Early History, Center Township, Greene County, Missouri

>From "History of Greene County, Missouri," St. Louis: Western
Historical Company, 1883.

**********************************************************************

It is claimed that the first white child born in Center Township was
Nancy Jane Mason, a daughter of Jeptha and Sallie Mason, and the date
of her birth is given as March 20, 1838.  The first death was that of 
another child of Jeptha Mason's named Jesse Mason, who died in 1838,
and was buried in the graveyard at "Squire Squibb's."  The first marr-
iage was that of Mack Leeper and Mary Redferan, the latter the daughter
of Townley Redferan.  The first school within the confines of Center
Township was taught in the winter of 1841 by Miss Rachel Q. Waddill, a
sister of Judge John S. Waddill, of Springfield.  The school was taught
in a house built by Elijah Wiley, and which stood on section 23, 29, 24
on the farm now owned by Widow Cotter.  The house was built of logs. It
had a dirt floor, and there was no chimney.  A way for the escape of
smoke was provided by building a double wall at one end of the room, 
the outer wall built two feet from the inner, and the latter not runn-
ing down all the way to the floor, by some three feet.  Thus the entire
end of the building was a fire place.  Some stones were piled along the
log wall to keep it from taking fire.  The building was about fourteen
square feet, and the logs were cut by Geo. J. Wiley.  Miss Waddill
taught two terms in this house and received 75 cents per scholar for
each month's instruction.  Her average attendance was about 25.  Miss
Waddill afterwards married George McElhanon, and died in 1857 of cancer.
In a year or two after the first school was taught the people built a
better school house near the Widow Renferan's place, in Section 14, 
which was the first building erected especially for a school house. The
first religious meetings were held at Isaac Redferan's, by the Baptists.
Rev. Jesse Mason was the first preacher in these parts.  The worshipers
took their guns with them when they went to meeting, and often killed
deer and other game along the way.  It is said that even the preacher
carried his gun, and was known on one or two occasions to ride to his
labors in a wagon, and after having preached a "powerful" sermon, to
return home by way of a pile of clapboards that he had riven and haul
away a load.  Probably the deed was hallowed by the day.  Many of the
men at that day attended meeting dressed in buckskin pantaloons and
caps made of fawn skins or coon skins.  The first practicing physician
to locate in the western part of Greene County was Dr. Constantine
Perkins, who lived in Boone Township, near where the town of Ash Grove
now stands.  He was the first physician that ministered to the fleshly
ills of the people of Center Township as a regular practitioner.  Dr.
Perkins' medicine chest contained no drug that would ward off the gold
fever, and he was seized with that malady in 1850 and went to Califor-
nia, where he died some ten years later.

====================================================================
     USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing
         free information on the Internet, data may be used by
         non-commercial entities, as long as this message
         remains on all copied material. These electronic
         pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit
         or for presentation by other persons or organizations.

         Persons or organizations desiring to use this material
         for purposes other than stated above must obtain the
         written consent of the file contributor.

         This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb
         Archives by: Joe Miller <mio@netins.net>
		      Penny Harrell <Incog3678@aol.com>

====================================================================