Francis Milton Miller, autobiographical account

Source: Francis Milton Miller, [Untitled], autobiographical account, Luster Earl Colley genealogical collection, Reference 003.

Reference 3

[Autobiography of Francis Milton MILLER copied from a handwritten account preserved by Vida Catherine MILLER COLLEY, granddaughter of the said Francis Milton MILLER. This copy was typed from a previous typescript copied from the original:]

I Francis Milton MILLER was born November 8th. 1838 in Benton County, State of Missouri.

Father: My Father was William MILLER who was born in State of Kentucky. My Grandfather Henry MILLER was from North Carolina. My Grandmother Hannah (BISHOP) MILLER was from South Carolina.

Mother: My mother Levina (WILLIAMS) MILLER was born in Georgia. My Grandfather Howell WILLIAMS was from South Carolina. My Grandmother Rachel (RADCLIFF) WILLIAMS was from Georgia.

Sisters: My two Sisters (twins) Paulene Jane and Levina Caraline MILLER were born January 10th., 1842. My Mother died at the birth of those twin sisters and was buried where she died in Polk County, Mo. After Mother’s death I with my baby sisters were taken to Grandfather MILLER’s in Benton County to live.

About the year 1845 my Father went to Texas and served a while with the Texas Rangers. He returned to Benton Co., Mo. and married a widow Rebecca MYERS who had two children Mary and George MYERS. This was about 1847. I was then taken to live with my Father and Stepmother and the Stepsister and Stepbrother. While my two sisters remained with Grandfather MILLER who before his death made them by his will equal sharers of his estate (with his own children).

At or near the age of ten years I commenced attending such schools as we had in those days. We had only what were termed subscription schools and my recollection is that they were very poorly managed and equipped. Among my first teachers were Annie REYNOLDS, Guilford B. PARK and Joseph MONROE.

When I was about sixteen years old my Father removed to Henry Co., Mo. near Leesville. My teachers there in the public schools, which were then being organized by law were Fenton G. REAVIS, James N. THOMPSON of near Leesville and Joel TOWNSEND who taught what was then termed a high school at Sardis Seven nine West of Calhoun in in Henry Co. To this last mentioned school I attended only about two months, with Walter S. REAVIS as chum and schoolmate. We boarded at Wm. L. AVERYs and attended school until corn gathering time came and called home. I was very much disappointed in this as I had been promised that I might attend this school all winter. As I could not return to school Mr. REAVIS would not let Walter go back alone (He was two or three years younger than I) This was about the fall of 1858 about the first of October I made up my mind that the best thing for me to do in order to get a better education which I very much desired, was to leave my Fathers house and work for wages till I could secure enough to continue my studies. Whether this was right or wrong I set out to accomplish, leaving home after the family were all asleep at night, As I fully believed I would be refused permission to go had I requested it.

I went to Warrensburg in Johnson Co., MO. and hired to a farmer near the town to cut corn for a few days at $1.00 a day. I soon went to work at a saw and grist mill owned by Wm. GRANGER on Black Water Creek near Warrensburg. I was now getting $20.00 per month with my board. I worked all winter there still with the intention of going to school as soon as I could accumulate enough money. But I soon discovered it was a slow process saving money at such wages. And in the spring, about April I concluded to go to my Grandfathers and help take care of my twin Sisters as Grandfather was old and poor and the girls often had to work out in the farm crops. A widowed Aunt (Jane LUSK) also lived at Grandfathers. She had a small Son (Silas) who was not able to do much work. I accordingly lived there about two years helping with crops in summer and teaching school in the fall and winter. During my stay here I joined the Christian Church Leesville under the preaching of G. W. LONGEEN. During this time I became acquainted with an orphan girl Catherine GILLEY, near my own age, who lived with her Aunt Sallie (SAYLOR) WOLF. I fell deeply in love with her and on my 22nd. birthday, November 8, 1860, we were married by Joseph MONROE a justice of the peace. This ended my intentions and efforts to attend school any more. I now engaged in farming on rented land with dwelling house furnished. I had however entered 80 acres of government land on which I soon built a log cabin and in which we were living when the Civil War broke out in 1861.

Our first child a girl, Alice Carey MILLER, was born on December 27, 1861.

In 1862 the Mo. Militia (E.M.M.) were enrolled and organized and I was elected 1st. Lieutant (Lieutenant) of Co. G, 60th Regt. Our Head Quarters were at Warsaw, Benton Co., Mo. We did considerable service in protecting our homes from marauding parties of bush whackers and etc.

Sometime in 1863, the M.S.M. cav. vols, were organized into N.S. service. I left the E.M.M., which had been partially disorganized and sent home, on July 2nd. 1863, and joined Co. E. 6th. Regt. as private, as this Co. was on its march from North Mo. to Springfield Mo. I did this because it was not safe for men to stay at home for many were killed at home in the presence of their families. I bid good bye to wife and baby and many friends and went with my Regt. to Springfield where we were stationed. Sometime in Aug. I was detached in a squad of 20 to escort an inspecting officer through Cassville, Newtonia, and Carthage and back to Springfield. This was a hard ride for 3 or 4 days and part of the nights as the officer had one of the best and easiest riding horses in the Army and we were on the gallop a greater part of the time with out one nights rest. After returning to Springfield, I was again detached to go in an escort for a Telegraph Co. to repair lines that the rebels had cut away down east near Lebanon and before I got back to Springfield I was taken sick and had a long siege of pneumonia and typhoid fever. Near the 1st. of Oct. I began to recuperate somewhat. The Regt. Surgeon sent for my Father who with my Stepmother brought a carriage and I was granted a sick furlough and was taken to my home in Benton Co., Mo. where I lay for months not able to get out of bed.

On the 21st. of October 1863, our 2nd. child a daughter (Ida May) was born. Before this baby was a month old we were left alone in our log cabin and wife had to nurse me and her two babes and keep up fires and all the chores belonging to such a family. She even had to cut wood and carry it in to keep up fires. I don’t think a woman ever lived who toiled with more patience and devotion for husband and children than did Katie Miller. Fortunately she kept up and bravely brought us through the winter to the 1st of March when I was ordered to report to my Regt. at Springfield, Mo. I had gotten so I could walk with the aid of crutches. The order seemed imperative and I was taken to Warsaw, Mo. and took the stage coach for Springfield. On arriving the Regt. Surgeon was very much surprized to see me on crutches as he had a report that I was able for duty and was having a good time with my family at home. But the mistake had been made and I had to stay with the army till the Surgeon said I was not likely to be able for duty for a long time if ever. So they made application to have me discharged and on June 13, 1864 I received my discharge and giving my crutches to a comrade who had a leg amputated I took a cane and on the stage coach I landed at Warsaw and out home on horse back riding a womans side saddle as my right hip was paining me so I could not ride astride. I had never received a cent of my pay for either the E.M.M. or the M.S. Cav vol service, so we were in very straightened circumstances financially and as it was not safe for even a cripple to stay at home in the country districts I moved to Warsaw (where was a garison of N.S. Soldiers) and taught school. School in Shawnee bend just across the Osage River from Warsaw. I soon made collection of what the U. S. Gov. and the State of Mo. owed me for my services, and with the proceeds bought a house and lot in Warsaw, Mo., where I managed to work in various offices writing to earn a rather scanty living for myself and family. I was soon appointed Postmaster here and thus was living a little more independently until LINCOLN was assassinated.

Walter Scott MILLER was born December 16, 1865.

When Andrew JOHNSON became president, I did not agree in many things with his policy and being frank and outspoken in my opinions and after the reconstruction the Bourboan and Valandingham Democrats were largely in aseendancy I was after serving as P>M> only 2 or 3 years removed to give place to an Ohio Carpetbagger, Valandingham Democrat.

As no charges had ever been preferred against me, except for political reasons, this made me pretty sore. I now took any odd jobs I could get to support my family. I wrote some in the County Clerks and Recorders offices and worked with William B. LONGAN in getting up abstracts of titles to land in Benton Co., Mo. The first work of the kind that had ever been done in the county. I was getting $40.00 per month which was considered pretty fair wages for those days. While thus engaged Dr. W. S. HOLLAND bought out the store of Holland, Dums and Lay and wanted me to work for him in the store and as I was inexperienced in the business he offered me only $25.00 per month and what goods I used at cost. Gave me a day and a night to consider the matter. I at first thought of refusing the offer as it was $15.00 less per month than I already getting, but after deliberating with my wife and as I wanted to learn the mercantile business, I concluded to accept the job and began immediately to try it for at least one month.

At the end of the month the Dr. proposed to sell me an interest in the store and offered to buy a farm of 160 acres, which I owned some 10 miles out in the country and to loan me enough money besides to pay for a third interest in the store. So I concluded to make the deal. As never expected to live on the farm any way as it was poor and rockey. He allowed me $500.00, and loaned me $1200.00 at 10% interest to pay for the 1/3 of a $6000.00 stock of goods. We went into contract to run one year in the partnership and then if not satisfied we were to invoice and divide the goods, profits, etc.

Francis William MILLER was born May 25, 1869.

At the end of the year, he proposed to sell out the whole business to me and I took him up. HOLLAND loaned me enough money at 10% interest to pay for his share of the stock of goods. (general merchandise) and also recommended me to the Merchants of St. Louis, where we bought our goods in those days.

Willis Holland MILLER was born April 2, 1871.

I ran this business with fair success for 2 or 3 years, until competition became pretty strong and I did not feel that I had sufficient means to successfully meet it. I there-fore began reducing my stock with the intention of removing to some small country town and closing out entirely as soon as I could find a farm or some land I could buy to make a farm.

Nellie Catherine MILLER was born November 2, 1872.

So in the fall of 1873, November 3, I removed to Lowry City, St. Clair Co., Mo. with my family and the remnant of my stock of goods. I rented a rather small store building, putting the goods in the front and my family in the rear part of the building. I bought a small amount of dry goods, groceries, etc in order to fill up so the people would trade with me as there was another general merchandise store in the town. I took produce for the goods and even took fence rails at $3.00 per 100 as I was aiming to buy a piece of land as soon as I could look around a little bit.

I ran a whole lot of the goods off during the winter of 1873 and 1874. And about May 1st. 1874, I bought 80 acres of raw prairie land from John S. HUBBARD paying $3.00 per acre for it. The following is the description of its locality. The E 1/2 of S.W. 1/4 of section 6, township 39, range 25.

During the summer of 1874, I still lived in Lowry City, My wife attended to store trade while worked on our new farm. I had the rails we bought delivered on the land. I fenced a few acres and broke quite a bit of sod, but raised no corn and very little fodder as it was an exceedingly dry season. I also built a two room house and smoke house and moved onto the farm in October 1874. No one raise any corn to amount to anything so we had a hard time getting through the winter. My old friend and teacher Guilford B. PARK let me have two loads of corn of a crop he had got over on the Osage bottoms. We paid 65 cents per bushel. This was all the corn I could find to buy so I hauled wheat from Warsaw at $1.00 per bushel to feed our team and cow and one hog through the winter. Every body had to pay $1.00 for seed corn that was shipped to Clinton from Iowa, No R. R. station nearer than Clinton yet.

This was a fine season and every body made a bouncing big crop of corn and fair crop of oats, potatoes, etc.

On July 20, 1875, Clarence Alvin and Clara Mabel our twins were born increasing our already large family to ten in all.

In the fall of 1875 I taught a 3 months term of school for $25.00 per month.

By the spring of 1877, I had succeeded in fencing the whole 80 acres and had broken out near half of it and was cultivating it in corn. I had gathered up and raised several head of cattle, hogs and sheep and a few head of horses. I had no barn yet but had a long shed board up at sides and ends and covered with hay for a while and afterwards covered with clap boards which I hauled from Benton County. I had also hauled from the same locality the lumber to build the shed.

Almira Myrtle Born, November 25, 1877.

I now took membership in Park Grove Christian Church, and wife and daughters Alice and Ida and Son Walter also baptized and took membership. I had belonged in younger days at Leesville, then Warsaw, Mo., then to Park Grove. We hauled our fire wood some 4 or 5 miles from near the Osage River where I cleared up land for all the timber that would not make 4 good rails to the cut.

