
Commerce.
R. Milstead Noel purchased the
McClintic Store, which was sold at
auction by Charles A. McClintic,
at a price of $4,750. The purchase
was made by Raymond Noel on
behalf of his brother.
Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Gentry left
for Fort Pierce, Fla., where he had
accepted the position of social science
teacher in the high school.
James Yates and Robert Campbell,
students in Holy Rosary high
school, won fi rst prize in the poster
contest sponsored by the Edgar
McCann Post, American Legion,
in connection with the minstrel
and variety show. The poster made
by Juanita Healy place fi rst in the
grade division.
Conway Lumber Co. had a
showing of the second of their new
Meyerhaueser homes. The new
home was constructed for Mr. and
Mrs. Robert Bates.
50 Years Ago
Jan. 22, 1959
The worst snowstorm Monroe
City had suffered in a long time
hit January 20 with nine inches of
snow on the ground accompanied
by heavy drifting. All transportation
was halted, schools were closed
also funeral services for Mrs. Ellen
Pierceall were cancelled owing to
the storm and road conditions.
Utility receipts for the last six
months of 1959 were $147,225,
bringing the total for the year to
$266,157.77.
An appeal was made for more
hunters to join in a fox and wolf
hunt Sunday, Jan. 25.
New people: a daughter, Tina
Marie was born to Mr. and Mrs.
Stephen Williams Jan. 20; a
daughter, Mary Elizabeth was born
to Mr. and Mrs. William Beard of
Hannibal Jan. 16; and a daughter
Eileen, to Mr. and Mrs. Towney
Quinn of Columbus, Ohio Jan.
17. Mrs. Beard and Mr. Quinn are
brother and sister.
Rehearsals were underway for a
variety show, “Around the World in
a Daze.” The leads were to be taken
by Mrs. B.W. Freidank, Jr., Robert
Barnes and Robert Meeker.
Helen Johnson won second
place in the district oratorical contest
held at Novinger.
Woman Marie Private Gloria
Jean Leake graduated Dec. 18
from the Marine Corps recruit depot,
Parris Island, S.C., and was assigned
to Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Gary Johnson, 14, was accidentally
shot in his right leg when he
and his brother, Lloyd, were loading
a .22 caliber rifl e.
40 Years Ago
Jan. 23, 1969
The Monroe City R-I drama department
were presenting a play by
Capote entitled “The Grass Harp”
directed by Doug Allbritton.
Sgt. Ronald Swearingen returned
from a tour of duty in Vietnam.
He is the son of Mrs. James
R. Burns of Vandalia and the late
Glen Swearingen of Monroe City.
Offi cers installed at Monroe
Lodge No. 64, AF & AM included:
Roy Cookson, worshipful master;
Billy Porter, senior warden; Albert
Ely, secretary; Dr. O.F. Orton,
chaplain; Yancey Mayes, marshal;
Dave Cornish, senior deacon; Fred
Burns, junior deacon; Maurice
Lucke, senior steward; R.R. Rhinehart,
junior steward; Guy Pearson,
tyler.
30 Years Ago
Jan. 25, 1979
Basketball Homecoming candidates
included Janie Potterfi eld,
Mary Schnitzler, Jeaniene Lanham,
Nancy Geist, Michele Whiston,
Belinda Down, Jan Turnbull,
Rene Gottman, Jeff Spalding, Jim
Hagan, Scott Geist, Tony Griffi n,
Nick Lanham, Jeff Raetz, Robert
Addison and Bob Pfanner.
Births: a son, Nathan Pearson,
Dec. 29 to Mr. and Mrs. Eliazar
Chacon; a daughter, Mona Jo, Jan.
22 to Mr. and Mrs. Paul Gander; a
daughter, Kristen Kay, Jan. 22 to
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Weaver; a son,
Ronald James, Jan. 17 to Mr. and
Mrs. Bob Ketsenburg.
The Monroe City Bank reported
that all the offi cers were re-elected
at the annual stockholders meeting.
Scott Conway was re-elected
as chairman of the board, Robert
Maddox as president; John R.
Hancock, vice president; Dwight
Henderson, secretary; Emmett
Schachtsiek, Robert Hawkins and
Ambrose Quinn, directors; Don
Perrine, assistant vice president;
Charlotte Lanham, Billie Davis and
Elizabeth Janes, assistant cashiers.
