Family history:
Mary Jane Marrs was born Mar 24, 1858. Her birth place was surely Laclede Co., MO where her parents owned a farm. When the Civil War came to their region, her parents fled Missouri for what they hoped would be the relative safety of Kansas, settling in Wabaunsee Co., first on Mission Creek near Keene, and then on Dragoon Creek two miles west of Harveyville. Her early childhood was spent in an idyllic physical environment of a beautiful river, large trees and woods, and a nice, new stone house built by her father.
Not much is known of her mother, Harriett Smithers Marrs, except that she was apparently a good mother to her children. Stories suggest that her father, Robert James, was autocratic and possessed a quick temper. Mary Jane did not get along well with her father and is said to have left home when she was 14 years old (thus about 1870, some eight years before her mother died). Fourteen was considered grown then, and if she clashed with her father, she probably had the choice of either respecting his authority or leaving. In her later years she was quite reluctant to talk about her childhood and birth family, becoming obviously nervous and upset if asked about it. She sometimes said that her father and an older brother James were "never no good", but this may have been mostly a retrospective view from the standpoint of a rebellious childhood, since that judgement conflicts with facts known about her father. If she actually left home at age 14 (and no evidence of this beyond the family story has been found), what she did or where she lived until she married is not known. She was almost 19 years old when she married George W. Houk on Jan 14, 1877 in Joplin, MO.
George Washington Houk was born Nov 20, 1854, probably at the home of his parents in Oakland, now a suburb just north of Joplin, MO. He was only 4½ years old when his father, George Houk, died May 4, 1859, widowing his 24 year old mother with three small children. She married Thomas B. Mansfield on Sep 14, 1860, and they raised the three Houk children and had two more, Lewis Mansfield, b. 1869, and Charlie Mansfield, b. 1873. Not much is known of the young George W. Houk or his childhood in the Joplin area.
George Washington Houk and Mary Jane Marrs were married Jan 14, 1877 in Joplin, MO, Jasper Co. according to family records, although a marriage record has not yet been found. They lived for many years on the farm property inherited from his father at Oakland, just north of Joplin, and all of the children except Minnie are thought to have been born there. His mother and stepfather lived on the adjacent half of the original George Houk property. About April, 1889 George and Mary Jane Houk bought a farm on the creek named Warren's Branch, about seven miles north and one mile east of Seneca, in Seneca Twp., Newton Co., MO. The current address of their former home is 9139 Antelope Road, Seneca MO 64865. George built a house and barn there, and they were still standing in 2001, although the house was a ruin, restrained from collapse only by a cable stabilizing the upstairs walls. The barn was still used, and had its original rough-hewn oak timbers. The barn was once painted red, but today has weathered raw wood siding. George was a professional horse trader, and that livelihood took him away from home for days at a time. He also did carpentry, farmed, and raised some horses and mules. He enjoyed gambling, and was skilled enough to earn some money at it. The family also sold eggs.
Mary Jane was very religious, attended church literally across the road at Warren's Branch Baptist Church; its current address is 9166 Antelope Road, Seneca, MO. The original building burned down. She taught Sunday School for many years and saw to it that her children were exposed to religion and baptized. She was a homemaker and enjoyed quilting.
Their children attended Warren's Branch School which was only about 0.4 mile north of their home, across the creek and up the hill. The school building is still standing but is now used as a farm storage shed; it is located on Holly Lane just north of the intersection with Antelope Road.
Mary Jane and George Houk had very different personalities. Berniece Houk Morris remembers that "he was a very quiet, gentle and soft-spoken person, and she was the opposite. I do know when she visited us each summer she ruled both my Mom and my Dad, and told them what we kids could and could not do. Aunt Belle said she was as ‘hard as nails', ‘Grandma did not allow her babies to be held. They were kept in another room alone even in the cold of winter; they woke, were fed, and put right back in bed.' She wasn't a tyrant but neither was she a sweet, loving saint." Lavon Bennett remembers her as "a good Christian woman" who "was happy in the Bennett home because there was someone always coming in or out, and we all gave her a lot of love and attention," and that reflects the memories of most of the Bennetts. Time and environments of the experiences varied, and it seems natural that differing memories of her would exist.
Berniece wrote that "Grandma said when they were first married George would bring his friends in to drink and gamble, and he was evidently a pretty lucky gambler. But, you know we can't judge how people lived then as to our present standards. As the kids (babies) got older she put a stop to him bringing his friends into their home. But, Grandma would decide it was time for a party (which actually meant a dance in those days). The girls could have the house clean, and Grandma could whip them up a new dress in just 'no time'. They would get the word out, the guys would roll back the carpets, and they were ready. The men folk took turns, half could furnish the music, fiddle, play the harp, call, etc. the first half, and then party the last half while the other half furnished the music."
About George Houk's livelihood Berniece wrote, "I was never aware that Grandpa raised a lot of horses, but he was a professional horse trader. If you have never read up on what it takes to be considered a professional horse trader you should. It is very interesting and deserves respect. One has to be aware of what type of horse is needed, what it is needed for, what kind of work or sport. So many hands high for different purposes, the bow of the neck has to be just so, the gait has to be right for the ‘purpose', the buyer has to be attuned as to where he can get the horses on short notice, needs to know what to pay so as to know what price he can get for it. If he buys a lemon it will probably be his for a very long time, or if he gets an unhealthy one and it dies. A hundred years ago one didn't look it up on the computer and have it sent. It usually took several days to find, buy and return (considering miles, rest stops etc. So, yes, Grandpa was gone for several days at a time; if the first team wasn't suitable you went another 40 or 50 miles. Sometimes he got several horses, and they had to each be fed, watered, and rested on the way back. Grandma said they never wanted for anything, for he made good money, but then one had to watch where he buried it when he got home. He didn't believe in banking.
"His advertisement in the Joplin directory as a carpenter probably brought him work away from home. I didn't hear much about his gambling but I heard many times that my Grandpa was a carpenter, a horse trader, and an alcohol drinker and he was the best at all three. That seemed to be sort of a family joke. Ula said when Grandpa first saw her and that she was born blind he felt he was to blame, the Lord had punished him for his drinking. He said, ‘I'll never take a drink again as long as I live'. And her mother, Aunt Belle said, ‘Yes Pa, we have heard that before'. But, she said as far as the family knew he never again took a drink.
"They said almost every afternoon Grandma would tell Grandpa her heart was bothering her, and she would slowly, painfully, climb the stairs. Then, several times, he would very quietly climb the stairs to check on her, he was so worried. But, she was actually just taking her nap. As you know, Grandpa died of a heart attack 33 years before she died I believe. I love these nonsense things.
"Grandpa had to go to the healing springs a week each year to have his 'stomach biled out' because he had stomach trouble from his drinking. And then one week each year the entire family had to go to the 'old soldiers reunion', a week of camping out, visiting, trading, gambling and catching up on news from allover the country. There was much preparation for that as they took items to sell or trade as well as all the camping and cooking gear and food they would need."
