MISSOURI

Missouri Vacation circa 1961

One of grandpa's videos, circa 1961 titled

"Missouri & Vacation"

What I can see:

• driving shots, farm shots, Jesse & Ross?, Gail, house shots
• someone arriving, plucking chicken, new garage, smoking barrel (cooking?), trucks
• Inside: too dark to see faces
• bridge, __ on horse, bridge, driving, stopped on a country road with hills
• M.E. on porch with cat

Here are three clips from a video labeled "Family Film 015", apparently from the same date:

What I can see from clip 1, above:

• driving shots: roadside building, fields, water tower, roads, bridge, hills, roads, mountains, roads, pastures

What I can see from clip 2, above:

• driving shots: roads & mountains, houses, cemeteries
• at 1:39, Sharon, Vera, Gary, ? Donny, ?, others, Jesse
• Outside: cold, getting into cars
• 2:17, driving shots
• stuck? cars, bridge
• Wampler Cemetery, Johnson Co., MO: Mayme M. & William O. Gowin

What I can see from clip 3, above:

• Wampler Cemetery: graves of Oliver E. & Anna E. Drinkwater, John T. & Monema Drinkwater
• Farm shots, brown & white cows, tractor, dirt road, black & white pigs
• white house
• kids bundled up in coats/hats
• Gary holding goose?
• framing a building
• pulling out
• driving shots
• @3:11, abandoned brick building "Montserrat"

Wampler Cemetery, Johnson County, Missouri (map here):

John T. Drinkwater, M.E.'s grandfather

Finis Elza Drinkwater, M.E.'s uncle
died at 7 months

Inscription on the opposite side of John T & Monema's gravestone: 

All the plans of life are broken, All the hopes of life are fled, Counsel, comfort, and adviser, Alas, Alas, for thou are dead. 

Oliver E. Drinkwater and Anna E. Drinkwater, M.E. Drinkwater's parents

James Gordon Gowin,
M.E.'s cousin died as a baby

Mayme M. Gowin & William O. Gowin, M.E.'s aunt & uncle

Margaret P. Drinkwater Butler, M.E.'s great aunt

Warrensburg, Missouri, early 1950s

Ross Drinkwater's home in Warrensburg, Missouri early 1950s

Ross Drinkwater (M.E.'s older brother), Anna Geary Drinkwater
(M.E.'s mother), M.E. Drinkwater, early 1950s

NEW LEBANON CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH and SCHOOL

National Register

Reverend Finis Ewing 1773-1841
image via Wikimedia Commons
in the U.S. public domain

In 1979 this church and school on State Road A in New Lebanon, Cooper County, Missouri was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

From the nomination listing:

"The New Lebanon Cumberland Presbyterian Church is significant as an example of Greek Revival style architecture; it is important also as one of the earliest surviving churches of the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination, and as the site of the first Cumberland Presbyterian seminary.  The Reverend Finis Ewing, co-organizer of the Cumberland Presbyterian movement and eminent pioneer preacher was the founder of the New Lebanon seminary and served as the congregation's first minister."

1887 Railroad Map of Missouri (Cooper County)

Reverend Ewing left New Lebanon in 1831 (for Lexington, Missouri), long before the church building was built in 1860.  In spite of his departure, the congregation continued to grow.

New Lebanon is about 25 miles south of Boonville.  By the 1890s both N-S and E-W railroad lines passed through Boonville.  At the time, 25 miles distance was sufficient to put Lebanon in the middle of nowhere and its population declined.

New Lebanon Cumberland Presbyterian Church
View from the SouthWest, taken ~1900-1920 (photographer unknown)

The Drinkwater Connection

Our Drinkwaters had moved from Tennessee (or Virginia) to Cooper Co., Missouri in the 1820's and 30's.

"Samuel Drinkwater was a 'brick maker' and it is easy to speculate that it was he who made the bricks for the church." History of New Lebanon, Cooper County, Missouri (1976)

According to the 1860 U.S. Census for Lebanon Township, Cooper County, Missouri,

S Drinkwater was 37 (a couple years younger than John Thurston Drinkwater).  John does not appear to have had a brother named Samuel.  He may be a cousin, but that's just a guess.

John T. Drinkwater, blacksmith;
grandfather of M.E. Drinkwater

Subscriptions to the Cumberland Presbyterian church building fund of 1859-60 ranged from $1 to $200, totalling $3200.  Subscriptions came from church and community members.

