Work in Progress - Bookmark this post and come back to visit again to see progress on this timeline.
1814 = Sarah "Sally" (Lander) Whaley was born to Henry & Margaret (Allen) Lander. Sally was a sister to Kate (Lander) Boone. See sampler below.
1816 = Elmaza (Fletcher) Boone was born to John and Dulcena (Elkin) Fletcher (m. 1796, Clark Co, KY). She was first listed on the 1850 Clark County, KY US census record as "Edna" J. (Grandma and I believe her name to be Elmaza, as two of her granddaughters were named Elmaza or Mazie, in her memory). John was a son of William & Winifred (Garrett) Fletcher and Dulcena "Dully" was a daughter of Rev. Robert & Sarah (Reardon) Elkin, minister of the Providence Baptist Church in Clark County, Kentucky. John and Dully were members of the Lulbegrud Primitive Baptist church near Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky.
As far as my grandmother and I were able to ascertain, she had two other siblings, Lucy, who married David Gilliam Barrows, son of Eld. David Barrows, an abolitionist minister of Goshen Primitive Baptist church near Winchester, Clark County, Kentucky and Lulbegrud Primitive Baptist Church near Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky. Lucy's daughter, Sarah, married Isaiah Boone, Elmaza's brother-in-law. Elmaza and Lucy had a brother named John, Jr. He is buried in the Fletcher-Garrett Cemetery, along with Elmaza and their parents, near Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky.
An interesting side-note: Eld. David Barrows, not a popular man for his views, once wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson and Jefferson replied.
Samuel's great-grandfather, Samuel (1728-1808), was the explorer Daniel Boone's older brother and his great-grandmother, Sarah (1731-1819), taught Daniel how to read and write.
They were charter members of the Boone's Creek Primitive Baptist Church in Fayette County, KY., constituted on 13 November 1785. They lie buried in Boone's Station's Cemetery outside of Athens, Fayette Co, Kentucky.
Samuel's brothers and sisters were: Squire (b.1804), George (b. 1806), Ira (b. 1809), Harriet Rite (b. 1811), Mary (b. 1814), himself (b. 1817), James H. (b. 1819), Milton (b. 1822), Jeptha (b. 1825), Thomas M (b. 1827), Cyrus (b. 1830), and Isaiah (b. 1832). (p. 170)
The Boone family loved handing down names. For example:
1. Elder Thomas Boone had a brother named Ira Boone (b. 17 Dec 1799). He died in Todd County, KY according to Spraker's book.
2. Thomas had a son also named Ira Boone (1809-1866). Ira Boone was born in Clark County, Kentucky and died in Lafayette County, MO. He married Elizabeth (Liggett).
3. And Samuel and Elmaza named a son Ira M. Boone (1849-1929). Ira M. was also born in Clark County, Kentucky and died in Higgins, Lipscomb County, TX.
1823 = Samuel's dad began preaching at the Lulbegrud Primitive Baptist Church in Montgomery County, Kentucky. He was the preacher at Lulbegrud and Goshen Primitive Baptist church in Winchester, Clark County, KY. for the rest of his life. (6 yrs)
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1833 = 1 Sep. In Todd County, Kentucky, Higgason Grubbs Boone, Samuel's paternal uncle, married Martha Marie Edwards, niece to Ninian Edwards, first governor of Illinois. (16 yrs)
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1836 = 10 Feb. Double wedding? Samuel's brother, Ira, marries Elizabeth Ligget in Clark County, Kentucky and
1836 = 10 Feb. Double wedding? Samuel's brother, Ira, marries Elizabeth Ligget in Clark County, Kentucky and
1836 = 1o Feb. Samuel's older sister, Harriet Rite Boone (1811-1892) married Nelson Scholl (1815-1890), son of Septimus and Sallie (Miller) Scholl in Clark County, KY. Nelson was Harriet's 3rd cousin and a descendant of Daniel Boone. (19 yrs.)
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1843 = April. From the records of the Pleasant Grove Primitive Baptist church (org. 1837), Independence, MO, a J.R. Boone was dismissed by letter from the Church to be admitted to another.
