Greene County, Missouri
History, Records, Facts and Genealogy

Greene County was organized January 2, 1833, from Crawford and Wayne counties and named for Nathaniel Greene, Revolutionary War general. The County Seat is Springfield. Courthouse burned in 1861. See also County History or Courthouse History for more historical details.

Greene County has records of genealogical interest available: Recorder of Deeds: Index to deeds, 1833-1886; Deed records, 1833-1947; Marriage records, 1833-1916. Clerk of the County Court: Register of births and stillbirths, 1883-1901; Permanent record of births, 1884-1889; Permanent record of deaths, 1883-1895; Register of deaths, 1883-1902. Clerk of the Circuit Court: Circuit court records, 1833-1885. Clerk of the Probate Court: Probate records, 1830-1 885; Administrator’s/executor’s letters, bonds and records, 1882-1895; Inventories, appraisements and sale bills, 1865-1873; Settlement records, 1847-1881; Guardian’s/curator’s records, 1834-1881; Will records, 1840-1916. The Health Department has Birth & Death Records from 1910-Present. See Court Records for more details on whats available from the courthouse.

Counties adjacent to Greene County are Polk County (north), Dallas County (northeast), Webster County (east), Christian County (south), Lawrence County (southwest), Dade County (northwest). Cities and Towns include Ash Grove, Battlefield, Bois D'Arc, Brookline, Ebenzer, Fair Grove, Logan, Nogo, Oak Grove Heights, Plano, Republic, Rogersville, Springfield, Strafford, Turners, Walnut Grove, Willard.

Since its organization in 1833, the number and boundaries of the various Greene County Townships have changed as the size of Greene County was reduced to form other counties. The present Greene County Townships are: Boone, Brookline, Campbell, Cass, Center, Clay, Franklin, Jackson, Murray, Pond Creek, Taylor, Walnut Grove, Washington, Wilson

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Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

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Extended History

Even before Missouri became a state on August 10, 1821, settlers were arriving in southwest Missouri. Claims by the Delaware, Kickapoo, and Osage Indians, however, prevented any type of permanent settlement. It was not until after 1830, the date of the Indian removal, that the future Greene County was opened for settlement.

The county itself, named for Revolutionary War hero, Nathanael Greene, was officially established on January 2, 1833. Its boundaries encompassed most of southwest Missouri, having previously been a part of Wayne County. Its present boundaries were finalized in 1858. As the county prospered and increased in population, small villages arose, particularly along the Frisco Railroad, with names such names as Bois D'Arc, Brookline, Ash Grove, Fair Grove, Republic, Strafford, Walnut Grove, Willard, and Battlefield.

The largest community in Greene County is Springfield, founded by John Polk Campbell, a settler from Maury County, Tennessee. He arrived with his brother, Madison, in 1829, and upon finding a "natural well,” its water flowing into a small stream at the foot of a wooded hill, carved his initials on an ash tree to establish his claim. (The site of the spring is on present-day Water Street, between North Jefferson and North Robberson.) Campbell returned to Tennessee for his family and returned to the Ozarks in March 1830. Other settlers arrived almost daily and it was not long before a rather sizable log cabin settlement developed along with stores, mills, a school, post office, land office and other necessary businesses to service a growing community.

The date for the "birth" of Springfield has not been firmly established. It was incorporated in 1838, but the town site was plated in 1835 when Campbell deeded 50 acres of land for the county seat. There was a post office as early as 1834 for "Springfield" and the first permanent courthouse, a two story brick structure, was constructed in the middle of the public square in 1837. In any event, Springfield grew and prospered and since at least as early as 1878 has been known as the Queen City of the Ozarks.

Additional information on the townships can be found by following the links above. Below are township histories compiled from Illustrated Historical Atlas of Greene County, Missouri. Originally published in 1876 by Brink, McDonough & Company, this volume was reprinted in 1988 by the Ozarks Genealogical Society. (Note that some information on individual towns was not transcribed for this website.)

Jackson Township

Jackson township occupies the northeastern part of Greene County, and comprises the portion of congressional township thirty-one, range twenty, included in Greene County; township thirty, range twenty, and one-half of the upper tier of sections of township twenty-nine, rang twenty. Andrew Bass came to the county at the close of the year 1829, and settled half a mile west of Strafford . In the same neighborhood (section three) Jeremiah Pierson was an early resident and one of the first settlers of the county. He lived at the Danforth farm, on the Springfield and Marshfield road, a farm which Josiah F. Danforth purchased of Jeremiah Pierson in 1834, and where he lived for many years. Danforth was from Tennessee, and was the father of James, Joseph and William Danforth.

