Progress Notes

One of the most important social institutions of rural communities in the past was the local general store. I have discussed some of these well known stores of Miller County in previous Progress Notes. The most important historical general store in Tuscumbia was Hauenstein’s Store which I discussed in this previous Progress Notes.

The Schell family stores of St. Elizabeth, Mary’s Home, Eugene and St. Thomas were also discussed in a previous Progress Notes.

Photos and some discussion of general stores in Iberia are discussed in this previous Progress Notes.

Some of the oldest Eldon stores of various types were discussed in a previous Progress Notes which were featured in an article published many years ago in the Eldon Advertiser.

The Franklin Store in Olean was very important at one time which you can read about in the previous Progress Notes.

Almost all these stores have disappeared years ago, one exception being the Schell stores of Mary’s Home and St. Elizabeth.

One thing of interest I have noticed is that in these long gone days gone by, a small town could have three or four general stores all in the same area, each selling about the same products. I had wondered about this regarding my grandfather Madison Bear’s general store in Tuscumbia which was located next to the MFA Exchange and in addition was just down the street from the large Hauenstein Store. And just a few yards away from the Hauenstein Store were two others, the Fendorf and Nichols stores (photos 01 - 04).

01 Madison Bear's General Store in Old Woodman Hall Building

02 Farmers Exchange Store - Gertha Simpson second from Right

03 River Front Street in Tuscumbia - Hauenstein and Fendorf stores facing each other

04 Nichols Store during Flood

My mother told me that sometimes customers would divide up their purchases among the various stores because they enjoyed the company and conversation with all the different store owners. In a day when entertainment mostly depended on visiting with friends and relatives, going to the stores on Saturday was the highlight of the week.

This week I want to discuss the last two general stores of Brumley, now closed, which were owned by Glen and Mary Jo Shelton and Ralph and Sylvia Long. Here are two photos of these two couples from recent years after they closed their stores (photos 05 and 06).

05 Glen and Mary Jo Shelton

06 Sylvia and Ralph Long

Ralph passed away several years ago. Their two stores were next to each other in Brumley, again demonstrating the custom in those days of stores being located in close proximity. Here is a photo taken some forty years ago when the Sheltons bought the Long’s store which shows how closely located were the two stores on Highway C which runs through town (photo 07).

07 Shelton and Long Stores
Click image for larger view

The stores are still standing although no longer are operating businesses (photos 08 and 09).

08 Hawkins, Thompson and Shelton Store - Brumley

09 Ralph Long Store - Brumley

The store owned by Glen Shelton had an interesting history well told by Brumley native Lucille Crane in her history of Brumley found on our website.

I will copy here what Lucille wrote:

Brumley Mercantile Company
Lucille Crane (photo 10)

10 Lucille Crane

The only Brumley general merchandise store that has been serving the public continuously since the turn of the century is the Brumley Mercantile Company. In 1895 J.M. Hawkins purchased a lot from E.C. Thompson and erected a store building. That business was subsequently owned and operated by Alonzo Reed, W.R. Carnes, Ramsey and Agee, and perhaps some others who rented the building until 1928 when Clyde Thompson purchased it. He operated a thriving business until 1943 when ill health forced him to sell. At that time Wm. C. Anderson, the rural mail carrier, introduced moon-lighting to the community when he bought the business. In 1945 he sold to Gilbert Shelton who in turn sold to his son and daughter in law, Glen and Mary Jo Shelton, in 1960 (photos 11 and 12).

11 Gilbert Shelton

12 Glen and Mary Jo Shelton at Store

Glen Shelton proved to be a merchant of remarkable ability. He enlarged the building and increased the size of the inventory several times. When Ralph Long, another successful merchant, decided to retire, Glen bought his stock and building. He built a big storage warehouse and installed a bulk feed tank to supply the needs of his customers. From an investment of a few hundred dollars in the early days in the history of the Brumley Mercantile Company the company reached the hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales annually.

The Eldon Advertiser in its edition of July 30, 1992 published the story of the day the Brumley Mercantile Company Store, by then known as the Glen Shelton store, finally closed its doors. The article contains some interesting history which I will copy here (photo 13):

13 Advertiser Headline - July 30, 1992

Shelton’s To Close General Store (photo 14)

Eldon Advertiser Thursday, July 30, 1992

By Lorie Kiso

14 Shelton Store

While the era of the original general store came to an end many years ago with the advent of shopping mall and supermarkets, there have been a few stores that have remained steadfast and continued to serve their customers.

