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Greene
County Townships....
Historically, counties
are subdivided into smaller units called Townships, each having
a designated polling place. Since its organization in 1833, the
number and boundaries of the various Greene County Townships have
changed as the size of Greene County was reduced to form other counties.
The present Greene County Townships are:
Additional information
on the townships can be found by following the links above. Below
are township histories compiled from Illustrated Historical Atlas
of Greene County, Missouri. Originally published in 1876 by
Brink, McDonough & Company, this volume was reprinted in 1988
by the Ozarks Genealogical Society. (Note that some information
on individual towns was not transcribed for this website.)
Jackson Township
Jackson township occupies
the northeastern part of Greene County, and comprises the portion
of congressional township thirty-one, range twenty, included in
Greene County; township thirty, range twenty, and one-half of the
upper tier of sections of township twenty-nine, rang twenty. Andrew
Bass came to the county at the close of the year 1829, and settled
half a mile west of Strafford . In the same neighborhood (section
three) Jeremiah Pierson was an early resident and one of the first
settlers of the county. He lived at the Danforth farm, on the Springfield
and Marshfield road, a farm which Josiah F. Danforth purchased of
Jeremiah Pierson in 1834, and where he lived for many years. Danforth
was from Tennessee, and was the father of James, Joseph and William
Danforth.
In the year 1830, Andrew
Bass put about nine acres of land under cultivation at the place
where he first settled, and at the close of the year moved about
six miles north to section four, township thirty, range twenty,
to the farm now owned and occupied by his son, Sampson Bass. The
remains of the old pioneer and his wife now repose on the farm where
he lived for many years. Alpheus Huff the same year, 1830, moved
from Franklin County Missouri, and settled near the line between
sections four and five of the same township. Huff was a native of
the State of New York. He and Bass were the first settlers of Congressional
township thirty, range twenty. Alexander Chadwick was the next arrival.
He came from Tennessee, and settled in section seven of the same
township in 1831. No settlements of any account were then made for
two or three years. In township thirty-one, range twenty, among
the first settlers were Thomas Potter, William Potter, John Adams,
Robert Small, James Donnell, and Capt. John Ramey ; and in township
thirty, range twenty, William Price, George Kepley , Nathan Webb,
and Bennett Thrower.
The first church organized
in Jackson township was the Bethsadia Methodist Church, built of
logs, which stood on section seven, of township thirty, range twenty.
Within a mile and a half was afterward built the Elm Spring Methodist
Church, erected after old Bethsadia had ceased to exist. One of
the first preachers in the township was the Rev. Mr. Joplin, a traveling
Methodist preacher, who preached from house to house throughout
that part of the county. The first Methodist Society was organized
at the Widow Price's, in section four of township thirty, range
twenty. The first white child born in the township was probably
James Boss, the son of Andrew Boss. Among the old residents of the
township now are the Bosses, the Huffs, John Harkness , who came
to the township in 1843, and R. B. Wommack , who came from Tennessee
to Missouri in 1839, settled at Land Springs, in Webster county,
and moved on the Pomme de Terre, in Jackson county in 1852. There
are several families of the Wommacks in the township, all old residents.
Esquire Murrell has been an old resident, and a leading and influential
citizen.
The Pomme de Terre creeks
flow through the township. In July 1876, this stream was extraordinarily
full on account of freshets from heavy rains, and did widespread
damage to the farms along its banks, overflowing fields, and sweeping
away fences and crops. The height to which it rose was between three
and four feet higher than it was ever known to have reached before.
Franklin Township
Franklin township had
as one of its first settlers, James K. Alsup, who came from Tennessee
in 1831 and settled on the Little Sac. An old gentleman by the name
of Daniel Johnson came the same year, and settled in section seven,
where J.R. James now lives. Samuel Scroggins came also in 1831,
and made an improvement on the Little Sac, where Jonathan Hunt now
lives. In the fall of 1832, John Headlee arrived from Maury county,
Tennessee, and put up his first cabin on section ten, near the line
between that and section nine. At the same time with Headlee came
Benjamin Johnson and James Dryden, and settler on section nine.
The widow Simms, the mother-in-law of Mr. Headlee , also came at
the same time with him, and made her home in the township. Larkin
DeWitt came the same year (1832) and settled on the opposite side
of the creek from where Thomas J. Whittock now lives. Robert Ross
lived farther east of the creek.
