McGee Cemetery
Kaw Township

The McGee Cemetery was located on 20th Street between Broadway and Wyandotte
Streets, and was in use in the early 1830's

This cemetery, which was one of the earliest burying grounds in what is now known
as Kansas City, Missouri, was on the farm owned by James H. McGee, who came to Missouri
from Shelby County, KY, with his wife, Eleanor Frye McGee, and little family, in
1827, and to Westport Landing, Jackson County, in 1828. 

He was one of the first white men to own land in this locality, taking out his land patent Nov. 14, 1828. The history
of this early pioneer family is inseparably woven with the history of Kansas City, Missouri.

James McGee purchased land which was afterwards intersected by 16th and Grand Avenue;
later he purchased the greater portion of the land lying between the "levee" and Westport
and built a log cabin near the corner of 20th and Central streets. Later he opened a brick
yard, the first in Jackson County, and of the brick burned by himself and sons he built the
first brick kiln burned by Mr. McGee, Father Donnelly, the pioneer Catholic Priest, obtained
the brick with which he built the chimney of the little log church at the corner of 11th and
Penn. Following are the names of the children of James H. and Eleanor Frye McGee; all are
buried in Elmwood Cemetery except A. B. H. McGee, the eldest son, who is interred in Union Cemetery.

Amelia McGee (Evans-Steen), b. 1813
Allen B. H. McGee, b. 1815
Frye P. McGee, b. 1816
Mobillon W. McGee, b. 1817
Elijah Milton McGee, b. 1819
Catherine McGee (Johnson), b: 1821
Eleanor McGee (Campbell), wife of John S. Campbell, b. Nov. 14, 1825, d: Dec. 9, 1889; buried on Campbell lot in Elmwood Cemetery
Angeline McGee, died early
Thomas McGee, died early
Francis Manor McGee, b. 1831
Mary McGee, died early
James McGee, b. 1837

The brown granite monument which stands on the McGee lot in Elmwood Cemetery and which stood for many
years in the old McGee Burying Ground, was purchased by E. Milton McGee, Mayor of Kansas City in 1870, and
his name "E. M. McGee," appears across the base of the shaft.

The old McGee Cemetery was vacated in 1881 and the McGee monument was moved to the lot in Elmwood Cemetery,
and was at that time the first tall shaft in Elmwood Cemetery.

The following inscriptions were copied from the stones on the McGee lot in Elmwood Cemetery, and are for
those whose bodies were removed from the old McGee Burying Ground:

Chiles, Mary Ann, wife of Joseph B. Chiles, d: Jan. 19, 1836; age: not decipherable
Evans, Anna, b: Nov. 10, 1852, d: May 27, 1857
Evans, Elizabeth, b: July 5, 1836, d: May 19, 1851
Evans, Ellen, b: Jan. 18, 1835; d: Aug. 8, 1847
Evans, John W., son of Wm. B. and Amelia Evans, d: Dec. 25, 1864; ag: 21 years
Evans, Wm. B., d: Jan. 27, 1855; age: 48 years, 1 month, 27 days
Harris, Bertha A., b: Aug. 13, 1864; d: July 25, 1865
Johnson, Catherine McGee, b: Jan. 21, 1821
Johnson, James, b: March 6, 1802, d: Aug. 31, 1867
Johnson, Rebecca, wife of James Johnson, d: July 29, 1838, in her 28th year
Johnson, Benjamin, son of J. and R. E. Johnson, b: Nov. 6, 1841, d: Aug. 27, 1844
Johnson, Eleanor, daughter of James and Rebecca Johnson, b: March 28, 1834, d: Nov. 4, 1867
Limes, Ida May, daughter of Charles and Mary Limes, b: March 19, 1869, d: Nov. 9, 1869
McGee, James H., d: May 26, 1840; age: 54 years, 4 months, 25 days
McGee, Eleanor F., wife of James H. McGee, b: Oct. 10, 1793, d: Nov. 22, 1880
McGee, Angeline T., daughter of James H. and Eleanor F. McGee, d: Sept., 13, 1845; age: 15 years, 10 months, 7 days
McGee, Mary, daughter of James H. and Eleanor F. McGee, b.&d. Dec. 6, 1832
McGee, Thomas, son of James H. and Eleanor F. McGee, b.&d. March 5, 1856
McGee, Francis Manor, son of James H. and Eleanor F. McGee, b: March 6, 1831; killed at the Battle of Franklin, TN, Nov. 30, 1864
McGee, Frye P., b: May 27, 1816, d: Sept. 17, 1861
McGee, Martha E., (wife of Frye P. McGee), b: April 16, 1820, d: Aug. 31, 1867
McGee, James H., III, b: Sept. 15, 1862, d: April 30, 1863
McGee, J. Hyatt, b: June 27, 1866, d: Nov. 23, 1867; children of James H. McGee, Jr., and wife, Ruth T. McGee
McGee, Samuel C., son of F. P. and Martha McGee, b: Oct. 26, 1842, d: April 26, 1843

