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Capt. John G. B. Kendrick
John G. B. Kendrick was born to James O’Burke Kendrick and Harriet Elizabeth Belt Kendrick June 17,1826 in the Lexington area of Kentucky. His father was a major in the American Army under General Harrison in the War of 1812. After the death of his mother in 1828, he was brought with his father to Palmyra, Marion County, Missouri. His father died in 1840. In early manhood he became a stage coach driver in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. In 1845 he drove a route from St. Charles, Missouri, to Fulton along the Boones Lick Road. On February 22, 1847 he married Odille Evaline Jones and in 1849 they moved into the Jones homeplace  three miles north of Rhineland on land entered from the United States government in 1819. It is said the U.S. Patent for the land was No. 1 in Montgomery County. The map to the right is from the 1878 Atlas Township 45 & 46 North.
Odille Jones was a daughter of Lewis and Delinda Hayes Jones. Lewis Jones served in the U. S. Army as a scout and spy during the Indian War (War of 1812) and Delinda Jones was a granddaughter of Daniel Boone. Lewis and Delinda Jones built the homestead where John and Odille Kendrick spent their entire married lives.
John and Odille Kendrick were the parents of six children, all born on the home place: Laura B. (1849-1933), Cordelia Myra (1851-1940), Lewis J. (1853-1926), Cora (Mrs. G. W. Quick) (1854-1943), Augusta G. (1856-1906) and Byron G. (1858-1863). Laura and Delia lived and died in the house where they were born.
John Kendrick enlisted in the 9th Cavalry Regiment, Missouri State Militia in January, 1862 and served for two years. For details about Missouri military units in the Civil War click here. He was a bugler, rank listed as musician. He was commissioned July 26, 1964 captain in the Provisional Enrolled Militia of Montgomery County. Discharged from that duty in October, he was commissioned a captain in Company F of the Enrolled Missouri Militia and served until December, 1864. Click here for a Clothing Roster (including signatures) for the Civil War soldiers.
After military service he farmed. His wife, Odille, died February 16, 1898 and was buried in the Jones - Kendricks Cemetery near their home. They also gave part of their land for the Kendrick School, which was held for more than 50 years, closing after the 1936-37 school term.
Captain Kendrick was obviously avidly anti-slavery and anti-secessionist. He enlisted in military service at age 35, having 6 young children at home. After serving a two year enlistment he again signed up for further service in his home area. He died October 27, 1914, survived by four of his children, and was buried beside his wife.
Delegates to 1820 Constitutional Convention
200 years ago, on March 6, 1820, President Monroe signed an act of Congress authorizing the people of the Missouri Territory to form a state constitution and government, “Whereupon the said state, when formed, would be admitted into the union upon an equal footing with the original states, in all respects whatsoever.”
The act also contained a provision prohibiting slavery in all the Louisiana Territory north of 36 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude, except in the new state and except in case of punishment for a crime after conviction, but a person who had escaped from whom labor or service was lawfully claimed in any State or Territory could be apprehended and turned over to the person claiming his labor or service.
The enabling act seemed a straightforward path to statehood and the 2,000+ residents of Montgomery County (then including the area to the east which became Warren County) and the 50,000+ inhabitants of what was to become the new state of Missouri set about forming a new state.
The election of delegates to the constitutional convention was mandated for May 1, 2 and 3, only 55 days before the convention was to convene in St Louis on June 12, 1820. The limited means of transportation and communication on the frontier meant there was not much time or opportunity for campaigning. The enabling act set the number of delegates each of the 15 counties could send to the convention. The date and place (the Mansion House Hotel in St. Louis) of convening meant most delegates would have to be away from home for an extended period of time and have a home life suited to an extended absence. There is no evidence of any vigorous opposition in the election of delegates. No record has been found of the polling places or results of the election in Montgomery County, except that Jonathon Ramsay and Dr. James Talbott were elected as the two delegates. Both lived in the southern part of the County, Ramsay in what is now southwest Warren County and Talbott on or close to Loutre Island.
Floyd Calvin Shoemaker, in his exhaustive work, Missouri’s Struggle for Statehood, 1804-1821 (Hugh Stephens Publishing Company, Jefferson City, Mo., 1916), details the personas of the 41 delegates at pp 136, et seq. He found that, while not now familiar names, the delegates, with few exceptions, were the foremost men of their time. The average age was 41 years. Only four delegates were over 60 years old. Their occupations and professions were mixed, including law and business, medicine and store-keeping, farming and milling or retail trade. However, their incomes seemed above average and a number went on to further government service in Missouri and elsewhere. These included one of the three judges of the first Missouri Supreme Court, an attorney general in President Lincoln’s cabinet, three U. S. Senators and four U. S. House of Representatives members, two governors, seven state officers and 23 state legislators. Twenty-one had seen prior military service.
None of the delegates were born in Missouri. Thirteen were natives of Virginia, eight of Kentucky and four of Maryland. The others were natives of a number of states (only one from New England), territories and countries. It is not surprising that slavery would be readily accepted in the new state.
These, then, for better or worse, were the exclusively white males who would form the state government. They had little reason to doubt that, after three years of struggle, if they followed the dictates of the enabling act, Missouri “would be admitted into the union upon an equal footing with the original states in all respects whatsoever.”
Online References
Older researchers (like your webmaster) remember sticking our heads into a microfilm box and serially scanning through reference material for hours, days and weeks for a mere tidbit of information. Today, many resources are available online with search  capabilities that allow task completion in seconds. Many are even free! See Online References for some sources we have found to be of value; including digitized books, maps and documents. Links to helpful websites are listed.
If you are aware of other useful sites, please send an email to webmaster@mchsmo.org and they will be added to the list. Thank you for taking the time to help your fellow researchers! |
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June 5
World Environment Day
Time for Nature.
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June 14
Flag Day
Display the American flag and relfect upon the foundations of our country's freedoms.
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June 21
Happy Father's Day
A father is neither an anchor to hold us back nor a sail to take us there but a guiding light whose love shows us the ...
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June 27
MCHS Board Meeting
The MCHS Board meets monthly on the fourth Saturday at the Society's Office.
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July 7
Genealogy Society Welcomes Visitors
The library and museum buildings are open to the public on Tuesday mornings until Noon, March thru November, weather permitting. Genealogy Society members are available ...
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