EARLY
SETTLEMENT
An old pioneer, in speaking of the settlement and early history of Liberty
township, says:--
“The old Boone’s Lick road ran through the north part of this
county, and at that time was the only thoroughfare from St. Louis to the
upper Missouri, and was thronged with land speculators and emigrants.
The first settler in this neighborhood located on this
road. This was in the year 1818. This was the only house on the road from
Loutre to Cedar creek. The name of this man was Watson, and he kept entertainment
for travellers[sic]—a very profitable business at this period, and
for a few years subsequent; the prices were exorbitant, and the fare none
of the best. His mode of feeding travellers’ [sic] horses indicated
either that corn was scarce, or the bump of acquisitiveness large, or,
perhaps, a combination of both; he was in the habit of keeping the corn
he gave to travellers’ horses well greased, and however hungry they
might be, they would not touch it, and the traveller, not suspecting avarice
of his host, would naturally conclude that his animal was sick.
Thomas Harrison, Esq., from Montgomery county, Virginia,
bought the claim of this man Watson, and settled here in 1819. Watson
again settled on the land now owned by James Lawrence. In 1820, a man
by the name of Kibby settled where Major James McKinney formerly lived,
now owned by John Ferrell. Major McKinney settled here in 1821, and during
this year the following persons also came, making a considerable accession
to the neighborhood: John Hamilton, from Virginia, settled where Mrs.
D. Harrison now lives; Charles Younger, from Kentucky, where John S. Henderson
lives; Colonel Wynkoop Warren, on the land now owned by Peter Brickey;
John Dyer, where Colonel George Nicholson lives; and Samuel Dyer, on the
adjoining farm, now owned by the heirs of Samuel Dyer, deceased.
In 1822, Major W. W. Small, from Kentucky, settled on the
farm now owned by John Maddox; Captain Archibald Allen, on the farm where
he now lives; Major James Tate, on the farm now owned by Colonel Isaac
Tate; David Kennedy, on the farm now owned by Jacob Hough. This was the
nucleus of the present thickly settled neighborhood. The original settlers
were from Virginia and Kentucky, and the population that gathered around
them from the same States, and mostly from the same section of the country.
At this early period in the history of our county, there was no settlement
west or north of this point for a distance of fifteen or twenty miles.
There was a small settlement in Nine Mile Prairie. In 1828, Mr. James
Leeper, from Kentucky, settled in the neighborhood of Concord.
“Colonel Wynkoop Warner was the first sheriff of Callaway county,
and was commissioned by Governor McNair; the county seat was then at Elizabeth,
on Ham’s Prairie. Our first county court was composed of the following
members: Major James McKinney, Colonel Samuel Moore and Doctor Conger.
Fulton was located and the lots sold in 1825.
“The first merchant was Mr. James Yates; he removed to this place
from Elizabeth, where he formerly sold goods. Game being very plenty,
the first settlers found it but little trouble in procuring an ample stock
of meat. Meal and flour were, however, hard to procure, as there were
no mills west of St. Charles county, hence they raised but little of either.
The hominy mill and corn grater were generally used in 1822. Henry May
built a horse mill west of Fulton, on the place formerly owned by Presley
Thomas, which supplied the demands of a large scope of country.
“The Indians never committed any depredations on the early settlers,
notwithstanding they came into the county every fall for several years,
for the purpose of hunting. Their favorite hunting grounds were on the
head waters of the Auxvasse and Salt rivers. They would frequently kill
2,000 deer during their fall hunt, besides a number of bear and elk; the
latter at that time were quite plenty on the waters of Salt river, now
Audrain county. Pole cats were their favorite meat. I have seen a dozen
or more in their camp dressed ready for use. Central and North Missouri
had always been a favorite hunting ground of the Sauk Indians, notwithstanding
the country was, at an early day, claimed and occupied by the Missouri
tribe of Indians. In the many sanguinary conflicts of the latter with
the Sauks and their confederates, the Reynards or Foxes, the Missouri
tribe was nearly destroyed. The remnant sought refuge with the western
Indians, and although they have ceased to exist as a nation, their name,
like the Illinois nation, will be perpetuated in the name of a great State
and river.
“Of the early settlers I have enumerated, Captain A. Allen is the
only one living. Those ancient landmarks are fast passing away, and soon
the place that once knew them will know them no more forever
.
EARLY SETTLERS.
