Celebrating National Historic Districts & Places That Matter

David Castle Tandy

Born 1823 | Died 1875 | Physician | Land Speculator

So, just who was Mr. David Castleman Tandy and what was his connection to our area?

If you own land in the Murphysburg Historic Residential District, specifically in Section 3, or land in other Joplin Sections 7, 10, 11 or 14, you might have seen the name of David C. Tandy on your abstract as the “original” owner of the land.  The abstract may also read, “Copy of Patent or Special Warranty Deed with dates of 1851, 1859, 1864, and “Consideration – Military Service”. Current landowners may assume that Mr. Tandy served in the military.

Self-proclaimed amateur history detectives Mary Anne Phillips and Paula Callihan decided to find out what branch of service and which war Mr. Tandy served in.  With the assistance of the Jasper County Records Department’s staff and volunteers, they discovered that the 1860 U.S. Census revealed David Tandy lived at 123 Olive in St. Louis and was married to Anna Cabell Castleman.  Mr. Tandy never resided in Joplin. According to the Bureau of Land Management’s website, Mr. Tandy acquired land all over the state of Missouri, not just in Joplin.

Continued research uncovered Mr. Tandy on the U.S. Civil War Draft Registration records from 1863-1865. The document revealed that he was a physician, that had been born in Kentucky and still lived on Olive Street in St. Louis. In the “remark” column, it revealed that Donald Cameron was hired as Tandy’s military “substitute” on November 16, 1864.  Cameron’s Civil War service was in the Eighteenth Regiment of the Missouri Infantry and was listed as a Private.

So, the question still remains—how did Tandy acquire land in Joplin? The answer lies in the Bounty-Land Warrants for Military Service, 1775-1855 Congressional Acts.  Starting in 1775, the United States granted bounty-land warrants for military service, including volunteer militias primarily to encourage volunteer enlistments. They also rewarded veterans for service during the Revolutionary War, The War of 1812, the Mexican War, a variety of Indian wars, Indian removals and other military actions during the 1850’s.

During that time the area was sparsly populated, the early Joplin pioneers, John Chandler Cox, Solomon Rothenberger, Reverend Harris Joplin and William Tingle civilized the area by forming a town.

Many veterans who received bounty-land did not take possession but sold them to another party.  The land that was granted was “public land” and the authority was granted through the “Scrip Warrant Act of 1855″.  U.S. land acquisition from Native Americans, Louisiana Purchase, etc. is a conversation for another day.

According to Joplin Title Company, the information on the actual signed Warrant has all of the necessary information going back to the land grant via the General Land Office in Springfield, Missouri. The abstract has “abbreviated” information and in this case, only shows Mr. Tandy. 

Following are some details on the original Joplin warranty deeds:

Section Three (Includes Murphysburg)           

A Fractional Quarter

  • President Millard Fillmore caused the letters to be made Patent
  • The US Government gave the land to William Cabell, a private in Captain Owen’s Company,of the Fourth Regiment of Kentucky Volunteers,
  • Land was transferred to John Chandler Cox, an assignee of  William Cabell on September 1, 1851                                                      

Southeast Quarter

  • President James Buchanan caused the letters to be made Patent
  • US Government gave the land  to John Ozman a private in Captain Bryan’s Company, Maryland Militia, War 1812
  • Ozman assigned the land to David C. Tandy on June 10, 1859

Did David Tandy buy the land grants from Ozman or did   he get them as an heir of his great-great grandfatherColonel William Cabell for his military service that includes:

  • Colonel William Cabell (1699- 1774) 
  • Graduated at the Royal College of Physicians of London
  • Surgeon in the Royal Navy, then emigrated to Virginia about 1723, where he obtained extensive grants of land along the James River
  • Appointed under Sherriff of Henrico 1726,
  • Justice of the first Goochland County Court, 1728-9
  • One of the first Justices of the first Court of Albermarle Co,.1744-1745
  • Capitan in the Indian Wars, 1726
  • First presiding Justice for the United States after the Declaration of Independence,
  • Chosen first Senator from the eighth district
  • Member of the Committee that prepared the Declaration of Rights             

Other sections of Joplin that David Tandy received or bought from heirs are:

Parts of Section Eleven

  • President James Buchanan caused the letters to be made Patent
  • The US Government gave the land to George Houck, Seaman, United States Ship Germantown, United States Navy, Mexican War
  • Houck assigned the land to David C. Tandy on June 10, 1859

