Montgall: The Men Behind the Name

By Diane Euston

  Over the years of researching and writing about Kansas City’s unique history, I’ve learned a great deal about the namesakes of so many of our roads. Campbell, McGee, Bales, Walrond and Charlotte Streets are all named after pioneer families.

  Early Kansas City historian Carrie Westlake Whitney explained, “In the early days, each land owner named the streets and determined their length and width. Plats did not conform to other surveys of the town, and large farms were cultivated between the platted city extensions.”

  Some early Kansas City pioneers didn’t actually plat their own subdivisions and name a street after themselves, but as the city grew, their impact on the area was consecrated on streets and parks around us. 

  This holds true in the story of a man named Rufus Montgall. The street named in his honor on the east side of Kansas City is fragmented, but it still stretches well over 10 miles from north to south – and it picks up in Belton, Mo. as Montgall Drive. 

  If you’re local or have spent a great deal of time in the city, you recognize the name, but you likely know nothing about the man behind it.

Life in Virginia and Kentucky

Like many of the pioneers of this area, the roots of the Montgall family reside in the South. Rufus Montgall was the oldest of five children who lived to adulthood. Born in Shelby County, Ky. on October 28, 1817, Rufus’ parents were William Montgall (1790-1856) and wife Mary Thompson (1792-1875).

  William and his wife, Mary migrated to Shelby County, Ky. after marrying in their native Virginia in 1813. Life was certainly not easy; William lost his father at just seven years old. 

  The migration to the Bluegrass State was quite common at the beginning of the 19th century, as land speculators heavily advertised in Virginia where land was more expensive. Joining friends and family in a chain migration, William and Mary settled in Shelby County near Shelbyville, Ky. 

  After their oldest child, Rufus was born, they had the following children: William (1822-1871), Gilbert “Gip” (1830-1899), Robert (1832-1892) and Susan (1836-1910).

  Rufus’ upbringing was typical for Kentucky; his father was able to afford to have three enslaved laborers in 1820 and 10 by 1840.

  He was educated in public schools in Kentucky, and in his younger years, he assisted his father on the farm. 

  In December 1840, Rufus married Nancy Bryan (b. 1818), “a noble Christian woman” who was “a most estimable lady.” 

Moving Westward to Jackson County

  Opportunities for affordable land in Kentucky were limited, and when western Missouri opened up for legal settlement, many families from around Shelby County, Ky. opted to get a fresh start in Jackson County. One of the earliest families to move was the James H. McGee family, who purchased land in the heart of current-day Kansas City in 1828.

  The Montgall family’s direct connection to chain migration to Jackson County came from his wife’s side of the family. Nancy Bryan Montgall’s older sister, Harriet (1814-1893) moved with her husband, William Overton Shouse (1812-1892) to the area in 1837 where he farmed 80 acres just west of current-day Elmwood Cemetery.

  The newlyweds wasted no time traveling to this virgin land for new opportunities; they secured “a team of horses and a wagon [in] the primitive manner of travel of the time.”

  Journeys overland were always dangerous, and Rufus didn’t make it unscathed. Along the journey near Louisiana, Mo., he was struck with rheumatism. They had to stay put for several weeks. Nancy wrote to her brother-in-law, William Shouse in Jackson County, and he quickly traveled to them to help aid them on their trip across the state of Missouri.

  The couple successfully purchased a parcel of 80 acres for $500 near Brush Creek in 1842 bordered by current-day 43rd Street to the north, 47th Street to the south, Jackson Avenue to the west and Elmwood Avenue to the east. At the time, this area of Kaw Township was “a wild district.” 

  In an 1896 biographical book on the area’s history, Rufus Montgall is featured for his contributions. It states, “With characteristic energy, Mr. Montgall began the development of a home. He cleared much of his land, transforming it into rich and fertile fields and meeting bravely and unflinchingly the many hardships and trials incident to frontier life.”

  In those early years, he transformed the land from trees and brush to fields for planting. It was on this “old Brush Creek farm” that their only child, William was born on March 20, 1850.

  In 1856, Rufus opted to sell this farm and move to a little over 80 acres of land to the north. The main portion of the farm bordered 17th Street on the north, 20th Street to the south, Prospect Avenue to the west and Indiana Avenue to the eest. The home, surrounded by an orchard, was constructed at current-day 19th and Agnes.

