The sensational case of the murder of John M. Daniel by Isaac Whitson on Dec. 12, 1832, is a rare local example of an early capital crime. John M. Daniel first appeared in the area in 1818 when he bought land near Hubble Creek just north of Jackson. In 1828 Daniel married Amantha Hector, likely his second wife. Daniel became a prominent businessman, owning nine local town lots and over 600 acres of land by 1830.

Before you test your DNA, you should have a good reason for testing. For example, while most testers do so to obtain ethnicity estimates, this is mainly for entertainment value and is often not particularly useful for family history. Furthermore, if the reference population increases, there may be adjustments in percentages. The example in the illustration is for a person who originally had no Scandinavian ancestry indicated, yet now comprises around 15%...

Union General Lyon responded to Governor Jackson's pro-secession actions by marching on Jefferson City and driving out the governor and pro-secession members of the State Convention on June 15. The Convention convened a second session, declared state offices vacant, and appointed provisional pro-Union officers. They called for a general election in November...

DNA is the chemical that codes for proteins which determine our physical traits. This molecule is a double coil connected by cross pieces (called bases). There are four bases that can vary in sequence in a DNA molecule, and these are a code for our traits (similar to an alphabet making up words, sentences and paragraphs). DNA occurs mainly in the nucleus of most of our cells. A small amount resides in structures involved in energy release in our cells -- the mitochondria...

The movement toward Civil War in Cape Girardeau began with the 1860 election. Two issues dominated the election: whether the federal government should allow slavery in territories when they applied for admission into the Union and secession. Four presidential candidates ran in 1860. ...

Although content of many newspapers is available on free sites, it may be necessary to use subscription services to access all digitized newspapers. If you subscribe to one or more of these sites, learn about their content before doing so. The sites vary in geographic coverage, and while there is overlap between subscription newspaper sites, each has at least some unique to that service. ...

Many early residents of the area around Pocahontas in Cape Girardeau County were German and Austrian immigrants or immigrants from the mid-South. A notable exception was perhaps the best known resident of the area, John A. Bonney. Bonney was born in West Walton, Norfolk, England, on April 26, 1826, one of seven children of John and Sarah Watts Bonney. The family came to Cape Girardeau County in July 1838, and John's father died three months later...

The first printed newspapers date to a weekly periodical published in Germany in 1609. Newspapers only began to flourish in the English-speaking world when England relaxed censorship in 1695. The first American newspaper, "Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick" [sic], published one issue in Boston in 1690 before the authorities suppressed it. ...

Fruitland is not a location that pops up in most memories as a high school basketball powerhouse. Nonetheless, the Fruitland High School Greyhounds won the Class B state title in 1932, with the College High Preps taking second. Class B included high schools with fewer than 500 enrolled students...

Tax lists for a given locality are often unavailable for every year (one exception being Virginia). Courthouse disasters, poor storage and intentional discarding all resulted in these losses. Accordingly, we often have a fragmentary picture of an ancestor if we rely only on tax lists...

Levi L. Lightner purchased two land parcels in 1838 in Alexander County, Illinois. One is opposite Devil's Island along Picayune Chute northwest of Clear Creek (now McClure), which he later called the "home place." The other 480-acre parcel lies east of the modern intersection of Highways 146 and 3 north of Gale on Sexton Creek and was the focus of Lightner's sawmill, store and farming businesses. ...

It is rare to find someone who likes taxes. However, genealogists at least have a deep appreciation for tax assessment lists and other tax-related records. Such records, if they survive, can tell us much about an ancestor. The collective name for this type of record is a "tax list", but these encompass several types of records. ...

Many of the early leaders of Cape Girardeau are poorly known today for several reasons. For example, Levi L. Lightner was a well-known local citizen from 1819 until the late 1830s. His move to southern Illinois, where he became a prominent judge, has resulted in his near absence from our history...

All family historians should decide where to deposit their research when they decide it is complete (or as complete as they want it) or after their passing. Before you decide, you should determine whether an interested relative wants to continue the quest. ...