John T. Drinkwater pledged $30.  -- History of New Lebanon, Cooper County, Missouri (1976)

"Brick for the new building was fired a few yards from the site, while pine lumber was hauled with teams and wagons from Boonville.  The building was completed June 3, 1860 at a cost of $3230.83."
-- National Register Listing (1979)

According to a biography sketch of John T. published in 1895, he was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Montserrat at that time.  It is not a stretch to assume that he was also a member of the same denomination when he lived in New Lebanon.  John also had a grandson named Finis, perhaps after the reverend.  Finis died in his infancy.

More of the Church

All 1970's photos of the church (below) are on file as part of the National Register listing, taken by Janice R. Cameron on 7 March 1979.

View from the West

View from the South

one of two primary entrances

typical window

interior view from the East

interior view from the West

JOHN T. DRINKWATER IN JOHNSON COUNTY, MISSOURI

There is a lovely biography* ca. 1895 of John as a prominent farmer of Johnson County: 

"John T. Drinkwater, who resides in township 46, range 25, Johnson County, is numbered among its leading farmers.  He owns a good estate, and although his advancing age prevents him from longer actively cultivating his farm, he still maintains a general oversight of the place.  He has made all the improvements which adorn it, and has contributed greatly to the upbuilding of his township.

"Our subject was born March 15, 1821, in Virginia, and when only five years of age was deprived of the care of his father.  Nine years later he was doubly orphaned, as were also his two sisters and two brothers.  

• Polly, who is now deceased, was the eldest of the household; 
• Margaret married James Deckard, and both passed away in Pettis County, this state; 
• William married and departed this life in Cooper County; 
• James is married and engaged in farming in Texas.  

"The father of this family also died in Cooper County, where he was the owner of a good farm.

"John T., of this sketch, accompanied his parents on their removal to this state, and after the death of his mother made his home with the family of Sylvester Hall until of age.  He then engaged in blacksmithing near Lebanon, Cooper County, and for several years successfully carried on business there.  While in that place he was married to Nancy Deckard, of Cooper County.  Eight years later Mrs. Drinkwater died, and the lady whom our subject chose as his second companion was Miss Mimena [sic.] Bales, daughter of Oliver Bales, of the above county.

"After his union with Miss Bales, our subject abandoned his trade of blacksmith, and renting property in Iowa, moved to that state and lived for two years.  His ventures in this direction not proving as successful as he had hoped, he returned to Cooper County and again opened a shop, besides which he also carried on farming on a modest scale.  Two years thereafter he came to Johnson County, his first purchase here comprising a tract of sixty acres.  On this he built a house, and cleared the land of the thick growth of timber, making this section his home for the past twenty-seven years.  During all these years he has made such improvements as seemed wise and profitable, and his property is considered one of the best in the township, and as one its oldest residents he is honored and esteemed.

photo ca. 1894,
about the time of this biography

"To Mr. and Mrs. Drinkwater there were born seven children, of whom one is deceased [not one of the seven below, because they were all alive in the "river photo" of ~1905].  

1. Sarah married Washington Harter, and lives on a good farm in this township.  
2. [Edward] Brown first married Jennie Hanna, and on her decease became the husband of Willie Ramsey; he is living in Montserrat, and is the proprietor of a livery stable and blacksmith-shop.  
3. Margaret is now the widow of Lawrence Applegate, and lives in this township.  
4. William is one of the substantial young farmers of this section, of whom we will make further mention.  
5. Oliver married Annie Geary, of Pettis County, and both now reside on an estate east of the home of our subject.  
6. Fannie married William Fisher, a resident of Kansas City, where he is connected with the fire department.  
7. Rosa Leila lives at home [aged ~18 years old].  

"The two children born of our subject’s first marriage were 

1. Fred, who was accidentally killed by a horse when four years of age, and 
2. James, who now lives in Utah, where he is proprietor of a hotel and runs a barber-shop.

"Mr. Drinkwater enjoys good health and retains to a large extent the mental vigor and physical strength of his younger years.  In fact, it would be difficult to find in the entire county a better preserved old man.  With his good wife, he is surrounded by all the comforts of existence, and has a pleasant residence.  He has always been prominent in local affairs, and since being permitted to vote [see note, below] has upheld the principles of Democracy.  Besides being the incumbent of various offices of honor and trust, he has done much toward administering the law and advancing the interest of the county.  He attends the Cumberland Presbyterian Church [look for this post next week] at Montserrat, of which he is a valued member.

John and Monema

"William Drinkwater, a son of our subject, was married, March 27, 1887, to Miss Annie, daughter of Thomas A. and Emma (Marshall) Cruse.  She was born in this county, December 18, 1870.  Her father was a native of Virginia, while Mrs. Cruse was born in Saline County, this state, where their marriage was celebrated.  Mrs. Cruse passed away on the 13th of May, 1885, leaving the following-named family: Annie, Minnie, Willie, Maude and Eula.  James died in infancy.  William Drinkwater is a staunch Democrat in politics, and a man of prominence and influence in his community."

