Biographical Sketch of W. T. Herndon, Johnson County, Missouri,
Jefferson Township.

>From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell,
Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918.
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W. T. Herndon, one of Johnson county's noble pioneers residing in Jeff-
erson township, was born in Logan county, Kentucky in 1850, son of
George and Elizabeth Herndon, the former, a son of James Herndon and 
the latter, a daughter of James Foster.  James Herndon was a well known
and highly respected farmer of Kentucky and James Foster was one of the
first settlers west of Warrensburg, Missouri.  George Herndon came with
his family to Johnson county in 1856 and they settled on land north of
Warrensburg.  He enlisted with the Confederates in the Civil War and in
June, 1862, he was killed at the battle of Corinth, Mississippi.  W. T.
Herndon attended school at Hazel Hill in Johnson county, where his 
first teacher was William Jones and later, Mr. Tomlin and Roger Steer.
He regularly attended church, which was held at Old Liberty where 
"Uncle Billy" Caldwell and Reverend Cockrell used to preach.  In those
days, people enjoyed going to church, where they could meet their 
friends, who came from long distances in wagons, drawn by oxen, or on
horseback, to attend.  Mr. Herndon vividly recalls the early land con-
ditions of his youth, when practically all the county was open prairie
and from high points, hundreds of deer and thousands of prairie chicken
could be seen.  Many times, he has broken virgin sod, driving a yoke of
oxen.  The constant menace in the early days was the prairie fire and
even as a boy, W. T. Herndon was called upon to assist in fighting the
destructive foe.  He recalls that the first year in Johnson county, 
there was planted that which was called, "sod corn."  It was planted
every third furrow as the sod was broken and the crop was never plowed,
but produced a good yield.  When this was not done, an ax had to be
used to cut through the sod.  Kirkpatrick's old water mill, located on
Blackwater, was the place where the grain was taken, to be ground, by
the settlers.  A sack of corn would be thrown across the horse's back,
the same amount in either end, and taken to the mill, several miles
away, across the open prairie.  There were always many men and boys
about the mill, waiting for their grists and often they had to wait two
or three days.  They would camp out and fish in the nearby pools while
waiting for their corn or wheat to be ground.  "Going to the mill" was
a great pleasure for the pioneer settler did not see much company in 
his little, rude, log cabin home and the trip to the mill means as much
as a long journey now.  All his life, W. T. Herndon has been engaged in
the pursuits of agriculture.  In 1882, he bought ninety acres of land 
in Johnson county and since that time has bought and sold several farms.
He is at the present time associated with his youngest son, C. D.
Herndon, in farming and stock raising.  They have a nice stock farm in
Johnson county, consisting of one hundred forty-four acres of land.  In
1874, W. T. Herndon was united in marriage with Anna Lipscon, daughter
of J. M. and Cyrene Lipscon.  To W. T. and Anna (Lipscon) Herndon have
been born five children: George, Windsor, Missouri; Sanford, Lajunta, 
Colorado; Eugene, Henrietta, Missouri; Ora, Windsor, Missouri; and 
C. D., Windsor, Missouri.  Both Mr. and Mrs. Herndon are members of the
Christian church.  They have ever done their part nobly and well in the
upbuilding of this county and are numbered among its best and most
highly valued citizens.

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