Parts of Section Seven 

  • President James Buchanan caused the letters to be made Patent
  • The US Government gave the land to James Gould, Private, Captain Lynch’s Company, Maryland Militia, War 1812
  • Houck assigned the land to David C. Tandy on June 10, 1859

Parts of Sections Ten, Eleven, and Fourteen

  • President Abraham Lincoln caused the letters to be made Patent
  • The US Government gave the land to Benjamin Harding, a private in Captain Leigh’s Company, Virginia Militia, War 1812
  • Harding assigns the land to David C. Tandy on December 1, 1864

Yeats later,  tracts of land were laid out in town lots and sold to such notable people as Oliver H. Pitcher, Oliver S. Pitcher (early spelling for Picher), Mrs. Adelia Moffet, William Sergeant and W. P Davis, Patrick Murphy’s business partner.

As most history chasers would say that the more answers we find, the more questions we have. Colonel William Cabell was the great-great grandfather to both David and his wife Anna Cabell Castleman Tandy.

Sources: 

  • Archives of HMP, Inc.
  • Bureau of Land Management website
  • U. S. Census website captured on October 2, 2012
  • Civil War Registration
  • Congressional Acts – Bounty Land Warrants for Military Service 1775-1855
  • National Archives and Records Administration’s website http://www.archivs.gov
  • Find-A-Grave
  • Ancestry 

The Tale of Joplin’s Two United Service Organizations (USO) during World War II

HMP’s philosophy is to look at historical facts with a neutral eye.  In this spirit, HMP does not honor the practice of segregation, but rather recognizes the history that shaped our nation, state, city, and the armed services, plus those who gave of themselves.

The multi-level building at 306-312 South Wall Avenue borders the Historic Murphysburg Residential District on the east side of Pearl. In the late 1920’s  it was Farmer Motor Company and several mining and smelting companies. In the 1930’s and early 40’s it was the Quality Motors car dealership. Through the years the building was many different businesses such as manufacturing companies, optical laboratory, an insurance company, a wholesale supplier, and more. During World War II, the building housed the United Service Organization (USO) offices and recreation center.   

Because Joplin was a WWII hub for six defense centers and was within close proximity to Camp Crowder in Neosho, Missouri, the United Service Organization designated Joplin for a local USO site.  On March 3, 1942 the USO opened for soldiers, sailors, and 30,000 to 40,000 defense workers!

Mary Anne Phillips and husband James D. Scott have owned the building at 306-312 South Wall Avenue since 2000.  Jim’s business, Scott Electronic Systems, Inc. has operated out of the building since 1979.  Jim says it is a sturdy structure with six metal I-beams that span 40 feet to support the second floor.  Special features on the second floor include a mezzanine surrounded by offices, a large skylight, and transoms above the office doors. Mary Anne believes that many artifacts remained with the building through the years such as chairs, a glass display case, and draperies because they are depicted in a postcard the couple acquired from Paula Callihan.

Pictured here is a 1940’s postcard of the interior of the USO at 310 South Wall Avenue. The other is photo a fabric found years later in the building.  The current owners discovered from the postcard that the fabric they found was a remnant of the draperies used for the USO.

But that is not the end of the story. According to minutes of the Joplin USO Council, 1941-1946, (courtesy of the Joplin History & Mineral Museum), it was not long before the USO Council faced an unforeseen dilemma.  Some “colored troops,” 2000 in number, were scheduled to arrive at Camp Crowder.  Joplin officials questioned how to accommodate them, since the black population in Joplin was small, only 854.

Committee member W. H. Maher made a passionate plea, declaring “Those men are wearing the uniform of the United States…We are talking about American soldiers…and we owe the duty (USO services) to the colored soldiers as much as…the white soldiers.  I believe there should be no racial or religious distinction.”  He did, however, suggest that, “The negroes preferred to have their own group.”

On February 6, 1944 with much ceremony by white and black dignitaries, the Main Street (Negro) USO Club opened in an old building at 221 South Main Street. Less than a year after its opening, due to the reduction in black troops at Camp Crowder, the club was ordered shut down.  An appeal was made to the USO executive in Kansas City to retain the facility.  The colored soldiers stationed at Camp Crowder stated they were appreciative of the Joplin facility and it is better than any they had found elsewhere.

QUICK FACTS

The Wall Street USO closed its doors on June 30, 1946.  The Main Street USO remained in operation for another three months until all of the black soldiers had left the camp.

