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Note: William Bryant Kenner was the youngest of 15 children born to his parents Francis Kenner and Elizabeth (Pillars) Kenner. He was born on July 20, 1831 in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri. He never saw his father, who died on December 30, 1830, almost seven months before William was born. His mother Elizabeth died in 1847, when William was 16 years old. He apparently spent the rest of his youth in the household of of his older sister Lucinda and her husband John Beard. He was reported in the biography of his son-in-law William Gamel, to have received a fair education. In the biography of his brother Howsen, who was 2 years older than William, it was reported, "Howsen was educated in private schools and attended the same under a teacher hired by his mother and one of her neighbors. He attended one session at Lebanon, Illinois, and 2 years at a school in Ste. Genevieve County." Presumably William received a similar education. In his son-in-law's biography, William was reported to have gone to California in 1852. In Howsen's biography it was reported, "In 1852, he went to California to mine gold, and apparently returned with some thousands of dollars in gold in 1854. He traveled in a number of other states." Presumably they traveled together and William enjoyed similar financial success. After returning to Ste. Genevieve County, William married Mary Malinda Swink there on January 27, 1857. They reportedly lived on a large tract of land there, and presumably farmed. In about 1877, they relocated just north of what was to become the town of Festus, in Jefferson County, Missouri. They apparently moved there to be near to the families of Mary's sister Sallie Ann and her husband George McNutt, and her brother John Edwin Swink and his wife Mariah Louise Shackleford. Mary and William's home and main farm was on what was known as Kenner Hill, which is near to the north end of what is now North Mill Street. Reportedly they could see the Mississippi River from their home on the hill. Also reportedly, they had another piece or pieces of property, near to the Mississippi River, which they grew most of their wheat on. I believe that they purchased the major part of what became their property north of Festus, from Mary's brother John Edwin Swink, who owned and lived on an adjacent piece of property. Mary's sister Sarah (Swink) McNutt and her husband George also lived nearby and some of the land might have been purchased from them. George and Sarah McNutt had been living there in that area since their marriage in 1855 and John Edwin and Maria Louisa Swink had moved there in about 1872, after they moved back from California. From the records in Jefferson County, William was apparently initially involved in some kind of wheat threshing business with a man named Eshbaugh. He was also a farmer, growing wheat himself, as well as corn. By all accounts, he was a fairly prominent citizen, and he was fairly successful. It is hard to tell how much property he owned, because he is not listed in the 1876 atlas and he is listed in the 1898 atlas with about 120 acres. It seems likely that he must have owned more property between these two years. From newspaper accounts and later historical accounts, the Kenners were known far and wide for their hospitality, generosity and kindness. From the reports of two of his grandsons, Dick and Harry Waggener, I know a lot of personal stuff about the last 10-15 years of William’s life. Dick and Harry’s family, that of William’s daughter Annie and her husband Jesse Waggener, lived with them on and off during this period, and then lived very close to them on Kenner Hill, after William and Mary gave them an acre of land there to build a house. Even when they weren’t living with or near them, during the summer, some of the kids would spend the summer living with them. By this point I believe that William’s sons Thomas and George were running the family business. This included the wheat farm and a rock quarry on the side of Kenner Hill. I know that they had a big garden, and they raised cows for milk, cattle, chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs. They would can lots of the vegetables, smoke the hams and bacon, and make their own sausage. I know that William was quite a hunter and fisherman. Both Dick and Harry substantiated the stories of the hospitality and generosity of William and Mary. He was apparently known to everyone as Uncle Bill. Harry said that when they set the table for dinner, they would set it for a full house, because people would often show up unexpectedly and be welcomed, and they would often stay with them for days or weeks. William and Mary were founding members of the Christian Church in Festus. Besides donating materials and helping build the church, he would bring preachers to preach, and often do the preaching himself. Both Dick and Harry felt that