George W. Goddard

George W. Goddard

Today I worked on the family of George W. Goddard of Audrain county, Missouri.  He was mentioned in three lines on page 8 of the typed version of the 13 Nov 1899 genealogy letter written by Samuel Godard [Note: Samuel spelled his own surname, Godard.].

George W. Goddard was born on 22 Jul 1812 in Greene Co., PA and he died on 30 Nov 1873 in Audrain Co., MO.  His parents were Francis "Frank" Goddard and Hannah. He was married to Barbara A. Hepler who was born on 28 Oct 1822 in Lawrence Co., OH and died on 4 Feb 1906 in Audrain Co., MO.  They are buried in Mexico, Audrain Co., MO at the Elmwood Cemetery, Section H, Plot 106.

They had the following eight children:  Amanda; Eliza A.; Belle; Mary; Albert C.; Francis M. "Frank;" Laura; and Lena.  The names of: Amanda, Laura and Lena are on the the same tombstone.

George W. Goddard has FINDAGRAVE: Memorial# 69607221

Dick Henthorn
3 Mar 2016

Okey, Nathan Walker

Summary of Nathan Walker OKEY - 17 Jun 2010
-------------------------------------------------------

Name: Nathan Walker OKEY
Sex: Male
Father: Arthur OKEY (5 Oct 1786 - 4 Jul 1838)
Mother: Sophia HOLLISTER (14 Oct 1789 - 17 Oct 1876)

Individual Facts
Birth 19 Feb 1823 Monroe Co., OH
Death 15 Aug 1901 (age 78) Bolivar, Polk Co., MO
Burial Aug 1901 (age 78) Bolivar, Polk Co., MO, Greenwood Cemetery

Marriages/Children
1. Maria Jane (Jane) BELT
Marriage 25 Mar 1846 (age 23) Woodsfield, Monroe Co., OH
Children
Sarah Emmeretta OKEY (abt 1847/48 - 9 Jan 1852)
Hannah L. OKEY (abt 1848/49 - )
Sinclair OKEY (abt 1853 - )
Milton G. OKEY ( - )
Arthur Sinclair OKEY ( - )
John Harvey OKEY (5 Apr 1865 - 2 Nov 1931)
Archibald M. (Archie) OKEY (abt 1858 - )
Jennie Minerva OKEY (abt 1861 - )
Haddie L. OKEY ( - )
Laura H. OKEY (abt 1867 - )

Notes (Individual)
General:
Nathan Walker Okey

AKA: Walker Okey in the 1850 census of Monroe Co., OH

CHILDREN: 10 children, 9 of whom were living in 1889.

CENSUS: 1850, in Monroe Co., OH, Centre Twp., 73/73, 29 Jul 1850
Walker Okey, 27, farmer, 500, OH; Jane, 23, OH
Sarah, 3, OH; Hannah, 1, OH
(Furnished by Richard E. Henthorn)

CENSUS: 1860, in Monroe Co., OH, Center Twp., 212/212, P.O. Woodsfield, 10 Jun 1860
Walker Okey, 37, farmer, 4000/700, OH; Jane, 32, OH
Hannah, 12, OH, school; Milton, 9, OH, school; Sinclair, 7, OH, school
John, 5, OH, school; Archbold, 2, OH
Sophia, 73, NY
Joseph Brown, 23, laborer, OH
[Note: Sophia Okey is the mother of Walker Okey. REH]
(Furnished by Richard E. Henthorn)

EMIGRATION: From The Spirit of Democracy, 1866. [Mrs. Fedorchak, as she was often wont to do, did not date this item.] Mr. Walker Okey, residing north of this place has sold his farm and intends to move with his family to Missouri. (Source: "Family Research in Monroe County, Ohio," by Catharine Foreaker Fedorchak, Vol. VII, p. 230)

EMIGRATION: Walker Okey left Monroe Co., OH in 1866 for Polk County, Missouri.

COMMENT: The Spirit of Democracy, Woodsfield, OH, issue of June 23, 1873 Mr. Walker Okey of Polk Co, Missouri was visiting this week. (Source: "Family Research in Monroe County, Ohio," by Catharine Foreaker Fedorchak, Vol. X, p. 138)

BIOGRAPHY:
Nathan W. Okey, stock-breeder, was born in Monroe County, Ohio, February 19, 1823, and is the son of Arthur and Sophia (Hollister) Okey.

The father was born in Delaware, October 5, 1786, and the mother was born in Connecticut, October 14, 1789. When young they came with their parents to Ohio, and were among the early settlers. Here they were married, and here passed their entire lives. He was an extensive farmer and stock-dealer, and often drove stock to Philadelphia, as there were at that time no railroads. He was a strong Whig in his political views; and he and wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died July 4, 1838, from the effects of having a tooth pulled. His wife died October 17, 1876.

In their family were eight children, six sons and two daughters, and the fourth child in order of birth was Nathan W. Okey. Like the average country boy he received a good practical education in the common schools, but later attended Woodsfield College.

Like a dutiful son he remained with his mother until he married, and then she made her home with him. March 25, 1846, he married Miss Maria J. Belt, a native of Monroe County, Ohio, born July 5, 1826, and the fruits of this union were nine children, eight now living: Sarah M., Hannah L., Milton G., Arthur S., John H., Archie M., Jennie M., Haddie L. and Laura.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Okey are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Having lived in Ohio until 1866, he came to this county and followed tilling the soil until 1887, when he removed to Morrisville. He owned 338 acres of land, which he sold on coming to town. He now pays some attention to the raising of stock. He has a fine Lexington and Pilot horse and a good jack. He is a Republican in politics.
(Source: Polk County, Missouri Biographies - Nathan W. OKEY, History Of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade And Barton Counties, Missouri 1889, published by Goodspeed, Pgs. 685, 686, Polk County Biographies Section- from the Internet.)

Power of Attorney - James and Dorcas Henthorn - 18150814

James and Dorcas Henthorn
of
St. Genevieve County, Territory of Missouri
Grant Power of Attorney
to
John Henthorn
14 August 1815

Know all men by these presents that James Henthorn of the county of Ste. Genevieve and Territory of Missouri, am seized in fee of part of a Tract of Land containing the quantity of three hundred acres (be the same more or less) situate-lying and being in Union township, Fayette county and state of Pennsylvania which said tract or parcel of Land is bounded as follows, to wit, on the northwestern side by the land formerly occupied by John Henthorn, on the North East by the land formerly occupied by the Widow Murphy, on the east side by land formerly occupied by Wm. Campbell and on the south by lands formerly occupied by Samuel Kendall - be the same bounded as it may - it being the same tract and parcel of land - descended to me as one of the legal heirs and representatives of same James Henthorn Senior, deceased -

Now know ye that the said James Henthorn and Dorcas my wife, have made, constituted and appointed by these presents do make constitute and appoint John Henthorn of the County of Monongahela, and state of Virginia, our true and lawful attorney, for us and in our names to lease, let, sell or demise in any wise appertaining and belonging to such person or persons, and for such a term, or number of years, and all, and under such yearly, or other rents as he shall see fit, or otherwise to sell and dispose thereof, either for life or lives, or to sell, grant and convey the same absolutely in fee simple. For such price or sum of money; and to such person or persons as he shall think fit and convenient; and also for us - and in our names to seal, execute, and deliver such deeds, conveyances, bargains and sales for the absolute Sale or disposal thereof, or any part thereof with such clauses, covenants and agreements to be therein contained as our said Attorney shall think fit and expedient; Hereby ratifying, confirming and allowing all such lease or leases, deed, conveyances, bargains - or sales which shall at any time hereafter be sealed and executed by our said attorney, touching or concerning the premises.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals this fourteenth day of August one thousand eight hundred and fifteen.

