On account of its locationin the border-land between the
North and the South, Cedar county, in common with other
parts of Southwest Missouri, was the scene of considerable
local political disagreement, as well as of some exciting
episodes of the war. The spirit of violence which marked the
time and the country was rife here, and lawless deeds or
irregularly organized bands of both Northern and Southern sympathizers were by no means infrequent, and men were
killed at and near the seat of justice and in other parts of the
county, whose slayeers were never brought to trial, and
men were hanged to convenient trees without the preliminary
services of judge and jury. The number who enlisted regularly
as soldier in the two armies was nearly equal, and it cannot
be said that either Unionists or Confederates from Cedar
County were braver or more devoted to the cause they
espoused than their neighbor/foemen; and, though they
WERE foeman, they did not then or later forget that they were neighbors, and that in the woods and on the prairies of the
same county stood the dwellings that sheltered the loved ones
they had left behind.
 

For a considerable period during the war, Stockton, the only
town of importance in the county, was guarded. The
courthouse was barricaded and supplied with arms, and
regarded as the place of safety in case of attack. It was in the possession of Union troops much of the time, and the town
was picketed and in other ways guarded against a descent by
the enemy. Small bodies of armed riders were often seen, and house-burnings and other lawless deeds were of frequent
occurrence. The two most noteworthy events of the war, locally,
were the raids mentioned above.

The first occurred July 11, 1863, when nearly every man who
was not on guard at some point of approach, was in the court
house, listening to a joint debate between Orville P. Welch and
William C. Montgomery, rival candidates for the assembly.
One of these aspirants for political preferment was speaking
when word came that the raiders were descending upon the
town. It was very foggy, and their approach had not been
noticed by the pickets until it was too late either to give warning
or offer resistance, and almost as soon as the first alarming
cry was heard in the court house the enemy was seen dashing
into the center of the town by different streets.  A brief
engagement ensued, the raiders firing on the soldiers and others
to be seen about the court house, and the soldiers returning the
fire through the courthouse windows and other loopholes in
which Col. Livingston, who commanded the attacking part,
was killed and Capt. Vaughn, the next in command, mortally
wounded, the latter dying in a few minutes. A Unionist named
Holman was killed in the affray, and another, George Kingston,
was taken prisoner by the raiders as they rode out of town, and
shot soon afterward. The attacking party numbered some 300
or 400 men.

In the fall of the same year, Shelby's force, of some 3,000 or
more, descended upon the town, and, without bloodhsed, burned
the court house. Stockton was much damaged, and the Crow
and Capalinger mills, with most of the farmhouses in the
western part of the county, were destroyed.
 
 

J.B. Vaughn was born in Kentucky in 1847 and when 10
years of age left home and went to Iowa, and worked as a
farm hand for one year, receiving for his services his board
and clothes and seven dollars in money. During this time he
went to school about 4 months. He remained in that state
some twenty- six years, and was married there to Miss Sarah
Duller, by whom he became the father of three children:
         Clara
         John
         Emma

Soon after his marriage he purchased fifty acres of land,
which he farmed two years, then moving to Allerton where
he was engaged in buying stock grain and coal for about
eight years.

In 1882 he came to Barton Co, MO and first purchased
eighty acres of land adjoining Milford, then embarked in
the mercantile business and has continued thus engaged
ever since, his stock of goods being valued at about $3,500,
and his annual sales amounting to $12,000.   He is very
much pleased with his location, and says that in his
estimation, this is a superior farming and stock country.

During the winter months he is engaged in feeding stock,
but did not follow this occupation in 1888, owing to a
shortage in the crops.

He is in every respect a self-made man, and his property
has been acquired by ceaseless toil.

After his marirage, he spent some time in cutting cord wood
at seventy-five cents a cord and his wife worked out for two
dollars per week, he paying three dollars per week for his
board. He is now one of the leading men of his section, and
is a liberal patron of education and other worthy enterprises.
He is a Democrat, and has been township treasurer for two
years. His parents, J ohn and Mary J. Henderson Vaughn
were born in Floyd Co, KY and Giles Co. Va, June 4, 1878
and April 25, 1819, respectively. They were married in Mercer
Co, Virginia, May 29, 1839 and became the parents of five
children, all of whom are dead, except our subject. James,
while serving in the Union army and Genoa who was the
wife of B. H. Garrett. Mrs. Vaughan's parents were Martin
and Susannah Smith Duller.
      Nine children:
      Henry
      Mary A. w/o James Pinkerton
      Sarah married a Vaughan
      George
      Emeline wife of Charles Zahn,
      Alice
 
 

Linda_Welden@vaughan-vaughn.org

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