1843 = April. From the records of the Pleasant Grove Primitive Baptist church (org. 1837), Independence, MO, a J.R. Boone was dismissed by letter from the Church to be admitted to another.
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1845 = Harriet Scholl was admitted by letter to the membership of Pleasant Grove church.
1845 = Harriet Scholl was admitted by letter to the membership of Pleasant Grove church.
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1849 = Sept. An Elizabeth Boone was admitted to membership of the Pleasant Grove church.
1849 = Sept. An Elizabeth Boone was admitted to membership of the Pleasant Grove church.
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1850 = 30 Aug. "Edna" and Samuel and four of their boys were listed in the census record - William T. (1840-1902), John F. (b. 1842), George M. (1843-1917), and Manlius T. (1845-1909). (33-34 yrs.)
1850 = 25 Sept. Catherine "Kate" Landers (1824-1872) was living with her mother, Margaret, during the 1850 Bourbon County, Kentucky Census.
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1854 = 16 May. Elmaza died and was buried in Kentucky. (37-38 yrs.). But that's not the end of the story for her boys, so please continue reading.
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1854-55 = Samuel moved his family to Jackson County, Missouri. And his 1st cousin, Samuel P. Boone (1830-1899; Isaiah, Squire III, Samuel, Squire, Sr.) moves first to Jackson County, then to Paola, Lykins Co., K.T./Miami County, KS.
1855 = 8 Mar. Samuel's paternal uncle Levi Day Boone (Squire, Samuel, Squire Sr., George III) becomes mayor of Chicago, IL.
1855 = 22 Sept. Samuel's father, Thomas Boone dies in Clark Co. Kentucky, however, he is buried in the Lulbegrud Primitive Baptist cemetery across the county line in Montgomery County, KY. (38 yrs)
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1856 = 30 Mar. (4 Apr.) Samuel remarried a Kate Lander. Rev. Robert Hiner, a minister of the Gospel Methodist Episcopal, South officiated their wedding in Clark County, KY. (39 yrs)
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| Sally Ann (Lander) Whaley's sampler. Sally was Kate's older sister. |
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1857 = March. Samuel and Ira Boone were admitted to the membership of the Pleasant Grove Primitive Baptist church in Independence, MO. (40 yrs)
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1860 = 28 Jun. Martha A Boone (1851-1883), daughter of Ira and Elizabeth (Liggett) Boone, was 8 years old in the 1860 census. She was born in Missouri and attended school during the year. Their post office was in Independence, MO.
1860 = 8 Aug. By 1860, Samuel was living in Lafayette County, Missouri where he appears in the census, with his second wife, Kate, six boys and a girl = William T., John F., George M, Manlius T, Robert E., Ira and Fannie (1857-1935). (43 yrs.)
1860 = 13 Aug. The Pleasant Grove Primitive Baptist church adopted a subscription to discharge their (building) debt. Milton Boone gave $5.00. Ira Boone was the church clerk who recorded the church minutes.
1860 = 20 Oct. The church orders that application be made to Liberty, Big Sni-a-Bar and Marion churches for ministerial aid to assist in the ordination of Brother Ira Boone to preach.
1860 = 17 Nov. Brother Ira Boone was ordained at Pleasant Grove church to preach the gospel.
1860 = 15 Dec. On motion and second, the Pleasant Grove church appointed two men, one being Brother Ira Boone to preach for them for twelve months.
And then, on motion, the church orders that Brother I. Boone be released from the clerkship, and another was appointed to serve as clerk in his place.
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1862-1865 = Late Spring - Mid-May. Civil War. Samuel Boone might have possibly been a soldier with the rank of "Private" for the 5th Lafayette County Cavalry under Gen. Joe Shelby. (45 yrs.)
1863 = 17-18 Jun. Samuel's nephew, Daniel Boone Scholl was shot in the back by a Federal soldier near Westport (present day Kansas City), Missouri. He managed to ride about 9 miles that night and when he could go no further, he was taken to the home of a Widow Younger or Young where he died the next morning. He was said to have been buried in the Smith-Davis Cemetery in Raytown, MO.
