Progress Notes

One of the major events which moved our museum building expansion program forward three years ago was a large five thousand dollar donation given us by the Citizens’s Bank of Eldon. The check was presented July 3, 2007 during a small ceremony at the bank in which I and our Miller County Historical Society treasurer Betty Kallenbach participated. Don Vernon, Bank Executive Vice President and chairman of the board of directors, was the official who presented the check to us (photo 01).

01 Betty Kallenbach, Don Vernon and Joe Pryor

The Citizen’s Bank is one of the historical institutions of Eldon which for many years, almost from its beginning, has been associated with the family and descendents of William M. Harrison, a Miller County business man, county officer, and farmer (photo 02).

02 William M. Harrison

Early on William was the first cashier at the Bank of Eldon but later became an officer at the Citizen’s Bank of Eldon. His descendents have been on the board of the bank from those early years up to the present. William’s son, Donnan Ross Harrison (photo 03), was a finance commissioner of the State of Missouri in the 1930’s who also became associated with the bank, and William’s grandson, Donnan Ross Harrison Jr. (photo 04), was bank president until he passed away in 2004.

03 Donnan Ross Harrison

04 Donnan Ross Harrison Jr.

The longtime roots of the Citizen’s Bank and its place as an important part of the history of Miller County gives it a perspective which appreciates the efforts of the Miller County Historical Society to preserve the history of our forbearers and the contributions they made to the growth and development of our county.

This week I will present the history of William M. Harrison as well as his family all of whom have contributed greatly to the progress and economy of our county. I first visited Jean Harrison (photo 05), wife of Donnan Ross Harrison Jr. (commonly referred to as Donn) who presently lives in a beautifully decorated condominium with a very expansive view of the Lake of the Ozarks.

05 Jean Harrison

About nine years ago she moved from the historical home in Eldon built by William Harrison to Lake Ozark. Her son Scot Harrison and his family live there now. Here is a photo of the home (photo 06):

06 William M. Harrison Home - Eldon

And here is a photo of Scott with his father, Donn, and his brother Donnan Ross Harrison 3rd (photo 07):

07 Scott Harrison, Donnan Ross Harrison Jr. and Donnan Ross Harrison 3rd

Jean answered many questions for me as well as provided me with the photos of members of the family displayed above.

I told Jean I wanted to start with a history of William Harrison, who was one of Miller County’s most energetic and hard working citizens of the late 1800’s well into the first half of the 1900’s. Jean gave me a biography of William written early in the last century published in 1915 in an old journal named “Missouri, The Central State” written by William Barlow Stevens:

William Mason Harrison

Missouri The Center State
1821-1915, Volume 3
By Walter Barlow Stevens

Financial affairs at Eldon find a worthy representative in William Mason Harrison, cashier of the Citizens Bank of that place, who has proven himself a capable official, obliging and courteous to patrons and trustworthy, alert and faithful in safeguarding the interests of the bank. He was born in Miller County, Missouri, a mile and a half east of Eldon, on the 10th of November, 1856, a son of Samuel T. and Mary Jane Francis Harrison, who were pioneers of that county. He was reared under the parental roof and the public schools of Miller County afforded him his early educational privileges, while later he had the advantage of instruction in the Missouri State Normal at Warrensburg. He was reared upon the home farm and gave his attention to general agricultural pursuits up to the time of his marriage in 1881. Prior to his, however, in 1878, he engaged in teaching and was identified with educational work in connection with farming for about ten years. He has always been deeply interested in the cause of public instruction and believes that excellent opportunities should be afforded the young as a preparation for life’s practical and responsible duties.

