Episode Transcript
Common Mystics Podcast
Season 2 Episode 7: The Hero, the Humble and the Convicts of Callaway Co., MO
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00:00:53 On this episode of Common Mystics we journey to Fulton, Missouri in the late 19th century where we uncover one man's well-known contributions to the county of Callaway and perhaps some of his lesser known exploits. I'm Jennifer James. I'm Jill Stanley. We're psychics. We're sisters. We are Common Mystics. We find extraordinary stories in ordinary places. And we have another story for you out of Fulton, Missouri. Jennifer. Jill. This is our fourth installment of our first ever Common Mystics road trip. That is true. That is true. We've been to Kaskaskia. We've been to Independence, Missouri. And now we're turning our attention to Fulton, Missouri.
00:01:42 And we are back at Westminster College, home of Chrisman Swope’s chapel, or where it was. Right. So those listeners who have maybe just listened to the Swope episodes will recognize Westminster College once again.
00:02:00 Yes ma'am. So now we're walking around the college. After we set our intention. Can you remind everyone what our intentions are? Absolutely. Our intention is always to find a verifiable story that we don't know anything about, but also, and most importantly, to give voice to the voiceless.
00:02:20 So we leave where Chrisman Swope’s chapel was, and we're wandering around Westminster College and I'm just taken aback, and I have been, because we spent the night in the “Kingdom of Callaway.” Everything we see is for the Kingdom of Callaway and it's confusing and it feels kind of sinister and almost like a dog whistle.
00:02:46 I'm not understanding. When you say dog whistle, what do you mean exactly? So, I mean, it has a context that is implicating something that I am unaware of. Got it, got it. So like, it's almost like a reference, and you don't know what the joke is. Exactly, exactly. Okay. Yeah. I felt the same way. It felt so odd. I'm like, what is the Kingdom of Callaway? Totally creepy to us Northern girls. To us Northern girls, for sure. It felt weird and creepy. You know what, as we were walking around Westminster college in our other Swope episode, we talked about some of the hits we got from that story. But independent of that, as it turns out, I was hearing the name Daniel come into my head. That's right. And to remind everyone, we pick up on information that is coming at us and we don't have a context for it. So it's not until we do the research (which in and of itself is intuitive) that we're able to sort out what we were picking up. So one of the hits that you were getting, and again, that you had no context for at the time, was the name Daniel. Correct?
00:03:56 Correct. The other thing that I was getting really, really strongly was the Civil War. And I remember asking you, I wonder if there was a battle, like, on this very property because it felt so strong, the movement of soldiers felt so strongly in that space. What about you? What were you getting?
00:04:18 You actually said, “a call to arms.” You were feeling a call to arms. Did I really say that? You literally said that. Sometimes I impress myself. I was feeling crimes of poverty, crime, or crimes, having to do with poverty or necessity. It felt hopeless. It felt, um, impoverished. That's what I was feeling.
00:04:44 So weird because it doesn't seem to fit on a college campus, but whatever. We were walking around and I was feeling like, um, the weird part is that Westminster is kind of on a hill. So as I was looking down, I was feeling like I was looking down on people, like, figuratively and literally, like, “lesser” people of society. Very interesting. Right. And again, spirit often talks to us in metaphor. Right. So this would be, yeah, this would be important, looking back doing the research. The other interesting thing about the location of Westminster College is that it dead ends at something called the Gray Ghost Trail. All right. So Westminster campus is to the west of downtown Fulton, Missouri, and all the main streets dead end at the campus. And on the front of a notable site at Westminster where the original building was with those huge towers, Jen, you know what I mean? The original pillars of the gymnasium that burned down... right in front of that, on the street, there was a sign for the Gray Ghost Trail and we were intrigued. Right. Exactly.
00:06:08 And so from there, we actually, uh, followed it to the courthouse, the Fulton courthouse. Right. And apparently at the courthouse, there is a historical marker that we read that people of the community organized there for the Confederacy so that they can leave there and go battle the war or whatever. And we're like, oh, that's cool. Whatever. Exactly. Exactly. And then what did we do? Well, I think we, uh, called it a day didn't we? Or no, we found the insane asylum. We found an insane asylum. Which was creepy.