In the year 1830, Andrew Bass put about nine acres of land under cultivation at the place where he first settled, and at the close of the year moved about six miles north to section four, township thirty, range twenty, to the farm now owned and occupied by his son, Sampson Bass. The remains of the old pioneer and his wife now repose on the farm where he lived for many years. Alpheus Huff the same year, 1830, moved from Franklin County Missouri, and settled near the line between sections four and five of the same township. Huff was a native of the State of New York. He and Bass were the first settlers of Congressional township thirty, range twenty. Alexander Chadwick was the next arrival. He came from Tennessee, and settled in section seven of the same township in 1831. No settlements of any account were then made for two or three years. In township thirty-one, range twenty, among the first settlers were Thomas Potter, William Potter, John Adams, Robert Small, James Donnell, and Capt. John Ramey ; and in township thirty, range twenty, William Price, George Kepley , Nathan Webb, and Bennett Thrower.

The first church organized in Jackson township was the Bethsadia Methodist Church, built of logs, which stood on section seven, of township thirty, range twenty. Within a mile and a half was afterward built the Elm Spring Methodist Church, erected after old Bethsadia had ceased to exist. One of the first preachers in the township was the Rev. Mr. Joplin, a traveling Methodist preacher, who preached from house to house throughout that part of the county. The first Methodist Society was organized at the Widow Price's, in section four of township thirty, range twenty. The first white child born in the township was probably James Boss, the son of Andrew Boss. Among the old residents of the township now are the Bosses, the Huffs, John Harkness , who came to the township in 1843, and R. B. Wommack , who came from Tennessee to Missouri in 1839, settled at Land Springs, in Webster county, and moved on the Pomme de Terre, in Jackson county in 1852. There are several families of the Wommacks in the township, all old residents. Esquire Murrell has been an old resident, and a leading and influential citizen.

The Pomme de Terre creeks flow through the township. In July 1876, this stream was extraordinarily full on account of freshets from heavy rains, and did widespread damage to the farms along its banks, overflowing fields, and sweeping away fences and crops. The height to which it rose was between three and four feet higher than it was ever known to have reached before.

Franklin Township

Franklin township had as one of its first settlers, James K. Alsup, who came from Tennessee in 1831 and settled on the Little Sac. An old gentleman by the name of Daniel Johnson came the same year, and settled in section seven, where J.R. James now lives. Samuel Scroggins came also in 1831, and made an improvement on the Little Sac, where Jonathan Hunt now lives. In the fall of 1832, John Headlee arrived from Maury county, Tennessee, and put up his first cabin on section ten, near the line between that and section nine. At the same time with Headlee came Benjamin Johnson and James Dryden, and settler on section nine. The widow Simms, the mother-in-law of Mr. Headlee , also came at the same time with him, and made her home in the township. Larkin DeWitt came the same year (1832) and settled on the opposite side of the creek from where Thomas J. Whittock now lives. Robert Ross lived farther east of the creek.

Thomas J. Whittock emigrated from Tennessee in 1832, and reached the Kickapoo prairie on the fifteenth of December of that year. He soon afterward settled on the south side of the Sac in the near vicinity of his present residence. He was born in Surrey county North Carolina, but came to Missouri from Tennessee. Thomas James, the father of J. R. James, was an early settler of the township. He was born in North Carolina, afterward removed to Tennessee, and came to Greene county in 1835, and settled where his son now lives. Caleb Headlee , the father of the Hon. Samuel W. Headlee, emigrated from Maury county, Tennessee in 1836, and settled in the township. In the fall of 1834, David H. Bedell came from North Carolina and made a settlement in section five where he died in April, 1860. Nearly all the early settlers of the township were from Tennessee, but a great part had originally come from North Carolina before reaching Tennessee. The Headlee and Bedell families trace their ancestry back to New Jersey. Mr. Dysart has been one of the oldest and best citizens of the township.

After 1832, settlers began to come in quite rapidly. In 1835 a large panther was killed within a hundred yards of where James Wheeler now lives. The panther was pursued by dogs and found refuge on a black jack tree, where he was shot by Benjamin Johnson, whose name has been mentioned among the pioneers. Johnson was a great hunter, in common with a large proportion of the old settlers, and his trusty rifle had brought down multitudes of deer.

Hickory Barrens is a post office on the Sac, in this township, eight miles northeast from Springfield.