In 1885 Mr. Harrison was elected school commissioner of Miller County and occupied that position for two years. In 1887 he was appointed deputy sheriff and collector under W.C. Howell, and in 1888 he was elected county treasurer of Miller County, to which position he was reelected in 1890, serving in all for four years. He retired from that office as he had entered it…with the confidence and good will of all concerned…and following his service as county treasurer he was appointed deputy sheriff under J.M. Wickam. He afterward became deputy collector under Boyd S. Miller, and in April, 1895, he was offered and accepted the position of cashier of the Bank of Eldon. He acted in that capacity until December, 1898, when he resigned his position to assume the duties of clerk of the circuit court and recorder of deeds, to which office he had been elected in the previous November. In 1902 he was reelected and served continuously for eight years. Following the expiration of his second term he once more entered the Bank of Eldon in the capacity of assistant cashier and on the 21st of October, 1907, he was made cashier of the Citizens Bank of Eldon, which position he filled until his election to the forty fifth general assembly in 1908 (photo 08).

08 William Harrison - Cashier of Bank of Eldon

As a member of the state legislature he served on various important committees, such as private corporations, railroads and internal improvements, and he was appointed chairman of the committee on banks and banking. Following the expiration of his term of office he returned to Eldon and resumed his duties as cashier of the Citizens Bank, in which position he has since ably served, his efforts being a substantial element in the success and up building of the institution. He owns the old home farm of two hundred and forty acres a mile and a half east of Eldon, employing men to cultivate it. He is not only an expert in banking matters but is also a successful agriculturist.

On the 22nd of November, 1881, Mr. Harrison was united in marriage to Miss Nannie A. Muercersmith, of Hickory Hill, Cole County, Missouri, and to them have been born two children: Donnan Ross and Frances Rea, but the latter is now deceased. The parents are members of the Christian Church, take an active part in its work and contribute generously to its support. Mr. Harrison is now serving as one of its elders. He belongs to Miller Lodge, No. 462, I.O.O.F., and to Prairie Encampment, No. 82, and is loyal to the teachings and purposes of that order. His activity in financial and political circles has made him widely known and his genuine worth has established him as one of the foremost citizens of his county.

Donnan Ross, his son, was born in Tuscumbia, Miller County, Missouri, October 6, 1887, and after attending the public schools entered Westminster College at Fulton, Missouri, where he pursued his studies for three and a half years. On putting aside his text books he worked in the office of the circuit clerk and recorder under his father, and subsequently was made assistant cashier of the Bank of Eldon. When his father was made president of the Citizens Bank of Eldon, Donnan Harrison became cashier of the institution and served in that capacity for two years. On the expiration of that period he went to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he secured the position of official secretary of the Britton Harvey Wholesale Grocery Company, there remaining for two years. He then returned to Eldon and was made assistant cashier of the Citizens Bank, of which E.E. Hart was elected president and W.M. Harrison, his father, cashier.

Donnan R. Harrison is a member of Ionia Lodge, A.F. & A.M.; Tulsa Lodge, No. 946, B.P.O.E., of Tulsa, Oklahoma; and of the Christian Church. He is one of the progressive young men of his town and has energy and determination which have already won him a creditable position and will secure him further advancement in the future.

Jean and I discussed just how busy William Harrison was regarding all his political official duties in the courthouse and state capitol while working as a banker as well. However, as she noted, in those days the session of the legislature in Jefferson City was short and not nearly as demanding as it is now for the legislators.

William’s farm where he was born and raised can be located in these two plat maps in section 2. The first plat map is of the entire township and the second is a close up of section 2 where you will see his name written (photos 09 and 10).

09 T41N - R15W
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10 T41N - R15W - Section 2
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Jean said that the family still owns the farm although some acreage was converted into a development for single family housing. The family still owns the part of the farm where the original Harrison log cabin was located. A number of years ago the family felt the cabin was deteriorating to the extent that it had become a hazard so it was destroyed by a controlled fire.

At one time William Harrison was so busy carrying out his courthouse responsibilities in Tuscumbia that he decided to live there (photo 11).