Glen and Mary Jo Shelton, who own Shelton’s General Store in Brumley have served their customers for more than half a century. That time will soon come to an end when the Sheltons close their store sometime in August. The couple has decided to retire from their lifelong business and spend some time relaxing and traveling (photo 15).

15 Glen and Mary Jo Shelton

Glen Shelton moved to Brumley with his family in 1945. Before moving into “town” they lived three miles up the street on a farm, Shelton said. “We moved most of our furniture by a wagon and team,” he noted.

“My dad (Gilbert Shelton talked me into the notion of going into the store business with him,” Shelton said (photo 16).

16 Glen and Gilbert Shelton
Click image for larger view

Glen and Mary Jo were married in 1956 and when Gilbert retired late in 1959, Glen and Mary Jo became sole owner of the store in 1960 (photo 17).

17 Glen and Mary Jo Shelton

Shelton’s mother retired later.

Shelton’s General store has been housed in the old building since1945. “The building was 48 years old then,” said Shelton, noting that the date of 1897 is etched into the corner rock.

Brumley was not always a quiet little hamlet between Iberia and Osage Beach. In fact, when the Sheltons purchased the store building from Clyde Thompson in 1945, there were about five stores in Brumley, one or two taverns, a bank, grade school and a high school. And before 1945, there was also a blacksmith shop in the town.

“It used to be that people would tell you what they wanted and you would go get it and write it (the purchases) down on a ticket. We had no adding machine, only a pencil. In 1960 we made this a self service store,” Shelton said.

In keeping with the concept of the general store, Sheltons offered everything imaginable to its customers. There was cloth, gasoline and kerosene, canned goods, meats, vegetables and fruits, shoes, boots and clothing, hardware, livestock feed and other farm supplies.

Purchasing supplies from the wholesale houses was not the only way the Sheltons were able to offer goods to their customers. Those were the days when customers could sell their own products, such as cream and eggs, to the store.

After making their purchases, the store’s proprietors had to candle the eggs and test the cream.

The Sheltons also purchased chickens from their customers. The birds were then trucked to packing companies in St. Louis.

Even in the early days the store was open six and one half days a week. “In the summer there were lots of times when we would open early. On some nights, Saturdays especially, we would be open until 10 p.m. Shelton said.

The two “good days” of business were on Friday and Saturday. The best day of business, of course, was on Saturday. “Almost everyone was in town then. They really worked you to death,” Shelton said.

When the people would come to town, they would always stay and visit. In fact, Mary Jo said there were many times when the people would stay all day and late into the night.

“This was the meeting place for people who would come into town on Saturday. They would spend all evening here,” he said. “We had people sitting on chairs and benches outside. The people stayed on the benches outside because it was cooler. We didn’t have any air conditioning then.”

“Back then the people had no communication except for coming to town. People just don’t like to visit much as they used to. There is no comparison,” Shelton said.

Mary Jo also talks of the visiting when she speaks of her favorite times in the store. “We used to sit and visit and they would talk about the old times then,” she said. “The ladies would sing and visit and the men would sit on the back porch and visit. I always liked to sit and listen to them tell their stories. I liked to hear the stories about how they grew up,” she said.

And in the winter time, the customers would sit around a wood stove in the center of the store. Shelton pointed to where the stove used to sit. It was taken out several years ago.

Now, the store’s visiting spot is over in a corner near the front door of the building where a couple of metal lawn chairs and milk crates stacked on top of each other are ready for visitors. Just last week, Ralph and Sylvia Long, who owned the grocery up the street stopped in to visit (photo 18).

18 Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Long
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And nobody was a stranger. “After I’d been here about a year, I used to make the statement that I knew everybody with a Brumley address. I don’t even know all the people who live in town now,” Shelton said.

“It was most fun running the store just to meet people,” said the couple.

Two of the people who worked for the Sheltons for a number of years were Paul Bowden who worked for more than 20 years and Penny Allee who worked up until the last of June when she had put in 23 years at the store.

After closing the store, the couple plan to spend more time with their children and their families, Helen Cato of Brumley and Kevin Shelton who lives on the North Shore. The couple also has two grandchildren, Derrick, age 6, and Kristen, age 2.

“We are also going to try and travel a little. We have not had much of a chance to do what we wanted very much of the time. We’ll do this (travel) for a few years, then I don’t know what we will do,” said Shelton.

When asked if he and his wife would miss operating the store, he said,”Well sure, who wouldn’t miss it if they spent the biggest part of their life here?”

