Barnes, Seitz and Landreth's

  The information has been from stories passed down through generations.

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Stephen and Elsie were married in 1846 in Richmond, Virginia. He worked for the Rock Island Railroad, one of the first mighty links to the East. They settled on a self-sufficient farm near Hilisville, Virginia. They had two children. Rush Floyd (born 1847)and Jasmine(1849).Between 1850 and 1860, twenty million acres of public land were granted to the railroad. With everyone prospering, the President urged the Army to build railroads everywhere westward. By 1852, the first passenger trains had arrived from the East to Chicago, followed soon by links to Missouri and the Kansas Territory.

Rush was born near Hilisville (Carroll County), Virginia. He and his father were Union sympathizers during the Civil War, but both were drafted into the hometown militia. They served in Bond's Cavalry, which was guarding Fowler's Crossing near Austinville, Virginia. General Sherman was making his famous march to the sea. As the Union army approached, the heavily outnumbered Bond's Cavalry hastily retreated. Being fired on many times. Rush and his father hid in a flock of sheep on the mountainside and later made their way to Flower's General Store. There, they dressed like women, and returned undetected to their regiments. After the War, Rush married Arenia Lineberry. In 1870, they moved to the area near Marceline, Missouri, and purchased a farm from the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. Six years later, the towns of Bucklin and Marceline were incorporated. They raised seven children. Rush was active in the Methodist Church.

Della Miralda Sights; 1892-1958

Della married Stephen Landreth in 1900. She was sixteen at the time; he was eighteen. They lived on the Landreth land, raised their children, and put them all through college. Della was the first to have a wringer washer in the area; however, she learned to cook on a wood stove, electricity came later. She was typical of the women of this time: hard working, deeply religious, and very versatile. All sewing, cooking, and craft work were done from scratch. Her needlework was a fine art; she won many prizes for it at the State Fairs. Delia's strength showed itself in other ways. During the 1940s, when she was diagnosed as having breast cancer, she traveled alone to Madison, Wisconsin, stayed with her daughter Retha, and underwent surgery at a time when the survival rate was very low. Then she made regular trips from Marceline to Kansas City for treatment. She recovered completely and died of probably unrelated causes.

Ada Malvina Sights; 1867-1933

Ada married William Standley, a young senator from Hope, North Dakota, which they helped settle and incorporate (1869).

Ella married Dan Davis and became involved in the Oklahoma land rush. Their story as they wrote back to the family was as follows. Dan Davis was an adventurer. He had wrangled his way through many a situation and always came out with a distinct advantage. This was no different. He managed to sneak over the Oklahoma border through the Indian Territory, determined where he wanted his land, and properly staked it off. This was the practice of the "Sooners" and was done before the land rush officially began. After the big day, he was joined by Ella. They managed to purchase adjoining parcels of land from other settlers at astoundingly low rates.

His good friends at school were Ray and Walt Disney. They carved their names in various places around the town, including a school desk and a large cottonwood tree in the Marceline city square. The tree still stands, and the desk is in the Walt Disney Elementary School library, which the Walt Disney Company built for Marceline in 1957. When he came to Marceline for the dedication ceremony, Walt visited his old friend Steve, who was very ill at the time. Like his friend Walt, Steve was curious and adventuresome. He owned the sixth automobile in the area; also, he was the first to obtain an earphone-type radio, to which the family listened in turn. Moreover, he was always alert and aware of what went on around him. Raised before the times of radio and television, for example, he was trained to observe changing weather conditions by watching clouds, stars, beetles, and the ever-faithful "woolly worm" caterpillars. Steve married Delia Sights on April 8, 1900. They had three children, Retha, Oma, and Stephen. Steve, his father Rush and brother Joe formed the Landreth Coal Company and ran two mines for the new settlement (and aspiring town) of Marceline. They also provided service to surrounding farms and neighboring communities such as Bucklin. Joseph dug the first shovel of earth of the Landreth mine.