Robberson Township

The Robbersons, Mullingses, Evans, Headlees and others were among the first settlers of this part of the county. A man named Paynter settled Ebenezar in 1831. The same year Samuel Lasley came from Tennessee and settled in the forks of the Sac, on the road leading from Springfield to Ebenezar. Thomas Wilson came to the county in the fall of 1834, and settled on the place formerly occupied by Paynter and Ebenezer, where William H. Payne now lives. The widow Robberson and family arrived from Maury county, Tennessee, and located at the northern end of the prairie which now bears the family name.. Her sons were William, Bennett, Allen, John, Edwin, Russell and Rufus. They settled here in 1832. Thomas Stokes, a son-in-law of Mrs. Robberson came at the same time and lived also in the northern end of the prairie. John and Robert Wills came at the same time with Thomas Wilson, of whom they were connections, and settled east of Ebenezer at Col. Reed's place. All these were from Tennessee. William Ross, who was originally from South Carolina, but who had lived some time in the northern part of the State, settled on the Sac, where the widow Wilson now lives, in the year 1832.

Hosea Mullings, still an old and honored citizen of the township, became a resident of the township in the fall of 1834. In the southeastern corner of Robberson township not far from Fulbright's Mill, a family by the name of Bandfield settled in 1835. Elisha Headlee, who has been one of the prominent citizens of the township and has been called by his fellow citizens to fill several public offices, arrived in 1836, and began the improvement of the place which has been his home from that day to the present.

In congressional township thirty-one, range twenty-two, which forms the northern part of Robberson township, a family by the name of Alsop were settlers at an early date, and lived west of the State road at the place now occupied by William Pressley. John Jones came about 1834, and lived where William Tuck now lives, in section fifteen. The log cabin which first occupied the spot where Jones settled was built by a man named House. William Tuck came from McMahon county, East Tennessee, in the fall of 1837, and settled where House and Jones had formerly lived, and still resides there at the age of seventy-two, one of the oldest and most respected citizens in this part of the county. Simeon Bird came from Tennessee in 1837 and settled on the Dry Sac in the neighborhood of Tuck. The farm is now owned by his two sons. About the same time several families came to this part of Missouri from Tennessee, but settled in what is now Polk county, adjacent to this township. In the fall of 1838 or 1839 Thomas Swadley, from East Tennessee, settled on the Dry Sac about a mile above the Tuck and Bird settlement. The sons of the old man still reside at the same place.

The Bolivar road which runs north through Robberson township is said to have been the first road regularly laid out in Greene county. It was laid out by the State, and ran from Boonville on the Missouri river to Fayetteville in Arkansas. A post-office was formerly kept where James Headlee now lives, which was called Richland, but it is several years since it has been in existence.

Cass Township

Settlements were made in Cass township at an early date on the Whittenburg Prairie. Peter Whittenburg was one of the pioneers, and from him the prairie received its name. Wm. Johnson was also one of the first settlers, and so was Jesse Kelley. John Richardson made a settlement on the prairie as early as 1834, and Charles L. Peck came in 1835. William Killingsworth came to the prairie in 1839, and Charles McClure, now living in Brookline township, in the same year. William McClure, in 1837, came from East Tennessee, and settled his present farm on the prairie in section thirty-one, township thirty-one, range twenty-three, where he is still living in the enjoyment of a hale old age.

Isaac Julian, father of Isaac P. and S.H. Julian, arrived in 1837, and made a settlement on section thirty-four of township thirty-one range twenty-three. He was a native of North Carolina, but came to Missouri from Tennessee, and his sons have been prominent and influential citizens. The place where Isaac Julian first settled was improved by a man named Payne. Archibald Morris was an early resident of the eastern end of the prairie. At Cave Spring John Grigsby was an early resident. His location was immediately at the spring. The farm of Dr. L.T. Watson was first improved by John Dillard, an East Tennessean. Thomas Fanon, from East Tennessee also, lived at the present residence of Spencer Watson. Isaac Hastings, likewise an emigrant from East Tennessee, settled about a mile east of Cave Spring about 1835, and occupied the farm now owned by William Thompson.

Esquire John W. Wadlow came to Greene County from old Virginia in 1837, and settled on section fourteen, of township thirty, range twenty-three, and has since lived in that immediate neighborhood. John Evans, now a prosperous farmer of Cass Township, was born in North Carolina, and came to the county in 1840, first settled on Robberson Prairie, and has been living in Cass Township since 1850. S.G. Appleby, now one of the leading residents of the township, first came to this part of the county in 1843. James B. and John McElhanen, both of whom are now living in Cass township, are both old settlers of the county. They came from Bedford county, Tennessee, to Missouri, in 1833, and settled first at Springfield. In 1835, John McElhanon moved to Boone township, and James B. in 1840, and both recently have come to Cass township.