The couple is currently reducing the stock in the store. An auction of the store contents will probably be held during the month of August. The store building is also for sale.

As noted above the store building is no longer a commercial operation although some storage is contained in it.

Gilbert Shelton, father of Glen, was featured in the book, “Lake of the Ozarks Fiftieth Anniversary 1981.”
Copied here is that article:

Gilbert and Ada Condra Shelton (photo 19)

From Lake of the Ozarks Fiftieth Anniversary 1981

19 Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Shelton

Gilbert and his wife, Ada Condra Shelton, are retired residents of Brumley who have contributed invaluable services to the community. They spent many years as farmers. Gilbert did much to improve transportation in the area when he worked for a number of years when he worked for the county as Roads Supervisor. They were merchants for a number of years when they owned and operated the Brumley Mercantile Company.

Perhaps their greatest service to the community has been their work in the Baptist Church. Gilbert has served as deacon for over forty ears. Ada, a talented musician, has been church pianist and held other offices. Most importantly they have seen the need and taken care of minor repairs to the building, have acted as voluntary custodians, and inspired others by their faithfulness.

They have three children. Mrs. Fred McDonald (Anna Ruth) lives in Florissant, in St. Louis County. Mrs. Spurgeon Wilson (Inah Lou) lives in rural Iberia. Mr. and Mrs. Glen Shelton live in Brumley. The Sheltons have nine grand children and two great grandchildren.

Gilbert was the son of John Shelton, who was one of the early settlers of Miller County and the Brumley area. John and his family lived in a large white home on Mill Creek Road a few miles east of Brumley. Here is an early photo of the John Shelton family when his children were small (photo 20).

20 Nancy, Elmer, John and Gilbert Shelton

And here is a photo of the family years later standing in front of the home built by John Shelton (photo 21):

21 Nancy and John Shelton with sons Elmer and Gilbert

This home has been well cared for by the family. Gilbert’s daughter, Anna Shelton McDonald now lives there (photo 22).

22 Anna Shelton McDonald at original John Shelton Home

Anna is the one who gave me the photos of the John Shelton family.

Here is the Shelton family genealogy as researched by Peggy Hake:

JOHN BENJAMIN SHELTON

John Benjamin Shelton was born 13 Nov 1869 in the southern part of Miller County near the Hawkeye community. He was a son of Hamon Shelton (b. c/1844 KY) and Martha A. Williams (b. c/1839 KY). They married in Miller County on April 2, 1865. John's paternal grandparents were Peter Shelton (1821-1883) and Rhoda Barnett (1821-1896), natives of Tennessee and his maternal grandfather was John Williams, born c/1815 in KY.

John Benjamin was one of several children born to Hamon and Martha (Williams) Shelton including:

·  MAHALA SHELTON b. 1866 m. Marion F. Wilbanks 1886;
·  SUSAN F SHELTON b. 1867 m. George W. McDowell 1885;
·  JOHN BENJAMIN SHELTON b. 1869 m. Nancy Ann Meredith 1892;
·  PETER SHELTON 1874-1955 m. Martha Meredith 1905;
·  NANCY ANN SHELTON 1877-1944 m. Bentley Howard Burks 1904;
·  JAMES E. SHELTON b. 1880 m. Ethel Dobson 1906; and
·  HAMON SHELTON b. 1883.

John Benjamin Shelton married Nancy Ann Meredith in Miller County on 20 Nov 1892, the marriage performed by W. E. Sears, a justice of the peace in Glaize Township. Nancy was a daughter of Daniel Meredith (1844-1907) and Mary Jane Pemberton (1843-1908).

She was one of nine children born to the Merediths:

·  JAMES ALBERT MEREDITH 1864-1951 m. (1) Melissa Paralee Smith (2) Susan F._____ MATTHIAS MEREDITH b. c/1867 m. Margaret Stone 1884
·  NANCY ANN MEREDITH b. 1869 m. John Benjamin Shelton 1892
·  MARY C. MEREDITH b. 1870
·  SARAH M. MEREDITH 1872-1897
·  MIRA F. MEREDITH b. 1874
·  PARTHENIA L. MEREDITH b. 1877
·  ARRENIA M. MEREDITH B. 1885
·  and a 9th child was born and died before 1900.

After their marriage, John Benjamin and Nancy lived in the Brumley area and at his death were living about three miles east of the town.