A prominent marker in Jackson City Cemetery marks the grave of Col. William McGuire. The inscription may puzzle some: "Taken Prisoner/at the battle of the/River Raisin". However, Americans alive during the War of 1812 would have known the situation well...

The first challenge in using manuscript collections for genealogy research is locating them. In common with most family documents, first assess what you and relatives have. There may be old letters, photographs, written materials and documents right in your own home. Ask relatives what they might have as well...

From the Lutheran Observer, Oct. 14, 1853, "Died at his residence in Bosbarulda Bottom, in Perry co., Mo., on the 20th day of July, Mr. William Hagar Eddleman, aged 36 years..." My great-great grandfather was one of many Missourians who probably died from malaria. ...

Oftentimes genealogical researchers want to know more about their relatives than the matter-of-fact information they can get from public records. Sometimes insight into people's lives and personalities may be glimpsed in court case or probate files, but details for some of them are in manuscript collections. This is rarely the case, but if there are papers related to an ancestor in an archive, they can be a gold mine for learning these details...

A factor affecting early settlers and not often considered today is the need for salt. Most who settled east of Missouri used sea salt obtained from coastal areas, but some locales did use salt from saline springs. The most notable of these in Southeast Missouri is the spring on Saline Creek in Ste. Genevieve County, where the French and later Americans boiled the saline water to produce salt. By the 1820s, competition from larger springs in southern Illinois eclipsed the Missouri venture...

Locating court records for research depends on the court's jurisdiction and the discretion of the caretaker of the records. In general, researchers may find them online at Family Search (using the catalog search option), posted by local societies or through state archives. ...

These local history columns focus on detailed aspects of Cape Girardeau. Those needing more on Southeast Missouri history can access published histories. While no comprehensive history exists after 1912, four provide details through the early 20th century. There are also several books that focus on Cape Girardeau, including books of photographs. However, I include only histories of the entire region in chronological order. ...

Today we tend to think people use courts to solve disputes more often than was true in the past. This is incorrect, however, because Americans have a long history of using courts to settle disputes. It is unlikely that your male (and many female) ancestors avoided appearing in local court records. ...

The most visible legacy of Bartholomew Cousin in Southeast Missouri is land granted to him by the Spanish government. Spanish Lt. Gov. Carlos Dehault Delassus lacked funds to pay for services but could grant land. In all, Cousin received 24,000 arpents (20,275 acres) in three grants...

If a deceased person failed to write a will, the laws of the state govern property distribution. As mentioned in my previous column, this is termed intestate inheritance. While the will is probably the key document for testate inheritance, the key genealogical documents for intestate inheritance are documents generated by the steps of the process. ...

Bartholomew Cousin filled several roles between the 1790s and his death. Prior to Cousin's arrival in "Louisiana", Louis Largeau was Lorimier's long-time associate, assistant and secretary. Lorimier employed Largeau from 1769, when he traveled from Quebec to the Old Northwest. Largeau kept Lorimier's journals until Jan. 17, 1795...

Some of the most valuable documents for genealogy are wills and the documents related to the legal process of administering a person's property after their death. This process is called probate. If the deceased wrote a valid will, probate is termed testate; if not, it is intestate. ...

Bartholomew Cousin was Louis Lorimier's secretary; a talented man who knew French, English, Spanish, Latin and native languages; and owner of large land parcels. Cousin's talents were essential to Lorimier and the county. Stories often mention the demolition of his house in 1946, which was the only remaining log structure downtown...

The first step for researching deed records is to determine if your ancestor owned land. All but the most impoverished long-term residents in an area owned land. Value of real estate may appear beginning with the 1850 census. You may find landowners in plat maps. ...

I was fortunate to have Mr. Jim Hickam as my 6th-grade teacher at Jefferson School. Mr. Hickam was not only a great teacher, but he often offered opportunities to his students that taught us much about local history and nature. Sometime in April 1965 he took several of us to visit a local site that no longer exists -- Bluebell Island...

