Thomas Perry Bartee
(The years between 1873 and 1903)

On November 24, 1873 Thomas Perry Bartee entered into a contract with Walter S. Harrison for a section of land in Lower Loutre Township, Montgomery County, Missouri. The land was located west, and possibly little south, of the point where the Prairie Fork Creek and the Loutre River meet in Montgomery County, Missouri. This spot is referred to as the "Fork" of the two rivers meeting.

This same "Fork" is reference in the Bartee's family history as the point where Thomas Perry Bartee was born close to in the year 1850. Thomas Perry's father and mother, John S. and Mary Ann Bartee, obviously lived near this location as early as 1850, the year Thomas was born.

The location is also well known for it's historical reference; as the location of where Capt James Callaway and some of his men were killed by Indians on March 7, 1815. Capt. James Callaway, and those who died with him in that battle, are buried at the location. Their grave headstones are still their today (April, 2009).

The documents of the Montgomery County Clerk's office show this entry.

In 1878, when Plat Maps for Montgomery County were made, Thomas is not listed as owning land on those plat maps. Perhaps, Thomas had not fully paid for the land he bought from Walter S. Harrison by the time of the plat maps being made. The 1873 record indicates it was a Deed of Trust, not a Warranty Deed, that Thomas and Walter entered into. Or, Thomas may have simply been missed on the listing of land owners at the time the maps were made. The land that Walter S. Harrison owned, 160 acres, in 1878, joins the land that Walter's father, C. W. Harrison, owned (40 acres). The 40 acres directly east of C. W. Harrison's land is the area where Capt. James Callaway and his men died and were buried at. This was 63 years earlier than the date of the plat maps of 1878 being made. Land, located in the area of our interest, was owned in 1878 by Walter S. Harrison, as well as his father, as you can see on the image below.

Where the land was at, and exactly how much acreage Thomas purchased, I don't know. But, it could have been the 40 acres located just east of C. W. Harrison's 40 acres; the land where Capt. Callaway's men are buried at. Without documents (plat maps) of the 1873 time period I'm not sure just where Thomas owned land. However, we do know, and can document, that in 1873 he entered into an agreement with Walter S. Harrison, and that in 1873 Thomas still lived near where he was born at. He was born in 1850, "near the fork of the Prairie Fork Creek and Loutre River."

One of the old houses still remains on the property today. If it was the home of C. W. Harrison, or of Thomas Perry Bartee, at an earlier date, is not known. The current land owner (2009) believes it to be the original house that dates back to the 1870s or earlier. The old house is used as a chicken house, or storage shed currently. Next to it is a garden area.

If it was not Thomas Perry Bartee's home, it was certainly one of his closest neighbor's homes. The graves of Capt. James Callaway, and his men, are directly east, across the road, in a field. (The door you see in the photo above is facing west.)

The above photo is taken from a point north of the old house shown above. The hillside, above where Capt Callaway's men are buried at (beyond, or behind the stone pointed out), is where Capt James Callaway is buried at. The "Fork" of the two rivers, is out of site and beyond the trees, just above the location of the wooden post fence shown in the photo by the road's edge.

In the 1876 Missouri census Thomas and his family are reported as being in Township Section 46. The above location, of the photos and land purchase information, is located in Township Section 47. Township 46 (upper area) begins only about 3 miles south of this area where these photos were taken. The land purchase of Thomas from Walter S. Harrison, was in 1873, and the census of 1876 indicates Thomas was living south of this are by 1876. This may explain why Thomas is not listed on the 1878 plat maps. However, I've yet to find him listed in Township 46 on the 1878 plat maps as well. Perhaps he was only renting property in 1878.

The family's history reports that in 1880 Emaline, Thomas's first wife, died in Arrow Rock, Saline Co., Missouri. She report ably died giving birth to their last child born, Johnny. I've found nothing to date to document the report, but believe it to be correct information. It is possible that Thomas and Emaline were living in or close to Arrow Rock when she died. It is more likely that they were living there, rather than Thomas taking her there in the late months of her pregnancy. I haven't found Thomas and Emaline, or their children, listed in any 1880 census. I do find Thomas's sister and mother living in Mexico, Audrain County per the 1880 census. Thomas is not found after the 1876 Missouri census until the 1900 Federal census reports him as living in Dallas County, Missouri. Other records, like his marriage to Ruth Ann Highbarger in 1881 in Boonville, Mo., and the land grant for his property in Dallas County, dated Feb. 5, 1891, document much of what is known about Thomas Perry Bartee. He died in 1903.