Signed sealed and delivered
in the presence of
Tho Oliver

s/James Henthorn
s/Dorcas (X) Henthorn

Territory of Mo
County of Ste. Genevieve
Personally appeared before the undersigned Notary public in and for the county of Sainte Genevieve duly commissioned and sworn as residing at the towne of Ste. Genevieve James Henthorn and Dorcas his wife and duly acknowledged that they and each of them signed and sealed and delivered the within letter of attorney for the uses and purposes therein mentioned.

In testimony thereof I have hereto affixed my notarial seal. Given under my hand at Ste. Genevieve the 13 day of Aug. in the year 1815.
Tho Oliver, Notary Public
Wafer seal
(Furnished by Raymond M. Bell)

Ahnentafel Chart for Dorothy Chalmers Baldwin

Ancestors of Dorothy Chalmers BALDWIN - 6 Feb 2010
-------------------------------------------------------------------

First Generation

1. Dorothy Chalmers BALDWIN was born on 27 Oct 1916 in Montevallo, Vernon Co., MO. She died on 21 Dec 1992 in Talent, Jackson Co., OR.

Second Generation

2. William Charles BALDWIN was born on 5 Mar 1860/61 in Gallipolis, Gallia Co., OH. He died on 20 Jun 1927 in Independence, Jackson Co., MO. He was buried in Jun 1927 in Kansas City, Jackson Co., MO, Mt. Washington Cemetery. William Charles BALDWIN and Margaret Chalmers ARNOT were married on 11 Sep 1899 in Kansas City, Jackson Co., MO.

3. Margaret Chalmers ARNOT was born on 25 Jun 1873 in Newark, Essex Co., NJ. She was buried in May 1958 in Kansas City, Jackson Co., MO, Mt. Washington Cemetery. She died on 17 May 1958.

Third Generation

4. Franklin BALDWIN was born on 9 Feb 1819 in Clarington, Monroe Co., OH. He died on 4 Jan 1916 in Wellsville, Franklin Co., KS. He was buried on 6 Jan 1916 in Wellsville, Franklin Co., KS. Franklin BALDWIN and Mary Jane NEWHOUSE were married in Oct 1843.

5. Mary Jane NEWHOUSE was born about 23 May 1825 in Westmoreland, , VA/PA. She died on 6 Jul 1885 in Wellsville, Franklin Co., KS. She was buried on 7 Jul 1885 in Wellsville, Franklin Co., KS.

Fourth Generation

8. Isaac BALDWIN was born between 1780 and 1790. He died about Apr 1848.

9. Mary UNKNOWN was born between 1780 and 1790.

10. Levi NEWHOUSE was born about 1789 in Virginia. He died after 1850.

11. Margaret VAN_SICKLE was born about 1802. She died after 1850.

Prepared by:
Richard E. Henthorn
Email: Dick.Henthorn@gmail.com

Morgan, T. (Thomas) Clifford

T. Clifford Morgan one of my good friends in genealogy passed away on Monday, 21 Sep 2009 at Sedelia, MO. Clifford was very interested in the history and genealogy of the Morgan and Kyger families.

He shared his information with me (Richard Henthorn) and other researchers. He wrote twelve stories about the Morgan family which he shared. For many years they were available, on my AOL genealogy website. Recently I returned the stories to the Internet. You can find them on my genealogy "News" blog. Scroll down until you see the "Labels" area in the sidebar on the right. When you see the "Clifford" label click on it. That will gather a set of all the stories. Henthorn-Website-News.

A copy of the obituary is available on my "Obits" blog. Henthorn-Website-Obits

Mr. Dickie

No Divorce for Uncle Wash

No Divorce for Uncle Wash

by

T. Clifford Morgan

Warsaw, MO

1995

Washington Fain Reser was born the 30th of November, 1849. As a very young man, he had strong convictions as to what was right. He enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War, serving in Co. I of the 14th Regiment of Missouri Volunteer Calvary.

At the end of the War, in 1865, he was not yet 16 years old. He was tall, thin and had steel gray eyes that seemed to be piercing those who disagreed with him.

When he was about 28 years old, he married my great-aunt, Cynthia Ann Morgan, who was then a girl of 20 years. He probably figured that she understood in those days that a man was boss. The husband ruled the roost and didn't get any static from his wife or children. Aunt "Sint," as she was called, believed that a wife had just as many rights as her husband, but she didn't tell him until after the wedding. She was a "Women's Libber" long before this became fashionable in the 20th Century.

Uncle Wash didn't believe in divorce, so he made the best of staying married to a woman, who made him toe the mark at times during their long married life.

Uncle Wash saved every penny that he could from his hard work. He was able to own a general store in the town of Black Oak in Hickory County, Missouri (Later renamed, Preston). He was Postmaster for several years there. The money he saved was loaned on real estate for 8% interest. The interest alone made him a wealthy man. His store was kept open for long hours. When it was close to dark he would close the store and walk one half mile to the large two story house that he had built for his young wife.

One of his first encounters with Aunt "Sint's" temper came one morning when he complained about the kindling wood she had brought in the evening before. She told him that she would continue to carry in wood but the kindling would be his business. She wanted him to understand that she wouldn't touch kindling wood for the rest of her life. Uncle Wash didn't like this, but he didn't believe in divorce.

One of the disagreements concerned Aunt "Sints" helping her poor relatives. Uncle Wash felt he didn't have any trouble supporting his large family, so why couldn't every man support his wife and children. He lost that battle too, for Aunt "Sint" continued to help her sisters and brothers whenever they needed it.

As their large family reached school age, Uncle Wash made it known that he thought they should finish school at age 16. After all he had done very well with little schooling. Uncle Wash won the argument as far as the girls were concerned, but all the boys went to college.

His son, Winer, became a merchant. Ott was a Doctor. Horance became a dentist and Otis was a Doctor. Tom was also a Doctor. One of the girls, Fanny, married a Doctor. I believe I remember their names correctly. When I was a young boy, Uncle Wash was an old man. He still had those steel gray eyes.

I have talked to many of the people who knew Uncle Wash and Aunt "Sint." One of those who loved to talk about Uncle Wash was his nephew, Elias Padget, son of Seraphina, who was a sister of Aunt "Sint."

I visited Elias Padget in the 1970's. My son, Tom, and I would go backpacking in the Grand Canyon during my summer vacation. We hiked most of the well known trails. When we left the Canyon with tired feet, we would stop in the Oklahoma Panhandle to visit with Elias and Leona Padget. Elias was my cousin. He was about 80 and was a World War I Army Veteran.

One evening as we sat on Elias's front porch, I asked him about his memories of Uncle Wash. He told me a story of Uncle Wash and the kindling wood.

Elias was a little "tad." The winter was coming on. His parents had been through a drought. They had no money and not much food stored. Aunt "Sint" agreed to take young Elias for the winter and clothe and feed him. Uncle Wash didn't think much of spending money on one of her relatives. Elias's mother instructed him to be good and to help Aunt "Sint" out. He was told to be especially nice to Uncle Wash.

Elias helped carry in the wood. He was an early riser and would get dressed in the cold upstairs. Then he could hurry downstairs where Uncle Wash was building a fire in the potbelly stove. Sometimes he would get down before Uncle Wash came in carrying the lantern and the kindling wood. He wondered why Uncle Wash didn't get the kindling wood when he came in from the store while it was still daylight.