William was a very religious man who lived life as he preached it. William died on March 18, 1912, apparently in their home, and his wife Mary died five years later on May 16, 1919. They are buried in the Methodist Cemetery, also known as the Gamel Cemetery, in Festus. Rick Waggener ============== From "Biographies of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford and Gasconade Counties, Missouri , Heritage Books,1995" (Courtesy of Christine Merseal): In a biography about William A. Gamel, husband of William and Mary's daughter Emma (pgs. 893-894), the following reference is made: "....Miss Emma Kenner, daughter of William B. and Mary Kenner, formerly of Ste. Genevieve County, where Mrs. Gamel (Emma) was born. Her father (William B. Kenner) was also a native of Ste. Genevieve County, born 1831. He received a fair education, and in 1852 went to California, where he spent three years. He married, in 1857, a daughter of William and Eliza Sevink (Swink), formerly of Tenn. Mr. Kenner lived in Ste. Genevieve, where he has a large tract of land, until 1877, at which date he came to Jefferson County, and settle near Festus. His parents, Francis and Elizabeth (Pillars) Kenner, were natives of Hawkins County, Tenn. and Kaskaskia, Ill,. respectively. The father was a wealthy citizen and a great sportsman. He came to Missouri when it was Louisiana Territory..." ============= From the 1850 Federal Census of Beauvais Township, Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, page 235, taken September 23, 1850, household #448; from ancestry.com, image #62 of 116. William is living in the household of his brother-in-law John Beard and his older sister Lucinda Beard: William Kenner; age- 18, male, occupation- none, born- Missouri ============= From Marriage Records of Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, sent to my by Lisa Buese: William B. Kenner and Mary Swink, 27 Jan 1857, by James Cleveland, minister. ============= From the 1860 Federal Census of Beauvais Township, Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, page 334, taken September 6, 1860, New Boeman Post Office, household #1140; from ancestry.com, image 10 of 24: William Kenner; age- 29, male, occupation- farmer, real estate- $2,500, personal property- $1,000, born- Missouri Mary " ; age- 24, female, born- Missouri Ida " ; age- 2, female, born- Missouri Sally " ; age- 1, female, born- Missouri (William is living near to his older siblings John H. Kenner, Mary A. Varner, and Housen Kenner. -RW) ============== From the 1870 Federal Census of Beauvais township, Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, page 498, taken July 8, 1870, household #104; from ancestry.com, image #16 of 218: Kneier, William; age- 39, male, occupation- farmer, real estate- $4,000, personal property- $600, born- Missouri ------ Mary; age- 30, female, occupation- house keep., born- Missouri ----- Ida; age- 12, female, born- Missouri ----- Emma; age- 9, female, born- Missouri ----- Annie; age- 9, female, born- Missouri ----- William; age- 7, male, born- Missouri ----- Thomas; age- 1, male, born- Missouri ----- George; age- 4/12, male, born- Missouri (The spelling is a little strange, but this is clearly William, Mary, and family.- RW) ============= From "The Jefferson Democrat" newspaper of Hillsboro, Jefferson, Missouri; sent to me courtesy of Charlotte Maness: ****** FRIDAY, 3 AUGUST 1877 - THE WHEAT CROP - Report of Wheat threshed by W.B. KENNER, up to July 29th: Included: J.E. SWINK, 180; ****** FRIDAY, 17 AUGUST 1877 - THE WHEAT CROP - W.B. KENNER's report for week ending August 4th, is as follows: Balance of T.H. GAINES' crop, 97 bushels; A. O'HARA, 10 acres, 112 bushels; J.T. MEDLEY, 7 acres, 70 bushel; A. DEGEARRE, 7 acres, 50 bushels; Stephen MARLEY, 6 acres 40 bushel; C.F. LEE, 17 acres, 312 bushel; W.F. ARNOLD, 10 acres, 90 bushel, also, 60 bushels oats; M.D. McKEE, 135 of wheat and 35 oats. ****** FRIDAY, 17 AUGUST 1877 - THE WHEAT CROP - W.B. KENNER reports for week ending August 12th, as follows: R. MORGAN, 13 acres, 229 bushels; J.T. BURGESS, 10 acres, 120 bu.; B. OGLE, 8 acres, 72 bu.; Ed. KELLER, 10 acres, 100 bu.; F. PRICE, 8 acres, 107 1/2 bu.; and part of H. MORTON's crop, 79 1/2 bu. wheat. ****** FRIDAY, 1 AUGUST 1879 - The following is the amount of grain threshed by KENNER & ESHBAUGH, to July 20th.