We Heard the Shrill Whistle: Daily Civil War Observations from Rolla

By Ryan Reed

 

Rolla Express

12-24-1860

Vol. 1, No. 23

Charleston Mercury Broadside 12-20-1860

South Carolina Has Seceeded

“From Friday’s Daily St. Louis Bulletin we learn that the ordinance of secession passed the State Convention of South Carolina on the 19th inst., unanimously, 169 members present.  Here is the ordinance:

We the people of South Carolina, in convention assembled, do declare and ordain that the ordinance  adopted by us in the convention of the 23rd of May 1778, whereby the Constitution of the United States was ratified, and all acts of parts of acts of the General Assembly of the State ratifying amendment to the said Constitution, are hereby repealed, and the union now subsisting beteen South Carolina and other States, under the name of the United States of America, is hereby disolved.”

The official news of South Carolina’s secession from the United States hit the Rolla Express 154 years ago today.  An article later in the issue gives insight on the thoughts of the newspaper editors.

 Political Prospects

“Gloomy prospects hang over our country at this time.  We do not know but the political troubles will terminate in shedding of fraternal blood.  But we hope not.  Gleams of hope now and then brighten the eastern horizon, but, as yet, the prospects are not the most flattering.

It has given rise to a good deal of newspaper discussion, and much exaggeration, on both sides, has been indulged in – much crimination and recrimination.  In this DISCUSSION we take little interest, but in the harmonious adjustment of all our national difficulties, we have a deep interest.  One party asserts the North is intent upon humiliating the South and are determined to listen to no propositions for compromise, while others assert that the leven of Conservatism is working and is sure to accomplish all that the South demand, if let alone.  Fully we can not, of course believe either.  But from such facts as we can gather from many part of the North, the free States are beginning to back down.  And if the South adhere to their rights and maintain their ground they can yet obtain all they claim IN the Union, which will be much better for them than the same guarantees OUT of the Union.”

In previous issues, the editors have clearly sided with the South.  However, they are clearly stating they prefer one harmonious Union rather than secession.  A later article hints at the burden of war in Border States like Missouri.

Congress

“Pacific Measures calculated to heal the breach between the North and South are being discussed in Congress and it is hoped some measure will be favored to protect the rights of all the States without involving us in war.  Missouri and the border states are interested in this because in the event or war they will have to brunt to bear”

Locally, the biggest news was the arrival of the first train to Rolla on the evening of December 22, 1860.  This wasn’t a passenger train but a construction train hauling laborers and equipment.

The Cars Have Come

“We heard the shrill whistle of the steam horse as we went to press last Saturday evening.”

With the coming of the train, Rolla wanted to showcase itself as the place to settle and set up shop.

Rolla, Missouri

“We call the attention of our readers to this place for two reasons.  The first, because its rapid growth and business facilities entitle it to notice.  An secondly because the interest, growth and prosperity of our town depends in a great measure upon the well being of Rolla.  Accustomed as we have been in our travels through South-Western Missouri, to traversing gigantic hills, and crossing deep and rapid streams, we were completely surprised, and agreeably so, to find the road leading form this to Rolla, generally level and smooth and but on insignificant stream to cross.

Rolla is situated on a beautiful upland surrounded for miles by a level and productive country, which only needs (like our own fertile soil) the right kind of cultivation to develop its vast agricultural resources.  This place is now the permanent county seat of Phelps county, and its enterprising citizens have already gone far in the erection of suitable and substantial county buildings.  In company with a citizen of the place, the Hon. Sam. Williams, we visited several houses of business and were utterly astonished to see such heavy stocks of goods, fine saloons, hotels, &c.  And last, but not least, we had the pleasure of shaking by the hand our friend and neighbour of the Express whose frank demeanor bade us “be at home” at once.  The geographical position of our neighbour city, the best accessable point on the Railroad, the advanced condition of business houses at that place, all conspire to make it the point for Southern trade and travel and to interweave its interest with that of ours

-Dent Co. Argus”

Immense Excitement

By Ryan Reed

Rolla Express

December 17, 1860

Vol. 1, No. 2

Local News

“The State Convention in South Carolina is said to have been called for the purpose of seceding-that of Georgia for deliberating-and those of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisanna for consulting.”