My son Walter was now getting large enough to drive a team, and as we had two teams we gathered in our supply of wood pretty fast. We mowed wild prairie grass in summer for hay as we had no meadows yet. There was yet plenty of open prairie land and we took the grass free without any one to say us nay. Every body did this until people began to buy and improve the lands along in 1880.

In Sept. 1880, I bought another 80 acres of land adjoining mine. West 1/2 S.W. 1/4 of section 6, township 39, range 25, for $5.00 per acre. This tract was fractional containing 85 40/100 acres or the whole S.W. 1/4 of the section. People about this time began to use barbed wire for fencing and I was one who objected for much to its use as a great many horses were maimed by, but I soon concluded to fence the balance of farm with it. I had already taken a great deal of t;ouble and paid out considerable money for to get a hedge fence around the first or east 80 acres. I afterwards was sorry I had, for we found that a good fence could not be made of it, and in a few years, we began to dig and pull the Bois De Arc hedge up root and branch and replace it with woven wire which made a good safe fence.

Near this time we built the Park Grove Christian Church having previously worshiped in the R. G. school house.

In the fall of 1885, I began building a larger house as our family had grown in numbers to eleven and were very much crowded. I built a two story house on the South and connected it with the old one, I hauled the hard lumber 12 miles from the Pevely Bend on Osage River.

By the fall of 1886, we had finished and moved into the new house still using the old part for kitchen and dining room.

In August 1890, we concluded as we had now a pretty good dwelling, we would try building a barn. So I tried the lumber yard near us for fair prices on lumber, but could not get them low enough to suit me. So went to Willow Springs in Howell Co., and bought a car load of pine lumber and had it delivered to Lowry City for a great deal less than I could buy it near home.

I bought all the lumber except the shingles which I concluded I could get cheaper and better at Lowry City than at Willow Springs.

hired Mr. FIELD a carpenter of Lowry City, Mo., at $1.50 per day and he, my boys, and myself put up the barn 24 X 60 ft. with 16ft. posts and twelve ft. shed on South and North sides, making the total width 48 ft. After finishing the barn we had ample room for all our stock and grain and hay to feed them with.

July 29, 1894, all at home. Se notes in old book.

August 19, 1894, Clarence joined church.

Clarence Alvin died August 11, 1896.

We were getting everything arranged pretty well to take care of our stock, except we lacked water convenient. So in the fall of 1903, we began to dig a well in the barn yard. We hired M John BOND and his 2 boys to dig and wall the well at $1.50 per ft., he to furnish material and tools and I to board them and two horses. Mr. BOND said he could get me plenty of water at 35 ft., but when they got down the 35 ft., there was no sign of water. So I hired to go on down to 50 ft. depth at same figures and still they got no water. They had struck pretty hard stone to dig or blast, so I offered them $2.00 per ft. to go on till they would find water. But the digging was so hard and expense to keep tools sharp and etc., that let them quit after they had got down 52 ft. They walled the 52 ft. with stone clear from the bottom to the top.

I then hired two men with a 6 in. well auger to drill down in the center of the dug hole 53 ft. more, making 105 ft for total depth of the well and water that was rise 8 ft. deep in the dug part. I paid the drill men $1.00 per foot, making the well cost me about $132.00 just for the digging. I next bought a wind mill that cost me with pump, tank and all thing complete about $90.00 and we had plenty of very hard mineral water that the stock did not like, but I ran tiling from the barn into the well and the large barn roof soon filled the well to brim with good soft rain water.

In the spring of 1907, I took stock in the Mt. Zion Telephone Co, and we built a telephone line from Lowry City to Mt. Zion and bought and put a telephone in our house, I believe there were 10 phones on this line. We had free exchange with all farmer lines centering in Lowry City.

In the fall and winter of 1909, we built the Christian Church house in Lowry City which cost when completed between $1500.00 and $2000.00. It was a frame vaneered with brick. Our family had transferred our membership from Park Grove Church and of course was under obligations to help pay for the building and incidentals of the new Church, which we did to the best of our ability.

This Church had just recently been organized by the labors of Bro. John I ORRISON and by Bro. John H. JONES. The Lowry City Church was organized with very few members, probably 35 or 40. The Church building was dedicated I think in June 1910.

About the 1st. of the tear 1910, we, the whole family, I may say got in the notion of selling our farm, for many reasons, the principal reason being, I was getting too old to labor hard and long enough by myself to take care of the live stock and keep up the farm, and for many other reasons we need not mention here. So we put the farm in the hands of real estate agents to sell, asking $50.00 per acre, but after a short time we reduced the price to $45.00.

So in Feb. 1810, R. L. CRAWFORD and Larue READING, agts, made a sale of the farm to Danl LEWIS of Smithville, Clay County, Mo. at the $45.00 per acre. LEWIS to pay $2000.00 down and gave his note for balance of price, payable in 3 yrs. at 6% int. semi annual, with privilege of paying part of principal at any int. pay period. LEWIS gave me a deed of trust to secure payment, he and wife signing it.

On the 1st. of March, he having completed so far with all requirements, Wife and I made and delivered the warranty deed. We to give full possession the 1st. of April and allowing Mr. LEWIS’s hands to move into one of the houses immediately so they could go to work on the farm. We advertized a public sale to take place 19 of March 1910 and on that day sold all our live stock, farming implements, and part of our house hold goods and began to make preparations for moving to Carrollton as we had made arrangements with my son Willis to move into his residence and he to live with us. He had kindly come down from Carrollton and helped with the sale and about packing our goods, getting car and etc.

On April 1st. or near that date our car arrived at Carrollton and the family a day or two later. Willis and I had already gone on to get everything ready. We thought we might stay with Willis two or three years on his place or until we would find a home suitable to all of us. But I concluded I did not like the town of Carrollton or the surrounding country for a permanent home. So I about the 1st July 1910 went to Kansas City and rented a residence at 2441 Agnes Ave. and by the 4th. moved into it. All except Clara and Myrtle who concluded to stay with Willis and make their home there. I looked over Kansas City quite a good deal hunting a piece of property to make us a home. After some 3 months renting we found the place we concluded would do. On the 25th. day of October 1910, Newton J. KELLY made me a warranty deed to the South thirty nine feet of lot 3, Block 5, in Central Park addition to Kansas City. I paid him $3,700.00 cash. We moved into this property about November 1st. No. 2608 Chestnut.

In the spring of 1911 I bought and set out some peach, plum trees and grape vines and spaded up the back yard or most of it for garden, and found no trouble in raising near all the vegetable we needed.

On March 1st. 1913, Mr. LEWIS paid all the balance of the price of the old home stead and we own not a foot of land except lot we live on in Kansas City, a small lot in Lowry City Cemetery.

Luster Earl Colley to Carol Lee Mattocks, e-mail, 4 October 1998

Source: Luster Earl Colley to Carol Lee Mattocks, e-mail, 4 October 1998.

Dear daughter:

We enjoyed your ‘phone call, and all the news you shared with us.  I answered your first e-mail promptly, but it seems it never arrived on your screen. I hope we have better luck this time.  I told you on the telephone that I had an e-mail address for Jo Ann SPORE, who shares our interest in the WEARS surname. Her e-mail address is:

[…]

Some time ago she shared with us this data extracted from – 1850 census of Mason Co. VA.; page 376, dwelling 212:

George WEARS 52 VA
Martha ” 49 VA
James ” 25 VA
Lucretia ” 18 VA
George ” 15 VA
William ” 13 VA
Jane A. ” 10 VA

And then I compare this with the household listed on page 778 in dwelling 18, of the 1860 census of Springfield Township, Henry County, MO:

James WEARS 35 M VA
Elizabeth ” 27 F NC
George W. ” 1 M MO
Richard B. ” 4/12 M MO
Martha ” 57 F VA
William ” 21 M VA
Jane A. ” 19 F VA
John T. ” 20 M VA

In a perfect world everyone would age exactly 10 years between the 1850 census and the 1860 census. But we are all too sophisticated to believe such perfection.

George who was 52 in 1850 has disappeared; maybe dead, maybe gone to the California gold fields as so many men had done in 1850.

Martha aged from 49 to 57.

James aged from 25 to 35, got himself a wife and children. A James WIER married Elizabeth JONES 20 Sep 1857 in Henry Co. MO. The Bureau of Land Management issued a patent for 200 acres in sections 35 and 36 of Township 42 N Range 25 W, Henry Co. MO, 1 Nov 1859, to James WEAR.

Lucretia WEIR married Richard JONES 20 Dec 1851 in Henry Co. MO. She appears on the 1870 census of Springfield Township, Henry Co. MO at age 35, with her husband and a child, and living in their household is Martha A. WEARS, born VA, now age 70, having aged from 49 in 1850.

George W. WEARS married Martha A. EMERY 25 Feb 18?? in Henry Co. MO (the year of this marriage in the printed record is reproduced as 1838, but this is an obvious error. I am guessing that the correct year is 1858). The Bureau of Land Management issued a patent for 200 acres in sections 11 and 12 of Township 41 N Range 25 West, Henry Co. MO, 1 Nov 1859, to George W. WEARS.

William has aged from 13 to 21 in the 1850-1860 interval. Jane A. has aged from age 10 to age 20. And John T. WEARS has mysteriously appeared in the 1860 household at age 20.

If we assume that the subject household removed from Mason Co. VA after the 1850 census to Springfield Township, Henry Co. MO and before the 1860 census as a family group, we know that the arrival in Henry Co. MO was previous to 20 Dec 1851. That was the date when Lucretia was married in Henry Co.

Now it comes to my attention that there was a William D. WEAR in Henry Co. MO before 1850. He appears to have been a Minister, performing marriages there. For example, I see a marriage performed by him in 1836. A Rev. David WEIR also performed many early marriages in Henry Co.

There is a tradition that our John Thomas WEARS had said that he was born in Craig County, Virginia. At the time he was born, Craig County did not yet exist. So we assume that he meant to say that he was born in what was at that time the neighborhood of Botetourt County, Virginia, which was later set aside to Craig County. The unexpected appearance of a 20 year old John T. RULE [sic] on the 1860 census of Henry Co. MO, in a household where he did not appear to belong, has exercised our interest in this household listed on page 52, dwelling 189, of the 1850 census of Botetourt Co. VA:

James HUFFMAN 30 M Virginia
Harriet ” 31 F ”
Jane ” 10 F ”
Fleming B. CALDWELL 7 M ”
Mary ” 4 F ”
Eliza WIERS 30 F ”
John ” 13 M ”
Harriet CAY 25 F ”
John ” 9 M ”

There is an obvious shortage of young fathers in this household, and again I consider the possible attraction of the California gold rush.

In the records of Botetourt County, Virginia I find that a James HUFFMAN married Harriet CALDWELL 4 December 1839. This appears to identify James and Harriet HUFFMAN and their supposed daughter, Jane, in the listed household.

Let me know if you receive this so I will know we are in communication.

Auf Wiedersehen

Memorial card for Mary E. Wears

Source: Memorial card for Mary E. Wears (died 7 March 1919).

Mary E. WEARS
Born January Sixteenth, Eighteen Hundred
and Forty-five
Died March Seventh, Nineteen Hundred
and Nineteen
At the Age of Seventy-four Years, One
Month and Twenty-one Days
Funeral Services at the Baptist Church,
Conducted by the Rev. W.S. WEIR
At 3 O’clock P.M., Saturday, March
Eighth, Nineteen Hundred
and Nineteen

COULTER, N.C.>KY>MO

Source: Phillip P. Coulter, Jr., “Re: COULTER, N.C.>KY>MO,” at http://www.europa.com/~krcufpc/mesboard/messages/822 html, posted 3 November 1997.

Posted by Phillip P. COULTER Jr on November 03, 1997 at 04:04:04 PM PST.

In Reply to: COULTER. N.C.>KY>MO posted by COULTER, ISAIAH NCKY on September 11, 1997 at 08:56:39 PM PDT.