Over one million soldiers passed through Joplin’s USO clubs during the war years.

While the building that housed the Wall Street USO is still in use today, the Main Street USO building is gone and is now the site of Commerce Bank.

Additional Resources

Click here to learn more about the United Services Organization, Inc., or write  P. O. Box 9680, Washington, D. C. 20077- 7677

Sources:

  • James D. Scott Family Archives
  • Brad Belk, David Cunningham, Andy Ostmeyer, and Leslie Simpson  Joplin Souvenir Album,  St.  Louis, Missouri: G. Bradley Publishing, Inc., 2001. Pages 16-17.
  • Callihan Postcard collection

Hard Luck: The Billy Cook Story

William Edward “Billy” Cook was born into a life of violence. It was a hard-luck life that would carry him all the way to the Death Chamber and beyond. He was executed at California’s San Quentin prison before he was 25 years old. Is Badman Billy Cook buried in an unmarked grave just outside of Peace Church Cemetery as local rumors have suggested? Will his spirit ever find peace?

In November 1951, a jury found Billy Cook guilty in only 50 minutes. Cook received the death sentence with a smirk on his lips and hate in his heart. “I hate everybody’s guts.” he said, “and everybody hates mine.” Billy Cook gave them hell all the way to the end. He refused to speak with clergymen or the hordes of eager reporters. He denied everyone just because they hoped to get a last minute exclusive with the condemned killer.

Badman Bill Cook was buried at night in Peace Cemetery according to the headline of a 1952 Joplin Globe story. Cook’s graveside service was held under the cover of darkness to avoid attention. The service was officiated by Rev. Dow Booe of nearby Galena and lasted only 10 minutes. “Brief service held at night with aid of flashlights and lanterns before about 15 persons;” “Funeral cortege, consisting of four cars and hearse, moves to burial place over back roads,” the sub-headlines read. “Just as the graveside rites ended,” Wallace wrote, “the cry of a small child could be heard in the chill of the night air.”

Billy Cook in Popular Media

The Billy Cook case inspired the 1953 film classic The Hitch-Hiker, which details the final leg of Cook’s saga in Mexico and, twenty years later, would be the basis for the Doors’ Top Twenty hit from 1971, “Riders on the Storm,” included on their LP L.A. Woman (“If you give this man a ride / Sweet family will die…”). It was the last song the band would ever record.

Additional Resources:

Free E-Book detailing the story of Billy Cook by Joshua Shackles
Download ebook: Hard Luck-The Billy Cook Story

Peace Church Cemetery is maintained by a fantastic group of dedicated volunteers that are dedicated to preserving the history of Joplin’s Pioneer cemetery! You can find out more about special events and volunteer opportunities on Facebook.

Find a Grave

Wikipedia

Murphysburg Veterans History Project

In an era of interpreting how we view or romanticize Joplin’s historical facts related to the American Civil War, and with the understanding that Joplin and Missouri were split politically and morally between the Union and Confederacy, HMP’s philosophy is to look at historical facts with a neutral eye.  In this spirit, HMP does not honor the war, but rather honors the history that shaped our nation, state, and city, plus those who gave of themselves.

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historic map

David Castle Tandy

If you own land in the Murphysburg Historic Residential District, specifically in Section 3, or land in other Joplin Sections 7, 10, 11 or 14, you might have seen the name of David C. Tandy on your abstract as the “original” owner of the land ...
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The Tale of Joplin’s Two United Service Organizations (USO) during World War II

The multi-level building at 306-312 South Wall Avenue borders the Historic Murphysburg Residential District on the east side of Pearl. During World War II, the building housed the United Service Organization (USO) offices and recreation center.  ...
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War Timeline:

American Revolution | 1776 to Treaty of Paris September 3, 1783

War of 1812 | Conflict between the U.S. and Great Britain from 1812 to 1815

Mexican War | Conflict between the U.S. and Mexico | 1846 to 1848

American Civil War | April 12, 1861 and ended by proclamation on May 9, 1865

Spanish-American War | April 21, 1898 to Paris Peace Treaty on December 10, 1898

World War I aka the Great War | 1914 to 1918 | America enters the war 1917 | Armistice was November 11, 1918 | Treaty of Versailles outlines the terms in 1919

World War II | Began in 1939 as a European conflict, but then widened to include most of the nations of the world | U.S. declares war on Japan, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania in December 1941 | War ends May 8, 1945