Thomas J. Whittock emigrated
from Tennessee in 1832, and reached the Kickapoo prairie on the
fifteenth of December of that year. He soon afterward settled on
the south side of the Sac in the near vicinity of his present residence.
He was born in Surrey county North Carolina, but came to Missouri
from Tennessee. Thomas James, the father of J. R. James, was an
early settler of the township. He was born in North Carolina, afterward
removed to Tennessee, and came to Greene county in 1835, and settled
where his son now lives. Caleb Headlee , the father of the Hon.
Samuel W. Headlee, emigrated from Maury county, Tennessee in 1836,
and settled in the township. In the fall of 1834, David H. Bedell
came from North Carolina and made a settlement in section five where
he died in April, 1860. Nearly all the early settlers of the township
were from Tennessee, but a great part had originally come from North
Carolina before reaching Tennessee. The Headlee and Bedell families
trace their ancestry back to New Jersey. Mr. Dysart has been one
of the oldest and best citizens of the township.
After 1832, settlers
began to come in quite rapidly. In 1835 a large panther was killed
within a hundred yards of where James Wheeler now lives. The panther
was pursued by dogs and found refuge on a black jack tree, where
he was shot by Benjamin Johnson, whose name has been mentioned among
the pioneers. Johnson was a great hunter, in common with a large
proportion of the old settlers, and his trusty rifle had brought
down multitudes of deer.
Hickory Barrens is a
post office on the Sac, in this township, eight miles northeast
from Springfield.
Robberson Township
The Robbersons, Mullingses,
Evans, Headlees and others were among the first settlers of this
part of the county. A man named Paynter settled Ebenezar in 1831.
The same year Samuel Lasley came from Tennessee and settled in the
forks of the Sac, on the road leading from Springfield to Ebenezar.
Thomas Wilson came to the county in the fall of 1834, and settled
on the place formerly occupied by Paynter and Ebenezer, where William
H. Payne now lives. The widow Robberson and family arrived from
Maury county, Tennessee, and located at the northern end of the
prairie which now bears the family name.. Her sons were William,
Bennett, Allen, John, Edwin, Russell and Rufus. They settled here
in 1832. Thomas Stokes, a son-in-law of Mrs. Robberson came at the
same time and lived also in the northern end of the prairie. John
and Robert Wills came at the same time with Thomas Wilson, of whom
they were connections, and settled east of Ebenezer at Col. Reed's
place. All these were from Tennessee. William Ross, who was originally
from South Carolina, but who had lived some time in the northern
part of the State, settled on the Sac, where the widow Wilson now
lives, in the year 1832.
Hosea Mullings, still
an old and honored citizen of the township, became a resident of
the township in the fall of 1834. In the southeastern corner of
Robberson township not far from Fulbright's Mill, a family by the
name of Bandfield settled in 1835. Elisha Headlee, who has been
one of the prominent citizens of the township and has been called
by his fellow citizens to fill several public offices, arrived in
1836, and began the improvement of the place which has been his
home from that day to the present.
In congressional township
thirty-one, range twenty-two, which forms the northern part of Robberson
township, a family by the name of Alsop were settlers at an early
date, and lived west of the State road at the place now occupied
by William Pressley. John Jones came about 1834, and lived where
William Tuck now lives, in section fifteen. The log cabin which
first occupied the spot where Jones settled was built by a man named
House. William Tuck came from McMahon county, East Tennessee, in
the fall of 1837, and settled where House and Jones had formerly
lived, and still resides there at the age of seventy-two, one of
the oldest and most respected citizens in this part of the county.
Simeon Bird came from Tennessee in 1837 and settled on the Dry Sac
in the neighborhood of Tuck. The farm is now owned by his two sons.
About the same time several families came to this part of Missouri
from Tennessee, but settled in what is now Polk county, adjacent
to this township. In the fall of 1838 or 1839 Thomas Swadley, from
East Tennessee, settled on the Dry Sac about a mile above the Tuck
and Bird settlement. The sons of the old man still reside at the
same place.
