M. T. PUMPHREY, FORMER MERCHANT OF MOODY, DIES

Was Father of Mrs. Garrett McBride of West Plains, and M.T. “Pat” Pumphrey of Kirksville. Funeral at Moody Today
(From Monday’s Daily Quill)

Meredith Thomas Pumphrey, 72 years old, for many years a prominent resident of Moody, in the southern part of Howell county, died at his home in Moody at 10 o’clock Sunday morning, following a short illness due to pneumonia, complicated by heart disease.

Mr. Pumphrey was the father of Mrs. Garrett McBride of West Plains, and also of M.T. “Pat” Pumphrey, formerly manager of the ready-to-wear department of the Langston-Pease Mercantile Company in West Plains. He became ill last Monday morning with an attack of pneumonia, and although the pneumonia attack was very light, the heart trouble made his condition critical from the first.

Mr. Pumphrey had been a resident of Moody for twenty-nine years, having been engaged in the mercantile business there for several years. He was born and reared in Ozark county, where he was successfully engaged in farming for many years. He was known to a host of friends in both Howell and Ozark counties.

He had been a member of the Christian church practically all of his life, and was prominently identified with the work of the church in Moody.

While living in Ozark county, Mr. Pumphrey was married to Miss Susan Ella McCandless, a young woman who had come to this section from Indiana. Mrs. Pumphrey survives him, as do also five sons and three daughters, who are Oliver Pumphrey of Wichita, Kans., Clyde F. Pumphrey of Tonkawa, Okla., E. M. Pumphrey, formerly of West Plains, but now of Kirksville, Mo., Ernest Pumphrey of Pasa Robles, Calif., Roy Pumphrey of Boise City, Ida., Mrs. Otto L. Wright of Moody, Mrs. Earl Johnson of Ponca City, Okla., and Mrs. Garrett McBride of West Plains. Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. McBride, and Clyde Pumphrey, with other relatives, were with Mrs. Pumphrey at his bedside at the time of his death. E. M. Pumphrey arrived last night.

Three half brothers, James, Jarrett, and Dell Pumphrey, all of Lead Hill, Mo., also survive.

M. T. PUMPHREY FUNERAL LARGEST EVER HELD AT MOODY
(From Tuesday’s Daily Quill)

The funeral of M. T. Pumphrey, former merchant of Moody, which was held yesterday afternoon at Moody, was the largest funeral ever held there, being attended by friends from various nearby communities, who filled the church to overflowing, many being unable to get inside the building. There were a large number of friends of the family from West Plains in attendance.

The services yesterday afternoon were conducted by the Rev. Floyd John Evans, pastor of the Christian church of West Plains. A quintet, Dick Brown, Felix McElmurry, Jim Ellis, Oscar Eillis, and Jim Grisso, sang “Where We’ll Never Grow Old” and Mrs. E. B. Garner and Mrs. V. P. Renfrow of West Plains, gave a duet “No Night There”, a favorite song of Mr. Pumphrey.

There were many beautiful floral offerings.

Taken from newspaper clippings found in the Garrett and Fern McBride family records, believed to be from the West Plains Daily Quill. Only minor typos and spelling errors were detected, and no attempt was made at correcting them.


Meredith Thomas Pumphrey was a carpenter, blacksmith, farmer, and mechanic, the son of William Green Pumphrey and Elizabeth Hawkins. Thomas married Martha Callicott on January 23, 1879. They had one son together, Oliver Pumphrey. Martha died at the young age of 22, leaving Thomas with a two year old son to care for.
When Thomas was 31, he married Susan Ella McCandlis, who was only 18 at the time. They had nine children together, living in Fulton County Arkansas until shortly after 1900, when the family moved to Moody Missouri. Clyde Pumphrey was their first child born in Moody, in 1903.
The Pumphrey family were important members of this small farming community. Thomas ran a blacksmith shop, and as a carpenter, built a number of buildings in Moody including the family home at 2729 County Road 7800 which is still standing today. He also built a local church. Thomas was a deeply religious and moral man, and when a neighbor passed away, he would offer to build a casket for the family free of charge. Thomas and Ella's oldest daughter Nelle would marry Otto Wright, and together they ran the general store for many years. Thomas and Ella's youngest daughter Fern would leave Moody for a short time to attend high school, and then return to teach in the one room schoolhouse at the age of 16. After Thomas passed away in 1929, Ella remained in the family home until her death in 1942.