Nodaway County, Missouri - Chapter 26: Jefferson Township, 1910

Chapter 26: Jefferson Township

Jefferson township, named for Thomas Jefferson, lies to the south of Jackson township, west of Gentry county, Missouri, north of Washington township, and east from Polk and Grant townships. It comprises about fortyeight square miles and is traversed by the Wabash and Great Western railroad lines, which form a crossing at New Conception.

Up to 1871 this territory was embraced within that of Washington and Jackson, but by an order of the county court, dated March 29, 1871, it was ordered that "A new municipal township be established out of Washington and Jackson townships, to be known and designated as Jefferson township, in said county, said new township to commence on the Nodaway and Gentry county line at the southeast corner of the southwest quarter of section No 34. in township 64, range 33. thence running west on the township line to the northwest corner of section 5, township 63, range 34, being the eastern boundary of Polk township, thence running south to the southwest corner of section 8. in township 63, range 34, thence running east to the northeast corner of section t6, township 63, range 34, then running south to the north¬ west corner of the southwest quarter of section number 33, in township 63, range 34, thence running east on the quarter mile line to the Gentry county line, thence running north on the county line to the place of beginning, and it is further ordered by the court that Conception be designated as the voting precinct of said township."

Topography

The streams of this township include the Platte river, entering in the cen¬ tral part north, running diagonally through its center, while Long Branch passes across the extreme northwestern portion of the township, through two sections, and flows in a southerly direction. The Wild Cat finds its source in the eastern and northeastern parts of the township, and runs southeasterly, emptying into the Grand river. The township is rather broken and rolling in its surface character, the uplands being prairies. The soil is wonderfully productive. Grains, grasses, small fruits, etc., do well and have with the passing years increased in value in a marked degree. The Platte valley, a mile in width, is a rich alluvium. The natural timber is scarce in the town¬ ship, comprising not to exceed three square miles, all told. Good stone is quarried at different points within the township. Many springs were found here by the early settlers who chose building sites near their gushing waters. The entire township is well watered and drained.

The history of schools, churches and lodges are found in chapters under their respective headings, elsewhere in this volume. The population of the township in 1900 was one thousand six hundred and fifty-two.

Early Settlement

The beginning of settlement in Jefferson township was made along the Platte river valley and the various branches of the Wild Cat. David Rhoades, who was among the earliest settlers in this part of the county, came in 1846 and claimed land and built a cabin in the northeast corner of section 28, town¬ ship 63, range 34. He there owned, later, several hundred acres of valuable land. Samuel Ross came probably the same year, locating two and a half miles northwest of Old Conception.

Silas Best came at a very early day, emigrating from Washington town¬ ship, and with his sons claimed land on the east side of the Platte river, in the edge of the timber. He erected a house on the northeast corner of sec¬ tion 14, township 63, range 34, and added to his landed estate until he had all of a thousand acres. He died in 1875.

Jacob Pugh came at a very early date, from Iowa, settling on the west side of the Wild Cat, about four miles southeast of New Conception. In 1857 Anderson Smith emigrated from Virginia, settling two and a half miles west of present New Conception. The same year came Isaac V eatherman from Tennessee, settling on the Wild Cat. During 1858 John S. Aldridge emigrated from Indiana, took a claim three miles southwest of where Old Conception now stands. Benjamin Casteel emigrated from the South, and located on the northeast quarter of section 11, township 63, range 33. His one hundred and sixty acres was cut in twain by the waters of the Platte river. He died in 1881 in Montana.

In 18^6 Sidney Smith came from Cooper county, Missouri, and located on the Wild Cat. three miles southeast of present New Conception. Another settler of 1858 was Matthew Riley, of New York, who settled one mile south of New Conception.

Patrick Growney originally emigrated from Ireland. He lived in Brooklyn. New York, for twelve years and in 1858 came to this township, lo¬ cating in section 9, township 63, range 34. He died on June 17, 1879. He had three sons, all of whom had good farms in the township in 1882. The family estate had four hundred acres. The family is still largely represented both in and out of Maryville, in Nodaway county, and are mentioned else¬ where.

The Reading Colony

Conceiving the notion of forming a colony for the West, in 1856, three gentlemen of Pennsylvania, Felix. McLaughlin and O'Reilly, of Irish descent, set to work to perfect plans by which people might reap more for their labor than was then possible in the old Keystone state. When the colony was finally formed, Anthony Felix, O. O'Reilly and Rev. James Powers came West for the purpose of entering lands. Arriving at St. Joseph. Missouri, they fell in with Jeff Thompson, who gave them a plat of the vacant lands on which the colony was finally located. They were then advised to go to the land office at Plattsburg, Clinton county, and there make formal entry of such lands. Lpon arrival there they were informed that the lands were not in the market. These three men then went on to Washington, D. C., to visit the general land office and upon application to Hon. Thomas A. Hendricks, who was then the commissioner of the land office, succeeded in effecting an entry of said lands, and the necessary documents were sent to the commissioner at Plattsburg, with instructions to make a record of the entry upon his books. While in Washington, or soon after, these three founders of the colony learned that the Plattsburg office had been re-opened (if in fact it had ever been closed) and that these same lands had been entered by another party. This made much trouble, as each party contended the land was theirs by right of entry. The case was finally taken before the committee on public lands in the United States Senate, in 1848 or 1859, during James Buchanan's administration. Said committee decided the case in favor of the said Felix, O'Reilly and Powers. These disputed lands amounted to twenty thousand acres, all of which, with the exception of one and a half section in Gentry county, lie in Nodaway county and in Jefferson township.