Uncle Wash wore a night gown and a night cap and was sort of an amusing sight as he knelt on the floor and blew on the fire to get it started. Elias would sit and rock in Aunt "Sint's" rocker, which Uncle Wash would not allow if Aunt "Sint" were present. When the fire got started, Uncle Wash would sit and rock in his rocker until the fire made some coals. Then he would take coals in a little shovel to the cook stove to start a fire there.

With the fires going well, he would go upstairs to wake up Aunt "Sint" and the kids. They would get dressed while Aunt "Sint" got breakfast for the large family. Breakfast always consisted of biscuits and gravy, bacon and eggs. After breakfast Uncle Wash would feed the cattle and horses, milk two cows, and then go to the store.

As time went on and the winter got worse with more snow and cold, Elias got more concerned as to why Uncle Wash didn't get the kindling wood before dark the evening before. He asked his cousins, but only got the answer, "That is Dad's business." One day he thought it would be nice if he would bring in the kindling for the next morning. Aunt "Sint" caught him and told him to take the kindling back to the wood pile and never try that again.

Finally, young Elias decided that he would ask Uncle Wash why he didn't get in the kindling in the evening while it was daylight. The trouble was that Elias couldn't get up the nerve to ask him.

One cold evening with a cold blizzard bringing wind and snow, Elias thought surely Uncle Wash would stop at the wood pile to find some kindling wood, but Uncle Wash passed up the wood pile as usual. The next morning Elias got up quickly. Going downstairs he looked out the window at all the snow. He saw Uncle Wash out at the wood pile with the lantern kicking the snow trying to find some kindling. At last he heard Uncle Wash stamping his boots to rid them of snow. Elias opened the door and in came Uncle Wash trying to hold on to the lantern and the kindling.

It was time to ask Uncle Wash about his method of gathering in the kindling. Elias waited until Uncle Wash had the fires started and sat down to rock. "Uncle Wash may I ask you a question?" Uncle Wash stopped rocking and leaning forward he stared at the brassy brat who dared to ask him a question. Young Elias squirmed under his gaze and wished that he was elsewhere. Finally Uncle Wash held up one finger and said, "Elias I will let you ask one question." Then he went back to rocking.

Elias was scared and to make matters worse Uncle Wash was amused to see how scared Elias was. Elias decided to drop the matter. After a while, Uncle Wash stopped rocking and stared hard at Elias. He asked in a amused tone, "Elias, what was it you wanted to ask me?" Elias had to ask the question. He began, "Uncle Wash, when you came home from the store yesterday, it was starting to snow. It looked like a real blizzard would snow the wood pile under, why in the world didn't you find and bring in the kindling then?"

The question seemed to hit a sore spot with Uncle Wash. He went back to rocking, and no longer seemed amused. He kept glancing up the stairs as if he wondered if Aunt "Sint" was listening. After a while he stopped rocking, and his voice seemed to be almost pleading for understanding. "Young Elias, let's you and I do some supposing. Now suppose I did bring in the kindling wood the night before. Let's keep on supposing. Suppose I had died before morning. What do you suppose would happen to my kindling then? Well, I'll tell you what would happen, someone else would get to use my kindling wood." Uncle Wash went back to rocking and Elias never again asked him a question.

The year went by fast for young Elias. His father heard the next Spring about the Oklahoma Panhandle being opened up for settlement. With the family in a Concord wagon, he started west. Seraphine said good-bye to her brothers and sisters, whom she was never to see again. Young Elias almost didn't survive the trip. These long trips by wagon were hard on children. Elias got cold and hungry. They stopped once at a settler's cabin. Elias and the family had a good meal of beans. Elias felt like he might make it when his stomach was filled so well and they started on.

The land they settled on had no trees for building a house or for fuel for a stove. They lived in a dugout while Elias's father went to Liberal, Kansas to work on the railroad. The children would pick up buffalo chips to fuel the wood cook stove. They had to carry water from miles away. Elias probably looked back on his life with Aunt "Sint" and Uncle Wash and wished he was still there.

The years went by fast for Uncle Wash and Aunt "Sint" too. There children grew up, got married, and moved away except for Winer. He took over Uncle Wash's store, which sold groceries, dry goods, and even caskets. As they grew older Aunt "Sint" and Uncle Wash spent much time in their rocking chairs. In the summer they moved their chairs out on the porch. Their Last Will and Testament divided their large estate equally among their children. Both of them agreed on the will.

A bone of contention arose when the roof of the house started leaking. Aunt "Sint" wanted to spend money to get a new roof put on the house. Uncle Wash refused to spend money for this project and he won the battle. The roof continued to leak and Aunt "Sint" put pans and buckets under the worst leaks. The water even ran down the walls and ruined the family pictures hanging there.

Aunt "Sint" died the 25th of February, 1927 and was laid to rest in the cemetery where others of her family were buried. Uncle Wash continued to live on in the old, house. On days when he felt good, he would walk to the old store to visit with Winer and the customers, who had fond memories of him.

The leaky roof got worse and the children agreed that they would pay for the new roof. They elected Mabel to break the news to Uncle Wash. She seemed to have more nerve than her brothers and sisters. She approached her father with the news that she and the others would pay for a new roof. He struggled out of the rocking chair. He stood up and shaking his finger at Mabel, informed her, "That as long as he lived, that old roof would be good enough for him."

Uncle Wash died in October of 1942 and was laid to rest by Aunt "Sint," who as a young girl had married him 65 years before.

His grandson, Fain, restored and reroofed the old landmark, which had served as home for the large family. It still stands, vacant in 1995.

Dr. Tom Reser of Cole Camp erected at the entrance to the cemetery a large granite stone inscribed to the memory of his parents, Washington F. and Cynthia Ann Reser. The engraving on the stone reads, "In this final resting place, only virtues are remembered." You can see this stone at Fisher cemetery near Preston, Missouri.

-0-

Email Dick Henthorn: Rhenthorn1@aol.com
Posted: 23 Sep 2009
File: MorWash.txt

Grandpa and the Oyster Can

Grandpa and the Oyster Can

by

T. Clifford Morgan

Warsaw, MO

27 May 1993

This story concerns an 1890 wagon trip from east of Preston, MO to Collins, MO. The purpose of the trip was to take John Hire to see his parents, Jimmy and India Hire, and his younger sister, Ollie [Olivia, REH]. John had never seen his sister. Young John, as a baby, needed extra care, so from infancy he was raised by his grandparents, Achilles and Samantha (Bullard) Morgan. He was related to Samantha through her first marriage to Joseph Wilson Hires.

The grandparents had never been to Collins, but they knew that it was west along what now is Highway 54. John was excited about going on such a long trip. He was only about 4 years old. The day before, Grandpa Achilles put the hoops on the wagon and spread the canvas cover over them. Before good daylight they were up, packed the wagon with feed for the horses and for the people, and also put in camping gear. About sunup they started out.

Covered wagon travel by that year did not mean watching for Indians but it did mean worrying for fear the metal rim would work off one of the wooden wheels. It that happened you took the wheel to a creek to soak in the water so it would swell enough to keep the rim on.

Grandpa Achilles was crippled so he really dreaded having to repair a wheel. Just driving was hard for him sitting on the hard wooden wagon seat for hours and hours. At noon they stopped to eat lunch. They fed and watered the horses and let them graze a bit. Even though John was excited about seeing his parents and his younger sister he probably got tired and cranky on the long trip. Perhaps he napped in the afternoon as the horses steadily went westward.

