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 and owners were a wonderful man by the name of 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. It is because of my tremendous admiration for this father and son, that I am transcribing this paper and putting it in a more readable format, so that this work may again be brought to light, to entertain, and teach a whole new generation of the descendants of the inhabitants and neighbors of a little town called "Higbee." 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. I wouldn't want my own possible errors in transcription, blamed on the editors of the 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. When the Higbee Historical Society disbanded, their material was donated to the Randolph County Historical Society and is still available there. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, 29 July 1926, Vol 40 No. 13, pg. 1 Col 3--MRS. O. S. FRAY PASSES AWAY--Died at Her Home Near Yates Yesterday Morning--Funeral and Interment today at 2 o'Clock.--Mrs. O. S. Fray, who had been in poor health for many months, and who had been critically ill for the past ten days, died at the family home near Yates at 7:30 o'clock yesterday morning. Funeral services will be held at the home today at 2 o'clock by the Rev. J. W. Mitchell of Independence, and interment made in Pleasant Grove cemetery. Deceased was 68 years of age and was the daughter of the Rev. Ezra and Mrs. M. E. Ward, and a half sister to R. G. Duncan, now the only remaining member of the family. We have no data on which to base an article relative to the life of this good woman, but will give an extended notice next week. Thursday, 29 July 1926, Vol 40 No. 13, pg. 1 Col 3--Ira Hamilton in Town--Ira Hamilton, who was struck by lightning on June 16th, was able to be in town Monday being brought in his car to see his physician. His friends were delighted to see him looking so well and to have him recognize them. He still has periods of unconsciousness but they seem to be growing shorter. He is totally deaf, we are sorry to say, and it is feared may always be so. Dr. Nichols told him a week or so ago that when he gained sufficient strength he would take him to an ear specialist, and on coming in town Monday the first thing he wanted to know was when they were going. That he is alive is little short of a miracle. Thursday, 29 July 1926, Vol 40 No. 13, pg. 1 Col 3--N. E. Murdock Buys Bakery--Homer Cleeton, who is to leave Higbee, and who has operated the Model Bakery for about two years, has sold the business to N. E Murdock, who will take charge Monday. He will retain the services of Louis Sachsenheimer as baker, which means that the bakery will continue to turn out the same high grade product. While the business will be new to him, Mr. Murdock says he hopes to be able to get on to the ropes in a short time, but that at any rate he will give the very best service of which he is capable. He is a most deserving gentleman and it is to be hoped he will be accorded a most liberal patronage. Thursday, 29 July 1926, Vol 40 No. 13, pg. 1 Col 4--EX-SLAVE DIES AT RIPE OLD AGE--Aunt Barbara Christian Passes Away at 86 After Useful Life--Aunt Barbara Christian, one of the best known colored citizens of this section, died at her home in the Salem neighborhood northwest of town on Friday, July 23, from the infirmities of age, being 86 years old. She was born a slave in Macon county on September 3, 1840, but had lived most of her life in this vicinity. She is survived by three sons--Free, Isaac and Sanford Christian, and five daughters--Mrs. Nannie Green, Mrs. Nellie Hardin, Mrs. Laura Watts and Misses Lizzie and Lee. Funeral services were conducted at the home Sunday, and the large crowd which turned out to do honor to her memory spoke most eloquently of the esteem in which she was held, her white friends from far and near being present in much larger numbers than members of her own race. All who knew her are sure that a truly christian character has been called home by the Father of us all. Thursday, 29 July 1926, Vol 40 No. 13, pg. 1 Col 4--Arrested for Joyriding in Borrowed Car.--Seeing a young man about 20 years of age navigating around town in an Essex car Tuesday evening, and having seen him here before, each time in a different car, Marshal Cain picked him up and called Moberly and was notified that officers there were out looking for the car at that time. They came to Higbee and took the boy and car back with them. The young man gave his name as Joe Martin. The car belonged to Mr. Reedy of the firm of Reedy & Cronan. Thursday, 29 July 1926, Vol 40 No. 13, pg. 1 Col 5--Mark C. Murphy's best bird dog, while out in the street in front of the home Tuesday, was run over by an automobile and had one of its hips broken. Mr. Murphy took the dog to O. L. Farris, who set the break and who hopes to have the animal as good as new in a short time. About a year ago another of Mr. Murphy's dogs had a leg broken, and there being no one at home made its way to the home of Mr. Farris, under whose care it had been during a spell of sickness some weeks before. Thursday, 29 July 1926, Vol 40 No. 13, pg. 1 Col 6--Underwent Operation--Mrs. Mark C. Murphy was operated on at a Moberly hospital Friday of last week and has since been doing nicely, her many friends