Name: Black Communities of Miller County

Locations: Eldon, Iberia, Olean

Years of residence: varies

Note: Eldon never developed a distinct black community the way Iberia and Olean did, but it did have individual black residents who were known in town during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Iberia and Olean were the two main centers of African-American life from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s. Unlike Eldon, these black settlements formed neighborhoods, schools and churches. Known black family names from Iberia include Driver, Hardy and Lawless. Eldon possibly includes Coleman and Harris. Olean's known black families were Brown, Henderson, Taylor and Turner. Unfortunately, the majority of names of the ancestral black families of the county have been lost to the written record.​

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​​Name: Paul W. Henning - Eldon & Tuscumbia

Born/Died: 16 Sept. 1911 (Independence, MO) / 25 Mar. 2005 (Burbank, CA)

Industry: TV Shows 

Years of residence: not a resident; wife's family was from Miller County

Note: Paul Henning, the producer and writer behind the 1960s sitcoms Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction, married Ruth Barth, daughter of Benjamin and Alice (Burris) Barth of Tuscumbia. Inspired by stories Ruth shared about her grandparents, Willis and Martha (Bowlin) Burris, who ran a small hotel by the railroad in Eldon, Henning created Petticoat Junction. Though he never lived in Miller County, he was laid to rest beside his wife in the Tuscumbia Cemetery.

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Name: Osage Indian Nation - Countywide

Location: mostly north and south of the Osage River near Tuscumbia

Years of residence: c/1300 - c/early 1840s

Note: The Osage Nation, a tribe of the Sioux race, established a significant presence long before Miller became a county. They were located mainly along the Osage River, Big Tavern Creek and Saline Creek regions. They were a dominant power by the 17th century before being removed via treaties in the early 1800s. The Osage people used the Tuscumbia site as part of their larger, extensive territory, having built a village there as early as the 1600s. It has been recorded that Jim Henry was one of the last Osage men to leave the area between the late 1830s - early 1840s.​

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Name: Robert Reed (John Robert Reitz, Jr.) - Iberia region

Born/Died: 19 October 1932 (Highland Park, IL) / 12 May 1992 (Skokie, IL)

Industry: TV Shows & Movies

Years of residence: not a resident; mother's family was from Miller County

Note: Robert Reed was a well-known actor, notably as Mike Brady in the TV series, The Brady Bunch, in the late-1960s through the mid-1970s. His mother was Helen Teaverbaugh of the Madden community near Iberia. She married John R. Reitz, Sr. of Illinois. Helen was the daughter of George and Nettie (Madden) Teaverbaugh. While Reed never lived in Miller County, most likely he visited his Teaverbaugh relatives that lived in the county. He died from colon lymphoma at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California; buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie, Illinois.​​

​​​​​​Name: William Bagnell – Bagnell

Born/Died:  c/1835 - Unknown

Industry: Railroad Contractor & Businessman

Years of residence: not a resident
Note: William Bagnell was a St. Louis–based tie contractor whose work along the Osage River placed him at the center of the region’s late‑1800s transportation boom. Active during the railroad expansion of the 1870s-early 1880s, he supplied timber and railroad ties to the St. Louis, Lebanon & Southwestern Railroad as it pushed westward toward the Osage. Never a resident of Miller County; his contracting operations on the river made him a familiar figure to local crews. When the railroad established a new town at the Osage crossing in 1882, it was named for Bagnell. In 1929, he also became the namesake of Bagnell Dam. His legacy endures as a reminder of the river‑and‑railroad era that shaped the county’s development.​​​​

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Name: Fr. Ferdinand Helias - Osage River region (north and south)

Born/Died: 3 August 1796 (Ghent, Belgium) / 11 August 1874 (Taos, Missouri)

Industry: Religion

Years of residence: not a resident; traveled the county from 1838-1874

Note: Father Helias was an early Catholic presence in Miller County, spreading his Jesuit missionary message among the Catholic worshippers. He was one of the most influential Catholic missionaries during Missouri's frontier era. Father Helias was active throughout the Osage River region, ministering to scattered Catholic families along the Osage. His missionary work laid the foundation for Catholic communities such as Marys Home, St. Anthony and St. Elizabeth.

