MONETT, MISSOURI HISTORY, LEROY JEFFRIES COLLECTION

MEMORABILIA OF MONETT, MISSOURI

Leroy Jeffries came to Monett, then called Plymouth or Plymouth Junction, in November, 1882. Except for 8 years spent in Cassville as county clerk (1915-1922), he remained an active merchant in Monett for 68 years, until his death in January, 1951. From 1882 until 1914, he owned three general stores and dealt in local farm produce by the train car load. After he returned to Monett from Cassville, he owned two automobile service stations. He was joined in Monett by his parents, Dr. T. H. Jeffries and Mary Jane Ricketts, in February, 1883. He married Mary Emilie Turpin on December 23, 1888, and they were the parents of four children.

Below is a sampling of early Monett items, mainly from the Jeffries family archives. Additional Jeffries information may be found on the Barry County site at Rootsweb: Monett at MoBarry and Cassville at MoBarry.

Please click each photo to view it larger

	Leroy Jeffries, early 1880s. Leroy Jeffries was born in Benton County, Arkansas, on September 1, 1861, and died in Monett on January 13, 1951. His family moved from Arkansas to Cassville during the Civil War, then to Corsicana about 1868 and finally to Washburn about 1875. This image is from a tintype taken around the time Jeffries moved to Monett in late 1882. 1930 Newspaper Profile of Leroy Jeffries.
	Dr. T. H. Jeffries and wife Mary Jane Ricketts, about 1870s. Thomas Hampton Jeffries was born November 18, 1837, in Clinton County, Kentucky, and died August 12, 1902, in Monett. He married Mary Jane Ricketts in Bentonville, Arkansas, on October 27, 1858. She was born in Tennessee on April 23, 1839, and died in Monett on January 19, 1921. Dr. Jeffries was a pioneer druggist and physician in Barry County, living in Corsicana, Washburn and Monett. He served on Monett's first city council. Mrs. Jeffries ran a boarding house in Monett which catered to Frisco train crews. This image is from a tintype probably taken in the 1870s. Goodspeed's Biography of Dr. Jeffries & Newspaper Obituary for Mrs. Jeffries.
	Leroy Jeffries' First Store in Monett (Plymouth), 1883-1886. This store was located near the southwest corner of Central Avenue and Main Street. It and most of the town burned on September 8, 1886, and Jeffries rebuilt at the same location. Leroy is standing just to the left of the entrance way, hatless and holding a white package. His father, Dr. T.H. Jeffries, with the white beard, is standing just to the right of the entrance way next to a man who appears to be Black. Lloyd B. Jones, who married Leroy's sister Nolia Jeffries, is driving the delivery hack. The man at the extreme left is Charles McBride. The man standing at the door of the little shack at right is Dick Brite of Pierce City. The others are unknown. ID's are from the Monett Times, which reproduced this photograph in a 1930 article on Jeffries as a pioneer merchant.
	Mary Turpin. Mary Emilie Turpin was born in Monett on January 18, 1871, and died in Monett on March 29, 1941. She married Leroy Jeffries December 23, 1888. This image is from an undated cabinet card photograph marked "Will F. Limes Art Studio, Opera House Block, Monett, Mo."
	Plymouth and Gonten -- One Town, Two Names. On July 13, 1885, Mary Turpin received two invitations to the same party from local young men. One was addressed from Gonten, Mo., the other from Plymouth. Gonten was the postal name of the town, drawn from the name of a local postmaster. Plymouth was the older name of the town and apparently still the name of the railroad station. Most of Mary's surviving invitations from 1885-1887 used "Gonten" but one dated November 1, 1886, said "Plymouth Mo., Gonten PO." In its daily edition of May 2, 1887, the Peirce City Empire announced that the railroad had changed the name of the town from Plymouth to Monett.
	March, 1888, Early Monett Letterhead. This is a receipt dated March 16, 1888, on the letterhead of Saunders & Crewson, Agents of the Monett Town Company. According to the advertising at upper left, Monett was 4 months old when the letterhead was printed and had 1800 inhabitants. The back of the stationary included a map of the Frisco System.
