Information Sheet

 

 

R         Shell, Casper, 1800-1849.

243                  Papers, 1832-1849.

                                    Three folders.

 

 

 

These are a journal and miscellaneous papers of Casper Shell (Schell), Jr., a black­smith and justice of the peace who lived near Lutesville in what was then Cape Girardeau County, now Bol­linger County, Missouri.  The collection pertains to Shell’s trade as a blacksmith as well as his of­ficial duties.  A transcript, prepared by the donor, is available.

 

Casper Shell (Schell), Jr., was born on 11 June 1800 in Lincoln County, North Carolina, the son of Cas­per Shell and Frances Mull.  The family came to Cape Girardeau County, Mis­souri, in 1804, set­tling southeast of Lutesville on Crooked Creek.  Shell was reared and educated in Cape Gi­rardeau County, where he met and married Cynthia Amelia Wilson Hager.  Trained as a black­smith, Shell established a shop near Lutesville which he operated for most of his life.  During the late 1830s and 1840s he served as constable and Justice of the Peace in Lorance, later Liberty, Town­ship.  Shell died in 1849.

 

Shell’s papers consist of a journal and miscellaneous papers concerning the smithing busi­ness and his duties as a county official.  The first ninety-two pages of the journal consist of rec­ords of the blacksmith trade from November 1833 through April 1844.  Apparently Shell sold or leased the business to J. F. Ritch from October 1842 through April 1843.  Entries dur­ing that pe­riod are written in a different hand and are credited to Ritch.  Individual accounts include item­ized lists of services rendered, primarily for repairs of agricultural equipment, wagons, and fire­arms.  Fees and payments in cash or trade are noted.

 

The remainder of the journal and the miscellaneous papers generally concern Shell’s duties as constable and Justice of the Peace.  There are lists of fees collected on county busi­ness, promis­sory notes, stray notices, estate papers, and affidavits of guardians and executors.  Notes concern­ing Shell’s personal business and a few genealogical records are intermingled with the county business.  An edited typescript and surname index to the collection are avail­able.

 

The journal and the papers were donated by Lorena Shell Eaker, a great-great-grandniece of Casper Shell, Jr.  She also provided the typescript, which was published in Volume 2 of her Shoe Cobbler’s Kin, a history of the Eaker family.

 

 

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