11 William Harrison Home in Tuscumbia
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Note that William, who was fairly young then, was called “Billy” in the caption. This house, which was located just across Highway 52 from the Tuscumbia school, no longer is standing. However, many Eldon residents will be interested to know that Helen (Fendorf) Phillips lived there with her family after the Harrison family left it. She was born there July 18, 1908. After Helen’s father, Fred Fendorf, died she and her mother moved to Eldon when she was about seven years old. After the Fendorfs’ the home was occupied by T.C. Wright, the noted Tuscumbia educator. Later, sometime in the late 1960’s the Bank of Tuscumbia built its new facility at the location of the home requiring it to be removed (photo 12).

12 Harrison Fendorf Wright Home Razing
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The history of the Citizen’s Bank of Eldon was very well summarized in an article published in the Eldon Advertiser in 1980. Because thirty years have elapsed since the article was written some of the information is out of date:

Citizens Bank of Eldon History

On December 22, 1904, a group of Eldon residents met in a room above the pool hall on Main Street and decided to open a bank with capital stock worth $12,000. S.T. Spurlock was elected first President of the bank that became Citizens Bank of Eldon, January 20, 1905. Other members of the Board of Directors were John Brockmeyer, P.J. Davidson, Paul Spurlock and Lee Jordan. Although salaries were not set, it was decided that Paul Spurlock would become Cashier with a bond set at $5,000.

February 6, 1905, was the date of the first regular monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of Citizens Bank. The banking house remained in the rooms above the pool hall next to Buehler’s Drug Store, a building that still stands today. At this official meeting in 1905, the decision was made to purchase the Bank’s location for a sum of $4,000. The business of the day included review of the seven loans that had been made to date.

When the business of banking began taking more away from other work than had been anticipated, there followed a succession of short terms for the Bank’s executives. President Spurlock resigned at that first regular board meeting to be replaced by J.H. Roberts. Although Mr. Roberts remained with the Bank, Dr. H.H. Brockman became President four short months later, and served as President from June of 1905 to January of 1907.

J.H. Roberts again became President of the Bank in January of 1907 to be succeeded by a cattleman named W.S. Goodrich in October of that year. Mr. Goodrich remained at the helm until March of 1909.

In October of 1907, W.M. Harrison became a Director and Cashier of Citizens Bank. Mr. Harrison followed Mr. Goodrich as President in 1909. At the time W.M. Harrison became President of the Bank, its assets totaled $44,403.28 with 844 loans having been made since the Bank commenced business (photo 13).

13 William Harrison - President of Citizens Bank

The Bank moved its banking offices to the first floor and in 1910 purchased an awning, papered the walls, repaired the top of the vault and had signs painted on its windows. This sign painting job cost the Bank $5.75. Citizens Bank had become a permanent financial cornerstone of the community in 5 short years.

In January of 1909, a young man named D. Ross Harrison became Cashier of the Bank at a salary of $75 per month (photo 14).

14 Cashier D. Ross Harrison

Minutes of the Board of Directors’ meetings reflect that land was selling for $80 per lot in town, and loans were being made in amounts from $15 to $50 dollars with each loan request going before the Board for approval.

In 1911 the Bank’s upstairs had been refurbished and was rented to Mr. John B. Smith for $10 per month. E.E. Hart had become President of the Bank in 1910 and served in that capacity until 1915. W.M. Harrison was Cashier for that same period.

The banking business continued to prosper as the next few years saw the Bank’s assets exceed $100,000. D. Ross Harrison became a member of the Board of Directors and the Cashier’s salary was advanced to $90 per month. The Board voted to pay its members $10 per year for services and $25 was donated to the local Baptist Church following a fire.

1917-1953

In 1917 Gentry W. Smith (photo 15), a young Roundhouse Clerk apprenticed at the Bank for a salary of $25 per month.

