History of Johnson County, Missouri, Part 102

Author: Cockrell, Ewing
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Topeka, Kan. : Historical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1234

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Mr. Wolfenbarger, the subject of this sketch, was born in 1842. He was a young man at the time of the beginning of the Civil War. On

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the day the battle of Lonejack was fought, he enlisted with the Con- federates and from that day served faithfully and well until the close of the conflict under "Fighting Joe" Shelby in General Price's division. W. M. Wolfenbarger saw four years of active service in the Confederate army and came out without one scratch. He returned to his father's farm after the war had ended and remained on the home place until the time of his marriage in 1868.

In 1868, the marriage of W. M. Wolfenbarger and Margaret Rhea, daughter of Archibald Rhea, a well-known and prosperous pioneer of Fayette county, was solemnized. To this union were born eight chil- dren, all of whom were reared to maturity and are now living: John W., Mrs. Mary J. Cobb, Archibald, Mrs. Cordelia Hoover, Frederick, Harley, J. C., and Mrs. Bertha McEwen, of Odessa, Missouri. With the exception of the youngest child, Bertha, all the children are residing near Pittsville, Missouri.

A small cabin home was built by Mr. Wolfenbarger on his farm of one hundred five acres in Jackson township in 1881 and there all the children were born. He had little assistance in the way of capital when he began farming for himself, but by industry, economy, and well- directed efforts he became in time prosperous and under his manage- ment his country place developed into one of the finest farms in the township. Genial and companionable, Mr. Wolfenbarger possessed the faculty of making and binding to him warm personal friends. The high standing he had attained in the social and industrial circles of Johnson county was indicative of a still greater and more influential career, when death came in 1915.

John Wolfenbarger, the eldest son of W. M. Wolfenbarger, now has charge of the farm. He is an intelligent agriculturist and has had excel- lent success with stock and grain raising since assuming the manage- ment of the home place. In the autumn of 1917, he harvested three hundred fifty bushels of wheat, four hundred bushels of oats, and ten tons of hay. He has planted forty acres of the farm in wheat. In addi- tion to general farming, Mr. Wolfenbarger is engaged in stock rais- ing to a certain extent and has a large number of Red Polled cattle and Poland China hogs.

W. M. Wolfenbarger belonged to that large and honorable class of yeomen, who, by deeds rather than words, did so much to develop the resources of Johnson county. He was long a man of influence in

HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY

his community and by a life exceptionally free from faults wielded an influence for good upon all with whom he came in contact. Time in its flight will soon leave the history of Missouri's pioneer days to the memory of the children of the brave, noble men and women who res- cued the prairie and forests from the domination of the Indians and Nature and transformed the inhospitable region into flourishing cities, towns, villages, and fertile farms. The story would be incomplete had the reader not access to the biography of W. M. Wolfenbarger.

J. C. Wilkinson, a successful and prosperous farmer and stockman of Jackson township, is a worthy representative of one of Johnson county's best pioneer families. Mr. Wilkinson is a native of Johnson county. He was born in 1871, a son of Alec and Elizabeth (Wolfen- barger) Wilkinson. Alec Wilkinson was a son of James S. Wilkinson, who was a member of a prominent colonial family of Virginia. The Wilkinsons were well-to-do people in the South and the parents of James S. Wilkinson spent their lives on the large plantation in the state of Virginia. There the son, James S., was born and reared. On his father's plantation, he received his first lessons in practical husbandry and by the time he had attained manhood he was a capable and intelli- gent agriculturist. He came to Missouri in 1856, the first of this par- ticular branch of the Wilkinson family to settle in Johnson county.

Alec Wilkinson, father of J. C. Wilkinson spent his childhood and youth on the Wilkinson home place in Johnson county. The public schools afforded him the advantages of an elementary education and he conscientiously pursued his studies with the object in view of pre- paring himself for teaching. For several years, he was engaged in edu- cational work in Johnson county. As a teacher, he displayed abilities of a high order, but not being pleased or satisfied with the financial prospects the educational fields presented an ambitious, young man, he wisely decided to direct his abilities into the other channels and for many years was engaged in blacksmithing and in later life in farming and stock raising. Mr. Wilkinson was the owner of six hundred acres of land at one time, one hundred sixty acres of which were located in Lafayette county. In 1880, he moved to his farm in Lafayette county and there his death occurred a few years afterward. Mr. and Mrs. Alec Wilkinson were the parents of ten children, eight of whom are now living: J. C., Bates City, Missouri; Mrs. Anna Patterson, Odessa, Missouri; Joe M., James M., Ivan A., Mrs. Maggie Dean, Eva M., and