When landowners died, defaulted on mortgages, or forfeited land to pay fines, they or court officials transferred title for the land to heirs or purchasers. The term used for documents associated with these actions is "deeds." Deeds are valuable documents for learning about relationships and the lives of our ancestors...

Tower Rock has always been a well-known landmark on the Mississippi and the source of the name of Grand Tower, Illinois. Most literate early European travelers mention it, usually as a marker of a particularly treacherous section of the river for early travelers...

Once a buyer completed payment or presented a warrant for military service at a federal land office, they received a receipt, and the office sent completed paperwork to the General Land Office in Washington. Eventually, the office would complete two copies of a final certificate, or patent, on high-quality paper and giving the land description, patentee name, file number, date and signature of the president...

Simon Z. and Susan Block had 11 children and 10 of them married into prominent families in early 19th-century Missouri. (Daughter Rosanna died as a child in 1829.) The first child to marry was Delia, who married her cousin, Phineas Block, at age 15 in 1823. Phineas was a successful businessman in Pike County, Missouri, and St. Louis...

Ancestors obtaining first title to government land in most midwestern and western states purchased or received the land through U.S. government land offices. The processes that individuals undertook were created to manage disbursement of land owned by the federal government to individuals. ...

Women had few legal rights in the early 1800s. Single women had rights to inherit and own property, but married women only had a dower right, the right to one-third of her husband's estate for her lifetime as a widow. After Simon Z. Block died in 1825, his son, Moses, and friend, Benjamin M. ...

Land records are possibly the most valuable records for determining relationships, especially before 1880, when the federal census began including relationships to the head of the household. One of the primary reasons our ancestors came to America and moved often was to find better land. Indeed, in many areas over 80% of adult males owned land...

Zalma Block and his wife, Matilda (Rodney) Renfroe Block, built and operated St. Charles Hotel for many years. Most assume Zalma was the first or only member of the family to arrive in Cape. He arrived in the area as a child, however, and his parents and siblings were prominent in the business history of Cape Girardeau from 1820 until the late 1800s...

Some types of records record only births or provide evidence for approximating birth date. The most valuable of these, oftentimes, is birth certificates. Inexperienced family historians often expect to find these for all their ancestors, but most states only began requiring them in the 20th Century. ...

The SEMO District Fair dates to 1855, when the General Assembly created the Southeast District Agricultural Society. The district, headquartered in Cape Girardeau, covered 23 counties. The William Bierwirth farm hosted the fair in early days, south of Good Hope and east of Pacific to Frederick Street. ...

The burial sites of ancestors are often of great interest to family historians. We may wish to pay tribute to our family members at their place of rest, but from a research standpoint, we can obtain a lot from gravestones and burial records. Oftentimes this information is available in no other source...

William Alt's son, George E., preferred a military career and held a captaincy in the British Army. However, he immigrated to manage his father's land and business interests in Missouri, assisted by local lawyer Benjamin F. Davis. It is unclear whether William Alt came with George when he first arrived in the early 1890s...

The essential "facts" about our ancestors are their dates of birth, marriage and death. The collective name for these is "vital records." Vital records are kept under governmental authority and include such documents as birth certificates, marriage licenses (or certificates) and death certificates. Genealogists usually add divorce records to this list...

Originally much of the southern end of Cape Girardeau County was swampland. These forested areas were unattractive to settlement because of frequent flooding. The land offices had difficulty selling this federal land, and in 1850 Congress ceded wetland acreage to individual states. ...

Federal censuses are essential for family history research, but what if they are missing for the location of interest? What about the 10 years between each federal census? If researchers need to fill in gaps, there are several alternatives to the federal censuses...

Several men who settled in the Cape Girardeau District before the Louisiana Purchase were veterans of the American Revolution. The best-known of these lived until the 1830s and applied for pensions. To receive these, veterans had to provide details on their service. The service of those who died prior to the Pension Act of 1832 is more difficult to document, depending on the state from which they served...

