Second Generation
Family of Charles Wesley RODGERS (1) & Virginia Palastine HALE

2. Nettie Belle RODGERS (Charles Wesley1), F. Born on January 7, 1878 in Texas County, MO. Nettie Belle died in Carter County, Missouri, on July 20, 1928; she was 50. Buried in Raymer Cemetery, Ellsinore, Carter Co., MO. Occupation: Housewife.

On October 7, 1903 when Nettie Belle was 25, she married Miles Berry (B.) RAYMER, M, son of Isaac (Ike) Marion RAYMER, M (April 30, 1844-September 20, 1909) & Frances Ann (Fannie) (Rogers) POWELL, F (September 13, 1842-October 28, 1876), in Carter County, Missouri. Born on November 30, 1871 in Ellsinore, Carter County, Missouri. Miles Berry (B.) died in East St. Louis, Illinois - St. Clair County, on October 30, 1949; he was 77. Buried in Raymer Cemetery, Ellsinore, Carter Co., MO. Education: Not sure, but he was certified to be a substitute teacher in Carter County schools.

1910 Jackson County, MO census:
#37..Raymer, Bill..Head...38............Mo...Ky...Mo.
..........Nettie B.......wife....32 (3/3)..Mo...Va...Mo.
..........Leo..............son......6..............Mo...Mo...Mo.
..........Florence.......dau......5..............Mo...Mo...Mo.
..........Alvis............son......4..............Mo...Mo...Mo.
...? Wills,John W. servant.16.............Mo...Mo...Mo.
Occupations: Teacher (Alvis gave Kenneth two teachers certificates for the "Public Schools Of Missouri for Third Grade for Carter County". Dated July 18, 1896 and another dated Dec. 14, 1897. ("Third grade" was a class of license not the grade he taught.) Farmer, (Alvis said they were better suited to hunting than farming). Merchant (Alvis said they had a general store in Ellsinore, MO.). He ran the store in Ellsinore until it it burned in 1924, then became a barber when he moved to East St. Louis, Illinois, and barbered until he retired.
.....Deed of Trust
A Deed of Trust for B. Raymer and N. B. Raymer (The party of the first part) dated December 5, 1921 was found. This is the old Raymer family homestead near Ellsinore, MO that was passed down from Abraham Raymer to his son Isaac. "B" and Nettie Raymer seem to be buying the land from C. C. McPherson (The party of the second part) and borrowing money from the Bank of Ellsinore (The party of the third part).
It states: "All of the east half of the northeast quarter of section 25 township 27 range 2 east, containing 80 acres, also lot 2 of the northwest quarter of section 30 township 27 range 3 east containing 79 52/100 acres, also 15 acres in the south part of lot 2 of the southwest quarter of section 19, township 27 range 3 east, except one acre deeded to grave yard (Note:Raymer family cemetery). This deed is made subject to a deed of trust held by J. M. Carnahan, in the sum of $180.00."
It states that "B" is signing a promissory note to the third party, the Bank of Ellsinore, the sum of $984.13. Also, hand written on the payment record is, "Deed of Trust, 179 acres". This is not in the same handwriting as the payment record and was written later. There is a payment record sheet for "B" and Nettie Raymer showing payments to the bank through October 14, 1924. His store in Ellsinore burned and B. Raymer and family moved to East St. Louis, Illinois about this time.
.....Raymer Family Stories
Imogene (Ballard) Raymer remembers "B" telling the following story. "When I was a kid 10-12 years old, we lived on a farm near the Raymer cemetery (Carter Co.,near Ellsinore, MO). One afternoon a group of rowdy looking characters rode into the area around the house. The spokesperson told my step-mother (Sarah Ann BOYER) to take all the kids inside and not let them out all afternoon. The group wanted to sleep undisturbed in the barn. She did, but we had recognized them and would have stayed in the house anyway. The next morning they were gone and we heard a day or so later the Jesse James gang had robbed the train at Gads Hill the morning after they slept in the barn on Jan. 31, 1874."
....."B" and Nettie Raymer lived in Ellsinore until about 1925, then they moved to East St. Louis, IL. In 1928 Grandma (Nettie) fell by tripping over a movie advertisement in downtown East St. Louis. She hurt herself badly, but Violet (Raymer) Lee couldn't remember where she was injured. In looking at the death certificate I'd say she had a head injury. Although the death certificate lists cause of death as "General Paralysis", this doesn't say much. According to Violet, Nettie wanted to go "home" to Ellsinore to her doctor, Dr. Sheets. She died July 20,1928 and Dr. Sheets is the one who signed the death certificate.
....."B" and Nettie lived at 915 Trendley, East St. Louis, Illinois in 1927 or early 1928 and there was a barber shop in front. Al & Myrtle, Leo & Anne and "B" all lived in back. Lellan (Leo's son) had scarlet fever about that time. Myrtle (Webb) Raymer and Al moved just before Virginia was born (Sept. 9, 1928) to 4th & Trendley. Anne & Myrtle worked at the Switzers Candy Co. in St. Louis, MO.
.....Nettie (Rodgers) Raymer was 5 feet 5 inches, brown eyes, black hair, 135 pounds.