will be glad to learn. (Kathy's notes: I found it odd that this man's dog got a bigger write-up than his wife!) Thursday, 29 July 1926, Vol 40 No. 13, pg. 1 Col 6--Mrs. Chas. Binney and son, Tom, of Strawn, Texas, and daughter, Mrs. J. A. Terbert, and granddaughter, Marguerite Terbert, of Thurber, Texas, and Flucie Stewart of Strawn, Texas, are visiting W. S. Pitney and other relatives in Higbee. They motored from Texas, and on Saturday, July 17 left for St. Louis to visit Mr. and Mrs. Wm. S. Goe, the former a son of Mrs. Chas. Goe, and were accompanied by Mrs. Chas. Ware and son, Wilford, and Mrs. Joel Robb. They returned Tuesday accompanied by Mrs. Binney's granddaughter, May Goe, of St. Louis. They left Saturday for the Ozarks and will stay there a month or two before returning to Texas. Thursday, 29 July 1926, Vol 40 No. 13, pg. 2 Col 2&3--Obituary of Mrs. Mary E. Hanan--Mary Elinor Miller, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Miller, was born near Loudonville, Ohio, January 14, 1843, and died at Big Cabin, Okla., June 19, 1926, aged 83 years, 5 months and 5 days. She was baptized when an infant and at an early age confirmed and united with the Lutheran church of which she remained a life long member. When a young woman she, with her two brothers, Augustus and Andrew Miller, came to Randolph county, Missouri, and settled on a large plantation, where she remained until her marriage to Charles W. Hanan, April 19, 1875, coming immediately to Pottawottomie county, Kansas, settling on a farm near Westmoreland. After several years spent in farming they moved to Washington county, Kansas. Mr. Hanan was engaged in the hardware business for the next twelve years in Clifton and Greenleaf. On account of the failing health of her husband the family moved to her farm between Greenleaf and Barnes in 1891, where he died a year later, December 2, 1892, when the children were quite young. She successfully managed her farm for eighteen years, when she and her daughter moved to Barnes, where they have lived for the past eighteen years. In her early life and middle age she was a great worker in the church and Sunday School, often going into homes where fevers were raging and many were afraid to go, nursing the inmates back to health, without a thought of reward or compensation. Hers was a practical religion. At the time of her death she was a member of the Lutheran church at Greenleaf, where she had been the only living charter member for a number of years prior to her death. On May 13, 1926, she with her daughter, arrived at the home of her son, B. R. Hanan, near Big Cabin, Okla., intending to make a short visit there and then go on to Claremore to take the baths in hopes it might relieve her rheumatism, from which she had been a great sufferer for years. The day after her arrival she was stricken with paralysis, and never thereafter left her bed, except as she was helped. All that loving hands could do was done to mitigate her suffering but to no avail. She rallied at times and hoped to be able to go home though she was ready and willing to die if she couldn't get well. She gradually grew weaker until the end and her suffering at times was intense. She was conscious up to the last and passed peacefully away Saturday, June 19. She had often expressed the wish before and during her last sickness that she might die and be buried in Oklahoma. She made her first trip to Oklahoma about fifteen years ago, and had visited there many times since, and had always loved its level prairies, beautiful streams, mild climate and hospitable people. She died as she had wished and prayed to do, surrounded by her children, Claude R., who had been summoned from Washington, D. C., Maude R. and Benton R., and her only daughter-in-law, Ethel, and seven grandchildren all of whom she idolized. Besides these she leaves to mourn her loss two sisters, Mrs. Margaret Pore, of Loudonville, Ohio, Mrs. Catherine Henry of Columbus, and one brother, Jacob Miller, of Loudonville, Ohio. Among the traits of her life to be admired was her untiring industry, her strict honesty in her long business career, her unselfish devotion to her children, her home, her family and her friends. The funeral services were held from the home of B. S. Hanan near big Cabin and she was laid to rest in beautiful Fairview cemetery at Vinita, Okla. The impressive funeral sermon was delivered by Dr. Talmage Witt of the Presbyterian church of Vinita, Okla.--Barnes (Kan.) Chief. Deceased was an aunt of John A. Miller and Mrs. Rhodes Burckhartt of this place and will likely be remembered by our older residents. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright notice: All transcriptions in this email are copyrighted by their creator. They may not be reproduced on another site or on any printed or recorded media, CD, etc. without specific written permission from Kathy Bowlin. Although public information is not in and of itself copyrightable, the format in which it is presented, transcriptions, notes & comments, etc. is. It is however, quite permissible to print or save the files to a personal computer for personal use only. Permission is granted to public libraries, and genealogical and historical societies to print and bind for the use of their patrons. Kathy Bowlin Additions, corrections, comments welcome.