Surnames Beginning With 'S'
JOHN H. SANNING
John H. Sanning was born in Germany about 1829. His parents were Francis Leopold Sanning (1799-1873) and Anna Margaretha Jansen (1805-1875). They were parents of three children including JOHN H. SANNING 1829-1914 m. Adalaide Bruenning; ANNA MARIA SANNING 1833-1865 m. Bernard Rackers; and ANNA HELENA SANNING 1837-1920 m. William John Berendzen. I found no record of other children but it is likely others may have died in infancy.
A descendant of this family traced the Sanning family history backward in time through two more generations, all natives of Germany. Leopold Sanning and Anna Adelheide Korte were the great grandparents of John; Johann Heinrich Sanning and Anna Maria Brunner were the grandparents of John; and Francis Leopold Sanning and Anna Margaretha Jansen were the parents of John.
When Francis Leopold and Margaretha Sanning came to America they settled in Cole County with their three children. During the Civil War both father and son served with the Union army. Francis was a Captain in Co. F, First Regiment of the Missouri Home Guards and John also served with the Home Guards. If Francis actually was a soldier in that war, he would have been over 60 years old! Francis died in Cole County in 1873 at the age of 74 years and his wife, Margaretha, died in 1875 and was 70 years old.
John Herman and Adalaide Bruenning Sanning
John H. Sanning married Adalaide Bruenning (1841-1914) in Cole County and they were parents of several children. According to his obituary, taken from The Jefferson City Capitol News and reprinted in The Eldon Advertiser in 1914, John amassed a considerable amount of property in Cole County in the Schuberts area. His huge farm was considered one of the best in that section of the state.
The children of John and Adalaide were FRANCIS/FRANK SANNING, JOHN HENRY SANNING JR., HERMAN SANNING, ANTON SANNING, PETER SANNING, JOSEPH SANNING, BERNARD J. SANNING, AND MARY (SANNING) KROLL........Four of their sons (Frank, Bernard/Ben, Anton, and Peter) moved to the Marys Home area in Miller County; John Henry Jr. was cashier of the bank at Eugene; Herman lived at Taos; Joseph and his widowed sister, Mary, were living with their father when he died in 1914.
John H. Sanning died at his home on the Osage River, near Schuberts, on November 11, 1914 at the age of 86 years. His wife of many years, Adalaide (Bruenning) Sanning died in January 1914. Both are buried at the Taos' St. Francis Xavier church cemetery.
William and Anna Helena Sanning Berendzen
NOTE: John's sister, Anna Helena Sanning, married William John Berendzen in Cole County in 1854. They later moved to Marys Home and died there. They are buried at Our Lady of the Snows church cemetery. Today there are many people living in the Marys Home community who are descendants of the Sanning and Berendzen families.
THE SCHELL FAMILY
The ancestors of the Schell families of Miller and Cole counties were Simon Schell, Sr. and his wife, Anna Maria/Mary Laux, both natives of Bavaria. Simon was born in 1794 and Mary in 1803. They married in their native country and then embarked to America about 1831 and landed in New York harbor. Later they moved southward into Virginia where they remained for awhile and then moved to Ohio. Some of their children were born during their stay in Ohio. In 1841, they moved to Cole County, MO and located first near present-day Taos. Before too long they had decided to move once again (these ancestors certainly had more gumption than I!!...it would have taken such determination to keep moving on to a new location).
They moved into the Osage River country and lived in a new area of Cole County called Indian Bottom Settlement near present-day St. Thomas. When they moved there the settlement only had a log church, a store, and a cemetery. Simon Schell owned the store for awhile but before long, a new settlement was taking shape inland a short distance...St. Thomas. And as you might guess, the Schell family wanted to be part of the new town so they moved once again. The Schells were always an industrious-minded family. Simon had been the storekeeper at Indian Bottom and when St. Thomas came into existence, his son, Andrew Schell, became the owner of a store building in the town.
In 1861, when Andrew began his trade as a weaver, there were only 7 buildings in the new settlement. He and his wife, the former Elizabeth Stokes, lived in a small log house near his store building.
In the Miller County census of 1870, Andrew and Elizabeth Schell were living in Old St. Elizabeth, located on the east bank of the Osage River and were storekeepers in the old town. Simon N. Schell, son of Simon Sr., married Mary Elizabeth Wankum in St. Thomas in April 1863.
Simon N. Schell was a District Judge at Large for the Cole Co. Court and also served as a Presiding Judge of the county. He and his brother, Frank Schell, began to manufacture boots and shoes in a small log building in St. Thomas in 1865. For many years the Schells continued in the business community of St. Thomas owning general stores, hotels, and for many years their store, S. N. Schell & Sons Trading Co. was a flourishing enterprise. The building still stands in the town of St. Thomas and used for a private home today.
Ildephens/Ilde W. Schell, born at St. Thomas in 1871, married Catherine Massman, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Schallert) Massman, also of St. Thomas. She was born in Cole County in May 1876. They were married in 1892 and shortly thereafter, came over to neighboring Miller County and settled in St. Elizabeth.
Ilde W. Schell was also in the general merchandising business in St. Elizabeth and served as postmaster of the town for 27 years (1914-1941).
Otto G. Schell, son of Ilde and Catherine, was born in Cole Co., MO on May 24, 1894, the oldest of their children. He married Anna K.Huchtmeyer (born 1893) on 12 Jun 1917. From 1927 to 1949 Otto owned a restaurant in St. Elizabeth. In 1932 he was elected as Miller County Treasurer on the Democrat ticket. In the following election, in 1936, he was the only Democrat returned to office and at that time he won the office of Miller County Assessor.
In 1949, Otto moved to Kansas City and operated a package store there from 1950-1961. He retired in 1961 and moved back to St. Elizabeth. His wife, Anna Schell, died in February 1969 and he lived until July 15, 1970. Both are buried in St. Lawrence Cemetery in St. Elizabeth.
ADDENDUM TO THE SCHELL HISTORY:
Ilde Schell and his brother-in-law, John Schweitermann, operated the Schell Trading Company store in St. Elizabeth for many years after the turn of the 20th century. Evidently the St. Elizabeth branch of the Schell Enterprises (Schell Trading Company) came into existence sometime around 1900. Ilde Schell and John Schweiterman entered into a partnership in the new store called S. N. Schell & Sons Trading Company, built on the corner of Main and Walnut streets in St. Elizabeth. John Schweitermann conducted much of the carpentry work on the new building. The structure was huge, second in size only to the brick church which was located across the street to the east.
For some years there was a large room above the store which was an entertainment center called Schell Hall. It was used for dances, stage plays, and other social events. I understand the building also had an elevator which ran from the basement to the upper floors which was very uncommon in that day and age. Ahead of their time, Schell & Schweitermann installed a Delco generator in their store and had electricity long before the town had its first electrical lighting system. They even ran lines from the store's electrical unit to their homes nearby.
The old S. N. Schell & Sons Trading Company has a wonderful history. For many years its door were left open and when I moved to the St. Elizabeth area in 1981, it had a grocery store on the first floor. In a few years the store closed down and sat empty for awhile. Later it was re-opened as an antique store (still using the name Schell Trading Co.) and had two different owners but finally it closed down once again. Today, in early 1999, it is sitting vacant........S. N. Schell & Sons Trading Company has too much history to just sit there being ignored!!!
THOMAS SCOTT
Thomas Scott was an important and prominent person in Miller County history and politics during the Civil War era. He served as a county court judge 1860-1862; a justice of the peace in Equality Township; State Representative 1863-1864; and a resident State Senator 1858-1862. I guess it was accepted that he could serve as a county court judge of Miller County and a resident State Senator during the same years.
In 1861 he served as a representative to the Missouri State Convention and actively supported the Union in the Civil War. During the convention, the men who served as representatives to the special convention voted to keep Missouri in the Union as a Northern State. At the same time there was another convention being held at Neosho, MO (in southwest Missouri) and since they strongly supported the Confederacy, the men there voted to support the South! In 1872, after the war had been ended for about 7 years, Senator Scott supported the Liberal Republican Party. The Liberal Republicans organized in Cincinnati, OH in May 1872 and their main reason was to oppose the re-election of President Ulysses S. Grant whom they said had corrupted the old Republican Party. They chose Horace Greeley, publisher of the New York Tribune newspaper, to be their candidate but he was soundly defeated in a landslide vote for Grant. The Liberal Republicans vanished after this episode in their brief history!
Thomas Scott and his family came to Miller County in the mid 1840s from Dubois County, Indiana where they had lived for awhile. They had spent several years earlier in Shelby County, Kentucky where Thomas was born in 1816. His parents were Thomas Scott Sr. and Sarah Hannah Mahurin, both born circa 1788, probably in Pennsylvania. According to descendants of this family, Thomas Sr. and Sarah were cousins and their families were close knit. The Mahurin family were thought to be French Hugenots who came to America via the area of Ulster, Ireland ----so they traveled all over Europe before coming to America to settle permanently.
Thomas Scott, Sr., his wife Sarah (Mahurin), and their children came to Miller County and settled upstream from Tuscumbia in Equality Township. A family cemetery (Scott Cemetery ) is located on their land and many members of this family are buried there. Their children included: Rachel, Nancy, Arthur, Samuel, Thomas Jr., James, William, Minerva, Hester, and another daughter (name not found). In the 1850 Miller County census, Thomas and Sarah were living on land upriver from Tuscumbia about 3 miles. In their home was son, Thomas Jr., his wife America , and 5 children and close by lived son, Arthur, wife Phoebe (Mahurin) and 7 children. Phoebe Mahurin Scott and Sarah Hannah Mahurin Scott were from the same Mahurin family mentioned before.
Before Senator Scott, became interested in politics he ventured out to California and took part in the gold rush of the late 1840s. While there he was in the area that today is known as Placerville but was called “Hangtown” in the gold rush days. I’m sure there is quite an interesting yarn about that location and the gold rush story! He had married America Stillwell back in Indiana circa 1835 and when they came to Miller County they were parents of 2 children and had at least 3 more after arriving in central Missouri. His wife, America, did not accompany him on his adventure to the gold fields but stayed home with her young children on their farm near Tuscumbia. A descendant has written in some research that his marriage to America was an unhappy one and after he returned from California, they did not live together any more. In the Scott Cemetery there is a gravestone for Senator Scott but none has been inventoried for America. Perhaps their troubled marriage was the cause of her not being buried there with him.
Senator Thomas S. Scott served as Miller County’s resident Senator in 1858 and was one of five who have served in that capacity including James H. Todd 1869, 1871; Frank DeVilbliss 1905,1907; W. S. Allee 1909-1915; and C. R. ‘Ted’ Hawkins 1945-1959.
He studied the law and became an attorney in partnership with Jacob Gantt in a law office in Tuscumbia. He was also a member of the Baptist church and was active in the Masonic Order. Not much mention is made of his wife, America, so her date of death is unsure and where she is buried is unknown.
Senator Thomas Scott died in 1887 at the age of 71 years. He is buried in the Scott family cemetery and on his gravestone is recorded: Thomas S. Scott AF &AM (Masonic Order) 8 Dec 1816 – 30 Aug 1887. Other family names found in the old cemetery are: Brockman, Cox, Dobson, Hatfield, Hultz, Keeth, McMillen, Stafford, Vaughan, von Finthill, Walker, and Wilkinson.
GERARD SCHULTZ FAMILY
Gerald Shultz was a professor of history at the Iberia Academy between 1926 and 1944 where he also taught German. He authored several books during his years as an educator and while at Iberia he wrote "A History of Miller County Missouri" and "A History of the Missouri Northern Ozarks." After he left Iberia Academy he moved into Iowa and later to Michigan where he authored books on history pertaining to those states.
Gerald Shultz was born near Owensville, in Gasconade County on 2/11/1902, a son of Rev. George C. and Helene Schultz, both natives of Germany. His parents came to America when they were young and married in Troy, New York. His paternal grandfather was a small manufacturer in Westphalia, Germany and his maternal grandfather owned a bakery in Elberfeld, Germany. Gerald came from a family of nine children (four sons & five daughters).
Gerald graduated from Knoxville College, Galesburg, IL where he earned his bachelor's degree and his master's from the University of Minnesota. During his career as a teacher he taught in Missouri, Iowa and Michigan. He came to Miller County in 1926 to teach at Iberia Academy and two years later, on August 22. 1928, he married Jennie Brumley who had also attended Iberia Academy. Jennie was born 4/14/1908, a daughter of John D. & Aulta (Ramsey) Brumley of Miller County. Her grandparents were early Miller County pioneers (John M. & Lucy Ann (Martin) Brumley and George M. & Sarah (Forrester) Ramsey).
Gerald and Jennie became parents of three sons, John, Gerald Jr., and Daniel. At the time of their father's death in 1974 all three sons were living in Illinois. After leaving Iberia, Gerald and his family moved to Iowa for a while. From there they went to Huron County, Michigan. He retired from teaching in 1967 but continued his historical writings.
Gerald Schultz died in Elkton, Mich. on 4/14/1974 from an apparent heart attack. He was survived by his wife Jennie, three sons, eight grandchildren, four sisters and three brothers. His funeral services were held in Elkton at the United Methodist Church with burial in Grand Lawn Cemetery in Elkton. The last trip Gerald made back to Miller County was in October 1973 when he and Jennie returned to Eldon to visit her aged mother, Aulta Ramsey Brumley.
ABRAHAM JEFFERSON SEAY
In late April, 2002, my husband, Ambrose, and I made a trip to Oklahoma and while there visited the Chisolm Trail Museum in Kingfisher. Across the road from the museum is the mansion of Abraham Jefferson Seay, the second governor of Oklahoma Territory (1891-1893). That name seemed to ring a bell somewhere in the far regions of my mind, so I bought a small book of Governor Seay's life history. No wonder his name seemed familiar---he had lived most of his life in central Missouri in Gasconade, Osage, and Maries Counties!
Governor Seay had been a friend of Satterwaite Rowden of Maries County. Both had been teachers, businessmen, lawyers, and circuit judges of the area. When President Benjamin Harrison asked Abraham Seay to take an appointment as a federal judge of Oklahoma's first Supreme Court, he accepted the prestigious federal job. Judge Seay appointed his old friend, Satterwaite 'Sat' Rowden of Maries County, as Clerk of the United States Court in Oklahoma. Sat Rowden moved to Oklahoma Territory and lived many years where he 'proved up' the second homestead in Enid; swore in the first jury in El Reno; and lived awhile near a Texas border town that had fifty men and one woman living in it. Old Sat made a statement in his elderly years where he described the border town as "a place where three men knew how to respect a woman and the other 47 didn't respect anything but a game of cut-throat poker!"
Abraham Jefferson Seay (pronounced SEE) was born in Amherst County, Virginia on 28 Nov 1832, the second of eleven children born to Camm Seay (1805-1855) and Lucy Jane Tiller (1809-1878), both natives of Virginia. His parents married in Amherst County on 4 Feb 1830. They moved to a frontier farm in (then) Gasconade County, Missouri when Abraham was three years old.