15 Gentry Smith

The apprenticeship lasted a few short months and Smith went back to the railroad as a Roundhouse Clerk for the Rock Island Line in Cedar Rapids at $40 per month. World War I had begun and Ross Harrison planned to serve his country in this time of turmoil. Ross sent Gentry Smith a wire requesting that Smith return to Eldon at $60 per month and replace Ross at the Bank. Ross resigned as Director June 4, 1918. His father W.M. Harrison, was elected to replace Ross as Secretary of the Board and W.M. Haynes (photo 16), area merchant and farmer, became President of the Bank.

16 Walter Haynes

1919 was a year of progress for Citizens Bank. Gentry W. Smith was Assistant Cashier at a salary of $100 per month. The Bank moved to the corner of Main and Maple with $3500 in new fixtures and the capital stock of the Bank was increased to $15,000. A loan committee was appointed to review loans. The number of loan requests had increased substantially and took all the Board’s meeting time each month.

The years into the “Roaring Twenties” and the end of World War I, the war to end all wars, continued to see Citizens Bank prosper. The State Banking Commission extended a complimentary report in that there were no past due loans. In order to continue with this good record, President Haynes demanded that “the loan board pass on all doubtful loans in the future.” Bank policy now required that all loans of $500 or more be accompanied by a financial statement of the borrower’s economic conditions.

By 1925, the Bank’s assets had grown to more than $155,000 and a new fangled dam at Lake of the Ozarks was taking place.

Construction payroll and the economic boom that comes with such activity permitted continued prosperity at Citizens Bank. When other areas of Missouri and the nation were in the throes of economic disaster and severe hardship, Citizens Bank and the Eldon community managed to survive with very little effect. The Bank experienced no write offs during this time and continued to declare dividends and increase its staff.

W.M. Haynes resigned as President of the Bank in 1934 after 16 years of progress. Mr. Haynes remained on the Board of Directors for two additional years before retiring. W.M. Harrison took the reins as President of the Bank from 1934 until his death in 1947. In addition to banking, Mr. Harrison’s career had included two terms in the Missouri Legislature, county office holder in Tuscumbia and Judge when the County Courthouse was built.

D. Ross Harrison (photo 17) was elected President to succeed his father in 1947. Prior to becoming President of Citizens Bank, Ross had served two terms as Finance Commissioner for the State of Missouri and had been a bank examiner.

17 D. Ross Harrison

With assets of $195,961 in 1935, Citizens Bank of Eldon grew to more than $1,000,000 by 1946. Having felt the effects from World War II, Citizens Bank continued its steady growth under Ross Harrison’s Presidency through 1951. Growth continues today with the Harrison family’s affiliation as Donn R. Harrison, Jr. serves Citizens Bank of Eldon as Executive Vice President and Trust Officer.

Dan Ulrey (photo 18), a member of the Board of Directors of Citizens Bank since 1922, took over as President during 1952.

18 Daniel Ulrey

Dan Ulrey’s son, Jack, currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Bank.

Gentry W. Smith, the young Roundhouse Clerk who joined the Bank in 1917, became the President of Citizens Bank in 1954 and continues to serve in that capacity today (photo 19).

19 Gentry Smith and George Crum
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Note: As this article was written in the 1980’s Gentry Smith (photo 20) subsequent to its publication has passed away. Because he was such an important figure in the Citizen’s Bank history I will place his obituary here so that readers can be informed about his part in this period of Eldon history:

20 Gentry Smith

Obituary: Jefferson City Post Tribune, Monday, January 4, 1993

Gentry William Smith, 98, Eldon, died Friday at Research Medical Center, Kansas City. He was born April 14, 1894, near Boonsboro, a son of William Frederick Smith and Ida Goodwin Smith. He was married April 17, 1919, to Estella L. Hickok, who died Feb 14, 1985.

He spent his youth in the Fayette and Waverly areas. He graduated from Eldon High School. He was associated with Citizens Bank of Eldon for 67 years and served as president of the bank from 1954 to 1984.

