Catawissa Homestead
(1858ish -1906)

I've spent so much time peering into the passage of Patrick and Mary Barrett from Ireland to St. Louis -- 5 years on the sweeping tide of history -- that I forget they reigned for nearly 50 years on their farm in Franklin County, Missouri. They were homesteaders -- acquiring their first 80 acres through the Homestead Act of 1862. They worked hard enough to add another 240 acres by 1898 [3] and to maintain a double-wide 2-story log cabin [4].

When the Barretts decided to move from the city, they chose an Irish settlement known as Armagh, about 40 miles southeast of downtown St. Louis, along the Meramec River [5]. Armagh took root in the 1830s as Irish settlers moving up from New Orleans were diverted from St Louis, up the Meramec River, due to cholera. It expanded with the establishment of St. Patrick's "Old Rock" Church (1843) and the growing anti-Irish sentiment in the city. Work on the Pacific Railroad reached the area in the mid-1850s and brought more settlers.

A family history reports that the Barretts moved to the Catawissa area about 1859 [2] but other records show that their third child Bridget was born there is 1857. There is no record of them in the Calvey Township 1860 U.S. Census -- which could be for any number of reasons.

Civil War. The area had mixed loyalties, primarily pro-Union. There were some skirmishes with Rebels in the area. There is no record of Patrick Barrett participating one way or the other. [5]

Land. One benefit of the secession of the southern states was the passage of the Homestead Act of 1962, to encourage settlement (rather than slavery) in the states west of the Mississippi [7]. We don't know what the Barretts' land situation was before 1863. But sometime shortly thereafter, Patrick filed his first application for 40 acres (#1 on the map above). In 1870 -- after improvements were certified -- his first 40 acres was granted. In 1874 he acquired 42 acres more (#2 above). By 1898, Patrick and his two sons had pushed northward to own about 324 acres.

Children. Pat and Mary Barrett raised 7 children, born over the course of 14 years. The youngest, Jane and Martin, died in their teens. The two sons and three daughters went on to marry and have children of their own. (See genealogy.)

The oldest, John T., lived with his parents (along with wife and 6 children) and made a career of farming, livestock and farm implement sales. He was also a member of the Ancient Order of United Workers lodge [6] and a Democrat.

The second son, Frank (my great-grandfather), also started out as a farmer. With his Irish wife Ellen Gibbons they started a family while living with the Barretts. But Ellen balked at this situation. She hated the place and her mother-in-law because Mary made Ellen do chores "to save the men" and insisted she ride side-saddle to church every Sunday [8]. Between their third and fourth child, Ellen and Frank moved back to St. Louis. Unfortunately, Frank died shortly thereafter. While he was buried back in Catawissa, Ellen made it clear that she would never return to Catawissa, dead or alive. She was buried in St. Louis.

Sister Katie Barrett Timlin (with her husband and children) also lived on the farm with the Barretts. Her sister Bridget Barrett Geatley lived with her family on a farm in nearby Meramec Township (Jefferson County). The third sister Mary Barrett McLaughlin wound up in St. Louis with her husband and child.

The end. Patrick and Mary died one right after the other in 1905 and 1906. About that time John and his family had had enough of farming. In his mid-fifties, he took his family to St. Louis, where he worked as a railroad watchman till the day he died (age 70).

John was the only long-lived one among the sons and daughters of Mary and Patrick Barrett. His brother and three sisters all died in their forties. They were all gone by the time he moved to St. Louis. How the farm was sold is unknown.

NOTES

[1] See detailed family facts, with dates and offspring here.

[2] The History of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford and Gasconade Counties (Goodspeed)

[3] Map: farmland owned by the Barrett family in 1898 in Calvey township, near Catawissa, MO. From Franklin County plat book, Township 42 North Range II E.

[4] The log house is still standing, still occupied.

[5] "History of St. Patrick's Church, Armagh, Franklin County, Mo" by Ellen Meara Dolan, published by St. Patrick's Church

[6]Ancient Order of United Workers. A fraternal benefit society founded in 1868, the first of its kind in the U.S. Its insurance program provided financial protection to its working class members. Based on the tenets of Freemasonry.

[7] The Homestead Act became law on Jan. 1, 1863. It allowed anyone to file for a quarter-section of free land (160 acres). The land was yours at the end of five years if you had built a house on it, dug a well, plowed 10 acres, fenced a specified amount, and actually lived there. Or, you could claim a quarter-section of land by "timber culture" (planting and successfully cultivating 10 acres of timber.

[8] Family story remembered by Kathleen Price