She made Vinegar pies and Buttermilk pies. She was terribly scared of storms. When a thunderstorm came up she would take all the kids and put them in the middle of a feather bed because she believed lightning would not strike a featherbed. She always did the spanking.
.....When "B" Raymer was very young, on the farm near the Raymer cemetery, "B" was splitting kindling and a piece flew up and struck him in the right eye. He lost vision in the eye and wore a glass eye. However, he was an excellent shot with a 22 rifle and also an expert at horse shoe pitching.
....."B" was not very successful disciplining Violet. He had on occasion took her on the bus to Chillicothe to the girls home, but she always begged to come home and he never left her there. Violet was small when her mother died and being the only girl, she may have taken advantage of the situation.
.....Leo spanked Violet a lot because she was left with him a lot. Violet remembered once when Leo lived on the road to Crites Corner (Carter Co. MO) that her parents "B" and Nettie were going to town in the wagon and Violet wanted to go. They said no, but immediately after they left she cut across unfamiliar woods and somehow ended up at the narrow bridge (still there) on the road to Ellsinore before they got there. She hid under the bridge until they came along and hopped into the wagon and went to town.
.....It seems that Leo and Alvis also took advantage of their mother Nettie. When they were naughty they would crawl up under the house where she couldn't get to them. This one time she must have been really aggravated with them because when they crawled up under the house, she went back inside and got the shot gun and threatened to shoot if they didn't come out. One time "B" spanked Violet. Violet said Ray spilled a box of matches but "B" told her to pick them up. She refused. He took her hand and forced her to pick up a handful. When she dropped the matches back on the floor, it resulted in a spanking.
.....Schooling
Leo, Alvis and Luin went to school in Ellsinore but Violet and Ray went to Franklin School in East St. Louis, IL. Violet didn't think anyone went much. Violet said Leo and Alvis worked for the Terminal Railroad for a while.
.....Violet said "B" went to Barber School but she didn't know where. We think he went to Barber School when he moved to East St. Louis. He had a 3 chair barbershop in the front room of his house in East St. Louis, IL. On Saturday, "B", Alvis and Leo all barbered until 10 or 11 PM. After which time "B" always bought fish sandwiches and Coney Islands as their treat for having such a late supper.
.....In the 1930's, "B", Violet and Ray went for a 2 or 3 week vacation to Leo's at Ellsinore, Missouri. "B" always had to have a paper. So, each day he dressed in a 3 piece suit and tie (and always the arm garter) and hat. "B", Lellan and Ray walked to town. Most of the time "B" would take his coat off and carry it even before they got to town. Every day he bought the newspaper and 10 cents worth of candy for the kids.
.....Lellan says the following is correct except the culprit was Grover instead of Myrtle. Violet said "Sometime after Mom (Nettie) died, we went to Ellsinore to Grandma Rodgers house. There was Dad ("B"), Myrtle and me (Violet). Uncle John Rodgers was there. He had a Nash Car with a front seat that folded down. Uncle John and "B" were asleep in the car. They had removed their clothing to sleep in their underwear. When they were asleep, Myrtle went out, got in the car and took them up town. In their condition they couldn't get out and go home. After a while Myrtle took pity on them and decided to drive them home. The following morning the sugar bowl was filled with salt and Myrtle didn't enjoy her coffee.
.....Information from Imogene (Ballard) Raymer, wife of Lellan Raymer the grandson of "B" Raymer.
.....the July 5, 1945 Current Local newspaper states, "Bee Raymer of East St. Louis is visiting here this week with his son, Leo Raymer."

They had the following children:
5 i. Leo Jessie, M (1903-1976)
ii. Florence, F. Born in December 1904. Florence died on January 14, 1912; she was 7. Buried in Raymer Cemetery, Ellsinore, Carter County, MO.
Florence is listed as age 5 in the 1910 Carter County, MO census.
Florence's older brother Alvis found an old report card for Florence when she was in the 2nd grade, dated 1912. The card had the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Qtr grades, so she must have died before the 4th Quarter. Alvis remembers it was cold weather and that she was buried in the RAYMER cemetery.
An article printed in the Current Local newspaper of Jan. 18, 1912 states, "Florence Raymer who has been sick for several weeks died Sun PM at 2 O'clock. The remains were interred at the family cemetery near Whites Old Mill place."
6 iii. Alvis Leland, M (1905-1991)
7 iv. Luin Lindel, M (1910-1977)
v. Ina, F. Born approx 1912. Ina died approx 1912; she was <1. Buried in Raymer Cemetery, Ellsinore, Carter County, MO.
Ina died when she was 3 months old. Alvis thinks she was born between Luin and Grover.
8 vi. Grover Anson, M (1914-1972)
9 vii. Violet Opal, F (1917-)
10 viii. Derrell Ray, M (1922-2000)