-- Wheat Oats Wm. KENNER 408 ****** FRIDAY, 16 JANUARY 1880 - We tried hard to get a statement from machine men, of the wheat threshed by them during the past season in this county, but several of them have failed to send in statements. The following are the reports received, showing an aggregate of 181,077 bushels This, judging from the territory not heard from, is not more than five-sevenths of last year's wheat crop of the county. WHITE & bro, 6,092; RASH & Co., 5,102; PRITCHETT & MOTHERSHEAD, 3,772; KENNER & ESHBAUGH, 4,986 (Philip Swink, brother to William's wife Mary, was married to an Eshbaugh in nearby Ste. Genevieve County. RW) ============ From the 1880 Federal Census of Joachim Township, Jefferson County, Missouri, district 192, page 27/ 73C, taken June 18, 1880, household #244; from ancestry.com, image 27 of 60: Kenner, William; male, age- 48, head of household, married, occupation- farmer, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri ------ Mary; female, female, age- 44, wife, married, occupation- keeps house, born- Missouri, father born- Virginia, mother born- Tennessee ------ Annie; female, age- 19, daughter, at home, in school, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri ------ William; male, age- 17, son, occupation- farmer, in school, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri ------ Thomas; male, age- 11, son, occupation- farmer, in school, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri ------ George; male, age- 10, son, in school, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri ------ Genevere; female, age- 2, daughter, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri Swink, William; male, age- 69, father-in-law, married, occupation- farmer, born- Virginia, parents born- Virginia Swink, Eliza; female, age- 72, mother-in-law, married, at home, born- Tennessee, father born- Virginia, mother born- North Carolina Varner, Walter; male, age- 40, boarder, occupation- blacksmith, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri Ruse, Jacob; male, age- 34, boarder, occupation- carpenter, born- Indiana, parents born- Germany Daniels, Henry; male, age- 25, boarder, occupation- farmer, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri (William and Mary are listed two households from the household of Mary's brother, John Edwin Swink, in household #242. -RW) =============== From "History of Jefferson County, Missouri and Festus, Missouri" by Howard C. Litton; Festus, Missouri; Second Edition, May 1987: ****** On pages 45-46, there is a story titled, "Kenner Hospitality Notable in Early History of Festus." This seems to have been written as part of a series of stories written in 1937, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the City of Festus, Missouri. There is no specific dates in the story, but it seems to be about the 1880's and 1890's. The story is about some of the early families in Festus, and describes how the Kenners were a haven for wayfarers and for their hospitality. The census record above, with so many people in the household in 1880, seems to support this: "...The Briertons, the Arnibrusters, the Kerruishes, the Waggeners, the Brickeys, the Millers, the Donnells, and many other names still prominent in the roll call of persons of importance today, appeared then also among the persons who started the wheels of industries in the town. Although there are dozens of other families that could be enumerated as of true importance then, it was unusual to notice how many of the persons interviewed mentioned with affection the name of Kenner as the family that best demonstrated real old fashioned hospitality in this section. The Kenner farm, where the Kenner Hill settlement is now, was a perfect haven for wayfarers. Everybody who traveled through the country in those days stopped at the Kenner home and nobody was ever turned away. Incidentally, the Kenners were always informed on affairs of the state because they came in contact with more out-of-towners than anybody else. " ============== More from "The Jefferson Democrat" newspaper of Hillsboro, Jefferson, Missouri; sent to me courtesy of Charlotte Maness: ****** FRIDAY, 1 APRIL 1881 - CRYSTAL CITY ITEMS - by "T" - Crystal City, March 30, 1881 - Infant child of Mr. and Mrs. KENER(?) died on the 28th, aged about one month. (When there is (?) there was a problem with reading the copy and a question in my mind as to what was written there- CM.) (I'm not at all sure that this is about William and Mary, but it seems quite possible. Mary would have been 45 years old at the time.) ****** FRIDAY, 10 MARCH 1882 - COUNTY COURT - March 6th, 1882 - On petition of W.B. KENNER and others, the road commissioners was order to survey a road from a point on the St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve road a little more than 1/4 mile northwest of KENNER's thence southeast to KENNER's, thence on line between lands of KENNER and WARNE and WARNE and MOORE, thence on a line of W.H FOSTER's land, thence in a southeasterly direction to intersect the old road, again at what is known as the HORNE place. ****** FRIDAY, 5 MAY 1882 - COUNTY COURT - May 1, 1882 - Report of survey and location of road from near W.B. KENNER's to HORINE place, filed and approved, and continued for report of jurors appointed to assess damages. thos. HARRISON, J.B. DOVER and J. JENNI appointed as such jurors. ****** FRIDAY, 29 DECEMBER 1882 - Our new subscribers for the past week are; W.E. KENNER, S.E. HAWKINS, Robert STEWART. ****** FRIDAY, 29 DECEMBER 1882 - W.E. KENNER threshed three of four crops of wheat, the past season, aggregating about 1600 bushels. (I'm pretty sure that this "W.E." is a typo, and that these two stories are about this William.) ****** FRIDAY, 12 JANUARY 1883 - W.B. KENNER says he raised, the past season 500 bushels of corn on five acres of ground, the corn measured in the wagon bed, when gathered. ****** FRIDAY, 9 FEBRUARY 1883 - COUNTY COURT - Petition was presented by W.B. KENNER and others, for a new county road, from a point at the Ste. GENEVIEVE road one-fourth mile west of said KENNER, to intersect the old public road at the old HORINE place; John KERSUSH and others presented a remonstrance and the matter was continued over to Wednesday. ****** FRIDAY, 17 FEBRUARY 1883 - COUNTY COURT - In the matter of petition for road from a point on Old Ste Genevieve road, near W.R. KENNER's residence; thence on line between KENNER and WARNE and WARNE and MOORE, and over lands of W.A. FOSTER, Nancy GAMEL, John KERRUSH and others, to intersect an old road at what is known as the Old HORINE Place, the road commissioner was ordered to survey the route and make report to next term. ****** WEDNESDAY, 14 MARCH 1883 - COUNTY COURT - The following were drawn to serve as jurymen at the next term of Circuit court: - Grand Jurors, J.T. MOSS, F.J. ADAMS, Michael O'HARA, Jr., Elbert OGLE, S.T. WAGGENER, T.G. BRENT, Henry KOHR, Lee KUSLER(?), A.J. CREAN, Alfred STEWART, T.J. DONNELL, John C. CAPE: Petit jurors - Leander WILLIAMS, Milton BAKER, Austin FRAZIER, N.W. WELCH, W.G. MANION, S.S. WILEY, W.F. DONNELL, C.G. WARNE, W.B. KENNER, C.T. JARVIS, Frank WAGGENER ****** WEDNESDAY, 9 MAY 1883 - COUNTY COURT - Court met Monday with a full bench, and was in session at the time we went to press. - Report of road commissioner on survey of road from a point on St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve road, near W.B. KENNER's, to old HORINE place, was approved and commissioners appointed assess damages. ****** WEDNESDAY, 16 MAY 1883 - COUNTY COURT - The road commissioner was ordered to survey a new road between W.J. HARRISON's field and Joachim creek, in place of roadway which caved in and washed away, and W.J. JEWETT, W.B. KENNER and C.F. LEE were appointed to accompany him and assess damages that may accrue to lands. ****** WEDNESDAY, 6 JUNE 1883 - COUNTY COURT - The following business was transacted by the County court on last Monday. - Personal property assessment of W.B. KENNER for 1833, which had been omitted, was placed on the books. ****** WEDNESDAY, 16 APRIL 1884 - PROCEEDINGS of the Board of Equalization - At the annual meeting of the County Board of Equalization of Jefferson County, Missouri, which met, according to law, at Hillsboro, on the 7th day of April, 1884, the valuation by the Assessor of said county placed upon the following .c.list of lands and town lots;, was raised by said Board, in addition to the 5 per cent, raised by the State, as follows, to-wit: Owner's name From To W.B. KENNER 600 1000 J.H. WAGGENER 60 120 ****** WEDNESDAY, 9 JULY 1884 - CENTRAL COMMITTEE - The Democratic county central committee met last Saturday. Present - R.W. McMULLIN, H. HOHENTHAL, James A. ACKELY and Leroy DOVER. Proxies were presented by J.F. GREEN for J. SALE, J.H. WAGGENER, for John N. CONN and T.B. MOSS for Dr. SPAULDING, all of whom were admitted. The following are the places designated for opening polls, and persons appointed as judges and clerks: Limitville - A.F. SHEARLOCK, W.B. KENNER and J.M. BAILEY. ****** WEDNESDAY, 5 AUGUST 1885 - CRYSTAL and LIMITVILLE - Quite a number of our citizens went to Ste. Genevieve on the 21st, to take in the Centennial there. The steamer, Will S. HAYEs, was crowded to overflowing when she reached here. The number of passengers from St. Louis were variously estimated at from 900 to 1100. Among the excursionists from here I noticed Henry McCLANAHAN and family, S. JEWETT and family, Mrs. SEYSSLER, Mrs. SINGER and Messrs. Wm. PARK, Wm. TERRY, Nels. CONWAY, W. KENNER, J.V. HAEFNER, your humble servant and a host of others. July 24, 1885. FESTUS. ****** WEDNESDAY, 27 OCTOBER 1886 - Wm. KENNER killed three deer last Friday, near Rush Tower. ****** WEDNESDAY, 11 MAY 1887 - COUNTY COURT; - A new road was petitioned for from a point on county road in section 32, township 41, range 6 east, near southeast corner of Wm. HOLDINGHAUSEN's land, thence to northwest corner of George BENNETT's land, thence to near southeast corner of land of Robert STEWART, thence to northeast corer of Wm. KENNER's land in survey 160, thence in southern direction on line between Stephen HUG and KENNER to southeast corner or Robert MOORE's land, thence to street east of Presbyterian church in Festus, thence along said street to intersect public road from BALLEY's to Crystal City. ****** WEDNESDAY, 4 APRIL 1888 - COUNTY COURT - County court was in session, Monday and transacted the following business; - Jurors were