The single sentence by the Rolla Express notes the call of the South Carolina General Assembly for a Convention of the People of South Carolina to consider secession.  The call came on November 10^th and delegates were elected on December 6^th.  When the above type was assembled, inked and pressed onto paper, the convention had voted unanimously, 169-0, to secede from the United States on December 17^th.

The only information found about South Carolina’s secession is an advertisement at the end of the Express for D.R. Parsons store.  The advertisement reads:

Advertisement for Parsons Store in the Rolla Express

SOUTH CAROLINA’S

SECESSION

FROM THE UNION

has caused

IMMENSE EXCITEMENT

throughout the country, but hardly more than the

ASTONISHING LOW PRICES

at which goods can be purchased at

Wholesale or Retail

at the

CHEAP CASH STORE

of

D.R. PARSONS & CO.

Obviously, the Rolla Express or D.R. Parsons decided to make light of this serious situation that would pitch the country into a bloody four year war.

The local news section of the paper continued with the follow items.

“It is expected that the railroad will reach Rolla in the course of a day or two.”

“There is to be a ball at the Southern Hotel on the 2th inst.”

“Henry Andrae brought up from St. Louis among other goods, Jake Reynolds, who had escaped from Phelps Co. Jail, some time since.  He has been relodged at his old quarters”

“There are now lodged in Phelps County Jail for fighting James Kegan and Michael Wealen and there are others that ought to go.”

The biggest story in the paper was a trial concerning a fist fight between Isaiah Terril, Jesse Manners and Edmund Ward Bishop, the founder of Rolla.  The Express reported;

“Last week a good deal of feeling was excited by the trail of Isaiah Terril for assaulting Jesse Manners and EW Bishop, two very worthy citizens of our town.  Prior to this trail some were disposed to throw a good deal of blame on Terril for the part he acted In this affair; but a full and impartial examination of the whole matter, from beginning to end has disabused all that class of people of such views, and convinced them that he acted the part of a man of firmness, courage, and honor, vindicating his rights, as a citizen of a free country, and in now wise stooping from the highly respectable position which he has always held in society.  From the evidence in the case Mr. Bishop was the first to make the assault, and at the beginning of the affray Terril acted on the defense only.  During the contact Jesse Manners, interfered and attempted to pull Terril off, when Terril struck him, after repeatedly warning him to keep away.  Terril was first arrested for a breach of the peace in striking Manners.  This action was tried by a jury, who acquitted him of the charge, next for feloniously assaulting Bishop with intent to kill.  This last charge was investigated before out venerable grey haired townsman, Just. Marsh, who after a careful hearing of all the evidence and a close examination of the law applicable to the case, could not do otherwise than honorably acquit the Defendant.  This acquittal we think has given general satisfaction.  Williams Brown, and Clark appeared on the part of the prosecution, McGuire, and Harrington, for the defense.”

 

Daily Civil War Observations from Rolla: A Pugilistic Encounter

By Ryan Reed

Letter

Allen Bolles Johnson to Eliza Frazier

12-13-1860

Abbreviated

“I don’t know that there is anything very new or wonderful to relate.  The whole theme of the general conversation is “cicession” and the “panic” which has grown out of the excitement.  It seems quite sure, the troublesome times are at hand, and none can tell what their extent may be. “Montgomery troubles”* have amounted to a complete fizzle and the brave “six hundred” which march out from St. Louis to protect Mo. borders, have concluded that they might as well have staid at home, and are now retracing their steps.

Our little town affords nothing of more importance than a pugilistic encounter, occasioned usually, by the too free use of whiskey.  Oh! If it was not for this whiskey in our midst, I think we might boast of as thriving a town as in the whole broad west.  The R.R. is soon to be opened up to this point and the event will be an era in the history of Rolla.  Another year will bring an addition of a better class of citizens, and consequently a better state of society.  In fact there is no society now.  It’s every man for himself &c.  The town is built on a swell of ground slopping toward the south such a situation in Penn. would be considered beautiful.  It lacks good water, which is no small item, and the only way which there can any be got is by boring artesian wells.

As you say. – I think I shall not be likely to freeze this winter, should I stay as far south as this.  The weather had been delightful for the most of the time since I have been there it being warm enough to leave the doors open through the day for many days.