Census records have become more accessible in recent years thanks to digitization and the Internet. A number of online subscription services offer census, most notably ancestry.com, which is available free at many libraries and archives. FamilySearch is a very useful web site that has, among many other resources, access to censuses. You must set up an account to use the site and access requires logging in each session, but it is free...

Construction of Fort D occurred in summer and fall 1861 at the same time as the other forts. The layout of Fort D is a redan, or a V-shaped projection pointed in the direction of an expected attack. The fort is the smallest of the four Cape Girardeau forts. ...

Perhaps no other record source provides as much useful information for family historians as censuses. I will discuss using this type of record in this column and two subsequent ones. Different levels of government have taken censuses in various forms from colonial times. ...

Construction on Fort C occurred concurrent with the building of the other forts. Fears of attack in summer 1861 fueled a flurry of construction. Over 1,000 Union soldiers, enslaved men, local citizens and Confederate prisoners all labored on the fortifications through the late summer and early fall...

Once you compile all the information you can at home or from relatives, you have to seek other information to confirm your ancestry. Such information is contained in a variety of sources in libraries, public record repositories, archives and various sites on the Internet...

Fort B, located on the hill where Academic Hall and Kent Library now stand on the Southeast Missouri State University campus, played a key role in the Battle of Cape Girardeau, April 26, 1863. Construction of this fort began shortly after the commencement of construction on Forts A and D in summer 1861. Along with Fort C, Fort B provided defense of the center of Cape Girardeau...

Many things hinder family history research. The first of these is accepting others' conclusions without question. This has always been a problem, but has become worse with the internet. There is an expression from Cold War days: "Trust, but verify." Use existing family trees for clues, and always examine the records that can support or disprove them. Above all, don't just pass along what you find in others' family trees. Errors and wrong information become no more accurate by repetition...

Recently the National Archives has completed digitizing maps prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the Civil War. One of these, a military map of Cape Girardeau, appeared years ago, but now accompanying detailed maps of each of the four forts are available. This column and the succeeding three will focus on the forts...

An advertisement in the Cape Girardeau Western Eagle newspaper in August 1850 includes the following, "FASHIONABLE DANCING AND WALTZING ACADEMY, Mr. Frederick E. Bruns announces that he has opened a Dancing School in the Ball Room in the Tavern of Mr. Penny ... will teach a variety of dances. Apply to Mr. W. Penny."...

Once you begin family research, you accumulate documents and other information rapidly. To avoid the problem of failing to locate information quickly and to avoid paper blizzards or computer confusion, have an organizational plan from the start. A number of free or inexpensive forms are available to assist in organization. ...

One of the first American settlers in northern California spent his formative years in Cape Girardeau County. The man is a legend, partly because he was a pioneer, but also because of a memoir that has quite a few claims about his life. In this account I've tried to include only verified information...

Welcome to the first installment of basic "how-to" hints on compiling and researching your family history. In each of these monthly columns, I will cover a topic that will lead you to uncover your ancestry -- not just the basic outlines, but also the story of your ancestors. In future columns, I'll conclude with a brief overview of a research site in Southeast Missouri...

The local Grand Army of the Republic post of Union veterans was the Henry Justi Post. Why did Justi deserve the honor of having the post named for him? John Henry Justi was a son of German immigrants William Justi and Sophia Anders. William was a baker and grocer with a store in Cape Girardeau. William Sr. died in 1855, leaving the family with little income. Henry became a mercantile clerk and salesman...

Among the mysteries of Cape Girardeau history is the naming of Sprigg Street. The assumption is the name comes from Jenifer T. Sprigg, an early resident, but the reason is unclear. A Maryland native, Sprigg was to follow the surveying profession for much of his lifetime. ...

