The Monett Times: http://www.monett-times.com/NF/omf/monett/index1.html Has nothing current on-line that I could find except a story of a wreck on I44 in lawrence Co.and Obituaries for today's date.

From the Joplin Globe Newspaper May 5, 2003. From staff reports Sixteen people in Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas were killed by three tornadoes that swept across the region Sunday. The victims in Missouri, according to county coroners and law enforcement officers, were: Rex Smith, 88, Liberal; John Cassel, Ron Hewitt and Mark Wilcox, ages unavailable, all of Stockton; Dale Taunton, 52, Pierce City; Janet Etheridge and Vickie Lawrence, ages unavailable, both of the Marionville area; Wanda Handly, age unavailable, Monett; and Kenneth LaNear, 71, and his wife, Ethel LaNear, age unavailable, Carl Junction. Eight people were reported as "possibly missing" in Lawrence County. The victims in Kansas were: Julie Green, 50, rural Columbus; Charles Ross Jr., 80, and his wife, Phyllis Ross, 73, rural Galena; Sharon Lashbrook, 48, and George Bolte, 68, both of the Girard area; and Josephine Maghe, 87, Franklin. The 10 deaths in southwestern Missouri were among 18 reported in connection with storms across the state.

I just sent an update to one of our group....do you all want a copy of what I found out. I talked to a friend who lives and works in Aurora, and her husband works for the Methodist Manor in Marionville. It is worse through there than we thought. It probably did hit our McNatt cemetery...did kill several people around there, from Monett to Marionville. I'll know more later. There is a newspaper in Monett that is online. They got their power back today and might be back up and running. Name of the paper is the Monett Times. Don't know the site for sure. John Wall wrote: >I TOTALLY AGREE! > >How can you not say this isn't family history? This DOES effect or >families, our family files, our, churches, our grave yards! I don't >understand how someone can say this isn't a legitimate part of genealogy. > >----- Original Message ----- >From: <[email protected]> >To: <[email protected]> >Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 8:34 AM >Subject: Re: [MOLAWREN-L] Re: Tornado damage research IS genealogy... > > > > >>AMEN, PATRICIA LINDSEY CLEMONS.!!!!!! This is living genealogy, and it >> >> >is > > >>regrettable to deny listers the right to discuss it. Thanks for writing. >> >> >I > > >>know most of us feel this way. I have family members and memories and >>history in the area too, and have found all my relatives safe, thank >>goodness. >> >>Patricia Hunt Rouleau >> >> >>==== MOLAWREN Mailing List ==== >>Visit the Lawrence County Query, Biography, Obituary, Will, Deed, Bible, >> >> >Pension, etc., Boards at: > > >http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=localities.northam.usa.st >ates.missouri.counties.lawrence > > >>============================== >>To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, >> >> >go to: > > >>http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >> >> >> > > >==== MOLAWREN Mailing List ==== >More Lawrence County information can be found at: >http://www.rootsweb.com/~molawre2/ > >============================== >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > >

Much Appreciated!! Linda in Calif. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Pat Miller" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 5:04 PM Subject: [MOLAWREN-L] Joplin Globe report > From the Joplin Globe Newspaper May 5, 2003. > From staff reports > Sixteen people in Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas were killed by > three tornadoes that swept across the region Sunday. > > The victims in Missouri, according to county coroners and law > enforcement officers, were: Rex Smith, 88, Liberal; John Cassel, Ron > Hewitt and Mark Wilcox, ages unavailable, all of Stockton; Dale Taunton, > 52, Pierce City; Janet Etheridge and Vickie Lawrence, ages unavailable, > both of the Marionville area; Wanda Handly, age unavailable, Monett; and > Kenneth LaNear, 71, and his wife, Ethel LaNear, age unavailable, Carl > Junction. > > Eight people were reported as "possibly missing" in Lawrence County. > > The victims in Kansas were: Julie Green, 50, rural Columbus; Charles > Ross Jr., 80, and his wife, Phyllis Ross, 73, rural Galena; Sharon > Lashbrook, 48, and George Bolte, 68, both of the Girard area; and > Josephine Maghe, 87, Franklin. > > The 10 deaths in southwestern Missouri were among 18 reported in > connection with storms across the state. > > > > > ==== MOLAWREN Mailing List ==== > Whoops! Deleted a message you needed? Search archived messages on this list by entering MOLAWREN-L in the search field at: > http://searches2.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >

