Where the bluffs once stood: The Shannons of early Kansas City

By Diane Euston

He came to Kansas City, Irish brogue and all, and rose quickly in society. Hard working and pious, Patrick Shannon was a bit of an anomaly. While the nation’s viewpoint of the Irish grew into hatred as an influx of immigrants flooded the east, he and his two younger brothers were able to become some of the richest residents on the edge of the frontier.

The story of Patrick Shannon is deeply intertwined with his brothers, John and Philip. After arriving in the late 1840s, the Shannon brothers found their way to the Heart of America, a place that hadn’t yet embraced a large Irish-born population.

Early Life and Immigration

 

Born in 1824 in Drumline Parish, County Cavan, Patrick Shannon was the oldest child born to Felix and Ann. There’s little information available in order to piece together his early life, but some information can be learned from his brothers.

The Shannon family welcomed twins John and Bridget in March 1825, and in May 1827, their son Philip was born. Later records indicate that when 12 years old in 1837, Patrick’s younger brother, John was apprenticed to a dry goods business in Belturbet, a town in County Cavan about 25 miles from their home.

With this information, it is probably likely that Patrick, too, was apprenticed to a similar business, as this was a common practice at the time. Sending your children away to learn a skill helped alleviate the burden of feeding them, allowed them to learn a skilled trade and opened up doors otherwise impossible for a struggling family in Ireland.

The history books tell us that the Irish Potato Famine struck the Emerald Isle in 1845, leading to a large invasion of Irish immigrants to America. The Shannon brothers – Patrick, John and Philip – opted to travel thousands of miles to the west for a better life.

Leaving their parents and their married sister behind, the brothers landed in New York. At some point, they traveled south to New Orleans which had a large population of Irish. Some estimates claim that by the 1850s, New Orleans’ population was 20% Irish-born.

There, John Shannon married Heloise Felicite Padron (1831-1916) in 1853, a young woman born to established French-Creole parents.

But the Shannons wouldn’t stay in the South too long; they had their future forefront in their minds.

The Town of Kansas

Kansas City had yet to make her mark as a large metropolis in 1855. But just a year prior, the opening up of Kansas Territory for white (legal) settlement meant that the small town along the bluffs of the Missouri River was inundated with families eager to claim cheap land just to the west.

A lot of these emigrants came from the northeast and were assisted by the New England Emigrant Aid Society. Their mission was clear: they wished to ensure that Kansas Territory was free of slavery.

This mission directly impacted the slaveholders already settled in Missouri border counties and the Southern-born slaveholders living in Kansas City.

Business, however, was booming. Along the riverfront sat businesses that were eager to sell anyone – no matter their stance on slavery. Mercantile stores, trading houses, lawyers and land speculators spread across the levee. A three-story brick hotel built in 1848 and then called the Gilliss House Hotel stood as a sign of promise in the riverfront town.

With the opening of the territory less than a mile to the west, business couldn’t have been better. Whether continuing on by steamboat or climbing the large bluffs to the Santa Fe Trail southwest to Westport and beyond, early Kansas City residents were eager to cater to the crowd.

On the last day of July in 1855, Patrick Shannon and his brother, Philip held onto the side of the steamboat Polar Star as it paddled against the Missouri River current from St. Louis.

Another passenger on the Polar Star had similar ambitions but a different pedigree. Robert Van Horn (1824-1916), a trained printer and lawyer from the northeast had been beckoned to Kansas City to take over the Kansas City Enterprise newspaper. It was, of course, extremely important to the early boosters of the town that a newspaper report the city’s growth and economic development, and Van Horn had a way with words.

Little did this muddy Midwest town with towering bluffs know that this steamboat that arrived July 31, 1855 held the key to its future.

Van Horn headed to the Enterprise office at the foot of Main Street while the Shannon brothers began their search for their future business ventures.

