Span Family
submitted by Jo Fischer
Line back to Aaron Span who was coroner the first year of Pulaski Co in 1833. The next year Wyatt Territory (the whole of the Niangua River Basin) was formed of Pulaski Co and Greene Co and Aaron lived in the lower Niangua River Basin (what is presently SEC 31 range 19 Jackson TWP, Webster Co , Mo,)
Originally Aaron Span came to this area in 1816, with others from Warren Co, Ky 1816 (Jesse Ballew, Henry Cook Anders who was married to Jesse's dau, William Montgomery who married Jesse's dau Nancy Ballew, John C. P, Cullen who married John Taggard's daughter, John Taggard whose son married Nancy Span dau of Aaron, Wisdom, Jones, Lewis, Gilisby and others.
They came to mine the old DeSoto 1541 salt petre mines for gun powder manufacture for the military for the Indian wars that had erupted after the signing of the 1808 Osage treaty to the end of the Indian wars in 1828. They belonged to the already established Pleasant view Baptist church that was established in 1804. This church still exists near what is now Elkland, Jackson TWP Webster Co, Mo.
After the wars ended most of this allied family (by Blood and marriage) moved elsewhere, but Aaron stayed (through the changes of names for the area he was in.....) and died when the area was named Washington TWP, Dallas Co, Mo. It is now Jackson TWP Webster Co, Mo.
Before (new) Pulaski Co was formed from Crawford in 1833 this area had been Indian district lands annexed to St Louis, then 1813 it was Indian district lands annexed to Washington Co from 1813 to 1818, then in 1818 these Indian district lands were incorporated into a county named(old) Pulaski with no government and annexed to Franklin. In 1819 (old) Pulaski was divided between what is now Missouri and Arkansas. The half that stayed in Missouri was again divided and annexed to Cooper and Wayne Counties......Aaron was now under Wayne. Then 1820 Gasconade was formed and both parts of the Missouri (old) Pulaski were annexed to her. Near the end of the Indian wars the (Old) Pulaski county was deposed and the lands ceded to Gasconade who ceded them to Crawford when it was formed and Crawford began carving off counties. By 1833 Greene and (New) Pulaski were formed.
I have more ..... on the Taggarts......one of Aaron's children Nancy Span married into..........Josiah Taggart who was here in 1810 with his father at age eleven, and several of his siblings,..... his sister Biddy Taggart married to John C. P. Cullen who ran the salt petre mines here and at what is now Waynesville and Rolla.
Biddy was married at the Pleasant View Baptist church (established 1804) which after all the changes in counties names in now in Webster Co, Mo.