The Bolivar road which
runs north through Robberson township is said to have been the first
road regularly laid out in Greene county. It was laid out by the
State, and ran from Boonville on the Missouri river to Fayetteville
in Arkansas. A post-office was formerly kept where James Headlee
now lives, which was called Richland, but it is several years since
it has been in existence.
Cass Township
Settlements were made
in Cass township at an early date on the Whittenburg Prairie. Peter
Whittenburg was one of the pioneers, and from him the prairie received
its name. Wm. Johnson was also one of the first settlers, and so
was Jesse Kelley. John Richardson made a settlement on the prairie
as early as 1834, and Charles L. Peck came in 1835. William Killingsworth
came to the prairie in 1839, and Charles McClure, now living in
Brookline township, in the same year. William McClure, in 1837,
came from East Tennessee, and settled his present farm on the prairie
in section thirty-one, township thirty-one, range twenty-three,
where he is still living in the enjoyment of a hale old age.
Isaac Julian, father
of Isaac P. and S.H. Julian, arrived in 1837, and made a settlement
on section thirty-four of township thirty-one range twenty-three.
He was a native of North Carolina, but came to Missouri from Tennessee,
and his sons have been prominent and influential citizens. The place
where Isaac Julian first settled was improved by a man named Payne.
Archibald Morris was an early resident of the eastern end of the
prairie. At Cave Spring John Grigsby was an early resident. His
location was immediately at the spring. The farm of Dr. L.T. Watson
was first improved by John Dillard, an East Tennessean. Thomas Fanon,
from East Tennessee also, lived at the present residence of Spencer
Watson. Isaac Hastings, likewise an emigrant from East Tennessee,
settled about a mile east of Cave Spring about 1835, and occupied
the farm now owned by William Thompson.
Esquire John W. Wadlow
came to Greene County from old Virginia in 1837, and settled on
section fourteen, of township thirty, range twenty-three, and has
since lived in that immediate neighborhood. John Evans, now a prosperous
farmer of Cass Township, was born in North Carolina, and came to
the county in 1840, first settled on Robberson Prairie, and has
been living in Cass Township since 1850. S.G. Appleby, now one of
the leading residents of the township, first came to this part of
the county in 1843. James B. and John McElhanen, both of whom are
now living in Cass township, are both old settlers of the county.
They came from Bedford county, Tennessee, to Missouri, in 1833,
and settled first at Springfield. In 1835, John McElhanon moved
to Boone township, and James B. in 1840, and both recently have
come to Cass township.
Isaac Cook, about 1835,
came from Tennessee and settled on section thirty-six, township
thirty, range twenty-three. Where Mr. Biggs now lives on the Melville
Road, William Parrish made a settlement in 1837. He was a Kentuckian,
and the last general musters were the scenes of considerable excitement,
and brought together people from all parts of the country. Three
of these musters were held yearly--the company, battalion, and regimental
musters. The two former were commonly held in the spring, and the
regimental muster, the grandest occasion of all, came off in the
autumn, and was a time long to be remembered. After the muster at
Uncle Billy Parrish's, the militia disbanded and never assembled
together again on muster day.
James Gilmore came from
East Tennessee, in 1834, and is still living in Cass township on
the place where he first settled, and is one of the oldest men in
the county. W.L.B. Lay, an East Tennessean, but who lived in Indiana,
settled on Clear Creek in the southwest part of Cass township in
1837, and after living there ten years removed to Centre township.
Mt. Pleasant Baptist
Church, on Clear creek in the southwestern part of the township,
was one of the earliest Baptist Churches in that country. It was
founded by William Tatum and Elijah Williams, and for many years
was the only church in that neighborhood, and was attended by people
for many miles around. The first Presbyterian Church organized in
all southwest Missouri was the Mount Zion Church at Cave Spring.
It was instituted by the Rev. Ephraim P. Noel, on the nineteenth
of October, 1839. Mr. Noel was pastor until 1842, and was then succeeded
by the Rev. G.A.M. Renshaw, who was pastor till his death in 1857.
