Harrison B Hargrove (1822 - abt. 1912)

Harrison B. Hargrove, of the Sugar creek neighborhood, a few miles east of Atchison, Missouri, died yesterday afternoon, age 94 years.

He was the oldest settler in this locality, having arrived on Sugar creek in April, 1838. The deceased was a brother of Len T. Hargrove, a former sheriff of Atchison county, and was a veteran of the Mexican war. Not only was Harrison B. Hargrove the oldest settler of this locality, but he probably was one of the very oldest settlers in the state of Missouri.

Born in Kentucky in 1818, he landed in Lafayette county, Mo., as a boy, in the fall of 1832.

When the Hargrove family moved to Buchanan county, Mo., in the spring of 1838, the land was open for settlement but had not been surveyed. It was the elder Hargrove's intention to get 160 acres, but some time after when it was surveyed, he found he had only 80 acres. He paid $1.25 an acre for it, and the patent to his land was signed by James K. Polk in 1840 with a goose quill pen.

DeKalb in those days was called Bloomington and Rushville went by the name of Columbia. The Hargroves did their trading at Weston, which consisted at that time of a store and a blacksmith shop.

In 1846, "Harry" Hargrove, as Harrison B. was known, went with an emigrant train to Oregon. He left Buchanan county May 3 and reached the first settlement in Oregon on Christmas Eve, after a trip that was full of peril. The Indians were troublesome, and a shot at an Indian became as common an occurrence as a shot at wild turkeys at home.

He sold his yoke of oxen in Oregon for three times what it had cost him, bought a mule and started back May 3, reaching home August 17. Counting what he earned during the winter he was there, and the profit he made on the oxen, his experience cost him just twenty dollars.

In February, 1848, he enlisted in the Mexican war, and returned in the following November without having seen any fighting more exciting than a bull dog fight at home.

He bought a farm in Andrew county and stayed there till the spring of 1855, when he went to Mexico again, driving a team of oxen overland for the government. In the fall of that year he took up a claim of 160 acres near Monrovia, and stayed there three years.

In 1858 he married a Miss Martin who died leaving him with an Infant daughter. He returned to the Sugar creek neighborhood and bought 160 acres two miles east of Sugar creek church, which has been his home ever since.

In 1861 he was married to a Miss Sewell, who died in 1867, leaving him with three children.

In 1868 he was married to Mrs. Penelope Webb, a widowed sister of Uncle Alick J Brown, who survives him.

There were five families in the Hargrove homeseekers’ party, when it emigrated to Missouri, and as each family had several wagons, a number of cattle, etc., there was an imposing parade across the prairies, there were thirty negro slaves in the party, the wagons were drawn by oxen, and they were twenty-one days reaching Lafayette county, Mo., from Kentucky.

The funeral occurred at 2 o'clock this afternoon at Sugar cree'k church, and the burial was in Sugar creek cemetery.

Source: newspapers.com; The Atchison Weekly Globe, Atchison, Kansas, 17 Oct 1912, Thu • Page 8

Contributor: Observer4wing (47373768) This obituary was contributed by Contributor: Observer4wing (47373768) who ask me to add to this memorial. I found it absolutely fascinating, just for the history of my 2nd great grandfather. Thank you so very much for sharing this story with fellow Find A Grave members and memorials!