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Wesley M., all of Bates City, Missouri. While he primarily attended strictly to his farm duties, Alec Wilkinson was not unmindful of the claims a community has upon its citizens. Public-spirited, he took an active and deep interest in the affairs of his township and county and . in social circles his standing as a high-minded, courteous gentleman of the old school was fully assured. Throughout life, Mr. Wilkinson gave his aid and influence to further all enterprises which tended to the social and moral advancement of his fellowmen. Elizabeth (Wolfenbarger) Wilkinson, daughter of John Wolfenbarger, one of the first settlers of Johnson county, has been making her home since the death of her hus- band with an unmarried daughter in Lafayette county.

J. C. Wilkinson attended the city schools of Odessa, Missouri, and later was a student at the Warrensburg State Normal School. He com- pleted a business course at Spalding's Business College, Kansas City, Missouri, and then began life for himself engaged in farming and stock raising. Mr. Wilkinson now owns four hundred fifty-one acres of excel- lent farm land in Johnson county and one hundred ninety-six acres elsewhere. Two hundred forty acres of his place are in bluegrass and Mr. Wilkinson is devoting much time and attention to stock rais- ing. He handles high-class jacks and keeps a registered trotting stal- lion. He is constantly buying and selling stock and, at the time of this writing, he now has thirty-five head of mules, ninety head of cattle among which are twenty-five head of purebred Herefords and a registered Hereford male, and about fifty head of Duroc Jersey and Poland China hogs. The Wilkinson farm is well watered and fenced and is admirably adapted to stock raising and grain producing and this autumn, of 1917, Mr. Wilkinson harvested fifty tons of hay, fifteen hundred bushels of wheat, twelve hundred bushels of oats, and he had one hundred twenty-five acres in corn and has planted one hundred twenty acres of his farm in wheat. Mr. Wilkinson is an up-to-date, highly intelligent agriculturist and an enthusiastic advocate of crop rotation, clover growing, and of the constant use of the manure spreader.

Mr. Wilkinson is a stanch supporter of the principles of the Demo- cratic party. He is, as his father was before him, a public-spirited, enter- prising citizen, one who possesses the unbounded confidence of all who know him. His success in life is not altogether the result of self- denial, but rather the outcome of intelligent financiering, industry, and

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good judgment. In short, he is the kind of man every community is proud to claim.

H. B. Buente, a capable and industrious grocer of Warrensburg, Missouri, is a native of Gasconade county, Missouri, and of German lineage. He was born in Owensville, Missouri, son of Henry and Louise (Distelkamp) Buente.

Henry Buente was born in Germany and in early manhood emi- grated from his native land to America and in 1871 located in Owens- ville, Missouri. He later moved from Gasconade county to Moniteat county. In January, 1891, Henry Buente came to Warrensburg, Mis- souri, where he opened a grocery store on the corner of McGuire and Jackson streets. Louise (Distelkamp) Buente was a native of Mis- souri.

To Henry and Louise Buente were born the following children: Mrs. James O. Cull who is the wife of John B. Cull's son, James O. Cull, who was born and reared in Johnson county, Missouri, where his father was an honored and highly respected pioneer, and they now reside in North Yakima, Washington; H. B., the subject of this review; Mrs. W. A. Crockett, the wife of W. A. Crockett, who is a relative of David Crockett, the famous pioneer scout, and they reside in St. Louis, Missouri; E. H., who is engaged in the real estate business in Los Angeles, California; and Mrs. Robert Millard, Kansas City, Missouri. Lousie (Distelkamp) Buente died in Moniteau county, Missouri. Later Henry Buente was married to Mrs. Minnie Borgman, of Kansas City, Missouri, and to them was born one child, a daughter, Mrs. Robert Willard. The death of Henry Buente occurred June 18, 1916, and burial was made in the cemetery at Warrensburg, Missouri.

H. B. Buente attended the public schools in Warrensburg, Missouri, and the Warrensburg High School. When he was but a child of six years he assisted his father in the grocery store and he has literally grown up in the business. For twenty-six years he has been engaged in the grocery business in Warrensburg. His first business venture in 1889 was a success. The little store in the resident district received a hearty welcome and was exceedingly well patronized by the families in the vicinity. In 1909. H. B. Buente purchased his father's store and continued the business until March, 1916. He sold the stock at that (36)

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time and for a year was out of the business. In the spring of 1917, Mr. Buente erected a brick building, 30 x 60 feet in dimensions, at 523 South McGuire street and May 1, 1917, opened a grocery store in the new building. The store is a model of its kind and has had a large patron- age from the day of opening. Low prices and goods of a reliable and uniformly high quality, are said to be the two chief fundamental reasons for the success of Mr. Buente and of his father.