Isaac Cook, about 1835, came from Tennessee and settled on section thirty-six, township thirty, range twenty-three. Where Mr. Biggs now lives on the Melville Road, William Parrish made a settlement in 1837. He was a Kentuckian, and the last general musters were the scenes of considerable excitement, and brought together people from all parts of the country. Three of these musters were held yearly--the company, battalion, and regimental musters. The two former were commonly held in the spring, and the regimental muster, the grandest occasion of all, came off in the autumn, and was a time long to be remembered. After the muster at Uncle Billy Parrish's, the militia disbanded and never assembled together again on muster day.

James Gilmore came from East Tennessee, in 1834, and is still living in Cass township on the place where he first settled, and is one of the oldest men in the county. W.L.B. Lay, an East Tennessean, but who lived in Indiana, settled on Clear Creek in the southwest part of Cass township in 1837, and after living there ten years removed to Centre township.

Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, on Clear creek in the southwestern part of the township, was one of the earliest Baptist Churches in that country. It was founded by William Tatum and Elijah Williams, and for many years was the only church in that neighborhood, and was attended by people for many miles around. The first Presbyterian Church organized in all southwest Missouri was the Mount Zion Church at Cave Spring. It was instituted by the Rev. Ephraim P. Noel, on the nineteenth of October, 1839. Mr. Noel was pastor until 1842, and was then succeeded by the Rev. G.A.M. Renshaw, who was pastor till his death in 1857.

Walnut Grove Township

Walnut Grove township is the smallest civil township in the county. A grove principally composed of walnut timber was known as the Walnut Grove from a very early period. Hugh Leeper was one of the earliest settlers. He made an improvement two miles and a half southwest of the town of Walnut Grove. Allen Williams came to the township in 1832, settled in section twenty-one, but afterward moved to Texas. Michael Walsh located on section twenty-two the same year. William Mallory built the first cabin, which stood on the farm of A.J. McElmore. Joseph Moss settled where the town of Walnut Grove now is, but an improvement had been made there previous to his coming, which Moss purchased. Jack Williamson, now living in the southern part of the township, was an old settler, and was formerly Captain of the militia in the old days when able-bodied citizens of the county were obliged to muster. Williamson came to the county in 1836. Moss was from Kentucky.

In the town of Walnut Grove, William H. Cook was one of the first settlers, and had a blacksmith shop where now stands the town. S.A. Edmonson was likewise one of the early residents. Nelson Montgomery opened the first store. Dr. A.C. Sloan, now practicing medicine at Walnut Grove, came to this part of Missouri with his father in 1831, and lived in the part of Greene County afterward taken off to form Polk. Mr. Longerier has been an old resident in the neighborhood of the town, and came from Pennsylvania.

There are other old settlers in the township, including the Leepers, Looneys, and others who have been good citizens, and identified with the progress of this part of the county. Beside the church at Walnut Grove there is a Cumberland Presbyterian Church on the Whittenberg Prairie, and a Baptist church in the western part of the township.

Boone Township

Nathan Boone, son of Daniel Boone, the old Kentucky pioneer, was one of the first settlers of Boone township, and located in the heart of the ash grove--a large grove of timber lying mostly in sections nine and sixteen, in which the principle timber is ash and walnut. Nathan Boone's sons were James, John, Benjamin and Howard; and James Boone is still living in the township. Willis and Thomas Caulfield and Alfred Horseman were also early pioneers in the township in 1834. Josiah Burney, who is yet living in Springfield, came from North Carolina, and at an early date settled in this township. He is the father of W.J. Burney and Joseph Burney. William G. Sumners came to the township from North Carolina in the fall of 1834, and, after settling in the walnut grove, came to what is now Boone township and settled in section fifteen, where his daughter, Mrs. Andrew M. Appleby, now lives. A man by the name of Constantine Perkins settled on Clear creek, in section four, and had a mill there, probably the first mill in the township, long known as McElhanen's & Perkins' mill. Perkins went to California on the breaking out of the gold fever in 1850, and died there the same year. The second mill put up in the township was on the Sac, about the year 1848. Silas Grantham was an early settler. Several families by the name of Johnson lived on the eastern edge of the Leeper Prairie. R.K. Boyd, John Rush, and James Cox lived on the west side of the ash grove. James Dunn settled the place on Clear creek, in section eleven, now occupied by John Kirk. Michael Welsh was an old settler on Clear creek, in section three. Peter Ooley lived in section five.