Stephen Bencen (Ben) Landreth spent his boyhood in Marceline. He worked in the coal mine, at farming, and on the railroad. He attended college, taught school, and was a community leader. Ben fought in World War II for five years, most of it spent fighting in the Philippines under General Douglas MacArthur. He saw a great deal of action, including a massive battle in the Palau Islands. One island suffered a ferocious attack by the Japanese. This particular hill, held by the U.S. Army and Marines, was under fire for several days. Ben was in a foxhole with six comrades. The Japanese overtook the hill and killed the six other men. Ben feigned death and survived. Three days later, the Marines overtook the hill, and remembered it as "Betty Lou Hill." This incident was reported in the San Francisco Bee in 1944 (specific date unknown). Ben never forgot his experiences, but he could not talk much about them. When he returned from the Islands, he was asked to relate the Betty Lou Hill story in church, but he refused and never spoke about it again. They said he was "shell shocked"; although he often told hilarious stories about the resourcefulness of the soldiers on the primitive islands, the horror of war never left him. He could perhaps forget itfor a short time--only in drink, and he flirted with alcoholic problems for the rest of his life. In 1940, Ben married Mary Esoda, a registered nurse. After the war, he returned to Marceline and spent 30 years working on the Santa Fe Railroad, where he was alternately a conductor, a brakeman, and a labor spokesman. Labor troubles were common, union against nonunion. Wages and working conditions were being tested all over the nation. Missouri was no different. In Ben's time, trains progressed from coal-burning to diesel engines, and then to the Arntrack system of today, but while they hauled fewer passengers, they continued to haul freight. He witnessed the battles between truckers and railroaders for this lucrative business. Ben Landreth was beloved by Marceline. Although he and Mary had no children, they were active in the community, and Ben was a faithful Shriner. He loved to have fun, and many townspeople remember the little red fire engine and motorcycle that he proudly rode in parades. He was an avid fisherman and hunter.

Mary's family emigrated from Latvia. Mary's diligent care and love kept Delia alive, and then Steve, as their health failed in later years. They both loved nature, and sometimes they drove their camper to the mountains of the West and flyfished for trout. They spent one summer together in Canada. They nursed each other through various physical ailments. When Mary died, it was as if Ben lost his motivation for life although he never admitted as much. Three months later, he too was dead.

Retha left Marceline just as soon as she could. She loved her father, sister and brother dearly, but she did not relate to the rest of the Landreth kin. Although she was considered beautiful and exotic, she did not wish to marry any of the local young men. She attended the University of Missouri, and graduated with a degree in chemistry. She taught high school, first in Nowata, Oklahoma, then in Roswell, New Mexico. During those years, she was adventuresome and sophisticated a true flapper of the 1920s. With her many close friends, she explored the prairies and deserts, barnstormed in an airplane (as passenger, not pilot), explored the Carlsbad Caverns with the man who discovered them, and delighted many classes of science students with field trips to study the world of nature. She brought nature into the classroom as well; tarantulas and snakes were her teaching tools (and the bane of school maintenance staff). In Oklahoma, she coached basketball, although she never considered herself an athlete. Retha planned to get her Masters degree (which was pretty unusual for women in those days), and she attended one summer session at the University of California in Berkeley. She also planned a trip to Europe, and was saving her moneybut a man changed her life forever. While teaching in Roswell, she dated the soldiers at the nearby military academy. She could probably have had her pick from the dashing young officers who taught there, but she wanted the only one-the most desired and hardest to catch-Horace Fries. She got him. They married in 1929 and moved to Madison, Wisconsin, so that Horace could get his doctorate. They weathered the Depression years on a miserably low university faculty salary, supported by a strong group of friends who lived in similar poverty. They had one child, Suzanne. In 1945, after Horace had gained some respectability as a professor, the family was able to buy a modest house. They dreamed of a better life and farm on which to raise horses, or travel to Europe, or even a job in the West but remained in Madison all their lives. By 1948, Horace was becoming well-known as a philosopher and teacher, so the family spent a summer in the West, vacationing in Colorado and then living in Los Angeles while Horace taught at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Two summers later, they went east to Hanover, New Hampshire, where he worked with the Hanover Institute, doing trailblazing research on human perception. A year later, he passed away of lung cancer. Retha never remarried; she went back to school long enough to become certified as a teacher in Wisconsin. However, the Madison system would not hire her as a full-time teacher she was, after all, past 40. She substituted for several years, struggling to put her child through high school and then the University of Wisconsin. She supplemented this income by correcting correspondence course work in mathematics, through the University of Wisconsin Extension Division, for Army personnel stationed around the world on bases and ships. That job had been Horace's; she took it over for him when he became too busy to keep it up. Only after his death did the University learn that she was the instructor. After some consideration, they decided to keep her on, and eventually she was hired full-time. When Steve Landreth died, the three Landreth children sold the family farm. Retha lived in her home until her death. Like her mother, she survived breast cancer and numerous other physical problems; however, her spirit (and mind) remained strong. She retained her interest in politics (she was a Socialist for years but became active in the Democratic party after Horace's death). She loved music and reading. But most of all, she loved nature and the outdoors. Her favorite pastimes were hiking, hunting, fishing, and collecting plants and rocks. Even in the 1970s, when she needed a cane to walk, she flew to Maryland to visit Suzanne and walked the shores of Chesapeake Bay and the Outer Banks, collecting fossils and seashells. In the spring of 1981, however, she lost a fight with cancer.