Alexander Henderson, of Augusta county, Virginia, had sixteen children
and raised ten of them. The names of those who lived were John, Samuel,
Joseph, Robert, David, Alexander, Jr., William, George, James and Daniel.
The latter married Martha Steele, of Virginia, and settled on Auxvasse
creek, in Callaway county, in 1823. They had four children, all of whom
were born in Virginia, and came to Missouri with their parents. Their
names were Alexander, James S., John S. and Jane. Alexander married Dicey
Finley. Judge James S. married Emily Boone, daughter of Judge Jesse Boone.
John S. was married twice; first to Mary Snell, and second to Elizabeth
Pratt. Jane married Colonel Isaac Tate. Joseph Henderson, brother of Daniel,
married Susan Rallef, of Virginia, and settled in Callaway county in 1855.
John married Polly Burton, of Kentucky, and located in Callaway in 1835.
William married a widow lady, name Irvine, and settled in Audrain county.
George and James also settled in Missouri, the former in Clay county,
and the latter in St. Louis. David married Ellen Anderson, and they had
Alexander, David, Jr., Joseph, John, William, Margaret, Rachel, Elizabeth
and Elsa. Alexander, son of David Henderson, Sr., was married first to
Margaret Hart, and second to Elizabeth Morrison. He had ten children by
his two wives. Mr. Henderson located in Callaway at an early date, and
taught singing school for a number of years. It is said that he and George
W. Burt sang love songs so sweetly that the pupils all fell in love with
them. David J., son of Alexander Henderson, Jr., married Mary R. Blackenburg
and emigrated to Callaway in 1828. They had nine sons and two daughters.
Peter Houf, of Germany, came to America before the Revolution. He had
a son named Peter, who was born in Pennsylvania, and who served as a soldier
in the War of 1812. He settled in Augusta county, Virginia, where he married
Mary E. Summers, by whom he had Susanna, Elizabeth, Henry, David S., Jacob,
John, Polly, James, William, Martha J., Amanda and Louisa. Mr. Houf emigrated
to Callaway county in 1823, and died in 1851. His widow died in 1870.
All the children except John, who died in childhood in Virginia, located
in Missouri.
The Harrison family, of which there are several members in Callaway county,
is one of the most distinguished in the country. It sprang from some of
the best blood of England, and has given to that country and America several
of their most celebrated characters. John, Benjamin and Thomas Harrison
were sons of a family of English nobility, and were born in the town of
Fereby, Yorkshire. John was born in 1693, and became a great inventor.
Among his inventions were a chronometer and gridiron. He also invented
the pendulum for clocks, for which the British Crown paid him 20,000 pounds.
He died in Red Lion Square, London, in 1776. Benjamin Harrison was born
in 1694. He had two sons, Benjamin and Robert. The former was the father
of Hon. Benjamin Harrison, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence,
and was the father of General William Henry Harrison, President of the
United States. Robert Harrison was the father of Hon. Robert Harrison,
the great jurist. Thomas, the younger brother of John and Benjamin Harrison,
was born in 1695. He married Hannah Morrison, of England, by whom he had
six sons: John, Benjamin, Thomas, Jr., Samuel, David and James, all of
whom came to America after the death of their parents, and settled in
Maryland. When the Revolutionary War began, they all enlisted in the American
army, and John and Thomas were soon promoted, the former to the rank of
captain, and the latter to that of colonel. The other four brothers were
killed, and each left families, but of these we have no account. Captain
John Harrison married a Miss Malone, of Maryland, and settled in Botetourt
county, Virginia. He had six sons: Thomas, Samuel, John, Benjamin, Daniel
and James. Colonel Thomas Harrison never married. He was a shrewd business
man, and made a great deal of money while in the army, most of which he
invested in lands in the valley of Virginia, and at his death he left
his property to his nephew, Thomas, son of Captain John Harrison. This
nephew married Margaret Billops, of Virginia, and removed with his parents
to South Carolina, but returned to Virginia after their deaths, and settled
in Montgomery county. He had ten children by his first wife, of whom he
raised eight, viz., Edward, John, Thomas, Samuel, James, Elizabeth, Sarah
and Polly. His second wife was Nancy Crawley, of Virginia, by whom he
had Nancy, Margaret and William D. He was married the third time to Jane
Childress, of Virginia, by whom he had Cynthia, Andrew L., Eliza J. and
