CHAPTER XXVII (Part 57)
BIOGRAPHICAL
Frank M. Buckner, successful farmer and stockman of Windsor township, proprietor of 102 acres of well improved land, was born on a farm near Eldorado Springs, Missouri, January 16, 1856. He is the son of Dr. Ansel and Elizabeth (Foster) Buckner, who were parents of four children: Frank M., subject of this sketch; Carrie, wife of D. R. Elliott, Green Ridge, Missouri; Anna, wife of James Hellons, Pettis County, Missouri; Jasper B., Windsor, Missouri.
Dr. Ansel Buckner was born on a pioneer farm near Lexington, Missouri, in 1828. He was the son of Berry Buckner, a pioneer settler of Jackson County, Missouri, after whom the town of Buckner was named.
Ansel Buckner became a physician and practiced medicine before the outbreak of the Civil War. He served as a surgeon in the Confederate army during the struggle between the North and the South and after the close of the war also engaged in farming pursuits. He was killed by lightning in 1873. Elizabeth (Foster) Buckner was born near Greencastle, Indiana, in 1833, and died in 1914.
After the close of the Civil War Ansel Buckner settled in Pettis County, and here in this county Frank M. Buckner was reared to young manhood. He came to Henry County in 1878 and bought a farm located south of Windsor which he improved and sold in 1902. He then purchased his present farm of 102 acres and has made nice improvements thereon. Mr. Buckner is engaged in general farming and the breeding of Duroc Jersey hogs for the markets.
Mr. Buckner was married in 1877 to Miss Ellen Clayton, who was born in Illinois, the daughter of Ira B. Clayton, a native of Kentucky, who migrated to Pettis County, Missouri, in 1874. Ten children have been born to Frank W. and Ellen Buckner, as follows: Myrtle, wife of W. M. Nixon, Colorado Springs, Colorado; Earl and James, farmers in Howard County, Missouri; Carrie, wife of W. A. Christian, Pettis County, Missouri; Rose, wife of S. A. Pearce, Tebo township, Henry County; Flossie, wife of H. H. Gilliland, South Windsor, Henry County; Hattie, wife of R. C. Funk, living on a farm near Calhoun, Missouri; Blanche, wife of John Gordon, Montrose, Missouri; Everett and Margaret, at home with their parents.
The Democratic party has always had the support of Mr. Buckner. He and Mrs. Buckner are members of the Christian Church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America.
George H. Munday - It is a mooted question as to which is really the better, a large farm of hundreds of acres, requiring a great deal of help and much work and worry upon the part of the owner, or the small, well improved farm which can, if necessary, be cultivated by the owner himself, without aid other than modern farm machinery. We are inclined to the belief that the agriculturist who owns the small or moderately sized farm during this present era of decided scarcity of labor of all kinds is in a much better position than the large land owner, dependent upon high priced farm labor. The Mundy farm of seventy-five acres in Windsor township is an ideal farm as regards size, location and improvements. The family of George H. Munday, the owner, have all the comforts of the city home right on the farm. The Munday home is a beautiful, modern residence equipped with an electric lighting system and every convenience for making farm life really enjoyable.
George H. Munday was born in Deer Creek township, Henry County, nine miles northeast of Clinton, January 9, 1870. He is the son of Benjamin F. and Mary (East) Munday, who were parents of seven children.
Benjamin F. Munday was born in Hendricks County, Indiana, in April, 1843. He came to Henry County, Missouri, in 1866 and after a period of residence on his wife's farm he purchased a place of his own which he cultivated until his retirement to a home in Calhoun in 1912.
Mr. Munday was married January 12, 1869, to Mary East, who bore him seven children, namely: George H., subject of this sketch; Lizzie, deceased; L. S., a farmer in Deer Creek township; Emma, wife of H. DesCombes, Smithton, Missouri; Frank, living on the old home place in Deer Creek township; James C, living in Springfield township; A. B., living near Alberta, Henry County, Missouri. The mother of these children was born in Henry County, Missouri, the daughter of George and Mary (GofF) East, who were pioneer settlers of Henry County.
George H. Munday was reared on the home farm in Deer Creek township and after receiving such education as was afforded by the district school of his neighborhood he pursued a higher course in Professor Lamkin's Academy, where he was a schoolmate of Uel W. Lamkin, editor of this work. Soon after attaining his majority he began doing for himself and remained at home until his marriage in 1898. In 1900 he purchased his present home place of seventy-five acres in Windsor township and moved there in January, 1901. This is one of the best improved places in Henry County.
October 6, 1897, George H. Munday and Miss Iva L. Garrett were united in marriage. One child has blessed this marriage: Lewis G. Munday, born August 3, 1903. Mrs. Iva L. (Garrett) Munday was born in Johnson County, Missouri, the daughter of W. A. and Alice (Walker) Garrett, the former of whom was born in Johnson County, Missouri, and the latter of whom was a native of North Carolina. William A. Garrett, her father, was born October 11, 1848, and is now residing on the farm which was settled by the Garretts in Johnson County in 1843. His wife, Alice (Walker) Garrett, was born December 10, 1851, and departed this life January 14, 1913. There were six children in the Garrett family, as follows: Mrs. Iva L. Munday; Mrs. Mary Edna Powell, Johnson County; Daisy Cornelia, at home; Mrs. Linnie Adria Kavanaugh, Kansas City; Robert Lewis, at home, and Mrs. Nellie Washington Reynolds, Johnson County. The great-grandfather of William A. Garrett, named Thomas Simms, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, the ancestry having been traced so that Mrs. Munday could become a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Mr. Munday is a Democrat. Both Mr. and Mrs. Munday are intelligent, well read people who keep abreast of the times and are progressive in their views. They have many warm and steadfast friends throughout their home community.