They were parents of three children:

·  ELMER E. SHELTON b. 1893 m. Edna V. Keyes
·  GILBERT SHELTON b. 1896 m. Ada Condra
·  ETHEL MAY SHELTON 1894-1894.

Among their neighbors over the years were the families of Williams, Lilly, Howell, Wall, Bass, Gumm, Topping, and Winfrey.

John and Nancy were members of the Brumley Baptist Church, per his obituary. John Benjamin Shelton died at the age of 70 years on February 15, 1940. Nancy Ann had died three years earlier on March 30, 1937. Both are buried at Hickory Point Cemetery in northern Richwoods Township. John's funeral services were held at the Hickory Point Church located near the cemetery. He was survived by two sons, several grandchildren; two brothers: Peter Shelton and Hamon Shelton; and one sister, Nancy Shelton Burks.

Engraved on their tombstones is:

·  John B. Shelton 14 Nov 1869-15 Feb 1940
·  Nancy A. Shelton 16 Sep 1868-30 Mar 1937

Glen and Mary Joe now live in a modern brick home in Brumley not far from where their old store building is located. I visited with them about the store a few weeks ago (see photo 05 above).

I also talked with Glen as well as his sister, Anna Shelton McDonald (see photo 22) last year regarding their grandfather, Charles Condra, in preparation for the Progress Notes narrative about the Condra family which you can read here.

The second Brumley store I will discuss is the one owned by Ralph and Sylvia Long (see photo 06 above). Again, I will copy an article from the local paper (in this case no ID of the newspaper is given on the cutout I had. It probably was written in 1971. The article recorded the retirement of the Longs and the closure of their store, commonly known as the “Long Store.” The Long store was located next to the Shelton store as seen in photo 07 and photo 09 above.

Ralph and Sylvia Long Store Closing (photo 24)

24 Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Long
Click image for larger view

When Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Long closed the door of their business Saturday, they entered the world of retirement. The establishment known as the Ralph Long Store in Brumley has served the community for more than 25 year.

“We liked to think of our store as a Ma and Pa store,” Mrs. Long said. “Those who traded with us were more than customers. They were our friends. We shared recipes, religion and general talk.”

Having no children of their own, the Longs have served as parents and grandparents to all the youngsters in the community. Recalling an amusing incident they pointed out that it was their custom to put the pictures of all the school children in their dandy case. A salesman, having to wait to talk to the Longs, was looking over the show case.

“Are all those your grandchildren?” he asked.

The Longs delighted in explaining the situation to him.

The grocery business has been a part of Mr. Long’s life since his youth. When he and Mrs. Long were married, June 3, 1940, he worked for Clyde Thompson who operated a store in the community. After spending 2 years in the service, he returned to his native home and in March of 1946 purchased a business belonging to Earl Plemmons. On July 3 of that same year, he was forced out of business by a fire (photo 25).

25 Long Store and Ted Stamper Cedar Factory Burning

Desiring to continue the business the Longs rebuilt in the same location and opened their new store on June 17, 1947.

One of the most noteworthy changes made during the time they have served the community has been the demand for specific items.

“In the beginning we sold very little cartooned milk or fresh meat. Everyone had a cow, or their neighbor did, and they provided their own milk and meat. In recent years that has changed. Even the farmers purchase those items now,” they pointed out (photos 26 and 27).

26 Ralph Long tallying Bil

27 Sylvia packaging Groceries

Before joining her husband in the operation of the store in 1948, Mr. Long taught school. She was involved in this career for 17 years. Teaching in rural schools and at Brumley and School of the Osage.

She is not a native of Brumley but was born in the area. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ramsey, now of Eldon, were living on a farm in the Brumley area at the time of her birth. That home site has been replaced by the Lee C. Fine Airport.

Mr. Long is the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Tilton Long of Brumley.

The Longs look forward to their retirement with plans for travel.

The new owners of the business, the Glen Sheltons of Brumley, are not newcomers to the grocery business. Mr. Shelton’s father, Gilbert Shelton, owned and managed the store formerly owned by Clyde Thompson from June of 1945 and Glen joined his father in the operation of the firm in 1953 and purchased his father’s share in 1960 (see photo 16 of Glen and Gilbert).

The Shelton store, known as Brumley Mercantile, will stock the merchandise from the Long Store. Plans at present call for utilizing the former Long building for storage.

Joining Mr. Shelton in the operation of Brumley Mercantile are Paul Bowden and Francis Allee.

Recently, I visited Sylvia Long at the Lee House in Eldon (photo 28).

28 Sylvia Long

She remembers well the day Ralph’s and her store was closed.