Mary Jane and George had nine children. Tragically, the first two died in infancy. At age 2½ years the toddler Levi fell into boiling water just poured into a washtub and soon died from terrible burns. The doctor was far away, and there was nothing that could be done. For the rest of her life Mary Jane could not talk about this tragedy without weeping. Goldie, their second son, was always "sickly" and died at 1½ years. The other children all survived into adulthood, had families, and several enjoyed remarkable longevity for the time.
Elmer and William Houk, sons of George and Mary Jane, came to Oklahoma, perhaps about 1904, worked there, bought property and stayed for several years. About 1906-1908 George and Mary Jane Houk moved to Oklahoma and bought and farmed 80 acres almost two miles west of the Bennett home place. Their property abutted the highway and is described as the N½ of the NW¼ of Section 3, Township 9, Range 14 in Washita County, Oklahoma. However, they were not very satisfied there and soon returned to Missouri, probably retiring from farming and buying the house in Joplin at that time. Their son William was in Oklahoma about 1904, married Lillie Motley, built and lived in a one-room house on the William A. Bennett property, and later sold it to W.A., who used it for years as a smokehouse. William ("Uncle Willie" to the Bennetts) then bought his parent's farm, moved onto it, and raised their family on that 80 acres.
George and Mary Jane Houk next moved to a house at 4318 Main Street, Joplin, MO, where they kept a large garden in the back. (That house was gone, and replaced with small businesses and apartments by 2001.)
When George became bedfast with a terminal illness (listed as endocarditis in the cemetery records), their daughter, Leona Mae (Houk) Bennett, her husband, William Alford Bennett, and two of their children (Floy and Eugene) traveled from Oklahoma to Joplin and helped with his care. He died October 16, 1921.
George W. Houk had written and signed a will April 10, 1896 in Seneca, MO, leaving his real and personal property to his wife or to his surviving children, should she remarry. His death left Mary Jane quite well-provided for in that era. The inventory of his estate for probate included their home (not assessed at its actual value in the inventory; described as the East half of Lot 35 and all of Lot 36, in Staples and Pabst Subdivision in the City of Joplin, MO), a 1916 Ford Runabout car (valued at $100), two $500 notes from W.N and Lillie Houk secured by the deed on their farm, several large certificates of deposit in three Joplin Banks (he apparently no longer buried his cash), all totaling $7,107 plus the value of the home. His funeral expenses were $356.50. After debts, burial, and probate fees were paid, Mary Jane was left with $6680, their home, and personal property.
After George died, Mary Jane continued to live alone in the same house, taught Sunday School at the Fairview Baptist Church just a block west, and was known to never miss or even be tardy to a church meeting. Neighbors could set their clocks by the time they saw her, lantern in hand, walking to church. The church still exists today, although it has been remodeled since she attended it. Mary Jane was apparently loved by her neighbors and friends, and one of her annual "surprise" birthday parties was described in a newspaper article commemorating her 85th birthday.
In 1942, when her failing vision, hearing, and strength made it impossible to live alone safely, Mary Jane Houk sold her Joplin property and moved Oklahoma to live with Leona and William A. Bennett. There she had a room, a favorite chair, listened to evangelists on the radio every day, pieced many quilt tops, told stories to her many young great-grandchildren, and was remembered and revered by them as a gentle, kind soul who had very soft hands. She thrived on the attention and respect everyone paid to her there, and was apparently very happy. Leona had read the Bible to her mother completely through twice and was on the third time, when Leona rather unexpectedly became ill with symptoms of a heart attack and died about a day later, on April 19, 1948. Although she had been ill with complications of diabetes for years, her sudden death was a shock to all.
Soon after Leona Bennett's funeral, Mary Jane moved back to Missouri to live her remaining days with another daughter, Ivy Leeper, who lived at Cassville, Barry Co., MO. Although she was nearly blind and deaf, she remained physically and mentally active and usually kept a positive attitude although mystified by her longevity. Relatives came to see her as often as they could, and many photographs exist of the matriarch with various grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She seemed to greatly enjoy such visits and tried to persuade relatives to take her home with them. In 1952 she was transported by Ray Houk, a grandson, to the Forest Park Baptist Church in Joplin to attend a "Shut-In" service and reunion with friends in the Joplin area. A news clipping shows her in a wheel chair at that event.
Eventually her health failed, she developed pneumonia, complicated by heart failure, became bedfast for only about a week, was taken to St. John's Hospital in Joplin, and died there three days later on Feb 1, 1955 at the age of 96 years, 10 months, and 7 days. She was buried on Feb 3 in Forest Park Cemetery, Joplin.
An interesting inconsistency is that her memory of her birth year and the date on her tombstone would have put her life span at almost 99 years. However, several early census records and her sibling's birthdates show that she was actually born in 1858, two years younger than the 1856 she told everyone. Some of her family must have uncovered a discrepancy somewhere, however, because there was a discussion after her death about the birthdate to etch into the tombstone. They ultimately decided to list the one she had been using for decades even though it might not be accurate.
George W. and Mary Jane Houk are buried in Forest Park Cemetery on South Range Line Road (Highway 71) in Joplin, MO. George W. Houk was initially buried in Webb City Cemetery, but Mary Jane began to have nightmares about that lowland site flooding and the casket floating away. Consequently, on March 28, 1922 she had their sons dig up his casket and rebury it in the higher ground of Forest Park Cemetery, and she was also buried there beside him when she died 33 years later. Their grave and those of a few other related Houks are along the south internal road a few hundred feet from the southeast entrance to the cemetery.
[The above is excerpted from my book, History of William Alford and Leona Houk Bennett, 2005, by Lowell S. Adams. All rights reserved. LSA]
Obituary draft: [Typed, author unknown. A handwritten note states that "it did not appear in the paper."]
Mary J. Marrs was born March 24, 1856 to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Marrs near Lawrence Kansas and departed this life February 1, 1955. She was united in marriage Jan. 14, 1877 to George W. Houk in Oakland, Joplin, Mo., who preceded her in death Oct. 16, 1921. To this union was born nine children, five of these preceded her in death, two of which died in infancy, Minnie Street, of Little Rock, Ark., Leona Bennett of Alfalfa, Okla., Willie Houk of Cordell, Okla, and two babies.
She was converted at a very young age and joined the Warren's Branch Baptist Church until moving to Fairview Baptist Church, where she was very active as long as her health permitted.
She lived in Joplin most of her life except six years when she lived with her daughter Mrs. W. A. Bennett of Alfalfa, Okla., and the last seven years with Mrs. Ivy Leeper at Cassville.
She is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Ivy Leeper, Belle Street of Anderson, Mo.; two sons, Elmer of 48th and Main, Joplin, and Clarence of Saginaw, Mo.; 34 grandchildren, 72 great-grandchildren, 13 great-great-grandchildren, and a host of friends.
Songs: Safe in the arms of Jesus and Unclouded Day.