*pages 247-248 Portrait and Biographical Record of Johnson and Pettis Counties, Missouri: Containing Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens of the Counties, Together with Biographies and Portraits of All the Presidents of the United States. Chapman Publishing Company, 1895 - Johnson County (Mo.)

Note: it is unclear by the phrase "since being permitted to vote" what prohibition from voting John T. Drinkwater had been subjected to.  Presumably it is the requirement to be a property holder that might have prevented him.  By 1850, most of these requirements had been abolished. 

This biographical sketch was published in 1895.  John T. Drinkwater died on December 18 of that year, aged 74.

-a

WAMPLER CEMETERY, Johnson County, Missouri

JOHN T.
DRINKWATER
BORN
Mar 8, 1822
DIED
Dec 18, 1895
----
MONEMA
Wife of J.T.
DRINKWATER
BORN
Nov 11, 1833

DRINKWATER

OLIVER E. 

DRINKWATER

1866-1926

ANNA E. 

DRINKWATER 

1878-1956

FINIS E.
???can you read this???
DRINKWATER
NOV 4 1916
JUNE 13 1917

Finis Elza Drinkwater was the 10th & final child of Oliver Elza Drinkwater and Anna Elizabeth [Geary] Drinkwater.  He lived only 7 months.  Sometimes his name is written as Elmo Drinkwater.  

GOWIN
MAYME M.      WILLIAM O.
Nov. 6, 1893     Nov 14, 1889
Dec 16, 1956      June 29 1971

Mayme Marie [Drinkwater] Gowin was the 2nd child of Oliver Elza Drinkwater and Anna Elizabeth [Geary] Drinkwater after Ross Wilbur Drinkwater, and their eldest daughter.

B
at rest
MOTHER
MARGARET P.
DRINKWATER
1860-1924
BUTLER

Margaret Palestine [Drinkwater] Applegate Butler was the third child of John Thurston Drinkwater and Monema O. [Bales] Drinkwater.  She married Benjamine Lawrence Applegate in 1880 and then Walker Butler in 1890.

JOHN T. DRINKWATER BIBLE PAGES

There are two pages (with two sides each) that I have from John Thurston Drinkwater's family bible, where families would record births, marriages & deaths in their families.  These are a bit difficult to read due to paper damage and ink bleed-throughs, so I've included the text below each page.

page 1: Births

 Births (page 1)


John Thurston Drinkwater 3/8/1822

Nancy Gilbert Drinkwater 3/15/1827

Fredrick Anderson Drinkwater 11/27/1848

James Robert Drinkwater 11/10/1850

Monema Drinkwater 11/17/1834

Sarah Sarina Drinkwater
 6/11/1855

Edward Harvey Brown Drinkwater  9/27/1857

Margaret Palistine Drinkwater  7/29/1860

William Henry Drinkwater
 7/29/1863

Oliver Elza Drinkwater 10/28/1866

Susan Frances Drinkwater 12/23/1869

Rosa Lee Drinkwater 1/27/1879

Serfrana Drinkwater 11/27/1887 (Monema would've been 53 in 1887... whose baby is this?)

page 2: Marriages

Marriages (page 2)


John Thurston Drinkwater to Nancy Gilbert Deckard July 25 1844

John Thurston Drinkwater to Monema Bales September 12 1853

Geo W Harter
 to Sarah Sarina Drinkwater March 30 1875

H.B. Drinkwater to Jenny Hanna May 19 1880

page 3: Births

Births (page 3)


James Robert Drinkwater son of H.B. Drinkwater was born July 7 1890

Charley W. Fisher (Fannie's son) May 31 1890

page 4: Deaths

Deaths (page 4)


Nancy G Drinkwater
 December 25 1852

Frederick A Drinkwater
 December 25 1853

Serfrana Drinkwater
 
 January 23 1888

James R. Drinkwater son of Brown Drinkwater September 23 1890

John Thurston Drinkwater Dec 18 1895

James R. Drinkwater
 Sept 22 1921

Margaret Palestine Butler
 Jan 14 1924

O.E. Drinkwater
 Jan 24 1926

H.B. Drinkwater
 Jan 2 1928


Monema Drinkwater
 Jan 15 1928

Stansbury S. Bevan
 Jan 1 1932

Susan Frances Tyer
 July 26 1940 (looks like Fannie got remarried to a Tyer)

Sarah Sarana Harter April 18 1942


Rosa Lee Drinkwater Bevan Adams March 31 1905