1863 = 25 Aug. General Order No. 11 by General Thomas Ewing, Jr. This Union army directive forced the citizens of four counties in western Missouri to move from Jackson, Cass, Bates, and the northern part of Vernon. Only those citizens loyal to the Union could remain, but they had to move to the Union army outposts in order to remain in those counties.
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1864 = October 25. Battle of Marais des Cygnes. Linn County, Kansas.
1864 = 15 Nov. William T. Boone appears on a report of prisoners of war received at the Gratiot Street Military Prison, St. Louis, Mo, during the five days ending 15 Nov 1864. He was captured in Lynn Co, Kansas.
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1864 = 29 Aug to 2 Dec. J. Boone, Pvt. Co. D, Gordon's Regt. appears on a report of killed, wounded and missing, of Shelby's Brigade Mo. Cavalry, in the raid into Missouri.
1864 = October 21-23. Battle of Westport (present day Kansas City, Jackson Co, MO).
1864 = October 25. Battle of Marais des Cygnes. Linn County, Kansas.
1864 = 15 Nov. William T. Boone appears on a report of prisoners of war received at the Gratiot Street Military Prison, St. Louis, Mo, during the five days ending 15 Nov 1864. He was captured in Lynn Co, Kansas.
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1865 = 14 Mar. Pvt. Robert E. Boone, Samuel and Elmaza's son, was in the Co. G, 5th Missouri Cavalry, CSA and was held at a Union Prisoner War Camp south of Indianapolis, IN called Camp Morton. He did not survive. He was disinterred from Greenlawn cemetery in 1933 and reinterred at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. (48 yrs.)
1865 = 14 Jun. Samuel Boone and two of his sons, George M. and Manlius T., Pvt., Co. G. Gordon's Mo. Cavalry (residence: Lafayette Co, MO.) appeared on a roll of prisoners of war men commanded by a Capt. Jas. D. A. Warsson, C.S.A. who surrendered at New Orleans, LA, by General E. K. Smith, CSA to Maj. Gen. E. R. S. Canby, USA, 26 May 1865, and all three were paroled at Shreveport, LA, on the above date.
1865 = 12 Nov. William T. Boone's name appeared as a signature on an Oath of Allegiance to the United States, subscribed and sworn to at Johnson's Island, Sandusky, Ohio. William's place of residence was Fayetteville, Mo. He was age 24, his complexion light, his hair was red, his eyes blue and he was 5 foot, 9 inches in height.
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1866-7 = Spring. Elder Jacob Dunham Gossett came to Independence, MO. from Bath County, Kentucky. He frequently preached at the Pleasant Grove Primitive Baptist Church in Independence, MO.
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1867 = 18 Aug to 31 Dec. W. T. Boone appears on the Company Muster Roll of Gordon's Regiment, Missouri Cavalry. William enlisted on 14 Jan 186? in Lafayette Co, MO by Col. Elliott and he served three years during the Civil War. This regiment appears to have been variously known on the field as 1st Regiment Missouri Cavalry, Gordon's Regiment Missouri Cavalry, and Shelby's Regiment Missouri Cavalry, but it was designated by the Confederate War Department as the 5th Regiment Missouri Cavalry.
1865 = 16 June. Wm. T. Boone appears on a roll of prisoners of war exchange list from St. Louis to Johnson's Island, Sandusky, Ohio.
1865 = 14 Jun. Samuel Boone and two of his sons, George M. and Manlius T., Pvt., Co. G. Gordon's Mo. Cavalry (residence: Lafayette Co, MO.) appeared on a roll of prisoners of war men commanded by a Capt. Jas. D. A. Warsson, C.S.A. who surrendered at New Orleans, LA, by General E. K. Smith, CSA to Maj. Gen. E. R. S. Canby, USA, 26 May 1865, and all three were paroled at Shreveport, LA, on the above date.
1865 = 12 Nov. William T. Boone's name appeared as a signature on an Oath of Allegiance to the United States, subscribed and sworn to at Johnson's Island, Sandusky, Ohio. William's place of residence was Fayetteville, Mo. He was age 24, his complexion light, his hair was red, his eyes blue and he was 5 foot, 9 inches in height.
