Russells of Hazel Hill Township, Johnson County, Missouri Fayetteville

Johnson County, Missouri Genealogy Trails

Source: "History of Johnson County, Missouri" by Ewing Cockrell, 1918

Transcribed by Karen Hammer -2009

HAZEL HILL TOWNSHIP

The territory composing Hazel Hill township, one of the northern tiers of townships of the county, was originally a part of Washington township. Hazel Hill township was organized June 10, 1856, and its boundaries practically remain the same as they were at that time, except that a strip off of the eastern side was added to Simpson township upon the organization of that township in 1875.

The early school at Fayetteville was built near a hill of hazel brush. A Sons of Temperance lodge was organized in 1884, met at the schoolhouse and named the lodge Hazel Hill, from this hill. The name was then applied in succession to the schoolhouse and the village. Today the village is commonly called Hazel Hill more than it is Fayetteville.
Early Settlements. The section now composing Hazel Hill township was one of the earliest settled parts of what is now Johnson County. This was due to the fact that it was one of the most northern sections of the county and early immigration came from the direction of the Missouri river on the north. Richard and John Huntsman settled in this locality in 1829. Samuel Cornett was located here in 1831 and William McMahan came the same year. Elijah Young came in 1836. He perhaps was one of the first to introduce fruit raising in the new country. He was an enterprising citizen and lived to a ripe old age. Joseph Harrison, a native of Alabama, came here in 1832 and Joseph Hobson came from Tennessee then. also. George McMahan. from Alabama: William Adams, from North Carolina: Jesse Harrison, from Alabama; Judge William Trapp, from Tennessee, came here in 1832. In 1834, Judge Robert Graham, from Virginia, Henry Brooks from Indiana, and Jacob Parman from Tennessee established their homes here. LeRoy Barton. a Kentuckian, joined the settlement the same year. John Markham and John Shackleford, both Kentuckians, cast their lots here in 1835.
Joel Walker came here in 1830. He was known as an industrious and frugal pioneer who contributed his part toward building up the new country. It is said that he improved three farms. Judge Harvey Harrison settled near the headwaters of the Walnut in 1831. He served as justice of the peace for twelve years. The lives of the pioneers of this section were not unlike the average frontiersmen of those days. They cleared away and broke land and it was not long until many had built comfortable although not elaborate homes.
Early Churches. - Religions organizations were affected at an early day in Hazel Hill township. Liberty Baptist church was the first in the township. It was organized in May 1836, with ten members, and about that time a log church building was erected on section 24 on the Warrensburg and Lexington Road near Liberty cemetery. The old church was built of hewn logs and puncheon floor with slab seats and was heated by two stoves. Amos Horn, Martin, and Jonathan Gott were among the first to preach the gospel here. This old church building did service for about forty years, when the organization was changed to Fayetteville, where a frame building was erected in 1877. Some of the early pastors here were David M. Johnson. M. Pelly, R. H. Harris. A. Barton and James H. Carmichael. The early members of the organization were: J. W. White, J. Warner, William Simpson, V. Schilling. Sarah Walker, Richard Huntsman. Alary, Nancy and H. Huntsman, William M. Walker and Cynthia Walker. 
The Christian church of Fayetteville was organized about 1842 and four years later a frame building was erected which was dedicated by Elder Hiram Bledsoe. The early pastors of this church were Hiram Bledsoe, James Randall, D. M. Grandfield, George W. Logan. William Jarrott, G. R. Hand, William Roe, C. A. Hedrick and Samuel M. McDaniel. This church was reorganized in 1876 by Rider William Jarrott with the following members: William Trapp. John Trapp. Jesse Trapp. M. Trapp, Thomas Collins. Elijah Young. Joe Seigfield, Hiram Kelso, William Jones, William Lemon, Samuel Guinslead and Noah Dyer. 
The Mt. Moriah church. Cumberland Presbyterian was organized here shortly after the close of the Civil War and about that time a frame church building was erected. This was located on section 21. Among the original members of this congregation, we find William Stockton, William McMahan. William Brandon and their families. The first pastors here were S. H. McElvaine and J. C. Littrell. 
Early Cemeteries. Regular cemeteries were established very early within the present borders of Hazel Hill township. Liberty cemetery was established on section 24, on the road between Warrensburg and Fayetteville, at an early day. Harrison cemetery was established in 1844 and Thomas B. Harrison was the first to rest here. Hobson cemetery, another early burial place, is located on the northeast corner of section 15 and the remains of Mrs. Elizabeth Brooks were the first to be interred here. Mt. Moriah cemetery, located on section 28, was another pioneer cemetery and Mrs. P. V. Spring was the first to be buried here. Morgan Cockrell was the first to be interred in the Old Bethel cemetery, which was located on the western part of section 7. 
Early Schools. Up to 1838 schools were held in private residences generally but about that time the log schoolhouse was established in the northern part of the township which became known as the Benton school and another one in the southern part which later became known as the Pettis school. These were of the crude type of buildings usually constructed for school purposes in those days and here subscription schools were conducted until the present state educational system was established, or rather the beginning of it. 
