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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2009 ~ Vol. 13 No. 34

Monroe City, MO

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How did I get to Monroe County?

It's hard for those of us who enjoy genealogy to understand why everyone doesn't want to know more about their roots. Like many of the researchers I've met since bitten by "the bug" I wish I could turn back the pages of time and just ask many of our long-dead pioneers, "Who were you related to, who did you know, and how did you end up in Monroe County, Missouri?"

How I would love to sit under a shade tree at Bryan Cemetery on the Mark Twain Country Club golf course and have a nice long chat with my husband's third great-grandmother, Mildred Rogers Acuff Coppage. It is really her story that seems to have shaped my own destiny as the Monroe County history lady. I would have to admit that I can't really tell her where I learned all I think I already know about her life. In the excitement of trying to uncover her past I made the same mistakes most beginners make and documented some but not all of my sources. After one computer crash, several years, and many hours studying background information during the times of her life, I may never recreate and document all I discovered that initial gathering.

Could Mildred tell me everything I want to know? I doubt it. Like so many others, she was so busy living history, she probably didn't have time to think about her place in the saga or take time to ask questions of her relatives.

If all the information I've gleaned and the assumptions I've made are correct, Mildred was born in Orange County, Virginia in 1777, right in the middle of the Revolutionary War. She was one of six children born to William Rogers and Nancy Johnson, who settled in Scott County Kentucky. Her mother died when she was three years old and her father remarried and had two more children by Patsy Wilkinson.

Mildred married a man nearly twice her age at 15 and within the year was raising babies. Between 1794 and 1814 she gave birth to nine children and at her death in 1853 had outlived all but two of them. Her first husband, Christopher Acuff, died about 1814 (probably in the War of 1812), and two years later she married Rhodan Coppage, a widower with 11 children. Together they had another five.

Did Mildred know, or have time to care, that many of her cousins would be remembered in history as VIPs of the 19th Century? Her mother's brother, Robert Johnson, was one of the four delegates representing Woodford County in Kentucky's first constitutional convention at Danville in April 1792. B.O. Gaines in History of Scott CountyKentucky said that between 1793 and 1812 Johnson owned one-third of the county. He and his wife, Jemima Suggett, had eleven children. Their third son, Richard Mentor Johnson, born in Kentucky in 1780, became famous because of his service during the War of 1812 and was the ninth vice-president of the United States. His brother John T. Johnson became a prominent minister in the new Disciples of Christ Church. The extended Johnson family also figures prominently in the Traveling Church (1781) and seige of Bryan's Station (1782). Each of those historical events is a story in itself. Suffice it to say here that it was probably our Mildred's Rogers' father and older brothers who were also present at Bryan's Station.

Robert Johnson was well acquainted with another of Mildred's cousins on her father's side, George Rogers Clark. He had fought in General Rogers' campaign against the Indians in the old Northwest Territory east of the Mississippi River.

Mildred lived and died surrounded by those she loved and children she helped raise. Once the extended family moved to Monroe County, Missouri, the tangled web was woven even larger than that in Kentucky. Three of her own children, Christopher Columbus, Greenville Pitts and Lucy Acuff came to Monroe County as adults and had children of their own. Her brother Joseph had married Mary "Polly" Acuff, Mildred's sister-in-law; her sister Nancy married Gerard Fowkes; and her sister Sally married John Waller. Many of their children settled in Monroe County and have since married into Monroe County families too numerous to mention here.

More information about the Rogers family can be found in "Some of the Descendants of Giles Rogers, an immigrant to Virginia in 1664", written by Hopewell Lindenberger Rogers and published in 1940 by the Filson Society. More complete information on Mildred Rogers and her siblings is documented in estate papers filed in Woodford Co, KY Court of Common Pleas in 1868 regarding the estate of George Rogers. An abstract of that case was compiled by Hattie Marshall Scott, and after her death presented by Mrs. William Breckinridge Ardery to the Kentucky Historical Society. Copies of these publications are available at the Monroe County Historical Society Research Center, 112 S. Main, Room #5, in Paris. 361 080903 9/3/2008 his

Aug. 16 - Burger Bash at Dugout Lounge

Sponsored in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, call the Dugout, 573-735-9774 for more information.
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Airport renaming to highlight 40th anniversary celebration

Monroe City area residents will remember fallen war hero, Capt. Ben Smith, as the local airport is renamed in his honor during the observance of the airport's 40th anniversary celebration on Oct. 4, which would have been Capt. Smith's 32nd birthday.

Smith, son of (Swinkey) Bill and Kathy Smith of Indian Creek, was killed while serving as a Blackhawk pilot with the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq on Nov. 7, 2003.

