Early Settlements, Grover Township, Johnson County, Missouri >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** The permanent settlement of this section of Johnson county began about 1830, although there were a few here prior to that time. John Leeper, William Cheek and William Marshall came here between 1828 and 1830. William Marshall settled here in 1830 and it is probable that John Leeper came here in 1828, although if he did so he did not make perma- nent settlement that year. He was a hunter and had a cabin on Walnut Creek probably as early as 1828, but did not make his home here until a year or so later. William Thornton, a native of Virginia, came here in 1830 and Thomas Marshall, also a Virginian, settled here in 1832. Charles Thornton and his son-in-law, Larkin Hocker, settled in this township in 1835. They brought slaves with them and were well to do. Charles M. Oglesby came here from Kentucky in 1834. His native state was Virginia, where he was born, August 17, 1801. He died here Septem- ber 23, 1861, and was one of the respected pioneers of Grover township. Charles M. Oglesby's mother-in-law, Mrs. Jane Gilbert, came here with Mr. Oglesby's family and was one of the honored pioneer women of this section. She died in 1836. Talton W. Oglesby came here in 1834 and entered land. William Gillum came about 1834. Jacob Cox located in what is now Grover township in March, 1833. He was a Virginian and came here from Cooper county, to which place he had moved in 1831. He was married here January 13, 1845, to Melinda Senior. He was a black- smith and brought a blacksmithing outfit with him and opened a shop here which is said to have been the first blacksmith shop within a radius of fifty miles. At that time Salt Fork in Saline county was the nearest grist mill. This was forty miles distant. James Rothwell came here in the fall of 1839. He was a Virginian and spent the remain- der of his life here where he was a useful citizen and became very well to do. Another pioneer who came here among the first was a Mr. Lewis, who came from Saline county in 1829. He entered land from the govern- ment but his wife soon afterward became dissatisfied with the country of howling wolves, deer and Indians, and they sold their farm to William Cheek, taking in exchange for it a cow. ==================================================================== 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: <> Penny Harrell ====================================================================