Harrison Township

Harrison Township

Harrison township is composed of congressional township 34, range 33, and is the southwestern municipal township of the county. As it is one of the 'dong townships," it is eight miles from north to south, and about six and three-fourths miles from east to west.

Perhaps Harrison township is naturally the most fertile and productive township in Vernon county. For general excellence it surpasses Henry to a certain extent, and nearly its entire sur¬ face, away from the Drywood bottoms, is of deep black soil, quite as valuable and productive as that of the corn lands of south¬ western Iowa and northwestern Missouri, or of the Teche country in Louisiana. There are few mounds and but little sandy soil. Coal exists throughout the township.

Early History

The first white settler in Harrison township was John Kinchin Gammons, who settled about one mile south of the mouth of Moore's branch in the spring of 1838. Smith Profitt came with Gammons, but settled to the northwest in what is now Coal township. Gammons had removed from Greene county, Ten¬ nessee, to Lexington, Mo., where he lived a year, then went to

Johnson county, where he remained a short time and came on to Vernon. He had a family of six children; the three oldest were named John, Elizabeth and Phebe. Gammons built a cabin, made one or two small crops and then moved about four miles south to the east side of Drywood, on section 16. In this neigh¬ borhood he died about the year 1870.

Thomas Duncan came directly from Polk county, about the year 1840, and settled on the northern part of section 8, north of the west fork of Drywood. Here he died about the year 1850 and was buried in the Reynolds graveyard, on the same section. His daughter, Winifred, married David Claypool in January, 1844, and this was doubtless the first wedding in the southwest¬ ern part of Vernon county. Duncan was originally from Ten¬ nessee.

In 1842 Abram "Wilcox and his mother-in-law, Mrs. Celia Apperson, came from Cooper county to the southern part of sec¬ tion 4, near Drvwood creek. Wilcox went to California in 1856.

Henry Crowley came to the southern part of section 4, south of Wilcox, in the year 1843, and made a settlement near the well-known site of the Crowley school house. Mr. Crowley was from Knox county, Illinois, where he died while on a visit.

John AVagner came from Arkansas in 1843 to sections 8 and 9, east of Thomas Duncan. He died after the Civil "War and was buried in the Reynolds graveyard. Noah Jernigan (or "Johnigan, " as the name was pronounced), and his sons, Louis and John, were living on the east side of section 7 as early as 1844, when David Claypool came to the country.

John Wentworth settled on the Missouri side of the Kansas line near the Drywood (west side of section 18) in about 1842. The farm was afterward purchased by Gen. Joseph Bailey. Wentworth was from Illinois. South of the west fork of Drywood and southeast of Wentworth, on the west side of section 19, there lived Benjamin Hunter, a Tennessean, in 1844. He died after the war.

David Claypool came early in the year 1844 from Polk county, married Winnie Duncan, daughter of Thomas Duncan, and set¬ tled on section 8, a little west of his father-in-law.

In the fall of 1856 John Reynolds came from Maryland and purchased Thomas Duncan's old farm on section 8. He was killed in the fall of 1864 by some of General Price's raiders. A man

John Failor located on section 7, west of Duncan and north of the west fork of Drvwood in about 1856. In that year came Martin Cox, and purchased and settled on the "Wilcox farm, in the southern part of section 4, near the Drywood timber. Here he lived until he was murdered by the Confederate guerrillas during the Civil War.

1857, to the western part of the township, where he purchased 500 acres of land in sections 6 and 7 from Col. Aaron Bruce, a Saline county speculator. In the Mexican A\Tar served in Col. Sterling Price's Missouri regiment as a lieutenant, in the Ray county company.

George Rosenbaum came from Kentucky with Huffman and purchased from him a farm on which he lived till his death. He and Huffman were among the first prairie farmers of the county. Old John Brown, who lived on the east side of Drywood, took a contract for breaking a large part of their land, using five and six yoke of oxen and a huge machine plow purchased in Kansas.

The settlements previously described were all made on the west side of Big Drywood. Those made on the east side were made contemporaneously with those on the west, except in the

In the year 1844, when David Claypool came to the county the following were the settlers in this township living east of Drywood. It is difficult to determine when they made their settle¬ ments.