00:06:45 Which in itself is creepy. Yeah, totally creepy. Totally. And then we were hungry to be honest. Before we were hungry... So we were looking to leave town to find a fast food restaurant, but on our way out of town, we passed down Pioneer drive and Fourth. And there was this creepy cemetery, AF. Do you remember that at the intersection? Yeah, of course. It was Pioneer Cemetery. It was Pioneer Cemetery. And why was it super creepy to you? Because it was right up against these, what looked to me to be, government subsidized housing and literally headstones were like in someone's side yard. Like you could look out your window and be like, “Oh, hello, dead.” And that's, that was really unsettling.
00:07:36 Like, you can touch, you can touch the building and a headstone at the same time. Like, that's how close these stones were to the building. We were so focused on like, why would you want to live here? Like why would they pick this area to develop housing? Like in a cemetery? It felt like the houses were built in this cemetery. That 's exactly how it felt. And you and I were so flummoxed.
00:08:01 Um, what does flummoxed mean? Bewildered, confused. I don't know if I was flummoxed. You was, you was flummoxed. You were. Okay. That's fair. That's fair. It's like, don't you talk for me with these fancy words. Okay. So then our hunger took over and we left and we headed towards Jefferson City, Missouri
00:08:27 To a Taco Bell. Yes. Wait, was it Subway? I think it might be Subway. Taco Bell was in Mexico, Mexico, Missouri. And I think it was either Pizza Hut or Subway in Jefferson Cty. That sounds right. That's what I think we should have noted. Now that we've got the important information out of the way.
00:08:53 Okay. Tell me about the history of Fulton, Missouri. Okay. So actually the state of Missouri became a state in the year 1820 with something that you might remember called the Missouri Compromise. Part of the Missouri Compromise was the agreement that Missouri would be a state that, in which slavery is allowed. I do remember that. I remember not liking that.
00:09:25 Before the Civil War, uh, legislators in Washington DC kind of had to walk that tight rope as each state was being admitted into the union because you had the people who were, you know, pro slavery on one side and, uh, against slavery on the other. So the Missouri Compromise was part of that whole dance that they were doing before everything blew up during the Civil War. Anyway, so you have, uh, Missouri in 1820 becomes a state. But what's interesting about the state of Missouri is that even though slavery was allowed there, it wasn't like everybody who lived there was a slaver. It wasn't? No. First of all, the land wasn't such that, uh, plantations were even possible. Do you know what I mean? In order to have a big plantation that would require a lot of slaves, um, you need certain growing conditions and the one place in Missouri, there was like a belt that ended up being called Little Dixie, along the Missouri River valley. And it was that area where these counties were formed that were heavy into slavery because of the growing conditions. There again, it was called Little Dixie for an obvious reason and that's where the County of Calloway was located. Okay. Okay.
00:10:45 So the exact opposite of Shelbyville, Tennessee. Are you making a correlation between Fulton and Shelbyville or Callaway and Shelbyville? Either. Well, if you think about Shelbyville being like a little union stronghold, a little Boston in more of a slave holding state, then yes. There was a section of Missouri that was more pro slavery and pro Confederacy than other areas of the state. That would be true. Um, also because it's not only the slave holders who came and moved into Missouri into this area and bought up all this land to work it, but also because, um, there were immigrants who came to the area who were abolitionists. So there was a true mix of ideology in Missouri. So it wasn't the exact opposite. It wasn't so black and white.
00:11:41 Is what you're saying? It wasn't so black and white, but there is a correlation there that I can appreciate. Thank you. Thank you. Sure. Please continue. Oh, sure. Sure. Sure. So in 1861, that is the year that the Civil War started and citizens of Callaway County answered the call to defend the county. When word arrived that the Union troops had advanced and were nearby... now Colonel Jefferson Jones from eastern Callaway County assembled troops and the forces were somewhat limited. But Jones marched the troops eastward to meet the approaching Union Army. Scary. So now there's, like, potentially going to be a skirmish or a battle there. Yeah. Nearby. Yeah, exactly. Now, Colonel Jones successfully defended the county against the Union, the Union force, but he did it via illusion and subterfuge. Ooh, he's sneaky. He and his men erected tree logs and it resembled artillery in the shadows of the campfires and that alone deterred the Union troops and made them think that they were much stronger, more heavily armed than they actually were. Wow. Do you believe that? That's crazy. Yeah. And so instead of fighting, there was a cease fire and eventually the United States came to an agreement with Callaway County. So they, like, negotiated with these rebels and treated them like, you know, like another power.
