Jackson County, Missouri - Chapter 23: Kaw Township, 1881

When established and its original ei^tent - The establishnunt of Washington and Westport townships - The first settlers and first officers - - The first and second elections, etc.

Kaw township was established by order of the County Court, dated May 2 2d, 1827. This was at the second day's session of the first County Court of Jackson county ; the judges - Abraham McClelland, Richard Fristoe, and Henry Burris - holding their office by appointment from the Governor, and having been sworn into office the day previous. This order established Kaw, Blue and Fort Osage townships. Kaw township, as established by this order, embraced all that part of Jackson county lying west of the Big Blue. On the 9th of February, 1836, the County Court, by order, established Washington township and included in it that part of Kaw township now embraced in Washington west of the Big Blue. On the 17th of May 1869, Westport township was cut off of the south end of Kaw, reducing it to its present dimensions, which include but about twenty full sections of land.

On the day that the County Court established the first three townships, it recommended to the Governor for appointment as Justices of the Peace certain gentlemen in each township, those for Kaw being Samuel Johnson and Andrew P. Patterson, who were appointed and were the first Justices of the Peace in Kaw township.

The first white man, probably, who ever entered the territory of Kaw township was Col. Daniel Morgan Boone, a son of the celebrated Daniel Boone, who is said, in a memoir of him written some years ago by Dr. Johnson Lykins, to have trapped beavers twelve winters on the Blues prior to 1800, at which time he was married at St. Louis and ceased trapping in that way. The first settlement in Kaw township was that made by the French fur traders, opposite Randolph bluffs, in 1821. Francois Chouteau was the head of this party, of which a more extended history will be given in the history of Kansas City.

The territory embraced in the township not having been relieved from Indian possession until 1826, there was no real settlement in it until 1826 and 1827. Among the early settlers were William Lewis, John Bostic, Abraham Linville, Perman Henderson, Dyer Cash, Benjamin Hancock, Major Hancock, Lewis Haneau, Paul Lacoot, Francis Tromley, William Johnson, Thomas Linville, Pierre Revellett, Taplaw Bingham, Andrew Patterson, John Savage, Andrew Gaudy, Isaac Ray, Joseph Boggs, Robert Y. Fouller, Silas Hitchcock, Samuel Son, Michael Farrer, Lewis Levantieur, Sampson Hitchcock, John Young, Andrew Patterson, William Master, James Jennings, Richard Hancock, James Johnson. These parties were all residents and voters in 1828, by which time there were probably, a number of others in the township. It was about this time that James H. McGee came into the township, and at that time Francois Chouteau and a nam-

The first election in Kaw township, was held at the house of William Johnson on the first Monday in August 1828, with Andrew Patterson, John Young and William Master, as judges, and James Jennings and Richard Hancock as clerks. The second was held on the first Monday in August, 1830, at the house of Michael Fames, with Andrew P. Patterson, James Welch and William Lewis as judges.

Kansas City is in Kaw township, and now embraces about half of it within its corporate limits, the history of which embraces substantially the history of the township. This history will be found elsewhere in this volume. Westport was embraced in Kaw township until the establishment of Westport township in 1869, and its history might be said to belong to that of Kaw township. This history is also mainly embraced in that of Kansas Gity, above referred to, the two places having been always so nearly identical that the history of one must embrace the leading features of the other.