| Barry County Missouri Birthday |
| Mrs. Julia Ann (Higgs) Brite 1882 - 1918 Buried Pierce City Cemetery, Lawrence County, MO Submitted by Brenda (Dunaway) Langston Please note that Brenda is not researching this family For further information about Julie Ann Brite please contact her GG-Grandaughter Denny L. Cope Items in parenthesis indicate where a few letters were missing due to the corner of the article being torn. Joplin Morning Tribune -- 31 Jan 1913 OLDEST SETTLER CELEBRATES HER 91ST BIRTHDAY -------------------------- MRS. BRITE LIVED IN PEIRCE CITY OR NEAR THERE FOR 61 YEARS. ------------------------ OLDEST SETTLER IN COUNTY ----------------------- |
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Her Family Moved to Where Peirce City Now Stands in 1852, the Country Then Being a Wilderness---Was Married in 1853 Peirce City, Mo., Jan. 30----Mrs. Julia Ann Brite of North Myrtle street of this city, celebrated her ninety-first birthday today. Mrs. Brite Has lived within a few miles of Peirce City and within the city for 61 years and is the oldest settler in the country. When celebrating her birthday, memories of long ago were brought up and she told her friends and relatives who were present the story of her early life and the hardships which the settlers endured. She was born near Raleigh, N.C., January 30, 1822, where she lived until she was 30 years of age. Miss Julia Higgs was her maiden name and the family is well known in the Carolinas. She was the oldest of twelve children, eight of whom were boys. Her father and mother at last decided to go west, where they would have a greater opportunity for securing land. On September 25, 1851, the family left North Carolina with four big wagons and accompanied by twenty negro slaves. They traveled over the rough mountain trails until they reached Dresden, Tenn., where five weeks were spent visiting relatives. The party arrived on the site of Peirce City on New Year's day 1852. Then only a few log cabins were scattered through the wilderness. The winter was a very hard one and the party suffered very much from the cold; sometimes the children, who were too small to walk, were wrapped up in blankets with warmed stones to keep them from freezing while their elders walked along the sides of the wagon to keep warm. Relatives of the Higgs family had already located at Peirce City and for a few days the travelers stayed with them and finally rented what is now known as the Colbert farm, about two miles from this city. Married in 1853
As the house was very small and could not accommodate the whole party, tents were placed temporarily until a negro carpenter could build several log houses. He also made pieces of furniture from walnut rails. Miss Higgs became acquainted with Jesse Brite, and March 24, 1853, they were married. They lived on a farm until 1871, when they moved into Peirce City, when the railroad was just (be)ing built. A party of people had (de)cided to make the spot a townsite and gave the couple several lots, on which they built a house and afterwards bought other property. When the couple lived on the farm, during the war times, soldiers of both armies would frequently force her to cook meals for them, and several times the house was robbed by bushwhackers. Mrs Brite had four brothers with the southern army and her husband and brother belonged to the state militia. Her two grandfathers both served in the revolutionary war. Mr. Brite died five years ago, but she still has two brothers living, Kelly Higgs and Red Higgs. both of whom live close to Peirce City. Mrs Brite has three children, John W. Brite of Long Beach, Cal., Mrs. G. W. Wilson, Houston, Tex., and Mrs. J. F. Wicks of Peirce City. She has thirteen grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Mrs. Brite enjoys excellent health and bids fair to live many more years. All of her relatives were long-lived, her mother living to be 88 years old, her grandmother 96 years, and both her father and grandfather lived to be 93 years of a(ge) |
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