Grain Valley News
  • Home
  • About
    • Submit Your News
    • Contact
  • News
    • Voter Resources
    • Online Puzzles
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • Kindness Awards
    • 2023 Garage Sale Directory
    • Parade
  • Job Board
  • Best of Grain Valley
  • Support
    • Advertise
    • Become A Sustaining Member
  • Business Directory Submission Form
  • Home
  • About
    • Submit Your News
    • Contact
  • News
    • Voter Resources
    • Online Puzzles
  • Community
    • Events Calendar
    • Kindness Awards
    • 2023 Garage Sale Directory
    • Parade
  • Job Board
  • Best of Grain Valley
  • Support
    • Advertise
    • Become A Sustaining Member
  • Business Directory Submission Form








​news

Looking Back: The Real Story

8/29/2019

 
by Marcia Napier, Grain Valley Historical Society
​     In Pearl Wilcox’s book Jackson County Pioneers, we find on page 81 the following excerpt:  
     “Bad feeling due to the (Civil) war still existed and sometimes precipitated quarrels and fights between (Pink Hill) neighbors.  Many of the men had engaged in guerrilla warfare; some were Confederate veterans restored to citizenship and full rights; others returned Union men. Old feuds flared.
     One night in the fall of 1871 during a service in the unfinished Methodist Church, three men lost their lives in a shooting scrape.  Elijah Gardner, Robert St Clair and Grandville Love were killed.”
     Some corrections are necessary. Gardner’s first name was Elias.  He died on February 24, 1869.  Originally buried in the Gardner Family cemetery, his grandson had the graves of Gardner and his wife moved the Buckner Cemetery. 
     Robert St Clair died on April 10, 1869. He is buried in the St Clair Cemetery on Holloway Road.  Love’s first name was Granville without the “d,” and he was the only one shot at the Pink Hill Methodist Church. He was shot in his leg and died from his wound.  He is buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery.  Having visited all three gravesites, I can attest to the accuracy of the names and dates IF the tombstones are correct!
     According to an account I located on Ancestry.com, Gardner was born in Kentucky in 1816. The 1850 US Census listed his residence in Kentucky; however, by the 1860 US Census he owned a farm in Jackson County, Missouri, presumably near Pink Hill.  A family researcher related that Eli Gardner was drinking in a saloon after the Civil War.
     An argument broke out between he and his friend, Lewis. Gardner’s first shot took off Lewis’ hat and his second shot hit Lewis in the chest and killed him. Robert St Clair, a prominent man in Pink Hill, attempted to stop the argument. He was shot in the arm which had to be amputated. He died a few weeks later from gangrene.
     Gardner said he had killed one man and he would kill others who provoked him. A posse led by Young Keasler arrived at the Gardner home where Eli had fortified himself in a barn and refused to surrender. He shot Keasler but eventually Gardner was shot and killed.
     George A. Gardner, 18-years old at the time,  witnessed the killing of his father. Two years later on September 16, 1871 at the Pink Hill Methodist Church, Gardner challenged Keshlear and both men were wounded by gunfire. Granville Love, a bystander was shot and later died from his wound. 
     This resulted in a complaint by the citizens of Sni-A-Bar Township against carrying of firearms.   The protest read:
     “We, the undersigned, citizens of Sni-a-bar township, Jackson County, Mo. deeply regret the homicides lately committed in our township, by which Elisa Gardner, Robert St Clair and Granville Love lost their lives; and believing that no justifiable cause existed for any of the said homicides and feeling it is our duty, as peaceable and law-abiding citizens, to do all in our power to prevent any future occurrences of the same sad and disgraceful character.
     We hereby enter our solemn protest against the practice of carrying pistols and other deadly weapons in a peaceable community—believing as we do, that no necessity exists for any man to so arm himself…..and abandon habits which only produce evil and immorality…..”
     This protest was signed by 99 citizens.  Obviously, outlawing guns is not as easily done today.
 

Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Burton Kelso
    Business
    Cathy Allie
    Celebrations & Transitions
    Census
    City Of Grain Valley
    Columnists
    Community Profile
    Covid19
    Covid-19
    Economic-development
    Education
    Elections
    Financial-health
    Fitness
    Food Inspections
    Good News
    Good-news
    Grain-valley-assistance-council
    Grain Valley Fair
    Grain Valley Historical Society
    Grain-valley-partnership
    Grain Valley Schools
    Health And Fitness
    Health-and-fitness
    Home And Garden
    Jackson County
    Kindness Awards
    Ld
    Letters
    Local News
    Looking Back
    Lorne-meinershagen
    Missouri House Of Representatives
    Missouri Senate
    Musings From The Middle
    Neighborhood View
    On-the-job
    Pets
    Police Blotter
    Quick-news
    Rdn
    Recreation
    Sally-whitaker
    Seniors
    Senior-send-off
    Sports
    State Of Missouri
    Technology
    Tracey-shaffer
    Transportation
    University Of Missouri Extension
    Waynes-world

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018

Grain Valley News

Grain Valley News is a free community news source published weekly online. 
(c) 2023 Grain Valley News

Contact Us

PO Box 2972
​Grain Valley MO 64029

Privacy Policy
Picture