A Brief Family History and Genealogy of Riley ... - TimPearson.com

Introduction
60,000 acres in all, and were known as the Cherokee Neutral Lands. The name was
given to this tract because the land belonged to the Cherokee Nation of Indians, as
payment for their Georgia property that the U.S. Government took from them.
By 1860, many white families were scattered over the territory. The Cherokees sent
their wisest chiefs to Washington to demand money, instead of new land. But President
James Buchanan found the treasury empty and promised to vacate the lands.
Accordingly, in the fall 1860, two companies of soldiers arrived at the south line of the
Neutral Lands and drove the settlers north to Drywood Creek.
The Civil War brought a halt to this activity and the Cherokee Neutral Lands were
abandoned, except for this strip along the north end. A treaty was signed; the terms of
which called for the sale of the land at no less than one dollar per acre, and the money
to be paid to the Cherokee Nation. All of the land was sold by the Secretary of the
Interior to James F. Joy, Emigrant Company, who intended to sell the land to the
settlers to pay for the building of a railroad. The settlers were very upset when they
found out the land had been sold. They threatened to burn the railroad's building
materials. The railroad called for soldiers to protect their property and remove the
squatters.
Civil War
During the civil war, many of the Crawford County settlers suffered severely at the
hands of the guerrillas and bushwhackers. Most of the outrages were committed by
Livingston's men (Confederate soldiers).
According to the History of Crawford County, Kansas, published in 1905, “Old John
Pearson had his house burned”. John Warren Pearson was so mad that three of his
son's signed up to fight. Riley was too young, but he went anyway. There is no official
record of Riley having been in the civil war, but family history says he was. I did find
records for two of his brothers, William and George; both joined the Union in July of
1863 at Ft. Scott, Kansas. The fact that Riley never signed up for his pension may
explain why there is no record of him having served.
Railroad
From the History of Crawford County, Kansas, "Old Mr. [John] Pearson was an early
settler and was one of five men in Lincoln TWP [Township] who was not a
leaguer. He had two sons, William and Riley, who still live in Lincoln TWP,
and two daughters, one of whom is Mrs. John Smart, the other Mrs. Riley
Dalton of this township."
The Land Leaguers were a group of citizens opposed to the coming of the railroad.
An Article by John Spurling; Horizons Staff Writer:
On the night of 15 Jul 1871, the Girard Press, in Girard, Kansas was torched
by arsonists. The arsonists fired revolvers into the air as they fled. With
the opposition the Girard Press had to the Land Leaguers, there was little
doubt the Land Leaguers were responsible.
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