Jesse Mason, a Hardshell Calvinistic Baptist preacher, came to the township before 1840, settled on the Sac, and was one of the first preachers living in the township. The first Baptist Church organized in the township was what was known as the Ash Grove Church. It was first organized at the Elm Spring School House. The first regular pastor was Thomas J. Kelley. A sort of shed was put up for the purpose of holding meetings and stood near the present Ash Grove Church. The Ash Grove Church is the only building in the township devoted exclusively to church service, although there are several societies of Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians. There is a Union Church at Ash Grove. The Rev. J.E.B. Justice came from Kentucky in the year 1843. He lived in section fourteen two years and then came to his present farm. William Conrad and Lewis Horspers settled the place where the Rev. Mr. Justice now lives about 1840. They were the pioneer German settlers of that part of the county, and erected a distillery, a small stream still, on what is still known as the Dutch Branch. Peter J. Nicholson, in 1842 came to Greene county from Washington county, Indiana, and settled in the southern part of Boone township. In 1835, John McElhanon, who two years previously had come to Springfield from Bedford county Tennessee, settled in Boone township. He was one of the earliest settlers of Ash Grove. His brother, James B. McElhanon , moved to the township in 1840, and both are still living at the present time in Cass township.

Centre Township

At the head of Leeper prairie, Hugh Leeper was one of the first settlers, and the prairie was so called from that family. William Tatum came from Logan county, Kentucky, 1837, first settled on the Leeper prairie, and in 1839 came to the head of Clear Creek in section four of township twenty-nine, range twenty-three. He had twelve children, of whom four are now living in Centre township. James Wilson came to the township in 1837, and settled on section three of township twenty-nine, range twenty-three, on the farm now occupied by Mrs. Matilda Jones. Isaac N. Jones is now one of the oldest residents of the township, and is a man well known throughout the county. E.D. Ripplin has resided in the county for some years. His wife was Susan A. Wallace, the daughter of David Wallace, one of the old pioneer citizens of the Wilson township. Henry Paulsell lived in the township for many years. John Yeakley moved from East Tennessee the fall of 1839, then moved to Polk County, and in March 1840, located in Centre township. His son, Thomas Yeakley, is a well- known citizen of the township. Robert Batson, father of Nathaniel Batson, came to the county in the fall of 1840, and located in Pond Creek township. Since 1847 Nathaniel Batson has been living in Centre township. James Hughs came from Ray county, Tennessee in 1844, and settled in section nineteen, township twenty-nine, range twenty-three. Several other old pioneers and settlers are living in the township.

Lead mines have been recently opened up in sections thirty-three and thirty-four, township twenty-nine, range twenty-four, and the prospects so far are encouraging. The former county farm is situated near the headwaters of the Sac, but in recent years has been removed to the neighborhood of Springfield.

Campbell Township

Campbell township embraces the settlement of the Campbells, the Rountrees, the Fulbrights, and other pioneers in the neighborhood of Springfield. William Fulbright, who came to the county in the year 1829, and settled where Fort No. 2 now is, west of Springfield, had previously been through what is now Greene county in 1819, but at that time settled in Crawford county. He returned to Tennessee in 1822, and lived in that State till 1929, and then came back to Missouri and settled in the immediate vicinity of Springfield as we have stated. Kindred Rose came to the county in 1831, settled on section thirty-three, of township twenty-nine, range twenty-two, and has been living there from that date to the present. Alexander McKenzie, from Pulaski County, Kentucky, came in 1829 or 1830, and located three miles south of Springfield. Having disposed of his place to William Townsend about 1833, he moved out to Spring River. At an early day a mill stood on a spring branch were Jones' distillery is now situated. William Fulbright, about 1830, put up a mill on the Sac where Lawson Fulbright now has a mill. Chesley Cannefax and Benjamin Cannefax put up a mill on Wilson's Creek in 1832.