Jeffery, known as JJB, and Lenora Rose, known as Rosie, were of the adventurous sort. They were poor farm people, striving on the Kansas plains, living in a sod hut. Both parents were dead from overwork and illness. The prairie grass grew tall; it came to JJB's hip in the spring. Rosie had long hair and flashing green eyes. One spring day they bid farewell to the sod hut, the two graves with their wooden crosses, and went west. They caught a stagecoach at the nearest settlement (Parsons, Kansas) and headed for Dodge City. Dodge City was exciting. It was an explosive combination of gunfighters, buffalo hunters, cattle drivers, gamblers, prostitutes, and other frontier riffraff. The cavalry at Fort Dodge was forever busy; law was beginning to filter in. JJB found his job at the Dodge House Hotel, where many a gunslinger and cattle drover took a bath, got a hot meal, and bedded down for the night. During this time, JJB witnessed many gunfights and watched the huge droves of cattle come in from Texas for shipment east. The Santa Fe Railroad had made it into Colorado and was working its way through the Rocky Mountains. He also saw the many wild buffalo slaughtered for sport and hides was the "sportsmen" shot from the train cars. He took one of the last photos of the few buffalo left on the prairie. This photo was handed down to be treasured by future generations.He was friends with Doc Holiday, whose hobby was making cement animals. As a token of their friendship. Doc gave JJB a frog. This, too, was passed down through the family (to W.L. Barnes).Rosie had even more passion for life, love, and adventure than did JJB. She took up with a drover from El Paso, who was a very proficient gambler. They made a good team. Rosie and the gambler headed for a small mining camp in Colorado called Cripple Creek. Here, riches of silver and gold awaited everyone who was lucky and hard working enough. They lived in a small log cabin deep in the woods, traveling back and forth by horseback. "Rosie s Palace" was the first gambling saloon and house of prostitution in Cripple Creek. It was the only social drinking establishment for miles; needless to say it was an instant success! However, tempers were hot, women were scarce, and the gambler was always watching Rosie. During one card game, a handsome young drifter caught Rosie *s eye. The gambler knew very soon that the attraction was more than the usual "customer." Rosie and the cowboy had long talks and,of ten took moonlight strolls down the dirt street. (In those days, the cowboy always walked on the outside of the lady with no inside plumbing, it was necessary to dump chamber pots and water bowls out the window. Courtesy dictated that sewage land on the street or the cowboy instead of the lady.) Late one evening, in a drunken rage, the gambler shot Rosie and her cowboy. Both were killed. A year later, her belongings and trunk arrived at the Dodge House. The trunk contained a letter from the gambler that described the tragedy. The news was rough on JJB. He returned to Parsons and the farm; later, he married Ellen Radel. They had one son, W.L. Barnes. W. L. never opened the mysterious trunk, which he carried back to Dodge City with his bride, Anne Elizabeth Wilson. After his death, however, W.L.'s son Frank, Frank's wife Oma Belle, and Anne Elizabeth went through the trunk and learned about Rosie's Palace and the Cripple Creek shooting.

