Daviess County MO Archives History .....WERNER FAMILY OF WOODERSON DISTRICT IN DAVIESS CO 
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/mo/mofiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Karen Walker khw4@yahoo.com September 4, 2008, 4:50 pm

	THE WERNER FAMILY OF WOODERSON DISTRICT IN DAVIESS CO.
	Narrator:  Mrs. Ida Roberts, 60, Hamilton, Mo.

     Mrs. Roberts, wife of Perry Roberts of Hamilton, is the daughter of 
Daniel Werner who with his wife came in a covered wagon into the Wooderson 
district the south part of Daviess county in 1868 and stayed on that farm till 
the children were grown.  He came from Ohio and was near two other Ohio 
settlers, Asher Sandals and Jacob Prough.  (The latter was the father of John 
Prough, who gave the Prough pioneer life in the first series.)
     When Daniel Werner came, there were no roads and he helped lay out some.  
No fences and the cattle, branded with the owners brand, ranged over the open 
prairies.  There was prairie grass on all sides, even in Mrs. Roberts' early 
years.
     The family had as neighbors the Sears family (which has produced so many 
college men), some of the Bacon families, Leabo, Bristow, Castor, Harpster, 
Rohrbaugh families.  The Kelsos all lived there.  Mr. Kelso moved from there 
to Hamilton in late 60s.  These families buried mostly in the Wooderson 
cemetery which started with an early burial 1834 (see commentary on this 
graveyard in this series).  The Rohrbaugh family was not the one which became 
wealthy merchants in Hamilton in 70s.
     Mr. Werner had a thrilling experience in entertaining the James boys 
(bandits) which Mrs. Roberts remembers as a small girl.  One day, Mr. Werner 
had gone to Hamilton with a load of wheat.  On the way home, he noticed that 
he was being followed by three men on horseback.  At his home, they asked if 
they might look at his cattle, saying they were cattle buyers and they were 
dressed like cattlemen, as she recalls.
     Then they asked to stay the night.  Mrs. Roberts heard her father tell 
them the house was crowded with children, but if they wanted to put up with 
it, it was all right with him.  They were courteous guests.  The next morning, 
they left and went Gallatin way.  This was in 1881.
     The next day Mr. Werner heard that train robbers had held up the Rock 
Island train at Winston, the night after the Werner visit, and had killed two 
men, robbing the Express of about $3000.  There were seven in the train gang.  
People said that the robbers had been hanging around in the vicinity for days 
to get acquainted with the lay of the land.  Then Mr. Werner thought of his 
strange night visitors.  He described them to the authorities.  They agreed 
that he had entertained Jesse and Frank James and Dick Liddle, three of the 
gang who were supposed to have been in the gang.
     At any rate, the whole Werner family were called into the inquiry to tell 
about the visit.  The Werners, however, were well impressed with the bandit's 
personal manners and good appearance, although they naturally disapproved of 
their way of making a living.
     Interview  December 1934


File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mo/daviess/history/other/wernerfa276gms.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/mofiles/

File size: 3.4 Kb