Information Sheet
R Philpott, Garrott, 1801-1864.
924 Papers, 1825-1913.
Ten folders.
MICROFILM
These are the papers of Garrott Philpott of Henry County, Virginia,
and Cedar County, Missouri, including promissory notes, tax receipts, and
business papers. There are also papers
from the estates of the related families of Hezekiah Perkinson and William H.
Clark, and the correspondence and papers of Thomas W. M. Montgomery.
The Philpott collection represents connections between
several of the earliest and most prominent families to settle in Cedar County, Missouri. Garrott Philpott
was a native of Henry County, Virginia;
born 15 October 1801. He married Elizabeth Clanton there on 10 April 1837. Philpott was
connected with the Perkinson family (spelled variously Perkason, Perkerson,
Pergerson, Purgason, Purkason, Purkerson, etc.), also of Henry County, by the marriage of his sister Susannah Philpott and Hezekiah
Perkinson. About 1839, the Philpotts and
Perkinsons and other Virginians left Henry County for Missouri, settling southeast of Fremont (now Stockton) in what was then Polk County. Garrott
Philpott settled on Lindley Prairie; the Perkinsons along the Little Sac River
on lands that are now inundated by Stockton Lake. Briefly part of Dade County, the area became part of Cedar County in 1845.
A farmer-stockman and large landowner, Philpott may
also have had legal experience. In 1841
and 1842, respectively, Hezekiah and Susannah Perkinson died and Philpott
became the administrator of their estates.
He also handled the estate of William H. Clark, another relative with
ancestral ties to Virginia. Philpott was
elected a judge of the Cedar County court in 1846-1850 and 1855-1858. A slave owner, Philpott listed 13 slaves in a
list of taxable property for 1861. He
may also have been a secessionist, as indicated by Missouri State Guard
quartermaster’s receipts to Philpott and others in 1861. By August 1862, Philpott and his son, John
Philpott, went to Paris, Lamar County, Texas, possibly to remove the family’s slaves
to a more secure place, while Elizabeth Philpott remained at home in
Missouri. Garrott Philpott seems to have
been planning to buy land in Denton County, Texas, when he died there on 8 August 1864.
Apparently by the marriage of Mary H. Philpott and
Thomas W. M. Montgomery, the Philpotts became related with the family of
William Montgomery and Elizabeth Mitchell Montgomery, Virginians who came to
Polk and Cedar counties in Missouri
about 1841 from Roane
County, Tennessee. Thomas W. M.
Montgomery (addressed “Thomas W.” and “Thomas M.” in the documents, but
apparently called “Mitch”) was a Union veteran of the Civil War. He enlisted in 1862 in Captain James J.
Akard’s Company A of the 8th Missouri State Militia Cavalry. In 1863, Montgomery was commissioned second lieutenant of Company H of
the 2nd Missouri Artillery, commanded by Captain William C. F.
Montgomery. He participated in
operations against the Plains Indians before being discharged at Benton
Barracks in St.
Louis on 20 November 1865. After the
war, Montgomery returned to Stockton, Missouri, where he engaged in farming and various business
ventures with William C. Montgomery. He
was elected assessor of Cedar County in November 1880 and constable of Box Township in 1899, and became a deputy sheriff after 1900. Montgomery and his wife, Mary, purchased a
town lot in El Dorado Springs in 1897. Montgomery was a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Improved
Order of Red Men.
The collection is arranged in two sections. The first section, folders 1-8, contains
business papers, tax receipts, promissory notes, and deeds from both Henry County, Virginia,
and Cedar County, Missouri. The papers
reflect Philpott’s own affairs as well as those connected with his
administration of the Perkinson and William Clark estates. The postwar papers concern the business
dealings and land acquisition of Thomas W. M. Montgomery and William C. F.
Montgomery. The papers are arranged
chronologically, but the researcher should be aware that some documents,
promissory notes in particular, may bear several dates reflecting different
payments over time. Such items have been
arranged by the most recent date. Folder
8 contains undated and fragmentary items.
Of particular interest is an undated paper bearing the birth dates of
various Philpotts and Perkinsons beginning in 1786.
The second section, folders 9-10, consists of Civil
War papers, correspondence, and miscellaneous personal papers. Nearly all of the material in the two folders
concerns Thomas W. M. Montgomery, but there are receipts included from
quartermasters of the Missouri State Guard and provost marshal papers from Confederate
authorities in Texas concerning Garrott Philpott and his son, John. Civil War papers also include Thomas W. M.
Montgomery’s commission and discharge from the 2nd Missouri
Artillery, and postwar correspondence from former comrades hoping to prove
their pension claims. Montgomery’s correspondence also includes letters written by
friends and family, and items associated with his duties as constable and
deputy sheriff.
A REGISTER
of the items is available for this collection.
Shelf
List for this collection
Index
cards for this collection
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