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James White was born June 10, 1782 OH and died June 17, 1836 Hancock Co., IL. On 26 Sep 1802 in Adams Co, OH, James White married Larence (Lurancy) Barber, daughter of Ezekial Barber and Elizabeth Goddard of Connecticut.
On 9 March 1809, St. Charles Co., MO, (the first official date we find him there) James, a resident of Lower Cuivre Twp., was named in a legal document as a "friend who we appoint as our lawful attorney". And, he is listed in "The Life and Papers of Frederick Bates", Missouri Historical Society, 1926, as having been issued a license to trade with the Indians within the Territory of Louisiana (St. Charles Co., Missouri was considered Territory of Louisiana at that time). Frederick Bates, who was Secretary of the Louisiana Territory, later became Governor of Missouri.
Col. William Preston, a Virginian, was a noted surveyor and developer of western lands. Lloyd White research shows that about that same time, James White established White's Fort on Dog Prairie near Old Monroe for the duration of the War of 1812. An excerpt from page 2 of "Dog Prairie Tales" by Judy Sigmund, 1956, states:
White's Fort was a sister fort to Daniel Boone's in Darsts' Bottom, Howell's Fort on Howell Prairie... Pond Fort...and Zumwalt Fort in O'Fallon.
Dog Prairie was said to have been named for a celebrated dog fight. The area was later renamed Comegis' Prairie after Mr. Comegis built a mill there. In another hand-written account of White's Fort, the author, Mary Heinsz, 1999, in writing about James White, states that "Along with the Captain came his wife; she was accustomed to comforts and luxury and came from a wealthy Virginia family. It is said that among her bridal gifts was [wares from?] White Sulphur Springs VA". This does not match up with information we have about Lurancy Barber--her family came from Connecticut before being in Adams County, Ohio. This needs to be resolved.
James White served as a Private in Col. McNair's Command, Capt. Robert Spencer's Company of Militia of the Territory of Missouri in 1812-13 for the pay of 25 cents per day. He served at Cap au Gris for a time. According to Lloyd White, Cap au Gris was located about 50 miles above St. Louis on the Mississippi River, east of present day Winfield, Lincoln Co., MO, and just northeast a few miles from Old Monroe and north of the Cuivre River. This 1817 census record of Lower Cuiver Township, St. Charles Co., MO shows James and two other men by the name of White, Hugh and Joseph--his brothers.
A deed in Lower Cuivre Twp, St. Charles Co., MO shows that James purchased a tract of land on Hostetler Lick in Lincoln Co., MO for $100 from John and Patsy Roberson. Lincoln County and Pike County were established in 1819 from St. Charles Co. In April 1819, James was appointed a County Commissioner in Lincoln Co., MO, earning $35/day. The first civil action in Lincoln County was filed in the 2nd term of circuit court, August 1819. See "History of Lincoln County, Missouri", The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1888. James White was defendant in a suit for a debt of $200, a suit which he ultimately lost. In December 1819, James and Lurancy
continued to move northward, as they were listed as residents of Pike Co., MO when selling their land on Hostetler Lick in Lincoln County.
CAPT. JAMES WHITE of ST. CHARLES CO., MO,
HANCOCK CO., IL and IA
Sept 16: Jas. White & Wm. Preston trading under the name and firm of Jas. White & Co. by Geo. Wilson their acting agent, on the Mississippi and its waters, with the Sioux, Sacs & Foxes--for one year
This area, northwest of O'Fallon, was originally called White's Prairie for Captain James White of Ohio who was the first permanent settler upon it. He was forced to build a fort there during the Indian wars of the early 1800's. This fort was located on a corner of the land now owned by Martin Dyer of St. Paul. Mr. Dyer cleared away the remaining stone foundation a number of years ago and it is now farm land.
excerpts from THE STORY OF JAMES WHITE in HANCOCK COUNTY, IL, written by LLOYD WHITE:
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�......Land deeds state that James purchased land from Rufus Eastin on 17 Aug 1826. Rufus Eastin had purchased the same land from Dennis Julien on 11 May 1819. The land bought and sold was preempted land, land that Dennis Julien lived on long enough to "lay claim" to and where he built the first one-room log cabin close to the inward bend of the Mississippi River. The log cabin was still standing when James and Lurancy and their family arrived in Illinois at the "head of the rapids" of the Mississippi River in 1823.
