I also have "lost" 2 entire families, plus a sister, for the 1850 census. We know they were in Missouri by the early 1840s and when some of them finally did settle they showed up in Platte Co. MO. Also one member of this group was granted a permit to run a ferry service between Missouri and Kansas during the 1850s, but none of them appear in any of a dozen counties in that area. {It's kind of hard to miss the name Nimrod FARLEY in the census rolls when you see it.} After searching every page of that dozen counties in northwest MO I suspected that they must have been on the river and missed being counted. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Cathy

Hi Cathy...Elaine was right about your Nimrod Farley.....it's unusual enough to gather info via the internet....I put his name in quotes & came up with several sites filled with very interesting info about this "well-known character" :-) .....One article does give where he was in 1854....Have Fun, Janet & Family **************************************************************************** *********************** The Kansas Heritage server would like to thank Morris W. Werner [3014 23rd Ave S., Nashville, TN 37215] for preparing this material. PIONEER TRAILS FROM U. S. LAND SURVEYS "Fords, Ferries & Bridges" INDEX OF MAPS & DOCUMENTATION Prepared by Morris Werner 1988-89: Iatan Ferry 1855-61 on Missouri River at Iatan (formerly Daugherty's Landing), Nimrod Farley, Prop. (KHQ v.2 p.27) ************************************************************** also found this:...... Lewis' Point was a location about three miles above Kickapoo City and, according to George J. Remsburg, was near present Oak Mills, Atchison county. Sheffield Ingalls' History of Atchison also gives this location. This was about seven miles below the old town of Sumner. Capt. Calvin Lewis had operated a crossing at this place, known as Lewis' ferry, and in 1855 secured a charter from the territorial legislature granting exclusive rights at this point and for one mile up and one mile below for a period of ten years.[109] This was in all probability the first ferry north of the Leavenworth-Atchison county boundary line. This ferry served local needs only and apparently did not cut much of a figure in the line of transportation. Nimrod Farley, a well-known character who resided in the Missouri bottoms, was the proprietor of another early-day ferry, a little farther north. Farley owned land on the Kansas side near the present Oak Mills, and this furnished him a landing place on the west side of the river. He was a brother of Josiah Farley, who laid out the town of Farley, in Platte county, Mo., in 1850. Nimrod Farley was granted a charter by the legislature of 1855 to operate a ferry across the river from a point near Iatan, Mo., (formerly known as Dougherty's landing), to the Kansas side, this privilege being for a period of ten years.[110] This ferry was one of a number operating on the Missouri during the early days of Kansas, which made a specialty of, and did a thriving business in, the transportation of Missouri voters to Kansas to participate in the early elections. The following advertisement of this ferry appeared in the Western Argus, Wyandotte, of March 10, 1855: "Election in Kansas -- The Ferry That Never Stops. A report having gotten out that one of our boats had been carried off by the ice, we take the liberty of contradicting it. Ours is the on]y ferry that never stops. We keep two good boats, and when one can't run the other can. All who wish to be in Kansas in time to vote, go to Iatan, and you will not be disappointed, for old Nim is always ready. (Signed) NIMROD FARLEY and J.G.M. BROWN." Farley finally sold out to George McAdow, who continued the business until the boat was destroyed by Jayhawkers early in the Civil War. Charles W. Rust, Atchison county pioneer and a former county clerk of that county, now living at San Jose, Cal., in a letter dated October 25, 1926, to George J. Remsburg, says: "I remember old Nimrod well. He was a neighbor of ours in Missouri and was known as a doctor. He was about the hardest old sinner the Iatan neighborhood turned out, and did a big business on election day in 1855, when the Missourians polled 1,500 in favor of the proslavery candidate at Kickapoo precinct." In a letter of November 3, 1926, he writes: "Old Nimrod was a great old joker. I remember one of his pull-offs was, when he met a friend, the first question he would ask was, 'Have you got a chew of tobacco?' No matter whether the reply was yes or no, old Nim would yank a six-inch plug out of his pocket and say 'Have a chaw."' *************************************************************************** and this pretty wells says where Nimrod was in 1854: In the early steamboat days what is not Oak Mills was known as Lewis Point. Capt. Lewis, a pioneer riverman, had settled there, built a small steamboat and established a ferry. This is said to have been the first, if not the only steamboat, ever built on Kansas soil, Nimrod Farley, a well known pioneer Missouri character, also had a ferry at that point and when Kansas was opened for settlement in 1854, hundreds of emigrants entered the new Territory over this ferry. One of the first colonies was formed at Oak Mills. The village that sprang up there derived its name from the pioneer saw mill which sawed considerable oak lumber. ----- Original Message ----- From: <Sawdustsuzy@aol.com> To: <IASCOTT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2002 11:47 PM Subject: Re: [IASCOTT] Shanty Boats > I also have "lost" 2 entire families, plus a sister, for the 1850 census. We > know they were in Missouri by the early 1840s and when some of them finally > did settle they showed up in Platte Co. MO. Also one member of this group > was granted a permit to run a ferry service between Missouri and Kansas > during the 1850s, but none of them appear in any of a dozen counties in that > area. {It's kind of hard to miss the name Nimrod FARLEY in the census rolls > when you see it.} > > After searching every page of that dozen counties in northwest MO I suspected > that they must have been on the river and missed being counted. Thank you > for bringing this to our attention. > > Cathy

Hello Cathy, You're very welcome for the information on shanty boats. I was surprised too, by the invisibility of this section of society. Good luck with Nimrod Farley et al. (What a great name!) Elaine Rathmann ACC Scott Co, IA USGenWeb Project List Adm: *IA-CIVIL-WAR *IA-DANES ----- Original Message ----- From: <Sawdustsuzy@aol.com> To: <IASCOTT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, July 26, 2002 1:47 AM Subject: Re: [IASCOTT] Shanty Boats | | | I also have "lost" 2 entire families, plus a sister, for the 1850 census. We | know they were in Missouri by the early 1840s and when some of them finally | did settle they showed up in Platte Co. MO. Also one member of this group | was granted a permit to run a ferry service between Missouri and Kansas | during the 1850s, but none of them appear in any of a dozen counties in that | area. {It's kind of hard to miss the name Nimrod FARLEY in the census rolls | when you see it.} | | After searching every page of that dozen counties in northwest MO I suspected | that they must have been on the river and missed being counted. Thank you | for bringing this to our attention. | | Cathy | |