John Robertson, the father of W.R. Robertson, arrived from Tennessee in the fall of 1835, and settled immediately west of Springfield on the farm now owned and occupied by Judge William B. Farmer. Judge Farmer reached Springfield in July, 1840, and after an active business life in Springfield, moved to his present farm in 1852. Martin Ingram is one of the old settlers of East Campbell Township. Coming to Springfield in 1831, he lived one year in the town, and from 1835 to the present time has been living on his farm in section two. He did a large amount of mechanical work in the days of the early history of the county, and built several mills. Judge Morton settled in the same part of the township in 1836, and the succeeding year brought on his family from Marshall County, Tennessee. Washington Merritt, living also in the northeastern part of the township, has been an old resident and one of the substantial citizens of the county. William Purselly, the father of John, James F. and William Pursselly, settled in 1838 on section twenty-five of township twenty-nine, range twenty-one. Marcus Boyd in 1840 came from Maury County, Tennessee, and settled two miles and a half east of Springfield. Samuel M. McCorkle, father of N.A. McCorkle, settled on the Ferguson place southeast of Springfield in 1839. He was from Tennessee.

Note: The atlas contains a list of people who were living in Campbell Township in 1876 and who came to the county prior to 1841.

Taylor Township

The first settled place in the township was the farm of Col. John H. Price, section thirteen, township twenty-nine, range twenty, where a man by the name of Davis located about 1822 or soon afterward. Davis is said to have been killed by the Indians. Edward Thompson and Samuel G. Martin successively occupied the place till 1836, when Crabtree Price secured possession and lived there till his death. The Rev. Mr. Mooney first settled (about 1827) the farm on the James now owned by Julian Foster. On Foster's removal to Polk county, Nicholas Darnielle lived there and died in 1837. Samuel Martin, once Judge of the county court, came from North Carolina and settled on section twenty-four in 1829, On the south side of James River at the present residence of John Caldwell, Edward Thompson, a Tennesseean, settled in 1830, and four years afterward removed to the Kickapoo prairie. John L. McCraw, now county surveyor came to the county in 1836, and settled where he now lives. The Galbreath place was sometime previous to 1836 occupied by the family of a French woman by the name of Mrs. Page. Rev. Thomas Potter, a preacher of the Christian church, was an early settler where Richard M. Jones now lives. James Martin in 1836 settled the farm of Thomas W. Sawyers in section thirty-six. Mr. Sawyers, one of the old and respected citizens of the township, came to the county in 1840, and has been living on his present farm since that date. In the fall of 1837, William Dillard came from Monroe county, Tennessee, and settled on section seventeen on the place first settled two years before by Broxton Sams. William Dillard is now ninety-four years of age, and the oldest man, as far as we can learn, now living in Greene county.

The James river was remarkably high in 1830 or 1831; higher by four or six feet than it has ever been since. The highest water since the country has been settled up was in June, 1855. Fish were formerly very abundant in the stream, but have become scarce by reason of the dams thrown across.

Washington Township

Washington is the southeast township of Greene county. One of the first settlers was James Thompson, from Tennessee, who came to the county in 1836, settled in Taylor township a few months, and then moved to the place on the James now occupied Henry Smith. A man by the name of Phillips was also an early resident, and made a settlement in the southwest corner of the township, afterward moved to Webster county and is now living at the head of the James. John Gwin settled in the southeast corner of the township in 1836. Robert Beattie arrived from Middle Tennessee, in the spring of 1837, and settled where he now lives on section eleven. William Dillard has been mentioned as one of the early settlers of Taylor township. His son, R.D. Dillard, has been a resident of Washington township since 1849. William Sawyers, since deceased, came to the township in 1840 from Virginia, and settled in the northeast corner. D.M. Logan, who has lived on section eight since 1847, came to the county from Tennessee in 1836, and first settled in Campbell township, five miles northeast of Springfield. The Hubbles and others are at present old and respected citizens of this part of the county. A.J. Thompson, of Washington township, is now said to be the oldest man living who was born in Greene county.

Clay Township

Clay township, corresponding to all of congressional township twenty-eight, range twenty-one, included in Greene county, is intersected by the James. The Kickapoo prairie extends into the northwestern part of the township, and embraces some fine farms. Mention has already been made in the county history of settlements at an early date made along the James within the limits of this township. Some of the Thompson family, now living in the township, are old settlers of the county. E.M. Thompson came to the county in 1830, and first settled east of Springfield. Col. Charles A. Haden is an old resident of the township, and has been identified with his history. The McCorkle family were old settlers of Greene county. N.A. McCorkle is now living in Clay township, and has been a good citizen. He is from Tennessee. When his father, Samuel McCorkle, first came to the county in 1839, he settled in Campbell township, southeast of Springfield. Where A.G. McCracken now lives, William H. Anderson, father of W.B. Anderson, settled in the year 1841, and first opened up that farm. Clay township contains some enterprising farmers and prominent citizens, some of whom have become residents of the township of late years.