00:13:23 An entity on it to itself. Exactly. And that's why it's called today The Kingdom of Callaway.
00:13:30 Exactly. Yeah. The people there are really, really, proud of the way this, this turned out. Everything there is called the Kingdom of Callaway. We stayed at the Kingdom of Callaway Hilton. We ate at the Kingdom of Callaway Taco Bell. So Fulton, Missouri. The city was incorporated in 1859 and it had a predominantly Southern culture. Southerners from other parts of the United States settled the land that I told you about along the Missouri River and brought with them their slaves, their enslaved people, and established an agricultural economy. And so there was a strong connection with Southern heritage. And this could be exemplified when in 1875 (this is years after the Civil War ended) Jefferson Davis, the former president of the Confederate States of America, came to Fulton and gave a speech. And more than 10,000 people showed up to hear him talk at the old fairgrounds, which is now Westminster College's Priest Field.
00:14:41 That's crazy ballsy though. That's, I mean, honestly! Took up arms against the Union, then lost and then is like touring around speaking. It's like, what are you talking to people about? Like, I don't get it. So moving on... Fulton was the county seat of Callaway County, and it seems to have been progressive in its social services. Tell me, what do you mean by that? For instance, they established an asylum for the insane in 1847, um, which was the first mental health facility west of the Mississippi. Ooh. I don't know how I feel about that. It was creepy when we saw the area.
00:15:26 I mean, I guess it would bring dollars in the community, but it's creepy, creepy. There is a lot going on, a lot of development. now I'll tell you something else though. Tell. From 1870 to 1895, due to fortunes from cheap prison labor, there was a construction boom. And there were, like, 44 elaborate homes and mansions that erected all over Main Street, which is now East Capitol Avenue. Oh, wow. So this area was really wealthy in the late 19th century.
00:16:08 Yeah. I mean, on Main Street, it was. Okay. But, uh, that cheap prison labor came from the Missouri State Penitentiary. Tell me about that. Where's that at? It opened in 1836 in Jefferson City, and it ran continuously until 2004. It was the first state penal institution (not dirty) west of the Mississippi River. You don't know what they were doing in there. You don't know. Let's not make assumptions, Jennifer. Love is love.
00:16:47 Um, it was, oh my gosh, Jill, it was a notoriously brutal prison. Wow. And in 1967 Time Magazine named it “The Bloodiest 47 Acres in America.”
00:17:02 Oh my God. And where was that? Where was it located? In Jefferson City, Missouri. Okay. So in Callaway county, just south of where we had Subway? Yes. Okay. It's like a light bulb. Okay. Just tell me where we ate. And I can tell you where we were. So who was Daniel? Who was Daniel? Because I was hearing the name Daniel and we did a little research and we think we've got our guy.
00:17:31 Tell me about who you think your Daniel is. Well, my Daniel is Daniel Harrison McEntire who was born in Callaway County, Missouri on May 5th, 1833. He attended Westminster college in Fulton (where we were, of course. We were there. We were there.)
Now, this is an interesting anecdote about the start of the Civil War in Callaway County. I'm ready. When Daniel was a senior in April of 1861, he heard the call of the governor to start raising troops. And so he and his friend, Joseph Laurie, who were graduating seniors that year, led the very first unit of Callaway guards from the county courthouse that April, 1861 to join the state guard in Jefferson City. And Jill, this would be the very first military activity in the county. Shut up. The very first military activity in the county was led by Daniel MacIntyre.
00:18:43 Let me digest this. He had heard “the Yankees are coming!” and he was in school. And he ran out of school, rallied people at the courthouse and was like, and we're going to march to meet the Union Army and fight for our beliefs.
