As I’ve mentioned before, the various branches of my family settled in Barton County, Missouri, within a decade or so after the end of the Civil War. Union Army veterans mixed with Confederate sympathizers and families of bushwhackers. There may have been some hard feelings, but within a few decades, families were intermarrying. There are a lot of places in Barton County to choose from, but one that stands out is Verdella, which was in the center of Barton City Township.
At its height, Verdella was a collection of stores, a church, and a school, but it was also at the center of my family’s life in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This 1886 plat is a snapshot in time.
At the southeast corner (Section 22) of the crossroads was the farm and orchard of my 2nd-great-grandfather, B.C. (Ben) McWilliams. He had returned from the Civil War, and after his travels took him from the Appalachian Mountains of Pennsylvania to Iowa, he settled on a farm and tilled the rich soil of the Missouri prairie.
Going east and a little north, in Section 10, past the Mayfields, was the 160-acre farm of my great-grandfather, David Cassatt. Across the road, from Ben in Section 15, was the 40-acre Krimminger farm. Heading west and then north, in Section 7, at the very edge of the township, was the farm of my 2nd-great-grandfather, S.D. Reed. The Reed farm was divided in two by the Nevada and Minden Railroad. Heading south and then a bit west from Verdella were the farms of John Jay and (William) Marion Fast, my 3rd- and 2nd-great-grandfathers.
For me, this helps ground my family—and their farming neighbors—in a specific place. It is also interesting to see the various landowners and compare them with the list of people who opposed Ben’s request for a Civil War pension.
Forty-four years later, in 1930, there had been many changes. There was no longer a McWilliams farm in Section 22, but the Cassatts had expanded their holdings. According to family lore, David had accumulated enough money to buy additional land and eventually handed the farms off to his three sons, Orville, Virgil, and Bascom. We can see their lands in Sections 9, 10, and 11. Bascom continued the family broom-making industry.
The Reed farm had become Barton City, another collection of houses, stores, a church, and a school. The town changed its name to Hannon and, according to family lore, was named after S.D.’s wife, Hannah (Brown) Reed.
It appears that the Gilmartins had moved to the township and established themselves in Sections 22 and 27. The Fasts were able to acquire additional farmland in Sections 32 and 33 for the children of Marion Fast, including O.T. Fast. Another landmark in the region was Bryan School, in Section 26, just down the road from the Fast farm. My grandmother and her family lived on part of the farm, and my mother taught at the school in the 1930s before moving east to the city.
Just like most of rural America, the shops and businesses in these small towns have closed and the farms have been consolidated. The Nevada and Minden Railroad was absorbed by the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and then abandoned. But the history is still there to discover. Through maps, census records, and family stories, we can uncover the ghosts of the past and learn more about our families—and American history.
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