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Name: Zebulon Pike - Osage River corridor

Born/Died: 5 January 1779 (New Jersey) / 27 April 1813 (Toronto, Canada)

Industry: Government

Years of residence: not a resident; passed through on the Osage River

Note: Zebulon Pike was an explorer and surveyor for the government. While Pike did not explicitly document Miller County by name (it didn’t exist yet), his 1806–1807 expeditions passed through the Osage River watershed, which includes the area that would later become Miller County. His journals reference Osage villages, hunting grounds, and river routes consistent with the region. Local tradition holds that Pike’s party moved along the Osage River corridor, making him part of the county’s early exploratory footprint.

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Name: Ina (Phillips) Williams - Tuscumbia 

Born/Died: 24 February 1876 (Tuscumbia, MO) / 23 March 1934 (Tahoma, WA)

Industry: Politics

Years of residence: 1876 - 1886

Note: Ina Williams, the daughter of Clayton S. and Elvira (Golden) Phillips, who resided near Tuscumbia, left Miller County at the young age of ten years after the deaths of her parents. Williams won election to the Washington House of Representatives and represented the 20th District as a Republican for one term from 1917 to 1919. She was a delegate for Theodore Roosevelt in the 1912 Progressive National Convention. In August 1920, she represented the Farmer-Labor Party. Williams died of metastatic breast cancer in 1934, at the age of 58. She is buried at Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima County, Washington.

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Name: Rev. John W. Adcock - Olean

Born/Died: 1854 (Tennessee) / 1933 (Missouri)

Baptist Minister  •  Community Leader  •  Regional Influence

Note: Rev. John Adcock was one of the most influential Baptist ministers in northern Miller County, serving a multi‑church circuit that included Olean, Etterville, and surrounding rural congregations. He settled in the Olean area in the late 1800s and spent over three decades preaching, organizing revivals, and shaping the county’s Baptist life. Adcock was widely known for his steady leadership and his ability to hold together small, scattered congregations during years of population change. His ministry connected Olean to a broader religious network, giving the town a voice in county‑wide Baptist affairs. Remembered for his long service and regional influence, he stands as one of Olean’s most accomplished and widely recognized historical figure. (No photo available)

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​​​Name: Dr. Walter D. Dickson - Brumley

Born/Died: 21 Sep. 1873 (Ontario, Canada) / 11 Nov. 1930 (Brumley, MO)

Civic Leader  •  Physician  •  Modernizer

Note: Dr. Walter Dickson served as one of Brumley’s early physicians and became a driving force behind the community’s modernization. Known for his wide‑ranging medical practice and civic leadership, Dickson played a key role in bringing electricity to the Brumley area, linking the small settlement to county‑wide progress in the early twentieth century. He was also the president of the Miller County Highway Commission. Beyond his reliable reputation as a well-known physician, he supported early civic improvements, helping Brumley transition into the 20th century.

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Name: James Etter - Etterville

Born/Died: c/1850s (Missouri) / early 1900s (Missouri)

Postmaster  •  Community Leader  •  Namesake of town

Note: James Etter was the early settler and postmaster whose name became attached to the crossroads now known as Etterville. His small store and postal point formed the center of the community in the late 1800s, giving the settlement its first stable identity. Through his role in local mail service, Etter connected the area to the wider county and left the name that endures today. (No photo available)

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Name: Sq. John Ferguson - Iberia

Born/Died: 25 Dec. 1838 (Dumfries, Scotland) / 20 Feb. 1940 (Iberia, MO)

Civic Leader  •  Justice of the Peace  •  Community Authority

​Note: Active in religious, political, patriotic and public affairs of Miller County, "Squire" Ferguson was well-known countywide. He was Justice of the Peace for over 50 years and was Post Commander at Miles Carroll Post #111 of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) in Iberia. In 1928, he was elected Department Commander of the G.A.R. for the State of Missouri. John Ferguson was the last remaining Civil War soldier to live in Miller County when he died in 1940. The chronicles of Sq. John Ferguson are well documented and his lifetime legacy spans 101 years. For a complete biography, please visit: Influence of Squire John Ferguson