00:19:00 Right. And the anecdote actually goes that, like, they were in the middle of a meal. Ooh. And they heard the call and they were like, oh my gosh. So they left their food, they left their books, they got up and they went to the courthouse and when they arrived, they were made officers just like that. Wow. Wow. Right. Cray, Cray. Later, he would graduate in absentia the summer of 1862, which means he wasn't there. Right. I mean, they gave him his degree, even though he didn't technically finish the year. Nice. Well that ain’t fair. Yeah. Summer school.
00:19:38 So all wasn't well though, because he was in a battle at Wilson's Creek that August and he took a wound to the jaw. Ooh. And his wounds would actually affect the rest of his life unfortunately... I'd say so. Yeah, he did recover. He recovered. And then he went back into service and he was captured and, uh, was sent to different prison camps. Jesus. Now, after months of being in camp, in prison, he was exchanged at Vicksburg on September 1st, 1861. Sounds horrible. And then after he was exchanged, he returned to duty and he completed his military service under General Price. Oh, now Jill, after the war, he returned to Mexico, Missouri. He married a woman, became a farmer and in 1871 became a student of law and would ultimately become a lawyer. Wow.
00:20:38 You know, what's crazy is that if I were at a Civil War prison camp for nine months, I would come home and bathe before I enlisted again, that's just what I'm thinking. Cause those conditions were rough, rough, and maybe have a few meals because they, they were skinny too. Right. After being in camp. He obviously didn't care about a meal if he left his meal and went to go join the fighting. I mean, this guy, obviously he believed in the cause and he must have been a brave, a brave person because after seeing the horrors of war, I don't know that I would turn around and go back. Dude got shot in the face! Now, for nothing else he does deserve street cred. Shout out. I got respect for you, bro. It's fine. I got respect, but still. Right? Politics aside, dude gets shot in the face and goes back.
00:21:38 That's true. You got to respect that. All right, Jill. And I just want to say it, uh, he became a “farmer”, but really he was a landowner. It's not like he was working the fields. I just want to... right. He wasn't working the hoe. You know what I mean? No. You know what I mean? He wasn't. Yeah, I know. Just stop. You don't know what he did. You don't know.
00:22:06 Come on. All right. He opened his own law office in Mexico, Missouri and Jill, this is when his political career is really, really on the rise. I thought you were going to say, this is where we ate Taco Bell. I swear. I thought that that was a missed opportunity. Jennifer. You should have shouted out to Mexico, Missouri Taco Bell. Did we do it again? I know it's fine. I just want to say we got double meat. We got double meat in those soft shell tacos and I was happy. I didn't ask for it. They didn't charge me for it. They double meated us. Are you, are you done? Are you done? I was just remembering. I was in a moment. Go on. I was on my double meat shell tacos, but Jen, you didn't eat. Well, now that you're off your double meat riff... Are you off your double meat riff now? You didn't eat that night. It was only me. How do you not remember? I know I don't eat Taco Bell. Yeah, I do. Yeah. You didn't order anything, but I got to tell you if you did, you wouldn't be [dissing it].
00:23:20 Daniel MacIntyre. Okay. So his career is now on the rise. We're in the 1870s and he is elected to the Missouri Senate and he becomes the Attorney General of Missouri in 1881 through 1885. And then after that, he is in the state legislature until the 1890s. Um, later in life, he gave up law practice because the wounds that he suffered in war affected his ability to see. He returned to Mexico, Missouri, and in the year 1910, he quietly passed away at the age of 76. Oh geez. So that is Daniel MacIntyre. Wow. Okay. Brave guy.
00:24:07 He was all gung ho for the Confederacy, I got to tell you. But what was his legacy? How do people remember him? Okay. So looking at a News Tribune article… According to a News Tribune? Could it really be called the News Tribune? I think so. Okay. According to a newspaper article from July 27th, 2019, the Missouri Bar spoke highly of him. And the quote is “As a lawyer, he is painstaking and untiring in his labor for his client and is distinguished for his integrity, his kindness of heart and his social amenities.”