In the 1840 census of Gasconade County, MO., Camm and Lucy Seay were living in Gray Township near the families of Holliway, Parmer, Smith, Lambeth, Goodman, and Davis. In their home were five children: Virginia Ann (age about 10 years), Abraham Jefferson (about 8 yrs.), Edward Austin (about 6 yrs), Nancy Jane (about 3 yrs), and William Washington (about 1 yr. old).
As a young man, Abraham Seay taught school and then moved on to become successful as a lawyer, judge, businessman, banker and ended his life as a full-fledged politician. During the four years of the Civil War, he served in the Union Army advancing in rank from private to lieutenant colonel. After the war he returned to law practice in central Missouri.
Seay was a staunch Republican in his politics and ran unsuccessfully for the U. S. House of Representatives in the 1870s from Missouri. He was defeated by Democrat Richard Bland. After this defeat, he entered the banking profession and served twelve years as an elected district court judge of Missouri's 9th District. He was becoming quite successful both financially and professionally when he received the offer made by President Benjamin Harrison to become Oklahoma Territory's Federal Judge of the First Supreme Court.
On January 5, 1892, Seay was appointed as governor of Oklahoma Territory with the state capitol located at Guthrie. He conducted state business from Guthrie, but built his beautiful, stately mansion at Kingfisher, thirty miles west of Guthrie. The three-story mansion was called "Horizon Hill" and sat on the outskirts of Kingfisher and built on 15 acres of land. He had hope the capitol would one day be located at Kingfisher, but that never happened.
Abraham Jefferson Seay was the last of his family to survive to a new century. He was a huge man, over 6 feet tall, and weighed 260 pounds. He sustained a fall several years before his death and spent most of his remaining years in a wheel chair. He died on December 22, 1916, at the age of 84 years, in Long Beach, California where he had moved for health reasons. He was brought back to Kingfisher, Oklahoma to his beloved home, "Horizon Hill", and was buried in a cemetery nearby.
I thought it was worth writing this story about a man who lived in our central Missouri area in the 19th century and left his mark on the history of our land and then moved on to Oklahoma Territory where his legacy remains in the historical annals of the "Sooner' state...........Had I not read an old newspaper account about Satterwaite 'Sat' Rowden from the 1930s, where he spoke so highly of his good friend, Governor A. J. Seay of Oklahoma, then my visit to Kingfisher's Chisolm Trail Museum and Seay Mansion would have been just another tour of another museum in another town!
FATHER COSMOS SEEBERGER
Between 1881 and 1887, Father Cosmos Seeberger was a Catholic priest in Miller County, serving both the parishes at St. Elizabeth and Mary's Home. His life, while in our central Missouri community, is one of great interest.
Father Cosmos was on his way to Miller County at the end of October, 1881 bust was detained by high waters at Jefferson City. While in the city, he filled in at a jubilee celebration for a "festpridiger" who had failed to appear. Among his audience was Missouri's Secretary of State another man who was a close friend of Governor Criddenden. When they learned he was coming to Miller County, he was told if ever he needed help to contact them. Miller County had quite a reputation in those years !!
NOTE: Since I do not understand the German language, I don't know what or who a "festpridiger" was. If it was to be a jubilee celebration, it must have been an important event......"
One of the first things he had to contend with after arriving was bailing three young men out of trouble who had been selling beer without a license. Father Cosmos went to Jefferson City and pleaded the case for the 3 men whom he said were poor; the parish was in debt; the people were good folks at heart, etc......The Governor informed him that the people of Miller County were know to be a 'bad lot'. The priest presented such a heart-rendering story that the Governor proclaimed the fines of the 3 men were "paid in full"..........
Father Cosmos found Miller County's citizens to be rough and hardy mountain folk and, at times, difficult to control. He was determined to fill their hearts with a deep and lasting faith and he was spunky enough to do just that! The new pastor was well-liked by his flock and they were amazed how the "limping priest" (he was handicapped from an old leg injury) could work so hard and untiringly. He first settled at Old St. Elizabeth where the county's first Catholic Church was established on the east bank of the Osage River. Other business places in the old town included a blacksmith shop, a Wagoner shop; combination post office and grocery store/saloon; and a club-room. He later moved to Charlestown (today's St. Elizabeth) which was a few miles southeast of the old settlement.
Later he moved west of the river to accommodate the people who lived in that western area of the county which numbered about 50 families. A new church, St. Mary of the Snows, was built where two roads crossed. A town was established around the church, first called Morgan, later renamed Mary's Home. Father Cosmos certainly had his work cut out for him...every Sunday he spent half the day at the St. Charles Church in Charlestown (later St. Elizabeth); forded the river and spent the remainder of the day at the Mary's Home church. He performed masses; also benedictions, and religious instructions at both churches.
St. Charles at Charlestown and St. Mary's at Marys Home continued to flourish, but Old St. Elizabeth gradually died away and the folks moved to Charlestown about 1881/82. Father Cosmos also performed masses on certain days at other places in the area....Gravois, Tuscumbia, Bond's Mines......No matter what the weather, he always kept his appointments and there was a time he nearly drowned in the rushing flood waters of the Osage, but finally made it safely to the other shore.
Father Cosmos Seeberger was well-known throughout the entire county and was easily recognized as he passed through the heavily-wooded countryside. He rode a beautiful white horse and was often heard singing loudly as he ventured along in the darkness of the night. In 1887, Father Cosmos was recalled from Miller County. Many priests have served since he left the county over a hundred years ago, but none were so devoted nor so colorful as this Jesuit priest who left his footprints on the hearts of his many friends and fellow countrymen of German descent.
ADAM W. SETSER
Adam W. Setser was born in Richwoods Township, Miller County, on January 12, 1873. He was a son of John A. Setser and Jemima B. Gardner. His father's parents, Manuel and Judith Louise (Redmond) Setser, came to Missouri from Macon County, North Carolina and his mother's family came from Barren County, Kentucky in the early 1840s. His maternal grandparents were Henry Paulding Gardner and Elizabeth Ann Bailey who migrated from Barren County, KY about 1841 with the families of Bailey, Shackelford, Allen, and Wheeler. The Setsers (earlier spelled Setzer of German descent) came to Pulaski County, MO in the mid 19th century. John A. Setser, father of Adam, was a soldier of the Civil War and served as a corporal in Company K of the 12th Missouri Cavalry.
John Setser married Jemima Gardner in Miller County 10 May 1868, the marriage performed by Rev. George Mitchell. Adam W. Setser was one of nine children born to John and Jemima.
 William F. & Nellie Setser (seated) wedding photo |
 Nellie and Felix Setser |
Adam W. Setser married Susan Shackelford in Miller County on December 7, 1893. Susan was a daughter of Murrell Shackelford and Mary A. Forrester. Her parents had at least 15 children and perhaps more.
Adam W. Setser was an industrious farmer in the Little Richwoods, north of Iberia, during his lifetime.
Delphia Setser
Adam W. Setser died on February 13, 1923 at the age of 50 years. He was buried at Livingston Cemetery near the Barren Fork Creek where other members of the Setser family were buried. His wife, Susan Shackelford Setser, lived until 1954 when she died at the age of 77 years.
MARTHA CATHERINE SETSER BOREN
Martha Catherine Setser was born 13 March 1843 in Macon County, North Carolina. She was one of ten children born to Emanuel and Judith Louisa (Redmond) Setser. Her parents married in Macon Co., NC on November 7, 1839. Martha Catherine's Setser ancestors came to America from Germany before the Revolutionary War. The original spelling of their surname was Setzer, which in German meant "one who sets stone". After coming to America, they began to spell it with a 's' instead of the 'z' because the English speaking people pronounced it as an 's'........
When Emanuel and Judith Setser came to mid-Missouri in 1859, they settled in northwest Pulaski County (Tavern Township). Martha Catherine had married James C. Boren in Macon Co., NC in 1857 so they accompanied her parents to Missouri. Before his death, several years ago, I talked with Hite Boren, a son of Martha and James Boren. He was already past 100 years of age and had a wonderful and vivid memory. He told me the Setsers and Borens came from North Carolina in a wagon train made up of about 45 wagons. Other families who came with them were the Steens, Carrolls, McDowells, Legions, and Russells.......
Emanuel/Manuel Setser died in September 1860 and according to some research conducted by descendants of this family, Judith/Judy and some of her children went to Arkansas for some time where they had kinfolk living. By 1880, she was back in Miller County living with her youngest daughter and her family, Isabelle/Ibbie (Setser) Dickerson-Johnston. Judy died in 1902 and was buried at Madden Cemetery beside her husband, Emanuel, who had died 42 years earlier.
Martha Catherine Setser married James C. Boren back in Macon Co., NC on November 26, 1857. There's the possibility their first child, John C. Boren, was born in Tennessee while they were enroute to their Missouri destination. One source states he was born in Tennessee in 1859. In the Pulaski County census of 1860, James and Catherine were living next to her parents in Tavern Township with son, John, one year old. During the Civil War, which broke out only a short time after they arrived in Missouri, James C. Boren served in the Union Army in Company G of the Osage Home Guards. In later years, he was a veteran and member of the Miles Carroll G.A.R. Post at Iberia. Hite Boren, son of James, told me when he was a child many of the old Civil War veterans would meet at his father's home and would reminisce of their Civil War years as comrades for a common cause.
Martha Catherine and James became parents of 13 children but only 9 survived their mother when she passed on in 1940. The children were: John C. Boren, William S. Boren, Charles W. Boren, Eugene Boren, Mary Jane Boren (Mrs. James A. Wall), Sarah/Sally Boren (Mrs. George A. Wall), Martha Boren (Mrs. Gwer), Eva Boren (Mrs. Fuller), James Hite Boren, Manuel Boren, Adam C. Boren, Mattie Boren, and Lillia Boren.
James C. Boren died on January 10, 1912 and was buried at Madden Cemetery. Martha Catherine had remained his widow for many years when she passed away on August 12, 1940 at the age of 97 years. Her funeral services were held at Madden Cemetery and she was laid to rest beside James. Martha Catherine was survived by 9 children, many grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was also survived by her youngest sister, Isabella/Ibbie Setser Johnston who lived beyond 100 years as well. This family certainly had a history of longevity!
ISABELLE A. SETSER
Isabelle A. Setser (called Ibbie) was born in Macon County, North Carolina on 19 Apr 1859, a daughter of Emanuel Setzer/Setser and Judith Redmon. When she was only 6 months old (in 1859), her parents came to Miller County and it took 3 months to travel the 800 plus miles from No. Carolina. According to family history, she was born on a big farm in Macon County with an acre-sized rock 'right smack' in the center of the farm. The name had originally been spelled Setzer but was changed to Setser after they came to Miller County in the mid 19th century.
She remembered the story of a big box, over one foot square, that was full of paper money which her father brought west to buy a farm in Missouri. He had only been in Miller County about 2 years when he died and for awhile her mother, a brother, and herself spent some time in Arkansas before returning to Miller County. One brother went away to join the Confederate Army when he was 16 years old and did not return for 5 years. She recalled the letters her sister wrote to their soldier brother 'as if it was yesterday'. According to the 1900 census, Ibbie mother, Judy Setser was still alive and living with Ibbie and her family. The record said that Judy was the mother of 10 children with 5 still living. The only children I have on record are John A. Setser b. c/1845 m. Jemima Gardner; Mary A. Setser m. Henry Paulding Gardner, Jr. (brother to Jemima); and Isabelle A./Ibbie Setser b. 1859 m. (1) Henry P. Dickerson (2) Henry Johnston. When Ibbie died in 1961, her obituary stated she had been preceded in death by two brothers and four sisters.
Isabelle/Ibbie first married Henry P. Dickerson (1857-1887) on Dec. 22, 1878, the marriage performed by John Ferguson, Justice of the Peace in Richwoods Township. They became parents of several children including: LOUIS M. DICKERSON b. 1880; STELLA DICKERSON b. 1885 m. Lilburn Barnett 1905; RICHARD S. DICKERSON 1882-1888; JOSEPH H. DICKERSON 1881-1888; HENRY W. DICKESON 1887-1914; and MAE DICKERSON m. Wm. S. Johnston 1905......Richard, Joseph, and Henry are all buried at the Billingsley Cemetery, located about 2 miles east of Iberia.
Isabelle A. Setser - Ibbie Setser’s Birthday
When Henry Dickerson was 30 years old he died, leaving Isabell/Ibbie with small children to rear alone. She then married Henry J. Johnston on Sept. 5, 1889 (marriage performed by John B. Stone, minister). Henry Johnston was a widower and a Civil War veteran, who was almost 30 years older than Ibbie. His first wife was named Amanda Johnston and she died in 1886, buried at Billingsley Cemetery.
Ibbie lived to reach the age of 102 years when she died on June 18, 1961. She was survived by only one of her six children, Mrs. Mae Dickerson-Johnston. She lived on the same 160-acre farm where she reared her children and grandchildren and where she spent the last 70 years of her life. She was also survived by 5 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren at her death. Rev. Earl B. Brown conducted her funeral services at the Humphrey Funeral Home in Iberia. Her obituary did not state where she was buried but I believe she was laid to rest in Billingsley Cemetery because both her husbands and 3 of her children are buried in the old country cemetery.
JAMES H. SHACKLEFORD FAMILY
James H. Shackleford was born in Miller County on Nov. 19, 1869. He was the oldest of 15 children born to Murrell Shackleford (1829-1911) and Mary Forrester (born 1852). Murrell was 38 years old and Mary was 15 years of age when they married on Dec. 22, 1867.
James H. Shackleford married Florence Ponder on 3/12/1893, the marriage performed by John A. Aust, minister of the gospel. Florence was born near Iberia in 1872, a daughter of Phillip R. Ponder (1849-1937) and Sarah Haseltine (Tina) Skaggs (1856-1887). Florence was also from a large Miller County Family.
Sarah Skaggs Ponder died in 1887 and Phillip married his second wife, Lillie Kellison.
The Shacklefords live in Richwoods Township north of Iberia during the census of 1900. Some of their neighbors were the families of Setzer, Shockley, Denton, Hedges, Gardner, Farnham, Ponder and several other Shackleford families.
Florence Ponder Shackleford died on Aug. 1, 1916 at 44 years. She was buried at Livingston Cemetery which was located near the land where she & James had reared their children. James lived until Feb. 29, 1932, and died at age 63. He was survived by his aged mother, Mary Forrester Shackleford, 80, six children, five brothers: Wiley, Robert, Roscoe, Ernest, and John Shackleford; and four sisters: Susan Shackleford Setzer, Matilda Shackleford Forrester, Sallie Shackleford Golden and Ollie Shackleford Gardner.
James's funeral was held the Fairview Christian Church with the Rev. Charles M. Sooter conducting the services. He was laid to rest in Livingston Cemetery beside his wife, Florence, who had died 16 years earlier.