Speaking of the state of society here, I would correct the error which many of the people of your locality have fallen into, i.e. that the general state of society in Missouri is bad.  This is truly an error for in the old settled parts of the state, as good society may be found as in any of the Eastern states.  For example --- there is the town of Springfield in South west Missouri, of about the size of Binghamton, N.Y. which has not a single place were liquor is sold publicly, and as one might suppose, the effect is a highly cultivated state of society.  Such a town is not to be found in the whole range of my acquaintance, either in Penn. or New York.

Allen Johnson in 1863

Allen Bolles Johnson was born during 1836 in Susquehanna Co., Pennsylvania to Thomas Johnson and Eliza Bolles.  His father was a prosperous farmer and was also active in politics.  The elder Johnson was elected county coroner in 1839, sheriff in 1842 and unsuccessfully ran as the Democratic nominee for the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1859.  The Johnson’s agricultural pursuits did sufficiently well to be able to send Allen to the Susquehanna Academy, an esteemed local private school.  Subsequently, Johnson attended the Iron City College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the latter part of 1859.  After completing his studies he returned to Susquehanna County.  Through his letters, it appears Johnson had a bitter disagreement with his father and abruptly left.  He took the train to the end of the line and settled in Rolla in or around October 23, 1860.

Special thanks to The State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Rolla for providing the Johnson letters housed at their facility.  The letters concerning Johnson's activities were transcribed with a brief biography written by John F. Bradbury, Assistant Director at the State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Rolla, for the June 1987 issue of the Phelps County Historical Society Newsletter.

*James Montgomery was an abolitionist who settled in Mound City, Kansas in 1854.  Born and raised in Ashtabula County, Ohio, Montgomery wandered West.  He moved from Ohio to Kentucky, Missouri and finally Kansas after the territory was organized in 1854.  A fervent abolitionist, he became the local leader of Free-State men and organized and commanded a “Self-Protective Company” in 1857.  The company ordered pro-slavery settlers out of Kansas.  By 1860, Montgomery was leading raiding parties into western Missouri to abduct and free slaves and used extreme measures against pro-slavery populations.

Annihilation to Disgrace!

By Ryan Reed

Rolla Express

12-10-1860

Vol. 1, No. 21

 

From the South

 

“We have but little that is new to say of Southern matters.  The secession movement still continues.  Both the disunionists and the conservatives continue to hold meetings in different parts of the South.  The expected message of Governor Gist, of South Carolina has appeared.  It is a strong secession document.”

 

This article refers to William Henry Gist’s, Governor of South Carolina, message to the state legislature on November 27^th.  Gist was strongly opposed to the election of Abraham Lincoln.  Prior to the election, Gist contacted other Southern governors and discussed what course of action to take if Lincoln was elected.  In the end, Gist believed that because the United States was created through a compact among sovereign states, the states could leave the Union if the federal government failed to protect their rights.  Therefore, Gist wanted secession if Lincoln was elected.

 

His November 27, 1860 message confirms and explains his position of secession.  In his long address he details how the state would secede and the hopes that other Southern states will follow suit.  He concluded his message by stating;

 

“I cannot permit myself to believe that in the madness of passion an attempt will be made by the present or the next Federal Administration to coerce South Carolina after her secession by refusing to surrender the harbor defenses or interfering with imports or exports; but if mistaken, we must accept the issue, and meet it as becomes men and freemen, who infinitely prefer annihilation to disgrace!”

 

Caricature of James Buchanan-Currier & Ives, 1860

The Rolla Express also published a synopsis on President James Buchanan’s fourth and final State of the Union Address read before Congress on December 4^th 1860.  Strife between the North and South was at a fever pitch and South Carolina was on the verge of becoming the first state to secede from the Union.  In his message, Buchanan understood that it was the responsibility of the President to ensure that the laws of the United States be faithfully executed.  However, he shied from this duty saying that the existing conditions rendered the government helpless to intervene.  He believed that secession was not “an inherent constitutional right” but saw no constitutional provision that empowered the president “to coerce a state into submission.”

 

Buchanan, whose pro-Southern partisanship that was the hallmark of this administration, continued in his message to blame the North solely for the crisis.  He stated:

 

“The long-continued and intemperate interference of the Northern people with the question of slavery in the Southern States has at length produced its natural effects.  The different sections of the Union are now arrayed against each other, and the time has arrived, so much dreaded by the Father of this Country, when hostile geographic parties have been formed.” 