3. Albert (Frank) RODGERS (Charles Wesley1), M. Born in September 1879 in Missouri.

Lived in Ellsinore, Missouri
The 1910 Carter County census lists:
#40..Rodgers, Robert F . Head ..... 30 .......... Mo ..... Va ..... Mo.
..........Martha J ............ wife ... 26(4/3) ..... Mo ..... Al ..... Mo.
..........Francis V ............ dau .......... 6 .......... Mo ..... Mo ..... Mo.
****six yr old child's name entered then marked through, perhaps she had died recently.
..........Sibile B ............... dau .......... 4 .......... Mo ..... Mo ..... Mo.
..........Aaron ................. son .......... 3 ........... Mo ..... Mo ..... Mo.
..........Dollie B ............... dau ....... 5mo ......... Mo ..... Mo ..... Mo.
Current Local Paper in Van Buren, MO for April 10, 1947 states, "Frank Rodgers and family from Heber Springs, Ark. are visiting relatives here this week."

On December 21, 1902 when Albert (Frank) was 23, he married Martha J. NELSON, F, in Carter County, Missouri, Johnson Township. Born approx 1883.

Carter County Marriage book lists: A F Rodgers married Martha Nelson on Dec. 21, 1902.

They had the following children:
i. Francis V., F. Born on November 26, 1903. Francis V. died on October 10, 1904; she was <1. Buried in Henson Cemetery, Carter Co., MO.
ii. Sibile B., F. Born on June 11, 1905. Sibile B. died in Ellsinore, Carter County, Missouri, on September 12, 1992; she was 87. Buried in White's Mill Cemetery, Ellsinore, Carter Co., MO.
Sibile B. married Jodie MILLIS, M.
11 iii. Aaron Francis, M (1907-1937)
iv. Dollie Berniece, F. Born approx 1910. Dollie Berniece died on September 5, 1999; she was 89.
On September 4, 1927 when Dollie Berniece was 17, she married Aud Everett MANIS, M.
v. Leonard, M.

4. John Wesley Melvin RODGERS (Charles Wesley1), M. Born on July 25, 1881 in Texas County, Missouri or Randolf Co., MO. John Wesley Melvin died in Ellsinore, Carter County, Missouri, on March 1, 1976; he was 94. Buried in Whites Mill Cemetery, Ellsinore, Carter Co., MO.