Hello Pat, Please send me a copy of the updated information you have. My Grammer and Gregory families were born in the area. I also have family in the Marionville Cemetery. Thank you also for the newspaper name. Thank you, Sandie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Pat Miller" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 5:54 PM Subject: Re: [MOLAWREN-L] Re: Tornado damage research IS genealogy... > I just sent an update to one of our group....do you all want a copy of > what I found out. I talked to a friend who lives and works in Aurora, > and her husband works for the Methodist Manor in Marionville. It is > worse through there than we thought. It probably did hit our McNatt > cemetery...did kill several people around there, from Monett to > Marionville. I'll know more later. > > There is a newspaper in Monett that is online. They got their power > back today and might be back up and running. Name of the paper is the > Monett Times. Don't know the site for sure. > > John Wall wrote: > > >I TOTALLY AGREE! > > > >How can you not say this isn't family history? This DOES effect or > >families, our family files, our, churches, our grave yards! I don't > >understand how someone can say this isn't a legitimate part of genealogy. > > > >----- Original Message ----- > >From: <[email protected]> > >To: <[email protected]> > >Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 8:34 AM > >Subject: Re: [MOLAWREN-L] Re: Tornado damage research IS genealogy... > > > > > > > > > >>AMEN, PATRICIA LINDSEY CLEMONS.!!!!!! This is living genealogy, and it > >> > >> > >is > > > > > >>regrettable to deny listers the right to discuss it. Thanks for writing. > >> > >> > >I > > > > > >>know most of us feel this way. I have family members and memories and > >>history in the area too, and have found all my relatives safe, thank > >>goodness. > >> > >>Patricia Hunt Rouleau > >> > >> > >>==== MOLAWREN Mailing List ==== > >>Visit the Lawrence County Query, Biography, Obituary, Will, Deed, Bible, > >> > >> > >Pension, etc., Boards at: > > > > > >http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=localities.northam.usa.s t > >ates.missouri.counties.lawrence > > > > > >>============================== > >>To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, > >> > >> > >go to: > > > > > >>http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >> > >> > >> > > > > > >==== MOLAWREN Mailing List ==== > >More Lawrence County information can be found at: > >http://www.rootsweb.com/~molawre2/ > > > >============================== > >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > > > > > > > > > ==== MOLAWREN Mailing List ==== > Visit the Lawrence County Query, Biography, Obituary, Will, Deed, Bible, Pension, etc., Boards at: > http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=localities.northam.usa.st ates.missouri.counties.lawrence > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >

First off: of course there are genealogical implications, but you know, no one's even asked those questions on list, let alone answered them. ("any records hurt? What historical buildings are damaged beyond repair?" etc.) Makes no difference. I was sitting the list for Judy; she's back to being admin now. Have fun. --pig

I want to say thanks to all of you that are living in or near the Lawrence co. area and can answer our questions about codnitions there. My family lived primarily in the Miller area and spread out from there. It's awful when historical buildings are destroyed. We, here in the States, destroy so many historical buldings just because we need the space....This is a disaster for genealogy seekers as lots of information will be lost. I am thankful there weren't more deaths and offer prayers of sympathy for the families that lost some one dear to them. Jacque Reynolds, Valley View, TX _________________________________________________________________ The new MSN 8: smart spam protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail

Can anyone tell me if the Pierce City Cemetery was damaged by the tornado? Maybe a better question is how badly damaged is it? John Wall Home - http://www.johnwall.com/ Genealogy - http://www.johnwall.com/family/tree.htm

I TOTALLY AGREE! How can you not say this isn't family history? This DOES effect or families, our family files, our, churches, our grave yards! I don't understand how someone can say this isn't a legitimate part of genealogy. ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2003 8:34 AM Subject: Re: [MOLAWREN-L] Re: Tornado damage research IS genealogy... > AMEN, PATRICIA LINDSEY CLEMONS.!!!!!! This is living genealogy, and it is > regrettable to deny listers the right to discuss it. Thanks for writing. I > know most of us feel this way. I have family members and memories and > history in the area too, and have found all my relatives safe, thank > goodness. > > Patricia Hunt Rouleau > > > ==== MOLAWREN Mailing List ==== > Visit the Lawrence County Query, Biography, Obituary, Will, Deed, Bible, Pension, etc., Boards at: > http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=localities.northam.usa.st ates.missouri.counties.lawrence > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >

Judy, thank you for that wonderful desciption of the events. Glad you are safe. I could almost feel I was there. Patricia

