Early Settlements, Washington Township, Johnson County, Missouri >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** The first settler of the original Washington township of whom we have any record is said to have been John Leeper, who settled in what is now Grover township. Col. John Robinson states in the Johnson County His- tory of 1881: "In about 1828, John Leeper, son-in-law of Peter Fisher, of Pettis county, settled in the woods in section 22, township 47 and range 25, and improved five or six acres. Just northeast of him in section 16 William Cheek settled about the same time and in 1831 built the old Gallaher mill in section 6, on Clear Fork." The first land entry by Cheek was November 30, 1832, in Montserrat township. Joseph Lapsley came from Russell county, Kentucky, in 1837 and died in 1854. John Coy settled here in 1833 and died in 1850. He was also a Kentuck- ian. Sopencer Adams, a native of North Carolina, is said to have settled in this township in 1835. (He made land entry in 1832.) He died in 1867. Ambrose Brockman, from Russell county, Kentucky, settled here in 1837 and died in 1848. James A. Gallaher was also a very early settler. Vally Hall, a Kentuckian, came here in 1835 and died in 1868. John Stewart, also a Kentuckian, came in 1834 and died in 1843. Samuel Graham from Kentucky, made his home here in 1834 and died six years later. Thomas M. Ramsey settled on section 14, in 1859. Johnathan Butler, Alexander and William Gregg, James Ray, and George Gallaher were also pioneers who settled here in the thirties. A German named Strickland settled on section 12 in 1836 but a few years later, when the settlers began to locate within two or three miles of each other, he began to feel crowded and went farther south. Among others who settled here prior to 1840, were W. A. Williams, Jacob Knaus, Samuel Workman, W. H. DeArman, James Brown, Richard McCombs, Henry Hayes, Fred Houck, John Reed, Andrew Thompson, George Thornton, Samuel McCormack, Benjamin Howard, William Box, W. R. McCart. At a general election held in Knob Noster on the first monday in August, 1858, appear the names of A. Hargraves, Samuel McKeen and Jacob Knaus as judges, and J. C. Corum as clerk. All were sworn in August 2, 1858, by J. B. Mayes, justice of the peace. (At this election two hundred and fifty votes were cast.) Among the first to enter government land in this township were Richard Marshall, October 4, 1833; James Ray, March 1, 1834; and Henry Edwards, June 13, 1834. ==================================================================== 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 ====================================================================