Biographical Sketch of Mary E. (Wilson) Houx, Johnson County, Missouri, Warrensburg Township >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** Mrs. J. H. Houx, widow of the late Reverend J. H. Houx, one of the pioneer ministers of Johnson county, was born in Kanawha county, Vir- ginia, now West Virginia, in 1838, but was reared and educated in Henry County, Missouri, to which county her parents had moved when she was three years of age. Mrs. Houx is the daughter of James R. and Susan (Everett) Wilson. James R. Wilson was born in 1803 in Maysville, Ky. With his parents he moved to Virginia, in which state he grew to matur- ity. In Virginia, James R. Wilson and Susan Everett were united in marriage and in 1841 they came to Henry county, Missouri, where Mr. Wilson entered land from the government. He built the frame house for their home in 1849. Hard oak and walnut lumber were used for the floors and made by hand into doors and window sashes. James R. Wilson increased his holdings by purchase and at one time was owner of more than a thousand acres of land in Henry county. James R. and Susan (Everett) Wilson were the parents of the following children: John M., whose death occurred about 1914 at El Paso, Tx; Mary E., the widow of Rev. J. H. Houx, the subject of this review; Joseph H., Montrose, Mo.; Edwin, who died in Austin, Texas, in 1910; Susan E., Montrose, Mo.; William W., Montrose, Mo.; and Richard B., who is postmaster at Mont- rose, Missouri. Mr. Wilson died in 1898. Mrs. Wilson had preceded him in death twenty-three years, her death occurring in 1875. Both parents of Mrs. Houx are interred in the family cemetery in Bates county, which is known as the Stratton cemetery and is now owned by the Methodist church, South, to which both Mr. and Mrs. Wilson belonged. Mary E. (Wilson) Houx received her education in the Chapel Hill College and Independence Female College of Missouri. In 1861, J. H. Houx and Mary E. Wilson were united in marriage in Henry county, Mo., at the Wilson home place. Reverend J. H. Houx was born April 7, 1827, in Lafayette county, Missouri, the son of Philip S. and Margaret (Morrow) Houx. The Houx family were honored and beloved pioneers of Johnson county, where they settled in 1837, coming from Lafayette county where they had re- sided since 1817. Rev. J. H. Houx attended Chapel Hill College and he and Senator Francis M. Cockrell were room mates. Mr. Houx was an earn- est and devout Christian, a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. His first pastorate was at Independence, Mo. Later he was engaged in Mission work in St. Clair, Bates, and Henry counties from 1866 to 1867. Rev. Houx had many thrilling experiences, for at that time the heat of the Civil War had not yet subsided and he preached to congregations during his career which were "armed to the teeth," as it were. From 1867 to 1875, J. H. Houx was pastor of the Warrensburg Cumberland church. In 1875 he took up work for the endowment of the Missouri Valley College at Marshall, Mo., and in 1880 was made chairman of the board of that institution, a position he held for five years, until 1885. To J. H. and Mary E. Houx were born seven children, six of whom lived to maturity: Charles Henry, who married Ethel Clark and re- sides in Warrensburg, Mo.; Edwin W., who married Mrs. Lucy (Wharton) Rucker and resides in Kansas City, Mo.; Susan Elizabeth, who is the wife of Walter S. Williams of Columbia, Mo.; Albert B., who died in childhood at the age of seven years; Mary M., who was the wife of J. K. Tuttle and is now deceased, her death occurring at the age of forty years; Roberta M., who is the wife of Henry H. Edmiston of St. Louis, Mo.; and Samuel B., who married Louise Patterson and is now residing in Houston, Texas. At the age of seventy-six, Rev. Houx was still active and of remarkable endurance. He often would ride ten and twenty miles in severe weather to fill appointments. His death occurred April 10, 1903, as the result of an accident which happened three weeks before. His last resting place is in the Warrensburg cemetery. Rev. J. H. Houx was a gentleman of the old school, a man beloved by all who knew him. He spent his life in the cause of Christianity and the world is better because he lived in it. He left as a precious legacy to his children a noble name, that "which is rather to be chosen than great riches." Mrs. Houx is a descendant of colonial ancestors. Her great-grandfather, Samuel Bailey, was killed by the Indians thirty miles from Maysville, Kentucky, when he was on his way to see a large tract of land he had purchased from Simon Kenton. His widow exchanged the land for a farm near Maysville and as the children were heirs she could not give a good title to the land. She promised to see to it that the title was made good when the children became of age, and she kept her word. She gave her word of honor that her children would never disturb the title and they never did. The grounds of the Houx home are located on South Holden street in Warrensburg, Missouri. Mr. Houx erected the residence in 1869 and remodeled it in 1892. The grounds originally included fifteen acres, and there are seven acres at present of beautifully wooded land surrounding the residence, which is one of the attractive homes of 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. 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