Notes
Note N1543
Index
Posted 25 Jun 2010 by haplomanPosted 25 Jun 2010 by haploman
John L. West and the Estate of Andrew Watson -
Miller Co., MO court record book labeled "Record - Miller County - A," p. 227, June term of the court, 1845:
"Now at this day comes John L. West Administrator of the estate of Andrew Watson Deceased and prays the Court to make and order granting said Administrator leave to him the slaves belonging to said deceased at his Residence on the 14th Instant [i.e.4th of the month], until the first day of January 1846." This record continues with more relevant information on subsequent pages. Note that John Laffoon West later appears with Watson minors living in his household. I believe I photocopied those pages many years ago, but my copies now seem to be missing.
United States Census, 1850
Name John West Event Place Miller county, Miller, Missouri Age 37 Birth Year (Estimated) 1813 Birthplace South Carolina House Number 306
Role Sex Age Birthplace
John West M 37 South Carolina
Permelia West F 26 Tennessee
Josephine West F 8 Missouri
Susan West F 6 Missouri
Adaline West F 3 Missouri
Mary West F 0 Missouri
Martha Watson F 18 Illinois
Joab Watson M 17 Illinois
Elizabeth Watson F 14 Illinois
Hanah Watson F 8 Missouri
United States Census, 1860
Name: John L West Event Place: Richwoods Township, Miller, Missouri Age: 46 Birth Year (Estimated): 1814 Birthplace: South Carolina Page: 65
Role Gender Age Birthplace
John L West M 46 South Carolina
Permelia E West F 36 Tennessee
Susan C West F 16 Missouri
Satira A West F 13 Missouri
Mary O West F 11 Missouri
Livonia G West F 7 Missouri
John C C West M 4 Missouri
Byron P West M 3 Missouri
Baby West M 0 Missouri
United States Census, 1870
Name: Pennelia West Event Place: Missouri Age: 44 Birth Year (Estimated): 1825-1826 Birthplace: Illinois Page Number: 21
Role Gender Age Birthplace
Pennelia West F 44 Illinois
Livona West F 17 Missouri
John West M 15 Missouri
Perry West M 13 Missouri
Melvin West M 9 Missouri
Martha West F 7 Missouri
Edward N Rice M 4 Missouri
Joseph Hall M 15 Missouri
Josiah Reed M 3 Missouri
From the Osage Valley Banner, Tuscumbia, MO, Thurs., 15 Jul 1880, p. 1:.
TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN. and most particularly Susan C. Rowden and William Rowden her husband, Livonia G. Griffith and Charles Griffith her husband, John C. West, Byron P. West, Binam M. West, Mattie E. West, Edward L. West and Josephine Reed: Take notice:.
Whereas, William C. Brumley presented to E. L. Edwards, Judge of 1st Judicial Circuit, a petition to perpetuate testimony as to the title to the following described real estate, to-wit: Lot No. (4) four in block No. (41) in the town of Tuscumbia, Miller county, Missouri: the object of said testimony is to show a conveyance of said lot from John L. West in fee simple to Randolph Abbet and Alvin Rine, and the witnesses to be examined are Randolph Abbet and Thomas H. Fancher, by whom the said William C. Brumley expects to prove the making, executing and delivery of a deed conveying in fee the above described real estate to the said Abbet and Rine by the said John L. West, that the said depositions will be taken before T. B. Robinson a notary public within and for Miller county at his office in the Court House in Tuscumbia, Miller county, Missouri, on the 28th day of August, 1880, between the hours of 8 o'clock in the forenoon and 6 o'clock in the afternoon of said day, and if not completed on said day, will be continued from day to day at the same place and between the same hours until completed.