Among the later school buildings, which were constructed before the war was the old McMahan log schoolhouse, built in 1853. This was replaced by a frame structure six years later, which was burned during the Civil War and was not rebuilt until after the close of that conflict. Prior to the war, the old log schoolhouse previously mentioned. to which the name Hazel Hill was early given, stood near the present site of Fayetteville. 
Teachers. - Among the early schoolteachers of the pioneer times in this part of the county, we find the names of Judge Robert Graham, James Borthick, Judge William L. Hornbuckle, Henry Tarpley, William W. Sparks, John G. Gibbons. Jesse Trapp and A. Marr. 
Some of the teachers, who were among the later educators of this township, were Mr. Tomblin, Mr. Edwards, A. J. Trapp, Jesse Trapp, Samuel H. McElvaine, A. B. Logan, John Randall. C. F. Greenlee, F. F. Meigs, Mr. Babbitt. Mrs. Bedichek, Miss Maggie Lamar, Miss Sallie Young, G. H. Sack, A. C. Jones, William Rowe. Henry Gott. Miss Mattie Brinkerhoff, Miss Jennie Lamar, Miss Jennie Gott. Mattie Meigs, Joseph Conner, J. Harrison. Lizzie McCluney, Mr. Day. Miss Kate Lamar. I. M. Harrison, J. Johnson. Miss Jennie Adams. Dora Foster, Miss Josie Hart, William Talbott. Miss Jennie Gott. Miss Bertha M. Brandon, George Brinkerhoff, Miss Maggie Nelson. Mr. Wimer, J. Crawford, Ed Gilbert, Thomas McDougal. G. M. Shanton, W. H. James, Mr. Coe, Miss Annie Rhodes, Lot Coffman, Miss Nannie S. Dalton, Miss Melissa Taylor, Miss Sarah Ashby, Miss Lina Barkley, Rev. Barnett. W. Payne, Mr. Whitmer, Mr. Motsinger, Rev. Woodard, Samuel Moore, David Bradley, Amos Horn, John M. Christy, Mr. Shields, James Crutchfield, E. H. Miller. Miss Maggie Humphrey, Miss Mollie Hendricson. Will McElvaine, Miss Ella Redford, Miss Sallie Cook, John A. Moore. A. Yan-Ausdol, Dean Redford, Jason M. McElvain, Josie Smith and T. E. Williams. 
Early Postoffice.-The first postoffice established in Hazel Hill township was at the residence of James Borthick, who was the first postmaster. This was long before the town of Favetteville was known and the name of the postoffice was Air. Later, when the new village of Fayetteville sprang up. the post office was given the name of Fayetteville. although the village was also known as Hazel Hill. The first postmaster in the town was Ben E. Lemmon. who held the office until the Civil War broke out. He received his commission from President Franklin Pierce. Later postmasters of Fayetteville were A. B. Harrison, William Gouch, John Hand, M. Seamonds, A. J. Morgan, John Matthews and Wesley Otis. 
Fayetteville. the principal village in Hazel Hill township, is located about a mile east of the center of the township. The village took its name from Lafayette Collins, who was engaged in the mercantile business here in the early days. He went to Texas about the time of the Civil War, where he died in 1877. The land upon which the village of Fayetteville stands was entered from the government September 17, 1845, by John Huntsman. Ben E. Lemmon kept the first store here. Others who were engaged in the mercantile business here at different times in the early days were Lafayette Collins, A. B. Harrison, John Huntsman, William Gouch, George T. Herndon and A. J. Redford.
Justices of the Peace of Hazel Hill township, as far back as the records go with the dates of their election, are: 1856, James P. Martin, Benjamin F. McCluny, William H. Narron, William L. Hornbuckle; 1860, John Newton, Atkins Powell, W. L. Hornbuckle. William H. Harris; 1862. Calvin S. Sullivan; 1870, G. W. Winston, John L. Trepp: 1878, William P. Greenlee, W. P. Glover: 1882, W. P. Greenlee. Theodore Hyatt: 1886, William P. Greenlee, William McMahan: 1888, Theodore Hyatt; 1890, C. A. Harrison, AY. P. Greenlee: 1892. R. J. Matthews; 1894, J. H. Collins, H. P. McGraw; 1896. J. D. Dyer, L. C. Gore: 1900. C. A. Harrison; 1902, J. D. Dyer, George Young: 1904. J. N. Allworth; 1906, Frank N. Ames. A. J. Barkhurst; 1908, William Hobbs; 1910. Frank N. Ames; 1914, George Youngs. 
County Officers. The following are the county officers who have been elected from the township since 1882, with the dates of their election: 
1898-E. D. Frost (Democrat), recorder. 
1902-08-C. A. Harris (Democrat), probate judge. 
1908-R. L. Falconer (Democrat), sheriff. 
1910-14-E. F. Tracy (Democrat), presiding county judge. 
County Road Improvements made by the township, since this system was established in 1911, were up to twenty-three in number and aggregated $1,234.50, furnished by the citizens of the township, and $1,220 by the county. January 1. 1918.  In the amount of this work Hazel Hill ranks sixth among the townships of the county.
Organizations. -The following is a complete list of all organizations of every kind in Hazel Hill township. Full details of each organization are in separate chapters on the different organizations.
Churches-Baptist, Liberty; Christian, Fayetteville; Cumberland Presbyterian, Mt. Moriah; Cumberland Presbyterian, Salem.
Fraternal Organizations-Modern Woodmen, Fayetteville; Modern Woodmen. Hoffman; Modern Brotherhood of America. 
1917 War Organizations-Red Cross, Fayetteville Branch. 
Miscellaneous-Homemakers Club. Fayetteville; Homemakers Club, Salem; Farmers Community Club; Women's Christian Temperance Union, Fayetteville; Women's Christian Temperance Union. Walker; Young-Ladies Busy Bee Club. 
Total number of organizations in township, fourteen. 
There is one village in the township, Fayetteville, and also stores at Robbins and Hoffman, former post offices. 