He was a member of the United Methodist Church, Eldon, where he was a Sunday school teacher and served for many years on the church board.

Six years ago when he entered the Blue Hills Centre, he moved his church membership to the United Methodist Church in Grandview. He was a member of the I.O.O.F. Lodge in Eldon and a past president of the Eldon Lions Club.

Survivors include: one daughter, Evelyn Davis, Blue Springs; two grand sons and four great-grandchildren. A son, Gentry W. Smith Jr., died March 8, 1985.

Services will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Phillips Funeral Home, Eldon. The Rev. Randall Bunch will officiate. Burial will be in the Eldon City Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. today.

Now to continue with the Advertiser article history of Citizen’s Bank which describes the very destructive Eldon fire and how the bank coped with it:

December 23, 1953

On the Wednesday before Christmas in 1953, a defective flue over the furniture store in the 200 block of South Maple stared a fire that was to ravage three major businesses in the town of Eldon. The Eldon Volunteer Fire Department fought the blaze, but because of the rapid spread through the walls and flooring, the fire could not be contained. Rescue efforts managed to save records and machinery from the Citizens Bank Building and to salvage the merchandise on the first floor of Wright’s Furniture Store. Gusting winds carried flames toward the east side of Maple and caused the north fire wall of the furniture store to collapse onto the roof of Eckenberger’s Hardware Store. It appeared that the fire would destroy the remaining buildings along the block (photos 21 and 22).

21 Citizens Bank of Eldon Fire

22 Wright's Furniture Store after Fire

The temperature hovered near zero as the town’s Christmas decorations were ignited along Maple Street by flying sparks. Townsfolk used garden hoses to soak nearby roofs that might be threatened. The intense heat from the blaze cracked the glass fronts of stores across the street and exploded rounds of ammunition in the hardware store. Dewey Eckenberger, owner of the hardware store, managed to salvage a dozen pair of gloves which he gave to those who fought the fire. Fire departments from Versailles, Lake Ozark, Jefferson City, Camdenton, Tipton and the Forest Service had joined the Eldon department in this night of devastation.

Community spirit prevailed as citizens helped in the disaster with no serious injuries or loss of life. The teamwork that was Citizens Bank prevailed as the Bank reopened for business December 28 in temporary quarters in the southeast corner of the Dark and Veasman Hardware store, two doors south of the burned out Bank. Standing in the ashes of the fire was the Bank’s vault. Its 16 inch walls had kept records and valuables safe from the fire. The safe containing the currency was found intact in the building’s burned out basement. So it was business as usual behind plywood counters until a new structure could be built (photo 23).

23 Bank temporarily located in Hardware Store

June 7, 1954, marked the opening of a new, modern facility on the site of the fire. The bank’s staff members were Gentry Smith, President; Mrs. Myrtle Feller, teller; Lois Clotworthy, Teller; Donn R. Harrison, Jr. Cashier; Tolliver Franklin, Assistant ‘Cashier; and Luvenia Gier, bookkeeper.

The passage of time brought prosperity to the Bank which the Bank in turn continued to share with its community. For example, in 1958 the Board of Directors established an annual scholarship fund for a graduating senior of Eldon High School. Continued growth in the Eldon area was reflected in the increased banking business for Citizens Bank. Seventeen short years after rebuilding, Citizens’ Board of Directors realized that the banking operation was growing to such and extent that the present building would soon be too small for their needs. A site at 110 N. Maple was selected and after delays due to weather and unforeseen circumstances, June of 1971 saw Citizens Bank of Eldon move into its new banking house that it occupies today (photo 24).

24 Fixture for more than a Century
Citizens Bank of Eldon has been a fixture in the Eldon community for more than 100 years.
From its origin in January 1905 to today, the bank holds to its motto:
“Your hometown bank. Your hometown friend.”
(Staff photo)

Although the new structure built in 1971 gave the Bank more than six times the space of its South Maple quarters, 1979 brought the need for further expansion as the stone veranda was enclosed for more office space.