In 1903, H. B. Buente was united in marriage with Emma L. Whit- man, daughter of George A. and Ellen Whitman, of Warrensburg, Mis- souri. George A. Whitman was engaged in the hardware business in Warrensburg in the early days. He is now deceased and Mrs. Whitman resides in Warrensburg. To H. B. and Emma L. (Whitman) Buente have been born three children: Leonard, Ellen Louise, and George Henry.

C. R. Collins, local manager of the Warrensburg Electric Heat & Power Company, is one of Johnson county's most promising young men. He was born in 1884 in Warrensburg, son of Allen B. and Jose- phine (Hewitt) Collins. 'Allen B. Collins is the night engineer employed at the building on the corner of Pine and Warren streets in Warrens- burg Missouri.

C. R. Collins attended the public schools of Warrensburg and later studied electrical engineering through correspondence and practical experience. He was employed at various places before commncing work with the Warrensburg Electric Heat & Power Company and he began working as fireman for this company in 1901, filling since that time every place connected with the work. He has acted in the capacity of fireman, engineer, lineman, and wired buildings, understanding every phase of the work.

Since 1912, Mr. Collins has been superintendent of the company, whose office is located on the corner of Holden and Grover streets. to which location they moved June 1. 1917, from East Pine street. The Warrensburg Electric Heat & Power Company are successors of the Warrensburg Light & Power Company, who were successors of the Mag- nolia Light Heat & Power Company. Prior to the time of the Magnolia Light Heat & Power Company, a light plant was established at Pertle Springs. This plant burned and the Magnolia company built a new plant in Warrensburg to which they moved a part of the old plant.

The Warrensburg Electric Heat & Power Company have more

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than nine hundred patrons in Warrensburg and in addition furnishes current for Concordia, Knob Noster, and Lamonte. The lines were extended to these places in 1916.

July 12, 1916, C. R. Collins was united in marriage with Mattie Rosenthal, the daughter of Henry and Helen Rosenthal, of Warrens- burg, Missouri. At the time of this writing Mr. and Mrs. Collins are residing in the Christopher Flats in Warrensburg. Mr. Collins has pushed to the front through his own unaided efforts and through dili- gence, conscientious attention to duty, industry, and perseverance, he is making a splendid success of life and a name for himself of which he may justly be proud.

Reverend Frank S. McCardle, A. B., pastor of the Sacred Heart Parish of Warrensburg, Missouri, was born June 7, 1886, son of John and Ann (Rafferty) McCardle, in Linwood, Ontario. John McCardle was born in Canada, son of Patrick McCardle, who lived to be more than one hundred years of age and was the oldest man in Canada at the time of his death. Ann ( Rafferty) McCardle was born at Carrick- macross, Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. McCardle are now residing at Waterloo, Ontario.

Reverend Frank S. McCardle entered St. Jerome College, Berlin, Ontario, now located at Kitchener, Ontario, in 1902. He graduated from this institution June 16, 1908, with the degree of A. B. While at St. Jerome, he was editor of the college paper, "The Schoolman." for three years and was president of the Literary and Dramatic Club, which presented the play, "If I Were a King." Reverend McCardle took part in all the amateur theatricals given at the college, playing any part from leading lady to the villain. He received the highest hon- ors in scholarship at St. Jerome. In the fall of the year 1908, he entered Grand Seminary at Montreal, which is perhaps the oldest collegiate institution in America. Reverend McCardle was in attendance at Grand Seminary one year, when on account of ill health he was obliged to leave college. Later, he entered St. Bonaventure's Seminary at Alle- gheny, New York, where he pursued a course in theology and gradu- ated in June, 1911. Reverend McCardle was ordained priest at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Buffalo, New York, June 27, 1911.

Father McCardle arrived in Kansas City, Missouri, July 7, 1911, and after a few weeks at the Cathedral was made first resident chaplain at St. Mary's Hospital. where he spent one year. For two years and

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four months he was pastor at Our Lady of Good Counsel. While there, Father McCardle established the Cardinal Club, a literary and social organization for young men at old Westport. This organization is now city-wide. August 4, 1914, he was appointed Catholic chaplain of the Missouri State Reform School for Boys at Boonville, Missouri, and was there one and a half years. During all this time Father McCardle did hospital work.