Sylvia says the day of the closure of their store many friends came to visit. In this photo Jim Thornsberry and two other local men are sitting on a bench sharing memories (photo 29).

29 George Robinson, Atha Robinett and Jim Thornsberry

Here is probably the last photo of Ralph and Sylvia in the store (photo 30):

30 Ralph and Sylvia Long in Brumley Store

Sylvia said her husband, Ralph Long, was the son of Tilton Long who came to Brumley around the turn of the century from Arkansas. He had married a Brumley area woman whose family name was Miller. Tilton died when he was almost 100 years old, having four sons and one daughter.

Sylvia told me that Ralph first worked in the Clyde Thompson Brumley Mercantile store, then was drafted in WWII at 33 years of age in 1943. He returned in 1945 at which time he bought the Earl Plemmons store located close to the bank. It burned in 1946 and Ralph rebuilt a store next to the Brumley Mercantile which he operated for the next 25 years at which time he sold the store to the Shelton family.

Sylvia was born February 3, 1910. Here is a photo of Sylvia taken last year on her 100th birthday. She is accompanied by three other centenarians then living at the Lee House (photo 31).

31 Blanche Keller, Helen Phillips, Sylvia Long and Lois Crismon

Since then Lois Crismon and Helen Phillips have passed away.

While living in Brumley Sylvia remembers many happy memories of good times she and Ralph enjoyed with Lucian and Clare Mace, who had been born and raised there (photo 32).

32 Clare and Lucian Mace

Sylvia also became good friends with their daughter, Lois Mace Webb (photo 33).

33 Lois Mace Webb

Lois has a good memory regarding the various commercial enterprises in Brumley when she was living there some three quarter centuries ago. Copied below in her own words are some of Lois’ memories:

I recall several grocery stores in Brumley at one time -- had to be the 1930s. Thompson families operated grocery stores at one time, not sure they were kin; there was a Homer at south end of town who carried everything imaginable -- sort of like Hauenstein's, wall paper, milk buckets, boots, shoes, probably dynamite and wrist watches -- like a pre Walmart. Then there was a Clyde Thompson, and a Lev Thompson -- all merchants though perhaps not simultaneously. Middle of town on east side of street was Harmon's store. I think Harmons were mentioned in an article you did few years ago. Harmon's may have been The Exchange -- perhaps even MFA exchange even way back then.

Earl Plemmon’s store had gasoline pumps and I recall watching the magic of pumped gasoline bubbling up in the glass cylinder top of pump, then watching dad fill the automobile tank. Inside Earl carried mostly groceries; my main memory is of watching him prepare his own baloney sandwiches with bright yellow mustard and crackers. I never could get that combination to taste as delicious as it appeared to me on Earl's paper plate.

Grandma and Grandpa Mace's house was not more than 15-20 feet away parallel to Earl's store; kids would play between the buildings and the big boys would shoot marbles. The Brumley Baptist Church stood maybe 1500 feet north and slightly east, following the bend of the street.

A decade or more ago, as I recall, the entrance to a beer joint sat just feet away from the northeast end of Earl's store building, and very close to the building my grandparents lived in. For many years I could only recognize remnants of a rock foundation at the south end of that house. I believe the structure went through several incarnations after my grandparents lived there, one a beer joint as I recall. Brumley became fairly generous with beer joints during some of its years, whereas grocery stores were relatively plentiful at one time.

Sylvia and Ralph Long lived in Eldon, on Pecan Street, for many years after they sold the Brumley store. Mom and dad and Ralph and Sylvia socialized a lot -- card games and dominos; and for a number of years, traveled south together, both Texas and Mexico. Sylvia taught elementary school in Brumley before she and Ralph married. In those days, school boards preferred unmarried female teachers. In fact, I recall Lucille Thornsberry Crane (Mrs. Kent Crane) telling me that she stopped teaching when she married Kent, and it was several years before her return to the classroom was acceptable. She went on to get a Master's degree and ultimately retired from teaching. Dad and Sylvia took extension courses together from Warrensburg Teachers' College (see photo 10 above of Lucille).

I'm under the strong impression that storekeepers, like Sylvia and Ralph, served their community as unofficial council on many occasions and that willingness to be of service to their neighbors endeared them to the community. People consulted their storekeeper on matters that could well be more suited to clergy, judiciary, healing arts, and the like. You can imagine a small community with limited professional resources, and a populace with limited economic resources -- well, the grocer man-woman (especially Sylvia the school teacher) would be the available person with whom they could share their dilemmas. Small communities tend to share this characteristic, methinks.