	Jeffries' First or Second Store in Monett, Mid-to-late 1880s. This appears to be the same store as in the photograph above, but Leroy Jeffries is now bald, the building to the right in the earlier photo is gone and the sign has changed. Since stores in this era were sometimes built from kits, this may be Jeffries' second store (1886-1892), rebuilt from the same kit after the town burned. Faded handwriting on the photo mount identifies the persons in the photo as, left-to-right, Viode Rogers on the sidewalk; Sam Alk (?), T. Clinton and Frank Coatney (?) in the hack; Gene Saxe and Mr. Saxe on the sidewalk between the horse and hack; and Geo. G., Leroy Jeffries and Geo. B. on the sidewalk to the right. The elder Saxe owned a butcher shop in Monett.
	Leroy Jeffries' Home, Built About 1889. Leroy's home was at 100 Lincoln Street, a site buried in 1993 by the approach to the new Burlington Northern overpass on highway 37. Leroy bought the lots in November, 1888, a month before his marriage to Mary Turpin, and probably began construction of the house shortly thereafter. This image is about 1905 to 1910. The smallest child is Mary Jeffries' niece Wilma Turpin. The others, left to right, are Mary, Letha and Trink Jeffries. The dog is Cotton.
	Another Store View, About 1891-92. Leroy Jeffries stands with unidentifed Monettans on the sidewalk in front of his store. The poster in the window announces that the Sadie Raymond theatrical company will appear January 22. No year is visible, but the Neosho Times mentioned that the Raymond troop was in Neosho in January, 1892, and had visited the area a year earlier. This image is from a cabinet card photograph on the mount of Rino, St. Louis.
	Jeffries' Third Store in Monett, 1892-1914. This store was located on the northwest corner of Central Avenue and Main Street, just across the street from Jeffries' first two stores. Before highway 37 was built in 1929, Central Avenue was the main road into Monett from the south. Leroy built this store in 1892 and remained there until he went to Cassville as county clerk in 1915. He is shown with his daughter Lalah, nicknamed Trink. The photo is about 1905-1910.
	Store Inventory, January 1, 1893. The Jeffries' papers include an 8-page inventory of Leroy Jeffries' grocery store on January 1, 1893. He valued his stock on hand at $1,703.89 and was owed $2,397.45 for groceries sold on credit, of which he estimated $511.75 was uncollectable. He owed his suppliers $1916.05. Among other things, this representative inventory page shows that he had on hand over 300 pounds of tobacco in 18 brands, plus 850 cigars.
	Certificate of Election to Monett's Board of Aldermen, 1894. Except for a break from 1906-1908, Leroy Jeffries served on Monett's city council continuously from 1893 to 1914. This certificate of election from 1894 was signed by city clerk R. A. Gardner. Leroy's father, Dr. T. H. Jeffries, served on the council in 1888-89 and his brother-in-law Lloyd B. Jones in 1889-1893.
	Dues Receipt, Monett Fraternal Order of Eagles, 1903.
	A Jeffries Advertising Item, 1903-1904. This package of needles advertising the Jeffries store included calendars for 1903 and 1904.
	Lawson Jeffries, Monett's First Fire Chief, around 1905-1910. Lawson (1871-1930) was Leroy's brother. The emblem on the hat says "Chief." The ribbon says "Annual Meeting, Southwestern Firemen's Association, Webb City." The photograph was taken at Spracklen's Studio in Webb City, MO.
	Lawson Jeffries' Hauling Business. Between 1900 and 1910, Lawson Jeffries owned a grocery store and pool hall in Monett and managed the town's semi-professional baseball team. Around 1910, he started a coal business, which eventually expanded into a substantial hauling concern. In this 1930s photograph, his chief driver Charles Doennig stands by a Jeffries truck on Front Street, just east of Central, in Monett. Photo courtesy of Randy Doennig, Charles' grandson.
	Stock Certificate, Monett and Southwestern Construction Company, 1907. Signed by John R. Christiansen (?) as President and H. W. Clons (?) as Secretary. This company was a subsidiary of the St. Louis and Southern Oklahoma Railway Company, which planned to build a railroad from St. Louis to McCalister, Oklahoma.
	Coon Holler. A Monett booth at some sort of local get together. Leroy Jeffries is fourth from left. The others are unidentified. This image is from an undated postcard.
	July 4, 1911, Gathering to Witness the First Aeroplane Flight in Monett. Logan D. McKee, a local druggist, was the pilot. His airplane, the DeChenne, was made by a Monett company. This image is from a postcard.
