Mitchelville, Missouri - Family History in a Ghost Town

Mitchelville is a now extinct town located about five and one-half miles southwest of Bethany, in Harrison County, Missouri. The community, located where a gravel road (now called W 347th Street) extends east from  what is now U. S. Hwy 69. The community was named after an early settler, James MITCHELL. The post office was established in 1865. The Mitchelville School was one mile east.

Mitchelville Church (1999)

(click to enlarge)

The Mitchelville Church sits on the southeast corner of the intersection. Built in 1869, it is the last remaining evidence of the rural community that at one time was home to a store and sawmill. About a quarter mile south of the church is the Burris Cemetery, and across the gravel road north of the church, in the field of the Claude Cox Farm is the remains of the Mitchell Family Cemetery. (In 1974 descendants of James M. MITCHELL collected the surviving markers and placed them in a concrete foundation. It is surrounded by a chainlink fence.

To get to Mitchelville: Travel west from Bethany on U. S. Hwy 136, go south on U. S. Hwy 69 for 2.8 miles to W 347th St. Mitchelville Church is on the east side of the road. The Claude Cox Farm is .2 miles east of the Hwy, the entrance to Burris Cemetery is .3 miles south of Cox Farm on W. 187th Ave.

William and Jacob MITCHELL (relationship unknown) settled in the area in 1838. During that year and 1839 several families settled at different points in the county and the communities were known by the names of some of the more prominent of the first settlers. Communities such as Dunkerson's Grove, Taylor's Grove, Harris' Mill, Foster's Farm, and Allen's Big Spring were common. These localities became known among the people and were used as commonly as the towns and villages.

1876 Map of Mitchelville

(church in blue)

(Click to enlarge)

The site of Mitchelville was along Big Creek in the northern part of newly organized Daviess County. In 1845, Daviess County was divided and Harrison County was formed and Mitchelville was now in southern Harrison County. By this time, Jacob's father, James Mullin MITCHELL had arrived with his family from Indiana. James built a sawmill on Big Creek, west of the church. Other families who called Mitchelville home included Arnold, Burris, Gardner, Noble, Slaughter, and Tilly. John Noble operated the store and was postmaster of Mitchelville from 1869-1888. The church was built on his land.

Mitchelville declined as rapidly as it grew. After 1900, most of the early families had left the area or were buried under the ground of Mitchelville. After 1917, it no longer appeared on maps of the area.

NOTE: James Mullin MITCHELL is the 3rd great-grandfather of my wife, Judy.

Joseph WEBB - "Living Skeleton" - Circus Giant - Murdered in Cold Blood

Joseph P. WEBB and his twin sister, Mary P., were born on 14 Feb 1875, in Memphis, Scotland County, Missouri. Their parents were Joseph Howard WEBB and Mary Jane COOPER.

By the age of 16, Joseph, who known as "Jodie," "Jode," or "Joe D.," was 6 foot 11 inches tall and weighed just over 100 pounds. A 2 Jun 1892 newspaper article reported:

Jode Webb, the "Giant" drum major has a gorgeous uniform with red military coat, a two-foot black bear shaker and a six-foot baton, when arrayed in all his glory, he has to dodge all signs that swing less that eight and one-half feet from the  sidewalk

On 1 Sep 1892, the paper reported:

(Joseph) left for Lincoln, Nebraska, where he has an engagement in a museum and is, we presume, now being advertised as the 'giant boy from Missouri–eight feet tall.'

Joseph traveled with the Lemen Brothers Circus and also with Ringling's Circus, as a giant–he was known as "the living skeleton."

In Jun 1908, Joseph was in the small town of Las Vegas, Nevada. He may have been performing with one of the circuses or side shows that traveled throughout the west. (The Sells-Floto Circus, which had performed in Las Vegas in 1907, had recently performed in Riverside, California.)

NOTE: Las Vegas began as a train stop in 1905, and by 1908, the population was less than 100. Las Vegas did not become a city until 1911.)