Benjamin R. In the fall of 1819 he removed with his family to Missouri,
and settled on the Boone’s Lick road, in Callaway county, where
he died July 3, 1840, in his fifty-seventh year. His eldest son, Edward,
died in Virginia. His second son, John, was born in Boutetourt [sic] county,
Virginia, October 7, 1791. He volunteered in the War of 1812, and was
promoted to the rank of major. He was married in 1816, to Mary Crockett,
of Virginia, and in 1817 he came to Missouri with his family, consisting
of his wife and one child, Thomas. He settled first in Saline county,
but removed to Boone in 1819. In 1827 he settled on Harrison’s branch
in Callaway county, where he died February 19, 1874. His wife died August
1, 1873. Major Harrison had seven children: Thomas, Crockett, Benjamin
F., Samuel, James M., Rebecca and Virginia. Thomas and Crockett were blown
up on a steamboat at New Orleans in 1849, and the former was seriously
injured. Thomas, brother of Major John Harrison, married Sarah Potts,
of Virginia, by whom he had William, John T., Samuel P., Mary, Nancy,
Margaret and Lucy. He settled on Harrison’s branch, in Callaway
county, in 1819. In 1832 he went to St. Louis on business, and on his
return died of cholera, at St. Charles, on the 8th of June, in the forty-second
year of his age. His widow is still living. In early days Mr. Harrison
belonged to the Regulators of Callaway county, and when the Indians, who
sometimes passed through the county on their way to Washington City, would
steal anything, or commit other depredations, the Regulators would catch
them and whip them. One day an old Indian set the woods on fire, and Mr.
Harrison caught him and whipped him, and then took his gun lock off and
kept it so that he could not shoot any one for revenge. Judge James Harrison
came to Missouri with his brother, Major John Harrison, in 1817, and settled
with him in Saline county. In 1819 he removed to Boone county, where in
1821, he married Rebecca Crockett. In 1830 he settled in Audrain county,
and the following year he was appointed presiding judge of the county
court, by Governor Boggs, but resigned this office soon after. He was
justice of the peace for a number of years, and was elected to the Legislature
three times. He died in 1875, three days before his eightieth birthday.
He had twelve children: Thomas J., Samuel C., John, James, William, Margaret
R., Jane, Mary A., Nancy, Sarah, Virginia and Lucy. Samuel, brother of
Major John Harrison, left Virginia for the West in 1819, and was never
heard of again. He was doubtless robbed and murdered, as the route between
the East and West was infested with robbers at various places at that
time. Elizabeth and Sarah Harrison married and lived in Virginia. Polly
married and located in Wisconsin. Margaret married Chas. McIntire, of
Audrain county, Missouri. Cynthia married Alfred Kibbes, of Texas. Nancy
married her cousin, Abner Harrison, of Audrain county. William D. Harrison
was married first to Mary E. Bouree, and after her death he married her
sister, Effie. He lives in Audrain county. Eliza J. married Joseph Yates,
of Callaway county, and died September 21, 1873. Andrew L. and Benjamin
R. are bachelors, and live in Callaway county. James Harrison, son of
Captain John Harrison, of the Revolutionary War, married Louisa Duncan,
of South Carolina, and settled in Washington county, Missouri, in 1819.
John and Daniel, his brothers, married and settled in Alabama, and Samuel
and Benjamin married and settled in Mississippi.
Samuel Price lived and died in Virginia. He left a widow and ten children,
all of whom came to Missouri and settled in Callaway county in 1836. They
were about the first settlers on Grand Prairie, and were a hardy, honest,
intelligent and highly respected class of people. The names of the children
were Cyrus, Margaret, Addison, Elizabeth, Sarah, Nancy, Rebecca, Charles,
John and Mary.
William Pledge, of England, married Elizabeth Woodson, and came to America
and settled in Goochland county, Virginia. Their children were William,
John, Arden, Frank L., Elizabeth and Nancy. John was a soldier in the
War of 1812. William married Mary Gray, of Virginia, by whom he had John
A., Susan A., William N., George F., Thomas G. and Jane. Mr. Pledge removed
first to Ross county, Ohio, in 1824, from whence he came to Callaway county,
Missouri, in 1831. Susan A. married Willis Snell, who settled in Callaway
county in 1819. Jane died single. John A. married Minnie C. Warren, and
settled in Callaway county in 1819. William N. married Isabella Luper,
and is now living in Callaway county. He served in the Black Hawk War.