W. C. BRUMLEY..
findagrave
John Laffoon West BIRTH 4 Jun 1811 South Carolina DEATH 7 Jun 1869 (aged 58) Leasburg, Crawford County, Missouri BURIAL Lea Cemetery Leasburg, Crawford County, Missouri
PLOT broken or missing marker MEMORIAL ID 38476115
Spouse Permelia Emaline Fancher West 1824-1886 (m. 1840)
Children
Susan Caroline West Rowden 1844-1933
Byron Perry West 1856-1902
John Calhoon West 1857-1925
Binum Melvin West 1860-1933
Martha Ellen West Haley 1862-1942
Edward Laffoon West 1866-1931
Member of the Missouri Legislature in 1840. Married to Permelia Emeline Fancher. Confederate sympathizer, lived in Miller Co. before the war. I saw a broken but readable gravestone there in the 1970s, but I believe it is gone now.
Parentage of John Laffoon West Posted 07 jul 2010 by haploman
I had inherited the claim that the parents of John Laffoon West were Abner West and Sarah (Laffoon) West, but now have to question this connection. I received this information from the late Virgil John Bernhardt, who had in turn received it from the late Blodwen (West) Boyle. As I now look back over Mrs. Boyle's research, I have to wonder whether she might have confused two different individuals named John West.
Mrs. Boyle refers to two Hopkins Co., KY deeds, found in Hopkins Co. Deed Book 6, pp. 366 and 368. The deeds are dated 31 Dec 1832 and 9 Feb 1833 (registered 13 Jul 1833 and 17 Jul 1833, respectively). She said that these deeds refer to Abner West as being "now" of Crawford Co., MO.
The first of these deeds, according to her notes, "gave to John West of Crawford Co., M., Power of attorney . . . . " The second involved a sale of Abner West's land "by John West, atty. of Crawford Co., Mo."
She also referred to a Hopkins Co., KY deed dated 5 May 1830, which appears in the same deed book on p. 52: "Witnesses: John Keyser, John Duncan and John West. (Abner's son, John first appears on the tax roll in 1830.)"
Clearly, Mrs. Boyle believed that Abner had a son named John. If this is the case, was John Laffoon West the same John? Could she possibly have made this assumption based on the fact that the first of the two deeds mentioned above refer to a John West in Crawford Co., MO, and knowing that John Laffoon West lived in Crawford Co., and because John Laffoon West's middle name is the same as the surname of Abner's wife?
The problem with this is that John Laffoon West does not appear to have ever lived in Crawford Co., MO prior to the 1860s. Because of events connected with the Civil War, he appears to have fled Miller Co., MO for Sangamon Co., IL during the 1860s. Then when he returned to Missouri, after staying briefly in St. Louis Co., MO he moved to Crawford Co., MO, where it was said that he had relatives.
I know of no evidence to support the idea that he was the John West who appears to have been living in Crawford Co., MO in the 1830s. In fact, records appear to show him living in Miller Co., MO at this time.
Could it be that John Laffoon West was, instead, a son of the William West who is said to have been the first white settler of Miller Co., MO? Various Internet researchers seem to have confused that William West with a later William West and have listed the earlier William as John Laffoon West's brother. That would be extremely unlikely if not utterly impossible, due to the great disparity in their ages.
This earlier William was clearly associated with John Laffoon West. Could it be that he was a brother of Abner who also married a Laffoon, hence the middle name given to John Laffoon West?
I suppose it might be possible that John Laffoon West was living in Miller Co., but as a practicing attorney helped relatives to effect the land sales in Crawford Co., and so ended up in records as being "of" Crawford Co. as a result. Otherwise, it appears that John Laffoon West of Miller Co. and John West of Crawford Co. were most likely two different individuals, in which case John Laffoon West must not have been a son of Abner West.
We need to examine the records that Mrs. Boyle refers to. Could it be that John Laffoon West was "of" two different counties at the same time? Or do these deeds actually prove that Abner West was NOT John Laffoon West's son?
According to material she mailed me many years ago, another reason why Mrs. Boyle believed that Abner West was the father of John Laffoon West was because Hardin West's son William, in his journal, referred to John Laffoon West as "Uncle John." She seems to be implying that since Abner West was Hardin's ancestor, he must have been John Laffoon West's as well. I fail to see, however, how that proves a lineage back to Abner West. For one thing, I know of no proof of Hardin's ancestry back to Abner.