_
Mary Jane Marrs was born Mar 24, 1858. Her birth place was surely Laclede Co., MO where her parents owned a farm. When the Civil War came to their region, her parents fled Missouri for what they hoped would be the relative safety of Kansas, settling in Wabaunsee Co., first on Mission Creek near Keene, and then on Dragoon Creek two miles west of Harveyville. Her early childhood was spent in an idyllic physical environment of a beautiful river, large trees and woods, and a nice, new stone house built by her father.
Not much is known of her mother, Harriett Smithers Marrs, except that she was apparently a good mother to her children. Stories suggest that her father, Robert James, was autocratic and possessed a quick temper. Mary Jane did not get along well with her father and is said to have left home when she was 14 years old (thus about 1870, some eight years before her mother died). Fourteen was considered grown then, and if she clashed with her father, she probably had the choice of either respecting his authority or leaving. In her later years she was quite reluctant to talk about her childhood and birth family, becoming obviously nervous and upset if asked about it. She sometimes said that her father and an older brother James were "never no good", but this may have been mostly a retrospective view from the standpoint of a rebellious childhood, since that judgement conflicts with facts known about her father. If she actually left home at age 14 (and no evidence of this beyond the family story has been found), what she did or where she lived until she married is not known. She was almost 19 years old when she married George W. Houk on Jan 14, 1877 in Joplin, MO.
George Washington Houk was born Nov 20, 1854, probably at the home of his parents in Oakland, now a suburb just north of Joplin, MO. He was only 4½ years old when his father, George Houk, died May 4, 1859, widowing his 24 year old mother with three small children. She married Thomas B. Mansfield on Sep 14, 1860, and they raised the three Houk children and had two more, Lewis Mansfield, b. 1869, and Charlie Mansfield, b. 1873. Not much is known of the young George W. Houk or his childhood in the Joplin area.
George Washington Houk and Mary Jane Marrs were married Jan 14, 1877 in Joplin, MO, Jasper Co. according to family records, although a marriage record has not yet been found. They lived for many years on the farm property inherited from his father at Oakland, just north of Joplin, and all of the children except Minnie are thought to have been born there. His mother and stepfather lived on the adjacent half of the original George Houk property. About April, 1889 George and Mary Jane Houk bought a farm on the creek named Warren's Branch, about seven miles north and one mile east of Seneca, in Seneca Twp., Newton Co., MO. The current address of their former home is 9139 Antelope Road, Seneca MO 64865. George built a house and barn there, and they were still standing in 2001, although the house was a ruin, restrained from collapse only by a cable stabilizing the upstairs walls. The barn was still used, and had its original rough-hewn oak timbers. The barn was once painted red, but today has weathered raw wood siding. George was a professional horse trader, and that livelihood took him away from home for days at a time. He also did carpentry, farmed, and raised some horses and mules. He enjoyed gambling, and was skilled enough to earn some money at it. The family also sold eggs.
Mary Jane was very religious, attended church literally across the road at Warren's Branch Baptist Church; its current address is 9166 Antelope Road, Seneca, MO. The original building burned down. She taught Sunday School for many years and saw to it that her children were exposed to religion and baptized. She was a homemaker and enjoyed quilting.
Their children attended Warren's Branch School which was only about 0.4 mile north of their home, across the creek and up the hill. The school building is still standing but is now used as a farm storage shed; it is located on Holly Lane just north of the intersection with Antelope Road.
Mary Jane and George Houk had very different personalities. Berniece Houk Morris remembers that "he was a very quiet, gentle and soft-spoken person, and she was the opposite. I do know when she visited us each summer she ruled both my Mom and my Dad, and told them what we kids could and could not do. Aunt Belle said she was as ‘hard as nails', ‘Grandma did not allow her babies to be held. They were kept in another room alone even in the cold of winter; they woke, were fed, and put right back in bed.' She wasn't a tyrant but neither was she a sweet, loving saint." Lavon Bennett remembers her as "a good Christian woman" who "was happy in the Bennett home because there was someone always coming in or out, and we all gave her a lot of love and attention," and that reflects the memories of most of the Bennetts. Time and environments of the experiences varied, and it seems natural that differing memories of her would exist.
Berniece wrote that "Grandma said when they were first married George would bring his friends in to drink and gamble, and he was evidently a pretty lucky gambler. But, you know we can't judge how people lived then as to our present standards. As the kids (babies) got older she put a stop to him bringing his friends into their home. But, Grandma would decide it was time for a party (which actually meant a dance in those days). The girls could have the house clean, and Grandma could whip them up a new dress in just 'no time'. They would get the word out, the guys would roll back the carpets, and they were ready. The men folk took turns, half could furnish the music, fiddle, play the harp, call, etc. the first half, and then party the last half while the other half furnished the music."
About George Houk's livelihood Berniece wrote, "I was never aware that Grandpa raised a lot of horses, but he was a professional horse trader. If you have never read up on what it takes to be considered a professional horse trader you should. It is very interesting and deserves respect. One has to be aware of what type of horse is needed, what it is needed for, what kind of work or sport. So many hands high for different purposes, the bow of the neck has to be just so, the gait has to be right for the ‘purpose', the buyer has to be attuned as to where he can get the horses on short notice, needs to know what to pay so as to know what price he can get for it. If he buys a lemon it will probably be his for a very long time, or if he gets an unhealthy one and it dies. A hundred years ago one didn't look it up on the computer and have it sent. It usually took several days to find, buy and return (considering miles, rest stops etc. So, yes, Grandpa was gone for several days at a time; if the first team wasn't suitable you went another 40 or 50 miles. Sometimes he got several horses, and they had to each be fed, watered, and rested on the way back. Grandma said they never wanted for anything, for he made good money, but then one had to watch where he buried it when he got home. He didn't believe in banking.
"His advertisement in the Joplin directory as a carpenter probably brought him work away from home. I didn't hear much about his gambling but I heard many times that my Grandpa was a carpenter, a horse trader, and an alcohol drinker and he was the best at all three. That seemed to be sort of a family joke. Ula said when Grandpa first saw her and that she was born blind he felt he was to blame, the Lord had punished him for his drinking. He said, ‘I'll never take a drink again as long as I live'. And her mother, Aunt Belle said, ‘Yes Pa, we have heard that before'. But, she said as far as the family knew he never again took a drink.
"They said almost every afternoon Grandma would tell Grandpa her heart was bothering her, and she would slowly, painfully, climb the stairs. Then, several times, he would very quietly climb the stairs to check on her, he was so worried. But, she was actually just taking her nap. As you know, Grandpa died of a heart attack 33 years before she died I believe. I love these nonsense things.
"Grandpa had to go to the healing springs a week each year to have his 'stomach biled out' because he had stomach trouble from his drinking. And then one week each year the entire family had to go to the 'old soldiers reunion', a week of camping out, visiting, trading, gambling and catching up on news from allover the country. There was much preparation for that as they took items to sell or trade as well as all the camping and cooking gear and food they would need."