 

Buchanan continued:

 

“The immediate peril arises not so much from these causes as from the fact that the incessant and violent agitation of the slavery question throughout the North for the last quarter of a century has a length produced its malign influence on the slaves and inspired them with vague notions of freedom.  Hence a sense of security no longer exists around the family altar… Should this apprehension of domestic danger, whether real or imaginary, extend and intensify itself until it shall pervade the masses of the Southern people, then disunion will become inevitable.”

 

After admonishing the North, Buchanan lays into the South.

 

“The election of any one of our fellow-citizens to the office of President does not of itself afford just cause for dissolving the Union.  This is more especially true if his election has been effected by a mere plurality and not a majority of the people and has resulted from transient and temporary causes which may probably never again occur.”

 

Finally addressing the secession crisis, Buchanan acted as a cranky grandfather admonishing his grandchildren to behave.  He basically told the North, you caused the problem and you in the South don’t have a problem.  He continued that the problem could be resolved and peace restored if the North minded their own business and permitted the South to manage themselves and continue the practice of slavery.  He called upon the states to pass a set of constitutional amendments that would affirm the legal existence of slavery, a solution he believed would put the entire secession matter to rest.

 

The President’s State of the Union fell flat in both the North and the South.  The North didn’t like being told that saying slavery is wrong was wrong and the South didn’t like being told that secession was wrong.  Buchanan’s administration was well known for being ineffective and his inadequate speech added to his lame legacy. 

 

The only impression garnered about the opinion of the President’s speech by the Rolla Express is a brief paragraph alerting readers of the synopsis.

 

"In another part of the paper we give a brief synopsis of the Presidents Message.  We deem it a very important document breathes a conservative and patriotic spirit.  In no age of our national existence have we had more need of wise and prudent counsels."

 

154 Years Ago Today: Resignation, Mail and Jail Breaks

By: Ryan Reed

 

Rolla Express

December 3, 1860

Vol. 1, No. 20

 

Pen and Scissors

 

“Mr. Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury, denies the report that he intends to resign his position in the Cabinet.”

 

Howell Cobb

This was the only news related to the impending secession of Southern states and ultimately the Civil War.  Mr. Cobb is Howell Cobb, a Southern Democrat from Georgia.  Cobb served five terms with the House of Representatives and was Speaker of the House from 1849-1851.  He became the Governor of Georgia from 1851 until 1853.  He returned to Congress in 1857 and took the position of Secretary of the Treasury under President James Buchanan.  He eventually resigned from Buchanan’s Cabinet five days after this article was published.  He became one of the leaders of the Secessionist movement and later served in the Confederate Army.

 

The Rolla Express related a few local items that still resonate with Rollites today. 

 

“We now have a daily mail between Rolla and St. Louis.  It will not be long before the locomotive and train will be making this point its western terminus.  We understand that the work is being delayed on account of want of iron.”

 

The news edition also conveys news concerning the newly constructed Phelps County Jail.

 

“We mentioned in out last number, the escape of the prisoners from Phelps County Jail but neglected to state that we had been misinformed about the completion of the building.  In justice to all parties we will state that the escape was effected from an unfinished portion of the jail and where the carpenters were at work, the jailor having taken them from their cells for exercise.”

106 North Olive - The Heimberger House

By: Ryan Reed

106 North Olive Street - The Heimberger House

Sitting on the southeast corner of Olive and Second Streets, 106 N. Olive is an unassuming two story house that is a testament to a family that had a tremendous impact on Rolla. The home was constructed for Louis Heimberger whose parents and subsequent descendants would invest in Rolla and shape it into the city it is today.

The Rolla Express and "Squatterism"

The Rolla Express
November 19, 1860

Rolla Express "Maries and Phelps Counties" November 19, 1860

“The true Democracy of these two counties have most nobly done their duty and squatterism has received a most signal rebuke at their hands.  Maries County has given her opinion upon the issues of this contest by the following vote: Breckenridge 309; Douglas 98; Bell 95; Lincoln 7.  A majority over Douglas!  Phelps County has done well also: Breckenridge 430; Douglas 254; Bell 199, Lincoln 37.  In Phelps County the vote of the employees on the railroad has swelled the number who have supported the claims of the Squatter Giant else he had been no-whar’!”