HAVE ISAIAH COULTER IN WASHINGTON CO., KY 1830, also on Census is a Mark and an Alexander.  ? Is Isaiah COULTER̓s father Martin COULTER [1790 census Morgan District,Lincoln Co., NC]???

Isahia was not the son of Martin. His three sons were Martin Jr, John and Philip

Believe Isaiah COULTER married Rose ______?, they have a daughter Falicia A. COULTER (Born 1823 Wash.Co.KY)

Maybe Mark and Alexander are brothers or uncles.

Falicia A. COULTER m. Jackson RANEY 1838 Wash. Co.KY
Children: James (B.1840;) Mary (B. 1845;) Rose B. (B. 1843;) Thomas COLTER B. 1842 lives with family.

Amy Tanner, family history, undated

Source: Amy Tanner, family history, undated.

The Mattocks family were settlers around Momence. They came from Vermont when Grandfather Cyrus Rumsey Mattocks was quite young. He had 3 brothers and 2 sisters. The brothers were Edwin, Monroe & Walter (Walter must have been the youngest as he visited us about 1910. Momence. He was the only one of the 6 living then.[)] The sisters were Adelaide M. & Abba (Mattocks) Force. Their parents were Ichabod & Matilda Mattocks. They are buried in Shrontz Cemetery Momence. Our grandfather is also buried there. There may be more information on the tombstones. (South west corner of cemetery near some evergreen trees.)

Grandfather Cyrus Rumsey Mattocks was born at Bennington, Vermont in 1827. He died in 1892.

Bennington is along the Walloomsac River (branch of Hudson). He (grandfather) was married to Hester Ann Hess also of Momence. Their children were Walter Andrew Mattocks (that’s Uncle Walter) & William Eugene Mattocks (our father).

After the civil war, they separated. Grandmother married Lucien Jones (Aunt Cora (Jones) Scott’s parents[)]

Grandfather married Abigail Perry (Aunt Abbie’s parents)

Aunt Ida & Uncle Walter were buried at Hobart, Ind.

I don’t know what became of the Grandmothers (I’ll guess) Hester Ann probably Momence, Abigail Kankakee or Aroma

Wm Eugene Mattocks was born April 17, 1861 at Momence, Ill.

He married Anna Mary (Fedde) Mattocks in 1885

Our mother was born in Blankenmoor, Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, Oct. 16, 1864. She died Sept. 5, 1943.

Our father died Sept. 1, 1906.

Their children: (six of us)

Andrew Cyrus, Lake Village, Ind. Feb. 17, 1887 – Nov. 1960

Katie Idella (West Creek near Lowell, Ind.) Oct. 24, 1888 – Sept. 25, 1962

Clara Mabel (Chicago) April 22, 1892 –

Amy Emily (Morocco, Ind.) Aug. 3, 1898

Anna Lorraine (Fair Oakes, Ind.) May 8, 1901 – died fall of 1904 (she was buried at Koutz, Ind.[)]

Walter Clarence born June 7, 1904 at Koutz, Ind.

Fred George Tanner born Kankakee June 3, 1892, married March 17, 1934, died Apr. 21, 1953.

Our mother was buried at Creston, Ind. (near Lowell). Her mother, Uncle John, Aunt Katie & uncle Ed Meyers are also there at Creston. Uncle Henry at Lowell, Ind. (Her two brothers John & Henry & sister Katie & husband.) Maybe the sister Margaret & husband too (Joe Fedde a dist. cousin). These had a daughter Minnie (Fedde) Beckers who lived in Prairie Elk, Minnesota.

Grandfather Cyrus R. Mattocks & 3 brothers enlisted in the Civil War.

From Kankakee County

Edwin Mattocks – 42nd Illinois Infantry, Company D.

Monroe Mattocks – 42nd Ill. Inf., Company D.

• Organized in Chicago, July 22, 1861
• reenlisted Jan. 1, 1864
• Mustered out Dec. 16, 1865 Chicago
• Final discharge Jan 13, 1866

Cyrus R. Mattocks – 113^th Illinois Infantry Co. K from Kankakee County

Walter Mattocks 113^th Ill. Inf. Co. K ” ”

• Both enlisted Aug. 1862.
• Mustered out June 20, 1865.
• Final discharge June 25, 1865.

All four were in marches & battles all over the South. Edwin, Monroe & Walter all went to Kansas so we lost track of them.

Granfather Claus Fedde was born in Germany 1821. Died in Germany 1869.

[Sofia?] A little sister of mothers age 3 yrs. also died & was buried in Germany.

Grandmother Anje (Antja) (Clefdt[?]) Fedde was born in Germany 1823.

Grandmother came to America with the three youngest, Anna age 8, Henry (older than 8), John (younger than 8) in 1872. There were 2 older daughters Katie & Margaret who were already in America & married. Grandmother lived in Sherburnville, Ill., where the 3 went to school & were confirmed in St. Petersburg Lutheran church. She was a seamstress, made ladies dresses & men’s suits. She died in 1892. She was then living with daughter Anna when the folks lived at 63rd & Halsted St. & (William) our dad drove horses on street cars in Chicago, during the World’s Fair.

Amy Tanner to Louise Schmidt, letter, 1 May 1979

Source: Amy Tanner to Louise Schmidt, letter, 1 May 1979.

I was sure our grandfather Cyrus Rumsey Mattocks was born in Bennington, Vermont. – Icabod and Matilda were our great grandparents – mother spoke of them as Icabod and Matilda. During my school days, I began to wonder: did they inspire those names in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”? Did Washington Irving know them? I think I have seen the names on tombstones in Shrontz Cemetery (approx 5 miles east of Momence) next to Grandfather Cyrus Rumsey Mattocks. It seems so real to me but I haven’t been to Shrontz Cemetery since about 1920. The grave stones were toward the south-west corner of the cemetery as it was then. There were other stones there too. As I recall, it looked like a family lot. That is where our father should have been buried, I think.

The four brothers were in service from Kankakee County. We have a “History of Kankakee County” 1906 edition. They are all in that, but only the war records.

I remember hearing the names Abigail and Adelaide but nothing about Josephine. I think Abigail was married to Harv Force. I don’t remember ever hearing of a John; maybe he didn’t come to Illinois and father and mother were not acquainted with him. I’ve heard the family came in a covered wagon to Illinois, had lived in N.Y. at sometime and claimed some Penn. Dutch ancestry. I remember that about 1913 or 1915 Aunt Abbie (Boswell) spent a year or two in Rutland, Vermont. She was with relatives there. She went there after the Boswells – her uncle Charlie and Aunt Phianna died. They had adopted her when her mother, Abigail Perry, Grandfather Mattocks second wife died, and Aunt Abbie was very young. Her Aunt Phianna was her mother’s sister.

In his late years grandfather lived with his sons, his last year with our parents. My grandparents were all gone before my day. Grandmother Fedde lived her last days with our folks too when they lived in Chicago, 1891 and 1892 – at 63rd and Halsted. She died about that time. Clara was born there. My father drove horses that pulled the street cars and cared for the horses and barns. I was born in Morocco, Indiana, so by 1898 they were back this way.

Our Grandmother Hester Ann Hess died when our father was very young (5 or 6 years old). He had no permanent home. He lived with his Uncle Rastus Wells, Aunt Polly Jones, Aunt Miranda, Uncle Rube Hess, the Sherwoods, the West’s, the Parrishes – names I recall hearing and with his father at times. When his sons married, Grandfather Cyrus Rumsey Mattocks gave each son a cow for milk. When we lived on the Merrill Farm, Mahlin Hess lived just S.E. from where you lived – a mile south and a mile east. I think he was Grandmother’s brother, about the last of the old timers I knew of.

Bates County Missouri Cemeteries 1980

Source: E.J. Christiansen, Bates County Missouri Cemeteries 1980, Volume 2 (Clinton, Missouri: The Printery, 1980).

[page 586]

RICH HILL CEMETERIES

Greenlawn, Lutheran, St. Bridgett’s, and Robinson make up the cemeteries at Rich Hill.  A Comprehensive record of all of them is kept in the City Hall and they are maintained by the City.  They lie at the western edge of the town, and are on both sides of the highway.

[page 615]

821. Gracie May, dau. of Joseph & Laura B. HOUGH    d. 9 Dec. 1890 – 1yr.,11mo.,8da.

[page 652]

2025. Frank, husb. of Mary Ellen DANNER            d. 25 Feb. 1904 – 54 yr.

[page 655]

2156. Inf. son of Clarence N. & Nellie HOUGH         d. 9 Feb. 1906 – 1da.

[page 672]

2837. Beverly Earl, son of Beverly Earl & Gladys MATTOCKS                  b. & d. 25 May 1918

[page 675]

2916. Infant of Allen & Eva DANNER            b. & d. 22 May 1919

[…]

2929. Inf. dau. of Clarence & Nellie HOUGH      d. 14 Sept. 1919 –

[page 676]

2951. Pearl May, dau. of A.B. & Rebecca DANNER       d. 9 Feb. 1920 – 6 yr.

[page 677]

2976. A. Bell, dau. of A.B. & Rebecca DANNER         d. 3 May 1920 – 2 yr.

[page 684]

3241. Inf. dau. of B.E. & Gladys MATTOCKS       d. 14 Oct. 1925 – 5 mo.

[page 688]

3394. Walter, son of Beverly & Gladys MATTOCKS       d. 8 Dec. 1928 – 2 mo.

[page 710]

4254. Ed, husb. of Mamie HUFF               d. 5 Jan. 1947 – 66 yr.

[page 713]

4410. Ellen DANNER                   d. 21 July 1950 – 93 yr.

[…]

4426. Ewing PROFFER, husb. of Rachel RICKLEFS        d. 6 Nov. 1950 – 46 yr.

[page 716]

4538. Eva Leona, wife of Allen W. DANNER        d. 30 Oct. 1953 – 65 yr.

[…]

4546. Elizabeth RANEY                  d. 23 Dec. 1953 – 89 yr.

[page 717]

4586. Mamie HUFF                 d. 17 Apr. 1955 – 80 yr.

[page 720]

4714. Alfred T., son of Joseph & Mahalia EASTLAND & husb. of Goldie HOUGH     d. 10 Dec. 1975 – 69y,6m,1d.

[page 726]

4879. Otis Otho, son of Joseph WEST & Esther RAINES & Husb. of Laura DANNER       d. 8 Mar. 1961 – 58y,10m,10d.

[page 728]

4931. Glenn Norman, son of Roy COPE & Myrtle HOUGH                     d. 3 Mar. 1962 – 42 yr.

[page 737]

5166. William J., son of Otho WEST & Laura DANNER & husb. of Hallie Maxine SPEAKS    7 May 1927 – 26 Jan. 1966

[…]

5170. John L., son of ___ COPE & Myrtle HOUGH & husb. of Jean COPE               d. 7 Mar. 1966 – 48 yr.

[page 740]

5229. Allen, son of Frank DANNER & Ellen LOGSTON & husb. of Eva Leona FITZPATRICK     24 Jan. 1882 – 3 June 1967

[…]

5231. Arch, son of Lewis ANDERS & Sarah CARVER & husb. of Mary DANNER             26 Aug. 1886 – 27 June 1967

[page 742]

5279. Lawrence T., son of John & Rebecca HOUGH & husb. of Flossie HOUGH           25 July 1915 – 19 June 1968

[page 743]

5311. Laura Bell, dau. of Frank & Ellen DANNER & wife of (1) Ben LEONARD & (2) Otho WEST                28 Sept. 1898 – 1 Feb. 1969

[page 744]

5353. Charles, son of Leroy COPE & Myrtle HOUGH & husb. of Katherine COPE          18 Mar. 1916 – Dec. 1969

[page 750]

5504. Andrew B., son of Michael DANNER & Mary Ellen LOGSTON FRANKLIN & husb. of Rebecca Jane STARK               16 Oct. 1884 – 22 Aug. 1972

[page 751]

5529. Nora Hannah, dau. of Mark KENNEY & Mary Elizabeth STOUT & wife of Walter HOUGH    2 Sept. 1886 – 26 Dec. 1972

[page 756]

5662. Iva, dau. of Paris WOODALL & Mary CLARK & wife of Leonard HOUGH, Sr          28 Oct. 1892 – 28 July 1975

[page 758]

5689. Thomas F., son of Benjamin LEONARD & Laura DANNER & husb. of Bonnie THURSTON                  1 Feb. 1916 – 21 Feb. 1976

[page 761]

5765. Benjamin Lewis, son of John HOUGH & Rebecca JONES                    22 Sept. 1892 – 13 Oct. 1977

[…]

5782. Orpha W., dau. of Leroy A. STEWART & Bessie J. WHITE & wife of Lewis B. DANNER                    8 May 1924 – 12 Mar. 1978

[page 764]

5858. Eugene “Red” HOUGH               22 June 1933 – 19 Sept. 1979

[page 837]

SALEM CEMETERY

59. John T. HOUGH                    1923 – 1943

[page 851]

546. John Q. HOUGH                   1856 – 1938

Hester M.                       1866 – 1922

[page 856]

SCOTT CEMETERY

47. Calista E. DANNER                  Feb. 8, 1892 – Jan. 11, 1899

Bates County Missouri Cemeteries 1980

Source: E.J. Christiansen, Bates County Missouri Cemeteries 1980, Volume 1 (Clinton, Missouri: The Printery, 1980).