John Brown and Peter Brown, brothers, were on the north side of section 2, in the edge of the Drywood timber ; their father lived at Deerfield ; this was the same John Brown who was the first sheriff of the county after the war.

John Connor was on the west side of section 3, near the Drywood, at the Soapstone ford. He had been a soldier in the regu¬ lar army, served five years, and was discharged at Ft. Scott. Upon being mustered out he determined to make for himself a home in the rich Drywood bottoms, and so he did. Here he was killed by Jim James and party soon after the close of the war.

wood. Kinchin Gammons and his son John lived on section 16, a mile south of Griffey, having crossed over from the west side, as previously stated. David Gammons, a son of Kinchin, lived on section 21, and near him and a mile south of where his father lived, Ohastine Corker had settled.

Nicholas Ganther was living near the site of McKill 's chapel - section 27 - whether he had come the previous year from up in Richland township. Ganther sold his claim on section 34 to old Judge James McKill, Sr., in 1846. Judge McKill gave his name to the well-known branch in the southern part of the town¬ ship, and also to the Methodist church building, in the same quarter. The Judge died January 25, 1859.

Robert McSpadden lived south of McKill's branch (nw. ne. sec. 33) and was a justice of the peace, while this was Bates county. About 1850 he ran away with the pretty wife of John WTagner, going, it is said, into northeastern Arkansas or south¬ eastern Missouri, near the Mississippi river. The couple were not pursued. McSpadden left a wife, whose relatives came from north Missouri and took her away.

Further down Dry wood, below the forks, near John Con¬ nor's, William Bass settled in 1847, and in the same neighbor¬ hood, about a year previously, Mr. Kendall, father of John D. Kendall, had settled.

It is claimed that in 1842 the entire western half of what is now Vernon county was organized into a civil township by the county court of Bates county and called Harrison. The voting place was at the house of Judge William Profitt, who was one of the county judges, and who named the township in honor of ex-President Harrison. Upon the organization) of Vernon, the name was continued and given to the southwestern county, or to "all the territory lying south of Deerfield and west of Drywood township." After Vernon was organized the first election was held at Chastine Corker's.

The first settlers traded at Bug & Wilson's store, at Fort Scott. Afterwards, Mr. Wilson became sole proprietor. Mr. Hiram H. Wilson, or "Grab" Wilson, as he was called, was a prominent character in early days.

At one time there was a horse mill at Judge Profitt's, but for the most part milling was done at Balltown and down on Spring river. There was but little wheat raised ; the chief article relied on for bread was that most healthful of all breadstuffs, good corn meal.

Such crops as were planted produced abundantly. There were actually no seasons of failures. Droutliy seasons enough there were, but the rich black soil stood them. Somehow, too, the weather was milder and better for fruit ; plenty of peaches wTere grown with but little trouble.

The grass on the prairies grew so high in some places that it was with difficulty cattle could be seen when grazing in it. It actually grew ten and twelve feet high, and would conceal a man on horseback. In the fall of the year, when fires broke out, The damage was often serious. Such a mass of herbage when ignited and fanned by a brisk breeze produced a great fire, which swept everything in its path. The people w^ere forced to plow and burn against it, but it often leaped bare strips thirty feet wide and burned fences, corn shocks, etc.

There was a great deal of hunting. Old Thomas Duncan and his son-in-law, David Clavpool, had a pack of twelve hounds, and with them had many a chase over the prairie after deer and wolves. Up and down the Drywood they chased and shouted in great sport after their game and were nearly always so for¬ tunate as to secure it.

Nearly every year up to about 1855, the Indians came in from Kansas and spent the winter, or a portion at least, in camp in the Drywood timber. They engaged in hunting up and down the streams of the country, often going across to Clear creek and returning after two or three days' absence. A private camp¬ ing ground was near Kinchin Gammons' house, a mile below the mouth of Moore's branch. The Pottawattamies, the Osages, and the Delawares were the most frequent visitors. The Pot¬ tawattamies are remembered as the best of the lot. They were, as a rule, tall, well-formed people of agreeable presence and deportment, and cleanly and inoffensive in their habits and deportment. The Osages were dirty and filthy, and immoral to a disgusting degree. All the Indians were peaceable, but many were beggars and annoyed the people no little by their impor¬ tunate requests for something to eat, no matter what.

