HISTORY OF THE CLODFELTERS
Great-grandparents of Willie Sides
By Lars Meredith Stevenson
Philip Clodfelter was born March 11. 1795 in the state of Pennsylvania. He moved with his parents to Rowan County North Carolina in the year 1803. They were of the stock called Pennsylvania Dutch and they could not speak a word of English until they moved to North Carolina. A brother, John, came with them to Missouri.
In the year 1818 Philip Clodfelter got on a horse called Ball. The horse was a sorrel in color with a streak down the front of his head, and rode from Rowan Co. N.C. to Missouri. He stayed for two years, then rode back to N. Carolina, where he stayed two more years, then married Jamima Foster, Dec. 5, 1822. They returned to Missouri in April 1823 in a Conestoga wagon with Ball and another horse pulling the wagon. After being here some time this Ball horse got out and when found was wandering up and down the Mississippi river trying to get across, and it was thought that if he would have gotten across the river he would have made his way back to North Carolina.
The first year in Missouri They made a crop in what was then called the barrens. The next year they moved to a farm near New Wells, where they lived the rest of their lives. There was an 200 acres in the part of which he purchase from the government and was called “entered” land. I have the original deed, written with a goose quill pen (Willie Sides). The other part of land was bought from a Mr. Henderson. The buildings were all made of hewed logs at first, but later a frame house was built. They settled near a good spring so to have a water supply.
Phillip Clodfelter was a good carpenter and made many things for household use. I still have four ladder-back chairs he made, also a large bread tray and a rolling pin, all in fine workmanship – Willie.
He was a rather short heavy set man, but weighed light for his looks. Never weighing more than 150 ilbs. He was slow motioned, never made money very fast, but surely saved what he made.
Jamima Foster, Wife of Phillip Clodfelter
Jamima Foster was born in Rowan Co. North Carolina. Jamima’s father, David foster was a small man of Scotch-Irish descent and was in the Revolutionary War. Her mother, Elizabeth Leonard, was of an aristocratic family and had negroes for servants. But when Jamima started to Missouri her parents gave her money instead of the negro girl she fell heir to.
When Jamima and Philip stated to Missouri her mother ran along side the wagon for three miles reluctant to give her daughter up, thinking she would never see her again, and she didn’t, as Jamima never returned to North Carolina.
Jamima called her first child Elizabeth Leonard and one son Leonard Philip using here maiden name of her mother twice.
To this union were born 7 children:
Elizabeth married A.K. Stevenson Dec 4, 1845. Had 7 children:
Mary Ann, married Cicero Wallace, Oct. 26, 1848. Had 3 children:
Jamea Edgar, Oct 23, 1849; Marquis Alvin, Mar. 30, 1852; Martha Elizabeth (Mattie), May 13, 1854 (Nora’s mother)
Leonard Philip married Sarah Yoder Sept 1866. Had 4 children: Emory, Alpha, Minnie, and Milas.
Margaret Zilla married Ransom Mitchell Two children Theodore and Mira. 1. Mira married Bill Shoults. Three children Gertie, Willie and Frankie Jane. 2. Theodore married Emma Schriner. Three children Leslie, Virgil, and Verna Ruth.
Muddy Shawnee runs into Blue Shawnee forming a wedge. The ridge and bottom land along Blue Shawnee was the John Garner place, They raised a family there, when they died they were buried in the ridge field south of the house, about midway between the house and New Wells. There was a Persimmon tree and a pile of rocks thee when I was a kid, When we were hoeing or replanting corn in the bottom field, Grandpa would tell us that under that tree and pile of rocks is where our Great-Great-Grandpa and Grandma were buried. There is nothing there now to mark the graves.
I’ve heard my great grandma Boren (nee Garner) say that they had a pet bear tied our in the Northwest corner of the yard when she was a girl there.
Agnes, one of the Garner girls, married a Trickey. They had a boy John. When Trickey died Agnes married George Anderson and John Trickey went to live with his Aunt Caroline who had married Hiram Boren.
When the Civil War broke out he joined the Union Army and fought the whole war in the state of Missouri. When I was a little kid, Caroline, my great-grandma lived her last years with Grandpa and Grandma. We boys were over there a lot. I’ve been over there many times when John Trickey stopped by to see his Aunt. Great Grandma would out her spittoon between her chair and John Trickey’s. On a winter afternoon they would chew horse show tobacco and tell stories of by-gone days. They talked about Indians, the battle at Shepard’s Mountain, Pilot Knob. Tearing up a railroad track. I can’t piece the stories together, I was always too busy running my spool Ford over the floor. Why I didn’t sit and listen I’ll never know.
My Dad said that that old man didn’t know how strong he was. A man was going to the mill with a load of wheat. He was going down through the woods and ran onto a stump that wouldn’t go un/er the front axel of the wagon. He was going to have to cut a pry pole or do something he couldn’t back up. About the time John Trickey appeared on the scene He just backed up to the wheel, grabbed a couple of spokes and lifted it over the stump.
He stopped by Great Grandpa Boren’s one time when there were two or three nephews from Cape Girardeau staying with Great Grandpa. They went to the woods to cut wood. Mr. Trickey told my Grandpa that the country was going to the dogs. He said those boys didn’t know how to use an ax, a beaver could do a better job than they.
When there was a 4th of July parade, John Trickey dressed in his blue uniform and carried the flag. When he died in Feb. 1920 he was buried in his uniform at Apple Creek Cemetery, Pocahontas, MO.