By the way, another Brumley store at one time was DeGraffenried's, located at the south end of town and on the highway that goes to Iberia. Twins, Lloyd and Floyd, operate(d) the store; they were same age as Lee (brother Lee Mace). I do not know of their situation or circumstance in the decade since mom died, but mom and I often stopped at their store when we were in that area.

Thanks Lois for your memories of the Brumley stores. In 2008, Lois sent me another memory of Sylvia which was humorous and interesting. I had included it as part of the story of Lucian and Clare Mace.

Here is the anecdote Lois remembered taken from that website:

“Sylvia Ramsey Long, who taught at Brumley, can still giggle about antics during those years. On one trip she rode with dad (Lucian Mace) in a roadster with rumble seat and leaky composition roof – likely a forerunner to the convertible. One rainy day, nearing Tuscumbia, they offered a ride to two women. The rumble seat was out of the question. The women, according to Sylvia and dad’s story, were large; the car seats small. Sylvia opened an umbrella in an effort to divert water coming through the roof. Visibility could be called poor at best. Finally, seeking solution to a dual dilemma, dad opened his car door thinking if he leaned out he could 1) see the road better, and 2) give the ladies a little more space. And I believe they mentioned a body odor issue. Regardless, a major dilemma developed when dad discovered he could neither reclose the door nor slide back into the seat -- a law of physics I suppose, something about the amount of matter that could occupy a specific space. Sylvia and her husband Ralph laughed about those incidents with mom and dad into their later years – years that saw the couples enjoy trips to Mexico and South Texas, or in domino games at home. Ralph and Sylvia Long operated a grocery store in Brumley until their retirement.”

Thanks Lois.

(I might add that many local people will know who were the two women to which Lois referred in the story, now long gone. However, their names kindly will remain anonymous.)

Sylvia Long has deep roots in Miller County through her paternal Ramsey heritage.

Sylvia’s great grandfather was George W. Ramsey, who came to Miller County about 1837 from Kentucky and Tennessee (photo 34).

34 George W. and Mary Albertson Ramsey

He was interested in finding land which would contain minerals for mining. Sylvia said he obtained more Land Patent Deeds from the U.S. Government than any one else in Miller County. Early on he lived near the Big Tavern Creek. The Ramsey cemetery now is located on the Eula Fischer farm which is a few miles from the Big Tavern.

George W. had five sons and daughters. Richard (Dick) Logan Ramsey was the grandfather of Sylvia. He was the oldest son of George W. and Mary (photo 35).

35 Dick Logan Ramsey and Mary Capps Bilyeu Ramsey, daughter of Silas Capps

He first married Lucy Bilyeu on Christmas Day 1870. She was born in 1853 and died in 1871 at the age of 18 years. Lucy is buried in the Ramsey Family Cemetery in Osage township, near Hwy. A.

On August 26, 1877 Richard married Mary Elizabeth Capps-Bilyeu, widow of Henry Bilyeu. Mary Elizabeth was a daughter of Silas Capps and Julia Ann Brumley. Her father died in 1865 during the Civil War and, according to records, is buried in a military cemetery in Indiana. Sylvia said that John Wilson invited Richard and his wife to live in his cave. Silas Capps was known as a “Hog and Hominy” teacher which meant that he was only paid for his teaching with food.

Sylvia’s father, John Francis (Frank) Ramsey, was the only son of Richard Ramsey (photo 36).

36 John Francis and Lila Francis Cox Ramsey with Child

Dick Ramsey inherited an area furthest from the Tavern home of George W. Ramsey which now is the Lee C. Fine Airport where he built a large home (photo 37).

37 Richard Logan Ramsey Home

After becoming an adult and marrying, John Francis Frank Ramsey moved twice to work for the railroad out west. Eventually, he settled back on a farm of his own near Kaiser, now part of Bear Creek Golf Course. Sylvia was born on this farm. She attended a one room school there named Reed School. The Reed school no longer exists but Sylvia said it was near her home.

The Ramsey family is considered one of the really early and important settlers in south Miller County. You can read more about it as written by Peggy Hake.

As a matter of personal interest to me, one of George W. Ramsey’s children was George M. Ramsey, who married Sarah Forrester. She was a sister of my great grandmother, Susie Forrester, who married Eli Abbett, father of my grandmother Sadie Abbett Bear. George Ramsey and Sarah Forrester had a son named Oliver who married Bertha Abbett, daughter of Theodore Abbett, who was a brother of my great grandfather Eli Abbett. So some of these Ramsey descendents out of George W. Ramsey would be distant cousins of mine from two different lines of my family.