	Stock Certificate, Holbrook Helicopter Aeroplane Co., Monett, 1911. Signed by L. B. Durnil as President and U. S. Barnsley as Secretary. The vignette on the stock shows horse drawn wagons bringing ore to a mining smelter -- apparently the best the printer could do to represent the airplane and modern times. Durnil was a former Monett mayor and Barry County probate judge. He or his family owned a Monett dry goods store. Barnsley and his family manufactured cutlery in Monett. More on Monett's Aeroplane.
	Earl Jeffries. Earl Jeffries, Leroy and Mary's oldest child, was born in Monett November 27, 1889, and died in Monett April 3, 1914. He was working as a Frisco switchman at the time of his death and was killed when he fell under a moving train. The Jeffries had a younger son, Guy Byron, who died in infancy. This image is from a postcard. Newspaper Account of Earl's Death.
	Frisco Yard Crew, Monett, May 27, 1912. Earl Jeffries is at left. The other three men are unknown, although a note on the back says "compliments of Paddy Clinton 5/27/12." This image is from a postcard. More Frisco Crews.
	Martin's White Sox, 1908. Earl Jeffries is in the center of the back row. The others are unidentified. This image is from a postcard. More Monett Baseball & Other Sports: Updated April 12, 2009.
	Dues Receipt, Monett Elks Lodge, 1912. Earl Jeffries' receipt.
	Postcard, "B. P. O. Elks New Club House, Monett, Mo." Undated, but according to the Monett Times, the new club house opened April 1, 1911. The Elks' Minstrels.
	Trink and Letha Jeffries. Leroy and Mary Jeffries had two daughters, Lalah, called Trink (1894-1980), and Letha (1891-1968). Trink married Cecil Long in 1929. Letha married Wayne O'Banion in 1924. This image is from an undated negative, but sometime in the teens.
	Cigar Factory Girls, Monett, 1913. Ruth Roderick, a friend of Trink Jeffries, is the girl in black at front left; the others are unknown. This image is from a postcard with "cigar factory girls 1913" penciled on the back. At right is a scan of the front of a William Frederick's cigar tin, "copyright 1915 by Wm. Frederick, Monett, Mo." Frederick opened his cigar factory in Monett in July 1909. A man named Runkel also opened a factory about 1910/11. I don't know which factory employed these women.
	United States Express. The driver is not identified on this photograph, but looks like Bant Roderick, identified on other surviving Jeffries photos. Monett or Cassville. (The spelling of "Roderick" is inconsistent on the photos; may be "Roderich," "Rodrich" or some other variation.) Undated, but probably early to mid teens. Monett's E&F Laundry Wagon.
	Herron Westbay Frisco Photo. Harry Westbay was the Frisco claims agent in Monett from 1906 to 1932. His oldest son Herron was fascinated by trains and, as an adult, worked for the engineering department of the New York Central for over 30 years. "Photo by Herron Westbay" is printed on the back of this postcard, which may have been sold at the Frisco depot. James Henry Turpin (1865-1945) is at right. He was Mary Turpin Jeffries' brother and a Frisco employee. The other man is unidentified. Undated, but around 1910.
	Frisco Engineer J. J. Kenney and son Bill. J. J. Kenney was a prominent Frisco engineer in Monett. He started with the railroad in Ft. Smith in 1885, came to Monett in 1897 and retired in 1935. His son Bill, an early boyfriend of Trink Jeffries, worked for the Frisco from 1915 to 1935, then succeeded Cecil Long, Trink's husband, as city clerk of Monett, a job Bill held for 18 years. These images are from undated postcards, but around 1910-1915.
	Monett Street Scene. Bill Kenney on an unidentified Monett street. This image is from an undated postcard. More Monett Street Scenes.
	Barry County Officers, Courthouse Steps, November 29, 1916. Leroy Jeffries, front row left, was Barry County Clerk from 1915 to 1922. Behind him are his clerks, Mabel Messer (backrow left) and his daughter, Letha Jeffries. The others are unknown. The date is written on the back of the photo.