The first school house in the township was a log structure built after the year 1850, and was called the Crowley school house. It stood near Henry Crowley's, on section 4, about one mile west of Drywood and a mile and a half north of the West Fork. The McKil] school house, in the southeastern part of the township, was built in 1856 or 1857. The first teacher was a man named Keister, of New York City; after him was a Mr. Rosebaum.

The first church building was McKill's Chapel (sw. nw. sec. 27), erected as a Southern Methodist Church in 1860. Before this, religious meetings were held in the Crowley school house. The first Methodist preachers were Revs. Powell, John Hale and D. A. Leeper.

The first wedding in the township was that of George Ken¬ dall and Phebe Gammons, who were married at the residence of the bride's father, John K. Gammons, in October, 1841. The ceremony was performed by Esq. Robert McSpadden. In 1855 Mrs. Kendall married Joab Shankels, who, in company with David Gammons, her brother, was killed by the Second Ohio Cavalry and some Kansas troops down on Center creek, south of Carthage, in the spring of 1863.

Harrison township had a thrilling and perilous experience during the Civil "War. At the outbreak the few unconditional Union men were set upon by the Secessionists and treated with great harshness. Some of them were driven out of the country, and two or three who remained were finally murdered.

jayhawkers began their predatory incursions. With Jennison at their head, about 150 men came over and beat up the whole * country thoroughly for good horses, taking those of Joab Shankels, James and Robert McKill and others. From time to time they came, and at last, in their zeal to subdue the rebellion, seized upon and carried away bedding, tableware and ladies' underclothing.

Martin Cox was a staunch Union man and lived in the edge of the Drywood bottom. One night in the summer of 1862 a band of bushwhackers, said to be the Mayfield boys and their comrades, went to his house to take him. He was ready for them, and fought them stubbornly and defiantly for some time, and refused to surrender until they assured him he should not be harmed if he would. Then he came out and gave himself up, when they instantly shot him dead. Then they took his best horse and rode away satisfied. Martin Cox was not a soldier and had never been, but he fought like one, and like a good one, too. He wounded at least one of his antagonists, shooting him through the wrist.

John Reynolds, another grav-haired old Union man, was murdered at his home, a little north of the West Fork (section 8), on the 27th of October, 1864, during General Price's raid. Three rebel raiders rode up to his door, called him out and mercilessly shot him to death in the presence of his family. Rey¬ nolds was past 60, and had never been in the militia service. He was a Marylander and a staunch Unionist. It was believed that he was killed by former citizens of the county.

It was in the early spring of 1864 when Taylor and his men came upon the Ury residence and the time was at dawn. Josiah Ury and his father were made prisoners, and while the entire party were in front of the house the three troopers of the Third Wisconsin rode up and fired on the Confederates. Dur¬ ing the confusion that resulted Jo Ury escaped by springing suddenly away and gaining the cover of a cornfield, and the old man was shot.

Jo Ury obtained great notoriety during the war. The Con¬ federate population of this county detested him and learned to fear him more than they did a full company of armed Fed¬ eral troops. It is claimed that in the beginning of the troubles the Ury family, being strong Unionists, were persecuted by the Secessionists, and the male members chased into Kansas. There¬ upon Jo Ury went upon the warpath, and a bloody path he made of it. He was engaged as a scout and spy by the Federal mili¬ tary authorities, and performed a great deal of service for them. He, however, engaged in many an enterprise and adventure on his own account, and had some thrilling experiences, daring ad¬ ventures and hair-breadth escapes. Doubtless exaggerated ac¬ counts are given of some of his exploits, but the fact remains that his services were of a remarkable and extraordinary character.