Walnut Grove Township
Walnut Grove township
is the smallest civil township in the county. A grove principally
composed of walnut timber was known as the Walnut Grove from a very
early period. Hugh Leeper was one of the earliest settlers. He made
an improvement two miles and a half southwest of the town of Walnut
Grove. Allen Williams came to the township in 1832, settled in section
twenty-one, but afterward moved to Texas. Michael Walsh located
on section twenty-two the same year. William Mallory built the first
cabin, which stood on the farm of A.J. McElmore. Joseph Moss settled
where the town of Walnut Grove now is, but an improvement had been
made there previous to his coming, which Moss purchased. Jack Williamson,
now living in the southern part of the township, was an old settler,
and was formerly Captain of the militia in the old days when able-bodied
citizens of the county were obliged to muster. Williamson came to
the county in 1836. Moss was from Kentucky.
In the town of Walnut
Grove, William H. Cook was one of the first settlers, and had a
blacksmith shop where now stands the town. S.A. Edmonson was likewise
one of the early residents. Nelson Montgomery opened the first store.
Dr. A.C. Sloan, now practicing medicine at Walnut Grove, came to
this part of Missouri with his father in 1831, and lived in the
part of Greene County afterward taken off to form Polk. Mr. Longerier
has been an old resident in the neighborhood of the town, and came
from Pennsylvania.
There are other old settlers
in the township, including the Leepers, Looneys, and others who
have been good citizens, and identified with the progress of this
part of the county. Beside the church at Walnut Grove there is a
Cumberland Presbyterian Church on the Whittenberg Prairie, and a
Baptist church in the western part of the township.
Boone Township
Nathan Boone, son of
Daniel Boone, the old Kentucky pioneer, was one of the first settlers
of Boone township, and located in the heart of the ash grove--a
large grove of timber lying mostly in sections nine and sixteen,
in which the principle timber is ash and walnut. Nathan Boone's
sons were James, John, Benjamin and Howard; and James Boone is still
living in the township. Willis and Thomas Caulfield and Alfred Horseman
were also early pioneers in the township in 1834. Josiah Burney,
who is yet living in Springfield, came from North Carolina, and
at an early date settled in this township. He is the father of W.J.
Burney and Joseph Burney. William G. Sumners came to the township
from North Carolina in the fall of 1834, and, after settling in
the walnut grove, came to what is now Boone township and settled
in section fifteen, where his daughter, Mrs. Andrew M. Appleby,
now lives. A man by the name of Constantine Perkins settled on Clear
creek, in section four, and had a mill there, probably the first
mill in the township, long known as McElhanen's & Perkins' mill.
Perkins went to California on the breaking out of the gold fever
in 1850, and died there the same year. The second mill put up in
the township was on the Sac, about the year 1848. Silas Grantham
was an early settler. Several families by the name of Johnson lived
on the eastern edge of the Leeper Prairie. R.K. Boyd, John Rush,
and James Cox lived on the west side of the ash grove. James Dunn
settled the place on Clear creek, in section eleven, now occupied
by John Kirk. Michael Welsh was an old settler on Clear creek, in
section three. Peter Ooley lived in section five.
Jesse Mason, a Hardshell
Calvinistic Baptist preacher, came to the township before 1840,
settled on the Sac, and was one of the first preachers living in
the township. The first Baptist Church organized in the township
was what was known as the Ash Grove Church. It was first organized
at the Elm Spring School House. The first regular pastor was Thomas
J. Kelley. A sort of shed was put up for the purpose of holding
meetings and stood near the present Ash Grove Church. The Ash Grove
Church is the only building in the township devoted exclusively
to church service, although there are several societies of Methodists,
Baptists, and Presbyterians. There is a Union Church at Ash Grove.
The Rev. J.E.B. Justice came from Kentucky in the year 1843. He
lived in section fourteen two years and then came to his present
farm. William Conrad and Lewis Horspers settled the place where
the Rev. Mr. Justice now lives about 1840. They were the pioneer
German settlers of that part of the county, and erected a distillery,
a small stream still, on what is still known as the Dutch Branch.
Peter J. Nicholson, in 1842 came to Greene county from Washington
county, Indiana, and settled in the southern part of Boone township.
In 1835, John McElhanon, who two years previously had come to Springfield
from Bedford county Tennessee, settled in Boone township. He was
one of the earliest settlers of Ash Grove. His brother, James B.
McElhanon , moved to the township in 1840, and both are still living
at the present time in Cass township.
