DAVID RICE ATCHISON
(1807-1886)
by Helen Russell, Mar 4,1999
There has been more than one David Rice Atchison.
There are three small stones in the Green Lawn Cemetery with that name all located
in the Atchison-Allen family lot. One for a child named David Rice Atchison
that died at the age of three. Another, with the same name, with the date of birth
as 1840 & death in 1904. It may be for the David Rice Atchison who lived
in Plattsburg and was elected as an Associate County Judge in 1894 and 1896 and elected
Presiding Judge in 1898, which was two years after Sen. Atchison died. Then, of
course, the one for Senator Atchison. He was born in Frogtown, KY on August
11, 1807 and died at his farm home in Clinton County on January 26, 1886.
There is one large stone in the middle of the lot with a great number of small
stones surrounding it - all the same size - about 15" high and a little over
12" wide. Very unpretentious for such a great statesman.
It has been my goal for many years to inform people about David Rice Atchison and the fact
that he should be remembered for what a great statesman he was. Most people know
that his claim for fame was that he was President of the United States for one day.
But did you know that he entered college at the age of 14 and graduated with high honors
at the age of 18? The college he attended and from which he was graduated was
Transylvania which later was incorporated in the University of Kentucky.
Sen. Atchison was admitted to practice law in Kentucky in 1829 at the age of 22. The
next year he moved to Clay County, MO and received his license to practice in the
Missouri Supreme Court. Shortly thereafter he was appointed Major General of
the Northern Division of the Missouri State Militia. It was during this period of
time that the problems arose with the Mormons in Missouri. The governor ordered
"that the Mormons must be treated as enemies and must be exterminated or driven from
the State if necessary for the public peace" Sen. Atchison refused to execute
the order and gave up his command and left the militia. He is held in very high
regard by the Mormons.
In 1833 he was appointed with two other men by the Governor of Missouri to select a seat
of Justice for Clinton County, and of course you know they selected Plattsburg.
Clay County elected him as State Legislator in 1834 and again in 1838. It was during
this period of time that he, along with several other men, was instrumental in obtaining
the Platte Purchase which includes Platte, Buchanan, Andrew, Holt, Nodaway & Atchison
counties. It should be pointed out that Atchison county was named in his honor.
He had been in the State of Missouri for eleven years, when the Governor appointed him to
be Judge of the Circuit Court of Platte County and he moved to Platte City at that time.
Then in 1842, he was appointed to fill the unexpired term in the U.S. Senate and
afterwards was elected to two consecutive terms in the Senate ending in 1855.
He was nominated for Governor of Missouri in 1843 but he declined.
I'm sure you all know the circumstances under which he become President but did you know
that in 1853, when Franklin Pierce was inaugurated, William R. King, the
newly-elected vice president was in Havana, Cuba and Sen. Atchison took the oath for him,
and at King's death just three months later, Sen Atchison became vice president and was
paid accordingly. He served in that position through December of 1854, almost two
years.
An article about Sen Atchison published in The Globe, an Atchison, KS newspaper on
August 11, 1930 reads as follows: "In 1854 he was instrumental in forming the town
company that founded Atchison, and the city and county were named after him.
Atchison County, MO., and Atchison township, Clinton County, MO., are also named after
him. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad bears his name as one of its
founders." The article in telling of his being president of the U.S. for
one day goes on to say, "... he was awakened in the wee hours that Sunday and told he
was the only man left in the District of Columbia who could be sworn in as President.
He took the oath of office standing in his nightcap and nightshirt."
In 1855 he was regarded as a leader and chief advisor of the pro-slavery party in Kansas
during the troubles which preceded the admission of that state. Some twenty-five
years later during an interview he was asked about being denounced as a "border
ruffian". He replied -"Well, the fact is, I saved many lives, as my object
was to keep down the feud. I was a peacemaker in the settlement of difficulties by
Governor Shannon and counselled the 'ruffians' to forebearance. But old John Brown,
whom I never saw to my knowledge, continued to stir up the embers of discord and strife. I
see even in friendly biographies of myself that none of them get at the truth."
In 1856 he was put in command of over eleven hundred men at a point called Santa Fe and in
1857 he moved to Clinton County - purchased 1,700 acres of land and built a spacious and
elegant mansion which was destroyed by fire in 1870. He was quite upset because of the
loss of his extensive library and valuable records of his opinions and observations.
He replaced the mansion with a frame cottage and lived there in hi |