Just a few short months later in October, Patrick opened up Shannon’s Hotel, purchased for $2,000, across from the Kansas City Enterprise office. It had about 12 beds open to travelers. But more importantly (and more profitable) was the saloon attached to the hotel. It was stocked with premium liquor and the finest tobacco.

Shannon’s Hotel boasted “the very lowest customary rates” and “that no pains should be spared to contribute to the comfort of those who shall be so kind as to bestow upon him the favor of their patronage and good will.”

But his statement about his new town showcases his feelings toward Kansas City. The advertisement reads, “The liberality and generous disposition manifested towards him in this community in the short period he has been a resident here, induces him to hope that those who have shown him their kindness will not hereafter forget him.”

Younger brother Philip was also making a name for himself in a short amount of time. On the southeast corner of the levee and Main Street, just steps away from Patrick Shannon’s saloon and hotel, he was running Philip Shannon & Brother,” a dry goods business.

This was the start of the largest dry goods business west of the Mississippi River.

 Building in Business and Politics

The original dry goods business was financed by Patrick’s younger brothers with John, then living in New Orleans, a silent partner.

Patrick likely picked up the political bug while running a saloon, a place that often was the center of early Kansas City politics. When the Keystone Democratic Club was organized, he signed on and was elected treasurer. And when there was danger afloat with tensions over slavery at an all-time high, Patrick signed onto a public statement printed in the newspaper that guaranteed “the security to all peaceable inhabitants of both Missouri and Kansas, in the prosecution of their business, and to give greater security to both persons and property on all the roads leading into Kansas Territory.”

But these city leaders couldn’t be too careful. In July 1856, they organized a new military company they called the Kansas City Home Guards. Patrick claimed to have experience in Ireland in the military, and he was appointed 2^nd lieutenant.

By November 1856, John, along with his wife, Felicite and two young daughters left New Orleans for Kansas City so he could invest his time in the business on the levee they now called J & P Shannon Dry Goods Store.

Tragedy struck the levee in the middle of the night on Friday, February 13, 1857 when a fire ingulfed several businesses along the riverfront. But what could have been a setback for the Shannons turned into opportunity.

Over $31,000 in fire damage hit merchants, a law office, a book store, a druggist, a clothing store, a shoemaker and several dry goods stores. About half of these businesses weren’t insured.

But J & P Shannon Dry Goods Store always had an eye toward the future – they were insured.

The Shannons wasted no time rebuilding, clearing the rubbish and erecting a “magnificent three-story brick building” that would be ready in a few short months. The newspaper commented, “This is the go-a-head spirit and energy that builds up cities and makes men rich. If all were like this firm the bluff would now be covered with buildings and populous streets be stretching southward, crowded with business.”

That spirit of looking for opportunities was paramount to the Shannons. After the devastating fire, Patrick quickly became an agent for a St. Louis-based insurance company.

Patrick further secured his future when he met Mary “Mollie” Jarboe (1836-1902). The daughter of one of the earliest settlers in the area, Joseph and Lydia Jarboe, the Jackson County-born attractive young woman was a permanent link to the pioneers.

They were married in October 1856 by Fr. Bernard Donnelly, an Irish-born priest who was in the middle of constructing the first brick church – then called Immaculate Conception – on the site of the old log church between 11^th and 12^th on Broadway.

The couple had four girls who lived to adulthood: Mamie (b. 1858), Carrie (b. 1862), Susan (b. 1864) and Annie (b. 1869). Two sons tragically passed away as infants.

Patrick and Fr. Donnelly were kindred spirits due to their Irish lineage, but both men also had the future of Kansas City on their minds. Fr. Donnelly, trained as a civil engineer, called upon Irish-born men from the east to come to the city to help carve out the large bluffs along the riverfront.

This was the beginning of the large Irish-born migration to Kansas City.

Patrick could see the need of support for these newly-arrived Irish-born families; thus, he started a chapter of the Shamrock Benevolent Society in Kansas City. The organization, like similar ones in eastern cities, offered aid and financial support to people who arrived in the city.