Centre Township
At the head of Leeper
prairie, Hugh Leeper was one of the first settlers, and the prairie
was so called from that family. William Tatum came from Logan county,
Kentucky, 1837, first settled on the Leeper prairie, and in 1839
came to the head of Clear Creek in section four of township twenty-nine,
range twenty-three. He had twelve children, of whom four are now
living in Centre township. James Wilson came to the township in
1837, and settled on section three of township twenty-nine, range
twenty-three, on the farm now occupied by Mrs. Matilda Jones. Isaac
N. Jones is now one of the oldest residents of the township, and
is a man well known throughout the county. E.D. Ripplin has resided
in the county for some years. His wife was Susan A. Wallace, the
daughter of David Wallace, one of the old pioneer citizens of the
Wilson township. Henry Paulsell lived in the township for many years.
John Yeakley moved from East Tennessee the fall of 1839, then moved
to Polk County, and in March 1840, located in Centre township. His
son, Thomas Yeakley, is a well- known citizen of the township. Robert
Batson, father of Nathaniel Batson, came to the county in the fall
of 1840, and located in Pond Creek township. Since 1847 Nathaniel
Batson has been living in Centre township. James Hughs came from
Ray county, Tennessee in 1844, and settled in section nineteen,
township twenty-nine, range twenty-three. Several other old pioneers
and settlers are living in the township.
Lead mines have been
recently opened up in sections thirty-three and thirty-four, township
twenty-nine, range twenty-four, and the prospects so far are encouraging.
The former county farm is situated near the headwaters of the Sac,
but in recent years has been removed to the neighborhood of Springfield.
Campbell Township
Campbell township embraces
the settlement of the Campbells, the Rountrees, the Fulbrights,
and other pioneers in the neighborhood of Springfield. William Fulbright,
who came to the county in the year 1829, and settled where Fort
No. 2 now is, west of Springfield, had previously been through what
is now Greene county in 1819, but at that time settled in Crawford
county. He returned to Tennessee in 1822, and lived in that State
till 1929, and then came back to Missouri and settled in the immediate
vicinity of Springfield as we have stated. Kindred Rose came to
the county in 1831, settled on section thirty-three, of township
twenty-nine, range twenty-two, and has been living there from that
date to the present. Alexander McKenzie, from Pulaski County, Kentucky,
came in 1829 or 1830, and located three miles south of Springfield.
Having disposed of his place to William Townsend about 1833, he
moved out to Spring River. At an early day a mill stood on a spring
branch were Jones' distillery is now situated. William Fulbright,
about 1830, put up a mill on the Sac where Lawson Fulbright now
has a mill. Chesley Cannefax and Benjamin Cannefax put up a mill
on Wilson's Creek in 1832.
John Robertson, the father
of W.R. Robertson, arrived from Tennessee in the fall of 1835, and
settled immediately west of Springfield on the farm now owned and
occupied by Judge William B. Farmer. Judge Farmer reached Springfield
in July, 1840, and after an active business life in Springfield,
moved to his present farm in 1852. Martin Ingram is one of the old
settlers of East Campbell Township. Coming to Springfield in 1831,
he lived one year in the town, and from 1835 to the present time
has been living on his farm in section two. He did a large amount
of mechanical work in the days of the early history of the county,
and built several mills. Judge Morton settled in the same part of
the township in 1836, and the succeeding year brought on his family
from Marshall County, Tennessee. Washington Merritt, living also
in the northeastern part of the township, has been an old resident
and one of the substantial citizens of the county. William Purselly,
the father of John, James F. and William Pursselly, settled in 1838
on section twenty-five of township twenty-nine, range twenty-one.
Marcus Boyd in 1840 came from Maury County, Tennessee, and settled
two miles and a half east of Springfield. Samuel M. McCorkle, father
of N.A. McCorkle, settled on the Ferguson place southeast of Springfield
in 1839. He was from Tennessee.
Note: The
atlas contains a list of people who were living in Campbell Township
in 1876 and who came to the county prior to 1841.