	Future Bank Robber Mearl Turpin, About 1917. Mearl Turpin was Mary Turpin Jeffries' nephew. He received a serious head injury in World War I, which the family believed explained his later turn to crime. About 1920, he robbed a train in Kansas and spent 12 years in the federal prison at Leavenworth. Then, on July 17, 1937, he was shot to death by highway patrolmen near Marshfield, Missouri, after robbing a Springfield bank. Under a banner headline, the Springfield newspaper ran ghoulish photos of his body and the crowd staring at it in a Marshfield funeral home.
	Stock Certificate, Barry County Oil and Gas Company, 1921. Signed by R. O. Bodine as President and E. R. Perriman as Secretary.
	Wayne O'Banion, Mahutska Mining Co., 1923. Wayne O'Banion was born near Aurora, Missouri, March 20, 1898, and died in Springfield December 28, 1958. He married Letha Jeffries May 15, 1924, in Bentonville, Arkansas. He is shown here, at right, working for the Mahutska Mining Company in Picher, Oklahoma, in 1923. He later worked for the Railway Ice Company in Monett and managed the Jeffries garage.
	Ku Klux Klan, Monett, 1924 Membership Card. Wayne O'Banion's 1924 membership card in the KKK, with a pencil rubbing of the embossed seal. Reportedly, Letha Jeffries put an end to this. The membership wasn't renewed. More Wayne O'Banion.
	Leroy Jeffries' First Gas Station in Monett, 1923-29. After serving as Barry County Clerk, Jeffries returned to Monett in 1923 and built this gas station and garage on the northwest corner of Central Avenue and Main Street, the location of his third grocery store. He became a Sinclair dealer on May 1, 1924. The view here looks north up Central. When highway 37 was built in 1929, he built a new station on the highway.
	Jeffries at the Pumps of His First Station. Apart from its Jeffries connection, this building has an interesting history. On September 21, 1931, after Jeffries had moved his station, Monett night watchman E. L. Hagler was shot by burglars in the building, then the Hildreth garage. Hagler died October 21, 1931, and was the only Monett police officer ever killed in the line of duty.
	Jeffries' Second Gas Station in Monett, 1929-1960s. This station was located at the north end of the Burlington Northern overpass on highway 37, about 1/4 mile north of the junction of highways 37 and 60. It opened July 3, 1929, and remained a service station into the mid-1960s. The last member of the Jeffries family to run the station retired about 1963. This photo is around 1950.
	City of Monett Stationary, 1932-34. Monett's offical stationary for 1932-34 carried a full page promotion for Monett on the back, emphasizing Monett as a railroad division point and as a center for stock raising and the small fruit industry. It also added the racist comment that Monett had "6000 good citizens -- all white."
	City of Monett Stationary, 1932-34. The full promotional page.
	Ozark Fruit Growers Association, Monett. A strawberry crate label, undated.
	Leroy and Mary Jeffries at the Pumps of their Second Station, 1930s. The sign in the window advertises Junge's Bread.
	The Old Blue Buzzard, 1934. During the Depression, the National Recovery Administration ("NRA") sought to spread work around by ensuring "fair" competition. Businesses subject to its rules were supposed to display the NRA emblem, a blue eagle, on a placard in their window. Leroy Jeffries threw his away. When a government gumshoe demanded to know where it was, Leroy reportedly said, "Well, Mister, that old blue buzzard flew off to crap and just never came back." The Supreme Court eventually ruled the NRA unconstitutional. This NRA letter complained that Jeffries was giving exceptional service to certain truck lines in exchange for their business. The main firm involved was the Jones Truck Line out of Springdale, Arkansas.
	Cecil Long, 1937. Cecil Long (1901-1969) married Trink Jeffries March 20, 1929 in Monett. After working as a fireman on the Frisco railroad, he was Monett city clerk in the early 1930s, Barry County Recorder of Deeds from 1935 to 1950 and state representative from Barry County from 1951 to 1957. He is shown here in the Barry County courthouse as Recorder of Deeds with his deputies Blanche Snider and Ruth Sullivan. A note on the back identifies the deputies and says the photo was taken in 1937.
	Trink Long and Congressman Hall, About 1960. As the daughter and wife of public officer holders, Trink Jeffries Long was active in Republican politics for many years. Here she is second from right, standing beside Congressman Durward G. Hall in the center. Undated, but probably 1960. The others are unknown. Another 1960 Political Photograph.

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