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Name: John W. Gage – Gageville

Born/Died:  1837 - 1911

Postmaster  •  Merchant  •  Community Founder

Note: A central figure in the development of northern Miller County, John W. Gage served as Gageville’s early postmaster and operated one of the community’s key businesses. His role in establishing postal service made him widely known across the county, as residents from surrounding rural areas relied on his office for communication and commerce. Frequently referenced in early county accounts, Gage stands out as the individual most closely associated with the formation and identity of the settlement that bears his family name. John W. Gage is buried in an unmarked grave in Gageville Cemetery.

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Name: George W. Henley - Pleasant Mount (Mt. Pleasant)

Born/Died: Unknown / Unknown

Blacksmith  •  Tradesman  •  Regional Influence

Note: George Henley was the Pleasant Mount blacksmith whose work served farms and small communities across northern Miller County. His shop became a regional stop for repairs, tools, and wagon work, making his name familiar well beyond the immediate settlement. Henley’s skill and reliability helped keep the area’s agricultural life moving during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Remembered as the tradesman who connected Pleasant Mount to its surrounding neighbors, he stands as one of the community’s most widely recognized historical figures. (No available photo)

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Name: Sheriff John W. "Jack" Hensley - St. Anthony

Born/Died: c/1874 (Missouri) / c/1953 (Missouri)

County Sheriff  •  Law Enforcement  •  Countywide Influence

Note: Sheriff Hensley emerged from the St. Anthony–Brays corridor as one of Miller County’s most respected early‑20th‑century lawmen. He served sometime between 1907-1928. Known for his steady temperament and firm sense of fairness, he served during a period when rural law enforcement demanded both grit and diplomacy. Hensley’s work carried him into every township, giving him a county‑wide presence that far exceeded his small‑community roots. His reputation for reliability made him a trusted figure in courtrooms, farmsteads, and crossroads alike. Though not a man who sought the spotlight, his service left a lasting imprint on public life across Miller County. (No available photo)

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Name: 1) Frank James & 2) Jesse James - Faith

Born/Died: 1) 10 Jan. 1843 (Clay County, MO) / 18 Feb. 1915 (Clay County, MO)

Born/Died: 2)  5 Sep. 1847 (Clay County, MO) / 3 Apr. 1882 (St. Joseph, MO)

Outlaw Gang  •  Missouri-born Brothers  •  County Folklore

​Note: While the James brothers never lived in Miller County, they had kinfolk who resided in the county in southern Glaize Township. Mildred (James) Wall, wife of "Black Jim" Wall, was a first cousin to the outlaws. The Walls owned and operated a general store in the Faith community, near Brumley, for years. It has been told through the generations that these notorious men, who robbed banks, trains and stagecoaches, visited the area often while enroute to their next hold-up or laying low from the law. It has been suggested that Frank came to Faith, not long after Jesse was killed, to hide out from the law and from those that would have him killed, too.

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Name: Harvey Kaiser – Kaiser

Born/Died:  1878 (Miller County, MO) - 1958 (Miller County, MO)

Storekeeper  •  Postmaster  •  Namesake of the Community

Note: Harvey Kaiser anchored the small settlement that would come to bear his family’s name. Working from a modest store along the Glaize road, he served as postmaster, merchant, and the unofficial point of contact for the scattered farms of the valley. His presence gave the crossroads its identity, and the Kaiser name became fixed on maps by the early twentieth century. He lived his entire life within the same rural corridor his parents settled, shaping the daily rhythm of a community that depended on him for goods, mail, and connection to the wider world. He is buried among his family (in an unmarked grave) at New Hope Cemetery, the resting place of the early Kaiser line. (No available photo)

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Name: James R. Long - Ulman

Born/Died: Unknown / Unknown

Bank Founder  •  Community Leader  •  Regional Influence

Note: James Long brought rare financial stability to southern Miller County, and he was instrumental in the Bank of Ulman's early development around 1907-1908, giving the ridge community its first true economic anchor. His leadership provided farmers, merchants, and families with access to credit and secure banking at a time when rural communities often struggled to find either. Long’s influence extended well beyond Ulman, shaping commercial life across Brumley, Barren Fork region, and the Osage River corridor. He operated the bank from c/1907-1910s, after which James Long appears to have left the county, his name fading from local records as quickly as it had risen. Though his personal story remains partly obscured, his work helped define Ulman as a vital commercial center during a transformative era.

