Goodspeed's History of
SouthEast
Missouri-1887
Section 1:1786-1798
Transcribed by Tara R Barrett,
1999
He was appointed commandant of the post by Stoddard, and served until the organization of courts. He subsequently held office of judge of the court of common pleas. When the earthquake of December, 1811, occurred he was sick of a fever, and died from exposure, having been removed from the house to a tent. He was the father of eleven children, only three of whom married. They were Adele, Gabrielle and Peter A. The last named was a farmer, and married Harriet, daughter of Charles Loignon. He, also, had a family of eleven, of whom eight married. They were Margaret C,. who first married Justice Morgan, and, after his death, John W. Butler; Alfred, who married Laura, daughter of Dr. Robert D. Dawson; Eliza, who became the wife of William S. Mosely; Alphonse, who married Fanny Hatcher; Agatha, who married Thomas Dawson; Prudence, who married Benjamin Stewart; Virginia, now the widow of William O'Bannon, and Mary, the widow of Dr. Drake McDowell.
Robert McKay (or McCoy) came to New Madrid as early as 1791, and for a long time was in command of a Spanish galley. After the change in the government he remained in the town, and continued to reside there until his death in 1840.
Among these American colonists, Richard Jones Waters was the most prominent and influential. He was a native of Maryland, and was the son of William Waters and Rachel Jones. He received a medical education, but seems to have never practiced his profession. He was engaged in a mercantile business at Louisville, Ky., when Morgan set out for Upper Louisianna, and he joined the expedition at that place. He was then twenty-nine years of age, and unmarried. He resumed business at New Madrid, and began to accumulate property rapidly. He carried a large stock of such goods as were in demand at that time, and purchased the greater portion of the produce shipped from New Madrid. He also owned the first water-mill in the district, which was situated on Bayou St. John. In addition to all this, he dealt very extensively in land and land grants, and was in involved in endless litigation. By reference to the archives of the post, it is found that he was a party to more than one-half of the civil suits before the commandant. But he was a successful business man, and at the time of his death, in 1807, his personal property alone was valued at over $65,000, a very large amount for that day.
On the 31st of May, 1800, he was married to Francoise Julie Godfrey, widow of Louis Vandenbenden, and a native of Normandy. They had no children, but prior to their marriage he had adopted two sons of Mrs. Jacob Meyers, of whom he was the reputed father. He was the captain of a militia company, and served at different times as commandant of the post ad interim. Col. De Lassus wrote of him to Capt. Stoddard: "He is a zealous officer of extensive knowledge, but of a somewhat extravagant dispostion and very quarrelsome." His sons were John and Richard Jones Waters. The former was an adventurous spirit, and left the country as a youth. The latter remained with his adopted mother, and at her death fell heir to all the property. He was an intelligent gentleman of the "old school" type, and from him have descended many of the best people of Southeast Missouri.
Dr. Samuel Dorsey was also a native of Maryland. Upon his establishment of the military post at New Madrid, he received the appointment of surgeon, at a salary of $30 per month, and continued that position until the transfer of the country to the United States. On January 17th, 1795, he married Marie J Boneau, a native of Vincennes, who died 1799. Subsequently he married a daughter of Jeremiah Thompson, of Cape Girardeau District, whither he removed to in 1804. After the earthquake of 1811-1812, he went to Claiborne County, Miss.
Joseph Story was a native of Massachusetts, and a son of William Story. He was a surveyor, and it is believed was brought to the country by Morgan to assist in laying off his city. In 1794 he married, at New Madrid, Catherine, a daughter of Jacob Seek, and a native of Pennsylvania.
Andrew Wilson was a native of Scotland, and had been a minister in the Presbyterian Church. He was the father of George Wilson, the first sheriff of the district.
John Summers was also a Scotchman, and was the father of Andrew and Alexander Summers, both of whom located in the Cape Girardeau District about 1797. Andrew married Elizabeth, the daughter of George Ruddell, of Little Prairie.
The Vandenbendens, Joseph and Louis, were from Pennsylvania. The latter was a merchant and a man of considerable wealth. He died about 1797 or 1798, and his widow married Richard J. Waters. Joseph was a large land owner, and survived his brother many years.
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Don E. Wright
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