Most who know of Col. William L. Jeffers remember him as the commanding officer of the Confederate 8th Missouri Calvary Regiment and its predecessors, which recruited many Southeast Missouri men during the Civil War. This regiment fought numerous battles in Arkansas and Missouri and participated in Price's 1864 raid into Missouri. Union forces captured Jeffers at the Battle of Mine Creek, and he spent time at the Johnson's Island, Ohio, prison until the war's end...

In 1823, the book, "Memoirs of a Captivity Among the Indians of North America" appeared in Philadelphia. The author, John Dunn Hunter, claimed Kickapoo Indians massacred his family and captured him at age 3, in about 1801. The band later moved west to what is now eastern Kansas, where Indians captured him again. ...

Older Cape Girardeau residents may remember A.Q. Fulbright, a local distributor for Phillips Petroleum Co. What you may not know is the story behind his unusual middle name, which was "Quanah." The story begins with A.Q. Fulbright's uncle, Andrew Jackson "Cot" Fulbright. ...

One notable ocean survival story from World War II involved World War I ace, national hero and airline executive Eddie Rickenbacker and the crew of a B-17 that crashed in October 1942. Secretary of War Henry Stimson dispatched Rickenbacker on a mission to review living conditions and operations in the Pacific. He also delivered a message of rebuke to Gen. Douglas MacArthur...

In early July 1937, the caretaker at the newly-renovated Fort D saw occupants of a car assist an elderly man on a tour of the fort. The man indicated he had been there "during the battle" and served at the fort, but the caretaker failed to get his name. Once the Louis K. Juden Post, American Legion, heard about the man, they asked the public for assistance finding him so they could invite him to the dedication of the new building. Searchers identified the man as Fred Davis from near Oak Ridge...

Among the extinct towns of Cape Girardeau County is one very close to Cape Girardeau. In fact, the town of Decatur was inside the current city boundaries. Today it encompasses Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus, formerly the St. Vincent Seminary and College...

Martin Rodney and his sons were instrumental in the early settlement of Cape Girardeau and Mississippi counties in Missouri, and Lawrence County, Arkansas. The family remained prominent locally for nearly 200 years after arriving from Bourbon County, Kentucky in 1798. ...

Two hundred years ago this week, a sordid series of events played out in Cape Girardeau County, centered around the murder of Mrs. Jane Burns, wife of Andrew Burns. Andrew Burns and family first settled in March 1803 on an 890-acre land grant near Brushy Prairie in the New Madrid District. Burns cleared about four acres, according to testimony given to the Board of Land Commissioners in 1808 by William Cox, a neighbor. The family in 1803 consisted of Burns, his wife and five children...

Cape Girardeau underwent unprecedented growth and success in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Its location on the Mississippi and the arrival of a railroad were partly responsible, but the town also benefited from German immigration. As a group, Germans were literate, often well-educated and came possessed with an entrepreneurial spirit and technical skills. ...

The 1920 Democratic National Convention was the first to occur after women received the vote by passage of the 19th Amendment. One of the delegates was a woman from Cape Girardeau, Mrs. Katherine Martin, who had made her mark at the State Convention by leading the effort to deny Sen. ...

The name John James Audubon usually conjures visions of his paintings of North American birds. Few realize that Audubon spent six weeks in our area in 1811, however. Audubon partnered in 1806 with a friend, Ferdinand Rozier, with the assistance of their fathers Jean Audubon and Claude Rozier. ...

Louis Houck once wrote, "In the anxiety and struggle, excitement and enjoyment of the present we too often forget the men of the past. Soon all memory of their labor vanishes from the common recollection of men. Soon their very names become an unfamiliar sound...." So it is with three brothers, Nathaniel, John D. and Daniel P. Cook, who were instrumental in the early history of Southeast Missouri and Illinois. From humble beginnings, these men all achieved prominence in our region...

Many blame the slow growth of Cape Girardeau in the early 1800s on the slow confirmation process for land claims remaining from the Spanish and French regimes in Missouri. The city sits on a land claim of Louis Lorimier's, Survey No. 2199, a claim not confirmed officially until July 4, 1836, by act of Congress. ...

