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William M.
Batson was the 4th born child in a family of 7 children. Born to
the parents William Batson Sr. and Nancy Skinner (daughter of Benjamin Skinner and Charity Davis) in
White County, Illinois. Children of Benjamin & Charity Skinner
William
left the family homestead in about 1850. I find him
first in Pottawattamie County Iowa in 1852 and then Marshall County, Iowa by
1854. Catherine
Powers was the 2nd born in a family of 9 children. She was born in
Illinois to parents James Z. Powers and Sarah Mann Powers (daughter of Michael & Elizabeth Mann). |
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Children of Michael & Elizabeth Mann
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James Powers died May 1st 1845 and shortly thereafter Sarah
Powers moved her family to Marshall County, Iowa. William and Catherine met and married in 1852. I believe they married in Marshall County,
but unfortunately records are not available to verify this. William &
Catherine lived in Marshall County until some time between January of 1866
and January 1868. 7 of their children were born in Marshall County. (**Note:
June 4th, 1900 census listing
shows Catherine to have had 12 children born to her and 9 living. James Riley
died in 1898, but no record is found of the other 2 children. If in fact the
census is correct, which I believe it is, they most likely were born and died
in Marshall County.) |
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The family moved from Iowa to the Green Township of Worth County,
Missouri. As
you can see from the list below, Eliza was the first child born in Missouri.
Shortly upon their arrival William purchased 400.74
acres along the West Fork of the Grand River in Section 5 and an additional
40 acres in Section 8. This land was prime bottomland. Rich tillable soil,
ample water, perfect for farming. William set to work and built the family home up near the main
road. He supplied some of the funding
as well as donated a portion of the 40 acres in Section 8 to construct the “Batson School” which stayed in
operation until the early 1940’s when budget cuts required consolidation of
the outlying schools in the district. A gravel road was cut through his land
to allow access to the school, and a bridge built to cross the river (the portion
of the 40 acres William donated for the school was on the far side of the
river). The
road was called Batson Avenue, in a “tongue-in-cheek” sort of way as it was
only a gravel road, but the name stuck, and is still the name used today. Of
course the bridge crossing the river was called the “Batson Bridge” It was damaged
in the mid 1930’s due to a change in course of the river and was removed. I recently
received photos of William’s land as it is today, still prime producing
farmland. I will scan and add the photos soon! Children of William Batson & Catherine
Powers
As time went on and William & Catherine’s children grew to
adulthood. Most were married at the family home. They started having families of their own and stayed and built
their homes along Batson Avenue and farmed the land. Son William A. bought a 40-acre parcel adjoining his
fathers land and built his home there. Eliza Ann is the only child to leave
the area completely after her marriage. She lived in Nebraska and then
Kansas. Cleracy lived in Nebraska and
then Oklahoma for a while (family history says she and her husband were
part of the “Great Oklahoma Land Run”, but this has not yet been proven), but still maintained a home
on the homestead. After her fathers death she lived permanently in Oklahoma.
Sarah Elizabeth moved away to Kansas in her early years of her marriage, but
moved back to the homestead. As the children came and went, some of the homes
became vacant for a short while, but were then occupied by extended family
members. Sarah Elizabeth’s in-laws, Joseph and Rachel [Dickerson] Robison and
also her brother-in-law, John Logan Robison and his family, lived on the
Batson land for several years. William had also purchased 3 lots in the town of Parnell, Worth County,
Missouri. I don’t know if they already had homes on them at the time of
purchase or if they were built later. By 1900 William and Catherine had moved
into town and were living in a home on one of the city lots. William did not
sell his acreage; instead he passed it down to his children before his death. William and Catherine were active members of the community, April 13th,
1899 the Nodaway Democrat Newspaper (pg. 24) noted “William Batson, age 73
voted Democratic in the election”. They were successful in farming and
business and equally so in the raising of their children and were a
close-knit family. Catherine Powers Batson died July 22nd, 1902 and was buried
in the Rose Hill Parnell Cemetery next to her son James
Riley who had died July 13th, 1898. Almost two years after
Catherine’s death son William A. died on January 28th, 1904. He
too was buried in the family plot. April 7th, 1913 William M.
Batson died of “Chronic Bright’s Disease” and was laid to rest next to
Catherine. William’s probate shows him to be a
fairly wealthy man, but I think the life he lived and the closeness of his
family made him a much richer man than what is reflected in his financial
papers. Even today, though the school and bridge are gone, the road still
gravel and the land sold out of from the family, (a few of the houses are still standing, but in bad repair), local residents still
call the area next to the West Fork of the Grand River “Batson Bottoms” and
still drive down Batson Avenue to get to the river. Most are not aware of the
history, the man or the family but the name still lives on today. For additional information of this family, please
see listings below. Birth, Marriage & Death Records |
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