On 23 Jun 1908, Joseph and two other men hopped a train leaving Las Vegas, heading to Salt Lake City. The train stopped at Dry Lake Pumping Station, 30 miles north of Las Vegas, where the brakeman discovered the three men riding on top of the train and put them off.

When they asked for water, the pumper and his wife ordered the men to leave. The other two started walking away, but when Joseph did not respond (one report said he was hard of hearing), the couple shot him and left him lying on the hot sand to die. (The couple was tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison.)

Joseph, who had been seen on the streets of Las Vegas the previous several days, had $34.75 in money and a certificate of deposit for $52.00 drawn by the bank at Albia, Iowa. He was unarmed.

His body was shipped to Albia, Iowa, where his parents lived. He was buried at Memphis, Missouri.

UPDATED: The Journey of John STULL (1848-1919)

John STULL (great-great grandfather of my wife, Judy) was born 5 May 1848, in the part of Virginia that is now West Virginia. (His parents, Joseph and Elizabeth STULL, were from Pennsylvania.) In 1850 (age 2) and in 1860 (age 12) living with his family in Tyler County. (West Virginia became a separate state in 1863, during the Civil War.)

On 16 Feb 1868, in Tyler County, West Virginia, he married Sarah A. LEWIS, who was born in Feb 1850, in Virginia (now West Virginia). (Her parents were Abraham and Margaret LEWIS.) John was listed as age 19, from Monongalia County, Virginia, Sarah was listed as age 17, from Tyler County, Virginia, widow.

John and Sarah remained in West Virginia for eleven years and their first seven children were born there: Margaret Elizabeth “Lizzie” (1868), William Riley (1870), George (1872), Susan “Susie” (1873), Abraham “Abe” (1875), Dollie (1878), and Ida (Sep 1879).

Shortly after the birth of Ida, John moved his family 1,100 miles west and on 17 Jun 1880, he was farming in Grant Township, Osborne County, Kansas. They only lived in Kansas a short time before moving 250 miles northeast and by Jul 1881 they were in Cass County, Nebraska, where their last five children were born: Bessie Anna (1881), Minnie (1883), Lora (or Laura) (????), Anna (or Annie) (1886), and George (1888). Sarah died 4 Jul 1888 following the birth of George. She is buried in Cass County.

John made the long trek back to West Virginia, where he married Malinda (Milinda) J. GRAY on 11 Nov 1888 in Tyler County, West Virginia. (The marriage register lists John's place of birth as Monongalia County, and Malinda's place of birth as Ohio.) John and Malinda were living in Pennsylvania in Apr 1890 when their first child, Rosa May, was born. By Mar 1892 they were somewhere in Iowa, where Mary Alice was born and by 1894 they were living in Missouri where their they had at least five more children: John Henry (Feb 1894), Charles Harrison (Feb 1897), Roy Alva (Apr 1899), Oliver Rue (Oct 1903), and one unknown child (according to the 1910 census, Malinda had seven children). On 9 Jun 1900, John was farming in Dayton Township, Newton County, Missouri.

John died in 1918, at the age of 71 at Avery, Hickory County, Missouri. Malinda died 30 Dec 1922. They were buried near Fairfield, Benton County, Missouri. Sometime in the 1960s-70s, the graves were moved to Concord Cemetery, Benton County, during the construction of the Truman Reservoir.

John STULL had a total of 19 children: 12 with Sarah and 7 with Malinda. Here are some interesting notes:

• John was 20 and Sarah was 17 when they were married. Sarah was 18 when her first child was born and was 38 when she had her 12th child.
• John’s oldest child, Margaret, was born in 1868 and was 20 years old when her mother Sarah died (Margaret married that same year.) 
• John’s second wife, Malinda was only six years older than Margaret. Margaret was 35 when her youngest brother, Oliver, was born in 1903.
• John was 41 and Malinda was 26 when they were married. Malinda was 27 when her first child was born and was 41 when she had her seventh child. She died at age 60.
• John was 56 when his younger youngest child, Oliver was born. Oliver was 15 years old when his father died.