Mary Jane and George had nine children. Tragically, the first two died in infancy. At age 2½ years the toddler Levi fell into boiling water just poured into a washtub and soon died from terrible burns. The doctor was far away, and there was nothing that could be done. For the rest of her life Mary Jane could not talk about this tragedy without weeping. Goldie, their second son, was always "sickly" and died at 1½ years. The other children all survived into adulthood, had families, and several enjoyed remarkable longevity for the time.
Elmer and William Houk, sons of George and Mary Jane, came to Oklahoma, perhaps about 1904, worked there, bought property and stayed for several years. About 1906-1908 George and Mary Jane Houk moved to Oklahoma and bought and farmed 80 acres almost two miles west of the Bennett home place. Their property abutted the highway and is described as the N½ of the NW¼ of Section 3, Township 9, Range 14 in Washita County, Oklahoma. However, they were not very satisfied there and soon returned to Missouri, probably retiring from farming and buying the house in Joplin at that time. Their son William was in Oklahoma about 1904, married Lillie Motley, built and lived in a one-room house on the William A. Bennett property, and later sold it to W.A., who used it for years as a smokehouse. William ("Uncle Willie" to the Bennetts) then bought his parent's farm, moved onto it, and raised their family on that 80 acres.
George and Mary Jane Houk next moved to a house at 4318 Main Street, Joplin, MO, where they kept a large garden in the back. (That house was gone, and replaced with small businesses and apartments by 2001.)
When George became bedfast with a terminal illness (listed as endocarditis in the cemetery records), their daughter, Leona Mae (Houk) Bennett, her husband, William Alford Bennett, and two of their children (Floy and Eugene) traveled from Oklahoma to Joplin and helped with his care. He died October 16, 1921.
George W. Houk had written and signed a will April 10, 1896 in Seneca, MO, leaving his real and personal property to his wife or to his surviving children, should she remarry. His death left Mary Jane quite well-provided for in that era. The inventory of his estate for probate included their home (not assessed at its actual value in the inventory; described as the East half of Lot 35 and all of Lot 36, in Staples and Pabst Subdivision in the City of Joplin, MO), a 1916 Ford Runabout car (valued at $100), two $500 notes from W.N and Lillie Houk secured by the deed on their farm, several large certificates of deposit in three Joplin Banks (he apparently no longer buried his cash), all totaling $7,107 plus the value of the home. His funeral expenses were $356.50. After debts, burial, and probate fees were paid, Mary Jane was left with $6680, their home, and personal property.
After George died, Mary Jane continued to live alone in the same house, taught Sunday School at the Fairview Baptist Church just a block west, and was known to never miss or even be tardy to a church meeting. Neighbors could set their clocks by the time they saw her, lantern in hand, walking to church. The church still exists today, although it has been remodeled since she attended it. Mary Jane was apparently loved by her neighbors and friends, and one of her annual "surprise" birthday parties was described in a newspaper article commemorating her 85th birthday.
In 1942, when her failing vision, hearing, and strength made it impossible to live alone safely, Mary Jane Houk sold her Joplin property and moved Oklahoma to live with Leona and William A. Bennett. There she had a room, a favorite chair, listened to evangelists on the radio every day, pieced many quilt tops, told stories to her many young great-grandchildren, and was remembered and revered by them as a gentle, kind soul who had very soft hands. She thrived on the attention and respect everyone paid to her there, and was apparently very happy. Leona had read the Bible to her mother completely through twice and was on the third time, when Leona rather unexpectedly became ill with symptoms of a heart attack and died about a day later, on April 19, 1948. Although she had been ill with complications of diabetes for years, her sudden death was a shock to all.
Soon after Leona Bennett's funeral, Mary Jane moved back to Missouri to live her remaining days with another daughter, Ivy Leeper, who lived at Cassville, Barry Co., MO. Although she was nearly blind and deaf, she remained physically and mentally active and usually kept a positive attitude although mystified by her longevity. Relatives came to see her as often as they could, and many photographs exist of the matriarch with various grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She seemed to greatly enjoy such visits and tried to persuade relatives to take her home with them. In 1952 she was transported by Ray Houk, a grandson, to the Forest Park Baptist Church in Joplin to attend a "Shut-In" service and reunion with friends in the Joplin area. A news clipping shows her in a wheel chair at that event.
Eventually her health failed, she developed pneumonia, complicated by heart failure, became bedfast for only about a week, was taken to St. John's Hospital in Joplin, and died there three days later on Feb 1, 1955 at the age of 96 years, 10 months, and 7 days. She was buried on Feb 3 in Forest Park Cemetery, Joplin.
An interesting inconsistency is that her memory of her birth year and the date on her tombstone would have put her life span at almost 99 years. However, several early census records and her sibling's birthdates show that she was actually born in 1858, two years younger than the 1856 she told everyone. Some of her family must have uncovered a discrepancy somewhere, however, because there was a discussion after her death about the birthdate to etch into the tombstone. They ultimately decided to list the one she had been using for decades even though it might not be accurate.
George W. and Mary Jane Houk are buried in Forest Park Cemetery on South Range Line Road (Highway 71) in Joplin, MO. George W. Houk was initially buried in Webb City Cemetery, but Mary Jane began to have nightmares about that lowland site flooding and the casket floating away. Consequently, on March 28, 1922 she had their sons dig up his casket and rebury it in the higher ground of Forest Park Cemetery, and she was also buried there beside him when she died 33 years later. Their grave and those of a few other related Houks are along the south internal road a few hundred feet from the southeast entrance to the cemetery.
[The above is excerpted from my book, History of William Alford and Leona Houk Bennett, 2005, by Lowell S. Adams. All rights reserved. LSA]
Obituary draft: [Typed, author unknown. A handwritten note states that "it did not appear in the paper."]
Mary J. Marrs was born March 24, 1856 to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Marrs near Lawrence Kansas and departed this life February 1, 1955. She was united in marriage Jan. 14, 1877 to George W. Houk in Oakland, Joplin, Mo., who preceded her in death Oct. 16, 1921. To this union was born nine children, five of these preceded her in death, two of which died in infancy, Minnie Street, of Little Rock, Ark., Leona Bennett of Alfalfa, Okla., Willie Houk of Cordell, Okla, and two babies.
She was converted at a very young age and joined the Warren's Branch Baptist Church until moving to Fairview Baptist Church, where she was very active as long as her health permitted.
She lived in Joplin most of her life except six years when she lived with her daughter Mrs. W. A. Bennett of Alfalfa, Okla., and the last seven years with Mrs. Ivy Leeper at Cassville.
She is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Ivy Leeper, Belle Street of Anderson, Mo.; two sons, Elmer of 48th and Main, Joplin, and Clarence of Saginaw, Mo.; 34 grandchildren, 72 great-grandchildren, 13 great-great-grandchildren, and a host of friends.
Songs: Safe in the arms of Jesus and Unclouded Day.
