Biographical Sketch of S. Y. Sanders, Johnson County, Missouri, Warrensburg. >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** S. Y. Sanders, a prominent stockman of Warrensburg, Missouri, owner of "Quarry City Stock Farm," is one of the best known horsemen of the state. He was born in 1850, in Jackson county, Missouri on his fathers farm near Lonejack. S. Y. Sanders is a son of James and Mary A. (Yankee) Sanders, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. James Sanders left Virginia in early manhood and went to Kentucky, where he remained but a short time. In 1829 he moved from Kentucky to Missouri and in the winter of 1830 located near the present State Fair Grounds in Pettis county. From there he went to Jackson county in 1830 and entered land in Van Buren township. The farm, which James Sanders entered from the government, comprised 100 acres in Jack- son county and 120 acres in Johnson county, for which he paid twenty- five cents an acre. Mary A. (Yankee) Sanders was the daughter of Samuel and Amelia (Graves) Yankee, natives of Kentucky. To James and Mary A. Sanders were born the following children: Charles, who fell into a spring and was drowned at the age of three years; George, who died during the Civil War and is buried in Van Buren, Arkansas; Mrs. Julia Spanhower, deceased; Thomas, deceased; Mrs. Mary Gipson, wife of Judge P. Gipson, Kingsville, Missouri; S. Y., the subject of this re- view; Mrs. Josephine Houston, who resides in Idaho; J. B., deceased; R. E., Kingsville, Missouri. The mother died in Jackson county in 1874. Mr. Sanders continued to reside on the farm, which he had enter- ed from the government, until 1898, when he moved from the farm to Warrensburg and for the remainder of his life made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Gipson. His remains were interred in Underwood cemetery at Lonejack, Missouri. S. Y. Sanders received his education in the public schools of Lonejack, Missouri. His first teacher was Martin Rice, the celebrated historian of Jackson county and author of "Rural Rhymes and Talks" and "Tales of the Olden Times." Mr. Sanders was but a lad of 11 years when the Civil War began. But even at that youthful age, he was at the battle of Lonejack, Missouri. He took his stand on a gatepost only a fourth mile away and observed the entire struggle. After the battle was over, the small boy was indispensable for his ser- vices in caring for the wounded men and his assistance in hauling away the dead horses, in which work he was engaged for four days. Although his father and one brother were serving in the Confederate army, Mr. Sanders' mother sent him with soup to the place where the wounded Union men were lying. When the lad protested against going his mother re- plied that the men were some mother's boys and though they were enemies they must not needlessly suffer. Besides soup, she sent other provi- sions from her own small store and her kindness of heart and thoughtful- ness was greatly appreciated by the dying and wounded men. The Sanders lad saw much of the guerilla warfare of the trying days of the sixties. His uncle, Robert Sanders, was shot and killed in the old court house at Warrensburg, while confined as a prisoner there. Robert Sanders was taken captive, while serving in the Confederate army, and he was at the window of his cell when someone outside shot him. When Order No. 11 was issued, Mrs. Sanders and her son moved to Higginsville, Lafayette county. Six of their neighbors were taken captives by Kansas "jayhawk- ers" and lined up against a fence and shot down. The men, Jonathan Hunter, William Hunter, Benjamin Potter, Calvin Tate, Jonathan Cave, and Andrew Owsley, were preparing to leave the county and had their wagons loaded, when the incident occurred. All the men were buried in one grave on the John Phillips' farm near Lonejack. Burial was made by the wives, mothers and sisters of the dead men. At the age of 20 years, Mr. Sanders began life for himself. He early became interested in farming and stock raising and often drove hogs from Lonejack to Dres- den, a distance of 60 miles, taking a week to make the trip. For forty five years Mr. Sanders has made a specialty of breeding saddle horses. In 1893 at the World's Fair at Chicago in the breeders' class he re- ceived first premium on horse and colt shown from Missouri and second premium on horse and colt entered in the world contest. "Young Mitchell" with four of his colts won the premium at Chicago. With "Sallie Mitchell," Mr. Sanders started the "Quarry City Stock Farm." This farm comprises 9 acres of land within the city limits of Warrens- burg, Missouri and 25 acres adjoining. "Rex Moore," No. 3829, now heads the herd. He took first money at the Missouri State Fair in 1916, he and his colts. Mr. Sanders has 30 head of registered saddle horses and all but two are chestnut color. He has always been partial to saddle horses and has developed the Denmark breed, which he believes to be the best type of the class. Mr. Sanders has refused $3500 for "Rex Moore," whose sire was "Rex McDonald," undisputed champion of the world. In 1870, S. Y. Sanders was united in marriage with Plutina Winfrey, the daughter of Isaac and Mary (Easley) Winfrey, of Jackson county, Missouri. Isaac Winfrey is now deceased and his widow resides in Warrensburg, Missouri. To S. Y. and Plutina (Winfrey) Sanders have been born the following children: Mamie, who is the wife of Nicholas M. Bradley, a prominent attorney of Warrensburg, Missouri; Herbert W., a civil engineer, residing in Chicago, Illinois; three children died in infancy; and Thomas W., who died at the age of 21 years at Kirksville College, where he was a student. Mr. and Mrs. Sanders reside at the "Quarry City Stock Farm," located on East Grover street in Warrensburg. This place was purchased from Nicholas M. Bradley in 1898 and the ab- stract shows that at one time the 7 acres where the house now stands were sold for three sheep. Mr. Sanders has lived in Jackson and John- son counties, with the exception of one and a half years when Order No. 11 was in force, for sixty-seven years. Few, if any, residents of Johnson county know more about the early days than he. He was well acquainted with William Quantrill, Bill Anderson, the James boys, Youngers and many others who were members of Quantrill's famous organ- ization. During the stirring days of the Civil War, he frequently gave aid to Quantrill's men and knew considerable of their whereabouts and operations which was not generally known to others. Mr. Sanders poss- esses a fine library and many valuable pictures and both reflect his keen interest in horses. Mrs. Sanders' father resided near Chapel Hill College when Senator Francis M. Cockrell was a student there. Mr. Winfrey always manifested the deepest interest in the young man, loan- ing him books and helping him in every way he could. Senator Cockrell never forgot the friend of his youth and was always grateful for the help and encouragement received in the Winfrey home. ==================================================================== 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 ====================================================================