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Jane Montgomery Casey: From Columbia to Irish Grove, IL John Stuekerjuergen, a historian originally from West Point, Iowa, shared this series with Columbia Magazine at the suggestion of the late, great Phil Hanna. The recent announcement of the Phil Hanna Cultural Affairs Series at Lindsey Wilson seemed to make it a good week to publish Phil's last recommendation to CM. Part 3 (Final in a Series): How Did This Great Grandmother of Mark Twain Reach West Point, Iowa? By John Stuekerjuergen Circa 1830, Jane Montgomery Casey and at least two of her adult children moved from Columbia, Kentucky (population 423) to Irish Grove, Illinois. That was 25 miles north of Springfield. The Caseys were accompanied by a large group of relatives (Stotts, Creels, Pattersons, Walkers, Taylors, Paxtons, etc.). This extended family had been firmly entrenched in Kentucky, achieving success and respect as pioneers. The decision to move must have been difficult. A local Kentucky historian speculates that it may have reflected the family's growing distaste for slavery. It is also possible the family wanted to conquer a new frontier. Although Illinois had been a state since 1818, much of its western portion was sparsely populated. Settlers had to stake out their land claims and build their own homes. By this time, Jane was almost 70 years old, and had to rely on her family for shelter, clothing, and food. As was the case in Kentucky, Jane embraced her religion and her church more closely as she aged. She became one of the original 20 members of the North Sangamon Presbyterian Church in 1832. One of the settlers commented that the land at Irish Grove was rich, but the country was as sickly as it was possible to be. There were stagnant swamps, and the "green-headed flies" persecuted those who crossed the prairies. John Casey, a living descendant, has found evidence of a cholera epidemic that swept through central Illinois in 1832-33. Farmers provided for sickness as they did for the winter. They would harvest their wheat, lay in wood, and get ready for the chills and fever. Circa 1834, Irish Grove was threatened by a large prairie fire that was visible from 15 miles away. It was defeated by a group of settlers that ventured out and set a string of backfires. The Birth of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) While at Irish Grove, Jane Casey was informed that her granddaughter, Jane Lampton Clemens, had given birth to a boy in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1835. He was premature by two months, and reportedly seemed too frail to become a healthy child. His cradle and clothing were not yet ready. Nothing seemed to please him. He was described as a "fury of a baby with red hair and wrinkled skin, and he seemed to be filling the little clapboard house and pushing (his parents) out of it." The boy was Samuel Clemens. Iowa Starts to Look Better than Irish Grove In spring 1836, some at Irish Grove decided it was not a healthy place to live. There was some interest in exploring the west side of the Mississippi, which had been opened to settlement in mid-1833, after the Black Hawk Wars. At that time, it was part of the Michigan Territory. A scouting party of four men (William Patterson, Green Casey, Alexander Walker, and Hawkins Taylor) headed westward from Irish Grove. One of the men who traveled with the group commented that the land en route was sparsely settled despite Illinois having been a state since 1818. The group crossed the Mississippi on old man White's ferry, and spent some time in Ft. Madison, which had perhaps 100 people. The men then rode their horses up the bluffs toward the northwest. They were aware of some former Kentuckians who had settled in those parts, near what became West Point. They were impressed by the town site, even though only one building had been constructed there. They proceeded to buy all the land that constituted the "town," and designate parcels for their own homes and farms. They then scheduled an auction of the remaining lots to take place in September 1836. Jane Casey Comes to West Point In 1837, Jane Montgomery Casey and many other family members moved from Irish Grove to West Point. I have been told that she lived with her daughter-in-law, Jane Patterson Casey. Jane P. Casey had been widowed by the sudden death of her husband, Green Casey, one of the four scouts sent from Irish Grove in 1836. I believe the Caseys' residence was northwest of the town square. Most homes built at the time were rustic, with plank walls and puncheon floors. It is doubtful that any portion of that original structure would have survived past the year 1900. Two nearby streets were named Casey and Columbia, the latter a reference to the Kentucky town where Jane M. Casey had lived so many years. Carl Johnston provided an excerpt from an abstract showing that Jane P. Casey acquired two lots in block 21 (see map below) after her mother-in-law died in 1844. Jane M. Casey was a charter member of the Presbyterian congregation in West Point. She was a Sunday school teacher. Today's church building was not constructed until well after her death. Rather, the pioneer congregation met in homes and public buildings that had sufficient room. Jane Clemens, the mother of Samuel Clemens, joined the Presbyterian Church as an adult after letters from her Grandma Casey in Iowa told her about some of its tenets. Jane's son, Orion, and daughter, Pamela, also joined. Did Jane Casey Meet Samuel Clemens? We Do Not Know. In one of the last letters she wrote before she died, Grandma Casey encouraged her granddaughter, Jane Lampton Clemens, to bring her children from Missouri for a visit. However, we don't know if she ever did. Jane Montgomery Casey died in 1844, when Sam Clemens was only eight years old. She is buried in West Point's City Cemetery. No person buried in West Point was born in an earlier year (1761). Note: This is Part 3 of a 3 part series:
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