drawn for next term of Circuit court as follows: Grand Juror - .... Frank WAGGENER, Jas. ROBINSON, W.A. WHITEHEAD, J.R. BERRY, W.B. KENNER ============ From the "Hallemann's Interpretation of 1898 Standard Atlas of Jefferson County, Misouri," compiled and edited by Dave Hallemann, 1995: ***** There are 3 parcels of land listed in the Land Owners section, which I believe belonged to William Bryant Kenner. One of them is listed as "Kenner, W.B." and the other two are listed as "Kenner, W.E.," which I assume is a typo error. All three parcels are in township 40, range 6 east, section 6. I believe these are very close to the City of Festus. The parcels are 41 acres, 62.85 acres, and 22.25 acres respectively. The last two parcels are listed as having a railroad running through them. It was reported that the town of Festus was established on the Crystal City Railroad in about 1878, so presumably this is the same railroad that ran through William's property. The fact that these parcels are listed separately would seem to indicate that they are not connected to each other. ============ From the 1900 Federal Census of Joachim Township, Jefferson County, Missouri, district 53, sheet 18B, taken June 13, 1900, household 359; from ancestry.com, image 36 of 54: Kenner, William; head of household, male, born- July 1831, age- 68, married 42 years, born- Missouri, parents born- Tennessee, occupation- farmer, r/w's, owns home free of mortgage, home is a farm ------ Mary; wife, female, born- March 1836, age- 64, married 42 years, mother of 9 children/ 7 children living, born- Missouri, parents born- Tennessee, r/w's ------ George; son, male, born- March 1870, age- 30, single, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri, occupation- farm laborer, r/w's ------ Kathie; daughter, female, born- October 1877, age- 22, single, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri, r/w's Scherlock, Grace; granddaughter, female, born- May 1895, age- 5, single, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri ============ In the early 1970's, William's grandson, James Richard Waggener, did some writing about his early life. Here is an excerpt from those writings, in which he talks about his grandparents and their home on Kenner's Hill: "... My grandparents, my mother’s parents, lived just a little ways from us, on Kenner’s Hill. They called my grandfather Uncle Bill Kenner. My uncles also lived there (Thomas and George Kenner) and we worked that farm for a while. I helped him a lot. My grandparents had cows, and always a good garden in the summer. They would can enough stuff to eat all winter, so it didn’t cost too much to live. We milked the cows for our milk, which in those days wasn’t pasteurized. We had all kinds of poultry, chickens, ducks and geese. We had hogs which we would kill to make our own sausage. Also, we had a smoke house, and we would go out and get hickory and we smoked our own hams and bacon. We had a spring cellar where we cooled the milk. We cut the wood for the heating stove, as that was the only kind of heat we had. We had a pasture for the cattle, and when I was younger, it was my job to go down and get the cows, then milk them. That was the old fashioned farm house. Everyone was happy and hardly ever sick, and we had good neighbors, where everyone helped one another. At haying time, everyone helped one another. We had saddle horses to ride, two buggy horses, and then they had one regular team that did all the work. That was the plowing and everything, as this was a real farm. My two uncles did all the work, and my grandfather just went hunting, fishing and doctoring horses. I got to go with him a lot of the time, and as I look back, it was a lot of fun. My grandfather was quite a hunter. You could hunt almost anything in those days, squirrels, rabbits, almost anything. We use to stay overnight sometimes, and bring home a few squirrels. They were good to eat. He took me along to climb the trees. There was usually a hole that the squirrels ran into. You needed a good hunting dog too, a good squirrel dog who wouldn’t chase rabbits or anything else, just squirrels. We didn’t have one, but there was a place we could borrow one. When the squirrel went into the hole, I would climb a tree. We had some dynamite fuses there with us and you would light them, poke them in the hole, and out would come the squirrel. My grandfather would shoot them and that was how we got them. He was quite a guy and we all loved him, and he was so much fun. As old as he was, he came to visit us quite often and he would always cheer everyone up. He was quite a guy. My grandmother was a terrific woman too. She did mostly crocheting and read her Bible and supervised us kids. We had other kids that used to come down sometimes. Their dad had died and we used to keep them. Sometimes there would be six or eight children around, and it was a lot of fun. My grandfather was what I would call a really