_
Family history:
Mary Jane Marrs was born Mar 24, 1858. Her birth place was surely Laclede Co., MO where her parents owned a farm. When the Civil War came to their region, her parents fled Missouri for what they hoped would be the relative safety of Kansas, settling in Wabaunsee Co., first on Mission Creek near Keene, and then on Dragoon Creek two miles west of Harveyville. Her early childhood was spent in an idyllic physical environment of a beautiful river, large trees and woods, and a nice, new stone house built by her father.
Not much is known of her mother, Harriett Smithers Marrs, except that she was apparently a good mother to her children. Stories suggest that her father, Robert James, was autocratic and possessed a quick temper. Mary Jane did not get along well with her father and is said to have left home when she was 14 years old (thus about 1870, some eight years before her mother died). Fourteen was considered grown then, and if she clashed with her father, she probably had the choice of either respecting his authority or leaving. In her later years she was quite reluctant to talk about her childhood and birth family, becoming obviously nervous and upset if asked about it. She sometimes said that her father and an older brother James were "never no good", but this may have been mostly a retrospective view from the standpoint of a rebellious childhood, since that judgement conflicts with facts known about her father. If she actually left home at age 14 (and no evidence of this beyond the family story has been found), what she did or where she lived until she married is not known. She was almost 19 years old when she married George W. Houk on Jan 14, 1877 in Joplin, MO.
George Washington Houk was born Nov 20, 1854, probably at the home of his parents in Oakland, now a suburb just north of Joplin, MO. He was only 4½ years old when his father, George Houk, died May 4, 1859, widowing his 24 year old mother with three small children. She married Thomas B. Mansfield on Sep 14, 1860, and they raised the three Houk children and had two more, Lewis Mansfield, b. 1869, and Charlie Mansfield, b. 1873. Not much is known of the young George W. Houk or his childhood in the Joplin area.
George Washington Houk and Mary Jane Marrs were married Jan 14, 1877 in Joplin, MO, Jasper Co. according to family records, although a marriage record has not yet been found. They lived for many years on the farm property inherited from his father at Oakland, just north of Joplin, and all of the children except Minnie are thought to have been born there. His mother and stepfather lived on the adjacent half of the original George Houk property. About April, 1889 George and Mary Jane Houk bought a farm on the creek named Warren's Branch, about seven miles north and one mile east of Seneca, in Seneca Twp., Newton Co., MO. The current address of their former home is 9139 Antelope Road, Seneca MO 64865. George built a house and barn there, and they were still standing in 2001, although the house was a ruin, restrained from collapse only by a cable stabilizing the upstairs walls. The barn was still used, and had its original rough-hewn oak timbers. The barn was once painted red, but today has weathered raw wood siding. George was a professional horse trader, and that livelihood took him away from home for days at a time. He also did carpentry, farmed, and raised some horses and mules. He enjoyed gambling, and was skilled enough to earn some money at it. The family also sold eggs.
Mary Jane was very religious, attended church literally across the road at Warren's Branch Baptist Church; its current address is 9166 Antelope Road, Seneca, MO. The original building burned down. She taught Sunday School for many years and saw to it that her children were exposed to religion and baptized. She was a homemaker and enjoyed quilting.
Their children attended Warren's Branch School which was only about 0.4 mile north of their home, across the creek and up the hill. The school building is still standing but is now used as a farm storage shed; it is located on Holly Lane just north of the intersection with Antelope Road.
Mary Jane and George Houk had very different personalities. Berniece Houk Morris remembers that "he was a very quiet, gentle and soft-spoken person, and she was the opposite. I do know when she visited us each summer she ruled both my Mom and my Dad, and told them what we kids could and could not do. Aunt Belle said she was as ‘hard as nails', ‘Grandma did not allow her babies to be held. They were kept in another room alone even in the cold of winter; they woke, were fed, and put right back in bed.' She wasn't a tyrant but neither was she a sweet, loving saint." Lavon Bennett remembers her as "a good Christian woman" who "was happy in the Bennett home because there was someone always coming in or out, and we all gave her a lot of love and attention," and that reflects the memories of most of the Bennetts. Time and environments of the experiences varied, and it seems natural that differing memories of her would exist.
Berniece wrote that "Grandma said when they were first married George would bring his friends in to drink and gamble, and he was evidently a pretty lucky gambler. But, you know we can't judge how people lived then as to our present standards. As the kids (babies) got older she put a stop to him bringing his friends into their home. But, Grandma would decide it was time for a party (which actually meant a dance in those days). The girls could have the house clean, and Grandma could whip them up a new dress in just 'no time'. They would get the word out, the guys would roll back the carpets, and they were ready. The men folk took turns, half could furnish the music, fiddle, play the harp, call, etc. the first half, and then party the last half while the other half furnished the music."
About George Houk's livelihood Berniece wrote, "I was never aware that Grandpa raised a lot of horses, but he was a professional horse trader. If you have never read up on what it takes to be considered a professional horse trader you should. It is very interesting and deserves respect. One has to be aware of what type of horse is needed, what it is needed for, what kind of work or sport. So many hands high for different purposes, the bow of the neck has to be just so, the gait has to be right for the ‘purpose', the buyer has to be attuned as to where he can get the horses on short notice, needs to know what to pay so as to know what price he can get for it. If he buys a lemon it will probably be his for a very long time, or if he gets an unhealthy one and it dies. A hundred years ago one didn't look it up on the computer and have it sent. It usually took several days to find, buy and return (considering miles, rest stops etc. So, yes, Grandpa was gone for several days at a time; if the first team wasn't suitable you went another 40 or 50 miles. Sometimes he got several horses, and they had to each be fed, watered, and rested on the way back. Grandma said they never wanted for anything, for he made good money, but then one had to watch where he buried it when he got home. He didn't believe in banking.
"His advertisement in the Joplin directory as a carpenter probably brought him work away from home. I didn't hear much about his gambling but I heard many times that my Grandpa was a carpenter, a horse trader, and an alcohol drinker and he was the best at all three. That seemed to be sort of a family joke. Ula said when Grandpa first saw her and that she was born blind he felt he was to blame, the Lord had punished him for his drinking. He said, ‘I'll never take a drink again as long as I live'. And her mother, Aunt Belle said, ‘Yes Pa, we have heard that before'. But, she said as far as the family knew he never again took a drink.
"They said almost every afternoon Grandma would tell Grandpa her heart was bothering her, and she would slowly, painfully, climb the stairs. Then, several times, he would very quietly climb the stairs to check on her, he was so worried. But, she was actually just taking her nap. As you know, Grandpa died of a heart attack 33 years before she died I believe. I love these nonsense things.
"Grandpa had to go to the healing springs a week each year to have his 'stomach biled out' because he had stomach trouble from his drinking. And then one week each year the entire family had to go to the 'old soldiers reunion', a week of camping out, visiting, trading, gambling and catching up on news from allover the country. There was much preparation for that as they took items to sell or trade as well as all the camping and cooking gear and food they would need."
