Abijah Withers (1799 - 1879)

Born 7 Jan 1799 in Warrenton, Fauquier, Virginia, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Prudence Blackburn White — married 12 Aug 1830 in Woodford, Kentucky, United States

Descendants

Died 17 Aug 1879 at age 80 in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri, United States

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Biography

Abijah, pioneer of the Withers family in Clay County, Missouri, was born 7 January 1799 in Fauquier County, Virginia. ^[1] He was the son of Thomas Withers and Patty Harris.

Early Life

In 1807 young Abijah Withers moved with his family from Virginia to Woodford County, Kentucky, the heart of the Bluegrass region. They made their home on 200 acres of land on the Kentucky River that Abijah's father Thomas Withers had inherited from his father James Withers. Upon his death in 1830, Thomas left this land to Abijah and his sister, Eliza. ^{[2] [3]}

Removal to Clay County

Sometime around 1832 Abijah sold his land in Kentucky that he had inherited from his father, in preparation for his removal to Missouri. Two years later he and one of his slaves, named Merritt, set out over the Old Wilderness Trail from Kentucky to Clay County, Missouri.

In 1834 Abijah and Merritt arrived in Clay County, built a small log cabin in the middle of what would become Withers Farm, and set about clearing the land.

Abijah did not homestead the land he finally selected, but bought it from a man named James Bogie, who patented it in March, 1821. Why Abijah chose this particular piece of land makes for some speculation.... The land was beautiful and fertile, with great trees and rich grass, but it was not on a river, or even a major creek, advantages pioneers usually considered. It was also not on a major trail, at a time when branches of the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails passed through Liberty. Why he liked it probably had two basic, practical reasons then, it was available and he could afford it. ^[4]

In mid-1835 Abijah returned to Kentucky, leaving Merritt to mind the land and small log cabin in Clay County. Abijah prepared his family to return to Missouri as soon as Prudence could travel after the birth of their third son, Conn, born 22 September 1835 in Kentucky. In early November they returned to Liberty and took up residence in the log cabin. In 1842 they moved into the first frame house Abijah built on the farm. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

Missouri had been a state for a little over a decade when Abijah Withers first arrived. Once opened for settlement subsequent to the 1821 "Missouri Compromise," the fertile lands of the Missouri River valley attracted many entrepreneurial farmers to Missouri from Southern states, including Abijah’s home states of Virginia and Kentucky. Withers Farm became a significant agricultural player in Clay County. Tobacco was a primary cash crop, but in order to sustain it the farm also produced corn, hemp, grains and even maple syrup.

Abijah and Prudence Withers became prominent citizens of Liberty in their day. Abijah Withers, along with Alexander Doniphan and James T.V. Thompson, helped to found William Jewell College in 1849. Abijah also served as a college trustee and helped found the Liberty Tribune newspaper and the Long-Bell lumber company.

Marriage and Issue

Abijah Withers married Prudence Blackburn White 12 August 1830 in Woodford County, Kentucky. ^[7]

Prudence and Abijah Withers had nine children: ^{[8] [9] [10]}

1. William Thomas Withers (1831-1855)
2. George S. Withers (1833-1881)
3. Conn Withers (1835-1906; last child born in Kentucky)
4. Webster Wade Withers (1837-1901)
5. Albert F. Withers (1839-1861; died in Civil War, Battle at Carthage)
6. Edwin Ruthven Withers (1842-1922; a/k/a "Uncle Ned")
7. Mildred E. (Withers) Steele (1845-1894)
8. Julia (Withers) Stone (1850-1929)
9. Kate Blackburn Withers (1852-1879)

Death and Legacy

Prudence Blackburn White Withers died 21 January 1879 after a long illness. Later that year Abijah and Prudence’s last-born child, Kate, died in July of typhoid fever. Shortly afterwards Abijah Withers died 17 August 1879 at the age of 81, while he was visiting some of his sons in Kansas City. ^[11] Abijah, Prudence and six of their nine children are buried in Fairview Cemetery in Liberty, Clay County, Missouri.

None of the children or descendants was named for Abjiah Withers, who impressed upon his family that his “was an ugly name and no child or grandchild or any child of the family was to be burdened by it.” His request has been respected.^[12]

In 1965 the original frame house Abijah built on Withers Farm in 1842 was donated by his great-grandchildren, Conn Withers and Margaret Withers Teague, to Missouri Town 1855, a living history museum located in Jackson County. ^[13]

Slaves

The realities of growing tobacco in a “true Southern region” of Missouri meant most farms were worked by enslaved people. Abijah Withers was a slave owner, as were many of his neighbors, ancestors, and other members of his extended family. ^{[14] [15]}