religious man. He was the head of the Christian Church in Festus. We built that church while I was there, and put new pews in it. It was a small church and it was still down there, the last time I was there. We went to Sunday School there every Sunday. My grandfather was the head of that church and he got all the preachers and all. If there wasn’t a preacher there, he would conduct his own services, and he was pretty good at it too. He had a voice deep down, which was easy to understand, and he did the praying and the singing. My grandmother was just as religious as my grandfather was. They were what I would call real Christians. My grandfather was good at praying. He had one prayer for every day of the week. He had one that I especially remember, and copied down. I have never heard anything like it since, and here it is: Almighty God, we humbly bow our heads, in reverence to thy Holy Name. We ask that Thou will bless this food, and the people seated at this table. Bless those who could not get here, through no fault of their own. Bless all the people in the city, and those in the cities throughout the world. Be with them, bless and comfort the sick, the lame and the lost, wherever they may be. And finally oh God, when age has slowed down our steps and weakened our bodies, we humbly beseech Thee to gently guide our faltering steps down the straight and narrow path that leads to our Heavenly Home. Amen. I have always had a good Christian background, and still consider myself a Christian. I believe in the Supreme Being and I have a Bible that my mother gave me about 40 years ago. I still read it a lot and have some favorite passages. My Bible is a King James Version and my favorite verse is, “He went about doing good,” referring to Christ when he was on earth. Most of us try to do that, especially my wife and my mother, before her. There was another verse in the Bible I always liked, which I had learned in Sunday School. It is from I Thessalonians, 5:22, and it says, “Abstain from all appearances of evil.” I never did boast about being a Christian, but I have tried to live like one. My grandpa Kenner was quite a Bible student. He could quote any part of the Bible, and that was the way he lived. Of course the Golden Rule was something he lived by, as do a lot of other people. I joined that church, the Christian Church of Festus, when I was age 12. It’s a little stone church, that’s still there. I saw it a few years ago and I am still a member, on the church’s books. My grandfather always ‘went about doing good’ and he taught his kids to do the same, as well as his grandchildren. We all listened to him. He lived on that farm on Kenner’s Hill and everybody in the whole county knew him, and he knew them. Anytime anyone needed a favor, he was always there for them. He was also a good horse doctor and whenever anyone had a sick horse, they came over and got him. This was before most folks had cars, and horses were very important. I often went with him when he made his horse doctor house calls. Sometimes during the summer, when we were living in Indiana, three or four of us kids would spend the summer there with our grandparents. Grandpa always liked to have somebody with him and I went a lot. He enjoyed it a lot too, and I learned a lot about horses. They also had a rock quarry and they sold rock. Anytime somebody needed rock, like for building a store or something like that, they would get it from my grandpa’s rock quarry on the hill. They quarried the rocks out, dug holes, and my two uncles and I helped too. I was young and didn’t do any real heavy work. Sometimes we dug holes with a chisel and a sledge hammer, and sometimes they had a man who used dynamite to blow the rocks out. Then we had to make them smaller, so that we could load them on the horse wagon and haul them down the hill into town. We did a lot of work for a load of rock..." ============ From the Jefferson County, Missouri; Official Directory- 1907; Edited by Dave Hallemann; reprinted by Jefferson County Historical Society: ****** Listed in Festus; "Kenner, W. B., farmer, r. near Festus, p. o. Festus" ============ From the 1910 Federal Census of Joachim Township, Jefferson County, Missouri, district 32, sheet 11B, page 98, taken May 4, 1910, household 5; from ancestry.com, image 42 of 66: Kenner, W. B.; head of household, male, age- 76, married 53 years, born- Missouri, father born- Tennessee, mother born- Illinois, occupation- farmer, r/w's ------ Mary; wife, female, age- 74, married 53 years, mother of 8 children/ 7 children living, born- Missouri, father born- Pennsylvania, mother born- Virginia, occupation- none, r/w's ------ Thomas; son, male, age- 40, single, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri, occupation- farmer, r/w's ------ George; son, male, age- 39, single, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri, occupation- farmer, r/w's Baker, Kate; daughter, female, age- 33, married 