Here is a photo of the Colonel George M. Ramsey home, now unoccupied, which still is standing near Sequoia Road not far from the Livingston Cemetery (photo 38):

38 Colonel George M. Ramsey Home

Many longtime Miller County families can trace themselves back to George W. Ramsey because he lived here so long ago and had quite a few descendents. I don’t have a photo of George W. Ramsey himself.

A couple of interesting items Sylvia passed on to me in our conversation:

1. Sylvia said that Brumley had three different Thompson men of no known kin. Lev Thompson was the most wealthy being a bank director; Clyde Thompson was owner of the first Brumley Mercantile Store. J.D. Thompson was the Christian Church minister.

2. Press Thompson, son of Lev, along with Dr. Duncan of Iberia and Dr. Logan Allee of Eldon all went to the Iberia Academy and then attended medical school in St. Louis. Dr. Duncan was Sylvia’s uncle by marriage having married her father’s oldest sister. The three doctors agreed to choose different towns in which to practice. Dr. Press Thompson chose Lebanon, Dr. Duncan chose Iberia, and Dr. Logan Allee chose Eldon. The friendship of the three doctors continued. They went to Mayo clinic together every summer for post graduate education. Press Thompson died in a car accident as he was returning home from home from Lebanon.

One interesting historical item Sylvia showed me was a photo of an old church, no longer in existence named the Barnet Church (photo 39).

39 Barnet Church - 1907
Click image for larger view

Sylvia said the photo was taken more than one hundred years ago in 1907. The church was located in the Little Bear Creek area near a post office no longer in existence named Blackmer. Nearby was a small one room school of the same name as the church, “Barnet.” The minister was a man named Simon Peter Cox. In the front row of photo 39 he is the one wearing a dark suit holding a Bible. Sylvia said the photo was taken at the close of a Revival Meeting which had ended with a basket dinner. Sylvia’s relatives in the photo include her grandfather Ramsey, Richard, who has the long white beard standing next to the back row; her cousin Katie Henderson in the back row in her father’s arms; and her mother and two aunts are among the “big hat women.” Sylvia said the photo was among her mother’s memorabilia and that she now has had it herself for the last almost thirty years.

Sylvia told me that Minister Simon Cox was of the Baptist tradition born in Missouri. His father was named Thomas Cox who was from Pennsylvania originally. Minister Simon Cox pastured country churches for over fifty years holding revivals around the area. Over the years he held several positions in the Miller County Ministerial Association. Late in life he lost much of his vision causing him to have to retire from the ministry. He left Miller County to move close to his children in Kansas City, Mo. He passed away in that location and was buried in Washington Cemetery at Independence MO.

Another photo of Sylvia’s displays all the eighth grade graduates of one room schools in Miller County in the year of 1929 taken at the county courthouse in Tuscumbia (photo 40).

40 Eighth Grade Graduates - 1929 - Rural Schools
Click image for larger view

C.D. Snodgrass was the county superintendent; he is third from the right in the second row of the photos. The students were assembled at the courthouse to receive their state diploma.

To earn a diploma the student at the end of the year had to pass a state issued test, which was distributed by the county superintendent to all the teachers. After completing the test it was returned to the State Department of Education for grading. Afterward, certificates were sent to the county superintendent for delivery to the students who passed. Sylvia said the meeting at the courthouse and distribution of the certificates of graduation was a great day of celebration for the rural students.

I was very happy to have had the opportunity to visit with Sylvia Ramsey Long. She is one of those unusual people who reach the century mark and certainly must be one of the brightest. Her memory is unbelievable and she demonstrates no hesitation at all in recounting events of long ago.

Sylvia Long’s photo of the eighth grade graduation ceremony at the court house of those students attending one room schools fits with the next story which is about the Wright school. The Wright school, which no longer is standing, was located on the Little Saline Creek northeast of Tuscumbia. Years ago, Wayne Wright, son of Otis Wright and a cousin of Maude Wright, sent her a photograph of the Wright school with some history as well (photos 41, 42 and 43).

41 Wright School - 1904 - Otis Wright Teacher
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42 Otis Wright

43 Maude Wright

Otis Wright was a graduate of the Iberia Academy and one of his early employments was at the Wright School which was where he had attended when a child. Maude was a cousin of Otis and herself was an educator. The photo above sent by Wayne included his father, Otis, sitting in front of the school children at the school. This is an old photo taken in 1904.

