Download History of the Homestead Cabin

The History of the Homestead Cabin
and the People Who Lived There
The homestead cabin at Silver Dollar City was built by
Levi and Mary “Polly” (Haggard) Casey about 1843.
The original site of the cabin was on the banks of
Swan Creek near Forsyth, Missouri in Taney County.
The Casey Family
The Casey family emigrated from Ireland, settling in the United States in the early 1700s.
Members of the Casey family fought in the American Revolution, helping to pave the way for
independence. The Casey family soon moved to South Carolina and from there went to Georgia
and then to Tennessee. The Casey family were slaveholders, so when the Missouri Compromise
of 1820 provided for the admission of Missouri to the Union as a slave state on August 10, 1821
this made the Ozarks region of Missouri a natural place for them to settle.
John and Anna (Turner) Casey traveled to Greene County, Missouri to make their home in the
1830s. Accompanying John and Anna were seven of their adult children and their extended
families. John and Anna Casey would remain in Greene County, Missouri for the remainder of
their lives. Anna’s family, the Turners, would settle the area that is now known as Turner’s
Station, near Springfield.
Two of John and Anna’s children settled in Taney County, Missouri – their daughter Hetty, who
had married James Ellison, and son Levi. It was Levi and his family who built the homestead
cabin, with the help of the slaves they brought with them. Levi and Polly were the parents to
six children: Francis Marion (who married Rebecca Frances Brandon); Sarah (who married
Henry Laughlin); William D (who married Missouri Cook, the daughter of James and Catherine
Cook); Amanda Jane (who married Andrew McHaffie); Isaac Newton (who died when he was
15); and Belveritta “Sis” (who married Benjamin McKinney).
Levi Casey died just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, but being a slave holder, he had
already chosen sides with the Confederacy. His sons fought for the Confederacy during the Civil
War. But, this was a turbulent time in southwest Missouri as loyalties were divided. Levi’s
daughter Amanda would be caught in this turmoil as her husband, Andrew McHaffie, and his
family were supporters of the Union. Family reunions after the Civil War were not always
pleasant.
The McHaffie Family
The McHaffie family was Scots-Irish who immigrated around 1700. The family patriarch was a
rebel who was arrested and executed by the government in Scotland. After this event his
remaining family moved to Ireland and then on to America. The McHaffie family settled in
Virginia and moved west to Tennessee and then on to Missouri, arriving before the Casey
family. Three brothers, David, John and Hugh McHaffie and daughters Julie Braden and Lockey
Jane Brazeal (children of Andrew and Catherine Harless McHaffie) traveled by covered wagon
to Greene County, Missouri with their families. David and John had married sisters, daughters
of Simon Sherrod, prior to leaving Tennessee.
Not long after moving to Greene County, Missouri David and John McHaffie sold their land,
which is where Silver Springs Park and Drury University is now located. It is interesting that one
of the descendents of this family, Todd Parnell, is now president of Drury University! After
leaving Greene County, the family moved to the Finley River area in Christian County. Here
John McHaffie built a mill, which was destroyed during the Civil War.
David and Catherine McHaffie’s oldest son, Andrew, married Amanda Jane Casey, the daughter
of Levi and Polly Casey. There were three children born to this union – Leonard Harrison (who
married Ella Mayden); Artelia Cubine (who married Ulysses Sidney Grant Ragsdale), and
William Manson (who married Dora Barnard and Mary Jane Vaughn).
After the Civil War, Andrew and Amanda (Casey) McHaffie worked to make farming and stock
raising a success. In addition, Andrew served as President of the Bruner Telephone Company
and helped to organize the Bank of Rogersville. Andrew was the bank’s first president.
Silver Dollar City
The greatest portion of the Levi Casey homestead was acquired by Andrew and Amanda
McHaffie after the death of Levi and Polly Casey. The farm was always kept in the family until
the federal government purchased the land to provide for Bull Shoal’s Dam. Throughout the
years, various family members called this cabin home. The Herschends of Silver Dollar City
moved the cabin to the city in 1959. It was reported that as part of the move each log was
numbered and marked so that the cabin could be reassembled exactly as it had stood on its
original site. And here, the cabin remains, preserved for history……
Information provided by:
Gerald McHaffie and Tammy Morton