Extract of 1860 Census for Oak Creek Township

Extract of 1860 Census for Oak Creek Township

[Source: Currier & Ives, "Summer landscape, c1869"; Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

(http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002695754; accessed 17 Mar 2013)]

Extract of 1860 Census for Oak Creek Township (132)

[From the East Valley, to Central Valley and Oak Springs, to the West Valley]

Edmond Gifford, 38

Josephine Gifford, 38

Franklin Gifford, 16

Stefanie Gifford, 11

Samuel Street, 25

Cordelia Street, 26

Penelope Street, 2

Henry McDonald, 59

Harry McDonald, 38

Sarah McDonald, 38

Caroline McDonald, 17

Thomas McDonald, 15

Patrick McDonald, 13

Alex McDonald, 11

Daniel McDonald, 22

Jane Truesdale, 23

Riley Cooper, 39

Julia Cooper, 39

Anderson Cooper, 16

Robert Baldridge, 57

Susannah Baldridge, 57

David Baldridge, 35

Ephriam Bressie, 40

Beulah Bressie, 40

Helen Bressie, 18

Ida Bressie, 15

Claude Bressie, 8

Abner Wingfield, 32

Delta Wingfield, 32

Ross Wingfield, 11

Josie Wingfield, 5

Vicky Wingfield, 2

Jesse Bartlett, 42

Eliza Bartlett, 42

Lorraine Bartlett, 17

Leon Bartlett, 13

Ashbury Bartlett, 9

Oliver Dodson, 40

Deborah Dodson, 40

Charlie Dodson, 16

Charity Dodson, 12

Arnold Dodson, 7

Bailey Dodson, 4

Levi Weston, 37

Jerry Potts, 45 

Polly Potts, 44

Percival Jones, 43

Katherine Jones, 43

Ralph Campbell, 35

Sally Rhodes Campbell, 33

Gideon Inman, 48

Louisa Inman, 47

Jacobi Inman, 26 married between 1855 and 1860, 

Belinda Inman, 26

Hotel Residents:

