Weston

Abolitionists in Missouri

Abolitionists in Missouri
"Huck Finn and Jim" Lithograph by Thomas Hart Benton, Missouri State Historical Society

Two Kinds… Although there were people in Missouri throughout the pre-Civil War period who abhorred the institution of slavery, those who advocated its abolition were a minority.  Their views were bitterly opposed and often suppressed by the irate proslavery forces.  There were two kinds of abolitionists:  (1) those who only advocated ending the system and (2) those who acted illegally to spirit slaves away.  The Missouri slaveholder did not discriminate between the two and considered the first as bad as the second.  …Among Three Groups Abolitionists in Missouri can be classified into three groups:  (1) certain…

Platte Lodge, No. 56, A.F. & A.M.

This lodge was incorporated by the Legislature, with N.M. Schrock, W.M.; W.E. Black, S.W.; and John E. Pitt, J.W. The lodge had been incorporated or charted by the Grand Lodge as early as 1846, and this legislative charter was to enable the lodge to hold the real estate it acquired the following year, when the Presbyterian Churcn and the lodge built a meeting -house and hall. The meetings of the Lodge were held each Saturday night before full moon, in the upper story of Johnston & Lewis' store, on Lot 6, Block 29, in Platte City…

An Abolitionist in Weston

Frederick Starr, a Presbyterian minister from Rochester, N.Y., settles in Weston, as pastor of the Presbyterian Church. He was an outspoken Abolitionist: and during the border strife he fearlessly promulgated his principles, and built up, at Weston, a strong anti-slavery party. His life was often in danger from mob-violence. In the midst of the excitement, he thought it prudent to remove to St. Louis. He traveled east, and was lionized by his party. He visited Weston during the war and was kindly received. He died in St. Louis Jan. 8, 1867. Paxton, p. 123

Bridge Over Bee Creek

A new State road having been opened on a straight course from Platte City to Weston, H.L. Wilkerson is appointed commissioner to construct a bridge over Bee Creek. June, 1849 H.L. Wilkerson agrees to build the bridge across Bee Creek on the direct road from Platte City to Weston for $2,200. August, 1849. -Annals of Platte County Missouri, William McClung Paxton, p. 118. May 9, 1850 Upper Bee Creek bridge reported finished. p. 126