Historical Highlight: McCorkle's All in the Family

...He was with Quantrill when Lawrence was raided....

Howard Hackett, a local historical researcher recently told me a customer of his had loaned him a book about the civil war. The book mentioned someone from Savannah named John McCorkle had ridden with William Quantrill (Quantrill’s Raiders). Howard was curious if this could have been any relation to Cameron’s City Founder Samuel McCorkle. Samuel died barely a year after Cameron was founded and never got to enjoy seeing the prosperity his vision of the new town had brought.  The McCorkle family has been somewhat of a mystery ever since. 

The book mentioned that John McCorkle was born in 1838.  The curiosity got to me, so I started looking into it and here’s what I learned.  John McCorkle was not only with Quantrill, he was one of his most trusted scouts for three years.  He was with Quantrill when Lawrence was raided.  John had one brother named Jabez Jarvis McCorkle, Jr. who was also one of Quantrill’s men.  Jabez was accidentally shot while on a mission for Quantrill in June of 1863 and died a couple weeks later.  One of the men Quantrill sent to tend to him was Frank James.  

John survived the war and moved to Lisbon, Missouri in Howard County. The locals were aware of his past and greeted him with caution and skepticism, however after a few years he proved himself to be a good local citizen. He did farm work until he bought his own place and became a successful farmer.  

So, were the McCorkle Brothers that rode with Quantrill related to our beloved Samuel McCorkle?  Yes, they were.   Samuel had a brother named Jabez.  Jabez Jr and John were his sons, so they would have been Samuel McCorkle’s nephews.  John wrote a book that is still available called “Three Years with Quantrill”.  It was published in 1914 and gives a firsthand account of his experiences in the Confederate army and Quantrill’s Raiders.

John and Jabez fought for the wrong side and it would be hard to justify that, however like our hunger for a local connection to vicious outlaws like Jesse James or John Wilkes Boothe, we find it hard to resist learning about the family connection of these men to one of our founding fathers, Samuel McCorkle.  In other stories I’ll write about notable Union Soldiers from Cameron like James Williams and J.W. Wills. 

I’d love to hear or read your comments and suggestions for further stories.

 

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