James Welch
BIRTH
1773
Maryland, USA
DEATH
24 Nov 1855 (aged 81–82)
Jackson County, Missouri, USA
History of Jackson County, Missouri Dated 1881
Oak Grove, Missouri
James Welch and William Cox, both hunters, came from Tennessee about 1820 and put up camp on a branch of the Sniabar River. Welch was never found without a rifle over his shoulder and refused to even let his friend use it. He held a superstition about anyone handling the gun. He feared someone would cast a spell on it which would prevent the ball from carrying straight, and only he could remove the curse by using magic words. He never wore a coat, but his hunting shirt and pants constituted his outer garments, he carried in his belt a hunting knife and sometimes a tomahawk. He hunted deer and bear and was considered a good marksman.
James Welch settled first in Lafayette County, Missouri and came to Sniabar Township in Jackson County, Missouri. He died about 1848 and was buried in the neighborhood.
William Cox went to Texas. He was the father of Ruth Cox Welch, the wife of James Welch. It is believed that James Welch was an uncle to Martin Luther Welch and that William Welch was the brother of James Welch of Jackson County, Missouri.
His sons, Isham and Zachariah Welch settled in Grayson County, Texas shortly before the Civil War.
James Welch Sr. died intestate, George W. Buchanan, sec. by James Welch, Thomas Nivens, Zachariah Welch, Isham Welch and George B. Webb, makes bond of $8000 to administer the estate. 5 March 1855. That he left as heirs his widow Ruth Welch, and children James, Isham, Zachariah and Ruth Welch and grandchildren Adeline Nivens, James Nivens, Martha Nivens and Joseph Nivens.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50028721/james-welch