Jan. 30, 1909
WARRENSBURG, MO. (Sheriff) HENRY RUSSELL IS DEAD. The End of an Eventful Life Came at His Home on 301 West Gay St. Sunday Afternoon Henry H. Russell is no more.
The end came peacefully at his home on West Gay Street in this city, Sunday afternoon, January 31, 1909, at about four o'clock, following an aggravated illness of several weeks, during which time he was a patient sufferer. But the strong constitution that he ever possessed, gradually gave way to the pangs of disease, and he relapsed into, unconsciousness to a sleep that knows no waking. During his last hours on earth he had the satisfaction of being surrounded by his faithful wife and dutiful children and close relatives and friends. Everything that medical science could bring to his aid was done, but his life had been spent, and he cheerfully reconciled himself to his fate, in his happy spirit that always exerted itself to the last, he begged of his loved ones to dry their eyes and to weep not, for the Great Maker had called for him and He knew best. Henry Russell in his day was a man of affairs.
He was prominent in business and in social life and his name. was always connected with every move looking to the best interests of Warrensburg and Johnson county. He was generous to a fault. There never lived a man who was truer to his friends than Henry Russell. He was aggressive in everything he undertook; was very decided in his views, yet willing at all times to weigh and consider the opinions of others in a manner that stamped him as a broad-minded man.
About fourteen years ago Mr. Russell was attacked with that fatal disease, locomotor ataxia, a disease of the spinal cord which finally renders the lower limbs helpless. He made a hard fight to reg in his once robust health, but gradually with the years the disease became deep-seated, and it was the effects of this, that death finally claimed him as a victim. Henry H. Russell was born near Bloomfield, Spencer County, Kentucky, January 19, 1851.
To the year 1854, at the age of four years, he came with his parents to Missouri and located on a farm near Green Door, Johnson County, where he grew to manhood. On October 30th, 1873, he was united in marriage to Miss Medora Brown. Of this union four children were born, one of whom is dead. Three children, together with the mother, survive him as follows: Winfrey B. of Fort Smith, Arkansas, Henry Hawley, and Harry Baxter, both of Kansas City.
In 1882 Mr. Russell was elected sheriff of Johnson County and served four years. He was also County Treasurer. He was appointed postmaster of Warrensburg during President Cleveland's first administration. At the close of his term of office. he engaged in the clothing business with C. E. Williams and later sold his interest to accept a position as a travel salesman for a wholesale clothing company, in which capacity he made a great success. But his health compelled him to give up road. In 1901 he was nominated by the Democrats for county treasurer, to which position he was elected and served with honor for four years. He was twice elected Chief Enrolling Clerk of the state senate and but for his failing health would have been chosen at the present session of the legislature for the same place, so popular was he with members of the state senate.
In whatever he undertook he was efficient and courteous. At the time of his death, he was local agent for the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company of New York. He was a Mason and a member of the Presbyterian church. Four sisters, Mrs. W. R. Rice of Columbus, township, Mrs. A M. DeMasters, and Mrs. W. A. DeMasters, both of Holden And Mrs. Fannie Letten