OBITUARY OF JAMES H. SHACKLEFORD
James H. Shackleford was born in Miller County on November 19, 1869 and died at his farm home a few miles north of Iberia, on February 29, 1932 at the age of 63 years. In 1893, he married Florence Ponder and they became parents of 8 children: 5 girls and 3 boys. Three of the boys died in childhood. His wife Florence died August 1, 1916. He was survived by Marcia (Lilly), Laura (Shockley), Fannie (Perkins), Annie (Blankenship), Nora (Kinealy) and Henry Shackleford. He was also survived by his aged mother, 5 brothers, and 4 sisters, all of Iberia. Funeral services were at held at Fairview church, conducted by Rev. Charles W. Sooter. Burial was in Livingston Cemetery.
ALLEN TAYLOR SHELTON
Allen Taylor Shelton was born in Maries County, MO on April 29, 1848 (one record states he was born in 1852). He was the 9th of 13 children born to George Washington Shelton and Celia Burks. His parents married in McMinn County, TN and came to Missouri about 1841 with other members of the Shelton and Burks families.
Note: Edmund and Clarissa were my great, great grandparents and I have tried for several years to learn the identity of my great, great, great grandmother (Ms. Roberds) but have not been successful.
Allen Taylor Shelton married Rachel McKee in Miller County on July 18, 1875. She was born in Tennessee (probably McMinn County) in October 1854, a daughter of Susan McKee and her husband (name not found). Susan was a widow in the 1870 Miller County census, so it is possible her husband was a casualty of the Civil War. Rachel's brothers and sisters included JAMES W. MCKEE, WILLIAM D. MCKEE, JOHN A. MCKEE, MARY MCKEE DAKE, and EMILY MCKEE DAKE.
At the turn of the century, Allen Taylor and Rachel were living in the village of Iberia near the Iberia Academy. Their neighbors were Professor and Mrs. G. Byron Smith, Felix and Sarah (Hume) Gardner, Richmond Bilyeu, Charles Durham, Alexander Schell, and Nelson Arrington. Allen Taylor was a member of the Christian Church for over 50 years. When the Iberia congregation built their first church building in 1902, located on Normal St., Allen donated $400 to complete the construction of the new church.
Allen and Rachel had three children but reared only two daughters to adulthood. A baby son died in infancy.
Later, Allen Taylor and Rachel Shelton lived on a farm in the St. Anthony community where he was one of East Miller County's prominent farmers. After 55 years of marriage, Rachel McKee Shelton died in April 1931 at the age of 77 years. She was buried at Iberia Cemetery. Allen lived for seven years longer, passing away at the age of 90 years in May 1938. His funeral was held at the Iberia Christian Church with Elder William Freeman Jones conducting the service. Allen Taylor was buried beside his wife at Iberia Cemetery.
SHELTON FAMILY INFORMATION
July, 1999
I have recently begun to look into my ancestral SHELTON family to try to determine how the Sheltons of eastern Richwoods Township, Miller County (near Maries Co.) and the Sheltons of southern Richwoods Township (near Pulaski Co.) could be from the same family who came to Miller Co. about the same time from McMinn Co., TN. I think I have found a connection and I do hope my theory has some merits and is not 'off-base'.
In Grainger Co., TN, on March 17, 1800, a man named John Shelton married Elizabeth Smith with William Shelton serving as bondsman. I do not know if this is the same John and Elizabeth who came to Miller County but I suspect they may be the same.
Probate Records of Pulaski Co., MO
JOHN SHELTON, who was in Miller County in the 1840 census and in Pulaski Co. in 1850 census, was born in North Carolina c/1778 and died in Pulaski Co. in 1855. His probate/estate record is found in the Pulaski County courthouse.
NOTE: Not listed was a daughter named Nancy E. Shelton who married Thomas Wm. Spearman and perhaps a son named Zebedee Shelton who married Sophronia L. Miller in Franklin Co., MO
William Shelton, the oldest child of John & Elizabeth, married a lady named Ann Wisdom Spearman (probably back in Tennessee). He would have been a brother to my ancestor, George Washington Shelton. William and his family lived on one side of present-day Iberia while George and his family lived on the other side, toward Maries County.
In the 1840 census, John & Elizabeth were living near George and David Shelton and their families in Richwoods Township. But by 1850, John & Elizabeth were found in Pulaski Co., MO.......my theory is this: William did not come to Miller County at the same time as John and his other sons, George and David. For some reason, John & Elizabeth left the area where they lived near George and David and relocated near their older son, William, in southern Richwoods Township near Pulaski County. The Sheltons settled so close to the Pulaski County line they could have easily been enumerated in the wrong county!
In 1860 and 1870, William and Ann Shelton were listed as residents of Pulaski County, MO while George and Celia (Burks) Shelton were listed in Miller and Maries Counties census records.....I believe William and George were brothers and that is the connection to the two different sets of Shelton families in Miller County....they even named their children the same names over the years!!
George and Celia (Burks) Shelton are buried in the Duncan cemetery in eastern Miller County, bordering the Maries County line. William and Ann Shelton are buried at the Crocker City cemetery, Pulaski Co., MO. I found record of their burials in the book TOMBSTONE INSCRIPTIONS OF PULASKI COUNTY, MO (combined edition 29 July 1995) published by the Pulaski Co. Museum and Historical Society at Waynesville, MO......SHELTON, Wm. M. 1 Mar 1801-24 Aug 1881....SHELTON, Ann W. 24 Jun 1798-20 Jan 1883
HAMAN L. SHELTON, SR.
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 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).
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.
Gilbert Shelton
Gilbert Shelton 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.
WILLIAM REUBEN SHORT
William Reuben Short was born in Miller County on February 8, 1844, a son of Evan L. and Nancy Ann (Jones) Short. His father, Evan, was born in 1815 at Smith Falls, Pulaski County, Kentucky and his mother was born in 1824 in Tennessee. Wm. Reuben (called Reuben) was a grandson of Reuben and Levina (Owens) Short, natives of Virginia. Reuben Short Sr. brought his family to Miller County in the 1830s and settled in the Big Richwoods on land, which today is part of the town of Iberia. Reuben was an early day minister in the Big Richwoods and was also Iberia's first postmaster. The town was not named officially until 1859, but in the late 1830s and 1840s, it was called Iberia and the post office was set up in the home of Reuben Short.
NOTE: It has been said that the Short family were the ones who gave Iberia its name because they had come here from New Iberia, Louisiana. Nowhere in any research can the Short family be found in Louisiana. They were natives of Virginia; went to Tennessee and Kentucky for a while; came westward through Indiana and Illinois and finally settled in mid Missouri in the 1830s. It is still a mystery how Iberia was named although I tend to believe that Reuben Short may have given the town its name since he was an early pioneer settler and was the town's first postmaster.
William Reuben Short was a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War. He enlisted in June 1864 in Company E of the 48th Missouri Infantry Volunteers and served until June 1865. For many years he was a member of the Miles Carroll G.A.R. Post #11 at Iberia. After the war, he came back to Iberia and studied law and was admitted to the bar while Judge George Miller was on the bench.
Wm. Reuben married Martha Jane Shelton in Miller County on February 16, 1870. Their marriage was performed by Samuel O. Burks, minister of the gospel. Martha Jane was a daughter of William and Mary Ann/Polly (Lawson) Shelton of eastern Richwoods Township. Her Shelton and Lawson ancestors were from East Tennessee (McMinn County) and came to Miller County in the late 1830s. She was a granddaughter of George Washington Shelton and Celia Burks who married in McMinn Co., TN in 1834.
Reuben and Martha lived in Iberia after their marriage where he spent time practicing the law, taught some schools, and engaged in farming. He was widely known all over the county because he had spent his entire life in the Iberia area.
Wm. Reuben Short died at his home in Iberia on March 15, 1919 at the age of 75 years. His funeral services were held at the Iberia Cemetery and conducted by Squire John Ferguson, Commander of the Iberia GAR Post. He was survived by his wife, to whom he had been married almost 50 years; five children, and several brothers and sisters. Martha (Shelton) Short lived until 3 February 1937 when she died at the age of 81 years. She was buried beside Reuben at Iberia Cemetery.
OBITUARY OF WILLIAM R. SHORT
William R. Short was born on Feb. 8, 1844 in Miller County. On January 16, 1870 he married Martha J. Shelton, also of Miller County and they became parents of 8 children. Those named at his death were: Mrs. J.L. Prock, Charley Short, Fred Short, Elmer Short, and Walter Short. Three children had died as youngsters. William Short was a veteran of the Civil War having enlisted in June of 1864 in Company E-48th Missouri Infantry Volunteers. He received his discharge in June 1865. He studied law and was admitted to the bar while Judge George Miller was on the bench. He died March 15, 1919 at the age of 75 years and his services were held on a Sunday afternoon at the town cemetery. Squire John Ferguson, Commander of the Iberia G.A.R. Post, conducted this service at the graveside. William R. Short was a native Miller Countian who had been a successful farmer, schoolteacher, and attorney.
GORDON C. SKAGGS
Gordon Churchwell Skaggs was born in Knox Co., Tennessee on Aug. 11, 1852. He was one of 12 children born to Freernan J. Skaggs (1816-l889) and Mary Ann Harbison (1822-1877). His father's ancestors were originally from Norway (where the name was spelled Skeg) and his mother's ancestry had roots in Ireland and England. He came to Miller County in 1866 with his parents from East Tennessee.
Note: Rayburn, Newton and William Skaggs were all in the Civil War and fought for the Confederate Army. Rayburn was killed in that war.
Gordon Churchwell Skaggs married Mary Elizabeth Ponder in Miller County on Sept.16.1876. She was born March 11, 1858, a daughter of Wencelaus Ponder (1822-1902) and Joanna Robinson (l831-1916). Her father was a native of Baden Germany and her mother was born in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.
Gorden C. Skaggs was a well known farmer and cattleman of Richwoods Township. He and Mary Elizabeth lived on a farm near the Brays community and reared their children there. He served as Presiding Judge of the Miller County Court from 1915-1918, elected on the Democrat ticket. He was also known as a good 'left-handed' fiddle player and played for many country dances.
Gordon C. Skaggs died a very mysterious death. He was found dead on the slopes of Pike's Peak near Manitou Springs, Colo. He died on Sept 1, 1922, but was not found for four days He was found near the cog railway which was built on the famous Colorado mountain. Some men of the railroad found his body and contacted authorities. Not knowing who he was (he had no identification in his clothes). They buried him in Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs. His family read an article in the newspapers about an unidentified man found dead on Pikes Peak and they became suspicious.
Gordon had sold his car and sent the money home to his family. He stated in his letter he was in Colorado. His son-in-law George Morrow, made the trip to Colorado, Springs had the body exhumed, made the identification, and then returned it back home to Miller County for a proper burial. He was laid to rest on Sept. 18, 1922, in Brays Union Cemetery, in the same Community from which he had left almost a month earlier. He was survived by his wife Mary Elizabeth (Ponder); three sons, Theodore Thomas, Clyde Charles, and Herman P. and one daughter, Etheyl Skaggs Morrow. His other son, James, had died two years earlier in 1920. Mary Elizabeth (Ponder) Skaggs lived until May 12, 1952, and died at the age of 94 years. Most of these family members are buried at Brays Union Cemetery.
JEFFERSON DAVIS SKAGGS
Jefferson Davis Skaggs was born in Knox County, Tennessee on March 22, 1861. He was the youngest son of Freeman J. Skaggs (1816-1889) and Mary Ann Harbison (1822-1877). His Skaggs ancestors were originally from Norway where the name was spelled Skeg. They later went to England and Scotland where the name change was made. His Harbison ancestors were natives of Ireland and England.
When about five years of age, Jeff Skaggs came to Miller County with his parents from East Tennessee and they settled in the Brays community of Richwoods Township.
NOTE: Raymond, Newtown and William Skaggs, brothers to Jefferson, were all Civil War soldiers and fought for the Confederate Army back in Knox County, Tennessee. Rayburn was killed in that war.
Jefferson Davis Skaggs, named for the president of the Southern Confederacy during the Civil War, married Mary Alice Arendall on March 21, 1882 in Maries County. She was a daughter of Joseph Jones Arendall (1812-1883) and Elvira Elizabeth Winston (1821-1912) both natives of Virginia. Mary Alice was born in Maries County March 22, 1859. She was one of several children born to Joseph and Elvira Arendall.
NOTE: I am confused about the two youngest daughters ... both are named Mary. Mary Alice married Jefferson Davis Skaggs and Mary F. married Wm. F. Tynes. I can find no clue to why both girls are named "Mary". Albert and James Arendall, with their families, came to Miller County before 1880. Albert operated the Brays Mill during the years they lived in the county and James married Nellie Gardner of, Iberia a daughter of Henry Pauling Gardner and Elizabeth (Bailey) Gardner. So when Jeff Skaggs married Mary Alice Arendall she had two brothers already living in Richwoods Township near Iberia. Jeff and Mary Alice Skaggs were parents of four children, but three of the children died in infancy.
James B. Skaggs (1883-1883), Pearl S. Skaggs (1884-1886) and Olive Skaggs (1887-1887) are all buried at Iberia Cemetery. The fourth child was a son, Gordon Bennett Skaggs, who was born in 1891 and lived until 1970. Bennett was married twice; his first wife was Beulah Irwin who died a few weeks after the birth of their third child. None of the three children survived childhood. Bennett's second wife was Myrtle Copeland and they had a daughter, Pearl Kathleen Skaggs. The descendants of Jeff and Mary Skaggs are few because of the death of so many of their children and grandchildren.
Jefferson/Jeff Skaggs and son, Bennett, operated the Iberia Light and Roller Mills in the 1920s. A stock company of Iberia citizens built the roller mills in the early 1900s. It was located just below the old Iberia Elementary School and was still there when I attended the school from 1941-49. While Jeff operated the roller mills, he owned a steam calliope and pony merry-go-round which he set up for many events at Hardy Park in Iberia. Many years ago I had a delightful letter from Helen Jones Nygaard of Texas. She was born and reared at Iberia and told me some wonderful stories of her childhood. She is gone today, but I still remember her talking about Jeff Skaggs' merry-go-round. She said, and I quote "On the third and Fourth of July each year, Iberia had a picnic and time of recreation at Hardy Park. The highlight of the two-day event occurred on July 3 when Jeffrey Skaggs, owner of the local mill, would bring his merry-go-round to the park and then he would invite all the children to come down for free rides. He made so many children happy with his marvelous merry-go-round which had an old pipe organ on it that played such beautiful music. Surely God has a special corner in heaven for Jeffrey Skaggs."
Unfortunately, the old roller mills and electric light plant caused the death of Jefferson Davis Skaggs, at age 66. On Aug. 25, 1927, he was accidentally caught in the roller arms of the mechanism and was crushed to death. He had been oiling the machinery before the accident occurred. His funeral services were held at the Iberia Cemetery, conducted by Rev. Miles Bowden of Hancock. All business places in Iberia were closed to pay tribute to their friend and neighbor. He was a member of the Advent Christian Church at Brays and was survived by his wife of 45 years, Mary Alice, his only child, Bennett Skaggs and a granddaughter, Pearl Skaggs.
JOSEPH ARNOLD SLAWSON, JR.