January 14, 1916, Reverend Frank S. McCardle was appointed pas- tor of the Sacred Heart Parish of Warrensburg, Missouri. Since he has been in Warrensburg, he has taken an active part in humanitarian affairs. Besides his work in this city, Father McCardle has missions at Knob Noster and Lamonte. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and for them has been a state lecturer at social banquets, in order to further the cause of Christianity. Reverend Frank S. McCardle is a brilliant young man of vision and invincible spirit and he has done and is doing an immense amount of good in the world.

Father McCardle has taken out his first naturalization papers and will soon take out the final papers, making him a citizen under "Old Glory."

W. F. Burns, one of Jonhson county's best and most valued citizens, was born in 1847 in County Wicklow, Ireland. He is the son of John and Sarah (O'Neal) Burns, who emigrated from Ireland to America in 1849 and located in Port Huron, Michigan, when their son, W. F., was a child two years of age. In 1860, the Burns family moved from Michi- gan to Missouri and settled on a farm of four hundred acres of land. located near Montserrat. This land was purchased for fifteen dollars an acre within a year or two after coming to Missouri. Saralı (O'Neal) Burns was a native of Ireland, but she never heard of the Irish language until she came to America, for English was exclusively spoken in her district. To John and Sarah Burns were born the following children : James, Kansas City, Missouri; Elizabeth, who was the wife of Thomas Farrell and they lived on the farm adjoining the home place near Mont- serrat and she is now deceased ; Margaret, who was the wife of Michael Farrell, whose death occurred near Montserrat in February, 1916: John, who is in the employ of the Metropolitan Railway Company, Kansas City, Missouri: W. F., the subject of this review; and Lawrence, who died in 1906 at St. Joseph, Missouri. John Burns first located on the Jehu Robinson place between Montserrat and Knob Noster, upon com-

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ing to Missouri. When Mr. and Mrs. Burns moved to their home, which they had built on the farm in Montserrat township, the neigh- bors gave them a surprise party to welcome them and the weatherman gave the neighbors a surprise. A blizzard arose that night and thirty- two of the party were obliged to remain at the Burns home until the next evening. Both mother and father died on the farm in Montserrat township, with only one day intervening between their deaths. They departed this life together in 1886, Mrs. Burns preceding her husband in death only a few hours. They were interred in the same grave in the Warrensburg cemetery.

William F. Burns, the subject of this review, received his education in the public schools of Port Huron, Michigan. He came with his par- ents to Missouri in 1860 and until six years ago resided on the farm in Montserrat township. In 1911, Mr. Burns moved from the farm to Warrensburg and entered the coal business in partnership with J. J. Culp. Two years ago he opened an office in the Christopher building in Warrensburg. Mr. Burns has an enviable reputation among the business men of Johnson county. He is honest and square in all his dealings, a man whose word is as good as gold. The firm has enjoyed a splendid patronage from the start and is now doing an extensive busi- ness. William F. Burns is a genial, warm-hearted Irishman, whose quiet, unobtrusive, good humor has made for him friends by the score.

May 20, 1879. William F. Burns was united in marriage with Mary Ann Rogers, daughter of E. B. and Sarah (Burges) Rogers. E. B. Rogers was born in 1828 in New York and when sixteen years of age left New York and went to Illinois. His death occurred when he was seventy-seven years of age and his widow, who was born in Knetucky, is now residing at Montserrat. Mrs. Rogers is eighty-nine years of age and still enjoying good health. To William F. and Mary Ann ( Rogers) Burns have been born nine children: Mrs. E. M. Foster, Warrensburg, Missouri; John, who is owner and manager of a garage at Knob Noster, Missouri: Sarah E., who was engaged in teaching and died at the age of twenty-nine years Margaret, who is engaged in the millinery busi- ness in Warrensburg: William. Jr .. Smithton, Missouri; Frances, who died at the age of three years: Anna. who is engaged in teaching at Odessa, Missouri: Mrs. Aubrey Tockett. Blanca, Colorado; and Vin- cent, who lives at home with his parents.