20 Years Ago
Jan. 26, 1989
The Monroe City Brownie
Troop #332 sold the most Girl
Scout cookies in the area VI council.
They sold 2,328 boxes of cookies.
Lauren Ashley Hays was the
1989 New Years Baby for Monroe
City. She was born January 19 to
Tony and Jeanne Hays.
Births: a daughter, Kristi Michelle,
Jan. 18 to Brad and Denise
Thompson of Belleville, Ill.
The Ford Motor Company executive
director, O.B. “Bud” Marx,
presented Howard Truesdell, director
of manufacturing engineering
and Wayne Porter, manager of quality
assurance at Diemakers, Inc. the
Q1 Preferred Quality Award.
10 Years Ago
January 26, 1999
Taken from the fi les of The Lake
Gazette
Students from Holy Rosary Parish
and their chaperones were to attend
the visit of Pope John Paul at
St. Louis.
Births: a son, Jacob Alan, January
15 to Alan and Neecy Jarman
of Columbia; a daughter, Jessica
Elizabeth, Jan. 21 to Eric and Lesa
Beaver of Quincy.
Dan Mudd was featured in the
Gazette as a modest mentor to many.
He was a member of the fi rst boys’
basketball team to play in the Msgr.
Connolly Gymnasium coached by
Joseph O. Mudd. The Monroe City
Middle School Gymnasium was
dedicated to Dan Mudd.
The Village of Warren is now
only a few houses and two churches
in what was once a thriving town
just north of Monroe City. The little
community in the 1800’s boasted
several blacksmiths, shoemakers,
several grocery stores, a drug store,
several notary republics, a justice
of the peace, a milliner and a hotel
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School Board looks at tight budget in 2009
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In its fi rst meeting of the new
year the Monroe City R-1 Board of
Education discussed its outlook for
2009 and beyond Monday, Jan. 12
in the high school library.
Superintendent Jim Masters
spoke about the fi nancial climate
for the remainder of 2009.
While he mentioned the budget
had been set for 2009, he expected
there to be some signifi cant change
throughout the state in 2010 due to
the current economic climate.
According to Masters, a shortfall
of tax revenue is to be expected. He
stressed the need for the school to
make every purchase count.
The board reviewed schematics
for the new window wall replacement
and then approved them so
they could be sent out for bidding.
Dwight Dickinson and Karen
Johnson, representing Dickinson
Hussman Architects, made an approximate
45-minute presentation
in regards to a long-term facility
plan to the board. The plan mentioned
different types of methods
dealing with communication with
the community regarding school
needs including the use of public
opinion surveys. While the board
made no decision, Dickinson said
the long-term plan could be fully
implemented in a three-month period
if approved.
Masters updated the board on
the current state of the middle
school gym. Due to a malfunctioning
sprinkler head, several hundred
gallons of water fl ooded the gym
foyer and a small portion of the
middle school gym over the Christmas
break. Damage was limited to
a small portion of the gym fl oor.
The fl oor will need to be sanded.
Once everything goes through with
insurance, the two-week repairs
could begin after basketball season
fi nishes.
Masters notifi ed the board of the
Distinction of Performance Award
ceremony held 6:30 p.m. March
30 at Truman State University in
Kirksville. He requested board
members who would like to attend
R.S.V.P. by Feb. 12.
The board approved the minimum
wage salary increases, effective
January 2009, from $6.55 per
hour to $7.05 per hour. The board
also approved the revised contract
with Learning Opportunities/Quality
Works based upon the minimum
wage salary increases.
Board members interested in
attending the MARE conference
from March 12-14 were asked to
R.S.V.P. by Feb. 12.
A decision regarding MUSIC
umbrella coverage was tabled.
The board reviewed the district
report card and approved the annual
audit report.
A proposal regarding the use of
money from the vocational-technical
education enhancement grant
was presented. The board approved
of the proposed use. The grant is
being used to purchase new computers
and new desks along with
other items for the agriculture and
business departments. The estimated
cost is $32,650.
The hourly rate increase of $17
per hour for the After School Program
retroactive to Oct. 1, 2008
was approved.
Kate Pederson was approved
as a high school cheerleading co
sponsor for the 2008-090 school
year.
The board approved the resignation
of Lori Mann as a high school
Language Arts teacher at the end of
the 2008-09 school year.
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