Re: John and Josiah Taggart of Webster Co, M
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In reply to:
John and Josiah Taggart of Webster Co, M
Jo Harris Hamilton Fischer 8/01/01
"Everett, Twyla C"
I enjoyed very much the posting about the Josiah Taggard family and the Span
family. You mentioned a bundle of 17 letters that the info came from. Do
you have
the letters and would you be willing to photocopy the letters or scan them?
I would
be willing to pay for copying costs. Please let me know if either would be
possible.
Thanks for taking the time to post the message.
[email protected] wrote
Dear Twyla
In regards to the 17 letters.
I have published a great deal of two of these letters in the Dallas County currier. Write to Jack and he can get you copies.
These published parts are from letters written between 1858 and 1859 that Joseph and Thomas Span wrote to their sister Elizabeth Span Miller (sister to Nancy Span that married Josiah Taggard) regarding our families part in the early growth and development of Union Camp (now the Niangua River Basin) of Misere/Missourie/Missouri. They were for the school marm of Elizabeth’s children in Benton County. So I suspect that their is a great deal of truth to what is in them.
The published parts of the letters will be put into a book RECOLLECTIONS OF THE NIANGUA RIVER BASIN and will include maps. Copies will be distributed to the libraries of the Niangua River Basin (Camden, Leclede, Webster, Greene, Polk, Hickory, and of course the heart ot the Niangua River Basin.......DALLAS COUNTY.
At this point in time I am not sure if the book will published for the general public.
As for copying the actual letters, I have to refuse. There are many parts that I never want published or exposed to the general public. They tell of the horrific clashes of the HOMESTEADERS and BOONE’S ELITE MEN (the miners of the Indian Osage 6 Bulls leases of Spanish Louisiana that lived in encampments under Col Boone, in the lands that became French Louisiana 1800, that became USA Louisiana 1803 and then was sold in 1808 by the Osage but never changed hands until 1828 due to the Indians went to war from 1809 to 1828 to over turn the 1808 treaty.) These clashes were over the ELITE MEN’S taking the choice lands for themselves, Aaron Span was one of (My direct ancestor and father to Nancy, William, Benjamin, John, Joseph, Thomas, Elizabeth, Isreal and Eliza Jane), so was John Taggard (either the father or brother to Josiah Taggard that married Nancy Span sister to the Span children listed above.)as well as many of his kin, Wisdom, Marlin, Ballew, Gilesby, Anderson, Montgomery etc) that were here before the USA started homesteading, and they were promiesed lands in return for helping Col Boone organize the leases lands with miners that were potential homesteaders.
Many murders, rapes and other injustices are mentioned with names and dates. I never want this information to come to print, since many of the persons involved intermarried and intermarried and intermarried.................any person that has family ties that go back to 1828 has a strong possibility to be related to persons named in the letters, or on my tree or any one else's of the era 1797 to 1828. I did not start genealogy to open up old wounds, but to revel in the wonderful ness of my family’s part in the organization of Missouri. These letters have been a great joy to me as they opened up the "previous to 1828 history" of the Missouri. Unfortunately all the libraries and historical societies concentrate only on the histories that began with the onset of the swarms of HOMESTEADERS (1828)..............who quickly and eventually wiped out the BOONE’S ELITE MEN control.
Many things were mentioned in the letters that were always a puzzle to me. For instance 1855 Webster county published a history and mentioned that the Baptist denomination was the first to establish in South West Missouri but it was unknown who and where. Two parts of the Span children letters published tell of how Col Boone was Quaker but did not force this on his miners or slaves (Indian, French Trappers, English Trappers and African). And he felt that all men should be educated in the word of God and the word of man. So in 1800/01 he had a LEARNING CABIN AND A PRAYING CABIN put up at North Out post of Misere/Missourie/Missouri. This was the start of the BAPTIST CHURCH and the BAPTIST BIBLE BELT. As at first everyone took turns opening prayer, but then Rev Samuel McKorkle came and he was Baptist.
One of the letter parts tells of the 1st school that Aaron Span went to in North Outpost of Misere/Missourie/Missouri and it claims that it was the first school established by Col Boone (1800/01) below the Missouri River to the present Arkansas boarder, this school was at what is now called COL BOONES HUNTING LODGE in Christian county and was the headquarters of North Outpost of Missouri (like Jefferson city is the capitol of Missouri). Aaron Span came to Spanish Louisiana in 1797 age 9 when the leases were under Col Morgan. Col Morgan was expulsed from Spanish Louisiana for illegally selling Indian lands, this is how Col Boone came to possess the Indian leases...........well two of them: The North Outpost and the Central Outpost (present day Missouri and Arkansas). He did not want South as this is where Col Morgan sold much of the illegal lands and too much turmoil. The South became the State of Louisiana in 1812.
The second school is also in the parts published and Aaron was 14 when he was sent to UNION CAMP (the Niangua River Basin) of North Outpost Misere/Missourie/Missouri. Aaron was sent there to begin work as a full grown man..........because he wanted to marry to a 12 year old girl. Even as a grown man he had to continue with the LEARNING CABIN and the PRAYING CABIN. All the miners had to or leave. These cabins in Union Camp headquarters were located at what is now called HUGHES CEMETERY in Webster County. The CHURCH started as the PRAYING CABIN (in 1803) , then became the Union Camp Worship cabin, then UNION Camp Baptist congregation at headquarters of Union Camp.
When the Homesteaders came (aafter the Indian wars ended in 1828), the land that the Union Camp Baptist Church was on was taken by an homesteader. At first the congregation still met there, then when the owner died, the heir did not want the church there, so it was moved between Charity, Dallas Co, Mo and Elkland, Webster Co, Mo before 1850. The others in the area did not like a proslavery Baptist church so they burned it down, but it was rebuilt with a plank building of New England Style and renamed Pleasant View Baptist Church. The Span children letters regarding this church mention nothing further beyond 1858. But the history of Webster County states that in 1860 the lands on which the PLEASANT VIEW CHURCH rested were deeded to a trust. In 1889 the Church was again moved to the present site on highway 38, and it still stands today. It was abandoned for use in 1902, but on the front of the church is a sign that reads ESTABLISHED 1803. (NOTE the same year that the Span children letters say it was established at Union Camp Church). The present worship is as M. E. Methodist Church and there is a cemetery across for it. The cemeteries for the other sites (where the church was previously rested are maintained by the Ministerial alliance, according to what I was told at Timber Ridge Baptist est 1842 which is not associated with Union Camp Baptist that became Pleasant View Baptist est 1803)
I have put in a great deal of time to gleen out the early history without the BLOOD, GUTS and TERROR of the WARS between the HOMESTEADERS AND THE BOONE’S ELITE MEN. By publishing parts of the SPAN children's letters I was hoping to enrich the libraries in the NIANGUA RIVER BASIN.
If you want me to search the letters for any particular name, I will be happy to do so, but If I feel the information is not something to divulge for the benefit of all of us here in the Niangua River Basin then I will consider not sending it to you.