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Name: Herman J. Lueckenhoff – Marys Home

Born/Died: 14 Feb. 1894 (St. Elizabeth, MO) - 3 Nov. 1976 (St. Elizabeth, MO)

Community Builder  •  Agricultural Leader  •  County‑Wide Influence

Note: A widely respected figure whose work in agriculture, civic life, and community organization made him one of the most recognizable names in the Marys Home region. Lueckenhoff played a central role in shaping the social and economic life of the community, and his leadership extended well beyond local boundaries. Frequently referenced in county accounts and remembered across multiple generations, he stands out as the individual most closely associated with Marys Home’s identity and its influence within Miller County. Herman Lueckenhoff is buried at Our Lady of the Snows Cemetery in Marys Home.

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Name: Lee Mace - Lake Ozark

Born/ Died: 30 July 1927 (Brumley, MO) / 16 June 1985 (near Gravois Mill, MO)

​Entertainer  •  Businessman  •  Cultural Leader  

Note: Lee Mace built Lee Mace’s Ozark Opry into one of Missouri’s most influential cultural landmarks. With a natural gift for showmanship and a deep respect for Ozarks traditions, he shaped the Opry’s signature mix of string music, clean comedy, and family‑friendly atmosphere. Mace’s steady leadership and personal style turned the show into a regional institution that drew millions over four decades. Through the Opry, he became the defining public voice of the Lake of the Ozarks, giving the region a recognizable identity and setting the tone for its early tourism era. Lee Mace's Ozark Opry operated from 1953 to 2006. Today, the old Opry building houses a Harbor Freight store in 2026. For a complete biography, please visit: Lee Mace & His Ozark Opry 

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Name: Rep. Herbert L. Moles – Rocky Mount

Born/Died: 18 Dec. 1857 (Patrick County, VA) / 18 Feb 1918 (Tuscumbia, MO)

County Sheriff  •  County Judge  •  Missouri State Representative

Note: Herbert L. Moles was one of Rocky Mount’s most prominent citizens, rising to county‑wide influence as Miller County Sheriff, County Judge, and later a State Representative. His career placed Rocky Mount squarely in the county’s civic landscape, linking the small ridge‑top settlement to major decisions shaping law enforcement, infrastructure, and local governance. Moles’ long public service made him one of the most widely recognized figures associated with Rocky Mount during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

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Name: Joseph Otto – St. Elizabeth

Born/Died:  1875 -1954

Merchant  •  Community Organizer  •  Regional Influence

Note: A prominent early merchant whose store served as a commercial anchor for St. Elizabeth. Joseph Otto played a key role in shaping the economic and civic life for the growing town. His business ties and steady civic presence helped anchor the town's identity in the early 1900s. Mr. Otto appears frequently in local histories. His steady presence in local affairs made him a trusted figure whose name became familiar across multiple townships. He is buried among the Otto family cluster in St. Lawrence Catholic Cemetery in St. Elizabeth. (no available photo)

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​Name: Judge James R. Thompson - Eldon

Born/Died:  Unknown / Unknown

Civic Leader  •  County Judge  •  Community Leader

Note: Judge James Thompson emerged as one of Eldon’s most respected early civic leaders, serving as a county judge during a period of major administrative and infrastructure growth. From the 1890s through the 1910s, his work in county finance, road development, and courthouse affairs gave him a county‑wide reputation for steady leadership, linking Eldon to the broader modernization of Miller County. Even after formally holding office, James Thompson remained active in Eldon's civic life, business leadership, and public improvement efforts. His was a steady presence in community affairs for decades. (No available photo) 

 

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