From its sparse beginnings on January 20, 1905, above the pool hall, Citizen’s’ Bank of Eldon has become a strong part of the economy of the area. Perhaps the entire history of the Bank and the reason for its success for 75 years can best be summed up in a letter from the Deputy Commissioner of Finance, State of Missouri, March 7, 1935. In reference to Citizens Bank of Eldon, the Deputy Commissioner said,”…subject bank with its conservative management, will be able to maintain itself.”

Donn Harrison Jr. served the bank for more than 50 years and guided the bank as president until his death in 2004. During this time the bank added an additional branch on Business 54 South in Eldon and expanded services to the Versailles area in 1992 (photo 25).

25 Faciity at Bus. 54 South

In 2004, a new facility was built at 700 West Newton in Versailles.

Today, Citizens Bancshares of Eldon, MO., Inc. is the holding company for Citizens Bank of Eldon, and the Harrison family continues to be the majority stockholders.

The family also remains very involved with directing the bank’s activities.

Donn and Jean Harrison’s son, Scott Harrison, serves on the board of directors, and their daughter, Jill Harrison, serves as an advisory director.

The entire family also serves on the board for Citizens Bancshares of Eldon, including Donn’s wife, Jean E. Harrison, and their children: Donnan Ross Harrison III, Peggy Harrison, Jill Harrison and Scott M. Harrison. Other board members include Donald L. Vernon, chairman; Joshua Barnes Jr., Barbara Bell (current bank president), Gary Garber, Donald Garrett, Norris Henley, Linda Simmons-Thomas and William Washburn.

FUTURE PLANS

Over the years, the bank has stood by its motto: “Your hometown bank. Your hometown friend.”

There are no plans to change this method of doing business. According to Bank President Barbara Bell, being locally owned and operated, all decisions at the bank are made by people you know and trust.

Note: as I mentioned before, the Advertiser article copied above was written in 1980 so some of the people mentioned have passed away and their positions now are held by others.

So once again I want to recognize the Citizen’s Bank of Eldon for its support of our Miller County Museum and Historical Society. It is unique in having maintained its local ownership and management in a time when most banking facilities today have merged into one or another of the large national financial institutions. I want to thank the Harrison family which has had such an important role in the early history of our county as well as the history of the Citizen’s Bank of Eldon for its concern and interest in preserving and recognizing the importance of our county’s heritage.

The first non indigenous settler of Miller County according to several historians was William West. Clyde Lee Jenkins in his history of Miller County writes the following:

Judge Jenkins’ History of Miller County p. 9.

In 1807, the first White man settled in what is now Miller County. William West, from Kentucky, established a home in the very heart of an area inhabited by the Osage Indians. He erected a log cabin on the Big Tavern creek where it is now crossed by Highway 52, northeast of St. Elizabeth.

William West and his wife moved from Miller County in 1811. Before leaving they buried their infant son, Thomas, beside the Big Tavern creek. So the first man and woman who established a home in the territory of which Miller County was afterward made, paid the supreme sacrifice for their having done so, by leaving their own flesh and blood, an infant son, buried in its hallowed grounds.

A more detailed history of William West was written by Gerard Schultz in his “History of Miller County:”

William West, The First Settler In Miller County
A History Miller County, Missouri
p. 128

Gerard Schultz

William West, the first settler in Miller County, came here from Kentucky in 1907. His brothers, Hardin, Woodson, and John, were also pioneer settlers. Clarence West, great grandson of Hardin, gives his grandfather’s description of their cabins:

“They built one room log cabins with puncheon floors, and tables and benches of logs split in half and smoothed down with ax. There being no boards or planks with which to make a door, the dried skin of an animal such as a black bear was used for hanging over the opening which served as a door. There was no stove, and a fireplace with a mud chimney was built at one end of the cabin. These early settlers slept in a sort of hammock suspended at four points from the ceiling. It was not unusual to be aroused by a noise after they had retired for the night, and upon peeping over the edge of the hammock to see a catamount smelling around the floor for scraps of food or sitting on his haunches gazing at the fire in the fireplace.