Joseph Arnold Slawson Jr. was born 4 Nov 1854 in Jasper Co., MO, a son of Joseph Arnold Slawson Sr. and his second wife (name not found). Joseph Sr. was born in North Carolina 4 Oct 1811 and died 14 Sep 1877. Joseph Sr. and his first wife, Celia Williams, lived near Spring Creek in Jasper Co. (southwest Missouri) near the town of Sarcoxie and in the census of 1850, had 6 children in their home. I do not know when Celia died or when Joseph remarried but there were half-brothers and sisters in this family. I am not sure when the family came to Miller County or if they all actually moved here. Joseph Jr.'s half-sister, Fetana Slawson (born in 1850), married William Marshall Jones in Miller County in March 1867 at the age of 17 years. No record of the Slawson family was found in the Miller County census of 1870.
Later Joseph Arnold Slawson Jr. was born in 1854 in Jasper Co. (probably to Joseph Sr. and a second wife).
About 1874, Joseph A. Slawson Jr. married Emaline Molisa Dunning (aka Dunningan) who was a daughter of Serena Dunningan-Atwell-Seaton. Emaline was born in Kentucky in 1852. During the early years of their marriage, they moved to Texas and stayed for awhile. One of their children died in infancy while in Texas. Some of the older Slawson brothers moved to Texas so that is probably the reason Joseph Jr. moved there. By 1880, Joseph and Emaline/Emma were living back in southeast Miller County near the families of Atwell, Johnson, Anderson, Null, Tyler, Duncan, Martin, Forbis, and Morrow. At the turn of the 20th century some of their neighbors were Simon and Ida Deardueff, Steven and America Deardueff, John and Belle Prater, Hiram and Mary Haines, and James and Mary Mitchell.
Joseph Slawson Jr. once operated a saw & grist mill in the county. I suspect he may have operated the old Brays Mill before it became known by that name. It was located in the same area where they lived. He also owned a threshing machine and worked over the countryside helping farmers get their crops harvested. He was first converted to the Christian faith at the old Johnson schoolhouse by Rev. William M. Sooter but later moved his membership to the Iberia North Christian Church (Newlights).
Emaline/Emma Slawson died in 1922 and was buried at Brays Union cemetery. After her death, Joseph lived for 8 years with his only daughter, Emma Slawson Morrow (Mrs. Thurman), near Iberia. He died at age 75 years on January 3, 1930 and was buried beside his wife at Brays Union. He was survived by 8 children, 4 brothers (all lived in Texas), and his half-sister, Fetna Slawson Jones, who lived in the Alder Springs community.
NOTE: Joseph Arnold Slawson Jr. was a brother to my children's great, great grandmother, Fetna Slawson Jones (Mrs. Marshall Jones).....PSH
DROVE TWO YOKE OF OXEN TO MILLER COUNTY FROM KENTUCKY
Mr. & Mrs. Isaac Sloan had their 65th wedding anniversary in their home on 4 November 1925. Rev. Isaac was born in Butler Co, KY on April 25, 1840. On October 8, 1859, at the age of 19 years, he came to Miller Co. with his parents. They all came in a cart with 2 yoke of oxen. On November 4, 1859, they landed 12 miles northwest of Dixon, MO in Miller County in sight of the home of the girl who became Isaac's wife exactly one year from the day they arrived. Her name was Sarah J. Jones. They were married by Rev. John Davis without any license.
Isaac's father, Thomas Shields Sloan, was born 5 Nov 1809 in Mecklenburg Co., NC. His mother, Margaret Alexander, was born in the same county and state on 15 Oct 1813. They moved to Bowling Green, KY (Warren County) in 1838 and then came on to Missouri in 1859. At the time they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in 1925, Isaac had a sister still living. Her name was Catherine Sloan Jones who was 88 years old, born in North Carolina circa 1837. He also had a brother living, Barton Sloan, age 75 years, born circa 1850 in Kentucky. His wife's parents were Henry Jones and Nancy Davis who were born in Warren Co., KY about 1810. The father, Henry Jones, died at the age of 64 about 1874 and Sarah's mother, Nancy Davis Jones, died at the age of 92 years in 1902. Sarah (Jones) Sloan had a sister living at the time of their anniversary in 1925 and her name was Mrs. Thar Yoakum who was about 87 years old (born c/1838).
Isaac served in the Civil War from 1862-1865. In 1925 they still lived on the same farm where she lived when they married in 1860. They had reared their children on the land and were celebrating 65 years of married life on that November day in 1925......
NOTE: Sarah J. Jones was born 19 Feb 1845 in Miller County, MO and was 80 years old in 1925. The Sloan and Jones families had been in the Big Richwoods of eastern Miller County for many years and had homesteaded in the Alder Springs community many decades before the turn of the 20th century.
CHARLES SMITH, REVOLUTIONARY WAR SOLDIER
On Sunday afternoon, Feb. 28,(1999), I was invited to attend the memorial and grave marking ceremony for a Revolutionary War soldier named Charles Smith who was buried at Jesse Hawken Cemetery about a mile northeast of Tuscumbia. It was a beautiful and impressive service sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Eldon Chapter. There were seven descendants of Charles Smith in attendance. Most came from Texas to attend the special ceremonies. The crowd was very large in number, which was a fitting tribute to an old solider who has been buried on a lonely hillside overlooking the Osage River for almost 150 years. I would like to tell you his story....................
Charles Smith, a Revolutionary War soldier, was a son of Josiah and Elizabeth Smith and he was born 1 Dec 1760 in Albemarle Parish, Sussex County, Virginia. His ancestry has been traced back into the 1600s in England by some of his descendants. Their ancestral line goes back to a Sir Thomas Smith who was a treasurer for one of the kings of England. The ancestors of Charles Smith were among America's early colonists.
Charles Smith married Mary Pemberton in Green County, Kentucky on 26 Jan 1808. I believe she was his second wife. She was born 26 July 1786, probably a daughter of George Pemberton. There were several years of difference in their ages and it is likely he had older children by a first wife. It was speculated for awhile that his first wife was named Nancy Johnson, but that did not prove correct when it was learned the husband of Nancy was indeed named Charles Smith, but he died in Tennessee in the 1840s.
In 1808, Charles Smith paid taxes on property in Wilson County, Tennessee and later lived there because he was in Wilson County during the census of 1820, 1830, and 1840. Wilson County is in north central Tennessee directly east of Davidson County (Nashville).
Charles petitioned for a pension as a veteran of the Revolutionary War in June 1829 while living in Wilson County, TN. He stated he had been a trumpeter for the Continental Army under the command of Col. William Washington of the Virginia Line. He had been a militiaman at Gates' defeat at the Battle of Cowpens (today located in Cherokee County, South Carolina). In 1841, Charles gave notice he would be moving to Missouri with his son, Champ Smith, and wanted his pension ($10 per month) to be sent to Tuscumbia, Miller County, MO. According to an affidavit he signed, they moved to Tuscumbia in June, 1842.
NOTE: One researcher believes that Champ Smith's name was actually Beauchamp. The English version of Beauchamp is Beecham. Champ's wife, Martha, is buried at Jesse Hawken cemetery beside her father-in-law, Charles, and on her stone is carved: Martha Smith, wife of B. (which could be Beauchamp).
In August 1841, both Charles and Champ Smith sold their land on Fall Creek in Wilson Co., TN. They may not have come to Miller County immediately after the sale because Charles stated in the affidavit (mentioned above-dated Nov 1842) that they had been in Miller County for almost five months.
There may have been another daughter named Mary Smith who married James C. Bone in Tennessee…............I would imagine there were older children born to a first wife but no record has been found naming other children.
William C. Sellars, son-in-law of Charles, was in Miller County, MO in January 1843 when he and Champ Smith signed an affidavit for Charles…....Charles died in Miller County on 20 Oct 1850 at the age of 90 years. I believe his wife, Mary (Pemberton) died in Tennessee before the family moved to Missouri and is probably buried in Wilson County.
Champ Smith, son of Charles, continued to live in Miller County until just prior to 1860 and at that time he moved his family to Texas County, MO. They appear in the census of 1870 in Texas County, but do not appear in 1880. I don't know what happened to him and his family after that. Perhaps they moved to the state of Texas where the family of his brother, George Smith, had located…....I haven't figured out why Champ's wife, Martha Sellars Smith, is buried at Jesse Hawken cemetery in Equality township since she died in 1871….perhaps Champ did not leave the area until after Martha died?
It has been said that the D.A.R. (Dau. of Am. Revolution), Jefferson City Chapter, marked the gravesite of Charles Smith many years ago, but no records has been found. There is an old tombstone lying on the ground at his burial site with his name and military information engraved on it. I do not know who placed the old stone there.
NOTE FROM PEGGY HAKE…............My maiden name is Smith and I was born in Miller County, but unfortunately can claim no kinship to Charles Smith. My Smith family came from Kentucky to Pulaski County, MO in the 1830s and later moved a few miles north to Iberia, Miller County, MO…..........Iberia is my hometown and most of my Smith ancestors lived in that general area of Miller County.
A MURDER IN PULASKI COUNTY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY
Elias Smith of Pulaski County, Missouri was tried for a murder that occurred in November 1904. It was an infamous episode in Pulaski County's history and has been written about on several occasions, but after 108 years, there still seems to be some unanswered questions and various tales about the murder.
I am still not sure who Elias Smith was because there were several Smith families in Pulaski County in the 19th and early 20th centuries. I think he may have been a son of John and Telitha Smith, natives of Kentucky who were in the county during the 1850 census. In their home were eight children, one whose name was Elias, born circa 1844.
According to legend, Elias Smith, his wife Sarah, and their two children worked for a man named James M. Smith on his farm near Dixon in the Pisgah community. There was no kinship between the two Smith men and evidently James/Jim came to Pulaski County before 1900 and bought the land where he lived. Needing to have the land cleared, Jim Smith hired Elias to work for him and let his wife and two children move there and Jim lived with the family because he was a single man and had no family of his own.
Elias was charged with killing Jim Smith in November 1904 and when arrested was asked why he killed him. His answer was that he thought he could get his money and personal property, but some interesting things came to light during the inquisition of the murder. Elias may have killed him in anger when Jim Smith accused Elias of marrying a Negro woman and producing black children stating some very unkind and hurtful words about his family. Elias is said to have told him that he could not talk about his wife and children in that tone and manner. I don't know if the truth was ever known for sure.
Elias was arrested by local law authorities in November 1904 and taken to the jail in Waynesville which sat near the new courthouse which had been built in 1903. His trial was not held until a few months later in April 1905 and he was sentenced to go to the gallows to be "hanged by the neck till dead".
His hanging was held on Friday morning, April 21, 1905 at 7:40 a.m. A large crowd of people gathered to watch his execution. I can't imagine that anyone could stand in a crowd and watch the painful death of a man that way, but it was common place at that time and has been carried on for generations both before and after 1905.
Elias Smith had one last request before his death---he wanted to be buried at the Smith family cemetery where his infant son had been buried several years before. The cemetery was located near the Gasconade River in eastern Pulaski County but there is no trace of the old cemetery today.
Another gory detail to this story is that pictures were taken of Elias Smith and other law enforcement agents including 'Pop' Sutton, sheriff when he was executed, and the pictures were displayed for sale following the infamous hanging. Some must have been sold because I have seen 2 different poses printed in books and on the internet !!!
I don't like writing these type of stories, but this is definitely history, though not the exciting and humane type that I usually record of happy families, heroes, and fine family heritages which have left wonderful legacies.
NOTE: I have tried to find out if Elias Smith could have been from a branch of my Smith family who lived in Pulaski County before moving to the Iberia area before the Civil War, but have not found any ancestral lines that cross or connect. Smith is such a common name and very difficult to research. I was able to trace my great-great-great grandfather, Peter Smith, across the plains and mountains into Oregon Territory in the 1840s, but can't find out if they were kin to Elias Smith of Pulaski County !
SMITH-GASTON-SHELTON-KEETH
When Thomas L. Smith died in 1859, he died without a will but his probate is recorded at the Miller County courthouse. It took over 12 years for the estate to be settled!
I could find no record of Mary Jane Smith in the 1870 Miller County census but that isn't too unusual. It was really hard to read the 1870 census rolls because they were so faded out. Many people were not picked up in the census who were living in Miller County because the researchers just couldn't make out the names.
It appears that Mary Jane was living in Miller County in 1876 when she wrote the letter from here to her daughter (Nancy Ellen Smith Shelton) who was living in Texas. I believe she may have gone on to Texas to live after she wrote the letter because it seems to indicate she is hoping to leave Missouri and go down there. Maybe she is not at Smith Cemetery beside Thomas L. Smith and actually died elsewhere.
The neighbors to Mary Jane and her children in 1860 in Glaize Township of Miller County were: Haman Shelton (her son-in-law), Spencer Wilson, Thomas Winfrey, John McComb, Jacob McComb, John Wilbanks, and James Karr. In the probate record it looks as though her daughter and son-in-law, Martha and Anderson Keeth bought the land that was in the probate record. She may have lived with them until she decided to move to Texas?
Samuel and Sophia Dunnington lived in the same area as the Smith family. They had 6 children in the home in 1860 including 4 daughters: Rosena, Eliza, Charlotte A., Ann.....(Charlotte A. may have been Alice/Als)....I imagine Elizabeth M Dunnington) Martin (Mrs. John Martin) was also a daughter to the Dunningtons. The letter from S. Ellen Teter to Nancy Ellen Smith Shelton came from Bond County, Ill. She addresses Nancy Ellen as "Dear Cousin". Don't know who she was. I haven't found the name TETER in Miller Co............I wonder if the letter was written during the Civil War because she states in it....."Got a letter from brother John the other day. He is well and hearty but still in the hands of the REBS (Rebels-Confederates?)
The letter from Mary Barnett Willbanks to Nancy Smith Shelton… I think Mary Barnett Willbanks was a daughter of Zachariah Barnett and Malinda Jane Smith (Nancy's sister). She says that "ma and pa is gone to Johneys in Shannon Co. (MO) so looks as though Zachariah and Malinda moved off to either Howell Co. or Shannon Co., MO (both in south Missouri).
Nancy Ellen Smith-Shelton was living in Maud, OK in 1910 when she wrote her daughter a letter. I couldn't find a marriage record for her younger sister, Rachel E. Smith in Miller Co. She says in the letter..."I got a letter from Rachel and she said she would be back to Wallville (wherever that was?)...didn't sound like THEY was separated".....Rachel and a husband? WHO WAS THE LIST OF CHILDREN MENTIONED ON THE BACK PAGE? There were 11 of them with birthdates ranging from 1862 to 1887.
JAMES MONROE SMITH AND MARY/POLLY CARROLL
James Monroe Smith was a son of John Wesley Smith and Nancy Stinnett and was a brother to my great grandfather, William Harrison Smith. James was born in Pulaski County, MO on 11 September 1843, the second child of John and Nancy. William Harrison, born 1841, was the oldest child. James Monroe Smith married Mary/Polly Ann Carroll in Miller County 11 November 1863, the marriage performed by John Harlan, a justice of the peace. Polly Ann was a daughter of Miles Carroll and Ruah (Setser) Carroll, natives of North Carolina. Polly Ann was born in March 1837 and was about 6 years older than James Monroe Smith. He was 20 years of age when they married and Polly was about 26 years old.