Rolla During the Civil War

By Ryan Reed

During the next four years, hopefully, Rolla Preservation Alliance will document daily events occurring in Rolla and the surrounding region during the Civil War.  The day to day activities documented through primary resources such as newspapers, correspondence, journals, military ordinances, etc will paint a picture of the effects of national and statewide events on our community.

This week in 1860, a national election was held that placed an Illinois lawyer, Abraham Lincoln, at the helm of our nation.  This event served as the immediate impetus for the outbreak of the Civil War.  During the 1850s, the nation became divided over questions surrounding the expansion of slavery and the rights of slave owners.  These issues broke the Democratic Party into two factions during the 1860 Democratic National Convention held in South Carolina.  Extreme pro-slavery delegates, known as Fire-Eaters, demanded the adoption of an explicitly pro-slavery platform. However, Northern Democrats refused to acquiesce. Southern delegates including Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina and Texas left the hall and formed the Constitutional Democrats. These Southern Democrats nominated pro-slavery incumbent Vice President, John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. The National Democratic Party nominated Stephen Douglas of Illinois.

A year prior to the Democratic division, ideologies and sectional antipathies created the Constitutional Union Party.  The party was formed by former Whigs, who supported supremacy of the Congress, and members of the Know-Nothing Party, the outgrowth of a strong anti-immigrant sentiment.  The party attempted to ignore the slavery issues which appealed to Border States such as Missouri.  The Constitutional Unionist nominated John Bell of Tennessee for president during the Spring of 1860.

The final contender in the race for the presidency was Abraham Lincoln, nominated by the Republicans.  Founded in the 1854, the Republican Party was the main opposition to the Southern Democratic Party.  The main cause was the opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska act which appealed the Missouri Compromise.  The latter was passed by Congress in 1820 to regulate the western spread of slavery.  The compromise prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory except within the boundaries of Missouri.  The compromise was appealed in 1854 when the Kansas-Nebraska Act, submitted by Stephen Douglas, became law.  The act determined the expansion of slavery in Kansas and Nebraska Territories through popular sovereignty.  To be admitted as a slave state, white male settlers in the territory would vote to either deny or allow slavery.

L to R - John Breckenridge, John Bell, Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.

John Jeffreys: Slave, Educator, Business Owner

By Ryan Reed 

Part II: Educator and Business Owner
 
John Jeffreys’ military career was over and he was now a free man.  He left Brownsville, Texas en route for Jefferson City, where he had enlisted for the army.  Upon his return he gained employment as a church sexton and was boarding with the Franklin Rose family.  His purpose for returning to Jefferson City was not to toil at the maintenance of a local church, but to nurture an educational institution for African Americans he help create while in the army.

Education became a priority to Jeffreys during his military career through a variety of general orders to the rank and file of his regiment.  Commanding officer of the 62^nd United States Colored Regiment, Lt. Col. David Branson, issued of General Order 31.  The order dated July 3, 1864 stipulated

“All non-Commissioned officers of this command who shall fail to learn to read by or before the 1st day of January 1865 will be reduced to the ranks and their places filled by persons who can read. In the position of Sergeants preference will be given to men who can both read & write and are otherwise good soldiers. All soldiers of this command who have by any means learned to read or write, will aid and assist to the extent of their ability their fellow soldiers to learn these invaluable arts, without which no man is properly fitted to perform the duties of a free citizen.”

At the end of the stipulated time for the comprehension of reading and writing, Branson enacted General Order 4 on January 25, 1865.  The order announced a contest to recognize the best writers in the ranks.  A committee of officers was appointed to judge the entries and pick thirty winners, a sergeant, corporal and private from each of the regiment’ ten companies.  The results were announced on Independence Day 1865.  Winning corporals and sergeants would each receive a gold pen and privates received a bible.

Jeffreys' Family Home-200 North Elm Street

This was an exceptional order considering in most states it was against the law to teach African-Americans to read.  The state legislature of 62^nd Colored Regiment’s home state had outlawed the education of free or enslaved African Americans in 1847.  Anyone caught teaching African Americans in Missouri was fined $500 and served six months in jail.  An overwhelming majority of men in the regiment were illiterate slaves in Missouri prior to their enlistment.  This was their first legal opportunity to be educated.  The regiment’s first lieutenant, Richard Baxter Foster, led the instruction and continued to do so throughout the war.  Foster was a white abolitionist born and raised in New Hampshire.  At the onset of the war, Foster was living with his family in Nebraska and enlisted with 1^st Nebraska Infantry in 1862.  He was discharged during December of 1863 in St. Louis, Missouri and immediately reenlisted. He was appointed lieutenant of the 62^nd.   Among his many letters held at the archives of Lincoln University, Foster relayed to his wife his belief that fighting for the education of African Americans would be his life’s work.