Because the school was located about a mile north of the large Wells farm, J.R. Wells sent his children to the school until he built a big house with its own school. Here is a photo with a couple of the Wells children, Ralph and Lucy, in front of the school (photo 44).

44 Wright School

Here is another photo of the Wright School with Mrs. J. R. Wells and her daughter, Ruth, standing at the front door of the school (photo 45).

45 Wright School with Ruth Wells and Mother - Mrs. J.R. Wells

Here is a scan of the letter that Wayne sent to Maude Wright describing some of the history of the Wright School (photo 46).

46 Wright School Letter
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In his letter Wayne mentioned his ancestors in addition to his father Otis, grandfather Green Lee Wright (photo 47) and great grandfather James Lawrence Wright (photo 48).

47 Green Lee and Mrs. Wright

48 James Lawrence Wright

Here is a photo of Green Lee Wright and his entire family (photo 49);

49 Family of Green Lee Wright

and here is the caption for the photo:

“At the back of the photo are left to right Charlie, Homer Lee, Richard, and Otis. In the front of the photo left to right are Gertrude, Green Lee, Mary Emma Boyce Wright and Clarence Boyce (C.B.) Wright”

Green Lee was best known as being the one who owned the large carding water driven mill along the Little Saline Creek (photo 50).

50 Green Lee Wright Carding Mill

For those who might be interested, here is a website with a complete descendency chart of the Wright family.

I called Bamber Wright, whose father, Homer Lee Wright, was a brother of Otis Wright, to get some follow-up history about Otis. Here is what Bamber told me:

Otis Wright was the third child of Green Lee Wright, who himself was the son of James Lawrence Wright, the progenitor of the Miller County Wrights. His siblings included C.B. Wright and Homer Lee Wright. C.B. was the father of Homer Clay Wright and Homer Lee was the father of Bamber, Barbara and Betty Wright (Note: see complete list of sibings in photo caption above).

Otis was a graduate of the Iberia Academy and had married an Iberia girl Maude Farnham. Early on he was a teacher in some of the county’s one room schools.

Initially, he worked in the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office although Bamber does not remember the particular office.   Later, Otis moved to southwest Missouri, probably to take a teaching position, although, Bamber does not remember specifically what he did there. Bamber said the latter part of his life Otis returned home to work the Wright farm on the little Saline Creek where he was raised.

Otis had three children, Faye, Aubrey and Wayne.

According to the end of Wayne’s letter (see photo 46 above), he himself attended Wright School from first to fourth grade. He indicated that he was a retired teacher and administrator. Bamber said he never saw much of Wayne and only knew he was an educator.

However, information received from Merle Wright, nephew of Otis offers the following additional detail:

Otis spent his last years in Monnett and Perice City, MO. I remember flying my plane with my father there to visit one time. Otis and his wife Maude had only 2,two children, Faye and Wayne. They lived and worked on the Green Lee Wright place from at least 1937 until about 1950.

I visited them many times and learned to drive a team of horses from Uncle Otis.

We are very grateful to Joe Cochran, Miller County Assessor, for the donation to the museum of a map case for our large documents. Joe said that modifications had been made to their filing system such that the county no longer needed this type of storage. On the other hand, we at the museum do have many large documents such as maps which can be better preserved in this type of storage method. Here is a photo of Joe and Matt Sauder, an assistant to Joe in the Assessor’s office, standing by the case which they brought over to us from the courthouse (photo 51).

51 Joe Cochran and Matt McGee with Map Case

We are very grateful for Brice Kallenbach’s donation of time, material and skill in building the sturdy and handsome table for the file case. Brice is the husband of board member and treasurer, Betty Kallenbach.

The last ice storm we had back in February caused havoc with our museum gutters on the east side. We were very appreciative of the fine repair work performed by Vernon McGee and Matt Zimmerman who are representatives of the Gutters N’ More company of Syracuse. They were considered to be the best crew in the area for this type of work according to our construction engineer, Paul Holder (photos 52, 53 and 54).

52 Vernon Zimmerman

53 Max Sauder

54 Gutters 'N' More

We had some really dreary weather earlier this month, but here is a photo with some quiet beauty taken of Old Horseshoe Bend Road where it borders the lake bluff about a mile west of the dam (photo 55):

55 Old Horseshoe Bend Road

That’s all for this week.

Joe Pryor

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