Late in the day, after going mile after mile across the prairie land they came to Little Weaubleau Creek. They decided to camp rather than risk being caught away from water at sundown. The wagon pulled off the road. The horses were unhitched, watered, and fed. A fire was kindled so Grandma Samantha could warm the food and make coffee for Grandpa Achilles. Grandpa liked coffee with nearly every meal. They bedded down in the wagon bed.

Before daylight they ate breakfast and hitched up the horses. Slowly the wagon was pulled up the hill out of the creek bottom. It crested the hill and there just ahead was Collins! They could have made it there before sundown the day before. Everyone laughed a good deal about that.

The 28 1/2 mill trip from just east of Preston to Collins, that today takes such a short time, took all of one day. The long trip was worth it though. They all were so delighted to see each other. Jimmy Hire took his son by the hand and took him the few blocks from his house to downtown Collins. He was proud of his son and wanted to buy something special for dinner to celebrate the visit. He bought a can of oysters to make soup with. That was a really special treat. (Note: Oyster cans in 1890 were much larger than an oyster can in 1993).

India took special care opening up that oyster can. She wanted the edge smooth and not too sharp. She washed it very clean and then gave it to her son, John. John turned it in his hand noticing the shine. He dropped it and it rolled making an interesting sound on the wooden floor. He took it outside and rolled it on the grass. It didn't sound the same. On rocks it made a different sound. If he threw it down hard it's sound was loud and sharp. A spoon against it's side made another sound. What a fascinating toy for the young boy. It may have been his first real toy.

The next morning they took a long time to say "Good Bye." It was hard to leave and tears were shed. They started well after daylight, a very late start.

They stopped for lunch again. Then the horses plodded on. It got dark before they reached Preston. Achilles kept driving wanting to get home that night. Soon all but Achilles were asleep. John bedded down behind the wagon seat clutching his toy oyster can tightly. As the wagon started down a long hill a wagon wheel rim fell off with a great clatter. John woke with a start. He screamed, "Grandpa, Grandpa, my oyster can has fallen out. I can hear it on the rocks." Grandpa answered, "I sure wish it was your oyster can."

In later years, Thomas W. Morgan told this story often when he visited Jimmy Hire and this was always the end of the story. Thomas Clifford Morgan believes they probably got home that night. They always carried a lantern and enough water to soak the wheel so the rim would be on tight again.

******

Email: Dick.Henthorn@gmail.com
Posted: 23 Sep 2009
File: MorOys.txt

Mahala Morgan's Petticoat and the Civil War

Mahala Morgan's Petticoat

and the

Civil War

by

T. Clifford Morgan

Warsaw, MO

10 July 1994

This Civil War story was told to T. Clifford Morgan by Elias Padget, who had heard it countless times as told by his mother, Saraphine Morgan Padget. T. Clifford Morgan had also heard it told by his father, Thomas Wilson Morgan.

The passage of time has caused the exact date of the encounter to be lost, but T. Clifford Morgan believes it to be in the year 1861. In that year, Mahala Morgan's son, Henderson was 3 years old and her daughter, Rosetta, was 1 year old. Mahala's husband, Sylvester Morgan was the first child of Thomas Scott Morgan and Brooky Kyger Morgan.

One of the greatest worries of a young wife during the Civil Way was that her husband would be killed and she would be left a widow with young children.

Any movement of men across Hickory County Missouri was suspected to be armed rebels unless proved otherwise. On this particular day a man galloped up to Morgan's to warn Thomas Scott Morgan that a large group of men were approaching from Dallas County. They seemed to be headed for the Morgan farm, which was about 3 miles east of Black Oak Point (Later called Preston).

Tom Morgan dispatched his sons to alert the neighbors and ask them to tell others. In a short time, a large company of men assembled at Morgan's. They were deployed south of the farm buildings along a wagon road behind fences and trees. With guns drawn they awaited the intruders. It was the Civil War custom to challenge any group of unknown men. Each side would send out a man. Thus they would determine if they were friend or foe.

Mahala watched but did not see a meeting of men between the two forces. She scouted around the Union line for a look at the opposing force, which had dismounted to form a rough line between trees. She recognized a Union man in the opposing group. Wasting no time she hid behind a large tree. Quickly, she took off her dress and her white petticoat. Then she put her dress back on.

Waving her white petticoat above her head, she ran screaming as loud as she could, right between the opposing battle lines. Tom Morgan, as the leader of the home group, strode out to meet the leader of the strange group. This man turned out to be E.M. Padget of Dallas County, a good friend of Morgan's and grandfather of Elias Padget, who years later told T. Clifford Morgan this story.

Sometimes these chance encounters turned into a bloody battle. All it took was one man with an itchy trigger finger and the battle would begin. By World War II getting killed in this type of encounter was termed, "killed by friendly fire."

Sylvester and Mahala Morgan moved their young family to Vermilion County, Illinois in the summer of 1862. He enlisted in the 125th Illinois Volunteer Infantry on August 10, 1862. He survived the war and they had eight children. Mahala Morgan lived until 1924, and she probably never forgot the day, when as a young woman, she used her white petticoat to stop a Civil War encounter.

When he was a grown man, Henderson Morgan, the oldest child of Sylvester and Mahala returned to Hickory County, Missouri and for many years operated the Morgan Hotel on the east side of the square in Hermitage, Missouri.

-0-

Email: Dick.Henthorn@gmail.com
Posted: 23 Sep 2009
File: MorMaha

Morgan and the Death Squad

MORGAN AND THE DEATH SQUAD

by

T. Clifford Morgan

(Great-grandson of Thomas Scott Morgan)

Warsaw, MO

Thomas Scott Morgan had moved to Missouri as a strong supporter of Abe Lincoln. His support of Lincoln and his belief that the union of the states should be preserved soon got him into trouble with supporters of Gov. Claiborne Jackson.

After the union defeat at Wilson's Creek, many union men were shot by bushwhackers and many homes burned. It was during this time, that Morgan was in the greatest danger. One day, a large group of mounted and armed men rode into Morgan's yard. With guns drawn, they yelled for Morgan to come out. Phoebe and the young children wanted Morgan to hide somewhere. Instead, Morgan walked out on the upstairs porch. He gave the Masonic sign that he was in distress. It seemed that the leader of the rebels happened to be a Mason and this saved Morgan's life. The rebel leader yelled "Don't shoot that man, if he is shot, I will shoot the man that shoots him." He lowered his gun and galloped his horse out the yard gate. His men followed and they quickly disappeared in
to the timber.

His wife asked him, "Why did the men ride away without any shooting?" Morgan's reply was, "I guess that they changed their minds." He never disclosed any secrets of the Masonic Fraternity.
(Typed for the Henthorn/Bolerjack project by Diane (Black) Wilson.)

-0-

Email: Dick.Henthorn@gmail.com
Posted: 23 Sep 2009
File: MorDeath.txt

The Road to Cross Timbers

THE ROAD TO CROSS TIMBERS

by

T. Clifford Morgan

Warsaw, MO

1997

It was only eight and one half miles, but it seemed that it would never end. It was a hot July day. July in Missouri is always hot, but on this day the sun seemed to be baking the road. The soles on my worn out shoes were so thin that my young feet felt the heat and also each rough place on the road. The walking was much worse for Papa. He was almost sixty two years old, broken in health by the years of hard farm work. The Great Depression, the years of drought, and the blinding dust storms had aged him in spirit and body. Now he was plagued by a left foot painfully swollen by gout. Because he was unable to wear his shoe, Mama had bandaged his foot and made a denim cover for the bandage. Sometimes he would gasp with pain and I kept being afraid that he would give up the trip to Cross Timbers and turn back.