Supporting the Catholic church was also important to Patrick; in February 1858, he hosted a supper to benefit the new church.

By the close of the 1850s, Patrick tried his hands further in politics when he ran for 1^st Ward Councilman but lost. Never one to give up, he ran for to be the fourth mayor of Kansas City but was beat by Milton Payne.

Regardless of these losses, Patrick Shannon stood undeterred, and it turned out that one of the most chaotic periods of Kansas City history opened a door for him.

The Civil War and Mayor of Kansas City

The dry goods business along the levee was extremely profitable, and J & P Shannon grew to be the largest house west of the Mississippi River. Its success also led Patrick to join his brothers as bookkeeper for the successful business.

But Patrick continued to dabble in the political arena. He attended early railroad meetings, correctly predicting that bringing the railroad to Kansas City was the key to the future.

As the Civil War divided the nation in 1861, Patrick’s longtime friend, Robert Van Horn, was elected mayor for one term (one year). The turmoil of the time had a direct impact on business in Kansas City, especially when the Jayhawkers set their sights on the town.

Patrick was appointed captain of the 77^th Enrolled Missouri Militia, and while away in service in November 1861, Col. Charles Jennison (1834-1884) of the 7^th Kansas Calvary marched into Kansas City. One of the most infamous Jayhawkers who often used tactics such as intimidation, burning of homes and stealing of property, Col. Jennison showed up at J & P Shannon Dry Goods Store on the levee demanding free products.

John Shannon wrote to his brother, Patrick, telling him of the devastation. He penned a letter that survives, claiming the Jayhawkers demanded that all property be turned over to them as a “guarantee of loyalty.”

Patrick rushed back to Kansas City, and on November 14, he found “20 to 30 men dressed in U.S. uniforms” making an attempt to burn down the store.

The Union Army believed the Shannons had given goods to the Southern Army, which they emphatically denied.  John reported that Col. Jennison had “got up a document detailing that all loyal citizens should deed all of their real and personal property to the government.” All of the threats were squashed, likely due to Patrick’s reputation.

In midst of war, some semblance of regular life continued. The youngest Shannon brother, Philip, finally took the plunge in October 1862 and married St. Joseph resident Lizzie Rodgers.

Other residents – especially those who were openly sympathetic to the Southern cause – didn’t fare as well during this tumultuous period. Jesse Riddlesbarger (1800-1883), was banished along with several others from the town in 1863.

In 1857, Riddlesbarger built the largest brick mansion in the town at the corner of 2^nd and Walnut in the fashionable Pearl Hill neighborhood. When he was forced out of town, he sold the mansion to the Shannons. Philip and his new wife moved into the home.

Patrick Shannon finally was successful in politics in April 1864 when he was elected councilman of the 1^stWard under mayor and friend Robert Van Horn. When Van Horn was elected to congress, the mayorship was left vacant.

Patrick found his moment. He was named mayor at the close of the Civil War when the city’s population had significantly decreased. In 1865, he was elected in his own right, and became one of the nation’s first Irish Catholic mayors.

He oversaw the organization of the first volunteer fire department (aptly staffed with Irish-born men), and at the close of the war, he sought out a $50,000 loan to make civic improvements to the city and help find jobs for the returning soldiers.

Tragedy did strike the family in midst of this when a telegraph announced that his brother, John had died in New York in July 1865, leaving his wife, Felicite and five young children. The Kansas City Journal wrote, “That a man so good, true, tried, trusted and respected as John Shannon, should, in the prime of his life, be forever removed from us, is saddening.”

But tragedy didn’t stop there. Just over a year later on September 10, 1866, 39-year-old Philip Shannon died at his home on Pearl Hill at 2^nd and Walnut, leaving his pregnant wife and two small children.

That left Patrick Shannon to pick up the pieces and ensure their wildly successful J & P Shannon Dry Goods Store would thrive.