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1866-7 = Spring. Elder Jacob Dunham Gossett came to Independence, MO. from Bath County, Kentucky. He frequently preached at the Pleasant Grove Primitive Baptist Church in Independence, MO.
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1867 = 18 Aug to 31 Dec. W. T. Boone appears on the Company Muster Roll of Gordon's Regiment, Missouri Cavalry. William enlisted on 14 Jan 186? in Lafayette Co, MO by Col. Elliott and he served three years during the Civil War. This regiment appears to have been variously known on the field as 1st Regiment Missouri Cavalry, Gordon's Regiment Missouri Cavalry, and Shelby's Regiment Missouri Cavalry, but it was designated by the Confederate War Department as the 5th Regiment Missouri Cavalry.
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1870 = 24 Aug. At 19, Mattie lived with her mother, Betsy (36 yrs), her older sister, Sally (30 yrs.), George Boone (27 yrs.) and three siblings, William, Thomas, and Samuel. Their nearest post office was located at Concordia, MO.
1870 = 24 Aug. At 19, Mattie lived with her mother, Betsy (36 yrs), her older sister, Sally (30 yrs.), George Boone (27 yrs.) and three siblings, William, Thomas, and Samuel. Their nearest post office was located at Concordia, MO.
1870 = 27 Aug. He's still living in Lafayette County, MO. according to the 1870 census. There has been an addition to the family since 1860. Another girl named Carrie (1860-1929)! (53 yrs.)
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1871 = 1 Jan. Manlius T Boon and Mattie A Boon tied the knot this day. E. M. Harrelson, Justice of the Peace performed the ceremony. They were first cousins.
1871 = 22 Apr. Samuel wrote his will on this day. It was witnessed by John J. Browning and Wm. W. Tindell, in the county of Lafayette, MO. He assigned Warner T. Glover as his executor. Wife: Catherine Boone, her children: Fannie Boone and Carrie Alice Boone. Samuel's four sons William T. Boone, George M. Boone, Minalus T. Boone and Ira Boone.
1871 = 3 Jul. Samuel died in El Dorado Springs, Cedar County, MO and was buried in the Mt. Tabor Cemetery, Odessa, MO. (54 yrs.)
~ ~ <> @ <> ~~
1874 = 6 May. Robert Fletcher Boone Sr. was born to George M. and Sarah Jane (Boone) Boone.
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1875 = 18 Jun. Essie Boone was born to Manlius T. and Mattie Boon in Johnson County, MO. (p. 1140)
----------1875 = 18 Jun. Essie Boone was born to Manlius T. and Mattie Boon in Johnson County, MO. (p. 1140)
1878 = 28 Feb. Elmazie "Mazie" Boone was born to Manlius T. and Mattie Boon in Johnson County, Missouri. She married George Harmon (1875-1947). George's paternal grandmother was a Fletcher. Don't know if she is a relative of Elmaza's (1816-1854) Fletcher family or not.
(NOTE:) I am a DNA match to a Jeff Boone, a son of Linda Lee (Harmon) and Barry Boone. However, I haven't found a connection yet between Linda Lee's Harmon family and George Harmon's family.
(NOTE:) I am a DNA match to a Jeff Boone, a son of Linda Lee (Harmon) and Barry Boone. However, I haven't found a connection yet between Linda Lee's Harmon family and George Harmon's family.
1878 = 18 Sep. Odessa, MO. was platted and incorporation occurred on 3 Feb. 1880. Many of the early residents and buildings came from Mt. Hope three miles south. Here's a picture postcard of what downtown Odessa looked like in 1908.
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1880 = 3 Jun. Manlius and Mattie were recorded in Hazel Hill Township in Johnson County, MO during the 1880 US Census. A son, G.T. (6 yrs), and two daughters, E. (4 yrs.) and E. (2 yrs.) lived there too. Manlius was recorded as a farmer and Mattie, a housewife. Manlius, his father, and mother had all been born in Kentucky and Mattie was said to have been born in MO, but her father and mother were born in Kentucky. Their children were all born in Missouri.