Napoleon Prater, of Maries County, tells the following story:

“After the death of his son, Thomas, in 1811, William West sold his farm on the Tavern Creek and started with his wife and some neighbors to Arkansas to make their home. On the way William West died and was buried by the side of the road. His wife returned to Miller County and lived among their friends until her death.

“One of William West’s lifelong friends, Rich Warren, was in Springfield, Missouri, some years after the death of West. In a museum one day he saw a petrified body of a man which he recognized as that of his old friend, William West. Upon inquiry he was told that the body was unearthed by a road building crew, and further inquiry brought forth the fact that the road where the body was discovered was the route taken by William West when he started for Arkansas. Later the body was shipped from Springfield to some eastern city.”

One of the most complete histories of the William West family, however, I found on the Maries County Historical Society website. Because it is long I will place it as an attachment here (photo 25a):

25a West Family Document
Click image to view the PDF document

Most everyone who has some familiarity with the history of Miller County knows the story of William West. However, few know that his brother, John LaFoon West, settled here as well and stayed around long enough to have been part of the history of the county. I came across the history of John LaFoon West on the internet which offers quite a lot of early Miller County history that was new to me, especially as it related to John LaFoon West. The author of the history, who is the great great great grandson of John LaFoon West, only identifies himself on the internet site as “Talmid.” Be that as it may, I thought the story was interesting so I am copying it here. It is a long narrative but worth reading for those who want to know more about the early history of our county. Because it is so long I will place it as an attachment for those who want to read it (photo 26).

26 John LaFoon West Document
Click image to view the PDF document

Ronnie and Sharon Buster came by the museum recently for the purpose of donating a rare genealogical study of the Boyd Miller family (photos 27 and 28).

27 Sharon and Ronnie Buster

28 The Miller Book

Boyd was the father of William Miller, the patriarch who was one of the principles in the early organization of the government of Miller County (photo 29).

29 William and Sarah Miller

Both Ronnie and Sharon are descendants of this very important Miller County family. The research for the book was compiled by Miller family descendants Gwen Gunn Shoemaker and Grace Adams Farmer. It was published after years of research in 1971. We have many references to the Miller family and William Miller on our website. One article written by Peggy Hake about William Miller and others of his family can be found on our website.

For convenience I will copy it here:

THE MILLER FAMILY OF MILLER COUNTY, MISSOURI

Boyd Miller Sr. was an Irishman who came to America prior to the Revolutionary War. He served under General George Washington. Boyd settled in Greenbriar County, Virginia and married Mary Story. They had 2 children, William Miller born 1795 and a daughter (name unknown). After Mary's death, Boyd married Elizabeth Stephenson and they had several more children including Boyd Jr., Elijah, Jacob, Jefferson, Samuel, John, Anna, Hannah, and Elizabeth. In 1809 Boyd moved his family to Kentucky and stayed until 1815. During this time, Boyd served in the War of 1812 serving with the Kentucky Militia. Circa 1815, they came to the new frontier, sometimes called "Upper Louisiana" and settled in the young city of St. Louis.

In 1818, the Millers moved and settled for a short time near Meramec. For some reason they did not linger there long and moved on to the Moniteau/Cole counties region of Central Missouri. Circa 1819, William and his brother, Boyd, bought the old Factory Fort which stood near the Missouri River about 30 miles west of Jefferson City. By 1821, they moved to the Spring Garden area of present Miller County.

The best I can determine, the nephew of Boyd Miller Sr. was John Miller, who became Missouri's 4th governor in 1825. My conclusion was drawn when I found an old obituary of Charity Miller Clay, niece of William Miller and daughter of Boyd Jr. In her obituary it stated she was a second cousin to Governor John Miller.