Wilson Township

The settlements on the James in Wilson township were the earliest made in Greene county, and the township likewise has the honor of containing the oldest settler of the county in the person of Albert G. Patterson, who came to his present home in 1822, fifty-four years ago, and has been living there from that date to the present with the exception of some years when the whites were not permitted to inhabit the county on account of the occupancy by the Indians. The Pattersons, David Wallace, and others were among the early pioneers. Among other settlers who came in later years was John Briscoe, who arrived in 1831, or 1832, from Tennessee, and settled where William M. Ward now lives and died there. His sons-in-law were Jacob and Andrew Roller. The former settled the farm of Elijah Gray, and the latter the place where Scott Fry now lives. The Rollers and Briscoes left in a few years. Elijah Gray was from Halifax county, Virginia, removed to Tennessee, and in 1840 came to Greene county, and in 1841 removed to his present residence in Wilson township. Dr. Jewett lived on this same farm before the Grays came. When Elijah Gray moved into his present house in December, 1841, it was then called the finest house in Wilson township. It was built of hewn logs, with a shingle roof and a rock chimney, while most of the old settlers' houses boasted only of board roofs and wooden chimneys daubed up with mud.

L.A.D. Crenshaw came to Greene county in 1841 from Nashville, Tennessee, and settled near Springfield. In 1845 he came to Wilson township, and in 1848 settled at his present residence in section three of township twenty-eight, range twenty-two. He had no capital when he came, but has now reached a foremost position among the solid citizens of Greene county. In Wilson township he owns 1200 acres of land, all lying in one body, forming one of the finest farms in the county.

William T. Ward is an old settler of the township. W.B. Anderson began improving his present farm in the northeastern part of the township in 1842.

Brookline Township

Thomas Hazletine was one of the pioneer settlers of township twenty-eight, range twenty- three. He came to the county about 1834 and settled the place now occupied by Charles McClure. Henry Small was also an early settler of this part of the county. The northern and western parts of the township are prairie. Little York is an old settled place. The Atlantic and Pacific railroad extends through the township. Republic is a station on the railroad, fifteen miles southwest of Springfield, containing several business houses. Brookline is ten miles southwest of Springfield. It is situated on a high prairie, surrounded by a fertile, well improved body of land, and has one church, Cumberland Presbyterian, valued at $3000, and several stores.

Pond Creek Township

David Reynolds was the first settler of Pond Creek township. He came from East Tennessee in 1834, and settled on the farm now occupied by his widow in section two, of township twenty-eight, range twenty-four. His death occurred a few years ago. Edward Blades, the father of R. D. Blades, settled in section ten, in the year 1836. He was a native of North Carolina, but emigrated to Missouri from McMahon county, East Tennessee. William McDaniel settled in 1836 on section ten, coming at the same time with Blades. Robert Batson settled in section three in 1840. Samuel Garroute emigrated from Greene county, Tennessee, to Gasconade county, Missouri and after living there perhaps ten or fifteen years came to Pond Creek in 1837, and located in section twenty-seven. Anthony Garroute and William D. Garroute came from Ohio in 1833. James Garroute came about the same time. The Garroutes have been public-spirited citizens of the township. They are all descended from an old soldier of the revolution who came over with the French troops to assist in securing the independence of the Americans, and after the war was over remained in this country, and settled in New Jersey, whence his descendants have emigrated west. A man named Connor lived at an early date for a period of two years on Pickerel Creek, where R. Rubison now lives. John Loose lived on a branch of the Pickerel, near the southern line of the township, but he also only remained two or three years. Magruder Tannehill came about 1840 and settled in the southeast corner of the township. In the southwest corner Robert Carr settled on the waters of the Turnback. G.W. Britain, now one of the leading farmers of the southwest part of the county, emigrated to Missouri in 1833 or 1834, first settled ten miles west of Springfield, and afterwards came to Pond Creek township. B.N. Neil, from East Tennessee, settled in section seven in 1836. Stephen Batson came from Ohio in 1842, and lived on the Pickerel, near the south line of the county, but afterward removed.. Esquire John Laney is still living and one of the old settlers. George M. Laney came to Greene county in 1848.

The first school taught in this township was by Robert Batson in a private house built by R.D. Blades on his father's place in section ten. Stephen Batson also taught school in the township, as did also William B. Garroute. The first school house was built on section ten, near where W.C. Garroute now lives. The first church erected was the Bethel church, a frame meeting-house used for meetings of various denominations, which stood on section sixteen. Burned down in May, 1872. A Methodist Church now stands in the northern part of the township and a Baptist church near the center, and these are the only two churches in the township. The first white child born in the township was either William Blades, son of Edward Blades, or Jackson McDaniel, the son of William McDaniel. The first marriage was that of Duncan Hood to Nancy Blades.