Following the end of hostilities in Texas, the 62^nd began discussing the creation of a school for higher education for recently freed slaves and their descendants.  The solders collected nearly $5,000 to pay for the start of the school.  The 65^th United States Colored Infantry, formerly the 2^nd Missouri Colored Infantry, desired to participate and raised $1,400 for the cause.  An organizational committee of officers and soldiers drafted resolutions on January 14, 1866 to establish a school in Missouri for “the benefit of freed blacks.”  The document continued that “emancipated slaves, who have neither capital to spend nor time to lose, may obtain an education.”  The money raised by the troops was entrusted with Foster who returned to Missouri seeking a university willing to create a program for African Americans.  Unsuccessful in partnering with a integrated school in St. Louis, Foster arrived in Jefferson City and established an independent school.  On September 17, 1866, Lincoln Institute, now Lincoln University was formally opened. Foster was the school’s first instructor.  Henry Brown and Cornelius Chappelle were the school’s first students.  The organization committee who established the school nine months earlier became the first Board of Trustees for school.  Among those four men from the 62^nd and 65^th Colored infantry who became the new board was John Jeffreys.

Jeffreys’ nine years in Jefferson City can be pieced together with scant newspaper articles and federal and state census records.  In 1870, he was working as a sexton and boarding with Franklin Rose, a white man with a wife and two small children.  Three years later, Jeffreys was listed as a student in the Missouri State Census.  At the time of Jeffreys attendance, Lincoln University began to receive aid from the state of Missouri for teacher training. 

Lincoln School-Rolla, MO

During his time in Jefferson City, Jeffreys became involved with a national civil rights organization.  The State Journal of Jefferson City records Jeffreys attending meetings and holding board positions with the local unit of the National Equal Rights League (NERL). The NERL was one of the oldest human rights organizations in the United States.  The group was founded in 1833 in Buffalo, New York at a large celebration of pro-abolitionist, free black men after the emancipation of the West Indies.  The NERL endorsed the abolition of slavery, legal equality regardless of color or race and black suffrage.  After the Civil War, NERL argued that the sacrifices of African-Americans on the battlefield entitled all black males to the ballot and all Africans Americans full citizenship.  The league also recognized the importance of education in guaranteeing equal rights.  At a convention in Cleveland, Ohio in 1865, NERL leaders called for integrated education but were careful to note that integration should not result in discrimination against African American teachers.

On August 27, 1875, the local news  section of The State Journal  recorded a position Jeffreys accepted as a teacher of the African American school in Rolla, Missouri.  The newspaper further commented on Jeffreys character as “honest, industrious and capable” and were pleased that the position would “develop the talents he possessed.”  During the Summer of 1875, the Rolla New Era had been advertising several position with the school board, including a teacher for the African-American school.  The African-American community in Rolla had quickly grown after the Civil War.  By 1870, Rolla’s total population was nearly a quarter African American.  After the conclusion of the Civil War, Missouri adopted a new constitution.  The new document required all school boards to provide African American education.  In 1875, Rolla had a total of 181 children enrolled in the public schools, 28 of which were African American.   Paid $40 a month, $10 more than the white female teachers, Jeffreys began to receive high praise for his work.  The New Era stated “J.O. Jeffreys strikes us to be the most competent teacher of the district.”  The school was located at Wilson’s Retreat, which was described in local newspapers as being notoriously decrepit.  In 1881, the school board voted to construct a new school for the African American students.  Plans were submitted and the school board selected the work of local architect, Henry Hohenschild.  A modest brick building was constructed at northeast corner of First and Pine Street and opened for classes in 1882.