The Border Wars, Civil War and a Family Divided

  By 1860, Rufus was a slave holder with one 16-year-old boy in bondage. This enslaved boy could have been inherited from his father’s estate in Kentucky after his death in December 1856. 

  The divide over North and South was especially fragmented in states such as Missouri and Kentucky, as both states stayed neutral during the Civil War. Regardless of neutrality, Missourians and Kentuckians fell on both sides, dividing families on the core issue of slavery. 

  By 1858, Rufus’ younger brother, William (b. 1822) moved with his wife to the Westport neighborhood. But brothers Gilbert “Gip” and Robert stayed at the onset of the Civil War in Shelby County, Ky.

  Despite the fact that Rufus was a slaveholder in 1860, he identified as a Whig and was pro-Union. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he was steadfast in his loyalty. But this wasn’t the case for his younger brother.

  Still located in Kentucky, Gip Montgall (b. 1830) made a drastically different decision than his brother. He enlisted in 1862 in the 1st Kentucky Cavalry, serving for the rebels as a 1st Lieutenant. On September 12, 1863 he was captured in Summerville, Ga. during the Battle of Chickamauga and was imprisoned until the close of the war. 

  In Jackson County in 1863, Confederate guerrilla leader William Clarke Quantrill operated in the area, using the area to recruit and shelter his bushwhackers hellbent on revenge due to harsh Union policies against their kinfolk.

  Just 12 days before these guerrillas stormed Lawrence, Kan., there was warfare in the Kansas City area. On August 11, 1863, Quantrill’s lieutenants, George Todd (1839-1864) and Dick Yeager (1839-1864) spent time harassing Jackson County residents, including Rufus Montgall.

  According to a newspaper account published two days later, Todd and Yeager visited the farm of Rufus Montgall at 19th and Agnes and took him prisoner. A wagon train resting before moving on was on his property, and the guerrillas set fire to it. 

  It was said that the wagon train was operated by a Mr. Henning, who a few years prior, had been in a quarrel with Dick Yeager over a mule. Retribution – an eye for an eye – was forefront on the bushwhackers’ minds.

  With Rufus as a prisoner, they proceeded to Judge Walter Bales’ (1803-1887) home, namesake of Bales Avenue, and stole 40 horses. 

  Knowing the connections that Rufus had, they then directed him to his brother-in-law’s home. At William Shouse’s, they “removed the furniture. . . and then fired the house. This they professed to do in retaliation for the burning of some rebel residences lately, by the Union soldiers. . . They took Mr. [Montgall] on their rounds with them and then directed him to report their doings to General Ewing. They ordered the hands with the wagon train not to leave the ground until daylight upon pain of death.”

  Twelve days later, the guerrillas stormed Lawrence, Kan. and killed approximately 160-190 men and boys. The response by Gen. Thomas Ewing was to banish disloyal citizens from the vicinity under Gen. Order No. 11.

  In this order, Ewing worked to stop support of guerrillas operating under infamous William Clarke Quantrill in the countryside, and the order banished citizens in 15 days who couldn’t prove their loyalty to the Union. 

  When the Kansas City Station Guards were organized in August 1864, both Rufus Montgall and his brother-in-law, William O. Shouse, became officers, working under Gen. Thomas Ewing’s Special Order 12 that called to seize homes of those banished under his infamous Gen. Order 11. 

  Rufus Montgall served as head of Company B of the Kansas City Station Guards and stayed in active duty until March 12, 1865- just a month before his own brother, a Confederate, was released as a prisoner of war.

The Montgalls During the Kansas City Boom

  Despite the stark differences in loyalty during the Civil War, younger brothers Robert and Gip both moved to the Kansas City area by the late 1860s. Gip worked as a merchant and a teamster while Robert farmed 53 acres of land south of his brother’s parcel at 41st and Agnes.

  While Gip struggled with alcoholism, older brother Rufus never drank or smoked; William, a carpenter, died in 1871.

  Kansas City grew exponentially post-Civil War; the population of the town was 4,418 in 1860, and by 1870, the population exploded to 32,260, mostly due to the opening of the Hannibal Bridge that made it a hub for the railroads.

  The city limits of Kansas City gradually shifted south and east as the city grew, and the value of old farms with hundreds of acres became extremely valuable. Those pioneers who bought land at cheap prices often platted subdivisions on their land. 

