Hi all, First of all, I welcome with interest any news regarding the current tornado damage. Living in the Los Angeles area, we naturally do not get many details. Thanks for keeping us up to date. Now I think that I will add my two cents. Many of us on the 'list' agree that the recent tornado is a part of the history of Lawrence Co., and history is a part of our own family history. My hope is that we all are researching as 'family historians' and not as a researcher who interested only in gathering names, dates and places. Our ancestors are certainly more than that, and like us, they have wonderful, and at times, tragic stories to tell. They deserve more than just statistics. The history of their area, and that of the county, state, United States, and evern world all help to shape the families of our ancestors. I would like to share some of the information regarding storms that occurred during our ancestors lives. List members who have read the "Topography and Natural History" section in Goodspeed's History of Lawrence County know of the severe storms in the last quarter of the 19th century that hit this area and how they affected the lives of a number of our families. For those who have not had access to the book I am listing below the storms, a part of our history/genealogy, as listed in Goodspeed's book. I really do apologize for the length of this message. Lawrence County storms: 1 May 1871 - Hailstorm in So. Lawrence and No. Barry counties. " The hail destroyed hogs, sheep and poultry. In one instance a hailstone struck a man on the head knocking him sensless." 2. 26 May 1872 - Great rain drenched for twenty miles in Verona area. "A family of three persons was lost, viz: the keeper of the water-tank at Verona, George Greenloch, wife and daughter." 3. Aug 1875 - Tornado damaged Stone Prairie. 4. 7 Aug 1879 - Lawrenceburg tornado. "...destroyed Dr. John W. Wilkerson's dwelling, while the Masonic Hall was raised off itsfoundation and placed diagonally across"; "This storm of 1871 destroyed Wilkerson's former house." 5. 18 April 1880 - Barry County tornado. "... moved Clay Hill school-house about thirty feet from its foundation, blew away Ezekiel Ellis' barn, destroyed Sam Berry's dwelling and destroyed the houses of Ira Ward, George Hogan, Harrison Wilson, Fayette Adkinson, Hubbard J. Williams, Sr., and J. E. Williams, Jr., all in the neighborhood of Verona. At Aurora twelve houses were blown down, and the Laney Bros.' mill destroyed...." 6. 4 Dec 1880 - Lawrence County tornado. "...destroyed the colored men's church, Joe Hensley's cabin, damaged the Methodist and Baptist Church buildings, destroyed Dock Jones' smoke-house, Dr. Hocker's store building, McCune's stable, also J. L. Lebow's, W. W. Whaley's and H. Gray's buildings, and moved Wright & Co.'s warehouse. The Ozark Prairie brick Church building was unroofed, the Fairplay school-house destroyed, also David Hood's dwelling, Tennis' grain-house, and Massey Miller's house unroofed. The damage to orchards and fences on Ozark Prairie was extensive. At Heaton Dr. Lowrance's [sp] store building was destroyed. At Lawrenceburg, M. Morris' house was destroyed, and L. Minott's, A. Moore's, James Box's, A. Adams' J. Abbott's houses, with other dwellings, were injured." An article on the tornado appeared in the Fountain & Journal, Mt. Vernon. Dec 9, 1880, Local News. It is obvious that Goodspeed used this article for the book. Although basically the same, the newspaper article is much more descriptive, and it's choice or words give the reader a better picture of what happened. Below are a few excerpts from this article. [This newspaper issue is on microfilm and located at the McCanse Library.] Here are a few lines from the article: "Just across the street [from the colored men's church] it struck the cabin of Jo. Henslee, (colored), who, with his family barely, escaped from the house when it was reduced to ruins, which too fire and came near burning up. Porter Jones' apple orchard was damaged some." "Out houses, signs, fences &c were scattered generally. Several persons were slightly hurt and a great many badly scared." "FROM THE COUNTRY: About two miles of Judge Landrum's fence was blown down on his farm on Spring River." "On LICK PRAIRIE about eight miles southeast, a man named Ellis resided. His house was blown down, but he and his wife escaped, but a small child remained in the wreck and was consumed with the debris of the house by fire." "A postal card from TALMAGE on the railroad between Peirce City and Sarcoxie, says: Thomas Legrand's house was literly blown to atoms, and also the next house west of him; the man and wife and two children in it, but all saved though hurt som. The children were found in the yard by their cries. Boyer's house, a quarter of a mile east was destroyed." "MARSHFIELD was again visited by a cyclone. Several houses blown to pieces. Judge Robertson's fine dwelling was totally demolished. The family was caught in the wreck, but were released without injury, except the judge, who was severely bruised." I did not list many of the business buildings that were destroyed, but the loss of these buildings was a hardship on the whole community, just the destruction is today. If you have not yet read the beginning chapters of Goodspeed's History of Lawrence County, I urge you to do so. Finally, I wish to share an excerpt from a personal account of Sereptha Jane (Nickel) Bandy, sister of my grandfather, Josephus Nickel, which was written by Nora Bandy Nicholson in June 1973, of the same tornado. STORM OF 1880 "My mother, Sereptha Jane Nickel Bandy, used to tell of the storm of Decemer 1880 as follows: My mother, Laura Ann Garner Nickel, was left alone with several of us children on the farm near Lawrenceburg, my father, John William Nickel, having gone to help deliver some sheep he had sold to someone near Cassville. During the night a storm came up and blew the whol roof off the main house and blew the lean-to- down. We were so scared that we decided to go to Grandfather's (Thomas A. Nickel) which was about a mile away across the fields. We had to cross a stream which was ordinarily a small stream but when we reached it, it was way out of its banks and mother was trying to call out to Grandfather to help us across the stream. Every time she called out all of us kids yelled too so no one heard us. Finally the whole lot of us waded across, carrying the smaller children and made it across to the other side, losing our shoes in the mud where we found them the next day, frozen in the mud. Our mule was also scared and followed us all the way over. None of us were injured but were really scared." [I found this account in one of the folders in the drawers at the McCanse Library.] Happy researching!!! Sharon Ford Van Nuys, CA