Taylor Township
The first settled place
in the township was the farm of Col. John H. Price, section thirteen,
township twenty-nine, range twenty, where a man by the name of Davis
located about 1822 or soon afterward. Davis is said to have been
killed by the Indians. Edward Thompson and Samuel G. Martin successively
occupied the place till 1836, when Crabtree Price secured possession
and lived there till his death. The Rev. Mr. Mooney first settled
(about 1827) the farm on the James now owned by Julian Foster. On
Foster's removal to Polk county, Nicholas Darnielle lived there
and died in 1837. Samuel Martin, once Judge of the county court,
came from North Carolina and settled on section twenty-four in 1829,
On the south side of James River at the present residence of John
Caldwell, Edward Thompson, a Tennesseean, settled in 1830, and four
years afterward removed to the Kickapoo prairie. John L. McCraw,
now county surveyor came to the county in 1836, and settled where
he now lives. The Galbreath place was sometime previous to 1836
occupied by the family of a French woman by the name of Mrs. Page.
Rev. Thomas Potter, a preacher of the Christian church, was an early
settler where Richard M. Jones now lives. James Martin in 1836 settled
the farm of Thomas W. Sawyers in section thirty-six. Mr. Sawyers,
one of the old and respected citizens of the township, came to the
county in 1840, and has been living on his present farm since that
date. In the fall of 1837, William Dillard came from Monroe county,
Tennessee, and settled on section seventeen on the place first settled
two years before by Broxton Sams. William Dillard is now ninety-four
years of age, and the oldest man, as far as we can learn, now living
in Greene county.
The James river was remarkably
high in 1830 or 1831; higher by four or six feet than it has ever
been since. The highest water since the country has been settled
up was in June, 1855. Fish were formerly very abundant in the stream,
but have become scarce by reason of the dams thrown across.
Washington Township
Washington is the southeast
township of Greene county. One of the first settlers was James Thompson,
from Tennessee, who came to the county in 1836, settled in Taylor
township a few months, and then moved to the place on the James
now occupied Henry Smith. A man by the name of Phillips was also
an early resident, and made a settlement in the southwest corner
of the township, afterward moved to Webster county and is now living
at the head of the James. John Gwin settled in the southeast corner
of the township in 1836. Robert Beattie arrived from Middle Tennessee,
in the spring of 1837, and settled where he now lives on section
eleven. William Dillard has been mentioned as one of the early settlers
of Taylor township. His son, R.D. Dillard, has been a resident of
Washington township since 1849. William Sawyers, since deceased,
came to the township in 1840 from Virginia, and settled in the northeast
corner. D.M. Logan, who has lived on section eight since 1847, came
to the county from Tennessee in 1836, and first settled in Campbell
township, five miles northeast of Springfield. The Hubbles and others
are at present old and respected citizens of this part of the county.
A.J. Thompson, of Washington township, is now said to be the oldest
man living who was born in Greene county.
Clay Township
Clay township, corresponding
to all of congressional township twenty-eight, range twenty-one,
included in Greene county, is intersected by the James. The Kickapoo
prairie extends into the northwestern part of the township, and
embraces some fine farms. Mention has already been made in the county
history of settlements at an early date made along the James within
the limits of this township. Some of the Thompson family, now living
in the township, are old settlers of the county. E.M. Thompson came
to the county in 1830, and first settled east of Springfield. Col.
Charles A. Haden is an old resident of the township, and has been
identified with his history. The McCorkle family were old settlers
of Greene county. N.A. McCorkle is now living in Clay township,
and has been a good citizen. He is from Tennessee. When his father,
Samuel McCorkle, first came to the county in 1839, he settled in
Campbell township, southeast of Springfield. Where A.G. McCracken
now lives, William H. Anderson, father of W.B. Anderson, settled
in the year 1841, and first opened up that farm. Clay township contains
some enterprising farmers and prominent citizens, some of whom have
become residents of the township of late years.
Wilson Township
The settlements on the
James in Wilson township were the earliest made in Greene county,
and the township likewise has the honor of containing the oldest
settler of the county in the person of Albert G. Patterson, who
came to his present home in 1822, fifty-four years ago, and has
been living there from that date to the present with the exception
of some years when the whites were not permitted to inhabit the
county on account of the occupancy by the Indians. The Pattersons,
David Wallace, and others were among the early pioneers. Among other
settlers who came in later years was John Briscoe, who arrived in
1831, or 1832, from Tennessee, and settled where William M. Ward
now lives and died there. His sons-in-law were Jacob and Andrew
Roller. The former settled the farm of Elijah Gray, and the latter
the place where Scott Fry now lives. The Rollers and Briscoes left
in a few years. Elijah Gray was from Halifax county, Virginia, removed
to Tennessee, and in 1840 came to Greene county, and in 1841 removed
to his present residence in Wilson township. Dr. Jewett lived on
this same farm before the Grays came. When Elijah Gray moved into
his present house in December, 1841, it was then called the finest
house in Wilson township. It was built of hewn logs, with a shingle
roof and a rock chimney, while most of the old settlers' houses
boasted only of board roofs and wooden chimneys daubed up with mud.