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1901 = Quantrill Reunion. George Scholl, Boone Scholl's brother, was in attendance.
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1914 = 106. Infant son of John BOONE (passes away.) by Dr. Schooley. 13 July (Mt. Tabor)
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1917 = 214. Geo Boone (passes away) by Ira Boone & Ira Pace. 23 Apr (Mt. Tabor.)
1917 = 22 Apr. Samuel & Elmaza's son, George M. Boone, dies in Washington Twp., Lafayette Co, MO, USA. His Missouri Death Certificate is numbered 15385.
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1922 = 29 Jun. Samuel's nephew, George Thomas Scholl, died in Kirkwood, St. Louis County, MO. He survived the Civil War, unlike his brother, Daniel Boone Scholl who died in 1863.
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1929 = 26 Nov. Ira M. Boone passes away in Higgins, Lipscomb Co, TX. He is buried in the Higgins Cemetery there.
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1930 = 4 Oct. Sarah "Sally" Jane (Boone) Boone, sister to Mattie Boone and wife of George M. Boone (1843-1917), died this day. She was 90 years old.
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1958 = 7 Oct. Ira William Boone, son of George M & Sarah Jane Boone passes away this day. He is buried in the Mt. Tabor Methodist Cemetery south of Odessa, MO.
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More to Read:
- Before Abolition: African-Americans in Early Clark County, Kentucky. By Lyndon Comstock. 2017. p. 207, 298, 363, 594. Repository: Google Books.
- Blue Twp., Jackson Co, MO. Census. 1860 US Federal Census. 28 Jun 1860. Page 136, Line #33. Retrieved from Ancestry.com
- "Bonds, Wills, & Letters: 1863-1879." Wills and Probates Records, 1766 - 1988. Lafayette, Missouri, Vol. C-E.
- The Boone Family KY Genweb page.
- The Boone Family. By Hazel Atterbury Spraker. Tuttle Co, Rutland, VT, 1922. p. 169-170. No. 913. Repository: Internet Archive.
- Boone Family Research Links.
- Boone Society "The First 5 Generations of the Boone Family."
- Clark County, Kentucky Marriage Records 1783-1965. p. 566. Repository: Family Search, Ancestry.com
- District 102, Hazel Hill Twp., Johnson Co, MO. John K. Byers, Enumerator. 3 Jun, 1880. P. 5 . Line #46. Retrieved from Ancestry.com
- Hale County, Texas Cemetery Database and Texas Death Certificates
- History of Johnson County, Missouri. By Ewing Cockrell. Historical Publishing Co, Topeka, KS, 1918. Vol. 2, pp.1139-40. Repository: Google Books.
- History of the Lander Family of Virginia and Kentucky. By David Lander. Regan Printing House, Chicago, IL, 1926. p. 70-Part II, p. 43 - 44. Repository: Internet Archive.
- "Jacob D. Gossett." Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, A Compendium of History and Biography for Ready Reference. By Howard L. Conard. Haldeman, Conard, and Co. New York, NY, USA, 1901. Vol. 3, pages 71-73. Received from Anne Gossett via Eld. Robert Webb, Primitive Baptist Library, Carthage, IL.
- The Kansas City Journal, Kansas City, Jackson County, MO, Sun 4 Apr 1897. p. 13, column 5. Repository: Findagrave.com
- Lafayette County, Missouri, Marriage Records, 1805-2002. Retrieved from Ancestry.com
- "Letter from David Barrow to Thomas Jefferson." Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky. 20 Mar 1815. Jefferson Papers, Founders Online, National Archives.
- "Letter from Thomas Jefferson to David Barrow." Monticello, 1 May 1815. Jefferson Papers, Founders Online, National Archives.
- The Lexington Intelligencer, Lexington, MO. September 28, 1901, Image 1. Chronicling America Newspapers. (George Scholl, farmer, High Ridge, Mo. was present.)
- Library Edition of Fold 3. NARA, M322, 109, MO, Roll 0037. Series 1, Vol. 41, page 670.