What Blowen (West) Boyle wrote about the William West journal is as follows:
"John Laffoon West is GG uncle of B W Boyle
"Parentage: Abner West & Sarah Laffoon, from Journal of William West, oldest son of Harden West who was brother of William Laffoon West & son of Abner West and his wife Sarah (Laffoon) West. 'Visited one of Uncle John West's girls who md. Tom Rowden at Crocker;' 'Visited Aunt Barby (Barbra) West's wife [sic] of of Uncle Woodson West.' Note: This was written in 1892 when he was back in Kentucky and Missouri on a mission and he was gathering records of his family genealogy at age 64."
Perhaps she knew of some source or sources that clearly prove the ancestry of Hardin West. I am continuing now to go through Mrs. Boyle's files that she mailed me decades ago. If I find that proof, I will post it here. As far as I am aware, however, there is no such proof and the journal does not prove anything.
I have a complete bound copy of the journal, and was disappointed to find that it contained virtually no genealogical information, despite that the fact that he was, as Mrs. Boyle put it, on a "mission." She is referring to a Mormon mission. The William West involved had become a Mormon and was specifically engaged in collecting genealogical data. If he found any during his trip, it is not in evidence in the journal, nor am I aware of any significant data that can be traced back to him that is housed in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. (The journal was found in the LDS Archives.)
One thing that seems strange is that he would have approached John Laffoon West and his wife Permelia (Fancher) West at all as a Mormon. Although Permelia's parentage has been disputed, it is clear that regardless of the identity of her father, she was closely related to the Fanchers who were massacred by Mormons during the infamous Mountains Meadows Massacre. One has to wonder how well received he would have been, especially after announcing that he was there on a Mormon "mission."
NOTE: Since writing the above, it appears that I may have found proof, or at least strong evidence, that John Laffoon West's father's name was Warren Abner West. Among the writings of Blodwen Boyle, I found the following:
"West, Anna (Burd) as told to her son, Dr. Warren B. West in 1912 & recorded in his writing at the time. "(Your) grandfather's name was Harden & his father's name was Warren Abner West. They were from South Carolina & Kentucky." (Dr. Warren B. West was my father & son of Thomas Woodson West & grandson of Harden West.)"
Further, whatever happened to Abner West? Evidently, Mrs. Boyle never found a record pointing to his death. Is it possible that Abner West died in Crawford Co., MO? If so, has anyone ever searched for a will there?
Posted 21 Dec 2009 by haploman
His middle name, of course, came from his mother's maiden name. People have confused him with another John West in Leasburg, Crawford Co., MO, who was called "Peg" because of his wooden leg. They were in no way related except that Peg's brother had a daughter who married one of John Laffoon West's sons.
On 18 Oct 1837 in Miller Co., MO, John Laffoon West signed a petition for an election to be held on his side of the Osage River in order to avoid travel over rough and wild terrain. He obtained Miller Co., MO land patents in 1838, 1839, 1843, 1849, 1857, and 1858. In 1842, he served as state representative from Miller Co.
In 1849, a livestock ear mark was recorded for him in Miller Co.: " . . . a smooth crop and a split in the right ear and a crop and upper bit in the left ear and directs the same be entered of record the 29th December 1849 . . . . " (Book of Marks and Brands, 1837-1856).
In 1855 in Miller Co., he was a respondent in a MO Supreme Court case that originated in Miller Co. and that involved a debt on the part of another individual. Although the records are extensive, he is hardly mentioned since he was just one of several involved as posting securities. State Archives, Folder 3, Box 208, location 16A/6/1.
In 1860 in Miller Co., he served as road commissioner.
In 1861 in Miller Co., he served in the secessionist Miller Co. State Guard. Sometime later, according to a published account written by Judge Jenkins of Miller County, when John Laffoon West and Wright Shelton were at a store getting provisions for a trip to Thomasville, the two were captured by Union Lt. Col. William Carroll Brumley. Brumley and his men stripped West and Shelton of their clothes and shoes in cold weather and abandoned them after warning them that they would be killed if they were caught again. This might have been when John Laffoon West and his family fled to Illinois for a time. Their home was later burned by bushwhackers, but this likely occurred after they returned from Illinois.