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Jake Patton, 64

Kate Patton, 62

Ace Donagan, 54

Hugh Truesdale, 48

Victoria Truesdale, 41

Lewis Truesdale, 18

Nellie Truesdale, 10

Theodosius Rhodes, 28

Lillian Campbell Rhodes, 27

Augustine Rhodes, 5

Vance Rhodes, 2

Victor Campbell, 56

Camilla Campbell, 56

Owen Olson, 48

Anna Olson, 48

Liam Olson, 26

Allison Olson, 23

Jasper Die, 32

Leannah Die, 30

Junior Die, 9

Daisy Die, 5

Bonny Die, 2

Grant Carroll, 38

Rachel Carroll, 38

Monty Carroll, 16

Belinda Carroll, 13

Raphael Carroll, 10

Fern Carroll, 6

Lawrence Johnson, 35

Lucinda Johnson, 34

Lilly Johnson, 12

Campbell Johnson, 8

Jacob Pryor, 37

Patsy Pryor, 37

Priscilla Pryor,15

Paul Pryor, 12

Phoebe Pryor, 7

Paula Pryor, 2

Jourdan Sullivan, 36

Martha Sullivan, 34

Julian Sullivan, 14

Shirley Sullivan, 10

Jefferson Lowden, 27

Sophia Lowden, 26

Buddie Lowden, 4

Wilson Craddock, 37

Wanda Craddock, 36

Neva Craddock, 15

Valeria Craddock, 9

Silas Hamby, 38

Madeline Hamby, 37

Warren Hamby, 16

Erna Hamby, 11

Delbert Campbell, 33

Delia Rhodes Campbell, 31

Joshua Cox, 39

Tetisha Cox, 40

Bernie Cox, 17

Dorothy Cox, 12

Coleman Cox, 6

Michael Duncan, 42

Amanda Duncan, 42

Alice Duncan, 13

George King, 41

Marcia King, 38

Edward King, 15

Shasha King, 13

Lizzie King, 8

Rufus King, 5

Nathan Bishop, 36

Sharon Bishop, 33

Joey Bishop, 11

Simeon Bishop, 7

Ada Bishop, 3

Eli Rhodes, 55

Emeline Rhodes, 54

Mark Rhodes, 19

Rose Rhodes, 15

The Founding of the Homeplace - Summer 1860, Progress Report, Part 2 of 2

The Founding of the Homeplace

Summer 1860, Progress Report

Part 2 of 2

"The Founding of the Homeplace" stories will continue here on every other Friday during August and September. This is a serial presentation of the story, beginning in 1833, when four families decided to settle the land, the valley, that would become the setting of the first two books in the The Homeplace Saga: "Back to the Homeplace" and "The Homeplace Revisited" and subsequent series stories, set in 1987 and 1996, to date. The underlying premise of this series is the desire of the family matriarch to retain the family farm in the southern Missouri Ozarks in whole and in the family. 

Characters in this series become actively involved in the study of their family history and snippets of that research appear, from time to time through the series (one example). This serial presentation begins to share that ‘research’ in Story Form, and, some of the Stories represent 'writings of the family' that were ‘discovered’ in the process of that research. Each Story is an essay or report of the activities of the initial four families and their descendants that settled the Homeplace – the farm and the surrounding valley.

Summer 1860, Progress Report

In this episode, we share "Part 2 of 2"

In the spring of 1858, Wilson and Wanda Craddock brought their family to a new location just to the west of the town center along Center Creek. Their farm was directly east of the Jefferson Lowden farm and bordered Jake Patton’s land on the east. They built their house along Center Creek in the southwest corner of their property, and used an access road they created along the south side of their property to enter the west side of Oak Springs, north of the Patton Spring location. In the spring of 1859, Silas and Madeline Hamby purchased the 160 acre section right south of the Craddock place and located their house on the north side of the creek downstream from the Craddocks and also near the road into town from the west.

In the summer of 1857 an interesting stranger arrived in the valley with six horses and two mules with packs filled, largely with tools and small implements. He had visited with people in the valley earlier in the year, but had come in quietly, made some inquiries, had some discussions and left with few others in the valley even noticing his presence. It turned out he had arranged to purchased two town lots (Lots 2 & 4, Block L) east of the Livery Stable complex for a wood working shop and the adjoining twent acres of farm land on the edge of town from Jack Patton. Owen Olson now owned the land to the east. Levi Weston was both a breeder of Morgan horses and a skilled maker of wood furniture, carriages and wagons. Levi, a single man 34 years old, came from a family noted for raising Morgan horses and building and operating wagon transportation businesses. 

His father was in this business in Jefferson City where Levi learned his craft. Levi had built a carriage for Jake Patton, while Patton was there for his legislative service, and it was during that process that Levi had learned about Oak Springs, this valley, and the opportunities that might be available for him here. He used his farm land as a pasture for his animals and a small personal farming operation. His horses were available to lease through the Livery Stable and for breeding purposes. He made household work products for sale, and larger custom furniture, cabinets, carriages and wagons as needed by his customers. He had arrived in town with a contract to build two wagons over two years for the McDonalds freight line that he completed on schedule which, along with his other fine work, built a fine reputation in the community.

A count of people in the valley during the summer of 1860 disclosed a total number of permanent residents of 116. Of these 61 ranged in age from 20 to 64. 55 were therefore under age 20, 26 in the 6 through 13 grade-school age. As previously was the experience, the children were spread across the valley such as that transportation issues precluded starting a central school. 

Early this year (1860), Jerry Potts, and his wife, Polly, moved to Oak Springs, bought the lot north of the Jones’s Boarding House, and built a home and a combination barber shop, apothecary, and print shop (Block J, Lot 3). 