Forwarded message: "The devastation is very severe, as you can imagine. Just coming home to Mt Vernon up K Hwy about 8 - 9 houses are demolished. The brunt of the damage is supposedly east on Hwy ZZ off K. It was blocked yesterday when I looked down that way. I heard one house was pulled out of the ground, basement and all - terrible and scary!" I received this a little while ago from someone who lives in Mt. Vernon and whose daughter goes to school in Aurora. I lived at the corner of hwy K and hwy ZZ (Bogal Corner) for a lot of years, that was where I was when my children were born. That is where my Mom and Dad lived for years and my aunt and uncle, so it is genealogy for me. Wonder whether our house is gone? Also, as you go along ZZ toward Marionville the house my grandpa Berkey built is there and the McNatt cemetery is only about a quarter mile off ZZ and that is our family genealogy for almost 200 years. The Marionville cemetery is right in its path and two years ago was hit by a tornado and then by vandals. About three years ago the old Orange Church and the cemetery (also on hwy K) were hit by tornadoes that just about demolished the cemetery. Family is buried there too. The church was badly damaged, but repaired, wonder whether its been hit again. I will be up there for Memorial Day and hope my heart doesn't sink when I see what has happened. Pat,

Apologies to Piglet. You may, if you wish, thwack me mercilessly with the VLF. When I first began working on genealogy I quickly skimmed the sections of Goodspeed and other county histories relating to weather, etc. Ho-hum. But I’ve come to recognize these events as signposts. (Not exactly a light bulb tuning on -- more like a bolt of lightening that awakened me!) I live in Springfield, Mo, in a area between the storms. Sunday I heard the bulletin on the radio regarding a probable tornado near Granby. It was expected to reach Verona by (around) 7:30 and Springfield by (around) 8:10. Another storm was reported in Dade and Cedar counties. I sat on my front steps facing west, watching the approaching storms and listening to the radio. There was almost immediate coverage of the storm that hit Stockton (Cedar County) reporting that the entire downtown was destroyed, all five schools were damaged and the court house there suffered structural damage. Friends of mine were at their cabin at Stockton Lake and knew absolutely nothing about the events until their son called from Springfield. At my residence there was heavy rain for about 10 minutes but no wind and no hail. I was concerned about the lack of information coming from Lawrence County. Somehow the phrase “no news is good news” was ringing very hollow. I tried to reach my sisters in Aurora but “all circuits were busy.” When I finally reached a sister at 11:00 pm she said they hadn’t gotten a drop of rain from the storm and hardly even a breeze at their house. As the storm was hitting Battlefield (where both the police station and the fire department were destroyed by the storm) I could see the ugly black storm clouds to my north and south but the western sky began to clear. I watched a large flock of birds take to the air and begin flying in vortex pattern across a beautiful clean blue western sky. They stayed in the air in that tornado pattern until the storm south of us had nearly passed into Webster county. There were a few cumulus, bleached a stunning white by the sun and then shaded pink as the sun began to set. Debris began to appear in the sky as if it had just popped through some kind of space warp. Pieces of concrete, insulation, aluminum siding, magazines, bills and bank statements rained from the sky across Springfield. The mail was from Monett, Verona, Marionville and as far north as Lamar. Much of it was coated with ice. Officials said the debris has been carried so high that it might take a couple of hours before it had all fallen. One 1996 cancelled check from Stockton ended up in Columbia, Mo. We had evidence of the destruction pummeling our neighborhoods before official reports or newscasts gave us much information about Lawrence county. The Lawrence County Chieftain and the Monett Times will have excellent coverage of the event. Today’s Springfield Leader has 17 pages of storm coverage. I’m certain many of the residents of the areas hardest hit are grieving over the loss of historical buildings and documents. I’m also sure they are burdened with the pressing weight of immediate needs such as restoring power and communications, safety, shelter, clothing, food and water. They have friends and family, livestock and pets to bury. Miles of fence are in need of repair because surviving livestock wander the county. One sign north of Aurora reads “Help Or Go Away” because the roads that can be traveled safely are congested with sightseers. Now, picture the storms before Red Cross, Salvation Army, Homeland Security, etc. Judy

AMEN, PATRICIA LINDSEY CLEMONS.!!!!!! This is living genealogy, and it is regrettable to deny listers the right to discuss it. Thanks for writing. I know most of us feel this way. I have family members and memories and history in the area too, and have found all my relatives safe, thank goodness. Patricia Hunt Rouleau