- Lost Souls of the Lost Township. By Paul R. Petersen with David W. Jackson. 2011.
- Lulbegrud Baptist Church Minutes. 1793-1804 and Minutes of the North District Association of Baptists (Messenger Names Only) 1802-1805. Transcribed by Marvin Allen, 2009. USGenweb Archives.
- Missouri Digital Heritage, Missouri Death Certificates
- Mount Tabor United Methodist Church Cemetery, Mt. Tabor Road (southeast of Odessa, Lafayette County, MO.
- Noted Guerrillas, Or, The Warfare of the Border. By John Newman Edwards, Oxford University, 1877. pp. 176 & 178. Google Books.
- Rev. Robert Elkin's Will. Transcribed by Marvin Allen. Will Book No. 5, Winchester, Clark Co, KY. 19 Jun 1809. page 153. USGenweb Archives.
- "Records of Jones Funeral Service, formerly Blincoe Funeral Service, formerly Wagner Funeral Service." By Loretta B. Bingham and Marty Helm Brunetti. MoSGA Journal, Summer 1988. p. 148-159.
- Sally Ann (Lander) Whaley's Sampler. Photo used by permission from: Carolyn (Whaley) Vosburg.
- Scholl, Sholl, Shull Genealogy: the Colonial Branches. By John William Scholl, 1869-1952. Grafton Press, New York, 1930. p. 9-14. Internet Archive.
- Some Boone Descendants and Kindred of the St. Charles District. By Lilian Hays Oliver. Chedwato Service, 1964. p. 18. Repository: Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, MO.
- Three Years with Quantrill. As told to O. S. Barton by John McCorkle. Armstrong Herald Print, Armstrong, MO., 1914. p. 68, 74, 86-88, Internet Archive.
- "The Dunking of David Barrow and Edward Mintz in the Nansemond River." Painting by Sydney King. Encyclopedia Virginia.
- The Missouri Partisan Ranger: Roster of Known Members of William C. Quantrill, William T. Anderson, George M. Todd, and John Thrailkill. MCT Internet Service, 1995.
- Vital Historical Records of Jackson County, Missouri 1826-1876. By the Kansas City Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. Lowell Press, Kansas City, Mo. 1934. pp. 28-33. Repository: Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, Mo.
- Washington Twp., Lafayette Co, Missouri. 1870 US Federal Census. Henry Lieman, Ass't Marshal. 24 Aug 1870. P. 47. Line #9. Retrieved from Ancestry.com
- White Family and Their Kin. By Mrs. Gladys Esther White O'Neal and Elma Leota White Stoops. Paper Graphics, Garden City, Ks, 1983. Repository: Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, MO.
- William & Winnie (Garrett) Fletcher, Sr. and Their Family's Timeline. By Dolores J. Rush, 29 Aug 2019, Thursday. Rush Family News.
Researched and compiled by Dolores J. Rush. Updated: 15 May 2023.
Here is some more interesting detail about Daniel Boone Scholl:
ReplyDeleteDaniel Boone Scholl, who is buried in the Smith-Davis Cemetery, was a descendant of the Daniel Boone family and an active member of Quantrill's Raiders who was killed during the Battle of Westport in 1864. Scholl's brother George also rode with Quantrill, under the command of "Bloody Bill" Anderson.
"Boone Sholl (sic), who was riding the horse that he had taken from Jim Lane near Blue Springs, lost control of his horse, which ran away with him and through the line of Federals, who shot him in the back, the ball passing through his body and breaking the buckle on his belt. We found that we had killed thirty-three of them........Sholl held up and rode his horse about nine miles that night, and was taken to the home of a widow by the name of Young, where he died the next morning, and, just before he died, he told the boys that he wanted Captain Todd to have his horse.'"
-John McCorkle, 'Three Years With Quantrell'
Scholl was buried in the Smith-Davis Cemetery in Raytown, Missouri, which is currently and endangered cemetery, though some are working to preserve it. See https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1995828/smith-davis-cemetery
Thank you for your comment. Are you a history buff, a member of the Quantrill society or a Boone relative?