On the Confederate side Joseph McCullough, an old man, living south of Moore's branch, a ' 'sympathizer," was taken prisoner by Jo Ury and two or three companions one night and an attempt made to murder him, which came well nigh succeeding. Ury and his party took some of the old man's horses and with their owner were proceeding to Fort Scott. A mile from McCullough's house he was shot and left for dead. The bullet from a dragoon revolver passed through his neck, be¬ tween the windpipe and the gullet or oesophagus, and did not" inflict a fatal wound. To a citizen of the township Jo Ury ad¬ mitted that he shot McCullough "because he didn't walk faster." Mr. McCullough, originally a Tennesseean, came to this town¬ ship from Greene county in about 1853. He died in Arkansas since the war.

In the winter of 1865 John Connor was killed by Jim James. Connor was an old soldier in the regular army, and on being mustered out at Fort Scott settled in this township on Dry wood at an early day. At the outbreak of the war he joined the Se¬ cession forces and was prominent in warning the Union men to leave the country. After the battle of Wilson's creek he re¬ turned home, and announced himself a non-combatant, saying the fight he saw at Wilson's creek, while it resulted in favor of the Secessionists, satisfied him that the Confederates would ulti¬ mately be defeated, and that the Union cause would finally tri¬ umph. In 1864 he became a nominal member of the Fourteenth Kansas, but never did much service.

A short time before the war broke out Connor sold Jim James some hay, which the latter did not pay for at the time, and before it could be removed a fire set out by Connor destroyed it. James then refused entirely to pay for it, claim¬ ing that it had been destroyed through Connor's negligence. James was a Union man and the war coming up he was forced to leave and went to Fort Scott, where he entered the Federal service. He sought to send his family North, and at last his wife set out with her little children and household goods in a wagon drawn by a yoke of oxen. Near Balltown she was over¬ taken by Connor, who took the oxen from her to pay the debt he claimed her husband owed, and the woman was left in an

Upon being mustered out of service James came to Fort Scott, and on one occasion, with his two brothers and a man named Hall, came over into this township, and encountering Connor the old grudge was settled by the shooting of Connor by the hand of Jim James. The latter claimed, however, that the meeting was accidental, and that Connor fired first; but the general belief was that James came over with a premeditated purpose to kill Connor out of revenge for the treatment of his wife. The James brothers were arrested and confined in Stockton jail, from which Jim James escaped and has never since been heard of; the others were finally released.

In the fall of 1862, Alex. Morgan was killed on the prairie east of Dry wood and east of the Gammons place by Joe Ury and some of his companions. Morgan was a young unmarried man, and had never been in the Confederate army, although of strong Southern proclivities. But Joe Ury thought he was a spy for the rebels, and was searching for him. On the day in question young Morgan was riding across the prairie with his sister, on the way across Little Drywood, when she missed a shawl or veil, and her brother rode back to search for it. A few hours afterward his dead body, full of bullet holes, was found in a ditch where it had been thrown by his executioners.

An old-time feud that prevailed in this section and resulted in the death of three men is often referred to by the old settlers. In the year 1860, two brothers-in-law, Alfred Woods and Thomas Profit!, were engaged in an animated and somewhat heated re¬ ligious discussion, when AYoods seized a chair and struck Profitt a deadly blow. Woods was arrested and placed in confinement at Nevada, in a room, under guard. In the same room with him was a demented man named Hughes, who was a brother-in-law of Profitt, the man whom AYoods had killed, and who was being sent to an asylum. Hughes seized a pistol and shot Woods dead. A year or two later, after the war had begun, Hughes was on his way home, and by some means was wearing a Federal uni¬ form. AYhile crossing the prairie not far from home he was shot and killed by his brother-in-law, Nathan Godfrey, who was at that time in the Confederate service and was preparing to go South.

The township has been settled with an enterprising class of citizens, and is a well developed section of the county, peopled by a thrifty community. Some of the best farms and some of the most intelligent and prosperous farmers live here, and it is now considered one of the banner townships of western Missouri.

The Kansas City Southern railroad was built across the county in 1890, and it extends across the township north and south, giving the people a direct shipping route to Kansas City and points in the South. Swart is the name of the town found on the railroad in Harrison township.