2 years, mother of 1 child/ 1 child living, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri, occupation- none, r/w's ------ Charles; son-in-law, male, age- 36, married 2 years, born- Pennsylvania, parents born- Pennsylvania, occupation- Painter/ house, r/w's ------ Mary; niece, female, age- 5, born- Missouri, father born- Pennsylvania, mother born- Missouri Merriwither, Chris; servant, male, age- 18, single, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri, occupation- none Swink, Philip; Boarder, male, age- 64, widowed, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri, occupation- farmer, r/w's ------ Philip Jr.; Boarder, male, age- 15, single, born- Missouri, parents born- Missouri, occupation- none (Philip Swink is Mary's youngest brother, and Junior is his son.- RW) ============= I found William's death certificate posted on-line by the State of Missouri: Missouri State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics District 421; File #9799 Place of death: Joachim Township, Jefferson County Full name: William Bryant Kenner Sex: male Color: white Marital status: married Date of birth: July 20, 1831 Age: 80 years, 7 mos., 27 dys. Occupation: farmer Birthplace: Ste. Genevieve Name of father: Francis M. Kenner Birthplace: Tennessee Maiden name of mother: Elizabeth Pillars Birthplace: Tennessee Informant: George E. Kenner Address: Festus, Mo. Date of death: March 18, 1912 Cause of death: Influenza Contributory: Bronchial Asthma Place of burial: Festus, Mo. Date of burial: March 28, 1912 ============= I have obtained a copy of the probate file for William, from Jefferson County. It contains 21 pages, starting with his will, dated October 5, 1903 and probated April 12, 1912: In the name of God amen. I, William B. Kenner, of Joachin Township in the County of Jefferson and state of Missouri, being of sound mind, memory and understanding, declare this to be my last will and Testament. First, it is my last will that my just debts and all charges be paid out of my estate as well as all of my funeral expenses. 2. I give, devise and bequeath to my beloved wife Mary M. Kenner all the residue of my estate, both real and personal, to her during her life time and after her death to be divided among her children as follows: 3. To our beloved daughters, Ida J. Shearlock, now of the city of St. Louis, Annie E. Waggener, now of the City of Ellenwood, in the state of Indiana, Emma M. Gamel, now of the city of Festus, in the state of Missouri, Genevieve Baker, now of Valle Park, in County of St. Louis, in the state of Missouri and to our beloved sons Thomas Kenner of Ellewood, in the state of Indiana, George E. Kenner, now of the city of Festus, in the state of Missouri, each, the individual one sixth out of the same, less one dollar, which shall go to our beloved son William S. Kenner, now of Madison, in the state of Illinois, this with the amount already paid to him being his full and equitable share of above estate. 4. I appoint my wife, the said Mary M. Kenner and make her the sole executrix of this, my first and only wife and testament. To serve without bond. In witness whereof, I William B. Kenner, have hereunto subscribe my name, of the City of Festus, in the County of Jefferson and State of Missouri, this 5th day of October 1903. William B. Kenner Seal Subscribed by the testament in the Presence of each of us, and at the same time declared by him to us to be his last will and testament, this the 5th day of October, 1903. J. H. Waggener A. C. Arnold ---------------------------- There is a document dated April 2, 1912, several weeks after William died, where a W.H. Pilliard and P.S. Terry testify that they knew James Henry Waggener, one of the witnesses of the will, and they recognize his handwriting. Apparently James H. Waggener had died, just before this because I know he died in 1912. Also, apparently the other witness, A. C. Arnold, had moved and no one knew his whereabouts. They accepted J.H. Waggener's signature as legitimate and the will was admitted to probate the same day. ---------------------------- In an inventory of the real and personal property of William, dated April 3, 1912, there is a long list of items, including four horses, five cows, one bull, two farm wagons, 20 hogs, poultry, one mower, one lot of blacksmith tools, and three parcels of land; 20 acres, 55 acres and 40 acres. ============== William is buried with his wife Mary in the Festus Methodist Cemetery, AKA the Gamel Cemetery, (off Lee Ave. in Festus near Highway A and Interstate 55). Their headstone reads: William B. Kenner 1831- 1912 Mary 1836- 1919 =============== From an interview with Harry David Waggener (b. 1900 d. 1990) and his wife Elsie Gregg by Phil and Elaine Waggener, made in August of 1979. Here are some excerpts that talk about the Kenner family. Harry was the son of Annie Kenner and her husband Jesse Waggener, and grandson of William Bryant and Mary Malinda Kenner. The