James Monroe Smith died on the 2nd day of February 1883 in or near Iberia. Legend says he was killed in a gunfight, but I have not been able to confirm this. He was 40 years old. Polly lived as his widow for 20 years and died in 1903. They are both buried at Madden cemetery in southern Richwoods Township. James and Polly Ann had 10 daughters (per an obituary of their daughter, Martha A. Smith-Wilson when she died in 1936).
Mary Smith Ferguson & Ruah Smith Malmberg
No record of the marriage of Sarah E. Smith to Oliver T. Knowles was found in Miller County records. In the census of 1900, Sarah was still living with her widowed mother in Richwoods Township and Oliver Knowles was a "servant" in the home of Sarah's sister and her husband, William and Mary (Smith) Ferguson. A descendant of Jemima (Smith) Slawson told me that Sarah married a man named Oliver T. Knowles but I did not find their marriage recorded. Perhaps they married in neighboring Pulaski County, MO.
JOHN WESLEY SMITH, SR.
John Wesley Smith Sr. was born in Kentucky circa 1821, the county unknown. It is difficult to trace the name Smith because there were so many families with this surname and, as was the custom, each generation carried the name of the father and grandfather on. Therefore the name John Smith was one of the most common names in America.
John Wesley Smith was a son of Peter Smith who lived on an adjoining farm in Pulaski County, MO in the 1840 census. Peter was once a ferryman on the Gasconade river. He and his second wife, Orpha (Dean) Smith, moved from central Missouri and re-located in Yamhill Co., Oregon Territory where he died.
In the 1840 census, John Wesley Smith lived in Pulaski Co., MO and his age was about 19 years old. With him was his wife, Nancy (Stinnett), about 18 years of age. They were a newly-wed couple at the time. By 1850, John & Nancy were living in District #1 of Camden Co., MO. They were living in the northwest corner of Pulaski Co. near the Camden Co. line. I believe they were mistakenly enumerated in Camden Co. when they were actually in Pulaski County near the Hawkeye community.
In 1860, John & Nancy were found back in Pulaski County records. Their family in 1860 numbered nine children including WILLIAM 18; JAMES 16, DANIEL 14, JOHN WESLEY JR 13, MATILDA 9, AMANDA 8, ALEXANDER 4, LEWIS 3, & MARY age 1. One daughter, MINERVA, had died sometime between 1850-60.
- The following are marriages for the children of John & Nancy (Stinnett) Smith:
- William Harrison m. Lucy Ann Gardner
- John Wesley Jr. m. Sarah H. Bond
- Minerva (died young)
- Matilda m. Julian Bailey
- Amanda m. William Morrow
- Mary Louella m. John M. Jones
- Alexander m. Adeline Bond-Denton
- James Monroe m. Mary/Polly Carrol
- Daniel C. m. Elizabeth Allen
- Martha Jane m. James H. Jones....
- All marriages took place in Miller County, MO
After they grew to manhood, William Harrison and John Wesley Jr. heard there was a demand for stonemasons over in Miller County near Lenox Trading Post (early trading post/post office near Iberia). It was located on Rabbithead creek, southwest of Iberia. In 1861, the trading post was destroyed by the Home Guards (Confederate troops) during the Civil War. Wilson Lenox was the owner of the trading post and blacksmith shop and it was there the two Smith brothers walked to try to obtain work. The store was located on the David Condra farm which passed on to Archie Condra and later was sold to Herman Golden. Today the farm is owned by Alfred Vineyard.
The Smith brothers found work plentiful in the Iberia area digging cellars with stonemason work needed in walling up the cellar foundations. Their skills were also used in building fireplaces.
It was during this time that William Harrison met and married Lucy Ann Gardner, daughter of Henry Paulding Gardner and Elizabeth Bailey of Barren County, Kentucky. William Harrison Smith and Lucy Ann Gardner were my great grandparents. They married in Miller County 1 February 1863. He was born in Pulaski County 15 Dec 1841 and Lucy was born in Miller County 24 January 1843.
- William Harrison and Lucy Ann (Gardner) Smith reared their eleven children in the Iberia area. The children were:
- William Daniel b.20 Dec 1863 m. Sally Harrison;
- Jemima H. b.1865 died young
- James Paulin b. 25 Jun 1867 m. Emma Whalen
- Parthenia Minnie b. 13 Apr 1869 m. 1) Rector Thompson 2) Paul Rees
- Phelix Wesley b. 4 Nov 1870 m. Fannie Fike
- Jessie Rosa b. 8 Oct 1872 m. Charles Aust
- John T. b. 20 Mar 1875 m. Hester Smith
- Jacob C. b. 1 Apr 1878 m.1)Lennie Sooter 2)Lizzie Sooter (sisters)
- Charles E. b.24 Oct 1881 m. Molly Mayfield
- Henry Franklin b.20 Jun 1884 m. Sarah E. Boyd
- Gracey Mae b. 24 Sep 1886 m. 1)Henry Lollar 2)Louis May
- Myrtle Clara 1889-1890
When Wm. Harrison enlisted in the Union Army (1863), he gave his place of residence as Oakhurst. This was an early name for Iberia before and during the Civil War. The post office was located at Lenox Trading Post, southwest of Iberia. The post office existed 1862-1871. Harrison also mentioned the name Humboldt, MO in his military records. Humboldt was located a mile north of present-day Crocker in Pulaski County.
Wm.Harrison lived to the age of 86 years. He died 28 Dec 1927 at the home of his son, Frank, in Iberia. Lucy Ann (Gardner) Smith died a year earlier in Feb 1926 at age 83 years. Both are buried at Iberia Cemetery.
Henry Franklin Smith, youngest son of Harrison and Lucy, was born 20 Jun 1884 in Miller County He married Sarah Eliza Boyd, daughter of James and Celia Adeline (Shelton) Boyd, on 16 Dec 1906. Their children included: Conard Ivory 1908-1970 m Tressie Gale; Carl Everett 1912-1912; Gene Oliver 1914-1980 m. Verlie Wyrick; Priscilla Idolia 1919-2007 m. 1) Clark Davis 2) James Karr 3) Cameron; James William 1923-2007 m. Faye Jones; Glen Raymond 1925-1970 m. Dorothy Robinson; Sharlene Jeanette 1928-1929.
NOTE: Henry Franklin (Frank) Smith and Sarah Eliza Boyd were my grandparents. My parents were Gene Oliver Smith and Verlie Alberta Wyrick.......(Peggy Smith Hake)
The Smiths were stonemasons by trade for many generations. William Harrison taught his sons this age-old profession. My grandfather, Frank, and his older brother, Uncle Phelix (called Pea), were the well-known stonemasons in the Iberia area for many years. There are many structures of stone still standing which bear the touch of their skilled hands. The Iberia Academy is perhaps the oldest building standing that was helped to be built by their talent. The old stone fence encircling the campus still stands as their handiwork. Frank and Pea also built the native stone fence encircling the Iberia cemetery and the beautiful stonework of the Nazarene Church in Iberia, which stands so majestically against the horizon, is a lasting monument of their stonemason talents. As long as these artifacts of stone stand one upon the other, the descendants of this Smith family will always have this remembrance of their ancestors and will be able to touch the past which belonged to their forefathers... I am proud to be one of those Smith descendants.
NOTE: unfortunately some of the stonework of the fence, encircling the Iberia Academy campus, has been torn down during the past year. I imagine most of it will be destroyed in the future. Time marches on and progress takes over to replace many of our historical sites and artifacts!
LYDIA SMITH
Lydia Smith, wife of Abijah Smith, died on 21 January 1889 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Mary Esty near Eldon. Lydia was born on 22 Aug 1810 in Monroe County, New York.
On April 12, 1830, she married Abijah Smith at the place of her birth, Pitsford, New York. He was a native of Massachusetts, born 1 Dec 1803 and died in Miller County 7 July 1885 at the age of 82 years.
When she was a young woman they moved to McComb County, Michigan in 1834 and on to Licking County, Ohio in 1838. From there she and Abijah moved to Kalamazoo County, Michigan in 1849 where they resided near Alamo Center until 1860. In 1860 they came west to Cole County, Missouri. During the time they lived in Ohio, the daughter Mary must have been born because in a census record her place of birth was given as Ohio.
In 1882, they moved to Mt. Pleasant, Saline Township, in Miller County where she was left a widow at the death of her husband, Abijah, on 7 July 1885. He was buried at the Mt. Pleasant I.O.O.F. Cemetery.
Lydia and Abijah were parents of 6 children and was survived by 5 when she died in 1889. The only one I found of record was daughter, Mary Smith Esty who lived in Saline Township in 1880 with her daughter, Artel age 21, living with her mother. I have not confirmed it, but I believe the husband of Mary Smith Esty was John T. Esty who died in 1871 and was buried at Salem Cemetery, north of Mt. Pleasant. Their neighbors in 1880 included the families of Simpson, Wyrick, Russell, Long, Walker, Gartin, Miller, and Hicks.
The old residents of Jefferson City and Ashland (Boone County) remembered her as a kind neighbor and faithful friend in the years she lived in those communities.
The last two and half years of her life she made her home with her youngest daughter, Mary Smith Esty. When Lydia died on 21 January 1889, at age 79, she was laid to rest beside her husband in Mt. Pleasant I.O.O.F. Cemetery.
NOTE: The obituary gave the name of her husband as Abijah Smith and on his tombstone is inscribed "Obijah Smith".
MARCIA O. SMITH
Marcia O. Smith was a schoolteacher in Miller County during the 19th century and taught in several country schools in the Big Richwoods. She was born about 1851, probably in Miller County and was a daughter of William P. and Princess Elizabeth Smith, who had lived in Barren County, Kentucky before coming to Miller County. I think her mother's maiden name was Allen and was a sister to Elias Allen who was an early settler in the Iberia area. The Gardners, Baileys, Wheelers, and Allens came from Barren County, KY to Miller County about the same time as William and Princess Elizabeth Smith settled near Iberia.
Back in Barren County, William and Princess E. Smith were made guardians of the children of Jacob and Olive (Allen) Gardner, both deceased by 1851. I believe that Princess and Olive were sisters to Elias Allen. The orphaned Gardner children came to Miller County with the Smiths. They were Isaiah Allen Gardner, Dorinda Gardner (m. Robert Blevins), Mary Gardner (m. Zebedee Spearman), Levina Gardner, William Paulding Gardner, and Willis Joel Gardner.
In the Miller County census of 1860, William P. Smith (b. c/1827 KY) and his wife, Princess Elizabeth (b. c/1828 KY), lived near Iberia near the families of Tallman, Allen, Henderson, Benage, Drace, Lane, Rhea, Keeth, Long, and Shelton. They had four children in 1860: Marsha/Marcia O. Smith b. c/1851, Newton G. b. c/1854, Samba b. c/`1856, and Columbus b. c/1859. Another daughter, Henrietta/Nettie, was born in 1864.
I do not know what happened to William and Elizabeth/Princess Smith after 1864. Their two daughters, Marcia and Henrietta/Nettie, next appear in the Miller County census of 1880 living in the home of Elias and Mary (Gardner) Allen and were listed as 'nieces'. That is what gave me the clue that their mother was probably a sister to Elias Allen and Olive Gardner. William and Princess may have been deceased by 1880.
I don't believe that Marcia O. (perhaps named Olive?) ever married. No record of a marriage was found for her in Miller County. But her name has been recorded in several old records and old newspapers as a popular schoolteacher in southern Miller County from about 1870-1890.
In the May 27, 1881 issue of THE MILLER COUNTY VINDICATOR a news item was written by an Iberia correspondent, which stated, "Miss Marcia Smith has secured the school at this place. Miss Smith has taught so long and so successfully that no other need apply".......The only school in the Iberia area at that time was the Allen school which was located less than a mile east of Iberia. Elias Allen had donated some of his land for this early school and it was named for him. Marcia didn't have far to travel to teach her school because she lived in the Elias Allen home, as did her sister, Henrietta.
Between the years 1870-1890, Marcia taught in quite a number of country schools in the Big Richwoods of southern Miller County including Mace (west of Iberia), Carroll #5 (Madden district south of Iberia), Brays (northeast of Iberia), Alder Springs (eastern Richwoods Township), Elliott (north of Iberia), Atwell (southeast of Iberia). Most of her teaching career was at Allen School which served the Iberia children.
Her younger sister, Nettie Smith, also taught for a few years in Richwoods township schools including Patterson/Brown school, Johnston school, and Allen school.
I do not know what happened to Marcia O. Smith. There is no record of her death or burial in Miller County. In Miller County marriage records, I found a wedding was performed on September 16, 1889 for Nettie Smith and Horace Marlow. There was a Rev. Richard Marlow (from Illinois) who was the minister of the Iberia Congregational Church during the 1880s and early 90s, but was gone by 1900. I suspect Horace was Rev. Marlow's son, so perhaps when the Marlow family left Iberia, Horace and Nettie left with them and maybe Marcia left at the same time with her sister and brother-in-law.....pure speculation on my part.
PETER SMITH.........FOUND IN OREGON ! !
I had presumed, after researching for a long time that my great, great, great grandfather, Peter Smith, had died in Pulaski County, Missouri between 1840 and 1850. He was in the 1840 census of Pulaski County with his young wife and several children. By 1850, he was no where to be found in Central Missouri, so I thought he had suffered the same fate of many ancestors---he died and was buried in an unknown place that was known only to God.
On June 9, 1840, Peter married Orpha/Ortha Dean in Miller County, Missouri (near where he lived in northwestern Pulaski County). In the 1840 Pulaski County census, Peter's household contained three young sons and one daughter. There was another daughter, but she was not enumerated in their household. These were his children by his first wife (name not known). A young woman (Ortha Dean Smith, his second wife) was listed in his home and she was between 20 and 30 years of age. Peter was several years older (born c/1794 in North Carolina). While in Pulaski County, about 1838, there is record that Peter Smith operated a ferry boat service across the Gasconade River.
About a year ago, in 2001, I found a clue that Peter and Ortha Smith may have moved to Oregon over the old Oregon Trail and settled in Yamhill County. I looked up some old Patent Land Records for Oregon Territory on the Internet and found where Peter and Ortha had homesteaded 643 acres in Yamhill County, at the north end of the Willamette Valley in the beautiful Cascade Mountains of northwest Oregon. The land became available by the Donation Land Act of 1850. They had been living there for 14 years when they homesteaded their land in 1858. His occupation in 1850 was listed as 'blacksmith'.
Looking up further records on the Internet, I learned that Peter, Ortha, and seven of their nine children headed west to Oregon on a wagon train that left Independence, Missouri in May 1844. I think the wagon train they traveled with was led by Capt. Nathaniel Ford and also on board was famed mountain man, Moses 'Black' Harris. There were 358 people on the Ford train with 54 wagons, 500 cattle, 60 horses and 28 mules. As they advanced further west, more wagons and people joined this wagon train. By 1845, the year after the Smiths moved to the Willamette Valley, there were about 2,000 new settlers in the Valley.
