Dr. John L. Conner, Sr.

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(Printed in THE MILLER COUNTY AUTOGRAM-SENTINEL in the column, 'WINDOW TO THE PAST', April 7, 2011)

​DR. JOHN L. CONNER, SR. was a physician at Brumley for quite a few years and was practicing there in 1889. He was born in Miller County on Christmas Eve, 24 Dec 1845 on his family’s farm near the Morgan and Miller counties boundary line. He was a son of Walter T. Conner and Amy McComb both from early pioneering families of Miller County . John received his education in the common schools in the Blue Springs district of northwest Miller County . For a few years he taught school in his home district and then he moved with his parents to Camden County where he continued to teach for some time.

In 1866, at the age of 21 years, he went to Lebanon in Laclede County and attended Professor Laughran’s Institute for about a year. He returned to Miller County and resumed teaching. He began reading medicine and studied with his uncle, Dr. McComb (his mother’s brother). In September 1869, he went to Ann Arbor, Michigan and took a course of lectures and then returned to Lebanon and became associated with his uncle, Dr. McComb. After a short while he moved back to Miller County and settled at Brumley, Glaize township, and was the only doctor there in 1889.

Dr. John Conner, Sr. married Elnora Singletary (also spelled Singleterry) on 23 May 1875. She was born in Ohio circa 1840. They became parents of three children: LURA BELLE CONNER 1`877-1951 m. (1)____Craft (2)_____Martin; BERNEICE E. CONNER 1880-1896 died as a teenager; JOHN L. CONNER, JR. 1882-1948 m. Maude________(I only found 1 marriage for John L. Conner Jr. and it was in 1910 to Ida M. McCullough---I am presuming this may have been Ida MAUDE ).

In the census of 1900, the Conners were living in or near Brumley and their neighbors included the families of Gott, Wornell, Thompson, Payne, Karr, and Hawkins.

Dr. Conner was coroner of Miller County 1875-1881; the county assessor in the late 1800s and was a member of the Brumley Masonic Lodge #203 AF & AM which organized on 27 Dec 1877.   At one time he held the office of ‘Master’ of the Lodge. He was also a member of the Odd Fellow Lodge of Brumley and his family were members of the Brumley Christian Church. In 1889, he was listed as a physician in Brumley and had a stock of drugs in an apothecary shop which was probably in his medical office.

Dr. John L. Conner Sr. died on January 14, 1921, at the age of 76 years and was buried at Hawkins Cemetery, located a short distance east of Brumley. His wife, Elnora (Singletary) Conner had died ten years earlier on June 6, 1911 and also buried at Hawkins Cemetery. All their children are buried there, too.