Biographical Sketch of Mrs. Lorretta (Warren) Reavis, Johnson County, Missouri, Montserrat Township >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** Mrs. Lorretta (Warren) Reavis, one of Johnson county's most highly esteemed pioneer women, was born in Lafayette county, Missouri in 1826 and when a mere child came to Johnson county with her parents, Martin and Nancy (Hubbard) Warren, of Virginia. They settled on a farm near the flourishing city of Warrensburg. Mrs. Reavis recalls seeing the group of men looking for a location for the town, which has since developed into one of the best cities of its size in the state of Missouri. The town was named in honor of her grandfather, Martin Warren. Lorretta (Warren) Reavis received her education in the primi- tive schools of Johnson county, which were known as "subscription schools." The school lasted only a few months in the year and the older boys and girls could not always go when the school was open, for there was much work to be done at home. They could go on rainy days and when there was no work. The teacher, or "master" as he was called, sat in the middle of the room and on one side was a puncheon shelf, which was used by the larger scholars when called upon to write. Little children sat on puncheon benches and began to learn to read by saying their "a-b-c's" and the only rest from study was when the "master" called them to him to "say their lessons." The children always enjoyed the recess time, wandering as far as they liked just so they kept with- in hearing distance, when the teacher called, "Books." In the pioneer homes the clothing was provided as well as the food by the work of the women in the home. Mrs. Reavis, in her youth, has often watched the making of clothing from the time the flax was gathered and the wool was cut from the sheep until the garments were ready to wear. It was not always easy to provide shoes for all the family and often the little children were obliged to remain in the house in cold weather. Frequent- ly a young lady would go to church barefooted, carrying her shoes with her and putting them on when she had reached the church. Among the pioneer preachers, whom Mrs. Reavis recalls, were Reverend Thomas Mulk- ey and Reverend Thomas McBride. There were no churches in the early days and religious services were held in the log cabin homes. Sometimes a traveling preacher would visit the settlement and then the settlers would come miles and miles to hear him preach. The pioneer preacher was a settler just like the rest. He was always welcome and even the poorest settler was glad to share all he had with him. It was a great thing for the old town of Warrensburg when the early settlers began to get their mail regularly. At first, the mail was brought about twice a month by men on horseback. Sometimes the mail carriers were delayed several days on account of high water and many times the postmaster had to spread the mail out in the sun to dry. At first there were no roads on the open prairie and deer, wild turkeys, and prairie chickens abounded, but little by little life in the new country began to change. Lorretta Warren was united in marriage with John Reavis, the son of James Reavis, an early pioneer of Missouri, who came from Kentucky. To John and Lorretta (Warren) Reavis were born the following children: Mrs. Mary Box, Mrs. Anna Kreb, Mrs. Etta Adams, Mrs. Alice Hunter, and Mrs. Martha Hull, with whom Mrs. Reavis now makes her home. Mr. Reavis died in 1910 and for the past seven years his widow has resided with her daughter, Mrs. Hull on the farm in Montserrat township. The brave, true lives of the hardy, noble men and women like Mr. and Mrs. Reavis have made this beautiful county possible. We could not now be enjoying the good things we think so absolutely essential had not they lived before, worked hard, and done without much and it is a pleasure to have the white haired pioneers still with us. There is no better thing to do in this world than to live so that other people will be happier, because one has lived. ==================================================================== 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 ====================================================================