00:24:52 Additionally, in a Google book I found, in 1905, the last sentence about Daniel MacIntyre is that “His history is intimately connected and woven with the history of the state during the entire period of his activity.” And I think that's really… Oh, wow. So it looks like we've got different sources who are really, uh, glorifying MacIntyre's legacy. They really like him. Yeah, they dig him. They dig him. He's a big deal. So the Mexican Ledger at the time of his death said what about General Daniel Harrison MacIntyre?
00:25:32 Right. So the Mexican Ledger would, of course, be out of Mexico, Missouri, not the country... where you ate double stuffed tacos at the... Double stuffed soft shells, Supreme. Number two. Delicious. Number two? I am horrified that you know that. I am horrified that you know that. Oh, wow. How are you even surprised? Like, ask me another? Like, what's number one?
00:26:12 So the Mexican Ledger at the time of his death said, and I quote “The death of General D H McEntire from Mexico. One of the most distinguished citizens. A man who for 40 years was active in public life and his city and county and state. General MacIntyre's life of public and private was without a blemish and was honored and respected for his ability and integrity. A community is always better for having had the benefit of the life and activities of a man like General D H MacIntyre.” Wow.
00:26:50 How do you like that? What a legacy. Without blemish. Without blemish. Without blemish. And again, my favorite quote is “His history is intimately connected and woven with the history of the state during his entire period of activity.” The man was Missouri. Ooh. Missouri proud. Very nice. Very proud. So why are we talking about him?
00:27:19 I don't know. So far all we found is a bunch of accolades. Well, I found something out. Oh, what did you find? There were other mentions of General Daniel McEntyre in the papers. Do tell. The headline was “Convicts and Callaway.” The rest of the headline is “The people will fight for relief in courts.” Okay. So this is getting juicy. Now people are fighting for relief. So I want to know, what does Daniel MacIntyre have to do with this?
00:28:01 Okay. Well first let's talk about... there's so much here. Okay. Convicts. What, what is happening? Why are there convicts in Callaway? Because we know the penitentiary is in Jefferson City. So what happens is there is a piece of property in an area that isn't as affluent as other parts of Missouri. And who owns the property there? So the property there, the farm is owned by certain inspectors of the penitentiary and those owners lease their land to the penitentiary to have convicts come and work the land. Does that make sense? So this is the cheap convict labor that was referenced earlier. Hence the boom, the mansion boom. Right? Okay. So the convicts were building mansions and doing cheap work that led to this boom. That makes sense.
00:28:58 So in this particular case, instead of building in the city, these convicts are working the land. And again, I just want you to understand what I'm saying. There is a thing called inspectors of an institution, like a penitentiary, and their job is to make sure that the penitentiary is running above board and everything's fine. It is one of those inspectors who actually owns this land, who's renting the land to the penitentiary to use as convict labor so they can harvest crops to get back to the penitentiary. Does that make sense?
00:29:39 So, I think so. So they are benefiting from this situation. Just say it. Just say it. It's true. Right? Why are people fighting for relief in the courts? Explain that to me. What are people fighting about? You are going to absolutely love this. It's not funny, but it's, like, legit funny if it's not happening to you. It's hysterical. Unfortunately, this happened to these people. There's about 50 plus plaintiffs that brought suit against the inspectors of the penitentiary in Jefferson City because the inspectors (and one of them at the time was Daniel McIntyre) were allowing convicts to harvest the lands. Right. And to be at the farm, which is totally fine. But...
00:30:37 I wouldn't say totally fine. I mean, one could argue that this is another incarnation of slavery. Oh, absolutely. So yeah, when I say fine, I mean like, not okay, but legal. Right. There you go. It's legal. It's legal. So everything should be above board. But what was happening is that there's only supposed to be one person, or they assigned one person to look after these convicts and to keep them in line day and night. There's only one person. And there was like 25 plus convicts. Wait a minute. They're living on the land? Yeah. They're not traveling…? Convicts are just on the land and they have 25 plus of them and they only have one log cabin on the property. And one person is supposed to be in charge of these 25 plus convicts day and night. Okay. Okay.