[page 351]

OAK HILL CEMETERY – M.P.

This Oak Hill Cemetery lies in Mount Pleasant (thus the designation M.P.) Township, Sec. 23.  It lies just east of town of Butler on H. Hwy.

[…]

11. Clarence E. HOUGH        1911 – 1968

Edna M.            1914 –

[…]

20. Wilbur E. DONNER        1913 – 1964

Sgt. WW II            1913 – 1964

[377]

705. Mrs. L.B. HOUGH

706. E.M. DANNER        4 Oct. 1909

707. Daniel FISHER        1821 – 1891

Lucy FISHER            1845 – 1911

708. Illegible

C.H. FORD, son of John FORD

Tod FISHER

P.M. GATES

Co D 7th Ill Inf.

R.E.-d

Illegible

J.M. SCOFFIELD

Co C 18th Pa Cav.

Mrs. SCOFFIELD

Bulah DANNER                   1918

Millie Dunn SEWARD        1863 – 1928

[page 385]

948. E.H. HUFF            1890 – 1958

Pvt. U.S. Army WW I

Lola B. HUFF            1896 –

[page 568]

PAPINVILLE CEMETERY

[…]

67.  Albert D. HOUGH        26 Dec. 1915 – 6 Dec. 1918

Pereza M. HOUGH        28 Apr. 1917 – Dec. 1918

Luster Earl Colley to JoAnn (Wear) Spore, e-mail, 11 December 1998

Source: Luster Earl Colley to JoAnn (Wear) Spore, e-mail, 11 December 1998.

On Wed, 09 Dec 1998 20:04:52 -0700 JoAnn WEAR SPORE writes:

Earl,

I just bought a new Family TreeMaker CD today and rented another one. The #227 Marriage Index: AR, CA, IA, LA, MN, MO, OR, TX 1728-1850 showed the following marriage in Henry Co., MO: George W. WEARS married Martha A. EMERY 25 Feb 1838. Is this your George and would this explain why Martha went to Henry Co. I checked to see if there was a marriage for Armisted EMBREY to Mildred _______ but found nothing. If this is the correct George and Martha he had to have a first wife? Did I get something mixed up??????

I had not thought of the interpretation that you suggest, but I think I can see your viewpoint. But I think I can offer some counter-arguments. I will describe how I came to the conclusion I have had for a long time.

Years ago, I bought a copy of the paper ound, typescript book titled, “HENRY COUNTY, MISSOURI MARRIAGE RECORDS; 1835-1861” by Betty Harvey Williams; 1966. My attention was immediately attracted to the item recording the marriage of George W. WEARS to Martha A. EMERY 25 Feb. 1838; by Daniel BRIGGS M. G. I immediately wrote in red ink my own note, “maybe 1858”. I have been a victim of errors in printed copies of records before, and I had long planned to get the film of the original marriage book to check what I suspected to be a misreading of the original source.  But I plan faster than I execute, and I still have not checked the film of the original record.

Since George WEARS has a wife (I assume) named Martha in 1850 in Mason county, VA, there seems to be a strange possibility that George WEARS married Martha A. EMERY (EMBRY) in Missouri in 1838, went to Virginia where they had children, then the mother and children came back to Missouri soon after 1850. If this happened, then the first child of the theoretical marriage would have been no more than about age 21 in 1850.  But the George and Martha WEARS in VA in 1850 had a son, James, age 25.  To explain that, we would have to assume, as you say, that George had a previous wife.

I think that the FTM people copied the record published by Mrs. Williams, errors and all, rather than going to the original record. Or maybe they just made the same mistake that Mrs. Williams made.

Here is my version, which could just be wishful thinking:

The familes headed by George WEARS, born about 1798 in VA, and by Armistead EMBREY, born about 1795 in VA, were neighbors and close friends in Mason county, Virginia. Soon after 1850, both families removed to Henry county, Missouri where they were again neighbors. On the 1860 census of Henry Co. MO the George W. WEARS family is listed in dwelling 7, while the EMBRY family is listed in dwelling 8. In the 1850 census, the WEARS family included a George WEARS, age 15, while the EMBRY family included a Martha A. EMBREY, age 10.  After moving to MO, in 1858, George WEARS was about age 23 and Martha A. EMBREY was about age 18.  Then and there they married. On the 1860 census of Henry county, MO, George W. WEARS, age 24, Carpenter, is head of a household with Marth A. WEARS, age 21, and an infant boy age 1 month. George W. WEARS was killed at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia, 20 June 1964, a southern soldier. Martha married again to a man by surname DODSON, and they continue to appear on the Henry Co. MO census.

We have a clue to the approximate date when the WEARS family moved from VA to Henry Co. MO in the Henry Co. MO marriage of Lucretia WEIR to Richard JONES 20 Dec. 1851. I think there may be a strong possibility that George WEARS (the elder) was caught up in the gold excitement (the 49ers) and left his family in Missouri to go to the California gold fields. Many heads of families were missing at that time for that reason.  Many of these adventurers died before they could return to their families.

I copied some land patent documents from the Bureau of Land Management web site. Among them is a record for a George W. WEARS, dated 1 November 1859. The subject land was in St. Clair county. St. Clair is my birthplace, the next county south of Henry county. John Thomas WEARS later moved from Henry county to my home village of Lowry City.  I have a vague recollection of him as a very old soldier. I was married to Doris WEARS, a granddaughter of John Thomas WEARS.  Carol MATTOCKS is our daughter.

I have more “stuff” if you want to hear it.

Luster Earl Colley to Gregg Leon Mattocks, letter, 14 October 1997

Source: Luster Earl Colley to Gregg Leon Mattocks, letter, 14 October 1997.

October 14, 1997

Dear Gregg:

Oma sequestered all my birthday greeting mail that arrived before my birthday party.  some way, your card got by her.  So I got it directly.

My birthday was predated a little bit to Sunday, since everyone has more time on sunday.  Aldine and I went over to Barbie’s house for my birthday party.  Barbie made ham loaf and all the fixins that I like and my birthday cake was a black raspberry pie.  Barbie knows what I like.  When everyone was full of good food, they brought out a heap of mail from my descendants, that they had been saving.  They demanded that I read it all out loud and pass around the pictures.  I never had so much mail all at one time and had so many say such nice things about me.  Fathers usually have to be dead to get so much favorable fan mail.  It was so much fun I would like to be 80 again next year.

I have a new status symbol as a Family History Expert.  I have been working as a substitute at the Mormon Library for several years.  Just recently they gave me a promotion, and I am now a member of the regular staff.  There was no pay raise.  Everyone on the staff gets the same pay, nothing.  But I feel well paid in fun and being able to associate with the nicest, smartest people in the whole world.

I have been working on several projects.  One project is to gather data for an eventual history of Butler Township, St. Clair Township, MO.  A lot of your ancestors came from that place.  I doubt I will ever live so long as to write the book, but maybe you and your mother can take over where I leave off.

I have a working version of a program I wrote in “C” language that I hope will combine census records in a new useful way.  I have entered a lot of data from the 1900, 1910, and 1920 census of Butler township in a raw data base.  I hope to do the 1880 census for Butler Twp this winter.  The new idea of my program is that it will combine a sorted version of the combined censuses so the people will be grouped together.  That way, you will be able to see on a single screen how a person ages and how their situation changed as the decades pass.  I also have entered a lot of WW1 draft data and a lot of marriage records for Butler Twp and other parts of St. Clair County.

I made photocopies of the original draft records for your great grandfather WEARS and your great grandfather COLLEY.  I will enclose a photo-copy of the one for GGfather WEARS.  Both Doris and I existed at that time as mere embryos, so I imagine the registration of prospective fathers for military service was something of a shock to the prospective mothers.  Now as I take a closer look at the copy, I see that Doris had already been born.  She was born in August and I wasn’t born until October.

Just a short time ago a correspondent sent me some new material about our SAYLOR family.  The best way to explain this is to make an abbreviated Ahnentafel which I will extend a bit for later purpose:

1. Gregg MATTOCKS
2. Leon MATTOCKS
3. Carol Lee COLLEY
6. Earl COLLEY
12. James Alvin COLLEY
13. Vida MILLER
26. Walter MILLER

[Earl makes a mistake here.  Catherine Gilley was the mother, not the wife of Walter Miller.]

27. Catharine GILLEY b 2 May 1840 Washington Co. TN, d MO
52. William MILLER
54. Abraham (Absalom) GILLIS (GILLEY) married 12 Oct 1837 Washington Co. TN
55. Mary SAILOR (SAYLOR)
104. Henry MILLER
105. Hannah BISHOP b Chester District, SC ca1884; d Benton Co. MO after 1850
110. John SAYLOR b 1775 Lebanon Twp. Lancaster Co. PA; d TN; m 26 Dec 1797 Rockingham Co. TN
111. Betsy KYSOR
210. James BISHOP b PA; d Hopkins Co. KY
222. Henry KISOR (KYSOR)
420. Nicholas BISHOP b DE, d Chester District SC.

Items 111. and 222. I have long suspected were true, but the new data I received gives me much more confidence.  The marriage of John SAYLOR and Betsy KYSOR is recorded in the book “Rockingham Co., VA Marriages 1778-1816” by Strickler.  The book can be found in many Genealogical libraries.  The new data I got goes back several generations and says the SAYLORs were Mennonites from Switzerland.  I haven’t yet examined this story well enough to want to give it my blessing.  I sent in a request to the Main Mormon Library in Salt Lake City for a film that I hope will add some detailed proof to the story.

While I was in the process of writing this letter the mail man delivered our mail.  I received my copy of the quarterly Bulletin of the Chester District Genealogical Society.  I have subscribed to it for many years and sometimes contribute material for them to print.  In this issue is one thing of particular interest to us.  I will enclose photo-copies of three pages.  The interesting part is the inset on page 112, but I copied the preceding and following page to include some background.

Henry BISHOP was an older brother of our James BISHOP (James BISHOP is number 210 on the previous Ahnentafel).  Henry BISHOP was a Captain in the Patriot army.  The whole BISHOP family with all their Patriot neighbors formed a refugee train of ox carts and such to retreat from the British and Tory threat.  They headed for Charlotte, NC where there was a stronger Patriot army for protection.  The men with the refugee train went to attack the British at Hanging Rock to turn them away from attacking the refugee women and children.  Henry BISHOP was wounded at the Hanging Rock battle.  He was carried in the refugee train to Charlotte, where he died of his wounds.  I have long searched for additional records about the battle and the refugee experience.  The British burned houses and killed all the live-stock that the refugees could not carry along with them.  I suppose most historians did not think the battle at Hanging Rock was very important, because not enough soldiers were killed there.

I often scan the data you sent me a long time ago, and think how much time you have invested.  Since I live in the Northeast, I have been aware that our County Library may have some sources that have not been readily available to you.  I hope to take advantage of that, but I never seem to stay on one subject very long.  I keep getting diverted by peripheral quests.