ReplyDeleteBoone Scholl descends from Daniel Boone's older brother, Samuel. And then, plain and simple, I do not like Quantrill and I was hoping that somehow I could downplay Boone Scholl's part in the Battle of Westport, hence my small paragraph above, but like I was telling someone today, I can't create a fantasy family or clean up the family history, but tell it like it was. Cause if I try to, I get people who won't let me forget the ugly parts of it! smile!
I just happen to live in Raytown, Missouri, where the Smith-Davis Cemetery is. When I ran across the cemetery - while researching something else entirely - that is the first time I had heard of Boone Scholl. The cemetery is unmarked and nearly abandoned - it is in the middle of ground owned by someone who would like to redevelop it, all the markers are long gone, and there is no sign, fence, or marker of any kind.
ReplyDeleteThe cemetery had less than 40 known burials. But a VERY high percentage of the people who are buried there are an astonishing number people very significant in the history of the area, and particularly to the Civil War.
Of course, most of those are associated with Quantrill and/or the James-Younger Gang, so that makes the situation more problematic.
But for example, Union Prison Collapse of 1863 was one of the most significant events of the Civil War in this area. It led directly the Lawrence Massacre - probably the Quantrill group's very lowest point of revenge. And the Lawrence Massacre led directly to the infamous Order No. 11.
Three of the four women killed in the Union Prison Collapse are buried at Smith-Davis. And another woman injured in the collapse, who died years later, is also buried there.
So those events are some of the pivotal and most important events in the multi-decade Kansas-Missouri "Border War" and the Civil War in this area. It's rather incredible that the cemetery where so many of those key players in history - not necessarily the "good" guys and gals, but without question, important ones - is completely neglected and almost completely unknown.
Anyway I got looking into that and ended running down a whole lot of rabbit holes - very interesting ones for sure.
It's difficult to figure out how to write about and remember these things. There is little doubt in my mind that if the Smith-Davis Cemetery is memorialized in any way - even with say a low-key historical marker and maybe fence delineating the cemetery grounds - it is almost certain to become something of a shrine to the Lost Causers and their ilk.
But I don't think the solution is to ignore the situation or sweep it under the rug. Or - in this case - just bulldoze over a cemetery that is still filled with human remains, and pretend like it didn't exist.
I think we have to take these things on honestly and factually. We can acknowledge the importance of people and events, and even have a degree of sympathy with them, while also acknowledging clearly that they were very, very much on the wrong side of history.
If we don't fill out history with accurate facts and analysis, Lost Causers are only all-to-happy to jump in with half-truths and distortions.
Better to have the real facts out there, in full.
Speaking of that, a fact related to the Smith-Davis Cemetery that many of us haven't thought all the way throiugh: Many descendants of those buried at Smith-Davis feel some real anger about the neglect of their ancestors. Just take a look at some of the memorials online - https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1995828/smith-davis-cemetery
ReplyDeleteTo a degree, that is understandable. But let's put things in perspective.
Pretty much everyone buried at Smith-Davis was a slave owner or in a slave-owning family.
And between the 1830s when the first Euro-American settlers arrived in the area and the end of the Civil War, a good number of those slaves died.
So where were THEY buried?
Check the memorial list for the Smith-Davis Cemetery. You'll find absolutely none of them there.
Because burying enslaved people in the same cemetery as white people just wasn't done at all.
So the enslaved people - who, let's face it, did the vast majority of the work involved in building up Jackson County in the early days, everything from tending farms to keeping house to building most anything and everything that was built - didn't even get the courtesy of being buried in a recognized cemetery of any kind. Or, of any kind of a grave marker or record *at all*.
We don't even know where they were buried *at all*.
In fact in most cases, we don't even know their names. They're generally not listed in the Census or any other official record.
Except, of course, in slave bills of sale, where - like any other property being bought or sold - they are described in detail, including name and age.
So it goes without saying, that kind of utter, systematic, and completely intentional neglect and erasure are issues many, many, many orders of magnitude worse than an old cemetery that - like so many others - has become neglected with time.
