Biographical Sketch of D. D. Corum, Johnson County, Missouri, Warrensburg Township >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** D. D. Corum, proprietor of the "Edgewood Stock Farm," is one of Johnson County's progressive, young citizens. He was born May 23, 1893, in Dunksburg, Grover township, the son of J. C. and Della B. (Smith) Corum, both of whom were born in Johnson county. J. C. Corum was born near Knob Noster on the farm where his father died. Della B. (Smith) Corum was born in 1872 on her father's farm near Sweetsprings, Missouri, the daughter of H. Strong and Mary (Dunkley) Smith, the former, a native of Ohio and the latter, the only child of Doctor Dunkley, a prosperous and prominent pioneer of Johnson county, in whose honor the city of Dunks- burg was named. Dr. B. F. Dunkley was one of the very first settlers of Grover township, where he entered 880 acres of land, which are now a splendid stock farm owned by his granddaughter, Myrtle Smith. J. C. Corum is now with the Texas State Militia, being commissioned as colon- el. Mrs. Corum is making her home with her father and sister in Sweet- springs, Missouri. A more comprehensive biographical review of the Corum family appears in the sketch of Mrs. Della (Smith) Corum, which will be found in this volume. D. D. Corum attended the public schools of Johnson county and Central College at Fayette, Missouri. Until he was 20 years of age, he remained at home with his parents. He then be- gan life for himself, engaged in farming on the place he now owns. In April, 1916, he began the dairy business on the "Edgewood Stock Farm" and from the beginning has met with splendid success. The "Edgewood Stock Farm" comprises 240 acres of land northwest of Warrensburg, which formerly belonged to the Colberns and was purchased from them by H. Strong Smith, the grandfather of D. D. Corum, about 25 years ago. Mr. Corum has at present 45 head of Holstein and Jersey cows and calves, milking 30 cows at this season. Each cow has her individual stanchion and knows her place. Once each month, every cow is tested to ascertain the cost of her feed, the amount of mil given in return, and the per- centage of butterfat. The milk is shipped twice dailty to Kansas City, Mo., the cows being milked at 5:30 a.m. and at 5:30 p.m. and the trip made twice to the station as the product from this dairy is A grade and must arrive in Kansas City in first-class condition. The milk is ship- ped in 10 gallon cans. The main dairy barn is 40 x 50 feet in dimen- sions with a fourteen foot shed, built in 1914, and has a concrete floor and excellent drainage. Everything about the dairy is kept per- fectly clean and sanitary. The milk is cooled immediately after it has been obtained, by placing in cans in a concrete vat filled with cold water, which is iced in summer. Water is supplied both the dairy and residence from a well, 300 feet deep, which was drilled in 1914. The water, which is soft, stands within 15 feet of the top and is pumped by a gasoline engine. Mr. Corum has an ice storage house in connection with his dairy, which has a capacity of 40 tons of ice and is filled each winter with pond ice. To operate a good dairy, up to the standard of the requirements of the Kansas City Board of Health, means much hard work and that all things and persons connected with the dairy must be strictly clean and sanitary, that everything from cows to cars, from the washing of vessels to the washing of the dairy barn, must come up to the required standards. The cows, as well as the men employed in the dairy, must be tested for tuberculosis. Mr. Corum employs one assistant all the time and at times has a number of helpers at work on the farm. The 180 acres of the "Edgewood Stock Farm" are in bluegrass and pasture and the remaining 60 acres are usually planted in corn for silage. The silo now on the farm has a capacity of 100 tons. It was erected in 1915 and is made of wood. Mr. Corum contemplates erecting another silo this year, 1917, whihc will have the same capacity as the one he now has. He feeds alfalfa and silage in the winter time, modi- fying the feed with cottonseed meal, beet meal, oil meal, bran and hay. September 21, 1914, D. D. Corum and May Foster were united in marriage. To this marriage has been born a son, H. Smith, born October 5, 1917. Mrs. Corum is the daughter of Fred and Flora (Day) Foster, of Warrens- burg. Fred Foster is a well known barber of Warrensburg. The Corum residence is a beautiful home, a structure of one and a half stories and containing seven rooms. An attractive feature about this home, which is modern in every respect, is the fine sleeping porch. Both Mr. and Mrs. Corum have a host of friends in Johnson county. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: <> Penny Harrell ====================================================================