00:31:31 So they're like locked up? They’re in chains, right? No, no. They're like running amok. They are loose upon society. They are and I am not shitting you. Like, what are they doing? What do you mean loose? Oh, you're going to die. This is what's happening. The guys, the convicts are going to people's houses and stealing suits, suit coats and clothes so that they can attend... Yes, clothes... So they are sealing suits and clothes so they can hide and pretend like they're citizens of the community. So they can go to balls and birthday parties and community functions. Get out of here. I shit you not. No. I swear. And as a matter of fact, one, one knocked on the door and punched Paul Reynold's wife in the face because she was like, we don't have a suit. We're just poor. She's like, we don't even, we don't have a suit.
00:32:31 Yeah. Other times, other members of the community, one of the other 50 plaintiffs, they were jumped, accosted and stripped of their clothes by the convicts. Yes. Yes. That is unbelievable. So they're loose. They're robbing... They're robbing the people who live around this farm, this area,
00:32:55 They are living their best convict life. Yeah. They are because then they're out on the town in the evening and these stolen clothes and nobody knows that they're convicts. Well, they got, well, the community got hip to that jive. They were like, oh, we know who you are. We know you don't belong here. But, what was happening is that because these community members for years have been going to the court and petitioning the inspectors of the penitentiary to be like, Hey guys, can you stop this? This is what's happening. And they had multiple pages filed against what the grievances were, what these convicts were doing. And they were ignored multiple times by the inspectors. So then they got the circuit court of Callaway involved. And after the court petitioned the inspectors, the inspectors brought more convicts there.
00:33:48 What more? Yes. They were making the matter worse. Yeah. Yeah. So when they weren't totally ignoring them, they were making it worse. So when they were having a party, like little Susie Brown was having a party and a convict showed up in Paul Reynold’s suit and people knew who he was, there was a conversation like, do we take them back to the penitentiary? And ultimately the community at large was like, no, we don't because they're going to come back full force and make matters worse. Wow. So they just let the convicts do whatever they would. And then eventually they got lawyers, the community banded together and sought lawyers to sue the inspectors of the penitentiary, which of course included Daniel MacIntyre.
00:34:35 Okay. Okay. Wow. I cannot believe that something like that could actually happen, number one... and number two, check out these convicts! So enterprising and resourceful! They're making lemonade for sure, right? My God. Holy crap. I mean, that's some balls right there. I mean some balls right there to actually show up at a party like this and pretending, like you're not a convict and you didn't just steal the suit that has someone else's name in it. Wow.
00:35:16 Do you think everybody was just like…? Yeah. Because there is one of the newspaper articles. They had a conversation about it. Like, should we bring them back? Wow. Wow. Okay. Awkward. All right. So basically it sounds like these people, uh, who lived in the area were at their wits end because it sounds like they had already tried to remedy the situation in different ways by going to the authorities. Right. And it sounds like they weren't listened to. Why weren't they listened to? Like, I don't understand, like, this is a, this is like a legit grievance. 00:35:50 Can I have you read an expert from the newspaper, the Fulton Gazette? Excerpt. expert? excerpt? Is this why my transcripts never work? I need you to read an expert. What is it??? Excerpt! Excerpt? Yes. Say it again. Exert, excerpt. An excerpt, there you got me doing it! I know it's hard. It's a tongue twister. Okay. I need you to read an expert. I need you to read part of this frigging article, man, from Friday, April 20th, 1883. So in the paper, this was a newspaper article written by the lawyers of the plaintiffs, which is the community members, the 50 members of society that had gotten together and have been pushing back against the inspectors of the penitentiary. And so the newspaper wanted to explain why we gave such a lengthy bit of space to this, to this article written by the plaintiff's lawyers. And can you take it from, “Take Them Out”.