Two older sons of Peter and his first wife remained in Missouri. One was John Wesley Smith (born 1821) who was my great, great grandfather and Phillip D. Smith (born c/1823.) I wonder if John and Phillip ever saw their father or their siblings again after 1844 when they left Missouri. I doubt they did...........
Peter was about 50 years old when he uprooted his family and headed west. Ortha was about 32 years old and the children who made the trip were: Mary, about 19 years old; William C., about 18 years; Isabella, 15 years old; Matilda 4 years; Martha 3 years and twins, Elizabeth and Sarah Jane, about 1 year old. After they arrived in Oregon, Ortha gave birth to another set of twins, Marion D. and Maria.............
I can only imagine what a long, tiresome trip it must have been by wagon in 1844 with a father, mother and seven children! There were many diaries written that have been preserved over the generations and they are so interesting to read as the pioneers told of their eye-witness experiences traveling over the Oregon-California Trails. They traveled through all kinds of terrain and weather conditions. It has been documented in diaries that many folks walked most of the way on their trip west......usually only the sick and the elderly rode in the wagons. There were some problems along the way including some skirmishes and fights with Indian tribes, but not nearly as harrowing as portrayed in western movies of today. Most deaths along the routes were due to a variety of diseases and accidents. Many women also died in childbirth as they traveled across the open prairies and through the mountain regions of the Rockies.
Peter Smith lived much longer than I had first thought. He arrived in Yamhill County in the fall of 1844 and lived in Oregon for almost 20 years before his death. He died in Yamhill County, Oregon on June 6, 1863 at the age of 70 years. I am not sure where his gravesite is, but I did find record of a Peter Smith buried in Pike Cemetery near Yamhill, Yamhill County, OR. The record stated there was no marker at the grave.
Peter's probate records are on file in Yamhill County, so I ordered photostat copies. His heirs were listed in his probate and that is where I learned the identity of his children.
Ortha (Dean) Smith, Peter's second wife, is buried at Coos Bay, Oregon, which is about 200 miles southwest of Yamhill County, located on the Pacific coast. I do not know why she was buried there and not in Yamhill County where Peter was buried in 1863. Perhaps she had been living with one of her children and was not taken back to her home for burial.
I wish I had known that Peter Smith and his family had moved to Oregon because in 1990, I made a trip to northwest Oregon to research some of my Bilyeu ancestors who had moved there in 1852. I found them in Linn County, Oregon and spent some time there traveling over the countryside where they had lived and found their graves in Bilyeu Den Cemetery in the beautiful Willamette Valley.......Yamhill County is in the same area of Northwest Oregon and I could have spent some time there looking for my Smith ancestors.
Peter Smith, my great, great, great grandfather, was typical of many pioneers. He was born in North Carolina on the eastern seaboard of America; traveled to Kentucky and stayed awhile; moved to Tavern Township in Pulaski County, Missouri in the 1830s and lived there less than ten years; in 1844, at the age of 50 years, decided to move to Oregon Territory which was on America's Northwest frontier. There seemed to be a wanderlust in our forefathers that was never satisfied. I have often said, "Had not the Pacific Ocean been in their way, most of our ancestors would have probably ended up in China!"
SMITH - PILKINGTON - SHACKLEFORD
Abraham Smith (b. c/1800 in Tennessee) and his wife, Elizabeth Jane Stuart (b. c/1805 in Tennessee) were living in Lawrence Co., MO during the census of 1860. They were married in Washington Co., TN on 27 July 1824.
NOTE: Their ages are wrong in this census by 10 years.
Their daughter, Nancy Jane Smith, married Henry Pilkington in Lawrence Co., MO on Sep 7. 1856.
Sometime before 1874, Henry and Nancy Jane (Smith) Pilkington came to Miller County. According to a probate record in Miller County, Henry was dead by January 1874. His probate records are very interesting because his wife, Nancy, is not mentioned in them and the records are "Guardianship" papers for his 3 minor children named James, George W., and Martha E.......Oldest son, John W. is not named in his probate.........
Nancy Smith-Pilkington married Allen Shackleford in Miller County in November 1873 (per marriage records). Allen Shackleford was named as the curator of the minor children and signed a security bond to represent them in January 1874 with James Shackleford and Spencer Wilson as his securities. On August 19, 1876, Thomas Hampton Fancher replaced James Shackleford as a security agent. Trouble arose because on June 12, 1876, Thomas H. Fancher notified the probate court and accused Allen Shackleford and Spencer Wilson of "wasteing the estate of said minors". By this time, Martha E. Pilkington had married Lawrence Ponder and they also signed an affadavit backing up the opinion of Thomas H. Fancher.
On June 6, 1877, Allen Shackleford sued Martha and Lawrence Ponder for the estate.....I think he was trying to hold on to his control of the minor's estate of their deceased father.......By 1878, Thomas H. Fancher was made sole administrator of the estate and the troubles continued on until 1885 when the minors were all married and of legal age!!!
According to the 1900 census, Nancy Smith-Pilkington-Shackleford was the mother of 9 children. I could find record of only eight, so do not know if the unknown child was from her first or second marriage.
The twin sisters of Nancy Smith-Pilkington-Shackleford were in Miller County before the Pilkington family moved here. Both sisters married in Miller County in 1867...Martha Emeline married Jacob Gardner (son of Henry Paulding Gardner and Lucinda Bailey) and Permelia Angeline married Kinsey Willis Stone (son of John D. Stone and Susan Bailey). The Gardners, Stones, and Baileys were all from Barren Co., KY.
To show the closeness of these families, marriages continued between the families after they came to Miller County...Rose Shackleford, daughter of Allen Shackleford and Nancy Smith-Pilkington, married Abraham Gardner, son of Martha Emeline Smith and Jacob Gardner…Rose and Abraham were first cousins.
RUAH LUCINDA SMITH
Ruah was born in Miller County in 1867, a daughter of James Monroe Smith and Mary/Polly Ann Carroll. They married in Miller County 11 Nov 1863, the marriage performed by John W. Harland, justice of the peace. She was a granddaughter of John Wesley Smith Sr. and Nancy (Stinnett) and Miles Carroll & Ruah (Setser).
James and Polly (Carroll) Smith had 10 daughters but several died in infancy.
The children listed above were with their parents in the 1880 census of Pulaski Co., MO. They lived near the Miller County/Pulaksi Co. line.
RECORDS OF THE SUPREME COURT OF MISSOURI, DIVISION No. 2
Date: March Term 1888
An indictment was brought against a man named James R. Knatazer in the Miller County Circuit Court. Charges were brought against him by Ruah L. Smith who accused him of "SEDUCING AND DEBAUCHING HER UNDER PROMISE OF MARRIAGE". Today it would be tried as a rape case because evidently she had a child out of wedlock in late 1886 or early 1887 as a result of this affair. The court files said she was "under 21 years of age". James Knatazer was found guilty, sentenced to 1 year in jail and fined $100. He never married her nor claimed the child. In March 1887, Ruah married a man named Henry H. McAnally. I don't know how long she was married to McAnally, but in 1893, she married John Malmberg and they had several children.
I do not have a date for the death of Ruah Smith Malmberg. I know she was still alive in 1936 when her sister, Martha Smith Wilson, died. NOTE: In 1989 I heard from a woman in Troy, Illinois inquiring about Otis A. Malmberg, a grandson of John and Ruah (Smith) Malmberg. Her name was Helen Valenzuela of Troy, IL.
When I heard from Helen Valenzuela in 1989, I called Dorothy Malmberg to see if she could tell me anything about Otis and his family. Dorothy said he married a woman named Alvina C. Hoppe in Illinois and they had 1 daughter, JoAnn (Malmberg) who was living in Georgia. Dorothy said that Otis was a nephew of her husband, John Malmberg. She also told me Otis was born out of wedlock to a daughter of John & Ruah (Smith) Malmberg.......THEY WERE LISTED AS HIS PARENTS ON HIS DEATH CERTIFICATE. It doesn't make sense that he could have been their grandchild since they had only been married 10 years when he was born in 1903!!
THE SMITH - STINNETT FAMILIES
John Wesley Smith Sr. was born in Kentucky circa 1821, the county not known. It is difficult to trace the name of Smith because there were so many families with this name and, as was the custom, each generation carried the name of the father and grandfather on. Therefore, the name of John Smith was one of the most common names in America.
There is a good indication the father of John Wesley was Peter Smith who lived on an adjoining farm in Pulaski County, MO in the 1840 census. Peter Smith was once a ferryman on the Gasconade river and died before 1850. In the 1840 census John W. Smith lived in Pulaski County, MO and his age was about 19 years. With him was his wife, Nancy (Stinnett), about 18 years old. Evidently they were a newly-wed couple. By 1850, John & Nancy were living in District #1 of Camden Co, MO. They were living in the northwest corner of Pulaski Co. near the Camden Co. line. I believe they were mistakenly enumerated in Camden County when in truth they were actually living in Pulaski County. Per old county plat maps, they owned land near the Hawkeye community.
In l860 John and Nancy Smith were found back in Pulaski County records. I don't think they ever moved from the one location, but because it was so near boundary lines, they were counted in both Camden and Pulaski counties. Their family in 1860 numbered 9 children including William age 18, James 16, Daniel 14, John Wesley Jr.13, Matidla 9, Amanda 8, Alexander 4, Lewis 3, and Mary age 1. One daughter, Minerva, had died sometime between 1850 and 1860.
All the marriages took place in Miller County, Missouri.
After they grew to manhood, William Harrison (called Harrison) and John Wesley Jr. heard there was a demand for stonemasons over in Miller County near Lenox Trading Post (a trading post and early post office near Iberia). It was located on Rabitthead Creek southwest of Iberia. In 1861, the trading post was destroyed by the Home Guards (Confederate troops) during the Civil War.
Lenox had the trading post and a blacksmith shop and it was there the two Smith brothers walked to try to obtain work prior to the Civil War years. The store was located on the David Condra farm which passed on to Archie Condra and later was sold to Herman Golden. Today the farm is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Vineyard.
The Smith brothers found work plentiful in the Iberia area digging cellars with stonemason work needed in walling up the cellar foundations. Their skills were also used in building fireplaces. It was during this time that Harrison met and married Lucy Ann Gardner, daughter of Henry Paulding Gardner & Elizabeth (Bailey), natives of Barren County, Kentucky. Harrison was born in Pulaski County, MO on December 15, 1841. He married Lucy Ann in Miller County on February 1, 1863. Lucy Ann was born in Miller County 24 January 1843.
Nancy Stinnett Smith, wife of John Wesley Sr., was born in Tennessee in October 1823. Her ancestry is not known, but there is reason to believe she may have been a daughter of John Stinnett and a sister to Reuben Stinnet, natives of Tennessee, who settled in Crawford Co, MO in the late 1820s or early 1830s. During that time era Pulaski County was part of Crawford County. John Wesley Smith Sr. died between 1860 and 1870, the place unknown, but probably in Pulaski County. Nancy lived until after 1900. Family legend says she perished in a home fire in Iberia after the turn of the century. There is no record of her burial, but it is almost certain she is buried in the older section of Iberia Cemetery.
William Harrison and Lucy Ann (Gardner) Smith reared their eleven children in the Iberia area.
On his 22nd birthday (December 15, 1863) Harrison rode to Waynesville and volunteered for service in the Union army. Five days later his first child, William Daniel Smith, was born. He served with the Missouri State Militia Volunteers, 5th Regiment Cavalry. His description in his military papers stated he was 5 ft. 5 inches tall, hazel-colored eyes, auburn hair, and a light complexion. His pay, after mustering in, was $50 per month including the use of his own horse. He served until July 8, 1865 when he was discharged at Benton Barracks, Missouri near St. Louis. Harrison's younger brother, John Wesley Jr., also served in the Union army. He enlisted in Company H, 11th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry on 13 July 1863. He was only 16 years old at enlistment. John was captured and taken a prisoner of war on September 6, 1863 near Searcy, Arkansas. A few days later he was exchanged at a placed called Arnold's Ford on the Little White River in northern Arkansas. He eventually got back to his original detachment on December 29, 1864. On 27 July 1865, John Wesley Jr. was mustered out of the army at New Orleans, Louisiana.
John Wesley Smith Jr. died 23 Dec 1919 and Sarah (Bond), his wife, died 11 April 1925. Both are buried at Iberia Cemetery.
When Harrison Smith enlisted in the Union army, he gave his place of residence as Oakhurst, MO. This was an early name for Iberia before and during the Civil War era. The post office was located at the Lenox Trading Post southwest of present-day Iberia. According to the book, MISSOURI POST OFFICES 1804-1981, Oakhurst post office existed from 1862-1871. Harrison also mentioned the name Humboldt, MO in his military records....Humboldt was located about 1 mile north of present-day Crocker in Pulaski County.
Harrison and Lucy Ann (Gardner) Smith were preceded in death by 6 of their 11 children. Jemima died in 1868 from a tragic accident. Her younger brother, Paulin, knocked over a pot of boiling coffee from the kitchen stove and it spilled over her tiny body. She died from severe burns. Another daughter, Parthenia Minnie, died in 1918 from the great influenza epidemic that sieged the country that year. Three sons, Paulin, John, and Charley, all died within a few months of each other in 1918 as well. Paulin died in a mining accident in southwest Missouri; Charley died in a car accident; and John was shot and killed by a neighbor in Oklahoma. All three men had been working in the zinc mines of southwestern Missouri near the small town of Purcell. Harrison lived to the age of 86 years. He died 28 December 1927 at the home of his son, Frank, in Iberia. Lucy Ann (Gardner) Smith died the year earlier on 12 Feb 1926 at the age of 83 years. They were married for 63 years and had seen many of their children and grandchildren grown into maturity. Both are buried at Iberia Cemetery.
Henry Franklin Smith, youngest son of William Harrison and Lucy Ann, was born June 20, 1884 in Miller County. He married Sarah Eliza Boyd, daughter of James and Celia Adeline (Shelton) Boyd on December 16, 1906.
The Smiths were stonemasons by trade for many generations. William Harrison Smith taught his sons this age-old profession. My grandfather, Frank, and his brother, Uncle Phelix (Pea) Smith were the best-known stonemasons in the Iberia area for many years. There are many structures of stone still standing which bear the touch of their skilled hands. The Iberia Academy is perhaps the oldest building standing that was built by their talent. The old stone fence encircling the campus still stands as their handiwork. Frank and Pea also built the stone fence encircling the Iberia Cemetery and the beautiful stonework of the Nazarene Church in Iberia, which stands so majestically against the horizon, is a lasting monument of their stonemason talents. As long as these artifacts of stone stand one upon the other, the descendants of this Smith family will always have this remembrance of their ancestors and will be able to touch the past which belonged to their forefathers.
I am proud to be one of those Smith descendants.