The Founding of the Homeplace - Summer 1860, Progress Report, Part 1 of 2

The Founding of the Homeplace

Summer 1860, Progress Report

Part 1 of 2

"The Founding of the Homeplace" stories will continue here on every other Friday during August and September. This is a serial presentation of the story, beginning in 1833, when four families decided to settle the land, the valley, that would become the setting of the first two books in the The Homeplace Saga: "Back to the Homeplace" and "The Homeplace Revisited" and subsequent series stories, set in 1987 and 1996, to date. The underlying premise of this series is the desire of the family matriarch to retain the family farm in the southern Missouri Ozarks in whole and in the family. 

Characters in this series become actively involved in the study of their family history and snippets of that research appear, from time to time through the series (one example). This serial presentation begins to share that ‘research’ in Story Form, and, some of the Stories represent 'writings of the family' that were ‘discovered’ in the process of that research. Each Story is an essay or report of the activities of the initial four families and their descendants that settled the Homeplace – the farm and the surrounding valley.

Summer 1860, Progress Report

In this episode, we share "Part 1 of 2"

In the past five years our valley has matured and grown slowly. We have added xxx building to our town site, four new farms have been started by new neighbors, and several new homes were built in town by residents already living in the valley.

In the summer of 1859, the marriage of two young people, each born in this valley to members of the founding families, was an occasion for wide and gala celebrations. Jane Truesdale, oldest daughter of the first couple to be married in the valley, in the fall of 1833, Hugh and Victoria (Patton) Truesdale, married Daniel McDonald, son of Henry and the late Laura McDonald. They expected to have a long and happy life together and looked forward to starting their family. 

Prior to the McDonald-Truesdale wedding, Hugh and Victoria Truesdale, along with 9-year-old daughter, Nellie, had built a new home in the southeast residential neighborhood in Oak Springs and planned to move there. Daniel and Jane would then start there married life in the family home on the farm in the east valley.

In the McDonald household, Harry and Sarah’s oldest daughter, Caroline had spent the 1857-58 and the 1858-59 school years in St. Louis with relatives attending a girl’s academy and had now returned to the family farm. Sons, Thomas and Patrick, 15 and 13, respectively, were actively engaged with their father and grandfather in both the farming and the freight line business, but in very different ways. Thomas seemed to always be fully engaged, looking for ways to contribute, and expressed interest in taking on more responsibilities in each area as he matured. Patrick, on the other hand, as often is the case with a second son, in this case, was only interested in participating to the extend his family obligations required. Growing up, he and his GranPa Henry, along with younger brother Alex, now 11, had spend much time in the woods and along the streams, hunting, fishing and trapping, when required farm work and freight line obligations did not require their presence. Now a teenager, Patrick spent more and more time pursuing these activities alone, especially exploring and running trap lines in streams to the south from their farm, including tributaries of Oak Creek, deep in the hills. There he often encountered other young men, from the south, coming north into those same streams, woods, and hills. The northern and southern settlements, because of the topography, continued to be separated by about four to five miles. Perhaps it was the allure of the wilderness in this stretch that drew the interests of all the young men, north and south. Two more daughters had also joined the McDonald household, Mahala, in 1852, and Rebecca, in 1855.

Lewis Truesdale had spent the previous school years in Jefferson City living with his Truesdale grandparents and attending Secondary School there. He was now back working with the family businesses. 

Jacobi Inman reduced his travel time by bringing his hometown childhood sweetheart, Belinda, back to Oak Springs as his wife in the summer of 1857. They lived with his parents.

Just four new families moved into the valley to purchase and establish new farms in the past five years. Each of them came from the north this time, having become familiar with the Oak Creek valley from visits to the mill. They recognized that there were still a few pieces of ground with better soil than where they had been further north in the water shed. Ephraim and Beulah Bressie were the first of these to arrive in the spring of 1856. They located straight north of town on the 160 acre section directly north of the Jesse Bartlett farm. The following spring, Abner and Delta Wingfield located their family ‘across the road’ along the North Spring Run from the Bressie family, on the southwest side of the small waterway. Their 160 acres were directly west of the Bressie place and directly north of the Oliver Dodson farm. This made three homes now situated on the road straight north across the Houston Road, effectively an extension north of Central Avenue in town.