Douglas County Pioneer Saw Leaders of Free State Days
Copied from Lawrence Journal World, January 6, 1920
Article written by Arthur Bridwell
Sanford C. Barricklow who died recently, settled as a boy near the scene of Battle of Black Jack – (he) made lonely drives from Overland to Kansas City.
The recent death of one of Palmyra townships oldest settlers should not be allowed to pass without some notice of his relations to the stirring events he has passed through, one of which I have jotted down, note-book and pencil in hand, as he recounted them to me.
Sanford Case Barricklow was born September 4, 1844 at Hartford, Indiana; so, at the time of his arrival with his father, Henry Barricklow and the rest of the family, he was in his twelfth year. His father and brother had come out in 1855 and made arrangements for the family to follow and had gone back to get them. They had reached the present site of Baldwin, April 13, 1856, and settled on what is now the farm owned by C.C. Clarridge, better known as the Al Miller farm, where a big log cabin was built for the reception. It was in this cabin that they lived when some of Captain Pole’s men came and robbed the Barricklow cabin taking the drum which had passed thru the battle of Black Jack. It was here that he first saw John Brown. I give his account as it is recorded in my notebook of October 10, 1908.
“His son, young John Brown, rode up and told Father that his father (John Brown) had gone back close to Rantoul to kill some “Border Ruffians”. Yes, that was before the Battle of Black Jack, for he was coming over there to run off Daniel Jones who lived on what was afterward father’s place. Father told him that he oughtn’t to do it as Jones was prominent in Missouri and that would bring a raid on us. Old John Brown came along about an hour after young John Brown came and it was then that father talked to him.”
“I remember him just as well. He was a great tall fellow with hair and beard as white as mine. His beard was so long that he could put the end of it in the waistband of his pants. He had on an old black hat something like mine and he had the brim turned under at both sides.”
“Old Brown went back and then he came up at night and run off Jones. Jones asked Father to look after his things until he came back; but he stayed in Missouri. Father paid him $700 afterward for his improvements.”
“I saw Brown again when he and Captain Shores were taking the prisoners taken at Black Jack to Prairie City. Old Sam Stonebreaker tried to make the people believe, when they had an old settlers’ picnic, that that is where the battle was fought. But it wasn’t. It was in the deep ravine just north of Bob Pearson’s house. Captain Shores and his men were on the hill where Pearson’s barn is.”
“The reason I know I saw him before the battle of Black Jack, is because our folks had brought us boys some drums from back East with them. When Captain Bates men came to retaliate for the running off of Jones, they came to our house at night and knocked. “Who is there?” the folks asked, “A friend,” came the reply. When they opened the door, they rushed in and robbed us of everything they found that they wanted. There were nine of us all lying about on the floor and in the loft, sick with the measles.”
“We’ll take this with us. You have this to call the damn Yankees together,” they said. And they took our drums. We got them back later after the battle of Black Jack. My drum had three sharper rifle bullets shot through it. I have it in the house now.”
When a mere boy, he used to drive an ox team to Kansas City. On November 19, 1916, he gave me some of his experiences. Pointing to some wagon tires, he said, “There are a couple of old wagon tires out in the front yard that have carried me clear across the state of Kansas several times. Yes, I was down at the Sac and Fox agency. I hauled goods down there. The Sac’s and Foxes used to come up this way. You know where the Baptist Mission is just this side of Shawnee Town. We camped there the first night we were in Kansas. We camped again at that very same place when we went down at Price’s raid. There was a little stream of pure water coming out of a hole in the solid rock, two inches in diameter just like an augur hole and that stream flowed enough to keep the stream flowing all the time.”
“That was after Order No. 11. Things were awful down there, then. In 1865, Charley Lovejoy and my Uncle went down there to buy apples. They went through Kansas City. A man there told them how to go. ‘Don’t tell them where you’re from. Tell them you are from Kansas City.’ While down there, Uncle got to talking to a man and said, ‘I see you have a new style down here.’”
“What is it?” I see you build your chimneys before you do your houses.”
Charley Lovejoy went back and gave Uncle a scolding for making sport of the misfortunes of the people of that region.”
“Many a time I’ve gone to Kansas City by myself. I could only go as far as Edgerton the first day. I’d camp there at night. I’d unyoke the oxen and let them pick. After they’d eaten all they wanted they’d come back to the wagon and lie down. I used to lie there awake and cry nearly all night, I was so afraid. There were three yoke of cattle. Father was running a saw mill and I was the only one who could get away. The second night I’d camp at the Baptist Mission and next day would go to Westport and load up and get back the next night to camp at the Baptist Mission.”
On May 6, 1917, Mr. Barricklow told me some of the places where pro-slavery settlers in this region were located. I had told him of Dr. Still, the founder of osteopathy, telling in his autobiography of running across a company of Border Ruffians drilling in a clearing while on his way to see the wife of Daniel Jones and after the Doctor had put them through the manual of arms to show them how Jim Save did it, the commander, a Mr. Owen, piloted him to the home of Jones.
“That was ‘Rush’ Owens. He lived down just below where Bert Steen lives. (the Hartwell house) You know where the ‘gold well’ was dug down below the hill. There is a raised place just across the ravine. He had his cabin there. ‘Rush’ (Moratio) Owens, Tom Cunningham, Ben Bounds and Banks came to Father’s place when we lived at Palmyra. They were all worked up and said that Jim Love’s men were coming to run them out. ‘Rush’ had his gun across the saddle in front of him and Father asked him if he was scared and he said he wasn’t afraid of a dozen of Love’s men.
Father told him that a boy with a gun could kill him and that it wasn’t the men he needed to be afraid of. But it didn’t make any difference who had hold of the guns so long as they had good guns and that Love’s men had plenty of good guns.
That was the last time we heard anything of them. Banks lived where Bill Riggs lives now. Ben Bounds lived on the Place farm. A man by the name of Preston lived on the Cotton farm, but he never bothered anyone and was not molested and he stayed until Dr. Dallas bought him out. Joe Connelley lived on this place. Those were about all the pro-slavery men there were around here.