The dedication of the airfield in Smith's honor will include the unveiling of a new sign designating the airfield and a flag. There will be numerous special flyovers with the Missouri National Guard and members of the 101st Airborne Division present. Local volunteer pilots will provide free rides as part of the Young Eagles program. (See related story) The day will kick off with a pancake breakfast served by the Monroe City Chamber of Commerce. The Swinkey and Holy Rosary Knights of Columbus will serve pork burgers at lunch. A special display of patriotic items will be available for viewing in the aircraft hangar. There will be numerous aircraft on display throughout the day's event which will conclude by 2 p.m.

The high school band will perform also, in addition to local dancers.

Shane Spalding, Capt. Smith's best childhood friend, will make a presentation and State Rep. Paul Quinn will give a proclamation. Floyd Buckman will provide music for the occasion 354 080903 9/3/2008 nws

Monroe City Scouts get ready for school

Cub Scout Pack 132, chartered to Holy Rosary School, and Boy Scout Troop 132, chartered to the Monroe City Knights of Columbus, got ready for the start of an new school year with a service project.

The Scouts, with the help of members of the Knights of Columbus, helped get the Holy Rosary School playground ready for another school year. They also helped in getting the preschool room ready and cleaning the gymnasium. The Scouts put in a lot of hard work in moving gravel to spruce up the playground equipment and all the basket ball goals were give a fresh coat of paint.

After all the hard work, everyone enjoyed a meal of grilled burgers and hot dogs followed by games. Sr. Sue Walker, principal, was very pleased with the work done and expressed her thanks to all the Scouts, parents and members of the Knights of Columbus for their efforts.
355 080903 9/3/2008 nws

Local accident included in Labor Day fatalities

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports six fatalities during the 2008 Labor Day holiday. Last year, there were 14 fatalities. The 2008 counting period ran from 6 p.m., Friday, August 29, through 11:59 p.m., Monday, September 1, 2008.

During this period, the Patrol investigated 257 traffic crashes, which included 128 injuries and four fatalities. Troopers made 161arrests for driving while intoxicated in 2008, compared to 186 arrests last year. (Note: In 2007, troopers investigated 320 traffic crashes, which included 156 injuries and eight fatalities.)

Of the four fatalities troopers investigated, two occurred in the Troop B,

Macon area; one occurred in Troop C, St. Louis area; and one occurred in

the Troop F, Jefferson City, area. The Springfield Police Department

investigated the remaining two fatalities.

Three fatalities occurred on Saturday, August 30, 2008. Michael C. Moore,

25, of Robertsville, MO, died when he lost control of the Yamaha

four-wheeler he was driving. The vehicle overturned, ejecting Moore. Dr.

Stanley Sakabu pronounced Moore dead at St. Johns Mercy Hospital in Creve

Coeur. The crash occurred in Franklin County on Bergman road .5 mile east

of Finney Road.

David D. Durbin, 42, of Brighton, MO, and Christian D. Jones, 19, of

Springfield, MO, died when the motorcycle they were riding struck a vehicle

when it pulled into their path from a parking lot. Both were ejected from

the motorcycle. Durbin and Jones were taken to St. Johns Hospital where

they were pronounced dead. The driver of the other vehicle was uninjured.

The crash occurred on Sunshine in Springfield, MO, in Greene County. The

Springfield Police Department investigated the crash.

One fatality occurred on Sunday, August 31, 2008. Jason A. Wood, 39, of

Versailles, MO, died when the vehicle in which he was a passenger ran off

the roadway and struck a tree. It is unknown whether the driver of the

vehicle was wearing a seat belt. Wood was not wearing a seat belt. Miller

County Coroner Rick Callahan pronounced Wood dead at the scene of the

crash. The crash occurred in Miller County on Greenridge Road west of MO

Highway 87. The driver of the vehicle was not injured. The Miller County

Sheriff's Department and Eldon Police Department also responded to the

scene.

Two fatalities occurred on Labor Day, Monday, September 1, 2008. Harold L.

Fletcher Jr., 55, of New London, MO, and Colin H. Krigbaum, 17, of New

London, MO, died when the vehicle Krigbaum was driving crossed the center

line and struck Fletcher's vehicle head on. A passenger in Fletcher's

vehicle sustained minor injuries. None of the persons involved in the crash

were wearing a seat belt. The crash occurred in Ralls County on Missouri

Route A, one miles west of New London. Ralls County Rural Fire and Rescue,

Hannibal Fire and Rescue, Ralls County Ambulance, and Marion County

Ambulance also responded to the scene. 356 080903 9/3/2008 nws

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03/29/2009