E. B. Rogers, father of Mrs. William F. Burns, came with his

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father from New York to Illinois and while on the way the senior Mr. Rogers fell from the boat on which they were coming, and was drowned in the Mississippi river. E. B. and Sarah (Burges) Rogers were the parents of the following children: M. S., Lamonte, Mis- souri; Fletcher, who died from illness caused by disease contracted in the Spanish American War; James, Kansas City, Missouri; Dewitt, who resides in California; Oscar, who resides at Montserrat, Missouri; and Mrs. William F. Burns, the wife of the subject of this review. E. B. Rogers was a veteran of the Civil War. He enlisted in the Union army in 1861 in Peoria county, Illinois and served three years. He took part in the famous battle of Gettysburg, which lasted three days, from July 1 to July 4, 1863 and resulted in the loss of more than twenty- three thousand men on the Union side. Mr. Rogers was mustered out and honorably discharged in 1864.

William F. Burns has been a resident of Johnson county for nearly sixty years and he has in that time seen many changes incidental to the growth and improvement of the county. He recalls many of the men and women who nobly spent their lives aiding in the upbuilding of both the county and state. Those who devoted their lives to the cause of Christianity in the Catholic church, in the early days, whom Mr. Burns remembers, were: Father Caloner, Father Murry, Father McKin, Father Everheart, and Father Phelan. The Catholic church was established in Warrensburg, Missouri in 1866 by Father Caloner, of Sedalia, Missouri. The house of worship was erected soon after and was constructed of brick at a cost of three thousand dollars. Father McCardle, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this volume, is the present pastor.

Mr. Burns bears the unique distinction of having been a classmate of Thomas A. Edison, America's greatest wizard, when they were boys in Port Huron, Michigan.

J. W. Heuerman, the capable and genteel proprietor of the Fourth Ward Grocery of Warrensburg, Missouri, is a native of Pettis county, Missouri. He was born September 27, 1874, son of Fred C. and Carrie (Seibe) Heuerman. Fred C. Heuerman was born in 1838 in. Germany and when a youth, fourteen years of age, emigrated from his native land to America in 1852. He located in St. Louis, Missouri and from that city moved to Sedalia at a time long before the railroad had been built to that point. For a few years, he lived at Colecamp, Missouri

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and from there returned to Sedalia. Later, he went to Los Angeles, California, where he remained a short time and then came back to Mis- souri and is now residing in St. Louis. Fred C. Heuerman learned bookkeeping in Germany and he has followed his profession in this country. He enlisted in the Civil War and served in the Union army three years. Mr. Heuerman joined the service at Sedalia, Missouri. Carrie (Seibe) Heuerman is the daughter of a respected pioneer of Sedalia, who was associated in business with John W. Houx, owning a hardware store in Sedalia. To Fred C. and Carrie (Seibe) Heuer- man have been born the following children: John W., the subject of this review; Fred C., Jr., St. Louis, Missouri; Leo, St. Louis, Missouri; Edward, deceased; Harry, Los Angeles, California; A. M., Indianapolis, Indiana: and Carrie, who resides in Los Angeles, California.

J. W. Heuerman received his education in the common schools of Sedalia. He has made his way in the world since he was thirteen years of age, working as a lad as messenger boy for the telegraph company in Sedalia and later as clerk in McCarty's shoe store and in the employ of the Kelk's Carriage Works. At the age of twenty-three years, Mr. Hetterman went to Joplin, Missouri, where he conducted a cafe for the Anheuser Busch people for one year. He then returned to Sedalia and worked in the employ of the telegraph department of the Union Pacific Railway Company. For many years, Mr. Heuerman was employed by the "Katy" Railway Company and by the Queen City Telephone Com- pany. He was manager of the Bell Telephone Company at Warrens- burg for ten years, when he resigned his position to engage in the grocery business. In March, 1916, he purchased the Fourth Ward Grocery from H. J. Lyon and he now conducts this store in Warrens- burg, having a nice, steady, profitable trade, to which he gives his most careful, personal attention. Mr. Heuerman carries a fine, clean stock of groceries, sufficient for the needs of his patronage.

In 1898, J. W. Heuerman and Cora Young, of Sedalia, Missouri, were united in marriage. Cora (Young) Heuerman is a daughter of T. B. Young, who is now living in Sedalia, Missouri. Mrs. Young is deceased. To J. W. and Cora Heuerman have been born two chil- dren: Dorothy and John W., Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Heuerman reside at 407 McGoodwin street in Warrensburg. They are highly esteemed and respected in this community, where Mr. Heuerman has established an excellent reputation, in his quiet, unassuming way, being well known

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History of Johnson County, Missouri, Part 102

Author: Cockrell, Ewing Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Topeka, Kan. : Historical Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1234

Author: Cockrell, Ewing
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Topeka, Kan. : Historical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1234