Mr. Pledge was not an experienced hunter, though fond of the sport. One
day he killed six buzzards, supposing them to be wild turkeys, and did
not discover his mistake until he had carried them nearly home. Thomas
G. Pledge married Florence Luper.
Major Samuel Price, a soldier of the Revolutionary War, died in Greenbrier
county, Virginia, in his ninety-third year. He was of Welch descent. He
was married twice, and the names of his children were Jacob, Samuel, William,
John, James, Catharine, Polly and Margaret. James settled in Callaway
county, Missouri, in 1828. He married Sarah McClentic, and they had Albert,
Jane, Robert, Margaret, James, Samuel and Sarah. Mr. Price was a soldier
of the War of 1812. William Price married Sarah Walker, and settled in
Callaway county in 1830. He was also a soldier of the War of 1812. His
children were Margaret, Joseph, John, Elizabeth, Sarah and William.
George McFarlane was the only son of Duncan and Maria McFarlane, of Scotland.
He was born January 12, 1796, and received a classical education from
his father, who taught forty-six years in a parish school in Scotland,
and was a finely educated man. George subsequently studied law at Edinburg,
[sic] and then wrote and studied several years in a lawyer’s office
at Glascow. [sic] In 1821, he came to the United States and landed at
Philadelphia. The vessel was forty-nine days in making the trip, which
is now made in less than eight by the steamers that ply between Europe
and America. Mr. McFarlane remained in Philadelphia a short time, then
went to New Orleans as a super-cargo of a trading vessel. In 1823, he
came West and settled in Boone county, Missouri, where he taught school
two years. He then, in 1825, located in Callaway county, a few miles north
of Fulton, where he resided until his death, which occurred in 1866, from
injuries received from falling out of a wagon. He never practiced law
in America, but would occasionally write a deed or other legal instrument
for the accommodation of his neighbors. He married Catharine Baker, of
Boone county, formerly of Madison county, Kentucky. Their children were
Wm. W. (who is a physician), Mary M., George B., and John D. Mrs. McFarlane
is still living in Callaway county.
Alexander McPheeters, of Ireland, settled in Virginia, and married Jane
Campbell, of Augusta county, by whom he had eight children. His eldest
son, Alexander, was married first to Jane Kelso, by whom he had five children.
He was married the second time to Florence Henderson, by whom he had two
sons, Robert and William. He was married a third time to a widow lady
named Arnott, of Kentucky. Robert and William McPheeters settled in Callaway
county, Missouri, in 1839. The former married Jane McKee, of Kentucky,
and the latter married Mary R. Henderson, daughter of David Henderson,
of Kentucky.
Sherwood Maddox, of Fauquier county, Virginia, married Elizabeth Ferguson,
and in 1795 they moved to Scott county, Kentucky. Their children were
James, Jacob M., Sherwood, David, Larkin, Frances and Elizabeth. James
and Jacob M. married and remained in Kentucky. Sherwood married America
M. Jones, and settled in Callaway county, Missouri, in 1830. His children
were Uriah, Wilson, David, Jacob, Irvin, Mary E., Catharine, Henry L.,
Larkin and Elizabeth. Larkin married Jane Powers, of Kentucky, and settled
in Callaway county in 1825. They came to Missouri in an ox cart, drawn
by a yoke of oxen and a blind horse, and after they settled in Callaway
county he and his wife used to ride the horse and one of the oxen to church,
frequently going a distance of fifteen or twenty miles, and back home
the same day. After the death of Mrs. Maddox, her husband married Emeline
Belcher, of Cass county. He had twelve children by his two wives. Mr.
Maddox was an outspoken Southern sympathizer during the late war, and
fearing the government would confiscate a large body of land which he
owned in Johnson county, he deeded it to a friend to hold for him until
the troubles were all settled. The next day he was killed by an accident
on the cars, and the friend to whom he had intrusted [sic] so much endeavored
to keep the land, but had to relinquish it after four years of litigation.
Mr. Maddox was killed in the early part of 1865, about the close of the
war. David and Elizabeth, brother and sister of Larkin Maddox, remained
in Kentucky. Uriah and Wilson died unmarried in Callaway county. Jacob
married Louisa E. Morris. Irvin is a bachelor. Henry S. married Nancy
McIntire.
John Games, of Scotland, came to America and settled in Maryland. His
children were Robert, Absalom, James, Basil and Rachel. Absalom married
Mary Wood, and they had Absalom, Jr., John, Gideon, Benjamin and Elizabeth.