transcript of the entire interview are in the notes for Harry: Harry: Kenner was my mother's maiden name. They lived on a hill called Kenner’s Hill. They were very respected in the community, and they were one of the first settlers in that area…. Phil: Near Festus? Harry: Just above Festus. In fact, when my mother and father and all of us kids moved there, Grandpa Kenner gave us an acre of land. My dad borrowed three thousand dollars from the Citizens Bank there and he built a house. It was up on a hill overlooking the Mississippi River. It was just down a little ways from the Kenner's house. They were on top of the hill and we were down the hill just a little ways. This was the only house in that area. All that area was subdivided into lots later on. The Kenner family were pioneers in that area. When I was a boy I used to go up there and milk cows and they would give us a can of milk. I would carry the milk home. Before we got our house built we lived with them. Aunt Kate was there. She had been divorced from her husband named Charlie (Baker). She had a daughter named Mary, and Mary and I played a lot together. We were the only two kids around there. We practically lived between the two places, the Kenners and our home… One Saturday night the church caught fire and burned down. My mother, the Kenners, and some other people around there who were pioneers in that church built a new church. My mother was very instrumental. They built it out of cement blocks. It was the first block building in that area. That church is still standing there. She was very proud of that. They had a furnace in there that seldom worked. We went to church then. We went to Sunday school and stayed for church and went back at night… When we were living with the Kenners they had an old Negro. His name was Avis. He had been a slave, and his last name was Swink. He could play the violin. He would have nightmares...(inaudible). Also living at the Kenners were Uncle George and Uncle Tom. Neither one of them was married. They ran the farm. That farm didn't produce enough to make a living and they rented a farm out on the Mississippi River, on that good Mississippi bottom land and they raised good wheat there. They could get a hundred bushel of wheat to the acre… What I started to tell you about was this farm they rented on the river. They had dairy cows. They finally gave up that farm and had an auction sale, but they couldn't sell the cows-nobody wanted them-so they moved the cows up to the Kenner farm. I used to stay up there, and we would get up at 3 in the morning to milk 12 cows before breakfast… Phil: What else did they grow? Corn? Harry: Yes, they grew corn, and hay for the cattle. The wheat they would load on boxcars. At that time, you know, they didn't have combines. We had a wheat binder, pulled by four horses, and one of my jobs was to run it. I would sit on one horse. They would cut the wheat down, and this thing would put it out into bundles. They would shock it up, and then they would bring in a thresher run by a steam engine. That was always a big time on the farm. The women would have a lot of chicken and they would cook the meals, and the neighbors would come to help them thresh the wheat.. My mother's twin sister, Em (Emma). She lived in DeSoto and of course they would visit back and forth. One day I was going off to school and I had to go by Kenners’ house and down the road. My granddad was going along there in a buggy on his way to DeSoto and he said “boy, I think I'll take you with me.” And so instead of going to school that day I got into that buggy and went to DeSoto. It took a couple of hours... Em married a man named Gambel. They had a big farm. They raised lots of chickens and when we went there we always had a lot to eat. But they never had beefsteak. I remember that they always had shredded wheat. I loved that shredded wheat when they had whipped cream on it. It was a real treat... You remember the silica sand I told you about? It was all around the Kenner home too. A guy by the name of (inaudible) was mining it. He built a cable system with buckets to take the sand down the hill and dump it into carts. It had a steam engine. I used to work for him-I was just a kid. He had a team of mules that I used to drive for a dollar and a half a day. I tried to fire the boiler on the steam engine too… Phil: Why did the Kenners leave the farm? Harry: They (his grandparents William Bryant and Mary Louise Kenner) never did leave the farm. They died there. Then it was sold. But shortly after it was sold, the house burned down. Part of it was a log house, and it had a big porch all around it. In fact it was two houses. When they set the table at that house they would set the whole table. They never knew who was coming to eat there, or how long they would stay. People would drive up there in a horse and buggy and they might stay a week.”
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