THE ANCESTRAL FAMILIES OF TRESSIE LEONA (GALE) SMITH
George William Gale, born circa 1861 in the state of Michigan, was a son of Mr. & Mrs. William Gale who were natives of England. Sometime prior to 1861, the Gale family came to America and settled in Michigan where George was born. As a child, he remembered that his family made a trip back to England for a brief visit and he could remember being in London while on the trip.
George's father was a buggy maker by trade and practiced his profession after immigrating to Michigan. It is interesting to note that a great grandson of William Gale today lives in Michigan and has carried the profession of transportation into our present day….he has been affiliated with the automobile industry for many years.
George Gale was married two times…his first wife died when their only child, William 'Bill' Gale, was about 2 years old. About 1895, George married his second wife, Susan Sophronia Hedrick, a native of Missouri. Evidently George had left Michigan and traveled on to Missouri before 1895. Susan was several years younger than George, born circa 1875. Her parents were both born in Indiana, per census records. There is a possibility her father was Samuel Hedrick, born in Indiana c/1843 and was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil War. She may have had brothers named Samuel, Adron, and Clarence who all lived in Pulaski County, Missouri in the early 20th century. The names of Samuel and Adron were used in the family of George and Susan Sophronia, so that is a good indication Samuel was her father and Adron was her brother.
George and Susan (Hedrick) Gale were parents of six children, all born in Pulaski County, Missouri.
Maude Ellen Gale died of influenza at the age of 17 years when the influenza plague moved across America beginning in 1918. It claimed so many lives during a short period of American history.
George Gale's occupation in 1910 was a tie-maker, which was associated with the railroad business. A tie-maker's job was to chop down trees and, with a broad ax, shape railroad ties from the logs. The ties were used in the graveled bed of the railroad tracks. This was a unique occupation and it certainly took a special skill to cut, shape, and form each railroad tie.
In 1910, when the Pulaski County census was taken, the Gale family lived in Cullen township north of Waynesville in the Gasconade river country. Some of their neighbors in 1910 were the families of Cole, Carver, Prewett, Butler, Kelley, Shelton, and Hamilton. A few years later the Gale family moved into Tavern township and located about a mile west of Crocker.
Tressie Leona Gale was the youngest child of George William and Susan Sophronia (Hedrick) Gale. She was born 2 March 1912 at the family's Pulaski county farm. When she was only a child, the Gale family moved near Crocker where she attended grammar school. Tressie grew to adulthood in Pulaski County and was reared with her 4 older brothers in the family home. Her mother died in 1931.....Susan Sophronia was 56 years old when she passed on. Being the only surviving daughter, Tressie took on the daily chore of caring for her father and brothers. Her half-brother, Bill Gale, lived in the Newburg/Rolla area and was also an employee for the local railroad which passed through the Phelps County area. Bill Gale died in a tragic fire in the Rolla area (not sure of the date). Her father lived for a few years following the death of his wife. He suffered a stroke about 1933-35 and lived the remainder of his life with Tressie and her husband, Conard (Cap) Smith. George William Gale was about 75 years old at his death.
On December 23, 1933, Tressie married Conard Ivory Smith (called Cap) who was a son of Henry Franklin Smith and Sarah Eliza Boyd of Iberia. She and Cap became parents of two children: Donald Max Smith, born 27 May 1939, and Connie Jean Smith, born 7 May 1946. For the next 37 years Conard/Cap and Tressie lived in Iberia, reared their children, and built their new home in "New Town", the second house to be built in that section of northwest Iberia. Frank and Eliza Smith, Cap's parents, were the first to build on the new land always called "New Town". In April, 1970, Conard/Cap Smith died of a massive heart attack at the age of 62 years.
In 1992, Tressie Gale Smith celebrated her 80th birthday with a special event hosted by her children and grandchildren at Iberia's American Legion Hall. Many friends and family attended and helped her celebrate her special day.
Tressie Leona (Gale) Smith, lived to reach the age of 89 years when she passed away on June 28, 2001. She had remained Conard's widow for 31 years and had missed him dearly each and every day since he left her in April of 1970. It was easy to see that he had always been the love of her life………
THE FAMILY OF TRESSIE LEONA GALE (1912-2001)
& CONARD IVORY SMITH (1908-1970)
Tressie Leona Gale, dau. of George Wm. & Susan (Hedrick) Gale
Born : 2 March 1912-Pulaski Co., MO
Died: 28 June 2001-Miller Co., MO
Married: Conard Ivory Smith on 23 Dec 1933
Son of Henry Franklin Smith & Sarah Eliza (Boyd)
Born: 23 June 1908
Died: 20 Apr 1970
Their Children:
1. Donald Max Smith born 27 May 1939
m. Betty Ann Wall, dau. of Noble & Margie (Boley) Wall
children:
1. Kimberly Dawn Smith m. Patrick Rowe
2. Kent Douglas Smith
grandchildren:
1. Jonathan Rowe
2. Brian Rowe
3. Christi Smith
2. Connie Jean Smith born 7 May 1946
m. Kenneth Wilson, son of Leonard & Frankey (Dake) Wilson
children:
1. Claudia Jean Wilson m. Paul Daniel Herd
2. Leonard Kenneth Wilson m. Rose Marie_____________
grandchildren:
1. Shelby Linn Wilson
2. Lilith Kyrene Wilson
3. Blake Daniel Herd
Researched and written by Peggy Smith Hake, St. Elizabeth, MO, who is a niece of Conard & Tressie (Gale) Smith...................(June 29, 2001).
CHARLES DAVID SNODGRASS
Charles David Snodgrass was born in Maries County, Missouri near Vichy on Oct. 2, 1890. HE was a son of James David Snodgrass (1853-1910) and Harriett Elizabeth Davis (1861-1945). Charles' ancestors were among the earliest settlers of Maries County.
His ancestor was George W. Snodgrass (1780-1840) who came to what today is Maries County and settled in the Spring Creek/Jefferson Townships area. King's History of Maries County states that George W. Snodgrass and his wife ( a member of the Johnson family), built a log cabin on Cedar Creek, which is also near the Gasconade River of southern Maries County. There are two cemeteries which are inventoried as Snodgrass Cemetery in Spring Creek Township. Even though the exact burial place for George W. Snodgrass is not known, members of this family have erecte4d a memorial stone in the general area where the old log cabin once stood. The other Snodgrass Cemetery contains many members of this early Maries County family.
The grandparents of Charles David Snodgrass, James David and Harriet (Davis) Snodgrass were parents of several children but I do not have the complete list. Actually, James David Snodgrass was married twice. His first wife was Olivia Ferrell, whom he married Aug. 16, 1874 in Maries County. Evidently she died just a short time after their marriage, because James David married Charles' mother, Harriet Elizabeth Davis on Sept. 1, 1878. She was a daughter of Thomas and T.C. Davis, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee respectively (per 1880 census records). The children of James and Harriett were:
NOTE: It is likely there were more children, but I did not find record of any others.
For genealogical reasons, I am also listing the parents of James David Snodgrass and his siblings:
George W. Snodgrass (1815-1887) and his wife Julia A. Snodgrass (1831-01894) were natives of Tennessee. They were descendants of Virginia pioneers. The children of George and Julia included:
NOTE: Some members of the above family are buried at the Snodgrass Family Cemetery a few miles northwest of Vichy.
Charles David Snodgrass married Edith Mabel Cordsmeyer in Maries County on Dec. 20, 1916. She was a daughter of Gustavus W. and Julia A. Cordsmeyer who were of German descent. The Cordsmeyer family lived near Lanes Prairie which was located about half way between Vichy and Belle, near today's Highway 28. Lanes Prairie had a post office in existence from 1851 until 1914. The old community is still in existence with a general store but no post office. Gustavus and Julia Cordsmeyer are buried at the Liberty Cemetery, which is located south of Belle in Jefferson Township. I am not certain who their children were but believe the following were part of their family:
Charles David Snodgrass graduated from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg and then went on to the University of Missouri. For a few years he taught in the rural schools of Maries County and then was admitted to the bar as a attorney on Nov. 28, 1928. Even though he was a lawyer, he spent most of his career as an educator in Maries, Gasconade, Pulaski, and Miller counties. He served as Superintendent of Schools of Maries County for four years; Superintendent of the Bland School for two years; Superintendent Of the Dixon School for two years; Superintendent of the Brumley School for three years and then spent the rest of his career as the Miller County Superintendent of Schools, first elected in 1927.
Charles was a member of the Church of Christ and was a member of the Masonic Lodge #531 at Vichy, MO for many years. In politics, he supported the Republican Party over his long career.
Charles and Mabel (Cordsmeyer) Snodgrass were parents of five children:
Charles and Mabel lived in Tuscumbia for many years and it was there he died in 1958 at the age of 68 years. He is buried at the Tuscumbia Cemetery and on his gravestone is inscribed, "Farmer, Educator, and Attorney"
REV. CHARLES MARRIOTT SOOTER
Rev. Charles Marriott Sooter was born in Newton County, MO, in the Ozark Mountains of southern Missouri. In 1869, his parents left the Grand River country of southwest Missouri and moved to Miller County when Charles was about 12 years old. His ancestors were immigrants of Northern Ireland who settled in the Carolinas; later became part of the migration of settlers who stopped awhile in Tennessee; and later came to the Missouri Ozarks.
Charles was born 24 Aug 1857, was one of five children born to Harvey Van Buren Sooter and his wife, Sarah Ann (Smith). His brother and sisters were: William M. 'Ned' Sooter, Louisa Sooter Shelton, Geretta/Nettie Sooter Renfrow, and Margaret/Maggie Sooter Hensley. Charles' father, Harvey, was a physician who did not join a church until he was an old man. His mother, Sarah (Smith), was a Methodist.
Rev. Charles Sooter and Harriet (Pinkney) Sooter
In 1875, Charles married Harriett Pankey who died a short time later after giving birth to two children: Nellie Sooter Wiles and Leona Sooter Shelton. In 1879, he married Jane Alice Carson and they had seven children: Menzo E. Sooter, Charles W. Sooter, Mark Sooter, W. M. Sooter, Elizabeth Sooter Hodgden, and Lena Sooter.
During his early years of marriage, Charles worked his farm and operated a sawmill. At the age of 27, c/1884, while working his sawmill, an itinerate Christian minister (sometimes called 'Newlights') came from Iowa and held revival services in the community. Charles attended some of these meetings and after awhile his life was changed. He fought it for awhile, but the conviction overpowered his life when he realized he was receiving a call from God. He was an unlearned man who had very little schooling and at first was afraid he could not speak publicly nor pray before a crowd. I have been told by those who remembered Brother Charlie Sooter that he quickly overcame that obstacle in his life with flying colors !
His first attempt to preach occurred at an 'all-day-meeting' in a nearby schoolhouse. People came from miles around to hear Rev. Charlie Sooter preach and stayed for an all day service with filled baskets of food. In later years, he said at first he had to 'trail' for awhile, but before he knew it, his sermon became easy to deliver. He sang his way into the hearts of many people and played an old fiddle to the delight of the crowd. It was said his gifts were Providential, but I am sure those Irish ancestors contributed to his talent as well.........
Charles Marriott Sooter helped to organize many churches in the area including Union, Mt. Zion, High Knob, Campground, Humphreys Creek, Little Tavern, Liberty, Atwell, Iberia, Fairview, Gott, and Ketchum, Oklahoma. He bought 140 yards of heavy canvas and made a huge tent. He conducted services under that old tent until a church could be built on the spot. It is said he preached 5,250 sermons; had 4,500 conversions; baptized over 3,000 people, and probably conducted more funerals than anyone, before or since, in our central Missouri region.
In 1929, his second wife, Jane Alice, died and he was married a third time to Mrs. Lucy Stark, widow of William Stark. Rev. Charles M. Sooter died at his home five miles south of Tuscumbia in the summer of 1938 at the age of 81 years. His funeral services were held at the Iberia Academy by Rev. A. L. Alexander of the Eldon Christian Church. He was assisted by Rev. J. Merle Bandy of the Iberia Baptist Church and Rev. Deweese of the Iberia Newlight Church. The Jones brothers, old friends of Brother Sooter, had a beautiful and inspirational song service. He was laid to rest at the Brays Union Cemetery, northeast of Iberia. His descendants have carried on in his tradition. Four of his sons became ministers and the musical talent continues to be heard in his grandchildren and the newer generations of the Sooter family.
CYNTHIA HAWKINS SPEARMAN
Cynthia Hawkins Spearman, age 86, was selected as 'Pioneer School Teacher' in Miller County's Centennial Pageant of 1937--a most appropriate selection!
Cynthia Hawkins Spearman
Sometimes when I walk down that road to yesterday, I encounter some of the most remarkable people. One whom I would call 'extraordinary' was Miss Cynthia. She was born in Miller County in March 1851, a daughter of Presley and Sarepta (McCubbin) Hawkins. She was born in Glaize Township near the town of Brumley. Cynthia was a product of a fine, old Virginia family where for generations her ancestors lived. Her great grandfather, John Hawkins (1759-1831), was a soldier of the Revolutionary War. In the early 19th century, her Hawkins ancestors moved from Hampshire County, Virginia (now West Virginia) to Kentucky and located near Elizabethtown.
Her father, Presley Hawkins, was born in Virginia in 1819 and came to Miller County circa 1842 from Hart County, KY. He married Sarepta McCubbin in Miller County in 1843. They had several children including: James Martin Hawkins, Mary Catherine Hawkins, Cynthia Frances Hawkins, Dr. Zachariah Hawkins, William Lewis Hawkins, and Millard Fillmore Hawkins. In 1859, Cynthia's father died and left her mother with the young children to rear alone.
At a young age, Miss Cynthia began her 40-year teaching career in the rural schools of Miller County. What made Cynthia Hawkins different from other women who taught schools in the 19th Century. At an early age, she lost both arms, just below the elbow, in a cane mill accident. Her mother, a widow, was operating the cane mill because most of the men of the area had volunteered to go off to war. The Civil War had begun to creep across the countryside and the women were left at home alone to perform the difficult farm work. It was molasses-making time and Cynthia was helping her mother and family members feed cane stalks into the mill. Her arms became caught in the rollers and when they finally freed her arms, they were mangled and crushed. Two days later, Dr. Anton Nixdorf decided her arms had to be amputated. A carpenter nearby had a small handsaw and it was used to amputate her arms. Talk about true grit !
When a young girl, perhaps 13 years old, she drove a covered wagon to Texas taking her ill mother and young brothers with her. In 1874, Cynthia's mother, Sarepta McCubbin Hawkins, died near Bosqueville, Texas. Shortly thereafter, Cynthia came back to Miller County began her teaching career.
She did not consider herself handicapped nor did anyone who ever knew her. By grasping things between her elbows, she could do almost anything. She dressed and groomed herself, wrote, cooked, raised chickens, gardened, and even made quilts. Her school students verified that she could wield a 'mean hickory stick' if the occasion for discipline arose!
Cynthia was the first woman elected to a public office in Miller County. During 1895 and 1896, she served as County Superintendent of Schools. Over the years her Hawkins family was prominent in politics. Her brother, James Hawkins, was a state representative, county court judge, and collector. Her nephew, Charles R. 'Ted' Hawkins, was state representative for many years and she was also related to Alvin P. Hawkins, a former Governor of Texas.
