The following are selected articles from a Newspaper titled, "The Higbee News" which was issued out of the town of Higbee, in Randolph County, Missouri from the years 1888 through 1953. The editors were W. H. Welch and his son H. Scott Welch. This paper covered the Higbee area and also a great deal of the northeastern part of Howard county. The copyright notice at the end of this transcript is there for the sole purpose of keeping this work free to the public, and to ensure that it is not harvested by a fee-based corporate genealogy site, or published in any format for profit. If you decide to use the information from this transcription, PLEASE LIST ME AS THE SOURCE, rather than the paper. My transcription is another generation removed from the microfilm, and would thus be a third generation copy of the original paper. For proper documentation, a researcher should obtain a photocopy of the microfilm for their own permanent records, and use my transcript as a guide or index. The microfilm is available for interlibrary loan through the State Historical Society of Missouri, and a copy is also on file at the Moberly Public Library, generously donated by the Higbee Historical Society. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, 23 Sep 1926, Vol 40, No 21, Pg. 1, Col 4&5--J. V. ADAMS PASSES ON--Former Well Known Resident Dies at Savannah, Mo.--Interment at Pueblo, Col., His Home.--Friends who had seen him and greeted him when he was back for a visit two years ago, and who found in him the same jovial, kind hearted man as of yore, were shocked beyond measure when word came Friday that J. V. Adams, of Pueblo, Colo., had passed away at Savannah, Mo., the day before. We take the following from a letter from his son, Claude, in answer to a letter from the NEWS asking for particulars: "Dear Scott: Greatly appreciate your kind and sympathetic letter for as you know, it hurts to lose your Dad, and a fellow has but one Daddy. He went to Savannah a few weeks ago for treatment of a place on his cheek which we feared was a cancer. He was in the best of health and best of spirits, joking as always and his keen mind was as bright as it had ever been, except the years had broadened him. "They cured the place on his face, but he had a light attack afterwards of erysipelas. This, however, cleared up and at no time was he dangerously sick. On Sunday, the 12th, he was up and told his nurse he was ready to go home. On Monday we had a wire that he had pleurisy, it having turned extremely cold there. On Tuesday we had another wire, saying he was better, but I decided to go back and see him. When I arrived Wednesday they had just wired for me to come, as he was threatened with pneumonia. It developed rapidly despite the care of nurses and physicians, and he died at 12:10 Thursday morning. "He knew me when I arrived Wednesday noon and at that time the doctor thought he would recover, but, alas! their hopes were in vain. "He was buried at Roselawn, in Pueblo, by A. F. &. A. M. lodge No. 31, with full Masonic honors, as he had wanted to be. "When a boy four years old he saw a Masonic burial of an uncle and the impression of it was so strong that when he saw his first Masonic funeral many years afterwards he recalled it all and this deep impression caused him to make application for degrees at the age of 21. He took the first degree then, and several years later was raised to Master Mason when Higbee lodge was organized and became its Master and was Master as you know for many years, as well as District Lecturer. "He made a place for himself in the hearts of the people of Pueblo, being a familiar and loved figure on the streets of that city for 23 years, well and widely known; a deacon in the church, teaching his Sunday school class and otherwise actively engaged in church work. "When drowsy with the sleep of death twelve hours before the end, his unselfish disposition asserted itself as he proclaimed himself to be feeling good and asked solicitously for the health of the members of the family--thinking, even in his last hours, of others and not of self. But he has passed away and with him some of the unselfish, self-sacrificing spirit of the world. "He has gone, and with him has gone some of the finer things of life--the sympathy that awaited us upon every occasion; the encouragement he gave us when we were striving hardest to do the seemingly impossible; the pride which he had in our accomplishments, however small; the optimism which was inherent in him and with which he inspired us to look always to the future as being ever brighter and better. Some of these finer things seem to have gone with him. "The sky isn't so blue without him; the fleecy clouds have lost some of their beauty; the mountains fail to stand out with their usual grandeur. Nature is not quite the same without him. "The first pangs of pain at his departure that brought remorse and self-condemnation of the might-have-beens and might-have-dones has passed with the knowledge that he was the perfect father, taking his delight in the pleasures of his family, and always seeing something of good in what they did." We do not know when Mr. Adams became a resident of Higbee, but we know that he had been living here for several years when the NEWS was established in 1887, and he was at the time employed for a short time as a clerk