The names of the first settlers of the Reading colony were as follows: John M. Carty, William Brady, Michael Fagan. Jeremiah Sullivan, Thomas Reilly. Edward Reilly and Patrick Growney.

During the days of the four-year Civil war but little emigration was had in the township, but soon thereafter it rapidly flowed in. By 1880 there were very heavy settlements on both the east and west sides of the Platte river. The soil was well tilled, many fine farm houses were erected, hedge fences were seen growing everywhere and many miles in length. This colony was really a Catholic settlement and has ever remained such.

Towns And Villages

Conception (named for the Immaculate Virgin) is the oldest place in the township. It is situated eleven miles to the southeast of Maryville and about two miles southeast of the railroad station known as New Conception. Father James Powers of the Reading colony above mentioned, came in 1856 from Reading, Pennsylvania, and entered the land on which it stands and there founded a Catholic church. Father Powers and William Brady laid out the town of Conception in i860. June 9, i860, the colony house and chapel were finished and dedicated. There were forty acres laid out and platted as a town site, described as the southeast quarter of section 24, town¬ ship 63, range 34. The first lot was sold to Mr. Saul for one dollar and on the same he put up a general store building. Soon Joseph Heffner erected a blacksmith shop and a dwelling. Frank Enos followed soon with a second blacksmith shop and Father Tuerk erected a dwelling house.

In 1870 Ignatius Richlin erected and moved into a dwelling. To this was made an addition in 1871, and a general stock of goods was put on the shelves. Soon thereafter Joseph Wonderly erected a store and dwelling house. Dwelling houses were soon built by the Sisters. Not long after¬ wards a saloon and shoe shop was added to the new town.

The history of the Catholic interests, the church, monastery and schools, are all covered in Father Placid's history of the Catholic church in Nodaway county, found elsewhere in this volume.

The first recorded death in Conception was that of Hewey McIntyre, in 1874. The first child baptized was christened Ellen, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan. Father Powers, who baptized her, gave her forty acres of land because she was the first child baptized in his parish. The first marriage was that uniting Elisha Richlin and Julia Protzman, in 1870.

Conception is located in one of the best sections to be found in all Nod¬ away county and its educational advantages have always been the means of attracting many to its borders. Its present business consists of a postoffice, a few stores and the ordinary shops which carry goods to supply the community with.

Clyde

Clyde (once known as New Conception) was the direct outgrowth of the construction of the Wabash railroad through Nodaway county. It is two miles northeast of Conception (where the Catholic school interests are located) and eleven miles southeast from Maryville. It has come to be a ham¬ let of about two hundred and fifty people. When the postoffice was estab¬ lished it was named at a public meeting in July, 1880, when more than fifty persons assembled for the purpose of naming the office. Frank Bellows had recently been up in Canada and upon his return brought some imported Clydesdale horses and at the suggestion of one present at the meeting, it was voted on and decided to call the office Clyde, after the famous horses. The name was forwarded to Washington and the postal department so named it. Yet the name of the town still for many years was known as New Concep¬ tion, but when the Great Western railroad was built in 1887 and a crossing made with the Wabash a new town sprung up and was named Conception Junction, since which time the name Clyde has obtained for the place now under description.

The land on which Clyde stands was bought in 1869 by Matthias Jerman, and in 1872 or 1873 he sold it to Matthias Rogers, and the latter in 1879 sold it to the Western Improvement Company, who during the same year platted it into town lots. The first lots sold were numbers 27 and 28 to E. W. Cone, for the sum of one hundred dollars each. Fie immediately erected a build¬ ing and opened a saloon therein. The first man to engage in trade was Gas¬ per Kaiser, who built and opened a hardware. The first general merchandise store was opened in a building moved from old Conception by J. A. Wonderlv An elevator for grain purpose was erected in 1879 by Frank Bellows and Fayette Smith. The postoffice was established in 1880 and from then on the various trades were all soon represented.

The first marriage in what is now known as Clyde was Fred Karoetsch and Julia Match, in the early spring of 1881. The first death was that of a daughter of J. F. Wonderly, July 16. 1880. The first birth was a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. C. Weaver, in 1879.

Business Interests Of I9Io Conception Junction

This town was the outgrowth of the crossing of the Wabash and Chi¬ cago Great Western railroads, the law of the land requiring that proper junc¬ tion accommodations must be maintained at such junction points. It was platted by C. N. Comstock in August, 1895, on section 14, township 63, range 34, and as the name New Conception had been applied to what is now known as Clyde - one mile to the east - this place was called Conception Junction. While it has drawn much from the growth of Clyde, yet it has never de¬ veloped into much of a trading point until recently, when there has grown up an appreciation of the railroad interests of the two great systems of rail¬ road crossing here, with some liability of the freight division being located here on the Chicago Great Western line, and it is now building up materially.

The population is something over two hundred. It is situated in a pleasing point of view, overlooking as it does the several branches of the gently winding Platte river that courses its way a little distance to the west of the corporation.