In 1885, at the age of 34, Cynthia married Zebedee Spearman, a widower with four children and 20 years her senior. Zebedee was a son of Thomas and Nancy (Shelton) Spearman, natives of South Carolina. She never had any children of her own but helped to rear her stepchildren and grandchildren. In 1940, about 250 former students and friends gathered at the Brumley high school and honored Miss Cynthia on her 89th birthday. The high school gymnasium was dedicated in her honor. She told them how she had traveled to Texas in a covered wagon, later traveled by train and automobile, sailed on a ship while on the west coast, and finally flew in an airplane on a trip back home from California. She had certainly seen many changes in her lifetime.
Cynthia's husband, Zebedee Spearman, died in 1897 and she remained his widow for many decades. Miss Cynthia died in Miller County in July 1943 at the age of 92 years. She was buried at Hawkins cemetery, just a short distance east of Brumley, which is located in the same community where she was born in 1851.
OBITUARY OF ZEBEDEE SPEARMAN
Zebedee Spearman was born in Tennessee on May 2, 1831 and at the age of 20 years came to Miller County circa 1851. On Sept. 11, 1859, Zebedee married Mary E. Gardner, a native of Barren County, Kentucky. He and Mary had several children, but the exact number is not known. Zebedee enlisted in the Missouri Home Guards, Co. E, Osage Regiment in June 1861. He was elected a Lt. in this Regiment and he later served as a Lt. in the State Militia.
Zebedee Spearman and his second wife Cynthia Hawkins Spearman
Mary Gardner died in April, 1871 after a lingering illness and Zebedee was left to rear several young children alone. H remained a widower for 15 years, and then married Cynthia F. Hawkins of Brumley in February 1885. Cynthia was an amazing little lady; she had been handicapped since childhood, losing both her hands after they were crushed in an old cane mill. At age 35, Cynthia was probably classified as a spinster schoolteacher when she married Zebedee. Some of her students told of the 'lickin' she could give with a hickory switch!
Zebedee died at the age of 65 years in February 1897. He was buried beside his first wife, Mary E. Gardner, in the old Spearman cemetery (many old-timers called it the Rankin Wright cemetery). Zebedee was survived by his widow, Cynthia, and several children; a brother, W.K. Spearman and a sister, Cornelia B. Spearman. He had been a charter member of the Brumley G.A.R. Post #425 since its organization in 1887 and was honored by his many Civil War comrades at his death. Zebedee also served in the political field holding the office of County Assessor for three terms.
WILLIAM AND JANE STEPHENS
Miller County was formed and became a Missouri county on 6 February 1837. The first estate probated in the new county was for William Stephens, who died in May 1837. He had settled in Saline Township (near the Jim Henry boundary line) in the mid 1830s when it was still part of Cole County.
Evidently William was a prosperous landowner in early Miller County whose estate was quite large when it was filed to probate. The bond was set at $5,000, a large amount for that era of time. The Principals named for the huge bond was his widow, Jane C. Stephens and Thomas O. Witten. It was secured by William Miller and Samuel C. Witten, pioneer homesteaders of the same area.
On May 20, 1837, an appraisement was made of his personal property which included five Negro slaves. They were listed as Jule/Julie age 25 to 30; Carline age 11; Nance age 9; Mariah age 6; and George age 2. The combined value of the 5 slaves was $1400.
Almost ten years later, on December 31, 1846, the slaves of Jane C. Stephens were sold at public auction. By that time, four more children had been born and they were all sold to different owners. The four children born in the ten-year period were named Arthur, Daniel, Anderson, and America. The purchasers of these nine Negroes were Jane C. Stephens who bought Carline and her son Daniel; Isaac Bond bought Nance; Pierce Connell bought Mariah; John Henley bought George; John Berry bought Arthur; and William Miller bought Julie and her 2 young children, Anderson and America.
Our American history isn't always pleasant as you research the past. Slavery was a horrendous, offensive, and repugnant part of our heritage and I have a difficult time as I read and record some of the things that were allowed to happen for many generations that eventually turned into centuries.
William Stephens Sr. and his wife, Jane C. Stephens, were parents of ten children. According to Miller County cemetery records, some of the older children were born in Winchester (Franklin County), Tennessee. Franklin County was located in south central Tennessee, bordering the Alabama state line.
By 1840, Jane C. Stephens, widow of William, was living in Jim Henry Township with 8 children still in her home. Her daughter and son-in-law, Paralee and James Witten, were living near her. The oldest daughter, Druzilla, must have still been living in Tennessee in 1840. Jane's neighbors during Miller County's first census were the families of Witten, Newton, Miller, Henderson, Loveall, Bond, and Freeman…...(James & Deborah (Jenkins) Freeman, who lived near Jane Stephens, were my great, great, great grandparents who had moved to Miller County from Claiborne County, Tennessee….)
The last record found of Jane Stephens was the 1850 Miller County census where she was enumerated in Saline Township. She was 55 years old (born c/1795 in Virginia). All her children were married by then with the exception of Cordelia and Mary, who were living with their mother.
There is no record of the death of Jane, nor where she was buried. There is no record of the burial place for Williams Stephens either. Some of their children and families were buried in Mt. Pleasant AF & AM Cemetery and the Spring Garden Cemetery.
JAMES ANDERSON STONE
James Anderson Stone died during the Civil War at Polk's Plantation near Helena, Arkansas on July 12, 1863. James was a young Miller county man who had a wife and four children back home in Jim Henry Township near present-day Mary's Home. They were expecting their fifth child when he joined the military forces. His story is typical of the many thousands of young men who marched off to war and never returned.
In August 1862, General Sterling Price, the South's famous top general, was winning many successful battles in Missouri. In the area of Miller and Cole counties he had an infamous General patrolling the countryside. His name was Crabtree. Everyone remembered that name; no other name is ever used to describe him! He was a bandit, a guerilla fighter, a bushwhacker. General Crabtree had a Captain in his troop named Revis/Reavis and the old general ordered him to round up some men in Miller and Cole counties for the southern army. In rounding up potential soldiers, Captain Reavis also stole many horses. The men and horses were transported to the Southern Army's headquarters at Thomasville, Missouri, located near the Arkansas border. I believe this recruitment included James Anderson Stone, David Jenkins and J. Riley Jenkins, all of Jim Henry Township.
Once reaching Thomasville, James Anderson Stone was placed in Company A of Pindall's Battalion of Sharp Shooters. Using my imagination, I would venture a guess that James Stone was a very good marksman to be placed in a group of 'sharpshooters'. He served almost a year with this Company before he was captured at Helena, Arkansas in the battle that occurred there on July 4, 1863. It appears, from military records, he was severely wounded during this battle. He was captured by Major General B. M. Prentiss and taken to Polk's Plantation, about six miles from the battlefield. On July 7, he was paroled, but evidently could not be moved. He died from his wounds on 12 July 1863. That same day, back home in Miller County, his fifth child, Robert Price Stone was born.
James Anderson Stone is probably buried in the area of Polk's Plantation near Helena. It is not likely he was ever returned to his home in Miller County. Some of his descendants have tried to find the location of his grave, but have not been successful in finding it. I am sure he is one of those soldiers buried in an unmarked grave and his whereabouts are known only to God.
I can't tell you where James is buried today, but I do know some of his history. James Anderson Stone was born about 1833 in Barren County, KY, a son of John B. Stone and Samantha Susan Bailey.
James' parents came to Mille County in the early 1840s from Barren County with the families of Gardner, Allen, Wheeler, Bailey, and Shackleford. They settled along Bailey Branch and Barren Fork Creek, north of Iberia. About 1853, James Anderson Stone married Priscilla Jane West, a daughter of John W. West and his first wife, Sarah/Sally Smith (they married in Bond Co., Illinois 10 Aug 1832). On 31 Jan 1837, Priscilla was born in Bond County, Illinois, the oldest of four children born before her mother died about 1845. After John West married his second wife, Cynthia Mariah Warrill (a native of Vermont), they moved to Missouri and first settled in Camden County and later moved to Jim Henry Township in Miller County. It was there Priscilla married James Stone and they settled down on a farm near the families of Hackney, Berry, Newton, Denton, Varner, Fancher, and Stapp.
On the day James died, July 12, 1863, their fifth child, ROBERT PRICE STONE, was born at the family farm in Jim Henry Township.
By 1880, Priscilla West Stone had moved her family to Moniteau County and settled near her father and stepmother, John and Cynthia West. They all lived in Burris Fork Township during the 1880 census. The youngest son, Robert Price, became a well-known attorney and judge in Cole and Moniteau counties and by 1910, had moved his law practice to Eldon, MO. He and his wife, the former Mary Workover of Cole County, are both buried at Eldon Cemetery. It seems a rather sad epitaph to know that a Miller County soldier felt compelled to march off to war and fought for a losing cause. In the process, he had to pay the price with his life.
JOHN U. STONE
John U. Stone (middle name unknown-perhaps Ulysses---some of his family said he may have given himself this name but was actually named John Buford Stone after his father!) was born in Richwoods Township of Miller County on July 4, 1875. He was a son of John Buford Stone (b. c/1842 Boone Co., MO) and Dulcena Alipene Murphy (b. c/1843 in McMinn Co., TN), who married circa 1867/68 in Missouri. John's paternal grandparents were John D. Stone and Samantha (Bailey) and his maternal grandparents were James Murphy and Louisa (McCombs).
The Stone family settled in Richwoods Township in the Iberia area when they came from Kentucky. Actually they left Kentucky in the late 1830s and first moved to Boone County, MO. They remained there for a few years and then permanently settled in Miller County in the 1840s. They lived near the families of Gardner, Setser, Smith, Mitchell, Roberts, Phillips and other Stone families during the 1870s and 1880s (per census records).
John U. Stone married Frances Anna Whalen at Rolla, Phelps Co., MO on 4 Sept 1903.. He was Clerk of the Miller County Court from 1915-1918 and at that time they lived in Tuscumbia.
Roger Stillwell, now deceased and a former resident of Tuscumbia, remembered that the John U. Stone family lived in the two-story rock home which today is located across the street from the law offices of Kerry Rowden (formerly the home of Hillcrest Cafe'). While living there, John and his wife had 2 sons whom they named Stillwell Spencer Stone and Xerxes Xenophen Stone. Evidently John U. Stone had a love for classical literature to have named one son Xerxes Xenophen.
The children of John and Frances (Whalen) Stone were: XERXES XENOPHON b. 1904; BASIL BYRON b. 1905; NORMA/NOMA A. B. 1911; and STILWELL SPENCER b. 1918. During the census of 1920, John and his family were living in Richwoods Township and he had a sister living in his household, Della Stone, age 45 years.
I don't know when his wife, Frances, died but do know that John U. Stone moved to Los Angeles, California and remained there the rest of his life. I have a copy of two different letters he wrote friends and family (one dated 1948 and the other 1957). He related some interesting family history in both letters, but did not mention his wife’s name. He named five children in his letters including: Xerxes Stone (who never married) and Stillwell Stone (who never married). Both were living with their elderly father in 1957. There were also Basel Stone, Norma Stone (who may have married a Gott), and Earl Stone (I am not sure who Earl Stone was since John's family history only named 4 children)..
In the late 1930s and 40s, John sent back some poems he had written to the old Iberia Sentinel newspaper and they published them. Some of the titles were MOTHER; OLD PALS; PRAYER OF THE WILD ROSE; TO IBERIA; THE ANGEL OF HELL; THE PESSIMIST; WAYS OF THE DESERT; CHRISTIAN SCIENCE; OCTOBER; CREATION; A SCENE NEAR IBERIA FIFTY ONE YEARS AGO 1883; and there were others.
In 1957, John U. Stone was 83 years old and still working for the Globe Department Stores in Los Angeles as a night watchman. He stated in his letter that he had given notice he would soon retire because he would "have enough Social Security coming to live fairly well." He also stated he was "putting in 54 hours each week at his job". How amazing at the age of 83 years!
John U. Stone lived until April 7, 1961 and was killed by a hit and run driver on a Los Angeles street as he crossed to go into a store. It may have been the same store that he had worked at for many years and perhaps he had not actually retired yet. He was fatally injured and died 4 days after the accident. He was buried at the Roosevelt Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
I wish I could have known this interesting man who served in politics, was a published poet, and lived to an advanced age still keeping watch at night for the security of a Los Angeles Department store.
OBITUARY OF JULIUS C. STONE
Julius C. Stone was born in Barren Co., Kentucky on Oct. 25, 1834 and died near Iberia on May 12, 1920 having reached the age of 86 years. With his parents, John & Samantha Stone, he came to Missouri when quite young and first settled in Boone Co., MO. In 1848, they moved south into Miller County. About 1860, he married Elizabeth Anderson and they became parents of 3 boys and 3 girls. His wife and 5 children preceded him in death. His only surviving child was Mrs. Jonathan Keeth. Other survivors included a brother, 9 grandchildren, and 26 great grandchildren. Funeral services were held at Pleasant Hill church in southwest Miller Co. with burial in the churchyard nearby.
JULIUS CAESAR STONE
Julius Caesar Stone was born in Barren Co., KY on 25 Oct 1834, a son of John B. and Samantha Susan (Bailey) Stone. He came to Missouri with his parents when young and they first settled in Boone Co., MO. About 1848, they moved on to Miller County and settled in Richwoods Township, north of Iberia. The brothers and sisters of Julius were: MARY CATHERINE STONE m. John Cordell (?) 1851, JAMES A. STONE m. (?), LUCY STONE m. Wm. J. Murphey 1857, JOHN B.STONE m. * (?), SARAH J. STONE m. James Greenwood 1869, KINSEY WILLIS STONE m. Permelia Angeline Smith 1867, and SUSAN S. STONE m. Isaiah Rufus Bailey 1867
**I think that John B. Stone married Frances Whalen, but can find no record of their marriage in Miller Co. records.
Julius married Elizabeth Anderson in Miller County 10 Oct 1858, the marriage performed by John Rhea, a justice of the peace. Elizabeth was born in Kentucky on 11 Oct 1832.
They had two other sons that died young (names not found).
Julius C. Stone served in the Civil War in Co. D of the 42nd MO Infantry. After the war, he united with the Church of Christ under the leadership of Elder J. D. Thompson. Sometime before 1900, Julius and Elizabeth moved into southwestern Richwoods Township near the Pleasant Hill community. In the 1900 census, two grandchildren were living with Julius and Elizabeth. They were James and Stella Meredith, the orphaned children of the Stone's daughter, Margaret (Stone) Meredith. Margaret died sometime prior to 1896 because Mathias Meredith married his second wife, Martha P. Durham, in 1896.
When Julius died in May 1920, his wife and five children had preceded him in death. His daughter, Louisa Ellen (Mrs. John Keeth) survived him as well as 9 grandchildren and one brother. His funeral services were held at the Pleasant Hill Christian Church by his friend, Elder J. D. Thompson. He was buried in the churchyard nearby where his wife, Elizabeth (Anderson) Stone, had been at rest since 1907.