Courthouse History

Courts in Greene County met first in the home of John P. Campbell. He donated 50 acres to the county, and proceeds from the sale of the lots provided revenue for public buildings. Orders in the court record suggest facilities for a courtroom were installed in his home.

Instructions to build a courthouse on the square came on November 28, 1836. Sidney Ingram, superintendent, presented the plan for a brick, two-story, 40-by-36-foot building on rock foundation. A flat roof was first contemplated, but later changed to a hip roof. The court appropriated $3,250 for this building.

A description of the anticipated building is in the County Court Record, Book A. In addition to the roof change, a brick partition wall order was later rescinded, and new orders pertaining to stairs were made. No known illustrations exist, but a 1910 description in the Springfield Daily Republican called it a modest brick structure, plastered or cemented on the outside and marked to imitate cut stone. This same account referred to a pretentious central dome and four entrances to crossing halls.

An order issued in January 1859 to sell the building and have it removed apparently was never carried out. Civil War prisoners were confined in the building in 1861. Also restrained in the courthouse was a deranged local man, who set a fire that destroyed the building October 28, 1861.

A site off the square was selected for the second courthouse, which was begun in 1858. Commissioners recommended purchase of a $3,000 lot on the northwest corner of the public square at College Street; the court appropriated $40,000 for the building.

By April 1861 three rooms were finished and clerks moved into the new quarters. The courtroom was on the second floor. This was one of the few three-story buildings in southwest Missouri; the design is unusual for Missouri courthouses of this period, but the architect is not known.

The court paid Josiah Leedy, one of three commissioners, $163.25 for plans and specifications of the nearly square building featuring columns and classical details. Pillars at the base were of "cotton" rock. Leedy then submitted the low bid of $36,000 for construction. Acute financial circumstances and the Civil War prevented Leedy from fulfilling the contract. The courthouse acquired military significance during that tumultuous period, but miraculously escaped destruction. Repaired after the war, it continued in use as a courthouse until 1914.

An active community developed north of Springfield, and for a number of years the two towns had separate corporate existence. They became united in 1877 under one city government. For the 20th century courthouse, a site on Central Street, north of the previous square, was selected and purchased by the County Court commissioner in February 1908. The decision was intended to link the two developments but instead became the subject of great controversy.

The campaign for a new courthouse started a year later. From competing architects the court selected the plan of A. N. Torbitt, of Miller, Opel and Torbitt, a Jefferson City firm which may have had a Springfield office. The announcement came as something of a surprise, for there was speculation that Reed and Heckenlively, a Springfield firm, would receive the commission. Other contenders included George E. McDonald and P. H. Weathers. Both were responsible for several Missouri courthouses. McDonald designed courthouses for Johnson, Andrew, Lawrence and Bates counties. Weathers did Cape Girardeau, Daviess and Stoddard counties. Out-of-state architects came from Texas and Alabama.

The design had an optional dome, but for financial reasons, the court decided against it, saving an estimated $25,000. Built of Greene County Phoenix stone, the building measured about 100 by 200 feet. The first stage of construction called for the shell of the building; expensive interior work was completed later, after a $150,000 bond issue was passed in April 1911. The court estimated final costs to be about $200,000.

The first contract was awarded the J. E. Gibson Construction Co. of Tulsa, Oklahoma, for $81,749, but later assigned to Hiram Lloyd Co. of St. Louis. Construction began in April 1910. Cornerstone ceremonies were held July 16, 1910. County offices moved into the new facilities in March 1912, although work continued until the building was completed in 1915.

Greene County, Missouri
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Courthouse History

Greene County, Missouri History, Records, Facts and Genealogy

Greene County Court Records

See Also Missouri Land Records, Marriage Records, Court & Probate Records

Greene County Vital Records

See Also Vital Records in Missouri

Greene County Census Records

See Also Research In Census Records & Statewide Records that exist for Missouri

Greene County Maps & Atlases

See Also Research In State Map Collections

Greene County Military Records

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Greene County Tax Records

See Also Research In Tax Records

Greene County Genealogical Addresses

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Greene County Church & Cemeteries

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Family Trees & Genealogy Tidbits

Extended History

Courthouse History

Greene County, Missouri
History, Records, Facts and Genealogy