Boyd Miller Sr. died about 1824 and was buried at the place where he settled when he came to central Missouri (Old Factory Fort), now called Marion. Many of the Millers who came south into Cole & Miller counties are buried in the Spring Garden cemetery.

For a few years, the Millers had been 'squatters' on the prairie land near Spring Garden before they officially filed a land patent in 1826. William Miller married Sarah Mulkey in Cooper County, MO on 21 August 1820. Sarah was a daughter of John & Polly (Lewis) Mulkey of Rutherford County, So. Carolina. William was born in Virginia 23 Oct 1795 and died in Miller County on 7 Feb 1878. Sarah was born in So. Carolina 13 Dec 1800 and died in Miller County 2 May 1884. Both are buried in the old Spring Garden Cemetery. The father of Sarah, John Mulkey, is buried in a lone spot near present-day Mt. Pleasant in Saline Township. There is evidence that other graves could be there also.

Boyd Miller Jr. married Isabella Mulkey, sister to Sarah. Isabella and Boyd married in Cole Co., MO on March 10, 1825. John Mulkey, father of Sarah and Isabella, was born in Rutherford Co., SC in 1768 and was closely related to Phillip Mulkey, one of the first Campbellite preachers (later called Disciples of Christ) to come into central Missouri. Rev. Mulkey pastored the Spring Garden church, organized in 1840.

William Miller patented many acres of land along the Osage River in Equality Township in April 1833 and it was on this land he built his one-room log cabin in 1834 where he, Sarah and their children lived for a few years. I believe the old log cabin, hidden for many years inside the walls of the Tellman house, was the oldest structure standing in Miller County before it was destroyed by fire in the early 1980s. After 3 years of crop failure, due to high water covering his corn fields, William finally decided to move and trade the land back for his old homeplace near Spring Garden. Three of William's sons continued to farm on the Spring Garden prairie after his death in 1878. The children of William and Sarah (Mulkey) Miller included: Jennetta (Witten); Mary (Stephens); Cerena (Stephens); Delila (Williams); Margaret (Witten); Caroline (Jones); Isabella (Shipley); Pinkney S. Miller; Boyd Miller; John Mulkey Tate Miller; Thomas Hart Benton Miller; and Sarah Miller.

The Miller family played an important role in the settlement and organization of the county. William Miller carried a petition, with many signatures, to Missouri's state legislature to request that Miller County be formed from land north of the Osage river (then Cole County) and an equal amount from the south side (then Pulaski County) and he was instrumental in the final success of county organization. Within the walls of William Miller's log cabin, the wheels of government began to grind on May 1, 1837. It was there, over 160 years ago, that five men met with William Miller and his family and held the first session of the Miller County Court.

William Ernest Miller, a grandson of William and Sarah (Mulkey) Miller, was still alive in Etterville, MO (Saline Township of Miller County) in 1990 when I wrote my book, PIONEER FAMILIES OF MILLER COUNTY, MISSOUR, not far from where his ancestors homesteaded all those years ago. He passed away a few years later. I visited with William Ernest Miller before his death and he realized he had a wonderful heritage. Who among you today can say that when your grandfather was born, George Washington was serving as the first President of the Unites States? In only three generations, the William Ernest Miller's ancestral family had lived under the leadership of 42 Presidents from Washington to Bush!!

One of the pleasant things of my life that I enjoy is the country cooking of my mother in law, Elva Boyd Steen (photo 30).

30 Elva Boyd Steen

She has a raspberry patch close to the house from which she recently has been picking the berries to make raspberry jelly (photo 31).

31 Fresh Raspberry Jelly

She also has a lot of blackberry patches around from which she picks the berries to make a very delicious cobbler. In fact, here is one she made just the other day (photo 32).

32 Blackberry Cobbler

Something always good is cooking at Elva’s home!

That’s all for this week.

Joe Pryor

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