Between teaching students and managing the classroom, Jeffreys met Minerva Marr.  She was born during 1859 in Tennessee.  Marr’s family relocated to Missouri after her birth and she and several of her siblings lived in Rolla.  Jeffreys courted Marr and on Saturday, July 13, 1879, they were married at the former Baptist church at the northwest corner of First and Main Streets.  The ceremony received a write-up in the Rolla New Era and stated “a large concourse of people of all colors went down to the church to witness the ceremony.”  The article continued that the couple “left the night after for Jefferson City for a month’s visit when they will return to Rolla and make their home.”  The Jeffreys’ had three children named Festus, Tellious and Eugenia.

Jefferys also dabbled in extracurricular work in the evenings.  Into the 1880s, the African-American population of Rolla continued to grow.  A large number of adult African-Americans coming to Rolla were uneducated.  Jeffreys set up an evening class for adults, which were well attended according to the local newspapers.  Jeffreys also dabbled in politics.  In 1886, Jeffreys was elected a delegated of the People’s Party of Phelps County to represent Rolla.  He would represent Rolla with the founder of Rolla, Edmund Ward Bishop, the editor of the New Era, Walbridge Powell and fellow African-American, Jackson Simpson.  The People’s Party of Phelps County believed that companies and corporations, especially the railroad, held too much sway over county politics.  The People’s Party sought to elect individuals who would represent the people of Phelps County rather than a company’s interests.  During the first week of August, the Emancipation Day celebrations were held in Rolla.  The annual observation celebrated the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 that ended slavery in the British Empire on August 1, 1834.  Jeffreys was instrumental in the planning of the parade, barbeque and ball.  He was often a keynote speaker and shared the stage with individuals such as former Confederate general Ewing Mitchell and Luman F. Parke

Advertisement for Jefferys Steam Laundry 

In 1890, Jeffreys retired from teaching.  He purchased a laundry facility housed on Eighth Street where Alex’s Pizza is currently located.  Known as the Rolla Steam Laundry, Jeffreys bought the business from C.E. Condon.  The business specialized in dyeing and cleaning and Thursdays were reserved for women to use to steam baths and were attended to my Mrs. Jeffreys.  During this time, Jeffreys purchased a lot of property at the corner of Elm and Third Street from his in-laws.  In 1900, he had a two story frame home construct at 200 North Elm Street.  The Jeffreys took in several boarders at their new home.  One boarder, Sam Vaughn, married their daughter Eugenia. 

On the night of November 5^th, 1922, John Jeffreys passed away at the age of 77 in his home.  He was followed by his wife, Minerva, in 1935. Sam and Eugenia Jeffreys Vaughn continued to live at 200 North Elm with Eugenia’s brother Festus.  The Vaughns owned and operated the Ozark Produce Company and keep chickens in the outbuilding just north of the home.  The house remained in the family until the death of Eugenia Vaughn during the Spring of 1962.  From the education of African-Americans in Rolla, the founding of a school to teach freed slaves in Missouri, and his participation as an enlisted soldier in the Civil War, John Jeffreys left an indelible mark locally, statewide and nationally.  His contributions to our city have been largely forgotten.  However, his home on Elm Street and Lincoln School are standing testaments to his impact on Rolla. 

His obituary published in the Rolla Herald  on November 16, 1922 succinctly testifies to his life in the Rolla Community.  “He was considered a leader among his race and he worked for their uplift and betterment.  There have been few in Rolla any length of time that did not know they name of John Jeffreys. 

John Jeffreys: Slave, Educator and Business Owner

By Ryan Reed

Over the next two weeks, Rolla Preservation Alliance will be posting about the life of Rolla resident, John O. Jeffreys.  As a former slave from Boone County, Missouri, Jeffreys became a soldier, educator and small business owner.  We hope you enjoy this story about Jeffreys' life and his impact on the greater Rolla community.

Part I: Slave and Soldier

John Jeffreys

Lincoln University in Jefferson City will commemorate 148 years in education during Founders Day this Saturday, February 8th.  This annual celebration honors the soldiers of the 62nd and 65th United States Colored Infantry, composed primarily of former slaves from Missouri, who took steps to establish an educational institution for African Americans.  One of the founding members, John O. Jeffreys, moved to Rolla less than a decade after the Civil War concluded and lived in an unassuming house at 200 North Elm Street.