Mary Jane and George had nine children. Tragically, the first two died in infancy. At age 2½ years the toddler Levi fell into boiling water just poured into a washtub and soon died from terrible burns. The doctor was far away, and there was nothing that could be done. For the rest of her life Mary Jane could not talk about this tragedy without weeping. Goldie, their second son, was always "sickly" and died at 1½ years. The other children all survived into adulthood, had families, and several enjoyed remarkable longevity for the time.
Elmer and William Houk, sons of George and Mary Jane, came to Oklahoma, perhaps about 1904, worked there, bought property and stayed for several years. About 1906-1908 George and Mary Jane Houk moved to Oklahoma and bought and farmed 80 acres almost two miles west of the Bennett home place. Their property abutted the highway and is described as the N½ of the NW¼ of Section 3, Township 9, Range 14 in Washita County, Oklahoma. However, they were not very satisfied there and soon returned to Missouri, probably retiring from farming and buying the house in Joplin at that time. Their son William was in Oklahoma about 1904, married Lillie Motley, built and lived in a one-room house on the William A. Bennett property, and later sold it to W.A., who used it for years as a smokehouse. William ("Uncle Willie" to the Bennetts) then bought his parent's farm, moved onto it, and raised their family on that 80 acres.
George and Mary Jane Houk next moved to a house at 4318 Main Street, Joplin, MO, where they kept a large garden in the back. (That house was gone, and replaced with small businesses and apartments by 2001.)
When George became bedfast with a terminal illness (listed as endocarditis in the cemetery records), their daughter, Leona Mae (Houk) Bennett, her husband, William Alford Bennett, and two of their children (Floy and Eugene) traveled from Oklahoma to Joplin and helped with his care. He died October 16, 1921.
George W. Houk had written and signed a will April 10, 1896 in Seneca, MO, leaving his real and personal property to his wife or to his surviving children, should she remarry. His death left Mary Jane quite well-provided for in that era. The inventory of his estate for probate included their home (not assessed at its actual value in the inventory; described as the East half of Lot 35 and all of Lot 36, in Staples and Pabst Subdivision in the City of Joplin, MO), a 1916 Ford Runabout car (valued at $100), two $500 notes from W.N and Lillie Houk secured by the deed on their farm, several large certificates of deposit in three Joplin Banks (he apparently no longer buried his cash), all totaling $7,107 plus the value of the home. His funeral expenses were $356.50. After debts, burial, and probate fees were paid, Mary Jane was left with $6680, their home, and personal property.
After George died, Mary Jane continued to live alone in the same house, taught Sunday School at the Fairview Baptist Church just a block west, and was known to never miss or even be tardy to a church meeting. Neighbors could set their clocks by the time they saw her, lantern in hand, walking to church. The church still exists today, although it has been remodeled since she attended it. Mary Jane was apparently loved by her neighbors and friends, and one of her annual "surprise" birthday parties was described in a newspaper article commemorating her 85th birthday.
In 1942, when her failing vision, hearing, and strength made it impossible to live alone safely, Mary Jane Houk sold her Joplin property and moved Oklahoma to live with Leona and William A. Bennett. There she had a room, a favorite chair, listened to evangelists on the radio every day, pieced many quilt tops, told stories to her many young great-grandchildren, and was remembered and revered by them as a gentle, kind soul who had very soft hands. She thrived on the attention and respect everyone paid to her there, and was apparently very happy. Leona had read the Bible to her mother completely through twice and was on the third time, when Leona rather unexpectedly became ill with symptoms of a heart attack and died about a day later, on April 19, 1948. Although she had been ill with complications of diabetes for years, her sudden death was a shock to all.
Soon after Leona Bennett's funeral, Mary Jane moved back to Missouri to live her remaining days with another daughter, Ivy Leeper, who lived at Cassville, Barry Co., MO. Although she was nearly blind and deaf, she remained physically and mentally active and usually kept a positive attitude although mystified by her longevity. Relatives came to see her as often as they could, and many photographs exist of the matriarch with various grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She seemed to greatly enjoy such visits and tried to persuade relatives to take her home with them. In 1952 she was transported by Ray Houk, a grandson, to the Forest Park Baptist Church in Joplin to attend a "Shut-In" service and reunion with friends in the Joplin area. A news clipping shows her in a wheel chair at that event.
Eventually her health failed, she developed pneumonia, complicated by heart failure, became bedfast for only about a week, was taken to St. John's Hospital in Joplin, and died there three days later on Feb 1, 1955 at the age of 96 years, 10 months, and 7 days. She was buried on Feb 3 in Forest Park Cemetery, Joplin.
An interesting inconsistency is that her memory of her birth year and the date on her tombstone would have put her life span at almost 99 years. However, several early census records and her sibling's birthdates show that she was actually born in 1858, two years younger than the 1856 she told everyone. Some of her family must have uncovered a discrepancy somewhere, however, because there was a discussion after her death about the birthdate to etch into the tombstone. They ultimately decided to list the one she had been using for decades even though it might not be accurate.
George W. and Mary Jane Houk are buried in Forest Park Cemetery on South Range Line Road (Highway 71) in Joplin, MO. George W. Houk was initially buried in Webb City Cemetery, but Mary Jane began to have nightmares about that lowland site flooding and the casket floating away. Consequently, on March 28, 1922 she had their sons dig up his casket and rebury it in the higher ground of Forest Park Cemetery, and she was also buried there beside him when she died 33 years later. Their grave and those of a few other related Houks are along the south internal road a few hundred feet from the southeast entrance to the cemetery.
[The above is excerpted from my book, History of William Alford and Leona Houk Bennett, 2005, by Lowell S. Adams. All rights reserved. LSA]
Obituary draft: [Typed, author unknown. A handwritten note states that "it did not appear in the paper."]
Mary J. Marrs was born March 24, 1856 to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Marrs near Lawrence Kansas and departed this life February 1, 1955. She was united in marriage Jan. 14, 1877 to George W. Houk in Oakland, Joplin, Mo., who preceded her in death Oct. 16, 1921. To this union was born nine children, five of these preceded her in death, two of which died in infancy, Minnie Street, of Little Rock, Ark., Leona Bennett of Alfalfa, Okla., Willie Houk of Cordell, Okla, and two babies.
She was converted at a very young age and joined the Warren's Branch Baptist Church until moving to Fairview Baptist Church, where she was very active as long as her health permitted.
She lived in Joplin most of her life except six years when she lived with her daughter Mrs. W. A. Bennett of Alfalfa, Okla., and the last seven years with Mrs. Ivy Leeper at Cassville.
She is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Ivy Leeper, Belle Street of Anderson, Mo.; two sons, Elmer of 48th and Main, Joplin, and Clarence of Saginaw, Mo.; 34 grandchildren, 72 great-grandchildren, 13 great-great-grandchildren, and a host of friends.
Songs: Safe in the arms of Jesus and Unclouded Day.
_
Mary Jane Marrs was born Mar 24, 1858. Her birth place was surely Laclede Co., MO where her parents owned a farm. When the Civil War came to their region, her parents fled Missouri for what they hoped would be the relative safety of Kansas, settling in Wabaunsee Co., first on Mission Creek near Keene, and then on Dragoon Creek two miles west of Harveyville. Her early childhood was spent in an idyllic physical environment of a beautiful river, large trees and woods, and a nice, new stone house built by her father.