That's an obvious fact to most of us, but sometimes it is well worth pointing out the obvious.
By the way, one reason I posted the story about Boone Scholl is along those lines. "Union soldiers shot Quantrill Raider in the back" is one kind of narrative. The fuller story - that he lost control of his horse, which charged through Union lines, where (of course!) they shot him - puts both Scholl and the Union Soldiers in a quite different light.
ReplyDeleteShooting someone in the back is a cowardly act and the polar opposite of "Southern Honor."
But that's not what the Union Soldiers did.
When one of Quantrill's men unexpectedly attacked them by charging through their lines - which is indeed exactly how Quantrill's men DID attack the federal troops - they very understandably defended themselves and fought back.
That is exactly what you would expect and hope a well trained and alert group of soldiers would do under enemy charge.
Scholl, on the other hand, in that light is a little more human and a lot less some kind of mythic and untouchable martyr.
Scholl lost control of his horse - which is something that anyone who has been on or even around a horse can completely understand. Even the most expert handler of horses might lose control now and again.
But that means that he lost his life not in some courageous or brazen charge at the enemy, or accomplishing some kind of heroic act, or even as the result of cowardly perfidy by a despicable enemy.
Rather he made a very normal human kind of mistake at the worst possible time.
That's a bit of an *embarrassing* way to die, honestly.
It's certainly not heroic or in the mold of the hard-core tough-guy macho guerrilla fighter that the Quantrill mythos would want you believe.
And it's oddly similar to the way another of Quantrill's group died - Jabez McCorkle, who is buried near Boone Scholl at the Smith-Davis Cemetery.
McCorkle was out on patrol, skulking through the woods as they did, when he somehow dropped his gun and shot himself in the knee. The wound festered and he died a few days later.
In short, the mighty warrior was brought down by carelessness and poor gun discipline.
Neither his nor Boone Scholl's death was exactly the heroic and mythic last stand they might have been hoping for. They're both more likely on the list for a Darwin Award than military honors.
Understanding their lives and deaths in a little more detail puts them in a far more human light - and possibly a more sympathetic light, as well.
But it very much takes the air out of the mythos, as well.
It's not glorious to die because you made a dumb mistake, or dropped your gun.
I didn't know if you knew this, but I am a member of Findagrave. These are just a couple of my online virtual cemeteries = Border War https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/570659
Deleteand my Persons of Color Virtual cemetery https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/1108539
You can find persons of color in slave schedules (census), Mo. Death Certificates after 1910, church records sometimes mention them, slaveowner's wills (see Lyndon Comstock's book called "Before Abolition" (Amazon) where he found the names of slaves in probate records and was able to follow some from Clark County, KY after their emancipation to Missouri and Kansas as well as elsewhere).
You mention the slaves of Jackson County, MO. According to a friend, it takes a little magic to discover persons of color ancestors. Jackson County, MO has such a genealogical group of people who work their magic in digging for their ancestors. It's called MagicKC. http://www.magickc.org/
I'm also a direct descendant of Martin & Kiturah (Fletcher) White. Kiturah and Elmaza (Fletcher) Boone were first cousins. = https://the-history-nut-of-missouri.blogspot.com/2010/08/Martin-White.html
I've been researching my 3rd great-grandparents for several years and am considered an expert on his life. The rabid abolitionists would tell you that he was pro-slavery, but I have never found evidence that he ever owned slaves in any of the locations he lived in. You can read more about his life at the link to another one of my blogs - The History Nut of Missouri.
Have you contacted the Freedom Frontier National Heritage Area people about this cemetery? The National Heritage area covers both sides of the KS/MO. border = http://freedomsfrontier.org/
Good history and discussion. My friend and colleague Paul Peterson and I co-authored a small booklet (referenced above) on the Davis-Smith Cemetery's history, legacy, and potential future.
ReplyDeleteAs to slave burials, often enslaved people were buried along the fenceline outside the boundary of the slaveholder's cemetery. I found this specifically in two cases I can think of off the top of my head re: Jackson County cemeteries. Of course, no markers (save maybe a field stone) and no names. But, you can find them with divining rods and GPR.