in the store of Lessly & Sons. Later he engaged in the furniture business, and again later in other business enterprises. Always energetic and willing to do his part in making Higbee a better and bigger town, he was for every legitimate enterprise that came along and with others made several additions to the town. Adams street was named in his honor, and it couldn't have been named for a more loyal or enterprising citizen. His real calling in life, however, was teaching, and which he most thoroughly enjoyed. All who ever went to school to him or had any experience with his school work are unanimous in the opinion that he was one of the greatest that ever set foot in a school room, for he could impart knowledge to even the dullest minds in a way that made it stick. He was one of the early superintendents of our public school, and was one of the leaders in the movement that resulted in the first building on the site of the present school grounds. With Mr. Adams at the helm, none of the pupils dreaded to hear the bell ring, and especially at the beginning of the term, for his method of teaching was such that study was not a task, but a pleasure. He is survived by his widow and four children--two sons and two daughters--Claude, Vincent, Iola and Opal, to each of whom the deepest sympathy of old friends in the old home of long ago goes out. From the "History of Randolph County," printed in 1884, we take the following in relation to his early activities: "Although Prof Adams is still a young man, his career has already been such that it teaches a valuable lesson to youths who are ambitious of accomplishing something in life, but whose opportunities are anything but favorable. Professor Adams was left an orphan while yet in infancy by the death of his father. Although he still had the tender care and encouragement of a devoted mother to stimulate him to worthy endeavors, the absence of the paternal help and counsel which an affectionate father can give, rendered his way up in life anything but an easy one to pursue. He was reared in Randolph county by his kind mother, and his good grandparents, who did all they could for his advancement. Before reaching his majority he learned the plasterer's trade and worked at it some two years. In the meantime he attended the common schools, and having a fondness for study, he also occupied his leisure with books, so that he had succeeded in laying a good foundation for an education. Quitting the plasterer's trade in 1872, he now decided to obtain a college education, and with that end in view entered Mt. Pleasant College. Prof. Adams took a complete course of four years at Mt. Pleasant and graduated with distinction in 1876. After his graduation he at once entered upon the profession of an educator, in which he has since been engaged. Prof. Adams has taught continuously in Randolph county, except for one year, when he had charge of the public at Salisbury. He has become widely known in this county as one of the best teachers within its borders, and his services are in quest at many of the best schools in the county. Such was his recognized prominence in 1882, that he was appointed county school commissioner, and the following spring was elected to that office without opposition, highly complimentary to his personal popularity and to his attainments as a scholar and ability as an educator. He still occupies the office of county school commissioner, and is acquitting himself of its duties with singular zeal and efficiency. It has been one of his chief endeavors to elevate the grade of teachers in the county, and thus to improve the practical workings and tone of the county schools. In this he has been fairly successful, and the improved condition of the schools in the county observed by all who have given the matter any attention, is almost wholly attributable to his exertions. On the 8th of November, 1877, Prof. Adams was married to Miss Sanie (should be Sarah) Bradley, a daughter of John W. Bradley of this county. The Professor and Mrs. Adams have one interesting son, Claude Byron, born August 20, 1878. Prof. Adams has for a number of years taken a commendable interest in Sunday School work, and is one of the most active and prominent men in the county in advancing Sunday School interests. He has served at different times and places as superintendent and has otherwise made himself useful to the cause. He is a member of the Silver Creek Baptist Church. Prof. Adams' parents, John and Elizabeth Adams, were both originally of Kentucky. They came to Randolph with their parents, respectively, while each was still quite young. They were married in this county, and the father died here in 1851, whilst the son was still less than a year old. The father, himself, was quite a young man at the time of his death, not having reached his majority." Thursday, 23 Sep 1926, Vol 40, No 21, Pg. 1, Col 5--MRS. W. D. BURKE HOME--Mrs. W. D. Burke, who had been in Kansas City in a hospital for several months, under the care of specialists, was able to return home Sunday and is now able to be up most of the time. She was accompanied by Mr. Burke, who went to the city Saturday. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright notice: All transcriptions in this email are copyrighted by their creator. 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