Jane Montgomery Casey

CASEY, CLEMENS, CREEL, LAMPTON, MONTGOMERY, PATTERSON, RUSSELL, TAYLOR, WALKER

Posted By: John Stuekerjuergen (email)
Date: 7/7/2024 at 07:19:59

Jane Montgomery Casey: How Mark Twain’s Great Grandmother Came to West Point, Iowa

Child of the Frontier, Indian Fighter, Family Matriarch

Jane Montgomery Casey (1761-1844) has a simple grave in the West Point Cemetery. Although she was the maternal great grandmother of Samuel Clemens (later Mark Twain), she died before he became famous, and there is no documentation that they met. However, she led a very full and interesting life in her own right.

Daughter of a Pioneer Family

Erythusa Jane Montgomery was born in 1761 in the mountainous part of the Colony of Virginia, British North America. Her parents were William Montgomery Sr. (1727-1781) and Jane “Jean” Patterson. Jane Montgomery, our subject, had at least eight siblings. We know very little about Jane’s childhood, but assume it was typical for a young girl raised on the frontier. The only specific recollection of those days seems to be that she enjoyed wearing moccasins!

A Move to the Kentucky Frontier

In fall 1779, the family moved to Kentucky, first living at Logan’s Fort. Late in the following year, William Montgomery, along with sons William Jr. and John, and a son-in-law, built a cluster of four log cabins about 12 miles southwest of the fort. The site was near present-day Stanford, Kentucky. In a scramble to complete construction during the winter, the doors and windows were not built very strong. Also, there was no stockade around the cabins. It was thought, at the time, that there was no danger from Indians (a belief that would prove naïve). The women and children were brought from Logan’s Fort to settle in the new cabins.

The first cabin was inhabited by William Montgomery, Sr., his wife, and six children (including Jane). Cabins 2 and 3 were inhabited by William’s adult sons, William Jr. and John, as well as their families. The last cabin was inhabited by William’s daughter, Molly, her husband, Joseph Russell, and three small children.

Indian Attack!

Early on February 27, 1781, Indians attacked the cabins. William Montgomery Sr., the father, had stepped outside for firewood and was shot seven times. A male slave living with the family was also shot and fell onto the door sill. Jane Montgomery, our subject, pulled the unfortunate man’s body into the cabin and locked the door. Reportedly, there was no rifle, although Jane shouted to the Indians that she had one. She ordered James, the youngest sibling, to take cover. Jane instructed her younger sister, Betsy, to climb up the half-finished chimney and run to Pettit’s Station for help. The station was 2.5 miles away. When Betsy jumped to the ground, she was pursued by an Indian, but outran him.

The Indians also broke into the cabin of William’s son, John, and shot him as he got out of bed. Two or three others living in the small settlement also lost their lives. William’s other adult son, William Jr., shot two of the intruders.

After the quick skirmish, the Indians gathered up some of the surviving spouses and children, and fled the scene. They covered 15 miles when they were intercepted by a contingent of soldiers alerted by Betsy. Before fleeing into a cane field, the Indians killed young Flora Russell with a hatchet and scalped a young slave girl, who survived. That was the end of hostilities.

The Aftermath

Jane Montgomery, our subject, married William Casey (later Col. Casey) within a matter of months. The wedding was held in the same clearing where her relatives had lost their lives. There were at least two additional times during her life when Jane was called to the defense of her home against Indians. For years after, Jane suffered from a variety of chronic ailments such as insomnia and digestive issues that she attributed to stress from those incidents.

Meeting her future husband:

Before the fateful Indian attack in 1781, Jane and her parents and siblings lived for a time at Logan’s Station on the frontier of east central Kentucky. While there, Jane met William Casey (1754-1816) who, like Jane, had moved westward from Virginia. Following the Indian attack, Casey was one of the men who pursued the Indians and came to the aid of the Montgomery family. Apparently, Jane and William developed a mutual attraction as, several months after the family tragedy, they were married.

