Follow
This project is a table of contents for all projects relating to this County of Missouri. Please feel free to add profiles of anyone who was born, lived or died in this county.
Callaway County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 United States Census, the county's population was 44,332. Its county seat is Fulton. The county was organized November 25, 1820, and named for Captain James Callaway, grandson of Daniel Boone. Callaway County is also referred to as "The Kingdom of Callaway" after an incident in which residents confronted Union troops during the U.S. Civil War.
Early Settlers
The first settlers in the area were French hunters.
"The old village of Cote Sans Dessein (pronounced by the old French Cote Sans Dusaw) was settled by the French about the year 1812. I first saw It in September 1817. I remember that there were then bearing apple and peach trees in several gardens. The village at that time contained 300 or 400 inhabitants. There were two small dry goods stores, one grocery or dram shop, one tavern and one blacksmith shop. This point was selected by Baptiste Roy and his brothers as a very suitable place for trapping and hunting. The Osage river valley was only three miles above and was at that time an excellent place for beaver, deer and bear. In the year 1808 Baptiste Roy purchased of Pierre Chouteau 610 arpents of land, on which he settled & number of persons, the most of whom were hunters and trappers and in his employ, The names of the principal persons there in 1817 were Baptiste, Joe, Louis and Francis Roy, four brothers; James Teabo, Revards, Vinciens, Donoya (called Pecars), Graziers, (called Captain) four; Feye, Laplant, (or Labran), Urnoe, Tyro (or Tyo), Peachu, Shalifaux [Challifoux], Rails and others." (Letter of T. J. Ferguson to Old Settlers Meeting, 1883)
American settlement began in 1814, primarily from the states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.
"The only Americans there [Cote Sans Dessein] then were Daniel Bob and Harvey Colgan, Major Evans, grandfather of the late William, Jesse and John King, Mr. Harvey Hubbard, also grandfather of the late John, Jesse E. and Joseph Farmer, William Dunnica, Asa Williams, the father of Henry, Asa L., W. G.Williams, now living; also Mrs. E. Foy and Sallie Jennings, Jonathan Hollaway, grandfather of J.L. and N. B. Ferguson; also Mrs. C. W. Samuels and Sallie Miller, in the fall of 1817; Joshua, John S. and William Ferguson, Dennis Askrew, Thumas Duley, William B. Scott, father of Mrs. Colonel John Boyce, and also of Mrs. William M. Ramsey, now living; General Jonathan Ramsey, a member in the first convention that formed the first constitution of Missouri; Josiah Ramsey, the great hunter; Lampkins, Rounsaville, Joe and James Gordon, William Lenox and three sons and probably others." (Ferguson, 1883)
Some other early settlers include:
- Bethel Allen (1817), from Smith county, Tennessee
- Sampson Allen (1817), from Smith county, Tennessee
- Thomas Allen (1817), from Smith county, Tennessee
- Thos. J. Ferguson (1817), from Kentucky
- Asahel Lomax (1817), from Smith county, Tennessee to Auxvasse
- Daniel Vanbibber (1817), from Missouri
- John Word (1817), from Goochland county, Virginia to Nine Mile Prairie
In 1821 there were 1,797 people in Callaway County. In 1830 there were 6,159 and in 1840 there were 11,765.
Notables
- Col. Charles Younger, grandfather of members of the James Younger Gang, lived at Auxvasse.
Political Divisions
Callaway is nicknamed Kingdom of Callaway and Little Dixie. It is divided into 18 townships:
- Auxvasse
- Bourbon
- Caldwell
- Calwood
- Cedar
- Cleveland
- Cote Sans Dessein
- East Fulton
- Guthrie
- Jackson
- Liberty
- McCredie
- Nine Mile Prairie
- Round Prairie
- St. Aubert
- Shamrock
- Summit
- West Fulton
Resources
- FamilySearch: Callaway County Genealogy
- Historic Callaway County, 1818 to 1838.
- Old Settlers’ Meeting, 1883.