Cedar County historical publications make great Christmas gifts

By Connie Maupin

The Cedar County Historical Society met at the Cedar County Museum in Stockton on Monday, November 24, 2025. Those present were: President Judy Nichols, Secretary Connie Maupin, Treasurer Sheila Griggs, Anna Hopkins, Ellis Benham, Bob Phillips, Chris Barber and Judi Cain. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

The new format for the October society newsletter has gone out. There have been a few people indicating preference for the old 1970’s minutes to be continued in the new format.

The society is still awaiting blueprints or written plans from the American Legion Post in Stockton, required before donating any of the old 1888 jail stones for their new facility grounds.

Society publication inventory will be taken sometime after January 1, 2026. Member Frank Stranimier has volunteered to assist.

Sheila Griggs is working on an inventory of the research library and adding organization to the chaos. She is adding dividers to identify sections. So far there are fourteen sections.

Sheila also has found that the Lindley Prairie Cemetery Book that she has is lacking sections and an index. Not all books are missing these pages, only the original 1994 issue. However, it does need to be updated. Susie Bolen, Pat Neal and Alicia Chism are volunteering their time to make a complete record of burials and update their book. Sheila will stay in touch with them.

John Beydler has gathered information on the Beydler family and compiled a 38 page essay. He has kindly agreed to donate a copy to the museum research library.

Retired U. S. Army, Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Akins sent a letter describing the wooden emblem that accompanies the Minute Man I missile display that he donated to the museum. Judy will have it framed to display next to the emblem.

A student, Ryeder Dunagan, is an editor for the Stockton Middle School News. He has requested information for his monthly historical article about the original ownership of land for the current schools, baseball fields and football field in Stockton. Judy is assisting him with the information.

Judy is searching for the burial location of William Louis Longstreet, 1897; possibly buried in Zion Cemetery near Jerico Springs. There is no cemetery stone recorded for him in Cedar County.

Please Note: Judy’s Facebook Messenger no longer works correctly. No update or fix can be found, so please message the society by using the society e-mail cedarcomohistsoc@gmail.com from now on. It was noted that Facebook Messenger will be discontinued for “desktop users” in mid-December. There may be a fix in the works for the desktop application, but it is not available yet. The mobile-app on cell phones and tablets will still be functioning. It is best to conduct business with the society by using e-mail, rather than Facebook.

The museum fire extinguishers are due to be checked soon. Judy has volunteered to take them to Kenco Fire Equipment in Springfield to have them checked, filled and certified.

Judy’s family is encouraging her to turn her old newspaper stories, “Between Arnica and Bugtussle,” into a book. Her stories were written from July, 2009 until July, 2024 when the final “Humansville Star Leader” newspaper was printed. The newspaper was bought-out by a large conglomerate and was discontinued. Judy is still trying to figure-out how to find the time to compile them into a book.

Bob Phillips spoke about the current Ken Burns television program with reference to the Revolutionary War and the “Over-mountain Men” of which some of his family were members. They were American frontiersman from west of the Appalachian Mountains who fought for the Patriots during the Revolutionary War. He indicated that this group was responsible for the forced removal of most the Cherokee Indians out of Tennessee and the killing of many Tories in the battle of King’s Mountain. Thomas Jarnagan and George Russell were some of his relatives.

Winter hours have gone into effect. The museum will be closed December to April except during meetings. The next meeting will be Jan. 26, 2026 at 1 p.m. and the museum will be open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. Cancellations due to weather will be sent via e-mail and Facebook.

CCHS Cedar County historical publications make great Christmas gifts. Contact the society or see Facebook for a list and prices.

The Cedar County Museum and Research Library are located at 106 Davis St., Stockton, MO. Visiting the museum is free. For information, appointments or to purchase publications call: 417-276-1142, email at cedarcomohistsoc@gmail.com, on Facebook at “Cedar County Mo Historical Society” or by mail at P.O. Box 111, Stockton, Mo 65785.