Absalom, Jr. and John lived in Ohio, and the latter became a member of
the Legislature of that State. Gideon was in the War of 1812, and was
at the battle of the Thames, where the celebrated Tecumseh was killed.
He saw the great chief fall after he was shot by Colonel Johnson. Mr.
Games was married first to Rachel Strother, of Kentucky, by whom he had
Mary, Minerva and Eliza. He was married the second time to Patsey W. Craig,
by whom he had Martha, Craig, Catharine, Fanny, Amanda, John, Benjamin,
Gideon, Jr., Alice and Louisa.
Joseph Brown, of Buckingham county, Virginia, married his cousin, Lucy
Brown, and they had Nathaniel, Frederick, Felix, Jonathan, James, Thomas,
Stephen, Polly and Patsey. Felix married Agnes Boaz, of Buckingham county,
in 1808, and settled in St. Charles county, Missouri, in 1819. The following
year he removed to Callaway county. His children were: Joseph, Robert
J., Elizabeth, Polly, William, John, Delila T., Jane, Martha L., Harriet,
James, Paulina A. and Thomas F. Mr. Broun [sic] was a solider in the War
of 1812. He was also a steam doctor and an Ironside Baptist preacher.
For many years he wore a long buckskin hunting shirt, reaching almost
to his heels, which caused him to present a singular appearance. He wore
this strange garb in the pulpit as well as everywhere else, and his congregation
no doubt imagined that he bore a strong resemblance to the patriarchs
of old. He was very positive in his opinions, and would never admit that
he was in the wrong on any question, if he could possibly avoid it. He
believed that he could do anything that any other man could, and one day
he endeavored to temper a cross-cut saw that belonged to one of his neighbors.
The saw was ruined, and the owner sued him for its value. The case went
through a number of courts, and was the source of a great deal of amusement.
Moses Burt was a native of Germany, but emigrated to America, and settled
in New Jersey. Times were very hard then, and wages very low. A great
many persons were out of employment and glad to work for a living. Burt
worked several months for a peck of corn a day, and was glad to get that.
About the year 1776 he married Hannah Grew, and removed to Culpepper county,
Virginia. In 1783 he emigrated to Kentucky, and settled in Scott county,
where he lived and died. He had ten children, six sons and four daughters.
The names of the former were Benjamin, Joseph, Richard, William, John
and James. Joseph and James were soldiers in the War of 1812. The former
died, and the latter was killed on Lake Erie. Benjamin and Richard lived
and died in Kentucky. John settled in Indiana. William was born in Culpepper
county, Virginia, in 1776. He married Sarah Greenup, a daughter of Samuel
Greenup and niece of Governor Greenup, of Kentucky, and they had Julia
A., Polly, Franklin, Susan, Emily, Amanda, James and Sarah. Polly died
in Kentucky, and Mr. Burt and the rest of his children, with the exception
of Franklin, removed to Indiana. Franklin married Martha Craig, and settled
in Callaway county, Missouri, in 1835, where he has since resided. His
wife died in October, 1872. The names of their children were: William
D., James R., Mary E., Samuel E., Nancy J., Hiram W., Sally A., John H.
and Amanda M. Mr. Burt is an industrious, honest, jovial gentleman, and
a worthy and highly respected citizen. He says that when he first settled
in Callaway county he raised large quantities of watermelons every year,
of which he could eat more than any man living.
Zachariah Dozier, of Pennsylvania, married Susan Evans, and they had John,
Evans, William, Thomas and Zachariah, Jr. William married Sally Combs,
of Kentucky, and settled in Callaway county in 1830.
James Leeper and his wife, whose maiden name was Margaret Henderson, were
natives of Nicholas county, Kentucky. In 1829 they came to Missouri, and
Mr. Leeper bought a New Madrid claim of 640 acres, near Concord, in Callaway
county, upon which he settled. His children were Ellen, Susan, Elizabeth,
Louisa, Isabella C., Amanda, John, David, James A. and William C. Mr.
Leeper was a soldier of the War of 1812.
John Kennon, of Louisa county, Virginia, was the son of Joseph Kennon.