L.A.D. Crenshaw came
to Greene county in 1841 from Nashville, Tennessee, and settled
near Springfield. In 1845 he came to Wilson township, and in 1848
settled at his present residence in section three of township twenty-eight,
range twenty-two. He had no capital when he came, but has now reached
a foremost position among the solid citizens of Greene county. In
Wilson township he owns 1200 acres of land, all lying in one body,
forming one of the finest farms in the county.
William T. Ward is an
old settler of the township. W.B. Anderson began improving his present
farm in the northeastern part of the township in 1842.
Brookline Township
Thomas Hazletine was
one of the pioneer settlers of township twenty-eight, range twenty-
three. He came to the county about 1834 and settled the place now
occupied by Charles McClure. Henry Small was also an early settler
of this part of the county. The northern and western parts of the
township are prairie. Little York is an old settled place. The Atlantic
and Pacific railroad extends through the township. Republic is a
station on the railroad, fifteen miles southwest of Springfield,
containing several business houses. Brookline is ten miles southwest
of Springfield. It is situated on a high prairie, surrounded by
a fertile, well improved body of land, and has one church, Cumberland
Presbyterian, valued at $3000, and several stores.
Pond Creek Township
David Reynolds was the
first settler of Pond Creek township. He came from East Tennessee
in 1834, and settled on the farm now occupied by his widow in section
two, of township twenty-eight, range twenty-four. His death occurred
a few years ago. Edward Blades, the father of R. D. Blades, settled
in section ten, in the year 1836. He was a native of North Carolina,
but emigrated to Missouri from McMahon county, East Tennessee. William
McDaniel settled in 1836 on section ten, coming at the same time
with Blades. Robert Batson settled in section three in 1840. Samuel
Garroute emigrated from Greene county, Tennessee, to Gasconade county,
Missouri and after living there perhaps ten or fifteen years came
to Pond Creek in 1837, and located in section twenty-seven. Anthony
Garroute and William D. Garroute came from Ohio in 1833. James Garroute
came about the same time. The Garroutes have been public-spirited
citizens of the township. They are all descended from an old soldier
of the revolution who came over with the French troops to assist
in securing the independence of the Americans, and after the war
was over remained in this country, and settled in New Jersey, whence
his descendants have emigrated west. A man named Connor lived at
an early date for a period of two years on Pickerel Creek, where
R. Rubison now lives. John Loose lived on a branch of the Pickerel,
near the southern line of the township, but he also only remained
two or three years. Magruder Tannehill came about 1840 and settled
in the southeast corner of the township. In the southwest corner
Robert Carr settled on the waters of the Turnback. G.W. Britain,
now one of the leading farmers of the southwest part of the county,
emigrated to Missouri in 1833 or 1834, first settled ten miles west
of Springfield, and afterwards came to Pond Creek township. B.N.
Neil, from East Tennessee, settled in section seven in 1836. Stephen
Batson came from Ohio in 1842, and lived on the Pickerel, near the
south line of the county, but afterward removed.. Esquire John Laney
is still living and one of the old settlers. George M. Laney came
to Greene county in 1848.
The first school taught
in this township was by Robert Batson in a private house built by
R.D. Blades on his father's place in section ten. Stephen Batson
also taught school in the township, as did also William B. Garroute.
The first school house was built on section ten, near where W.C.
Garroute now lives. The first church erected was the Bethel church,
a frame meeting-house used for meetings of various denominations,
which stood on section sixteen. Burned down in May, 1872. A Methodist
Church now stands in the northern part of the township and a Baptist
church near the center, and these are the only two churches in the
township. The first white child born in the township was either
William Blades, son of Edward Blades, or Jackson McDaniel, the son
of William McDaniel. The first marriage was that of Duncan Hood
to Nancy Blades.
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