The couple first settled in the Logan’s Station area, and had four children there: Margaret “Peggy” Casey; Martha “Polly” Casey; Jane “Jenny” Casey; and Annie Casey. Margaret would marry Benjamin Lampton and become the maternal grandmother of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). Polly would marry John Creel. Jenny Casey would marry Robert Paxton, who died of disease after the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. Annie Casey would marry her cousin, John Montgomery.

Leaving Logan's Station:

In 1791 the Caseys and other settlers, accompanied by a complement of soldiers, left Logan’s Station. They followed the Green River, and established a fort and settlement near what would be called Casey’s Creek. The new settlement was called Casey’s Station. The couple’s only son, Green, was born there. He would later marry Jane Patterson. The family eventually built a good-sized house, walls sealed with plaster, china in a corner cupboard, and cherry bedposts. Col. Casey’s rifle was mounted above the mantel.

There were several times during her married life when Jane and William were required to defend their home against Indian attacks. Jane definitely knew how to use a rifle.

Jane and William become prominent Kentucky pioneers:

William Casey was commissioned as Lieutenant Colonel of the Green County Militia in 1792. He served during the final years of the Revolutionary War in a company of soldier settlers. He held several political posts in the early years of the State of Kentucky. He was a member of the Senate and House of Representatives, and served at the second Constitutional Convention in 1799. When Casey County was organized in 1806, it was named in his honor.

Jane and William eventually moved to Adair County, where they became prominent landowners. They held 600 acres and a farm with horses, cattle, and sheep. They owned at least six enslaved persons during that time. The Caseys helped establish schools in Green and Adair Counties.

Jane Casey, family matriarch:

It was a constant struggle to feed and clothe the children in frontier Kentucky. If a doctor was unavailable, Jane served as a nurse both to her own family and others. As family matriarch, Jane often called not only her only children but her grandchildren to her parlor to counsel them. She was known to be vocal and opinionated.

Jane Casey mesmerized her grandchildren with stories of her pioneer past, sometimes recalling a 1783 gathering of 23 widows at Logan’s Station. All had lost their husbands to the arrow or tomahawk. Although a good Baptist who recited Bible passages twice each day, Jane never could, after the loss of her father and brother, endure the presence of Indians.

Mrs. Casey was also said to have thrown not-so-subtle jabs at neighboring families that had not sent men to fight in the Revolutionary War. Considering the amount of hardship she had endured, some of that malice could perhaps be excused.

When Benjamin and Margaret “Peggy” Casey Lampton had a daughter, they honored Peggy’s mother by naming her Jane. Jane Lampton would later marry John Marshall Clemens and they would become the parents of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain).

An unknown artist painted Jane Montgomery Casey in 1811, when she was 50 years old. She appears to have worn a dark dress, or frock, and the light blouse underneath had a rounded collar. Her hair was severely knotted under a black lace cap. In the portrait, she looked directly at the artist. Her eyes were said to have been violet blue.

The final months of Jane's husband:

In 1816, Col. William Casey showed signs of failing. He predicted to his family that he would not make it into the following year. That was indeed the case. He was buried sitting, in a rocking chair. Toward the end, he had told others it was the only physical position that did not cause him pain. Following his death, his widow relied even more on the care of her children.

From Columbia, Kentucky to Irish Grove, Illinois

Circa 1830, Jane Montgomery Casey and at least two of her adult children moved from Columbia, Kentucky (population 423) to Irish Grove, Illinois. That was 25 miles north of Springfield. The Caseys were accompanied by a large group of relatives (Stotts, Creels, Pattersons, Walkers, Taylors, Paxtons, etc.).

This extended family had been firmly entrenched in Kentucky, achieving success and respect as pioneers. The decision to move must have been difficult. A local Kentucky historian speculates that it may have reflected the family’s growing distaste for slavery. It is also possible the family wanted to conquer a new frontier.