�When James and family arrived, they apparently did not own land, so history states that James traded the Indian Chief, Quashquema, 200 bags of corn for the land where the Sac and Fox Indians lived. About 400 lodges populated this village named after their chief. James White and family were the first white settlers in Hancock Co. "James and Lurancy and family moved into the one-room cabin built by Dennis Julien until James and sons began building a new two-story log cabin to accommodate their large family. Beginning about 1826, James and John Waggoner began building a fancy two-story stone house. James built all the woodwork inside and outside the house from black walnut. The two-story mansion was complete in 1828 and became the center of Hancock Co, which was established in 1825 but did not qualify as a county until 1829. James was elected as a County Commissioner of Hancock Co, IL, and all business was conducted at the two-story residence until Carthage was founded and the county seat was moved to Carthage about 1835-1836. �James named his village, Venus, and on 13 Mar 1830 the first post office was established. On 11 Oct 1834, the name of Venus was changed to Commerce, then to Commerce City in 1837. An 1833 map of Illinois shows only Fort Edwards and Venus as towns in Hancock Co. �Because of the Blackhawk Indian uprising in 1832, James White formed a military unit, and along with 4 of his sons, participated in the fighting. He obtained the title of Captain probably because of his experiences on the Mississippi River as a riverboat captain. James and Lurancy were the parents of: Sara Ann, Nancy, Alexander, Hugh L, Joseph, William, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, Lurancy, Paulina and 2 other sons, names unknown. After James and Lurancy died, Hugh L. and William sold the land to Joseph Smith and the Elders of the Mormon Church in 1839. The small log cabin and the two-story log cabin are still standing and are on display with other showplaces in Nauvoo, the name the Mormons later gave Commerce City." [NOTE: at the time of this writing, it was believed that Joseph White was the son of James, thus the reference to "4 of his sons", and the name of Joseph in the list of children. The "two other sons, names unknown" were likely his nephews Joseph and Henry Hugh both of whom it appears he raised. At this time, it is unknown who might be the father(s) of either and if they are brothers or cousins.]
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There are numerous historical accounts and other documents substantiating much of the above story by Lloyd. "The History of Hancock County, Illinois", Thomas Gragg, 1880 is one. Another is "History of Des Moines County, Iowa", Western Historical Company, 1879. See also, the "Annals of Iowa". This account of his "Recollections of Early Settlement", by Isaac N. Campbell, 1867, was first published in the "Annals of Iowa" and here again in "History of Lee County, Iowa", Western Historical Company, 1879. |
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This humerous story about Capt. James White is from the Reminiscences of General James C. Parrott, as reported in The Annals of Iowa: |
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One researcher reports James was also a scout for a U.S. Army unit from New Orleans and St. Louis, charged with building a protectorate for the Territory in what later became Warsaw, Illinois (Ft. Edwards) in the early 1820's. And it is said also, that during the Black Hawk Wars, his sons and sons-in-law who were part of his command, captained the Mississippi River Boat Navy Fleet that drove Black Hawk, his warriors and families back to Iowa in the final battle of the war. In 1832, James built a home on the west side of the Mississippi River at Montrose, IA. It served as the west dock of his ferry service. The government purchased this claim in 1834 and the home was used as a hospital for the post at Camp Ft. Des Moines. Several complaints were filed in Hancock County against him about 1835 stating that he was indebted to the complainant, and that he (James) �resides out of the state.� They requested that he be compelled to appear at court. I found a statement he gave to the court that it was untrue that he resided out of state. It is unclear how the court ruled, but he died shortly after this, so his administrators may have had to settle the debts. Lurancy (Barber) White died 24 Dec. 1834. James White, age 52, married again to Martha Crenshaw on 15 May 1835. He died soon after on 17 Jan 1836. Here you can see his gravestone. There was no will, so his heirs were not named, but only 3 sons, Alexander, Hugh and William are mentioned. Martha Crenshaw White was given allowance to care for a young child after James' death. It is unknown if this was a son of James or her child from a previous marriage. Lurancy and James were both buried at the old Durphy cemetery located just south of the intersection of Mulholland Street and Durphy St (the W1/2 SE1/4, sec. 2, T6NR8W) on their son William's original land in Hancock County. When the �Old Nauvoo� cemetery was laid out in 1848, their stones and remains were moved to this cemetery. It is located about 2-1/2 miles east of Nauvoo on Mulholland just after Highway 96 turns north and is also called the Nauvoo City Cemetery. There is a similar stone for Mrs. Ann Wilson who died in Dec. 18, 1831 at age 63. It was apparently moved from the old White Cemetery; it was placed next to James' stone. It is unknown how she might be related. Also moved was the stone for James' daughter Elizabeth (1814-1827). Hugh L. White and William White, sons of Capt. James White, both became Riverboat Captains on the Mississippi River. One of the boats that Hugh captained was named "James White" for his father. It was launched in May 1864 and sank in November of the same year. (See Way's Packet Directory, 1848-1983", compiled by Frederick Way, Jr.)
Check out the graves of some of these people on my virtual "White Cemetery" with Whites, Bairds, Lavenders, Hills, Coles and others on www.findagrave.com
Click here to view a migration map of this and related families Go back to the top |
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Created Feb 2013 - Last update
Tue Feb 15 20:05:13 2022 MST