00:37:13 “In this issue we publish the petition to the circuit court for an injunction against the warden and inspectors of the penitentiary. We, again, call attention to the fact that these gentlemen have singled out the county of Callaway and imposed upon her what they have not dared to put upon another county in the state of Missouri. Our people have petitioned and petitioned in vain for some cause they have been unable to obtain relief from the legislator of the state. And now they propose to seek relief in the courts. Think of it, 25 desperate men, black, white, living in the midst of the civilized community, a community whose wives and daughters ,whose peace and prosperity are just as dear to them as if they were merchants and bankers and state officers then just instead of farmers. And who is to restrain these desperadoes? The great state of Missouri with a strong walled prison and host of armed guards for the support of the Callaway, pays her thousands to this great state, but have been misrepresented by those in authority. They have sent one guard to look over these 25 plus desperados. We venture the statements that have been made in vain and petition from Callaway farmers have been the words of merchants, bankers, or state officers that relief would long since have been forthcoming. The petitioners recounted the brutal beatings inflicted by one of these robber convicts upon a woman because she did not yield to the robber’s demand for a suit of clothes. She is not the wife of a rich man. She is the wife of one of the Callaway's humblest citizens. But humble as she is, the state of Missouri should ring with demands that the state government shall no longer turn loose its convict ruffins to frighten and abuse her and other trembling and fearful women. The petition of the reputable citizens of Callaway sets forth that these criminals who are supposed to be imprisoned, although daily and nightly roam about the rows and farms of Callaway and do as they please when courts and juries at great expense condemn these men to the penitentiary. However, the inspectors of the penitentiary by their interpretation and practice have nulled the convictions and licensed the scoundrels to do as they please in Callaway. If there be no remedy in the courts of the state for such injustices, then justice administered in Missouri is a farce. The sympathy of our people is entirely with the petitioners in this fight. And we will anxiously watch the issue of this case.” That was really long.
00:39:49 That was really long, but it says it so well. The reason why no one was listening to the petitioners is because they weren't merchants, bankers or state officials. They were the humblest of Callaway citizens. They were just mere farmers.
00:40:05 Wow. So what happens, Jill? What happens in court? Another article from the St. Louis Gazette, April 21st, a day after this article was written. The one that you just read the expert from, the excerpt from, St. Louis Gazette, April 21st says “the Honorable D H McEntyre, Attorney General, representing the defendants, met and effected a compromise with the plaintiffs in the suit. By this agreement, the defendants are to withdraw all convicts from the county of Callaway on the 15th day of November next and forever after to refrain from working the same in any part of the county and that between now and the next November, the convicts so worked in this county are to be significantly guarded day and night. It is a hope that this will be an end to convict labor in the county.”
00:40:58 Okay. So basically it never went to court. There was a deal made. Right. There was a deal made, but notably the attorney general, who is Daniel MacIntyre, also was a defendant in the case. Oh, think about that. That's weird. That is weird.
00:41:16 I would think that that would be some sort of conflict. Yeah, for sure. It would, he would have to recuse himself. I'm sure he'd have to recuse himself. I don't know that word. Step aside. I'll have to look it up to see if it's a real word, but I'm pretty sure it's a real word. Anyway. It means like step aside to let someone else do it because he is involved in it in some way. That is, that is really something. So it's some shit. Wow. You look very sad. It is sad. It's sad. I mean, I guess it said that they were, that they were lied to and that they were bullied and that they were ultimately taken advantage of because of their position in life. They didn't have wealth, they didn't have any power. Um, however, it does sound like in November it did stop and that the convicts were kept under control and they weren't running a muck punching people's wives and stealing people's suits and that come November, they were taken off the farm. Is that right? Jill? That is right.
00:42:15 What are your thoughts on Daniel? Um, I definitely think that Daniel being the Attorney General at the time and an inspector of the penitentiary, it definitely seems like a conflict of interest. It obviously wasn't illegal, but it doesn't seem right because he was ultimately profiting from the situation as a inspector of the penitentiary. Do you agree? Right?
00:42:40 I do. Well, the thing is, is that the lands the convicts were farming was, we don't know if they were owned by Daniel, but we know definitely it was, it was owned by one of his friends. However, what we do know is that what we spoke about earlier, the booming mansions being built by convict labor... Daniel did own one of those mansions. He sure did, at 4 0 1 Capitol Avenue.