I hope your mother can soon get her life back on track and have time to pursue our mutual interest in family history.  She tells me that property values in the peninsula are so poor that she expects a difficult time in selling her house.  We have the same surplus real estate situation here, and I would have a difficult time selling my house.  I would really like to avoid the tribulations of being a home owner and move back to Columbia, MO.  The Missouri Historical Society is there and the MO University Library.  As an alumnus of the University and an ex-teacher, I would be eligible for using a lot of the School facilities.

Tell me about the computer you are now using.  I still have my old 386 DX machine.  For a long time I also had another machine on my desk based on a 286 mother board that I bought second hand for $29.  But I could not run WINDOWS on that.  I resisted WINDOWS long after most of my friends were using it, but almost all software now requires windows.  When JUNO (no cost internet access) was offered it was the last straw.  JUNO requires WINDOWS.  Being too much of a tightwad to pay for “Intel inside”, I upgraded to a K5 processor made by AMD.  It works great, and I don’t see how paying the price for a Pentium would have given me any better service.  Other components are also gettig cheap, so I have 32 Meg of ROM, a slow PC disk reader, and a 2.5 Gig hard drive.

I really make good use of having two computers side by side.  I do a lot of writing.  I use the old 386 as if it were a dedicated word processor, and use the K5 machine to look up data as the subject of my writing demands.  It is possible to switch windows on a single screen to get that result, but my system allows me to have two full screens visible at the same time.

I would be glad to hear of your adventures, but I know that like all of us, your time is fully engaged.  If the next I hear from you is my 90th birthday card, I will understand.  But I will be pleased to hear sooner.

With the affection I have for all my extensive clan,

Old grandfather

Earl

Early Christian Church Members, Paradise, Mo.

Source: Mrs. Edith Sims, “Early Christian Church Members, Paradise, Mo.,” Kansas City Genealogist 23[1982-1983].

[page 77]

Established 1871, Clay County

COLLEY, Mrs. Cora

now McDANIEL

[…]

COLLEY, Arthur

COLLEY, W.E.         X

[…]

[page 78]

McDANIEL, Thomas

[page 79]

A protracted meeting held by Bro. WATSON and (?) 1893
The following names were enrolled

X   James STRODE        Rec. gone to Methodist

[page 80]

STRODE  Mr. James        X

to Methodist

STRODE  Mrs.

[…]

STRODE, Nannie        X

[page 81]

[Protracted meeting held by Bro. John T OWENS from July the 19th
The following names were enrolled]

[…]

32. Arthur COLLEY        Con

[…]

39. Benj. McDANIEL          X    Con

[page 82]

Protracted Meeting beginning the 3d Lords day in Aug. 1895 Held by Bros. OWEN and HARRIS

[…]

12. Mr. W.E. COLLEY        Con

[page 178]

For the year 1901 Brother WATSON was employed – and the following were added to the Church:

[…]

Jessie COLLEY         Con

Earl COLLINS          Con

[…]

1903 – Bro. DAVIS was Employed.  The following were added to the Church:

Mr. Aurthur COLLEY        Res.

[…]

Names of members of the Christian Church, Paradise, Mo. – 1903

[page 179]

[…]

McDANIEL, Thos.

McDANIEL, Mrs. Cora (dead)

Marriage Records of Clay County, Missouri

Source: Elizabeth Prather Ellsberry, Marriage Records of Clay County, Missouri, 1852-1900, Volume 2 (Chillicothe, Missouri: published by the author, 1962).

[page 1]

1867, Aug. 21 – James H. COOLEY and Fannie J. GOSNEY; F. MONTGOMERY; Aug. 26, 1867

[page 6]

1868, April 5 – George HUFF and Louise M. CARREL; Arthur F. GAUL, April 20, 1868

[page 11]

1868, Dec. 31 – William COLLY and Mary MEAK; M.W. NARAMORE, M.G.; Jan. 4, 1869

[page 26]

1868, Jan. 12 – Michael F. DANNER and Sarah Jane BUTLER; Anthony HARSEL, J.P.; Jan. 18, 1868

[page 27]

1870, Dec. 15 – E.E. LIGON and M.F. WARREN; Asa N. BIRD, M.G.; Feb. 8, 1871

[page 29]

1871, Dec. 8 – George B. CRUTCHFIELD and Mary C. HUFF; P. AKER, M.G.; March 29, 1871

[page 33]

1871, Sept. 13 – I.H. YOUNG and Katie LIGON; F.R. PALMER, Nov. 3, 1871

[page 35]

1872 [1871?], Sept. 18 – John L. LIGON and Senie M. CREEK; Asa N. BIRD, M.G.; March 4, 1872

1871, Oct. 15 – James G. WEAR and Lon J. COATES; Asa N. BIRD, M.G.; March 4, 1872

[page 37]

1872, Feb. 15 – John J.B. BUSH and Mary COLLEY; William WARREN, M.G.; April 15, 1872

[page 38]

1873, Jan. 16 – V.P. COLLEY and Mary LIGON; Asa BIRD, M.G.; Feb. 11, 1873

[page 39]

1873, June 2 – John M. MABE and Nancy HUFF; William WARREN, M.G.; July 30, 1873

[page 43]

1874, Dec. 31 – H.M. COOLEY and Ella F. RAGAN; Mileo B. HOLMON, M.G.; Jan. 28, 1875

[page 46]

1875, Aug. 12 – R.L. VERMILLION and Mary O. COOLEY; L.J.A. PRATHER, Dec. 7, 1875

[…]

1875, Dec. 16 – David H. HUFF and Emma A. HAMILTON; L.J.A. PRATHER, M.G.; Dec. 28, 1875

[page 49]

1877, Jan. 28 – George R. HUFF and Almarinda CODINGTON; Daniel PATTON, M.G.; Feb. 5, 1877

Lowry City Quasquicentennial 1871-1996

Source: Sharon Murray, Lowry City Quasquicentennial 1871-1996 (Lowry City, Missouri: Osage Chigger
Publishing Company).

[page 155]

LOWRY CITY POST OFFICE

Postmasters	Title	Date appointed
Geo. PENN	Postmaster	07/24/1871
[…]
Walter S. MILLER	Postmaster	03/04/1911
[…]
Mr. Francis E. COLLEY	Postmaster	03/18/1972

[page 156]

In 1940 when Francis (Gene) COLLEY was hired as clerk, the office hours were 7:30 AM to 6 PM Monday through Saturday.

[page 157]

During WWII, Gene COLLEY, Clerk & Boyd EVERSOLE were both drafted into the Army.  Winnie Wright BRACK served as acting clerk and later acting postmaster and Dowdy SHOEMAKER served as acting postmaster.  Gene COLLEY and Boyd EVERSOLE returned to their positions at the post office in December 1945.

[page 159]

Walter S. MILLER, postmaster in 1911 was Gene COLLEY’s grandfather.  Gene COLLEY was appointed postmaster in 1972 where he served until his retirement, December, 1978.

[page 245]

J.D. SNYDER (SCHNEIDER) Family

Mr. & Mrs. J.D. SNYDER and family of eight children moved from the Mt. Zion neighborhood to their new home in northeast part of Lowry City, March 13, 1904.  The roads were so muddy some of the children got out and walked to their new home on the hill.  They were riding in the “surrey with the fringe on top.”

After moving to Lowry two more boys (Uel and H.D. “Tat”) were added to the family – making five girls and five boys.

J.D. SNYDER loved mules and “The SNYDER Mules” were known all over Missouri as well as other states.  Many blue ribbons were taken at the State Fair and smaller fairs.  He was also a cattleman.

Mr. SNYDER was also a community worker.  He helped organize the Farmers State Bank of which he was President; and the Farmers Exchange now known as M.F.A.  He was President of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. for many years and served on the school board for several terms.  He owned several farms in St. Clair and Henry Counties.  Mr. SNYDER died in 1942.

Mrs. SNYDER loved her family and liked to sew for them as well as many neighbor girls.  She helped several girls with their dresses for graduation.  She enjoyed cooking and never knew how many would be sitting at her table before the day ended.

They had ten children, five boys & five girls:

Mary married Wm. BUNCH.  They had nine children: Opal L. married Paul NICHOLS.  Leo Clifford married Martha M. YOUNG.  Anna married Chuck MINICK, her second marriage was to Robert HORN.  Ray married Joyce PATSKI.  Winford G. married Arthur S. JONES.  John H. firt married Goldena RAY (later divorced).  Irene C. married Thomas E. JONES.  Gene L. married Effie Blanch DAVIDSON.  Lena L. married Durwood SCOTT.

Emma A. married Lee Gaines CHARLES.  They had four children: Edison L. married Doris LONGCOR; Lucille married Glen BANTA; Evelyn married Walter SHIPLEY; Ermalee married Boyd E. CAMPBELL.

Lora L. married Carl A. STEHWIEN.  They had four children: Dennis S. married Mary Ann CALIFF; John Daniel married Geraldine HAWKINS; Elva M. married Vicotr MANSKE; Bette J. married Donald D. RICE.

Pearl I. first married McCLAIN.  Divorced and married (the second time) Treo WITTY.

William Orr married Grace DELOZIER.  They had three children: Annabell married Kenneth RUFENACHT.  Thelma Byrdeen married Otis H. BLACKWELL.  Billie J. married Cletis D. MURPHY.

John Thomas married Undean PARK.

Lula May married Edwin Lyle MITCHELL.

Joseph Charles married Eula FEASTER.

Uel Hadley married Janet NESBIT.

Howard Dale (Tat).

There are about 200 direct descendents (grandchildren, great grandchildren, great, great grandchildren).

Bette STEHWIEN RICE, granddaughter of J.D. and Anna SNYDER now lives on the old family farm.

[page 267]

WEARS Family

John T. WEARS, the first member of the family to reside in Lowry City, was born in Newcastle, VA. in 1837.  He came to Missouri in 1860 and Mary E. RANEY, who was born in Louisville, Ky.

John T. WEARS was a veteran of the Civil War serving for three years in Company “C”, 7th Regiment, Missouri Calvary.  He had a brother serving in the Confederate Army who was killed in action; consequently, relationships with his family in Virginia were broken, and never resumed.

Mary RANEY WEARS united with a Baptist church in 1862 and John T. WEARS united with the church in 1868.  They were members at Tebo Baptist which they joined in 1904.  They continued in fellowship with the church until Mary WEARS death in 1919 and John WEARS death in 1930.

John T. and Mary WEARS had eleven children; two dying in infancy.  All, or most of the others, lived in Lowry City at some time in their young adult lives.  One son, Thadeus, was in the insurance and real estate business for many years in Lowry City.  The youngest child, Fred, was a barber in Lowry City for many years until his death in 1957.

Fred W. WEARS was born in Mt. Zion, Mo. and married Mary J. CARVER who was born in Roscoe, Mo.  During their married life they moved away from Lowry City several times, returning the last time in 1945.

Fred W. and Mary WEARS had five children, all born in Lowry City.  The first born was Doris WEARS COLLEY, who now lives in Ocean Park, Wa.  Next born was Leo Glenn who retired from the Marine Corps and now lives Ocotillo, CA.  Followed by Helen WEARS JUCHET who now lives in Raytown, Mo.  Next born was John E. WEARS who retired from AT & T and lives in Kansas City, Mo.  The last born was Harold G. WEARS who retired from the Kansas City, Mo. Police Department and lives in rural Lowry City.  All of the five children, except John, graduated from Lowry City High School; John graduated from Northeast High School in Kansas City, Mo.

Harold G. WEARS married Gloria R. HADSALL, a transplanted Iowan and graduate of Lowry City High School in 1952.  They have two children; Thomas G. WEARS, a naval submarine officer, who resides with his wife and three children in Virginia Beach, VA., and a daughter, Ann WEARS MULVIHILL who resides in Washington D.C. where she and her husband are employed.

While we cannot recount a 125 year relationship with Lowry City we can trace an interest and involvement spanning 100 years.  Fred WEARS served a term as Mayor of Lowry City and it is believed it was during this time, or possibly later with his help, the first sign with the motto “Where the Ozarks Meet the Plains” was erected.