The year was 1936 and I was seventeen years of age. The week before the trip, I had read in the county newspaper, that a county case-worker would be at Cross Timbers the next Monday to accept applications from boys age seventeen and older to enroll in the Civilian Conservation Corps camp at Kaiser, Missouri. It seemed to be a glimmer of hope for me and I asked Papa if I could enroll. He didn't like the idea but he had just about run out of options. The corn crop was dying in the drought, droves of grasshoppers were eating up the pasture, and the mortgage payments were in arrears. Another disaster had hit, Lois, our oldest horse died, and now we didn't have a team for farm work or for going to town in the farm wagon.

I had dreams as a boy of going to college as my cousin Elmer had. He became a geology professor at the University of Texas. I had graduated from eighth grade at the head of my class, but there was no money for my sister, Odessa Mae or me to continue in school. I had looked forward to getting married some day, but probably, no girl would marry a poverty stricken farm boy like me.

It took us about two and one half hours to walk to Cross Timbers on that hot July day in 1936. There was very little traffic and no one offered us a ride in their Ford Model A. We arrived tired and very thirsty. After filling out a lot of paper work, Papa signed an agreement for his son to go to the Kaiser CCC camp. I believe that he felt that I was too young to leave home.

In the CCC, we built roads with pick and shovel, fought forest fires, worked rock quarries and built park buildings in the Lake of the Ozarks State Park. I soon got a job as a tool clerk. One evening a week I attended night class and this started me on a road to recover time lost from school. Twenty five dollars each month was sent home to my parents and I received five to spend. Remembering the dark days of the great Depression, I tried to save some money each month.

My life since the days of 1936 have not always been easy days. I have milked cows, pitched hay in 100 degree temperature, picked cotton and somehow survived a five day raging storm while on a destroyer in the Pacific in WWII. Some time later, I survived the stress of a large company that tried to make life so unbearably hard for their older employees that they would quit, and many did quit. Those that did quit had not walked the road to Cross Timbers as I had. The days of the Great Depression had served to make a man out of the boy. The trials that seemed so vast to some of my friends have sometimes been small trials to me.

Today in the twilight of my life, I have a wonderful wife, children, and a grandson. I have everything that I ever dreamed of because of the road to Cross Timbers sixty one years ago.
(Typed for the Henthorn/Bolerjack project by Diane (Black) Wilson.)

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Email Dick Henthorn: Rhenthorn1@aol.com
Posted: 23 Sep 2009
File: MorCross.txt

Memories of World War II

Memories of World War II

by

T. Clifford Morgan

Warsaw, MO

I probably have a thousand different memories of the war, but briefly they are:

PEARL HARBOR

I was farming 160 acres north of Cross Timbers in Benton County, MO, when on this Sunday morning, a neighbor came over and told us that Pearl Harbor had been bombed. One of the many changes that the war made in my life was that I would never return to full time farming again. Much news of the disaster was kept from the public. One of the enlisted men that was on over-night leave from the U.S.S. Arizona, hurried back to find the battleship sunk. He stood helpless on the dock as divers tried to reach men trapped inthe ship. The divers could hear men pounding on the compartments, but couldn't reach them.

THE NAVY

After making a crop in 1942, I enlisted in the Navy in Springfield, Missouri. Then I went to boot camp at Great Lakes for thirty days. The Navy gave enlistees a battery of tests and selected those making the top scores to go to aviation school.

THE NAVY SCHOOLS

Navy Pier Chicago - I was here for six months, taking a general course in all phases of airplane maintenance and repair. I received liberty on weekend days until midnight. During these weekends, I spent much time at the Art Gallery, Field Museum of Natural History, The Museum of Science and Industry, the USO, The Servicemen's Center, and the parks of Chicago, especially Grant Park and Garfield Park. The Chicago and the State-Lake theaters had live stage shows and I enjoyed seeing Roy Rogers and his horse and also Hildegard. Bing Crosby was the Master of Ceremonies at American Day at Soldiers Field. Servicemen were able to ride public street cars free.

87th Anthony in Chicago - Advanced Navy School - Those in the top ten percent of their class went on to this school. I took aircraft hydraulics there for three months. This was a new school, the food was the best and the instruction was good. During the time there, I was able to attend live broadcasts of the WLS National Barn Dance. I also attended dances at the beautiful Aragon and Trinon ballrooms.

THE TRIP TO THE PACIFIC

After graduation, I was able to spend a few days at home. Then I took the Santa Fe to San Francisco to await overseas transportation. While there, I worked in the legal office for a Lieut. Williams and took some Red Cross tours of the Bay area. I sailed on a destroyer, the U.S. Bronson, which was later sunk by a submarine. The passengers slept on the gun decks with no blankets. During a bad two day storm, I slept with my arm around a steel post to keep from rolling when the ship was tossed by the waves. We sailed past Diamond Head and docked at Ford Island not far from the sunken Arizona. I took a sea-going tug to Kahului, Maui. This took all day, and after dark the tug tied up alongside a tall ocean liner. We had to carry a hundred pounds of gear up a rope ladder to the top of the liner, then down another rope ladder to the deck.

CARRIER AIRCRAFT SERVICE UNIT#32

I checked in at the air base and was assigned to a barracks and issued bedding and a mosquito net which was badly needed if you were to get any sleep. Next day I was assigned to the hydraulic shop and worked the line checking planes for hydraulic leaks. Later, I was in charge of the repair of hydraulic units and operated the test bench. Most of the planes were F6F fighter planes and TBM Torpedo Bombers. While we repaired and maintained the planes, the pilots trained and then the squadrons would return to the carriers to relieve those squadrons that needed rotation.

The group that returned from the stricken Enterprise was the worst in plane damage and the morale of the men.

LIBERTY

On liberty days, I took the scenic ocean drive along the coast to the old whaling town of Lahaina. I took trips to Wailuku, and took two trips to Haleakala Crater. This mountain is 10,032 feet high and the crater is 2,000 feet deep. I walked to the bottom of the crater, but hurried back as the clouds started to roll in.

ENTERTAINMENT

The USO brought Bob Hope and his show to Maui, also Betty Hutton and her show. The Navy sent their All-Star baseball team and I especially enjoyed seeing School Boy Rowe of the Detroit Tigers. He had pitched in a World Series game against Dizzy Dean. Gene Tunney came to referee a boxing match.

THE WAR ENDS

As the war was winding down, I got on rotation list to return to the states for more advanced school in hydraulics. Then came that day when I was working on rotation number had come up. The return trip was by plane to Ford Island, then to San Francisco on an escort carrier. There were no storms at sea this time, just flying fish to watch, and we slept on cots on the flight deck.
(Source: Written by T. Clifford Morgan, Warsaw, MO, 50 years after the war)

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Email: Dick.Henthorn@gmail.com
Posted: 23 Sep 2009
File: MorCliff.txt

Bushwhackers Found Death on Military Road

Bushwhackers Found Death on Military Road

by

T. Clifford Morgan

Warsaw, MO

22 Feb 1991

When I travel the roads of Benton County, MO, I am aware that sometimes I am on sections of the old military road. Both Union and Confederate armies traveled this road during the Civil War. Sometimes they would camp in the valley of Duran Creek, below the hill where Russell Johnson now lives. The armies would break camp early in the morning and continue on to Warsaw and the ferries on the Osage.

