Missouri, Howell - email Shannon Chenoweth Graham (15 Feb 2007)

• Title	Missouri, Howell - email Shannon Chenoweth Graham (15 Feb 2007)
  Short Title	Missouri, Howell - email Shannon Chenoweth Graham (15 Feb 2007)
  Publisher	Shannon Chenoweth Graham, Jefferson City, Missouri [(E-address for private use),] to Janis Gilmore, Pawleys Island, South Carolina, e-mail, 15 Feb 2007; regarding the Chenoweth, Vickers, Hargroves, and DeBoard families of Howell County, Missouri; digital copy held by author (2007).
  Source ID	S1011
  Text	Dear Janis: As I listened to the weather last night, and saw the Atlantic pounding those beaches, I was praying you got home safely without a layover in Chicago. My son would tell you this is the effect of global warming and when the polar ice cap goes,both Coasts will be gone. He knows too much and will tell you at the slightest provocation. That's a scientist for you., I've lived with doctors and biologists my entire life. You just smile and wait for the lecture to end. When I read what I e-mailed you yesterday, I realized I had better get some rhyme and reason for this before you give up in disgust. So here goes on the Civil War and how they all came to Missouri. I've wanted to get this in someone's hands who cares. After all, I'm not getting any younger and my children care nothing for geneology. I'm giving a date of about 1883. The reason for this when Jim Vickers and Orville came to welcome my Griffin ggrandparents to the community, Orville took one look at Sarepta and said "that's the girl I'm going to marry"> She was 13 years old and was born in 1/26/1870. All of these people came from White and Hamilton Counties in IL. They were all members of the Ebeneezer Methodist Church in Norris City, IL Ebeneezer is also the name of the first Methodist Church in the U.S. in VA, of course. They came in covered wagons, south thru the State of IL, crossed the Mississippi at Chester, IL (the only place shallow enough to ford, the river almost a mile wide. imagine floating a wagon that far across with water that deep.). The families were: The Reverend Franklin DeBoard, Thomas Bolerjack, Marion Bolerjack, Henry Bolerjack, Willis Koonce. (I'll give their wives later, we're all related). Ewing Griffin , Thomas Davis left them in Poplar Bluff but stayed in touch, his ggrandchildren, Robert, Clyde and others were in Winon, MO when my father went there as orthopedic surgeon for Moss Tie Company«i» in 1912.«/i» Most of these men had been in the 87th IL Inf. the McKenzie Brothers, William and George were in the 87th too, I believe. Army of the TN, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant Commanding, 13th Army Corps, maj. Gen John AMcClernand, maj Gen Edward officer of ordnance. 12th Div Birg. Gen Alvin P Hovey, 2nd Brigade, Col James B Slack (Jeff City), Col John E WitingFirst mustered at Cairo Il, then sent to Helena, Ark, then on to Vicksburg. This from the War of the Rebellion 30 Vol. compiled by the Government after the war. The McKenzie sisters and their families were already here. Not all their children left IL. Some were already married. Several of the Vickers children were married, Alice Griffin had married William Bagby in Norris City. They are buried there.I have Muster Rolls and Enlistment for Ewing Griffin and Williams McKenzie (stating he drowned on the General Lyon) Ewing Griffin said when they were loaded on board a steamer at Cairo, he looked up and saw the gun implacements on the bluff above the river and thought "If the Johnnies have anything like that, we're goners." Most of these men fought through the Vicksburg Campaign, then on to the Louisiana Campaign (pure swamp fighting) but the History of the 87th says, by the time they had been in LA for a week, all the men were mounted on horses, mules even steers. They saw some of the worst fighting of the war, but always left the field in "good order",often being ambushed, but closed ranks and carried on. Ewing was a scout and, at one time we had his little spy glass, that compared to the ones today, wouldn't have spotted anything(guess who said that). I wrote some of the history of the 87th IL, if you would like it, I'll send it. A cousin told me that Illinois has a little placque they will send on request to go on an IL soldier's tombstone. We should request one for each of our ancestors, don't you think? They didn't all come together but Uncle Franklin drew them here because of the sawmills, and the apple orchards. Howell Co is one of the richest agricultural counties in the state. "Just throw the seeds in the backyard and they'll beat you to the porch", is a saying, and very nearly true. ( I can't call these people anything but uncle and aunt, a courtesy title in most cases, but I never knew them by anything else. Uncle Willis Koonce m. Sarah Bolerjack in IL. Mother doesn't name their chldren but I taught school in