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies

Source: Lt. Col. Robert N. Scott, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 34, Part 4 – Correspondence, Etc. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1891).  [WorldCat]

[page 298]

WARRENSBURG, MO., June 10, 1864.

Col. JAMES McFERRAN:

Pursuant to Special Orders, No. 10, dated headquarters Third Sub-District, District of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, Mo., June 5, 1864, I left Warrensburg, Mo., on the 6th day of June, 1864, in command of 15 men, detachments of Companies C and I, of the Seventh

[page 299]

Regiment of Cavalry, Missouri State Militia, and proceeded to Globe Post-Office, Johnson County, Mo., scouting the country thoroughly, and found 2 bushwhackers at one Mr. SPENCER’s, wounded 1 of them, but made their escape; distance marched, 15 miles.  June 7, 1864, scoured the country up and down Post Oak Creek, finding no bushwhackers; distance marched, 15 miles.  June 8, 1864, continued to scout through the wood and brush, finding no bushwhackers in the vicinity; distance marched, 15 miles.  June 9, 1864, continued to scour the country over on Bush Creek; discovered 2 bushwhackers but could not get near them; distance marched, 20 miles.  June 10, 1864, turned for camp from one Mr. KING’s; discovered 2 bushwhackers near one Mr. ROBINSON’s, on Post Oak Creek; chased them very closely, but could not get near enough to catch them.  Arrived in camp at 12 m. on 10th June, 1864.  Total distance marched, 80 miles.

JOHN T. WEARS,

Sergt., Co. C, Seventh Cav., M. S. M., Comdg. Scout.

The History of Henry and St. Clair Counties, Missouri

Source: The History of Henry and St. Clair Counties, Missouri, Containing a History of These Counties, their Cities, Towns, etc., etc., reprint of 1883 edition (Clinton, Missouri: Henry County Historical Society, 1968), page 1185.

[Butler Township]

FRANK M. MILLER

farmer and stock raiser, section 6, was born in Benton County, Missouri, November 8, 1838. His father, William MILLER, was a Kentuckian by birth, and a son of Henry MILLER, a native of North Carolina. The maiden name of his mother was Levina WILLIAMS, of Georgia. The subject of this sketch was reared in Benton County and there received a common school education. He followed school teaching in that county for about five years and then engaged in merchandising at Warsaw for five years. In 1873 he came to St. Clair County and now owns a farm containing 165 acres, all well improved. In 1862 he enlisted in the Enrolled Missouri Militia, and was discharged in 1864. Mr. M. held the office of deputy United States Assessor, for the counties of Hickory, Benton and Camden for some time. He was also postmaster at Warsaw under LINCOLN. He is a member of the Christian Church. November 8, 1860, Mr. MILLER was married to Miss C. GILLEY, a native of Tennessee. They have nine children: Alice C., Ida M., Walter S., Francis M., Willis H., Nellie C., Clarence A. and Clara M. (twins) and Alma M.

Mrs. John Carver Dies

Source: “Mrs. John Carver Dies,” unidentified 1938 newspaper clipping from the collection of Carol Lee Mattocks.

MRS. JOHN CARVER DIES
──────────
Mother of Mrs. Fred WEARS Pass-
es Away at Weaubleau
Hospital.
──────────

Word was received here Friday night of the death at the Weaubleau hospital of Mrs. John CARVER, 68, of Gerster, mother of Mrs. Fred WEARS of Osceola.

Death came at 9:15, following a brief illness. Mrs. WEARS had been in Weaubleau since her mother was taken there Wednesday. Mr. WEARS went to Weaubleau Friday night, and Mrs. WEARS accompanied him home.

Funeral services will be held Sunday morning at 10 o’clock at the King’s Prairie church. Interment will be in the King’s Prairie cemetery.

Obituary of Mary E. Wears

Source: “Obituary [of Mary E. Wears],” unidentified 1919 newspaper clipping from the papers of Carol Lee Mattocks.

Obituary

Mary E. WEARS, after a long illness, passed away Friday morning at her home in Lowry City, surrounded by her husband, John T. WEARS, and all of her children, except one son, R.J. WEARS, of Arizona, who could not get here in time.

The deceased was born in Washington county, Kentucky, January 16, 1845, and died at her home in this city March 7, 1919, at the age of 74 years, 1 month and 21 days. She has been a resident of this city for over twenty years. In 1862 she joined the Baptist church and had been a member ever since. She was united in marriage to John T. WEARS of Henry county, Missouri, March 26, 1862. To this union were born twelve children of whom nine are now living: Six sons, E.T. of Lewis, Kansas; G.W. of Higgins, Texas; J.G. of Eclar, Texas; R.J. of Arizona, and T.S. and Fred of Lowry City; and three daughters, Mrs. Mattie MARSH and Mrs. Minnie BARBER of Kansas City, Missouri, and Mrs. Uilla BAGLEY of Lowry City.

Though ill for a long time preceding her death Mrs. WEARS bore her suffering without a murmur.  Everything that loving hands could do was done to help relieve her suffering but all in vain, and she quietly passed away.

Rev. W.S. WEIR of Adrian, Mo., an old-time friend of the family preached her funeral Saturday at the Baptist church to a large concourse of her friends and neighbors, and she was tenderly laid away that evening in the Barnett cemetery.

The many friends of the WEARS family will extend their heartfelt sympathy to them in their bereavement.

───────────

CARD OF THANKS

We thank the neighbors and friends for their kindness shown during the sickness and death of our dear beloved mother.

John T. WEARS and Children.

Annals of Platte County, Missouri

Source:  W.M. Paxton, Annals of Platte County, Missouri, from Its Exploration Down to June 1, 1897: With Genealogies of Its Noted Families, and Sketches of Its Pioneers and Distinguished People (Kansas City, Missouri: Hudson-Kimberly Publishing Company, 1897).

[page 28]
[Year – 1839]

THE BRASFIELDS.

June 10 — Major James Brasfield died at his home on Todd’s Creek. His widow, Jane, and his oldest son, Thos. W. R., were appointed, November 9, administrators, with the will annexed.  The father of deceased was Wylie Roy Brasfleld, of English lineage, born in Virginia April 19, 1766; removed to Kentucky, and m’d Elizabeth Berry, daughter of Thomas. She was b. November 4, 1771, and d. October 21, 1837. Their son,

JAMES BRASFIELD

Was b. in Clark Co., Ky., September 25, 1790, and d. in Platte, June 10, 1839. He was a major in the War of 1812 — lost an eye in the service, drew a pension to the day of his death, m’d, June 6, 1816, Jane Lafferty, b. February 5, 1799, d. January 15, 1880.  She was a dr. of Thos. Lafferty, of Scotch parentage, b. January 14, 1771, d. July 25, 1828, and his wife, Eleanor Strode, b. in Virginia, February 16, 1783, and d. April 17, 1868.  Maj. James Brasfield received a finished education, read extensively, and was a chaste writer of both prose and poetry.  He was sheriff of Clark County, Kentucky, for eight years, and a practical surveyor of large experience. He came with his family to Clinton Co., Mo., in 1834, and removed thence to Platte, in the spring of 1838. He was the surveyor who, under Commissioner M. M. Hughes, fixed the northern line of Platte County.

[page 70]
[April 12, 1845]
[A COPY OF THE “PLATTE ARGUS.”]

A list of 140 letters is published, as remaining in the post-office at Platte City, by J. H. Johnston, postmaster. At that day every letter in the office at the end of the quarter was published.  Among the names are:  […] J.P. Srite […]

[page 98]
[Year – 1848]

Feb. 9 — Ann Strode, administratrix of Constant Strode.

[page 140]

FRENCH S. WILSON

[…] He was born in Virginia, and m’d Harriet Litzenberg, who d. June 23, 1848.

Children by his second wife [not Harriet]:

[…]

[page 141]

• FRENCH S. WILSON (ii), m’d Eliz. Rule, dr. of Bolivar.  Ch:
  • 1. Norvel. 2. Hattie. 3. Lena Wilson.

[page 180]

Georgiana [Beckum], b. Feb. 13, 1845; m’d March 5, 1861, H. Scott Yates, b. Dec. 26, 1834, son of Chas. Yates and Emily McManus. Mr. Yates was a Confederate State guard for six months; a member of Capt. W. J. Miller’s Co. I., Winston’s regiment of infantry. He is a Knight Templar, and a highly respected citizen.  He came to Platte in 1857. Ch: [a] Ella Yates, b. in 1862; m’d Jan. 19, 1881, John Wilson; [b] John, b. Jan. 20, 1864; m’d in 1884, Martha A. Timberlake; 3 children; [c] Ada Yates; [d] Susan, m’d in 1889, Bolivar Rule (ii) (see); 1 child; [e] William; [f] Edward; [g] Eliza; [h] Grace; [i] Thomas H.; [j] Flora Yates.

[page 371]
[Aug. 1, 1864]

THE DISLOYAL LIST.

Under General Order No. 24, the disloyal citizens are required to give bond, and are disfranchised. A list is furnished each precinct. The following is a partial list: […] Elijah Justus, […]

[page 372]

[…] W.M. Rule, […]

[page 478]
[Year – 1869]

CHARLES A. MANN.

Sept. 9 — Charles A. Mann is brutally attacked by a man named Bullock, and receives injuries of which he dies. He was a farmer, living eight miles east of  Platte City, and possessed a large heart and generous feelings.  His violent death was much deplored, but the culprit escaped. He was born in Virginia September 22, 1804, and married November 11, 1829, Elizabeth Blanton, born February 29, 1812, in Virginia. She was a daughter of Lawrence Blanton and Gilley Colley. They came in 1840 to Clay County, and thence, in 1843, to Platte, settling on Second Creek, where the widow yet resides.

[page 487]
[Feb. 1, 1870]

JOHN P. SRITE.

John P. Srite, having died, his widow, America, administers.  He was a worthy farmer living on Todd’s Creek.  He married America Rule, daughter of William S. Rule.  Ch:

• ELIZABETH SRITE, m’d Jas. Rogers.
• ALBERT, m’d Minnie Eppard.
• EMMA SRITE, m’d Geo. Dunlap.
• LAVINIA, died; m’d James Earl.
• CORA SRITE, m’d Jas. Colley.
• LETTIE.
• ANNA, m’d Nov. 8, 1883, Thornton Coons.

[page 586]
[Sept. 28, 1874]

The Democratic Central Committee are: […] 10, Bolivar Rule; [… 12 members]

[page 647]

ARCHIBALD WILLS died, aged 87. He was a soldier of the War of 1812. He married Nancy Hoffman, who died April 25, 1894. Children: 1, Eliza Ann, m’d Bolivar Rule (see); 2, Sallie J., m’d W.S. Kerr (see); 3, James, m’d Virginia Reeve; 4, Mary E., m’d William Pickett; 5, Amanda, m’d Ed Alexander.

[page 668]
[Year – 1878]

NOVEMBER.
ELECTION.

[…]

County Judge (East District) — W. Chesnut, 1,033; B. Rule, 477.

[page 669]
[Year – 1878]

WILLIAM S. RULE

Dec. 22 – William S. Rule died at his home near Linkville.  He was born in Bourbon County, Ky., October 3, 1793.  He married, first, Maria Bates, daughter of Warren.  Ch:

• BOLIVAR GARRET RULE, b. in Bourbon Co., Ky., Oct. 2, 1825; d. in Platte Nov. 28, 1888;m’d in Nov., 1844, Eliza M. Wills, dr. of Arch. and Nancy Wills.  Bolivar was a man of sound judgement and integrity, was highly esteemed by his neighbors, and by them pressed for office.  Ch:
  • Nancy Rule, m’d April 18, 1867, John A. Marshall.  Ch: [a] James Marshall; [b] Garret; [c] Alex.; [d] Anna.  They have removed to Crawford County, Kansas.