  Rufus Montgall was the exception; he didn’t show any interest in real estate speculation or in serving in public office. While he still lived at 19th and Agnes, he was the “unofficial mayor of Stumptown.” The nickname Stumptown came about in the 1850s and was at 12th to 20th Street around Prospect Avenue.  According to the Kansas City Star in 1913, this area of town “was known as ‘Stumptown’ on account of the prevalence of stumps where trees once stood.”

  In 1880, the city was quickly moving east toward the Montgall farm, and in 1882, he sold a portion of his land to the Kansas City Belt Railway Company for $7,500 – which is over $245,000 in today’s money. 

  The influx of cash led Rufus to retire from farming, and in 1882, he moved to a brick two-story “elegant city home” at 1302 Locust. By 1885, he relinquished the remainder of his land – nine acres – for $18,000. This is equivalent to over $600,000 today.

  Real estate developers who purchased land surrounding his farm paid homage to the old pioneer by naming Montgall Avenue after him.

  There was great hope of happiness, and on July 20, 1887, their only son, William and his wife, Sallie, welcomed a baby boy they named Rufus. 

  Unfortunately, Rufus didn’t have much time to settle into a calmer life with his wife by his side. Less than one month after welcoming their grandchild, on August 10, 1887, his beloved wife, Nancy, passed away from stomach disease inside their home on Locust.

A Turn for the Worse

  After the death of his wife, he found it difficult to navigate life without her. The newspaper wrote, “[He] said he felt he had nothing more to live for. . .  No place could again be home to him without the loved companion with whom he had traveled life’s journey for more than 45 years.”

  His son moved into the home with his little family due to his own ill health.

  Rufus’ condition was bad; he was unable to hold much food down. He closed his eyes one final time at the family home on October 14, 1888. The cause of death was chronic gastritis. He was 71 years old and was buried next to his wife at Elmwood Cemetery.

  The Kansas City Journal wrote at his death, “If a correct, blameless life, a rugged honesty of character, a frank, open, guileless nature makes a great man, then Rufus Montgall was great.”

  The legacy should have continued, but it wasn’t to be so.

  Rufus’ only son, William, continued to battle stomach issues of his own, and on March 12, 1890, he passed away. That left a three-year-old grandchild to continue the family name and the inheritance of both his grandfather and father’s property. 

  The young Rufus Montgall continued to live at the family home on Locust until 1909. At that time, the home was torn to the ground to make way for businesses.

  Rufus attended Humboldt School, Central High School and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. When he returned to Kansas City, he worked at American Sash & Door Company, rising to the position of vice president.

  World War I was raging, and when the United States entered the conflict in 1917, Rufus wanted to serve his country. He studied in the fall at Fort Leavenworth and then left December 14, 1917 for France.

  On Friday, June 17, a telegram arrived at Sallie Montgall’s home. Captain Rufus F. Montgall, Quartermaster Corps, was killed.

  A German bomb was dropped on May 30, 1918, resulting in the deaths of 108 Americans.. This was early in American combat, and Captain Montgall is listed as the first American soldier killed in France.

  He wrote to his mother religiously, and days after his mother received that fateful telegram, five letters showed up from her son. One of them was for Mother’s Day. The letter concluded, “I am looking to the strong arm of never failing Providence and thoughts of you, and I’ll come back the same boy you gave to your country. So mother of mine, with these thoughts, I leave you on Mother’s Day, knowing that nobody in the world loves you like I do.”

  Thus, the direct line of pioneer Rufus Montgall tragically ended when his 30-year-old grandson gave his life for our country.

Layers of History

  When the Park Board opted to purchase land just south of the old Montgall farm at 19th and Agnes, choosing a name was easy.

  The six-acre park was named Montgall Park – an homage to both the pioneer who uprooted his life to build a better one and the young soldier lost. The park and the Rufus Montgall Playground at 21st and Walrond opened to the public in 1922.

  A street and a park are left as simple reminders of the lives who cultivated the land before us. Although Rufus’ direct line of descendants died out, he is part of the bigger story of the city.   Without these tenacious pioneers, Kansas City literally wouldn’t look the way it does, as their decisions in the early planning impacted where subdivisions were built and where roads were carved out of the wilderness.

  Historian Carrie Westlake Whitney didn’t miss the importance of figures such as Rufus Montgall. She wrote in 1908, “He was a pioneer to whom the county owed much of its development and progress, and his name is inseparably interwoven with its history.”