Not much is known of her mother, Harriett Smithers Marrs, except that she was apparently a good mother to her children. Stories suggest that her father, Robert James, was autocratic and possessed a quick temper. Mary Jane did not get along well with her father and is said to have left home when she was 14 years old (thus about 1870, some eight years before her mother died). Fourteen was considered grown then, and if she clashed with her father, she probably had the choice of either respecting his authority or leaving. In her later years she was quite reluctant to talk about her childhood and birth family, becoming obviously nervous and upset if asked about it. She sometimes said that her father and an older brother James were "never no good", but this may have been mostly a retrospective view from the standpoint of a rebellious childhood, since that judgement conflicts with facts known about her father. If she actually left home at age 14 (and no evidence of this beyond the family story has been found), what she did or where she lived until she married is not known. She was almost 19 years old when she married George W. Houk on Jan 14, 1877 in Joplin, MO.
George Washington Houk was born Nov 20, 1854, probably at the home of his parents in Oakland, now a suburb just north of Joplin, MO. He was only 4½ years old when his father, George Houk, died May 4, 1859, widowing his 24 year old mother with three small children. She married Thomas B. Mansfield on Sep 14, 1860, and they raised the three Houk children and had two more, Lewis Mansfield, b. 1869, and Charlie Mansfield, b. 1873. Not much is known of the young George W. Houk or his childhood in the Joplin area.
George Washington Houk and Mary Jane Marrs were married Jan 14, 1877 in Joplin, MO, Jasper Co. according to family records, although a marriage record has not yet been found. They lived for many years on the farm property inherited from his father at Oakland, just north of Joplin, and all of the children except Minnie are thought to have been born there. His mother and stepfather lived on the adjacent half of the original George Houk property. About April, 1889 George and Mary Jane Houk bought a farm on the creek named Warren's Branch, about seven miles north and one mile east of Seneca, in Seneca Twp., Newton Co., MO. The current address of their former home is 9139 Antelope Road, Seneca MO 64865. George built a house and barn there, and they were still standing in 2001, although the house was a ruin, restrained from collapse only by a cable stabilizing the upstairs walls. The barn was still used, and had its original rough-hewn oak timbers. The barn was once painted red, but today has weathered raw wood siding. George was a professional horse trader, and that livelihood took him away from home for days at a time. He also did carpentry, farmed, and raised some horses and mules. He enjoyed gambling, and was skilled enough to earn some money at it. The family also sold eggs.
Mary Jane was very religious, attended church literally across the road at Warren's Branch Baptist Church; its current address is 9166 Antelope Road, Seneca, MO. The original building burned down. She taught Sunday School for many years and saw to it that her children were exposed to religion and baptized. She was a homemaker and enjoyed quilting.
Their children attended Warren's Branch School which was only about 0.4 mile north of their home, across the creek and up the hill. The school building is still standing but is now used as a farm storage shed; it is located on Holly Lane just north of the intersection with Antelope Road.
Mary Jane and George Houk had very different personalities. Berniece Houk Morris remembers that "he was a very quiet, gentle and soft-spoken person, and she was the opposite. I do know when she visited us each summer she ruled both my Mom and my Dad, and told them what we kids could and could not do. Aunt Belle said she was as ‘hard as nails', ‘Grandma did not allow her babies to be held. They were kept in another room alone even in the cold of winter; they woke, were fed, and put right back in bed.' She wasn't a tyrant but neither was she a sweet, loving saint." Lavon Bennett remembers her as "a good Christian woman" who "was happy in the Bennett home because there was someone always coming in or out, and we all gave her a lot of love and attention," and that reflects the memories of most of the Bennetts. Time and environments of the experiences varied, and it seems natural that differing memories of her would exist.
Berniece wrote that "Grandma said when they were first married George would bring his friends in to drink and gamble, and he was evidently a pretty lucky gambler. But, you know we can't judge how people lived then as to our present standards. As the kids (babies) got older she put a stop to him bringing his friends into their home. But, Grandma would decide it was time for a party (which actually meant a dance in those days). The girls could have the house clean, and Grandma could whip them up a new dress in just 'no time'. They would get the word out, the guys would roll back the carpets, and they were ready. The men folk took turns, half could furnish the music, fiddle, play the harp, call, etc. the first half, and then party the last half while the other half furnished the music."
About George Houk's livelihood Berniece wrote, "I was never aware that Grandpa raised a lot of horses, but he was a professional horse trader. If you have never read up on what it takes to be considered a professional horse trader you should. It is very interesting and deserves respect. One has to be aware of what type of horse is needed, what it is needed for, what kind of work or sport. So many hands high for different purposes, the bow of the neck has to be just so, the gait has to be right for the ‘purpose', the buyer has to be attuned as to where he can get the horses on short notice, needs to know what to pay so as to know what price he can get for it. If he buys a lemon it will probably be his for a very long time, or if he gets an unhealthy one and it dies. A hundred years ago one didn't look it up on the computer and have it sent. It usually took several days to find, buy and return (considering miles, rest stops etc. So, yes, Grandpa was gone for several days at a time; if the first team wasn't suitable you went another 40 or 50 miles. Sometimes he got several horses, and they had to each be fed, watered, and rested on the way back. Grandma said they never wanted for anything, for he made good money, but then one had to watch where he buried it when he got home. He didn't believe in banking.
"His advertisement in the Joplin directory as a carpenter probably brought him work away from home. I didn't hear much about his gambling but I heard many times that my Grandpa was a carpenter, a horse trader, and an alcohol drinker and he was the best at all three. That seemed to be sort of a family joke. Ula said when Grandpa first saw her and that she was born blind he felt he was to blame, the Lord had punished him for his drinking. He said, ‘I'll never take a drink again as long as I live'. And her mother, Aunt Belle said, ‘Yes Pa, we have heard that before'. But, she said as far as the family knew he never again took a drink.
"They said almost every afternoon Grandma would tell Grandpa her heart was bothering her, and she would slowly, painfully, climb the stairs. Then, several times, he would very quietly climb the stairs to check on her, he was so worried. But, she was actually just taking her nap. As you know, Grandpa died of a heart attack 33 years before she died I believe. I love these nonsense things.
"Grandpa had to go to the healing springs a week each year to have his 'stomach biled out' because he had stomach trouble from his drinking. And then one week each year the entire family had to go to the 'old soldiers reunion', a week of camping out, visiting, trading, gambling and catching up on news from allover the country. There was much preparation for that as they took items to sell or trade as well as all the camping and cooking gear and food they would need."
Mary Jane and George had nine children. Tragically, the first two died in infancy. At age 2½ years the toddler Levi fell into boiling water just poured into a washtub and soon died from terrible burns. The doctor was far away, and there was nothing that could be done. For the rest of her life Mary Jane could not talk about this tragedy without weeping. Goldie, their second son, was always "sickly" and died at 1½ years. The other children all survived into adulthood, had families, and several enjoyed remarkable longevity for the time.