William Leander (W.L.) Barnes was a quiet man of medium build. He was a railroader (conductor and brakeman) for many years. He married Anne Elizabeth Wilson in 1905. They had two children, Frank Newark and Ruth.

Anne Elizabeth was a large-boned woman, considered and aristocrat by some. Her parents, John Wilson and Saline Bogue, had emigrated from France. John Wilson had been a fireman in Paris; in the new country he continued in this occupation and formed the first volunteer fire department Parsons had seen. It was a considerable improvement over the old "bucket brigade," and included a horse-drawn wooden cylinder filled with water, plenty of bells, and several teams of horses. This added speed for putting out the fires. Saline always spoke French; she never quite mastered the English language.

Frank Barnes was an enterprising young man who, as they say, burnt his candle at both ends. During his short life, he accomplished more than many can accomplish during a long life, while always maintaining a delightful sense of humor. For awhile he was conductor of the Dodge City symphony orchestra, and he composed several pieces for these concerts. His compositions received national recognition. During World War II, he was not only the town's only doctor, he also was doctor for the military base at Fort Dodge and the military arsenal outside Dodge City. In 1946, when the Arkansas River experienced the worst flooding in a century, he received honors for gallant efforts in helping flood victims receive typhoid shots. Even amidst the professional pleasures, he also found time to fish, hunt, collect guns and otherwise enjoy life. On one of Bob Hope's road shows in Dodge City, Frank appeared as Hope's sidekick. He also received letters from the White House his friend William Hassett was secretary to President Truman. However, Frank's candle burned out in 1949; he died from a combination of overwork and overplay.

Oma Belle, originally named Leoma Ella Belle, was born to Steve and Delia Landreth and raised in Marceline, Missouri. She stayed there until she was 27, helping her father's coal mine operation as the main bookkeeper, time keeper, and payroll clerk. In 1935, she married Frank Barnes, who was living in Dodge City, Kansas. They had been secretly married for two years before, but no one knew about it except her sister Retha. They had three children, William Steven, John Rush, and Mary Celene. Both boys died young; Billy of meningitis and John of diabetes. Oma Belle was a teacher and artist. She also worked in her husband's ever-growing office. On President Truman's whistlestop re-election campaign, her painting of Dodge City was presented to him as a gift. She based the painting on a photo that she found in the trunk that had belonged to Frank's great aunt Rosie. Kansas, during this time, was well into Dust Bowl days. Abetted by poor farming methods, the high prairie winds blew dark walls of dust into town. These fierce storms lasted many days. Winter blizzards were harsh. Huge cattle ranches were forced into closure. The days of the great cattle barons were over. A new scientific approach had to be made on farming, cattle raising had to be concentrated into smaller areas and everyone had to learn a better way of doing things. During the dust storms, Oma Belle put wet sheets over her family's beds at night so they could breathe in the dirt-filled air. When Frank died, Oma Belle was left penniless. She sold the house in Dodge city and invested the proceeds. Then, she and Mary moved to New Mexico, where she retired from school teaching. In 1961, she married Floyd Kennedy, a flamboyant traveling salesman. The marriage lasted only five years, but they remained good friends until his death ten years later. Oma Belle spent the final years of her life in Lorena, Texas, where she lived with Mary,Celene and Mary's family.