James W. Edmondson, farmer and thoroughbred live stock breeder of Windsor township, Henry County, was born April 2, 1848, in Covington County, Kentucky. He is the son of Job and Mary (McDonald) Edmondson, to whom fifteen children were born, as follows: James W., subject of this sketch; Cordelia, wife of James Denning, Shawnee County, Oklahoma; Grant, living near Lewis Station, Henry County; Richard, a miner of the Bowen Mines, Windsor, Missouri; Charles, a miner, Windsor, Missouri; Lucretia, wife of Henry Goodrich, Henry County; Andrew, Pittsburg, Kansas. The other seven children of the family are deceased.
Job Edmondson was born at Georgetown, Kentucky, January 27, 1826, and died in 1912. He was the youngest and last survivor of eleven children born to his parents. The Edmondson family came to Henry County in 1849 and settled on a farm just across the road from where James W. now resides. A log cabin was the first home of the family and here the large family was reared until 1860. Job Edmondson enlisted for service in Company C, 7th Missouri Cavalry under General Phillips and George Crittendon and served until his discharge on account of sick disability in 1864. He contracted measles and his eyesight became badly affected so that he was practically incapacitated during the remaining years of his life. He died at Calhoun, Missouri. Mrs. Mary Edmondson was born in Covington County, Kentucky, May 22, 1833, and died in 1887, June 22. Job Edmondson and Mary McDonald were married in 1847.
James W. Edmondson has lived in the neighborhood of his present farm since he was three years of age and has witnessed the gradual development of this entire country from a sparsely settled region to the splendid agricultural and stock raising country which it now is. He purchased his first land from H. P. Paris in 1882, having previously rented the tract for seven years. Mr. Edmondson is owner of eighty acres of land upon which he has placed practically all of the improvements. On April 2, 1918, he began the breeding of big type Poland China hogs and is specializing in this department of animal husbandry. For the past thirteen years he has been a breeder of Shropshire sheep.
February 11, 1875, Mr. Edmondson was united in marriage with Miss Hannah L. Telliss, who was born June 30, 1856, on a farm two miles from Leesville, Missouri. She is the daughter of Jonathan and Telitha (Leonard) Telliss, natives of Indiana, who settled in Henry County in the late fifties. Six children have been born to James W. and Hannah L. Edmondson, as follows: Walter W., United States mail carrier at Windsor, Missouri, a sketch of whom appears in this volume; James, Council Bluffs, Iowa; Mrs. Addie Crogsdale, Kansas City, Missouri; John H., Kansas City, Missouri; Mrs. Ora Carter, Council Bluffs, Iowa; Leonard W., a soldier in the United States Marines.
Mr. Edmondson has always been a stanch Republican. He is affiliated with the Anti Horse Thief Association and is a progressive and enterprising citizen who has the best interest of his home community and county at heart. He is a stockholder of the Peoples Bank of Calhoun, Missouri, and is also a stockholder in the Farmers Elevator Company at Windsor, Missouri.
Robert M. Funk, owner of a fine farm of 160 acres located in sections 15, 16, 21 and 22 of Windsor township, is a native Missourian, having been born in Pettis County October 25, 1864, on a farm situated five miles west of Green Ridge. He is the son of John and Lucinda (Rogers) Funk, natives of Kentucky.
John Funk was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, February 28, 1824, and died May 25, 1903. He was married in Kentucky to Lucinda Rogers and came to Missouri as early as 1857, residing on his farm in Pettis County until his death. He was the son of Alexander and Sarah (Walters) Funk of Kentucky, who had a family of nine children, John Funk being the ninth child born. To John and Lucinda Funk were born seven children. Mrs. Lizzie Smith; Mrs. Laura Smith; Mrs. Lula Hampton; Robert M; Mrs. Lydia Crose; Shelton and Mrs. Caroline Pickett, a widow. The mother of these children was born April 27, 18.33, and is now living with her daughter, Mrs. Lula Hampton, Green Ridge, Missouri.
For a period of thirty years Robert M. Funk worked on the home farm of his parents and became owner of seventy acres of land located three miles northeast of Windsor in Pettis County. In 1900 he traded this tract for another farm which he sold in 1911 and came to Henry County, buying his present farm of 160 acres. The Funk farm is an historic landmark in the county, it having been entered by a Mr. Arbuckle and later known as the Gillilan place for over twenty years.
February 26, 1890, Robert M. Funk and Miss Sarah Parker were united in the bonds of matrimony. Seven children have been born of this marriage: John, Robert C. and Albert, farmers in Windsor township; Martha L., wife of P. I. Lowery, Windsor township; Laura Ellen, wife of W. Tucker, Windsor township; Oliver H. and Rex Harold, at home with their parents. Mrs. Sarah (Parker) Funk was born June 5, 1874, on a farm seven miles south of Warsaw, Benton County, Missouri. She is the daughter of Philip and Martha (Eaton) Parker, natives of Tennessee and Benton County, Missouri, respectively. Philip Parker was born on December 19, 1837, and died February 21, 1885. He was prominent in the affairs of Benton County, taught school for a number of years, beginning his teaching career when seventeen years old. He also served as assessor of Benton County. During the Civil War Mr. Parker served as a captain of a company recruited at Warsaw and was wounded at the battle of Lone Jack while fighting on the Union side. Mrs. Martha Parker was born September 19, 1843, and departed this life October 22, 1897.
Mr. Funk and Mrs. Funk are members of the Christian Church and are favorably known as devout and honest people who live according to the teachings of their avowed faith. Mr. Funk is a Republican in politics and is affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Anti-Horse Thief Association and is a stockholder of the Farmers Elevator Company of Windsor.