I am a hardnose about genealogy but this is rediculous not to talk about the TORNADOS that hit right where our genealogy happened. I want to know where it hit. Besides the loss of life which may be "family" members, how many genealogy records have been distroyed? How many cemeteries? I have gathered MUCH information from these Missouri cemeteries over the years when there were no records any place else. Is the Boucher Cemetery near Pierce City damaged ? This IS genealogy. What about the Lawrence County court house? How about the old Wormington House NE of Pierce City? How about the Lindsey Robertson Cemetary in Republic near Springfield? Were any of our informents hurt? These certainly sound like genealogy questions to me. So come on you guys who can answer questions about what damage has been done, Lets hear it. Those who have questions ask them. We may have had a huge chunck torn out of our genealogy resources. Trying to learn about it any way we can is GENEALOGY RESEARCH. Patricia Lindsay Clemons Beaver, Utah

I just signed up for the Lawrence county list. I've been on the Jasper and Barry county lists for awhile. I have many family connections to Pierce City. Two of my ggg-grandmothers are buried in the Pierce City Cemetery, Rachel Siler Hand (1833-1903), and Elizabeth Louisa Gilman Woolsey (1820-1883). My gg-grandfather, George Gamon Woolsey (1851-1906) is also buried there. My dad and I visited the town a couple of years ago, and it's sad to hear that the downtown has been destroyed by a tornado. I found this article in the Joplin Globe online: http://www.joplinglobe.com/story.php?story_id=24733 Here's one from the Springfield News-Leader: http://www.springfieldnews-leader.com/news/0506-Ragingwind-49285.html - Heather

Can anyone tell me what time the tornado hit Pierce City? I can't find that information in the news? Linda [email protected] wrote: > Thanks, Dennis. I just got a message from cousins not far from Battlefield. > They were not touched but said there was a lot fo damage there. Also said > Ozark is okay. > > Patricia > > ==== MOLAWREN Mailing List ==== > Looking for a town, postoffice, cemetery, creek, etc. > Try the mapping services at USGS GNIS. > http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnis/web_query.gnis_web_query_form > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

Thanks, Anita! Interesting how odd things happen. I finally reached a cousin who lives between Aurora and Pierce City. She grew up in Pierce City and her father is the caretaker of the cemetery there. All are okay, but the First Baptist Church is gone. They were having Church services and went into the basement. Still have not heard if some of the others are okay, but slowly getting some information. I appreciate those willing to provide those of us who live away with what information they can.

I would suppose that people in the areas affected that could answer questions are not spending their time on-line. Those of us who have roots in the area and live away are naturally concerned, and the roots-l lists are sometimes our best way to find the information we seek, assuming people who can, and who live close to the areas are checking their e-mails. Unfortunately, the newspapers don't necessarily have more than general information, and the news coverage does'nt identify what or whose homes and businesses have been damgaed or affected.

Hi: The Springfield news reported this evening that the tornado hit Pierce City at 7: 10 P. M. and in 45 seconds the business district was destroyed. Dennis ----- Original Message ----- From: "Linda Spencer" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, May 05, 2003 9:35 PM Subject: Re: [MOLAWREN-L] Tornado Hits Pierce City, Region > Can anyone tell me what time the tornado hit Pierce City? I can't find that > information in the news? > > Linda > > [email protected] wrote: > > > Thanks, Dennis. I just got a message from cousins not far from Battlefield. > > They were not touched but said there was a lot fo damage there. Also said > > Ozark is okay. > > > > Patricia > > > > ==== MOLAWREN Mailing List ==== > > Looking for a town, postoffice, cemetery, creek, etc. > > Try the mapping services at USGS GNIS. > > http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnis/web_query.gnis_web_query_form > > > > ============================== > > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > > ==== MOLAWREN Mailing List ==== > Visit the Lawrence County Query, Biography, Obituary, Will, Deed, Bible, Pension, etc., Boards at: > http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=board&r=rw&p=localities.northam.usa.st ates.missouri.counties.lawrence > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > >

I guess all I wanted to say is "print out what happened today and put it in your files for future generations." I wouldn't have known how to see pictures if it hadn't been mentioned on this site. We live a long way away and never would have known it hit so close to our old home. In fact it went North of Aurora where I used to live and along Honey Creek where my mother and grandfather were born. It was near one of the first settlements that later became Aurora. Once called Elk Prairie. If I hear anything historical was damaged I'll tell all of you. Piglet wrote: >True, but the conversation so far really hasn't been genealogical in >content: i.e., nothing specific about buildings, persons, records damaged. > >--pig > >