The Standard-Herald

Warrensburg, Missouri • 

Thu, Aug 25, 1870

Page 1

THE RUSSELLS OF HAZEL HILL TOWNSHIP.
Coleman, John, Thomas, and Henry Russell are reputable farmers. Their grandfather was a major in the army of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. He resigned his commission, and emigrated to America, A. D. 1795. Their father, Major Henry Russell, born in Rathmelton (Ramelton), Ireland, was an officer in the United States Army and did gallant service in the War of 1812. The bounty land awarded to him by the government he located in Missouri and afterward became a resident of this grand old commonwealth. Although his four sons are, and have a right to be, proud of their genealogy, they have sense enough to know that it • amounts to nothing in this republic, where merit alone is entitled to rank. These Russell boys are all of them retired merchants. When they came hither, a quarter of a century ago, they were, to say the least of it, rich. Their losses, because of the late deplorable internecine war, were no less than twenty-five thousand dollars; nevertheless, they annoy no one with loud lamentations. Whilst they are no longer rich enough to make them proud, they are not poor enough to feel the pangs of poverty. The Russells still occupy their delightful homestead, situated in full view of the city of Warrensburg. They are generous, hospitable, agreeable gentlemen, exceedingly liberal in politics, and tolerant about religion. They always have a kind word for those in distress, a penny for the poor, and a malediction for an enemy. 
(Henry Hagan Russell was the Johnson County Missouri Sheriff for four years and later county treasurer.  He is the grandfather of former four-year mayor H H Russell.  H H Russell is the grandfather to Mayor Bruce D Uhler of Warrensburg, Missouri 2024-25.

Jan. 30, 1930
PIONEER RESIDENT DIED ON THURSDAY Mrs. H. H. Russell, Sr. Died Thursday at the Home of Her Son, W. B. Russell Mrs. Henry H. Russell, a lifelong resident of Johnson County, passed away Thursday noon at the home of her son, W. B. Russell on 301 West Gay Street, after a serious illness of a few weeks suffering with a broken hip. A life-long resident of Johnson County and a member of one of its prominent families, was born May 8, 1850, in Simpson township near the Oak Grove church, the daughter of James Simpson Brown and Sarah Jane Hornbuckle. Mrs. Russell spent her entire life in Johnson County, with the exception of one year that she spent in Ardmore Indian territory. Medora Brown Russell who was -nine years of age at the time of her death, was united in marriage with Henry H. Russell on October 30, 1873. To Mr. and Mrs. Russell were born four children, three of whom survive. They are Winfrey B. of this city; Henry Hawley of Miami, Florida; and Harry B. of Kansas City. Frank died at the age of three. She is also survived by one brother, Baxter Brown of Kansas City, besides her three sons she is survived by four grandchildren, Russell, Jr.; Jean Medora Wood; Shirley Russell and Henry Hawley, Jr.; also, three great-grandchildren, Sophia Anne, Janie Lou Russell; and James Russell Wood. Mrs. Russell united with the Cumberland Presbyterian church at Mt. Moriah in her early girlhood and later with the local church here, and then with the Presbyterian church. Her husband, the late Henry H. Russell, preceded her in death, dying January 31, 1909. He was a prominent resident of Johnson County.
He served as sheriff and treasurer of Johnson County; and was appointed postmaster of Warrensburg during President Cleveland's first administration. He was in the clothing business here and later was a traveling salesman for a wholesale clothing company. He was twice elected chief enrolling clerk of the state senate. Funeral arrangements have not been made at this time, as the family is awaiting word from Hawley Russell of Miami, Florida..