Biographical Sketch of Mrs. Lavina R. (Royer) Ozias, Johnson County, Missouri, Centerview Township. >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** Mrs. Lavina R. Ozias, the widely known and honored widow of the late Jacob A. Ozias, is one of Johnson county's bravest pioneer women. She and her husband came to Johnson county, Missouri in November, 1857, in a buggy, which vehicle they traded on a tract of land here. At that time, the Hobson and Graham farms were the only fenced places in the county near their tract of land. They returned to Ohio and resided until 1866, when they came back to Missouri to make their permanent home in Centerview township, on the farm for which they had traded their buggy. Mr. Ozias built a one room house and, as they could afford to do so, added to it later. Small as was their home, it became the center of the social life of the community and many happy times were spent within its four walls. Mr. Ozias was fond of company and enjoyed gatherins of all kinds, so the little cabin became the popular meeting place. Jacob A. Ozias and Mrs. Ozias had made the trip from Cincinnati to St. Louis, Missouri, by boat and from St. Louis drove through to Johnson county. After making his first payment on the farm, fortune seemed to smile on all his undertakings and he became very pro- sperous and influential. He was the owner at one time of more than a thousand acres of land and all were acquired through industry, economy, and enterprise. Mr. Ozias raised stock extensively, specializing in hogs. He was widely known as a successful wheat producer also. In his native county, Preble, in the state of Ohio, Mr. Ozias had established a name for himself as being a young man of strict honesty and high ideals and this reputation he continued to maintain to the end of his life. He died in 1911. His widow is now making her home with her son, J. R., on the home place. Mr. Ozias was a gentleman of kindly, chari- table, generous spirit and there are many men and women in the county today who recall with gratitude how he willingly and cheerfully came to their assistance, when they were in straightened circumstances and were about to lose their homes. Mrs. Ozias was born June 16, 1837, in Maryland, and is a daughter of Jesse Royer, who moved to Ohio in 1853. She is now past the eightieth milestone in life. It is a delight to hear her tell incidents and experiences of her pioneer days in Johnson county. She has witnessed many prairie fires and has seen tribes of Indians passing their home, but the red men were always friendly. Warrensburg was then the only town and Holden had not been thought of, not to mention the towns and villages that now dot the map of Johnson county. Mrs. Ozias is a bright, alert, intelligent woman, possessing a wonderful memory for one of her advanced age. It is with great pleasure we pause to honor one who labored and did without much, that we deem so absolutely necessary, in the long ago, in order that the coming genera- tion "might have life more abundantly." She is a lady in all that the word implies, one worthy of the highest regard and consideration. ==================================================================== 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 ====================================================================