Rodgers & Hilterbrand Story
as told by Mrs. John (Elsie) Rodgers on June 22, 1990, at Ellsinore Pioneer Museum to V. Alcorn.
(Note: Full names, birth and death dates provided by Ken Raymer, Galesburg, IL.)
-------------------------------
.....The Hilterbrand and Rodgers families arrived at Ellsinore together in five covered wagons from Texas County, Missouri, near Houston, on March 17-18, 1900. John(1) and Frank(2) and a sister(3) who later married Bea Raymer(4) and their father Charlie(5) and mother(6) were in the group and Tom(7) (oldest), Bill, Luther(8) and Oscar (youngest) Hilterbrand, their sister(9), and their parents Sam and Betty (?) Hilterbrand(10) came (to Ellsinore, Carter Co., MO). John Rodgers' mother was a Hale(11) before her marriage. Luther Bowman's maternal grandfather was her brother.
.....With the five wagons, they brought a milk cow and chickens, plus their household goods. One of the wagons got a broken axle between Van Buren and Ellsinore on the 17th, requiring it to wait for repairs, while the other four came on ahead. A nearby farmer, hearing the commotion when the axle broke, came to check the trouble and invited John Rodgers and Oscar Hilterbrand(12), who were driving the disabled wagon, to stay overnight and feed their horses there. He had a blacksmith shop and helped them fix a new axle the next day, March 18, and they came on in. They were traveling on an old road which followed the railroad tracks.
.....Evidently, John and Frank Rodgers and the Hilterbrand boys had been at Ellsinore the previous summer, working at the Grandin sawmill. John had worked as a "Tail" bearer, off-bearing slabs, because he was too young to work around the saw.
.....Bernice Manis and Cybil Millis were Frank Rodgers' daughters.(13) He married a Nelson after coming to Ellsinore(14). She died in Illinois and he married Cory Nelson later.
.....Elsie Rodgers(15) says a man told her that he remembered her birth on May 10, 1910, when they were moving the logging camp and moved the women and household items to the new camp and went back to get another load, returning to find that she had been born out under a shade tree! Bell Jant was the midwife, and was the wife of Bill Jant, who later was County sheriff and whose daughter was later County clerk. The man who met her in Aug. 1949 and told her these facts, had been a logger, or worker, in the Doniphan, Arkansas, Logging Company. A big company had come in and bought up a lot of the timber and were cutting it back in early 1900's when Elsie was born.
.....Luther Bowman's mother and John Rodgers were first cousins. His mother, Betty Hale?, was a sister of Luther's mother's father, died when Luther was 5.
.....John Rodgers' father and mother both died here and are buried at White's Mill Cemetery. His mother(6) died in 1943, lived across creek in Ellsinore near where Millis lived. Sybil was a granddaughter of John's mother and was John's niece. Elsie (Sharp) Rodgers said John's father(11) was from England and didn't have any known relatives in America.
--------------------------
(1) John W. Rodgers born July 25, 1881 in Texas County, Missouri and died March 1, 1976
(2) Frank Rodgers
(3) Nettie Belle Rodgers born Jan. 7, 1878 in Texas County, MO and died July 20, 1928
(4) Miles Berry "B" Raymer born Nov. 30, 1871 in Carter County, MO and died Oct. 30, 1949
(5) Charles Westley Rodgers born 1847 in Virginia or England, died in 1927
1910 Carter County, Johnson Township, MO census lists:
Rodgers, Charles W Head 62 Va Va Va
Virginia P wife 56(3/3) Mo Ky Mo
*Hale, Samuel T b-in-law 53(wd) Mo Ky Mo
*Rodgers, Willia E d-in-law 19 Mo Tx Mo
(6) Virginia P. Hale born 1853 in Missouri and died in 1943
(7) Thomas J. Hilterbrand b. app. 1873 in MO married Nellie Hill on May 25, 1909 in Carter County, MO.
(8) Luther M. Hilterbrand b. app. 1886 in MO.
M. L. Hilterbrand married Addie Rosnic on May 15, 1914 in Carter County, MO.
(9) Jessie B. Hilterbrand born app 1891 in MO.
(10) 1910 Carter County, Johnson Township, MO Census lists:
Hilterbrand,Samuel Head 62 Mo. Oh. Tn.
America A wife 56(6/6) Mo. Ky. Ky.
Thomas J son 37 Mo. Mo. Mo.
Luther M son 24 Mo. Mo. Mo.
Jessie B dau 19 Mo. Mo. Mo.
(11) Charles Wesley Rodgers married Virginia P. Hale born 1853 in MO died 1943, both are buried in the White's Mill Cemetery near Ellsinore, MO.
(12) Oscar Hilterbrand married Nellie Hill on May 25, 1909 in Carter County, MO.
Probably another son of Samuel Hilterbrand.
(13) (I think this is Frank Rodgers in the 1910 Carter County, MO census)
Rodgers, Robert F Head 30 Mo. Va. Mo.
Martha J wife 26(4/3) Mo. Al. Mo.
Francis V dau 6 Mo. Mo. Mo.
****six yr old child's name entered then marked through, perhaps she had died recently.
Sibile B dau 4 Mo. Mo. Mo.
Aaron son 3 Mo. Mo. Mo.
Dollie B dau 5mo Mo. Mo. Mo.
(14) Carter County Marriage book lists: A F Rodgers married Martha Nelson on Dec. 21, 1902. (This may be Frank Rodgers)
(15) Elsie Bell (Sharp) Rodgers b. May 10, 1910 d. July 19, 1993, wife of John Wesley Rodgers.
John Rodgers came from Detroit, Michigan to Ellsinore and lived there for 76 years.

From the Sept. 14, 1899 Current Local Newspaper: "Mrs. John Rodgers, who, with her husband, is running a restaurant in Van Buren, has condolences on account of the death of her son in Arkansas."

On August 15, 1906 when John Wesley Melvin was 25, he first married Sarah GLASS, F, in Carter County, Missouri.

Died with child in flu epidemic.

In February 1908 when John Wesley Melvin was 26, he second married Willa E. CASTEEL, F, in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. Born before 1900. Willa E. died in 1919; she was 19.

One account says Willie was from Canada.
Father born in Texas.

They had the following children:
i. Melvin, M.
Lived in Westland, Mich
ii. Nola, F.
Lived at Cedar Hill, Missouri

Nola married BROWN, M.
iii. Eva, F.
Lived in Plattsville, Ontario, Canada

Eva married SHIERMAN, M.

Lived in Plattsville, Ontario, Canada.

On October 13, 1950 when John Wesley Melvin was 69, he third married Elsie Bell SHARP, F, daughter of Ezra SHARP, M & Vinie FERGUSON, F. Born on May 10, 1910. Elsie Bell died on July 19, 1993; she was 83.

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