Very little is known about the early life of Jeffreys.  According to his death certificate, he was born March 31, 1844 in Virginia.  His parents are listed as "unknown" as he was likely born into slavery and separated from his family.  The first known documentation of Jeffreys occurred in 1863 when he enlisted with the 1st Missouri Colored Infantry on December 1, 1863.  Jeffreys was listed as 18 years old, from Columbia, Missouri and the slave of Arthur Price.

Jeffreys was able to enlist in the army after provocative steps were taken by the Federal Government in 1863.  On January 1st, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.  This act freed enslaved Americans within the Confederacy not yet under federal control.  The proclamation also permitted African Americans to enlist in the military.  However, this law did not pertain to Missouri.  During the Civil War, Missouri technically had dual Union and Confederate legislatures.  During June of 1861, the Union Army ousted the southern sympathizing governor, Claiborne Jackson.  His deposed government reassembled in Neosho, Missouri and voted to secede from the Union.  However, his government did not have official power, yet they did have votes in the Confederate Congress.  Even though Missouri was in the Union, the state sill practiced the institution of slavery.  Lincoln's proclamation only applied to rebelling states, of which Missouri was technically not one.  Slavery would not be legally abolished in Missouri until January 11, 1865.

Missourians remained hesitant about the recruitment of African Americans. Finally on November 14, 1863, General John Schofield, Union Commander of the Department of Missouri, issued General Order Number 135.  The order allowed all provost marshals to recruit "all Negroes, free or slave."  If slave owners could prove their loyalty, they would receive $300 for each slave recruited.  Ultimately, Missouri furnished 8,344 African American troops in five regiments.

After enlisting in the 1st Missouri Colored Infantry, Jeffreys traveled to St. Louis and was

mustered in at Benton Barracks.  The designation of the 1st Missouri was changed on March 11, 1864, as part of a nationwide reclassification of black troops as United States troops, rather than as volunteer units allocated to individual states.  Now known as the 62nd United States Colored Infantry, the regiment was composed of soldiers from Audrain, Boone, Callaway, Cole, Cooper, Howard, Moniteau and Randolph counties.  A majority of the enlisted men, like Jeffreys, were slaves.

Palmito Ranch Battlefield

Shortly after their redesignation, the 62nd was ordered from St. Louis to the Department of the Gulf in Louisiana.  From here, the regiment maneuvered northward along the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to Morganza and subsequently Bayou Sara.  At the end of the Summer of 1864, the 62nd was ordered to Brazos Santiago Island, Texas.  Brazos Santiago is the southernmost barrier island on Texas, south of San Padre.  The island became a strategic point during the Civil War and was occupied by the Union Army the previous year.  After several months of blockade duty on the island, Commanding Officer Col. Theodore Barrett instructed the 62nd and the 2nd Texas Calvary to attack mainland Texas.  On May 11, 1865, nearly a month after General Robert E. Lee surrendered his forces at Appomattox Courthouse, the 62nd with 2nd Texas Calvary marched west along the Rio Grande to Brownsville.  The troops successfully attacked Confederate camps at White and Palmito Ranches 12 miles east of Brownsville.  Within hours, the Confederates counterattacked driving Union forces east.  During the night of May 12th, both side sent for reinforcements.  The next morning, Union troops started advancing westward.  The Confederates engaged the advancing army in a skirmish along the Rio Grande.  After some confusion and a fierce fire fight, the Union army retreated on May 13th.  The battle, which involved Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans, was the last land battle of any size or significance of the Civil War.  It is recorded as a Confederate victory.

During the the Battle of Palmito Ranch, Confederate authority began to collapse in Texas.  After the news of Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865, the desertion of Confederate soldiers became rampant.  Those soldiers who vowed to fight, found a populace that was dissolving into general mayhem.  The end of hostilities in Texas occurred on June 2, 1865 with the surrender of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi.  Union troops, which included Jeffreys and the 62nd, did not restore order in Texas until June 19, 1865.  Jeffreys was on duty at various points in Texas until he was mustered out of service on March 31st, 1866, his 22nd birthday.  During his nearly three years of service, Jeffreys had attained the rank of Sergeant Major.

John Jeffreys' military career was over and he was now a free man.  He left Brownsville, Texas en route for Jefferson City, where he had enlisted for the army.  Upon his return he gained employment as a church sexton and was boarding with the Franklin Rose family.  His purpose for returning to Jefferson City was not to toil at the maintenance of a local church, but to nurture an educational institution for African Americans he helped create during his tenure in the army.