According to a family story told to me by my grandmother, their home was burned by bushwhackers. This was evidently anticipated, however, as the family had hidden gold in the smokehouse and blankets in a dry cistern. When the bushwhackers came, Permelia told him, "Surely you would not deny me some cracklings for the children." When they allowed her to get some cracklings from the smokehouse in her apron, she also retrieved the gold, which was hidden under the cracklings. After the house was burned, they returned and retrieved the blankets, then made their way out of Miller Co.
Jenkins also details how, after the Brumley affair, John Laffoon West made a deal with Mark Whitaker, eldest son of West's brother-in-law Thomas W. Whitaker, to kill Brumley.
A letter dated 14 Feb 1862 authorized attorney John L. West to assign names of several (including Thomas W. Whitaker) to bonds before the Provost Marshal at Rolla, Missouri.
In Apr 1863 in Miller Co., John was indicted by the Miller Co. Circuit Court for robbery (still during the war), according to an Internet researcher. A $500 bond posted by his brother-in-law Thomas W. Whitaker. I attempted to read this on microfilm at the State Archives, but found the film to be completely unreadable. (This was on a weekend when the regular staff members were not present.)
According to family tradition, around the time of the Civil War he freed his slaves and sent them away, but they kept coming back for food. Because of this, he was repeatedly harrassed by Union troops. According to a descendant, he was put in jail in Rolla, MO for a time for this reason, and he went to IL until after the war ended.
A family tradition asserts that he owned 16 slaves and that the best cost $1600. In 1859, however, the Miller Co. Assessor recorded that he owned 2 slaves for a total value of $1600. (There were only 214 slaves in the entire county). In 1860 he had 2 slaves worth $1400 together, and in 1862 only 1, worth only $100).
Sometime around 1863-1869, he and his family moved from Miller Co. MO, to IL, and then to Crawford Co., MO. Although the bushwhacker story is not documented, it is clear that Miller Co. was heavily besieged by bushwhackers who continued to operate there as late as 1874, long after the war was actually over. The family's bushwhacker incident may have been around 1869, as there was a mass exodus of South Carolinians from Miller to Crawford Co. in December of that year. John L. West, however, moved to Crawford Co. at least a bit earlier, as he was there by June of that year.
When the John Laffoon West family fled to Illinois, evidently this was Sangamon Co., IL. That is because the death certificate for John's grandson Floyd W. Haley, son of John's daughter Martha Ellen (West) Haley, says that Martha Ellen was born in Sangamon Co., IL.
Another family story asserts that on the way back to MO, because John's wife could not travel any further, they rented the General Grant farm in St. Louis Co., MO, and as a result son Edward Laffoon West was born in Grant's Cabin (which still stands). This seems a bit far-fetched, especially because of the family's Confederate orientation, but it might have been possible. Although the cabin remained in Grant family hands until 1885, General Grant's immediate family appears to have moved out of the cabin in 1857. Edward's death certificate does indeed say that he was born in St. Louis County, where the family was not otherwise known to have resided. The story further asserts that they then came through Leasburg, Crawford Co., MO, where they stopped to see relatives, and ended up settling there.
John Laffoon West is buried in Lea Cemetery at Leasburg, Crawford Co., MO. The last time I visited there (many years ago), his tombstone was broken into two parts. A relative said more recently that he was unable to find the marker at all. If I remember correctly, the marker consisted of a thin stone that served as backing for another stone that was placed on the front of it and that bore the inscriptions. According to what I remember, that front stone was cracked. Perhaps the back stone, with rounded top and no markings, is still present.
Geneanet Community Trees Index
Name: John Laffoon West Birth Date: 4 juin 1813 Birth Place: Pendleton, Anderson, South Carolina Death Date: 7 juin 1869 Death Place: Leasburg, Crawford, Missouri Father: Abner West Mother: Sarah Laffoon
Spouse: Permelia Emeline Fancher
Child:
Bynum Melvin West
Byron Perry West
Edward Laffoon West
John Calhoun West
Livonia Given West
Martha Ellen West
Mary Olivia West
Samantha Josephine West
Satira Adeline West
Susan Caroline West
Thomas Hampton Benton West