00:43:12 Right. So, so being the attorney general and the, uh, defendant in that case, if that wasn't a conflict of interest, then, um, certainly being a inspector of the penitentiary, as well as a propheter of the slave labor of the convicts... That definitely seems like a conflict of interest.
00:43:41 It was noted in one of my research articles that, um, although Daniel did own that mansion and 4 0 1 Capitol street, he didn't stay there long. In six years, his wife, Susan had been judged insane and committed to the Fulton State Hospital where she died in December 1964. So yeah, that's sad. Lastly, we should talk about the power dynamics at play, right? Oh my gosh, we spoke a little bit about the wealthy versus like the, just the, the class of people that were being disparaged by these laws, that again were, were not unlawful... but were they moral, are they moral?
00:44:28 We talked about class, but what about race? Like, I want to know, because this is after the Civil War. And I know that there were enslaved peoples who were freed as a result of the, you know, the Civil War and the aftermath. So who were these people who lived in this community? Were they African-Americans? Were they whites?
00:44:52 So they were both, there were ex Confederates and there were ex slaves, not only that, but all poor living together, all poor living together. And they were able to come together and put aside their differences and philosophies to work together, to put an end to this, to these convicts pillaging and plundering their neighborhoods. It's kind of nice. I'm glad they were banded together. And it ultimately worked out for them.
00:45:20 I am just going to push it forward and say that it's crazy that in 1870 Missouri, that people can put aside their philosophies to come together. And in 2021, we're still having an issue with that. I just feel like if we thought of ourselves as community members, and I know not all our listeners are in the United States of America, but a lot of you are, if we just looked at ourselves as American and community members and sought to better ourselves as a nation, maybe we too can put our side our philosophies and live together.
00:45:56 Jill for president! Jill Stanley for president! There we go. So, Jill, how do we know... Vote Jill!... How do we know that we were meant to talk about this? Daniel MacIntyre? Are you serious? How many hits do we need? We were at Westminster College. Someone whispered to you, “Daniel!” Also we were at the courthouse. We were at the penitentiary. We were at the state hospital. We were at all those places. And all of those places are significant in Daniel MacIntyre's life. For sure. Not only that, when I was on the actual Westminster College campus, I was feeling organized battle, a call to arms, and the Civil War and you, the poverty, the helplessness, the crimes, and the forgotten people of society. Oh my God. And the whole creepy, creepy Kingdom of Callaway...
00:46:51 But Jill, the thing is, this story really isn't about Daniel, right? I mean, it is, but it isn't. No, no, Jen, and we just read a whole thing. We just did a whole thing about Daniel, but really he's just an analogy I would say, right? Why would you say that? I think here you have a man who rises to prominence during war, uh, through his courage and boldness, he becomes a prominent political figure of his day. He achieves power and wealth. He's well-respected for his accomplishments and lauded even today. And we see that again and again, in history, we see it in the United States and we see it globally. This figure is a common one, but it's a common archetype. It is. But, but, but we have to remember the Peter Parker principle, Stan Lee, Spider-Man, Peter Parker Principle is with great power, Jill, comes great responsibility. And that's where we see Daniel using his power and influence for his personal economic gain, at times, at the expense of those less fortunate. And that was wrong. Thoughts?
00:48:09 I think we need to be clear. There's a difference between legality and what is legal to do and what should be moral to do. Right. Right. And I think we also have to consider it is those people in power, a lot of times, with wealth, creating laws. So you hear a lot, well, was it against the law? Is it lawful? Who's making the laws and for what purpose? We need to think about that we need to let that sink in. And that goes for everywhere. Am I being political again? Am I isolating? I don't want to. I don't want to isolate my neighbors. All right. I think we're done. I think that I just want to end on, thank you for bearing with me. I typed the outline. I used a lot of talk to text and there was a lot of misspellings that Jennifer worked through. There was a lot of head rubbing. There's a lot of finger biting going on. I can see you. And I just want to give a shout out to Jennifer and her patience.
00:49:08 Tell the people where they can find us. Well, check out our website, commonmystics.net. Find us on Facebook and our Insta account. You can check us out on Audible, Amazon Music, Tuned In, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts where you can leave us a positive review so other people can find us. Thank you and good night. Good night.