The Civil War caused a breakdown of law enforcement in the border states and peaceful people were plagued by outlaws who would roam the country to kill, rob, and to plunder. Sometimes these outlaws were called bushwhackers, which was probably a good name for them. My great grandfather, Thomas S. Morgan, was ambushed on the old military road by two bushwhackers and in a fight for his life, he killed the two men.

To understand how Morgan survived the ambush, you would need to know his background as a strong, determined, and resourceful man. He was born in Virginia in that part that is now West Virginia. As a boy, he was strong and healthy and learned to swim the swift cold waters of the Mononghalia. He walked the area where his ancestor, David, had fought a hand to hand combat with two Indians. They had tried to tomahawk two of David's children. David, too, was a determined man. Each time that the Indians would burn his cabin, he would build it back.

When Thomas S. Morgan was a young man, his parents moved the family west to Illinois, where he was a soldier in the Black Hawk War. He married Brooky Kyger in Vermilion County, IL and soon formed a partnership with his brother-in-law to do what nobody believed possible; to build a dam of rock and dirt across the Big Vermilion River. With a lot of help from the pioneers of the county, they built the dam and the mill that served customers for forty miles around and ran day and night.

The dam greatly angered a group of flatboaters. They had Morgan arrested for building a dam across the river. The case came up for trial in Danville. At that time, Abe Lincoln was a circuit riding lawyer, who had attracted Morgan's attention. Lincoln agreed to represent him in the case. When the case was called, Lincoln asked the court for an opinion as to the river being navigable. The judge ruled that it was a navigable river, which greatly pleased the flatboaters. Lincoln then moved that the case be dismissed since a state court had no jurisdiction over navigable rivers. The case was dismissed and never pursued in Federal court.

Years later, his yen to go west again caused Morgan to move to Hickory County, Missouri. The Civil War clouds were looming on the horizon and his support for Lincoln caused him to be labeled by those of the southern side as a "Black Republican." He made friends easily and had many friends among the Southerners.

Morgan acquired 1200 acres of farm land and built a two-story farm house east of Preston, MO. Morgan had become intrigued by steam power so at a spring site on what is F highway, he built a steam mill, a distillery and large granaries for wheat and corn. He had lost his first wife in Illinois and had married Phoebe Lightner. He was father to seventeen children and some of his sons worked in the mill and helped farm.

In 1861, the mill and distillery were robbed by bushwhackers, who came from as far away as Warsaw, to haul away his grain by the wagon load. Morgan closed the mill for the duration of the war. His friends were able to provide him with a list of the names of all those that robbed the mill.

Many times, he was called to do errands for those afraid to venture out in those dangerous times. On one occasion, a union army camped on a farmer's land. The farm's stacks of oat and timothy hay were fed to the horses and the army moved on leaving the farmer without any feed. The desperate farmer came to see Morgan, who took his fastest horse and galloped after the army. Fifty miles away, he caught up with the army and got the pay for the farmer's hay.

In 1862, Morgan started on an errand to Versailles in Morgan County, going by way of Warsaw and the old military road. He took one of his farm wagons and his best team of horses. In the wagon was feed for the horses and in a cannon ball box was some food. This cannon ball box from Fremont's army is now in the Benton County Museum in Warsaw. Also, hidden in the wagon near the seat was an 1851 Navy Colt. Morgan was a marksman and owned several guns, but the Colt seemed to be his favorite. At Warsaw, he stayed overnight with a friend and his family. As he left the next morning, his friend warned him to be very careful. Due to ill feeling created by General Fremont's destruction of Warsaw the year before, travel in the area was unsafe for union people.

Morgan continued on his way, but he wasn't many miles out of Warsaw, when an incident increased his fears. Being every watchful, he had noticed a lone horseman galloping his horse far behind on the road. He stopped the wagon, but when he looked back, the horse and rider had disappeared. Some minutes later, the sound of galloping in the timber told Morgan that the rider didn't want to be seen. Morgan now feared an ambush was in the making. This fear was increased when some time later, the horse and rider appeared again on the road far ahead. Before long, Morgan encountered another problem. He met a group of armed and unfriendly men, who demanded to know if he was union or southern. Morgan answered that he was union, and the leader of the group ordered him to get out of the wagon. They did a quick search of the wagon, took nothing, but spent some time looking over the team of horses. Unharnessing the best horse, they took the horse and rode on toward Warsaw.

Morgan started to Versailles and he intended to do just that. He held up the wagon tongue and coaxed his remaining horse to pull the wagon to a secluded spot from the road. He unharnessed the horse, and took a blanket from the wagon for a saddle. He decided that it was time to put the Colt in his pocket. He proceeded on his way, knowing that a possible ambush was still ahead. Quite some distance down the road, he neared a creek where the postoaks grew tall and thick. Among the dense trees, almost hidden, were two men on horseback. They had rifles cradled in their arms. Morgan knew that this was the ambush, but he hoped that his change from a wagon to a horse would help him. The men road quickly to block his path and Morgan turned his horse slightly to conceal the gun in his picket. The man that seemed to be the leader asked Morgan if he was union or southern. Morgan gave his usual reply that he was union. At this point, the leader grinned broadly. He waved his gun barrel toward a jagged oak that had been damaged by lightning. He ordered Morgan to dismount and walk over to that jagged oak. Morgan noticed that both men had their rifles ready to fire. He mustered all the speed that an old man could muster, and slid off his horse on the side away from the men. As he dismounted, he whipped out the Colt and fired one shot at each man. Both men tumbled to the ground and laid still.

When Morgan told the story to his family later, he stated that the had intended to run for his life, if the Colt had misfired. Morgan quickly scanned the woods for other men and then reloaded. He hitched his horse to the jagged oak and then made friends of the horses that the ambushers had ridden. When he had selected the best saddle, he put it on his own horse. He selected the best of their two horses and hitched it to the oak. With the saddle and the bridle off of the lesser of the two horses, he waved his arms at the horse and told it to go home. Riding his horse and leading the other, he journeyed back to where he had left the wagon to find it still intact. When he had harnessed the horses, he started once more to Versailles.

As he neared the ambush area, he approached the scene with caution. Seeing one man move, he stopped and getting out of the wagon walked to the man who was suffering greatly. He was the man who had grinned when Morgan said that he was union. He seemed to be trying to say that he was sorry. Morgan examined the man's wound and decided that the wound would be fatal and more time would only add to his suffering. He told the man, "You men were very foolish to do what you tried to do in the way you tried to do it." Morgan took his crumpled handkerchief from his pocket; stretched it; folded it; and laid it across the poor man's eyes. He walked to the wagon and got the Colt and returned to end the man's suffering.

His trip to Versailles was without further incident. After two days in Versailles, Morgan started the tiresome wagon trip home. When he arrived at the scene of the ambush, he recognized the jagged postoak. he stopped the wagon briefly and surveyed the scene of the encounter. The bodies were gone, and so were the rifles, the saddle and the bridle.

The terrible war lasted three more years. When peace was declared, Morgan bought grain and started the mill again. He let bygones be bygones. At one time, he bought a load of grain from one of the men who had robbed his mill. He was elected judge of the county court. The job of judge, running the mill, and operating a 1200 acre farm didn't keep him from starting on a new project.