Among the other members of this early pioneer family buried on this lot are:
Bales, William, b: Dec. 1834, d: Dec. 1924
Bales, Hattie Evans, wife of Wm. Bales, b: Feb . 19, 1848, d: July 4, 1884
Harris, Wm. D., d: Jan. 2, 1883; age: 65 years
Harris, America E., wife of Wm. D. Harris, d: Oct. 7, 1882; age: 41 years, 6 months, 6 days
Holmes, Mary C., wife of L. D. Holmes, b: July 14, 1854, d: Jan. 1, 1884
McGee, James H., b: 1837, d: 1895
McGee, Ruth, wife of James H., b: 1839, d: 1909
McGee, Mobillon W., b: Dec. 25, 1817, d: June 11, 1888
McGee, Mary E., wife of M. W. McGee, b: Aug. 12, 1826, d: Nov. 3, 1900
McGee, E. Milton, b: May 30, 1819, d: Feb. 11, 1873; Mayor of Kansas City, 1870
McGee, Sarah Adeline DeMoss, wife of E. Milton McGee, d: Feb. 22, 1883; married in Texas
Steen, Amelia (McGee), b: June 17, 1813; d: July 28, 1885
Amelia McGee, oldest child of James H. McGee and Eleanor McGee, married (first)
William B. Evans, who owned and built the first ferry on the river, which was put into service in 1830
Vincent, Charles and wife Gertrude McGee Vincent the only child of E. M. McGee and wife Sarah McGee
Vincent, seven children of Charles and Gertrude Vincent Vineyard, members of the Vineyard family

Allen B. H. McGee, b: May 21, 1815, the eldest son of James H. and Eleanor Frye McGee, chose Union Cemetery
as the burying place for the members of his family, and to this cemetery he moved the bodies of members
of his family who had been interred in the old McGee Cemetery.

Mr. Allen B. H. McGee was one of the 14 men who bought the "original" Kansas City. The land belonging
to the heirs of Gabriel Prudhomme was sold at auction by his father, James H. McGee, who was the guardian
of the heirs. The price ranged from $5,000 to $7,000.

Mr. McGee married (first) Melinda Frey, daughter of Henry Frey of Shelby County, KY., in 1837. His wife
d; Sept. 19, 1846. He then married Christiana Frey, a sister of his first wife. His second wife d: March 19, 1867. In 1869 he married Susan B. Gill, who d: May 9, 1901. Mr. A. B. H. McGee d: Oct. 8, 1903,
at the age of 88 years, and his body was placed in the vault which he built in 1884 in Union Cemetery.

The foregoing data pertaining to the McGee family was given to Mrs. Max A. Christopher by Mrs. Nellie McGee Nelson, Miss Eleanor McGee and Mr. Milton McGee Vincent