Howell Co one year and had Uncle Willis'; gggrandchild as a first grader. These people were all connected through marriage in some way. I wish mother had listed the Bolerjacks in order, but she didn't. She says, Spiencer Bolerjack was engaged to Lucy Harvey when he took pneumonia and died. Her sis Ida Harvey married Maurice Fillmanl Thomas Bolerjack's wife's name was Aunt Keed (I've always thought her name was probably that old Southern name Kezia, you see it often in Md. and VA. Their children were: Parnicie (an old Roman name left over from Scotland I'll bet Vitura is too). Parnicie married Edward Hill. Hugh Bolerjack Sarah Adams (a sister to my Aunt Emma, who married John Griffin), The Adams' mother was a sister to Uncle Johnny Bay (this is our connection to Porter Waggoner, his grandmother was a Bay). I know Porter very well, also from may days in radio, Chet Atkins, Doc Martin, of course the Carters, Ferlin Husky, all the men June was married to were at KWTO in Spiringfield in the 40s. Sarah and Emma Adams were also sisters to my Aunt Millie who married Charles Vickers my grandfather's youngest brother. Lorry (she must have another name), married Uncle "Lum" Thomas, (I don't know his name, he was Orville vickers great friend but I only knew him as Uncle Lum. They each had a yard full of fox hounds and hunted all the time. These men never forgot their TN, VA roots, Now to those infamous Bolerjack Twins, Edward and Edmund, who were the bane of everyone's existence. They were super identical, unless Aunt Keed could look them right in the face, even she couldn't tell them apart. Those devils weren't long discovering they had something really great. They went to Center Hill School The teacher was lost. Finally, she told Edmund to go home, take green paint and paint a little strip on his left cheek. Silly woman, you can guess what happened. Decoration Day came, that big bash has existed for over 100 years, and the mob gathered under that huge oak tree just like today. When Aunt Keed heard the teacher call one of them Edmund, she said "that's Edward" since she had him by his suspenders. Mother said they drove the other kids nuts. They grew up amd started to date, no girl knew to whom she was talking. But, one night Edward, who later married Caroline Carter, send Edmund to keep the date. In about five minutes Aunt Lina said 'Go home Edmund , Edward forgot to tell you what we talked about Sunday night." It's said their wives Edmond married Pearl Bay, could always tell who was who. I knew these men in their 70s and I sure couldn't tell who was who even then. They still got a kick out of fooling us little kids. Here my mother says Lina was a sister of Aunt Millie, so Aunt Millie who married Charles Vickers, was not an Adams but a Carter. Sadie Bolerjack (Sarah?) narrued Web (Webster), Bledford, Margaret m. Charles Rowlett. The Rowletts lived at Trask, had all girls, my mother's brother, Roy married Edna, her b rother, Clarence (CAl) married Novella, Jesse Vickers , Uncle Charlies son, married Jody Dowell, one of their nieces, so we really connected with Roweletts,. Clifford Bolerjack married Clara Crouch. He was killed at the junction where the old West Plains road joins 60 going into Willow Springs. The Highway Patrol were looking for some criminal, mistook their car for his, and killed Clifford without even pulling him over. Claara couldn't drive but managed to stop the car, she was injured but not seriously. Everyone was devastated. I didn't know Clifford but my parents did. Later, Clara married Charles Vickers. Aunt Millie had been dead sometime. Walter Bolerjack died with typhoid, Williams died with TB, Frank bolerjack married Oma Weller, another of mother's good friends. Oma's mother was Nancy Carter, Aunt Millie's sister. John Carter is another with all daughters. Henry Bolerjack maried Mary--------in IL They chlldren: Sherman, John, William She doesn' say who Marion Bolerack married by they bought the first place on the left after you pass the church. Uncle Marion gave a strip of land between the church and the road. I've heard from one of his descendants in TN, and they went there. The Bolerjack that runs the drug store in Mtn View, I think, is one of Uncle Marions. There is so much of this I'm going to send it and go on later. If you already know this, pierhaps you should just ask questions. I had no idea this would be so long I wouldn't send this at all, but someone may ask you some day, and you can say oh yes, I know who he or she married, Does that sound logical? Beats looking it up. Shannon

  
  

• Notes

  Shannon Chenoweth Graham is the daughter of Pearl Vickers and S.J. Chenoweth, of Howell County, Missouri. Shannon's grandfather was James Vickers. Shannon stated that she was age 87 in 2007, so she would have been born around 1920. She resides in Jefferson City, MO, (2007) and her email address is