During the war, he had decided to dam the Big Niangua River in Camden County and build a mill there. The river took a meander of seven miles in a horseshoe bend, known as the Whitworth bend, and came back within one quarter mile of the starting point. A high hill of limestone rock was at the base of the bend. He bought the land and proposed to blast a tunnel under the hill, build a mill at the lower side, and then build a dam to force water through the tunnel. Nobody in those days believed that his plan would work. Using black powder to blast the rock and men to carry out the rock, he completed the tunnel.

In the hot July of 1869 he commenced the mill. With four men cutting trees, he hewed the logs for the mill. The pace that he worked at was far too much for an old man. Before the two-story mill was completed, he collapsed. His sons hauled him home in a wagon and sent for the doctor. The doctor checked him and shook his head, saying that this man is too far gone. Morgan then wanted to make a will, but when the notary arrived, he too shook his head. The next morning, the sands of time ran out for the old miller. That night, one of the largest crowds of men every assembled in Starks Township, came to pay final respects to the man who wasn't afraid of a shadow.

At the sale of his personal estate, one of the horses sold, was the horse Morgan had confiscated from the two bushwhackers in Benton County. Among the firearms sold was the 1851 Navy Colt that killed the bushwhackers. About a hundred years after the sale, this author was able to buy the gun from the grandson of the purchaser. It is now resting in a safe deposit box. The old cannon ball box that carried provisions is resting in the Benton County Museum. Maybe it is proper that these two reminders of the wagon trip on the old military road should remain in the county.

(Source: Benton County ..., 20 Feb 1992) The newspaper editor wrote an "Editor's Note" which Clifford cautions was not correct where it stated that Levi Morgan served as an officer on the staff of General Robert E. Lee. The correct information, Clifford stated, was that Levi Morgan's oldest son was in General Lee's guard and he didn't know if he was an officer. The note follows:

(Editor's Note: The following article is the winner of a contest on historical events in Benton County, MO sponsored by the county historical society. T. Clifford Morgan's great grandfather, Thomas S. Morgan, was a Union sympathizer. However, two of his brothers were members of the Confederacy with one, Levi Morgan, serving as an officer on the staff of General Robert E. Lee. The Navy Colt .36 caliber revolver mentioned is owned by Morgan and has his great grandfather's name on the trigger guard. Morgan, age 72, grew up near Preston and moved to the Warsaw area after retiring from General Motors in 1979.) A photo of Clifford and grandson, Dan Marshall, looking at the revolver, accompanied the article.

*******

Email Dick Henthorn: Rhenthorn1@aol.com
Posted: 23 Sep 2009
File: MorBush.txt

Saving Pennies and Steam

Saving Pennies and Steam

by

T. Clifford Morgan

Warsaw, MO

1995

Barney was young, big, and brawny, but he was mentally handicapped. In the late 1850's he worked at Thomas Scott Morgan's steam mill in Stark Township. This mill was located on what is, in 1994, F highway, north of highway 54 in Hickory County, Missouri.

Barney was, as fireman, supposed to keep even heat on the fire box to insure an ample supply of steam from the boiler to operate the mill. Long saplings had been hauled to the mill. It was Barney's job to cut the wood and carry it to the engine room. He kept his ax sharp on a large grindstone.

Barney had a key to the engine room and was supposed to arrive early to start the fire and get up steam. He locked up and left for home one hour before the mill closed.

Barney was strong and a good worker. He even took over the job of janitor and swept up the soiled feed. He fed this to the hogs in the feed lot.

Morgan walked to the mill each morning from his home south of the road. He was proud of how well Barney did his job. Sometimes he even bragged about his own ability to find such a good fireman. The day would come when he would doubt his own sanity in hiring Barney.

One morning as he neared the mill he heard an unusual amount of noise coming from the boiler. He began to run. The noise got louder and Morgan ran even faster. He rounded the back corner of the mill and saw steam coming out of the engine room. Looking inside he saw a weight on the steam pop-off valve. Barney was climbing up the homemade ladder to hang another weight.

Morgan knocked Barney off the ladder but the ladder fell over too. Quickly, Morgan reset the ladder and he scampered up it to knock the weight off the relief valve. Steam roared out and filled the engine room.

Morgan went out to sit on the wood pile to catch his breath. He looked up and there was Barney glaring at him for knocking him off the ladder. Morgan thought how close Barney had come to destroying the mill. He had half a mind to thresh Barney, forgetting that Barney was young, strong and bigger than himself.

Luckily just then a customer drove up the mill ramp with a load of grain. He didn't thresh Barney but he never trusted him again. When Barney went home that night Morgan found the weights that Barney had used and threw them away as far as he could. He used the ax to chop the ladder into small pieces.

For his part, Barney pouted and had as little to do with Morgan as possible. He felt Morgan had been mean to him. He never knew how close he came to reaching great heights above the earth if that mill had blown sky high.

Barney outlived Morgan by twenty years. No one seemed to want to hire him, so he became a farmer. He liked to save things. Sometimes he even cut up old shoes to use for door hinges. He never tried to save steam again.

Note: Barney was not the man's real name.

******

Email Dick Henthorn: Rhenthorn1@aol.com
Posted: 23 Sep 2009
File: MorBarn.txt

Achilles Morgan and the Tornado

Achilles Morgan

and the

Tornado

by

T. Clifford Morgan

Warsaw, MO

In January of 1922, the days had been warm. A cold front approached from the north and triggered a line of thunderstorms and a line of tornados the night of January the fourth.

Grandpa Achilles Morgan was 79 years old at the time and very deaf. He was crippled and walked with two canes. He had been a Civil War soldier and would still sing the old Civil War songs. Grandma was 83 years old. She had a shrill voice and seemed to be able to make Grandpa hear her without much trouble. Both of them wore nightgowns and night caps to bed.

On the night of the tornado, Grandma heard the thunder and saw the lightning. She covered up her head as she was afraid of storms. Then she remembered that the phone line needed to be unhooked so it would not be hit by lightning. She sat upright and screamed at Grandpa, "Ack, you have to get up and unhook the phone line. There is a storm coming." By that time the lightning was lighting up the room. Grandpa got up and walking with his two canes he picked up the broom on the way to the back door. He walloped the phone line with the broom and stepped back on the porch. He thought he heard hail hit the porch roof.

As he got back into bed, Grandma sat up again and asked him if he had gotten the phone line unhooked. He said that he had, but almost got caught in a awful hail storm.

The next morning, Grandma got up and started a fire in the wood cook stove before making biscuits for breakfast. Before the biscuits got brown she would call Grandpa for breakfast. The stove just wouldn't draw. She tried to fan the fire with her apron. This only made the smoke worse. It got in her eyes and she lost her temper. She screamed, "Ack, go out and see what is wrong with the chimney that it won't draw. Maybe a big bird is building a nest on top."

Grandpa walked out through the smoke filled kitchen and out on the porch. Then he saw what he had thought was hail the night before. Bricks from the chimney covered the spot where he had stood as he stepped back up on the porch. The board fence that he was so proud of was blown down, so were his hand made gates. The well house was gone, as was the well bucket and 100 feet of rope. The house had been moved on the foundation. The trees, cedar and maple, had toppled and the big oak tree blown over. The two high hedge rows to the southwest had a sixty foot gap.

The old log house southwest of the house was still standing and had broken the force of the tornado. The huge barn to the south, and a big log chicken house were not damaged.