Early businesses in territorial Missouri appear in lists of taxes and license fees. The Missouri Gazette and Public Advertiser, dating from 1808 in St. Louis, was the newspaper of record for the area until the Jackson Independent began in 1820. The Gazette printed lists of public monies received for the counties south of St. Louis. A tax and licensure system for Missouri Territory began in 1814, and the list of businesses discussed below was from 1816 and 1817...

John P. Edinger was born to Christopher and Catharine (Welker) Edinger in 1808 in present-day Bollinger County, Missouri. Both parents were born in Pennsylvania, and their families immigrated to North Carolina after the Revolution. After their marriage, they came to the Cape Girardeau District in 1802, and settled with other German-Americans on a Spanish land grant on Little Whitewater Creek...

Don Louis Lorimier, as the representative of Spain, and later France, typically granted land to new settlers in the Cape Girardeau District based on age, gender and slave status in the individual household. An important exception to that rule involved a military action in 1802 to 1803...

Between 1820 and 1861, Jackson was more than just the county seat of Cape Girardeau County to many settlers in the southeast quarter of Missouri. Residents of outlying counties knew it mainly as the site where they purchased U.S. government land at the land office...

The U. S. federal census began in 1790 and has been conducted every 10 years since. Its primary purpose is to apportion seats in the House of Representatives, but the Constitution directs the enumeration be conducted "in such Manner as [Congress] shall by Law direct." The framework of the census has allowed collecting of other information under this authority...

Local lore suggests the cupola on the Common Pleas Courthouse came from the old St. Charles Hotel. The origin of this story is apparently the book, "Cape Girardeau: Biography of a City," by Felix E. Snider and Earl A. Collins. In a discussion of the St. Charles on page 226 is this statement, "The cupola was later incorporated into the old courthouse." There are no credited sources for this information...

Myths and legends can prevent telling the full story of a historic site. This is the case with Fort D, Cape Girardeau's sole remaining Civil War fort, and Missouri's only surviving urban fort. John Wesley Powell, second lieutenant, 20th Illinois Volunteers, and later captain on Gen. ...

Oftentimes we hear that the Battle of New Orleans was the last battle of the War of 1812, fought on Jan. 8, 1815, after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. However, Southeast Missouri men fought a later battle on May 24, 1815: the Battle of the Sinkhole...

Most people consider county boundaries as fixed since their formation. This may confuse historical researchers and result in failing to consider researching elsewhere when they look for local records. County boundaries changed frequently in Missouri until the mid-1800s. However, few realize that parts of Missouri's early counties are actually in Arkansas today. One of these, Lawrence County, included a large area of what is today southern Missouri...

On Christmas Eve 1893, James Munday Samuel succumbed to heart trouble in Oak Ridge. His obituary detailed military service in two wars, but referred to a singular incident occurring during the Mexican War. James was 6 feet, 2 inches, with black hair and black eyes, and a trained brick mason when he enlisted in the 3rd Mounted Missouri Infantry. ...

On Jan. 28, 1919, 25 men gathered in the St. Charles Hotel in downtown Cape Girardeau to be initiated into a brand-new Rotary Club -- the first such club in Southeast Missouri. The Rotary movement had begun in Chicago in 1905, with the goals of providing a venue for fellowship as an opportunity for service, promoting high ethical standards in professional life, instilling the ideal of service in its members, and advancing international understanding, good will, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional people.. ...

Two hundred years ago today, a 25-year-old adventurer and his companion spent the day south of present-day Dora, Missouri, grinding corn and making moccasins. The young man was Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, his companion Levi Pettibone. The two had left Potosi, Missouri, on Nov. ...

Wayne County is celebrating its bicentennial in 2018, and the man in the photo is one of the prominent men in late 19th century Wayne County. Edward P. Settle was born July 17, 1834, shortly after his parents, the Rev. William W. and Sarah (Barrett) Settle came to Missouri. His father bought government land in southern Madison County...