Elmer and William Houk, sons of George and Mary Jane, came to Oklahoma, perhaps about 1904, worked there, bought property and stayed for several years. About 1906-1908 George and Mary Jane Houk moved to Oklahoma and bought and farmed 80 acres almost two miles west of the Bennett home place. Their property abutted the highway and is described as the N½ of the NW¼ of Section 3, Township 9, Range 14 in Washita County, Oklahoma. However, they were not very satisfied there and soon returned to Missouri, probably retiring from farming and buying the house in Joplin at that time. Their son William was in Oklahoma about 1904, married Lillie Motley, built and lived in a one-room house on the William A. Bennett property, and later sold it to W.A., who used it for years as a smokehouse. William ("Uncle Willie" to the Bennetts) then bought his parent's farm, moved onto it, and raised their family on that 80 acres.
George and Mary Jane Houk next moved to a house at 4318 Main Street, Joplin, MO, where they kept a large garden in the back. (That house was gone, and replaced with small businesses and apartments by 2001.)
When George became bedfast with a terminal illness (listed as endocarditis in the cemetery records), their daughter, Leona Mae (Houk) Bennett, her husband, William Alford Bennett, and two of their children (Floy and Eugene) traveled from Oklahoma to Joplin and helped with his care. He died October 16, 1921.
George W. Houk had written and signed a will April 10, 1896 in Seneca, MO, leaving his real and personal property to his wife or to his surviving children, should she remarry. His death left Mary Jane quite well-provided for in that era. The inventory of his estate for probate included their home (not assessed at its actual value in the inventory; described as the East half of Lot 35 and all of Lot 36, in Staples and Pabst Subdivision in the City of Joplin, MO), a 1916 Ford Runabout car (valued at $100), two $500 notes from W.N and Lillie Houk secured by the deed on their farm, several large certificates of deposit in three Joplin Banks (he apparently no longer buried his cash), all totaling $7,107 plus the value of the home. His funeral expenses were $356.50. After debts, burial, and probate fees were paid, Mary Jane was left with $6680, their home, and personal property.
After George died, Mary Jane continued to live alone in the same house, taught Sunday School at the Fairview Baptist Church just a block west, and was known to never miss or even be tardy to a church meeting. Neighbors could set their clocks by the time they saw her, lantern in hand, walking to church. The church still exists today, although it has been remodeled since she attended it. Mary Jane was apparently loved by her neighbors and friends, and one of her annual "surprise" birthday parties was described in a newspaper article commemorating her 85th birthday.
In 1942, when her failing vision, hearing, and strength made it impossible to live alone safely, Mary Jane Houk sold her Joplin property and moved Oklahoma to live with Leona and William A. Bennett. There she had a room, a favorite chair, listened to evangelists on the radio every day, pieced many quilt tops, told stories to her many young great-grandchildren, and was remembered and revered by them as a gentle, kind soul who had very soft hands. She thrived on the attention and respect everyone paid to her there, and was apparently very happy. Leona had read the Bible to her mother completely through twice and was on the third time, when Leona rather unexpectedly became ill with symptoms of a heart attack and died about a day later, on April 19, 1948. Although she had been ill with complications of diabetes for years, her sudden death was a shock to all.
Soon after Leona Bennett's funeral, Mary Jane moved back to Missouri to live her remaining days with another daughter, Ivy Leeper, who lived at Cassville, Barry Co., MO. Although she was nearly blind and deaf, she remained physically and mentally active and usually kept a positive attitude although mystified by her longevity. Relatives came to see her as often as they could, and many photographs exist of the matriarch with various grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She seemed to greatly enjoy such visits and tried to persuade relatives to take her home with them. In 1952 she was transported by Ray Houk, a grandson, to the Forest Park Baptist Church in Joplin to attend a "Shut-In" service and reunion with friends in the Joplin area. A news clipping shows her in a wheel chair at that event.
Eventually her health failed, she developed pneumonia, complicated by heart failure, became bedfast for only about a week, was taken to St. John's Hospital in Joplin, and died there three days later on Feb 1, 1955 at the age of 96 years, 10 months, and 7 days. She was buried on Feb 3 in Forest Park Cemetery, Joplin.
An interesting inconsistency is that her memory of her birth year and the date on her tombstone would have put her life span at almost 99 years. However, several early census records and her sibling's birthdates show that she was actually born in 1858, two years younger than the 1856 she told everyone. Some of her family must have uncovered a discrepancy somewhere, however, because there was a discussion after her death about the birthdate to etch into the tombstone. They ultimately decided to list the one she had been using for decades even though it might not be accurate.
George W. and Mary Jane Houk are buried in Forest Park Cemetery on South Range Line Road (Highway 71) in Joplin, MO. George W. Houk was initially buried in Webb City Cemetery, but Mary Jane began to have nightmares about that lowland site flooding and the casket floating away. Consequently, on March 28, 1922 she had their sons dig up his casket and rebury it in the higher ground of Forest Park Cemetery, and she was also buried there beside him when she died 33 years later. Their grave and those of a few other related Houks are along the south internal road a few hundred feet from the southeast entrance to the cemetery.
[The above is excerpted from my book, History of William Alford and Leona Houk Bennett, 2005, by Lowell S. Adams. All rights reserved. LSA]
Obituary draft: [Typed, author unknown. A handwritten note states that "it did not appear in the paper."]
Mary J. Marrs was born March 24, 1856 to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Marrs near Lawrence Kansas and departed this life February 1, 1955. She was united in marriage Jan. 14, 1877 to George W. Houk in Oakland, Joplin, Mo., who preceded her in death Oct. 16, 1921. To this union was born nine children, five of these preceded her in death, two of which died in infancy, Minnie Street, of Little Rock, Ark., Leona Bennett of Alfalfa, Okla., Willie Houk of Cordell, Okla, and two babies.
She was converted at a very young age and joined the Warren's Branch Baptist Church until moving to Fairview Baptist Church, where she was very active as long as her health permitted.
She lived in Joplin most of her life except six years when she lived with her daughter Mrs. W. A. Bennett of Alfalfa, Okla., and the last seven years with Mrs. Ivy Leeper at Cassville.
She is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Ivy Leeper, Belle Street of Anderson, Mo.; two sons, Elmer of 48th and Main, Joplin, and Clarence of Saginaw, Mo.; 34 grandchildren, 72 great-grandchildren, 13 great-great-grandchildren, and a host of friends.
Songs: Safe in the arms of Jesus and Unclouded Day.
_
Inscription
Houk. George W. Houk, Nov 20, 1854, Oct 16, 1921. Mary J. His Wife, Mar 24, 1856, Feb 1, 1955, At Rest.
Gravesite Details
Her correct birth year is 1858, not 1856. A hunch is that she so enjoyed the prestige of longevity that she inflated her age by two years. LSA
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