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- SHELBYVILLE REPUBLICAN August 6, 1913 page 1 column 3
SHELBY COUNTY'S OLDEST CITIZEN
Mrs. Catherine Bassett, of near Fairland, Has Lived in County over 86 years,
Being More Than Two Ordinary Generations
HALE AND HEARTY AT 91 YEARS
Attended the Bassett Family Reunion Sunday and Nobody Had a Better Time, As
She Was Feeling Well and Was Honored By All Present
The Republican takes pleasure today in presenting to its readers a
sketch and a few stories as dictated by Mrs. Catherine Bassett at the second
annual reunion of the Bassett family held at the fair grounds Sunda
Mrs. Bassett is of excellent Scotch Irish parentage, her father being
James Monroney. She was born June 4, 1822, the same year as Gen. U.S. Grant.
She was 91 years of age June 13, 1913. Mrs. Bassett and two of her sisters
married three brothers of the Bassett family. Her elder sister, Susan, was
united in marriage to Sylvester Bassett, her younger sister, Elizabeth,
married Oliver Bassett and she was married to Jonah Bassett. Mrs. Catherine
Bassett is today the only one of the six above mentioned livin
Mrs. Bassett has been one of the sturdy pioneer women of Shelby
county; one who helped to do the hard work that has made Shelby county the
fair and prosperous community it is. She was a good and noble woman herself
and she trained her children properly. She was the mother of six children -
Elizabeth Bassett Hinds, now dead, James H. Bassett also dead, Alice Bassett
Bowman, wife of Leonidas Bowman, of near Fairland, with whom Mrs. Bassett now
makes her home, Spencer Bassett and William H. Bassett, both of Shelbyville.
One child died in infancy. Mrs. Bassett has sixteen grandchildren living and
thirty-three great grandchildren, so that branch of the Bassett fami
being worthily kept up, as are also the other branches. At these reunions the
standard of life and living is set higher and higher each year. New ideals are
formed and noble resolves made to live up to them. The example of such a
splendid life as that of Aunt Catherine, helpful and sweet-spirited, is an
inspiration to all. May she live for many years to enjoy life and attend the
Bassett reunions. We take pleasure in giving the following sketch of her long
and useful life as dictated by Aunt Catherine herself and read at the reunion
of the Bassett family Sunday, August 3, 1913.
MRS. CATHERINE MONRONEY BASSETT
"I, Catherine Bassett, was born in Dearborn County, Indiana, June 13,
1822, and moved to Shelby County with my parents in 1826 and lived in Shelby
county until near 1837; then moved to Carroll county, Missouri with my sister
and brother-in-law Mr. and Mrs. Sylvester Bassett. We went in wagons pulled by
oxen. We were on the road six weeks and had quite a nice trip considering the
roads and the slow travel. We traveled with the Mormons quite awhile and they
were very nice people to travel with and we were treated well by them. The
country was almost a wilderness and the roads rough, nevertheless we enjoyed it.
August 30, 1837, I was married to Jonah Bassett. In December of the
same year we came back to Shelby county, as we did not like old Missouri very
well. We then thought there was no place like old Shelby county and I have
never had any reason to change my opinion since that time.
I have three children living and three dead. I have 16 grandchildren
and 33 great grandchildren. When I moved to this county with my parents in a
two wheeled ox cart, as we traveled we had to follow the trail by the b
trees being blazed. If we did not we got lost in the wilderness, as there was
not much land cleared then. Only here and there a little settlement and they
were few and far apart. We moved on a piece of land near Lewis Creek; it was
nothing but woods. Father built a log house, cleared up some land and raised
some corn, some wheat and some flax. He did most of the work with a hoe.
Sometimes we would have a log rolling with a big dinner cooked by the old fire
place. We had all the wild game we wanted to cook, such as venison, wild
turkey, wild hogs. Father was a good hunter and a good marksma
I will relate a few little incidents that I remember. First a snake
story. We had some snakes in those days. Some of the folks ran onto a b
snake down in the woods. It was very large one. They were badly frightened and
ran to the house and told father and asked him to take a gun and shoot it, as
it was too big to tackle with a club. He said that he was not afraid of any
snake that crawled. He killed it, but wished for his gun before he did, as it
was a rattle snake eight feet and three inches long and measured 20 inches
around the largest part and had 27 rattles and a button.
When I first saw Shelbyville it was not laid out as a town. It was
simply a field with a lot of stumps on it; no sidewalks, just mud roads and
about 12 log cabins. There was no court house nor jail. We did not need them
as everybody was good and behaved themselves. John Walker owned the mill, a
log mill and very rough at that. It was run by a horse in a treadmill (some
mill, wasn't it?)
I will tell you of a little experience I had with wild hogs. One day
two of my cousins and I went to the spring to get some water. When we were
coming back we were attacked by three wild hogs. We made a run for a fence and
two of us got over safely, but cousin Jane, being a little slower, the hogs
caught her and tore most all her clothes off. But we succeeded in getting her
over safely. Father and some men trailed those hogs for half a day before they
killed them.
Our only way of going any place was to walk or ride in a big wagon.
That was the way we went to church. We did not have any church house in those
days, but had meetings at one neighbor's house and the next time at some other
neighbor's. Just to think how wild the country was then. Some times when I was
riding a horse through the woods the wolves would follow me. I remember one
time I was riding through the woods some wolves followed me and when I went
home I told father there were a lot of dogs following me. I did not then know
they were wolves. They had killed some sheep and were not hungry so they did
not attack me.
Dr. Kipper was our first doctor. He lived in Shelbyville; up town in
one of the fine houses we had in those days - a log cabin built of round logs.
John Walker and Sam Walker were our first store keepers, as we called them at
that time. Their stock of goods consisted generally of one sack of coffee, one
barrel of sugar, one bolt of calico, one bolt of muslin, and a few other
things about in proportion to the stock named. You did not need much money to
go shopping in these days, nor did it take very long to make your selections.
My first school teacher was Carey Brown. I walked two miles to school through
woods and over mud roads. Our most prominent citizens were David Thatcher,
William Colescott and Dr. Morris, Dr. Morris being the oldest resident. My
first teachings of the Bible were by my mother. She would gather us around her
on Sunday and read to us out of the Bible and sing to us those old religious
songs which most of us like to hear yet.
I joined the Methodist church when I was nineteen years old and later
became a charter member of the First Baptist church of Shelbyville. I am the
only one of the charter members now living. I have lived in Shelby coun
eighty-six years.
The years of my life have been many, but they have quickly passed. I
may possibly live to meet with you again next year; if not, I hope we may all
meet in that Great Reunion beyond, where there will be no parting. So good-
bye, and may God guide you through life as he has me and may His richest
blessings rest upon you is my prayer.
Catherine Bassett
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Bassett Family Association Database
1822 - 1916 (93 years)