Grandpa could hardly believe his eyes. It took him a long time to survey the mess that the storm had left. When he came back into the back door, Grandma was still fanning the fire with her apron and she screamed at him, "Ack, what did you find out?" Grandpa took a few steps toward her and said, "Old woman, I want to tell you something. We got blowed away last night."

The news of the tornado damage quickly spread and among those who viewed the destruction was my cousin Byrl Losey, who was older than I was. Grandma told her the story. Byrl told it to me years later. Byrl still laughs about Grandpa being in the hail storm and getting blown away.

Note: Grandpa Achilles was Achilles Morgan, son of Thomas Scott Morgan. Byrl Losey was the daughter of Cora (Morgan) Losey and Dr. George Losey. The author, T. Clifford Morgan, was the great grandson of Thomas Scott Morgan.

*******

Email: Dick.Henthorn@gmail.com
Posted: 23 Sep 2009
File: MorAchil.txt

John Lewis & Betty Jane Henthorn

Descendant List of John NORTON - 10 May 2008
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-John NORTON
b: 11 Jan 1822
+Emily J. DALE
b: 13 Apr 1822
m: 11 Oct 1841
. . 2-Emily J. NORTON
b: 1 Apr 1822 in , , IL
d: 14 Jun 1892 in , Miami Co., KS
. . +James LEWIS
b: 27 May 1818
m: 3 Mar 1851
d: 31 Dec 1907 in , Miami Co., KS
. . . . 3-John LEWIS
b: 3 Mar 1855 in Perry, Pike Co., IL
d: 3 Jun 1949 in Kansas City, Jackson Co., MO
. . . . +Betty Jane HENTHORN
b: 20 Apr 1859 in Fishhook, Pike Co., IL
m: 26 Aug 1877 in , Pike Co., IL
d: 10 Jun 1941 in Drexel, Cass Co., MO
. . . . . . 4-John Alfred LEWIS
b: 10 Jun 1878 in , , IL
d: Sep 1975 in Highland, San Bernardino Co., CA
. . . . . . +Effie BRUMMETT
b: 8 Oct 1879 in Clarinda, Page Co., IA
m: abt 1903
d: Feb 1974 in Highland, San Bernardino Co., CA
. . . . . . . . 5-John Renaldo LEWIS
b: 28 Feb 1904 in Hawleyville, Page Co., IA
d: 29 Nov 1979 in Downey, Los Angeles Co., CA
. . . . . . . . 5-Bernice Marie LEWIS
b: 14 May 1906 in Hawleyville, Page Co., IA
d: Mar 1909 in Hawleyville, Page Co., IA
. . . . . . . . 5-Bernal Dale LEWIS
b: 12 Nov 1907 in Hawleyville, Page Co., IA
d: Jun 1908 in Hawleyville, Page Co., IA
. . . . . . . . 5-Leone Fauna LEWIS
b: 20 Nov 1910 in Clarinda, Page Co., IA
d: Oct 1973 in Stockton, San Joaquin Co., CA
. . . . . . . . 5-Lambert Abram LEWIS
b: 29 Nov 1900 in Paola, Miami Co., KS
d: 6 Mar 1994 in , , CA
. . . . . . 4-Benton Albian LEWIS
b: 20 Oct 1879
d: 1935
. . . . . . +Unknown UNKNOWN
. . . . . . +Ida MONTGOMERY
b: 1879
d: 1936
. . . . . . 4-Sarah Ann LEWIS
b: 8 Dec 1882 in Baylis, Pike Co., IL
d: 11 Dec 1973 in Louisburg, Miami Co., KS
. . . . . . +Herbert Edmond HILL
b: 5 Jul 1878 in Holden, Johnson Co., MO
m: 25 Feb 1902 in Drexel, Cass Co., MO
d: 29 Sep 1969 in Paola, Miami Co., KS
. . . . . . . . 5-Helen Pauline HILL
b: 20 Dec 1912 in , Miami Co., KS
. . . . . . 4-Herbert E. LEWIS
b: 27 Sep 1885 in Quincy, Adams Co., IL
. . . . . . +Nora HACKETT
d: abt 1916
. . . . . . . . 5-Bernice LEWIS
b: in , Miami Co., KS
. . . . . . . . 5-Helen Mildred LEWIS
b: 20 Jul 1912 in Drexel, Cass Co., MO
. . . . . . . . 5-Clarence LEWIS
b: in Grayson, Clinton Co., MO
. . . . . . . . 5-Harry William LEWIS
b: abt 1915 in Drexel, Cass Co., MO
d: 6 Jul 1994 in Liberty, Clay Co., MO
. . . . . . 4-Frank Leslie LEWIS
b: 3 Jun 1888 in Sugar Creek Twp., , MO
d: 6 Dec 1951 in Olathe, Johnson Co., KS
. . . . . . +Gertrude Winifred STITT
b: 7 Nov 1891 in Merwin, Cass Co., MO
m: 13 Oct 1910
d: 21 Nov 1976 in Olathe, Johnson Co., KS
. . . . . . . . 5-Sterling Leslie LEWIS
b: 6 Sep 1911 in , Miami Co., KS
d: 31 Jan 1936 in Drexel, Cass Co., MO
. . . . . . . . 5-Edward Warren LEWIS
b: 16 Nov 1913 in Drexel, Cass Co., MO
d: 19 Jun 1979 in Independence, Jackson Co., MO
. . . . . . . . 5-Marjorie Gertrude LEWIS
b: 30 Sep 1915 in Drexel, Cass Co., MO
. . . . . . . . 5-Bernard Wilson LEWIS
b: 24 Jan 1918 in , Miami Co., KS
d: 10 Jan 1982 in Ft. Leavenworth, Leavenworth Co., KS
. . . . . . . . 5-Robert Lee LEWIS
b: 23 Aug 1921 in , Miami Co., KS
. . . . . . . . 5-Dean Francis LEWIS
b: 1 Jun 1923 in , Cass Co., MO
d: 18 Mar 1932 in Drexel, Cass Co., MO
. . . . . . 4-Minnie M. LEWIS
b: 20 Sep 1891 in , , MO
d: 21 Apr 1892 in , , MO
. . . . . . 4-Harry Edward LEWIS
b: 21 May 1894
. . . . . . +Ruth LEWIS
. . . . . . . . 5-Ted LEWIS

Prepared by:
Richard E. (Edson) Henthorn
5403 76th Avenue
Hyattsville, MD 20784-1705
Email: Dick.Henthorn@gmail.com

Tags: Genealogy, Lewis, Henthorn, Drexel county Missouri

David N. Conger

David N. Conger

Joyce Posey found a military record for a David N. Conger. I think he is the David N. Conger who is a descendant of Job Conger.

1 - David N. CONGER
Born - 30 Jul 1825 Danby, Rutland, VT
Died - 21 Jul 1904 Moberly, Randolph, MO
Note - David N. Conger

PARENTS: Noah Conger and Hannah Griffen

NO_ISSUE: There was no issue.

MILITARY: David N. Conger, b. 1826, age 38, enlisted 2 May 1864; for 100 days; mustered in 14 May 1864, Hamilton, Ohio; mustered out 8 September 1864. 167th Reg Ohio Vol. Infantry.
[Is this record for David N. Conger, son of Noah and Hannah (Griffen) Conger?]
(Furnished by Joyce Posey)

sp- Flavilla REICK
Mar. - 1870

From the Personal Ancestral Files of:
Richard E. Henthorn
5403 76th Avenue
Hyattsville, MD 20784-1705
Email: Dick.Henthorn@gmail.com
(301) 459-0535