[page 670]

• • James W. Rule, b. Feb. 8, 1859, m’d Sept. 6, 1876, Fannie Justus, dr. of Elijah.  Ch: [a] Ann Rule, b. March 25, 1883; [b] William Rule, b. March 9, 1885; [c] Charles, b. Oct. 24, 1889.
  • Ann Marie Rule, dead; m’d March 6, 1868, Geo. Venrick.  They lived in Neosho Co., Kansas.  Children.
  • Arch R. Rule.
  • Wallace L. Rule (ii) b. Feb. 26, 1857; m’d Sept. 17, 1884, Ida Fox.  Ch: [a] Geo. Rule; [b] Arch.; [c] Lizzie; [d] John B.
  • Zena Rule, m’d Jos. Hudson.
  • America Rule, m’d Dec. 3, 1873, H.D. Miller.  Ch: [a] Wallace; [b] Garret Miller.
  • Lizzie Rule, m’d Nov. 17, 1881, F. Strother Wilson.  Ch: [a] Norvel Wilson; [b] Hattie; [c] Lena.
  • Bolivar L. Rule, m’d Feb. 11, 1890, Susan Yates.
• AMERICA RULE, m’d John P. Srite.  (See.)
• WALLACE L. RULE, (i) b. June 4, 1836; m’d Dec. 1, 1870, Lucy A. Spencer, b. Jan. 11, 1845, dr. of Hiram.  He died in Dec., 1889, leaving:
  • Lena Rule, b. Jan. 22, 1872.
  • Wm. H. Rule, b. Nov. 10, 1873.
  • Ernest M., b. July 8, 1876.
  • Wallace (iii), b. April 25, 1881.
• MOLLIE RULE, m’d Tony Hon.  She died, leaving:
  1.    Samuel.    2. Mollie Hon.    3. Willie.     4. Anna.

[page 713]
[Year – 1880]

ELMORE BRECKENRIDGE.

Nov. 25 — Elmore Breckenridge died on his farm, three miles east of Platte City. He was born in Bourbon County, Ky., May 17, 1803; married January 18, 1838, Letitia Strode, born October 31, 1801; died December 17, 1893. They came to Platte in 1843.  She was a daughter of John Strode. Her first husband was William Srite, and was father of Ruth Srite, who married, first, P. Stockwell, and after his death, maried, second, Jonathan Wallace, and went to Kansas. For Mr. E. Breckenridge’s lineage, see The Breckenridge Family. His ch:

• ELMORE BRECKENRIDGE (ii), m’d Nov. 8, 1860, Emeranda Breckenridge, née Estes, the widow of his brother George. Ch :
  • John W., m’d Nov. 13, 1888, Tillie Ebbard.
• GEO. BRECKENRIDGE, m’d Emeranda Estes. George died, leaving:
  • Ella Breckenridge, who married Feb. 27. 1888, James Brubeck.

  The widow, Emeranda, as stated above, married her husband’s brother, Elmore.

• MARION BRECKENRIDGE, b. Aug. 13, 1840.

[page 785]

MARRIAGES IN 1883 NOT ELSEWHERE NOTED.

February 15 — Alvin Justus married Martha Colley.

[page 804]

HIRAM SPICER.

Born in Bourbon Coiraty, Ky., February 19, 1803; died in Platte April 28, 1887. He was an estimable and hard-working farmer.  They came to Platte in 1843. Mrs. Spicer was a Hansford, and we will presently notice that family. Children:

[…]

• LUCY SPICER, m’d Dec. 1, 1870, Wm. Wallace Rule (i), who died in Dec., 1889, leaving:
  • 1.  Lena R. Rule.   2.  Wm. H. 3.  Emmet M. Rule.   4.  Wallace.  They live in Clay.

[page 841]
[Year – 1886]

June 21 — Mrs. Lucinda Cockriel, widow of James, is found

[page 842]

dead with her head in the family spring.  John Cotton, a colored boy, is strongly suspected of murdering her.  He is indicted, and on trial, in April, 1887, is acquitted.

JAMES COCKRIEL

Came from Virginia to Kentucky, and married Lucinda Srite (above). In 1856 they came West, and located in Preston Township.  He died in August, 1859. The family are excellent people, and possess wealth, intelligence, and influence. Ch:

• ANDERSON COCKRIEL, m’d Elizabeth Staples, dr. of David. (See.)
• MARTIN COCKRIEL.  (See.)
• MARSHALL COCKRIEL, m’d Oct. 7, 1859. Margaret Fugate.  […]
• WILLIAM COCKRIEL, b. in Grayson County. Ky., May 15, 1831; m’d in Kentucky in Nov., 1855, Martha J. Bratche.  During the war he served in the State militia, and reached the rank of captain. He has a farm and money. He has no children, but has adopted a nephew named William Cockriel, b. in 1879.

[page 884]

JONATHAN MILLER (i), m’d July 25, 1849, Mary Elizabeth Miller, his cousin, and daughter of Lewis.  Ch:

• Elenora Miller, m’d Zachary Foley.  Ch: [a] Charles; [b] Ollie; [c] Guy; [d] Hugh; [e]Luella.
• Ida Miller, m’d Albert Burnett, dead.  Ch: [a] Myrtle; [b] William; [c] Annie.
• Agnes Miller, m’d Hugh Collins (2d wife).  Ch:  [a] Lula; [b] Charles Collins; [c] Lee Collins; [d] Haddie; [e] David.

Mrs. Mary Elizabeth m’d 2d, Aug. 15, 1871, Josiah V. Colley, dead.  Ch:

• 1.  Robert A. Colley, d. Oct. 25, 1894.  2.  Jas. W. Colley.

Mrs. Colley m’d 3d, March 25, 1889, Laf. Mauzey, and was divorced.

[…]

DAVID ANDERSON MILLER, b. in Marion County, Kv., Dec. 10. 1820; d. April 29, 1892; m’d 1st, Jan. 12, 1843, Susan J. Harrington, a sister of Miles. She d. in Nov., 1883, leaving:

[…]

• Harmon D. Miller, m’d Dec. 3, 1873, America R. Rule, who died, leaving: [a] Wallace Miller; [b] Garret.  Harmon D. m’d 2d, May 2, 1881, Susan A. Todd (Morgan).  See.)  He is a man of good, hard sense and sound judgment.  He served two terms, 1890 and 1892, on the county bench.

[page 885]

EMELINE MILLER, m’d May 3. 1838, Sim. B. Herndon, b. in 1818; d. Sept. 14, 1895.  They celebrated their golden wedding.  They lived four miles east of Platte City. Ch:

[…]

• Joseph, m’d Zodie Rule.

[page 975]

[JOSEPH F. COONS]

[…] He married Catherine Gaines, and they came West, arriving at their future home November 10. 1842.  Mrs. Coons died April 30. 1857. Ch:

[…]

• THORNTON COONS, m’d Nov. 8, 1883, Anna Srite.

Mr. J. F. Coons married, second. May 13, 1860, Clarissa C. Eddleston, of Kansas, born February 7, 1845; died August 10, 1895.

[page 1065]

ALEXANDER BRECKINRIDGE (iv), m’d Ann Chambers.  A child was Elmore Breckinridge, who died near Platte City Nov. 25, 1880, and whose wife was Letitia Strode. (See.)

[page 1071]

COUNTY TEACHERS’ INSTITUTE.

The County Teachers’ Institute adjourned after a month’s session at Weston. Following is a list of the names and addresses of the various teachers in attendance: […]

[page 1072]

Linkville — […] E.N. Rule.

[page 1073]

John Brink, of Kentucky, married Nancy Winn. His father was Philip Brink. The family descended the Ohio in a flat-boat, and ascended the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in a Mackinaw boat to Howard County, Mo.  They thence removed to Boone, and in 1840 John Brink and family came to Platte and settled in Pettis Township.  Ch:

[…]

• JACKSON BRINK, killed in the war in 1864; m’d April 9, 1840, Mary Jane Rule.  Ch:
  • John W., lives in Johnson Co., Kas.
  • Jackson, lives in Oklahoma.

Luster Earl Colley to Gregg Leon Mattocks, e-mail, 13 November 1998

Source: Luster Earl Colley to Gregg Leon Mattocks, e-mail, 13 November 1998.

This may be old news to you, but I just discovered it.

Today I scanned the 1850 census of Mason County, VA.  Just as you said, here is the Wears family:

Page 376A; dwelling 212; dated 8 August:
George WEARS 52 M Farmer Va
Martha ” 49 F Va
James ” 25 M Laborer Va
Lucretia ” 18 F Va
George ” 15 M Laborer Va
William ” 13 M Va
Jane A. ” 10 M ”

But here is what brought me to attention:

Page 376A; dwelling 214:
Armisted EMBREY 55 M Farmer Va
Mildred ” 45 F Va
Sanford ” 20 M Laborer Va
Mary J. ” 18 F Va
Jeremiah ” 17 M Laborer Va
Louisa ” 15 F Va
Wilford ” 13 M ”
Martha A. ” 10 F ”
Elizabeth ” 6 F ”

There is only one dwelling listed on this Mason Co. census between these two households.

Now I copy from the 1860 census of Henry county, MO:

Dwelling 7:
George W. WEARS 24 M Carpenter $1000 $80 Vir
Marth A. WEAR 21 F Vir
infant ” 1/12 M Mo

Dwelling 8:
Armsted EMBRY 68 M Farmer $3500 $6890 Vir
Mildred A. ” 55 F Vir
Jeremiah ” 25 M ”

Dwelling 18:
James WEARS 35 M Farmer $1782 $403 Vir
Elizabeth ” 27 F NC
George W. ” 1 M Mo
Richard B. ” 4/12 M ”
Martha ” 57 F Vir
William ” 21 M Carpenter Vir
Jane A. ” 19 F Vir
John T. ” 20 M Carpenter Vir

From the records of Henry County, Missouri

20 December 1851 Richard Jones married Lucretia Weir
20 September 1857 James Wier married Elizabeth Jones
25 February 1858 George W. Wears married Martha A. Emery

I would guess that an extended group of families and neighbors came from Mason Co. VA to Henry Co. MO a little after 1850. The Wears and Embry families seem to have been in the group and probably also the Jones family. I suspect there have been previous intermarriages among these families back in VA.

Everyone seems to be accounted for except John Thomas Wears.  Since Martha Wears has William age 20 and Jane A. age 19 in 1960, there is hardly time for her to have been the mother of John T. age 20. Maybe John T. is a son of a brother of George Wears?

I hope to follow up some of these mysteries. I would be glad to have your ideas.

Earl

Letter from Dorothy Clanton Phillips

Source: Dorothy Clanton Phillips to Carol Lee Mattocks, 7 January 1996.

Dear Ms. Mattocks:

I am a volunteer at the Hopkins County Genealogical Society Library in Sulphur Springs, Texas. I also am doing research on the Colter family. Colters are my relatives. My husband and I went to Salt Lake City, Utah (Morman Library) and found the name of Falicia Coulter on the computor. At first I didn’t think Falicia could be any relation, because I had not found her on the Census. Looking again at the 1850 Census, Washington County, Kentucky, I found her (Falicia) married to Andrew Jackson Raney and living next to Isaiah Colter (my ggg grandfather). They are on page 167, family number 524 and 525. I am sending you a copy of the 1850 census and family group sheets on the Colter’s. Isaiah Colter and Rosanna Burris (Burress) Colter are buried in a family burial ground owned by Coulters in 1996 near Willisburg on the old Mackville Road. My sister and I saw the stones (can’t read names) in a field with large bales of hay on top of them.

I found the information about the burial place for Isaiah Colter and Rosannah at the Filson Club Library in Louisville, Kentucky. My sister and I have made three trips (1994, 1995, and 1996) to kentucky. There is a lot of information about the Colters in the Courthouse at Springfield, Kentucky.

My family connections to the Colters are:

Isaiah COLTER – Rosannah BURRIS (BURRESS)	ggg grandparents
Thomas COLTER – Caroline LANHAM	gg grandparents
Burnette COLTER – M.H. KIMBERLIN	g grandparents
Margaret KIMBERLIN – V.E. SEWARD	grandparents

I am sending you some copies of things that I have on the Colters. I hope this will help you in your research. If you have anything that I don’t have, please send me a copy of it. I will get a copy to my sister who lives in Oklahoma. She is a half-sister on my mother’s side. We have different fathers. Her name is Alice Joyce Thomas Ellington.