He married his cousin, Martha Kennon, and settled in Callaway county in
1831. He lost his wife, and was married again to Julia Snell.
John Riley was born in Ireland. When he was fourteen years of age he came
to America with his parents, and his uncle Charles Riley, and his aunts
Elizabeth and Mary. They settled in Pennsylvania, and Charles Riley served
as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. John was married in Pennsylvania,
to Mary Straham, and settled in Bourbon county, Kentucky, in 1793. His
children were Samuel, Elizabeth, Grizelda, Jane (who was a mute), Mary,
Nancy, Sarah and John, Jr. After the death of his first wife Mr. Ramsey
married the widow Franks, by whom he had Susan, Martha and Charles. Samuel,
now living in Callaway County, was in the War of 1812. After the war he
made six trips to New Orleans in flatboats, and walked back to his home
in Kentucky each time, a distance of nine hundred miles. In 1816 he was
married to Jane Robertson, of Montgomery county, Kentucky, and settled
in Callaway county, Missouri, in 1825. His children were William C. (a
physician), Mary G., Benjamin S., James M., Eliza J., John G., Samuel
S., Jr., George T., Joseph R. (also a physician) and Fielding S.
Peter Smith was of German descent. He was born in Maryland, but had settled
in Montgomery county, Kentucky. He married Susan Millroy, and they had
Joseph, William, Margaret, John, Elizabeth, George L., James and Polly.
George L. was married in 1828 to Polly A. Scott, of Kentucky, the ceremony
being performed by the celebrated Deacon Smith. Soon after their marriage
Mr. Smith and his wife packed everything they possessed on three horses
and came to Missouri. When they stopped at the house of Mr. Thomas Harrison,
on the Boone’s Lick road in Callaway county, they had just twenty-five
cents as the total of their worldly wealth in cash. Mr. Smith has served
both as lieutenant and captain of militia in Callaway county. James Smith,
brother of John L., died in Ralls county, a bachelor.
Ninnian Ridgeway married Martha Redmon, of Kentucky, and settled in Callaway
county in 1823. They had John D., William, Zachariah, James R. A. D.,
Martin H., Mary, Thomas, Nancy, Martha and Sarah. William married Paulina
Rainfro, and they had eight children, all of whom live in Callaway county.
The rest of the Ridgeway children married and settled in Callaway, Boone
and Montgomery counties, and are all living except Thomas, Martha, Nancy
and Sarah.
Henry Robinson, of Virginia, had two sons, Henry and Mitchell. The former
married a Miss Scott, of Kentucky, and raised a large family. Mitchell
married Nancy Walker, of Virginia, and they had a son named Henry, who
married Nancy A. Fisher, and settled in Pike County, Missouri, where he
died in 1860, leaving a widow and seven children. James, another son of
Mitchell Robinson, married Nancy Alford, of Kentucky, and they had three
children. Captain John Robinson, a third son of Mitchell Robinson, married
Mary B. Walker, of Virginia, in 1824, and removed to Callaway county in
1826. He entered the land upon which the town of McCredie is now situated.
His children were Judith A., Agnes J., Walter A., Nancy W., John E., Mitchell
W., Addison L. and Mary E.
Ovid, Cyrus, Isaac, William, Seneca and Elizabeth McCracken were born
in Ireland, but came to America prior to the Revolution. Ovid married
and settled in Indiana, Cyrus settled in Kentucky, and died leaving five
children. Isaac was captain of a company of Kentucky militia, and was
killed at the disastrous battle of Blue Licks. He left a widow and two
daughters. William was also captain of a company in the same battle, and
was likewise killed. When Colonel Logan’s army returned to the battle-field
the next day, his body was found and buried in an old house, which was
burned to prevent the Indians from finding the grave. His remains were
afterwards taken up and buried at Lexington, Kentucky. Seneca was married
first to Rebecca Williams, and second to Rebecca Reynolds. Elizabeth married
John Hamilton, who settled in Warren county, Missouri. Otho, a son of
Cyrus McCracken, was in 1874 living in Callaway county, in his eighty-sixth
year. He was a soldier of the War of 1812. He was married in 1832, to
Jane Bell, of Kentucky, who died in 1840, leaving two children. He afterward
married Sarah Wilson, by whom he had three children. She died in 1875.
Mr. McCracken is noted for his wit and humor. He can tell anecdotes all
day and never repeat the same one, but he rarely smiles, even in his most
humorous moments.
Abner Miller, of North Carolina, was married three times, and settled
in Kentucky. His children were Aaron, John, Henry, Jacob, Dolly, James,
Margaret, Sally, and Matilda. John married Margaret Fowler, and settled
in Callaway county in 1823. Henry married Elizabeth Oliver, and settled
in that county in 1826. His children were William B., Isaac, Henry, John,
George W., Lucinda, Elizabeth, Rachel and Harriet.
