Hickory County, Missouri Biographical Sketches - Lafayette G. Chaney

From the Index Published Weekly at Hermitage, Hickory County, Missouri
Thursday, Aug. 16, 1917

L. G. CHANEY DEAD.
About 5 o'clock on Tuesday evening August 14th our usually quiet little town
and surrounding country was saddened by the report that L. G. Chaney had
been killed by lightning. Oscar Wright was drilling a well for Mr. Chaney,
and they had gone to Mill Creek about a mile distant to get a tank of water.
On their return with the load when Mr. Wright's mail box was reached Oscar
left Mr. Chaney to take the load to his home while he (Oscar) went by his
home to take a letter, and remaining at home perhaps 15 minutes, he went on
to the Chaney home and as he did not see anything of Mr. Chaney or the team
the family and Wright rushed down the road to learn of his whereabouts,
thinking he had hppened (sic) to accident as there was for a few minutes a
terrible electrical storm on. On reaching the gate which leads into the
Chaney farm on Cross Timbers road Mr. Chaney was found kneeling forward with
his left side and head against the gate life extinct. It was found lightning
had struck a small Hickory tree from which the gate was hanged and a barbed
wire running from the tree along top of the gate. Mr. Wright raised the body
and held in upright position with the help of the daughters but nothing
could be done.
 The mule team he was driving were at the gate near his body turned a little
to the right and one of them still lying down and sign that the other had
been on the ground, but the team seems not to be damaged in the least.
 Particulars is what our readers generally want to know, and we have done
our best to give them as told to us by Mr. Wright.
 In the death of "Fayet" Chaney Hickory County has lost one of its splendid
citizens, perhaps none in the community would be missed as much, and the
family a loving husband and father.
 His funeral will be preached this afternoon (Thursday) by Rev. A. L. Shinn
at the Liberty cemetery.

From the Index Published Weekly at Hermitage, Hickory County, Missouri
Thursday, Aug. 23, 1917

IN REMEMBRANCE OF OUR DEAR PAPA
On the stormy afternoon of August the fourteenth, alone and in full health,
father was called from this earth to share a more glorious home, a home with
God--his God.
 Father was the son of F. M. and Elizabeth Chaney, was born August 7th,
1860, professed religion at the age of twenty-three years, joined the M. E.
Church at Liberty, but later moved his memership (sic) to Hermitage, where
he was a useful and consistent worker.
 He was married to Mary F. Sanders March 15, 1885. To this union were born
nine children: Otho, who died in infancy; Alvin B., who died at the age of
eleven years; Orel H. of Plattsburg, Mo.; Leslie J., of Hermitage, Mo.; Mrs.
H. O. Kugler, of Corning, Kansas; Alice M., Samaria Lou, Sara Anice, and
Fayette S., who are at home. All were at the funeral but Mrs. Kugler, she
arriving a few hours late.
 Father had lived his entire life in this county and his friends say of him,
"The most prosiac (sic) and commonplace duties of life were performed by him
as cheerfully and as faithfully as he met his greatest responsibilities."
 His absence at Sunday School where he was a faithful and exemplary teacher,
illustrating his taught lessons by his faultless character, will be keenly
felt.
 We doubt if anwyhere (sic) else could be found a man with the inherited and
acquired endowment and capacity for playing so many important rules in life
so well.  The most valuable lesson we can learn from father's life is that
of faithful performance of duty, however trying, seemingly unimportant, or
common place that duty may be, and yet the characteristic that most
impressed one was his unfailing good nature. No man had a keener sense of
humor than he, few were more uniformly kind, cheerful and optimistic, and
yet no one could know him long without realizing the depth and firmness of
the character that lay behind that kindly and smiling exterior. Above and
better than all else, he was warm hearted, sympathetic, generous and
faithful in every relation of life. His was a most loveable God fearing
character, and knowing him was to venerate him.
 In his death his community lost one of its foremost citizens, a man of
highest honor and most distinguished service. He as one of nature's
noblemen, generous to a fault, modest and unaffected, and instinctively won
the confidence of his fellowmen. He was always ready to respond with
generous liberality to every good cause, and could always be relied upon to
use his influence in behalf of decency and morality.
 Besides his wife and children he leaves two brothers, W. W. Chaney, of
Sugar Creek, Mo., who present at the funeral, J. A. Chaney of Wichita,
Kansas; and one sister, Mrs. T. H. Glenn, of Purcell, Oklahoma, together
with a host of other relatives and friends to mourn his long demise.
 The funeral service was conducted at the grave by Rev. A. L. Shinn to a
large concourse of friends.  Father is gone, but only for a little while.
May we so live that when our summons come, we can lay our burden down and
cheerfully go to be forever with him and our God.

And the stately ships move on
    To their haven under the hill;
But O, for the touch of a vanished hand,
    And the sound of a voice that is still.
  ----By His Daughter.

From the same issue of the paper I found the following articles relating to
Fayette Chaney's death.

In the Clark items
W. W. Chaney returned to his home in Sugar Creek Monday.

School was dismissed Wednesday and Thursday on account of the death and
burial of Mr. Chaney.

Mrs. Wm. Dorman of Wheatland visited at U. E. Wilson's Wednesday and
attended the burial of Mr. Chaney.

Miss Jim Sanders spent a few days at the Chaney home the last of the week.
Miss Neta Brakebill also spent several days there.

Mr. and Mrs. H. O. Kugler and children accompanied by his father and mother,
John Kugler and wife, of Cross Timbers, went over to Gerster Sunday to look
after buisness (sic) matters. H. O. will return to his home near Corning,
Kansas, but Mrs. Kugler and children will return to the home of her mother
for an extended visit.

W. W. Chaney of Sugar Creek, Mo., Orel Chaney of Plattsburg, Mo., and Mr.
and Mrs. H. O. Kugler of Corning, Kansas, came Thursday for the funeral of
their brother and father, L. G. Chaney, who was killed by lightning Tuesday
afternoon.

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