"... Among them, he mentioned Robert White, a very early interesting Caldwell county pioneer. He spoke of him as Father White, because of his age when he knew him and his general sanctity of living. Robert White is buried in the Breckenridge cemetery, although the old White cemetery was started on his ground.
    White was known to be a Mormon preacher, coming in with the vanguard of the Mormons 1834. He entered two tracts of land in Fairview township one August 2, 1836, and another in 1837. He used to say that he came the year after the stars fell, now that meant 1834, for the meteoric shower here came in 1833. He as others of that time used it as a dating time.
    Father White came from King Co., Ohio, and he built one of the early mills in the county, one mile from the site of the old Mormon town ford and Haun's Mill. This mill was sold to Wm. Mann and he sold it to John Raglan and soon after it was washed away in the flood of 1839.
    When the Mormon exodus from the county occurred, Robert White became a dissenter from Mormonism. He stayed on in the county and embraced Methodism where he was quite a leader.
    He died Oct 1898. His property division caused no little litigation for he left an estate of $50,000. By his first wife, he had one child Mary Jane who married one Sawyers, and she died, leaving one child Robert Sawyer. By his second wife, he had a child W.M. White of Breckenridge. In 1883, Robert White made a will which gave all his property save $50 to his son William. In 1896, he made a deed by which he conveyed his farm to his son. Robert Sawyer, thinking that he had not been fairly treated by his grandfather, after the death of Uncle Robert White, began to take steps to have the will and deed set aside on the ground of mental unsoundness. The case went against the grandson. It was shown that Mr. Robert White drove several miles to have the will made and this seemed to show that he knew what he was doing."
    Interview, 1934.
Click here to see entire accounts of the above excerpts: ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/mo/caldwell/misc/booth2.txt

    Interviewer's Note - In relation to Mr. White's Mormonism, the following is of interest: Amanda Smith, a Mormon survivor of the Haun's Mill massacre, in her account, mentions White as two of the company left by the Gentiles at Haun's Mill to guard the women and prevent a Mormon outbreak."

    "It was in the year 1838 that Gallatin W. Noblitt came to Ray co. and coaxed his father Abraham to follow him. From Ray co., he came into Caldwell about 1850. He bought the present Harrell home (then Noblitt) from Father White (Robert White) getting the deed from him. It has a peculiar history. In Mormon days, this farm belonged to a Mormon Josiah Fuller, one of the men killed at Haun's Mill massacre, and buried in the old well there. At the Mormon exodus, often a Gentile would get the Mormon land very cheap, but would get no title for it, for most Mormons had not completed their titles. Mrs. Harrell said that her father used to say when asked about the history of the deed, "Ask Bob White, he sold it to me." Robert White was a Mormon Preacher once, but later became a dissenter and bought quite a few Mormon claims at a low price and sold them, thus becoming rich.
    Gallatin W. Noblitt and family lived in the Mormon house three years. She was 5 when they came up from Ray co., and remembers the old Mormon house well. A log cabin, with a front room, about 16 x 20, a lean-to kitchen with a dirt floor, two fire places, one in each room, so big that they took in 4 foot logs. The chimney was rock up to eaves, then stick and clay which sometimes fell in. There was a spring house for water and for cooling milk and butter.
    ... Their neighbors [Noblitt] were fairly numerous, but all were located by timber which meant near a creek to provide wood, lumber and water. In the 50s, Richard Lane was one neighbor, others were Charley Woodbury, Uncle Charlie Ross, one mile and half east, who was the second man after the Mormons to run the mill at Mormontown ford. He was a Tennessean who settled in Livingston Co. 1838 and crossed over into Fairview twp. Caldwell co., and bought Mormon land at the exodus."
    Interview, October 1934.

    A recent picture of the Haun's Mill site, taken April 17, 2004, during the MMFF clean up day (photo by Janell Jenkins). FWCC, in conjunction with the Community of Christ (owners of the property) is conducting an archaeological investigation. Click the "Archeology Summer Camp" link below to learn how you can participate!