Major J. McKinney, of Virginia, removed to Kentucky and settled at Crab
Orchard. In 1818 he came to Missouri and settled in St. Charles, where
he remained two years, engaged in hauling wood to town and selling it
to the citizens. In 1820 he bought Amos Kibbes’s place in the southern
part of Grand Prairie, Callaway county, and settled there. He was married
in Kentucky to Levisa Whitney, and they had Liberty, Esther L., Charles,
Sally A., Samuel, William and Freeman. Major McKinney was a member of
the Ironside Baptist Church, and the second organization of that church
in Callaway county was effected at his house. He was an intelligent man
and a useful citizen, and served as county judge from 1827 to 1832. He
had twelve brothers, three of whom were killed in the Revolutionary War.
One of his brothers, Abraham, settled in Randolph county, Missouri, at
an early date, and was a great hunter. Liberty, eldest son of Major James
McKinney, never married, and died in New Orleans. Esther L. married Nathaniel
Craig, Charles married Mary A. Craig, Sally A. married George McCredie,
Samuel married Hortense McLane, William married and settled in Kansas,
Freeman joined general Walker’s expedition against Central America,
and was killed with his commander.
John and William Glendy, of Scotland, came to America at an early date,
and in 1796 John was a Presbyterian minister in the city of Philadelphia.
William was married twice, his second wife being Anna Robinson, of Augusta
county, Virginia. They had John, David, Samuel, Thomas, William, Jr.,
Robert and Mary. Samuel married Mary Shields, and settled in Callaway
county, Missouri, in 1829. Thomas married Ellen Shield, and settled in
that county the same year. Samuel is a politician, and very few persons
can outtalk him.
One day, a great many years ago, as a ship was sailing from an Irish port
to America, a sailor, named Toliver Craig, fell overboard and was drowned.
The next morning a boy baby was found on the deck of the vessel, with
no one to claim him or take care of him. The ship was loaded with emigrants,
among whom were his parents, who doubtless felt too poor to assume the
care of the little fellow in the new country to which they were going;
so they took that method of throwing him upon the charities of the ship’s
crew. After some consultation it was decided to name the little waif for
the lost sailor, and he was accordingly christened Toliver Craig. He grew
to be a man, married and had a son, whom he also named Toliver. The latter
also grew to man’s estate, married and had a son, whom he named
Toliver, Jr. The latter married Elizabeth Johnson, of Virginia, and removed
to Scott county, Kentucky, during the early settlement of that State.
The Indians were very hostile at the time, and they lived three years
in a fort. They had seven children: Jack, Elijah, William, Nathaniel,
Mary, Nancy and Toliver. Jack, Elijah, William and Nancy married and lived
in Tennessee. Nathaniel married Polly Ealer, and lived in Kentucky. They
had William, Nancy, Martha, Robert, Ann and Mary, all of whom settled
in Missouri. Toliver married Patsey Wright, an English lady, by whom he
had Elizabeth, Polly, Larkin, Permelia, Catherine, Patsey W. Sally, Nathaniel,
Margaret, Fannie, Carter T. and John T. Larkin married Fanny Ficklin,
and settled in Callaway county at an early date. Catherine married her
cousin, Levi Craig, who died, and she afterwards married Colonel Thomas
Smith, of St. Aubert, Callaway county. He died recently, very old. Nathaniel
married Easter L. McKinney. Margaret married Samuel Craig, and lived in
Boone county. Carter T. married Sally S. Gaines, and lives in Callaway
county. John T. married Adelia Berger, and settled in Callaway county.
CONCORD
was laid out in 1837, by John Henderson, on the north half of section
18, township 49, range 7. It is located twelve miles north of Fulton,
and contains fifty inhabitants; has a Presbyterian Church and a public
school, and has mail daily. J.D. Plunkett is the postmaster.
John Henderson built the first business house in the town. Wm. McPheeters
opened the next business house
.
BUSINESS DIRECTORY
S. C. Harrison, carpenter; Henderson & McPheeters, grist and saw-mill;
G.M. Hull, carpenter and undertaker; A. D. Moore, harnessmaker; T. J.
Pledge, justice of the peace; Pledge & Moore, blacksmiths; J. D. Plunkett,
general store; S. R. Satterfield, constable; Rev. W. W. Trimble, Presbyterian.
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