Although Illinois had been a state since 1818, much of its western portion was sparsely populated. Settlers had to stake out their land claims and build their own homes. By this time, Jane was almost 70 years old, and had to rely on her family for shelter, clothing, and food. As was the case in Kentucky, Jane embraced her religion and her church more closely as she aged. She became one of the original 20 members of the North Sangamon Presbyterian Church in 1832.

One of the settlers commented that the land at Irish Grove was rich, but the country was as sickly as it was possible to be. There were stagnant swamps, and the “green-headed flies” persecuted those who crossed the prairies. John Casey, a living descendant, has found evidence of a cholera epidemic that swept through central Illinois in 1832-33. Farmers provided for sickness as they did for the winter. They would harvest their wheat, lay in wood, and get ready for the chills and fever.

Circa 1834, Irish Grove was threatened by a large prairie fire that was visible from 15 miles away. It was defeated by a group of settlers that ventured out and set a string of backfires.

The Birth of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)

While at Irish Grove, Jane Casey was informed that her granddaughter, Jane Lampton Clemens, had given birth to a boy in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1835. He was premature by two months, and reportedly seemed too frail to become a healthy child. His cradle and clothing were not yet ready. Nothing seemed to please him. He was described as a “fury of a baby with red hair and wrinkled skin, and he seemed to be filling the little clapboard house and pushing (his parents) out of it.” The boy was Samuel Clemens.

Iowa Starts to Look Better than Irish Grove
In spring 1836, some at Irish Grove decided it was not a healthy place to live. There was some interest in exploring the west side of the Mississippi, which had been opened to settlement in mid-1833, after the Black Hawk Wars. At that time, it was part of the Michigan Territory. A scouting party of four men (William Patterson, Green Casey, Alexander Walker, and Hawkins Taylor) headed westward from Irish Grove. One of the men who traveled with the group commented that the land en route was sparsely settled despite Illinois having been a state since 1818. The group crossed the Mississippi on old man White’s ferry, and spent some time in Ft. Madison, which had perhaps 100 people.

The men then rode their horses up the bluffs toward the northwest. They were aware of some former Kentuckians who had settled in those parts, near what became West Point. They were impressed by the town site, even though only one building had been constructed there. They proceeded to buy all the land that constituted the “town,” and designate parcels for their own homes and farms. They then scheduled an auction of the remaining lots to take place in September 1836.

Jane Casey Comes to West Point

In 1837, Jane Montgomery Casey and many other family members moved from Irish Grove to West Point. I have been told that she lived with her daughter-in-law, Jane Patterson Casey. Jane P. Casey had been widowed by the sudden death of her husband, Green Casey, one of the four scouts sent from Irish Grove in 1836.

I believe the Caseys’ residence was northwest of the town square. Most homes built at the time were rustic, with plank walls and puncheon floors. It is doubtful that any portion of that original structure would have survived past the year 1900. Two nearby, parallel streets were named Casey and Columbia, the latter a reference to the Kentucky town where Jane M. Casey had lived so many years. Carl Johnston provided an excerpt from an abstract showing that Jane Patterson Casey acquired two lots in block 21 (see map below) after her mother-in-law died in 1844.

Jane Montgomery Casey was a charter member of the Presbyterian congregation in West Point. She was a Sunday school teacher. Today’s church building was not constructed until well after her death. Rather, the pioneer congregation met in homes and public buildings that had sufficient room. Jane Clemens, the mother of Samuel Clemens, joined the Presbyterian Church as an adult after letters from her Grandma Casey in Iowa told her about some of its tenets. Jane’s son, Orion, and daughter, Pamela, also joined.

Did Jane Casey Meet Samuel Clemens? We Do Not Know.

In one of the last letters she wrote before she died, Grandma Casey encouraged her granddaughter, Jane Lampton Clemens, to bring her children from Missouri for a visit. However, we don’t know if she ever did. Jane Montgomery Casey died in 1844, when Sam Clemens was only eight years old. She is buried in West Point’s City Cemetery. No person buried in West Point was born in an earlier year (1761).