Sincerely,
Dorothy Clanton Phillips
Dorothy Clanton Phillips

P.S. Falicia had to be Andrew Jackson RANEY’s first wife. The chilren were born while still in Kentucky & before the children born to Susannah.

1850 Kentucky Federal Census Washington County

Family #		Age	Sex	Value of Real Estate	Where Born	Page
525	RANEY, A. Jackson	35	M	$400	KY	167
	RANEY, Falicia A.	27	F		KY
	RANEY, James	10	M		KY
	RANEY, Mary Elizabeth	5	F		KY
	RANEY, Rosebelle	3	F		KY
	RANEY, Isaiah	1	M		KY
	*COLTER, Thomas	8	M		KY

*Thomas Colter may be Rowan Colter’s son. He was the brother of Falicia A. Colter and Thomas Colter.

524

COLTER, Isaiah

167

See family group sheet for Isaiah Colter for the rest of the family.

Andrew Jackson Raney and Falicia A. Colter Raney had moved to Missouri by the time the 1860 Census was taken.

Tilson Club Library – Louisville

Descendants of Catherine Donaldson Hannay grandaughter of James Stanley [Stanbery?] Logan and Ludlow S. Petty.

ISAIAH COLTER Born: Jan. 6, 1777 Died: July 30, 1864 (Tombstone) His Tombstone is inscribed – “Erected by the children of Thomas Colter Sen.” It is in graveyard near Willisburg, on the Mackville Road out of Springfield, Washington Co., Ky.	married	ROSANAH BURRIS Born: 1789 Died: 1863 (Ref: Tombstone at Colter Graveyard near Willisburg, Ky.)
Was administrator of his son, Thomas COLTER Sen. (brother of Rowan)
Married: April 16, 1818 (Ref: Marriage Book Springfield, Washington Co., Ky., page 176.) They had –
1. ROWAN COLTER	Married	SABRA MORGAN
2. THOMAS COLTER, SR	Married	CAROLINE LANHAM Born: 1824 Died: 1856
Married: Oct. 15, 1844 They had
1. PRESTON
2. LEVI C.
3. GEORGE
4. ZAY (Isaiah)
5. TOM
6. BURNETTA	Married	_____ KIMBERLIN

Papers of Thomas Colter deceased _____
Administrator of his brother, Rowan Colter, deceased, this Oct. 19, 1864.
(Book “N”, page 376….)

Settlement of the accounts of Thomas Colter, Gdn. For —

• Rosa Jane Colter, orphan of Rowan Colter Dec’d Book “L”, page 191.
• Sabra H. Colter, page 192.
• Josephine Colter, page 193.
• Elizabeth Colter, page 194.
• Thomas Colter, page 196.

All children of Rowan Colter.

2. ROWAN COLTER, son of Isaiah, Senr. and brother of Thomas, Senr. Born: Jan. 18, 1808. Died: Sept. 15, 185__. Buried in the graveyard on Salt River near Pleasant Valley Church Gee, Route #1.	Married	SABRA MORGAN Born: April 17, 1821 [? blurred copy] She was the daughter of John Morgan and Jane his wife.
They had –
1. JOSEPHINE COLTER	Married	THOMAS CROSSFIELD
2. ROSA JANE COLTER	Married	JOHN SEARCY
3. SABRA H. COLTER	Married	(1) JOHN COZINE (2) LYMAN SHEPARD, C.S.A. Name on monument in the Court House yard, Lawrenceburg, Ky.
4. JOHN COLTER	Married	MAUD PHIRL (FERRALL)
5. ZAY COLTER (ISAIAH) Born: March 31, 1843 Died: Feb. 6, 1865 Killed during the Civil War in a near Greens Chapel on Salt River, Anderson Co., Ky.	Unmarried
6. THOMAS COALTER Confederate Soldier – killed in Civil War	– Unmarried –
7. ELIZABETH ANN COLTER	Married	CHARLES WICKLIFFE PETTY.

Settlement of C.R. Craycroft, Admr. of Thomas Colter, decd. Gdn. for Sabra H. Colter, etc. May-July, 1866.

It is stated that Rowan Colter’s settlement is on file in Anderson County, Ky.

(Ref: Book “N”, page 79, Springfield, Washington Co., Ky.)

After Craycroft’s settlement it appears W.H. Morgan of Anderson County is Gdn. of Thomas Colter, and N. Harris, Anderson Co. is Gdn. of Elizabeth and Rosa J. Colter, Oct. 2, 1866.

(Ref: Book “N”, pages 80-86)

(See Petty Record page 11)

[abstract of] FAMILY GROUP SHEET (1996)

ISAIAH COLTER (COULTER) b 6 Jan 1778 NC, d 30 Jul 1864 Willisburg, Washington Co., KY, bur graveyard near Willisburg, Old Mackville Road, Washington Co., KY, res nr Willisburg, Washington Co., KY, occupation farmer, m 16 Apr 1818

ROSANNAH BURRIS (BURRESS) b 1781 or 1789 NC, d 1863, bur same as Isaiah, res same as Isaiah, housewife.

CH:
(1/M) ROWAN COLTER b 18 Jan 1808 KY, d 15 Sep 185__, m Sabra MORGAN.
(2/M) THOMAS COLTER b 1820, m 15 Oct 1844 Caroline LANHAM.
(3/F) FALICIA A. COLTER b 1823 Wash Co., KY, d 22 Mar 1930 Lowrey City, MO, m 1838 Wash Co., KY, A. Jackson RANEY.

NOTES: In Isaiah’s will 3-23-1870, Courthouse, Springfield, KY, he left money to following grandchilren: Preston Colter, Levi Colter, Burnette Colter, and Isaiah Colter; witness M.H. Kimberlin.

[abstract of] FAMILY GROUP SHEET

ROWAN COLTER b 18 Jan 1808, d 15 Sep 185–, son of Isaiah COLTER & Rosannah BURRIS (BURRESS), m

SABRA MORGAN, dau of John & Jane MORGAN.

CH:
(1/F) JOSEPHINE COLTER m THOMAS CROSSFIELD.
(2/F) ROSA JANE COLTER m JOHN SEARCY.
(3/F) SABRA H. COLTER m JOHN COZINE.
(4/M) JOHN COLTER m MAUD PHIRL FERRALL.
(5/M) ISAIAH (ZAY) COLTER b 31 Mar 1843, d 6 Feb 1865, killed in Cvil War.
(6/M) THOMAS COLTER**, killed in Civil War.
(7/F) ELIZABETH ANN COLTER m CHARLES W. PETTY.

** This could be the Thomas COLTER that is living with the RANEY’s in the 1850 Federal Census, Kentucky, Wash. Co.

[abstract of] FAMILY GROUP SHEET (1996)

THOMAS COLTER b 1820 Wash Co., KY, d 1856, son of Isaiah COLTER & Rosannan BURRIS (BURRESS), m
15 Oct 1844

CAROLINE LANHAM b 1824-1825 Wash. Co., KY.

CH:
(1/M) PRESTON COLTER*** b 19 Jul 1845 Wash Co., KY, d 18 Sep 1873, bur Mackville Cem, Mackville, Wash. Co., KY, m 29 Jan 1866 Wash Co., KY, Mary Bell SHOEMAKER.
(2/M) LEVI COLTER b 1847 Willisburg, Wash. Co., KY, liv 1928, age 81 (obit. of Burnette COLTER KIMBERLIN).
(3/F) BURNETTE COLTER b 28 Oct 1849 Willisburg, Wash. Co., KY, d 29 Jun 1928 Dallas, Dallas Co., TX, bur Ferris Cem, Ferris, Dallas Co., TX, m 24 Nov 1864 Texas, Wash. Co., KY, Martique H. KIMBERLIN.
(4/M) GEORGE COLTER b 1851, Wash. Co., KY, liv 1928, age 77 (obit. of Burnette COLTER KIMBERLIN).
(5/M) ISAIAH C. COLTER b 19 Nov 1852 nr Willisburg, Wash. Co., KY, d by 1928, m Eliza COLTER**.
(6/M) THOMAS COLTER b 1856, d by 1928.

** She lived in Wilmer, TX, in the 1930’s daughter named Ruby.
*** He was a confederate soldier.

[abstract of] FAMILY GROUP SHEET (1996)

ANDREW JACKSON RANEY b 8 Jan 1816, d 31 Mar 1895 Tightwad, MO, bur Tebo Cem, res KY & MO, m 1838

FALICIA A. COLTER b 1823 Wash. Co., KY, d 22 Mar 1930 Lowry City, St. Clair Co., MO, res KY & MO.

CH:
(1/M) JAMES RANEY b 1840.
(2/F) MARY E. RANEY b 16 Jan 1845 Wash. Co., KY, d 7 Mar 1919 Lowry City, St. Clair Co., MO, m 26 Mar 1862 Calhoun, Henry Co., MO, John Thomas WEARS.
(3/F) ROSEBELLE RANEY b 1847 Wash. Co., KY, m William BUNCH.
(4/M) ISAIAH RANEY b 1849.
(5/M) THOMAS COLTER** b 1842. “This could be Rowan’s son”.

** Living with the RANEY’s in 1850 see 1850 Wash. Co. Federal Census, KY. They are living next to Isaiah
COLTER page 167 – Family number 524 and 525.

[abstract of] FAMILY GROUP SHEET (1996)

MARTIQUE (MORDICA) H. KIMBERLIN b 12 Apr 1837 Wash. Co., KY, d 25 Oct 1898 Evansville, Vanderburgh Co., IN, bur Evansville, son of Jacob F. KIMBERLIN & Juliana DAUGHERTY. Martique res KY, TN, IN, occupations farmer & preacher, member of Cumberland Presbyterian, had a bladder infection, m 24 Nov 1864 Texas (nr Springfield), Wash. Co., KY,

BURNETTE COLTER b 28 Oct 1849 Willisburg, Wash. Co., KY, d 29 Jun 1928 Dallas, Dallas Co., TX, bur Ferris Cem, Dallas Co., TX, dau of Thomas COLTER & Caroline LANHAM. Burnette res KY, TN, IN, TX, a housewife.

CH:
(1/M) H. POINDEXTER KIMBERLIN b 25 Dec 1868 Texas, Wash. Co., KY.
(2/M) N. GEORGE KIMBERLIN b 10 Jul 1873, d 24 Sep 1873.
(3/M) GEORGE H. KIMBERLIN b 18 Apr 1874, d 9 Jun 1894.
(4/F) MARGARET C. KIMBERLIN b 14 Jul 1878, d 3 Jul 1928 Dallas, Dallas Co., TX, bur Grove Hill, Dallas, Dallas Co., TX, m 28 Oct 1898 Vivien E. SEWARD.
(5/M) WILLIAM B. KIMBERLIN b 16 Sep 1881 Lebanon, Wilson Co., TN, d 8 Jul 1943 Ferris, Dallas Co., TX, m 24 Apr 1917 Ferris, Dallas Co., TX, Hattie WELCHER.
(6/F) DOLLIE KIMBERLIN b 16 Dec 1883 Lebanon, Wilson Co., TN, d 9 Dec 1957 Wilmer, Dallas Co., TX, bur Wilmer, Dallas Co., TX, m 13 Jul 1912 Ferris, Dallas Co., TX, Wallace LLOYD.
(7/M) MAURORY KIMBERLIN b 16 Dec 1884 Lebanon, Wilson Co., TN.
(8/M) HALBERT H. KIMBERLIN b 20 Apr 1886 Lebanon, Wilson Co., TN, bur Dallas, Dallas Co., TX, m 12 Jun 1927 Dallas, Dallas Co., TX, Maude D. LITTLEFIELD.
(9/M) JOHN F. KIMBERLIN** m 9 Jun 1895 Ada DRUNUE.

For some reason he was considered the black sheep of the family. I do not have any aditional information about him, except that my mother Lillian Louise SEWARD CLANTON THOMAS told me that she and her family visited him one time. He lived out of state, maybe chicago, Ill.