BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM CHRISMAN

By Patrick Layden,
Social Studies Teacher – William Chrisman H.S.

Who is William Chrisman?

Since 1917, the Independence School District’s first high school has been named after William Chrisman. Over 20,000 graduates have passed through the halls of the two buildings bearing his name and yet little is known about this man.

William Chrisman was born on November 10, 1822 in Fayette County, Kentucky to Joseph and Eleanor Chrisman. He attended Georgetown College and Center College in Kentucky where he received his degree in Law. In 1847 he was admitted to the bar and began practicing law in Danville, Kentucky.

On May 10, 1848, William Chrisman married Lucie A. Lee, a member of the distinguished Lee family of Virginia. That day William and his wife set out for Independence, Missouri. Upon arrival William was admitted to the bar in Missouri and began his law practice on the Independence Square.

In 1857, William Chrisman turned his interests towards financial pursuits and helped found the Independence Savings Institution. Over the years, with several changes in partners, the bank became Chrisman-Sawyer Banking Company. The bank is today known as Hillcrest Bank and still resides in the same location as the original bank on the Independence Square.

Mr. Chrisman’s love of education and charity are evident in his actions and gifts to the community. In 1867 William was elected to the first Board of Education of the Independence School District. In that capacity he served as Secretary of the Board. He also helped found the Kansas City Ladies’ College in Independence and paid for the financing of the college’s principal buildings.

As a delegate to Missouri’s 1875 Constitutional Convention, William Chrisman helped craft the constitution of our state. The 1945 Constitution now used in Missouri is largely based on this document. Though relatively removed from politics, William spent most of his life a member of the Whig party and in later years switched to the Democratic Party.

William Chrisman suffered a stroke in 1888 and was forced to give up most of his law and financial business dealings. In February 1889, his wife Lucie passed away. She left behind three children George – of Independence, James – who passed away at Fulton College, and Maggie – who married Logan Swope, the nephew of Col. Thomas Swope. Col. Swope become renowned in the area for his gift of Swope Park to Kansas City and his infamous murder that rocked the state at the turn of the last century. In 1897 William Chrisman passed away, his burial place is currently unknown.

In 1917, the Independence School District pursued a campaign to build a new high school. The tax issue passed and a site was sought for the new home of Independence High School. Maggie Chrisman Swope, William Chrisman’s daughter, offered the sale of a plot of land at Maple and Union for $1.00 in exchange for the high school being renamed after her father. Since the doors to the Maple Avenue building opened the school has been known as William Chrisman High School.

When the student population outgrew the existing building on Maple Avenue, a new building was built at the corner of Noland and 24 Highway. This is the present Chrisman High School. Construction was started in 1955 around the old Ott Elementary building and opened in 1957. Today Chrisman High School continues the excellence of education based on the principle of the love of education of Mr. William Chrisman so many years ago.

Information gathered from A Memorial Record of Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri, 1892 and Retrospect, 1967

From WCPTSA Newsletter March 2003