Life Cut Too Short

At the close of the war, Patrick Shannon had negotiated a prime lot at the southwest corner of 3^rd and Main as a new location for the family business but spent five additional years getting all the property he needed. The arrival of the railroad and the impending Hannibal Bridge across the Missouri River was to seal the fate of the levee. Its days were over.

J & P Shannon opened at its new location in 1867. In order to ensure that the widows of his two younger brothers were financially stable, Patrick purchased their interests from their estates.

When Patrick purchased $20,000 in real estate at auction that once was the interests of his brothers, it because the largest amount of property sold in one day in Kansas City.

He didn’t stop there; he continued his civic duties, serving on the early School Board and organized a festival in 1866 to promote “the general education system under the auspices of the good Sisters of Charity.”

This was the beginning of St. Teresa’s Academy, and he was there as an early booster. The festival raised almost $1,300.

When Philip’s widow opted to move away the palatial mansion on Pearl Hill, Patrick, his wife, Mollie and four young daughters moved in.

But “happily ever after” wasn’t to be so. Despite the political and business success, Patrick couldn’t conquer what a higher power had in store for him.

He passed away inside his house on Pearl Hill of an attack of acute gastritis on December 16, 1871. He was 47 years old.

The newspapers lamented of the loss of Patrick Shannon, former mayor, civic leader and trailblazer for the Irish. He’d come before the jutting cliffs around Kansas City were cut away and lived a beloved and respected life.

The Irish Benevolent Society gathered in regalia for the funeral procession to the old Catholic burial ground behind the church. The Kansas City Times wrote, “Liberal in heart, just in principle, friendly and kind to all, he has died having the good will of all men.”

Robert Van Horn, editor and owner of the Kansas City Enterprise, wrote, “A marked fatality has followed the Shannon brothers – all men in the meridian of life, active and energetic men, and rapidly rising to fortune – Patrick, John and Philip – now all dead within a brief period. Truly life is uncertain.”

A Mystery Even Today

Patrick’s grave, along with all of the early Catholic residents of Kansas City, were removed from that old church graveyard by his friend, Fr. Bernard Donnelly, in 1873. But the actual burial spot of Patrick isn’t truly known, as no headstone exists for the 8^th mayor of Kansas City.

His wife, Mollie Jarboe Shannon, continued to live in their house at 2^nd and Walnut with her four daughters as the hills around them were cut away to make way for modern roads and smoother transportation.

The house caught fire four years after the loss of her husband, and when the fire department arrived, they “found the flames already extinguished by two ladies, who with buckets of water climbed out on the roof.”

The large mansion that was hailed as the family home – the place where Patrick Shannon took his last breath – was far from safe on the bluffs. At one time, the home overlooked the Missouri River. The unheeded landscape oversaw the very landing that gave Patrick Shannon his start in July 1855 when he stepped off the Polar Star and into countless possibilities.

By 1879, the home was abandoned and fell, brick-by-brick, as one of the last reminders of the pioneer era of Kansas City.

A man who lived fully, loved fiercely and believed so much in Kansas City physically disappeared in St. Mary’s Cemetery, but his life didn’t fade into obscurity.

On the one-year anniversary of his death, Kansas City once again paused to pay homage to Patrick Shannon. The newspaper wrote, “What a happy life his could have been had not “God” in his wise Providence ordained otherwise, yet so the good must pass away, thought they can not be forgotten, for good deeds keep the memory green, and many a fervent prayer will be offered to-day for . . . Mayor Patrick Shannon.”

Preserved on a fragile slip of paper in a family album, a poem written by Patrick’s 13-year-old daughter, Mamie survives even today. It also appeared in the newspaper, eulogizing a man lost too soon.

Written in her delicate hands, the poem ends:

Oh Papa this shall be the prayer

By the fond ones of thy love

To live that we may meet you there

In God’s bright realms above.