• Slaves of Abijah Withers, Missouri
• Merritt Withers

Sources

1. ↑ "Autobiographical Sketches of Citizens of Clay County, Mo." Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine LXVI, no. 1 (January 1915), 26; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/187399-daughters-of-the-american-revolution-magazine : 2012), image 34 of 446.
2. ↑ Franz V. Recum, Withers--America: Or, A Collection of Genealogical Data Concerning the History of the Descendants in the Male Line of James Withers (1680/1-1746) of Stafford County, Virginia (United States: F.V. Recum, 1949), 44-45; digital images, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Withers_America/XNtfAAAAMAAJ : 2008).
3. ↑ "Kentucky, Wills and Probate Records, 1774-1989," database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9066/ : 2015) > Woodford > Administrator and Executor Bonds, 1802-1856, image 300 of 696; citing Kentucky County, District and Courts. Image of Executor Bond dated 1 March 1830, naming Abijah as an executor and administrator of the will of Thomas Harris.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Julia Margaret (Teague) First, transcriber, “Writings of Margaret Withers Teague, July 29, 1910 – November 10, 1994” (typescript, 1995), p. 72; copy privately held by Teague-1504, Oakland, California, 1995. Julia First is the 2nd-great granddaughter of Abijah Withers.
5. ↑ William H. Woodson, History of Clay County, Missouri (Topeka: Historical Publishing Company, 1920), 508-509; digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/historyofclaycou00wood/ : accessed 30 July 2022).
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHTF-WRJ : 1 October 2021), Abijah Withers, Clay, Missouri, United States; citing p. 35, NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 222; FHL microfilm 0014855.
7. ↑ "Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKJS-FRR7 : 9 March 2021), Abijah Withers and Prudence B White, 12 Aug 1830; citing Marriage, Woodford, Kentucky, United States, various county clerks and county courts, Kentucky; FHL microfilm 252,331.
8. ↑ 1850 U. S. census, Clay County, Missouri, population schedule, Fishing River Township, page 376 (recto, stamped), family 1121, Abijah Withers household; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDZ7-TX6 : accessed 28 February 2024); citing NARA Microfilm Publication M432, roll 396 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH8S-VRZ : 18 February 2021), Abijah Withus, Liberty, Clay, Missouri, United States; citing family 399, NARA microfilm publication M653, Roll: M653_614; Page: 894 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL film 803614.
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4DT-JXW : 29 May 2021), Alijah Withers, Liberty, Clay, Missouri, United States; citing family 250, NARA microfilm publication M653, Roll: M593_770; Page: 748B (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
11. ↑ "Death of an Old Citizen." The St. Joseph Weekly Gazette (St. Joseph, Missouri), 28 August 1879 (Thu.), p. 6, col. 4; digital images, Newspapers (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-st-joseph-weekly-gazette-abijah-wit/8038607/ :originally downloaded 28 December 2016).
12. ↑ "A Withers Centennial." The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri), 17 June 1934 (Sun.), p. 36, cols. 2-5; digital images, Newspapers (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-a-withers-centennia/101086908/ : originally downloaded 5 May 2022).
13. ↑ "Public Will Be Part of 'Missouri Town, 1855.'" The Kansas City Times (Kansas City, Missouri), 22 May 1965 (Sat.), p. 48, cols. 4-8; digital images, Newspapers (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-times-public-will-be-par/135707673/ : originally downloaded 26 March 2017).
14. ↑ "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1850 ," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6SW7-9D9?cc=1420440&wc=MJCD-2JB%3A1042936701%2C1042954401%2C1042954402 : 22 May 2014), Missouri > Clay > Clay county > image 29 of 33; citing NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
15. ↑ "United States Census (Slave Schedule), 1860," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBS7-8JC?cc=3161105&wc=8B89-K68%3A1610452401%2C1610359801%2C1610344601 : 16 October 2019), Missouri > Clay > Liberty > image 15 of 16; citing NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

See also:

• Find A Grave: Memorial #100914397
• Daughters of the American Revolution and Withers, Ethel Massie, Clay County Missouri, Centennial Souvenir, 1822-1922 (Liberty, Missouri: Liberty Tribune, 1922), 11; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/474363-clay-county-missouri-centennial-souvenir : downloaded 23 July 2023), image 9 of 194. Brief biographical sketch of Abijah Withers as a pioneer of Clay County.
• Portrait and Biographical Record of Clay, Ray, Carroll, Chariton, and Linn counties, Missouri. Containing Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, Together with Biographies and Portraits of all the Presidents of the United States (Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1893), 377; digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/portraitbiograph13chap/ : accessed 24 September 2023. Biographical sketch of Abijah's son Edwin includes mention of removal to Clay County.
• LaVonne Belew Moore, Missouri Town--1855: A Program in Architectural Preservation (Kansas City, Missouri: Jackson County Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Lowell Press, 1987), 51-57; digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/missouritown18550000moor/ : accessed 19 February 2024). Discussion and photos of Abijah Withers' original home that was donated to Missouri Town 1855 in 1963.